Tag: antichrist

Categories
2 Thessalonians Devotionals

Loving the truth

2 Thessalonians

They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth and so be saved. (2 Thessalonians 3:10)

We live in a world where the idea of truth, especially moral truth, is disappearing.

Things once considered morally wrong are no longer looked upon that way. Especially when it comes to sex, sexual orientation, and gender. This leads to “freedom” and “happiness,” people claim.

But the truth is, the end result will be that they perish.

And when Antichrist comes with all his miracles, signs, and wonders, they will be easily deceived because he will preach everything they already believe.

He himself will delight in unrighteousness just as they do, and so they will embrace him.

Paul’s words to the Romans ring truer than ever.

Although they know God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to die,—they not only do them, but even applaud, others who practice them. (Romans 1:32)

So what is the answer? Embrace truth. When God’s word conflicts with the “truth” the world is teaching, hold tightly to God’s word. As Paul said,

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold to the traditions you were taught, whether by what we said or what we wrote. (15)

If you embrace God’s truth, you will never have to worry about being deceived.

Categories
Revelation

When justice comes

Revelation

I was reading a letter from an elementary school that my friend in Hawaii posted on Facebook today.

It talked about how a child going to school was accosted by a stranger who threatened to kidnap her. A high school student was nearby so the child quickly ran to the student for help, and the stranger immediately left.

It really is scary to see all that is going on in society. And often times, we wonder if justice is ever going to come. We saw the saints crying out that very question in chapter 6.

But here in this chapter, we see that justice will finally come on all those who do evil and on the society that gave them birth. Antichrist, the prophet, Babylon, and everyone who follows them all fall.

The Antichrist and his army rise up for one last war against God, and Jesus returns to take back what is rightfully his. He who is faithful and true finally comes to prove that he truly is these things.

He proved it on the cross where he shed his blood for our sins (13), and he proves it now by bringing justice and salvation to the earth.

One would think that it would be a full-scale war, reminiscent of all the great battle scenes that you see in the movies. But it really is no contest.

With a word, the enemy’s army is destroyed (Revelation 19:21), and the antichrist and his prophet are thrown into the lake of fire (20).

Babylon is destroyed, and the smoke of its destruction rises forever (3), while the birds of prey feast at the banquet of the damned (17-18, 21).

The end result? Worship. For justice has finally come.

All heaven roars,

Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments.

He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants…Hallelujah!

The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever…Amen, Hallelujah!  (Revelation 19:1-4)

And with the banquet of the damned completed, another banquet is prepared. A voice from God’s throne cries out,

Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great! (5)

And all heaven responds,

Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!

For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (6-8)

The angel then turns to John and says,

Write: “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb…These are the true words of God.” (9)

The point of this all? Justice is coming. And with justice will come great joy for all of us who are the bride of Christ.

Though we did nothing to deserve it, though we too deserved to join the banquet of the damned, he has clothed us with his righteousness, and that righteousness has become our own.

We have become his own, Christ’s beloved. And we will rejoice with him for all eternity.

So as we see all the injustice and corruption in this world, let us hold on to that hope.

Justice is coming. Jesus is coming. And on that day, all heaven and earth will ring out in worship of him who truly is faithful and true.

Categories
Revelation

When you put your hope in this world

Revelation

Here in this passage, we see the fall of the great prostitute Babylon, which John later defines as “the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:18)

As we’ve seen before in chapter 14, John and his readers thought of it as Rome, but Rome itself is a symbol for a godless society, a world system that rebels against God.

It rides the beast we saw in chapter 13, a beast with 7 heads. The 7 heads, the angel says, represent the 7 hills of Rome on which the woman sits, and also 7 of Rome’s kings.

Five of those kings had already died, one was currently living in John’s time, and the seventh was yet to come. (17:7).

And the Beast himself, the antichrist, will come later as an eighth king (17:11).

The beast will ally himself with ten rulers (whether a literal number or not, I don’t know; it could be symbolic all the kings of the earth).

And people will follow this beast. Why do they follow after it? Part of it is his power. Part of it is because of his power to deceive. We saw all this in chapter 13.

But another major reason is this prostitute. She sits on “many waters,” which the angel tells John represents the people of the earth. People see what the prostitute has to offer: her riches and glory, and they drink it all in (4).

But the truth is, when they take in what she has to drink, they’re drinking in “abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.” Things God detests. Things that cause people to commit spiritual adultery against the One who created them.

And as we saw in chapter 14, people go “mad” over these things (Revelation 14:8).

In short, people fall for the beast in great part because of their love for this world system and all it has to offer.

But this world system is indeed allied with the beast. It is impossible to be friends with her and friends with God. We see this in that she is drunk with the blood of the saints. (Revelation 17:6; 18:24)

The thing we see here, though, is this world is coming to ruin.

Probably because of their war against God, the Beast and his ten allies strip the prostitute of everything. In other words, they are so hostile against God, they are willing to destroy this world in order to fight against him.

This in part probably means they are willing to ruin the world economy in order to prepare for this battle. But it probably also means they are willing to use weapons of such destructive power that it actually destroys this world (17:16)

But the angel tells John,

God has put it into their (the kings’) hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God’s words are fulfilled. (Revelation 17:17)

I think what this means is that God is planning to allow this world to be devastated, and while some of this will probably be directly from God’s hand, a lot of it will also actually come by our own hand. We will be our own demise.

But in the end, though this beast and these kings fight against God, even destroying the world to do so,

The Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings… (Revelation 17:14)

What do we get from all this?

The people who belong to this world system boast in all they have. They boast in what they have accomplished. And they think that it will last forever (Revelation 18:7).

But God says in a single day, it will all come crashing down, and all that this world promises will be shown for what it is: an illusion. (18:8)

God will thrust it into the sea like a millstone and it will be destroyed. All that the people rejoiced in and relied upon will be gone. (18:21-23)

And because of it, the people of this world will all mourn and be terrified. (18:9-19)

Mourn because all they relied on will be gone in an instant. Terrified because they know the judgment that fell on Babylon will soon fall on them.

What am I saying then? Don’t put your hope in this world. This world will fall, as will all who put their faith in it.

So let us heed the words of God who warns,

Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. (Revelation 18:4)

Categories
Revelation

A need for wisdom and insight

Revelation

We now hit the second beast.

This one comes out from the earth. He has two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon. In short, he looked innocent, like the Lamb of God, himself. But his words were that of Satan.

And while the first beast tries to use brute force to get people to follow him, the second beast uses deception. Not just in the things he says, but in performing miraculous signs. The end result, however, is the same: persecution of the saints.

And the thing is, there is no middle ground. You either have the mark of the beast or you have the mark of God.

If you have the mark of the beast, you’ll be just fine in this world, able to live life, buying and selling the things you need to live.

But if you have the mark of God on you, you will be persecuted.

For this reason, I’m not so certain the mark of the beast is a literal one or not.

If the mark of God is not a literal one we can see, (Revelation 7:3-4), why should the beast’s mark be? Still, I suppose we won’t find out for sure until that time comes.

What do we get from this? You may be ready for persecution. But are you ready for deception?

Jesus told us that “false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24)

And this second beast will be the final one of these false prophets.

How will we recognize him and the first beast he represents? John tells us to discern them, we will need wisdom and insight. (Revelation 13:18)

He gives us the number 666 as the number of the first beast.

There’s a lot of speculation on what it means and the truth is, it’s hard to be sure what it means. Which of course means we really will need wisdom and insight when the beast comes. 🙂

Perhaps the meaning is simply this: 7 is the number of perfection, and so 777 reflects God in trinity.

6, on the other hand, is something less. It’s incomplete. And so 666 reflects that whatever the dragon, the first, and the second beast are, they will only be an incomplete image of the one true God.

And so to be truly wise and discerning, we need to know the true God so we can identify the counterfeit.

Some of you may say, “I understand what you’re saying, but what’s the point? I don’t believe we will face the antichrist and his prophet. We’ll be raptured away by then.”

But again, even if you believe we won’t face them, remember there are other antichrists and false prophets, even if they’re on a smaller scale.

And like the second beast, they come into our churches looking like lambs. They look like us and sound like us. But the truth is, they are savage wolves. And if we are to keep from being deceived by them, we will need God’s wisdom and discernment.

How much do you have?

How well do you know your Lord, and his Word? Are you able to discern the true from the counterfeit?

Categories
Revelation

A need for endurance and faithfulness

Revelation

There’s a lot going on in this passage, and as usual, there’s a lot of debate over what it all means. There are two beasts that appear with the dragon (Satan). And to keep this short(er), I’ll take on these two beasts in two blogs.

The first beast comes out of the sea. It’s a strange beast that mixes the characteristics of the four beasts we read about in Daniel 7. It has all the power of the dragon, but receives a fatal wound to one of its seven heads.

To the astonishment of the world, however, it is healed and restored. The result? The people fall down and worship the beast and the dragon it represents.

What does it all mean?

To some degree, this one beast could be symbolic of  all the empires that were represented by the four beasts in Daniel: Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. They rose up, received a fatal wound, but came back in the form of a different empire.

The end result, however, is the same: empires that worship the dragon and persecute God’s people. And in the same way, the people who follow this new beast and is part of its regime worship the dragon and persecute God’s people.

It’s interesting to note in chapter 17, that when the beast is further explained, he is described as one who once was, now is not, but will come again. (Revelation 17:8, 11)

So John seems to say that this beast had appeared before this time period John was writing in, but was not currently in the world as John was living. It’s possible he was referring to one of the former Roman emperors, perhaps Nero.

Whoever he was, this emperor received a fatal wound, but will come back again as another ruler who will blaspheme God and persecute God’s people.

And this gives some credence to the idea that this beast represents not just one man, but many throughout history. As John says, there have been many antichrists from his time to the present age. (1 John 2:18).

They keep appearing, dying off, and coming back again.

But in that same verse, John also says that there is one final antichrist who will appear. And as we see in this passage, like all the antichrists of the past, he leads people to worship the dragon.

Oh it probably won’t be so blatant. He probably won’t be saying, “Let’s all worship Satan.”

But like the Roman emperors of the past, he will have them worshiping him as their savior. As the one who brings peace and prosperity to the world. But what the people won’t know is that they are really following Satan’s representative.

More, in this time, he will blaspheme the true God, and there will be mass persecution of Christians. (7)

And from verses 7-8, it seems that everyone who is not a Christian will fall right in line with the beast.  It will become politically correct to persecute and kill all Christians.

What do we get from all this? When we face the first beast, he will come with brute force against God’s people. And so John warns,

If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed.

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints. (Revelation 13:10)

It’s very similar to what Jesus told the church in Smyrna, and I would guess it really resonated with them as they heard it.

Here, though, all of us are told: Be ready. Persecution is coming. But endure, and be faithful. And you will receive the crown of life. For you will not be hurt at all by the second death if you do so. (Revelation 2:10-11)

I know. I’m beating the same drum I’ve been beating since we started Revelation.

But again, even if we don’t face the antichrist, it’s very possible we will face persecution before then. From our family, from our friends, from our neighbors, from our coworkers, and very possibly from our own nations.

People in North America are already seeing signs of this. It has become politically correct to slam Christians in the States even as I write this.

Are we really that far from out and out persecution?

So brace yourself. Be faithful. Endure. God may call you to go through persecution.

But if you do, remember, Jesus went through it first.

So as the writer of Hebrews said,

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:2-3)

Categories
Revelation

Though we may go through trial and tribulation

Revelation

I mentioned a couple of blogs ago that these letters to the churches were meant to prepare us for the antichrists and tribulations to come .

And again, I know many of you who read this believe that we won’t see the final antichrist when he comes or have to endure the great tribulation.

But as I read through Revelation and the other books of the New Testament, I don’t see that at all. What comes through time and again is that we will go through trial and trouble in this world, and particularly when antichrist comes.

I don’t see anything in scripture that makes me believe we’ll escape these things entirely.

What I do see is that though we may not escape these things, that God will never abandon us. That these things are only for a time. And that God calls us to keep holding onto him no matter what happens.

And we see all these things in this passage.

Jesus is talking to a church called Smyrna. And as Jesus addresses them, he refers to himself as the first and the last, the one who died and came to life again. (8)

That latter is particularly interesting because Smyrna itself died and came to life again. It was destroyed in 600 BC and remarkably restored in 290 BC.

Now, the Christians in Smyrna were facing death because of their faith in Christ.

And so Jesus encourages them by reminding them that no matter what happens, he is in control for he is the first and the last. He had the first word when this world was created, and he will have the last when all is said and done.

More, he was the one who conquered death. And though these Christians were facing death, like Jesus, they too would rise again to eternal life.

He told them,

I know your afflictions and your poverty — yet you are rich!

I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. (Revelation 2:9)

Apparently, these people were being persecuted by the Jews.

By this time in history, the Jews were starting to tell the Roman Empire, “These Christians are not a sect of Judaism. Many are not Jews at all. They’re Gentiles. So when they refuse to worship the emperor like your law requires, they are not under the same religious protections we are under. Go after them.”

As a result, persecution was starting to come to the Christians.

But Jesus tells them, “Don’t let them tell you that you are not true Jews. You are. You are the true descendants of Abraham because you have come to me by faith just as Abraham did.

“They are the false Jews. And their synagogue is not a synagogue of God, but of Satan.”

Then he tells them, “Don’t worry, persecution won’t come your way. I’ll rescue from all trouble that may come your way.”

Is that what he said? Hardly. He said,

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. (Revelation 2:10a)

In short, “You will suffer. But don’t be afraid. Satan will have his way with you, but it won’t be forever. It will only be for a little while.”

The same is true today and the same will be true when we face antichrist. We will face suffering. But Jesus reminds us, “It’s only for a moment.”

And so he admonishes us,

Be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. (Revelation 2:10b-11)

Jesus said pretty much the same thing to his disciples when he was still on earth. He said,

He said,

Don’t be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One (God) who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)

If you fear God, you need not fear anything else, not even death. For though people can destroy your body, they can’t touch your soul. And Jesus says the second death, that is hell, won’t touch you.

Instead you will have life with him forever in heaven.

How about you? Are you facing persecution because of your faith? Remember that it is but for a short time. And no matter what people may say or do to you, they can’t touch what’s really important.

So be faithful. For even if you should die for his sake, yet shall you live. (John 11:25)

Categories
Revelation

In order that we might be prepared

Revelation

I was intending to dive straight into chapter 2 today, but I felt there was something that I needed to say before we started.

By far, the parts of Revelation that are preached most often in churches are chapters 2 and 3. Why? Because they’re probably the “easiest” to understand. They sound very much like the other epistles that Paul and the other apostles wrote to the churches.

But I think there’s something we all need to keep in mind. There was a reason that Jesus spoke these messages to the church. The reason? The end is near.

I’ve mentioned before that we are in the last days, and we’ve been in the last days since the days of the apostles. (Acts 2:16-17, Hebrews 1:2, I John 2:18).

And as John mentioned in his letter, while an ultimate antichrist will someday come, there will be many antichrists in the meantime. In fact, many antichrists had already come in John’s time. (I John 2:18)

And we are warned that with these antichrists will come false prophets and teachers. People will go about deceiving and being deceived. If that weren’t enough, God’s people will be persecuted for their faith.

Because of all these things, God will pour out his judgment on the earth. Some of it will come through people, as in wars and violence. Some of it will come through natural means, such as natural disasters and plagues.

These are things that are mentioned time and time again in the book of Revelation.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? It should. We’ve seen it throughout the history of the church. And it’s happening even now.

And God’s word to the church in John’s time is the same as it is now. Because the problems plaguing the church then in the face of their antichrists are basically the same problems that plague us now as we face ours.

So these letters to the churches are not just meant to be ordinary “peacetime” admonitions.

These are admonitions to prepare us for the antichrists we face now, and the ultimate antichrist we will face in the future.

They are to prepare us for the tribulations we face now, and the tribulations we’ll face when the ultimate antichrist comes.

As we look at these letters in the next several days then, keep this in mind. I know many of you who read this don’t think we’ll face the antichrist or the great tribulation. I hope we don’t.

But even if you believe that, remember that the church has always faced antichrists and tribulations.

So even if God in his grace pulls us out before the antichrist shows up and the great tribulation starts, we will face other antichrists and tribulations before then. And these letters are meant to prepare us for them.

Are you prepared? To be prepared, we need to listen to what Jesus has said.

So as Jesus says time and again in these letters,

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Revelation 2:7)

Categories
1 John

Testing the spirits

1 John

There are many today who claim to follow Christ, to have the Holy Spirit, and to preach the gospel. The question we always need to be asking, however, is if they follow the true Christ, have the true Holy Spirit, and preach the true gospel.

Paul once wrote with great concern to the Corinthian church, saying,

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)

It was with this same kind of concern that John wrote to his readers. After telling them that we can know God dwells in us by the Spirit he gave (3:24), he immediately warns them,

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)

I don’t think there’s a disconnect in thought between 3:24 and 4:1. I believe they’re strongly connected.

John’s saying on one hand that we as Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

But then he swiftly warns us to watch out because the Holy Spirit is not the only spirit around. There are a lot of evil ones out there too, and most times, they come portraying themselves as “angels of light.”

And just as there were many false prophets in the Old Testament days, there were false prophets in John’s day and there are false prophets even in our day, all powered by these spirits.

So John says, when someone claims to speak for God, test them. Don’t be fooled by sweet sounding words or by spiritual experiences.

How can we discern the false spirits from the Holy Spirit?

One thing is to test what they say about Christ. In John’s day, the big thing was whether Jesus had actually come in the flesh or not. Many people claimed that he hadn’t. That he had just appeared to have flesh, but was not truly human.

Not many deny Jesus’ humanity nowadays, but many do deny his deity, that he truly was God come in human form. But John says that anyone who fails to confess Jesus as he truly is, both God and man, is not from God. (4:2-3)

The other test is if they contradict the things that the apostles have already taught about Jesus and the gospel. He says,

We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (4:6)

Those are strong words, and they show the authority that God had given the apostles. As a result, you cannot claim to follow God and yet deny or contradict what the apostles taught.

So if you hear anyone who does that, you know he cannot from God.

The sad thing is that many people do not test what they hear. They believe everyone who says they follow Christ, and because of that, they fall into darkness. They are in fact following antichrists, not the true Christ.

But if we test the spirits, we don’t need to fear about falling into confusion or darkness. For John tells us,

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (4:4)

Are you testing what you hear?

Categories
1 John

What Satan tries to sell us

1 John

I think it is easy sometimes to think of Satan merely as that roaring lion. The one who out and out seeks to destroy us.

But the truth is that as often as he takes that tactic, he also takes the tactic of the harmless sheep. That’s clearly seen in the Antichrist.

We hear the word Antichrist, and we immediately think of him as this terrible figure who will wreak havoc on the world. And he will.

But before he does so, he will appear to be like Christ. As someone who is looking to bring peace and salvation to this world.

He has yet to come (so far as we know).

But throughout history, even in the time of John, there were many antichrists, people who appeared to be harmless, who in fact seemed be a blessing to the church, but who instead spread deadly poison in the church and who had to be cast out.

John says of them,

They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. (1 John 2:19)

What kind of poison were they spreading? The same kind of poison that’s spreading even now: a denial of Christ.

There are many people who have no problem saying, “I believe in God” or “I believe in a higher power.” That concept is not offensive to them at all. But bring up Jesus Christ and their whole tone changes. He is an utter offense to them.

But John tells us,

Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist — he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. (22-23)

In other words, you cannot truly claim to believe in God if you reject Jesus. To deny Jesus is to deny God himself. Why? Because Jesus is God.

That was one of the things that the Jews failed to understand in Jesus’ day. That the Christ is divine.

And so when Jesus asked them, “Why, if the Christ is David’s son, does David call him Lord? If David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son,” they were stumped. (Matthew 22:42, 45)

The answer is that not only is Christ the son of David, but he is God himself. Jesus said as much. (John 8:58, John 10:30-33).

But people will go out of their way to deny that. They will call him a prophet, a good man, even the Son of God. All of them are true. But he is also God, and has been from all eternity. And to deny that is to swallow the poison that Satan is selling.

So John tells us,

See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us — even eternal life. (24-25)

The ultimate question that everyone has to answer is this: “What do you think of Christ? Whose Son is he?”

Your eternal destiny rests on your answer.

Who do you say that he is?

Categories
2 Thessalonians

Hope through tribulation

Hope in the cross

I’ve mentioned before that I do believe that most Christians will live to see the Antichrist and that the rapture will not happen until Jesus comes to destroy him. This passage is one reason why I think so.

One argument that people come up with for the rapture coming before Antichrist appears is that if there are certain other signs that must happen before Christ comes, then Jesus couldn’t come any day and that there is no reason to be ready for his return until those signs are fulfilled.

For that, I have two answers.

One, as I’ve mentioned before, while it’s true that I believe certain things must happen before Christ comes for his church, that is not true when it comes to Christ coming for you.

In other words, tomorrow is not promised you, and Jesus may call you home this very night. And if that happens, will you be ready, or will you be like the man in Jesus’ parable (Luke 12:13-21) who was not prepared to meet God when God suddenly summoned him to judgment?

Second, this argument goes square against what Paul says here. Paul himself says, “No, Christ hasn’t come yet. There are certain things that must happen first.”

And if what Paul said held true then, what really has changed? Nothing. Jesus still hasn’t returned. We still don’t know when he will return.

And I believe that if people argued (like the Jehovah’s Witnesses do) that Jesus has already come back, Paul would tell us the same thing that he told the Thessalonians. “Jesus hasn’t come back. Certain things must happen first.”

Admittedly, this is disconcerting, particularly to those who believe that we will avoid the Antichrist altogether.

But there is hope. First, Paul told us in I Thessalonians that we won’t suffer the wrath of God that the rest of the world will in the tribulation (I Thessalonians 5:9).

Peter also tells us that God knows how to preserve the righteous, while punishing the unrighteous. (II Peter 2:9)

More, Paul told the Thessalonians,

From the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)

In short, though you may go through trials, still God has chosen you to be saved…and he will save you. He called you and you will share in Christ’s glory someday.

And so he concludes,

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. (15-17)

No matter what we go through then, even if it’s the great tribulation, Paul admonishes us to hold on to the truth that we have received.

And more, hold on to Jesus. For it is he who will give us encouragement, hope, and strength to do what is right even in the darkest of times.

As I’ve said before, I hope I’m wrong. I hope Jesus does take us to heaven before Antichrist comes. But if I’m right and we do see him, hold on to Jesus. He will see you through.

Categories
Daniel 3

The coming of Messiah, the coming of Antichrist

Daniel

In today’s passage, we look at one of the most remarkable passages of prophecy.

Many people discount the prophecies of Daniel concerning the rise and fall of the Babylonian, Persian, and Greek Empires, insisting that it must have been written after the fact.

This is an argument based on a disbelief in supernaturalism, however, not on fact.

However, I think that this prophecy in Daniel alone, written well before the coming of Christ (the entire Old Testament was translated into Greek between the third and first century B.C.), more than dispels that argument.

God told Daniel that there would be seventy sevens, that is seventy seven-year periods in which,

  • Transgression would be finished.
  • Sin would be put to an end.
  • Wickedness would be atoned for.
  • Everlasting righteousness would be established.
  • The vision and prophecy would be sealed up (that is, fulfilled).
  • The most holy (that is, the new temple) would be anointed.

There are several interpretations for this and when the sevens start.

I take the position that it starts when King Artaxerxes gave the command to adorn and strengthen the temple, as well as enforcing the Mosaic code in Ezra 7.

Although the focus on this seems to be merely on the temple, it also seems from Ezra 9:9 that Ezra was also permitted to build up the city walls as well.

As a result, Nehemiah was very disappointed to find out years later that this was never done.

In the first set of seven (forty-nine years), we find that Jerusalem was rebuilt, but “in times of trouble.”

Certainly, the Israelites would face much opposition in the rebuilding of their city and temple as noted in Ezra and Nehemiah.

Also, I think you could qualify someone trying to annihilate your entire race as times of trouble as well (see Esther).

Then if you count off the next sixty-two sets of seven (434 years), from the year the decree was made (457) and account for the fact that we skip immediately from 1 B.C. to 1 A.D. (there is no year 0), we come out with a date of 27 A.D., the year the Messiah came (that is, he started his ministry).

Then sometime after the sixty-two sevens, he was cut off.

Literally, it means that he died.

The NIV adds “and will have nothing,” which could possibly refer to the fact that all his supporters abandoned him.

The King James puts it, “But not for himself,” which could refer to the fact that Jesus didn’t die for his own sins, but for ours.

However you interpret it, it was clearly at this time that sin was atoned for by Jesus’ death on the cross.

Then the city of Jerusalem and the temple were both destroyed following this in A.D. 70.

The final seven years refers to the future when Antichrist comes.

He will make a covenant with “the many” (that is, the Jews) and will allow them religious freedom to worship God as they please.

Then in the middle of the seven, he will break the covenant and end the sacrifices and offerings and set up an abomination that causes desolation.

This will mirror in some way the same abomination that Antiochus committed during the Maccabean period.

But then Antichrist will fall and be judged, at which time transgression and sin will come to an end, and everlasting righteousness will come.

The new temple will be established (probably referring to the temple in Ezekiel chapters 40–44) and all the prophecies will be fulfilled.

That’s a mouthful. But to me, it proves that God holds the future.

If he could predict accurately the rise and fall of empires, the coming of his own Son, and the destruction of Jerusalem once again, I think we can bank on his prediction of the Antichrist and the coming of God’s kingdom thereafter.

So let us not worry so much about the future, terrible though things may get.

Let us remember that God is in control, and all that he has promised will come to pass.

Categories
Daniel 3

The God who will reign over all

Daniel

Daniel is a bit out of order chronologically, so we’re going to skip chapters 5 and 6 for the time being.

Belshazzar was now king of Babylon. He was the son of Nabonidus, who had apparently married a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar to legitimize his seizing of the Babylonian throne.

During the last ten years of Nabonidus’ life, he lived in a place called Teima and left the administration of Babylon in Belshazzar’s hands.

It was during this time that Daniel had this vision, which in many ways mirrored the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 2. Four beasts are described, representing four kingdoms.

The lion with an eagle’s wings represented Babylon. The image of its wings being ripped off, and then the lion standing up and being given the heart of a man, stands for Nebuchadnezzar’s fall into insanity and his subsequent restoration.

The bear stood for the Medo-Persian empire. The raising up of one side stood for the fact that the Persian side of this empire was stronger, while the three ribs stood for the nations of Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt that this empire devoured.

The leopard stood for Greece, which under Alexander the Great swiftly conquered the known world, while the four heads stood for how after his death, his four generals would take over.

The fourth beast represents Rome, which would conquer Greece. The horns seem to represent ten rulers that would come from this empire in a time yet to come, with one taking prominence over all the others.

This ruler shall blaspheme God and persecute the saints. It seems pretty clear then that this is referring to the Antichrist.

But then God brings this Antichrist to judgment, and one “like a son of man” comes with the clouds of heaven and is given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, and all people will serve him. And that final kingdom will never be destroyed but will stand forever.

This, of course, represents Christ’s return and the coming of God’s kingdom.

Obviously, there is much debate about the timing of all these events to come, and you have all the pre-tribulationists, post-tribulationalists, mid-tribulationists, and so forth.

Other people can argue their case far more eloquently than I ever could. I tend to be a pan-tribulationist. I believe it will all pan out the way God wants it to.

I’m not going to worry so much about when Jesus comes. I just want to be ready when he does. I hope God takes us away before the tribulation, but I trust that if he doesn’t, and I’m there when the Antichrist is, the words of Paul will hold true, namely,

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.

And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.

But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

The thing I take from this passage, however, is that ultimately, God will reign over all.

No matter how bad things get, it will turn out because he’s in control. He sets up kings and he casts them down. He set up Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Alexander, and Caesar.

All were great men. But all were ultimately cast down by God, in his timing.

And though things will get bad when Antichrist comes, he too will be cast down, and at that point, God will reign over all.

So when you find yourself looking at the world situation and fretting about it, remember the words of Jesus when he said,

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. (John 14:1)

And again,

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)