We've all heard it said, "I'm looking for the Christ, not the antichrist!" But the apostle Paul adamantly affirms that the day of Christ's revelation will not precede the day of the antichrist . Though some may be convinced that somewhere hidden in Paul's words is the secret knowledge Paul had that Jesus would be stealthily snatching away believers seven years before this revelation, the Scripture is truly silent about such a thing. But even if it were so, can it do harm for us to be diligently searching the Scriptures so that we know when our visitation from above is drawing near? What could possibly be a more important way to spend our free time than in digging into God's Word and sharing our findings with those around us?
If antichrist is coming, will it not be good to know where He will arise, and where not? What political situation must be in place before he takes power? A little of his background?
When I did my own research on this subject, I tried to exercise a slavish obedience to the text as it is written, with no apologies. It is the doctoring of texts, the smoothing of them for rational moderns (now called post-moderns, I am told. No matter, it's the same unbelief) that eventually waters them down altogether and causes seekers to go away empty.
What if the texts mean exactly what they say? For example, what if both Daniel and Matthew saw "the abomination of desolation" happening in the end of time? If we could prove that, would we be looking elsewhere for fulfillment? Following both the writing of Daniel's prophecy, and the words of Jesus in Matthew 24, something happened in history that Bible scholars mistook as the "fulfillment" of the prophecy. Today nearly every commentary you read on these two passages will attest that Daniel's "abomination" was fulfilled in Antiochus Epiphanes, and that Jesus' prediction was fulfilled by the Roman general Titus. Case closed, they say.
But in both cases, the Enemy distracted us from the truth and from the real fulfillment, still in our future. We were swayed by "history". This has happened many times since. People see a rising candidate for "Babylon" or "antichrist" and they begin to rework Scripture to make it all fit. And of course it never does, though there are always compelling reasons to believe the new theory. Hitler, Nero, Franco, Caesar, the Pope, Rome in general, and tons more have been lifted up as possibilities by persons who failed to read the text as it is written.
What if the Spirit was forever giving clues which true searchers would find as they attempted to solve the mysteries of the ages? What if the pictures painted in Scripture were obvious for the one pursuing Light? What if the Bible is enough after all and the only reason we "need" extra-Biblical facts is for confirmation? Some day there may be many apologies to Jesus for having overlooked the facts He so laboriously presented through at least four men, one of them Himself!
Let us agree here that our method will be to go to the Word first, not history, news, or personality. What saith the Word? That is all that matters! And it is the Word for which we will be held accountable! May God protect us from sharing or receiving anything that is not directly deducible from one of the sixty-six books of the Bible.
Actually this task will be much easier than combing through all of the Bible's books. We'll be able to find the entire truth of this antichrist matter in only four of the sixty-six: Matthew, Daniel, Revelation, and II Thessalonians. Better still, of these four books, seven chapters carry the entire message. Fifty plus verses will tell it all! We'll meander around in a few other places, but the drama unfolds in these few places. The trick will be to keep our eyes open and travel very slowly through this turf.
A little over fifty verses, taken as they are, un-edited, with no desire to please any man, church, or dogmatic system, and no concern about a publisher's financial concerns... oh my! There is power! There is truth! Do you dare try it?
http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!
And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.
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