WHO IS THE ANTICHRIST (PART II)

A SUPERNATURAL BEING AND A SYSTEM BUT NOT AN INDIVIDUAL HUMAN BEING

The Antichrist is not any human being in the past, present or in the future. No powerful religious leader or even the Catholic Pope, as an individual, is the Antichrist, regardless of what he says and does. And so is the president of the United States of America or any other leader of a superpower country. The Antichrist is not an antichrist because of what they do but who they are in nature. That is what the preposition ‘anti’ on Christ is about as I explained in part I.

We all know that human beings are, by nature, not opposed to Christ but rather, their minds and actions can be influenced to act so. (1John 2:18, 22, 4:3, 2John 7). The Antichrist is sin personified in the being the Jewish mythology tries to explain in Ezekiel 28, and Isaiah 14:12-20.

The Antichrist, unlike other beings, was never part of the Salvation plan, and he intends to supplant God and take his (God’s) seat proclaiming himself as God. No human being has this capacity and the scripture tells us why in 2Thessolanians 2:3-4 that:

Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

The Antichrist is in nature, (regardless of what he does right or wrong = 2Corinthians 11:3-4, 13-15), the man of lawlessness (anomia) and the son of perdition (Apoleias-waste). God has never created any human being to be lost or destined for perdition. It is only Satan who, from the beginning, was destined for that. This is what Jesus meant when he said in John 8:44 that:

“He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Human beings, however sinful they are, and regardless of what they do, are objects of God’s love and forgiveness, and it is upon them to choose to be forgiven or not. However, the Antichrist is the object of God’s wrath, not just because of what he (devil) has done, but because of who he is. He is sin and GOD DOES NOT FORGIVE SIN BUT HE FIGHTS IT. According to Revelation 12:7-8 God has only one answer to the Antichrist and that is WAR.

God loves SINNERS (MEN) but he fights and his wrath is directed to the SIN-Antichrist (IN AND OUT OF THEM). So as for the fallen angels, they are not SINNERS but SIN itself and there is no conversation in heaven or in the universe about how to save SIN-Antichrist.

A SYSTEM

It is this Antichrist that manifests itself in RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS and POLITICAL SYSTEMS. If you have ever read Revelation 13 and analyzed it, it’s the first and the second beast in the eyes of Revelation 17 that talks about the Babylon Harlot with a cup of wine, then it will not be too difficult for you to understand that the first beast is the Antichrist as he manifests himself in the Political Systems, and the second beast being the Religious system Antichrist. Let me start with the second.

Religious Antichrist System:

I have argued that all religions (including Biblical Judaism) are Cults (refer to my teaching WHAT IS A CULT?), and God has never instituted any religion. While in every religion there are human beings who are objects of salvation (refer to my teaching WHAT IS THE CHURCH?), religions as systems, are Antichrists. They are Antichrists because, in their doctrines and policies, they are not just contradictory to the will of God, but opposed to the commandments of God.

The Antichrist, through these religious systems, adds dashes of truth to the mix, so that his lie tastes like truth. He uses all the right catchwords, using the language of the church, even throwing in a Bible text or two to ensure that people are institutionalized both psychologically (trusting these religions more than God) and physically (practically doing the will of the system at the expense of the will of God).

All religions are cultic systems whose core mission is influenced by the philosophy of the Antichrist, and like the Antichrist, they are all destined for destruction. They have drunk from the wine of the harlot of Babylon mentioned in Revelation 17. All religions, not just the Roman Catholic Church, have committed many atrocities to humanity in the name of religion historically.

Catholics, Muslims and the Protestant churches have systematically exercised the spirit of the Antichrist. It has not always been so much about individuals. In fact, some people we consider the worst sinners will be in heaven, but the religious systems whose philosophy and doctrines are Antichrist in nature. The religious system of the Antichrist has another side of the coin from that of evil orientation, which is Humanism.

The gospel of the Antichrist is Humanism; the happiness of man, the glory of man, the peace and prosperity, the health and wealth of man. He will not tip his hand by declaring publicly, “I am the Antichrist.” He will not claim that there is no God, no Christ, no Salvation, and that the message of the Bible is a lie, but instead hype the goodness of the Lord until the worshipper loses sight of the miracle worker but focus on miracles.

The modern consumer religion of prophecy, casting out demons, and spiritualism/holy ghost fire and prosperity gospel is another systematic approach of the Antichrist to humanity. For while the true gospel says: “the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17 RSV), the Antichrist says: “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” (Mathew 4:8-9 RSV).

The antichrist systematically teaches another way of salvation. While the word of God says: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God –not because of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9 RSV), the Religious Antichrist system institutes a work based religion where people have to religiously observe sacred days, pay tribute to dead so-called saints, pray with a rosary, face a specific direction during worship, fast and pray ritually, buy holy water, holy pieces of cloth, special dress-code, etc., as either a means or part of their salvation process and accepted relationship with God.

This the wine of the harlot of Babylon and the Antichrist religious system at work. Religions might carry a cross with them, but they are, in nature, a ferocious Antichrist. Religions are the Beast of Revelation 13:11: they look like a lamb but speak like a dragon. We understand the nature of this beast; it is a deceptive system, the religious Antichrist system masquerades as Jesus Christ, (who is the real Lamb of God), however, it speaks and acts for the Antichrist. It is through the religious Antichrist system that we have false Christs preached and false prophets all over (Mathew 24:24).

Political Antichrist System:

If you want to be free from the apocalypse paranoia and avoid the business of looking at others as Antichrists, then you need to be a good analyst of political affairs – both local and international. The Jews were poor political analysts and that is how they ended up stereotyping political figures and demonizing the heathen leadership that they were under.

The Jews, in the time of Daniel and Ezekiel, had no kind words for the political system of the gentile Babylon. For the Jews, it did not matter how rational politics was and how the events unfolding were evidence of the involvement of Yahweh, what mattered to them was that God was exclusively for the Jews and not for the gentiles. The same paranoia and hysteria that Daniel was going through when he wrote the apocalypse of Daniel was the same paranoia and hysteria that John was going through at the hostile island of Patmos.

We should not dismiss the conditions under which Daniel and John were when such inspiration came to them. They were Jews and one was a captive, the other was a prisoner. This does not in any way make the books of apocalypse less inspired but rather serves to alert modern readers that whenever a Christian fails to analyze political affairs, risks to compromise God’s sovereignty in the affairs of the world.

When you read the books of Daniel and Revelation, you will realize that the Jews were right in what they warned us against, and wrong in what they denied. The Jews warned that political systems were the Antichrist but denied that God had a hand in the making of the individual leaders within these political systems. The Bible says:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.

Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer.

Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.  (Romans 13:1-7 RSV)

The passage above explains exactly what the problem is, with the first beast in Revelation 13. It is an Antichrist political system which assumes the role and place of God in the economy of humanity. When the government directly or indirectly involves itself in theological business and practices or determines WHO to worship and HOW to worship, then it qualifies to be the abomination that causes desolation that Daniel talked about and referenced by Jesus Christ.

According to the Church of the Great God website:

“Daniel’s original prophecy (Daniel 12:11; 9:27) has more than one fulfillment, as is often the case. The first took place in 168 BC, on the 25th day of the month Kislev (November-December in the Roman calendar). With the help of his army, Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes erected an altar to the Greek god Zeus on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and offered swine upon it. This intensified the Jewish resistance, leading to the Maccabean revolt. Once the Jews retook Jerusalem, they cleansed and rededicated the Temple in 165 BC, an act commemorated in the Jewish Hanukah celebration.

In 63 BC, the Roman general Pompey desecrated the Temple by brazenly entering the Holy of Holies, finding it empty. He did not plunder the Temple furnishings or treasury. The “abomination of desolation” Jesus mentions (Matthew 24:15) is the desecration of the Temple and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies in AD 70 after the Jews rebelled. The Temple was completely destroyed by the Roman legions, and not one stone was left on another, as Jesus prophesied (verse 2).”

The books of Daniel and Revelation remind all Christians today that civil disobedience is licensed exclusively on Theological grounds. Political Antichrist is when governments make strong claims on people’s allegiance to God based on policy as opposed to Theological truth. This is what sparked the Inter-Testamental Jewish revolts to the then governments. Naturally, politics is an evil venture that God resisted since the times of 1Samuel 8.

I might not be allowed to make these allegations but hear me out: Politics is bad because of paper money which, in fact, is the cause of what we know as corruption. But this we can bear. Politics now has moved to another trend of Globalization.

“The Concept of Globalisation. Globalisation refers to the process of the intensification of economic, political, social and cultural relations across international boundaries. It is principally aimed at the transcendental homogenization of political and socio-economic theory across the globe.”

There is already an ongoing political union of all nations and the goal is to gather all nations into one great empire. This is one political move that has resulted into the anti-globalization movement in Europe. However, as Christians this evil too we can bear. But when politics moves from Political State Houses and ends up as the high priest in the temple of God, then it is has materialized into the abomination that causes desolation and we are called to defy this Antichrist.

This Antichrist may use every tool available: school teachers, politicians, news broadcasters, artists, musicians, scientists and doctors, lawyers and businessmen. All of these people will be pressed into the service of Antichrist to deceive men. The Antichrist will especially use those whose calling it is to persuade and to teach — men who claim to be preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

However, what should remain clear to all of us is that these human being instruments are not the Antichrist. As long as they are living, they can cross-over to the side of Christ. The Antichrist is Satan and his Satanic systems, but we have a choice to make and that choice is a conscience choice (Romans 13:5).

The battle of the Antichrist is primarily a war of the conscience. Since human beings are conscience beings, we psychologically become Antichrist containers before we mature into practical Antichrists. This is what the prophecy in Revelation 13:16-18 means when it says:

Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six.

If one understood this scripture in context, and lived in our generation of national IDs and numbers, then there is no fear in anticipation of a future stamp number of 666. The Antichrist number is about the quality of your conscience, your belief system (forehead) that actually influences your actions (right-hand).

According to Biblical truth, you now know who the Antichrist is, and whether you are part of the system or not. I wish I could continue.

God bless you, I invoke TRUTH, REASON, and FAITH

Am Pr. I.T.WHITE

The Gospel Hawker