God's Final Battle - 2

Apollo Antichrist

CHAPTER 2

APOLLO ANTICHRIST

The adepts of the occult have always known that the reign of Lucifer, and the dawning of a New Golden Age, will only begin when his son, Apollo, is seated on the throne of a world empire.

— Timothy Alberino

Biblically speaking, the name Antichrist hardly lives up to the hype of our modern myths. Oddly enough, the appellation is used only a handful of times within the text of Scripture itself. However, as we will see, the character we know today as the Antichrist does indeed make many other appearances throughout the biblical story, though he often goes by other names.

The only direct references to antichrist found in the Word, occur in the books of First and Second John. There are five in all.

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

— I John 2:18

These first references are interesting because they presuppose some extra-scriptural knowledge on the part of the contemporary reader of John’s day. The early Christians, it seems, had been taught of a final Antichrist yet to come.

John’s intriguing presupposition is not entirely unlike Paul’s own mention of the Church’s final enemy.

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

— II Thessalonians 2:3-5 (ESV)

Here we find Paul reminding the Thessalonians of a doctrine he had previously taught them. Namely, that Antichrist (the Son of Destruction) had at that time not yet come, but that he would arrive on the scene before the end.

I will go one step further by saying that even now as I write this in the year 2024 (5996) the Antichrist has still not yet come into the full power of his final kingdom. Yet, as Timothy Alberino asserts, Apollo has long been postured for a future revelation.

Apollo is everywhere portrayed as an icon of the Golden Age: his hallmark feature is golden hair, and he rides a golden chariot, plays a golden lyre, and wields a golden sword and a golden bow. According to myth, Apollo was born on Delos, one of the islands in the Cyclades archipelago that Poseidon raised out of the sea, where a magnificent temple and statue were erected to his glory by the Greeks. The word delos means “brought to light” as in “revealed.”

The revealing of Apollo is a prominent sign of the end of the age.

— Timothy Alberino (Birthright)[2]

In the next chapter, we will explore how the ancient heathen myths often symbolize unseen beings which are in fact quite real. This investigation will lead us to the surprising realization that the Greek god Apollo is in fact a mythical foreshadowing of Satan’s final earthly son, as alluded to by Alberino above.

However, the Antichrist, as part of the Unholy Trinity (a topic for another chapter), is also the spiritual seed of another ancient god. And it is this other god whom Paul seems to be referencing in II Thessalonians, with the title son of destruction. This becomes clearer when we understand that the Greek word for destruction is apoleia. In ancient Greek writings, the verb form of this word was often linked to the god Apollo himself. However, in Second Thessalonians this reading would yield “son of Apollo,” which does not quite fit the typology we would expect. How can Apollo be his own son?

Fortunately, in the book of Revelation, John the Revelator makes a distinction between a far older god of destruction and the Greeks’ Apollo.

And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

— Revelation 9:11

Curiously, this designation both distinguishes Apollyon from Apollo and yet calls him to mind (Revelation 9 also speaks of a plague of locusts, and the locust was an emblem of the god Apollo). Abaddon means destruction or ruin, which as we just saw is equivalent to apoleia in Greek. But Apollyon is a distinct Greek word meaning destroyer.

The angel of the abyss. The lord of the dead. The Destroyer. We will meet this character in all his unholy glory in the next chapter. For now, it is enough to know that the Antichrist is his spiritual seed and that he will follow in his father’s footsteps in more ways than one.

The linkage between the two is clear enough when thoughtfully considering the texts above. John specifically calls the angel of the bottomless pit the Destroyer. And Paul calls the Antichrist the son of destruction (or of the Destroyer). In other words, Apollo is the son of Apollyon. But fear not, we will flesh this connection out in much more detail further along.

The other three references to Antichrist found in First and Second John (the first reference contained the word twice) provide us with additional clues.

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

— I John 2:22

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

— I John 4:2-3

For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

— II John 7

It is interesting to notice once again that these few references to the Antichrist in the sacred Scriptures hardly comport with the sprawling tales and legends which have sprung up regarding the man. As we shall see, the Scriptures have at once both less and more to say about this character than most Christians have been taught. In other words, much of the apocalyptic Scriptures have been misappropriated to him, while other passages clearly symbolizing him and his kingdom have been overlooked.

These passages from the Apostle John repeatedly deal with the themes of lying and deception, key features of the final Antichrist. This is also reminiscent of the false teachers Jesus warned us of during his ministry.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

— Matthew 24:24

Catholic author Taylor R. Marshall has a particularly insightful take on this passage.

The Peshitta renders “false christ” in Matthew 24:24 as meshih daggala, meaning “liar messiah.” So Christ explicitly warns us that pseudochrists – liar messiahs – will in fact arrive to deceive not merely the secular world, but chiefly Christ’s own disciples. The attack will be into the interior of His Church, His elect.

The original term “liar messiah” likely came into Greek as “pseudochrist,” which eventually would be rendered as “Antichrist.” …

The Antichrist is not just a false messiah – he is against Christ, opposed to Christ, and makes himself stand in the place of Christ.

— Taylor R. Marshall (Antichrist and Apocalypse)[3]

The son of Satan is a cheap counterfeit of the Son of God. He is a liar messiah. The pomp of his kingdom will appear to have real substance, yet it will melt away like the frost at the first sign of daybreak.

One of the earliest noncanonical Christian works, the Didache, which means “teaching,” speaks of the final Antichrist in no uncertain terms.

… then the deceiver of the world will appear as a son of God, and he will do signs and wonders, and the earth will be given over into his hands, and he will commit iniquities which have never been since the world began. Then the creation of mankind will come to the fiery trial and “many will be offended” and be lost, but “they who endure” in their faith “will be saved” by the curse itself.

— Didache 16:4-5 (LSV)

Iniquities which have never been since the world began. Now that is something the whole world would surely sit up and notice, right? You would think so. But then again, things are never that simple.

Pseudo-Ezekiel[4], a Qumran text, contains still more mysterious details about our end times enemy.

And yhwh said: “A son of Belial will plot to oppress my people, but I will prevent him, and his dominion will not exist; but a multitude will be defiled, offspring will not remain.”

— 4Q386

From extrabiblical texts such as these, it is abundantly clear that the early Church had been warned of a final Antichrist. The Apostles Paul and John also appear to support this expectation by their statements within Scripture itself.

However, around the time of the Protestant Reformation, many Christians began to associate the Antichrist with the Roman Catholic pope as a general figure rather than a specific man. As we will discover in forthcoming chapters, these reformers backed up their claims with solid arguments based largely upon the book of Revelation. However, while I believe the Catholic supreme pontiff is indeed an antichrist power, and of the antichrist spirit (II John 7), I do not believe that his existence and his connection to certain biblical prophecies necessarily rules out the ancient idea of an individual man as the final Antichrist. Remember, Paul mentions in II Thessalonians 2:8 that the son of destruction will be destroyed by the brightness of Yeshua’s coming. And yet, as John testifies, the spirit of antichrist has been in the world for a very long time now.

We must be discerning to parse these overlapping realities.

Unlikely as it may seem, I believe there are even a few Old Testament passages which allude to the final Antichrist character. One such reference is found in the book of Isaiah.

O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

— Isaiah 10:5-6

Even many popular end times evangelists of our time understand that the Assyrian is emblematic of the Antichrist. But where his story really begins to get interesting is in the verse immediately following.

Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

— Isaiah 10:7

Is this a hint that the Antichrist himself is a bit of a misunderstood character? Is he perhaps not quite as pure evil as often depicted, but rather someone used as a powerful pawn of the serpent?

Now, it is not my aim in this book to name the Antichrist for you. Rather, I want to provide you with all of the critical tools and historical puzzle pieces necessary for you to make your own informed assessment of the matter.

In the end, telling you my opinion would be of no use to you. The truth would always necessarily require a certain measure of discernment, and that is not something I can simply give you. All I can do is show you some rather interesting puzzle pieces and provide the framework for how I think they best fit together. It is up to you to snap the final pieces into place before stepping back and deciding whether the completed picture reminds you of anyone in particular.

Now, I did not say that you will like the conclusion you reach, for undoubtedly you will like the man. Antichrist has come to fool all of Christendom, remember? And that includes you. Still, you need not remain fooled forever.

It seems that the Antichrist has not risen to his full power just yet. Perhaps you will glimpse him more clearly in the light of the coming pagan golden age. But most will not. This will always be a rare truth. Do you really think the Devil is going to make his final play transparent to us? No, surely the Antichrist will appear as a good guy, an angel of light. He will seem less opposed to Christ than we’d expect, but he will instead be postured in place of Christ. And so, this last deception will only be comprehended (on earth, at least) by the remnant of the remnant. As Isaiah testifies, most Christians will be temporarily deceived.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

— Isaiah 10:20

This is found in the same passage speaking of the Assyrian, and it would not make any sense for this statement to apply to Satan or to another power of darkness. It can only logically apply to the Assyrian himself, the final Antichrist. But this means that God has prophetically spoken that his own people will trust in the Antichrist (the one who smites them and treads them down like the mire of the streets) prior to Jesus Christ’s return. Accordingly, if you and I are gifted discernment from God and come to recognize the Antichrist and to see through his deception, we must recognize that we will always be the few in these final days. Even in the Church, we will be outnumbered by those who fail to discern the times. But this is nothing but what ought to be.

In my first book, the final fulfillment of the abomination of desolation was the feat of discernment left squarely upon the reader’s shoulders. This was quite intentional. The reasons are manifold, but for one, telling someone an utterly profound truth will never achieve the same impact as the aha moment they have arrived at through their own labors. Here, too, I am giving you the opportunity to attain your own aha moment through modest mental effort. And once again, I’ve stacked the deck in your favor.

As Paul makes plain in Second Thessalonians, the final Antichrist will take his seat in the Temple of God. Desecrating the Temple is perhaps his ultimate deception and his highest (lowest) purpose. This means that the final abomination and the final Antichrist are closely linked. Discern the abomination and you will surely have what it takes to glimpse the Antichrist himself.

In truth, this moment has already come and gone. The Temple has been defiled, and so Apollo has already been revealed. Yet few have glimpsed him.

In this age of mass media, Apollo has come to have a most carefully curated persona amongst the populace. Some hate him, some love him, but always our perception of the man has been of utmost importance to the powers that be. Billions have been spent on our perception alone. And so, the docile masses have missed the key anomalies lighting the way to the irresistible truth. Yet, with your discernment sharpened, you may perhaps find a way to slice through the deceit. I ask you only to take careful note of the markers I have left for you along the way. Nothing I have written is at random, nor are my words without deeper meaning.

Here, again, Sir Isaac Newton’s insights into the precise situation we find ourselves in are profound.

Consider how our Saviour [sic] taught the Iews [Jews] in Parables that in hearing they might hear & not understand & in seeing they might see & not perceive. And as these Parables were spoken to try the Iews so the mysticall [sic] scriptures were written to try us. Therefore beware that thou be not found wanting in this tryall [sic]. For if thou beest, the obscurity of these scriptures will as little excuse thee as the obscurity of our Saviours Parables excused the Iews. Consider also the instructions of our Saviour concerning these latter times by the Parable of the Fig-tree. Now, learn a parable of the Figtree, saith he: When his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that Summer is nigh. So likewise ye when ye see these things know that it is near even at the doors. – Watch therefore for ye know not what hower your Lord doth come. Wherefore it is thy duty to learn the signes of the times that thou mayst know how to watch, & be able to discern what times are coming on the earth by the things that are already past. If thou doest watch thou mayst know when it is at the door as a man knows by the leaves of a figtree that Somer is nigh … If thou doest not watch, how canst thou escape more then other men, For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell upon the face of the whole earth.

— Sir Isaac Newton (Untitled Treatise on Revelation)

The mystical Scriptures speaking of Apollo Antichrist will indeed try us. And it is a heroic trial, no doubt. But we are not without guiding lights on this gloomy quest.

Discerning what times are coming on the earth by the things that are already past, and by the illumination of Scripture, is precisely what we will be concerned with doing here. And perhaps in the process the enigmatic Apollo will reveal himself to us.