Why Anti-Christ Must Appear
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South

1. The southern two tribes of Judah became corrupt and degenerate. God sent warnings of reproof and correction through five prophets.

 

2. Israel rejected God’s message and His messengers.

 

3. God sent the king of Babylon as “His club of wrath” to destroy Jerusalem by 586 B.C. (Jeremiah 25:9; 27:6)

 

Both

4. God begins the process of restoring His people to their homeland (decree to         

Restore and rebuild Jerusalem).

 

5. God destroys the destroyers, i.e., the kings of Egypt, Assyria and Babylon (See Isaiah 10 and Jeremiah 25, 43, 50.)

 

6. God’s plan was to ultimately bring about everlasting life and joy. (Isaiah 65)

 

This six-step process explains the fall of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, Rome and many other empires down through the course of history. These six steps are consistent, even as we review the destruction of Earth during Noah’s day or the divine destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. God is consistent. He is not willing that anyone should perish, but when decadence and degeneracy reach a point of no return; God steps in by sending a destroyer or destruction.

 

At the End Time

This six-step process is also consistent as events unfold during the Great Tribulation. Especially notice how the destroyer, the agent of God’s wrath, is ultimately destroyed:

 

1. At the present time, the world and all its religious systems are corrupt and degenerate. Each generation, more degenerate than the last, corrupts God’s truth with manmade ideas and doctrines, until God’s will can hardly be recognized.

 

2. Religion is at a stalemate – the religious diversity of the world prevents one man from proving the superiority of his religion over that of another man.

 

3. God will devastate the world with judgments so that everyone will be able to discern the truth and intelligently consider the terms and conditions of the eternal gospel. Because no denomination has all the truth, God’s servants, the 144,000 people from all walks of life, will speak for Him during the Great Tribulation.

 

4. After a period of two years, when most of the world has rebelled against the gospel, God will send Lucifer, the destroyer. Lucifer (Satan) is the Antichrist and is identified in many Bible texts, so we will not be deceived. He is known as “the king out of the North, the stern faced king.” (Daniel 8) He is also described in Revelation 13 as the beast having two horns like a Lamb. In 2 Thessalonians 2, he is identified as the Man of Sin who claims to be God. In Greek and Hebrew, the devil’s name means the same thing, the “destroyer.” (Revelation 9:11) Lucifer is the angel king of the abyss and he will be released from the spiritual realm to physically appear before the human race as a great delusion. Remember, the wicked perish because they refused to love the truth and be saved. Therefore, God sends a strong delusion – Lucifer appearing in the flesh – and those who refuse to believe God’s truth will believe Lucifer’s lies and be condemned.

 

5. After five months of gross deception, the devil will take control of Earth. (Revelation 9:1-11) God turns the whole world over to the devil and his angels, and they kill one-third of mankind to gain complete dominion over Earth. (Revelation 9:13-21) At that time, the mark of the beast (a tattoo) will be implemented. Only the faithful, those people who have learned to rely on God’s sustaining strength, will be able to refuse the mark of the beast.

 

6. At the Second Coming, the devil and his forces, as well as the wicked on earth that join their ranks, will be destroyed. Thus, the “destroyer” will be destroyed. After the 1,000 years have expired, God will create a new Heaven and a new Earth for His children, and everlasting life and joy will prevail.

 

Summary

The Antichrist is coming and he is sent to destroy all people who rebel against the Sovereign God of Heaven and Earth. God sent Shalmanser V as His agent of wrath to destroy Israel’s ten tribes in 722 B.C. (Isaiah 10) and He used Nebuchadnezzar as “His servant” to destroy Egypt and Jerusalem by 586 B.C. (Jeremiah 25) God also used Cyrus and Darius to destroy the pomp of Belshazzar, king of Babylon (Isaiah 45). In a consistent manner, during the Great Tribulation, God will send a great king with his deadly forces to destroy a large number of rebels upon Earth. (Revelation 9:13-21) This great king will be none other than Lucifer, the devil, the Antichrist. Scripture teaches that god brings each destroyer to an end (Daniel 4:17) and yes, the Antichrist will also be brought to a fatal end – and not by human power! (Daniel 8:25; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation 19:19-21)

One last point. As I understand Revelation, more than 50% of Earth’s population will perish before Christ appears: 1.5 billion will be destroyed by the first four trumpets judgments and 1.5 billion will be destroyed by Lucifer and his angels. These figures do not include many martyrs for Christ’s sake. (Revelation 6:9-11) The forth-coming carnage is beyond comprehension. The battle between good and evil will be a fight to the finish, but Jesus Christ will triumph for He has overcome the world and sin! Even more, as soldiers of the cross, we have this assurance from the Captain of Hosts: “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.” (Revelation 13:10) In other words, our one and only concern should be to stand firm in Christ and not lose our hope or faith. God knows what He is doing and the role He has for each of us in days to come. We will celebrate the grandest victory with Him and enjoy the greatest homecoming ever seen. Even if we must perish in the line of duty during the Great Tribulation, the sleep will be sweet, a release from the noise and din of battle. John wrote, “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.’” (Revelation 14:13)

 

A stupendous crisis is before us.  Soon, our faith in God will be severely tested. My prayer is that the Lord will give us experiences today that will purify our faith and deepen our love and our confidence in Him. When the King of Glory finally appears, may we hear the words, “Well done good and faithful servants…”

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