HomeARC ML 1613
THE RISE & REIGN OF THE ANTICHRIST!--A Time of Great Tribulation! BOF Parts 4 & 5 Comp. 4/83 GP 1613
Compiled by Apollos from the writings of Father David.
1. THE WHOLE WORLD IS WAITING FOR A SUPERMAN! The World is waiting for a superman, a god-man who can solve all their problems & answer all their questions & heal all their economic ills & unite all their politics & end all their religious squabbles & stop all the wars & bring permanent peace & union to all nations.--A one-World government, one-World leader, one-World dictator--a Superman!
2. ARNOLD TOYNBEE, THE FAMOUS CONTEMPORARY HISTORIAN, EXPRESSED THIS NEED PERFECTLY when he said, "By forcing on mankind more & more lethal weapons, & at the same time making the World more & more interdependent economically, technology has brought mankind to such a degree of distress that we are ripe for the deifying of any new Caesar who might succeed in giving the World unity & peace."
3. THE FORMER SECRETARY GENERAL OF NATO, PAUL SPAAK, ADDS, "We do not want another committee; we have too many already. What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the allegiance of all people & to lift us out of the morass into which we are sinking. Send us such a man, be he God or the Devil, & we will receive him!"
4. WELL, THEY WON'T HAVE TO WAIT MUCH LONGER, BECAUSE THE BIBLE PREDICTS THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE SUCH A MAN IN THE LAST DAYS OF MAN'S RULE ON EARTH, who will temporarily save the World from total destruction just before Christ Himself returns to rule it. To the World he is going to appear as an angel of light, the most perfect man, the most powerful man, the greatest leader the World has ever known outside of Jesus Christ!--Smart enough & clever enough to solve all the World's problems--economic, political & finally religious.
5. FROM ALL THAT THE SCRIPTURE INDICATES, IT LOOKS LIKE THIS COMING ONE-WORLD LEADER WILL RISE TO POWER BY PEACE & BY FLATTERY & BY CLEVER DECEIT. (Dan.11:21,24.) By his supernatural craft, wisdom & clever political manoeuvering, he will actually temporarily solve today's pressing military, political & economic problems & will effect a remarkable Peace Pact between the conflicting Superpowers, ideologies & religions of the World.
6. OF COURSE, ONLY IN DESPERATION TO SAVE THEMSELVES WOULD THEY EVER SIGN SUCH A PACT! Only under desperate last-resort circumstances would Israel & the Arabs, for example, agree to share the city of Jerusalem, or would Capitalism & Communism agree to share the World in peace--universal détente. But with the World's troublespots heating up as much as they have recently, & with nuclear tensions mounting between the Superpowers, the World is almost desperate enough to put such a one-World government into power right now to prevent World War III & nuclear annihilation!
7. THIS CAPABLE & POWERFUL ONE-WORLD GOVERNMENT WILL AT FIRST BE MUCH BETTER THAN TODAY'S CHAOTIC CONDITIONS: A World of peace, a World of controlled economy--peacetime economy, not war economy--a World of distribution, share the wealth, take from the rich to feed the poor, etc. Under man's most ideal leader & his one-World government, there will finally be a proper apportionment of the World's resources, "from each according to his ability unto each according to his need," of both fuel & food & other necessities, & an end to today's extravagant waste of World supplies.
8. MAN'S FINAL WORLD GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO BE THE MOST PERFECT GOVERNMENT THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS HEART OF MAN COULD EVER CONTRIVE, the most idealistic, the most fair, the most compassionate, the most equal, the most sharing.--It will be like trying to have Christianity without Christ! But of course they will see that it needs a Christ, a superman to make it all possible, & that's exactly what this leader will pretend & claim to be--the Christ, the Messiah, the Saviour of the World! In fact, He's even going to ultimately claim to be God Himself!--When all the time he's a phoney & a fake, the Devil in disguise, "Satan himself, transformed into an angel of light!" (2Co.11:14.)--The Antichrist!
9. FOR AWHILE IT WILL SEEM TO BE ABSOLUTELY HEAVEN ON EARTH, but the price to pay will finally be not only compliance with the World government & the total control of freedom & personal religion & so on, but the eventual aim of the Enemy, the Devil himself who controls it, will be: "Fall down & worship me or you cannot enjoy this great Heaven on Earth that I have created!--Behold, I give you all the kingdoms of the Earth, but the price is, fall down & worship me!" (Lk.4:5-7.)--And that's where the rub's going to come!
"HE SHALL CONFIRM THE COVENANT WITH MANY..." (Dan.9:27).
10. ACCORDING TO BIBLE PROPHECY, THE FINAL CLINCHER WHEREWITH THE ANTICHRIST DEFINITELY COMES ON THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE & begins his 7-year reign is the famous 7-Year Pact or Covenant described in the Book of Daniel. This Covenant is spoken of many times in the Scriptures & will be like a promise of religious freedom. That's why it's called the "holy Covenant" (Dan.11:30), because it's a religious pact, a religious treaty which has to do with restoring worship, particularly Jewish worship, as it enables the Jews to rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem & to restore sacrificial worship on its altar, a practice which was virtually the heart of their religious observance until their Temple was taken away from them by the judgements of God nearly two millenniums ago!
11. ARE THE JEWS SACRIFICING ANIMALS TO THE LORD TODAY? No! Because there is only one place on Earth where they would consider such resumption of sacrificial worship, & that's Mount Moriah, Jerusalem, where their ancient Temple altar was located before the Roman legions marched into Jerusalem in 70 A.D. & utterly destroyed it. The foundation of the ancient Temples' altar was the rock upon which Abraham started to sacrifice Isaac on top of Mount Moriah. For this reason, the Arabs & Muslims also revere this great city, ancient holy Jerusalem, & particularly Mount Moriah, as Abraham was also the father of Ishmael, through whom the Arab nations were born.
12. IN FACT IN THE 600s A.D., WHEN ISLAM WAS SWEEPING THE WORLD, the great Muslim Caliph, Omar the Magnificent, kindly offered to rebuild the Temple for the Jews at Jerusalem on top of Mount Moriah.--But the Jews refused, saying that only in the time when their Messiah was to come was the Temple to be rebuilt, & it certainly could not be built by a "pagan" like Omar! So since Mount Moriah was also very sacred & holy to all Muslims, Abraham being the forefather of the Arabs as well as the Jews, the great Muslim leader Omar decided, "Well then, I shall build a mosque for my people on this great rock on top of Mount Moriah, to revere our great father Abraham!"
13. SO FROM THAT TIME, 1,300 YEARS AGO, TILL TODAY, A GREAT MUSLIM MOSQUE, THE "DOME OF THE ROCK" OR "THE MOSQUE OF OMAR", HAS STOOD DIRECTLY OVER THIS ROCK UPON WHICH THE ANCIENT JEWISH TEMPLE ALTAR ONCE STOOD.--And it's quite obvious that the Arabs today would never agree to the Jews coming in to their territory & rebuilding the Temple!--And it's also obvious that the Jews would probably never consider building it under any kind of Arab sponsorship!
14. SO THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO WORK OUT SOME KIND OF AN AGREEMENT OR COMPROMISE WITH EACH OTHER, & the only way it could ever be done is with the direct intervention of an outside third party, like a World political government. And this compromise or agreement is what is generally accepted as the Covenant spoken of in the Bible prophecies of Daniel, time & time again.
15. IT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME TICKLISH WORKING & BRILLIANT DIPLOMACY TO FIGURE OUT SOME WAY FOR THE JEWS TO REBUILD THEIR TEMPLE & reinstitute sacrificial worship on their altar with the Mosque of Omar standing right over it, for this "Dome of the Rock" is the holiest of all the Muslim holy places outside of Mecca & Medina in Saudi Arabia!--And as it now stands right over what was once the Jewish Temple's sacrificial altar, exactly what they are going to do in order to get the Jews' Temple rebuilt, we don't yet know.
16. PERHAPS WHEN THE ANTICHRIST MAKES THIS COVENANT, the Jews are going to have to compromise & settle for building their Temple somewhere near the same spot.--Or perhaps this beautiful Mosque will somehow be destroyed? But whatever happens, we know that this Mount Moriah, Jerusalem, is the most holy place on Earth to the Jews, it's the most holy place on Earth outside of Saudi Arabia to the Muslims, & it's even one of the holiest places on Earth to a lot of Christians! Therefore this 7-year agreement will have to be a very ingenious compromise, & will no doubt deal with not only the Temple Mount, Mount Moriah, but the entire city of Jerusalem! In fact, right now Jerusalem is the big unresolvable issue, as Begin & the Jews have sworn that they will never let it go, that it is their "eternal capital" forever!
17. THE ARABS SAY THAT THEY WILL NEVER LET THE JEWS KEEP IT, & THE JEWS SAY THAT THEY WILL NEVER LET IT GO! David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, vowed, "We took Jerusalem & we will never give it up again until the last man & woman is dead defending it! No matter what the cost, we will never give it up until the last Jew is dead! That's how all our people feel."
18. SO IF THERE WAS EVER ANY PLACE WHERE A MASTERMIND'S COMPROMISE AGREEMENT WAS NEEDED, IT'S JERUSALEM! That point is even more unresolvable than the Palestinian question, because both sides have been willing to at least talk about making certain adjustments regarding the Palestinians, but they're both absolutely adamant & unbending regarding Jerusalem! Both sides have come flat out & said that there will be absolutely no compromise!--The Jews say they will never let it go, & the Arabs say they will never let them keep it. So some kind of a compromise has to be wrought to solve this very very difficult problem.
19. AND ANYONE WHO COULD SOLVE THIS PRESSING CRISIS OVER PALESTINE, & JERUSALEM IN PARTICULAR, WOULD CERTAINLY BE CONSIDERED A MASTERMIND & A GENIUS & A SUPERMAN & NO DOUBT ALL THE WORLD WOULD WONDER AFTER HIM!--Because no one has ever yet been able to solve the problem of the antipathy & the antagonism & the warfare between the Jews & the Arabs! So anyone who could somehow reconcile their differences & settle their fights--considering that such religionists are the fightingest people in the World & have started more wars than anybody--anyone who could settle these differences & make them come to an agreement would really be a genius, a superman!--And that's just who it'll be, the Antichrist!
20. I CAN PROVE FROM THE BIBLE THAT HE SETTLES THE JERUSALEM QUESTION!--How?--It says that he takes it over & makes it an international city. In fact, according to the Bible, this World Dictator of this one-World government then makes that city his capital too! His political capital of his World government will be Jerusalem! (Dan.11:45.) So how could it belong to any particular one country or religion? Soon Jerusalem will belong to neither the Jews nor the Arabs nor the Palestinians nor the Muslims nor the Christians, but to all of them!--And most of all to the Antichrist!
21. SO IN ORDER TO GET IN FIRM CONTROL & FIRM POWER HE PROMISES TO INTERNATIONALISE THE CITY OF JERUSALEM with this 7-year Covenant or Pact, no doubt some kind of an international U.N. or World government-sponsored treaty that will guarantee all religions the right to religious freedom there & religious rights of worship, enabling them to restore their various temples & sanctuaries, etc., & all be able to worship & have free access to Jerusalem.
22. IT'S AT THIS TIME, WHEN THE ANTICHRIST INTERNATIONALISES THE CITY & promises religious freedom to all the World's faiths, that the Jews will most likely rebuild their Temple there. This will finally give them their golden opportunity to rebuild it & restore its sacrificial worship, something their religion has not had for almost 2,000 years!
23. WHEN ISRAEL CAPTURED THE OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM BACK IN 1967, the aged Jewish historian, Israel Eldad, was quoted in Time magazine as saying, "We are at the stage which David was when he liberated Jerusalem. From that time until the construction of the Temple by Solomon, only one generation passed.--So will it be with us!"--And the recent "symbolic occupation" of Mount Moriah, Jerusalem, by a group of armed Jewish religious zealots in March '83, served as another reminder that the powerful religious factions in Israel today are definitely intent on re-establishing Jewish Temple worship on Mount Moriah.
24. JUST TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE WAR IN WHICH THE JEWS OCCUPIED & TOOK OVER OLD JERUSALEM & THE TEMPLE MOUNT AREA, ON MAY 21, 1967, the Washington Post & the New York Times ran the following anonymously-sponsored full-page ad:
To Persons of the Jewish Faith All over the World
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The project to rebuild the Temple of God in Israel is now being started. With divine guidance & hope, the Temple will be completed. It will signal a new era in Judaism. Jews will be inspired to conduct themselves in such a moral way that our Maker will see fit to pay us a visit here on Earth. God will place in the midst of many persons in all walks of Jewish life the desire to participate in this work. Executive talents, administrators, & workers in all levels are needed. All efforts will be anonymous. God will know those desiring to participate. God's Will Shall Prevail!
25. REMEMBER WHAT THE JEWS TOLD THE GREAT CALIPH, OMAR THE MAGNIFICENT, WHEN HE OFFERED TO REBUILD THE TEMPLE FOR THEM BACK IN THE 600s?--They said, "No, the Messiah has to rebuild it." Well, then why will the Jews rebuild the Temple under the Antichrist?--Because they'll think he's their Messiah! In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion & there are certain Scriptural & other grounds for believing that this false messiah will probably be a Jew!--Otherwise they wouldn't accept him!
26. MANY BIBLE PROPHECY TEACHERS BELIEVE THAT THE ANTICHRIST IS GOING TO BE A JEW, as one description of him in Daniel says that he "regards not the God of his fathers" (Dan.11:37). [DELETED] And because they rejected their true Messiah, Jesus Christ, [DELETED] rejected the One Who came to save them, when this false Messiah comes, as God forewarned in His Word, "Because they refused to believe the Truth, God shall send them strong delusion, that they might believe a lie & be damned!" (2Th.2:10-12).
27. SO I WOULDN'T BE A BIT SURPRISED IF IT'S THE ANTICHRIST HIMSELF WHO DIRECTLY HELPS THEM REBUILD THEIR TEMPLE, because they're going to think he's their Messiah! They'll figure it's safe to rebuild it when their new Messiah, the Antichrist, tells them it's safe & he's internationalised the city & made it an open city for all religions & all peoples & tells'm, "OK, now it's safe to rebuild your Temple!"
28. MENACHEM BEGIN, THE PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL WHOSE EXPANSIONIST TERRITORIAL AMBITIONS FOR RESTORING THE PAST GLORIES OF ANCIENT ISRAEL ARE WELL KNOWN, HAS SAID, "The only ultimate answer to the pressures of our current situation is for the Messiah to come & rescue us!"--Of course the true Messiah already came to rescue them, but they rejected His spiritual salvation & Message of Love, desiring rather material & political power, even as they do to this very day!--"The Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus & their own prophets, & have persecuted us; & they please not God, & are contrary to all men; filling up their sins always: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost!" (1Th.2:14-16).
29. DR. MOSINSONN, OF THE HEBREW COLLEGE OF JAFFA, RECENTLY PROCLAIMED, "THINK OF ALL THE GREAT RELIGIOUS LEADERS WHO HAVE COME OUT OF THE EAST, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, etc. We say to you people of the West with confidence, that if you will restore the Jew to his ancestral home, it will not be long until we give you another great religious leader who will perhaps transcend all who have gone before!"--And no doubt they will!--The Antichrist!
30. THE JEWS ARE GOING TO BE THE FIRST TO PROCLAIM HIM & RECEIVE HIM AS THEIR MESSIAH, just the opposite of what they did with the true Messiah, Jesus, Who told them, "I am come in My Father's name, & ye receive Me not: If another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive!" (Jn.5:43). They're going to take this false messiah, this Antichrist, & receive him with open arms & with rejoicing & be thankful that at last their messiah has come! They're going to receive & crown him & cause the whole World to worship him!--Except the faithful ones who really love Jesus & know the Truth of His Word, who will recognise their "messiah" as the Bestial Antichrist that he really is!
"SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES, WHETHER THESE THINGS BE SO!" (Jn.5:39; Ac.17:11).
31. NOW WE'RE GOING TO TURN TO THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET DANIEL & examine some of the specific Scriptures that deal with this Antichrist, his Covenant with the Jews, etc.: "And he"--the Antichrist--"shall confirm the Covenant with many for one week." (Dan.9:27.)--This word that's translated "week" in our King James Bible in the original Hebrew is "shabua," which literally means "seven." Therefore a little better, more accurate translation of this verse would be: "And he shall confirm the Covenant with many for one seven."--And by carefully studying the marvellous Messianic prophecy regarding the exact time of the first coming & crucifixion of Christ in verses 24 to 26 of this Chapter, we know that "one week" here, or "one seven," equals seven years.--Thus the verse can be read,
32. "AND HE SHALL CONFIRM THE COVENANT WITH MANY FOR SEVEN YEARS." As we've explained & as you will see from many other Scriptures we're going to cover, he makes this Covenant as a World Peace Treaty & everything is going fine--he's restoring the World, he's trying to make everybody happy & he's managed to bring World peace--until he's finally got everything firmly in his grip. When he establishes his Worldwide government, he's going to say, "Peace & safety!--Everything's going to be peaceful & safe now!--No more wars, everything's going to be secure, everybody's going to have plenty, & my kingdom's going to be a kingdom of Heaven on Earth, peace & safety!" (1Th.5:3).
33. FOR THERE "SHALL STAND UP A VILE PERSON WHO SHALL COME IN PEACEABLY, & OBTAIN THE KINGDOM BY FLATTERIES" (Dan.11:21). People are going to think, "Oh! Look how wonderful he is!--He saved the World! He saved us from the threat of atomic war & he saved the economy, he's defused the Mideast crisis, internationalised Jerusalem, helped the Jews restore their Temple, etc." He will seem to be the smartest man that ever lived with the greatest power, greatest wisdom, able to solve all problems, stop all wars & put everybody to work rebuilding peace.--But suddenly, just when everything finally seems to be hunky-dory, the balloon is going to burst with the Antichrist forbidding & abolishing all traditional religious worship, declaring himself God & requiring mandatory Worldwide worship of himself, with suppression, persecution & even death to all who won't bow to him!
34. "IN THE MIDST OF THE WEEK"--AFTER 3-1/2 YEARS--"HE SHALL CAUSE THE SACRIFICE & THE OBLATION TO CEASE, & for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, & that determined shall be poured upon the desolate" (Dan.9:27). Now, if "the sacrifice & the oblation" are going to cease, then they first have to start. And if it's going to start, then the Jews have to have the Temple, & so on.--Therefore this Covenant which the Antichrist makes with the Jews obviously must have something to do with letting them rebuild their Temple & restore their sacrificial worship.--Many of the other Scriptures which we shall cover in this lesson reaffirm that this rebuilt Jewish Temple will play an important role in soon-coming Endtime events.
35. IT IS IN THE MIDST OF THE "WEEK," OR 3-1/2 YEARS INTO THE 7-YEAR COVENANT PERIOD, THAT THE ANTICHRIST CHANGES, abolishes the newly reinstituted Jewish sacrificial worship, profanes the altar, & exalts himself as God. "Yea, he magnified himself even to the Prince of the Host, & by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, & the place of His sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, & it cast down the truth to the ground; & it practiced, & prospered" (Dan.8:11,12).
36. "AND ARMS SHALL STAND ON HIS PART, & THEY SHALL POLLUTE THE SANCTUARY OF STRENGTH, & SHALL TAKE AWAY THE DAILY SACRIFICE, & THEY SHALL PLACE THE ABOMINATION THAT MAKETH DESOLATE" (Dan.11:31).--Now this is a very, very important key Scripture, as it tells us that at this point, 3-1/2 years after confirming the 7-year Covenant with the Jews--"in the midst of the week"--he not only forcibly enters their newly rebuilt Temple there on Mount Moriah, Jerusalem, & "takes away the daily sacrifice," but he also "places" something called "the Abomination of Desolation"!
37. FIVE HUNDRED YEARS AFTER DANIEL GAVE THIS PROPHECY, JESUS, IN HIS FAMOUS DISSERTATION ON "THE SIGNS OF HIS COMING & OF THE END OF THE WORLD" in Matthew Chapter 24, said, "When ye therefore shall see the Abomination of Desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place"--obviously the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem--"whoso readeth, let him understand"--this is very important, you'd better understand!--"Then shall be Great Tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the World to this time, no, nor ever shall be!" (Mt.24:15,21).
38. TIME & AGAIN THE BIBLE REFERS TO THIS LAST HALF OF THE ANTICHRIST'S 7-YEAR REIGN AS THE "GREAT TRIBULATION".--The last horrible, terrible Tribulation period of which the Scriptures have spoken for millenniums!--"A time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time!" (Dan.12:1).--The end of man's reign on the Earth, the last 3-1/2 years of the Antichrist's 7-year reign. Daniel talks about it, Isaiah talks about it, Jeremiah talks about it, Ezekiel talks about it, Jesus talked about it, Paul talked about it, Mark talked about it, Matthew talked about it & the beloved Apostle John who wrote the Book of Revelation talked about it!
39. NEARLY EVERY PROPHET OF GOD WHO EVER WROTE A WORD IN THIS BOOK TALKED ABOUT THAT LAST ENDTIME OF GREAT SORROW & GREAT TRIBULATION, great trouble, great turmoil, great suffering, the World's worst in all of its History!--Which will occur very soon! The Bible is very specific about it & even tells us exactly how long this Tribulation period will last!--It tells us that it will be 3-1/2 years, 42 months, or 1260 days! (Dan.7:25; 9:27; 12:7; Rev.11:2,3; 12:6,14; 13:5).--And we'll cover more on these Scriptures later on in this lesson.
40. BUT WHAT DID JESUS SAY THE CUE WOULD BE, THE SIGN, THE SIGNAL, THAT WOULD SHOW US WHEN THIS TERRIBLE TRIBULATION PERIOD WOULD BEGIN? The Lord said, "When ye therefore shall see the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet stand in the holy place, then shall be Great Tribulation"! So the placing of this Abomination of Desolation obviously introduces the Great Tribulation period, & when you see it standing there you'll know the Tribulation has begun!
41. SO THE BIG QUESTION NOW IS, WHAT IS THIS ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION? Jesus said you'd see it "stand in the Holy Place." And Daniel 11:31 says he "places the Abomination that maketh desolate." Daniel 12:11 says that "the Abomination of Desolation shall be set up." He places it, he sets it up & it stands there, & later on in the 13th Chapter of Revelation we find out that it's an Image of himself!--It says very clearly that it's an "Image of the Beast," of the Antichrist! And as we study this Image in detail in a short while, you'll learn that it's not just a dumb statue of wood or stone, but it will be the most amazing machine man has ever made, which will be able to "both speak, & cause that as many as would not worship the Image of the Beast should be killed!" (Rev.13:15).
42. SO IN THAT MOST SACRED OF ALL PLACES IN THE WHOLE EARTH TO THE JEWS, the Temple area of Mount Moriah, Jerusalem, the Antichrist will erect or "set up" a magical Image of himself, the "Abomination of Desolation", to be worshipped by the whole World, when he abolishes all other religions & proclaims that they must now worship him as God!
43. IN FACT, WE KNOW THAT HE WILL NOT ONLY PLACE HIS IMAGE, THIS ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, IN THE REBUILT TEMPLE FOR ALL TO WORSHIP, BUT THE ANTICHRIST HIMSELF WILL SIT IN THE TEMPLE OF GOD AS GOD, SHOWING HIMSELF THAT HE IS GOD! He'll pretend to be God & will try to force everybody to worship himself directly! The Apostle Paul wrote, "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, & by our gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, that the day of Christ is at hand" (2Th.2:1,2).--In other words he was telling them, "Don't be worried that the day of Jesus' Second Coming & the Rapture of the Church is at hand." After all, back then when he wrote this, it certainly wasn't the Endtime yet!--It's taken almost 2,000 years to get to this point!
44. "LET NO MAN DECEIVE YOU BY ANY MEANS: FOR THAT DAY"--OF CHRIST'S SECOND COMING--"SHALL NOT COME, EXCEPT THERE COME A FALLING AWAY FIRST, & THAT MAN OF SIN BE REVEALED, THE SON OF PERDITION; who opposeth & exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, shewing himself that he is God!" (2Th.2:3,4.) There it is! Do you get that? What's going to happen before Jesus comes? Paul is telling you here just as plain as day! He said, "That day shall not come except there come this falling away first & that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition."--The son of Hell!--The son of the Devil!--The Antichrist!--"Who opposeth & exalteth himself above all that is called God!"
45. SO HE IS NOT ONLY GOING TO SET UP AN IDOL OF HIMSELF, HIS IMAGE, THERE IN THE "HOLY PLACE" IN JERUSALEM & COMMAND THE WORLD TO WORSHIP IT, but he is going to sit in the very Temple of God that the Jews have rebuilt right there on that holiest of holy places & proclaim that he is God: "Worship me!" He's going to sit down upon his throne in the Temple of God, saying that he is God! "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work!" (2Th.2:7.)--That's what the Antichrist & his kingdom are!--A mystery that's going to be so diabolical, so devilish, so fiendish, that it's going to be a mystery of iniquity! "Doth already work!"--Sure, the Devil was busy working in Paul's day, & he's certainly working in ours! In fact, God Himself spoke to us & told us that the Author of Confusion is already gathering his forces for the Great Confusion!--And that was 18 years ago in 1965! So I'm convinced that he is already busy working his way to World Power from behind the scenes! He's already alive & working at it!
46. "ONLY HE WHO NOW LETTETH WILL LET, UNTIL HE BE TAKEN OUT OF THE WAY." (2Th.2:7.) The original meaning of this old English word "let" was "prevent," or hold back. So He Who now preventeth the Antichrist & the Devil from taking over the World will keep on preventing it, or withholding it--this flood of iniquity, this flood of evil that's going to take over the World when the Antichrist & the Devil reign as king & as God--until He's taken out of the way.
47. IN OTHER WORDS, GOD & HIS HOLY SPIRIT & THEIR RESTRAINING INFLUENCE ARE KEEPING THE WORLD IN CHECK RIGHT NOW! God has been holding back the floodtide of evil & the flood of iniquity, the flood of Satanic forces! He's been holding them back! But one of these days soon, when "He Who now letteth is taken out of the way" & the restraints of the Holy Spirit of God are lifted, like a dam being opened or removed, a flood of iniquity is going to circle the World under the reign of the Devil himself in the person of the Antichrist!
48. "AND THEN SHALL THAT WICKED BE REVEALED, WHOM THE LORD SHALL CONSUME WITH THE SPIRIT OF HIS MOUTH, & shall destroy with the brightness of His coming! Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power & signs & lying wonders!" (2Th.2:8,9.) The Biblical picture is that he's going to be the child of the Devil, Satan in person in the form of a man.--The Devil is finally going to get what he's been after all the time, kingship of the whole World! He's always wanted to rule the World & he's going to get his final chance with the Antichrist, when he really will rule the whole World with tremendous power!
THE DRAGON AND THE BEAST!
49. GOD'S WORD TELLS US IN REVELATION THAT IT IS IN THE MIDST OF THE SEVEN YEARS--at this middle moment when the Antichrist breaks the Covenant & decides to set up an Image of himself & commands that the whole World worship him--at this time the Antichrist will become possessed of Satan himself! He will become the Devil in person, the Devil incarnate, & he will run the World for the next 3-1/2 years as the Devil himself, because he will be the Devil himself in the flesh of a man.
50. "AND THERE WAS WAR IN HEAVEN: MICHAEL & HIS ANGELS FOUGHT AGAINST THE DRAGON; & the dragon fought & his angels, & prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in Heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, & Satan, which deceiveth the whole World: he was cast out into the Earth, & his angels were cast out with him." (Rev.12:7-9.) At this time Satan is cast out of Heaven with a third of the rebellious angels that follow him down into the Earth for the last 3-1/2 years of Earth's History! (Rev.12:4.)
51. YOU SAY, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WERE DEMONS & DEVILS & REBELS IN HEAVEN!" Well, you haven't read your Bible very well! In the Book of Job, Satan is even called one of the "sons of God"! Although he is in rebellion against God, he still appears before Him in the courts of Heaven accusing the Saints day & night throughout all History! Job 2:1 says, "There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, & Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord." And back in Revelation after he's finally cast out: "And I heard a loud voice saying in Heaven, Now is come salvation, & strength, & the Kingdom of our God, & the power of His Christ: For the accuser of our brethren is cast down which accused them before our God day & night!" (Rev.12:10.)
52. THEREFORE THE HEAVENLY VOICE WARNS: "WOE TO THE INHABITERS OF THE EARTH & OF THE SEA! FOR THE DEVIL IS COME DOWN UNTO YOU, HAVING GREAT WRATH, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time!" (Rev.12:12.) And therefore that last, short period of World History, 3-1/2 years of Great Tribulation, is the worst in all World History, in which the Devil rants & raves & rampages across the face of the Earth!--No longer able to soar into the heights of Heaven & accuse us before God, but cast out of his place & cast down to the Earth, confined here, & soon to be chained & confined to the very darkness & flames of Hell in the heart of the Earth!
53. BECAUSE HE KNOWS HIS TIME IS SHORT & HE ONLY HAS 3-1/2 YEARS, he makes the best of that 3-1/2 years by inspiring the Antichrist, possessing him like a demon-possession, only it's a Devil-possession, Satan himself possessing him! Then the Earth will soon see that he is not the Messiah! And the Jews, who are first to recognise him, will also soon realise that he is not their Messiah!--And instead of bringing the Heaven on Earth that he promised, he brings Hell on Earth!
54. "AND WHEN THE DRAGON SAW THAT HE WAS CAST OUT UNTO THE EARTH, HE PERSECUTED THE WOMAN"--the true Church, the Bride of Christ, those who have received Jesus as their Saviour.--"And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, & times, & half a time, from the face of the serpent." (Rev.12:13,14.) Here again is the 3-1/2 year period of Tribulation of the Church!--With the Dragon, Satan, cast out of Heaven & persecuting the Church, who has fled to her place for "a time (1 year), times (2 years) & half a time" (1/2 year), 3-1/2 years, "from the face of the serpent!"
55. IN THESE LAST 3-1/2 YEARS HE'S NO LONGER GOING TO BE ABLE TO GO BEFORE THE COURT OF GOD ACCUSING YOU IN HEAVEN, he's gonna be right here, face-to-face with you, not only accusing you, but persecuting & trying to kill you! "And the dragon was wroth with the woman & went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God & have the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev.12:17.)--Now in the next Chapter we find out that the Devil wages his war & wrath against the Church through the bestial Antichrist World dictator whom he possesses!
56. "AND I STOOD UPON THE SAND OF THE SEA, & SAW A BEAST RISE UP OUT OF THE SEA"--the sea of humanity--"having seven heads & ten horns, & upon his horns ten crowns, & upon his heads the name of blasphemy." (Rev.13:1.) If you read the 7th Chapter of the Book of Daniel, you'll again see this great beast in its various forms, & learn that it represents various World empires that have ruled the Earth. In Revelation Chapter 17, we learn that "the seven heads are seven kings"--or kingdoms--"five are fallen"--Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia & Greece had all come & gone--"one is"--the Roman Empire was in power when John wrote this--"& the other is not yet come."--The Antichrist's final World empire!--"And when he cometh, he must continue a short space." (Rev.17:9,10.) So these seven heads are the seven great World empires that come & go upon the stage of History from the days of earliest Egypt to this last great Antichrist empire which is rising now.
57. "AND THE TEN HORNS WHICH THOU SAWEST ARE TEN KINGS, WHICH HAVE RECEIVED NO KINGDOM AS YET; BUT RECEIVE POWER AS KINGS ONE HOUR"--A VERY SHORT TIME--"WITH THE BEAST."--The Antichrist. (Rev.17:12.) Because these ten kings, kingdoms or powers had "received no kingdom as yet" during John's day, at the time of the 6th head, the Roman Empire, it's obvious that these "ten horns" are all on the final seventh head, the Antichrist! "These have one mind, & shall give their power & strength unto the Beast." (Rev.17:13.) In the Book of Daniel, these same 10 World powers who cooperate with & help put the Antichrist into power are described in further detail in Daniel 2:34,41-43 and Daniel 7:7,8,20-24.
58. "AND THE BEAST WHICH I SAW, THE DRAGON GAVE HIM HIS POWER, & HIS SEAT, & GREAT AUTHORITY!" (Rev.13:2.) That great red dragon that we just saw in the previous Chapter--Satan himself who has been cast out of Heaven, who in great wrath persecutes & wars against the Church for 3-1/2 years of Great Tribulation--does what with this 7th head, this last World empire's Antichrist emperor?--Gives him his "power & his seat & great authority!" The old serpent himself possesses this monster, this Beast, this Antichrist man!
59. BACK IN DANIEL CHAPTER EIGHT, WE AGAIN FIND THAT THE ANTICHRIST'S GREAT POWER IS NOT OF HIMSELF: "In the Latter Time, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, & understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power"--by Satan's power--"& he shall destroy wonderfully, & shall prosper, & practice, & shall destroy the mighty & the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; & he shall magnify himself in his heart, & by peace shall destroy many." (Dan.8:23-25.) Now, back to Revelation 13:
60. "AND I SAW ONE OF HIS HEADS AS IT WERE WOUNDED TO DEATH; & his deadly wound was healed: & all the World wondered after the Beast."--This monster!--"And they worshipped the dragon"--the Devil!--"which gave power unto the Beast"--the Antichrist--"& they worshipped the Beast saying, Who is like unto the Beast? Who is able to make war with him?" (Rev.13:3,4.)
61. NO WONDER THE ANTICHRIST IS SO POWERFUL & SUCH A SUPERMAN & WONDER-WORKER! Satan has at last been cast out of Heaven & in his fury, knowing that his time is short, he possesses this Antichrist, this Beast, & makes him a Superman, a Devil-man, the Devil in the flesh, like Jesus was God in the flesh! He will be the Devil in the flesh who will run the World & command all to worship him & attempt to slaughter all who refuse!
62. SO APPARENTLY DURING THE FIRST 3-1/2 YEARS OF HIS REIGN, THE ANTICHRIST IS CERTAINLY INSPIRED OF THE DEVIL & given wisdom of Satan & so on, but it's at that "midst of the week" crisis point, when he breaks the Covenant, stops the sacrifice, sets up his Image & says, "Worship me!"--that's when he becomes personally possessed of the Devil, Satan himself!--So when the Antichrist sets up his Image & says to the World, "Worship me," who is really talking?--The Devil, the "god of this World"! (2Co.4:4.) That's what he always wanted!--The whole World to worship him! And he's going to get it--for awhile!--Except from us & others who love the Lord & will dare to defy & resist him!
63. "AND THERE WAS GIVEN UNTO HIM"--TO THE BEAST, THE ANTICHRIST--"A MOUTH SPEAKING GREAT THINGS & BLASPHEMIES. And power was given unto him to continue forty-&-two months." (Rev.13:5.) There again we have the 3-1/2 years of Tribulation! "And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His Name, & His Tabernacle, & them that dwell in Heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints & to overcome them: & power was given him over all kindreds, & tongues, & nations." (Rev.13:6,7.)
64. NOW, WHAT DID IT MEAN WHEN IT SAID, "ONE OF HIS"--THE 7-HEADED BEAST--"HEADS WAS WOUNDED TO DEATH; & HIS DEADLY WOUND WAS HEALED"? (Rev.13:3.)--Well, we know that this is referring to the seventh head, the Antichrist, because later on in this same Chapter we see that the Antichrist has a false prophet, a promoter, who "causeth the Earth & them which dwell therein to worship the Beast, whose deadly wound was healed...saying to them that dwell on the Earth, that they should make an Image to the Beast, which had the wound by a sword & did live!" (Rev.13:12-14.)
65. IN REVELATION 17, AGAIN SPEAKING OF THE ANTICHRIST, it says that "they that dwell on the Earth shall wonder, when they behold the Beast that was, & is not, & yet is ... the Beast that was, & is not, even he is the eighth, & is of the seven, & goeth into perdition." (Rev.17:8,11.) Now this Beast that we've been reading about has only seven heads, representing the seven great World empires or kingdoms!--So where does this eighth one pop up from? "The Beast that was, & is not, even he is the eighth, & is of the seven."
66. THE ONLY THING I CAN THINK OF THAT THIS COULD POSSIBLY MEAN IS THAT WHEN HE FIRST RISES TO POWER & CONFIRMS THE 7-YEAR COVENANT, he is the seventh great World empire, that of the Antichrist.--But he is not yet really completely anti-Christ, he hasn't yet been fully possessed of the Devil, he hasn't become the Antichrist, although he is the seventh great one-World government. But at the point of the Abomination of Desolation "in the midst of the week," 3-1/2 years after confirming the Covenant, he becomes possessed of the Devil & thus becomes a new government, totally of the Devil, the Antichrist! It looks like the very same man, the seventh head, only he is now the eighth!
67. "HE WAS & IS NOT & YET IS"--THIS WOULD EXPLAIN "WOUNDED UNTO DEATH & HIS DEADLY (FATAL) WOUND WAS HEALED...WHICH HAD THE WOUND BY A SWORD & DID LIVE." (Rev.13:3,14.) It looks like the Anti-christ will be shot, assassinated, killed, "wounded unto death"--of course they didn't have guns back then, but guns are our modern "swords" of today--yet supernaturally he will come back to life by the miraculous power of the Devil!--He possesses him & raises him as it were from the dead!--A "resurrection" which could serve as his credentials to divinity! He will then no longer be the same, the man who brought World peace & settled the problems & made the Covenant about Jerusalem, etc.--He will be the same young man, but yet not the same!
68. HE'LL STILL BE THE SEVENTH HEAD, & YET HE'S NOT: "EVEN HE IS THE EIGHTH, & IS OF THE SEVEN!" The World won't know the difference really, they'll think it's the same government, the same man--but the Devil will take him over! This would explain the tremendous change, why he suddenly breaks the Covenant, profanes the altar, places the Abomination of Desolation, the Image of the Beast, & causes himself to be worshipped--which sounds just like the Devil all the way! He will be Satan incarnate, Satan in the flesh, just as Jesus was God in the flesh! And all this will result in Hell on Earth during those last 3-1/2 years of the Antichrist's reign, because he will have become the Devil himself! (See also No.1571, "How Is The Antichrist's Deadly Wound Healed?")
"THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST!"
69. AS WE'VE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, THE ANTICHRIST, THIS "BEAST," HAS A FALSE PROPHET who becomes his greatest promoter, his propaganda master, who promotes him & his worship & is actually the one who insists that this great Image, a great idol of the Beast, this monster, be built, & that all the World fall down & worship his Image or be killed!
70. "AND I BEHELD ANOTHER BEAST COMING UP OUT OF THE EARTH; & he had two horns like a lamb, & he spake as a dragon." (Rev.13:11.) Here is the false prophet--not the Lamb of God, but the lamb of the Devil! "And he exerciseth all the power of the first Beast before him, & causeth the Earth & them which dwell therein to worship the first Beast."--The Antichrist. "And he"--this false prophet, this false lamb--"doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from Heaven on the Earth in the sight of men, & deceiveth them that dwell on the Earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the Beast; saying to them that dwell on the Earth, that they should make an Image to the Beast, which had the wound by a sword, & did live." (Rev.13:12-14.)
71. "AND HE HAD POWER TO GIVE LIFE UNTO THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST, that the Image of the Beast should both speak, & cause that as many as would not worship the Image of the Beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small & great, rich & poor, free & 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. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the Beast; for it is the number of a man; & his number is Six hundred threescore & six." His number is six hundred sixty-six!--666!
72. SO THERE YOU HAVE THE CONCLUSION OF REVELATION 13, A VERY UNLUCKY CHAPTER! The killing of all those who refuse to worship the Image of the Beast here is obviously the beginning of the Great Tribulation. And as I've already said, I am convinced that this Image is the thing which is "set up" in the "holy place," which is "placed" there & "stands" there--the Abomination of Desolation.--Nothing is more abominable to the Jews, Muslims & true Christians than an idol & blatant idolatry, so I'm convinced that that's what it is.--This Image is the "Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet"! (Mt.24:15.)
73. THIS FALSE PROPHET OF THE ANTICHRIST HAS "POWER TO GIVE LIFE UNTO THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST." (Rev.13:15.)--That could mean electrical power, or it could be spiritual, demonic power--real spiritual life. You know, they're already working on electronic equipment which enables you to turn a TV on & off or select a channel just by thinking--& that has tremendous possibilities. Spirits usually have to use man as their receiver, because he's the only one who's spiritually sensitive enough to get their spiritual impulses. But now man is building machines, equipment, which will be spiritually sensitive enough to be operated & activated by tiny little mental impulses, by thought.
74. SEE, NO MATTER HOW "INTELLIGENT" THESE COMPUTERS ARE, THE ONE THING THEY LACK, IN A SENSE, IS A SOUL, A CONSCIOUS SPIRIT. But the Image of the Beast, which I'm convinced will be some kind of super-computer, will actually be demonically inspired to where it actually does have demon intelligence, more than just what man has programmed it with & fed into it.--So that it will be a real wonder, & will really be worshipped! It will be the ultimate in idolatry: Man worshipping the crowning creation of his own hands!
75. MAN WILL FINALLY HAVE CREATED HIS OWN GOD THAT CAN ACTUALLY TALK & SPEAK & MAKE DECISIONS, ETC.--The Image of the Beast!--And things are getting more & more that way all the time! Did you notice who Time magazine just selected as "the Man of the Year" for 1982?--For the first time in the magazine's history, the "Man of the Year" was not a man at all, but a computer!--Look how the World is being prepared for a mechanical god, an Electronic Brain, a Computer Deity!
76. THIS IMAGE IS GIVEN "LIFE, THAT THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST SHOULD BOTH SPEAK, & CAUSE THAT AS MANY AS SHOULD NOT WORSHIP THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST SHOULD BE KILLED." (Rev.13:15.) It certainly sounds like it's some kind of an automaton, a robot, operated by some kind of computers!--A cybernetic robot, computerised so that it can speak & talk & move & even act like it's alive & command the worship of the World! Think of that! It will be able to not only speak, but kill!--Or cause to be killed somehow. Maybe it speaks & condemns them to death?--We'll find out soon enough!
"THE MARK OF THE BEAST!"
77. "AND HE CAUSETH ALL, BOTH SMALL & GREAT, RICH & POOR, FREE & BOND, TO RECEIVE A MARK IN THEIR RIGHT HAND OR IN THEIR FOREHEADS: & 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." (Rev.13:16.) The time is soon coming when paper money will no longer be used as a medium of exchange! The money medium of exchange will be replaced by a very remarkable credit system in which every person in the World who belongs to the System will bear a credit number, without which he can neither buy nor sell, & by which he is accredited in his governmental account with the value of whatever goods or services he produces, & to which he can charge the goods & services that he himself needs.
78. MEN WILL NO LONGER BUY NOR SELL WITH MONEY AS A MEANS OF EXCHANGE, BUT WITH A NUMBER, a number which will be given them permanently, without any possibility of counterfeit, change, manipulation or forgery, because it will be branded on each person: "A mark in their right hand or in their foreheads." Every man will have his own number, every member of the World System will be branded or tattooed with the Mark of the Beast like cattle for the slaughter, & will be forced to worship the Beast & his Image or be killed!
79. "HERE IS WISDOM,"--IN OTHER WORDS, "HERE'S A REAL CONUNDRUM, A RIDDLE FOR YOU. FIGURE THIS ONE OUT!"--"Let him that hath understanding"--let somebody real smart who's got understanding, & of course only the Holy Spirit can give that kind of understanding--"count the number of the Beast: for it is the number of a man; & his number is Six hundred three-score & six!" It says that his number will be the number of a man, & it says specifically that his number is 666! Now despite the fact that some folks claim to know all about this, I'm afraid we'll have to confess that we're not yet sure exactly what this means. Of course, throughout the Bible the number 6 has been significant as being man's number, the number of man, just incomplete of God's perfection of seven. But I'm sure when the time comes & this last great government of man takes over, the Lord will give us His understanding of all this. (Dan.12:10.)
80. IT'S REALLY SHOCKING TO SEE HOW THINGS ARE ALREADY WORKING IN THIS DIRECTION! In fact, some of them are getting to the point where they're actually bragging about it & flaunting the number! In 1974, Dr. Henrick Eldeman, Chief Analyst for the European Economic Community, unveiled a gigantic 3-story-tall super-computer in Brussels which has been appropriately called "The Beast" by those who work with it. It is claimed by many, including Dr. Patrick Fisher, renowned Canadian computer scientist, that every individual from the industrial trading nations who has ever been issued a birth certificate, a social security number, a credit card or passport, is already tied-in personally to this computer. And in 1977, Dr. Eldeman triumphantly announced that he was ready to begin assigning a number to every person in the World; & that he "plans to use a three 6-digital unit, or 18 numbers."--Sound familiar?
81. THIS IS SOMETHING THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR YEARS & they've already got this whole new credit system in the works! The whole World will soon buy on this credit system with no currency, no cheques, no paper money, & you won't even need any more credit cards, because you will be your own credit card! You will have your invisible electronic number in your hand or in your forehead which can somehow be read by the cashier, or whoever you're buying goods from, who will then tap your number into his machine to see if you really have that much credit & to charge that up to your account & so on!
82. DR. R. KEY OF WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY HAS DEVELOPED WHAT IS DESCRIBED AS "A UNIVERSAL UNALTERABLE MARK" which is "laser-branded" onto pets & livestock for identification purposes, & its use is already widespread. According to the doctor, by fully implementing this technology every animal in the World could be individually identified. "It is quick & painless, & it is theoretically possible to include man as another one of these animals," says the doctor, who admits that he has branded himself in this fashion by way of experiment.
83. {\ul \i NEWSWEEK} MAGAZINE TELLS US THAT ANOTHER SIMILAR, BUT PERHAPS MORE SOPHISTICATED IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM HAS RECENTLY BEEN DEVELOPED: "'System ID' involves implanting a tiny electronic chip into an animal's muscle where it can be detected by a scanning instrument. Each chip is injected into the animal using a syringe. It is then coded with a unique 12-digit number. Whenever an animal's identity needs to be verified, as in cases of theft, a scanning device is brushed over the animal's skin to activate a signal in the chip. The device has been tested & found safe & painless to animals."
84. ANOTHER BIT OF INFORMATION THAT HAS SURFACED RECENTLY IS THAT THE BANKING INDUSTRY, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, HAS COMPLETED THE TESTING OF A SOFT INJECTABLE PLASTIC FOR HUMANS, manufactured by a laboratory in Orlando, Florida. Upon injection, this liquid substance smooths out under the skin much like water does on a flat surface & becomes semi-hard, forming a permanent underskin shield on which a tatoo gun can imprint a mark or number using a laser beam. Regarding this, it's interesting to note that in Revelation 13:16 it says, "in the right hand, or in the forehead," not on.
85. SO THEY ALREADY HAVE THE SYSTEM DEVISED WHEREBY THIS NUMBER COULD BE TATTOOED INVISIBLY IN YOUR HAND OR IN YOUR FOREHEAD.--They've already got the whole thing in the works! And of course, once this new system is implemented, it can easily be centrally controlled by one-World organisation, the coming one-World government. There will be a one-World economy & there will be no more differences in types of currency & all this terrible confusion there is about monetary exchange today. The whole World will be on one medium of exchange, this system of credit, & it will be universal. They say it will simplify the whole economic system & that it will be very easy to operate--& of course, it will also be very easy to control.
86. SENATOR FRANK CHURCH, CHAIRMAN OF A COMMITTEE INVESTIGATING U.S. INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES, apparently foresaw the awesome power such a one-World government/economic order could wield, when he said, "The government has the technological capacity to impose total tyranny if ever a dictator came to power. There would be no place to hide!"--And he's right!--There won't be!--Except for in the Lord & with His protection!
THE GEO-POLITICAL PICTURE!
87. BACK IN 1965 WE RECEIVED THE FAMOUS "WARNING PROPHECY" in which the Lord said: "Turn your eyes toward Memphis (the great political/commercial capital of the ancient Egyptian empire), for out of it shall come the Great Confusion!" He said that the Author of Confusion was already operating then & gathering nations around him in order to come, with the help of a great nation & nations of the East, to take over the World.
88. THIS "AUTHOR OF CONFUSION" DEFINITELY SOUNDS LIKE THE ANTICHRIST, & if so, then either he is to come from Egypt, or the beginning of this Endtime period will occur in Egypt or come out of Egypt in some way. Egypt, of course, has a great deal to do with Israel right now, & they are presently bound together in the "Camp David (Dis)Agreement" peace pact sponsored by the United States & opposed by most of the Arab World. So it's easy to see how Egypt could be very closely involved & have a major role in this last great drama of History on the stage of this World, fulfilling Bible Prophecy.
89. SO THE ANTICHRIST IS APPARENTLY EITHER GOING TO RISE OUT OF EGYPT or have something strongly to do with Egypt.--It must be that, just as the Lord considers Jerusalem so important to His World government of the future, so the Devil considers Egypt extremely important to his coming World government of the future.
90. APPARENTLY EGYPT IS VERY DEAR TO THE DEVIL, BECAUSE THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, DURING THE TIME OF THE GREAT PHARAOHS, IT WAS HIS WORLD CAPITAL, & at that time it was full of his demonic religion & his demon-possessed idols & demon-possessed people & witchcraft & magicians & all the rest! It was virtually a sample of the coming Antichrist World government. So perhaps the Devil, in a sense, is going to try to revive the grandeur & glory of ancient Egypt & his first great glorious Empire in the soon-coming government of the Antichrist! The famous prophetess, Jeanne Dixon, had a vision of the Antichrist as a descendent of the Pharaohs--& he's certainly a descendent of the Pharaohs in spirit, because he's anti-God, anti-Christ, anti the prophets of God, etc.!--So you'd better keep your eyes "turned towards Memphis"!
"EVEN NOW THE SKIES ARE RED, RED WITH WARNING!"
91. IF YOU RECALL FROM THE SCRIPTURES COVERED IN OUR FORMER STUDY ON THE "SIGNS OF THE TIMES!", WE'RE PRETTY SURE THAT THE ANTICHRIST IS EITHER GOING TO BE A RUSSIAN OR A COMMUNIST, or at least work with the Russian Communist World. Perhaps he's going to originally come from Egypt, but he might be up in Moscow taking his training & wind up being one of the leaders there who somehow gets into power & then comes down with his army & takes over Israel & establishes Jerusalem as an international city, etc. Let's take a look now at Daniel Chapter 11, which gives us a lot of detail on the Antichrist's movements & maneuvers.
92. "AFTER THE LEAGUE MADE WITH HIM HE SHALL WORK DECEITFULLY; for he shall come up, & shall become strong with a small people." (Dan.11:23.) I'm inclined to believe that this league is just another word for the Covenant. So it sounds like it's after the Antichrist makes this Covenant that he becomes powerful & rules the World!
93. "HE SHALL ENTER PEACEABLY EVEN UPON THE FATTEST PLACES OF THE PROVINCE; & he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, & spoil, & riches: yea, & he shall forecast his devices against the strongholds, even for a time." (Dan.11:24.) We've already covered these amazingly fulfilled verses in our "Signs of the Times!" study, paragraph numbers 56-64, but to refresh your memory, this certainly looks like a picture of Red Communism if I ever saw one! The Antichrist is at least going to use the tactics of Communism--which shows it works!
94. HE JUST WALKS IN PEACEABLY, HAVING WON THE HEARTS OF THE MASSES with his policies of sharing the wealth & "scattering among them the riches", etc.--"He shall come in peaceably & obtain the kingdom by flatteries." (Dan.11:21.) Of course with stubborn nations like the U.S. that refuse to "submit to the yoke" of this modern "King of Babylon" (Jer.27), "with the arms of a flood"--of atom bombs?--"shall they be overthrown from before him, & shall be broken." (Dan.11:22.) He gets his start with peaceful propaganda, but in the long run he takes over some by force.
95. ANOTHER REASON WHY WE BELIEVE THE ANTICHRIST WILL BE AN OUTSTANDING LEADER OF RUSSIA IS THAT THE SCRIPTURES SPEAK OF HIM AS "THE KING OF THE NORTH." (Dan.11:40.)--He's going to come from a nation in the North. From what we've heard from the Lord, he apparently originates down South, in North Africa, Egypt, but eventually the power of this dictator is going to be centered further North because he invades Israel from the North. And as we'll soon read from Ezekiel, he's even called Gog of the land of Magog, which is an ancient name for Russia.--So it's pretty definite that he's going to have something to do with Russia!
96. THE COMING CRASH OF THE CAPITALIST ECONOMIES OF THE WEST COULD UNDOUBTEDLY GIVE RUSSIA & THE ANTICHRIST THEIR OPPORTUNITY & CHANCE TO RESTORE ORDER & the economy & stability to the World, & a one-World government. Then will be the time of the 7-year pact of Daniel 9:27. After "confirming" the 7-year pact or Covenant, internationalising Jerusalem & settling things between the Jews & Arabs in Israel, it says, "Then shall he return into his land with great riches; & his heart shall be against the Holy Covenant; & he shall do exploits & return to his own land." (Dan.11:28.) He came down & straightened out Israel & Jerusalem & no doubt captured a lot of wealth & riches down there before returning to his own land in the North.
97. "AT THE TIME APPOINTED HE SHALL RETURN, & COME TOWARD THE SOUTH"--obviously from the North--"but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. For the ships of Chittim"--an ancient name for isles of the sea, & in this case, no doubt Britain--"shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, & return, & have indignation against the holy Covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, & have intelligence with them that forsake the holy Covenant. And arms shall stand on his part, & they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, & shall take away the daily sacrifice, & they shall place the Abomination that maketh desolate." (Dan.11:29-31.) Ahhhhh, now we see what's happening!
98. BECAUSE THIS ARMED INVASION OF ISRAEL WHEN HE "COMES TOWARD THE SOUTH" OCCURS AT THE SAME TIME THAT HE "PLACES THE ABOMINATION THAT MAKETH DESOLATE" IN THE JEWS' NEWLY REBUILT TEMPLE, WE KNOW THAT THIS IS 3-1/2 YEARS INTO HIS 7-YEAR REIGN!--This is when he becomes so angry that he completely invades Israel & conquers the whole Mideast & sets up his palace in Jerusalem, sets up his Image in the Temple area, & commands all the World to worship him as God! He commands that all that will not worship him shall be killed & that everyone should receive the Mark of the Beast, 666, in their hand or in their forehead or they'll not be able to buy or sell! (Rev.13:15-18.)
99. HE STOPS NOT ONLY THE JEWS' WORSHIP, but he stops the Muslims' & the Christians' worship also! But he's especially angry at the Jews, because they're the ones who are always causing the most trouble--the most rebellious, the most cantankerous, the most stubborn, the most disobedient & the most stiffnecked people on Earth! God said so & His prophets all said so! (Ez.2:3-8; Ac.7:51-53.) So he takes his "Image" to where the Temple of Jerusalem has been rebuilt & the Jews have started sacrificing again, as in their old Jewish worship, & he pollutes their sanctuary!
100. NOW THE SCRIPTURE SEEMS TO GO BACK & GIVE US A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON THIS "MID-WEEK" INVASION OF THE MIDEAST: "At the time of the End shall the king of the South push at him." This could be an Israeli leader, or perhaps a pro-West Egyptian leader--we'll certainly see when the time comes. But when he pushes against him, "the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, & with horsemen, & with many ships; & he shall enter into the countries, & shall overflow & pass over!" (Dan.11:40.)
101. THIS IS ALMOST IDENTICAL TO EZEKIEL'S PROPHECY OF THIS MASSIVE INVASION OF ISRAEL BY THE ANTICHRIST, where God calls him "Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech & Tubal." (Ez.38:2.)--"Gog" is the name given to the Antichrist here & "Magog" is the ancient Hebrew name for the land area which today is known as Russia. "Meshech & Tubal" are the ancient names for Moscow & Tobolsk.--The Lord tells him, "Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech & Tubal. And I will bring thee forth, & all thine army, horses & horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers & shields, all of them handling swords." (Ez.38:3,4.)
102. "PERSIA"--IRAN--"ETHIOPIA, & LIBYA WITH THEM; ALL OF THEM WITH SHIELD & HELMET: Gomer"--Germany--"& all his bands: the house of Togarmah"--Turkey--"of the North quarters, & all his bands: & many people with thee." (Ez.38:5,6.)--If you're wondering which way Iran is soon going to go, well, it's going to turn to Russia, of course. Ethiopia is already pro-communist, & Libya is definitely working with Russia! Half of Germany, of course, is already in Russian hands, & Turkey will also wind up in the Soviet camp.
103. "AFTER MANY DAYS THOU SHALT BE VISITED: IN THE LATTER YEARS THOU SHALT COME INTO THE LAND THAT IS BROUGHT BACK FROM THE SWORD."--Now he's talking to Gog, the Antichrist leader of Magog, Communist Russia.--You're going to "come into the land that is brought back from the sword, & is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel." (Ez.38:8.) Well, the Jews certainly have been brought back from suffering & persecution throughout the World & gathered out of many people, many nations all over the World.
104. "THOU SHALT ASCEND & COME LIKE A STORM, THOU SHALT BE LIKE A CLOUD TO COVER THE LAND, THOU, & ALL THY BANDS, & MANY PEOPLE WITH THEE. Thou shalt come forth from thy place out of the North parts." What direction is Russia from Israel?--Due North! "Thou, & many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, & a mighty army." Is the U.S.S.R. composed of many different people? Is the Communist World composed of many different nations? And what are the modern horses of today?--Tanks, guns, planes, etc.! "A great company & a mighty army: And thou shalt come up against My people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the Latter Days." (Ez.38:9,15,16.) When?--In these Last Days!
105. DAVID BEN-GURION, ISRAEL'S FIRST PRIME MINISTER, UNKNOWINGLY ATTESTED TO THE TRUTH OF EZEKIEL'S PROPHECY WHEN HE SAID, "WE ARE GOING TO BE INVADED BY RUSSIA & THE ARABS SOON. I feel it in my bones & I know how Russians think in their hierarchy. They want the minerals of the Dead Sea & the oil of the Middle East. But more than that they want the geographical position of Israel in the Middle East for themselves.
106. "THE LITTLE STATE OF ISRAEL IS A TINY BRIDGE TO THREE CONTINENTS. We are a bridge to Asia, Europe & Africa. Whoever controls this tiny strip of land has access to three major continents & this is the center of the Earth. You can go down the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean from our ports, & into the Mediterranean Sea to Europe & America from our ports. You have it all, & the Russians want it all!"
107. THAT THE RUSSIANS ARE PREPARED FOR THIS INVASION WAS BROUGHT OUT BY HENRY KISSINGER in his book, The White House Years. In this book, Kissinger quotes Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin, who told him, "If the Israelis threaten us, we will wipe them out within two days.--I can assure you our plans are made for this eventuality."--Now back to Daniel's account of the "king of the North's" Mideast conquest:
108. "HE SHALL ENTER ALSO INTO THE GLORIOUS LAND"--ISRAEL--"& MANY COUNTRIES SHALL BE OVERTHROWN: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, & Moab, & the chief of the children of Ammon." (Dan.11:41.) Edom, Moab & Ammon are Jordan today, & Jordan's got a good king who has always been a very good man, King Hussein. He's almost like a Christian & I believe he's a sincere religious man. So God's going to be good to Jordan & the Jordanians & their "chief," King Hussein.
109. "HE SHALL STRETCH FORTH HIS HAND ALSO UPON THE COUNTRIES: & THE LAND OF EGYPT SHALL NOT ESCAPE!" (Dan.11:42.) He says Jordan will escape, but Egypt won't escape. What does this show us?--When the showdown comes, Egypt is obviously going to be on the wrong side, fighting against Russia & the Antichrist government.
110. "BUT HE SHALL HAVE POWER OVER THE TREASURES OF GOLD & SILVER & ALL THE PRECIOUS THINGS OF EGYPT: & the Libyans & the Ethiopians shall be at his steps." (Dan.11:43.) Libya & Ethiopia have both recently become allies of the Soviet Union, & when the Antichrist walks in they are going to be "at his steps", meaning a place of submission, a place of subservience, a place of agreement, a place of cooperation.
111. "BUT TIDINGS OUT OF THE EAST & OUT OF THE NORTH SHALL TROUBLE HIM: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, & utterly to make away many." (Dan.11:44.) So all is not sweetness, peace & light in the Antichrist's kingdom.--He has his problems, as all dictators do, & not everybody loves him! He's going to have trouble with some of the countries in the East, & he's even going to have a little trouble with his own country in the North!
112. "AND HE SHALL PLANT THE TABERNACLES OF HIS PALACE BETWEEN THE SEAS IN THE GLORIOUS HOLY MOUNTAIN; yet he shall come to his end, & none shall help him." (Dan.11:45.) Where is he going to make his capital, the tabernacle of his palace?--Between what seas?--What glorious holy mountain? Well, there's only one mountain to the Jews that's called the "glorious holy mountain" & that's Mount Moriah, Jerusalem, upon which today stands the Dome of the Rock, the Mosque of Omar, & upon which used to stand their Temple.--The holiest mount in the World to all Jewry, Mount Moriah. And Jerusalem lies right between the Dead Sea & the Mediterranean! Remember what we learned in 2nd Thessalonians 2?--"And he shall sit in the Temple of God, as God, showing himself that he is God!" (2Th.2:4.)
"THE GREAT TRIBULATION!"
113. WHEN THE ANTICHRIST REACHES THE "MIDST OF THE WEEK" & TRIES TO WIPE OUT ALL RELIGIONS & ESTABLISH HIS WORLD RELIGION OF SELF-WORSHIP OF THE DEVIL & HIS IDOL, THIS IS WHEN HE REALLY STARTS GETTING INTO TROUBLE--both with the peoples of the World & the religions of the World & their followers--& he begins having all kinds of wars, some of which we just read about in Daniel 11. He has wars with different areas & nations & peoples--no doubt with those who are the most religious--& he has a lot of problems in those last days of his reign.--And God will give him a lot of problems, too!
114. THAT FINAL 3-1/2 YEARS WILL BE THE MOST DIFFICULT, AS JESUS HIMSELF SAID, "Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the World to this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Mt.24:21.) Many will refuse to accept the Mark of the Beast, obey him or bow down to his Image, & as a result many will be slaughtered. It says many shall "fall by the sword, & by flame, by captivity & by spoil." (Dan.11:33.) Multitudes, no doubt millions, will be killed!--There will be 3-1/2 years of horrible persecution of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. All religions will be forbidden, banned & persecuted! (See Dan.11:36,37.)
115. WHEN HE FIRST ARISES AS A GREAT WORLD LEADER, THE WHOLE WORLD THINKS HE'S GREAT & FOLLOWS HIM, except, of course, we who really know God's Word & will recognise who & what he really is. Millions will believe in the Antichrist & follow him. It even says, "all the World wondered after the Beast!" (Rev.13:3.)--Well, they may all be deceived by him & wonder & wander after him for awhile, at least until the middle of his reign.
116. BUT WHEN HE SUDDENLY INVADES JERUSALEM, sets up an idol of himself in the Holy Place & sits in the Temple of God saying that he is God--"fall down & worship me & my idol & accept my brand or you're going to be killed!"--At that point, obviously, many millions of people will reject the Mark, refuse to worship him & his Image, & will rebel against his Satanic kingdom, resulting in nothing but trouble from then on according to the Bible.
117. THERE WILL BE LITERALLY MILLIONS WHO WILL REJECT THE MARK OF THE BEAST & refuse to fall down & worship his Image, & who will even as nations rebel against him & fight him, which accounts for some of those wars & turmoil we just read about in Daniel. So the whole World is not going to be in perfect peace during those last 3-1/2 years, & he's not going to have absolute control. There will be all kinds of people who will rise up & realise that he's not the right guy & he's not good for them or the World, that he's the Devil himself & devilish & demonic & the worst thing that ever happened to the World!--And they're going to rebel & refuse to follow his orders. They're going to refuse to take the Mark of the Beast!
118. REMEMBER BACK IN REVELATION 12 WHEN SATAN WAS FINALLY CAST OUT OF HEAVEN down to Earth, "having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time"? (Rev.12:12.)--What was the first thing he immediately began to do?--"And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the Earth, he persecuted the woman"--the Bride of Christ, the Church--"& the dragon was wroth with the woman, & went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, & have the testimony of Jesus Christ!" (Rev.12:13,17.)--He's particularly going to be out to get you & me & anyone who loves Jesus & is a part of His Bride!
119. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT ANYBODY WHO ACCEPTS THE MARK OF THE BEAST IS GOING TO BE DAMNED, SO OBVIOUSLY NO TRULY SAVED CHRISTIAN IS GOING TO ACCEPT IT! "If any man worship the Beast & his Image, & receive his Mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; & he shall be tormented with fire & brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, & in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever & ever: & they have no rest day nor night, who worship the Beast & his Image, & whosoever receiveth the Mark of his name." (Rev.14:9-11.)
120. SO OF COURSE THE TRUE CHRISTIANS, THE TRUE BELIEVERS IN GOD, WILL NOT ACCEPT THAT MARK!--Because the Bible says that we who love Jesus will already have the invisible Mark of God in our foreheads--faith in Jesus Christ! The rest of the World, at least those who are following the Antichrist, this horrible Beast, will have the Mark of the Beast in their foreheads & in their hands as they follow & worship him.--But we who love the Lord cannot accept that Mark of the Beast, & we will not! If you love Jesus, you will refuse the Mark of the Beast, because you'll have God's Mark in your forehead already! (See Revelation 7:2,3; 9:3,4.)
121. AND ALTHOUGH THE BEAST COMMANDS THAT NO ONE CAN BUY NOR SELL WITHOUT THE MARK & that anyone who refuses to worship his Image should be killed, we will refuse! We will refuse both the Mark & the worship of the Image, & therefore they will try to kill us, & we will not be able to buy nor sell food or clothing or shelter or the necessities of life. We will undoubtedly have to flee into the "wilderness" for survival, to prevent our being killed for not worshipping the Image of the Beast & to survive without being able to buy or sell.--But God is going to take care of us!
122. JUST BECAUSE THEY TELL YOU TO STOP WORSHIPPING THE LORD & to worship the Beast, to worship the Antichrist, to worship the Devil, do you have to?--Even if they tell you that unless you get his Mark, 666, in your forehead or in your hand you can't buy or sell anymore, you can't go to the grocery store & buy groceries, & if you're a farmer you can't sell your produce, does that mean you have to?--No! He only threatens to kill everybody! Well, the Devil's been trying to kill all God's people for thousands of years, but he's never succeeded! He's managed to kill a few, sometimes quite a few, but he's never managed to kill them all! So he may get a few of us--if he can catch us!
123. THIS TRIBULATION PERIOD WILL BE THE END OF ANY KIND OF ASSOCIATION WITH THE SYSTEM WHATSOEVER FOR TRUE CHRISTIANS, any connection or any survival with its approval. It will be impossible to survive except by miracles of God & faith & living by faith in a survival situation, totally & entirely independent from the System, without its Mark & without its approval & without its benefits, unable to buy or sell. We will have to subsist in a survival situation, underground, & do the best we can to survive & continue to witness, much like the Early Christians did from the catacombs during the Roman persecutions.
124. IN THESE COMING DAYS, THE DISOBEDIENT & UNDEDICATED CHRISTIANS WILL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO TRY TO SERVE BOTH "GOD & MAMMON"! (Mt.6:24.)--Because it will be impossible to live within the System unless they accept the Mark of the Beast. At last the Church will be forced to obey God's call to "come out from among them, & be ye separate, & touch not the unclean thing; & I will receive you!" (2Co.6:17.) But how much better if they'd "forsake all & take up their cross daily & be not conformed to this World, but be transformed" now, when it's purely voluntary! (Lk.14:33; 9:23,24; Rom.12:1,2.)--Do you?
125. AS THE WORLD SLIPS INTO THIS NEW DARK AGE OF ANTI-CHRIST, ANTI-GOD SAVAGERY, if we, as Christians, do not hole up in the "catacombs" beneath "Rome", we're not going to survive! We will have to go underground! The time of suffering & persecution under the Roman Empire during the early days of the Church was very similar to what will happen under the coming Antichrist Empire, because Rome was also very anti-Christ. So if you want to know what it's going to be like under the Antichrist, just read the stories & accounts of the Early Church under the anti-Christ Roman Empire.
126. THERE'LL BE LITTLE CHANGE FOR THE CHRISTIANS IN RUSSIA TODAY WHO ARE LEARNING HOW TO SURVIVE UNDER A COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT. There'll be very little change for those living under governments which the Communists have taken over & where they've already learned to exist & survive & work & thrive under a totalitarian government of some kind, where open witnessing or literature distribution is totally forbidden, & even secret witnessing is dangerous but possible. Of course, if you're really following the Lord, your very life & your light & your example & your love are a constant witness in themselves & sufficient & all that God may expect of you, until they come to you & ask you why.
127. THEN, OF COURSE, WHEN THEY SEEK YOU OUT & you know that they're sincere & they really want to know, you're going to have to tell them, & they too may become secret believers & continue to work under their government just as you do, but secretly believing, as literally tens of thousands, if not perhaps even millions, of Russians do today! You will then have to heed Christ's admonition, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents & harmless as doves!" (Mt.10:16.) You'd also do well to take a tip from the wise father in East Germany who advised his son, while living under that Communist regime, "You only need to be red like a radish: Just appear to be red on the outside, but all white on the inside!"
THE CHURCH IN TRIBULATION!
128. BACK IN THE LAST CENTURY, SOME DEAR CHRISTIANS, NICE CHURCHY CHRISTIANS, DECIDED THAT THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE TRIBULATION--the Lord couldn't possibly be that mean & cruel to them & that hard on'm as to cause a little testing & trying of their faith to bring out the pure gold, to see who really has faith & who hasn't! (1Pe.1:7.)
129. LET ME ASK YOU, WHAT DOES A GOOD FIGHTER LIKE?--A GOOD FIGHT! And what does a good runner like?--A good race! But the majority of the Church, being as lazy as it is today, as unconcerned & as scared & as fearful & everything else, doesn't want to fight, doesn't want to race, doesn't want any challenges, doesn't want to have to stand any tests, trials, afflictions or tribulation!--So they cooked up a nice little theory to get them out of it all, the "pre-Tribulation Rapture" doctrine, which has gained wide acceptance with many Christians today. The adherents of this doctrine believe that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to resurrect & rapture His Church will occur before the 3-1/2 years of the Great Tribulation.
130. THEY THINK THE LORD SHOULD WAFT THEM OFF UPON FLOWERY BEDS OF EASE & ROSES, INTO THE ARMS OF JESUS!--Before the Tribulation & before they have to do any suffering for their faith, before they have to really be tested for their testimony, before they have to really be tried in order to triumph, before they have to have any battles in order to gain a victory! They hope to be wafted off into Heavenly places, out of their comfortably cushioned pews & organ lullabies & sweet music in their lovely church buildings, right on up into the Heavenlies!--"Preferably, Lord, on Sunday morning, right at the end of the service, when I am really ready & I've been to the altar & I've made my weekly confession & made everything right & I'm really ready to go!"
131. WELL, I'M AFRAID THIS FALSE DOCTRINE IS NOT GOING TO GET THEM OUT OF IT! If the Bible doesn't say so, it ain't so!--And the Bible says just the opposite! I don't care how much you want to get out of the Tribulation, just wanting to doesn't make it so! I don't care how much you logicalise & reason & try to explain why the Church should escape the Tribulation, & use all kinds of hazy generalities to try to prove it, that still doesn't make it so! What the Bible says is what counts!--That's what counts!
132. JESUS HIMSELF, WHEN SPEAKING OF HIS SECOND COMING, SAID, "IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE TRIBULATION OF THOSE DAYS shall the sun be darkened, & the moon shall not give her light, & the stars shall fall from Heaven, & the powers of the Heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in Heaven: & then shall all of the tribes of the Earth mourn, & they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of Heaven with power & great glory! And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, & they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of Heaven to the other!" (Mt.24:29-31.) There it is, as plain as day, clear enough for any child to understand: Jesus is coming to rapture or "gather together" his "elect"--which means all of His saved, set-apart children who have received Him into their hearts--immediately after the Great Tribulation period! (Part seven of this book will cover the Second Coming of Christ & the Rapture & Resurrection in much greater detail!)
133. SO, CONTRARY TO WHAT MANY BIBLE PROPHECY TEACHERS & FALSE PROPHETS & FALSE BIBLE TEACHERS HAVE TAUGHT, contrary to their soothsayings & their peace-prophesyings, the Church is still going to be here during the Tribulation! They're going to have to go through it. Daniel said so, Jesus said so, John said so, they all said so!--The Church, the Saints, the Christians, the people of God, are certainly going to be here during the Tribulation! The Lord may protect you in it & keep you through it, because He needs a witness, lots of witnesses, to tell the World what's happening!--Even to tell the Church what's happening, because even the Church will be mystified as so many of them have gotten into this false doctrine that Jesus is going to come for them before the Tribulation!
134. LET'S LOOK AT SOME MORE SCRIPTURES DESCRIBING THIS GREAT TRIBULATION PERIOD & THE "DRAGON'S" PERSECUTION OF THE CHURCH THROUGH THE ANTICHRIST: "I beheld, & the same horn"--the "little horn" of Daniel 7, the Antichrist--"made war with the saints, & prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of Days came"--Jesus Christ in His Second Coming. "And he shall speak great words against the Most High, & shall wear out the saints of the Most High, & they shall be given into his hand until a time & times & the dividing of time"!--The 3-1/2 years of Great Tribulation! (Dan.7:21,22,25.)
135. WHAT?!--YOU MEAN TO SAY THIS ANTICHRIST "PREVAILS" AGAINST THE SAINTS?--HE WINS? Well, does it look like the Communists have won, have actually "prevailed against" the Church in Russia? Does it look like the Communists have prevailed against the Church in China?--In East Germany? Does this mean the Church is absolutely dead & gone?--No! Only the temporal power has been destroyed! Only the political & economic power has been destroyed! But it's been good for them because it strengthens them spiritually & brings revival, & this is why the Lord allows it to happen!
136. "AND HIS"--THE ANTICHRIST'S--"POWER SHALL BE MIGHTY, BUT NOT BY HIS OWN POWER: & he shall destroy wonderfully, & shall prosper, & practise, & shall destroy the mighty & the holy people. And when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished!" (Dan.8:24;12:7.) The temporal power of God's Church on Earth is going to be destroyed before Jesus comes! The Lord is going to allow the Devil, in the person of the Antichrist, to destroy the temporal power of the Church & to destroy all the strength & the riches & the wealth of the professing Church & Christianity & Christendom throughout the World. He's going to allow it all to be destroyed!--The Catholic Church, Protestant Church, whatever church!
137. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKSLIDDEN LAODICEAN CHURCH IN REVELATION 3:14-19 IS A PERFECT PICTURE OF THE CHURCH SYSTEM TODAY: Lukewarm & self-satisfied, saying, "I am rich & increased with goods & have need of nothing!"--Not even seeing or knowing that it is "wretched & miserable & poor & blind & naked" in the eyes of God!--Materially rich & powerful in the eyes of the System & in her own eyes, but spiritually sickeningly sick, weak & dead! Therefore she will be rebuked & chastised by the Lord in His infinite love & mercy!
138. GOD IS GOING TO TURN THE WHOLE WORLD COMPLETELY OVER TO THE DEVIL FOR AWHILE, & he is even going to have power over the Saints & overcome them! "And there was given unto him"--the Beast, the Antichrist--"a mouth speaking great things & blasphemies; & power was given unto him to continue forty & two months. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, & to overcome them: & power was given him over all kindreds, & tongues, & nations." (Rev.13:5,7.)
"MORE THAN CONQUERORS THROUGH HIM THAT LOVED US!" (Rom.8:37).
139. EVEN THOUGH THE ANTICHRIST WILL BE ALLOWED TO OVERCOME US PHYSICALLY, obviously destroying the organised temporal power of the Church, he will not & cannot overcome us spiritually! The Lord says, "And they"--the Church--"overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb, & by the word of their testimony; & they loved not their lives unto the death!" (Rev.12:11.)--Hallelujah! The only power we're going to have left will be God's power, thank the Lord, & I think then we're going to have the greatest power of the Lord we have ever had!--The greatest outpouring of the power of the Spirit resulting in the greatest witnessing the Church has ever done!
140. I BELIEVE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A TIME OF GREATER POWER EVEN THAN THE EARLY CHURCH, greater manifestations, mightier works, mightier witnessing than has ever been done before! The Gospel is going to be preached in all the World for a witness unto all nations! (Mt.24:14.) "Where iniquity doth abound, grace doth much more abound!" (Rom.5:20.)--And in the World's darkest hour of greatest iniquity, even then we're going to supernaturally, miraculously witness & shine brighter than we have ever shone before! "For, behold, the darkness shall cover the Earth, & gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, & His glory shall be seen upon thee!" (Is.60:2.)
141. "AND SUCH AS DO WICKEDLY AGAINST THE COVENANT SHALL HE"--THE ANTICHRIST--"CORRUPT BY FLATTERIES: BUT THE PEOPLE THAT DO KNOW THEIR GOD SHALL BE STRONG, & DO EXPLOITS!" (Dan.11:32.) The people who really know Jesus & really know the Lord are going to be strong!--In spite of the Antichrist, in spite of the Image of the Beast, in spite of all their persecution! The worse things get, the more God's Spirit is going to be poured out from on high to help us withstand the dark evil forces that will be warring against us! "As thy days, so shall thy strength be!" (Deut.33:25.)
142. "AND THEY THAT UNDERSTAND AMONG THE PEOPLE SHALL INSTRUCT MANY." (Dan.11:33.) Our major job will be to stand up as God's witnesses before both the Church & the whole World & to explain to them what's happening & to lead & to encourage & to feed God's children till the very End! There are going to be so many people streaming & screaming to us for instruction, information, "What's happening? What's going to happen next? What shall we do?"--As they cried unto the Apostles of old, "What shall we do to be saved?" (Ac.2:37; 16:30.)
143. PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE MORE DESPERATE THAN EVER THEN, just like they are now in times of personal trial & emergency & catastrophe & illness & accidents--they're more receptive then than ever! They will see that there's no hope, that the World is a mess & gone to Hell, Hell-on-Earth! God's Word says they're going to come to you & beg you to teach them the ways of the Lord! And they'll even come at risk to themselves, endangering their own lives, secretly, like Nicodemus who "came to Jesus by night." (Jn.3:2.)
144. YOU WHO ARE FAITHFUL WITNESSES & KNOW GOD'S WORD ARE GOING TO WIN A LOT OF SOULS IN THAT DAY! Because a lot of people are going to believe you then, & a lot of people are going to need salvation & need the Good News you have to tell them. And you're going to be a great encouragement to millions of people throughout the Earth who are going to seek you & seek your answers, because they know that you know the Bible, you know what's happening! You can tell them exactly what's going to happen next! And they're going to seek you & find you & try to find the Truth & the answers, & through you they're going to find the Lord in that day!
145. THERE'S GOING TO BE A GREAT HARVEST OF SOULS WON TO HIS KINGDOM IN THAT LAST HOUR OF EARTH'S HORRIBLE HISTORY!--A great harvest of souls that you're going to help reap! You're going to be here as His reapers & you're going to tell them what's happening. You're going to tell them why it's happening & what's going to happen next & how they can escape it by receiving Jesus Christ!--How that even if they get killed, it'll still be an escape from the Hell on this Earth & this life into the Heavenly glorious Kingdom of God! PTL!
146. "AND SOME OF THEM OF UNDERSTANDING SHALL FALL, TO TRY THEM, & TO PURGE, & TO MAKE THEM WHITE, even to the time of the End: because it is yet for a time appointed." (Dan.11:35.) What is the Tribulation for? To do what?--To test you, try you, purge you, purify you & make you white!--To prepare a Bride fit for her Bridegroom & for His Coming! "Even to the time of the End." It goes right up to the time of the very End, when Jesus comes & catches away His Bride!
147. IT COSTS SOMETHING TO WITNESS, & IN THAT DAY IT IS DEFINITELY GOING TO COST SOME OF US OUR LIVES. The Antichrist is going to try to wipe us all out because we'll be telling the truth & exposing him. We're going to be "instructing many," warning them of who he really is! He pretends to be the Messiah, the Saviour of the World, but we'll be telling the World that he is the Antichrist, the Devil in the flesh! We'll say, "Don't take the Mark of the Beast, you'll go to Hell! Don't take the 666! Don't become a part of his kingdom! Don't be one of his subjects! Don't fall down & worship him!"--And he & his forces are gonna be furious with us!
148. SO GOD IS GOING TO TEST THE CHURCH'S FAITH, TO SEE IF THEY REALLY HAVE REAL FAITH, if they really do believe & if they're really going to be willing to witness for Him before others.--Or are they going to be ashamed of Him & try to save their lives by not witnessing? Particularly the churchy Christians & believers who have been disobedient & failed Him, He's going to purge & refine with fire, He says, to make them white. (Dan.11:35.)--To try them, to test their faith & to see if they're really willing to die for Jesus!
149. BUT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE LOTS OF VICTORIES & we're going to have lots of wonderful witnessing & win lots of souls, & you won't even mind dying! After all, when you die in His service, that's your graduation, your promotion! So even if they kill you, you can be thankful to get out of that horrible Tribulation! And even if it's painful, it'll only be for a moment! The Lord will never let it be unbearable--He'll take you first. (1Co.10:13.) Down through History the martyrs have died singing in the fire, praising God--happy, joyful, seemingly painless deaths!
150. SO HOWEVER WE WITNESS, WHETHER WE LIVE OR WHETHER WE DIE AS MARTYRS FOR JESUS, "laying down our lives for our friends" (Jn.15:13), we live & die for the Lord & for Love & for others!--And we will do so till the very End of the World, witnessing for Jesus till He comes! For according to what He has told us & what His Word says, there will be some of us here right up to the bitter end, enough of us to be raptured & enough to have some witnesses still going strong!
151. "FOR THE LORD HIMSELF SHALL DESCEND FROM HEAVEN WITH A SHOUT, with the voice of the archangel, & with the trump of God: And the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive & remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: & so shall we ever be with the Lord!" (1Th.4:16,17.)--Multitudes of you are going to survive right until the very coming of the Lord, otherwise there wouldn't be anybody left to rapture! So there are going to be many people still functioning for the Lord & surviving & living by faith & preaching the Gospel!--Without the Antichrist & his God-damned Mark of the Beast! PTL!
152. THE DEVIL CAN'T GET US ALL!--"THEY CAN'T STOP OUR RAIN!" The Antichrist can't possibly wipe us all out because there are millions of real genuine saved believers in the World. I believe there are millions of saved Catholics, millions of saved Protestants, & millions of just plain saved, like us!--Millions of us! All over the World! And the Devil & all his damned demons & Antichrist, False Prophet & bestial Image & all the rest can't possibly catch up with us all! There are going to be millions of us still alive to see the Lord come!
153. BESIDES, GOD IS GOING TO PROTECT US & GOD IS GOING TO KEEP US, at least a lot of us, if not most of us, supernaturally, miraculously, powerfully, in many ways, & the Message will get out all the more in spite of everything they try to do! They are going to be the worst days the World has ever suffered & it's going to be the worst time the people of faith have ever endured, of horrible persecution & suppression & even slaughter. But some of us will survive! The Lord has promised supernatural protection!
154. GOD HIMSELF WILL DEFEND US DURING THOSE VERY LAST DAYS WITH MIGHTY SIGNS & WONDERS & EVEN MONSTERS & PLAGUES that will be on our side to afflict our enemies in our defense! In Revelation Chapters 8 & 9 where we're told about the terrible Trumpets of Tribulation & the mighty judgements, plagues & monsters that they unleash during the Great Tribulation, we read about some horrible monsters released from "the bottomless pit", sent by God to torment the ungodly, the wicked, the unsaved, because He gives them a strict command not to hurt those which have the seal of God in their forehead. He says, "Hurt not any green thing, neither any tree, but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads." (Rev.9:4.)--In other words, they were not to hurt the men who did have the seal of God in their foreheads!
155. DURING THIS TRIBULATION PERIOD WHEN THE ANTICHRIST & HIS FOLLOWERS ARE ATTACKING THE TRUE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS CHRIST, God is going to let loose pestilences & plagues & monsters to attack the people of the Devil, the kingdom of Satan & the wicked!--So they'll have so much on their hands defending themselves from these monsters & these plagues that they won't have much time to persecute you & me! As His Word has said, "It is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you!" (2Th.1:6.)
156. SO BELOVED, DON'T FEAR THE TRIBULATION IF YOU LOVE THE LORD! Don't worry about that 3-1/2 years of Tribulation! Yes, the Antichrist is going to be after our skin, & his anti-Christ followers are going to be on our tails trying to get us, but let me tell you, there's going to be a lot more on their tails, not just trying, but getting them! And they are really going to get it, let me tell you! God's a much greater Enemy to them than they are to us! "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the World!" (1Jn.4:4.)
157. THE LORD IS GOING TO GIVE HIS TRUE BELIEVERS, HIS MEN & WOMEN, HIS PROPHETS, PROPHETESSES & WITNESSES SUPERNATURAL, MIRACULOUS POWERS TO DEFEND THEMSELVES & even to attack the forces of the Enemy, to enable them to survive & continue witnessing until the Lord returns! Revelation 11 says that the Antichrist forces won't be able to do anything against God's final witnesses until the very End, because His witnesses will have power to bring curses & plagues upon the wicked & to actually call down fire from God to devour their enemies!--What a picture of mighty men & women of God fighting victorious battles over the demons of Hell!
158. THERE WILL BE NOTHING THE ANTICHRIST CAN DO AGAINST THEM, nothing he can do to stop them, until just 3-&-1/2 days before the Lord comes.--Then he will finally be allowed to kill them, that the cup of the iniquity of the wicked may be filled! And then, while they're actually rejoicing over their death, suddenly the Lord will return in power & great glory & will resurrect & rapture them!--A mighty triumph showing that God even has victory over death!
159. SO WE'RE GOING TO MARCH TRIUMPHANT, PROTECTED BY GOD, RIGHT STRAIGHT THROUGH THE TRIBULATION FROM BEGINNING TO END, in the face of our enemies! While they're being tormented by monsters & plagues & fighting off all the horrors of Hell, we're going to march right through unscathed! They may catch up with a few of us & kill a few of us, as they promised they will if we don't worship their Beast & his Image & take the Mark; a few of us will die & suffer martyrdom even as we do today, but we're still marching!
160. WE'RE EVEN GOING TO BE ON TELEVISION THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AS GOD'S FINAL WITNESSES!--And we'll do mighty signs & wonders & miracles just like Moses did under Pharaoh, when Pharaoh's magicians tried to do the same signs & wonders & said, "Oh well, we can do signs & wonders too"--as the Antichrist will! He'll be doing mighty signs & wonders & miracles by the power of the Devil!
161. BUT WE WILL BE DOING GREATER & MIGHTIER SIGNS & WONDERS & MIRACLES TO DEFEND THE GOSPEL & defend God's work & defend God's children, & God will send mighty powers to protect & defend us, even the very angels of God & monsters of God, maybe even devils of God, those monster creatures described in Revelation Chapter 9! Whom do they attack?!--Not us! They come & attack the forces of the Antichrist! They attack those who accept the Mark of the Beast! That's who they attack!--And defend us!
162. THOSE COMING TRIBULATION DAYS ARE GOING TO BE LIKE THE LAST DAYS OF ISRAEL IN EGYPT! Most of the trouble & Tribulation is not going to happen to you, it's going to happen to the World, the wicked, the Antichrist & his kingdom & his followers & those who take the Mark of the Beast! Those are the ones who are going to get it, just like they did in the last days of Egypt.--Until finally, just as God did in those days when He finally removed His People out of the land of the Egyptians to a place of safety, He's going to remove us completely out of this World in the Resurrection & the Rapture up into the Heavenlies! Then He's going to wipe out the Antichrist & his kingdom in the final Wrath & Judgements of God!
163. BUT WHILE WE'RE STILL IN "EGYPT", I BELIEVE THAT CERTAIN VERY POWERFUL MEN & WOMEN OF GOD, LIKE THE ANCIENT PROPHETS & PROPHETESSES OF OLD, ARE GOING TO BE GOD'S LEADERS & have supernatural miraculous powers to protect & defend their flocks & followers & help them survive to the very End! It's going to be a time of great victory & marvellous testimony so that the whole World will hear, & every last person that can possibly be saved is going to be saved! And all the rest of them are going to have their wickedness made so manifest that their judgement will be well-deserved & sure, because they'll be without excuse!
164. SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE TRIBULATION! It's not going to be all lopsided, a rampaging victory for the Devil!--We're going to win supernatural miraculous victories over him & all of his powers! Don't think that we're all just going to be cowering, hunted victims! Most of us are not going to be cowering, but powering in our fight & battle & defense of the Gospel right up to the End!--With all the forces of Heaven on our side!--Including the curses & plagues of God!
165. AND ALTHOUGH THERE'S GOING TO BE THE MOST HELL THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN, THERE'S ALSO GOING TO BE THE MOST HEAVEN THAT WE HAVE EVER KNOWN!--The most Heavenly power & defense & help & protection! It's going to be a time of great victory over the forces of Satan & tremendous triumph over the anti-Christ wicked! So don't fear it!--Don't worry about it!--Look forward to it as a time when we're really going to fight'm face-to-face & defeat'm with all the supernatural miraculous powers of God! PTL!
166. JUST THANK GOD WE'RE ON THE WINNING SIDE & we've got everything going for us!--Well, we've got a few things going against us too.--But what we've got going for us is a lot better & more powerful than what they've got going for them! TYL! And I'm sure that we are going to survive miraculously, protected supernaturally, & many will survive to the very End--in spite of persecution & in spite of suppression! God will care for us & promote us & our Message right to the End! Then He will come & promote us all to be with Jesus! PTL!
A FINAL WORD...
167. WHEN THE AWESOME, APOCALYPTIC, EARTHSHAKING EVENTS DESCRIBED IN THIS LESSON SOON BEGIN TO UNFOLD, WILL YOU BE READY? Will you know what to do? Will you be prepared to survive, & will you know how to help others to do so, as well as continue to worship God & encourage others in the Faith during days not unlike those of the Catacombs Church of martyrs under Roman persecution?
168. ONLY THOSE WHO HAVE THE SEAL OF GOD IN THEIR FOREHEADS, His Own children, the true believers who have the genuine Jesus in their hearts, will be hidden & spared by the miracles of God until the Coming of Christ, when they will join Him in the air!--The only way out will be up!--And the only ones saved will be us!--All those who have had the supernatural, regenerative rebirth of the Spirit of God's Love in Jesus, being born again by accepting Him into their hearts!--Have you?
169. IF SO, YOU MIGHT AS WELL GET READY RIGHT NOW, PREPARE NOW FOR THE THINGS GOD SAYS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN DURING THE TRIBULATION.--And the best training you could possibly have for surviving that kind of situation is to learn now to live by faith, learn now to survive under difficult conditions, & learn now how to live in a survival situation.
170. LEARN NOW HOW TO LIVE & WORK & TRAVEL FOR THE LORD BY FAITH & LEARN HIS WORD & PREACH THE GOSPEL by whatever means are available under whatever circumstances exist.--Whether it be open, free, in public, or more & more repressed & oppressed & suppressed & limited & restricted & even forbidden to where you cannot openly witness or litness anymore, but have to do it secretly & underground.
171. THE ONLY CHRISTIANS WHO ARE GOING TO SURVIVE ARE THOSE WHO ALREADY KNOW HOW TO LIVE BY FAITH in a survival situation.--Totally living by faith, totally living for the Lord full-time--because there won't be anything else to live for & there won't be anybody else to live for! There won't be any jobs available for people who don't take the Mark of the Beast--except witnessing!
172. BUT SAD TO SAY, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE CHURCH & EVEN TRUE CHRISTIANS ARE TOTALLY UNPREPARED FOR THESE CERTAIN EVENTUALITIES so specifically predicted in the Scriptures & so soon to come! The present Churchianity System is giving them absolutely no preparation on how to survive these events, much less come through victoriously!
173. MOST CHRISTIANS TODAY DO NOT KNOW THEIR BIBLES & rarely, if ever, memorise Scripture for remembrance & encouragement, inspiration & instruction for both now & after their Bibles are banned & burned!--Nor will the exposed & vulnerable Church System with its visible buildings & well-known clergy be any protection or any help in their hour of need, when their ministers are liquidated, their meetings forbidden, their buildings closed & their Bibles taken away--as has already happened in some countries today! What will you do?
174. ARE YOU READY? Probably not!--But you can get ready now by reading, studying & learning His Word, & giving your full time to the Lord, your whole worship, & serve the Lord & love the Lord with all your heart, all your strength, all your mind, everything you've got, starting right now!--Until the very End! Amen?
175. MAY GOD BLESS YOU WITH HIS TRUTH & SALVATION FROM THIS HELL ON EARTH, & keep you from the horrors to come by His loving protection & provision forever!--Throughout Eternity! Write us for more information on these soon-coming Endtime events & how to prepare for them.--Or if you have any questions or if there is any way we can help you to serve Him! Our address is: P.O. Box 241, 8021 Zurich, Switzerland. God bless you! We love you!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family
