Throughout history there have been many antichrists who have come before the final antichrist takes his seat of power. We can get some idea of what he will be like from those who have preceded him. The Bible says, “Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist” (2 John 1:7). The antichrists of the world have always used the same methods: intimidation and persecution. Throughout the Old Testament the prophets were persecuted and put to death. In the New Testament, men like John the Baptist and Stephen were put to death. During the early life of the church it was the Caesars who wanted to dominate the world and persecuted the church of God. In May A.D. 64, a terrible fire broke out in Rome which had been deliberately set. It raged for six days and seven nights, and totally destroyed much of the city. At the time, most believed that Nero was behind the fire, and historians generally agree that he was responsible. Tacitus, an ancient Roman historian, tells how he shifted the blame away from himself to Christians: “Hence, to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt, and punished with the most exquisite tortures, the persons commonly called Christians, who are hated for their enormities. . . . Accordingly, first three were seized, who confessed they were Christians. Next, on their information, a vast multitude were convicted, not so much on the charge of burning the city as of hating the human race. And in their deaths they were also made the subjects of sport; for they were covered with the hides of wild beasts and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set fire to, and, when day declined, burned to serve for nocturnal lights. . . .they seemed not to be cut off for the public good, but victims to the ferocity of one man.”
And so, down the corridors of time there have been others who desired to dominate the entire world and rid the earth of the people called Christians. They have come and gone with names like Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Mao Zedong, and more recently Saddam Hussein and Osama Ben Laden. From these dominating, cruel and murderous personalities we get a glimpse into the personality of the final antichrist. We have to take these people and their intentions seriously, for there will be others who will desire great power and become like God, ruling the world. The book of Revelation describes the antichrist’s intent and evil purpose when it says, “He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast — all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:6-8).
The second thing the antichrist will do is: He will create a one world economy. We hear so much about the mark of the beast, which is 666. The book of Revelation says, “He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:16-17). This mark is tied to people’s ability to buy and sell. It is sort of an evil VISA bank card — perhaps with three sets of six numbers. In order to have a bank account, and be able to buy and sell, you must have the mark of the beast. But in order to get the mark, you must worship the antichrist and display your loyalty to the government.
The proof of a person’s loyalty to the antichrist will be receiving his mark. I said that it was something like a VISA card, but there are two problems with a credit card. One is proof of identity, and the other is theft or loss. There is one way to solve both problems: have a small electronic “smart” chip implanted under the skin on your hand or forehead, or both. Retail and grocery stores are already outfitted with scanners which could read something like this with a minor upgrade. After your purchases are rung up, you would simply place your hand in front of the scanner or stand in front of it. The world is quickly moving toward a cashless society. Already, some businesses will not accept cash. Someday, in the not too distant future, paper money will be out of date. The only way you will be able to purchase something is with a credit card that will also serve as your identification.
A national ID card is already in the works. It was made a priority because the terrorists who perpetrated the September 11 attacks used fake ID’s. We need to know if the people boarding planes are who they say they are. Frank Pellegrini writes for Time magazine. In a recent article he says, “The Department of Transportation, acting on instructions from Congress, has begun work with states to develop electronically smarter drivers’ licenses that can be checked for validity across the country, and that have more than just than that always-awful picture — like a fingerprint or retinal-scan imprint — to match the card to its holder. So it’s more of a national ID system, a linking of Departments of Motor Vehicles — and the records they keep on you — across state lines, with some extra on-card security measures thrown in . . .the plan means that a state trooper in California would be able to pull the records of a driver from Georgia — and be certain that those records were the driver’s, and not an innocent lookalike he stole the card from. . . .And the smarter cards, ‘hardened’ with biometric data, would make identity theft much trickier, at least in person. (Georgia, incidentally, already uses thumbprints on its drivers’ licenses.) . . .What if your state/national ID card was your passport as well as your drivers’ license? . . .Or what if your national ID card was your ATM card, and your credit card, and your HMO card and your work ID and the passkey to your maximum-security apartment, all at once?” Imagine the possibilities. Already, you can be traced across the country when you use your credit card, and they can know everything you purchase from Boston to Los Angeles. What if your national ID card was also your phone card, insurance card, library card. . . .
