The Antichrist
Dr. Stephen Phinney
A nanosecond after the Rapture, the Antichrist will come out of the closet and begin to rule the earth through his deceptive ideologies.
First, let’s review what the world will look like seconds after the Holy Spirit, through the Bride of Christ, is removed from the earth.
Global chaos will be an understatement.
Think about it. All indwelt believers who will be flying planes, driving cars, managing satellites, or managing any other dangerous time-sensitive technological or mechanical jobs, are gone. Disasters will arrive at every turn. Millions of people who were not a part of the Rapture will die instantly because of the chaotic ramifications of the departed believers.
The magnitude of chaos will be of such horrid levels of confusion and mass destruction the world will beg for a savior/leader to step forward. Guess who will be standing behind the undrawn curtain? You got it – the Antichrist.
As the global power players draw the curtain, a kind, peaceful, and solution-based leader will emerge from darkness into the world stage of fake peace.
While many have an image of the Antichrist as a man dressed in a red suit with a wagging red tail dangling out from the back side of his pants, this will NOT be his image. Since the spirit of Satan will possess a human, my guess is the human will be attractive, well-kept, and projecting an image of success and immovable leadership.
Remember, since humans cannot understand Truth without the Holy Spirit revealing such, once the Holy Spirit is removed from the earth, no one will be able to embrace or discern Truth, let alone figure out what happened regarding the Rapture. As my theologian friend says, people will be dumb as rocks. While I wouldn’t go that far, I DO believe the masses will be without spiritual discernment.
The Scriptures reveal over one hundred passages that detail the characteristics of the Antichrist. However, the title Antichrist is used in only four verses – 1 John 2:18, again in verse 22; chapter 4: 3 & 2 John v.7.
The title “Antichrist” references a person who is “anti,” hostile to or resistor, of the real Jesus Christ. There have been many through the ages. In many respects, all those left behind will be mini-antichrists.
The final Antichrist will be possessed by the spirit of Satan, not demons. This particular Antichrist will be superhuman. He will be likened to Hitler on steroids and then some. His mission will be to kill and torture all who do not bow and worship him and his False Prophet. Honestly, he will make all the past figures of the Antichrist pale in power and appearance – making each look weak in comparison. This dude will be supercharged with the greatest powers of darkness the world has NOT seen.
In Scripture, we find seven primary titles:
1. Fierce king (Dan. 8:23)
2. The Prince who is to come (Dan. 9:26)
3. A Contemptible person (Dan. 11:21)
4. A Worthless Shepherd (Zech. 11:16-17)
5. The Destructive one (2 Thess. 2:3)
6. The Lawless one (2 Thess. 2:8)
7. The Beast (Rev. 13:1)
While the Bible reveals many titles, twenty-five in total, his identity is never revealed – it is sealed in God’s prophetic book of secrets. God has not revealed his identity, nor will He, for one simple reason. As in the case of the sealing of the time of the Rapture, the identity of the final Antichrist must be kept sealed to block curious humans from manipulating the event. The mystery behind the “who” will remain between God and Jesus Christ. Oddly, Satan himself doesn’t even know the “who” God will allow Satan to possess. When God releases the “who,” Satan will be released to possess that human body for his seven-year rule of the earth – not one moment before. In this method of control, God has managed Satan’s ability to gain or lose control throughout all the ages of humanity. This event will be no different.
What we can count on, even though this information is useless to the indwelt believer, is after the Rapture, the possessed human, titled the Antichrist, will be revealed.