Alien Antichrist

In this post I'm going to discuss the perennially popular topic of the Antichrist. I will be speculating, but everyone who opines on the identity of the Antichrist has to speculate, so that puts me in good (as well as bad!) company.

For purposes of this post, I will stipulate that there's a personal Antichrist (in contrast to the Antichrist as an influence, movement, principle, or institution). And I will stipulate that the Antichrist is a future figure. He hasn't come and gone. 

What's a realistic scenario for the Antichrist? By "realistic," I mean, taking modern times, into the foreseeable future, as the frame of reference. And including Christian supernaturalism. 

For instance, what is realistic for a modern Antichrist isn't realistic for a medieval Antichrist, or vice versa. We'd expect a medieval Antichrist to reflect and exploit medieval historical conditions.  

The Biblical concept of the Antichrist is a composite. The Antichrist has the following job description:

i) A world ruler

ii) A sorcerer 

iii) A false prophet or deceiver who misleads unbelievers and nominal Christians

iv) A persecutor of the faithful

v) A figure who demands and receives universal worship

(Rev 13 subdivides the composite into two distinct figures: the beast and the false prophet. Whether or not we take that literally would have some affect on the job description.)

Those are large shoes to fill. Thus far, no historical figure was up to the challenge.

Let's consider some features of our own culture which might predispose or socially condition most people to accept the Antichrist if he appeared in that typecast role:

i) Many unbelievers worship at the altar of science. They revere great scientists. They revere famous physicists (e.g. Hawking, Einstein) or biologists (e.g. Darwin, Dawkins). 

ii) By the same token, many unbelievers venerate genius. Since they deny the existence of an omniscient God, human genius is the next best thing. For unbelievers, genius is godlike. That's why, for instance, they automatically value the opinion of somebody like Stephen Hawking on religion, even though Hawking is quite ignorant of theology. But because he's reputed to be one of the smartest men alive, and a scientist to boot, they just assume that anything he has to say about anything must be deeply insightful.

iii) In some science fiction films (e.g. Stargate, Prometheus, 2001: A Space Odyssey), gods and angels are really ancient astronauts. Extraterrestrials who came to earth millennia ago and jumpstarted human civilization.  

iv) Another science fiction theme is aliens who save us from ourselves. Humans are on the verge of self-destruction until benevolent aliens intervene. Aliens with superior technology and superior intelligence. 

v) This isn't just science fiction. Carl Sagan's SETI program is an attempt to contact alien civilizations. And the film Contact reflects his yearning for an extraterrestrial Savior. Astrobiological messianism.  

Yes, that's still science fiction, but there are people–including some scientists–who think that's a realistic scientific enterprise. 

vi) On a related note, many unbelievers are ufologists. 

vii) Transhumanism seeks immortality and apotheosis through bioengineering. 

viii) Many unbelievers think religion (or "fundamentalism") poses a dire threat to the survival of the human race. 

ix) Many unbelievers are terrified by "climate change." 

Here's a suggestion: suppose the Antichrist will be a human sorcerer (empowered by Satan) who uses witchcraft to impersonate a benign alien. According to Arthur Clarke's third law, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." But that's reversible. Magic is indistinguishable from advanced technology.

Suppose the Antichrist uses magic to simulate alien technology. An optical illusion. He descends over Manhattan, Jerusalem, or the White House in the Mother Ship. His "spacecraft" is invulnerable to NORAD. Imagine the reception he'd get from the general populace.

This might even dovetail with astronomical signs of the endtimes, if we update or reinterpret the imagery in terms of space-age technology. Likewise, the Antichrist might perform celestial portents and prodigies to convince doubters (cf. Deut 13:1-2). 

Suppose he used his magic, disguised as alien technology, to heal incurable diseases. Or manipulated weather systems to stabilized "climate change." It's easy to imagine that he'd have the whole world groveling at his feet in no time. A quasi-religious cult would immediately coalesce around his person and image. One-world religion. Ecumenists would applaud the dissolution of acrimonious religious divisions. Churches would be emptied by a great apostasy as nominal Christians flocked to the Antichrist. 

Of course, devout Christians would be the holdouts. So he'd task the authorities to persecute Christians. 

Once he consolidated his power, he could drop the benevolent pose. And he himself is just a puppet or frontman for the devil.