Let’s compare these words super quick:
APOSTASY…. A public denial of a previously held religious belief and a distancing from the community that holds to it. The term is almost always applied pejoratively, carrying connotations of rebellion, betrayal, treachery, or faithlessness.[i]
In biblical eschatology studies related to the coming Apostate Superchurch—“the apostasy comes first, and [Antichrist] is revealed” (2 Thessalonians 2:3; NASB)—“apostasy” refers to “a great ‘falling away’ or ‘rebellion’ (apostasia) from the Christian faith before the day of Christ.”[ii] Even more simply put, from the Dictionary of Latin Forms, it refers to a “departure from one’s religion, [or a] repudiation of one’s faith.”[iii]
As the scholars and commentators acknowledge:
Before that great day [the Tribulation] comes, Paul declared, the rebellion [apostasia] must occur.… [T]here will be a great denial, a deliberate turning away by those who profess to belong to Christ [Christians]. It will be a rebellion. Having once allied themselves with Christ, they will abandon him. Within the recognized church there will come a time when people will forsake their faith. Throughout history there have been defections from the faith. But the apostasy about which he wrote to the Thessalonians would be of greater magnitude and would signal the coming of the end.[iv]
In other words: A rebellion of the Christian Church from the inside out will happen, and then Antichrist will rise with his One-World-Order government and One-World Religion (his cult, the grandest deception of the world, which we, as you’ve likely noted by now, have coined “the Apostate Superchurch”).
But what is a cult, exactly?
Contemporary dictionaries give some form of the following takeaway: “Cult: a system of religious beliefs and ritual…a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents.”[v] (Truthfully, the word points directly to an Apostate-Superchurch agenda, as well as a modern, anti-Christ-spirited itinerary that normalizes and celebrates false religion. For now, it’s only important to understand that the word “cult” used in this work will refer first to “an unorthodox/spurious religion,” and, by extension, to Antichrist’s supremely unorthodox/spurious “veiled Christianity” of the End Times. It may surprise you to read that, underneath all the convoluted semantics games, “apostasy” and “cult” mean the same thing…more on this later.)
By suggesting that an off-track Christianity precisely fulfills the definition of a cult, not only is that how most get started, but neither are we saying anything that God didn’t say first: In the End, the Apostate Superchurch under Antichrist’s reign is going to entice and deceive countless multitudes of people who think they’re a part of the Remnant Church. They will absolutely be “religious,” but Christ cannot authentically be their Lord.
Both of the End-Times churches just discussed will claim to be the Remnant Church, and by the time the Apostate Superchurch is well formed, it will—in the same pocket with Antichrist’s One-World-Order government (Revelation 13:7)—surface as the answer to many challenges humanity faces today: world hunger, global strife, disease, racial inequality, class inequality, and countless other “quality of life” philanthropic and humanitarian efforts that a religiously, socially, and politically fragmented world has never been able to solve. It will be a One-World Church, a (phony) respecter of all religions on the planet at that time, that cleverly manages to convince everyone that “we have always known the path to God,” though each culture/religion “calls it by another name” or “experiences it differently,” and so on.
Dr. David R. Reagan—founder of Lamb & Lion Ministries; author of seventeen books related to prophecy; and host of his nationally broadcast weekly television program, Christ in Prophecy, which airs on eleven Christian networks plus DayStar—holds graduate degrees in international relations from Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts and Harvard University. Considering his education in international law, policies, history, and communications, on top of his long-developed expertise in biblical eschatology, we find his position on the Apostate Superchurch enlightening:
The most popular apostasy in Christendom today is the teaching that God has revealed Himself in many different ways to different cultures and that, therefore, all religions worship the same god, but just use different names. From this viewpoint, the Allah of Islam is the same as the Yahweh of Judaism and both are the same as the Krishna of Hinduism. The natural conclusion that is drawn from this apostate idea is that there are many different paths to God, Jesus being only one of them. This has led liberal leaders of groups like The National Council of Churches in the United States and the World Council to condemn missionary activity as “arrogant” and “anti-cultural.”[vi]
Don’t assume, as some have done, that the book of Revelation only foretells a sentence upon the Jews. Although the Last-Days, wrath-of-God events certainly weave around and circulate through the spiritual state of the Jews, their historical and contemporary rejection of Jesus as Messiah, as well as their accepting Antichrist to be “the Messiah they’ve waited for all along,” it’s not accurate or fair in a worldwide eschatological scenario that the Jews would be the only people held spiritually accountable. That would just be true if they were the only ones left on the earth in that day, and even in the case of a pre-Trib Rapture (the theology that the saints will be taken up to be with the Lord before the Tribulation), there would still be nonbelievers of other world religions left behind. This means that, regardless of the timing of the Rapture (pre-Trib, mid-Trib, pre-wrath, and so on), the grand deception will entice people of all faiths, including the false Christianity of that day. This is why it becomes crucial that wherever on earth the Remnant Church is thriving, both before and during the Tribulation (when the Remnant Church will be underground), strict adherence to true Christian tenets, practices, and doctrines must be maintained at all costs to distinguish it from the Apostate Superchurch.
Even if Antichrist himself were to be Jewish (a near certainty, according to many scholars), a twisted Christianity will be at the front of his agenda on the disastrous day he rises to the throne! World-renowned and highly respected scholars of Scripture have dedicated their lives to exposing this reality, as is clear to anyone that has taken time to look into who Antichrist is and what he will do in the (possibly near) future.
One of the most authoritative “Revelation theologians” alive on our planet today is professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, Dr. Gregory K. Beale. He has written more than twenty-five groundbreaking works currently used in diverse universities and is considered by an enormous number of scholars to be “the” expert on the book of Revelation. Beale states directly: “The Antichrist figure in Revelation 13 has both a pagan political-religious side and a pseudo-Christian side, both of which were associated together in the Danielic expectation of the end-time opponent of God.”[vii] Based on this, we can expect that Antichrist will stand as head over a Superchurch that is, at least in part, “pseudo-Christian.”
Of course, true, Bible-reading Christians are aware that the syncretistic/polytheistic, One-World-Religion “Superchurch” endeavors are immediately and intrinsically incompatible with real Christianity, because there is only one way to the Father, only one Name that grants access, and that is Jesus (John 14:6). Though some of the Western world outside Christianity may not be able to quote this (or similar) Scriptures, Christianity’s firm, monotheistic theology has been understood well enough that we would expect only a minority within the Church to quote the syncretic ideal, “All religions are true religions,” or similar statements. Those who have proclaimed such ideas throughout history have had the hierarchy within Church to answer to, and the penalty for their heretical beliefs could mean anything from death to excommunication to social ostracization, depending on when and where in history such bold statements were declared. Nevertheless, something has happened since the 1950s, and Western culture has openly fostered an extremely syncretistic society where it’s acceptable to discard portions of the Bible that we don’t agree with and simply “hodgepodge” our own hybrid religion together with any other belief system we personally find beautiful. Add postmodernism to the heap, and it’s already a miracle that the Remnant Church still exists at the time of this writing, let alone will be flourishing underground when the Apostate Superchurch is flaunting itself topside, in bed with the One-World Government, solving every malady of the human condition, unsuspectingly worshiping its satanic leader and praising his pet statue (Revelation 13:3–4, 15).
But still, the logical question remains: How will the entire world accept this? What matter of deception could be so great that we no longer distinguish a synagogue from a mosque, a temple from a church, the Bible from the Qur’an, or the Torah from the Vedas or the Tibetan Book of the Dead—even though the core doctrines behind these places of worship and sacred writings conflict? How do we find ourselves in the position where we’ve permanently erased the lines separating Buddhism from Catholicism, Islam from Hinduism…Christianity from Satanism!? As unbelievable as this religiously apocalyptic scenario might have sounded ten years ago, in 2020, it’s almost “yesterday’s news” that we will see these things come to pass soon. There are a number of reasons this is the case, and a thorough examination of the entire subject would require more space than we have here.
However, what we can take a few pages to address are the platforms Antichrist will use to develop the One-World Religion in a world like the one we’re currently (and haphazardly) forming.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEOS
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“THE LIES OF MEN AND GODS–EPISODE 1”: The Vatican, Aliens, and Government Elites. Is It All a Coincidence?
Resurrection/Miracles Platform
The first platform Antichrist will have to stand on when he promotes the Apostate Superchurch is the authority of his own resurrection and miracles. Though the Word is not completely clear about his head wound (Revelation 13:3–4, 14), it does stipulate that it’s incurable. Theories and explanations in current academia don’t agree on whether it’s a literal or figurative wound, and scholars will likely hypothesize right up to the day it occurs about how much it has to do with the “serpent’s bruised/crushed head” curse of Genesis 3:15. Regardless, anyone who is not a part of the Remnant Church (and therefore recognizes this event for what it is) will marvel at Antichrist’s survival and think him to be an invincible god upon whom no other person can inflict harm: “and his [Antichrist’s] deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon [Satan] which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” (Revelation 13:3–4, 12–14). Additionally, he will perform great, beneficial miracles that make him further appear to be genuinely benevolent and all-commanding (2 Thessalonians 2:9–10; Revelation 13:13); these signs and wonders will be so convincing that even Christians will accept his authority (Matthew 24:24). Many scholars see the similarities between this future reality and what the Egyptians must have felt when Pharaoh’s evil sorcerers mimicked a few of the miracles God performed through Moses (Exodus 7:11).
If it plays out the way most Bible prophecy theologians suggest it will, Antichrist will live up to his title in every literal way. As the “anti” form of our Savior, Christ, the Man of Sin will parallel Jesus’ death, Resurrection, and miracles, looking in every way to be the Messiah figure for all world religions and cultures across the globe: Jews will believe he is the promised Messiah they’ve waited for; misled Christians will believe it is the Second Coming of Christ; people belonging to other world religions will interpret him to be the fulfillment of other prophetic, redeeming, or delivering god-figures; and atheists will suddenly come to believe that there is a God—and that Antichrist fills that role.
With that in mind… How will Antichrist not have the ability to form a One-World Religion that doctrinally satisfies everyone’s expectations? All he’ll have to do is approach the pulpit and address every person in the world (technologically speaking, we’re already there) and explain in short order that he is “the” god-man of all of their religions and philosophies. Any crossover theologies from one belief system to another that aren’t compatible will be flagged as mere misinterpretation of the holy books that all point to him.
Also consider how much today’s Church is arranging this framework at this very moment. Petty, irrelevant squabbling between Christian “trolls” (online or otherwise) doesn’t impress anyone. When we “throw a verse” at someone we disagree with, even if it succeeds in silencing them (it typically doesn’t), we don’t prove anything except the idea that the Bible can represent a number of different things, depending on the interpreter. When “the” interpreter (Antichrist) arrives and deduces that it’s all about him, many “Christians” will be too fragmented in their theology to stand firmly against his deception.
For certain, the Man of Sin will capitalize on the weaknesses the Church will have mounted upon herself. Why wouldn’t he? He’s the absolute epitome of blasphemy…which brings us to the next platform.
Intelligence/Blasphemy Platform
We’ve heard Christians use Revelation 13:6 as an argument against the idea that Christians will be deceived in the End Times: “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.” Wouldn’t believers recognize Antichrist for who he is because of this verse? And doesn’t this single passage of Scripture disprove that he could ever merge Christian theology with the One-World Religion? Try as he might to make himself “look like” Christ or make Christianity “look like” his religion, if he blasphemes the God of the Bible, that cancels itself out…so how could blasphemy be a means by which Antichrist ushers in his Apostate Superchurch, with himself as the head?
First, this would mean that Christians would be reading their Bibles well enough to recognize blasphemy when they hear/see it—and they’re not. (Much more discussion on this topic in a later chapter.) It would likewise require that the Bible Christians are reading is the whole, complete, uncut Word of God, including both the Old and New Testaments. Before we offend anyone, let us clarify: This is not to insult those who carry around or distribute New Testament Bibles! It’s simply a statement that the entire Word of God must be familiar to the Body of Christ in order for them to identify the moment when Antichrist does or says something that opposes it, and that is especially true of an enemy scholars believe will position himself as an orthodox (i.e., Old Testament) Jew.
Second, it seems incredibly unlikely that Antichrist’s blasphemies would fit the cartoonish, clichéd, “fist-shake at God” imagery that first comes to mind. A deceiver would be far more convincing if he, like Satan, appeared as “an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14) who respected God. Consider who we’re talking about here… Antichrist will be a man, but he’ll also be the “seed of the serpent” (Genesis 3:15). Just as Christ was (and is) the Son of God, Antichrist will be the son of Satan. Therefore, just as the Son of God exercises power from His Father in heaven (Matthew 9:6, 8; 21:23ff; 26:64; 28:18–19; Daniel 7:14), so, too, will Antichrist receive his power from his father in hell (Revelation 13:2, 4). Nothing about his intelligence will be limited to a single lifetime or one mere man’s powers of articulation. As he will be filled with the unbridled influence of all the authority in hell, Antichrist’s capabilities of misleading the masses and appearing as an “angel of light” will result in his display of ultimate:
- Speaking presence: “There was given unto him a mouth speaking great things” (Revelation 13:5); “and a mouth speaking great things” (Daniel 7:8); and “a mouth that spake very great things” (Daniel 7:20).
- Political power: “Ten kings…shall give their power and strength unto the beast… and give their kingdom unto the beast” (Revelation 17:12–13, 17; cf. Daniel 9:27).
- Military command: “The beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war” (Revelation 19:19).
- Earthly wealth and extravagance: “A god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things” (Daniel 11:38).
- Economic policies and organization: “And the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of [Antichrist’s city, Babylon’s] delicacies”; “The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men…[and involving] all things which were dainty and goodly…[and] ships…[and] trade by sea…[and] harpers, and musicians, and…pipers, and trumpeters…[and] craftsmen” (Revelation 18:3, 12–17, 22).
- Persuasion in self-aggrandizement: “And he shall exalt himself…and shall prosper” (Daniel 11:36).
- Patient, successful oppression of God’s people: “And shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand” (Daniel 7:25).
On top of all of this, he’s going to be tremendously attractive, with features so appealing that the Word says he will be better looking than any of “his fellows” (Daniel 7:20).
When that guy blasphemes, it’s probably not going to be in the too-obvious form of shaking fists upwards to the sky or dropping the “f-bomb” in a statement about Jesus. It will more likely be in the form of Scripture taken directly from the Word of God and just slightly altered (like a “new translation” or a contemporary rewording “for the sake of clarity”) or misinterpreted (like we’re already familiar with doing now whenever it suits our proof-text agendas). So long as the endgame is the intent to take the Word of God as He has spoken it to humanity and make it say the opposite of what it does, that’s the worst kind of blasphemy—all the way up there with self-deification (claiming to be God, which Antichrist will also be guilty of; see 2 Thessalonians 2:4).
Some of the people who will line up to worship the Beast and take his Mark will do so even knowing what the Bible says about him. But he will be so convincing that he will fool people into believing that “his truth” is the “greater truth”—that what he says is “more true” than the Word of God. They will think back and remember the warnings of Scripture, and they will get in line anyway, believing that his words and interpretations “replace” the Word of God as a spiritual ideology that simply makes more sense than the archaic God of that “old book.”
In this thread of thought, Antichrist’s blasphemies will not be a hindrance to his goal of establishing himself as world ruler and forming the Apostate Superchurch of all world religions. Much to the contrary, blasphemy is the very vehicle he will use to do it.
Technology Platform
Of course, identifying how all this is possible also partly relies on identifying how the human appetite has demanded the steps to be put in place for this. We stomp our feet for globalist conveniences and technology that puts us in touch with anyone on earth at the snap of a finger, instantaneous currency conversion, flights to anywhere in the world on any day of the year, individualistic consumer trends in international trade (including online shopping), language-translation apps that listen to and translate conversations as they’re happening, media streaming across devices no matter where we are, user-uploaded entertainment and information trading…and on the list goes. However, we often lose sight that these “conveniences” are also laying the groundwork for a “One-World Everything” scenario, which is what Antichrist will use to come to power. He will be seen everywhere, and his words will be understood in every language. (Note: A counterargument can be made for how we can also “go global” with the Gospel in a way that hasn’t been possible before. We realize this. Our aim in this illustration is not to preach against the tools, but to discuss how the evil messenger of the End Times will exploit them.)
Vulnerability Platform
Then, of course, there’s the harsh stab of human vulnerability that will cause anyone with a weak faith to call out for the ultimate answer man. Matthew 24:4–8 paints a picture of a day when “birthing pains” (war, famine, earthquakes, etc.) will reveal a plethora of false christs who position themselves as just that, and we will be all the more prepared to hail a more impressive hero when Antichrist parodies Jesus’ Resurrection and raises himself from a fatal head wound through the power of Satan. Right now, COVID-19 and a string of other upsets through 2020 have already produced a global desperation for leaders to take us “back to normal” and “repair our cities.” The devastation on the earth in the End Times will be so overwhelming that the fragility of human life will cause people of all walks of life—“small and great, rich and poor, free and bond”—to cooperate with an answer man out of panic, impulse, and fear (Revelation 13:16).
When life is good, people are naturally less susceptible to following a leader in a rush. We’re intellectual beings who like to see multiple front runners vying for the same chair so we can weigh them against the other, tune into debates, and watch the playout of grand campaigns to see who most closely aligns with our own ideologies. But when this planet starts to experience the biblically prophetic “birthing pains,” which will introduce woes unlike anything we’ve seen in the history of the world, many of us are going to forget whether the candidate taking the chair is “red” or “blue” or shares our views on political subcategories and legislative goals, and we’ll look for the man who postulates “God” as the answer. When extreme tragedy hits, nonreligious people suddenly get very religious, very fast (9/11 is a major example of this), learning for themselves that the “God-shaped hole in everyone” that the Church talks about is real. When adherents of various faiths are shown the famous miracle worker who “is the one and only God over all world religions,” as he will claim to be, they’ll turn to him for answers to the natural calamities occurring all over the planet. The populations of the world will feel the instability and vulnerability of humanity and vote for, support, follow, and usher in any man who can effectively prove that his political and religious ideas will unite humanity in responding to these catastrophic End-Time events (Matthew 24:11). This moment in time is what Paul described in 2 Thessalonians 2:3: “The apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed” (NASB).
What will “the answer” to everything be?
God.
Who will “God” be to most in that day?
Antichrist.
When Antichrist raises himself from the dead, many will believe he has a power that all the other “false christs” of Matthew 24:4–11 haven’t had, and they will be ready to trust this “Messiah” when he announces that “there are many ways to God” just before he unites the Apostate Superchurch.
UP NEXT: The Day All Religions Are Destroyed
[i] Barry, J. D., D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press; 2016), under the heading “Apostasy.”
[ii] Jones, M. R., D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press; 2014), under the heading “Apostasy.”
[iii] Whitaker, W., (2012). Dictionary of Latin Forms. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software; 2012), under the heading “Apostasia.”
[iv] Larson, K., I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon: Vol. 9 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers; 2000), 105–106; bold in original; italics added.
[v] “Cult,” Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate… locations 111635–111637.
[vi] Reagan, David R., “The One World Religion: How It Is Coming Together and How It Relates to the Coming of Jesus,” Lion & Lamb Ministries, accessed October 6, 2020, https://christinprophecy.org/articles/the-one-world-religion/; excerpt quoted with permission from Nathan E. Jones, Internet Evangelist, Lamb & Lion Ministries on October 8, 2020.
[vii] Beale, G. K., The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle, Cumbria: W. B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press; 1999), 691; emphasis added.
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