Joe Kirby of Off the Kirb Ministries is stepping directly into one of Christianity’s most debated prophetic questions. In a recent video, Kirby challenges confident online claims about the identity of the Antichrist and urges viewers to return to Scripture.
“I’ve grown tired of people claiming they know who this man is without really understanding why,” Kirby says. “So, I’ve gone on a deep dive to find out when this guy will arrive. Has he already been? How will he rise to become the world’s most powerful leader?”
He presents several possibilities before explaining where he personally lands.
Caesar Nero and Revelation 17
Kirby’s primary candidate is the Roman emperor Nero. He builds his case from Revelation 17 and its reference to seven heads and seven mountains.
“John was given a revelation by God, and he saw seven kings, seven rulers who would sit on the seven mountains or the seven hills in other translations,” Kirby says. “Now, guess how many hills there are in Rome. There are seven.”
He connects the passage, “Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come,” to the sequence of early Roman emperors. In his view, the timing aligns with the emperor who was alive when John wrote Revelation and points back to an earlier ruler.
Kirby describes Nero in stark terms.
“There is one thing you’ve got to admit to me, and it’s this. Nero was one of the most evil men who ever walked on the face of this earth, and he did some very Antichrist things,” he says.
He references the claim that Nero’s name can total 666 in Hebrew numerology, though he notes Revelation was written in Greek. What most captures his attention is Revelation’s language about the beast who “was and is not.”
“I do find it fascinating how in Revelation 17 it says about this person that he was meaning he was once alive but now he is not but someone from this original seven will become the eighth the eighth king and he will be the antichrist who will rule the world,” Kirby says.
When pressed on his own conclusion, he does not hesitate.
“If you really pressed me and said, ‘Joe, who do you think the Antichrist is?’ I’d probably say to you, ‘I believe it is Caesar Nero or someone like number one, or dare I say someone operating in the same spirit as Nero.’”
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Hitler and the Question of World Domination
Kirby also considers Adolf Hitler as a possible fulfillment because of the Holocaust and the regime’s persecution of Jews and Christians.
“What we know about the antichrist is he is going to destroy many of God’s people during the tribulation,” Kirby says.
He notes that Hitler required Jews to wear identifying marks and sought sweeping control. He connects this to prophecy describing a kingdom that will “devour the whole earth.”
At the same time, he argues Hitler does not fully meet the biblical criteria. Hitler did not conquer the entire world. Kirby also emphasizes that Scripture indicates Israel will initially receive the Antichrist.
“The Jews will see the Antichrist and they will love him. They’ll see him as a sort of Messiah, as a sort of savior for them,” he says.
That expectation, Kirby argues, sets the future Antichrist apart from Hitler.
Biblical Markers for Identification
Kirby insists that speculation must be tested against Scripture. He outlines what he believes are clear identifying features.
“We know the Antichrist is going to speak blasphemous things about God,” he says. “We know he’s going to perform miraculous signs which is going to woo the whole world into following him.”
He says the Antichrist will command global attention and exercise unusual persuasive power. He also references Daniel’s statement that he “shall neither regard the God of his fathers nor the desire of women.”
A defining moment will involve Jerusalem.
“During the 7-year tribulation, the Antichrist will do something no man has ever achieved. He’ll bring peace to Jerusalem,” he says.
Kirby says this leader will establish a covenant with Israel and restore temple activity before betraying that agreement.
“He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering in the temple,” Kirby says. “He shall do cruel things to the saints of the most high.”
He adds that the Antichrist will ultimately exalt himself in the temple as God, echoing Jesus’ warning about the abomination of desolation.
Even with his lean toward Nero, Kirby cautions against certainty.
“So yes, we can have all of these ideas, but at the end of the day, they’re just opinions,” he says. “And as Christians, we’re called not to base our lives on opinions. We’re called to root our lives into scripture.”
A Warning Beyond Prophecy
Kirby closes by shifting from speculation about global events to personal examination. He focuses on the meaning of the word itself.
“The word antichrist means in the place of, meaning taking the place of the Lord Jesus Christ,” he says.
He presses viewers with what he calls the more urgent issue.
“The most urgent question you need to ask yourself is not who is the Antichrist but who is the antichrist in my life,” Kirby says. “What is taking the place of the Lord Jesus Christ?”
Kirby urges repentance and faith in Christ, framing the debate over the Antichrist as secondary to allegiance to Jesus.
“When He returns, poof, He’ll blow with His breath, and He’ll slay the Antichrist and all the powers of darkness,” Kirby says. “That’s the man you want to follow. That’s the Lord Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior.”
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
