Rene Girard, the French literary critic, philosopher and cultural commentator observed that a driving force in all human conflict was what he named “mimetic desire” -a kind of accelerated form of envy in which we don’t simply want what the competitor has, we want it simply because they have it. Furthermore, we want everything they have, and not only to have everything they have, but we desire to be like them, and not only do we want to be like them, we eventually want to become them, and to become them we will have to resort to violence.

I’ve been thinking about this in relation to the coming appearance of the anti-Christ. The anti-Christ, beneath his suave appearance of confidence and exalted power, wants what Christ has simply because Christ has it. He wants to be like Christ. This is, of course, an echo of the battle in the Garden of Eden, in which Satan tempts Adam and Eve saying if they eat of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil they will become like God. Satan himself experienced the same temptation and that is why he rebelled. He wanted God’s power simply because God had that power and he could not bear not being like God.

So the anti-Christ not only wants what Christ has simply because he has it, but he wants to be like Christ. He wants to be the Son of God. This is the core of the temptations in the wilderness. Satan wants to flip the script. He wants Jesus Christ to worship him rather than Satan being in submission he wants Christ to submit. Then he will be superior like Christ.

The spirit of the antiChrist is always in the world, but when THE antiChrist appears he will attempt to be as much like Christ as possible. But here’s the trick: he will try to be what he thinks Christ is, and this is the slippery part: Satan still does not accept and understand who Jesus Christ really is. He thinks Jesus Christ is a worldly ruler like he himself is. He thinks Jesus Christ is interested in power and domination, because Satan–that proud Spirit–cannot imagine anything else. He does not have the intelligence to truly understand humility. He thinks humility is a con–a clever trick, a ruse, a ploy.

So the antiChrist will not appear as the true Jesus Christ. He will appear as Satan thinks Christ is–a suave, confident, capable and plausible worldly power, He thinks Jesus’ role as a spiritual teacher, a meek rabbi, a healer and compassionate soul was a mask–a role the Christ played–so he will play that role too. The problem is, Satan always overplays his hand. He’s an old ham actor who over does it.

When he appears therefore, he will be so over the top playing his role as a world spiritual leader and guide for humanity that those who know the true Christ will see through him.

Did I say that mimetic desire  leads to conflict and violence? The anti-Christ will not appear violent at first, but eventually, when he does not get his own way and all that he wants he will turn to violence. Mimetic desire eventually leads the one caught in the trap to murder the rival because that is the only way to fulfill his desire.

The anti-Christ will vent his rage on the only ones available–the other humans who are like the Christ he so hates, and when that time comes… there will be blood.