Aliens and the Antichrist: Unveiling the End Times Deception (31 page)

Some say the Jews can fight, and certainly there is evidence to support this fact, but I strongly believe God was (and still is) on their side because they whipped the pants off everyone, and they’ve been fighting ever since. Every time they’re invaded, they fight back with such ferocity that they usually gain more territory, but then later give it back after a great deal of disputing. The Middle East is a hotbed of activity surrounding Israel. As I was saying before, this small country becoming a nation again has prophecy written all over it. The global war on terror being waged right now stems primarily from contention over the Jews occupying their original homeland of Israel.

With the establishment of Israel as a nation again, it’s now more likely that the Jewish temple will be restored and the temple sacrifices reestablished, both of which are very specific signs that throughout history were extremely unlikely—yet they are now much closer to being a reality. Anyone reading up on this will see that there is activity brewing.
¹⁴

As for the Ark of the Covenant, there are a number of leads as to its location (see
http://www.wyattmuseum.com
and
http://www.christiananswers.net
).
¹⁵
Also, the birth pangs of the Earth increase with each passing year, just as best- selling author Hal Lindsey illustrates in depth in his many Bible prophecy books. The weather is going insane on a global scale, with one devastating natural disaster after another. The December 2004 tsunami that resulted from the Sumatra- Andaman earthquake, took over 280,000 lives, making it one of the deadliest disasters in modern history.
¹⁶
This earthquake was so powerful, it literally liquefied the ocean floor where it struck, forming a completely different terrain. Another huge earthquake struck in Pakistan just ten months later, in October 2005, which resulted in 80,000+ deaths.
¹⁷
The entire hurricane season for year 2005 shattered all previous hurricane season records, including the most powerful, the most costly, and the greatest number of hurricanes ever to strike in a single year.
¹⁸
Might these extreme weather patterns be telling us something?

These recent events make even the secular community wonder if the end of the world is near. For every sign that points to the second coming of Christ, there are a number of reports on events currently taking place that reveal a progression of the fulfillment of said prophecies.

We are very close. If I don’t die prematurely, I doubt I will die at all.

5    

The Rise of the Antichrist

Shortly following the rapture of the church, while people are still confused, frightened, and otherwise freaked out (though many will come to the realization of what just happened), Earth will be ripe for a massive satanic invasion, because the church, which has been holding back the emergence ofthe Antichrist, will be removed (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8). What will happen next?

Satan has diligently been trying to take over the governments of the world ever since Adam. The pharaoh of Egypt (Exodus), the king of Assyria—Antiochus Epiphanies (Isaiah 10:5), the king of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:11-19), the king of the Grecian Empire—Alexander the Great (Daniel 8:5-26), and Roman rulers such as Herod, his son with the same name, and Nero (Matthew 2; Luke 1:5, 23:615; Acts 25:11; 1 Timothy 2:2), were all heavily influenced by the power of Satan. Other national leaders from more recent times, such as Adolph Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and the like are all prime examples of Satan attempting to take over the world. All of these rulers were satanically empowered; most of them were bent on the destruction of the Jews in particular. Most of them had aspirations for world domination, and in most cases, they demanded worship as deities. They were all
types
of antichrists, but they weren’t
the
Antichrist.

After the rapture of the church, Satan will finally be able to make his big move, empowering a new national leader with more cunning than ever before. Even non-Christians sometimes wonder with trepidation about this figure—the future Antichrist. I suppose it’s easy for some people to mistake Jesus’s mercy for nonthreatening pacifism, despite the fact that the danger he poses to dissidents is far greater than anything the Antichrist will ever dish out. Regardless of this fact, however, the term “Antichrist” strikes fear into the hearts of many. This man will be Satan’s masterpiece; but before the Antichrist rises to prominence, a few things must transpire. Aside from the rapture of the church, which I’ve already covered, a number of major governmental changes must also take place. Some of these events might even occur before the rapture of the church. These changes will be centralized in the region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, in the area known as the ancient Roman Empire.

1. Big Changes Around the Mediterranean Sea

The book of Daniel was written about 530 BC, yet predicted the fall of the Babylonian Empire, as well as the rise and fall of the Medo-Persian Empire, the Grecian Empire, and the Roman Empire, all of which were located around the Mediterranean Sea. Proponents of prophecy have tried to explain this accuracy by suggesting the book was written later in the second century, but this still doesn’t preclude all the prophecies it predicts. The rise of the Roman Empire is clearly depicted, and the coming of the “Anointed One, the ruler,” 483 years after the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25) works out to the time of Jesus’s ministry. Both of these prophecies occurred after the second century, so a second-century date still doesn’t preclude the prophetic elements of the book of Daniel.
¹

Daniel 9:25
(bold emphasis added)

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Until recently, I haven’t seriously undertaken the task of attempting to understand the visions of Daniel or John. They’re so symbolic, I figured they could mean practically anything. I soon discovered this was a flawed conception on my part, because after only a few days of conducting research into these prophecies, I realized that most scholars agree on about 90 percent of the interpretations. For example, both the visions of Daniel and John speak of strange animals with horns. Most everyone agrees that these creatures represent nations and the rulers associated with them. The fact that the scriptures themselves state this verbatim (Daniel 7:17, 7:23-24, 8:20-23; Revelation 13:1-18, which is clarified by Revelation 17:8-17), and the fact that the historical record is in exact agreement with these prophecies that have already been fulfilled makes this assessment obvious. The majority of the visions of Daniel, for example, have already been fulfilled, so who can argue against the interpretation? Simply follow the pattern, which is about 75 percent complete, and one can clearly see the events that will transpire in the future.

Daniel 7:17

These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.

Daniel 7:23-24

Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

Daniel 8:20-23

The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king ofGrecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out ofthe nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

Revelation 17:9-17

And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and will go into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he said unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

Concerning the interpretational aberrations deriving from these prophecies, some people refuse to acknowledge that Daniel is speaking about a specific geographical region controlled under governmental authorities. For example, some people try to tie the United States into the picture by saying that the leopard in one of Daniel’s visions represents Germany rather than the ancient Grecian Empire.
²
The national symbol of Germany is a leopard (though it also uses an eagle), and Germany was divided by four countries following WWII (United States, England, France, and Russia)—but Germany wasn’t actually split up four ways, as the Grecian Empire was.

The United Nations is frequently read into scripture as well, but the United Nations includes nations that are nowhere near the area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Numerous different interpretations of Daniel’s prophecies have been proposed, but as far as I can tell from the research I’ve conducted, they conclude with facts that are not consistent with scripture. For example, saying the Antichrist can come from America doesn’t fit with numerous key scriptures (which I will soon divulge). Furthermore, proponents of the United Nations theories frequently falsely conclude that the Antichrist will be a global dictator, but scripture is very clear about the fact that the Antichrist will never be a worldwide dictator; he will be at war for the majority of his seven-year reign. How can he be at war with his own kingdom? Also, many people will never receive the mark of the beast, yet they will survive to see the millennium. The Antichrist, therefore, will not have the entire world completely under his control. It won’t be until the very end of his seven-year reign that the entire world will align under his military command to converge on Israel, but being a military commander isn’t the same as being a dictator over the entire planet. I suspect the Antichrist will be a military leader in something that resembles the United Nations, but this is very different from being an actual global dictator.

One of the primary reasons people are analyzing Daniel’s prophecies and seeing these alternate interpretations is because they want to identify the nation out of which the Antichrist will arise. This can only be done by harmonizing all of the scriptures that speak about him, as I will clearly demonstrate in successive sections. The Antichrist can only come from one specific place, and the Bible points out exactly where that place is; there is no need for a guessing game.

Daniel’s visions actually aren’t that hard to understand; all it takes is a little common sense to see that they talk about ten kingdoms in a specific geographical region (within the vicinity of the Mediterranean Sea). Saying the ten kingdoms of Daniel’s visions are ten governmental types, or an economic treaty between ten countries, or any other manner ofcreative interpretation, goes further and further away from what scripture actually says.

1.1. The Formation of the Revised Roman Empire

Concerning the prophecies in the book of Daniel, as well as similar prophecies covering the same events given by the apostle John while exiled on the Isle ofPat- mos, a new revision of the ancient Roman Empire will be formed in the last days. This empire will be the seventh world-dominating empire mentioned in scripture. The first world-dominating empire was Egypt, the second Assyria, and then the four kingdoms mentioned above, which are Babylon, Medo-Persia, the Grecian Empire, and the Roman Empire (see the visions of Daniel in Daniel 7:112:13, and visions of John in Revelation, as expounded on in
God’s Plan for Man,
by Finis Dake, for more detailed information). For anyone wishing to delve into the fifty-billion-page version of the brief exposition I outline here, I actually recommend reading all one thousand pages of
God’s Plan for Man,
by Finis Dake. Suffice it to say, my version of these visions is the “Cliffs Notes” version because I have other things to write about rather than driveling on about every detail. The Internet is full of this same information as well. Almost all students of the Bible agree about the identity of the kingdoms of the world leading up to the revised Roman Empire.

The new
revised
Roman Empire will be a conglomeration of ten kingdoms, ruled by ten kings—so it isn’t a
revived
Roman Empire, as some teach because there will be ten kings rather than one. (The original Roman Empire had only one king, and to suggest that this Roman Empire will be revived rather than revised would suggest that it will have one king—and it never will, not even when the Antichrist rises to power.)

This revised Roman Empire will encompass a very large tract of land that once housed fifty-four provinces.
³
There are now (as of the year 2006) over twenty complete countries within the original territory of the ancient Roman Empire, and about twenty more countries if one counts areas where only portions of countries are included.
⁴
All of these countries surround the Mediterranean Sea and span three continents, which includes most of Europe, a western portion of Asia, and a northern portion of Africa.

Now what would have to take place that would shuffle national boundaries around to such a degree that nearly forty countries become ten? An easy answer would be war—and a very large one at that. Keep in mind that this
has
to happen before the Antichrist will rise to power.

Not many people foresaw the collapse of communism, which fell without a single shot fired. Because of this unforeseeable event, for all we know, groups of countries could simply unite peacefully (meaning two or more countries erasing their borders and actually merging into a single country), though I know of no time in history where this has ever happened. War is always the catalyst that defines national boundaries. Most of the nations in this region are now democratic, which at least makes a peaceful transition more plausible than it was in the days of Communist rule, but a peaceful transition still looks unlikely. Simply look at what’s going on over there right now! The trend of the region has always been war, especially in the Syrian quadrant of the future empire in question. I think the most likely scenario will be the backlash of Islam against the coalition that defeated Iraq. I wouldn’t be surprised if Syria and its predominantly Muslim neighbors go to war with each other over the problems with terrorism and the introduction of Western democracy, and then conglomerate into larger countries. They might even decide to unite agreeably against Western democracy, but I doubt it.