King of the road.
John 5:43.
Since human history, there have been those who have desired to be king of the road. There have always been those who wanted to dominate. To dictate over the entire earth. Many of you have read the story of Alexander. He sat down and wept because there were no worlds to conquer. But there were worlds Alexander did not know about. So, he did not attain world dictation.
Then there was Napoleon who thought he would rule the world. He almost had his grasp around the world yet his hopes diminished when he was killed in the fields of Waterloo.
Hitler wanted to rule the world so he established his Third Reich but that concluded in the ashes of a bunker in Berlin.
When reading history you will find many who wanted to the king of the road. It is also true in sacred history. As you read the Word of God you will find a series of would be world rulers. Nimrod organized his kingdom around a tower of Babel and God came down and brought it to great confusion. Nebuchadnezzar decided that he would be the ruler of the world so he defied the living God. Got turned him into an animal until he acknowledged that the most high rulers over the kingdoms of men.
All through the pages of human history, both secular and sacred, there have been those who wanted to be world ruler, king of the road. Now you do understand that the Bible teaches this world does have a ruler. The Bible tells us that Satan is the ruler of this world. The Lord Jesus referred to him as the prince of this world. The Bible also predicts that Satan Himself will send to the road of human history one who will be the king of the road.
He is given many names in the pages of the Bible. In Daniel he is referred to as the little horn and the prince that shall come. In Revelation he is called the rider on the white horse and the beast out of the sea. Probably the most familiar name given to this one who would be the king of the road is the name antichrist. John is the one who tells us about this antichrist. The antichrist is going to be one in opposition to Jesus. He is going to oppose everything that the Lord stands for an all of those who are the followers of Jesus. He wants to take the place that has been given by the Father to Jesus.
We need to understand what the Bible has to say about this because I believe it will give us a burning desire to win people to Jesus.
Let’s talk about the king of the road. In the Bible we see that the Bible profiles his resume. And second Thessalonians 2 probably we have the clearest picture in all of the Bible of the character of this antichrist. Look at what Paul’s says in verse 3. Noticed the text predicts here two things will take place. There will be a falling away. We see signs of this already. Then he says that will be a revealing, the unfolding of this man of sin. I take that to mean that after the Rapture the man of sin will be revealed. The sin of man will result in the man of sin. He will be sin personified. He will be controlled and dominated by sin.
He does have a business card or a calling card. He is referred to as 666. In the Bible, numbers have meaning. The No. 7 is the number of completion or perfection. The No. 6 is the number of human failure. So, 666 is the trinity of failure.
He will be or have great speaking ability. There is tremendous power in the spoken word. We are living in a day when a man can stand on television and sway millions of people with his words.
We are also told something about where he gets his power. The Bible teaches that the antichrist will derive his power from Satan. Satan will be the one who will give him this tremendous power. And as the end approaches we will see an increase in all kinds of demonic powers. We must be very careful that we stay with the Bible and what God has revealed in his Word.
The Bible profiles his resume but the Bible does something else. It pictures his reign. He will be the king of the road. When God created man and put him in the garden of Eden the Bible says that God gave man dominion. But when man sinned in Genesis 3, man lost that dominion and that’s why Satan is the prince of this world.
I want to give you a sketch of the reign of the antichrist. Sermons could be preached from each one of these. First of all the antichrist will reign politically. That is, he will reign over a one world government. The Bible predicts he’s going to rule the world economically. Revelation 13:16, talks about people receiving a mark in their right hand are in their foreheads. No man might sell or buy unless he has this mark. It’s talking about economic control.
He will rule the world politically, economically and here is the scary part, also religiously. Again in Revelation 13, says that they worshipped the dragon that is Satan to gave power to the antichrist. Here is a prediction, there is going to be a one world religion. I’m trying to show you that the antichrist is going to rule the world. He is going to be king of the road. Television now makes it possible for the world to accept a leader like this.
The Bible profiles his resume, pictures his reign, also, the Bible predicts his ruin. The antichrist will sit in the temple as God. This is where the antichrist is going to make his fatal mistake. He will break his peace treaty with the Jews. During the time of his treaty he will allow them to rebuild their temple. They say even today they are getting ready to do it.
In the book of Genesis it tells us about the entrance of Satan. In the book of Revelation it tells us about the exit of Satan. Don’t you just love a book that gets rid of the devil? The antichrist will be defeated by simply the word of Jesus. Then the king of the road will be Jesus.
