The Antichrist: Personified Evil Series

The movie world seems to be obsessed with the end of the world. There has been a steady stream of films coming out of Hollywood around the theme of end time events and takeoffs on the book of Revelation. Films like “End of Days,” “Armageddon,” “Deep Impact,” and “Independence Day” are just some examples. One series of films that came out a few years ago was the “Omen” trilogy. The films specifically centered around the antichrist of the book of Revelation. The first film deals with the birth and childhood of the antichrist. His parents suspect there is something different about their creepy little son, but they find out the awful truth when they discover 666 tattooed on his forehead. The second film, “Damien: Omen II,” showed him as a teenager and what happened when his identity was revealed to him by satanic agents. I haven’t seen the movies, but the reviews sound like they would send you to bed with a nightmare waiting to happen.

It is interesting that there is so much interest out there concerning the end of the world and the themes of the book of Revelation. In fact, you can almost hear more about the end times in a theater than you can in the average church. Perhaps that is because we have attempted to avoid sensationalism and hype. The problem is that there is so much misinformation in the media and a deliberate missing of the point. We need to hear and know the truth of what the Bible teaches about the events of the last days. Although much of what the Bible reveals is wrapped in strange symbolism, we still can understand the realities of what will take place. And though the Bible does not give us specific dates and detailed events, it does reveal general events and the kind of time during which these events will take place.

One of the striking revelations about the end times is a person whom the Bible calls “the man of lawlessness.” Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonians, speaks of the antichrist when he says, “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4). The apostle John writes in his letter, “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18).

Who is the antichrist, and what is his purpose? What role will he fill? There are several things that we could point out, but generally his main purpose is to acquire power and turn people away from God, directing worship toward himself. The way he will try to accomplish this will be by doing three main things. The first is: He will create a one world government. He is the anti-Christ. He is against Christ and everyone who belongs to him. He will be Satan’s tool for corrupting the world and turning people away from God. He will be given power by Satan to accomplish his will. The Bible says, “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9). He is the false messiah who desires to replace and mock the rule of the true Messiah, Jesus Christ. In fact, we have here in Revelation 13 an evil trinity: Satan, symbolized by the dragon who is standing on the shore of the sea; the antichrist, symbolized by the beast that comes out of the sea; and the false prophet, the head of the one world religion — the beast who arises out of the earth and causes people to worship the antichrist. Satan, the antichrist and false prophet: these three unite in a desperate attempt to establish their own government and overthrow the kingdom of God — but their efforts will ultimately fail.

The reason given for the need of a one world government will be that problems like global terrorism and international conflict cannot be controlled by the United States alone, or any other nation. We cannot continue to be international police. The growing problems of our global community will require a united government to handle these problems. The United Nations and its forces have been largely ineffective because of their limited jurisdiction, and the problems the world faces will call for increased authority and military power. The person who heads this organization will ultimately grow in power through personal charm and an increasing use of force. He will disguise his true motives in the beginning and greatly appeal to the masses.