ANTICHRIST (3)

THE RELIGION AND MORAL CHARACTER OF ANTICHRIST

 

All that is good in mankind will come to its fruitage in this man. Yet all of this will be turned to carry out the purposes of Hell because this man will be the very incarnation of human sin, pride, arrogance, rebellion, and unholy ambition.

1.  In religion, this man will be a materialistic pantheist (2 Thess. 2:3-4). A religious rebellion prepares the way for his appearance in society. Basically this philosophy is pantheistic, denying the transcendence of God and asserting that creation is the total of reality. Once this philosophy permeates society, this great man appears on the scene and demands the worship belonging to deity. This consists in the deification of the natural level, the enthronement of physical forces, the obliteration of moral and spiritual distinctions, and the inauguration of the wildest outbreak of physical violence, moral corruption, and spiritual degeneracy the world has ever seen. Opposition to God and the exaltation of self above all that is called God or that is worshipped can lead in no other direction.

2.  In expression, this man will be a blasphemer on an extraordinary scale. He wears the name of blasphemy (Rev. 13:1), is given a mouth to speak blasphemy (Rev. 13:5), gives expression to blasphemy (Rev. 13:6), and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped (2 Thess. 2:4). Blasphemy originates from two sources: one is intellectual and the other is moral: It consists in the affirmation of untruth about God or the things of God for the purpose of injuring. In the case of this man, it would appear that the source is wholly moral, namely, hatred for God and the desire to injure Him and all who are associated with Him. Dispassionately, deliberately he denies the truth about God (1 John 2:22; 4:3; 2 John 7).

3.  In character, this man is the greatest antinomian of all humanity. He is described by Paul as "that man of sin" or "that Wicked" (2 Thess. 2:3, 8). Both of these expressions represent the Greek words which means "the lawless one." At last, the mystery of lawlessness produces its fruit in this man (2 Thess. 2:7). Sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4 ASV). But through the centuries there has been a certain restraint placed upon it, in that the Holy Spirit of God has exercised through God's people a hindrance to its full expression. But at last this restrainer, the Holy Spirit, will cease to operate since the Church in whom He dwells will have been translated (2 Thess. 2:6-7). Immediately this Lawless One will be revealed (2 Thess. 2:8). Being intolerant of all restraint, except the law of his own sinful desire, there will then begin the course and career of the most high-handed tyranny the world has ever seen.

4.  In conduct, there will follow an almost unbelievable exhibition of selfish ambition. In the ultimate sense this will consist of at least four things. There will be a calculated and persistent course of opposition to God and all things associated with Him. Running parallel with this will be the claims to deity in his effort to exalt himself above God. To buttress his claims and achieve his end, there will be a carefully developed and executed system of demonstration to prove his claims. Finally, there will be the demands for worship and the compelling measures to bring this about. Opposition to God, exaltation above God, and demonstration of deity (2 Thess. 2:4, 9-11), can well be expected to culminate in the image to whom divine adoration must be paid, or suffer the penalty of death (Matt. 24:15; Rev. 13:14-17).