> ...Do you think one of the future popes could be the false
> prophet?...
The False Prophet could possibly be a future Pope, by whose miracles the world will be deceived into worshipping the Antichrist (Revelation 13:11-16). Even today many Christians in the Catholic Church know that a false Pope will arise and that they must not follow him.
Horns can represent kings (Revelation 17:12, Daniel 7:24), so the two horns of the False Prophet (Revelation 13:11) may represent his holding the highest positions of authority in both Christianity and Islam, becoming both Pope and Ayatollah.
Just as some secret societies begin the initiate with religious principles, only to overturn these as they move into the higher degrees, ending in Luciferianism at the very highest, so the Antichrist may begin as one very religious, combining Christianity and Islam, and then Judaism and Buddhism and Hinduism all into one amalgamate religion of which his False Prophet shall be vizier, proclaiming the Antichrist as Christ, Mahdi, Messiah, Maitreya, and Kalki, only to eventually overturn all religion and turn the world to the worship of Lucifer (Revelation 13:4) and the Antichrist himself as God (Revelation 13:8, 2 Thessalonians 2:4).
The Antichrist will definitely try to redefine man's concept of God (Revelation 13:6), possibly by propagating some of the doctrines of Gnosticism, one of the earliest enemies of the church.
Gnostic teachings were rekindled near the turn of the last century by a Madame Blavatsky and others and renamed Theosophy, the underlying doctrine of the New Age.
The Antichrist may say that YHWH is the name of an evil power who made the physical universe, bound up spirits in physical bodies, and made them live on the earth under his oppressive laws and go through reincarnations so he could watch the events on earth for his amusement, while he (the Antichrist) has now arisen to set mankind free from YHWH's laws and from "the prison of our physical bodies." One of the underlying assumptions of Gnosticism was that matter was evil. This is why they said Christ could not have come in the flesh (1 John 4:3).
Because of 2 Thessalonians 2:4-12 and Revelation 13:4-8, I believe the "strong delusion" will be that Satan and the Antichrist are God.
The Antichrist and his False Prophet may teach that Lucifer ("light-bearer") is the real hero and God of mankind and YHWH its oppressor. He may say that Lucifer tried to free Adam and Eve from YHWHs tyranny from the start and that he told them the truth of their spiritual immortality when he said "You shall not surely die" (Genesis 3:1-5), but YHWH has been able to oppress a duped humanity up until these end times, when the serpent will return in all his magnificent glory to lead humanity in its final great battle and victory over YHWH (Revelation 12:9, 16:14-16).
In the end times, counterfeit signs and miracles (Mark 13:22-23) will be performed through the power of demons. But because few people would willingly follow "demons," they will have to masquerade as something else (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). In ancient times demons masqueraded as "gods"; currently theyre "Ascended Masters." In the end times they may also try to present themselves as rebel "aliens" liberated from YHWH's oppression who are now come to help us.
But the Antichrists defeat at the return of Christ is clearly portrayed in scripture (Revelation 19:20), so how could he possibly deceive people into fighting Christ at his return? And how could he cause them to "take the mark" when Revelation warns so clearly against it? (Revelation 14:9-11)
First, worldwide, relatively few people read the Bible very much anymore. Even in the US, an entire generation is growing up knowing practically nothing of scripture. And many who do know the prophetic scriptures are now saying they aren't really that important for Christians to know because "we'll all be gone in a pre-trib rapture anyway." Others are saying that all the prophetic scriptures were already fulfilled in the past, while others are spiritualizing them away, saying they dont refer to outward events at all.
Second, the Antichrist may claim the Bible is only YHWHs propaganda sent to deceive people. He may do his best to rid the earth of every Bible he can find, and have great success (Amos 8:12).
Without the word, and completely deceived by the exciting powers given to the Antichrist's False Prophet (Revelation 13:12-18) by the "Ascended Masters" or allied "aliens," the world will be brought to the point where it will willingly and joyfully worship the Antichrist (Revelation 13:4-8) and even Lucifer himself in his true dragon form (Revelation 13:4, 12:3).
I believe scriptures such as Revelation 19:11-20:10 will be entirely unknown, forgotten, or rejected as lies by most of the world in less than 11 years from now. A small remnant of the church will have them in remembrance and will hold onto them while in hiding or in prison or in insane asylums. They will be willing to die for them and the truth of Christs victory which they portray (Revelation 6:9, 20:4; Mark 8:35-38, John 16:1-4).
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