This lesson, we continue our discussion about the anti-christ concept. To recap lesson 3, we discussed that many Christians think there is some one person that will arise in the future who will be the anti-christ. Steve Wohlberg does an excellent job discussing this error in his book "End Time Delusions", I highly recommend reading it. The Bible has several different terms used for this same organizational power we often refer to simply as anti-christ: son of perdition, little horn, the beast, or the lawless one. Since as Adventists, we have a clear understanding of the only earthly organizational power to fit all the characteristics, I will not elaborate on that, but will put links at the end of this as resources for more in-depth study if you need a review or if you are new to this idea. Remember that the devil uses the tool of deception as his main arsenal and Christ warns against being deceived over and over so make sure you know what you are looking for to determine who this beast or anti-christ power really is.
Before I continue, I want to comment that the idea of the papacy being the anti-christ is NOT an Adventist theory. It was well understood by the great reformers and by protestant religions down through the centuries. Only in recent decades, have other denominations strayed away from this sound doctrine and toward other deceptions like the "left behind" concept, check out this from a Baptist church history website Reformation History.
One of the primary goals this week was to discuss the characteristic of blasphemy. The Bible gives two examples of what blasphemy is: 1) Mark 2:7 defines it as claiming to forgive sins and 2) John 10:33 defines it as claiming to be God. In our previous lesson we discussed the importance of understanding that the devil is the power working through this earthly organization. In heaven, lucifer was first pre-occupied with the throne: "You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; above the stars of God.' " Isaiah 14:13
We see this blasphemous characteristic, of being in the place of god as a predominate trait for this earthly organization. As you review all the characteristics and review history, there is only one organizational power which fits the description, that of the Roman Catholic papacy. By no means does this mean that we would consider Catholic Christians or all people in the leadership of this church to be evil. It means that the devil will use the leadership role of this organization as a tool to try and replace Christ here on earth. There are numerous resources to find quotes directly from Catholic writings to show that the Catholic church made the change of the worship day from the 7th day to the 1st and they take full credit for this and acknowledge that they did so of their own power, not God's. The change of the day of worship away from the Biblical Sabbath established by God in the Garden at creation and which we are reminded of in the 4th commandment and all through the New Testament including Christ's own life, is the fulfillment of the "think to change times and laws" predicted in Daniel 7. An excellent resource for more information about the Sabbath is Sabbath Truth. Look at the fact most Christians worship on Sunday rather than Saturday and many have no idea that it was the Catholic church who changed it, not God. Subtle deception is a powerful tool.
I find the Catholic church's belief that the papacy has the power to forgive sins and to be of more power than Christ Himself to be very disturbing. Here is a link to the reference "duties of the priest" which has some very disturbing quotes. I have highlighted some key passages between pages 1 and 10 just to give you an idea of how the papacy places itself in the place of God. Again, confirming the characteristics prophesied of in Scripture.
The other key focus of this lesson was to get our minds around the time in earth's history in which we live. When you read Daniel 7 and 8, you see that Daniel was very confused about his vision. The angel comes to explain to him that it occurs in the future, at the "end of times" Daniel 8:17. So where in history does this occur and where are we today? The main timeline is the 1260 years, sometimes noted as "time, times and half time" and sometimes given as 42 months; all of which equal 1260 days or in prophecy terms 1260 years (see 2 Pet 3:8, Num 14:34 and Eze 4:6 for day/year theory). As you review history you find that the papal power overtook 3 of the 10 European nations denoted by the 10 toes or 10 horns in 538 a.d., this would bring us to 1798 as the end of the 1260 day period. In 1798, the pope was taken captive which fulfilled the "receiving a deadly wound" prophecy in Revelation. Now lets look at other signs for the end of time from Jesus own words. In Matthew 24 He told the disciples about the sun, moon, and stars. This is again repeated in the 6th Seal of Revelation 7 which also includes a great earthquake. So here is the timeline we can get to:
1755 Lisbon earthquake
1780 Dark day and blood moon
1798 Pope captured (end of 1260 year prophecy)
1833 Stars fall
It is now 2010 so according to prophecy, we are definitely well into the "end of time". We need to daily be focusing on strengthening our relationship with Christ because our eternal life depends on it. Things of this earth are just temporal so spend time with God every day in study and prayer. If you have just been drifting through your Christian walk, let me leave you with this text: "You know what sort of times we live in, and so you should live properly. It is time to wake up. You know that the day when we will be saved is nearer now than when we first put our faith in the Lord. Night is almost over, and day will soon appear. We must stop behaving as people do in the dark and be ready to live in the light." Romans 13:11-12 CEV.
God bless you in your study and prayer.
REFERENCES:
David Asscherick Prophecy Series
Brian Mcmahon Revelation Series
Steve Wohlberg Website
Amazingfacts Bible Study Guide Who-is-the-Antichrist?
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