First John 2:18 says: "Antichrist shall come." Such is the inspired announcement. Hence the superman for whom all the world is waiting will soon be here. Even now he may be alive. But who is he? Where does he come from? How will we recognize him? What will be the chief characteristics of his fearful reign? How soon may we expect him? Are we nearing the Great Tribulation? Is America headed for dictatorship? Is Jesus coming soon? What will happen next? Are there answers to these great questions? What saith the Scriptures? Is there an answer in the Word of God? Yes, God’s Book alone holds the key. It alone can lift the veil and reveal the future. The Bible is God’s forecast of the future.

The 13th chapter of "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" gives us a vivid picture of Tribulation events. Verse 9 of this great chapter says, "If any man have an ear let him hear." The Lord wants us to know what is going to happen next. Repeatedly He has urged, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." For the lack of faith and understanding there will be millions of human beings who will accept the leadership of Antichrist. Men and women, God wants us to hear, to understand and to know what is going to happen in the future. Through the Scriptures we can know God’s exact teaching on the appearance, the workings, the lying wonders of Antichrist and thus be in a position to meet any eventuality.

The next event on the calendar of prophecy will be the catching away or Rapture of the believers at His Second Coming. The signs of the times are being fulfilled and serve as signposts pointing to the Lord’s soon return. In fact, the Scriptures indicate that the Lord Jesus is getting ready at any moment to catch away His redeemed, Spirit-filled people from this world of sin and sorrow. Many believe that Christ could come now and not destroy a single verse or prophetic Scripture that relates to the Rapture. The next voice we may hear could be the voice of our Saviour. First Thessalonians 4:16, 17 says: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. . . and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air."

The Church will be caught away before the Tribulation Period begins. I believe the redeemed will taste none of its actual horrors. They shall never face Antichrist and his blasphemous mobs. The Rapture means deliverance before, and absence from the Tribulation sorrows. It behooves us as God’s people to live soberly and righteously in this present world. Let us watch and pray that we might be counted worthy to escape all these dreadful things that must shortly come to pass upon the earth.

Immediately after the catching away of the redeemed Church, the devil shall be cast out into the earth to personally take charge of the Tribulation Period. I know, of course, that there is a tendency today to reject the teaching of the Bible regarding the existence and activity of a personal devil. But I believe God’s Book just as it is and that Satan is just as real as you or I, and that he is still as active as ever.

Several of the Devil’s names are "the dragon, that old serpent, the Devil, and Satan." Thus, the Great Tribulation will be introduced, in which the devil himself personally commandeers and leads. Great will be his wrath, for short will be his time. He will have only a few years in which to work. He will work feverishly. Terrible will be his ravaging, destructive activities.

There will be living at that time a majestic being, a mighty man of cleverness and power. To this great character will Satan go and they shall enter into a conference. Satan will make an unusual offer, an offer that he has made to only one other man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us turn to Matthew 4:8-11 and read. "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him."

This is a very important Scripture and throws much light on the way that Antichrist shall rise. The facts are that Satan sought Christ to be the Antichrist! For so doing, he offered to grant Him the kingdoms of this world, which he now holds in sway, and in return Christ was to fall down and worship him. Jesus turned his offer down. Satan retreated and left Him. But this same scene shall happen again in the Tribulation, the only difference being, Christ won’t be in on the subterfuge. Another person shall be sought. And on being found this personage shall enter into conference with the devil!

Think of it! A man going into conference with Satan. He shall be shown the glittering glory of this world’s kingdoms. The offer Satan made to Christ will be repeated and offered to this man.

It won’t be long until the political stature of this great individual will begin to enIarge. His skill, ability, and power will be increasingly displayed. Daily will he climb the ladder of influence, steadily rising higher. His shadow will be cast across the nations.

All this time Satan will be working invisibly behind the scenes. He will walk about with virtually unbridled power. With the redeemed people gone, with the Holy Spirit’s restraining influence gone, remaining respect for law and decency will begin to disappear.

Heads of nations will become desperate concerning the pressing problems of the day. Mounting distress and perplexity will arise in the area of international economics. Endlessly drawn out cold-war economies will sap the strength of the strongest nations. The insoluble world conditions will become unbearable. The resources of all nations shall be exhausted. Ominous depressions will threaten to spread rapidly.

In weakened desperation, peace treaties may be signed. Nuclear stockpiles will presumably be destroyed, blockades ended and tariff barriers eliminated in large portions of the world. The common-market philosophy will spread, creating new problems, which will demand unusually gifted leadership to make it successful.

From such a situation, nations shall pool their resources and form an amalgamated empire. Ten nations will federate in an effort to survive. The rulers of these nations shall bend every effort to meet all the needs, but will fail. One of them shall suggest that they consult this gifted, dominant personality that they have been hearing so much about. By logical reasoning they will conclude that only through world dominance by a single leadership will prosperity for all and safety from nuclear war be established.

At once the ten kings are deeply impressed with the superior intelligence of this master man to whom they have come with their urgent problems. They are astounded to find that he already has a definite program worked out that has the markings of a political genius. The plans are laid before them and explained in the minutest detail. It is a superb policy, a superior program.

One of the main features of the policy of Antichrist shall be his unilateral rearmament program. All the nations will agree to disarm. The exception will be Antichrist’s army which will control the world, ostensibly for peaceful purposes. Armies will be provided with instruments of destruction. According to Revelation 9:16, it appears that some two hundred million soldiers will take part in the Battle of Armageddon. While verbally crusading for peace, the Antichrist will actually be preparing the world’s largest army for his mighty battle to fight against the Son of God.

Antichrist will not stop with merely the rulership of the ten kingdoms that sought his help. These will prove to be a stepping-stone to world domination. Starting with ten nations and as a ruler over an amalgamated empire, he finally will become the military genius who successfully overruns the earth.

But the spirit of Antichrist is already In the world. First John 4:3 indicates, “And this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that It should come; and even now already is it in the world.”

But, thank God there is another Spirit sweeping around the world and this is the greater Spirit of Jesus Christ. He is girdling the globe, empowering men and women to quit sin, love righteousness, and serve God. God’s Spirit is preparing them for the Rapture, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and the Millennium, when the saints rule and reign with the Lord. First John 4:4 says: “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the wurld.” If we have the Spirit of God’s Son in our hearts, we are more than conquerors over sin, for greater is the Spirit of Christ than the spirit of Antichrist. God’s power in our lives makes us victorious and triumphant. The spirit of Antichrist cannot lull us to sleep as long as the greater Spirit of Christ rules and reigns in our hearts. This Holy Spirit shall finally cause us to eternally triumph over Antichrist, for when our Saviour comes riding down on the clouds of heaven, He shall defeat Antichrist and all his formidable forces and cast them into hell, where they will defy God no longer.

Friends, are you on the winning side? Do you have the greater Spirit of Christ mastering and mananging your heart and life? This is real living, both for time and eternity.

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