WHO IS THE ANTICHRIST?

This old world is in confusion. Centuries ago the pagans set aside the worship of the Creator, and in His place they instituted a form of religion that worships the creation rather than the Creator. For instance, the pagans decided that the sun would make them a good god. Next, they decided that their god needed a wife, so they selected the moon. Children are usually expected from a marriage, so they appointed the stars of heaven to be the offspring. Thus the sun, moon, and stars became the objects of worship, which led the world into deceptions. The tragedy of it all is that great religious organizations in our day still follow much of this pagan philosophy.

In chapter one we made some amazing discoveries. We found that the beast of Revelation 13 is God's caricature of the Papacy. You will recall that our only purpose in studying this great prophecy is to clarify God's last warning message as found in Revelation 14. We studied what God had spoken, and we compared this with recorded history. We also searched out what is admitted by the church. In this way we are in a position to intelligently make our personal decision to this warning of Christ.

There are six undeniable points of identification between the beast of Revelation 18 and the little horn of Daniel 7.

1. Both would blaspheme. Rev. 13:5; Dan. 7:25.

2. Both held universal rulership. Rev. 13:7; Dan. 7:23.

3. Both were a religious power. Rev. 13:8; Dan. 7:24.

4. Both were to rule for 1260 years. Rev. 13:5; Dan. 7:25.

5. Both would try to change God's law. Rev. 13:5,16,17; Dan. 7:25.

6. Both persecute. Rev. 13:17; Dan. 7:25. Therefore, the beast of Revelation 13 and the little horn are one and the same!

Now comes the question. Where did this beast get such power? Many historians agree that it destroyed more than 150 million people, that it ruled the world for more than 1,000 years, and that kings bowed in reverence to its commands. But where did it get such power? Let the Bible give the answer.

"The dragon gave him his power. " Revelation 13:2.

But who is the dragon? God has also revealed this.

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. " Revelation 12:7-9

A detailed description of this dragon power is given to us in Revelation 12:3, "and there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. "

In this one verse, God, Who knows the end from the beginning, revealed that there would be just seven time periods given to this world in which Satan (the Dragon) would eventually reign, represented by the seven heads each with a crown. We will discuss the ten horns in chapter six, the last chapter of this book.

Isn't this interesting? Perhaps you have often wondered how wars ever got started. Well, the Bible tells us that war began in heaven. Christ, Who is Michael, and His angels fought against the dragon, and we are told plainly who the dragon is. He is called the old serpent, the Devil, and Satan. So it is clear that the dragon gives the beast its power. But how did the dragon get started here on earth? Turning back to Genesis 3, we find the story of how the dragon, under the guise of a serpent, beguiled Adam and Eve, and thus conquered the world. Note what God says:

'Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. " Genesis 3:1-4.

How sad it is that Adam and Eve decided that they would accept what the serpent had to say rather than believe God. You know the tragic results. Through this sin, man was separated from God; he was lost, without any hope of the future. But God never lets us down. Jesus came all the way from heaven into the Garden and gave Adam and Eve a plan whereby if they were obedient they could once again be restored into eternal happiness. Just think of it. Jesus was willing to give His life and to die in their place! Oh, how we should love Him. As Christ discussed His wonderful plan with Adam and Eve, He made a prophecy. Now notice this very carefully.

'And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this,...I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. " Genesis 3:14,15.

Right here we should stop and find out who the woman is that is mentioned in this text. The prophet Jeremiah tells us:

'I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman." Jeremiah 6:2.

From this we learn that the woman represents Zion. But who is Zion? Well, let's read another verse.

"...say unto Zion, Thou art my people. " Isaiah 51:16.

Thus Zion is God's people; and the Lord has chosen the symbol of a pure woman to represent them.

Now back to our text. 'I will put enmity between thee (the serpent) and the woman (God's people)." Enmity means war, bloodshed, and a struggle. So it began. In this world there are two sides in the conflict-God's side and Satan's side. One is right and the other is wrong. The important factor that determines the difference is over the issue of how God is to be worshiped. This involves the question, "is absolute obedience necessary?" This was the problem that faced the angels in heaven. You know the answer-there was war and Satan was cast out. Since Satan is on the earth, these conditions have not changed. Let us read the story of Cain and Abel.

"And in Process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering.-

"But unto Cain and to his offering he had no respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fill." Genesis 4:3-5.

Now get the picture clearly. Abel has built an altar just as God had prescribed and placed a lamb thereon, representing the Lamb of God which was to take away his sins. Abel knelt down before this altar and asked God to forgive him of his sins and to accept the sacrifice. God answered by fire from heaven, thus acknowledging the offering.

But what about Cain? Cain built an altar just like Abel did. But he did not wish to obey God by sacrificing a lamb. He was a man who planted a garden, so he went out and picked some of the vegetables from his garden. These he placed upon his altar. This was not a sacrifice. No life was taken. It was not what God had asked. It was a substitute. If God had accepted that offering, man could have made any doctrine he wanted. But God never accepts a counterfeit. God would have nothing to do with Cain's offering. You will recall the familiar story in the following verses. Cain arose and slew his brother. True indeed were the words, "I will put enmity between thee (the serpent) and the woman (God's people)."

So now there were two distinct sides in this newly created world. Notice the parallel. There is God's side, called the "sons of God." The line of followers were Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah. The gate of Eden was considered their headquarters.

All those on Satan's side were called the "sons of man." The line of followers were Cain and his descendants. Their headquarters were in the land of Nod.

As time went by, the devil's side became so wicked that God found it necessary to completely destroy every descendant of the dragon power; but as soon as the Flood was past, the two sides reappeared.

God called Abraham to leave his country and his kindred and go to a new land that God would show him, to be made into a great nation. They were to settle in the land of Canaan. They worshipped the S-0-N, the Son of God. This was the original, the true, religion.

On the other hand, there was the dragon's side, whose followers were known as the Chaldeans. Their territory was Ur of the Chaldees. Their pagan capital was Babel, which later became Babylon. They worshipped the S-U-N, the sun in the heavens. This was known as Baal worship. This was the beginning of a pagan counterfeit religion in the world.

What a struggle went on between these two sides! Paganism continually made inroads into the true religion. You will find it recorded in the book of Kings.

"And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. "2 Kings 23:5.

As the pagan governments decayed or were overthrown, men continued their form of sun worship. Thus paganism was transferred from one nation to another, from Babylon into Medo-Persia, into Greece, and into Rome, sinking the world into its deepest, darkest hour.

It is right here that we discover the seed of the woman appears. Let's go back now to Genesis 3:15.

'And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. " Genesis 3:15.

This distinctly reveals that there was to be a time when the woman was to give birth to a seed and the dragon would have followers who would continue the struggle against God's Son and His followers until the climax was reached and the serpent crushed. Turning to Revelation 12, we are now ready to catch a picture of what happened when the Seed of the woman appeared.

"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to he delivered .... And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to he delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. " Revelation 12:1-5.

Can we find the time when the dragon attempted to destroy the child Jesus when He was born? Indeed we can! You will recall that when the Wise Men made inquiry of Herod after seeing the star of Bethlehem, this king became very suspicious. He was ruling under Caesar Augustus of Rome and he demanded of the Wise Men that they return and tell him where the child could be found. He wanted to find the Christ, that he might kill Him. Angels warned the Magi not to return to Herod, and they also warned Joseph to take the Child from Bethlehem into Egypt. As Herod's suspicions were aroused, he sent his soldiers into Bethlehem to kill every baby boy two years old and under in his attempt to kill Christ.

This clearly reveals how the dragon attempted to destroy the Child as soon as He was born, through his agency of pagan Rome.

The dragon, having failed in his attempt to kill the Christ Child, tried again some 31 years later. This time pagan Rome, the dragon power, crucified the Saviour of the world on a pagan cross. Thus, in a vain effort to keep Christ in the tomb forever, pagan Rome placed its seal upon the tomb with soldier guards to make sure that the seal was not broken.

But, praise God, His angel broke the seal and Christ arose from the grave victorious over Satan! This made it possible for the Seed of the woman, God's true church, to seize the initiative and develop rapidly.

Everywhere men were ready to cast off their superstitions. They gladly received a Saviour Who was willing to die for them. Within a few years Christianity had spread throughout the world. It was recognized as a mighty force. Paganism was on the way out. The Seed of the woman was taking control of the world.

But Satan was determined that this must not be. He decided that it was time for the seed of the dragon to appear, that it might counteract the work of Christianity. So, working through pagan Rome, he brought about a transition in which paganism took on a few of the forms of Christianity, and under its guise, once more began to lead the world astray. As this new power grew, it soon developed into what we call the Papacy. Thus we find the text of Revelation 13:2 being fulfilled.

'And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. "Revelation 1 3:2.

History reveals that the capital of the Roman Empire was moved to Constantinople and that the Bishop of Rome actually sat in the seat of the Caesars.

Gradually this new power was able to change almost every Christian doctrine by adulterating it with paganism.

Let's take a few examples. We will look at Christmas first.

Everyone knows that December 25 is not Christ's birthday. Christmas was a day that was celebrated by the pagans long before the birth of Jesus Christ. Being sun worshipers, they had noticed that on December 21 the sun was farthest from the earth, and that on the 25th of December it began to make its way back toward the earth, thus assuring that there would be another year. This day, December 25, was known as the birthday of the S-U-N. Now, in order for Rome to secure the approval and acceptance of this new type of Christianity among the pagans as well as the Christians, they made December 25, which was a pagan holiday, the birthday of the Son of God.

Let's take Easter as another example. This was not the morning of Christ's resurrection. This custom likewise was developed because of its pagan background. The heathen noticed that their sun god had returned sufficiently to usher in another spring.

There was an abundance of eggs and bunnies. Easter was then dedicated as a great pagan holiday. Easter is always determined by the first Sunday after a full moon after the sun passes the equinox. Were it truly the day commemorating the resurrection of Christ, it would always be the same time each year. But today the date for Easter may vary from year to year by as much as five weeks, because Easter is a pagan holiday determined by the position of the S-U-N.

Mary and the disciples did not go up on the resurrection morning to watch the sun come up. They went out to discover for themselves the open tomb of a risen Saviour. Here again we see the pagan doctrine of sun worship integrated into the Christianity of our time. Thus it is with many of the religious teachings of Rome.

Tracing through history, you will find that the orders of monks and nuns are an outgrowth of paganism. Masterpieces of art dating back to this period of time always reveal a circle over the head of Christ, which in turn was the pagan way of placing the S-U-N over the head of the S-0-N of God.

When Jesus sat at the Lord's Supper He took bread and broke it. Today we find the round wafer, representing the sun, used in celebrating this ordinance, and the custom is spreading into many Protestant denominations.

We appreciate the candid admission of Cardinal Newman in his book Development of Christian Doctrine in which he notes the origin of the doctrines of the Catholic Church by saying:

"Confiding then in the power of Christianity to resist the infection of evil, and to transmute the very instruments and appendages of demon-worship to an evangelical use .... the rulers of the Church ... were prepared ... to adopt, or imitate, or sanction the existing rites and customs of the populace, as well as the philosophy of the educated class. We are told ... by Eusebius, that Constantine, in order to recommend the new religion to the heathen, transferred into it the outward ornaments to which they had been accustomed in their own.

... The use of temples, and these dedicated to particular saints, and ornamented on occasions with branches of trees; incense, lamps and candles; votive offerings on recovery from illness; holy water; asylums; holy days and seasons, use of calendars, processions, blessings on the fields; sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure (shaving of the head), the ring in marriage, turning to the East, images at a later date, perhaps the ecclesiastical chant .... are all of pagan origin, and sanctified by their adoption into the Church."-Pages 371-373.

Thus the warfare over obedience to God, which began in heaven, continues on the earth. The true system of worship is represented by the woman. The false system of Satan is represented by the dragon. And this warfare is to continue to the very end of time.

"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. "Revelation 12:1 7.

You can easily understand why we are studying this last warning message of God.

"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God." Revelation 14:9,10.

We must not follow paganistic customs in our worship of the Creator. God will have none of it. This presentation has been a clear picture of the struggle now going on within this world, but there is a brighter side. God declares that His people will be victorious. In Genesis 3:15 we read that the seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head. While the church has been persecuted, and the death of Christ made a necessity for salvation, the resurrected Lord Himself shall return soon as Kings of kings and victoriously put an end to the old dragon and all who follow him throughout the ages. This will forever settle the struggle and assure a great victory when the dragon and the beast are destroyed.