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"...The church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
I Timothy 3:15
The Beast and the Coming Union
of All the World’s Religions
Art Sadlier
From Sound the Trumpet, January 2015
We are standing on the threshold of the Day of the Lord also referred to as the tribulation period.
“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” (Revelation 13:1).
In this verse we are introduced to a king and a kingdom which will dominate the world during the tribulation period. They are both called a beast, one is a man and the other is a kingdom. The raging restless sea represents the peoples of the earth. During this time the people of the earth will be like a raging restless sea. The ten horns on his head represent ten rulers of the revived Roman Empire that Daniel tells us about in Daniel chapter 2 and chapter 7.
In verse 2 of Revelation 13, we discover where his power comes from, “...and the dragon (Satan) gave him power, and his seat, and great authority.” This man is indwelt by and controlled by Satan.
In verse four we see Satan actually being worshipped as the one who controls the beast, whom John calls the antichrist in his epistles. “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” This is Satan’s attempt to fulfil his longstanding desire to replace the God as the ruler of this world. That desire also includes being worshipped by the people of the world. This is the point that Satan has been striving to reach for some 6,000 years. This is the climax of Satan’s ambition.
David Hunt stated,
“The media has so conditioned our minds that the very word instantly conjures up the image of a sinister man who exudes evil from every pore. But Hollywood caricatures play into the hands of the real Antichrist, since no suspicion will rest upon this one whose admirable qualities so well conceal his dark designs. When the time has come for his surprising world takeover, precipitated by an unprecedented global crisis, he will be hailed as the world’s savior—and so he will appear to be.”
Daniel tells us that he will come on the scene as an unknown. The office of this coming dictator has now been setup. It will be the newly created office of President of the EU. He will come on the scene at a time of crisis and lead the European federation to great heights of power and world-wide influence.
Today the EU is one of the leading economic powers in the world. However it is facing a crisis and is in danger of economic collapse, in danger of the collapse of the Euro and political disintegration. That would appear to be the exact scenario that will prepare the Europeans for the appearance Antichrist and for the yielding of national sovereignty for the common good and the solving of vexing problems.
The Second Beast
“And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed” (Revelation 13:12).
Antichrist’s program will be a program of religion and he will have an associate who will be the leader of a new world religion. This leader is called in scripture the false prophet or the second beast.
“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, (he pretends to be Christ the Lamb of God) and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live” (Revelation 13:11-14).
The popes have always claimed to be Christ’s representative on earth and I suggest that the present pope is positioning himself to fill the role of the second beast.
Pope Francis is rapidly gaining great influence and stature in the world. He is posing himself as a mediator in the affairs of nations. For example he mediated in the reconciliation between the USA and Cuba, etc. He is stirring hope and excitement in both the secular and religious world. He is being hailed as the man to bring change to the church and to the world. He is taking firm control of the church and has put the Cardinals on notice that great changes are coming to the church. He has been laying the groundwork for the doors of the church to be opened to the whole world.
Someday the whole world will walk through those open doors. That will be the point at which the harlot church explodes upon the world. He has made great strides in bringing both evangelicals and mainline protestant churches into a looming union.
The great peace initiative of the coming antichrist has already begun and is gaining momentum in the world of politics, religion and among educators. There is a drive to solve the problems of terrorism and social turmoil. Antichrist must bring the world together in peace and harmony and unity to facilitate his efforts to seize control.
There is a drive to make the world a melting pot where all are melded together as one homogenous, mindless group of robots which can easily be controlled. That is the climate in which antichrist can control the world.
What global leaders and “peacemakers” do not understand is that the reason there is terrorism, murder, and cruelty to others is because of sin in the heart of man. As the world seeks out answers and solutions to global issues, they move further and further away from the only solution – Jesus Christ.
Why do we say further away from Him? Because the answer they come up with is to eliminate any and all “extremism.” This is another way of saying remove those who say their religion is the only true religion. So what happens; Islamic extremists (fundamentalists) are lumped together with Christian fundamentalists. And now, it becomes wrong to stand for the Christian faith and say that Christ is the only way to God, this is extremism in their estimation and it brings disunity.
The problem with this is that the on the one hand, Islam promotes violence, Mohamad said, kill the infidels. On the other hand, biblical Christianity promotes love, peace, gentleness (the fruits of the Spirit as described in Galatians and love your enemies is required in Matthew) and finding salvation and eternal life through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That is quite a contrast!
Rick Warren is promoting the elimination of all forms of fundamentalism. Warren predicts that, “Fundamentalism, of all varieties, will be one of the big enemies of the 21st century. Muslim fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism, they’re all motivated by fear, fear of each other.” Rick Warren has made himself the enemy of Christian fundamentalism.
But Christian fundamentalism and Jewish fundamentalism do not promote violence. Christian fundamentalism promotes the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If something that calls itself Christianity (such as the Roman Catholic Church during the inquisitions) is promoting violence, then it is not true Christianity.
How sad to realize that one of the church’s most popular and influential pastors would suggest that we lump Islamic terrorists with Christian believers.
In 2011, Lighthouse Trails wrote a report entitled “Eye-Witness Account: Global Peace Forum at Saddleback with Rick Warren and Tony Blair Raises Serious Questions about Global Peace Plan.”
In that report, it was stated by both Warren and Blair that the only way a global peace could happen on planet earth in the future would be for all faiths to work together and do good together. The audience at the forum appeared to be mesmerized and awe-struck as they were wooed with discussion on faith, good works, democracy, and coming together. Beneath the vernacular, however, was another story.
At the 4th Ministerial meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) in New York on 27 September 2013, GCTF Co-Chairs announced that a core group of government and non-government partners from different regions are planning to establish the first-ever public-private global fund to support local, grass-roots efforts to counter violent extremism in all of its forms. It is anticipated that the fund will raise more than $200 million over the next ten years to support local community initiatives that counter radicalization and extremism. (Read Christian Fundamentalism)
“The work that my organization does, and the work of many others, is about not just the uprooting of terrorism, but the uprooting of the thinking and philosophy behind it. I believe there is no answer to this problem that doesn't start and continue with the importance of educating our young people. So, that in a world in which people are pushed ever closer together, they learn to live with each other with mutual tolerance and respect." The above statement sounds good until you consider the implications.
Tony Blair stated in the UK Guardian, “Religious difference, not ideology, will fuel this century’s epic battles” That battle will reach its climax in the tribulation period as multitudes of tribulation saints are martyred for being out of step with the program of antichrist.
So Blair and Warren believe the hope of society is to eliminate religious differences. That is the philosophy behind all of the persecution of Christians over the long centuries of the dark ages. It is also the philosophy that will be at the heart of the coming world church, called the harlot or the great whore by John in Revelation 17. We are already seeing this in the neutralism of the new evangelical church.
Blair stated, “Terrorism is a transnational and global problem frequently driven by local forces. While military, intelligence and law enforcement operations can help address the threat these groups pose, to succeed in the long-term, we must reduce their ability to recruit at the local level.” That is a call to eliminate all groups that do not conform to the societal norms, in particular fundamental Christians.
Tony Blair stated, “We have to be prepared to take the security measures necessary for our immediate protection. . . .The answer is to promote views that are open-minded and tolerant towards those who are different, and to fight the formal, informal and internet propagation of closed-minded intolerance.” (Read: persecution of religious groups who do not conform to societal norms)
Of course, this is absurd as true born-again believers in Christ are not prone to violence. What Tony Blair and other leaders are really calling for is a world where those who say Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation are silenced. If you don’t believe that, consider what Blair’s comrade, Rick Warren said about Christian fundamentalists (meaning those who adhere to biblical doctrine). This is a repeat of the above statement by Warren.
Warren predicts that fundamentalism, of all varieties, will be “one of the big enemies of the 21st century. Muslim fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism – they’re all motivated by fear, fear of each other.” (Rick Warren, from the Philadelphia Enquirer, 2006)
On the other hand Warren is promoting a neutral Christianity and leading it into unity with the Roman Catholic Church and all other religions. In a recent video interview for the Catholic News Service Warren said: "We have far more in common than what divides us." (Referring to Catholicism)
He continued: "When you talk about Pentecostals, charismatics, evangelicals, fundamentalists, Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians ... Well, they would all say we believe in the trinity, we believe in the Bible, we believe in the resurrection, we believe salvation is through Jesus Christ. These are the big issues."
What clearer evidence could we have to demonstrate that Warren is on the leading edge of the drive to bring evangelicals into the coming harlot church of Revelation 17. Accompanying that drive is the intention to isolate and reject Christian Fundamentalists.
A false “Christ” and a false “Christianity” are coming; the Bible predicts it and this coming false Christ will be the antichrist who will hate Israel, the Jews, and Bible-believing Christians. Antagonism toward fundamentalism is already evident in the neutral Christianity that now dominates evangelicalism.
While the world is going to do what it is going to do, how is that many of Christianity’s main leaders are falling into step with this world system that will eventually bring about the Antichrist?
Remember what Rick Warren said about the new reformation he is hoping to help bring about, that it can come not just through Christians but through Muslims as well. He calls it a reformation from God. Warren stated, “Who’s the man of peace in any village, or it might be a woman of peace who has the most respect, they’re open and they’re influential? They don’t have to be a Christian. In fact, they could be a Muslim, but they’re open and they’re influential and you work with them to attack the five giants. And that’s going to bring the second Reformation.” (Rick Warren, May 2005, Pew Forum on Religion)
The implication is that the first reformation divided but this second reformation will unite. It will unite not only Protestants and Catholics but all of the religions of the world.
Will you greet me over there, in the joyful harvest home?