During the end times, there's a figure known as the Antichrist who'll rule the final world government. Some people think certain politicians, religious figures, or economic leaders could possibly be the Antichrist. And while it could be entertaining speculating on who the Antichrist might be, I feel like many Christians throw around the word antichrist without actually understanding who he is and what he'll do.
So in this video we're going to cover ten facts about the Antichrist so that people can be more informed on what the Bible actually says about him. So fact number one, the Antichrist is of a spirit that rejects Jesus. First John chapter four, verses 2 to 3.
By this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus has come in the flesh is not of God.
And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world. In this passage, John explains to Christians that those who reject the fact that Jesus came as a human being are of the spirit of the Antichrist. And the reason why John says this is because there was a group of people at this time who were spreading lies about who Jesus actually was.
And then John says that these people who denied the fact that Jesus was 100% God and 100% human are of this spirit of the Antichrist. it's also important to note that the word Antichrist means adversary or opponent of the Messiah, or in other words, an Antichrist is someone who is against Jesus and opposes him. You see, there are many truths about Jesus.
He is the King of kings, the judge of the world, and God incarnate. And anyone who opposes Jesus and tries to strip Jesus of who he actually is, is of the spirit of Antichrist. and we see more of this in first John chapter two, verse 22, who was a liar?
But he who denies that Jesus is the Christ, he is Antichrist, who denies the father and the son. So simply put, people who reject Jesus for who he actually is, as seen in Scripture, is of the spirit of the Antichrist, because in their rejection they are opposing Jesus. And this leads us to the next fact about the Antichrist.
So fact number two, the Antichrist is one of many. First John chapter two, verse 18. little children, it is the last hour.
And as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come by which we know that it is the last hour. In this passage, John talks about how it's the last hour and how things are coming to a close regarding all of humanity. And John tells believers that the Antichrist is coming, future tense, and that many antichrists have already come past tense.
So here we see the distinction between there being one special and specific figure that will be the Antichrist and how there were already multiple antichrists that the early church probably came into contact with. So please note that while there will be tons of people that will oppose Jesus, there will be one specific person that will rise above them all. And you'll see why.
In fact, number three, the Antichrist will be empowered by Satan himself. Second Thessalonians chapter two, verses 8 to 10. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his coming.
The coming of the lawless one is, according to the working of Satan, with all power signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. In this passage, Paul tells the church of Thessalonica that this lawless and wicked one will be revealed, and that he'll be destroyed at Jesus's coming. And we believe this lawless one to be the Antichrist, because we see a powerful leader get destroyed by Jesus.
In revelation chapter 19. so really quick. I want you to look at revelation chapter 13, verse two, which reads now the beast which I saw was like a leopard.
His feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. Now please note that the dragon in this passage is symbolic of the devil, and this beast is one who receives his power, his position, and his authority by the devil himself.
so many Christians see this beast in revelation, and the lawless one in first Thessalonians to be the same person, because both people will be directly influenced by Satan in a powerful way. And what I find interesting is that in Matthew chapter four, when Jesus gets tempted in the wilderness, Satan offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world and all their glory. And Jesus rejects him.
So it would seem that Satan may actually make the same offer to another individual, because from what we see in this lawless one, he will be given extraordinary power. and you'll soon see the kind of authority he'll have. In fact, number four, The Antichrist will rule the world for three and a half years.
Revelation chapter 13, verses seven and five. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. And he was given a mouth, speaking great things and blasphemies.
And he was given authority to continue for 42 months. So what we looked at in the latter half of verse seven in revelation 13 is the fact that the beast of the sea, also seen as the Antichrist, will rule over every person and nation. And this is something that we haven't seen before in human history, where a single man rules the entire world and every nation in it.
But despite how impressive that might look, he will only be able to rule for 42 months or three and a half years. And many Christians believe that these three and a half years will take place during the latter half of the seven year tribulation. So what will he do during his rule?
We see a small part of that. In fact, number five, the Antichrist will stand in Israel's temple. Matthew chapter 24, verse 15.
Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place. Whoever reads, let him understand in this passage Jesus, his disciples ask Jesus what will happen before he comes back at the end of the age. And Jesus tells them that during that time there will be this abomination of desolation standing in the holy place.
So something interesting here is a prophecy that has yet to be fulfilled. And it's this abomination of desolation standing in the holy place. So for those of you who don't know, the Holy Place is a section of Israel's Temple.
And back when there was a temple, it had a section called the Holy Place. And then there was another section called the Holy of Holies, and in that was the Ark of the covenant. So here in the holy place is where this abomination of desolation will be standing.
And just so you know, Israel's temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire, 70 A. D. , and it hasn't stood since.
So currently in the year 2024, there's no place for anyone to stand. and what I also find so fascinating is that when I visited Israel back in 2018, Israel was making preparations to rebuild their temple. I was sitting in on a presentation for Israel's future temple, and I learned that Israel has the needed materials for the building, as well as the sacrifices and the things needed for the priests.
The only thing they don't have is the permission to build it yet. So as I sat there, I was just thinking how crazy it is that we're getting closer to the time where the abomination of desolation will have a place to stand. And going back to this title of abomination, of desolation.
One of the reasons why we believe him to be the Antichrist is because in second Thessalonians chapter two, verses 3 to 4, we see the lawless one that we talked about. In fact, number three, setting himself up in God's temple. So since both stand in the temple during the time of Christ's coming, we see the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24 and the lawless one in first Thessalonians as being the same person, the one known as the Antichrist.
So why would the Antichrist want to be in Israel's temple? We see why. In fact, number six, the Antichrist will exalt himself and will act as God.
Second Thessalonians chapter two, verses 3 to 4. Let no one deceive you by any means, for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first. And the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
In this passage, Paul tells the church at Thessalonica what to expect from the Antichrist. And we see here that he'll oppose God and will make himself higher than everything that is worshiped. so he won't just exalt himself higher than the God of the Bible.
He'll position himself above every deity from every other religion in the world. So in his eyes, there is no God other than himself. And that's not all.
Look at fact number seven. The Antichrist will oppose God and all that God is. Revelation chapter 13, verse six.
And he opened his mouth and blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. In this passage we see the beast of the sea, or the Antichrist blaspheme, insult, and speak great evil against God, and we'll speak evil about God's name. His tabernacle, also known as the temple, and those that dwell in heaven.
So this Antichrist will not be someone who is kind to people of religion. Instead, he'll establish himself as the one that ought to be worshiped until insult God and stand in God's temple and essentially tell people, there is no God, there's only me. And for those of you who think that a guy like this will be rejected by people and be repelled by his arrogance and pride, you're wrong.
Look at that. Number eight, the Antichrist will be worshiped. Revelation chapter 13, verse eight.
All who dwell on the earth will worship him whose names have not been written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. In this passage John tells us more about the Antichrist. And we see here that everyone on earth that is not a true follower of Jesus will worship the Antichrist.
Meaning that they'll balance submission to him. And because he'll position himself higher than God and all of the things that are worshiped, the Antichrist will be the one that is celebrated, respected, and honored above all the religions of the world. and if there's any refusal to worship the Antichrist, there will be dire consequences, as seen in fact, number nine, the Antichrist will defeat Christians.
Revelation chapter 13, verse seven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. In this passage, we see that the beast of the sea was allowed to fight against the saints or God's people.
And to win against them. And we see this in greater depth throughout revelation chapter 13. And the beast of the sea, or the Antichrist will work with the beast of the earth or the false prophet, and they'll work together to get the world to balance submission to them.
And the false prophet will try to force everyone to get a mark on their right hand or on their forehead in order to control them. And we know this to be the mark of the beast and we cover the mark of the beast in one of our previous videos. And you could click the link in the description below to see it.
But short summary. During the rule of the Antichrist, which will occur during the tribulation, the mark of the beast will be distributed to people and those who refuse to worship the beast and receive his mark will be given the death penalty, which is believed to be death by beheading, So not only will the Antichrist come against God, he will fiercely come against God's people until succeed in killing them. Because, as seen in revelation 13 verse seven, he will overcome them and have victory over them.
however, while the Antichrist may have that victory at the end of it all, he'll lose. And we see this. In fact, number ten, the Antichrist will be defeated by Jesus.
Revelation chapter 19, verse 20. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast, and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone.
In this passage, John tells the ultimate fate of the Antichrist, and he'll be captured and thrown alive into the lake of fire by Jesus himself. I know many times we depict Jesus as being full of love, kindness, and forgiveness. And it's important to note that while Jesus is love, he is also just.
And he won't let the man who killed his people go unpunished. In fact, John chapter five, verse 22 tells us that Jesus is the judge of the world. and during Jesus's Second coming, he will put down the Antichrist.
He will silence his voice and he will bring justice to the one responsible for killing millions of people. All right. Fun topic.
So for those of you who are interested about who the Antichrist is, while you may not know who he is exactly, there are still facts that you can learn regarding who he is and what he'll do. So be mindful of these ten facts. The Antichrist is of a spirit that rejects Jesus.
The Antichrist is one of many. The Antichrist will be empowered by Satan himself. The Antichrist will rule the world for three and a half years.
The Antichrist will stand in Israel's temple. The Antichrist will exalt himself and will act as God. The Antichrist will oppose God and all that God is.
The Antichrist will be worshiped. The Antichrist will defeat Christians, and the Antichrist will be defeated by Jesus. To close.
Let me tell you a quick story Growing up, I used to play a lot of football. And when I was in middle school, there was a guy who was known as the number one guy in football. He was quick, strong, and no matter who the team captains were, he was always the first to get picked.
If he was playing. In fact, both his parents were Olympic athletes Anyways, whenever I was picked and I found myself on that guy's team, there was a huge relief. And for two reasons.
One, because I didn't have to cover him And two, because winning was going to be easier. so when it comes to the end times and the Antichrist, if you find yourself fearful, are worried at all. I want you to stop and remember who's on your team.
You have Jesus, the King of Kings, who is all powerful and the defender of the weak. So while the other side may have the Antichrist on their side, you can rest knowing that his reign will only last for three and a half years. While Jesus will reign for an eternity.
So there's no comparison. So moving forward, may we all witness to as many people as we can so that they can win to. And should you wonder why Jesus wants to be on your team?
It's because Jesus loves you.
