Shadow of the Antichrist A devotional exposition of the book of Revelation by Ivan Foster Dedicated to the memory of my father-in-law Charles Alexander Beattie, 1908 - 1963 He had a testimony among his fellow believers as a man of prayer and extensive and penetrating Biblical knowledge. He was a foundation member and later an elder and treasurer in the Gospel Tabernacle, Ballymena, founded by the late Pastor James Kyle Paisley, after his separation from the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland in November1933. Charles Beattie went to be with Christ on 11th January 1963, aged 54. He was a man I was never privileged to meet, yet the on-going answers to his prayers have benefited and prospered me, my wife Ann, his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren. The character of Charles Beattie may be gauged from a reference to him in a sermon preached by Pastor Paisley at a Sovereign Grace Advent Testimony meeting in Highgate Road Chapel in London in April 1947. The sermon was later published as an article entitled: ‘Reasons why the Great Tribulation must precede the Church’s translation.’ In the article, there is a section which reads: “There is a young farmer in the church at Ballymena who studies the Scriptures even in the fields at his work. One day he came to me and began to talk about the Coming of the Lord. He said, ‘I believe that the tribulation and the manifestation of the Antichrist must precede the Coming of the Lord.’ He asked me to explain to him Revelation 20:4 and 5: ‘And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.’ Who will take part in the first resurrection, he desired to know. He pointed out that these were those who lived during the reign of the Antichrist and had refused his mark and were martyred for the witness of Jesus and the Word of God. These souls were raised at the first resurrection. Therefore he said Christ could not come until the end of the tribulation and the end of the reign of the Antichrist. It is evident that the Holy Spirit gave this young man illumination as he studied the Scriptures.” That man was Charlie Beattie Acknowledgements In putting my name to this book, I am made to recognise just how much of it belongs to others. I am conscious of how much of what I have put down in these pages has its origins in the expressed thoughts of those, under whose ministry it has been my privilege to sit, or whose writings have profited and guided me. Sadly, it is most likely true that my treatment of the teaching given me has dulled its edge and clouded its beauty. But we hope that it is not so. I owe much to many a lengthy discussion I had with Dr. John Douglas, my esteemed brother-in-law, back in the days following my conversion. I had the thirst of the new convert and those discussions laid the foundation of my own investigations into the revelation given us in the Bible of those things that the Lord would have us know about the future. From February 1985 to February 1986 I preached a series of expository messages on the book of the Revelation. I was encouraged to embark on such a study by listening to some tapes of a series of sermons preached by Dr. Alan Cairns in Ballymoney Free Presbyterian Church. It was in listening to those tapes that I realised that such a book as the Revelation contained much that was eminently practical, and its study would provide rich spiritual food for the child of God. I also learned that those portions, that were considered as obscure by many Christians, were not really so at all. It was thus I was prompted to embark on my own pulpit expositions to my congregation in Kilskeery. Some eight years later, I repeated those studies in a simplified form in the morning assemblies of our Christian school in Kilskeery. I gladly acknowledge the help that Dr. Cairn’s sermon tapes provided. I am grateful for the helpful observations and suggestions of my good friend, Mr. Stephen Toms, Secretary of the Sovereign Grace Advent Testimony. From the time that I first mentioned to him that I was considering this project he has encouraged me to proceed. This publication owes much to the labours and the knowledge of my wife, Ann. She had the privilege of learning the truths contained in this exposition at her father’s knee and under the ministry of Pastor Paisley. I would like to think that those times of sweet fellowship she had with her father around God’s Word were continued, in some measure at least, in our own times of spiritual fellowship over the last thirty years. I am indebted to her for her many helpful suggestions which, undoubtedly, will have improved the publication. Her patient correcting of the manuscript put the finishing touches to it. If there is a smoothness to the syntax, the credit is hers alone. To the reader I urge one word of counsel. Read this book with your Bible open at the relevant passage in the book of the Revelation. Follow the example of the Bereans in Acts 17:11. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. May you grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is only a small labour but I must acknowledge the mercy of my Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Without His grace, this witness for Him could not have been accomplished. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, 1 Timothy 1:12. Free Presbyterian Manse, Kilskeery, 1996. Contents The preface of the book The greetings of the apostle Christ in the midst of the churches Christ’s messages to the seven churches The throne set in heaven The sealed book, the slain Lamb, and the singing saints The opening of the seals The numbered and the numberless multitude The period of the seventh seal The mighty Angel and the commissioning of the prophet The last two witnesses Wonders, war and woe The beast and the false prophet The Lamb standing on Mount Sion and other latter- day scenes The vials of wrath — Part 1 The vials of wrath — Part 2 The great whore of Babylon Grief and gladness The end of the old — the beginning of the new Resurrection, renovation, and retribution A new heavens, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem The new Jerusalem The closing scenes Appendix Reasons why the system of Roman Catholicism is not the Antichrist referred to in Revelation chapter 13 by B W Newton. Biographical information on Benjamin Wills Newton Stretching from the border between Scotland and England, in the north, to the Red Sea in the south east, and over to the Euphrates River in the north east, the borders of the Roman Empire excluded Germany which at present is a very important member of the European Community. When the Antichrist’s kingdom is consolidated, it will be confined to those territories which comprised the Roman Empire at its zenith. It can be seen that great changes have yet to take place with regard to the present allegiances of those nations which will make up Antichrist’s kingdom. The past and ongoing attempts to force Northern Ireland out of the United Kingdom, and the agitation to have Scotland secede from the United Kingdom are interesting developments in the light of the borders of the old Roman Empire. Every believer should observe carefully the ebbing and flowing of political alliances and the gradual emergence of a political entity within the confines of the old boundaries of Rome. THE PREFACE OF THE BOOK. Chapter 1:1-3. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. 1:1-3. The full title of the last book of the Bible is given in its first verse: the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. Being the last book of the canon of Holy Scripture, it is of special significance. It is the closing word of Christ to His church. It stands in contrast, in many ways, to the first book of the Bible. In the book of Genesis, you have the creation of the first earth; the entrance of sin and man lost. In the book of the Revelation, you have the creation of the new earth; the final overthrow of sin and the elect saved.