Last Sunday at CrossHope Chapel we spent a little more time on 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 and the subject of “the man of lawlessness” and who this man could be. I shared a thought I had, but I couldn’t recall if it was from the book of Daniel or a commentator, but the thought I shared was that there is a probable link between the future Ant-Christ and the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Here is what I was trying to recall… in Daniel 9:26 there is a reference regarding the coming Anti-Christ in this way: “and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.”

John Walvoord in his lengthy commentary “Every Prophecy of the Bible” states “The identity of the beast is that it represents the revived Roman Empire and its ruler in the end times…the future world ruler, will come out of the Mediterranean situation…” 

It is also important to note that this person as described in the prophecy of Daniel, as “the Little Horn,” comes up out of the fourth kingdom commonly recognized as Rome, although John Walvoord calls the the papacy theory for the Anti-Christ identity as “faulty.”

So who could this Anti-Christ person be? I don’t know, but here is what is known…

• 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 tells us that one day the identity of the Anti-Christ will be known to those left behind.
• Revelation 13:5-8 describes the great severity of this time of rebellion as the whole world follows this Anti-Christ while choosing to reject Christ.
• 1 John 2:18 reminds us that anti-Christs have been in place through out history ready and willing to be used by Satan.
• 1 John 2:22 tells us that the anti-Christ is a liar who denies Jesus as the Christ, the Savior and Son of God.
• 1 John 4:3 tells us the “spirit of antichrist” has been around and prepping the world for the coming Anti-Christ person.
• 2 John 1:7 tells us that the anti-Christ denies that our Lord Jesus will actually return.
• Revelation 1:1 reminds us that Bible prophecy is given to reveal the Christ not the Anti-Christ. The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation are to show us how widespread Satan’s deceptiveness will become and how great is the faithfulness of soon return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Deuteronomy 29:29 reminds us that it is OK not to know the details of things that God may not want us to know the details of.

Yes, I think some theories about the Anti-Christ make more sense than others, I think Satan is throwing all kinds of global situations against the wall and seeing what sticks to help propel the nations into a global governance, I think some type of united nations/Europe confederacy, Islam, and Catholicism will float to the top of the players in the coming global end times events, but like I said Sunday, just wait a week and the news of the day will make a totally unexpected scenario seem more plausible.

Like this week’s news on the Paris Climate Accord, which is likely to be a topic of ministers who have some type of active Bible Prophecy ministry. A week ago I would never of considered a scenario without the United States leadership in promoting a one-world government situation, but now this climate accord could become a catalyst leading to the Anti-Christ’s position of power for world peace. Which, if you think of it, does lend itself to the considered absence of the United States in these last days events.

So whose the Anti-Christ? I don’t know, but let’s keep our eyes on identifying Christ, not the Anti-Christ.