Appendix: Pim Fortuyn and Revelation 13
The following appendix is taken from a booklet that I wrote years ago, which was my attempt at identifying the Beast and False Prophet from the book of Revelation. I realize that to do such a crass thing makes you accursed in most circles (even among prophecy students). In most cases I would agree with such an attitude; yet what if you really think you're right? That's the problem I've wrestled with for years. I fully believe I know who the "Antichrist" is, yet I know it's not grave and respectable to go around vocalizing such a belief. Like I said, originally I attempted to identify both the Beast and the False Prophet; I'm not so sure anymore however that I'm right about my ideas on the False Prophet. I never really did feel as if I had received Biblical revelation on that subject, and so I'll leave it out and just restate what I think to be much more certain; namely, that the "Antichrist" is Pim Simon Petrus Fortuyn...
I remember when Pim was shot. I had normally kept up with the news very regularly but somehow this event slipped by me unnoticed. It was my father at the dinner table who alerted me to his assassination. Later that evening I read up about Fortuyn and was quite shocked by what I found. He was an amazing fit for the Biblical profile of the Beast.
First of all Pim wasn’t actually the leader of his nation; rather he was running for election at the time. The Bible states that the Antichrist will be a nobody who quickly becomes a somebody:
<And stood up on his station has a despicable one, and they have not given unto him the honour of the kingdom, and he has come in quietly, and has strengthened the kingdom by flatteries. And the arms of the flood {maybe Gog/Magog} are overflowed from before him, and are broken; and also the leader of the covenant. And after they join themselves unto him, he works deceit, and has increased, and has been strong by a few of the nation {literally, “a small nation;” this refers to Israel -- see Deuteronomy 7:7}. -- Daniel 11:21-23 [mYLT, and so throughout for O.T. quotes unless otherwise stated; interpreting Daniel 11:21-45 as referring to someone other than Antiochus Epiphanes is admittedly rare, yet considering Daniel 12, the Antichrist must at least be regarded here as a strict doppelganger to Antiochus]
All the speculations about the Beast being this president or that prime minister are always bound to be wrong. The dramatic undertakings of the apocalypse will begin before he rules anybody; in addition, the nation he belongs to will seemingly not be a very big one, as his small horn (nation) will usurp three more prominent ones (Daniel 7:24).
Another point of interest was Pim's lack of desire for women, a characteristic specifically mentioned by Daniel (11:37). He was also a nationalist; most notably, he was extremely opposed to Muslim immigration. In the quote from Daniel above we see that the Beast will “strengthen the kingdom by flatteries,” which is how nationalists operate. Also it is written in the next line that he makes friends with Israel (which is stated as well in Daniel 9:27). This would be easy to do if he was somewhat anti-Muslim.
Having glanced at the calendar I also realized that he was shot ten days before the Pharisaic Shavuot (the real date is probably to be rendered differently, as the Karaite Jews do today). Jesus Christ ascended to heaven ten days before Shavuot (a.k.a. "Pentecost"). Of course the most important thing of all was his being shot in the head; for John predicts in Revelation that the Beast will suffer a great wound to the head and then come back to life.
<...And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns ten royal bands, and on its heads names of blasphemy [or, blasphemous names]. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and its feet like [those] of a bear, and its mouth like a mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave to it his power and his throne and great authority. And one of its heads [was] as [if] having been slain to death [fig., mortally wounded], and its wound of death [fig., fatal wound] was healed. And the whole earth marveled after the beast. -- 13:1-3 [ALT3, and so throughout for N.T. quotes]
Not long after his death he was moved from his grave in Holland and flown for burial in Italy. A very prominent feature of the book of Daniel is that a revived Roman Empire will rule the world in the last days; thus it was interesting that he was placed so near unto Rome (and on a footnote, I balk at the great number of evangelicals who have left the sound idea of a European Antichrist for the fad of looking for an Assyrian one).
On top of all this he had possessed a magnetism. Many people were attracted to his charismatic persona, and he was also enough of a paradox to excite and inspire a broad spectrum of people.
So having considered this information I was half-expecting his immediate resurrection. Over twelve years have passed now and he’s still absent; yet I maintain a belief? Yes, I do. For during this time I’ve come across Biblical proof which has solidified my position. [The following information from 1 Samuel 10-13 can be found in chapter 7 of the present work; for that reason I thought about deleting it, but for the sake of the reader not having to leave the appendix I'll just go ahead and be repetitive].
In the book of Genesis the tribe of Judah was selected prophetically for kingship (49:10). 1 Samuel tells the history of a different inaugural monarchy. The people were tired of being ruled by informal judges and wanted a more formal kingship. God granted their wish and Saul was chosen, who was not of the tribe of Judah but rather of Benjamin (the first hint that something was wrong).
Samuel warned the people that they were acting sinfully; their hearts weren’t right. They wanted a king because they no longer wanted God. They longed for some sort of carnal superhero who would provide for their every need without having to honour and worship the invisible and holy High King of Heaven. This all is comparable to the last days...
<Let no one deceive you* by any means, because [that Day will not come] unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction... -- 2 Thessalonians 2:3
At his coronation ceremony Saul was nowhere to be found...
<And Samuel brings near the whole tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin is captured {selected by divine lot}, and he brings near the tribe of Benjamin by its families, and the family of Matri is captured, and Saul son of Kish is captured, and they seek him, and he has not been found. And they ask again at Hashem, "Has the man yet come hither?" And Hashem says, "Lo, he has been hidden near the vessels {Hebrew, "kaleem" [utensils/implements/vessels/tools]}." And they run and bring him thence, and he stationed himself in the midst of the people, and he is higher than any of the people from his shoulder and upward. And Samuel says unto all the people, "Have you seen him on whom Hashem has fixed, for there is none like him among all the people?" And all the people shout, and say, "Let the king live!" -- 1 Samuel 10:20-24
Samuel’s words, “there is none like him,” shall be as the worship afforded the Antichrist. But what does God say? “Behold, he is hiding himself among the kaleem [utensils/implements/vessels/tools].” What does that mean?
<...All Israel went down to the Philistines, each to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his hoe. The charge was two-thirds of a shekel [Hebrew pim] for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to fix the hoes. -- 1 Samuel 13:20-21 [NASB]
Jay Green’s Literal Version, the Revised Standard Version, and the New King James Version leave the term “pim” un-translated, while many others give a monetary figure; it's mainly the older Bibles such as the King James Version and Young's Literal Translation that are at a loss to render it properly.
It has become clear through archaeology that a “pim” was a coin worth two-thirds of a shekel, i.e., 66.6%. The two Beasts will initially claim to be of God the Father and will claim to be doing exploits through the Holy Spirit, even causing another Temple/Tabernacle to be constructed in Jerusalem [a Temple is most likely, yet the Greek word given in relevant prophecies isn’t specific]; but they will deny the Son...
<Who is the liar, except the one denying that Jesus is the Christ [or, the Messiah]? This one is the antichrist, the one denying the Father and the Son. Everyone denying the Son neither has the Father. -- 1 John 2:22-23
Right; so now I'd like to add a few supporting elements. Let’s journey to another place in Scripture, to the book of 2 Kings…
<And sons of the prophet say unto Elisha, "Lo, we pray you, the place where we are dwelling before you is too strait for us. Let us go, we pray you, unto the Jordan, and we take thence each one beam, and we make for ourselves there a place to dwell there;" and he says, "Go." And the one says, "Be pleased, I pray you, and go with your servants;" and he says, "I -- I go." And he goes with them, and they come in to the Jordan, and cut down the trees, and it comes to pass, the one is felling the beam, and the iron has fallen into the water, and he cries and says, "Alas! my lord, and it asked {meaning "borrowed"}!" And the man of God says, "Where has it fallen?" And he shows him the place, and he cuts a stick, and casts [it] there, and causes the iron to swim, and says, "Raise to you;" and he puts forth his hand and takes it. -- 6:1-7
So someone is chopping down a tree and an axe-head falls into the water. A stick is cast into the water and the iron axe-head rises to the surface. The idea of something weak dying and something powerful resurrecting is very Biblical. The Lord Jesus arose and ascended to heaven and will return in great glory, but first died in our weak flesh. The believer presently has a corruptible body but will be renewed with incorruption (1 Corinthians 15:35-49). So the Antichrist, at the time of a great apostasy from the cross (i.e., the felling of “the beam;” I believe organized Christendom will officially deny a cardinal doctrine about the Lord Jesus in the near future), will be raised from the waters of death as with the iron axe-head (the book of Daniel in chapters 4 and 7 represents the last world system as consisting of iron). Then, just as Moses picked up the serpent in Exodus 4, so shall Israel latch on to infamy incarnate. What makes me come out with this outlandish speculation? The Hebrew Bible.
The man loses the axe-head and then complains to Elisha that it was a borrowed tool. In the original the word translated “asked” is the exact spelling, letter for letter, vowel point for vowel point, of “Saul.” The Hebrew hu Shaul could therefore be rendered, “He is Saul” (see also 1 Samuel 28:12-13 for an interesting parallel to Revelation 13:11-18)...
<All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb; but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot. -- Isaiah 14:18-19
The Hebrew for "Saul" is also frightfully similar to another word: Sheol (only the vowels are different; the consonants are exactly the same). Sheol is the Old Testament name for the place of the dead. Isaiah speaks of the Beast as being the one of Sheol whom the nation of Israel will make a covenant with…
<Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter...” -- 28:14-15 [ESV]
As does Habakkuk…
<Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples. -- 2:5 [ESV]
Like Israel, we all rebel against God and enthrone our base desires as king. The unconverted shall suffer for it eternally; but there’s hope...
During the end the Antichrist will storm the nation of Israel and seek to wipe it off the map. At that time they will call out to Jesus Christ and be saved…
<The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry...He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind...And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them. Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. -- Psalm 18:4-17; portions [ESV]
Just as the Jews will be saved from the hordes of Armageddon when they cry to their Messiah, so now we may call to Jesus for salvation from all our sins -- past, present, and future; thus forever we may nullify our covenant with death, and in its stead receive the right to take the living fruit from Calvary's cross.