Why would the antichrist bother?!

Hello all,

I've been reading this site for years and I am easily engrossed by all manner of theories on here. It's a pleasure to be making my first post and I hope someone will be able to answer my question.

If, so it is said, the armageddon etc does actually occur with the antichrist rising only to be defeated, then why would he/she bother if the outcome is already foretold?

I've always wondered this and was hoping someone may be able to shed some light on it. Lately i've been contemplating life etc and it's quite depressing to think it may just be pointless, don't like the thought of reincarnation (whats the point of starting over and over again with no previous memories and loved ones), and I also find the idea of a heaven quite hard to swallow! I wish i had more faith but i just find it hard to believe in a God to be truthful. Wish something could put me at ease!

Hi, welcome to ATS. Good first post. I always enjoy posts that make you think.

Let me first state that, in Armageddon, as presented in the Bible (Revelations), I do not think that it is a evil vs. good battle.

I interpret revelations as in 3 steps.

1. The Antichrist is made known, and he/she begins to assemble his/her followers.

2. The devout and holy are lifted into heaven for saftey (the rapture).

3. The remaining situation is unclear as far as I'm concerned. I personally think this is the part where god comes down and cleanses the earth of all evil, possibly restoring it to the garden of eden. I hope god gives those of us (including me) who are not sure about him a chance to reconsider after the rapture happens. LOL. Or i'm screwed !

If your Lucifer, why resist if God will just come down and wipe you out of existence? Well maybe because Lucifer knows a lot more about God then we do? Maybe God isn't as all powerful and omnipotent as we are led to believe he is? I'm assuming there hasn't been an armageddon in the history of man before, so really Lucifer doesn't know if he can win. Revelations isn't the sole and last word on the matter my friend, its only an intrepretation.

Cheers -
zeeon
Hope that helps

Good stuff, thanks very much for your response.

As you say about the rapture, people being taken up into heaven for safety. Why? What about all the millions of good people in the past and present who have been murdered and put through great pain, where was their safety? Why will the people in the rapture deserve the safety when people just as good and devout as them were killed in the past?

I personally find all of this topic fascinating, even moreso than UFO's and such

If, so it is said, the armageddon etc does actually occur with the antichrist rising only to be defeated, then why would he/she bother if the outcome is already foretold?

Well, Satan once tried to overpower God in a bid for ultimate power, thus becoming what he is today. Maybe Satan really think that he will succeed again by "at least" taking control of the world?

But the same question can also be applied to humans as well, or at least if you are a Christian. The New World Order is, in a way, also already predicted, so we can't really do anything about that as well. Even if we somehow stop it now, what's to say that it won't come back again in a thousand years?

I'm assuming there hasn't been an armageddon in the history of man before, so really Lucifer doesn't know if he can win.

Lucifer already tried to take God's place, before he got cast down to hell. I think that you are right that Lucifer still doubts God's powers, I mean, people do that too.

What about all the millions of good people in the past and present who have been murdered and put through great pain, where was their safety?

But they are already dead, so they are in either hell or heaven, depending of course on what they did in life.

Why will the people in the rapture deserve the safety when people just as good and devout as them were killed in the past?

Because the rapture is a kind of final step of human history. Like I said, people who did good and died before the rapture will be judged according to their deeds in life.

How does one do good?

Mod Edit: Big Quote – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 26/3/2007 by Mirthful Me]

I too have been looking for answers.

I find that the answers in some religions to appear incomplete, illogical and/or contradicting.

Do you know why the bible does not mention incarnation and why most of us do not remember our past lives but others do?

Obedience. Obey and you go to heaven, disobey and you go to hell and/or reincarnate again and again without knowledge of your previous lives until you choose to obey.

A giant brainwashing trap designed to enslave and trap our souls into obedience.

Check this out,
www.belowtopsecret.com...

It is a theory and discusion which may explain why some powerful entity would need to decieve us for our souls and our total obedience in the afterlife.

It is very interesting.

[edit on 26-3-2007 by ixiy]

Originally posted by zeeon
Well maybe because Lucifer knows a lot more about God then we do? Maybe God isn't as all powerful and omnipotent as we are led to believe he is?

Or Lucifer doesn't know as much about God as he thinks he does. Or it could be the Lucifer knows that God always plays by the rules and thinks he can use this to his advantage.

The antichrist himself would just be a pawn of the Devil. Probably oblivious to his own fate and blinded by power. I'm sure he will believe that he picked the right side in the battle.

Originally posted by dbates
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The antichrist himself would just be a pawn of the Devil. Probably oblivious to his own fate and blinded by power. I'm sure he will believe that he picked the right side in the battle.

Very true. I am not even sure that the person who becomes the "anti-Christ" will ever be fully aware of who he is. While he may certainly realize that he is supposed to do some "grand" thing, he may very well never realize the magnitude of his actions.

It is quite apparent that he doesn't really become a tyrannical individual until he receives the "fatal wound" to the head. This seems to indicate that only after he receives a blow to the head, most likely a bullet, does he become the "monster" that so many of us dread. I hate to say it, but when an attempt on your life is made, you tend to turn into a "monster." I can't say that I wouldn't react harshly as well if someone tried to kill me.

[edit on 26-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

A few things come to mind.

The devil or anti-christ or whatever has been pretty successful I imagine. Or at least hes gathered plenty of souls. This may be boosting his ego a bit and perhaps he feels God has underestimated his abilities.

Or, just because his doom is fated it doesnt mean he should just give up. All of us are born just to die but it doesnt keep us from living. Well, most of us.

Or, Satan or whatever, is just part of God's testing us and is actually working for God and as such will not be destroyed. Or maybe he will. Like an ultimate sacrifice on his part to ensure heaven for the righteous and not just every slob born.

The're are many more scenerios but I dont want to create a massive post everyone will just scan by and scroll past.

Originally posted by mrbocci
Why would the antichrist bother?!

Because he's driven by a force he can't control.

Originally posted by WiseSheep
Because he's driven by a force he can't control.

that explaination doesn't work because the antichrist would be human, and therefore have free will

here's why the antichrist would bother, the story wouldn't make sense if he didn't.

Originally posted by madnessinmysoul
that explaination doesn't work because the antichrist would be human, and therefore have free will

We all have free will, satan has free will. That's why he did what he did and we did what we did, and we are where we are.

We can be blinded by our pride, and give ourselves over to it and lose what control we thought we had. That's when we become a puppet. If you don't believe the puppet master exists, it makes the job that much easier for him. You don't fight the strings.

Originally posted by madnessinmysoul
here's why the antichrist would bother, the story wouldn't make sense if he didn't.

When you're living the story line it's gonna be made to make sense, if not by you, by somebody else.

You can't change it. Even you are part of the story line. You are written.

Originally posted by madnessinmysoul
that explaination doesn't work because the antichrist would be human, and therefore have free will

"Free Will" is a subject that is very much up for debate. I am not certain that I really believe in it. Many others have doubts about the concept of "free will," as well.

We make decisions more often than not based on circumstance. That is not "free will."

[edit on 26-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

[edit on 26-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
We make decisions more often than not based on circumstance. That is not "free will."

but we are still the ones making the decision. sure, there are isolated instances where any other decision would seem ridiculous, but we still have the option.

actually, the antichrist bothered because he just hated christians, that silly nero

Some interesting points have been made here personally I would agree with the train of thought that one, the Antichrist doesn't know it and two, the devil is evil and misguided, and thinks he can win. However it doesn't really concern me because I'll be raptured before it becomes a significant problem for the world.

Originally posted by Elron
However it doesn't really concern me because I'll be raptured before it becomes a significant problem for the world.

Lahaye's theology. That man is selling a bunch of people a great deception.

Originally posted by Elron
However it doesn't really concern me because I'll be raptured before it becomes a significant problem for the world.

One shouldn't allow himself to be too sure. Dangerous ground.

Luke 21:36
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

None of us deserve salvation, let alone being spared from what is to come. True we are not appointed unto wrath, but don't allow yourself to forget the land in which you came from.

lol there is nothing wrong with being confident in your salvation, I'm the youth worker for my church, I witness to people everyday, so if I wasn't sure that I was saved then how on earth could I tell them that they can be? I'm 18 now and I don't believe I'll ever experience physical death I think the world is reach the pointed suggested in the bible for the rapture, hough I'm not 100% sure, people have thought it in the past and have been wrong. But whether I die or I'm raptured either way I will not be around when the Antichrist is a problem.
I don't even know who LaHaye is I came to my beliefs through prayerful consideration of the bible, nothing else, I'm not particularly interested in what philosophers or scholars have to say on the subject, its Gods word not theirs, so if I don't understand part of it I go to God.

[edit on 28-3-2007 by Elron]

The rapture is not biblical at all. God does not promise an escape for anyone.

Lahaye's "Rapture" Ideology

[edit on 28-3-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

If, so it is said, the armageddon etc does actually occur with the antichrist rising only to be defeated, then why would he/she bother if the outcome is already foretold?

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thats good i never thought about that