Out of one of them
came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the
south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land.
It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw
some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them.
It set itself up to be as great as the Prince of the host; it
took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of his sanctuary
was brought low.
Because of rebellion, the host [of the saints] and the daily sacrifice
were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and
truth was thrown to the ground. Daniel 8:9-12
What-ifs are, as the old saying goes, a-dime-a-dozen. Every armchair prophet and columnist out there have offered a plethora of what-if scenarios. I hesitantly offer my own what-if to the cacophony of opinions already cluttering the media.
I am very careful to give the readers of my articles only the facts. I am very careful to omit my opinion with the exception of where it relates to the truth of the Bible and what God has given me to share with you. Rather than attempting to conjure up all kinds of new speculations and fears in your minds it is my objective to help the reader to become more obedient to the Master's command to watch for the signs of his coming.
One of the many signs of the coming of Jesus Christ is the entrance onto the world scene of the infamous antichrist, the son of Satan. You would be correct in calling him Satan's word, his audible voice against all that is righteous and against the Jews and most importantly against the LORD of Hosts! He is the promised (via prophecy) satanic messiah!
What do we know about him? Not as much as many pretend to know! Scripture reveals only a smattering of curiosity taunting details for us to use in the investigation. My position is unlike the many who make statements saying they know who the antichrist is. We cannot know who he is until he is revealed by the rebellion of Israel (2 Thessalonians 2:3,7-8)! By that one fact we can dismiss the majority of antichrist watchers who point to various individuals and say, "There he is!" Israel's rebellion is very close, but it has not been consummated as of yet!
Many believe that the church will be 'raptured' before the antichrist is revealed. This deception is being taught based on the scripture showing someone being taken out of the way of the man of lawlessness (1 Thessalonians 2:6-7). It is falsely assumed that this must be the Holy Spirit being removed and so it only stands to reason that the church cannot be here if the Spirit isn't here. Good reasoning, bad theology! There is not one scripture in the Bible that shows the Holy Spirit ever leaving the earth! There is not one scripture that shows the Spirit even holding the antichrist back. We must seek to understand the purpose of the antichrist to understand the end-times and who is holding him back. Many teach that the earth is God's kingdom, this is false. This earth is a kingdom that was originally given to man by God to rule over as his own (Genesis 1:26). Satan helped Adam and Eve to rebel against God and the kingdom was then up for grabs. Satan has worked feverishly to establish his kingdom on earth, but God has withheld complete rule over the earth from Satan until the appointed time of the end. There have been times that Satan has ruled over the capital of earth's kingdom, Jerusalem, when Israel had rebelled against God, but God has always given it back to Israel's remnant when they repented. The throne of earth is on Mount Zion and Satan is working at this very moment to seat his own son on that throne.
Many have falsely taught that Satan was cast down out of heaven when the work of redemption was done on the cross. This is a grave false teaching! Satan cannot stand before the throne of God and accuse the saints if he was exiled from heaven (Revelation 12:10)! The great heavenly battle will take place when Satan's son is enthroned on Zion. At that time Satan will make his bid for the throne of heaven and will then be cast down. Once cast down he will wage war against the Jews and true Christians during the last 3.5 years of this age referred to in scripture as the desolation (Revelation 12:7-17).
The purpose of the antichrist is to be the coming messiah to the subjects of Satan's would-be kingdom. Up to this point Satan has captured Zion's throne repeatedly, but he could not consolidate his rule over the entire world from Jerusalem because it was not possible until the appointed time. One must note that Satan never took Zion unless God allowed it. Whenever Israel rebelled and would not heed correction and repent God would remove Israel's protection. This enabled Israel's enemies to march right in. Did God personally protect Israel or was there someone assigned to the task? Israel has a chief prince and protector, Michael the Archangel. It is Michael who will be removed from stopping the man of lawlessness from taking the throne of earth! On that day he will be fighting a supernatural battle against the hordes of Satan in heaven (Revelation 12:7-9)! This is God's plan. This will begin the time of desolation, the time of punishment and great wrath against the Jews (Luke 21:20-24)! Israel will suddenly become vulnerable when God pulls Michael out. The Holy Spirit will remain in the world to strengthen the faith of the brethren. On the last day Michael will rise again to protect Israel and the resurrection of the saints will take place followed by the wrath of God upon the earth (Daniel 11:40-12:3)!
So how does the satanic messiah achieve his access to the throne? Counterfeit miracles and signs, great military feats, political prowess and a resurrection, of sorts! He will be mortally wounded and yet be healed and become great. People will worship this 'resurrected messiah.' He will have to convince the Jews that he is of the lineage of David and convince the Islamists that he is Muhammad, their revered prophet. Whether he will actually be a Jew or not is of no consequence. As long as he can convince the chief rabbis of it is all that matters.
Here is my what-if scenario: First my disclaimer; I am not stating nor do I adamantly believe that the person I will name is the antichrist. This is a what-if scenario designed more to stimulate believers to watch more closely now and start searching deeper into their Bibles than an exercise at trying to identify the man of lawlessness. This could very well be him and he bears close scrutiny, but then again, don't just watch him, the world is full of antichrists!
I ask you to watch Saddam Hussein. Yes, that's right, the deposed Iraqi dictator, whom we may or may not have killed. What if he is alive? What if he is recovering from a wound that should have killed him? What if he comes back to Iraq or elsewhere and is received as a great prophet of Allah or as the reincarnated Nebuchadnezzar that he claims to be? What if he comes to power and makes peace with Israel? Who could stop him? Wouldn't the world support him almost unanimously against the United States if he did make peace with Israel? How close was he to making nuclear weapons? What if we don't find his weapons of mass destruction? Why didn't the Iraqi's put up more of a fight than they did? What if, what if, what if . . .
Do you see how this could happen? Did you see Russia, Germany, France, China and most of the world support Saddam? That anti-American, anti-Israel alliance is still in place. Now they want a say in Iraq's future. Has anyone read chapter 38 of Ezekiel lately? See the core of peoples listed as the invaders of Israel (Check out the Ezekiel invasion map on my web site)? Can the United States or Israel stand up to such an unholy alliance? Scripture points to the antichrist coming from the ancient lands of Babylon (Isaiah 14:3-27)! The United States is not interested in killing Hussein, they have toppled his regime and are satisfied. When the smoke clears we may yet see Saddam's face again! What if the Iraqis democratically elect him back as their leader?
Israel wants peace bad enough that she is willing to recognize a state of Palestine on the covenant lands God gave her in exchange for it. This very act is scheduled to happen in December of this year! What a perfect time for the antichrist, whoever it may be, to come on the scene as peace broker!
Remember, watch for Israel's peace to see the rebellion, watch the rebellion to see the antichrist, watch the antichrist to see the desolation and watch the signs in the sky for the resurrection and Jesus' return! The victory belongs to those who stand firm to the end!
`This is what the
Sovereign LORD says: "`You were the model of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned
you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire,
turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of
gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.
You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery
stones.
You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.
Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and
you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.
Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted
your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth;
I made a spectacle of you before kings.
By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your
sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed
you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of
all who were watching.
All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come
to a horrible end and will be no more.'" Ezekiel 28:12-19