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The Daily Word of Righteousness
The Antichrist, The False Prophet, and the Image, continued
So that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:17—NIV)
The symbol 666 in the hand is man acting according to his own self-centered, self-seeking ambitions and pleasures, with money as the idol.
The symbol 666 in the forehead is man thinking according to his own self-centered, self-seeking ambitions and pleasures, with money as the idol.
The penalty for not receiving the symbol is associated with—you guessed it—money! You can't buy or sell.
It is of interest that Solomon's kingdom is associated with 666, emphasizing, as we will discuss later, the role of money in self-serving Christianity.
The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, (I Kings 10:14—NIV)
I warned you that I like simple, down-home explanations.
Think about the United States of America in the present hour. The prevailing characteristic of the political, educational, financial, judicial, social, military, vocational, and entertainment realms is self-centeredness and man-centeredness. Antichrist is here already. Man is making himself god and the result is social anarchy.
The prevailing characteristic of the spiritual and religious realms is self-centeredness. The believers are seeking spiritual power and wisdom for their own happiness, success, and aggrandizement.
The American people worship money. Money is the first consideration of life in numerous instances. As we read the newspaper we see that money is playing an ever-increasing role in the affairs of the nations, great and small.
In America, people act and think according to their self-seeking ambitions and pleasures and are supported by the philosophy behind the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The emphasis of the Declaration of Independence is on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, not the pursuit of God, His Kingdom, and His righteousness. It was a declaration of independence from England and has evolved into a declaration of independence from God.
Our Constitution appears to be, at least in part, a product of the Age of Reason.
Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the Image of Antichrist are alive and well in the United States of America.
And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. (Revelation 13:1—NIV)
The Antichrist is not the opposite of Christ but the imitation of Christ. It would be much easier for us to detect the work of Antichrist if he were the opposite of Christ.
The Book of First John mentions that those who were of Antichrist left the church, and so the spirit of Antichrist has been with us at least from the first century.
There is a spirit of Antichrist, we might say, and then there will be in the near future, possibly, a person, man or woman, in whom the Antichrist spirit will find total fulfillment. I think this person will be a deceived Christian.
The spirit of Antichrist is man making himself his own god. That's all, no new, complicated idea. Yet lawlessness, or self-rule, is a mystery, a secret power.
To be continued.