It seems rather strange that the same Bible that gives very little attention to the appearances of its primary characters would make point of describing the physical appearance a leader who wasn't to appear for thousands of years, but that's exactly what the prophet Daniel did.  Obviously, the same God who repeatedly warns His children to be watchful also intended them to have some clues as to what...and who...to watch for, and few things compare in significance to the identity of this spawn of Satan that will bring the world to the brink of destruction in the days ahead. 

Daniel offers one definitive clue of how this man will look -- his large and imposing physique, and another strong implication regarding his fierce or stern looking face, though that may speak as much or more of his determined personality.  Also a bit vague, but fitting in virtually any context is the general description of the Antichrist as "different" than his politician associates.  Lastly, the similar imagery between Arnold's movie characters (especially the Terminator) and the indescribable fourth beast of Daniel's visions is too much to ignore, especially since he deliberately and successfully projects a public image that is essentially a personification of a collage of attributes drawn from his movie characters.

• The Antichrist will have Uniquely Large and Imposing Stature

Daniel 7:20 "...look was more stout than his fellows." (KJV) "...larger in appearance than its associates" (NASB) "...looked more imposing than the others." (NIV) "...looked greater than the others." (AMP) "...was more terrifying than any of the others." (TEV)

The most compelling of Daniel's clues regarding how the Antichrist will look is that he will have a distinctly large, stout, terrifying, and/or more imposing physique than other politicians.  While few would disagree that Schwarzenegger meets this criteria, along with countless others, there are a few reasons to at least give him higher marks than others.

For one, the text of Daniel's description narrows the field of comparison to his associates or peers:  The man won't just be exceptionally strong in appearance, he will be MORE SO than his associates.  While this points most directly to the narrow group of ten conspirators/political leaders he will rise up amongst, the fact that Arnold would stand out exactly as Daniel described amongst about any group of politicians of any time speaks volumes.  Of course, he wouldn't even be considered merely as a  bodybuilder and movie star, but as governor of the most populous state in the union, he moves straight to the top of the list -- a subordinate political leader ("little horn") who is bigger and stronger than any and all other politicians with a lot of ambition and upside potential.

Also, as a specific and unusually framed identifying mark, it is apparent that this man won't just be a large man, he will be known as a large and strong man.  By comparison, he would seem to carry a reputation similar to the ancient Philistine giant, Goliath, who to this day is a metaphor for people of great size and strength (as well as the Antichrist himself).  Another biblical type and example would be King Saul of ancient Israel, who, though inwardly a wolf, was the perfect image of the warrior king sought by the Israelites of that day.

There are plenty of politicians who would be considered exceptionally big (e.g. former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, U.S. Undersecretary of State Dick Armitage, etc.), but none actually known as big and strong in any measure comparable to Arnold Schwarzenegger's worldwide reputation.  In fact, he is not only known as an exceptionally large and strong man, his name is an international icon for physical strength, a modern day Goliath. (See Arnold Metaphors for examples.)

Although renowned worldwide by his first name alone (having captured the domain from the pig on the old sitcom "Green Acres"), Arnold is known first in the role in which he first found international fame -- as a bodybuilder -- even though he hasn't competed for decades.  According to Wikipedia,

"His well-developed physique revolutionized the sport, earned him the moniker "The Austrian Oak" and won him the titles of Junior Mr. Europe, Mr. World, Mr. Universe (five times) and Mr. Olympia (seven times). He is considered one of the most important figures in the history of bodybuilding, and his legacy in the sport is commemorated in the Arnold Classic annual bodybuilding competition.

"Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent face in the bodybuilding sport long after his retirement, presiding over numerous contests and awards shows. For many years he wrote a monthly column for the Bodybuilding magazines Muscle & Fitness and Flex. Shortly after being elected Governor, he was appointed executive editor of both magazines, in a largely symbolic capacity. The magazines agreed to donate $250,000 a year to the Governor's various physical fitness initiatives."

Further indication of how his unusually "stout" or "imposing" physique continued to be a large part of his claim to fame long after his bodybuilding career ended with what was actually his first political position, Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness, which he was duly appointed to by none other than George H.W. Bush, father of the current president, in 1990.  Of course, one can hardly disassociate his mega-success as an actor from his uniquely strong looking physique, either, but the fact is that "Arnold" is so well known for his virtual superhuman stature that it hardly bears further discussion here.  The point stands on its own: He is a rising political star who is known first and foremost as a uniquely muscular man who is notably "more stout" or "imposing" in his appearance than almost all other human beings and, all the more, any other politicians in view at this time.

• The Antichrist will have a Fierce Countenance or Stern Face

Though not as concise as the previous attribute, few would argue that Arnold Schwarzenegger has a particularly chiseled and stern looking face...the kind that can naturally generate intimidating looks even without factoring in his massive size or how he's been adorned in a number of the movie roles he's played.  Moreover, he has intimidating bearing in general, from his outrageous size and muscularity to his chiseled facial feature and expressions to his international reputation as an aggressive and violent machine of a man.  As his wife said when she introduced him to her uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy, "...think of him as the man who can crush you."  Though jesting, the point obviously needed no further explanation.

Of course, the figurative implications of this biblical attribute of the antichrist are probably greater than a literal interpretation conveys, but whether judging by his appearance and/or his words and works, Arnold quite naturally fits the bill of a political leader with a particularly fierce countenance; all the more if one factors his most known images as the "Terminator" and other violent movie roles.

• The Antichrist Won't Be Like Other Politicians...

Daniel 7:24 "...and he will be different from the previous ones" (NASB)

...or, to put it another way, he'll truly stand out of a crowd.  Grab ten politicians, picked deliberately or at random, set Arnold in the middle of them and ask the sort of question often found in intelligence and logic tests -- Which one doesn't belong in the group?  Need I say more?

Aside from the particular attributes evidenced about this notorious future leader-extraordinaire, the overview reveals a general pattern of an excess: He isn't just large, he's notably larger than any of his peers; he's not just fierce-faced, he's a picture of fierceness; he isn't just antichrist in spirit, he's THE Antichrist; he's not just a sinful man, he's "THE man of sin...THE son of perdition"; he isn't just accomplished, he's exceptionally successful at everything he's tried; he doesn't just boast, he truly sees himself as an enlightened despot who can and will "save the world" from the evildoers (saints) and won't mind shouting it to a world full of people anxious to follow him in his murderous rage against the saints;  he won't just be another violent, war-mongering, oppressor-king, he will lead the charge towards the unimaginable horrors of the final war between the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of the one true God and His Anointed King and His faithful followers.  

Thus, in establishing context, it is worthy of noting that the Scriptural profile of the "man of sin...son of perdition" includes a pattern that implies some degree of extraordinary aspect regarding the attributes obviously listed for identification purposes amongst others.  These will be distinguishing attributes of the one destined to fulfill the biblical role of the beast of Revelation, which, combined, portray an individual who will truly stand out of the crowd of political leaders in general.

Though its hard to really define what "different" means, apparently this man will be truly different with a capitol 'D'.   Perhaps the real Antichrist will be so distinct in so many ways that it won't matter what angle one views him in order to see him as "different"?   In any event, whether on paper or person, this Mr. Universe-Conan the Barbarian-Terminator-Eraser... is naturally and deliberately more "different" than about any other politician in modern times.  In his own words, "The worst thing I can be is the same as everybody else. I hate that."

• The Dreadful Fourth Beast

Daniel 7:7-8,19, 23 "...a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.  While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth uttering great boasts. "Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet...Thus he said: 'The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it." Dan 8:9-12, 22-24 "And out of one of [the four horns] came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land. And it grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down. It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper. "And the broken horn and the four horns that arose in its place represent four kingdoms which will arise from his nation, although not with his power. And in the latter period of their rule, when the transgressors have run their course, a king will arise insolent and skilled in intrigue. And his power will be mighty, but not by his own power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree and prosper and perform his will; he will destroy mighty men and the holy people."

It is clear from the Scriptures that the individual "man of sin" or Antichrist will be an icon of the empire he will control, the two both being referred to interchangeably in the Scripture in the same way we might say either 'Hitler' or 'Nazi Germany' did this or that and mean the same thing.  The point is that through the personality cult following the Antichrist develops, the spirit of his dominion will be a reflection of his own decidedly anti-Christ spirit.   Thus, an interesting correlation appears between the symbolism of Schwarzenegger's movie characters and lines, his real life ambitions and personality, the Antichrist of Scripture, and the imagery of the dreadful fourth beast of Daniel's vision. 

Daniel saw an image of a kingdom that would appear first under the rule of ten powerful leaders who conspire to break the power of Babylon (America, in my estimation), then fall under the control of the Antichrist and proceed to launch all out genocidal war against the saints.  The kingdom itself is illustrated as a dreadful beast unlike the other three (which were illustrated primarily by a lion, bear, and leopard, respectively) that had large iron teeth, bronze claws, and that stomped everything with its feet that it didn't devour and crush first.  While Daniel didn't have any trouble finding ways to describe the other three beasts, he knew of nothing comparable to the fourth, so he just described what he saw instead.  Daniel never saw a Terminator movie, though (or did he?), and Arnold Schwarzenegger's most famous movie character is in many ways both a close visual representation of Daniel's vision and a personification of its essence. 

It is fundamentally flawed logic to evaluate a person based on words, imagery, and actions known to be fictional, but the actor himself lends considerable credibility to the comparison.  For one, he quite openly casts his own public image as a virtual collage of attributes from the movie roles for which he is internationally famous.  By his own diligent efforts, It is practically impossible to discern where the actor ends and the roles he plays begin.  Obviously, the images of his fictional character roles are intended to convey how he WANTS to be seen by others.  Though it will be covered separately, it should be noted that both Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Antichrist of Scripture are given to succeeding at whatever they do: If Arnold wants to be seen as a Greek god like Hercules, a Barbarian like Conan, a Terminator (sent by the gods?) from the future to save the world he formerly helped destroy, or whatever, then it isn't unreasonable to conclude that significant elements of these fictional personas actually represent him, especially with regard to the characteristics held in common by several of them (strong, violent, independent, aggressive, determined, etc.).

That said, my point here is regarding appearances only, and I think it sufficiently obvious to not belabor: If Daniel had lived in our time, he could easily have said the fourth beast looked like the Terminator in the same way he drew upon a lion, bear, and leopard to describe the first three...and virtually everyone in the world would know exactly what he meant.  Maybe that was the point all along...to communicate to us, those living in the days when Daniel's prophecies would be unsealed so the saints could understand their relevance.

What's even more freaky about the symbolism lacing Schwarzenegger movies may be yet to come with the production of Terminator 4.  Reports are that now Governor Schwarzenegger's role will largely be "played" by computer-generated digital imaging since he's too engrossed in the state of California's business to play a major part himself.  Imagine that!  A realistic, digital representation of the humanoid machine destroyer-turned-savior from the future that can even talk!!  Something tells me that this movie will somehow wind up being a MAJOR media event.