Antichrist - Part 1

THE ANTICHRIST

When we began our men’s Bible study group we studied first the whole armor of God and Paul’s teaching of how we are to arm ourselves against the adversary who brings evil into our lives. This portion of study for us was taken from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, chapter 6, and he provided us with a strong warning for our defense:

“…my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world…” (Eph 6:11-12).

Saint Paul gave a more concise warning two chapters before on this same issue:

“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; neither give place to the devil.”

(Eph 4:23 & 27).

Paul was very aware of the work of the evil one and he taught strong lessons concerning this matter also to those at the church in Corinth:

“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices”.  (II Cor 2:11).

As Paul struggled himself against Satan and his workers, those who brought the false messages to the followers of Jesus Christ, he wrote clearly and strongly about the difficulty:

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works”.

(II Cor 11:13-15).

As we begin to look into the subject of the bringer of evil and his weapon of choice we must first understand that there are two different and distinct types of evil ones at work in creation. It is critical that we distinguish this difference in order to enter into this study. As always, scripture becomes our best friend as we seek wisdom on the mysteries of the plan of God for our world and its elect.

The difference we must first discuss and accept is that there have always been and likely will be until the end of days, those who are doing the work of the evil adversary who contends for our very souls. 

Antichrist versus antichrist

The beloved apostle John wrote in his first epistle:

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” (I John 2:18).

In strict harmony with this thought, Paul wrote:

“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way”. (2 Thess 2:7).

The term “letteth” means hinders, explaining that currently the Lord hinders the work of the evil one, allowing him to labor only under His permissive will. But once that force is removed, the more sinister worker will be revealed:

“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders”. (2 Thess 2:8-9).

So the first understanding that we must have is the knowledge that there have always been those who work for the devil, doing his bidding in creation, tempting and leading away those who choose to believe in his path of darkness and march with him having yielded to his devious and cunning way. 

These who have done the work of Satan throughout our history are antichrists. As the scripture writers teach us, there have always been those in our midst and they walk among us still today. They seek to mislead us and take us along their dark path as they do the devil’s work.

There will also appear, as Paul taught, the one who will be the final tempter, to be revealed as the Antichrist (with a capital A), who will come later as the actual son of perdition, the begotten of Satan whose function will be to act as Satan’s counterfeit to Jesus Christ in creation, turning nations toward darkness.

So those of whom John wrote have always been with us and live among us today. These are those who do the will of evil, but are men only, led by Satan to his dark path and they are the brethren of antichrists (small “a”).

All these who have so served, and serve today, are types of the one to come.

Scripture is filled with references to these ones and we will look deeply into these men later but it might make some good sense to look now at what our Bible reveals to us as only a few of these types and what these have been called:

• Crooked Serpent Job 26:13

• Bloody & deceitful man Ps 5:6

• The wicked Ps 9:17

• Man of the earth Ps 10:18

• Mighty man Ps 52:1

• Adversary Ps 74:10

• Head over many countries Ps 110:6

• Evil man Ps 140:1

• Violent man Ps 140:1

Ps 10 & 52 & 55 are wise to his evil ones.

• Assyrian Is 10:5

• The wicked Is 11:4

• King of Babylon Is 14:11-20

• Spoiler & destroyer Is 16:4

• Destroyer of the Gentiles Jer 4:7

• Profane wicked prince of Israel Ez 21:25

• King of princes Hos 8:10

• Adversary Amos 3:11

• Proud man Hab 2:5

• Idol shepherd Zech 11:17
  
  New Testament teachers are just as wary of these evil ones as well as the one to come:

Man of sin, son of perdition - 2 Thess 2:3

antichrist, who will deny father & son - 1 John 2:22

Let us not omit the reference by Jesus himself to the “one who will come in his own name and be received by Israel. (John 5:43).

This one, who will be revealed in the last days, will be one who is a true counterfeit of all that Jesus Christ so perfectly teaches and does. He is shown somewhat shadowed in most of the NT, while he becomes clear and revealed to all in the Revelation of John.

In terms of this spawn of evil, there have been basically three schools of thought concerning him:

PAST:

Some have supposed that there have been men who were indeed this true Antichrist, son of Satan. 

There were those sure that Antiochus Epiphanies fulfilled all the prophecy and was indeed this person. He opposed the worship of Jehovah, was remarkable in military command, was a excellent diplomat, was known to defile the Holy Temple by sacrificing a pig on its holy altar, set up his own image to be worshipped, and was one of the cruelest persecutors of the Jews. But we must point out that Antiochus was dead in his grave for more than a hundred years when Paul wrote of the one “TO COME”.

Others felt sure that Nero was indeed this evil one, as his persecutions were of awful cruelty to the Jews, and his bloodthirsty nature seemed to be of Satan himself. But Nero was only a shadow of the one to come as he was in his grave before John wrote Revelation 13 of the one “TO COME”.

PRESENT:

Many strong believers have posed the idea that the Roman church itself, along with its pope, is now still acting as the Antichrist. This church has shown its willingness to ignore the doctrine of grace, to be arrogant and look downward on any who seek the Lord without one of her chosen men standing between the believer and the Lord, and has made martyrs of large numbers of devoted Christians who dared to stand against her. Her pope claims himself to be infallible and she has made the strange claim for many centuries that her own tradition is as valuable as scripture.

Looking at this claim, let us recall that this one to come is at all times taught to be “ONE” to come, not a system, nor a continual ruling of sequential leaders.

Just as the term “Christ” refers to one and only one being, so would the term “Antichrist” also refer to one and only one being. It seems assured that this evil son will be Jewish as he will be accepted for at least 3 ½ years by the Jews, who are a skeptical and stiff-necked people, hard to convince of anything, as Moses reported. As far as history has been revealed thus far, no Jew has sat on the throne of the pope in the Vatican.

Scripture provides us an interesting viewpoint as we recall Zechariah 11:16-17, which teaches: “… For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land…”. The land is of course the promised land. Daniel teaches in 11:45 “… he shall plant the tabernacle of his palace between the seas, in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him”.

We also know from many verses that the existence and rule of this son of perdition will be limited in time, not ever are we taught that he shall be a string of men throughout time. As we see later when we study his person, we will see further that he is not now, nor ever has been a pope.

FUTURE: The view which seems to prevail currently is that the prophecies concerning the coming of this evil one have not yet been fulfilled and cannot do so until this current age of grace has run its course. Scripture teaches us that the Holy Spirit which now prevents the final work of Satan and his man to come must be removed from creation here before Satan can implement his final efforts against mankind through his begotten one.As we noted earlier, it is II Thessalonians that we see some of the strongest evidence of the future coming to perhaps be most truthful. The believers at Thessalonica had been deceived by false teachers into thinking that the day of the carrying away of the Lord’s elect was at hand and their faith overall had been shaken when the time for them to be caught up as taught by the false ones was come and gone. Paul wrote to them to reinforce his teaching to them and to repudiate these false teachers who had infected that church. 

In his defense of truth, he made it very clear that the time of the end would not arrive until:

A falling away must occur (apostasy) AND the son of perdition must be revealed. Both must occur. In addition he taught that this evil one must present himself as god to be worshipped and sit on the throne in the holy temple. The temple was destroyed by the Romans under Titus in 70AD, and until today has not been rebuilt.

It is on these true prophecies of the NT leader, among others, that we view today that the Antichrist must run his wickedness race against the world AFTER all Christians have been removed from this world by rapture. As he brings his evil upon those left, he will be thought to have all the answers to the problems of the world and will bring false peace for the first half (3 ½ years) of the 70th week of Daniel chapter 9.

It will be at this time that we see the initial phases of the last days and the fulfillment, after the great tribulation of what is known as the Protoevangelium (the first evangelium) given in Genesis 3:15, as the promised seed of Eve shall bruise the head of the seed of Satan.

Many believers today are confident that the “falling away” has already begun as we view a wicked and violent world around us that seems not to need or even to consider the Lord as our father any longer. It seems that the age of the church of Philadelphia, the age of brotherly love, is fading and we may now be seeing the time of the church at Laodecia, lukewarm and scoffing.

Now, we will look into several areas that will help us to gain some understanding of the work and nature of this evil one to come. As we continue, let us pray that the Lord will grant us strength and courage to stand for Him in these difficult days and to lead those lost toward His true light before the darkness to come overtakes them.

Antichrist - Part 2

Antichrist in the OT

The references to the antichrist in the OT are numerous and it is not difficult to understand why this fact exists. It is in the OT that we learn so much information concerning the future of both Israel and the Gentiles. It is in the prophet writings that we see the view of the warnings to a consistent wayward chosen people. It is in those books that we reflect upon the constant theme of rebellion, punishment, and repentance. Who is bringing this rebellious activity as temptation toward the chosen people? Of course, it is Satan and his fallen angels, now demons who serve only him, who keep the temptation in the hearts of the Jews, and it is the willingness of the Jews to follow him willingly that creates the yielding sin.

Just to be sure we do not neglect the most basic truth on this subject, let us recall once more that the temptation is not the sin. Yielding is the human part of the equation and this giving in to evil is the sin. No man is forced to sin. All choose it willingly. Satan cannot take our heart or our soul. He can only possess those hearts and souls that are freely surrendered to him.

Isaiah:

We see the tribulation period described in the 16th chapter, opening verses, as Moab is described in his haughtiness, pride, wrath, and lies. Here rests a type of the one to come at the end of days. Verse 5 describes him sitting upon the mercy throne and verse 4 shows him to be a covert for the spoiler and extortioner to come.

We see in 27:1 the beginning of the way in which the Lord will deal with the evil one in the last days, with His sore and great and strong sword, punishing leviathan the crooked serpent.

Chapter 33 begins with the words “… woe to thee that spoilest…” and we see how the Lord begins to deal with the enemies of the church, and the false messiah that will stand against the church.

Chapter 57 brings the awful condemnation against the people of Israel as they are described as debasing themselves even unto hell (verse 9) after going to the king which is described by God as “… discovered thyself to another than me” (verse 8). The Lord is less than happy with his chosen people who have chosen themselves to follow another who can only be the one who is evil.

Jeremiah:

We see a strong vision of the antichrist in 6:26-27 as “the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us”, and here we see that the Lord speaks through His prophet that He himself has placed this evil among His people as a fortress to try them and to have them to understand that their ways must be amended (7:3).

We see almost the same message in chapter 15, verse 8, as the Lord says He has “brought against them a spoiler … at noonday. I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly”.

So we see that this evil one is used by the Lord to bring attention to the sin of His people.

Daniel:

We begin in chapter 7 with the “little horn” that is described as follows:

“Behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things”. (7 & 8).

Here we see his lofty pretensions and daring blasphemy.

In verse 21 we see he made war with the saints and prevailed against them which is quoted almost word for word in Rev 13:7.

Verse 25 teaches that he will speak great words against the most high. We are told he will wear out the saints of the most high. He is said have them in his hand for a time and times and a half time (3 ½ years at the beginning of the tribulation).

Daniel 8:7 we see a description of the man himself, and in 8:24 he will destroy the holy people. This chapter brings us the details of this evil being as follows:

1. He is a king of fierce countenance. (8:23).

2. He understands dark sentences (evil means). (8:23).

3. His power shall be mighty but not by his own power (Satan’s power). (8:24).

4. He will destroy wonderfully. (8:24).

5. Through his policy (wisdom) also he shall cause craft to prosper. (8:25).

6. He shall stand up against the prince of princes. (8:25).

7. He shall be broken without hand. (8:25).

We remember the complex prophecy of the 9th chapter, concerning the 70 weeks, where the prince of evil makes a covenant with the Jews but God will reserve to Himself a remnant.

We further recall the 11th chapter in which we are taught that “… in His estate shall stand up a vile person” & he shall “… obtain the kingdom by flatteries”. (11:21).

Hosea:

This prophet of the Lord makes several references to the man of sin. In 8:10 he is called the king of princes, as such he is Satan’s answer to the King of Kings.

In 12:7 he is called the merchant, and the balances of deceit are in his hand, and he loves to oppress, strongly compares to Rev 6:5. He has a twofold character, first appearing to be a friend of Israel and then becoming their enemy.

Joel:

The allusion is to the head of the northern army (likely the Assyrian) and the prophet teaches that his stink and his ill savor shall come up. (2:20).

Amos:

Amos speaks of him as the adversary who will bring down thy strength from thee and thy palaces shall be spoiled. (3:11). Further speaking about the end times, Amos writes that “…I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him” (3:14).

Micah:

Micah writes that he shall come into our land… he shall tread in our palaces. (5:5).

Nahum:

Nahum writes with wonderful detail when he teaches that “… There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the Lord”. (1:11).

Zechariah:

Here we have the famous term “the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock”, and shows judgment to come on him as “the sword shall be on his arm, and upon his right eye”. (11:17).

These are but a selected several references to help us understand that the antichrists (those who oppose the Lord) are well cataloged in the prophets as well as the forecast of the Antichrist who will be the son of Satan to come who will bring false peace and false understanding for the first half of the final week (the tribulation period) and then turn himself against those who had been his followers as the Great Tribulation begins in the last half of that terrible seven year time.

We also view in the OT significant specific people who lived as types of the Antichrist (the actual son of perdition) to come in those last days. 

It is important that we remember that the OT scriptures are far more than just symbolic stories or parables made up to render a momentary teaching. These writings are actual occurrences as well as what may be said to be typical prefigurations, that is, they exist as types of that which will be revealed in the NT. 

We have strong words in the NT to help us understand this serious fact.

In Hebrews 10:7 we are told that “…in the volume of the book it is written of me…”. This verse refers not to the Gospels as they were yet unwritten. It references the meanings of the OT toward both the Lord and also toward those who are types of the counterfeit to arrive in the last days.

Romans 15:4 also helps our understanding when it teaches us, “…Whatsoever things were written aforetimes were written for our understanding”.

Therefore we have lessons to learn about those whose lives were presented to us in the OT as types of the one to come. It may be helpful to look at only a few to bring light upon this factor which is presented to us as evidence of those who lived before foreshadowing the one to come later.

 There are more than a few examples for us of those who are considered types of the Lord, Jesus Christ in the OT. Some are:

Abel, Noah, Melchizedek, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, David, and others.

There are fewer examples of those who may be considered types for the counterfeit lord. Let’s consider:

Cain:

Here we view the first man born into this world naturally, and he acts as a type of the son of Satan in a number of ways:

1. He was of the wicked one as taught in the clearest language of 1 John 3:12. 

2. He was a religious hypocrite. While he pretended to worship God, his sacrifice was considered unacceptable and instead of repentance in humility, he was “very wroth”. (Gen 4:5)

3. He was said to be a “ruler” by God’s word, as Genesis 4:7 teaches as God said “…thou shalt rule over him…” meaning Abel. We are taught that the evil one to come will be a ruler over men as well.

4. In murdering his brother Abel, Cain acts a type for the evil one who will murder many of the tribulation saints.

5. Cain was a liar, as he denied knowledge of where Abel was, when he knew he had killed him. 2 Thess 2:11 teaches this evil one will be one of deceit and falsehood.

6. God’s judgment came upon Cain when no other judgment could arrive. No witnesses existed to his dark deed but God knew and dealt with him. The Antichrist will also feel he can defy God without consequence, and he also will be dealt his penalty from above.

7. Cain’s punishment was awful & severe and he even felt it was more than he could bear. The Antichrist will be given the ultimate punishment of the lake of fire. (Rev 19:20).

Lamech:

With only few verses devoted to him, we see first his arrogance and pride in his awful deeds. He tells his wives to hear his voice and hearken unto his words as he admits he has killed one man for wounding him, and another younger man for bruising him.

We are told in Gen 4:24 that if Cain was to be avenged 7 fold, then Lamech is to be avenged 77 fold.

Look at the parallels of this evil one and the one to come:

1. His name itself means “powerful”, an appropriate name for one to shadow the evil one later to come. We are taught in Rev 13:4 that the Antichrist will gain power from the Dragon.

2. He was a descendant of Cain, not of Seth, springing from an evil line.

3. He was “lawless” taking two wives, violating the original act of God creating one man and one woman to be his mate.

4. Like Cain, he was murderer. Foreshadowing the man of blood and violence.

5. He was filled with himself clearly showing the sin of pride.

6. He was immediately followed by Seth, from whom came Jesus, and acts as a type of the Lord overcoming the Antichrist and establishing his kingdom. Eve even comments that she has been given another seed instead of Able who Cain killed.

Nimrod:

Genesis 10 & 11 teach us of the events of this man’s life and work in opposition to the Lord. We first see that his life is shown immediately before the call of Abraham out of the land of the Gentiles. Note the items from his life that bring his to us as a type of the Antichrist to come:

1. His name means “the rebel”.

2. He was a son of Cush, who was a son of Ham, cursed by Noah. Note again that these types of the evil ones spring from the evil line.

3. He began to be a mighty one in the earth (Gen 10:8). Paul teaches that the one to come will come with all power.

4. He first struggled to gain his position as a mighty one and the Evil one will first be known as the “little horn”.

5. In 1 Chron 1:10, we see Nimrod is described as a “man of blood” and the beginning of his kingdom was in Babel, thus a king of Babylon, one of the titles given to the Antichrist.

6. He built other cities as a portion of an empire to come just as the one to come will build his empire.

7. His defiant moment against God was the tower, attempting to reach heaven by the work of man. We are taught that the Lord’s response was “… let us go down and there confound their language…” (Gen 11:17) and here we see an early type of the Lord’s coming down to later destroy the evil one of man.

We see further types in Pharoh, Abimilech, Saul, Goliath, & Herod.

We also see a fuller description of this type of the evil one in Isaiah 14, and we are given the further evidence of the Babylon connection. The opening verses tell of the coming restoration of Israel to the favor of God. The people of Israel are told by the prophet to take up the proverb against the king of Babylon (verse 4), and in the verses to come we see the Lord’s description that he was the one who smote the people with wrath and a continual stroke, an oppressor. We see also that the Lord has broken the staff of the wicked. 

In verse 12 he is identified as the “son of the morning”, Lucifer. In verse 13 we see the view that he would “exalt my throne above the stars of God…”.

These most sacred lessons help us to preview the manner, character, and devious nature of the one who will appear in the last days to deceive all who remain after the rapture. He will be for a time a man of answers, and shall appear to resolve the issues of the world. But, after a time (perhaps like a little season) he will be revealed as to his true nature as the son of Satan, just as Jesus Christ is the son of the most high.

In our next study we will deeply look into his character, his career, his counterfeit nature, and his work within the Revelation and we will see his doom.

Antichrist - Part 3

ANTICHRIST IN PSALMS

There are some interesting hints and direct allusions toward the evil one within the Psalms, which are viewed as the prayer book of the Church. The sacred poetry found within this book enlightens us as to the history of the chosen people as well as provides elements of the Messiah to come. While once the entire book was attributed to David, it seems accepted now that 73 of the Psalms were his. Some of the remaining were thought to be written by Asaph, David’s chief musician. Psalm 72 is thought to be from Solomon, with a few left to other writers.

The Hebrew theologians seem to divide the book into five sections, 

(1-41)(42-72)(73-89)(90-106)(107-150). In addition there seems to be agreement that they may be divided by historical periods:

1. Mosaic-106 & 114

2. Judges-106:34-46

3. Davidic- Saul’s reign / 3,7,11,18,54 – David’s reign / 24,30,32,51,55,60.

4. Solomon’s rule-72

5. Exile & after the exile- 64,79,80,85,127,137

Within these beautiful writings, we see several references to the one of evil, both the reference to evil ones through history (antichrists) and the son of Satan to come (Antichrist). Here are a few of these references for study and discussion:

Chapter 5:

5-6: “The foolish (may also be translated as wicked) shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. 

… the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.”

The bloody man refers to the military fierceness of the evil one mentioned and his deceit comes from his nature of lies. He will completely deceive the Jews, after first posing as their friend, then becoming their arch enemy.

Chapter 7:

14: “Behold, he travaileth with iniquity and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.”

16: “His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down on his own pate”.

Chapter 9:

Here we see the anticipation of the millennial conditions and celebration of the overthrow of the man of sin.

5: “…thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name forever and ever”.

16: “… the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands”.

Chapter 10:

Here we see perhaps the best description of the evil one in all the Psalms. This chapter is divided into four sections:

1. The cry of the remnant (1).

2. The character of the Antichrist (2-11).

3. Renewed cry (12-15).

4. The confidence of the remnant (16-18).

Let’s read the verses 2-11, which teach us much on this matter!

Chapter 50:

16 & 19 are strong views of a wicked one and 19 teaches that “Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thou tongue framest deceit.”

Here the Lord rebukes him as we see that he is a hypocrite who begins his career by speaking God’s covenant but soon casts God’s words aside and shows his treachery.

Chapter 74:

10: “O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name forever?”

Chapter 83:

Takes the thought from 74 even further and reveals that God’s synagogues will be destroyed as will those who have now had to worship in secret, God’s hidden ones.

Here as well we see the specifics of the confederacy of the ten nations against Israel, and these nations are named. Assur is also named here and he acts as a type of the wicked one to come.

Chapter 140:

David prays for deliverance and we see the strong reference to another type of the wicked one. Notice the wording in verses 1 & 4 & 8:

“Deliver me O lord from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man; Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man;… Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves…”.

While there are other references within this important book to wicked ones and types of the evil ones who oppose the Lord and His people, these selected verses indicate that the Psalms reveal some of the character and dark ways of those who stand in place of he who will be shown later as Satan’s counterfeit to our Lord & Savior.

Antichrist - Part 4

The Person of the Antichrist

In our last lesson, we covered the strong thought that when the true Antichrist arrives, he will be of the Jewish line. We also covered the message that scripture and logic that flows from scripture seems to confirm for us that he is one to come, having not yet been revealed. We marked the three specific factors given in Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians which extend perhaps our most forceful understanding of the conditions, which must be present to help us know he is among us:

1. The must be a falling away (an apostasy).

2. The son of perdition must be revealed.

3. He must place himself in the holy temple as god.

We also discussed the strong message from the lips of Jesus himself in John 5:43 when he tells that Israel will not accept him who has come in the name of the Father, but Israel will later accept another who will come in his own name.

An interesting note is that in this message the word Jesus uses for another is the Greek word “allos” which is translated to mean by definition “another of the same kind” as opposed to the similar Greek word “heteros”, meaning a different kind of order. So we think it probable this son of the evil one will be sent to the Jews first, from the Jewish line.

Another interesting note on this issue is that for many centuries the strongest Christian teachers used Genesis 49:17 as scriptural proof of the Antichrist springing from Jewish blood, the tribe of Dan:

“Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward”.

We should not be surprised that Satan should send a son into the world as he has always been a great imitator and has great success in imitating the things of God to divert mankind. We recall he himself sometimes appears as an angel of light, and his demons appear as ministers of the Lord to deceive us.

We have a long list of his imitations which he put forth to fulfill his title of “Anti” meaning counterfeit opposition to the things of God:

Christ goes forth to sow the good seed (Matt 13:24)

The enemy goes to sow the tares (Matt 13:25)

God works in His children both to will and to do of His good pleasure. (Phil 2:13)

The enemy worketh in the children of disobedience. (Eph 2:2)

We know Christ has His Gospel.

Satan has another gospel. (Gal 1:6)

We know Christ appointed His apostles.

Satan appoints his apostles as well. (2 Cor 11:13)

God, by His angel, will seal His servants in their forehead. (Rev 7:3)

Satan will seal his own by a mark on the forehead or hand. (Rev 13:16)

The Father seeks worshippers. (John 4:23)

Satan seeks his own worshippers. (Rev 13:4)

Christ is called the lion in the tribe of Judah. (Rev 5:5)

Satan is known as a roaring lion. (1 Peter 5:6)

We read of Christ and His angels. (Matt 24:31)

Satan has his angels (Matt 25:41)

God has His new city, New Jerusalem. 

Satan has Babylon (Rev 17:5)

There is a mystery of godliness. (1 Tim 3:16)

There is a mystery of iniquity. (2 Thess 2:7)

Christ is the seed of the woman. 

Antichrist is the seed of the serpent. (Gen 3:15)

Christ is the Son of Man.

Antichrist will be the Man of Sin. (2 Thess 2:3)

We know of the Holy Trinity.

There will be an evil trinity. (Rev 20:10)

These are only a few of the imitations that scripture allows concerning this evil one to come who will seek at first to befriend the Jews and the world but who will later be seen as the liar and deceiver that he truly is.

Antichrist - Part 5

The Character of the Antichrist

For thousands of years Satan has spent his time in study of the nature of human beings, fallen from our first father, to discover our weakest points, and to learn how to make man do his work.

The devil knows full well how to dazzle us by the attraction of money, lust, fame and power. He knows exactly how to bring before our eyes those things we seek in our hearts. We should recognize the strong power he holds. If he can transport, almost magically, the Lord from the desert to the mountaintop and then to the highest pinnacle of the temple in the blink of an eye, his strength toward our temptation is truly of the highest nature.

He knows how to stimulate our energy and questioning, as well as to dangle in front of us the curiosity of mystical things. He is able to bestow great power to individuals and then to control those men after they are powerful to work against God and His children.

IT CANNOT THEN BE HARD TO UNDERSTAND THAT ALL THESE ABILITIES WILL BE USEFUL TO THE ONE WHO WILL SPRING FROM HIM, TAKING THE POSITION OF ANTICHRIST.

While we are understanding of the position now concerning the restraint of the powers of darkness, we cannot ignore the much greater darkness to come when the Holy Spirit is removed (as II Thess teaches us). We see the same idea taught in Isaiah 60:2:

“… the darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people…”

It is at that time that Satan will be incarnate upon the earth (imitating Christ) and his son, the son of perdition, will possess all of the dark power that Satan has accumulated through his time as the prince of this world. Perhaps with only Jesus as the exception, he likely will be the most remarkable person to appear in human history.

What impressions may we gain from scripture concerning the character of this person who rises as an international leader, and is able to deceive so many, including, for a time, the most skeptical and inquisitive people, the Jews?

We do find some strong thoughts concerning this one if we are willing to look and learn using, as always, scripture as our best friend under the guiding hand of the Spirit.

An intellectual genius:

He will hold within himself extraordinary intelligence. He will be the Devil’s imitation of the blessed one in whom we are taught: 

“… in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”. (Col 2:3). 

It is likely that this man will equal or even pass Solomon in wisdom. We see in Daniel 7:20 that he is a “horn that had eyes”, giving us a double symbol with the horn showing strength and the eyes showing wisdom.

In Daniel 8:23 he is a king of fierce countenance who understands dark sentences. That which is baffling to others will be easy to him. The Hebrew words describing him here is the same one describing Solomon in 1 Kings 10:1, meaning “hard questions” concerning the inquiry made by the queen of Sheba to Solomon when she tested his wisdom and in Samson’s riddle in Judges 14.

The thought is that this new man will be the master of all things intellectual and occult. Ezekiel 28:3 says it best:

“Behold thou are wiser than Daniel: there is no secret that they can hide from thee”.

His mind will captivate the world with knowledge of hidden things and he will be looked up to in all things of the mind for a time.

A genius of speech:

In Daniel 7:20 we are told that he has “a mouth that spake great things”. Here again we see the imitation of Christ as we recall that Jesus was described as “one who spake as never man spake” and we are further taught that people were “astonished” at Christ’s doctrine (Matt 7:28). Even further we are taught in Matt 13:54, “Whence hath this man this wisdom?”.

So this son of Satan will also be revealed to have command and flow of the gift of language, and it seems sure that he will gain attention and respect through his oratory. Rev 13:2 advises that his mouth is “as the mouth of a lion” which is a symbol for the awe-inspiring effect of his voice. If his voice is as the voice of the king of beasts, then he will command by that voice.

A commercial genius:

As we noted once before, Daniel 8:25 reveals that he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand. As he establishes his rule, he will be in absolute control of commerce, as all things will be centralized under his rules. Rev 13:17 shows that none may buy or sell except under his approval. Therefore the wealth of the entire world will be at his disposal to use to further his empire. 

As we look back at the OT for a view we see Psalm 52:7 reveals that “Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches; and strengthened himself in his substance”.

Daniel 11:45 reveals that “… he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt”.

It is likely that his supreme control of all commercial activity will make him wealthier than all who came before him, and make Solomon himself look poor by comparison. 

A military genius:

He will have the most extraordinary powers so that “he shall destroy wonderfully and shall prosper and practice and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people”. (Dan 8:24).

None will be able to stand up to him. Think about the overwhelming power of the military if weapons of the USA & Israel were combined and even these will not conquer him. Rev 6:2 teaches, “he will go forth conquering and to conquer”. As he sweeps all resistance away, the words of Rev 13:4 will be fulfilled completely:

“Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

His military might will be seen across the world and will be vast in scale. The prophet Isaiah said in 14:16 that he can shake kingdoms and make the earth tremble.

A governmental genius:

This evil one will weld together opposing forces. He will unify those who had been in conflict under his control as he assembles his armies. We see a wonderful symbol of this power in Rev 13:1-2 which teaches of the beast standing up with seven heads and ten horns, and the dragon gave him his power.

The old empires of Rome, Greece, Persia, Babylonia will all be settled within his control along with the modern power of other nations as well as he prepares for the final war. We see the most amazing thought in Rev 17:17 that the ten kings shall give their kingdoms to him. It may make sense to view him as the greatest and last Caesar.

A religious genius:

We must keep in mind that the son of Satan will indeed perform one of the most dishonorable acts possible when he takes his seat in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and proclaims himself to be god and demands worship. 

It is urgent that we remember he will have performed miracles and have been seen to solve many of the world’s problem issues. His ability to keep secret who he actually is while appearing to resolve so many problems will be surely  something to behold. This man of sin will combine in himself, through powers received from his father, Satan, all the varied genius factors known to mankind. 

It seems likely that he will be invested with and show mastery of nature’s forces, science, commerce, military, and governing authority, in order to consolidate his sovereign hold over much of the world. Rev 13:3 says “all the world wondered after the beast”. We know he will be wounded and thought dead and will come alive again. This marvel, along with many others will create a wish for so many to pay him homage. Now he will be considered as divine and his very image will be worshipped (Rev 13:14-15). His new faith, based upon worship of himself, will probably accept many millions of converts. He will appear to the world as the long awaited answer and final savior appearing to gather to himself in new power those who are still looking beyond Jesus Christ for salvation.

Antichrist - Part 6

The Career of the Antichrist

As we look into the actual career of the man of sin, the son of perdition, it might help us to first take a few moments to think about how the career of this evil one is in contrast to the career of our Lord, Jesus Christ. 

These few items will highlight the true nature of the imitator as well as display how he works in the shadow of darkness as opposed to the one who is our true light of life:

Christ came down from heaven (John 3:13).

Antichrist comes up out of the bottomless pit (Rev 11:7).

Christ came in another’s name (John 5:43).

Antichrist will come in his own name (John 5:43).

Christ came to do the Father’s will (John 6:38).

Antichrist will do his own will (Daniel 11:36).

Christ was energized by the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:14).

Antichrist will be energized by Satan (Rev 13:4).

Christ submitted himself to God (John 5:30).

Antichrist defies God (2 Thess 2:4).

Christ humbled himself (Phil 2:8).

Antichrist exalts himself (Daniel 11:36).

Christ honored the God of his fathers (Luke 4:16).

Antichrist refuses to do so (Daniel 11:37).

Christ cleansed the temple (John 2:14-16).

Antichrist defiles the temple (Matt 24:15).

Christ ministered to the needy (Luke 4:18).

Antichrist robs the poor (Psalm 10:8-9).

Christ was rejected of men (Isa 53:7).

Antichrist will be accepted of men (Rev 13:4).

Christ leads the flock (John 10:3).

Antichrist leaves the flock (Zech 11:17).

Christ was slain for the people (John 11:51).

Antichrist slays the people (Isa 14:20).

Christ glorified God on earth (John 7:14).

Antichrist blasphemes the name of God in heaven (Rev 13:6).

Christ was received upward into heaven (Luke 24:51).

Antichrist will go downward into the lake of fire (Rev 19:20).

As we study the career of the son of Satan, we should think about some of the items we have gathered from our best friend, holy scripture, concerning this dark one to come:

Time of his appearing:

While we spent much discussion reviewing those who were seen to be antichrists (small “a”) in history, we also reviewed the indications given to those items that must occur so that the true Antichrist (large “A”) and his false prophet may appear. We saw that there must first occur the falling away, the general apostasy, in our world. 

ARE WE SEEING THIS TODAY?

Before this man can appear, the Holy Spirit must be taken out of the way (2 Thess 2:7). It is the Holy Spirit who has from the time of the ascension of Jesus that has hindered this coming. We are further told that the final form of the old Roman empire must arise as the ten kings BEFORE the “little horn” comes into full view. Israel must have been renewed AND the holy temple must rise again.

In our day, the items are perhaps still in the future, and exactly how far away is knowledge available to no man. But we do know that Jesus taught us that His children are the “salt of the earth” and as salt, we keep the body of Christ from spoiling by this evil one who would like to turn His body here into a body of death. The saints here, under the direction of the Holy Spirit are the light of the world since Christ rose upward. As that light we hinder, again under the power of the Spirit, the covering of darkness to come (Isa 60:20).

This hindering factor will be removed at the rapture (1 Thess 4:16) as the present age of grace will end.

We should take a moment to recall that there was a time of silence of thirty years between the coming of Jesus Christ from the virgin until He stepped forward to minister. So it may yet be that a similar time shows itself between the rapture and the public appearance of the Antichrist. 

We do know that he will be revealed before or at the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week as he will make a covenant with the Jews in their land.

We take heart in that just as Saul preceeded David, so also will the Antichrist preceed Christ.

The place of his appearing:

The scriptures of Daniel chapter 7 with their great symbolic words lead us to feel that this one will rise in the middle east, of Jewish heritage. While he is shown as the “little horn”, meaning at first he will spring from a smaller beginning, there will be quickly a gathering by him of power from the ten kingdoms. This power will be willingly granted to him as taught in Revelation 17.

Daniel 8 makes no mention of him “waxing great” toward the north, perhaps because he came from the northern kingdom, now known as Syria. Isaiah 10:12 has prophecy of one of the names given for him as “King of Assyria”. It makes some sense also to recall that the first one who declared open defiance of God, Nimrod, sprang from the area of Babylon. Does it seem likely that this far greater defier will also be generated from this area?

His work:

Daniel 11:21 tells us he will come peaceably and will obtain the kingdom by flatteries. Remember that Rev 6:2 teaches he will come on his white horse with a bow but no arrows, appearing to mean his early victories will be bloodless.

Daniel 7:24 teaches that he will first subdue three kings, “waxing great” toward the south (Egypt?).

In short order he will gain control of the ten kingdoms, rising to political power and become like an emperor. Remember this is happening as he seems to have all the answers to world problems and power will be given to him willingly. Many, perhaps millions, will follow him.

As Satan’s masterpiece, he will revive the old kingdoms, appealing strongly to those who live in nations long ago powerful but in recent times not seen to be of power.

We then see him moving onward from political power into the area of religious power. History has taught us of many who were powerful politically and militarily moving toward self divinity. Remember in the days of the gospels, people were forced to yearly offer worship to Caesar as god. Revelation 13 shows that “… they worshipped the dragon that gave power to the beast…”. 

This will lead to the abomination in Jerusalem as he sits himself upon the throne of the temple requiring worship of himself as god. His claim will be backed by many miracles, which will realistic. Recall that 2 Thess 2:9 shows that his coming “…will be after the working of Satan, with all power and signs of lying wonders”.

We must NOT forget that Jesus taught us that the Jews will accept him as he comes in his own name (John 5:43).

In the middle of this seven year period he will begin to appear as he truly is, taking away the daily sacrifice of the temple and replace it with an image of himself.

Isaiah 37 teaches he will return to his own land, probably Babylon, where we are told by prophecy he will be seen to be slain by the sword, but will live again, another of his miracles. We see the result in Rev 13:3-4 where he is described: “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast…”. Rev 9 gives us the view that just as Christ was risen from the dead so also will this Antichrist rise from the dead, once more imitating the Lord. Now his false prophet also appears, and the Antichrist masses his forces to make war against Israel, while a godly remnant flees to the mountains (Matt 24:16). Heaven will respond to their cries and the beginning of the end is close.

Next we look at the work of the Antichrist in the Revelation of John and we welcome the ultimate doom of this one who poses in place of the Savior, deceiving so many. 

Antichrist - Part 7

The Antichrist in Revelation

The revelation of St. John is mainly devoted to a description of the judgments that God will send upon the earth, reflecting His wrath to flow upon the lost gentiles and a portion of Israel. It allows us the most complete view of the tribulation period (the 70th week of Daniel) and presents a strong view of the work of the Antichrist in those last days.

This book reveals the work of the unholy trinity as well as the doom of this evil incarnate son of Satan.

We first meet this evil one in chapter six as we see the opening of the seals, that no man was worthy to open therefore only opened by the lamb of God.

Just as we have a fourfold view of Jesus on the four Gospels, we see a similar fourfold view of the counterfeit Jesus in the first four seals:

1. He imitates Christ in the first seal opening as he rides on a white horse with a bow but no arrows, reflecting bloodless victory. Remember he is presenting himself to the Jews for their acceptance, simulating the Prince of Peace. This first seal parallels Daniel 11:21-23.

2. He imitates Christ who is the mighty warrior on the second seal, for just as Christ will conquer all and make His enemies a footstool, now the Antichrist will begin to defeat all who defy him and slay them. The parallel is Isaiah 63:3. His horse is red.

3. He imitates Christ as the bread of life in the third seal as the controller of food. His horse is black, showing famine.

4. He imitates Christ with his power over a fourth of the earth as Jesus has power over all things on earth & heaven. Now this evil one is seen as the destroyer of men’s bodies and spirit through hunger.  His horse is black, representing death.

We next meet this evil one in Revelation 9:11 where he is shown starting there as the king of the horrible locusts, the angel of the abyss, and the destroyer. Some teachers say the star seen falling in the first verse of chapter 9 is Lucifer sent to open the pit to allow the horrors to appear. We do see a prediction of this event in Joel 2, which prophecies the extent of these horrors.

In chapter 11, we see this evil one coming out of the bottomless pit to kill the two witnesses (temporarily) as they finish their witness. Here we see the name used as “The Beast”.

It is always interesting to take a moment when studying chapter 11 to ponder who we think are the two witnesses. There are many opinions and mine is that they are Enoch & Elijah because we are taught that to every man is appointed once to die, but scripture teaches us that these two were taken up without physical death so this death seen of the two would fulfill finally the promise of death to all men. 

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION?

Notice that these two witnesses lay dead three and a half days in the street, without burial, and then are revived by God to stand again and their enemies then saw them ascend to heaven by God’s command.

Our next major view of the evil one appears in chapter 13 where we see the view of the two beasts. Much opinion has been given on who is who among these two, but the largest leaning seems to be that the first is the actual Antichrist and the second is the false prophet who accompanies him. These two, plus Satan make up the unholy trinity, again a counterfeit group versus the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

We see in chapter 19 the true power of our savior as he defeats alone the armies of the evil son by the sharp sword of His word as the angel calls all the fowls of the air to come and feast upon the bodies from what is known as the supper of the great God and the armies of heaven attend the slaughter but observe only. These are His faithful believers, chosen from the foundation of the world. THESE ARE US !!!!!!!!

We are told in 19:19-20 that the two are cast into the lake of fire and in 20:10, the devil joins them there.

It makes sense to recall in conclusion of this part of our study the many powers that this evil one will demonstrate over his empire and the world left to his wonders after the rapture:

1. He conquered many in his thirst for power (13:7).

2. He made the image of himself appear to live and speak (13:15).

3. He caused many to receive his mark so they might buy or sell (13:17).

4. He brought fire down from above (13:13).

His ability to perform wonders is sure as is his ability to gather many followers to his side, perhaps millions. 

In chapter 18 we view the destruction of Babylon, the center of iniquity, and in chapter 19 & 20 we see the ultimate destruction of the Antichrist and his false prophet, as well as the devil himself, all to remain in the lake of fire forever in torment. This event follows closely the release of Satan for a little season and is just before the second death, in which death itself and hell are also cast away into the lake of fire.

Now New Jerusalem appears with God wiping away all tears, with no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying nor pain. Former things are passed away and like the soul of each faithful believer, all is made new.

The first creation, light itself will no longer be needed (21:23) as the Lord will live with His own and be their light for eternity.

AMEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Antichrist - Part 8

Antichrist & Babylon

Before we end our study of this evil son of Satan by reviewing the Revelation of St. John, we might want to take just a moment to mention something in scripture that is seldom reviewed, the thoughts on the wrath poured out upon Babylon, that ancient city of wickedness.

Isaiah 13 & 14 bring us prophecy that helps to focus our thoughts. The first verse of chapter 13 is so well worded as to this issue that it makes sense to quote it all:

“The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah, the son of Amoz did see.”

While these verses are commonly interpreted as verses of earthly warfare, they also seem to foreshadow the wrath and destruction by the Lord against the wicked in the last days. 

13:6 sends a very good clue with the use of the phrase “… the day of the Lord is at hand…” and further strong foreshadow is seen in verses 10 & 11:

“For the stars of Heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”

We see these very same thoughts in Matthew 24:29 concerning the Tribulation period.

Chapter 14 teaches us of the merciful restoration of Israel and opens with the words:

“For the Lord will have mercy of Jacob, and will yet choose Israel…” and in verse 7 we are taught that then “… the whole earth is at rest and is quiet…’

perhaps forecasting the peace of the Millennium.

And verse 12 grants confirmation of the subject as we read “How art thou fallen from heaven O Lucifer, son of the morning…”

These prophecies bring us types & shadows of the last days and the warfare to come as the evil forces mass against Israel and bring the ultimate destruction upon themselves when the Lord Jesus himself swings the sharp sword of His word as we shall see in Revelation.