How close are we? Part IV

As promised, this is the last installment of the End Times series. This time we will deal with one of the most intriguing subjects of the last days time period: The Antichrist. This individual has been immortalized on the silver screen through the "Omen" series and although the story line is very close to the actual biblical account, it is more Hollywood than not. Let's see what The Bible says about this person.

First you must understand that the term "antichrist" only appears in one book in the entire Bible, the Book of 1 John or John's First Epistle (Letter). He uses is to not only describe the "person" The Antichrist, but also to explain that it is a "type" of person as well. Let's look at what he says:

In the following verse he describes both:

1 John 2:18-Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

In this verse he explains who qualifies as an antichrist:

1 John 2:22-Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

Therefore anyone who denies that Jesus is the Messiah is a "type" of antichrist.

He also goes on to talk about :"antichrist" as a type of spirit that is present in the world system:

1 John 4:3-And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world

So as you can see antichrist is not only depicted as the coming world leader spoken of in Revelation but also someone who denies that Jesus was who He said he was-The Christ. There are however, verses in The Bible that actually speak about the "person" The Antichrist and these are the ones we will look at closer.

When most people talk about the End Times and The Antichrist they refer to The Book of Revelation. Here The Antichrist is spoken of as "the beast". In Chapter 13 The Bible lays out what the characteristics of this person will be, his behavior and the events that will transpire around him as he reveals his evil plan for the world.

So what are the characteristics of The Antichrist? As described in Revelation Chapter 13 he will:

Get his power and authority from Satan himself (Rev 13:2)

He will be wounded in the head (possible assassination attempt)and miraculously will survive (Rev 13:3)

His "miracle" of survival will cause all people of the world to worship him and the power behind him which is Satan (Rev 13:4)

He will be given power to do whatever he wants for 42 months (Rev 13:5)

He will wage war against the Christians and the Jews and wipe many out and he will rule the entire world (Rev 13:7

He will be assisted by another "beast" that will perform miracles and have great power which he will use to cause all to worship The Antichrist and his image (13:11-14)

He will cause all to get a "mark" (in the hand or forehead) which they will need in order to buy or sell anything (Rev 17)

Also in Revelation 13 we are given a clue of who this person will be and how to recognize him when he comes:

Revelation 18-Wisdom is needed to understand this. Let the one who has understanding solve the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.

It is interesting to note that the number 666 is more prominent now in many different places than it was just 10 years ago. Many scholars believe that the "mark" that the beast causes everyone to take will be some sort of bar code that contains the number 666 in some fashion and that there is an effort underway now to desensitize people to the stigma surrounding that number. We shall see.

There are also many warnings given about following The Antichrist and receiving his "mark". The Bible states that this will condemn you to eternal punishment and you should resist doing so.

Revelation 14:9-11 states-Then a third angel followed them, shouting, "Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or the hand must drink the wine of God's wrath. It is poured out undiluted into God's cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. The smoke of their torment rises forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.

As you can see it would be a very bad idea to accept this "mark" and to give in and worship The Antichrist. But what if you did not know who you were worshipping? What if you were deceived by this man as many will be? Is this even possible? Actually it is and it is also another warning. If you have been told of Jesus Christ and you have rejected Him then this is warning is for you:

2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 states-And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the [lawless one] is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Basically, The Antichrist when he comes to power will appear to be supernatural and will also appear to be "godlike". He will have the power of Satan that will allow him to work miracles and many will fall for this "false messiah". The warning from God is that if you have rejected His son and His plan for your redemption then this "strong delusion" He will send will affect the way you view things and you will willingly accept and worship the "beast". That is a very strong warning and should be taken very seriously.

There is a theory among some Christian Scholars that there have been many "antichrists" in history and there may be many more in the future. The reason behind this? They claim that because Satan is a fallen angel and is this a "created" being then his knowledge is finite whereas Got is omnipotent and knows all things Satan only knows some things. What he doesn't know is WHEN God will decide to Rapture His people and thus usher in the the final age in man's history. Because of this "blind spot" Satan must always have someone prepared to assume the role of the The Antichrist. They argue that Hitler, Napoleon, Stalin and other murderous tyrants could very well have been applicants for the job. In any case, The Bible is clear that this man is coming one day and he will orchestrate the bloodiest period in man's history. Is he waiting in the wings now? The world seems to be ready to accept a one world leader now more than ever. Someone who will have the answers to all of the worlds problems. Someone who will bring the world together and bring all religions together under his power. He is waiting for his signal to begin his reign of terror and then he will be unleashed. But the question is when?

How close are we? Part III

This is a continuation of the End Days Series. In this installment we will look at the most controversial subject surrounding the End Times period. It's mainly controversial because even within the Christian community there are opposing views as to how and when it will occur. There is however a consensus that it WILL occur..at some point. I'm talking about The Rapture. This is the moment in which Jesus Christ returns for His TRUE church and removes them from the world "in the blink of an eye". Before we get into this though we need to present the facts.

Fact 1: The word Rapture does not appear anywhere in Scripture.

Fact 2: The Bible states emphatically that this will be a supernatural event that will involve the transformation of the participants.

Fact 3: There is no timeline given for when this will actually happen.

Ok, so let's take these one at a time and dissect them.

The word Rapture does not appear anywhere in Scripture.

Regardless of what translation you use of The Bible you will be hard pressed to find the word Rapture. That's because it isn't in there. Now you are probably asking yourself "If it's not mentioned then how can we believe in it?". That is explained by taking a look at where the word came from. The Greek word used in The Bible to explain this event is "harpazo". Harpazo means to be "caught up" or "snatched away". This is the word used by the Apostle Paul when he describes the event itself:

I Thessalonians 4:16-17 states the following:

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.

Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever. (NLT)

He uses that word to describe what action will be taking place during this event we call The Rapture. The word "rapture" however comes from the Latin word raptus which means the same thing. It makes sense that the English word rapture would then be used since we live in an English driven world rather than the Greek. However, they mean the same thing.

Fact 2: The Bible states emphatically that this will be a supernatural event that will involve the transformation of the participants.

As you can see this in NOT the Second Coming because Jesus does not actually come back to Earth. Instead he calls His people to Him and they are removed from Earth.

Now you may be asking yourself how it would be possible for all of these people to just float up into the air and totally disregard the laws of physics? Well frankly, it's not. There won't be millions of bodies shooting through the sky to go meet the Lord because they would burn up at some point once they entered the atmosphere. Instead these believers are "transformed" into spirit beings which can travel with no restrictions through time and space. The Bible describes this this way:

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 states:

But let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to us. Not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed.

It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die.

For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die.

As you can see The Bible take great pains to make sure that the reader understands that something supernatural is going to happen to these bodies. Also, one thing you should know about Scripture is if there are words that are repeated it's because they are very important. Basically, God through His Word, is stressing to us that this is a very important detail.

So, what you have is people that will be supernaturally transformed into spirit beings and removed so quickly that other than those experiencing it no one will know it happened!!

Fact 3: There is no timeline given for when this will actually happen.

Now you would think that if something like this was going to happen surely The Bible would want us to know when. Interestingly enough though it remains strangely silent. Even Jesus Himself proclaims that he does not know when it will happen.

In Matthew 24:36 He states:

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only."

And again He states in verse 42:

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

Even though He makes it apparent that we cannot know WHEN this will happen He does tell us that it will be unexpected and catch many off guard.

In verses 43 and 44 He states:

But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.

Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Clearly this is a warning. One thing that must be noted here is that presently there are NO outstanding prophetic signs that must be fulfilled before this event can take place. It could literally happen at any time and will...soon.

Now just take a moment to think about what this event would do to this world when it happens.

How many cars will be without a driver?

How many planes will be without a pilot?

How many surgeons will vanish while in surgery?

And the list goes on. This will have an immediate and devastating impact on the whole world since it will not be limited to just one country or continent.

Millions will vanish with no explanation and those left behind will bear the brunt of the chaos that will follow. It will not be a great day to say the least and will set the stage for a new world leader. Someone who can emerge from the shadows and bring order to the chaos. Someone who will have an answer for what just happened or at least a plausible explanation that the world will believe. The Bible has a great deal to say about this world leader which we will explore in the final blog of this series. Enter: The Antichrist. Coming soon...