By Van Yandell
Daniel 7: 24-25 “And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High.”
Many have declared to believe a United States president is/was the Antichrist. Both current and past presidents have been given this title yet the Biblical requirements for the evil one are not and have not been met by any of them.
These innuendos by religionists, non-believers, the media, opposing politicians and in general, the many liars and haters our world is besieged with, are not in any way scripturally based.
With so much of the information we receive being opinion and speculation, the difficulty of separating truth from bias from lies is becoming extremely challenging. Scriptural references are apparently the only reliable sources of information.
Revelation 13: 8 “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
“All that dwell upon the earth” is a requirement hardly met by a thirty percent approval rating. At least two recent presidents fell to near that number.
The current U.S. president at an approval rate of seventy percent does not meet the 100% approval rating required by Revelation thirteen.
To state that “all that dwell upon the earth” would include all eight billion except the true believer-followers of Jesus. That’s a very extensive requirement. Most can’t even begin to imagine a 100% agreement on any matter in today’s world.
The Bible says what the Bible says and prophesies have been witnessed happening all around us for years. Of course we know we must not require proof for eternal salvation (Ephesians 2: 8) but the evidence for the validity of the scriptures is tremendous.
The world will stand in amazement at the charisma and total appeal of the Antichrist when he does appear. He will have something for everyone and that will make him a personality that will charm and fascinate the non-believers in Christ Jesus.
Revelation 13: 6 “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.” Tabernacle has been interpreted by some as “His dwelling.” Others have taken that to mean The Jerusalem Temple.
A tabernacle was the original home of the Ark of the Covenant and was by definition, a tent, also referred to as a place of dwelling (Exodus 40: 21).
II Thessalonians 2: 3 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”
The Apostle Paul is telling us in verse three that the day shall not come until apostasy (apostasia in Greek) comes to fulfillment. Apostasy is defined as “a falling away from the faith.” It is also regarded as a decline of the church.
We are seeing attendance in many churches decreasing and the growth of non-believing factions increasing at an alarming rate. In several churches I have preached in recently, empty seats were abundant. In churches that thirty years ago had standing-room-only barely had enough to call it a church service.
It appears some of the radical, violent religions have declared war on Christianity. It has been reported that believers have been tortured and murdered at various locations around the world. If this is true, and it appears to be, it is understandable why many are afraid to sit in a church service at risk of their life.
Paul also states in II Thessalonians 2: 3, “that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,” specifically the Antichrist. Once these two requirements are met, then and only then can we anticipate the scriptures to be completely fulfilled as we watch.
The problem will be, most of the world will have not a clue what is happening (Revelation 13: 8). This is one of the many reason’s today’s Christians must take the Great Commission (Acts 1: 8, Matthew 28: 18-20) with a level of seriousness not previously regarded.
II Thessalonians 2: 4 “Who opposes and exaltes himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”
If the Antichrist is to blaspheme God from the Jerusalem temple it must exist on Mt. Moriah known as The Temple Mount. As of now, the temple is not there.
The last temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. In the seventh century the Muslims built the Al Aqsa Mosque on that sacred spot.
Many believe (including me) the third temple must be rebuilt on that exact spot before the end-time prophesies can come to fruition.
Some promote the belief that the current church (Matthew 16: 18) represents the third temple. Others believe the third temple can be built at another location in Jerusalem. I do not see either of these as being scripturally parallel.
Finally, it just doesn’t compute that the Antichrist is here on earth as a child, adult or any other age at this point in time.
As difficult as this may be to swallow, times are not bad enough yet. Things will get much worse before he arrives and manifests himself.
The world condition now has created an urgency for Christians. We must always teach that eternal salvation is attained by a faith based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) in Christ Jesus crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (1 John 1: 9) and resurrected (Matthew 28: 6).
Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and commissioned missionary.