Antichrist Today
Is the Antichrist alive Today on Earth?

In Revelation 13, Book of Judith and   Books of Maccabees

George W Bush is the AntiChrist, Using Biblical and historical references, argues that President Bush is really the anti-Christ.
 Pope Benedict XVI / Joseph Ratzinger The False Prophet?

 

    It is easy to speculate that George Bush is the Antichrist and the Pope the False Prophet because both are the two most prominent political and religious authorities today,  and both assertions are wrong.

 

    The purpose of the False Prophet is to make people worship the First Beast, and, certainly, the purpose of the Pope is not to make people worship  George Bush... not at all!...and George Bush is not the kind of character who wants to be worshiped, he just wants us to vote for him when he is up for election.
 

Revelation 13:

    Revelation 13 of describes Two Beasts:
    - The First Beast is the Antichrist.
    - The Second Beast is called the False Prophet in Rev.16:13.
    - Both of them, with the Dragon (Satan) of 16:13, form the Satanic Trinity, to emulate most perfectly the Christian Holy Trinity.

1- The First Beast, the Antichrist: Rev.13:1-10:

    1- He is a person, a beast (13:18, 2Thes.3): "1: And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads".
    - It is called a "beast", because a man without God is a beast… the worst!
    - Rising out from the see: From the political, economic, and social conglomeration of the earth, the people, multitudes and nations of every language (17:15).
    - He has 10 horns and 7 heads, like the dragon of 12:3, like the beast that mounts the great prostitute in 17:3.
    - 10 horns: These are ten kings with their crowns, diadems, at the service of the beast (17:12-13), he actually rules over the kings of the whole world (17:18).
    - 7 heads, reigning over 7 religious systems, all of the blaspheming against the only real God… and there are also 7 hills on which the Beast seats (17:9).

    2- He has an enormous political and economic power: "2: And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority". It is like the beasts of Daniel 7.

    3- A Miracle made the whole world to follow him, because before that he was just a "Little Horn" of Daniel 7 and 8, an unimportant power: "3: One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed the beast with wonder".

    4- The Beast becomes a great religious figure, adored by the whole world, together with the adoration of Satan, who is actually the one who gives the power to the Beast… all the world except those whose names were written in the book of life of the slain Lamb of 13:8: "4: Men worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?"… "8: and all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain."

    5- This Beast will reign for 42 months (13:5), for 1.260 days (12:6), for the 42 months that the Two Prophets gave witness (11:2), for the 3.5 years that the Great Tribulation will last (Mat.24:21-30): "5: And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months; 6: it opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his sanctuary, that is, those who dwell in heaven."… and, though he was adored as a god, he spoke boastful and blasphemous words against the real God and his sanctuary.

    6- He makes war on the saints and conquers them!… yes, there will be saints in the Great Tribulation caused by the Antichrist… but don't worry!, if you are in Christ, in His Church, and Christ is in you, the Antichrist can't even touch you!: "7: Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation, 8: and all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain".

    7- These are the last words about the First Beast, about the Antichrist: There are words of encouragement for the saints, and a call for endurance and faith, for joyous perseverance… Jesus who is in you, is more powerful than a million Antichrists put together!… don't you ever be afraid of nobody and of nothing… because if you are not alive at the last times, you are going to have some kind of Antichrist in your life, but you will always come out victorious, with a joy and peace and love that no one can take away: "9: If any one has an ear, let him hear: 10: If any one is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if any one slays with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints".

    8- The number 666 comes at the end of the chapter, after describing the Second Beast, but it refers to the First Beast, to the person of the Antichrist, and we will make later an special comment on it: "18: This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a the name of a human person, its number is six hundred and sixty-six". See 666.

    9- Later on, the Book of Revelation will show the total and complete victory of Jesus in His Church, with His Church, and for His Church over the Antichrist, and the total and complete defeat of the Dragon, the Antichrist and all their followers… and this is all the aim of the Book of the Apocalypse, which means Revelation, with many symbolic figures, but very clear for the humble Christians who were at that time suffering the horrors of the Roman persecutions, and served them well for their joyful perseverance in the faith.
 
 
2- The Second Beast, (the False Prophet of 16:13): Rev.13:11-18:

    1- The Second Beast is called the False Prophet in Rev.16:13: "13:11: Then I saw another beast which rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon."
    - He is also a human person, a religious one. He is most deceiving: He looks as good as the real Jesus Christ, like the Lamb of God, but he speaks and acts like Satan.
    - He rises from the "earth", which in the Bible stands for "the good ordained religion"… he actually will come from the real Church of Christ!, as St. John proclaims: "Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us" (1Jn.2:18-19).
    This statement of St. John applies also for the First Beast, the Antichrist: Some scholars think he will be a Jew, but this statement of St. John clearly indicates that he will be a Christian from the real Church of Christ.

    2- The purpose of this Second Beast is to make people worship the First Beast: "13:13: It works great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of men; 14: and by the signs which it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those who dwell on earth, bidding them make an image for the beast which was wounded by the sword and yet lived; 15: and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast should even speak, and to cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain."
    - It makes great signs: It makes fire come sown from heaven, deceiving people.
    - It persuades the people of the earth to make a statue of the First Beast… gives spirit to this statue… and the statue speaks!… and those who refuse to worship it are killed.
 
    3- This Second Beast has a very powerful economic and social influence with its signs and miracles: "13:16: Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17: so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name."
Please, look at Economic for more information on this.
 
    4- The number 666 is the number of the Beast, the name a human person. See 666
 
The Book of Revelation mentions the Antichrist in one way or another in each one of its 7 Great Visions with the total and complete defeat of the Antichrist in the last Great vision of Chapters 19 to 21.

 

The Book of Judith is typical of the work of these Two Beasts:

1- King Nebuchadnezzar of the Assyrians declares himself God, to whom all the people of the world have to adore and serve. He would be the First Beast, or the Antichrist.

2- Holofermes, his general, went about the whole world, making people to adore the King, or he will kill them.

3- Every nation adored the King, except a little one: Israel… and a strong woman of Israel, Judith, cut the head of Holofermes and ended with the Kingdom… Judith is a type of Virgin Mary.

 

Both Books of Maccabees present the life and works of the King of the Assyrians, Antiochus Epiphanes, or Antiochus IV, who is the type of Antichrist referred in Daniel 7:8 and 11:21, and the Assyrian mentioned in Is.10:5,10.