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Pour identifier l'Antéchrist, nous devons d'abord comprendre ce que les passages bibliques pertinents disent de lui, de ses méthodes et de ses objectifs . Le sujet de l'Antéchrist soulève de nombreuses questions. Qui est-ce? Quand apparaîtra-t-il? Comment le reconnaîtrons-nous? Dans la culture populaire, il est un leader politique mondial qui utilise la puissance militaire pour subjuguer d'autres nations et attaquer la nation moderne d'Israël.

Imperial arrogance and idolatry are the legacies of the Tower of Babel, humanity’s first, but certainly not its last attempt, to create a world empire . Human history is full of tyrants and empires set on subjugating nations and populations, and this has been the case since time immemorial. This sorry situation will reach its climax shortly before Jesus Christ returns, when Satan gathers his earthly forces in his final attempt to annihilate the true people of God. It will be the final act of the war between the  World Empire  and the Kingdom of God .

L'arrogance impériale et l'idolâtrie sont les héritages de la Tour de Babel, la première tentative de l'humanité, mais certainement pas sa dernière, de créer un empire mondial . L'histoire humaine est pleine de tyrans et d'empires déterminés à soumettre les nations et les populations, et cela a été le cas depuis des temps immémoriaux. Cette triste situation atteindra son paroxysme peu de temps avant le retour de Jésus-Christ, lorsque Satan rassemblera ses forces terrestres dans sa dernière tentative d'anéantir le vrai peuple de Dieu. Ce sera l'acte final de la guerre entre  l'Empire Mondial  et le Royaume de Dieu.

Paul continued his discussion about Christ’s arrival by addressing what will occur on the Day of the Lord – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3. The Apostle Paul discusses the “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ of Jesus and the Day of the Lord in chapters 4 and 5 of  1 Thessalonians . In Chapter 4, he declares that both dead and living Christians will be gathered to meet the Lord as he descends from Heaven. In Chapter 5, Paul links that and related events to “ the Day of the Lord ,” and he explains how that day will affect the godly and the ungodly.

Paul a poursuivi sa discussion sur l'arrivée de Christ en abordant ce qui se passera au jour du Seigneur – 1 Thessaloniciens 5: 1-3. L'apôtre Paul discute de “ l'arrivée ” ou ‘ Parousia ’ de Jésus et du Jour du Seigneur dans les chapitres 4 et 5 de  1 Thessaloniciens . Au chapitre 4, il déclare que les chrétiens morts et vivants seront rassemblés pour rencontrer le Seigneur lorsqu'il descendra du Ciel. Au chapitre 5, Paul relie cela et les événements liés au “ Jour du Seigneur ”, et il explique comment ce jour affectera les pieux et les impies.

Le Faux Prophète emploie la pression économique pour contraindre les hommes et les femmes à prêter allégeance à la Bête de la Mer . “ Le Faux Prophète ”, “ la Bête de la Terre ”, utilise la force économique contre les hommes qui refusent de jurer fidélité à  l'Empire Mondial , et “ la marque de la Bête ” est son mécanisme de traque et d'application. La capacité d'imposer des sanctions pécuniaires et des sanctions aux nations et aux individus est la clé du pouvoir politique de la Première Bête.

Imperial arrogance and idolatry are the legacies of the Tower of Babel, humanity’s first but not last attempt to build a world empire . Human history is dominated by tyrants and empires determined to subjugate nations and populations.  This plan has been underway since time immemorial. It will reach its climax shortly before Christ’s return when Satan gathers his earthly forces in his final attempt to annihilate the saints of God. It will be the final act of the war between the  World Empire  and the Kingdom of God.

“Babylon” symbolizes the recurring rise of the world empire and its self-appointed kings and tyrants, and it strides across the Earth even today . There is a much older story behind the visions of the  Book of Daniel . It presents the  World Empire  as it attempted to rule Daniel’s world. However, this imperial power has been striving to subjugate humanity since the dawn of human history. We ignore this biblical narrative at our peril since it is rising once more in our day using its economic and military might to impose its will on nations and peoples.

There are no geographic restrictions on the reign of the “ Beast ” in the Book of Revelation . All the “ Inhabitants of the Earth ” bow to its “ image .” It is granted “ authority over every tribe, people, tongue, and nation .” Contrary to some popular claims, there will be no “holdout nation” to resist its beastly reign. Only the followers of Jesus refuse its demands .

Les discussions sur la “ Marque de la Bête ” se concentrent sur la signification de son Nombre, 666. Nous souhaitons le comprendre et ainsi éviter de le prendre. Mais pour mieux apprécier les ramifications de la prise de sa “ Marque ”, nous devons percevoir que l'Apocalypse oppose la “ Marque de la Bête ”au” Sceau de Dieu ”. Chaque homme doit choisir entre deux alternatives inconciliables, et l'un ou l'autre choix a des conséquences.

Babylon is called the “ Land of Shinar ” in Daniel , a link to the Tower of Babel incident in Genesis and the founding of the original imperial city in Mesopotamia. The same story is alluded to in Chapter 3 when the Babylonian king gathered all the nations of his realm to pay homage to the great and “ high ” golden image that he built in the “ Plain of Dura .”

In Revelation, the “ False Prophet ” uses religious symbolism and economic control to coax the inhabitants of the World Empire to render homage to the Imperial Throne. Whether force or persuasion is employed, the goal remains the same. Men who refuse to embrace and venerate the “ Beast ” are excluded from economic activity and thereby impoverished.

The first paragraph of Daniel introduces its key theme - God reigns supreme over the kingdoms of the Earth . This proposition is presented in explicit statements and demonstrated by the accurate predictions of the Prophet to pagan rulers. The Book begins by announcing the overthrow of Judah and the removal of the golden vessels from the “ House of God ” to the “ Land of Shinar .”

The “ Beast ” is a single  history-spanning entity  that has existed since the dawn of human civilization, beginning when Babel “ SET UP a high tower to make us a name, lest we be scattered upon the face of the earth .” That incident is alluded to by Daniel when describing how Nebuchadnezzar subjugated Jerusalem and took the “ vessels of the house of God into the land of Shinar to the house of his god .”

Only God’s kingdom will prevail and endure. All other political powers and regimes are fleeting. Already they are passing away . Despite human pretensions, History demonstrates  without exception  the impermanence of political power, human ideologies, and governments. Rome endured for a thousand years, but that Empire fell all the same. Like human life, political power is impermanent, and regimes and even the greatest empires collapse unexpectedly and often quickly when their allotted time expires. Only the “ Kingdom of God ” will endure forever.

End-Time “ Babylon ” sits on the same beastly entity that John saw “ ascending from the Sea ” in Chapter 13, but it combines the four “ Beasts ” of  Daniel  into one final malignant creature bent on destroying the saints. In Chapter 17, its “lineage” and inevitable destruction are described with language from Daniel’s vision of the “ Little Horn ” and the “ Fourth Beast .”

The Beast of Revelation embodies the ancient imperial power that has stalked the saints since the Tower of Babel incident . History is littered with the remains of past attempts by tyrants and empires to dominate peoples and territories. Each new imperial power may experience initial success. However, all past empires have floundered, declined, and collapsed in the end. The Babylonian kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar and Caesar’s imperial realm, for example, ceased to exist thousands of years ago .

Only Daniel could reveal and interpret the Nebuchadnezzar’s troubling dream, thereby unveiling the future of empires and God’s Kingdom . The second and third chapters of the  Book of Daniel  present a single story told in two parts. First, the Babylonian ruler, Nebuchadnezzar, dreams of an enormous image composed of several materials, which Daniel then interprets. In the process, the Prophet demonstrates the sovereignty of God over History. Second, in Chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar attempts to implement his dream in his own way by erecting a great golden image on the “ Plain of Dura .”

The arrogant acts of Nebuchadnezzar in the Book of Daniel parallel the incident at the Tower of Babel in Genesis .  The  Book of Daniel  begins by referring to the Babylon of Daniel’s day as the “ Land of Shinar ,” a verbal link to the story of the Tower of Babel in  Genesis  and the founding of the city of Babel that centuries later became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. That incident is echoed again in the third chapter of the Book when Nebuchadnezzar gathered all the nations and peoples of his realm to pay homage to the great golden image that he had “ set up ” on the Mesopotamian plain.

After the overthrow of the Babylonian kingdom, the new ruler appointed Daniel as his chief officer over the other civil servants of the city. This caused resentment among the other officials, so a conspiracy was hatched to destroy by trapping Daniel with his own words, even ensnaring the unwitting king in the plot.