Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
July 1, 2024

Audio Version

There are different views regarding the timing of the rapture in relation to the events
of the tribulation period and the appearance of the Antichrist.  
I hold a  pretribulational view of the rapture – the view that all believers in Christ will be taken to heaven before the events of the tribulation period begin. 
First Thessalonians 4:13–18 describes the rapture, giving the order of events like this: Jesus comes from heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:16), the dead in Christ rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:16),
and living believers are “caught up” to meet the Lord in the air.
We believe this event ends the church age, and believers will
“be with the Lord forever” following the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Midtribulationism teaches that the rapture occurs at the midpoint of the tribulation. At that time, the seventh trumpet sounds (Revelation 11:15), the church will meet Christ in the air, and then the bowl judgments are poured upon the earth (Revelation 15—16) in a time known as the great tribulation. In other words, the rapture and Christ’s second coming (to set up His kingdom) are separated by a period of three and a half years. According to this view, the church goes through the first half of the tribulation but is spared the worst of the tribulation in the last three and a half years.  (Excerpts taken from Got Questions.org)

Lets talk about who he will be and what we can expect. Daniel 7:20 says
“the Antichrist is a man whose appearance was greater than his fellows”.
Meaning he was strikingly attractive, having a magnetic personality, and had a speaking ability
that made him virtually irresistible to the masses. Daniel further describes a picture
of this world leader. “I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom, three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots, 7:8 If we understand this correctly, this coming world leader rises out of a reunited, revived Roman Empire
that is led by 10 Leaders, (symbolized by horns). This will be a final group of 10, or G–10
that will wield great power. The antichrist is the little horn that comes up among the 10 and initially subdues three of the  world’s leaders . Not by making war,
but by clever political manipulation. He begins as a little Horn seemingly insignificant,
and then succeeds in uprooting three of the first horns and appropriates their power for himself.
After this, the remining members of the 10 cede all power to him.
Daniel reiterated this event in the 11th chapter of his prophecy , saying that he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. Rev 11 – 21 

Daniel 7: 23-25 says “The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces… Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. 

Many who become followers of Christ during the tribulation are martyred for their faith. It infers that they are not killed outright, but are worn out and maliciously tortured by this unthinkable, cruel man.

In Revelations chapter 12, we read of the dragon, or Satan, being permanently thrown out of heaven in a great, cosmic war. Then in the 13th chapter, we see that the dragon comes to earth and then embodies his agent, the Antichrist.  He begins by being politically inconspicuous for awhile. 

John, the apostle says that this ominous personality arises from among the masses of ordinary people. “Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and 10 horns and on his horns 10 crowns, and on his head, a blasphemous name”. Revelation 13: The sand of the sea in biblical imagery stands For the general mass of humanity. We see confirmation of this in Revelation 17:15. 

History began with the sin of man; it ends with the man of sin

2 Thess 2:4 describes him as one, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God”.
As awful as this sounds, it says in Revelation, 13:8, “all who dwell on the Earth will worship him, whose names have NOT been written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world”.

Declaring himself to be God, this ruler attempts to change the moral and natural laws of the universe.

The Apostle John wrote that the beast ascends out of the bottomless pit, revealing his close relationship to Satan . Revelation 13:1 and 11: 7- the bottom line…the antichrist was given his power by Satan Revelation 13:1–4

Although he is the epitome of evil, we must not forget that this satanic creature is not equal to God.
He does not have absolute power or anything close.
In fact, in Revelation 13, we are reminded repeatedly that the antichrist can only do what he is allowed to do.  Twice in this chapter, we find the little phrase, “and he was given”. In verse five and “he was given” a mouth speaking great things in blasphemy, and, “he was given”, authority to continue for 42 months. And then in verse 7, it was “granted to him” to make war with the Saints,
and to overcome them, and authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Satan and his puppet the antichrist is only able to do what God allows. The antichrist will be able to create terrible havoc, and even do great miracle but ultimately God is still God, and no enemy of his will go beyond the boundaries he sets. No matter how invincible the antichrist may appear, take comfort in the control of God, even as things seem to be spinning out of control.

It is most comforting to understand the providence of God.
I have heard that Providence is the hand of God inside the glove of human events.
So we can rest assured that there is an invisible hand: the hand of God, ruling and overruling, seeing and overseeing, everything that is happening! Take comfort in knowing that no matter what you see, there is a hand you cannot see, that is guiding and controlling everything. 

The next time we’ll be talking about the program of the antichrist. Part III

Portions of chapter 4 of After the Rapture by David Jeremiah were excerpted and adapted.