“So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near—at the doors!” (Mark 13:29). “And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch” (Mark 13:37).
Jesus and His prophets told us the signs to look for so we would know when we’re in the times of the signs. While we’re praying and witnessing to others about Christ, we must also be His watchmen. In order to do that, we need to keep abreast of current events.
That said, just what is it about Greece’s new prime minister that has elevated him to idol status by those who elected him, induced fear within the European Union, and perked up the ears of Bible prophecy students and experts?
A few prophecy watchers along with some others began to take notice of him over 2 ½ years ago.
From The Washington Post on June 15, 2012, Greek Election: Candidate Alexis Tsipris Hopes An Earthquake Will Shake The Euro Zone Sunday:
“His student movement was called ‘The Earthquake,’ and that’s what many worry will be felt if he becomes prime minister in a Sunday election…Syriza (Tsipras’ party) leaders say he will effectively nationalize the country’s banks. ‘On Sunday, the old world will die,’ Tsipras said.
Invoking what has become Greece’s modern version of a mythic beast — the ‘memorandum’ that lays out the strict conditions for the country’s bailout loans — he made clear what will happen if Syriza wins enough parliamentary seats to form a government. He said, ‘This will be a historic change for Greece and Europe…The memorandum is coming to an end.’”
‘Tsipras’ rise ‘is a mistake that’s about to become a tragedy,’ said Chrisanthos Lazaridis, a New Democracy candidate.’” — WashingtonPost.com (2012).
From the Greek website TO BHMA, Tsipras, The Hope of Greece, Europe and Rest of World? May 17, 2013:
“Alexis Tsipras’ trip to Croatia for the 6th Subversive Forum…has been deemed a success, as the Greek Opposition leader managed to impress audience and speakers alike… Perhaps the greatest compliments, with the greatest media impact, were made by American director Oliver Stone, who not only declared Mr. Tsipras to be ‘the future Prime Minister of Greece’ but also ‘the hope of Greece, Europe and the rest of the world.’” — TO BHMA, Tovina.gr (2013)
In a google search you’ll find articles claiming Tsipras and his Syriza party are funded by billionaire global elitist, George Soros, who has paid for Tsiparis to travel around to speaking engagements. Soros opened a solidarity center in Thessalonica, Greece a year ago to help those who are in need of charity, and he’s helped schools and orphanages, etc. But there are some who question his motives.
From BBC.com, Greek Radical Left Syriza Prepares for Power Under Tsipras: “Critics see Tsipras as arrogant, inexperienced and power hungry – a maverick politician willing to sacrifice Greece to rise to power.”
If you haven’t read Terry James’ Feb.2, 2015 Nearing Midnight article at Rapture Ready titled Antichrist Archetype Emerges, you should. Here is an excerpt:
“…There has surfaced, in my view at least, an archetype of the leader to come who will be the first beast of Revelation 13. This generation is not yet in the Tribulation, but is experiencing precursors to that last seven years that makes us know that a time of unprecedented troubles is just ahead. Likewise, a leader has arisen from the area of the reviving Roman Empire, one whose emergence makes the observant Bible prophecy student suspect ever more assuredly that Antichrist is waiting in the shadows of the immediate future.
Any such leader rising suddenly and dramatically out of the very nucleus of what was ancient Rome justifiably raises the eyebrows of Bible prophecy students. The visible, physical reactions of those who have put him on his pedestal are quite interesting…glassy eyes filled with tears of joy, as they looked worshipfully at the man on whom they are hanging their hopes. As a matter of fact, the slogan for his campaign was “Hope is coming!” — Terry James, RaptureReady.com
No person, place or thing on Earth should be idolized, yet man has always sought to worship everything but God. There is one false god in particular that seems to have been worshiped in one form or another since time began. Let’s learn about how this “god” transformed through the centuries, and then I’ll get back to my profile of Alexis Tsiparis.
In ancient Greece they worshiped the false god Zaparrus (also called Sarapis or Serapis). In actuality this god was a composite of all the false gods that were worshiped going back to Babylon. This god was referred to as king of the deep, god of the underworld, lord of heaven, one who signified abundance, and even resurrection.
The Babylonian god Ea (Enki) was titled Serapsi, which means king of the deep. Serapis was a combination of deities derived from the worship of the Egyptian Osiris and Apis (Osiris + Apis = Oserapis/Serapis).
In an effort to unify Egyptians and Greeks under his realm, Ptolemy I changed the appearance of the statue of this god. It was depicted as Greek in appearance, but with Egyptian trappings. However, it had combined iconography from a great many cults.
The following is from Macrobius’ early 5th century book Saturnalia.
“In the city on the borders of Egypt which boasts Alexander [the Great] of Macedon as its founder, Sarapis and Isis are worshiped with a reverence that is almost fanatical. Evidence that the sun, under the name of Sarapis, is the object of all this reverence is either the basket set on the head of the god or the figure of a three-headed creature placed by his statue. The middle head of this figure, which is also the largest, represents a lion’s; on the right a dog raises its head with a gentle and fawning air; and on the left the neck ends in the head of a ravening wolf. All three beasts are joined together by the coils of a serpent whose head returns to the god’s right hand, which keeps the monster in check.” — Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, 5thcentury
A temple of Sarapis (or Roman Serapis) in Egypt is mentioned in 323 BC by Plutarch in Life of Alexander [the Great]. Serapis had a temple (called a serapeium or serapeium) in Babylon where Alexander the Great died. This god was considered of such importance that it alone was consulted on behalf of this dying king who ruled the Greek kingdom of Macedon. He was the conqueror of many lands. Many cities were named after him. He sought to reach the “ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea” but died a month before the age of 33.
Serapis continued to increase in popularity during the Roman period, often replacing Osiris as the consort of Isis in temples outside Egypt. In 385 AD a Christian mob destroyed the Serapeium of Alexander. But the Serapis cult survived until all forms of pagan religion were banned under the Theodisian decree in 391.
Some have actually tried to draw parallels between worship of this false god and our Messiah, Christ Jesus. Of course this is just another atheistic approach to deny that the God of the Bible is real.
Okay; that’s enough about Serapis, Sarapis, or Zapparus. Let’s get back to Tsipras:
The Italian left is supportive of him. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who is also from a left-wing party and whose country is also in debt with high unemployment, said “All of Europe is watching the new Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.”
When Renzi presented Tsipras with a black tie he said, “I promise I will wear it when we find a viable solution for Europe.” He never wears ties during meetings with leaders and won’t until then.
From the website, Italy 24: “Italy should always pay attention to the ‘G’ factor — G as in Greece. This starts with geographic and historic reasons, but is even more relevant today especially for ‘Hurricane’ Tsipras, hitting Europe again and leaning on our door.”
President Obama called to express his support for Tsipras and his government’s controversial drive against austerity in Europe, but not everyone shares the joy. The following excerpt is from Spiegel Online International: Merkel’s Unintended Creation: Could Tsipras’ Win Upset Balance of Power in Europe?
“Alexis Tsipras couldn’t have picked a more symbolic place to show his voters that he is a prime minister like no other Greece has seen before…Alexis Tsipras, 40, the youngest prime minister in Greek (modern) history, also intends to be its most unusual leader — a man of the people who is determined to fundamentally change his country…Tsipras’ fans revere him as a rebel. Many Greeks see him as a man who has what it takes to free them from oppression. At the same time, many Germans see him as a terrifying extremist.
His rise to power cannot be explained without a deep understanding of the frustration that Europe’s policy of austerity has sparked… Europe is gazing with a mixture of fascination and horror at the new strongman in Athens.
‘There is no reason not to like him when you meet him,’ says author Petros Tatsopoulos, who left Syriza early last year following controversial comments he made regarding the party’s stance on terrorism. People in Berlin government circles likewise say that he has ‘charisma’ and handles himself well in public… They (Greeks) describe Tsipras as a clever, good looking champion of the people who is particularly attractive to female voters. ‘Sexy Alexi’ is one of his nicknames in Greece.’” —- Speigel Online International
Within hours of taking office, Tsipras made the Russian ambassador his first foreign visitor, and has openly opposed further economic sanctions against Russia. The very next day he visited the envoy to China. “We are coming in to radically change the way that policies and administration are conducted in this country,” he said.
Tsipras is Europe’s first left-wing leader to be invited to the Vatican. He met with the pope in September 2014, following months of secret negotiations, and he brought the pope an olive branch. They both share in the global warming aka Global Governance agenda. They both saw eye-to-eye on issues such as banks, profits and the need for Europe’s left to expand its dialogue with the church. Tsipras, a self-described atheist, said, “We come from different ideological starting points, but we meet on pan-human values.”
Tsipras says it’s time for the European left to build bridges with the church – a time to form “an ecumenical alliance.”
More About Tsipras
Alexis Tsipras was born in Greece on July 28, 1974. Interestingly, that’s one week after the birth date of Alexander the Great. (July 20 or 21, 356 BC). His family’s roots are in Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, in Southeast Europe. Thrace was part of the ancient kingdom once ruled by Alexander the Great.
As a teen in the late 80s, he joined the Communist Youth of Greece. As a college student he moved over to the Youth of the Coalition of the Left, where he made his presence known.
In 2008 at age 33, Tsipras became the president of The Coalition of Left, of Movements and Ecology, commonly known as Synaspismos, or more simply as SYN. SYN is the largest group in the Coalition of the Radical Left –Syriza. Syriza has been characterized as an anti-establishment party whose success has sent shock-waves across the EU.
In 2012 Tsipras’ Syriza party became the second largest party in the Greek parliament and the main opposition party.
In December 2013 Tsipras was the first candidate nominated by the European Left for the position of President of the Commission of the European Union. He didn’t win that seat, but a facebook page is still up that says “Alexis Tsipras, Candidate for EU Commission President.” Also, there is a facebook group in Italian that says (translated to English), “President of the European Commission.” I guess they’re still hoping.
In 2014 Syriza become the most popular party in Greece.
On January 25, 2015, in a snap election, he became the youngest Prime Minister in modern Greek history and–being an atheist–the first to take a civil instead of a religious oath of office.
Tsiparis views himself as being at the helm of a broader movement against austerity policies that, as he says, “will spread across the entire Continent.”
He has never married (he’s against the institution of marriage) but lives with a woman he’s known since the age of 13. He keeps his private life very private, and rarely is she seen in public with him. They have two children.
Speaking of marriage, he is a strong supporter of same-sex marriage.
From The Huffington Post, What You Need To Know About Alexis Tsipras, The Greek Leader Who Wants To Change Europe:
“Some in politics would say Tsipras is a ‘sprinter,’ since he managed to accomplish in a short period of time what others have worked for their entire lives. While the economic crisis and the indignation of the Greek people have been important factors in Tsipras’ rise and the success of Syriza, the Greek Parliament’s youngest party leader distinguished himself on the political scene early on. Even today, his political opponents belligerently bring up his political actions as a ‘kid.’” — HuffingtonPost.com
From the Jerusalem Post, Analysis: The Victory of Syriza in Greece is Bad News For Israel:
“Syriza’s ranks include an array of leftists ranging from Marxists to Greens. The party has constantly identified itself with the Palestinian cause and its program includes a demand for abolition of Greece’s military cooperation with Israel and the support for the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. Last year, Tsipras stated that ‘the world should make every possible effort so that Israel ends its criminal attack and brutality against Palestinians.’ — JPost.com
Tsipras intends to implement his Thessaloniki Programme “to end the humanitarian crisis.” At the European level, this programme demands a “European New Deal” that Tsipras says is non-negotiable. He’s warned the markets that they will have to “dance to the tune” of a Syriza government.
Thessaloniki, also known as Thessalonica, has an interesting history. The city was named for Princess Thessalonike of Macedon, the half sister of Alexander the Great.
It became the capital of one of the four Roman districts of Macedonia. Later it became the capital of all the Greek provinces of the Roman Empire. When the Empire was divided into the tetrarchy, Thessalonica became the administrative capital of one of the four portions of the Empire.
From Wikipedia.org: “Thessalonica was so important to Adolf Hitler that he planned to make it part of Germany. In 1943 the Nazis began brutal, inhumane actions against the historic Jewish population in Thessalonica, forcing them into a ghetto near the railroad lines and beginning deportation to concentration and labor camps where they dehumanized their captives. They deported and exterminated approximately 96% of Thessalonica’s Jews of all ages during the Holocaust.”
Thessalonica was also an important center for the spread of Christianity:
· The apostle Paul started a church there.
· His First Epistle to the Thessalonians is said to be the first written book of the New Testament.
· Paul was pleased that those in this church of Thessalonica had turned from worshiping false gods (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).
· He preached to them about the Rapture ((1Thessalonians 4:13-18).
· He preached to them about the coming wrath against the ungodly in The Day of the Lord, and explained to the church that they were not destined for wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11).
· Paul preached more about the Antichrist in Thessalonians than anywhere (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).
· He told them to stand firm in their Christian faith (2 Thessalonians 2:13-17).
To Greece, to all of Europe, and to the entire world: Our hope isn’t with man, but with our Blessed Hope, Christ Jesus, who came to Earth to die in our place so that we might be saved! Let us pray for the lost to put their trust in Him while there is yet time, for the hour is late.
“Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming; even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18).
Yes, Alexis Tsiparis is an antichrist archetype. Even if he didn’t have any other characteristics of an antichrist, the fact that he’s an atheist makes him one according to God’s Word in 1 John 2:22.
The one who is THE Antichrist is surely hiding in plain sight at this point in time, as is The False Prophet. Those who are caught up to meet Jesus in the air in the Rapture don’t plan to be around to know for sure who he is. But we can, as watchmen on the wall, warn those who’ll be left behind what to expect
I’ll close with this excerpt from an article by Brett Gillette, The Nationality of the Antichrist:
“Daniel chapter 8 provides us with further clues in regard to the life and times of the Antichrist. In it, the angel Gabriel explains Daniel’s vision of a ram and a goat as events relating to the Greek empire of Alexander the Great. In a claim verified by history, Gabriel states that following the death of Alexander, the empire will be divided into four parts. From one of those four parts, the Antichrist will arise:
‘The shaggy male goat represents the king of the Greek Empire. The four prominent horns that replaced the one large horn show that the Greek Empire will break into four sections with four kings, none of them as great as the first. At the end of their rule, when their sin is at its height, a fierce king, a master of intrigue, will rise to power. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause a shocking amount of destruction and succeed in everything he does. He will destroy powerful leaders and devastate the holy people’ (Daniel 8:21-24, NLT).
Daniel 11 provides an in-depth examination of the history of the breakup Alexander’s empire, describing historical events relating to the king of the North and the king of the South. The latter part of the chapter describes the Antichrist, identifying him with other historical figures who have held the title “king of the North.” This, along with the passage cited above, clearly links the Antichrist to the northern kingdom of the divided Greek Empire. This kingdom was ruled by one of Alexander’s generals, Seleucus, who ruled the areas of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the Antichrist will in some way be linked to this geographic area of the Middle East.
It is an absolute certainty that the Antichrist will arrive on the world scene as the ruler of a revived Roman empire. However, it is less certain whether he will be of actual Italian descent or some other ethnic background. Several Scriptures offer the possibility that he could be Assyrian, Greek, or Jewish. But none of them offers us the definitive statement contained in Daniel 9:26.
So how do we rectify these seemingly contradictory prophecies concerning the Antichrist’s nationality? Is he Roman? Italian? Jewish? Assyrian? Greek? He doesn’t necessarily have to be exclusively one or another. He could be an Assyrian who is Jew born and raised in Italy, or any number of possible combinations. We don’t know for certain, but history indicates that each of these prophecies will be harmonized when the Antichrist finally appears.
But no matter how much we speculate on the ultimate meaning of the Scriptures, we won’t know the absolute truth until God’s appointed time. As such, it is wise to study these prophecies and teach them to others, so that Christians of the Antichrist’s generation will be able to positively identify him based on sound scriptural evidence.
May the Lord Jesus Christ, upon His return, find us actively engaged in teaching these truths to others. Until then, live with a patient and enduring faith that His return is soon upon us.” — Britt Gillette, raptureready.com
“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).