When will the Antichrist be Revealed

A DEBATABLE TOPIC:
WHEN WILL THE SON OF PERDITION (a.k.a. the Antichrist) BE REVEALED?

POPULAR BELIEF #1: The Holy Spirit Himself is the one that is taken up out of the earth.

Although it is the power of the Holy Spirit that keeps the Devil in check, there are some problems with accepting that the Holy Spirit will be taken at this time.

The comforter is established among men forever, or in the broadest Greek wording "...until the end of this age after Armageddon"

If this is the Holy Spirit being removed, then there can be no more saved souls or signs on the earth working through people. But in the tribulation, many come to Jesus and the two witnesses do many miracles by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:15-16 "15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: "

In Revelation 6 and 7 you see a great number martyred for Christ... they are saved and die during the 7 years, and in verse 7 they are getting white robes and given the promise that they will always be with God the Father in the throne room forever and that Jesus will dry their tears. Later in the last half, not only are the 2 prophets doing miracles by the Holy Spirit, but Israel gets converted to Christ. This simply cannot happen without the presence and operation of the Holy Spirit.

For the Holy Spirit to be removed would mean that no one could be converted, and many will be in the tribulation period. So, it is unlikely that this view is on target, but having said that it is the power of the Holy Spirit that keeps the darkness of evil under control.

POPULAR BELIEF #2: The church and the power of the overcoming church is the one that is withstanding the force of the Antichrist from rising. It is still the power of the Holy Spirit with the authority that the church has through Jesus Christ, and when the church is translated or caught up to be with the Lord that the time of the church is at an end.

The Holy Spirit will still be here and people will be converted in the tribulation, however the overcoming authority of the church is gone with that church into the third heaven.

The church has an unique status in the Kingdom of God.... the word church is from the Greek word Ecclesia which means the called out ones. The Church Has the Distinction as Being the Body of Christ on Earth While He as Ascended into Heaven.

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 "12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also [is] Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether [we be] Jews or Gentiles, whether [we be] bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many."

Colossians 1:18 "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence."

The church is given a promise to overcome the gates of hell, and if it is to fulfill that promise then it is incompatible with the rise of the Antichrist. Scriptures in Revelation and Daniel make it clear that those who call Jesus lord in this time will be overcome. They will inherit eternal life if they are martyred, but the Antichrist is given power over the saints for a time.

Matthew 16:18 A And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. A

Daniel 7:24-25 "24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom [are] ten kings [that] shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25 And he shall speak [great] words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. "

These are the saints of God, but this is not the church. The church has been persecuted, but has always been victorious over Satan. The Antichrist cannot be revealed until the power of the church is removed from this earth.

THEN SHALL THAT WICKED BE REVEALED...

The lawless one (or man of iniquity) shall be revealed. He will be the embodiment of the spirit of lawlessness or iniquity. He is AThe Antichrist ", or the genuine article. Spiritually, being the son of Satan and all of the power that Satan has will be given unto him.

In our studies from Daniel and Revelation, a very unique picture is painted of this character in Biblical Prophecy that has both human and fallen-angelic roots that will be (with the False Prophet), cast into the Lake of Fire over 1000 years before anyone else including the Devil. In fact, he is thrown alive into the Lake of Fire. He is the Lawless One that sets himself up against Jesus Christ and loses, and everyone who stand with him and takes his Mark shall lose with him.

But he shall not be revealed until that Restraining Power is removed from Planet Earth. The authority of the Church keeps the spirit of Antichrist at bay, but there will come a day when the Body of Christ is called Home and nothing shall hold back the Darkness.

When the church is gone, the wicked one will be revealed = Greek apokalupto = to uncover (word you get Apocalypse from); to lay open what has been veiled or covered up; or to make known what has been hidden. He cannot be unveiled until the restraining power of the church is taken out.

Don't waste your time trying to figure out the name of the Antichrist; you can tell where he comes from, who backs him, and what he will do, but God has it covered until the church is removed. He cannot be revealed in his full power where he will be recognized until we are gone.

WHOM THE LORD WILL DESTROY WITH THE SPIRIT OF HIS MOUTH...

HIS DESTRUCTION WILL BE AT THE WORD OF JESUS. The two edged sword that comes from Jesus' mouth... His words and His glory at Armageddon will destroy the Antichrist. In fact, he and the false prophet have a unique fate waiting for them.

Revelation 1:16 " And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength. "

Revelation 2:16 " Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. "

Revelation 19:15-20 "15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and bond, both small and great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone."

The final conclusion is this: the 70^th Week of Daniel will start with this Antichrist from this new Roman Empire (the 7^th head) cannot be revealed and sign this peace treaty with Israel until the restraining force of the church is removed.

I have never believed from the study of the Bible that we would be spared all of the pains and trials of the Last Days... we are there right now, Look around, you are living in those perilous times and a great Apostasy is going strong, sadly. But the actual 70^th Week cannot occur until the restraint from the authority of the Body of Christ is removed from the Earth.

The one that is holding back the Antichrist must be moved from the Earth before he can be revealed and the 70th week can begin.

Jesus put the time of the verse 27 reference of the Abomination of Desolation in the future.. argue with Him.

This study is extracted from the Watchman Bible Commentary on 2 Thessalonians. It is actually a part of a much larger intense study on the Last Days, and began as a sub-study from the breakdown of the books of Daniel and Revelation. It connects to a study on the Catching Away of the Church (some call the Rapture) that is also a separate study as this one.

If you are curious about my personal beliefs on the timing of the Catching Away of the Church. After looking at what the Bible says throughout on the topic, I believe that we are to watch and pray always that we might be accounted worthy to escape "all these things" that Jesus was speaking of in the Tribulation. Philadelphia (the faithful last days church) was told that it would be kept from the hour of temptation that would come upon all the church. The church is seen in Heaven assembled already as the Seals are first broken beginning the 7 years and the Seal Judgments.

I can see the "mid-trib view" as a real possibility from some of the things given to us such as the references to trumpets. However, after weighing everything, I find myself in the camp of the pre-trib view. I understand why post-trib folks believe what they do, but I find that I just cannot believe it without ripping parts of scriptures out. There is just too much against the church going through the wrath of God being poured out on the Earth. The Bible tells us that it has nothing to do with the church anyway. The entire focus of the 70th Week of Daniel (the 7 year Tribulation before the Day of the Lord-Armageddon and the return of Jesus Christ to the Earth) is to bring the entire surviving nation of Israel into the faith of Jesus Christ and the New Covenant, and to bring judgment upon the ungodly.

The church has no part of it at all. We have our time right now, and we are to work while that we still have time, for it is running out quickly when we will not be able to work.

So, I just do not believe that there is enough scripture to support the post-trib view. I understand that if you take certain ones, you can make that point. But you have to completely throw out other points of scriptures to keep to that belief. I can understand the mid-trib viewpoint, and could see how that it could be right. But there is a lot of biblical proof to show that it is the pre-trib that is the only one that fits in with everything that is said.

Why is there any confusion? Because the reality is that God did not want us getting too comfortable with this one. He wanted us to live like Jesus could come back today and to watch and pray always until that He does. If we get to thinking that this has to happen and that has to happen, then it leads to a lifestyle unlike what Jesus told us to live concerning this. We are to live as if it is imminent and could happen today!

This is supposed to make us study. It is a "mystery", or a spiritual truth that takes the Holy Spirit to reveal or unveil. It is not an easy thing, but requires the Holy Spirit to understand it. The world will never get it right. They cannot. And if we follow man's theories, we won't get it right either. We need to study the Word and let it speak for itself. This Bible study is just that, a study of the Bible and not an attempt to prove some theory. Pray about it and study and let God guide you.

Give some feedback on the Last Days forum or the Voice of the Watchman Forum and I will answer it. - Jim Coldiron


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			A DEBATABLE TOPIC: WHEN WILL THE SON OF PERDITION (a.k.a. the Antichrist) BE REVEALED? Continued from page one... 2 POSSIBILITIES AND 2 CAMPS ON WHO IT IS THAT IS THE RESTRAINING FORCE... POPULAR BELIEF #1: The Holy Spirit Himself is the one that is taken up out of the earth. Although it is the power of the Holy Spirit that keeps the Devil in check, there are some problems with accepting that the Holy Spirit will be taken at this time. The comforter is established among men forever, or in the broadest Greek wording "...until the end of this age after Armageddon" John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;" If this is the Holy Spirit being removed, then there can be no more saved souls or signs on the earth working through people. But in the tribulation, many come to Jesus and the two witnesses do many miracles by the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:15-16 "15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: " In Revelation 6 and 7 you see a great number martyred for Christ... they are saved and die during the 7 years, and in verse 7 they are getting white robes and given the promise that they will always be with God the Father in the throne room forever and that Jesus will dry their tears. Later in the last half, not only are the 2 prophets doing miracles by the Holy Spirit, but Israel gets converted to Christ. This simply cannot happen without the presence and operation of the Holy Spirit. For the Holy Spirit to be removed would mean that no one could be converted, and many will be in the tribulation period. So, it is unlikely that this view is on target, but having said that it is the power of the Holy Spirit that keeps the darkness of evil under control. POPULAR BELIEF #2: The church and the power of the overcoming church is the one that is withstanding the force of the Antichrist from rising. It is still the power of the Holy Spirit with the authority that the church has through Jesus Christ, and when the church is translated or caught up to be with the Lord that the time of the church is at an end. The Holy Spirit will still be here and people will be converted in the tribulation, however the overcoming authority of the church is gone with that church into the third heaven. The church has an unique status in the Kingdom of God.... the word church is from the Greek word Ecclesia which means the called out ones. The Church Has the Distinction as Being the Body of Christ on Earth While He as Ascended into Heaven. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 "12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also [is] Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether [we be] Jews or Gentiles, whether [we be] bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many." Colossians 1:18 "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence." The church is given a promise to overcome the gates of hell, and if it is to fulfill that promise then it is incompatible with the rise of the Antichrist. Scriptures in Revelation and Daniel make it clear that those who call Jesus lord in this time will be overcome. They will inherit eternal life if they are martyred, but the Antichrist is given power over the saints for a time. Matthew 16:18 A And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. A Daniel 7:24-25 "24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom [are] ten kings [that] shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25 And he shall speak [great] words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. " These are the saints of God, but this is not the church. The church has been persecuted, but has always been victorious over Satan. The Antichrist cannot be revealed until the power of the church is removed from this earth. THEN SHALL THAT WICKED BE REVEALED... The lawless one (or man of iniquity) shall be revealed. He will be the embodiment of the spirit of lawlessness or iniquity. He is AThe Antichrist ", or the genuine article. Spiritually, being the son of Satan and all of the power that Satan has will be given unto him. In our studies from Daniel and Revelation, a very unique picture is painted of this character in Biblical Prophecy that has both human and fallen-angelic roots that will be (with the False Prophet), cast into the Lake of Fire over 1000 years before anyone else including the Devil. In fact, he is thrown alive into the Lake of Fire. He is the Lawless One that sets himself up against Jesus Christ and loses, and everyone who stand with him and takes his Mark shall lose with him. But he shall not be revealed until that Restraining Power is removed from Planet Earth. The authority of the Church keeps the spirit of Antichrist at bay, but there will come a day when the Body of Christ is called Home and nothing shall hold back the Darkness. When the church is gone, the wicked one will be revealed = Greek apokalupto = to uncover (word you get Apocalypse from); to lay open what has been veiled or covered up; or to make known what has been hidden. He cannot be unveiled until the restraining power of the church is taken out. Don't waste your time trying to figure out the name of the Antichrist; you can tell where he comes from, who backs him, and what he will do, but God has it covered until the church is removed. He cannot be revealed in his full power where he will be recognized until we are gone. WHOM THE LORD WILL DESTROY WITH THE SPIRIT OF HIS MOUTH... HIS DESTRUCTION WILL BE AT THE WORD OF JESUS. The two edged sword that comes from Jesus' mouth... His words and His glory at Armageddon will destroy the Antichrist. In fact, he and the false prophet have a unique fate waiting for them. Revelation 1:16 " And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength. " Revelation 2:16 " Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. " Revelation 19:15-20 "15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and bond, both small and great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." The final conclusion is this: the 70^th Week of Daniel will start with this Antichrist from this new Roman Empire (the 7^th head) cannot be revealed and sign this peace treaty with Israel until the restraining force of the church is removed. I have never believed from the study of the Bible that we would be spared all of the pains and trials of the Last Days... we are there right now, Look around, you are living in those perilous times and a great Apostasy is going strong, sadly. But the actual 70^th Week cannot occur until the restraint from the authority of the Body of Christ is removed from the Earth. 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 "6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way." The one that is holding back the Antichrist must be moved from the Earth before he can be revealed and the 70th week can begin. Jesus put the time of the verse 27 reference of the Abomination of Desolation in the future.. argue with Him. This study is extracted from the Watchman Bible Commentary on 2 Thessalonians. It is actually a part of a much larger intense study on the Last Days, and began as a sub-study from the breakdown of the books of Daniel and Revelation. It connects to a study on the Catching Away of the Church (some call the Rapture) that is also a separate study as this one. If you are curious about my personal beliefs on the timing of the Catching Away of the Church. After looking at what the Bible says throughout on the topic, I believe that we are to watch and pray always that we might be accounted worthy to escape "all these things" that Jesus was speaking of in the Tribulation. Philadelphia (the faithful last days church) was told that it would be kept from the hour of temptation that would come upon all the church. The church is seen in Heaven assembled already as the Seals are first broken beginning the 7 years and the Seal Judgments. I can see the "mid-trib view" as a real possibility from some of the things given to us such as the references to trumpets. However, after weighing everything, I find myself in the camp of the pre-trib view. I understand why post-trib folks believe what they do, but I find that I just cannot believe it without ripping parts of scriptures out. There is just too much against the church going through the wrath of God being poured out on the Earth. The Bible tells us that it has nothing to do with the church anyway. The entire focus of the 70th Week of Daniel (the 7 year Tribulation before the Day of the Lord-Armageddon and the return of Jesus Christ to the Earth) is to bring the entire surviving nation of Israel into the faith of Jesus Christ and the New Covenant, and to bring judgment upon the ungodly. The church has no part of it at all. We have our time right now, and we are to work while that we still have time, for it is running out quickly when we will not be able to work. So, I just do not believe that there is enough scripture to support the post-trib view. I understand that if you take certain ones, you can make that point. But you have to completely throw out other points of scriptures to keep to that belief. I can understand the mid-trib viewpoint, and could see how that it could be right. But there is a lot of biblical proof to show that it is the pre-trib that is the only one that fits in with everything that is said. Why is there any confusion? Because the reality is that God did not want us getting too comfortable with this one. He wanted us to live like Jesus could come back today and to watch and pray always until that He does. If we get to thinking that this has to happen and that has to happen, then it leads to a lifestyle unlike what Jesus told us to live concerning this. We are to live as if it is imminent and could happen today! This is supposed to make us study. It is a "mystery", or a spiritual truth that takes the Holy Spirit to reveal or unveil. It is not an easy thing, but requires the Holy Spirit to understand it. The world will never get it right. They cannot. And if we follow man's theories, we won't get it right either. We need to study the Word and let it speak for itself. This Bible study is just that, a study of the Bible and not an attempt to prove some theory. Pray about it and study and let God guide you. Give some feedback on the Last Days forum or the Voice of the Watchman Forum and I will answer it. - Jim Coldiron Copyrighted © 2010 by James Dale Coldiron Voice of the Watchman Ministries

			Click here to go to the Last Days Forum to discuss this topic or click here to discuss it in the Main Voice of the Watchman Forum Copyrighted © 2010by James Dale Coldiron Voice of the Watchman Ministries