As I write this in Britain we are in the run up to a General Election. Despite this being Easter I found myself thinking how some politicians seem to be manipulate people’s view of themselves to make it that they are better people than they really are. The man the Bible calls the Antichrist also appears to have this attribute. I also remembered that that Absalom, one of King David’s sons, was very persuasive in stealing the hearts of the people before he tried to usurp the throne. Maybe there are clues about the antichrist in Absalom’s story which occurs in 2 Samuel chapters 13-18. Absalom would approach those who were trying to petition to King David about some injustice or other, and he would be sympathetic to their claims and say that if only he was king things would be so much better. But if he had succeeded would there have been a reign of justice? Absalom was a very vain man who was proud of his looks, the sort of man who these days would court the media. Equally he would be the sort of man the media would love as he would always be good copy. But he had his flaws, he murdered his half-brother Amnon in revenge for his rape of Tamar. After a period of exile he returned to Jerusalem though he was still persona non grata with the king. In order to attract the attention of Joab, so that Joab would intercede with King David on his behalf, Absalom set fire to Joab’s barley crop. Joab helped him to be restored to the King David’s presence. But Absalom had made an enemy of Joab in the process. This enabled Absalom to pretend he was loyal to the king while all the time he was plotting to usurp him.
The rebellion that ensued was predicted as a consequence of David’s adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah the Hittite. But the Lord also promised that Bathsheba’s son Solomon would in turn become the king who would build the Temple. So Absalom’s rebellion if it succeeded would have prevented the construction of the Temple. The people who supported Absalom may not have seen it as such, but his vanity alone would have led to him in time abandon the worship of the Lord. The problem with types in Scripture is that there is only so far that you can take them and I admit there are limits. Both Absalom and the Antichrist appear to be successful but ultimately fail even if the time scales are different. Absalom’s death would make easier for Solomon to become king. The demise of the Antichrist will in turn usher in the reign of Millennium Christ.
David Rose, 2015.