The First of a Series of Postings on" Anti-Christ"

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

All Glories to Shrila Prabhupada

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

 

Here is a Very Good 'Paper' that Gives some Unique and Excellent Observations regarding this Anti-Christ 'Myth'.

 

Andrew Gow Teaches European History at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and is a Writer for the--History News Service.

 

"The upcoming millennium is not just about computers; it's also about religion and religious extremism. If we obsess about the digit bug and allow the mainstream media to pretend that the religious aspect is confined to the fringes and the tele-evangelical circus, we will be blindsided by the dangerous beliefs and plans of religious millennialism. Some evangelists are already turning up the heat. The "Concerned Christians" expelled from Israel were planning "millennial violence" in an attempt to speed up the Last Days: shades of Waco.

 

The Rev. Jerry Falwell made a reference to the Antichrist that should strike terror into the hearts of all Americans and Jews in particular. Falwell told an audience in Kingsport, Tenn., that the Antichrist was probably already alive and living among us: "when he appears during the Tribulation period he will be a full-grown counterfeit of Christ. Of course he'll be Jewish. Of course he'll pretend to be Christ."

 

The Associated Press report of the event explained: "According to the Bible, the Antichrist will spread universal evil before the end of the world but will finally be conquered at the second coming of Christ. Falwell said today in Williamsburg that he did not intend his statement to be anti-Jewish. He said he only meant that the Antichrist must be Jewish because Jesus was a Jew."

 

The New Testament says no such thing. Early Christian and medieval theologians tossed together a large number of often enigmatic references in the Book of Revelation to "the Beast" and in other books of the New Testament to "antichrists." This lengthy process produced a completely non-Biblical figure, "the Antichrist." He was formed out of a mixture of legend, misquotation and a crude "logic of salvation." According to this logic, if Jews are awaiting a Messiah, and Christians are awaiting a Beast or an enemy of Christ, then the two must be the same guy; and he must be Jewish.

 

It is no surprise that Falwell has repeated this myth, since many Christian thinkers, without clear Scriptural proof, have believed that "the Antichrist" would be a Jew. It was widely circulated at the end of the Middle Ages after the invention of the printing press. One of the first books ever printed (around 1450) was The Book of Antichrist, a collection of crude wood-cuts with handwritten captions. The Antichrist Blockbook drew on a popular story that had already been circulating widely in manuscript. For centuries, Christian authorities cited the Antichrist myth as a reason not to tolerate Jews "in our midst", because Jews were often believed to be an apocalyptic "fifth column," probable traitors to the Christian commonwealth. Influential theologians, dozens of plays and treatises, and early books foretold a Jewish Antichrist whose followers would be Jews. Ideas, especially religious ideas, do have consequences -- as Waco finally proved to secular America. The danger in this case is that large number of Christians will believe this hateful myth because Falwell has repeated it.

 

Falwell might not be entirely aware of it, but the main feature of the "Jewish Antichrist" myth was that he would be a sinful, lascivious, wicked Jew, conceived in sin by a wicked Jewish prostitute and the Devil (some versions say by her father). All the Jews of the world would follow Antichrist to Jerusalem. There they would rebuild the Jewish Temple and rule over the world. They would persecute Christians until Christ returned in glory.

 

The Jewish Antichrist legend is a prelude to persecution -- of Jews. The most infamous piece of anti-Semitic propaganda, the so-called "Protocols of the Elders of Zion," also repeats the medieval fable. The "Protocols," together with the Antichrist myth, sow the seeds of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism and endanger religious liberty.

 

If Christians truly believe Jews are about to welcome Antichrist, imagine the consequences for American society and civil rights. However, most respectable and moderate Christian thinkers have rejected and still reject the Antichrist legend. This path is open to all Christians concerned about the appalling history of Christian-Jewish relations, who would like to put into practice the actual Biblical commandment to "love thy neighbor."

 

The mainstream media continue to portray doomsayers according to the conventions of editorial cartoonists: loonies with long white beards, standing on mountaintops with placards proclaiming "the End." When influential figures such as Falwell fuel the already potent millennial atmosphere with the Antichrist myth, democratic societies ought to take note -- and to worry.

 

c.Andrew Gow

 

This piece is Distributed for non-exclusive use by the History News Service, an Informal Syndicate of Professional Historians who seek to Improve the Public's Understanding of Current Events

 

Your Servant

 

Bhakta don muntean

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by Bhakta Don Muntean (edited 12-04-2001).]

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

All Glories to Shrila Prabhuapda

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

 

The "Battle of Armageddon", the number "666" and the "Antichrist" send a chill up the spine by the very mention of the words. For many, these words conjure up a dramatic image of some end of the world holocaust. With images that include fire, mass destruction, and the Devil himself taking political control of the world through the United Nations etc. etc. Speculations about who the "antichrist" is have included about every US president and any "evil" world leader. I remember a speculation that the "antichrist" would be a demon possessed super-human that was a genetically engineered clone. Recent favorites include Sadam Hussin of the Gulf war.

 

I personally know of individuals who believed everything from the Gulf War to Y2K (and now what is happening today in the World) to be the beginning of the 'End' of the world.

 

TV evangelists love to talk about the "antichrist", but in the end it is all nothing more than idle speculation designed more to keep a TV audience sending in their donations.

 

Now don't get me wrong. The word "antichrist" IS found in the Bible. But that is were the Bible 'parts ways' with modern speculationists.

 

The rhetoric regarding the "antichrist" is so loud, that the average person has been misled to believe that the book of Revelation talks about nothing else but the "antichrist".

 

In fact, the word "antichrist" is not found even once in the book of Revelation. That in itself should send warning bells off. In fact, the word "antichrist" is only found in 4 passages. All were penned by Apostle John within the books of first and second John.

 

So exactly what does the Bible have to say about the "antichrist"?

 

Here is an exhaustive study on the word.

 

These passages are clear, by reading these Scriptures for yourselves without any 'comment' is all you need to have a clear understanding of the "antichrist".

 

THE 4 BIBLE PASSAGES:

 

1 John 2:18-19 "Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us."

 

1 John 2:22-23 "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also."

 

1 John 4:2-3 "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world."

 

2 John 1:7 "For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist."

 

From the Bible we can clearly see 3 things. First, the "antichrist" is defined as anyone who doesn't believe Jesus is the divine son of God. Second, "antichrists" appear to actively teach against Christ. Third, there were many "antichrists" in the world when John wrote the book. This directly contradicts the teaching of modern speculationists who say that one antichrist will arise at some still future time.

 

The Greek word from which our English word "antichrist" is translated is very simple to understand. It is a simple compound word and means "anti" + "Christ" = "antichrist". We use the same compound word every day. We have people who are "anti-smoking" or "anti-gay" or "anti-hunting" or "anti-Semitic" or "anti-abortion". There really is no big mystery as to what the word means. "Anti-Christ" is anyone who opposes Christ.

 

Take this Test to see if you are an; 'Biblical Antichrist':

 

1. Do you actively teach or simply believe that Jesus Christ never walked the earth, but was a mythological figure?

 

2. Do you actively teach or simply believe there was a man named Jesus Christ, but he did not actually raise from the dead?

 

3. Do you actively speak out against or simply believe Christianity is a false religion?

 

4. Jesus said, "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters" Matthew 12:30. Are you an atheist or agnostic who is indifferent and non-religious?

 

If you answer yes to any of these: Then you are an "antichrist"!

 

The Bible term "antichrist" could be simply understood to be equivalent to being a "non-believer."

 

The "antichrist" then, has no horns or red glowing eyes. Neither is the "antichrist" some demon possessed super-intelligent human clone.

 

This and more Information is Available for those that seek 'Truth'.

 

Your servant

 

Bhakta don muntean

 

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by Bhakta Don Muntean (edited 12-04-2001).]