Is the Antichrist Beloved?

There are many Christians who believe that the Antichrist will be a beloved figure by most people all around the world. And that this actually helps us identify who the Antichrist will be since, of course, if someone isn’t loved by most of the world, he can’t be the Antichrist.

In reality, none of that is true. The bible does NOT say that the world will love the Antichrist. This myth has been popularized in movies such as Left Behind, and other speculative videos and books on end-times prophecy.

These kind of fictionalized accounts often portray the Antichrist as young, attractive, brilliant, and exceptionally charismatic to the point where he will be loved by nearly everyone. In these stories, the Antichrist being beloved is key to him gaining control over all the world.

Since the release of the first Left Behind book, almost 30 years ago now, the idea of a beloved Antichrist has taken on a life of its own. People who seldom even open their bibles to study it, are instead enamored by the false Antichrist they’ve read about in the books, or seen in the movies.

The belief that the Antichrist will be beloved is also repeated in the comments on my videos all the time, so much so that I have covered this topic a couple of other times in videos going back a year or two.

However, those older videos weren’t my best work, so to speak, so I want to clarify this issue a bit more today, hopefully explain it a bit better, especially since these type of comments have come up again several times in the last week or so.

First, where do many Christians get the idea that the Antichrist will be loved by most of the world? It comes from a misunderstanding of Revelation 13, verses 3 and 4, and two words which you see in bold.

“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” – Verse 3

“And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” – Verse 4

In verse 3 we read “all the world wondered after the beast”, and it’s the word wondered that seems to cause a bit of confusion, as some interpret it as the world being infatuated with the beast, or even that he is loved.

Actually, though, by checking Strong’s Concordance, we can easily determine that the meaning is to marvel at. In other words, the Antichrist is such an unusual, one-of-a-kind figure that the entire world cannot take their eyes off of him. They are amazed at this beast.

In verse 4 we read “they worshiped the beast”, and there are those who conclude that if the beast is worshiped, that the worship must be based on love. But that’s not the case at all, as the context of the verse makes it clear that this worship is based on fear, not love.

Let’s read this again, including what comes after: “they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” Thus, we can see that the worship of the beast is specifically connected to the idea that no one can fight him.

That means that the worship isn’t based on love, but fear of his power. The fear of what the Antichrist will do to them if they don’t worship him. It is a “worship me or else” scenario.

The fear of the Antichrist is also connected to the Mark of the Beast, as nearly all people around the world will fear the power of the Antichrist so completely that they will acquiesce to getting his Mark in exchange for being able to buy and sell.

Even more, this is all enforced worship, as those who don’t worship the image of the beast are killed. The worship is entirely based on fear of what will happen if one doesn’t worship the beast. This isn’t love, but pure fear.

Some have the idea that the Antichrist must be loved because he can never achieve worldwide power unless he’s wildly popular throughout the world. But in fact the Bible states that he arises to world power by conquering.

“And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” – Rev 6:2

So, as you can see, the idea that the Antichrist will be loved by most of the world is entirely incorrect. The truth is that the Antichrist will rule by FEAR not love, because it is fear which is the dominant emotion in the last days.

The Bible even teaches us that love will be in short supply in the end times: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” – Matthew 24:12

Don’t fall for the idea that the world will love the Antichrist, because that is NOT taught in the Bible.

Thank you for watching, and if you care to leave a comment, please do. As always, kindly be respectful in any comment you leave, especially toward those with whom you disagree. Thanks again and I will talk to you guys soon. ♦