The other side of the antichrist and the Church

 The other Side of Church and antichrist. The non antichrists.

1 John 2:18-21

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.

19. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

20.But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

21. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

John insisted that these enemies that exist in the midst of the true church must be exposed for what they are and believers encouraged to understand the dangers they 

present and to defeat them with the spiritual equipment God has provided. 

He devotes this book to warnings of their intrusion

These conflicts are portrayed under four sections of Holy Ghost inspired wording: 

(1)  conflict between truth and falsehood (2:18-28)

(2)  conflict between the children of God and the children of the devil (2:29-3:12) 

(3)  conflict between love and hatred (3:13-24)

(4)  con-flict between the Spirit of God and the spirit of error (4:1-6).

 

They went out on their own accord. Or was it all of their own accord?

This shows the clear intent of God or a DEVINE purpose behind this departure

Drawn by God through the Holy Spirit not to stay attached to the church, but to depart

"they went out." 

The inferred phrase "in order that"  sets forth the purpose, not of the heretics, but of God, in their departure, 

"that it might be shown that they all are not of us."

The departure of the heretics revealed their true nature, making 

clear that "they were not really of us" 

Outwardly they had been members of the church, but inwardly they never shared the inner spiritual fellowship of the assembly. They were not of us.

There is a clear distinction of the two….

Their departure proved that they had a different spiritual origin, that they belonged to another spirit. 

It proved that they did not have the inner life of all the other true believers. The test of experience had made clear the distinction between true and counterfeit believers. 

Their defection had the effect of purifying the church and marking the clear distinction between truth and error.

They can not stand with the pure and the true. They are offended by that truth.

Some choose to close ongoing personal relationships between genuine members of the Christian body and themselves…..They get mad, or get upset and they think they leave the assembly of their own choosing…….but

God does the separation, election, and dividing. If you have listened to me anytime in the past, you see this God process over and over…..He is separating, electing, and dividing…

He works it…..you do not have to run these out…..they have their destruction within themselves. The desire of God is inside of them.

In spite of the claims of these heretics, 

John assured his readers that they truly had the spiritual equipment 

to resist these antichrists. 

Of primary importance is the fact that

"you have an anointing from the Holy One" 

You possess this power. the 'anointing' is conceived of as a Person. The God Holy Spirit…..

“You know all things.” this readers knew and were adhering to "the truth" they had received.

 "I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it" 

This truth of John, assured them that he was not seeking to impart new truth but to support them in their adherence to "the truth" already known in the face of the false teachers. 

With his  "I have written"  John placed himself at the time they would read what he had written. 

John assures them, you have studied, you are prepared with God’s teachings…….You can not be lead astray…...they will depart, but you will stay

They knew the signs of the antichrist and those that would leave

John reveals the signs

The mark of the liar (vv. 22-23a). Yes, the MARK, the identifying signs.

 The  question that seperates, 

"Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?"

"Who is the liar"   the personal identification of such an individual when encountered and the identifying and unmistakeable sign.

"He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:6).

 It is God in them,  that kept and seperated.

Daniel saw a people of the antichrist days

Daniel 11:32-33

32.  And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

33.  And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.

Jesus talked of a church that the gates of hell would not stand against

Matthew 16​​: 17-18

17.  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18.  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.

Hebrews 11: 13,39

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

They recognized “they were strangers & exiles on the earth.” Have you ever wondered why the world seems so “out of step” with the way you see things as a believer? HERE IT IS!

Why you are so different than many around you……

Why is your path and conscience so clear than those around you that are discontent and so unhappy with the declared and preached word?

There are literally thousands of denominations today. 

Each of them claim to offer “the truth”. Amidst all those denominations, how can we know what is the truth? Why is it with all these, you can not join up to them?

I decided that although men can be liars, men will teach you private interpretations, but God does not lie. So I decided to put my trust in His word, the Scriptures (Bible).

His true word separates the True body of believers from all the different belief and untruths of the denominational teachings.

So the antichrist leave out, and the true Church remains.

The Antichrist and the church will build the Third Temple

 Daniel 9:26

26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

How can a people of God come to this? They at one time had followed after their God.

It is a repeat of what happened in the days of the return of the Jewish people from the captivity in the Babylonian empire revealed in the Prophets.

. 

The angel told Daniel that the destruction would come not by edict or by an executive order of a world leader or  ruler. This outrage against the Holy Temple would be committed by a "people", a "people" who belonged to a coming prince, a "prince who is to come". 

The destruction of the Temple would come as an impulsive act springing up from the grassroots movement of this lawless people, a destructive sacrilegious action waged by an unruly and lawless mob. Remember where they came from? John in 1 John 2 declares they come “out of the church”.

Daniel was told specifically that "the people of the prince who is to come", that is the people who belonged to "the prince" who was to come or were of the spiritual likeness of the coming latter day Beast Antichrist, would be the ones who would destroy the temple.

The prophet Daniel received this information over 600 years earlier, in the first year of King Darius in the Medo-Persian era. This was not an event that was unknown revelation.

So this history of the destruction of the Second Temple coming as it did, bears out the remarkable accuracy of his prophecy. 

A profane, lawless, and godless crowd  were totally influenced or driven over by the spirit of Antichrist or anti-Messiah which stirs up an absolute hatred of the Messiah, the One who will come to judge the beast demon of the Abyss and the entire wicked angelic host at the close of this age.

 The  mob gathering before that Holy Place was driven into a veritable frenzy on that awful day. They stormed the Temple and set fire to it. Then they began tearing down the entire temple stone by stone.

It was the people who carried out this total destruction of the Temple.  Tearing one stone from another in their frenzy. Daniel's prophecy of "a people" destroying the holy temple was fulfilled precisely.

Jesus in Matthew 24 had predicted this very thing. In 32 A.D. during passion week He said that the temple would be destroyed and that "not one stone would stand upon another". See Luke 21:6-7.

The "people of the prince who is to come" destroyed the temple. Remember Daniel had received God's specific Word on this event from the angel Gabriel.

 
A repeat of early Jewish history from the prophets is a warning to us today.

The returning exiled Jews or The younger Jews who had never seen the Temple or made a pilgrimage to it for any of Biblical Feasts.  Feast they were to honor and attend. A people who had lost almost all of the laws of God and the Torah, 

Through the captivity and life in a foreign land with their pagan gods these younger generations never had the opportunity to take their firstborn sons to the Temple and redeem them as commanded by the Torah. 

After God delivered the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and redeemed them, next He gave them the Torah, which centered upon the Law of Moses.

The Torah defined everything for them; from how to conduct their relationship with God to how to conduct their relationships with humans (Hebrew and gentile), with animals, and with their earthly surroundings in general even including the lands they lived on. 

 

This resulted in a uniqueness and distinctiveness of culture, religion, and daily life that was not only in complete harmony with God’s heavenly principles but was also in obvious contrast (I would say even in direct opposition) to the other cultures, religions, and daily lives of everyone else on Earth. 

 

This unique Torah lifestyle was to be strictly maintained as a sign of trust and loyalty and as a visible acknowledgment of their separation for Yah, the God of Abraham, the living God of all Creation. 

 

These younger Jewish people had never brought an animal sacrifice with them to atone for their sins and watched as a priest laid the sacrificial  animal on the Altar to fulfill the required ceremonies declared by God. 

They had never been purified from uncleanness by entering a Mikvah, also spelled Mikveh, or Miqwe, (“collection [of water]”), in Judaism, a pool of natural water in which one bathes for the restoration of ritual purity under the watchful eye of an ordained priest so that the living water they submerged under washed away their sin or ritual defilements before God. 

Even the covenant with Abraham was all but forgotten by this captivity and lack of God’s law. They were so separated from the laws of God, they had no memory of them.  They just had "a way that seemed right unto them.”

So up in Babylon the system that the Jews had formerly relied upon (the Temple and Priesthood and the Torah) to keep them in good stead with God was no longer in operation. 
It was the priests who had long ago been assigned the duty to teach and enforce the Law of Moses by God Himself, and they alone had the divine right to perform the atoning and sanctifying rituals that were critical if a Jew hoped to maintain a pleasing and harmonious life  with Yah.

Thus up in Babylon the knowledge of the Torah, which had already greatly diminished for many years prior to Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah, nearly vanished. 

What remained were nothing more than Jewish cultural traditions and customs; but along with it new ways were created to deal with the impossible situation of having no means to atone or purify. 

This was a judgement  that the Lord fully intended the Jews to experience, because that was as much the point of their exile as was the loss of their homes and homeland. All a result of sin.

 

Just a side note to understand, the people of God and the land God gave them is necessary for them to be in God’s will. In the end, in Revelations 21, you will find that the New Jerusalem and the people redeemed is the bride of Christ. It takes both the city and the people to be God’s people. You can not separate them.

These newly contrived ways resulting from not having a system of God to follow, while seemingly acceptable and in and of themselves not necessarily bad things, were nonetheless manmade and never was ordained by God. 

So therefore these new ways accomplished little (in God’s eyes) except to make the captive Jews feel less uncomfortable but more religious in their foreign pagan surroundings. An acceptable lawlessness. One they could live with. It was such a gradual loss, that no one recognized how far away from God they were. (As the church today)

 Prayer replaced animal sacrifice. No one noticed.

Houses of meeting and worship were created in the place  of the Temple gatherings.
Later these new houses would be called synagogues. From the tabernacle to the temple to now the synagogue. Nothing close to the day of Moses. I call the time just a religious replacement of God. And seemingly no one was concerned. 

Non-priests or at least non-practicing priests became the new worship and religious leaders. These new ways were the beginning of Judaism and in some cases the end of actual Torah observance.
They had become lawless. No Torah or God law to create in them the forgiveness men need.

How many times do I warn this generation, it too has done away with the Torah and the prophets and are as lawless as any generation of man. As with John a group so lawless, that this antichrist ruled people will again "come out from us", the church. A group that will be the followers of the prince and bid his works.

The antichrist and the church

 The storm clouds of this period of antichrist spirit rule will gather long before it begins.    

1 John 2:18-19

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. 

19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

The church has filled with the antichrist spirit and has fallen away, the antichrist spirit has taken over…..not only the church but also the secular. The spirit that preludes the man antichrist, is in every area of our structure.

However, The discerning believer will be aware of and watching for the shadows of future prophetic events. It is not an event coming in unknown.

The true body of Christ and the true Church will witness shadows and events  leading up to the actual events of Revelation 13. In fact, there are signs of shadows have already formed now. 

Jesus warns in Matthew 24:23-25  what will be happening……but however, it will be so obscure to most, the events will take a spiritual leading to know and understand, but the true body will know.

23. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

24. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

25. Behold, I have told you before

It is an utmost importance to avoid deception during the  time of the tribulation because this is the time in which the antichrist (also known as the beast in Revelation) begins his global rule and requires all to take the mark of the beast in order to by or sell (Revelation 13:17). 

This is such an important time in history that God sends angelic messengers to specifically preach the gospel to the entire world and warn them of the consequences of accepting the mark of the beast (Revelation 14:6-13). 

 I await to see how the vaccine mark of the beasts transpires…...the antichrist spirit is already out in our world and culture and how far will this antichrist spirit rehearse how you must take a mark to buy, sell, or trade through what is headlines for us today. 

The spirit of the antichrist that will be shortly in the future, is already in evidence today and reacts to the way the man antichrist will perform. 

As Jesus was the true prophet to the church, so there will be a false prophet that will be to the church 

The Description of the (false) Prophet (Revelation 13:11–13)

Like the Antichrist, the False Prophet is described as a beast.

 In Revelation 13:11 we are told he looks like a lamb but speaks like a dragon.

11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

This False Prophet will be the total sum of every false prophet who has ever lived, From Judas to the pulpits of today. All are of this same spirit of the antichrist.

The Antichrist and the False Prophet are paired significantly: The former's (antichrist) focus is politics while the latter's(false prophet) emphasis is an “Instead of “ religion.

   In this time of a fallen church and an antichrist spirit within the church, and thus  with the absence of true religion, a false religion will be necessary to make sure the political power of the Antichrist. 

Wherever there is a vacuum of true religion, political power will marry itself to false religion to give itself a mark of acceptability.  That is so unmistakably apparent today.

The false prophet

The false prophet of the end times is described in Revelation 13:11-15. He is also  referred to as the “second beast” (Revelation 13:11; 16:13, 19:20, 20:10).

 Together with the Antichrist and Satan, who empowers both of them, the false prophet is the third party of what I call the unholy trinity. 

Satan will cause his False Prophet to appear meek and when he really has the heart of a destroyer.

Verse 11 says he has “Small” horns(horns of a lion) to deceive the masses, however  he is of the dragon, which we know that old dragon is the power of satan.

The false prophet comes like a lamb, very innocently and with a childlike charm, also with persuasive words that draws out  sympathy and good will from others.

Coming out of the church system, he may be an extraordinary preacher or orator whose demonically empowered words will deceive the multitudes.

 

We have to remember, the family line of this individual was with God in heaven at one time. He knows all of God and God’s ways.  This anitchrist spirit can imitate what he has seen of God

But he speaks like a dragon, which means his message is the message of a dragon. 

Jesus said to beware of false prophets who "come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15).

Revelation 13:12

 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

Verse 12 gives us the false prophet’s mission on earth, which is to lead and convince humanity to worship him,the Antichrist. 

He has all the authority of the Antichrist because, like him, the false prophet is empowered by Satan.

 It is not clear whether people are forced to worship the Antichrist or whether they are so in awe of these powerful beings that they fall for the deception and worship him willingly. I personally think they will flock to him as they flock to the false message and false prophets today.

Just remember, the antichrist spirit has been nurtured in the religious and church system and according to John, this all was a part of the church and came out of the church.

13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.

 The beastly prophet will be a religious leader, pointing and leading masses of people toward the Antichrist, just as the Holy Spirit points people toward Jesus Christ.

 He will be like many false prophets of our own day—dispensing what people want to hear instead of the truth they need and are required to hear by Jesus’ own words. 

He will attract large crowds in the church and autotoriums  as false prophets usually do. But in this day of trouble like the Great Tribulation, this seemingly peaceful preacher will suddenly transform into the true monster that he has been all along.

Satan always slowly takes you where you do not want to go and are trapped to do anything without the changing power of the BLOOD OF JESUS the CHRIST

During the Great Tribulation, Satan will use the religion of the False Prophet to unite the world under the leadership of the Antichrist.

 

The False Prophet will have the power to counterfeit some of God's miracles, including calling down fire from heaven. 

This power has already been associated with God in the Old Testament, as it is an imitation and a strong connection with the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 18:38; 2 Kings 2:11).

The deception will be so great that the people will set up an idol to the Antichrist, "the image of the beast," and worship it. It will be their sacrificial altar.

This has also already been played out with the huge golden image of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3) before which all were to bow down and pay homage at the sound of the music. 

Whatever God does, Satan is the master counterfeiter as Satan learned from the best. 

Since God often revealed Himself by fire under the old covenant, the False Prophet will use fire to validate his own works. 

Since the church has separated itself from the old covenant and the church today has done away with the Torah and the prophets, the church is  as lawless as this antichrist spirit.  The church will have no problem accepting the false prophet and will actually worship him. The false prophets of today have taught them well.

The Deception of this false prophet (Revelation 13:14–15)

14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means (of very false) of those (convincing)  miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

The false prophet will deceive the people into building an image which can be used as a focal point for worship of the Antichrist. 

I believe this image will be set up in the city of  Jerusalem as a counterfeit to the temple of God. What greater insult to God than to build an image and set it in the temple in Jerusalem.

We aren't told what the image will be, but I believe it will be a large and impressive structure, and not just an image on a coin or bill or some similar symbol or image. I believe it will become a gathering place  and a ceremony of world wide proportions for those drawn by this false holy spirit and will flock in masses to worship the Beast.

Israel today as in the days of the prophets, has the means, and all that is needed to build such a building to God, but do not have the will to build it. The government is afraid of what the world will say about them, and has outlawed the allowance to even worship on that site. I suggest that the antichrist will build this magnificent building to allow his wanted worship…...and the church will oblige him.

The False Prophet's powers will be impressive—he will make the image speak. 

Since satan cannot give life,  the image will come alive by a technical, “techy” system the Beast controls. A modern day invention of man. 

It will only appear to be alive because of its speech. Some say it will be a computer chip that speaks much as our cars and computers and the home pods like we ask to  talk to us today. (Could it be a device we set up in our homes to answer all of our needs…..the answer one?)

Through whatever means, the False Prophet will make the image seem to be alive. 

It will awed and accepted by the masses 

 The fact that the second beast uses miraculous signs and wonders, including fire from heaven, to establish the credibility of both of them would seem to indicate that people will fall before them in adoration of their power and message. (the same people in the church today, that can not receive the things of God…)

15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Those who survive the terrors of the tribulation to this point will be faced with two hard choices. 

Those who refuse to worship the image of the beast will be subject to death (Revelation 13:15), but those who do worship him will incur the wrath of God. 

The image will be extraordinary in that it will be able to “speak.” Whatever the image is (a statue? a hologram? an android? a human-animal hybrid? a clone, a home device?), it will have some kind of ability to breathe forth the message of the Antichrist and the false prophet and provide the fake holy spirit to draw all men without God’s mark.

I can imagine people gathering at this magnificent location every day to hear what the image has to say. Much like the gathering to pray at the old temples foundation we see on the news today. They will gather to hear or pray to the antichrist man? 

The media will carry the image's speeches each day in the news; it will become a focal point of every person's day just as coronavirus is today. 

I believe this image is the "abomination of desolation" Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:15.

Along with being the spokesman for them, the image will condemn to death those who refuse to worship the unholy pair. He will withhold vaccines, disallow needed medical procedures?

In our technological world, it is not hard to imagine such a scenario.

Whoever the false prophet turns out to be, the final world deception and the final apostasy will be great, and the whole world will be caught up in it. 

 These false teachers in our church system today abound, and they are moving us and preparing the masses toward a final satanic kingdom. 

We must faithfully proclaim the saving gospel of Jesus Christ and rescue the souls of men and women from the coming disaster.

The Demand of the Prophet 

(Revelation 13:16–18)

In addition to his religious agenda, the False Prophet will direct the Antichrist's  economic answer to cause all to worship and cause all to take a “Mark”.

An agenda of this program will be the requirement for everyone to receive a mark on their hand or forehead. 

Again, this mark is yet another attempt at counterfeiting God's power. 

During the Tribulation,an angel of the Lord will preserve His people who carry an identifying mark on their foreheads (Revelation 7:3; 14:1).

 Everything God does, Satan imitates. Now you know why the church has done away with the Torah and the prophets….it has set itself up to take the law of the antichrist instead of the law of God.

The Beast will  identify those who are loyal to him. Anyone without the mark will be deemed a traitor and withhold needed items, vaccines, medical procedures, foods, etc. 

It is probable that some type of ration cards that are proof of your following and worshipping the beast and his system will be  required for obtaining scarce but needed items. 

Rationing was a used as a temporary means to support our country's war effort in WW 2, but under the Beast's reign it will be permanent.

 All the money in the world won't be enough to buy bread if you don't have the mark of the Beast.

 It is not about the “love of money” that most hold today, it will be a love and thirst of money with a “False god”.

We have been educated that those without the mark will suffer, but those with the mark will suffer as well (see Revelation 14:9–12). 

9. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

  

10.The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

 

11.And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

 

12.Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

 

The most complex issue regarding the Beast and his mark is found in verse 18 where we are told that the number of the Beast is 666. Of all of our end day prophets none of them  knows exactly what 666 means. The “last day prophets” seem unable to tell us on what they claim to know.

One last note on all of this. 

The antichrist will not bring history nor the true church to its final end and closure. Only the true God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, can do that.  

The antichrist can not deceive the true church of God’s people. The antichrist does not win, the true God wins.