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Some believe the Antichrist will be assassinated and that Satan will raise him from the
dead. Oral Roberts writes: "The Bible tells how, right in the middle of his rise to power, Anti-
christ will be assassinated. The devil will then make his big move. He will raise Antichrist from
the dead in an attempt to reproduce the Holy Trinity" (How to be Personally Prepared for the
Second Coming of Christ, p. 36). Though often differing on details, futurists all believe the Anti-
christ is someone yet to appear on the world scene and, with each passing year, promote this
leader or that as the most likely candidate. Candidates range from Prince Charles to King Carlos of
Spain to William Clinton and Saddam Hussein! Take your pick!

In contrast to the futurist position taken by many modern preachers is what we will call the
FULFILLED interpretation -- that the prophecies concerning the man of sin or Antichrist have
found their fulfillment in the PAPACY -- the succession of popes that rose to power in Rome fol-
lowing the fall of the Roman Empire. To some this viewpoint will appear too ridiculous to even
consider -- and it will be cast aside immediately. But before doing this, surely the evidence for
this position should be carefully weighed and investigated. Right or wrong, many noted men
through history all believed that the prophecies of the man of sin had found their fulfillment in the
Roman Papacy. Men such as Wyclif, Huss, Luther, Calvin, Knox, Zwingli, Tyndale, Foxe, Newton
and Wesley -- to name a few. Should we not, as Bereans, at least inquire why these men believed
this way? When all the evidence is in you will be surprised to find that the fulfilled interpretation
will not seem as absurd as some have thought!

Held Up By the Roman Empire

When the Christians at Thessalonica supposed the day of Yeshua's coming was right at
hand, Paul explained to them that certain events had to happen before that time. There would come
"a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed." And before that man of sin could be re-
vealed, something else would need to happen. There was something restraining -- holding back --
his appearance -- something that would need to be taken out of the way. Notice:

Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now
you know what is restraining that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of
lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out
of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed...(2 Thessalonians 2:5-8).

Though Paul does not identify this "restraining" by name, his words show it was not some-
thing unknown or obscure to the people of the time. He knew what it was. The Christians at Thes-
salonica also knew what it was. Solid evidence shows that the Christians of the early centuries
believed it was the ROMAN EMPIRE that was in the way -- the fall of which would bring on the
man of sin. When they were accused of holding this belief, they did not deny it. Their reply was
that they did not wish the fall of the Empire, for its fall would bring on the Antichrist. As Lactan-
tius put it: "Beseech the God of heaven that the Roman State might be preserved, lest, more speed-
ily than we suppose, that hateful tyrant should come" (Baron Alfred Porcelli, The Antichrist --
His Portrait and History, p. 49).

Justin Martyr spoke of Christians praying for the continuance of the restraining Roman Em-
pire, lest the dreaded times of Antichrist, expected to follow upon its fall, should overtake them in

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