January-March 1999
Volume 2 Number 1.1

Wanted: White Male Jew to Serve as Final Antichrist

Will the Antichrist be Jewish? Is he alive today? Do we live in the final days? Some Christians believe so. What do the Scriptures say on this controversial matter?

by James D. Tabor

There is a most fascinating irony in the latest Jerry Falwell ruckus regarding the Antichrist being a white male Jew alive on earth today. Falwell, in an offhand remark at a Christian conference in Kingsport, Tennessee on January 14th, said he thought that Christ could return within the next ten years, and if so the Antichrist would be alive today-adding, "of course he'll be Jewish."

An AP reporter heard the story, wrote it up, and it flashed around the world. It was picked up by most major papers, including the New York Times and the Washington Post (Jan. 16th). The story has caused a firestorm, with denunciations of "anti-Semitism" and Biblical "literalism" from the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Committee, and National Conference of Christian Bishops.

Falwell has appeared on national television talk shows, reaffirming his strongly pro-Israel stance, but affirming his interpretation as normative among many fundamentalist Christians. His reasoning is simple-if the Antichrist is to deceive the world, attracting the worship of all humanity as a counterfeit Christ-then he must of necessity be Jewish, as Jesus was Jewish. But Rev. Falwell seems to be playing fast and loose with the very Biblical texts he claims to uphold.

The long history of mythological and speculative identification of this elusive figure-the Final Evil Ruler of world history-includes about every possibility. The early Protestants (and some evangelical Christians today), were sure the Antichrist was the Pope.

Muslims expect a figure named al-Daijal, who will lure the Jews and set himself up as ruler in Jerusalem, only to be destroyed by Christ. Jewish tradition (yes, the original idea of an Antichrist is found in ancient Jewish sources-and was picked up by Christians and Muslims) expects a Roman ruler named Armilus, who leads armies against Jerusalem and actually slays the "Messiah ben Joseph," who is co-ruler with the Davidic Messiah. And there are some ancient Jewish traditions, picked up by the Christians, that the Antichrist will be from the Israelite tribe of Dan-which would make him a "Jew" in the loose sense of the word. The tribe of Dan was known in the Bible for its apostasy and unfaithfulness.

But, here is the ironic twist to the current situation. From a strictly Biblical perspective, Falwell is mistaken. As far as the Bible itself is concerned, there are only three texts that deal explicitly with this Final Evil Ruler-the book of Daniel, Paul's letter of II Thessalonians, and the book of Revelation. None of these picture the Antichrist as Jewish-far from it!

In Daniel 11:36-39 we read that this ruler will "consider himself greater than any god" and speak horrendous things against the God of Israel, invading the Holy Land, capturing Jerusalem, and oppressing the Jews. All Biblical scholars know the model here is the notorious Antiochus Epiphanes, the Greek-Syrian ruler who oppressed Israel during the time of the Maccabees (165 BCE). His defeat is celebrated at Hanukkah. Antiochus, as the original archetype of the Antichrist, is surely about as non-Jewish as you can get!

In the second passage the apostle Paul alludes to this very text of Daniel when he offers his own interpretation regarding the arrival of this figure (II Thessalonians 2:3-11). He is to "sit in the Temple of God, claiming that he himself is God." Paul clearly has the actions of the Roman Emperor Caligula in mind here, who attempted to do just that in CE 41--ordering his own statue to be set up in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. At the time II Thessalonians was written all eyes were focused on the emperor Nero, who was expected to behave in similarly mad ways. Again, it is clear that Paul does not have in mind a figure who would be Jewish.

The book of Revelation says the most about the Final Evil Figure of history, but "Rome" is written all over the various descriptions of his reign of terror. His mysterious identifying number is 666-and the title Nero Caesar, spelled in Hebrew neron kasar which has numbers associated with each letter of the alphabet, adds up to just that sum. The standard Roman numerals--I, V, X, L, C, D, when added up, also total 666. The Antichrist does attack Jerusalem, and oppress the people of God, but he rules from a city set on Seven Hills that controls the whole earth-clearly Rome. The writer of Revelation, like Daniel and Paul, understands the final oppressor as a Gentile-on the model of an Antiochus, a Caligula, a Nero, or a Domitian-who did oppose Jews and Christians.

None of these Bible texts offer the slightest possibility that the Antichrist is understood to be a Jew. So in this case, Mr. Falwell, one of our most outspoken advocates of a Biblical view of things, seems to have opted more for ancient legend than a straightforward, even "literal, "reading of the Bible alone.

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