The genius and character of the Antichrist – Arthur Pink

For six thousand years Satan has had full opportunity afforded him to study fallen human nature to discover its weakest points and to learn how best to make men do his bidding. The Devil knows full well how to dazzle men by the attraction of power, and how to make them quail before its terrors. He knows how to gratify the craving for knowledge and how to satisfy the taste for refinement and culture, he can delight the ear with melodious music and the eye with entrancing beauty. If he could transport the Savior from the wilderness to a mountain, in a moment of time, and show Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, he is no novice in the art of presenting alluring objects before his victims today. He knows how to stimulate energy and direct inquiry, and how to appease the craving for the occult. He knows how to exalt men to dizzy heights of worldly greatness and fame, and how to control that greatness when attained, so that it may be employed against God and his people.

It is true that up to now Satan’s power has been restrained, and his activities have been checked and often counteracted by the Spirit of God. The brightest fires of the Devil’s kindling can burn but dimly whilever God sheds around them the power of heavenly light. They require the full darkness of night in order to shine in the full strength of their deceiving brightness; and that time is coming. The Word of God reveals the fact that a day is not far distant when Divine restraint will be removed; the light of God will be withdrawn; and then shall “darkness cover the earth and gross darkness the people” (Isa. 60:2). Not only will that which has hindered the full development of the Mystery of Iniquity be removed, but God will “send them strong delusion that they should believe the Lie” (2 Thess. 2:13), and Satan will take advantage of this; he will then make full use of all the knowledge which he has acquired during the last six thousand years.

Satan will become incarnate and appear on earth in human form. As we have shown in previous chapters, the Antichrist will not only be the Man of Sin, but also “the Son of Perdition,” the Seed of the Serpent. The Antichrist will be the Devil’s masterpiece. In him shall dwell all the fullness of the Devil bodily. He will be the culmination and consummation of Satan’s workings. The world is now talking of and looking for the Superman; and the Devil is soon to supply him. The Antichrist will be no ordinary person, but one possessed of extraordinary talents. He will be endowed with superhuman powers. With the one exception of the God-man he will be the most remarkable personage who has ever appeared upon the stage of human history. But to particularize:

I. He will be an intellectual genius.

He will be possessed of extraordinary intelligence. He will be the Devil’s imitation of that blessed One “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). This Son of Perdition will surpass Solomon in wisdom. In Daniel 7:20 he is represented as “A horn that had eyes.” It is a double symbol. The “horn” prefigures strength; “eyes” speak of intelligence. Again, in Daniel 8:23 he is referred to as “A King of fierce countenance.” who shall “understand dark sentences.” That which baffles others shall be simple to him. The Hebrew word here translated “dark sentences” is the same as the one rendered “hard questions” in 1 Kings 10:1, where we read of the Queen of Sheba coming to Solomon with her “hard questions” in order to test his wisdom. It is also the word that is used in Samson’s riddle in Judges 14. It indicates that the Antichrist will be master of all the secrets of occult science. Ezekiel 28:3 declares of him “Beholding, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee.” This will be one of his most alluring attractions. His master mind will captivate the educated world. His marvelous store of knowledge, his acquaintance with the secrets of nature, his superhuman powers of perception, will stamp him as an intellectual genius of the first magnitude.

II. He will be an oratorical genius.

In Daniel 7:20 we are told that he has “a mouth that spake very great things.” As a wizard of words he will surpass Demosthenes. Here also will the Devil imitate that One “who spake as never man spake.” The people were “astonished” at Christ’s doctrine (Matthew 7:28), and said “Whence hath this man this wisdom?” (Matthew 13:54). So will it be with this daring counterfeiter: he will have a mouth speaking very great things. He will have a perfect command and flow of language. His oratory will not only gain attention but command respect. Revelation 13:2 declares that his mouth is “as the mouth of a lion” which is a symbolic expression telling of the majesty and awe producing effects of his voice. The voice of the lion excels that of any other beast. So the Antichrist will out rival orators ancient and modern.

III. He will be a political genius.

He will emerge from obscurity, but by dint of his diplomatic skill he will win the admiration and compel the cooperation of the political world. In the early stages of his career he appears as “a little horn” (or power), but it is not long before he climbs the ladder of fame, and by means of brilliant statesmanship, ascends its topmost rung. Like the majority of politicians, he will not scruple to employ questionable methods; in fact it will be by diplomatic chicanery and intrigue that he will win his early successes. Daniel 11:21 tells us that at first they will not give to him the honor of the kingdom, but “he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.” Once he gains the ascendancy none will dare to challenge his authority. Kings will be his pawns and princes his playthings.

IV. He will be a commercial genius.

“And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand” (Dan. 8:25). Under his regime everything will be nationalized, and none will be able to buy or sell without his permission (Rev. 13:17). All commerce will be under his personal control, and this will be used for his own aggrandizement. The wealth of the world will be at his disposal. There are several scriptures which call attention to this. For example in Psalm 52:7 we read, “Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches; and strengthened himself in his substance.” Again, in Daniel 11:38 we are told, “But in his estate shall he honor the god of forces (Satan): and a god whom his fathers knew not shall be honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.” Even plainer is Daniel 11:43, “But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt.” In the last verse of Daniel 11 mention is made of his “palace.” He will be wealthier than Croesus. Ezekiel. 28:4, 5 speaks of him thus, “With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: By thy great wisdom and by thy traffic hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches.” Thus will he be able to wield the scepter of financial power and outdo Solomon in all his glory.

V. He will be a military genius.

He will be endowed with the most extraordinary powers, so that “he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people” (Dan. 8:24). Before his exploits the fame of Alexander and Napoleon will be forgotten. None will be able to stand before him. He will go “forth conquering and to conquer” (Rev. 6:2). He will sweep everything before him so that the world will exclaim, “Who is like unto the Beast? who is able to make war with him?” (Rev. 13:4). His military exploits will not be confined to a corner, but carried out on a vast scale. He is spoken of as the man who will “shake kingdoms” and “make the earth to tremble” (Isa. 14:16).

VI. He will be a governmental genius.

He will weld together opposing forces. He will unify conflicting agencies. Under the compelling power of his skill the world Powers will be united. The dream of a League of Nations will then be realized. The Orient and the Occident shall no longer be divided. A marvelous symbolic picture of this is given us in Revelation 13:1,2: “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a Beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the Beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the Dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” Here we find the forces of the Roman, the Grecian, the Medo-Persian, and the Babylonian empires coalesced. He will be the personal embodiment of the world’s political authority in its final form. So completely will the world be swayed by the hypnotic spell cast over it by the Beast that the ten kings of the Roman empire in its ultimate form shall “give their kingdoms unto him” (Rev. 17:17). He will be the last great Caesar.

VII. He will be a religious genius.

He will proclaim himself God, demanding that Divine honors should be rendered to him and sitting in the Temple shall show himself forth that he is God (2 Thess. 2:4). Such wonders will he perform, such prodigious marvels will he work, the very elect would be deceived by him did not God directly protect them. The Man of Sin will combine in himself all the varied genius of the human race, and what is more, he will be invested with all the wisdom and power of Satan. He will be a master of science, acquainted with all of nature’s forces, compelling her to give up for him her long held secrets. “In this master-piece of Satan,” says one, “will be concentrated intellectual greatness, sovereign power and human glory, combined with every species of iniquity, pride, tyranny, willfulness, deceit, and blasphemy, such as Antiochus Epiphanes, Mohammed, the whole line of popes, atheists, and deists of every age of the world have failed to unite in any individual person.”

“All the world wondered after the Beast” (Rev. 13:3). His final triumph shall be that, wounded by a sword, he shall live again (Rev. 13:3). He shall raise himself from the dead, and so wonder-struck will men be at this stupendous marvel they will readily pay him Divine homage, yea, so great will be his dazzling power over men, they will worship his very image (Rev. 13:14,15).

Having contemplated something of the genius of Satan’s prodigy, let us now consider his character. In doing so we shall view him in the light of the Character of the Lord Jesus. Christ is the Divine plumb-line and standard of measurement by which all character must be tested.

In our last chapter we pointed out how that the distinguishing title of the coming Super-man—the Antichrist—has a double significance, inasmuch as it points to him as the imitator of Christ and the opponent of Christ. Hence, in studying his character, we find a series of comparisons and a series of contrasts drawn between the false christ and the true Christ; and these we now propose to set before the reader.

Comparisons between Christ and the Antichrist.

Satan is the master-counterfeiter, and in nothing will this appear more conspicuously than in his next great move. He is now preparing the stage for his climactic production, which will issue in a blasphemous imitation of the Divine incarnation. When the Son of Perdition appears he will pose as the Christ of God, and so perfect will be his disguise, the very elect would be deceived, were it not that God will grant them special illumination. It is this disguise, this simulation of the true Christ which we shall now examine, pointing out the various parallelisms which Scripture furnishes:

1. Christ was the subject of Old Testament prophecy: so also is the Antichrist; many are the predictions which describe this coming one, see especially Daniel 11:21-45.
2. The Lord Jesus was typified by many Old Testament characters such as Abel, Joseph, Moses, David, etc. So also will the Antichrist be: such characters as Cain, Pharaoh, Absolom, Saul, etc., foreshadow the Man of Sin. We shall devote a separate chapter to this most fascinating and totally neglected branch of our subject.
3. Christ was revealed only at God’s appointed time: such will also be the case with the Antichrist. Of the one we read, “But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son” (Gal. 4:4); of the other it is said, “And now we know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time” (2 Thess. 2:6).
4. Christ was a Man, a real Man, “the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5); so also will the Antichrist be—”that Man of Sin” (2 Thess. 2:3). But Christ was more than a man; He was the God-Man; so also will the Antichrist be more than a man: the Super-man.
5. Christ was, according to the flesh, a Jew (Rom. 1:3); so also will the Antichrist be—for proofs see chapter three, section one. Christ will make a covenant with Israel (Heb. 8:8); so also will the Antichrist (Dan. 9:27).
6. Christ is our “Great High Priest;” so Antichrist will yet be Israel’s great high priest (Ezek. 21:26).
7. Christ was and will be the King of the Jews (Matthew 2:1); so also will the Antichrist be (Dan. 11:36).
8. Christ will be the King of kings (Rev. 17:14); so also will the Antichrist be (Rev. 17:12,13).
9. Christ wrought miracles: of Him it is said “approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs” (Acts 2:22); so also will the Antichrist, concerning whom it is written, “whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (2 Thess. 2:9).
10. Christ’s public ministry was limited to three years and a half; so also will the Antichrist’s final ministry be (Rev. 13:5).
11. Christ is shown to us riding a “white horse” (Rev. 19:11); so also is the Antichrist (Rev. 6:2).
12. Christ will return to the earth as Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6,7); so also will the Antichrist introduce an era of peace (Dan. 11:21); it is to this that 1 Thessalonians 5:3 directly refers.
13. Christ is entitled “the Morning Star” (Rev. 22:16); so also is the Antichrist (Isa. 14:12).
14. Christ is referred to as Him “which was, and is, and is to come” (Rev. 4:8); the Antichrist is referred to as him that “was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit” (Rev. 17:8).
15. Christ died and rose again; so also will the Antichrist (Rev. 13:3).
16. Christ will be the object of universal worship (Phil. 2:10); so also will the Antichrist (Rev. 13:4).
17. The followers of the Lamb will be sealed in their foreheads (Rev. 7:3; 14:1); so also will the followers of the Beast (Rev. 13:16,17).
18. Christ has been followed by the Holy Spirit who causes men to worship Him; so the Antichrist will be followed by the Anti-spirit—the False Prophet—who will cause men to worship the Beast (Rev. 13:12).

There is no need for us to make any comments on these striking correspondences: they speak for themselves. They show the incredible lengths to which God will permit Satan to go in mimicking the Lord Jesus. We turn now to consider:

Contrasts between Christ and the Antichrist.

I. In their respective Designations.

1. One is called the Christ (Matthew 16:16); the other the Antichrist (1 John 4:3).
2. One is called the Man of Sorrows (Isa. 53:3); the other the Man of Sin (2 Thess. 2:3).
3. One is called the Son of God (John 1:34); the other the Son of Perdition (2 Thess. 2:3).
4. One is called the Seed of woman (Gen. 3:15); the other the seed of the Serpent (Gen. 3:15).
5. One is called the Lamb (Isa. 53:7); the other the Beast (Rev. 11:7).
6. One is called the Holy One (Mark 1:24); the other the Wicked One (2 Thess. 2:8).
7. One is called the Truth (John 14:6); the other the Lie (John 8:44).
8. One is called the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6); the other the wicked, profane Prince (Ezek. 21:25).
9. One is called the glorious Branch (Isa. 4:2); the other the abominable Branch (Isa. 14:19).
10. One is called the Mighty Angel (Rev. 10:1); the other is called the Angel of the Bottomless Pit (Rev. 9:11).
11. One is called the Good Shepherd (John 10:11); the other is called the Idol Shepherd (Zech. 11:17).
12. One has for the number of His name (the gematria of “Jesus”) 888; the other has for the number of his name 666 (Rev. 13:18).

II. In their respective Careers.

1. Christ came down from heaven (John 3:13); Antichrist comes up out of the bottomless pit (Rev. 11:7).
2. Christ came in Another’s Name (John 5:43); Antichrist will come in his own name (John 5:43).
3. Christ came to do the Father’s will (John 6:38); Antichrist will do his own will (Dan. 11:36).
4. Christ was energized by the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:14); Antichrist will be energized by Satan (Rev. 13:4).
5. Christ submitted Himself to God (John 5:30); Antichrist defies God (2 Thess. 2:4).
6. Christ humbled Himself (Phil. 2:8); Antichrist exalts himself (Dan. 11:37).
7. Christ honored the God of His fathers (Luke 4:16); Antichrist refuses to (Dan. 11:37).
8. Christ cleansed the temple (John 2:14,16); the Antichrist defiles the temple (Matthew 24:15).
9. Christ ministered to the needy (Isa. 53:7); Antichrist robs the poor (Ps. 10:8,9).
10. Christ was rejected of men (Isa. 53:7); Antichrist will be accepted by men (Rev. 13:4).
11. Christ leadeth the flock (John 10:3); Antichrist leaveth the flock (Zech. 11:17).
12. Christ was slain for the people (John 11:51); Antichrist slays the people (Isa. 14:20).
13. Christ glorified God on earth (John 17:4), Antichrist blasphemes the name of God in heaven (Rev. 13:6).
14. Christ was received up into heaven (Luke 24:51); Antichrist goes down into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:20).

Source: The Antichrist by Arthur Pink, Chapter 4

Of the state of the elect at the last day of judgement – William Perkins

The last day of judgement shall be on this manner:

I. Immediately before the coming of Christ [1], the powers of heaven shall be shaken: the Sun and Moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall fall from heaven:[2] at which sight the elect then living shall rejoice, but the reprobate shall shake every joint of them.

[1] Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

[2] Luk 21:26  Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Luk 21:28  And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

2Ti 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.

II. Then the heavens, being all set on fire, shall with a noise, like to that of chariot wheels, suddenly pass away, and the elements, with the earth, and all therein, shall be dissolved with fire.

2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

At the same time, when as all these things shall come to pass, the sound of the last trumpet shall be heard [1], sounded by the Archangel [2]. And Christ shall come suddenly in the clouds , with power, and glory, and a great traine of Angels.

[1] Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

[2] Mat 24:30, 1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

III. Now at the sound of the trumpet the elect, which were dead, shall arise with their bodies: and those very bodies which were turned to dust, and one part rent from another, shall by the omnipotent power of God be restored, and the souls of them shall descend from heaven, and be brought again into those bodies. As for [1] them which then shall be alive, they shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and this mutation shall be instead of death; and at that time, the bodies shall receive their full redemption:[2] and all the bodies of the elect shall be made like the glorious body of Christ Jesus, and therefore shall be spiritual, immortal, glorious, and free from all infirmity;

[1] 1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

[2] 1Co 15:43  It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

IV. Last of all, when they are all convented before the tribunal seat of Christ, he will forthwith place the elect, severed from the reprobate, and taken up into the air, at his right hand, and so them being written in the book of life, will he pronounce this sentence: Come ye blessed of my Father, posess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world. Math. 25:33. He shall set the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on the left. 1Thess 4:17, Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Excepted from

Antichrist beast – Rev 13:10 Henry commentary

Rev 13:1-10
We have here an account of the rise, figure, and progress of the first beast; and observe, 1. From what situation the apostle saw this monster. He seemed to himself to stand upon the sea-shore, though it is probable he was still in a rapture; but he took himself to be in the island Patmos, but whether in the body or out of the body he could not tell. 2. Whence this beast came – out of the sea; and yet, by the description of it, it would seem more likely to be a land-monster; but the more monstrous every thing about it was the more proper an emblem it would be to set forth the mystery of iniquity and tyranny. 3. What was the form and shape of this beast. It was for the most part like a leopard, but its feet were like the feet of a bear and its mouth as the mouth of a lion; it had seven heads, and ten horns, and upon its heads the name of blasphemy: the most horrid and hideous monster! In some part of this description here seems to be an allusion to Daniel’s vision of the four beasts, which represented the four monarchies, Dan_7:1-3, etc. One of these beasts was like a lion, another like a bear, and another like a leopard; this beast was a sort of composition of those three, with the fierceness, strength, and swiftness, of them all; the seven heads and the ten horns seem to design its several powers; the ten crowns, its tributary princes; the word blasphemy on its forehead proclaims its direct enmity and opposition to the glory of God, by promoting idolatry. 4. The source and spring of his authority – the dragon; he gave him his power, and seat, and great authority. He was set up by the devil, and supported by him to do his work and promote his interest; and the devil lent him all the assistance he could. 5. A dangerous wound given him, and yet unexpectedly healed, Rev_13:3. Some think that by this wounded head we are to understand the abolishing of pagan idolatry; and by the healing of the wound the introducing of the popish idolatry, the same in substance with the former, only in a new dress, and which as effectually answers the devil’s design as that did. 6. The honour and worship paid to this infernal monster: All the world wondered after the beast; they all admired his power, and policy, and success, and they worshipped the dragon that gave power to the beast, and they worshipped the beast; they paid honour and subjection to the devil and his instruments, and thought there was no power able to withstand them: so great were the darkness, degeneracy, and madness of the world! 7. How he exercised his infernal power and policy: He had a mouth, speaking great things, and blasphemies; he blasphemed God, the name of God, the tabernacle of God, and all those that dwell in heaven; and he made war with the saints, and overcame them, and gained a sort of universal empire in the world. His malice was principally levelled at the God of heaven, and his heavenly attendants – at God, in making images of him that is invisible, and in worshipping them; – at the tabernacle of God, that is, say some, at the human nature of the Lord Jesus Christ, in which God dwells as in a tabernacle; this is dishonoured by their doctrine of transubstantiation, which will not suffer his body to be a true body, and will put it into the power of every priest to prepare a body for Christ; – and against those that dwell in heaven, the glorified saints, by putting them into the place of the pagan demons, and praying to them, which they are so far from being pleased with that they truly judge themselves wronged and dishonoured by it. Thus the malice of the devil shows itself against heaven and the blessed inhabitants of heaven. These are above the reach of his power. All he can do is to blaspheme them; but the saints on earth are more exposed to his cruelty, and he sometimes is permitted to triumph over them and trample upon them. 8. The limitation of the devil’s power and success, and that both as to time and persons. He is limited in point of time; his reign is to continue forty-and-two months (Rev_13:5), suitable to the other prophetical characters of the reign of antichrist. He is also limited as to the persons and people that he shall entirely subject his will and power; it will be only those whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life. Christ had a chosen remnant, redeemed by his blood, recorded in his book, sealed by his Spirit; and though the devil and antichrist might overcome their bodily strength, and take away their natural life, they could never conquer their souls, nor prevail with them to forsake their Saviour and revolt to his enemies. 9. Here is a demand of attention to what is here discovered of the great sufferings and troubles of the church, and an assurance given that when God has accomplished his work on mount Zion, his refining work, then he will turn his hand against the enemies of his people, and those who have killed with the sword shall themselves fall by the sword (Rev_13:10), and those who led the people of God into captivity shall themselves be made captives. Here now is that which will be proper exercise for the patience and faith of the saints – patience under the prospect of such great sufferings, and faith in the prospect of so glorious a deliverance.

Reformed theologians’ comments on the Jews

John Calvin

“I extend the word Israel to all the people of God, according to this meaning, ­When the Gentiles shall come in, the Jews also shall return from their defection to the obedience of faith; and thus shall be completed the salvation of the whole Israel of God, which must be gathered from both; and yet in such a way that the Jews shall obtain the first place, being as it were the first born in God’s family.

…as Jews are the firstborn, what the Prophet declares must be fulfilled, especially in them: for that scripture calls all the people of God Israelites, it is to be ascribed to the pre-eminence of that nation, who God had preferred to all other nations…God distinctly claims for himself a certain seed, so that his redemption may be effectual in his elect and peculiar nation…God was not unmindful of the covenant which he had made with their fathers, and by which he testified that according to his eternal purpose he loved that nation: and this he confirms by this remarkable declaration, ­that the grace of the divine calling cannot be made void.”

(see Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol. XIX, Epistle to the Romans, Baker Book House, 1981, p. 434-440.)

Charles Hodge

“The second great event, which, according to the common faith of the Church, is to precede the second advent of Christ, is the national conversion of the Jews….that there is to be such a national conversion may be argued…from the original call and destination of that people. God called Abraham and promised that through him, and in his seed, all the nations of the earth should be blessed…A presumptive argument is drawn from the strange preservation of the Jews through so many centuries as a distinct people.

As the rejection of the Jews was not total, so neither is it final. First, God did not design to cast away his people entirely, but by their rejection, in the first place, to facilitate the progress of the gospel among the Gentiles, and ultimately to make the conversion of the Gentiles the means of converting the Jews…Because if the rejection of the Jews has been a source of blessing, much more will their restoration be the means of good…The restoration of the Jews to the privileges of God’s people is included in the ancient predictions and promises made respecting them…The plan of God, therefore, contemplated the calling of the Gentiles, the temporary rejection and final restoration of the Jews…

The future restoration of the Jews is, in itself, a more probable event than the introduction of the Gentiles into the church of God. This, of course, supposes that God regarded the Jews, on account of their relation to him, with peculiar favor, and that there is still something in their relation to the ancient servants of God and his covenant with them, which causes them to be regarded with special interest. As men look upon the children of their early friends with kinder feelings than on the children of strangers, God refers to this fact to make us sensible that he still retains purposes of peculiar mercy towards his ancient people.

As the restoration of the Jews is not only a most desirable event, but one which God has determined to accomplish, Christians should keep it constantly in view even in their labors for the conversion of the Gentiles.”

(Systematic Theology V.3, James Clark & Co. 1960, p. 805. and A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Presb. Board of Pub., 1836, pp. 270-285 passim. Now Published by Banner of Truth Trust)

John Murray

“To the Jew first, and also to the Greek…It does not appear sufficient to regard this priority as that merely of time. In this text there is no suggestion to the effect that the priority is merely that of time. The implication appears to be rather that the power of God unto salvation through faith has primary relevance to the Jew, and the analogy of Scripture would indicate that this peculiar relevance to the Jew arises from the fact that the Jew had been chosen by God to be the recipient of the promise of the gospel and that to him were committed the oracles of God…the gospel is pre-eminently the gospel for the Jew.

While it is true that in respect of the privileges accruing from Christ’s accomplishments there is now no longer Jew or Gentile and the Gentiles “are fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph. 3:6), yet it does not follow that Israel no longer fulfills any particular design in the realization of God’s worldwide saving purpose…Israel are both “enemies” and “beloved” at the same time, enemies as regards the gospel, beloved as regards the election…”Beloved” thus means that God has not suspended or rescinded his relation to Israel as his chosen people in terms of the covenants made with their fathers.

Unfaithful as Israel have been and broken off for that reason, yet God still sustains his peculiar relation of love to them, a relation that will be demonstrated and vindicated in the restoration.”

(The Epistle to the Romans, John Murray, Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1984, Vol. I, p. 28 and Vol. II pp. xiv-xv and 76-101, passim.)

Geerhardus Vos

“The elective principle, abolished as to nationality, continues in force as to individuals. And even with respect to national privilege, while temporarily abolished now that its purpose has been fulfilled, there still remains reserved for the future a certain fulfillment of the national elective promise. Israel in its racial capacity will again in the future be visited by the saving grace of God [Rom. 11.2, 12, 25]….

Nevertheless such (Jewish) conversions remain for the present but sporadic examples, though at bottom expressive of a divine principle intended to work itself out on the largest of scales at the predetermined point in the future….

To the events preceding the parousia belongs, according to the uniform teaching of Jesus, Peter, and Paul, the conversion of Israel (Matt. 23:39; Luke 13:35; Acts 1:6,7; 3:19, 21; where the arrival of “seasons of refreshing” and “times of restoration of all things” is made dependent on the [eschatological] sending of the Christ to Israel), and this again is said to depend upon the repentance and conversion and the blotting out of the sins of Israel; Romans 11, where the problem of unbelief of Israel is solved by the twofold proposition: (1) that there is even now among Israel an election according to grace; (2) that in the future there will be a comprehensive conversion of Israel (vss. 5, 25-32).”

(Biblical Theology, Old and New Testaments, (c)1948 Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., Tenth Printing, p. 79, The Pauline Eschatology, (c) 1979 Baker Book House, p. 88, and Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation, The Shorter Writings of Geerhardus Vos, p. 35, edited by Richard B. Gaffin, Jr., (c) 1980, Presbyterian and Reformed Pub. Co.)

Jonathan Edwards

“Jewish infidelity shall be overthrown…the Jews in all their dispersions shall cast away their old infidelity, and shall have their hearts wonderfully changed, and abhor themselves for their past unbelief and obstinacy. They shall flow together to the blessed Jesus, penitently, humbly, and joyfully owning him as their glorious King and only Savior, and shall with all their hearts, as one heart and voice, declare his praises unto other nations…Nothing is more certainly foretold than this national conversion of the Jews in Rom. xi.

Besides the prophecies of the calling of the Jews, we have a remarkable providential seal of the fulfillment of this great event, by a kind of continual miracle, viz. their being preserved a distinct nation…the world affords nothing else like it. There is undoubtedly a remarkable hand of providence in it. When they shall be called, that ancient people, who alone were so long God’s people for so long a time, shall be his people again, never to be rejected more. They shall be gathered together into one fold, together with the Gentiles….”

(The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 1, Banner of Truth Trust, 1976, page 607.)

Matthew Henry

“Now two things he exhorts the Gentiles to, with reference to the rejected Jews: ­To have a respect for the Jews, notwithstanding, and to desire their conversion. This is intimated in the prospect he gives them of the advantage that would accrue to the church by their conversion, Rom. 11:12, 15. It would be as life from the dead; and therefore they must not insult or triumph over those poor Jews, but rather pity them, and desire their welfare, and long for the receiving of them in again.

Another thing that qualifies this doctrine of the Jews’ rejection is that, though for the present they are cast off, yet the rejection is not final; but, when the fullness of time is come, they will be taken in again. They are not cast off for ever, but mercy is remembered in the midst of wrath.

The Jews are in a sense a holy nation (Exod. xix.6), being descended from holy parents. Now it cannot be imagined that such a holy nation should be totally and finally cast off. This proves that the seed of believers, as such, are within the pale of the visible church, and within the verge of the covenant, till they do, by their unbelief, throw themselves out; for, if the root be holy, so are the branches….Though grace does not run in the blood, yet external privileges do (till they are forfeited), even to a thousand generations…The Jewish branches are reckoned holy, because the root was so. This is expressed more plainly (Rom. 11:28).

Though particular persons and generations wear off in belief, yet there having been a national church-membership, though for the present suspended, we may expect that it will be revived…It is called a mystery (Rom. 11:25), that which was not obvious, and which one would not expect upon the view of the present state of that people, who appeared generally so obstinate against Christ and Christianity that it was a riddle to talk of their unanimous conversion. Alas! who shall live when God doeth this?”

(Matthew Henry’s Commentary, V.6, MacDonald Publishing Company, pp. 448-453.)

Source

Characteristics of Anti-Christ in the words of Scripture.

W. W. Fereday.

1. His moral characteristics are these.

Isaiah 14: 14 . . He shall say in his heart, I will be like the Most High.

Dan. 8: 25 . . He shall stand up against the Prince of princes.

Dan. 11: 36 . . He shall exalt himself above every god.

2 Thess. 2: 4 . . He shall exalt himself ” above all that is called God.”

2 Thess. 2: 4 . He shall show himself that he is God.

1 John 2: 22 . . He shall deny both the Father and the Son.

Rev. 13: 6 . . He shall open his mouth in blasphemy against God.

Rev. 17: 3 . . He shall be full of names of blasphemy.

2. The extent of his power.

Isaiah 14: 16 . . He shall make the earth to tremble, and shall shake kingdoms.

Isaiah 14: 17 . . He shall make the world as a wilderness.

Dan. 7: 25 . . Times and laws shall be given into his hand.

Dan. 8: 9 . . He shall wax exceeding great.

Dan. 8: 24 .. His power shall be mighty…. He shall destroy wonderfully.

Dan. 11: 36 . . He shall do according to his will

Dan. 11: 40 . . He shall enter into the countries and overflow.

Dan. 11: 42 . He shall stretch forth his hand upon the countries.

2 Thess. 2: 9 . . His coming shall be with all power.

Rev. 13: 7 . . Power shall be given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

Rev. 17: 13 . . The ten kings shall give their strength and power unto him.

3. His power will be supported by miracles.

2 Thess. 2: 9 . . His coming shall be after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders.

Rev. 13: 12 . . He that ministereth in his presence shall do great wonders, so that he shall make fire come down from heaven on the earth, in the sight of men, and shall deceive them that dwell upon the earth by means of these miracles which he shall have power to do.

Rev. 13: 15 . . He shall have power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

4. His reception on the earth

Rev 13: 8 . . All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Rev. 13: 15 . . Whosoever will not worship the image of the beast shall be killed

Rev. 17: 8 . All whose names are not written in the book of life shall wonder.

John 5: 43 . . If another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

5. The place of his manifestation in blasphemy.

Isaiah 14: 13 . . He will sit on the mount of the congregation, on the sides of the north.

Dan. 8: 11 . . He will take away the daily sacrifice.

Dan. 11: 45 . . He will plant the tabernacles of his palace on the glorious holy mountain.

2 Thess. 2: 4 . . He will sit in the temple of God.

6. He is named-

Isaiah 14: 12 . . “Lucifer,” as blasphemously assuming Christ’s character of ” the morning star.”

Isaiah 14: 4 . . “The King of Babylon.”

Isaiah 10: 5 . . “Asshur,” or “Assyria,” as being king over that country.

Dan. 7: 20 . . “The Horn that has eyes,” as denoting intelligence and strength.

Isaiah 30: 33 . . “THE KING,” for whom Tophet is prepared.

These are his principal names in the Old Testament, where he is always referred to in connection with the Jews. In the New Testament he is called, in contrast to the holiness which is the Church’s character, the Man of Sin, or the Wicked One. In Isaiah also he is called the Wicked One-“By the breath of his lips He (the Lord) shall slay the Wicked One.” Isaiah 11 (quoted in 2 Thess. 2) In John he is called “the Antichrist,” in his special character of opposition to Christ. In the Revelation he is called the Beast, as denoting his moral estimate in the sight of Heaven.

7. He will be destroyed by no mere human agency.

Dan. 8: 25 . . He shall be broken without hand.

Isaiah 11: 4 . . . The Lord with the breath of his lips shall slay the wicked one.

2 Thess. 2: 8 . . The Lord shall consume him with the breath of his lips, and with the brightness of his coming

Rev. 19: 15, 20. When He cometh forth who shall tread the — wine-press of wrath, the Beast is taken, and cast alive into the lake of fire.

The following connections may also be found useful:

1. Between Daniel 8. and 9.

8: 25 . . . By peace he shall destroy many.

9: 27 . . . He (the Prince that shall come) shall confirm the covenant with many.

8: 11 . . . He shall take away the daily sacrifice.

9: 27 . . . He shall cause the sacrifice to cease.

8: 19 . . . He shall prosper in the latter end of the indignation.

9: 27 . . . . . . . . till that determined is poured on the desolator.

2. Between Dan. 8 and 11.

8: 9 …. He waxes great towards the pleasant land.

11: 41 He enters into the glorious land.

8: 17 At the time of the end shall be the vision.

9: 40, 41 . . . At the time of the end shall he enter.

8: 19, 24 . . . He prospers in the last end of the indignation.

11: 36 . . . . . He shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished.

Between Dan. 7 and 11.

7: 25 He shall speak great words against the Most High.

11: 36…. He shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods.

7: 25 He shall change times and laws.

11: 37, 38 . . . He shall not regard the God of his fathers, but honour another.

7: 22 He shall continue until the saints possess the kingdom.

11: 36 . . . . . he shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished.

Singer & Gimpel Show 4 part I and II- The Jewish Messiah

Part 1

Part 2

Jews

• don’t need a spiritual messiah to save them from their condition as sinners, because
• they can justify themselves, by
• fulfilling the Law to God’s standard.

What they do need, is a political messiah, to save them from their lowly earthly position, and

• establish them, as God’s chosen people,
• to their rightful destiny as ruler over the nations.

Jerusalem:The Building Of The Third Temple

2Th 2:1  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2Th 2:2  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
2Th 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;
2Th 2:4  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.
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Mat 24:16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Mat 24:17  Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Mat 24:18  Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Mat 24:19  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Mat 24:20  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Mat 24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Mat 24:23  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Mat 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.
Mat 24:25  Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Mat 24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Mat 24:37  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:38  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
Mat 24:39  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:40  Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:41  Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Mat 24:43  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Mat 24:44  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Mat 24:45  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Mat 24:47  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
Mat 24:48  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49  And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50  The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51  And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Building the Third Temple in Jerusalem