Since the prophecies tell us that the Antichrist will present himself to Israel as the Messiah, many scholars believe that he must be Jewish.

Surely no religious Jew would accept a Gentile as the Messiah of Israel.

The False Messiah and the False Prophet will set off the worst period of persecution that the world will ever know, called the "time of Jacob's trouble.

The rejection of Christ's message by the Jews and Gentiles led to the Cross.

Jesus warned Israel that although they rejected Him who came in the name of His Father, the Jews would accept the false claims of the Antichrist as their Messiah.

The Antichrist will come in his own name.

"I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive"
John 5:43.

Hundreds of specific prophecies point to Jesus as the promised Messiah of the Jews.

He fulfilled the prophecies to the letter and performed countless miracles; yet despite the evidence, many in Israel and others rejected the claims of Him as Messiah.

"Here is wisdom.
Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: his number is 666"
Revelation 13:18

This indicates that the Mark of the Beast, which will be used as a totalitarian control device to enforce the worship of the man of sin, will be connected with the name of the Antichrist.

The numerical value of his name in the Greek or Hebrew language will be connected with 666.

The 'Beast' is a symbol of the Antichrist in some passages of the Bible; in others the symbol of the 'beast' stands for the ten-nation kingdom with its leader.

"Then I stood on the sand of the sea.
And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name"
Revelation 13:1

He is identified as the first beast and is seen rising out of the sea, representing the world of politics and possibly the Mediterranean Sea.

The Antichrist will use peace treaties and agreements to disarm his enemies.

The first horseman on the white horse is the Antichrist coming in false peace.

He holds a bow with no arrow representing disarmament.

Yet he "went out conquering and to conquer" just as the prophets have warned.

John's vision in Revelation reveals that the Antichrist will present himself as a great peacemaker.

He will deceive many people with a false peace.

"And I looked, and behold, a white horse.
And he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer" 
Revelation 6:2.

The False Prophet "makes fire come down from heaven", Revelation 13:13, in his attempt to fulfill the role of the prophet Elijah who is expected to be the forerunner of the Messiah. 

Jesus Himself warned that "many will come in My name saying 'I am the Christ.'"

The Bible tells us that the Antichrist will imitate the true Messiah to deceive the people about his true identity.

He will try to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies regarding Jewish expectation of the coming Messiah.

The name 'antichrist' is the most commonly used title to describe the last great enemy of man.

The name suggests both his total opposition to Christ and his wicked attempt to counterfeit Him.

"Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour"
1 John 2:18

"Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son"
1 John 2:22

"For that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,"
2 Thessalonians 2:3

The Antichrist is called the 'son of perdition' because he, as the seed of Satan, is destined to destroy and to be destroyed by God.

He will be sent to perdition in hell, because of his sinful rebellion.

Paul called the Antichrist the 'son of perdition' in contrast to Jesus as the 'Son of God'.

"Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition"
2 Thessalonians 2:3

Paul promises us that the Great Day of the Lord will not come until the 'falling away comes first.'

Other prophecies also warn about the religious apostasy of the last days.

The Antichrist will only be revealed at the appropriate time after God removes His restraining power.

The New Testament prophets from Matthew to Revelation warn about the last great enemy of God who will oppress the tribulation believers during the last days.

While some like Paul and John use the same titles as the Old Testament prophets, many of the names given to the Antichrist are new.

The names and descriptions tell us more about the Antichrist's rise to power and warn of his worldwide reign of terror.

Despite Satan' first successes, the prophets tell that Jesus will "destroy with the brightness of his coming."

In the Book of Revelation 19:20, John says that "the beast was captured and with him the false prophet. . .these two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone"

Paul calls the Antichrist by this name.

"And then shall that 'Wicked' be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming"
2 Thessalonians 2:8.

Both Isaiah and Paul describes the Antichrist as the 'wicked' because he will give himself entirely to Satan's evilness to destroy God's people and laws.

In Isaiah's prophecy there is a similarity with Revelation chapter 12 where the 'woman' [Israel] flees for three and a half years to a place of devine safety in the wilderness [Jordan] to escape the Antichrist after he defiles the rebuilt Temple.

The prophet Isaiah describes the Antichrist as "the spoiler" and the "extortioner: because he will attempt to destroy all who resist his claims to be "god" while using extortion to gain great riches.  Isaiah 16:4

John also reveals that the wound of the Antichrist will be made with a sword in Revelation 13:14.

He declares, "his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast" Revelation 13:3.

Happy New Year 2013!