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Who Are the Anti-Christs? — 30 Comments

  1. let us be watchful towards the coming new world order which is at hand,
    the Antichrists are trying in all ways to put that law in work, S.D.As
    we are already suffering in some parts of the world, hence let us be
    ready to be persercuted.

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    • Dear Erick,

      For our own salvation, it is much more important that we do not behave like an anti-Christ than that we correctly identify any world order that will set up the final anti-Christ.

      We are justified or condemned by our attitude--something which no world order has the power to do.

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      • I would say that's it's not only imperative for "our own salvation", but more importantly, for the salvation of those we rub shoulders with. "Our attitude" either glorifies God or puts him to shame, and thus may well be the influence that determines whether someone else is saved or lost.

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  2. These are some Leaders who usually taught God`s people but aiming to fulfill their satanic practices, but those who are wise can read the Holy Bible and understand what they are intending to do, hence ignore their teachings and follow the light track that pleases our Lord.

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  3. I do agree that the attitude of placing myself in the place of God, or Jesus for my salvation, or anyoine else's, would be placing myself in Their place.

    HOWEVER...

    To say that I am an antiChrist would do away COMPLETELY with the Scriptures' teaching as to who the anti-Christ really is.
    He is a man, and he is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, the pope! If the Reformers would read such a blog from bro. William Earnhardt, they would be incensed, to say the least!

    The issue is not the believers in the RCC, for they are not addressed in the prophecies of the anti-Christ, but CLEARLY it refers to the SYSTEM of false worship and belief that the RCC stands for; hence the call is and will come to all and come out of Babylon-God's people... AMEN!

    The RCC is the leader of the Babylonian system that Rev. 18 speaks of, which the Second Angel's Message exposes, but thankfully, the Third Angel's Message gives the solution -
    The LORD our Righteousness! AMEN!!

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    • I agree with you, Attilio. We have to be careful how we read into things. The quotation from Ellen White, given by William Earnhardt, did not suggest that the pilgrims were anti-Christs. She was making the point that the false system of worship and the highhanded manner in which all people were given the mandate as to how to worship came out of people who originally desired freedom to worship. But I am sure that most of the pilgrims were honest, truth seeking people.

      The anti Christ still remains the papacy.

      So who are the anti Christs? Matt 24:5 speaking about the signs of Christ's second coming, tells us that "Many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ, and shall deceive many". There are many anti Christs, indeed, but they are united in purpose and that purpose is to mislead. Their aim is to lead us away from God by getting us to believe that they are God and to accept those things that they propose.

      The CQ quarterly has suggested the following as possible Anti Christs: Modern science with their evolution theory - seeking to negate God's role in our creation and giving us "answers" as to our origin. Materialism. The latest gadgets etc. make us happy and satisfied. Philosophies that give us a multitude of choices regarding our purpose and destination.

      These things distract us from God and get us to feel that we are little gods ourselves because of course, if He is not in the picture then it means we can survive without Him. We are happy and comfortable without Him.

      Let us be really careful because the aim of the evil one is to deceive and turn our eyes away from him.

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      • "The anti Christ still remains the papacy."

        We are already deceived if we limit the anti-Christ to the papacy. The ultimate anti-Christ is Satan, and any way that he manifests himself in the human race is "anti-Christ". Anti-Christ can be a belief system, an organization, a religion, or an individual person. Anti-Christ can be anything from active and violent opposition to Christ, to the practice of adding one's own "works of the law" (legalism) to the completed salvation he has in Jesus Christ.

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  4. Here's Wednesday's Lesson comment:

    The man of sin was introduced in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4. Through
    much of Christian history he has operated to undermine God’s law
    (particularly the Sabbath) and to usurp powers that belong only
    to Christ. In passages such as Daniel 7:20–25 (the little horn) and Revelation 13:1–7 (the beast from the sea), this same power operates after the fall of the pagan Roman Empire, combining both religious and secular authority to persecute the saints of God.
    The only power in history that fits all the specifications of these prophecies is the papacy. Many interpreters from the Middle Ages, and even to this day, have designated this institution as the antichrist. (Only in the past century or two has the vast majority of Christians moved away from this interpretation, an interesting move in itself in light
    of our understanding of last-day events). This identification of the papacy fits the specifications of 2 Thessalonians 2 that the man of sin would be both masculine (a person) and neuter (a world power or institution).
    In verse 7, “mystery of lawlessness” (NKJV) is an appropriate
    designation for his activity. But at the close of history, just before the Second Coming, there will be an even more worldwide, open defiance of God and His laws. The continuity of powers, both in this passage and elsewhere (Daniel 7 and Revelation 13), indicates that the papacy will play a major role at the end of time, as well.

    CLEARLY the anith-Christ is revealed in this lesson, as the Scriptures declare as being the Papacy.

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  5. I am sorry but I am going to have to disagree with Attilio and side with William.

    Incidentally, John, one of the twelve disciples of the inner circle and apostle of Jesus, is the only one in the New Testament that uses the term antichrist. Of the four verses that contain the Greek word translated antichrist, to us in this discussion, 1 John 2:18 is the most important. (Check out the other three 1 Jn 2:22; 1 Jn 4:3; and 2 Jn 1:7)

    Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour (1 Jn 2:18 NKJV).

    You seem to be confusing the beast which historically has been identified as the "RCC" with the characteristics that define it as an antichrist. The beast certainly is an antichrist as is the image to the beast that reflects the character of the beast along with those who crucified our Lord, and anyone else who opposes what Jesus is and stands for. That is what the "anti" means; against. That is why John could say that "many antichrists have come."

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  6. Dear Friends,

    Thank you for your comments and thoughts. After reading some of the comments, and then glancing at the title of my post, I think I may have caused a little confusion by my title. I did not mean to be asking who THE anti-Christ is. We know it is the papacy. I was simply taking things a step further. In the United States we have a saying that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it is probably a duck. While the anti-Christ puts itself in the place of God, if we do so, by judging, or as Ellen White brought out in the quoted passage, thinking we are to rule other people's conscience and singlehandidly define and punish heresy, then are we not being papal too? I was not asking who THE anti-Christ is, but pointing out that the many anti-Christs are those who usurp the throne of God by doing God's job of judging for Him. When many (not all) of the pilgrims came to the New World they became what they despised in the Old World. Lets not make the same mistake.

    Also I am sorry if I did not make it plain enough in my post that Babylon is the apostate church and her daughters. Again I was building on what I thought was already established knowledge and then going a step further, counseling us not to become personal little Babylonians by trusting in our own works and tradtitions to save us.

    May God continue to lead and guide us as we continue to study His Word together.

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    • Dear William,

      I like that your posts open up our individual perspective that makes for interesting sharing of thought. I get your approach to highlight the general principle of the "Anti-Christ", the RCC and the Pope as told to us in prophecy, that we as individuals are careful not to display similar characteristics in our daily behaviour. As a disciple of Jesus, we need to read His Word and follow His example so that our witness, through the guiding of the Holy Spirit, tells of the Good News of the Gospel. As you mention and as God's Word tells us, we need to die daily to self so that He is 'the' primary focus in our lives and not ourselves, that our loved ones and those we come in contact with, will lead them to the foot of the Cross. Amene.

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  7. I have lived through enough attempts to create last day scenarios from Biblical interpretation to become rather cynical about most of them. As a kid I used to hear stories about papal persecution and lived in mortal fear that the local Roman Catholics were going to come at midnight and kill us all while we were asleep. It took a while to learn that they were not interested in doing that and that some of them were really quite nice, particularly some of the female ones.

    There are a couple of denominations with a presence near here that make a point of trying to interpret current events in terms of Biblical prophecy. The problem is that "current" keeps changing and what was preached last year is no longer valid this year.

    I think that at least some of our interest in interpreting prophecy is so we can predict when Jesus is going to come again - and nobody has succeeded at that one yet!

    There is no doubt in my mind that the papacy through the middle ages was anti-Christ. The Catholic church today is very different. It is wracked with financial scandals, continued and increasing accusations of pedophile priests and their protection, and the inability to convince their constituency on many of the major issues that they are confronted with. The Catholic priesthood lack the aura of authority they once had. As one Catholic lady said when questioned about buying the contraceptive pill, "The Pope does not play the game, therefore he no longer made the rules for her."

    In Australia the numbers of men and women entering the celibate cloisters and priesthood has dropped to an all time low. New Catholic priests are likely to be imported from Ireland, or more recently, from India. Cloisters, convents and seminaries are being sold or leased to commercial interests. Catholic churches congregations are typically grey-heads with a majority of women. I went to the Vatican on a sunday and it was business as usual - St Peter's Basilica was full of tourists and I had to look hard to find anyone who was actually worshipping. People cite the large crowds that turn up for major events like the Papal Blessings and so on. Many people are in the crowd simply because they love to be part of an event, not because of religious devotion.

    In recent times it has been somewhat popular to link Islam with the notion of Antichrist. It was not so long ago I heard the same idea being used to describe communists. And to be fair I have even hear our leaders of the General Conference referred to in that way. I have to confess that I am not sure that any of these interpretations work for me. And I have a sneaking suspicion that sometimes our efforts to create a link between Catholic/Communism/Islam/Adventist General Conference and the Antichrist create a diversion from the real Antichrist that is present in our lives.

    There may well be an Antichrist in the end-time linked to a particular power/organisation. However for me the Antichrist is any pressure that turns me away from Christ now. I do not know what the future holds, but I know that there are powers who are trying to control the way that I think now, who want to turn me away from Christ. Popular media, entertainment, excesses in health, diet, various "new light" within the church, are all trying to divert me from the mission and purpose of Christianity now. Evil is trying to cunningly slide into my life under the horizon of my vision. And that can happen all to easily if I have my find fixed on finding some current interpretation about political powers and their relationship to Antichrist.

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    • Maurice even though I think you make an important point I don't believe we should discard the signs of the end completely. I really don't think those things are there in scripture just to take up room. Nor do I believe they are there just so when they happen we can look back on their fulfillment and gain faith in God's predictive power.

      To me what Amos says is true, "Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7 NKJV). They warn us of danger and enlighten the correct path we are to take.

      Perhaps the problem is that we have misused prophesy to set up markers along the way but even that is not entirely bad. "When it is evening you say, `It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, `It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times (Mat 16:2-3 NKJV).

      In my opinion one of the sure signs of the end is that God is clarifying issues of religious importance. Here are some of the things I see as significant.

      It might not be very evident to all of you in Australia but here in the US we are seeing a definite erosion of freedom where the government is getting more control of our personal lives. All that would have to happen is for the right group to gain significant control of the government at the right time and certain laws would be put in place that would give powers to specific religious elements that could easily trigger wholesale persecution. For us living in the US it is well known that under martial law the president has more power than most dictators in the world. Further, legally, there are a large number of laws on the books that have set dangerous precedents that could easily be enforced at any time.

      What I am also seeing is that scientifically evolution is increasingly getting itself in deeper trouble and becoming more difficult to support. For the honest scientist the gaping holes in the theory are becoming more evident every day. Furthermore, because of that, hard core evolutionists are now moving in the direction of a sort of religious dogmatism that rivals the church of the Middle Ages. Therefore on this issue alone the lines are being clearly drawn which to me is a sign of the end.

      Another is the extremely fragile economic and ecological condition of the world. In both of these areas it seems to me that we are rapidly getting to the point of no return. I am not the only one saying this; many top notch people in those areas are seeing danger signs all over the place.

      The same could be happening concerning the Sabbath as well but to me it doesn't seem quite so visible at this point. The Sabbath will probably be one of the last issues to be settled before probation closes. The problem is that we won't know when that happens until we finally discern that the seven last plagues are in full swing.

      Therefore, we should be aware of what is happening around us for we have been given certain signs that will happen and the action we are to take when they occur.

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      • Maurice and Tyler,
        I don't think it's an either/or situation at all.

        I agree with William and Maurice that the things we most need to watch for is what turns us from Christ in the here and now. And we need to be sure that we are not acting like an anti-Christ power by using the methods of the devil to attempt to do the work of Christ.

        Prophecy was given for the specific purpose of strengthening our faith when we need it most as Christ suggested in John 16:4--that we would not be overwhelmed by events, but know that He is still in control because He told us about them ahead of time. Thus it is good to know the prophecies, so our faith will be strengthened when these things happen. What appears unlikely now, will happen as predicted, just as those things that seemed unlikely in the past happened just as predicted.

        If we stay close to Christ now, it will not matter what happens around us. He will keep us safe in His hand. (I suspect it may be too late to develop faith when we see the end-time scenario taking place. Besides, without faith, we probably wouldn't recognize it if we saw it.)

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      • I do not discard the idea that the end-time will bring its own set of challenges, but what does concern me is that many Adventists have on a strict set of events that must occur *before* Christ can return. When I read my Bible where it specifically talks about the second coming I find continual references its suddenness and unexpectedness.

        In the 1960s I wrote a paper (still have it tucked away in the bottom of a cupboard) for my Daniel and Revelation class where I outlined all the events leading to the second coming. It is scary stuff. The one thing that I did not include was the parable of the 10 virgins. Church members are lulled into thinking that it will be sometime yet and fall asleep while waiting. It is in this period of sleep that the Jesus comes. Maybe Jesus could come tomorrow, and on our way to heaven we may just look back and see that the signs have already been fulfilled (we are good at that! ). We just did not think that they would be fulfilled in that way. Remember how the Messiah arrived the first time, fulfilling prophecy, and the Jews could not believe it because they had a well developed idea of how the prophecies were going to be fulfilled.

        I find that if we focus on what could happen in the future we sometimes forget what is happening to us now. Keeping and building my faith now is more important than wondering about how my faith is going to survive in the future.

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        • Maurice, I understand what you are saying and I agree. The point I was making is that we shouldn’t totally ignore those prophesies. They have a proper place in our faith just not an overriding one. What I am proposing is a balance where we neither trash prophesy nor make it the total substance of our faith.

          You use as an example the parable of the ten virgins. We could look at it from the standpoint of fear if we choose but I prefer not to. There seems to me to be a couple of outstanding things to remember about that parable.
          • All sleep both the wise and the foolish.
          • The only thing that differentiates one group from the other is the amount of oil. But, that idea is something that one can get in many other parts of the Bible. Obviously, a superficial religion simply will not do.

          With regards to the Pharisees, they totally misinterpreted the prophesies altogether and put their own spin on what scripture taught in general. The root cause was their selfish desire for supremacy. Besides they really didn't know God at all and thought that He was just a supreme commanding general with a highly selective love that trashed everyone except those in high ranking Jewish positions (that included groups within their own faith community).

          I suppose we could have been spared the book of Revelation but what would we have missed out on if that was the case? Even the detailed description of the beast and its image gives us a sense of what to be aware of in the future. While I familiarize myself with things like that I am at the same time careful not to lay out too many details. For me it is a matter of catching the principles involved and understanding the purposes of what is symbolized. I think that is some of what you are saying, that we can get caught up in all of that and miss the real message. Actually, believe or not, Revelation is one of the best books of the Bible on righteousness by faith and that to me is important.

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  8. That is clear about the sequence of events. The rise and fall of empires and institutions are all drawn clear especially in the books of Daniel and Revelation. The GREAT CONTROVERSY by EGW is a magnifying glass to every SDA Christian not to wander and be confused regarding history, condition and future of the SDA church in particular. The events transpiring in the U.S. ARE a prelude to the great event-NSL. The peace effort by the Catholic church (ecumenical) in reaching the Protestants and other Christian Denominations is a valid proof of Paul's prophesy, peace, peace and…Take heed the counsel of the Lord through HIS servant EGW.(when the book of Daniel and Revelation are clearly understood by the people of God, there will be an entirely different Christian experience).

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  9. I like the points that were brought out in this discussion. I believe it is vital that we have faith (Luke 18:8) and if we have faith it means that we have a relationship with Christ and that the Holy Spirit has access to us.  We must be aware of the signs of the last days and the Holy Spirit will guide us in those days on how we can show the world the true character of God and how He will keep us under His wings. The Vatican, Islamists,  man of sin, religious persecution or anything else will not separate us from God.  Let us continue in our daily walk with Christ so that we will be ready for these events.

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  10. The name antichrist is used in the Bible to include a large number of people who work for the devil, to populate the kingdom of hell, this group has a leader or head whose official office name could be got by calculating the number 666.
    This religio-political group has so permeated the earth with their false doctrine that is it getting hard to believe the laws of God.
    The head of the group is empowered by the chief anti Christ, the devil, Satan.
    The chief anti Christ has given the physical leader of the group his seat of authority and all his doctrine and policy are all against that of God.
    Very soon he will show his main characteristics, government by VIOLENCE to force those that refused to be deceived by his false doctrines to come to the side of Satan.
    Read revelation chapter 13:1-18. He has done it before, he will repeat what he knows to do PERSECUTION. Only those who fear to believe truth will be deceived.

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  11. It is NOT JUDGING to tell others, brothers, and sisters of our health message. Albeit others, brothers, and sisters may think so because they are not living as healthy as God has provided for them to live. A discussion of judging has two, maybe three, or more opinions. Judging is defined most of the time by the one on the receiving end, if we accept Christ grace and have faith, judging has become valid criticism on an obedient ear, like a gold ring slipped on our finger. Proverbs 25:12.
    Now I don't think that being a wise judge, reprimanding those with a listening ear, is being anti-Christ, whether it be the health message, or the need to seek Christ as though He were more valuable to us than our best friend, or most expensive bicycle. Ouch! The ouches can bring us close to Christ, by our praise, glory, adoration, thankfulness, and supplication on a daily basis.
    Blessed hope.

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    • John you seem to raise an interesting point. I think the question really boils down to what Jesus considers judging. There seems to me to be two opposite ends to the question. One says, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Mat 7:1 NKJV) while the other says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn 4:1 NKJV). In fact Jesus told His disciples to “beware” or in other translations “be careful” five times in Matthew, two times in Mark, and three times in Luke. That kind of language implies judgment.

      Matthew seems to present his gospel topically rather than chronologically while Luke is more chronological. Because of that we should expect Luke to have more of the context of what Jesus says. For that reason I have the full text of Jesus’ commandment not to judge in Luke’s gospel below which I feel gives us the context of that statement. Notice the flow of thought:

      But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." (Lk 6:35-38 NKJV).

      It seems to me that what Jesus is condemning is judging the person and his/her motives for doing or saying something. That is far different than judging doctrinal issues which is why Jesus said “beware” and John said to “test.” Therefore the thing that we are to judge is what is being taught rather than the person teaching it. We often don’t know why a person does what he/she does or says. Sometimes motives can be correct even though what is done or said is wrong.

      Consider the command against lying which also involves deceptive language and withholding information. Have you ever been in a position where you were asked about something but for the sake of another person you chose to tell a lie? I am not talking about something that is criminal but about private matters where telling what you know would hurt someone else a lot. How do we judge such things?

      I have told the following story before but I am going to tell it again because it hits the nail right on the head. Many years ago a well known theologian recounted an event in his life. A rather young child of his happened to get a hold of the wrong kind of alcohol and drank it. At the hospital they pumped out the child’s stomach and told him that the alcohol had entered into the child’s blood stream and that the only way to clear that out was to replace it with booze (the alcoholic type). As a pastor at that time he reluctantly marched off to the liquor store knowing full well what would happen with the rumor mill if one of his church members saw him buying the sauce. What would anyone have judged if their pastor was seen buying such a thing? What would we think their motive was?

      For this very reason we are commanded not to judge a person’s motives but only his system of beliefs and physical actions. And we are certainly admonished not to persecute according to our judgment. Shouldn't we take the admonition of James and Jude to Heart?

      Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" (Jude 1:9 NKJV)

      Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge (James 4:11 NKJV)

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  12. Thank-you Tyler, I do believe that to the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to these words, there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20. Yes I do believe, “Judge not that ye be not judged.” I am so thankful that my Judge, Himself bore my sins in his own body, on the tree 2000 years ago, so that I having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by His stripes am I healed. 1 Peter 2:24. Praise God.

    As far as health goes people make their own, choices. It’s all about lifestyle choices.

    We have this blessed hope. I hope you have seen the picture of Christ return painted by Nathan Greene, it really is glorious. He paints a bunch of other glorious pictures putting them on puzzles and share books also. AdventistBookCenter.com

    Good day.

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    • Yes, I have but I also have a feeling that the most glorious picture ever painted probably doesn't come close to what the actual event will be like. It kind of reminds me of what Paul said, "as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him'" (1 Cor 2:9 NKJV). You have a good day also.

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  13. Again, my post was not implying that there is another Anti-Christ besides the papacy. It was more or less an answer for this question on the ssnet.org lesson plan on 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4:
    C. Personal Application: In what ways could we be guilty of having the same attitude or characteristics of the man of sin mentioned here?

    I am concerned that like the early American pilgrims, some of us have the idea that while it is wrong for others to judge, manipulate, and force their own convictions on others because they are wrong, that it is okay for us to be manipulative and controlling and judgmental since we are "right."

    And while we talk of liberty of conscience being threatened in the Dark Ages by the papacy, I have also seen in our own church--people being threatened, and even some threats carried out against people who refuse to be manipulated and insisted on following their own conscience.

    I understand all the prophecies concerning the papacy, but at the same time it goes beyond that to just plane ole human nature. The papacy is not the only instrument ever used by Satan. Satan worked through Saul, the king of God's people, to persecute David, a man of God. Satan worked through the religious people of Jesus' day to have Jesus crucified. Satan worked through the church of the Dark Ages, and let's not be so naive as to think he can't use you and me.

    Just because we have the truth and are God's remnant church does not give us the right to become papal. King Saul had no right to be papal and persecute David just because he was a part of God's remnant and had the truth. Saul made himself a "pope." While being the king of God's people, he set aside the Law of God and saw a medium. He tried to kill whoever he saw a threat to his position, power and popularity. He made rash threats and commands which he expected to be carried out without question. The Pharisees repeated this. The church of the Dark Ages did the same. And why do we think that we are not a part of the same web of humanity that Saul, the Pharisees and the church of the Dark Ages were? Unless we humble ourselves and surrender our pride and let the Holy Spirit control our lives, Satan will turn around and use us just like he did Saul, the Pharisees and the church of the Dark Ages.

    When the angel cries, "Come out of Babylon my people!" he is not just calling them out of other churches into the Adventist Church with the same papal attitude they had in Catholicism. The angel is calling people out of the attitude of Babylon and not only into a new church, but into a new attitude and a new way of thinking.

    Having our names changed from the books of Babylon to the books of the Adventist church is only legalism. The power of the gospel must change our attitude and way of thinking. The call out of Babylon is a call out of legalism and into a whole new way of thinking--a whole new way of thinking which is totally contrary to human nature. Human nature must be crucified in order for Babylon to fall. When I am crucified to self, Babylon falls, and I come out of Babylon and into a whole new way of thinking.

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  14. No, Br. William, please stop defending yourself, your views or your post. I am going to show you what is beneath the surface; this was the effect of this lesson I believe in many places because here in my country, in some churches at-least people left with a distorted view of who the ANTICHRIST really is (and the one that RESTRAINETH):
    At my church which is almost the model church here, the lesson teachers failed to agree on many points and the superintendent decided it will be a joint class for a church of probably more than one thousand people-with only one teacher and no one allowed to participate or even ask questions in a congregation of the elite in a cosmopolitan environment-TRUE SPIRIT OF THE ANTICHRIST.
    My dear friends, we can never know the true motive of the principal contributor or even the editor himself, let God be our judge that if this was not what they anticipated, I believe they are on their knees praying for the church to have the correct view and be of the “ONE MIND, the MIND of CHRIST” 1Cor. 2:16; Rom. 15:6; Phil. 1:27; 1Cor. 1:10; 2Thes. 2:2; 1Pet. 1:13(all from KJV); not the ANTICHRIST, but if not so, then surely, let them give themselves a pat on the back for a job well -done. That would prove what the PROPHET said that “So SUBTLE” will be “ the ENEMY of souls“ towards the END”. AUCR, April 15, 1912 par. 13; RH, August 2, 1906 par. 8; ST, July 4, 1895 par. 2; 21MR 10.3; 3T 471.2-not direct my FRIENDS; not DIRECT, no, no! May God Bless You All.

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  15. It seems to me that the real anti-Christ is Satan himself. He works against Christ and tries to interpose between each soul and Christ. Earthly powers are merely players used by Satan.

    So the “spirit of anti-Christ” about which William writes is the spirit of Satan himself.

    It also seems to me that more than a hundred years ago, a little lady with great spiritual insight saw that we can harbor the spirit of Satan without being aware of it. She wrote:

    “Whoever trusts in himself that he is righteous, will despise others. As the Pharisee judges himself by other men, so he judges other men by himself. His righteousness is estimated by theirs, and the worse they are the more righteous by contrast he appears. His self-righteousness leads to accusing. “Other men” he condemns as transgressors of God’s law. Thus he is making manifest the very spirit of Satan, the accuser of the brethren. With this spirit it is impossible for him to enter into communion with God. He goes down to his house destitute of the divine blessing. (Christ's Object Lessons, p. 151.2)”

    “Notwithstanding Christ’s warning, men have sought to uproot the tares. To punish those who were supposed to be evildoers, the church has had recourse to the civil power. Those who differed from the established doctrines have been imprisoned, put to torture and to death, at the instigation of men who claimed to be acting under the sanction of Christ. But it is the spirit of Satan, not the Spirit of Christ, that inspires such acts. This is Satan’s own method of bringing the world under his dominion. God has been misrepresented through the church by this way of dealing with those supposed to be heretics. {COL 74.1}
    Not judgment and condemnation of others, but humility and distrust of self, is the teaching of Christ’s parable. Not all that is sown in the field is good grain. The fact that men are in the church does not prove them Christians. (Christ's Object Lessons, p. 74)”

    There are many similar statements, but these should suffice to demonstrate that William's thoughts are not new. 🙂

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  16. Hi pastor William, thank you for posting this. I have a problem, see I know quite a lot about the prophecy in Daniel and Revelation. But I just can't find a way to share it with my friend. She's a Catholic and she seems to be interested about her own religion, she converted from Buddhism to Christianity at 12. I want to tell her so much but I don't know where to start and she tells me these things she just found out about the Catholic church and I really really want to share with her my knowledge but I just don't know where to start. I would be very grateful if you could direct me to anything.

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  17. Reizo, that is a real miracle your friend is now a Christian! Praise the Lord! Please don't condemn her denomination. Remember God has His people in all churches. Just encourage her to read and study her Bible. If she asks questions answer them from the Bible and direct her to the Scriptures. The same God that broght her to Him will lead her where she needs to go next. Showing her you care will help her so much more in the long run than showing her you are right.

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