WEBVTT 00:00:00.770 --> 00:00:03.589 John is doing better. We thank the Lord for that. 00:00:04.769 --> 00:00:06.089 If he was doing worse, I don't know what I'd 00:00:06.089 --> 00:00:12.210 do. I'm sure Merity doesn't either. Would you 00:00:12.210 --> 00:00:15.730 open your Bible, please, to 1 John chapter 2 00:00:15.730 --> 00:00:21.309 as we look tonight at the theme, Satan's Masterpiece, 00:00:21.989 --> 00:00:32.490 The Antichrist. In 1 John 2, 18 we read, Children, 00:00:32.670 --> 00:00:37.390 it is the last hour. And just as you heard that 00:00:37.390 --> 00:00:41.990 Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists 00:00:41.990 --> 00:00:46.090 have arisen. From this we know that it is the 00:00:46.090 --> 00:00:57.340 last hour. And every spirit that does not confess 00:00:57.340 --> 00:01:02.280 Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:05.700 of the antichrist of which you have heard that 00:01:05.700 --> 00:01:10.980 it is coming and now it is already in the world." 00:01:10.980 --> 00:01:13.879 This term antichrist seems to be used in three 00:01:13.879 --> 00:01:17.000 slightly different ways as John pins these words. 00:01:17.879 --> 00:01:20.719 He is certainly thinking of that antichrist who 00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:26.670 is coming yet. whom we will be focusing on tonight 00:01:26.670 --> 00:01:30.329 in this message. But he tells us that even now, 00:01:30.409 --> 00:01:33.430 in this age, there are many antichrists in the 00:01:33.430 --> 00:01:37.049 world. And he is referring to those who deny 00:01:37.049 --> 00:01:42.329 Jesus Christ as deity, those who deny the Father 00:01:42.329 --> 00:01:45.670 and the Son. They are antichrists, he says, of 00:01:45.670 --> 00:01:50.489 a sort. Not the antichrists, you see, but antichrists 00:01:50.489 --> 00:01:54.319 in their teaching. And then he uses the term 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:58.859 in the sense of a spirit in this age. And behind 00:01:58.859 --> 00:02:04.000 that attitude or that spirit of Antichrist, there 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:09.060 is the energy force of the demonic world. The 00:02:09.060 --> 00:02:14.699 teachings that deny Jesus Christ as God, which 00:02:14.699 --> 00:02:19.039 deny the Father and the Son in their unique relationship. 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:26.990 That teaching is energized and promoted by Satan 00:02:26.990 --> 00:02:30.150 and his demonic spirits. And so that seems to 00:02:30.150 --> 00:02:32.349 be what he has in mind when he speaks of the 00:02:32.349 --> 00:02:38.169 spirit of Antichrist. Would you turn with me 00:02:38.169 --> 00:02:40.990 now, please, to Revelation chapter 13, where 00:02:40.990 --> 00:02:45.750 we have a number of verses regarding the same 00:02:45.750 --> 00:02:51.590 historical figure. That we mentioned who is the 00:02:51.590 --> 00:02:56.229 coming Antichrist as John put it Here he is not 00:02:56.229 --> 00:03:02.189 named Antichrist But we know him to be the same 00:03:02.189 --> 00:03:08.590 person John says and he stood on the sand of 00:03:08.590 --> 00:03:12.150 the seashore question who is he? To find the 00:03:12.150 --> 00:03:14.550 answer we have to back into the last verse of 00:03:14.550 --> 00:03:18.729 chapter 12 where the dragon is the one who has 00:03:18.729 --> 00:03:23.250 spoken about. The dragon is Satan. And so he 00:03:23.250 --> 00:03:25.949 is speaking here about Satan, or the dragon who 00:03:25.949 --> 00:03:30.490 stood on the sand of the seashore. And I, John 00:03:30.490 --> 00:03:36.349 says, saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having 00:03:36.349 --> 00:03:41.370 ten horns and seven heads. And on his horns were 00:03:41.370 --> 00:03:45.110 ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous 00:03:45.110 --> 00:03:50.039 names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, 00:03:51.099 --> 00:03:54.840 and his feet were like those of a bear, and his 00:03:54.840 --> 00:03:59.699 mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon 00:03:59.699 --> 00:04:04.379 gave him his power and his throne and great authority. 00:04:05.819 --> 00:04:08.919 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:13.879 slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:16.819 whole earth was amazed and followed after the 00:04:16.819 --> 00:04:19.939 beast. And they worshipped the dragon, because 00:04:19.939 --> 00:04:23.259 he gave his authority to the beast. And they 00:04:23.259 --> 00:04:25.620 worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like the 00:04:25.620 --> 00:04:29.079 beast? And who is able to wage war with him? 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:32.740 And there was given to him a mouth, speaking 00:04:32.740 --> 00:04:35.980 arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority 00:04:35.980 --> 00:04:39.620 to act for forty -two months was given to him. 00:04:40.269 --> 00:04:42.990 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against 00:04:42.990 --> 00:04:46.610 God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, 00:04:46.709 --> 00:04:49.269 that is, those who dwell in heaven. And it was 00:04:49.269 --> 00:04:52.589 given to him to make war with the saints and 00:04:52.589 --> 00:04:56.449 to overcome them. And authority over every tribe 00:04:56.449 --> 00:04:58.649 and people and tongue and nation was given to 00:04:58.649 --> 00:05:02.709 him. And all who dwell on the earth will worship 00:05:02.709 --> 00:05:06.610 him, every one whose name has not been written 00:05:06.610 --> 00:05:09.240 from the foundation of the world. in the book 00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:13.560 of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:16.699 has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined 00:05:16.699 --> 00:05:20.459 for captivity, to captivity he goes. If anyone 00:05:20.459 --> 00:05:22.740 kills with the sword, with the sword he must 00:05:22.740 --> 00:05:26.079 be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:29.319 of the saints. What verse 10 seems to be saying 00:05:29.319 --> 00:05:35.240 is that God has ordained justice so that those 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:39.930 who are persecuted The saints who are overcome, 00:05:40.089 --> 00:05:43.610 as it says here, will know during that period 00:05:43.610 --> 00:05:47.689 of time that those who persecute them and who 00:05:47.689 --> 00:05:50.810 afflict them will be dealt with by God. And that 00:05:50.810 --> 00:05:53.910 assurance of ultimate justice, it says, is their 00:05:53.910 --> 00:05:57.290 perseverance and their faith. We will not read 00:05:57.290 --> 00:05:59.629 it, but the rest of the chapter deals with another 00:05:59.629 --> 00:06:04.209 beast, and I want to note that because we will 00:06:04.209 --> 00:06:07.399 refer to him. at the close of the message tonight. 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:12.399 The spirit of Antichrist is present during this 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:17.019 entire age. But that spirit will be focused upon 00:06:17.019 --> 00:06:21.399 and personified in one particular person who 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:25.279 will arise out of the mass of the Western powers. 00:06:27.180 --> 00:06:30.360 The Bible seems to describe this individual as 00:06:30.360 --> 00:06:34.759 a very charismatic person, a dynamic individual. 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:41.680 whose charm, intellect, and leadership will enthrall 00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:46.939 a desperate world, a world that will be hungry 00:06:46.939 --> 00:06:51.019 for someone to lead it out of its difficulties. 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:56.639 He will be a man stronger than Hitler, who was 00:06:56.639 --> 00:07:01.339 able to take a crushed Germany in the 1930s and 00:07:01.339 --> 00:07:06.129 bring it to a world power. This man will unite 00:07:06.129 --> 00:07:11.370 the Western powers behind him in order to provide 00:07:11.370 --> 00:07:15.810 a political and military base from which he will 00:07:15.810 --> 00:07:20.189 launch into the Mideast. And to some extent, 00:07:20.290 --> 00:07:23.149 and to a great extent it would seem, he will 00:07:23.149 --> 00:07:26.170 have power over a great deal of the world at 00:07:26.170 --> 00:07:30.449 that time. This man, whom we call the Antichrist, 00:07:30.529 --> 00:07:34.060 will be the embodiment of evil. He will be a 00:07:34.060 --> 00:07:38.519 puppet of Satan and a masterpiece of deception. 00:07:40.300 --> 00:07:42.220 Before we begin looking further at this subject, 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:47.540 I'd like for you to bow with me in prayer. Father, 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:50.259 I pray tonight as we look at this individual 00:07:50.259 --> 00:07:53.899 who will be Satan's masterpiece of deception, 00:07:55.699 --> 00:07:58.819 that you would protect us from interference, 00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:03.439 that you will enable us to concentrate upon the 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:06.879 Word of God. I pray that the Holy Spirit would 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:10.220 be our teacher. We know that our enemy would 00:08:10.220 --> 00:08:14.019 like us to remain as ignorant as possible of 00:08:14.019 --> 00:08:18.959 his plans. Thank you for exposing them to us. 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:23.259 And we pray tonight that our hearts will be drawn 00:08:23.259 --> 00:08:28.819 to our Savior, who is the real thing. And who 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:32.980 is the Lord? And who is the King who will one 00:08:32.980 --> 00:08:37.399 day rule rightly in truth and justice over the 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.779 whole earth? And it's in His name that we pray 00:08:40.779 --> 00:08:43.720 and for His blessing that we come to you. Amen. 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:48.700 I'd like for us to think tonight about the Antichrist 00:08:48.700 --> 00:08:51.740 in several respects. First of all, would you 00:08:51.740 --> 00:08:55.279 think with me about the person of the Antichrist? 00:08:55.710 --> 00:08:58.450 It is important to understand that Antichrist 00:08:58.450 --> 00:09:03.610 is not merely a spirit, though it is that. Antichrist 00:09:03.610 --> 00:09:08.590 is not just a system, but Antichrist will be 00:09:08.590 --> 00:09:13.929 a man who will head a system. There are many 00:09:13.929 --> 00:09:17.110 names given to him in the Bible. We have looked 00:09:17.110 --> 00:09:21.210 at two thus far. Antichrist means not just that 00:09:21.210 --> 00:09:25.289 he is in contrast to Christ. But it means more 00:09:25.289 --> 00:09:27.450 than that. It means that he is in opposition 00:09:27.450 --> 00:09:31.990 to Christ, actively so. He is opposed to the 00:09:31.990 --> 00:09:35.850 work of God in the world. And it will be his 00:09:35.850 --> 00:09:40.549 intention to mimic and imitate Jesus Christ so 00:09:40.549 --> 00:09:45.769 that he, Antichrist, will assume a messianic 00:09:45.769 --> 00:09:50.710 kind of a figure in the world. He is called in 00:09:50.710 --> 00:09:58.210 Revelation 13, the Beast. That seems to say to 00:09:58.210 --> 00:10:03.590 us that he will be a man untamed, a man without 00:10:03.590 --> 00:10:08.070 principle morally. While he will have a certain 00:10:08.070 --> 00:10:11.909 facade at least for a time, presenting himself 00:10:11.909 --> 00:10:16.929 as a man of peace, a uniter of nations, a great 00:10:16.929 --> 00:10:20.850 statesman and leader, he will in fact in his 00:10:20.850 --> 00:10:25.129 heart be a man of lawlessness and wickedness. 00:10:25.419 --> 00:10:29.100 A man who will step on any body and anything 00:10:29.100 --> 00:10:36.159 that gets in his way. He will ravage and victimize 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:40.200 the nations. And thus he is called a beast. He 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:47.340 will be a wild man. Other names given to him 00:10:47.340 --> 00:10:52.600 in the Bible include the son of perdition, the 00:10:52.600 --> 00:10:58.159 man of sin, That wicked one or that lawless one 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:02.399 The prince that shall come a name that we looked 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:06.960 at in Daniel 9 26 a couple of weeks ago But I'd 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:08.759 like for you to turn with me to find another 00:11:08.759 --> 00:11:12.039 name in the Old Testament in the book of Daniel 00:11:12.039 --> 00:11:14.919 And would you turn there please to the seventh 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:25.490 chapter? In Daniel chapter 7, we have the record 00:11:25.490 --> 00:11:30.850 of a vision which was given to Daniel by the 00:11:30.850 --> 00:11:36.289 Lord. He gives details about it in verse 1, and 00:11:36.289 --> 00:11:39.470 then he says in verse 2, I was looking in my 00:11:39.470 --> 00:11:42.970 vision by night, and behold, the four winds of 00:11:42.970 --> 00:11:48.889 heaven were stirring up the great sea. The sea 00:11:48.889 --> 00:11:53.610 in the Bible, typically, refers to the Gentile 00:11:53.610 --> 00:11:57.490 nations of the world. You will notice that in 00:11:57.490 --> 00:12:01.350 Revelation 13, Satan stands upon the sands of 00:12:01.350 --> 00:12:06.350 the sea, and it is out of that sea of the Gentile 00:12:06.350 --> 00:12:10.830 world that this beast comes forth to him, whom 00:12:10.830 --> 00:12:15.129 he empowers and uses. And here again, in this 00:12:15.129 --> 00:12:19.139 vision, we see the great sea. And the four winds 00:12:19.139 --> 00:12:21.840 of heaven are blowing upon it. It's in tumult. 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:26.779 And then Daniel says, four great beasts were 00:12:26.779 --> 00:12:30.779 coming up from the sea, different from one another. 00:12:31.980 --> 00:12:35.279 And so in his vision, he sees four beasts come 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:40.279 out of this tumultuous ocean. The first one was 00:12:40.279 --> 00:12:43.759 like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. A 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:48.289 lion speaking of strength. majesty, of sovereignty, 00:12:49.490 --> 00:12:53.809 royalty, and an eagle that which is swift to 00:12:53.809 --> 00:12:59.909 its prey. This first beast we know from Scripture 00:12:59.909 --> 00:13:05.730 refers to the historical empire of Babylon. That 00:13:05.730 --> 00:13:08.549 was the empire which Daniel, as he saw this vision, 00:13:08.710 --> 00:13:12.509 was serving under, as it says in verse 1, Belshazzar. 00:13:14.830 --> 00:13:18.370 And behold another beast, a second one resembling 00:13:18.370 --> 00:13:23.590 a bear. A bear, a strong animal, a ferocious 00:13:23.590 --> 00:13:31.110 animal. The bear follows this first beast and 00:13:31.110 --> 00:13:35.309 historically has been fulfilled already in the 00:13:35.309 --> 00:13:38.210 empire that arose after Babylon, indeed which 00:13:38.210 --> 00:13:41.110 destroyed Babylon, conquered Babylon. That's 00:13:41.110 --> 00:13:45.289 the empire of the Medes and the Persians. They 00:13:45.289 --> 00:13:48.889 were a ferocious people in their battle against 00:13:48.889 --> 00:13:51.690 their enemies, much like a bear is ferocious. 00:13:53.629 --> 00:13:56.070 After this I kept looking, behold another one, 00:13:56.169 --> 00:13:59.730 like a leopard which had on its back four wings 00:13:59.730 --> 00:14:05.490 of a bird. Here we see a beast that is marked 00:14:05.490 --> 00:14:09.830 for its swiftness. Again, historically, this 00:14:09.830 --> 00:14:14.970 third beast followed the second one. It was fulfilled 00:14:14.970 --> 00:14:19.289 in the empire of Alexander the Great in Greece. 00:14:20.210 --> 00:14:23.710 Alexander was noted for the fastness by which 00:14:23.710 --> 00:14:27.730 his armies moved, which would correlate with 00:14:27.730 --> 00:14:30.330 the swiftness of this beast that is seen in verse 00:14:30.330 --> 00:14:34.509 6. And then in verse 7, and after this, I kept 00:14:34.509 --> 00:14:37.230 looking in the night visions, and behold a fourth 00:14:37.230 --> 00:14:43.179 beast, dreadful and terrifying. and extremely 00:14:43.179 --> 00:14:50.220 strong. And it had large iron teeth. It devoured 00:14:50.220 --> 00:14:53.379 and crushed and trampled down the remainder with 00:14:53.379 --> 00:14:57.259 its feet. And it was different from all the beasts 00:14:57.259 --> 00:15:03.620 that were before it. And it had ten horns. And 00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:07.740 so Daniel sees another empire arise, controlling 00:15:07.740 --> 00:15:12.940 the Gentile world as it was at that time. This 00:15:12.940 --> 00:15:16.700 is an empire that follows Greece and again historically 00:15:16.700 --> 00:15:20.019 it has been at least partially fulfilled in the 00:15:20.019 --> 00:15:25.580 Roman Empire which crushed its enemies and enlarged 00:15:25.580 --> 00:15:32.120 its borders. Rome was a terrifying enemy as the 00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:37.059 beast is described here. Daniel is not given 00:15:37.059 --> 00:15:42.679 in his vision understanding that there is a time 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:47.720 lapse involved in the fulfillment of this fourth 00:15:47.720 --> 00:15:52.620 beast. He sees it all coming together. But from 00:15:52.620 --> 00:15:55.679 the perspective where we are today, we understand 00:15:55.679 --> 00:16:01.220 that this vision of a fourth beast has a certain 00:16:01.220 --> 00:16:05.759 time element that is built into it by God. What 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:09.299 I mean is, that this fourth empire, the Roman 00:16:09.299 --> 00:16:15.139 Empire, was never completely destroyed. It morally 00:16:15.139 --> 00:16:19.659 corrupted and fell apart on its own. But it was 00:16:19.659 --> 00:16:26.059 never conquered. And when he says it had ten 00:16:26.059 --> 00:16:30.240 horns, comparing Scripture with Scripture, what 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:35.480 Daniel is talking about there is the bringing 00:16:35.480 --> 00:16:39.440 together and the reviving of this Roman Empire 00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:44.740 in the last days, being composed of ten nations. 00:16:46.340 --> 00:16:51.879 A horn symbolically speaks of a power or authority 00:16:51.879 --> 00:16:56.220 or a nation. Daniel is saying that he saw this 00:16:56.220 --> 00:17:01.220 fourth beast as composed of ten powers or ten 00:17:01.220 --> 00:17:05.359 entities, ten countries, ten nations. And as 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:07.400 we look in the book of Revelation we see that 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:10.359 that part of it has yet to be fulfilled in the 00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:13.319 last days. Those days that are a part of the 00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:16.099 tribulation which we studied our last time together. 00:17:17.180 --> 00:17:19.119 Now we need to go on to verse 8. While I was 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:22.779 contemplating the horns, behold another horn, 00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:28.579 a little one, came up among them, and three of 00:17:28.579 --> 00:17:31.400 the first horns were pulled out by the roots 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:36.279 before it. And behold, this horn possessed eyes 00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:39.640 like the eyes of a man, and a mouth uttering 00:17:39.640 --> 00:17:44.400 great boasts." And so Daniel sees a very peculiar 00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:49.839 thing. These ten horns have another horn that 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:54.099 seems to come up among them and causes three 00:17:54.099 --> 00:17:58.579 of them to fall over, to be uprooted. And he 00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:02.799 says that this horn has some characteristics 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:06.599 not just of a nation, but of a man. For he says, 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:09.720 the eyes of a man and the mouth uttering great 00:18:09.720 --> 00:18:13.980 boasts. What we have here in this little horn 00:18:13.980 --> 00:18:19.779 is Antichrist, as Daniel sees him arise from 00:18:19.779 --> 00:18:25.180 the revived Roman Empire of the last days. I'll 00:18:25.180 --> 00:18:27.700 turn over a few verses with me, maybe a page 00:18:27.700 --> 00:18:31.099 or two in your Bible. to where Daniel says more 00:18:31.099 --> 00:18:34.920 about this particular beast. Look at verse 23. 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:01.519 And he will be different from the previous ones 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:05.140 and will subdue three kings. So there are the 00:19:05.140 --> 00:19:08.160 uprooting of the three horns. And he will speak 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:12.359 out against the most high and wear down the saints 00:19:12.359 --> 00:19:15.299 of the highest one. And he will intend to make 00:19:15.299 --> 00:19:20.599 alterations in times and in law. We do not know 00:19:20.599 --> 00:19:24.079 fully what Daniel is told here. We do not understand 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:28.039 that from our perspective today. I have no doubt. 00:19:28.430 --> 00:19:32.569 that as history unfolds and indeed as these days 00:19:32.569 --> 00:19:35.069 come upon the earth that believers in those days 00:19:35.069 --> 00:19:37.710 looking at the book of Daniel will say yes that's 00:19:37.710 --> 00:19:40.569 exactly what it means here what's happening right 00:19:40.569 --> 00:19:44.930 now it is interesting that with prophecy as the 00:19:44.930 --> 00:19:49.190 times unfold additional understanding is gained 00:19:49.190 --> 00:19:52.529 into ancient prophecies and that will continue 00:19:52.529 --> 00:19:56.329 to be true apparently Antichrist will seek in 00:19:56.329 --> 00:20:03.450 some way to alter the times, the calendar. And 00:20:03.450 --> 00:20:08.369 he will also seek to change law. And it says 00:20:08.369 --> 00:20:11.730 that these will be given into his hand for a 00:20:11.730 --> 00:20:16.690 time, times, and half a time. That is an expression 00:20:16.690 --> 00:20:21.269 that we referred to in the last message. It is 00:20:21.269 --> 00:20:24.710 three and one half years. A time is one year, 00:20:25.170 --> 00:20:29.930 times... at least two, and it is two, and a half 00:20:29.930 --> 00:20:32.730 a time is a half of a year. You add that together, 00:20:33.309 --> 00:20:36.549 it's three and a half years. And that is the 00:20:36.549 --> 00:20:40.210 same as the 42 months that we read in Revelation 00:20:40.210 --> 00:20:45.809 chapter 13. But it says the court will sit for 00:20:45.809 --> 00:20:48.390 judgment. What court is this? This is God's court. 00:20:49.410 --> 00:20:53.950 This is justice. And his dominion, antichrist 00:20:53.950 --> 00:20:56.750 dominion, will be taken away, annihilated, and 00:20:56.750 --> 00:20:59.930 destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, the 00:20:59.930 --> 00:21:02.230 dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms 00:21:02.230 --> 00:21:05.789 under the whole heaven will be given to the people 00:21:05.789 --> 00:21:09.170 of the saints of the highest one. That is, God's 00:21:09.170 --> 00:21:13.089 people will reign. His kingdom, Christ's kingdom, 00:21:13.210 --> 00:21:16.730 will be an everlasting kingdom. And all the dominions 00:21:16.730 --> 00:21:21.910 will serve and obey Him. At this point, the revelation 00:21:21.910 --> 00:21:26.170 ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly 00:21:26.170 --> 00:21:30.170 alarming me, and my face grew pale, but I kept 00:21:30.170 --> 00:21:33.289 the matter to myself. I think we can understand 00:21:33.289 --> 00:21:36.809 how Daniel must have felt at that time, more 00:21:36.809 --> 00:21:39.710 than 500 years before Christ, as he was given 00:21:39.710 --> 00:21:43.609 understanding of things that were to come upon 00:21:43.609 --> 00:21:48.630 the earth. Antichrist is seen here in his person. 00:21:48.809 --> 00:21:53.369 as a powerful political figure who will arise 00:21:53.369 --> 00:21:57.269 out of the revived Roman Empire by overthrowing 00:21:57.269 --> 00:22:00.049 part of that empire and apparently the rest then 00:22:00.049 --> 00:22:03.910 giving themselves to him. That will then be his 00:22:03.910 --> 00:22:06.450 power base from which he will make his additional 00:22:06.450 --> 00:22:10.809 moves in the tribulation period. And God allows 00:22:10.809 --> 00:22:16.470 him to have his way for a period of time. Satan 00:22:16.470 --> 00:22:20.849 is able to give to this man what he offered to 00:22:20.849 --> 00:22:25.589 Christ, but Christ refused in the temptation. 00:22:26.650 --> 00:22:29.329 Satan will give to this man all of the kingdoms 00:22:29.329 --> 00:22:33.609 of the earth, because this man will fall down 00:22:33.609 --> 00:22:40.410 and worship him. Our Savior is a lamb. This one 00:22:40.410 --> 00:22:45.910 is a beast. Our Savior is the truth. This man 00:22:45.910 --> 00:22:50.329 will be the personification of the lie. Our Savior 00:22:50.329 --> 00:22:54.869 is today in heaven building a heavenly New Jerusalem, 00:22:55.210 --> 00:22:59.549 but this man will build an earthly Babylon which 00:22:59.549 --> 00:23:03.130 is described in the 17th and 18th chapters of 00:23:03.130 --> 00:23:07.049 the book of the Revelation. Our Savior is the 00:23:07.049 --> 00:23:10.230 seed of the woman who has come to redeem the 00:23:10.230 --> 00:23:14.309 lost, but this man will be the seed of the serpent. 00:23:15.309 --> 00:23:18.029 Now there have been those who have conjectured 00:23:18.029 --> 00:23:24.069 that Antichrist might be a Jew because he is 00:23:24.069 --> 00:23:26.990 able to cause the Jewish people to follow him 00:23:26.990 --> 00:23:30.109 for the first three and a half years. You recall 00:23:30.109 --> 00:23:32.869 last time we saw that he would make a covenant 00:23:32.869 --> 00:23:37.109 with the Jewish people for seven years and in 00:23:37.109 --> 00:23:40.210 the middle of that covenant period he will break 00:23:40.210 --> 00:23:45.019 the covenant by establishing an idol to himself 00:23:45.019 --> 00:23:47.160 in the Jewish temple that will be constructed 00:23:47.160 --> 00:23:50.380 in that day. And so some have felt that in order 00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:53.079 for him to gain the loyalty of the Jewish people, 00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:56.539 he must be a Jew. I think that that is not the 00:23:56.539 --> 00:24:01.240 case, because we see him arising out of the Gentile 00:24:01.240 --> 00:24:04.779 nations. But he will in fact deceive the Jews, 00:24:05.539 --> 00:24:08.259 and he will guarantee to them the peace that 00:24:08.259 --> 00:24:13.319 they long for so much tonight. He will be able 00:24:13.319 --> 00:24:18.000 to secure for them, temporarily, a time when 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:21.380 they will have peace and safety as a nation. 00:24:23.480 --> 00:24:26.900 But he will turn on them and begin to persecute 00:24:26.900 --> 00:24:30.960 the Jews such as they have never been persecuted 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:35.119 up to this point, even by Hitler himself. Now 00:24:35.119 --> 00:24:37.019 having thought about the person of Antichrist, 00:24:37.059 --> 00:24:40.240 let's think for a moment about the power of Antichrist. 00:24:40.490 --> 00:24:43.829 To do this, would you turn with me to 2 Thessalonians 00:24:43.829 --> 00:24:50.390 in the New Testament. We look in 2 Thessalonians 00:24:50.390 --> 00:25:02.630 at the second chapter. What we are told here 00:25:02.630 --> 00:25:05.470 as Paul begins this chapter is that the day of 00:25:05.470 --> 00:25:09.569 the Lord a biblical term that refers to that 00:25:09.569 --> 00:25:12.170 period of judgment that is coming, the tribulation 00:25:12.170 --> 00:25:15.690 period, but also the kingdom following. The Day 00:25:15.690 --> 00:25:18.569 of the Lord is an eschatological or prophetic 00:25:18.569 --> 00:25:22.230 term that is very broad, embracing first the 00:25:22.230 --> 00:25:25.109 judgment at the end of this age, which then leads 00:25:25.109 --> 00:25:27.529 to the blessing and prosperity of the millennial 00:25:27.529 --> 00:25:30.970 reign of Christ. Now he says that that day will 00:25:30.970 --> 00:25:33.670 not come until there is first a great apostasy. 00:25:35.160 --> 00:25:37.480 Well, frankly, folks, I believe we're living 00:25:37.480 --> 00:25:40.359 in that day when the apostasy is taking place. 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:43.519 That is, when many who name the name of Christ 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:47.640 are naming that name deceitfully and do not, 00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:50.119 in fact, believe the truth about Him that He 00:25:50.119 --> 00:25:53.000 is God and the only Savior of the world and that 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:55.539 His payment at the cross is the only payment, 00:25:55.880 --> 00:25:58.359 the only provision that God has made for sin. 00:25:59.440 --> 00:26:01.500 There are those who call themselves Christians. 00:26:01.539 --> 00:26:05.339 They are part of large denominations. And yet 00:26:05.339 --> 00:26:09.380 they are a part of the apostasy, sadly, for they 00:26:09.380 --> 00:26:13.039 are falling away from the truth as God has revealed 00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:17.480 it to us in His Word. Now he goes on to say, 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:20.920 in the second part of verse 3, the man of lawlessness 00:26:20.920 --> 00:26:25.900 is revealed in that day, the son of destruction 00:26:25.900 --> 00:26:30.700 or perdition, who opposes and exalts himself 00:26:30.700 --> 00:26:33.960 above every so -called God or object of worship. 00:26:34.299 --> 00:26:38.420 so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:43.299 displaying himself as being God. Now this is 00:26:43.299 --> 00:26:45.839 that abomination of desolations that we looked 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:49.200 at a couple of weeks ago in Daniel chapter 9. 00:26:52.779 --> 00:26:56.319 The beast will have a partner in accomplishing 00:26:56.319 --> 00:26:59.980 all of this, and that is that second beast that 00:26:59.980 --> 00:27:03.000 we did not read about in Revelation chapter 13. 00:27:03.710 --> 00:27:07.730 He is sometimes called the false prophet. But 00:27:07.730 --> 00:27:13.650 whereas the beast is a political and military 00:27:13.650 --> 00:27:17.289 figure, the false prophet, the second beast, 00:27:17.910 --> 00:27:24.289 is a religious leader. His job seems to be to 00:27:24.289 --> 00:27:29.690 bring worship to the first beast. And so he is 00:27:29.690 --> 00:27:33.839 the one who arranges some kind of an idol. in 00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:38.059 the temple in Jerusalem, which will speak and 00:27:38.059 --> 00:27:42.380 from which amazing things will take place, which 00:27:42.380 --> 00:27:44.779 will deceive the world and draw people after 00:27:44.779 --> 00:27:49.359 Antichrist. Antichrist, as it is suggested in 00:27:49.359 --> 00:27:53.000 Revelation 13, will apparently, at some point, 00:27:53.700 --> 00:27:59.859 suffer a wound. A wound that should be fatal. 00:28:00.779 --> 00:28:05.220 But he is resuscitated from that in an imitation 00:28:05.220 --> 00:28:10.259 of a resurrection. And the suggestion seems to 00:28:10.259 --> 00:28:12.299 be that it will be said that he was, in fact, 00:28:12.519 --> 00:28:16.420 raised from the dead. And that will be his credentials 00:28:16.420 --> 00:28:19.359 to claim that he is the Messiah, the Christ. 00:28:20.079 --> 00:28:22.599 You remember we read in Revelation 13 about his 00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:26.960 fatal wound which was healed. Now all of that 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:30.220 will cause this man to gain a larger than life 00:28:33.830 --> 00:28:38.250 He will appear to be more than just a man. He 00:28:38.250 --> 00:28:42.569 will in fact appear to be God and many will follow 00:28:42.569 --> 00:28:45.549 him as God. He will establish himself as God 00:28:45.549 --> 00:28:49.710 as it is said here. And then Paul goes on to 00:28:49.710 --> 00:28:53.250 say in verse 6, and you know what restrains him 00:28:53.250 --> 00:29:00.000 now so that in his time he may be revealed. It 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:02.140 would seem as though Satan would like to have 00:29:02.140 --> 00:29:05.720 brought forth his antichrist long before this, 00:29:06.140 --> 00:29:10.680 but he has been restrained. What is the restrainer? 00:29:11.259 --> 00:29:13.619 Well, we've talked about that before, but I believe 00:29:13.619 --> 00:29:17.720 that the restrainer is, in fact, the Holy Spirit 00:29:17.720 --> 00:29:23.240 as he is working in and residing in the Church, 00:29:24.299 --> 00:29:27.970 the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. You and I 00:29:27.970 --> 00:29:29.890 who know and love the Lord who are part of the 00:29:29.890 --> 00:29:34.869 body of Christ are handicapped to Satan. We are 00:29:34.869 --> 00:29:38.710 a restraining force in this world so that Satan 00:29:38.710 --> 00:29:43.289 is not able to move as quickly as he is determined 00:29:43.289 --> 00:29:47.809 to move. So what is it that has hindered Satan 00:29:47.809 --> 00:29:51.450 from bringing forth this Antichrist? Up to this 00:29:51.450 --> 00:29:55.369 point it's been the Restrainer. Paul goes on 00:29:55.369 --> 00:29:57.329 to say in verse 7, the mystery of lawlessness 00:29:57.329 --> 00:30:01.369 is already at work even in his day. Only he who 00:30:01.369 --> 00:30:05.210 now restrains will do so until he is taken out 00:30:05.210 --> 00:30:08.670 of the way. And I believe that that will occur 00:30:08.670 --> 00:30:11.950 at the rapture. Until that moment that we are 00:30:11.950 --> 00:30:15.190 called out from the world, we are a restraining 00:30:15.190 --> 00:30:21.430 force. But when we are gone, when we are gone, 00:30:22.230 --> 00:30:26.359 may I say all hell will break loose upon the 00:30:26.359 --> 00:30:30.579 earth. For then Satan will be able to freely 00:30:30.579 --> 00:30:35.059 bring to pass the wicked and evil plans which 00:30:35.059 --> 00:30:39.240 have been percolating in his mind, which have 00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:42.319 been laid out carefully and schemed by him for 00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:46.339 hundreds and hundreds of years. He will not delay, 00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:50.779 in my opinion, in quickly bringing to pass the 00:30:50.779 --> 00:30:53.200 coming of Antichrist once the rapture occurs. 00:30:53.690 --> 00:31:00.769 Now that would suggest, to me at least, that 00:31:00.769 --> 00:31:06.329 probably we will not know who Antichrist is before 00:31:06.329 --> 00:31:10.029 we leave the earth. I have seen tracks written 00:31:10.029 --> 00:31:15.029 about Henry Kissinger, about John Kennedy being 00:31:15.029 --> 00:31:19.650 raised from the grave, and Hitler being... Either 00:31:19.650 --> 00:31:22.549 raised or that he never died in that bunker and 00:31:22.549 --> 00:31:26.049 somehow he's going to appear again And I think 00:31:26.049 --> 00:31:29.309 all of those really are Well, they are speculation, 00:31:29.329 --> 00:31:31.269 but I think they're more than that. I think they're 00:31:31.269 --> 00:31:35.309 they're wrong. I Believe that this man has not 00:31:35.309 --> 00:31:39.809 yet been upon the earth Perhaps he is alive today 00:31:39.809 --> 00:31:44.410 That may well be but he has not been revealed 00:31:44.410 --> 00:31:48.799 as the person that he is and will become as far 00:31:48.799 --> 00:31:51.160 as becoming a national or international figure. 00:31:52.779 --> 00:31:54.720 And I'm not sure that we will know who he is 00:31:54.720 --> 00:31:57.700 before we depart. And frankly, I don't care about 00:31:57.700 --> 00:32:02.259 that detail. Now it says in verse 8, and then, 00:32:02.420 --> 00:32:05.579 that is, when we are taken out of the way, then 00:32:05.579 --> 00:32:09.539 that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord 00:32:09.539 --> 00:32:12.400 will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:14.779 to an end by the appearance of his coming. That 00:32:14.779 --> 00:32:17.950 is, The one who's coming is in accord with the 00:32:17.950 --> 00:32:21.990 activity of Satan, with all power and signs and 00:32:21.990 --> 00:32:25.490 false wonders. And I say it again, though I have 00:32:25.490 --> 00:32:28.190 said it many times, that just because there are 00:32:28.190 --> 00:32:31.289 signs and wonders and miracles, it does not mean 00:32:31.289 --> 00:32:36.769 something is of God. It does not. For we learn 00:32:36.769 --> 00:32:39.950 here that Satan is able, through his power and 00:32:39.950 --> 00:32:43.069 activity, to bring forth exactly the same things. 00:32:45.870 --> 00:32:48.990 And it says, with all the deception of wickedness 00:32:48.990 --> 00:32:52.009 for those who perish because they did not receive 00:32:52.009 --> 00:32:56.250 the love of the truth so as to be saved. For 00:32:56.250 --> 00:32:59.230 this reason, God will send upon them a deluding 00:32:59.230 --> 00:33:02.009 influence so that they might believe what is 00:33:02.009 --> 00:33:06.450 false, in order that they all may be judged who 00:33:06.450 --> 00:33:09.930 did not believe the truth but took pleasure in 00:33:09.930 --> 00:33:13.190 wickedness. I think that those three verses are 00:33:13.190 --> 00:33:16.839 among the most solemn in the whole Bible. For 00:33:16.839 --> 00:33:20.359 what I honestly believe they are teaching is 00:33:20.359 --> 00:33:24.519 that those who in this age, at this time, reject 00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:28.480 knowingly, willfully reject the gospel of Jesus 00:33:28.480 --> 00:33:32.000 Christ and take pleasure in wickedness, that 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:38.059 they cannot be saved following the rapture of 00:33:38.059 --> 00:33:45.150 the church. That their day of grace is now. that 00:33:45.150 --> 00:33:48.450 once the rapture has taken place God is going 00:33:48.450 --> 00:33:53.470 to send them as it says here a deception so that 00:33:53.470 --> 00:33:55.990 they will not receive the love of the truth. 00:33:57.230 --> 00:34:00.769 Now we might think that those that we are witnessing 00:34:00.769 --> 00:34:04.430 to and pleading to come to Christ and be saved 00:34:04.430 --> 00:34:08.250 will surely wake up once the rapture has occurred 00:34:08.250 --> 00:34:10.789 and they will then trust the Lord if they don't 00:34:10.789 --> 00:34:15.179 do it before. The fact is If I understand this 00:34:15.179 --> 00:34:18.780 scripture correctly, that they will not trust 00:34:18.780 --> 00:34:22.340 the Savior afterward. But because they rejected 00:34:22.340 --> 00:34:26.019 the love of the truth, they will be turned to 00:34:26.019 --> 00:34:30.119 believe what is false, and that is the lie of 00:34:30.119 --> 00:34:33.739 Antichrist. Because they did not believe in the 00:34:33.739 --> 00:34:37.820 truth, therefore they will believe a lie in that 00:34:37.820 --> 00:34:42.340 day. that those who are saved in the tribulation 00:34:42.340 --> 00:34:44.659 period, and there will be millions, as I've said 00:34:44.659 --> 00:34:49.480 before, if the book of Revelation can be trusted, 00:34:49.480 --> 00:34:52.539 and it can of course, then there will be millions 00:34:52.539 --> 00:34:55.460 saved in the tribulation period. But they will 00:34:55.460 --> 00:34:58.900 be those who have not heard, who have not heard 00:34:58.900 --> 00:35:04.820 in this age of grace. And so the power of Antichrist 00:35:04.820 --> 00:35:08.659 comes from Satan. And he will be given to do 00:35:08.659 --> 00:35:12.469 miracles. including his own so -called resurrection. 00:35:13.590 --> 00:35:16.369 Let me summarize and say that he will control 00:35:16.369 --> 00:35:21.050 at least the Western world at that time, the 00:35:21.050 --> 00:35:25.070 revived Roman Empire, through covenants. Then 00:35:25.070 --> 00:35:27.710 it seems he will extend control over most of 00:35:27.710 --> 00:35:31.929 the rest of the world. We have talked about the 00:35:31.929 --> 00:35:33.889 covenant he will make with Israel. We have talked 00:35:33.889 --> 00:35:38.679 about him establishing himself as God. and the 00:35:38.679 --> 00:35:41.440 accompanying false prophet who will set up the 00:35:41.440 --> 00:35:45.500 image of him in the temple. Arnold Toynbee the 00:35:45.500 --> 00:35:49.559 historian said, we are ripe for the deifying 00:35:49.559 --> 00:35:53.079 of any new Caesar who might succeed in giving 00:35:53.079 --> 00:35:57.219 the world unity and peace. And he is absolutely 00:35:57.219 --> 00:36:01.260 right. And a Christ will be given power to persecute 00:36:01.260 --> 00:36:04.500 the elect that is the believers during the tribulation 00:36:04.500 --> 00:36:07.750 and particularly it would seem those who are 00:36:07.750 --> 00:36:12.010 Jews and who believe. He will inaugurate a worldwide 00:36:12.010 --> 00:36:16.150 reign of terror, murder, and blasphemy directed 00:36:16.150 --> 00:36:23.090 primarily against the people of God. Thirdly, 00:36:23.090 --> 00:36:25.349 I'd like to talk about the punishment of Antichrist 00:36:25.349 --> 00:36:28.170 and I think that's important to do because every 00:36:28.170 --> 00:36:33.090 place, note this, every place in the New Testament 00:36:33.090 --> 00:36:39.260 which speaks of him also speaks of His ultimate 00:36:39.260 --> 00:36:43.119 punishment and His judgment. There is no exception 00:36:43.119 --> 00:36:47.340 to that. Every passage that speaks of Him also 00:36:47.340 --> 00:36:52.280 points to His ultimate doom. We see it here where 00:36:52.280 --> 00:36:56.280 it is said that the Lord will destroy Him, verse 00:36:56.280 --> 00:36:59.960 8, will slay Him with the breath of His mouth 00:36:59.960 --> 00:37:04.539 and will bring to an end this man by the appearance 00:37:04.539 --> 00:37:08.920 of His coming. Now, to see that more fully, turn 00:37:08.920 --> 00:37:12.000 with me and we turn finally now to Revelation 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:22.880 chapter 19. We have here a prophetic view of 00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:26.579 the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as He returns 00:37:26.579 --> 00:37:31.019 to the earth. It is a glorious picture as He 00:37:31.019 --> 00:37:35.030 comes with His armies to subdue the armies of 00:37:35.030 --> 00:37:40.610 Antichrist. And now it says in verse 19, And 00:37:40.610 --> 00:37:45.889 I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and 00:37:45.889 --> 00:37:49.889 their armies assemble to make war against him 00:37:49.889 --> 00:37:53.110 who sat upon the horse and against his army. 00:37:53.170 --> 00:37:59.130 That is Christ. And the beast was seized and 00:37:59.130 --> 00:38:02.909 with him the false prophet. who performed the 00:38:02.909 --> 00:38:06.730 signs in his presence, by which he deceived those 00:38:06.730 --> 00:38:09.969 who had received the mark of the beast. We did 00:38:09.969 --> 00:38:12.809 not talk about that, but that is that figure 00:38:12.809 --> 00:38:17.590 666, which is mysterious to us today in its meaning, 00:38:17.849 --> 00:38:20.650 but which again, I believe fully, will be understood 00:38:20.650 --> 00:38:25.570 by those who are living in that day. And those 00:38:25.570 --> 00:38:28.710 who worship the image, and it says these two 00:38:28.710 --> 00:38:32.690 were thrown alive, into the lake of fire which 00:38:32.690 --> 00:38:38.949 burns with brimstone. And so we have here a view 00:38:38.949 --> 00:38:43.869 of that ultimate, awful, eternal place of punishment 00:38:43.869 --> 00:38:50.070 for those who reject God. It is called the lake 00:38:50.070 --> 00:38:55.429 of fire which burns with brimstone. Can you imagine 00:38:55.429 --> 00:38:59.360 the horror and the terror of such a sight? as 00:38:59.360 --> 00:39:03.980 a lake, a large body of fire. And the first two 00:39:03.980 --> 00:39:07.579 inhabitants of that eternal lake of fire are 00:39:07.579 --> 00:39:14.460 the beast and the false prophet. We see a little 00:39:14.460 --> 00:39:21.260 bit later in chapter 20 a word regarding something 00:39:21.260 --> 00:39:24.840 that will happen in the last days after that, 00:39:24.940 --> 00:39:27.000 a thousand years later after that, after the 00:39:27.000 --> 00:39:29.599 reign of Christ. when the devil is dealt with. 00:39:29.659 --> 00:39:32.579 Notice what it says here. And the devil who deceived 00:39:32.579 --> 00:39:35.139 them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone. 00:39:35.219 --> 00:39:39.119 So he is number three going to that place. And 00:39:39.119 --> 00:39:42.599 it says, where the beast and the false prophet 00:39:42.599 --> 00:39:47.719 are also. And they will be tormented day and 00:39:47.719 --> 00:39:53.179 night forever and ever. None of us can take joy 00:39:53.179 --> 00:39:57.840 at those words. They are terrifying words. They're 00:39:57.840 --> 00:40:02.000 horrible words. But what it says is that these 00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:04.820 three, and as it goes on in the rest of these 00:40:04.820 --> 00:40:09.219 verses in the chapter, all of the lost will inhabit 00:40:09.219 --> 00:40:12.820 that place of punishment forever and forever. 00:40:13.460 --> 00:40:16.380 And I want you to notice that a thousand years 00:40:16.380 --> 00:40:20.199 later, after they were cast into the lake of 00:40:20.199 --> 00:40:26.300 fire, they are still there. They were not annihilated. 00:40:28.199 --> 00:40:30.920 They were not cast into the lake of fire and 00:40:30.920 --> 00:40:34.239 burned up and that was it. But a thousand years 00:40:34.239 --> 00:40:38.119 later they are there and they will be forever 00:40:38.119 --> 00:40:46.159 and forever. The earth, the world as we know 00:40:46.159 --> 00:40:51.300 it, is facing the most terrible time that will 00:40:51.300 --> 00:40:56.710 ever come upon this globe. And part of the terror 00:40:56.710 --> 00:40:59.630 of that time will be the Antichrist whom we have 00:40:59.630 --> 00:41:04.130 studied tonight. It is futile for us to spend 00:41:04.130 --> 00:41:07.150 time trying to guess who he is. What we need 00:41:07.150 --> 00:41:10.949 to be doing is to be busy serving our master, 00:41:11.710 --> 00:41:14.670 winning people to Christ so that they will not 00:41:14.670 --> 00:41:18.130 have to spend eternity in hell and so that they 00:41:18.130 --> 00:41:21.369 will not have to be upon the earth during this 00:41:21.369 --> 00:41:27.269 reign of the lawless one. You say, well, I'll 00:41:27.269 --> 00:41:31.429 tell you one thing. I am opposed to Antichrist, 00:41:32.309 --> 00:41:34.989 and I am against anything Antichrist stands for. 00:41:35.070 --> 00:41:38.070 And I say, amen to that. But folks, we've got 00:41:38.070 --> 00:41:41.469 to be careful, because when you and I allow the 00:41:41.469 --> 00:41:45.369 world system out there to control us and to dominate 00:41:45.369 --> 00:41:49.309 us, we are cooperating with the very system that 00:41:49.309 --> 00:41:52.170 will bring him forth and over which he will rule. 00:41:53.389 --> 00:41:56.929 And so let us live godly and holy lives separated 00:41:56.929 --> 00:42:00.869 from that world system. Let us not live for what 00:42:00.869 --> 00:42:03.690 the world system tells us to live for. Let's 00:42:03.690 --> 00:42:07.349 not be motivated by it. Let's not allow ourselves 00:42:07.349 --> 00:42:10.929 to think like it thinks or to be propagandized 00:42:10.929 --> 00:42:13.949 by its television and its other sources of media 00:42:13.949 --> 00:42:17.949 into thinking like it wants us to think. Paul 00:42:17.949 --> 00:42:20.710 said, don't let the world system squeeze you 00:42:20.710 --> 00:42:25.800 into its mold. And let's not do that, but let's 00:42:25.800 --> 00:42:30.440 be renewed in our minds by the Word of God and 00:42:30.440 --> 00:42:34.639 live for Jesus Christ faithfully. As I look at 00:42:34.639 --> 00:42:37.119 this powerful figure who's going to come upon 00:42:37.119 --> 00:42:39.219 the earth, I'm glad to remember that greater 00:42:39.219 --> 00:42:42.800 is he who is in me than he who is in the world 00:42:42.800 --> 00:42:46.079 who is going to bring forth this, his masterpiece. 00:42:46.500 --> 00:42:49.559 Let's sing about that in closing. Number 100. 00:42:50.519 --> 00:42:52.360 Oh, my book closed on me, so I'll have to look 00:42:52.360 --> 00:43:01.349 it up again. It is number 97. Greater is he that 00:43:01.349 --> 00:43:05.210 is in me greater is he that is in me than he 00:43:05.210 --> 00:43:06.130 that is in the world.