b. Today the possibility of a one-world ruler is much easier to envision.

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1 THE ANTICHRIST 2 Thessalonians 2:3 I. INTRODUCTION- a. For centuries preachers, Bible scholars and believers wondered how the Bible s prophecy that one day one man would control the entire world could ever possibly be fulfilled. b. Today the possibility of a one-world ruler is much easier to envision. c. Modern technology has essentially shrunk the world people and nations no longer live in isolation. d. Today instant global communication makes it possible for cable news networks to be seen around the world. e. The internet cell phone and satellite communications connect every corner of the globe. f. Modern air transportation has made it possible for us to set foot on the soil of any nation in a matter of hours. g. Missiles now exist that can reach any part of the world in fewer than thirty minutes. h. Today for the first time in human history we can see how one man with enough power and resources available to him could rule the world. II. THE ANTICHRIST- a. The Bible predicts that as the end of the age approaches chaos, instability, and disorder will increase around the world. b. The Lord Jesus Himself said that as we approach the Rapture and the end times there will be an increase of wars, rumors of wars, famines, and earthquakes in various places (Matthew 24:6-7).

2 c. Just before these tensions explode into world chaos the Rapture will suddenly take millions of people from the earth. d. The chaos that happens after the Rapture will spur a worldwide outcry for relief and order at almost any cost. e. This will set the stage for the emergence of a new world leader a charismatic leader who will seem to have a solution for all of the problems the world will then be facing. f. This leader of the world left behind after the Rapture is commonly referred to as the Antichrist. g. The prefix anti can mean against or it can mean instead of and both meanings of this prefix will apply to this coming world leader. h. The Antichrist of the Tribulation will oppose and be against Christ and at the same time pass himself off as the Messiah. i. The Antichrist of the Tribulation will be Satan s superman who will persecute, torture, and kill multitudes of the people of God during the Tribulation and who will lead the armies of the world into the climactic Battle of Armageddon. j. The Antichrist will be the most powerful dictator the world has ever seen. k. The Antichrist is identified by other names and titles in the Bible in Daniel 9:26 he is called the prince who is to come. l. In Daniel 8:23 he is called a fierce king he is called a master of intrigue in Daniel 8:23 a despicable man in Daniel 11:21 a worthless shepherd in Zechariah 11:16-17 the one who brings destruction in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 the lawless one in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 the evil man in 2 Thessalonians 2:9 and the beast in Revelation 13:1.

3 m. While the Antichrist is introduced and described in great detail in the Bible the Bible does not reveal his identity. n. In 2 Thessalonians 2 the Apostle Paul says that the Antichrist will not be revealed until after the Rapture of the church. o. While it is not possible to know the identity of this future world ruler it is possible to know what kind of a man he will be because the Bible gives us a great deal of information about him. III. THE ANTICHRIST WILL BE A CHARISMATIC LEADER- a. In Daniel 7:7-8 the prophet Daniel described the Antichrist this way After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast (the Antichrist) And there were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words. b. Daniel said the Antichrist will speak pompous words that is he will be an eloquent and powerful speaker. c. The Antichrist will be able to sway and mesmerize the masses of the world with spellbinding words of power and promise. d. Not only will the Antichrist be a powerful speaker Daniel also said in Daniel 7:20 that he will be a man whose appearance was greater than his fellows. e. That is the Antichrist will be a strikingly attractive person. f. The combination of a magnetic personality amazing speaking ability and extreme good looks will make the Antichrist virtually irresistible to the masses. g. When the Antichrist comes on the scene people will flock to him like flies to honey and they will fall over themselves to do anything he asks. IV. THE ANTICHRIST WILL BE A CUNNING LEADER-

4 a. In Daniel 11:21 Daniel says the Antichrist shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom (the world) by intrigue. b. The Antichrist will be a political genius a masterful diplomat and a clever leader. c. The Antichrist will do something which every modern American President and many leaders of the world have tried for decades to do without success. d. The Antichrist will somehow and in some way solve the Israeli- Arab conflict he will broker peace between Israel and her Arab neighbors. e. It will be this accomplishment which will solidify the world s surrender to the dominance of the Antichrist. f. We do not know what concessions Israel will make in this treaty but we do know that the Antichrist will use his cunning and manipulative ability to somehow convince the Arab nations. g. To allow the Jews to once again build a Temple on its ancient site. h. The reason the Jews do not have a Temple in Jerusalem today is because the Temple can only be rebuilt on the site chosen for it by God and that site is the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite in Jerusalem on what was called in Bible times Mt. Moriah. i. The reason the Jews cannot rebuilt the Temple on that site today is because when the Muslims controlled Jerusalem they built a mosque at that location and a so-called Muslim holy site the Dome of the Rock. j. If the Jews today tried to rebuild the Temple on its original site they would have to tear down that mosque and their holy site which would cause an immediate war to break out between Israel and every Muslim nation in the world.

5 k. Somehow and some say probably as the leader of the United Nations the Antichrist will negotiate a treaty between the Jews and the Arabs that will allow for the rebuilding of the Temple on the site chosen for it by God. l. And then the Antichrist will sign a seven year treaty with Israel personally guaranteeing Israel s safety and security. m. The Bible teaches that the signing of this treaty will mark the beginning of the seven years of Tribulation. n. The Antichrist will be a cunning leader and master diplomat. V. THE ANTICHRIST WILL BE A CRUEL LEADER- a. At first the Antichrist will appear to be a man of peace and love and the world will fall at his feet. b. But as time goes by in the Tribulation the true evil, cruel, satanic nature of the Antichrist will begin to appear and by the middle of the Tribulation the true nature of the Antichrist will be on full display. c. In his prophecy Daniel said this of the Antichrist Daniel 7:23-25 (NKJV) Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, Trample it and break it in pieces He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time. d. When the Antichrist gains full control of the world he will begin to devour the earth trample it down and break it into pieces exercising full totalitarian control. e. The Antichrist will eventually demand that everyone in the world pledge loyalty to him and receive his mark those who refuse to do

6 so will not be allowed to buy and sell and those without his mark will be branded as rebels, traitors and enemies of the new world order. f. Millions in the world will receive the mark of the beast but those who are saved during Tribulation will not. g. And so by the middle of the Tribulation the Antichrist will begin a full-fledged, all-out war against those who come to Christ during the Tribulation. h. Although all the believers of the present age will be taken to Heaven before the reign of this man new converts will come to Christ during the years of Tribulation multitudes will be saved during the Tribulation including almost all of the nation of Israel. i. This will infuriate the Antichrist and he will take out his wrath on those saved during the Tribulation the Antichrist will kill multitudes of Tribulation saints. j. Halfway through the Tribulation the Antichrist will break his treaty with Israel and attack that nation with a vengeance. k. He will set up an image of himself in the Temple and proclaim that he is God and he will demand that Israel and the world worship him. VI. FURTHER FACTS ON THE ANTICHRIST- a. The Bible says a great deal about the Antichrist let me close by giving you some further facts about him. b. #1, The Antichrist will rise to power out of nowhere the Bible describes him as a little horn just one of many political rulers in the world who grows into a big horn the ruler of the world. c. #2, The Antichrist will emerge from a Gentile nation the Bible does indicate that the Antichrist will arise from a nation in the revived

7 Roman Empire he will be a Gentile who comes from a European nation. d. #3, While there have been people in this world who were possessed by demons no person has ever been possessed by Satan himself but by the end of the Tribulation the Antichrist will be he will be 666 the epitome of evil the devil s puppet the devil s perfectly evil man. e. #4, The Antichrist will be limited by God while the Antichrist will be possessed by Satan and the most powerful human ruler who has ever lived he will be limited by God s power. f. The Antichrist will only be able to do what God allows him to do God will have him on a leash. g. #5, Toward the end of the Tribulation nations will begin to rebel against the rule of the Antichrist. h. The Antichrist will even be severely wounded and seemingly killed in an assassination attempt the world will think that the Antichrist is dead but to the astonishment of the world the Antichrist will appear to come back to life a grotesque counterfeit of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ i. When the Antichrist recovers he will charge the leaders of three countries in the European Union with attempting to assassinate him and he will have them put to death. j. Then in an attempt to save his kingdom the Antichrist will call on the nations of the world to stop fighting against him and each other and join in a great crusade to rid the world of what the Antichrist will call the real world s real enemy the God of the Bible and His chosen people Israel.

8 k. The combined armies of the world will surround Israel with a massive army determined to destroy Israel once and for all and kill every living Jew. l. The Antichrist will set up his headquarters in the valley of Megiddo and he will make ready for a battle God has already named the battle of Armageddon. m. We will look at the battle of Armageddon next week. VII. CONCLUSION- a. Of the Antichrist one person wrote Somewhere at this moment there may be a young man growing to maturity. He is in all likelihood a brooding, thoughtful young man. Inside his heart, however, there is a hellish rage. It boils like a caldron of molten lead. He hates God. He despises Jesus Christ. He detests the Church. In his mind there is taking shape the form of a dream of con-quest. He will disingenuously present himself as a friend of Christ and the Church. Yet... He will, once empowered, pour out hell itself onto this world. Can the world produce such a prodigy? Hider was once a little boy. Stalin was a lad. Nero was a child. The tenderness of childhood will be shaped by the devil into the terror of the antichrist. b. Those who give their life to Christ will be saved from personally experiencing the evil of the Antichrist by that daring air rescue called the Rapture.