End of Days…Pt.12 What’s Going On?

April 27, 2014

Satan’s Superman…Anti-Christ
II Thess. 2:1-10

Opening YouTube Video…”Vanishing Crosses…Enter the Anti-Christ”

Ill.—In 1938 a man from Long Island wanted a barometer to place on his mantle. He bought
an expensive, elaborate one, took it home, but as he opened the box he noticed that the needle
was pointing to the sector that indicated that a hurricane was coming. He looked for a knob
to adjust it, but found none. That made him mad so he shook it to try to get it to reset to
normal. “I can’t believe it, as much money as I spent for this, and it’s defective.” He wrote a
scathing letter to the company. He had to take a business trip for a few days and when he got
back home, his barometer was missing...and so was his house!
There was nothing wrong with the barometer, he just refused to believe it...it didn’t
seem like something that bad would really happen.

Introduction…
1. You cannot stop the return of Christ and the tribulation any more than you can stop a
hurricane from coming. The Word of God gives us fair advanced warning, and it
doesn’t need adjusting, it just needs believing!
2. The tribulation is a great storm of God’s judgment.
3. It is preceded by the rapture and concluded at the battle of Armageddon, and then
comes the Millennial reign of Christ for 1,000 years.
4. These are the 2 phases of Jesus’ 2nd coming to earth, the rapture and the millennium.
5. During the tribulation another man will come but this one will be the devil incarnate [in
the flesh]...the antichrist, the beast, the man of sin, the son of perdition.

There’s a strong chance that he is alive today and waiting in the wings.

Read …2 Thessalonians 2:2

Evidently someone had written a letter, pretending to be the apostles, stating that the
rapture had occurred, and they were all left behind in the tribulation. Paul clarifies that
it was not the last days yet and he didn’t write that letter.

Read…2 Thessalonians 2:3

Again, he says there will be signs of the end times, and then will come the tribulation

and the antichrist with it.

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 1. The Mockery of God Recounted….v. 4
a. This is the abomination of desolation.
b. The antichrist claims to be God, and most of the world will buy it!
c. Satan has always wanted to be God, ever since he rebelled as Lucifer and tried to
capture God’s throne.
- He was cast out of heaven and has declared war on God ever since. At the
end of the world Satan will throw a final insult in the face of the Almighty and
it will be the ultimate mockery.

Satan has always been an imitator of God, a counterfeit:

• Mt. 13 teaches that Satan has counterfeit Christians.
• II Cor. 11 – counterfeit ministers.
• Gal. 1 – counterfeit gospel.
• Rev. 2 – counterfeit church, the synagogue of Satan, where those who worship
think they are following God, but it is actually Satan.

d. In the tribulation, long before the antichrist wants casualties he wants converts, and
the worship of man.

2. The Mystery of Iniquity Restrained….Vs. 6-8

a. The ‘mystery of iniquity’ is the unseen spirit world of demons at work on their plan
to overthrow God.
- Some don’t believe in demons.
- Neither did doctors in the middle ages believe in bacteria, but they were still
real and still at work and still harming people.

b. “Revealed” is from the Greek – [apocalupsis] and it is where we get the word
apocalypse.
- It means an unveiling, as in pulling a cloth off a statue.
- Knowing these are the last days, we can assume he is likely alive today, but
something is holding him back right now.
- In v. 6 it’s a ‘what’ and in v. 7 it’s a ‘he’.
- The what is the church and the he is the Holy Spirit, and both will be removed
at the rapture!

3. The Mastery of Satan Revealed….Vs. 8-10

a. What will the antichrist be like?
1. According to these verses he will be Satan’s Superman, w/ superpowers!
2. His intellectual genius will be immense, his authority will be overpowering,
his technique superb.
3. Men will be willing to die for him, and betray their mother w/ a smile for his
sake.
4. Women will swoon at his feet, and children will speak his name with reverence.
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 5. He will be a peacemaker in a world desperate for answers.
a. He will come on a platform of peace, but it is a false peace.
b. Dan. 9 says he will destroy with peace!
6. He will be a world ruler.
7. He will be charismatic and have a magnanimous following.
8. The reigns of power will be turned over to him.

The world will wonder over him [Rev. 17:8].

b. There has been much speculation about the nationality of the Antichrist.
1. Revelation 13:1 indicates that he “saw a beast coming out of the sea”, meaning
the sea of peoples around the Mediterranean.
- From this we gather he will be a Gentile.
2. Daniel 8:8-9 suggests that he is the “small [horn]” that came out of the four
Grecian horns, showing that he will be part Greek.
3. Daniel 9:26 refers to him as the ruler of the people that will come, meaning that
he will be of the royal lineage of those that destroyed Jerusalem.
- History shows us that it was the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem.
- Therefore he will be predominantly Roman.
4. Daniel 11:36-37 tells us that he regards not “the God of his fathers”.
- This suggests that he will be a Jew.
- In all probability the Antichrist will appear to be a Gentile and, like Adolf
Hitler who feared to reveal Jewish blood, will keep his Jewish ancestry a
secret.
5. The Bible teaches that he will be a Roman-Grecian Jew which represents the
people of the earth.

c. Contrasts between the Antichrist and Jesus Christ

1. Christ came from above. Antichrist will ascend from the pit.
2. Christ came in His Father’s name. Antichrist will come in his own name.
3. Christ humbled Himself. Antichrist will exalt himself.
4. Christ was despised. Antichrist will be admired.
5. Christ will be exalted. Antichrist will be cast down to hell.
6. Christ came to do His Father’s will. Antichrist will do his own will.
7. Christ came to save. Antichrist will come to destroy.
8. Christ is the Good Shepherd. Antichrist is the evil shepherd.
9. Christ is the “true vine”. Antichrist is the “vine of the earth”.
10. Christ is the “truth”. Antichrist is the “lie”.
11. Christ is the “Holy One”. Antichrist is the “lawless one”.
12. Christ is the “man of sorrows”. Antichrist is the “man of sin”.
13. Christ is the “Son of God”. Antichrist is the “son of perdition”.
14. Christ is “the mystery of godliness: Antichrist will be “the mystery of God…
manifest in the flesh”. iniquity”, Satan manifest in the flesh.

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 d. Seven Activities of the Antichrist.
1. His Rise To Power….Revelation 6:2
- The Antichrist will come into power not by war but by tricking the world
into believing that he can offer peace. Daniel 8:25
2. His One-World Government…Revelation 17:12-15
3. His Dominated World Economy…Revelation 17:13
- When the kings give their power to the beast, this means not just their
military power but also their economic power.
4. His Atheistic Religion…2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
- At first the theme of Antichrist’s religion will be do whatever you want, but
will change to worship the Antichrist or else.
5. His Covenant With Israel…Daniel 9:27
- The Antichrist will make a covenant with Israel for 7 years, but will break it
after 3 ½ years.
6. His Death And Resurrection…Revelation 17:8
- The Antichrist will die in the middle of the Tribulation.
- This is the same time that Satan will be cast from Heaven.
- At this time, Satan will indwell the Antichrist which means he will be
resurrected.
7. His Ultimate Destruction…Revelation 19:19-21
- Antichrist and false prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire alive before the
Great White Throne Judgment.

In the end he’ll transform the world into a vast concentration camp where everyone is an
inmate and all have a number. He’ll be like a combination of all the dictators of history...the
Caesars, Napoleons, Hitlers, Stalins, Husseins, Ahmadinejads, and Hugo Chavez’, all rolled
into 1, multiplied by 10,000! He’ll put a mark on everyone he can and be able to track their
every move and action. His miracles are called lying wonders...he’s a master of deception.

4. The Majesty of Jesus Released….v. 8 ‘the brightness of his coming’

Ill.—have you ever looked at the diamonds in the jewelry store? They display them on
a black background. This makes them look brighter! The tribulation will be a very
dark, black time…which will make Christ’s 2nd coming that much more beautiful and
bright!

a. At Armageddon the skies will part and King Jesus will ride in with the armies of
heaven, but they won’t be needed.
b. He’ll destroy the antichrist and all of His enemies with a sharp sword coming out of
His mouth, just a Word! And He who spoke the world into existence will speak His
enemies into oblivion!

c. I’m not looking for antichrist, but for Jesus Christ.

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 d. Jesus knows my name, the antichrist will only give me a number.

e. Jesus will take you to heaven if you name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life,
He’ll call your name!

f. The antichrist will take you to hell. And so, at the end of the world, will your name
be called, or will your number be up?

There’s no need to face the antichrist if you accept Jesus Christ today! Christians, let’s not go
to church on Sunday and live like the devil during the week. Let’s be found faithful when
Jesus comes back!

Ill.—man went on vacation to Switzerland / took walk in countryside / came upon a beautiful
Swiss villa / exquisitely pruned, manicured / talked to man in yard / “Nice house!” / “It’s not
mine, I’m just the caretaker…the owner lives in the states” / “How often does he come?” /
“Sometimes years between visits!” / “Well, you’ve got this place looking like as if he were
coming tomorrow!” / WITH disgust on face he replied: “Today, sir!”

That’s how we should be living!