(OPINION) The culmination of history is approaching. The end of the world may be at hand. Yet Jesus tells us we should not be alarmed. Why? Because we are engraved in the palms of His hands. Because we are carried in His arms. Because we are the apple of His eye.
The time is coming when the world will fall under the spell of the ultimate power-drunk ruler. The Bible calls this ruler the Antichrist. The world will fear him; the West will welcome him. America is currently preparing his way. However, followers of Jesus must remember the Lord’s words: “See to it that you are not alarmed.” We must live faithfully and boldly, knowing that the rise of the Antichrist is coming.
In the book of Revelation, John writes of his vision of the End Times. In Revelation 13, John gives us a detailed description of the Antichrist. In the first 18 verses, John describes two beasts, one arising from the sea, the other from the land. The first beast represents the Antichrist, the final world ruler, who will be destroyed at the second coming of Christ. The second beast is probably a satanically inspired religious leader who supports the political reign of the first beast.
Clearly, both “beasts” are possessed by the “spirit of antichrist,” a spirit that denies that Jesus is the Messiah and Savior of the world. But there will come a point in history when the Antichrist with a capital A will be revealed. He will arise just prior to the return of Christ. He will literally take control of the entire planet, of all the nations on earth. He will arise at a time of great confusion and chaos in the world. He will arise during conditions of global fear and unrest. He will arise when the world is in political and financial upheaval.
Just as the entire world is desperate for order and security, one man will step forth with a message of hope and peace. Daniel 7:8 describes this leader as possessing “a mouth that spoke boastfully.” I believe this describes a person who is a powerfully charismatic orator, who exudes a winsome charm, and who seems superhumanly brilliant. He will be everything people want a world leader to be. His speeches will strike a chord within the human heart. People will be drawn to him and he will unite the world under his rule.
For a time, he will deliver exactly what he has promised: Peace. Prosperity. Security. Hope. But once he has the world in his grip, he will remove the mask of the Messiah-like peacemaker — and reveal himself as a ruthless dictator. Above all, he will deny that Jesus is the only One worthy to be worshiped. Instead, he will demand that the world worships him.
Our world is already being prepared for the Antichrist. There are countless forces today that would normally oppose each other — yet they have joined forces in their opposition to Jesus Christ. They are united in their denial that Jesus is the only way of salvation. Yet these opposing groups have one belief in common. They are all united in their total rejection of Jesus’s claim to be the divine Son of God and the only way to God the Father.
Even the Christian world is not even united about Jesus’s claim to be the only way of salvation. A 2018 survey conducted by Ligonier Ministries and LifeWay Research found that many Americans who claim to hold “evangelical beliefs” have shockingly unbiblical notions about Jesus and salvation. READ MORE
