One Nation Under Antichrist

By the way, it also struck me here that if only we would have the passion to honor Jesus Christ, that he will have to dishonor Jesus Christ. The Antichrist will be passionate about defying God. I wonder, are we passionate in obeying God? The Antichrist is passionate to blaspheme God and his children. Are we passionate to bless God and his children? The Antichrist is passionate about corrupting others.

Are we passionate about converting others? A day is coming when the Antichrist will unite the world under his own authority. As Stephen said a moment ago, everything the Antichrist does is unified under the singular purpose of opposing God.

We have the opportunity to live, today, with the singular purpose of worshiping, obeying, and proclaiming God. It's hard to imagine the world being united around one global leader, but a day will come when the citizens of the world will abandon all of their former beliefs, and they will unite under one leader called the Antichrist. We're looking at that time of history today, here on Wisdom for the Heart.

Stephen Davey is in a series from Revelation, and this lesson is called One Nation Under Antichrist. One of our nation's founders once made the now famous statement, man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants. For Benjamin Franklin, that statement of his was not so much a matter of prophecy as it was history. Study the history of mankind and you'll see a crowded stage with men pushing and shoving to rule each other with no more dignity or wisdom than school children pushing their way to the front of a recess line.

Napoleon thought he would be the one who would create the revived Roman Empire and also create a new dynasty, so convinced was he that he gave his son and heir the title the King of Rome. But that statement, man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants, is also very prophetic. There is coming a tyrant who will make all the others throughout world history look like beginners, school children. Now we were introduced to this coming tyrant, the Antichrist, in Revelation chapter 13, if you've been with us, where he's simply referred to as the Beast. Turn there in your Bibles, we don't have time to rehearse our past study where we were introduced to him, but let me just touch on quickly some highlights. In verse one, we learn through consistent symbolic terminology in both Revelation and the Book of Daniel that the Antichrist has a unified kingdom of 10 horns or 10 kings over which he rules supreme. In verse two, we learned that his power comes from Satan, who's referred to as the dragon, delegated authority given ultimately from God through him. In verse three, we saw that the Antichrist was assassinated and resurrected and that counterfeit, a resurrection solidified his rule over this coalition of kingdoms.

And verse three tells us that the whole world was amazed and followed after the beast. His rule is now at this moment, it is supreme. He is the king of Rome and the Antichrist will succeed where every other tyrant has failed.

He will create a new world order, a revived Roman empire in Europe that will ultimately, according to Daniel and Revelation, encompass the whole world. And I had to ask myself the question in my own study, what is it in the heart of man that wants to rule the world? What is it in the heart of man that wants to unify the nations of the world and have one supreme dictator? Well, you go back to Genesis chapter 11 and we're given a little insight. This is a time when mankind's desire was to be unified only so that they could rebel against the authority of God so that they would not need help from anyone, certainly not God.

And they would be capable of running the planet all by themselves by the might of man. That desire has never really fully left the planet, has it? It surfaces from time to time in kingdoms, in countries and leaders. Only this past week, as I read the news, one of our former presidents called for the interdependence of nations in order to bring about peace and help the planet survive.

His speech, of course, is not original. You go back into near past history at the close of World War I, Europe and the civilized nations of the world wanted to unify in order to bring about the good of mankind. Woodrow Wilson, in fact, called for a new world order and just about every Western leader since him has issued a call for a new world system. Winston Churchill made it clear when he said some 70 years ago, and I quote him, the purpose of a new world order is to bring the world into a one world government.

Listen, after 1600 years of fighting among the nations of Europe, there is a lot of frustration, isn't that true? In fact, it's interesting that in the last 50 years in our lifetime, we have watched the nations of Europe, the major nations laid on their arms, come together in what was originally called the common market, a coalition of United States and the United States, a common market, a coalition of United Nations that has now created the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice. Today in Europe and beyond, we have the United Nations and that now espouses a world constitution, a world currency, a world income tax.

I'm not planning on sending any money to them, but I'm sure you aren't either. But it's there, a world military force, a global identification system and what they call with great fondness, a world ethic, which is nothing more than code for a coming one world religion. Some world leaders mask their intentions or at least are naively innocent of what prophecy records for us. And they are constantly using code phrases instead, like global management, the rule of world law, collective sovereignty, the interdependence of nations, a global village, collective security. Ladies and gentlemen, these are merely catch words for a one world agenda.

Now, don't misunderstand. There are some wonderful things that have come out of this and are happening because of this effort. And we're wearing clothes that were probably imported and we're going to go out in the car and get on a gizmo and call somebody that we probably bought made by some other country that we can safely eat imported foods because of global standards, or at least that's the theory. I'm a little leery of peanut butter now these days, but we can use global cooperation in tackling disease and encouraging education and battling poverty.

I can travel most of the world today as can you to many nations that have opened borders and respect between countries because of it. Listen, on this side of the rapture, on this side of the rapture, we can benefit and maximize these steps of progress or peace for the sake of the gospel. We just happen to know what it rumbles when it comes out with these phrases. We are watching perhaps a wonderful illustration of what will one day happen. Maybe this is the prelude to that very world system that will coalesce under the leadership of the antichrist. In fact, it's interesting that for the first time in 15 centuries, a unified European coalition has begun to take shape.

Now 27 countries strong in this European Union. And let me also say this, what is happening in our world may have nothing to do with the end times of the antichrist Roman Empire on planet earth. It may be blown away by a rogue nation. It may be blown apart by some atomic, a fast finger, it may be decimated by some world epidemic.

We have no idea what God's timetable is and we certainly don't know the moment when the church will be raptured and the ensuing tribulation period begin. It could have happened a thousand years ago. It can happen a thousand years hence. However, what we see happening might just be the mixing of the mortar for the bricks of this new empire. We just might be listening to the instruments tuning up, the prelude about to begin here of the revival of the Roman Empire.

And every time you turn on the television and read the newspaper, perhaps we're seeing one more step being taken. What we have today on the planet is not the 10 kingdom coalition spoken of in revelation that will be ruled by the antichrist, but no doubt it is the basic idea. It is the economic and political and governmental hope and wish of the world whereby one man we know will use it. He will eventually rise to rule the world and the world will get its wish. According to revelation 13, where I invite your attention again today, it will be engineered by the God of this world, Satan, and there will rise a one world government, a new one world system, and it will be political and economic, and it will be religious quote unquote unity. It will be, ladies and gentlemen, a global world system.

It will be one nation under antichrist when the world gets its wish. Now, John gives us some more descriptive phrases about the rule of the antichrist. Let's pick up where we left off.

First, I want to point out to you his global defiance. We stopped at verse four. Let's pick it up at verse five. There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies. He was given a mouth.

One commentator said he was given a mouth and it's a big one too. He's going to use it to blaspheme like no one else has ever blasphemed God. By the way, you ought to underline, beginning at verse five, the four times this phrase appears, it was given. It was given to him. In verse five, a mouth was given to him.

You'll see it there. Also at the end of verse five, given to him this authority for 42 months. In verse seven, it was also given to him to make war. And again, the last part of verse seven was given to him. The antichrist has four givens. Given to blaspheme, he's given the ability to lead, the ability to persecute and the right to rule. Now, you might wonder who gave him these things, these givens. Well, obviously, Satan would be an intermediate source. Back in verse four, it tells us that the dragon gave him his own authority.

But these four givens that I've just drawn your attention to are passive verb forms, which point to an ultimate source. And that source is God. This is all according to God's plan. God's delegated power to the forces of evil, which will ultimately bring about the purposes of God for the planet, for the world, planet, the universe, and everything that lives and breathes. Imagine the implication, though, of being given the ability as the antichrist to speak with eloquence and persuasiveness and passion, and then use that ability to blaspheme God. And I couldn't help but think we see the same thing on the planet, that God has given us all that we have, all of our abilities, all of our talents, and the world will use it to blaspheme him, and we can use it to dishonor him as well, even as Christians, can't we? But you'll notice in this verse that while God allows blasphemy, God also allows him authority.

Look at verse five again, there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for 42 months was given to him. Now, remember, the tribulation is a period divided into two, two three and a half year sections or periods. The first half is relatively peaceful, even though the world is falling apart because of the wrath of God, as far as politics and and the rule of law, it is experiencing the peace accord, which has yet to be experienced in the Middle East, that the antichrist is able to pull off. But it's around the midpoint of this tribulation period that he is assassinated. As we've studied, he's miraculously resurrected. He steps forward then at that point to declare himself Messiah. He desecrates the tribulation temple by seating himself in it, calling himself God in the flesh, according to Daniel nine, Revelation 11 and 13. So keep in mind then that now we're talking about this last half, this 42 month period where this man will solidify his power and he will begin like never before to blaspheme God. He will take off that nice guy, peace negotiator, wonderful leader who wants to serve mankind mask. Now the truth will be out as he will openly declare himself world ruler, God in the flesh, the long awaited Messiah, and he will begin to wage war against the knowledge and name of God. His defiant blasphemy and arrogance will surpass anybody who ever lived. He will be nothing more than Satan's mouthpiece voicing his master's frustrated rage against God. Notice the extent of his blasphemy in verse six.

And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, that's his person, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, that is those who dwell in heaven, that's his people. Satan through his puppet king will now begin to rail against and blaspheme God's character and God's children. A time of great global defiance has begun and it will be intensely lived out during this 42 month period. Secondly, not only does a time of global defiance characterize his rule, but a time of global domination. And John highlights two aspects of this world dominance in verse seven. First, he will become the believer's final persecutor. He will become the believer's final persecutor. Look at verse seven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them.

Now understand that overcoming them here is not a spiritual sense, it's a physical sense. In other words, he'll literally kill them. He'll end their lives. The persecution and execution will be like nothing ever seen on the planet.

This doesn't refer to a military campaign, at least not yet. This refers to tormenting, harassing, persecuting, and executing the people of God. This is the answer, by the way, to the tribulation saints who've already been martyred in Revelation chapter six. And we heard them around the throne, pray to God saying, Oh God, how long until you bring your justice to the planet and you avenge our blood? And remember, God basically said, go enjoy heaven. And don't worry, the time will come when that number of your brethren will be completed. Well, in this 42 month period, the completion of the number of martyrs and the number of martyred saints during the tribulation will be finished. Why does the inner Christ pull out all the stops?

Because he's able to read what we're reading. He has 42 months left to do his worst, and he will be passionate in dishonoring Jesus Christ and executing those who will refuse his mark and follow after this one. By the way, it also struck me here that if only we would have the passion to honor Jesus Christ, that he will have to dishonor Jesus Christ, the anti-Christ will be passionate about defying God. I wonder, are we passionate in obeying God? The anti-Christ is passionate to blaspheme God and his children. Are we passionate to bless God and his children? The anti-Christ is passionate about corrupting others.

Are we passionate about converting others? Would we be as passionate in honoring him as the true and living Lord? So the anti-Christ becomes the believer's final persecutor. Secondly, John highlights this, he will become the unbelievers final ruler. Notice further in verse seven, it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.

The Greek language lets us know this is comprehensive total apart from those who believe. The anti-Christ is going to succeed where every other world ruler only dreamed, total world domination, one throne and I'm on it. Could it be that even now the world is setting the stage moving toward this climactic setting of a one-world government? It could be.

Is the world ready for a one-world system and a peace-bringer like never before? Maybe you're thinking that today. Maybe you're wondering in my little twisted world with what's going on in my life, with the elements of suffering that I may be going through, no matter what they are, maybe you're wondering, I wonder if I've slipped off the radar, if I've been lost to God. To them and in a way to us, God answers that with a wonderful little phrase. Verse eight, I skipped it because I wanted to go back to it here. He says this, all who dwell on the earth, that is, those unbelievers, will worship him, the anti-Christ.

Who are they? Those whose names were not found written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. Wow. The unbeliever who worships the anti-Christ is not registered in this book of life. Those who trusted in Christ are registered and did you catch when your name was written there before the foundation of the world? In other words, if God hasn't lost track of you over the last many thousands of years, he's not going to lose track of the tribulation saint in 42 months, and he's not going to lose track of you with what you're going through right now. In fact, your future in heaven is secure.

It will never be erased. It is your reservation. It was made in the omniscient grace of God before the world was created. Your name was put there. Before you committed your first sin, before you committed your last one.

It was put there because of God's grace as he opened your eyes and you received the Lamb who died for you as your personal Lord and Savior. And so today you can have the confidence. As John wrote, those of you who've believed on the name of the Son of God, you can what? Know that you have eternal life.

Not hope so, not think so, not maybe so. You can know that you have eternal life. And it just struck me.

Think about it here. The people of the earth wondering one world. They're looking for salvation. They're hoping it will come in a one world system. If we could all just get together, that will one day come, ladies and gentlemen, but it will be under the antichrist's cruel fist when the world gets into the earth. The antichrist's cruel fist when the world gets its wish.

And it occurred to me in my study, we are the ones, those of us who believe, who will actually be able to one day enjoy the new world order. Amen. We get it.

We get that. A new system under the benevolent, kind, gracious rule of the Lamb. And it won't last for 42 months.

It's going to last forever. We who have registered in that Lamb's book of life will enjoy eternity. In fact, everything new, we're told in Revelation, we're going to have new bodies to enjoy a new world, a new universe, a new heaven. Is your name written in the Lamb's book of life? Let's make sure that you understand the gospel and what it means to come to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. As Stephen just reminded you, make sure your relationship with God is settled today.

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