The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Tail of the Dragon, #24

And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. (Revelation 11:11)

The two witnesses (Christ—Head and Body) will remain "dead" for "three days and an half," for a time, times, and the dividing of time.

After the time, times, and the dividing of time have elapsed, the witnesses will be raised and the saints will take possession of the Kingdom of God, as we see in Daniel 7:25-27.

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)

The Problem of Self-will

The Antichrist will reveal in himself the inevitable evolution, the final result, of the self-will of man. The individual who chooses to do the will of the Father is not understood by Satan and is feared by Satan.

The individual (a believer in Christ or not) who maintains his own will, his own individuality, is understandable to Satan and is accepted by him. Satan may assist that person, whether or not he is a Christian, in the following of his own will—even in the constructing of Christian works.

The certain end of all who do not surrender their will to the will of Jesus is as follows:

And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in [the] heaven. (Revelation 13:6)

Because religious organizations proceed from the self-will of man we find a Christ-murdering spirit in them. Think about the attitude of the Pharisees toward the Lord Jesus. The Pharisees represented an organization that was attempting to explain and systematize the revelation of the true and living God. Notice also the attitude of the various popes of the Catholic Church toward those through whom the Spirit of God was bearing witness during the centuries of the Church Era.

The same Antichrist spirit of blasphemy against God and against those who dwell in Heaven with Jesus is revealed in the various Christian organizations as they react to the speaking in tongues that the Holy Spirit of God has restored to the Lord's elect.

As Jesus continues to move among the churches, up to and including the time when He is revealed to the nations, the Christian organizations will continue to blaspheme God and those who dwell in Heaven. The self-will of man is the enemy of God and His Christ.

Revelation 13:6 (above) is the "abomination of desolation" spoken of by the Lord Jesus (Matthew 24:15). Antichrist will take his seat in the Most Holy Place of a restored temple in Jerusalem. He will declare that he is the God of Israel, that there is no other God beside himself. This is the end result of religious ambition.

We can see the Antichrist spirit of religious ambition being endorsed by the "stars," the ministers of the Charismatic movement, as they encourage their followers to obtain success by applying self-centered, soulish "faith."

To be continued.