Brother Mike Ministries

The many days of Judgment Day began on May 21, 2011!  
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ETERNAL LIFE: No Longer Possible!! ***

Whoso keeps the commandment shall feel no evil: and a wise man's heart discerns [will know] both time and judgment - Ec. 8:5

Who Is The Antichrist?
By Brother Mike

It has long since been thought that the Antichrist would be a charismatic, religious-political man who would arise to deceive the world. I remember when many were saying that Gorbachev of the Soviet Union would become the Antichrist, then President Bush, and now even President Obama. I have even recently heard from someone that Prince Edward will become the Antichrist. Yes, throughout history there has always been someone of whom certain people thought would become the Antichrist. But they have always been wrong! This being the case, the question must be asked, is it even possible to know who the Antichrist really is? I think it is, but not by looking outside of the Bible in an attempt to discover someone who seems to fit the mold as has so often been attempted, but rather by looking into the Bible alone. When we do this, there are two verses in particular of importance. First, we read in 1John 4, 

3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Then we read in 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. 

Notice that the first verse says, " whereof ye have heard that it should come" whereas the second verse says, " as ye have heard that antichrist shall come." When we let the second verse interpret the first verse, it becomes clear that the it is in reference to the A nt ichrist that is spoken of in the second verse.  

Now what is so significant about learning that the Antichrist would come is that we also read that even now already is it in the world. What is learned by these verses, then, is that the Antichrist was already present in the world about 2000 years ago when these verses were first written, but he was also yet to come in and around the days in which we live, which is about 2000 years later. This means that the Antichrist could not possibly be a man, for what man could live for 2000 years. Only when we begin to see the Antichrist for what he really is - that is, Satan himself - do things really make sense, for Satan has been alive for thousands of years, and so He fits the picture perfectly. It is he who was alive and well about 2000 years ago, and it is he who would come in the time in which we now find ourselves. Satan, himself, is the Antichrist! 


The Man of Sin 

But if Satan, himself, is the Antichrist and not a man, then why is He referred to as the man of sin in 2thessalonians 2? Such language makes it sound as if the Antichrist is a man. There we read, 

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. 

Satan, the Antichrist, is referred to as the man of sin in this passage because, in scripture, a man is often used to typify Satan himself. The Antichrist is not a man, but God will often use the picture of a man to point to the deeper spiritual reality of Satan. For instance, we read in Mark 3 (similarly in Matthew12:29),

23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan ?
24
And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand .
25
And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand .
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And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end .
27
No man can enter into a strong man's house [Satan's house]  and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man [Satan himself] ; and then he will spoil his house

Again, we read Luke 11, 

21 When a strong man [Satan]  armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace :
22
But when a stronger than he [Christ]  shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils .

Obviously, the strong man that Christ refers to in these verses is not a man but the devil himself, just like the Man of Sin in 2Thessalonians 2 is not a man but Satan himself. God just uses the terminology of a man to refer to Satan. And, even in the Old Testament, God used a man to typifiy Satan. For example, in Isaiah 14 Satan is typified by the king of Babylon. There we read, 

4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
5
The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
6
He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
7
The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
8 Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.
9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer [the word "Lucifer" is not in the original, and it is better translated "shining one"] , son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms . . .

Notice how this passage starts out apparently speaking about the king of Babylon: " thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon" (verse 4). But then by careful analysis of the entire passage, it can be realized that God is teaching deeper spiritual things about Satan. For instance, verses 12-14 state, 

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer [the word "Lucifer" is not in the original, and it is better translated "shining one"] , son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

This is clear language that goes far beyond reference to the king of Babylon, for it obviously refers to Satan himself. He is the one who had fallen from heaven, and who says in his heart, " I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God [the stars are God's people] : I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation [this refers to Satan ruling over the churches - congregation - of God's people], and " I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High."  

Notice that right after describing Satan in these verses, we read in verse 16, 

They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee [i.e. Satan] , and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms . . . 

So we have here a clear example of Satan himself being described as if he were a man. It doesn't mean that Satan, the Antichrist, is a man, but only that he is typified as a man. 

Another example of a man who was used to typify Satan is seen in the Exodus of God's people from Egypt. In this account, God's people were delivered from the man, Pharaoh of Egypt, but the deeper spiritual reality of all this was a picture of Christ (typified by Moses) delivering His people from Satan (typified by Pharaoh). Pharaoh was a man, but he was a type of Satan himself. 

Now I could give other examples in the Bible where a man was used to actually point to the deeper spiritual reality of Satan, but my point is simply this: Satan is not called the man of sin in 2Thessalonians 2 because he, the Antichrist, is a man, but simply because, in the Bible, a man is often used to typify Satan. The language, the man of sin, is simply God's way of pointing to the deeper spiritual reality of Satan himself. The conclusion still stands:  the Antichrist is Satan and not a man.

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