The Reign of the Anti-Christ (Part Two)
The following excerpts from The Last Days of Tolemac are set out in question and answer format.
Q: How will we recognise the Anti-Christ?
A: This man will have the ability to influence vast numbers of people. He will be a man of the people and loved by the people. His magnetic personality will attract followers from all walks of life. He will be a leader who will have the ability to inspire confidence in others and convert them to his own ideas.
But by far his greatest strength will be his ability to communicate with others. He will be a superb orator and his words will mesmerize his audiences. He will know exactly what to say in every situation. He will use technology to spread his ideas and he will be the master of every medium of publicity.
Q: Will the Anti-Christ perform miracles?
A: Yes. The Bible makes it clear that the man referred to as “the beast” in the Book of Revelation will have the ability to perform miracles. He will have the power to do the same things that Jesus did during his ministry on the earth. He will have the power to heal the sick and feed the hungry. He will even have the power to raise the dead.
These spectacular miracles will convert millions of people to his cause. They will be convinced that he is a true son of God, as only a divine being would surely be capable of performing such miracles. And because he will talk and act like a divine being, many will be convinced that he actually is the risen Christ who has returned to the earth.
Jesus said that this would be the time when men and women would have to choose between his own words and the words of this false Christ. Many people would make the wrong decision. They are the ones who would be led astray.
“Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
“Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.”
“For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24: 23-26)
Q: Is the Anti-Christ someone who is already well known?
A: No. The man who will be the Anti-Christ is not yet in the public eye. Until the time comes when the world is ready to receive him, he will continue to live in obscurity. Any attempt to try to find out who this person is before his time will be met with failure.
Q: When will the world be ready to receive him?
A: The world will not be ready to receive him until three conditions have been met. The first condition is that the existing political and economic system of the world must be in ruins. The second is that those who are to be taken from the world must have already left. The third condition is that those people who still remain on the earth must be looking for someone to lead the world out of chaos.
The comet that will shortly approach the earth will fulfill all of these conditions. Not only will there be physical and economic devastation on the earth when the “great mountain” strikes the sea, but this will be the moment when those who are worthy will be taken from the planet. And those who are left in the world will be shattered by these changes.
This is the moment in history when the man born to be the Anti-Christ will enter the world stage. But there will be no fanfare, no blaze of publicity to announce his arrival. He will come as an ordinary man, just like so many other ordinary people, who will be struggling to survive the aftermath of these catastrophes.
But this will be the moment when he will begin his appointed mission on the earth. This will be the time that he will begin to display his dazzling talents and his miraculous powers. News of his amazing abilities will travel fast. He will be sought out by the multitudes and followers will gather around him in great numbers.
This is the time when he will begin his new world religion. It will be a religion based on love for all human beings. It will be a religion embracing peace among all the nations of the world.
After the chaos and the plagues that will have afflicted humanity at this time, his message will seem like an answer to the prayers of an anguished world. It will seem to those who are left on the earth that he truly is a man of God.
Q: If he is the Anti-Christ, why would he do good things?
A: Humanity has long been misled about the nature of the Anti-Christ. Almost everyone believes that he will start out as a man of evil who will commit unspeakable acts of horror against all those who cross his path. They could not be more wrong. When he first begins his mission on the earth, he will come in the guise of the Prince of Peace. He will seem like Jesus reborn.
That is why he will be able to gather such an adoring throng of followers and why he will be worshipped as a living God. Everything he says or does will seem divine. That is why it will be so difficult for the “elect” to decide whether to follow him or not. He will appear before them as an apostle of the Light rather than an agent of Darkness.
These people will consider him to be a God, because of the way that they feel when they are in his presence. That is why Jesus warned his followers;
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Matthew 7: 15)
Jesus told his disciples how to tell the difference between a true prophet and a false prophet:
“A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7: 18-20)
This is why the Anti-Christ will deceive so many, because at first, he will “bring forth good fruit”. This is why the Anti-Christ will not be recognized for what he really is and why so many people will make the wrong choice. If he were to appear on the world scene as a “ravening wolf” he would immediately be recognized to be a man of evil, and would quickly be rejected by the people.
But because he will come as a saviour of mankind, who will heal the sick and feed the poor, he will be welcomed by millions of people who will willingly become his followers. And as more people join his cause so other people will feel that they should become his followers as well.
Those who try to speak out publicly against this man will be ridiculed. Anyone who tries to suggest that this apparent man of God is actually a demon in disguise will be attacked. The Anti-Christ will not need to act against anyone himself. His own followers will do this for him. They will be quick to take vengeance on those who oppose him.
It will take a very bold person to speak out publicly against the Anti-Christ in those times. Those who do will be treated as heretics. They will be scorned and rejected and tortured for their beliefs. They will be hated by all and put to death for daring to challenge his teachings.
This will be the time when families will be split between those who support the Anti-Christ and those who still choose to follow the words and warnings of Jesus. This will be the time when brothers will betray brothers and children will betray their parents, as predicted in the Bible:
“Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.” (Mark 13: 12)
“And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.” (Luke 21: 16-17)
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” (Matthew 24: 9-10)
Q: Will the Anti-Christ be a political leader as well?
A: When the man destined to become the Anti-Christ first appears on the world scene, he will come as a man of God, preaching love and peace among all nations. He will perform miracles. He will heal the sick and feed the hungry. He will be seen as a saviour in mankind’s darkest hour after the destruction caused by the comet.
Only when he has achieved world-wide fame and recognition as a divine being will he become a political leader. In fact he will hardly need to seek it. This leadership will be thrust upon him by his followers and by those who have tired of their leaders in the past. He will become a political leader by acclamation.
Q: Where will his political power be based?
A: The Anti-Christ will establish his worldly throne in Europe. If he is to fulfill the prophecies of the Bible he will be based in the “city of seven mountains”, which is Rome. Because of the devastation caused by the floods that will follow the encounter with the comet, Rome will be the natural center of what is left of Western Europe.
But once he becomes a political leader something will happen that will change his character completely. This event will transform him from an apostle of Light into an agent of Darkness. This will be the time when the world will discover his dark side and his ruthless capacity for evil.
Q: What will this event be?
A: He will be assassinated. He will be mortally wounded in the head. His body will be pronounced dead at the scene. But this will be the moment when he will astound the world, for he will make a miraculous recovery from his fatal injury. His body will be restored to life and he will be completely healed.
Then will be the time when the vision of John, as recorded in the Book of Revelation, will be fulfilled:
“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded unto death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.”
“And they worshipped the dragon which gave power to the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
“And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.”
“And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.”
“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” (Revelation 13: 3-7)
The next forty-two months after this miraculous recovery will be the darkest time in the history of the earth. It will be the time when the Anti-Christ will go forth in an orgy of blood, killing all those who resist him.
Not content with being a religious leader worshipped by millions, and a political leader with vast power at his command, the Anti-Christ will now choose this moment to be crowned as a living God.
Q: Why will the Anti-Christ go to Jerusalem to be crowned?
A: Because the Great Temple will be the focal point of the Jewish religion, this will be the place where the Anti-Christ will come when he is ready to be crowned as a living God. His purpose in coming to Jerusalem will be to destroy the Jewish religion.
This will be the time of the “abomination of desolation” predicted by Daniel. It will also be the time when the Anti-Christ will begin his campaign to kill all those who worship any other God but himself.
When the Anti-Christ travels to Jerusalem, he will no longer come as a man of peace. This time he will come with his conquering armies. They will lay waste to the countryside and devastate the cities of Israel. The only hope that the Jews will have of escaping death will be to escape into the mountains. This will be the time that Jesus warned his followers about.
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand.)”
“Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!”
“But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matthew 24: 15-21)
According to the prophet Zechariah, when the Anti-Christ enters Jerusalem and begins his reign of terror, two thirds of all the Jews alive at that time will be killed. The remaining third of the population will be tried in the fires of the tribulation that will follow.
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.”
“And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.”
“And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, it is my people: and they shall say, the Lord is my God.”(Zechariah 13: 7-9)
Those who can survive the trials that will take place over the next forty-two months will be purified. They will be rewarded with eternal life when the Great Redeemer returns to the earth to judge the wicked.
Q: What sort of trials will they have to endure?
A: They will have to face trials of persecution, torture and death. But these will probably seem easy compared to the physical hardship of trying to survive in the mountains, and the challenge of finding food and water in a desert land. But it will not just be the Jews who will have to cope with these calamities. They will affect all the people on the earth.
This period of tribulation will be the time when the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse will ride, bringing with them famine, war, disease and death. The death toll from these plagues will be enormous. As John wrote in his Book of Revelation, one quarter of the entire population left on the earth will fall victim to these plagues.
“And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” (Revelation 6: 2)
“And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.” (Revelation 6: 4)
“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” (Revelation 6: 8)
During this time the earth will be afflicted by periods of extreme heat. This heat will cause streams and riverbeds to dry up and people will desperate to find water to drink. Due to the extended droughts, crops will fail, and famine will spread throughout the world. Unsanitary conditions will lead to the outbreaks of many different kinds of disease.
For many people who are caught up in these hellish conditions, the pain of living will cause them to yearn for death as a way to escape these plagues. Yet the Bible says that even death will elude those who look for a way out. They will be forced to suffer.
“And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.” (Revelation 9: 6)
Continued in Part Three
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