HOW THE ANTICHRIST WILL RISE TO POWER

WHAT NEVER HAPPENED ON THE DAY OF ATONEMENT

Let’s journey back several thousand years to Jerusalem during Passover week. This was the holiest of the seven Hebrew festivals that attracted thousands of worshipers. Some traveled hundreds of miles to attend this celebration in the religious capital of the world—Jerusalem. What a sight it must have been! For seven days the Priests appeared in their royal apparel, led the people in worship, offered sacrifices, and blew shofars (2 Chronicles 30:21). Everything was leading to the Day of Atonement when the High Priest would present the blood of a Passover lamb for the people’s sins. Not only was Jerusalem sightly its aroma was pungent.

THANKSGIVING LIVING

God has given us boundless opportunities to exhibit gratitude? So much so, that these endless occasions present, “Thanksgiving without Borders!” Each step we take provides another opportunity to bless the Lord. I’m thankful that God has blessed mankind with medical and scientific breakthroughs unknown to civilization back to Adam.

GOD RAISES DEAD DREAMS

Scripture uses death to identify man’s greatest enemy and there’s nothing man fears more. When a person expires, losing all vital signs, doctors, medicine, and science stand powerless in its presence. Only God can resurrect. But this sermon doesn’t deal with the physical cessation of life, it deals with death of a different nature. The death of God’s divinely inspired promises and visions. I’m persuaded that many Christians are in the gestation stage of a specific promise God has given them. Perhaps years ago He planted a dream and you’re still awaiting its fruition. Maybe even hope has begged you to admit that promise is dead. But the God that resurrected Christ from the dead can resurrect your promise.

PARDON ME!

In Psalm 32, David proclaims the blessedness of the one whose sins are forgiven. And he does this in a unique way. He uses three expressions for sin and then employs three expressions of God’s pardon for sin. Here’s what I mean: David called one category of sins transgressions, which indicates “rebellion against God”; another he simply called sin, which describes “knowingly missing the mark”; and the third category he called iniquity, which speaks of a “vile perversion.” Those terms cover the entire gamut of our sinfulness—major and minor. But then after showing us three categories of sin he uses three expressions to show how God pardons our sins:

A CHRISTMAS TRIP

Luke says as these shepherds watched their flocks during the night, the glory of God shined all around them. Now can you imagine that? It’s pitch black and then, suddenly, all is illuminated! Afterward, an angel appears and announces that the awaited Savior of the world has been born and is lying in swaddling clothes in a manger in Bethlehem. But it’s still not over. Besides this angelic messenger and the glory of God that is all around them, a vast, multitude of angels appears praising God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” (2:13).

ALL MY FOUNTAINS ARE IN YOU

Moses had completed his 40-year mission of guiding the Israelites through the wilderness, now the Promised Land was but a few steps away. Canaan was 60% desert, with approximately two-million Jews ready to inherit it, but what good would this land be without water? So before the Israelites took one step into their inheritance, Moses combined God’s promise to grant them land with his promise to grant them water: “For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills” (Dt.8:7). I have a question: How could God possibly fulfill this promise when Canaan was 60% desert? Where were these “brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out”? God answered this question in Isaiah. . . .

UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LAST DAYS

What makes the Last Days unique? As the Prophets and Apostles described them, they included dark sayings, foreboding warnings, and coded messages. Did you know that the dispensation known as the Last Days has a definite starting point? But equally important, Jesus and the Apostles embedded a dynamic “Call to Action” to Christians for these days that must not be ignored! Additionally, there is a primary message, along with an overriding objective, for all people to recognize. Finally, the Bible includes a preset day of termination for the Last Days.

Speak Lord, But is it Really You?

Of all experiences that exhilarate people, chief among them is when God speaks directly to the human soul. One inspired word to a thirsty, hungry traveler can refresh and sustain more than a thousand meals. It was Elijah who heard God’s instruction to “rise and eat” that received nourishment to navigate 285 miles for the following forty days

Robert D. Pace

It begins with deception—mass, unbridled deception! It is the infamous Endtime caveat that prevails above all others. In total, Christ and the Apostles warned of deception thirty-seven times and cautioned that it would infest every layer of life during the Last Days. We are no longer waiting for the fulfillment of this prophecy, it has come to pass! The deception that slithered into the Garden now infiltrates the earth. Among those most deceived are world rulers, cultural elites, the media, and secular educators. Satan has succeeded in casting his spell of humanism, evolution, and universalism—principles that (1) contradict Scripture and (2) reject the preeminence of Jesus Christ. And these two tenets embody the “spirit of antichrist” that the Bible indicates will reign supreme during the Last Days (1 John 4:3).

It is alarming to observe the ease by which mankind will succumb to the Antichrist at the Endtime: First, the Bible depicts people willfully rejecting truth. Second, this willful rejection of truth compels God to permit “strong delusion” (2 Thessalonians 2:11). This makes people doubly vulnerable! Then thirdly, the Antichrist appears. Notice the calculus that the prophet Daniel uses to summate the Antichrist: He says the Antichrist will “cause deceit to prosper” (Daniel 8:25) and “succeed through intrigue” (11:21). Thus, this grand deceiver will effortlessly wrest control of the world and mislead the masses. You see, the ultimate danger of deception is the fact that the deceived know not that they are deceived! Deception paves the path to the Antichrist’s rise to power.

Calamity and Chaos

Next, notice how calamity will work into the Antichrist’s favor. When Jesus forewarned of the Endtime he issued a vivid description of wars, natural disasters, diseases, famines, pestilences, and great signs in the heavens. In other words, a host of catastrophes will suddenly converge upon the four corners of the earth in rapid-fire succession. All will occur during a relatively short slice of time!

Can you imagine five or six mega-earthquakes suddenly striking the globe? Picture wars, rioting, and religious uprisings breaking out. Envision plagues of viruses infecting millions, along with a meteorite slamming into the planet. This convergence of cataclysm is what Jesus called “birth pains” or “contractions.” Do you see how this will set the stage for someone offering solutions to a world in crisis? Catastrophe makes people eager to accept help from anyone. The only problem is, this “anyone” will be the Antichrist.

The Prophetic Signal of 2020

During 2020-21, Americans witnessed the world’s reaction to one virus—COVID—19—plaguing mankind. And it is startling! I want you to consider some of the proposals from politicians, the Deep State, and the world’s elite during this pandemic:

There was a call for an International Monetary System—perhaps initiating crypto-currency on a global basis.

We heard some demand a World Tracking System to surveil the movements of all people.

Some state Governors ignored the Bill of Rights and deliberately infringed upon civil liberties.

Americans willingly allowed the expansion of “Big Brother” and its unnecessary encroachment of watching us. There were citizen “watchdogs,” with neighbors spying on neighbors.

What remains disturbing was and is the attempt of the Ruling Class, the elites, news agencies, and Big Tech to silence the voices of people that oppose their liberal policies.

Consider something, saints of God: one plague–the Coronavirus–produced an ever-widening control system that impinged upon personal freedoms worldwide! Consequently, this is what I prophetically sense about this scenario: What happened in 2020 with COVID—19, is but a microcosm of how the world will react during the Endtime! It was nothing less than a “dress rehearsal” for the days of the Tribulation.

If the foregoing infringements were levied against people from one pandemic, then imagine the suppression the Antichrist will impose upon people after a profusion of plagues and cataclysmic events bombard this planet! In the coming days, when chaos erupts, people will be predisposed to abdicate personal freedom and accept whatever policies may be demanded by the Antichrist.

Jesus, the Apostles, and the Prophets have delineated the future with incredible clarity: Bible truths will be rejected; deception will permeate the globe; chaotic contractions will create unprecedented fear and hopelessness, and thus solutions will be needed! It won’t be enough for the Antichrist to lead; his ultimate goal is to think for the world! And once delusion besieges the masses it will incapacitate their deliberative abilities and make it impossible to discriminate truth from error. Thus, the Antichrist will answer the call, rise to power, and plunge the world into the Great Tribulation.

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