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The Antichrist Most Definitely Is Not a Person! 3

The Antichrist Most

Definitely IsNot a Person!

The leaders of the Reformation in every land realized that the Bible clearly re-
veals the Antichrist of prophecy IS NOT to be a single individual -- some sort of
superman -- who will wrack and well-nigh wreck the world just before the return
of the Messiah and YEHOVAH God. Instead, they read that it was a VAST
SYSTEM OF APOSTASY, an imposing COUNTERFEIT of the truth planted in
the early church by Yeshua and the apostles.

John D. Keyser

I f you study Daniel 7 you will soon realize that the ten horns mentioned there are kingdoms
among whom the Roman Empire would be scattered. Among them would arise a little horn. Just
what is a horn? The ten horns are kingdoms. In Daniel 8 we find that the Greek Empire is pictured
as a he-goat and the first kingdom as a great horn. When it is broken four horns appear in its place.
Most Bible interpreters see the four horns as four Greek states or kingdoms. What, then, is the little
horn? It, too, must be a kingdom -- NOT a person.

In Revelation 13 we find the Antichrist is pictured as a beast. Now what are the four beasts
of Daniel 7? They are Empires. The first beast of Revelation 13 is taken by all to be an empire.
What, therefore, is the second beast who looks like Yeshua the Messiah but talks like Satan? That’s
right -- NOT a person! If the beasts are empires, then the lamb-like beast is also an empire -- a little
empire. The Antichrist is thought by many in the Churches of God to be a soon-coming person on
the world scene. He is thought to be a man who will sit on a throne in Jerusalem. However, Revela-
tion 17 gives the picture of Antichrist as a woman dressed in scarlet and riding the power of the Ro-
man Empire. Does this mean Antichrist is a woman? She is called, “Babylon, mystery, the Mother
of harlots.” No -- the Antichrist is NOT a woman. The picture of Revelation 17 is -- as the others --
of some FALSE RELIGIOUS POWER which assumes or perpetuates the power of the Roman Em-
pire and claims to have the power of YEHOVAH God. The Antichrist is NOT a person. The
Antichrist is predicted to be a great political power rising up out of the fallen Roman Empire and the
church -- as is explained in II Thessalonians 2. This we will discuss later.

In Revelation 13:1-10 the Roman Empire is pictured as being wounded and fighting against
YEHOVAH’s people. From verse 11 through 14 we find described the lamb-like beast. In verse 14
he makes an image to the first beast, and then uses this image to control the minds and economic
concerns of men. In verses 17 and 18 the beast is identified by the number 666.

This chapter in Revelation opens right up if one simply substitutes the name of the Roman
Empire for its code name as the first beast. Let’s paraphrase chapter 13 –

The Berean Voice July-August 2002