Last month, we commented upon the anti-Semitism that seems to be increasing…although so far it is directed [primarily] against the nation Israel (denying modern Israel any part in Bible prophecy) and not against Jewish individuals. Of course, scripture indicates quite clearly that the coming millennial manifestation of the kingdom of God is tied very closely to Israel. Thus, to deny Israel that special part in prophecy, and to claim that the church is now Israel, removes foundational points of reference and opens the door to distortion and confusion both as to Israel and the church. The angel Gabriel confirmed the great importance of Israel’s connection to the Millennium when he told Mary that the child to whom she would give birth, who was clearly the promised virgin-born Messiah, “the Son of the Highest,” would reign upon “the throne of His father David...[and] over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there [should] be no end” (Luke 1:30-33).

The Antichrist, of course, is the counterfeit of the true Christ, and he will establish a kingdom which will be the counterfeit of the true millennial reign of Christ. I have been saying for years that the depiction of the Antichrist in most Christian books and movies as an obviously evil ogre will only help the Antichrist when he comes. He will actually seem to be a man of peace, love, and brotherhood who has only the good of the human race in mind. He will be Satan’s man posing as God’s man, the Antichrist masquerading as the true Christ, and his kingdom will claim for itself the prophecies that God has promised to Israel.

[Dave Hunt’s newsletter on Anti-Semitism is as relevant today as it was when it was published 37 years ago. The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) finally recognized the State of Israel, establishing diplomatic relations on December 30, 1993, over 45 years after the modern nation was founded.

The RCC also recognized the (non-existent) State of Palestine on June 26, 2015.

The RCC continues to believe that the Roman Catholic Church is the new Israel. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1994, says, “…from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord Jesus instituted the Twelve as ‘the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy.’”1]

Of all the prophecies in the Bible, Revelation 17 is the most astonishing. It culminates a series of visions of four world empires, the fourth to be revived in the "last days" and ruled by Antichrist through ten subordinate "kings"—a series of visions which began 600 years earlier in Daniel 2 with Nebuchadnezzar's image. The image's "head of gold" was the first world empire, the Babylonian; the "breast and arms of silver" pictured the succeeding Medo-Persian Empire; next was the Grecian represented by "belly and thighs of brass"; and finally the "legs of iron, and feet [with ten toes signifying ten kings] part of iron and part of clay" depicted the fourth world empire arising out of Rome.

Daniel's prophecy (continued in chapters 7-12) foretold accurate details of coming world empires which we can't enumerate. Apropos of our subject, however, the image's two legs foretold the Roman Empire's division into East and West. And so it happened, first politically; centuries later, religiously. Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy (which in July again gained control of religion in Russia) remain divided to this day. They will, however, be reunited as the core of Antichrist's new world religion.