When even the staunchest defenders of futurism here are beginning to question the individuality of the Antichrist, there is a problem which sorely needs addressing. Especially because he's already here. So obviously it is of paramount importance that Christians are able to identify the greatest enemy Christianity has ever faced to rightly and firmly resist him.
I can understand why preterists deny the personhood of the Antichrist, since they are in denial about all eschatology, but how can any futurist make sense of the endtimes without an individual Antichrist? Will the targeted persecution of Christians be completely spontaneous and not directed by any governing agency? How do you explain "the whole world" marveling after the beast and worshipping it? Men can't really worship an idea or marvel at a philosophy.
I suspect part of the problem for most who have a mistaken understanding of eschatology (and the Bible in general) is an inability to fathom the depth of evil. Corresponding to this is an inability to fathom the depth of God's love, which is why so many of even Christians have such a woefully inadequate relationship with Him, but that is not the focus at present. Many people have a stagey, cartoonish view of the devil wherein he is evil because he can't help it as he bumbles his way from one wicked deed to the next. But that is not how the Bible presents him:
The Bible presents the devil as having authority over the earth and being the "god" of this world. And he says "and I can give it [his authority] to anyone I want to." The Bible supports that, too:
So the devil gives some of his authority over the earth to people willing to serve him and his ends. And he has done this since he first took that authority from our fallen parents:
Cain sided with the devil against the Lord and taught his descendants to do so, which is why they were instructed in the "crafts" of metalworking, astrology, music, geometry, etc. by the fallen angels:
The reason I put "craft" in quotes is because this is the term given to the knowledge the fallen angels gave mankind and how those initiated into these dark arts/sayings refer subtly to their knowledge. These angels were called "Watchers" and their knowledge witch-craft. The Antichrist will be a master at the "craft" and proficient in the "dark sayings":
Cain and his descendants served Satan and the fallen angels openly and their wickedness became so great that God had to send the Flood to "reset" the human race. But the Nephilim were upon the earth both before and after the Flood and one of Cain's descendants became so powerful in his Satanic rebellion that God had to intervene personally:
According to tradition, part of the means God used to stop Nimrod's rebellion was to send Shem son of Noah to kill him. But whatever the reason, the worship of the dragon went underground at this point and became known as the "mysteries", passed on only to the "initiated" who could be trusted or intimidated into keeping it secret. The mystery religion passed on from the Canaanites to the Egyptians to the Assyrians to the Babylonians to the Greeks to the Romans to the Gnostics to the Masons. All the while the goal has been to defeat the people of God once and for all and reinstitute a Luciferian world order--a new Atlantis.
Joseph Smith, a Master Mason who took many of the Masonic rites and made them Mormon rites, knew about the true origin and purpose of the mystery religions/secret societies and wrote this:
The similarity between Master Mahan and Master Mason speaks volumes about where Smith may have been exposed to this truth.
This Satanic religion took the form of a pagan trinity (Isis, Osiris, Horus, though they were repackaged under different names in various cultures) and some of its rites included cannibalism, sexual orgies, "sacred" prostitution (both male and female) and human sacrifice (including that of children).
The effects of the Tower of Babel have very nearly been reversed. The world again speaks a common tongue. Again nothing that enters the mind of wicked man is impossible for them. Mankind has the power to destroy himself hundreds of times over and indeed, unless the Lord cuts short these terrible times, no flesh will survive. The New World Order that the secret societies have labored for so long is nearly upon us and their king is among us.
Not only among us, he has usurped the throne of the most powerful nation in the world, appearing from nowhere and propelled by the power of a few to use this power as a steppingstone to the near absolute power he will one day wield. Claiming to be a man of peace, he has brought only destruction and indeed that is what he intends, to destroy nations not a few:
Like Christ, the Antichrist is given many titles and names throughout Scripture, including, but not limited to, the destroyer, the son of perdition, the sword, the prince of Tyre, the wicked and profane prince of Israel, the beast, the Antichrist, the liar, the deceiver, the idol shepherd, etc. The seminal work of Dr. Avraham Gileadi on the book of Isaiah, which can be found here, shows that one of the Antichrist's titles--the Assyrian--reflects his political office while the title of "King of Babylon" reflects his religious pretensions, Babylon representing the origin of false religion and "King of Babylon" representing his claim to godhood.
There is much more that can be said about this individual, but this is a good start to proving his individuality. Lord, please give those who read this the discernment to accept the truth and prepare themselves to withstand this son of the evil one and those who serve him.
I can understand why preterists deny the personhood of the Antichrist, since they are in denial about all eschatology, but how can any futurist make sense of the endtimes without an individual Antichrist? Will the targeted persecution of Christians be completely spontaneous and not directed by any governing agency? How do you explain "the whole world" marveling after the beast and worshipping it? Men can't really worship an idea or marvel at a philosophy.
I suspect part of the problem for most who have a mistaken understanding of eschatology (and the Bible in general) is an inability to fathom the depth of evil. Corresponding to this is an inability to fathom the depth of God's love, which is why so many of even Christians have such a woefully inadequate relationship with Him, but that is not the focus at present. Many people have a stagey, cartoonish view of the devil wherein he is evil because he can't help it as he bumbles his way from one wicked deed to the next. But that is not how the Bible presents him:
The Bible presents the devil as having authority over the earth and being the "god" of this world. And he says "and I can give it [his authority] to anyone I want to." The Bible supports that, too:
So the devil gives some of his authority over the earth to people willing to serve him and his ends. And he has done this since he first took that authority from our fallen parents:
Cain sided with the devil against the Lord and taught his descendants to do so, which is why they were instructed in the "crafts" of metalworking, astrology, music, geometry, etc. by the fallen angels:
Book of Enoch Chapters 6, 7, 8
1. And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. 2. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.' 3. And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' 4. And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' 5. Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 6. And they were in all two hundred; who descended ⌈in the days⌉ of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 7. And these are the names of their leaders: Sêmîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. 8. These are their chiefs of tens.
1. And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. 2. And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: 3. Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, 4. the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. 5. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. 6. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.
1. And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals 〈of the earth〉 and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. 2. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl, (taught) astrology, Kôkabêl the constellations, Ezêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds, 〈Araqiêl the signs of the earth, Shamsiêl the signs of the sun〉, and Sariêl the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .
1. And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. 2. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.' 3. And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' 4. And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' 5. Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 6. And they were in all two hundred; who descended ⌈in the days⌉ of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 7. And these are the names of their leaders: Sêmîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. 8. These are their chiefs of tens.
1. And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. 2. And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: 3. Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, 4. the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. 5. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. 6. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.
1. And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals 〈of the earth〉 and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. 2. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl, (taught) astrology, Kôkabêl the constellations, Ezêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds, 〈Araqiêl the signs of the earth, Shamsiêl the signs of the sun〉, and Sariêl the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .
The reason I put "craft" in quotes is because this is the term given to the knowledge the fallen angels gave mankind and how those initiated into these dark arts/sayings refer subtly to their knowledge. These angels were called "Watchers" and their knowledge witch-craft. The Antichrist will be a master at the "craft" and proficient in the "dark sayings":
Cain and his descendants served Satan and the fallen angels openly and their wickedness became so great that God had to send the Flood to "reset" the human race. But the Nephilim were upon the earth both before and after the Flood and one of Cain's descendants became so powerful in his Satanic rebellion that God had to intervene personally:
According to tradition, part of the means God used to stop Nimrod's rebellion was to send Shem son of Noah to kill him. But whatever the reason, the worship of the dragon went underground at this point and became known as the "mysteries", passed on only to the "initiated" who could be trusted or intimidated into keeping it secret. The mystery religion passed on from the Canaanites to the Egyptians to the Assyrians to the Babylonians to the Greeks to the Romans to the Gnostics to the Masons. All the while the goal has been to defeat the people of God once and for all and reinstitute a Luciferian world order--a new Atlantis.
Joseph Smith, a Master Mason who took many of the Masonic rites and made them Mormon rites, knew about the true origin and purpose of the mystery religions/secret societies and wrote this:
I.V. Genesis 5:15; PGP Moses 5:28-31
28 And it came to pass that Cain took one of his brothers’ daughters to wife, and they loved Satan more than God.
29 And Satan said unto Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother Abel into thine hands.
30 And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands. And all these things were done in secret.
31 And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.
28 And it came to pass that Cain took one of his brothers’ daughters to wife, and they loved Satan more than God.
29 And Satan said unto Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother Abel into thine hands.
30 And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands. And all these things were done in secret.
31 And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.
The similarity between Master Mahan and Master Mason speaks volumes about where Smith may have been exposed to this truth.
This Satanic religion took the form of a pagan trinity (Isis, Osiris, Horus, though they were repackaged under different names in various cultures) and some of its rites included cannibalism, sexual orgies, "sacred" prostitution (both male and female) and human sacrifice (including that of children).
The effects of the Tower of Babel have very nearly been reversed. The world again speaks a common tongue. Again nothing that enters the mind of wicked man is impossible for them. Mankind has the power to destroy himself hundreds of times over and indeed, unless the Lord cuts short these terrible times, no flesh will survive. The New World Order that the secret societies have labored for so long is nearly upon us and their king is among us.
Not only among us, he has usurped the throne of the most powerful nation in the world, appearing from nowhere and propelled by the power of a few to use this power as a steppingstone to the near absolute power he will one day wield. Claiming to be a man of peace, he has brought only destruction and indeed that is what he intends, to destroy nations not a few:
Like Christ, the Antichrist is given many titles and names throughout Scripture, including, but not limited to, the destroyer, the son of perdition, the sword, the prince of Tyre, the wicked and profane prince of Israel, the beast, the Antichrist, the liar, the deceiver, the idol shepherd, etc. The seminal work of Dr. Avraham Gileadi on the book of Isaiah, which can be found here, shows that one of the Antichrist's titles--the Assyrian--reflects his political office while the title of "King of Babylon" reflects his religious pretensions, Babylon representing the origin of false religion and "King of Babylon" representing his claim to godhood.
There is much more that can be said about this individual, but this is a good start to proving his individuality. Lord, please give those who read this the discernment to accept the truth and prepare themselves to withstand this son of the evil one and those who serve him.
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