The Spirit of Antichrist--Destroy the Bible

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away…Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2 Timothy 3:1-5, 7

God manifest!  That was the name Antiochus IV gave himself when he added the surname “Ephipanes”.  He was the deluded Seleucid ruler who tried in vain to Hellenize the Jewish people until he was stopped by the Maccabean Revolt.  Many people in that day changed his title from Ephiphanes to Epimanes; madman.  He really thought he was a physical manifestation of the god Zeus (or Jupiter).  In Revelation 2:13 we are introduced to an altar that was dedicated to Zeus and Athena.  Jesus called it the seat of satan. It is certain that this man, who was a shadow of the antichrist, also hated the teachings of the LORD. With satanic zeal he tried to destroy the Torah scrolls of the Jews during his fateful reign. 

Surely everyone knows that satan, the fallen cherub behind the mask of the antichrist, hates the Word of God…or do they?  No! Not everyone understands that the liar hates truth, so they do not notice that an outbreak of the spirit of antichrist is always associated with hatred and contempt for the word of God.  It eventually leads to the Word of God being slandered, banned, and destroyed.

Another sad type of the antichrist is the Roman Emperor Hadrian.  Hadrian, whose name means “Dark One”, also tried to rid the world of God’s word.  He built a temple dedicated to Jupiter (Zeus) on the very site of the first and second temples (It is an established fact that foundation stones of the Roman temple to Jupiter were seen as a blueprint for the construction of the Dome of the Rock and that these very stones were used in its construction).  This led to a rebellion by the Jews known today as the Bar Kokhbah’s Revolt (132-136 AD).  After the bloodshed was over he banished the Jewish people from the land and spitefully renamed it Palestina after learning that one of the names of Israel’s ancient enemies was the Philistines.  The name, Palestine, is still used by many who probably don’t even know of its Roman origins.  Finally, Hadrian rounded up all of the scripture scrolls he could find and held public burning parties.

So what is going on in America?  Why is the 10 Commandments so controversial that it needs to be removed from the public arena?  Are we going to eventually erase scripture from all of our national monuments such as the Lincoln Memorial?  Is it normal for courts to rewrite or redefine the teachings of scripture, or for judges to say there is merit in believing that the Bible causes one emotional harm? Why in the last week have many people came forward to claim that the Bible is not inerrant nor inspired?  Is it true that the Bible is hate speech? What spirit is behind the suing of Bible publishing companies because there are verses directed against homosexuality?  Why are some people calling Bible believers idol worshipers?

The enemy always starts with questioning the Bible's teaching.  From there the Word of God is mocked and slandered. This sort of hatred will soon lead to the public destruction of Bibles.  Don’t think it will not happen!  Hatred of the Word of God always surfaces when the word of God is preached or printed.  Just ask those who have recently been beaten for sharing its truth. Ask the thousands of martyrs who gave their lives just so we can have a Bible to read.

Jesus said emphatically, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”  Matthew 23:45.  Though the WORD is being attacked worldwide as the spirit of antichrist runs amok it is just another sign that Jesus Christ is Soon2Come!