'The Spirit Of Antichrist'

The article below comes from a site that we reference from time to time, and the author has some very interesting, deep, thought-provoking commentaries. Many prophecy watchers seem to have noticed a very unsettling sense recently - nothing specific but just a general sense of unease. The commentary below may explain this sense of unease and some of the events that we have been observing:

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The spirit of antichrist:

Introduction:

We are in a time right now of ominous, impending, prophetic developments. The spirit of antichrist is preparing the world for the fearful, fateful, imminent advent of the final antichrist. At the same time, the people of God are growing stronger and stronger.

Daniel 11:32-33 “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits, and those of the people who understand shall instruct many...”

1 John 4:3 “Every spirit that does not confess that Yeshua the Messiah has come in the flesh is not of God and this is the spirit of antichrist, which you have heard is coming and now is in the world.”

1 John 2:18 “Little children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us but were not of us; for if they were of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they may be manifest, that none of them were of us.”

I have written very little on the antichrist in previous editions, simply because he will be a central figure in the tribulation period and not before. The antichrist is a major subject for those of the post-tribulation rapture belief – not me!

But, the Bible speaks of the “spirit of antichrist” operating in many antichrists before the tribulation begins, of which we must have some knowledge – hence this edition.

The spirit of antichrist, according to our title verses above, operates in people who specifically deny that Yeshua is God. This spirit goes out in association with the church as well.

Satan’s ace is to get into the church, especially into the leadership. Division and strife are his calling cards!

An antichrist is a human being possessed with a satanic spirit, usually in a leadership form. There are many individuals who are demon possessed, but not specifically possessed by the undiluted manifestation of the antichrist spirit of Satan. There is a satanic hierarchy.

A person with an antichrist spirit will have many of the characteristics of the final antichrist himself.

This edition is not so much about the antichrist of the tribulation period, who will be the supreme embodiment of man’s rebellion to God, but about that spirit at work right now, and how to identify it and steer clear.

The spirit of antichrist is a powerful ruling spirit. It is a conquering spirit. It is a usurping and replacing spirit, getting rid of the true and replacing it with error and illegitimate leadership.

The spirit of antichrist is seen in political leaders, church leaders, religious leaders and the like!

Definition of antichrist:

“Christos” is the Greek word for Christ, corresponding to Mashiach in Hebrew. So the word means anti-Messiah. But in the original there is more to it. The words used mean to “come against” and “to replace.”

The end purpose of this evil spirit is to come against, and get rid of the Messiah, replacing Him with a false Messiah.

The antichrist spirit goes still further. Once you have replaced the true Messiah with a false Messiah, this spirit can then literally and physically get rid of Christians by killing them, which is part of his objective.

The antichrist spirit denies that Yeshua is the Messiah. He denies the Father, Son relationship. But he does not deny Yeshua. He does not deny the existence of God. He denies that Yeshua is God, because he himself later proclaims himself to be God!

You may have noticed that this is also the spirit behind replacement theology, which gets rid of God’s calling and plan for the Jews and replaces them with the church. Amazingly they can’t see that they are of the spirit of antichrist in this regard.

The great danger of these days is to be in this physical and spiritual world with eyes only for the physical. To be able to even see and identify spirits at work, you need the gifts of the Spirit. To deal with these evil spirits, you most certainly need the gifts of the Spirit.

As stated above, some very clear examples of the spirit of antichrist in the church today are seen in replacement theology and also in the Jezebel spirit, which is prolific in the church. This is a spirit out to bring down God’s leadership and replace it with illegitimate leadership, destroying the church from within. It is not exclusively seen in women as some believe.

He will be known by his fruits:

True believers are known as such by the fruits they produce. In the same way the spirit of antichrist is known by its fruits.

Firstly, it’s worth bearing in mind that the final antichrist himself is known as the “son of perdition.” The only other person in the Bible with this title was Judas. The title means they are hell-bound!

He is also known by his names: Beast, dragon, deceiver, lawless one, and many others.

This is a collection of characteristics of the spirit of antichrist, derived from the relevant verses:

●He opposes God. ●He exalts himself above God. ●He is a blasphemer. ●He receives worship and sits in the temple. ●He is a controller. ●He rejects God’s law but operates in his legalism. ●He operates with lying signs and wonders. ●He is a chief deceiver. ●He is filled with unrighteousness and wickedness. ●He feeds those who do not love the truth. ●He creates division. ●He is a liar, thief and murderer. ●He murders the saints. ●He is a deceptive peace-maker. ●He is a champion of lust, homosexuality included. ●His “truth” is doctrinal error. ●He obscures the cross of Messiah, robbing it of its power. ●He glorifies human works and opposes the work of the Spirit. ●He removes boundaries and borders. ●He operates in pride and hates those who fear the Lord. ●He is the architect of inter-faith and a new Babel. ●He exalts and glorifies national ignorance.

There is a powerful antichrist spirit in Islam and rabbinical Judaism. Islam believes in Jesus, but absolutely denies that He is God. Judaism is much the same for now. Although the Catholics believe in Jesus, there are many characteristics of the antichrist spirit in their midst.

Purposes of the spirit of antichrist:

His chief purpose is to obtain worship, willingly or not. This spirit is a fear monger. He creates illegitimate fear. Of course, the fear of the Lord is what we need, not fear created by the devil. His fear is to produce domination and control.

This is the end the objective of the spirit of antichrist, when it is fully manifest. This is the goal to which the spirit of antichrist is working right now, and the tragedy is that most can’t see it or even know it!  And tragically, the goal of the antichrist will be successful in the tribulation period, albeit for a short time. Here it is:

Revelation 17:13 “These (nations) are of one mind and they will give their power and authority to the beast.”

Revelation 13:8 “All who dwell on the earth will worship him (antichrist), whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

What a staggering statement that is in this verse above!

So, here we have the two great end-time purposes to which the spirit of antichrist is working now. They are to receive power (to control) and worship.

Please bear in mind that the believer’s power comes from the cross of Calvary. If this evil spirit of antichrist can obscure or remove the cross, he strips the believer of power, leaving him wide open to deception.

A deliberate rejection of revealed truth leaves you guilty as charged and opens you to deception.

It’s interesting to note that the spirit of antichrist vehemently opposes the work of God, which is ultimately to bring salvation to the world. In this church dispensation it is us, the church who are God’s main workers and the main subjects of Satan’s attacks.

Very few Christians in the West have any idea at all of the persecution and martyrdom of Christians in the East today. The numbers are truly horrific.

In the tribulation period, God’s main workers to bring salvation to the nations are the Jews, and likewise, they will be hated, persecuted and slaughtered.

Today the modern liberal church hates us cross-bearing believers and hates Israel and God’s plan for them as seen in their evil doctrine of replacement theology. It’s the same spirit of antichrist attacking both.

The deadly end-time acts of the spirit of antichrist:

The main method the spirit of antichrist uses is to blind people to his presence and operations. A spiritually blind person is very easy to deceive! This blindness comes primarily from ignorance.

Today we are in a world characterised by rebellion to the word and ways of God. You may think that rebellion to His ways is no big deal. The verse below calls you a witch!

1 Samuel 15:23 “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.”

There is a power behind witchcraft. It is the power of the spirit of antichrist! Bear that in mind the next time you promote the rebellion of homosexuality.

The most deadly attack of the spirit of antichrist is and will be anti-Semitism in the world and replacement theology in the church.

Replacement theology is the spiritual arm of anti-Semitism. It is fully evil and of the devil. In fact, replacement theology in the church today, is the Holocaust of the Jewish dead of the Holocaust. It’s killing them all over again, and giving the spirit of antichrist the authority for the coming Holocaust!

Another act of the spirit of antichrist will be a great deception that he is the Messiah of the end-times. He will delude the masses, the uneducated and the gullible into believing that the Lord has arrived and is here on the earth.

One of the main works of the spirit of antichrist is to introduce error. To be consistent in his method of operation, he obscures and removes the truth and then brings in the error. Remember that error is a spirit! (1 John 4:6)

The biggest error in the counterfeit church (and some churches), is that you can be saved by works without the radical born-again experience through the blood of Messiah and His cross.

Another dangerous error is that you do not need to take up your cross daily, and deny self.This goes hand in hand with the error of worldliness and ignorance of demon activity.

Of course there are numerous smaller errors, but we need to be aware of these big errors, which can and will affect your eternity.

The spirit of antichrist is the spirit of blasphemy. We see this in Revelation 13:6-7 where he opens his mouth in blasphemy against God, His name, His tabernacle and His people, who dwell in heaven.

The word “blasphemy” also means: Contempt, slander, injury to one’s name, reproachful.

Many of the unsaved in the tribulation period turn in blasphemy against God for the massive judgements that come upon the earth.

Perhaps the greatest work of the spirit of antichrist is to get the whole world to accept and love evil and sin. (John 3:19, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10)

He will perform many supernatural miracles to deceive those looking for signs and wonders without the fullness of truth.

The spirit of antichrist will cause many to be lovers of themselves, filled with pride. They will be scoffers of end-time things, filled with lusts. They will be mockers. They will cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

The spirit of antichrist uses love to achieve his goal. Love enveloped by truth is powerful. Love without truth is vulnerable to become a tool of the devil!

The antichrist is characterised by incredible intelligence and persuasiveness. (Daniel 7:8, 20, 8:23) He comes as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). He is a crafty trickster (Ezekiel 28:6). He is full of self will, being called the “wilful king.” (Daniel 11:36)

The spirit of antichrist will use all the tools of the devil to prepare the world to receive him as God!

The time is late:

The hour is very late, there is little time left. Soon the hour will become the “hour of trial which will come upon the whole world” – the tribulation period. Soon the day will become the “Day of the Lord” – the whole seven year tribulation period.

It is time to watch and pray – be vigilant, be encouraged in our Lord. Move forward with Him. Repent of all known sin, walk right and holy with our God, study to show yourself approved unto God. Actively get rid of all complacency, mixture of truth and error. Get rid of a lukewarm attitude. Be hot for God!

We are in a critical time in history, becoming more so daily. Revelation 12:12 speaks of the fact that Satan knows his time is short, so he causes more and more havoc on the earth. This means things in the world are not going to get better but far worse.

The spirit of antichrist has a major ambition in making the free world - not free! His world is one of control. His world is one of unholy, evil, sin and wickedness. If you have not discovered it yet, sin, evil and wickedness is full of bondages and everything but freedom and peace, which is just what Satan wants.

Will the final antichrist be a Jew?

The answer is no!

It is not in the Bible. So how did such a far reaching, well-believed lie become a Christian tradition?

Revelation 13:1 reveals a beast arising from the sea. The sea is always a type of the Gentile nations.

Revelation 13:11 reveals “another beast”, the false prophet, arising from the earth. This is a type of the Jews. So it means that the false prophet could be a Jew or have a hidden Jewish identity or heritage.

This amazing verse below implies that this antichrist is a “prince of Israel.” This does not mean he is an Israel Jew, it means he has a significant role in the end-time events of Israel.

Ezekiel 21:25-27 “Now to you,O profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose iniquity shall end...you shall lose your crown and be overthrown.”

The rapture:

Satan’s main reason for attacking the true church of the living God is to disarm them of their weapons! It is only the true, Spirit-filled church that has a full complement of spiritual weapons, and the authority to use them to bind the works of the devil and cast him out.

How can the church be here on earth, with those weapons while the antichrist is also here at the same time? We have the power and authority to defeat his works. Only a pre-tribulation rapture answers this question.

The full manifestation of the spirit of antichrist occurs as he manifests at the terrible table of his deceptive peace covenant. As he signs the dreaded covenant, which breaks God’s existing covenant, he is revealed and fully indwelt and possessed by Satan.

That evil spirit of Satan now in that individual will be revealed and released upon the world. This event begins the final seven-year tribulation period, the next dispensation. At this point, the restrainer of evil, the church is removed in the rapture.

The rapture is a secret event because our Lord does not deal in judgement with the antichrist at the rapture. He most certainly does at the Second Coming, which is why that is not a secret event by any means.

Only those who are awake and watching will be ready at the rapture. Every eye will see Him at the Second Coming.

You can be pretty sure that the antichrist will come up with a grand excuse and explanation for the rapture. He will deny it by replacing it with a lie of some sort.

Happily – doom and gloom!

The Bible assigns a great many verses to the final end and doom of the antichrist. Here are some of the verses. For the sake of space, I’m not writing them out – just hover your mouse over them:

Ezekiel 28:7-10; Daniel 7:11, 27; Daniel 8:25; Daniel 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation 17:11; 19:20; 20:10

Once the believer has stepped into eternity he will be forever free of all satanic spirits and forces, never again to be threatened by dark, grim, gloomy forces.

This victorious believer will never again need his spiritual armour and weapons of warfare. The Bible sees this in a most wonderful way as the believer casts off his armour and finds underneath it a beautiful wedding garment, white and clean!

Revelation 19:14 “The armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.”

Finally:

If only the world could see behind the veil. If they could see just for a moment, the world of angels, demons, spirits, gods and God all right there behind the veil, they would be shocked to the core. Tragically, most will see it all when it’s too late, as they step into eternity.

Thankfully, many know and see all these things with spiritual eyes and take appropriate action, preparing for a giant leap into eternity!

We have a comforting, blessed hope.

Titus 2:13 “Live godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Yeshua the Messiah.”

1Thessalonians 4:17-18 “We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them (dead in Messiah) in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”