Democrats? Republicans? What you really need to know.

This was supposed to be the second in a series of strongholds and to a certain extent it is, just not the one planned.

The title doesn't lie, just might be a bit deceiving. I figured people are more concerned about politics and who was in the White House as the President rather than who was still the King.  When we worry more about politics than our salvation we can say for sure the world is in dire need of a revival rather than a revolution.  You opened it you might as well read it now. LOL.

1 John 2:18

18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 

The last hour refers to the period of history that falls between the coming of Christ and His return. Though the Antichrist will appear during the tribulation when the church is raptured. Little antichrist are already active in the world.  We'll discuss this later because it thought several of these can be identified already in history.

1 John 4:2-4

2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

Actually if we go back to 1 John 4:1 - Friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  Some of the deceivers may even come in the name of Jesus, they may be on Christian radio or TV some could even publish books.  We as Christians must be discerning. Satan disguises himself as an Angel of light.

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Think of a diver in the ocean, the tremendous pressures of it depths would crush the diver. But if you descend in a pressured diving bell it exerts pressure outward to protect you. We we as Christians go into the world, we will experience extreme pressure, especially as we go deeper. But have no fear. Th pressure inside you is greater than the pressure on you.

2 John 1:7

7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 

It doesn't matter how eloquently someone speaks, it doesn't matter what social causes or charities they might support.  If they suggest that Jesus is anything less than the Son of God who came to die on the cross so that we could be forgiven of our sins and then rose from the dead...that person is a deceiver and the antichrist. The Antichrist is coming and will appear during the great tribulation (Dan. 9:26-27; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Thess. 2:3; Rev. 11:2; 13:1-8) but little antichrist are active now.      

I'm not going to put the verses of Revelation 13:1-8 here ( would read if I were speaking a sermon)  but I will give a jest of what it's saying "I saw a beast coming up out of the sea" The "sea" represents the Gentiles signifying the "beast" will be a gentile. "It had 10 horns" representing the 10 nation confederacy that he will rule.  At some point the antichrist will "appear to be fatally wounded" but the "wound will be healed". This will cause the "whole earth to be amazed" and follow him.  As they do, he will direct worship toward the Devil (the dragon). If the thought of a world ruler with such sweeping power seems farfetched, think of Hitler. If not for a series of heavenly interventions he might have attained his goal of world domination. One example of such intervention was the snowstorm that brought the mighty Nazi war machine to halt and keeping it from conquering Russia, and America's entrance into the war helping push them back on the western front. He failed so we know that Hitler wasn't the antichrist, but he was an antichrist.  His near conquest makes makes a future much more powerful and charismatic  leader seem much less implausible.  History has known monsters in the person's like Hitler, Stalin, Lenin and Mao among others. They're classified this way because they sought to exterminate people in masse, but they were not the antichrist.  The antichrist will seek to do precisely this to Israel and this man's great authority will come directly from Satan himself.

Let's look at today's society. Violence, racial tension, idolatry and sexual immorality just to name a few...even the Pope came out in support of same sex marriage.  He went on to say he supports a civil union, but wouldn't change doctrine.  Well, he says he not planning on changing doctrine? Even if he does he can't change what it says in the bible and many believe the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah was due to homosexuality.  Idolatry? Everything from musicians, actors/actresses, athlete's, teams, politicians and even the political parties themselves are being treated as Gods and when you place something before God...you're asking for it and it ain't going to be good.  Wars? We've had our shares of wars over the last couple of decades and one of the signs is war or the rumors of war.  Famine and plague? While it may not be a large scale famine in one location/country. How many people world wide are starving...

How many people are hungry in the world? Globally, about 8.9% of the world's population — 690 million people — go to bed on an empty stomach each night. Since 2014, the number of people affected by hunger has been slowly on the rise.Oct 29, 2020

Could Covid-19 be one of the plagues?  What do you know about plagues in the 21st century? 

As it currently stands, the plague is no longer a risk in the UK but is still widely reported across the world. Cases occur most often throughout countries in Asia, Africa, South America and the USA. Annually, most human cases are reported in Africa, with Madagascar widely regarded as the most affected country'sSep. 17, 2020

And yes, by plague they're talking about the Bubonic (Black Death) plague. Without treatment, plague results in the death of 30% to 90% of those infected. Death, if it occurs, is typically within ten days With treatment the risk of death is around 10%.

Many think it can't and won't happen because one person would have to be able to rule all of the worlds nations.  It's just a conspiracy theory (maybe/maybe not) but something like the supposed New World Order (NWO) would centralize a world government and currency making it rather simple.  We'll say that a person (antichrist) with enough influence and power to control such group wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination. 

Just food for thought.

https://thekcompany.co/news-release/christian-today-the-antichrist-is-satans-imitation-of-jesus-says-evangelical-pastor/