Roman Prince and Angeline Luster: Who are they really? If you have not already read Under the Shadow, consider doing so before reading this article.

In the novel, Under the Shadow, readers are introduced to two new characters: Roman Prince and Angeline Luster. What they do not know until the end of the novel is that they are the same person.

Roman Prince is introduced in the beginning of the novel as the new stunt-double for Christopher Elliott, the Academy Award winning actor-husband of Rachel Todd-Elliott. Roman and Chris look remarkably alike, and from a distance Roman is frequently mistaken for Chris.

Since Christopher is a type of Christ, then Roman, his double, is the antitype.  The coming Antichrist will work to portray himself as a Messiah, a Christ. He will be a charismatic leader who desires the worship and adulation that belongs only to God, and he will deceive millions, destroying the masses and leading them to hell.

Matthew 24:24
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. KJV

Scripture says the antichrist rises “out of the sea,” which indicates he may be a Gentile; it also calls him a “prince” whose people would destroy the city and the sanctuary. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD. This description led me to give my character the name of Roman Prince.

Revelation 13:1
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. KJV

Daniel 9:26
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. KJV

The Antichrist, according to Daniel 11, will be a man of the same character and spirit of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (illustrious) who was nicknamed Epimanes (madman). He was one of a number of Seleucid kings of the Greek dynasty that ruled Syria and other territories after the death of Alexander the Great. Therefore, I gave Roman Prince a Greek-Syrian heritage.

Daniel 11:37 states that this man will not regard the God of his fathers nor the desire of women. Some commentators debate whether or not this passage refers to his heritage; he may be Jewish, or with his sexuality. Based on some of their assertions, I thought it would be interesting to introduce a woman, Angeline Luster, as his alter ego (second self). Her name is derived from a passage of Scripture written by Paul the Apostle, which states that Satan transforms himself into an angel (Angeline) of light (Luster: a glow of light from within).

2 Corinthians 11:14
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

The antichrist desires world dominion and will seek to achieve his aims by working in, through and for a one-world government. Returning to Revelation 13 you will find that the antichrist, and his cohort in crime the false prophet, will gain great power and influence. At some time, he will receive a mortal wound, and then rise from the dead emulating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I also gave Roman Prince a tattoo on the back of his hand. When asked about it he states that it represented the letters of his fraternity…chi xi stigma. What it actually represents in the Greek is the number 666, the number for the Antichrist, taken from Revelation 13:18.

Revelation 13:18
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. KJV

Under the Shadow ends with the supposed death of Roman Prince, but leaves Rachel and Christopher with many unanswered questions. Those answers won’t be found easily, but some are eventually addressed in Out of the Miry Clay, and The Doorkeeper. I suggest you read them both. Most importantly, read and study God’s Word, so that you will not be deceived by the devil.