The following is written in response to a letter sent me.Bible Code Prophecy
Letters from Around the World
Is Saddam Hussein the Antichrist?
There seems to be some confusion over whether I believe Saddam Hussein of Iraq (former Babylon) is the Antichrist/beast of the book of Revelation, or whether he is simply just one of many lesser antichrists, and as such, a mere shadow of the Antichrist to come.
(1John 2:18) "Little children, it is the last hour: and as ye heard that antichrist cometh, even now have there arisen many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour."
Saddam is only a shadow of those things to come!
John wondered with great bewilderment at the Babylonian women that rides the beast, (Revelation 17:6-7). So, it is no big thing if we ourselves wonder somewhat at the lesser antichrists that precede the ultimate Antichrist. But it would be ridiculous for me to say that Saddam is the Antichrist---that beast to come! He is a merely a prototype of the final one to come, just as the Caesars of Rome were before him, and the rulers of Greece before that, (such as Antiochus Epiphanies), and those of Persia, Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt. All of these are part of that mystery of iniquity "that already works in the world," which will culminate one day in that man of sin being revealed (i.e., the Antichrist) about whom we hear so much of by prophecy teachers. But, Saddam is just a small snap preview of that Wicked One to come. Because, as Saddam has and will meet his shameful end, even so will the future Antichrist. His doom is sure and the devils know it---and shutter!
(2Thess. 2:7-8) "For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming."
The bible often records God as using psychological warfare by which the enemy is thrown into confusion through fear, which in the end is their own undoing, by which God is exalted in that their shameful weaknesses are thereby fully exposed as they turn upon one another in their confusion and greed. The mene-tekel bible code is part of this last-day psychological warfare---intended to instill fear in His (demonic) enemies---for they, being greater in intelligence than ourselves, readily grasp the power of this awesome code and its fearful message. "The Lord is a man of war!" (Ex. 15:3). But few Christians know Him by this Name, but the Jewish remnant that survives Antichrist will. The writing is on the wall, and the devil knows it! The writing-on-the-wall bible code is primarily a message meant for these wicked invisible beings to hear; and secondarily, it is a great sign to the Jew that, Behold, your Savior comes!
Yes, God still uses His Church to broadcast his message to spiritual principalities and powers! By this is Christ glorified in the Church---that is, by those that obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Eph 3:10) "...to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God."
Culminate Fulfillment, the Rapture, and Satan:
Hitler and Stalin were much more antichrist-like figures than Saddam, but Saddam is the man that God is using at this time as an example for all to see (angelic and human)---they are bearing witness that the kingdoms of this world will soon become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and that every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.As for the issue of whether the Church will be around to witness the final Antichrist, all that I can say is that I believe people speak much more authoritatively on this subject than what Scripture warrants. The first coming of our Lord was eschewed with false notions and no doubt His second coming will likewise be. My personal prophetic gift it to bear witness to what God is saying from today's news events as it bears upon tomorrows news. And he has given me a gift to understand riddles, especially the many codes and numbers in the bible.All prophecy has repeat fulfillment until it reaches its full culmination. There my be exceptions, but at the moment I cannot think of any. Take the prophecy about Emmanuel, born of a virgin (Isaiah 7). Initially it was fulfilled by the child born to the prophet Isaiah, and yet we know it ultimately was fulfilled in Messiah, (Matt. 1:23). And so prophecy is usually like this. This is why there is so much confusion as to whether preterism has any merit or not. Preterists say that the book of Revelation was already fulfilled in AD 70 at the fall of Jerusalem when a million Jews were crucified all around the city. When you study the events of AD 70, preterism actually makes sense. However, the truth is that AD 70 was only a prelude to the ultimate fulfillment yet still in our future. And so on and so forth.
Hence, Saddam is just (and only just) an object lesson to all creation---seen and unseen---that all rule and authority will soon be brought to bow eventually at the feet of King Jesus. The question of 'when' is what keeps the devils in a state of constant suspense and the angels in a state of constant exaltation. God uses this suspense to keep the devil off balance but the saints on their toes. The events surrounding Saddam are worth pondering since they have much to teach us about that one that is to come---the (final) Antichrist. (Or is he the final one?!? Revelation 20:7-10 suggests a final, final repeat of the whole thing, after the millennial kingdom is over! And then He makes a new heaven and earth, Revelation 21. Hence, prophetic previews and prophetic repetitions and fulfillments are common place in the bible, much more than most realize---much, much more!)
The mene-tekel bible code, like the Scriptures, applies both to the king of Babylon but also indirectly to Satan as well, who is the power behind the power of the earthly throne. For example, Saddam immerges undignified from a pit, a burial pit, if you would. Everyone asks, "Is this the one that kept Iraq (Babylon) in fear and caused so much excitement back in America?---This hairy weakling!"
This is the same thing that was said concerning the king of Babylon by the prophet Isaiah; however, there it obviously refers to Satan as well. (See Isaiah 14 below.) In the same way, the fall of Saddam is a sign that the fall of Satan too will come some day. His doom is sure. Satan and his devils know that the mene-tekel bible code applies to Satan as much or more than man. It is for this reason that I do not worry too much about simplifying the code, or some day to take it all off the Net (as the Lord leads). The demons know what God is saying, and shutter! Yet, the code doesn't so much as give Satan the twisted satisfaction of being referred to directly, rather only indirectly---so great is God's enmity toward Satan. At any rate, man is held to be more culpable than Satan, I believe, since men are offered salvation (though they often rejects it), but Satan and his angels are not. This, in a way, makes a man more guilty than the devil himself. This is the ultimate insult to grace---the ultimate "putting God to the test," as the code puts it.
Isa 14:4 ...thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
Isa 14:9 Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
Isa 14:10 All they shall answer and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
Isa 14:11 Thy pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and worms cover thee.
Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations!
Isa 14:13 And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north;
Isa 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.
Isa 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit.
Isa 14:16 They that see thee shall gaze at thee, they shall consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
Isa 14:17 that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; that let not loose his prisoners to their home?
Isa 14:18 All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house.
Isa 14:19 But thou art cast forth away from thy sepulchre like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a dead body trodden under foot.
The mene-tekel bible code uses language very similar to the above Scripture, and the code also concerns the king of Babylon and his city (as does the Scripture). (The code, of course, is not on par with Scripture. Though it was derived from it, yet it is limited by my feeble and faulty efforts to decipher it. The code, like anything else, is to be tested by man and time.)
DeanThanks Miki for your letter!
----- Original Message -----From:To: Dean CoombsSent: Wednesday, February 11, 2004 5:10 PMSubject: beast
(Rev 17:8) "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall come."
Doesn't say anything here about the church looking on him and wondering does it....
Mik
See also: Revelation: A Book of Contrasts (How God reveals the truth by contrasting bad events with good events)
Saddam hangs on day predicted by Mene-Tekel Bible Code
(Response to an email. A fuller version is coming soon.)
(Dec. 30, 2006)Also see Tekel/Moth Bible-Prophecy Code
and the Death of Saddam Hussein