49 Religious Lies Jesus Told Me to Stop Believing - #6 The Anti-Christ Is the Powerful One

Summary

Mark Virkler describes changing his beliefs about the Antichrist after learning to listen for God’s voice in prayer and reinterpret Scripture through that experience. He presents this change as one of 49 beliefs he says he has reconsidered, emphasizing that changing one’s mind can be a sign of growth.

Main ideas

• He rejects a fearful view of the Antichrist. Virkler recalls being influenced by The Late Great Planet Earth and expecting the Antichrist to overpower the church, dominate the world, and force Christians into hiding while they awaited the rapture.
• He frames that outlook as a “doom” perspective. In a narrated dialogue with Jesus, he questions whether this interpretation portrays Satan as victorious over Christ and the church. The response he attributes to Jesus emphasizes Christ’s victory through the cross and resurrection, and God’s rule through believers.
• He interprets some prophecies of calamity as already fulfilled. Virkler argues that passages about destruction refer to Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 A.D. He points to Josephus’s account of the event and says this reading means he need not project all such calamity into the future.
• He looks instead toward the growth of God’s kingdom. He highlights biblical images of a kingdom that grows, a light that shines, and a rock that becomes a great mountain. In his view, these support hope that God’s influence will increase and that the church can help bring light to the world.
• He says believers’ expectations and actions matter. Virkler teaches that people can use their inner life to advance either what he calls God’s kingdom or Satan’s. Fearful expectations, he argues, can lead people to act in ways that reinforce darkness; faith-filled expectations can motivate them to help spread God’s kingdom.
• His stated conclusion: Christ has defeated Satan’s power, and believers share in Christ’s authority. Virkler encourages viewers to reject the belief that the Antichrist is the ultimate powerful figure and to embrace a hopeful vision of the future.

Five “senses” of the spirit

Using Abraham as an example, Virkler identifies five ways a person’s inner life can receive and express a vision:

1. Ears of the heart: Hear a message or “rhema” word from God.
2. Eyes of the heart: Receive a picture or vision.
3. Mind of the heart: Ponder and reflect on that vision.
4. Will expressed in speech: Speak or confess the vision.
5. Emotions expressed through action: Act in response to it. Virkler connects Abraham’s obedience to circumcision with this step.

He contrasts this process with allowing fearful thoughts about the Antichrist to shape one’s mental images, speech, emotions, and actions.

Suggested reflection process

Virkler invites viewers to:

• Look up the Bible verses on the topic in Released from Religion.
• Write down what the passages say.
• Journal and ask God what they should understand, say, picture, and do.
• Seek their own understanding rather than simply reacting to Virkler or another author.
• Be willing to change their minds if they believe God is leading them to do so.

Speakers and sources featured

• Mark Virkler: The presenter and narrator.
• Jesus: A voice represented in Virkler’s account of a personal prayer or journaling dialogue; not presented as a separate interview speaker.
• Biblical passages and imagery: Including references to Abraham, the kingdom growing like a seed, the church as light, and the rock becoming a mountain.
• Hal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth: Cited by Virkler as an influence on his former view.
• David Chilton, Paradise Restored: Recommended by Virkler as a book that influenced his revised view.
• Gary North: Identified as the publisher of Paradise Restored and as the source of a free PDF link.
• Josephus: Cited for an account of Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 A.D., included in an appendix to the book.
• Don: A friend of Virkler, mentioned as having a vision of many people in a city learning to hear God’s voice.