DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- THE ANTICHRIST

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – THE ANTICHRIST

"And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?' ....All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:2-6, 8)

The common theme of this chapter is worship, only it is not worship of God but of the Dragon and his emissaries. While there is true worship happening in heaven, there is another kind of worship happening here on earth.

The essence of Satan's program is that He wants to be God and receive worship. That's why he was cast out of heaven in the first place. As an anointed angel in heaven, he wanted to be God (see Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28) and receive the veneration and adoration that belongs to God. Later, he tried to tempt the Lord Jesus, saying, "If You will worship before me, all will be Yours." But Jesus' answer was, "You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only you shall serve" (Luke 4:6-8).

The Apostle Paul, writing about the coming Day of the Lord, said that the man of sin would come, "who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (II Thessalonians 2:3-4).

The common understanding of the term antichrist is that he is against Christ. And that is true. But there is another facet of the prefix "anti" which means, "in place of." Satan does not just stand in opposition to Christ; He wants to take Christ's position as God and be worshiped.

John wrote in his first letter, "Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichirst is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour" (I John 3:18). There are millions – maybe billions – of people – who are even now worshiping Satan. I'm not talking about Satanists, but common, everyday people, who are bowing in worship to him, and doing his bidding. They are following his dictates. Instead of worshiping God in wisdom and in truth, they are worshiping other people, material things, or themselves. They have put other things in place of God.

Satan is a great deceiver, and people swallow his line hook, line, and sinker. So it no wonder that during the Tribulation, people will worship his ambassadors.

The word to us is to be careful what we worship. Anything that takes the primary place in our lives is what we worship. Satan wants us to worship him or anything but God. Our commission on earth is to love God. As Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve." The choice is ours: God or antichrist.

Love, Dad