Ever since the Old Testament first spoke of him, Christians and Jews have been looking for the advent of the Antichrist. Daniel described him as the most evil man who ever will live. He will charm the Jews into submission then turn against them. This "man of sin" will briefly become the most powerful man on earth.

    Many Christians have tried to select out the Antichrist from among the men of their day. Some made good assumptions, while others were very much off base in their observations. Of course, as today stands, none have been able to name the true Antichrist. Listed below are several world figures that have been tagged as being the Antichrist. Most of these men are dead and presumably off the hook, but a number of them are still active on the world stage.


    Antiochus Epiphanes He was one of only a few pre-Christ Antichrists and is described by scholars as being a type of Antichrist. Epiphanes was predicted by Daniel the prophet, and he fulfilled many of the prophecies that the real Antichrist will repeat.

    Roman Emperor Nero One of the first and one of the greatest persons to fit the role of Antichrist was Emperor Nero. He put many Christians to death, and even killed members of his own family. Nero's actions actually helped the Church to multiply faster. When he learned the Roman Senate was plotting against him, he died by poisoning himself.

    The Pope Just about every Pope has been given the title of Antichrist. The Pontiff is a favorite among Evangelicals. During the Middle Ages, when the power of the Pope was more pronounced, the title was more plausible. Today the political power of the Pope has long since passed. It's more likely the Pope would play the role of the "False Prophet."

    Charlemagne He lived from 742-814 AD and controlled much of central Europe. Charlemagne put himself into the shoes of the Antichrist by trying to rebuild the Roman Empire. This is a task that only the real Antichrist will accomplish. He died before achieving his goal.

    Napoleon The self-crowned French Emperor was not particularly a depraved man: he did not persecute the church, and he lacked a number of the qualities needed for the role. His downfall was that he loved war too much. Napoleon, like Charlemagne, worked at reviving the Roman Empire.

    Aleister Crowley He was so evil his nickname was the Beast and 666. Aleister Crowley was a male witch that lived in England from 1875 to 1947. A number of rock and roll groups, like the Beatles, the Door and Ozzy Ozbourne featured references to him in or on their albums.

    Franklin Delano Roosevelt The numerical value of FDR's name was reported to add up to 666. Because of the Great Depression, FDR was the most autocratic US President of the 20th century. Roosevelt was in office for 12 years.

    Benito Mussolini Because Mussolini became the dictator of Italy, the original capital of the Roman Empire, he was the recipient of a great deal of commentary during his rule from 1922 to 1943. His extreme arrogance fit the role of antichrist, but his military capabilities were laughable. Italy needed help from Germany all throughout W.W.II.

    Adolf Hitler Most people would describe Hitler as the most villainous man who ever lived. He remains a demonic forewarning of what the real Antichrist will be like.

    Joseph Stalin Russian dictator Joseph Stalin is believed to be the greatest mass murderer of all time, killing 30 million people. Most of history's tyrants killed foreigners; Stalin specialized in killed his own citizens.

    Francisco Franco He was the dictator of Spain from 1936 until his death in 1975. Franco was called the Antichrist, not because of his actions, but more because of a genealogical connection. Upon his death the dubious honor of being called the Antichrist passed to Prince Juan Carlos.

    John F. Kennedy As the nation's first Roman Catholic President, it was believed John F. Kennedy would do the Pope's bidding. At the 1956 Democratic convention, he received 666 votes. When Kennedy was shot dead in Dallas, several people waited for this deadly wound to heal. It never happened.

    Henry Kissinger Because of Mr. Kissinger's activity in the Middle East, he was labeled the Antichrist. I've always thought his raspy voice would be the first thing to disqualify him.

    King Juan Carlos of Spain The late Prophecy teacher Charles Taylor was a big proponent of the idea that Juan Carlos is the Antichrist. The title of Antichrist was given to him because of his bloodline and also because he's the king of the tenth nation to join the EU.

    Ayatollah Kohomeini One of the grumpiest men to ever live. He bedeviled the US for a number of years.

    Ronald Wilson Reagan Say it isn't so, Ron. During the 80's when he was President, there was talk going around about the fact that he had 6 letters in all 3 of his names.

    Mikhail Gorbachev Gorbachev, the first Russian leader to support the rights of the people, has been and still remains a candidate for the job of Antichrist. Until Gorby dies, prophecy watchers will have an eye on him. I guess being born with that mark on his head was too obvious for some.

    Saddam Hussein Even before the Gulf War, Saddam was looked on as the "Beast" of Daniel and Revelations. During and after the conflict, he gained a dominant footing as a leading candidate for the job.

    Maitreya A camera shy New Age personage, who is said to be on this earth somewhere, is waiting for his opportunity to save the world.

    Sun Myung Moon Moon is the leader of the Unification Church, and he openly claims to be the Messiah. Moon recently was sent to jail for tax evasion. Jesus, by having a tax collector on his staff, didn't suffer from tax problems. You pick which one was the smarter Messiah.

    PLO leader Yassir Arafat When Arafat signed the peace treaty with Israel in 1993, some thought that he was bringing to pass the prophecy regarding the Antichrist signing a peace treaty for 7 years with Israel. In order for this to be the case, we would be well into the tribulation.

    Louis Farrakhan Farrakhan has worked hard to earn the title of Antichrist: he's met with every Islamic dictator there is, and he's called the Jewish faith "A gutter religion," Farrakhan has said that Jesus was, "Just a prophet" and he, Louis Farrakhan, is the true Jesus.

    Karl Hapsburg Just like Juan Carlos, Karl Hapsburg has a good shot at becoming the Antichrist, simply because of who he is. His family holds the title of ruler over Jerusalem. The Hapsburg family also reigned over the Holy Roman Empire at one time. The European union will be a revival of the Roman Empire.

    William Jefferson Clinton A number of folks have e-mailed me saying "Clinton is Satan's pet." I came across information posted in newsgroups and web sites that add up William Jefferson Clinton numerologically to get 666.

    Sam Donaldson of ABC News I've have had so many people submit Donaldson's name that I finally decided to add him to the list. By including Sam, I hope I don't cause any jealousy at ABC News.

    Barney the Dinosaur Because John, the writer of Revelation, would have never known what a dinosaur looked like, it's logical to assume he would have identified any vision of Barney as being a dragon. With this taken into consideration, you might find the following scriptures quite revealing:

    Revelation 12:3, "And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon..,"
    Revelation 13:4, "And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?"
    Revelation 20:2, "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years."

    Bill Gates If the Beast needs to be computer literate and financially well-off, then Bill Gates would be a good candidate.

    Prince Charles of Wales I'm told old big ears Prince Charles could be the beast. Charles has the familiar numerology claims made about him - ones were his name equals 666. He is believed to have ancestral links to the Roman Empire. It was also reported to me that he's a vegetarian, which could explain why the Antichrist will stop the daily animal sacrifices in the Jewish Temple.

    Uday Hussein In case the old man is not up to the job. Uday Hussein, the son of Saddam Hussein, could someday succeed his father and gain the attention of Iraqi prophecy watchers. Uday was recently wounded in an assassination attempt. He's also known to be more brutal than his father, preferring to use his bare hands to beat his opponents to death, while dad uses a baseball bat.

    Jacques Chirac French President Jacques Chirac has been involved with a flurry of diplomatic activity. His high profile has caught the attention of several prophecy watchers.

    Assad of Syria As long as there's no height requirement for being the Antichrist, Assad of Syria could possibly be the Beast. This guy is so bothered by his lack of stature, whenever he meets will foreign leaders he'll only talk with them setting down. Note that Paul in 2 Thes 2:4 says that the Antichrist sit in the Temple of God declaring himself to be God. He's sitting because he doesn't want the world to know he's a little shrimp.


    I have some observations of my own to make about the Antichrist. First of all, I have no idea who he is. When you examine history, people who become well-known on the world stage, were often largely unknowns before they became famous. Hitler was a good example. Before he ruled much of Europe, at one low point, he was living in a flophouse. If you had walked by and saw him, you would have never guessed he would someday threaten to take over the world. When the time for the Antichrist comes, he will achieve great power, but right now he could be out pumping gas at some service station.

    In recent years, the word Antichrist has lost much of its meaning. To call someone Antichrist, in the past, was on the same level as cursing. Now attaching the name Antichrist to someone or something brings up mythological connections. The same thing applies to calling someone a devil. Examples like Barney the Dinosaur or Bill Gates only help blur the real meaning of the name Antichrist. Someday he will rise to power and cause the destruction of more human beings than anyone who has ever lived.

    We should take care not to over-focus on the Antichrist. Our hope lies in the true Christ. Any news about the "man of sin" should only act as a warning to prepare us for the Man of salvation. As a pretribulationist, I personally have no plans for meeting this "son of perdition." Only those who have not repented of their sins and are not walking a pure life should expect to meet him personally or more likely, see him on Larry King.


     

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