Preparing for a Coming World Leader — Edgar Reich

Good evening, dear sisters and brothers in Christ. It is such a joy to be with you and to see you here tonight to hear God's Word. And my heart was touched by Ali singing that song. I live my life for you.

And may it be real for all of us that we live our lives for Him. I'm so thankful to Brother Stan for the beautiful worship music and all of his team. Thank you so much. And Pastor Brian, I want to thank you again for your kindness in allowing me to speak.

And it's a privilege and an honor to always be able to give God's Word. And I don't do it lightly. So thank you so much for giving me that opportunity. And then we also welcome my dear sister Vicki. She came to visit tonight.

So the Lord bless you. And may the Lord just encourage you tonight about the future that will happen in this nation and across the world. And so tonight's sermon is Preparing for a Coming World Leader.

Preparing for a Coming World Leader

Preparing for a Coming World Leader. And Heavenly Father, I pray that you would remove any curtains from our minds that we might understand tonight. Your plan for the future that will also permit a world leader that will test our faith to the utmost.

And so Father, we pray that we would stand strong in the times that must yet come, that You would be glorified. We thank You for the long-term future where we are safe and secure in Your arms forever and ever and ever.

And that any time on earth here is but a moment in time. But we may have to face these trials. So help us through Your Holy Spirit. And now teach us through Your Holy Word that we might understand and be even changed tonight.

And I ask this in Christ's holy name, amen. There are two end-time judgments during the Great Tribulation concerning two evil leaders. The first is a world political leader called the Antichrist. The second is a world religious leader supporting the Antichrist called the False Prophet.

So let us turn to our Bibles to find out about these coming leaders. And the first mention in the book of Revelation concerning Antichrist is in Revelation chapter 6, verses 1 and 2. Revelation chapter 6, verses 1 and 2.

Antichrist is also referred to in 1 John 2 .18, also in 2 Timothy. But we will start with the book of Revelation and Revelation chapter 6, 1 and 2. And there it says, Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, Come and see.

And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him. And he went out conquering and to conquer. The person we see here in the first seal judgment is called one of the horsemen of the apocalypse.

There are four horsemen given, the rider on a white horse, the rider on a red horse, bringing war, a rider on a black horse, bringing famine, and the fourth rider is on a pale horse, bringing death and hell.

Collectively they kill with weapons, with war, with hunger, with famine, and with beasts of the earth. Now, Revelation chapter 6, 1 and 2 refers to this conqueror on a white horse. He has a bow, but there's no arrow in the bow.

So this rider comes with great deception, imitating peace, because he has no arrow in the bow. The lack of the arrow indicates peace. He's thought to becoming the coming world leader who will receive his power from Satan.

And based on passages in the prophet Daniel, he is believed to offer the world a peace agreement involving the Jewish nation. He will act in peace during the first 3 .5 years of a great seven-year tribulation.

Then he will show his true face, which includes great persecution, a martyrdom of Christians. He has a crown, and he comes conquering. So we're just giving you an overview right now, and we will refer to specific passages in Scripture.

And I hope you have a pen, because you might want to keep some notes of what Scriptures are telling us. Now, those that study eschatology, which is the study of the future, thought that the person in Revelation 6, 1 and 2 is Jesus, but it cannot be.

The writers of the apocalypse are judgments from God, and also when we look at Jesus coming during the second coming, He has many crowns, not just one crown. So if you would refer with me to Revelation 19, Revelation 19, verses 11 and 12, and there you will see the Lord Jesus Christ coming with many crowns.

And here it says, Now I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns.

He had a name written that no one knew except himself. So here Jesus also comes on a white horse, but he has on his head many crowns. The white rider in Revelation 6, 1 and 2 is a judgment from God, and the rider here only has one crown.

Mankind has rejected Christ, the Son of God, and must now experience utmost evil through a world leader, the Antichrist. This Antichrist is described in actually great detail in Revelation chapter 13.

And we will go through Revelation chapter 13 verse by verse. He's also explained in the book of Daniel, especially in chapter seven. So let us turn now to Revelation chapter 13, and let us look verse by verse about this world leader and Antichrist.

Revelation 13: The Beast Rising from the Sea

And now in Revelation chapter 13, verse one, we have five difficult images. And when we read these images, we sometimes say, well, I can't understand this, so I don't even want to read this. But tonight you will be able to understand because each image is explained in Scripture itself.

And here it says in Revelation 13, one, then I stood on the sand of the sea and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea having seven heads and 10 horns, and on his horns 10 crowns, on his heads a blasphemous name.

So here we have the sea, we have a beast, we have seven heads, we have 10 horns and 10 crowns. What are these things? And now let us take a look for an explanation on the sea. The sea is explained in Revelation chapter 17, verse 15.

When you refer to Revelation chapter 17, verse 15, it says, then he said to me, the waters which you saw where the harlot sits are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. So here the water and the sea represents people.

It represents multitudes, nations, and tongues. And so in Revelation chapter 13, one, likewise, the sea is a representation of peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. Then it says, and I saw a beast.

Now, what is this beast? Some say it is just a false religious system. It is not really a man. But when you refer to Revelation chapter 13, verse 18, it's the same chapter, and when you refer to verse 18, it says, here is wisdom.

Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast. Now comes the explanation, for it is the number of a, what? It's a man. So here we have the explanation of the beast. He is a man, and his number is 666.

The passage here can also be translated that it is the sum of 666, and we will get to that again at the end of this chapter. So now we know who the sea are. We know that the beast is a man. Now, who are the seven heads?

The Seven Heads and the Harlot

And let us refer to Revelation chapter 17, verse nine. Revelation chapter 17, verse nine. Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.

By the way, that woman represents a false religious system in the world, and is described as the great harlot in Revelation chapter 17. This harlot is also drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus.

This is told us in Revelation 17, six. So this world religious system will persecute Christians, and is drunk with the blood of martyrs, beloved. The woman is an apostate religious system which sits on a city of seven mountains, confirming the world leader Antichrist, and persecuting true Christians.

Now, I did a research of all cities in the world with seven mountains, and there are quite a few actually, but there is none that has a religious system attached to it except the Catholic Church in Rome and the Vatican.

Many believe that Rome will unite the world religious systems under its umbrella while supporting the world leader Antichrist. So now we know who is represented here in this text by the seven heads. And now we're going on to the 10 horns, and the 10 horns are 10 kings or 10 rulers.

The Ten Horns and World Government

And please turn with me to Revelation chapter 17 verse 12. The 10 horns which you saw are 10 kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.

So the 10 horns represent 10 rulers in the world. Initially, eschatologists thought it was the revived Roman Empire in Europe, and when that empire came together in Europe, everyone was waiting for 10 nations, and 10 nations to be stopped for the European Union, but that was exceeded, and now eschatologists feel that that was a misread on their part, and that Europe alone did not just represent those 10 rulers or 10 kings.

Now, the 10 horns or 10 kings may be representative of 10 divisions in the world that may yet be planned to be happening. By the way, today's world regions are based on seven continental land masses, North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica.

The Club of Rome is a secret society of world leaders which is working on a one-world government. They have previously proposed dividing the world into 10 regions for 10 regional leaders to rule, and what they are proposing, which is still secret, but it's also known to some extent, they're proposing North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Russia, China, India, the Middle East, Japan, and Australia, and that would make 10 world regions, but we don't know whether this will so happen.

This is yet in the future, but it could so happen. Now, as we go on now in this verse, we also find that there are 10 crowns, and again, the 10 crowns are explained in Revelation 17, 12, and 13. There it says in Revelation 17, 12, and 13, the 10 horns which you saw are 10 kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.

These are of one mind, and note, they will give their power or their crowns and authority to the beast or this coming world leader. So here, Antichrist receives the power and authority from 10 rulers.

Their power and authority are the 10 crowns. They are from 10 kings or 10 regional rulers who will rule 10 regions of the world. Thereby, he becomes world leader. Now, Revelation 13, 1 can now be restated and paraphrased with the knowledge that we have gained from interpreting Scripture with Scripture.

And so we can now say for Revelation 13, 1, as I stood looking over the world and its nations, formerly called the sea, I saw a terrible man, in brackets, called the beast, rise from the nations, called the sea.

He controlled a false world religious system called the seven heads. And 10 regional rulers called 10 horns who gave him their power, the 10 crowns, to become world leader with a name blaspheming God.

So beloved, we know that Scripture interprets Scripture. And as we are diligent in reading through the book of Revelation, we often find the correct term for us to help us understand the book of Revelation.

So now let us go on to Revelation 13, verse 2. And by the way, if you have any question as we go on, just raise your hand because we will try and answer any question that comes to your mind to answer those so that you have clarity on what this text is telling us.

The Dragon, Satan, and the Beast's Authority

Revelation chapter 13, 2. Now the beast, which I saw, was like a leopard. His feet were like the feet of a bear and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him power, his throne, and great authority.

So here we have, again, other visions of animals. And we ask ourselves, what are these animals? Now we know that the beast was explained to us in Revelation chapter 13, verse 18. He's a man. So we know he is the coming world leader.

He is Antichrist. The visions of the animals in this verse could be related to Daniel's visions of beast nations in Daniel chapter 7. So a leopard is agile and swift. It is thought that this terrible Antichrist will control a swift and agile army with a capacity for military speed.

We read in some of the texts that he overthrows a southern army very, very quickly. And so this could be representative of military speed and strike force. The feet of a bear speak to his strength, which is not human but that of Satan.

He has the mouth of a lion with the lust to consume and tear victims. He is given power by the dragon. So here we have the word dragon in Revelation 13, verse 2. Now who is this dragon? When we refer to Revelation chapter 20, verse 2, it tells us who this dragon is.

And it says there, he laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old who is the devil and Satan. So again, Scripture explains Scripture that the dragon is the serpent of old. It is Satan himself. It is the devil.

Now Satan not only gives this world leader Antichrist demonic powers, he even gives him his throne. He gives him great satanic authority. Note the latter part of chapter 13, verse 2. It says the dragon gave him his power.

Satan gives him his power. Satan gives him his throne. And Satan gives him great authority. So this will be great satanic deception. It will be great power on this earth through this satanic world leader.

And then now in Revelation 13, verse 3, we read, and I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded and his deadly wound was healed and all the world marveled and followed the beast. So the beast is a man.

The man came from the rule of 10 world leaders. Now a fatal wound will be inflicted on this coming world leader. It is likely an assassination attempt. In verse 14 of Revelation 13, it makes reference to a weapon.

When you read that verse, it says a sword. So a sword could also be another weapon, but the wound was deadly and the whole world will say that he should have died. However, the wound was healed and all the world will consider it a great, great miracle and follow this world leader.

This could be an imitation of Antichrist imitating Messiah Christ, Christ who came back to life. So he comes back to life imitating Christ. In Revelation 13, verse 4, it now tells us about a worship, a satanic worship.

And it says here, so they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast and they worshiped the beast saying, who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him? So the people in the world, they're worshiping this dragon, which is Satan.

They may be deceived to think that he's Allah or he's somehow a combination of Buddhism, of Hinduism, of Islam and Christianity, but he's not the true God. And they will worship that person, that dragon who gave him authority and who gave authority to the beast.

Revelation 22 said that the dragon is Satan. So he will give power to this Antichrist. The beast is the coming world leader. And so there is a twofold work in this verse. First, the world will worship Satan.

This is satanic worship. The masses are deceived in worshiping God. Then secondly, the world will worship Antichrist in Revelation 13, verse 3. Antichrist was raised to come back to life. And I think I'm running out of batteries here.

So thank you so much, my dear brother, for coming and fixing this. Thank you so much. Thank you very much, dear brother. Thank you. Okay, is it better now? Thank you so much. So now we were on Revelation 13, verse 4 and we're now going on to Revelation 13, verse 5.

The Antichrist's Blasphemy and Three-and-a-Half-Year Rule

And it was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and he was given authority to continue for 42 months. So this Antichrist was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. We know from other passages that he will lift himself up in pride against God and speak evil against God.

He now has world dominion. And then it says that power was given him for 42 months. Now 42 months is 3 .5 years, three and a half years. The 70th week of Daniel in chapter 9, 27 is a period of seven years.

An Antichrist will present a covenant or a world peace agreement likely involving the nation of Israel. The peace agreement is broken after 3 .5 years when the true character of Antichrist is revealed.

And that is spoken of in Daniel chapter 9, verse 27 which speaks of the seven year period. And in the middle of this period or after 3 .5 years the true character of Antichrist is revealed. Beloved, he will also unleash a horrible persecution of all Christians during that time period.

And so very often you hear about the rapture and we all hope that we will be raptured by this time point but there's no specific scripture given you. All of that is an assumption. There's no specific scripture given.

And in fact, in Matthew chapter 24, Jesus said to his disciples and I'm going to read that passage. He was talking to them about this period of time. And in Matthew 24, verse nine, it says, then they will deliver you up to tribulation and what?

Kill Christians? Can that be true? That's what Jesus said, kill Christians. And you see, beloved sisters and brothers, there are now people in North Korea, they're dying for their Lord. There are now people in the Middle East, they're being crucified on boards.

They die for their Lord. There are now people in the underground church of China. They're being tortured as we speak and they die for their Lord. And they hold on to their faith because they know that they have a future and a hope, that they have a destiny with an Almighty God and that whatever happens now is but just a moment in time.

And here it says, then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you. And you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another and will hate one another.

Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. So many will say, well, if you have to experience persecution and you're now being taught by one of these false preachers, you have no foundation.

You don't even know what's coming. You have no understanding what Christ said to his disciples. And all of these false teachers are neglecting that there may be a cross for you to bear. There may be a cross for me to bear in the future with great persecution, beloved.

So we must prepare ourselves in our minds that Christ is with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. We're never alone. And we will be able to go through those trials with his help. And now in Revelation verse 13, six, then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name, his tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven.

The mask of Antichrist has come off at this point and he openly blasphemes the God of heaven. He declares himself as God. And you might say, well, where does it say that? Let us turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter two verses three and four.

2 Thessalonians chapter two verses three and four. And there it says, let no one deceive you by any means for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits, note this, he sits as God in the temple of God showing himself that he is God.

So there will be such great deception in this world that we will also be deceived if it was possible. Now in Revelation chapter 13 verse seven, it says it was granted to him to make war with whom? The saints are who?

So there are more Christians here in this great tribulation. Wow. You know, nobody shares that with us. Nobody tells us that all throughout the book of Revelation, they are Christians in great tribulation.

Perseverance, Martyrdom, and the Rapture Question

So beloved, do not be misled. Do not take the easy way out. Yes, the rapture could be pre-tribulation, but it may be in the middle, it may probably at the end. We do not know the time nor the hour, said Jesus.

And so don't make a doctrine out of that because you will be misled. You're not allowed to know the time nor the hour. Yes, we know the general time period, but we do not know the specific time. And so here he was granted to make war with the saints.

And you know, in Matthew 24, 15 to 22, it tells the Jewish people to flee when the abomination of the temple takes place. Antichrist is granted to make war against the saints, the true Christians, and he's given power to overcome Christians, a great multitude will be martyred.

And that great multitude is also spoken of in Revelation 7, 9, 13, and 14. And let us turn to that for one moment to understand this better. Here in Revelation 7, 9, after these things I looked and behold, a great multitude which no one could number of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues standing before the throne before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands.

So here we have a great multitude which no one could number, and they are in heaven before the throne of God. So they have died in their physical bodies. They are alive in their spiritual bodies, but here they are seen in heaven.

Now, John didn't know who these people were, and then in verses 13 and 14, then one of the elders answered and saying to me, who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from? So one of the elders asked John, do you know where all of these people came from?

All of these people before the throne, a multitude that no one could number. And then John said, sir, you know. So he said to me, these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, out of the great tribulation.

So beloved, again, do not be deceived. Here is a multitude that no one could number. So be strong in your faith and walk in the faith of God and know that he's able to keep you from falling. He's able to present you faultless before the presence of his Father.

He will help you in all circumstances. But Jesus also reminded us to be strong to the end. In Revelation chapter 12, 11 says, and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

These Christians overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. Now note that they still died and went to heaven in their physical bodies, but they kept their faith. And this is what the scripture here says. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, which is the Lord Jesus Christ.

And note, what is the second part? The word of their, wow, Christians are supposed to testify. And we spent some time on that this afternoon and this morning. So you need to testify. You need to share the faith that God has given you.

And then it says, and they did not love their lives to the death. So beloved, we also must deny the old flesh in us. The old flesh wants to live. The old flesh wants to have its way. The old flesh wants to do evil.

And here we must deny that old flesh to death. So there will be a cross for us. There will be denial. And all of these false religions out there, they do not teach you this. Be not deceived because all of them are preparing for this new world religious system and they're teaching false things.

And so we know that many of those people will be lost if they have not accepted Christ as their Savior, they will be lost. Now, Revelation chapter 13, verse eight, and all who dwell on the earth will worship him whose name in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Now, the masses on the earth are so deceived that they will worship Antichrist as God who declares himself God. And only those who are truly saved who have the name written in the Lamb's book of life will not be deceived.

They will not worship Antichrist. But if they're found out, they will be martyred. They will have to give their life. So the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world is the Lord Jesus Christ. It tells us that God planned to offer his son Jesus as a sacrifice for our sin.

Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you for being patient with me. That's kind of you. So the Lamb slain from the foundation is the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in Revelation chapter 13, verse nine, God reminds us to listen because he says, if anyone has an ear, let him hear.

Now the context of hearing also includes understanding and acting. It isn't just to hear with one ear and it comes out the other, but it is also to understand and act on what the Word teaches you. God reminds us to listen and then to understand that these prophecies will become reality and will happen.

And then in verse 13, 10, there is a solemn warning from the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says, he who leads into captivity shall go into captivity. He who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword.

Here's the patience and the faith of the saints. So he says, you saints, be patient and have faith because vengeance is mine, says the Lord. Those who cause captivity, I will repay them with captivity.

Those that kill, I will repay them to be killed. The Lord exhorts Christians in the meantime to have patience and faith even while they are suffering. The ultimate fate of Satan, Antichrist, and the false prophet are given to us in Revelation chapter 20, verse 10.

All three will be in the lake of fire and brimstone. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. And God is saying to us, saints, be patient. When trials and tribulation come, be patient, but be strong in me, be strong in my might.

The False Prophet and the Infernal Trinity

Trust me, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Now in verse 11, we have another beast. And here it says, then I saw another beast in Revelation chapter 13, verse 11. It came out of the earth and it had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.

Here we have this other beast coming out of the earth in Revelation chapter 19, verse 20. He is called the false prophet. He comes as a person and is a world religious leader. Likely he will combine Christianity with Islam and Buddhism and Hinduism, and he will bring in a one world religion.

He comes with two horns. Now we know that the horns represent leadership and rulership. He may have such leadership from a religious perspective. Perhaps these horns refer to that he's the leader of the world council of churches that they're working on.

Perhaps he's a leader of Christians. Perhaps he's the Pope who may also be given leadership of one of the other major faith. Perhaps Islam is involved, Buddhism or Hinduism. We do not know the details, but we know that there is a false prophet and he will have the whole world under him at that time point and he will exercise authority.

And we read that in Revelation chapter 13, verse 12. And so this coming false prophet, this coming world religious leader, he exercises all the authority of the first beast or the Antichrist in his presence and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed.

So this second world ruler, the false prophet is also given demonic powers of the Antichrist in the presence of Antichrist. The false prophet requires the world to worship Antichrist, this coming world leader as God.

We now see this infernal diabolical trinity which tries to imitate the eternal trinity that we have. The dragon is Satan, which tries to represent the father. Antichrist tries to represent the son and the false prophet tries to imitate the Holy Spirit.

Now Antichrist imitating Christ coming back to life and the false prophet, they together will instruct the world to adore and worship this coming world leader. We don't know if this world leader is the first one, the second one, third one or fourth one.

So there may be world leaders before this Antichrist is revealed. His sign will be this world peace agreement. He could well be the first one, but he may not need to be the first one. Now in Revelation 13, 13, we have a really unusual occurrence here of signs and wonders.

And it says he performs great signs so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of man. Now beloved, if the Pope were to take over world leadership, religious leadership, and he is a kind, gentle man who does not pursue riches and he helps the poor, and then you see him on CNN and he brings down fire from heaven, you will be tempted to believe him that he represents God.

And so the whole world will be deceived except those that are true Christians. And then in verse 13 and 14, it tells us that, Revelation 14, and he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.

And so here, the false religious leader performs miracles under the inspiration of Satan in the presence of Antichrist to deceive the world. The false prophet misleads the masses to think that Antichrist is God and worthy to be worshiped.

He then causes the people on earth to build a statute or an image to this coming world leader who was wounded to the image of this world leader. And then in verse 15, he was granted power to give, wow, he was granted to give breath to the image which is this image of this coming world leader that the image of the beast, this coming world leader should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

So if you don't worship that statute, if you don't worship that image, then you will be killed as you are identified by the world religious leader and Antichrist. So this coming world religious leader will be given the power to give life to the statute of Antichrist.