"The Antichrist is a Christian concept based on interpretation of passages in the New Testament. [..T]he term "antichrist" occurs five times in 1 John and 2 John, once in plural form and four times in the singular. In traditional Christian belief, Jesus the Messiah appears in his Second Coming to Earth, to face the emergence of the Antichrist figure. Just as Christ is the savior and the ideal model for humanity, his opponent in the End of Days will be a single figure of concentrated evil." [W]
"[T]he idea of an Antichrist is central to the apocalyptic world view that sees human history as a struggle between God and Satan for the fate of mankind.
According to most Christian prophesies of the End Time, the Antichrist will act as Satan's chief agent on earth during this period. The Antichrist -- a sort of evil twin of Jesus in many ways -- will forge a one-world government through promises of peace. But when Jesus returns, he will expose the Antichrist as an impostor, defeat him in the battle of Armageddon, and reign with the Christian martyrs for a thousand years on earth.
Robert Fuller, in his book 'Naming the Antichrist', notes that modern apocalypticists believe the Book of Revelation "contains much information about the Antichrist -- who will emerge as a 'beast from the sea' to be Satan's ally in a last, desperate assault on Christ and his church." This 'parody and mirror opposite of Christ' will be identifiable in a number of ways:[Frontline (PBS) - apocalypse! show webpages]
- · Promising peace to those who follow him, he will rise to a position of great power.
- · With the help of his own false prophet, the Antichrist will gain control of the world economy, by forcing each person "to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name . . . six hundred and sixty-six"
- · One of the heads of the beast also "seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed the beast with wonder.' "
'Der Antichrist', by Johann Pruss, was published in 1482 and is available online courtesy of the Bavarian State Library. [click 'Miniaturansich' for thumbnail pages] The illustrations above are slightly cropped.
Worldcat entry.
There is virtually zero information online about this incunabulum. There is a little bit more commentary about the book's producer: "Johann Prüss worked as a printer, publisher, and book dealer at the house "Zum Thiergarten" in Strasbourg from 1480 until 1510."
ADDIT: Thanks to Allen G from Musica Ficta for pointing out this wonderful example of 16th century German printing.
Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a mans soul and faith
And I was round when jesus christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game ...
[Jagger/Richards]
Sympathy for the Devil
{Rolling Stones, live. ?2009}
Regular readers will have noticed a long period of downtime around here lately. I've always believed this site functions best when I'm feeling most motivated rather than by schedule, so publishing times have always tended towards the irratical. A family dilemma a couple of months ago took up a lot of my time and it paved the way to something of a lazy hiatus from preparing material for BibliOdyssey. There's certain to be ongoing fallout in my life from that family event, so I won't make promises about the future of this place. But I certainly have no plans for quitting. New posts will appear - per usual - when they are ready which usually means when I've had enough of the reading and the writing and the tinkering. You're always welcome to write with suggestions, tips and/or questions [gmail peacay]. I am and have remained active on Twitter. And thanks to those who have contacted lately to check on me and to offer support.
