Wer ist der Antichrist?
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LEKTION 4: WER IST DER ANTICHRIST?
Aber der Ankunft halben unsers Herrn Jesu Christi
und unsrer Versammlung zu ihm bitten wir euch,
liebe Brüder,
daß ihr euch nicht bald bewegen lasset von eurem Sinn noch erschrecken,
weder durch Geist noch durch Wort noch durch Brief, als von uns gesandt,
daß der Tag Christi vorhanden sei.
Lasset euch niemand verführen in keinerlei Weise;
denn dieser Tag kommt nicht, es sei denn, daß zuvor der Abfall komme
und offenbart werde der Mensch der Sünde, das Kind des Verderbens,
der da ist der Widersacher und sich überhebt über alles, was Gott oder Gottesdienst heißt,
also daß er sich setzt in den Tempel Gottes als ein Gott und gibt sich aus, er sei Gott.” [14] 2 Thessalonicher 2.1-4.
Wer oder was ist die Macht des Abfalls vom Glauben,
die zweite böse Macht in der Bibel neben Satan, die der Apostel Johannes den “Antichristen” nennt ([23] 1. Johannes 2.18)?
Manche Menschen glauben, dass der Aufstieg dieses “Antichristen” noch in der Zukunft liegt,
andere, dass der Antichrist schon längst gekommen und wieder gegangen ist.
Die Bibel erklärt jedoch eindeutig,
dass diese Macht schon seit langer Zeit am Werk ist, sogar JETZT,
und dass sie bis zum Jüngsten Tag am Werk sein wird.
Diese Lektion wird nach [27] Daniel 7
den Antichristen klar und unmissverständlich identifizieren.
ABER, das ist nur die Einleitung.
Die folgenden Lektionen werden durch diese Kraft,
durch das sichere Wort der Prophetie,
die schrecklichen Ereignisse enthüllen, die der Welt vor dem Ende der Zeit widerfahren werden.
Die Informationen, die Sie gleich erhalten werden, können Angst und Verzweiflung auslösen.
Aber denken Sie daran: [27] Daniel 7 kommt von dem Herrn, der uns liebt,
was bedeutet, dass er uns immer die reine Wahrheit schicken muss,
auch wenn sie oft bitter ist.
Beten Sie um mehr Kraft und Mut,
der Wahrheit zu begegnen, die Ihnen offenbart wird,
und lesen Sie [27] Daniel 7, bevor Sie fortfahren.
1. Zu Beginn der Vision sieht Daniel vier Tiere aus dem Meer aufsteigen.
Was bedeutet “Meer” oder “Wasser” in der prophetischen Sprache der Bibel?
[27] Offenbarung 17.15 Und er sprach zu mir:
Die Wasser, die du gesehen hast, da die Hure sitzt,
sind Völker und Scharen und Nationen und Sprachen.
In der prophetischen Sprache der Bibel
ist das “Meer” oder eine Wasserfläche im Allgemeinen ein Symbol für ein bevölkertes Gebiet,
in dem verschiedene ethnische Gruppen und Sprachen leben.
2. Was symbolisiert ein “Tier”?
[27] Daniel 7.23 Das vierte Tier wird das vierte Reich auf Erden sein
Die vier Tiere in dieser Vision sind vier Königreiche, genau die Königreiche,
die in der Prophezeiung von [27] Daniel 2 erwähnt wurden,
die wir in der Lektion “Die Vision der Zeitalter” untersucht haben.
Sie sind: Babylon, Medo-Persien, Griechenland und Rom.
Allerdings wurde diese Vision in Kapitel 7 erweitert
und enthält viele zusätzliche Informationen im Vergleich zu Kapitel 2.
Das werden wir gleich sehen.
3. Das erste Tier, das Reich Babylon, wie wird es beschrieben und welche Bedeutung haben diese Beschreibungen?
[27] Daniel 7.4 Das erste wie ein Löwe und hatte Flügel wie ein Adler.
Ich sah zu, bis daß ihm die Flügel ausgerauft wurden;
und es ward von der Erde aufgehoben, und es stand auf zwei Füßen wie ein Mensch,
und ihm ward ein menschlich Herz gegeben. and a man’s heart was given to it.
“Flügel” oder “Flügel wie ein Adler” stehen für Schnelligkeit ([24] Jeremia 4.13),
insbesondere für die Schnelligkeit der Eroberung.
Babylon eroberte die Nationen um sich herum mit unglaublicher Geschwindigkeit,
aber dann, nach einer Reihe von Ereignissen,
erkannte König Nebukadnezar von Babylon,
dass unser Gott der Höchste ist
und kehrte in Demut zu Ihm zurück ([27] Daniel 4.34-37).
Deshalb stand der wilde Löwe, der in dieser Vision beschrieben wird,
auf zwei Beinen wie ein Mensch,
und ihm wurde das Herz eines Menschen gegeben.
4. Dann kommt der Bär, das Reich Medo-Persien, wie wird es beschrieben, und was ist mit diesen Beschreibungen gemeint?
[27] Daniel 7:5 Und siehe, das andere Tier hernach war gleich einem Bären
und stand auf der einen Seite
und hatte in seinem Maul unter seinen Zähnen drei Rippen.
Und man sprach zu ihm: Stehe auf und friß viel Fleisch!
Nach Babylon beherrschte Medo-Persien den alten Vorderen Orient
und bestand aus zwei Völkern: den Medern und den Persern.
Die Perser erhoben sich später, wurden aber stärker (der Bär stand auf der einen Seite).
Die drei Rippen in seinem Maul
symbolisieren die drei großen Reiche, die er erobert hat:
Babylon, Ägypten und Lydien.
Interessant ist auch,
dass die Vision in [27] Daniel 8
parallel zu der in Kapitel 7 verläuft, die wir gerade untersuchen.
So kann ein Vergleich sogar weitere nützliche Informationen liefern.
5. Der Leopard, das griechische Reich, wie war es?
[27] Daniel 7:6 Nach diesem sah ich, und siehe, ein anderes Tier, gleich einem Parder,
das hatte vier Flügel wie ein Vogel auf seinem Rücken,
und das Tier hatte vier Köpfe;
und ihm ward Gewalt gegeben.
Der Leopard ist an sich schon ein schnelles Tier,
und dieser hier hat sogar vier Flügel statt zwei wie der Löwe.
Das steht für die unvorstellbare Geschwindigkeit der Eroberung von Griechenland
unter der Führung Alexanders des Großen.
Die vier Köpfe des Leoparden stehen für seine vier Generäle:
Kassander, Lysimachos, Ptolemaios und Seleukos,
die das riesige griechische Reich
nach Alexanders Tod im Alter von 33 Jahren unter sich aufteilten.
6. Das Römische Reich – das vierte Tier – wie wird es beschrieben?
[27] Daniel 7.7 Nach diesem sah ich in diesem Gesicht in der Nacht,
und siehe, das vierte Tier war greulich und schrecklich und sehr stark
und hatte große eiserne Zähne, fraß um sich und zermalmte,
und das übrige zertrat’s mit seinen Füßen;
es war auch viel anders denn die vorigen
und hatte zehn Hörner.
Im Gegensatz zu den Griechen, die Bronzewaffen benutzten,
wussten die Römer, wie man Eisenwaffen schmiedete,
die an Stärke weit überlegen
und zudem viel billiger waren.
Sie vernichteten jeden Feind, der sich ihnen in den Weg stellte,
und niemand konnte ihnen widerstehen.
Auf dem Höhepunkt ihrer Herrschaft
beherrschten sie den europäischen Kontinent
bis hin zur Türkei und Syrien im Osten,
auch Ägypten und Nordafrika gehörten zu ihrem Herrschaftsgebiet.
7. Sagt uns die Bibel, was die zehn Hörner sind?
[27] Daniel 7.24 Die zehn Hörner bedeuten zehn Könige, so aus dem Reich entstehen werden.
Und siehe da, auf dem europäischen Territorium des Römischen Reiches
waren tatsächlich zehn Stammeskönigreiche entstanden,
als dieses unterging.
Sieben dieser zehn Königreiche haben bis heute überlebt
und sind zu den sieben Nationen Westeuropas geworden.
Angelsachsen: England
Franken: Frankreich
Alemannen: Deutschland
Burgunden: Schweiz
Langobarden: Italien
Westgoten: Spanien
Sueben: Portugal
Heruler, Vandalen und Ostgoten: verwurzelt.
8. Was geschah als nächstes in der Vision?
[27] Daniel 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold,
there came up among them another little horn,
before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots:
and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man,
and a mouth speaking great things.
Next, a very special horn arose.
This is the Anti-Christ power
that was mentioned repeatedly throughout the Bible,
that we need to identify.
9. What are the identifications of this “little horn”, which were provided in [27] Daniel 7?
<1>. It is a “horn”, which is a “king” or “kingdom” (verse 24).
<2>. It sprouted up from the fourth beast – the Roman empire (verse 7-8).
<3>. It sprouted up among the ten horns, which are the ten kings of western Europe (verse 8).
<4>. Three of those ten horns are plucked up by the roots before it, meaning,
three of the above ten kings will be destroyed permanently before it (verse 8).
<5>. It will be “different” compared to the other kingdoms (verse 24).
<6>. It has a mouth of a head person to be its spokesman (verse 8).
<7>. It will wage wars with the saints and prevail against them (verse 21, 25).
<8>. The saints will be delivered into its hands for “a time and times and the dividing of time” (verse 25).
<9>. It will speak blasphemous things against the Most High God (verse 25).
<10>. It will think to change times and laws (verse 25).
Please remember that all these descriptions come DIRECTLY FROM THE BIBLE,
not some fantasized personal opinions of anyone.
From this list, we can easily compare with history
and identify precisely
that the only power in the history of mankind that fits these descriptions,
so shockingly and mournfully,
is the very Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican in Rome!
Let us take a close look.
10. Does the Roman Catholic Church really fit all these descriptions?!
Let’s go through all the descriptions one by one.
<1>. It is a “horn”, which is a “king” or “kingdom” ([27] Daniel 7:24).
Vatican is not just a mere religious organization.
It is an actual state, an independent country.
It obviously matches point <1>.
<2>. It sprouted up from the fourth beast – the Roman empire ([27] Daniel 7:7-8).
Vatican does not just lie in Italy,
but in the very capital Rome of this country.
It of course fulfills point <2>.
<3>. It sprouted up among the ten horns, which are the ten kings of western Europe ([27] Daniel 7:8).
Italy IS a country of Western Europe,
one of the ten nations in the list mentioned above in question 7.
Vatican therefore matches point <3>.
<4>. Three of those ten horns are plucked up by the roots before it, meaning,
three of the above ten kings will be destroyed permanently before it ([27] Daniel 7:8).
Most, if not all of the kings in Europe were Catholic Christians,
under the rulership of the Catholic church,
except three kings: of the Ostrogoths, Heruli and Vandals.
So, the Catholic kings under the influence of Rome,
have decided that those three nations have to be exterminated.
First, king Zeno (474-491) arranged an agreement with the Ostrogoths,
which led to the destruction of the Heruli in 493.
Then king Justinian (527-565) exterminated the Vandals in 534
and finally the Ostrogoths in 538.
Thus “the three horns” have been “plucked up by the root” before the little horn.
<Mervyn Maxwell, God Cares, quyển 1, trang 129>
<5>. It will be “different” compared to the other kingdoms ([27] Daniel 7:24).
Vatican is unique among all the nations of the earth:
it is not just a political power, but also a religious power.
Because of that, although it has such a small territory,
it still wields a tremendously powerful,
if not the most powerful influence
among the nations of the earth.
It permeates and controls even the mighty USA to a very large degree.
Its special agents, the Jesuits
– trained to infiltrate all governments, political parties, churches, religions… even since youth –
are ready to spend decades to slowly climb up to positions of influence
in the organizations they infiltrated,
to submit them to the will of the Catholic church.
Even the US President Joe Biden is a Catholic Christian under the Pope.
The Roman Catholic church truly is a very special and powerful nation.
<6>. It has a mouth of a head person to be its spokesman ([27] Daniel 7:8).
This is none other than the Pope himself.
<7>. It will wage wars with the saints and prevail against them ([27] Daniel 7:21, 25).
That the Vatican had persecuted and massacred multitudes of Christians
is an obvious fact, well-known across the world
and is acknowledged even by the church itself.
Historians estimated around 100 MILLION people
have been murdered for their faith by this organization,
while the church misunderstood
that it was destroying heretics for God.
Pope John Paul II later on had even raised his voice in apology
for the crimes the church committed,
and beg for forgiveness.
But by that time, the fact has already been seared into history:
the Roman Catholic church had persecuted and martyred multitudes of saints.
<8>. The saints will be delivered into its hands for “a time and times and the dividing of time” ([27] Daniel 7:25).
A time is a year.
Times are two times, meaning two years.
A dividing of time is half a year.
“A time and times and the dividing of time” is 3,5 years in total.
This time period is mentioned again and again many times in Bible prophecy
as 42 months, and 1.260 days
(according to the Jewish calendar,
that has 30 days a month, and 12 months a year,
these three time periods are exactly the same).
The key to solving this prophecy is here:
by looking up the Bible,
we can find out that in prophetic language,
a day in visions is a year in real life ([26] Ezekiel 4:6; [04] Numbers 14:34).
Understanding this point thoroughly,
we can exchange the 1.260 days in this vision
into 1.260 years in real life.
Contrast this with history:
Vatican ascended to its throne in 538 AD.
Eventually in 1798 AD, the Pope was captured alive by general Louis-Alexandre Berthier of Napoleon,
and exiled to France, where he died (*).
The period from 538 to 1798 AD, is exactly 1.260 years!
Even this point <8> is unimaginably fulfilled!
(*) Joseph Rickaby, “The Modern Papacy,” Lectures on the History of Religion, (London: Catholic Truth Society, 1910), Vol. 3, Lecture 24, p. 1.
<9>. It will speak blasphemous things against the Most High God ([27] Daniel 7:25).
The Bible defines blasphemy
to be not just when someone insults God directly,
but also when someone who isn’t a God-being:
– Claims to be God or to be equal with God ([04] John 10:33).
– Claims the authority to forgive sins ([03] Luke 5:21; [19] Hebrews 5:9).
Vatican claims their Pope to be equal with God.
Pope Leo XIII said: “We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.”(1)
Another statement made about the Pope: “Thou art another God on earth.”(2)
In addition to that, does the Vatican claim the authority to forgive sins?
Take a look at the Catholic church’s own catechism:
“Does the Priest truly forgive the sins,
or does he only declare that they are remitted?
The Priest does really and truly forgive the sins
in virtue of the power given to him by Christ.”(3)
This false claim of the authority to forgive sins even puts the priests,
who are mere sinful human beings like the rest of mankind,
into the extremely stressful position of Lord Jesus Christ:
having to take His place to listen
to all the wicked deeds done by the people as they make their confessions.
While this is the kind of position that none could bear
other than the Great Savior Himself,
who was not just a human being,
capable of empathizing with our infirmities and weaknesses,
but also a God-being, having the power and grace
to strengthen and uplift us from the degradation of sins,
and finally, He has a perfect character,
holy, sinless, full of love and justice,
worthy of all our admiration and absolute confidence.
The human priests,
even those who live the most godly lives possible,
with a clean conscience, not partaking in any wicked work of religious organizations,
where are they going to get the divine power that our Lord has
to impart to repentant sinners, to recreate them inside out?
Claiming to have the power to forgive sins,
in fact, even load upon the church and its clergies
a burden impossible for them to bear.
So this point, “blasphemy”, also matches the Vatican.
(1)Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter “The Reunion of Christendom,” dated June 20, 1894, trans. in The Great Encyclical letters of Pope Leo XIII (New York: Benziger, 1903), p. 304.
(2)Christopher Marcellus, Oration in the Fifth Lateran Council, Session IV (1512), manuscript SC, Vol. 32, col. 761 (Latin).
(3)Joseph Deharbe, S.J., A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion (New York: Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss, 1924), p. 279.
<10>. It will think to change times and laws ([27] Daniel 7:25).
Vatican did indeed change the law of the Ten Commandments of God:
they omitted the second commandment about forbidding idolatry,
and then split the tenth into two commandments to make up for the decrease in number,
finally, they cut short the fourth commandment regarding the weekly rest day from 94 words to 8 words.
Readers can compare the Catholic church’s ten commandments
with God’s Ten Commandments in [02] Exodus 20:2-17 to easily find out.
Without any doubt left, Vatican matches every single description
of the little horn in [27] Daniel 7, the Anti-Christ.
That of course, does not mean
that the believers and the clergies of the church must be wicked people.
On the contrary, in the Catholic church are numerous children of God,
true to their conscience and the limited light they received,
and have accomplished a tremendous amount of good for mankind.
However, the ORGANIZATION of the church
was, and is still filled with errors and wrong-doings,
with lots of power struggles and corruption,
causing miseries and weariness
to even the believers and clergies who are honest and true in it,
and is condemned by the Word of God.
Not only so, the fact that the Catholic church turns out to be the Anti-Christ
isn’t even some hot latest news.
The Reformers who founded the Protestant churches from hundreds of years ago,
“John Wycliffe, William Tyndale (translated the Bible – Tyndale Bible),
Martin Luther, John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer;
in the seventeenth century, Bunyan, the translators of the King James Bible
and the men who published the Westminster and Baptist Confessions of Faith;
Sir Isaac Newton, John Wesley, Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards;
and more recently Spurgeon, Bishop J.C. Ryle and Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones;
these men among countless others,
all saw the office of the Papacy as the antichrist.”
{Michael de Semlyen, All Roads Lead to Rome, Dorchestor House Publications, p. 205, 1991}
The light of this bitter truth
resulted in the Protestant Reformation that gave birth to Protestantism,
as many realized the Catholic Church is indeed the antichrist power.
Many Reformers, who were even the very priests and clergies of the church,
have stood up and fearlessly called for the church to reform.
11. Many Christians nowadays have been misguided about the identity of the Anti-Christ.
Believing what is false can make the reception of truth becomes more difficult.
To guard against that, what did the Bible teach us to do
when we encounter a doctrine we have not previously heard?
[05] 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.
[13] I Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
All doctrines must be compared with the Bible
with an open mind and a teachable spirit,
to determine whether it is true.
And all truths must be received.
12. Are you ready to follow the Lord Jesus Christ wherever He leads?
Many prophecies in the two books [27] Daniel and [27] Revelation
will be expounded in the coming lessons.
The Lord has given these prophecies for the purpose of:
a. Reveal the final events that will come to pass before the end of the world.
b. Identify the main players in the grand finale of the controversy between Christ and Satan.
c. Expose the scheme of the devil to deceive and destroy the souls of us all.
d. Point out the safe hiding place for the saints on Judgment Day
and unite all the true children of God under one banner of the Truth.
e. Glorify God and His Son, their love, their justice, their salvation,
their all-knowing wisdom
and absolute sovereignty over the future of the universe.
Appendix
The “a day for a year” principle in expounding prophetic time of Bible prophecies.
Normally, a symbolistic prophecy can only be understood after it came to pass,
however, in history a rare case had happened.
In the year 1838, an evangelist named Josiah Litch
had used the prophecy expounding principle “a day for a year”
to pinpoint exactly the termination of the power of the Ottoman Empire mentioned in [27] Revelation 9:13-15,
even before it crumbled.
Josiah Litch exchanged the “an hour, a day, a month, a year” in verse 15
to precisely 391 years 15 days in real life,
and from that predicted that the power of the Ottoman Empire would crumble
exactly on August 11th, 1840
after reigning for 391 years 15 days.
And lo and behold, it had happened exactly thus.
In the next lesson, we will take a deeper look
into the Ten Commandments of God,
which the Anti-Christ power attempted to alter.
Written by the finger of God,
and spoken by His own voice:
some words will NEVER FADE.
Click “Next” to find out.
