especially, Israel was warned concerning him. In Daniel 12:1 the mighty prophet looks down the centuries and says: “ And at that time shall Michael the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people [that is, Daniel’s people, the Jews] stand up: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation. And at that time thy people shall be delivered.” Jesus repeated that passage in Matthew 24:21-22 when He said: “ For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” It was then that our Lord warned against false Christs, saying, “ If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.” Here Jesus seems to be warning concerning the tribulation period and the Anti-Christ spirit which prepares for it. Literally translated, the passage would read: “If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is the Messiah, or there; believe it not.” At that time the Jews will be looking for the Messiah. Many devout Jews today, even in spiritual blindness, are expect ing their Messiah. Jesus said Anti-Christ would appear just before He came back to judge and rule the nations. Our Lord warned the Pharisees that because they were rejecting Him they would accept Anti-Christ. “ I have come in my Father’s name,” He said, “ and ye received me not; another shall come in his own name, and him will ye receive” (John 5:43). This was future in its application, but the fact that Christ said “ I” and opposed it with “ another” shows that the coming Anti-Christ will be an individual. Christ speaks of false Christs that will appear imme diately, but they would not be THE Anti-Christ. His followers would know the real Anti-Christ when they “ see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet” (Matt. 24:15). “Abomination of desolation” means “ an appalling sacrilege” when the holy place in the temple is violated by the man of sin. One translator so renders the passage as to make the phrase “ stand in the holy place” “ standing where he [the desolator] ought not.” The Anti-Christ will exalt himself against all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple, calling himself God. He will not worship God, but will be worshipped as God (II Thess. 2:4). Daniel (9:27) tells about this man who will be accepted temporarily by the Jews, and then in the midst of his reign will cause sacrifices and offerings to cease. In
IS SATAN SOON TO BE INCARNATED ? (cont.) Christ at Calvary, but Jesus rose from the dead and tri umphed. Satan, of course, knows Christ is coming back again, and today he is preparing for a mighty conflict when our Lord returns to reign. But the final conflict is to be different from any battle he previously has known. The devil cannot fight as a spir itual being when Christ returns, not even with the myriads of demons he leads. He must be incarnate; he must imitate God; he must have a trinity of personalities; and he must have earthly armies that do his will. He must have nations obedient to him; and he is today work ing to bring this to pass. When Satan is incarnate it will be in the person of Anti-Christ. So much nonsense has at times been taught about Anti-Christ that millions of church people will not believe in his reality. Most of our clergy make no mention of the wicked one. But, we have noted, the early Chris tians were very conscious of Anti-Christ, and John warned that already the spirit of Anti-Christ was in the world (I John 2:18; II John 7). Revelation 13:1-10 gives us a picture of the final apostasy and of the incarnation of Satan with the awful onslaught of the forces of darkness against God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Anti-Chirst is the last and greatest of the many enemies of Christ; different from the many “false Christs” of whom Jesus spoke in Matt. 24:5, 23-24. He is an apostate who will consummate all wickedness. Just as Jesus was the embodiment of all good, so Anti-Christ will be the embodiment of all evil. He is called “ the man of sin,” that is, the man in whom all sin is embodied, a demoniac genius, a superhuman figure, Satan’s Messiah. The fallen nature which is not subject to the law of God, nor can be, is fully revealed in Anti-Christ, who is at once both a personality and a system. As the risen Christ is repre sentative of redeemed and holy humanity, so this “man of sin” is the fulfillment of sinful humanity that refuses God’s redemption. He sums up man’s lawlessness. Carlyle said: “ The history of a people is the biography of its great men.” He will be endowed by Satan with all the power of God, Anti-Christ will have all the devil’s power. Through Anti-Christ Satan will rule over the nations, and will make war with the saints, and overcome them. For a while he will reign supreme. But Anti-Christ will be destroyed at Christ’s coming. Now remember that Anti-Chirst will not be another Christ, nor will he call himself Christ. Many claim that the Roman Pope is Anti-Christ because of the Catholic claim that their Supreme Pontiff is Christ’s earthly repre sentative. But Anti-Christ, when he comes, will not call himself the representative of Christ; but to the contrary will be filled with the deadliest hate of Christ, and that hate will come from Satan. Anti-Christ’s name is indicative of his character: he is “ anti-Christ,” or against Christ, against the Spirit and work of Jesus of Nazareth. He will not assume the name of Christ. The Bible calls him “ the Beast” (Rev. 13), “man of sin,” “ son of perdition,” “ the opposer” (II Thess. 2:3-8). Nevertheless, Anti-Christ will try to do what Christ w ill do. He will present himself to the people as the center of the world’s hope in the midst of the insurmountable difficulties in which the world already finds itself. However, he will assume blasphemous titles, and pretend to be God in the flesh. In that sense he will be both a false Messiah and Anti-Christ. We now study the Bible’s teaching concerning this awful person. The Anti-Christ and his coming were known by the Jews of old; in the prophecies of Ezekiel and Daniel
Dr. William Ward Ayer, Bible teacher, author and radio preacher is the former pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church, New York City. He was on o f the speakers this year during the Torrey Memorial Bible Conference.
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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