Dave Hunt Classic/TBC Extra

Dave Hunt Classic

Book Excerpt (Countdown to the Second Coming [1])

The Ultimate Falsehood

SOMEWHERE AT THIS VERY MOMENT on Planet Earth, the Antichrist [2] is almost certainly alive—biding his time, awaiting his cue. Banal sensationalism? Far from it! That likelihood is based upon a sober evaluation of current events in relation to Bible prophecy. Already a mature man, the Antichrist [2] is perhaps active in politics and might even be an admired world leader. Or he could be the head of a multinational corporation, a little-known international banker of great wealth and behind-the-scenes influence, a sports hero—or he might arise suddenly from total anonymity. Somewhere he is being meticulously groomed, though as yet he probably has no more inkling than do those who encounter him daily of the ultimate role for which Satan is preparing him and will, one momentous day, utterly possess him.

Whoever and wherever he is, one passion rules this remarkable man—a lust for power. Even so, benevolence, prudence, integrity, and principle mark his circumspect public behavior. It may be that at this point in his life he is still convinced that his motives are altogether pure and unselfish.

Antichrist [2]! The media has so conditioned our minds that the very word instantly conjures up the image of a sinister man who exudes evil from every pore. But Hollywood caricatures play into the hands of the real Antichrist [2], since no suspicion will rest upon this one whose admirable qualities so well conceal his dark designs. When the time has come for his surprising world takeover, precipitated by an unprecedented global crisis, he will be hailed as the world’s savior, and so he will appear to be.

The apostle Paul dispels popular misconceptions and gives us the awesome facts: “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness...” (2 Corinthians:11:14-15). We may be certain that Antichrist [2] will appear as the purest “angel of light” that Satan can produce.

Society has been undergoing a step-by-step preparation for the advent of Satan’s messiah, and in our moment of history has at last produced a generation so perverted that it will actually mistake the Antichrist [2] for Christ. In the name of freedom and right of choice, our most blessed of nations has condemned its unborn to the cruelest of deaths, has made a mockery of the sanctity of marriage, entertains itself with films and music centered on themes of violence, Satanism, and sexual perversions, has all but destroyed millions of its youth with drugs, and has created an urban war zone and a poisoned planet. Evil will soon be ripe for harvest.

Jesus warned that many would come claiming to be the Christ. These numerous lesser antichrists who were already in the world, as the apostle John explained in 1 John:2:18, would prepare the way for the real Antichrist [2] who would appear in the last of the “last days.” Behold the ultimate deception: Satan posing as God, Antichrist [2] masquerading as the true Christ, and not just the world, but an apostate church as well, totally taken in by the bold fraud. Instead of a frontal assault on Christianity, the evil one will pervert the church from within by posing as its founder. He will cunningly misrepresent Christ while pretending to be Christ. And by that process of substitution, he will undermine and pervert all that Christ truly is. Anything less than such a diabolically malevolent strategy would be unworthy of Satan’s foul genius.

This is an altogether different scenario from that envisioned by most people. If they believe in a literal Antichrist [2] at all, they presume he will be an obviously evil ogre whom any child would immediately recognize. In fact, however, he will be the closest counterfeit of Christ that Satan can produce. Completely deceived by this brazen masquerade, the world will hail him as its deliverer.

And right there is where the plot thickens. If the Antichrist [2] will indeed pretend to be the Christ, then his followers must be “Christians”! The church of that day will, with scarcely a dissenting voice, hail him as its leader.

Such perversion and deception are beyond the ability of the imagination to conceive. It is certainly not what the average person has been led to believe. Yet this is the picture which the Bible presents and to which current events ever more clearly seem to point.

How Could This Be?

It becomes immediately apparent that such an unthinkable scenario requires certain preconditions to make it credible. First of all, the apostate church in the last days must become so corrupted that it actually opposes what Christ taught, while at the same time insisting that it is faithful to Him. Satan’s lie will be honored as God’s truth without the church leaders who deceive, and those who are deceived, even knowing that such a metamorphosis has taken place. Moreover, the preparation for the great delusion must have been well in process from within the “last days” church itself even before the Antichrist [2] appears.

Could Paul have meant anything less when he warned, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away [apostasy [5], turning from the faith] first, and [then] that man of sin [the Antichrist [2]] be revealed, the son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians:2:3)? In that day, sound doctrine will be despised (2 Timothy:4:1-4). For many people, objective truth will have been replaced by feelings and experience. For others, intellectualism and skepticism will have justified what will seem to be a very reasonable improvement upon “Christianity.”

Jesus himself, who raised the question whether there would be any faith whatsoever on the earth when He returned (Luke:18:8), used language similar to Paul’s. When His disciples asked Him what would characterize the last days just prior to His return, Jesus explained that it would be a time of the greatest religious deception the world had seen to that point, or would ever see again. He prefaced His remarks with this solemn warning: “Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew:24:4; cf. 5,11,24).

Those who truly know the Lord and heed such warnings will not succumb to the spirit of the last days. Like God, who weeps over a rebellious world and delays His judgment to give men time to repent, they will have a passion to bring His truth to the world. Everyone who loves God more than this world, and to whom His evaluation of one’s life means more than the fickle opinions of men, will be kept from the delusion that will sweep the world. Those who fear God and keep His Word have no fear of what others may think or say or do to them, because they fear God with deep reverence.

Preparation for Delusion

The world must be prepared both religiously and politically to embrace the Antichrist [2] when he suddenly rises to power. If “Christianity” is to be the official world religion (which must be the case if the Antichrist [2] claims to be Christ returned), then it must become broad enough to accommodate all of the world’s faiths. As for the political climate, the world must be united in the twin causes of global peace and ecological rescue when this man appears.

Through the many astonishing events of recent years, political leaders have found themselves suddenly and almost miraculously transported into a new world where worldwide peace and unity seem within reach. For decades, Westerners lived in fear lest communist totalitarianism move west to swallow the free world. But suddenly, before our very eyes we see a surprising new picture emerging, taking even the most brilliant strategists completely by surprise: Democracy is moving east! The united response to terrorism is forging a new world. At the same time, the competition for a share of the exploding world market is forcing change upon even communist nations.

China has suppressed those seeking democratic reforms, yet even she must eventually succumb to world opinion or suffer increasingly costly isolation from an emerging and growing international community, which has become remarkably united commercially. The Islamic world, too, remains tied to its own agenda and is still susceptible to the sudden call for a “Holy War” against the rest of mankind. But in Arab countries as well as the rest of the world there is a fermenting opposition to autocratic rulers, both religious and secular, and a great longing for democracy that cannot be denied much longer. The native dictatorships in Africa have proven to be worse than the overthrown colonialism, and it may be only a matter of time until these and fundamental Islamic movements are pushed out by popular uprisings. The recent expulsion of Charles Taylor from Liberia; the death by cancer of the former murderous dictator of Uganda, Idi Amin; the ousting and death of murderer and embezzler of billions, Nigeria’s former military dictator General Sani Abacha; and the ouster of Indonesia’s ruthless and corrupt General Suharto (and others suffering similar fates) may be encouraging indicators of how autocratic third-world rulers (Zimbabwe’s Mugage, et al.) and regimes will fare in the near future.

Within a surprisingly short time it may actually seem that mankind has at last, in the name of freedom, united to eliminate the threat of major war from this planet. Global peace will have been achieved at last. Strangely enough, that may be the worst thing that could happen, as we shall see.

In the following pages, we will trace events and processes which appear to be putting the props and players in place for Antichrist [2]’s grand entry onto center stage. The curtain is soon to rise upon the final act of human history as we have known it. While God has deliberately hidden much from our eyes, He has told us what He wants us to know about the incredible face-to-face confrontation between Christ and Antichrist [2] toward which events now hasten—and concerning the part that each of us must play.

Prophecy is a difficult subject, and many people have been disillusioned by conflicting and often sensational interpretations. Others feel that the subject is necessarily morbid and depressing and therefore to be avoided. But the true picture is not all gloom and doom, since prophecy also offers an unprecedented opportunity for those who, understanding the “signs of the times,” are willing to believe and act upon what the Bible declares for our day.

Peaceful Words, Provocative Deeds

In spite of terrorism and looming war clouds in the Middle East, the prospect of a peace such as the world has never known seems to be a realistic hope. That the nations of the world will indeed establish an unprecedented international peace, and perhaps fairly soon, is certain, because the Bible has for thousands of years foretold a false peace in the last days.

That time of peace is prophesied, however, not with joy but with sorrow, for the prophets declared that it would precede a holocaust that would threaten the survival of all life on this planet. Why? The answer to this question comprises the entire subject matter of the Bible, which in fact prophesies the coming of two periods of global peace. The first will be realized for a time under the Antichrist [2], and the second will be established by the return of Jesus Christ in power and glory to rule this planet where He was so cruelly rejected and crucified.

Earth’s war-weary inhabitants will greet the first period of peace ecstatically, convinced that the Millennium has dawned. And, for a time, it will appear that the world’s economic, social, and ecological problems have been solved. That will, however, be a great delusion. Biblical prophets have warned that this false peace will usher in the Great Tribulation (after Christ takes His church to heaven in the “Rapture”) and will culminate seven years later in the most destructive war in earth’s history— Armageddon! In somber revelation, the apostle Paul declared:

When they [the world, not true Christians] shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. (1 Thessalonians:5:3)

On the one hand, it seems incomprehensible that international peace at last attained should be the prelude to disaster. Yet what else could result from a “peace” established by Antichrist [2]? As always, so today, the world’s leaders pursue their negotiations among themselves in utter disregard for the essential role that must be played by the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. If mankind could by its own efforts establish a just and lasting peace, it would disprove the Bible—which declares that true peace can come only through Jesus Christ reigning upon earth. In fact, all such humanistic attempts are doomed by man’s inherent sinfulness.

Where Are the Voices of True Peace?

Are we suggesting that the world’s leaders shouldn’t even attempt to achieve global peace? Of course, they must try. But those who are not Christians, driven by necessity to pursue every possible means to establish peace, don’t realize the futility of their efforts. Christian political leaders, of course, are also compelled to join their secular colleagues in pursuing world peace. At the same time, they must declare solemnly and clearly to the rest of the world that the only true hope for global peace is to repent for having violated God’s laws, to receive Jesus Christ as the Savior who has died for the sins of the world, and then to ask Him to come back to this earth to reign.

Where are the Christian political leaders with the courage to do so? And if they did, who would listen? To stand fully for Christ without any compromise would end any political leader’s career.

Peter explained to the first Gentile converts after Christ’s resurrection that peace was to be preached through Jesus Christ (Acts:10:36). To most of today’s Christians, that is a radical thought. What pastor or evangelist on radio or television today is preaching global peace through Jesus Christ? Paul declared that this peace was both “to you which were afar off [Gentiles] and to them that were near [Jews]” (Ephesians:2:17)—and that this peace was only possible through Christ having died for the sins of the world (2 Corinthians:5:18-19).

Those who set out to establish international peace through a world government over which the Lord Jesus Christ is not invited to reign are necessarily on the side of Antichrist [2]. They are preparing the world for his rule, whether or not they recognize or acknowledge that fact. Such is the danger that attends all earthly efforts to establish international peace and unity.

The Delusion of Ecumenism

There are only two persons who will hold absolute rule over this world. The first is the Antichrist [2] and the second is the Lord Jesus Christ. Every person must choose between these two antagonists and their opposing kingdoms. There is no neutral ground.

Those who suggest that we can retain the idea of Christ’s return to reign over Planet Earth as the symbol of some “spiritual truth” suitable for all religions deny the very foundation of the Christian faith. Christianity is based upon the claims that Christ made about Himself and the eyewitness accounts of His life, death, and resurrection as recorded in the New Testament in undeniable fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. The distinctions that make Christianity unique are irreconcilable with any other religious belief, and any attempt at ecumenical unity is a denial of biblical Christianity. Consistent with the distinctiveness of Christianity, the Bible also teaches that peace will not come to this world through the triumph of Christ’s teachings, but only through His personal return to reign from Jerusalem. In fact, His teachings cannot be separated from Himself. That was the very challenge with which Jesus confronted the Jewish religious leaders in His day:

Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. (John:5:39-40)

How dare anyone think that a world ripening for judgment can be rescued by Christians working together in political/ social activism with the followers of all religions, and with humanists and atheists! Scripture says repeatedly that nothing but the personal and physical return of Christ to this earth can put an end to its wickedness and suffering. Paul declared that “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together” as it longs for a release that can come only through “the manifestation of the sons of God” (Romans:8:19-22). Paul makes very clear what this means: That only when Christians have received their immortal bodies and are glorified with Christ (verses 23-25), ruling and reigning upon this earth with Him, will earth be delivered from its turmoil and pain.

The last days before Christ’s return are indeed prophesied as a period of growing evil, error, and spiritual delusion, manifested in both the world and the professing church. There are also, however, indications in Scripture that in the last days, millions of people around the world will receive Christ as Savior and Lord, thus hastening His return. Many of them will be the most unlikely candidates for salvation [16]—New Agers, drug addicts, prison inmates, communists, Muslims, Catholics, the poor and the outcasts of society—as Christ seemed to indicate in the parable of the great supper:

Then the master of the house being angry [at those who accepted his invitation, but failed to come to the feast and tried to cover up their unwillingness with pitiful excuses] said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. (Luke:14:21-23)

Evangelicals tend to present the gospel exclusively as a remedy for personal sin and the procurement of an eternal home in heaven. They generally neglect to proclaim it as God’s means of bringing peace to this troubled planet, as did the angels at the birth of Christ and as did the early church. It is the duty of every Christian political leader, whether president, ambassador, or other official, to make very clear to the entire world that all human efforts to achieve peace are in vain unless Jesus Christ is invited back to this earth to reign in individual hearts and over all nations.

Viewing Current Events Through Scripture

From the perspective of biblical prophecy, extreme caution is in order, rather than the popular euphoria, in appraising the recent introduction of new freedoms in communist nations and improved relations with the West. We dare not neglect the guidance of Scripture in evaluating current events. And if we will heed God’s Word, we will see that what we have been witnessing increasingly around the world could well be leading not to the solution of mankind’s problems but to history’s greatest disaster.

How can we make such a definite declaration? Isn’t it dangerous to attempt to correlate current events with biblical prophecy? Indeed it is. Nevertheless, if Bible prophecy concerning the “last days” is truly inspired of God, the time must come when what the prophets have written describes current developments. The euphoria of millions freed from communist rule in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union was quickly followed by the misery of even worse poverty. Government oppression was replaced by increasing lawlessness, the influx of cults, the explosion of incipient immorality, corruption, and occultism. The Eastern republics witnessed an Islamic takeover with accompanying terrorism. Is history repeating its endless cycle? Humanistic hopes for a new and better world seemingly find justification in technology’s amazing promises. Yet biblical prophecy offers sober insights to those who will give heed. William Manchester’s gripping biography of Sir Winston Churchill confronts us with unpleasant and haunting reminders of Hitler—a man who came extremely close to being the Antichrist [2], and who deceived the entire world for a time with his promises of peace:

Thomas Jones, who had been in and out of Whitehall for a quarter century, wrote in his diary: “...all sorts of people who have met Hitler are convinced that he is a factor for peace....”

Meeting the press after he had been closeted with Hitler for an hour, Lloyd George said he regarded him as “the greatest living German....”

Arnold Toynbee...equally spellbound by the Reich chancellor, declared that he was “convinced of his sincerity in desiring peace in Europe and close friend- ship with England.”1

Winston Churchill was not deceived by Hitler, but he stood almost alone in warning the world that the Fuhrer’s real intentions would envelop Europe in war. Looking back with the clear view we now have, it seems incredible that the leading figures of the day were almost unanimous in their praise of the irrational demigod who had become Germany’s leader, and in their confidence that peace was assured. The deception was well-nigh universal. Yet the rising political star whom everyone praised was a dangerous megalomaniac who would one day take his place with the most inhumane monsters in history. Moreover, he had frankly revealed his evil designs from the very beginning, in Mein Kampf and other writings, and in his speeches. Yet so hopeful was the world for peace at any price that almost no one was willing to face the painful truth.

So it is today. Like Churchill in England, Netanyahu is one of the few Israeli leaders who was not deceived by Arafat’s promises at Oslo. He wrote: “...my party and I were virtually isolated in our warning that Arafat would not keep his word.... We were widely castigated as enemies of peace.... Our argument was that handing Gaza over to Arafat would immediately create a lush terrorist haven....” Of course, he was right.2

History has proven again and again that international leaders can be both mistaken and misunderstood. Key events can be badly misconstrued. Assurances of peace and security can seem never more certain than when the world, in fact, is teetering on the very brink of disaster. On the other hand, the worldwide terrorism still unchecked despite another Gulf War (this time with Iraq conquered) and continuing hopelessness in Israel [18], could very well be the necessary catalyst to bring about the prophesied false peace. The unforgettable statement by Tajikistan’s ambassador to the UN at the UN’s emergency session in the wake of the devastation on September 11, 2001, may well be prophetic: “Nothing else in history or even conceivable could possibly unite the world as this event.”

Unfortunately, truth in politics is almost impossible to uncover—which makes it all the more important that we discern what the Bible says. If ever there were a time when we needed to ask God for wisdom and seek to understand what His Word has prophesied for our own day, it is now.

Endnotes

William Manchester, The Last Lion: Biography of Winston Churchill, 1932-40 (Little, Brown and Company, 1988), 82- 83.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Fighting Terrorism (Noonday Press, 1997),114.