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The Coming of Antichrist
2 Thess. 2:1-12
Before Jesus comes back, there will be a great apostasy or falling away from the faith, at the same time there
will be continual revival and growth of the Church throughout the world. There will come a time of Great
Tribulation upon the earth. We see all of these signs coming to pass around us already. But there is another
important piece to the puzzle that must be revealed before the Day of the Lord really comes. That piece is the
manifestation or revelation of the Antichrist, the man of lawlessness Paul speaks of in our text. As believers, our
focus should always be on Christ more than on anything else. Still, knowing a counterfeit is coming prepares us
and puts us on our guard, so that we will be delivered from deception.
I. Where does the concept of an Antichrist come from? Let’s look at the scriptures to understand this…
A. Certain key texts, when put together, give us this understanding.
1. We begin in the OT Book of Daniel. In chapter 7, 8 and 11, we are told about kings who will rise up
through intrigue, who will be extremely proud and boastful, and will be against the Jews and their
religion. They will do great harm to the OT saints, killing and persecuting, and trying to stop their
worship of the one true God.
2. One king is depicted as a “little horn” coming up on the head of a beast with 10 horns. So he is a
ruler who will overcome others around him and rise to power.
3. Much of what is prophesied in these chapters happened in the years between when Daniel was alive
and prophesying and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
4. We can very plainly see that this “little horn” was a man, a king named Antiochus IV, or Epiphanes,
who came to power from 175-164 B.C., and ruled over the Holy Land with great ruthlessness.
5. In 167 B.C., he became furious with the Jewish leaders, so he slaughtered many of them, and
desecrated their temple, sacrificing a pig on the altar of God and erecting a statue to Zeus. This was
referred to as “the abomination of desolation.”
6. Jews who weren’t firm in their faith and understanding of the true God were swayed by Antiochus
IV to abandon Judaism and compromise. But those who really knew their God were strong and
resisted him. In the end, he died, the Temple was cleansed and worship was restored (Hanukah
commemorates this occasion.) There’s no doubt that Antiochus was a prototype antichrist.
B. The apostle John is the only NT writer who actually uses the word antichrist.
1. In his epistles, John doesn’t talk about a coming world leader antichrist. Instead, he tells us there
have already been many antichrists, and the spirit of antichrist is already in the world. (1 Jn. 2:18)
2. This makes us understand antichrist as something which Christians must deal with in every
generation, because it is a spirit with many manifestations.
3. The prefix “anti” in Greek means more than one thing. It means “against” as we all know, but it also
means “instead of” or “in the place of.” This second meaning broadens the scope of antichrist.
4. I say this because the spirit of antichrist is anything that is either directly opposed to Christ, His
Word, His Kingdom, His plans, His ways, or it can also be anything which seeks to take the place of
Christ in the world. Understanding this gives us a different perspective on what antichrist really is.
5. It’s easy to see the antichrist spirit operating all around us! If money or your profession, or sports, or
entertainment or pleasure or sex, or drugs & alcohol take the central place of worship in your heart,
or if you worship any other god or accept any other religion than Christ, then the spirit of antichrist
has you under its power, because these things have taken the place of Christ in your life! Don’t be
afraid of him coming – he’s already here! I’ll tell you something about the mark of the beast too…
6. If your work or activities are contrary to God’s purposes for you and His glory, and if your mind is
occupied with or oriented toward things contrary to Christ, then in a very real sense it’s like you’ve
accepted the mark of the beast on your hand or forehead and you’ve been swept up into the
kingdom of Antichrist! Not to be sensational, but I believe this is true in a sense.
7. Over the ages, there have been many antichrists. Roman emperors who persecuted the Church
ruthlessly were antichrists. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, they were all antichrists, trying to take the
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place of Christ or oppose the will of Christ.
8. False religions or doctrines which took the place of Christ, these are all from antichrist. JWs deny
that Jesus is God in human flesh – that’s an antichrist teaching. Mormons believe we can all become
gods – that’s antichrist. Islam teaches God didn’t come in the flesh and die for our sins. It also
blocks the preaching of the gospel – thus it’s as vehemently antichrist as anything could be.
II. The Bible indicates there will yet be a fuller, future manifestation of a personal Antichrist.
A. Our text for today is one of the clearest in this regard. (2 Thess. 2:3, 4)
1. In the height of the rebellion and apostasy against God, a man of sin or lawlessness will rise up.
2. He is doomed to destruction, but before he’s destroyed, he will oppose the worship of God and exalt
himself or elevate himself to occupy the place of God, even setting up something to bring this about
in the Temple of God. Somehow he is being restrained from coming right now, but soon he’ll be
released to do Satan’s bidding.
3. We believe this man of lawlessness is the final manifestation antichrist. Why? Because he is against
and wants to take the place of Christ. Instead of the Son of God, He is the son of perdition!
(destruction, hell, lost-ness) He wants to rule and he wants to be worshipped instead of Christ.
B. The Book of Revelation sheds more light on this mysterious person and kingdom.
1. Chapter 13:1-7 speaks about him as a beast coming out of the sea, just like the beasts Daniel saw in
Dan. 7. And this one has many aspects that correlate with Daniel’s beasts and horns.
2. It has 7 heads and 10 horns. If you add up the total of Daniel’s beasts, they had 7 heads and 10
horns, representing kings and kingdoms. Daniel saw four distinct beasts, whereas John only saw one
beast with some of the same attributes of those Daniel saw (body of a leopard, feet of a bear, etc.)
3. Daniel saw one horn which spoke blasphemously and proudly. It would exercise authority over
God’s saints and make war against them for a time, times, and half a time (3 ½ years).
4. The beast John saw had a mouth to speak boastfully and proudly, blaspheming God, and exercising
authority for 42 months (3 ½ years), even making war against the saints, God’s people.
5. Rev. 17:7-17 shows there will be a close relationship between the Beast and false religion. The
Beast will also receive a mortal wound, perhaps even die, yet come back to life. This will really
astonish the populace and give him greater credibility and authority in their eyes.
6. This beast of Revelation will have 7 heads and 10 crowns. These heads are 7 hills, but also 7 kings.
Five have already fallen, one was when John received this vision, and one was yet to come.
7. If we think of hills or mountains as symbolizing world kingdoms, which they often do in the Bible,
then one interpretation which makes sense here is this: five major kingdoms had ruled the Middle
East since earliest days – Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and the Greek Kingdom which
came through Alexander the Great. Rome was ruling when John got the Revelation, so the Roman
Empire was the sixth. Then there was to come a 7th and an 8th who would actually be of the seventh.
8. There are many theories about this Beast. Some say he will be the leader of a revived Roman
Empire, some sort of European and Mediterranean coalition occupying the same lands as the
Romans used to. But a more recent theory really seems to make more sense to me…
9. What if the 7th kingdom was the Islamic one? After Rome ruled the Middle East, the next major
kingdom to come on the scene was the Islamic Caliphate. They ruled all the Middle East, all the
areas which the previous Medo-Persian and Greek empires had ruled and more, and they did so until
1924, when Kemal Ataturk and the European powers broke up the last of the Islamic Caliphates,
the Ottoman Empire.
10. What if the mortal blow spoken of in Revelation is really the breakup of the Caliphate, and what if
now, a new world-wide Islamic Ummah or nation rises up, sort of from the ashes as it were, or from
non-existence, to become alive and vibrant once again, as Osama Bin Laden and others propose?
11. Could that be the mortal wound which was healed? And what if, out of this former 7th kingdom, a
Muslim ruler rose up and reestablished the Caliphate. Then it could be said he was of the seventh
kingdom, but was really an eighth, just as Hitler was originally elected Chancellor of the Old
German Weimar Republic, but then created the Third Reich or third empire. Food for thought…
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III. There are many aspects of Islam which really fit the Biblical descriptions of the last days and the antichrist.
A. The world is experiencing a huge revival of Islam, a truly antichrist religion.
1. Many polls and studies indicate Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion. Part of this is due to
the fact that Islam permits a man to marry four wives and Muslims believe in having big families.
2. But Islam is also very violent and aggressive. It has always been said to have “bloody borders” since
it’s birth in Arabia in the 7th century. One of the tenets of Islamic faith is to aggressively proselytize
those of other religions and bring more into the Muslim fold.
3. In addition, non-Muslims are treated as second-class citizens in Muslim countries, forced to pay
more tax, and shut out of opportunities. Christians and others are persecuted in Muslim countries
and not allowed to evangelize openly. So once Islam takes over, the gospel is greatly stifled and
hindered. This allows Islam to grow, while other faiths are hindered from advancing.
4. This all fits the scenario of a great falling away and a great tribulation coming upon believers.
Scripture even speaks much of believers who were beheaded for their faith (Rev. 20:4.) What
religion today beheads people it doesn’t agree with more than any other? Islam!
B. Islam is definitely an antichrist religion. (Please understand, I am not saying Muslims are evil per se.)
1. They claim to believe in Isa, Jesus, but the Jesus they believe in is not the same as the Biblical Jesus.
Isa is a prophet. He is not God in human flesh. In Islam, the Trinity is denied, the Incarnation is
denied, the cross is denied. Salvation by grace through faith is denied. Islam is a religion of works.
2. These are the most essential Christian doctrines. They are the Christian faith. If a religion opposes
and contradicts these essential teachings, that religion is Antichristian.
C. Beyond this, Islam is not just a religion. It is an ideology which seeks to control all aspects of life.
1. Muslims don’t believe in separation of Church and State or Mosque and State by any means!
2. Religion must dominate all spheres of activity and society – marriage and family, politics,
economics, business, the arts, how people dress, relationships, etc., etc.
3. So an Islamic world ruler, a Caliph, would be both a religious and political ruler, a king and a
kingdom, something which fits the concept of Antichrist very well. He will only use religion to
unify the world under his control!
4. Did you know Muslims all over the world are expecting a charismatic, wise, and powerful ruler to
rise up to lead them and the Islamic Caliphate? This coming Messiah figure is known as the 12th
Imam, or the Mahdi. This man will take over the leadership of the worldwide Islamic Ummah or
nation, restore the Caliphate or central leadership of Islam, and lead Muslims to take over the world.
5. Mahdi will be unparalleled as a leader in the spiritual, political and military spheres. So will
Antichrist!
6. Did you know that Islamic prophecies predict that the Mahdi will lead Muslim armies from Iran to
conquer Israel, and their ruler will set up his throne on the Temple Mount? Jerusalem is to be the
center of authority of the newly instituted Islamic Caliphate! The Bible predicts this same coalition
of enemies coming against Israel from Iran but led by the Antichrist! (Ez. 38, 39; Rev. 19:19-21;
20:7-10) but Jesus will then come in the skies to deliver Israel, destroy all their enemies, and cast
the Antichrist and False Prophet alive into the Lake of Fire.
7. Muslims believe the Mahdi will welcome the Muslim Jesus back from heaven, and Jesus will then
serve him. The Bible says the Antichrist will have a false prophet working to promote him.
8. Rev. 6:1, 2 speaks of a white horse going forth to conquer the world. Many Christians believe that is
a reference to the Antichrist of the Last Days. Interestingly, that is one scripture which Muslims also
read and claim for themselves. Do you know who they think the rider on the white horse will be?
You guessed it – the Mahdi!
9. Did you know the Bible says this ruler will “change the times and the laws”? (Dan. 7:25), and did
you realize that an Islamic Caliph, the Mahdi, would want to change all calendars to the Islamic
Calendar, and all systems of law would be changed over to Sharia Law?
10. The testimony of Walid Shoebat, a former Palestinian Muslim, is that as he read the Bible, he
began to see that the Christian’s Antichrist was the Muslim Mahdi, their savior. Joel Richardson,
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author of “The Islamic Antichrist,” says he wasn’t looking for this – it just hit him in the face as he
studied Islam!
IV. As I conclude, let me summarize our main points today and see what we know for sure.
A. Daniel spoke of a “little horn” who would be proud and blaspheme, make war against God’s people,
desecrate the holy places and hinder worship of God.
B. Paul spoke of a “man of lawlessness” who would come forth in the last days exalting himself and
demanding that people worship him.
C. John spoke of the spirit of antichrist, many antichrists being in the world, and then, he wrote about a
coming Beast from out of the sea who would be empowered by Satan, would rule the world, make war
on the saints, blaspheme God and promote the greatest rebellion against God in all of history.
D. We have already seen many who fit this description, Antiochus IV, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol-Pot, and we
already see this antichrist spirit at work all around us, trying to rule the world and actually ruling it now
to a large extent in those who don’t know Christ or refuse to yield to Christ.
E. But there is coming a final, full manifestation of this evil in one person possessed of Satan.
1. This seemingly will be both a person and a kingdom. It may dominate the entire world, or just a
large portion of the Middle East. It will be aggressive and involved in many wars.
2. Israel and Christians will be special targets for this person and empire. Believers will be persecuted
and many will be beheaded if they don’t yield to his/its demands.
3. The leader of this coalition will be a charismatic, very skillful and effective spiritual, political and
military leader who will amaze all around him with his achievements.
4. Something hinders this wicked one from coming forth right now. But soon he will be manifested
and come to power. When he does this, he will apparently only have authority for 3 ½ years.
5. Over the centuries, there have been many who seemed to be the final Antichrist, and believers have
often been led to believe this one or that was the Antichrist. Sometimes the Church has appeared
foolish and gullible as it fell for various theories of Antichrist. So we need to be cautious.
6. In these Last Days however, many indications would lead us to believe the Antichrist may end up
being an Islamic Caliph, the long awaited 12th Imam known as the Mahdi. Iran’s president
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prayed for Mahdi to come in the introduction of his speech to the UN.
7. So many prophecies of the Bible and Muslim traditions of the Mahdi seem to correlate perfectly, it
just seems too much to ignore. But whether the Antichrist is really the Mahdi or not, Antichrist is
surely coming!
How do we respond to this?
1. Don’t fear the Antichrist. Fear and honor and focus upon the Christ of God! He will sustain you. He will one
day do away with Antichrist forever!
2. Don’t be swayed by anything which seeks to oppose the truth of Christ or seeks to take the place of Christ in
your life or in this world. False religions, teachings, Messiahs, anything or anyone who tries to take the place
of Christ in your life is Antichrist, is evil, and will destroy your life if you yield to it.
3. Be alert and watchful, and remember that Jesus has warned us of all these things so we will not be deceived
or carried away by them, nor discouraged or frightened by them.
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