Antichrist @ MindSay

As, the title says, I think I may be the anti-Christ.

 

Now, I know I pledged not to blog on, read, comment, or otherwise on religion. But as this would qualify as anti-religion/end of religion perhaps it is allowed.

 

So being raised in a Christian household, being a Jesus-freak in my formative years, I heard alot about the end times, how close we were, etc. In those stories, the Anti-Christ plays a central role. (For those who haven't studied the Revelations of John, the Anti-Christ becomes the conduit by which the end times occur, eventually being the servant of Satan, although not at the beginning and not from birth as portrayed in the Omen, etc.)

 

So there are apparently some "warning signs", characteristics, etc of the Anti-Christ. my father had a "Biography of the Anti-Christ" that I read as a boy. Essentially, using prophecy it tells the story of the Anti-Christ minus his name.

 

I won't hit every point, and not every point applies, but there are striking similarities. For instance, the Anti-Christ will be born on the Eastern Bank of a river. This is assumed to be the Jordan River, making the Anti-Christ a Jew or Arab, but the hospital in which I was born rests on the Eastern Bank of a River, as well as, on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

 

It is also said that the Anti- Christ will be raised in the ways of God. Taking this to mean in a god-fearing household- well I've said before my parents are very religious. I was raised in the church, my father is a pastor. I was a Jesus Freak in my formative years even- being REALLY into God.

 

It is prophesized that entering adult hood, the anti-Christ would rebuke Christ, calling him a false god and writing religion in his own way. Well- if you read my blog at all, you will see that my belief lies right along that path. I use the Bible as a basis for my faith- so I could be perverting the word of God, if you see it that way

 

It is said that the Anti-Christ will come from very little and being known by no one to rise to a place of great power. I came from a small town in a rural area- my life goal is to be President.

 

It is written that the Anti-Christ will have a commanding knowledge of Bibilical, Classical and topical subjects. Well, my fascination with history and obsession with politics plus the Church background would qualify.

 

It is said that the Anti-Christ will have a pull towards people, a charm if you will, that will make people listen, believe, and follow his words. I will quote a "friend" from high school. She was really just a popular girl who I had no chance with, but I would often find sitting attentively listen to me "preach" on this subject or another. She said *to paraphrase* There were open discussions about you. Why people would sit and listen to you and let you go on and on. Why girls could ever be interested in you *says something about how SHE felt about my looks*? And why you became who you became in school. But, I think I've figured it out. There are three things about you that just entrapm people. Your eyes. Your smile. And the sound of your voice. It draws people in.- I'll let that speak for itself.

 

It is said that the Anti-Christ will come preaching peace- Well, you all know that I'm anti-Iraq, Pro- two state solution, etc ... very pro-peace.

 

It is said that the Anti-Christ will bring war to Israel- See two state solution above- and my Pro-Palestinean stance.

 

It is said that the Anti-Christ will cause everyone to be marked with his sign- Well, I recently began advocating that every immigrant or Visa holder be implanted with an IRDF chip so that we can keep better track of them. Historically, I have also been an advocate for similar implants for commerce- aiding against ID theft and common crimes. These have been called the first-gen of a sign of the beast.

 

Anyway, thats a few. A compelling argument in my head- and now seeing it down and out there- seems to remain pretty compelling.

 

Any thoughts? Comments? Well-wishes? Donations? Vows of servitude to the NWO? ;)

 

 

When is a king not a king?  Or rather, when is a king not only himself, but a type (forerunner) for one who is to come?

When you're dealing with prophecy, of course. 

An apocalyptic book is one that deals in revealing. Taking the cover off of something. That's all it is.  Sometimes, there is more than one thing to be uncovered, though only one thing is spoken.  A week can be a week...or a year...or a series of seven years.  A king can be a king of ancient days or a king of the future...or both.

Such it is with the visitation that Daniel receives one day on the bank of the river Tigris.  He had been fasting for three weeks.  Mourning over a vision he had received (that is not delineated here in the book...to know he mourned over it was apparently all Daniel could manage to write about.),  he was on the riverbank with some others, when a shining man arrived and spoke to him about many things.  The men with Daniel saw and heard nothing, yet were terrified so that they ran and hid.  Daniel only was left to talk to the visitor, who was an angel. 

Knowing Daniel was in mourning, the angel made haste to reassure him.  "Don't be afraid, you are greatly treasured," Daniel is told more than once. 

With such reassurance, the angel told Daniel of what was to come for the future of Israel. Much was said that refers to the Ptolemies and Seleucids that would follow the kings of Persia, but that, for you and me, is history.  Our future can be found in prophecies that -- while some of what is said refers to Antiochus, some scholars claim -- can also refer to the times of the end, about which Jesus taught and his apostles queried him on, hundreds of years after Daniel's encounter with this angel. 


The king spoken of here is the antichrist, in the prophetic view that holds to this referring to the End of the Age.  Over the course of this series of studies that I started teaching in June, the term antichrist surfaces often. Please do not become desensitized to it!  Whether he is called The Abomination that Causes Desolation, the Prince of this World, the Ruler, or a king, as spoken here, he was a figure to frighten great men in their visions of him.  He is brought up often, in many guises, so that no one will miss him when he appears on the global stage. This is not a minor figure who is going to get his fifteen minutes of fame on a show or have a podcast to his name.  He will be a ruler.  One who will wield authority, first disguised then outright.

He will do whatever he wants, we read above.  He will see himself as above any god...and he will bring others to see him this way, too.  He will blaspheme, and he will be successful, we see here. Successful.  That means that he will get his own way...for a time.  It is possible to read this passage as if this person will be coming from a home of some kind of faith, or from a larger family that claims a faith, either by blood or practice.  He will ignore the "god loved by women" which could mean one named Tammuz (mentioned by Ezekiel) or even the Messiah, scholars agree.

This person, this king, this ruler will honor wealth and strength insofar as he makes them manifest in his environment. He will treat those who honor him like vassals, giving them lands, this passage of scripture says.  They might think they are being given power, but this passage implies otherwise.

Today, all I can say to you is to be aware.  Other parts of these chapters in Daniel deal with spiritual warfare, so I have to say that I believe that there is a battle going on, right now, for the minds and hearts of all those in these times.  Angels battle demons over people. Demons could not reach Daniel directly, but they did delay the angelic messenger who was sent to him, leaving God's prophet in agony for longer than had been planned.

There is evil today, and evil is also supposedly mocked today.  By trivializing what is wrong, the Enemy, the Deceiver, has made it seem not so bad at all to most people...and that is his goal.  He wants us to be uncaring, unaware.

So fight it. Be aware.  See what is around you with fresh eyes.  And be on the alert.  God speaks so often for us to be wary, to look to see the day of his coming, of his final acts on this world, that we must heed him or pay the consequences. 

The prophecies of Daniel were proven true, in the history books.  Kings and rulers long past give the truth to what he says. Daniel's track record is very good.  Remember that.

Sometimes, I wonder.

In life, I sometimes meet people who report that they have had a vision from the Lord God. They are beatifically happy.  Gloriously encouraged.  Their feet don't touch the ground and they sing God's praises.


In general, those messages are not dance-inspiring.  In my experience, they carry a heavy burden. I bear mine joyfully, but not with light feet, I assure you.   The prophets in the Bible heard from God and walked to and fro, sometimes, proclaiming judgment and exile.  Sometimes they had to do odd things to make a point for God.  Sometimes, they had to endure persecution.  Sometimes, people tried to kill them. 

Daniel, a man who was exalted above many, though a captive in a foreign land, was richly blessed by God.  He was.  Kings called on him or spurned him, but still God blessed him. He was tossed into a lion pit, but was preserved.  His reputation was such that, even though he was not an advisor to a king in his old age, he was still remembered as a man who spoke for God, to whom mysteries were shown and truth was revealed. 

Even so, when God showed him visions, when the Lord of Heaven gave him glimpses of the future, Daniel was terrified. 


Around the year 553 B.C., Daniel was sent a vision.  Now, in the previous six chapters of this book, Daniel interpreted dreams, read God's handwriting on a wall, and was sent in for dinner for a bunch of lions for worshiping the One True God.  Daniel does not remark about being terrified by any of that.  But this vision of the beasts terrifies him.  Not only the vision, but the interpretation.

You can read the entirety of this vision here.  At this time, I am going to focus on just a part of it, the part that pertains to our future as opposed to the future of Daniel alone.

9 "As I looked, "thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened. 11 "Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.) 13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Now, the beast with the iron teeth is generally regarded to be Rome, as Rome was known for its power with iron.  Rome did indeed trample everything, crushing, rending, and changing it as it passed and conquered.  This empire is in our past, of course. It is the horns, though, that draw my attention, here.  The vision of judgment is significant, too, and was also shown in the book of Revelation.

The cool thing about this dream of Daniel's is that it doesn't end with all of this, with his uncertainty, and his being overwhelmed by the unknown. 


He asks for and is given an interpretation within his vision. God was truly gracious.  Rome will come and go, in terms of Empire.  But that will not be the end of the story, Daniel is told.

A ruler will come, and the world will essentially be given over to his dominion, the vision says.   And for a time the people of God will be handed over to him.  These "times" are widely interpreted to be years, so that the time period spoken of is, in essence, three and a half years.  (More on that next week, probably.) 

This means that God's people will be oppressed. Not spirited away, not hidden under a rock, but oppressed by this ruler.  The ruler has been called many things, including antichrist, though not in this book, of course.

After this time, the ruler's power will be taken from him.  Permanently. 

For us, today, what does this mean? This means that we should be keeping our eyes open.  Yes, the Roman Empire was pretty much finished off back in the fifth century (if not earlier!) but kingdoms still rise and fall all over the earth. And there will be penultimate kingdom under the rulership of a man who blasphemes God.  Today, it might be said that many rulers of the world make this a regular practice...

But still, this ungodly ruler has not yet manifested himself on a global stage.  He will, though. And when he does, the whole world will change. Times and seasons will be altered.  We can read in other books about the dreadful destruction that will take place while he is making a mockery of those who will worship him. 

Daniel said that he was terrified. That his face turned pale.  He kept the matter to himself, though he did write it all down to remember.  He knew that he had been given this vision for a reason. That he had to eventually share it. 

He wasn't dancing about it, though.  Because when God singles you out to do a job, it is a dreadfully serious business.  Sometimes, it's even terrifying.

My Google Search on “antichrist” turned up over 4 MILLION results!  My Amazon search listed over 13 THOUSAND books on the subject! 

 

The fear and speculation surrounding this spiritual bogeyman have been building for 2,000 years to the point where today millions of Christians around the world either cower in fear or gnash their teeth at the thought of this evildoer.  Fingers have been pointed at everyone from Marilyn Manson to David Hasselhoff and you can’t swing a dead cat in a Pentecostal church these days without hitting an authority on “the Antichrist” 

 

But seriously folks, it’s time to STOP THE INSANITY!   Articulator is here to put an end to this yammering ONCE AND FOR ALL by revealing the true identity of Lucifer’s lapdog who’s very name means “against Christ” (that’s a hint).

 

Now, if you’ll just calmly read the following page and connect the dots, you will be able to conclude for yourself the identify of this egregious embodiment of evil.

 

First, please note that only one Biblical writer (John) actually even used the term “antichrist” and it appears in only four verses (and not once in the book of Revelations).  For your convenience I’ve printed the four verses here, as they appear in the New International Version of the Bible.

 

 

(1 John 2:18) Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.

 

(1 John 2:22) Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son

 

(1 John 4:3) but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

 

(2 John 1:7) Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

 

Hmmmm….let’s see…antichrist never capitalized (wonder what that could mean)…already in the world, many of them have already come…deceivers who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh…any such person is the…antichrist…

 

HOLY CANOLI, BATMAN!!!

 

ANY PERSON WHO DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS CHRIST AS COMING IN THE FLESH IS THE ANTICHRIST!!!

 

* That’s it, folks.  End of story.  No spawn of Satan.  No grim reaper.  No horns and pitchfork.

 

Anticlimactic, I know.  But it’s clear from John’s writing that he was just inventing a new term to refer to those who were against Christ, duh…. “anti" Christ.  I’m sure John had no idea that he would spawn a whole religious industry, countless horror movies and book series, and basically scare the bajeezus out of some Christians.  Oh, well.  Honest mistake.

 

So, please, in the interest of further clearing up this little misunderstanding that has been perpetrated against us by the flatulent, fearmongering forces of fear, I ask for help in slapping down this antichrist thing-a-ding each time it rears its ugly head.  Here’s how you can help.  Please print out this page, and using scissors cut a large “X” through the middle of the sheet of paper.  Fold up the paper and keep it in your pocket, and the next time you here somebody begin to babble on about the antichrist being Satan’s spawn, yadda yadda – remove this paper from your pocket, unfold it, smash it over their head, and politely say “READ THIS YOU NINNY!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Disclaimer: Am I 100% certain of this…er, no.  There is a slight possibility that John had a vision of Carrot Top, which inspired his creation of the term “antichrist”.  But I Googled “Carrot Top + antichrist” and only got 45,000 results, so for now I must allow logic to prevail based on the Biblical evidence presented above.