THE COUNTERFEIT
H
aving examined many of the signs we are told will be evident in the events leading up to the Apocalypse, we are now almost ready to delve into the Book of Revelation and consider what it has to say. Later, we will discuss how we can avoid the period known as the Great Tribulation. But first I would like to examine the character of what Scripture calls the Antichrist. We are told that a powerful political leader will rise to prominence in a future seven-year period and that this individual will dominate world events. But, before he can assume power, all the Christians must be removed to make way for the seven years of Great Tribulation.
The Devil's Advocate
“Anti” means “instead of” and not “against,” as most people think. So this man, who will be directly controlled by Satan, is “instead of” Christ. He will be the devil's messiah, as it were. He will have a brief but eventful reign in the Earth lasting for seven years from the beginning of the Great Tribulation. This man will rise very fast on the world's political stage and he will attain tremendous power and influence. He will be the head of a confederacy of ten extremely rich and powerful “kingdoms.” He will be the most charismatic and eloquent of all leaders. The world will love him. He will talk peace but will wage war. Most, but not all, will be deceived into thinking that he is the one who can bring peace to the world. How is this man going to gain such power? We can only speculate on this. Historically, many dictators rose to power on the back of some disaster or other in their homeland. Hitler, for instance, came to prominence after the economic collapse of Germany in the 1920s. So the Antichrist may well emerge as the man to lead the world in prosperity and peace after some global catastrophe. This could be a financial crash or perhaps a largescale military confrontation which pushes the world to the brink of a nuclear holocaust.
One way or another, this man will gain unprecedented worldwide political and military power. Not only will he have wonderful presence and communications skills, he will have what seems like magical powers as well. With these he will deceive the whole world, except for the elect of God, who will see through his mask.
He will be the most powerful and charismatic political leader ever to take office. Clarence Larkin, in his book
Dispensational Truth,
says of this man:
“He will be a composite man. One who embraces in his character the abilities of Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great and Caesar Augustus. He will have the marvellous gift of attracting unregenerate men. The irresistible fascination of his personality, his versatile attainments, superhuman wisdom, great administrative and executive ability, along with his powers as a consummate flatterer, a brilliant diplomatist, a superb strategist, will make him the most conspicuous and prominent of men. All these gifts will be conferred on him by Satan, whose tool he will be.”
This very powerful leader will have an ally. In Revelation, this accomplice is called the “False Prophet.” He will be a religious man who will give support to the Antichrist. The “False Prophet” will head a worldwide religious movement which will look like the real thing, but it will be a sham. The “False Prophet” will deceive many with “lying signs and wonders.” He will have extraordinary spiritual powers, which most people will believe come from God. But his source of power will be the devil himself.
In the first century, the disciples of the Messiah performed many “signs, miracles and wonders” in the name of Jesus. This man and his followers will likewise perform many miracles and wonders. But, according to the Word of God, these will be “lying signs and wonders.”
The general public are being deluged at present with a plethora of movies, TV programmes and books which all promote and support “magic
.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer
,
Lord of the Rings
and
Harry Potter
are examples of these. I believe that all of these are being used to “soften the ground” and prepare the people for this future leader and his accomplice, who will deceive the entire world with their “lying signs and wonders.”
This new religious movement will have its basis in pagan worship, with an adherence to astrology and the study of the signs of the Zodiac as its foundation. Again, I believe that we can already see the burgeoning of this future religious sect with the emergence of the New Age movement all over the world. But it is not “new,” because this religion is ancient: its foundations go back to Babylon in Old Testament times and to the activities of the
Nephilim
.
Sex will play a big part in this new religious worship, as also will the belief that we are all gods who have the power within us to make peace with and heal the planet.
Look around you. Already this Earth is filled with the disciples of New Age paganism. We see it everywhere and it is being propelled by the media, especially television.
This is similar to the situation in Sodom and Gomorrah prior to their destruction. Ezekiel 16:49 provides some insight into the conditions which prevailed:
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters.
So here we are given three sins of Sodom:
1.
Pride
2.
Fullness of Bread
3.
Abundance of Idleness
Â
This is an accurate description of many countries in the Western Hemisphere today. Because we are so well-off, we do not need Yaweh. We are self-sufficient with fullness of bread and, as a result, an abundance of idleness. It does not say here “abundance of unemployment.” There is a difference. Many employers cannot find people to fill job vacancies today in spite of the fact that many millions are unemployed. This is because there is an “abundance of idleness.”
These are the conditions which prevailed in Sodom and Gomorrah before their destruction. These are the conditions the Messiah told us to look for prior to His second coming.
In ancient times, the sun and the penis were worshipped as the givers of life. In many pagan countries, towers or obelisks representing the male organ were pointed towards the sun in recognition of the life-giving qualities of both. Egypt was a well-known centre for these phallic symbols. The obelisk which stands in St. Peter's Square in Rome is the same obelisk which once stood at the ancient temple of Heliopolis, which was the centre of Egyptian paganism. It was hauled to Rome at great expense by Caligula in 37-41 AD. Where these towers or obelisks were built, they represented the erect penis and were pagan symbols for the worship of sex.
There is a spiritual void in the world today and the religious are not filling it. Because of the recent scandals which have rocked the church, Roman Catholicism has lost its moral authority. Because we do not know the Bible and have little knowledge of the Word of Yaweh, good people are floundering in their faith. Because most priests have little knowledge of, or belief in, the Scriptures, they cannot feed their flocks. Empty religious rituals, based on the traditions of men and the doctrines of men, do not wash with the young people any more. So the spiritual void is being filled with music, drugs, alcohol and sex.
This spiritual bereftness that we are witnessing all across the world is the genesis for the New Age religion which will have as its leader a man described in Revelation as the “False Prophet.”
Together with the Antichrist, these two will usher the world into an era of pseudo peace. According to the prophet Daniel, this leader will sign a peace deal with Israel guaranteeing military protection. The Jews will buy into this peace and the word of the Antichrist. But this era of peace and prosperity for the world will be short-lived, for it will lead to a war which will leave millions of Jews dead and end with the final great battle, which will be fought over Jerusalem.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissipation of communism, the new buzz-word is “democracy.” Many of the influential political leaders and diplomats are working together to ensure peace and prosperity for all. The stage is being set for the revealing of a great political leader who will usher the world into a new era of peace. But this man will be the Antichrist, the son of Satan, and his goal will be total destruction. In the following passage, the Antichrist is called “
the man of lawlessness
” and the “
lawless one.
”
Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.
He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God's Temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.
For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work. But the one who now holds it back will continue to do so until he is taken out of the way.
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the splendour of His coming.
The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing.
II Thessalonians 2:3-4, 6-10
We are now ready to examine the prophecies of the Messiah relating to the last days and the seven years of the Great Tribulation. Then, with the knowledge of the events which are to occur in these future times, we shall consider how it may be possible for us to avoid becoming victims of these apocalyptic predictions.
THE UNVEILING
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to show his servants what must soon take place.
The Book of Revelation 1:1
Some people call this book “The Revelation of St. John the Divine.” But this is incorrect. Its divine title is
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ
.
”
The Greek word for revelation is
apokalupsis
, which means “unveiling.” Thus Jesus Christ is unveiling the course of future events in the same way as you would draw curtains back so that you could view a stage. It can also mean the taking away of the veil so that we can see the face. Regarding this book, both descriptions are valid, for Jesus Christ is unveiling the events so that we may see what lies ahead. Also, in the future time, all will see the face of the Messiah. The Book of Revelation has for centuries been a closed book. Even students of the Bible have very little understanding of it. Many of the events pertaining to the last days of this world as we know it are stated in this book. Other prophetic passages from both the Old Testament and New Testament come to fruition in this book. The prophet Daniel received much information regarding these end days. When he had recorded it, God told him to
“seal up the words of this prophecy until the time of the end.”
It is for this reason, I believe, that few have been able to decipher its secrets.
But now the Book of Revelation is beginning to unveil itself. And, although it contains descriptions of chaos and holocaust, we are assured by the Messiah himself that we are blessed if we read or hear these words.
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it, and who take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Revelation 1:3
Many ministers and religious teachers spend much of their time preaching the writings of the Gospels and Epistles and yet ignore the Book of Revelation. This is a paradox, since in this last book of the Bible we have Jesus himself speaking directly to us, for it is His revelation.
In this section, I will endeavour to summarise some of the events prophesied in Revelation. This is no easy job, as it is quite difficult to decode. However, I shall do my utmost to explain the parts which are understandable and tie these in with other parallel prophecies from the Scriptures.
Off the southeastern coast of Turkey lies a small island named Patmos. The apostle John was incarcerated there because of his preaching of the resurrection of the Messiah. The Romans had a quarry on this island and John probably worked out his sentence there. He was an old man in his nineties at that stage. It was while he was on Patmos that he received the Revelation and was instructed to write down what he saw and heard. In verse one of chapter four it is stated:
After this I looked and there before me was a door standing open in Heaven. And the voice I had first heard like a trumpet said: “Come up here and I will show you what must take place after this.”
He then goes on to detail what he saw in this other place called “Heaven.” What he describes is an amazing spectacle. He sees a throne and the One who is sitting on this throne is Yaweh. This throne is surrounded by 24 other thrones which, we are told, are occupied by 24 Elders. Who these Elders are, we do not know. But they bow down and worship Yaweh.
After this, John tells us, he sees in the right hand of Him who sits on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides. This scroll is sealed with seven seals. But who is worthy to open the seals and look inside? John weeps because no one could be found in Heaven or on Earth who could open the seals and look inside.
Then John sees a Lamb standing in the midst of the throne. The Lamb takes the scroll from the right hand of Him who sits upon the throne. Then all the Elders sing:
“You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals. Because you were slain and with your blood you purchased men for God.”
Revelation 5:9
Then the throne was encircled by 10,000 times 10,000 angels (which is 100 million of these spirit-men) and they began singing in praise of the One who sat on the throne and of the Lamb, who is Jesus.
In chapter six, John watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals:
I looked and there before me was a white horse. Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
The Lamb opened the second seal. Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the Earth and make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.
The Lamb opened the third seal, and there before me was a black horse. Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice saying: “A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine.”
The Lamb opened the fourth seal. I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named death, and Hades was following close behind him.
They were given power over a fourth of the Earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the Earth.
Revelation 6:1-8
These are sometimes referred to as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. But what does all this mean? To find out, we go back to the parallel passage in Matthew, chapter 24.
The first things we are told to watch out for, according to the Messiah, are false prophets and false christs. Many will go out to deceive many, he said. He also told us to watch out for the one great false deceiver who would say “I am the Messiah” (Matthew 24:5). This is the Antichrist, who will emerge on the world political stage soon after the Rapture. He will put himself forward as the one who can bring peace to a world on the brink of war and turmoil.The people of the world will welcome this man with open arms. They will believe that they need to unite under a strong dictator who can deliver peace. This is why we see the first rider appearing on a white horse carrying a bow with no arrow, for this man will promise peace and reconciliation. It will be he who will broker a peace deal between Israel and the Arab nations guaranteeing them protection. This will mark the beginning of the seven years of Tribulation, according to the prophet Daniel (Daniel 7:27). A deceptive period of peace and stability will follow. Even the Jews will trust this powerful political leader. But although everyone will love this man and believe that they are entering a new era of world peace, his tenure will end in the greatest military holocaust ever witnessed on the Earth.
So the rider on the white horse is the Counterfeit Christ, also called the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition, the Antichrist.
We can see from the way things are developing in the world politically that the stage is being set for a single world government. Who would have thought just a few short years ago that the cold war would be over? Who could have envisaged the total collapse of communism in Russia and eastern Europe in such a short time? Almost overnight, the world's political landscape changed. Now democracy is sweeping the globe, promising freedom and prosperity for all. Democracy is the vehicle and money is the oil which promises to deliver this better future for mankind. This will be the promise of the rider on the white horse.
Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the Earth and make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.
The second sign Jesus spoke of in
Matthew 24
was:
“Ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars . . . Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”
This relates directly to the rider on the red horse, for in the Great Tribulation, after a pseudo peace which will last only a relatively short time, all hell will break loose.
The world at the present time is at a dangerous crossroads, with hundreds of conflicts going on and hundreds more bubbling under the surface, waiting to erupt. When the rider on the fiery red horse is let loose, all these tensions will be realised, with war and slaughter on a scale no one could even imagine.
The Lamb opened the third seal, and there before me was a black horse. Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice saying:
“A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine.”
We can relate this to the third sign given by the Messiah when he foretold of those last days:
there will be famines
. The rider on the black horse delivers these famines. Black always denotes famine. And weighing-out of bread always denotes scarcity. Many famines have been foretold in the Bible. Take the story of Joseph and his multicoloured coat. When Pharaoh had a dream, he could not find anyone in his court who could interpret his dream for him. He questioned all his soothsayers, mediums, fortune-tellers and astrologers. But they were bereft of useful information in those days, just as their counterparts are bereft of the truth in our day.
So Pharaoh called for Joseph. He asked Joseph if he could interpret the dream. Joseph replied that he could not, but said that God would give him the answer. Pharaoh recounted his dream to Joseph. In the dream, Pharaoh had been standing on the bank of the Nile. Seven fat and healthy cows came up out of the river. These were followed by seven lean cows who swallowed up the fat ones.
Then he saw seven ripe and healthy ears of corn growing on a single stalk. After them came seven other ears of corn, thin and scorched by the east wind. The seven thin ears swallowed up the seven healthy ones.
Joseph told him that the two dreams had the same meaning. Egypt was going to experience seven years of great abundance of food. But these would be followed by seven years of famine. This famine would ravage the land and the seven years of abundance would be forgotten because the famine would be so severe.
He suggested to Pharaoh that he choose a man to oversee the economy for the seven good years. This man would build warehouses and store one-fifth of the harvest during each of the seven years of plenty so that they would have enough food to sustain them through the seven years of famine.
Pharaoh listened to the interpretation and understood its significance. He also realised that it would make sense to follow Joseph's advice. So he gave Joseph the job. He elevated him so that only Pharaoh was above Joseph in the hierarchy of the Egyptian empire. From being the lowest of the low in the state jail, Joseph was elevated to the second-highest office in the land. And all because he trusted in Yaweh.
Later in the story we find that everything occurred just as Joseph had said it would. After the seven years of abundance there followed seven years of bitter famine. During this time all the countries around about implored Egypt to sell them food to sustain them through the famine. In these short seven years, Egypt amassed all the gold and treasures of these nations by selling them food. This is historical fact.
Now the rider on the black horse denotes a coming famine. You can scoff at this prospect or you can believe it. Pharaoh was wise enough to take the prophecy to heart and put measures in place to avert it.
I believe that this rider on the black horse is foretelling a great economic holocaust, a time in which a day's wages is worth a mere quart of wheat and three quarts of barley. One way or another, this is describing the collapse of the economic and monetary systems of the world. All around us today we can see signs of this impending financial collapse.
The Lamb opened the fourth seal. I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades followed close behind him.
They were given power over a fourth of the Earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the Earth.
Revelation 6:8
This is the fourth judgment mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 24:7. It is the judgment of “pestilence.” The Greek word used here is
thanatos,
meaning death, in this instance caused by pestilence and disease. “Pestilence” is followed by the grave (
Hades
). These two words occur together because the latter results from the former. Hades follows in the train of death, because death ends in the grave. Wars, famines and the resulting pestilence are the means used by death and are always followed by a common outcome â committal to the grave.
We discussed earlier the huge problem at present with the spread of pestilence and disease. Yet what we are seeing now is nothing compared to the devastation which will be unleashed in the Great Tribulation, for we are told that half the population of the world will die as a result of the wars, famine, pestilence and disease which these Horsemen of Revelation represent. At today's figures, this means that approximately three billion people will die.
Again we are urged to heed the words of the Messiah when he said:
When you see all these things begin to come to pass, lift up your heads. Your redemption is near.
Luke 21:28