The Voice Of Elijah Let’s Talk About the Antichrist: Nearly everyone believes the Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation. Although John never mentions “the Antichrist” as such, he certainly does quote a lot of Bible prophecy concerning the End Times; and the things he explains in regard to Satan, the False Prophet and the Beast sound a whole lot like what the Apostle Paul says about the Antichrist in this passage: Let no one in any way deceive you, for {it will not come} unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains {will do so} until he is taken out of the way. And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; {that is,} the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. (2 Thessalonians 2:3–12) —NASB Paul’s point is, a lot of folks are going to be deluded by Satan—when he appears in the person of the Antichrist—because they don’t want to believe the Truth in regard to End Times Bible Prophecy, the Antichrist, and the meaning of the Book of Revelation. But that sounds just like what the Apostle John himself says in that regard in the Book of Revelation: And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Revelation 12:7–9) —NASB And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. And he performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. (Revelation 13:11–14) —NASB One would naturally assume the Apostle John understood the meaning of the things he recorded in the Book of Revelation concerning End Times Bible prophecy and the Antichrist. So who could be more qualified to explain those things than the man who actually wrote them? Have you ever thought about the fact that John must have taught his disciples what those things actually meant? One of the most influential leaders of the second-century Church, a Bishop by the name of Irenæus, tells us John did just that. Irenæus not only insists that the Apostle John taught his disciples exactly what the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation mean; he also claims that he was taught by disciples of John who actually heard the Apostle John explain what he knew about the Book of Daniel, the Book of Revelation, the Antichrist, and End Times Bible Prophecy. More than that, Irenæus wrote down the things the disciples of the Apostle John taught him. So who are you going to believe? Someone who got the Truth from the proverbial “horse’s mouth” or someone who got what he believes about the Book of Daniel, the Book of Revelation, the Antichrist, and End Times Bible Prophecy from the mouth of someone who might have been nothing more than first cousin to a horse? Irenæus says this about the things he wrote concerning his understanding of the Book of Daniel, the Book of Revelation, End Times Bible Prophecy, and the Antichrist: As I have already observed, the Church, having received this preaching and this faith, although scattered throughout the whole world, yet, as if occupying but one house, carefully preserves it. She also believes these points [of doctrine] just as if she had but one soul, and one and the same heart, and she proclaims them, and teaches them, and hands them down, with perfect harmony, as if she possessed only one mouth. For, although the languages of the world are dissimilar, yet the import of the tradition is one and the same. For the Churches which have been planted in Germany do not believe or hand down anything different, nor do those in Spain, nor those in Gaul, nor those in the East, nor those in Egypt, nor those in Libya, nor those which have been established in the central regions of the world. But as the sun, that creature of God, is one and the same throughout the whole world, so also the preaching of the truth shineth everywhere, and enlightens all men that are willing to come to a knowledge of the truth. Nor will any one of the rulers in the Churches, however highly gifted he may be in point of eloquence, teach doctrines different from these (for no one is greater than the Master); nor, on the other hand, will he who is deficient in power of expression inflict injury on the tradition. For the faith being ever one and the same, neither does one who is able at great length to discourse regarding it, make any addition to it, nor does one, who can say but little, diminish it. (“Against Heresies,” Book I, Chapter XX) As you can see, the orthodox Church at that time had not yet lost insight into the Truth that Jesus Christ revealed to His Disciples—the Truth concerning the meaning of the Book of Daniel, the Book of Revelation, the Antichrist, and End Times Bible Prophecy that the Apostles handed down orally to their disciples, who then handed it down orally to their disciples, one of whom happened to be the man Irenæus. So, if you are looking for the Truth concerning the Book of Daniel, the Book of Revelation, the Antichrist, and End Times Bible Prophecy, you might want to pay attention to what Irenæus has to say. Irenæus Explains What He Knew About the Antichrist If you want to know the Truth concerning what Jesus and the Apostles taught in regard to the Book of Revelation, the Book of Daniel, End Times Bible Prophecy, and the Antichrist, you can’t find a better source than Irenæus. He sat at the feet of one of the most revered martyrs of the second-century Church, a man named Polycarp, who was Bishop of the local church at Smyrna. Polycarp was not only one of the Apostle John’s most well-known disciples; he was also burned at the stake for his unwavering belief in the things the Apostle John taught him. So he was not the sort of person who would have distorted the Truth he learned from John when he taught those things to his own disciples, one of whom was Irenæus. Not only did Irenæus learn the Truth about the Antichrist, End Times Bible Prophecy, and the meaning of the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation from Polycarp, he also “wrote the book” on what it meant to be a Christian in his day. Sometime around A.D. 185, he sat down and wrote a five-volume work titled “Against Heresies,” in which he clearly stated what one had to believe to be a Christian. That’s where he explained what he knew about the Book of Daniel, the Book of Revelation, End Times Bible Prophecy, and the Antichrist. So, if you claim to be a “Christian,” you might want to think twice before you contradict what he wrote. Irenæus’ monumental work is still available in theological libraries around the world today, but most theological students never bother to read it; and those who do aren’t all that interested in what he has to say anyway. The fact is, most who have a go at reading “Against Heresies” probably find the first few volumes so boring that they stop reading before they get a really good start. That’s a shame, because they never get to the really good part. The first three volumes of “Against Heresies” are just about as dry as a bone; but the fourth volume gets a bit more interesting, and the fifth volume will absolutely knock your socks off. Hippolytus Confirms What Irenæus Says About the Antichrist Moses says one should never accept the testimony of just one witness when someone’s life is on the line (Deut. 17:6; 19:15). In this case, it would appear that the lives of those who believe Satan’s lies at the End of the Age are the ones whose lives are going to be on that proverbial line; so you might be interested in knowing that another influential leader of the second-century Church confirms what Irenæus wrote concerning the Antichrist, end times Bible prophecy, and the meaning of the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation. That man’s name was Hippolytus, and he was an even more influential second-century Christian leader than Irenæus. As a matter of fact, Hippolytus was almost elected “Pope”—that is, Bishop of the church in Rome—right after A.D. 200. But for the sake of those dyed-in-the-wool Protestants who might react negatively to my mention of the “Pope” title, I should probably also tell you Hippolytus was the very first “Protest”-ant. Later on, he quit the orthodox Church and started his own “Protest”-ant Church in protest against men he felt were introducing false teaching into the orthodox Church. So you might want to stop here and take a few deep breaths before you continue reading. The Truth is, the Church has come a long way down since then. Hippolytus not only confirms what Irenæus wrote about the Antichrist, the Book of Revelation, and End Times Bible Prophecy by saying exactly the same things that Irenæus says; he goes even further. He also wrote a commentary on the Book of Daniel in which he explains how the Prophecy of the Book of Daniel relates to the Bible Book of Revelation. That astonishing little bit of information alone may help you avoid the fate that Irenæus describes this way: For when he (Antichrist) is come, and of his own accord concentrates in his own person the apostasy, and accomplishes whatever he shall do according to his own will and choice, sitting also in the temple of God, so that his dupes may adore him as the Christ; wherefore also shall he deservedly “be cast into the lake of fire:” [this will happen according to divine appointment], God by His prescience foreseeing all this, and at the proper time sending such a man, “that they may believe a lie, that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but consented to unrighteousness;” whose coming John has thus described in the Apocalypse. If you have been looking for the Truth, not knowing where to look, these two men may well explain what you would like to know about the Antichrist and the meaning of End Times Bible Prophecy. Hippolytus certainly knew how the End Times Bible Prophecy of the Book of Daniel relates to the End Times Bible Prophecy in the Book of Revelation—where the Apostle John talks about the Antichrist. Our mission here is to introduce you to what these men said about those things—completely free, no obligation. voiceofelijah.org/freeoffer/google/rapture.html?gclid=CL3pgIKUosMCFSdn7AodTHIA6w
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 17:19:48 +0000
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