Pastor Mikes Daily Devotion Friday December 26, 2014 Revelation 17:8, The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. During the time of the tribulation there will come a world ruler upon the scene that most of us have heard of before; the Antichrist. This man will be the ultimate in politicians. He will seemingly bring world peace, financial stability, and religious harmony as never before. We have seen this dynamic in effect today as we see how a charismatic leader rises up out of nowhere making great promises and steals the hearts of the people. When he fails to deliver he is cast out and another is looked for. The Antichrist will seem to succeed where others have failed to such a degree that he will rule the world. The reason he is called the Antichrist is because he will present himself as Christ, but in actuality is other than Christ. He will mimic the second coming of Christ (Revelation 6:1-2), it seems he will enable the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem and be a friend of the Jews, and for a time bring world peace (2 Thessalonians 2:4). To make this deception complete, there will be a time when he seems to be assassinated but comes back from the dead (Revelation 13:12). This is why we are told that he was, and is not, and yet is. How do we recognize this man, is he alive today, is he in a place of power right now? As born-again believers, we are to concern ourselves with sharing Gods gospel, and not trying to guess who the antichrist is. No one will truly know until God reveals him, and we will be long gone. The rapture of the church will occur before the antichrist comes into power (2 Thessalonians 2:5-10). What about the mark of the beast that we hear so much about? Again, this is not to be a concern to the born-again believer. The mark of the beast will not come about until after the Antichrist comes to power. We as the church need to be educated in these things, but again the preaching of the gospel is to be our priority. The best thing you can do to overcome the effects of the Antichrist is to preach Jesus Christ. Daniel 7:25–27, He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time. ‘But the court shall be seated, And they shall take away his dominion, To consume and destroy it forever. Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 17:07:08 +0000
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