1. In Psalm 55 much is said of the Antichrist in his relation to Israel.
Among other things we read there, "The words of his mouth were smoother than
butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were
they drawn swords" (v. 21). The occasion for this sad plaint is given in
the previous verse- "He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace
with him: he hath broken his covenant". The reference is to Antichrist breaking
his seven-year Covenant with the Jews (see Dan. 9:27; 11:21-24). Now if the
entire Psalm be read through with these things in mind, it will be seen that
it sets forth the sorrows of Israel and the sighings of the godly remnant
during the End-time. But the remarkable thing is that when we come to vv.
11-14 we find that which has a double application and fufillment- "wickedness
is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her street. For
it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither
was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would
have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and
mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house
of God in company". These verses describe not only the base treachery of
Judas toward Christ, but they also announce how he shall yet, when reincarnated
in the Antichrist, betray and desert Israel. The relation of Antichrist to
Israel will be precisely the same as that of Judas to Christ of old. He will
pose as the friend of the Jews, but later he will come out in his true character.
In the Tribulation period, the Nation of Israel shall taste the bitterness
of betrayal and desertion by one who masqueraded as a 'familiar friend'.
Hence, we have here the first hint that the Antichrist will be Judas
reincarnated.
2. "And your covenant with Death shall be disannulled, and your agreement
with Hell shall not stand; when the overflowring scourge shall pass through,
then ye shall be trodden down by it" (Isa. 28:18) The "Covenant" referred
to is that seven-year one which is mentioned in Dan. 9:27. But here the one
with whom this Covenant is made is termed "Death" and "Hell!". This is a
title of the Antichrist, as "the Resurrection and the Life" is of the true
Christ. Nor is this verse in Isa. 28 the only one where the Son of Perdition
is so denominated. In Rev. 6 a fourfold picture of him is given&emdash;the
antithesis of the fourfold portrayal of the Lord Jesus in the Gospels. Here
he is seen as the rider on differently colored horses, which bring before
us four stages in his awful career, and when we come to the last of them
the Holy Spirit exposes his true identity by telling us, "and his name that
sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him" (Rev. 6:8). Now "Hell"
or "hades" is the place which receives the souls of the dead, and the fact
that this awful name is here applied to Antichrist intimates that he has
come from there.
3. Above, we referred to Matt. 12:41-43 to prove that Antichrist will be
a super-human being, a fallen and unclean "spirit ": we turn to it again
in order to show that this coming Incarnation of Satan has previously been
upon earth. The history of this 'Unclean Spirit" is divided into three stages.
First, as having dwelt in "a man"; second, as having gone out of a man, and
walking through dry places, seeking rest and finding none this has reference
to his present condition during the interval between his two appearances
on earth. Third, he says, "I will return to my house". This Unclean Spirit,
then, who has already been here, who is now away in a place where rest is
not to be found, is to come back again!
4. In John 17:12 we have a word which, more plainly still, shows that the
Antichrist will be Judas reincarnated, for here he is termed by Christ "The
Son of Perdition". But first let us consider the teaching of Scripture concerning
Judas Iscariot. Who is he? He was a "man" (Matt. 26:24). But was he moree
than a man? Let Scripture make answer. In John 6:70 we read, "Have not I
chosen you twelve, and one of you is a Devil?" It is hardly necessary to
say that in the Greek there are two different words for "Devil" and "demon".
There are many demons, but only one Devil. Further, in no other passage is
the word "devil" applied to any one but to Satan himself. Judas then was
the Devil incarnate, just as the Lord Jesus was God incarnate. Christ Himself
said so, and we dare not doubt His word.
As we have seen, in John 17:12 Christ termed Judas "the Son of Perdition",
and 2 Thess. 2 :3 we find that the Antichrist is similarly designated- "That
Man of Sin be revealed, the Son of Perdition". These are the only two places
in all the Bible where his name occurs, and the fact that Judas was termed
by Christ not a "son of perdition", but "the Son of Perdition", and the fact
that the Man of Sin is so named prove that they are one and the same person.
What other conclusion can a simple and unprejudiced reader of the Bible come
to?
5. In Rev. 11:7 we have the first reference to "the Beast" in the Apocalypse:
"The Beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit". Here the Antichrist
is seen issuing forth from the Abyss. What is the Abyss? It is the abode
of lost spirits, the place of their incarceration and torment&emdash; see
Rev. 20:1-3, and Luke 8:31, "deep" is "abyss" and cf. Matt. 9:28. The question
naturally arises, How did he get there? and when was he sent there? We answer.
When Judas Iscariot died! The Antichrist will be Judas Iscariot reincarnated.
In proof of this we appeal to Acts 1 :25 where we are told, "that he mav
take part of this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression
fell, that he might go to his own place". Of no one else in all the Bible
is it said that at death he went "to his own place". Put these two scriptures
together: Judas went "to his own place", the Beast ascends out of the Abyss.
6. In Rev. 17:8 we read, "The Beast that thou sawest was, and is not: and
shall ascend out of the Bottomless Pit, and go into perdition". This verse
is generally understood to refer to the revived Roman Empire, and while allowing
that such an application is warrantable, yet we are persuaded it is a mistake
to limit it to this. In the Apocalypse, the Roman Empire and its final and
satanic Head are very closely connected, so much so, that at times it is
difficult to distinguish between them. But in Rev. 17 they are distinguishable.
In v. 8 we are told that the Beast "shall ascend out of the Bottomless Pit,
and that he shall go into perdition". In v. 11 we are told, "And the Beast
that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seventh, and goeth
into perdition". Now nearly all expositors are agreed that the Beast of v.
11- the "eighth" (head, and form of government of the Roman Empire- is the
Antichrist himself; then why not admit the same of v. 8? In both, the designation
is the same- "the Beast"; and in both, we are told he "goeth into perdition."
We take it, then, that what is predicated of "the Beast" in 17:8 is true
of both the Roman Empire and its last head, the Antichrist: of the former,
in the sense that it is infernal in its character. Viewing it now as a
declaration of the Antichrist, what does it tell us about him? Four things.
First, he "was". Second, he "is not". Third, he shall "ascend out of the
Bottomless Pit". Fourth, he shall "go into perdition". The various time-marks
here concern the Beast in his relation to the earth. First, he "was", i.
e.. on the earth. Second, he "is not", i. e. now on the earth (cf. Gen. 5:24,
"Enoch was not for God took him"; that is, "was not" any longer on the earth).
Third, he shall "ascend out of the Bottomless Pit," where he now is, which
agrees with 11:7. Fourth, he shall "go into perdition". We learn then from
this scripture that at the time the Apocalypse was written the Beast "was
not" then on the earth, but that he had been on it formerly. Further, we
learn that in John's day the Beast was then in the Bottomless Pit but should
yet ascend out of it. Here then is further evidence that the Antichrist who
is vet to appear has been on earth before.
7. "And the Beast was taken, and with him the False Prophet that wrought
miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark
of the Beast and them that worshipped his image. These both were east alive
into the lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Rev. 19:20). This gives the
last, word concerning the Antichrist. It makes known the terrible fate which
awaits him. He, together with his ally, will be cast alive into the Lake
of Fire. This is very striking, and confirms what has been said above, namely,
that the Antichrist will be one who has already appeared on earth, and 12
as been in "the Abyss" during, the interval which precedes his return to
the earth. And how remarkably Rev. 19:20 corroborates this. The Antichrist
will not be cast, eventually into the Abyss, as Satan will be at the end
of the Millennium (Rev 20 :1-3), but into the Lake of Fire which is the final
abode of the damned. Why is it that he shall not be cast into the Abyss at
the return of Christ? It must be because he has already been there. Hence,
the judgment meted out to him is final and irrevocable, as will be that of
the Devil a thousand years later, see Rev. 20:10.
THE ANTICHRIST WILL BE JUDAS REINCARNATED By Arthur W. Pink
King James Bible believing (Ps. 12:6-7) Gospel of the Grace of God (Acts 20:24, 1 Cor. 15:1-4) Faith Alone (Eph. 1:7, 1:13, 2:8-9) Pre-Millennial (Rev. 19-20) Pre-Tribulation Rapture (1 Thes. 1:10) Mid-Acts Dispensational Right Division (2 Tim. 2:15, Eph. 3:1-9) anti-Darwinism (Exod 20:11, 31:17) one baptism (Eph. 4:5, 1 Cor. 1:17, 12:13) no signs for today anti-Charismatic (1 Cor. 13:8-13) against the sinner's prayer (John 9:31, Isa. 59:1-2) against the Flat Earth Hoax (Isa. 40:22, Job 26:7)
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