Many people today say that the Bible is just a bunch of fables and all this talk about a coming Antichrist is nonsense for the simple fact that we are far too enlightened today to believe in such nonsense. Let us remember, however, that Hitler’s Germany was among the most educated, advanced and enlightened country in the world when Hitler rose to power. A reminder, too, that every prophecy in God’s Word, the Bible, about Christ’s first coming, written hundreds of years prior to his coming, was fulfilled in detail. We can be just as certain that every prophecy in God’s Word regarding Christ’s second coming and the coming of the Antichrist will also be fulfilled in detail.

For instance, the Bible stated that Israel would be a nation again at the time of Christ’s return. Israel as a nation was reborn in 1948, two-thousand years after being decimated by the Romans in AD70. As already noted, the Bible states that the Jewish temple will have to be rebuilt at the end times because the Antichrist will enter and desecrate it by setting himself up in the temple and claim to be God midway through his seven-year reign (see 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).

But many will say how can the third temple be built on the Temple Mount because the Muslim Dome of the Rock is in the way? Not so. According to archeological findings the Dome of the Rock is built in the Gentile (non-Jewish) area of the temple grounds⁶ and not over the ancient Jewish temple that was built by King Herod. The new Jewish temple will be built over this temple—the one that was destroyed by the Romans in AD70. If you go to the temple area today, you can see many of the huge temple stones that the Romans threw over the temple walls when they destroyed the temple. For the first time in almost two-thousand years a new Jewish temple is right now in the planning stages of being built.

So where are we today? Are we, the US and its allies moving towards globalization which would incorporate a one-world people, a one-world economy, and a one-world government? And if so, is this helping to set the stage for the coming Antichrist who will rule over a globalized world?

More and more it is looking like it. For example, speaking overseas early in his presidency, President Obama addressed a crowd of some 200,000⁷ people in Berlin as “Citizens of the world.” More recently in an online article titled, “Tony Blair, Evangelicals, and The Coming One World Religion,” Paul McGuire writes, “Former UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair has created the Tony Blair Faith Foundation to unify the world’s religions. Blair is especially interested in promoting the benefits of globalization to Christian churches. There are a number of prominent American ministers who have endorsed his Tony Blair Faith Foundation with its emphasis on globalization or global government. In Revelation we read about this coming one world religion and the False Prophet who unites the world’s religions in order to bring peace to Planet Earth under the rule of Antichrist.”

McGuire concludes his article by saying, “We are on the precipice of a new world financial order, a cashless society and global government. Once again, the forces behind globalization understand that they need to recruit the churches in order to make the transition. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation, the prominent evangelical ministers and religious leaders of other religions are part of globalization strategy. If you want to know where this all ultimately ends up? Read Revelation 13.”⁸

Peace and Safety. The more we hear about globalization, a one-world economy, a one-world religion, a one-world political system, plus the promise of peace, the closer we are to the appearance of the Antichrist and the second coming to earth of Jesus Christ.

For many years now the UN and other countries, including the U.S., have been doing their utmost to broker peace in the Middle East—so far all to no avail. But they continue to talk about it and try to find ways to establish peace in this major conflict area of today’s world. We also have a very dominant religious group in that part of the world that claims to be a religion of peace. However, according to biblical prophecy, it will be the Antichrist who will broker a peace treaty with Israel for at least three-and-a-half years until he breaks it.

As today’s Scripture reminds us: “About times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. . . . So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.”⁵

Right now the setting of the stage for the coming of both Jesus Christ and the Antichrist is certainly appearing to be accelerating. The clock is ticking. Every day brings us closer to the midnight hour.

What can we do about it?

First, be aware: Jesus said, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”⁹

Second, be on the right side: Make absolute certain you are on the side of the real Christ and not on the side of the counterfeit Christ—the Antichrist—or you will be totally controlled by him.

Third, be prepared: As Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” “Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’”¹⁰ By this Jesus meant if you are to see and enter God’s kingdom, you need to be re-born spiritually. We do this by believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he died on the cross to pay the penalty for all our sins, that we confess our sinfulness to God, and that we receive God’s forgiveness and his gift of eternal life by receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and making a genuine commitment of our life to him. To help you do this, be sure to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

Suggested prayer: Dear God, thank you again for your Word informing us of the events to come at the end of this world age. Please help me to know and understand your Word, be aware of what is happening, and be prepared for your coming by accepting your Son, Jesus Christ, as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for this blessed hope and assurance of your salvation and for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

5. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3; 6 (NIV).

6. Grant R. Jeffrey, The New Temple and the Second Coming, p.28. WarterBrook Press, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921.

7. Real Clear Politics, http://tinyurl.com/6652aq.

8. Paul McGuire, “Tony Blair, Evangelicals, and The Coming One World Religion,” http://tinyurl.com/2bqa76c.

9. Luke 21:28 (NIV).

10. John 3:3 (NIV).

When the Antichrist appears, much of the world (if not all of it) will be facing economic and political chaos; it will be threatened by ongoing wars, continuing terrorist attacks, and possible nuclear destruction—it will be a world desperate for peace—especially peace regarding the endless war-torn Middle East area of the World. As it was in Hitler’s Germany, this will set the stage for the ready acceptance of a dynamic and charismatic leader who will make grandiose promises of peace and prosperity for all. The masses of people, desperate for help, will buy into his propaganda, and be blinded by his deception because he will turn out to be the dictator from hell. Those who oppose him will take the risk of being killed—thousands will be.

What will the Antichrist do? “According to the Bible, in the last days the Antichrist will control everything people see, hear and read. It says in Revelation 13:7 that ‘Power was given him over all kindred, tongues, and nations.’ This future fuehrer will have the task of propagandizing the world through a [totally] controlled media. This antichrist will be a passionate leader with an appealing message and the power of oratory that will be out of this world because his power comes from another world [from Satan]. He will be a master of doublespeak. But he must [will do everything to] silence his opponents.”⁴

Once the Antichrist comes to power, this will mark the beginning of his seven-year reign with world-wide control. For people to buy and sell, they will have to have on either their right hand or forehead the “mark of the beast” (see Revelation 13:16-17). This could very well be some kind of computer chip or electronic identification mark.

Recently Joy, my wife, bought a new cell phone with GPS (Global Positioning System), and when she typed in our name and address, the names and addresses of all the people who live on our street automatically appeared. When every person on earth has some kind of electronic chip or ID, a government who controls a GPS satellite system will know exactly where every person on earth is, and as such will be able to control them. Warning: the technology to make this possible is undoubtedly already in place.

At the beginning of his seven-year reign the Antichrist will make a peace pact with Israel, making it appear that peace has finally come to the war-torn Middle East—a peace pact that no other leader from any other country has ever been able to achieve, although several have tried (see Daniel 9:27).

However, in the middle of this seven-year tribulation period, the Antichrist will break his peace pact with Israel, enter and desecrate the re-built Jewish temple in Jerusalem by setting himself up as God (see Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11; Matthew 24:15; and 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4). For the next three and a half years all hell will break loose on earth when God pours out his judgments on earth during the Great Tribulation (see Revelations chapters 8 and 9). What will end the Great Tribulation will be the battle of Armageddon (see Revelation 16:16). This will be when the nations of the world unite to come against Israel in an attempt to “wipe her off the map.” At this time Jesus Christ will return with his true followers to step onto the stage of mankind’s history and will totally destroy the Antichrist, his armies, and his followers and all who seek to destroy Israel and Jerusalem. Armageddon will be the war to end all wars.

By way of interest, recently Joy and I had the opportunity to be on a tour of Israel where we visited the city of Megiddo which overlooks the enormous valley of Megiddo (some 20 miles long and 14 miles wide) where the battle of Armageddon will be centered. It is a real place. The name, Armageddon, comes from the Hebrew, Har Megiddo.

After Armageddon Jesus will, with the aid of all his true disciples, rule and reign on earth for a thousand years (see Revelation 20:6). During this time Satan will be bound and, at the end of this millennium, will be released for a short while and then cast into hell for all eternity (see Revelation 20:1-3). Furthermore, all those whose names are not written in God’s book of life, that is, those who never accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and received God’s free pardon for all their sins, will stand before God at the Great White Judgment throne of God and be judged for all the sins they ever committed and, with Satan, will also be cast into hell for all eternity (see Revelation 20:11-15). After this God will create a new heaven and a new earth, and all of God’s children will live together forever with God and Jesus Christ, and there will be no more sorrow, no more death, no more crying, and no more pain (see Revelation 21:1-4).

It is no secret that the nations surrounding Israel today are already determined to wipe Israel off the map once and for all. The day is coming when they will join forces to attempt to do this. That day may be a lot closer than many think.

For instance, when Joy and I were in Israel a few months ago, we visited the Temple Institute in Jerusalem and learned firsthand that the Jewish people are currently preparing to build the third temple and re-institute temple worship. Priests are now being trained for this temple ministry, and the instruments needed for temple worship are being made at this time. Plans for building the third temple are under way right now. This temple will need to be erected either before or during the beginning reign of the Antichrist for the simple fact that three-and-a-half years into his reign, he will enter the temple, and desecrate it by setting himself up as God (see Matthew 24:15, and 2 Thessalonians 2:4).

With all that is happening in today’s world the setting of the stage for both the coming of the Antichrist and the real Christ is accelerating. That time could be very near. The Antichrist will promise peace but as Jesus said, “When men say peace, then sudden destruction” (see 1 Thessalonians 5:3).

The most important issue is this: If Jesus Christ should come today for all his true followers, are you ready? Or would you be left behind and have to go through the Great Tribulation under the reign of terror by the Antichrist? Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and received God’s forgiveness for all your sins? To help you to be ready be sure to read, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” online at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

Be sure and accept Jesus today. As every prediction in God’s Word, the Bible, concerning Christ’s first coming, written hundreds of years prior to his birth in Bethlehem two thousand years ago, was fulfilled in minutest detail, so also will his second coming be fulfilled as spelled out in God’s Word. Furthermore, so will the predictions concerning the coming of the Antichrist also be fulfilled in detail.

To be concluded . . . .

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have clearly warned me in your Word that the Antichrist, being empowered by Satan, is coming, and when he does, will unleash his fury, and tyranny of evil and destruction on mankind. Please help me to be ready for your return and be delivered from the evil power of the Antichrist. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

3. Revelation 13:16-17 (NIV).

4. Jan Markell, Olive Tree Ministries, www.olivetreeviews.org.

Who is this Antichrist that is coming? As his name implies, the Antichrist is the anti or against-the-real-Christ (the Son of God) and will be totally opposed to him and everything to do with Christianity. He is a person whom the Bible says will come to power at the end of this world age as we currently know it—at or about the same time as the literal return of the real Christ to earth via Israel. The Antichrist will be the leader of the revived Roman Empire—an amalgamation or merger of ten nations symbolized in Daniel 2 by the image with ten toes and by the terrible beast with ten horns in Daniel 7. This merger or coalition of nations will cover much of the same geographical area as did the ancient Roman Empire. The EU (Europe Union) today is looking very much like it could be shaping up to become the revived Roman Empire as depicted in the Word of God.

The Antichrist will be an emissary of Satan himself and empowered by him; and, as a puppet of Satan, no human will be able to stand against him. As he takes control of the world, he will make what Hitler did look like a Sunday school picnic.

What will the Antichrist look like? Without doubt the Antichrist will be an extremely charismatic, persuasive, cunning and deceptive individual, a silver-tongued orator, and will be a combination of a religious, political and economic leader/dictator. The religion he will promote will be a counterfeit religion—one that denies that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Savior of the world. He will also be the leader of a counterfeit political system, and a counterfeit world-wide economic system—all of which will ultimately fail. Furthermore, his religion will have within it an element of truth that will make it believable to the masses. It’s the element of truth in any religion, organization or political party that makes it one of the most deceptive forms of lying there is. In fact, every false cult and false religion has an element of truth in their belief system; otherwise it would never be accepted.

This is how Satan deceived the first man and woman in the Garden of Eden. In seeking to entrap the first man, Satan said to him, “God knows that when you eat of it [the forbidden fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”² This was a true statement in part and sounded very impressive to Adam. But what Satan did not say was, “not only will you be like God knowing the difference between good and evil, but you will be forever confirmed in a state of evil.” We can be certain that the Antichrist will again deceive the masses by his part-truths.

When will the Antichrist appear? The Antichrist will come on to the world scene at a time when the world is looking much like Germany in pre-Hitler days, but on a far vaster scale. Prior to World War II Germany was in chaos facing a major economic crisis, thus setting the stage for the acceptance of a charismatic leader who would promise “the world” to the German people. Enter Hitler who, promising the German people the good life, was readily accepted and embraced by the German people. Tragically, Hitler used his power and control in a sadistic attempt to conquer and gain the world—killing all who tried to block his deadly ambition—including the murder of six million Jews.

So when we see the world’s economy crumbling and the push towards a one-world economy, and a one-world political system, beware of political and religious leaders who speak in part truths that just may be helping to prepare the way for the coming world dictator, the Antichrist.

To be continued . . . .

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please open the eyes of my understanding so that I can see and understand the signs of the times as pointed out in your Word, the Bible. Help me to be certain that I am ready for your return and not be deceived by any false prophets—either religious or political—and always stand firm in my belief in you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 (NIV).

2. Genesis 3:5 (NIV).