Talbot_Expositi_1937-WM.pdf

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

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shalt thou serve" (Matt. 4: 1O). But one day the devi~ will find the man who will accept his terms, and that man will be the Antichrist. There is one thing I would have you remember: The church of the Lord Jesus will never see the Antichrist. We often hear people speculating as to who the Antichrist will be. Some mention one name; some, another; but it is useless to speculate; for the church will be out of the way before the "man of sin" begins his reign. When the church has been caught up, then it is that the devil will put into the world his man, the rider upon the white horse, who goes forth, wearing a crown, "conquering, and to conquer." (a) The Antichrist's Domain. The part of the world. over which the Antichrist will exercise authority, is that cov­ ering the territory of the old Roman Empire. He will consoli­ date Europe, reviving the Roman Empire, and will go forth to conquer. He will become its head, the head of the pro­ phetic earth. By "prophetic earth" we mean that portion which formed the old Roman Empire. It is significant. that all would-be world conquerors and world rulers have dreamed of reviving the Roman Empire. The fulfillment of that dream will be accomplished by him whom the Word of God refers to as the "man of sin." We are definitely informed in Daniel 9:26 that the "prince that shall come" will be a Roman. "And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary." Please note that it is not the "prince" who was to destroy the city, but his people. "The city and the sanctuary" were destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman Legions. The Antichrist will be the future "prince" of that Empire. (b) The Antagonists of the A~tichrist. This "man of sin" will have three great antagonists: the king of the north, the king of the south, and a confederacy of the eastern nations. The king of the north is the Antichrist's greatest antagonist. Let me say, in passing, that when the four direc­ tions, north, east, south, and west, are referred to in the Bible, they are always given in relation to the land of Pales­ tine. Palestine, scripturally speaking, is the geographical and political center of the earth; therefore, we have no difficulty in identifying the antagonists of the Antichrist.

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