Will the Antichrist be killed and resurrected?
Nathan Jones: Dr. Reagan, you touched on the question you asked the
Bible prophecy panel in your new book The Man of Lawlessness concerning
if the Antichrist will be killed and resurrected. Do you want to add
anything more to that?
Dr. Reagan: Only to say that those that believe that the Antichrist will
be killed and resurrected from the dead have a good biblical basis. This
is not something that they just pulled out of the wild blue sky.
Nathan Jones: Think if the Antichrist really did die and was
resurrected, what an influence that would have on the people of the
Tribulation. They would conclude, "He must be a god."
Dr. Reagan: The biblical basis for this topic is found in Revelation 13
where the Apostle John talks about seeing a beast rising up out of the
sea. He speaks about the fact that it has ten horns, seven heads, and he
has ten diadems. It goes on to say that one of those heads appears as if
it had been slain, as if there was a fatal wound but had been
resurrected, meaning having been brought back from the dead.
First of all, those heads represent I believe the kingdoms of the world.
The great empires of the world and the succession of those empires died.
Every one of them died. But, one of them — the Roman Empire — Daniel
said would come back in the end times. So, I think this is a reference
to the Roman Empire and the Antichrist coming out of a resurrected Roman
Empire. The resurrection is not really a reference to the Antichrist
personally.
Nathan Jones: Could the resurrected Roman Empire be the European Union
then?
Dr. Reagan: We are told over in Zechariah the Antichrist will suffer a
wound. It says there the wound will appear as though it is fatal, but it
doesn't say it really is. Although there is a basis there for arguing
it, I don't think that passage is really teaching a genuinely terminal
wound. I think that it's going to be a deception. I don't think it's
going to be a fatal wound.
Nathan Jones: What about the Antichrist's headquarters? We have people
write in saying his capital will be Washington D.C. Some folks believe
it will be New York City. Others say Rome, like you just said. Others
say the actual Babylon in Iraq will become the prophetic Babylon because
the Bible references the Antichrist headquarters as Babylon, right?
Dr. Reagan: There are those who argue that the Antichrist's headquarters
is going to be ancient Babylon rebuilt. I would say that's probably the
majority viewpoint today among Pre-Millennialists, though only in recent
years has that become their majority viewpoint. That's primarily because
of what has been happening in the Middle East.
A belief is held that Iraq is going to use its oil to rebuild Babylon
and so forth because Babylon is not rebuilt. In truth, all the Iraqis
and Americans have done is rebuild some ancient ruins as a tourist
attraction, but it's not a city that people actually live in. So, there
is indeed a biblical basis in that it talks about how Babylon is going
to be destroyed in the end times and that it's going to be the
headquarters of the Antichrist.
I would agree then that, yes, there is a good biblical basis for Babylon
being the Antichrist's future headquarters, but my belief is
it is going to be
Rome. The reasons for why I don't believe that it is going to be Babylon
are a couple. For one thing, in the book of Revelation when it starts
talking about Babylon in the end times, it says it is "Mystery Babylon."
To me, that is a clear tip-off that the reference is speaking
symbolically. John was under the control of the Romans when he wrote
that. He could not write openly that it was going to be Rome.
Nathan Jones: No, indeed. Such a claim would be considered as
insurrection.
Dr. Reagan: John would have probably been murdered. He would be killed
immediately because he was already a prisoner in exile by Rome. So, John
had to use the symbol Mystery Babylon as a symbol of Rome. We know this
because the Scripture say so. Peter for example writing from Rome said,
"I send you greetings from the Church in Babylon." Well, there wasn't a
church in Babylon. Peter was in Rome, but he wasn't saying outright
Rome. We know that in the First Century Babylon was used as a code word
for Rome. So, I think John is also talking about Rome. I do not think
Revelation is talking about a revived Babylon, because for one thing
Isaiah says that once Babylon is destroyed by the Medes and the Persians
it's never going to be rebuilt again.
Nathan Jones: Exactly!
The Antichrist topic can be really depressing and some people focus on
it way too much. What I love about all your books is that you end with
hope. Tell us a little bit about the hope you give at the end of your
book.
Dr. Reagan: Let me just say very quickly
that I have three chapters at the end that are all about hope. They are
about the hope that the Church has in the Lord Jesus Christ in the
Rapture. In those chapters I talk about the Rapture and its meaning. I
also talk about the timing of the Rapture and why I believe it is going
to happen before the Tribulation.