Dear Bible Study Friends,
Today was quite exciting, getting into our study of the Mystery of Iniquity, which is the person of the antichrist. He is called the man of sin and the son of perdition in 1 Thessalonians 2:3. Thank you for your kindness in allowing me to express what I believe the scriptures reveal concerning who this individual is. Please understand, that who I believe the man of sin to be is based on what the scriptures say, and comparing scripture with scripture. It is OK if you and I do not see eye to eye, because it is an issue of eschatology / prophecy; and no one can be 100% certain, but we can have confidence in what the Bible says. I am fully persuaded in the following things.
I believe, that, due to what Jesus says concerning the son of perdition, the antichrist will be filled with the resurrected spirit of Judas Iscariot. It is my conviction, due to the key phrases found in scripture, that the man of sin could be no one else. Regardless of who the world leader will be, that will assume this role, Judas will be the controlling spirit within.
Revelation 17:8 — The beast that thou sawest was (physically alive), and is not (currently physically dead); and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit (a future event), and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was (physically alive), and is not (currently physically dead), and yet is (soul is alive in his own place – the bottomless pit). (Parentheses and italics are mine)
Jesus called Judas “a devil” in John 6:70-71, and “the son of perdition” in John 17:12 – a specific title. Judas “went to his own place” in Acts 1:25. According to Revelation 17:8, “his own place” must be the “bottomless pit”. He is the king of the bottomless pit – Revelation 9:1-11. Once again, these are my observations of what the scriptures simply say, at face value, letting the Bible define itself and interpret itself.
Next week, we will deal with the Mystery of Babylon the Great, as well as the Mystery of His Will. The picture of the board has scripture references that you can read this week in preparation for our study next Sunday. Thank you for your hunger to know the truth, because it makes you free! John 8:32
Your fellow Bible explorer,
Ken Wooten