THE ANTICHRIST WILL SOON MAKE HIS PLAY
The world as we know it has been irrevocably changed. In the new world order, the American Empire will be competing fiercely with the Russian and Chinese empires in all spheres. This new world order will be very unstable. The descent into chaos has just begun. It is time for stewards of the Kingdom (the saints) to fasten their seat belts. Those who fail to heed this warning will be battered and bruised as the world tethers on the edge of the precipice. Many looking for deliverance will only be too happy to entrust their fate to anyone who guarantees to restore order. Very few will dare to dissent when a man (the antichrist) steps in to form a one-world government after restoring order and creating an unprecedented worldwide prosperity.
The entrance of the antichrist was made possible because of sin. From the foundation of the world, the Almighty God knew who would be the 45th US president. Why, you may ask. Three reasons:
- God is omniscient (all knowing–past, present and future).
- Whoever is the president of the US, the emperor of the American Empire (the strongest empire since the Roman Empire), is automatically the Emperor or King of the world.
- The US led American Empire is the last world empire before that of the antichrist (Dan 2:32-45).
At its zenith, the American Empire did not use its power wisely. It had abandoned God and taught the rest of the world to sin as it passed laws that legalized same sex marriage. In fact, the 44th US president became the champion of the rights of gays and lesbians.
Though human beings have the freewill to organize their societies as they see fit, God will not be mocked. God had elevated the 44th US president from nothingness into becoming the most powerful human being on earth. Rather than honor God, he went about teaching and encouraging world leaders to adopt ungodly laws. Therefore, his record had to be erased. God will not be mocked.
The Kingdom of the world has nothing to offer the Kingdom of God. In fact, the Kingdom of God threatens the Kingdom of the world by its very existence. Therefore, no steward of the Kingdom should defend her participation in the advancement of the world’s agenda. It is a specious argument that stewards of the Kingdom must be active participants in governments for good laws to be enacted. I would like to know of any country where the Bible is used for instructions in public schools. Throughout Church history, involvement of Christians in world affairs has always resulted in the diminution of faith, watered down doctrines, and promotion of mixtures of worldly values and Kingdom values.
1. FEATURES OF THE EMERGING UNSTABLE WORLD
1.1. THE RISE OF NATIVISM (NATIONALISM) AND HATE
Natives in most countries would mean the indigenous populations in those countries. While natives in many countries can lay claim to thousands of years of continuous occupation of the lands that make up their countries, the same cannot be said of the majority of the different people groups who inhabit the present day North America. Those who can lay claim to thousands of years of continuous occupation of the lands that make up the US and Canada have no voice today. Six hundred years ago, the ancestors of US and Canadian Caucasians were still living in Europe. Yet, they are the ones claiming the US and Canada as their own. How ironic. Many US Caucasians are pushing for more restrictions on the immigration of the “Other” (Blacks and Browns). They see them as security threats and or thieves wanting to steal their jobs. Some of these ‘revisionist nativists’ would like to export African Americans (their fellow citizens) back to Africa, not minding that the ancestors of many of them were on the American soil before theirs.
The tenuous fabric holding the different people groups together in the American Empire has finally been torn asunder by the rise of nativism brought to the fore during the ‘Brexit’ referendum in the United Kingdom (UK). The ‘Brexiteers,’ most of whom have nativistic inclinations, would like the UK to have unfettered access to the European Union markets but restrict the flow of immigrants into the UK. They won the referendum. It is highly unlikely that the European Union will accede to the former without the latter. It is more likely that, in the end, the European Union will call the UK’s bluff and offer it the same terms it gave to countries like Canada.
In the US presidential elections, the 45th president gave voice to the nativistic feelings of many; among them the unskilled and poorly educated Caucasians. Tapping into their frustrations and anger, he blamed international free trade agreements rather than technological advancements (automation and increased use of robots) that required a more skilled and educated workforce as the major cause of their joblessness.
The increase of xenophobia, racism and hate in the US (fuelled in large part by the xenophobic utterances of the 45th US president during the presidential elections) has further weakened the American Empire. Though he will make pronouncements aimed at unifying the country in the coming months, it is clear that majority of ‘blacks’ and ‘browns’ will never see their president as an honest broker. The US will be very divided in the coming years with ‘blacks’ and ‘browns’ feeling even more alienated (an alienation not seen since the American Civil War) as white supremacists’ groups emerge from the shadows and spew their hate unchecked.
Spurred on by the successes of nativists in the US and the UK, rightwing politicians in Europe are whipping up nativistic feelings in their countries preparatory to upcoming elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany. Their success will create more racial divide with the attendant hate. As the temperature of nativism continues to rise, so will the ‘cold on globalization’ worsen. Soon that globalized world, which owed much of its origins and growth to the American Empire in the 1990s, will be ‘de-globalized.’
1.2. UNRAVELING OF GLOBALIZATION: A MORE CHAOTIC WORLD
Having won the election, the 45th US president will have no choice but to pull out of the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership)–a US initiated trade talks between it and Asia whose aim in part was to stem China’s rising economic profile in Asia. He would also have to renegotiate (with its attendant and possibly unintended consequences) the North American Free trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the US, Canada and Mexico.
The American Empire, already reeling from the wane of its worldwide influence, will suffer even more damage as globalization unravels while the Chinese and Russian empires would be the major beneficiaries. In the ensuing contest for markets, the American Empire will face stiff competition from the Chinese Empire (this empire has already made inroads into many parts of the world). Militarily, it will have to contend with both the Russian and Chinese empires. While the Russian Empire will dominate the Middle East and have major influence in Western Europe with the weakening of NATO (during the elections, the 45th US president had questioned why the US should go to the defense of a NATO member country under attack if such a country had not been up-to-date in their contributions), the Chinese Empire will dominate the international waters in the South China Sea.
“Every man to his tents, O Israel!” (2Sam 20:1b) will soon be the rallying cry all over the American Empire as individual countries begin to chart their own paths. NATO member states (all part of the American Empire) no longer trust that the US will honor its commitment to come to the aid of member nations in the event of an attack. Some are going to see the benefits of entering into individual cooperation agreements with the Russian Empire. The Russian Empire will feast on that divided Europe. As an aside, Russia has Europe on the palm of its hands even now: it could turn off its natural gas supply to it with just a flick of a switch.
1.3. THE RISE OF FAKE NEWS AND THE OVERTHROW OF TRUTH
With globalization, the American Empire was able to ship manufacturing plants to countries where wages were low while at the same time attracting highly educated and skilled personnel from other countries to work in its more sophisticated and highly automated facilities. Low information and unskilled Caucasians left behind in the American Empire as a result of globalization and technological innovations were very angry. Rather than see increased automation of industrial processes, which helped create more efficient and cheaper ways of producing goods and their lack of skills and education as contributing to their increased joblessness and poverty, they began to blame skilled immigrant workers and international trade agreements for their job losses.
The resulting anger coupled with inability of the US government to satisfactorily explain what was taking place provided an opportunity for rightwing TV and radio owners to disseminate hate. They seized the moment. They began to dish out half-truths that brought out latent racist instincts in their audience to the fore. Once they discovered that there was money to be made, they began to ‘sell’ their own ‘truths,’ mostly conjectures and conspiracy theories. These whipped up xenophobic feelings and created the hope of a return of the US to the 1920s era when ‘blacks’ and ‘browns’ knew their place and Caucasians reigned supreme. In a short time, they (the rightwing TV and radio stations) had succeeded in creating this alternative reality bubble for an audience that would never think of fact checking anything they read or hear. Sadly, it never crosses their (these listeners) minds that these TV and radio stations they had put their trust in could actually be feeding them false information and or that they were making money off their ignorance.
What the rightwing radio and cable TV started has been perfected by a more radical ultra-rightwing group, the Alternative Right or Alt-Right–a racist, xenophobic conservative group that is more extreme than the rightwing conservatives; some have surmised that it is the Ku Klux Klan by another name while others refer to it as a white nationalist movement. Using the new media (Internet radio, Face book, You tube, Twitter, etc), the Alt-Right dishes out falsehood that their followers post and repost. Then, unsuspecting readers outside their circle see it on the Internet and unwittingly post them to their circle of friends. In a short time, the false (fake) news goes viral and millions of viewers innocently consume the false information.
It was in recognition that objective facts are not just less influential but that they hold no traction with low information persons that the word ‘post-truth’ was invented (Oxford Dictionaries has defined post-truth as “relating or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” In this new world, which is still evolving, facts do not matter. What matters is who is doing the telling. It is the truth when told by those of one’s tribe, race, religious and or denominational affiliation and it is falsehood when told by someone not belonging to the reader’s group irrespective of the facts. In this new evolving world, the concept of universally accepted truth is dead. Even before the advent of the Internet, nations have been using propaganda (lies embellished with half-truths) against their adversaries during wars and to recruit their impressionable young ones into their armies and intelligence services. In peacetime, they have also used this strategy to influence citizens of other countries into being favorably disposed to them and into distrusting other nations. Oftentimes, some have used misinformation to create discontent in other nations and to encourage them to revolt against their governments. Sometimes, they have used falsehood to influence the military of other nations into carrying out coups to overthrow legitimately elected governments.
Though the mainstream media (national TVs, newspapers, etc) in the American Empire has not always told the truth, their most terrible lies cannot compare with what is currently being disseminated to the world through the Internet. Anyone with access to the internet, in the comfort of his private space, can unleash lies aka “fake news” and within seconds, thousands could be posting and reposting it on such social platforms like Twitter, WhatsApp, Face book, Messenger, etc. The more sensational and outrageous the ‘news’, the greater the number of reposts.
Without the Internet, Islamic terrorists wouldn’t have been very successful. They used it to spread their hateful propaganda, recruit new members, teach the art of bomb making, and to manipulate their followers to commit terrorist acts that have killed thousands of people around the world.
The new media played a great role in the US presidential elections as the Alt-Right used it very effectively to demonize the democratic candidate and to mobilize racist and racist-leaning folks on the side of the Republican candidate whose xenophobic utterances had endeared him to them. The new media’s success in helping to elect the 45th US president will encourage groups in other countries to use it to bring down governments and or to install new ones.
Most young people get their news from the Internet. The wired world, touted to be one of the great achievements of the globalized era, is also the world’s Achilles heel. The antichrist will exploit this vulnerability and use it to bring the world to its knees at the time of his choosing. He and his agents will have total control of this new media when he makes his play. They will dominate the blogosphere, or the cloud as some call it, or maybe then it will be called by the name of an out-of-the-world galaxy. They will dump their propaganda on twitter, Face book and other online platforms. Such propaganda (on a scale never seen before) will be linked to racy photos, outright pornography and cutting-edge movies. How many will resist a peek at those sites? Through this new media, they will pollute and reprogram minds of those who will in turn become the antichrist’s propagandists (army).
1.4 CYBER WARFARE WILL BE THE ANTICHRIST’S BEST WEAPON
Criminals and even corporate entities have been using computer experts to gain entry (hack) into the networks of their competitors. Governments or state actors have also used hacking to obtain military and commercial secrets from other countries. While the intelligence agencies of all the empires and even smaller entities have been hacking each other for a long time, none had seen the need to ‘weaponize’ such hacked information until now. It was an all out assault by the Russian Empire on American democracy using the new media. Having successfully hacked into the Democratic party’s networks, it went ahead to use the information trove to influence the US electorate. The timing and the distribution of the information had its intended effect–it influenced voter preferences, created distrust of western style democracy and helped to elect someone who holds favorable views about Russia and its leader. The consequences of this ‘coup’ are still unfolding.
The 45th US president’s actions in the coming months will determine who he really is–an unwitting Trojan horse programmed to dismantle the American Empire’s capabilities and elevate the Russian Empire’s own or a sleeper agent for Russia or an opportunist. Currently, he has refused to accept that Russia was responsible for the hack of his opponent’s campaign chairman and party’s email accounts and passing the damaging information contained in them to Wiki Leaks for timed releases. Some think his denial is because it calls into question his legitimacy as the 45th president. Such denial in the face of the conclusions of all the US intelligence agencies means that he is either a Russian mole or a naive opportunist who does not know that he is being played because the big prize soothes his ego. If the former, it means that without firing a shot, the Russian Empire has the best seat at the table in the American Empire. If the latter, the world is in for surprises.
Notwithstanding what choices the US president makes, the world has officially entered into the age of cyber warfare. Empires will increase their cyber attacks on each other. As they probe and penetrate each other’s communication infrastructures and utilities, they will attempt to disrupt their smooth operations and in the event of war possibly destroy them. There will be increase in the creation of fake news sites by all the empires: presently the Russian Empire is well ahead of the rest as demonstrated by its successful creation and dissemination of fake news that arguably influenced many US voters into casting their ballots for the 45th US president. The result of this information combat will be the undermining of public trust in the news media in general.
1.5. SLUMBERING CHURCHES AND THE ARMY OF THE DECEIVED
1.5.1. SOCIAL MEDIA-THE VEHICLE FOR THE ANTICHRIST
Social media and fake news platforms will play a very important role during the time of the antichrist. The antichrist, a master of the new media, will use it to maximum advantage. He knows the following about Christians:
- They are always in a hurry to post and repost whatever comes into their Face book and twitter pages.
- They rarely check or try to verify the accuracy of the information on a video or write-up before they repost it; they love to grab attention; their hubris is phenomenal.
- They have the attitude that they know everything.
- They have itching ears for sensational news; they do not listen to proper instructions especially on biblical matters.
- Churches have little or no use for sound teachers.
- The pastors and general overseers are not only biblical experts, they are also prophets, apostles, miracle workers and church treasurers.
- 21st century Christians believe that they are very smart, smarter than every other generation and every other person in the Bible.
- The elders (general overseers, pastors, presidents and founders of ministries) have taught their followers well i.e., never question anything they espouse. Their word is law and questioning them means touching God’s anointed.
- Many Christians have been predisposed to only hearing what they like. They lose interest when a teaching or instruction does not conform to their understanding and or pander to their desires.
- Worldly prosperity is an article of creed and suffering is for losers and unbelievers;
- They cannot comprehend that God suffers as He sees His children messing up big time.
Let us consider the just concluded US presidential elections. Most Christians were very active in the campaigns. We saw those naming the name of Christ being drawn in by the world. Politicians and unscrupulous church leaders have always taken advantage of those Christians who believe everything they hear without thinking or trying to verify the story through multiple sources. Those dishing out those fake news and passing them on to pastors to circulate during church services or posting them on social media during that election did so because of the belief that Christians as a group could be easily deceived.
As I write, I am reminded of the Scripture that foretold that the antichrist will not come except there is a falling away first. That falling away (human beings contending with the Lord for the Lordship of His Church) will not happen in one day. The falling away started from the time of the Early Church and has continued to date. Hasn’t the insatiable appetite of many church leaders for adoration (comparable to Lucifer’s desire to have a throne above God’s own) reached its zenith in our time? With blasphemies and irreverence by those who ought to know better, will it be a surprise if God removes His protective shield over the earth in order for the man of sin to ascend the throne of the world in this generation?
How many Christians will refuse to follow anyone rallying nations to come together for the common good of humanity after a period of utter confusion (downed communications and utilities infrastructures), wars and rumors of wars between empires and nation-states? How many will believe the warnings by stewards of the Kingdom at that time that the man purportedly restoring order to the world and ushering in prosperity is indeed a wolf in sheep clothing? Have we not seen the trial run already? Many Christian denominations and churches were promoting one of the presidential candidates–a candidate who was encouraging hate and xenophobia throughout the campaign–as the one who would make American great again. Several videos, many portraying that candidate as God-sent, were posted on Christian websites. Christian leaders of all stripes could be seen anointing and blessing him in one of the videos! And you are telling me that these same group of Christian leaders and others like them around the world will not be the ones anointing the antichrist at his coming?
Most Christians no longer listen to the Holy Spirit; they prefer to take the words of human beings as truth. While Christians could be excused, stewards of the Kingdom cannot; they ought to know the truth and that truth is that a steward of the Kingdom cannot be canvassing actively for any politician, no matter her excellent rhetoric, when her task is to canvass for the gospel of Christ–preaching Christ crucified (1Cor 1:23) at all times (in season and out of season).
Because many have refused to believe these truths, God has allowed them to believe the lie. The US presidential election was a trial run. Just as many evangelicals in America placed their trust in the new president despite all the baggage he carried, even so will many place their trust in the antichrist at his coming. I believe that most of the foot soldiers of the antichrist will be those who say they are Christians.
“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. See, I have warned you about this ahead of time. “So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it! For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes (Matt 24:23-27 NLT).
1.5.2. THE ANTICHRIST’S ARMY IS READY
Slumbering Christians will play a major role when the antichrist emerges. I call them the army of the deceived. They will believe everything they hear and they will forcefully defend and help to arrest any who disagrees with them. I submit that they will be the most loyal of the antichrist forces. I have always wondered how anyone with even the minimum basic understanding of the Scriptures could willingly take the mark of the beast. I wonder no more. It will be so easy for Christians, even elders, to take that mark. And sadly many will.
Characteristics of Christians who will be part of the Antichrist’s army:
- They believe everything they hear on world affairs from their preferred radio and TV networks without question.
- They have the habit of reposting whatever they see or read on Face book, Twitter, etc.
- They do not study the Scriptures (2Tim 2:15); whatever their pastors and elders tell them must be true even if they contradict God’s word (Gal 1:8).
- They adore their pastors and general overseers.
- They have the mentality that God is there to solve their problems.
- They are nativists, racists and tribalists.
- They are narcissists and they love the good things of life. They will give anything to continue to enjoy the comforts of life.
2.0. SAINTS WILL KNOW THE SEASON OF THE ANTICHRIST
Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. (1Th 5:1-6 NLT)
While the day of the Lord is unknowable to His children, the season of His appearing ought to be known by those who are faithfully keeping watch. Unlike the slumbering virgins, stewards of the Kingdom ought to keep their lamps filled with oil-enough to flame up at His coming.
Part of keeping watch (praying, studying the Scriptures and living a Christ and cross-centered life) is keeping abreast with changing seasons.
Understanding the times is sine quo non to apprehending when the season of His appearing approaches. Posting and reposting half-thought-out tweets and uncensored posts is not enough. Diligent search to verify whatever comes into your inbox is your responsibility. You are accountable for whatever you repost. If unsure, then don’t post or repost.
The antichrist will manifest before the day of the Lord. The Scriptures never told us that God’s children will not know the time of the antichrist’s manifestation. Well-meaning saints of old taught (and some preached) that he would manifest in their generation. They were wrong because they forgot about one essential ingredient: the infrastructure foretold by the prophets was not ready in their time. Secondly, the army of the deceived was not ready also.
It is not a stretch to aver that the antichrist will manifest in that generation when increased knowledge led to the creation of the infrastructure that he (the antichrist) will use to dominate the world and when many are dependent on the products of that infrastructure.
“But you Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Dan 12:4).
3.0. STEWARDS OF THE KINGDOM SHOULD BE ON HIGH ALERT
- Do not believe anything you read or see (this includes testimonies of other believers) unless you have passed them through the prism of God’s word.
- Question everything you read or hear (even from the pulpit). Use God’s word to examine everything you read or see or hear. If there is a check in your Spirit, then something is wrong. If there is a contradiction between what you have heard or read or seen and God’s word, better believe that it is not of God.
- Remember that there is no new knowledge until Christ appears–“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut 29:29).
- Don’t hoard the truth. Be bold and courageous. Spread the word of the Soon Coming of Jesus in your churches, ministries and families. Insist that Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross be at the centre of every message in your church. Freely you have received, freely give.
PRAYER
May the Lord envelope you in His presence from this moment until you meet Him in glory. May He give you wisdom and understanding and strength to continue in this race and to discern His will for your life. May He give you courage to stand up for Him and to bow to no other but to Him. May He destroy all the obstacles our common enemy has placed in your path and may He preserve and protect you all the days of your life. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.
YOUR SAINTS ARE PRAYING, ‘COME LORD JESUS.’