Throughout church history there have been many attempts to identify the Antichrist. Most of these attempts have been the result of someone believing two things: (1) that they were living in the last days, and (2) that the Antichrist would naturally be associated with one of that day’s enemies of Christianity. This has led many to claim that the Pope is, or will be, the Antichrist. Others have suggested that dictators such as Hitler, Napoleon, or Ceasar were the Antichrist. Some even believe that the Antichrist could be a U.S. President. All such views stem from a lack of scriptural understanding. Yes, the Pope and various world leaders are evil, but the coming Antichrist is far more than evil; he’s the ultimate evil. He’s “that wicked” (II Ths. 2:8), and he’s “the son of perdition” (II Ths. 2:3). I do not think his home will be the White House, the Vatican, Moscow, or Shanghai. I believe God's word directs us elsewhere.
Of the many types of Antichrist found in the Bible, none are found in Europe, East Asia, or the Americas. If you’ll draw a triangle on a mid east map with the three points being Haran, Egypt, and the northern tip of the Persian Gulf, you will have identified the home of the Antichrist. Of eighteen different types of Antichrist in the Bible, all are found in this area. Add a few more men to the list, such as Lamech or some of the wicked kings of Israel, and you’ll still be in the triangle. According to the Bible, the Antichrist will be found in the Middle East. If I am wrong and the Antichrist happens to be a Pope, a UN chief, or a Western or Eastern dictator, then he will still end up in the Middle East, and it is from there that he will rule his short-lived kingdom. The earth’s first sinner was from the Tigris-Euphrates River area (Gen. 2:10-14), and it is there that the tempter first appeared to him. So, that is where Satan will plant his coming “man of sin.”
One of the earliest indicators of this is Nimrod (meaning “the rebel”) who began his kingdom at Babel in the land of Shinar (Gen. 10:8-10). While exalting man and ignoring God, this kingdom became the first united nations movement in history, and it was finally brought to an end by the intervening judgment of God (Gen. 11:1-9). All of this was centered in what is modern day Irag.
Another empire builder was Nebuchadnezzar. Like the “beast” of Revelation, Nebuchadnezzar persecuted Israel, literally became like a beast for seven years (Dan. 4), and he demanded that people worship his image (Dan. 3). Like his ancestor Nimrod, he hung his hat at Babylon.
Sennacherib the Assyrian was an empire builder who persecuted Israel and was judged by the angel of the Lord (II Kgs. 19). His capital city is first mentioned in connection with Nimrod (Gen. 10:8-11), and his kingdom covers much of the same land as Nimrod’s kingdom, including Babylon. In fact, the Holy Spirit connects him with Nimrod in a specific prophecy concerning the Antichrist: “And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.” (Micah 5:5-6) Also see Isaiah 5:10, 14:25, 23:13, 27:13, 52:4, and Jeremiah 50:17.
Haman the Agagite was another grand type of the Antichrist. He had ten sons (Est. 9:10-12), just as the Antichrist will have ten kings (Rev. 17:12), and he was “the adversary and enemy” who sought to exterminate the Jews (Est. 7:6), just as the Antichrist will do (Rev. 12:17). He was from Shushan, the winter home of the Persian kings near the tip of the Persian Gulf (Est. 3:15; 9:12), also a part of the Babylonian and Assyrian empires.
Even many of the Pharaohs of Egypt (including the ones in Genesis and Exodus) were Hyksos (“shepherd kings”) from Syria. Syria fits well within the boundaries of our geographic triangle, and it was part of the Assyrian, Persian, Babylonian, and Roman Empires.
Other types of Antichrist, such as Ahab, Goliath, Jeroboam, Judas, and Saul, are from the land of Israel because the Antichrist makes a covenant with Israel and he ends up defiling Israel’s rebuilt temple (Dan. 9:27; II Ths. 2:3-7). The whole emphasis is on the Middle East, the triangle area that we mentioned earlier.
Even when the Roman rulers Herod and Pontius Pilate come onto the Biblical scene, they are in Israel (in our triangle), not in Rome, and the Herod that murdered the Jewish children (Mat. 2:1-22) was “the son of Antipater, an Idumaean, and Cypros, an Arabian of noble descent.” (Easton’s Bible Dictionary). Contrary to fundamental opinion, all roads do not lead to Rome. They lead to the Middle East and back to Babylon where they began. The wicked Pope of Rome might very well be aligned with the Antichrist, and some have speculated that he could be the False Prophet, but I seriously doubt that the Antichrist himself will be a Pope.
Now, there’s a simple reason for believing in an Antichrist-Babylon connection more than an Antichrist-Rome connection, an Antichrist-Russia connection, or an Antichrist-White House connection. The book that tells us of the Beast and his kingdom of terror also names his city six times (Rev. 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2; 18:10; 18:21). The city is Babylon, plain and simple. It is not likely some other city that might represent Babylon, and it is not “mystery Babylon,” an unscriptural term (Revelation 17:5 places a comma between the two words, thus changing the meaning altogether. Besides, the word “mystery” isn’t even used with the other five “Babylon” occurrences in Revelation.) Zechariah 5 states that Babylon will be rebuilt, so it appears as a literal rebuilt city in Revelation, and the Beast is closely connected with it (Rev. 17:3, 18).
Is it possible that Revelation's Babylon is not literal Babylon, but rather some other city and kingdom? Yes, it's possible, and some have made some strong arguments for such a case, but it's also possible that it refers to the literal rebuilt city of Babylon as a headquarters for the New World Order of the Antichrist. Larkin believed this nearly a century ago, and I see no good reason to forsake this view, at least not yet. If Oak Ridge Tennessee can see a population increase of 2,500% (from 3,000 to 75,000) in three years (1942-1945), then we shouldn't doubt the possibility of something even greater happening in the 21st century Middle East. I could be wrong, but only time will tell.
