(1Tm) The Man of Sin Will Take His Seat
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Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition [destruction]; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. (II Thessalonians 2:3,4)
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every God, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. (Daniel 11:36)
We are of the opinion that the "abomination of desolation" (Matthew 24:14) is Antichrist sitting between the wings of the Cherubim of Glory in a rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. Antichrist has been with us since the first century but the power of the Holy Spirit in the saints has prevented his worldwide manifestation.
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. (I John 2:18)
Just before the Lord Jesus returns, the spirit of Antichrist will come to the fullness of expression in one man, just as in the same period of time the Spirit of Christ will come to maturity in the holy remnant of God’s people.
The spirit of Antichrist is the spirit of lawlessness. Do we not see, over the last several hundred years of world history, and particularly in our own day, the rise of lawlessness? The rise of lawlessness is the rise of Antichrist. Lawlessness produces desolation as experienced Christians learn throughout their lifetime on earth.
Antichrist makes his own laws according to his own self-centered will. He puts himself above God and desires worship. He is the personification of the exaltation of man above his Creator.
Do we see such willfulness, such self-determination being glorified in the centers of learning? From grade school through the university young people are being persuaded that people should not be hindered from doing as they please. This is the rise of Antichrist.
Let us flee into the wilderness, so to speak, and live with God as did Elijah of old. Let us flee! flee! flee from the spirit of lawlessness that is capturing the minds and hearts of people everywhere!
The spirit of the love of money and of lawlessness already is at work in our midst. The deceiving, corrupting, poisonous leaven of it even now is fermenting in our thinking and in our deeds.
Let us flee from the pursuit of money and lawlessness before "666" has corrupted our mind and our deeds. "666" (Revelation 13:18) is a symbolic way of portraying that the worship of man’s self-will shall be the "name of the beast."
Six means that man will be deified. Man was created on the sixth day. Three sixes signifies that man will claim to be God. Three is the number of Divinity. The mark in the "right hand" or "foreheads" (Revelation 13:16) speaks of the conforming of our deeds and minds to the spirit of the world (see Romans 12:1,2).
It is our understanding that Antichrist will be a man of tremendous political ability and charm and that he will enlist the aid of supernatural forces. His lust for power will drive him until Satan is able to possess him completely. Then he will be the incarnation of Satan, of lawlessness, of mutiny against the rule of God Almighty.
In his ambition to rule the world the man of sin will perceive the political advantage of associating himself with God, for many of earth’s peoples believe in God and fear God. Also we must remember that the rise of Antichrist has been preceded by an outpouring of God’s Spirit of unparalleled glory and power. The peoples of the world then will be ready to accept as their worldwide leader someone who is (as they believe) associated with the God of Heaven.
Only a student of the Tabernacle of the Congregation can appreciate the depth of foulness of the indescribably abominable thought of a human being entering past the sacred veil into the Holy of Holies and there taking his place on the Mercy Seat between the wings of the Cherubim of Glory.
Will he not say that he is the very Shechinah , the Glory of the God of Israel?
We may gasp in horror. But isn’t it true that in the large universities of the world today the students are being taught that man should rule the world apart from God and that the only god is the inner self of the individual? Isn’t it true that even in the secondary and elementary schools the children are being persuaded that the highest value in life is the pursuit of one’s own will and ambitions?—that the greatest harm we can do to an individual is to deny him or her the right to follow his own will?
If this is what is being taught, and if we are participating in it, then we are by our own choice being filled with the spirit of delusion concerning the self-centeredness of man and his supposed "rights." We are enthroning man between the golden wings of the Cherubim of Glory.
Let each saint of Christ flee into the wilderness with God rather than partake of the spirit of lawlessness that is all about us today.
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