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Welcome to The Rapture Rebuttal.
Is the Rapture Biblical? Could Christ
return at any moment? Who will be left behind? Study
with us as we search for the answers. |
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Antichrist
This lesson will focus on the antichrist and what
he will be doing when he is kicked out of heaven. I know many believe by the
time the antichrist comes, you have taken part in the rapture. If this is
the case, then you may believe there is no need for you to study this
information. This is what makes the rapture doctrine so dangerous. Let's
just suppose for a moment you are wrong. You would be totally unprepared to
deal with tribulation and the deception that shall come upon the whole
world. We don't insist you believe as we do but I urge you to consider the
information we have provided you on the rapture. God says in
Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge" Make sure
you are not one of those people. Consider this, not only are outsiders at
odds with the rapture but those who believe this doctrine are at odds with
each other. There are three different interpretations on when it will
happen. This doctrine is not sound and for this reason it has caused all
kinds of confusion. God is not the author of confusion
1 Cor. 14:33.
To start I think it is important to examine the title
"antichrist".
As English speaking people, our first impression of the title would be
that it is in opposition or against the Christ. This is not so in the
Greek, from a prime root , 473 in the Greek dictionary of the
Strong's Concordance. It is defined as instead of or in place of. We can
determine from this research that the antichrist is not coming openly in
opposition of Jesus but rather in the place of Jesus, playing that role.
This is how he is able to deceive the whole world. Many who have been
taught the rapture will think he is Jesus because of a lack of
knowledge. Let's examine some of the names Satan has used over the years
and what he is really after.
Isaiah 14
12) How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son
of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the
nations!
13) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will
ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will
sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will be like the most High.
These verses show us what Satan's plan is. He wants to be God. This name
Lucifer 1966 in the Hebrew Dictionary is defined as "the morning star".
This name belongs to Jesus and Satan will imitate every detail we know
about Jesus.
Revelation 22:16
16) I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto
you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David,
and the bright and morning star.
We all know that Jesus is our Rock, that Rock on which Peter would build
the church, that immovable Rock on which we can stand and not be moved.
That same spiritual Rock our fathers drank from in the desert with
Moses. Well in true form Satan uses this name also.
Ezekiel
28:12-19
12) Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king
of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the
sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
The word
Tyrus here, 6865 in the Hebrew dictionary, means "rock". In
the following verses, you will see this can only be speaking of
Satan.
13) Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every
precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the
beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the
carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was
prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
14) Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and
I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast
walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15) Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that
thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
Here you see Satan was made a beautiful and wise cherub. He was even
given the position of guarding the mercy seat. In short, he had it all
until iniquity was found in him. If you read verses 16-19, you
will find that he fell because of his pride. He wanted to sit in the
mercy seat rather than protect it. It just so happens this is were
Christ sits. Satan wants to hold the position of Christ and he will get
his chance to play Christ when he is thrown to the earth. He will be
very convincing, he is very capable of fooling you if you are not
prepared to deal with him. Unfortunately those who have been taught the
rapture likely will be fooled.
Now let's look at some of the methods Satan uses to deceive.
2 Corinthians Chapter 11
2) For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy:
for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste
virgin to Christ.
3) But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent
beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from
the simplicity that is in Christ.
4) For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus,
whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have
not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well
bear with him.
Notice Paul is very concerned here that the reader might be deceived.
Why would Paul be so concerned about us being deceived if we are to be
taken in a rapture before the deceiver comes to the earth? Verse 4 makes
this very clear. We have those here now who are teaching another Jesus.
The rapture teaches you that Christ will come first. This is simply not
true and it can easily be proven.
2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 1-4, clearly state we will
not gather back until a falling away first and that man of sin,
the son of perdition, is revealed. Now let's think back to Eve and
what happened in the garden, Satan used God's own words to deceive Eve.
He simply put his own little spin on them. Another place we can see
this, is were Christ was tempted by Satan. This is a good test for
anyone. Go to Matthew 4:6 and read what Satan said there. Can you see
where he twisted the scriptures? Now go to Psalms 91:11-12. Satan knows
the scriptures, we need to be ready. Let's read more about these false
teachers Paul is warning us about.
13) For such are false apostles, deceitful workers,
transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14) And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed
into an angel of light.
15) Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers
also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be
according to their works.
Here we see Satan himself will appear as an angel of light, so don't be
surprised if those who carry his message, appear to be "holy" men. Be
careful, the deception has already begun. Who is our Light? We
know that Jesus is our Light, are you beginning to see the parallels
between the two?
Mark 13:21-23
21) And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here
is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
22) For false Christs and false prophets shall
rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even
the elect.
23) But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you
all things.
Here we are being warned directly from Christ about false christs and
deception. Why would He go to all the trouble to warn us, if we wouldn't
see these things happen. This does not exclusively address the time
before the tribulation. These false christs will be showing signs and
wonders. These are the supernatural beings you can read about in
Revelation chapter 9. If you went to that chapter, notice their
power is in their mouth in verse 19. You talk or in their case preach
with your mouth.
Revelation 13:11-14
11) And I beheld another beast coming up out of the
earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Notice this beast, which is the antichrist, looks like the lamb. Who is
the lamb? Jesus is the Lamb slain, who cleanses us with His blood. He
speaks as a dragon though, when he speaks, he speaks lies and deception.
Over and over we have seen how Satan imitates Jesus. If you have been
taught the rapture, these lies will be hard to separate from the truth.
12) And he exerciseth all the power of the first
beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to
worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13) And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh
fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14) And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by
the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the
beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an
image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Here we learn about the power and miracles that the antichrist can
perform. He is coming to deceive and he will deceive many. Notice in
verse 12, he caused those on the earth to worship the beast. He didn't
make them. Verse 14 tells us he caused them to worship the beast through
the miracles and deception. We have learned in this study, that the
antichrist will not come in opposition to Christ but in the place of
Christ. He will do everything within his power to make us believe he is.
He is coming first, don't take my word for it, get in the bible and find
out for yourself. We hope you enjoyed this study, please read all
of our studies. God Bless!
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