In the last episode, we reviewed a thought-provoking book called "Three Views on the Rapture: Pretribulation, Prewrath, or Posttribulation" that delves into one of the most debated topics among Christians: the timing of the rapture. Implied in the discussion of the rapture is an understanding of the event closely related to it, called the Tribulation. One of the key features of the Tribulation is the rise of a person who has come to be called Antichrist. The scholars who authored this book disagree about the timing, but also about the nature of the Tribulation. Will Christians be there? This question shapes how we might understand the timing of the Tribulation and the return of Jesus. But are there other questions?
Introducing the Antichrist
At the end of history as we know it, evil and rebellion against God will rise, represented by an earthly ruler known as Antichrist. The prophetic chapters of the book of Daniel reveal a sequence of empires ended by the kingdom of God. They predict a future time when a powerful king arises to oppress God’s people. This king will be the ultimate, satanically inspired opponent of God, a climactic person of wickedness and arrogance.
- Daniel 9:26-27 (NLT) “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”
- Matthew 24:14 (NLT) “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about - the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.”
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 (NLT) Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.
According to Daniel 9:27, this Antichrist will make a covenant with Israel, which he will break to desecrate the temple. (Compare Matthew 24:15) Called the Man of Lawlessness, he will exalt himself and defy God, actually claiming to be God (2...
