Q. Someone has pointed out that the Anti-Christ will one day defect from his own religion, from the god of his fathers, and magnify himself to be a god. (Daniel 11:37: “He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.”) If the anti-Christ comes from Islam one day and magnifies himself above all including Allah, and demand the Muslims follow him, how will the Muslim crowd respond to his demand? Seems like he would called a traitor of his own religion, and be killed. A. In Rev. 17 the one world religion is called the prostitute, the anti-Christ is called the beast and the 10 regional governments are called the 10 horns. Here’s what it says about them. “The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God’s words are fulfilled.” (Rev. 17:16-17) Although the anti-Christ will have come to power with the assistance of the one world religion, he will eventually do away with it to become the sole object of worship. Remember, at this point the anti-Christ will be indwelt by Satan. Also, in Daniel 11:40 we read how both the King of the North and the King of the South will engage the anti-Christ in battle and both will apparently be defeated. Today Turkey, Iran and others occupy lands of the King of the North and Egypt is still the King of the South. All are Islamic countries. Perhaps they’ll come against the anti-Christ for abandoning the religion. No one knows for sure, but Rev. 17:16-17 says that the end times religion will be destroyed by order of the Creator. Q. I have a question regarding the church’s role in end times and millennium. In Hebrew the word church means ekklesia or ‘the called out assembly” and the Lord refers to the assembly/congregation many times in the OT ie Gen 48:4, Ex 16:3, I Sam 17:47 and many more. So doesn’t that mean there has always been a ‘church’ under the Hebrew title of assembly so it’s not exclusively us believers now? A. In the 3 examples you gave, and 83 other places in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word qahal is translated assembly. In the New Testament the Greek word ekklesia also means assembly but it’s almost always translated church (115 times out of 118 appearances). It’s a case where a common noun has become a name. Although the two words both mean the same thing and are used in the same way, they point to two different groups. In the Old Testament the word for assembly almost always referred to Israel, and in the New Testament it almost always refers to the Church. But Israel is not the Church and the Church is not Israel. The two groups have different origins, different destinies, and different relationships with God. The only things they have in common is that they both worship God and they both consist of a gathering (assembly) of people. Q. Re: the souls under the altar in Rev. 6:9: How do they relate to the other groups of martyrs mentioned in Revelation? Are they pre-rapture souls? If they were believers, wouldn’t they would get physical bodies at the rapture. So if they are post-rapture martyrs, how are they different from the other mentioned groups? A. You’re right in saying that these martyrs have to be post rapture believers. Otherwise they would have been resurrected. And yet their spirits are in Heaven before the 6th seal, which is when some people claim the End Times judgments begin. I’ve always interpreted Rev. 6:17, “The great day of their wrath has come” to mean the judgments are not starting then but will actually begin before that time, as in “has already come”. Having martyrs in heaven by Rev. 6:9 confirms this. I believe these martyrs are the first fruits of the harvest of the Earth. They will be resurrected at the time of the second Coming (Rev. 20:4). Q. When we confess our sins to God, are we to be specific? Or maybe say something like “I confess I am a sinner and ask you to forgive my sins and wash me clean with the blood of my Beloved Jesus”? The thing is, I try to confess when I pray, but sometimes I can’t think of anything to confess. (Especially if I’ve already said a few prayers that day) Please don’t get me wrong. I know I’m a sinner and have probably done many things I just don’t remember. How specific do we need to get? A. King David had the same problem. Then he wrote Psalm 19. In verses 12-13 he said, “Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” He asked the Lord to forgive his hidden faults (the sins he wasn’t aware of) and to help him avoid willful sinning. Of course, he confessed the sins he was aware of too, but I don’t think he ever worried again about forgetting anything. This is a good way to make sure you have everything covered.
Anti Christ And The End Times Religion
More On Israel And The Church
The Martyrs Of Rev. 6
Forgive All My Sins
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
AskaBibleTeacher: (Anti Christ And The End Times Religion; More On Israel And The Church; The Martyrs Of Rev. 6; Forgive All My Sins) -Jack Kelley
