Morning Devotional
January 21, 2004
"The Antichrist" 
by Don Emmitte

And now, brothers and sisters, let us tell you about the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered together to meet him. Please don't be so easily shaken and troubled by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Even if they claim to have had a vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us, don't believe them. Don't be fooled by what they say. (2 Thessalonians 1:1-3 NLT)

Barney is the Antichrist. At least that’s the newest gibberish circulating the rounds on purported prophetic web sites! Here’s the reasoning offered in support of this outlandish claim:
 
1.      Start with the given: he is a CUTE PURPLE DINOSAUR
2.      Change all the U’s to V’s (which is proper Latin anyway) CVTE PVRPLE DINOSAVR
3.      Extract all the Roman Numerals: CVVLDIV
4.      Convert these to Arabic values: 100, 5, 5, 50, 500, 1, and 5.
5.      Add them up. Total = 666
 
Now before you go into a panic and throw away all your children’s Barney videos and ban him from your list of approved television programs, read this morning’s Scripture again. This is the beginning of a chapter in which Paul deals with a question about the timing of the Second Coming. He does go on to say that there will be a “Man of Sin” revealed in the last days, an antichrist. However, the impact of the verses is to encourage his readers to be encouraged and alert to the lies of false prophets.
 
I do believe we are closer than ever to the Second Coming. That’s really an easy statement to support. After all, there have been nearly 2,000 years pass since Jesus said he was coming again! That’s definitely closer. Is it today? It certainly could be. He said that day would come suddenly and “like a thief in the night.” There wouldn’t be a lot of warning as to the specific time. There would be signs that would precede that day to warn those of the impending judgment, but no one would know the exact day or hour. Even the description that Paul uses for this day is not time specific. So, why even discuss it? I believe it was simply to encourage us to more warning than watching! Here’s what he writes at the end of this chapter:

As for us, we always thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation, a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and by your belief in the truth. He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on everything we taught you both in person and by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who loved us and in his special favor gave us everlasting comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and give you strength in every good thing you do and say. (2 Thessalonians 1:13-17 NLT).

Let me summarize a little this morning. First, it is next to impossible that Barney is the Antichrist. And, second, don’t fear the future. Rest in the comfort and assurance that God is in control of that day. Encourage others toward a stronger faith. Help those who do not believe to see the truth of Christ.