Intro to the End Times
Session 4: Main Characters
I. Intro:
This session will focus on the main characters in the Last Day drama. As with any good storyline we will find this one to be a fight between light and darkness, there are those that stand for righteousness and those who stand for evil. By knowing the key players on both sides we can better understand the story, the severity of the judgments, and the greatness of the deliverance.
II. Positive Players in the End Time Drama:
We will begin with the Kingdom of Light and those who will play major roles in seeing that kingdom advance in the midst of the evil day. Some of these characters will be familiar; Jesus the warrior king, the zealous Father and the Holy Spirit, while others like the prayer movement and the prophets may not be familiar.
A. God the Father:
At the time of Jesus’ ministry He said that no one knew the timing of the Last Days except the Father only (Mt. 24:36). The End Times belong to God the Father, they are His End Times and all the purposes of His heart will be accomplished during the unfolding of the judgment and redemption that will mark those days.
B. Jesus the Bridegroom King:
The Father extends His Kingdom to His Son. Jesus is coming back to rule and reign over the Earth. His Father has prepared for Him a Bride in the Body of Christ with a wedding day planned for the time of His return (Re. 19:7-9). He will marry and then permit His Bride to co-reign with Him over the nations.
1. The Bridegroom God:
“The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less (Jn. 3:29-30).”
“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”…He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon (Re. 22:17, 22).”
2. The Coming King:
“The kings of the earth take their stand…against the LORD and against his Anointed One…he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father (Ps. 2:2-7).”
“I saw…a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns…his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter (Re. 19:11-15).”
C. The Holy Spirit:
The ministry of the Holy Spirit will never have more active than during the End Times. Through the Church of the Last Days His heart, values, gifts and fruit will reach the fullest expression the world has ever known. During the final years of this age the Holy Spirit will bring about the fulfillment of every prophecy written about the last generation. The Church will know the Holy Spirit and truly learn to keep the dance of the Spirit.
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Ga. 5:25).”
D. The Prayer Movement:
Before the end God promises to raise up a mighty prayer movement across the Earth (Dt. 33:29; 2Ch. 7:14; Ps. 2:8, 10:17, 72:12-15, 91:15, 102:17, 149:5-9; Is. 24:14-16, 26:8-9, 27:13, 30:18-19, 40:29-31, 42:10-16, 52:8, 56:7, 61:11, 62:2-7, 64:4; Jo. 2:11-18, 28-32; Hb. 3:2; Zph. 2:3; Zch. 12:10, 13:9; Ma. 1:11; Mt. 6:9-10, 7:7-8, 9:37, 21:13; Mk. 11:17, 13:32-33, 37; Lk. 10:2-3, 18:1, 7-8; Jn. 8:31-32; Ac. 2:17-21, 15:16; Ro. 8:26, 34; Eph. 4:13; Ja. 4:2-3; 1Pe. 4:7; Re. 5:8, 10, 8:3-5, 14:12, 22:17, 20). It will have many expressions but the primary element of the movement will be a steadfast commitment to prayer in a way that has scarcely been known in human history. Some of these expressions are listed below.
1. Praying churches:
There are churches that will build prayer as the rhythm of their fellowship, it will not be the only thing that they do but it will be a primary ministry role with their leadership as the backbone. These ministries will establish multiple hours of corporate prayer meetings each day.
2. Prayer rooms w/ prayer stations:
Whether churches or para church ministries these expressions of the prayer movement will focus on maintaining 24/7 prayer (or some building number of daily hours) with one or two people in the room at any given time rotating around to different stations in the room. Each station has a different focus (thanksgiving, prayer for the churches needs, intercession for particular foreign missionaries, etc.) and the intercessor is to stay at that station for a set period of time and then move on to the next one.
3. Houses of prayer & mission bases:
Some ministries will arise that are focused on the corporate dynamic of prayer. These will pursue 24/7 prayer in the context of team ministry likely with worship teams leading the way. To accomplish this weighty task will often require the coming together of multiple groups to form 24/7 collectively. Where the praying church expression was focused on night and day prayer within a single congregation the houses of prayer and mission bases seek to establish something for the region in which they live. Distinguishing differences between the two are slight but important. A House of prayer (as I am defining it) may or may not reach literal 24/7 where that is a primary objective of the mission base model. Mission bases will have full and part time staff that raises their own support as missionaries. Many of these staff members will serve in the prayer room as their primary occupation.
E. The Two Witnesses:
There will be two powerful prophets in the Last Days drama that will serve the purposes of God with a unique ministry (Zch. 4:1-14, Ma. 3:1, 4:5-6, Re. 11:1-12). These two men will operate in unprecedented power that will affect the whole planet. For the 3 ½ years of the Great Tribulation they will perform miracles, prophesy in power and encourage the Church immensely. At the end of the 3 ½ years the Antichrist will be given power to overcome them and kill them, but they will rise from the dead three and a half days later.
“And I will give power to my two witnesses…If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies…These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them…But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them (Re. 11:3-11).”
F. The Prophets of God:
Many will follow in the footsteps of the Two Witnesses also operating in a great measure of authority. They will release power across the Earth, perform similar miracles and give similar prophetic words but will have localized ministries instead of global influence.
1. There will be a restoration of prophets in the Last Days:
The office of the prophet will be restored and active in the Church of the Last Days (Eph. 4:11-13; Re. 11:18, 16:6, 18:20, 24).
“Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you (Re. 18:20).’”
2. All the saints will prophesy:
It is important for us to consider what will transpire when the Joel 2 / Acts 2 prophecy finds its fulfillment in the End Times. God pouring out His Spirit of prophecy on all His people will equal all saints prophesying with a new measure of clarity and boldness.
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy (Ac. 2:17-18 NKJV).”
III. Negative Players in the End Time Drama:
Satan’s End Time strategy includes some fierce foes for certain. Each has specific purpose and like a chess match they are counterparts to the main players in the kingdom of light.
A. The Harlot Babylon:
Babylon is one of the largest End Times themes in scripture (Ge. 11:1-9; Ps. 137:8; Is. 13:1-14:27, 21:1-10, 23:13, 46:1-2, 47:1-15, 48:14-15; Je. 25:12-26, 32:36-44, 46:10-11, 50:1-51:64; Ez. 13, 23; Hb. 1:6-11, 2:2-19; Na. 3:1-6 [w/ Re. 9:21]; Zch. 5:5-11; Re. 14:8, 17:1-19:3). She will arise as the prominent face of world religion and economics. Babylon will be a wicked global system based out of the rebuilt city of Babylon in modern day Iraq.
B. The Antichrist:
The scripture speaks a lot about the rise of the man called the lawless one (Ps. 52:1-7, 55:12-15, 20-21, 109:6-8, 16-19; Is. 10:5-20, 14:16-21, 16:4b-5, 19:4, 24-27, 25:4b, 27:1-2, 28:18, 33:1, 51:13; Je. 50:41-43, 51:1-2; Ez. 38:7-23; Da. 2:40-45, 7:7-12, 19-25, 8:23-25, 9:26-27, 11:21-45, 12:7b-12; Am. 3:11-12; Mi. 2:4; Hb. 4:2-20; Mt. 24:4, 9, 12, 15-24; Mk. 13:5-8, 14-23; Lk. 21:8-9, 20-24; 1Th. 5:3; 2Th. 2:1-12; 1Ti. 4:1-2; 1Jn. 2:18, 4:3; 2Jn. 1:7; Re. 13:1-8, 11:7-10). He will be Satan’s main instrument during the End Times. This man will rise to power and deceive the Earth. Below are several specific things he will do.
1. He will sign a 7-year peace treaty with Israel and the surrounding nations which begins the 7 Year Tribulation.
2. Antichrist will be fully demonized. He will die and come back from the dead. During the time of his death he will descend to Hell and then be resurrected with demonic agenda and power.
3. At the halfway mark (3 ½ years) however he will break the treaty and turn on Israel. This is what is called the Great Tribulation.
4. At this point he will also proclaim himself as God and demand global worship.
5. He will destroy all who refuse to worship him and he will seek to gain control over every nation. In this endeavor he will be widely successful and many nations will come under his leadership either by intrigue, conquest or treachery.
C. The False Prophet:
There is coming a wicked accomplice to the Antichrist (Re. 13:11-17, 16:13, 19:20, 20:10) who will be the most deceitful man imaginable. The False Prophet will act as the mouthpiece for the Antichrist. He will knowingly testify to the world that Antichrist is God though he is fully aware that the anointing on the Antichrist comes from Lucifer not Jehovah. His ministry to the Antichrist will be very powerful, very effective, and evil to the core.
“He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast…he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men…he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the…He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed (Re. 13:12-15).”
D. False Prophets:
Many will follow in his footsteps, operating in demonic authority and power across the Earth (Dt. 13:1-5; Is. 44:24-27; Je. 50:36; Zch. 13:1-6; Mt. 7:15-23, 24:11, 24; Mk. 13:22; 2Pe. 2:1; 1Jn. 4:1). These prophets will perform false signs and wonders that will also be leading many people astray (Re. 13:12, 13, 14, 15, 16:14, 17:8).
E. Wicked Men Filling the Earth:
Evil will reach its fullness in the last generation. Men will embrace every sort of wickedness imaginable.
1. Slavery (Re. 18:13).
2. Murder (Re. 9:21).
3. Witchcraft (Re. 9:21).
4. Theft (Re. 9:21).
5. Sexual immorality (Re. 9:21).
6. Brutality (2Ti. 3:3).
7. Abusive (2Ti. 3:2).
8. Betrayal (Mt. 10:21).
F. Satan:
1. Satan is a real personality, a real being that the scriptures describe in detail (Ge. 3:1-15; 1Ch. 21:1; Jb. 1:6-12, 2:1-7; Is. 14:12-15; Ez. 28:12-19; Zch. 3:1-2; Mt. 4:1-11, 12:26, 13:39, 16:23, 25:41; Mk. 1:13, 3:23-26, 4:15, 8:33; Lk. 4:1-13, 8:12, 10:18-20, 11:18, 13:16, 22:3, 31; Jn. 8:44, 13:2, 27; Ac. 5:3, 10:38, 13:10, 26:18; Ro. 16:20; 1Co. 5:5, 7:5; 2Co. 2:11, 11:3, 14, 12:7; Eph. 4:27, 6:11; 1Ti. 1:20, 3:6-7, 5:15; 1Th. 2:18, 3:5; 2Th. 2:9; 2Ti. 2:26; He. 2:14; Ja. 3:15, 4:7; 1Pe. 5:8; 1Jn. 3:8-10; Ju. 1:9; Re. 2:9-10, 13, 24, 3:9, 12:3-13:4, 16:13, 20:1-3, 7-10).
2. We are told that Satan is disguised in light (Is. 14:12; Mt. 4:8-10; Jn. 8:44; 2Co. 11:3, 14; Ga. 1:8; Re. 6:1-2, 20:10).
3. We are given many names for Satan, each of which tell us more about his nature (Jn. 12:31, 14:30, 16:11; 2 Co. 4:4; Re. 2:9, 10, 13, 24, 3:9, 12:3, 4, 7, 9, 12, 13, 16, 17, 13:2, 4, 11, 16:13, 20:10).
4. His End Time plan is to take over the globe and force mankind to worship him as god. His two key players (both of whom are human) are the Antichrist and his False Prophet. These men will use every available resource to lure the Earth into Satan worship.
G. Assessment of the Counterparts of Light and Darkness: