Part 2 of the Mark of the Beast Series
Christ is coming soon but what will precede the coming? It’s more sinister than you think. Notice what the Bible says concerning His coming.
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2 Th 2:7, 3
Keep in mind this ”man of sin”, we will get back to that.
Nonetheless, the ”mystery of iniquity” was already at work in the church. We see the first sign of unconverted hearts in the church when Ananias lied about giving his profits to the church. Acts 5:3
”Satan”
“And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,”
Luk 4:33
Now the Holy Spirit expressly says that in the last days, this perversion will be wide scale.
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;”
1Ti 4:1-2
In this particular
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
2Ti 4:3-4
So how do we know that we are in this latter time of deception?
“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”
Mat 24:3-5
The first verse shared indicates that the disciples wanted to know the ”sign” of Jesus’s coming. Jesus then goes on to give them a long answer that wasn’t just for their ears but for our benefit throughout the ages. The very first thing He says is ”take heed that no one deceives you”. Then He goes on to say that many will come in His name saying they are Christ in verse Mat 24:5.
In Mat 24:11-14 He kinda finishes out the ”signs of His coming” and says something that will be the final ”sign”.
“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
Mat 24:14
Now we know the Gospel is being preached all over the world right now through TV, radio, missionaries, etc. But we aren’t quite there yet where everyone has received the gospel.
“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”
Mat 24:11-12
Now this iniquity, or sin, shall abound. We know sin is transgression of
We know he placed importance on the Commandments in the particular verses below.
“But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?”
“Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
Mat 15:3; 7-9
On a different
“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments…”
Mar 10:18-19
It’s quite evident that Jesus was interested in us keeping the Commandments yet, for most of the Christian world, we neglect the Commandments as a fruit of our faith. Even Francis Chan (a widely known preacher of righteousness) neglects to address the 4th Commandment, which most of the Christian religion breaks.
I hope I’ve established that it’s the last days. Iniquity abounds because the world, including the church, has all but voided the Law of God and false prophets are the ones teaching this “hyper-grace” doctrine.
Now, remember the “man of sin”? Let’s look at him deeper. I suggest taking a look at the all the verses in
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”
“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,”
2Th 2:3-4; 7-9
We see here that the “man of sin” pretends to be God and sits in the temple of God. That means he’s in the Church!!! Furthermore, He’s associated with the mystery of iniquity. This mystery of iniquity or “Wicked” or, namely, Satan will work with all power and signs and lying wonders until the second coming of Christ.
This is the false spirit pervading the church and masquerading as the Holy Spirit. The true sign of the Spirit is obedience and self-control. 1 Pe 1:2; Gal 5:22-23
What man do we know sits in the temple of God, or church, and claims that he is above all that is called God and shows himself that he is God?
This can be none other than the Pope. He is the only “head” of a professed church of God. He claims he can forgive sins, which only belongs to God and he claims that he is the Vicar of Christ (representative of Christ) on Earth. So basically, he claims he has the authority of Christ in His “absence”. He even claims “infallibility” when he speaks “ex-cathedra” or from the chair. Hmm, so he can basically change the Word of God from the chair, among other things.
Interestingly enough, he (the office of the Pope) did try to change the Word of God, namely, His Law as explained on this website. Furthermore, the office of the Pope changed the Sabbath from Saturday, or the 7th day of the week, to Sunday, or the 1st day of the week (named Sunday in worship of the sun) as proven in this website.
There we have it. We are in the last days and the man of sin is revealed. We see that Satan has his false miracles which most people believe to be the Holy Spirit. 2 Th 2:9-11. Stay tuned as the next article will address the “man of sin” and his role as the antichrist.
It’s your teaching that comes under “false teaching”, as you leave out Scriptures that reinforce that Jesus Christ came to do away with the Law…. including the 10 Commandments.. And, our Lord Jesus Christ mentions that the Laws of the Old Testaments are encompassed in His New Commandments… Love the Lord your God with all your heart, & love your neighbour in the same manner..
So, does this mean that the doctrine you are preaching is false, & against the TRUE WORDS OF GOD, a false doctrine…… the same that you pronounce the Catholic Church to be, not that I’m of that faith or doctrine either.. But, I am a Christian who believes in the TRUTH of SCRIPTURE, when all Scripture is truthfully taken in context, rather than adopting isolated Scriptures as it appears your doctrine appears to.. It appears that that doctrine originates from the Seventh Day Adventist movement.. Having been involved with an SDA church, I came to realize that it exists to promote the Commandments & the Law, which Jesus Christ came to do away with.. And, the SDA doctrine doesn’t believe that they are Sanctified until Christ returns, yet Scriptures inform us that Sanctification comes through the Cross & belief in Jesus Christ as our Saviour.. So, your doctrine defies the TRUTH of New Testament Scriptures.. Isn’t that defying the Word, & the Word is our Christ, & also defying God? Isn’t that promoting a false teaching, & a sign of the time you refer to.. End times! I pray that all involved in “your church”, not of sound doctrine, come to realise the TRUTH, & live a life of Sactification through the Cross, through the grace & mercy of our Lord Jesus, not of the old law.. Praise God, that he reach the hearts of many in the SDA “church”..
Brother Robert,
I sincerely appreciate the time you took to express how you view the scriptures. However, as the previous commenter stated, you are using a lot of your opinion and not basing your response on the Word of God, from my perspective. Rather than responding to you with the fallible ideas in my mind, I will reply with a few verses, let’s call them witnesses, and I will let you and other viewers decide if the Law has been abolished.
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15, KJV)
“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” (Heb 10:26-27)
“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” (Rev 22:14)
“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” (Rev 14:12)
I hope you can see, brother, that it is our faith that saves us but, with that faith, we then choose to serve Jesus and that proof of service is obedience.
“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (Jas 2:20)
Robert McLeush, I wonder why you think your opinions matter? You did not point out anything at all. The way it is, really, is that people begin to publish negative comments and smear campaign in order to discredit the writer or poster right away at the onset. To create an illusion of fear to all who would later see the article that this is not something they should spend time studying on. And that is something someone whose intention is to deceive does.
As usual you publish your EGW deception which is devoid of truth.
SDA are false prophets
What is EGW? I don’t remember mentioning anything about this acronym??? 🤔
Seducing spirits are everywhere and they are not linked to one individual. The religious seducing spirits are dangerous demonic forces that have come to discredit the Holy Scriptures and to deceive and ridicule those who believe in Jesus Christ of Nazareth. They are no respecter of persons and can influence and even possess church goers and religious people, regardless of denomination, who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The Holy Scriptures do warn us about those who will come as wolves in sheep clothing or angels of light. They are everywhere now performing magical works and pulling people away from the faith in the name of miracles, signs and wonders. They may operate as an individual or a group who we trust automatically as they are usually impressive in their presentation, speech and are very persuasive. The message of repentance is not being reinforced but is substituted with a twisted gospel and witchcraft activities.
Satan has indeed infiltrated the church by sending his agents to appeal to people’s desire for pleasure, wealth, fame and power. They often disguise themselves as Christians and take over leadership positions manipulating people for gain and greed. However, the blood of Jesus Christ of Nazareth prevails so we who know Jesus must remember to pray daily for Jesus Christ to sharpen our ability to discern evil motives and intentions in those who are parading as Christians but are really servants of the enemy. These are serious times in which Christians need to study the Word of God and pray fervently about all situations. We need to claim others for Jesus and pray them into the Kingdom of God. Our faith in Jesus is precious. The demonic forces know that and so they are simply executing their role of seduction by killing, stealing and destroying the reputation of those who dare to stand for righteousness. They exploit human emotions and consequently enslave people by letting people become deluded and take pleasure in believing lies. They can also operate through music stifling the need for reverence, prayer, meditation on the Word of God and respect for God. They promote lust and promiscuity even through fashion and people’s seductive behavior.
There is an obvious proliferation of demonic forces operating in the socio – political realm today as many leaders and organizations are boldly changing traditional views and moral laws. The aim is obviously to pave the way for a new world order of chaos and corruption that will prepare the way for a political world leader who is antichrist and who will make all people suffer. As Christians we need to watch and pray and remain faithful to God. We serve an awesome God who has warned us about things to come throughout the Holy Scriptures. .Let us focus on preparing ourselves for the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Holy Scriptures reveal all things about the past, the present and the future. What an awesome guide book presented by an awesome God of love!
As Christians it is very important for us to do research re the various types of seducing spirits that are in operation in the world but more important is that we remain obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit of God who will teach us all things. “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect (Matthew 24:24). I love the part of the verse which states that ‘if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.’ It implies that the power of seduction will be very overwhelming but thanks be to God those who represent the remnant church or the elect will not be deceived as they knowing that they are engaged in spiritual warfare will put on the whole armour of God and be used of God to expose the powers of darkness. They will overcome deception by the blood of the Risen Lamb, Jesus Christ of Nazareth and the Word of their testimony (Revelation 12:11). Let us therefore not focus on one individual who we believe is antichrist whether in the past, present or future. Let us rather consecrate ourselves to our Lord and Saviour and pray daily for wisdom and protection. Let us watch and pray lest we enter into temptation . Victory belongs to Jesus Christ of Nazareth who has given us authority over evil powers. Oh what a love!
Very great points!! I appreciate your well-thought feedback. Please stay tuned for the next couple of posts as we will see that the Bible clearly points out, through prophecy, a specific entity that is against Christ.