How will the Antichrist come to power?
The Antichrist will come to power peaceably and with flattery, as a political maneuverer and charismatic individual, not by military might or warfare. He will rise out of a ten-nation European common market, receive a crown, and be recognized by the world as its leader.
Les teaches that the Antichrist will not come in and usurp power by military might or by fighting wars. Instead, he will come in peaceably and with flattery, as a political maneuverer and a charismatic individual. He gets his ducks all in a row peaceably, without having to use the ammunition. He may have the threat of power behind him—western Europe still has NATO—but he does not yet have actual military power as his command. A crown is given to him, and the world will recognize him as the leader. Les reminds listeners that he comes up out of the common market of Europe, out of the nations that will come together. At the time of teaching they were twelve, possibly going to fourteen or fifteen, but they will drop back to ten, and out of those ten he will come up and usurp the power. Les points to Revelation chapter 6 as a perfect parallel and encourages comparing them together.