Biblical symmetry reasoning drove Falwell’s claim that the Antichrist must be a Jewish male

Evidence

The anti-Semitic implications of the Antichrist suddenly reemerged more than sixty years later when, in January 1999, the Reverend Jerry Falwell asserted that the Antichrist was probably already alive and was certainly a Jew. He seemed genuinely taken aback when many called the claim anti-Semitic. In a press statement, Falwell asserted, “Since Jesus came to earth … as a Jewish male, many evangelicals believe the Antichrist will, by necessity, be a Jewish male.” Saying that he himself is “strongly pro-Jewish and pro-Israel,” he denied any anti-Semitic intent, and agreed in hindsight that it would have been better never to have made the claim. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 255

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: the gap between theological mirror-logic and its social meaning — a figure denying the anti-Semitic import of his own doctrinal claim.
• QUESTION: Worth noting that the ‘Antichrist must mirror Christ’ symmetry logic apparently surfaced in modern evangelicalism for other figures — worth chasing the doctrinal genealogy.