The Antichrist of the Tribulation / Day of the LORD

Soon-coming Rapture and Tribulation or not, the Church needs to recover the understanding that the Anticrhist is the Pope, which used to be commonly recognized but has recently been lost. In the Tribulation he will loom large, but he is the Antichrist now as well as he will be then.

Although the Pope is an unlikely Antichrist as we've come to picture the man we associate with End Times events, he does have all the necessary characteristics as laid out by the Protestant Reformers and their predecessors.  While there is really no doubt as to the identity of the Pope as Antichrist, there may be some legitimate questions about exactly what role he'll play in the Day of the Lord or Great Tribulation, since he could play False Prophet to a political Antichrist as the Pope in Hitler's time did to Hitler.  The Day of the Lord is generally understood to occur during the Seventieth Week of Daniel's prophecy of the Seventy Weeks, which was not fulfilled in the time of the coming of Christ.  It is therefore understood to have been put off to the future.  It is now understood to be bracketed by two stages of the Second Coming of Christ, the first to Rapture His Church, and the second or last to return as conquerer of the entire world.  In between there is to be the Day of the Lord or Great Tribulation of seven years.

Here is the main scripture that is taken to describe the Antichrist:

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4: Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 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.

The Pope is primarily identified as the Antichrist from the little horn of Daniel 7:8, and also from this passage quoted above.  The "falling away" is also known as the Great Apostasy, and these days the futurists point to current deviations in the many churches from the gospel truth.  And that certainly has to be a major part of the apostasy (and here's a link to Jan Markell's latest summary of this falling away: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/What-Happened-to-My-Church-.html?soid=1101818841456&aid=dVUinwAfOT0), but the Reformers, especially Martin Luther I believe, identified it as the doctrines of the Roman Church, though today there is a lot of ignorance and apathy about this fact among Protestants.  The "man of sin" also known as the "son of perdition" is identified with the Pope.  It is his role as "Vicar of Christ" by which he "opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God" and he "sits in the temple of God" because the people of Christ are now called the "temple of God.  I've posted on the Latin title VICARIVS FILII DEI, which means Vicar of Christ or literally, "Substitute" or "In the place of the Son of God" showing that the Latin letters which are also Roman numerals add up to 666.

I collected some references from a CD by Chris Pinto, who got his list from a book titled What Luther Says by E.M. Plass, a book I can’t afford at the moment though it sounds like a must-have. He lists many who came before the Reformers who called the papacy the Antichrist, which ought to dispel the accusation of Luther that he made it up in retaliation for being excommunicated. (As a matter of fact it took him about five years to become fully convinced from scripture and history that the Pope was indeed the Antichrist.)

The following is a much shortened list from a site called Revelation Timeline that includes all those who testified that the papacy is the Antichrist that Chris Pinto mentioned: http://revelationtimelinedecoded.com/historical-witnesses-against-antichrist-summary.

Historical Witnesses Against Antichrist Summary  

Arnulf (991), the Bishop of Orleans, proclaimed the Pope as the Antichrist, sitting in the temple of God, and showing himself as God.

Gherbert of Rheims (1000) said; the Pope was the antichrist sitting in the temple of God.

In the book of Waldensian Pastor Leger called “Treatise on Antichrist” written in 1120, said “That treatise brands the Romish Church as the harlot Babylon, and the Papacy as the “man of sin” and antichrist.”

John Wycliffe (1330-1384) Who translated the Latin Vulgate Bible into English, said Antichrist, the head of all these evil men, is the pope of Rome.

John Purvey (1354–1414), one of the leading followers of the English theologian and reformer John Wycliffe; said the Papacy was the kingdom of the Antichrist.

John Huss (1372-1415), a well-educated man from Bohemia, who came under the influence of Wycliffe’s writings, which caused him to break with the church of Rome; proclaimed the Antichrist has been revealed in the Pope for which he was burned to death.

William Tyndale (1493-1536) was an English scholar who became a leading figure in Protestant Reformation; said the Pope is the antichrist and his doctrine sprung of the devil.

Huldreich Zwingli (1484-1531) was a great Swiss Reformer; proclaimed the might and power of the Devil, that is, of the Antichrist… the Papacy has to be abolished.

John Calvin (1509-1564) was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation; said we call the Roman pontiff Antichrist.

Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk, who the Father called out of the Papal Church. declared “We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist.”

Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560), a German Reformer, said that the Roman Pontiff is the antichrist.

Confession of the Glastonbury Congregation (1551)…French refugees in England who first gathered under Calvin and Farel; “Moreover I renounce the Pope as the Roman Antichrist, and his whole doctrine and religion…“

In 1555 Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester; said before being burned to death, “What fellowship have Christ with Antichrist? Therefore it is not lawful to bear the yoke with the Papists. Come forth from among them, and separate yourselves from them, saith the Lord.’“

Nicholas Ridley (1555), English Bishop of London; said before being burned to death that the See of Rome is the seat of Satan.

Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) as the Archbishop of Canterbury, he was responsible for establishing the first doctrinal and liturgical structures of the reformed Church of England; said before being burned to death that the Pope is Christ’s enemy, and the antichrist.

Henry Adlington, Laurence Pernam, Henry Wye, William Halliwel, Thomas Bowyer, George Searles, Edmund Hurst, Lyon Cawch, Ralph Jackson, John Derifall, John Routh, Elizabeth Pepper, and Agnes George (1556); were all burnt in one fire, for proclaiming the Pope as Antichrist under the devil. Agnes Prest (1557) was burned to death for proclaiming that the Pope is the Antichrist and the devil.

John Knox (1505-1572) was a great leader of the Reformation in Scotland; said “the pope should be recognized as “the very antichrist, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks.”

Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575) was Zwingli’s intimate friend and succeeded him as chief pastor of the Zurich Cathedral; said the Little Horn is the kingdom of the Roman pope.

The Geneva Study Bible (1556) included study notes from the Protestant Reformers, that all proclaimed that the Popes of Rome were the antichrist beast.

The Church of England declared that the Papal Church of Rome is the Babylonian beast, saying that the Pope is antichrist, and the Man of Sin.

The Church of Scotland Confession of Faith (1603) declared the Pope as the Antichrist, the man of sin and son of perdition.

The Irish Articles of Religion of 1615 testified that the Bishop of Rome is the Man of Sin.

The London Baptist Confession of 1689, proclaims that the Popes of Rome is the antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church against Christ.

Westminster Confession of Faith (1649) which was ratified and established by Act of Parliament in 1649. states that the Popes of Rome is the antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church.

Cotton Mather (1663-1728) in his book, Fall of Babylon,; said that all the characteristics of Antichrist are answered in the Popes of Rome.

Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and also a faithful expositor of Bible prophecy; taught that the Church of Rome was the Little Horn of Daniel.

John Wesley (1703-1791), an Anglican cleric and Christian theologian,; said that the whole succession of popes from Gregory VII. are undoubtedly Antichrist. Jonathan Edwards, an American preacher and theologian, who is perhaps best known for his role in the Great Awakenings of the mid 1700’s; said that the greatest and most cruel enemy of the Church of Christ is the church of Rome.

Dr. H. Grattan Guinness (1835-) pointed to the Roman Catholic Popes as the little horn power of Daniel 7, the Man of Sin in 2nd Thessalonians and the Beast of Revelation 13.

Reverend J. A.Wylie (1808 – 1890) in his Preface to “The Papacy is the Antichrist; says that the Roman system is the predicted Apostacy.  

--David Nikao [compiler] For more detailed quotes from the above people who testified against the Popes of Rome, as the Little Horn of Daniel 7, the Son of Perdition of 2 Thessalonians 2, and the antichrist beast of Revelation 13; read Historical Witnesses Against

The passage in 2 Thessalonians goes on to say that this man of sin had not yet been revealed in Paul's time, so he is only hinting at it in writing, having told the Thessalonians in person at an earlier time. Today it is thought that what restrains the revealing of an as-yet-unknown Antichrist is the Holy Spirit, or the Church, but the Reformers understood Paul to be referring to the Roman Empire or the Caesars who were still in power in his time, which explains why he wouldn't identify them in writing. And as I mentioned in the previous post about the Pope this makes sense if you recognize that the Pope has taken the place of the Caesars with their title Pontifex Maximus and their Roman garb, and his presiding over an institution that over time acquired most of the trappings of the Roman pagan religions, including putting various Christian "saints" in the place of some of the Roman gods and encouraging prayers to them as to gods.

2 Thess 2:6-9 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 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...

Some historical information.
Those who identified the Pope as the Antichrist saw the Antichrist papal system as having developed in the year 606 (about the same time Islam conquered the Eastern Roman Empire). I think it was the Byzantine Emperor who referred to Pope Gregory the Great as "universal bishop" to which Gregory replied that anyone who accepted that title would be a forerunner of Antichrist. Then the next Pope, Boniface, DID accept it as it was given to him by the Byzantine Emperor Phocas. Gregory the Great was thought by the Reformers to be the last legitimate Bishop of Rome, all those following being the Antichrist papal system. Over the ensuing years the Church of Rome accumulated the superstitions of pagan Rome that came to characterize its functions. Relics, prayers to saints, the rosary, and so on. This is all addressed in a book titled The History of Romanism by John Dowling, but I think Luther also addressed it, which would be in the book What Luther Says, by Plass.  

Pre-Tribulation Rapture

I'm pretty much convinced of the Pre-tribulation Rapture now, and I've come to believe it's very very close, like perhaps as close as this coming Rosh Hashana a little more than a week from now.

I believe the Pope is the Antichrist who is to be the major player in the Tribulation which follows the Rapture, based on the work of the Reformers but Martin Luther in particular, and that he has already been revealed so we are not waiting for that event, people just need to wake up to it.   The Pope may instead be the False Prophet and the Antichrist a particular political leader, however, but there is no doubt in my mind that the papacy is the man of sin of scripture.  Since he's already been revealed, the lifting of what restrained his revelation is already long in the past, which the Reformers regarded as the Roman Empire.  This makes sense if we understand that since the fall of the Empire the Pope has essentially occupied the seat of the Caesars with his title Pontifex Maximus and his Roman garb.

I want to do a post on these things in more detail but I'm going to post this now because laying it all out is going to take time and I want at least to get this much said.

The Globalist Utopian Nightmare and the Rapture

I wrote the following at EvC Forums in response to a post about a utopian vision of the whole world made in the image of America's Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

http://www.evcforum.net/dm.php?control=msg&m=799570#m799570


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The idealism of the Left which is expressed in that post can only give a biblically taught Christian deep despair for America and the world, because the reality of evil is completely denied in it. And that gives evil great power to proliferate, and especially to express itself through that very misguided idealism. Communism for instance sounds good on paper, but in reality it can't exist without murdering people, because all utopian systems try to squash reality into a small box that leaves more of reality outside. But since the utopia is held with fervor that reality has to be exterminated to bring it about. THEN will come the Perfect Society. Etc etc etc.

I keep having this ...feeling? ...  concern? ... premonition? ...paranoia?  ... that because of the extreme opposition to Trump the hope his election gave so many of us may still go down in flames.  A hope, ironically enough, for the very values the Left thinks it represents but doesn't.*  The Left and the powers behind the Left may yet succeed in defeating this surge of goodness and hope for a renewal of prosperity, national strength and unity, and Constitutional liberty, and bring about their globalist tyranny over once-sovereign America, and in fact the world.  Partly because there are truly malevolent forces on the Left that the Left refuses to recognize, but also because of this sort of idealism that misreads what it takes to establish freedom in a fallen world.

Since we've gone from any semblance of "peaceful transference of power" to violent methods of opposing the elected political position with no signs of remorse or intention of de-escalating, Trump would have to have supernatural ability to continue as he has been doing.  He talks of God but I don't know how much of a believer he really is -- fairly superficial at this point I would think but maybe he's learning that what he's up against is bigger than politics and bigger than even prodigious human strength can deal with.  I hope he prays, as many of us are praying for him.  He may be able to continue for some time yet, and I hope so, but already he looks terribly tired in his pictures.  He has bags under his eyes he didn't have a short time ago.
 
The point of all this is that although God is certainly giving us a reprieve in Trump, judgment on America and on all the nations of the world is still proceeding and may finally lead sooner than we'd anticipated to the globalist nightmare we Trump supporters have been hoping to stop.  Biblical prophecy tells us it has to come sometime, and the signs have been growing for decades that it is getting closer every day, and reached some kind of peak with Obama, but the Trump win and Brexit and other signs of nations reclaiming some of their lost sovereignty seemed to promise a stay of execution at least for a while.  But the forces of evil -- that are mistaken for good these days -- are not only not going away, they seem to be gathering power. Evil power. In some cases in the name of good.

I hope I'm wrong.  I hope the true hope lasts.  I just keep having this...foreboding.

Of course it's not a foreboding for most at EvC.  Anything that would turn back Trump's win would be welcome, as it would be for the Left in general, because he's considered to be the evil that needs to be stopped.  And besides, anyone who talks as I am talking here is obviously not to be taken seriously.

Upshot:  Maybe, just maybe, the world is about to take a turn into the "Great Tribulation" or "The Day of the Lord" when God's wrath descends on the planet with unprecedented horrors and destruction for some period before the Lord Jesus returns.

I've never been completely convinced of the theology of the "Pre-Tribulation Rapture," but I've been even less convinced of other end times theologies.  And I recently read a book about the Rapture (author Billy Crone) that resolved many of my doubts -- not all but many.  Enough in any case to go with it provisionally for now.

America is no doubt the highest profile nation in the world, and the name Trump has an awfully biblical sound to it.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Hint? Omen? I don't know, I just keep having this foreboding because of the way the world has been going.

That passage is considered to be THE prophecy of the pre-Tribulation Rapture. The Rapture is expected to come unexpectedly, suddenly, without warning, taking "the Bride of Christ" off the planet to be with Him forever. That is a wonderful thing for me and other believers; not so much those who have rejected Christ.

The Rapure is to usher in a seven-year period when the world that is left behind goes through the Great Tribulation or God's Wrath or the Day of the Lord. A horrible time not to be wished on anyone. And since I have unsaved family I don't want to see them go through it.

But for the sake of those who will go through it, listen up: If this prophecy is true there will be a huge number of people saved during it, at great cost, through enormous suffering, but saved for eternal life by believing the gospel you refused to believe before. Beheadings will be one of the horrors. (Most of this is in the Book of Revelation), and beheadings are of course a hallmark of Islam. Islam is pretty much already set up to play such a role if all this comes down soon. And of course as I keep saying, I believe the Pope is what the Protestant reformers said he is: the Antichrist. Islam and the RCC are linked in some biblical symbols as the two halves of the revived Roman Empire that is to rule the world at the end. And it's not going to be your happy "American" utopia, that's for sure.

(Huge numbers of Catholics and Muslims will of course be saved}

But maybe Soros is the Antichrist instead. Or somebody else. In any case the Pope is going to be right up there with him/

One good thing in all that is that the Great Tribulation is to exist for a particular period of time, after which Jesus will return. It is possible to calculate that time from biblical prophecy in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation. The Rapture is to come unexpectedly, as "a thief in the night," but the Second Coming will come according to a biblically given time frame.

"Repent and believe the gospel" is always the way to salvation and it would be better to do it now rather than wait to go through the Great Tribulation.

But maybe the Rapture won't come for a long time yet. Maybe my forebodings are premature.

Laugh away, poor EvC.
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*Here's an interesting comment on the fact that the Left no longer represents those values:

Dave Rubin: Why I Left the Left

Is the Last Trump about to Sound?

Can't help the pun at this point, the name is just too prophetically pregnant. It's close, very close.

Whatever Trump the American Presidential candidate's faults, he's the only possible choice for a conservative. National sovereignty, anti-globalism, and the future of the Supreme Court are maybe the biggest issues. Trump makes me nervous because although he's mostly come out on the same side of the issues I'm on, he's unpredictable.

But the only alternative would be an unmitigated disaster for America. So the choice is clear from my point of view.

God's plans may be something else of course. It may be time for judgment to fall and the global government to be realized, the government that will certainly be headed by the final Antichrist of scripture. Which I still think will probably be Pope Francis, who is a globalist, and aggressively engaged in uniting all the religions -- which is a necessary precursor to the world government of the Antichrist.

I pray that Catholics will wake up and finally see through the papal institution.

So: the last Trump will sound and Christians remaining alive will be taken up, raptured, to be with the Lord. Before or after the reign of the Antichrist? I'm still not entirely sure.

A Calendar of Prophetic Possibilities for the Month of September

Two events are scheduled for the month of September that I regard as interestingly pregnant with prophetic possibilities: The visit of the Pope to Congress which happens to be on the Jewish Holy Day of Yom Kippur; and the occurrence of the fourth and final blood moon of the Tetrad that started last year, on the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles.

Prophecy watchers add many more events and potential events to these two. A writer at Rapture Ready has compiled a list of some of them to keep in mind, which I am going to post here in its entirety. His address is included at the bottom of the post, and the article is also available at the Rapture Ready link above.

September 2015

By Daymond Duck

There have been several good articles, pro and con, about upcoming events to watch for in Sept. 2015 (blood moons, Sabbatical year, Shemitah, etc.). To be honest, when these good articles came out I just skimmed over many of them. But I now realize that the list of things to watch for in Sept. 2015 has surpassed my ability to keep up with all of it.

So here is a list I made for myself. It is not my purpose to comment on the relevance of any of these things. But it is my purpose to have a calendar of events that I can refer to. Also, understand that because a Jewish day ends at sundown (not 12 p.m.) and because there are questions about the accuracy of the Jewish calendar some of what is being reported could be wrong.

Sept. 9: The date the Jewish Sanhedrin plans to put Pres. Obama on trial on Mt. Zion for promoting genocide of the Jewish people with the P5 +1 agreement with Iran over that nation’s nuclear weapons program. Will this trial be worthless or will it accomplish anything?

Sept. 13: The end of the Sabbatical year (at sundown on Sept. 13) and the date that a highly respected ultra-Orthodox Jewish Rabbi named Chaim Kanievsky says Israel’s Messiah will arrive. Is he right or a false prophet?

Sept. 13: Congress has 60 days to vote on the P5 + 1 agreement with Iran (signed on July 14, 2015). If Congress takes a full 60 days, this vote could be on Sept. 13. Controversy surrounds this date because there are secret deals between the IAEA and Iran that Congress has not seen.

Sept. 13: The Shemitah year (also called a Sabbath year, or a Sabbatical year, or the seventh year of the agricultural cycle) ends at sundown on Sept. 13. It is associated with financial issues; debt forgiveness; economic problems; recession; declines in the Stock Market, etc. Jonathan Cahn says the U.S. or the world could have economic problems about this time.

Sept.13-15: Rosh Hashanah (also called the Jewish New Year or the Feast of Trumpets) begins at sundown on Sept. 13 and ends at sundown on Sept. 15. Some (not all) prophecy teachers believe the Rapture could occur at the end of Rosh Hashanah this year or next year or some year.

Sept.15: The purported military drill called Joint Assistance for Development and Execution (JADE) Homeland Eradication of Local Militants (HELM) is supposed to end. Will it? Will there be a JADE HELM 2016, 2017, etc.?

Sept.15: The 70th UN General Assembly will begin meeting. During this session (not necessarily on the 15th), France is expected to present a resolution to the UN Security Council to divide the Promised Land (Two-State Solution) and to force a peace treaty on Israel and the PA. If the UN does this, their decision will lead to the beginning of the Tribulation period and the battle of Armageddon.

Sept. 20: The Jewish Sanhedrin plans to put Pope Francis on trial on Mt. Zion for officially recognizing the existence of a Palestinian State on land that God gave to Israel. Will the outcome be recognized by God?

Sept. 22-23: Yom Kippur (also called the Day of Atonement or the Feast of Atonement) begins at sundown on Sept. 22. This will mark the beginning of the next year of Jubilee (the 50th year) which involves focus on God, the cancellation of debts, restoration of land to the original owners, etc. Will God focus on economic issues, Israel’s restoration to the land, etc.?

Sept. 23: Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the White House for discussions with Pres. Obama about their shared values on caring for the poor (wealth redistribution), religious freedom, immigration (elimination of borders), environmental issues (global warming), etc.\ Sept. 24: Pope Francis is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress about world peace, religious values (probably a need for a world religion), caring for the poor, etc.

Sept. 25: Pope Francis is scheduled to address the UN. He wants to reduce the world’s population, regulate global climate change, establish a global constitution, establish a global court and establish a one-world government.

Sept. 25-27: The UN plans to hold a Sustainable Development Summit to expand the role of global governance (world government). They plan to discuss global economic issues, climate change, global education and gender equality. It is really a plan to control the life of everyone on earth.

Sept. 28: The Feast of Tabernacles and the fourth blood moon in the current Tetrad will take place on this date. Several major prophetic events have happened just before or just after other blood moon Tetrads. The Jewish Talmud (not the Bible) says blood moons are a sign of war in Israel. Several major end-of-the-age wars are mentioned in the Bible and some are prophecy teachers believe some or all of these could soon occur.

This convergence of events in Sept. 2015 is why many people think something big is about to happen. We shall soon know.

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck
daymond.duck@yahoo.com