Winston Churchill
http://flc7.com/audio.html
Cognitive dissonance is a term used in psychology to
describe the feeling when simultaneously holding two or more conflicting ideas,
beliefs, values, or emotional reactions.
The result can be frustration, hunger, dread, guilt, anger,
embarrassment, anxiety, etc.
In Aesop’s The
Fox and the Grapes, when the fox fails to reach the grapes, which are up in
a tree, he decides he does not want them after all.
Here is a
more modern example: In computer language a
“byte” is a measurement. So I will ask
you how big is a kilobyte. How big is a
megabyte? How big is a gigabyte? How big is a terabyte? How big is a petabyte? And how big is a Moabite?
Suddenly . .
. your mind “bends” a little. This is an
example of cognitive (a group of mental processes, or attention memory)
dissonance (conflict).
So we are
going to do a study about the Antichrist, and perhaps, just perhaps, you will
experience cognitive dissonance.
AntiChrist: “The opposite of Christ”, “The adversary of
the Messiah”. Greek, antichristo,
Strong’s # 500.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-11
“ . . . let
us clarify some things about
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet
him. Don’t be so easily shaken or
alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to
have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a
great rebellion against God and the man
of lawlessness is revealed—the one
who brings destruction. He will
exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of
worship. He will even sit in the temple
of God, claiming that he himself is God.
Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with
you? And you know what is holding him
back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. For this lawlessness is already at work
secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps
out of the way. Then the man of
lawlessness will be revealed, but the lord Jesus will kill him with the breath
of his mouth (Rev. 19:15) and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. This man will come to do the work of Satan
with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.
He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to
destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save
them. So God will cause them to be
greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.”
Revelation 20:7-10
“When the
thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. He will go out to deceive the nations—called
Gog and Magog (Ez. 38:2)—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them (the nations) together
for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore. And I saw them (Satan and the nations) as
they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and
the beloved city. But fire from heaven
came down on the attacking armies and consumed them. Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown
into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night
forever and ever.”
An entire
end-time doctrine and scenario has been built around the antichrist, which is never mentioned by name in any book of
the Bible except 1st and 2nd John, and then only four times.
Some
scholars think that “The Assyrian”, mentioned 13 times in the Bible, is another
name for the Antichrist. In Daniel 9:22
he is called “a ruler”; a few verses down he is referred to as “this defiler”.
Of course, Revelation speaks about the False Prophet and The Beast. And Zechariah 11:17 calls him “the Worthless
Shepherd”. “The Man of Lawlessness” and “The One Who Brings Destruction” is
mentioned in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.
This whole
“Antichrist” doctrine is pretty much based on only four passages. Here they are:
1 John 2:18-19
“Dear
children, the last hour is here. You
have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has
come. These people left our churches, but they never really
belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not
belong with us.”
1 John 2:22
“And who is
a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus
Christ is not the Christ (anointed Messiah, Son of God). Anyone
who denies the father and the Son is an antichrist.”
1 John 4:3
“But if
someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus,
that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the
Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is
already here.”
2 John 1:7
“ . . . many
deceivers have gone out into the world.
They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such
a person is a deceiver and an antichrist.”
A physical description of the
antichrist: Zechariah 11:17:
“What sorrow
awaits this worthless shepherd
who abandons the flock! The sword will cut his arm and pierce his
right eye. His arm will become useless,
and his right eye completely blind.”
Why do some
scholars believe that this is a physical description of the Antichrist?
A “worthless
shepherd” is the exact opposite of Jesus.
In
Revelation 4:11; 5:2,4,9, & 12, Jesus is referred to as “WORTHY”. A worthless shepherd, as described in
Zechariah 11:17, is the exact opposite of Jesus, making him the Antichrist.
Another
characteristic of this worthless shepherd is that he abandons the flock.
This, too, is the exact opposite of Jesus, who declared, “I will never leave you or forsake you”
(Hebrews 13:5).
This
worthless shepherd who abandons the flock is attacked by someone, blinding his
right eye and leaving one of his arms paralyzed.
This
scripture in Zechariah confirms and reinforces a passage in Revelation 13:14, “
. . . the first beast was fatally
wounded and then came back to life.”
Zechariah
14:1-5
“Watch, for
the day of the Lord is coming when your possessions will be plundered right in
front of you! I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted,
and the women raped. Half the population
will be taken into captivity, and the
rest will be left among the ruins of the city. Then the Lord will go out to fight against
those nations, as he has fought in times past.
On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart,
making a wide valley running from east to west.
Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the
south. You will flee through this
valley, for it will reach across to Azal.
Yes, you will flee as you did from the earthquake in thee days of King
Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God
will come, and all his holy ones with him.”
Azal: “proximity, a place reserved”. Your Bible study notes, just like Strong’s
concordance, probably says “a place unknown” or “a place in the desert”. These Bible “scholars” would do well to
actually live in Israel for a period of time.
In actuality, Azal is just south of Jerusalem about four or five miles. It is also called “Mount of Corruption”, and
it is the headquarters of the United
Nations in Israel! My friends in
Israel have been there dozens and dozens of times.
Revelation 13:5-8
“Then the
beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he
wanted for forty-two months. And he
spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling---that is, those who
dwell in heaven. And the beast
was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every
tribe and people and language and nation.
And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not
written in the Book of Life before the world was made---the Book that belongs
to the Lamb who was slaughtered.”
Isaiah 63:1-6
“Who is this who comes from Edom (Jordan), from
the city of Bozrah (modern Bouseira, Jordan), with his clothing stained red? Who is this in royal robes (Rev. 19:13),
marching in his great strength? It is I,
the Lord, announcing your salvation! It
is I, the Lord, who has the power to save!
Why are your clothes so red, as if you have been treading out
grapes? I have been treading the
winepress alone; no one was there to help me.
In my anger I have trampled my enemies as if they were grapes. In my fury I have trampled my foes. Their blood has stained my clothes. For the time has come for me to avenge my
people, to ransom them from their oppressors.
I was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So I myself stepped in to save them with my
strong arm, and my wrath sustained me. I
crushed the nations in my anger and made them stagger and fall to the ground,
spilling their blood upon the earth.”
Bozrah means
“sheep pen”.
Habakkuk 3:1-6
I see God
moving across the deserts from Edom (Jordan), the Holy One coming from Mount
Paran (East of Jordan, Dt. 1:1; Dt. 33:2-4; Paran means “place of caverns”;
Petra is a cavern, a rock-cut architecture, the former capital city of the
Nabateans in 312 B.C.). His brilliant splendor
fills the heavens, and the earth is filled with his praise. His coming is as brilliant as the
sunrise. Rays of light flash from his hands, where his awesome power is
hidden. Pestilence marches
before him; plague follows close behind.
When he stops, the earth shakes.
When he looks, the nations tremble.
He shatters the everlasting mountains and levels the eternal hills. He is the Eternal One!”
Isaiah 34:2-10
“For the
Lord is enraged against the nations. His
fury (Mark 11:15-17) is against all their armies. He will completely destroy them, dooming them
to slaughter. Their dead will be left
unburied (compare Ezekiel 39:11-12), and the stench of rotting bodies will fill
the land. The mountains will flow with
their blood. The heavens above will melt
away and disappear like a rolled-up scroll (Rev. 6:14). The stars will fall from the sky like
withered leaves from a grapevine (Mt. 24:29; Mk. 13:25; Rev. 6:13), or
shriveled figs from a fig tree. And when
my sword has finished its work in the heavens, it will fall upon Edom (Jordan),
the nation I have marked for destruction.
The sword of the Lord is drenched with blood and covered with fat---
with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of rams prepared for
sacrifice. Yes, the Lord will offer a
sacrifice in the city of Bozrah. He will
make a mighty slaughter in Edom. Even
men as strong as wild oxen will die---the young men alongside the veterans. The land will be soaked with blood and the
soil enriched with fat. For it is the
day of the Lord’s revenge, the year when Edom will be paid back for all it did
to Israel (Do you know your history?
What did Edom do to Israel?). The
streams of Edom will be filled with burning pitch, and the ground will be
covered with fire. This judgment on Edom
will never end; the smoke of its burning will rise forever. The land will lie deserted from generation to
generation. No one will live there
anymore. It will be haunted by the
desert owl and the screech owl, the great owl and the raven . . . Search the book o: f the Lord, and see
what he will do, . . . His Spirit will make it all come true.”
Extra Notes:
Esau was
named Edom, Red, Heb. Adumah. Also,
Idumaea, Assyria. Jer. 49:20; Lam. 4:22;
Ez. 25:13-14; Joel 3:19; Amos 1:6,9, 11;
Oba. 1:8, and Mal. 1:4.
Red Heifer:
Numbers 19 and Daniel 12:10. The Jews
believe that before they can build the Third Temple they must have a Red Heifer
(with no more than three black or white hairs) to cleanse the Temple Mount. Clyde Lott, a Pentecostal preacher and farmer
is attempting to breed the perfect heifer.
He got in touch with Rabbi Chaim Richman in Jerusalem
and eventually traveled to Israel and met him.
Then Rabbi Richman flew to Mississippi to inspect Lott’s herd. One heifer met the qualifications, and so
after 2,000 years a Rabbi laid hands on the Red Heifer’s head, approving it.
Temple
Mount: A trapezoid shaped 37 acres, 315 X 280 X 470 X 488 (meters). There are 100 different structures on this
site, the most notable being the Dome of the Rock (688) and Al-Aksa mosque
(1035). There is also the Dome of the
Spirits (Tablets), which Asher Kaufman says is the exact location of the Holy
of Holies. Rev. 11:2.
If you have never actually traveled to Israel and walked on The Temple Mount, here is
an opportunity to see for yourself how the Arabs have desecrated it and how they intimidate
the Jewish people who visit there. Be sure to "click" your mouse on "Temple Mount Tour".
http://universaltorah.com/programming/2008/01/31/exclusive-temple-mount-footage.htm
If you have never actually traveled to Israel and walked on The Temple Mount, here is
an opportunity to see for yourself how the Arabs have desecrated it and how they intimidate
the Jewish people who visit there. Be sure to "click" your mouse on "Temple Mount Tour".
http://universaltorah.com/programming/2008/01/31/exclusive-temple-mount-footage.htm
The Temple Mount was originally the Threshing
Floor of Araunah (Ornan): 2 Samuel
24:18-25; 1 Chron. 21:18-26. The
prophet, Gad, told David to purchase this 37 acres (threshing floor) 3,000
years ago.
Quotes from the Koran and the Bible about the Temple Mount---a must-see video.
Over five million views:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU9CauJP4Pg
Quotes from the Koran and the Bible about the Temple Mount---a must-see video.
Over five million views:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU9CauJP4Pg
Western
Wall, Kotel, Wailing Wall: 187 feet
exposed section, but the wall is actually 1600 feet long (Western Wall Tunnel)
and the huge 570 ton stone that is seeping water from “Jebus” (Judges 19:10),
the “waterless hill”. The Wall is 105
feet high, exposed, 65 feet high. There
are 45 stone courses, 28 of them above ground.
Halakah:
Jewish Law
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