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This week I have had some interesting conversations with a young man from Indonesia who was enquiring about who is the antichrist and who is Satan. Here are the messages that he sent.
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From: "samsudin huang" <sam_toon@hotmail.com>
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Dear Rev. Cressy,
My name is Sam. I got a task from my school to make a paper about
antichrist/satan. I have to write some perspectives/opinions from some
culture/religion about antichrist.
I hope you can help me by giving me your perspective/opinion as a Christian
about antichrist.
I really hope you'll reply to me.
Thank you.
Samsudin
_____________________
As you can see it appears that Sam is not a Christian or knows very little about Christianity. But there are many in the world who know about Christianity as a topic for discussion, but don't know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. Sam's note I feel that he falls into this category. Until you really know Jesus, Christianity is just a topic for intellectual discussion.
I responded with:
Hi Sam,
The antichrist is a man who will be used by Satan to deceive the world.
He will appear as the great savior of mankind and the world. He will
use the Internet to control all of the subjects of the world to his
will.
Now you might be thinking how can he do this.
All of the banks around the world, except for a few very small minor
financial institutions, use the MAC card. When you use the MAC card,
you are actually using the Internet to access your bank account. The
antichrist will have the ability to prevent you from accessing your bank
account unless you have an access number or PIN. Today the PIN's are a
four digit number which is easily hacked and is not a very good
password. Good passwords must be 8 characters long with a combination
of alpha, numeric, and symbol characters like igGa1^0o. A password like
this would be very hard for the individual to memorize, and with the
thievery going on around the world today it would be a good idea to
implant in the individual a chip that cannot be stolen that has a secure
password to access your bank account.
Revelation 13:15-17
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the
image
of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not
worship the
image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and
bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or
the name
of the beast, or the number of his name.
Now the Internet is basically run on UNIX, with files having what is
called file permissions. Here is a paper I wrote about the number 666
and file permissions.
http://www.netaxs.com/~ldc/03.02-jan.10.97-666.html
Now 666 is just a number, except when it is a file permission. 666 then
becomes a binary octal number 110110110 which gives the user read and
write permission across the board. Here is a file listing:
-rw-r--r-- 1 leroy leroy 6660 Aug 23 1999 666-calc.txt
The first portion of the directory listing gives file permissions on who
can look at, read, or write to a file on a UNIX system. The first part
of the permission will either be blank or either a d or l which will
determine whether the file is a directory or a symbolic link. the rest
of the permission is divided up into three groups of three digits for
read, write, and execute. The execute flag can either be an x, s, or
S. S or s means that the program runs as if the user is the root user
or the super user. like the passwd program
-rwsr-xr-x 1 root root 25552 Mar 8 08:08 /usr/bin/passwd
When you read the complete sermon you will see how the antichrist will
be able to use this information to rule the world. As John wrote in
Revelation 13:16-17:
`` 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and
poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or
the name
of the beast, or the number of his name.''
You can see if one person
gained the root password of the major Internet backbone servers that the
world would be his.
So in answer to your question the antichrist is not the devil or Satan,
but a person who is used by Satan to rule the world.
I hope that this helps and if you have any further question please
write.
Rev. LeRoy D. Cressy mailto:ldc@netaxs.com /\_/\
http://www.netaxs.com/~ldc ( o.o )
Phone: 215-535-4037 > ^ <
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)
Now when Sam knew who the Antichrist is and has read my previous sermon, ``666, The Number of the beast.'' he wrote back the following:
Hi!
I've received your email. Thanks a lot for helping me.
I have two more questions if you don't mind to answer it.
What is Satan in Christianity? Is it personal, impersonal, or what? And do
you know in what site I can find some perspective from some cultures about
Satan? If you know, please tell me.
That's all, thank you.
Samsudin.
A lot of people have this same problem in dealing with Satan. A large number of Christians cannot grasp the truth that Satan is out there to destroy them. Satan is real and that he is there enemy. They think that Satan is something in other people that is what is bothering them, but they don't see Satan as a real being who is their enemy. My response to Sam was:
Who is Satan?
First check out http://www.google.com which is probably the best search
engine and search for Satan or devil and the various religions that you
want to look at.
Satan first shows his face in the book of Genesis with the temptation
of Eve. Satan is an angel who rebelled against God so we will start
with the beginning.
Genesis 3
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which
the LORD
God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall
not eat
of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the
trees
of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden,
God hath
said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes
shall be
opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it
was
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she
took of
the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her;
and he
did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were
naked;
and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Here we see Satan taking the form of a serpent or snake that is able to
talk to Eve. The spirit world consists of beings that are not carbon
based life forms, but are beings that are outside of our dimension of
time and space. They can enter into a person or animal and take over
them. In many instances such people are considered insane for they have
no control of themselves.
So we see a serpent that was taken over by a member of the Spirit world
and became the tool where Eve was tempted.
One of the next instances where we see Satan is in Job.
Job 1:3-10
3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand
camels, and
five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great
household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
4 And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day;
and sent
and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that
Job
sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered
burnt
offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be
that my
sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job
continually.
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
before
the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan
answered the
LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up
and
down in it.
8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job,
that
there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one
that
feareth God, and escheweth evil?
9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for
nought?
10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and
about all
that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and
his
substance is increased in the land.
The entire book of Job tells of the temptation and eventual victory over
Satan by Job.
In the book of Isaiah we see that Satan is called the son of the
morning. A special Arch Angel who tried to become equal with God.
Isaiah 14
1 For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel,
and set
them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and
they
shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and
the
house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants
and
handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were;
and
they shall rule over their oppressors.
3 And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee
rest
from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein
thou wast
made to serve,
4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon,
and say,
How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
5 The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the
rulers.
6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that
ruled the
nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into
singing.
8 Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon,
saying,
Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.
9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it
stirreth
up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath
raised up
from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak
as we?
art thou become like unto us?
11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols:
the
worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how
art
thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I
will exalt
my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the
congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the
most
High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider
thee,
saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake
kingdoms;
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities
thereof;
that opened not the house of his prisoners?
18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every
one in
his own house.
19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and
as the
raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go
down to
the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast
destroyed
thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be
renowned.
Here we see the question of how Satan was made as a beautiful angel and
pride made him want more. We also see that he is the arch deceiver for
he was able to convince 1/3 of the angels in heaven to follow him.
Revelation 12
1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with
the sun,
and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to
be
delivered.
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red
dragon,
having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did
cast them
to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to
be
delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with
a rod
of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place
prepared of
God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and
threescore
days.
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against
the
dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the
Devil, and
Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth,
and his
angels were cast out with him.
Here we see that Satan was cast out of heaven and the earth became his
abode to reek havoc upon.
So in summary Satan is a:
1. Spirit being
2. Fallen Angel
3. Deceiver
4. Evil
5. Destroyer of nations
6. Enemy of God
7. Real
Satan is not just evil, but is a real being that can talk and put
thoughts into your head and even make you believe that you are doing
good when in reality you are doing bad.
--
Rev. LeRoy D. Cressy mailto:ldc@netaxs.com /\_/\
http://www.netaxs.com/~ldc ( o.o )
Phone: 215-535-4037 > ^ <
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)
Now we know that we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities in high places.
Ephesians 6:12-18
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
We must take seriously who we are fighting against and who is our real enemy. We may think our enemy is the people who antagonize us or bother us, but we must look past the person and see the real enemy of the Christian. We must see that Satan is our real enemy and not those who are deluded by him. The outward appearance is that those who doing the things that aggravate us are the cause of our problems, but when in reality the real cause is Satan and his demonic followers.
3014 E Street Philadelphia, PA 19134 Church Office Phone: (215) 634-3637 Published by: Rev. LeRoy D. Cressy (215) 535-4037
Services:
Sunday School . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10:30 AM
Sunday Morning Worship . . . . . . . . . . 12 NOON
Sunday Evening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:30 PM
Wednesday Evening . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:30 PM
Copyright © 2000 LeRoy D. Cressy
Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
transcript as long as the copyright and this
permission notice appear.