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by Sharon Griffin
originally written in 1998; updated in 2004
Dear Anna,
I will answer your letter about the Antichrist to the
best of my ability.
First of all, the spiritual world is as real as your next breath. It is
invisible, but more real than what we can see. And the
powers of darkness are more powerful now than they have ever been as we
near the end of this age.
The Bible says that rampant lawlessness will be the prime indicator of
the end times. It doesn't take great discernment to see the
explosion of lawlessness in our country and in the world. Any
vocal minority with an agenda can and does flout the law at will.
Activist judges defiantly turn the law of the land on its head.
Illegal immigrants seem to have more political clout than legal
citizens. And many people's ethics are based solely on what will
bring them financial gain.
As to moral law, decadence and deviancy are rampant. Any mention
of God's law or traditional morality is shouted down with enraged
screams of "Intolerance!"
There are several passages in the Bible showing what people will be like
in the end times. One says, "But know this, that in the
last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers,
without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong,
haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of
godliness but denying its power......always learning and never able to
come to the knowledge of the truth."
(2 Timothy 3:1-5,7)
Everywhere you go, you see that kind of behavior
displayed.
Although the antichrist spirit is pervasive, the Antichrist
himself has not been revealed yet--although I have no doubt that he is
almost ready to make his appearance.
In answer to your question, no, I do not believe that
Bill Gates is the antichrist.
The Bible tells us that he will originally be welcomed as a man of
peace. But later he will show his true colors-- an evil dictator,
possessed by satan, who will bring
untold suffering onto the whole world. Christians and Jews will be
mercilessly persecuted under his rule.
Most people believe that he will be a leader of the UN or EU, and
I tend to agree, but I am not certain. That is based on the
scripture in Daniel that says he will confirm a covenant with many
(nations) for 7 years. It is generally understood that the treaty
will bring peace to Israel for a seven year period, and will probably
permit them to rebuild their Temple
at its original location. At present, the Temple Institute in
Israel is actively recreating all the sacred objects required--even
breeding the red cows and other animals that are required for their
sacrifices. However, under the current political circumstances,
rebuilding the Temple is impossible.
When a leader arises who brings peace to Jerusalem and
allows the Jews to rebuild their Temple on the Temple Mount, that is
probably when you will
know who the antichrist is. In light of all of the treaties that
have been signed with Israel in recent years, notably the 1993 Oslo
Accords, it may be that the antichrist's identity won't actually be
revealed until he stands in the Temple showing himself as God as
demanding to be worshipped. That will happen 3-1/2
years after the final peace treaty is signed. Then,
literally, all hell will break loose on earth.
The Bible also says that people who reject the Gospel
will be given over to a deceiving spirit so that they
will believe the antichrist's lies as truth. To make matters
worse, false prophets and false Christs will abound (as they do now).
And, at some point, the False Prophet will arise, who will perform
great signs and wonders, calling down fire from heaven and doing many
other incredible miracles to support of the legitimacy of the antichrist's
supernatural claims.
The Bible calls this the "great deception" and says all who reject
Christ will be deceived, because they hated and rejected God's truth.
It will be their choice, not God's.
Those who cling to
belief in Jesus under this totalitarian reign will be targeted for
extermination because they will refuse to accept all religions as equal,
and they will refuse to commit to world peace through the administration
of this new world-wide antichrist government. They can't. They know the
person of Jesus Christ and they cannot deny that reality. They will be
labeled as the main cause of intolerance and hate, and the greatest
obstacle to world peace who must be destroyed. You hear some of that
around right now.
As for the mark of the beast and the 666, the mark that no one can buy or sell without
will apparently be a computer chip implanted in a person's
forehead or right hand. All financial transactions will require
that your chip be scanned. The
major credit card companies already are talking about a
biometric chip to be implanted--first voluntarily, then
later, they admit, those things have a way of becoming
mandatory.
The war on terrorism, identity theft, and credit card fraud have made it
almost essential that everyone be able to be positively identified.
People can steal credit cards and identification documents. They
can't steal a chip implanted in your body. So it sounds like a
logical, necessary step.
Somehow, the biometric chip and allegiance
to the godless world system will be tied in together. When one accepts
the "mark," he is consenting to the principles
of this system. When
one aligns himself with that system, all hope of
salvation in Jesus Christ is forfeited.
As for your question as to whether the Hall of Tortured
Souls is real--I don't know. I know that there is a real
hall for tortured souls--Hades--where the dead who have
rejected God await their final judgment. God instructs us
to avoid delving into that type of thing for the simple
reason, we are not equipped to deal with the spiritual
world on that level. It is very dangerous.
I do not know God's timetable. His timing is so different
from ours, because he sees from an eternal perspective
and we see time in relation to our own short life spans.
However, he gave us signs to look for as confirmation
that the end-time prophecies are imminent. One is the
re-establishment of Israel and Jerusalem. Jerusalem was
destroyed in A.D. 70 by the Romans and the Jews were
dispersed to all lands. For centuries, people thought
that a reborn Israel was a Biblical spiritual metaphor.
The modern state of Israel was born May 15, 1948.
Jerusalem was regained by the Jews in the 1967 war.
Everything that was predicted has turned out to have a
literal interpretation. There is no reason to believe
that the other prophecies will not also be fulfilled
literally.
What is important is to focus on the Christ, and not on
the Antichrist. Judgment is coming because people have
disregarded God's pleading that they turn from sin and
degradation and have chosen to defy Him. God has made every
provision that he can for our salvation--even sending His
Son to bear the punishment that justice requires for our
sins, so that we wouldn't have to pay for our own sins. Yet the world grows more selfish, self-centered,
violent, immoral, brutal, and godless every year.
Because God has given us free will, he cannot force his
goodness on us. We must recognize our need for it and ask
Him for it. It requires a commitment that he be our
God--our first loyalty in life--whereas the world's first
loyalty is always Self. It costs, but the rewards are
beyond our wildest imagination.
But when we reject God's Word, we align ourselves by default with the present
ruler of this world , satan. That choice
will cost infinitely more than what it costs to be a
Christian. That choice condemns you to an eternity in hell,
without God, and with no hope of redemption. Christians may suffer persecution, torture and death
in the future. But we will gain eternal love, life and
joy in His presence--something no one can take away from
us.
All we have to do is entrust our souls to his safekeeping
and know that He will fulfill his promise of salvation,
forgiveness and eternal life to all who will simply trust
in him.
At some point, Jesus will come and catch all who believe
in Him up into the air, "and so shall we ever be
with the Lord." Opinions vary on when that will be. Some believe that it will happen at the very beginning of
the Tribulation, right before the Antichrist signs the
peace treaty with Israel. Some believe that it will occur
in the middle of the Tribulation, just before the
Antichrist sets himself up in the Temple to be worshipped as God. Others
believe that it will not occur until the end of the
Tribulation (the end of the seven years that are allotted
to the Antichrist to reign over the earth), when Jesus
returns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and defeats satan in the great final battle. I can find scripture to
support all three viewpoints.
All I know for sure, though, is that if I am caught up
into heaven before the tribulation, I will be with Jesus.
If I am killed during the tribulation, I will be with
Jesus. If I survive the tribulation, I will be with
Jesus. So that is not a point of argument with me.
I hope that you will ask Jesus to forgive all your sins and come live in your heart
as the Lord of your life. It takes away all fear of
future events. Bad times have to come and sin must be
judged and eliminated before the glory of Jesus can be
revealed. When you really trust him, there is no fear.
There is just a patient acceptance that these things must
come to pass, but they are only very temporary. Then all
the promises that God ever made to his people will be
fulfilled for and in us.
In the very last book of the Bible, Revelation, Jesus
pleads once more, "Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I
will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with
me." That means intimate, loving eternal friendship
with the most wonderful confidante you ever dreamed of.
There is a world-wide sense that something big is going
to happen very soon. But most people will reject any implication
that this is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
I hope that you will not be one of them.
Love always,
Mom
Note from Sharon:
This is my best understanding of endtimes prophecy.
However, the Bible tells us that no one has perfect
understanding. "For we know in part and we prophesy in
part." And "We see through a glass darkly," which means we
see the dim outlines but we don't get the full picture.
I read a commentary one time that explained it to my
satisfaction. It said, "Biblical prophecy is always
specific enough to warn, but not specific enough to satisfy idle curiosity seekers."
What we can all recognize and understand is that we are down
to the wire. We are most likely the terminal
generation before all these things are fulfilled.
"Even so, come, Lord Jesus." |
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