When we paint a picture, construct a song, or build a house we know when we are nearing the finishing touches on it and it will soon be done. The Lord is doing this today, as history comes  to the end of the age. We are nearing and learning more and more what the end will be like. We are warned that people will not believe its nearing the end (as in Noah’s day; we are told to watch, prepare).

Satan has authority over all the kingdoms of this world and he offered them to the last Adam, the seed of the woman Jesus, (Lk. 4:6) when he was on earth nearly 2,000 years ago. He turned it down. He will offer it some day to the man of sin, his seed, the Antichrist, who will accept it (Rev.13:1-3).

Because society will become vastly immoral and lawless, he will only be challenged by a few not the many.

For those who rely on the government to tell them what is moral (not just legal) it will be to his advantage as he will use his government as the tool to legislate his own ideas.

We don’t need to see the writing on the wall, it’s already written. Current events all show the wearing away of the moral fiber of society worldwide to be amoral. The natural inclination of man is not to live by laws; moral laws will not be enforced in this new culture, for he will have no regard for the laws of the land or those that uphold justice.

It will be a time of lawlessness, a time when truth is rare and becoming extinct as it being overtaken with lies. It will be a time when lies are accepted as the truth. Absolutes will not be sought but relativism will be the norm, as people will be convinced to have a tolerance for everything, even evil.

The momentum of lawlessness will continue to rise, any voices to reverse it are too quiet and too few. It will culminate with the man of lawlessness in his envious place. He will be the lawless one in a time of lawlessness, where everything is permissible. The flow of information will have to be controlled much will have to be stopped, especially the Christian message. This could be one of the reasons angels are used to spread the gospel in the tribulation along with the 144,000 Jewish servants throughout the world.

Daniel is told of the future of Israel and the world.

Dan. 11:3-4 "Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. "And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.”

We see one having dominion, doing his own will and he will be taken away. Then there is a battle of the king of the North against the king of the south. One after another each try to exert their power to rule over this area and are defeated (Dan. 11:20-24; 28-32)

After we read of the Messiah dying for the people, we read Dan. 9:26-27 “and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate."

Here we read of many desolations, not just one. We have at least two; one by the Syrians in 167 bc shortly after Daniel wrote this and then the Romans in 70 ad, which is often what people see as a revived Roman empire. The “people of the prince that shall come,” destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. There is nothing like this in our modern era, neither the Church of Rome or the Pope fit this event described.

This is whom Israel must make peace with, their enemy. It would make sense that someone from the other side would be involved or sign this treaty with Israel.

The deification of emperors, Caesars, kings, and other political rulers have occurred throughout our history. They all stem from Satan's original offer to Eve and are liken to his ultimate desire to be like God. Many antichrists have come and gone but there is the last of the succession that will succeed temporarily fulfilling the scripture. Daniel 11:36, 37 says, Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done. And he will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all.

The Man of Lawlessness is will be accepted as “a” or “the” CHRIST OF ALL RELIGIONS. Christ being a symbol a representation of God's man, a leader for the age. Some may accept this false Christ as Jesus, but he will come as a Christ, in the office not as the person of Christ, this way all religions can accept Him as theirs.

He is a prepared vessel that has a certain amount of human talent to be used but the true source of his power will come from Satan himself. Rev. 13:2 The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.V:4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast.”

Satan is determined to be worshiped by the Jews in their own temple. Dan. 11:25 Antichrist is characterized by his deceit and craftiness like the serpent in the garden. The desire that caused the fall of Satan, pride. Isaiah 14:14: “I will make myself like the Most High.”

Theologically, just as the true Christ is God “manifest in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16), so the Antichrist will be Satan manifest in the flesh. Since Christ is God, Antichrist, who poses as Christ, will pretend to be God: as “He as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4). It is Satanic to try to be like God in control of everything, especially to receive worship from people. The Antichrist will exhibit that desire he used with Eve for himself and others.

Jerusalem is the city of peace; the prince of peace will rule from it. Satan wants the city of God to be his, he wants to apply the prophecies that he can to himself. He will play the part of a counterfeit son, eventually He will sit in the temple copying Christ who will rule in the Millennium. He wants to be worshiped in the city of God, in the temple of god, as the god over God’s people. So he moves another religion to take from Israel, to cause confusion about the land as he moves the other pieces of the chessboard into place.

In the book of Daniel, he explains the “god” that is to be revealed to the world by the Antichrist. In Daniel 11:36-37 an angel tells Daniel concerning the Beast: “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honor the god of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.” (Daniel 11:37-39)

Actually the word is gods is in plural - not singular. Whatever religious background he has in his lineage will not be honored or have an influence, neither will any that the world recognizes. He shall have no desire (or regard) for women (Dan 11:37). There are two things we can ascertain from this. He is a man, not a woman. This phrase  of having no regard for women can have various meanings. There has always been female deities. Because the context is about God, it is put in between two statements of God it can be understood that he will not acknowledge a goddess, or the queen of heaven; i.e. or regard any god.

The traditional interpretation is that he will not be married, or be a homosexual. Even if we were to understand its application in this manner there are other alternatives to consider. For example: He will have no regard for women, practically speaking can mean to allow abortion. This certainly makes one have no regard for woman. He will disrespect the most basic function of woman, not caring for the unborn or the scars he will leave on young women. To not regard woman may mean he is against her role in marriage and childbearing (promoting abortion) denying the function God gave to women. He will divide the family unit and the a woman’s role in it, reverse the roles of men and woman. No regard for women does not necessarily mean he must be homosexual or unmarried.  He may promote same sex partnership other than traditional marriage. Many have pointed out that in the religion of Islam men have no regard for women, which will be of no consequence since it also says, “he will show no regard for the gods of his fathers.” So even if he is a Muslim he will not have the respect of the religion he was brought up in.

“But in his estate shall he honor the god of forces”

Daniel was told “shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end” (Daniel 12:4), so passage[s] are to be concealed to the right time to be understood. Now that we are in the time of the end the truth is becoming understood. The first part of the passage it tells us this evil man does not worship “any god” but is said to “magnify himself above all.”

This is what he will be all about in his office. God of forces means he will use power. It has nothing to do with a particular religion but more about wielding control for himself. As it says “He will do as HE PLEASES.” It is about exalting himself.

The Hebrew word that is used for the word forces is maozzim. An alternate rendering of the term is fortresses – it has a military context. The old King James Bible states in the margin notes that another rendering of maozzim is munitions, infers an explosive power or energy. The phrase the maozzim could be rendered power, energy from gods. Which certainly fits well with other passages that describe his miraculous ability. “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders” (2 Thess. 2:9). Rev. 13:2 “The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.” And here is one of the reasons, Rev. 13:15 “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”

We read “And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power . . ." (Daniel 8:24, KJV). The concept of an impersonal power that can be manipulated by occultist has long been practiced. New agers believe a power permeates the universe an eternal force that can be tapped into and used for both good or evil. Maybe one of these will be an explanation from him. The Bible teaches there are only two sources of power in the world, God or the Devil. In this short time period the true God allows the Devil to exert all the power he is capable of through the beast, the man of sin.

He will encourage rebellion as we will be living in a state of lawlessness. but He will not allow rebellion against himself, It will immediately be dealt with. Civility will not be his trademark. Intimidation is bullying and he will be a bully to those who challenge him. He will have at his disposal the strongest military the world has seen in history and use it.

He will do the opposite of Jesus yet it will be seen as good. He may legislate health as Hitler made a law against boiling lobsters because it was inhumane.

Everything Jesus did he will do the opposite. Jesus has humility. He will have self exaltation, Idolatry will be toward him.

He will control the media so nothing bad can be said of him, actually he will control everything he possibly can. It’s been said if you control the finances, food, water or education you are able to control the population. We know he will employ a mark for a world financial system do that no one can participate without it (Rev.13:17).

What he can’t take by intrigue he will seize by force

All eyes are on Jerusalem: This prophecy being fulfilled will change the world as we know it. The world wants peace but are actually preparing for war. When they say peace and safety (1 Thess. 5) sudden destruction comes”, the signing of the peace treaty with Israel will bring this time of testing for the whole world (Rev.3:10b).

John 2:18:  “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” There have been many rulers over the years that have opposed God’s will exalting themselves and tried to have dominion.

The portion of the Christian church that denies a coming antichrist also believe that many have already come? Some even believe the antichrist has already come. They will not have their guard up if they are around when he does come.

A counterfeit faith/ religion unlike any other will develop. One that says we can do it we just need to unite and we can accomplish anything - like the Tower of Babel, that is one of the reasons why it is called “mystery Babylon.”

The leader will appeal to the better of our human nature to unite with others. The antichrist system will be like all the cults combined, operated by control for willing subjects. It was Woodrow Wilson who instigated the league of nations, now we have the United Nations.

If you go down the checklist with all the qualities and actions and the man’s number is correct then you have a winner. The true Christians who exercise wisdom will out him.

Our relationship to each other will change. Jesus came to divide of those who follow him as the truth, he will divide for an opposite reason of Jesus, to follow him as a lie. Instead of uniting around the truth they will be united in the lie. It will be as a coin toss, “heads I win, tails you lose.” Everything will be stacked in his favor. The antichrist will say one thing and do another because by nature he is the ultimate liar. They will love the words as he speaks great swelling words that deceive the population. The people will focus on what he says, not his actions. Promises that will never happen, he will be the ultimate politician. His ruling becomes an oxymoron. He will kill people while at the same time champion life and call it peace. This will be seen by killing the saints during the tribulation as they will not follow him.

We read that the Antichrist “will change times and law” which is related to the system that he is working in, that he rules over. Changing times and law has to do with how we do things

Times and law can be religious, it could relate to the context of Judaism or Christianity since this is what he will oppose. The changing of “times” could simply mean that it will be renamed after him instead of Jesus BC.- AD. He will change the times by offering a better way, diaprax people to side with him in this endeavor to change the world with him. What he implements as the current way for this last generation he rules over.

Changing law can mean the basis of their governmental system. Changing times, what he revisions in history; the prophetic timeline could be altered.

Changing times and laws will be done in several ways and several levels. First in the country he is ruling in before he is accepted as king of the world.

It can mean the law of the land he begins to rule in, possibly moral laws. The Marriage Laws the people live under. The word time can mean his allowance to stay in office. He will regulate the system by introducing new law[s] that even the rich will be forced to obey his standards on food, education and finances.

If Hitler had not been stopped what would the world look like 75 years later? This man will have far more influence that Hitler had, where all others before him failed he will succeed.

All the world under Grace for now. But soon all the world will be under law, an antichrists law. Grace applies to believers and to wicked men who are in act or repenting. The age of grace will give way to the time of judgment, then Christ will not freely give grace to the wicked but a sword.

The mark described is not a spiritual mark or symbol but one related to a person who will control commerce, finances. This is what the mark is necessary for. Only those who are NOT born again can take it. Neither can one remove the mark of the beast when they receive it, because it will be a conscious reception tied to a person and their worldwide system.

The mark is not Capitalism nor is it socialism, nor of a certain church that is apostate. He will speak the language of the people, he will relate to them, He may offer them free things they need to live, instead of freedom.

Could the mark come through the country that had the most freedom in the world? Logic tells us it would be targeted first and if it fell it would be easier to align the others. We now see more people being forced to depend on government both willingly and unwillingly. We can see that a system can be developed for the reception of a mark with the same number or name distributed to all so they can participate in buying and selling. He will be able to force them to take the mark to survive, they will join his system or they will starve and not have work and have nowhere to live.

Rev 13:18 “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”

The Bible teaches only those who possess spiritual “wisdom” and “understanding” can calculate this number, it can only come from the Bible. And for it to be understood the man of sin must be present for it to identify him. He will be revealed to those Christians (and Jews) that are able to discern by him first signing a seven year peace agreement with Israel that will begin the Tribulation period.

What will be offered as an option by free choice at the beginning will become forced upon all by the middle of the tribulation when this Son of perdition is revealed to the world.

Satan likes idols, symbols; he will make all take his name in their right hand or forehead (Rev. 13:16-18). So what exactly is the Mark? It is the badge of the followers of Antichrist, stamped on the forehead or right hand. The same as a scratch or etching, it is an engraving. An impress a stamped image, an exact copy for all. The tattoo of sorts, will be infused with the body, it will violate what God has made man in his image; this is one of the reasons for such a harsh judgment from God, for they who have it worship the beast (Rev.16:2).

The number of his name shall add up to the sum of 666 (Rev. 13:18 in the Hebrew language). The number that will be displayed on the hand or forehead, it will not be our individual number, but relates to the person of Antichrist. The physical taking of this mark will signify ones willingness to serve the new system he is in control of that will be a combination of politics and religion. In fact, he will be introduced through politics first.

Wisdom: it’s not just calculating the name but there is something else about it that one needs wisdom to understand and identify him by the number equivalent.

Indulge me for a moment, this mark, number or name seems to imply different positions, to have his name on you would probably be the highest sign of loyalty and position, a mark next and a number may be for the general population. a strict and unforgiving judgment on those that do not take it. The other beast will “cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (Rev.13:15).

Whoever employs this system to the world will make a connection to his name, as he loves to exalt himself. This ultimately is worshiping the beast, not just the system that will be used as a control mechanism. Taking the mark is to save ones life, to not suffer in the tribulation period (Jesus said if anyone tries to save their life they will lose it) it is an eternal decision because one is engraved with a symbol of serving a false messiah.

Since many churches don’t believe in a tribulation they will tell you this is not what the Bible warns of, its not the mark and so and so is not the antichrist. They will be sitting ducks for this counterfeit that will be the best imposter the world has ever seen.

The Persecutions throughout human history are often against those who obey God, foreseen in the first murder illustrated by the action of Cain’s murder of his brother Abel.

Rev. 13:4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"V:7 “It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.”

The only ones that oppose him will be authentic believers of Jesus. No matter how many he kills "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Rev 12:11). If you take the mark you are done. Believers are the target throughout the tribulation period. Daniel 7:21-22: “I was watching; and the same horn (little horn) was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.” It is Jesus who stops the slaughter of believers and the attack on Israel. He ends the tribulation singlehanded with his coming in Glory. Then, and only then are believers able to rule on the earth, under his leadership throughout  the Millennium.

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