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They're going to get religion, and in a big way, too. Soon and very soon, after the rapture, the Antichrist is going to come forward, and the whole world will follow him. (Rev 13:3).
The. Whole. World. Christians won't be fooled, of course, the ones left behind and converted to the Truth post-rapture. The Light will have opened their minds and they will have full faith in Jesus.
But the rest of the world whose minds are now and will still be blinded by satan (2 Cor 4:4), whose minds are closed, and who have the spirit of antichrist in them (1 John 4:3), they will follow the Beast. They will worship. They will be agog, mouths open, astonished at his seeming power, and they will cave. Atheists too, cave right in like big poofy marshmallows. All the supercilious, condescending reasoning they put forth as their foundation for refusing to believe they ever do anything wrong, that is, sin, will fall away at the first false miracle the Beast fools them with.
There is a reason they will follow the Beast. Because Jesus convicts us of our sins, people who are not saved writhe against this conviction. Here is what the bible says about it:
"And this is the condemnation: Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." (John 3:19-20).
The world, including atheists, will follow the beast because their minds are already blinded and in witnessing a few false miracles (2 Thess 2:9) they will have their "proof." They will have their "evidence." And best of all, this (false) messiah will not convict anyone of their sins. He will not even mention sins! It will be a sin-free, do as you please, go for it kind of religion. The Beast will even blaspheme God (Rev 13:5) and that will tickle the people even more. 'Now here's a god we can get behind!' they will say.
So who is this Beast that they will follow?
He is known as the Antichrist, but he has many more names than that. As I mentioned, Beast is one (Rev 11:7), and it is one that is used more frequently in the bible than any other. About thirty times in Revelation the antichrist is called the Beast. It is nomenclature that is in Revelation for a reason. It is evocative of the thorough nature of the man. The synonyms for beast which is defined as crude, savage person, is "animal, beast, cannibal, creature, critter, degenerate, devil, fiend, lout, monster, ogre, ruffian, sadist, savage, swine, wild animal." Pretty well sums up the guy.
And make no mistake, the antichrist is a man. One person. Other names he is called, from the Old Testament are Man of Perdition, The Lawless One, The Assyrian, and many other names. (2 Thess 2:8, Isaiah 10:5; 12 etc).
The attributes of the antichrist are of interest as much as his many names. Foremost, the coming antichrist will be proud. The world hates the meek, the humble, and they will exalt the antichrist for his proud words. The antichrist will exalt himself even more. (Dan 11:36; 2 Thess 2:3-4). He will speak great things and swelling flatteries. The people will buy it. Rev. 13:5,6; Dan. 7:8,25). So he will be proud and a blasphemer, his name suggests he will be vicious and brutal. He will also be skilled in flattery, ambiguous speech, and in intrigue (Dan 8:23).
All this is coming. Of the people who fall for his lies, they will be thrown in the lake of fire in the end, where the worm does not die and they will be looked upon with contempt by one and all. (Dan 12:2; Rev 14:11).
But you can have hope! You can always have hope in the glorious light. God's good guidance is Light itself. "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalms 27:1). In Him there is no darkness at all! (1 John 1:5). Do you wonder why you're never satisfied, despite having a good job, a good hobby, good children, good everything? You wonder why you still feel empty? That emptiness is where Jesus wants to fill you with His Light, waiting to pierce the blind darkness of your mind and blast away the heavy crust of sin that imprisons you. Admit you are a sinner and ask Him to forgive them. Make Him your LORD. He is the Dove, not the Beast. His yoke is gentle. (Mt 11:30). "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 1:29)
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The. Whole. World. Christians won't be fooled, of course, the ones left behind and converted to the Truth post-rapture. The Light will have opened their minds and they will have full faith in Jesus.
But the rest of the world whose minds are now and will still be blinded by satan (2 Cor 4:4), whose minds are closed, and who have the spirit of antichrist in them (1 John 4:3), they will follow the Beast. They will worship. They will be agog, mouths open, astonished at his seeming power, and they will cave. Atheists too, cave right in like big poofy marshmallows. All the supercilious, condescending reasoning they put forth as their foundation for refusing to believe they ever do anything wrong, that is, sin, will fall away at the first false miracle the Beast fools them with.
There is a reason they will follow the Beast. Because Jesus convicts us of our sins, people who are not saved writhe against this conviction. Here is what the bible says about it:
"And this is the condemnation: Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." (John 3:19-20).
The world, including atheists, will follow the beast because their minds are already blinded and in witnessing a few false miracles (2 Thess 2:9) they will have their "proof." They will have their "evidence." And best of all, this (false) messiah will not convict anyone of their sins. He will not even mention sins! It will be a sin-free, do as you please, go for it kind of religion. The Beast will even blaspheme God (Rev 13:5) and that will tickle the people even more. 'Now here's a god we can get behind!' they will say.
So who is this Beast that they will follow?
He is known as the Antichrist, but he has many more names than that. As I mentioned, Beast is one (Rev 11:7), and it is one that is used more frequently in the bible than any other. About thirty times in Revelation the antichrist is called the Beast. It is nomenclature that is in Revelation for a reason. It is evocative of the thorough nature of the man. The synonyms for beast which is defined as crude, savage person, is "animal, beast, cannibal, creature, critter, degenerate, devil, fiend, lout, monster, ogre, ruffian, sadist, savage, swine, wild animal." Pretty well sums up the guy.
And make no mistake, the antichrist is a man. One person. Other names he is called, from the Old Testament are Man of Perdition, The Lawless One, The Assyrian, and many other names. (2 Thess 2:8, Isaiah 10:5; 12 etc).
The attributes of the antichrist are of interest as much as his many names. Foremost, the coming antichrist will be proud. The world hates the meek, the humble, and they will exalt the antichrist for his proud words. The antichrist will exalt himself even more. (Dan 11:36; 2 Thess 2:3-4). He will speak great things and swelling flatteries. The people will buy it. Rev. 13:5,6; Dan. 7:8,25). So he will be proud and a blasphemer, his name suggests he will be vicious and brutal. He will also be skilled in flattery, ambiguous speech, and in intrigue (Dan 8:23).
All this is coming. Of the people who fall for his lies, they will be thrown in the lake of fire in the end, where the worm does not die and they will be looked upon with contempt by one and all. (Dan 12:2; Rev 14:11).
But you can have hope! You can always have hope in the glorious light. God's good guidance is Light itself. "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalms 27:1). In Him there is no darkness at all! (1 John 1:5). Do you wonder why you're never satisfied, despite having a good job, a good hobby, good children, good everything? You wonder why you still feel empty? That emptiness is where Jesus wants to fill you with His Light, waiting to pierce the blind darkness of your mind and blast away the heavy crust of sin that imprisons you. Admit you are a sinner and ask Him to forgive them. Make Him your LORD. He is the Dove, not the Beast. His yoke is gentle. (Mt 11:30). "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 1:29)
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Comments
I have a question. I have a few friends who are confused about eschatology. They have given me material to read because they want me to be able to discuss the issue with them.
ReplyDeleteI get frustrated with the information though. I am noticing not only a bias with the writers, but an attitude of superiority and arrogance.
Do all preterists think pre-tribbers are idiots? I have found a common thread between many of them that basically says: Pre-tribulation Christians only believe in that because they parrot the puppetmaster pastor and don't understand the Bible themselves.
I guess I would say that I am offended by this. I believe the Bible is VERY clear in the Old and New Testament that there will be a rapture, a 7 year Tribulation, an Anti-Christ, etc. And although some prophesies had a partial fulfillment, and certain people may have been "types" of the Ant-Christ, these prophesies have clearly NOT been fulfilled.
To me, to take this stance, you need to literally cross out passages of Scripture, or even cut them out of your Bible. But that is my opinion.
The thing that bothers me, and the question that I am asking is why do preterists look down on us like we are in a cult?
The pre-trib experts and commentators that I have read, simply present the word and their opinion. They have presented the other side for debate, but I have never seen them belittle the preterists. I just don't see it.
But I do see the preterists, belittling the pre-tribbers, insulting them even.
I was just wondering if you know of any nice preterists or if you have noticed this too?
Also, I wanted to say that when I read their work I get really frustrated, and I even start to feel physically ill (headache and anxious stomach). I felt the same way, early in my walk when I stumbled upon some of the gnostic gospels. I knew, by how I felt, that they were not the truth. This was before I knew the Bible at all. I later learned through the word WHY they were not right, but was that discernment?
I don't know if I feel sick from the writing because it is false, or if it is because it is insulting me! LOL. But I just thought it was interesting.
Wondered what you thought
To Anonymous September 8, 8:36 pm:
ReplyDeleteYou aren't alone. I know how you feel. It does feel like pre-tribbers are very much belittled and ridiculed. I don't get it either, and it's clear as day to me as well that the Rapture will be pre-trib. But I don't mock or insult those who do not agree. I don't get it, really, either...
I have a general theory... not fleshed out or anything, but I wonder if we are so opposed because it IS the truth? Why would Satan go to so much trouble, even within the Church, to mock something that ISN'T a threat to him?
No reason to attack something that isn't a threat.... He knows he's running out of time!
To further that thought, why would he be getting such wonderful deceptions ready, like UFOs and New Age "cleansing" theories, if the Rapture was not pre-trib?
Anyway, you are not alone, my brother/sister. I feel alone often, as I am one of the only ones in my sphere of influence who can be classified as a "pre-tribber." :) That's one reason I love this blog so very much. I love that Elizabeth is keeping us up to date on the signs of the times, and encouraging us in our waiting!
Love in Christ,
Emily
Amen! I pray that anyone that is left behind and completely unbelieving in God will remember every word of God that was spoken to them. Once the rapture happens, it's happened but I just thank God that he is so merciful to still allow people to come to Him in repentance during the final years of human history.
ReplyDeleteI really do imagine that after the rapture happens MANY MANY people who came here before or are in a desperate search will come to this site looking for answers. I believe God will be using this website for his glory even after we are gone. He's just awesome like that!!!
Hi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI agree that for a preterist to support their erroneous stance they must rip out pages and whole books of the bible.
I also agree that many people these days instead of supporting their stances, resort to personal attacks against fellow Christians instead of truthful and loving talk of what is in the bible.
Yes, most people these days who disagree with others on eschatology think the other ones are idiots.
There is a reason for this. First, we're in a time of lies that are worsening by the day until the Tribulation when the entire earth will be like the Days of Noah (corrupt and lying- Gen 6). In addition, people are woefully ignorant of the bible. You mentioned people are giving you things to read but I bet those things they are giving you are pamphlets and papers written by men, and not verses of the bible.
Now, there is nothing wrong with commentaries written by Godly men, but the first place a biblical doctrine is to be defended is by and through the bible. I've notice that people holding erroneous views on certain doctrines rely very heavily on the man-written things and not so much on the biblical things. A healthy balance is in order, along with a good dose of prayer to the Teacher, the Holy Spirit who leads us into truth.
Paul forewarned us of this time. He warned us 3 times not to be ignorant of certain things: three things to be exact:
"What are the exact three things the Church is ignorant of? What are most arguments over these days? The rapture doctrine and what is forecast for Israel, the spiritual gifts doctrine (speaking in tongues and healing gifts, and the Charismatics, for example) and the doctrine of the Coming of the Lord." I wrote that in a blog entry here
http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2011/04/dont-be-ignorant-said-paul.html
in more detail
See, if satan can get us confused about the GREAT HOPE then he has damaged our hope and diminished our fervor for Jesus in the very time people need us most. Secondly, when non-Christians see us arguing, they think, 'heck, if THEY can't even figure out the bible then forget it. I thought they're supposed to be loving. Ack, they're all hypocrites anyway." So satan's ploy works both sides of the aisle.
Why is the Anti-Christ called "The Assyrian"? Will he be Assyrian? I thought he would be Roman????
ReplyDeleteSo is he Caucasian/European or Arabic/Middle Eastern?
I am so confused!!!!
Hi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThe antichrist being called the Assyrian is a perplexing notion to me as well. There are some intricacies of prophecy I just don't understand. But here is a bit of information that may help some.
The antichrist WILL emerge from the Roman Empire. Daniel prophesied the following 4 worldly kingdoms will arise. The Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar; The Medo-Persian Empire; The Macedonian Empire under Alexander The Great; and the Roman Empire.
All of which have gone into history by now, except the prophecy tells us that the fourth, the Roman Empire will revive. This is the ten toes of the two legs of the statue from Nebudchanezzar's dream that Daniel interpreted. Remember, the statue had two legs, and in real life the Roman empire was divided into two parts, east and west. (Daniel 7:23-24.)
The eastern capitol was Constantinople, located in Turkey and now known as Istanbul. The ten toes are the revived Roman Empire of the Tribulation time. They are iron and clay and do not mix well, they are brittle and will fall apart, we are told. (Daniel 2:31-35)
If you look at this link, there is a map of the ancient Roman empire at its height. It obviously covers Turkey and the Middle East including Iran and Iraq as well as the northern tier of Africa. http://www.roman-empire.net/maps/empire/extent/rome-modern-day-nations.html
All of these are Muslim nations (Israel excepted). Muslim and Non-Muslim nations do not mix well. It could be referring to a joint effort, a government of some kind, that mixes the two. The Islamization of Europe is underway, with John Cleese recently saying that London is no longer a British city.
If you go to this link, you will see a map of the empire of Assyria at its height. Assyria is NOT Syria. Assyria was much larger, it was an empire. Just as Roman Empire is not just Rome or Italy, Assyria is not just Damascus or Syria.
http://www.imninalu.net/maps.htm#Assyria (scroll down to the map titled "The Assyrian Empire").
The two territories overlap quite a bit.
So is the reference to "The Assyrian" to the antichrist as Assyrian meaning his nationality? His ethnicity? His religion? His location in the old Roman Empire? We don't know. It is a hot debate.
Anonymous, I also look at it this way: Jesus was prophesied to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:1); but also be from Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2); but also be called out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1). In any interpretation it seems that the three prophesies are at odds, until the time came when the Roman Emperor called a census and Joseph and Mary had to go back to Bethlehem where he was born, and then Herod called for a massacre and the angel told them to flee to Egypt, and then when He returned he lived in Galilee. Now we look back and say, "Oh! Of course!" Same with the Assyrian from the Roman Empire. We can't figure out how the different aspects will reconcile until it happens or even afterwards. Of course, we won't be here to see him emerge, thank God.
ReplyDelete