“He[the antichrist] required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name.” Rev. 13:16

It is noteworthy to mention that the spirit of the antichrist has been at work since the coming of Christ. In his ruse, Herod wanted the wise men to bring him the Messiah to kill him. His failure to kill Jesus led to the death of many babies. Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him and were sarcastic regarding His ministry (John7:5). The spiritual leaders and the Jews themselves have continuously opposed Him and plotted many evil actions against Him. Finally, they succeeded to send Him to die on a cross (according to God’s plan). So we can see that the evil spirit opposing Christ which was at work during Christ’s ministry, perpetuated through the killing of the apostles and is still at work today.

If it’s not in direct opposition to Christ, it is a parallel path that leads to destruction. Roman Catholicism is such an example where the believers worship Jesus, believe in the bible, the Trinity and so many doctrines (which are correct) but are being led astray because they have added doctrines such as purgatory or systems(the pope, veneration of Mary, absolution of sin). These subtle doctrines are enough to lead astray from salvation. Every thought or actions that oppose or deviate from the order that God established, His will, His wisdom and the gospel are synonymous to the spirit of the antichrist (2 Cor. 10:5).

“But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.” 1 John 4:3

It’s been more than 2000 years since Christians have been saying that Jesus is coming back. Many have predicted that political leaders were the antichrist or that Jesus already returned and yet we do not see these predictions conformed to eschatological teachings. The return of Jesus is real but many scoff at it as Peter said:

“Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.” 2 Peter 3

The Muslims believe that Jesus will come again to fight the false messiah. I believe that this would be a great deception because in my opinion they will mistake the coming of the antichrist with Christ and billions of people will be led astray through the miracles they will see the antichrist do.

In fact, if we look at how the prophet Mohamed, John Smith (Mormon) and many others received their revelations from angels, it becomes obvious to say that these are counterfeit spirits.

“You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News  but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you.  I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.” Gal. 1:1-9

The spirit of the antichrist is a counterfeit spirit which mimics how God operates to deceive. This is where discernment of spirits is important to differentiate the perfect from the almost perfect. This is quite subtle but this is how the father of lies concocted his plan in Eden. God’s truth is absolute but the devil would be satisfied with 99% truth to be able to deceive the elect(Christians), if possible. The person of the antichrist will be probably a spiritual emblem/personality having strong political influence.

Let us slowly read what Jesus had to say regarding His coming:

“Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?” Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.  Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.  But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come. “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.  And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.  Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come…“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. See, I have warned you about this ahead of time. So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it!…I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place” Mat. 24

The time at which these things will happen will like be short since Jesus said that the generation which will go through all these calamities and events shall not pass until they see Him coming (which would be a few years according to the book of revelation).

I do not know where we are on this timeline but most elements are in place for it to be triggered at any time.

The spirit of the antichrist is at work and we’ll surely see its manifestation when some prophets will claim they are the Messiah. We have heard cold wars, wars and a third world war can happen anytime should Russia, North Korea, Iran, China or the US mess up. Those who lived during the first and second world war could think that Jesus was about to come but yet there were some missing signs. There are some signs which have to occur before the coming of Christ.

The current pandemic and the climate change has already increased famine around the world. Christians are already persecuted. The spirit of the antichrist is already at work and causing Christians to be persecuted around the world. When when the person of the antichrist will come, this will be one of his focus. Up till then, let us remain steadfast in our faith and love.

 “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts” 1 John 5:21

“He[the antichrist] required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name.” Rev. 13:16

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing much turmoil in the world. Our day to day routine has changed. Governments have taken strict measures to control the spread of this novel coronavirus. In my country, wherever I go (banks, supermarket, shops, schools) there is temperature control. The security guards either check the temperature on the forehead or on the hand. The employees working in the essential services (hospitals, airport, police) are required to have a vaccination certificate or a work access permit. The police control whether we’re allowed to be on the road and severe contraventions are issued in case of non-respect. One cannot buy food unless he/she accepts to go through a temperature control or have the necessary authorization. No one is allowed to sell unless given proper permit by the police and the ministry of health(a sanitary measure).

It is in my opinion that this pandemic is one of many events preparing the coming of the antichrist. It could be like a rehearsal of what is to come.

Let’s imagine for instance that this pandemic gets totally out of control and that governments wish to improve its efficiency through technology. For example, governments turn to a new mechanism or technology(e.g. a chip or invisible barcode) to properly control the identity of a person, his/her temperature and whether he/she is vaccinated or not. Let’s say that this chip can only be placed on the forehead or on the hand for better temperature reading. What would happen if we refuse that chip? This would disallow us to get out of our homes, buy, sell and become outlaws.

In the bible, accepting God’s Word as an authority is sign of belonging to God. For example:

“You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. Deut. 11:18

Similarly, those who scoff at God, reject His Word, refuse to submit to His authority indicate that they belong to Satan. Satan will also impress his mark on those who belong to him – the mark of the beast.

Human rights and liberty will no longer be valid in a world ruled by Satan. The laws will be changed in such a way that unless we accept to submit to laws, our lives will be made difficult.

Though there is no ‘mark of the beast’ active, due to sanitary measures it is now unlawful to sell anything unless one has the appropriate permit in my country. Before the pandemic there were less control and people were somehow free to sell whatever they wished. In 2019, I could not enter a supermarket to buy food unless I presented my ID card and went through temperature control. I was not allowed to step in a governmental building or private companies unless I accepted a temperature reading and presented by ID card.

Now that the world has been conditioned to accept this ‘new normal’, less voices will rebel when the antichrist will come. Less people will protest and will conform.

Imagine that this pandemic continues for 5 years and the world economy becomes completely KO. Right now, the flight connections between countries have significantly reduced. Let’s imagine that the world supply chain gets broken due to insufficient air cargo and ship deliveries causing a short supply of food and medicines. This will raise cost due to scarcity. Would not that accentuate the number of deaths not related to COVID-19(e.g. famine)? The world has its eyes on vaccines as the only savior of mankind or to revive its economy. What if these vaccines fail? Would not that be called ‘Apocalyptic’?

Let’s suppose that a man(the antichrist) appears and give a solution to the world’s problem(economic, political, medical). Let’s say he restores the world’s economy and gets completely rid of the COVID-19. People would then surely feel secure and relieved of getting out of this mess.

Paul said:

“When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape” 1 Thes. 5:3

We already entered the last days when Jesus came and rose from the dead.

“Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.” Hebrews 1:1

There are surely some events which must happen before the coming of the antichrist. However, this pandemic is a good eye opener to bible prophecies that we should take heed of. These are signs that the end is near. Meanwhile, let’s remain steadfast in our faith, love one another and reflect the beauty of Jesus.