Discerning the Antichrist (The First Two of the Seven Seals)

Unfortunately, the sermon audio was not recorded correctly. We only have notes for this sermon. Thank you for your understanding.

Introduction

Revelation 6:1-4 ESV Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” (2) And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. (3) When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” (4) And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

We have now come to the Seven Seals of Revelation.

We have read the Seven letters to the Seven churches.

We have entered the throne room of God and seen His awesomeness.

We have heard the worship of the elders and heavenly creatures.

The scroll that ushers in the end times has been presented.

And Jesus has been found the only one worthy to open the Scroll, the only one worthy in all of heaven and earth, to control the future.

Now we come to the opening of the seven seals.

As each seal is opened one of the four living creatures in the throne room says “Come” and a rider comes fourth upon the earth, each one ushering in a new tribulation, a new terror on the earth.

The terrors seem to get worse and worse and worse…

But before we get to the bad stuff, there is this first seal that seems a little different from all the rest…

All the rest seem awful… but this first seal seems… a little different. Let’s take a look at it…

Revelation 6:1-2 ESV Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” (2) And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

Who could this Rider from this first seal be?
- A white horse.
- A conquering rider!
- A crown placed on his head.
  - Who do you think this rider might be?
If you answered “Christ Jesus” then this message is for you!

Discerning the Anti-Christ, the first two of the seven seals of Revelation.

Point One – Antichrists are Convincing Counterfeits

If this church, if Christian Life Church, is to survive until Jesus comes back.
- If we are to persevere and overcome the trials that the Seven Seals will bring…
- Then we MUST understand a few key truths:

(Put this all on one slide please)

The antichrist is a real person who will deceive the nations.
The antichrist will be very appealing to Christians and the Christian Church.
There are even now mini antichrists who come in the spirit of the antichrist to attack this church and the families and individuals in this church.
The mini antichrists are very appealing to Christians and the Christian Church.
So lets go through these things one by one:
First, you must understand that there will be, one day, before the return of Christ… a real, tangible, physical antichrist.
1. This antichrist may be a person:
  1. It could be a religious leader or a political leader. It could be a pastor or even a Pope.
  1. It could be a president or prime minister or UN ambassador.
We see more detail of who this antichrist is in Revelation 13

Revelation 13:1 ESV And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.

Revelation 13:5-8 ESV And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. (6) It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. (7) Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, (8) and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

Now, I won’t go into all of it this morning, because we will take our time with this beast when we get there in Revelation 13… but for now understand this:
- The sea that the beast comes out of symbolic of a sea of people. In other words, a nation.
- The beast is then a country, organization, religious group, or company that came forth from a nation of people.
- The Antichrist is the mouthpiece for the beast, the leader of the beasts.
  - Therefore the antichrist is a real person. Not some figurative theological ideal.
    - Some have called communism the antichrist.
    - Some have called socialism the antichrist.
    - Some have called vain religion the antichrist.
    - Some might say wokeness is the antichrist…
      - But this can not be so, for wokeness can not speak, socialism does not have a mouth to utter blasphemies.
      - Communism is incapable of riding a horse.
      - Vain religion can not be considered a conqueror…
      - No, these are things a person does… and while socialism, communism, wokeism, and vain religion are certainly adding the antichrist, they are tools that he uses, not him himself.
- Now this is an important point, because we must know that the antichrist is a person, so we can be on the lookout for this person!
  - Not being involved in politics will not spare you from the antichrists reign.
  - Not being woke will not save you from the draw of the antichrist.
  - Not being vain in your religion is not a guaranteed proof that you will not be deceived.
    - WE MUST BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE PERSON OF THE ANTICHRIST AND REJECT HIM!
The antichrist is a real person who will deceive the nations.
The antichrist will be verry appealing to Christians and the Christian Church.
There are even now mini antichrists who come in the spirit of the antichrist to attack this church and the families and individuals in this church.
The mini antichrists are very appealing to Christians and the Christian Church.
We have to be able to identify the antichrist because we have to reject him when he tries to draw us in, because the antichrist will be very appealing to Christians and the Christian Church.

Matthew 24:23-27 ESV Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. (24) For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. (25) See, I have told you beforehand. (26) So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. (27) For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Did you catch verse 24? The antichrist will deceive the church, if possible.
- He will do great signs and wonders, he will do miracles.
- He will be lifted up as the Christ to you by others.
- Everyone will be worshiping him.
- DON’T BELIEVE IT.
But you may also notice that verse 24 uses plurals:

Matthew 24:24 ESV For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

That means there will not just be one, but there will be MULTIPLE mini-antichrists.
- People who will rise up in your friendships and families.
- People who will rise up in this church.
- And they will try to lead you astray.
  - Some may have TV programs.
  - Others may have huge churches.
  - Some may simply be wolves in sheep clothing.
  - But we must be on the look out for anyone who appears holy, who appears powerful, but is not bearing the fruit of a true Christian.
- And these people will be very convincing. They will seem loving, they will seem caring, they will seem powerful… They may even cast out demons in Christ’s name and prophecy in the streets!

Matthew 7:21-23 ESV “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ (23) And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

There will be a lot of antichrists church, are you on your guard against them?

1 John 2:18 ESV Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.

And I know this point seems basic, but so many Christians think that the antichrist is going to ascend from hell with red scaly skin, a split tongue, and a pitchfork in his hand.
- But the truth is that Satan appears as an angel of light.
- The antichrist is most likely going to be someone you REALLY like.
- It is going to be difficult for you to accept that they are evil.
- They might even rise from the church.
- You won’t recognize them right away… but you mist be cautious.
  - How do we recognize the false prophets and the antichrists: Scripture tells us.

1 John 4:2-3 ESV By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, (3) and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

1 John 2:22 ESV Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.

2 John 1:7 ESV For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

Daniel 7:25 ESV He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.

So it is clear: The antichrist teaches that Christ is not God and not the Lord.
- But AGAIN don’t think that means they hop on facebook and post “You fam, BTW, Jesus aint God yo”.
- It doesn’t mean they preach a big sermon about how Jesus is not God and not Lord.
  - NO, the antichrist is a liar, and he wants to deceive you!
  - But that’s ok, because the Bible teaches us not to judge by words, but to judge by fruit.
What is the fruit of the antichrist? Or any mini-antichrist?
- Well they may proclaim Christ with their mouth… but with their actions they deny Christ.
- They say he is Lord but they don’t obey Him.

Luke 6:46 ESV “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

In their teachings they may start with “Jesus is Lord” but then try to explain their way around his teachings… saying things like:
- That’s a mistranslation.
- That was only for their culture.
- That doesn’t apply to us today.
- I can’t imagine a loving God teaching that.
- Or “That’s not what MY Jesus would say”

The antichrist will try to change the LAW!
- Any Christian who teaches that the 10 commandments don’t apply to us is an antichrist.
- Any Christian who teaches that we don’t need to gather in church is an antichrist.
- Any Christian who teaches that sex is ok before marriage is an antichrist.
- Any Christian who teaches that there is no such thing as hell is an antichrist.
- Any Christian who teaches anything contrary to the Bible, and THEY KNOW they are teaching things contrary to the Bible, they are an antichrist.
  - I am not talking about people being wrong, I am talking about people CONSCIENCLY teaching against what the Bible CLEARLY and PLAINLY teaches.
It doesn’t matter how smooth they say it, how loving they seem. If they teach that the Jesus of the Bible is not God, or they teach that the Bible is not God’s word… GET AWAY FROM THEM!
- And this is commonplace in todays Christianity, they try to slide it in…
  - “We just need to unhitch ourselves from the Old Testament” one mega pastor taught.
  - “We need to understand that Paul was a sexist, so we can’t take his words in scripture as seriously as the words of Jesus” many other pastors have said.
  - ANATHAMA!
  - I serve the God of the Bible, the whole Bible! ALL OF IT!
So let’s recap these subpoints this morning before we move into the second seal:
The antichrist is a real person who will deceive the nations.
The antichrist will be very appealing to Christians and the Christian Church.
There are even now mini antichrists who come in the spirit of the antichrist to attack this church and the families and individuals in this church.
The mini antichrists are very appealing to Christians and the Christian Church.
Why is all of this important… because the antichrist, and the mini-antichrists, want you to follow them, and if you follow them the path it takes you down will be war, death, and destruction.

Point Two – Following the Antichrist Leads to War

Revelation 6:3-4 ESV When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” (4) And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

The antichrist rising to power is the first seal of the seven for a reason…
- Because when an antichrist gains control, the end is always death and destruction and a lack of peace.
  - When the end times come and we see the final antichrist arise to power…
  - His ascent into power will be followed by war and death.
But before then is now… and now you live a life, dear saint, where you desire peace that surpasses all understanding.
- And if you desire the peace that only Christ can provide, then you must do everything in your power to keep the influence of antichrist out of your life.
  - If you like to watch famous preachers online or on TV… be very very cautious.
    - Being persuasive is a sign of an antichrist, it is a trait all antichrists have…
    - But being persuasive is not necessarily the sign of a good preacher.
    - I would EXPECT an antichrist preacher to have a big church and influence.
    - I would not necessarily expect that from a good, on fire preacher.
      - That doesn’t mean being famous makes you an antichrist… there have been some might fine preachers who had large followings… but you need to be careful.
      - The preachers I listen to are the ones I know personal.
        Pastor Matt Krachunis, from Faith and Victory church in Auburn Washington.
        Pastor Daniel Ong from International Christian Center in Renton Washington.
        Pastor John Butcher from the Building Christian Fellowship in Fairfield California.
        Pastor Cary Gordon from Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Sioux City Iowa.
        And Pastor Jeremy Seaward from Victory Family Center in Singapore.
      - I listen to these guys because I know them. I can examine their life and see that they confess Christ not just in word but in deed as well!
      - So I can trust them far more than some guy with a megachurch and a great smile.
  - But listen church, following the antichrist leads to your peace being taken away.
    - I have seen people who listen to megachurch preachers who teach things like “The Old Testament” is not scripture…
    - I have seen people who follow guys like that have their LIVES destroyed.
    - The preachers teach cheap grace… that you don’t have to worry about sin…
      - Then the sin insnares them, chokes them, and destroys their lives.
      - It starts with listening to lies like “sin as much as you want, Christ already covered that” and ends in an adulterous affairs that destroy families.
If you have a friend in your life who does not submit themselves to a local church, BE VERY CAREFUL.
- Christians submit, Antichrists hate submission.
  - If you have someone in your life who prophesies and cast out demons, but can’t submit to a local God fearing church body… that person might just be an antichrist…
  - How can you say you love Christ but hate His bride?
  - How can you cast out demons on Saturday but refuse to worship with other believers on Sunday?
  - Following such people will destroy your peace.
    - First they will convince you to leave your church… to stop gathering for worship, praise, preaching, and accountability.
    - Then they will start to tell you to stop hanging out with other true Christians… they will demand all of your time.
    - Then they will get in between your marriage, your children, your career. With sweet sounding advice that is really poison…
    - THEY WILL DESTROY YOUR PEACE!
I would encourage you, church, to listen once again to the sermon about wolves in sheep’s clothing titled “Fighting wolves takes work” because if you refuse to fight them, they will take your peace.
- It could be a family member, a lifelong friend, a new acquaintance, a spiritual leader, a YouTube personality…
  - Who are you letting guide your life?
  - You must be aware of the Spirit of the antichrist, look out for it, and get it out of your life.
    - If it is a family member, don’t disown them, just don’t allow them to speak into your life.
    - If it is a youtube personality, stop watching them.
    - If it is a lifetime friend, consider who’s friendship is more important, theirs, or Jesus’… because Jesus’ friendship is not guaranteed.
    - If it is a new acquaintance, GHOST THEM.
Your relationship with the true CHRIST is far to important.

Conclusion

Turn On Children’s Blessings Lamp

As we continue to go through the seals, and as the world gets worse and worse… WE MUST KEEP OUR EYES ON THE CHRIST OF THE SCRIPTURE, AND HIM ALONE! AMEN?!
Gospel Call