The ruler will make a treaty with
the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will
put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible
deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the
fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.” Daniel 9:27
NLT
I imagine most of us are familiar
with the old expression, “no deal is
better than a bad deal”, and I for one think that the situation Israel is
soon to find herself in will be a perfect example of that saying. In the very near future, after the War of
Ezekiel 38-39, Israel will acknowledge the supernatural intervention of
God to defend them and rebuild the Temple in order to return to the Levitical
system of worship. However, it is the
antichrist which brings this to pass and as a result, they accept the man of
sin as their messiah which sets the stage for all that is to come. You see, the antichrist does not allow Israel
to rebuild the temple solely for themselves, but also because he needs it for an
event he has planned for the future.
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads,
let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
“Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.
“And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. “But woe to
those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! “And
pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. “For then there
will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the
world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. Matthew
24:15-21 NKJV
How many of you have seen the
classic old western movie “High Noon” starring Gary Cooper? The entire movie revolves around the climax,
which is a confrontation between the town marshal and the outlaw and his gang
who will arrive on the train at high noon.
When the nation of Israel signs a treaty with the antichrist the clock
begins on the seventieth week of Daniel. This is a period of time which
the Bible teaches is seven years of three hundred and sixty days each for a
total of two thousand five hundred and twenty days. Unfortunately for Israel, their “High Noon”
will occur at the midpoint, or three and one half years into this period of
time.
What we are told will happen at that
time reveals exactly who the antichrist is, and what his plan has been all
along while allowing Israel to rebuild their Temple. The phrase “abomination of desolation” is
found several times in the scriptures and is spoken of specifically by both Daniel and Jesus. What it refers to is an event which has
occurred once before, and will happen once again at the midpoint of Daniel’s
seventieth week. In 168 BC, Antiochus
Epiphanes, who was a Greek king that had conquered Israel, erected an altar to
Jupiter Olympus in the Temple and sacrificed a pig on the altar.
Most all scholars agree that what
Jesus is telling us in this passage from Matthew is that at the midpoint of
Daniel’s seventieth week, this scenario will be repeated when the antichrist
stands in the “holy place” and proclaims himself to be god. We also find in the book of Revelation that
he erects a statue there and commands all to worship it.
Then I saw another beast coming up
out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And
he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes
the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly
wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down
from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell
on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the
beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who
was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath
to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and
cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. Revelation 13:11-15 NKJV
This is the “sacrilegious object”
Daniel refers to in the passage above, and it is at this point, after just three
and a half years, that in Jesus’ own words a time of “great tribulation”
begins, all because what the antichrist has been after all along is to be
accepted and worshipped in place of the true God.
Let no one deceive you by any means;
for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is
revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that
is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of
God, showing himself that he is God. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 NKJV
Obviously the “Great Tribulation”
begins because there are those on the earth who see the antichrist for who he
really is, and refuse to worship him. He
will then begin a persecution the likes of which this world has never
seen.
He causes all, both small and great,
rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on
their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or
the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Revelation 13:16-17 NKJV
What we are told about this time is
very clear, either you take the mark and worship the beast or you will be
hunted down and killed.
Then he opened his mouth in
blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who
dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to
overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and
nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been
written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
If anyone has an ear, let him hear. He who leads into captivity shall go into
captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is
the patience and the faith of the saints. Revelation 13:6-10 NKJV
And I saw thrones, and they sat on
them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of
those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God,
who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their
foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a
thousand years.
Revelation 20:4 NKJV
Do you notice how black and white
this time of Great Tribulation will be?
There are only two sides to this conflict; those who choose to worship
the beast, and those who reject his claims and chose to have their names
written in the Book of Life by accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. How terrible will this time of persecution
be? Consider what Jesus had to say about
that question.
“And unless those days were
shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be
shortened. Matthew 24:22 NKJV
Unless God chose to intervene,
eventually all would be killed. So in
His infinite wisdom, God chose to limit the length of the Great Tribulation to
only three and one half years. Then what
will occur is something the entire world has been waiting for since Jesus
ascended to Heaven forty days after His resurrection. So far the order of events as I see it are
the Rapture, The destruction of Damascus, the Gog/Magog conflict, the
confirmation of a peace between Israel and its enemies which begins the
Seventieth Week of Daniel, and the Abomination of Desolation after twelve
hundred and sixty days.
So much is happening right now in
this world that many find it hard to believe the Church will be here much
longer. As there are no preconditions
for the rapture, coupled with the signs we are seeing fulfilled before our very
eyes, it certainly seems time is definitely running out. If you have never made the decision to accept
the gift of eternal life offered by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
I urge you to do it today. Simply tell
God you accept His Son Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and turn your life
over to His control.
Father,
I know I am a sinner in need of salvation. I believe you sent your Son Jesus to
die on the cross for my sin, and I ask you now to forgive me of my sins. I want
to receive your gift of salvation so please come into my heart and help me to
live and follow you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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