Antichrist: Tony Blair? Desire Of Women

February 21, 2003

Question

Dear Pastor Malone,

I attend Tri-City Calvary in Phoenix Arizona. I have been reading your articles and am on your mailing list. I do have a question for you. You've stated that you think Tony Blair is going to be the AC. I understand he and his wife are practicing pagans, but scripture says the AC will not respect women. Additionally, scripture says the Jewish people will, at first, line up behind him. Tony Blair hasn't struck me as a friend of Israel anymore than any other European leader.

How does Tony Blair figure into your understanding of those scriptures?

Curious, God Bless

John

Answer

John:

Thanks for your email.

This is a question I get frequently regarding the description of the antichrist. The verse you are referring to is found in Daniel 11:37 and says:

"Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all."

It should be stated that this verse has been interpreted several different ways. One, that the antichrist will kill babies since having a baby is a God given desire of woman. This has been understood by some to say that he will take abortion to a new level. Two, it has been interpreted that he doesn't desire women themselves, meaning he will not be married, nor will he have a desire to do so. This is actually the more favored interpretation of the general layperson. Three, Genesis 3:16 states that a woman's desire would be for her husband, which could mean that he will not regard the value of a man's life.

All three explanations have some merit to them but this is the interpretation that I hold to.

If you notice, the verse has a flow to it. First it starts out with "Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers". This needs no further interpretation; we know it is talking about the gods of his nation. The verse ends with "nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all." This again states that he is not interested in any of the gods of this world but is interested in exalting himself only.

Now let's tackle the portion of scripture in question. This section says "nor the desire of women". What does this phrase mean? First of all, we must take into consideration the topic of the verse, which is gods. This verse starts out talking about gods and ends talking about gods. So we must ask ourselves why is the middle of the verse suddenly switching to the desire of women? It seems out of place when you look at the flow of the verse. But I can assure you it's not.

This is how I interpret what this portion of the verse is talking about. First, we've already established that Daniel 11:37 is talking about the antichrist. We've also established that it begins and ends with the description that he does not respect any of the gods of this world. That includes Jesus Christ the Son of God. Therefore, it is my strong belief that the portion of scripture in question is talking about Jesus Himself. The Bible says that it was the desire of every woman that they be the mother of the coming Messiah (Jesus, Luke 1:28) and that woman would be blessed above all women. This explanation of the portion of the verse falls in line with the flow of the verse as a whole.

If I were to put this verse in my own words I would say it as follows:

Neither does the antichrist care for (worship) the gods of his country, nor the Lord Jesus Christ, or for that matter any god on this earth, but will exalt himself above all gods.

If you notice, the verse now makes complete sense and stays in the flow of the topic of the scripture.

The Jewish people will line up behind the antichrist because he will bring peace to their country and take the responsibility of protecting them. About a year into the tribulation period I believe that Russian/Arab coalition will attack Israel and they will be supernaturally defeated by God in the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 38 & 39). But I believe that the antichrist, which will come to their rescue, will be given credit for the great victory. He will be hailed as a hero in Israel, but in the end will betray them.

Tony Blair, at this time, isn't anymore of a friend to Israel than any other European country. But that won't be a problem because Britain is considered an ally of both the U.S. and Israel. The Brits don't particularly like the U.S. but we do have a solid partnership with them at this time. As far as the other countries of the E.U. and around the world, they've all gone on record (with their U.N. votes) that they hate Israel. With that said, I place them to be a closer friend then other nations. Besides, the antichrist will gain their trust through his peace agreement and his commitment to make them a success among the nations.

We must also remember that the antichrist will rise quickly in power after the rapture when satan is unrestrained. We really have no idea how powerful he will become nor the direction he will emerge. Unfortunately, we at this time can only guess.

I hope this has answered your questions.

Terry Malone