Monday, January 10, 2022
What the Antichrist Can Teach Us
(I can’t believe I’m doing this. I hate Google and swore I’d avoid their “products.” But…it looks like people still come across this blog site so when I post an essay to Substack, I might as well put a copy here as well).
A deceptive title to be sure. I’m not really sure that there is such a thing as an “Antichrist” and if there is, he’s not likely to be much of a “teacher.” That aside, it should be noted that we can be taught plenty by symbolic charecters in mythology. Prometheus, Hermes, and maybe even the characters in the Wizard of Oz exemplify real-world behaviors and scenarios. They at least have as much validity as the dream you had last night — which, if understood, can teach one plenty regarding their hopes and motivations.
I’ve always been struck by the symbolism of “The Antichrist.” It’s not like history doesn’t occasionally present us with such a character or system. (I’m assuming that “the Antichrist” can be a system or institution as well as an individual). With vaccine passports and all, the symbolism of having to verify one’s allegiance to a corrupt and coercive system and its edicts has certainly reached our contemporary doorstep. I don’t know about the “ten horns” or “ten heads” or whatever the Book of Revelations tells us but in a less symbolic sense, we certainly have some potential “beasts” in our midst.
There have been mystics and soothsayers who insist that “The Antichrist” is real. A noteworthy speculation being a character born in the middle east on February 5th 1962 in the early morning. Astrologers would certainly recognize the horoscope of such an individual as being exceptional in some way. ‘A very rare lineup of several planets in the sign Aquarius. Adding intrigue to the mythic mix, such an individual would now be experiencing what astrologers call a “Saturn Return” — a pivotal life transition that most people experience between the ages if 28-30 and again between 58-60. There has probably never been a time where so much in the way of foreboding potential has emerged on the world scene. Technological advancements and AI certainly add a convincing icing to the soothsayer’s cake.
In earlier times we had Caesar, Napoleon, and Hitler as potential expressions of the archetype of total worldly authority. Do we really want to go there?….again?
There have been a few movies and low-budget documentaries that have depicted an Antichrist figure as the obvious personification of evil. Such films do little justice to what should be a concern for less obvious and more frightening expressions of evil. Looking evil probably isn’t a tip-off as to who is evil. If there’s a devil, he’s probably well-dressed.
The reason “the Antichrist” is such a convincing villain is that what he represents is — paradoxically — beyond real. A religion-inspired image of a charismatic ideologue seeking total authority over nations and peoples. Actually, not that far-fetched.
So, what can we “learn” from the Antichrist? First of all, we can be aware that, symbolically, such a thing exists. While he may not exist within the trappings of mysticism, religious teaching, or the battle between heaven and hell, he surely exists and has existed throughout history, in one form or another. The antichrist is about power, not the simple power one sees in a military coup, where a clique gains enough authority to fleece the public of wealth. An Antichrist would no doubt enjoy some of the plush gains achieved through plunder, but a real manifestation of worldly evil doesn’t really care that much about simple property and possessions. They truly do wish to have command over the hearts and souls of humanity.
Man has become god before, in Egypt, in Rome, and to lessor degrees in other times and places around the world. Politics by itself is a practical matter — gain power, get valuable “gifts and prizes.” Those who want absolute power and those who are willing to bow before it are dealing with something beyond politics. Cults by nature are religious. Wanting to be god is the ultimate act of narcissism and demanding that others abide by your delusion is certainly akin to evil.
It really is amazing to think that after Hitler set massive catastrophe in motion, he instantly disappeared (killed himself). All of Europe could look at the ruin around them and say sarcastically, “what was that all about?” It was as if a magician had transfixed the attention of everyone and then existed the stage unnoticed.
What the Antichrist of lore and speculation can teach us is that, however he may manifest, his program should be resisted at all costs. Whether the mystical manifestation of a holy religious text or a mere megalomaniac with a world vision, his path will surly always lead to hell.
