What kind of person will the Antichrist be?
The Antichrist will be a charismatic political maneuverer who comes in peaceably and with flattery, not by military might or fighting wars. He will arrange circumstances smoothly and be recognized by the world as leader, rising from the common market of Europe and ten nations.
Les explains that the Antichrist will not come in and usurp power with military might or by fighting wars. Instead, he will come peaceably and with flattery. He will be a political maneuverer and a charismatic type of individual. He gets his ducks all in a row peaceably, so he does not have to use ammunition. He may have the threat of power behind him, such as western Europe still having NATO, but he does not have actual military power as yet as his command. A crown is given to him, and the world will recognize him as the leader. Les teaches that he comes up out of the common market of Europe, out of nations that come together. At the time of teaching they are twelve, may go to fourteen or fifteen, but they will drop back to ten, and out of those ten he will come up and usurp the power. This is compared to the perfect parallel of Revelation chapter 6.