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Sunday, November 22, 2020
Bible Prophecy 101 - Where Are We Headed?
Dennis Edwards
Some of you have asked me to help you understand Bible prophecy. You have asked me about the pandemic where is it all leading, where is it going to? Are there any prophecies in the Bible that talk about these thing? I’d like to give you a very short summary or capsular look at what the Scriptures say. Let us go to the words of Jesus in chapter 24 of the Gospel of Matthew. The disciples had been showing him the temple. But Jesus in turn prophecizes that not one stone of the temple would be left upon another, that all the stones would be cast down.
“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”[Matthew 24:1-2]
That particular part of the prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD when the Romans came and destroyed the temple. Then his disciples asked, “What shall be the sign of thy coming and the end of the world?” [Matthew 24:3] or the end of this age or despensation, not an end of the planet.
Jesus gave many different signs and said “Ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”[Matthew 24:6-8]
We see that Jesus mentioned pestilences in the list. But then Jesus goes on to talk about how that true Christians would be persecuted. “Ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.”[Matthew 24:9] And they shall take you up and deliver you to be afflicted, and because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold.[Matthew 24:12]
Jesus gets about half way through with his discourse when he says, “But, When ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, stand in the holy place (whosoever reads let him understand)[Matthew 24:15]….For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”[Matthew 24:21-22]
He continues….”Imdeiately after the tribulation of those days shall the son be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”[Matthew 24:29-31]
That’s a very brief summary of what Jesus said. He said that there would be famines, pestilences, earthquakes in divers places and that they, the famines, pestilences and earthquakes, would be the beginnings of sorrows. Jesus then talks about the “abomination of desolation.” What is the “abomination of desolation” that Jesus is talking about?
Some of the Jewish scholars claim that the prophecy that Jesus was quoting from in Daniel had been already fulfilled even before Jesus’s time. They claim that Jesus was a false prophet because they believed that the placing of the abomination of desolation had already taken place during the time of Antiochus Epiphanes IV or the Mad Epiphanes. Antiochus Epiphanes had ruled the Selucian Empire, one section of the broken up Grecian Empire. If you remember, Alexander the Great had four generals and upon his death his empire was divided into four parts. One part was the Selucian Empire. Antiochus Epiphanes was descendent from the general who first ruled over the Selucian Empire. Antiochus persecuted the Jews around 200 BC . He also went into the temple and threw a swine’s head into the holy place, thus desecrating the temple. The Jewish scholars claim that the prophecy in Daniel about the abomination of desolations that Jesus quoted had already been fulfilled when Antiochus Epiphanes descrecrated the temple. Therefore, Jesus was making a false prophecy, because that prophecy had already been fulfilled. The Jewish scholars will tell you that.
However, we find in Scripture that many times prophecy has a partial fulfillment. There may even be two partial fulfillments of a prophecy. But then there is an ultimate or final fulfillment. The idea of partial and final fulfillment of Bible prophecy is what many eschatology professor believe concerning prophecy. Nevertheless, you will find many Christians today believing that the prophecies of Matthew 24 have already been fulfilled. One famous present day intellectual Christian writer and speaker that you may have seen on YouTube and is very well followed in Christian circles believes that Matthew 24 already took place when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD.
He believes that the section of the prophecy about Jesus coming in the clouds was also fulfilled at that time. However, he believes the event of the angels receiving the saints and the saints being raptured up to Heaven took place in the spiritual realm, not the physical. That part of the prophecy took place in the spiritual realm and only in the spiritual realm. He believes there will be no fulfillment of that section of the prophecy in the physical realm. Through his interpretation, our famous Christian speaker puts aside the prophecy of Jesus 2nd coming. He also puts question marks on the prophecies of Apostle John and Apostle Paul which collaborate with what Jesus said. Our intellectual Christian leader puts all these things in the past. He tells us that there is nothing to worry about. It’s true that there is nothing to worry about because ultimately God has the whole thing in his hands. God sees everything from the beginning to the end. God says he’s going to take care of his children one way or the other.
Contrary to what the famous intellectual Christian scholar thinks, I believe Scripture teaches plainly that some of us may very well live through the period of great tribulation. But how could our God allow us to suffer persecution some of you may say? In the book of Acts we see Apostle Paul getting caught and taken prisoner. He is locked into a prison and chained in the most secure part of the prison. But around midnight while Paul and Silas are singing psalms there is a great earthquake. An angel of the Lord comes and releases Paul and Silas from their chains. God steps in and does the miracle that they need. Paul and Silas are soon released from prison. The prison director even gets to become a believer along with his family. We see that God is with his children and delivers them supernaturally form their persecutors.[Acts 16] The Old Testament is full of supernatural accounts about how God delivered his people in the past out of the hand of their enemies many times supernaturally.
But at the end of Paul’s life, we see a different story. Paul spent six years in confinement in Nero’s prison in Rome. Finally, the mad Nero had Paul’s head chopped off. We may say, why didn’t God protect him? Maybe our answer may not seem satisfactory when we say, It all depends on God’s will. Many of God’s people, God’s leaders, His followers, His disciples have had cruel deaths. All the other disciples except Apostle John experienced a martyrs death. Jesus had told his disciples that if He was persecuted, they would be, also. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a surprise for us as Christians when we suffer persecution. Apostle Paul when talking about the perilous times which would come in the last days said “All that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”[2 Timothy 3:12]
But in God’s word we also find many promises saying that He will give us the grace to bear it. God will give us the grace. Just like the two brothers during the time of persecution of Christians in Europe. It was often of one sect against another, the Catholics against the Protestants or the Protestants aganst the Catholics. In this case it was two Protestants who were going to be burnt at the stake for not adhering to the doctrines of the Catholic church. One of the two brothers was weaker in faith than the other. He was the younger one. His older brother was going to be burnt at the stake first.
The younger brother said to his older brother, "I don’t know if I have the faith to die bravely. I’m going to deny my faith. I’m not going to be able to take it. Give me a sign. If God gives you the grace, the strength to bear it, give me a sign." Finally when his older brother is at the stake in the heat of the fire, he manages to lift us his hands in praise unto God as he was burning. The younger brother then knew that God had given him the sign he was looking for. He knew that God had given his brother the grace to bear the flames. In Isaiah we read “When thou passes through the fire, thou shall not be burned.” The younger brother, also, was able to stay strong in the faith during his own martyrdom. Other testimonies tell of Christians singing as they were burning. I read one testimony of a man who was quoting from memory Psalm 31 as he was being burned at the stake over some trivial Church doctrine.
God promises to give us grace the moment we need it, power for the hour, at the moment we need it, not before. However, a lot of the Old Testament prophecies signify that God’s people and the world are going to go through difficult time in the last days. The early Church fathers believed there was going to be a time of Antichrist before Christ returned and the Church would pass through the tribulation period. Iniquity would abound throughout the world. Apostle Paul stated there would be apostacy or a falling away from the faith, or a lack of faith in the world before the Antichrist comes.[2 Thessalonians 2:3]
Apostle John talks about a final one world government. Daniel the prophet also in the Old Testament talks about the different world governments that were to come. The prophecies say there will be an ultimate final one world government, the seventh world government. This government will some how come out of the remains of the Rome Empire where 10 nations join together with the Beast or Antichrist. There will first be a one world government with the Antichrist being part of it. But afterwards he assumes power over it. In the beginning, he is a participant in the world government, but then he assumes the power over it.[Revelation 17:10-11] That’s what many Christians believe. We believe there will be a final draconian one world government.
The Catholics used to talk about the time of Antichrist before Jesus’s return. But today they no longer talk about it. Some Catholics believe that the Catholic Church is an instrument of the financial elite or illuminati who are using the Church to help bring about the One World Government. On the side of Protestant Christians, many believe that they won’t be going through the great tribulation. They believe they are going to get raptured away before hand. The idea of the rapture you may have seen in some of the Christian movies or read in some of the books that were published called “The Left Behind” series.
The idea is that the Christians don’t have to worry, because they are not going to be left behind. It is only the unbelievers who are going to be left here. The unbelievers will have to sort out the meaning of the Bible prophecies. They’ll have to get out their Bibles if there are any left and try to figure out what it means at that time. But we, the Christians, are going to be out of here. So we don’t have to worry, is what they say. They don’t really concern themselves with these things.
But it’s false doctrine. We are going to be here. How do we know? We read over and over again in the Scriptures that the Antichrist is going to destroy the holy people.[Daniel 7:25; Daniel 8:10,24; Daniel 11:33-35; Revelation 13:7] He is going to have power to overcome the saints. But many of today's Christians say the saints and the holy people that are being talked about are the Jews who will be saved during the tribulation period. The pre-tribulation rapture Christians believe that the Church of believing Christians will be raptured before the real trouble begins. After we are raptured, they believe that a lot of the Jews are finally going to believe. These new Jewish believers will make up the 144,000 leaders of the tribulation period who will not accept the Antichrist and his mark of the beast. The 144,000 are talked about in the book of Revelation chapter seven. That’s what the believers of the pre-tribulation doctrine think it’s talking about in the book of Revelation. They believe the tribulation is for the Jews who will be saved during that time. But they believe that we Christians will be already gone in the pre-tribulation rapture. We will be out of here. The pre-tribulation escape hatch is what many Christian pastors teach. But the whole idea is just wishful thinking.
None of the early Church Fathers taught that doctrine. The pre-tribulation revelation came in the 1830s from a woman in a Scottish congregation. John Nelson Darby, from the early Plymouth Brethren, went to visit her, and then he incorportaed her ideas into his theology. Later C.I. Scofield accepted Darby’s theology and together the two were responsible for propagating the pre-tribulation idea throughout the western world. Through Scofield, who worked closely with Dwight L. Moody, the pre-tribulation doctrine got into the American evangelical Bible colleges and through them was diffused to all the world. The Chinese underground church in China after WWII testified that it was the pre-tribulation doctrine of the rapture which caused the Chinese Christians to be unprepared for the persecution that was to come. When the communists came many Christians lost their faith because they weren’t prepared for persecution. They had always been taught that God would take care of His own. God would save them out of persecution and none of those things would fall upon them. When it didn’t happen as they were taught, they lost faith and fell away.
The Bible tells us that the one world government will initiate the mark of the beast.[Revelation 13:16-18] What exacyly it is we don’t know. The Bible tells us that an economic system will be set up in which “no man can buy or sell except him that has the mark or the name or the number of the beast. And his number is 666.” That’s why there is a lot of resistance or movement against taking the chip or the vaccine. Too many people know about these Bible prophecies. Therefore, they do not want to submit to any kind of world technology which makes everybody have an identification mark. It sounds too much like the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, especially if that identification mark will be used in buying and selling.
But Bill Gates, whose father was a long time friend and associate of David Rockefeller, is trying his best to give all the world a identification with his ID2020. The idea is to get everybody in the world processed with an ID of some kind using the new biometric technology. Whether it will be a chip implant or an invisible tattoo onto our body or a vaccine, we don’t know. But the people that know Bible prophecies look at Bill Gates ID2020 and some of the other technology that he is helping to develop with a forboding. Could we be experiencing the vision of the future that Apostle John saw happening 2000 years ago?
Throughout the present epidemic we have seen various world leaders express the need for a new world government to help with the pressing problems that the present epidemic has caused. We know the financial elite or Bilderbergers have been pushing and working for world government for various generations. They have confessed so in their own writings. David Rockefeller has bragged about his families role in helping to bring about one world government.
Since our time as students in high school we have heard of various attempts at one world government. Between WWI and WWII was Woodrow Wilson's plan of the League of Nations. When that failed, after WWII the United Nations was formed and its headquarters was built on property the Rockefeller family donated in New York City. People have often said the only proplem with the United Nations is that it has no authority. The Americans are the strongest military might in the world today. Therefore, the Americans believe that they can do what they want to do. They can look out for their own interests and not for the world in general. America hasn’t been listening to what the world is saying. The allege climate change is an example where America doesn’t want to submit to a super government.
Many Christians know that the Bible prophecizes that
eventually there will be a one world government and out of that one world
government will rise the Antichrist. He
may be from the Middle East or Russia, but not from America. That is what the
prophecies tell us. The people are weary of the vaccine, because a vaccine used
with the new technology could very well be the fulfillment of the mark of the
beast prophecy. People are resisting the idea of a one world government and a
mandatory vaccine because of knowledge of Bible prophecy.
David Rockefeller said before he died that all the technology, and everything else was in place for the world to have one world government. He said that all that was necessary was to have an international crisis of sufficient statue that the nations would be convinced of the need to submit to a one world government. A substantial crisis would help the nations give up their sovereignty for the sake of the world’s future. Some of the nations have been more willing for world government than others.
In the case of the Palestinians, or the cause of the Palestinians, the United Nations voted some years ago that the Jews needed to return the captured lands back to the Palestinians. Of course, normally America opposed any censure of Israel’s actions, as America is one of the 5 sitting memebers on the UN Security Council and has the power of veto. But on one occassion, for some reason or blunder, the Americans let Resolution 242 pass. But the resolution has never been implemented. The majority of the nations of the world wanted Israel to return the lands gained in the 6 day war. They voted for Palestine to gain its autonomy and nationhood. But the Jews refuse to return the lands or release Palestine from the state of national emergency citing biblical precedentes and national security. America has also refused to exert influence over Israel concerning the situation and has sided with Israel over the voice of the world.
America under the Trump administration also has refused to submit to some of the international accords that have been made regarding climate change, free trade agreements, immigration, Iran, etc. Many of the Americans believe that the idea of a one-world government is leading to world socialism or communism.The Americans who support Trump don’t want to have to submit to some kind of super-government, especially world socialism They want to be independent, to make their own decisions and do what they want and not be in submission to anyone but themselves. They have been the biggest guy on the block since WWI and have the strongest military in the world. They believe they have the authority to do what they want. But the rest of the world does not see things with the same glasses.
But in the end, according to Bible prophecy, we will have one-world government, whether we like it or not. An American government led by Biden would most likely reestablish all the accords that the Trump administration seceded from and, therefore, a Biden government would hasten the road to one world government. When the Antichrist finally assumes power over the one world government, he has problems. The prophecies tell us he will destroy the mighty and the holy people.[Daniel 8:24] Whether the prophecies are talking about America specifically in those verses, we indeed speculate. But some eschatology professors think they could very well be. The prophecies also predict the destruction of the Great Whore Babylon which is a financial commercial sysetm. Babylon looks very much like captialism at its worst.[Revelation 17-18] She is destroyed by the Beast in one hour by fire, which could very well be the destruction of America by some preemptive first strike. On the other hand, it could symbolize be the burning of the American cities by protestors, which we saw recently in the riots before the elections, or a combination of both.
William R. Forstchen has written a fictional book about an electromagnetic pulse attack on America called One Second After depicting the horrors in America after such an attack. It might be worth your while to read. If the Babylon of Revelation that is destroyed by the Antichrist is indeed America, then it seems most probable that America would remain in rebellion to the one-world government. An American President similar to Trump would most likely be in power which would cause the Antichrist to attack and destroy America, or initiate the rioting, looting, and burning in the American cities. If a Democrat President were in power, he or she would most likely embrace the socialistic doctrines of the one-world government as those doctrines are similar to those of the Democratic Party. Therefore, A Democratic President would not be a threat to the one.world government. America under Biden or Harris would concede America's sovereignty and join in equally as a submitted member of the New World Order.
When exactly the destruction of Babylon occurs during the time frame of Bible prophecy, we are not sure. Revelation tells us some very gruesome events will take place. One third of the population of the world will die during that three and a half period of great tribulation.[Revelation 9:18] Jesus also told us that unless he had shortened the days, no flesh would live. Mankind would destroy itself and all animal life, if God had not shortened the time period.[Matthew 24:22] The Biblical imagery looks very much as if a nuclear holocaust will take place. Whether or not the destruction of Babylon the Whore takes place during the time of the three and a half year Great Tribulation period or not, or if it happens afterwards during the time of the 45-75 days of the Wrath of God, we don’t know for sure. But we do know that there are very troublesome times ahead. Jesus has told us. Apostle Paul and the Old Testament prophets have also told us. Apostle John’s vision confirms all the other prophecies before him with added additional information. We could very well be facing some very difficult days in the near future. Stay attentive, and remember,
"When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flame will not consume you." Isaiah 43:2 New Living Translation
"Be strong and of good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." Joshuah 1:9 KJV
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33 KJV
"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39 KJV
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Bible Prophecy Explained! The Antichrist, the Crisis and the Mark of the Beast. Part 3 - The Persecution of True Believers
The Persecution of the Church. By Gaetan
Basic and
common-sense commentaries on
Bible prophecies and current events.
Many attempts have been made throughout history to
identify the “man of lawlessness”, the “Antichrist” with other historical
figures who had great power and brought havoc and devastation to people on the
earth. The ancient Roman emperors Nero and Domitian, both of whom severely
persecuted Christians, were thought by many to be the Antichrist. Many Roman emperors,
including these two, claimed deity for themselves and demanded to be worshiped.
In more recent times, Adolf Hitler was commonly thought to be the Antichrist,
as was Joseph Stalin. On the other hand, many Protestants since the
Reformation, especially those who were persecuted by the Catholic Church, have
thought that one or another of the popes was the Antichrist. But all of these
identifications have proved to be false,
(or were just types and forerunners of the evil one who is to come, no
doubt being intermediate fulfillments, as there have been many in history who
have aspired to the office of "Antichrist.") and it is likely that a yet
worse man of lawlessness will arise on the world scene and bring
unparalleled suffering and persecution, only to be destroyed by Jesus when He
comes again.1
According to the
Bible, three main ingredients are mentioned in the book of Revelation chapter
13 in order to bring about his New World Order:
n
REV.13:7 And it was
given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power
was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Power will be given to the Beast over the whole world, which
means a world government.
n REV.13:8
And
all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not
written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
In this verse, we see that all will worship the Antichrist,
the Beast, which is a new world religion.
n REV.13:16-17
And
he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he
that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
And here we see a
global credit system, which is a new World financial system.
So then according to
the Bible, a one world government, a one world religion and a one world credit
system will give this Beast complete control. I believe the world is racing
in that direction.
We’re continuing this series about this coming “man of sin” predicted in
the Bible to see how current events fit with the Scriptures. In the first two
chapters of this series, we have speculated that his forces would be working behind
the scenes to prepare the world for their “Supreme Lord” and they
have been doing it for a long time.
We have covered the role of the press and media,
the destructive educational system,
the new technologies bringing in a new credit
system
with the necessary 5G speed
and they could very well take advantage of the Covid 19 situation, using fear to convince the masses to accept those changes.
In the midst of that somber agenda, we have also included the scriptures about the happy ending with Christ’s victorious return and victory over the Beast.
Now in part 3 we will focus on the actual religious situation and the soon to come worldwide persecution of all faiths.
Christianity - the
situation now:
The goal of the
Antichrist’s forces is global governance of the world and they can’t
easily control people of faith and churches while believers are still submitting
to their priests and pastors, as this works against their plan for their
eventual Supreme Lord to be revealed. Thus, it is indispensable for them to
undermine all faiths, tearing out of people’s minds the very principles of God
and to replace it with so-called science, humanism and material pursuit.
2TI.3:1-5 This know
also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers
of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy… traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers
of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness,
but denying the power thereof...
As for other religions there may be less difficulty in dealing with them, and eventually the Antichrist (the Beast) will be the real "Pope," the father of the international church. Meanwhile, while they have been re-education youth in the new self-religions, they have not been openly attacking the existing churches, but they are fighting them through criticism via Hollywood movies, TV series, the press,and court cases. They use any available means at their disposal in order to lower Christianity's prestige and create division. They are exceeding deceitful.
Dan.8:25 Through his cunning
He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule.
Rev.13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell
on the earth.
Here are some excerpts
from: “Hollywood's Immoral Agenda, Entertainment Industry
Accelerates Attack on Biblical Values.” BY CHARLES CHANDLER
Hollywood’s gloves are off, and its war against
Christianity and traditional values has become obnoxiously aggressive. “We’ve
always heard that Hollywood is about making money, but I think it’s really
about an immoral or amoral agenda to promote lifestyles, relativism, compromise
and shades of gray with no black and white,” said Michael Catt, senior pastor
of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga… There is a force in that community,”
he added, “that says more important than making $100 million is to plant seeds
in the minds of young people that will take them away from Judeo-Christian
ethics.” Instead of wholesome family values, today’s secular offerings smack of
smut, including network television series openly promoting homosexuality and
polygamy. 2
This is just one example of the social corrosion
of the authority of the
Bible. They have achieved the goal of making
the average person believe that the Bible is wrong and back-
wards about a number of things, so then the average person
concludes that the Bible cannot be trusted.
2TH.2:10 and with all unrighteous
deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of
the truth, that they might be saved.
DAN.7:21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with
the saints, and prevailed against them.
DAN.7:25 And he shall speak great words against the
most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High…until a time
and times and the dividing of time.
The
prophet Daniel saw to his horror that the Antichrist persecutes and makes war
against the saints, the people of God, for “a time and times, and the dividing of time.” We are also told
of this war and persecution in the book of Revelation lasting forty-two months (Rev.13:5–7) and so it can be understood as
three and a half years. This coming Antichrist regime will be an absolute dictatorship, literally having the same spirit as the old Roman Empire,
in that it will persecute Christians and fight the Saints, just like ancient
Rome did! The length of this period is repeated a number of times throughout
the Scriptures, and it covers the time known to us as the Great Tribulation,
the second half of the Antichrist’s reign that immediately precedes Jesus’
second coming. It is not a pleasant time on Earth. In a later message given by
an angel to Daniel it is described as “a time of trouble, such as never was since
there was a nation, even to that time”:
DAN.12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the
great prince which stands for the children of thy people: and there shall be
a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation…: and at
that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found
written in the book.
Mk.13:20 except that the Lord had shortened those
days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elects’ sake (or the
saints), whom he hath chosen, He hath shortened the days.
The persecuted but victorious church during the Great Tribulation:
DAN.7:21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with
the saints, and prevailed against them.
DAN.7:25 And he shall speak great words against the
most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High…until a time
and times and the dividing of time.
The
prophet Daniel saw to his horror that the Antichrist persecutes and makes war
against the saints, the people of God, for “a time and times, and the dividing of time.” We are also told
of this war and persecution in the book of Revelation lasting forty-two months (Rev.13:5–7) and so it can be understood as
three and a half years. This coming Antichrist regime will be an absolute dictatorship, literally having the same spirit as the old Roman Empire,
in that it will persecute Christians and fight the Saints, just like ancient
Rome did! The length of this period is repeated a number of times throughout
the Scriptures, and it covers the time known to us as the Great Tribulation,
the second half of the Antichrist’s reign that immediately precedes Jesus’
second coming. It is not a pleasant time on Earth. In a later message given by
an angel to Daniel it is described as “a time of trouble, such as never was since
there was a nation, even to that time”:
DAN.12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation…: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Mk.13:20 except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elects’ sake (or the saints), whom he hath chosen, He hath shortened the days.
This man has an agenda. He hates God. He will change the very laws of mankind in an attempt to legislate God right out of our midst. The dream of the atheists will seem, for a time, to come true. It will also become illegal to worship God, and the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Those who attempt to worship Him will be persecuted mercilessly. He will not introduce himself to the world, as "Good day, people of the world, I am the Antichrist." He will not be upfront in the beginning. There are, by the way, actually two meanings of "antichrist" - one is "against Christ" and the other is to "IMITATE Christ." He is not only against our Lord, but he also pretends initially to be a "good leader" - This is the real wolf in sheep’s clothing. 3
Dan.8:24 He shall destroy the mighty, and also the
holy people.
DAN.12:7 And I heard the man clothed in linen… and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
he is winning the war, prevailing against God's people. The beast is
going to overcome the church, as far as its temporal power is
concerned-- its buildings, organizations and money, (Daniel 7:21/25).
It doesn't say he's going to destroy the holy people, there's a definite
distinction there, but he's going to destroy their power! And It doesn't
necessarily say completely destroy it even, but scatter it, (Dan.12:7)
in other words, weaken it and scatter it, so that they no longer have
much power or influence in the World, in politics and governments,
etc., then he'll be able to take over. We know he can't destroy all the
holy people, because in verse 18, 22 and 27 of Daniel chapter seven,
it mentions that the saints “shall take…and possess the kingdom, it
will be given to them.”
DAN.7:18, 22, 27 But
the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom,
and possess the kingdom for ever, even
for ever and ever… Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to
the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole
heaven, shall be given to the
people of the saints of the most High, whose
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and
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Now when they shall fall,
they shall be helped with a little help… and
some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end….
goods plundered. But even this “fall” has benefits,
because it
will refine and purify those who know and
love God.
DAN.11:36 and
the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and
magnify himself above
every god, and
shall speak marvellous things against
the God of gods,
and shall prosper till the indignation (wrath) be accomplished: for that that
is determined shall be done.
2TH.2:4 who
opposeth and exalteth himself above
all that is called God,
or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is
God.
Daniel
and Paul both wrote and
prophesied about the
same “man of sin”. Paul said clearly that the Antichrist will exalt himself above all gods
and will tell the World to worship him as God. And John tells us the same thing in Revelation the 13th Chapter, that
he sets up his idol there in the holy place and commands everybody to worship
him and his image; everybody who refuses to worship him as God is to be killed.
(Rev.13:15) --So that he as God will sit
in this new rebuilt Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem.
REV.13:5-6 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
The end of this age is going to
see a worldwide propaganda of deceit, and it will deceive millions. The
Revelation indicates that the period in which this deceit will be at its zenith
will be a short period. This
description of the Antichrist’s big mouth was also used by Daniel in his
various descriptions of the Antichrist. ( Dan. 7:8, 11, 20, 25 ;
11:36 ) He's going to have a very BIG
mouth!
What?!—You
mean to say this Antichrist prevails against the Saints?—He wins? Well, during
the cold war, didn’t it look like the Communists won, and had actually
prevailed against the Church in Russia and the East Bloc? Doesn’t it look like
the Communists have prevailed against the Church in China? Does this mean the
Church is absolutely dead and gone there?--No! Only
the temporal power had been destroyed! Only the political and economic power had
been destroyed! But it's been good for them because it strengthened them
spiritually and brought revival, and this is why the Lord allowed it to happen!
China has millions of Christians in house churches in spite of all the
persecutions of the past 70
years. Even though
the Antichrist will be allowed to overcome
us physically, obviously destroying the organised temporal power of the Church,
he will not and cannot overcome us
spiritually!
REV.11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses,
and they shall prophesy a thousand two
hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
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Why do you think the Lord was so clear
on that? Because it's going to be such a terrible time that we're going to be
counting the days! That's one thing that will help keep you going, to know that
it is not going to last much longer! The fact that you're able to count the
days is going to encourage you tremendously! "Just one more day, one more day, one more day!" If you
were lost on a desert island and didn’t know whether you were ever going to get
rescued, it would be pretty hard to endure. But if you knew exactly what day,
or at least mighty close to it, that you were going to be rescued, you'd fight
to live and survive until that day! Well, those last days of the Antichrist's
reign during the Great Tribulation are going to be so rough, the Lord wanted us
to know the exact times so that we wouldn't give up. “Look up!" He says, "for
your redemption draweth nigh!" (Lk.21:28.) What a wonderful
These two great witnesses,
probably right there in the Holy City, will be witnessing against the
Antichrist, the Beast, against his unholy image and against his claims to be
God, his blasphemy against God! It could also mean that those two prophets
won’t be alone witnessing but that the churches, or bodies of believers, will
also play a similar role.
REV.11:7 and when
they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against
them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
REV.11:11, 12 And after three days and a half the spirit of life from God entered into
them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which
saw them; and they heard a great voice
from heaven saying unto them, Come up
hither. And they ascended up to
heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
REV.12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God,
that they should feed her there a
thousand two hundred and threescore days.
This verse proves that this woman, the Church, is living in the End time. Just as
specifically as it could possibly be, there is your three-and-a-half years of
Tribulation again. There she will be miraculously fed and cared for in places
of refuge for that entire 3-1/2 years! Others of His children will
boldly witness and openly preach and prophesy against the Antichrist,
miraculously empowered and protected by God!
REV.12:13 And when
the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
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This
tribulation period will be the end of any kind of association
with the systems of this world whatsoever, for true Christians. It will be
impossible to survive except by miracles of God and faith, living by faith,
totally and entirely independent from the Antichrist
System, without its Mark, its approval and without its benefits. Many of us
will have to go completely underground and do the best we can to survive and
continue to witness, much like the early Christians did from the catacombs
during the Roman persecutions.
"Where
iniquity doth abound, grace doth much more abound" (Rom.5:20) In those last, worst, most awful
days of all, those two witnesses as well as the body of believers are going to
be the most powerful witnesses we have ever been! The more the antichrist tries to suppress us
and beat us down and kill us off, the more miraculous our survival will be and
the more publicity the Message will get, the more he tries to fight it! And
with all his power, all his signs, wonders, all his deviltry and all his
Satanic majesty, he cannot conquer us, he cannot wipe us out, he cannot stop
us any more than he can right now! He won't be able to do it any more in
the Tribulation than he can now! It is not going to be a time of defeat and
total destruction, it's going to be a time of tremendous battles and
persecution, but as a result, great victories and great miracles!
So, don’t worry about a time of
oppression, defeat, and total subjugation. God's Word says that "they
that do know their God shall do exploits, and they which understand amongst the
people shall instruct many!" (Da.11:32,33.) We are going to
do the greatest work we have ever done, preach the greatest Gospel and be the
greatest witnesses we have ever been!
ROM.8:31, 35-37 What shall we then say to these things? If
God be for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are
killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay,
in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
What have we learned
so far: this man will appear in the time of the end, he will have a big Hitler
type of mouth, he will be a master of deceit, his power will be given to him by
the devil himself, he will be revealed officially at one point, will have a
global reach and government, will exalt himself above God, will persecute the
believers, will set up an image of himself as well as enforce a new financial
system, the famous mark of the beast. In the end, he will even try to fight God
but then will lose at the coming of the Lord and be thrown down into the lake
of fire.
In part 4 of this
series, we will continue to focus on how the world in which we live today is
being transformed and prepared for his entrance onto the global world stage.
Are you ready? Are you
one of the believers in Jesus? Are you a part of His great Bride? Are you the
Wife of Christ? Have you accepted Him as your Husband, your Bridegroom and your
Saviour? Then you don't have to worry! He'll take care of you right on through
the Tribulation, even if He has to give you wings! He'll hide you in the
wilderness if He has to make you disappear! He'll feed you there and take care
of you just like He says here, all the way through that 1260 days or three-and-a-half
years of Great Tribulation! So that the devil can’t lay a claw or a fang on
you, he can't inundate you or drown you with his lies because you don't believe
him, you just believe the Word of God! And you will be saved and brought
through and live and survive till Jesus' coming!
Please pray this simple prayer:
Designed and
produced by Gaetan. You’re always
welcome to write me for any additional
info: writegaetan@yahoo.com
Authors and publications frequently consulted
1 Wayne
Grudem, Systematic Theology p.1351
2 https://decisionmagazine.com/hollywoods-immoral-agenda/
3 http://fridaystudy.org/html/daniel/daniel7.htm
Lennox, John C. Against the Flow.
Monarch Books. Kindle Edition.
MacGregor, Scott, The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist. Published on May 5, 2006
MacGregor, Scott, The Future Foretold. Published on February 1, 2009
