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ANTICHRIST—THE WORSHIP OF SELF

Antichrist is the worship of self. It is scriptural that there will appear in the last days an individual who will fully express the self-centeredness of Satan. However, the spirit of Antichrist is in every one of us until God and Jesus are firmly seated on the throne of our personality.

Sin is a bondage, a symptom of the worship of self.

The democratic stress on the rights and freedom of the individual, while it appears at first as an expression of Christianity, or at least a friend of Christianity, is by far the deadliest enemy of God and man. This is because it nourishes the worship of self.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Personality of the Antichrist

Democratic Government and Christianity

What Does the Bible Say About Death to Self

The work of the cross "http://www.wor.org/Books/a/antichristcthe_worship_of_self.htm#Learning obedience through suffering.

Learning obedience through suffering

The overcame him

What Does the Bible Say About Antichrist?

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Sin Is an Unwanted Bondage, a Symptom of the Real Enemy

Conclusion

ANTICHRIST—THE WORSHIP OF SELF

Introduction

"And he will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all. (Daniel 11:37—NIV)

He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. (II Thessalonians 2:4—NIV)

It began around the Throne of God as "I wonder how it would feel to be like the most High." A thousand years later it was "I will be like the most High." Mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow.

The Ten Commandments are a judgment on the self-love of Satan.

A desire to worship ourselves prevents the expression of God in us and our being a blessing to other people.

The spirit of murder, of gossip and slander, addiction to drugs and alcohol, a desire to lie and steal, lust, a willingness to molest little children, are symptoms of a deeper problem. These sinful, destructive bondages, these chains, are placed on us because we love our self more than we do God.

I saw a picture in the newspaper two days ago of a man sentenced to twenty years in prison. He had ingested cocaine and as a result had run over a young girl with his truck and killed her.

He was a decent-looking person. The expression on his face at his sentencing was one of horror at what he had done and the penalty imposed on him. He was not defiant, not peering around murderously at the judge and jury as happens nowadays.

He was not a truly wicked individual, just a human being chained by addiction to cocaine. He was vulnerable to the addiction because he was serving himself rather than God.

One man in Texas , waiting on death row for his date of execution, was heard to say, "How did I get here?" The poor man got there because he was serving himself instead of God.

Until we are taught and helped to love and serve God rather than our self we will remain bound by the destructive practices of sin.

All of us, until we have been pressed into the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, have the spirit of Antichrist, of self-worship, in us. Yet we may have some persons whom we truly love and would die for.

Then there are those individuals who are much more advanced in the worship of self, who love and adore themselves to the exclusion of all others.

Some people worship God and Jesus His Son.

Some people worship Satan or the demons.

Some people worship other people.

Some people worship things or circumstances.

Some people worship themselves. These are the most dangerous of all.

Those who worship God and Jesus are the most blessed of all people.

Those who worship themselves are the most cursed, the most miserable, the most destructive of all people. They are the image of Satan. They are of the spirit of Antichrist.

The worship of our own self is the greatest of all evils. The sins of the flesh are undesirable bondages, chains, penalties imposed on us because we worship our self.

Have you ever thought about Satan being one of the cherubim who overshadowed the Throne of God with his wings?

You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. (Ezekiel 28:14,15—NIV)

You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.~ I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." (Isaiah 14:13 ,14—NIV) Now, Satan didn't one sunny day blurt out "I will make myself like the Most High." The concept may have started in his heart as the tiniest of seeds and then have grown through thousands of years of our time. His final statements, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High," did not just occur to him one day but were the fruit of the slowly developing pride of his beauty and majesty. I think this will be true of the Antichrist.

The Personality of the Antichrist</div> 
I don't know how you picture Antichrist. I believe he (or she) will be the most affable of human beings, friendly, a capable administrator, anxious to please, someone who is fun to be around. But he will not be truly interested in the welfare of anyone except himself or herself. Antichrist will be dedicated to democratic ideals of government. I think he may begin as a Christian although he will have to branch out to other religions later because of his ambition to govern the world. He will arise at the conclusion of the mammoth latter-rain revival and will see the possibility of using the fact that multitudes of people had witnessed and admired the power of the Spirit of God at work, in spite of the tremendous works of destruction that had been needed to open the doors of all nations to the Gospel of the Kingdom. Great numbers of people who are secular at heart will join themselves in those days to the Christian churches insincerely and hypocritically, using flattery, because of the extraordinary power they have seen operating among the Christians. The Christians, who are so anxious to gain members of their religion, will welcome them without perceiving they do not know Jesus. Antichrist will develop a plan to use religious people as a power base in order to achieve a workable United Nations with himself as the head. In the beginning his motives will be relatively pure and apparently selfless. But because Antichrist will be a man in love with himself, Satan will have access to him and begin to direct him. The majority of believers, having been affected by the powerful revival, will welcome the many opportunities the Christian churches will have to work together with the government to bring relief to the impoverished nations. Antichrist, probably a professing Christian, will subsidize the churches and invite Christian leaders into his cabinet. But Jesus Christ will speak to a minority of the believers, warning them of the danger of what is taking place. Then the minority will appear as the enemies of the Christian churches as well as of the government. It will not be long after this that the government will institute repressive measures against the remnant of saints, using the excuse they are enemies of society in that they are not cooperating with the huge welfare plans inaugurated by Antichrist. The majority of professing Christians, enjoying religious freedom and economic abundance, will not have the moral strength to protect their more fervent brothers and sisters. In the end the Christian churches, for the most part, will take the side of the government. The remnant will be persecuted and hounded from the large cities of the earth, from the centers of civilization. All this evil will take place because of the pursuit of personal liberty and happiness rather than the pursuit of the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. 

Democratic Government and Christianity 
Because of the way our country was founded, the ideals of democratic government and Christianity seem one and the same, or at least compatible. They are not the same. They are anything but compatible. One is of Antichrist. The other is of Jesus Christ. Democracy is rule from the bottom up (supposedly). The Kingdom of God is rule from the Top down. These two forms of government are totally incompatible. This was not obvious in America two hundred years ago but it certainly is clear now as our democratic government by law protects abortion, an evangelistic homosexuality, pornography in the public school classrooms, and the vilest of moral and anti-Christian filth in various art forms. Such evidences of the activities of Satan are obvious also in the European democracies, but I write about America because I am an American. Democracy, the emphasis on personal freedom, while it espouses equal rights for all, human dignity, peace, always moves toward the worship of self, as we see in America . This is because the normal focal point of human beings, which is God, is changed to a focus on the welfare of man. There are people who will give their lives for the benefit of other people. But unless they themselves are worshipers of the one true God, their efforts will not bring the lasting peace and joy for which mankind longs. This is because Satan always enters where God is not worshiped and changes what would have been a beneficial endeavor into the worship of himself—and corruption inevitably follows. America was settled in part by Puritans, people who sought to purify the Church of England and who fled to America to escape persecution by European kings and religious prelates, and by others who came to America for economic or other reasons. Ironically, the Puritan concept of congregational democratic government is considered to be a source of modern democracy. The moral laws emphasized by the Puritans and other Christian groups have strongly affected the values of the American people for hundreds of years. Today such moral values are mocked by the ignorant as being a destructive force—a philosophy that prevents human happiness as they view happiness. Personal liberty and happiness are the stated goals of the American government. The rights of the individual are held to be sacred—more to be esteemed than the rights of society or even the rights of God. Therefore our nation is disintegrating morally. The economic, educational, and military establishments will crumble in time. We are finished because we are encouraging the worship of self. Believe it or not, God does not intend for man to pursue happiness. If God wanted everyone to be happy, as in the Garden of Eden, God could easily and swiftly bring into being a state of perfect, complete happiness for everyone. God's intention is for man to pursue God, the Kingdom of God , the righteousness of God. In so doing man learns to escape the horror of worshiping himself. He learns the unsullied joy of living for the benefit of God and other people, as Jesus does. Until a human being learns to live for God and other people he is the most miserable of creatures. He will remain bound by the sins of the flesh, striving endlessly for love, joy, and peace and never, never finding them. 
If America ever was a Christian nation it certainly is not one now. It is a democratic nation, that is, a nation dedicated to the liberty, rights, and happiness of the individual.

@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 <p>''You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.''  You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. ''(Ezekiel 28:14,15—NIV) </p>
 <p><em>You said in your heart, &quot;I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.~ I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.&quot; (Isaiah 14:13 ,14—NIV) </p>
-<p>Now, Satan didn't one sunny day blurt out &quot;I will make myself like the Most High.&quot; The concept may have started in his heart as the tiniest of seeds and then have grown through thousands of years of our time. His final statements, &quot;I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High,&quot; did not just occur to him one day but were the fruit of the slowly developing pride of his beauty and majesty. </p>
+<p>Now, Satan didn't one sunny day blurt out &quot;I will make myself like the Most High.&quot; The concept may have started in his heart as the tiniest of seeds and then have grown through thousands of years of our time. His final statements, &quot;I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High,&quot; did not just occur to him one day but were the fruit of the slowly developing pride of his beauty and majesty.
 <p>I think this will be true of the Antichrist. </p>
-<p><div id="The_Personality_of_the_Antichrist"><strong>The Personality of the Antichrist</div> </strong></p>
+<div id="The_Personality_of_the_Antichrist"><strong>The Personality of the Antichrist</div> </strong></p>
 <p>I don't know how you picture Antichrist. I believe he (or she) will be the most affable of human beings, friendly, a capable administrator, anxious to please, someone who is fun to be around. But he will not be truly interested in the welfare of anyone except himself or herself. </p>
 <p>Antichrist will be dedicated to democratic ideals of government. I think he may begin as a Christian although he will have to branch out to other religions later because of his ambition to govern the world. </p>