May the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour be blessed. This name of Jesus Christ is above every name, for at this name every knee bows — whether in heaven, on earth, under the earth, or in the sea. This name of Jesus Christ is grace and peace; this name of Jesus Christ is eternal life. It is only through this one Name of Jesus Christ that every man comes to salvation, according as it is written: there is no salvation in any other name save the Name of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the true peace and the true rest — He is our hope. We bless Him. Amen!

Beloved, the teaching I would like to share with you today concerns the Antichrist and the False Prophet. This is a most essential teaching for us as children of God, for it will enable us to understand the realities of the world that will precede the glorious return of Jesus Christ.

The Antichrist and the False Prophet are two men who, before long, will be the most influential in the world; they will wield an influence such as no man has ever possessed. In our teaching on the World Government, we showed how this present world is rapidly moving toward a world government — a world government implying for the whole earth a single political order, a single religion, a single language, a single currency. In other words, under a world government the world becomes a kind of single nation in which pre-existing nations become provinces. We can already observe the emergence of this world government through globalization and international institutions such as the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, and others.

From a biblical standpoint, we have seen the description of this world government in Daniel 2:32–33, 41–44, where the Bible represents this last empire in the form of feet partly of iron and partly of clay — the iron symbolizing the political power of the empire and the clay its religion. It is this last empire that is to reign over the whole earth before the return of Jesus Christ. We concluded from this that the last empire which is to impose a single political order upon the whole earth is none other than the Holy Roman Empire (renewed) — that is, the current European Union. Indeed, the Holy Roman Empire has always existed in Europe, and within this empire there have always been two rulers: a political ruler coming from Europe and a religious ruler coming from Rome — that is, from the Vatican. For a fuller understanding of all of this, we recommend our teaching entitled "The World Government." And in this new Holy Roman Empire — the European Union — the political ruler will be the Antichrist and the religious ruler the False Prophet.

He will be the last human political ruler the world will ever know, for his reign will precede the return — or the reign — of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ upon earth (Daniel 2:44–45). He will govern the entire world through the European Union; at the time of his reign through this Union, it will be composed principally of 10 nations (Daniel 7:19–24).

His Various Names and Titles

In the Bible, the Antichrist is described under several names: the Beast, the Horn, the Lawless One, the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition, Gog, and of course the Antichrist.

1 John 2:18
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

2 Thessalonians 2:3–4, 8
³Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; ⁴Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. ⁸And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Daniel 7:8
I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

Ezekiel 39:1–2
¹Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: ²And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:

Revelation 13:1
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Know therefore, my brothers and sisters, that all of these names speak of one and the same person: the son of Satan, the Antichrist.

His Reign

The reign of the Antichrist will not begin without the current great powers — the USA, Russia, Germany, France, Great Britain, China, and others — having first lost their dominions and sovereignties; for it will be necessary for him to reign alone, exercising his influence and domination over a world that will soon become borderless. But the loss of sovereignty by the great nations will not be sufficient in itself to bring about the advent of the Antichrist; sin must also reach its peak — its ultimate level — before the Antichrist begins his reign. This is what the Bible teaches us in Daniel 8:23. Let us read this together.

Daniel 8:23
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

You can clearly see that the Bible is unmistakably clear on what must precede the advent of the Antichrist — this shameless, deceitful, and cunning king. In light of this, be not astonished, my beloved, when you see all manner of abominations committed in this world; be not astonished when you see people who, born with a female body, subsequently desire to become men by changing their sex — or the reverse. Be not astonished that men and men, or women and women, should engage in intimate relations; do not trouble yourselves with questions such as: how can a human being marry a doll and thereby have intimate relations with it? When you see all these abominations, simply tell yourselves that the cup of sin is full, and that the man of sin is preparing to make his entrance upon the world stage.

At the time of his appearance, the Bible bears witness that he will be a despised man to whom no royal honor will be given; yet he will use cunning, deception, and flattery to seize the leadership of the European Union. This will occur during a time of peace. In other words, the Antichrist will appear when the world is plunged into great chaos brought on successively by a major economic crisis and a world war; and he will appear with flattering words, playing the role of peacemaker — the man of peace. The entire world will receive him with open arms and welcome him as a savior.

Daniel 11:21
And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

The war that must precede the coming of the Antichrist is the Third World War. The Bible bears witness that this war will kill more than 2.2 billion people — that is, a third of the current world population (approximately 8 billion). You may read this in Revelation 9:13–18. Imagine the kind of chaos this war will create. I leave you to reflect on that. Let us continue with the teaching. When he has taken the throne, no military power will oppose him, for he will hold in his hands control of the most powerful army in the world — namely, the European army. The project for a common European army supported by Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel is underway; it is this army that the lawless one will use to impose his dictatorial worldwide policy. And so, through this army, the Antichrist will make war against all his opponents in the name of peace.

Daniel 11:25
And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.

His Purposes

The ultimate objective of the Antichrist will be to invade the nation of Israel. The first reason that will drive him to invade Israel is wealth; the second — and the real reason — is his desire to prevent the reign of Jesus Christ, for the Antichrist knows deep within himself that it is in Jerusalem (Psalm 2:2–9) that Jesus Christ will set His feet to begin His thousand-year reign — hence the Battle of Armageddon. The Antichrist will therefore leave Europe shortly after his appearance and make his way to the Middle East — specifically to Israel. He will of course be accompanied by his army. He will enter Israel and amass great riches.

Daniel 11:24
He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

From the wealth he will have acquired, he will become the undisputed master of all things; he will control the world's water resources, mineral resources, oil, gas, and land. After which he will return to Europe with great riches.

Daniel 11:28
Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.

Also, through the wealth he will acquire, he will commit all manner of infamous deeds and devastation.

Daniel 8:24–25
²⁴And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. ²⁵And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.

As we advance in this teaching, know that from the very beginning of his appearance, the Antichrist will confirm the Holy Covenant — a covenant concerning the borders of Israel (Daniel 9:27). This confirmation of the Holy Covenant by the Antichrist will result in Jerusalem being placed under a shared arrangement: West Jerusalem will be the capital of Israel and East Jerusalem the capital of a future Palestinian state, while the Temple Mount will be under international control. If you wish to know more, simply read our teaching on the 70 Weeks of Daniel. From this arrangement, Israel will build the third Temple of Jerusalem.

After spending some time in Europe, the Antichrist will seek once again to invade Israel. This time he will not only be accompanied by his own army but also by several other armies — among them the forces of Iran (Persia) and Libya. Ethiopia will also be in his train. At this point, the consequence is that the nation of Israel will be completely overrun by all the armies accompanying the Antichrist; there will not be a single corner where one will not find a soldier of the Antichrist — the invasion will be total and complete.

Ezekiel 38:14–16
¹⁴Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? ¹⁵And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: ¹⁶And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

Ezekiel 38:3–7
³And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: ⁴And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: ⁵Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: ⁶Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. ⁷Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.

Luke 21:20
And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

As mentioned above, the third Temple of Jerusalem will already be operational at that time, and the Jews will have resumed animal sacrifices as prescribed by the law of Moses (Exodus 29:38). Because of the Antichrist's predisposition to oppose God and to want to be god, he will cause the daily sacrifice to cease. To accomplish this, he will make use of his cunning and malice. Note in passing that the reign of the Antichrist will be founded on lies, malice, cunning, and flattery. Everything he proposes or brings to men will result directly in perdition — for do not forget that he ascends from the bottomless pit and goes to perdition (Revelation 17:8). And so here is what he will say to the Jews: "You no longer need these sacrifices to find divine favor, for I — the Antichrist — am myself god." From that point, the daily sacrifice and the oblation will be interrupted.

Daniel 9:27
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Daniel 11:31
And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

Daniel 8:9–12
⁹And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. ¹⁰And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. ¹¹Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. ¹²And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

It will be at precisely this moment that the Antichrist will seat himself in the third Temple of Jerusalem and proclaim himself god — blaspheming the name of the true God: this is the abomination of desolation.

Revelation 13:1, 6
¹And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. ⁶And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

Daniel 11:36–37
³⁶And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. ³⁷Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

Daniel 8:11
Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

In the continuation of this teaching, we will pursue the purposes of the Antichrist further.

May the Lord bless you!