One World is a sermon teaching us about the coming one-world government and one-world religion. Christians do not look for the coming of the antichrist but for the coming of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Key verses:
Revelation 13:1-18
Genesis 11:1-9

Revelation 13:1: “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”

Revelation 13:2: “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”

Revelation 13:3: “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.”

Revelation 13:4: “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”

Revelation 13:5: “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.”

Revelation 13:6: “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.”

Revelation 13:7: “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”

Notice in that seventh verse, “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” What we are talking about here is a one-world dictator. I am going to talk to you this morning on the subject of one world.

Some Things Change, Some Do Not

The world in which we live is always changing and yet there are some things that never seem to change. Technology seems to change all the time, like every few seconds. But people are about the same as they have always been. People do not dress the same as they did five years ago. Well, I do, but a lot of other people probably do not. A lot of people change things but not people themselves. How do we know that? Just read history and read your Bible. You are going to find that people behaved the same throughout history pretty much as they are today — the same feelings, same emotions, in many cases the same actions.

You may think that we have advanced a lot. Well, we have advanced in some ways, and in other ways, we have not. There are always people who want to change the world. That can be good and that can be bad. And there are some people who do change the world. Some people make major changes, again, that could be good or that could be bad. Some people believe the change is for good. Some people change things for evil. But things do change.

Seven Philosophies Influencing Mankind

Back in the 1980s, I read a book called “Seven Men Who Ruled the World from the Grave” by Dave Breese. He is not saying these seven men rise up out of their graves and roam the earth and govern mankind. He was not saying that at all. What he was saying in the book was that the philosophies of these seven men prevail over the philosophies that do rule over the actions of mankind. The fact of the matter is these philosophies are prevalent today.

Who were these seven men that Breese wrote about? The first one was Charles Darwin who popularized the theory of biological evolution as the origin of mankind. I say popularized because he did not originate that theory. Other people had that idea before he did. But he wrote the book “On the Origin of Species” and it popularized that idea. Most of the time, when we talk today about people believing in evolution will talk about Darwinist evolution, and yet some will say they are an evolutionist but not Darwinist. And that point can be true. But generally, there are people influenced heavily by Charles Darwin’s theory.

And understand that it is a theory. There is a difference between scientific theory and scientific law. A scientific theory is when a hypothesis is formed which is an educated guess and they look at certain things and say that this is the way we believe things have happened or will happen in certain situations. A law is when a theory or hypothesis has been tested by experimentation repetitively and proved to work the same way every time. For example, the law of gravity. Gravity does not vary; it is the same all the time. So, there is a difference in theory and a difference in law. You may ask if I am a scientist, but no, I am not a scientist but have taken classes and learned what most people learned, I think. So, Charles Darwin was number one.

The second was Julius Wellhausen, not a name most of you would know, some here would. Julius Wellhausen was a scholar best known for developing a theory that stated in general, and I am oversimplifying this for sake of time, but his theory stated in general that the Old Testament, in particular, and the Bible, in general, is not the inspired Word of God, but simply a collection of works by human authors who wanted to create a religion. We say there are 40 authors of the Bible, but he thought there were many more and these various human authors wrote their ideas and opinions and their fantasies and came up with the Bible.

Why does he influence the world? Because of his writing, and by the way, he did not do this all by himself, I do not mean to say that, but his writing greatly influenced what is called textual criticism. It is the idea of looking at the Bible and saying what you read there and what you think it says, is probably not what was ever meant there. And the scriptures themselves in any translation are not reliable, even the original manuscripts, if we have them, are of human origin and subject to error and fallibility and so forth. So that was Julius Wellhausen.

John Dewey was a theorist who was recognized as a major influence on American public education. He was number three in the book. He was a progressive and saw capitalism as a problem. His teachings were thought to be in harmony with anarchists and socialists in the early twentieth century and yet many of his theories, again, are followed today.

Number four was Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher, who taught existentialism. That is that personal experience and choice are the guides of life. That is kind of where, and I am not saying that Kierkegaard said this himself, where people get the idea of what is true to you may not be true to me. What is a reality for you may not be a reality for me. It is all based on personal experience. He did say that people may know God through a leap of faith but not through any doctrine.

Number five on that list was Sigmund Freud. He was a doctor who developed psychoanalysis and the whole field of psychiatry was influenced by Sigmund Freud. There is a difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist, two very different things. Freud was pretty much the father of modern psychiatry.

Number six on the list was John Maynard Keynes, an English economist, whose theories changed the economic policies of major governments, and many follow his teachings today.

Number seven, the last one, Karl Marx, was an economist and philosopher, whose theoretical writings have been used as a basis for communism. His influence is certainly in the world today.

God In the Way

Why do I bring up this book and these seven men in that book? Because there are always those who want to change the world. And we’ve said it before, some want to change it for good, some want to change it for evil.

Many want to change things so that they, themselves, will benefit from their new order. What do I mean by that? I mean that as Paul writes in I Timothy chapter six, “the love of money is the root of all evil.” He did not say that money is the root of all evil, never does the Bible say it is evil to have money. Some people think that if you have money, you must be evil, that is a fallacy. But the truth of the matter is the love of money, or greed, or selfishness, that is what he is saying, is the root of all evil.

And then there is the greed, the lust for power. John writes in I John chapter two, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” The idea is having power, having control over other people, or having control over other things, but particularly having control over other people. So, all of these philosophers and their philosophies are opposed to the teaching of the Bible. In fact, most of them, if not all of them, reject the Bible as being a message from God. They view it as a collection of fiction and, some go as far as to say, fairytales that are no better, and perhaps not even equivalent to Greek and Roman mythology.

So why would all these writers oppose the Bible and Jesus Christ? What is the benefit of doing that? The answer is that many of them see Jesus Christ and the Bible as the only thing standing in the way of what they want. To get rid of the Bible, to get rid of Jesus, you get rid of God, and then we can do what we want.

The Bible tells us of all these truths and others that we need to proclaim, but I want us to go back and go through the scriptures, kind of a history where all this started because it is not something that began in the twentieth century. So, let’s hold our place in Revelation and go to the book of Genesis.

Where This All Started

Many parts of the Bible have been criticized through the years but probably the most criticized chapters of the Bible are the first eleven chapters of Genesis. Get to chapter twelve and it begins the story of Abraham and his descendants. Many people will give a little more credibility to that but the first eleven chapters they would like to say are pure fantasy or perhaps they are allegorical, but they are certainly not supposed to be literal.

I submit to you, and this is not my opinion alone, that if the first eleven chapters are not literal, then we do not have much foundation at all for the rest of the Bible. How do you know if those chapters are not true, then what chapters are true? How would you discern? What lines would you draw? We mentioned Wellhausen earlier and the Wellhausen theory and the lines that they drew. Those lines would be confusing to you at best.

In Genesis chapter two, we find the creation of man. In chapter three we are told of the rebellion and fall of the first man which brought sin into the world. Paul writes:

Romans 5:12: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

So, we inherit the sin nature from our great-great-grand-daddy, Adam. And that by the way is one of the main things that necessitated the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, so that He would not inherit this sin nature of Adam.

But in Genesis chapter eleven verses one through nine, we are told of the division of humanity into various people groups which became the nations of the world.

If you go back to chapter ten, there is a history given of the different families of the earth. Somebody may ask, how does that happen, and then you have the events of chapter eleven? It is not all chronological there. As a matter of fact, the events of chapter eleven are referencing chapter ten.

Genesis 11:1: “And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.”

Now, that is an important statement. Everybody on the planet spoke the same language. Listen to me carefully. If you study world religions, you are going to find there are vast differences in them, but there are certain commonalities. If you study anthropology, you will find there are certain commonalities. All of which lends support that everybody at one time knew the truth. There was a time when everybody on the planet knew about God. I am not saying they were all born again. I am not saying they all trusted God as their Savior. I am saying they all knew about the existence of God.

I will give you an example of that. Perhaps the two oldest continuing civilizations, there were older civilizations than these two I am about to mention, but I am talking about ones that continued through the millennia and are here today are Egypt and China. They have some of the oldest civilizations on the planet, continual civilizations.

If you look into Chinese history, you will find that the Chinese people were originally monotheists, they believed in one god. They called their god Shun Ti, which means the heavenly emperor. And if you look into how they worshipped that one god, you are going to find some very striking similarities with the way Abraham worshipped in the Bible. How is that possible? It is very possible if they all came from a common origin, isn’t it? So, I am saying there was a time when everyone on the planet knew about God, knew there was a god and had some revelation of God. Again, I am not saying there was a time when everyone was godly. That is a different matter. But again, in verse it says:

Genesis 11:1: “And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.”

What language was that? Folks, I do not know, Sumerian I suppose. Why Sumerian? Because it is the oldest language people have discovered so far, that is why I think that, but I do not know. But here is what we do know. One language for all people.

Today, there are over 140 different language groups on the planet giving us more than 7,000 different languages and dialects throughout the whole world. But in those days, there was only one. The top ten major languages spoken in the world today are approximately 1.13 billion people on the planet speak English, 1.12 billion speak Mandarin, 615 million people speak Hindi, 543 million people speak Spanish, 274 million people speak Arabic, 268 million speak Bengali, 267 million speak French, 250 million speak Russian, 250 million speak Portuguese, and 230 million people speak Urdu, the official language of Pakistan. Those are the top ten major languages but as I said there are more than 7,000 languages on the planet today.

I admire people who are multilingual. I had a teacher years ago who spoke seven languages and I was very impressed with that and still am. I do well with one language. But the truth of the matter is I respect people who are multilingual, but I never came across anyone that spoke 7,000 plus languages. So, there is massive work to be done to get the Bible into all of these different language groups and variations.

Genesis 11:2: “And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.”

So, everybody settled in one place in the world.

Genesis 11:3: “And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.”

What happened to this? In verse four, they begin to build a tower:

Genesis 11:4: “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”

When I was a boy and went to Sunday School and was taught this. And I thought they were building a tower so tall you could climb into Heaven. You go up the stairs like Jack and the Beanstalk and go all the way up to Heaven. That is not what this is saying. They did build a tower. It is possible that remnants of that tower still exist in the area. If not this one, then similar ones. We call them ziggurats. They bear a striking similarity to the pyramids you find in South America and Central America. How did that happen? How did people in the Middle East build something and people in South and Central America build the same thing? We could spend a lot of time talking about that.

I noticed some years ago when we were visiting the Navajo nation the ancient ruins out there that there were arch-shaped niches cut into the wall that were identical to the ones I had seen in the Middle East in some of the ancient ruins there and there is more and more to that. What am I saying? I am saying that everyone started out in one part of the world and spread out to the rest of the world. There is so much evidence of that.

Exalting Mankind

But what we are seeing here in verse four is a one-world, man-made religion. The verse says, “a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven,” again, not so much that it was so tall it would reach up into heaven, but a religion that would take people to heaven, and most likely, at the top of that tower was a temple, a place of worship. But what it was, was a state religion. The government and religion were bonded together as one entity. So, this in chapter eleven is the beginning of a state religion.

Now, I am going to share a descriptive word with you, and I am going to give you a lot of explanation before I say the word because you know the word and you are familiar with it. But I want to tell you why I am applying it to this particular situation.

It is an English word, and it is not of English origin, but it has become an English word. And in using this word, I am not out to get anybody or hurt anyone, I am simply trying to help you understand what Genesis eleven is talking about. In all likelihood, this word was not used in the days of the tower of Babel, which was located in Mesopotamia, in the area that would be called Babylon, in what we presently call Iraq.

But this descriptive English word according to Merriam-Webster means comprehensive, universal, broad on sympathies, tastes, and interest. It is an all-encompassing term for this religion. What is the word? Catholic. That is what that word means. It means again, comprehensive, universal, broad on sympathies, tastes, and interests. So, they said, “let us make us a name.” Mankind wanted to exalt himself. Many people believe to this day if they could just become famous, they could find great happiness. I will share something with you. There is so much evidence that fame by itself does not bring happiness. I read so many stories of people whose names if I mention them, you will say that you would know who they were and that fame did not bring them happiness.

I read about one fellow who became world-famous and yet he said it became such a pressure upon him that he just wanted to get away from it, just wanted to escape it, leave it all behind. It did not bring happiness. Yet, people strive for fame, they strive for popularity.

Scattered Abroad

And verse four says, “lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” God told Noah to be fruitful and multiply, to replenish the earth. The idea was that the descendants of Noah were to populate the planet, not just one single portion of it. They were to literally, go into all the world. That not only meant the Middle East, but that also meant all of Europe, Africa, Asia, North and South America, and all of it. What about Antarctica? You know, there are people living there.

Genesis 11:5: “And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.”

Genesis 11:6: “And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.”

Now, you would think what the Lord says there are good things, the people are all one, we have unity. And they all have one language, we have one communication, and nothing can be restrained from them what they imagine to do. We could have all kinds of development. Well, those should be good things. Those should be welcome characteristics. The problem is mankind tends to take these things and corrupt them.

Genesis 11:7: “Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

Interesting that God says “let us go down” and we do not have enough time to develop that. But pay attention to it. And pay attention to “and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

Genesis 11:8: “So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.”

Genesis 11:9: “Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”

So, people were scattered out, their language was divided, and they could not understand each other. I have heard people talk about how that must have been. They are trying to build this tower and one guy says to the other and says to hand him a hammer and the other guy says he does not know what he is talking about. They just did not understand each other at all. And so, they divided into people groups.

God scattered the people throughout the world, and it was His will in the first place that they would establish families, nations, and countries. So, what was wrong with what the people were doing in Genesis eleven? It was a rebellion against the known and revealed will of God. Again, they knew about God, they knew God’s will, His plan, and what His purpose was, but they rebelled against Him.

The Evil Plan

Isaiah 14:12: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!”

Isaiah 14:13: “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:”

That is a significant statement, “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:”

Psalm 48:1: “(A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah.) Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.”

Psalm 48:2: “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.”

What did Lucifer say? He said, “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:” What is Lucifer saying there? He is saying: I will sit on the throne of God; I will be the king of the universe; I will be the God of this universe. He went on to say:

Isaiah 14:14: “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

It was the goal of Satan to rule the universe. In order to do that, God would have to be removed. Satan failed to accomplish that goal. How do I know? I read Revelation chapter twelve. If you read Revelation chapter twelve, you will know the same thing. But like most people, Lucifer, or Satan, had a backup plan. He cannot rule the universe, so he will try to rule the human race. He says it will work and that he could do that. So, his next goal was to reign over mankind.

Now, Daniel was given prophecies of the end times. There are folks who want to totally reject Daniel because Daniel is so precise with his prophecies. He gave us a prophecy, down to the year, when the Messiah would come. He did not tell us the exact day, but he told us the year when the Messiah would come. Other prophecies in the book of Daniel are that precise. Daniel was told of a personage who is going to appear:

Daniel 7:25: “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”

What did I just tell you from Isaiah chapter fourteen? Great words against the most High. If you remember we read that in Revelation chapter thirteen that he would make war against the saints. This statement, “a time and times and the dividing of time.” is very significant but we do not have time to go into that. That was Daniel 7:25.

Daniel 9:26: “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

He speaks of the prince that shall come. That is not a reference to the prince who shall come, the Lord Jesus Christ and His coming.

Ephesians 2:2: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”

Paul writes that people live according to this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. Who is the prince of the power of the air? A guy with an international radio broadcast? No, Paul says, “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” Paul also writes:

II Corinthians 4:3: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:”

II Corinthians 4:4: “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

Paul is saying the prince of the power of the air which is the god (little “g”) of this world, the same prince that Daniel said, will come. This is a satanic situation.

Who Is the Son of Perdition?

Now go to II Thessalonians chapter two. Paul says at the end of verse two that the “day of Christ is at hand.” — or let nobody deceive you about that:

II 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;”

Paul writes, “a falling away first,” – that is a very significant and important phrase. Many people read that and believe it is a great apostasy, a falling away from the faith, a turning away from the faith, a great apostasy. I certainly see where people would read it that way. But the concept of falling away also can be rendered as catching away.

Without trying to do any violence to scripture, let’s just read it that way for a second, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a catching away first.” Now, why would you even think of it that way? Falling away sounds like it is apostasy, and I am not discrediting people who interpret it that way because I see how they get it. But if you were to go back to chapter four of the previous book:

I Thessalonians 4:14: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”

I Thessalonians 4:15: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.”

I Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”

I Thessalonians 4:17: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Those who are alive and remain will be caught up, caught up out of this world, called out of this world. In Revelation 4:1, John sees a vision of Heaven and a voice saying, “come up hither” and the next thing he knows, he is in Heaven. The idea of being caught up, caught away, there is a Latin word for that, it is “raptura” from where we get the English word “rapture.” So, when you hear people talking about the rapture, this is what they are talking about, this catching away. Now let’s go back to II Thessalonians chapter two:

II 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;”

So, we have different names here, the prince who shall come, the prince of the power of the air, the god of this world, and now the son of perdition, all referring to the same individual. But “that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,” – either it will be a great apostasy as many think, but as I see it, a great catching away as described by the same writer written to the same audience at the church of Thessalonica, as he described in his previous epistle in chapter four. Who is this son of perdition?

II 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.”

He comes and claims to be God. What did Lucifer say in Isaiah chapter fourteen? “I will be like the most High.” And he said, “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:” and “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” – he is going to sit in God’s place. And it says here:

II 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.”

He is claiming to be God. He is saying, “Worship God. Forget about what you read in the Bible, forget about Jesus Christ, worship me.”

When Will Antichrist Be Revealed?

II Thessalonians 2:5: “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”

II Thessalonians 2:6: “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.”

Paul tells us, now we know who holds this back. Who will be revealed in his time? This man of sin, the son of perdition.

II Thessalonians 2:7: “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”

This process has already been happening for thousands of years. The word “letteth” we think means “allow” but used here it means “hold back.” It is the same idea as “withholdeth.” Somebody is holding back evil until that somebody is taken away. Who is that somebody? That is the Holy Spirit of God. Now, where is the Holy Spirit of God?

I Corinthians 2:16; “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”

Here, Paul is talking to believers. The Spirit of God is within people. Let me share this with you. Where you find a greater number of Christians, you will find a lesser amount of evil. Where you find a lesser number of Christians, you will find a greater amount of evil. Now, why is that? Because Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. So, where you have a greater number of Christians, you have a larger presence of the Holy Spirit. Where you have a lesser presence of Christians, you have a lesser presence of the Holy Spirit. Does that make sense to you? OK.

So, what is he saying here? He is saying the Holy Spirit will be taken out of the way. When does that happen? Paul told us:

I Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”

I Thessalonians 4:17: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

This is that catching away or rapture they talked about. Paul says in I Corinthians chapter fifteen that it would happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. That phrase “a twinkling of an eye” means at the speed of light. How fast is that? 186,000 miles per second. That is fast folks. So, what does it say in verse eight:

II Thessalonians 2:8: “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:”

A very important statement here: “Then shall that Wicked be revealed” – Again, after the Holy Spirit is taken out of the world. Wait, when is the Holy Spirit taken out of the way? When those in whom the Holy Spirit dwells are taken out of this world. Then, the prince that shall come shall be revealed.

A lot of people throughout history have tried to figure out who this is and they pointed to different people. There have been many who seem like good candidates. Many people thought Benito Mussolini was the antichrist, obviously, he was not. Dave Hunt wrote a book “Peace, Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust” and in one of his chapters, he writes “Hitler, the almost antichrist.” He said Hitler was not the antichrist but is a good example of what the antichrist would be like when he comes. But Hitler was not the antichrist.

Let’s fast forward into more recent times. In the 1970s, Henry Kissinger was Secretary of State and people said he is the antichrist because if you take the numerical value of each letter of his name, it adds up to 666. Henry Kissinger was not the antichrist. A little bit later in the 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev was the prime minister of Russia and the Soviet Union, and they said he is the antichrist because he has a mark on his head. He did have a mark on his head, but he obviously was not the antichrist. Another one from that same era was Ronald Wilson Reagan. You take the numerical value of his name, and it adds up to 666, therefore he was the antichrist. Which one of those was the antichrist? None of them.

Well, the Caesars were the antichrist, but they are gone. The pope is the antichrist. Well, not yet. What am I bringing this all up for? See, this passage right here tells us you are wasting your time trying to figure out who the antichrist is. There are several people walking the planet right now that I think are good candidates, but I cannot tell you that any one of them is the antichrist. Are you with me? It tells you that you will not know who this is, the wicked one revealed, until the Holy Spirit is taken away, then you will know who it is. And you know what? I am not going to be here to worry about it and I trust you will not be either.

Let’s read this verse again:

II Thessalonians 2:8: “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:”

Note that you can read about “the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth” in Revelation chapter nineteen.

II Thessalonians 2:9: “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,”

II Thessalonians 2:10: “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

These are people who reject God. To review what we just read, that day, the day of the antichrist, will not come except there be a falling away first, then the man of sin appears. He exalts himself above all that is called God, just as Lucifer said in Isaiah chapter fourteen, but he is withheld by the Holy Spirit. When that prince that shall come arrives, he is here for a short time and then the Lord consumes him and He is coming after the workings of Satan, who does miracles.

All that is a backdrop, now go back to Revelation chapter thirteen. It is divided into two sections, verses one to ten and verses eleven to eighteen. There are two beasts, one mentioned in one to ten, and the second mentioned in eleven to eighteen. One is a great world political leader; the other is a great world religious leader.

The First Beast

Revelation 13:1: “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”

Now, again, if we were to go back to Daniel chapters seven and nine, these heads and horns will make a lot more sense to you.

Revelation 13:2: “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”

Again, the beast description goes back to Daniel chapters seven and nine. If we were to look at the previous chapter, Revelation twelve, you see that Satan there is called a great red dragon. So, the dragon it is talking about, who gives him these things is Satan himself. Notice what he gives him. The dragon gives him power, satanic power, the seat or a throne, and great authority. Something else we learn about this individual:

Revelation 13:3: “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.”

He is “wounded to death” and yet recovers. What do you have there? A simulated resurrection. He appears to have been killed and then comes back. Who else do we know of who was killed and came back? That would be Jesus Christ.

The word “antichrist,” and I used it several times already, means one in the place of or one who opposes. One who opposes Christ or replaces Christ, and that is the idea here. “Forget about Jesus Christ, I am your messiah, I am your savior.” That is what he is saying. “Look, I came back from the dead.” Now, why do I say it is a simulated resurrection? Because I do not think it is genuine. Why do I think that? Because all through II Thessalonians chapter two and through this passage we find he has deceit and lying wonders. Why wouldn’t that be one of them? But the result is what he desires:

Revelation 13:4: “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”

There is nobody like him. You kill him and he comes back. How are you going to make war with that? Might as well surrender. Can’t beat that. And so, they worship the beast himself and the dragon. It is satanic worship.

Revelation 13:5: “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.”

“Speaking great things” — this again is in reference to Daniel. “And power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” — another significant statement that we do not have time to develop, but there is a definite timeframe.

Revelation 13:6: “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.”

God says, “thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless for taking the Lord’s name in vain.” But he blasphemes the name of God “and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.”

Revelation 13:7: “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”

He is declaring war on the saints of God. But, wait a minute, preacher, you said he comes after the rapture. That is right. Well, why are there saints of God? There will be people saved during what we call the Great Tribulation period. The Bible is very clear about that. He overcomes them and wins that war.

And this is very significant, “and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” What does that mean? Everybody: all kindreds, all families of the earth: all tongues, seven thousand plus languages: and nations, all countries. A ruler who rules the whole world.

Ruling The World

Many people have tried to rule the world over the years. Genghis Khan ruled a great portion of it. A lot of Americans do not read up on Genghis Khan, you should. He controlled all of what we call Asia now and then Eastern Europe. He started in Mongolia and came all the way across and conquered it all. That is a huge section of the planet. What did he want? He wanted the rest of the planet, but he just did not get it all.

Others have tried to do that. The Babylonian empire wanted to conquer the world. They did not make it. The Persian empire got bigger, but they did not. The Greeks got bigger than the Persians, they did not conquer it all. The Roman Empire got hold of all the world that they were interested in, the rest they did not care about. Do you think they knew about the rest of the world? I do. They just did not care about it and did not see any profit in it. And others have tried to do that. Adolf Hitler took all of Europe and descended into Africa. He wanted it all. He did not get it all.

We could go on and on but know that there are people today who want a one-world government. Some people do that out of sheer greed and lust for power as we said before. Some people do it because it is a great idea. You get everybody together under one government, that will be the end of wars, we will finally have world peace, and everything will be in peace and harmony worldwide. It will not work. Why will it not work? Name me a government anywhere which has total peace with everybody. You cannot name one. I could give you many illustrations of that, but you cannot name one.

So, if we have a one-world government, first of all, it is not going to give you peace and harmony. Secondly, you have got to stop and ask yourself what government is that going to be? I will tell you what it is not going to be. It is not going to be the government of the United States, that is for sure. What government is it going to be? It tells us right here in this passage what it is going to be. Look at verse seven again:

Revelation 13:7: “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”

Where did he get his power? Back to verse two, “the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” What government is this going to be? A satanic government. There is no question about it. It tells you that very clearly right here.

Revelation 13:8: “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

Revelation 13:9: “If any man have an ear, let him hear.”

Revelation 13:10: “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”

The Second Beast

Revelation 13:11: “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.”

Very interesting wording there, “two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.” What does this say? He has the appearance of Christ. He looks like Christ but he talks like the devil.

Revelation 13:12: “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.”

Notice, “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him” – where did the first beast get its power? The dragon. Who is the dragon? Lucifer or Satan. So, where does this one get his power? From Lucifer or Satan. What does he do? He leads the world to worship the first beast, and back in verse four what do we find? They worship the dragon and the beast. So ultimately, who are they worshiping? Satan.

Revelation 13:13: “And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,”

Well, why would he do that? That is what Elijah did.

Revelation 13:14: “And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.”

First of all, they are going to create an idol and image. And this image of the first beast, the world political leader and he is to be worshipped. Remember, he died and rose again, so why wouldn’t we worship him?

Revelation 13:15: “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”

This image of the beast speaks and has authority. How does that happen? I do not know. Is it supernatural or is it technological? It could be either one. With today’s technology, it is very believable. You have all kinds of virtual reality. In about 2019, Saudi Arabia granted citizenship to a robot. This robot looks like a woman and speaks like a woman, but it is not a woman, it is a machine. Is that the kind of thing we are talking about here? I do not know.

I am telling you that technology is there for something like that to happen and has been for a long time, it is not news. Maybe it is technological, or it is supernatural. But the image of the beast speaks, and they worship this idol. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” God says. God forbids throughout the Old Testament the worship of idolatry. Because behind every idol is a demonic spirit. This is certainly no exception.

Revelation 13:16: “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:”

That technology is here today too. People have debated for millennia, on how this mark works and I do not have all the answers to that. You can go on the Internet and find all kinds of people saying they have the answer, maybe they do. I am not convinced that all of them are right because not all of them say the same thing. But here is what we do know, there will be such a mark.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, they said it was one of those bar codes. They say it is more likely a chip that is implanted and it could be. Now they say it will be injected. Will it? I do not know. There will be a mark and without that mark, you will not be able to buy or sell or do business. How are you going to live? How are you going to eat? But you do not have a problem once you just take the mark. But there is a problem with that, and that is later in Revelation, that all that receive the mark are lost, condemned for all eternity.

Revelation 13:17: “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

Revelation 13:18: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”

Why is it 666? Six is the number of man. Man was created on the sixth day. Why three sixes? We have the trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. What we have here is an unholy trinity. You have the dragon, the beast (the first political leader), and the second beast, (the world religious leader). They counter the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The unholy spirit, the dragon, and the prince that shall come, the first beast, and the world religious leader corresponding to the Holy Spirit, form the unholy trinity. They are counterfeit, they are not the holy trinity, but they form a trinity. So, you have man, humanism, in control over all the earth and finally, human beings say, “We got rid of God.”

The One World Religion

There is so much more here. What is this one world religion? I heard a very scholarly man I respect very much. I was listening to him while I was preparing for this, and he said what he thinks it is. The largest religion on the planet is Christianity, but you have to paint that with a large brush because it includes everybody who calls himself a Christian. They do not all believe the same thing. I trust you know that. Some people believe in salvation by grace through faith, many believe in salvation by works and various ways. Everybody who calls themselves Christian comprises the largest religion on earth. The second-largest religion on earth is Islam and it is growing.

So, this very scholarly man who I respect very much said that Christians, nominal Christians, and Islam will band together to fight atheism because they are both against atheism, and in the Middle East a common statement is the enemy of my enemy is my friend. So, it is not unreasonable that they would team together and fight against atheism since they are both against atheism. Then, this scholarly man said that he feels that once that is done, once atheism is defeated, then Islam will conquer Christianity and Islam would be the one world religion.

Is that true? I do not know, but I do not think that is what it is. Why do I not think so? Because it is flat out told here in verse thirteen that it is the worship of the dragon and of the beast, the worship of Satan. Islam does not profess to worship Satan. So, what do you have here? What I think you have here is a weird blend of the world religions all aimed at worshiping the dragon and the beast. That is what I think you have.

Concluding Thoughts

So, what is the conclusion? These are things we read about that will happen. They have not happened yet, but it sure looks to me like they are in process. Yes, it looks to many of us like that. How close is that? Folks, I do not know. Let me remind you, it has looked that way before. Paul expected these things to happen in his lifetime. John expected these things to happen in his lifetime. So, when does it happen? I do not know but it sure looks like we are getting close. I have told you all the bad news.

Let me tell you the good news. The good news is we are not looking for the antichrist, we are looking for Jesus Christ. We are not looking for the counterfeit, but for the real Savior. Jesus said:

John 14:1: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

John 14:2: “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

John 14:3: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

Note four important words, “I will come again.”

John 14:4: “And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”

John 14:5: “Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?”

John 14:6: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

What is the solution to all of this? Put your faith in the Lord Jesus, that is the solution to all of it. Trust Him. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

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