We know that one day the antichrist will rise to power and rule the world. He will create a Satanic kingdom that will be world-wide in scope. This demonic kingdom will last for seven horrible years. Could preparations for such a kingdom be in the works long before the antichrist comes to power? Could the occultic and Satan following rulers and leaders be in the process of working to setup this kingdom of the antichrist?
This is an interesting question. Could Satan and his servants be involved, right now, in preparation for the kingdom of the antichrist? Lets examine some Scripture to bring some insights to this question:
Psalms 2
1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
It is a very vain thing to try to setup a Satanic antichrist kingdom. Yet those forces aligned with the devil and his antichrist will seek to do such a thing. However such a kingdom will not just happen overnight. There must be planning, strategy, and action plans in order to carry out their evil goals.
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Notice that the lost people and rulers of the earth are conspiring directly against the Lord and His anointed. These people hate God and they hate the Lord Jesus Christ who is God manifest in human flesh. These people reject the plan of salvation and all the Lord Jesus did on the cross. The planning and goals of the servants of Satan are against the Lord whom they hate and reject.
The next verse will tell us their goals or what they seek to accomplish in their evil plans.
3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
They seek to cast God out of planet earth. Here is an example on a small scale that mirrors the goals on a world-wide scale. The soldiers of Satan have already succeeded in removing God from the public school system. Today the things of God and the Bible is not welcome in public schools. Praying, the Ten Commandments, Bible studies, teaching on creation, and Bible clubs are forbidden in the public school system. However, Satanism, witchcraft, wizardry, spells, and other evil practices are welcomed in the public school system. What has happened is God has been removed and rejected while Satan has been granted full access in the public school system. This is the same goal the devil's followers seek to put in place on a world-wide level. They seek to cast away everything related to God, the Bible, and The Lord Jesus from their New World Order, or Kingdom of the antichrist here on earth. The things of God in the New World Order will be replaced with the things of Satan. The foundations of the kingdom of the antichrist will be: the occult, blasphemy against God, sodomy, all forms of immorality, rock music, murder, greed, and all that is evil and forbidden by God. Satan seeks to exalt sin and evil while rejecting God and His Word.
These are the plans of those who seek to setup the kingdom of the antichrist here on earth. They seek to break all influence of God from planet earth. The things of God will be replaced by all the evil sins that Satan loves and approves. This is the major goal of those working to setup the New World Order or the kingdom of the antichrist.
The next verse is interesting. It shows God's reaction to their little plans and schemes:
4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision.
God laughs at their foolish attempt to dethrone Him and His influence on planet earth. The devil lost at the cross and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He is destined to hell, the lake of fire. At the very end of the age the devil will be wild with rage, hatred, and anger against God because he knows his time is short. Soon the devil will be thrown into the lake of fire along with all his followers. This the devil's and his followers last stand against God before their destruction when the Lord Jesus returns to earth.
God laughs as the lost kings and rulers of this world seek to rule the world under Satan and his antichrist. Yes the kingdom of the antichrist will be allowed to be setup. In order to fulfill Bible prophecy and to give God a time to pour out His wrath upon the earth in judgment, Satan will be allowed to setup his kingdom of the antichrist. However, this evil kingdom will not last long. From the time the antichrist and Israel sign and confirm the covenant of death, the prophetic timeclock begins to tick. After seven years the kingdom of the antichrist is destroyed and the Lord Jesus will return to planet earth. During the seven year kingdom of the antichrist the Lord will pour out all the judgments found in the book of Revelation. All the seal judgment will be opened. Plus all the trumpet and bowl judgments will be poured out upon earth and upon the kingdom of the antichrist. Planet earth has 6 billion people. At the end of the kingdom of the antichrist and at the return of the Lord Jesus, the population of earth could be only in the millions. There will be massive death and destruction as God judges the world and pours out His wrath on the wicked.
Satan and his followers may laugh now as they are enjoying success today as they work at setting up the kingdom of the antichrist. However, their short time of laughing will come to an end as God intervenes in judgment. Verse 4 above states that the Lord will put them into a state of derision as they suffer one judgment after the next. One thing is sure. The judgment and wrath of God will be poured out against the wicked on planet earth. Read verse 5:
5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
God will pour out His wrath on all lost people and the kingdom of the antichrist. The lost have rejected the Lord Jesus and have accepted and serve Satan and his antichrist. However, their judgment and their destruction is assured. They will be completely destroyed by the wrath of God. The wrath of God will be directly aimed at the wicked and they will be vexed and tormented.
The end result will be a crushing defeat for the devil and his followers:
6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
At the end of the seven year covenant between the antichrist and Israel, the Lord Jesus will return to planet earth. His feet will touch at the mount of Olives as He returns to setup the Kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus will rule and reign on earth for a 1000 year period which is commonly called the Millenium.
There is nothing the devil can do to stop this from happening. Yes, the devil will have a short victory as he will be allowed to setup the kingdom of the antichrist for a brief seven year period. Yet at the end of that time the antichrist and his false prophet will be cast alive into the lake of fire. The devil will be bound in chains of darkness for 1000 years. He will be let go briefly at the end of the 1000 year millennial reign of the Lord Jesus here on earth. The devil will again deceive those who have rejected the Lord Jesus. This rebellion will be quickly destroyed and then the devil will be cast into the lake of fire where he will suffer in torment forever and ever. All the people who reject the Lord Jesus as their Saviour will also perish and be thrown into the lake of fire.
CONCLUSION
Right now we are living in a world where the leaders and rulers are seeking to implement their New World Order. That is a fancy way of saying the kingdom of the antichrist. There is a great falling away and rejection of the things of God. The Bible is mocked, rejected, and blasphemed while the occult, immorality, and sin is exalted and glorified. This must happen as the kingdom of the antichrist will be founded on occultism, blasphemy, murder, immorality, and many other forms of evil.
I don't know the details of how the followers of antichrist are going to setup his kingdom. I'm sure right now they are fervently working at their evil tasks. Some speculate that the coming war sometime in early 2003 with America and Iraq is designed to bring to power the antichrist. It is possible that this war will bring in many other nations creating World War 3. The Arabs are also ready for another attempt at the destruction of Israel. Of course they will fail as they really have no chance of winning with God protecting Israel. Massive weapons of destruction could be used and millions may die in this coming war. It is possible that out of the ruins of this coming war the world will be terrorized into accepting the new man of peace, the antichrist.
Only God knows the timing of when the antichrist will be allowed to rise. It could happen after this war or it could happen at a later time. The timing issues we will correctly leave with God and He will work it out. We can know, however, what the Bible says about the antichrist and his kingdom. The antichrist and his followers will certainly succeed for a short time with their kingdom of the antichrist. After the rapture of the Church, the antichrist will be allowed by God to setup his kingdom and to rule for seven short years. At the end of that time the Lord Jesus will return and the antichrist and his kingdom will be destroyed.
Luke 21
28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look
up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
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