All service songs used by permission. CCLI #425103
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It was a super Sunday when Jesus rode into
town as King, but the ‘superest’ Sunday of all was a week later when He rose
from the dead! I don’t know how super this Tuesday will actually be, but I
do know it was on a Tuesday when Jesus gave these end times teachings to His
disciples. And verses 15 and 24 are all about a guy we could call “Satan’s
Superman”, the antichrist.
Matthew 24:15
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by
Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him
understand:) Matthew 24:24
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew
great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they
shall deceive the very elect.
With the help of Paul [II Thess. 2] and John
[Revelation 13] I believe we can learn some super truths!
Now, these things are sensational, and some
hard to believe. And today we introduce a guy with super powers entering
the scene, and this is where some get kind of skeptical.
Ill.—In 1938 a man from Long Island wanted a
barometer to place on his mantle. He bought an expensive, elaborate one,
took it home, but as he opened the box he noticed that the needle was
pointing to the sector that indicated that a hurricane was coming. He
looked for a knob to adjust it, but found none. That made him mad so he
shook it to try to get it to reset to normal. “I can’t believe it, as much
money as I spent for this, and it’s defective.” He wrote a scathing letter
to the company. He had to take a business trip for a few days and when he
got back home, his barometer was missing...and so was his house!
There was nothing wrong with the
barometer, he just refused to believe it...it didn’t seem like something
that bad would really happen.
You cannot stop the return of Christ and the
tribulation any more than you can stop a hurricane from coming. The Word of
God gives us fair advanced warning, and it doesn’t need adjusting, it just
needs believing!
The tribulation is a great storm of God’s
judgment. It is preceded by the rapture and concluded at the battle of
Armageddon, and then comes the Millennial reign of Christ for 1,000 years.
These are the 2 phases of Jesus’ 2nd coming to earth, the rapture
and the millennium. His first coming was 2,000 years ago as a man, but God
in the flesh. During the tribulation another man will come but this one
will be the devil incarnate [in the flesh]...the antichrist, the beast, the
man of sin, the son of perdition.
There’s a strong chance that he is alive
today and waiting in the wings.
2 Thessalonians 2:2
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.
Evidently someone had written a letter,
pretending to be the apostles, stating that the rapture had occurred, and
they were all left behind in the tribulation. Paul clarifies that it was
not the last days yet and he didn’t write that letter.
2 Thessalonians 2:3
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;
Again, he says there will be signs of the
end times, and then will come the tribulation and the antichrist with it.
1. The Mockery of God Recounted.
v. 4
2 Thessalonians 2:4
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.
This is the
abomination of desolation. The antichrist claims to be God, and most of
the world will buy it! Satan has always wanted to be God, ever since he
rebelled as Lucifer and tried to capture God’s throne. He was cast out of
heaven and has declared war on God ever since. At the end of the world
Satan will throw a final insult in the face of the Almighty and it will be
the ultimate mockery.
Satan has always been an imitator of God, a
counterfeit:
·Mt. 13 teaches that Satan has
counterfeit Christians.
·II Cor. 11 – counterfeit
ministers
·Gal. 1 – counterfeit gospel
·Rev. 2 – counterfeit church,
the synagogue of Satan, where those who worship think they are following
God, but it is actually Satan.
In the tribulation, long before the
antichrist wants casualties he wants converts, and the worship of man. Just
as he will lead the one world government, a one world church will come on
the scene, ultimately under his hand as well, led by the false prophet, the
right hand man and sinister minister of the antichrist.
2. The Mystery of Iniquity
Restrained.
2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 6 And now ye know what
withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth
already work: only he who now lettethwill let, until
he be taken out of the way. 8
And then shall that Wicked be revealed...
The ‘mystery of iniquity’ is the unseen
spirit world of demons at work on their plan to overthrow God. Some don’t
believe in demons. Neither did doctors in the middle ages believe in
bacteria, but they were still real and still at work and still harming
people.
“Revealed” is from the Greek – apocalupsis
[apocalupsis] and it is where we get the word apocalypse. It means an
unveiling, as in pulling a cloth off a statue. Again, knowing these are the
last days, we can assume he is likely alive today, but something is holding
him back right now. In v. 6 it’s a ‘what’ and in v. 7 it’s a ‘he’. The
what is the church and the he is the Holy Spirit, and both will be removed
at the rapture! The Holy Spirit not only helps the saints, He also hinders
Satan, keeping him on a leash.
3. The Mastery of Satan Revealed.
2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 8 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: 9 Even him, whose coming is
after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders...
What will the antichrist be like? According
to these verses he will be Satan’s Superman, w/ superpowers! His
intellectual genius will be immense, his authority will be overpowering, his
technique superb. Men will be willing to die for him, and betray their
mother w/ a smile for his sake. Women will swoon at his feet, and children
will speak his name with reverence. The world will wonder over him [Rev.
17:8]. He will come on a platform of peace, but it is a false peace. Dan.
9 says he will destroy with peace!
In the end he’ll transform the world into a
vast concentration camp where everyone is an inmate and all have a number.
He’ll be like a combination of all the dictators of history...the Caesars,
Napoleons, Hitlers, Stalins, Husseins, Ahmadinejads, and Hugo Chavez’, all
rolled into 1, multiplied by 10,000! He’ll put a mark on everyone he can
and be able to track their every move and action. His miracles are called
lying wonders...he’s a master of deception.
The technology is all in place. Small chips
the size of a grain of rice are being implanted already today to track
children and pets by gps. Smart cards contain more info. on the head of a
pin than you ever learned in school, and it’s info. about you!
Ill.—I’ve never been able to get over the
fact that the bar code technology can have so much info. within just a few
lines. Did you know that the first, last, and middle numbers in all bar
codes are the number 6? I’m not a superstitious person, but this is more
than interesting.
4. The Majesty of Jesus Released.
Jesus is God, but His glory was veiled in
His first coming, but not the next time He comes!
v. 8 ‘the brightness of his coming’
Ill.—have
youever looked at the diamonds in the jewelry store? They display
them on a black background. This makes them look brighter! The tribulation
will be a very dark, ver black time…which will make Christ’s 2nd
coming that much more beautiful and bright!
At Armageddon the skies will part and King
Jesus will ride in with the armies of heaven, but they won’t be needed.
He’ll destroy the antichrist and all of His enemies with a sharp sword
coming out of His mouth, just a Word! And He who spoke the world into
existence will speak His enemies into oblivion!
I’m not looking for antichrist, but for
Jesus Christ. Jesus knows my name, the antichrist will only give me a
number. Jesus will take you to heaven if you name is written in the Lamb’s
Book of Life, He’ll call your name! The antichrist will take you to hell.
And so, at the end of the world, will your name be called, or will your
number be up?
There’s no need to face the antichrist if
you accept Jesus Christ today! Christians, let’s not go to church on Sunday
and live like the devil during the week. Let’s be found faithful when Jesus
comes back!
Ill.—man went on vacation to Switzerland /
took walk in countryside / came upon a beautiful Swiss villa / exquisitely
pruned, manicured / talked to man in yard / “Nice house!” / “It’s not mine,
I’m just the caretaker…the owner lives in the states” / “How often does he
come?” / “Sometimes years between visits!” / “Well, you’ve got this place
looking like as if he were coming tomorrow!” / WITH disgust on face he
replied: “Today, sir!”
That’s how we should be living!
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