Okay, today, we bite the bullet and we talk about the really really really uncomfortable stuff. The stuff that makes my skin itch and my eyes twitch. The stuff you’ve likely never heard me talk about before because even while we study the book of Revelation, I really like to find the hope and the highlights.

Today, we talk about the Anitchrist. What it is and what it isn’t. Is this a threat to us, or are we promised to be in the clear?

First, let’s understand what the word anitchrist means. In english, the pre-fix “anti” means ‘against’. However, this word was originally spoken in Greek. In Greek, the prefix “anti” has additional meanings. It can mean ‘against’, but it also means ‘instead of’. Yes, antichrist, INSTEAD OF CHRIST.

So now understand, when John writes in 1 John 2:18, “Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist (capital A) is coming, and already many such antichrists (little a) have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come.” This Antichrist to come (capital A), is the one people will choose instead of Christ. Already, there are many antichrists (little a’s) who choose and promote something instead of Christ.

And with this, we must be so careful. Anything we choose instead of Christ is extremely dangerous.

Now it’s easy to dismiss ourselves believing we know better and would never choose anyone but our Jesus – but really, examine yourself. Is there anyone or anything you turn to for guidance instead of Jesus? Hello, the google and ChatGPT. Has that become your go-to? Tarot cards, stars, crystals – that’s not Jesus. I’m not saying using ChatGPT for a little help is wrong – I’m saying it’s extremely dangerous when it becomes your main source of guidance and answers. It’s NOT JESUS.

Is there something you turn to for strength instead of Jesus? Are all those self-help books more important than God’s word in your life? Is your husband or your best friend the one who gives you strength? Uh oh, I hate to tell you this, but honey, that’s a problem.

Is there something you’re counting on to save you instead of Jesus? Your good works, your success, your money, your stuff.

There are all these little antichrists (little a) running around in our lives. The things we choose instead of Jesus. How does God feel about that? Oh, God is very clear. Deuteronomy 4:24, “The Lord your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God.” Not jealous as in petty envy, but rather jealous as in passionately devoted and desiring exclusive love and worship. Our Creator knows when we begin choosing anything over him, we’re in trouble. There’s a line in a Lauren Daigel song that gets me every time. It says, “I will always live in wonder of the fact that I awaken jealous love.”

You awaken jealous love. A love that is passionately devoted to you. A love that desires your exclusive choice. God the Father, Jesus Christ the son, and the Holy Spirit are one. When you choose something instead of this trinity, you choose an antichrist. Something instead of.

Now, when John is being given the clear visions of the Tribulation to come in Revelation, he sees a beast. This beast is who we refer to as the Anitchrist (captial A), we’ve been warned about. It’s not pleasant to read about, but it is necessary. Jesus says YOU NEED TO KNOW, that’s why he is revealing this to us.

Revelation 13: 1-7, “Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God. This beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the dragon (remember, that’s Satan) gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority. (So, this is a look at the one who Satan is empowering in the time of great Tribulation. This is the Antichrist.)

Now, very important details given to us come next. “I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery – but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. They worshiped the dragon (that’s the devil) for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. ‘Who is as great as the beast?’ they exclaimed. ‘Who is able to fight against him?'”

“Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months. And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling – that is, those who dwell in heaven. (Who’s dwelling in heaven already at this point? We believe that we are. Those who already placed their trust in Jesus. Those who were snatched up to Heaven in the rapture. Now, this beast, the Antichrist is talking bad about God and making up stories about what happened when we were caught up into heaven. Yip, that’s right – he talks bad about YOU and makes others think crazy things about you.)

“And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation.”

In the time of Tribulation to come, this beast, the Antichrist, will be seen by all and he will fool many. Verse 14-17: “With all the miracles he was allowed to perform he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the beast who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die. He required everyone – small and great, rich and poor, free and slave – to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name.” Verse 18 reveals, “His number is 666.”

This is something I have personally been terrified of. The mark of the beast. I was getting on an airplane in Venice one time and the guy in front of me had tatooed on his calf 666. I didn’t even want to get on the airplane. Staying in Bali earlier this year, one of my little villas had a door entry code of 666. I wouldn’t even press the numbers to enter the door. Nope.

Understand what this mark of the beast is. It’s an IMITATION. Satan has no power to create, only the power to imitate. In Revelation 7 we read that God places seals on the foreheads of his servants. It’s not a literal seal or mark, but instead a spiritual identity of relationship with God. He’s sealed us, marked us as his own. Now Satan wants to imitate that and corrupt it with his own seal and mark.

You need to know about this stuff. You need to know about the Antichrist to come, the one who shows up with power and miracles and fools so many people of this world into choosing him INSTEAD OF JESUS. (Remember, that’s what anti-christ really means – instead of Christ.)

My interruption of scripture tells me the believers in Jesus won’t be on earth to experience this Antichrist and the mark of the beast required for continued survival.

… BUT WHAT IF I’M WRONG …

There’s plenty of room for me to be wrong on that. There are many Bible scholars, much more educated and qualified than I am, who do not believe in the rapture before the Tribulation. There are many God-fearing, Holy Spirit guided people who believe we will be here on earth in the times of the Antichrist and the mark of the beast with 666. So, I would be sorely wrong to tell you that’s not possible. It is possible. There are scriptures that seem contradictory to the teaching of God’s people being snatched up and spared from the Tribulation to come.

That doesn’t mean we must live in fear. It means we must make our choice now. Is there anything you’re going to choose instead of Jesus? Will your guidance come from anything instead of Jesus? Will you seek anything instead of Jesus for wisdom, for direction, for strength, for saving you?

Scripture is clear we face many little antichrists already. The possibilities of choosing something or someone instead of Jesus have always been all around us. They’re the fake – the dupe – the cheap knock off. Don’t be fooled!

I’m only interested in the real deal. The one and only, authentic, JESUS CHRIST, LORD OF LORDS. Make your decision now to choose him and only him. Let the Father write his name on your forehead with a spiritual seal of relationship. He is yours and you are his and there’s no room for anything else!

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