Question Three:

Is the world stage being set for the coming of the Antichrist?

 

To this one I am going to say,”maybe”.

I am afraid that I am not as knowledgeable about the subject of the antichrist as I should be. I have often said that in cases where we have not done enough study on a particular topic we usually adopt the point of view of others whom we trust until we have had time to study it for ourselves.  I have to say that I find myself in that position regarding the antichrist.

One thing I do know is this regarding the title, antichrist. The term antichrist only appears in the Bible books of first and second John. While the passages in those books imply that there was to come one who would be the antichrist, they also refer to a spiritual attitude. To simplify this, I will list the following, which are literally all the instances in which, the word antichrist in the New Testament:

Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us. 1 John 2:18-19 (NLT)

And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. 1 john 2:22 (NLT)

But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. 1 john 4:3 (NLT)

 I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. 2 John: 3 (NLT)

So in these passages John tells us that not only will there be one who is the antichrist, but that anyone who denies the true identity of our Lord Jesus Christ as “ . . .the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16) and that He came to earth in “. . . a real body . . .” has the spiritual attitude of antichrist. And it is of such persons that the antichrist and the false prophet of Revelation will build their “church”.

Interestingly, John, who also wrote the Revelation, in which book most of the specific information about this man is revealed, refers to him therein, not as antichrist, but as “the beast”

Paul refers to this same individual as the man of sin, or the man of lawlessness:

for he can be revealed only when his time comes. For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. 2 Thess.  2:6-8 (NLT)

Paul is concurring here with John that the spiritual attitude of antichrist is already at work in their day. Paul goes on to say that he must be revealed only when his time comes.  He has not yet been revealed. In spite of some rather lame attempts to identify him with our current president, it appears to me that Mr. Obama is merely a small pawn in a much larger game.  But make no mistake about it, the one we call antichrist will be revealed at the assigned time, and to those who are spiritually discerning, it will be clear who he is when that day comes.

Here is where we get to the part in which I am not well studied, but am depending on the ideas of those who are. It is commonly taught that the antichrist will be the global leader of a one-world government. What I have read in scripture seems to support this idea. While there will be some nations that will resist, virtually all the world will follow him and his false prophet (see chapters 12 through 20 of Revelation). Frequently there is talk involving the antichrist being in control of one-world government, one-world economy and one-world religion.

As all of this relates to our own time, and whether the stage is being set for the anti-christ; certainly this is a time when all this is possible. The technological advances that we have seen in our time, and the presence of institutions such as the United Nations, the central banks, the European Union, and the like, form a framework in which such a situation could exist. There is a greater desire for world unity now than ever before. We are a long way off from a one-world currency, yet scarcely anyone is unable to perceive the possibility of such a thing. The term “Global Economy” is a household word. If such a world dictator were to come along, a world just like ours would be necessary for him to take power.

 

For all the talk of freedom, liberty and individualism, our recent economic troubles have demonstrated that for the majority, the most important issues are the pocket book issues, and we are only one economic crisis away from following someone who comes along promising relief from such a crisis.

Is the world stage being set for the revealing of the antichrist? Maybe. We can scarcely discount the possibility. As time goes by we will see, yet I would not be surprised.

Next time: is this the end of America? Is there any hope for us?

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.