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The World to Come. The Restored Church of God presents David C. Pack. Answering life’s
greatest questions straight from the Bible, and announcing the wonderful good news of
the World to Come.
We have been examining the Middle East in Bible prophecy. This is the final part. In
Part 3, we finished reviewing what are now facts of history in the Daniel 11 prophecy.
We also saw that its last 5 verses are still future.
Conditions in the Mid-East grow worse almost every day. The implications---what is at stake
for the world---is WAY beyond what anyone even begins to understand. This includes thought-to-be
prophecy experts.
Thruout this series, certain bigger prophetic subjects were touched on only in passing.
This was because the purpose so far has been primarily to explain the historical record
of Daniel 11---what has already been fulfilled---and thus to prove God authored it. And this lead-up
was to demonstrate that the unfulfilled parts of the prophecy are just as certain.
Before coming back to the Middle East, we must first bring some important background.
We begin with 3 crucial time periods. The Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord together
last 1,260 days, or three and a half years before Christ's Return. The others are 1,290
days and 1,335 days. These time periods all have to do with events God's people will be
carefully watching for just prior to the Tribulation. They begin with different events, but end
with the same event---Christ's Return! This graph illustrates how these durations of time
overlap. Here is a very brief summary. The 1,290 days
appears in Daniel 12: "From the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and
the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and
ninety days." These are obviously also literal days, beginning with the setting up of the
abomination of desolation. The 1,335-day period is introduced one verse
later: "Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and
thirty days." What is this? Since Daniel prefixes the event beginning the 1,335 days with "blessed
is he that waits," this involves a signal, with an accompanying event---at this specific
time---for which the Church has patiently waited. Notice this list of verses.
The arrival of the critical 1,335 moment is something that will only be known to those
in God's one Church. Real faith will be required. Prepared beforehand, God's people will plainly
understand. Miracles, almost certainly many, will have
to be involved. Some will be needed just for God's servants from all over the world to
gather, let alone escape. We are now ready to examine the terribly misunderstood
subject of the antichrist. The Bible teaches that a powerful antichrist will arise to rule
the world just before Jesus Christ returns. Will he arise in the Middle East? We saw that
the Beast ends there, but does the antichrist arise there, and are these men one and the
same? What does the word "antichrist" mean? Is this just one person? Most are confused.
A final, great antichrist IS coming. You must understand what this means.
Prophecy watchers, popular preachers and authors, and other supposed experts mangle the truth
about the coming antichrist. The appalling ignorance of these confusing, disagreeing
voices---all of them---is painful to hear. Satan counterfeits every doctrine of the Bible.
The antichrist is no exception. While generally understood to be a figure of horrific evil
and a threat to all mankind, the antichrist is today seen by most to be largely focused
against the Jewish people. Based on a completely wrong understanding of Daniel 9:27, scores
of millions believe this final world-deceiver will make a "7-year covenant" with the modern
nation of Israel, before breaking it halfway thru, thus introducing the Tribulation for
the last 3½ years of his reign. It is commonly believed that at this point he will reveal
his true colors. This entire belief is spectacularly wrong!
Daniel 9:27 is simply not describing this, or anything like it. But great numbers have
come---largely over the last 150 years---to believe this unbiblical nonsense!
Here is the great irony. Due to misunderstanding, one school of rapturists is even eagerly awaiting
the antichrist's arrival---practically salivating over it in anticipation because of what they
have been told it means for them. Tragically, these are completely unprepared for his coming---in
fact, for their coming, because technically, in effect, there will be two final antichrists.
Their proper names are the Beast and the False Prophet. One, the religious arch-deceiver
will point to and underscore the Beast's civil authority with powerful, spellbinding miracles.
In almost all the modern scenarios, however, an antichrist---the Beast---is confused with
verses such as II Thes. 2:9 and Dan. 7:8, which talk about another antichrist---the
False Prophet. Understand. Most who write about the Bible
do not know, let alone comprehend, almost anything you have heard in this series. Attempting
on their own authority to "interpret" the Bible without guidance, they ignore its Author---GOD!---and
seem unable to grasp that He would never leave the most crucial questions, those involving
all humanity, open to interpretation. Some preachers do get an occasional stray fact
right, but none are able to put all the facts---all the scriptures on a subject---together.
In regard to the Beast and False Prophet, almost all have no idea where to look---for
what system---in fact, the only system---that could spawn these final deceivers. They are
busy trusting in a rapture, and expect to be snatched away---so there is "no need to
worry." Many others unnecessarily fear they will be "left behind," as one popular fiction
writer likes to term it, after the expected rapture. Believe me, this author writes fiction!
The most basic prophetic understanding reveals that the final 2 antichrists must be alive
today---simply because of the obvious shortness of remaining time in this age. One, the monstrous
final Beast, is not a single historical figure, such as Nero, Saladin, King George III, Napoleon,
Saddam Hussein or Adolph Hitler---who, it could be said, was certainly a type of the
antichrist. Neither is he Putin, Ahmadinejad or any of several suggested American presidents.
In all of this, everyone is looking in all the wrong places!
Webster's New World College Dictionary defines "antichrist" as "the great antagonist of Christ,
expected to spread universal evil before the end of the world, but finally to be conquered
at Christ's second coming." Most people assume the entire Bible teaching
about the antichrist is summarized in the belief that an end-time Hitler-like super
dictator---"the antichrist"---in league with the devil, will arise to rule the world. While
Webster's is partly correct, nowhere does the Bible refer to "THE antichrist." Most
professing Christians do not know this! Ministers and theologians are little better. My booklet
The Antichrist - Who, What and When! tells the story of this subject in detail.
The subject of the antichrist cannot be understood until first recognizing the plain difference
between the Beast and False Prophet. Again, the Beast is often confused (as is sometimes
the final False Prophet) with the antichrist. This man will certainly be an antichrist,
but not the antichrist. Although the Beast of Revelation 13 is seen
to obviously not be a human being, the one who leads the final resurrection of the Holy
Roman Empire---the coming union of church and state centered in Europe, and described
in Revelation 17---will plainly represent the system that is the Beast. The embodiment---the
representative---of the Rev 13 Beast will be a single charismatic figure who arrives
on the world scene shortly before Christ's Return. This will of course be a human being---the
final king of the north of Daniel 11:40-45. The Beast is synonymous with "A" final antichrist.
(My thorough booklet Who or What Is the Beast of Revelation? makes all of this very plain.)
Back to the Middle East and the idea that the phrase "one week" in Daniel 9:27 refers
to the final 7 years, or supposed 7 "prophetic days," before Christ returns. The prophetic
understanding of rapture theorists is false! Let's first examine the verse: "And he shall
confirm the covenant [this is speaking of Christ confirming the New Covenant] with many
for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation
to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he [NOW it becomes the antichrist in context]
shall make it desolate…" This passage actually refers to the abomination
of desolation (Dan. 12:11), when occupying armies end the Jews' soon-to-be-restarted
daily sacrifices at the Temple. (This is briefly covered later.) This verse also addresses
the final week of the 70 weeks prophecy and shows Jesus Christ would be cut off in the
middle of the "week," after the 3½ "days"---actually 3½ years---of His earthly ministry and mission.
The antichrist---and therefore any supposed 7-year reign by him 2,000 years later---is
not the subject! The Beast (a final antichrist) will not suddenly reveal his true colors halfway
thru his supposed 7-year reign, thus ushering in the 3½ year Tribulation and Day of the
Lord. Daniel's amazing prophecy in chapter 9 in
fact reveals the exact year the Messiah would begin His ministry---and how long it would
last. It points to one major event that He would fulfill---His sacrifice!---as the beginning
step in God's Plan of Salvation. It further shows that the final segment of this prophecy
is yet to be fulfilled! Understand. The spirit of antichrist already
blankets the world as mankind continues to rely on itself to bring world peace, justice
and prosperity---while at the same time denying the power of Christ and rejecting His help
and rule in their lives. As the end of Satan's reign draws near, the power of his spirit
will culminate in the rise of two men---the Beast and False Prophet. Neither will be the
antichrist, but both will embody and represent the ultimate spirit of antichrist!
More religious deceivers will arrive throughout Christendom. Some will perform miracles. One,
the last and greatest---the final mesmerizing False Prophet---will use great miracles (Rev
13:13-14) to lead the world to worship the Beast (Rev 16:13; 19:20)! Their deception
will be so seductive, so persuasive, so widespread, and so great, that this evil tandem will even
deceive mankind into fighting Jesus Christ at His Second Coming. (So say these passages.)
The whole world is foretold in Rev 16:14 to sell out to these antichrists, and only Christ's
"little flock" of Luke 12:32---His Church---will not be deceived, and will be protected.
Like players on a stage, personalities are quietly moving into position. It is only a
matter of time before a powerful strongman (with an equally powerful religious figure
alongside) will stand up to unify Europe---and "clarify" events---in the midst of widespread
war and violence, as well as worsening economic and political instability. The seeds of events
that will stagger all nations have been planted---and will soon sprout! They end in the Middle East!
Now let's briefly see what is the final fulfillment of the abomination of desolation in Jerusalem,
and how it relates to the antichrist. The first important clue that Jesus gave about
this abomination is found in Luke. Let's read again what we saw in Part 3: "When you shall
see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is [near]."
This verse often causes confusion, with some mistakenly assuming the surrounding of Jerusalem
by armies is the abomination. When the verse describes the city being surrounded, it does
not say the desolation "has happened," but that it "is near." If something is near, it
has not yet happened! So, the abomination is not Jerusalem being surrounded by armies.
These are separate events that occur at different times.
Let's read more from Luke 21: "Then [what happens next] let them [all of God's people
in context] which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst
of it depart out…For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written
[by the prophets] may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them
that give suck, in those days! For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon
this people [all the modern nations descended from the ancient patriarch Israel]. And they
shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and
Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."
Rev 11 offers a parallel description from Christ thru John of what happens to Jerusalem.
Let's read: "…the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they [the Gentiles] tread under
foot forty and two months." It should be obvious this treading by Gentiles must be referring
to how long Jerusalem is being "trodden down of the Gentiles," as Luke put it.
Although the armies around Jerusalem desolate the city, they do not "stand in the holy place,"
as Antiochus' statue did in 168 B.C. Remember, this end-time event is dual.
Two events will occur: (1) A blasphemous idol will desolate the temple (or more likely a
rebuilt altar---something must be built in order to have sacrifices)---and (2) the army
desolates the city. Antiochus did BOTH, setting up an idol in Zerubbabel's temple and sacrificing
a pig on the altar, and then destroying the city. He therefore becomes an important type
for BOTH. Antiochus Epiphanes was a forerunning type
of the False Prophet (but also of the Beast). Also understand that the ultimate fulfillment
of the abomination is not only a statue being set up, it is the final leader of the religious
system---the human personification of the Babylonish ***---who enters Jerusalem, saying,
"I am God." When the False Prophet directs the Beast to
erect a statue at the site of the reconstituted daily sacrifices, the abomination will officially
"stand in the holy place"! Jerusalem's destruction will then come from the armies that surround
it. (My next broadcast will be entirely devoted to the abomination of desolation.)
This event leads us to the much-talked-about topic of Armageddon! Endless authors have
written on the subject, and dozens of movies have depicted the so-called "final battle
between good and evil." Generals, scientists and world leaders often use this term to reference
the possible annihilation of mankind through nuclear, chemical or biological means.
Some thought Armageddon would be the final battle of WWI. They were wrong! Others believed
WWII would end with this battle. They were wrong! During the Gulf War, thought-to-be
prophecy experts were announcing, "Armageddon is here!" Again, wrong!---as have been many
other scenarios. Surprisingly, the Bible mentions Armageddon
in only one verse: "And He [God] gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew
tongue Armageddon." Though the New Testament was written in Greek, Armageddon is not a
Greek word. It comes from two Hebrew words---"har" and "megiddo." Har means hill---or figuratively
hill country. Megiddo is within the borders of the modern
state of Israel, about 60 miles north of Jerusalem and about 20 miles east of the port city of
Haifa. The location of 30 different cities over thousands of years, Megiddo is today
little more than a 15-acre pile of rubble on a hilltop. Anciently, this area included
a main highway between Africa and Asia. It provided a natural gathering place due to
the flatness of the surrounding topography. Let's understand what will then be the world
scene. The revived Holy Roman Empire---the Beast of Revelation---will have already conquered
parts of the Middle East. It will have established a foothold in Jerusalem. This king of the
north will invade the Middle East under the pretense of bringing peace. Oil will likely
prompt this Beast system into seeking control of the region.
Notice again what Daniel recorded: "But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall
trouble him [the Beast]." Remember that the Bible reckons these directions from Jerusalem.
While the Beast's army is in the holy land---other military giants will move in to oppose it.
We might ask what big countries today are east and north of Jerusalem? Russia, China,
India and Japan! It is likely that these, with possibly other nations, will compose
the massive 200-million-man army of Rev 9:16. Again, all indications are that oil will also
be a key factor for this war machine from the East. Ezekiel 25:4 and 10 call this army
the "men of the east." The world will have come to the point Jesus
referred to: "Except those days should be shortened [cut short], there should no flesh
be saved [left alive]." All human beings would be wiped out without God's intervention in
the Middle East, but also in the whole world. Now for two of several vital points. Grasp
them. (1) God brings certain armies to Megiddo, and (2) the Bible says Armageddon is a gathering
place, not an event---and not a battle (read Rev. 16:16). When the Bible speaks of Armageddon,
it is not referring to either the end of the world or the final battle between "good and
evil," as so many believe. This is critical to understand. There is no battle foretold
at Armageddon! What happens is called THE BATTLE OF THE GREAT
DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTY! This is GOD'S battle! This last great clash will be fought by armies
that will have gathered at Armageddon and then traveled to the Valley of Jehoshaphat
(read Joel 3:2), or what is today called the Kidron Valley. This is located east of Jerusalem
and about 60 miles south of Megiddo. Thus, the battle does not take place at Armageddon,
but at Kidron. Two major forces---the Beast, aligned with
a coalition of moderate Arab states---and the men of the East, plus the remnant of a
radical Arab confederacy---will see Jesus Christ coming out of the clouds (read Acts
1:11-12). When the Beast and the eastern hordes gather at Armageddon, the False Prophet will
feverishly work his final miracles to delude the masses. Considering Christ the greater
threat, these armies will unite, forming an alliance to fight what they perceive to be
their common enemy. These men will be angry, unwilling to submit to God. Deceived, they
will think JESUS Christ is in fact the "ANTI-christ." The result? They will "make war with the Lamb,"
as the Bible says. What will be the battle's outcome? The prophet
Zechariah explains: "Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as
when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount
of Olives which is before Jerusalem on the east." In the end, the all-powerful, returning
Jesus Christ destroys the armies that destroyed Jerusalem!
Also in Zechariah: "This shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people
that have fought against Jerusalem; their flesh shall consume away while they stand
upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall
consume away in their mouth." In this awful picture Christ is victorious
against His enemies---ending all of man's failed attempts to govern himself.
The Middle East was foretold millennia ago to lie at the center of the very biggest---the
most planet-rattling events ever to occur on Earth! While a very few Bible students
know a little of this, they do not know in any detail what these events are, or why they
will come. Most believe the Middle East should be avoided at some point, but assume the rest
of the world will be largely "okay." How wrong this is!
The end of this age looms much closer! Prophecies are no longer "sealed"---their meaning has
been made known. The stage is set and God has lifted the curtain on the future. Certain
great nations must be warned while there is still time. So must you!
Jesus warned, "For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the
whole earth. Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to
ESCAPE all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."
"All these things" means all end-time events---those just before Christ's Return. It is God's purpose
that some be spared---that they ESCAPE---global calamity!
In Rev 3, He addresses His faithful people: "Because you have kept the word of My patience,
I also will keep you from the hour of temptation [trial, meaning the Tribulation], which shall
come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." God promises safety
to His people. Other scriptures reveal God's people will
be protected in a specific location. My booklet, Promised Protection -- Secret Rapture or Place
of Safety? brings the full picture---and a description of those who escape---as well
as how these connect to the only Church built by Jesus Christ.
This series began in the book of Daniel. It was Daniel who foretold that the wise will
understand, meaning the subjects of this series, but also much more. Jesus referenced and confirmed
Daniel's words: "When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken
of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso reads, let him understand."
My booklet The Mid-East in Bible Prophecy brings the details of all that this series
discussed. Beyond all this bad news is wonderful good
news! Sadly, few speak of it! Most talk only about the end of the world and the supposed
annihilation of humanity. This is because they are ignorant of the most important parts
of Bible prophecy. You can know them---and you can understand them---but you must study
diligently. The capital of the modern nation of Israel
is Jerusalem. Though this city has known nothing but war, strife and bitter division thruout
its history, its name means "City of Peace." This is because Christ will return there to
establish His kingdom. The Prince of Peace will rule from the City of Peace. Beginning
in this single city---within today's turbulent Middle East---peace will spread around the
world, eventually breaking out everywhere! (Read Isa 2:1-4 and Mic 4:1-4.)
Final, true---permanent---world peace will come in your lifetime. It is as certain as
the Word of God! The world will become a perfect environment for all to finally be able to
live God's Way according to His perfect Law---which is the Way of peace, prosperity and joy. Everyone
will learn the truth. Isaiah wrote, "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the
Lord, as the waters cover the sea." A marvelous time is coming! My inspiring book Tomorrow's
Wonderful World -- An Inside View! offers a picture from God's Word truly beyond the
grandest plans of the most intelligent men. The Middle East will soon be filled with peace,
and in fact will be the very starting point for lasting world peace!
Until next time, this is David C. Pack saying, "Goodbye, friends."
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