Who is the Antichrist?

Ban Ki Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations

On October 13th, Ban Ki Moon of South Korea was chosen as the 8th Secretary General of the United Nations. Ban replaced Secretary General Kofi Annan as head of the UN on January 1, 2007. The choice of the UN leader generated more than a little interest among people who understand the prophecies of the Bible and the times in which we now live. The United Nations is the only organization designed to be a system of global governance, the UN term for world government. Since the Antichrist will rule over a world government and since the prophetic fulfillments that are to accompany the ascendancy of the Antichrist are converging right now, the question begs to be asked: Will Ban Ki Moon preside over the UN during the reign of the Antichrist or some would even dare to ask, “could he be the Antichrist himself?

Who is Ban Ki Moon?

Ban Ki Moon received his bachelor’s degree in international relations from Seoul National University in 1970 and earned a Master of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1985. His supporters say that Ban is a consummate mediator and a world-class administrator. He sees himself as a harmonizer, balancer and mediator.


“My tenure will be marked by ceaseless efforts to build bridges and close divides,” Ban told hundreds of diplomats and UN staff members after the General Assembly ratified his selection as leader of the world government body. “Leadership of harmony not division, by example not instruction, has served me well so far. I intend to stay the course as secretary general,” Ban said.


Ban has had a long affiliation with the UN, dating back to his time as a staff member of the UN division of the South Korean Home Office in 1975. He also worked as chairman of the preparatory commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization in 1999 while he was South Korean ambassador to Austria. For two and one-half years, he served as South Korea’s foreign minister.


During his campaign for Secretary General, Ban expressed strong and unequivocal support for the International Criminal Court, ”the recently formed permanent world court with the power to prosecute individuals from anywhere on earth (including you). He also supports the “Responsibility to Protect,” which states that the world community has the right and even the responsibility to interfere in the internal affairs of a nation if the international community decides that genocide or crimes against humanity are being committed by the government of that nation. The concept of humanitarian intervention was accepted in principle at the 2005 UN Heads-of-State Summit. It was the first time the UN openly claimed the right to violate the sovereignty of nations.


Ban also reiterated his support for the Millennium Development Goals that were set by the UN Millennium Summit in the year 2000. The targets, which were designed to redistribute wealth from “have” nations to “have not” nations, are supposed to be attained by 2015. The world community asked each developed nation to donate .07% of its Gross National Income to developing nations each year in order to achieve these goals. The new secretary general has promised to pursue these global goals with energy and determination.


Former UN leader Kofi Annan hailed Ban as “a future secretary-general who is exceptionally attuned to the sensitivities of countries and constituencies in every continent,” and said he would be “a man with a truly global mind at the helm of the world’s only universal organization.”

Is it time for the Antichrist?

The Bible prophesies that a world government will be set up prior to the Battle of Armageddon and the Second Coming of Jesus. A world-class politician, referred to in scripture as the Antichrist or the Beast, will reign over that world government for a three and one-half year period immediately before Armageddon (Revelation 13:5, Daniel 7:25).


According to Bible prophecy, several things will happen to set the stage for the appearance of the Antichrist. These include the confirming of the Abrahamic covenant by the world community, a war that will kill the third part of men, the building of Israel’s Third Temple, and the establishment of a world economic system for controlling people and forcing their obedience to the world government and to the Antichrist himself. Are these things happening now?

World Government

The formation of the world governmental system of the Antichrist is emerging all around us. We now have the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the World Court, International Law, the World Police, and International military forces. We are being told that all nations are now interdependent, that we must think globally and that globalization is inevitable.


Strobe Talbott, key advisor during the Clinton administration, said it most succinctly. He said, “The nation-state as we have known it will cease to exist in the 21st century. We will all answer to a single global authority.” Talbott was President Clinton’s roommate when they both attended Oxford University in London as Rhodes Scholars.

Confirming the Abrahamic Covenant

The Abrahamic covenant is the covenant that God made with Abraham in Genesis 15:18. The covenant promised a homeland to the descendents of Abraham in the land of Israel forever. The confirming of the covenant will be done by the Antichrist and his one world government system.


In December of 2002, the world community crafted a peace plan for the Middle East called the Roadmap for Peace. The Roadmap contains all the provisions of the prophesied confirmation of the covenant. The world community is still struggling to implement this plan.

World War III

Revelation 9:13-16 prophesies a war that will kill one-third of mankind. The prophecy states that this war will emanate from the Euphrates River. Most of the Euphrates is in the nation of Iraq. The Euphrates originates in Turkey then flows through Syria and Iraq and joins the Tigris near the tip of Iran. Politicians and news commentators are increasingly calling the War on Terror, World War III. Even President Bush referred to the War on Terror as World War III.

The Third Temple

There has not been a temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem since the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Revelation 11:1-2 and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 both prophesy that a temple will be standing on the Temple Mount when the Antichrist begins his reign.


Over the last 20 years, the Temple Institute in Jerusalem has been preparing for the building of Israel’s Third Temple. All the furniture and instruments of worship are complete. The decision has now been made to proceed with the building of the temple. The blueprints are being drawn at this present time.

Forcing obedience through economic control

The Bible states that, during the great tribulation, human beings will be forced to have a number or a mark in order to be able to buy or sell (Revelation 13:15-18).


The law was passed and signed by President Bush on May 11, 2005. It calls for every American to be issued an ID card by May 11, 2008 and has been postponed for the fourth time until January 15, 2013. Without this national ID, an individual will not permitted to hold a job or open a bank account. Without a job or a bank account, how much buying and selling will a person be able to do? Oh, by the way, you have to give your number, ”your social security number” in order to get your national ID card.


These prophetic fulfillments are just a small sampling of prophecies that demonstrate how near we are to the time of the Antichrist.

Will the Antichrist be the leader of the UN?

It is a reasonable question. Since the United Nations is the only structure in existence today that is designed to be a world government, and since the Antichrist will become the leader of the world, can we assume that the Antichrist will be the secretary general of the UN?


The Bible prophesies that the Antichrist will come out of a revived Holy Roman Empire, which should not be confused with the Roman Empire. In Nebuchadnezzar’s image described in Daniel chapter 2, the Roman Empire is depicted as the legs of iron. The Holy Roman Empire is symbolized by the feet of iron mingled with clay,” the clay being the religious element that was added to the Roman Empire in 800 AD. The ten toes of iron and clay represent the ten kings that will be in power at the very end of the time of human government. Daniel 2:44 says, “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”


Daniel 7 describes the last secular power in another way. It describes the last kingdom as a ten-horned beast. Verses 24-25 says, “And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”


Since the Antichrist comes up among the ten horns, which are the same as the ten toes of Daniel 2, we are able to conclude that the Antichrist will come out of the Holy Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Empire is presently being revived in the European Union, that 25-nation federation with a population of 455 million people, which some have referred to as the United States of Europe.


So what does all this teach us about the origin of the Antichrist? We know for certain that he must arise out of a ten-nation union or ten-king union comprising a reconstructed Holy Roman Empire. We also know that he will uproot three of these ten nations or kings as he ascends into power. Finally, we know that the Antichrist will dominate the entire world. Revelation 13:3 says that all the world will wonder after the beast (the Antichrist). Verse 8 says, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”


What then are the conclusions that we can draw from all of this? It appears that the Antichrist will not originally rise to power through the UN, but rather will rise out of a revived Holy Roman Empire structure, however that is ultimately configured. At the same time, we know that he will eventually dominate the entire world, which means that he will end up controlling the world government structure known as the UN.


Understanding all of this, what role will Ban Ki Moon likely play in this entire endtime scenario? Since he has not risen to power through a revived Holy Roman Empire, since he has not come to power through a union of ten nations or kings, and since he doesn’t appear to have the dominating, charismatic personality that the Antichrist will apparently possess, it seems unlikely that Ban could be the Antichrist.


Ban will lead the UN through the year 2016. With the time of the Antichrist obviously so near, the possibility is very strong that Ban will be the bureaucrat that presides over the day-to-day operations of the world government structures under the reign of the Antichrist. That itself is a pretty awesome thought!

By Irvin Baxter