In completing our all National Review evening, Carl E. Olson writes about how much of Evangelical Christianity is fixated upon the end times, and how they see every world news event, especially from the Middle East, as a fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy. They are fascinated with the quest for unmasking the Antichrist and continue to see major world leaders as the Antichrist.

The first person I remember hearing people talk about as the Antichrist was Henry Kissinger. But then Kissinger left the world stage and people focused upon someone else. I also recall people saying Mikhail Gorbachev was the Antichrist. One of their major points proving this claim was that he has a mark on his forehead (I always thought it looked like a map of Italy rather than the number 666, but what do I know).

Olson points out that after Iraq invaded Kuwait, many Evangelicals saw Saddam Hussein as the Antichrist. Particularly after he was defeated but not removed from power, they believed he would return from this “fatal” blow to lead an attack on Israel and bring on the great battle of Armageddon.

Now that Saddam Hussein has been removed from power, apparently not to return, it is time to move on to the next new Antichrist. But there is no thought about how wrong they were in proclaiming Saddam or any of his predecessors as the Antichrist. Olson points out an example of how one “end-times analyst” (Mark Hitchcock) deals with the fall of Saddam, their latest proclaimed Antichrist:

After explaining how Saddam has set the stage for a glimmering New Babylon, Hitchcock argues that “the ouster of Saddam from power actually makes the rebuilding of Babylon much more likely” because now the sanctions on Iraqi oil sales will be lifted, opening the door for a flood of “billions of dollars, euros, and yen.”

Such comments highlight the unrelentingly negative and fatalistic character of popular Bible-prophecy books and authors. You thought Saddam was bad? Wait until you see the next guy. You thought life was going to get better? Wait until you experience the coming Tribulation and the rule of The Antichrist. If conditions improve, it’s only so they can become twice as bad in the very near future.

I can attest to how unrelentingly negative it all is, having grown up in that environment. Anything good is only to pave the way for evil. Anyone who works to try to improve things is working for the devil and against God. Things must continue to get worse, and we shouldn’t fight against it.

So now that Saddam isn’t the Antichrist, who’s next in line? Yes, I hear the calls from the left: George W. Bush.