Author: Pastor Brandon Holthaus
On July 29, 2026, Anthony Fauci appeared under subpoena before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The man who once spoke to the American people with unquestioned authority—the man whom the media portrayed as the embodiment of science—repeatedly refused to answer questions and invoked the Fifth Amendment.
According to multiple reports, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times. He would not answer questions concerning his conduct during the COVID-19 pandemic, his statements about gain-of-function research, the origins of the virus, the use of federal employees to pursue lucrative awards, or the contradictions between his private diary and his public pronouncements. The official Senate hearing record confirms that Fauci was the sole witness at the July 29 hearing.
Whatever ultimately happens legally, the spectacle was staggering.
This was the man who once declared that attacks against him were, in effect, attacks against science. He placed himself behind the protective shield of scientific authority. He spoke as though questioning Anthony Fauci meant questioning truth itself.
But science is not a man. Science is not Anthony Fauci. Science is a method of investigation that requires open debate, testing, correction, transparency, and the freedom to challenge prevailing conclusions.
When a government official says, in essence, “I represent science,” he is no longer merely presenting evidence. He is demanding submission.
A Narcissist Consumed With His Own Importance
Fauci’s recently released diaries give us a window into his narcissistic thinking during the pandemic. They reveal a man deeply aware of his celebrity, his media appearances, his famous admirers, and his international recognition.
In one diary entry, Fauci wrote that his national and international fame had become “explosive” and that he was among the most recognizable people in the world. Other entries carefully recorded attention from celebrities and Fauci’s growing public stature. These are his own words—not merely the accusations of his critics.
His diary exposes something deeply troubling: while businesses were being destroyed, churches were being closed, children were being isolated, elderly people were dying alone, employees were being threatened with termination, and families were being divided, the man at the center of the response was recording his fame and celebrity status.
That is not humility. That is self-exaltation. That is a flat out NARCISCIST. His own diary unquestionably portrays extraordinary self-absorption and fascination with his public image.
He enjoyed being treated as America’s indispensable authority. He enjoyed the interviews. He enjoyed the celebrity attention. He enjoyed the public adoration. He enjoyed being considered untouchable.
And this is where the prophetic implications become extremely serious.
Fauci Is Not the Antichrist—But He Is a Preview of How Deception Works
Let me be absolutely clear: I am not saying Anthony Fauci is the Antichrist.
I am saying that the Fauci phenomenon showed us how easily large populations can surrender their judgment to a confident authority figure during a manufactured or exploited atmosphere of fear.
COVID revealed how quickly people can be conditioned to believe that one man, one agency, one institution, or one approved narrative must never be questioned.
It revealed how quickly dissenters can be censored. It revealed how quickly neighbors will report neighbors. It revealed how quickly employers will threaten workers. It revealed how quickly governments will restrict worship, travel, employment, education, medical choice, and freedom of assembly. It revealed how quickly frightened people will surrender liberty in exchange for the promise of safety.
And it revealed that once an authority figure is identified with “truth,” any person who challenges that authority can be labeled dangerous, ignorant, selfish, hateful, or even a threat to public health.
That is not merely political manipulation. It is preparation for the spirit of Antichrist.
First John 4:3 says that “the spirit of the Antichrist” is already in the world. The final Antichrist has not yet been revealed, but the spiritual forces of deception, self-exaltation, coercion, and lawlessness are already operating.
Anthony Fauci did not possess the supernatural powers that the Antichrist will possess. But his rise demonstrated how desperately frightened people will cling to a supposed savior who claims to possess the exclusive answers to an international crisis.
Why Did So Many People Believe Him?
The central question is not simply, “Why did Fauci lie?”
The larger question is, “Why did so many people believe him—and why did millions continue to obey even when the narrative began falling apart?”
Belgian psychologist Mattias Desmet coined the term “mass formation” to describe how large populations can become psychologically absorbed in a unifying false narrative, especially during periods of widespread isolation, loss of meaning, anxiety, fear, and social uncertainty akin to group hypnosis. Dr. Robert Malone later popularized the phrase “mass formation psychosis” to emphasize the collective psychological dynamics that can emerge under those conditions.
Desmet has proposed an approximate breakdown:
About 30 percent of the population may become deeply committed to the dominant narrative. Basically hypnotized.
About 40 percent may not be fully convinced but will conform because they fear social rejection, professional consequences, ridicule, or isolation.
The remaining 30 percent may resist the narrative, although that group is often divided and disorganized.
Desmet’s model helps explain what we witnessed. One group genuinely believed nearly everything Fauci and the government said. A second group had doubts but went along because they did not want to lose their jobs, their friendships, their reputations, their ability to travel, or their place in society. A third group questioned the narrative and paid an enormous price for doing so.
Doctors were marginalized. Scientists were censored. Employees were terminated. Military personnel faced career-ending consequences.
Parents were accused of endangering their children. Citizens who questioned lockdowns, masking policies, vaccine mandates, school closures, or the origins of the virus were treated as though they were morally defective.
Pastors like myself were condemned for keeping our churches open. I was labeled “the murdering pastor,” and Rock Harbor Church was called “the murdering church” simply because we chose to continue gathering for worship. Ironically, some of the loudest criticism came from pastors who believed Fauci’s lies, closed their churches for nearly a year, and accepted government PPP funds. In my opinion, they sold out.
Instead of defending religious liberty and standing with fellow believers, they attacked those of us who believed the church should remain open to minister to people during one of the darkest seasons in our nation’s history.
I also believe they violated the clear command of Hebrews 10:25 not to forsake assembling together, and they misapplied Romans 13:1–7. Civil government is a legitimate authority established by God, but it is not the highest authority. When government commands conflict with God’s commands, “we ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
Furthermore, in the American system of government, the Constitution—not unelected bureaucrats or executive mandates—is the supreme civil authority. No public health official, politician, or lower governmental authority has the right to override either the Constitution or the clear teaching of Scripture.
Now that so much has come to light, I wonder whether those pastors will apologize to their congregations and acknowledge that they were wrong. Humility requires admitting when we have failed, especially when our decisions affected the spiritual lives of the people God entrusted to our care. I doubt they will admit it but let the record show that they failed this test.
The lesson is chilling: most people do not need to be completely convinced in order to comply. They only need to be sufficiently frightened of the consequences of resisting.
That is how totalitarian systems operate. They do not require everyone to believe the lie. They require enough people to believe it, enough people to enforce it, and enough people to remain silent.
The Antichrist Will Be Far More Persuasive
If millions of people submitted to Fauci—an elderly government bureaucrat armed with charts, credentials, media support, and the language of public health—what will happen when the Antichrist appears with apparent supernatural power?
Second Thessalonians 2:8–10 says:
“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish.”
The Antichrist will not merely have favorable news coverage. He will come with satanic power. He will perform signs. He will display wonders. He will offer solutions to global disorder. He will present himself as the answer to war, economic instability, social fragmentation, religious conflict, and fear.
He will be charismatic. He will be persuasive. He will be brilliant. He will appear courageous. He will promise peace and security. And behind the image will be the power of Satan and “all unrighteous deception.”
Fauci said, in effect, “Trust the science.”
The Antichrist will say, in effect, “Trust me. I alone can save the world.”
And people will believe him.
They will not believe him because they lack intelligence. They will believe him because fallen humanity wants security without God, peace without Christ, unity without truth, and salvation without faith.
The False Prophet Will Enforce the Lie
The Antichrist will not work alone. Revelation 13 describes a second beast, commonly called the False Prophet. He will perform great signs and deceive those who dwell on the earth.
Revelation 13:13–14 says:
“He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do.”
Notice the relationship between signs and deception.
People often assume that a supernatural event proves that a messenger comes from God. Scripture warns that this is false. Satan possesses the ability to produce counterfeit signs that deceive people who do not love the truth.
The False Prophet will use religious authority to direct worship toward the Antichrist. He will help establish an image of the Beast and enforce an economic system in which no one may buy or sell without the Mark.
The Antichrist supplies political authority. The False Prophet supplies religious legitimacy. The beast system supplies economic coercion. The signs supply apparent supernatural confirmation. Together they create the ultimate machinery of mass deception.
During COVID, people were pressured with statements such as:
Comply or lose your employment.
Comply or lose your education.
Comply or lose your ability to travel.
Comply or be excluded from society.
Revelation 13 reveals a future system that will take that pressure to its final form: Worship or die. Receive the mark or lose the ability to buy and sell.
The world received a small preview of how fear, social pressure, propaganda, censorship, economic coercion, and claims of unquestionable authority can work together.
The Tribulation will bring the perfected form.
The Mystery of Lawlessness Is Already at Work
Second Thessalonians 2:7 says:
“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.”
Lawlessness does not merely mean street crime or rebellion against government. Biblically, lawlessness is the rejection of God’s authority and the elevation of human power above divine truth.
Fauci operated within what I would call the spirit of lawlessness—not because every public-health recommendation was necessarily false, but because legitimate authority was repeatedly transformed into authoritarianism.
Authorities demanded obedience while resisting accountability. Officials changed positions while treating citizens as immoral for remembering the previous position.
Government agencies helped establish approved narratives while dissenting voices were censored or marginalized. Those who wielded power expected the public to comply, but they did not believe they owed the public complete transparency.
That is the spirit of lawlessness: rulers placing themselves above the standards they impose on everyone else.
Fauci appeared to believe that his position, credentials, institutional protection, political connections, and presidential pardon would shield him from meaningful consequences.
The Antichrist will possess that same spirit in its fullest expression.
Daniel 11:36 says:
“Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god.”
He will believe himself untouchable. He will imagine himself invincible. He will exalt himself above every authority. He will sit in the temple of God, displaying himself as God. But his reign will be brief.
Neither Fauci Nor the Antichrist Will Escape God’s Justice
Fauci may escape prison. He may be protected by a pardon. He may never be convicted of a crime. He may live the remainder of his earthly life surrounded by lawyers, wealth, institutional allies, and people who continue to praise him. But a presidential pardon cannot pardon anyone before the throne of God. Political influence cannot cancel divine judgment. A government title cannot erase moral responsibility. Money cannot purchase forgiveness. Celebrity cannot silence the Judge of all the earth.
Hebrews 9:27 says:
“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”
I sincerely hope Anthony Fauci believes in Jesus Christ for eternal life before he dies. I do not desire his eternal condemnation. Jesus Christ died for him. Eternal life remains available to anyone who believes in the Son of God and His promise of eternal life.
But if Fauci dies without Christ, he will stand before the Great White Throne. Revelation 20 teaches that the lost will be judged according to their works. Degrees of punishment will correspond to the evil committed and the light rejected.
Think of the magnitude of the suffering connected to the policies Fauci defended and promoted: Businesses were ruined. Livelihoods were lost. Churches were closed. Families were separated. Children suffered educational and psychological harm. People died alone. Employees were threatened or terminated. Citizens were shamed, censored, arrested, or marginalized. Medical debate was suppressed. Public trust was shattered.
Fauci may deny responsibility before Congress. He will not be able to invoke the Fifth Amendment before Jesus Christ.
There will be no attorney whispering in his ear. There will be no political pardon. There will be no friendly media outlet. There will be no government bureaucracy to protect him. Every secret will be exposed. Every word will be examined. Every decision will be judged with perfect justice.
And the same is true of the coming Antichrist and False Prophet.
Revelation 19:20 says:
“Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.”
The Antichrist will not be defeated by an election.
He will not be removed by Congress. He will not negotiate a surrender.
Jesus Christ will return bodily and visibly, seize the Beast and the False Prophet, and cast them alive into the Lake of Fire.
Second Thessalonians 2:8 says that the Lord will consume the lawless one with the breath of His mouth and destroy him with the brightness of His coming.
One word from Jesus Christ will end the career of history’s greatest dictator. One appearance of the true King will destroy the world’s counterfeit messiah.
The Greatest Danger Is Refusing to Love the Truth
Second Thessalonians 2 does not merely say that people will be deceived. It explains why:
“Because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”
The problem is not merely a shortage of information. The problem is a rejection of truth.
People often believe lies because the lie gives them something they want:
A sense of safety.
A sense of moral superiority.
A sense of belonging.
An excuse to control others.
Freedom from personal responsibility.
Permission to hate an approved enemy.
The Antichrist’s deception will succeed because it will appeal to what fallen humanity already desires.
Therefore, the lesson of the Fauci era is not simply, “Never trust another doctor.” That would be foolish. The lesson is: Never surrender your God-given discernment to any human authority.
Do not worship credentials.
Do not worship institutions.
Do not worship government.
Do not worship science.
Do not worship political leaders.
Do not confuse consensus with truth.
Examine the evidence.
Allow honest questions.
Reject censorship.
Test every claim.
And above all, compare everything with the Word of God.
The Church Must Never Commit the Sin of Silence Again
One of the darkest aspects of the COVID era was the silence of many churches. Many pastors accepted every government declaration without question.
Some surrendered their biblical responsibility to assemble, minister, comfort the dying, and protect the freedom of worship. Some condemned other believers for raising legitimate concerns. Some were more afraid of public criticism than they were of failing their congregations.
The coming days of building deception will require courageous churches.
Pastors must prepare believers to recognize propaganda, reject coercion, endure ridicule, and obey God rather than men when human commands directly contradict God’s commands.
The Church must never again simply say, “The experts have spoken.”
Which experts?
What evidence?
What assumptions?
What conflicts of interest?
What dissenting evidence has been suppressed?
What freedoms are being surrendered?
What precedent is being established?
The issue is not rejecting legitimate medicine or genuine scientific discovery. The issue is refusing to transform fallible human beings into infallible authorities.
Anthony Fauci may go down as one of the most destructive and dishonest public-health officials in American history. At minimum, he has become a symbol of shattered institutional trust, unchecked bureaucratic power, censorship, self-exaltation, and the disastrous consequences that follow when one man is treated as though questioning him means questioning truth itself.
But Fauci is not the final deceiver. A far greater liar is coming. He will possess greater charisma. Greater political power. Greater worldwide influence. Greater control over commerce. Greater religious support. And genuine satanic signs and lying wonders.
The world’s submission to COVID-era authoritarianism demonstrated that the infrastructure of deception already exists.
The fear exists. The technology exists. The censorship mechanisms exist. The economic pressure exists. The willingness to punish dissent exists. The psychological conformity exists.
The spirit of lawlessness is already at work. But believers do not need to fear.
The Antichrist will rise, but Jesus Christ will return. The False Prophet will deceive, but the Word of God remains true.
The beast system will persecute, but its time will be short. The liars may temporarily escape human justice, but no one escapes the judgment of God.
Jesus said in John 14:6:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
Fauci is not the science. The Antichrist is not the savior. The False Prophet does not speak for God.
Jesus Christ is the truth. And the truth will have the final word.