Who Is the Antichrist? Part 4    03.2008

Part 4

"Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws — the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell — the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them." (Dan 7:19-21)

In Daniel chapter 7, we have a further unveiling of the antichrist. Let's look at Daniel's description of the fourth beast.

"After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast — terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully." (Dan 7:7-8)

The antichrist is pictured here as a "little horn." This horn is small and unassuming at first, but grows in strength and eventually begins to speak boastfully. A horn is in the Scriptures a symbol of a ruler or a king. The Bible has been written to speak to people in every generation and prophecies often have several fulfillments. Many times they have already been fulfilled in history, but they still have a specific end time fulfillment.

As the Roman Empire fell apart, the Bishop of Rome gradually took the place of the Roman Emperor. He moved in to the palace used by the Emperors in Rome and he assumed the title Pontifex Maximus, the same title that the Emperors of Rome had held before him, which originated from the High Priest in Babylon.

Most of the Reformers saw the Pope system as the fulfillment of the prophecy of the antichrist. They interpreted Paul's words in 2 Thessalonians about the one who holds back the antichrist to be the Roman Empire. Only when the Caesar was gone, could the antichrist, the lawless one, the false Messiah attempting to take the place of the real Messiah, be revealed. As long as the Roman Empire stood that was impossible.

"And now you know what is holding him back [the Roman Empire], so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back [the Caesar] will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed." (2 Th 2:6-8)

Here are two quotes from Catholic sources about this fact. "The Bishop of Rome mounted the throne whence the Emperors fell, and took, little by little, the position rendered vacant by the desertion of the successor of Augustus."1 Cardinal Manning, in his "Temporal Power" (I., p.253) said, "From the abandonment of Rome (by Caesar) was the liberation of the Pontiffs."

Once again we see a natural continuation of the fourth beast into a system that still exists today. This ruling system, with foundations going back to the Roman Empire, is the longest standing of any religious or political institution in world history that we know of. Compare with the regular superpowers this "horn" is very small, but we must not belittle its power and worldwide influence which seems to be growing today.

Speaking Boastfully

It says in Dan 7:8 that the little horn began to speak boastfully. Later on in the chapter this boastful speaking is described as speaking "pompous words against the Most High." (Dan 7:25 NKJV) The same thing also is mentioned in Rev 13:5-6 about the antichrist, "The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven."

In order to strengthen his power, the Bishop of Rome early on claimed to hold the office of the Apostle Peter, assuming the promise in Matthew 16:18-19 to himself, "on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

The succeeding bishops then continued to claim many other titles, such as 'Universal Bishop' - Pope Boniface III in 606 AD, 'Our Most Holy Lord' - Council of Trent, 1545, 'Divine Monarch, Supreme Emperor, King of kings', 'Head of the Church', 'The Chief Shepherd', 'Universal Priest', 'Vicar of Peter', 'Vicar of Christ', 'Vicar of God's Son' and so on. Maybe the most presumptuous claim was used about Pope Innocent X at his 'enthronement' in 1644,

"Most Holy and Blessed Father, Head of the Church, Ruler of the World, to whom the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven are committed, whom the angels in Heaven revere, and the gates of Hell fear, and all the world adores." These are pretty pompous words indeed.

"Vicar of Christ" means "substitute of Christ," or "instead of Christ," and just like we mentioned in Part 1 of this series, it is actually just another way of saying "antichrist" since "anti" means "instead of." Throughout history the Popes have made some incredibly boastful statements that clearly amount to sheer blasphemies. Here are some of these statements:

Pope Leo XIII wrote about himself in his Apostolic Letter of June 20th, 1894, "We hold the place of Almighty God on earth." When Pope Pius IX was Archbishop of Venice, he stated: “The pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ Himself, hidden under the veil of the flesh. Does the pope speak? It is Jesus Christ who speaks.” 

On April 30, 1922 in the Vatican Throne Room, a throng of faithful who all fell on their knees were addressed by Pope Pius XI who said, "You know that I am the Holy Father, the representative of God on the earth, the Vicar of Christ, which means that I am God on the earth."2

Compare this with the true Messiah,

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation …He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Phil 2:5-8 NKJV)

The Pope and the EU

Looking at the present political situation, the EU is today quickly developing into a new world power. Behind the scenes, the Pope is deeply involved in this development, carefully pulling the strings. The EU began in 1957 with the signing of the Treaty of Rome. 47 years later, in 2004, the EU Constitution was finally signed. Interestingly this also took place not in Belgium, where the EU headquarters are, but in Rome.

In fact both the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957, and the EU constitution in 2004, took place in the very same room. The room is the 'Orazi and Curiazi' hall at the Campidoglio, the political and religious centre of ancient Rome. This hall is dominated by a colossal statue of Pope Innocent X (see above) wearing the Papal Triple Tiara, which according to the definition of the Vatican symbolically means, "Father of princes and kings, Ruler of the world, Vicar of our Saviour Jesus Christ."

The EU flag, the official symbol of the EU, is a ring of 12 twelve yellow stars on a blue bottom. This is a Catholic symbol that is even called "the Mary banner." Most Mary statues picture the same ring of 12 stars on a blue bottom around her head. This is based on Rev 12:1, but we know from Scripture that it is a picture of Israel, see Gen 37:9-10. The Church has, however, always claimed to be the new Israel, taking Israel's place. The Book of Revelation calls this church "the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars." (Rev 3:9)

The clear, expressive goal of the papacy is world dominion. During the Reformation the Jesuit Order was founded by Ignatius Loyola to practically work this out. Tirelessly his loyal soldiers have been working for hundreds of years to accomplish this goal for the Pope. According to Professor Malachi Martin, a former Jesuit, in his bestseller "The Keys of This Blood", (Touchstone) the Pope and the entire Curia are today working with only one goal in mind: a one-world government with the Pope at the helm. And they believe that they are very close to the goal.

Tens of thousands of Jesuits have been specifically trained to carefully and methodically from the inside secretly infiltrate every religious organization (including all Evangelical, Charismatic and even Messianic organizations), every political movement and every economic institution in the entire world, to eventually bring all of them in submission to the Vatican. Jesuits are involved in the secret societies in the world, such as the Free Masons and the Illuminate, and their goal is to eventually place their leader on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Sunday observance will most likely once again play a big role in uniting the world under one religion, just as it was in the Roman Empire. Incredibly, there is even a plan today to make Sunday another official day of rest in Israel. The reasoning behind this is that only one day off from work is not enough and in most of the world, offices, banks, schools etc are closed on Sundays and Israel wants to adopt to flow with the international world.

It is worth noticing that keeping the Feasts of the Eternal like the Sabbath and the Feasts of Passover is likened in Scripture to receiving a sign or mark on your hand and on your forehead. "This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand." (Ex 13:8) See also Ex 31:13. Surely the mark of the Eternal is the greatest protection against the mark of the Beast.

The Pope and Jerusalem

Most people are unaware of the fact that Israel already has signed several agreements with the Vatican regarding Jerusalem. In fact, it seems like the Oslo Accords in 1993 only were a smokescreen to hide things of much greater importance.

On the 10th of September, 1993, just three days before the signing of the Oslo Accords in Washington, the Italian newspaper La Stampa reported that then Foreign Minister Shimon Peres concluded a secret deal with the Vatican to hand over sovereignty of Jerusalem's Old City to the Vatican. The agreement was included in the secret clauses of the Declaration of Principles signed on September 13th, 1993 in Washington, DC.

In the same week, the Israel-Vatican commission held a special meeting in Israel. Under the Vatican agreement the Israelis would give over control the Old City to the Vatican before the year 2000 (the enemy cannot fulfill his plans before his time). The plan also called for Jerusalem to become the second Vatican of the world with all three major religions represented but under the authority of the Vatican. Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel but the Old City will be administered by the Vatican.

Marek Halter, a French intellectual/philosopher and a close friend of Peres, told the Israeli weekly magazine HaShishi that he personally delivered a letter from Peres to the Pope in Sept, 1993 in which Peres promised to internationalize Jerusalem, granting the UN political control of the Old City of Jerusalem, and the Vatican hegemony of the holy sites within. The UN would give the PLO a capital within its new territory and East Jerusalem would become a kind of free trade zone of world diplomacy.

When Israel made peace with Jordan in 1994 the Vatican was also involved. On June 15th, 1994, the Israeli government again signed an agreement with The Vatican, allowing the Catholic Church to participate in negotiations to determine the future of Jerusalem. And on July 9th, the same year, the Vatican's Foreign Minister, Jean-Louis Tauran, announced in Amman, Jordan:  "Before territorial problems are resolved, we have to find international guarantees to safeguard the uniqueness of the city and assurances that never again one party should claim Jerusalem as its possession."           

As we wrote in the first part of this series, Israeli media have reported that in the present Middle East peace negotiations, the idea that is discussed is to divide Jerusalem between Israel and Palestine and hand over the oversight of the religious places to "an international organization." That organization is the Vatican.

The very first thing that Shimon Peres did as new President of Israel, was to fly to Rome to meet with the Pope. One of the things to discuss was a visit by the Pope to Jerusalem next year. The Pope has already declared that he will only visit Jerusalem "when the time is right."

What about Islam?

As we study the subject of the antichrist, both in the Scriptures and in world history, it becomes quite clear that the Pope or the Vatican is the most likely candidate. Ever since the Reformation this was the most common opinion for centuries. A quote by the "Prince of Preachers," Charles H Spurgeon (1834-92) in England maybe is enough, "It is the bounden duty of every Christian to pray against Antichrist, and as to what Antichrist is, no sane man ought to raise a question. If it be not the popery in the Church of Rome there is nothing in the world that can be called by that name."3

It was actually a Jesuit priest named Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) who first came up with the teaching about a secret rapture before the antichrist will be revealed. He did this in order to let the pope "off the hook" as the most obvious candidate for being the antichrist. About two hundred years later Ribera's teachings were discovered and soon began to spread like wildfire through JN Darby, the Scoffield Study Bible, Moody Bible Institute, Dallas Theological Seminary and others.

Today it is becoming more and more common to view Islam as the possible end time antichrist. An often repeated argument is that the antichrist will behead those who do not submit to him and today it is only Islam that uses beheading as punishment for infidels. Also the statement in1 Jn 2:22-23 that the antichrist denies the Father and the Son fits in with Islam.

Maybe the foremost argument against this interpretation is that the antichrist will be a deceiver who will closely resemble the real Messiah in order "to deceive even the elect — if that were possible." (Mt 24:24) We believe that Islam is a too obvious enemy of the gospel for the vast majority of believers in order to be a good counterfeit. The Pope is much more suited to take Messiah's place and be the false "man of peace" that the world is longing for.

Our opinion is that while Islam is a huge danger to the world at this time, and certainly is an antichrist system, this false religion will be defeated and loose most of its world influence before the end comes. Interestingly Jewish eschatology pictures an end time battle between Persia (Iran) and the West over Israel, where the Western powers (Edom/Rome) will be victorious. It is most likely the exact conflict that we are in right now. After this war, EU and Rome will probably come forth in greater power, with the Pope as a long awaited messenger of peace. In fact we believe that much of the Middle East conflict is staged by the Vatican towards this end!

In summary, we believe that there is overwhelming evidence from the Scriptures that the papal system is the antichrist. Please understand that this does not mean that we are against Catholic Christians or condemning them in any way. Far from it! But we are issuing this series as a sincere warning to all believers. The most important lesson to learn from this is that it is time to place our spiritual roots firmly in Zion in order to be ready for the true Messiah.

With ongoing plans by the Papacy to take over the world, and also to establish "a second Vatican" in Jerusalem, we need to wake up. Many Christians around the world are not aware of the danger. It is time to watch and pray like never before. Our redemption is drawing near!

"'When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.' He told them this parable: 'Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.'" (Lk 21:28-36)

 

"Prepare the Way for the LORD"

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1 Duc de Broglie, Histoire de L'Eglise, VI., 424-456
2 "The Bulwark," October, 1922, p. 104
3 C.H. Spurgeon, All Roads Lead To Rome, Dorchester House, 1991, pg. 183