who is the antichrist?

[WilliamL]

2 minutes ago, OakWood said:

Does that mean people who mention the word 'rapture' are adding to the word because the word 'rapture; is not in the Bible? What about Jesus? His name is not in the Bible. He's called Yeshua.

These words are not non-biblical doctrines, they are merely English translations of Greek words. Whereas the "common usage" of the term The Antichrist IS a non-biblical doctrine. That is the difference.

5 minutes ago, OakWood said:

The term AntiChrist is in common usage. Everybody knows what it means.

20 minutes ago, WilliamL said:

But there is no "common usage," or else this topic would be meaningless, because everyone would agree about the term.

Which they do not. Confusion abounds and the devil laughs, because he is the author of confusion.

 

[Just a Mirror]

On 7/27/2016 at 6:02 PM, Marilyn C said:

 

We know from scripture where the anti-Christ will arise from & what his nationality is. We are also told that he is an Assyrian. Now this is a nationality even today. Andre Agassi, the famous tennis player is of  Assyrian descent.

 

Details of the anti-Christ –

His nationality – Assyrian.  (Isa. 31: 8     Micah 5: 5)

The region he comes from – the Ancient Assyrian Empire. (Dan. 11: 35 – 43)

Leader of Ancient Assyrian region -  Iraq, Syria & Jordan. (Dan. 7: 8)

Leader of Islamic Federation – 10 kings of Islam. (Dan. 7: 8,   Rev. 17: 12)

He rules the world – (Rev. 16: 13 & 14,     19: 19)

 

He will be a type of Nimrod, he may even claim to be Nimrod, what's interesting is the reference to the temple. What temple?

People use these verses to claim a third temple will be built, but the "temple" in our time, the Church Age, is our body, and is in fact the original intended temple.

Soo, it could be that standing in the holy place could mean a type of possession, there are different ways of looking at it depending on your religious viewpoint.

Im I'm just sitting outside mulling this over in my head, ill have to dive in later.

Peace.

[brakelite]

God’s love: infinite, abundant,unreserved,unconditional.

God so loves the world, that there is not one person, living or dead, that Jesus did not die for. The apostle Paul says that if God was so willing to give His Son, He along with His Son willingly offers everything else also (Romans 8:32). This without any doubt includes all the advice, counsel, and directions in order that we may find our way to Him (Jeremiah 6:16; Matt.7:14; Hebrews 1:1-3;12:1,2; 1 Peter 2:2:21-25) along with all the warnings of the pitfalls, dangers, and wrong paths that may lead us astray.God has clearly described the full gospel, demonstrated His love, proclaimed His grace and mercy, and He has defined sin, exposed heresy, exposed our enemies, and repeatedly warned us of Satan’s many varied and subtle deceptions that would lead us into a false hope (John 10:10; Isaiah 45:19; Amos 3:7; Isaiah 8:19,20). When time comes that we must face our Maker, we will have no excuse.

As we look to the future, prophecy informs us that we are nearing a time of great crisis of such magnitude that not since Noah has there been a time of such import and significance. And in fact in Revelation 14:9-11 is the most dire warning in all scripture, and that time is immediately before us. So I ask. Is this warning given in love? Yes. If such a dire warning is given, do you think God would also offer a sure identification of the Antichrist that we may not be deceived? Again, the answer is yes. And would not that same love also reveal not just who the beast is, but how we may avoid its mark? Remember, “He that spared not His own Son, but offered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

Let us get real here.

Why is it that many in the church then move away from that revelation regarding the Antichrist, and attach to him their own theories and opinions when no such things are necessary? God has not enshrouded His warnings in a mystery that cannot be understood. The church has become full of prognosticators and clairvoyants,  finding simple Biblical exegesis insufficient so people devise imaginative future enemies about to persecute the church, attack Israel, decimate all that they believe is good and sound, all the while ignoring and setting aside God’s word that warns them that the enemy is not without the church, but within. In attempting to tell everyone that the enemy is still future and is coming from the horizon afar off, they do the devil’s own work and deceive people into ignoring the real enemy who is standing beside them whose doctrines and dogmas they have all been partaking of. In this they are ignoring the very word of God that says “Come out of her my people”. God says come out of the Antichrist system, and the mainstream Christian church teaches it hasn’t arrived yet!  And not only so, but because they believe the coming enemy is an individual, how can they come out anyway from an individual? God’s warning makes no sense to such a one. They fail to perceive that the Antichrist is not an individual, but a succession of individuals who preside over the one system. It is that system that is so very well described in scripture, and it is that system that God calls His people to leave. It is the system that God warns of, it is the system that is the enemy, and it is that system that so many are even now fully card-carrying-life members of but are totally unaware and oblivious of the danger!

In Revelation 13, that wonderful chapter that focuses so intently on the ‘Beast’ and its character and work, mentions ‘worship’ five times, and in the following chapter, 3 times. Satan lusts for and craves worship. Isaiah quotes Lucifer in

Isaiah 14:13,14. “I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.”!! Satan, aka Lucifer, has an “I” problem.

If Satan however strolled into the local church, of whatever denomination, introduced himself and said “worship me”, is the congregation going to do that? Hardly. Does Satan know such a tactic would fail? Of course. So in order for him to receive the worship he so desperately craves, he has to make people believe they are worshiping the true God, when in actuality they are worshiping the false. Thus Satan has to use deception. He must introduce a system of worship that is so close to the original that it is almost impossible to tell them apart. He must introduce a counterfeit. He cannot do this by force, as people will be on to it immediately. In order to destroy the church, Satan tried with persecution through pagan Rome, but failing to lessen the growth of the church, he had to use more subtle methods. Introducing false doctrine he slowly but surely began to chip away at the foundations of truth until the people were believing a lie. Then they would be ready for the last great deception, and be led into false worship. God, Who sees the end from the beginning, warns us of this great counterfeit.

God has shown us who is Antichrist.

Paul wrote in

2 Thess. 2:3,4. “Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day (the second advent) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped: so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

Here we see Antichrist promoting himself to a place of worship. What is the temple of God in the Christian era? It is the church. (1 Cor.3:16,17; 6:19; 2 Cor.6:16; Eph. 2:19-22). Therefore Antichrist is placing himself in a position of authority and as an object of worship within the church. He is not on the outside attacking the church, he is on the inside deceiving it. Paul repeats his former warning in

Acts 20:29,30. “I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.”

Paul also says in

2Thess. 2:7 “the mystery of iniquity doth already work.” Thus the great apostasy he warned of had already begun in the days of the apostles, and this apostasy was to result in slowly and cunningly eroding away many important Bible truths from men’s minds that would last for centuries.

The Antichrist who was to bring on the crisis of the mark of the beast at the end of time began forming and growing into power in those early days. John confirmed this saying in

1 John 4:3 “that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come, and even now is it in the world.”

So Satan was raising up his counterfeit a long time ago,for it was through this counterfeit system of worship that Satan himself would be worshiped. Notice in…

Revelation 13:11 ¶ And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”

Who is this dragon? Revelation 12:9 tells us

” And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

Thus it is Satan who gives the beast its power, its seat (or throne) and authority. Bu this is not all. In reading Revelation 13:1,2 we are taken back to the 4th beast of Daniel, pagan Rome. The parallels between pagan Rome and the dragon, both in symbol and practice, is not a coincidence. And documented history reveals that it was pagan Rome, more specifically Emperor Justinian, that gave official approval to the popes in the 6th century to assume not only civil power in Rome, but also authority over all Christendom.  It was from this time that the Roman church began its venture as a church/state union, the typical and common characteristic of all pagan religions.   And continuing in

Revelation 13:3 “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered (or marvel in admiration) after the beast.
4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”

So there it is. By worshiping Antichrist, they by proxy are worshiping Satan. Antichrist is Satan’s frontman, his alter-ego, his counterfeit. Through the worship of Antichrist Satan fulfils his lifelong dream to receive the worship of man. But there is more. He enlists help, and we read about this a little later in the same chapter…

11 ¶ And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Notice that it is the people, (the ‘they'  in verse 14) who under recommendation from the state power,  create this image, another church/state union, and it is the second beast, or nation, that gives the church/state union its power. And notice that this nation with the horns like a lamb speaks as a dragon…speaks like the devil…like the pagan emperor who granted the Roman church power in the 6th century, so also does this second nation give power and authority to this newly developed church/state union.

The Majority will Worship their Enemy.

Deception,worship,deception,worship. These are the issues of the last days. Remember, this is God’s loving ‘revelation’ concerning true and false worship. It is the love of God which prompted Jesus to warn constantly of the core theme of the times leading up to His second advent.

Matt. 24:4 ¶ And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many….11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many….23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.
26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

Deception is surely a major factor contributing to the confusion and apostasy of Babylon. Are not the abominations in the cup which she holds her deceptions and false doctrines? But of what purpose are these deceptions if they do not relate directly to how we relate to our Creator? Are they not designed to draw us away from a right relationship with God? Yes, assuredly. But more than that, and I cannot stress this enough, Satan seeks to draw us away from the Creator toward himself. Through deception, he has the whole world worshiping the Antichrist, and the whole world believes they are worshiping God. The counterfeit system of worship is so beguiling, so attractive, and presents itself in such a loving, caring, compassionate, Christian way, that the entire world is deceived into accepting her, obeying her dogmas, following her counsel, keeping her man-made commandments.

The Truth Liberates.

So back to our original question. Does God want us to be so deluded that we would submit ourselves to a system of worship directed through Antichrist to Satan? Of course not. That is why Jesus warned us repeatedly of false prophets, false Christs. That is why the inspired scriptures go into such great and minute detail in the books of Daniel and Revelation concerning Antichrist and his work. And it is from these details that we can gather sufficient information to come to an honest and correct conclusion as to the exact identity of the Antichrist. To the precise identity of this false worship system that even now has much of the world in its grasp. The apostle Paul said that if we have a love for truth, we would not be deceived (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12) , and Paul is referring directly to the Antichrist when he penned these words. Jesus said in John 17:17 that we are sanctified by the word of truth, and in John 8:32 that if we continue in His word the truth of His word will set us free. Free from sin, free from error, free from false doctrine, free from deception.

According to most modern evangelists, Antichrist is yet to come. The scriptures however are very clear. Antichrist is here now, and hard at work drawing the world after him as you read these words. And true to form, and in fulfillment of prophecy, much of the Christian world is either in denial, deluded, or at best confused, as to the true nature of the beast which is before them. They see it, they even wonder after it marveling at her power and splendor, many praise it, countless millions obey her commands in direct contradistinction to the commandments of God, but very few perceive the true nature of it.

God’s exceedingly great and infinite love for you demands you understand this truth. In His word He has provided all the information needed to ensure that no-one need be deceived or lack understanding in matters relating to such an essential matter as worship. Worship is what is due our Creator. It is who we worship that defines our loyalties. And it is how we worship that defines who we worship. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father is Spirit and in Truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.” John 4:22-24.

The last great delusion is set to present itself to the world, and even now is busily doing so. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in the sight of man. So closely will this system resemble the true, that it will be almost impossible to discern between truth and error except for the scriptures. No-one who hasn’t trained themselves to search for and grasp the truths of the Bible will remain faithful to the true God when the coming crisis deepens. When demands come that they obey certain commandments, because they have failed to study and accept scripture, they will not discern that these commandments of men demand submission to counterfeit truth, and usurp the commandments of God. The fearful judgements that are proclaimed against those who worship the beast, the image, and receive the mark, as revealed in Revelation 14, should drive all men to an earnest study of the scriptures and the prophecies to learn what the mark is, who the beast is, and how they are to avoid them.

The Bible, and the Bible only, must be the standard for all doctrine and belief.

As a wise woman once said…The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science,the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and discordant as are the churches which they represent, the voice of the majority …not one or all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith. Before accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain ‘thus saith the Lord’ in its support….with the many warnings against false teachers, why are the people so ready to commit the keeping of their souls to the clergy? There are today thousands of professors of religion who can give no other reason for the points of faith which they hold than that they were so instructed by their religious leaders…a lack of moral courage to step aside from the beaten track of the world, leads many to follow in the steps of learned men, and by their reluctance to investigate for themselves, they are becoming hopelessly fastened in the chains of error…the truth and the glory of God are inseparable; it is impossible for us, with the Bible within our reach, to honor God by erroneous opinions. It is the first and highest duty of every rational being to learn from the scriptures what is truth, and then to walk in the light, and encourage others to follow His example. Ignorance of God’s word is sin, when every provision has been made that we may become wise. We should day by day study the Bible diligently, weighing every thought, and comparing scripture with scripture. With divine help, we are to form our opinions for ourselves, as we are to answer for ourselves before God.

Compare Daniel 7 and Revelation 13. Take note of all the parallels. There is no other power other than the RCC which meets all the criteria of being the Antichrist of scripture. Nor is there any other nation than the US who being democratic, has the power and worldly influence and authority to convince her people, and then the world, to create a Protestant church/state union as a direct image of the papacy, demanding obedience to papal dogmas, papal creeds, and specifically with regard to the laws or commandments of God, Torah, submission to the papal counterfeit of Sabbath, Sunday. Sunday, the RCC officially claims, is the “mark of her authority” in religious matters. Remember, in Revelation 14 there are only two groups of people in the last days. The sheep and the goats are divided on the basis of obedience to God’s laws. Those who accept the mark of the beast, are set in direct contrast to “those who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.” Revel. 14:12.
Study current events. Line them up with prophecy. And pray. Pray earnestly and diligently for confirmation and help from the Holy Spirit. God promises that the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth. God wants you to know the truth. No more trusting in fictional novels and so-called ‘Christian’ movies. No more trusting in the clergy and the television evangelists who assume so much and present so little.

[Revelation Man]

Great thread, almost everyone on here is bringing their Pearls to the game. 

On 7/27/2016 at 7:52 PM, missmuffet said:

It is all just speculation since the Bible does not specifically say where the Antichrist will come from or what race he will be.

If we cross check/reference a couple of Books, imho, we can know where the Anti-Christ is from. In Dan. 7 we are told he arises out of the Fourth Beast at the latter time, he is called the Little Horn. In Dan. 8 we are told he arises as a Little Horn out of one of the Four Generals Kingdoms that stood-up in Alexander the Greats stead/place, in the Latter Days. So by understanding both of these Little Horns are the Anti-Christ, we can understand that this man must arise out of to conjoined Empires in the Latter time, we know one is the Fourth Beast/Revived Rome, so then we look at the Four Generals and their Kingdoms, and Greece lies within the borders of the European Union/Revived Rome. So it all fits so for, but lets get some ancillary support from other scriptures supporting this, if they exist. 

1. ) Daniel 11:23 After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully. He will rise to power with a small nation. 

2. ) The Assyrian that Marylin C. mentioned. They are now living in Syria and Turkey, and of Course many Turks live in Greece. Now, via scriptures lets look at the Assyrian in Isaiah chapter 10's last few verses, and the first few verses of chapter 11. ( There were no chapter and verses in reality)

Isaiah 10:20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth 21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. (This Remnant that returns to God, seemingly trusted in this Assyrian, but he smote them, and now they have turned to God.)

Isaiah 10:24 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. 25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. ( So the Assyrian comes against Israel, who once trusted him, and God tells them, do not fear the Assyrian, he is going smite/come against you, but My Anger (Gods back has been turned on Israel for 2000-2500 years) will CEASE, and the destruction I have allowed will CEASE. Or the Tribulation that brings Israel back unto God/Daniels 70th Week Decree will cease because they return unto God.)

Isaiah 10:27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. ( NOTICE !! The anointing destroys the Yoke !! Amen. ) Israel turns back to God, then the Anointing comes, the Burden shall be taken away, Israel is Protected by God in the Wilderness, then the Yoke (Assyrian) will be Destroyed. What happens after the Anti-Christ is destroyed ? The 1000 year Millennium reign. So dos this fit with what follows in Isaiah chapter 12 ? Lets see !!!

Isaiah 11:1 and 5-9 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

So the Assyrian is the Anti-Christ, right after he is Defeated comes the Millennial Reign. 

 

WHY DO I ALWAYS GO SO LONG !! I can't stop myself......Sorry.

 

 

 

[brakelite]

Every reformer, as was mentioned in a previous post, from the 12th to the 18th century, from Wycliffe to Luther, from Calvin to Cranmer, and dozens in between, pointed their collective fingers at Rome and proclaimed the Roman papacy as the Antichrist of prophetic scripture. Were they right? Judging by today’s views, the reformation was a major mistake, and the reformers all religious radicals deceived and influenced by the times in which they lived. If they were right, then why do so few proclaim it today? If however they were wrong, then why don’t we all forsake the title “protestant” (who’s protesting today anyway?) and return to Rome as so many are today?

From the time of Wycliffe (known as the morning star of the reformation) there were some who held the view that the papacy was the antichrist of prophetic scripture. A follower of John Wycliffe,  one John Purvey, wrote a commentary on the book of Revelation, this being nearly 150 years before Luther. In 1528 Luther reprinted or republished this commentary, and inserted the following preface.

“This preface, noble reader, you may understand was written by us for this reason–that we might make known to the world that we are not the first to interpret the Papacy as the kingdom of the Antichrist. For many years prior to us, so many and so great men (whose number is large, and their memory eternal) have attempted this so clearly and openly, and that with great spirit and force, that [those] who were driven by the fury of the papal tyranny into the farthest boundaries of the earth, and suffering the most atrocious tortures, nevertheless bravely and faithfully persisted in the confession of the truth.”

In a statement from the Westminster Confession of Faith, ratified by the British parliament in 1647:
“There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ: nor can the Pope of Rome, in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church against Christ, and all that is called God.”
(Phillip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom–With a History and Critical Notes, vol. 3, pp 658, 659)

In his book, All Roads Lead to Rome, (pp205,206) Michael de Semlyen says:
“Wycliffe, Tyndale, Luther, Calvin, Cranmer; in the seventeenth century, Bunyan, the translators of the King James Bible and the men who published the Westminster and Baptist Confessions of Faith; Sir Isaac Newton, John Wesley, Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards; and more recently, Spurgeon, Bishop J. C. Ryle and Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones; these men among countless others, all saw the office of the Papacy as the antichrist.”

The vast majority of these courageous men died at the hands of the very system they were denouncing, so there can be little surprise that the power that had most to gain by their silence was that power that destroyed them, and what writings they could find. There is however many examples available of such denunciations, particularly of those more eminent scholars like Newton, Calvin, Luther Wesley and Whitfield.

Now, some quotes from some individual reformers.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) (Lutheran): “Luther … proved, by the revelations of Daniel and St. John,by the epistles of St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. Jude, that the reign of Antichrist, predicted and described in the Bible, was the Papacy … And all the people did say, Amen! A holy terror seized their souls. It was Antichrist whom they beheld seated on the pontifical throne. This new idea, which derived greater strength from the prophetic descriptions launched forth by Luther into the midst of his contemporaries, inflicted the most terrible blow on Rome.” Taken from J. H. Merle D’Aubigne’s History of the
Reformation of the Sixteen Century, book vi, chapter xii, p. 215.

John Calvin (1509-1564) (Presbyterian): “Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we speak and whose language we adopt… I shall briefly show that (Paul’s words in II Thess. 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which applies them to the Papacy.” Taken from Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin.

 

John Knox (1505-1572) (Scotch Presbyterian): John Knox sought to counteract “that tyranny which the pope himself has for so many ages exercised over the church.” As with Luther, he finally concluded that the Papacy was “the very antichrist, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks.”
The Zurich Letters, by John Knox, pg. 199.

Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) (Anglican): “Whereof it followeth Rome to be the seat of antichrist,
and the pope to be very antichrist himself. I could prove the same by many other scriptures, old writers,
and strong reasons.” (Referring to prophecies in Revelation and Daniel.) Works by Cranmer, Vol. 1,
pp. 6-7.

John Wesley (1703-1791) (Methodist): Speaking of the Papacy, John Wesley wrote, “He is in an emphatical sense, the Man of Sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled the Son of Perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers… He it is…that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped…claiming the highest power, and highest honour…claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone.”

Antichrist and His Ten Kingdoms, by John Wesley, pg. 110.

For what reasons did the reformers risk life and limb, (literally), in their damning accusations against the church which raised them? Nearly all the reformers were priests, with no intentions of forming new churches, but reforming the one they loved and held dear. Yet here they are accusing the very institution which educated and confirmed them in their faith, of being the dreaded Antichrist of prophetic scripture. Why?

Was it revenge for being excommunicated? No, they were excommunicated for the most part because of the accusations. Was it the worst insult they could come up with because of a personal grudge? Hardly. Or perhaps, as this author believes and is currently expanding on in another thread, was it because they were serious students of the Bible and saw unmistakably the fulfilment of the many prophecies regarding Antichrist being played out perfectly before their very eyes?

Are you aware that there is more detail concerning the character and nature of this entity than any other in the entire scriptures apart from Jesus Himself? Even Satan doesn’t get that much press, yet God has seen fit to describe the Antichrist with accuracy and detail no other earthly entity receives. In His love, God earnestly desires that every man, woman, and child on the planet makes no mistake regarding the identity of Antichrist. Antichrist poses such a threat that God has given us more than ample warning and information as to who or what this entity is. Yet today the majority of Christendom completely ignores the very heroes of our faith and the godly men and women of recent history who died as a result of their testimony, and look to the future for some mythical creature to fulfil their clairvoyant prognostications.

Let me lay my card on the table, and I pray everyone reading this heeds the warning. While you look to the horizon for a battleship to appear with all guns blazing against Christianity and named “Antichrist”, look behind you. There is a ‘friend’ who kisses you as Judas kissed Christ and will run you over like a runaway train lest you kneel before her.

[Running Gator]

One thing that seems very clear from this thread, we have no idea who the antiChrist is and will probably fail to recognize him when he actually raises to power.

[RustyAngeL]

3 hours ago, Out of the Shadows said:

One thing that seems very clear from this thread, we have no idea who the antiChrist is and will probably fail to recognize him when he actually raises to power.

Some will some won't.  It says that many will be deceived. That doesn't mean all.

[Last Daze]

3 hours ago, Out of the Shadows said:

One thing that seems very clear from this thread, we have no idea who the antiChrist is and will probably fail to recognize him when he actually raises to power.

"No idea" is a bit of a stretch.  Who are the ones who will  have discernment?

• But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.  Hebrews 5:14

Those who are doers of the word and not hearers only, the ones God refers to as "wise."

[Running Gator]

1 hour ago, RustyAngeL said:

Some will some won't.  It says that many will be deceived. That doesn't mean all.

Some might figure it out, or maybe when the time is right the Holy Spirit will give them insight.  But let's face it, there are lots of ideas floating around out there about it

[Running Gator]

1 hour ago, Last Daze said:

"No idea" is a bit of a stretch.  Who are the ones who will  have discernment?

• But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.  Hebrews 5:14

Those who are doers of the word and not hearers only, the ones God refers to as "wise."

I think it is very accurate.  Lot's of people think they have it figured out, but we will not know for sure till it happens.  That of course is the very nature of prophesy, it is never really clear till after it happens.  That is why there are so many divisions when it comes to the end times..pre..mid..post..no..rapture.    And like most things, the answer will probably fall somewhere in the middle of what people "know".