The best books on the Antichrist

Some of the big topics within Bible prophecy are the Great Tribulation Period with the Antichrist at the helm, and whether Bible believers will be raptured before or after this period of distress. The authors tackle this tough question with sound biblical evidence to support their claims.

Unfortunately, their findings go against many popular opinions of the modern Church and there is great debate amongst believers about the Rapture. This is why their book is very important to provide much needed information for those who hold differing views.

This one is classed as YA, and might actually fall under Fantasy but with a difference. The protagonist is the antichrist, normally the stuff of Horror, but he's in high school and trying to fit in as best he can and gather friends rather than followers. What could go wrong?

Well, falling in love with a girl with religious parents might be an error in judgment and the local Satanist groups trying to enlist him doesn't help. It's a story of a teenager at the heart of it, albeit one with special powers and demons harassing him, but it's a fun read and has some great humour when it comes to dealing with bullies or misguided young Satanists trying to sacrifice a duck. Trust me, the duck is okay.

Literally one of the most ‘apocalyptic’ stories ever penned, this unusual tale follows the main character of a priest as he navigates a hostile secular culture and investigates what might finally be the arrival of the long-predicted Antichrist. The story is prescient in its predictions about technology, as well as political and cultural trends. The un-ironic steampunk vibes (which would have been cutting edge at the time of writing), are a fun plus.

If you’re awake at night due to paranoia, then The Servants of Twilight comes highly recommended. The book creates an atmosphere of paranoia much like the movie The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In the book single mother Christine Scavello tries to save her son from cult members of “The Twilight,” a cult led by the evil and delusional Grace Spivey. Grace accuses Joey of being the antichrist after bumping into him at a local mall. Christine enlists the help of Private Detective Charlie Harrison to protect her and Joey from the cult. However, Grace’s followers are everywhere. Even police officers follow Grace’s orders to destroy the young boy, forcing Charlie, Christine, and Joey to run for their lives against a seemingly unbeatable foe. 

This book by the renowned nineteenth-century biblical scholar is a great read because it epitomizes the traditional anti-Nero bias to the point of parody. Renan writes that “Nero’s actions float between the black wickedness of a cruel dunce and the irony of a cynic. He did not possess an idea that was not puerile. The sham world of art in which he dwelt had made the veriest fool of him.”

I was always interested in how the emperor Nero was associated from antiquity onwards with the Antichrist: the world-destroying and tyrannical son of Satan who would prevail until the final victory of God. Only Judas matched him as a villain in the Christian imagination. Malik traces the Nero-Antichrist “paradigm” across centuries, exploring the ways in which Christians viewed Nero as an arch-fiend, the beast in the Book of Revelation, and a figure of evil who tested their mettle and faith. While recent scholars have softened the traditional picture of Nero, his afterlife continues to wield its menacing power, based in no small part on these Christian traditions.

B. J. Oropeza’s 99 Reasons Why No One Knows When Christ Will Return was written in 1994 when there was rampant speculation in some circles that the year 2000 would be prophetically significant. Nevertheless, the book remains a worthwhile corrective against end-times speculation and date setting. Each of his reasons deals with popular speculations concerning the soon-appearing of Christ. Each reason is concisely stated (1-3 pages, except for reason 40 concerning the return of Israel to Palestine [5 pages]). Oropeza deals with multiple reasons why date-setting is counterproductive and concludes with a chapter on what we can know about the future and guidelines for interpreting prophecy. While somewhat dated, the book is enjoyable and makes one shake one’s head that people could have had such bizarre eschatological views.