14: Sixteen Lies of the Antichrist

By Stephen Phinney

Have you ever thought what it is going to be like for the Christians, in the final years, who have lived off of the belief of “prosperity doctrines?” Prosperity doctrines only work in a working economy! They do not function in poverty nations or nations ruled by tyrants. The Antichrist will be a tyrant; in fact, he will make all other tyrants in history look like school yard bullies. I hate to say it, but America is soon to join the poverty nations of the world. Any nation or people who are in long-term debt – ARE IN POVERTY. They just act like they aren’t.

What is a nation to do? “Go sell the oil and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children on the rest” (2 Kings 4:7, KJV). The advice God offers a people is no different to that of a nation. America’s 13 trillion dollar debt would require every working American to donate (or tax) 50% of their income, for several generations, in order to be free from foreigners “calling in our debt.” That will never happen, and if it did, there is NOT enough time to get the lenders off our nation’s back. The simple fact is that the nations, which are debt free in the final years, will be the toughest nations for the Antichrist to rule.

When parents are in debt, their children are in debt. Satan knows this principle to be true. This is why he places an entire family in debt, by stupid decisions parents make. The enemy knows that God is glorified when children’s needs are met. He also knows that parents, who remain debt free, have children that are protected by God. Satan is not accustomed to accepting that without a fight; for he HATES selfless givers.


God is looking for parents to stand between heaven and earth, to distribute heaven’s wealth everywhere! We are not talking about “cash.” Rather we are talking about the wealth of Truth and principle. In this process, the “cash” aspect of the giver is oftentimes increased, as a result of being willing to be the mediator of God’s miraculous flow of economy.

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may about to every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8, NKJV).

Riches come from God and God alone. When a man thinks he can obtain or earn money to sustain himself on his own, he is soon to learn that by one decision of government, employer, or tragedy – it is all gone.

LIE TWELVE - You can measure your level of success by the amount of money you obtain or earn. Those who think money and success have something in common are vain and completely deceived. This is one of the toughest lessons for any Christian to learn.

“He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 5:10, NASB).

Money does not satisfy the human soul! The false sense of success being equal with money, will trap every person who is not secure in their identity in Christ – guaranteed.

People who live by this lie usually end up in divorce and bankruptcy courts. I cannot tell you how many people I have counseled over the years, who were “millionaires” one week and asking for “handouts” the next. I even had one case where a man overworked his entire life, in order to have the “nest egg.” On his first retirement vacation, he had a fatal heart attack on the fifth hole, of his first golf game.

This lie is based on the assumption that one’s emotional needs (such as peace, security, happiness, acceptance, and fulfillment) will be met through the storage of money. Didn’t anyone ever tell these people that “money has wings like birds?” Money never, and I mean never, supplies the satisfaction our soul searches for! Without having a secure identity in Christ, our financial decisions will be based upon plastic and metal. If we expect to gain from money what only God can provide, then money becomes our god.

“For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10, NASB).

LIE THIRTEENIf I reach the top of the success pile, I will be somebody! Nothing smells more than the stench of a person crawling to the top of the pile of pride. Enviably crawling to the top means stepping on people to get there. People who buy into this lie oftentimes stink with pride and usually use godship terms like, I'm proud of you. God told David exactly what He thinks about people doing this.

“But God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another” (Psalms 75:7, NASB).

Anyone who lifts themselves up – God will not! In fact, if we take this verse for what the Hebrew actually is communicating; anyone who lifts themselves up, God will literally put them down. Ouch!!

Each and every person who believes he is responsible for his success will sooner, or later, experience the broken relationship with the ones who helped him reach it – and that includes God.

Out of the seven things God says He hates, pride is mentioned three times. Pride is nothing less than achieving what you want and when you want it; all the while living under the deception you did it alone. The truth of the matter is, whatever we achieve; God and others have done the achieving with, and most of the time, for us.

“There are six things which the LORD hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers” (Proverbs 6:16-19, NASB).




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