The Antichrist Revealed!

Transcription

1 this isn t just something that happened long ago in dark ages. God has revealed that the devil has brought in HIS counterfeit system to change God's truth and has mixed truth with error. Don't miss a link in the chain as we lead up to the chapter on the Mark of the Beast, it's so important! Revelation 14: 9-10, And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. In the last days, our only hope of not being deceived is to follow the Bible and the Bible only. In closing, I invite you to read Proverbs 4:18, "But the path of the just is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." God wants our path to grow brighter and brighter as we go on. Thank God for truth and for His mercy. The Antichrist Revealed!

2 The Antichrist Revealed! I want to share with you one of the most important and serious warnings in the entire Bible; it is a warning God sends to His people in the last days; Revelation 14:9-11 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. This subject is one of the most important in the entire Bible. This text clearly says anyone who worships or follows the beast will be lost. Friends, this is one we can t afford to get wrong! One of the most important things we will learn in this seminar is that the devil wants to deceive you. We are going to see this is great detail in future presentations. When it comes to the antichrist, there are already a lot people deceived about this subject. First, there are a lot of people who believe they are going to be raptured before the antichrist rises to power, so they don t need to worry about it. It might surprise you to learn the Bible says the exact opposite. We read In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God. Second, people have this idea that antichrist is something secular and will appear to be evil or satanic looking. But is it possible that you could be following beast and not even know it? If you have a Greek lexicon and you looked up the word antichrist (anti-christos) you would find the word anti means; in place of, in behalf of, instead of. We clearly see this is over an issue of worship. The antichrist wants to impersonate Jesus Christ. There will be people following after and worshipping the beast thinking they are worshipping God. We can see this in Revelation 14:6-12, And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that The Latin alphabet is used by the church in Rome. Roman letters have numerical value. Every person's name had a number because of the Roman alphabet having numerical value. God is simply telling us it is the number of a man, and his number adds up to 666. In the official Roman Catholic weekly magazine, OUR SUNDAY VISI- TOR, April 18, 1915, this question was asked in the question and answer column: "What are the letters inscribed in the Pope's crown, and what do they signify if anything." Here's the answer given according to the Catholic magazine itself: "The letters inscribed in the Pope's miter are these: VICARIUS FILII DEI which is the Latin for Vicar of the Son of God." VICARIUS FILII DEI is one of the most exalted titles of the Roman pontiff and is the official name of the Pope. Computing the value of the Roman Numerals, we discover an amazing fact: V = 5 C = 100 A = no value R = no value U = 5 S = no value F = no value L = D = 500 E = no value If you add up the numerical value, you'll find out Vicarius = 112, Filii = 53, Dei = and it equals the number 666. Now friends, God's Word is clear! The Bible warns us that antichrist will rise to power and try to lead God s people away from the Bible. But

3 and women who were put to death. One only needs to read the pages of hundreds of history books available to document this. Point 9 - In a future lesson we will deal with the "TIMES part of this, but what about "LAWS"? Does Papal Rome believe they have the power to change God s law? Let's get a quote from the Catholic Dictionary article under THE POPE: "The Pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify, change, or interpret even divine laws. The Pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man, but of God, and he acts as vicegerent of God upon earth with most ample power of binding and loosing his sheep." But has the papal power ever tried to change God s law? In the CON- VERTS CATECHISM OF CATHOLIC DOCTRINE, page 50, we find that God's law has been changed by the Papal church. Q: What is the First Commandment? A: The first commandment is; I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve. Q: What is the Second Commandment? A: The second commandment is; You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Q: What is the third Commandment? A: The third commandment is; Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. Convert s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine Page 50 Point 10 - Beginning in 538AD Papal Rome finally destroyed the Ostrogoths. Emperor Justinian gave the kingdom over to the Bishop of Rome that year. Add 1260 years to that and you come to 1798; the year of the French Revolution. In 1798, Napoleon's armies overthrew the Papal power, confiscated all the property of the kingdom, declared a republic and took the Pope off the throne where in France he died in exile; exactly 1260 years as prophesied! Now, are you ready for something startling? If we go to Revelation 13, we will find another identifying mark of this power. Revelation 13:16-17, And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here in Revelation 13, another point of identification for Antichrist is that he has a number and his number is 666. dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Don t you see, there are two groups; those who worship Jesus Christ and those who worship Antichrist. If this is an issue of worship, we should be looking in the church, not in the world. That is why God sends us this warning. So lets ask an important question. If God in His word says not to accept the mark of the beast, not to follow the beast and not to worship the beast, isn t it logical to conclude that he wants you to know who the beast is? We know that God loves us, and if He has sent such a serious message, wouldn t He also made it abundantly clear who and what this beast represents? Sure he would! As anyone can see, much of Bible prophecy is given to us through the use of symbols. The book of Revelation states it as a matter of fact. Revelation 1:1-2, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Why did God do this? There are two reasons. First, God was often revealing things that would difficult for John to understand. How could anyone living in the first century begin to understand or even recognize things in the 21st century? Second, this book is not to be understood by just anyone. This message is written in code to God s people. It takes more than just a casual reading to understand it. It takes an understanding of other parts in the Bible to understand Revelation. Of the 404 verses in Revelation, 276 are quotes from other books in the Bible. So lets begin our study of the antichrist. Revelation 13: 1-3, 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. And the

4 beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and the great authority. 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. Let s ask an intelligent question. Is this beast with seven heads and ten horns a literal animal? No, it's symbolic, which means it represents something. Let's get the Bible interpretation of each part. Notice that it comes from the water or sea. What does water symbolize? We get the answer in Revelation 17:15, And he saith unto me, the waters which thou sawest are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. In Bible prophecy water represents people, multitudes and different languages. Now what about those other strange parts; the body of the leopard, feet of a bear, the head of a lion, and the 10 horns? God knew that those who would be reading about this symbolic beast would be familiar with what other Bible writers had already written; particularly, another apocalyptic book in the Old Testament; the book of Daniel. As we seek to understand this prophecy, we must find keys to unlock the symbols. When we go to Daniel, we will discover some more keys. In Daniel 7, we have another prophetic vision. Daniel 7: 2-3, Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. What do beasts represent in prophecy? Again, there is no guessing, the answer is in Daniel 7:17, These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. Then verse 23 says, Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth, That means the first four beasts represents the first four kings and their kingdoms. Let s look at this first kingdom. Daniel 7:4, The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. Now friends we have to know who this lion represents and we can t guess. You remember the most important principle in interpreting Bible prophecy let the Bible interpret itself. Who does this Lion represent? In order to find that out, we have to go to the book of Jeremiah. Now it is important to realize that Daniel studied the writings for the prophet Jeremiah. In fact, Daniel 9:2 says that Daniel studied the book of Jeremiah. So Daniel knew very well who unto him to continue forty and two months. If you multiple 42 months by 30 days you come up with the same 1260 day time period. Here is another key of prophecy. Remember in prophecy we are dealing with symbolisms. A "day" is also symbolic. It is symbolic of a year (Ezekiel 4:6, Numbers 14:34). Whenever God spoke prophetically as in these texts, the day for a year principle is followed. So this power will rule 1260 days or years. Now you can probably guess what power we are discussing. The fact is that there is one and only one power that meets these ten requirements. It is indisputably clear that these points apply to one power only in the history of the world, and that is Papal Rome or Vatican City. Before we go on, we need to make something very clear. God is not speaking of the Catholic Church in a derogatory way. There are many priests, nuns, and Catholic people who love the Lord with all their hearts and have dedicated their lives in service to humanity. There are good sincere people in all churches. God simply identifies the political kingdom of the Papacy because like other kingdoms, it was very influential in the history of the Christian church. Let s take a closer look at each of the ten points: Point 1 & 2 Papal Rome rose to power after 476AD in 538AD. It also rose in the middle of those 10 kingdoms. Point 3 - Vatican City is only 109 acres in size, but it is a very powerful and wealthy kingdom. Point 4 - Clearly documented in history is the eradication of the Heruli, Vandals and Ostrogoths by the armies of Papal Rome. The last to be destroyed were the Ostrogoths in 538AD. Point 5 - To this day Vatican City is the only kingdom in Western Europe that has always had a visible man at its head, the Pope. Point 6 - All the preceding kingdoms have been simple governments set up in normal political manners. Papal Rome, however, was and still is unique and different because it is a religious power that rules. Point 7 - The Bible definition of blasphemy is composed of two things. 1. A man claiming to be God. 2. A man claiming to have power to forgive sins. There is only one power today that fits that description; Papal Rome.. Point 8 - Although this is now past, everyone who has studied history is aware of the millions of martyrs put to death during the Middle Ages by the Papal power. The most conservative estimates are 50 million men

5 make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father s name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father s hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. This passage says blasphemy is when a man claims to be God. There is another definition found in Mark Chapter 2. Jesus was again teaching and some friends brought a paralyzed man to Jesus to be healed. Notice what happens in Mark 2:5-7, When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only. Mark 2:5-7 says blasphemy is when a man claims to have the power to forgive sins. So this "man" at the head of this kingdom would claim to have the power to forgive sins. So according to what we just learned, this kingdom will have a man at it head and this man will claim to be God and claim the power to forgive sins. 8. Daniel 7:25. He would "wear out the saints". This power would fight against God, against God's people and be a persecuting power. God's people would be martyred and slain by it. 9. Daniel 7:25. He would "think to change times and laws." This power would think and try to change God's holy times and laws. That can't be done, but this power would "think" and try to change them. 10. Daniel 7:25 tells us how long it would rule. It would rule for a "time, times and a dividing of time". Time is an old English word that means year. A time is one year, times is two years and the dividing of time is a half a year. The total is three and a half years. How many days are in three and a half years? Using the Bible calendar of 30 days to a month, that calculates to 1260 days. (Gen 7 informs us there are 30 days to a Biblical month) We can confirm that by Revelation 13:5 when it says, And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given the lion was, because Jeremiah had already stated it. Jeremiah 50:43-44, The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan So Babylon is described as a lion. Babylon rose to power in 605BC and ruled until 539BC. So we can see that this prophecy begins right where the prophecy of Daniel 2 began the kingdom of Babylon the very time in which Daniel lived. Now let s continue on in the prophecy to the second beast with Daniel 7:5, And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. Who does this bear represent? It lifts itself up on one side, it has three ribs in its mouth and it is the kingdom that followed Babylon. From those things alone, if you were here for our first presentation together, you should be able to figure it out. As we studied that great image of Daniel 2, the head of gold, the arms and breast of silver, the belly and thighs of brass, the legs of iron and the ten toes of iron and clay, we will notice a direct parallel between Daniel 2 and Daniel 7. There is a principle in Bible prophecy called repetition and enlargement. God repeats himself and adds more and more details as He goes on. What was the kingdom that followed Babylon? Again, we don t have to guess. If we turn to Daniel 5, we will find the answer. In this chapter, God tells us He is giving the kingdom of Babylon to the Medes and the Persians. It was the Media-Persian empire that defeated Babylon is 539BC. As we continue, we see another beast. Daniel 7:6, After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. Now he sees a third beast. This one is like a leopard that had four wings, and four heads and dominion was given to it. What is this third beast? It is the third kingdom. Who does it represent? This kingdom would conquer Medo-Persia. Again, we don t have to guess, we find the answer in Daniel 8. In Daniel 8, God is symbolizing the kingdom of Medo-Persia as a ram with two horns. Who is it who follows the ram? Notice Daniel 8:21, And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. So here God tells us clearly, the third kingdom is Greece. Greece conquered Medo-Persia in 331BC. In

6 fact, history tells us the in 331BC, Alexander the Great, conquered the then known world and became the third world empire. Greece continued to rule until 168BC, when a fourth kingdom would arise. Daniel 7:7, After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. There can be no doubt that this fourth beast is the fourth kingdom to rule the world. The kingdom that overthrew Greece was the kingdom of Rome. Rome rose to power in 168BC and ruled until 476AD. But here is where things take a different turn. History tells us that Rome did not fall to a single power, but was overthrown by 10 Germanic tribes that broke Rome apart and eventually settled into the kingdoms of Western Europe. These ten horns represent the brake up of the Roman Empire. Daniel 7:24, And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: So God says here that these 10 horns are 10 kings that shall arise. Let s go back and look at Daniel 7:8, I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. God now begins to amplify and provide greater detail. In fact, it is this little horn that is the same power as the beast of Revelation 13, the antichrist power. God gives us some clues that will help us identify this little horn power. In the next few verses, God will give us ten marks of identification as to who this power is so we don t have to speculate, or guess at all. Daniel 7:8, I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. Daniel 7: And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. Ok, here is where the fun begins. Let s begin to put together these marks, one by one. Again, these are clues that will help us clearly and confidently identify this little horn power. 1. AMONG THEM 2. AFTER 476 A.D. 3. LITTLE HORN 4. UPROOTS THREE HORNS 5. A MAN AT IT S HEAD 6. DIVERSE FROM THE OTHERS 7. SPEAKS GREAT WORDS AND BLASPHEMY 8. WEARS OUT & WARS AGAINST GOD S PEOPLE 9. THINKS TO CHANGE TIMES AND LAWS 10. RULE FOR TIME, TIMES & HALF OF TIME (1260 YEARS) 1. This power comes up "among them." So this locates the power geographically for us. The other 10 horns or kingdoms were in Western Europe. So if it comes up "among them", it would have to be a kingdom that comes up somewhere in Western Europe. 2. If it came up "among them", it had to come after them. So, this horn could not have risen to power until after 476AD. With just these two points, God has located this power geographically and also has pinpointed the time frame sometime after 476AD. 3. Daniel 7:8 says, It would be a "little horn" or a "little kingdom." 4. Daniel 7:8 says that it will uproot three of the first kings. Daniel 7:24 says it like this; he shall subdue three kings. We have already established that the Ostrogoths, Vandals, and Heruli were these three kingdoms that were destroyed. All we have to do is find out what kingdom destroyed them and we can confidently identify the antichrist. 5. Daniel 7:8. (last part). in this horn (little horn) were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." This power will have a man at its head and this man speaks for it. Unlike the other horns that sometimes have kings and sometimes have queens. this kingdom will ALWAYS have a man at its head. 6. Daniel 7: 24. It was "diverse" or different. How? It would not only be a government like the others, but different from any all others. We will see more details on this one later. 7. He would speak great words again the most high. Revelation 13:5 says "great words and blasphemy." So what does it mean by blasphemy? Again, let s not guess, but get a Bible definition of blasphemy. There are actually two Biblical definitions of blasphemy. John 10:23-33, And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon s porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou