Truth Matters - Weekend, 7

Hello, this is Matt Slick from the Matt Slick Live Podcast, where I defend the Christian faith and lay out our foundations of the truth of God's Word. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. And let's join Dr. Cheryl Davis for this week's extended edition of Truth Matters. This week, the characteristics of the Antichrist.

What can we expect? Not only is the devil's assault on the earth aggravated, anti-Semitic, it is aggressive. And we see in verse 15 that he actually tries to murder the woman by spewing water out.

The serpent spews water out. Some take this literally as a massive flood. This will likely be an aggressive assault put forth against the Jewish nation. The concept of a flood is used in Scripture to describe an onslaught of the enemy or suffering.

And it is probably used here that way as well. It may be a more organized effort that Satan makes to destroy people. And I believe this will be even much greater than in World War II. It's an aggressive assault, anti-Semitic assault. Satan's rage toward Israel is on really two levels during the Great Tribulation. It is towards Israel as the people of God, but also it's towards the remnant. If you remember, there will be 144,000 that are anointed and marked to do a great work. And they refuse to take the mark of the beast. They will be the evangelists during the Tribulation. And they keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. So I'm pretty sure Satan will make war against them. And really, on the first level, it doesn't matter if you are a believer or not.

If you are a Jew, that is sufficient. On the second level, he has a specific goal of preventing those 144,000 Jews from getting the gospel out during the Tribulation. So I think he will target the Jews as well as he will target these Jewish evangelists. And we know that they have a powerful anointing.

So how powerful their anointing is will be a direct reflection of the effort that Satan will put towards trying to defeat them and persecute them. And lastly, we saw the praise of God. We saw the wrath of the enemy on the earth or the persecution on earth. And here we see the protection of God. And we've seen God's protection and His providence throughout the whole Bible. But in verses 14 through 16 of this chapter details the protection God provides for the woman from the persecution of Satan. Verses 14 through 16 says that the woman was given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place where she is nourished for a time and times and a half a time from the presence of the serpent. So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like the flood after the woman so that he might cause her to be carried away but the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth and swallowed up the water. We don't know how, but it is clear from this part of Revelation that God intends to remove His people from the direct attacks of Satan and take them away to be protected. And He does this for Israel.

The length of the time in their protection is time, times and half a time, which we know is three and a half years. Donald Grey Barnhouse once told a story of a wealthy man who was hated by an enemy. In order to trouble the man, the enemy slipped onto his estate under the cover of darkness and cut down one of his giant trees which the man loved, only to find out that the trees needed to be removed anyway for the construction of the owner's new house. In bitterness and anger, the man had slaved only to discover that he had been accomplishing the very purposes of the one that he hated. And such is the role of Satan in the plan of God.

We've got to know that he's on the lease, he has been defeated legally, he's still going out trying to enforce, trying to really thwart the purpose of the church. But know that Satan's authority is limited, that Christ is all powerful, and even as Satan tries to accomplish his work, really he's accomplishing his own destruction, which is the plan of God for him. So, I don't know about you, but in reading this chapter, I see even more and understand even more the provision of God, but also how tumultuous the great tribulation is going to be when Satan is thrown out of heaven. And you're saying, why do you say all this?

Why does this even apply to me? Those that are listening who don't know Jesus as a personal savior, I still feel the urgency deep within my spirit to really preach and to push and to prophesy and to try to influence to say that today is the day of salvation. The time before the rapture to be saved is now, because the time to be saved in the tribulation will be persecution like we've never seen before.

So why not come to Christ while it is easy? The time to serve him is now. Let's get into chapter 13 and we'll read verses 1 through 10. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast and they worshiped the beast saying, Who is like the beast, who is able to make war with him? And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and he was given authority to continue for 42 months. Then he opened his mouth and blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name, his tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them and authority was given him over every tribe, tongue and nation. All who dwell in the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.

If anyone has a here, let him hear. He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity. He who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. So each time we look into these chapters of heavy symbolism, we started out with, in chapter 12, who was the woman. And really, you know, in chapter 13, what is this about or who is this about? Chapter 13 is about the Antichrist. The Antichrist is highly popular in the Bible as well as in the secular world. In the Bible he is mentioned in Daniel 7, but is described in more detail in Revelation chapter 13, which is the focus of this chapter. It is interesting on the secular side that many people have been named the Antichrist. Looking back in history, who do you think could have been the Antichrist? And when I ask our church class in answering this question, some of them came up with very clever answers. Barack Obama was one of them. Kamala Harris was one of them.

You know, obviously not saying that they are. It is just interesting what people think of the Antichrist and what they look like. Knowing that their answers is not true because we know that the rapture has not come, therefore the Antichrist is not in power today. We do know that Antiochus Epiphanes was a forerunner for the Antichrist. We know that Adolf Hitler is very similar to the Antichrist in how he annihilated the Jews. Some even say that it is JFK because he got 666 votes at the Democratic Convention. Many thought that when he was assassinated that he would come back to life.

And he did not. So the Antichrist could be living? Yes, absolutely, the Antichrist could be living.

But we know that he is not in power today. So, let's talk about the personality of the Antichrist so that we can get some glimpse of what he will be like, exactly. And we get a lot of this from Daniel 7 as far as, you know, I mentioned that the Antichrist was mentioned in Daniel 7, but he is described more in detail in this chapter, but we get a lot about his personality in Daniel 7.

So, we have read this before, but let's go back to Daniel 7 and read verses 7-8. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong, it had huge iron teeth, it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there in this horn were the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.

So we see that the little horn is the Antichrist. The references to his speaking ability indicate the persuasiveness of his personality and his charismatic nature. I'm going to read verse 5 of chapter 13 again. And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. The references to his speaking ability indicate the persuasiveness of his personality and his charismatic nature.

Verse 13 says he's speaking great things and blasphemies. The Antichrist will be noted for his great eloquence, the ability to capture the attention of the world and to hold it. We have not had great orators since JFK and MLK in this country.

That's John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. One of the greatest orators in modern history, though, was Adolf Hitler. The Antichrist will be similar to Adolf Hitler in his effectiveness and persuasion. Let's move on to Daniel chapter 7 verse 20. And the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely that horn which has eyes and a mouth, who speak pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows. We know that this says that the little horn's appearance will be greater than his fellows. He will have the appearance of a chief or a lord. People will be attracted to the Antichrist by his commanding presence as well as his appearance.

The key to taking control is coming on the scene at a low and vulnerable point. And the rapture, we believe, will cause tremendous chaos, which will be a great recipe or a great environment for the Antichrist to rise to power as the world will be at a low and vulnerable point. If you think about the pandemic and how vulnerable it has made the world, should our vulnerability have gotten much worse or more dreadful, had the deaths been higher during the pandemic, this would rival the time in which the rapture will cause such disruption in the vulnerability of this world. Not only will he be a charismatic leader or a good looking person, he will be clever. Daniel chapter 7 verse 8 says he has eyes like the eyes of a man. And this refers to the Antichrist's ability or his intellect. We can assume that he will apply intellect to solving the massive problems existing during the tribulation. He will be very politically savvy.

Daniel 8 verse 25 says many are killed as a result of a covenant of peace he makes with Israel. So under the disguise of peace, he elevates himself over the kingdoms of this world. So we know he's going to be politically savvy. We know he's going to be a cultic leader also. Daniel chapter 7 verse 25 pictures the Antichrist as a cultic leader. He will speak out against God and he will seek to change times and law, a reference to his growing influence over the lives of millions. The Antichrist will attempt to erase all vestiges of the presence of God. Much like Marxism and socialism is trying to erase the history of the US at this present point by destroying monuments, rewriting history, he will attempt to elevate himself to the position of God on earth and make pronouncements as a deity seeking to receive the worship of the world. And if you remember this, we read this verse a couple sessions ago, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 who opposes and insults himself above all that is called God and that is worshiped so that he sits as God in the temple of God showing himself that he is God.

Very similar to Antiochus Epiphanes. If you remember Antiochus Epiphanes defiled the altar in the temple and the picture of Antiochus Epiphanes is very similar to what the Antichrist will be. In Revelation chapter 13 verse 8 it says All who dwell upon the earth shall worship him. He will unite politics and religion and create the ultimate false religion where he will be the head of the church. But not only will he be clever, charismatic, cultic, he will be cruel. Daniel chapter 7 verses 23 and 25 tell us about that. He will devour the whole earth and shall tread it down and break it into pieces. Those who put their faith in Christ during the tribulation will feel his wrath.

That is why I implore you in our last time together to say that the time to accept salvation, the time to surrender ourselves to Christ is now. He will wear people down through continual persecution. In various places in scripture we learn about the Antichrist and what he will do to believers. In Revelation chapter 15 he will kill a third of them. In Hariah 14 we know he will try to conquer the city of Jerusalem. In Revelation 13 he will slaughter a number of Gentiles. And in Daniel chapter 7 verse 25 he will persecute the saints at the most high. Let's look at the profile of the Antichrist.

Like we said last time in Revelation chapter 13, his wrath is a result of Satan empowering the Antichrist when he is thrown down to earth. The Antichrist, his rise to power will be inconspicuous. And what that means is that it will come up subtly. It will not be obvious. Daniel 7 tells us that the Antichrist will gradually become more and more powerful. He will come out of obscurity.

The little horn becomes the big horn and rises out of the sea. The Antichrist arises out of the fourth empire. Daniel saw that is Rome.

The Roman empire was never fully extinct. The Antichrist is most likely a Gentile. So I want to read Revelation chapter 13 verse 5 and 7 again. He was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. And he was given authority to continue for 42 months. And in verse 7 it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue and nation.

Any privilege or power that he is allowed has been allowed to him by God himself. You've been listening to the weekend edition of Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. Truth Matters is a ministry of The Truth Project. A North Carolina based ministry dedicated to teaching biblical truth and sound theology to those inside and outside of the church. If you'd like to listen to these messages on demand go to projecttruthmatters.com and click on the podcast link. Dr. Davis is also available to speak to your ministry group or church function. She can be reached by email at CherylDavis at projecttruthmatters.com or if you'd like to send a letter the address is Project Truth Matters post office box 159 St. Paul's, North Carolina 28384. You can hear Truth Matters devotionals on weekdays at 820 a.m. and 520 p.m. Until next time let's all work together to teach a biblical truth to assist, equip, edify and encourage one another and bring the gospel to the world because truth matters. This is the Truth Network.