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Truth Under Fire
“The Counterfeit Kingdom”
Pastor Carl Nichols

Apostle’s Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Last week: The final Antichrist will be a person, but the spirit of antichrist is already at work.

That spirit opposes Christ and distorts his identity.

Counterfeits can borrow familiar names, language, and religious appearances.

Our test: “Is this faithful to what Scripture says about Jesus?”

The Bible not only describes a counterfeit Christ, but also a counterfeit kingdom.

Daniel 7:15-25
15 “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.16 I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.

“So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: 17 ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. 18 But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’

19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. 20 I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. 21 As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.

23 “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set timesand the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.

Revelation 13:1-8
13 The dragon ] stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bearand a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast.4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage waragainst God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

The dragon = Satan: Supplies power and authority.

The first beast = the kingdom and its ruler (Antichrist): Opposes God, demands worship, and wages war against God’s people.

The second beast = the false prophet: Uses signs and religious deception to direct worship toward the first beast.

This kingdom wants more than control of territory. It wants the allegiance that belongs to God.

The Question:
“Could a future empire using Islam to justify its authority become that kingdom?”

Key Observations: 1. ISLAM ALSO HAS AN END-TIMES EXPECTATION.

THE MAHDI — THE EXPECTED LEADER

ISA — THE RETURNING JESUS IN ISLAM

THE DAJJAL — THE FALSE MESSIAH

Key Observations: 2. EXPECTATIONS CAN PREPARE PEOPLE FOR DECEPTION.

Matthew 24:3–8
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

2 Thessalonians 2:8–12
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

Using Jesus’ name does not mean preserving Jesus’ identity.

Key Observations: 3. COMPARING CLAIMS (FOUR CHARTS)

KEY POINT: Islam’s denial of Jesus’ divine sonship and his saving death on the cross contradicts the Christian gospel and reflects what John calls the spirit of antichrist.

CHART 1 — ANTICHRIST AND MAHDI

CHART 2 — FALSE PROPHET AND ISA

CHART 3 — JESUS AND DAJJAL

CHART 4 — ONE EVENT, TWO TELLINGS?

The Irony: People are prepared to welcome Christ’s enemy as their deliverer, and resist the true Christ as their enemy?”

Key Observations: 4. OUR CERTAINTY IS CHRIST’S VICTORY.

2 Thessalonians 2:8
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

Revelation 19:11–20
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

king of kings and lord of lords.

17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.”

19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deludedthose who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

We may debate the Antichrist’s identity, but Scripture is clear about his defeat.

The question is bigger than whether you could identify a false deliverer. The bigger question is have you surrendered to the true One?