The Revelation and the End of Days 1 Lesson 16: Revelation Chapter 6:2 – part 2 The Antichrist: 1. Revelation 6:2 (NKJV) 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. 2. (v2) “I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.” a. Recap of some points from lesson 15: i. Who is the rider? a. This is the Antichrist. b. Some have believed this to be Jesus. We looked at several biblical reasons to show this was not Jesus, these included: i. Jesus was the one opening the seal. ii. This is at the start of the tribulation but Christ second coming to the earth is at the end of the tribulation. ii. Different theories concerning the Antichrist were introduced. a. We will only be looking at the believe that the Antichrist is a person who rises to power as World Leader and will rule during the Tribulation. b. This person will: i. Accepted by the Jews as the Messiah. (refer to John 5:43) ii. He will lead the world into: 1. New world government. 2. One world religion. 3. One world monetary system. 4. Will be known as the “New World Order” (NWO). c. We looked at several different names that scripture assigns to him. Some of them include: i. Assyrian in Isaiah 10:5, 12 & 24. ii. Crooked Serpent – Leviathan in Isaiah 27:1. iii. Little Horn in Daniel 7:8-11 and 21-26. iv. Lawless one in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 v. The Beast in Revelation 11:7 & 13. iii. Explored theories on the timing of the Antichrist. a. Tribulation will only be 3.5 years; therefore, the first seal opens 3.5 years before the second coming. b. Tribulation will be 7 years; therefore, the first seal opens 7 years before the second coming of Jesus. 3. Signs of the Antichrist coming. 2 Glory to Glory Ministries – Minot ND a. “Unlike the rapture… the coming of the antichrist will not be without warning. Several signs will point to his appearance and rise to power. At least three events must occur before he appears on earth: i. [T]he “secret power of lawlessness” already at work in the world must greatly increase (2Th 2:7); ii. [T]he “rebellion” must come (2:3); iii. “[T]he one who now holds it back” must be “taken out of the way” (2:7). b. The “secret power of lawlessness”–referring to the behind-the-scenes activity of evil powers that is evident throughout the world (see 2Th 2:7, note)–will increase until it reaches its climax. i. That point will be characterized by the complete ridicule, rejection and rebellion against any standards and commands established in the Bible. Because of a ruling spirit of rebellion and lawlessness, most people will lose any sense of true love and compassion (Mt 24:10-12; Lk 18:8). ii. Yet there will always be those who choose to follow Christ and remain loyal to the Christian faith as revealed in the NT (Mt 24:13; 25:10; Lk 18:7; see Rev 2:7, note). iii. Through these faithful people, the true church will remain strong, using the sword of the Spirit (God’s Word) as the most effective weapon in the ongoing battle against the forces of evil (see Eph 6:11, note). c. The “rebellion” (Gk apostasia), which literally means “departure,” “falling away” or “abandonment,” will occur. In the last days, many people who once followed Christ will abandon Biblical truth and reject true faith in Christ. i. Both Jesus and Paul paint a dark picture of the condition of much of the visible church (i.e., people in local congregations) as the present age comes to a close (cf. Mt 24:5, 10-13, 24; 1Ti 4:1; 2Ti 4:3-4). a. The corruption will be evident morally, spiritually and doctrinally (i.e., regarding foundational beliefs and teachings). b. Paul in particular stresses that the churches will be invaded by godless influences in the last days. ii. This “rebellion” within the church will have two dimensions. a. Theological apostasy i. (“apostasy” refers to spiritual rebellion and faithlessness) refers to people turning from and rejecting part or all of the true and original teachings of Christ and his apostles as recorded in the NT (1Ti 4:1; 2Ti 4:3). ii. False leaders and teachers will offer “salvation” and cheap grace without true devotion to Christ. iii. They will claim that people can be spiritually saved even though they reject Christ’s demand for repentance (i.e., turning from one’s own ways, surrendering to and following him), separation from evil and loyalty to God and his standards (2Pe 2:1-3, 12-19). iv. False hope that centers on human desires, activities and goals of self-interest will become popular (see 2Ti 4:3-4, note). The Revelation and the End of Days 3 b. Moral apostasy refers to the rejection or abandonment of one’s saving relationship with Christ and returning to a sinful, rebellious way of life. i. People who have abandoned true faith in Christ may still claim to believe the right things and to accept the Bible’s teaching, yet they reject God’s moral law and standards. ii. By doing so, they corrupt the truth and embrace deception (Isa 29:13; Mt 23:25-28; …). iii. Many churches will tolerate almost anything for the sake of attendance, money, success and honor (see 1Ti 4:1, note). iv. The true message of Christ with its call to suffer (Php 1:29), to radically renounce sin (Ro 8:13), to sacrifice for God’s kingdom and to deny one’s own selfish way will be more unpopular than ever (Mt 24:12; 2Ti 3:1-5; 4:3). iii. Both the history of the church and the predicted end-time rebellion within the church should challenge all followers of Christ not to be naïve a. (i.e., having a lack of experience, judgment or information) about the widespread corruption of Christ’s message of truth in the last days. b. At some point in time, it seems that rebellion against God and his Word will reach an astounding, almost unimaginable level. c. The “day of the Lord” will bring God’s wrath–his justified anger, judgment and punishment–on those who reject his truth (1Th 5:2-9). iv. The ultimate or complete triumph of God’s kingdom and purposes in the world does not depend on the gradual increase of the church’s “success”; a. God’s purposes will prevail because of his own final intervention, when he breaks into the order of world events with right and proper judgment (Rev 19–22; see 2Th 2:7-8; 1Ti 4:1, note; 2Pe 3:10-13; and the book of Jude). d. A final and indisputable event must occur before the “man of lawlessness” can be revealed and the “day of the Lord” can begin (2Th 2:2-3; see 1Th 5:2…). i. That event involves the taking “out of the way” of someone (2:7) or something that currently “holds back,” or restrains, the secret power of lawlessness and the man of lawlessness (2:3-6). When the restraining influence is taken out of the way, the day of the Lord can begin (2:6-7).” (Fire Bible: A Study Bible for Spirit-led Living, 2001) 4. Who or what is the restraining force? a. ”The Hinderer of Lawlessness”: i. It is something already known (2Th_2:6). ii. It now hinders lawlessness (2Th_2:6-7). iii. It is strong enough to prevent the revelation of the Antichrist (2Th_2:6-8). iv. It will hinder lawlessness until it is removed from the earth (2Th_2:7-8). v. It is called "he" (2Th_2:7). vi. It will be removed from the earth before the second coming (2Th_2:7-8). 4 Glory to Glory Ministries – Minot ND vii. It will not be here when Christ comes to destroy Antichrist (2Th_2:7-8). viii. The Hinderer is One of Three Things: a. Governments (Rom_13:1-7; 1Pe_2:13) b. The Holy Spirit (Joh_16:7-15) c. The church (Mat_5:13; 1Co_2:15-16; Eph_6:12-18; 2Co_10:4-7) (Dake) (outline adapted) b. Prof (Dr) WA Liebenberg identifies the restrainer as the Holy Spirit (Ruach - Spirit of YHWH): i. “In verse 7 of 2 Thes 2:6-8 says, "only until he who now restrains comes out of the midst (taken out of the way)". ii. The Greek word "Hoketechon" means the one who unhinderedly restrains. a. It cannot be the 'the Church' (in other words, the focus here is not on the Church… b. The Greek word for Assembly is "Ekklesia" and it is a feminine word. c. If the Assembly was the restrainer, then the Greek would have read "Ho Katechon" (the one that restrains). d. "Katecho" refers to the Ruach, the "Comforter" a masculine word here. e. The substantive noun is "Katecho" derived from "Kata" (back) and "Echo" (I hold). iii. Here we get the blessed fact that it is indeed the Ruach of YHWH that keeps satan's work of the Torah-lessness of the Antichrist back a. this is what "Katechon" present participle teaches us. b. It is an uninterrupted, continuous action day after day, year after year (read 1 Cor 10:13 -You will not be tempted beyond your abilities); c.