Tyranny of the Antichrist

A strong delusion sent by God

Luca Signorelli: The Deeds of Antichrist (detail)

Foreword about the Art

The complete fresco is depicted at the conclusion of this article. In this detail, Satan whispers instructions to the Antichrist, who resembles Jesus. This falsity is the reason spiritual discernment, an attribute of a robust spiritual constitution, is so vitally important.

The Antichrist develops in legend as a perverse imitator of Christ’s life. He is a true antimimon pneuma, an imitating spirit of evil who follows in Christ’s footsteps like a shadow following the body’

C.G. Jung, Collected Works

The banner painting is detail from a series of eschatological works by Signorelli and his cohort, indeed it was their magnum opus. The painting is located in the gothic cathedral in Orvieto, Italy. The tableau warns against brutal leaders (elites) and lukewarm Christians, all of whom feign belief in the Word of God but serve the devil (wittingly and unwittingly).

In this essay, we will examine this duplicity from a Jungian psychological perspective. The same societal conditions present in the microcosm of Orvieto in the 1500s abound in the macrocosm of today’s world.

A Strong Delusion

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

2 Thessalonians 2: 11-12

“Pleasure in unrighteousness.” In other words, evil. A strong delusion is sent by God as a judgment for those who reject truth and embrace evil.

A strong delusion is a fixed false belief that conflicts with reality and is not supported by evidence. (An example is “the vaccine is safe and effective.”) In the expression’s often used Biblical context, “strong delusion” describes an internal influence of deception that causes individuals to believe in falsehoods propagated by the Antichrist.

“Internal influence” refers to a misleading or erroneous force or idea that originates or acts within an individual's own mind or consciousness. In other words, it's not an external entity deceiving the person directly, but rather a self-generated misconception, bias, or false belief that leads the individual astray.

Many evoke the devil in such deceptions. But, as previously noted, people aren't deceived by outside sources alone; they have internal vulnerabilities or predispositions that render themselves susceptible to deception. One such “internal vulnerability” is a frail or absent spiritual constitution - a psychological predisposition to delusion and self-deception.

Every saeculum, I believe, unwittingly conjures up an Antichrist archetype. Jung defined the Antichrist as Christ’s shadow. The manifestation of an end times Antichrist could, however, be a physical as well as spiritual manifestation. In that scenario, there could be any number of spiritual manifestations of Antichrist archetypal evildoers.

The Psyche and Spiritual Constitution

The human psyche is a complex blend of beliefs, experiences, traumas and inherent tendencies. Among these various facets, certain vulnerabilities can predispose an individual to external manipulations or self-inflicted misconceptions. The most significant vulnerability is a fragile or absent spiritual foundation.

• Spiritual Constitution - At its core, a spiritual constitution represents the foundational beliefs, values and principles that guide an individual's understanding of existence, purpose, morality and connection to something greater than oneself, i.e. transcendence. This foundation is often shaped by religious teachings, personal experiences and introspective practices. When strong, it acts as an anchor providing clarity amid life's storms and uncertainty.

• Absence and Weakness - A weak or absent spiritual constitution means that the individual lacks this anchoring force or guiding principle. Without a clear moral or spiritual compass, such individuals can easily be swayed by prevailing societal winds, influenced by the most dominant or loudest voices, or fall prey to their basest instincts without the check of deeper spiritual or moral contemplation.

• Predisposition to Delusion: Without a strong spiritual grounding, the mind becomes fertile ground for delusions. A person may be more susceptible to embracing beliefs or ideas without critical examination, especially if these ideas provide immediate comfort, gratification or validation. This susceptibility becomes even more pronounced in times of personal crisis, where the absence of a spiritual anchor can lead one to grasp at any belief that confers solace.

• Self-deception - Beyond external delusions, a weak spiritual constitution can also foster self-deception. This involves convincing oneself of certain truths, not based on reality, but on what one wishes to be true. Self-deception is often a defense mechanism to avoid confronting uncomfortable truths, responsibilities or feelings of guilt and inadequacy. Without a robust spiritual framework, the boundaries between reality and wishful thinking can blur, making self-deception more likely and more entrenched.

A strong spiritual constitution acts as a protective shield against both external manipulations and self-inflicted misconceptions. It offers clarity, purpose and a sense of groundedness. On the other hand, the absence or weakness of this foundation creates a vulnerable space within the psyche, making it easier for delusions and self-deceptions to take root and flourish.

It is in this space that Fifth Generation Warfare, for example, is able to control minds. Only a rational spirituality and keen discernment practices can keep psychological warfare at bay.

Carl Jung

An individual’s spiritual constitution, when present, contains a duality. The Self, which is righteous and Christ-like, and the Shadow, which, as the saying goes, is anything but.

Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology, had a unique perspective on evil that was deeply rooted in the exploration of the collective unconscious and the nature of duality in human psyche.

For Jung, the confrontation with the "shadow self" - the unconscious, repressed, dark side of the personality - was vital for individual and collective psychological growth. He believed that recognizing and integrating the shadow was essential for achieving self-realization.

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” ~ Carl Jung

The Evil Egregore

Jung was fascinated with religious symbols and motifs, viewing them as expressions of deep-seated archetypes of the human mind. Within this context, he often referenced the figure of the Antichrist.

For Jung, the Antichrist represented a counterbalance necessary for the wholeness of the God-image in the psyche. This dualistic approach mirrored his views on individuation, where confronting and integrating opposing forces led to greater psychic wholeness. The process of individuation for Jung represented the Self achieving its full potential - its manifest destiny.

Regarding the end times, Jung saw apocalyptic visions not necessarily as literal prophecies but as symbolic representations of profound transformations within the collective unconscious. These catastrophic images, such as the evil egregore pictured above, might signal periods when societal values undergo radical shifts, often after experiencing intense confrontations with their collective shadow. One could surmise that Western Civilization is now confronting it’s collective shadow.

The Problem of Evil, the Antichrist and end times imagery can be understood as signposts of deep psychological processes and transformations that humanity grapples with both individually and collectively.

One World Government

We have shown that societies and civilizations have collective shadows - shared unconscious beliefs, prejudices and desires. When not recognized and integrated, the shadow can manifest itself in destructive ways.

The notion that Western Civilization (Europe and North America) is nowadays confronting its collective shadow and is, as a result, seeking to impose its rule globally, can be explored from a Jungian perspective. The short version:

• Western Civilization, with its history of imperialism, colonization and global dominance, can be seen as not having fully reckoned with this past. There’s a good deal of pent up guilt, especially within Europe vis-a-vis its former colonies.

• The unaddressed traumas, guilts and suppressed desires of Western Civilization’s history should be viewed as its collective shadow seeking to manifest itself in new forms.

• Economic dominance can be seen as the West's collective shadow at play, imposing its values, desires and worldview upon the rest of the globe.

The idea of a One World Government, a New World Order or “Ze Great Reset” are all inspired by the Dark Triad Archetype. The idea envisages a centralized global governing body seen as an extrapolation of Western tendencies toward centralization, bureaucracy and universality.Western Civilization often perceives itself gallantly as the bearer of universal values, such as democracy, human rights and freedom.

While these values have undeniably positive aspects, the act of imposing them universally is a form of shadow projection. Instead of recognizing the internal contradictions and issues within our own system, the West seems inclined to "correct" the rest of the world according to these perceived standards.

The desire to spread Western values and systems might also be a defense mechanism to avoid confronting its own collective shadow. By focusing externally and aiming to reshape the world in its image, the elite powerbrokers of Western Civilization might be avoiding internal reflection and acknowledgment of past and present wrongs.

Signorelli’s complete fresco

Epitaph of the Elites

Death, political tumult and questions of true righteousness were much upon people’s minds in Medieval Orvieto, as they are with us today. The righteous and unrighteous are agglomerated in the fresco. The painting’s prescience is remarkable! Shock troops disguised as black ninjas (or are they Antifa or Hamas?) seize control of church and state on behalf of their authoritarian overlord (the Antichrist), who presumes to preach from a pedestal.

Depravity and murder are commonplace. A woman sells herself in the foreground to a rich merchant while nearby thanes slit the throats of the righteous. Fire spills forth from Heaven. Deluded followers of Christ, feebly unable to discern the truth from self-serving slander, calumny and the lies of the vile puppet master, are oblivious to St. Michael’s sword of Divine Retribution figuratively slaying the Antichrist above them.