NO.12/ ON ANTICHRIST #5 RULERS
“In this particular instance, however, it would be called for what it truly is - antichrist; that human thrust within the unconverted man to live “in place of Christ” and rule as if HE WERE GOD. ”
In the gospel accounts where Jesus fasted for 40 days and then took on the devil, have you ever thought about the fact that this encounter is the first time (biblically speaking) we are shown a confrontation between pure light and pure darkness? This "dynamic" is precisely what Paul was talking about when he observed,
“All things that are exposed are made manifest by the light for whatever makes manifest is light." (Eph. 5:13)
In the Lord's case, it took the full measure of HIS BRILLIANCE AND GOODNESS to expose the FULL MEASURE OF THE DEVIL'S EVIL. Keep this in mind for a moment.
I mentioned in the previous post that the "devil" cannot create; he can only counterfeit what the Lord has created. This means, until the advent of Christ, there was NO antichrist. However, that's not to say the essence of antichrist didn't already exist prior to the Lord's arrival. When the devil tempted Eve, he did so with the promise that IF she ate the fruit from the poison tree, she would live "as gods knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:5).
Of course, this promise to live "as gods" did not imply either she or Adam would BE GOD (although Eve didn't know this). Believing this tree would make her wise, she ate and got her husband to eat as well. Only then did they realize the horrors they brought upon themselves ... and still, they were not God.
Nevertheless, eating the poison fruit did allow both Adam and Eve to live as if THEY WERE GOD! Now possessing their own source of information, they would go on to establish their own set of rules and determine their own pathways ... JUST LIKE GOD!
This takes us back to our definition of what antichrist means - "in place of Christ." Although there was not a "Christ" to counterfeit when Adam and Eve were created, hopefully you're seeing the similarities between HOW they lived life in opposition to God after the fall, and how antichrist lives in today's world.
This is what makes Nebuchadnezzar's dream and Daniel's vision so important to us. They represent a "coming of age" where man's "lie" would be "unveiled" for what it truly is.
Let me explain.
When Daniel interpreted the king's dream, did you notice first time around that the promises given to him by God were THE SAME as when given to Adam? Let me repeat them here.
"You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all. - you are this head of gold." (Dan. 2:37-38 NKJV)
Oops! Did I say "the same?" I made a mistake. Adam and Eve were only given rule over the beasts and the birds. They were NOT given rule over OTHER MEN. In Nebuchadnezzar's case, however, that all changed.
Contradiction? No, but it does require an explanation. To do so, we need to see God's heart and HOW HE LOOKS AT MAN'S RULERSHIP. Let's first start with Paul's observation about rulership.
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God [granted by His permission and sanction], and those which exist have been put in place by God." (Rom 13:1 NLT).
The key point here (which the Amplified rendering picks up beautifully) is that, authority is "granted by His permission and sanction." This doesn't mean He wants men to rule over others. It means that when men rule, they do so within the parameters and blessings of HIS authority. That's it.
Paul's teaching, however, falls short in revealing God's true heart; it only establishes where ALL rule and authority come from. To see God's heart, we need to go back to the eighth chapter of 1 Samuel. There, we find the children of Israel demanding that Samuel (the Lord's presiding prophet of the day) make them a King so they could be like the rest of the Gentile nations. This demand discouraged Samuel into thinking that Israel had rejected him. It also required that God step in and set him straight.
"Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but THEY HAVE REJECTED ME, THAT I SHOULD NOT REIGN OVER THEM." (1 Samuel 8:7 NKJV)
God's desire for the children of Israel was that He rule over them; this, as opposed to them being ruled by a human king or some other form of rulership. With the law to guide them, all that was necessary was a "Judge," which God would raise up from time to time (as was necessary) to settle disputes or get them back on track.
Clearly, this "relationship" didn't last, but not because God didn't want to continue in it. I'm thinking Israel felt it would be less confusing if they had a ruler they could see as to one they could not (IMHO). Oh did they live to regret it.
If I might add, this is PRECISELY what the Lord wants to do with us now; He wants to preside over our affairs and rule. Yes, I know we have rulers over us, of which Paul said to pray for them "SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL FOR US!" But God's desire to be our King and not some man remains at the top of His list.
How does this apply to Nebuchadnezzar and God giving Him rule over all the earth and everything in it (including his fellow man)?
God "sanctioned" a NECESSARY evil (meant in context to how He desires to rule up close and personal) and deemed Nebuchadnezzar's empire to be the best of the best, the most noble of nobles, the purest of pure ... all the while Nebuchadnezzar was still a flawed human being.
And that's where the problems would start. Being flawed, God told Nebuchadnezzar, "But after you shall arise another kingdom INFERIOR to yours; then, another ... and then a FOURTH " (Dan. 2:39 NKJV). AHHH, finally, a fourth! This would be the worst of the bunch. It would also exist at the same time as Christ.
Hmmmmm! Do you see where I'm going with this?
This FOURTH Kingdom would arise to prominence in the same time frame as Christ's full BRILLIANCE SHONE IN ISRAEL. And just as Christ would be revealed to be the TRUE "hope of glory" (Coll. 1:27) in us, this FOURTH KINGDOM would be exposed and revealed for what it ALWAYS WAS AND STILL IS - an effort to live “AS GOD.
In this particular instance, however, it would be called for what it truly is - antichrist, that human thrust within the unconverted man to live "in place of Christ" and rule as if HE WERE GOD.
AND I QUOTE,
"Listen to this, you pleasure-loving kingdom, living at ease and feeling secure. You say, 'I am the only one and there is no other.'" (Isa. 47:8 NLT)
However, God says it this way.
"I am the Lord, and there is no other." (Isa 45:5 NLT).
See the similarities? These represent two heart conditions in opposition to the other. Need I say who wins?
From this point forward, we are going to jump into the deep end of the pool and take this subject head-on through the eyes of John in the book of Revelation. But let me qualify something first.
There are many teachers of Bible Prophecy. I don't consider myself to be one. However, in my intimacies with the Lord, I have been humbled many many times, even brought to tears, at the wonderful insights the Lord has allowed me to grasp. I'm not offering this to set me apart from others. If the truth be known, I would hope God is that to ALL OF YOU as well. But He has been that to me.
What we are going to discuss via John's book is what I promised when we started this discussion - a "revelation" the Lord gave my wife and I about a month ago. I've wanted to shout it to the world since that day but knew that without a proper foundation, no one would appreciate what brought my wife and I to tears.
These FIVE posts have been preparatory to get us to this point. Next Post, we dive in!
