The title of our book to be released soon is LAWLESS: The End-Times War Against the Spirit of Antichrist. Is there any title that could more encapsulate what we’ve been witnessing in our nation for these past weeks?

The apostle John wrote of his own time that the “spirit of Antichrist” was already in the world:

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. (1 John 4:2–3)

The apostle Paul also spoke of this lawless spirit that would prevail at the very end of the age. Its growing manifestation, he wrote, will be a precursor to the Antichrist himself vaulting onto the world stage:

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. (2 Thessalonians 2:2) 

The “day” Paul refers to is the “day of the Lord”—the beginning of the Tribulation, the last seven years of human history leading up to the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, as foretold in Revelation 9.

The great apostle foretold that this “day” won’t begin until there first comes a “falling away,” or “apostasy.” This word can be interpreted several ways, and has also been translated to mean several things wrapped up in one meaning.

One definition of “apostasy” is a “departure,” and it can be either a departure from faith (belief in scriptural truth) or a departure in the spatial sense—that is, literally leaving one place to go to another. I believe that in this case, “apostasy” carries both meanings: Paul is saying that before Antichrist comes on the scene to become the world’s last and fiercest tyrant, people will largely be deep into a state of departure from faith in Bible truth.

I also believe he is saying that Antichrist can’t come on the scene until there is a spatial departure—that is, a removal from one place to go to another, literally. This will be the Rapture of the Church (all true believers in Christ for salvation).

When the departure (as wrapped up in both meanings) is complete, the “man of sin”—Antichrist—will leap to the end stage of history for his horrendous reign of terror.

He is also referred to, like his father, Satan, as the “man of lawlessness.” The word departure also has within its meaning the thought of being lawless—denying the Creator who laid down how mankind should live.

The “spirit of Antichrist” has at its God-denying center the evil of complete lawlessness. That’s why God’s Word calls end-times man, as expressed in the KJV, “earth dwellers.” Those in unbelief are “earthy”—they care only about things that are of this sin-saturated existence on earth.

Paul the apostle, again, said that this “falling away” (apostasy) will first appear on the scene before Antichrist will be manifested before the world. The departure from faith will include increasing lawlessness, preparing the way for the most lawless one of all—Antichrist.

The following excerpt, I think gives a deep look into the “spirit of Antichrist” making literal inroads into the evil we see exploding in our cities.

In a June 13 conversation between Black Lives Matter (BLM) co-founder Patrisse Cullors and BLM-Los Angeles chapter co-founder Melina Abdullah, Abdullah discusses how the two of them have “become very intimate with the spirits we call on regularly,” and Cullors talks about how using a hashtag for BLM is “almost resurrecting a spirit so that it can work through us.”…

In the interview, Abdullah states, “maybe I’m sharing too much but we’ve become very intimate with the spirits that we call on regularly.  Right?  Like, each of them seems to have a different presence and personality. You know, I laugh a lot with Wakiesha [Wilson].  You know?  And I didn’t meet her in her body.”…

Wakiesha Wilson was a black woman who suffered from bi-polar disorder and reportedly hanged herself while in LAPD custody. Her death has become a cause célèbre among BLM activists.

Cullors responds, saying that she was raised a Jehovah’s Witness but, “as I got older, ancestor, ancestral worship became really important.”

Cullors then explains how the hashtags such as #SayHerName and #BLM are a means to honor the dead and invoke them. (Alexander Watson, “BLM Leaders Discuss ‘Resurrecting a Spirit So That It Can Work Through Us,’” CNS News, September 24, 2020)

Based on what we see on the evil streets of America and the world today, can there be any doubt that we’re witnessing the spirit of Antichrist manifesting at this time so near the end of the age? The departure—in every sense—has begun in earnest. It will soon have its conclusion. That conclusion will mean God’s judgment and wrath for earth dwellers, and glory beyond all imagination for believers in Jesus Christ.

One of the prime points of Bible prophecy, at least from the pre-Trib view, is that America isn’t mentioned in it by name or even in cursory reference. (That’s unless, of course, one sees the reference to the “young lions” in Ezekiel 38:13 as meaning the United States as offspring of “the Merchants of Tarshish,” referring to England.)

This is made even more intriguing when we consider all that we believe is going on in setting the stage for the soon fulfillment of prophecy.

We believe most, if not all, of Paul’s “perilous times” (2 Timothy 3) forewarning is now taking place everywhere we look in our nation—i.e., people are “lovers of themselves,” “without natural affection (abortion and homosexuality)”; they are “fierce” (think “BLM” and “Antifa”), and they’re “traitors” (in reference to the Deep State and others subverting the Constitution), etc.

All these things are, as I like to term them, “America-centric,” in their composition. America seems to be at the center of all the earlier-mentioned stage-setting.

Then we have this president stunning the world, really, with a peace arrangement that no one but perhaps he and a few others saw coming. It’s a stage-setting reality that is indeed profound.

To convince so many within the Arab world to come along with the plan Mr. Trump, Kushner, and the others of the administration have put together is just nothing short of phenomenal. It’s phenomenal when we think about the absolute volatility of the Israel haters within the Arab world, which is so heavily influenced by the chief terrorist regime, Iran (ancient Persia).

So America is at the center of most all primary activity as far as the current ebb and flow of issues and events. That makes it more than a curiosity, really, why God chose not to make this apex nation of history (so far as worldly achievement is concerned) the main focus of prophetic national disposition. Yet America is overtly omitted by name in biblical prophecy.

Why did I title this commentary: “America’s Diminishing Role”?

Again we come to what I see as the strangest presidency in our history. Certainly this is true, it’s reasonable to conclude, because we’re so near the end of this age (Age of Grace/Church Age). The prophetic Word tells us it will be so as the time of Christ’s return nears. Looking around, we’re not disappointed. Things are getting stranger and stranger.

One of the ironies, if that’s what we may call the strangeness, is that this president exerts the most powerful influence on the issue of Middle East peace as any leader ever. At the same time, he’s determined to pull out of that region to an extent that no other leader has attempted since much earlier days when isolationism ruled within American diplomatic spheres of influence. For example, he has announced troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and other areas, much to the chagrin of those in the defense department who are supposed to serve at his pleasure.

Trump doing so, as a matter of fact, constitutes one of the reasons the so-called Deep State opposes his every move. They like to determine such things and have always been able to do so with the cooperation or the acquiescence of those occupying the White House. It’s all part of the power wielded by the military-industrial complex President Dwight Eisenhower forewarned about.

America’s influence in the world, then, despite it being front and center in most every prophetic signal of the approaching Tribulation, is diminishing. The very president put in place by God to serve at this crucial time is an “America-First” chief executive, yet he also is withdrawing the nation from the most focal area of Bible prophecy—even while formulating a peace initiative that might lead to the very covenant Daniel prophesied.

The following news excerpt highlights this dichotomy within Mr. Trump’s presidential action.

Turkey and Iran are engaging in new operations in Africa… It is important to understand that this is in the context of the US generally reducing its global role and comes around 60 years after European colonialism was rolled back…

An article at The National in the UAE in May revealed that Iran has begun to play a role with military proxy groups in the Central African Republic (CAR). The article revealed that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Quds Force has played a role in cultivating “terrorist cells.” It has operated, funded, trained and directed proxy groups. Its role and influence in Africa is still far from mapped and known but the article implies it has recruited figures in the CAR and elsewhere. Iran has also been active in Nigeria and also in South Africa and Hezbollah has been active in West Africa…

An article at Al-Ain also asserts that Turkey and Qatar are now working to exert influence in Africa. The article asserts that Qatar has been trying to do influence peddling in Tunisia and that Qatar’s Defense Minister Khalid al-Attiyah has been coordinating with Turkey’s defense minister in discussions about Libya and Tunisia. They want to establish a “joint military training center” in Libya. (Seth J. Frantzman, “Turkey and Iran Are Engaging in New Operations in Africa,” Rapture Ready News, September 18, 2020)

With the key Ezekiel 38–39 players blatantly moving to fill the vacuum developing in the region because of America’s withdrawal—Iran (ancient Persia) and Turkey (much of what comprised ancient Togarmah)—it becomes quite clear that America, although prophetically scheduled to diminish, is nonetheless most prominent in this pre-Rapture era. It will, it’s therefore logical to conclude, take a dramatic set of circumstances to remove the nation so influential in the world power arrangement.