Thus we see that the two aspects of the Father's goal, the centering of everything in Christ and the establishing of righteousness and the worship of God in the earth, are in direct opposition to Satan's most fervent desires.

Satan gains the attention and servitude of human beings by successfully tempting them to sin against God. All sin proceeds originally from the devil.

Bringing the inhabitants of the earth into slavery to sin is not enough for Satan. He wants them to worship him directly as their God. However, most people will not worship Satan if they can see and understand that it is Satan himself who is asking for their worship and obedience.

People want to think they are worshiping God. Satan is not even a human being. He is a fallen cherub. Why should man, who is in the image of God Almighty Himself, worship a cherub?

But people are willing to worship a human being, including themselves.

If Satan is to prevent the Father from making Christ the Center of everything, to perpetuate lawlessness in the earth, and to turn worship toward himself, he must do it through a human being.

Thus we have the deceived human being named Antichrist.

Antichrist will oppose, through Satan's help, every one of the Divine purposes of God in Christ.

Antichrist, because of his being possessed by Satan, will demand the absolute worship of every creature of God.

Antichrist and Satan are two separate persons. When Jesus comes, Antichrist will be cast alive (not having died physically) into the Lake of Fire. Satan will be bound with a chain and hurled into the bottomless pit.

Every human being is a potential antichrist. Satan continually is inspiring our self-will and self-love to resist the Person and will of Christ, to indulge in unrighteous behavior, and to worship our relationships with people, our circumstances, and our things.

The several dimensions of Antichrist were revealed when Satan tested Jesus in the wilderness.

The temptation of the bread has to do with Satan's desire that people turn away from dependence on God and devote their God-given energies to gaining material survival and security. Today, money is the means of avoiding dependence on God for our material survival and security.

The Christian ministry is paving the way for Antichrist when it encourages the believers to use their faith in order to obtain money. "Speak the word of faith and turn the stone into bread." Every true saint turns away from the temptation to use his faith, the faith that God has entrusted to him that he may serve God, for the purpose of gaining material benefit. This was the error of Balaam.

The second test, the temptation concerning the kingdoms of the world has to do with Satan's desire that people drown themselves in the orgies of the flesh. All sin is a worship of Satan's nature and works. Sin is the opposite of the holy worship of God. The kingdoms of the world give themselves over to satisfying the lusts of the flesh.

The third test, the temptation of the pinnacle of the Temple is by far the most dangerous of all temptations. It is the temptation of presumption, of testing God. This is the area of self-will, of man-centeredness, of which we have been speaking.

The temptation of self-assertion takes place "in Jerusalem, on top of the Temple."

To be continued.