Hi friends. I would like to talk with you about religious freedom before addressing the topic of the Antichrist, for I believe it is important to help us recognize and be prepared for the danger that lies ahead of us.
In my last blog, I mentioned how the Roman Empire has extended down through the centuries in various ways. The Roman Catholic Church and the Statute of Rome are two of those extensions. Another extension of the Roman empire is found in government. Our American form of government reflects both Greek and Roman influence as well as Christian. Many of the original settlers in America came to this continent for the sake of religious freedom, so that has always been a high priority here.
Democracy is the rule of the people. Where there is a large population, people usually use the representative form of democracy. In America and Europe, we have representative democracies, where we elect people from across the country to represent us nationally in forming our laws.
Some countries have chosen to give certain religions power over their governments. History shows us that wherever any religion or philosophy is given political power, the leaders seek to impose their philosophy/religion on the people of those countries. Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism, New Age, Communism, the current woke movement, and yes, even Christianity…When their leaders have been given power to do so, all these religions and philosophies have attempted to dominate and gain control over those under their leadership. People who have resisted the control of the ruling religious/philosophical persons or groups have been ridiculed, jailed, tortured, and killed down through the ages.
Thought control is the ultimate enemy of freedom and true faith in God. Thought control is already happening to various degrees in parts of Europe, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
Though America was established as a Christian nation, people were given the right to choose their own beliefs. The founders of the United States of America felt this was an essential ingredient for maintaining freedom. The recent woke movement tried to shut Christianity down in America. But they did not succeed.
In that freedom we have in America, I am free to tell you that I have chosen to follow Christ and the teachings of the Bible. I believe the Bible is our guide to the truth about the one true God. I am a Christian.
But there is coming a day when a world ruler will arise and remove freedom of religion around the world. We need to stand strong for Christ when that day comes. I will talk about this coming ruler in this blog post.
Things Past, Things to Come
Part 3
The Coming Antichrist
By Sheri Schofield
In my last blog about Daniel’s visions, I mentioned a coming evil person known as “the antichrist.” Daniel wrote about him in Daniel 11. The Apostle John wrote about him Revelation 13. The Apostle Paul wrote about him in 2 Thessalonians 2. The Bible teaches that those in leadership who oppose Christ are types of “antichrists.” But there is one coming who will oppose Christ and order everyone in the world to worship himself—the antichrist—instead. Today I want to tell you about this person, for the days are coming when he will rule the world. It is highly possible he will come in our lifetime.
I’ll start with what the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2. He tells us that “the day of the Lord” will not come until “the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” (vs. 3-4, New International Version).
Later in this chapter, Paul wrote, “This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (NLT).
(The truth Paul writes about is the good news that Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth to teach us truth, to die to pay the price for our sins, and rose again three days later, proving that God accepted his sacrifice for sin. He stayed in Israel for 40 days after his resurrection, taught his disciples and friends, did miracles, appeared to those who believed in him, then was taken up into heaven. Someday he will return to earth to rule and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. And every knee will bow to him. Everyone will admit that Jesus is Lord.)
Daniel 11 tells us “…the king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses[1]; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many peoples and will distribute the land at a price.
“At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. He will also invade the Beautiful Land (Israel). He will extend his power over many countries. Egypt will not escape. He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and the Nubians in submission….” (Daniel 11:36-43, NIV).
The Apostle John called the antichrist “the beast out of the sea” with multiple heads and horns. Symbolically, “the sea” usually means from a population outside Israel. The horns mean kings or rulers. John wrote “And the dragon (Satan) gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority. I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. They worshiped the dragon (Satan) for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast (antichrist)…The beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months.[2] And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling—that is, those who dwell in heaven. And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them (Israel and/or the Christians). And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation. And all the people who belonged to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones who names were not written in the book of Life before the world was made—the Book that belongs to the Lamb (Christ) who was slaughtered. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. Anyone who is destined for prison will be taken to prison. Anyone destined to die by the sword will die by the sword. This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful” Revelation 13:2-10 (New Living Translation).
A second beast will rise out of the earth to support the first beast, the antichrist. John wrote, “Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon (Satan). He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching. And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered all the people to make a great statue of the first beast…He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die. He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666” Revelation13:11-18 (NLT).
What are the horns? They usually represent kings or rulers; “horns like those of a lamb” may indicate these seem to be gentle, peaceful countries. But they are ruled by Satan.
These passages of the Bible tell us a lot about the coming antichrist. He will rule on earth shortly before Jesus returns. He will be controlled by Satan and will dominate all people, crushing all who oppose him.
We do not know for sure if the antichrist will rule all the then-known world, or if he will rule the entire planet. The passages say he will rule all people in the world. Daniel said Nebuchadnezzar ruled all the world. But Nebuchadnezzar actually ruled Iran, Iraq, most of the middle east. Daniel described the other three kingdoms as ruling the world, but they did not rule the entire planet, just the middle east and parts of Europe. Since John was shown these visions in a dream, it means he SAW the nations being ruled. We do not know for sure if what he saw was the then-known world or world as we know it today.
Most theologians who study the Bible think the antichrist will rule the entire globe. I do not have an answer on that one. We shall see when the antichrist appears. But it is good to be prepared to stand for our faith in Jesus no matter what, if we face a world-wide ruler when antichrist comes.
Whatever happens, God’s grace is enough to give us strength and courage no matter what.
[1] This could mean he depends on gaining a lethal weapon, such as an atomic bomb, to enforce his will.
[2] Three and a half years