24b. The Antichrist
ANb

A REVIEW OF THE LAST STUDY OF ANTICHRIST AS DESCRIBED IN 2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-12

      • Antichrist opposes and exalts himself over God;
         takes over God’s temple; claims to be God
      • He works every sort of evil like Satan; works
         counterfeit signs, miracles, wonders
      • He sends delusions and powerful deceptions to
         those who refuse to love the truth
      • He deceives those who do not believe the truth
         and who delight in wickedness

READ DAN 7:7-26 before continuing

1. DESCRIBE THE FORTH BEAST.

1ANb Dan 7:7 Daniel describes him as rather a scary animal that gains control of the whole Earth. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. He had 10 horns.

2. WHAT HAPPENED WITHIN THE HORNS, AND HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THE OTHER HORNS?

2ANb Dan. 7:8 A little horn rises up among the 10 horns, and when he comes up, he destroys three of the horns.

3. HOW DOES DANIEL DESCRIBE THE LITTLE HORN?

3ANb Dan. 7:8 It had eyes like a man, and a mouth which spoke boastfully. This horn evidently sets itself up to rule the world, at the expense of truth.

4. WHAT HAPPENS TO THE BEAST AND TO THE LITTLE HORN?

4ANb Dan 7:11 The beast was slain and thrown into the fire on account of the words of the little horn.

5. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LITTLE HORN?

5ANb Dan 7:23-25:

       • He comes up among the 10 kingdoms of western
         Europe.
      • It subdues 3 kings—destroys them
      • He would speak against the Most High
      • He would persecute God’s people
      • He would think to change set times and the law
      • He would persecute the saints for 42 months—
        1260 days/years.

Read: Rev. 13:1-8 before continuing

6. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BEAST IN THESE VERSES?

6ANb Rev. 13:1-8

      • He has blasphemous names on his heads
      • The dragon (Satan via pagan Rome) gave him his
         power, seat (the city of Rome), and authority
      • One head was fatally wounded; the wound was
         healed; all the world followed the beast.
      • They worshiped the dragon (Satan) and they
         worshiped the beast, and were awed with him.
      • He blasphemes God’s name, His throne, all that
         live in Heaven
      • He exists for a time, times, and half a time—1260
         days/years.
      • All the world will worship the beast.

Conclusion

The only power in history that fulfills these three prophecies is the Papacy.

      • The lawless one, the great beast of Dan 7, and the
         beast of Revelation 13 represent the Antichrist—
         the Papacy.
      • The Papacy arose from among the nations of
         western Europe, in Rome.
      • The Papacy sought to change God’s law by
         changing the day of worship from the 7th to the
         first, and claims that the change is a mark of her
         power and authority in sacred matters.
      • The Papacy rose to political power by 538 A.D.
      • The Papacy continued in power until France
         gave it a "deadly wound" in 1798.
      • Thus the Papacy reigned for 1260 years.
      • The Papacy persecuted Christians and others who
         did not believe its dogma.
      • To serve the Papacy is tantamount to worship.

SOME OF THE DOCTRINES OF THE PAPACY THAT ARE CONTRARY TO THE BIBLE.

      • She still thinks that she has changed the day of
         worship from Saturday to Sunday.
      • She Thinks that she has eliminated the second
         commandment which commands that we not
         worship images.
      • Although Jesus was sacrificed once for all (Heb.
         9:28), the Papacy’s mass is believed to be a
         sacrifice of Christ, thus requiring Him to be
         sacrificed again and again, day after day.
      • The priests are given power by the Papacy to
         create the body and blood of Christ at the Mass;
         thus they, as created beings, believe that they are
         creating the Creator!
      • The confessional requires men and women to
         confess their sins to a priest who has the power to
         forgive them, though the Bible clearly states that
         only God can forgive sins. In this way the Papacy
         reaches into the throne room of God and seeks to
         take the place of Christ who only can mediate
         between God and man.
      • The Papacy has made Mary out to be divine. She
         teaches that Mary was sinless when she gave birth
         to Jesus and that after His ascension, she, at
         death, followed Him into Heaven. The Papacy
         teaches that we must pray to Mary in order to
         reach Jesus. However, the Bible teaches that Jesus
         is our only mediator between God and man.
      • The Pope is believed to be God on Earth, carrying
         the name "Vicar of the Son of God."
      • The official title of the pope is "Vicarius Filii Dei."
         When the Roman numeral letters are added up
         they yield 666.

                    V = 5           F = 0           D = 500
                    I = 1             I = 1            E = 0
                    C = 100        L = 50         I = 1
                    A = 0            I = 1                 501
                    R = 0            I = 1
                    I = 1                   54
                    U (V)= 5
                    S = 0  
                          112                   TOTAL 666

 Even though the number fits that of the beast of Revelation 13, this is not proof that the Papacy is the Antichrist. But it is another piece of evidence that points out that we have come to the right conclusion.
Thus it becomes clear that, as Martin Luther and many other Protestant Reformers believed, the Papacy has placed itself between God and man, and fulfills all the markings of the Biblical Antichrist.