1) Why will people be amazed at Antichrist during the last days? How can we guard against being amazed by anything other than God?
2) Who are those that will be with the victorious Jesus at the end? What words would you use to describe His followers?
3) What will be the pecking order of the last days? What will the organizational chart of end time authority look like?
Astonished. That’s the word used to describe the people’s reaction to Antichrist during the days. This word means admire, marvel and wonder. Why is this the case? Verse 8 refers to the fact that Antichrist will die and then be resurrected causing people to be amazed and follow him. Sound familiar? Antichrist amazes people by counterfeiting the work of Jesus. We must become fully aware of Who Jesus is so we will not be amazed by that which is fake and phony. Let’s become consumed with pursuing God’s goodness so we will not be distracted by anything else.
In verse 14, Jesus is seen as the conquering Lamb. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords Who defeats the beast and the ten kings. But take a look just past Jesus. Behind Him are His followers; those that have accompanied Him to victory. And how are they described? As those that are called, chosen and faithful. Called to serve, chosen before the foundation of the world and faithful until the end.
In this chapter we are introduced to ten future kings who will rule briefly during the last days. Verses 12-13 explain that they exist to give their power and authority to the beast. That is, their purpose is to support Antichrist. And while we might assume that they operate at the will of Satan, verse 17 tells us that even their work is done under God’s authority: “For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God’s words are fulfilled.” From the least to the greatest, God has ruled, is ruling and will rule over all.
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