WILL THE ANTICHRIST RULE THE WORLD? THE WHOLE EARTH?
There are many viewpoints on this topic to consider. Many say yes, the Antichrist will be a One World Ruler over the whole earth because of Revelation 13:7
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
They point to "all kindreds, tongues, and nations",and to "all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him", as proof that Antichrist will rule the WHOLE EARTH. But is that the case? What about those who ARE written in the book of life? Are they part of the whole world? YES! They will NOT worship him, therefore, the whole world will not be in submission to the Antichrist.
Also...
Why is Antichrist waging war with other nations? And why are other nations fighting against him? Why do some even escape his hand? Daniel 11:39-44:
39 He will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to those who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.
40 “At the end time the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them and pass through. 41 He will also enter the Beautiful Land, andmany countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon.42 Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. 43 But he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; andLibyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels. 44 But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many. 45 He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, andno one will help him.
If the whole earth is going to be under his rule, why would the King of the South collide with him? Why will Edom, Moab and the sons of Ammon escape? Why will he be taking actionagainst the strongest of fortresses? Does it say he will subdue them all? NO! But Micah 5 says that God will raise up 7 shepherds and 8 principal men to battle against the Antichrist.
5This One will be our peace.
When the Assyrian (Antichrist) invades our land,
When he tramples on our citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.
6 They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,
The land of Nimrod at its entrances;
And He will deliver us from the Assyrian
When he attacks our land
And when he tramples our territories.
And finally Ezekiel 28:6-10 describes who will defeat the Antichrist:
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God,
‘Because you have made your heart
Like the heart of God,
7 Therefore, behold, I will bring strangers upon you,
The most ruthless of the nations.
And they will draw their swords
Against the beauty of your wisdom
And defile your splendor.
8 ‘They will bring you down to the pit,
And you will die the death of those who are slain
In the heart of the seas.
9 ‘Will you still say, “I am a god,”
In the presence of your slayer,
Though you are a man and not God,
In the hands of those who wound you?
10 ‘You will die the death of the uncircumcised
By the hand of strangers,
For I have spoken!’ declares the LordGod!”’”
If the Antichrist rules over the whole world, with a one-world government, NWO, then why are there other nations fighting him to destroy him? Are they ruled by him? NO!
The following excerpt is presented from the book: "The Coming Bible Prophecy Reformation" (Pages 63-67) with permission from the author, Rodrigo Silva. If you have not yet read this book, I highly recommend it.
"The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth , which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.’’ (Daniel 7:23)
This passage confirms that the fourth kingdom, the composite beast of Revelation 13 devours the whole earth, i.e. it will conquer the territory of the first three empires. Does the whole earth here refer to the entire globe or to the general geographic territory of the first three kingdoms? Some argue that it refers to the entire globe. I personally do not think this is what the text is referring to for the following reasons:
1-- The Aramaic phrase translated whole earth is kol ‘ ara . The word ‘’ara’’ for earth appears 21 times and 19 of those times are in the book of Daniel. Daniel said to king Nebuchadnezzar: ‘’ And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth (kol ‘ara)’’ (Daniel 2:39)
Here the phrase ‘’kol ‘ara’’ Is used when Daniel was telling Nebuchadnezzar that the third kingdom of brass (the Grecian Empire) would arise and bear rule over all the earth (kol ‘ara). Did the Grecian Empire bear rule over all the earth, that is, did it conquer the entire globe? Any map will reveal that the Grecian Empire extended from Macedon in the west to the Indus Rivers in the East, the border between India and Pakistan. Does that territory represent the ‘’entire globe’’. The answer is absolutely not! It only covered the entire Middle East.
The same phrase ‘’kol ara’’ is used for the stone that destroys the image and fills the ‘’whole earth’’ The stone represents God’s kingdom. This would imply that God’s kingdom will also be regional, not global, however as we shall see below, the Greek language of the New Testament sheds light on this issue and helps us solve the problem because the Greek language has four different words for ‘’world’’ and the word used in connection with Christ’s kingdom is a word that implies globalism and universalism, whereas the word used in connection with the reign of the Antichrist implies regionalism .
2-- The fourth kingdom will be composed of ten kings or rulers of nations. This does not point to a global dominion, but to a regional one.
3-- The Antichrist rules over the ten kings of the beast, not over the entire globe since even regional nations escape out of his dominion ‘’ He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many [countries] shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, [even] Edom and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.’’ (Daniel 11:41) If even Edom, Moab and Ammon, tribes that represent the modern Kingdom of Jordan escape out of his hand, how much more the rest of the world?
4--Other nations attack the Antichrist, therefore he does not rule over the whole world ‘’ But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him : therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.’’ (Daniel 11:44) Here we see that nations from the east and from the north will come against him. But doesn’t the rest of the passage say he will destroy those that come against him? This is a reference to his supposed military victory over the armies of the other nations when they come against him, not to his conquest of their lands.
Some might argue that Revelation 13 says the beast is followed by the whole world, that all that dwell on the earth will worship him and that he will rule over all kindred, tongues and nations.
‘’ . . . and all the world wondered after the beast. . . and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations . And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. . .(Revelation 13:3,7- 8)
This passage seems to support the idea that the Antichrist will rule the entire world.
There are four Greek words translated world in the New Testament. The first is the word is α ἰώ νaiōn . (Strong’s 165) Its definition is as follows:
1- for ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity
2- the worlds, universe
3- period of time, age
The second Greek word translated world is the word κ ό σμος kosmos. (Strong’s 2889). Its definition is as follows:
1- an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution, order, government
2- ornament, decoration, adornment, i.e. the arrangement of the stars, 'the heavenly hosts', as the ornament of the heavens. 1 Pet. 3:3
3- the world, the universe
4- the circle of the earth, the earth
5- the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family
6- the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore, hostile to the cause of Christ
The third Greek word translates world is the word ο ἰ κουμ έ νη oikoumenē (Strong’s 3625). Its definition is as follows:
1- the inhabited earth a) the portion of the earth inhabited by the Greeks, in distinction from the lands of the barbarians b) the Roman empire, all the subjects of the empire c) the whole inhabited earth, the world d) the inhabitants of the earth, men
2- the universe, the world
The fourth Greek word translated world and also earth is the word γ ῆ gē (Strong’s 1093). Its definition is as follows:
1- arable land
2- the ground, the earth as a standing place
3- the main land as opposed to the sea or water
4- the earth as a whole a) the earth as opposed to the heavens b) the inhabited earth, the abode of men and animals
5- a country, land enclosed within fixed boundaries, a tract of land, territory, region
In summary, the first word aiōn refers to periods of time, ages and the universe. The second word kosmos refers to the universe, the circle of the earth (the entire globe) and the worldly system. The third word oikoumenē refers to the whole inhabited earth, the universe and the world. The fourth word gē refers to land, the abode of animals, the ground, a country, piece of land, territory region.
The words ‘’world’’ and ‘’earth’’ in Revelation 13:3- 8 that are in connection with the beast are translated from the same Greek word gē which refers to a territory, a region, a land enclosed with fixed boundaries and a tract of land and depending on the context, the earth as a whole . In other words, it is not the entire globe that is ruled by the Antichrist, it is a territory, a region, a tract of land.
The Antichrist’s dominion seems to be only regional, not global according to the Greek word used in Revelation 13. In contrast to that, we read in Revelation 11:
‘’And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of his Christ ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. ’’ (Revelation 11:15)
The Greek word translated ‘’world ‘’ in this passage is the word kosmos and as we have seen above, it refers to the universe, to the circle of the earth (the entire globe) not to a territory. Jesus Christ will have the privilege of ruling the entire globe. The Antichrist, on the other hand, seems to be given a regional dominion. This regional dominion will include the Middle East and some of the nearby surrounding regions such as North Africa, Central Asia, and southern Russia
The Coming Bible Prophecy Reformation by Rodrigo Silva is available at amazon.com clickhere for the direct link. Please Note: I do not get commission for referring to Amazon to buy the book. All proceeds go to the author/host.
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