November 13, 2023

Passage Read: Revelation 13-14
Meditation Verse: 13:5

Thought

The Antichrist receives authority over all mankind only for forty-two months! During that time, he blasphemes God, he makes successful war on the saints, rules over all the nations, because all people who aren't recorded in the Book of Life worship him. He doesn't rule for seven years, but for 3 and a half years! And during that time, he opposes God, fights against believers and is worshiped by and rules over unbelievers. People who say his reign is a full seven years are wrong.

Application

Three and a half years is long enough, and interestingly, it echoes Jesus's three and a half years of ministry on earth. The Antichrist is truly a counterfeit Jesus. It will be difficult for believers to survive his reign, and many will abandon the faith because they were told they wouldn't see him or suffer at his hands, so when Jesus returns it will be relatively few who believe. "Will He find faith on the earth?" will be a legitimate question. The Church will have been purified of most false believers. It will only be three and a half years, but those years will be incredibly difficult. But God will graciously cut them short on behalf of the elect. Still, whether it is three years or two and a half, it will still be a long, hard time.  I need to be ready.