anti-christ or christ? how to know?

bb,

hey what took you so long?

yeah man we have had this debate before.gge

I don't think that immortality is all it's cracked up to be anyways.

you know we can get it easily right?

just pray to the right god and you got leather skin (from many seasons in the sun) or pray to the other one and get to join the sun.

"I think it comes down to feelings."

That's right. Christ will not come to create peace. He comes to be humiliated.

The smart thing for the Anti-Christ to do would be to present himself as a fundamentalist, taking all things into consideration this would be the only way.

Keep in mind that Jesus died at the hands of fundamentalists/extreemist. So as far as what was against Jesus, what will be, should not be much different.

With exception of in case Jesus kicks there a$$.

Any thoughts?




[Edited on 31-10-2003 by Toltec]

How will we know?
Take care not to be caught unprepared, if something is to happen. Start getting ready now so that you'll be able to resist difficulties. Christ Himself tells us: "Therefore be ye also ready" (Matt. 24:44),


And in the latter times of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up." (Daniel 8:23)

"Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders...." (2 Thessalonians 2:9)



We must be aware of the Apostasy that is surrounding us on a daily basis, and be spiritually prepared to suffer in our struggles to be witnesses of our faith. What can we ourselves do to avoid Apostasy?
"Get to know it, protect yourself from it and that is enough for you. Get to know the spirit of the times, study it so that you can avoid its influence whenever possible", wrote the humble Bishop Igantius.


"Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God � And now you know what is restraining (Divine Grace and Providence), which does not allow his appearance. that he 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.
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.
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.
And for this reason God will will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thes. 2:3-11).


St. Paul wrote: "For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, �Peace and safety!� then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape" (1 Thes. 5:1-6).

The Antichrist will not be content with mere political authority and outward transformations. Praised by all, he will become so conceited that he will regard himself as a superhuman endowed with divine power.
He will proclaim a new world-view � a new religion and new morality in place of "outmoded" and "unsuccessful" Christian teaching. Possessed by delusions of grandeur, he will present himself as God and sit in the temple, (possibly in Jerusalem's temple rebuilt where the King Solomon's temple) used to be demanding divine worship.



According to St. Paul, the activities of the Antichrist will be extremely successful, being supported by satan, and accompanied by lying signs, false miracles, and all kinds of unrighteous deception of the perishing.
By signs and miracles of the Antichrist we should understand not only the deceptive tricks aimed to delight the crowd but also the highest accomplishments of science, which will be exploited to strengthen his rule (According to Rev. 13:15, the false prophet had the "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.")
The most sophisticated form of surveillance on people will be used to control their activities. Those wishing to buy or to sell anything will have to present official permission to do so (According to Rev. 13:17, "no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.") Radio, TV programs, and the press will strive to shape the most favorable image of the world Leader in order to strengthen his political power and admiration among people.
Any person daring to question the genius of this Leader, or disagreeing with his measures, will be ridiculed, persecuted, and ultimately destroyed as a public enemy.

An image of the coming Antichrist is portrayed by the prophet Daniel in the appearance of a minor horn. Here the prophet describes the characteristics of the Syrian King Antioch Epiphanos � the cruel persecutor of the faithful Jews about 175-164 BC � as a prototype of the Antichrist.
In the book of Revelation, the Antichrist is depicted as a beast, coming out of the sea. Some of the characteristics of this monster remind us of the Roman emperors Nero and Domitian, fierce persecutors of Christians in the first century AD.
These emperors were contemporaries of St. John who wrote the book of Revelation. To avoid confusion, one should bear in mind that in the book of Revelation the term beast applies not only to the personal Antichrist but also to the whole governmental machine of his anti-Christian empire (Daniel 7:11 and the first 2 books of Maccabees; Rev. ch 13, 19:19-21).


If we take literally the time indicated by Holy Scripture regarding the rule of the beast, the activity of the Antichrist will last for about 3 1/2 years. It will end with the Second Coming of Christ, the General Resurrection of the Dead, and the Last Judgment (Daniel 7:25; Rev. 11:2-3, 12:13, 13:5).
The Revelation of St. John mentions the appearance of two witnesses, who will proclaim the truth, perform miracles, and, upon completion of their witness, be killed by the Antichrist. These witnesses have been foreseen by some Fathers of the Church to be the two righteous of the Old Testament period � the patriarch Enoch (Gen. 5:23) and the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) � because only these two men did not die but were taken alive to Heaven.
Presumably they will have to return to earth to complete their earthly mission, to suffer for the Word of God and to die as all mortals should........


Most people, preoccupied with their material well-being, will be incapable of understanding what is happening before their eyes, or the point toward which the world is headed.
For this reason the Savior warned His disciples: "Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth" (Lk. 21:34-36).

Originally posted by glan
I think anyone who doesn't worship God is an Antichrist, and he actually says so in the Bible, but I also believe there will be Satan on earth acting as God as well. Just my little tid bit.

The Anti-Christ is the Pope and the Church. All the answers to your questions are right in front of your faces.

[Edited on 31-10-2003 by TheCatalyst]

Originally posted by TheCatalyst

Originally posted by glan
I think anyone who doesn't worship God is an Antichrist, and he actually says so in the Bible, but I also believe there will be Satan on earth acting as God as well. Just my little tid bit.

glan mentions the anti-christ wright in front of all of your faces. The Anti-Christ is the Church. All the answers to your questions are right in front of your faces.

How is the Antichrist the CHURCH.....???
Catalyst, you state that the Church is the Antichrist.......what exactly do you mean?
The Antichrist has not come.......and when he does, i'm sure many will know and pay attention to what Jesus Christ said...
spiritual deception so persuasive as to deceive, if it were possible, even the very elect (Matt. 24,:24) ....

As the time of the end of this world comes near, it is true that there will be a time of tribulation such as the world has never seen [Matt 24:21]:

Although party politics have indeed reached an extreme in these last times when the love of many grows cold (Matt. 24:12), the "party mentality" is not, of course, new to the modern age: it is a common tendency of the fallen, carnal side of humanity.
Even St. Paul had to deal with it when writing to the church at Corinth: Every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? While one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal? (I Cor. 1:12-13; 3:4).

Perhaps the most fearful sign of the soon-coming Return of Christ is described in Revelation 17 and following. It is called �Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth� (Revelation 17:5).
�Babylon has always stood for rebellion against God�self-exaltation and idolatry� (The Orthodox Study Bible, p. 622). This sym�bolic use of Babylon seems to indicate a massive coalition of global, economic, political and religious powers that will bring the world to its final judgment.

It's all just propeganda to make you believe one side is better than the other.
Either you are slaves to God or slaves to the Devil.
Screw them BOTH, I don't believe in them, I don't need to be told what to do by either side.
When you're through wrecking this planet, there will be people here who will rebuild, so get your stupid war over with and get lost.

Originally posted by �any
It's all just propeganda to make you believe one side is better than the other.
Either you are slaves to God or slaves to the Devil.
Screw them BOTH, I don't believe in them, I don't need to be told what to do by either side.
When you're through wrecking this planet, there will be people here who will rebuild, so get your stupid war over with and get lost.

kinda what i'm getting at, except that i believe, based on the high degree of order in the uni(multi)verse, that it was created by god. the church and god should not be confused as being synonymous. it seems to be a common trap. i believe god's law is the law of the jungle.