Preface to the Twin Volumes: Doctrinal Purity and Eschatological Deception
When Sergio released The Gospel Manifesto, he did more than diagnose a doctrinal crisis, he struck the match that exposed the fault lines beneath the Western Church. His work compelled me to step into the conversation with a voice of witness, reflection, and warning.
Volume I of this series, Doctrinal Corruption, answered his call by tracing the corruption of the modern gospel; how sentiment replaced covenant, how decision replaced discipleship, and how the language of belief was emptied of its Hebraic weight of allegiance.
But corruption never remains theoretical. Doctrinal decay always ripens into eschatological consequence.
Thus came Volume II, The Counterfeit Initiation Rite of the Antichrist, revealing the terrifying symmetry: the very pattern God ordained for salvation: repentance, baptism, new life, is the pattern Satan imitates for damnation: deception, mark, and eternal wrath.
These three works belong together.
Sergio exposes the sickness.
Volume I uncovers its theological roots.
Volume II unveils its prophetic end.Read them as a single unfolding witness: a gospel recovered, a gospel examined, and a gospel defended in the final hour.
— Wendell Hutchins II
When Counterfeit Discipleship Becomes Global
If Volume I revealed the doctrinal corruption that has infected the Western Church, Volume II exposes the far more terrifying outcome:
A compromised gospel does not simply weaken the Church, it prepares the world for the Antichrist.
If you have not yet read Volume I, I invite you, graciously and earnestly, to begin there. You may do so by clicking here, and standing beneath the full weight of the foundation upon which this second Volume now rises.
False doctrine is not merely an error; it is preparation.
When the true Gospel is replaced with a diluted, emotional, non-transformative imitation, it produces millions of people who “believe” their confession of Jesus saves them but have never been buried with Him, who have accepted Him but have never been identified (marked) with His Name, who have believed in Him but have never been filled with His Spirit. As a result, these precious people become the most vulnerable population on earth.
They are spiritually initiated, but not spiritually regenerated. They are confessed, but never converted. They are assured, but never transformed.
Such people will not merely fall for the Antichrist’s deception; they will celebrate him. They will call his system “unity,” his mark “innovation,” his ethos “progress,” his demands “compassion,” and his dominion “the next step for humanity.”
This is the tragedy the Scriptures have predicted; the eschatological consequence of a corrupted gospel. And, this is the crisis before us now. This is why the ancient pattern of Acts chapter two must be recovered, because hell is building a counterfeit version of it.
The Divine Pattern: God’s Initiation Rite For His People
When Peter, standing up with the eleven, spoke on Pentecost morn, he revealed the divine pattern for salvation; it was not theological ornamentation, but was what scholars would call “the divine plan of salvation.”
Acts 2:38 is not a liturgical preference. It is not a denominational hallmark. It is the divine pattern established by Jesus Christ and preached by His apostles.
It originates in Jesus’ command in Luke 24:47-49, “…and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
Here is the command:
Repent.
Be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
Receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
This is not vague imagery. This is the heavenly architecture by which God births His new creation; it is the underlying blueprint for a “new birth” people. And it is fulfilled exactly in Acts 2:38.
It is the spiritual architecture by which:
The old man dies (Repentance),
The body of sin is buried (Remission of Sins),
The new man rises (In His Name),
The Spirit indwells (filled with the Holy Spirit),
The believer is marked not with ink, but with Name (blood) and Spirit.
The apostles did not improvise Pentecost; they obeyed Jesus word-for-word.
It had been scarcely a week since Jesus ascended. Matthew, the very writer of Matthew 28:19, was present in the upper room. If Peter stood and preached error, Matthew could have silenced him with a sentence. But Peter spoke, and Matthew stood silent because Peter spoke rightly.
Therefore, the apostles did not contradict the Lord; they interpreted Him. Standing nearer to the breath of His command than any theologian of later centuries, they understood the singular Name to which the triune revelation pointed, and they baptized in that Name without hesitation.
Thus, throughout the Book of Acts, we read:
Acts 2:38 — baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ
Acts 8:12 — baptized into the Name of Jesus Christ
Acts 8:16 — baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus
Acts 10:48 — baptized in the Name of the Lord
Acts 19:5 — baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus
Acts 22:16 — “calling on the Name of the Lord.”
There is no alternate pattern for salvation in Scripture. There are no exceptions.
There is no record of any other name, of any other deity, sufficient for salvation ever being spoken over a convert. Why? Because Peter would go on to say, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).
Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (John 14:6).
Jesus would also say in John 17 that He had “manifested Thy name unto men which Thou gavest Me out of the world…” (John 17:6).
From a Hebraic perspective, the term “name” (שֵׁם, shem) encompasses more than just a label; it signifies authority, character, and essence. In this context, Peter’s declaration that there is no other “‘name’ under heaven by which we must be saved” highlights the unique and supreme authority of Jesus as God manifest in the flesh, Israel’s Messiah. This aligns with the Jewish understanding of the Messiah as the ultimate Deliverer and Savior, as prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures. The emphasis on “under heaven” (תַּחַת הַשָּׁמַיִם, taḥat ha-shamayim) suggests a universal scope, indicating that Jesus’ salvific role is recognized and applicable to all of humanity, not just a specific group. This interpretation resonates with the Jewish expectation of a universal redemption brought about by the Messiah, as seen in passages such as Isaiah 49:6, where the Servant is a light to the nations.
In John 17, by “manifesting” God’s name, Jesus reveals God’s character and authority to the disciples. The phrase “out of the world” (ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου, ek tou kosmou) implies a separation from worldly systems and values, indicating that the disciples have been called out for a holy purpose. The act of “keeping” (τετηρηκάσιν, teterēkasin) reflects a deep, obedient relationship with God’s teachings, resonating with the Hebrew concept of guarding and treasuring God’s commandments.
The early Church understood that:
We are baptized into Christ (Rom. 6:3)
Buried with Him (Rom. 6:4)
Put on Christ (Gal. 3:27)
Circumcised in Him (Col. 2:11)
Raised with Him (Col. 2:12)
One can only be baptized into Jesus Christ by calling on the Name of the Lord. There are no alternatives; there is no other way.
And so, Acts 2:38 is the Divine Pattern; it is the order of New Birth. It is not a ritual. It is the heavenly initiation rite into the covenant people of God.
Where God establishes a pattern, Satan counterfeits a pattern. You see, Satan can only imitate what God creates, initiates, and establishes.
Which is precisely why the Antichrist must counterfeit the divine pattern of Acts 2.
The Counterfeit Initiation: How The Antichrist Parodies Acts 2:38
Where God forms His people through repentance, water baptism, and Holy Spirit-infilling, the Antichrist will form his disciples through a counterfeit version of the same pattern.
This is not symbolic. This is architectural imitation.
Satan does not invent. He imitates.
1. Counterfeit Repentance: Turning From Allegiance to Christ and Kingdom
Biblical repentance is a return to God.
Antichrist’s repentance is a return to the global system.
The Antichrist’s repentance will sound noble:
“We must transcend old divisions.”
“We must forsake outdated national loyalties.”
“We must renounce ideological extremism.”
“We must unify for the greater good of humanity.”
Repentance will not be from sin, but from sovereignty. It will not be from wickedness, but from individuality; not from rebellion, but from identity.
The call will be: Renounce what makes you particular.
Embrace what makes you collective.
2. Counterfeit Baptism: The Mark as Identification With His Name
Baptism identifies the believer with Jesus Christ:
His Name
His Death
His Burial
His Resurrection
His Body
The Antichrist must create a parallel:
His Name
His Image
His Number
His Dominion
His Economy
The Mark of the Beast will be a name-claiming sacrament, a ritual of ownership, a burial of personal autonomy into the identity of the Beast. The world will think it is technological progress, but it is spiritual initiation into damnation.
3. Counterfeit Spirit: His Ethos Possessing the Unregenerate
The Holy Ghost fills believers with the divine life of God. The Antichrist fills humanity with demonic-ideological possession; the spirit of the age that animates his global regime.
It is interesting to note that, from a Hebraic perspective, the term “spirit” (πνεῦμα, pneuma) is understood as a force or influence rather than a personal being. The phrase “spirit of the Antichrist” is interpreted as a pervasive influence promoting denial of the Messiah’s arrival. The emphasis is on communal discernment and adherence to the teachings of the Torah and the prophets, which affirm the coming of the Messiah. The warning is against teachings that deviate from these foundational beliefs.
Therefore, the “spirit of the Antichrist” will appear to be:
persuasive
rational
compassionate
moral
humanitarian
enlightened
progressive
But it will be the Breath of Death from the Beast.
Those who never receive the Spirit of God will be filled with the ethos of the Antichrist.
Why The False Gospel Makes The Church Blind To The Counterfeit
People who have never died with Christ, been buried in His Name, risen with His Spirit, cannot discern the pattern when it is imitated.
Here lies the warning:
If you have never died in Jesus Christ, you will not discern a counterfeit resurrection.
If you’ve never been marked in baptim into Jesus, you’ll not discern the Mark of the Beast.
If you have never been filled the Holy Spirit, you will not discern another spirit.
This is the eschatological vulnerability of the modern church: they have confessed Jesus but have not obeyed Him, and therefore cannot recognize Christ Jesus or His adversary.
A church that does not preach Acts 2 will not prepare its people for Revelation 13.
The Early Church Understood This, And We Must Return To Their Pattern
In Ephesus, converts to Jesus spoke of their former rite as ‘John’s baptism,’ a baptism of repentance yet untouched by the Name and Spirit of Jesus. Paul’s question exposed them, ‘Unto what then were you baptized?’ and their answer revealed their deficiency.
When they descended again into the waters, this time invoking the Name above every name, the Name of Jesus Christ, they rose not merely washed, but re-ordered. No longer were they of Adam’s lineage, but now are “sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26).
Some have pictured those ancient Ephesian believers descending in white and rising stained with crimson, an image of the reality that these believers “had been buried in Christ Jesus,” completely identifying with Him in His death, and thus completely and wholly defecting from Caesar. They emerged from the waters marked as citizens of another Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven.
When they rose out of the waters of baptism, they would dance in the streets shouting: “Jesus is Lord, not Caesar.”
To be baptized was to defect from the Roman Empire. It was an act of swearing allegiance to a new King and renouncing the dominion of Rome. It was a bold act of accepting the Name of a Lord the world had despised and rejected.
This is the original meaning of belief (’emunah), allegiance embodied.
Thus, those who are unmarked by Jesus Christ will be unprepared for the Mark of the Beast. Sadly, those who have never proclaimed “Jesus is Lord” will easily proclaim “Caesar is Lord” when Caesar returns as the Beast.
Finally, The Counterfeit Pattern Is Already Forming
We are not waiting for the Antichrist. The architecture of his initiation rite is already being built:
digital identity systems
global economic consolidation
biometric verification
ideological conformity
enforced unity
governmental technocracy
state-sanctioned morality
regulated participation
Hell is winning its converts and forming its disciples.
The question is: Has the Church won hers and formed them into devout followers of Jesus Christ?
God has always had a covenantal, divine pattern: Acts 2:38. And Satan has spent millennia constructing a counterfeit.
Only those who have died, been buried, been marked, and been filled
will stand in the hour of great deception.
The Great Contrast
The Continuum of Contrast looks like this:
God’s order is:
Repentance → Baptism → Infilling of the Holy Spirit/Eternal Life.
Satan’s counterfeit is:
Deception → Mark/Allegiance → Eternal Wrath
Two initiations stand before humanity; only one leads to eternal life.
