Customer Reviews

Man of Sin, The: Uncovering the Truth about the Antichrist

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In an age of uncertainty and an Apocalyptic warnings coming through the media, whether in fictional accounts produced by Hollywood, 'documentaries' and 'evidence' of global warming coming interestingly enough again from Hollywood, media accounts of the state of the war on terror, or mainstream Christian retailing of End Times novels, speculations, and conjecture, The Man Of Sin stands as a welcome resource for those who wish to look at what the Bible has to say about the Anti-christ.
Uncovering a truly biblical understanding of the Anti-christ is a daunting task when you begin to see all the presuppositions that have been attached to the person in all the fore-described media. But it is a task that Kim Riddlebarger faced head-on and, in my opinion, produced for us a Biblical picture of the Man of Sin.
The book begins with the immediate context of American culture as it relates to the Anti-christ. Dr. Riddlebarger draws a picture of the contemporary view of the Anti-christ and of the expectancies of what he will be and when he will appear and begins the task of separating fact from fiction.
He then provides an overview of the forerunners of the Anti-christ from the Old Testament. Riddlebarger's discussion of the many 'types' and foretellings of the Anti-christ found in the Old Testament lays the necessary foundation for understanding all that the Anti-christ has been foretold to embody in Scripture. Tracing these types from the serpent in Paradise, through Cain, Nimrod, Pharoah, Nebuchadnezzar, to Antiochus Epiphanes, and through the study of specific prophecies of the Anti-christ, Riddlebarger provides a comprehensive picture of the Anti-christ as expected by Jewish society before the time of Christ.
Moving then into a discussion of the doctrine of the Anti-christ in the New Testament, Riddlebarger lays another foundation for a more complete picture of the Anti-christ by discussing the interaction between Jesus and Satan in the Gospels, the "already/not yet" eschatological focus of the New Testament, and a look at prophetic perspective and fulfillment of prophecy in the New Testament.
The next section of the book begins a discussion of the 'anti-christs' (small 'a' and plural) that have already gone out into the world. Noting that the word 'anti-christ' only appears in the first two of John's letters and never in the book of Revelation, he goes on to list some identifying traits of these anti-christs, the chief being a denial of the incarnation of the Son of God. Interacting with B. B. Warfield, he notes that Anti-christ is anyone who that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and that we should not import John's description of these heretics into our view of the Man of Sin or the False Prophet who will arise at the end of time. He concludes, "...the final manifestation of the beast and the false prophet...seems to indicate that John's series of antichrists...will indeed give way to a final ...persecutor of the people of God".
The next chapter focuses on the doctrine of the Anti-christ in the book of Revelation. Once again, he lays the foundation from the Old Testament, showing how the forerunners of the Anti-christ shape the language used to describe the beast and the false prophet. Nero and the cultic emperor-worship of the Roman Empire is discussed while he shows the significance of the number '666'.
Chapter Six is a discussion of Paul's doctrine of Anti-christ in II Thessalonians. Once again, Riddlebarger is careful to bring all the background information we need to interpret correctly Paul's statements concerning the 'Man of Lawlessness'. In this chapter Riddlebarger interacts with the various views from Dispensationalists, preterists, futurists, and historicists in their interpretations of the Man of Sin, the coming Apostasy, and the Restrainer. For those of you who are wondering, Riddlebarger concludes that Gospel preaching is the 'restrainer' Paul speaks of in this passage.
Riddlebarger continues forward with a look back at the various interpretations of the Anti-christ in Church history. Beginning with the Fathers and walking through history, he discusses the various views of the Anti-christ which were often colored by the world they lived in. There is also a helpful chart showing the differing beliefs of the Fathers, Dispensationalism, the Reformers, etc. at the beginning of the book, but I thought it would be better located here.
The final chapter of the book is a summary and compilation of the conclusions from preceding chapters. The final section is an admonition to trust in God and not spend time on useless speculations not consistent with Scripture, but to rather look for the glorious appearing of Christ. Satan is a defeated foe. Evil runs rampant because Satan and his minions know their time is short. Don't fear them, but have faith in God.

Overall, this book is a good read even for those who disagree with the author's conclusions because he will make you think about what you believe and why. His conclusions are based on a literal interpretation of the Scripture and not a fanciful imagination, as is evident in many other books of this genre.
3 thumbs up.

Riddlebarger's "Man of Sin" is the best resource on the subject I have encountered. As a layperson I found the book was persuasive and easy to read. Riddlebarger's previous title "A Case for Amillennialism" was a much more difficult read because I was less familiar with the scripture citations, and less scripture quotations and paraphrases were included in the text.

Raised on the campy and comical "Thief in the night" series during "Youth group" on Sunday Morning, I made several attempts through Revelation to try to see if the Bible taught these things. After realizing that I am hopelessly underfamiliar with apocalyptic literature and Old Testament scriptures and symbols, I looked elsewhere.

I've been troubled by both the futurist and preterist understanding of the Beast/Antichrist/Man of Sin. Riddlebarger has provided satisfactory resolution to all of my nagging concerns in this very narrow topic.

It would seem silly to describe this book as the final answer on all your Antichrist questions, given the historical diversity of interpretations. However, it is the best set of answers I have ever seen, and as a special bonus, they're all consistently laid out next to each other in one book :)! It will be the first resource I turn to when questions pop up.

I do have a complaint about the book. The book may not stand on its own. I wish it repeated a few pages of "A Case for Amillenialism"'s thorough debunking of Dispensational theology. Instead it includes a reference. Because this book is more sensationally interesting to my dispensationalist family members and friends, it may be easier to get them to read it, but it may lack persuasiveness because it fails to kill dispensationalism. Getting them to read two books is always harder.

My other complaint is just a general complaint from a layperson to a scholar. Although I understood most of the references to historical figures in the church, I came from a evangelical church where Luther and Calvin are completely unknown. The author did a pretty good job of introducing most everyone, but if the author took a few more sentences to introduce the various players and movements of church history, the book would be more accessible, and I'd be more likely to hand out more copies.

I heard a rumor that the author had started on a third book "The Future". I am very excited because there's still a lot of eschatology left to cover.

this is dr. riddlebarger's second book in eschatology. i read it in 2 days, it is great. it addressed some issues that i had some problems with like the man of sin setting himself up in the temple in the last days. scripture doesn't teach a rebuilding of the temple, that is Christ, and now the church.
he did a great job with the book and his first book, a case for amillennialism, is a must for any serious library. dr. riddlebarger is a great writer and a genuinely nice guy. this book and his first are MUST READS.

Nicolae Carpathia, the Antichrist's given name by LaHaye and Jenkins in the Left Behind series, is anti-scriptural. We may be forgiven in thinking that more heresies have been spawned by this series than once did the gnostics of the second century. Yet, says Dr Kim Riddlebarger, 'Antichrist speculation is inevitable. We cannot escape it'. p 26

Riddlebarger enters his foray into the Antichrist as presented by the mass media and something immediately becomes readily observable: man's preoccupation with the dark. Preying on our fears then becomes the questionable money-motive for much of the collaboration in the publication and production of a peculiarly prophetic genre, projecting onto us an unbiblical and anxious dread - with a way out.

'It is not much of an intellectual leap from thinking of Antichrist as a human agent of Satan to thinking of him as Satan incarnate - an altogether unbiblical idea.' p 24 Riddlebarger instantly corrects the concern that the Antichrist will be Satan himself. The case for historic premillennialism has always ebbed and flowed, waxed and waned on a steady diet of world events. 'It is fascinating to think prophecy is being fulfilled in world events today, but this fascination can lead to misinterpretation.' p 57 Riddlebarger critiques both the futurist and preterist presuppositions through a re-examination of their ethos.

Of greater importance are three sections of Scripture crucial to gleaning a scriptural approximation of this enigmatic character: the Epistles of John, John's Apocalypse, and Paul's 'man of lawlessness' in 2 Thess 2. Of lesser importance is Daniel's seventy weeks prophecy, which one misguided chiliast describes as 'the indispensable chronological key to all NT prophecy'. Admittedly, Riddlebarger does a great job with his exegesis of Daniel 9:27. Furthermore, Riddlebarger employs past theologians of great stature to great effect in an attempt to oust the consumption of fictional best-sellers, and replace them with a solid integration of gifted scholarly literature less accessible to consumer-frivolous Christians.

The two-age model as an interpretive grid is the basis for examining NT eschatology. Under examination, then, is if the NT has something to say that Riddlebarger may draw support from, which he clearly believes to be the case: 'Jesus and Paul speak of 'this age' and 'the age to come' as two successive and qualitatively distinct periods.' p 65 He then proceeds to study the three references of our Lord to this from the synoptic gospels. Paul is in agreement, found, e.g. in Eph 1:21, speaking of the present exaltation of Christ, 'who is far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in this age, but also in the one to come'. This conclusively disparages any third age, found in the purported 7 year great tribulation or the 1000 year period, prior to the eternal consummated state. With this checkpoint in place, Riddlebarger can then safely guide us to an improved view of the Antichrist passages in the NT - and a gospel free from man's control over history.

By now it becomes apparent that Riddlebarger believes that many antichrists have already come in the course of human history. And this is precisely what the Epistles of John teach. 'The question remains as to how this series of antichrists is connected to that mysterious individual Paul speaks of - the man of sin.' pg 79 It is at this stage in the development of the 'man of sin' that he will either be relegated to an enigmatic Pauline figure, as Warfield held, or afforded a composite sketch attained from all three strands of biblical teaching. In clearly what could not have been an easy departure from Warfield, Riddlebarger moves on to an inclusive scheme of Scripture. So, secondly, he treats the apocalyptical dragon, beast and false prophet from the Revelation of John. Due to the symbolic nature of the revelations there are a number of interpretations given to the unholy trinity, yet the standard refrain is that the dragon is Satan, the beast is the Antichrist and the false prophet his co-regent.

Riddlebarger's third and final stop is the 'man of lawlessness' in the apostle Paul's sole reference to the Antichrist. The proper exegesis of this text takes center stage. 'The first critical question faced by Paul's interpreters has to do with the identification of the man of lawlessness.' p 119 It is here once again in the dispensationalist view that Paul is referring to an end-times persona who will set himself up as god in the temple, and therefore the temple must be rebuilt, that evokes the most fascination, if not incredulity, especially considering their claim to being raptured shortly thereafter - what purpose would rebuilding the temple serve, other than admitting their prophetic time-table? This point of contention, whether Paul meant that the man of sin will set himself up in the eschatological church or the rebuilt temple, (2 Thess 2:4), has been hotly contested, and becomes a preference of linguistics and semantics, with Riddlebarger opting for the eschatological church.

When viewed in the whole, the first passage of Scripture from the Epistles of John teaches of antichrists within the church. The second passage, also from John, Revelation, teaches of an Antichrist external to the church, whom by means of state sanctioned persecution, oppresses the faithful. 'Paul might offer the means to tie these two things together.' p 122 It is here that Riddlebarger's calculation of this critical passage comes into its own right. As the Lord had warned of in the Olivet discourse 'because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will become cold', the apostle Paul speaks comparatively of the first sign preceding the Parousia as the great apostasy - the 'falling away' of 2 Thess 2:3. 'The timing of the apostasy is in some way connected to the second condition, the revelation of the man of lawlessness, as concomitant events.' p 126 This emphasis in Scripture on the Antichrist, or man of sin, who himself must be revealed [Gk: apocalypsis] allows for some sort of divine control, a 'holding back'. Hence the second sign that Paul imparts to the Thessalonian believers that must precede the coming of Christ is the revelation of the man of sin.

The second problematic exegetical issue surrounds the uncertainty of the 'restrainer', who up to the time of unprecedented apostasy when God will allow certain believers to be handed over to a delusion, appears to be a very effective God-given aid to believers. Whether by special revelation or general providence, Amillennialists believe that God will keep the elect and preserve them from the waxing evil, until such time as Christ will re-appear from heaven. In this providential design, and as John Calvin held, the preaching of the gospel serves as the most likely candidate for the 'restrainer'. 'None the less the fact remains that it is impossible for us to form concrete conceptions of how the restraint of the mystery takes place.' Geerhardus Vos, The Pauline Eschatology p 133

Paul therefore is able to mutually relate the Epistles of John's internal antichrists with Revelation's external Antichrist, whom Riddlebarger believes will eventuate as a particular individual in the future, a man of iniquity who possesses the incredible political clout to persecute the church, and finally to set himself up in rebellion to God as god-incarnate in the church. If this be tentatively accepted, Israel and the temple as a 'special interest group' become an unnatural reading of the Antichrist's antagonism, and not deserving of serious consideration.

When I began "The Man of Sin," I was immediately disoriented. 236 pages later, that assessment still stands. The Man of Sin seems geared towards someone who has at the very least a basic familiarity with amillennial theology. It assumes a strong amount of grounding by the reader in interpretive methods and church history. Fortunately, this assumption is not so great that someone like me, having only read premillennialist works, can sit down and forge through it. And forge through I did.

If nothing else, Riddlebarger's book will make one think. I believe that is his thrust all throughout the book; that is, he desires simply to cause the reader to rethink what one believes about the end-times and the Antichrist in particular. In that respect alone, Riddlebarger succeeds. I definitely have more to think about.

A failure of this book is in the way it treats amillennialism over and against other millennial views. Riddlebarger seems to bounce off walls (and not in an energetic, yappy dog or hyper child way) in his treatment of differences between amil and other views. It's almost as if he is sitting in a room with various pieces of theology that are contra-amillennialism taped on the walls and throwing darts randomly around the room, at which point he attempts to show how the amil view is superior. Engaging in such eschatological rabbit-chasing, while informative and interesting, only confused me when trying to follow the argument Riddlebarger was attempting to make in most of the chapters of this work. But I must admit the cause of such confusion may well be my unfamiliarity with the point of view in which this book is presented.

Riddlebarger's strongest contribution in this book is a historical overview of the Antichrist in the church. I enjoyed this chapter immensely and learned much about how the church has viewed the Antichrist through the ages, from Nero to the Papacy, on to today. After this is his final chapter, a summary of all the information in the book, stating Riddlebarger's conclusions as to what the evidence shows. This chapter, more than any preceding one, helped me to understand what Riddlebarger wanted to accomplish in writing the book. If I were to go back and reread the book after finishing this chapter, I am certain that Riddlebarger's presentation would be much clearer to me.

All in all, this is a very strong book, disorientation aside. It is the first scholarly work on Revelation (outside of commentaries) that I have read, and I am very pleased that it has done what I hoped-it has broadened my theological horizons. I would suggest that anyone considering reading it first gain a basic understanding of and familiarity with amillennialism, postmillennialism, premillennialism, and preterism before delving into The Man of Sin. Then and only then should you consider reading it. Until then, go ahead and purchase it if you like. The cover will at least look good on your coffee table until you're ready to read it!

Kim Riddlebarger, that author of "A Case for Amillienialism" tackles the ultimate villain (aside from Satan himself) in this biblical/historical/theological examination of the doctrine of Antichrist. In short but thorough chapters he examines the biblical data, the historical view of Antichrist in context of the events surrounding those who held them, and the different theological schools of thought that affect how people view the Antichrist. All of this is examined through the lens of covenant theology and an amillenial view of the end times. Dr. Riddlebarger leaves no stone unturned as he gets down to why he believes what he believes over historic premillenialism, dispensationalism, preterism, and postmillenialism giving a unique view of a doctrine that has seldom been examined by Reformed theologians in recent decades.

If for no other reason read this to get a totally different view of the end times than what you read in popular end time novels and see in Christian film. However, it is not light reading so keep your bible close by and be prepared to think and pray hard after reading this one.

Riddlebarger's scripture-solid look at the anti-christ is a breath of fresh air. It lacks the sensational, date prediciting trend so common in many who deal with escathology. An excellent read.

With all the rush to judgement that we are indeed, in the end stages of time as we know it, Dr. Riddlebarger, using scripture and not opinion, paints a very clear picture for us. I found this to be very readable and a "must-have" for every Reformed Library (home and church).
With respect to the majority of authors that have placed the church in the end of it's earthly history, they are indeed treading on dangerous waters.

Another solid great book from Dr Riddlebarger. Answers many questions regarding the man of sin. Solid end times theology.

This book is the best i believe on the subject. The background info alone is worth the price of the book. Some men have pushed the "envelope" to far. Kim will show you where while not being dogmatic about his position.Kim has the right Christian attitude in his writing.All of his books are outstanding.