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FYI
Then You Might Be the Antichrist

Commentary on the News
Monday, June 28, 2004
Jack Kinsella - Omega Letter Editor
It seems that everywhere one turns, one finds somebody who has diligently searched the Scriptures for clues to the identity of the antichrist, and claim that they have finally discovered it. It reminds me of the Jeff Foxworthy "you might be a redneck' skits. "If your name adds up to 666 and you are a liberal, you might be the antichrist. . ."

One such theory is presented in "The Antichrist and a Cup of Tea" in which Charles, Prince of Wales, is the antichrist. Consider the following offerings concerning Prince Charles:

His name calculates to 666 in both English and Hebrew; the symbols in his heraldic achievement or coat of arms are identical to those of the "first beast" of Revelation 13.

He claims descent from David, Jesus, and Mohammed, he wants to be the King of Europe; he heads the United World Colleges; he steers the environmental ethics and business agendas of over 100 of the world's largest multinational corporations; he is credited for the success of the Rio Earth Summit and thus the Kyoto Protoco. . . Need I go on?

Clearly, Prince Charles of England might be the antichrist.

The late Charles Taylor proposed King Juan Carlos of Spain as an ideal candidate. King Juan Carlos has versions of his name in 10 languages, each using the same numbering system (except for Latin, which uses the Roman numeral system), which each add to 666.

King Juan Carlos is hereditary heir to the title, "King of Jerusalem". King Juan Carlos has a sailboat named "The Dragon." Spain is heavily involved in the Middle East peace process; (The Madrid Accords) and Javier Solana, a Spaniard, headed NATO.

With all King Juan Carlo's credentials, he might be the antichrist.

Then there is Mikhail Gorbachev. He has a 'mark' on his forehead. He fell from power, and now wants to be elected Secretary-General of the United Nations, thereby healing his 'deadly' political wound. Gorbachev's 'Perestroika' and 'glasnost' were fulfillments of Daniel's prediction, 'by peace, he shall destroy many.'

If you own Microsoft, you might be the antichrist, too. Bill Gates name can be added up using ASCII numbers to reach 666. He controls all the world's software. (This one is a bit vague, but hey, Bill Gates as the antichrist plays well around software developers -- or anybody whose Windows crashed as he was completing a deadline. I kinda like him for it)

Then there are the endless theories; must he be a Jew?; (hey, what about Cardinal Lustinger?); could he be from the Middle East?; What about a terrorist like Osama bin-Laden?; could the religion of the antichrist be Islam?; Now, let's see, how well does Islam fit Daniel's 11:34?

If you're an Islamic terrorist whose name adds up to 666 and you want to rule the world, well, you just MIGHT be the antichrist.

The Scriptures identify five different crowns that believers can earn. Some are more expensive than others, (the martyr's crown leaps to mind) but the relevant crown reward in this instance is the 'crown of righteousness' promised in 2nd Timothy 4:8

"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, BUT UNTO ALL them also that love His appearing."

Personally, THAT is the crown I am shooting for. My passion for understanding Bible prophecy is driven by my love for His appearing. That is to say, I believe that this is the generation of His appearing, and I am awestruck at the prospect that I have been blessed to live in this generation.

I want to use the study of Bible prophecy, and the understanding it yields, to teach others how to love His appearing and to anticipate it -- without fearing its hallmarks, like earthquakes and famines and wars.

Those signs, given unto this generation to the exclusion of all others, prove that God remains on the throne and intimately concerned with the affairs of men. What's not to love?

Among those signs is the revival of the old Roman Empire in advance of the antichrist's appearance on the world scene. And the development of the various tools that the antichrist will use on his rise to power.

The centralized propaganda machine represented by the media. The ever-centralizing global economy. The cry for global government. The global willingness to place themselves in subservience to such a government.

The world's sudden preoccupation with religion, and particularly with religious fundamentalism, setting the stage for some future, all inclusive, global religion of the antichrist and false prophet.

But I am not looking for signs of the antichrist. Let me scandalize you for a second;

When it comes to the antichrist, I plead both ignorance and apathy. That is to say, as far as who he might be, I don't know. And I don't care.

A lot of prophecy teachers claim that they know. Many others scour the Scriptures, seeking clues to his identity. They miss the point.

The central message of Bible prophecy to the Christian on this side of the Rapture is to know when His coming 'is near, even at the door' -- not the antichrist's. Trying to identify the antichrist is, to the Christian in the Church Age, an exercise in futility. We'll never know if we guess right anyway.

It does sell books, but it does so by sensationalizing something that is of no consequence to the Church. The coming of the antichrist is the evidence, not the substance, of the Blessed Hope of the Church Age. Scripture and fulfilled prophecy are spectacular enough on the surface.

The Bible promises a crown of righteousness for those who love His coming. Not for watching for His enemy. Looking for the antichrist misdirects the focus away from the Lord's return -- an event that must occur first.

That is the mid trib and post trib rapture views' fatal flaw. Their proponents are looking for signs of the antichrist, and expect Christ later. But the Crown of Righteousness is for waiting for HIS appearing, not the antichrist's.

The two are inconsistent positions. Indeed, they are more consistent with the Jewish view of the Messiah showing up at the end.

They put their faith in signs, like the antichrist, and expect Christ to come later, looking for (and fearing) the rise of antichrist, instead of looking for the coming of Christ for His Church.

And that is, after all, the mechanism the Scripture says the antichrist uses to fool the world. They are looking for the wrong Messiah.

It is important to understand the difference. Knowing that the antichrist is waiting in the wings is a sure sign of the soon coming of the Lord for His Church.

On the other hand, knowing for sure WHO the antichrist IS -- well, that's an even surer sign you missed it when it happened.

http://omegaletter.com/articles.asp?ArticleID=3200

This one will make you feel good. Praise GOD and Thanksgiving.

INDEPENDENCE DAY
Washington, D.C.: Remembering our Christian Heritage

By David Brody
Congressional Correspondent

July 2, 2004

In our nation's Capitol, there is an inscription of Proverbs 22:28 for everyone to see. Maybe it is a message for the ACLU: "Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set."

CBN.com – WASHINGTON - Our nation has a very rich and substantial Judeo-Christian heritage. Our founding fathers believed the Bible to be the word of God. So this July 4th weekend, as we remember our nation's history, we want to give you an idea of just how much of our Christian heritage is on display in Washington D.C., our nation's Capitol.
Washington D.C. is a city of power and influence, but it is also a city sparkling with the Christian heritage of this nation. Groups like the ACLU want the name of God and government to be separate but that will be pretty difficult here in our nation's capitol.

As a matter of fact, right at 17th and Constitution Avenue is a pretty good place to start. Literally, within a few minutes walk, you bump into so many references to God that the ACLU very well might have a fit.

Carrie Devorah is an investigative photojournalist behind a project called "God in the Temples of Government." She has been searching Washington for signs of a godly heritage, and boy, has she found some. She led us to the prophet Daniel, literally.

He is actually tucked behind some bushes on the property of the Organization of American States building, which is partly funded by Congress." Many employees there did not even know about the statue.

Devorah said, "None of them had a clue where he was, and I don't think anybody knows the condition he's in. He's made from concrete and as you can see he's falling apart, but I have faith in Daniel."

Her tour was not finished. Just down the block, there is an inscription at The Daughters of the American Revolution building. It says, "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair the event. The event is in the hands of God." There is also Proverbs 22:28 quoted for everyone to see. Maybe it is a message for the ACLU: "Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set."

When we walked by The Department of the Interior, it looked like one of your run-of-the-mill government buildings. But Carrie revealed to us that, behind one of the corner walls, is a time capsule and inside is, among other things, a Bible. It was put there by archaeologists years ago.

Then Devorah brought us to the statue of General Jose Artigas in the middle of this busy intersection on Constitution Avenue, right on federal government property. As our camera peered in, we noticed a cross on his boot. That made Devorah wonder.

She said, "All it takes is one person to walk by and say I don't believe in God, I don't believe in religion, and every time I look at that, it may be just be a decoration on a boot, but I see it as being a cross and I want it taken off."

Then she took a walk over to the Korean Veterans Memorial. Talk about Judeo-Christian Heritage. She found a cross and the Star of David, right there on the Korean Wall!

Devorah said, "It's become almost like being a kid in a candy shop, because there's so much to find."

David Barton, president of the Christian heritage group, Wallbuilders, says that is so true. Take the U.S. Capitol, for instance.

Barton said, "Just walk into the Rotunda. In the Rotunda, four paintings hang on the wall. You have two prayer meetings, a Bible study and a baptism. That's just walking into the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol."

Besides the Capitol, you will find references to God at the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the National Archives, Senate and House office buildings, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Library of Congress.

As we walked into the main reading room of the Library of Congress, there is a bronze statue of Moses holding The Ten Commandments. On the ceiling, a painting called "Judea" shows a young Israeli woman raising her hands in prayer to God. And there are also quotes on the wall like this: "The heavens declare the glory of God." And down the hallway in the main lobby, two Bibles are on display.

In the National Archives, as our camera panned down from the majestic rotunda, we found a bronze medallion on the floor and right at the top, this: The Ten Commandments, front and center.

At the Jefferson Memorial, God's name is mentioned numerous times, including the famous quote, 'God who gave us life, gave us liberty."

At the Lincoln Memorial, words like "Nation under God," "Bible" and "prayer" are everywhere.

In the Senate and House office buildings, there is a plaque that says "In God we trust."

At the Washington Monument, our CBN cameras managed to get inside the dark stairway. We found almost 200 carved plaques donated by the states. Many of them show scripture verses from the Bible, and others have sayings like "holiness to the Lord." On the outside aluminum tip, there is a Latin phrase inscribed that says 'Laus Deo,' which means 'Praise be to God.' They actually have a replica of the tip inside. But the 'Praise Be to God' phrase is not visible. It is actually against the wall, so it is hard to see.

At the U.S. Supreme Court, The Ten Commandments are located in a few different places, including above the judge's courtroom bench. Yet even with all these references to God in our federal buildings, there are some judges out there who say God and government just do not go together.

Barton said, "You have judges that say we don't believe that and we don't like that religion in politics, so we're going to stop this. And that's what we have, and that's why nearly every decision we have [from] the court will break down between whether the constitution really means something, or whether they'll rewrite it according to [their] will."

And so you see scenes like The Ten Commandments rolled away in Alabama. And that is just the beginning. But the reality is, God's name is cemented in stone, and that is something that cannot be disregarded.

Devorah commented, "I think it's being disregarded because it's politically incorrect, and I tease people about the 'pc' (politically correct). I have the other 'pc,' which is 'pictorially correct.'"

Sometimes you just cannot argue with the evidence. So the ACLU and other groups may try to remove God from the public square, but what they cannot remove is the undeniable fact that our nation was born on the principles of Almighty God, and the pictures are there to prove it.

http://www.cbn.com/CBNNews/News/040702a.asp?option=print