Special Report:
The Third Pillar of Antichrist
I have always been
leery of those Bible teachers who have a new 'revelation' -- seeing
something in Bible prophecy that they had never seen before.
I am also keenly
aware of the dangers inherent in interpreting Bible prophecy in light of
current events. It is a good attitude to have, I think, but it does tend to
close one's mind to alternative explanations.
In that regard, what
should rightly be accepted as interpretational can subtly shift over from
interpretation to doctrine.
And interpretation and doctrine are two entirely different animals.
'Doctrine' is
defined as "a principle or position or the body of principles in a
branch of knowledge or system of belief."
'Interpretation'
is defined as "a particular adaptation or version of a work, method,
or style."
Doctrine is
iron-clad; a ballet teacher teaches the identical doctrine of
classical ballet to two students in the same class, but how they INTERPRET
that doctrine is what separated Mikhail Barishnikov from Rudolf Nureyev.
Doctrine is
constant but interpretation changes with understanding.
"The fear of the
LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding."
(Proverbs 9:10)
According to Bible
prophecy, the reign of the antichrist rests on the existence of three
central pillars; a global government, a global religion and a global
economy.
The prophet Daniel
identifies the antichrist as being of "the people of the prince
that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary." (Daniel
9:26)
History tells us the
destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple took place in AD 70 under the
command of Titus, later Emperor Titus of Rome.
Hence the
interpretation that the antichrist comes to power through some form of a
revived Roman Empire that serves as a de facto global government.
In this generation, the countries of the old Roman
Empire united under the banner of the European Union, uniting Europe as
a single empire for the first time since the fall of Rome.
The second pillar, that of a global
economy, is necessary to fulfill John's prophecy that he will have the
ability to restrict persons from normal buying and selling at the
individual level.
Such economic
control was never possible prior to this generation. If you doubt it exists now,
imagine if your Social Security number were deleted. You couldn't work,
open a bank account, get a loan, or make a major purchase.
Elimination of
cash (a work already in progress) would completely exclude a person from
any economic participation.
Of the third pillar,
the global religious system, the Bible reveals the following:
1) It will claim
authority over Christianity. "And I beheld another beast coming up out
of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb. . ."
The references to
'the lamb' are pretty much self-explanatory. It is a reference to something
'like' Christianity, but a counterfeit. . . "he spake as a dragon." (Revelation
13:11)
2) It will share
political power with the first beast. "And he exerciseth all the power
of the first beast before him."
3) Participation
will be mandatory. "cause
that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be
killed." (Revelation 13:15)
4) The method
employed by the false prophet's religious system as the penalty for
refusing conversion is decapitation.
"and I saw the souls of them
that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and
which had not worshipped the beast." (Revelation 20:4)
For more than a
thousand years, most interpreters saw the Church of Rome and the papacy
as the third pillar of the antichrist's platform.
The Vatican claims
authority of Christianity and has always been as much political as
religious. But that is where the similarities stop.
600 years ago, the
papacy tried to enforce conversion and sometimes executed those who
refused. The papacy also believed the world was flat 600 years ago.
Note by Ron—The following
statement is where the author is dead wrong about the role of the Pope. End
note:
It is safe to say
when the Pope believes in a flat earth, the papacy will launch another
Grand Inquisition.
There is in
existence another religion that fits John's description like a glove. Islam
claims to be the third revelation from God.
It claims its
existence from Abraham, acknowledges the Divine inspiration of the Bible,
but claims that Abraham, Moses, and Jesus were all Muslim prophets.
It is Islam's claim to be
the third and final revelation from God from which Islam derives its claim
of authority over Christians and Jews.
Islam is not just a
religion but is equally a political system carefully defined by Sharia law and fulfilling
points 1 and 2 much more perfectly than does the modern Vatican.
Islam is the religion
of the sword. The word itself means 'submission' and Islamic law authorizes the death penalty for unbelievers, fulfilling
point 3 as a matter of existing religious doctrine -- not a new doctrine forced
upon an existing system by a mad pope.
And the penalty of choice for refusing to submit
to Allah is decapitation, fulfilling point 4.
None of this has to
be developed and imposed upon Western religionists as new religious
doctrine by a new pope as previous interpretations required -- it
already exists. And it is already practiced by one-fifth of the human
race.
As noted, Islam
claims to be the well-spring of Judeo-Christianity, claiming Islam predates
both. Islam claims Allah is the same God worshipped by Christians and Jews
and that the Old and New Testaments were corrupted by scribes.
Christians and
Jews scoff at this claim, since the Koran's Allah bears no resemblance to
the God revealed in Scripture.
God is love.
Salvation is a gift of grace through faith. As a matter of accepted
doctrine, it cannot be imposed by force.
Salvation through
Allah comes through martyrdom in the jihad, after conversion to Islam
either voluntarily -- or by force.
Daniel provides
another glimpse into the religion of antichrist. He says that he will be an
atheist, but that he will pretend to be religious in public.
"Neither
shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard
any god: for he shall magnify himself above all."
Then Daniel gives a letter-perfect description of
Islam -- as Islam describes ITSELF.
"But IN HIS
ESTATE shall he honour the GOD OF FORCES: and a god WHOM HIS FATHERS KNEW
NOT . . ."
'A god of forces, and a god his fathers knew not' cannot be applied to the
Roman Catholic Church or the Papacy without the RCC formally renouncing
Scripture, God and Jesus.
For 1600 years,
interpreters looked to the Vatican and for 1600 years, the argument seemed
valid. Until the arrival of the generation to whom the prophecy was
written.
"And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for
the words are CLOSED UP AND SEAL TILL THE TIME OF THE END. Many shall be
purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and
none of the wicked shall understand; BUT THE WISE SHALL UNDERSTAND."
(Daniel 12:9-10)
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