RoparnaAntichrist 1 – The Counterfeit Deception
Purpose: Satan’s highest aim is to receive worship. He deceives Christians into worshiping him through his front man, the Antichrist.
Focus: Knowing Jesus and His Word is our only safety.
Introduction
IE: Troy. What the Greeks could not accomplish by force, they succeeded in by deception. Today we will look at the concept of the Antichrist, next time we will identify who it actually is.
What is Satan’s highest aim in life?
Matt 4:8-9
How much is Satan willing to trade for worship? IE: “I am Satan, worship me”-approach?
He is intelligent, so he gets himself a front man…
2 Thess 2:1-4
What must come before the Second Coming? Who will the Antichrist claim to be? Is he a violent opposer or a subtle imposter? IE: “Anti” = “In place of”
We see the same concept of deception in Revelation…
Rev 13:1-5
Who is the dragon? (12:9) Beast = Antichrist. IE: Church history: Satan tried to destroy Christianity through persecution. But the blood of the martyrs was like seed. So Satan tries a different strategy. He takes a step back, and places a counterfeit Christ on the stage. When Christians worship this false Christ, they are in fact worshiping the dragon.
Notice the parallels…
| Jesus Christ | Antichrist | |
| Begins ministry by coming up out of the water | Matt 3:16 | Rev 13:1 |
| Three and a half years’ ministry | Luke 3:1, 21; John 2:13, 5:1, 6:4, 11:55 | Rev 13:5 |
| Death and resurrection | 1 Cor 15:3-4 | Rev 13:3, 14 |
| Is worshiped after resurrection | Rev 5:13-14 | Rev 13:3-4 |
| Sits on his father’s throne | Rev 3:21 | Rev 13:2 |
| Name in his followers’ forehead | Rev 14:1 | Rev 13:16-17 |
People’s profession does not necessarily make them Christians. Jesus taught this clearly…
Matt 7:21-23
Are all who claim the name of Christ Christians? Can we even blindly trust miracle workers?
How will we be able to resist these powerful deceptions?
Matt 7:24-27
How can we avoid being swept away by the flood? We must have a personal relationship with Jesus and a personal understanding of the Bible. We need to believe only what it supports. Human traditions, the opinions of priests and pastors are as the shifting sands unless supported by the Scriptures.
APPEAL
[Name] is this your desire to build your house on the Rock? Are you willing to say to Jesus: “If there is something I believe that does not agree with Your Word, I am willing to give it up”? I would like to challenge you to begin to daily read the Bible on your own (if you are not doing so already). If we would like to survive the coming crisis we need to know what the Word says for ourselves. Instead of reading only what people think the Bible says, we need to read the Bible itself. Try it out for one week, even if you just read one verse per day. Are you willing to take on that challenge?
