1 Corinthians 11:26

I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you: that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread. When He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body, which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of Me." After the same manner, He also took the cup when He had supped, saying, "This is the cup of the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.

Father, as we just sang, You are great. You are an awesome God. You describe Yourself or reveal Yourself as the King of kings, Lord of lords, the Alpha, the Omega, the One who was and is and is to come, the Everlasting. Lord, we thank You that You are on the throne, that You know all things, and that You desire us to know You and to know Your will.

You have given it to us; You have revealed Your will to us, Your plans. We pray, Lord, that as we are students of the Scriptures, as we study, led by Your Spirit, we would understand and know what it is that You are doing. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, "Amen." You can be seated.

Amen. Now, I wanted to take a moment before we pray to talk about this phrase at the end of verse 26, where Paul says that you do show the Lord's death until He comes. This really is a reality of the church's mission here. We, as the church of God, are called in this world to proclaim the Lord's death, burial, and resurrection until He comes.

Until He returns, the Bible describes very clearly that Jesus will one day return. Jesus Himself told His disciples of this in a number of places in the Gospels, but most specifically in John chapter 14, a passage you have likely heard before, verses 1 through 3: "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. Were it not so, I would not have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

Later on in that same chapter, in verse 28, He said again to His disciples, "You have heard how I said unto you that I go away and come again unto you." His disciples were later told by two angels as they watched Jesus ascend into heaven from the Mount of Olives. In Acts chapter 1, two angels appeared unto them and said in verse 11, "You men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go." He will come again.

So, Jesus instructed His disciples and told them that He would come again. These angels affirm that fact. The reality of the second coming of Jesus would later be taught to the church in the epistles. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, Paul says in verse 16, "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 1, Paul said, "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto Him." Not only Paul, but John, in 1 John chapter 3, verse 2, says, "Beloved, now we are the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."

So revealed by Jesus, affirmed by angels, and taught by the apostles, the promise of His return is a central theme throughout Scripture.

In the Bible, the last chapter of the last book, Revelation chapter 22, Jesus affirms His second coming three times. In verse 7, He says, "Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he that keeps the sayings of the prophecy of this book." Again, in verse 12, He states, "And behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give every man according to his work." Once more, in verse 20, He who testifies these things says, "Surely, I come quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus, says the church.

The second coming is revealed by Jesus, affirmed by angels, taught by the apostles, and established in the creeds of the church, including both the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. The Apostles' Creed states, "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day, He rose again. He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead."

The second coming of Christ is an established doctrine of the church, and we believe that Jesus will come again. When we partake of the Lord's Supper, when we partake of communion, we are proclaiming His death and affirming that He will one day come again. We look forward to the day when He will come again, where we will sup with Him in His kingdom.

The second coming of Christ is also associated with the end of this age. His second coming is presented in the scriptures as that which will usher in His kingdom. Thus, the coming of Christ signifies the end of this world as we know it.

Now, a week ago, Thursday, on March 17th, during the rewrite segment of his MSNBC news and commentary show, Lawrence O'Donnell responded to what he called the hype surrounding the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Japan. He stated, "The book of Revelation is a work of fiction."

Describing how a truly vicious God would bring about the end of the world, no half-smart religious person actually believes the book of Revelation. They are certain that their God would never turn into a malicious torturer and mass murderer beyond Hitler's wildest dreams. That is his take on Revelation.

O'Donnell went on to say, "Luckily for you," looking into the camera, "I know. And I know it with absolute certainty. This absolutely is not, is not the end of the world." No less than seven times, he repeated, "This is not the end of the world." He ended his segment saying, "For the sake of your children, for the sake of your grandchildren, listen to me, it is not the end of the world."

Is he right? Is the book of Revelation a work of fiction? Is it foolish to believe that the end will one day come? Is it true that someone is half-smart to believe that we might be living during or near the time of the last days?

Now, to be perfectly honest with you, I'm not sure I'm ready to take MSNBC's commentator's view as the final word on the subject, even if he is Harvard-trained. With all that is happening in the world, there are a lot of opinions about whether we're living in the last days. The question needs to be, what does the Bible say?

I have to preface what we're going to look at today with a bit of a qualifier, and I need you to note this very importantly. If end times prophecy only serves to excite and stimulate you to search news articles for possible trends and to count days until the possible end, then you've completely missed the point. Furthermore, if you're going to use cable news, periodicals, or the internet as your source for information, then expect to be deceived.

If you search the internet right now, you'll find that one 89-year-old Bible teacher, Harold Camping, has many people freaked out, proclaiming through his radio program.

The rapture of the church is going to happen on May 21st, 2011, and the end of the world will be on October 21st, 2011. Interestingly enough, Harold Camping wrote a book in 1994 called "1994," wherein he said that would be the end of the world. Before that, he claimed it would be in 1988. He is not to be believed. I take nothing he says as factual.

The Mayan calendar is set to end on December 21st, 2012. It's upon us; it's going to end. They did inscribe it on a rock. Maybe they just ran out of room; I don't know. So, is Harold Camping to be believed, or are the Mayans to be believed?

Now, we are told by some that the sun will be in the middle of the horns of Taurus on the Feast of Pentecost this year, June 12th, 2011. That must mean something, right? Maybe, maybe not. There will be a tetrad of lunar eclipses in 2014 and 2015, and they happen to fall on the Feast of Passover and Sukkoth, the beginning feast and ending feast of the Jewish calendar year, for two years. So, that must mean something, right? Maybe, maybe not.

There are some who are teaching that Daniel's 70 weeks prophecy will be fulfilled on September 23rd, 2015, which is the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. That's got to mean something, right? Maybe, maybe not.

You see, we are told that one of the things we do know about the last times is that we are not to be deceived, and many will be deceived. Don't be deceived. These things may be interesting, they may be exciting, and they may freak people out, but they may mean nothing.

What do we know about the end? Well, what do the Scriptures tell us? Here’s an important thing to consider: if it’s not supported by the Scriptures, it’s all speculative. It might be good educated guesses; it might be good speculation. But at least, it’s speculation.

The sad reality is that most of the evangelical community in America today has received their understanding of eschatology. That’s the study of the end. "Eschatos" means the end. Most people have received...

Their understanding of the study of eschatology often comes from the Left Behind series, a fictional book series. I hate to break it to you, but I think I need to. The Antichrist's name is not Nicolai Carpathia. It's not in Scripture. As much as I respect Hal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth is a great book, but I do not believe that the beastly things described in Revelation are cobra attack helicopters. We need to look at what the Scriptures say because there is one who is an authority on these matters, and He gave us a book. It's not the Left Behind book, but He gave us a book.

When Jesus was with His disciples, they asked Him a question, and His answer ended up being the longest discourse of Jesus to any question He received in the Scriptures. This is called the Olivet Discourse, and it is recorded in three of the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The details of what they write that Jesus said are different, but the outlines are exactly the same.

In Mark 13, verses 1 and 2, Jesus speaks about the destruction of the temple. In verses 3 through 13, He talks about the present conditions of history. In verses 14 through 23, He discusses the future tribulation period, which leads to verses 24 through 27 that deal with the second coming of Christ. It ends with verses 28 through 37, which provide the application and what our response should be.

In Matthew 24, verses 1 and 2, Jesus also addresses the destruction of the temple. In verses 3 through 14, He speaks about present history and conditions in the world. Verses 15 through 28 cover the future tribulation period, while verses 29 through 31 discuss the second coming of Jesus.

Through the end of chapter 25, Jesus speaks about the application in our response. In Luke 21, verses 5 and 6, He discusses the destruction of the temple. Verses 7 through 19 address present history and conditions in the world. Verses 20 through 24 speak about the future tribulation period. Verses 25 through 28 focus on the second coming, and verses 29 through 38 return to the application in our response. It's always the same outline.

As interesting as what some of these people on the internet may have to say, they are not the authority on the second coming of Christ. Jesus is. Therefore, we need to be students of the Scriptures far more than we are students of other people online, even if we respect them. We must understand what the Scriptures have to say.

Would you turn to Matthew chapter 24? In my opinion, Matthew 24 is my favorite of the Olivet Discourse accounts, simply because there is more detail given in Matthew 24 and 25 than in any of the others. Matthew 24, verse 1, provides the contextual setting of this discourse. Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple.

At that time, when Jesus was with His disciples leaving, they would have probably been going out the eastern gates of the city to go down through the Kidron Valley and up over the Mount of Olives. As they were leaving the temple precincts, that building had been under construction for more than 45 years. Josephus, the great Jewish historian, tells us that when you approached the city of Jerusalem from the east over the Mount of Olives in the morning, the rising sun would shine upon the temple, which was overlaid with gold and marble. The reflection would be so bright that you could not look directly at it; it was phenomenal.

Without modern technology, they were able to hew stones for the foundation of the temple that are as big as school buses, and they fit perfectly together with no mortar. After Jesus had just given a heavy rebuke to the religious establishment present at the temple mount, His disciples came to Him and said, "But look at this."

Beautiful temple, isn't it wonderful? And Jesus says in verse 2, "Do you see not all these things? Truly I say unto you, there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down."

In August 70 A.D., Titus, the general of Rome, led legions of his troops into Jerusalem. By the end of 70 A.D., the temple was torn down completely. He did not intend to tear the temple down; it was the normal way for these Roman generals to capture significant temples like this and give them as a gift to the emperor of Rome, who would generally establish that as a place of worship to himself. It was God's grace and mercy that the place was torn down. Jesus announced 40 years before it was torn down that not one stone would be left upon another, and it was perfectly fulfilled.

Why? The story goes that one of the archers in Titus' military fired a flaming arrow into the temple courts, which started the place on fire. The gold of the temple began to melt down into the rocks. To retrieve the gold, the Romans tore every stone down and threw it into the Kidron Valley. Jesus predicted nearly 40 years before that not one stone would be left upon another, and it was literally fulfilled.

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, "Tell us, when shall these things be?" For a Jew who loved the temple, this was a big deal. Jesus left the temple, went down through the Kidron Valley, and up the Mount of Olives, where he sat down overlooking the Temple Mount. As he was seated there, his disciples approached him. Luke's Gospel tells us that it was Peter, James, John, and Andrew who asked him privately, "When is this going to happen?"

They asked two more questions: "What shall be the sign of your coming?" You see, they associated the destruction of the temple with the sign of Jesus' coming and the end of the world. They recognized that Jesus would come and that the world would end. So they asked, "When are these things going to happen?"

Jesus began to answer their questions. In verse 4, he said, "Take heed that no one deceive you." Would you reach over and underline that in your neighbor's Bible? That is so important. "Take heed that no one deceive you." Why? For many shall come in my name.

Saying, "I am the Christ," and shall deceive many. You shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you be not troubled, for these things must come to pass. Highlight this: the end is not yet. These things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There shall be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places. All these things are the beginning of sorrows or the beginning of birth pangs.

Then they shall deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you, and you shall be hated of all nations for My name's sake. Many shall be offended, shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. Many false prophets shall arise and deceive many. Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations, and then shall the end come after these things.

In verses 1 and 2, the temple is destroyed. In verses 3 through 14, we see present history and conditions in this world. Wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, pestilence, famine, and persecution are not the signs of the coming of Christ and the end of the world. These are signs of the last days. The last days, as Hebrews chapter 1 tells us, began when Jesus ascended into heaven and will end when He returns. We are living in the last days.

But are we living near the time of His coming and of the end of the age? Jesus says that wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, pestilence, and persecution are not the signs of His second coming or the end of the age. These are things that surround the times in which we live. Historians tell us that as they study the history of man and all the writings of man, they find that humanity has been in a perpetual state of war 95% of the time. Wars and rumors of wars are not an indication that the second coming is happening.

We hear of wars and rumors of wars all the time. Sadly, as technology advances, wars become far more brutal and terrible in these last days.

Died in the Second World War, every year since 1985, at least a half million people have died in war. It's phenomenal. Pestilences have also taken a toll. In the 1300s, 100 million people, or 60% of Europe, died from the Black Death. In the influenza outbreak of the early 20th century, another 20 plus million people died.

We see wars, rumors of wars, and earthquakes. We need to recognize that these events are described as birth pangs. Anyone here today who has gone through labor, or the husband standing there holding the hand, recognizes that as the birth pangs begin, the frequency and magnitude increase until the time of birth. The frequency, magnitude, and intensity of these signs will probably increase until the end. However, it is nothing in comparison to what will come to pass during the Great Tribulation.

Now, we have to ask: Are we seeing an increase in the frequency and intensity of these events? Just a few weeks ago, there was a magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan, 80 miles off the coast, which caused a tsunami that, in some places, was 77 feet tall and traveling at over 35 miles per hour. We all watched on TV the devastation that can result from such events. The death toll is still unknown.

Consider New Zealand, where on February 22, 2011, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck. In China, on April 14, 2010, a 6.9 and a 7.1 magnitude earthquake killed over 2,000 people. In Chile, on February 27, 2010, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake also created a tsunami. Haiti experienced a 7.0 earthquake on January 12, 2010, which killed more than 200,000 people. The Samoan Islands faced an 8.3 magnitude earthquake on September 29, 2009. Italy had a 6.3 magnitude earthquake on April 6, 2009. China experienced a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on May 12, 2008. Pakistan had a 7.6 magnitude earthquake on October 8, 2005. Finally, Indonesia faced a 9.1 magnitude earthquake on December 26, 2004, which killed 230,000 people.

The list goes on and on. It's phenomenal, but it's nothing in comparison to what's going to come during the Great Tribulation. Multitudes will be killed in war, through famine, through pestilence, through persecution, and through earthquakes.

This year, 2011, it's estimated that the population of the world will reach the 7 billion mark. According to the Scriptures, the population went down to eight during the flood. From the time of the flood until 1800, it took that long to reach a billion. Since the year 1800, we've now gone to 7 billion. The Bible describes in the book of Revelation that during the Great Tribulation, two-thirds will die—five billion people. That's a heavy reality.

Wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, pestilence, famine, and persecution are not the signs of the end. Every single time there is a great famine, a great earthquake, or a great pestilence, people rise up. You see news articles with people saying it's the end of the world. You stand in the checkout line at the grocery store, and all the periodicals proclaim it's the end of the world, the eight Bible prophecies, and that the government doesn't want you to know it's the end. No, this is how things have been because we live in a fallen, cursed world. The whole of creation groans under the curse, and we see the realities of that curse around us perpetually.

In our modern day, we see it instantly on our cell phones, in pictures on TV, and on the internet. We're constantly reminded that we are living in the last days. But are we in the last of the last days? How will we know if we're living in the last of the last days?

Matthew 24, verse 15—well, again, look at verse 14: then shall the end come. But notice what Jesus says in verse 15: "When you therefore shall see." Remember what they asked back in verse 4? "What shall be the sign of your coming at the end of the age?" When you see this, the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, whoso reads, let him understand. When you see this, it is the sign.

Of the second coming and the end of the age, in Daniel chapter 12, we are told that you can calculate from the abomination of desolation. I recognize some of you are wondering, "The abomination, what?" I'll explain it in just a minute.

When you get to Daniel 12, we are told that from the abomination of desolation until the coming of Messiah the Prince is 1,290 days, three and a half years, to the day. Jesus says the sign of His coming and the end of the age is the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet. Daniel describes that in the last of the last days, one will rise to the scene as a figurehead and a leader over the world. Apparently, at some point in those last days, he will go into the temple that is in Jerusalem, cause the sacrifices that are there to cease, and declare, "I am to be worshipped." He will desecrate that temple, and this is the abomination which makes desolate.

The interesting thing is that Jesus' disciples believed that this event had already happened. Jews of Jesus' day believed that it had occurred in the second century B.C. when Antiochus Epiphanes, a Syrian king, had done that very thing. Jesus says, "No, it has not yet come to pass." He states that the abomination of desolation is the sign of His coming.

Then notice what He says in verse 16: "Then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains." There are many people today looking at the events happening in the world and saying, "We have to flee to the mountains and get ready for Jesus' coming back." No, not yet. When you see this happen, that might be a good indication to get out of Dodge or Jerusalem if you're there. Let those that be in Judea flee to the mountains.

Let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house. Neither let him who is in the field return back to take anything, not even his clothes. Woe to them that are with child or give suck in those days. Pray that your flight be not in winter, neither on the Sabbath day. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, nor ever shall be. All the devastating things that are happening right now and have been happening for the last several thousand years—wars, rumors of wars, pestilence, famines—are nothing in comparison to the great tribulation that is coming, says Jesus.

For then shall great tribulation such as was not seen since the beginning of the world to this time, nor ever shall be. Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.

Now, there is a false teaching going around today about this shortening of the days, and I believe it to be false. You can find it all over the internet. When the Chilean earthquake happened, the earth shifted on its axis, causing the time of the day, the 24-hour day, to decrease by microseconds. With this most recent earthquake in Japan, the earth shifted again on its axis, and it decreased the day by microseconds. Jesus is not talking about that. He says, unless that time period were shortened—three and a half years—no one would survive. But God says it's only going to be a short period of time. So unless those days be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened.

Then, if any man shall say unto you, "Lo, here is the Christ," believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that if it were possible, they should deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you beforehand. Would you reach over and put a star next to that in your neighbor's Bible?

Verse 25: Behold, I have told you beforehand. That's what predictive prophecy is all about. I, God, have told you beforehand. A third of the Bible, it is estimated, is predictive prophecy. I believe that it's more than a third because there are many things in the scripture that we don't recognize as prophecy but are. John Walvoord, a great Bible scholar and commentator, estimated that there are a thousand predictive prophecies in the Bible, and 500 of them were fulfilled after the first century. We still have 500 more to be fulfilled.

What did Jesus say about the word of God? Not one jot or tittle will pass away until all be fulfilled. He will bring it to pass. I have told you beforehand. Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, "Behold, he's in the desert," go not forth. "Behold, he's in the secret chambers," believe it not. Behold, he secretly came back in the early part of the 20th century to Brooklyn, New York, and is in a secret chamber. Nope, false. Why? Because when Jesus comes, every eye will see. For as lightning comes out of the east and shines even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

The birds will be gathered together. This is speaking of that great tribulation period. The sign of the coming of Christ and the end of the age is the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet.

So how will we know if we're living in the last days, since that hasn't happened yet? How will we know if we're in the last of the last days? Well, there are a few key things that we can glean from the Scriptures. First, all end times prophecy assumes a Jewish presence in the land of Israel and holding the city of Jerusalem. Let me say that again: all end times prophecy assumes a Jewish presence in the land of Israel and holding the city of Jerusalem.

Why is that important? In 70 AD, Titus destroyed the temple and took over Jerusalem. By 120 AD, the children of Israel had been completely dispersed from the land. The Romans, to basically pay back the Jews for all the terrible things that they had done while they were there, cut down all the trees, deforested the land, and salted the earth. They changed all the names on their maps from Israel to Philistine country, Palestine. For the next 1,900 years, the land was a barren wilderness. No Jews were there until the late 1890s with the Zionist movement, when they began to return to the land from Europe largely. They started to purchase their land back, land that they once held.

Then, after the Second World War, when the world was just absolutely aghast at what had taken place in Europe against the Jews during the Holocaust, there was an outcry to give them their own land. The newly established United Nations told them at the end of 1947 that if they met certain criteria, they could have their land back and establish their independence.

On May 14, 1948, at sundown, the newly established small Knesset, the leading body of Israel, and their Prime Minister, Ben-Gurion, stood to read the Declaration of Independence of the Jewish people. On May 15, 1948, they were attacked by their enemies, mostly Muslim nations. Ever since that point, they have been in a perpetual state of war. Even though there have been peace treaties, peace accords, and peace talks, including the Camp David Accords, they are still at war. Why?

I believe the enemy doesn't want these things to come to pass, but God's word will be fulfilled. All end-times prophecy assumes the presence of the Jews in the land of Israel and the holding of Jerusalem. They did not hold Jerusalem in 1948. It wasn't until June of 1967, during the Six-Day War, that they took the Golan Heights in the north, most of the West Bank, and all of Jerusalem back. Since June 7, 1967, the Jews have held Jerusalem.

The Bible predicts in Zechariah chapter 12 that in the last days, Jerusalem would become a cup of trembling to the whole world. A hundred years ago, people read that and said, "Come on, Jerusalem? It'll never be on the world stage." Yet, there is not a week that goes by now without hearing about Jerusalem in the headlines of every major news organization in the world, in accord with Bible prophecy.

In line with this prophecy, the Bible predicts that the world would be set against Israel and against Jerusalem, that every people group and nation of the world would turn against them. For many years, the church in America has said that can't happen; America will never turn against their friend Israel. People argued that the only way this could happen is if the church is raptured.

I tell you today, we are not a friend of Israel as a nation. Read the Jerusalem Post. Ever since 2008, there have been repeated editorials and articles about how the United States is no longer to be looked to as a help to Israel because our current administration is not a friend of Israel. They have quarreled towards Israel and could even be called, as they have been, anti-Israel.

A Jewish presence in the land of Israel, them holding the city of Jerusalem, Jerusalem becoming a cup of trembling to the whole world, and all nations turning against the children of Israel—these are indicators that we are living in the last of the last days. It's not fiction.

Another indicator that we are living in the last of the last days comes from Daniel's prophecy and Nebuchadnezzar's dream. How many of you remember that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream but woke up in the morning and didn't remember it? Have you ever had that problem? He called his wise men to himself and said, "Listen, I had a dream. I want you to tell me what it means." They replied, "Great, king. Tell us the dream."

He said, "Well, here's the problem. I don't remember the dream, so you have to tell me the dream and its interpretation, or I'll kill you." The ground rules are really clear here, king, but I don't think we can do that; no one can do that. Well, God did through Daniel, and Daniel was able to tell the king, "This is the dream you had. You saw a great statue and image. It had a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, a body of brass, legs of iron, and feet that were iron mixed with clay. Then, a great mountain came from the sky, hit the feet, and caused it to crumble, turning everything to dust."

Let me tell you what it means. The head of gold is you, king, the Babylonian Empire. But your empire is going to be taken out by the chest and arms of silver, the Medo-Persians. They are going to take over your kingdom. After them will come the belly of brass, which represents the Greek Empire. Following that will be the Roman Empire, the legs of iron, which will dissolve and become iron mixed with clay.

Now, Nebuchadnezzar didn't like that interpretation, so he decided, in the next chapter of the Book of Daniel, to build a statue 90 feet tall that was all gold. What he was saying is, "I will never be dethroned." However, he was. In 539 BC, Cyrus, king of Persia, destroyed and took over Babylon. Later on, in the 3rd century BC, the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great overtook the Persians, the Medo-Persians. After that came the Romans.

The legs of iron present an interesting prophecy. Many Bible teachers believe that the legs of iron speak of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire. If you study history, you realize that the Roman Empire was split in two. The Western Roman Empire, which largely held Europe, basically dissolved over a period of time. The Eastern Roman Empire continued for over a thousand years and became the Ottoman Empire. While the Western portion dissolved, the Eastern continued.

The interesting thing is that at the time of the New Testament, in the first century, at least 60% of the Roman Empire was land that is now under Muslim control.

Why is that important? Well, aside from the Jewish presence in the land of Israel, the Bible declares that in the last days, a revived Roman Empire would be established. From that revived Roman Empire would come this Antichrist figure. For a very long time, especially in the last 30 years, evangelical Christians in America have said the revived Roman Empire is the European community, the European Union. They believe that the Antichrist is going to come out of Europe because that is the revived Roman Empire.

Not so fast. The Roman Empire also spread far east, encompassing territories that were all Muslim-held. Which world-dominating power is rising up today? Islam. If you go to Europe, you will find that much of it is being overtaken by Islam. In Denmark today, there is a common saying among Islamic youth: "2050, and then we take over." Why is that? Because by birth rate, they will have a sheer population increase to the point where they will be able to take over and rule many governments in Europe by 2050.

The last days will witness the manifestation of a spiritual battle that will come onto the world scene. What will this battle be? It will be a battle between God and Lucifer, a conflict that has been ongoing since the beginning. Lucifer, as we see in Isaiah chapter 14, said, "I will ascend and be like the Most High." This battle has continued since the fall of Lucifer, and it is going to be manifested on the world scene in the last days. It will be a struggle between those governed by God—Israel means "governed by God"—and those governed under Lucifer.

Isaiah chapter 14 tells us that Lucifer is the prince of Babylon. Allah, the God of Islam, is actually a Babylonian God; he is Lucifer. What we are seeing in these last days is the rise of Islam, Babylon, under a different name, repackaged, with Lucifer waging war against God. That's what we are watching.

The Antichrist, I believe, will not be out of Europe, but he will be a Muslim. I know there are a lot of people who get freaked out by this, and they say you can't talk about Islam because they are a religion of peace. I agree; they are a religion of peace. However, they want a piece of this and a piece of that.

Allah, the God of Islam, was the moon god, Sin, of Babylon. He is Lucifer, completely Antichrist. If you study Islam, you will find that it is a completely Antichrist religion. It is the Antichrist system. It is Babylon of the new day.

Islam, like Christianity, has an eschatology. They have a doctrine about the end and an end times scenario. In their end times scenario, there are three great signs that are actually three great men who will come and usher in the coming of Allah. The first sign, or the first man, is called the Mahdi.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, believes that it is his call from Allah to usher in the Mahdi, or what he calls the 12th Imam. The Mahdi is the Islamic Messiah. Consider the description of the Mahdi from Muslims. The Mahdi means "guided one." He is a descendant of Muhammad and will come on the scene during a time of incredible crisis and turmoil in the world.

As a note to that, Ahmadinejad believes that he is supposed to be the one to bring that turmoil and crisis. This is the guy who wants nuclear weapons. The Mahdi will come during a time of great crisis and turmoil. He will first make an agreement with the Jews and the West for seven years. This is from their own writings.

He will ride on a white horse and have a sword in his hand. Muslims say that he is the one described in Revelation 6, verses 1 and 2. I encourage you to read that later; it is descriptive of not the Messiah, but the Mahdi.

He will establish a new world order, ordered around Islam. He will destroy all who resist him and usher in the final Islamic caliphate, or the final Islamic government or dominion. The last Islamic caliphate was in Turkey, and it went away at the beginning of the 20th century. He will have supernatural power and will be loved by all the earth. He will discover hidden scriptures somewhere near the Sea of Galilee, which will be the true scriptures used to show Jews and Christians that they were wrong. Ultimately, he will lead his armies under a banner of a black flag with the Arabic word for punishment on it to destroy the Jews and take Jerusalem. Then, the Mahdi will set up his rule in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount.

Now, does that sound like anyone you've ever heard described before? It's almost identical to the biblical description of the Antichrist. The second man, or sign of the end of the age in Islamic eschatology, is the true Jesus. They say the true Jesus will come to assist the Mahdi. He will be a radical Muslim and will arrive at a minaret in Damascus. He will be brought down from heaven by two angels. In Damascus, he will meet the Mahdi, who is coming from the east, from Persia, as they go down together to take Jerusalem.

This true Jesus in Islamic eschatology will pray to the Mahdi, who is greater than him. He will acknowledge the Mahdi as Lord and will make a pilgrimage to Mecca. He will worship Allah and lead all Christians who follow him to reject their notions of the Jesus they accepted and accept the real Jesus. He will establish a worldwide Sharia law and become the greatest Muslim evangelist. He will be the final witness on the Day of Judgment against non-Muslims, and he will shatter, as they say, crosses, meaning he will destroy the church.

If you compare what they say about the true Jesus, you will see that he is the false prophet described in Revelation 13, 16, 19, and 20. You see, every bad guy in the Bible is a good guy.

In Islam, every good figure in the Bible is considered a bad figure. It's completely opposite; it's completely anti-Christ. The third one that will come in the ushering in of the end is called the Dajjal. He is the deceiver, the Islamic anti-Christ. In Islamic eschatology, he will be destroyed by the true Jesus. He claims to be Jesus, but he also claims to be the Son of God and asserts his deity, which they say Jesus is not. He comes to Earth riding on a donkey. Interestingly, they consider him an infidel and a false miracle worker. He attempts to stop the Mahdi but is ultimately destroyed by the Mahdi.

Islam has already played, and will continue to play, a key role in the last days. Every nation mentioned in end times prophecy, besides Jerusalem and Israel, consists of Islamic nations. In Ezekiel 38, there is a description of a great invasion of Israel by an alliance of eight nations, all of which are Islamic. Persia is mentioned, which is Iran; they changed their name to Iran in 1935. Ethiopia is also mentioned, but it is not just the nation in Eastern Africa. Biblical Ethiopia encompasses nearly all of Northern and Eastern Africa, extending into Yemen. Libya is mentioned as well. Have we heard much about them in the news lately?

Interestingly, Ethiopia also refers to Egypt. Look at what is happening in Egypt, Yemen, Ethiopia, Libya, and Syria. If you go down the list of these nations, you might wonder what's happening. You will hear in the news about a great spread of democracy, but that is not the case. The Muslim Brotherhood is behind it, and Turkey is going to play a key role in this whole situation. Watch Turkey. At this very moment, they are amending their constitution to allow the establishment of a new religious caliphate in Turkey. In 1981, after a very bloody coup, they created a constitution that made a clear separation between religion and the state, but right now, that separation is being challenged.

Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey, is in the process of amending the constitution to reestablish Islam as the center of Turkey. This is supposed to be completed by mid-April. It's phenomenal what's happening. We are witnessing the rise of a global economy, which the Bible describes. The sign of the end is this rise, culminating in the abomination of desolation in the temple in Jerusalem.

You might say there is no temple in Jerusalem, and you are right. However, if you go to Israel today, specifically to Jerusalem, you will find a group called the Temple Institute. You will visit them if you join our trip at the end of this year. The Temple Institute has brought together chief rabbis, identified Levites through genetic testing, and reconstructed all the instruments needed for temple practices. They have even built a tabernacle. They do not need a temple building. If they were given the green light, they have already stated that they could establish temple practices in a tabernacle on the Temple Mount as soon as tomorrow. Israel functioned without a temple for a very long time.

The question then is, how should we respond to all this? As I mentioned in the Olivet Discourse, Jesus ends with an application regarding our response. He tells us through several parables in Matthew 24 and 25 that we, the church, need to be watching and waiting, but we also need to be working. What work should we be doing? He gave us a commission: Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We should be engaged in the work of evangelizing people with the true word of God as we see these things come to pass.

The Apostle Peter, in 2 Peter 3:10, says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up." Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conduct and godliness? You see, prophecy, as we witness these things fulfilled, should stir us to evangelism and to holiness, seeking to follow the Lord in godliness.

In Romans chapter 13,

Verse 11 states that Paul said, "And that knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of your sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife or envy, but put ye on the Lord Jesus and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts."

Don't be deceived by all the speculative hyperbole that is out in the world today. Study the Scriptures, and when we see these things come to pass, it should affect our reality. It should change the way that we live. There's so much more to say, and we're nearing the end of our time. But let me tell you what I would have said if I had more time. Here's the thing: the way we live should be different. The way we evangelize should be more fervent.

People will ask, "Well, don't you want the Lord to return?" Yes and no. You may wonder what I mean by that. Let me explain. As I said, the Bible describes that in this great tribulation that shall come, two-thirds of the world population will be destroyed. The wrath of God is going to come upon the earth. The wrath of God has not come upon the earth since the flood. It came upon Jesus there on the cross, but it has not come upon the earth. The wrath of God is going to come upon humanity. I don't look forward to that. I know I'm not going to go through wrath. I recognize the church is not appointed to wrath. Many people say we're going to be taken out before all these things come to pass. Praise the Lord. I pray that's the case. Pray for pre-trib, prepare for post.

But here's the thing: do I want the Lord to return? Yes and no. Because when I look around this world, there are billions of people that are currently under His wrath. Amos chapter 5 says, "Woe to those who desire the day of the Lord." It's a day of darkness. It's not something to look forward to and say, "Yes, I can't wait for it." Listen, the Lord has been waiting for it. He's not slack concerning His promises. Some men count slackness, but He is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance. God has tarried as long as He has.

Because He wanted you to come to know Him. How many of you, if the Lord had come five years ago, would not have met Him in the air? A few of you. How about ten years ago? I bet you're thankful He's tarried. Yes, we say, "Lord, come quickly." But if the times of prophecy and the excitement of these things do not stir you to be more evangelistic and to be more Christ-like, then you have the wrong focus. You have the completely wrong focus.

We ought not to waste our time guessing the time because nobody knows the time. Therefore, you need to be ready at all times because Jesus could come at any moment. Are we living in the last days? The last of the last days? I think the indications in line with Scripture say that very likely we are. What manner of people ought we to be?

Let's stand and pray. Father, we come very soberly before You when we consider Your wrath. Lord, we thank You that You are slow to anger. We thank You that You forgive iniquity, transgression, and sin. We thank You that You have mercy for thousands. Lord, we so need Your mercy and Your grace, and we thank You that You have extended the time of Your grace as long as You have.

Father, would You give us a sense of urgency to carry the message to our family members, friends, and coworkers who don't know You, and even to those in the uttermost parts? Because, Lord, I know that Your Word is true, and I know in whom I have believed, and I know that I will see You on that day. But, God, would You stir me to walk in holiness and righteousness, to seek to walk in godliness by the power of Your Spirit?

Lord, I pray for an urgency about sharing my faith. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.