Dr. Stephen Phinney
A nanosecond after the Rapture, the Antichrist will come out of the closet and begin to rule the earth through his deceptive ideologies.
First, let’s review what the world will look like seconds after the Holy Spirit, through the Bride of Christ, is removed from the earth.
Global chaos will be an understatement.
Think about it. All indwelt believers who will be flying planes, driving cars, managing satellites, or managing any other dangerous time-sensitive technological or mechanical jobs, are gone. Disasters will arrive at every turn. Millions of people who were not a part of the Rapture will die instantly because of the chaotic ramifications of the departed believers.
The magnitude of chaos will be of such horrid levels of confusion and mass destruction the world will beg for a savior/leader to step forward. Guess who will be standing behind the undrawn curtain? You got it – the Antichrist.
As the global power players draw the curtain, a kind, peaceful, and solution-based leader will emerge from darkness into the world stage of fake peace.
While many have an image of the Antichrist as a man dressed in a red suit with a wagging red tail dangling out from the back side of his pants, this will NOT be his image. Since the spirit of Satan will possess a human, my guess is the human will be attractive, well-kept, and projecting an image of success and immovable leadership.
Remember, since humans cannot understand Truth without the Holy Spirit revealing such, once the Holy Spirit is removed from the earth, no one will be able to embrace or discern Truth, let alone figure out what happened regarding the Rapture. As my theologian friend says, people will be dumb as rocks. While I wouldn’t go that far, I DO believe the masses will be without spiritual discernment.
The Scriptures reveal over one hundred passages that detail the characteristics of the Antichrist. However, the title Antichrist is used in only four verses – 1 John 2:18, again in verse 22; chapter 4: 3 & 2 John v.7.
The title “Antichrist” references a person who is “anti,” hostile to or resistor, of the real Jesus Christ. There have been many through the ages. In many respects, all those left behind will be mini-antichrists.
The final Antichrist will be possessed by the spirit of Satan, not demons. This particular Antichrist will be superhuman. He will be likened to Hitler on steroids and then some. His mission will be to kill and torture all who do not bow and worship him and his False Prophet. Honestly, he will make all the past figures of the Antichrist pale in power and appearance – making each look weak in comparison. This dude will be supercharged with the greatest powers of darkness the world has NOT seen.
In Scripture, we find seven primary titles:
1. Fierce king (Dan. 8:23)
2. The Prince who is to come (Dan. 9:26)
3. A Contemptible person (Dan. 11:21)
4. A Worthless Shepherd (Zech. 11:16-17)
5. The Destructive one (2 Thess. 2:3)
6. The Lawless one (2 Thess. 2:8)
7. The Beast (Rev. 13:1)
While the Bible reveals many titles, twenty-five in total, his identity is never revealed – it is sealed in God’s prophetic book of secrets. God has not revealed his identity, nor will He, for one simple reason. As in the case of the sealing of the time of the Rapture, the identity of the final Antichrist must be kept sealed to block curious humans from manipulating the event. The mystery behind the “who” will remain between God and Jesus Christ. Oddly, Satan himself doesn’t even know the “who” God will allow Satan to possess. When God releases the “who,” Satan will be released to possess that human body for his seven-year rule of the earth – not one moment before. In this method of control, God has managed Satan’s ability to gain or lose control throughout all the ages of humanity. This event will be no different.
What we can count on, even though this information is useless to the indwelt believer, is after the Rapture, the possessed human, titled the Antichrist, will be revealed.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 & 4, Paul tells us, Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
Today, we are living in an age of rebellion. The man of lawlessness, the Antichrist, will not arrive until this age is closed off by the Rapture. There are two views on the Tribulation and the revealing of the Antichrist’s identity. One, the first three and a half years is the time of Satan ramping up for his reveal, which would take place the first hours of the second half of the Tribulation. In the second view, the Antichrist will reveal his identity moments after the Rapture, giving all left behind a fairly immediate view of the fake savior to the world. Personally, I am good with both views. However, the first view contains common sense logic that helps us understand the level of chaos needed for the world to beg for a global leader.
Whenever he reveals his name and position, we know that he will exalt himself and demand that no other gods be worshipped besides himself. We also know that he steals the ‘seat of power’ in God’s Holy Temple in Jerusalem, probably the third temple he will most likely build during his first three and a half years. While that idea is debatable, Scripture tells us he will proclaim himself as the God of the universe and beyond.
It is safe to say that he will be a powerful, charismatic leader, filled with cunning ways and cruel to the bone.
Whoever this “wanna-be” is, Paul tells us: And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. (2 Thessalonians 2:6) Count on this. He will not be revealed until God’s perfect timeline matches the hour the Antichrist has permission to hand out his business cards. The final thing we can count on is what Paul said:
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. (2 Thessalonians 2:7)
What does this mean? Folks, the One who is restraining the lawless Antichrist is Jesus. Also, He is the “He” that must get out of the way – most likely meaning through the Rapture, which is when Jesus removes His presence from the earth.
Then, and only then, will the masses left behind see this politically charged, spiritually blasphemous, fake Jew, with limited power and a supernaturally charged intimidating presence, begin to dominate the world.
The big question.
How can the masses admire and respect a leader packed with such deception and blasphemy? That is an easy one to answer. One hundred percent of the masses will themselves be cloaked in deception. Remember, the Holy Spirit, Truth, is comfortably resting in Heaven during these horrid dark end times. As Paul said, He must be out of the way for all these things to occur.
All politicians have an organized political agenda. At the top of the list of the Antichrist is to make peace with Israel. Since Satan wants to sit in the Holy of Holies in the final temple, this is at the top of his pile.
Since Israel is freaking out over the endless nations attempting to take the land of Israel, the Antichrist is successful at signing a “peace deal” with Israel. That deal, however, only last for three and a half years. At that time, he ended the Jews practicing sacrifice and offerings unto the God of the Hebrews in the new temple. The deal is broken either by Israel’s efforts or by the Antichrist (Daniel 9:27). This “deal breaker” shifted the Antichrist to bring down great tribulation upon the Jews.
Now the astonishing news. The Jews win a short victory; a fatal wound kills the Antichrist. To the amazement of the masses, he is brought back to life by Satan himself. In this, Satan displays his grotesque counterfeit of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Get this:
One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. (Revelation 13:3)
As you can see, this single event empowered the revised Antichrist to kill the leaders of the three top superpower global leaders. After this display of power, all countries relinquish their power to him. With this, he walks over and sits in the Holy of Holies' throne seat in the Jew's third temple. Immediately, he requires all nations and their people to bow and worship him. And when they do, Satan marks them with the infamous “Mark of the Beast” – 666, with the condition of anyone who does not have this “mark” will not be able to buy, sell, or trade, which activates global starvation for all Satan’s rebels.
In our next article, “The False Prophet,” we will explore the closure of the Antichrist's reign and the demonic spirituality that keeps the masses blind.
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