Equipping
God's Saints (Followers of Christ) through the Prophecies of the
End Times …
All
of us would like to be able to identify the Antichrist, and there
will come a time when we will be able to, however, in studying
Daniel, Revelations, and 2 Thessalonians, from those three books
alone, we have 53 specific prophecies about the Antichrist.
This
man, the Antichrist, is undoubtedly alive on the earth right now. All
of the prophecies to surround his rule are, in fact, coming to pass
right now.
There
has been a lot of debate about the Antichrist. Some people think the
Antichrist could perhaps be a system and not actually a man.
But
the Bible says in Daniel 7:24-25 that ten kings shall arise. Kings
are men. Another king will come up among the ten and will subdue
three of them. Since he's king, it becomes obvious that he is a man.
Here we see the Antichrist is a king or a ruler and he will be a man.
The
second thing we know for certain about the Antichrist is that he will
confirm the Abrahamic Covenant. This comes from Daniel 9:27 where it
says the Antichrist will confirm a covenant with many for seven
years. It's referring to the covenant of Genesis 15:18 when God made
a covenant with Abraham saying:
“The
land on which you presently dwell will be yours and your descendants
after you, forever.”
That's
the reason we call it the Holy Land. It's the Covenant Land, the
Promised Land.
When
this Peace Agreement is signed, it will be signed with the world
community. It will be signed with the Palestinians and Israel. The
Antichrist will somehow participate in this signing of this Peace
Agreement and it will confirm Israel's right to exist. That's one of
the biggest disputes right now in the Holy Land conflict.
The
Antichrist may not be out front in this particular signing of this
Peace Agreement. He may be one among many. The Bible simply says he
will confirm the covenant with many for 7 years. We're going to see
that he won't be revealed until 3 ½ years later. Once the covenant
is confirmed by the international community, that sets in motion the
final 7 years to Armageddon.
The
third thing that we know for certain about the Antichrist is that he
will arise among ten kings. We've already mentioned this in Daniel
7:24 and also in Revelation 17:12-13. Both of these specifically
state there will be a Ten-Nation Kingdom and that will be the power
base of the Antichrist.
We
are seeing several things that the Antichrist is going to have to do.
If he doesn't do these things, he is not the Antichrist. It's going
to be really tough to miss identifying him when he comes to the
forefront because he will fulfill every single one of these
prophecies without fail.
The
Bible teaches us that he will come up from among ten kings and he
will uproot three. This is very specific. It states in Daniel 7:8
that the little horn will uproot three kings. Also in Daniel 7:24 it
says:
“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.”
This
is actually going to happen. It will appear in our news and if we're
watching it. There is going to come a point at which we're going to
be pretty sure, and ultimately we're going to be positive, that the
Antichrist has now been revealed.
The
scripture also says in Daniel 8:25 that the Antichrist is going to
use peace as a weapon. This is interesting. The scripture says the
Antichrist will, by peace, destroy many ~ using peace, destroy. How
could that happen?
Already,
we've seen it happen many times. In the name of Peace, make War. We
know the United Nations has peacekeeping forces that go in and wage
war against countries under the guise of, we're here to make peace.
Sometimes if you're going to have peace, you have to make peace.
Consequently the Antichrist is going to be a peacemaker.
The
sixth clue we have to the identity of the Antichrist is found in
Daniel 7:20. The Bible says there that his look will be more stout
than his fellows. Then in Daniel 8:23 the Bible calls him a king of
fierce countenance. How do you interpret this? I don't know. I
suppose we will recognize it when we see it. Until then, we will have
to wait to see what happens.
The
Bible also tells us that the Antichrist will claim to be God. A man,
a politician, is going to end up claiming to be God. How will he say
it? I don't know. However, the Bible tells us in 2 Thessalonians
2:3-4:
“...for
that day shall not come [speaking of the day of the Second Coming of
Christ], 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, or that is worshipped, so that he as
God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”
Will
he say, “I'm the ultimate authority here on the Temple Mount;” or
will he say, “I'm your Messiah;” or will he come right out and
say, “I am God now. I rule the world now?” We don't know that for
sure, but he in some way is going to do that. This event is called
the Abomination of Desolation.
The
Abomination of Desolation happens half way through the final 7 year
period. It happens 3 ½ years before the Battle of Armageddon. It's
also the event that triggers the Great Tribulation. The Abomination
of Desolation is the revealing of the Antichrist. The Apostle Paul
said it right here in 2 Thessalonians 2:3:
“...and
that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”
When
we see a man stand on the Temple Mount claiming to be the ultimate
authority there, or claiming to be the Messiah, or somehow or another
implying that he, himself, is God; when we see that event, then we
will know for positive that that person, that man, is going to be the
Antichrist.
One
of the things that's going to be so deceptive about the Antichrist is
that he will be regarded as being brilliant. Daniel 7:8 says,
“...he
will have a mouth speaking great things.”
Daniel
8:23 describes him as understandng dark sentences.
Furthermore,
the Bible tells us that he will be a persecutor of God's true people.
Revelation 13:7 says,
“And
it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome
them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and
nations.”
I
don't like that he will make war against the saints and will overcome
them. He made war against Jesus Christ and overcame him. At least it
appeared to be so, even though the death on the cross was the
greatest victory ever accomplished by any being in the history of all
mankind. Daniel 7:21 says:
“I
beheld, and the same horn [that little horn that uprooted three came
up from among the ten] made war with the saints, and prevailed
against them;”
The
Bible also tells us that he will dominate the world, but he will face
resistance. Revelation 12:14 says Israel will be protected from the
Antichrist. It states there that when Satan persecutes the woman with
the twelve stars, the stars being the twelve tribes of Israel, she
will be given two wings of a great eagle, possibly referring to the
United States, who will protect her and she will flee into her place.
Her place is the Holy Land, Israel. She will be protected for time,
times and half a time.
The
Bible also says in Daniel 11:41 that the country of Jordan will never
be occupied by the Antichrist. It says:
“...
but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the
chief of the children of Ammon.”
Edom
is southern Jordan, the Moab Mountains are in Jordan and Ammon is
Amman, Jordan. So the country of Jordan is never going to fall in the
power of the Antichrist.
The
reason we are talking about this is because some people have assumed
the Antichrist will control every single nook and cranny. He's going
to dominate the world, but he will not control every single place in
the world. Daniel 11:44 actually states during the final 3 ½ years:
“But
tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him:
therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly
to make away [annihilate] many.”
He's
going to have opposition, even during the final 3 ½ years. This
simply explains to us that he will have power, he will dominate the
world, but he will not be in absolute and total control.
We've
now uncovered ten clues to the identity of the Antichrist. Next, we
are going to finish our clues about the Antichrist and we're also
going to identify, for sure, the False Prophet, the Religious Leader.
Resources:
The anointing of the Holy Spirit and God Almighty, who I am
accountable to. I have prayed diligently and am led to follow and
support the teachings of Pastor Irvin Baxter from Endtime Ministries
and his teachings of Understanding the End Times. I encourage you to
visit his website at endtime.com.
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