Many people have heard about a future figure called “the Antichrist” and heard that the Antichrist is going to demand the world to worship him. Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who do not believe the world will see the Antichrist or see a similar type of figure. One point of contention skeptics may have is that it’s seemingly impossible for one man to command the worship of a large number of people.
For the skeptics out there, I have a historical example and a modern day example illustrating that it is possible for a man to garner the worship of an entire country. My examples aren’t Ancient Rome (where Caesar worship was required) or pre-1946 Japan (where the Emperor was considered a divine being). The historical example I‘m going to cite is probably far less known, but perhaps is far more interesting than the historical examples I’ve just mentioned while my modern day example is something that I don’t think a lot of people are aware of.
A few years ago I was at a library researching some information about Joseph Stalin, a man who showed signs of being demon-possessed. During my search of old newspaper articles I found an article that made me think “wow”. The January 11, 1950 edition of the New York Times had an Associated Press article entitled (this is not a joke…if you don’t believe me search for the article’s headline on Google): “Albania Calls Stalin a God”.
The article was very brief, but it described how the Albanian parliament (representing an estimated 1.2 million people) voted to erect a statue of Stalin to celebrate his supposed deity. The Premier of Albania at the time was quoted saying the following: “The Great Stalin is our people’s glorious savior”.[1]
- The article demonstrated that the worship of man can exist-even in the supposedly atheistic system known as Communism.
Perhaps the most clear, modern day example of an entire country literally worshiping a man can be found in North Korea (estimated population of 23.8 million people). According to the Asia News, religion is allowed in North Korea, but with one major caveat. Religion is permitted to exist in North Korea only if that religion is centered on the worship of Kim Jong-Il and his dad Kim Il-Sung. A person shall be brutally punished if he or she refuses to partake in the worship of North Korea’s “dear leader” or tries to spread an alternative religion (like Christianity) to others.
- Christianity Today has recent article about how North Korea is being condemned by Christian Solidarity Worldwide for its brutal treatment of Christians and for its encouragement of leader worship.
If heartless despots like Joseph Stalin and Kim Jong-Il can get millions of people to worship them as if they were divine beings then surely a man like Antichrist can get a huge group of people to worship him too. Unlike Joseph Stalin and Kim Jong-Il, Antichrist is likely going to possess tremendous charisma that will enthrall people worldwide in a similar way that Adolf Hitler enthralled Nazi Germany (estimated population of 66 million people) shortly after his rise to power.
- Speaking of Hitler, children were brainwashed into worshiping him as a god too. For instance, Hitler Youth members were encouraged to sing the following song: “Pope and rabbi shall be gone. We want to be pagans once again. No longer creep to churches… We are the joyous Hitler Youth. We do not need any Christian virtue. Our leader, Adolf Hitler, is our Savior”…[2]
Hopefully, skeptics will realize that it is quite possible for a man to command the worship of millions of people after reading this article.
References
[1] Associated Press. “Albania Calls Stalin a God”. New York Times. 11 Jan. 1950 ProQuest. Shields Library., Davis, CA. 26 Oct. 2004
[2]Jackh, Ernest. The War on Man’s Soul. New York: The Ferris Printing Company, 1943. 24
