The “Resurrected” Antichrist

A popular expectation for the Antichrist is that he will be resurrected from the dead. People get that from Revelation 13:12 which says the Antichrist’s “deadly wound was healed.” It is likely that rather than referring to the person of the Antichrist, this healed wound pertains to the kingdom of the Antichrist since it is in context with Revelation 13:1-3 which clearly refers to an empire that has been revived.

However, it would not surprise me if there were not some sort of deception associated with the Antichrist that he would be some person from long-past history. Jesus proved that He was the Son of God by His resurrection. Satan will be compelled to pull off some stunt for his man that could be seen as equally remarkable. Satan is not God so he does not have power to give life but he likes to masquerade as being from God; “For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14, NKJ).

Another reason I would not be surprised if some sort of resurrection or reincarnation might be among the Antichrist’s credentials is that this is consistent with what Muslims expect for their messiah. The more I consider the idea that the Antichrist will be a Muslim, the more I find this helps explain the geopolitical trends of our times. Muslims disagree on many details of their religion but they are all looking for a deliverer to come who will unite the world under Islam.

Most Muslims expect their messiah to be someone born of the Prophet Muhammad’s family. But “Twelfther” Shiites like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have a more specific expectation that their messiah to be the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi who was born in 869 A.D. Tradition has it that the Twelfth Imam did not die but was hidden by God so Twelfthers expect he will reemerge in the midst of a great Jihad. That is why Ahmadinejad wants to incite an existential war with Israel.

Jesus warned that there would be great deception during the Tribulation… “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:5). If there will be false christs during that time, another potential scenario is that there could be a false Muhammad. What better candidate for the Muslim messiah than a “resurrected” Muhammad. I think it is highly likely that during the Tribulation someone claiming to be Jesus Christ will come on the scene saying he is only a prophet and not the Son of God but people should worship the “resurrected” Muhammad who is. Muslims certainly expect Jesus to put in an appearance in conjunction with the last Jihad.

Certainly some of this is speculation but it is consistent with what the Bible tells us about the Antichrist and False Prophet as well as what Muslims have been taught to believe. And this scenario is reinforced by the geopolitical trends we are seeing today. There is no question that the world is in for some serious changes in the not-too-distant future.