I've recently read a chapter of a book titled King Of The Ark, "A study on the discovery of the Ark of the Covenant", by Rebecca Tourniaire (KING OF THE ARK - Thirdangelsmessage.com % %). It covers the subject of the antichrist. I thought I'd share it here, as I find it very interesting:
In the Bible there is a prophecy about an antichrist, and both Jews and Christians share this belief in an antichrist. In fact some Jews think that Yeshua/Jesus was the antichrist. Although the Jews find the roots for their belief in the Old Testament, Christians gain their belief from both the Old and the New Testament.
First let’s look at the prophecy concerning antichrist in the New Testament, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (2 Thess. 2:3-4).
It is these verses that lead many to think that perhaps a new temple in Jerusalem will be built and antichrist will sit in that temple, and that this would be the fulfillment of this prophecy. However notice this verse from the New Testament, and written by Paul, the very same author from whom we learn that the antichrist sits in the temple of God. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
To sit in the temple as God means to make himself the leader of God’s people, showing himself as God. So we are talking about a counterfeit, which is exactly what the term “antichrist” literally means, “anti” here means “in place of”. Seeing as “Christ” is just a Latin word for Messiah, an antichrist is by definition an anti-Messiah; and what is the Messiah? He is the King and High Priest.
If you remember, the Lord dwelt in His temple in the sanctuary on Earth between the two cherubims of the Ark and above His law. So this is exactly what the antichrist will do, either symbolically or physically. We will look more into this a little later, but as you see, this is the first link between the antichrist and God’s Ark. God sat between the two cherubims to lead His people.
If we go to the book of Daniel we learn a little more about this power that will arrive in world history and grow in power until it stands as the antichrist, “…the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” (Daniel 9:26).
Then in Daniel there is a mention of “the abomination of desolation” (Mark 13:14 & Daniel 12:11), and then a change happens and the “abomination of desolation” becomes the “the transgression of desolation” (Daniel 8:13). We learn that a power will come and distort the truth and the sanctuary shall be trodden under foot. Daniel explains that this antichrist would do this for 1260 days.
So from Daniel we learn that this enemy of God will:
* Destroy the temple
* Trample on the sanctuary
* Be a persecuting power (towards God’s people) for 1260 days/years
Then from Paul we learn:
* The power will undergo a change
* After the change he will copy God and show himself as a leader of God’s people.
Many think that perhaps the prophecy of Daniel was referring to Antiochus Epiphanes, a man who dishonoured the sanctuary during the time of the Maccabees. However God’s timeline in Daniel goes all the way to the time God will end the kingdoms on Earth as illustrated in the rock destroying the statue in Daniel chapter 2. For the Christian it is impossible to interpret the abomination of desolation as Antiochus, because when Yeshua was walking on this Earth He said “when ye shall see”. He was saying the “abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet” was future to Him, but Antiochus was before Christ’s time. So in fact, Christ was talking about the destruction of the Jewish temple and the city of Jerusalem by the Roman army in 70A.D. as “the abomination of desolation”. So the Roman army is identified here, but did the Roman power undergo a change and fulfil all the rest of this prophecy. Did it transfer into “the transgression of desolation”? Did it continue to tread under foot the truth?
The man behind the destruction of Jerusalem and God’s very sanctuary on Earth, was the emperor of Rome. He was both a political leader and a high priest. His titles were, “Father of the People” and “Pontifex Maximus” which means, “The High Priest”. Now remember what Yeshua claimed to be? Our High Priest. Obviously you can only have one supreme priest, and that is the High Priest. So the Roman emperor had a title declaring himself a high priest, but for a pagan religion. History then proves that there was indeed a change and the Roman Empire divided exactly as Daniel prophesied, yet the title Pontifex Maximus (the high priest) did not just disappear with the Emperor. These titles were passed on and adopted by the emperor’s successors who now led the state religion; the Roman popes.
The problem now was that Pontifex Maximus was no longer the title of the high priest of a pagan religion (abomination of desolation). The change of religion now made Pontifex Maximus the alleged high priest of the Messianic movement, namely Christianity mixed with paganism (transgression of desolation). The moment this happened, the pope became Christ’s enemy, by claiming Christ’s titles for himself. The papacy had not only taken over the titles, but also the religious authority of the Roman emperor, and was therefore the
successor of the very power who destroyed Jerusalem and whose soldiers burned down the temple.
So in summary:
* Pontifex Maximus’ army destroys God’s temple.
* Pontifex Maximus undergoes a change transferring with him the title of high priest.
* Pontifex Maximus now represents himself as the leader of God’s people.
* Pontifex Maximus tramples on God’s truth.
Remember Isaiah 37:16, “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth”. Pontifex Maximus just happens to sit here (see picture below) on a throne with two cherubims on either side. Dwelling between two cherubims is very directly “showing himself that he is God”. “Showing himself” means that he has convinced others that he has the right to rule over “the temple of God”, His church.
In Daniel 7 we are told four beasts will arrive in world history; the lion which represents Babylon, then the bear which symbolises Medio Persia, followed by the leopard which is the Greek Empire, and then there is a beast that is much more terrible than the others, and who will first undergo a change, and then disintegrate into autonomous regions, symbolised by horns. One of those horns is paid special attention to in the prophecy. This horn matches all the other prophetic descriptions of the antichrist in the Bible, and is described as living during the same time period as the other ancient kingdoms, but will survive until Jesus comes and destroys it and
all it’s evil work.
Now consider closely; if the pope is the power Christians are warned will counterfeit Christ, how else can he sit in a temple and show himself to be as God? Remember, God did not only dwell between two cherubims but also above His law and seal. What the pagan Pontifex did literally (namely destroy Jerusalem and the temple), his successor continued symbolically, by destroying God’s people (2 Corinthians 6:16). While claiming to be a high priest on Earth and the spokesman of Christ, the pope has actually misrepresented God and changed parts of His law.
God is in His temple in heaven, enthroned above His Ark with the law underneath, which shows His jurisdiction and Kingship. Why could He judge Jericho and the other nations? Because as it was written in the fourth commandment, He is King and Lawgiver, because He “had created the heavens and the earth”. So the fourth commandment of the law sealed God’s right as the Lawmaker, and His right to judge the Earth, and when His blood fell on the Mercy Seat on Earth He restored His power once again, by being able, through the blood, to forgive the lawbreakers and restore them into His kingdom. If you are a king without a law in reality you are no king because youhave no authority. When you take away the law from God’s throne you also symbolically remove His right as King. This is a serious thing to do.
(Cotinued in next post.)
In the Bible there is a prophecy about an antichrist, and both Jews and Christians share this belief in an antichrist. In fact some Jews think that Yeshua/Jesus was the antichrist. Although the Jews find the roots for their belief in the Old Testament, Christians gain their belief from both the Old and the New Testament.
First let’s look at the prophecy concerning antichrist in the New Testament, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (2 Thess. 2:3-4).
It is these verses that lead many to think that perhaps a new temple in Jerusalem will be built and antichrist will sit in that temple, and that this would be the fulfillment of this prophecy. However notice this verse from the New Testament, and written by Paul, the very same author from whom we learn that the antichrist sits in the temple of God. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
To sit in the temple as God means to make himself the leader of God’s people, showing himself as God. So we are talking about a counterfeit, which is exactly what the term “antichrist” literally means, “anti” here means “in place of”. Seeing as “Christ” is just a Latin word for Messiah, an antichrist is by definition an anti-Messiah; and what is the Messiah? He is the King and High Priest.
If you remember, the Lord dwelt in His temple in the sanctuary on Earth between the two cherubims of the Ark and above His law. So this is exactly what the antichrist will do, either symbolically or physically. We will look more into this a little later, but as you see, this is the first link between the antichrist and God’s Ark. God sat between the two cherubims to lead His people.
If we go to the book of Daniel we learn a little more about this power that will arrive in world history and grow in power until it stands as the antichrist, “…the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” (Daniel 9:26).
Then in Daniel there is a mention of “the abomination of desolation” (Mark 13:14 & Daniel 12:11), and then a change happens and the “abomination of desolation” becomes the “the transgression of desolation” (Daniel 8:13). We learn that a power will come and distort the truth and the sanctuary shall be trodden under foot. Daniel explains that this antichrist would do this for 1260 days.
So from Daniel we learn that this enemy of God will:
* Destroy the temple
* Trample on the sanctuary
* Be a persecuting power (towards God’s people) for 1260 days/years
Then from Paul we learn:
* The power will undergo a change
* After the change he will copy God and show himself as a leader of God’s people.
Many think that perhaps the prophecy of Daniel was referring to Antiochus Epiphanes, a man who dishonoured the sanctuary during the time of the Maccabees. However God’s timeline in Daniel goes all the way to the time God will end the kingdoms on Earth as illustrated in the rock destroying the statue in Daniel chapter 2. For the Christian it is impossible to interpret the abomination of desolation as Antiochus, because when Yeshua was walking on this Earth He said “when ye shall see”. He was saying the “abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet” was future to Him, but Antiochus was before Christ’s time. So in fact, Christ was talking about the destruction of the Jewish temple and the city of Jerusalem by the Roman army in 70A.D. as “the abomination of desolation”. So the Roman army is identified here, but did the Roman power undergo a change and fulfil all the rest of this prophecy. Did it transfer into “the transgression of desolation”? Did it continue to tread under foot the truth?
The man behind the destruction of Jerusalem and God’s very sanctuary on Earth, was the emperor of Rome. He was both a political leader and a high priest. His titles were, “Father of the People” and “Pontifex Maximus” which means, “The High Priest”. Now remember what Yeshua claimed to be? Our High Priest. Obviously you can only have one supreme priest, and that is the High Priest. So the Roman emperor had a title declaring himself a high priest, but for a pagan religion. History then proves that there was indeed a change and the Roman Empire divided exactly as Daniel prophesied, yet the title Pontifex Maximus (the high priest) did not just disappear with the Emperor. These titles were passed on and adopted by the emperor’s successors who now led the state religion; the Roman popes.
The problem now was that Pontifex Maximus was no longer the title of the high priest of a pagan religion (abomination of desolation). The change of religion now made Pontifex Maximus the alleged high priest of the Messianic movement, namely Christianity mixed with paganism (transgression of desolation). The moment this happened, the pope became Christ’s enemy, by claiming Christ’s titles for himself. The papacy had not only taken over the titles, but also the religious authority of the Roman emperor, and was therefore the
successor of the very power who destroyed Jerusalem and whose soldiers burned down the temple.
So in summary:
* Pontifex Maximus’ army destroys God’s temple.
* Pontifex Maximus undergoes a change transferring with him the title of high priest.
* Pontifex Maximus now represents himself as the leader of God’s people.
* Pontifex Maximus tramples on God’s truth.
Remember Isaiah 37:16, “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth”. Pontifex Maximus just happens to sit here (see picture below) on a throne with two cherubims on either side. Dwelling between two cherubims is very directly “showing himself that he is God”. “Showing himself” means that he has convinced others that he has the right to rule over “the temple of God”, His church.
In Daniel 7 we are told four beasts will arrive in world history; the lion which represents Babylon, then the bear which symbolises Medio Persia, followed by the leopard which is the Greek Empire, and then there is a beast that is much more terrible than the others, and who will first undergo a change, and then disintegrate into autonomous regions, symbolised by horns. One of those horns is paid special attention to in the prophecy. This horn matches all the other prophetic descriptions of the antichrist in the Bible, and is described as living during the same time period as the other ancient kingdoms, but will survive until Jesus comes and destroys it and
all it’s evil work.
Now consider closely; if the pope is the power Christians are warned will counterfeit Christ, how else can he sit in a temple and show himself to be as God? Remember, God did not only dwell between two cherubims but also above His law and seal. What the pagan Pontifex did literally (namely destroy Jerusalem and the temple), his successor continued symbolically, by destroying God’s people (2 Corinthians 6:16). While claiming to be a high priest on Earth and the spokesman of Christ, the pope has actually misrepresented God and changed parts of His law.
God is in His temple in heaven, enthroned above His Ark with the law underneath, which shows His jurisdiction and Kingship. Why could He judge Jericho and the other nations? Because as it was written in the fourth commandment, He is King and Lawgiver, because He “had created the heavens and the earth”. So the fourth commandment of the law sealed God’s right as the Lawmaker, and His right to judge the Earth, and when His blood fell on the Mercy Seat on Earth He restored His power once again, by being able, through the blood, to forgive the lawbreakers and restore them into His kingdom. If you are a king without a law in reality you are no king because youhave no authority. When you take away the law from God’s throne you also symbolically remove His right as King. This is a serious thing to do.
(Cotinued in next post.)
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