“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day (Day of the Lord) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin (the Antichrist) be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing Himself that he is God.” (2 Thessalonians. 2:3,4)
The title of this article comes from a well-known line in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Three witches predict that Macbeth, a Scottish general, will receive a title of Scottish nobility from the king and become king himself one day. When the king makes Macbeth the thane of Cawdor, Macbeth, now believing the prediction given him by the witch, and with encouragement from Lady Macbeth, kills King Duncan and becomes the king of Scotland. This begins Macbeth’s descent into evil. The words in our title were spoken by one of the witches, regarding Macbeth, as he approached them to find out more about their prophecies regarding him.
The above verse speaks of a day when evil will be personified like never before in a man the Bible calls, among other names, the Antichrist. He is referred to as “the beast” in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation and “the man of sin in the above verse.” He will rise out of obscurity promising peace to the world and he will be accepted by most in the world of that time. Many believe he will be of Jewish descent because he will make a seven-year peace agreement with Israel and Israel will accept him as their messiah.
This man will head a ten-nation confederacy and initially come to power professing peace. This will quickly change and he will set about to conquer. He will be empowered by Satan and perform great wonders. The world will stand in awe of this man. He will demand to be worshipped and will speak against the Lord.
“And he (the Antichrist) opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His Name.” (Revelation 13:6)
The signing of the agreement between the Antichrist and Israel is the beginning of the last seven years before Christ’s return. This period is referred to in the Bible as “The Great Tribulation.” It will initially bring a long sought after peace to Israel, but it will only be a temporary peace.
The Antichrist will be helped by the false prophet who the Bible says “had two horns like a lamb, but spoke as a dragon. He also will be empowered by Satan and will “cause the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast (Antichrist).” The false prophet will require all to receive a mark in the forehead or hand, without which no one could buy or sell. The mark will be “the name of the beast (Antichrist), or the number of his name.” The Bible says that the mark is “the number of a man; and his number is six hundred, threescore and six (666).” Those that agree to receive the mark will “drink of the wrath of God.” In other words, they will be eternally lost. Believers in the Lord will refuse the mark and will face death.
At the midpoint of the seven-year tribulation, the Antichrist will turn on Israel, breaking the peace agreement, and come against it militarily to destroy the nation and kill all the jews. Satan is behind this final effort to destroy God’s people, for the Lord has made promises to Israel. His Word says all Israel will be saved in the end. Satan knows that if God’s Word is not fulfilled regarding the Jewish people then He wins. This will not happen. All of the Lord’s Word will be fulfilled. The Second Coming of the Lord will defeat Satan, all Israel will be saved, and the thousand-year reign of Christ will be ushered in.
“The blindness in part is happened to Israel (rejecting Christ initially) until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in (the church age ending with the rapture). And so all Israel will be saved (at the end of the tribulation with the Second Coming ).” Romans 11:26
As Christians, the Bible says we are “not appointed to wrath” and that the Lord is coming for us before the Great Tribulation. These last seven years before the Lord’s return will be the worst time this world has ever seen. The judgment of God will bring famine, pestilence, earthquakes, war, and much more in the way of destruction and death to an unrepentant world. The Lord loves us and wants all to be saved from His end-time judgment. His mercy and grace have provided us with a Way whereby we will be saved from all that will come upon the earth. The Lord of glory came to earth and died on the cross for our sins. We must repent and believe in His sacrifice at Calvary to be saved. If you have not come to the Lord in repentance and faith; won’t you come to Him today. The Lord has given us signs of the approaching tribulation and they are all around us today. Something wicked this way comes and we can escape it by faith in the Lord who loves us.
The Rapture of the church is an evacuation of all believers from the earth before the wrath of God comes upon this world as the following verse states:
“For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1Thessalonians 4:16-18)
See The A, B,C’s of Salvation page on this website. Link below.
https://wordpress.com/page/tqministries.com/5448
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