I’m not really a Christian (although I don’t discount the possibility that Jesus did exist and was a very strong shaman), but there’s always been something fascinating about the concepts of the ‘Antichrist’, the ‘Lawless One’, and the ‘False Prophet’. Many Christian theologists think all of these may be about one single person, even though the Bible doesn’t explicitly say so. But if that is so, then the Bible presents this person as quite deliberate; he has consciously chosen to be the Antichrist. I’ve always wondered if that was even possible — if you were foolish enough to actually choose that, wouldn’t you be too foolish to actually do the job?

First, let’s define the word antichrist. Wherever it is mentioned in the Bible (by John), it’s mostly used in a general sense, talking about any person who denies Jesus. That is, it seems John simply invented the word ‘antichrist’ to describe what we today call ‘atheist’. But the ‘Lawless One’, on the other hand, is probably one particular individual. From the Christian perspective, it would be reasonable to assume this individual would also be an antichrist (as well as a false prophet or false messiah). Thus was born the concept of the ultimate bad guy, the Antichrist.

To understand what it would take to be this kind of Antichrist, let’s take a brief look at what Christ himself stood for. If we study what he did and said about life on the mortal plane, we see a distinct pattern. Using today’s political vocabulary, we would say he was left-wing, and very radically so (almost communist). He wanted tolerance, understanding, and forgiveness, he wanted people to sell their stuff and give to the poor (very explicitly saying that rich people don’t go to heaven), to accept and love each other as equals, and all that hippie stuff. He even said people should pay their taxes, and such. He was decidedly on the socialist side of the spectrum.

This is a reason I think persons with right-wing political views cannot be ‘true’ Christians. People who called themselves Christians while holding right-wing views must be either ignorant, hypocrites, or liars. (Arguably, if you define antichrist as ‘opposite of Christ’, then you could even call all ring-wing people antichrist, but that’s a different definition than the one above. Still, it seems reasonable to guess that the Antichrist would not share Christ’s values, and might in fact be a rich guy.)

Anyway, the Bible says that the ‘Lawless One’ basically tries to make himself God (through all kinds of tricks, including deception). This may or may not suggest some fascistic inclinations, but it definitely suggests an enormous ego, and probably a mind-boggling capacity for both having and selling delusions, as well as the charisma of a psychopath. The staggeringly abnormal psyche required to pull this off has always made it hard for me to believe such a person is even possible.

That is, until about a year ago, when a person having just this kind of psyche arrived on the world scene. He has proved to me (and probably others) that the Antichrist personality could indeed not only exist, but also be effective. He has an ego the size of a planet; by now, probably not too many would be surprised if he actually tried to make himself a god. He lacks actual empathy, and generally seems to have all the psychopathic traits needed for the job, including the charisma. He has been shown to lie to the general public more than 6 times a day (on average), and he is so delusional that believing his own fabrications probably comes naturally to him. He sells these lies with such conviction and passion that an amazing fraction of the population buys it, even here in Europe. (For a few reasons how that’s possible, see my post Things that don’t exist; he cunningly fuels exactly the kind of denial and conspiracy theories I mention there.) In his world, lies becomes truth, and truth becomes fake news. And through these unscrupulous methods, as well as the fortune he got from his father, he gained the power he sought. He’s the current president of the United States.

Personally, I’ve found this both fascinating and disturbing. I’ve always wondered what kind of personality could possibly become the Antichrist, and now we have a person doing pretty much just the kind of things the Antichrist would do, and that it’s possible to study (to some degree) to see how. I’ve never believed in an actual Antichrist, but it’s disturbing either way — even if he’s not it, he’s still an extremely dangerous person that will destabilize the world through his inept, delusional actions, and if nobody stops him, could start the next World War. We’re now seeing clear evidence of that.

(On the other hand, this kind of personality may be rare. If we accept the possibility that there may be an actual Antichrist, it’s unlikely that there will be another like him. So who knows, maybe this really does mean that the end times are soon upon us? That Jesus will soon return (and destroy the Antichrist)? Hmm, I suppose that would be interesting, but I’m not going to count on it…)

For me, it’s quite depressing to see things like this without really having the power to do anything about it. It’s one of the reasons I prefer to keep to myself. I like to stay home, and try to forget the outside world exists. Unfortunately, that’s not always an option, the outside world seems to have a habit of not forgetting me. While I can’t change that, I can at least write down some of my thoughts. And if you happen to be reading this, just remember: whatever is going to happen in the world will affect you, too. But if you use your voice, you may affect it back.