The Battle Is On: The Battle For Truth

The Church of Christ is continually represented under the figure of an army; yet its Captain is the Prince of Peace; its object is the establishment of peace, and its soldiers are men of a peaceful disposition. The spirit of war is at the extremely opposite point to the spirit of the gospel.

Yet, nevertheless, the church on earth has, and until the second advent must be, the church militant, the church armed, the church warring, the church conquering. And how is this?

It is in the very order of things that so it must be. Truth could not be truth in this world if it were not a warring thing, and we should at once suspect that it were not true if error were friends with it. The spotless purity of truth must always be at war with the blackness of heresy and lies.

- C.H. Spurgeon

The Wound of the Beast in the Tribulation

Harris, Gregory R. “ The Wound of the Beast in the Tribulation”. Bibliotheca Sacra 156 (October-December 1999) pp.459-68

Introduction

Gregory H. Harris, Associate Professor of Biblical Exposition at Southeastern Baptist Theological College, endeavors to show the reader through solid exegesis what the Wound of the Beast refers to. Although he reveals his own viewpoint, Harris shows different viewpoints because he wants the reader to be objective as possible in determining what possible viewpoint makes the most sense hermeneutically speaking. Harris presents a treatise that shows he has truly mastered the subject. Harris’s explanation of all the views is significant because this event described in the Book of Revelation is extremely important in Biblical Eschatology. How a person interprets Revelation is important and that is why Harris presents all the evidence and not just his own viewpoint. This writing is not polemical. He is not waging war on any particular view, nor is he insulting any particular view in which he points out. He wants people to know that this event is important because it will cause the world at large to worship the beast, who is considered by most evangelical commentators to be the Antichrist (459).

Summary

Harris poses a question when he asks, who is the Beast who will receive the wound (459)? He then presents to the reader five views that could potentially be the interpretation of this particular question and they are the following: 1.) The Nero Redivivus View, 2.)The Non Personal View, 3.) The Reincarnation View, 4.) The Revived Roman Empire View, and finally 5.) The Antichrist View.

The Nero Redivivus View, (held from the preterist viewpoint that postulates that the entire book of Revelation has already been fulfilled), states that John and the early church expected an evil Roman Caesar to return to life, which most people believe to be the emperor Nero ( 460). There are several factors that explain why so many people hold to this view. First, there was the view that Nero committed suicide with the help of the freedman. Not everyone however, believed in his death (460). They believed that during that time he faked his death and would make a triumphant return and destroy his enemies ( 460). In this sense he would be healed from a fatal wound and brought back to life (460). In response to this view, Harris postulates that this view is only a theory. He says that the fact that most Christians in that day and time who held to the view that Nero was the Beast that was mortally wounded in Revelation is understandable due to the intense persecution they went through during his reign of terror. Harris also says that this view does not adequately explain the concept of deception found in Revelation 13 (461). After all, the Antichrist will be accepted at first and Nero would never be accepted by Christians or non Christians for that matter.

The second view that Harris discusses in detail is the Non Personal View. This view states that the wound is a spiritualized reference to evil forces that persecuted the early church, despite having received a deadly blow, and that they involve no future reference (462). Harris questions this view by asking the question, how would the increase of evil promote worldwide amazement and the worship of the beast and Satan (462)?

The third view is known as the Reincarnation View and this view holds that the wounded beast refers to the reincarnation of some individual such as Nero or Judas Iscariot. Harris goes on to say that this view is different from the Nero Redivivus View because the Nero Redivivus View points to Nero being resurrected from the dead. However, it can be said that this view can not be scriptural because the Bible says that when a person dies, then the only thing that is left is judgment. Harris points out that Satan does not need a reincarnated person anyways (462).

The fourth view that Harris points out to the public is that of the Revived Roman Empire View. This view means that the great Roman Empire which fell would be revived in the end of days. Harris goes on to say that this view is supported by Scripture when Daniel 4 makes mention of Nebuchadnezzar’s vision, with the response being that after Nebuchadnezzar’s rule would come a empire stronger than his (463). Also Harris points out that Daniel’s dream of the four beasts is significant because the fourth beast is said to be a fourth kingdom, which turns out to be the revived Roman Empire. Thus the wound of death that will be healed refers to the revived Roman Empire, and not the Antichrist.
The fifth view and the final view that is mentioned is the Antichrist View. This view states that an individual that has yet to appear on the world scene will arise and will receive the wound. He will be satanically resurrected and the world will be amazed and will worship the beast (464). Harris concludes that it is indeed possible that this passage in Revelation 13 refers to an individual who will be murdered then resurrected (468). After all, Satan is the imitator of Jesus Christ. However, it is not clear whether Satan will have the power to resurrect him from the dead unless God gives him the power.

Critical Evaluation

This work written by Gregory Harris gives much information concerning the different views concerning the wound of the Beast. Where he fails in this treatise is that he does not go into detail about the Antichrist. It would be important to know what other scholars think about this important view. It seemed like there was a little bias in his work, but not so much that it ruins his entire treatise. His use of Scripture to make his point was the strength of this article. It is not hard to figure out what view he holds to however. It is apparent that he holds to the Antichrist View. Overall, this work of eschatology would cause everyone that reads it to use Biblical understanding and wisdom in finding the best meaning when it comes to Revelation 13 and the wound of the Beast.
Conclusion
The Wound of the Beast in the Tribulation, when it is truly dissected should never lean toward an allegorical interpretation. Instead, it should be taken as literal, and in the context of Revelation 13, it refers to an individual man, (the beast out of the sea) who will receive a wound and will miraculously be resurrected. The only other plausible view is the Revived Roman Empire View, but again context is very important in Revelation 13, and with all the facts out there, it is with the utmost certainty that a individual man that has not been revealed on earth is the one who receives the wound, and not the Revived Roman Empire.

A Critique Of The Preterist View of Revelation 13 And Nero

Hitchcock, L. Mark, “A Critique Of The Preterist View of Revelation 13 And Nero,” Bibliotheca Sacra 164 (July-September 2007), 341-56

Introduction

Mark L. Hitchcock, pastor of Faith Bible Church in Edmond, Oklahoma, is the author of this article. Within this article Hitchcock takes apart the preterist viewpoint and critiques it using scripture in order to provide the correct interpretation. Within this article Hitchcock critiques what Kenneth Gentry said concerning Nero as the Antichrist in the book of Revelation, which comes from the preterist viewpoint. Kenneth Gentry He comes up with seven reasons with why he does not believe in the preterist position.

Summary

Preterism, according to Hitchcock, is “the view that the Book of Revelation does not predict yet-future eschatological events but events that were fulfilled before and in the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans in A.D. 70 (341).” According to most preterists, Nero is the beast in Revelation 13. So according to this, this means that “Revelation had to have been written before these events occurred which was in the early sixties (341).” So with this knowledge, Hitchcock presents the four arguments that early date supporters rely on to support their view that Nero was the beast.

The first argument depicted is Nero and the Number 666. The number 666 is of course the mark of the beast. One of the most common interpretations of 666 is that … “ six is mankind’s number, which is one number short of God’s perfect number of seven (342).” There is also a symbolic view in which the meaning of 666 … involves some form of gematria, the rabbinic Hebrew form for cryptogrammic riddles in which the numerical value of letters in a proper name are added up to arrive at a numerical value for the name (342).” So advocates of an early date for Revelation use the gematria to identify Nero as the beast of Revelation 13 ( 343). But as Hitchcock points out, the “numerical value of Nero’s name in Greek is 1005 (343).” So what the preterists did was add the title Caesar to Nero’s name and they translated the phrase Nero Caesar from Greek to Hebrew and came up with the number 666.
Hitchcock comes up with five reasons or arguments that “make the identification of Nero with the number of the beast in Revelation 13:16-18 doubtful (344).” The arguments consist of the following: First, for the number 666 to the gematria value of Nero, the name and title Nero Caesar must be used (344). Hitchcock points out that … while Nero’s name with his title can certainly be rendered in this way, this is a case of adapting the facts to fit a predetermined solution. So based on this knowledge Nero could be ruled out (344). Second, verse 16 says that the numerical value 666 is the name of the beast or the number of his name. It has to be pointed out that Nero Caesar is not Nero’s name. So based on what Revelation says Nero cannot be the beast in Revelation 13. Third, for the value to fit Nero Caesar as 666 the Greek must be transliterated to Hebrew. Hitchcock points out that “ Gentry attempts to answer this objection by noting that Revelation is one of the most Jewish books in the New Testament, that John often uses Hebraic terms such as Abbadon and Armageddon and that Asia was well populated by Jews (345).” Hitchcock, however, makes the point that the book of Revelation was written to the Greeks and therefore a Greek calculation of the number would be more precise. Fourth, the argument is made that even if the transliteration is correct then there is still another problem. Hitchcock elaborates further and says that “ the calculation in Hebrew equals 666 only if the Hebrew letter yod is omitted from the word Caesar (345).” Finally, “in order to arrive at the number 666” one of the letters would have to be retained(346).

The second argument is Nero and the 616 Variant. Some early date supporters according to Hitchcock, “seek to identify Nero as the beast of Revelation based on the occurrence of the number 616 in a few ancient manuscripts (346).” The Preterists claim that the variant was there in order for someone who was not Hebrew to be able to identify Nero as the beast in Revelation 13. Hitchcock points out that there is no way to be certain that a connection with Nero was the intention.

The third argument is the worship of the beast. In this argument Gentry, the one that Hitchcock is critiquing, argues that if Nero is the personal incarnation of the beast of Revelation, then Nero must have been worshiped (347).” This makes no sense, because there have been many emperors who have received worship. Hitchcock points out “no one can deny that Nero was worshiped during his reign. The issue is whether the worship of Nero fits the facts of the worship of the beast in Revelation (348).” What Revelation 13 is pointing out is that the beast will have universal success in attracting worshipers. With Nero, the worship was confined only to his area, which does not meet the requirements of Revelation’s beast.

The fourth argument is the death of the beast. According to Hitchcock, Gentry points out that a sword killed Nero. However, Hitchcock says “ Nero committed suicide by stabbing himself in the throat with the help of his secretary (349).” If the persecution of the beast is universal as Revelation suggests that it will be, then Nero cannot be the beast. According to Hitchcock, “it is generally agreed that the Neronic persecution never extended beyond the city of Rome and its immediate environs (349).”

Although there are only four arguments, Hitchcock gives another three additional reasons for rejecting the Nero view of Revelation 13. First, he says concerning Nero, 666, and the early church, that the early church fathers did not recognize Nero as the beast. Second, “there is no historical figure during Nero’s reign who corresponds to the second beast, the beast from the earth in verses 11-18 (353).” The second beast is the false prophet, and most people think he might be an apostate Jew (353).” Hitchcock says “the inability to identify a historical person who fulfilled the roles and activities of the false prophet in the Neronic era is a drawback for the preterist position and an early date for Revelation (354).” Third, it is pointed out that Nero cannot be the beast because he does not fulfill all the requirements to be the beast. For example, according to Revelation 13 the beast will rule for seven years. Nero ruled for fourteen years. This takes Nero out of the equation completely.

Critical Evaluation

This article written by Hitchcock has its strengths and its weaknesses. First of all, the author presents each argument in detail and talks about each point in depth. No one can read this article and not know what preterism is or who Nero is portrayed to be according to preterists. However, this article is filled with quote after quote. He puts down what everyone else says. There has to be some form of originality within a theological paper and this article fails that test. It is quite clear that Hitchcock is against preterists and holds to a futurist position. So in that way he does show bias. This article was a little more subjective than others that have been written in the field of eschatology. It was written in such a way that some people would have a hard time trying to understand what was communicated. This article is written to an audience who can understand Hebrew and Greek. If a person does not understand these very well then it is a little difficult to understand.

Conclusion

Not everyone can read this article. However, if one can read it and really pay attention then there are some things that can be learned in this article. If one wants to know about the preterist position then this is a good article. This article should be read because it does give information on the different viewpoints that people have concerning the identity of the beast. However, if one does not enjoy eschatology then this article should not be read because the average person could not understand its message.

Is the Anti-Christ in Daniel 11

Steinman, E. Andrew, “IS THE ANTICHRIST IN DANIEL 11?,” Bibliotheca Sacra 162 (ApriK-June 2005), 195-209

Introduction

The article presented by Andrew Steinman, Associate Professor of Theology and Hebrew at Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois, poses a question and then through exegesis and solid hermeneutical interpretation does everything he can to put the audience at ease concerning the AntiChrist in Daniel 11. Within this article Steinman breaks apart Daniel 11 and through exegesis and studying Daniel 11 in detail he puts forth the idea that the last part of Daniel 11 is talking about the final leader on earth instead of Antiochus IV Epiphanes ( 175-164 B.C.). One of the things that Steinman does so well in his presentation is that he uses Scripture to verify the facts that he is presenting. In other words he just does not use one passage of scripture to make his argument. He uses a systematic approach in his argument that really adds to the overall quality of the document. People who really enjoy eschatology, should read this article because it will help someone get a better grasp of how Daniel 11 should be interpreted, but it also gives solid historical background, and opinions that were from some of history’s greatest theologians. In other words, it is not just his opinion: There are other people that agree with his opinion, such as Martin Luther, Chrysostom, Hippolytus, Theodoret and Jerome (196).

Summary

Steinman believes that the first part of Daniel 11, particularly Daniel 11:5-35 refers to the kings of the north and south (Seleucid and Ptolemaic). This section continues down to one particularly evil king of the north (Antiochus IV Epiphanes) (199). Antiochus IV Epiphanes was meant as a person who was a sneak preview to the Anti-Christ. He was a person that had many of the qualities that the Anti-Christ would have. Some of the things that Antiochus did was halt the daily sacrifices in the temple and defile the temple by raising up an idol and demanding that the Israelites must worship it. It is also known that Antiochus sacrificed a pig on the altar which is the most disrespectful thing an individual could do in front of a Jew. The point is that Epiphanes and the Anti-Christ are very much alike, but they are separate individuals.

In Daniel 9:27 it is evident that a re-enactment of that treacherous desecration will occur when the prince that shall come makes a treaty with Israel for seven years So, in knowing that Epiphanes resembled the Anti-Christ, who then is the eschatological king in Daniel 11:36-45? One view is that these verses continue to describe Epiphanes, even after a noticeable split after verse 35 in Daniel 11. This view is known as the critical view (197). Upon reading it is clear that Steinman does not agree with the critical view. A couple of the reasons include: 1.) It seems more likely that the author never intended 11:36-45 to be about Antiochus. When this is added to the fact that scholars who apply these verses to Antiochus admit that verses 40-45 do not fit what is known about Antiochus, it is very probable that it is the Antiochene theory, and not some distortion by the author of Daniel, that is the cause of these problems (202), 2.) According to Steinman, no historical facts suggest that Antiochus exalted and magnified “himself above every god” (v.36), or showed “no regard to the god of his fathers” (v.37), or “honored a god that his fathers did not know” (v.38).

The other view that must be discussed is the traditional view which has been upheld throughout history, and it has proven to be very solid hermeneutically speaking. The traditional view that Steinman talks about is a coming world ruler that has yet to appear on the scene. This ruler is none other than the Anti-Christ. Daniel 11:36-39 introduces him as a man whose arrogance is characterized as primarily religious in nature (204). The Anti-Christ will elevate himself over every other god and will speak evil against the one true God (205). He will prosper in everything he does for a short period of time, seven years to be exact.

Critical Evaluation

Steinman’s article is not designed to change someone’s opinion. Instead it inspires readers to be informed, independent, and intelligent thinkers. This article informs us that the Bible should be the guiding light in proper Biblical interpretation. His viewpoints are backed up by Scripture and also are withheld by great theologians such as Luther, and Jerome. The article also wants us to be independent in determining what the truth is. Even though the writer gives his viewpoint he does not let his convictions get in the way. Many books have been written on this topic and many viewpoints have been presented concerning this topic, but it is this writer’s opinion that Steinman’s article stands out because it presents facts and stays with the facts. There are some things that the author could have done better in this theological treatise. He could have developed his argument by including more on Paul, and what Paul said concerning the Anti-Christ. After all, it is important to examine all the evidence. He could have used the Book of Revelation to further illustrate that the Anti-Christ is mentioned in Daniel 11. Overall, this treatise will do more good in the realm of eschatology than it will bad. It will show that systematic research is always the best research.

Conclusion
This article did a good job of incorporating history. It was helpful to learn so much about Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the depiction of his reign. Daniel 11 proves itself as a commanding passage that must be dissected verse by verse in order to understand its meaning. The traditional viewpoint is the most plausible hermeneutically speaking. Steinman does a great job in communicating to the audience of what Daniel was trying to communicate to the people then and now. Daniel 11:36-45 deals with a future world ruler who will captivate the audiences of the world with his speech and candor. He will deceive the world for seven years and then God will destroy him and the Man of Lawlessness will be no more. This work will help in gathering more adequate information on a specific topic, the Anti-Christ, and whether he has already been on earth or whether he will be a coming world ruler.

The Coming Conqueror: The Anti-Christ

Introduction

One of the ways that God chooses to reveal Himself is through prophecy. Some prophecies have been fulfilled and some prophecies have not. In this particular case, a prophecy that has not been fulfilled will be looked at in detail. The unfulfilled prophecy that this paper concerns itself with is the identity of the beast in Revelation 13:1-10. There are many points that will be addressed within this theological paper. They include the following: 1.) The Beast Revealed, 2.) The Components of the Beast, 3.) The Beast’s Wound, 4.) The Beast’s Agenda, 5.) The Mark of the Beast, 6.) The Beast’s Religion, and 7.) The Beast’s Destruction. All of these points and more will be discussed in detail, and different viewpoints will be examined until the best possible interpretation in light of biblical evidence is revealed.

The purpose of this paper is to educate people on the importance of the Beast. This writing is not designed to be polemical. This paper will look at each view objectively and determine the best objective interpretation. This paper is important to believers and non-believers. It is important to believers because it shows believers that now is the time to witness to the lost, because today is the day for salvation. It is just as important for lost people because if a person were to live during this period of time, then they would have a ravaging Beast with which to deal. If anything, this paper when all said and done, should be used as an evangelistic tool for the lost as well as a treatise that will bring enrichment to the believer’s life. This paper is important to eschatology, the doctrine of the last days, because what a person believes about the Beast, especially whether he is in the future or not, indicates what an individual believes about the entire book.
One delimitation of this study would be that when dealing with the Antichrist it would take an systematic theology to write everything there is to know about the Antichrist. Because of this, Revelation 13 was chosen because it deals only with certain aspects about the Beast as discussed in Revelation 13. It also has to be noted that the sources that are going to be used will consist of books, commentaries, and journal articles. It also has to be noted that this topic is beyond the scope of this paper. This paper will not discuss all the passages in the Bible concerning the Beast, only certain ones in Revelation, Daniel, Matthew, and in the books that Paul writes. With that being said, by no means is this treatise taken lightly, because this is a very deep topic. It is with hope that as this paper is read that the paper will be so enlightening that it will be as if the individual is actually there experiencing the horrors talked about.
This paper will be written from a pre-millennial viewpoint. The paper will account for the other views but in the end it will affirm the pre-millennial position. It is with anticipation and hope that as this paper is read, people will grow to enjoy and even love eschatology. It has to be said outright that this treatise is written from the view that everything mentioned is yet future.
This paper will show that there is a coming conqueror that will appear on the earth and deceive the masses into believing that He is God. He will be a man of intelligence, a man of oratorical skill, a man of war, and man who will at first bring peace to Israel. He will be resurrected satanically in the middle of the tribulation period and he will cause Hell to break loose on the earth. He is known in Revelation 13:1-10 by one title: He is the Beast.

The Beast Revealed

Since the beginning of time, there has been a war raging in the cosmos. It is a war that starts in heaven when Lucifer decides that he wants to be God. Lucifer was God’s most beautiful creation. He walked before the throne room daily and was considered an archangel. But Lucifer became jealous of God, and it was out of that jealously that Lucifer convinced one third of the angels to join his efforts to overthrow God and become God himself. It was at this point He ceased being an archangel and became the Prince of Darkness. The Devil’s revolt resulted in him being cast out of Heaven by God and ever since Satan and God have been enemies.
In our time we look forward to the day that evil will no longer hold sway in the world. We long for a heaven on earth. And one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth. But until that day comes when evil is finally no longer, evil still remains and causes much pain on the earth. John the Revelator knew of the evil on the earth and thought that it could not get any worse than it already was. But John quickly found out that is not the case. John found out that great tribulation is coming, the day of Jacob’s trouble. John saw the world being judged by God and the things he saw were horrific. He saw stars falling from the sky, water turning to blood, large chunks of hail falling to the earth. John saw many things but perhaps the most dreadful thing he sees is people selling their soul to the Devil and paying homage to a Beast, the Beast which rises out of the sea.


Is The Beast Revealed Before Or After the Rapture?

Revelation 13 introduces the reader to the beast. Arthur Bloomfield says that Revelation calls the Antichrist the beast out of the sea. Here is a symbol used for a name. The symbol is a beast that rises out of the sea, the sea being the symbol of the masses of the people. The question that must be asked concerns the revealing of the beast before or after the rapture. It is important not to leave out the doctrine of the rapture. The rapture has been one of the most debated topics in churches today. Why mention it when this paper discusses Revelation 13:1-10? What a person believes about the rapture has an impact on what they will believe concerning Revelation 13:1-10. There are those that believe that the beast is revealed before the rapture, and there are those that believe that the beast will be revealed after the rapture. There are two views that will be discussed concerning this issue and they are the following: Preterism and Futurism. These two views are completely opposite in nature. That is why they need to be looked at in detail.

Preterism

Preterism is a view that states that the book of Revelation for the most part happened in the past under the old Roman Empire nearly two thousand years ago. The preterist’ interpretation of the beast in Revelation is worthy of examination. Preterists believe that the beast … portrays the Roman Empire generally and Emperor Nero Caesar specifically. So the beast of Revelation 13 is not some future world dictator but he has already been. According to preterists he is none other than Nero, the emperor who led Rome from A.D. 54-68. and was responsible for murdering many Christians during his reign. The Nero Redivivus View is gaining steam among many preterists, The Roman Empire was the most dominant empire on earth at the time, and it is easy to see why those that hold to this method of interpretation interpret this passage of Scripture the way they do.
However, there are some inconsistencies that need to be looked at in detail concerning this view. The first inconsistency about believing that Nero is the beast of Revelation 13 is one of duration. Craig Keener says that none of this is to say that Revelation predicts a literal return of Nero from the dead- at least not before the resurrection of the damned. In Revelation 13:% it is made clear that the beast’s reign will only be approximately forty-two months. Now history tells us that Nero reigned for approximately fourteen years. One cannot overlook this fact. Secondly, Revelation 13:4 says that they worshipped the beast and everyone worshiped him with awe. The reason why this has to be mentioned is that the beast of Revelation will rule the entire world and it is only logical to conclude that the worship the beast will receive will be worldwide. Even though Nero does receive worship from Rome, he did not receive it on a worldwide scale like the beast will. These inconsistencies are hard to overlook because Scripture makes it clear that Nero does not meet the requirements according to the Word of God.

Futurism

The second view that needs to be discussed is the futurist view. This view is also known as classical dispensationalism. Marvin Pate in the book Four Views on the Book of Revelation says that classical dispensationalism believe the teaching about a two-fold return of Christ which accounts for Revelation 1:1-3. Thus the Rapture can occur at any moment, which will then set in motion the prophecies of the Apocalypse and the revealing of the beast. Those that hold to this view believe that after John talks about the seven churches everything following is future and has not happened yet. Thus Revelation 13 would have to be future making the beast also future. This view is the most consistent among evangelicals today. The futurists believe that the beast will be revealed after the rapture and they get this view from different places in Scripture.

The primary place where futurists go for support of their view is found in Daniel 9 and it is in this chapter that it refers to the prophecy of the seventieth week. In order to understand why this is so important and why this has relevance one must look at this prophesy in detail. One very important piece of information that should be discussed while interpreting the full scale of this prophecy is the doctrine of the rapture and how it relates to Daniel’s seventy weeks. What people believe about the rapture impacts what people believe about the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy. Sir Robert Anderson points out that History contains no records of events to satisfy the predicted course of the seventieth week. Most post-tribulationists believe that the seventieth week has already been fulfilled. One question to this interpretation is how can they explain that the tribulation will be started with a seven year peace treaty between the Antichrist and Israel. If the seventieth week has already been fulfilled then where is there in history documented proof of a peace treaty that was signed between the beast and Israel for seven years? This is not possible because Christ would have already come back and this world would be over if the Posttribulationist’s interpretation of the seventieth week is true. One simply cannot ignore that these events are yet future. Even Christ said in His famous Olivet Discourse that there would be wars and rumors of wars. These things can be seen before our very eyes.

Is The Beast An Individual Or is the Beast A World System?

Within the eschatological ranks, there is a question that is permeating among theologians. It is the question, is the beast an individual or is the beast referring to a world system? Revelation 13:1 starts out by saying, And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. There are those out there that believe that Antichrist is an individual. Many attempts have been made to identify who the Antichrist is. Some say he is Nero, some say he is the pope, and others even say that he is Judas Iscariot reincarnated. The point is that many of history’s theologians such as Tertullian, Hippolytus, Irenaeus, and Jerome believed in a personal Antichrist that would wreak havoc on earth at some point of time. Whether he has already existed or is a future world ruler does not take away from the fact that in each case he is looked upon as an individual. There are at least two reasons why people look at the beast as an individual and the reasons are scriptural.

First, the apostle Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians writes in 2 Thessalonians 2 that Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Paul clearly refers to his beast as the man of sin, the son of perdition. He also states that this individual will oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped. If he was just an entity or a force then why would Paul refer to him as a man?
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Second, it has to be pointed out that what John says in Revelation 13:6 and what Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2 correlate. In Revelation 13:6, it is evident that this beast is opening his mouth and blaspheming God. The same is going on in 2 Thessalonians 2. So by making this correlation it is evident that the man of sin and the beast are the same individual.

There are also those who believe that the concept of the beast is just a world view, or a way of thinking that is contrary to the things of God. The apostle Paul clearly said that in the last days there would be a great falling away from the truth. According to Samuel J. Andrews, to apostatize means to fall away from the faith. Andrews points out that in this case, apostasy means falling away from the true standing of the Church as appointed by God and in its culmination, as represented in the man of sin and in his adherents, it is undoubtedly a total denial of the Christian faith. He denies both the Father and the Son.
The apostle distinguishes two forms of the apostasy, one being the corruption of Christianity, the other its absolute rejection. With the rise of all the worldly philosophies that permeate the earth, it is easy to see the spirit of Antichrist at work. Anyone that denies Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is Antichrist, and it will be this attitude that coerces people to worship the beast. So with the philosophies of the world, and the church falling away, beginning with the loss of love, it is not to be confined only with doctrine, it embraces the whole spiritual life; and therefore the whole external order of the Church. There cannot be a loss of or a falling away without a corresponding decay in the entire ecclesiastical constitution, its ministries, its sacraments, its activities, and also, in practical godliness. This apostasy which according to Andrews is already happening will lead to the beast receiving worship in Revelation 13. This apostasy can be traced back all the way to the book of Genesis where Satan told Eve that when she ate the fruit her eyes would be opened and she would be like a god, knowing good and evil. Man from this point on has desired to be like God, and one day there will be a literal beast who will declare that he is god and demand worship.

The Components of the Beast

Within this section several questions will be looked at in detail. The first question that will be looked at is what are the seven heads and the ten horns? The second question that will be looked at is what does Daniel seven have to do with Revelation thirteen concerning the appearance of the beast?

The Seven Heads and the Ten Horns

Revelation 13:1 says that the beast has seven heads and ten horns. What does it mean? Well, in Revelation 17:9 it says that the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sittteth. The city of Rome was known in ancient times as being the city that sits on seven hills or mountains. However, the Rome that historians are talking about no longer exists. It was wiped off the map. Could knowing this provide problems with this view? No because, scripture says that in the last days a world empire will arise and rule the world. So if that is the case then it is not preposterous to believe that the Roman Empire will rise again from the ashes to rule the world again in complete dominance.

Daniel Two And Daniel Seven’s Relation To Revelation Thirteen’s Message Concerning The Appearance of the Beast

The literal interpreters believe that the head of gold that Daniel saw in Daniel 2 symbolizes the Babylonian Empire. The breast and arms of silver Daniel saw symbolize the Medes and Persians. The thighs made of brass symbolize the Greeks, and the legs of iron and feet and toes of iron and part of pottery symbolizes a future empire. The name of the final empire Daniel does not give. However, there has been much speculation as to what this empire is. Most literal interpreters such as John Walvood believe that the Roman Empire is the future empire that is symbolized.
The non-literal interpreters agree that the first four empires are Babylon, the Medes and Persians, and even believe that the fourth is Rome. Where they differ is concerning the interpretation of the stone. The non-literal interpreters such as the amillenialists and the postmillennialists interpret the stone as meaning the Lord Jesus Christ. They say that the meaning of the stone is evident when Jesus came to earth the first time and introduced the gospel, assuring the ultimate victory of the saints over the evil powers of Gentile political rule. However, the premillenialists say that this interpretation is not correct. The literal interpretation is that this vision stretches forward in time to the second coming of Jesus Christ. They believe that the image that Daniel saw has for the most part been fulfilled. However, the feet stage, including the implied ten toes, is yet future and is related to a period just before the second coming of Christ. The point is that the Roman Empire in some form or fashion will be revived and therefore the ten toes representing a ten-nation confederacy are yet to be fulfilled.

Secondly, the vision of Daniel 7:7-8 is depicted and shows that this chapter does correspond with Daniel 2. The difference is that in Daniel 7 he sees four beasts. These four beasts represent the same empires as in Daniel 2. The lion represents Babylon, the bear represents the Medes and the Persians, the leopard with four wings on the back on four heads represents the Greeks, and the beast with ten horns represents the revived Roman Empire. Walvood points out that this vision is more detailed than the one of Daniel 2. Daniel 7 tells the reader that the four beasts are four kings or kingdoms. Daniel 2 does not go into detail, however on the fourth empire. Daniel 7 does. It tells us that a little horn will arise and will uproot three of the kings or horns. There is a question that one can postulate. Has the little horn appeared? Walvood sums it up by saying that any reasonable literal interpretation of this prophesy requires the expositor to take the position that this is yet future from the standpoint of the twentieth century. If this vision is to be viewed as prophetic then people have to ask themselves, has the ten-nation confederacy ever been on earth? The answer is no. So then it requires a future ten-nation confederacy as a key to the political and international situation in the days just preceding the second coming of Christ and his kingdom.

Finally, two more important passages must be looked at in detail, and they are Revelation 13:1-3 and Revelation 17:3,7, 12-18. Revelation 13:1-3 describes a beast rising out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns. The description of the beast is very similar to the one prophesied hundreds of years before by Daniel. The beast John saw was like a leopard, and the feet were the feet of a bear, and his mouth the mouth of a lion. The fact that it mirrors the beast in Daniel 7 confirms that it is the same beast, and the ten horns and ten crowns suggest ten kings who rule ten kingdoms. What is different from Daniel’s prophesy is John’s mentioning of the seven heads. One possible interpretation that Walvood points out is that the seven heads represent seven successive rulers in the Roman Empire which are succeeded by a ten-nation confederacy which has ten simultaneous kings.

Revelation 13 makes it clear that this prophesy is yet future. The beast is given power to rule for forty-two months. The forty-two months describes the future great tribulation, and appears to be the last three half years of the tribulation. Revelation 17 says the same thing as Revelation 13, only this time it adds a wicked woman to the equation. The visions that each prophet had were alike and that is amazing. The ten-nation confederacy will come in the last days. It is not to be taken allegorically, but it is to be taken literally. All of the evidence that the Bible gives indicate a coming world ruler, the little horn, who will rule the world with the help of these ten kings.

The Beast’s Wound

In Revelation 13:3, the verse tells the reader that one of the heads was wounded unto death, and then this wound was miraculously healed. Within this section, questions will be answered concerning this issue. The first question that will be answered is will the beast be resurrected from the dead? Finally the last question that will be answered is how will the world react to this resurrection? All of these questions are important and if the best possible interpretation is to be expounded then these questions need to be looked upon with detail in order to understand this issue.

Will The Beast Be Resurrected From The Dead?

There are several viewpoints that must be looked at concerning this issue. First there is the reincarnation view which postulates the wound of the beast refers to the reincarnation of some individual such as Judas Iscariot.

First there is the reincarnation view which postulates that wound of the beast refers to the reincarnation of some individual such as Judas Iscariot. There are several reasons why some people think that when the wound is miraculously healed that the spirit of Judas Iscariot will enter into the body of the beast, and thus the beast will be Judas reincarnated. The reason people ascribe to this view can be found in the book of Acts. In Acts 1:25 it says that Judas went to his own place. It is not clear what that means. Die he die and go to Heaven or did he die and go to Hell? A.W. Pink argues for Judas Iscariot when he says that the Antichrist is Judas Iscariot reincarnated. However, it can be said that this view can not be scriptural because the Bible says that when a person dies, then the only thing that is left is judgment. Second there is the Revived Roman Empire View. This view means that the great Roman Empire which fell would be revived in the end of days. Thus the wound of death that will be healed refers to the revived Roman Empire, and not the beast. Third, there is the Antichrist View. This view states that an individual yet to appear on the world scene will arise and receive the wound. Then after he receives the wound he will die and then be resurrected from the dead. After all, Satan is the imitator of Jesus Christ. However, it is not clear whether Satan will have the power to resurrect him from the dead unless God gives him the power.

The wound of the beast in the Tribulation, when it is truly dissected should never lean toward an allegorical interpretation. Instead, it should be taken as literal, and in the context of Revelation 13, it refers to an individual man, ( the beast out of the sea), who will receive a wound and will miraculously be resurrected. The only other plausible view is the Revived Roman Empire View, but again context is very important in Revelation 13 and will all the facts out there, it is with the utmost certainty that an individual man that has not been revealed on earth is the one who receives the wound and not the Revived Roman Empire.

How Will The World React To The Resurrection Of The Beast?

Before, it was mentioned that the doctrine of the rapture is important. Based on biblical study there is enough evidence to suggest that the Church, the collective body of Christians as a whole will be snatched away before the tribulation and before the beast is revealed. This view is known as the pre-tribulation view. In other words, all the Christians will be in Heaven with Jesus before the beast takes center stage. There are other views out there.

There is the Mid-Tribulation View which states that Christians will be caught up into heaven in the middle of the tribulation period, just before the worst part of the tribulation starts, the last three and a half years of the tribulation. There is also the Post-Tribulation View which postulates that the Christians will have to go through the tribulation and thus experience all the horrors that everybody else will have to experience during the tribulation, including the reign of the beast. J. Dwight Pentecost thinks that the reason why the pre-tribulation rapture theory stands out is because of the role of the restrainer, the Holy Spirit. Pentecost says that explanations as to the person of this restrainer such as human government, law, the visible church will not suffice, for they will all continue in a measure after the manifestation of this lawless one. He goes on to say that as long as the Holy Spirit is resident within the church, which is His temple, this restraining work will continue and the man of sin cannot be revealed. Thus, this ministry of the restrainer which will continue as long as His temple is on earth and which must cease before the lawless one can be revealed, requires the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, for Daniel 9:27 reveals that the lawless one will be manifested at the beginning of the week, or the tribulation. Why is all of that important? It is important because Christians will not be present on earth during the reign of the beast. That is why the whole world will be in awe of the beast when he resurrects from the dead. Those that are left behind will be those that do not believe in Jesus and will be blinded from the truth. They will think that the Antichrist is the long awaited Messiah and they will worship him. If Christians were left on the earth then they would be able to discern then that the Antichrist was not the Messiah. Even the Jews for a period of time will think that he is their Messiah until he desecrates the temple and declares that he is God.

There are two reasons why people will worship him. First, they will worship because of all the miracles he will do, and then they will worship him out of fear for their lives. If one does not worship him then a certain death is awaiting them. There will be people saved, but there will be many more during the tribulation period that will not get saved because the beast will be the master of deception. People are being deceived today by various cults, but compared to what will happen in the tribulation when the beast rules the world it will fail in comparison.

The Beast’s Agenda

Now, we are on to a very important part about the beast, and it is the beast’s agenda. What will his agenda be during the tribulation period, which is forty two months. Approximately seven years? What are his characteristics? Will he be a military genius? Will be he a peacemaker? Will he be a Jew? Will he be a religious person? These are all questions that need to be answered, and it is with hope that they will be answered according to what Scripture says.

The Characteristics Of The Beast

According to Revelation 13:6-8 it says, And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

The one thing that should be noticed is that the beast is in direct defiance against God and against the Lamb, Jesus Christ. In fact, the beast and Jesus Christ contrast in their nature. Here are some ways in which they contrast. Christ came from above (John 6:38), whereas the beast will ascend from the pit (Rev. 11:7), Christ came in His father’s name, and the Antichrist will come in his own name, Christ humbled Himself, the Antichrist will exalt himself, Christ was despised, the Antichrist will be admired, Christ will be exalted, the Antichrist will be cast down to hell, Christ came to do His Father’s will, the Antichrist came to do his own will, Christ came to save, Antichrist will come to destroy, Christ is the Good Shepherd, the Antichrist is the idol shepherd, Christ is the true vine, the Antichrist is the vine of the earth, Christ is the truth (John 14:6), the Antichrist is the Lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11), Christ is the Holy One, The Antichrist is the lawless one (2 Thessalonians 2:8), Christ is the man of sorrows (Isaiah 53:3), the Antichrist is the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3) , Christ is the Son of God (Luke 1:35), the Antichrist is the son of perdition, Christ is the mystery of godliness, God’s manifestation in the flesh, the Antichrist will be the mystery of iniquity, Satan manifested in the flesh (2 Thessalonians 2:7). One can clearly see that the Bible makes it clear that the beast and the Lord are two different people. They are opposite and contrast in everything they do.

The Military Genius

Revelation 13:7 states that the beast will be given power to make war against the saints and he will be given charge over the whole world. How will he be able to do this? The answer is that he will be a conqueror. He will literally conquer the world and establish a one-world government. He will have help in establishing this one-world government. He will have help from ten king who are the ten horns that are spoken of in Revelation 13:2. These ten kings will help the beast achieve world domination. These kings will not rise up against the beast. Instead, they will pay homage to him and worship him like the rest of the world.

The Peacemaker

Everyone in the world wants peace. Politicians have been trying to make peace for years. There will be a man that will rise on the scene (the beast) who will convince the leaders of the world that world peace can happen. The beast will make a covenant with Israel for seven years and within that covenant the beast will promise Israel peace, but it is a false peace. After the first three and a half years of the tribulation the beast will break that peace treaty with Israel and will enter into Jerusalem and proclaim to the world that he is god. When he does this then Israelites will see his true colors and will flee to the mountains, possibly to Petra. So in reality, although he promises peace, true peace never happens in the world.

The Jew

Why will the Jewish people at first believe that the Antichrist is their long awaited Messiah? The reason is because he regards not the God of his fathers. This is found in Daniel 11:36-37. The beast will not regard Jehovah as his father. The only god he has is power. He is not a religious person. He desires worship for himself. So in this way he is a humanist. He believes that he is god. Humanists believe that man can control his own fate. Ed Hindson says that the New Age philosophy has an paradigm. Its logical paradigm is, All is god, God is all, man is part of all, therefore man is god. The Romans borrowed this philosophy from the Greeks. Caesar was worshipped as God. In the twentieth century after Darwin’s theory of evolution, humanism had all it needed. The beast will reinstate emperor worship and he will receive worship. The beast is a humanist. Of course the Father of Lies, Satan himself is behind this. When the beast resurrects from the dead he will get the worship he desires, and the Jews will believe that he is the Messiah because the Old Testament tells the Israelites that the Messiah will rise from the dead and that he would rule the world. For three and a half years the beast will be the Jews political Messiah because he will bring peace to the land and all will seem to be going well. They will be duped by the master of deception himself, Satan.

The Beast’s Destruction

Within this section it will briefly be discussed how the beast will be destroyed and what is the beast’s final destination? When it comes to how the beast will be destroyed, the beast will gather his armies, all the armies of the world, and they will meet at a place called Armageddon, which is in the valley of Megiddo. There the final battle will be fought, and it will be between the armies of Christ and the armies of the world. Revelation 19:11-20 best illustrates this battle: And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Conclusion

This paper has shown many different viewpoints. This paper has shown that the Antichrist is an individual who is the head of the revived Roman Empire. This paper has shown that the beast will be given a wound and he will resurrect from the dead. It has also shown that his agenda is that of complete world domination, and to establish a false peace with Israel. The beast has not appeared on the earth yet. He is waiting for the Lord to rapture the Church before he comes on the scene. He will be the embodiment of evil let by Satan himself. He is the beast. This paper was written to Christians because it will show them that there is a time coming on earth that is much worse than it is now. It reminds Christians that they should witness to a lost and dying world. This was written to lost people, people who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior. It is with hope and anticipation that many people will be saved before it is too late. If people are saved then they will be in heaven during this time, and if not then they will have to experience a ravaging beast and worst of all they will have to face the Great Tribulation.

SATAN’S THE NAME, RELIGION’S THE GAME

Recorded in Isaiah 14:14 is Lucifer’s statement, I will be like the Most High.” Lucifer decided to act and live independently of God! He has deceived the inhabited world of men into believing, they too, can live independently of their Creator. This deception is seen over and over again in Scripture: “ In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe no, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4). In the latter days this deception will continue: But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

During the Tribulation the Bible tells us of the devil’s deception through the Anti-christ. During the Millennium his deception is stopped for a thousand years. “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”

After the Millennium Satan will be turned loose. “ And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. (This doesn’t sound like he’s going to enjoy his stay in the pit!) and shall go out to the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together in battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. His deception will come to an end at the hand of an Holy God. “ And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Having observed the above verses we have no trouble agreeing that Satan’s plan is to deceive—and his plan is working quite well. Much that appears good is used by him. He uses education. It has been aptly stated that, Education without salvation is damnation.” God has been kicked out; The Bible has been banned from the public education classrooms. The public educational system in America has Biblical illiterates and moral degenerates. You say, “Preacher, I don’t like that!” Well, I do not care what you like or do not like. The truth of the matter is that we have raised up a generation that knows not God.”

A lot of what we see in the educational system is a direct result of the lack of God- centeredness in the home. But that should be no surprise. Satan uses the family. He takes that which God started and spoils it. He uses any family that does not have God’s direction in it. That’s why it is so important that dad’s provide godly leadership in the home. Satan uses many other things. He uses art. He uses commercialism and materialism. Have you noticed how the stores have Christmas junk on the shelves now in October? They, at least, used to wait until after the Thanksgiving holidays to hit us with it.

Morals are used by Satan. He doesn’t mind how moral you are, so long as you don’t see your need of Jesus Christ as Savior, so long as you think you’re good enough without God. Satan uses money to deceive many. Money is used by him to keep many from coming to Christ. Money is also used by him to keep many from serving Christ. I see it often. The dad that has no time for his family or the Lord because he wants to work that overtime and get that big money. The business man who can’t serve God because his business is being blessed so much. He just has to get one more super contract.
I think it is quite clear to any thinking person that Satan has a lot of folks deceived—and part of that deception is that they don’t see anything amiss with what they are doing! Another aspect of Satan’s plan to deceive is that part-truth-ism comes from Satan. With this scheme Satan uses just enough truth to get people pulled into what appears to be okay. Music is one of the prime areas for this in the Church and in the lives of Christians today. He has sold the Christian community a bill of goods by slipping in good lyrics with lousy rhythm. A Biblical principle to use for a guideline is found in Acts 16:16-18. “ And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried saying, these men are servants of the Most High God, which shew us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.”

The message was right. The medium was wrong. Still we have a vast number of church members who see nothing wrong with allowing themselves to fly high on so-called contemporary Christian rock. In my opinion this is a big mistake! To say Christian rock is like saying Jewish Ham.” There isn’t any such animal! Humanitarianism is another area in which we have been hit with the part-truth-ism. Is it right to feed the hungry? Of course it is! But we will never be able to feed and clothe the whole world. Jesus said, the poor ye have with you always.

After taking a good look at the matters we have already discussed, I think we would be pressed to agree that Satan is doing a good job of using these things to deceive the world of mankind. We need to note, however, that Satan’s plan to deceive works best when he applies it to religion. Note carefully 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Verse five says having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. In the last days forms of godliness (things that look and sound good) will appear which deny the power of God.

My Philosophy of Pastoral Leadership

Introduction

Great leaders have shaped the foundation of this country. They have forged their legacy in history books and will forever be remembered. Leaders do not become leaders right away. The experiences that a person has in life dictate whether or not the individual will become an effective leader. Do leaders have to be like George Washington who shaped the lives of Americans for years to come by just simply determining in his heart that he would not quit no matter what it might cost him? Do leaders have to be like Billy Graham, who has probably been the most effective soul winner of the twentieth century? Is there a set way to define what leadership is? Within this essay, several components will be looked at that describe leadership. First, the question of what leadership is will be looked at. Second, the Bible will be looked at for a definition of leadership. Third, the character of Joseph will be looked at in detail because his character is of significant importance in determining how to be an effective leader. Fourth, my personal leadership style will be discussed. Fifth, how I plan to implement leadership in my ministry will be discussed. Finally, I will discuss on how my leadership style will advance the ministry and in the long run affect others.

What Leadership is?

John Maxwell says in his book Developing the Leader Within You that “after more than five decades of observing leadership with his family and many years of developing his own leadership, that he has come to this conclusion: Leadership is influence.” While this statement by Maxwell is true, there are still other elements that describe what leadership is. Bruce P. Powers, in his book the Church Administration Handbook, says that “transformational leadership appears to be the necessary ingredient to help congregations renew their visions and commitments to be the people of God and the body of Christ in a new world.” Powers goes on to say that
“our biblical principles do not change, for they are eternal. But the methods we use to share the gospel and cast a kingdom vision for a technologically oriented society do change. So ministers and other church leaders have to make a choice: do we resist the future and try to maintain the status quo, or do we seek to be life-changing leaders, assisting congregations and individual believers to be all they can be, in the likeness of the Lord?”

Powers has a point when he says that biblical principles do not change, but the methods we use to share the gospel do change in a world driven by technology. Powers makes the point that leaders should be life-changing, and should assist congregations and believers to be all they can be. Simply put, spiritual leadership is “moving people on to God’s agenda.” In other words, leadership is about getting people see that success in life is not built primarily by what self does, but success is built upon what God does.

Biblical Rationale for Definition of Leadership

How does the Bible fit into leadership? What principles can be learned from the Word of God in order to give a proper rationale for the definition of leadership? Moving people on to God’s agenda involves two principles that if taken seriously can make a believer successful and if not followed can be a leaders, or in this case a pastor’s downfall.
First, the spiritual leader must never usurp the authority of God over the soul. Whether a preacher boldly proclaims the Word of God or not is not a question of authority. Who has the right to lead the church? The leader or God? Whenever anything is substituted for the preaching of God’s Word, God’s Word and His authority has been usurped. When a leader does this then pride becomes a issue. Solomon writes in the book of Proverbs on the sin of pride. Proverbs 16:5 says “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.” Proverbs 16:18-19 says “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” Solomon says that God hates pride. It is an abomination to God and God says that it will go before destruction. In other words, the leader who lets pride get the best of him will eventually fall.
Secondly, the spiritual leader or the pastor must effectively communicate when it comes to the Word of God. Communication is one of the aspects that people look for in a leader. Whether a pastor is preaching a message or counseling an individual, communication is and always will be important. Kouzes and Posner in the book Credibility: How leaders gain and lose it, why people demand it says that “leaders understand that unless they communicate and share information with their constituents, few will take much interest in what is going on.” Moses had a problem with thinking that he could not communicate the message that God wanted him to take to Pharaoh. He was scared that people would not receive his message.
Biblical Character for Leadership Style to Emulate
While there are many leaders in the Bible that stand out, there is one particular leader in the Bible that stands out above the rest and that individual is Joseph. Joseph was a man who had every reason to give up on life and quit, but he trusted in the Lord and the Lord was with Joseph, and Joseph became a successful leader in life. According to the Good Book on Leadership, Joseph is described “as one who developed his leadership credibility in the worst of conditions by making good decisions. The skills he developed in less-than favorable conditions qualified him for the significant leadership responsibilities entrusted to him later.” Joseph was a man of integrity and forgiveness.
Joseph his entire life went through a hard time. According to Charles Swindoll, “the home in which Joseph was raised was comprised of a family filled with angry, jealous and deceitful people. Then within that hostile environment, for seventeen years, the other sons of Jacob had watched as their father played favorites with Joseph. Their jealousy had turned into resentment and hatred.” He was hated by his brothers because he was favored by his father Jacob. In fact, his brothers despised him so much that at first they wanted to kill him. Instead they decided to sell him into slavery and Joseph finds himself in an unfamiliar land, Egypt. Joseph is sold to a man by the name of Potiphar, who was an leading officer in Pharaoh’s army. Joseph gained favor under Potiphar and earned his respect.
Joseph was also a very good looking man who sparked the interest of Potiphar’s wife. She tried to seduce Joseph, but Joseph was a man of integrity and purity and turned her down. Joseph turned her down more than one time, and Potiphar’s wife got mad. She lied on Joseph and told Potiphar that Joseph tried to rape her. He was thrown in prison.
Joseph was a man of integrity because Joseph could have turned his back on God and gave up on life. After, all every conceivable thing that could have gone bad did go bad. But Joseph did not turn his back on God. He determined within his heart that he was not going to quit. He trusted that God had a plan for his life, and that God would make the best out of his life despite of the bleak circumstances that Joseph was currently facing. God honored Joseph’s integrity by eventually making him second in command over all of Egypt. Leaders are defined in most cases by the character that they possess. According to Peter Northhouse, “Integrity undergirds all aspects of leadership. It is at the core of being a leader. Integrity is a central aspect of a leader’s ability to influence. If people do not trust a leader, the leader’s influence potential is weakened. In essence, integrity is the bedrock of who a leader is. When a leader’s integrity comes into question, his or her potential to lead is lost.”
Joseph, also, was a man of forgiveness. Joseph probably had every reason not to forgive those who had caused him harm, but he forgave them anyway, not because they deserved forgiveness, but because it was his duty. Leaders have to learn to forgive. People are going to say horrible things, and as a leader, we too have to learn forgive people like Joseph forgave his brothers.

My Personal Leadership Style

Before I began to study leadership, I really did not have a grasp of what style of leadership I had. I knew I had leadership ability, but I did not have a grasp on what type of temperament style I had. The more and more I have studied, the more apparent to me that I do not just have one particular style of leadership. I have many styles for many different situations. According to Peter Northhouse, in his book Introduction to Leadership, says that “styles are not distinct entities. They overlap each other. That is, a leader can demonstrate more than one style in any given situation. For example, a leader may be authoritarian about some issues and democratic about others. As leaders, we may display aspects of all of these styles.”
If I had to put one above the others it would probably be the democratic style of leadership. The reason why this is the case is because people deserve to have the opportunity to get the job done on their own. They do not need someone yelling at them because the way that they do things might be a little different than the way the boss does them. I do not want to be some autocratic dictator where it is my way or the highway. That type of philosophy does more harm than it does good. I want to involve people in my decision making. I want to be known as a good decision maker with the help of godly people around me.
When it is all said and done, I want to be known as a visionary leader. George Barna in his book The Power of Vision: Discover and Apply God’s Plan for Your Life and Ministry says that “vision for ministry is a clear mental image of a preferable future imparted by God to His chosen servants and is based on understanding of God, self and circumstances.”

How I Plan to Implement Leadership in the Ministry

In ministry, it is important for the minister to practice what he preaches. In other words, pastors need to be individuals above reproach. Does that mean that a pastor will never sin? No, but it means that a pastor is highly respected in the community and needs to be on guard from the landmines that will try to annihilate the pastor’s walk with God and his career. I do not want to be known as someone who is just a pastor who dictates orders and expects everything little thing to be done my way. Instead, I want to look at the people as part of a partnership. Paul was the type of leader in the Bible that commended people for service. I want to encourage my staff to be the best they can be.
Independent thinking is one of the things that should be encouraged as a pastor. The pastor is not always right about everything. Someone might know how to do things better, and that person’s ideas might be what is needed for the best possible solution for whatever the problem might be. Problems are going to emerge in ministry. How a leader solves those problems has a big say in how effective that leader will be in the long run. I want my staff to be able to come to me with a problem, and then as a team solve the problem together. Bob Biehl said in his book Masterplanning Your Business, Church or Organization that “ problem solvers frequently feel like second-class citizens in the shadow of goal setters and the goal-setting orientation that has become standard in corporate culture and even in many national cultures.”

How my leadership style will advance the ministry

John Piper wrote the book Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry. Within this book he tells pastors that they are not professionals. In other words, he is saying do not be like a corporate executive officer who runs a huge corporation. According to Piper, “a ministry under the banner of Christ’s supremacy will be offensive to the impulses of professional clergy who like to be quoted respectably by the local newspaper.” Piper goes on to say that the “book is meant to sound an alarm against the pride of station and against the expectation of parity in pay and against the borrowing of professional paradigms from the professional world. Oh for radically Bible saturated, God-centered, Christ-exalting, self-sacrificing, mission-mobilizing, soul-saving, culture-confronting pastors.”
The description that Piper makes is exactly how I want to be as a pastor and a leader. I want to be Bible saturated. I want people to know that when I preach, I am not doing it just to massage their ego. I am preaching not to make people feel good, but I am preaching on behalf of God and His Almighty Word. God’s Word must take precedent. The service must be saturated in God’s holy Word, or else it will become stagnant.
As a minister I should also strive to be God-centered. The whole purpose of living out the Christian life is being conformed to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. That means that every day, the spiritual leader must totally surrender everything to God, and let God lead his life. I want people to know that I love Jesus and my life is completely centered on Him. I want Jesus to be my shepherd and guide me to green pastures where I can find security in his arms. I want to be Christ-exalting. In every message I want to glorify His holy name. In every situation, I want to do what Jesus would have done. He is the author and finisher of my faith, and his name should be exalted above all else.
I want to be self-sacrificing. I want to place others before me. I want to be the person “who never places themselves above others except in carrying out responsibilities.” I want to serve other people. I want to be a man of humility. The one who taught people all about servant leadership was Jesus Christ. He is known throughout the Book of Isaiah as the Suffering Servant. So, I want to be more like Christ as a leader, and in order to do that I must humble myself and serve others.
I also want the ministry to be known for missions. Missions should be the focus of the church. It should be one of the primary purposes of the Church. God wants all people to be saved. He wants His Church to go to the uttermost parts of the earth proclaiming the gospel. So I must proclaim that to His people and tell them that witnessing to people should be the primary objective of all Christians.
I want to be known as a soul-saver. I want to lead people to Jesus Christ. As a leader, the gospel to some is offensive. However, it is necessary in order for a person to get saved and avoid the torments of hell. Hell is a reality and every day people are pummeling into the pits of hell at an alarming rate. There are people all over the world that do not know Jesus, and it is my job as a pastor to proclaim that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven, and any other way will not suffice.
Finally, I want to be a culture-confronter. I do not want to the status-quo type of leader or minister. When the world is rapidly declining morally, there needs to be someone that will stand against the ills of society and say something about it. It’s time to take action. I want to be a precipitator of change in this country. I want to see this country find God again. In order to do that, the people in my congregation need to know where I stand on issues such as homosexuality, abortion, and other immoral activities.
If I do all of these things then God will bless me and my ministry will flourish. If not, then I will not be of any use to God or His Kingdom. Living for God and being a leader in life can be hard at times, but the challenges are well worth it when transformational change occurs.

Conclusion

Leadership is an enormous responsibility. There are countless numbers of examples of people who have become great leaders. The Bible is the place to go when leadership needs to be dissected. Stories like Joseph captivate the heart and encourage leaders when life seems gloomy. Leadership is about change as was mentioned before. Without change, and without the ability to influence people and without any vision in life, then the leader will be ineffective. True spiritual leaders are sold out for Jesus and do not worry about what society might think of them, because in the end, when it comes to leadership, the only thing that really matters is what God thinks.

Heaven: What A Day That Will Be!

When I think about Heaven, a chorus to a famous hymn always comes to my mind. What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see, when I look upon His face, the one who saved me by His grace, when He takes me by the hand and leads me to the Promised Land, What a day, glorious day that will be! Heaven will be Heaven because Jesus will be there. That is such an incredible thought. Perhaps nothing describes Heaven better than Revelation 21:3-4:And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Heaven will be Heaven because God will be there and He will dwell in complete unity and perfect harmony with mankind. I will see God face to face! That fact alone makes me want to have a spell! On this earth today we experience heartaches, we experience sorrow, we experiences pain, we experience sickness and ultimately if the Lord tarries His return we will face death. The fact is for believers who know Christ this life is the worst life now. This is the worst that believers will have it while on earth. On the other hand, for lost people, this is the best life now, because the next life will be an eternity of pain unlike anyone can ever imagine. For believers, the next life will be wonderful. God shall wipe away every tear from our eyes. Every hurt, every person who has stabbed you in your back that you thought was your friend, all of those tears shed will be wiped away. My friend, be encouraged that every battle and every trial that you are going through will be well worth it when we see the Lord. There will be no more death and no more pain! Heaven: What a day that will be!

Do Not Depend On Your Resume

Philippians 3:2-9
2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. 3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. 4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 5. Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
9. And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith

Philippians 3:2-9 tells us of the Apostle Paul, and the Apostle Paul tells us that if anyone had reason to boast in their accomplishments or their resume, it was him. After all, as verse five indicates, he says that he was an Hebrew of the Hebrews. He was born out of great stock. He states in verse six, that as far as the law was concerned he followed the law. In fact, Paul learned under the great teacher Gamaliel. Paul was extremely educated. Paul had a PHD. He was a scholar of the law. He had a resume that would put all of us to shame. Before he was born again, he relied upon his resume. He says in verse four that he once had great confidence in his flesh and his resume. He basically says that if anyone should boast in the flesh, it should be him. He goes on to say in verse five that he was a Pharisee. Pharisees were known in Paul's day for being wealthy and for being the most educated concerning the law. But, the Pharisees did not know Jesus Christ. All of their qualifications meant nothing, because they did not know Jesus Christ. Paul could have very easily went on to be the leader of the Sanhedrin, which was the ruling body of Paul's day.... See More

Paul had an encounter with God on the road to Damascus and it drastically changed his life. Paul says in verse seven, that all of his accomplishments (his resume) he would count all things but loss. In other words nothing mattered except knowing Christ. He realized that Christ was his resume. He counted his resume as dung (verse 9). Paul could have used his resume as a means to promote his self, but he did not. He allowed Christ to take care of his needs and to worry about what church or people He spoke to. Because he relied on God, instead of self. Paul became the greatest apostle that ever lived, and he wrote the majority of the New Testament. All of those things would not have happened had he relied upon his resume, instead of God.

Just because a man graduates from seminary does not mean that he has arrived spiritually. There are many men who have great resume's who are not preaching the truth. They have been leading people astray by preaching things that are tickling people's ears. I have graduated from seminary, but I do not boast in my resume nor do I boast in myself. I boast in my Savior, and him alone. I am his ambassador in chains. He will be my provider and he will provide the churches for me to preach. My hope is built in nothing less then Jesus' blood and righteousness! Apart from Christ, I am nothing!

Christians at the Crossroads

My Brothers and Sisters in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ , I write this exhortation to you to tell you that we are at a crossroads in this country. First and foremost our obligation is to God and to his law, for God's law supersedes man's law. It is our duty as fellow Americans to stand up for the rights that our forefathers fought for. We have forgotten for the most part what it is like to be nation that is totally dependent on God. I urge every Christian, every Preacher and every Politician that claims to know Christ to stand up for God's Holy Word even when it is not considered politically correct. When will the church wake up and become the bold and victorious saints that God wants us to be. We tell ourselves that we can not make a difference, and so we sit around and society becomes more sinful, and yet the church does not shout at the rooftops thus saith the Lord. I urge you to consider the twelve apostles who were ordinary men, but when they truly sold out for the cause of Christ, God took twelve ordinary men and did extraordinary things through them. People, we are not of this world. We are not to buy into the world's philosophies or the world's ways of doing things.

There is a war going on and Satan and his demonic minions are attacking the church and attacking the Church through the deception of compromise. God's people are told time and time again that their best life is not now, but the best life in reality is yet to come. God said that if we proclaim the name of Christ we will go through tribulation and we will have opposition come our way. Satan may use people to try to cause dissension in the church, but remember that the person is not the enemy but the Devil himself is the enemy. Christians in America for the most part have become mediocre at best when it comes to walking with the Lord Jesus Christ. They want to hear about God only when it is convenient for them to hear it. They want to hear things that tickle the ear, instead of hearing about the truth that brings conviction and brokenness in one's life. The Church needs revival. What I mean by that is that the church needs a revival of repentance. Christians need to remember that they were once sinners doomed for hell and that God rescued them for the pits of hell and declared them righteous. Christians need to surrender and die to self. That is the only way for the Church to have true revival. Why were people like Paul and Peter so fired up for Jesus? The answer is that Jesus was their only love and they did not forget that love. I challenge the Church of God to return back to their first love. Return to Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith.

For the most part we do not experience persecution the way some people do. But my question is when negative circumstances or persecution come our way how are we as a Church and as Christians going to respond? Are we going to throw in the towel (which is what Satan wants) or are we going to say that even though tyrants may rule us in our present circumstances and even though the Devil might hurl arrows in our way are we going to stand for our God no matter what. I pray that the answer would be the latter. I submit that if we as a church and we as a people individually are not experiencing attack from Satan in some form or fashion then there is something wrong. The Devil is not going to fool with Christians who are content in their worldly lifestyles and are not making an impact for the Kingdom of God. Instead, the Devil is going to focus on the ones that are making an impact for the Lord Jesus Christ. So if you are someone on facebook that is experiencing attack from Satan, I tell you to keep on living for God because the Devil would not be bothering you if you were not living right in the eyes of the Lord. So I tell my fellow believers, I tell the Pastors, I tell the Politicians to not quit when adversity comes your way. For we learn the most about life when we are in the valleys, rather than on the mountaintops. If we must suffer for our Lord Jesus Christ may we do so with joy in our hearts and with the peace of God that passes all understanding. So as I close this brief word that Almighty God has laid on my heart may I leave you with these verses from the book of James: My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse trials, Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect (spiritually mature) and entire, wanting nothing.

Hell, Fire and Brimstone

I write this message to tell you that even though people live their lives as if the grave is their final resting place, the grave is not the final resting place. For humanity there is only two places that one can go. They are Heaven and Hell. In this message I am going to talk about the latter, the place of the wicked, the place called Hell. Many people believe Hell does not exist. In fact Charles Darwin said that the idea that there is a literal Hell is a damnable doctrine, and that he hated anyone who preached the doctrine of Hell. I guess he would hate me because I do believe in a literal Hell and I believe many people in this world are heading there. It is not a place that anyone would want to go, yet people every day live life in such a way that they do not think anything bad will happen to them. After all, God is a loving God and surely He would not send anyone to Hell. That is a misconception that I wish to address, and I will use the Word of God in addressing that misconception.

We will begin in Luke Chapter 16. Luke 16:19-31 describes two men. One of them went to heaven and the other went to hell. The first man I want to discuss is the rich man. The Bible describes this rich man as a man who was clothed in purple and fine linen. He was also described as a man who fared sumptuously every day. He had everything he ever wanted while he was on this earth. He had money, he had prosperity, and he was well known in the streets. It is quite possible that he was a leader within the community in which he lived. He probably was married and probably had several kids. He probably had many friends while on this earth. This man lived as if his best life was now. He did not give any thought about eternity. The Bible says in verse 22 of Luke 16 that the rich man died, and he was buried. The next verse tells the reader that there is most definitely a hell. Verse 23 says that in hell he lifted up his eyes being in torments. The first thing I want you to notice is that the Bible says he was tormented. Some people think that they are going to hell and it is going to be one big party. My friends, how ignorant can a man be to think that! Torment is defined as a state of extreme pain or anguish of body or mind. In fact the rich man who went to hell was so tormented that he asked for just one drop of water. Imagine how hot it is on a hot summer day. I know how refreshing it is after cutting the grass in that heat to have some ice cold water.

My friends, in hell there will be no water. In fact in verse 24, the rich man says that he was tormented in the flame. Ever burned yourself on a oven before while you were cooking. It hurts does it not. In hell there will be a never ending flame. It will roast your body for all eternity and there will be no relief. The flame will never flicker, and it will never go out. People that are there are screaming in anguish for all eternity and there is nothing that they can do to stop it. There is no such thing as annihilation as some teach. If you reject Christ while on this earth, and you die in your sins then you will go to this horrible place called hell and there will be no relief. It will be the worst pain you ever felt in your life. The mind can not begin to comprehend how horrible it will be.

The next thing I want to share is that not only will the pain be awful, but the most horrible thing of all is that a person there will be separated from God forever. I can not imagine how horrible that will be. There will be memory as well in hell. People will remember that person who witnessed to them and they will wish that they could go back and accept Christ but it will be too late. My friend today is the day of salvation. Do not wait another day. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone. If you were to leave your house and then a car was to hit you, are you sure that you would go to heaven. Do not be as the rich man was. He was wealthy, he was prosperous, he had it all while on this earth. But that does not mean anything in the great scheme of things. The Bible says what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but to lose his soul in hell. I do not know why anyone would want to reject God’s gift of salvation, especially those who have heard it time and time again. My friend, I believe that judgment for someone who has went to church for all their life and heard the truth time and time again will be greater than the person who has not heard the gospel. I beg you, do not reject Christ today. Softly and Tenderly Jesus is calling, He is calling for you to be born again into the family of God. Do not continue to reject Him.

There is one other man I want to tell you about and that is the poor man Lazarus. Lazarus did not have anything while on this earth. The only visible friend he had on this earth were the dogs who licked his sores. I mean he went through many trials and tribulations while he was on this earth. When people walked by him they would say get away from me beggar. The fact of the matter is that he probably was dirty, he probably had rags for clothes and he probably stunk because he probably did not take a bath very often. Lazarus only ate the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Many people would say that he lived a horrible life. Oh but my friend that is only part of the story. When he died he went to Abraham’s bosom which is Paradise. You might be like Lazarus. Perhaps you do not have much in this life. Perhaps, you do not have many visible friends. But you do have Jesus living in your life, and when you have Jesus you have everything. The choice is yours. You can choose Jesus or you can choose the Devil. Do not think that just living a good life or by doing good things can get you to Heaven. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse you from all your sins.

Satan and his Demons are Real!

It seems that interest in Satan and the demonic ripples through history the way concentric circles ripple from a stone thrown into a pond. For decades we hear nothing about Satan; it's almost as if he did not exist. Then, a movie, a book, a lecturer or someone or something else bursts on the scene and there is a fascination with the devil that invariably spawns copycat movies, books and lectures. I sometimes wonder whether Satan is happier with the anonymity, so he can secretly go about his deceitful work, or with the notoriety, so he can bask in the sinful pride which first brought upon his downfall.
Generally speaking, Christians make one of two mistakes about Satan. Sometimes we treat him as a weakling, a non-existent enemy or a silly but innocuous little devil in a red suit. I feel quite certain Satan is content with these misconceptions; it makes his work so much easier. On the other hand, sometimes we become so taken back with Satan, so intrigued by the demonic, that we can think of nothing else. We become Satan-hunters rather than Spirit-followers. When we do, our focus on a lost world and our responsibility to glorify God is skewed and Satan's work is made so much easier.
Once asked what was important to keep in mind about Satan, I replied, His past is shady,his present is sneaky, and his future is shaky. In dealing with the Devil we must have a clear understanding of who he is, what he wants, and what is in his future. We need to be aware of the devil's devices so that we can defeat him in battle. And most of all, Christians need a strategy for dealing with the devil and to know the rules of engagement.
During the 21st century we are witnessing the dumbing down of the church. That is, Christians are becoming less and less able to withstand the fiery darts of the wicked one. We need to pray more than ever right now. The battle is real. We need to prepare for the battle. Present yourself to the Commander-in-Chief. And be encouraged; the war is real, but the outcome is certain.