The Antichrist Revealed: What 2 Thessalonians Really Says

Welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a 30-minute walk through the Scriptures teaching in-depth Bible truths that change people's lives. Now, here's your host, Les Feldick. And again, good to have everybody back with us. Boy, we got a good crowd in the studio today, and we're just going to go right back and pick up where we stopped in our last program, and we were describing the attributes or the personality of this man that's going to come on the scene to rule and rule the world during the Tribulation. And you remember we had come out of Daniel, and we were now going into the New Testament and see some of those descriptions there. So while you're looking up II Thessalonians chapter 2, we'll begin at verse 1. Again we want to welcome our television audience, how we appreciate their letters, and those of you who are helping with our financials. After all, all this takes a lot of money, and we're not underwritten, we're not sponsored by anyone. We're totally dependent upon God's people. But we also want folk to understand that we take nothing out of the ministry for ourselves. We don't even take gas money or car expenses. The only thing that comes out of our budget are legitimate production and TV time and what have you. So anyway, now if you'll turn with me to II Thessalonians chapter 2, and we might as well begin with verse 1. And as I've stressed over the last several months, Paul never writes with regard to prophecy per se, because Paul writes concerning the church. But you see, as the church bumps right up against the door of the fulfilling again of prophecy, Paul does make some statements here in II Thessalonians chapter 2 concerning this man of sin. And consequently, I want to look at these just to get another point of view about this man that is definitely going to come on the scene. Verse 1, Now we beseech you, Paul writes, to the Thessalonians, remember there are Gentiles up there in northern Greece, we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto Him. Now you see the language, that's not the second coming, because there's not going to be a gathering unto Him at the second coming. He's going to come to, but here there is a gathering unto. Difference in language, totally. Someday down the road we're going to show the difference of all the Scripture verses, how that the second coming is totally different language than Christ coming for the church, and we can show that so clearly. But for now, go on into verse 2. He writes to the Thessalonians believers who evidently thought that they had missed what we call the outcalling, or the rapture, and that they were in the tribulation, because they were going under intense persecution, remember. And so Paul writes this little letter to calm their fears and to let them know that they hadn't missed it. Now I think every believer who understands our teaching concerning the rapture of the church, and I've had so many, even I've experienced it myself, you may come home and unbeknown to you, the whole family is gone. I know sometimes my wife loves to go fishing, and I may come back and she's gone, and nobody around. And now you think, well Les, you should never think like that. Well hey, we all do, and I'm sure you have. You suddenly realize that your loved ones that you thought should be there are gone. What's that first thought that may hit us? Hey, has the Lord taken them and I missed it? Absolutely it does, and it should. I mean, we should be so aware of this that it's the first thought that hits us. Is it possible? Have I missed it? Well, this is what the Thessalonians thought. They thought because of the pressures they were now under, the Lord had come, the tribulation had come in, and they'd had it. Now this is the reason for this condolent letter. And he says that you be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled, see, neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us, that the day of Christ, now the day of the Lord, the day of Jehovah, the day of God, and what is that? Well, that's the tribulation when God's judgment is going to come on the scene for those seven years. And so he says that the day of Christ is at hand or has happened. Now verse 3, here is a verse that I think is so unfortunate. The King James translators, I've always had such high respect for the King James for its accuracy, but they're not perfect, no translation is. But here is one where I think they made a glaring mistake, and it has caused a lot of confusion amongst Christendom, and that is on the word apostasia. In verse 3, now he writes, "...let no man deceive you by any means for that day," that is the coming in of the tribulation, the day of God, "...that day shall not come except there come," now most translations have got it, "...a falling away." And I think it's so unfortunate, and I changed the teaching of it when the Amplified New Testament came out. Now I don't remember when that was, but the Amplified New Testament I think came out in about the middle 70's, maybe a little earlier. But as I was studying that one, now the Amplified, for those of you who are not acquainted with it, is a good, again a good study Bible, where they have simply taken the Greek of the New Testament, and if it takes four or five English words to enlarge on a Greek word, they'll put it right in there. Now it doesn't make nice reading, I mean it's just word, after word, after word, all describing the original. But if you take the time and understand how that sometimes it does take four or five English words to understand one Greek word, then you'll get the picture. Well now here is one of them where in their footnote they have got for the word apostasia instead of a falling away, the departure, the departure. Now read it in that light. For that day shall not come, in other words the introduction of the Antichrist, that day shall not come except there come a departure first. Now it's interesting that all of the early translations of our Bible, beginning with Tyndale and all the way up through the 1500's, almost every translation, including the Tyndale and the Geneva and several others, all translated that word, the departure. Kenneth Weiss, Dr. Kenneth Weiss, I think most of you have heard his name, he's probably the most respected Greek scholar on the scene today up at Moody Bible Institute. And in his book, now if I can think of the title of it, I think it's Prophetic Light in this Dark Day or something like that, but in his book he also makes that same delineation of this word, that it is better translated, the departure, because the same Greek word translated in our King James, falling away, is translated 8 times in our New Testament as depart. Either of a person departing from another person to go away, or of a person departing from one place to another. Now you see that makes all the difference in the world in this text, that the tribulation cannot begin until there is the departure. You and I, and I think we're going to live to see the day, I think we're getting closer and closer and faster and faster, where we're going to depart. We're suddenly going to be gone from this place to the other. And so he says, as he goes on now, and that man of sin, see now here's another one of the titles, or the descriptions of this Antichrist, and except there come the departure, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. I'm going to throw this in just casually, because again I don't get dogmatic on some of these things, but if you want to make a Bible study of something that gets rather intriguing, what other human being in Scripture is referred to as the son of perdition? Judas Iscariot was called the son of perdition. Now like I say, you can do this on your own, I'm not going to make a big deal of it here, we haven't got time. But you see Judas Iscariot was spoken of as having gone to his own place. The book of Revelation speaks of the Antichrist as the son of perdition, who also came from his own place. So there are many Scriptural analogies that perhaps, and that's all I can say, is perhaps we will have the one instance of a reincarnation. Now I don't even like to use the word, because it's coming in so fast in the Oriental religions and so forth, and there's certainly no other instance of it in all of Scripture. But I think it is a possibility that Judas Iscariot could come back reincarnated. Now remember, Christ was not reincarnated, He was incarnate. But a reincarnation could be someone who has lived and now is alive again. Now it's possible, and that's all I can say, it's possible that the Antichrist could be a reincarnated Judas Iscariot. And the more I think about it, the more I think it's indeed possible, and as I said last program, I think the Antichrist will be an apostate Jew, rather than apostate from Christianity, Catholic or Protestant. But whatever, whatever, we know he's going to be a demonic individual, but as we saw in the last program, he's going to have all of these pleasant, on-the-surface attributes. He's going to be a charismatic type individual, he's going to be able to sway people's opinions, he's going to be able to lie and get away with it, he's going to be able to promise peace and prosperity, and that's what the world is looking for. I mean, the world will vote their pocketbook every chance they get, and he's going to take advantage of that. He's going to promise a world peace and prosperity, and consequently they're going to fall for hook, line, and sinker. This reminds me, I think I've got it written back here in the fly leaf of my Bible, I hope I have. I'm going to take the time to read it. Here is a statement that was printed in Time Magazine as far back as 1947, 57. Back in 1957, Time Magazine first quoted this gentleman, and he was a famous World War II Belgian general, and he became a diplomat by the name of John, or Paul, Henry Spock. Maybe you've heard the name, Paul Henry Spock. Now, this is what he said back in 1957, as one of the top leaders in Europe at that time. "...we need no commission, we have already too many. What we need is a man who is great enough to be able to keep all the people in subjection to himself, and to lift us out of the economic bog into which we threaten to sink. Send us such a man, be he a god or a devil, we will accept him." Now that was spoken by a European leader in 1957. Now here we are that much later, and the world is that much more ready for such a man. Alright, now then come back to the text here that Paul is writing concerning this world ruler that's going to come on the scene, and he says, verse 4, he's going to oppose and exalt himself. Remember what Daniel said? Just exactly what Daniel said. He's going to worship the God of forces, he's going to exalt himself as God. Alright, Paul is right in line with that, and he says he is exalting himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God, as God now, sitteth where? In the temple of God, which will be rebuilt and on the scene in Jerusalem. Now when we go back again to Daniel, we're going to see how that we know the temple will be rebuilt. It has to be, because Israel is going to enjoy temple worship up until the midpoint when this man will go into the temple, as Paul depicts it here, will defile it, will do some abominable thing, probably as Antiochus again in ancient history did. He offered a hog, a sow, upon the altar there in Jerusalem, and I'm sure that the Antichrist will do something just as despicable. And then reading on again here in verse 5, Paul says, "...remember ye not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these things?" So Paul says, you haven't missed it, the tribulation hasn't come in, because you're still here, and the tribulation can't begin until there is the departure. Well we won't go any further here in Thessalonians just now, we'll come back to that at a later date. Now turn over with me, if you will, to the little letter of 1 John, and you know we have all these references to this man by the man of sin, the vile person, a prince that shall come and so forth, but I'm sure this is the only place in our Bible where he is called what we normally call him, and that is the Antichrist. And here it is in 1 John chapter 2, come down to verse 18, 1 John chapter 2 verse 18, where John writes, "...little children, it is the last time..." Now you see how all these writers of Scripture were assuming that all this would just happen one thing right after the other? Remember how I left the timeline up there, that after the crucifixion, then just a little segment and then would come the tribulation, and then would come the return of Christ with no hint of 2,000 years of church age? Well, all right, John writes in that same light, he has no idea of 2,000 year interval in here, and so he says, "...it is the last time, and as you have heard that..." What's your next word? "...Antichrist shall come." Now as far as I know, that's the clearest term concerning this man as being the Antichrist. Now John also speaks of many other Antichrists, others who will oppose the Word of God and so forth, but there is only one real Antichrist. Now we go into the book of Revelation, of course, and now we get a further description in chapter 13. Now if the Lord tarries and we stay on the air and we continue this way, there'll come a day when we'll study the book of Revelation verse by verse and chapter by chapter, and I know in my weekly classes that it's always prompted the largest attendance and the most excited response. But anyway, for now we're just going to take again just a glimpse of it, because we still want to keep our flow of coming up through the Scriptures, and I'm getting anxious now to get out of the Old Testament and get into the New. We're going to start in Matthew 1, one of these weeks. But now in Revelation chapter 13, verse 1, John in his vision says, "...I stood upon the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast rise up out of the sea." Now we always have to stop and explain. Here's another book of prophecy written in symbolism. Now the beast here in Revelation is the same beast of Daniel. Number one, it's the Roman Empire. But this man Antichrist, since he's going to rule it, is also identified then as the beast. So that word beast is a two-fold meaning. It can mean the Roman Empire, original, as well as revived, but it's also the man of sin. It's the Antichrist who is going to rule this final world system. Now the imagery here again is the sea. Out of the sea he sees this beast come. Now the average reader again, he imagines some kind of a dragon or some kind of a sea monster coming up out of the middle of the ocean. That's not what's indicated. It's a symbolic statement that out of the sea of humanity, out of the masses of the nations, there's going to come, number one, this final empire. And we're seeing it happen right before our eyes with the European community. It's a restoration of the very same geographical area of the ancient Roman Empire. Now I always like to remind my class, you have to realize that from the demise of the ancient Roman Empire between 3 and 400 A.D. and the rising now of this revived Roman Empire, even though it's 1 ,900 and some years or almost 2,000 years, however you want to put it, to us that's a long time. But in the mind of God, what is it? A blink of the eye. And so, so far as He is concerned, what ended in 350 or 360 A.D. and is now coming about in the 1990s, it's as if there is no interval in between. It's just been all pushed right up back to back. And so this is what you have to keep in your mind as you study the Book of Revelation, that all of this now is as if this whole interval has never happened. Now I'll read on. As this great empire, as well as this great individual, rises up out of the midst of the masses of humanity, he has seven heads and ten horns. Now like we saw last week in the Book of Daniel, when Medes and Persians were depicted as the ram with two horns. What were the horns? Well, the two individual kings, see? The father of Cyrus was ruling earlier, and then Cyrus came on the scene, and they're called horns. That's all. They're emperors. They're kings. Now when this empire comes on the scene, there's going to be seven distinct heads of state, but there are going to be ten crowns. So what are you going to have? You're going to have ten distinct nations, three of whom will not be probably large enough and powerful enough to have their own head of state, but out of these ten nations, you're going to have ten distinct leaders, prime ministers, whatever you want to call them. And upon his head, that is upon the very heading of this great empire, as well as the individual who will lead it, the name of blasphemy. So who is heading up this empire? Well not God, but Satan. It's a Satanic consortium of politicians and so forth. Now when I say Satanic, remember, Satan isn't just the promoter of Skid Row, Satan doesn't just promote the vile aspect of life, Satan can promote the greatest technology, he can promote the most beautiful things on earth, as long as it's for his own end. So even though this great world system comes on the scene, and I say it's Satanic, that doesn't mean that it's intrinsically evil from its outward appearances, but you can bet the farm that the inward part of it is corrupt to the core. It's going to be corrupt, and that's why I said when he comes on the scene, how is he going to achieve his end? By lying, by deception, by flattery, by his charismatic personality, he's just going to get people to fall at his feet. But he's corrupt. Now let's read on. Verse 2. Ephesians 2, and the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard. Now here you always have to take time and think back, this is why we teach. Remember back in Daniel chapter 7? In Daniel chapter 2, let's go back a little further. You remember the Babylonian Empire was called the Head of Gold? The Meridian Persian Empire was the Chest of Silver? The Greek Empire was the Belly of Brass? The Roman Empire the Legs of Iron? Then you remember in chapter 7, Daniel saw those same empires as wild beasts. He saw Babylon as the lion. He saw the Medes and Persians as the bear. And he saw the Greek Empire as the ram, if I remember correctly. And then the fourth empire was a beast beyond description. All right, now look at them here. They're in reverse order, because see, Daniel saw them from a prophetic view from start coming down. John sees them now as looking back. And so he says the first beast that he saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were like the feet of a bear. See there we're coming back now, we're from the Greek to the Mede and Persian. And I said a ram a minute ago, it was a bear. The feet of a bear, and his mouth the mouth of a lion. That takes you all the way back to the Babylonian. And the dragon, Satan, gave him his throne, his seat, and his authority. Now see how plain that is? This man is going to come up on the scene, satanically driven. He's going to receive his power and his talents and his ability from Satan himself. And he's going to take over these 10 nations, which I'm convinced will be the European community. And out of that 10 nation power then, he will come to the top and become the great world leader. Now then in verse 3, he said, I saw one of his heads, as it were, wounded to death. Now again, there's a lot of controversy as to will the Antichrist himself be assassinated and then be raised back to life? And I do not think so. Although that would make good news, that would make good copy. I personally think that the wounding to death here is the ancient Roman Empire. Everyone historically feels that the Roman Empire is dead, it's off the scene. But here it is, coming back, just as if nothing has ever happened in the interim. And then his deadly wound was healed. And now watch those next 3 or 4 words. And all the world, see, not just Europe, not just the Mediterranean, but the whole world, see, wondered after the beast. And then verse 4, and they worshiped the dragon who gave power unto the beast. Do you see now why we're seeing such an increase in Satan worship? We're seeing such an increase in the Oriental religions, which are tied, of course, to the occult. Well, they're all getting ready for when this gentleman comes on the scene, and he takes over, and the world is just going to be ready to fall at his feet. And they'll worship him as well as the Satanic power that's behind him. Reading on now, they'll ask the question, verse 4, who is like unto the beast? Who's like him? He's one in millions, see, and who is able to make war with him? And so verse 5, "...there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemy." See, he is going to be anti-God. He is the anti-Christ, and he's going to have tremendous power because of the Satanic power behind him. Now, don't ever underestimate Satan. You remember when Jesus was out there in the temptations in Matthew chapter 4? And one of the temptations was, as He took Him up, I think, to the mountaintop in this particular case, and He showed Jesus what? All the kingdoms of the world and glory of them. And what did Satan have the audacity to say to Jesus? Fall down and worship me, and I'll give them to you. They're His to give, I've always said. And now here we see Him really coming to the place where He thinks He's got the whole world under His thumb. And they're all beginning to worship Him, but God limits Him. And what's the next limit? Forty-two months. That's three and a half years. So for out of the seven, remember, the first three and a half, He's going to be making His points, He's going to be coming on the scene, but He won't attain this position of absolute world control until the middle of the tribulation. That's when He'll move into the temple in Jerusalem, and that's when He will turn on the Jew, and then as we'll see probably in the next program or two, I don't know when, but anyway, we're going to see at the midpoint of the tribulation, Satan is cast out of heaven. And so I always put it this way, that last three and a half years is not going to be just the wrath of God poured out, but it's going to be a combined wrath, the wrath of Satan, the Scripture says, knowing he has but a short time, three and a half years, the wrath of God because He has promised He would pour out His wrath on Christ, rejecting mankind. And so that last 42 months, that last three and a half years are, like Jesus said in Matthew 24, a time of trouble, the likes of which the world has never seen or ever will, and it's going to be such that we cannot even comprehend it. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick. Through the Bible is a partner-supported ministry. If this program has been a help to your study of the Scriptures and you'd like to see others enjoy the teaching, your support would be greatly appreciated. Write to us at Les Feldick Ministries, 30706 West Lona Valley Road, Kenta, Oklahoma 74552, or call 1-800-369-7856. Remember, all programs are available in printed form, audio cassette, and videotape. Be sure to tune in next time to Through the Bible with Les Feldick.