The Bible tells us of a man, known as the Antichrist, and also known by a few other names, such as "The Beast", "The Lawless One", "The Abomination," etc., will present himself in the latter days as Satan’s final offense against God the Father, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit. Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet (the unholy three) will do battle against The Holy Trinity. It's a losing battle, and I believe Satan knows it, but his final thrust will be catastrophic beyond description, the most terrible the world will ever witness.
But who is the Antichrist? Is he alive today? I believe there is a man alive right now ready to step in as the infamous world leader. Who ever that man is, Satan has him primed and ready to go at a moment's notice. Why isn’t he running things now? Because the Bible tells us he is only allowed to make his appearance at a certain time, after other things take place. In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, Paul tells us that a "falling away comes first" and the "man of sin is revealed." Paul also states in verse 6 "You know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time."
As Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson state in their book "The Popular Bible Prophecy Workbook:
"Only after the Rapture of the church will the identity of the Antichrist be revealed. In other words, you don't want to know who he is. If you do figure out who he is and you're still here on earth, then you have been left behind!
Attempting to guess whether contemporary figures might be the Antichrist, however, has always proven futile. Viewing the future through the eyes of the present led to some fantastic speculations about the identity of the Antichrist in the past: Nero, Charlemagne, Napoleon, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Gorbachev, and even Bill Clinton.
Jesus Himself said, "Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but My Father only" (Matthew 24:36). The obvious point of this passage is that no one knows the time, so there's no sense in trying to guess when Christ will return. It's far better that we be ready all the time because Jesus could come at any time!
Any apparent delay in Christ's return is not due to God's indecision, but to the fact that He has not let us in on the secret. Nor has He revealed this to Satan, who is a limited, finite being. Satan himself is left guessing when the Rapture might occur. This means he must have a man in mind to indwell as the Antichrist in every generation. In other words, any one of a number of people could have been the Antichrist, but only one will be. Satan too must keep selecting candidates and waiting for God's timing . . .
In the meantime, Satan waits for his opportunity to destroy the whole world and the ultimate plan of God. He may be a defeated foe, but he has every intention of keeping up the fight to the very end. Even now he is moving about restlessly, searching for the right man to be the Antichrist."
There have been many candidates for the Antichrist. Satan has had a man prepared for every generation in the last 2000 years. But he can't do a thing, or make his move, until God's timing is fulfilled. He can't do a thing until the Holy Spirit and the church are released from the earth. This will happen in the Rapture, the day the church leaves the earth and goes home to heaven. Only then will the Antichrist make his appearance, and lead the world into destruction for the next seven years, until Christ returns.
If you really want to know who the Antichrist is: live an atheistic or lukewarm lifestyle towards Jesus. Keep Jesus outside of your house, and don’t answer the door when He knocks (He's knocking right now). Enjoy what life has to offer, drugs, drunkenness, infidelity, porno, gambling, theft, abortion, etc., and I guarantee, if God's timing falls in your lifetime - you will know the identity of the Antichrist.
On the other hand - if you want, you and your family to escape the death and destruction the Antichrist will bring with him - than answer the door, and turn your life over to Jesus. For help in this read our comment on 04/18/04 "Abandonment of Your Will to God (Praying for Salvation)"
By George Konig
June 4, 2006
www.georgekonig.org
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