Reference: Antichrist
American
Strictly means one opposed to Christ. In this sense, John says were already in his time many antichrists, many having the spirit of an antichrist; unbelievers, heretics, and persecutors, 1Jo 2:18; 4:3. They were characterized by the denial of the Father and the Son, and of Christ's coming in the flesh, 1Jo 2:22; 4:3. But the apostles and early Christians seem to have looked forward to some one great antichrist, who should precede the second coming of our Lord, and whom Paul calls "the man of sin, the son of perdition," 2Th 2:3. To this passage John alludes, 1Jo 2:18. Able interpreters agree that antichrist denotes an organized body of men, perpetuated from age to age, opposed to Christ, and which he will destroy, Re 11; 13; 17.
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Let no one in any way deceive you, for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first, and the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sets himself against,
Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come.
Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come.
Who is a liar compared with him who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He who disowns the Father and the Son is the anti-Christ.
and that no spirit is from God which does not acknowledge this about Jesus. Such is the spirit of the anti-Christ; of whose coming you have heard, and it is already in the world.
and that no spirit is from God which does not acknowledge this about Jesus. Such is the spirit of the anti-Christ; of whose coming you have heard, and it is already in the world.
Easton
against Christ, or an opposition Christ, a rival Christ. The word is used only by the apostle John. Referring to false teachers, he says (1Jo 2:18,22; 4:3; 2Jo 1:7), "Even now are there many antichrists."
(1.) This name has been applied to the "little horn" of the "king of fierce countenance" (Da 7:24-25; 8:23-25).
(2.) It has been applied also to the "false Christs" spoken of by our Lord (Mt 24:5,23-24).
(3.) To the "man of sin" described by Paul (2Th 2:3-4,8-10).
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"for many will come assuming my name and saying 'I am the Christ;' and they will mislead many.
"If at that time any one should say to you, 'See, here is the Christ!' or 'Here!' give no credence to it. For there will rise up false Christs and false prophets, displaying wonderful signs and prodigies, so as to deceive, were it possible, even God's own People.
Let no one in any way deceive you, for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first, and the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sets himself against, and exalts himself above, every so-called 'god' or object of worship, and goes the length of taking his seat in the very temple of God, giving it out that he himself is God.
and then the Lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will sweep away with the tempest of His anger, and utterly overwhelm by the awful splendour of His Coming. The appearing of the Lawless one will be attended by various miracles and tokens and delusive marvels--for so Satan works-- read more. and by every kind of wicked deception for those who are on the way to perdition because they did not welcome into their hearts the love of the truth, so that they might be saved.
Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come.
Who is a liar compared with him who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He who disowns the Father and the Son is the anti-Christ.
and that no spirit is from God which does not acknowledge this about Jesus. Such is the spirit of the anti-Christ; of whose coming you have heard, and it is already in the world.
And he took up a position upon the sands of the sea-shore. Then I saw a Wild Beast coming up out of the sea, and he had ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten kingly crowns, and inscribed on his heads were names full of blasphemy.
Fausets
There are seven sets of passages noteworthy.
Summary.
(I.) Christ's predictions of false Christs and false prophets (Mt 21:3-31).
(II.) John's prophecy of "Antichrist" (this name occurs only with him) (1Jo 2:18-23; 4:1-3; 2Jo 1:5,7).
(III.) Paul's "adversary" (Greek antikeimenos, in sound and sense answering to Antichrist) (2Th 2:1-12; 2Ti 3:1-5), "in the last days, perilous times," characterized by heady high mindedness, with the form but without the power of godliness, the love of pleasure supplanting the love of God, contrasted with the earlier "latter times," marked by seducing spirits, doctrines of demons, celibacy, and abstinence from meats (1Ti 4:1-5).
(IV.) Daniel's "little horn" from among the ten horns of the fourth beast, or Roman empire (Da 7:7-27).
(V.) Daniel's "little horn" from one of the four notable horns of the third beast, or Graeco Macedonia divided into four at Alexander's death, the willful king (Da 8:8-25; 11:36-39).
(VI.) The beast from the sea (Re 13:1-8), ridden by the whore (Re 17:1-7).
(VII.) The beast from the earth and the bottomless pit, or the false prophet (Re 11:7; 13:11-18; 17:8-18; 19:11-21).
Detail.
(I.) The false Christs and false prophets (Matthew 24) point to the pretenders to Messiahship before the fall of Jerusalem, the foreshadowing of the future impostors about to deceive all but; the elect. They are the spirits of demons which prepare the false prophet's way, but they are not the false prophet himself (Re 16:13-14).
(II.) John's Antichrist is stated to have been a subject of his oral teaching first (1Jo 2:18; 4:3), so Paul (2Th 2:5), and is therefore alluded to, not described. All who deny Jesus's Messiahship and Sonship (as Cerinthus and the Gnostics of John's days) forerun the Antichrist "to come" (the same Greek verb is used as of Christ's" coming".)
(III.) Paul's antikeimenos, "who opposeth all that is called God," is the "Antichrist" of John. He is not to come until "he who now letteth (hinders) and that which withholdeth" (hinders; the same Greek verb as before, only neuter instead of masculine) be taken out of the way; i.e., the curbing power of human law (neuter) and the curber (masculine), namely, the Roman emperor and whoever may be representative of the fourth world kingdom's power just before Antichrist. The unanimous consent of the early Christians that the Roman empire is "what withholdeth" was so unlikely to suggest itself to them, inasmuch as regarding it as idolatrous and often persecuting, that this explanation seems to have been preserved from Paul's oral teaching. Another less probable view is that the Holy Spirit is "He who now letteth," and the elect church the thing "that withholdeth," and that is to be taken out of the way on the eve of Antichrist's coming.
(IV.) Daniel's "little horn" (Da 7:7-27) of the fourth kingdom is the papacy as a temporal power, rising on the ruins of the Roman empire, and plucking up three of its ten horns.
(V.) Distinct from the" little horn" of Daniel 8, which is connected with the third, not the fourth, kingdom; ANTIOCHUS Epiphanes, of the Syrian fourth part of the divided Graeco-Macedonian or third kingdom, who persecuted the Jews, prohibited circumcision, and substituted the worship of Jupiter Olympius, with whom he identified himself as if God, instead of that of Jehovah, in the templeat Jerusalem. But this Old Testament Antichrist has a worse antitype in the New Testament, namely, the Antichrist of the last days. The language of Da 8:8-25 and Da 11:36-39, partially fulfilled by Antiochus, is exhaustively fulfilled only in the last Antichrist.
(VI.) As the beast from the sea has ten horns, comprising both E. and W., and power is given to it for forty-two months (Re 13:1,5), so the little horn (Da 7:3,7) absorbs the power of the ten-horned fourth beast out of the sea (the Roman empire) and wears out the saints for three and a half times (3 1/2 years, i.e. 42 months, or 1260 years, a year for a day). Both have "a mouth speaking great things" (Da 7:8,11-20,25); both blaspheme against the Most High (Re 13:6-7); both make war with the saints, and prevail; both persecute the saints (Re 13:7-10; 17:6), the beast being under the guidance of the harlot "drunken with their blood." The little horn of Daniel 7 therefore is the first beast of Revelation 13. Neither the little horn nor the first beast is Antichrist, who is an individual; it is a polity.
(VII.) The beast from the earth (Re 13:11), or as he soon reveals himself (Re 11:7; 17:8), from the bottomless pit, the false prophet (Re 16:13; 19:20; 20:10), appears only when the harlot is unseated from the first beast. The harlot, the once pure woman (Revelation 12) corrupted, the apostate church, is distinct from the beast which it rides. The church, though corrupted, retains the human form, i.e. God's image, in which man was originally formed. The beast is the world estranged from God and under Satan, and so, however powerful, intellectual, and refined, essentially bestial. The faithful city (Isa 1:21) having become Babylon, the whore (Rome on the seven hills, Re 17:9) is punished in righteous retribution by that world upon which she rode, and for which she abandoned her faithful witness for God (Revelation 17).
Then after her judgment follows Antichrist's development. The "falling away" of 2Th 2:3 answers to the first beast of Revelation 13, also to the departure from the faith, in enforced celibacy, asceticism, doctrines of demons, etc., of 1Ti 4:1-3. In the second Council of Nice, A.D. 787, image worship was sanctioned. In 754 the temporal power of the popes began by Pepin's grant to Pope Stephen III. of the three territories (answering to the three horns plucked up before the little horn, Da 7:8): Rome, the kingdom of the Lombards, and the exarchate of Ravenna; 1260 years from this date would end in 2014. Others date from A.D. 533, Justinian's edict acknowledging Pope John II: head of the church. The wounding to death and then the healing of the beast's deadly wound answers to the revival of idolatry and the setting up of a virtually pagan kingdom again at Rome in the eighth century (Re 13:3).
Again, in the case of the second beast or the false prophet, the wound given at the Reformation is healed, and he appears again as "the beast that was, and is not, yet is," a resurrection man, the embodiment of a resurrection empire, a mock Christ; as the true Christ saith, "I am He that liveth, and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore" (Re 1:18; 17:8). As Christ is the second Person in the Trinity, so Antichrist is the second in the anti-trinity, composed of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet (who bears witness to the first beast, as the Holy Spirit witnesseth of the Son).
Antichrist's characteristics (2 Thessalonians 2; 1Jo 2:18-22; 4:3) shall be open opposition to God and religion, a claim to God's exclusive prerogatives, lawlessness, power of lying miracles and of beguiling souls under Satan's energizing, having a lamb's horns, i.e., outwardly resembling Christ or Messiah (Re 13:11); sitting in God's temple as God, apparently restored Israel's persecutor, whence the sacred Hebrew is the language of Daniel 8-12, wherein the little horn from the East is a leading subject, whereas the world's language, Chaldee, is that of Daniel 7 wherein the Romish little horn is described. At first hailed by Israel with hosannahs as her Messiah (Joh 5:43), and making a covenant with the Jews, then breaking it (Daniel 9; 11; 12; Zechariah 11; 12; 13; 14).
Antichrist, as the second beast or false prophet, will be personally an avowed atheist (1Jo 2:22), yet represent himself as the decaying church's vindicator, compel men to reverence her, breathe new life into her by using the secular arm in her behalf (Re 13:12-17), concentrating in himself the infidel lawless spirit working in the world from Paul's days (2Th 2:7). Heretofore infidelity and superstition have been on opposite sides, but when these shall combine against law, liberty, and Christianity, a period mercifully brief shall ensue, unparalleled in horrors by any that has gone before (Da 12:1-3). The two witnesses (Revelation 11) are variously explaine
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And if any one says anything to you, say, 'The Master needs them,' and he will at once send them."
And if any one says anything to you, say, 'The Master needs them,' and he will at once send them." This took place in order that the Prophet's prediction might be fulfilled:
This took place in order that the Prophet's prediction might be fulfilled: "Tell the Daughter of Zion, 'See, thy King is coming to thee, gentle, and yet mounted on an ass, even on a colt the foal of a beast of burden.'"
"Tell the Daughter of Zion, 'See, thy King is coming to thee, gentle, and yet mounted on an ass, even on a colt the foal of a beast of burden.'" So the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them:
So the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them: they brought the she-ass and the foal, and threw their outer garments on them. So He sat on them;
they brought the she-ass and the foal, and threw their outer garments on them. So He sat on them; and most of the crowd kept spreading their garments along the road, while others cut branches from the trees and carpeted the road with them,
and most of the crowd kept spreading their garments along the road, while others cut branches from the trees and carpeted the road with them, and the multitudes--some of the people preceding Him and some following--sang aloud, "God save the Son of David! Blessings on Him who comes in the Lord's name! God in the highest Heavens save Him!"
and the multitudes--some of the people preceding Him and some following--sang aloud, "God save the Son of David! Blessings on Him who comes in the Lord's name! God in the highest Heavens save Him!" When He thus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was thrown into commotion, every one inquiring, "Who is this?"
When He thus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was thrown into commotion, every one inquiring, "Who is this?" "This is Jesus, the Prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee," replied the crowds.
"This is Jesus, the Prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee," replied the crowds. Entering the Temple, Jesus drove out all who were buying and selling there, and overturned the money-changers' tables and the seats of the pigeon-dealers.
Entering the Temple, Jesus drove out all who were buying and selling there, and overturned the money-changers' tables and the seats of the pigeon-dealers. "It is written," He said, "'My House shall be called the House of Prayer', but you are making it a robbers' cave."
"It is written," He said, "'My House shall be called the House of Prayer', but you are making it a robbers' cave." And the blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple, and He cured them.
And the blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple, and He cured them. But when the High Priests and the Scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done and the children who were crying aloud in the Temple, "God save the Son of David," they were filled with indignation.
But when the High Priests and the Scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done and the children who were crying aloud in the Temple, "God save the Son of David," they were filled with indignation. "Do you hear," they asked Him, "what these children are saying?" "Yes," He replied; "have you never read, 'Out of the mouths of infants and of babes at the breast Thou hast brought forth the praise which is due'?"
"Do you hear," they asked Him, "what these children are saying?" "Yes," He replied; "have you never read, 'Out of the mouths of infants and of babes at the breast Thou hast brought forth the praise which is due'?" So He left them and went out of the city to Bethany and passed the night there.
So He left them and went out of the city to Bethany and passed the night there. Early in the morning as He was on His way to return to the city He was hungry,
Early in the morning as He was on His way to return to the city He was hungry, and seeing a fig-tree on the road-side He went up to it, but found nothing on it but leaves. "On you," He said, "no fruit shall ever again grow." And immediately the fig-tree withered away.
and seeing a fig-tree on the road-side He went up to it, but found nothing on it but leaves. "On you," He said, "no fruit shall ever again grow." And immediately the fig-tree withered away. When the disciples saw it they exclaimed in astonishment, "How instantaneously the fig-tree has withered away!"
When the disciples saw it they exclaimed in astonishment, "How instantaneously the fig-tree has withered away!" "I solemnly tell you," said Jesus, "that if you have an unwavering faith, you shall not only perform such a miracle as this of the fig-tree, but that even if you say to this mountain, 'Be thou lifted up and hurled into the sea,' it shall be done;
"I solemnly tell you," said Jesus, "that if you have an unwavering faith, you shall not only perform such a miracle as this of the fig-tree, but that even if you say to this mountain, 'Be thou lifted up and hurled into the sea,' it shall be done; and everything, whatever it be, that you ask for in your prayers, if you have faith, you shall obtain."
and everything, whatever it be, that you ask for in your prayers, if you have faith, you shall obtain." He entered the Temple; and while He was teaching, the High Priests and the Elders of the people came to Him and asked Him, "By what authority are you doing these things? and who gave you this authority?"
He entered the Temple; and while He was teaching, the High Priests and the Elders of the people came to Him and asked Him, "By what authority are you doing these things? and who gave you this authority?" "And I also have a question to ask *you*," replied Jesus, "and if you answer me, I in turn will tell you by what authority I do these things.
"And I also have a question to ask *you*," replied Jesus, "and if you answer me, I in turn will tell you by what authority I do these things. John's Baptism, whence was it? --had it a heavenly or a human origin?" So they debated the matter among themselves. "If we say 'a heavenly origin,'" they argued, "he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'
John's Baptism, whence was it? --had it a heavenly or a human origin?" So they debated the matter among themselves. "If we say 'a heavenly origin,'" they argued, "he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' and if we say 'a human origin' we have the people to fear, for they all hold John to have been a Prophet."
and if we say 'a human origin' we have the people to fear, for they all hold John to have been a Prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." "Nor do I tell you," He replied, "by what authority I do these things."
So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." "Nor do I tell you," He replied, "by what authority I do these things." "But give me your judgement. There was a man who had two sons. He came to the elder of them, and said, "'My son, go and work in the vineyard to-day.'
"But give me your judgement. There was a man who had two sons. He came to the elder of them, and said, "'My son, go and work in the vineyard to-day.' "'I will not,' he replied. "But afterwards he was sorry, and went.
"'I will not,' he replied. "But afterwards he was sorry, and went. He came to the second and spoke in the same manner. His answer was, "'I will go, Sir.' "But he did not go.
He came to the second and spoke in the same manner. His answer was, "'I will go, Sir.' "But he did not go. Which of the two did as his father desired?" "The first," they said. "I solemnly tell you,' replied Jesus, "that the tax-gatherers and the notorious sinners are entering the Kingdom of God in front of you.
Which of the two did as his father desired?" "The first," they said. "I solemnly tell you,' replied Jesus, "that the tax-gatherers and the notorious sinners are entering the Kingdom of God in front of you.
I have come as my Father's representative, and you do not receive me. If some one else comes representing only himself, him you will receive.
I have come as my Father's representative, and you do not receive me. If some one else comes representing only himself, him you will receive.
He called his workmen together, and others who were engaged in similar trades, and said to them, "You men well know that our prosperity depends on this business of ours;
He called his workmen together, and others who were engaged in similar trades, and said to them, "You men well know that our prosperity depends on this business of ours;
Therefore put to death your earthward inclinations--fornication, impurity, sensual passion, unholy desire, and all greed, for that is a form of idolatry.
Therefore put to death your earthward inclinations--fornication, impurity, sensual passion, unholy desire, and all greed, for that is a form of idolatry.
But with respect to the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to meet Him, we entreat you, brethren,
But with respect to the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to meet Him, we entreat you, brethren, not readily to become unsettled in mind or troubled--either by any pretended spiritual revelation or by any message or letter claiming to have been sent by us--through fancying that the day of the Lord is now here.
not readily to become unsettled in mind or troubled--either by any pretended spiritual revelation or by any message or letter claiming to have been sent by us--through fancying that the day of the Lord is now here. Let no one in any way deceive you, for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first, and the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sets himself against,
Let no one in any way deceive you, for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first, and the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sets himself against,
Let no one in any way deceive you, for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first, and the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sets himself against,
Let no one in any way deceive you, for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first, and the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sets himself against, and exalts himself above, every so-called 'god' or object of worship, and goes the length of taking his seat in the very temple of God, giving it out that he himself is God.
and exalts himself above, every so-called 'god' or object of worship, and goes the length of taking his seat in the very temple of God, giving it out that he himself is God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you I used to tell you all this?
Do you not remember that while I was still with you I used to tell you all this? And now you know what restrains him, in order that his true character may be revealed at his appointed time.
And now you know what restrains him, in order that his true character may be revealed at his appointed time. For lawlessness is already at work in secret; but only until the man who is now exercising a restraining influence is removed,
For lawlessness is already at work in secret; but only until the man who is now exercising a restraining influence is removed,
For lawlessness is already at work in secret; but only until the man who is now exercising a restraining influence is removed,
For lawlessness is already at work in secret; but only until the man who is now exercising a restraining influence is removed, and then the Lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will sweep away with the tempest of His anger, and utterly overwhelm by the awful splendour of His Coming.
and then the Lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will sweep away with the tempest of His anger, and utterly overwhelm by the awful splendour of His Coming. The appearing of the Lawless one will be attended by various miracles and tokens and delusive marvels--for so Satan works--
The appearing of the Lawless one will be attended by various miracles and tokens and delusive marvels--for so Satan works-- and by every kind of wicked deception for those who are on the way to perdition because they did not welcome into their hearts the love of the truth, so that they might be saved.
and by every kind of wicked deception for those who are on the way to perdition because they did not welcome into their hearts the love of the truth, so that they might be saved. And for this reason God sends them a misleading influence that they may believe the lie;
And for this reason God sends them a misleading influence that they may believe the lie; in order that all may come under judgement who have refused to believe the truth and have taken pleasure in unrighteousness.
in order that all may come under judgement who have refused to believe the truth and have taken pleasure in unrighteousness.
Now the Spirit expressly declares that in later times some will fall away from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and the teachings of demons;
Now the Spirit expressly declares that in later times some will fall away from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and the teachings of demons;
Now the Spirit expressly declares that in later times some will fall away from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and the teachings of demons;
Now the Spirit expressly declares that in later times some will fall away from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and the teachings of demons; through the hypocrisy of men who teach falsely and have their own consciences seared as with a hot iron;
through the hypocrisy of men who teach falsely and have their own consciences seared as with a hot iron;
through the hypocrisy of men who teach falsely and have their own consciences seared as with a hot iron;
through the hypocrisy of men who teach falsely and have their own consciences seared as with a hot iron; forbidding people to marry, and insisting on abstinence from foods which God has created to be partaken of, with thankfulness, by those who believe and have a clear knowledge of the truth.
forbidding people to marry, and insisting on abstinence from foods which God has created to be partaken of, with thankfulness, by those who believe and have a clear knowledge of the truth.
forbidding people to marry, and insisting on abstinence from foods which God has created to be partaken of, with thankfulness, by those who believe and have a clear knowledge of the truth.
forbidding people to marry, and insisting on abstinence from foods which God has created to be partaken of, with thankfulness, by those who believe and have a clear knowledge of the truth. For everything that God has created is good, and nothing is to be cast aside, if only it is received with thanksgiving.
For everything that God has created is good, and nothing is to be cast aside, if only it is received with thanksgiving. For it is made holy by the word of God and by prayer.
For it is made holy by the word of God and by prayer.
Remind people that they must submit to the rulers who are in authority over them; that they must obey the magistrates, be prepared for every right action,
Remind people that they must submit to the rulers who are in authority over them; that they must obey the magistrates, be prepared for every right action, not speak evil of any one, nor be contentious, but yield unselfishly to others and constantly manifest a forgiving spirit towards all men.
not speak evil of any one, nor be contentious, but yield unselfishly to others and constantly manifest a forgiving spirit towards all men. For there was a time when we also were deficient in understanding, obstinate, deluded, the slaves of various cravings and pleasures, spending our lives in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another.
For there was a time when we also were deficient in understanding, obstinate, deluded, the slaves of various cravings and pleasures, spending our lives in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another. But when the goodness of God our Saviour, and His love to man, dawned upon us, not in consequence of things which we,
But when the goodness of God our Saviour, and His love to man, dawned upon us, not in consequence of things which we, as righteous men, had done, but as the result of His own mercy He saved us by means of the bath of regeneration and the renewal of our natures by the Holy Spirit,
as righteous men, had done, but as the result of His own mercy He saved us by means of the bath of regeneration and the renewal of our natures by the Holy Spirit,
Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come.
Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come.
Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come.
Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come.
Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come.
Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come. They have gone forth from our midst, but they did not really belong to us; for had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they left us that it might be manifest that professed believers do not all belong to us.
They have gone forth from our midst, but they did not really belong to us; for had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they left us that it might be manifest that professed believers do not all belong to us.
They have gone forth from our midst, but they did not really belong to us; for had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they left us that it might be manifest that professed believers do not all belong to us.
They have gone forth from our midst, but they did not really belong to us; for had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they left us that it might be manifest that professed believers do not all belong to us. As for you, you have an anointing from the holy One and have perfect knowledge.
As for you, you have an anointing from the holy One and have perfect knowledge.
As for you, you have an anointing from the holy One and have perfect knowledge.
As for you, you have an anointing from the holy One and have perfect knowledge. I have written to you, not because you are ignorant of the truth, but because you know it, and you know that nothing false comes from the truth.
I have written to you, not because you are ignorant of the truth, but because you know it, and you know that nothing false comes from the truth.
I have written to you, not because you are ignorant of the truth, but because you know it, and you know that nothing false comes from the truth.
I have written to you, not because you are ignorant of the truth, but because you know it, and you know that nothing false comes from the truth. Who is a liar compared with him who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He who disowns the Father and the Son is the anti-Christ.
Who is a liar compared with him who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He who disowns the Father and the Son is the anti-Christ.
Who is a liar compared with him who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He who disowns the Father and the Son is the anti-Christ.
Who is a liar compared with him who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He who disowns the Father and the Son is the anti-Christ.
Who is a liar compared with him who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He who disowns the Father and the Son is the anti-Christ.
Who is a liar compared with him who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He who disowns the Father and the Son is the anti-Christ. No one who disowns the Son has the Father. He who acknowledges the Son has also the Father.
No one who disowns the Son has the Father. He who acknowledges the Son has also the Father.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but put the spirits to the test to see whether they are from God; for many false teachers have gone out into the world.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but put the spirits to the test to see whether they are from God; for many false teachers have gone out into the world. The test by which you may recognize the Spirit of God is that every spirit which acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come as man is from God,
The test by which you may recognize the Spirit of God is that every spirit which acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come as man is from God, and that no spirit is from God which does not acknowledge this about Jesus. Such is the spirit of the anti-Christ; of whose coming you have heard, and it is already in the world.
and that no spirit is from God which does not acknowledge this about Jesus. Such is the spirit of the anti-Christ; of whose coming you have heard, and it is already in the world.
and that no spirit is from God which does not acknowledge this about Jesus. Such is the spirit of the anti-Christ; of whose coming you have heard, and it is already in the world.
and that no spirit is from God which does not acknowledge this about Jesus. Such is the spirit of the anti-Christ; of whose coming you have heard, and it is already in the world.
and that no spirit is from God which does not acknowledge this about Jesus. Such is the spirit of the anti-Christ; of whose coming you have heard, and it is already in the world.
and that no spirit is from God which does not acknowledge this about Jesus. Such is the spirit of the anti-Christ; of whose coming you have heard, and it is already in the world.
I died; but I am now alive until the Ages of the Ages, and I have the keys of the gates of Death and of Hades!
I died; but I am now alive until the Ages of the Ages, and I have the keys of the gates of Death and of Hades!
Yet I have a few things against you, because you have with you some that cling to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling-block in the way of the descendants of Israel--to eat what had been sacrificed to idols, and commit fornication.
Yet I have a few things against you, because you have with you some that cling to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling-block in the way of the descendants of Israel--to eat what had been sacrificed to idols, and commit fornication.
"And when they have fully delivered their testimony, the Wild Beast which is to rise out of the bottomless pit will make war upon them and overcome them and kill them.
"And when they have fully delivered their testimony, the Wild Beast which is to rise out of the bottomless pit will make war upon them and overcome them and kill them.
"And when they have fully delivered their testimony, the Wild Beast which is to rise out of the bottomless pit will make war upon them and overcome them and kill them.
"And when they have fully delivered their testimony, the Wild Beast which is to rise out of the bottomless pit will make war upon them and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies are to lie in the broad street of the great city which spiritually is designated 'Sodom' and 'Egypt,' where indeed their Lord was crucified.
And their dead bodies are to lie in the broad street of the great city which spiritually is designated 'Sodom' and 'Egypt,' where indeed their Lord was crucified.
And he took up a position upon the sands of the sea-shore. Then I saw a Wild Beast coming up out of the sea, and he had ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten kingly crowns, and inscribed on his heads were names full of blasphemy.
And he took up a position upon the sands of the sea-shore. Then I saw a Wild Beast coming up out of the sea, and he had ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten kingly crowns, and inscribed on his heads were names full of blasphemy.
And he took up a position upon the sands of the sea-shore. Then I saw a Wild Beast coming up out of the sea, and he had ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten kingly crowns, and inscribed on his heads were names full of blasphemy.
And he took up a position upon the sands of the sea-shore. Then I saw a Wild Beast coming up out of the sea, and he had ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten kingly crowns, and inscribed on his heads were names full of blasphemy. The Wild Beast which I saw resembled a leopard, and had feet like the feet of a bear, and his mouth was like the mouth of a lion; and it was to the Dragon that he owed his power and his throne and his wide dominion.
The Wild Beast which I saw resembled a leopard, and had feet like the feet of a bear, and his mouth was like the mouth of a lion; and it was to the Dragon that he owed his power and his throne and his wide dominion. I saw that one of his heads seemed to have been mortally wounded; but his mortal wound was healed, and the whole world was amazed and followed him.
I saw that one of his heads seemed to have been mortally wounded; but his mortal wound was healed, and the whole world was amazed and followed him.
I saw that one of his heads seemed to have been mortally wounded; but his mortal wound was healed, and the whole world was amazed and followed him.
I saw that one of his heads seemed to have been mortally wounded; but his mortal wound was healed, and the whole world was amazed and followed him. And they offered worship to the Dragon, because it was to him that the Wild Beast owed his dominion; and they also offered worship to the Wild Beast, and said, "Who is there like him? And who is able to engage in battle with him?"
And they offered worship to the Dragon, because it was to him that the Wild Beast owed his dominion; and they also offered worship to the Wild Beast, and said, "Who is there like him? And who is able to engage in battle with him?" And there was given him a mouth full of boastful and blasphemous words; and liberty of action was granted him for forty-two months.
And there was given him a mouth full of boastful and blasphemous words; and liberty of action was granted him for forty-two months.
And there was given him a mouth full of boastful and blasphemous words; and liberty of action was granted him for forty-two months.
And there was given him a mouth full of boastful and blasphemous words; and liberty of action was granted him for forty-two months. And he opened his mouth to utter blasphemies against God, to speak evil of His name and of His dwelling-place--that is to say, of those who dwell in Heaven.
And he opened his mouth to utter blasphemies against God, to speak evil of His name and of His dwelling-place--that is to say, of those who dwell in Heaven.
And he opened his mouth to utter blasphemies against God, to speak evil of His name and of His dwelling-place--that is to say, of those who dwell in Heaven.
And he opened his mouth to utter blasphemies against God, to speak evil of His name and of His dwelling-place--that is to say, of those who dwell in Heaven. And permission was given him to make war upon God's people and conquer them; and power was given him over every tribe, people, language and nation.
And permission was given him to make war upon God's people and conquer them; and power was given him over every tribe, people, language and nation.
And permission was given him to make war upon God's people and conquer them; and power was given him over every tribe, people, language and nation.
And permission was given him to make war upon God's people and conquer them; and power was given him over every tribe, people, language and nation.
And permission was given him to make war upon God's people and conquer them; and power was given him over every tribe, people, language and nation.
And permission was given him to make war upon God's people and conquer them; and power was given him over every tribe, people, language and nation. And all the inhabitants of the earth will be found to be worshipping him: every one whose name is not recorded in the Book of Life--the Book of the Lamb who has been offered in sacrifice ever since the creation of the world.
And all the inhabitants of the earth will be found to be worshipping him: every one whose name is not recorded in the Book of Life--the Book of the Lamb who has been offered in sacrifice ever since the creation of the world.
And all the inhabitants of the earth will be found to be worshipping him: every one whose name is not recorded in the Book of Life--the Book of the Lamb who has been offered in sacrifice ever since the creation of the world.
And all the inhabitants of the earth will be found to be worshipping him: every one whose name is not recorded in the Book of Life--the Book of the Lamb who has been offered in sacrifice ever since the creation of the world. Let all who have ears give heed.
Let all who have ears give heed. If any one is eager to lead others into captivity, he must himself go into captivity. If any one is bent on killing with the sword, he must himself be killed by the sword. Here is an opportunity for endurance, and for the exercise of faith, on the part of God's people.
If any one is eager to lead others into captivity, he must himself go into captivity. If any one is bent on killing with the sword, he must himself be killed by the sword. Here is an opportunity for endurance, and for the exercise of faith, on the part of God's people. Then I saw another Wild Beast, coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.
Then I saw another Wild Beast, coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.
Then I saw another Wild Beast, coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.
Then I saw another Wild Beast, coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.
Then I saw another Wild Beast, coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.
Then I saw another Wild Beast, coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. And the authority of the first Wild Beast--the whole of that authority--he exercises in his presence, and he causes the earth and its inhabitants to worship the first Wild Beast, whose mortal wound had been healed.
And the authority of the first Wild Beast--the whole of that authority--he exercises in his presence, and he causes the earth and its inhabitants to worship the first Wild Beast, whose mortal wound had been healed.
And the authority of the first Wild Beast--the whole of that authority--he exercises in his presence, and he causes the earth and its inhabitants to worship the first Wild Beast, whose mortal wound had been healed.
And the authority of the first Wild Beast--the whole of that authority--he exercises in his presence, and he causes the earth and its inhabitants to worship the first Wild Beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. He also works great miracles, so as even to make fire come down from Heaven to earth in the presence of human beings.
He also works great miracles, so as even to make fire come down from Heaven to earth in the presence of human beings.
He also works great miracles, so as even to make fire come down from Heaven to earth in the presence of human beings.
He also works great miracles, so as even to make fire come down from Heaven to earth in the presence of human beings. And his power of leading astray the inhabitants of the earth is due to the marvels which he has been permitted to work in the presence of the Wild Beast. And he told the inhabitants of the earth to erect a statue to the Wild Beast who had received the sword-stroke and yet had recovered.
And his power of leading astray the inhabitants of the earth is due to the marvels which he has been permitted to work in the presence of the Wild Beast. And he told the inhabitants of the earth to erect a statue to the Wild Beast who had received the sword-stroke and yet had recovered.
And his power of leading astray the inhabitants of the earth is due to the marvels which he has been permitted to work in the presence of the Wild Beast. And he told the inhabitants of the earth to erect a statue to the Wild Beast who had received the sword-stroke and yet had recovered.
And his power of leading astray the inhabitants of the earth is due to the marvels which he has been permitted to work in the presence of the Wild Beast. And he told the inhabitants of the earth to erect a statue to the Wild Beast who had received the sword-stroke and yet had recovered. And power was granted him to give breath to the statue of the Wild Beast, so that the statue of the Wild Beast could even speak and cause all who refuse to worship it to be put to death.
And power was granted him to give breath to the statue of the Wild Beast, so that the statue of the Wild Beast could even speak and cause all who refuse to worship it to be put to death.
And power was granted him to give breath to the statue of the Wild Beast, so that the statue of the Wild Beast could even speak and cause all who refuse to worship it to be put to death.
And power was granted him to give breath to the statue of the Wild Beast, so that the statue of the Wild Beast could even speak and cause all who refuse to worship it to be put to death. And he causes all, small and great, rich and poor, free men and slaves, to have stamped upon them a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,
And he causes all, small and great, rich and poor, free men and slaves, to have stamped upon them a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,
And he causes all, small and great, rich and poor, free men and slaves, to have stamped upon them a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,
And he causes all, small and great, rich and poor, free men and slaves, to have stamped upon them a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, in order that no one should be allowed to buy or sell unless he had the mark--either the name of the Wild Beast or the number which his name represents.
in order that no one should be allowed to buy or sell unless he had the mark--either the name of the Wild Beast or the number which his name represents.
in order that no one should be allowed to buy or sell unless he had the mark--either the name of the Wild Beast or the number which his name represents.
in order that no one should be allowed to buy or sell unless he had the mark--either the name of the Wild Beast or the number which his name represents. Here is scope for ingenuity. Let people of shrewd intelligence calculate the number of the Wild Beast; for it indicates a certain man, and his number is 666.
Here is scope for ingenuity. Let people of shrewd intelligence calculate the number of the Wild Beast; for it indicates a certain man, and his number is 666.
Then I saw three foul spirits, resembling frogs, issue from the mouth of the Dragon, from the mouth of the Wild Beast, and from the mouth of the false Prophet.
Then I saw three foul spirits, resembling frogs, issue from the mouth of the Dragon, from the mouth of the Wild Beast, and from the mouth of the false Prophet.
Then I saw three foul spirits, resembling frogs, issue from the mouth of the Dragon, from the mouth of the Wild Beast, and from the mouth of the false Prophet.
Then I saw three foul spirits, resembling frogs, issue from the mouth of the Dragon, from the mouth of the Wild Beast, and from the mouth of the false Prophet. For they are the spirits of demons working marvels--spirits that go out to control the kings of the whole earth, to assemble them for the battle which is to take place on the great day of God, the Ruler of all.
For they are the spirits of demons working marvels--spirits that go out to control the kings of the whole earth, to assemble them for the battle which is to take place on the great day of God, the Ruler of all.
Then one of the seven angels who were carrying the seven bowls came and spoke to me. "Come with me," he said, "and I will show you the doom of the great Harlot who sits upon many waters.
Then one of the seven angels who were carrying the seven bowls came and spoke to me. "Come with me," he said, "and I will show you the doom of the great Harlot who sits upon many waters. The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication."
The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication." So he carried me away in the Spirit into a desert, and there I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored Wild Beast which was covered with names of blasphemy and had seven heads and ten horns.
So he carried me away in the Spirit into a desert, and there I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored Wild Beast which was covered with names of blasphemy and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and was brilliantly attired with gold and jewels and pearls. She held in her hand a cup of gold, full of abominations, and she gave filthy indications of her fornication.
The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and was brilliantly attired with gold and jewels and pearls. She held in her hand a cup of gold, full of abominations, and she gave filthy indications of her fornication. And on her forehead was a name written: "I am a symbol of great Babylon, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth."
And on her forehead was a name written: "I am a symbol of great Babylon, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth." And I saw the woman drinking herself drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her I was filled with utter astonishment.
And I saw the woman drinking herself drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her I was filled with utter astonishment.
And I saw the woman drinking herself drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her I was filled with utter astonishment.
And I saw the woman drinking herself drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her I was filled with utter astonishment. Then the angel said to me, "Why are you so astonished? I will explain to you the secret meaning of the woman and of the seven-headed, ten-horned Wild Beast which carries her.
Then the angel said to me, "Why are you so astonished? I will explain to you the secret meaning of the woman and of the seven-headed, ten-horned Wild Beast which carries her. "The Wild Beast which you have seen was, and is not, and yet is destined to re-ascend, before long, out of the bottomless pit and go his way into perdition. And the inhabitants of the earth will be filled with amazement--all whose names are not in the Book of Life, having been recorded there ever since the creation of the world--when they see the Wild Beast: because he was, and is not, and yet is to come.
"The Wild Beast which you have seen was, and is not, and yet is destined to re-ascend, before long, out of the bottomless pit and go his way into perdition. And the inhabitants of the earth will be filled with amazement--all whose names are not in the Book of Life, having been recorded there ever since the creation of the world--when they see the Wild Beast: because he was, and is not, and yet is to come.
"The Wild Beast which you have seen was, and is not, and yet is destined to re-ascend, before long, out of the bottomless pit and go his way into perdition. And the inhabitants of the earth will be filled with amazement--all whose names are not in the Book of Life, having been recorded there ever since the creation of the world--when they see the Wild Beast: because he was, and is not, and yet is to come.
"The Wild Beast which you have seen was, and is not, and yet is destined to re-ascend, before long, out of the bottomless pit and go his way into perdition. And the inhabitants of the earth will be filled with amazement--all whose names are not in the Book of Life, having been recorded there ever since the creation of the world--when they see the Wild Beast: because he was, and is not, and yet is to come.
"The Wild Beast which you have seen was, and is not, and yet is destined to re-ascend, before long, out of the bottomless pit and go his way into perdition. And the inhabitants of the earth will be filled with amazement--all whose names are not in the Book of Life, having been recorded there ever since the creation of the world--when they see the Wild Beast: because he was, and is not, and yet is to come.
"The Wild Beast which you have seen was, and is not, and yet is destined to re-ascend, before long, out of the bottomless pit and go his way into perdition. And the inhabitants of the earth will be filled with amazement--all whose names are not in the Book of Life, having been recorded there ever since the creation of the world--when they see the Wild Beast: because he was, and is not, and yet is to come. Here is scope for the exercise of a mind that has wisdom! The seven heads are the seven hills on which the woman sits.
Here is scope for the exercise of a mind that has wisdom! The seven heads are the seven hills on which the woman sits.
Here is scope for the exercise of a mind that has wisdom! The seven heads are the seven hills on which the woman sits.
Here is scope for the exercise of a mind that has wisdom! The seven heads are the seven hills on which the woman sits. And they are seven kings: five of them have fallen, and the one is still reigning. The seventh has not yet come, but when he comes he must continue for a short time.
And they are seven kings: five of them have fallen, and the one is still reigning. The seventh has not yet come, but when he comes he must continue for a short time. And the Wild Beast which once existed but does not now exist--he is an eighth king and yet is one of the seven and he goes his way into perdition.
And the Wild Beast which once existed but does not now exist--he is an eighth king and yet is one of the seven and he goes his way into perdition. "And the ten horns which you have seen are ten kings who have not yet come to the throne, but for a single hour they are to receive authority as kings along with the Wild Beast.
"And the ten horns which you have seen are ten kings who have not yet come to the throne, but for a single hour they are to receive authority as kings along with the Wild Beast. They have one common policy, and they are to give their power and authority to the Wild Beast.
They have one common policy, and they are to give their power and authority to the Wild Beast. They will make war upon the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those who accompany Him--called, as they are, and chosen, and faithful--shall share in the victory."
They will make war upon the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those who accompany Him--called, as they are, and chosen, and faithful--shall share in the victory." He also said to me, "The waters which you have seen, on which the Harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes, nations and languages.
He also said to me, "The waters which you have seen, on which the Harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes, nations and languages. And the ten horns that you have seen--and the Wild Beast--these will hate the Harlot, and they will cause her to be laid waste and will strip her bare. They will eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire.
And the ten horns that you have seen--and the Wild Beast--these will hate the Harlot, and they will cause her to be laid waste and will strip her bare. They will eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose, and to carry out a common purpose and to give their kingdom to the Wild Beast until God's words have come to pass.
For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose, and to carry out a common purpose and to give their kingdom to the Wild Beast until God's words have come to pass. And the woman whom you have seen is the great city which has kingly power over the kings of the earth."
And the woman whom you have seen is the great city which has kingly power over the kings of the earth."
Then I saw a door open in Heaven, and a white horse appeared. Its rider was named "Faithful and True" --being One who in righteousness acts as Judge, and makes war.
Then I saw a door open in Heaven, and a white horse appeared. Its rider was named "Faithful and True" --being One who in righteousness acts as Judge, and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many kingly crowns; and He has a name written upon Him which no one but He Himself knows.
His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many kingly crowns; and He has a name written upon Him which no one but He Himself knows. The outer garment in which He is clad has been dipped in blood and His name is THE WORD OF GOD.
The outer garment in which He is clad has been dipped in blood and His name is THE WORD OF GOD. The armies in Heaven followed Him--mounted on white horses and clothed in fine linen, white and spotless.
The armies in Heaven followed Him--mounted on white horses and clothed in fine linen, white and spotless. From His mouth there comes a sharp sword with which He will smite the nations; and He will Himself be their Shepherd, ruling them with a scepter of iron; and it is His work to tread the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Ruler of all.
From His mouth there comes a sharp sword with which He will smite the nations; and He will Himself be their Shepherd, ruling them with a scepter of iron; and it is His work to tread the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Ruler of all. And on His outer garment and on His thigh He has a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
And on His outer garment and on His thigh He has a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw a single angel standing in the full light of the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds that flew across the sky, "Come and be present at God's great supper,
And I saw a single angel standing in the full light of the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds that flew across the sky, "Come and be present at God's great supper, that you may feast on the flesh of kings and the flesh of generals and the flesh of mighty men, on the flesh of horses and their riders, and on the flesh of all mankind, whether they are free men or slaves, great men or small."
that you may feast on the flesh of kings and the flesh of generals and the flesh of mighty men, on the flesh of horses and their riders, and on the flesh of all mankind, whether they are free men or slaves, great men or small." And I saw the Wild Beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, all assembled to make war, once for all, against the Rider upon the horse and against His army. And the Wild Beast was captured, and with him the false Prophet
And I saw the Wild Beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, all assembled to make war, once for all, against the Rider upon the horse and against His army. And the Wild Beast was captured, and with him the false Prophet who had done the miracles in his presence with which he had led astray those who had received the mark of the Wild Beast, and those who worshipped his statue. Both of them were thrown alive into the Lake of fire that was all ablaze with sulphur.
who had done the miracles in his presence with which he had led astray those who had received the mark of the Wild Beast, and those who worshipped his statue. Both of them were thrown alive into the Lake of fire that was all ablaze with sulphur.
who had done the miracles in his presence with which he had led astray those who had received the mark of the Wild Beast, and those who worshipped his statue. Both of them were thrown alive into the Lake of fire that was all ablaze with sulphur.
who had done the miracles in his presence with which he had led astray those who had received the mark of the Wild Beast, and those who worshipped his statue. Both of them were thrown alive into the Lake of fire that was all ablaze with sulphur. But the rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the Rider on the horse. And the birds all fed ravenously upon their flesh.
But the rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the Rider on the horse. And the birds all fed ravenously upon their flesh.
and the Devil, who had been leading them astray, was thrown into the Lake of fire and sulphur where the Wild Beast and the false Prophet were, and day and night they will suffer torture until the Ages of the Ages.
and the Devil, who had been leading them astray, was thrown into the Lake of fire and sulphur where the Wild Beast and the false Prophet were, and day and night they will suffer torture until the Ages of the Ages.
Hastings
The great opponent and counterpart of Christ, by whom he is finally to be conquered. The word appears only in the NT (1Jo 2:18-22; 4:3; 2Jo 1:7), but the idea was present in Judaism and developed with the growth of the Messianic hope.
1. The origin of the conception.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
"As soon, however, as you see the Abomination of Desolation standing where he ought not" --let the reader observe these words--"then let those in Judaea escape to the hills; let him who is on the roof not come down and enter the house to fetch anything out of it; read more. and let not him who is in the field turn back to pick up his outer garment. And alas for the women who at that time are with child or have infants! "But pray that it may not come in the winter. For those will be times of suffering the like of which has never been from the first creation of God's world until now, and assuredly never will be again; and but for the fact that the Lord has cut short those days, no one would escape; but for the sake of His own People whom He has chosen for Himself He has cut short the days.
Where can harmony between Christ and Belial be found? Or what participation has a believer with an unbeliever?
But with respect to the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to meet Him, we entreat you, brethren, not readily to become unsettled in mind or troubled--either by any pretended spiritual revelation or by any message or letter claiming to have been sent by us--through fancying that the day of the Lord is now here. read more. Let no one in any way deceive you, for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first, and the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sets himself against,
Let no one in any way deceive you, for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first, and the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sets himself against, and exalts himself above, every so-called 'god' or object of worship, and goes the length of taking his seat in the very temple of God, giving it out that he himself is God. read more. Do you not remember that while I was still with you I used to tell you all this? And now you know what restrains him, in order that his true character may be revealed at his appointed time. For lawlessness is already at work in secret; but only until the man who is now exercising a restraining influence is removed, and then the Lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will sweep away with the tempest of His anger, and utterly overwhelm by the awful splendour of His Coming. The appearing of the Lawless one will be attended by various miracles and tokens and delusive marvels--for so Satan works-- and by every kind of wicked deception for those who are on the way to perdition because they did not welcome into their hearts the love of the truth, so that they might be saved. And for this reason God sends them a misleading influence that they may believe the lie; in order that all may come under judgement who have refused to believe the truth and have taken pleasure in unrighteousness.
Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come. They have gone forth from our midst, but they did not really belong to us; for had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they left us that it might be manifest that professed believers do not all belong to us. read more. As for you, you have an anointing from the holy One and have perfect knowledge. I have written to you, not because you are ignorant of the truth, but because you know it, and you know that nothing false comes from the truth. Who is a liar compared with him who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He who disowns the Father and the Son is the anti-Christ.
and that no spirit is from God which does not acknowledge this about Jesus. Such is the spirit of the anti-Christ; of whose coming you have heard, and it is already in the world.
"These witnesses are the two olive-trees, and they are the two lamps which stand in the presence of the Lord of the earth. And if any one seeks to injure them--fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies; and if any one seeks to injure them, he will in this way certainly be killed. read more. They have power given to them to seal up the sky, so that no rain may fall so long as they continue to prophesy; and power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with various plagues whenever they choose to do so. "And when they have fully delivered their testimony, the Wild Beast which is to rise out of the bottomless pit will make war upon them and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies are to lie in the broad street of the great city which spiritually is designated 'Sodom' and 'Egypt,' where indeed their Lord was crucified. And men belonging to all peoples, tribes, languages and nations gaze at their dead bodies for three days and a half, but they refuse to let them be laid in a tomb. The inhabitants of the earth rejoice over them and are glad and will send gifts to one another; for these two Prophets had greatly troubled the inhabitants of the earth." But at the end of the three days and a half the breath of life from God entered into them, and they rose to their feet; and all who saw them were terrified. Then they heard a loud voice calling to them out of Heaven, and bidding them come up; and they went up to Heaven in the cloud, and their enemies saw them go. And just as that time there was a great earthquake, and a tenth part of the city was overthrown. 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of Heaven.
Then I heard a loud voice speaking in Heaven. It said, "The salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God have now come, and the sovereignty of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren has been hurled down--he who, day after day and night after night, was wont to accuse them in the presence of God.
in order that no one should be allowed to buy or sell unless he had the mark--either the name of the Wild Beast or the number which his name represents.
"The Wild Beast which you have seen was, and is not, and yet is destined to re-ascend, before long, out of the bottomless pit and go his way into perdition. And the inhabitants of the earth will be filled with amazement--all whose names are not in the Book of Life, having been recorded there ever since the creation of the world--when they see the Wild Beast: because he was, and is not, and yet is to come. Here is scope for the exercise of a mind that has wisdom! The seven heads are the seven hills on which the woman sits. read more. And they are seven kings: five of them have fallen, and the one is still reigning. The seventh has not yet come, but when he comes he must continue for a short time. And the Wild Beast which once existed but does not now exist--he is an eighth king and yet is one of the seven and he goes his way into perdition.
Then I saw a door open in Heaven, and a white horse appeared. Its rider was named "Faithful and True" --being One who in righteousness acts as Judge, and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many kingly crowns; and He has a name written upon Him which no one but He Himself knows. read more. The outer garment in which He is clad has been dipped in blood and His name is THE WORD OF GOD. The armies in Heaven followed Him--mounted on white horses and clothed in fine linen, white and spotless. From His mouth there comes a sharp sword with which He will smite the nations; and He will Himself be their Shepherd, ruling them with a scepter of iron; and it is His work to tread the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Ruler of all. And on His outer garment and on His thigh He has a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw a single angel standing in the full light of the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds that flew across the sky, "Come and be present at God's great supper, that you may feast on the flesh of kings and the flesh of generals and the flesh of mighty men, on the flesh of horses and their riders, and on the flesh of all mankind, whether they are free men or slaves, great men or small." And I saw the Wild Beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, all assembled to make war, once for all, against the Rider upon the horse and against His army. And the Wild Beast was captured, and with him the false Prophet who had done the miracles in his presence with which he had led astray those who had received the mark of the Wild Beast, and those who worshipped his statue. Both of them were thrown alive into the Lake of fire that was all ablaze with sulphur. But the rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the Rider on the horse. And the birds all fed ravenously upon their flesh.
Morish
The name ??????????? signifies an opposer of Christ. It is used only by John in his first and second epistles, though those opposed to Christ are referred to by others under different names. It is important to distinguish between an antichrist and the antichrist. John says, "as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists;" whereas "he is the antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son." 1Jo 2:18,22. He is the consummation of the many antichrists. To deny Jesus Christ come in the flesh is the spirit or power of the antichrist, but it eventuates in a departure from the special revelation of Christianity: 'they went out from us.' 1Jo 2:19; 4:3; 2Jo 1:7. Now this clears the ground at once of much that has obscured the subject. For instance, many have concluded that Popery is the antichrist, and have searched no farther into the question, whereas the above passage refutes this conclusion, for Popery does not deny the Father and the Son; and, in Re 17:1; 18:1, Popery is pointed out as quite distinct from 'the false prophet,' which is another name for the antichrist. It is fully granted that Popery is anti-christian, and a Christ-dishonouring and soul-deceiving system ; but where God has made a distinction we must also do so. Besides Popery there were and there are many antichrists, which, whatever their pretensions, are the enemies of Christ, opposers of the truth, and deceivers of man.
As to the Antichrist, it should be noticed that John makes another distinction between this one and the many. He speaks of the many as being already there, whereas the one was to come; and if we turn to 2Th 2:3-12 we read of something or some one that hinders that wicked or lawless one being revealed, although the mystery of iniquity was already at work. Now there has been no change of dispensation since this epistle was written, and John wrote much later, from which we learn that the revelation of the antichrist is still future, though doubtless the mystery of iniquity is getting ripe for his appearing; that which hindered and still hinders the manifestation of the antichrist is doubtless the presence of the Holy Spirit on earth. He will leave the earth at the rapture of the saints.
This passage in Thessalonians gives us further particulars as to this MAN OF SIN. His coming is after the working of Satan, that is, he will be a confederate of Satan, and be able to work signs and lying wonders with all deceit of unrighteousness in them that perish. Those that have refused the truth will then receive the lie of this wicked one. We get further particulars in Re 13:11-18, where the anti-christian power or kingdom is described as a beast rising out of the earth, having two horns as a lamb, but speaking as a dragon. Here again we read that he will do great wonders, making fire come down from heaven, with other signs or miracles.
In the description in Thessalonians he opposeth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped, and sits down in the temple of God, and sets forth himself as God. The Jews will receive him as their Messiah, as we read in Joh 5:43. In the above passage in the Revelation this counterfeit of Christ's kingdom is openly idolatrous. He directs the dwellers on the earth to make an image of the beast (named in ver. 1, the future head of the resuscitated Roman empire) to which image he gives breath, that it should speak, and persecutes those who will not worship the image. He also causes all to receive a mark on their hand or their forehead that they may be known to be his followers; and that none else should be able to buy or sell. We thus see that in the Revelation the anti-christian power called also 'the false prophet' will work with the political head, and with Satan
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I have come as my Father's representative, and you do not receive me. If some one else comes representing only himself, him you will receive.
Let no one in any way deceive you, for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first, and the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sets himself against, and exalts himself above, every so-called 'god' or object of worship, and goes the length of taking his seat in the very temple of God, giving it out that he himself is God. read more. Do you not remember that while I was still with you I used to tell you all this? And now you know what restrains him, in order that his true character may be revealed at his appointed time. For lawlessness is already at work in secret; but only until the man who is now exercising a restraining influence is removed, and then the Lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will sweep away with the tempest of His anger, and utterly overwhelm by the awful splendour of His Coming. The appearing of the Lawless one will be attended by various miracles and tokens and delusive marvels--for so Satan works-- and by every kind of wicked deception for those who are on the way to perdition because they did not welcome into their hearts the love of the truth, so that they might be saved. And for this reason God sends them a misleading influence that they may believe the lie; in order that all may come under judgement who have refused to believe the truth and have taken pleasure in unrighteousness.
Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come. They have gone forth from our midst, but they did not really belong to us; for had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they left us that it might be manifest that professed believers do not all belong to us.
Who is a liar compared with him who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He who disowns the Father and the Son is the anti-Christ.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but put the spirits to the test to see whether they are from God; for many false teachers have gone out into the world.
and that no spirit is from God which does not acknowledge this about Jesus. Such is the spirit of the anti-Christ; of whose coming you have heard, and it is already in the world.
Then I saw another Wild Beast, coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. And the authority of the first Wild Beast--the whole of that authority--he exercises in his presence, and he causes the earth and its inhabitants to worship the first Wild Beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. read more. He also works great miracles, so as even to make fire come down from Heaven to earth in the presence of human beings. And his power of leading astray the inhabitants of the earth is due to the marvels which he has been permitted to work in the presence of the Wild Beast. And he told the inhabitants of the earth to erect a statue to the Wild Beast who had received the sword-stroke and yet had recovered. And power was granted him to give breath to the statue of the Wild Beast, so that the statue of the Wild Beast could even speak and cause all who refuse to worship it to be put to death. And he causes all, small and great, rich and poor, free men and slaves, to have stamped upon them a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, in order that no one should be allowed to buy or sell unless he had the mark--either the name of the Wild Beast or the number which his name represents. Here is scope for ingenuity. Let people of shrewd intelligence calculate the number of the Wild Beast; for it indicates a certain man, and his number is 666.
Then I saw three foul spirits, resembling frogs, issue from the mouth of the Dragon, from the mouth of the Wild Beast, and from the mouth of the false Prophet. For they are the spirits of demons working marvels--spirits that go out to control the kings of the whole earth, to assemble them for the battle which is to take place on the great day of God, the Ruler of all. read more. ("I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the man who keeps awake and guards his raiment for fear he walk about ill-clad, and his uncomeliness become manifest.") And assemble them they did at the place called in Hebrew 'Har-Magedon.'
Then one of the seven angels who were carrying the seven bowls came and spoke to me. "Come with me," he said, "and I will show you the doom of the great Harlot who sits upon many waters.
After these things I saw another angel coming down from Heaven, armed with great power. The earth shone with his splendor,
who had done the miracles in his presence with which he had led astray those who had received the mark of the Wild Beast, and those who worshipped his statue. Both of them were thrown alive into the Lake of fire that was all ablaze with sulphur.
and the Devil, who had been leading them astray, was thrown into the Lake of fire and sulphur where the Wild Beast and the false Prophet were, and day and night they will suffer torture until the Ages of the Ages.
Smith
An'tichrist.
This term is employed by the apostle John alone, and is defined by him in a manner which leaves no doubt as to its intrinsic meaning. With regard to its application there is less certainty. In the first passage--
--in which it occurs, the apostle makes direct reference to the false Christs whose coming, it had been fore-told, should mark the last days. In v. 22 we find, "he is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son;" and still more positively, "every spir
From these emphatic and repeated definitions it has been supposed that the object of the apostle in his first epistle was to combat the errors of Cerinthus, the Docetae and the Gnostics on the subject of the Incarnation. (They denied the union of the divine and human in Christ.) The coming of Antichrist was (believed to be foretold in the "vile person" of Daniel's prophecy,
which received its first accomplishment in Antiochus Epiphanes but of which the complete fulfillment was reserved for the last times. He is identified with "the man of sin, the son of perdition."
This interpretation brings Antichrist into close connection with the gigantic power of evil, symbolized by the "beast,"
... who received his power from the dragon (i.e. the devil, the serpent of Genesis), continued for forty and two months, and was invested with the kingdom of the ten kings who destroyed the harlot Babylon,
the city of seven hills. The destruction of Babylon is to be followed by the rule of Antichrist for a short period,
to be in his turn overthrown in "the battle of that great day of God Almighty,"
with the false prophet and all his followers. Rev. 19. The personality of Antichrist is to be inferred as well from the personality of his historical precursor as from that of him to whom he stands opposed. Such an interpretation is to be preferred to that which regards Antichrist as the embodiment and personification of all powers and agencies inimical to Christ, or of the Antichristian might of the world.
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Let no one in any way deceive you, for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first, and the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sets himself against,
Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come.
For many deceivers have gone out into the world--men who do not acknowledge Jesus as Christ who has come in human nature. Such a one is 'the deceiver' and 'the anti-Christ.'
And he took up a position upon the sands of the sea-shore. Then I saw a Wild Beast coming up out of the sea, and he had ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten kingly crowns, and inscribed on his heads were names full of blasphemy.
For they are the spirits of demons working marvels--spirits that go out to control the kings of the whole earth, to assemble them for the battle which is to take place on the great day of God, the Ruler of all.
And they are seven kings: five of them have fallen, and the one is still reigning. The seventh has not yet come, but when he comes he must continue for a short time.
"And the ten horns which you have seen are ten kings who have not yet come to the throne, but for a single hour they are to receive authority as kings along with the Wild Beast.
For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose, and to carry out a common purpose and to give their kingdom to the Wild Beast until God's words have come to pass.
Watsons
ANTICHRIST, compounded of ????, contra, against, and ???????, Christ, in a general sense, denotes an adversary of Christ, or one who denies that the Messiah is come. In this sense, Jews, infidels, &c, may be said to be antichrists. The epithet, in the general sense of it, is also applicable to any power or person acting in direct opposition to Christ or his doctrine. Its particular meaning is to be collected from those passages of Scripture in which it occurs. Accordingly, it may either signify one who assumes the place and office of Christ, or one who maintains a direct enmity and opposition to him. The Fathers all speak of antichrist as a single man; though they also assure us, that he is to have divers precursors, or forerunners. Yet many Protestant writers apply to the Romish church, and the pope who is at the head of it, the several marks and signatures of antichrist enumerated in the Apocalypse, which would imply antichrist to be, not a single person, but a corrupt society, or a long series of persecuting pontiffs, or rather, a certain power and government, that may be held for many generations, by a number of individuals succeeding one another. The antichrist mentioned by the Apostle John, 1Jo 2:18, and more particularly described in the book of Revelation, seems evidently to be the same with the man of sin, &c, characterized by St. Paul in his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, chap. 2; and the whole description literally applies to the Papal power. A late writer, after collecting the principal prophecies relating to antichrist, infers from them that a power, sometimes represented as the little horn, the man of sin, the antichrist, the beast, the harlot, the star falling from heaven, the false prophet, the dragon, or as the operation of false teachers, was to be expected to arise in the Christian world to persecute and oppress, and delude the disciples of Christ, corrupt the doctrine of the primitive church, enact new laws, and establish its dominion over the minds of mankind. He then proceeds to show, from the application of prophecy to history, and to the remarkable train of events that are now passing in the world, how exactly Popery, Mohammedanism, and Infidelity, correspond with the character given in Scripture of the power of antichrist, which was to prevail a certain time for the especial trial and punishment of the corrupted church of Christ. Upon this system, the different opinions of the Protestants and Papists, concerning the power of antichrist, derived from partial views of the subject, are not wholly incompatible with each other. With respect to the commonly received opinion, that the church of Rome is antichrist, Mede and Newton, Daubuz and Clarke, Lowman and Hurd, Jurieu, Vitringa, and many other members of the Protestant churches who have written upon the subject, concur in maintaining, that the prophecies of Daniel, St. Paul, and St. John, point directly to this church. This was likewise the opinion of the first reformers; and it was the prevalent opinion of Christians, in the earliest ages, that antichrist would appear soon after the fall of the Roman empire. Gregory the Great, in the sixth century, applied the prophecies concerning the beast in the Revelation, the man of sin, and the apostasy from the faith mentioned by St. Paul, to him who should presume to claim the title of universal priest, or universal bishop, in the Christian church; and yet his immediate successor, Boniface III, received from the tyrant Phocas the precise title which Gregory had thus censured. At the synod of Rheims, held in the tenth century, Arnulphus, bishop of Orleans, appealed to the whole council, whether the bishop of Rome was not the antichrist of St. Paul, "sitting in the temple of God," and perfectly corresponding with the description of him given by St. Paul. In the eleventh century, all the characters of antichrist seemed to be so united in the person of Pope Hildebrand, who took the name of Gregory VII, that Johannes Aventinus, a Romish historian, speaks of it as a subject in which the generality of fair, candid, and ingenuous writers agreed, that at that time began the reign of antichrist. And the Albigenses and Waldenses, who may be called the Protestants of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, expressly asserted in their declarations of faith, that the church of Rome was the whore of Babylon. The Papists imagine they view in the prophetical picture of antichrist, imperial Rome, elated by her victories, exulting in her sensuality and her spoils, polluted by idolatry, persecuting the people of God, and finally falling like the first Babylon; whilst a new and holy city, represented by their own communion, filled with the spotless votaries of the Christian faith, rises out of its ruins, and the victory of the cross is completed over the temples of Paganism. This scheme has had its able advocates, at the head of whom may be placed Bossuet, bishop of Meaux, Grotius, and Hammond. Some writers have maintained, that Caligula was antichrist; and others have asserted the same of Nero. But in order to establish the resemblance, they violate the order of time, disregard the opinions of the primitive Christians, and overlook the appropriate descriptions of the Apostles. After the point had been maturely debated at the council of Gap, held in 1603, a resolution was taken thereupon to insert an article in the confession of faith, whereby the Pope is formally declared to be antichrist. Pope Clement VIII was stung with this decision; and even king Henry IV, of France, was not a little mortified, to be thus declared, as he said, an imp of antichrist.
In the book of Daniel it is foretold, that this power should exercise dominion until a time and times, and the dividing of time, Da 7:25. This expression is generally admitted to denote 1260 years. The papal power was completely established in the year 755, when it obtained the exarchate of Ravenna. Some, however, date the rise of antichrist in the year of Christ 606; and Mede places it in 456. If the rise of antichrist be not reckoned till he was possessed of secular authority, his fall will happen when this power shall be taken away. If his rise began, according to Mede in 456, he must have fallen in 1716; if in 606, it must be in 1866; if in 755, in 2015. If, however, we use prophetical years, consisting of three hundred and sixty days, and date the rise of antichrist in the year 755, his fall will happen in the year of Christ 2000. Every thing however in the state of the world betokens a speedy overthrow of the Papal and Mohammedan powers, both of which have indeed been already greatly weakened.
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Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come.