Faith Baptist Church
4258 Botetourt Road
Fincastle, Virginia 24090
(540) 473-2325
It is interesting that God allows one evil to overthrow another evil. God allows the hatred of the Antichrist to defeat the hatred of religious Babylon in the second half of the tribulation period.
Let it be noted that the Antichrist is not the Anti Muhammad or the Anti Buddha, or the anti anyone else. The counterfeit messiah has no qualms with the false beliefs of the religions of the world, so he masks his image with apostate Christianity. He doesn’t come on the scene as a new messiah, but at the mid-tribulation point he presents himself as the real Messiah. He allows religious Christianity to use him as he draws in the confidence of the world leaders. Religion and true Christianity though, are not the same. True Christianity is ones relationship with God through the person of Jesus Christ. True Christianity is all of grace as it is the manifestation of God doing for man what mankind cannot do for himself. Religion is man doing something to appease God. True Christianity is the work of Christ as he alone satisfied the justice of God in going to the cross and dying for the sins of mankind. True Christianity is represented by God working through his redeemed children to perform his will, not man doing for God to appease God. We are saved and eternally kept by grace though faith in Jesus Christ, not through ritual, or mental gymnastics or any other system mankind has created.
Let’s continue today with Rev.17:11
v.11
And the beast, which is the Antichrist, that was, that is [he worked his sly covert agenda through religion for the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation period] and is not, that is he [received a deadly wound, Rev.13:3,14] even he is the eighth; and yet is of the seventh, that is [ the Antichrist who will be the ruler of the seventh empire to persecute Israel, he is revived by Satan as noted in Rev.13:3,14 in a counterfeit resurrection] and after the middle of the tribulation period and for the last 3 1/2 years of that seven year period the Antichrist is different. The eighth person is actually the split personality of the Antichrist since he became possessed of the devil at the 7 year mid-tribulation period point
His willingness to work with the apostate harlot Christian church to bring all faiths together will cease after 3 1/2 years. His personality and charming effervescence which worked for him in the first 3 1/2 years of his power, all of the sudden will change. The whole world will then proceed to go into a great conflict as the son of perdition reveals himself as the Messiah. By then most of the world will have been deceived into thinking the Antichrist is the real Messiah. Even those who are saved are warned in Scripture to watch for him for the things he will be empowered by Satan to do can deceive the very elect.
v.12
The ten horns that John saw in Rev.17:3 are explained here by the angel to be ten kings which at the beginning of their authority under the Antichrist, in the first half of the tribulation period, had no kingdom at the start of the seven years. All they had was a position granted by the Antichrist, but they will receive their power to serve the Antichrist for a brief time. Daniel 7:24 says the Antichrist will have to subdue three of the ten kings which apparently revolt against him for some reason.
Perhaps once the Antichrist calls himself God, and demands the world’s worship at the mid-tribulation point, three of these deceived kings will realize what they have done. The Antichrist will bring them under his dominion because he has been allowed to become so powerful.
v13
These ten kings are of one mind, one terrible evil mind; like having ten Hitlers under your command, and they shall give [present active indicative verb from didomi] they will willingly bestow all of their countries resources including their military and complete financial backing and their power to the Antichrist. They will support his mission of a one world government, and the extinguishing of all rebel Jews and believers. They follow the mind of the Antichrist who follows the mind of Satan. Remember we discussed the demons of Rev.16:13-14 which work in the minds of the world’s four major players during the tribulation period, and obviously these 4 world powers’ subordinate kings and rulers will be lead by the same demonic power.
v.14
These will make war [Future Active Indicative verb of polemo], they will wage a military campaign against the Lamb. In the Valley of Megiddo they will gather to annihilate Israel and claim that land for themselves.
But Jesus Christ will return to defend Israel, and like a crushing Stone, he will crush the Antichrist and the ten toes of the Antichrist Revived Roman Empire, Dan.2:34-35 read.
Each of the ten toes here called ten kings; each one will represent a puppet king from the European Common Market, a group of European countries who were formed under the Treaty of Rome in 1957. They will become ten nations which have other weaker nations mingled in with them by the middle of the tribulation period. This is noted by the Old Testament prophet Daniel as he saw the Revived Roman Empire as the last description of the mighty persecutors of Israel. Daniel saw the image of a man, and the last portion he saw was the feet of this image. The feet had ten toes wherein they were made up of iron and clay, strong nations and weaker nations mixed together forming the power the Antichrist will harness during his short reign on this earth. When Jesus Christ returns he will crush this Western power and the other three evil world powers. The kings of the east, the north and the south will be crushed along with the king of the west, the Antichrist.
Partnerships have been developing for decades and the unrest in the Middle East is a certain call for all believers to look up for our bodily redemption is drawing nigh.
Are you ready for the Lord’s return?
I pray that you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and if not will you admit your sinful condition, and will you admit the sacrifice Jesus Christ was for you? Believe on Him today and you will be saved for all eternity. You will not have to experience the tribulation period as you will be called up to heaven when it is ready to begin. If you should die today, are you ready to meet the Lord? If you are a believer, are you living for the Lord and are you be faithful to him each day, if not confess this to the Lord and get into a sound Bible teaching church and let the Lord change you for his glory. Amen.