One thing I've wondered about over the years is why most people who will be alive during the future seven-year Tribulation will worship the Antichrist.

We have many warnings in the Bible about false Christs, false prophets, and false teachers. We also have very specific details in the books of Daniel and Revelation about the Antichrist. So why would anyone willingly follow him? Won't it be obvious to everyone that he's the prophesied evil Antichrist?

In various end-times movies and books, the Antichrist is portrayed as a powerful, charming, and good-looking politician or world leader who rises up during the chaos that follows the Rapture, and eventually gains control of the entire world. But would that really be enough to persuade most people to worship him?

I think the answer is found in how the prefix "anti-" in the term "Antichrist" can also mean that he will not just be "against" or "opposed to" Christ, but he will also come "instead of" or "in place of" Christ.1

So I think one reason why so many people will follow the Antichrist is because they will have mistaken him for Jesus, because the Antichrist will try to impersonate Jesus.

In this post I'll compare and contrast Jesus and the Antichrist, and I'll also propose one major reason for why many people during the Tribulation will be deceived by the Antichrist.

I hope this post will encourage Christians today that no matter how dark the world seems to be getting, we're not yet in the Tribulation. Also, since the Antichrist has not yet appeared, we are not yet facing the choice of taking the Mark of the Beast.

Major Traits of the Antichrist

Here's some of the most identifiable traits of the Antichrist, in roughly the same chronological order that they will appear:

• he first appears on a white horse and goes out to conquer at the start of the Tribulation (Revelation 6:2), after the Rapture.
• he is somehow associated with the number 666 (Revelation 13:18).
• he will have no respect for laws or the rule of law (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 2:8).
• he will make or confirm a peace deal between Israel and "many" that will last for seven years (Daniel 9:27). This deal will allow Israel to rebuild their temple and restart their Old-Testament sacrificial system.
• ten leaders will give him power to rule the whole world (Revelation 17:12-13, 13:7-8).
• he will blaspheme God (Revelation 13:5-6).
• he will kill the two witnesses who will prophesy in Jerusalem for 1260 days (Revelation 11:7-8).
• he may receive a deadly/fatal wound with a sword/knife of some sort, but this wound will be healed (Revelation 13:3-4, 13:12-14). This apparent miracle will cause people to marvel and worship him.
• halfway through the seven-year Tribulation, he will declare himself to be God in Israel's temple and end their sacrifices (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 9:27, Daniel 11:31, Daniel 12:11, Matthew 24:15-16, Mark 13:14).
• he will demand that everyone worship an image of the Antichrist or die (Revelation 13:15).
• he will be endorsed by a religious leader who does impressive miracles for him (Revelation 13:11-14).
• this religious leader will demand that everyone take the Mark of the Beast in/on their right hands or foreheads to be able to buy and sell (Revelation 13:16-17).
• he will persecute the Tribulation saints and overcome them (Revelation 13:7).
• he will be captured and thrown into the lake of fire at Jesus' second coming (Revelation 19:20).

There are possibly several more obscure traits of the Antichrist than just these listed here, but I think the above are the clearest and least debateable. For more on this topic, I recommend Mark Hitchcock's book Who Is The Antichrist? (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2011).

What's important to note is that there has not yet been anyone in world history who has matched all of these characteristics. There have been people in the past who acted in somewhat similar ways, but these people were only a foreshadowing of the Antichrist who will appear and rule during the Tribulation.

Given all the above, it should be quite easy for anyone who will believe in Jesus after the Rapture to identify the Antichrist, and thus, to avoid worshiping him or taking his Mark of the Beast either accidentally or unknowingly.

So why will most people still worship him? Why would they risk suffering the punishment that the Bible warns will happen to those who take the Antichrist's Mark:

If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name. (Revelation 14:9-11)

I think it's because they will be convinced that the Antichrist actually is God, because he'll impersonate Jesus.

How the Antichrist Will Impersonate Jesus

What I've noticed in my reading of the book of Revelation is that there are some notable similarities between what the Antichrist will do when he appears, and what God does or what Jesus will do at his second coming. This leads me to suspect that some of the Antichrist's actions during the Tribulation will be intended to trick people into believing that he is Jesus (or at least, that he is the Jews' real messiah).

For example:

• both the Antichrist and Jesus will make their appearances on a white horse (Revelation 6:2, 19:11). I think that because Jesus' appearance on a white horse will be visible to the whole world, the Antichrist will also probably have a nice photo-op of himself sitting on a white horse at some point early on in his rise to power.
• the Antichrist might very well proclaim to have come back from the dead like Jesus did, if he does somehow recover from a deadly wound (Revelation 13:3-4, 13:12-14).
• both the Antichrist and Jesus will require that people worship them or die (Revelation 13:15, 20:15, Matthew 25:41).
• both the Antichrist and Jesus will wipe out their enemies in battle (Revelation 13:7, 19:14-15).
• both the Antichrist and Jesus will rule the entire world (Revelation 13:7-8, 19:15).
• both the Antichrist and Jesus/God place marks on their followers' foreheads (Revelation 13:16, 7:3, 9:4, 14:1, 22:4).

These similarities shouldn't be surprising, because not only does Satan hate God, but Satan actually also wants to be worshipped as God (Matthew 4:8-10). By having the Antichrist impersonate Jesus in these ways, Satan tries to impersonate God, and during the Tribulation he will try to receive humanity's worship which is meant only for God (Revelation 13:4).

Differences Between Jesus and the Antichrist

But, obviously, there are some major differences between Jesus and the Antichrist:

• Jesus never demands that people worship an image of him, and throughout the Bible, idolatry is always a sin.
• the followers of Jesus are willing to die (Revelation 20:4), whereas the followers of the Antichrist are willing to kill (Revelation 13:7, John 16:2).
• God marked his people spiritually on their foreheads during times of divine judgment (Ezekiel 9:4, Revelation 7:3), but the Antichrist marks his followers physically on the hand or forehead (Revelation 13:16).
• Jesus' kingdom will last for 1000+ years (Revelation 20:1-3), where the Antichrist technically rules the world only for three-and-a-half years (Revelation 13:5).
• Jesus' rule will be characterized by justice, righteousness and peace (Jeremiah 23:5-6), where the Antichrist's rule will be characterized by worldwide destruction, war, and violence (Revelation 13:7, 16:13-14, 20:4).

Why People Will Mistake The Antichrist For Jesus

So although we've looked at some ways that the Antichrist is similar and dissimilar to Jesus, we still haven't necessarily answered the question of why so many people will be deceived into thinking the Antichrist is Jesus.

I think the answer is to be found in versions of Christian eschatology (i.e. teachings about the end-times) that do not anticipate a yet-future Tribulation. That is, they don't teach that there will be a future seven-year period of God's wrath being poured out on earth before Jesus returns to rule the world at his Second Coming.

These systems of eschatology confuse the Rapture and the Second Coming, and make the two distinct events identical when actually the conditions at the Rapture and the Second Coming are very different, like I've talked about here.

This mistaken eschatological understanding will likely lead many otherwise Biblically-informed people to believe that the Antichrist is actually the second-coming of Jesus (or at least, the Jews' Messiah).

This deception will be helped by how the Antichrist will probably portray himself as the saviour of humanity. He'll probably promise that if people just do what he says, he'll save the world from climate change, from nuclear destruction, from financial collapse, or from anything else that furthers his agenda and attracts people's support.

If the Antichrist happens to have a well-known Biblical name that's also attributed to Jesus, like, say, "Emmanuel" which means "God with us" (Matthew 1:23, Isaiah 7:14), the deception would be even more convincing.

This is why Jesus gives very clear warnings to prevent people from being deceived by false Christs/Messiahs, especially during the Tribulation:

For many will come in my name, saying, "I am the Christ," and they will lead many astray. (Matthew 24:5. See also Mark 13:6, Luke 21:8)

Then if anyone says to you, "Look, here is the Christ!" or "There he is!" do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, "Look, he is in the wilderness," do not go out. If they say, "Look, he is in the inner rooms," do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:23-27)

Unfortunately, there will probably be a large number of people who call themselves Christians who will be left behind after the Rapture. These left-behind Christians-in-name-only will probably deny that the Rapture just happened. This is because these people won't want to admit they were left behind for never having had personal faith in Jesus as their savior.

These people will easily fall for the deception and believe that the Antichrist is actually the second coming of Jesus Christ, or maybe that he's a reincarnation of Jesus Christ, or he's the "real" Jesus Christ (versus that fake impostor whose lying disciples misled people 2000 years ago).

We're warned that the Antichrist's deception will be very powerful indeed:

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

These deceived people will also eagerly accept whatever lie the Antichrist invents to explain away the Rapture.

Maybe the Antichrist will claim that those millions of people who disappeared were removed by God for being horrible, hateful, judgmental, and divisive people who were holding humanity back from the wonderful future of worldwide love, tolerance, peace, and unity that God wants to set up through the Antichrist.

Or maybe he'll say that those who disappeared at the Rapture were left behind in an alternative dimension or reality until they learn their lessons and are ready to join the rest of humanity who have 'evolved' or 'ascended' into a new superior level of consciousness or spiritual reality.

Or maybe he'll say that those who were raptured were actually abducted by aliens that only the Antichrist can save the world from? Or maybe he'll claim that the aliens are actually angels who took away or killed all those awful, evil people for the good of the rest of humanity?

Who knows. But whatever the Antichrist's false explanation for the Rapture will be, it will probably be insulting to those who were raptured, since Revelation 13:6 warns that the Antichrist will blaspheme God, heaven, and also "those who dwell in heaven" (i.e. raptured and resurrected Christians).

This lie that slanders God and true Christians will likely be part of why the world as a whole won't have a problem with the Antichrist persecuting and killing people who do believe in Jesus after the Rapture. Jesus warns us that

Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. (John 16:2-3)

Many of those who insist on staying faithful to God during this time will be beheaded (Revelation 20:4). But these people will be resurrected shortly after Jesus' second coming, and they'll be rewarded by ruling the world with Jesus for the next thousand years. So that's not so bad, and it's far better than what the followers of the Antichrist will receive (Revelation 14:9-11).

Conclusion

So in addition to the various warnings we've been given in the Bible about the characteristics of the Antichrist, the Bible's teachings about the pre-Tribulation Rapture and a future seven-year Tribulation before the second coming of Christ are important to help identify the Antichrist.

In contrast, any systems of doctrine that don't teach about the yet-future Tribulation or the Rapture are potentially setting people up to fall for the Antichrist's deception.

But this can all be summarized into one major point that I've made before:

If, for any reason, someone says that you can't buy or sell without opting into some system that requires a mark in/on your right hand or forehead, and/or someone tells you to worship someone who isn't Jesus returning in the clouds wearing a robe dipped in blood, sitting on a white horse, surrounded by the armies of heaven (Revelation 19:11-14), in a display that will be like lightning flashing from the east to the west (Matthew 24:27, Luke 17:24), DON'T DO IT. Even if it costs you your life.

However, on the flip side, if we don't yet see anyone who fulfills the above characteristics of the Antichrist, then we can trust that the Antichrist is not currently in power, and therefore, the Mark of the Beast also is not currently available (no matter how similar some ideas being proposed and enforced by our governments might appear right now).

This isn't meant to scare anyone. I'm confident that even if Christians who are paying attention today can see that the Tribulation is approaching fast, we'll be raptured before the Antichrist will be revealed, and before we have to make any choices about whether to take the Mark of the Beast. So I hope this article can comfort you if you have believed in Jesus as your savior, if you're worried about the way things are going in the world.

To anyone who finds this blog post after the Rapture has happened, I hope it can help counteract whatever the mainstream narrative will be at that time, help you identify the Antichrist, and encourage you to give your life to Jesus now, so that you can rule with Jesus during his millennial kingdom that's only seven years away.

Footnotes:

• 1. Mark Hitchcock, Who Is The Antichrist? (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2011), 41.