Click or Tap Icons to Share! Thank you!

Authored By  :
Published On :
Last Updated :

NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



As some of you will already realize, there are many websites, Facebook pages, message forums, etc., where certain people do claim to know who the Beast is -- or Antichrist if you prefer -- or else they claim to be revealing other information for the very first time. Over the years, I have come across quite a number of these sites. When I do, I take them -- and their authors -- with a grain of salt. I urge you to do the same. Some of these characters can be extremely boastful, and full of their own pride and self-imposed delusion. They have a serious problem with self-aggrandizement and are self-styled prophets and apostles. In some cases, their complete lack of understanding of the Scriptures is readily apparent, and it really makes me shake my head, and wonder how they possibly arrived at such strange conclusions. Maybe some people do have the right answers to these prophetic enigmas, but I most certainly don't. At least not yet.

As I point out in "Humility in Our Understanding of God's Word", as teachers of God's Word, we all need to remain very vigilant. We need to keep ourselves in check. We need to be careful that we don't become lifted up in our own pride as a result of the Wisdom and Understanding which the Lord grants us regarding His Word. The Bible contains many verses which admonish us of this very thing. Consider the following examples:

"Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness . . . Therefore let no man glory in men"


"And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?"


". . . we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know."


"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing . . . Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away."


"Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,"


"From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm."


"For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."


"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."


"For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."


"Submit yourselves therefore to God . . . Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."


"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:"


Continuing our previous discussion from part two, I stated that I could not accept that the Beast and the Antichrist are the same person -- as is erroneously supposed by many Christians at this current time -- because, in my view, the term "the Antichrist" should rightfully be applied to the Jewish false messiah who is known as Moshiach ben David. By necessity, this man must be a Jew, because the Jews would never ever accept a Gentile as their long-awaited messiah. It is totally out of the question according to what I have come to understand concerning the Jews' expectations in regard to their messiah.

If you are familiar with the Scriptures, then you will know that Gentiles were not allowed inside the Temple itself, because it was considered so holy to the Jews. They viewed Gentiles as being abominable and unclean. Even the Apostles embraced this same attitude towards the Gentiles until Jesus taught them otherwise by His Spirit. For example, you may recall how in a vision, the Lord revealed to the Apostle Peter that it was time to begin ministering the Message of Salvation to the Gentiles in Acts chapter ten. Following are some of the key verses from the story. Please consider reading Acts chapters ten and eleven for the full account. I have added some words in brackets here for the sake of clarification:

"On the morrow, as they [the men sent by Cornelius the Roman centurion ] went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven . . . And he [Peter] said unto them [Cornelius and his kin], Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean . . . Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him . . . And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God . . . Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?"


In another example which reveals the Jew's self-righteous attitude towards Gentiles, we find the Apostle Paul running into trouble when he goes to purify himself in the Temple in Jerusalem. Consider these key verses from the story:

"Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them. And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place. (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.) And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut. And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar."


Sadly, while most Jews will not express it openly, perhaps out of fear of some form of retribution, this same negative, self-righteous attitude towards Gentiles still persists to some degree -- particularly amongst the Orthodox Jews -- even in our current day. In fact, if I recall correctly, not too long ago, in a meeting with the U.S. Congress, Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reminded the members of Congress that the Israelis are God's "chosen people". In my view, this reflects a very proud, self-righteous attitude which boasts of some imaginary superiority over the rest of the people of the world.

The Jews who continue to embrace this proud attitude do not seem to realize that God loves the entire world, and desires to save the entire world. This is precisely why He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. As Peter declared in the previous verses, and as I also explain in "Is God A Racist?", God is not a respecter of persons. In other words, He doesn't play favorites. We are all in the same boat when it comes to sin, and the consequences of sin. Every single one of us -- both Jew and Gentile alike -- require the cleansing Blood of Jesus Christ. Allow me to share a few verses with you:

"Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts."


"For there is no respect of persons with God."


"And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him."


"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:"


If you really want to understand why some Jews continue to embrace a negative attitude towards Gentiles, then I suggest that you invest some time in reading an English version of the Babylonian Talmud. This despicable book contains certain rabbinic teachings which will shock and offend even the most dedicated Christian supporter of Israel. This book will show you what the rabbis have been teaching Orthodox Jews for many centuries now. It will reveal to you exactly what some Jews think of us Gentiles, and it is not nice. I also invite you to visit the following page on the Bill's Bible Basics website. It contains some excerpts from the Babylonian Talmud, as well as other quotes and material by Jews, which you will no doubt find rather enlightening. In particular, consider reading the articles there entitled "Jew Power - Quotes By And About The Zionist Jews" and "The Truth About The Talmud - by Michael A. Hoffman":

https://www.billkochman.com/Articles-Non-BBB/index.html#Protocols

In short, this negative attitude towards us Gentiles is in fact really an antichrist spirit, because it is contrary to and against Jesus' teachings concerning loving each other. As difficult as it may be for some of us to do, as I explain in the article "The Royal Law: Thou Shalt Love", it includes loving our enemies. To reiterate, the Jews' attitude towards us Gentiles is an antichrist spirit. It is a proud spirit. It is a self-righteous spirit. It is a boastful spirit. It is not of God. It is of Satan. As the Apostle John writes in his Epistle:

"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."


To continue our previous discussion, this negative attitude towards Gentiles which is embraced by the Jews is why in the Scriptures that we examined regarding the Temple compound being overrun by the Romans -- and in the final outcome, being destroyed by the same -- we are told "But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles." In other words, it seems that God allowed the Roman legions -- who the Jews viewed as an abomination and unclean -- to enter and defile the court which formed a part of the Temple compound that was situated on the summit of Mount Moriah. However, concerning the actual Temple itself, it seems that God had other plans for it. To understand what those plans were, let us begin by reading from the Prophet Daniel:

"Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."


"Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand."


In the previous two verses, allow me to call your attention to the two words "cleansed" and "purified". In the original Hebrew text, the word "cleansed" is "tsadaq", which means to be or to make just or righteous. The word "purified" finds its origin in the Hebrew word "barar". This word means to purify, purge or cleanse. Now consider what John the Baptist had to say concerning Jesus:

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."


Consider also that by the time of Jesus Christ, the Jewish religious system had become a corrupt abomination before the Lord; so much so that Jesus accused the religionists of His day of being the children of the Devil; even going so far as to call them the "synagogue of Satan" and false Jews in the Book of Revelation. The Apostle John -- who wrote the Book of Revelation -- also called them antichrists in two of his Epistles. Consider the following verses:

"Ye [speaking to the Jewish leadership] are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."


"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves."


"I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."


"Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee."


"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."


"And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."


"For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist."


Allow me to share one more set of verses with you that were written by the Apostle Paul, and then I will make my point:

"Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."


Now please consider the following points:

1. The Prophet Daniel informs us that the sanctuary would be cleansed, and that the Jews would be tried, purified and made white.

2. John the Baptist warns us that Jesus would "purge his floor and "burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire".

3. Jesus tells us that the Jewish religionists were liars, murderers, false Jews, the children of the Devil, and the synagogue of Satan.

4. The Apostle John indirectly accuses his unbelieving Jewish brethren of being antichrists.

5. The Apostle Paul advises us that every man's work will be tried and purged by fire in order to determine of what sort it is. I find it rather interesting that right after stating this, Paul again reminds us that we are the true temples of God's Spirit, as opposed to the physical Temple which stood on Mount Moriah.

Upon considering all of the previous information, and its relation to actual historical events, I have arrived at the conclusion that while God allowed the Gentiles -- meaning the Roman legions -- to trod the Temple compound -- meaning the outer court -- under foot, the way that He purged and purified the actual Temple itself, was by allowing it to be completely burned to the ground, because it had become an abomination to Him. The Temple Mount was literally purged and purified by fire; and for the past almost two thousand years, it has remained absent of a Temple by God's specific design.

Why did God so utterly destroy the Temple compound through the Roman invasion and occupation? As we have already seen, one of the primary reasons is clearly revealed by what the Lord Himself said in Matthew chapter twenty-three:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."


In particular, you will notice that Jesus declares "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate". In other words, as a result of their rejection of their very own Messiah, in His fury, God also rejected them. However, I believe that the issue runs considerably deeper than that. In other words, in rejecting Christ, the unbelieving Jews likewise rejected the Spiritual House of worship which God desired to build upon the Precious Blood of His own Son. Let me remind you again of what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John. Even then He warned that the physical Temple in Jerusalem was destined for destruction:

"The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."


As I explain in a number of articles, by rejecting Christ, the Jews were also rejecting the Cornerstone, or Foundation Stone, of God's new Spiritual House. In fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, Jesus warned that His hard-hearted Jewish enemies would reject Him. Consider the following key verses which support this point:

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not."


"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?"


"And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."


"Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day."


"But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation."


"He came unto his own, and his own received him not."


"This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner."


"To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed [that is disapproved, rejected, repudiated] indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious . . . Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."


Without having this chief cornerstone in place, a structure simply cannot stand or even be built, because this important foundation stone actually joins the walls together. As you can imagine, through our faith, we are all spiritual stones in God's Spiritual House or Temple, who are joined together by Jesus Christ. In contrast, because the unbelieving Jewish religionists chose to reject God's chosen Cornerstone, it was inevitable that their false religion, and their false house -- which was built upon the shifting sands of the traditions of men -- would eventually come crashing to the ground. Thus, as we have seen, in His fierce Wrath and Indignation, God literally burned their primary house of worship -- the Temple -- to the ground. As the Apostle Paul writes in his Epistle to the Romans:

". . . Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."


It took forty years for this to happen; but as they say, God's Judgments grind exceedingly slow, but exceedingly fine. Following are some additional verses which further explain Jesus' important position as the Chief Cornerstone of our Spiritual House -- or Temple -- in which we are all stones and pillars:

"Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."


"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."


"And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."


"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."


"Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."


"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."


"And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."


"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."


"Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name."


"And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it."


Please go to part four for the conclusion of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

Click or Tap Icons to Share! Thank you!

---

---

Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.