CALIFORNIA, USA.- Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Church in California, and famous for his evangelistic crusades, asks that the Church not lose focus on eschatological issues. In a recent sermon, Laurie recalled that Satan is “the great imitator,” offering a false version “of all things that matter.” Just as God sent his Son, Jesus, Satan will one day send a “Jesus imitation” to take over the world.
“We have Jesus Christ, and Satan will have the Antichrist,” Laurie said. Although the Antichrist will be “the vilest incarnation of sin and rebellion in all of history,” he will be regarded by the world as charming and charismatic.
“He will do what no other man has done. There will be world peace. He will solve the political puzzle in the Middle East. “The most wicked man that ever walked the Earth,” he said.
The pastor admits that the coming of the Antichrist is closer than ever and that this deception will offer “a global economy, as well as a single government and a single religion for the whole world.” Laurie points out that the Antichrist will be a “false Jesus”, but many will believe in him. Only that his goal is to take the place of Jesus and that is why he will kill the Christians who oppose him, he warned.
In addition, the Antichrist will have the support of the false prophet, alert Laurie. They are part of an unholy trinity, with Satan standing in for God, the Antichrist standing in for Jesus, and the false prophet trying to be the Holy Spirit.
But the pastor believes that our efforts are often misguided. “The Antichrist cannot even arise until we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air,” he explained. “Maybe we won’t be here to find out who he is. Our job is not to stay looking for who the Antichrist is, our job is to look for Jesus Christ,” he warned. He said that he doesn’t know who that man will be and that, really, no one knows.
Most pastors believe
The question involving the identity of the Antichrist divides opinion. A LifeWay Research search of pastors shows that nearly half (49 percent) believe the Antichrist is a real human figure, one that will emerge in the future. Others say that there is no Antichrist (12%), but it would only be a personification of evil (14%), or of an institution (7%). Six percent say the Antichrist has already been here.
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