NOTES ON GETTING DRESSED FOR THE LAST BATTLE: GOD’S CALL TO PUT ON CHRIST IN ORDER TO RESIST ANTICHRIST (WITH VIDEO)

1. THEOLOGY

SCRIPTURE. “Do this, knowing that this is a critical time. It is already the hour for you to AWAKEN FROM YOUR SLEEP [OF SPIRITUAL COMPLACENCY]; for our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed [in Christ]. 

The night [this present evil age] is almost gone and the day [of Christ’s return] is almost here. So let us fling away the works of darkness and PUT ON THE [FULL] ARMOR OF LIGHT. Let us conduct ourselves properly and honorably as in the [light of] day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and irresponsibility, not in quarreling and jealousy.

But CLOTHE YOURSELVES with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for [nor even think about gratifying] the flesh in regard to its improper desires.” – ROMANS 13:11-14, AMP

KEY TERM. “PUT ON THE ARMOR!” ‘Enduo’ [ἐνδυσώμεθα]: “Retains the sense of ‘Sinking into a [perfectly fitted] garment.’ NOTE: “The verb moves from the simple act of dressing the body to the profound reality of ‘God Clothing His people with Righteousness, Power, and Immortality.’ Its 27 New Testament occurrences appear in narrative, parable, exhortation, and apocalyptic vision: ‘Allowing the Theme of Divine Clothing to run from the ministry of John the Baptist (Mark 1:6) to the ARMIES OF HEAVEN (cf. 2 Kings 6:16-17; Revelation 19:14).’”

QUOTATION. “In Peace there’s nothing so becomes a man as modest Stillness and Humility; but when the Blast of War blows in our ears, then imitate the action of the Tiger; stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard-favor’d Rage!” ― WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Henry V, 1599; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘The Apostle now gives a REASON for enforcing this and other duties upon his readers. The End of the World itself is near.’

St. Paul, like the other Apostles (comp. 1 Peter 4:7; Revelation 22:20, et al.), certainly believed that the ‘PARUSIA,’ or ‘Second Coming of Christ,’ was near at hand. This was in strict accordance with Mark 13:32, and resulted naturally from the peculiar form of the Jewish Messianic expectation. A great shock had been given to the disciples by the Crucifixion of Him Whom they thought to be the Messiah, and though they began to recover from this as soon as they were convinced of His Resurrection, they yet could not reconcile themselves to it entirely …

‘And that, knowing the time.’—And that there is all the more urgent motive for you to do—this Law of Love it is the more incumbent on you to practise—because you know what a ‘Critical Moment’ it is in which you are living. The word for ‘TIME’ is different from that used in the next clause, and means a Definite and Critical Season.

‘Awake out of sleep!’—A striking metaphor. ‘The true, the genuine Christian life is like the state of a man whose eyes are open and whose faculties are all alert and vigorous.’ All besides, whatever it be, the State of Heathenism or of imperfect and Lukewarm Christianity, is like the ‘Torpor of Sleep.’

‘Our salvation.’—That blissful Participation in His Kingdom which the Messiah at His Second Coming should inaugurate for His people. (Comp. Romans 8:19; Romans 8:23, ‘The manifestation of the sons of God … The redemption of the body;” [Luke 21:28], ‘Your redemption draweth nigh’)

‘When we believed.’—When we first became Christians. Every hour brings the expected End nearer.” – CHARLES ELLICOTT,An Old and New Testament Commentary for English Readers, 1878-1879; edited

1. TEACHING

“Thus the angel said, ‘The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which will be different from all other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down, and crush it. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and ANOTHER will arise after them, and he will be different from the former ones, and he will subdue three kings. 

He will speak words against the Most High [God] and wear down the saints of the Most High, and he will intend to change the times and the law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, [two] times, and half a time [three and one-half years]. But the court [of the Most High] will sit in judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, [first to be] consumed [gradually] and [then] to be destroyed forever. 

Then the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints (believers) of the Most High; His Kingdom will be an everlasting Kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’” – DANIEL 7:23-27, AMP

AMERICA IN 2026. Since I dare to put a time stamp on this section, I wonder how it will read in subsequent years. But I distinctly recall writing as early as December 2025:

“2026 shall be the Year of the Beast.”

Not a single thing that has happened in our troubled land since January 1 till this very day, April 25, has undermined that prediction. On the contrary! President Trump started the year by deploying thousands of newly-minted  (and horrifically undertrained) ICE Agents to virtually terrorize our streets, beginning in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Renee Good and Alex Pretti would be assassinated by those very same agents, despite having broken no laws in the Constitutionally protected right to demonstrate (and observe) the activities of what many are now calling Trump’s Secret Police, or ‘Gestapo.’

WHAT NOW? First things first, beloved. We must make a Major Decision about just who and what DONALD TRUMP actually is. (1) A very evil and deeply disturbed, criminally indicted ‘Felon’ and sex offender. (2) A man ‘Sent by God’ to rescue America from sure destruction due to the infiltration of the Political Left into all major institutions. Or (3) The ‘Biblical Antichrist.’

The reason this must be pour First Step is because of an ancient and well tested PRINCIPLE OF WARFARE: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” ― SUN TZU, The Art of War, 5^TH Century BC; edited

THE AMERICAN ANTICHRIST. In the revised edition of my book, The Sixth Seal II: A Prewrath Commentary Redux on the Rise of Donald Trump and the Decline of the American Order, 2017-2020 published in January 2024, I stated the following THESIS:

“In addition to the work of Dr. [David] Murray [“Seven Characteristics of the Antichrist,” Head, Heart, Hand, Feb. 20, 2014, and the brilliant work of Brother Paul on his YouTube Channel, Antichrist 45] and many other scholarly efforts, I propose that only ONE AMERICAN LEADER fulfills the roughly 45 Biblical Criteria for the role and person of Antichrist.

His Name: DONALD JOHN TRUMP. As I would have put it in my doctoral research days, I propose this as a 95 percent probability of being true, based on literally thousands of hours of meticulous research, nearly as many hours in prayer and countless lively debates on this controversial Thesis online with scores of able opponents and colleagues since 2017” (p. 144; edited).

THE SEVEN MARKS OF THE BEAST. Just prior to making that Prediction, I listed an adaptation of Dr. Murray’s work (pp. 141-144) that I will report here as a cogent and theologically sound Summary of how the Biblical Antichrist is described in the Scriptures.

1. HE IS LAWLESS. “Paul calls him‘the Man of Sin,’ literally, ‘the Man of Lawlessness’ (2 Thessalonians 2:3). He will disregard God’s Word and God’s Law and replace it with his own arbitrary laws [e.g., Executive Orders]. He will re-define what is Evil and what is Good. He will promote Doctrinal and Ethical Lawlessness. He shall begin his Acquisition of Power by lying and crafty persuasion, and end with violent coercion and overthrow of all legitimate authority.”

• HE IS A DESTROYER. “In the same verse, Paul names Antichrist as ‘the Son of Perdition,’ meaning ‘Son of Destruction.’ He will physically first restrict and then slaughter and destroy those who oppose him; he will spiritually and eternally destroy all who believe him and follow him. The operant term here is from the Greek, ‘Apóleia’ [ἀπωλείας], literally rendered as: ‘Loss, perishing, eternal ruin; the total exclusion from salvation.’ Those are his marching orders: ‘To exterminate his foes and send them to Hell.”’

• HE OPPOSES GOD. “‘He opposes and exalts himself against ALL this is called God’ (v. 4). Well, that doesn’t really help much, does it? Half the world opposes God and exalt themselves over Him [already]. But what’s unique about this opposition is the Antichrist opposes mainly by Substitution or the ‘REPLACEMENT’ of God with himself. The Greek term for ‘oppose’ is strong, going to the very heart of who this man is: ‘Antikeimai’ [ἀντικείμενος], or, ‘To lie opposite to, [forcefully] withstand; properly, to place fully against, ‘constitutionally’ oppose – like someone being ‘thoroughly’ unreconcilable (intractable, implacable): ‘[The] Adversary!’

• HE IS A DECEIVER. “Professor Murray points out that the only other person called ‘the Son of Perdition’ was JUDAS (John 17:12) [cf. Amy Hawk, The Judas Effect: How Evangelicals Betrayed Jesus for Power, 2024]. Under cover of ‘professing’ to be a friend of Christ, he tried to destroy Christ. This ‘Theme of Crafty Sedition’ is taken up by Jesus, Paul, and John when describing the Antichrist. In fact, the Dominant Message from passages dealing with the Antichrist is ‘Don’t be deceived!’ Just as Satan rarely comes painted red with horns, a fork, and a pointy tail, the Antichrist will not come with a big A on his forehead. Like Satan, he will come with false signs, wonders, and miracles. ‘He will be so plausible and  persuasive that, if it were possible, he would deceive even the elect’ (Matthew 24:24).”

• HE IS ARROGANT. “One of the most visible characteristics of the Antichrist is his bombastic, insufferable, and clearly pathological ‘Narcisissim.’ The phrase used in this passage is ‘He exalts himself.’ This key term in the Greek, ‘Huperairó’ [ὑπεραιρόμενος], meaning: ‘To uplift oneself above all others [including God]; to be or become haughty; assuming; making or having the disposition to make exorbitant claims of rank or estimation; giving oneself an undue degree of importance; conceited.’ NOTE: Most people believe the ‘Antichrist is suave, sophisticated,’ and well liked. No! He is a brute, a dictator who rules by brute force and hatred, oppressing and controlling all in his own interests. [There is a reason that God refers to him as, ‘THE BEAST!’].”

• HE IS A HERETIC. “‘Heresy is defined as holding beliefs or opinions profoundly AT ODDS with Truth, or Orthodoxy.’ John’s main concerns with the Antichrist is his promotion of False Doctrine surrounding the person and the finished work of Christ (1 John 4:3; 2 John 7). This is what the Apostle Paul spent inordinate amounts of time and effort to contain and eliminate, as with his Letters to Tiimothy. Just like the mini-Antichrists in John’s day, the Ultimate Antichrist will not deny everything about Christ, but ‘Pollute’ Christian thinking just enough to undermine the power of Christ’s gracious salvation. He is a cunning liar, but the ‘Discerning Individual’ can see through what Murray calls ‘Serpentine Deception.’ In this regard then, if he can corrupt sound doctrine, he has the Church producing ‘Spiritual Eunuchs,’ completely unable to counter his wickedness.”

• HE IS A POLITICIAN. “While Daniel and Revelation confirm and expand upon these six characteristics, their main emphasis is on the ‘Political Nature of the Antichrist [in the seventh]. ‘He is all about POWER and will head up a kingdom, an actual government, even an Empire, similar to other nation states or empires.’ He will hold a Title of some kind – Prime Minister, Governor, King [or ‘President!’]. These books also make clear that this aspect of Antichrist’s work will become clearer and clearer nearer the End of Time (cf. Daniel 12:4). As Murray writes: ‘Deception will be increasingly replaced with Destruction, Fraud will give way to Force, and “The Wolf” in sheep’s clothing will shed his fleece and bare his fangs.’”

BRIDGE. Beloved, have you not noticed that what Donald Trump was in 2016 at his First Coming was remarkably and violently different than his Second Political Incarnation in 2024? To the extent that his MAGA Base is beginning to diminish.

‘But the vast majority of his Christian Nationalism Movement has dug in its heels even more deeply into Trump’s malicious soil.’

Selah.

1. RESISTING ANTICHRIST

Though I could write volumes on this wide-ranging idea and cite dozens of Scriptures of how to do this, Concision shall rule the day for once. In a superbly conceived monograph by MARK VROEGOP, we see excellent instruction on how to best get ready for Antichrist.

Mark Vroegop (BA, Cedarville University; MDiv, Cornerstone Seminary) is the President of The Gospel Coalition. He served in pastoral ministry leadership for nearly 30 years, most recently as the Lead Pastor of College Park Church in Indianapolis. An award-winning author, Mark has written several books, including Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament(2019) and Waiting Isn’t a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life(2024). 

The title of this present Commentary is: “Two Ways to Prepare for the Antichrist” (Your Church, Mar. 9, 2023; edited).

OPEN. “‘[How] do we respond to the Depictions of the Antichrist in Revelation 13?’ John records this Vision to strengthen the Church. He’s writing to congregations, just like ours, who live in real cities, with real families, with real governments, with real religious beliefs. This isn’t fanciful mythology. ‘This is Real.’”

To which I add an Update as of April 25, 2026: ‘And it is Here, Now!’

ONE: EMBRACE FAITHFUL ENDURANCE. “If we go to Revelation 13:9, we see a familiar expression: ‘If anyone has an ear, let him hear.’ And then what follows is Dismal. The pressure and pain of Persecution will not be easy.

‘Yet, there is a call for Endurance and Faith. What does this mean?’

When Persecution hits, it’s easy to fall into Despair. Hardship tends to reveal our expectations for what it means to follow Jesus. It also has an uncanny ability to reveal our ‘Idolatry’—the things we really trust in. And so, this text calls us to Fortify our Faith – ‘To be sure that we know What Kingdom we’re really living for, What King really deserves our allegiance, and who really defines obedience for us.’

‘With so many deceiving voices in the world—even now—we must hear the Voice of our Great Shepherd.’

This means PATIENT STEADFASTNESS. ‘You see, there is a temptation to use the same “Tools of the Trade” as the Beast.’ We can trade Violence for Violence. I’m not calling for some form of Blanket Pacifism. But I am cautioning of what I feel in my own soul when I feel threatened and mistreated.

Eugene Peterson is so helpful to me in Reversed Thunder [1991], his book on Revelation: ‘When we live in a World of Violence long enough, it is easy to adopt violent means ourselves, especially when we know that our cause is righteous and the opposition is evil. Killing the Opposition is the Sea Beast’s way of solving its problems. It is not ours. Ours is Endurance and Faith!’” (p. 125).

‘Oh, be careful, Church!’ Let us Practice Endurance and Faith whenever we face the Spirit [or the very Person] of the Antichrist.”

TWO: PURSUE GODLY WISDOM. “The Second Calling is in Revelation 13:18. It follows the warning about the Mark of the Beast. The text says, ’This calls for Wisdom.’ Why Wisdom? Because the Nature of Deception and Propaganda is that you don’t realize what is happening. The Lies seem so believable. The masses are buying into THE NARRATIVE [‘Make America Great Again!’]. The Culture around you is changing, and you don’t even realize how it’s affecting you. So many people begin to believe something [if it’s repeated frequently and loudly enough, as with  ‘Lügenpresse,’ or ‘Lying Press’], that it’s hard not to join them.

‘The Caution here is to not lose our heads! We need to be SATURATED with the Scriptures and AWARE of what is happening around us.’ We need to ask God for ‘Wisdom [and Discernment]’ that it brings]. We need to apply our hearts to Wisdom. We need to help one another be wise—to know how to Apply the Bible in the World in which we live …

The Apostle John said this in another letter about ten years before receiving The Revelation:

‘Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but TEST THE SPIRITS to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” (1 JOHN 4:1-6)

1. LAST THOUGHTS

Since I adapted much of this from my second book, The Sixth Seal II (2024), allow me to close with its Conclusion (p. 205). I believe it is appropriate focus on the very Reason we are all here in this extraordinary Hour of the Last of Human History.

“‘Except the Lord of hosts had left us a VERY SMALL REMNANT [of Survivors], we should have been like Sodom, and we should have been like Gomorrah’ (Isaiah 1:9, Amplified Classic Edition).

It is up to us, dear reader. But this I say to us all: ‘Aspire to the Faithful Remnant’ for the days ahead, and you shall not be disappointed. Nor will you ever be a disappointment to the One who has ‘Called’ each and every one of you, ‘For such a Time as this.’

‘Jesus Christ is Coming, beloved! But Antichrist is also coming and is already on scene. ‘Therefore, MAKE READY that when the True Messiah Arrives, you shall be found in Honor and not in Disgrace.’

Then to be stupendously, astonishingly CHANGED [‘in the twinkling of an eye,’] then to beswept up with Him to meet Him in the clouds, thereby to be with Him forever to both worship Him and vastly more, to assist Him in exploring and governing His very Universe. Selah.

‘Soon, I tell you, and very soon indeed.’” MARANATHA!

MEDIA

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/FNXTdmG2Ul8