Antichrists: They come before The Antichrist

We've all heard of THE ANTICHRIST. He embellishes all that diminishes Jesus, THE CHRIST. He's the leader of a lost world near the end of time. For those who've never heard that the world will be destroyed at the end of time, that destruction is called "The Apocalypse". The antichrist shall be the ruler at its destruction, but much will happen before then!

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.

The "elect" are the Christians. We're all called to endure:

 Matthew 10:22 "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved."

Being a Christian is more than feeling guilty and going to the altar to repent. It's a lifelong commitment to follow Jesus! God puts a hedge around us to protect us from death just as he did with Job, but Satan is still allowed to deceive the Christian through temptation and lies to rob us of our souls. Those of us who have faith shall endure and be saved. Faith is not a snap-shot in time. It's a snap-shot of the believers state of mind at any time! We must walk in the faith (Romans 4:12).

Therefore false Christs shall arise in order to deceive Christians. Those christs will have their prophets. This implies that false churches will exist which will mislead even Christians!

 Revelation 3:14 "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."

Yes, the antichrist shall have a church! It shall be as the church which is likenwd unto the one at Laodicea. A "sort of" gospel will be preached. It won't be about the blood sacrifice of Jesus, but will be all about works. Those modern churches who question Biblical inerrancy, the inspired word of God, and preach "social justice" fit the description "luke-warm" quite well. I believe those members of the "National Council of Churches" are the Laodicean Church will shall be the tabernacle of the antichrist whose headship of the global church fits well into the organization of "The World Council of Churches", to which the national organizations belong.

The first question a Christian should ask oneself when joining a church is "Does it belong to the National Council of Churches?" If it does beware! You are a candidate to be deceived. (Many antichrists belong to and manage these organizations, but many local churches of that body have no understanding of the significance of their membership!) There are and will be preachers who, because they are deceived, will preach "another gospel". It's the gospel of the antichrist, even using Jesus's name, but spewing forth vile lies mixed in with half-truths and deceptions. There are many:

1 John 4:3 "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."

Even in biblical times there already had arisen a false religion (gnosticism) which taught heresy. They believed that God did not come in the flesh because "material" is evil and that the creator God was bad because he created material. Therefore, God's Spirit died on the Cross and not the Son of Man. In other words, the crucifixion of Christ was an illusion. This became the heresy of Docetism where a phanstasm was crucified and not Jesus! Many versions of Christ's death on the cross have arisen: all the way from "it didn't happen" to that "he was only a spirit" to "he didn't die, but his body arose". All deny the vicarious death of Jesus on the Cross.

Many today believe in Jesus, the prophet and teacher. Few truly believe that Jesus is God and that he suffered death for all mankind!  Looking at one of the other monotheistic religions, Islam, Wikipedia says "Muslims believe Jesus was not crucified, but was raised bodily to heaven by God, a belief purported to be found in the Gospel of Basilides, of which, if it existed, no copies survive." Hence, Islam is denies gospel truth and Mohammed and the Ayatollahs are antichrists!  Liberal churches teach that Jesus was a "good man" and "teacher", but he was no God! Some teach that Jesus "is God", but a merciful God who will never punish the unbeliever! Rather than seeking heaven through faith, it is by works and those works are focused on "loving others". That's good, but "loving God" is minimized or neglected entirely. (social  justice). We must believe that Jesus is God in the flesh. That's a REQUIREMENT for salvation because without him dying in the flesh, his sacrifice was for naught:

2 John 1:7 "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."

Antichrists have a role in preparation for the apocalyptic government. Antichrists are to prepare the way for THE ANTICHRIST:

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 (The antichrist); :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."

 1 John 2:18 "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time."

It would be foolish to say that if the antichrist came today that most people would accept him! Things won't be "normal" and then suddenly minds change. It will come gradually! "There shall be a falling away first!"  Many have heard of "creeping socialism". This is "creeping heresy", the twin brother of the vile socialist ideology. A One World false religion will be accompanied by a Global Government of which the United Nations may be the instrument allowing that to happen!

Well, who are all these antichrists who exist right now?

1 John 2:22 "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."

 Anyone who denies that which is labeled the "Trinity" is an antichrist. This includes cults such as Jehovah Witnesses and liberal protestant churches. It also includes people like Hitler, Stalin, Castro and even some American presidents who profess belief in Christ, but not the Christ of the Bible! Over the years some have even accused popes of being antichrists! Anyone who teaches false doctrine is an antichrist! What doctrine do you profess, reader?

After the way is prepared, people fall away and the time is right, then the antichrist shall appear:

Daniel 7:24 "And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 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."

At the time of the antichrist there will be an alignment of nations, a world government which will set the stage for the rise to power of the antichrist.  Church leaders will fall for his charm as the antichrist denies God! These religious leaders will do the bidding of the antichrist. He will use propaganda and the doing of good things to remold minds "he shall speak great words" to them. And for those who fail to be believers in his "goodness" (which I believe is a socialist government from the descriptions of each). Then comes force used to change minds:

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."

The transition, with tyranny and death, has transformed "socialism" into "communism"!  The government that did "social good" now has to commit atrocities to gain acceptance! Why would people allow this? Just as in Germany and Russia, people were deceived until it was too late. It will happen to us too. It's just when!

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."

So you believe in the "wall of separation of church and state"? The antichrist laughs at you! He combines church and state and gains power by removing religion from the nations (as does socialism). He overcomes nations by defeating Christianity because that's the religion which stands between him and world power. (Those right-wing Christians the nation hates so much are what's standing between freedom and the dictatorship of the antichrist).

As ruler during the first years of his reign, he does good things: ends wars, conquers hunger, improves health, etc. then the man changes  things. The good guy, the Robin Hood of the world changes! His true colors are shown. He conquers what's left of the world by force.

We are to beware so that we're not deceived. The world right now hates those who tell truth! However, those immersed in God's Word know that things will get worse, not better! When things get better in the eyes of the world, then be extra cautious because the antichrist may already be here! How will we know? The leader will deny Christ's deity and the churches will still support him!

Most believe that the rapture will occur before that happens. I do too, but for those who remain and the new Christians made, it will be a time of persecution and beheadings. I strongly believe that Islam, through socialism, will declare a form of Sharia Law over the world and cause all to worship Mohammed. We'll see! Or will we?