CRUMB 0133 – THE ANTICHRIST REVEALED

HE WHO WITHOLDETH

Part #05 of “The Mystery of Iniquity”

“The antichrist is a topic which has given rise to endless speculation as to who this person will be.”

Many, especially dictators, who have been thought to be the antichrist of the Bible have come and gone.

Even in recent times, many, from both the secular world and Christendom believed that Barack Obama was probably the antichrist.

Barack Obama has been probably laughing and pretty chuffed to receive such an infamous honour! 🤔 😂 😂

And it’s certainly not the Pope sitting in the Vatican, which so many speculate.

The truth is that all these so-called speculations in regard to the person of the antichrist, are all vanity.

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity” [Ecclesiastes 1:2] 😂 😂 😂

And the bottom line is that very few, especially in Christendom for the most part, have given heed to the Apostle Paul.

They still don’t!

For it is only the Apostle Paul who tells us exactly when the antichrist is to be revealed.

Mysteries For This Age Of Grace

The mysteries for this Age of Grace, God kept secret from before the foundations of the world and revealed them to none other than Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles.

Personally Hand-picked by the Ascended LORD in Glory.

Scripture makes that so clear in [Acts 9:15] and in [Ephesians 3:3-5], where the Apostle Paul says:

How that by revelation he made known unto ‘me’ the mystery; as I wrote afore in few words”.

How clear and plain that is as he continues:

“Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ”.

So, the ‘reading’, and studying, of the epistles of the Apostle Paul is the key to understanding these things.

Now watch this👇🏽!

Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men……”

The Apostle Paul is our ‘go to man’, and yet there are just but a few who do so.

But we are certainly staying with him as we continue.

I Told You These Things

“Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”, Paul writes in [2 Thessalonians 2:5].

This is Paul writing to the Thessalonian believers, and very much applies to us, the Grace Age believers.

He was with the Thessalonians for only about two weeks and saw them converted out of paganism. 

He taught them the doctrines of Grace and even took the time to teach them end-time things.

There are so many who say:

“I’m not concerned about end-times because God will probably take care of it in His own way.

And it doesn’t make any difference if I know what’s going to happen, or how it’s going to happen.”

Well, Paul took the time, way back there in about 55 A.D. to teach these new converts out of paganism.

He taught them things concerning the end of our Church Age.

Then don’t you think it’s good that you and I know it when we are actually in it?”

Absolutely! We have to know these things.

We have to know what the Scripture teaches so that we know what to look for.

Daniel, the Old Testament prophet, wrote concerning our times today 2500 years ago.

“The wicked shall do wickedly, but the wise shall understand”, he wrote in [Daniel 12:10].

People today are beginning to get a true insight into the Word of God and the end time things.

Every headline, every news item is telling them that this Book is true.

And it’s all coming as God said it would.

Withheld Till Revealed

There is something that is being with withheld, before the antichrist can and will be revealed.

For Paul says, “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time”  [2 Thessalonians 2:6].

So, we’ve got ‘two personalities’ involved here.

We’ve got ‘One Personality’ that has to put the brakes on things.

So that the ‘other personality’ won’t come in and do his work before the appointed time.

Do you see that?

‘Now He, (the Holy Spirit), Who withholdeth’, or is holding back…… 

So ‘that he’, the other person, speaking of the antichrist, ‘might be revealed in his (appointed) time’, and not ahead of it.

Because God is a stickler for His own revealed time-table.

For the last 2000+ years or so, God’s time-clock has stopped, that “UNDETERMINED PERIOD OF TIME”, the ‘Church Age’👇🏾

But as soon as the Church, the Body of Christ👆🏾, is taken out of the way……God’s time clock kicks back in gear.

And it’s going to be right on schedule!

So, Paul is saying here, that as we come to the end and the Church is taken out of the way……

…..Or ‘just before’ the Church, the ‘Body of Christ’, that ‘remnant’ is taken out of the way…….

…..There has to be a Person that will hold back this man, the antichrist.

He will be held back from usurping the power that he’s going to have for the next seven years.

And as we saw in the last CRUMB 0132, that Person is the Holy Spirit indwelling the believers, the ‘Body of Christ’.

 So, God has to hold it until the right time.

Immediately After The Rapture

The antichrist will be revealed, immediately ‘after’ the Rapture of the Church.

That is, after the ‘Body of Christ’ is taken out of way.

And then this great world political leader, is going to come on the scene.

He’s going to be a very charismatic individual.

The Book of Daniel says this antichrist is going to come in with flatteries, promising peace and prosperity.

He’ll tell the world’s population that he’s got the answer to all their problems.

And the world is looking for that kind of a person!

The world has got so many problems that they don’t know which way to turn.

But, when this fellow comes on the scene, he’s going to seemingly have all the answers.

And the world will fall at his feet!

The Marshall Plan (1948)

‘The Marshall Plan’, also known as the ‘European Recovery Program’, was a U.S. program providing aid to Western Europe.

This was following the devastation caused by World War II.

On April 3, 1948, the U.S. President Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948.

It became known as the Marshall Plan, named after the Secretary of State, George Marshall.

In 1947, Marshall proposed that the United States provide economic assistance to restore the economic infrastructure of post-war Europe.

There was, at that time, this great Belgian General Jean-Baptiste Piron (10 April 1896 – 4 September 1974).

He was a Belgian military officer, best known for his role in the Free Belgian forces during World War II.

And he received the DSO (Distinguished Service Order) as commander of the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade.

This 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade was widely known as the “Piron Brigade”, between 1942 and 1944.

Right after World War II, when Europe was in a shambles, and before ‘the Marshall Plan’ had really started taking hold………

….This Belgian general, said this in 1945: 

“What the world needs is a strong leader.

And if such a man would come on the scene today, by tomorrow night the world will be falling at his feet!”

Now, he said that in 1945. 

How Much Truer

How much truer that is today.

With all the turmoil that is going on in Eastern Europe and Russia, and Europe itself with America, and even prosperous Japan……

……The world is suddenly realizing that we’ve got problems we don’t have any idea of how to cope with.

Our leaders don’t really know which way to turn.

And this man, the antichrist, is going to come on the scene with such a charisma.

He’s going to seemingly have all the answers and the world indeed will fall at his feet.

He will have the world to rule and reign, as The Bible says he would.

Oppose And Exalt

This man, the antichrist, is going to oppose and exalt himself, above all that is called God”.

Paul tells us in [2 Thessalonians 2:4], that the antichrist is going to demand he be worshipped.

This man is going to be godless.

Now remember, he is the ‘antichrist’, so he is the ‘counterfeit Christ’.

He’s going to receive this power from Satan.

And remember, Satan ‘can’ perform a lot of good.

Too many people have the idea that all Satan promotes is the ‘down and out’ and gross immorality.

That’s the least of Satan’s concern.

Satan’s Main Area Of Activity

Satan’s main area of activity is in the ‘upper of ecclesia’.

That is, in the upper levels of our so-called religious leadership, especially in the seminaries and large denominations.

Now, that’s where Satan works overtime.

He doesn’t have to work on the poor guy who is down and out, he’s already got him.

But if he can get the ecclesiastic leaders in his camp….

…..Then that power just funnels on down to the average person in the pew, and then he’s got them all.

We have to remember that Satan will promote good things, beautiful things, that the world is just in awe of.

And he will do this in order to accomplish his own end.

Paul the Apostle describes the antichrist here as the one who opposeth and exalteth himself”.

Now, that’s what it takes to be a good political leader, doesn’t it? An egotist!

And this guy is going to be the greatest that ever was, so far as personal egotism is concerned.

Having exalted ‘himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped’…..

‘So that he as God’  is going to set himself up as the god of this world.

And he’s going to sit in the ‘Temple of God’.

Only One Place

There’s only one place on this earth where God has ever had a Temple and will have it again.

And that is in Jerusalem.

The Jew is getting hungry for their Temple to come back, and one of these days they are going to have it.

And it’s probably going to almost come up overnight.

It is believed they have everything already prefabricated, and ready to go.

And the Israelites, when they get the go ahead, will raise that Temple so fast, the world will hardly believe it’s happened.

The Book of Daniel, especially in [Daniel 9:23-27] ,the Old Testament prophet introduces us to all of this.

And this was in accordance with a vision Daniel received from God, which he did not understand.

So finally God’s arch-angel Gabriel had to come to Daniel in [Daniel 9:22-23].

“O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding”, Gabriel tells him.

“I am come to show forth thee; for thou art greatly beloved”.

“Therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision”

And here in [2 Thessalonians 2:1-10] , the Apostle Paul is merely putting the capstone on it all.

This is the ‘golden thumb rule’ and a classic example of “Scripture explaining Scripture”.

There is ‘no other way’!

Ask Now And See

“Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? ”  said Jeremiah, another major prophet of God.

He was speaking of these days as he continues, “Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins”

That speaks of terrible anguish and painful fear.

 “As a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?” 

They’ve turned pale from what?

Extreme fear!

Because at the exact mid-point of the tribulation, the antichrist is going to go berserk and turn viciously on the Jews.

And the rest of the world is going to experience this unprecedented viciousness of the antichrist.

Jesus Christ spoke of this very thing in [Matthew 24:21]

The horrors of the Tribulation are not only going to be physical, but also mental.

And it’s going to test men’s ability to keep their sanity, because of these horrors that are coming on the earth.

Then after the antichrist has had his seven years, Christ will come down to earth.

HE will sort out the antichrist and set up His benevolent 1000 year Kingdom, a topic we’ll address in a new series.

As We Conclude

As we conclude this series, we want to assure you of this one thing.

We have not written all this to scare someone into making a decision for Christ Jesus.

Because the truth is that, “anyone convinced against their will, is still unconvinced”.

But these are real truths that God through His Word has revealed.

And here is the thing and it’s a fact of life:

“Every single one of us without exception, will one day lose ‘everything’, be it while we’re here or after we’ve gone.

We will lose our wives, husbands, children, fathers, mothers and everything else that we have.

They only thing that will remain is where we end up after its all been said and done.

So many wrongly believe and propagate that after we die, there’s nothing, it’s all over and that’s it.

And these are men and women of repute who either intentionally or inadvertently, play a substantially influential role in the lives of many.

But they have no foundational basis whatsoever for that belief.

Only their vain assumptions and personal opinions.

Personally, I can ‘NEVER’ place the future of my eternal destination on the assumptions and opinions of men.

It must be something that is infallibly full proof, tangible, documented,  Divinely sealed and signed by the Spirit of God Himself.

And that is exactly what the Bible is all about! There is nothing like it on the planet!

Foundational Knowledge The Base

Every belief, which is really a faith factor, must be based on foundational knowledge.

And that foundational knowledge ‘must’ be based on ‘proven facts’.

Or else not worth the paper it’s printed on!

‘We are not fools’ without a substantial degree of intelligence, that we can’t reason and think for ourselves!

So do think about this.

‘Blind faith’ is dangerous and can lead to all kinds of unnecessary problems.

Faith in the Bible, the revealed Word of God, is not ‘blind Faith’, it is documented.

And this Divine Document is backed up by History and profound archaeological discoveries attesting to its Truth, to this very day.

So much of what seemed unbelievable at one time, is very believable today because of archaeology.

Hardships And Pain

All of us without exception, have much more than in just one way, been through real hardships and pain.

Life has thrown us that, and for so many it’s been hell, as we so often quote.

And all of this just to end up in a grave or wherever else, into nothingness?

Does that even make sense, even if we don’t understand beyond the grave?

The Bible clearly shows us, that we humans, although fallen, are still made in the ‘image of God’ our Creator.

Our fallen nature is explicitly mentioned in [Romans 3:23].

“All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God”, a factual true statement of our inner spiritual condition.

We all know that is true, but most refuse to admit and acknowledge it.

Do we feel that we’re so far gone, that we are now so hopeless a case, without any kind of hope?

So we might as well carry on as we are?

Or are we afraid that that God will mercilessly slay us if we do?

Because that’s ‘NEVER’ going to happen!

On the other hand, it opens the door and enables us to step into His Arms of Grace, forever and eternally secure.

That hope is alive and well! And the door still wide open!

Because God is eternal, so are we also eternal.

God’s Most Prized Creation

You and I are the most ‘prized creation’ of God, and although fallen, God has judicially made the way back to Him.

And that way is only by heart-believing + NOTHING ELSE, the incredible Gospel of our salvation.

“How that Jesus Christ, dies for our sins, was buried and rose again for our justification”.

It was all according to the Scriptures in [1 Corinthians 15:1-4] and [Romans 4:25].

We can rest in this ‘AMAZING GRACE’ of God with absolute assurance.

And if we can come to that place of heart-believing this Gospel, we’ll be spared from the horrors that are coming.

That decision lies entirely with us, God never infringes upon the free will of men.

Remember, the greatest and most reliable attribute of the Scriptures in the Bible is that they, ‘NEVER LIE’.

 

 

If you have read this series and are blessed with the Truth, we humbly request you to share it.

Share this truth with your loved ones, your friends and colleagues, who also have an eternal destiny at stake.

(Please note, all that is written in the ORANGE COLOUR, are connecting links, so do refer to them. You will find them very useful.)

 

 

 

 

 

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About Joshua David Mukerji

A life filled with depravity, a conscience hardened and seared as with a hot iron, with eyes filled with tears on a road leading to nowhere, with an amputated spirit, devoid of any meaningful hope or purpose, moving on like a ship on a tumultuous sea without a sail, the author, from out of nowhere, has an encounter with a Living God that would radically change his life. With an infallible Hope imputed into his spirit, he moves on. Not claiming to have got there yet, but one thing he does: forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, he presses on with this Hope that will never fail. If you feel you somehow or in some way connect with any part of this, stick around. There are messages of True and Living Hope coming your way. You ‘will’ get there yet!!!
View all posts by Joshua David Mukerji →

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