Bring on the Antichrist!
By J.R. Ensey
Don’t let the title deceive you—I am not anxious to meet the Antichrist. If I do I will know that the Rapture has taken place, leaving me behind.
My point is that the renewed attention being focused on biblical prophecy, particularly the signs of the end of the age, should be welcomed by us. Most believers instinctively know that our redemption is drawing near (Luke 21:28). Endtime signs are not a signal for Christians to become alarmed; rather, they should motivate us to be more watchful. In recent issues of the Herald (June 2006) and Endtime, (May/June 2006), et al., appeals have been made to organize opposition to the National ID Act, signed by President Bush nearly two years ago on May 11, 2005. Should Christians actively oppose something if they believe it is the fulfillment of prophecy that is announcing the soon coming of the Lord? The Act empowers the Department of Homeland Security to require states to issue some sort of uniform ID for every person. As yet, no state has passed legislation mandating such a card. It will likely be several years (even though the Act specifies three years), if ever, that the provisions of the bill will become a reality.
The ID card requirement may not be signaling anything but that the government is attempting to curb some of the illegal activity that results from open borders. If it becomes law, so what? I may not like some of the aspects of the bill, but it may help us intercept some of the illegals who have entered the country to do us harm. Almost every government bill has trade-off provisions. It certainly would have made the destruction of 9/11 more difficult to achieve. It is a contest between those who fear conspiracies and “big brotherism” and those who see a need for each person to be able to identify himself should the need arise. There are 12 million plus illegals in this country right now and 60,000 more crossing every month. An ID card would facilitate our ability to cope with the wave of problems sweeping into our nation. It is shaping up as a battle of philosophies. So what if it somehow feeds into the system of the Antichrist?
Wouldn’t it make the work of the Antichrist more convenient? It might. But at the pace the government works, I will be surprised if we are forced to carry such a card by the year 2015 (if Jesus tarries). If this and the implanted chip and retina/finger reading technologies all point toward the end of the age and the revelation of the Antichrist, who cares? Should we try to interfere with the fulfillment of prophecy? What is to happen prophetically will happen whether I oppose these measures or not. It is fine to oppose them on the grounds of political philosophy, but not on the basis that they constitute the nearness of the end of the age. The way I see it, the closer the Antichrist, the nearer the coming of Christ.
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is the fear of the number 666. June 6, 2006 (6/6/06) had many looking for some apocalyptic finale to history. Not since the Y2K computer scare of Dec. 31, 1999—another day the world was supposed to end, according to some—has a date received so much attention. Perhaps you’ve read that the accuracy of the 666 number is now disputed by some Bible scholars. A fragment from the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament, dating to the 3rd century, gives the more mundane 616 as the mark of the Antichrist. Could it be that we are all shook up by the three sixes when it was only two of them divided by one. Hmmmm…that even sounds like some kind of numerical code itself, doesn’t it?
Personally, I am not looking for the Antichrist—I am looking for Christ Himself. Not for a hole in the ground but a hole in the sky. Not for the tribulation but for the Rapture. Not for him who is the incarnation of evil but Him who was the incarnation of God.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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