Why the pope could not possibly be the Antichrist

[Hidden In Him]

How do you work all this out in less than 3 years, and over 4 billion dead in 2 years.

I don't, LoL.

 

[Timtofly]

I don't, LoL.

You mean, you can't?

Unless one figures out Satan's deception, they will keep trying to figure out Satan's plan. Instead of overcoming the Adversary, they end up being the means of that plan themselves. Then looking back, the remorse will be, "why did I?"

 

[Hidden In Him]

You mean, you can't?

Unless one figures out Satan's deception, they will keep trying to figure out Satan's plan. Instead of overcoming the Adversary, they end up being the means of that plan themselves. Then looking back, the remorse will be, "why did I?"

My reply here would simply be the same as what I was telling Keraz the other day. I know you are going to be proven wrong in saying it is coming to pass within just a few years. My concern is that you don't become too disillusioned when it doesn't happen.

God bless.

 

[Timtofly]

My reply here would simply be the same as what I was telling Keraz the other day. I know you are going to be proven wrong in saying it is coming to pass within just a few years. My concern is that you don't become too disillusioned when it doesn't happen.

God bless.

Yes you keep saying that. Yet you offer no explanation. God says it is going to happen. In God is my trust, not human understanding, nor thousands of years of doctrine and theology.

 

[Brakelite]

I will say but three things...

1. While you all agree that the pope, nor the papacy cannot be the Antichrist, you cannot agree on who will be... Or is.
2. The above confusion over what the scriptures actually teach, would very much please the real Antichrist as none of you will recognise him when he comes... Or rather, you haven't recognised him yet.
3. The presumption that the reformers didn't use scripture to validate their beliefs is just that... Presumption.
4. I lied about there being just three... The fourth point I would like to make is that too completely cast aside the Adventist reasoning and biblical foundation of those beliefs... Their interpretation of those apocalyptic scriptures... Without spending actual time studying them deeply enough to understand why they came to the conclusion they did, is equally presumptive as the view that the reformers took the stance they did simply because they were grumpy and the word 'Antichrist' happened to be a handy insult.

 

[Timtofly]

The presumption today is, no one accepts Satan as being in control. They beat around the bush, but cannot outright admit it.

Satan is the mastermind of the plan. The plan that keeps folks looking for an Antichrist, instead of Satan, himself. His plan is working too swimmingly. It should be the churches desire to wake up before it is too late to wake up. It is hard to wake up, if the church does not think it will happen in their lifetime. Let our children and grandchildren worry about it..

 

[Brakelite]

If Satan was in control, you, me, and everyone else on this forum would be dead.

 

[mjrhealth]

If Satan was in control, you, me, and everyone else on this forum would be dead.

Many may6 not look dead on the outside but they are dead on the inside even some christians and that is mens choice not Gods control, and if it is not from God its from the devil

 

[Brakelite]

Many may6 not look dead on the outside but they are dead on the inside even some christians and that is mens choice not Gods control, and if it is not from God its from the devil

Something else we agree on.

 

[Timtofly]

If Satan was in control, you, me, and everyone else on this forum would be dead.

Then those people claiming to be the body of Christ should be in constant prayer, that salvation comes to all mankind. God is not willing that any should Perish, but all come to repentance. That is the only way, Satan will not have the chance to be in control.

The church is fast running out of time. It will not be able to work from heaven, nor work at all any more. The end is the end. There is no more labor in the harvest after the end. The harvest is now, not tomorrow. Keep waiting until tomorrow, and it will be over, and nothing will have been done.

 

[Brakelite]

Then those people claiming to be the body of Christ should be in constant prayer, that salvation comes to all mankind. God is not willing that any should Perish, but all come to repentance. That is the only way, Satan will not have the chance to be in control.

The church is fast running out of time. It will not be able to work from heaven, nor work at all any more. The end is the end. There is no more labor in the harvest after the end. The harvest is now, not tomorrow. Keep waiting until tomorrow, and it will be over, and nothing will have been done.

Agreed. Which is why throughout the many years I've been contributing to forums it has been a burden of mine to try and enlighten folk, using scripture, to recognise the Antichrist parading every day before their very eyes... But blindness overtakes folk. You are close. Yes, the devil is indeed in control of many things.. But God has not relinquished sovereignty... And He allows the enemy a certain length of rope by which he will eventually hang himself. In the meantime his babies, the Antichrist, and the false prophet, and all their followers will mature until such time as they reveal the true character of their master, just as God's people will in the end reflect His character. The harvest will then be ripe, and Jesus will come.
Counterfeit Christianity?

 

[Timtofly]

Agreed. Which is why throughout the many years I've been contributing to forums it has been a burden of mine to try and enlighten folk, using scripture, to recognise the Antichrist parading every day before their very eyes... But blindness overtakes folk. You are close. Yes, the devil is indeed in control of many things.. But God has not relinquished sovereignty... And He allows the enemy a certain length of rope by which he will eventually hang himself. In the meantime his babies, the Antichrist, and the false prophet, and all their followers will mature until such time as they reveal the true character of their master, just as God's people will in the end reflect His character. The harvest will then be ripe, and Jesus will come.
Counterfeit Christianity?

God tells us in Revelation 6, that the church leaves first, and there is no Antichrist. There are many false Christs in the world. They think they are in and of Christ, but they are not. If they do not want to be anti-christ, they need to repent and return to God’s plan. That plan is the reaping of lost souls. That is the only job of the church these days.

It is not even the "pointing out sin" era any more. All people today know about sin. It is the changing of hearts and minds to the Gospel era. And the world is going to need that Good news more than ever in the coming days.

 

[Brakelite]

God tells us in Revelation 6, that the church leaves first

No, it cannot. Such a concept contradicts Jesus own words...
KJV Matthew 13
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

 

[Timtofly]

No, it cannot. Such a concept contradicts Jesus own words...
KJV Matthew 13
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Jesus is talking about the Jews, not the church. There has to be a distinction.

It is not the false distinction of doctrine and theology. Put that aside in your thinking.

The four Gospels are not for the church. The church was to proclaim the Gospel as just the Cross, and the Atonement. Yes living the Gospel and the Law even are not detrimental. They are just not required. The church was it's own separate entity. It encompasses all humanity.

The church age is over. Only the Gospel will work now. How we live, except not living in sin, does not matter. But the seals are for the church only. The Trumpets will only be the time and teachings of Jesus to the Jews only. Yes, Gentiles can be part of the harvest. But the Trumpet harvest is the wheat and tares harvested together. The Seals are the harvest of the church, and the rapture that Paul told the churches would happen. The body of Christ is both Jew and Gentile, with no respector of who people are. In the Trumpet section it will be the Jews and their Lamb in the presence of God on the throne. Even more than Mt. Sinai, because it will be in view of the whole world.

 

[Hidden In Him]

I will say but three things...

1. While you all agree that the pope, nor the papacy cannot be the Antichrist, you cannot agree on who will be... Or is.
2. The above confusion over what the scriptures actually teach, would very much please the real Antichrist as none of you will recognise him when he comes... Or rather, you haven't recognised him yet.
3. The presumption that the reformers didn't use scripture to validate their beliefs is just that... Presumption.
4. I lied about there being just three... The fourth point I would like to make is that too completely cast aside the Adventist reasoning and biblical foundation of those beliefs... Their interpretation of those apocalyptic scriptures... Without spending actual time studying them deeply enough to understand why they came to the conclusion they did, is equally presumptive as the view that the reformers took the stance they did simply because they were grumpy and the word 'Antichrist' happened to be a handy insult.

Hey Brakelite. About your points:

Concerning #1, this is the natural outcome when it comes to interpreting scripture in general. Is it spiritually detrimental to some extent to teach opposing interpretations? Yes. But as scripture teaches, God allows differing interpretations so that those who are approved of God may be made manifest. This is in a sense also true in prophetic matters, though we will not know who were truly accurate until well into the future. We are in agreement on certain prophetic matters, but as you know we are also in strong disagreement on others. This would be one of them, so in spite of it potentially serving the enemy's interest in there being disagreements, I trust you know that I would be duty bound before God to disagree with you nonetheless if I felt it were important enough, and here I think it is.

Concerning #2, I don't find the Adventist's historicist argument convincing. The Antichrist is not the Office of the Papacy. Too many verses strongly suggest he is an individual, a particular man who has not arisen yet but will, and will alone fulfill the role.

Concerning #3, what the reformers taught actually never concerns me much. I place far more importance on what the NT writers taught and then secondly on what the early church writers taught, as this can sometimes provide supporting evidence regarding what the NT writers actually believed.

Concerning #4, let me give you a word on good council here, as a friend. The problem with Adventist eschatology is that it is extremely involved, and few are interesting in devoting entire afternoons to watching videos or reading through extensive material, especially when they know they will need to devote dozens upon dozens of additional afternoons well into the future if they would fully grasp the entire system. Certainly serious study would be involved in researching into any system, but to say someone is not willing to study simply because they don't want to devote the next year of their lives, LoL, to something they are not receiving much confirmation or witness of the Spirit from yet is a bit unfair. I would have no problems doing so, but Adventist historicism simply doesn't convince me, and my personal view from studying scholarship for several decades is that the more difficulty a commentator has in explaining his position succinctly, the greater the likelihood that he is actually off track. The weaker the interpretation, the more one has to cover for it by giving lengthy discourses to try and support it.

Anyway, it would likely be a long conversation here if we were to get fully into it, and that may not be in the cards. I likely know what some of your responses will be, and you are a good man with a good head on your shoulders. I'm simply giving a brief reply here, to communicate what others may be thinking but didn't bother to write.

God bless,
HiH

 

[Brakelite]

Hey Brakelite. About your points:

Concerning #1, this is the natural outcome when it comes to interpreting scripture in general. Is it spiritually detrimental to some extent to teach opposing interpretations? Yes. But as scripture teaches, God allows differing interpretations so that those who are approved of God may be made manifest. This is in a sense also true in prophetic matters, though we will not know who were truly accurate until well into the future. We are in agreement on certain prophetic matters, but as you know we are also in strong disagreement on others. This would be one of them, so in spite of it potentially serving the enemy's interest in there being disagreements, I trust you know that I would be duty bound before God to disagree with you nonetheless if I felt it were important enough, and here I think it is.

Concerning #2, I don't find the Adventist's historicist argument convincing. The Antichrist is not the Office of the Papacy. Too many verses strongly suggest he is an individual, a particular man who has not arisen yet but will, and will alone fulfill the role.

Concerning #3, what the reformers taught actually never concerns me much. I place far more importance on what the NT writers taught and then secondly on what the early church writers taught, as this can sometimes provide supporting evidence regarding what the NT writers actually believed.

Concerning #4, let me give you a word on good council here, as a friend. The problem with Adventist eschatology is that it is extremely involved, and few are interesting in devoting entire afternoons to watching videos or reading through extensive material, especially when they know they will need to devote dozens upon dozens of additional afternoons well into the future if they would fully grasp the entire system. Certainly serious study would be involved in researching into any system, but to say someone is not willing to study simply because they don't want to devote the next year of their lives, LoL, to something they are not receiving much confirmation or witness of the Spirit from yet is a bit unfair. I would have no problems doing so, but Adventist historicism simply doesn't convince me, and my personal view from studying scholarship for several decades is that the more difficulty a commentator has in explaining his position succinctly, the greater the likelihood that he is actually off track. The weaker the interpretation, the more one has to cover for it by giving lengthy discourses to try and support it.

Anyway, it would likely be a long conversation here if we were to get fully into it, and that may not be in the cards. I likely know what some of your responses will be, and you are a good man with a good head on your shoulders. I'm simply giving a brief reply here, to communicate what others may be thinking but didn't bother to write.

God bless,
HiH

Hi bro. I love forests. I do like to step back and view things from a panoramic perspective, and this is what I see at present in the Christianity that is now currently cleaving to the dispensationalist mindset. I see a lot of confusion. While all are stubbornly sticking to the futurist paradigm, the moment anyone begins to actually dissect it, all manner of adverse opinion and contradictory interpretations are revealed. On this forum for example, you would be hard pressed to find two people who agree on how the Antichrist is coming, from where, where he'll go, who he represents, what he'll do, what he stands for and believes, and how he will operate. Despite the mass of scripture that gives intimate detail as to his activities, his roots, his philosophy, his practices and purposes, even his timeline, all of this is in essence thrown under the bus of futurism and it becomes a pile of mush... And because it is all "future", the differences are somehow justified, as if God intended through prophecy to confuse rather than enlighten.
My first 20 years as a Christian was in the Pentecostal movement and none could agree even within the same church... Let alone among those of different Pentecostal persuasions. Confusion. Is it any wonder that the majority of Christians are under the spell of Babylon now, which literally means confusion? I have no argument with Catholics when they point to modem day Protestantism and mock their lack of cohesion despite having the scriptures at their disposal.
The Adventist historicist interpretation of scripture is not all that complicated. Yes, it involves some study, but you and I both know that scriptural truth is never just floating around on the surface. It needs to be mined. Pearls, gold, silver, precious stones etc, have to be worked for. But the rewards are great.
Allow me to give you just one example of a pearl that completely obliterates the idea that the Antichrist is an overt enemy to Christianity and will be recognised by his hostility to the church, such as @Philip James and so many others suggest. Now spend just a little time studying this, and tell me what you see....
Dragon/Satan.
His place in heaven (Rev 12:3, 7, 8.)
He has a throne. (Rev 13:2; 2:13)
Gives throne, power, and authority to sea-beast. (13:2,4.)
He is worshipped. (13:4a)
Destroyed forever. (20:9,10)

Now compare:
God the Father
Dwelling in heaven (Rev 4, 5)
He has a throne. (4:5; 7:9-15; 19:4)
Gives throne, power and authority to Jesus. (Math 28:18 Rev 2:27; 3:21; chapters 4,5.)
Is worshipped. (Rev 4:10; 15:4)
Lives and reign forever. (4:9; 5:13; 11:15)

The Land-beast or false prophet.
Called the false prophet because he deceives people with regards to religious matters. (16:13; 19:20; 20:10)
Lamb-like. (13:11)
Exercises all authority of sea-beast. (13:12a)
Directs worship to sea-beast. (13:12b,15)
Performs signs. (13:13; 19:20)
Brings fire down from heaven (13:13)
Gives breath/life to beasts image (13:15)
Applies mark of beast. (13:16)

Now compare:
The Holy Spirit
Called the Spirit of truth guiding people. (Jn 16:13 Rev 22:17)
Christ-like, in fact is the very Spirit of Christ. (Jn 14:26; 16:14; Romans 8:9,10)
Exercises authority of Christ (Jn 16:13, 14)
Directs our attention to Christ (Acts 5:29-32)
Fire from heaven at Pentecost (Acts 2)
Instills life to us, the image of Christ, His character. (Romans8:11,29; 2 Peter 1:3,4.)
Applies seal of God. (2 Cor 1:22 Eph 1:13 4:30 Rev 7:3, 4.)

The sea-beast or antichrist.
Comes from water to begin activity. (13:1)
Resembles dragon. (12:13 13:1)
Ten diadems. (13:1)
Ten horns (13:1)
Receives power throne and authority from dragon/Satan. (13:2,4)
42 months of activity in first phase. (13:5)
Was slain (13:3)
Resurrected (13:3)
Receives worship after healing (13:3,4,8)

Now compare:
Jesus Christ
Comes from water to begin ministry (Luke 3:21-23)
Resembles Father (Jn 14:19)
Many diadems (Rev 19:12)
Lamb has 7 horns (5:6)
Receives power throne and authority from His Father (Math 28:18 Rev 2:27 Chapters 4,5)
42 months of ministry in initial phase. (Gospel of John)
Was slain (Rev 5:6)
Was resurrected (Rev1:18)
Received worship after resurrection (Math 28:17)

Now consider the above specifically in relation to the Antichrist... The sea beast of Revelation 13. What is he doing by counterfeiting everything Christ does?

Now take a look at this....

 

[Brakelite]

....
I want to look at the real Christ. Who is He? Let us go to the scriptures to find out what and Who He claimed to be.

Mathew 12:6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple...

The temple, the priesthood, and the religious system including all the ceremonies, the sacrifices, and the law of the Jewish nation go hand in hand. It was the mainstay and focal point of the life of Israel. Yet Jesus claimed to be greater. Greater even than the very High priest who no doubt would take great interest in hearing a report of these words. Greater even than the law itself, because He was the lawgiver.

….38 ¶ Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here…

Jonah was the most powerful and successful of all OT prophets. In all 40 odd chapters of Jeremiah, there is no record of anyone at anytime taking the slightest bit of notice of anything Jeremiah said. Yet Jonah, on the strength of just one or two sermons, converted the entire city of Nineveh of the children of Ishmael totaling maybe 60,000 people. By any standards, that has got to be recorded as a very successful evangelistic campaign. Yet Jesus claimed to be greater than Jonah.

…42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Solomon was the wisest and wealthiest and most successful of any ruler of the ancient world. Yet Jesus claimed to be greater even than Solomon.

He claimed to be a greater priest than the current high priest of Israel, He claimed to be a greater prophet than Jonah, and He claimed to be a greater King than Solomon. In these three startling claims, we have before us the threefold ministry of Jesus. Priest, prophet, and King.

It has been said, and I think wisely, that the Bible must be understood grammatically before it can be understood theologically. Anti– as in antichrist, according to Strong’s concordance, and like other words having the prefix ‘anti’, means at it’s most basic form “in the room of”, “instead of”, or “in the place of”.
In other words, ‘antichrist’ stands as a substitute. We all know that Satan works by deception. Yet many claim the ‘antichrist’ will be one who will charge in on a black horse guns blazing with fury and hatred directed at all things Christian and opposing with great force the church. Pray tell me, how will the world be deceived by such a tactic as this?
In 2 Thess. 2:1 we are told that there was to be a falling away first, which will reveal the antichrist, or as Paul describes him, the man of sin or son of perdition. Now falling away in this instance is a falling into apostasy; divorce.
Any divorce necessitates a prior favourable relationship. The only other example of a ‘son of perdition’ is Judas Iscariot. Did Judas openly and with force oppose Christ? Did he attack His teachings and disagree with Jesus claims to divinity? Did he argue and debate everything Jesus stood for and seek the destruction of His followers? No. Not by any means. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. He betrayed Him with an act of apparent love, fellowship, and friendship. He undermined and betayed Jesus at the same time as claiming Him to be his friend!! This squares perfectly with the meaning of antichrist. He is not an opposer, but a subtle impostor. A counterfeit. An impostor of Jesus Christ. A false copy, or forgery of the true. (See above post that compares the Antichrist/sea beast with the true Christ)
Antichrist is therefore a person or power who impersonates the offices of Priesthood, the Prophet or spokesmanship, and the Kingly rule of Christ. The office that ministers for God, speaks for God, and rules for God. And yes, scripture tells us that he will enter the temple of God and claim to be God. It isn't complicated. It is really very very simple. What is the temple in our day? Forget about 10 or 15 years time. What about today? Now? And since Pentecost has been the temple of God? And what has been residing in that temple, counterfeiting the true Christ by pretending to be priest, project and king, this proclaiming to the world that he has the authority even to changing goods God's laws, thus making himself god? It isn't complicated.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Now consider the above specifically in relation to the Antichrist... The sea beast of Revelation 13. What is he doing by counterfeiting everything Christ does?

He's a counterfeiter, but in a different sense than what you present. Again, I don't know that it's in the cards to be covering this completely right now. I know you and I know me, and neither one of us are going anywhere in our beliefs anytime soon, so it would be a long conversation. But...

In other words, ‘antichrist’ stands as a substitute. We all know that Satan works by deception. Yet many claim the ‘antichrist’ will be one who will charge in on a black horse guns blazing with fury and hatred directed at all things Christian and opposing with great force the church. Pray tell me, how will the world be deceived by such a tactic as this?

Scripture says it is not the elect who will be deceived, not even by false Christs and false prophets let alone by the man of lawlessness. It is the world who will be deceived because it's the world Satan is after. He will seek to exterminate the church, because he will know the elect will not be deceived.

You see, your scenario is inconsistent with history, Brakelite. The two primary antichrist figures from history were Antiochus Epiphanes IV and Caligula. One foreshadowed the antichrist almost perfectly; the other fully intended to, only he never succeeded at fully carrying it out.

What did they do? Did Antiochus try to deceive the Jews into thinking he was their Messiah? No. He simply took power and demanded to be worshipped on threat of death, commanding that anyone who continued to worship the True and Living God or observe His commandments would die. He wasn't trying to win the Jews over by deception; he attempted to force them to apostatize, as someone every Jew in his right mind at the time recognized to be a very evil man. Caligula would have done the same thing. Though he never succeeded, he was spooking the daylights out of the Jews already in advance, because they understood very well what he was threatening to do; they would again be forced to eat pork and deny their God on threat of death, and would worship him as a god like the rest of the world or they would die.

I just see your paradigm as a construct that doesn't mesh with the antichrists of history. They weren't deceivers. They simpy marched in (or were planning to) as conquerors and tyrants, with no allusions about deceiving God's people. Certainly it was the worldly they were trying to deceive, because Satan gives his servants the power to over the worldly. But they have never had the power to deceive the elect and never will.

But there's no way I could do this conversation justice right now, and it's an important one. So let's just set it aside as "for future reference" for now. Lord willing we'll have serious time some day to get heavily into it. I'm sure it will be interesting.

Thanks for the posts, my friend.
Hidden

 

[Timtofly]

It is Satan himself who has decieved the church, the world. And even the elect.

It is so deep, you all refuse it. The deception of the church, started with being in control, the government. The world was decieved by the decieved church. The elect are not decieved by spiritual means, No!

The elect are decieved by thinking a man is going to take over, but that already happened with Constantine. No, the elect are complacent in thinking education is the key to everything. It was education over 2500 years long that put the current church to sleep, thousands of years before it was born. Yes there has been confusion, because any attempt to wake the elect was doomed to fail. God kept sending his ambassadors from the far country into the field. Matthew 21:33-44

That was not just for the OT perspective. It applies equally to the elect. God has sent many to wake up the elect to the deception of education. But the educated have killed all attempts to break down this deception. God is no going to send Jesus this time to wake up the elect. When Jesus comes this time, the elect will be gone. If they do not figure out things, they will be taken in their sleep, in the dead of night. I doubt Satan will mind, so thinking that Satan needs to defend his house from this thief, is ludicrous. Satan will be tickled pink, purple and all colors of the rainbow to have the elect gone. It seems that even the elect agree with Satan.

 

[BreadOfLife]

For some strange reason, all the Protestant reformers decided that the pope (or nowadays the papacy) was this Antichrist. The Seventh Day Adventist Church followed suit. While this may have helped them to separate from the Catholic Church, this was not something which they derived from a study of the Scriptures. But there are multiple biblical reasons why the pope – the bishop of Rome and the head of the Catholic church – cannot possibly be the Antichrist.

Prophecies pertaining to the Antichrist are found primarily in the books of Daniel and Revelation, with some references in the Prophets and the Gospels and Epistles. The Antichrist (also called “the Little Horn”, “the Man of Sin, “the Son of Perdition” , “the Beast”, and several other names and titles must be a renegade Jew who has full access to the future temple at Jerusalem, where he will literally sit claiming to be God (2 Thess 2:4). He must also present himself to Orthodox Jews as their long-awaited Jewish Messiah. The Greek word antichristos means one who is both against Christ and come in place of Christ.

None of the characteristics of the Antichrist fit any popes, particularly the fact that he is the supreme dictator and controller of the world. The popes had controlled Europe at one time, but they were never dictators over the whole world of humanity. And that in itself should have been sufficient to refute the false idea that the pope (or papacy) is the Antichrist.

God has provided us with an overview of the 3 ½ year reign of the Antichrist in Revelation 13 (13 being a very fitting number for him because of its evil connotation).

THE BLASPHEMOUS KINGDOM OF THE ANTICHRIST WILL ARISE IN THE FUTURE
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

THE ANTICHRIST IS BEASTLY, VICIOUS, AND PREDATORY
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion:...

THE ANTICHRIST RECEIVES HIS POWER AND AUTHORITY FROM SATAN
...and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

THE WORLD IS ENAMOURED WITH THE ANTICHRIST
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

THE WORLD WORSHIPS SATAN AND THE ANTICHRIST FOR 42 MONTHS
4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

THE ANTICHRIST IS THE ARCH BLASPHEMER OF GOD AND CHRIST
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

THE ANTICHRIST IS THE ENEMY OF THE TRIBULATION SAINTS
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them:...

THE ANTICHRIST WILL RULE OVER ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE WORLD
...and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

THE WHOLE UNBELIEVING AND UNGODLY WORLD WORSHIPS HIM
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

THE SAINTS MUST BE PREPARED FOR PERSECUTION AND MARTYRDOM
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear. 10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

THE FALSE PROPHET IS ALLIED WITH THE ANTICHRIST TO DAZZLE THE WORLD
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION IS AN ANIMATED IDOL OF THE ANTICHRIST
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

THE MARK OF THE BEAST WILL CONTROL THE WHOLE WORLD AT THAT TIME
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

WOW.

Ellen G. White must be spinning in her grave . . .