RISE OF THE ANTICHRIST

15 Pages·2013·0.18 MB·English

Before the Rapture Stage Two—Rise of the Antichrist

RISE OF THE ANTICHRIST
Antichrist is the word we use for the man who is prophesied to be the
world leader in the end time. The word means against Christ. It is
used in the Bible to describe a deceiver or anyone who denies that
Jesus is the Christ and that He has come in the flesh. The Antichrist
will not present himself to the world as a Christ-hater, but that
characteristic will become apparent as time goes on.
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 … Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus
is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the
Father and the Son.—1 John 2:18, 22
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.—1 John 4:3
For many deceivers are entered into the world, who
confess [acknowledge] not that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
—2 John 1:7 [clarification added]
The Apostle John is the only Bible writer to refer to this man as
Antichrist. To be precise, he is the one who explained what the word
antichrist means. Other Bible prophets had their own names that they
used to indicate they were writing about him. Among the most widely
recognized are the prince of Tyre, the man of sin, the Assyrian, the
Chaldean, Magog, the little horn, and the raiser of taxes.
The Antichrist is Satan’s earthly representative, an evil man who will
present himself as good for mankind, a peacemaker. This man will
make his appearance as a result of The World Crisis. Let’s focus our

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study on his rise and how to recognize him when he first arrives. We
will start with the prophet Habakkuk’s prophecy.
The book of Habakkuk contains information that the special
messengers will take to the people, because it holds the message that
will set end-time events into motion.
The Chaldean
Habakkuk said that God will work a work that we would not believe
even if we were told what it is. He goes on to say that this work has
something to do with the rise of the Chaldeans. Here is a reminder
from God Himself that we do not need to fear, because He is still in
charge. Even with the coming of these Chaldeans, it is God Who will
send them.
Behold ye among the heathen [nations], and regard,
and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in
your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told
you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and
hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth
of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are
not theirs.—Habakkuk 1:5-6 [clarification added]
The use of the word Chaldeans does not indicate where the nation is
located. Rather, it is Habakkuk’s choice of words to describe the
nature of a country; therefore, the nature of the man who emerges
from it. We are not told to which country this word refers, nor are we
given the name of the individual. The country apparently has a
reputation of being hostile and doing things in a hurry, for in verse six,
God said as much: they are bitter and hasty. The man, who will rise
out of the country, is the Antichrist. Because he is of the Chaldean
nature, he would be the Chaldean.
They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and
their dignity shall proceed of themselves. Their
horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are

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Before the Rapture Stage Two—Rise of the Antichrist

more fierce than the evening wolves: and their
horsemen shall spread themselves, and their
horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the
eagle that hasteth to eat.—Habakkuk 1:7-8
In verses seven and eight, the pronouns are singular in the original
text. The man has emerged and, at that point, is in control of the
movements of his own army. The nation is not mentioned again. With
that in mind, we should read the pronouns in the singular form rather
than the plural. That would render the translation as follows: He is
terrible and dreadful: his judgment and his dignity shall proceed him.
His horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than
the evening wolves: and his horsemen shall spread themselves, and his
horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth
to eat.
When the Antichrist first arrives, his heart will be set, his
determination sure. He will know what he wants, and he will go after
it. He should not have a problem, because most of the world will
follow him. He will seem like a good person, but God warns
Habakkuk that he is terrible and he is fierce. Do not let his silver
tongue fool you as his solutions to problems will serve to advance his
career. His ability to resolve issues will distinguish him from others
because he will get his wisdom from Satan. We will be hearing satanic
intelligence, not human intelligence.
The Antichrist will have military might that is very fast and accurate
compared to what we know. It would appear that their distinction is
that they come from far and that they swoop down on their prey as an
eagle would: very fast and very accurate. It would serve no purpose
for me to speculate where his armies come from or what their military
capabilities are. The details will be understood when the army of the
Antichrist is in operation.

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Before the Rapture Stage Two—Rise of the Antichrist

I would mention, however, that Moses saw this man and his armies.
He even described them in much the same manner that Habakkuk did.
Moses warned the ancients in the wilderness about what this man
would do to them, and it is recorded in the covenant that God made
with the nation while they were in the land of Moab. The following is
a part of that covenant.
Because thou served not the Lord thy God with
joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the
abundance of all things; … The LORD shall bring a
nation against thee from far, from the end of the
earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose
tongue thou shalt not understand; A nation of fierce
countenance, which shall not regard the person of
the old, nor show favor to the young: And he shall
eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land,
until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave
thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy
kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed
thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until
thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou
trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall
besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land,
which the Lord thy God hath given thee.
—Deuteronomy 28:47-52
Notice the mention of the high walls and gates that the nation trusts in.
When we look at Israel today, we see that they have begun erecting
protection walls. The walls and gates will not stop the Antichrist.
Country of Origin
So far, we have a nation described as Chaldean and a man coming out
of that nation. The question is this: if the Antichrist is not a Chaldean,
where does he come from? Daniel put a restriction on where his
homeland can be. He has to come from somewhere within the
boundaries of the Old Roman Empire. Here is why.
Daniel had a vision of four animals that he related in chapter seven of
his book. He was able to recognize the first three, so he called them by

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the name of the animal that he saw: the Babylonian Empire was
represented as a lion, the Medo-Persian as a bear, and the Grecian as a
leopard.
When Daniel saw the fourth animal, he did not recognize it. He had
never seen a creature like it before. Not knowing what to call it, he
simply said it was a beast or an animal, if you like. That was
appropriate, because Daniel had never seen an empire that had both
citizens and subjects. His description of what the animal does matches
the Roman Empire which was an oligarchic republic. The ruins of the
Senate Building remain in the ancient city of Rome to this day.
Potentially, any citizen could have risen to be ruler. Rome had citizens
with special rights that its subjects did not have. For instance, the
authorities could do things to non-citizens that they were forbidden to
do to citizens. The book of Acts records an incident involving the
apostle Paul that nearly caused trouble for the chief captain in the
Roman military. (See Romans 22:25-29.)
Many countries existed under Roman rule. Daniel said there were ten
countries, but the word he used for ten is the Chaldean word asar. It
means as an accumulation to the extension of the digits. It does not
mean the number ten exactly. It is a changeable number, but it was
rarely ten. It is a round number, an estimate.
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a
fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong
exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured
and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with
the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts
that were before it; and it had ten horns. I
considered the horns, and, behold, there came up
among them another little horn, before whom there
were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots:
and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of
man, and a mouth speaking great things.
—Daniel 7:7-8

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A horn is a nation within the empire, or it could refer to the ruler.
Daniel used the word because of the horn that contained oil that was
used to anoint the king at his coronation. Out of this fourth beast
would come the Antichrist whom Daniel called a little horn. He must
come from within the boundaries of the Old Roman Empire, because
that is the empire Daniel was talking about.
In his next vision, Daniel reached back into the previous vision to
indicate that he was adding more details. The new vision does not void
the first, but narrows the territory from which the Antichrist can start
and tells us the direction in which he moves. Daniel told us where he
will come from and where he will go.
Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when
he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it
[and in its place] came up four notable ones toward
the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them
came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding
great, toward the south, and toward the east, and
toward the pleasant land.
—Daniel 8:8-9 [clarification added]
The he goat is the ancient Grecian Empire, and the great horn is
Alexander the Great. When he died, four notable ones (his four
generals) divided the empire into four kingdoms: northwest
(Macedonia), northeast (Asia Minor), southeast (Syria), and southwest
(Cyrene). By addressing this, Daniel moved the focus away from the
Grecian Empire and onto the winds of heaven. At this point, the
Grecian Empire is no longer in view and the direction is the important
thing. Otherwise, there would be no reason to mention the division of
the Grecian Empire.
Daniel skipped completely over the Roman Empire at this point
because he had already told us that the Antichrist comes from within
its borders. He assumed we would remember that detail. In chapter
eight, he targeted a more precise location. Daniel moved the Antichrist

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down a southeastward path toward Israel. I am no genius, but I can
figure out that he comes from the northwest if he is moving
southeastward (toward the south, toward the east and toward the
pleasant land). Ezekiel 20:6 says that Israel is the glory of all lands. In
Isaiah 46:13, God said Israel is His glory. The nation from which the
Antichrist comes would be northwest of Israel.
The prophet Habakkuk agreed that the Antichrist will move toward the
east, for one of the first things he mentioned was the direction of this
man’s movement.
They shall come all for violence: their faces shall
sup up as the east wind, [their faces swallowing up
the east wind]1 and they shall gather the captivity as
the sand.—Habakkuk 1:9 [clarification added]
The word that is translated sup up is the Hebrew word megammah. It
is a word that indicates the direction of movement. The east wind
blows from east to west. That means the armies of the Antichrist are
traveling eastward if the wind is blowing in their faces. From ancient
Chaldea, one must move westward to arrive in the Holy Land. Well, I
suppose that they could go eastward if they do not mind the trip all the
way around the earth.
Shortly after his arrival on the world scene, the Antichrist will set his
sights on the Holy Land, and he will begin to move in that direction.
But, he is up to no good. His intentions are to conquer anyone who
gets in his way; destroy them if he must.
Prince of Tyre
The Antichrist will head toward the Holy Land because he wants
Jerusalem. The Jews are there, and he wants to get rid of them. He will
get as far as Lebanon, almost to the border of Israel, but will not enter

1 Youngs Literal Translation

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just yet. He will settle on the site of the ancient city of Tyre which is in
Lebanon, and today is called Sur. The future city may or may not be
called Tyre. Either way, the Antichrist will establish his headquarters
there, and the city will become the center for the world’s political
activity. His presence will change the complexion of the Middle East
considerably. People will flock to that area to be near this man. Hence,
the Antichrist is called the prince of Tyrus. Tyrus is Tyre. (More on
Tyre in Stage Three.)
Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith
the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and
thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God,
in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not
God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of
God:—Ezekiel 28:2
The Antichrist is the prince of Tyre. His god is Satan, so Satan is the
king of Tyre. I suppose you could say that it is Satan’s city since the
king rules over the prince. The following description of Satan is before
he sinned and is included for the purpose of identifying him as the
king of Tyre.
Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of
Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect
in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of
God; every precious stone was thy covering, the
sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx,
and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the
carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets
and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that
thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that
covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the
holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and
down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast
perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast
created, till iniquity was found in thee.
—Ezekiel 28:12-15

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Okay, so now we know that the Antichrist will come from the Old
Roman Empire, that he will move toward Israel, and that he will settle
in Lebanon near the border of Israel. What are some of the other
indications that will positively identify this man as the Antichrist?
Superior Weapon
The next thing Habakkuk told us about the Antichrist was that his
armies will be in possession of a superior weapon. That would be
something that would render useless any weapon we have today. We
have some pretty impressive arsenals. Our weapons are deadly and
nothing to play with. They are powerful enough to destroy the earth as
threatened during The World Crisis.
Apparently, the Antichrist will have at his disposal a superior weapon
of some kind. He will use it freely. Habakkuk described the weapon as
dust. We are not sure what that would be, but it could be a chemical or
possibly germ warfare. It could be something else, but whatever it is, it
will be the answer to any military situation he will encounter. I am
quite sure this is not throwing up dust to hide behind, because that
would not be a hindrance to the weapons we possess today.
And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes
shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every
strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.
Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over,
and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.
—Habakkuk 1:10-11
Borrowing from the marginal note in my Bible, then shall his mind
change can also be translated he sweeps on as the wind. He pretty
much does whatever he wants to do. He goes where he wants to go
because Satan is his god. In the above reference, the word imputing is
not in the original text; it was added to clarify the verse. It probably
means that he gets his weapons, power, wisdom, knowledge, and
strength from Satan. The world will not know his secret identity until

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closer to the rapture when he will be revealed to the world for who he
really is: the Antichrist. Until then, only those who know what to look
for will recognize that he is the Antichrist.
Peace, Wealth, Wisdom
With such a great weapon in his hands along with the knowledge to
use it, the Antichrist will easily enforce a peace that the world has
never known since mankind sinned. Such a great accomplishment
surely will catapult him into the position of world leadership. His
wisdom will surpass that of any person alive on the earth. The
Antichrist will have the answers to world situations.
Behold, thou [Prince of Tyre] art wiser than Daniel;
there is no secret that they can hide from thee: With
thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast
gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver
into thy treasures: By thy great wisdom and by thy
traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine
heart is lifted up because of thy riches.
—Ezekiel 28:3-5 [clarification added]
The Antichrist will have a satanic source for his wisdom. Being the
deceiver that he is, Satan will ensure that the Antichrist will function
in that same realm and understand things no other human knows.
Satan is an angel, and he is intelligent, as all angels are. Just because
he has sinned, and is the father of lies, does not mean that he has
forgotten everything he ever knew. He knows spiritual principles that
we do not, for he has been around a long time. He will impart some of
those things to the Antichrist. Daniel called it understanding dark
sentences.
In the latter time of their kingdom, when the
transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce
countenance, and understanding dark sentences,
shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but
not by his own power: and he shall destroy
wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and

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