The Word This Week
Revelation 13:1...
The spirit of Antichrist has been present in the world since the fall of man. It should be no surprise to us when the Church has been raptured, and its restraining force in the world through the Holy Spirit is removed, the Antichrist will appear.
This man is more often referred to as ‘the beast,’ as he is here. His role, empowered by Satan, will be to arrange the annihilation of the (so far) unsuspecting Jews.
Due to his political acumen, many – and perhaps most – Jews will fall for his deception and believe he IS the Messiah. (After all, he has negotiated the opportunity for the Jews to rebuild their temple on the temple mount.)
But this sort of amenable coexistence comes to an end when this man goes into the Holy of Holies in that rebuilt temple 1260 days into his reign as the world leader and declares himself to be God – and actually believes that he is.
At the same time, a third member of this unholy trinity of Satan, the beast and the false prophet has also emerged, pointing people – particularly the Jews – to the Antichrist. His role will be similar to the role of the Holy Spirit. In the same way the Holy Spirit points people to Christ, the false prophet will point people to the Antichrist. He will have the zeal John the Baptist had pointing people to Christ.
Once the Antichrist has presented himself as God, there will be a great divide enforced and indicated by a mark of allegiance to the Antichrist. The choice to do this will be enhanced by the Antichrist having survived an assassination attempt, and by signs and wonders performed by the false prophet. If you refuse the mark, you will not be able to buy or sell, or to participate in culture in any way whatsoever. You will be instantly identifiable as one worthy of death and will be hunted down and killed by those loyal to the Antichrist.
It will be a very difficult choice for many. It will be an impossible choice for some. If you take the mark, your life can continue on in whatever fashion is going on during the great tribulation, difficult as it may be.
If you refuse the mark, you’ll be killed as soon as someone realizes you don’t have it. You’ll instantly become an enemy of the state.
But if you take the mark, all hope of eternal life in heaven will be lost. You will have made yourself an enemy of God. It should be a clear choice for believers, but the Antichrist will make that choice as difficult as he possibly can.
Here, the patience of the saints will be sorely tested.
Pastor Bill
The spirit of Antichrist has been present in the world since the fall of man. It should be no surprise to us when the Church has been raptured, and its restraining force in the world through the Holy Spirit is removed, the Antichrist will appear.
This man is more often referred to as ‘the beast,’ as he is here. His role, empowered by Satan, will be to arrange the annihilation of the (so far) unsuspecting Jews.
Due to his political acumen, many – and perhaps most – Jews will fall for his deception and believe he IS the Messiah. (After all, he has negotiated the opportunity for the Jews to rebuild their temple on the temple mount.)
But this sort of amenable coexistence comes to an end when this man goes into the Holy of Holies in that rebuilt temple 1260 days into his reign as the world leader and declares himself to be God – and actually believes that he is.
At the same time, a third member of this unholy trinity of Satan, the beast and the false prophet has also emerged, pointing people – particularly the Jews – to the Antichrist. His role will be similar to the role of the Holy Spirit. In the same way the Holy Spirit points people to Christ, the false prophet will point people to the Antichrist. He will have the zeal John the Baptist had pointing people to Christ.
Once the Antichrist has presented himself as God, there will be a great divide enforced and indicated by a mark of allegiance to the Antichrist. The choice to do this will be enhanced by the Antichrist having survived an assassination attempt, and by signs and wonders performed by the false prophet. If you refuse the mark, you will not be able to buy or sell, or to participate in culture in any way whatsoever. You will be instantly identifiable as one worthy of death and will be hunted down and killed by those loyal to the Antichrist.
It will be a very difficult choice for many. It will be an impossible choice for some. If you take the mark, your life can continue on in whatever fashion is going on during the great tribulation, difficult as it may be.
If you refuse the mark, you’ll be killed as soon as someone realizes you don’t have it. You’ll instantly become an enemy of the state.
But if you take the mark, all hope of eternal life in heaven will be lost. You will have made yourself an enemy of God. It should be a clear choice for believers, but the Antichrist will make that choice as difficult as he possibly can.
Here, the patience of the saints will be sorely tested.
Pastor Bill