LYNCHBURG, Va. — “I should have known better,” outspoken Jerry
Falwell said Wednesday about remarks he made before the 18th
International Christian Prayer Breakfast in Nashville, Tenn.
Rev. Falwell, the chancellor of Liberty University and a noted
television
personality, told the Associated Press he regrets saying the Antichrist
was
a Jew, who probably is alive today.
The Nashville breakfast, sponsored by the National Religious
Broadcasters
Convention, was billed as a prayer for peace in Jerusalem and honored
several Holocaust survivors.
“I apologize to my Jewish friends here and around the world and I
apologize to the Christians here for having created any kind of rift,”
Falwell emphasized. “I apologize not for what I believe, but for my
lack
of tact and judgment in making a statement that served no purpose
whatsoever.”
According to the Bible, the Antichrist will spread universal evil
before
the end of the world but will be finally conquered at the Second Coming
of
Christ.
On Jan. 14, Falwell told a conference on evangelism that he believes
the
Second Coming probably will occur within 10 years.
As for the Antichrist, “if he’s going to be the counterfeit of
Christ, he
has to be Jewish,” Falwell said. “The only thing we know is he must be
male and Jewish.”
“When I delivered my sermon on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ last
week to a pastors’ conference in Kingsport, Tennessee, I conveyed
biblically based truths that I have believed and preached nationally for
more than 40 years,” said Falwell in a written statement on his
website.
“In addition to asserting that I personally
believe
that Christ could return soon, I stated that the Antichrist may possibly
be
alive on the earth today.
“Many evangelicals, including Billy Graham and millions of others,
believe
in the imminent, premillennial, pretribulational Second Coming of Jesus
Christ for all of His Church.
“Since Jesus came to the earth the first time 2,000 years ago as a
Jewish
male, many evangelicals believe the Antichrist will, by necessity, be a
Jewish male. This belief is 2,000 years old and has no anti-Semitic
roots.
This is simply historic and prophetic orthodox Christian doctrine that
many
theologians, Christian and non-Christian, have understood for two
millennia.”
Falwell reiterated “at the outset it should be noted that there is
honest
disagreement among evangelical Christians in regards to the background
of
the Antichrist. In essence, there are three views: 1.The Antichrist is
not
a person at all, but an evil system. 2.The Antichrist is a real person
and
will be a Gentile and 3.The Antichrist is a real person and will be
Jewish.
“Of course, no one can be absolutely dogmatic in this matter, but I
personally feel (and have publicly stated) that the third view has more
scriptural support than the previous two.
“There are (at least) three scriptural passages that lead me to
believe the
Antichrist may be Jewish:”
- Ezekiel 21:25: And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose
day is
come when iniquity shall have an end;
Daniel 11:37: Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers;
John 5:43: I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if
another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
In continuing, the founder of the now-defunct Moral Majority
stated: “The church fathers generally believed in a personal Antichrist.
In fact, one of the most famous, John Chrysostom, (347-407 A.D.) held
that the Antichrist would be a Jewish dictator from the tribe of Dan,
based on the following:
1.Jacob’s prophecy upon his son Dan: Dan shall be a serpent by the
way, an
adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall
fall backward. (Gen. 49:17);
2.Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning the tribulation: The snorting of his
horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound … for
they
are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city,
and
those that dwell therein. For, behold I will send serpents, cockatrices,
among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the
Lord. (Jer. 8:16, 17);
3.The tribe of Dan is omitted from the list in Revelation 7. This
chapter
records the tribal identity of the 144,000 Hebrew evangelists who will
be
saved and called to special service during the tribulation.
Falwell said his views were not novel or new; they were not without
biblical support or they weren’t anti-Semitic.
“Since I delivered this Kingsport message, some have felt that my
comment
expressing my opinion that the Antichrist will be Jewish could possibly
be
construed as anti-Semitic. I did not intend for my sincere belief on
this
issue to cause any pain to anyone, Jewish or otherwise. I am strongly
pro-Jewish and pro-Israel. My statement was not dogmatic since no one
can
be certain of the identity of the Antichrist. If I had known the
statement
would be publicized and misconstrued, I would never have made it. I have
earlier apologized to any persons who were offended thereby, and I
restate
that apology now.”
Falwell is expected to make further statements on the controversy
tonight on the “Rivera” TV program.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is expected
to stir
up a further controversy when he plans to attend the National Prayer
Breakfast in Washington, D.C. today. He has arrived in the U.S. capital
to discuss the Wye Memorandum with President Bill Clinton.
Sources: falwell.com, Associated Press and ICEJ.
