Merchants brought to mourning "Thy merchants were the great men (magnates) of the earth," Revelation 18:23. (Preached in Newtownabbey FPC by Rev Ivan Foster on Lord's Day evening, July 7th, 2013.) The Kingdom of Antichrist will chiefly be a kingdom of merchants. Antichrist will operate within the world of politics. He will also have a strong religious element to his activities. But his kingdom will also be a commercial enterprise, likely unparalleled in history. Thus, when it falls, we see the merchants amongst the chief mourners at the wake! The Word of God does not promise the believer abundance of wealth but it does hold out the hope of sufficiency. Psalm 84:11; Proverbs 3:9-10. Sufficiency is adequate for all but the greedy. Greed is the fruit of the flesh and finds expression in covetousness. It is a wickedness very much under-rated. 1 Cor 6:10; Eph 5:5. It is a sin which can be found amongst God's people, 1 Cor 5:11. It is a sin which will come to prominence in the last days, 2 Timothy 3:1-2. It is a growing feature of today's society and we must ever be on our guard against it. It must have no part in the believer's thinking. Day and daily we have reports of those, who in their greed, have blinded themselves to the wickedness in which they engaged in their pursuit of money. Bankers, politicians, merchants officials etc - the press is full of their deeds. Such a spirit will happily embrace Antichristianity. Here in Ulster we see the embracing of principles and practices which, but a generation ago, would have been considered wicked and shameful. They would have been rejected, irrespective of what gains they promised.