There Is No Such Thing As A Future The Antichrist.

[daniel1212]

Semantics. All false prophets are anti-Christs, but it is clear that the Scriptures speak of a future world leader that is supremely anti-Christ, and thus is aptly called The Antichrist.

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)

And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Daniel 7:25)

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. 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. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 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? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. (Revelation 13:1-9)

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. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 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. 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. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: (Revelation 13:12-16)

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. (Revelation 19:20)

"a larger defeatist system of end times eschatological teaching that the Lord Jesus and His Christian Church FAILS to be successful in carrying out The Great Commission"

Nonsense though as with Paul, believers can greatly suffer as God's servants.

I myself believe that God will preserve His elect thru the Great Trib and then take them up as part of the first resurrection, which day of Christ, the "coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him" (2 Thessalonians 2:1) 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 worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)

After that "the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

And will go with Him to fight in the Battle or Armageddon:

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. (Revelation 19:14-15)

And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 14-15)

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. (Revelation 19:19-20)

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (Revelation 20:1-3)

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4-6)

Also after the first resurrection is the judgment seat of Christ which is not that of the Great White Throne judgment, which is part of the day of Christ, of His appearing before the 1,000 year reign, and which is not to determine who is saved or lost and their particular punishment, but is the judgment of the elect, which determines their rewards of less thereof based upon their manner of workmanship they helped build church with. Yet one is saved despite loss, and not because of such:

Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (1 Corinthians 3:8-15)

For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. (1 Corinthians 4:4-5)

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (1 Peter 1:7)

Thus Paul saidHenceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8)

And

they shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are [cf. 19:20], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:6-15)

Now if the first resurrection itself has two parts separated by a thousand years, with the rapture/catching away occurring before the Great Tribulation, then it is a win/win situation for those who prepared for the latter, while if not, then those who believe they would be delivered from it are likely to be disillusioned when experiencing the persecution of the Tribulation. Yet we can hardly expect to be more favored than the first century church which was warned and exhorted "to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22)

While can allow for disagreement on this, yet the denial of the 1,000 year reign of Christ - literally referred to 6 times and not "as" in 2 Peter 3:8 simile - is simply untenable in the light of the clear statements which teach of two resurrections and two judgments separated by 1,000 years. Sometimes we have references to one judgment, (John 5:28,29) but further on details of time are given, by the grace of God.

[MHGinTN]

Hear here!

[StAnDeliver]

You’re just another nutty noob vanity spanner. And in 2021, that’s nothing special.

[metmom]

There are antichrists and then there is THE Antichrist.

Just as there are tribulations in this world, but then there is one The Great Tribulation.

[Just mythoughts]

According to Ecclesiastes 12 the flesh returns back to the dirt from which it came and the soul/spirit returns to the Maker that sent it.. Paul wrote to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.. the flesh age and bodies have a time signature and once that time is past nobody will ever need a flesh body again.. The man Adam was not alive until ‘the breath of life’ (which means ‘soul/spirit intellect) was breathed into the man Adam's nostrils…. Paul tells us a mystery. At the last Trump, that would be the seventh, return of Christ in a twinkling Of an eye ‘all’ would be changed.

The Heavenly Father had Ezekiel 18:14 pen…’All souls are mine, the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die..

[Cronos]

Nope. Doesn’t your cult of one reject biblical books? Yes it does, doesn’t it?

[P-Marlowe]

I thought you were Orthodox.

[Cronos]

In the book of Revelation you have two Mark’s

1. Rev 7. Marked with the seal of God.

2. Rev 14, 16, 19 and 20. The demonic counter.

Revelation is filled with the devil’s contrasts. We first have the lamb of God in Revelation 4 to 12 and then the devil’s parody in Revelation 13.

To the mark.

The GOOD mark of God in Revelation 7 is taken from Ezekiel 9: “And the LORD said to him, ‘Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.’ And to the others he said in my hearing, ‘Pass through the city after him, and smite; your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity; slay old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one upon whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary’” (Ezek. 9:4–6). The word for “mark” in Hebrew is simply a Hebrew letter, a taw, which in paleo-Hebrew script looks like an x or +. The early Church Fathers saw this as the sign of the Cross, made on the forehead of believers. One of the earliest Christian writers, Tertullian, explained, “Now the Greek letter Tau and our own letter T is the very form of the cross, which He predicted would be the sign on our foreheads in the true Catholic Jerusalem.”

The image in Revelation 7 depicts God’s protection of His people from evil. These people are “sealed” by His power through Baptism. They become His people, His family, His sons and daughters.

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The Bad mark

The mark of the beast and the mark of the Lamb are inward and discernible only through the actions of those marked. Having it on the hand signifies the change in what we Christians do as a result of our loyalty, while the forehead mark signifies how our loyalties change the way we think. The loyalty to God’s Law within the Christian community would be obvious to everyone when emperor worship was demanded in the marketplace. Christians refused to “go along to get along,” and they ended up as a people marked by the pagans for death. At the same time, God marked these martyrs for eternal life. In a later vision, we see evidence that St. John intended us to understand the mark of the beast in this spiritual fashion. In the vision of the winepress, “anyone [who] worships the beast and its image” is equated with “receiv[ing] a mark on his forehead or on his hand” (14:9).

[DarkWaters]

No one is getting a free pass by getting raptured early. Our Lord said he would shorten those days for the sake of the elect, otherwise they would fall. This also contradicts Christ when He said pickup your cross and follow me. Last time I checked those footprints He left behind in the ground and mud where marked or full of His blood. And since the servenant is not greater than the master here, how do you square the two diametrically opposing assertions?

This early rapture nonsense is some of the deception our Lord spoke of. It’s a false hope that will lead to hell. The punishment for sin is suffering and death in this world, no one is going to escape at least the suffering part if you happen to survive at the end. And as we get closer to the end which everyone can see, though most in the world today seemingly want to deny it apperantely rather than doing what the inhabitants of Ninevah did, the world will get its false messiah. Our Lord said you will not receive me, but another you will when speaking to the Jews of His time since they wanted a messiah to there liking and not according to God’s perfect judgement. One they can control, one who will keep their bellies full, one who will ich their ears. God is in control here, and He is going to let mankind know it in no uncertain terms. Buckle up and wash the inside of your dish if you want to be amongst the elect, this ride has barely started to move.

[Cronos]

I would also note to the mark of the beast - the coin of

remember The verses in the book of the Apocalypse says

Apoc 13:11 Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb’s but spoke like a dragon.

12 It wielded all the authority of the first beast in its sight and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed.

13 It performed great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of everyone.

14 It deceived the inhabitants of the earth with the signs it was allowed to perform in the sight of the first beast, telling them to make an image for the beast who had been wounded by the sword and revived.

15 It was then permitted to breathe life into the beast’s image, so that the beast’s image could speak and [could] have anyone who did not worship it put to death.

16 It forced all the people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to be given a stamped image on their right hands or their foreheads,

17 so that no one could buy or sell except one who had the stamped image of the beast’s name or the number that stood for its name.

18 [b]Wisdom is needed here; one who understands can calculate the number of the beast, for it is a number that stands for a person. His number is six hundred and sixty-six.

This beast with two horns "like a lamb" but which "spoken like a dragon" is Satan's parody of the lamb.

A key note is the difference between where the beasts arise -- the first beast arises out of the sea - the sea indicates gentile nations.

This parody of the Lamb represents corrupt leaders within Jerusalem. This parody is later identified by John as the "false prophet" in Rev 16:13; 19:20; 20:10)

As the "false prophet" this parody sets itself up against God's prophets in the days leading to 69 AD.

The false religious leaders who led the persecution of the Christ-sect of Jews in the days leading up to the destruction of the temple in 69 AD are indicated here

The mark of the beast is again a parody of the SIGN on the believers as we read in the letter to the Philadelphians -- the SIGN or Tau being the Hebrew letter which looks like a cross - so the sign of the cross as the christians did was the sign of God

The mark of the beast is linked to the number of the beast - as "wisdom is needed here... it stands for a person..." -- to reveal the identity of the beast to the Christians while hiding it from outsiders, St john used Gematria, the rabbinic numering system for names. When the Gematrian numbers of Nero's official name in Hebrew are added together (50 + 200 + 6+50 + 100 + 60 + 200) they total 666. The Christians KNew that 666 is the number of Nero

==========================================================

Remember back to the Mark of the Lamb alluded to in the 6th letter to the churches, to the Philadelphians - God's mark is mentioned specifically in the sixth seal of the initial vision (7:3). In Heaven God's faithful "servants shall worship Him; they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads"..22:4

The mark of the beast is Satan's parody of the sign of the cross. The sign on the forehead talks of loyalty and that on the hand of what we do with the loyalty

We see the same in 14:9 "anyone who worships the beast and its image" is shown as "receiving a mark on his forehead or on his hand"

Nero is the human whose symbol is 666, who demanded worship of himself.

This is the only time in history when the Church was persecuted by both the beast (the Roman empire) and the harlot (Jerusalem authorities)

ST John twice pauses to say "here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints" (13:10, 14:12). The first time, this is following a statement about not being in armed conflict against the beast "if anyone slays with the sword, with the sword must he be slain" (13:10)

The second time is not to have the mark of the beast -- to be clear the admonition agians thte mark of the beast is "do not worship the earthly power of the roman empire - THAT is the mark of the beast

[Cronos]

oh, my apologies — I thought you were like our Adventist friend, Phils.

The Eastern Orthodox DO consider the book of Revelation scripture. But you must realize that the Eastern Orthodox don’t have the tightness of canon v/s non-canon that the Western church has - so the book of the apocalypse is not read during Divine Liturgy.

The Western Church, whether Catholic or Lutheran or even the various 3rd and 5th generation groups like the Baptists, or 7th / 8th generation like Adventists/Jehovah’s witnesses is a bit legalistic, harsher boundaries of what is in or out.

With regards to the book of the apocalypse of St. John while it isn’t read out, the entire Divine Liturgy is conducted in the manner of the book to chapter 8 — with readings followed by the sacrifice

[Philsworld]

The man Adam was not alive until ‘the breath of life’ (which means ‘soul/spirit intellect) was breathed into the man Adam’s nostrils….

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Yes, the breath of life makes you a soul. Same goes for any animal that breaths air. When you die you are no longer a soul.

(from the article I posted earlier)

THE SOUL - THE BREATH OF LIFE

But, what of the soul? Just what is it?

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

A soul, as shown by this verse, has the spark / breath of life, given by God.

Psa 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
Psa 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
(The word breath in verse 29 and spirit in verse 30 is H7307 ruwach)
Eccl 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit (H7307 ruwach / breath) shall return unto God who gave it.

When God breathed life into Adam, he became a living soul (creature). Note that Gen. 2:7 does not say God put a soul into Adam. You are a soul because God has breathed life into you.

Job 12:9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?
Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
Job 27:3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
1 Ki 17:17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.
1 Ki 17:21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.
1 Ki 17:22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

In the above incident with Elijah, the return of the child’s soul and breath are identical in meaning. You do not have a ghost-like immortal soul that survives your physical death. Life is what makes you a soul. Without life you perish.

EVERY SOUL IN THE SEA
Rev 16:3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man; and every living soul died in the sea.

Notice that even the inhabitants of the sea are referred to as living souls, just like Adam. This is because the soul is only the spark of life, which is given by God alone. It is not a ghost living inside you.

[Faith Presses On]

John seems to be building on what Christians have been taught about the Antichrist. He is warning them not to be so concerned about the Antichrist who will temporarily rule the world that they don't recognize that those around them who deny Christ are also the Antichrist in spirit, although they don't have his worldly prestige and grandeur. Those Antichrists are doing the work of the Antichrist. So John is warning them to recognize the spiritual danger that these other people pose, although they themselves occupy no great worldly seat of power.

It certainly doesn't seem that all things prophesied in the New Testament concerning the Antichrist have come to pass. Has the sun been darkened, the moon failed to give its light, and the stars fallen from Heaven? (Matthew 24:29)

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." 2 Peter 3:10

"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." (Matthew 24:30-31)

To some degree, there seems to be an "eternal" nature to the prophecies in Revelation and elsewhere in the New Testament. The spiritual battles they speak of are ongoing as long as Christ doesn't return and this world endures, so these prophecies were not only relevant at the time the church was established, but they have continued to be relevant right up until now.

Yet we can also see that there will be a final time of their ultimate fulfillment. During that time, the first beast of Revelation will be given power over all nations (13:7), and the second beast will do great wonders, including making fire come down from Heaven (13:13). The dragon and these two beasts will have their time of rule over the earth, but in due time, Christ will return and triumph over them once and for all.

Certainly there is no reason to NOT see these beasts and the dragon as Antichrists, and all told, we see in Revelation and in other Scripture passages an ultimate Antichrist, an "Antichrist of Antichrists," THE Antichrist.

[Faith Presses On]

The beasts of Revelation will almost certainly be actual people, but they also represent spiritual things.

The first beast represents idolatrous, rebellious man who denies his maker, and in the imagination of his heart, makes himself God.

The antichrist spirit of atheism (unbelief) denies that humans are made in God’s image, and claims we are just animals, and nothing more. That is, we are BEASTS.

Unbelief has never been more powerful in the world, and that’s largely because of today’s advanced knowledge and technology.

The second beast represents this “scientia,” this technology. It does “wonders” in the sight of men, even actually calling fire down from heaven.

It’s constantly putting people in awe, and making many say things like, “There’s no reason to believe in a god. Faith is outdated superstition. One by one, we’re solving all the mysteries of nature, and look at all the wonderful things that mankind is now able to do. And we’re doing it with our reason, through science. If God exists, He’s apparently cruel, given all the suffering in the world. But we’re using our knowledge to alleviate suffering.”

Consider what Andrew Cuomo said last year, when speaking about the progress supposedly made against Covid 19: “God didn’t do that. We did that.”

So the second beast (natural science and technology), by doing wonders, makes the world worship the first beast (rebellious, self-worshiping, God-denying man), who had his deadly wound healed (the deadly wound mankind incurred in the Garden).

The second beast is also responsible for the mark. And again, in these late times, that’s the work of science and technology, which has also made a world government possible.

But this isn’t doom and gloom, or pessimism. Because God’s Word also tells us that if all these things are happening, then Christ’s return and the establishment of the New Jerusalem appear to be close as well. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

[daniel1212]

"Just as there are tribulations in this world, but then there is one The Great Tribulation."

Exactly. And many shepherds but one "Chief Shepherd." (1 Peter 5:4)

[JAG 5000]

“This is a staggering lack of biblical understanding. Dividing the Anti-Christ with the spirit of anti-christ is a fool’s errand at this point.

I’d start at “What is the Gospel?” by Greg Gilbert. Easy read and you can get it online immediately along with study guides.

I would not wait too long because there is an imminent rapture watch for tomorrow, Oct 8, beginning at 11:15am EST and lasting for 80 minutes thereafter.”__Salvavida

______________

Thank you or your comment.
Regarding the imminent rapture tomorrow for 80 minutes:
Such as that greatly helps my Postmillennial position. Please continue to spread that message all over the Internet.

Many Thanks.

JAG

``

[JAG 5000]

I smiled.

Best

JAG’

`

[JAG 5000]

Thanks for the link and thanks for reading my OP

Best

JAG

``

[JAG 5000]

See Kenneth Gentry’s vigorous arguments that the “man of lawlessness” was the evil-insane Nero Caesar of the first century, You can find that easily in Gentry’s massive work He Shall Have Dominion. Amazon has it.

Best Regards.

JAG

``

[SaveFerris]

Yes