By: Evangelist Donald Perkins
"The wicked shall be turned into Hell, and all nations that forget God." (Psalm 9:17)
Hell, is it a real place? Will the wicked really go there? Will there be fire in Hell? Do you know what the Word of God has to say about this place? Hell is our topic of discussion.
The teaching of Hell in the local church is a forgotten doctrine. It either watered down or not taught at all. Hell is not a popular message for any preacher who wants fame or notoriety. But this message must be taught, and taught with clarity. This study is designed to help Christians and non-Christians to better understand the eternal judgment of God.
Today, there are many views on the subject. Some teach that Hell is a state of mind and others teach that Hell is not a real place at all. Some would go further and say that our loving God, who created all things, would never make such a place. But as you study this teaching of Hell, you will have a deeper understanding about this place of eternal judgment.
My prayer to God is that the reader will gain a true burden for souls and in each heart a strong love and compassion will ignite for the lost souls. To the preacher that studies this material, I pray that this will not just be information to brow beat those who would hear this message, but that a reality of Hell would be birthed in the preacher's heart to deliver this message in fear and trembling, having care and concern for the lost.
Dwight Moody once wrote:
"When we preach on Hell," he says, "we might at least do it with tears in our eyes."
Pastor Mark Rutland wrote:
"None should be allowed to shout about Hell who hasn't whispered in terror, 'God save me!' "
"None should be allowed to mention Hell to the lost without tender, desperate concern in every word. And none should be allowed to preach a sermon on Hell unless it ends with an invitation to choose heaven."
The Reality of Hell
What is this place called Hell?
Hell is a place of torment, sorrow and loneliness for those who would choose to rebel against God. Hell is place where the wicked will go. Hell is a place of literal pain and agony, a place of endless suffering from a burning fire. Hell is the place of eternal judgment on those who reject God!
Note the Websters New World Dictionary definition of Hell:
1.) In the Bible, the place where the Spirits of the dead are.
2.) The place where fallen angels, devils, etc. reside
3.) To which sinners and unbelievers go after death for torment and eternal judgement;"
The Zondervan Pictorial Dictionary gives its meaning of Hell:
"1.) The existence of Hell is irrefutably taught in scripture as both a place of the wicked dead and a condition of retribution for unredeemed man.
2.) The word carries the connotation of doom, hopelessness and futility.
3.) ... it may be translated, its meaning is clear, it represents the place of future retribution. The abode of the wicked, a place of punishment.
4.) Hell is, therefore, both a condition of retribution and a place in which the retribution occurs. In both these aspects, the three basic ideas associated with the concept of Hell are reflected: A.) Absence of righteousness, B.) Separation from God, C.) Judgment."
Throughout our study of Hell, we will examine:
1.) Who created Hell?
2.) Luke 16:19-31, the Rich man and Lazarus.
3.) Who goes to Hell?.
4.) The Five Compartments of Hell.
5.) The Spirit, Soul, and Body in Hell.
6.) The Scriptural mandate of Hell
Who created Hell?
Many today have a false idea about Hell. Some think that Satan created Hell and has control over it. But in fact, Satan did not create one flame in Hell. Hell was created by God. That's right, Hell is a creation of God! Are you surprised? Don't be. The Word of God declared that this place was prepared for Satan and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Many think that Satan will be down in Hell with a red suit and pitch fork in hand. Not so. In Hell Satan suffer face the judgment of God.
"And the Devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever."(Revelation 20:10, Isaiah 14:9-19).
God created Hell to destroy the rebellion of Satan and to put an end to sin. In the beginning, Hell was not created for man, but when man first sinned in the Garden of Eden, God had to accommodate man's fall. Hell was created to rid God's creation, (meaning God's heavens and the perfect earth,) of sin.
Hell is the eternal home of all sin and rebellion. Is Hell a place of pain? Today, it is taught that Hell is not a place of actual suffering. The reasoning behind this is that many do not want to believe that the God of love in which we serve would ever make a place of suffering such as this. But we will see that Hell is a place of sorrow, weeping, torture and torment. There are many who teach that when a person dies, without Christ, he goes to the grave and that's it. But not so. Those who die without Christ will face the wrath of God in the pains of Hell.
Luke 16:19-31, The Rich man and Lazarus
This Scripture records the account of a certain rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus. In the account, Lazarus died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's Bosom. The rich man died also and was buried. In verse 23, the rich man lifted up his eyes in Hell, being in torment.
The word torment means: 1.) Extreme pain or anguish of body or mind 2.) A source of vexation or pain.
In verse 24, the rich man stated that he was tormented in the flames. The flames of Hell are very real. Let me make it clear that the rich man was not in Hell because he was rich, but because he did not repent. He wanted his five brothers to know about the pains of Hell, in the hope of causing them to repent.
There are some who would call this account a parable, thus trying to explain the suffering of the rich man in more symbolic terms. But I submit to you that in this account, Jesus, used real people not ficticious ones. He spoke of father Abraham, Moses and the Prophets, none of these men are ficticious. This is not a parable. This is a real account of a man in Hell!
Here are other Scriptures that declare the truth about the pains of Hell.
* Revelation 14:10, 11 "...and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone..."
* Matthew 13:42, 50 "And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
* Mark 9:44, 46-48 "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
* Revelation 19:20 "These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone."
* Isaiah 66: 21-24 "...for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."
* II Peter 2:9 "...and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:"
*Revelation 2:11 "...He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death."
The second death is the Lake of Fire, the place of everlasting hurt and pain. (Revelation 20:14-15, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43).
I received an article, entitled "When Hell Burns Out." In this article, it was stated that when the fires of Hell have finished their destruction, Hell will burn out. The article also stated that sinners will not be eternally punished by the flames of Hell.
My friend, Hell, is not a comforting message. For so long, we have watered down this message. When our Lord preached Hell, He preached the agony and horror of this place.
Hell is so horrible, that it caused Jesus to leave Heaven and come down to earth to die for us, so that we could miss such a place. Hell's judgments will never burn out! Such watered down teaching takes away the desired result that God wants this message to have. Hell is an eternal place, and the flames of Hell are eternal also. Here's proof:
* Mark 9: 43-48 "...and the fire is not quenched."
* Matthew 18:8 "...to be cast into everlasting fire."
* Matthew 25:41 "...Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels"
* Matthew 25:46 "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment..."
* Revelation 20:10 "...and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever."
* Revelation 14:10, 11 "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night."
* Isaiah 66:24 "...neither shall their fire be quenched;"
* II Thessalonians 1:7-10 "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord,..."
Man in his wisdom and reasoning tries to explain away the judgment of God. But, if God can cause a bush to burn and not be consumed like he did in Exodus?, and God can place a sun in space to give us light and warmth, surely He has the power to keep Hell burning for eternity, and cause those who rebel to burn forever.
Who goes to Hell?
The Word of God gives us the answer to this question in such detail that there should be no doubt as to who goes to Hell.
* The wicked (Psalm 9:17).
* The harlot or prostitute (Proverbs 7:5-27, 9:13-18, 2:18).
* Those with a lack of knowledge (Isaiah 5:13, 14).
* Those that have transgressed against God (Isaiah 66:24)
* The fearful, unbelieving, abominable, idolaters, murderers, sorcerers and all liars (Revelation 21:8).
There are many more that the Word of God reveals. If you find yourself listed in one of these categories, repent today and give your life to Jesus Christ.
The Five Compartments of Hell
The word of God speaks of five different compartments of Hell. Knowing these compartments will help us to understand more about Hell and rightly divide the Scriptures on this subject. Many people have taken Scriptures out of their context and have created a false doctrine on the subject of Hell.
What are the five compartments of Hell?
1.) Tartarus
2.) Abraham's Bosom (The Paradise of old)
3.) Hades or Sheol
4.) The Abyss (Bottomless Pit)
5.) The Lake of Fire (Gehenna)
Tartarus-
Tartarus is the Greek form of the word Hell. It is the compartment where fallen angels are kept, reserved in chains of darkness until they are judged by God and cast into the final Hell, the Lake of Fire (II Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6).
"For if God spared not the angles that sinned, but cast them down to Hell (Tartarus), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;"(II Peter 2:4)
Abraham's Bosom
Abraham's Bosom is the place referred to as the Paradise of old. It was the compartment where all the righteous dead of the Old Testament were kept. There was no torment or suffering in Abraham's Bosom. It was simply a place of holding until the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus paid the price by shedding His blood. At the resurrection of Jesus, Abraham's Bosom was emptied and removed from the heart of the earth and is now located in heaven. All the captives were set free and resurrected (Matthew 27:51-53). The account of Abraham's Bosom is found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 16 verses 19-31.
"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angles into Abraham's Bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried."(Luke 16:22, 23, 25).
"And in Hell he lift up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom."
(Luke 16:23).
"But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented."
(Luke 16:25).
Hades or Sheol
This is the place for the wicked after death. When the sinner dies, his spirit and soul go immediately to this place of torment.
The term Hades is the Greek form of the word Hell. The definition of the word Hades is as follows: the place (or state) of departed souls; the grave; Hell.
Because the word grave is mentioned in the definition of Hades, it is said by some that Hell is the common grave; and from this, the doctrine of soul sleep is derived. My friend, Hades is more than the common grave. The rich man of Luke chapter 16 was in Hades and his soul was not asleep; it was in much turmoil.
The term Sheol is the Hebrew word for Hell. In the Hebrew language the word Sheol is defined as: Hades or the world of the dead (as is a subterranean retreat). It's accessories and inmates: grave, Hell, pit.
Hades or Sheol are the Greek and Hebrew terms for the word "Hell." Don't let those who try to impress you with theological terms throw you off track and teach you that Hell is just the common grave. Note some Scriptures where they are used:
1.) Hades - Luke 16:23; Revelation 20:13.
2.) Sheol - Isaiah 14:9; Psalm 9:17.
The Abyss
This place is also known by the name "The Bottomless Pit." This compartment of Hell is where Satan will be bound for 1,000 years during the reign of Christ on earth (Revelation 20:1-7). Also during the time of the Great Tribulation period, it will be where the locust-like scorpion creatures will come and torment mankind for five months, (Revelation 9:1-11). The Abyss will not be the eternal home of Satan. He will be loosed from this prison to be judged, then cast into the eternal Hell, the Lake of Fire forever, (Revelation 20:10).
The Lake of Fire
The Lake of Fire is the eternal home of all sin and rebellion. Another name for this place is called "Gehenna." At the close of the White Throne Judgment of God, this will be the home of the wicked (Revelation 20:11-15). The Lake of Fire will be the home of those who rebelled against God. There fallen man will be, for all eternity, to suffer the pains of an eternal Hell.
Satan will be there for all eternity to suffer also. According to the Scripture, Satan will be tormented day and night forever and ever, having no rest. Also, Hades and Sheol will be cast into the eternal Hell. Those who inhabit Hades and Sheol will be resurrected to face God's Judgement, then cast into the Lake of Fire. In the very end of God's judgements, the wicked, Satan, fallen angels and sin will have their home in the Lake of Fire.
The Spirit, Soul, and Body in Hell
The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonians, exhorted his brethren and prayed that God would sanctify them wholly and that their spirit, soul and body would be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, (I Thessalonians 5:23).
Paul's prayer was that the total man be saved. Many think that once you die, that's it, but not so. Some even think that their physical body will not feel the fires of Hell. The truth of the matter is that, when men are cast into the eternal Hell (the Lake of Fire) they will be cast as a total, complete and physical man. When an unrighteous man dies, his spirit and soul are separated from his body. His body goes back to the dust of the earth, and his spirit and soul go to Hades and Sheol to be tormented there until the White Throne Judgment of God. Many think that the body will stay forever in the dust (grave) of the earth. The Word of God declares that those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting shame and contempt (Daniel 12:2).
Another account states that those that are in the graves shall hear God's voice, those that have done good and those that have done evil. The righteous awake to everlasting life, and the wicked awake to everlasting damnation (John 5:28, 29). There is coming a time when the lost will be physically resurrected to face God. In the eternal Hell, man will be in his physical, resurrected body to face the pains of Hell. Paul's prayer was that you be preserved blameless spirit, soul and body. Men that die without Jesus will be judged spirit, soul and body. The reason for this total judgment of man is because on earth man sinned in his total body. God will judge the total man. Many try to reason and figure in their mind how the physical body of a man can stand the eternal flames of Hell and not die or be destroyed?'
The Word of God speaks of the judgment of the last enemy called death (I Corinthians 15:26). The Spirit of death will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:14). When death is cast into the Lake of Fire, the power of death will be broken. Death will no longer be able to touch man after his resurrection, man will never die again; and since death only affects the body, man will live in the eternal flames of Hell in his physical body forever. Just think of it...man in his body will burn forever.
Have you ever been burned before? Think of that being multiplied many, many times all over your entire body forever. Please give your life to Jesus today. Hell will not be a house party, as some would like to beleive. Hell, my friend, is a serious place of eternal judgment for all that are lost. Note other Scriptures that declare the resurrection of the dead: Isaiah 26:19; Hosea 13:14; Acts 24:15.
The Scriptural Mandate on Hell
Throughout our study of Hell, we have given you what the Word of God teaches on the subject. I hope now that you can see the reality of this place of judgment on sin. We have not shunned to give you the whole counsel of God. Now let's go back to see the scriptural mandate given in this study. 1.) We learned that Hell will be a place of pain and sorrow for the lost, (Luke 16:19-31).
2.) We learned that Hell was created by God and not the devil, (Matthew 25:41).
3.) We noted that the flames of Hell are forever and will never burn out, (Mark 9:43-48; Isaiah 66:24; Matthew 12:8).
4.) We saw those who are candidates for this place, (Psalm 9:17; Proverbs 7:5-25; Revelation 21:8).
5.) We learned about the five compartments of Hell: (1) Tartarus (2) Abraham's Bosom (3) Hades or Sheol (4) The Abyss (5) The Lake of Fire.
6.) We learned that the sinner's complete body will be in Hell's fire, never to die or to be physically destroyed, (after his resurrection and judgment at God's White Throne.) (Revelation 20:11-15; John 5:28, 29).
In closing, I know that this message is not a pleasant or an uplifting one, but it is one that is needed today in the Body of Christ and in the world. The Word of God is straightforward in its doctrine on Hell. It is people who watered it down. We need to know the reality of God's judgement on sin. For so long, we have been deceived with false teachings that try to convince us that this is not a horrible place. Let's preach the truth that men and women can miss such a place. Beware, my friends. Don't forget the reality of Hell!
THE ANTI-CHRIST KINGDOM
By: Evangelist Donald Perkins
The Word of God gives a space of seven years for the total reign of the Anti-Christ".
"I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name him ye will receive." (John 5:43)
In this one verse our Lord prophesied, that one day a false Messiah would come on the scene and that Jews would receive him as their Lord, Jesus stated, "him ye shall receive..."
Besides our Lord Jesus Christ, the anti-christ is the only other man in the scripture, who has been prophesied about with such clarity and detail. It is as if the Lord really wanted us to know in detail what this man would do when he comes on the scene.
The scripture has prophesied that there is coming a time in the near future, called the Great Tribulation Period. During this time a man called "Anti-Christ" would be revealed. Throughout history many have tried to name the Anti-Christ, some have named the Pope the Anti-Christ, some have even called the former President Ronald Reagan the Anti-Christ. This is truly an exaggeration of the scripture. The Word of God does not give the actual name or identity of this man, and trying to speculate who he is, is a waste of precious study time. The Word of God is very clear concerning this man and what he will do.
The term Anti-ChristAnti means: 1.) one that is opposed, 2.) opposed to, 3.) against, 4.) exerting energy in the opposite direction or pursuing an opposite policy, 5.) one that is opposite in kind to, 6.) opposing in effect or activity, 7.) opposing or hostile to in opinion, sympathy or practice, 8.) combating or defending against.
The Anti-Christ will be just the opposite, in every way of our Lord Jesus Christ. This definition makes it clear that what the Anti-Christ will do will be totally against Christ, in energy, pursuit, effect, activity, opinion, sympathy, practice and defense.
Marvin J. Rosenthal, in his article entitled "The Anti-Christ is coming," states about the term "anti" in this manner:
"The Anti-Christ is coming, and he will be the enemy of the true Christ. The Greek prefix "anti" means two things: 1.) against an in place of. That prefix describes perfectly the true motive of the false Christ. He will oppose Christ; therefore, he will be against Him, he will be a counterfeit Christ; therefore, he will seek to be in place of Him. Satan, through the Anti-Christ, wants for himself the worship of men that properly is due only to the true Christ."
The Scripture bears testimony to this fact: IIThessalonians 2:4,Verse 4: "Who (Anti-Christ) opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped: So that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
Some names given to the Anti-Christ
1.) Anti-Christ: I John 2:18 -
"Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have heard that anti-christ shall come, even now are there many Anti-Christs; whereby we know that it is the last time."
2.) Man of Sin, Son of Perdition, That Wicked:IIThessalonians 2:3, 8 -
3: "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;..."
8: "And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming."
3.) The Beast:Revelation 13:4, 15:2, 16:2, 10, 19:19, 20 -
20: "And the Beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image these both were cast alive into a Lake of Fire burning with brimstone."
4.) The White Horse Rider:Revelation 6:2 -
2: "And I saw, and behold a whte horse: and He that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
5.) The Little Horn. Daniel 7:8, 8:9 -
8: "I considered the horns, and, behold there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and, behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things."
6.) King of Fierce Countenance:Daniel 8:23 -
23: "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up."
7.) The Self will King: Daniel 11:36 -
36: "And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall propser till the indignation be accomplshed: for that is determined shall be done."
The length of his reign
The Word of God gives a space of seven years for the total reign of the Anti-Christ. This is revealed in the Prophecy of Daniel's Seventy Weeks, which are 70 weeks of years, prophesied against Daniel, Daniel's People, (the Jews), and Daniel's city (Jerusalem). These 70 weeks of years figure out to be 490 years of judgement, of which 483 years have been completed. Starting with the command to rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25), in 445 B.C. by King Artexerxes, all the way to the cutting off of the Messiah (Jesus Christ), Daniel 9:26. Leaving one week of year, judgement, left to be fulfilled. This last week of years judgement will be headed by that man the Anti-Christ. Daniel 9:27 -
27: "And he (Anti-Christ) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: (week of years) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consumation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."
This last week of years will be the seven years of the Great Tribulation Period. According to the Scripture, the Anti-Christ will form a seven year pact or covenant with Israel.
1.) Where does the period begin and end in Scripture?
The Great Tribuation begins in the book of Revealtion, chapter 6:2, under the loosing of the first Seal Judgement. In this first seal, the Anti-Christ is loosed into the earth, (represented here as the white horse of chapter six). The ending of this seven years is found in the book of Revelation 19:17-21, at the demise of the Anti-Christ's Kingdom.
The government of the Anti-Christ
The book of Revelation chapters 13 and 17, reveal a very complex and detail system of government of the Anti-Christ. This system of government will be the climax of all major Gentile kingdoms that have come against Israel. To better understand these prophecies, we must look in the book of Daniel, and then proceed into the book of Revelation chapters 13 and 17.
1.) The dreams and visions of the prophet Daniel:
The prophet Daniel lived during the time of King Nebuchadnezzar. This king received a supernatural dream (Daniel 2:1-49). The prophet Daniel received prophetic insight into this dream. This dream dealt with five Gentile kingdoms that would come against Israel. The King's dream revealed:
Daniel 2:31-49 -
A.)THE HEAD OF GOLD: Daniel 2:32, 38
represented Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) 606 - 536 B.C.
B.) THE BREAST AND ARMS OF SILVER: Daniel 2:32, 39
repesented by the Medo-Persia, 536 - 330 B.C.
C.) THE BELLY AND THIGHS OF BRASS:
Daniel 2:32, 35, 39
represented by the Grecian (Alexander the Great)
323 - 30 B.C.
D.) THE LEGS OF IRON: Daniel 2:33, 40
represented by the Romans, 30 B.C.
E.) THE FEET AND TEN TOES: Daniel 2:33, 41-44
represented by the Revised Roman Empire
(The Anti-Christ) Future
Now the prophet Daniel received some prophetic dreams himself that revealed the same parallel as the king's dream. Both revealed the Gentile Kingdoms that would rule over Israel. Daniel's vision is found in Daniel 7:1-8. The prophecy started with Babylon and ended with the kingdom of the Anti-Christ, (The Revised Roman).
A.) THE LION: Daniel 7:4, 17
Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) 606 - 536 B.C.
B.) THE BEAR: Daniel 7:5, 17
Medo-Persia (Darius) 536 - 330 B.C.
C.) THE LEOPARD: Daniel 7:6, 17
Grecian (Alexander the Great) 330 - 30 B.C.
D.) THE DREADFUL AND TERRIBLE BEAST: Daniel 7:7,8
Roman 30 B.C.
E.) THE TEN HORNS: Daniel 7:8
The Revised Roman Empire (Anti-Christ) Future
Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar dreams and the interpretation of Daniel's Beast dreams both start with the Babylonian empire, even though there were two other Gentile kingdoms that ruled Israel first (Egypt and Assyria), which we will cover later in our study. But both (Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar) visions end with the futurist kingdom of the Anti-Christ.
2.) Now let's compare Daniel's visions and dreams with the book of Revelation, chapters 13 and 17, to reveal this complex government of the Anti-Christ.
Revelation 13:1, 2, 3 -
1: "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon the horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the names of Blasphemy."
2: "And the Beast which I saw was like unto a Leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a Bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a Lion: and the dragon gave him his power and his seat, and great authority."
3: "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death: and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the Beast."
A.) The prophet John saw a Beast coming out of the sea. This represented a sea of people (example Revelation 17:15, symbolic type.)
Verse 15: "And he saith unto me, the waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."
Daniel 7:2, 3 -
3: "And the four great Beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another."
As we had explained already that the Beast of Daniel's vision represented, Gentile kingdoms, so in Revelation chapter 13, this Beast system will rise up from peoples, nations, multitudes and tongues.
B.) The Seven heads of John's vision, Revelation 13:1 -
Now in John's vision he sees seven heads on the Beast. What does this represent?
1.) The seven heads represent seven kingdoms of Gentile nations that would rule over Israel.
Revelation 17:9, 10 -
9: "An here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads and seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth."
10: "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space."
The Seven Kingdoms are:
1.) Egypt 1300 or 1290 B.C.
2.) Assyria 721 B.C,
3.) Babylon 606 B.C.
4.) Medo-Persia 536 B.C.
5.) Grecian 330 B.C.
6.) Rome 30 B.C.
7.) The Revised Roman Empire (Futurist)
Now in verse 10, the prophecy goes on to say:
"And there are Seven Kings: five are fallen,..."
At the time of John's vision, five of the seven Gentile kingdoms had fallen. These were:
1.) Egypt
2.) Assyria
3.) Babylon
4.) Medo-Persia
5.) Grecian
The prophecy goes on to say:
17: "...and one is..."
This gives reference to the kingdom that was in power as John sees this prophecy. This kingdom was:
6.) Rome
The prophecy goes on to say:
17: "...and the other is yet to come;"
This gives reference to the kingdom that will come in the future, and this kingdom will be:
7.) The Revised Roman Empire
The Scripture tells us that this kingdom will continue for a short season. It will be of this kingdom that the Anti-Christ will rise to power in the last day Great Tribulation Period.
C.) The Eighth Kingdom, Revelation 17:11.
It will be from this Revised Roman Empire that the Anti-Christ will rule and even set up an eighth kingdom.
11: "And the Beast that was, and is not, even he is the eight, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition (Hell)."
Here the Scripture reveals that the Anti-Christ will set up his kingdom within the Revised Roman Empire, but he will go into peridition or Hell. His kingdom will be like the eighth, but is of the seventh.
Marvin J. Rosenthal, in his article entitled "The Anti-Christ is coming," states:
"The Anti-Christ is coming...he will arise out of the seventh empire which lasted for a little time and was as, it's predecessors, a persecutor of the Jews. To those facts must be added the truth that the Anti-Christ will literally be the raised ruler of the seventh kingdom that lasted a little while, as such, he will establish the eighth of Revised Roman Empire."
D.) John's vision of the Leopard, Bear and Lion.
Revelation 13:2 -
2: "And the Beast which I saw was like unto Leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a Bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a Lion..."
The kingdom of the Anti-Christ will comprise of the Gentile kingdoms of the past as revealed in this portion of John's prophecy.
As we examine Daniel's Prophecy and Revelation, we see a striking parallel in the Beast Kingdom. Here we see traces of the kingom of Babylon, represented by the: "...mouth as the mouth of a lion...", we see the kingdom of Meso-Persia, represented by the: "...and his feet were as the feet of a Bear...", and then we see the kingdom of the Grecian, represented by the: "...Beast which I saw was like unto a Leopard,...". In this parallel, we see that the kingdom of the Anti-Christ will have traces of hints or even same make-up as it's predecessors. All were persecutors of the Jews!
E.) The Beast kingdom that was healed:
Here in Revelation 13:3, we see something very interesting about this Beast kingdom.
Revelation 13:3 -
3: "And I saw one of the heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the Beast."
Some have misinterpreted this passage of Scripture, to claim that the Anti-Christ will be a man resurrected from the dead, because of the wound to the head, and that deadly wound being healed. Careful study will reveal an amazing truth.
As we stated earlier, the seven heads of the Beast represent seven kingdoms. The prophet John is revealing that one of those kingdoms would be destoyed unto death, but it would be healed, and the world would wonder at it's healing. The head (kingdom) that was healed here was:
The Roman Empire.
This kingdom will come back into world history, as the Revised Roman Empire, healed.
Marvin J. Rosenthal, in the article entitled "The Anti-Christ is coming," states concerning this Revised Roman Empire:
"The Anti-Christ is coming, and he will rule over a revised Roman Empire, this coming empire is called by some 'a western Confederation of nations.' It will, to a substantial degree, conform to the geographic boundaries of the ancient Roman empire at it's zenith of power in 127 A.D."
F.) Where will the Anti-Christ arise from?
To best answer this question, we must go back to the book of Daniel and look at an amazing prophecy. Daniel 8:1, 2, 5-8. This is the prophecy of the He-Goat and the Ram. As we focus in on the He-Goat, we will get a geographical boundary as to where the Anti-Christ may come from.
Daniel 8:5, The He-Goat -
5: "And as I was considering, behold, an he-goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes."
Here, the He-Goat represents the kingdom of Greece headed by Alexander the Great, the notable horn of this Beast represents Alexander the Great.
Daniel 8:8, the He-Goat -
"Therefore the he-goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven."
This represents the greatness of Alexander the Great and his swift power was strong, but in the height of his power he died (some say the age of 32 years.) This is the breaking off of the notable horn between his eyes.
After the death of Alexander, the prophecy tell us that four other notable horns arose out of the he-goat. This reveals that four of Alexander's closest generals arose up in power and divided up the Grecian kingdom. These four generals were:
1.) Cassander - Greece, Macedon
2.) Lysimachus - Asia Minor (Turkey today) Thrace
3.) Seleucus - Syria, Babylonia
4.) Ptolemy - Egypt
Daniel 8:9 states -
9: "And out of one of them came forth a little horn (The Anti-Christ), which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land."
Here the Scripture reveals that from one of the four divisions of the fallen Grecian Empire, the little Horn or Anti-Christ would arise. So in other words, the Anti-Christ may come out of: Greece, Turkey, Syria or even Egypt and from there, he would go toward Israel, the (Pleasant Land).
Some things the anti-Christ will do
Here we will examine many of the specific prophecies of the Anti-Christ and what he will do:
A.) He will form a seven-year covenant with Israel.
Daniel 9:27
B.) He will break his covenant with Israel.
Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15-21
C.) He shall deceive many by false peace.
Daniel 8:25, Revelation 6:2
(White horse rider representing peace.)
D.) He will magnify himself.
Daniel 8:11, 25 11:36, 37 IIThessalonians 2:4
E.) He will speak great things against God.
Daniel 7:8, 20, 25 11: 36, Revelation 13: 5, 6
F.) He will wear out the tribulation Saints.
Daniel 7:21, 25 Revelation 13:7
G.) He shall not regard God or any god.
Daniel 11:37, IIThessalonians 2:4
H.) He shall receive power from Satan.
Revelation 13:5
I.) He shall receive worship from man.
Revelation 13:4, 8
J.) He shall sit in the temple of God.
IIThessalonians 2:4
K.) He shall set up the Mark of the Beast.
Revelation 13:13-18
L.) He will stop the Jewish sacrifice during the Great Tribulation Period.
Daniel 9:27, 12:11 Matthew 24:15-21
(This is called the abomination of desolation.)
The mark of the beast
Today many are concerned about the Mark of the Beast. Some have received their driver's license of license plates with numbers 666 on them and thought they had received the Mark of the Beast. The Scripture will help us to understand this coming Mark.
Revelation 13:15-18 -
15: "And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed."
16: "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:"
17: "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."
18:"Here is wisdom. Let him hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six."
The Scripture teaches that the Anti-Christ will institute a mark of identifying those who form an alliance with him. Here we will receive wisdom as to the purpose of this mark.
A.) The Mark of the Beast will come on the scene during the middle part of the Great Tribulation. Revelation chapter 13 is in the middle of the seven year period.
B.) The Mark will be placed in the right hand or in the forehead.
C.) Without this mark no man will be able to buy or sell anything.
D.) There will be three different marks that the Anti-Christ is to use:
1.)The Mark (logo or badge)
2.) The name of the beast (his physical name)
3.) The number of the beast (666)
Now the Scripture only reveals the number of the beast, which is six hundred threescore and six (666), verse 18.
The Anti-Christ's demise
Just as the Word of God was so detail concerning the Anti-Christ's beginning, the Word of God goes on to reveal the end of this man. Note the prophecies of his demise.
The Anti-Christ's fall.
1.) IIThessalonains 2:8 -
"And then shall that wicked (Anti-Christ) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with spirit of His mouth ans shall destoy with the brightness of His coming:"
2.) Revelation 17:14 -
"These (the Anti-Christ and his host) shall make war with the Lamb (Jesus Christ), and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of Lords, and King of Kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful."
3.) Daniel 7:26 -
"But the judgement shall sit, and they shall take away his (Anti-Christ) dominion, to consume and to destoy it unto the end."
4.) Daniel 8:25 -
"And through his (Anti-Christ) policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destoy many: he (Anti-Christ) also stand up against the Prince (Jesus Christ) of Princes; but he (Anti-Christ) shall be broken without hand."
5.) Daniel 11:45 -
"And he (Anti-Christ) shall plant the tabernales of his palace between the seas (the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in Jersusalem) in the glorious holy mountain (Israel); yet he (Anti-Christ) shall come to his end and none shall help him."
6.) Daniel 2:34 -
"Thou sawest till that a stone (representing Jesus Christ) was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet (the feet of this image represents the kingdom of the Anti-Christ) that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces."
7.) Daniel 2:35, 41-45 -
"Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold (the kingdom of the Anti-Christ) broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone (Jesus Christ) that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth (reference to the Millennium Kingdom of Christ)."
8.) Revelation 19:11-21 (The Battle of Armageddon)
19: "And I saw the beast (Anti-Christ), and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to make war against Him (Jesus Christ) that sat on the horse and against his army."
20:"And the beast (Anti-Christ) was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the Mark of the Beast, and them that worsipped his image. These both (the Anti-Christ and false prophet) were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone."
As we have seen from the Word of God, the Anti-Christ, his government, his host, and strength shall all come to a prophesied end. His end is certain. Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ!
The Word of God gives a space of seven years for the total reign of the Anti-Christ".
"I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name him ye will receive." (John 5:43)
In this one verse our Lord prophesied, that one day a false Messiah would come on the scene and that Jews would receive him as their Lord, Jesus stated, "him ye shall receive..."
Besides our Lord Jesus Christ, the anti-christ is the only other man in the scripture, who has been prophesied about with such clarity and detail. It is as if the Lord really wanted us to know in detail what this man would do when he comes on the scene.
The scripture has prophesied that there is coming a time in the near future, called the Great Tribulation Period. During this time a man called "Anti-Christ" would be revealed. Throughout history many have tried to name the Anti-Christ, some have named the Pope the Anti-Christ, some have even called the former President Ronald Reagan the Anti-Christ. This is truly an exaggeration of the scripture. The Word of God does not give the actual name or identity of this man, and trying to speculate who he is, is a waste of precious study time. The Word of God is very clear concerning this man and what he will do.
The term Anti-ChristAnti means: 1.) one that is opposed, 2.) opposed to, 3.) against, 4.) exerting energy in the opposite direction or pursuing an opposite policy, 5.) one that is opposite in kind to, 6.) opposing in effect or activity, 7.) opposing or hostile to in opinion, sympathy or practice, 8.) combating or defending against.
The Anti-Christ will be just the opposite, in every way of our Lord Jesus Christ. This definition makes it clear that what the Anti-Christ will do will be totally against Christ, in energy, pursuit, effect, activity, opinion, sympathy, practice and defense.
Marvin J. Rosenthal, in his article entitled "The Anti-Christ is coming," states about the term "anti" in this manner:
"The Anti-Christ is coming, and he will be the enemy of the true Christ. The Greek prefix "anti" means two things: 1.) against an in place of. That prefix describes perfectly the true motive of the false Christ. He will oppose Christ; therefore, he will be against Him, he will be a counterfeit Christ; therefore, he will seek to be in place of Him. Satan, through the Anti-Christ, wants for himself the worship of men that properly is due only to the true Christ."
The Scripture bears testimony to this fact: IIThessalonians 2:4,Verse 4: "Who (Anti-Christ) opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped: So that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
Some names given to the Anti-Christ
1.) Anti-Christ: I John 2:18 -
"Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have heard that anti-christ shall come, even now are there many Anti-Christs; whereby we know that it is the last time."
2.) Man of Sin, Son of Perdition, That Wicked:IIThessalonians 2:3, 8 -
3: "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;..."
8: "And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming."
3.) The Beast:Revelation 13:4, 15:2, 16:2, 10, 19:19, 20 -
20: "And the Beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image these both were cast alive into a Lake of Fire burning with brimstone."
4.) The White Horse Rider:Revelation 6:2 -
2: "And I saw, and behold a whte horse: and He that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
5.) The Little Horn. Daniel 7:8, 8:9 -
8: "I considered the horns, and, behold there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and, behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things."
6.) King of Fierce Countenance:Daniel 8:23 -
23: "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up."
7.) The Self will King: Daniel 11:36 -
36: "And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall propser till the indignation be accomplshed: for that is determined shall be done."
The length of his reign
The Word of God gives a space of seven years for the total reign of the Anti-Christ. This is revealed in the Prophecy of Daniel's Seventy Weeks, which are 70 weeks of years, prophesied against Daniel, Daniel's People, (the Jews), and Daniel's city (Jerusalem). These 70 weeks of years figure out to be 490 years of judgement, of which 483 years have been completed. Starting with the command to rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25), in 445 B.C. by King Artexerxes, all the way to the cutting off of the Messiah (Jesus Christ), Daniel 9:26. Leaving one week of year, judgement, left to be fulfilled. This last week of years judgement will be headed by that man the Anti-Christ. Daniel 9:27 -
27: "And he (Anti-Christ) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: (week of years) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consumation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."
This last week of years will be the seven years of the Great Tribulation Period. According to the Scripture, the Anti-Christ will form a seven year pact or covenant with Israel.
1.) Where does the period begin and end in Scripture?
The Great Tribuation begins in the book of Revealtion, chapter 6:2, under the loosing of the first Seal Judgement. In this first seal, the Anti-Christ is loosed into the earth, (represented here as the white horse of chapter six). The ending of this seven years is found in the book of Revelation 19:17-21, at the demise of the Anti-Christ's Kingdom.
The government of the Anti-Christ
The book of Revelation chapters 13 and 17, reveal a very complex and detail system of government of the Anti-Christ. This system of government will be the climax of all major Gentile kingdoms that have come against Israel. To better understand these prophecies, we must look in the book of Daniel, and then proceed into the book of Revelation chapters 13 and 17.
1.) The dreams and visions of the prophet Daniel:
The prophet Daniel lived during the time of King Nebuchadnezzar. This king received a supernatural dream (Daniel 2:1-49). The prophet Daniel received prophetic insight into this dream. This dream dealt with five Gentile kingdoms that would come against Israel. The King's dream revealed:
Daniel 2:31-49 -
A.)THE HEAD OF GOLD: Daniel 2:32, 38
represented Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) 606 - 536 B.C.
B.) THE BREAST AND ARMS OF SILVER: Daniel 2:32, 39
repesented by the Medo-Persia, 536 - 330 B.C.
C.) THE BELLY AND THIGHS OF BRASS:
Daniel 2:32, 35, 39
represented by the Grecian (Alexander the Great)
323 - 30 B.C.
D.) THE LEGS OF IRON: Daniel 2:33, 40
represented by the Romans, 30 B.C.
E.) THE FEET AND TEN TOES: Daniel 2:33, 41-44
represented by the Revised Roman Empire
(The Anti-Christ) Future
Now the prophet Daniel received some prophetic dreams himself that revealed the same parallel as the king's dream. Both revealed the Gentile Kingdoms that would rule over Israel. Daniel's vision is found in Daniel 7:1-8. The prophecy started with Babylon and ended with the kingdom of the Anti-Christ, (The Revised Roman).
A.) THE LION: Daniel 7:4, 17
Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) 606 - 536 B.C.
B.) THE BEAR: Daniel 7:5, 17
Medo-Persia (Darius) 536 - 330 B.C.
C.) THE LEOPARD: Daniel 7:6, 17
Grecian (Alexander the Great) 330 - 30 B.C.
D.) THE DREADFUL AND TERRIBLE BEAST: Daniel 7:7,8
Roman 30 B.C.
E.) THE TEN HORNS: Daniel 7:8
The Revised Roman Empire (Anti-Christ) Future
Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar dreams and the interpretation of Daniel's Beast dreams both start with the Babylonian empire, even though there were two other Gentile kingdoms that ruled Israel first (Egypt and Assyria), which we will cover later in our study. But both (Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar) visions end with the futurist kingdom of the Anti-Christ.
2.) Now let's compare Daniel's visions and dreams with the book of Revelation, chapters 13 and 17, to reveal this complex government of the Anti-Christ.
Revelation 13:1, 2, 3 -
1: "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon the horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the names of Blasphemy."
2: "And the Beast which I saw was like unto a Leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a Bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a Lion: and the dragon gave him his power and his seat, and great authority."
3: "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death: and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the Beast."
A.) The prophet John saw a Beast coming out of the sea. This represented a sea of people (example Revelation 17:15, symbolic type.)
Verse 15: "And he saith unto me, the waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."
Daniel 7:2, 3 -
3: "And the four great Beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another."
As we had explained already that the Beast of Daniel's vision represented, Gentile kingdoms, so in Revelation chapter 13, this Beast system will rise up from peoples, nations, multitudes and tongues.
B.) The Seven heads of John's vision, Revelation 13:1 -
Now in John's vision he sees seven heads on the Beast. What does this represent?
1.) The seven heads represent seven kingdoms of Gentile nations that would rule over Israel.
Revelation 17:9, 10 -
9: "An here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads and seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth."
10: "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space."
The Seven Kingdoms are:
1.) Egypt 1300 or 1290 B.C.
2.) Assyria 721 B.C,
3.) Babylon 606 B.C.
4.) Medo-Persia 536 B.C.
5.) Grecian 330 B.C.
6.) Rome 30 B.C.
7.) The Revised Roman Empire (Futurist)
Now in verse 10, the prophecy goes on to say:
"And there are Seven Kings: five are fallen,..."
At the time of John's vision, five of the seven Gentile kingdoms had fallen. These were:
1.) Egypt
2.) Assyria
3.) Babylon
4.) Medo-Persia
5.) Grecian
The prophecy goes on to say:
17: "...and one is..."
This gives reference to the kingdom that was in power as John sees this prophecy. This kingdom was:
6.) Rome
The prophecy goes on to say:
17: "...and the other is yet to come;"
This gives reference to the kingdom that will come in the future, and this kingdom will be:
7.) The Revised Roman Empire
The Scripture tells us that this kingdom will continue for a short season. It will be of this kingdom that the Anti-Christ will rise to power in the last day Great Tribulation Period.
C.) The Eighth Kingdom, Revelation 17:11.
It will be from this Revised Roman Empire that the Anti-Christ will rule and even set up an eighth kingdom.
11: "And the Beast that was, and is not, even he is the eight, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition (Hell)."
Here the Scripture reveals that the Anti-Christ will set up his kingdom within the Revised Roman Empire, but he will go into peridition or Hell. His kingdom will be like the eighth, but is of the seventh.
Marvin J. Rosenthal, in his article entitled "The Anti-Christ is coming," states:
"The Anti-Christ is coming...he will arise out of the seventh empire which lasted for a little time and was as, it's predecessors, a persecutor of the Jews. To those facts must be added the truth that the Anti-Christ will literally be the raised ruler of the seventh kingdom that lasted a little while, as such, he will establish the eighth of Revised Roman Empire."
D.) John's vision of the Leopard, Bear and Lion.
Revelation 13:2 -
2: "And the Beast which I saw was like unto Leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a Bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a Lion..."
The kingdom of the Anti-Christ will comprise of the Gentile kingdoms of the past as revealed in this portion of John's prophecy.
As we examine Daniel's Prophecy and Revelation, we see a striking parallel in the Beast Kingdom. Here we see traces of the kingom of Babylon, represented by the: "...mouth as the mouth of a lion...", we see the kingdom of Meso-Persia, represented by the: "...and his feet were as the feet of a Bear...", and then we see the kingdom of the Grecian, represented by the: "...Beast which I saw was like unto a Leopard,...". In this parallel, we see that the kingdom of the Anti-Christ will have traces of hints or even same make-up as it's predecessors. All were persecutors of the Jews!
E.) The Beast kingdom that was healed:
Here in Revelation 13:3, we see something very interesting about this Beast kingdom.
Revelation 13:3 -
3: "And I saw one of the heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the Beast."
Some have misinterpreted this passage of Scripture, to claim that the Anti-Christ will be a man resurrected from the dead, because of the wound to the head, and that deadly wound being healed. Careful study will reveal an amazing truth.
As we stated earlier, the seven heads of the Beast represent seven kingdoms. The prophet John is revealing that one of those kingdoms would be destoyed unto death, but it would be healed, and the world would wonder at it's healing. The head (kingdom) that was healed here was:
The Roman Empire.
This kingdom will come back into world history, as the Revised Roman Empire, healed.
Marvin J. Rosenthal, in the article entitled "The Anti-Christ is coming," states concerning this Revised Roman Empire:
"The Anti-Christ is coming, and he will rule over a revised Roman Empire, this coming empire is called by some 'a western Confederation of nations.' It will, to a substantial degree, conform to the geographic boundaries of the ancient Roman empire at it's zenith of power in 127 A.D."
F.) Where will the Anti-Christ arise from?
To best answer this question, we must go back to the book of Daniel and look at an amazing prophecy. Daniel 8:1, 2, 5-8. This is the prophecy of the He-Goat and the Ram. As we focus in on the He-Goat, we will get a geographical boundary as to where the Anti-Christ may come from.
Daniel 8:5, The He-Goat -
5: "And as I was considering, behold, an he-goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes."
Here, the He-Goat represents the kingdom of Greece headed by Alexander the Great, the notable horn of this Beast represents Alexander the Great.
Daniel 8:8, the He-Goat -
"Therefore the he-goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven."
This represents the greatness of Alexander the Great and his swift power was strong, but in the height of his power he died (some say the age of 32 years.) This is the breaking off of the notable horn between his eyes.
After the death of Alexander, the prophecy tell us that four other notable horns arose out of the he-goat. This reveals that four of Alexander's closest generals arose up in power and divided up the Grecian kingdom. These four generals were:
1.) Cassander - Greece, Macedon
2.) Lysimachus - Asia Minor (Turkey today) Thrace
3.) Seleucus - Syria, Babylonia
4.) Ptolemy - Egypt
Daniel 8:9 states -
9: "And out of one of them came forth a little horn (The Anti-Christ), which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land."
Here the Scripture reveals that from one of the four divisions of the fallen Grecian Empire, the little Horn or Anti-Christ would arise. So in other words, the Anti-Christ may come out of: Greece, Turkey, Syria or even Egypt and from there, he would go toward Israel, the (Pleasant Land).
Some things the anti-Christ will do
Here we will examine many of the specific prophecies of the Anti-Christ and what he will do:
A.) He will form a seven-year covenant with Israel.
Daniel 9:27
B.) He will break his covenant with Israel.
Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15-21
C.) He shall deceive many by false peace.
Daniel 8:25, Revelation 6:2
(White horse rider representing peace.)
D.) He will magnify himself.
Daniel 8:11, 25 11:36, 37 IIThessalonians 2:4
E.) He will speak great things against God.
Daniel 7:8, 20, 25 11: 36, Revelation 13: 5, 6
F.) He will wear out the tribulation Saints.
Daniel 7:21, 25 Revelation 13:7
G.) He shall not regard God or any god.
Daniel 11:37, IIThessalonians 2:4
H.) He shall receive power from Satan.
Revelation 13:5
I.) He shall receive worship from man.
Revelation 13:4, 8
J.) He shall sit in the temple of God.
IIThessalonians 2:4
K.) He shall set up the Mark of the Beast.
Revelation 13:13-18
L.) He will stop the Jewish sacrifice during the Great Tribulation Period.
Daniel 9:27, 12:11 Matthew 24:15-21
(This is called the abomination of desolation.)
The mark of the beast
Today many are concerned about the Mark of the Beast. Some have received their driver's license of license plates with numbers 666 on them and thought they had received the Mark of the Beast. The Scripture will help us to understand this coming Mark.
Revelation 13:15-18 -
15: "And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed."
16: "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:"
17: "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."
18:"Here is wisdom. Let him hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six."
The Scripture teaches that the Anti-Christ will institute a mark of identifying those who form an alliance with him. Here we will receive wisdom as to the purpose of this mark.
A.) The Mark of the Beast will come on the scene during the middle part of the Great Tribulation. Revelation chapter 13 is in the middle of the seven year period.
B.) The Mark will be placed in the right hand or in the forehead.
C.) Without this mark no man will be able to buy or sell anything.
D.) There will be three different marks that the Anti-Christ is to use:
1.)The Mark (logo or badge)
2.) The name of the beast (his physical name)
3.) The number of the beast (666)
Now the Scripture only reveals the number of the beast, which is six hundred threescore and six (666), verse 18.
The Anti-Christ's demise
Just as the Word of God was so detail concerning the Anti-Christ's beginning, the Word of God goes on to reveal the end of this man. Note the prophecies of his demise.
The Anti-Christ's fall.
1.) IIThessalonains 2:8 -
"And then shall that wicked (Anti-Christ) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with spirit of His mouth ans shall destoy with the brightness of His coming:"
2.) Revelation 17:14 -
"These (the Anti-Christ and his host) shall make war with the Lamb (Jesus Christ), and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of Lords, and King of Kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful."
3.) Daniel 7:26 -
"But the judgement shall sit, and they shall take away his (Anti-Christ) dominion, to consume and to destoy it unto the end."
4.) Daniel 8:25 -
"And through his (Anti-Christ) policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destoy many: he (Anti-Christ) also stand up against the Prince (Jesus Christ) of Princes; but he (Anti-Christ) shall be broken without hand."
5.) Daniel 11:45 -
"And he (Anti-Christ) shall plant the tabernales of his palace between the seas (the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in Jersusalem) in the glorious holy mountain (Israel); yet he (Anti-Christ) shall come to his end and none shall help him."
6.) Daniel 2:34 -
"Thou sawest till that a stone (representing Jesus Christ) was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet (the feet of this image represents the kingdom of the Anti-Christ) that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces."
7.) Daniel 2:35, 41-45 -
"Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold (the kingdom of the Anti-Christ) broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone (Jesus Christ) that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth (reference to the Millennium Kingdom of Christ)."
8.) Revelation 19:11-21 (The Battle of Armageddon)
19: "And I saw the beast (Anti-Christ), and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to make war against Him (Jesus Christ) that sat on the horse and against his army."
20:"And the beast (Anti-Christ) was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the Mark of the Beast, and them that worsipped his image. These both (the Anti-Christ and false prophet) were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone."
As we have seen from the Word of God, the Anti-Christ, his government, his host, and strength shall all come to a prophesied end. His end is certain. Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ!
THE RICHES OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION
Written by Donald Perkins
"In the Book of Revelation 1:3 we find a wonderful truth. Our Lord revealed to John a beautiful benefit of studying this book."
“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand”
Here we see that our Lord pronounced a blessing on those who read and keep the things which are written in the Book of Revelation.
As you read this book, you will see how much of a blessing the study of Bible Prophecy really is. This is the last book in the Bible and in it God has totally revealed the future of man. I believe understanding the book of Revelation produces hope for the future and dedication in the life of every Christian. 1 John 3:3 states,“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure”
This Scripture confirms that having a proper understanding of the end-times causes hope and has a purifying effect on our life. As you spend time in the Prophetic books of the Bible, you will have a balanced perspective on how to live in the present day, as well as what to expect for the future.
Let’s take a look at some of the wonderful truths revealed in this amazing book. Below you will find a list along with Scriptures for your reference.
The Book of Revelation Reveals:
The Revelation and Glorified Vision of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 1:1-20).The Table of Contents for the Book of Revelation. (Chapter 1- the Past events, Chapter 2&3 - the Present events, Chapters 4 thru 22- the Future events).
The 7 letters to the 7 Churches, which contain correction and promised blessings to the Church. (Revelation Chapters 2 & 3). That if we overcome this world we will have a right to eat of the Tree of Life. This is the tree that Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat from after they had sinned. (Revelation 2:7 & Chapter 22:14).
An In-depth description of The Great Tribulation Period, a time of great wrath revealed from Heaven. (Revelation Chapters 6 thru 18). The Two Witnesses or Prophets whom God will use during the Great Tribulation Period. (Revelation 11:1-14).
The identification and sealing of the 144,000 and what is God’s purpose for their lives. (Revelation 7:1-8, & 14). The Mark of the Beast or 666, and how it will be instituted throughout the earth, and how God will judged those who receive it during the Tribulation. (Revelation 13:16-18).
That Christians will go to Heaven to partake of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. (Revelation 19:1-10) The Armies of Heaven, composed of the Saints that will come back with Jesus at His 2nd Coming. (Revelation 19:11-16).
The Battle of Armageddon, where Christ will meet the Anti-Christ and defeat him. (Revelation 19:17-21).The Anti-Christ and the False Prophet will be judged in the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 19:19-21).
The Binding of Satan into the Bottomless pit for 1000 years. (Revelation 19:11-16).The Resurrection of the Wicked Dead and their judgment at The Great White Throne. (Revelation 20:11-15).
The Judgment of Satan in the Lake of Fire to be burned and tormented forever. (Revelation 20:10).The 1000 year reign of Christ with His saints on the earth.
(Revelation 20:4-7). The New Heavens and the New Earth where we will spend eternity with God forever. (Revelation Chapters 21 and 22).
As clearly displayed here the Book of Revelation is not a book of horror, as some would say, but rather it is the answer from God to knowing the future of man and planet earth. God wants us as believers to study the Prophetic books so that we will be equipped to provide answers to a world in need of Christ.
Deuteronomy 29:29 states:“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
God has revealed His plans for the future in this book, and He wants us to know that future. Accept this admonishment to study this book for yourself and see the many blessings of the Book of Revelation.
You can know God’s eternal plan through the study of Bible Prophecy. There are many excellent reference books available at your local Christian bookstore or visit our online bookstore for books we offer and personally recommend
"In the Book of Revelation 1:3 we find a wonderful truth. Our Lord revealed to John a beautiful benefit of studying this book."
“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand”
Here we see that our Lord pronounced a blessing on those who read and keep the things which are written in the Book of Revelation.
As you read this book, you will see how much of a blessing the study of Bible Prophecy really is. This is the last book in the Bible and in it God has totally revealed the future of man. I believe understanding the book of Revelation produces hope for the future and dedication in the life of every Christian. 1 John 3:3 states,“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure”
This Scripture confirms that having a proper understanding of the end-times causes hope and has a purifying effect on our life. As you spend time in the Prophetic books of the Bible, you will have a balanced perspective on how to live in the present day, as well as what to expect for the future.
Let’s take a look at some of the wonderful truths revealed in this amazing book. Below you will find a list along with Scriptures for your reference.
The Book of Revelation Reveals:
The Revelation and Glorified Vision of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 1:1-20).The Table of Contents for the Book of Revelation. (Chapter 1- the Past events, Chapter 2&3 - the Present events, Chapters 4 thru 22- the Future events).
The 7 letters to the 7 Churches, which contain correction and promised blessings to the Church. (Revelation Chapters 2 & 3). That if we overcome this world we will have a right to eat of the Tree of Life. This is the tree that Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat from after they had sinned. (Revelation 2:7 & Chapter 22:14).
An In-depth description of The Great Tribulation Period, a time of great wrath revealed from Heaven. (Revelation Chapters 6 thru 18). The Two Witnesses or Prophets whom God will use during the Great Tribulation Period. (Revelation 11:1-14).
The identification and sealing of the 144,000 and what is God’s purpose for their lives. (Revelation 7:1-8, & 14). The Mark of the Beast or 666, and how it will be instituted throughout the earth, and how God will judged those who receive it during the Tribulation. (Revelation 13:16-18).
That Christians will go to Heaven to partake of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. (Revelation 19:1-10) The Armies of Heaven, composed of the Saints that will come back with Jesus at His 2nd Coming. (Revelation 19:11-16).
The Battle of Armageddon, where Christ will meet the Anti-Christ and defeat him. (Revelation 19:17-21).The Anti-Christ and the False Prophet will be judged in the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 19:19-21).
The Binding of Satan into the Bottomless pit for 1000 years. (Revelation 19:11-16).The Resurrection of the Wicked Dead and their judgment at The Great White Throne. (Revelation 20:11-15).
The Judgment of Satan in the Lake of Fire to be burned and tormented forever. (Revelation 20:10).The 1000 year reign of Christ with His saints on the earth.
(Revelation 20:4-7). The New Heavens and the New Earth where we will spend eternity with God forever. (Revelation Chapters 21 and 22).
As clearly displayed here the Book of Revelation is not a book of horror, as some would say, but rather it is the answer from God to knowing the future of man and planet earth. God wants us as believers to study the Prophetic books so that we will be equipped to provide answers to a world in need of Christ.
Deuteronomy 29:29 states:“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
God has revealed His plans for the future in this book, and He wants us to know that future. Accept this admonishment to study this book for yourself and see the many blessings of the Book of Revelation.
You can know God’s eternal plan through the study of Bible Prophecy. There are many excellent reference books available at your local Christian bookstore or visit our online bookstore for books we offer and personally recommend
The Importance of Preaching Bible Prophecy
Written by Donald Perkins
This year Evangelist Perkins will be traveling more than ever before to local churches and Bible Prophecy conferences preaching and teaching Bible Prophecy.
However, today there are many churches that never hear the teaching of Bible Prophecy. Because of this tragedy many people in the church are “prophetically illiterate”.
I remember hearing frequently as a child that, “If you study the Book of Revelation, it will run you crazy, or you will lose your mind”. Sadly, this type of thinking is still prevalent today.
There are many Pastors around the country, who do not understand the value of Bible Prophecy. They don’t understand how it will help to strengthen their congregation. I believe that as Pastors allow Bible Prophecy to be taught in their church, they will experience a new stability developing in their flocks. About one third of the Bible is Prophetic in nature, and the Scripture commands us to study all of the Word of God. So if we are commanded to study all the Word of God, we will of an assurance run into Prophetic Scriptures.
( 2 Timothy 2:15) “Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”.
Each book from Genesis to Revelation is so full of Prophetic teaching that you cannot miss it in the Scriptures. I think many people today have a fear of the unknown, and because of that it fear it keep's them out of the Prophetic Scriptures. Having understanding of the future will give us a more clear picture for the last days and will better prepare us to serve mankind. Today I have a healthy and balance life because I understand what God is doing and going to do in the future, base on the authority of His Word.
I encourage Pastors all over the country to teach Bible Prophecy themselves or to allow Bible Prophecy teachers to bring this rich message to their churches. This will provide a more complete diet of the Word of God for their congregations. The Apostle Paul stated that "...he did not shunned to give all the counsel of God". I believe we do our congregations a disservice by not giving them all of the Word of God.
Acts 20:27, "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God."
Acts 20:28, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."
Remember this, God closed His inspired Word to us with a magnificent Prophetic book, “The Book of Revelation”. Since we know God never does anything without a purpose, we must conclude that this book is undeniably important to His global plan.
This year Evangelist Perkins will be traveling more than ever before to local churches and Bible Prophecy conferences preaching and teaching Bible Prophecy.
However, today there are many churches that never hear the teaching of Bible Prophecy. Because of this tragedy many people in the church are “prophetically illiterate”.
I remember hearing frequently as a child that, “If you study the Book of Revelation, it will run you crazy, or you will lose your mind”. Sadly, this type of thinking is still prevalent today.
There are many Pastors around the country, who do not understand the value of Bible Prophecy. They don’t understand how it will help to strengthen their congregation. I believe that as Pastors allow Bible Prophecy to be taught in their church, they will experience a new stability developing in their flocks. About one third of the Bible is Prophetic in nature, and the Scripture commands us to study all of the Word of God. So if we are commanded to study all the Word of God, we will of an assurance run into Prophetic Scriptures.
( 2 Timothy 2:15) “Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”.
Each book from Genesis to Revelation is so full of Prophetic teaching that you cannot miss it in the Scriptures. I think many people today have a fear of the unknown, and because of that it fear it keep's them out of the Prophetic Scriptures. Having understanding of the future will give us a more clear picture for the last days and will better prepare us to serve mankind. Today I have a healthy and balance life because I understand what God is doing and going to do in the future, base on the authority of His Word.
I encourage Pastors all over the country to teach Bible Prophecy themselves or to allow Bible Prophecy teachers to bring this rich message to their churches. This will provide a more complete diet of the Word of God for their congregations. The Apostle Paul stated that "...he did not shunned to give all the counsel of God". I believe we do our congregations a disservice by not giving them all of the Word of God.
Acts 20:27, "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God."
Acts 20:28, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."
Remember this, God closed His inspired Word to us with a magnificent Prophetic book, “The Book of Revelation”. Since we know God never does anything without a purpose, we must conclude that this book is undeniably important to His global plan.
THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
Written by Donald Perkins
Romans 14:10, "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ".
2 Corinthians 5:10, "For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ: that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
A) What is the Judgment Seat of Christ?
The Judgment Seat of Christ will be the judgment given by Christ to His Saints. At this judgment the saints of God will receive or lose rewards. The Judgment Seat of Christ will not be a judgment of condemantion or one of eternal damnation for those who lose rewards, but rather a rewarding for our service as Christians. Those who are blessed to receive rewards at this judgment will receive crowns and dominions of authority in Christ's Millennial kingdom. This judgment will only be for Christian. No sinners will appear at this judgment. All through the Scripture, Christ has promised rewards for those who overcome. The Judgment Seat of Christ will be the place where these rewards will be given to those saints who have overcome.
B) Outline for this Study
1.The meaning of the Judgment Seat of Christ
2.The purpose of the Judgment Seat
3.Rewards vs. Awards
4.The promise of rewards for service
5.The time frame of the Judgment Seat
6.How will Christ judge at this Judgment?
7.The Rewards given at the this Judgment Seat
1.) The Meaning of the Judgment Seat of Christ:
The Judgment Seat is translated (Beam Seat). L. Sale-Harrison in his book, Judgment Seat of Christ, p.8 states:
"In the Grecian games in Athens, the old arena contained a raised platform on which the president or umpire of the arena sat. Form here he rewarded all the contestants: and here he would reward all winners. It was called the "Bema" or "Reward Seat". It was never used as a judicial bench".
As we will note through out our study, the Judgment Seat of Christ will not be a judgment of eternal condemnation, on those who lose rewards. They will still have the gift of salvation purchased for them by the Blood of christ. The Scriptures declare that in Christ there is no condemnation.
Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
John 5:24, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word; and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into comdemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
Arthur Pridham, in his book, Notes and Reflections on the Second Epistle to the Coninthians p. 141, states:
"A saint will never again come into judgment on account of his natural or ingerited iniquity, for he is already dead judicially wiht Christ, and is no longer known or dealt with on the footing of his natural responsibility. As a man he has bee weighed and found wanting. He was born under condmenation, to a natural heritage of wrath, and nothing good has been discovered in is flesh; but his quilt has been obliterated by the blood of his Redeemer, and he is freely and justly pardoned for his savior's sake. Because Christ is risen frm the dead, he is no longer in his sins. He is justified by faith, and is presented in the name and on the merits of the Just One before God: and of this new and ever blessed title to acceptance the Holy Spirit is the living seal and witness. Into judgment, therefore, on his own account he cannot come..."
2.) The Purpose of the Judgment Seat of Christ:
1 Corinthians 5:10,
"...that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
This judgment will be based on what we hae done in own bodies. Christ will give rewards based on performance in the kingdom. In order for anyone to appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, one must first be born again, washed in blood of Christ. At this judgment, our works will be judged for rewards, not to validate salvation. This is one difference between the Judgment Seat of Christ and The Great White Throne Judgment. Those at the Whithe Throne Judgment will be condemned. Now man's works will be accepted without the blood of Christ. This is why, at the Judgment Seat of Christ, a man may lose rewards for poor service, but not lose his salvation. Salvation is a gift of God that the Christian can not work for. The purpose of the Judgment Seat of Christ, is to reward the saints of God who have overcome this world.
3.) Rewards vs. Awards at the Judgment Seat of Christ:
At the Judgment Seat, men will receive rewards and not awards. There is a difference.
Rewards are always based on service, whereas awards are based on decision.
Rewards def. 1) Something given in return for good or, sometimes, evil, or for service or merit. 2) compensation; profit; 3) to give a reward to. 4) to give a reward for service. 5) reward usually refers to something given in recompense for a good deed, for merit, etc. 6) priaze applies to something won in competition.
Awards def. 1) to give, as by legal decision, adjudg: as the plaintiff was awarded his damages. 2) to give as the result of judging or considering: grant: as we award a prize for the best essay.
At the Judgment Seat of Christ, the rewards will be given on the basis of a man's service for Christ after salvation. If a man's service is great in the kingdom, His reward will be great in Heaven at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
4.) The Promise of Rewards for Service:
All through the Scriptures, we have been promised rewards. The Word of God declares that God remembers our work and labor of love.
Hebrews 6:10, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shown toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."
Let's notice in the Scripture, the promise of rewards for every man's work and service, whether it be good or bad.
a) 1 Corinthians 3:8, "Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and everyman shall receive his own reward according to his own labour."
b) Psalm 62:12, "Also unto thee, O Lord, Belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to everyman according to his work."
c) Romans 2:6, "Who will render to every man according to his deeds:"
d) Luke 14:14, "And thou shalt be blessed: for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
Here the word recompense in the Greek, antapodidomi (an-tap-odee-do-mee) means to repay, requite reward (good or evil).
e) Matthew 16:27,, "For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works."
f) Revelation 22:12, "And behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." g) Jeremiah 17:10, "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."
h) Jeremiah 32:19, "Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the Sons of men: to give every one to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:"
i) Proverbs 24:12, "...and shall not he render to every man according to his works?"
j) Hebrews 6:10, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shown toward this name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."
3.) The Time Frame of the Judgment Seat of Christ:
Luke 14:14, "...For thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
This judgment will occur immediately following the Rapture of the Church. Our Lord stated in this verse, that He would recompense the Just at the time of their resurrection. The Rapture of the Chruch consists of the resurrection of the Just (those who have died in Christ) and the catching up of the Saints (those who are alive and remain). This is the major event that our Lord is referring to in Luke 14:14. The Judgment Seat of Christ and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb both occur simultaneously in Heaven with the 7 years Great Tribulation Period that is unfolding on Earth.
2.) How will Christ judge at this time?
2 Corinthians 5:10, "For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad (worthless)". The question may be asked, how will Christ judge the Church? What will be the things He will look for? At this time Christ will not judge to condemn. The Scripture above seems to conclude that Christ will judge the good and the bad in our lives.
But in the context of this judgment, Christ will judge our works as Christians. The word (bad) here, deals not with ethical or moral evil, but rather its meaning is worthlessness, or good for nothing, the impossibility of any ture gain ever coming forth from it. This notion of worthlessness is the central focus.
Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost: summed it up this way. "Thus the judgment is not to determine what is ethically good or evil.
But rather that which is acceptable and that which is worthless. It is not the Lord's purpose here to chasten his children for their sins, but to reward their service for those things done in the name of the Lord." (Bad, grk. Kakos, worthless)
Now, let us take a look at how Christ is actually going to judge our works. Apostle Paul revealed that our works will fall into one of two categories. Itis of what quality that our works fall into, that will determine whether we will receieve a reward in Heaven.
1 Corinthians 3:8-15, "Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and stubble;"
1 Corinthians 3:11, "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
Jesus Christ is the only foundation on which we can build a work for God. After we are Born Again, then we begin our works as believers. The works in our life are built upon that foundation of Jesus Christ. It is from this foundation that God the Father accepts our works and gives us rewards.
Just doing good works does not ensure that we will receive a reward in Heaven.
The Scripture clearly teaches in the book of Isaiah that our natural works (before Salvation) are as filthy rags.
Isaiah 64:6, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities like the wind, have taken us away."
This is why everyone must be Born Again in order for God to accept their works. I must reiterate that our works must be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ and Him alone.
The Apostle Paul gave the warning that we should be very careful how we build on that foundation.
1 Corinthians 3:10, "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon."
If we observe the Apostle Paul's warning, we too, can become wise master builders in the kingdom of God. And at the time of the Judgment Seat of Christ, our works will stand when the fire of God is applied to see what sort of material we used for building upon our foundation.
1 Corinthians 3:13, "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is."
That's right! Your work is either gold, silver, precious stones, or wood, hay, and stubble. And only the fire of God can reveal its true character.
1 Corinthians 3:14, "If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward."
Now, when Jesus has tried your works with His fire, if your works remain standing before Him, you will recieve a reward in Heaven. But on the other hand, if your works are burned up you will not receive a reward, but will suffer lost. The only positive note is that although you may lose your rewards at the Judgment Seat, you will not lose your salvation. Because the works here do not determine eternal life.
1 Corinthians 3:15, "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."
As a wise master builder, you must know what type of materials you are using in order to build a strong house. We will now look into the Scriptures to see what type of works in Christ are consider gold, silver, and precious stones. When fire is applied to those, they only shine brighter!
Works as: Gold, Silver, and Precious Stones.
Here we will look at works that will ensure a reward in Heaven:
a.) Allowing God to work in us to complete His will:
Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
b.) Rejoicing under Persecution:
Matthew 5:11 & 12, "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake."
Verse 12, "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."
Acts 5:34-41; 41, "And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthly to suffer shame for his name."
1 Peter 4:13, "But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."
c.) Compassion on those in trouble:
Hebrews 10:34, "For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance."
d.) Being genuine in your service to the Lord:
Matthews 5:16-21; 18, "That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."
e.) Loving your enemies:
Luke 6:27,35; 35, "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil."
f.) Preaching the Gospel with a willing heart:
1 Corinthians 9:16,17,, "For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!"
Verse 17, "For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: But if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me."
This is just a few examples of works considered gold, silver, and precious stones. We must have a right heart in our service to the Lord. If we let the love of God direct our service to Him and man, we will be ensured of rewards in Heaven. Why? Because the Scriputres states that love never fails. Love is the gold, silver, and precious stones.
1 Corinthians 13:8, "Charity (love) never faileth..."
Works as: Wood, Hay, and Stubble.
In the natural, these materials can be found anywhere, and in most cases are totally worthless. And none of these material withstand under fire, they are totally consumed when burned.
In the Spiritual realm our works can also fall into the same category of worthlessness, no value, of no moral good, void of the life of God. That is why we are warned to take heed to what kind of materials we are using to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ.
It is now time for us to examine our own works. If what you are doing for Christ is considered wood, hay, and stubble, wouldn't it be better for you to know that now and not on that day that they will be judged?
We will now look at examples of works that will cause us to lose rewards before Christ:
a.) Serving Christ with envy and strife:
Philippians 1:15-18, 15, "Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife;..."
How sad, but true. Today there are many who proclaim the Gospel of Christ with a heart full of strife toward others. While others are envious of the favor of God on certain preachers and are driven to ungodly competition to try to appear successful. Their motivation is not for the things of God.
Philippians 2:3, "Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves."
b.) The Traditions of Men:
Mark 7:6-9, 7, "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Verse, 8, "For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men..."
The traditions of men have really blinded the hearts of God's people. Many think they will have a reward in Heaven, because they keep all the rules of their denomination. They have been motivated to serve by tradition, not by a heart for God. Their motive is wrong. It should be the love of God driving them to serve.
c.) Serving Christ to receive the praise of men:
Matthew 6:16, "Moveover when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a san countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appeear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward."
Many today are serving Christ, but their service is all about them. They have become the center of attraction, not the Lord who has called them. Some will not serve unless they get the credit, while other want to have man's recognition for what they have done. This is wood, hay, and stubble, in our lives!
The Rewards one may obtain at the Judgment Seat of Christ
There are five crowns that believers may receive. Space will only permit us to list the five crowns in this newsletter. In a later study, we will go in-depth to look at more of the rewards promised to us by God.
1.The Incorruptible Crown: (Victor's Crown) 1 Corinthians 9:24,25
2.The Crown of Rejoicing: (Soul Winner's crown) 1 Thessalonians 2:19
3.The Crown of Life: (Martyrs Crown). James 1:12, & Revelation 2:10
4.The Crown of Righteous: (Crown of Anticipation) 2 Timothy 4:8
5.The Crown of Glory: (Elders Crown) 1 Peter 5:4,& 1 Corinthians 9:16,17
6.This is just a brief look at the rewards available to believers. God has promised many more exciting rewards for those who serve Him. Remember your motives in serving God and to make sure you always build with the right materials.
Romans 14:10, "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ".
2 Corinthians 5:10, "For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ: that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
A) What is the Judgment Seat of Christ?
The Judgment Seat of Christ will be the judgment given by Christ to His Saints. At this judgment the saints of God will receive or lose rewards. The Judgment Seat of Christ will not be a judgment of condemantion or one of eternal damnation for those who lose rewards, but rather a rewarding for our service as Christians. Those who are blessed to receive rewards at this judgment will receive crowns and dominions of authority in Christ's Millennial kingdom. This judgment will only be for Christian. No sinners will appear at this judgment. All through the Scripture, Christ has promised rewards for those who overcome. The Judgment Seat of Christ will be the place where these rewards will be given to those saints who have overcome.
B) Outline for this Study
1.The meaning of the Judgment Seat of Christ
2.The purpose of the Judgment Seat
3.Rewards vs. Awards
4.The promise of rewards for service
5.The time frame of the Judgment Seat
6.How will Christ judge at this Judgment?
7.The Rewards given at the this Judgment Seat
1.) The Meaning of the Judgment Seat of Christ:
The Judgment Seat is translated (Beam Seat). L. Sale-Harrison in his book, Judgment Seat of Christ, p.8 states:
"In the Grecian games in Athens, the old arena contained a raised platform on which the president or umpire of the arena sat. Form here he rewarded all the contestants: and here he would reward all winners. It was called the "Bema" or "Reward Seat". It was never used as a judicial bench".
As we will note through out our study, the Judgment Seat of Christ will not be a judgment of eternal condemnation, on those who lose rewards. They will still have the gift of salvation purchased for them by the Blood of christ. The Scriptures declare that in Christ there is no condemnation.
Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
John 5:24, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word; and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into comdemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
Arthur Pridham, in his book, Notes and Reflections on the Second Epistle to the Coninthians p. 141, states:
"A saint will never again come into judgment on account of his natural or ingerited iniquity, for he is already dead judicially wiht Christ, and is no longer known or dealt with on the footing of his natural responsibility. As a man he has bee weighed and found wanting. He was born under condmenation, to a natural heritage of wrath, and nothing good has been discovered in is flesh; but his quilt has been obliterated by the blood of his Redeemer, and he is freely and justly pardoned for his savior's sake. Because Christ is risen frm the dead, he is no longer in his sins. He is justified by faith, and is presented in the name and on the merits of the Just One before God: and of this new and ever blessed title to acceptance the Holy Spirit is the living seal and witness. Into judgment, therefore, on his own account he cannot come..."
2.) The Purpose of the Judgment Seat of Christ:
1 Corinthians 5:10,
"...that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
This judgment will be based on what we hae done in own bodies. Christ will give rewards based on performance in the kingdom. In order for anyone to appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, one must first be born again, washed in blood of Christ. At this judgment, our works will be judged for rewards, not to validate salvation. This is one difference between the Judgment Seat of Christ and The Great White Throne Judgment. Those at the Whithe Throne Judgment will be condemned. Now man's works will be accepted without the blood of Christ. This is why, at the Judgment Seat of Christ, a man may lose rewards for poor service, but not lose his salvation. Salvation is a gift of God that the Christian can not work for. The purpose of the Judgment Seat of Christ, is to reward the saints of God who have overcome this world.
3.) Rewards vs. Awards at the Judgment Seat of Christ:
At the Judgment Seat, men will receive rewards and not awards. There is a difference.
Rewards are always based on service, whereas awards are based on decision.
Rewards def. 1) Something given in return for good or, sometimes, evil, or for service or merit. 2) compensation; profit; 3) to give a reward to. 4) to give a reward for service. 5) reward usually refers to something given in recompense for a good deed, for merit, etc. 6) priaze applies to something won in competition.
Awards def. 1) to give, as by legal decision, adjudg: as the plaintiff was awarded his damages. 2) to give as the result of judging or considering: grant: as we award a prize for the best essay.
At the Judgment Seat of Christ, the rewards will be given on the basis of a man's service for Christ after salvation. If a man's service is great in the kingdom, His reward will be great in Heaven at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
4.) The Promise of Rewards for Service:
All through the Scriptures, we have been promised rewards. The Word of God declares that God remembers our work and labor of love.
Hebrews 6:10, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shown toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."
Let's notice in the Scripture, the promise of rewards for every man's work and service, whether it be good or bad.
a) 1 Corinthians 3:8, "Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and everyman shall receive his own reward according to his own labour."
b) Psalm 62:12, "Also unto thee, O Lord, Belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to everyman according to his work."
c) Romans 2:6, "Who will render to every man according to his deeds:"
d) Luke 14:14, "And thou shalt be blessed: for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
Here the word recompense in the Greek, antapodidomi (an-tap-odee-do-mee) means to repay, requite reward (good or evil).
e) Matthew 16:27,, "For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works."
f) Revelation 22:12, "And behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." g) Jeremiah 17:10, "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."
h) Jeremiah 32:19, "Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the Sons of men: to give every one to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:"
i) Proverbs 24:12, "...and shall not he render to every man according to his works?"
j) Hebrews 6:10, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shown toward this name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."
3.) The Time Frame of the Judgment Seat of Christ:
Luke 14:14, "...For thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
This judgment will occur immediately following the Rapture of the Church. Our Lord stated in this verse, that He would recompense the Just at the time of their resurrection. The Rapture of the Chruch consists of the resurrection of the Just (those who have died in Christ) and the catching up of the Saints (those who are alive and remain). This is the major event that our Lord is referring to in Luke 14:14. The Judgment Seat of Christ and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb both occur simultaneously in Heaven with the 7 years Great Tribulation Period that is unfolding on Earth.
2.) How will Christ judge at this time?
2 Corinthians 5:10, "For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad (worthless)". The question may be asked, how will Christ judge the Church? What will be the things He will look for? At this time Christ will not judge to condemn. The Scripture above seems to conclude that Christ will judge the good and the bad in our lives.
But in the context of this judgment, Christ will judge our works as Christians. The word (bad) here, deals not with ethical or moral evil, but rather its meaning is worthlessness, or good for nothing, the impossibility of any ture gain ever coming forth from it. This notion of worthlessness is the central focus.
Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost: summed it up this way. "Thus the judgment is not to determine what is ethically good or evil.
But rather that which is acceptable and that which is worthless. It is not the Lord's purpose here to chasten his children for their sins, but to reward their service for those things done in the name of the Lord." (Bad, grk. Kakos, worthless)
Now, let us take a look at how Christ is actually going to judge our works. Apostle Paul revealed that our works will fall into one of two categories. Itis of what quality that our works fall into, that will determine whether we will receieve a reward in Heaven.
1 Corinthians 3:8-15, "Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and stubble;"
1 Corinthians 3:11, "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
Jesus Christ is the only foundation on which we can build a work for God. After we are Born Again, then we begin our works as believers. The works in our life are built upon that foundation of Jesus Christ. It is from this foundation that God the Father accepts our works and gives us rewards.
Just doing good works does not ensure that we will receive a reward in Heaven.
The Scripture clearly teaches in the book of Isaiah that our natural works (before Salvation) are as filthy rags.
Isaiah 64:6, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities like the wind, have taken us away."
This is why everyone must be Born Again in order for God to accept their works. I must reiterate that our works must be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ and Him alone.
The Apostle Paul gave the warning that we should be very careful how we build on that foundation.
1 Corinthians 3:10, "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon."
If we observe the Apostle Paul's warning, we too, can become wise master builders in the kingdom of God. And at the time of the Judgment Seat of Christ, our works will stand when the fire of God is applied to see what sort of material we used for building upon our foundation.
1 Corinthians 3:13, "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is."
That's right! Your work is either gold, silver, precious stones, or wood, hay, and stubble. And only the fire of God can reveal its true character.
1 Corinthians 3:14, "If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward."
Now, when Jesus has tried your works with His fire, if your works remain standing before Him, you will recieve a reward in Heaven. But on the other hand, if your works are burned up you will not receive a reward, but will suffer lost. The only positive note is that although you may lose your rewards at the Judgment Seat, you will not lose your salvation. Because the works here do not determine eternal life.
1 Corinthians 3:15, "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."
As a wise master builder, you must know what type of materials you are using in order to build a strong house. We will now look into the Scriptures to see what type of works in Christ are consider gold, silver, and precious stones. When fire is applied to those, they only shine brighter!
Works as: Gold, Silver, and Precious Stones.
Here we will look at works that will ensure a reward in Heaven:
a.) Allowing God to work in us to complete His will:
Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
b.) Rejoicing under Persecution:
Matthew 5:11 & 12, "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake."
Verse 12, "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."
Acts 5:34-41; 41, "And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthly to suffer shame for his name."
1 Peter 4:13, "But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."
c.) Compassion on those in trouble:
Hebrews 10:34, "For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance."
d.) Being genuine in your service to the Lord:
Matthews 5:16-21; 18, "That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."
e.) Loving your enemies:
Luke 6:27,35; 35, "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil."
f.) Preaching the Gospel with a willing heart:
1 Corinthians 9:16,17,, "For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!"
Verse 17, "For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: But if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me."
This is just a few examples of works considered gold, silver, and precious stones. We must have a right heart in our service to the Lord. If we let the love of God direct our service to Him and man, we will be ensured of rewards in Heaven. Why? Because the Scriputres states that love never fails. Love is the gold, silver, and precious stones.
1 Corinthians 13:8, "Charity (love) never faileth..."
Works as: Wood, Hay, and Stubble.
In the natural, these materials can be found anywhere, and in most cases are totally worthless. And none of these material withstand under fire, they are totally consumed when burned.
In the Spiritual realm our works can also fall into the same category of worthlessness, no value, of no moral good, void of the life of God. That is why we are warned to take heed to what kind of materials we are using to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ.
It is now time for us to examine our own works. If what you are doing for Christ is considered wood, hay, and stubble, wouldn't it be better for you to know that now and not on that day that they will be judged?
We will now look at examples of works that will cause us to lose rewards before Christ:
a.) Serving Christ with envy and strife:
Philippians 1:15-18, 15, "Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife;..."
How sad, but true. Today there are many who proclaim the Gospel of Christ with a heart full of strife toward others. While others are envious of the favor of God on certain preachers and are driven to ungodly competition to try to appear successful. Their motivation is not for the things of God.
Philippians 2:3, "Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves."
b.) The Traditions of Men:
Mark 7:6-9, 7, "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Verse, 8, "For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men..."
The traditions of men have really blinded the hearts of God's people. Many think they will have a reward in Heaven, because they keep all the rules of their denomination. They have been motivated to serve by tradition, not by a heart for God. Their motive is wrong. It should be the love of God driving them to serve.
c.) Serving Christ to receive the praise of men:
Matthew 6:16, "Moveover when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a san countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appeear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward."
Many today are serving Christ, but their service is all about them. They have become the center of attraction, not the Lord who has called them. Some will not serve unless they get the credit, while other want to have man's recognition for what they have done. This is wood, hay, and stubble, in our lives!
The Rewards one may obtain at the Judgment Seat of Christ
There are five crowns that believers may receive. Space will only permit us to list the five crowns in this newsletter. In a later study, we will go in-depth to look at more of the rewards promised to us by God.
1.The Incorruptible Crown: (Victor's Crown) 1 Corinthians 9:24,25
2.The Crown of Rejoicing: (Soul Winner's crown) 1 Thessalonians 2:19
3.The Crown of Life: (Martyrs Crown). James 1:12, & Revelation 2:10
4.The Crown of Righteous: (Crown of Anticipation) 2 Timothy 4:8
5.The Crown of Glory: (Elders Crown) 1 Peter 5:4,& 1 Corinthians 9:16,17
6.This is just a brief look at the rewards available to believers. God has promised many more exciting rewards for those who serve Him. Remember your motives in serving God and to make sure you always build with the right materials.
Israel In Prophecy Part 3
Part 3 — this portion first appeared in the November 1996 Levitt Letter.
Israel, Earth’s Lightning Rod
An ironic and rather sad feature of the worldwide notoriety of Jerusalem and Israel is that a major part of the church, the body of believers who will live there during the coming thousand-year kingdom, is largely oblivious to the significance of ongoing events. The denominational churches see nothing of spiritual import going on in Israel. Only Bible readers are aware of the repercussions of recent events.
Indeed, Israel attracts violent reactions the way a lightning rod attracts lightning, and that is in keeping with prophecy. Practically the whole world is unified in its desire to force Israel to bow to this awful “peace process,” and this shows the widespread lack of understanding of the times. False peace will be the theme of the coming Tribulation period, and we have obviously entered an era of false peace today. Yitzhak Rabin was a fine gentleman and a good soldier, but the peace agreement he set in motion will not last because it is not God’s peace in God’s timing. Ultimately, all the world’s peacemaking will be done by that “Dark Prince,” of whom Daniel, the clear-eyed forecaster of the End Times, remarks, “He shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many” (Dan. 8:25). Our times parallel such warnings in Scripture as those who cry “peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14), and “for when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (I Thes. 5:3).
In the interviews that our ministry collected in Israel for our Jerusalem 3000 television series, a number of spokesmen — believers and unbelievers, Jews and Palestinians — clarified all of the above. It is obvious from all that they told us that virtually no one believes in this “peace process” with all his heart. But according to their various motives, it is a means to an end for the Palestinians — the end of Israel — and for the Israelis it is a hope for the end of terrorism. For the American government, it is good PR, and for the United Nations, a sort of victory. For those who are biblically informed, it is the end of the age.
Obviously, Jerusalem will remain in contention for some time to come. At the time of this writing, the Netanyahu government has ordered all Palestinian offices in Jerusalem to be dismantled, in accordance with the Oslo agreements. The Palestinians were never authorized to place government offices in the Jewish capital, but they did so anyway; and the Peres government, despite many well-publicized threats, never closed these offices. I, myself, with my TV crew interviewed Faisal Husseini, the “Palestinian Representative for Jerusalem,” in the Orient House, an Arab mansion dating from the past century that had been refurbished as a Palestinian governmental headquarters for receiving foreign dignitaries, many of whom have visited. I counted 25 “plainclothesmen” (thugs in jeans and T-shirts) surrounding the building and in the streets on all sides. For me, seeing such an ominous personality as Husseini seated in state in such surroundings felt like an eerie prediction of the Antichrist entering the Temple and declaring that he is the God of Israel!
Israel, the Churches, and the Seminaries
Besides the media bias, there is a kind of theological bias against Israel going on in churches and seminaries today. The liberal churches have always been a lost cause so far as biblical study is concerned, and they, of course, are blissfully unaware of the relevance of Israel in prophecy, or of prophecy in general, for that matter. But I refer to biblically-based churches and seminaries, who over time have seemed to change positions concerning Israel. Dallas Theological Seminary, Moody Bible Institute, and most of the other biblical seminaries admired the Israelis when they were heroes in the media in the great days of the Six Day War and the kibbutzim and so forth. But as the media bias turned against the Israelis, so it seemed did the seminaries and even some Bible churches. As I put it recently during a speaking engagement, my ministry started out explaining Israel to Christians, and now I’m having to defend Israel to Christians.
In reality, the Israelis have not changed, but some peculiar anti-Israel theologies have come down the road. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Tim. 4:3–4). If we are to expect teachers who will just tickle the ears, we have plenty now.
The ultimate scriptural error is replacement theology, which seeks to establish that the church has replaced Israel. This is the reason for the departure of all of the liberal churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, from sound biblical understanding. It is madness to try to replace Israel in the Scriptures with a miscellaneous group of Gentile peoples scattered around the globe. If the church has replaced Israel in all of God’s promises and covenants, then Israel no longer has a role in God’s future plan. This would make nonsense out of such Bible passages as Romans 11:25–26, which states “that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved.” If Israel is out of the picture, that verse should read “and so all the church shall be saved,” which would be ludicrous because the church is composed of people who are already saved.
The original replacement theology was Islam, which sought to replace both Judaism and Christianity and thus take over the religious world. As a matter of fact, that statement should not be in the past tense, since that process is still going on with the Moslems. But in the Western world, we should be more alert than to put our Bibles away and follow in error some pastor or professor with anti-Israel or simply anti-Semitic biases. We will not take space here to analyze a bunch of odd doctrines, but will simply say that the Antichrist’s religion is the final replacement theology. It will seek to dominate the entire religious and secular world, and even replace Almighty God Himself! Such contemporary doctrinal errors as “Kingdom Now,” in which we need to elect the right officials in order to bring in the Kingdom by human endeavor, and “Progressive Dispensationalism,” a teaching that mixes up the Church Age and the Millennial Kingdom, are ways of simply cutting Israel out of the picture and thus making the whole Bible nonsense.
The fact is, God chose one people, Israel, and has dealt through them since Abraham and will continue that dealing through them in the future. Thus when we read of the building of the Tower of Babel and the godless ways of mankind early on in Genesis, in the same chapter we see Terah and the birth of his son Abram. God’s solution to mankind’s apostasy seems to be the invention of a single people through whom all nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3). He continued to deal with them through the long period of the Old Testament adventures until the coming of the Messiah, a Jew, who chose twelve Jewish disciples and twelve Jewish apostles. And likewise, as we have seen, He will choose again from among the Jews in order to have testifiers to Christ in the Tribulation period to come, namely the 144,000. If we interrupt that elegant design of four millennia with the idea that some global Gentile organization will take this mantle upon itself, we obviously interrupt a plan of great magnitude. When we teach that we can bring on the Kingdom ourselves without prayer or reference to Israeli affairs, as in Kingdom Now doctrines, we simply depart from God’s plan. When we teach that Christ is already ruling in the Kingdom at this time (even though the Messiah Himself entreats us to pray “Thy Kingdom come”), we confuse dispensations. We are not exactly getting the cart before the horse, but we are putting the horse inside the cart and cannot move forward. Bringing the Kingdom into the Church Age, as Progressive Dispensationalism does, goes in the direction of Amillennialism, a doctrine that utterly denies the thousand-year Kingdom in Israel.
The Bible is basically the story of one people, the Jewish people. All of its writers cover-to-cover are Jews, Old Testament and New. The Messiah is a full-blooded Israeli Jew whose genealogies on both sides are presented in Scripture. (To show the extremes to which Islam seeks to replace Judaism and Christianity, consider Yasser Arafat’s claiming that Jesus was “the first Palestinian revolutionary.” He made this extraordinary statement in Bethlehem in December 1995 as the birthplace of Jesus Christ was calmly handed over to Moslems while the worldwide church remained asleep. Or consider the amazing claim by Hanan Ashrawi (a member of Arafat’s cabinet) on The MacNeil-Lehrer Report that “Jesus Christ was a Palestinian prophet born in Bethlehem in my country.” When Ms. Ashrawi, who claimed to be descended from the first Christians, was told that the original Christians were all Jews and that Jews never turn into Arabs, she was a bit confused; but this did not prevent her from being celebrated by the Episcopalian Church as a good Anglican in an article in their publication. Such muddling of theological doctrine and historical fact will play into the hands of the Antichrist, who will ultimately make the most fantastic of all claims, as we have mentioned. We are receiving a great deal of practice at believing total spiritual nonsense.
The problem with writing about prophecy is that one is not really a biblical prophet and can only speculate about world events. Israel indeed is a lightning rod for more than prophetic developments; it seems that the whole world is focused on that very tiny nation. The North Koreans mutter that something must be done about Israel, although it is doubtful that many of them could find it on a map. In Japan, where there are virtually no Jews, the Jews are blamed for problems with the economy. And on it goes. Indeed, Israel is the center of the nations, and in the Kingdom it will take its prophetic place as the head of the nations (Zech. 8:20–23).
But to recap what I have said about Israel in prophecy, I believe that the present climate of a false peace process will lead us down one of several possible roads to a Tribulation period situation. As to when this could happen, it is difficult to say; but in view of the very complete fulfillment of all of the Lord’s prophecies in Matthew 24, the Olivet discourse, we could hardly expect so tense a situation to continue for, say, another 50 years. World attention tends to shift from place to place, and since it is currently on Israel, I cannot help having the feeling that this would be an elegant moment to conclude this age. Everything seems to be in the right place except for the entrance of the Antichrist with his peace covenant of seven years. It is hard to think of any other piece of the prophecy puzzle that is not either in position for the End Times, or on the verge so that it could rapidly fall into place.
Thus, I think that the Antichrist is alive today and mature, and calculating his entrance. And I think that the present climate of concern over the peace process can lead us very directly to that day of an offered contract that will start the Tribulation period.
Israel, Earth’s Lightning Rod
An ironic and rather sad feature of the worldwide notoriety of Jerusalem and Israel is that a major part of the church, the body of believers who will live there during the coming thousand-year kingdom, is largely oblivious to the significance of ongoing events. The denominational churches see nothing of spiritual import going on in Israel. Only Bible readers are aware of the repercussions of recent events.
Indeed, Israel attracts violent reactions the way a lightning rod attracts lightning, and that is in keeping with prophecy. Practically the whole world is unified in its desire to force Israel to bow to this awful “peace process,” and this shows the widespread lack of understanding of the times. False peace will be the theme of the coming Tribulation period, and we have obviously entered an era of false peace today. Yitzhak Rabin was a fine gentleman and a good soldier, but the peace agreement he set in motion will not last because it is not God’s peace in God’s timing. Ultimately, all the world’s peacemaking will be done by that “Dark Prince,” of whom Daniel, the clear-eyed forecaster of the End Times, remarks, “He shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many” (Dan. 8:25). Our times parallel such warnings in Scripture as those who cry “peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14), and “for when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (I Thes. 5:3).
In the interviews that our ministry collected in Israel for our Jerusalem 3000 television series, a number of spokesmen — believers and unbelievers, Jews and Palestinians — clarified all of the above. It is obvious from all that they told us that virtually no one believes in this “peace process” with all his heart. But according to their various motives, it is a means to an end for the Palestinians — the end of Israel — and for the Israelis it is a hope for the end of terrorism. For the American government, it is good PR, and for the United Nations, a sort of victory. For those who are biblically informed, it is the end of the age.
Obviously, Jerusalem will remain in contention for some time to come. At the time of this writing, the Netanyahu government has ordered all Palestinian offices in Jerusalem to be dismantled, in accordance with the Oslo agreements. The Palestinians were never authorized to place government offices in the Jewish capital, but they did so anyway; and the Peres government, despite many well-publicized threats, never closed these offices. I, myself, with my TV crew interviewed Faisal Husseini, the “Palestinian Representative for Jerusalem,” in the Orient House, an Arab mansion dating from the past century that had been refurbished as a Palestinian governmental headquarters for receiving foreign dignitaries, many of whom have visited. I counted 25 “plainclothesmen” (thugs in jeans and T-shirts) surrounding the building and in the streets on all sides. For me, seeing such an ominous personality as Husseini seated in state in such surroundings felt like an eerie prediction of the Antichrist entering the Temple and declaring that he is the God of Israel!
Israel, the Churches, and the Seminaries
Besides the media bias, there is a kind of theological bias against Israel going on in churches and seminaries today. The liberal churches have always been a lost cause so far as biblical study is concerned, and they, of course, are blissfully unaware of the relevance of Israel in prophecy, or of prophecy in general, for that matter. But I refer to biblically-based churches and seminaries, who over time have seemed to change positions concerning Israel. Dallas Theological Seminary, Moody Bible Institute, and most of the other biblical seminaries admired the Israelis when they were heroes in the media in the great days of the Six Day War and the kibbutzim and so forth. But as the media bias turned against the Israelis, so it seemed did the seminaries and even some Bible churches. As I put it recently during a speaking engagement, my ministry started out explaining Israel to Christians, and now I’m having to defend Israel to Christians.
In reality, the Israelis have not changed, but some peculiar anti-Israel theologies have come down the road. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Tim. 4:3–4). If we are to expect teachers who will just tickle the ears, we have plenty now.
The ultimate scriptural error is replacement theology, which seeks to establish that the church has replaced Israel. This is the reason for the departure of all of the liberal churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, from sound biblical understanding. It is madness to try to replace Israel in the Scriptures with a miscellaneous group of Gentile peoples scattered around the globe. If the church has replaced Israel in all of God’s promises and covenants, then Israel no longer has a role in God’s future plan. This would make nonsense out of such Bible passages as Romans 11:25–26, which states “that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved.” If Israel is out of the picture, that verse should read “and so all the church shall be saved,” which would be ludicrous because the church is composed of people who are already saved.
The original replacement theology was Islam, which sought to replace both Judaism and Christianity and thus take over the religious world. As a matter of fact, that statement should not be in the past tense, since that process is still going on with the Moslems. But in the Western world, we should be more alert than to put our Bibles away and follow in error some pastor or professor with anti-Israel or simply anti-Semitic biases. We will not take space here to analyze a bunch of odd doctrines, but will simply say that the Antichrist’s religion is the final replacement theology. It will seek to dominate the entire religious and secular world, and even replace Almighty God Himself! Such contemporary doctrinal errors as “Kingdom Now,” in which we need to elect the right officials in order to bring in the Kingdom by human endeavor, and “Progressive Dispensationalism,” a teaching that mixes up the Church Age and the Millennial Kingdom, are ways of simply cutting Israel out of the picture and thus making the whole Bible nonsense.
The fact is, God chose one people, Israel, and has dealt through them since Abraham and will continue that dealing through them in the future. Thus when we read of the building of the Tower of Babel and the godless ways of mankind early on in Genesis, in the same chapter we see Terah and the birth of his son Abram. God’s solution to mankind’s apostasy seems to be the invention of a single people through whom all nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3). He continued to deal with them through the long period of the Old Testament adventures until the coming of the Messiah, a Jew, who chose twelve Jewish disciples and twelve Jewish apostles. And likewise, as we have seen, He will choose again from among the Jews in order to have testifiers to Christ in the Tribulation period to come, namely the 144,000. If we interrupt that elegant design of four millennia with the idea that some global Gentile organization will take this mantle upon itself, we obviously interrupt a plan of great magnitude. When we teach that we can bring on the Kingdom ourselves without prayer or reference to Israeli affairs, as in Kingdom Now doctrines, we simply depart from God’s plan. When we teach that Christ is already ruling in the Kingdom at this time (even though the Messiah Himself entreats us to pray “Thy Kingdom come”), we confuse dispensations. We are not exactly getting the cart before the horse, but we are putting the horse inside the cart and cannot move forward. Bringing the Kingdom into the Church Age, as Progressive Dispensationalism does, goes in the direction of Amillennialism, a doctrine that utterly denies the thousand-year Kingdom in Israel.
The Bible is basically the story of one people, the Jewish people. All of its writers cover-to-cover are Jews, Old Testament and New. The Messiah is a full-blooded Israeli Jew whose genealogies on both sides are presented in Scripture. (To show the extremes to which Islam seeks to replace Judaism and Christianity, consider Yasser Arafat’s claiming that Jesus was “the first Palestinian revolutionary.” He made this extraordinary statement in Bethlehem in December 1995 as the birthplace of Jesus Christ was calmly handed over to Moslems while the worldwide church remained asleep. Or consider the amazing claim by Hanan Ashrawi (a member of Arafat’s cabinet) on The MacNeil-Lehrer Report that “Jesus Christ was a Palestinian prophet born in Bethlehem in my country.” When Ms. Ashrawi, who claimed to be descended from the first Christians, was told that the original Christians were all Jews and that Jews never turn into Arabs, she was a bit confused; but this did not prevent her from being celebrated by the Episcopalian Church as a good Anglican in an article in their publication. Such muddling of theological doctrine and historical fact will play into the hands of the Antichrist, who will ultimately make the most fantastic of all claims, as we have mentioned. We are receiving a great deal of practice at believing total spiritual nonsense.
The problem with writing about prophecy is that one is not really a biblical prophet and can only speculate about world events. Israel indeed is a lightning rod for more than prophetic developments; it seems that the whole world is focused on that very tiny nation. The North Koreans mutter that something must be done about Israel, although it is doubtful that many of them could find it on a map. In Japan, where there are virtually no Jews, the Jews are blamed for problems with the economy. And on it goes. Indeed, Israel is the center of the nations, and in the Kingdom it will take its prophetic place as the head of the nations (Zech. 8:20–23).
But to recap what I have said about Israel in prophecy, I believe that the present climate of a false peace process will lead us down one of several possible roads to a Tribulation period situation. As to when this could happen, it is difficult to say; but in view of the very complete fulfillment of all of the Lord’s prophecies in Matthew 24, the Olivet discourse, we could hardly expect so tense a situation to continue for, say, another 50 years. World attention tends to shift from place to place, and since it is currently on Israel, I cannot help having the feeling that this would be an elegant moment to conclude this age. Everything seems to be in the right place except for the entrance of the Antichrist with his peace covenant of seven years. It is hard to think of any other piece of the prophecy puzzle that is not either in position for the End Times, or on the verge so that it could rapidly fall into place.
Thus, I think that the Antichrist is alive today and mature, and calculating his entrance. And I think that the present climate of concern over the peace process can lead us very directly to that day of an offered contract that will start the Tribulation period.
Israel In Prophecy Part 2
Part 2
Part 2 — this portion first appeared in the October 1996 Levitt Letter.
Israel Today
Writing about Israel at any given time is very difficult because that nation is in a constant state of change. Anyone who has visited the place will testify to the almost electrifying atmosphere in the streets, and the sense of spiritual forces, potential physical danger, and unmitigated energy that simply permeate the air in that unique place.
After thinking about this chapter for a full year and collecting notes, I realize that a book could well be written, rather than just a chapter, on this particular year in Israel. Three events, especially, seem to stand out as regarding prophecy. They are the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin; the sudden acceleration of terrorism in the spring of 1996; and the election of Binyamin Netanyahu, which seemed to surprise everyone but those familiar with the Israeli population and their concerns.
(The global news-media bias against Israel and in favor of various Arab schemes and causes has given many people a false picture of the Holy Land. The Arabs, 200 million in number, are cast as the underdog to the 4-1/2 million Israelis; and the Palestinians, the perpetrators of terrorism, are considered the victims in the press and electronic coverage. With the media, the U.S. administration, and almost everyone else rooting for Prime Minister Shimon Peres and the “peace process,” the world was shocked when the Israeli population elected Netanyahu.
But this was easy to understand from the streets of Israel. The population was simply worried about giving away land to people who seemed to have no intention of making peace. The media was dishonest enough to call the election “razor-thin” and “hairline,” when actually the Jewish vote put Netanyahu ahead 56% to 44%. The vote of the Israeli Arabs, a monolithic one in favor of Peres, made the election seem close in the pure numbers, but ought not to be taken seriously as valid balloting in a democracy. No Arab nation is now, or has ever been, a democracy, and Arab people pretty much vote as a bloc or as they are told to vote.)
Regarding the first of the history-making events of the past year, the Rabin assassination, I looked back at our ministry’s coverage of that event. We were certainly asked a host of questions about what really happened and how we felt about it. I devoted my December 1995 personal letter to responding to those questions.
At this time, looking back on the assassination, it has seemed to militate toward the End Times in a very direct way. We might describe the subsequent chain of events as follows: Peres takes over the government and accelerates the peace process; the people of Israel polarize and the “right wing” is accused of causing the assassination; the Palestinians also divide, with those not in favor of the peace process heightening their terrorist activities; the bombing of buses in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv causes a majority of the Jewish population to swing toward the right; Netanyahu wins the election.
At the time of this writing, there is an uneasy silence in Israel, with both sides (the Israelis and the Palestinians) waiting to see what the policies of the new government really will be. The way in which this militates toward the Tribulation period is that the policies Netanyahu chooses to embrace could have the potential to bring on real conflict — a true shooting war. That is, if he refuses to go ahead with the peace process, the Palestinians will sooner or later escalate the terrorism until life in Israel becomes unbearable. They might also consider that they have enough of an excuse to attack Israel, with the help of Syria or whomever, and they would most likely have world opinion on their side.
World opinion is created by the aforementioned media bias, which is invariably anti-Israel these days.
If, on the other hand, Netanyahu goes ahead with the peace process and step-by-step gives Israel over to the Palestinians, the Israelis would find themselves on a relatively narrow coastal strip facing the populous West Bank high ground in the center of the country. The Palestinians would then be in a position to launch an attack against a much smaller Israel, which the Israelis might choose to repulse with nuclear weaponry.
Thus, in either case, the so-called peace process leads ultimately to war. Or then again, it might lead to the brink of war, giving the Antichrist his cue to enter the negotiations with his own “superior” peace plan. One can imagine the beleaguered Israelis, realizing that the use of nuclear materials in so small a space would be almost as dangerous to themselves as to their enemy, contemplating what to do and glad to have an alternative of a seven-year peace plan.
I am purely speculating on the scenario that will bring the Antichrist on stage at last, but the peace process in Israel is extremely suggestive of the administration of the Antichrist. It bears all his characteristics: it is anti-Israeli, it is a false peace, and it leads ultimately to war.
I have touched on the media bias that has given Israel an undeservedly bad reputation in the minds of today’s generation. We must bear in mind that most of the people alive today did not witness the founding of Israel, nor did they live as adults through the period when a young and brave Israel of kibbutzim and defensive wars sustained itself and grew into the nation it is today. Rather, university-age students and even Baby Boomers are conscious only of a strong Israel and its opposition to the Arabs. That unfortunate opposition means that petro-dollars and Israel are on opposite sides of an ongoing debate.
Should we support our sister democracy with whatever blemishes it may have, or should we favor the Arabs and maintain an inexpensive, steady flow of oil to run our civilization? The media, like any other business, give their best customers the most courtesy, and they are utterly ruled by oil money. The advertising of cars, plastics, gasoline, cosmetics, and a thousand other petroleum products, supports the for-profit media enterprises we mistakenly assume are neutral in their reportage. Obviously, they follow an invariably pro-oil-money line. The Arabs have even gone so far as to purchase certain news agencies, including the United Press International, in order to more effectively manage the news we get.
I have personally had the experience of speaking to newspaper editors who would not even correct misreported facts in Arab-released news; they simply accused me of bias. I pointed out to the foreign editor of the Dallas Morning News that the paper had reported violence in Manger Square in Bethlehem in December 1994, while my tour group, which stood in the square the whole evening, had seen no violence whatsoever. I also commented that the Morning News was running an Arab news release from Cairo, and they might want to correct their errors. I was told that the editor understood my bias. I replied that it was not a matter of bias but of eyewitness testimony, and that the Morning News was not reporting the facts. I asked if, since they had an Arab writer, did they perhaps have any Jewish editors to look at the copy and see if it was at least accurate. To that, the editor answered, “I consider that a racist question.”
David Bar-Illan, executive editor of the Jerusalem Post, reported that the New York Times, “the newspaper of record,” reported an influx of 200,000 Palestinians from Kuwait into Gaza during the Persian Gulf War. Nothing of the kind happened at all, but that august newspaper refused to print a retraction or even look into the matter, and this important misinformation is now there to be read by future generations as presumably a reason why the Palestinians needed more land. The news on television networks is equally biased. I personally find very repugnant the reportage of Mike Wallace, Robert Novak, Anthony Lewis, Thomas Friedman and Bob Simon. They can all be counted on to criticize Israel virtually 100% of the time. They are also all Jews, though they might not like that fact to be generally known.
Jerusalem is a particular bone of contention right now, and that is how the prophets portrayed it in the End Times. Jerusalem is the most wonderful city in the world, not only in its beauty, but also in its significance. The prophets picture the Millennial House of the Lord there on Mount Moriah, where the old temples of God once stood.
The book of Revelation also continues the career of Jerusalem beyond the kingdom and into eternity: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21:1–2).
But Zechariah also chronicles tougher times for Jerusalem before all that good news, and I’m afraid we are now living in that turbulent period. “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it” (Zech. 12:3). This is a case where what once was a prophecy to be interpreted, is now daily news that anyone can see. Jerusalem and, indeed, all of Israel are becoming the center of the earth and the focus of all nations. The current peace process, which is still on track even after the recent assassination, prophetically will lead to that “covenant with death and hell” (Isaiah 28:15) warned about in prophetic Scripture. The Antichrist will eventually arrive with his seven-year treaty, and that will be the beginning of the end.
Part 2 — this portion first appeared in the October 1996 Levitt Letter.
Israel Today
Writing about Israel at any given time is very difficult because that nation is in a constant state of change. Anyone who has visited the place will testify to the almost electrifying atmosphere in the streets, and the sense of spiritual forces, potential physical danger, and unmitigated energy that simply permeate the air in that unique place.
After thinking about this chapter for a full year and collecting notes, I realize that a book could well be written, rather than just a chapter, on this particular year in Israel. Three events, especially, seem to stand out as regarding prophecy. They are the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin; the sudden acceleration of terrorism in the spring of 1996; and the election of Binyamin Netanyahu, which seemed to surprise everyone but those familiar with the Israeli population and their concerns.
(The global news-media bias against Israel and in favor of various Arab schemes and causes has given many people a false picture of the Holy Land. The Arabs, 200 million in number, are cast as the underdog to the 4-1/2 million Israelis; and the Palestinians, the perpetrators of terrorism, are considered the victims in the press and electronic coverage. With the media, the U.S. administration, and almost everyone else rooting for Prime Minister Shimon Peres and the “peace process,” the world was shocked when the Israeli population elected Netanyahu.
But this was easy to understand from the streets of Israel. The population was simply worried about giving away land to people who seemed to have no intention of making peace. The media was dishonest enough to call the election “razor-thin” and “hairline,” when actually the Jewish vote put Netanyahu ahead 56% to 44%. The vote of the Israeli Arabs, a monolithic one in favor of Peres, made the election seem close in the pure numbers, but ought not to be taken seriously as valid balloting in a democracy. No Arab nation is now, or has ever been, a democracy, and Arab people pretty much vote as a bloc or as they are told to vote.)
Regarding the first of the history-making events of the past year, the Rabin assassination, I looked back at our ministry’s coverage of that event. We were certainly asked a host of questions about what really happened and how we felt about it. I devoted my December 1995 personal letter to responding to those questions.
At this time, looking back on the assassination, it has seemed to militate toward the End Times in a very direct way. We might describe the subsequent chain of events as follows: Peres takes over the government and accelerates the peace process; the people of Israel polarize and the “right wing” is accused of causing the assassination; the Palestinians also divide, with those not in favor of the peace process heightening their terrorist activities; the bombing of buses in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv causes a majority of the Jewish population to swing toward the right; Netanyahu wins the election.
At the time of this writing, there is an uneasy silence in Israel, with both sides (the Israelis and the Palestinians) waiting to see what the policies of the new government really will be. The way in which this militates toward the Tribulation period is that the policies Netanyahu chooses to embrace could have the potential to bring on real conflict — a true shooting war. That is, if he refuses to go ahead with the peace process, the Palestinians will sooner or later escalate the terrorism until life in Israel becomes unbearable. They might also consider that they have enough of an excuse to attack Israel, with the help of Syria or whomever, and they would most likely have world opinion on their side.
World opinion is created by the aforementioned media bias, which is invariably anti-Israel these days.
If, on the other hand, Netanyahu goes ahead with the peace process and step-by-step gives Israel over to the Palestinians, the Israelis would find themselves on a relatively narrow coastal strip facing the populous West Bank high ground in the center of the country. The Palestinians would then be in a position to launch an attack against a much smaller Israel, which the Israelis might choose to repulse with nuclear weaponry.
Thus, in either case, the so-called peace process leads ultimately to war. Or then again, it might lead to the brink of war, giving the Antichrist his cue to enter the negotiations with his own “superior” peace plan. One can imagine the beleaguered Israelis, realizing that the use of nuclear materials in so small a space would be almost as dangerous to themselves as to their enemy, contemplating what to do and glad to have an alternative of a seven-year peace plan.
I am purely speculating on the scenario that will bring the Antichrist on stage at last, but the peace process in Israel is extremely suggestive of the administration of the Antichrist. It bears all his characteristics: it is anti-Israeli, it is a false peace, and it leads ultimately to war.
I have touched on the media bias that has given Israel an undeservedly bad reputation in the minds of today’s generation. We must bear in mind that most of the people alive today did not witness the founding of Israel, nor did they live as adults through the period when a young and brave Israel of kibbutzim and defensive wars sustained itself and grew into the nation it is today. Rather, university-age students and even Baby Boomers are conscious only of a strong Israel and its opposition to the Arabs. That unfortunate opposition means that petro-dollars and Israel are on opposite sides of an ongoing debate.
Should we support our sister democracy with whatever blemishes it may have, or should we favor the Arabs and maintain an inexpensive, steady flow of oil to run our civilization? The media, like any other business, give their best customers the most courtesy, and they are utterly ruled by oil money. The advertising of cars, plastics, gasoline, cosmetics, and a thousand other petroleum products, supports the for-profit media enterprises we mistakenly assume are neutral in their reportage. Obviously, they follow an invariably pro-oil-money line. The Arabs have even gone so far as to purchase certain news agencies, including the United Press International, in order to more effectively manage the news we get.
I have personally had the experience of speaking to newspaper editors who would not even correct misreported facts in Arab-released news; they simply accused me of bias. I pointed out to the foreign editor of the Dallas Morning News that the paper had reported violence in Manger Square in Bethlehem in December 1994, while my tour group, which stood in the square the whole evening, had seen no violence whatsoever. I also commented that the Morning News was running an Arab news release from Cairo, and they might want to correct their errors. I was told that the editor understood my bias. I replied that it was not a matter of bias but of eyewitness testimony, and that the Morning News was not reporting the facts. I asked if, since they had an Arab writer, did they perhaps have any Jewish editors to look at the copy and see if it was at least accurate. To that, the editor answered, “I consider that a racist question.”
David Bar-Illan, executive editor of the Jerusalem Post, reported that the New York Times, “the newspaper of record,” reported an influx of 200,000 Palestinians from Kuwait into Gaza during the Persian Gulf War. Nothing of the kind happened at all, but that august newspaper refused to print a retraction or even look into the matter, and this important misinformation is now there to be read by future generations as presumably a reason why the Palestinians needed more land. The news on television networks is equally biased. I personally find very repugnant the reportage of Mike Wallace, Robert Novak, Anthony Lewis, Thomas Friedman and Bob Simon. They can all be counted on to criticize Israel virtually 100% of the time. They are also all Jews, though they might not like that fact to be generally known.
Jerusalem is a particular bone of contention right now, and that is how the prophets portrayed it in the End Times. Jerusalem is the most wonderful city in the world, not only in its beauty, but also in its significance. The prophets picture the Millennial House of the Lord there on Mount Moriah, where the old temples of God once stood.
The book of Revelation also continues the career of Jerusalem beyond the kingdom and into eternity: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21:1–2).
But Zechariah also chronicles tougher times for Jerusalem before all that good news, and I’m afraid we are now living in that turbulent period. “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it” (Zech. 12:3). This is a case where what once was a prophecy to be interpreted, is now daily news that anyone can see. Jerusalem and, indeed, all of Israel are becoming the center of the earth and the focus of all nations. The current peace process, which is still on track even after the recent assassination, prophetically will lead to that “covenant with death and hell” (Isaiah 28:15) warned about in prophetic Scripture. The Antichrist will eventually arrive with his seven-year treaty, and that will be the beginning of the end.
Today’s Israel in Prophecy Part 1
By Zola Levitt
This article appeared originally in the September–November 1996 Levitt Letters.
Zola has written a chapter entitled “Israel, Earth’s Lightning Rod” for an upcoming book on prophecy, Foreshocks of Antichrist, which is a collection of articles on prophecy by various authors to be published by Harvest House in March 1997. The following is an excerpt of the first section of this chapter, which is highly relevant to current events in Israel and the world.
Part 1
Israel is the most important country in the world today. From a secular viewpoint, it is situated on the land bridge between the Asian and African continents, and it represents an island of democracy in an ocean of dictatorships. It is America’s key ally in the Eastern hemisphere. Economically, it is quite a power for its size, having an economy ten times the size of that of Egypt, Jordan and Syria put together! Politically, it is front-page news almost every day. The unbelieving world is indeed interested in Israel.
But for believers, its significance is beyond measure. The premillennial view of Scripture reveals that all believers will spend a thousand years in Israel with their King, and this could happen seven years from today! In the Second Coming, our Lord will not return to just any country, but as a matter of fact, “his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east” (Zech. 14:4). He will reign on the throne of David from Jerusalem, ruling a world of believing nations. We who have trusted Him for our salvation will rule with Him. The Bride of Christ will become the Queen of the Kingdom to come.
But before all of those happy events, there is the day of God’s wrath to contend with — “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:7). Little Israel is involved in close to 100% of End Times prophecy.
The Tribulation period, the 70th week of Daniel, will transpire when the Antichrist makes a peace covenant with the nation of Israel. That simple statement has been uttered for quite a few years, but we happen now to live in a time when people are riding up on a constant basis with peace treaties for Israel to sign. This mere fact by itself is grounds to suppose that the time is very short before the entrance of the one who will ultimately betray Israel and the world. The improvement in the Antichrist’s treaty, compared to today’s peace agreements, is probably the guarantee he can give of Israel’s security, presumably by his ten-nation confederacy in western Europe. He will be able to provide close-in land, sea and air defenses. Another attractive feature may be the seven-year span of the treaty, and possibly permission for Israel to rebuild its temple at last. Whatever the terms of the treaty, the Antichrist would be clearly recognizable to Bible readers by his lavish promises of peace on earth. This will be a false peace, of course, but are we not living in an age of false peace agreements? As we look at a world containing Chechnya, Bosnia, Lebanon, Ireland and South Africa, to mention a few smoldering fires, we hear of peace agreements being signed and abrogated all the time. It is actually rather remarkable to compare our times with the biblical descriptions of the Tribulation period. (This is to say nothing of the famines, pestilences, earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars, offenses, betrayals, etc., spoken of by the Lord in His Olivet discourse [Matthew 24], which is also addressed to Israel [see verses 13, 15, and 16].)
Where Israel is concerned, an uneasy peace will obtain for three and a half years, at which time the Antichrist will sense the Jewish people’s suspicions of him, and will attempt to assert his authority. He will do no less than call himself the God of Israel, or in Paul’s words, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thes. 2:3–4). Our Lord Himself, along with the prophet Daniel, foresaw the cataclysmic effects of this spiritual excess: “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains” (Matt. 24:15–16). In all probability, the Jewish people will bolt, having mistrusted the Antichrist right along. (Some teach that the Israeli leaders will accept him as a Messiah when he first comes. I do not believe they are that credulous. Having had bitter experience with false Messiahs in the past, they are far more careful than that. And after all, when the real Messiah presented Himself, they largely did not accept Him either.)
To continue our schedule of Tribulation-period events, we have the mobilization of the world’s armies, and particularly that of the King of the East and his force of 200-million men-at-arms, according to Revelation 9:16. It seems that the second half of the Tribulation is devoted to preparing for Armageddon, the world having heard enough of the Antichrist’s peace plans. Perhaps when the Israelis bolt, the Chinese and the others who are watching come to the conclusion that the Antichrist is not God after all, but is actually quite vulnerable. Since he controlled the world, then those who defeat him might control the world as well. And so the fight commences as the King of the East’s army literally marches to Armageddon, robbing, raping and pillaging as they go through the eastern hemisphere.
Where does a 200-million-man army march? Anywhere it likes. And so the Antichrist’s forces from western Europe and theatre nations designated as the King of the North and the King of the South, arm to meet this invader in that quiet, level valley in Israel surrounding the hill “called in the Hebrew tongue Har Megiddo (Armageddon)” (Rev. 16:16). The rest of the Tribulation period is the story of battles at Armageddon and Jerusalem, about which the Lord sadly observed, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved” (Matt. 24:22).
The Lord’s arrival at this point is, of course, the Second Coming, which initiates the thousand-year Kingdom in Israel. His first act is to judge the nations of the earth as to whether they are sheep or goats; that is, whether each citizen had a saving faith or not. He sets up a throne of judgment and utilizes as His standard — and note again here the importance of Israel — “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40). Most intensively “my brethren” refers to the Jewish people, or at least to the 144,000 “of all the tribes of the children of Israel” of Revelation 7:4. Outlawed, they still testified of Christ in the world, despite the Antichrist’s reign, and those who helped them, fed them, clothed them, visited them in prison, as the passage urges, demonstrate that they are sheep. Those who did not help them are goats and are bound with Satan for the duration of the thousand-year Kingdom.
If churches today who care little about Israel were put to the test of these Tribulation-period believers, one wonders if they would qualify as sheep under the Lord’s standards. One can only hope that believers in this age of relative freedom, prevalence of Bibles in many translations, and no Antichrist in power to contend with, would at a minimum be able to meet the test of the Tribulation period believers.
When the sheep have joined with the Old Testament saints and the church, the Kingdom has its population and it begins in earnest. It will last a thousand years, and while there will be some sin and some mischief in the world, it will be an upside-down society compared with what we have today. To believe in the King, who may be seen in Jerusalem from year to year, at least on the Feast of Tabernacles (Zech. 14:16–19), will be the choice of the vast majority of the world. The unbelievers in the Kingdom (the descendants of those who survived the Tribulation in their natural bodies and came directly to the Kingdom — the children of the “sheep,” as it were), will be as those born of Adam. They will have a choice between belief and unbelief, but those who choose the latter will be bound by the onerous laws of the Sermon on the Mount: “If thy right eye offend thee … if thy right hand offend thee …” (Matt. 5:29–30). It is at that time that the meek shall inherit the earth, and those who mourn will rejoice.
With that summation of upcoming events, we can begin to consider Israel as we see it today: as a harbinger of prophetic fulfillment.
This article appeared originally in the September–November 1996 Levitt Letters.
Zola has written a chapter entitled “Israel, Earth’s Lightning Rod” for an upcoming book on prophecy, Foreshocks of Antichrist, which is a collection of articles on prophecy by various authors to be published by Harvest House in March 1997. The following is an excerpt of the first section of this chapter, which is highly relevant to current events in Israel and the world.
Part 1
Israel is the most important country in the world today. From a secular viewpoint, it is situated on the land bridge between the Asian and African continents, and it represents an island of democracy in an ocean of dictatorships. It is America’s key ally in the Eastern hemisphere. Economically, it is quite a power for its size, having an economy ten times the size of that of Egypt, Jordan and Syria put together! Politically, it is front-page news almost every day. The unbelieving world is indeed interested in Israel.
But for believers, its significance is beyond measure. The premillennial view of Scripture reveals that all believers will spend a thousand years in Israel with their King, and this could happen seven years from today! In the Second Coming, our Lord will not return to just any country, but as a matter of fact, “his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east” (Zech. 14:4). He will reign on the throne of David from Jerusalem, ruling a world of believing nations. We who have trusted Him for our salvation will rule with Him. The Bride of Christ will become the Queen of the Kingdom to come.
But before all of those happy events, there is the day of God’s wrath to contend with — “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:7). Little Israel is involved in close to 100% of End Times prophecy.
The Tribulation period, the 70th week of Daniel, will transpire when the Antichrist makes a peace covenant with the nation of Israel. That simple statement has been uttered for quite a few years, but we happen now to live in a time when people are riding up on a constant basis with peace treaties for Israel to sign. This mere fact by itself is grounds to suppose that the time is very short before the entrance of the one who will ultimately betray Israel and the world. The improvement in the Antichrist’s treaty, compared to today’s peace agreements, is probably the guarantee he can give of Israel’s security, presumably by his ten-nation confederacy in western Europe. He will be able to provide close-in land, sea and air defenses. Another attractive feature may be the seven-year span of the treaty, and possibly permission for Israel to rebuild its temple at last. Whatever the terms of the treaty, the Antichrist would be clearly recognizable to Bible readers by his lavish promises of peace on earth. This will be a false peace, of course, but are we not living in an age of false peace agreements? As we look at a world containing Chechnya, Bosnia, Lebanon, Ireland and South Africa, to mention a few smoldering fires, we hear of peace agreements being signed and abrogated all the time. It is actually rather remarkable to compare our times with the biblical descriptions of the Tribulation period. (This is to say nothing of the famines, pestilences, earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars, offenses, betrayals, etc., spoken of by the Lord in His Olivet discourse [Matthew 24], which is also addressed to Israel [see verses 13, 15, and 16].)
Where Israel is concerned, an uneasy peace will obtain for three and a half years, at which time the Antichrist will sense the Jewish people’s suspicions of him, and will attempt to assert his authority. He will do no less than call himself the God of Israel, or in Paul’s words, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thes. 2:3–4). Our Lord Himself, along with the prophet Daniel, foresaw the cataclysmic effects of this spiritual excess: “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains” (Matt. 24:15–16). In all probability, the Jewish people will bolt, having mistrusted the Antichrist right along. (Some teach that the Israeli leaders will accept him as a Messiah when he first comes. I do not believe they are that credulous. Having had bitter experience with false Messiahs in the past, they are far more careful than that. And after all, when the real Messiah presented Himself, they largely did not accept Him either.)
To continue our schedule of Tribulation-period events, we have the mobilization of the world’s armies, and particularly that of the King of the East and his force of 200-million men-at-arms, according to Revelation 9:16. It seems that the second half of the Tribulation is devoted to preparing for Armageddon, the world having heard enough of the Antichrist’s peace plans. Perhaps when the Israelis bolt, the Chinese and the others who are watching come to the conclusion that the Antichrist is not God after all, but is actually quite vulnerable. Since he controlled the world, then those who defeat him might control the world as well. And so the fight commences as the King of the East’s army literally marches to Armageddon, robbing, raping and pillaging as they go through the eastern hemisphere.
Where does a 200-million-man army march? Anywhere it likes. And so the Antichrist’s forces from western Europe and theatre nations designated as the King of the North and the King of the South, arm to meet this invader in that quiet, level valley in Israel surrounding the hill “called in the Hebrew tongue Har Megiddo (Armageddon)” (Rev. 16:16). The rest of the Tribulation period is the story of battles at Armageddon and Jerusalem, about which the Lord sadly observed, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved” (Matt. 24:22).
The Lord’s arrival at this point is, of course, the Second Coming, which initiates the thousand-year Kingdom in Israel. His first act is to judge the nations of the earth as to whether they are sheep or goats; that is, whether each citizen had a saving faith or not. He sets up a throne of judgment and utilizes as His standard — and note again here the importance of Israel — “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40). Most intensively “my brethren” refers to the Jewish people, or at least to the 144,000 “of all the tribes of the children of Israel” of Revelation 7:4. Outlawed, they still testified of Christ in the world, despite the Antichrist’s reign, and those who helped them, fed them, clothed them, visited them in prison, as the passage urges, demonstrate that they are sheep. Those who did not help them are goats and are bound with Satan for the duration of the thousand-year Kingdom.
If churches today who care little about Israel were put to the test of these Tribulation-period believers, one wonders if they would qualify as sheep under the Lord’s standards. One can only hope that believers in this age of relative freedom, prevalence of Bibles in many translations, and no Antichrist in power to contend with, would at a minimum be able to meet the test of the Tribulation period believers.
When the sheep have joined with the Old Testament saints and the church, the Kingdom has its population and it begins in earnest. It will last a thousand years, and while there will be some sin and some mischief in the world, it will be an upside-down society compared with what we have today. To believe in the King, who may be seen in Jerusalem from year to year, at least on the Feast of Tabernacles (Zech. 14:16–19), will be the choice of the vast majority of the world. The unbelievers in the Kingdom (the descendants of those who survived the Tribulation in their natural bodies and came directly to the Kingdom — the children of the “sheep,” as it were), will be as those born of Adam. They will have a choice between belief and unbelief, but those who choose the latter will be bound by the onerous laws of the Sermon on the Mount: “If thy right eye offend thee … if thy right hand offend thee …” (Matt. 5:29–30). It is at that time that the meek shall inherit the earth, and those who mourn will rejoice.
With that summation of upcoming events, we can begin to consider Israel as we see it today: as a harbinger of prophetic fulfillment.
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