As their kingdoms cool down and rebellions heat up, a king will show
up, hard-faced, a master trickster. His power will swell enormously. He'll talk
big, high-handedly,
Doing whatever he pleases, knocking off heroes and holy ones left and right.
He'll plot and scheme to make crime flourish— and oh, how it will flourish!
He'll think he's invincible and get rid of anyone who gets in his way.
But when he takes on the Prince of all princes, he'll be smashed to bits—but not by human hands.
Doing whatever he pleases, knocking off heroes and holy ones left and right.
He'll plot and scheme to make crime flourish— and oh, how it will flourish!
He'll think he's invincible and get rid of anyone who gets in his way.
But when he takes on the Prince of all princes, he'll be smashed to bits—but not by human hands.
Have you ever seen a magician who could just mesmerize a
crowd with his slide of the hand techniques? Some people are pretty tricky in what
they do and say—some might call them charming or intriguing, but this trickster
king is power hungry and cruel, especially to Christians—holy ones. It appears
that this prophecy is of the Antichrist. Who is this Antichrist? He is
mentioned in 1 John 2:18-22 (NASB), Children,
it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now
many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They
went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us,
they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown
that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and
you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but
because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but
the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one
who denies the Father and the Son. There are several other references
specific to the Antichrist, this adversary of the Messiah, that deceiver that wants
people to see him as a savior, like Christ. Revelation 13:2-4 describes this Antichrist as
a beast, with a fatal head wound that is healed which amazed the whole earth.
The beast of Revelation 13 is much like the beast with the horns described in
Daniel’s vision. That beast gets its power from Satan—who always strives to mimic
God. The study of this Antichrist and the end times is mystifying and captivating.
The questions of when, why, how will this all come about are perplexing and
intriguing. Most of all we’d like to know…is this Antichrist living now…who is
he…will this happen in our lifetime???
I don’t have the answers—and I’ll leave it to the Lord to
reveal it to us as we continue to study His word.
Lord God, reveal to us
the profound and hidden things in this passage of scripture.
© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
Scripture from The Message, except where noted.
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