“But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.” Heb. 10:12-13. “For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.” 1 Cor. 15:25. Jesus’ footstool is the Antichrist, the one who exalts himself. He is the man of sin. Jesus humbled Himself. Phil. 2:5-8. All proud spirits and every person who admires what is highly esteemed in the world is Jesus’ enemy. These will all be gathered into one in the Antichrist. We read about the beast in Revelation 13:6-8: “Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. And it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” When the time comes that all are worshiping the beast, then all pride—all the enemies of Jesus—will be gathered into one person, the lawless one. Jesus’ footstool will then be complete, and the time will have come for the lawless one to take his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. But the time will also have come for Jesus to place His foot on the footstool. He will consume the Antichrist with the breath of His mouth and destroy him with the brightness of His coming. 2 Thess. 2. The development of Jesus’ footstool is clearly evident today. Everything is being gathered into one; everything has to be “great.” To avoid being drawn into this development along with everyone else, you must remain in lowliness as Paul exhorts us in Romans 12:16. This is the only way you can avoid being drawn into the gathering of Jesus’ enemies as His footstool. You can see this development very clearly in the business world. Small businesses can no longer survive; everything is being merged into big corporations. Individual countries no longer have sole control over the import and export of their own goods. Every country must make trade agreements with other countries. They must unite as one bloc in order to have any influence. The same state of affairs exists in politics. Individual countries can no longer make independent political decisions. No matter what political ideology they profess, they are obliged to make allies with other countries in these blocs. Since World War II the world has been divided into two blocs: East and West. All other blocs must align themselves with either the East or the West. After World War II, politicians began to talk about one united world. This is what these two blocs are working toward. This will come to pass under the Antichrist, Jesus’ footstool. “And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.” 2 Thess. 2:6-7. Jesus came to fulfill the law. The law is fulfilled in all those who walk according to the Spirit. Rom. 8:4. Therefore, all lawlessness is at enmity with Christ, and it will all be gathered into one in the lawless one. “And now you know what is restraining . . . .” The most important restraint is the conscience. But there are powerful forces at work today to do away with it. Every possible means is used to portray the conscience as an assortment of old-fashioned complexes produced by Christianity. These forces try especially to undermine the old moral principles that have been handed down to us in God’s commandments and that have been a safeguard for the individual, the family, and the nation. Teachers, radio, television, and producers of pornographic literature are working deliberately to break down the protective restraint of the conscience. This is the lawlessness that draws all other lawlessness along with it. It characterized the time of Noah and Lot, and it is also characteristic of our time. It is maturing the world for the coming of the Antichrist and for the wrath of God. “What is restraining . . . .” It is the church that builds up the body of Christ, He who said, “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matt. 5:28. Lawlessness has come so far that women have lost their sense of modesty. They make it a point, by their dress and behavior, to get men to desire them. The so-called Christians follow shamelessly at their heels. They are all being drawn along to be gathered into the “footstool” as enemies of Jesus. Paul warned powerfully against the sin of immorality, because of which the wrath of God is coming upon the children of disobedience. “Therefore do not be partakers with them.” Eph. 5:3-7; Col. 3:5-6. It is obvious that almost all Christian movements are influenced by the spirit of Antichrist, by “him who exalts himself.” Think of the Pope who is carried on an elegant throne at the head of a procession. Church buildings have to be ornate, adorned with all the glitter and pomp of this world. Other religious denominations build their churches in the same style, as far as their means permit. And of course they have to have high platforms where the pastor and elders sit on display. No matter how small the flock is, they must have an exalted figurehead. Should any of these leaders publish an article, it has to include his photograph. All of these things are part of this spirit “who opposes and exalts himself.” Their development consists of being gathered into “the footstool,” the Antichrist. It is very significant that it says, “He who opposes.” What they really oppose is the fulfillment of the law, the obedience of faith. They call it bondage. They are opposed to humbling themselves and to living in lowliness. They love what is highly esteemed in the eyes of men, that which Jesus said is an abomination to God. Luke 16:15. Thus, religious groups do the same as politicians and businessmen; they gather into one. They call this being ecumenical, believing that they are fulfilling Jesus’ prayer that we may be one. They do not understand that they are being gathered into one as the “footstool,” the enemies of Jesus. It is also significant that it is called “the mystery of lawlessness.” How amazing that the development of the Antichrist as Jesus’ footstool is so hidden. Praise God for the few who continue to restrain; they are being gathered to Christ and built up as His body. I want to exhort young people in particular: Wake up! Put on the spirit of zeal and fight the good fight of faith! Lay hold on eternal life, to which you were called. Purify yourselves from every vestige of pride, shamelessness, and immorality, just as He is pure! 1 John 3:3; 1 Tim. 6:11-12. This is the only way to avoid being gathered with Jesus’ enemies in the footstool that He will tread under His feet at His coming.Sigurd Bratlie

“Who knows the power of Your anger and Your wrath, such as the fear of You requires?” Psalm 90:11. Those who have the spirit of the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11:2. It is therefore extremely important that we have the proper understanding of the fear of the Lord in our relationship to God. God is not only unspeakably good to people; He is also extremely severe when it comes to sin. Romans 11:22. It is difficult to express this severity in stronger terms than what the third angel says in Revelation 14:9-11: those who worship the beast shall be tormented forever and ever, and they shall have no rest, day or night. Because people lack godly fear, they do not take sin seriously enough; they do not think it is as dangerous as it is. The one who steals a little takes care not to land in jail, and the one who has a mildly derogatory thought about a brother is careful not to be mali­cious. However, this is where the deceitfulness of sin enters in. Hebrews 3:13. Sin makes a person stupid; it hardens him and before he realizes it, he has fallen away from the living God. Hebrews 3:12. A person does not consider that there are degrees to God’s anger when he repeatedly commits the same sins. Because of a hard and impenitent heart he heaps up wrath. Romans 2:5. By hating sin he can put it to death, and then the spirit of fear can rest over his life. Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 6:1, “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to the law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?” Yes, if one does not have the spirit of fear, one dares to do it—and even more than that. Such a person dares to dress vainly, dares to look, think, and speak evil, and dares to draw back from God’s promptings in his conscience. The spirit of fear sees the seriousness of the strength of God’s wrath that comes because of adultery and covetousness. Ephesians 5:6. This wrath is within the dispensation of grace; therefore a person can repent and receive forgiveness. On the other hand, the wine of God’s wrath is poured out in full strength over those people who have the spirit of the beast. Revelation 14:10-11. When this happens, sin will have fully matured. This is extremely serious! There are several examples of God’s severity in the old covenant. Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and two hundred and fifty men of renown, together with their wives and children, were swallowed up by the earth in an instant. Numbers 16. This is how God showed His great wrath toward those who rebelled against the leaders of the congrega­tion. An example of how a person with an uncircumcised heart can hear and see the manifestations of God in the church, and yet draw back because of a lack of fear, is Uzzah. He was slain because he laid hold of the ark. 2 Samuel 6:6-7. This cannot be understood if you do not possess the spirit of the fear of the Lord. When David saw what had befallen Uzzah, we read, “David was filled with the fear of the Lord that day.” Verse 9. Two sons of Aaron, when performing their priestly ministry, dared to offer profane fire on the altar, and they were struck down. Leviticus 10:1-2. Any priest who had a blemish was not allowed to draw near to offer the bread of his God. Leviticus 21:17. If these laws were so extremely serious, then the laws of the Spirit are no less se­vere. Spiritual death begins the moment the holy laws of holy broth­erhood and priesthood are broken. Ananias and Sapphira were struck down because they lied. Acts 5:1-10. This should be a deterring example of God’s great severity for all times. The sinner dares to do evil a hundred times because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily. Ecclesiastes 8:11-12. This is what happens when one is totally devoid of the spirit of fear and has little knowledge of God. “Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.” Hosea 6:3. The most basic teaching concerning God’s severity is, “God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7. God’s severity and His infinite goodness are clearly evidenced by the fact that He visits the iniquity of the fathers unto the third and fourth generation, but He shows mercy for a thousand generations. Exodus 20:5-6. We need to live in this goodness of His mercy. With the fear of the Lord in our hearts, we can receive the knowledge of both the strength of His wrath and His anger, so that we would rather die than transgress the least of the laws and commandments of His goodness. The Word we hear will not profit us if we do not have this fear. Then we can hear the most precious truths for years without any transformation taking place. When Jesus comes like a thief, such people will be naked, and their shame will be seen. Revelation 16:15. May God’s goodness spur us on to an ever increasingly deeper repentance, and may His great severity preserve us in a spirit of fear. Who knows the strength of God’s wrath and anger as he ought to know it? God grant us abundant grace to this end for His name’s sake.Trygve Sandvik