Will The Antichrist Arise In Europe? – Derek Prince Sermon Transcript

‘And every spirit that does not confess Jesus…’ Now there are various different texts. But I’m taking the one which I consider to be the most reliable. ‘Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist which you have heard was coming, and now already is in the world.’

Now there you have Antichrist in three forms. Many Antichrists, plural. The Antichrist, singular. And the spirit of Antichrist.

Now the spirit of Antichrist operates through every Antichrist. And down through the pages of history from the time of John till today there have been many Antichrists. But there is one who is called the Antichrist who has not yet appeared on the stage of human history. He is the ultimate manifestation of the spirit of Antichrist.

Personally I’m inclined to think that his coming is so near that you can say his shadow has already fallen across the stage of history. That’s a personal opinion.

MARKS OF THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST

Now it’s very important that we understand what are the marks of the spirit of Antichrist. And they’re given to us.

1 John 2:19: ‘They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.’

This is very important. The spirit of Antichrist begins in association with the people of God. It’s not paganism. It’s something very directly connected to Christians. But they don’t remain with Christians. They go out from Christians. This is very significant because it indicates, if I understand it rightly that the Antichrist will arise somehow in association with professing Christians. In other words, he’s not going to be some dictator that has no Christian profession or association. But he’s going to arise closely associated with the professing church.

And then in verses 22 and 23 of 1 John chapter 2.

1 John 2:22-23: John says, ‘Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah). He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.’

So there’s another mark on Antichrist spirit: It denies the relationship of the Father and the Son within the Godhead. It does not acknowledge that revelation of the unique God. This is very conspicuous in one of the most powerful anti-christian forces in the world. That is Islam. The religion of Muhammad which ferociously denies that Jesus is the Son of God. They will acknowledge that Jesus may have been the Messiah. But I was praying once with a with a Muslim who wanted salvation. And he came up and I said I’ll lead you in a prayer.

But when I said Jesus the Son of God, his mouth shot like a trap. He would not say it.

Some years ago Ruth and I were in Pakistan before Don and his team went there. And because we announced healing meetings we had thousands of people come. Although it was a Muslim state. And we reckon that about eight or nine thousand people actually indicated that they wanted to be saved. So I always led them in the prayer. And they said it after me. Now whether what results follow that’s known only to God. But I always started this way. Lord Jesus Christ I believe that You are the Son of God and the only way to God.

But any spiritual authority or force that denies the relationship of the Son and the Father in the Godhead is a mark of Antichrist. The great mosque of Omar which stands on the temple site in Jerusalem has inscriptions in Arabic and twice they say emphatically God has no need of a son.

Actually this is a personal impression. I think probably Islam is the most active powerful anti-christian force at work in the world at the present time. And unfortunately multitudes of Christians are deceived because they haven’t learned the tests.

And then in 1 John 4 verse 3 it says ‘every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not of God. And that is the spirit of the Antichrist.’ So that’s a more general mark. Any spirit that doesn’t acknowledge what the Bible says about Jesus is a spirit of Antichrist.

So you understand the spirit of Antichrist is not paganism. It can only arise where the claims of Jesus have been stated. It’s Satan’s ultimate counter-attack against Jesus and against the gospel.

It’s very interesting to me. And this is a personal impression I have that the Bible records the first time the spirit of Antichrist really moved. And I find it in Matthew 27 verses 21 and 22. This is where Jesus is before Pilate. And the Jewish religious leaders are accusing Jesus.

Matthew 27:21-22: ‘The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” And remember the issue was, should it be Jesus or should it be Barabbas? He was going to release one prisoner. Which would they choose? ‘And they all said to him, “Barabbas!”

Pilate said to them, ‘What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ (or Messiah)?’ They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” You see there was a deliberate rejection of Jesus. And the choice of another in His place. And Barabbas who was chosen was a political figure. He was a man of violence and a murderer.

And if you ponder on that for a moment. It’s one of the most amazing facts of human history. That the Jewish people rejected Jesus and chose Barabbas. Because Jesus had done nothing but good. He had never harmed anyone. He had healed countless multitudes. He brought peace and love to multitudes.

Why did the Jews make that tragic mistake? The answer is they were overwhelmed without understanding it by a spirit which was the spirit of Antichrist. And I believe that that is a preview of what is going to happen in the world. And I think very shortly. I think God is going to confront the human race with a choice. Do you want Jesus? Or do you want this other?

And I think the same spiritual force will cause the vast majority of humanity to say ‘Away with Jesus.’ We’ll choose someone infinitely worse than Barabbas. And that’s why I think it’s so important to teach this. Because I think every Christian needs to be instructed that they will not make the wrong choice or follow the crowd.

RISE OF ANTICHRIST PREDICTED (2 THESS. 2:1–12)

Now there are various passages in the New Testament that teach very specifically about Antichrist. And I’m going to deal with two of them briefly.

The first is 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. The other will be Revelation chapter 13.

But we’ll turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 first. And I’m going to go through this more or less verse by verse. But I’m not going to spend a lot of time on it. So if you have your Bible it’s good if you can follow it. I’m going to summarize it as follows.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, teach us that the manifestation of Antichrist must precede the actual return of the Lord Jesus. Perhaps I should read the words.

But Paul says, don’t let anybody convince you in any way as though the day of the Lord has already come. The day of the return of Jesus.

Verse 3, ‘Let no one deceive you…’ And how important those words are. I’d like to say them again. Let no one deceive you. I said in a previous talk in this series. The greatest single danger that threatens us as Christians is deception.

‘Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition.’ The man of lawlessness, the son of perdition is the Antichrist.

Who else was called the son of perdition? There’s only one other person called that. Judas, that’s right. What was Judas? He was an apostle who apostatized. Again that’s a clear indication that the Antichrist will have some kind of association with the church. And he’s called the man of lawlessness.

And John says the spirit of lawlessness is already at work. But the Antichrist will be the final ultimate manifestation of man’s rebellion against God. And it will take the form of choosing a ruler who is in rebellion against God and who is against God’s appointed ruler, the Lord Jesus.

But, and this is very important, Paul says that will not happen until the falling away takes place. Now that’s the New King James translation. The NIV says the rebellion. But the Greek word is apostasia from which we get the English word apostasy. Now apostasy is a deliberate turning away from revealed religious truth.

The word is only used in one other place in the New Testament where Paul is accused by the Jews of teaching apostasy in turning the people away from the laws of Moses. So its primary significance is to turn away from revealed religious truth. And Paul teaches that the Antichrist cannot be revealed until there has been the apostasy in the church. Because the church is the spiritual barrier to the activity of Satan. So Satan has to undermine the church before he can fulfill his evil purposes.

And I want to suggest to you that we are living in the days of the apostasy. There has been wickedness and immorality and covetousness and violence in the church through countless centuries. But it’s only in this age and particularly in this generation that nearly all the major denominations have officially rejected the great basic truths of the gospel which are that: Jesus is the Son of God, that He was born of a virgin, that He led a sinless life, that He died an atoning death, that He was buried and that He rose physically the third day and that He is coming back again.

And I don’t need to acquaint you with the fact that these basic truths have been openly flaunted and denied in almost every major denomination. And not only in the denominations but there are many much smaller groups in which these truths are being attacked.

Some years back my first wife and I had friends who attended a Methodist Church in the United States. And this is not an attack on Methodism. And these friends said to us, in our church you can talk as much as you like about Plato or Socrates or Buddha or Martin Luther King. But if you start to talk about Jesus, people get upset. What spirit is that? It’s the spirit of Antichrist in its first phase. Get Jesus out of the way.

The second phase is replace Him with another. And that spirit is at work in almost every area of the body of Christ today. You better identify it. It can be very subtle. Can be very intellectual. Can be very theological. But it’s still the spirit of Antichrist.

Now verses 4 and 5 state that the Antichrist will ‘oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he will sit in the temple of God showing himself that he is God.’ Now there’s a lot of discussion about what the temple of God is. But I have come to believe myself that it will be a physical temple built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem by the Jewish people. And I have to say that many Jews are actively preparing for that. So much that they have schools for the Levites to teach them how to practice the sacrifices. Because you understand that it’s a very elaborate ritual. It’s not easy. You have to know how to skin a sheep. What to do with the various different parts of the sheep.

There’s also those who are actually weaving the robes of the priests. And there have been two attempts to break through onto the Temple Mount. And it is now suggested by some scholars that the actual place of the Holy of Holies was not where the mosque of Omar now stands. So that it could be possible to build, rebuild a temple without demolishing the mosque of Omar. I’m not saying that’s the way it’ll happen.

But I’ve been awakened to the fact in the last few years that there is an intense pressure at work amongst the Jewish people to rebuild the temple. There is a teaching in Judaism which is not scriptural. And it’s not taught in all Judaism. That the one who will give us back our temple is our Messiah. That’s not scriptural.

But if you’re not familiar with the Jewish people. You have no concept of how significant for them the Temple of Herod was. I’m always amazed because they never go back in their thinking to the Temple of Solomon. It’s always the Temple of Herod. Which is amazing because Herod was an Edomite. He was a wicked man who murdered all sorts of people including members of his own family and built this temple in order to propitiate the Jewish people.

But there’s a kind of spirit at work that says we want our temple back. And the one who will give us our temple back, we will acknowledge as our Messiah. So I personally believe that the Antichrist will at some time sit in a temple that has been rebuilt by the Jewish people.

People say well it couldn’t be the Temple of God because they’re the unbelievers. I’m not convinced of that because the Jews are God’s people whether they’re believers or unbelievers. And God is the God of the Jews whether they acknowledge Him or not.

And if Jews build a temple to their God then it is the Temple of God. This is just one way of looking at it. As you’ll understand I’ve spent a good deal of time meditating on this. And I’ve done it because I feel pressured living as we do in Jerusalem. There’s such a sense that the shadow of the Antichrist has fallen across the city. It’s not something remote. It’s something very close at hand.

And then in verses 5 and 6 Paul says, ‘Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining that he (the Antichrist) may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.’

Again this is a question that is discussed. But the restraining force is called both he and it. Who and what. And I agree with those who say that it is the Holy Spirit. Until the Holy Spirit withdraws himself in some way, the Antichrist cannot be fully manifested.

Verse 8, ‘And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth, and destroy with the brightness of His coming.’ I’m personally glad that the true Christ will take care of the false Christ.

I don’t want to — I don’t want that task assigned to me. Because the Antichrist is a person of extraordinary cunning and wisdom and power. And I think it’s appropriate the true Messiah will deal with the false Messiah.

All right verse 9, ‘The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.’

Very important to emphasize that the coming of the Antichrist will be attested by many supernatural miracles and signs. I’ve always said for years the obvious place for the Antichrist to arise is in the charismatic movement. Because the charismatics go overboard on the supernatural. Now I believe in the supernatural myself. But I don’t believe that every supernatural miracle is from God. I think it’s so important that we learn to distinguish. Because otherwise we are inevitably going to be deceived.

And then it says, with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. There is only one protection. And that is to receive the love of the truth. If you sincerely love the truth, that will protect you from deception.

But the word love in Greek Agape is a very strong word. It means a passionate devotion to the truth. It doesn’t mean that you just read your Bible once every day. Or go to a church that preaches the Bible. It means that you esteem the truth above all else in your life. Lots of people who are called Bible believing Christians, don’t exhibit the love of the truth.

There are two ways you can understand the truth. The truth is Jesus and the truth is the Word of God. And I want to exhort you to love the Word of God passionately. To take more time with that than you take with your television set, or any other activity. Because if you don’t, you’ll be deceived.

I would say at the moment there is a great lukewarmness, in this nation and in many other nations, amongst the professing Christians toward the Word of God.

A friend of mine came here to Britain. I must say this, I hope it’ll offend nobody. Lance Lambert, who’s probably known to many of you. And he held a series of meetings throughout the British Isles, and even in Jersey and in Northern Ireland, and in Dublin. And they were attended by about twice as many people as anybody had made provision for. They had overflow crowds in almost every meeting.

And Lance told us afterwards, he understood one main reason why people were coming, was that they wanted to hear the Bible taught. They did not hear it. They heard all sorts of prophecies and revelations and theories, but very little real teaching of the Bible. That has to change. Or the church in Britain will be swept away with the deception of Antichrist.

Now it says, verse 11, ‘for this reason God will send them strong delusion…’ Have you ever thought about that? If you don’t receive the love of truth and practice it, God will send you strong delusion. And brothers and sisters, if God sends you delusion, there is no way you can avoid it. You will be deceived. And it will be a judgment of God. Because of our failure to love and obey the truth.

Verse 11, God will send them strong delusion because otherwise they would believe the lie. I think the word the is important. I think it’s not just any lie. It’s the lie. And I believe it’s the first lie that Satan told humanity. It was, you shall be as God. And the amazing thing is that preachers in the charismatic movement are teaching this today.

And I’m not — I’m not theorizing because I’ve read the actual words that they have uttered. You see Satan doesn’t have to think up a new lie. Because the old one still works. What does it appeal to above all else in humanity? In one word? Pride. That’s right.

Pride, the Bible says, a lot of people says it goes before a fall. But that’s not what the Bible says. It says the pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

One of the things we are going to need to learn to do, all of us, is to humble ourselves. And bear in mind what I said the other day, God doesn’t do it for you. You cannot say God make me humble. Because God says humble yourself. It’s a decision of the will.

And I suggest to you that you should welcome any opportunity to humble yourself. Everything in us resists it. But it can be the mercy of God. When people are unjust to you or make bad statements about you or don’t treat you with appreciation. You know what you should do? Praise God. It gives me an opportunity to humble myself.

And the Bible says, everyone that humbles himself will be exalted. But everyone that exalts himself will be abased. See your business is to humble yourself and let God exalt you. Don’t do it the other way around and exalts yourself. Because God will have to abase you.

There’s a beautiful pattern of this in the eternal relationships. There are two significant persons. One humbled himself and one exalted himself. The one who humbled himself was Jesus who became obedient even to the point of death. Then the Scripture says, therefore God also highly exalted Him.

What’s the therefore there for? Because He humbled Himself. See Jesus did not get exaltation as a spoiled son. He was exalted because He met the conditions to be exalted. And this principle runs throughout the universe. There are no exceptions whatever.

Everyone who exalts himself will be abased. But thank God everyone who humbles himself will be exalted. Now I don’t want to get involved in this because I could go on for a long while. But let me just suggest to married couples.

One very good way to humble yourself is to apologize to your wife or your husband. Every time you say or do something that’s out of place. Don’t brush it off. Don’t shrug your shoulders. Say I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I was unkind. I was impatient. I was irritable. Please forgive me. And then thank God for an opportunity to humble yourself. God will provide you with the opportunities if you’re open.

All right. I think we’ve dealt enough with 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.

DESCRIBES RISE OF ANTICHRIST IN SYMBOLS (REV. 13)

Let’s go to Revelation 13. And again I want to go through it as quickly as possible. Because I’m moving on.

Ruth told me last night I told too many stories. And that’s why I took so long. However I do know human audiences. If you don’t give them a little light relief from time to time they just tune out. All right.

Revelation 13. Now I’m going to take the text which I believe is the best which is essentially that’s followed by the NIV. Although I’m reading from the NKJ.

Revelation 13:1: ‘Then he [that is the dragon] stood on the stand of the sea…’ And then John says a beast. And the Greek says a wild beast. It’s very important that we translate it right. It’s a fierce destructive creature. ‘A wild beast rose up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns.’

Let me point out to you that I don’t think there’s any good creature that has more than one head. All the creatures in the Bible that have more than one head are evil. And I want to emphasize the church has only one head.

Now the wild beast came up from the sea which I just understand to be the world of politics. But that’s just a personal feeling. It had seven heads and ten horns.

Verse 2 says it has the body of a leopard, the feet of a bear, the mouth of a lion.

What does the Bible teach about the leopard? One significant thing about leopard. That it cannot change its spots. So don’t be deceived. It cannot change its nature.

One doesn’t know what the bear or the lion are. But there are two nations that are traditionally identified with the bear and the lion. The bear is Russia and the lion is Britain. That’s right. I don’t say that’s it. But it could well be. It would be a central European confederation which got a little bit from Britain and a little bit from Russia. And that’s just a possibility, time will show.

Then it says, and this is important. In the end of verse 2 of chapter 13: The dragon, [that’s the devil] gave this creature his power, his throne, and great authority.’ So he is supernaturally empowered from Satan.

And then in verses 3 and 4. He goes through some experience of a death and a resurrection. Says, I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.

I’ve often asked what would have happened if John Kennedy had been raised from the dead. I think basically he would have had the whole world at his feet. Well it didn’t happen. But some time or other something like that. It may not be a real experience. But something’s going to happen that will convince the people that this person died and came back to life.

Verse 4, ‘So they [that’s the world] worshiped the dragon and gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’

Now here is a wonderful contrast. Keep your finger in Revelation 13 if you’ve got one there. And turn to Matthew chapter 4 for a moment. And you see the difference between the true and the false Christ.

In Matthew 4 and verse 8 and following. This is part of the temptation of Jesus.

Matthew 4:8-9: ‘The devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And the devil said to Jesus, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Satan has been looking for many centuries for one man whom he could empower to gain control of humanity and cause humanity to worship him. You see you know the original claim of the devil was equality with God. Now when he made that claim he was thrown out of heaven. And he can no longer openly assert that claim. But there’s one way he can still assert equality with God. Because there’s one thing that belongs only to God and must never be offered to anybody else. What is it? Worship. That’s right.

So if the devil can achieve worship, he is in effect saying, ‘There you are. I’m equal with God.’

But Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve.’

The true Christ turned down the offer. He wouldn’t make a bargain with Satan for the sake of worldly power. The false Christ will make the deal. That’s the difference.

Revelation 13 Verse 4, So they [the people of the world] worshiped the dragon. That’s the devil who gave authority to the beast. They worshiped the beast saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’

That to me suggests that somehow he will accumulate an arsenal of nuclear weapons which nobody would dare to challenge. That may not be true but it’s a possibility.

Verse 5, ‘he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue 42 months.’ Now this is very important. Who gave him that authority? God.

See we’re going to face a situation in which God permits a certain evil ruler to exercise authority for three and a half years. It could well be that many of us will be alive at that time. We need to bear in mind this is God’s doing. I think that’s one reason why the Bible is so explicit about it. We could be astonished and say, God why do You permit this wicked man to rule the nations and to persecute the true believers? I’m not sure that God gives an answer. But He says it’s going to happen and when it happens you better know I’m the one who’s permitted it. If you can see your faces. I think some of you have never entertained that thought before.

I think personally that a lot of us are going through experiences which are preparing us. And we’re learning that we cannot manipulate God. I mean we know all the truths about healing but we don’t always get healed is that right? Why not? God doesn’t always explain. There are things God doesn’t explain.

One thing that’s essential to success in the Christian life is to acknowledge the sovereignty of God. He does what He wants, when He wants, the way He wants and He asks no one’s permission, not even yours.

All right, verse 6: ‘Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.’ That’s open blasphemy of the true God.

Verse 7: ‘And it was granted to him by God to make war with the saints and to overcome them.’ Just absorb that for a moment. God gave him permission to make war with the true believers and to overcome them.

‘If in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men the most to be pitied.’ Maybe that’s one of the lessons we’re going to have to learn. Our hope is not fixed in this world. It goes beyond time into eternity. And not everything will be straightened out in time. Some of you don’t look happy.

See, there is a weakness in the contemporary charismatic movement that suggests you get all you want now and live in peace and prosperity for the rest of your life. I didn’t intend to say this but Ruth and I recently worked through the book of Job. And at the end, God I hope I’m saying the right thing. I don’t want to disappoint anybody.

But at the end after it all happened, you know God appeared to Job. And interestingly enough Job had no more questions after he’d seen the Lord. He didn’t have to have an answer to every point in detail. Just meeting the Lord was sufficient.

And then the Lord said in effect, now Job spoke about Me what was right. But your three friends spoke about Me what is not right. And I’ve been pondering on that for more than a month. And let me say it this way. I really didn’t mean to say this but I think God wants me to.

When you analyze the words of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar… What were they preaching? And the answer is the prosperity gospel. You study it carefully: ‘Everything will be all right. You’ll never be sick. You’ll always have plenty of money.’ In a sense it’s all true. But God said they didn’t speak about Me what was right.

Job came out and said some very bitter things about God. And God said he said what was right. Ponder that. I don’t think — I believe the prosperity gospel. I’ve taught it for years. Longer than most of the people that are teaching it. In fact some of them got it from me. Now I’m saying that because they’ve told me that. But it isn’t the last word.

I mean I’m saying this because I’m really concerned about you. Because you may end up embittered, disillusioned, disappointed. If you don’t make room for God’s sovereignty in your life. What Don said about the fear of the Lord I said Amen and Amen and Amen. What he wants more than anything else is reverent respect for Him. And a willingness to acknowledge He knows His job. He knows what He’s doing. He never makes a mistake. Every choice He makes is right. Do you believe that? Put your hand up if you believe it. Because I do. All right remember you put your hand up a week from now.

All right we’re going on in Revelation 13.

Verse 8: ‘All who dwell on the earth will worship him…’ That’s the beast. And in worshipping the beast they worship Satan. ‘whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.’

So who will be exempt? Only those whose names were written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. In other words, God preserves those whom He has chosen. And the most important thing in a way is to know that God chose you. Again this is not widely taught in the church today. But it happens to be true.

You’re not a Christian because you chose to be a Christian. You’re a Christian because God chose you. And that makes it much more secure. Many Christians are kind of anxious and striving and trying to make it through and wondering if they will. They haven’t understood that God chose them from eternity that He has a plan for their lives which is going to be worked out. Relax. Stop trying to be so good and enjoy God.

I want you to know that Ruth and I have learned these lessons the hard way. I’m not preaching a theory. All right.

Verse 9: ‘If anyone has an ear, let him hear.’ I didn’t even know that verse was there.

Now verse 10 I’m going to turn to the NIV. Because I believe it’s the more accurate translation.

That’s verse 9 and 10 which says, he who has an ear let him hear.

‘If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with a sword, with the sword he will be killed.’ That’s almost fatalism, isn’t it? If I’m due for captivity that’s where I’ll go. If I’m due to be killed, to be killed I will.

Then it says, and this is the application. ‘This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.’

No matter what is happening. No matter how you’re treated. No matter how badly things may seem to go. God expects patient endurance and faithfulness.

Shall I tell you something about endurance? There’s only one way to learn endurance. You know what that is? It’s by enduring. And God is putting many of you through things that you don’t understand and you don’t like. Because you’re going to have to learn endurance if you’re going to survive. And He’s preparing many of us to endure much more than we’re enduring right now. Can you say praise? Praise the Lord.

I’m sorry to say things that disappoint you but they just happen to be true. I believe.

All right we’re going on in verse 11 –

I mean that sincerely. I wouldn’t want to dash your hopes or leave you feeling downcast.

Verse 11: ‘Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke like a dragon.’

Now the earth I believe represents religion. That’s just my personal opinion. Here is a religious figure. And remember that religion is the most powerful force in humanity. It’s far more powerful than atheism or materialism. And so if Satan is going to captivate the human race he has to have somebody religious to do it. If the Antichrist is going to exercise total authority he has to use religion as a way of attaining that.

And it says this beast in verse 11 had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. He claimed to be a lamb but he was really a dragon. He claimed to be a follower of Jesus but he didn’t have the Spirit of Jesus.

Verse 12: ‘And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.’ Notice the supreme thrust of this is worship of the beast.

Verse 13-14: ‘He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast…’

What’s the danger there in one word? Deception, that’s right. Because of miraculous signs. Not all miracles attest the truth of the Word of God. Some miracles are done in order to affirm lies. And it was said, it was granted to him. God, do You really mean that? Are You really going to permit these practitioners of evil to do miracles? God says yes.

And then he says in verse 14, ‘he tells those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.’

So here is something that is probably in the realm of the supernatural, an image that can speak. Although with present electronic achievements you can do that. How many of you have been to Disney World and seen the speaking image of Abraham Lincoln? Where he stands and he makes a speech. So I’m not saying that will be, I think it will be on a higher level than that.

But anybody who will not worship the image of the beast, there’s only one destiny: to be killed.

I point out here that we have a satanic trinity. And I’d just like you to notice that for a moment.

The dragon, Satan, is the counterpart of God the Father. The beast, the Antichrist, is the counterpart of the Son. The false prophet is the counterpart of the Holy Spirit. And the idol that they produce is the counterpart of the church.

See, Satan has no inventiveness, no creativity. He can only imitate what God has already done. And there is a famous Latin saying, Diabolus Simia Dei., the devil, the ape of God. He has no creativity.

All right.

Now then let’s come to these exciting verses that everybody’s interested in.

Verse 16, ‘And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads…’

Now again, this is just a little simple illustration. Ten years ago I went to Disney World, paid my fee, went in, came out and said I want to come back again. So they stamped something on the back of my hand and let me go. But when I came back they said show us the back of your hand. They shone ultraviolet light on it and they could see that it would be stamped with the date of the day. So I was allowed in again.

Now I’m not saying that anything as crude as that will be what’s referred to here. But it’s just an example of the way things are moving.

Verse 17: ‘And that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.’ Now you can get away in that system with three things: the mark, the name or the number. But without those you cannot buy or sell. You’re excluded from all society.

Now the number of the name of the beast fascinates many people.

And it says in verse 18, ‘Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.’

Now the fact is that amongst Jewish people every name has a number. And I believe the same is potentially true in Greek society. Because both in Hebrew and in Greek the letters of the alphabet also are numerical values. The first ten letters are one through ten. After that it goes up by tens. Ten, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 100. After that it goes up by hundreds. 200, 300, 400. And it depends how many letters there are in the alphabet. How high you can go. The Hebrew alphabet only goes to 400. The Greek goes higher.

So my dear wife Ruth, come and stand here for a moment sweetheart. So that they can see you’re really there — has a Hebrew name which is root. which is just the same as English except that the final letter is just one sound. It’s ar, resh, vav, tav. Now all those have numerical values. So if you write her name vertically and write opposite each letter the value of the name, then all you have to do is add up and you get the number of the name.

Now Ruth met a rabbi in Israel when she first went there and he said to her your name Ruth is a very powerful name because it has a high number. But I’ll tell you what her name is and I mean this is rather critical because of the 666 thing.

Ar is 200. The last letter tav is 400. So that makes 600. So where are we with the middle letter? The answer is it’s six. So Ruth’s name is 606. You understand? This is not, I mean this is not obscure. It’s an accepted fact.

Now, thank you sweetheart. Because of this I checked on the value of Jesus in Greek which is the language in which we get this book. And I wrote the letters down vertically, wrote opposite them the numerical value, added it up and you know what I got? 888. Well I personally believe that’s significant. The false Christ is 666. The true Christ is 888.

Now it may come a time when there’ll be a name that you’ll need to add up. And if it adds up to 666, you better pack your bags and get ready to move. Now you’re laughing but I mean I think it’s, I think it’s serious.

All right now, we just turn to Revelation 17 for a few quick moments. Verses 12 and 13.

Do you remember the beast had ten horns? And it says here…

Revelation 17:12-13: ‘The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind and they will give their power and authority to the beast.’

So the ultimate expression of Gentile authority is a kingdom of ten kings. Or let’s say a community of ten kings.

OLD TESTAMENT REVELATIONS

Now I want to go back to the Old Testament and deal a little bit with Daniel. Because much of Revelation is based on Daniel. If you don’t understand Daniel, there’s a limit to how far you can understand Revelation. And we’ve got some figures here and some helpful people who are going to point out the features on the figures.

Now if you can’t see this, you should be able to see one of the, what do you call them? What’s the word? Yes over, but there’s a single word, what is it? [Acetate] that’s right.

So gird up the loins of your mind and hold on because we’re going to go into something now.

Four successive Gentile empires: (Dan. 2:31–33)

In Daniel chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. And when he woke up in the morning, he couldn’t remember what he’d dreamt. And so being a total autocrat, he sent for all his magicians, sorcerers, soothsayers, Chaldeans and all the rest and said, ‘Tell me my dream and the interpretation.’

And they all said, ‘King, that’s unreasonable. You tell us the dream, we’ll tell you the interpretation.’

He said, ‘No, I want you to tell me the dream and the interpretation. If you don’t, you’ll all be executed.’

So they sent out the executioner to start executing and they came to Daniel. And Daniel said, ‘Why so hasty? Give me time and I’ll tell the king his dream and the interpretation.’

And he prayed and God showed Daniel in a night vision what he was praying for. So this is what Daniel says to the king.

In Daniel 2 verse 31 and following.

Daniel 2:31-35: ‘You, O king, were watching, and behold a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you and its form was awesome. This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.’

‘You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.’

That is a figurative description of the coming of Jesus and the establishment of His kingdom. But when it comes, the stone cut without hand, the first thing it does is fall on the feet of the image. And as a result, the whole image is disintegrated totally and just disappears like chaff.

Now that’s God’s estimate of Gentile power that’s not based on God’s authority. And really it’s almost comical how God expresses His view. Because first of all, it was an image, it was not reality. Second, it was in a dream, not reality. Third, the person who had the dream couldn’t remember his dream. Fourth, the progress was from the head down to the feet. And it was always a less valuable metal than the previous one. It was from gold to silver to bronze to iron to clay. That’s God’s estimate of the Gentile nations and their history.

We hear a lot about evolution and doubtless it applies in some places. But people neglect the fact that there is also devolution. And this very clearly depicts the devolution of humanity and of its temporal power. Always going down, always less valuable and ultimately dissipated so that nothing is left of it.

Now let’s consider the significance of the parts of the image. So you will point when I talk.

Head of gold = Babylon

The head is interpreted. Very simply it’s Babylon, represented by Nebuchadnezzar.

Shoulders and two arms of silver = Medo-Persia

Babylon was succeeded in the history of the Middle East by Medo-Persia, the empire of the Medes and the Persians which is the silver chest and arms. And it’s interesting there were two arms signifying that there were two elements to Medo-Persia. There was the Medes and the Persians.

Belly and thighs of bronze = Greece (Reproductive parts)

The next empire that followed was Greece, brought into being by Alexander the Great. And it is represented by the belly and thighs of bronze. And it’s interesting to me, I just observed this, that the belly and thighs represent the reproductive area. And out of all those four empires, the one that has been reproductive spiritually is Greece. Greece is the source of democracy. It’s the source of humanism. It’s the source of all Western philosophy, of which I was a student. It’s the source of relativity. The first Greek philosopher, of whom we have any record, named Protagoras, said certain very simple things. He said, man is the measure of all things. That’s humanism. Exactly. He said, you cannot step twice into the same river, because the second time the water will be different. He presented a totally relativistic picture of reality.

And if you look at the culture of the Western world, the European nations, including Britain, they really are dictated largely by Greece. You have a slightly different form of education from what I went through. But when I went to school, I started learning Latin at the age of nine, and Greek at the age of ten. By the age of twelve, I was expected to be able to write verse in Greek and Latin.

And the schools I attended were, to a certain extent, Christian. But the final authority was Greece. It wasn’t stated that way. But the most important thing was to be able to quote Greek to know the Greek poets and the Greek philosophers. And our culture was molded on that. And when I met Jesus, one of the things I had to do, was renounce my whole involvement with Greek culture and philosophy. So this is just an illustration of how exact the Word of God is.

In fact, I would say that Britain has got to be delivered from the slavery to the classics, before it will have a real revival. When I first brought Ruth to Britain after we were married, I wanted to show her England and London. And I took her around to Buckingham Palace and all those places. And she was just shocked by the fact that everything was filled with idols, images, Greek statues. And I’ve been so used to it, I didn’t occur to me. But I suddenly realized, this is the dominating spiritual influence in Britain.

Two legs of iron = Rome, divided between:

All right. We come to the legs of iron, the fourth empire, which is Rome. That’s, I mean this interpretation is agreed by almost all Bible commentators.

Now like the arms, the legs are two. So this warns us that there’s going to be some kind of division. And this is very significant because of its interpretation. So the Roman Empire came into being as one, but in the fourth century it was split into two: Western Empire and Eastern Empire. In the time of Constantine the capital of the Western Empire was Rome. The capital of the Eastern Empire was Constantinople. So you have the two legs.

Now on the two legs are the toes. Everybody understands that. And any normal figure doesn’t have nine toes on one foot and one toe on the other. It has five toes on one foot and five on the other.

So now let’s look at the next picture, if we can. Do you recognize that?

I hope you can. That’s basically Southern Europe. And you see those two legs coming down with the feet partly of iron and partly of clay. Incidentally my appreciation to the person who made these. The right leg’s toes are on Rome. The left leg’s toes are on Constantinople.

Now, if this is accurate. And there are to be 10 kings and a confederation of ten kings. At the present time a lot of people are excited about the European community. And think this is going to be it. But I say that’s impossible. Because you don’t have nine toes on one leg and one toe on the other leg. Furthermore there are a lot more than ten nations now part of the European community. I think the European community is a picture of the way things are going to go. But it’s certainly not the ultimate.

So let’s consider and now I’m giving you inferences. They’re not necessarily statements of doctrine. They may not work out exactly as I suggest. They’re not intended to tell you the final truth. They’re intended to get you thinking along a certain line so that from now on you’ll be able to assess things for yourself in the light of Scripture.

So if we have five toes on the right leg. That is the eastern half of the Roman Empire. We have to ask ourselves what five nations might be there. And this is merely a might. But my answer is Spain, France, Germany, Italy. And if there’s one more it could easily be Austria.

Now one thing to bear in mind about those nations is that they are all by background Roman Catholic. And they are all imperial nations. Every one of them has had an empire. And my comment is the leopard will not change its spots. Ultimately those will be the decisive factors in the conduct of those nations.

Now we go to the eastern half, the left leg. And we have possibly Greece. Let’s have a look. Where do we go? Turkey, Syria, Israel, Palestine or whatever. And Egypt. Now again this is merely a possibility. It meets the requirements because we have five toes on each foot.

Furthermore the ultimate battleground — the final place where things are going to work out is not Europe. It’s the Middle East. And the Middle East has to be involved. So that’s just a way of thinking okay. I’m not by any means claiming it’ll work out exactly that way. But I do think it’s much more probable than any theory that says it will grow out of the European community.

See we’re all tend to be self-centered. And we are more or less Europeans. And so we tend to think it all revolves around us. But the truth of the matter is the one area of the world which plays the major part in Biblical revelation is the Middle East. And it’s got to be the place where the focus ends.

Now you say how could all this come about? I don’t know. And I personally believe we are continually talking about a world government. And President Bush has unfortunately set his sights on that target. I want to say I don’t believe in his new world order. And I don’t want it. That’s my personal reaction.

And I don’t believe, this is my opinion that anybody will be able to bring about a world government except the Antichrist. It’ll take him. Meanwhile we have how many years we don’t know left in which we are still free to some measure to operate and do what God has called us to do.

Now if we’re to have a confederation that extends from Spain to Egypt, the unifying force will probably have to be religion. And there are three religions that could do it in combination: That’s Judaism, Christianity and Islam. And they all have much in common. There’s really only one obstacle to some kind of world religion emerging out of them. Just one obstacle. It’s that awkward historical character named Jesus. Because Jesus said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’

So if Antichrist is to bring this order into being what does he have to do first? Get Jesus out of the way. And he is working assiduously at that day and night. And we have situations now in which the Queen herself as the head of the Anglican Church, has attended the service in an Anglican building where worship was offered by Hindus and Muslims and others. The Pope has attended similar ceremonies.

What does it all tell us? In the last resort if Jesus is an obstacle, get Him out of the way. And then we’ll have unity. We’ll have one world. We can have a one world government. I’m afraid it’s going to happen. I don’t want it. But I think it will happen. Because I think God has said it will happen.

Now all this is in a sense theory. Not all of it, but some of it. And I don’t want to impose my opinions on you. All I want to do is to stimulate you to think in a certain direction.

DANIEL 8

Now in Daniel chapter 8 we have a prophecy about two of the empires. And we don’t have time to go into it in detail. But there is a ram which is Persia and a goat which is Greece. And that’s so typical of both nations. Because it’s a characteristic animal.

Now all this was opened up by Alexander the Great. He was the one that broke through and changed the whole world system. And out of Alexander there came four lesser empires. Maybe you better read that in Daniel chapter 8 if I can find it quickly enough.

Yes, in Daniel 8:8: ‘Therefore the male goat (that’s Greece) grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn, (that’s Alexander) was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.’ But they did not have the same power as Alexander.

Now I think history makes clear what the four empires were: Number one, Macedon, which is northern Greece under Antigonus. Number two, Pergamon in Turkey under the Attalids. Number three, Syria under the Seleucids. And number four, Egypt under the Ptolemies.

Now in Daniel 8:9-11 it tells us the Antichrist is going to arise out of one of these empires in the end time. Much of the purpose of Daniel 7 and 8 is to tell us about the Antichrist. But in each case it gives us a historical background and a geographical background against which we can assess the information.

So it says in Daniel 8 verses 9 through 11, out of one of them, that’s these four, as they called in Greek, diadochi, the successors to Alexander.

‘out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host…’ Now this is the Antichrist who eventually sets himself on the level of Jesus. But it came out of one of the four empires.

Now which one? It says in Daniel 8:9 that it became exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. If it developed towards us it didn’t develop out of them. Are you with me?

So where would we look for it? The south is Egypt, the east is Syria and the glorious land is the land of Israel. Can you point those out? Thank you. Point out, wait a minute, where are we? Egypt, Syria, see that’s the southeast corner of the Mediterranean.

Now what’s the nearest place from which the power could arrive? The answer is Turkey. And I personally believe that’s where it will, where it will settle. I’m not saying it will arise out of Turkey. But it will be located in Turkey and it will be located in one particular town, which is Pergamum.

So a lot of you have not even heard of Pergamum. But it’s one of the cities of the seven churches in the book of Asia. In what did I? The book of Revelation, thank you. The seven churches in Asia.

And if it were to arrive in Pergamum, which we’ll look at in a moment, it would say that Daniel 7 verse 20 says, the truth about the ten horns that were on its head, [that’s the ten we’ve looked at, the toes and the kings], ‘and about the other horn which came up, before which three fell…’ Now that’s the Antichrist, the little horn. Before it, three of the original horns fell.

If my suggestion is correct, the three horns that would fall would be Syria, Palestine and Egypt. And we would have a some kind of political power that dominates the whole of the East End of the Mediterranean, which is where all the final action is going to take place. Bear that in mind.

Satan’s throne is Pergamum (Rev. 2:13)

Now, Revelation 2:13, be patient with me. We’re getting near the end.

Revelation 2:13 says to the church of Pergamum, Jesus speaks and He says in Revelation 2:13, ‘I know your works, and where you dwell where Satan’s throne is.’ So where is Satan’s throne located? In Pergamum.

All right now, in Revelation 13 and verse 2, it says, ‘Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon (that’s Satan) gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.’

Where was his throne? Pergamum. Now Pergamum is an interesting place. In the period before Jesus, in the last two or three centuries, it became a quite significant city. It almost rivaled Alexandria. And it was the center of certain things. It was the center of the worship of Zeus. Zeus, you know, is the god of the, quote, gods, the father of the gods of the Greco-Roman culture. Zeus in Greek, Jupiter in Latin.

Now I believe, and I’m sure many of you will agree with me, those pagan gods are none other than the principalities and powers of which Paul and others speak. They are the satanic rulers in the heavenlies that seek to dominate the earth. And of those, the leader was Zeus.

So in Pergamum, there was a temple of Zeus which had an altar, which was I think 140 feet long, 100 feet wide and 40 feet high. And it had a tremendous carved frieze illustrating the battle of the gods and the giants, all from Greek mythology.

Now in the end of the 19th century, German archaeologists excavated it, took it apart, took it to Berlin and rebuilt it. And it is now located in a museum in Berlin. Now I understand this, it’s hard to prove it. When the Russians moved into Berlin, they made an exact copy of this altar and exported it to Moscow. And it plays some significant role, or did play some significant role, in the various ceremonies of the Communist Party. But it is really the altar of Satan.

Now the people of Bergama, which is the modern form of Pergamum, are agitating to have that altar returned, because they say it really belongs to us, the Germans shouldn’t have taken it.

Now another feature about Pergamum was that it was the center of the worship of the god Asclepius, who was the Greek god of healing. And out of the worship of Asclepius they developed the worship of the Roman Emperor. Emperor worship. And in the evolution of history, first of all a Roman Empire was considered to have become a god after he had died. Then he was received as a god while he was still alive. So the ruler of the Empire became acknowledged as god. In other words the whole spiritual process for the raising up of the Antichrist, has already been worked out in this particular setup.

Now I am not saying that’s the way it will happen, but I’m saying as far as I understand it’s in line with the situation, and with the predictions of the Bible. Time will show whether how far it’s correct. But I trust that I have been able to persuade you that it’s all very real. It’s very relevant. It’s not remote. It’s not from another age. It’s right here and now that these things are happening. And they concern us.

And we need to know how to respond to what Satan is planning. And we have to bear in mind that for a period of at least three and a half years, God is going to permit the Antichrist to have his way. Does your theology make room for that? If not, I think you need to adjust your theology. Because otherwise you’re going to be overtaken with a situation for which you’re totally unprepared.

I’m not suggesting by any means that Antichrist will ever triumph or Satan will ever triumph. But I do believe there’ll be a period, and I believe it’s the same period that’s called in Matthew 24, the great tribulation that is ahead.

Now I know some Christians believe we’ll go out before the tribulation. Some people believe we’ll go out in the middle of the tribulation. Some people believe we’ll go out at the end. I think it’s important that we are prepared for whatever lies ahead, without making up our minds in advance exactly how it’s going to work out.

But my fear is that the majority of the Christians that I move amongst and deal with today, if this were all to happen tomorrow, would be totally unprepared.

Peter said to the Christians, ‘arm yourselves with the same mind. As Jesus suffered, you’re going to suffer.’ So if you have that mindset, you’re armed, you’ll survive. But if you go out into the conflict without that mindset, you’re going out unarmed. I’m not a gloomy person. I believe in the total victory of Jesus. But I believe there’s things that have to happen, and many of them have to happen in the church, because the church is far from ready for its divine destiny.

And one of the things, this is subjective, but Jesus spoke to us recently, Ruth and me. He said He wants a church with muscles, not flabby, not overweight. The Africans here would appreciate this.

When I was the principal of a college for training African teachers in Kenya, I was walking along one day with one of my students, and I didn’t give any notice. I simply said, what kind of a girl would you like to marry?

And he didn’t miss a step. He didn’t stop for a moment to pause. He said, she must be brown and muscular.

Well, I don’t know about the church being brown, but I think she has to be muscular. There’s one beautiful picture of the church in the Old Testament. It’s in Genesis 24. It’s Rebecca, who was the chosen bride. It’s a beautiful parable. But when Rebecca came along, and Jacob was standing there, you know what she did? She drew enough water for all 10 camels. And a camel can drink 40 gallons of water. So she drew 400 gallons of water. Don’t tell me she wasn’t muscular.

All right.

HOW ARE WE GOING TO BE SURE THAT WE MAKE IT THROUGH?

I want to return and close with this. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.

2 Thessalonians 2:10: Satan will work… ‘with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Therefore God will send them strong delusion.’

There is only one guarantee of safety. It is to receive the love of the truth. God is offering the love of the truth. The question is, will you receive it? Will you commit yourself to be faithful to Jesus, who is the truth, and to the Word of God, which is the truth? And don’t believe in an unscriptural Jesus.

I think I must turn to this. I didn’t intend to. But in 2 Corinthians 11, Paul writes in verse 2, to the church.

2 Corinthians 11:2, ‘For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.’

Now in the culture of those days, betrothal was not marriage, but it was as binding as marriage. And it was the step to marriage. And a woman who was unfaithful in the time of betrothal, was treated like an adulterous.

And I think it’s a wonderful testimony, what the blood of Jesus can do, that Paul could speak about the church at Corinth as a chaste virgin. When you think of their background, they were pimps, prostitutes, drunkards, extortioners, liars, thieves. But the blood of Jesus could produce out of them, a bride who would be a chaste virgin. Isn’t that something?

But Paul says, ‘I fear somehow, as the servant deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the purity and simplicity that is in Christ.’

I tell you I fear for that. Basically the gospel is a pure simple message. I may not be able to communicate it that way, but that’s the way it is. I am afraid of too much theology. Actually the theological, what do they call the things, seminaries, are the main breeding ground of unbelief in the church today. That’s a simple statement of fact and it’s not true of them all.

I’m afraid that you’re going to be corrupted from the purity and simplicity of your faith in Jesus Christ. Now Paul says, ‘For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you may well put up with it!’

You see the issue is, is it the real Jesus? Because if you believe in another Jesus, then you’ll receive a different gospel and a different spirit. Now there are many versions of another Jesus being peddled in the church today. One is a Marxist revolutionary. That’s what’s called liberation theology. It sweeps much of South America including the Catholics. Another is a talented guru on a level with Buddha and others.

I want to tell you Jesus is no guru. He’s the Son of God and the Creator of the universe. And if you think of Him in terms of a guru, you have no concept whatever of who He is. You are receiving another gospel and you’ll be open to a different spirit.

And then there’s the vision of Jesus as a kind of Father Christmas. Who walks around patting people on the head and saying there, there, don’t worry it’ll be all right. Jesus has eyes like a flame of fire and a sharp two-edged sword goes out of His mouth. And although John had known Him intimately in the days of His flesh, when John met the resurrected Jesus in the opening chapter of Revelation, he fell at His feet as one dead. That’s the Christ that we serve and that we worship.

So let’s make up our minds to receive the love of the truth and to renounce anything that conflicts. I don’t want to, I should stop, but I have to say God spoke to Ruth and me and I’m, you’re open to judge this. And He said you can only have fellowship with those who have the love of the truth. And I understand that because otherwise we’re playing games. And fellowship is very open, very sincere, very frank, but it demands the love of the truth.

So how are we going to end? I have to do something.

I don’t want to make it too easy, that’s the problem. I could say if you want to receive the love of the truth, stand and then we’ll pray. But I don’t think that you can do it that easily. I’ve confessed to you honestly I don’t know how to close this message.

Well I think we owe it to you to pray for you. I’m not going to ask you to make any response because I’ve seen that’s an easy way out. You call people forward, they pray, they shed a few tears and they walk away no different from what they were. Some of you need to be very different people from what you are. And we cannot change you, but we can pray for you.

Brothers and sisters, those of you who are behind me, come and pray for these dear wonderful people of God. I think it would be good if you were to stand, you’ve been sitting patiently so long. And if you have any word brothers, yes you feel free to deliver it.

We’ll pray, we’ll start with praying.

Lord Jesus Christ, You are the way, the truth and the life. You are the head over all things to the church which is Your body. And so tonight we want to acknowledge You. We want to bow our hearts in Your presence. And we want to give You the preeminence which is due to You. Lord if we don’t have the love of the truth, if we’re playing around with all sorts of religious games and theories, and our religion is a kind of play, Lord change us. Change us we pray. We pray for those standing before You. That where necessary You’ll convict of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. But You will not allow us to go on playing religious games and calling it Christianity. Have mercy on us Lord. Have mercy on the church in this nation. And send a real revival which will change the church. In Jesus’ name we ask it. Amen.

For Further Reading:

Israel In The End Times: Derek Prince (Transcript)

Days of Noah & Lot: Derek Prince (Transcript)

The Spine of Biblical Prophecy: Derek Prince (Transcript)

Predictive Prophecies Of The Bible (Pt 1): Derek Prince (Transcript)

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