June 12: MUSTERED FORCES

And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. Daniel 11:31

The world power that carries out a “rage” against God’s holy covenant and His faithful people came onto the world stage as a secular power (phase one), but then it morphed into a religious power (phase two).

The church of the Antichrist does not have its own army. During the Dark Ages, its leader carried out his actions against the holy covenant by issuing orders to various militaries through their respective kings. The use of force to “convert” people during the 1260 years of papal supremacy was widely accepted.

The reasoning behind the use of force stems from the doctrine of an eternally burning hell, a spillover from mythology that entered the church through the “back door.” It began with the church’s compromise with paganism. But even before that, the door to pagan teachings was opened by those who left their first love. Jesus foresaw he ups and downs of the New Testament church. His letters in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 address the main problems that push their way in, from the days of the infant Apostolic church all the way up to the return of Jesus.

The Bible teaches that sin leads to death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23), but the fallen church began teaching that eternal life in a burning torture chamber is sin’s recompense, founded upon the false idea that souls cannot die. But souls do die (Ezekiel 18:4,20; Matthew 10:28). The Bible teaches that immortality belongs to God alone (1 Timothy 6:16) and that the gift of eternal life is for the saved (1 Corinthians 15:23). Along with the two errors above, the idea of force—even torture—came into the church. Magnificent cathedrals and churches were built atop dungeons for this very purpose. The Roman Catholic Church asserted that they were doing someone a favor by helping (forcing) him or her to believe what they were teaching and killing them if they refused. But Jesus had warned His followers: “The time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me” (John 16:2b-3).  

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. 1 Timothy 4:1

See also: Deuteronomy 10:12; Joshua 24:15; Proverbs 12:26; Jeremiah 9:24; Matthew 24:24; 1 John 4:8