“From the eternal sea he shall rise.” In today’s upside down, topsy-turvy world, everyone is trying to guess the identity of the third Antichrist. Who could it be? Millions wonder. The Book of Revelation gives us one key clue, which is the “eternal sea” line stated in the biblical verse and in the above first sentence.
Many today are well aware that the eternal sea is a translation for the world of politics. That seems to narrow the field down, but let’s face it; the political world covers a lot of people. Take ten minutes now, and then consider the following signs, or characteristics, of the coming Antichrist.
The third Antichrist will be the opposite of the one true God. He will attack and persecute Christian believers, arrange to get them killed, and spout all manner of lies. He will try to destroy and do exactly what he wants.
The Antichrist’s hatred of all that is holy and true will be most apparent. A good example of this is an unforgettable scene from a 1976 film called “The Omen” starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick.
In “The Omen,” the Antichrist is seen as a small boy. At this point in the film, the film audience already knows that the boy is not the real son of the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain and his wife. The real baby born to the ambassador’s wife has been murdered, and the Antichrist baby has been substituted for the couple’s child. Now grown to a small boy, he is being driven to church for the first time by his parents.
The car with the ambassador, his wife Kathy, and the boy, Damien, moves closer to the church. This powerful scene reveals the clear agitation, the increasing fear, and panic of the boy Damien. Damien looks out the car window at the stately steeple of the church, the grandness of the church with its imposing structure and symbolism, and he does not like any of it one bit.
The camera never misses an emotion. In close ups, Damien’s face clearly shows his contempt for everything the church represents. Damien’s face contorts into a series of hateful looks and smirks.
The car pulls up in front of the church, but Damien is now screaming and rolling back and forth in the back seat of the car. The ambassador and his wife stare in disbelief. Damien will not get out of the car. He continues to scream as the car pulls away from the church.
Being the direct opposite of God, and all that is holy and good, the last place the Antichrist would want to go, even as a seven year-old boy, is to church.
The Antichrist will use people for his own purposes. People will be tools to him, just as the Ambassador to Great Britain and his wife were used as tools; and so the Antichrist could grow up in a family of power, wealth, and prestige.
Look at the world of today. It’s quite clear that an overall spirit of the Antichrist is already here. Europe is in chaos. Governments are seen as corrupt or unable to cope with problems. Economies of many countries are in a shambles or non-existent. Christians are being slaughtered worldwide. Political correctness is wreaking all manner of havoc on a daily basis. Terrorist attacks take place at any time or place, and little or nothing is done about it. Governments spy on their own citizens and then seem upset when it’s discovered and complained about.
In numerous cities, people walk their dogs and pretend they are safe. A woman walking four (yes four) dogs, as large as ponies, was seen in my city the other day. Every step she took was a chore, as she
struggled to rein in the pull from four dogs eager to move faster.
Political candidates attack each other in “free for all” debates that make a mockery of good communication and the rules of effective debate. Political candidates in the twentieth century never, in my memory, resorted to nasty, personal, yelling attacks. On the contrary, they graciously congratulated their opponents on their victories. They conducted their “attacks” on the decent, more intelligent, non-personal level.
What John saw, as described in Revelation, is a “beast (also called the Antichrist) rising out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns.” From this, many believe that some new world system, or one-world government will result.
Europe itself may well be where the coming third Antichrist will set up his headquarters. A great many, in fact, think that Europe today is being “prepared” for the Antichrist. Only time will tell, but make no mistake about it; the spirit of the Antichrist is already here. Also make no mistake about the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ will defeat the Antichrist in the battle of Armageddon.
“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six” (Revelation 13: 18).