In a time when persecution against Christians is no longer confined to Communist regimes or Islamic nations, a chilling trend is emerging in what once was known as the Christian West. From Europe to Canada and now America, believers are facing trials, censorship and punishment simply for standing on the Word of God.
According to prophetic voice Jonathan Cahn, what we’re witnessing is more than a cultural shift—it’s a spiritual transformation laying the groundwork for the Antichrist himself.
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“For 2,000 years, Western civilization rested on a Judeo-Christian foundation,” Cahn says. “But that’s not the world we see in Revelation.” He warns that the world described in the final book of the Bible is one of godlessness, rebellion and persecution. For such a world to exist, there must first be a great apostasy—a falling away from the faith. And Cahn believes we are living in that moment now.
This apostasy isn’t subtle. It’s blatant, systemic and increasingly militant. “We’re not just witnessing the rise of a non-Christian culture,” Cahn explains. “We are witnessing the rise of an anti-Christian civilization.” The moral values that once defined the West are being overturned at a breathtaking pace. What was once unthinkable—persecuting Christians for quoting Scripture or holding to biblical convictions—is now happening in courtrooms and newsrooms across the West.
Cahn draws from Revelation 13 and 17 to show that this is part of a prophetic sequence. The beast, symbolic of the Antichrist system, is said to wage war against the saints. “She was drunk with the blood of the saints,” Revelation says of the harlot riding the beast. The persecution of believers, once confined to the ancient Roman Empire, is reemerging in the post-Christian West with increasing aggression.
From governmental targeting of pro-life grandmothers to the censoring of biblical truth on social media, Cahn sees the fulfillment of prophetic warning signs. “It’s the preparation needed for the book of Revelation,” he says. The spirit of Antichrist is already active in the world, conditioning culture to accept what is to come.
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In a further warning, Cahn highlights Revelation 16’s prophecy of the Euphrates River drying up to make way for the kings of the East. Once thought metaphorical or futuristic, this drying is literally happening in modern times due to environmental and political changes.
And then there’s the march toward a one-world system—economically, politically and digitally. Revelation 13 speaks of a world where no one can buy or sell without the mark of the beast. “This could never have happened in the ancient world,” Cahn notes. But today, with global tech infrastructure, surveillance states like China, and financial de-platforming of Christians in the West, the framework for such control already exists.
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Jonathan Cahn urges believers not to fear but to discern the times. “The Antichrist will not rise in a vacuum,” he says. “He will come to a world that is prepared to receive him.” Christians are called to stand firm, to remain faithful and to shine the light of Messiah in an increasingly dark world.
Though the spirit of Antichrist prepares the world for his arrival, the Spirit of Christ is preparing His people for victory. Stand firm, endure and shine—because the King is coming.
Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
