Christian Scholar: America Could Produce Antichrist of the 21st Century

WASHINGTON - America could produce the Antichrist in the 21st century through the mixing of greed, power, and the economic problems if the church fails to step in to guide the people, said an international Christian scholar on Monday.

"If America does not return to the Bible as the cultural authority – having influence over the Congress, over the courts, over the universities – if that does not happen, then the antichrist in the 21st century will come from America," said Vishal Mangalwadi, referred to as "India's foremost Christian intellectual" by Christianity Today, in a lecture to commemorate the King James Bible's 400th anniversary.

Mangalwadi, speaking at the King James Bible Expo 2011 at George Washington University, pointed out that the antichrist of the 20th century came from Germany – the first Protestant nation – in the form of the Nazi.

The Christian philosopher, author, and social reformer explained to The Christian Post after the lecture that he uses the term antichrist differently than most American pastors and theologians. Mangalwadi uses the term antichrist as a spirit of the evil one that captures political and economic power and becomes oppressive and totalitarian.

"The antichrist is an invention of American eschatology," said the India-born scholar who now resides in California. "I'm using the word antichrist exactly as the New Testament uses it, which is different than the way American eschatology uses it, which is the Antichrist." 

Mangalwadi offered a scenario in which the antichrist could rise in America. If the United States was to face a second depression where the unemployment rate rises to 25 percent and the government could no longer send out unemployment checks, then this would set the stage for the antichrist, according to the political columnist, who noted that Germany was also facing economic problems when Hitler rose. (Read more)