When
Will The
Antichrist Be Revealed?
Will
the body of Christ know the person of
Anti-Christ before the Rapture
of the Church? Second
Thessalonians chapter two gives a
conclusive answer to this question.
The apostle Paul was confronting the
confusion that surrounded the second
coming of Christ. Many thought
that The Day of the Lord
(Great Tribulation) had
already commenced and that they missed
the rapture of the Church, assuming that
the anti-Christ was revealed.
This confusion led many believers to
neglect their personal responsibilities
in life, resulting in unrest and
irrational behavior amongst God's
people (2
Thess. 3:11).
While
you and I live in a time of the spirit
of antichrist, and many false prophets;
the person who will be the Anti-Christ
has yet to be revealed. Chapter
two of Second Thessalonians is very
specific about the revealing of the
Anti-Christ and its timing.
Paul
articulates that the revealing of the
Anti-Christ to the world cannot happen
until the
restrainer (The Holy
Spirit) is removed.
Consistently throughout Scripture and
history, the Holy Spirit and His
restraining influence is through God's
People (Matthew
13,14;
John 16:7, 11).
Paul
challenges the believers in Thessalonica
not to be shaken and troubled by
thinking the day of the Lord had come
(vs.2). He briefly explains what
will happen during the Great Tribulation
in verses 3 and 4. How that the
Anti-Christ will exalt himself as God
when he sits in the temple of God.
Paul is simply assuring them that this
did not happen yet.
The Antichrist will be the world's
political dictator of the last days. The
Scripture declares ...and power was
given him over all kindred, and tongues,
and nations... Rev. 13:7. The
Antichrist will be
a man whom Satan will fill to such an
extent that he will be Satan incarnate.
This is why Paul calls him the man of
sin and the son of perdition.
2 Thess. 2:3
Knowing that the
rapture of the Church
is imminent, I believe that it is
possible for the Anti-Christ to be alive
today (2 Thess. 2:7).
It could very well be a popular
political figure today or someone who is
poised to rise to power in whom the
masses would be willing to exact
worship. Yet, Paul makes it
very clear that the Anti-Christ will be
restrained until the Holy Spirit and the
Church are removed. Due to the Anit-Christ' nature of administering
Satan's will by signs and wonders, and
successfully deceiving the unbelieving
world by promoting idolatrous
worship and possessing the power of death.
and having all authority over commerce,
and having an identifying physical mark;
he cannot be revealed until after the
rapture of the Church.
Jesus gave telling words about false
prophets in
Matt. 24:24, warning that in the
last days many false prophets would
arise and deceive, if possible, even the
elect. False prophets with their mastery
use of false doctrine easily influence
people away from the biblical mandate of
God's Word, namely, the furtherance
of the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Our only sufficiency necessary to expose
false prophets and their teachings is
the Word of God under the direct
influence of the Holy Spirit. And
this is why the Anti-Christ hides in
darkness. He cannot, even with
all of Satan's potential overcome the
body of Christ (Matthew
16:18;
James 4:7;
1 John 4:4)... thus, he is
restrained from exacting his hellish
ministry until after the Church is gone.
To
better equip yourself for the ministry,
engage in a Bible study that emphasizes
rightly dividing the word of truth
with th
e
Open Bible Institute. Learn
how you can earn your degree or diploma
on line at home at your own pace with an
affordable and biblical college where
the Holy Spirit is the ultimate teacher
and the Bible is the only authority.
Click Here To Learn More
>>
Sincerely, Dr. Arthur Belanger
Back To Bible Doctrine
Invitation
To Christ - Copyright © 2010