*Isaiah 52:7, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"

 

Jesus and His disciples had arrived  in Jerusalem triumphantly as the people waved palm branches and shouted, "Hosanna, blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord." Then He spent the next three days speaking of His death and teaching in the temple about the "Kingdom of Heaven." To the Jews this meant the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed One, who was the messenger or the bearer of 'good news.'  The good news that the kingdom of God would be reestablished in the earth.

According to the prophets, before the Messiah appears there will be a time of trouble. A time of trouble such as the world has never seen nor will see. A time of 'judgment' when God will judge the righteous and the wicked. There will be the resurrection of the dead, some to eternal life and some to eternal damnation. Others will pass through a time of trial and suffering. Then the Messiah will appear and the kingdom of God will be established upon the earth. God will once again rule and reign upon the earth.

When Jesus and His disciples were leaving the city they marveled and commented about the buildings and the temple in Jerusalem. Then Jesus said, "Do you see all these things?  I tell you, There shall not be left in Jerusalem one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." 

Jesus' disciples asked Him for 'signs.' Signs when Jerusalem would be destroyed. Signs of His coming. Signs of the end of the world. Jesus revealed to them all the 'signs' then He said, "Watch and pray because no one knows the day nor the hour except the Father."

 

*I Thessalonians 5:1-3, "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 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."

 

 

Considering His teachings and His comment, Jesus' disciples came to Him privately and asked, "When shall these things be?" "What is the sign of Your coming and of the end of the world?" Jesus disciples were concerned with a period in time that they had been forewarned about  most of their lives. A time known as "the time of Jacob's trouble."

Jesus' first response to His disciples was, "Take heed that no man deceive you." There would be many that would say that they believed He was the Christ and will deceive many. He warned them of their own persecutions saying that some of them would be put to death; however, the gospel of the kingdom would be preached to all the world as a witness to all nations. The gospel that will be preached until the time of the end.

*Matthew 24:9-14, "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."

*Mark 13:9-13, "But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations. But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
 
*Luke 21:12-19, "But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls."

The last of Jesus' twelve apostles to be put to death was Peter in 64 A.D. According to tradition, he was crucified upside down for the Lord he once denied knowing. Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, was beheaded for the cause of Jesus Christ in 66 A.D. while under house arrest in Rome. John was not martyred but rather lived out his life, as some believe, in Ephesus after his exile on the Isle of Patmos and died approximately 98 A.D. 

In 66 A.D. a major revolt began in Jerusalem. The Jews seized control of the city and held it until 70 A.D. Jewish patriots called Sicarii captured Mesada, meaning mountain fortress, which stood on a huge rock in Judea 20 miles southeast of Hebron.

 In 70 A.D. the Romans burned down the Temple leaving only the western wall standing. Much of Jerusalem lay in ruins. In 73 A.D., just before the Romans recaptured the fortress of Masada, Eleazer Ben Jair, the leader of the Sicarii, persuaded the Jews to burn the camp and commit suicide. Only two women and five children survived.

*Luke 21:20, "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written 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. 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."

By 70 A.D. the apostolic age was at an end. The churches that the original apostles had founded had passed into new hands. Through their tireless activity a powerful new force had been introduced into the Mediterranean world. More lasting and resilient than the forces that opposed it, the Christian religion preached by the apostles would endure persecution and opposition, emerging centuries later as the dominant faith of the Roman Empire.

The Jews recaptured Jerusalem in 132 A.D., but the Roman Emperor Hadrian drove them out three years later. Hadrian tried to end all Jewish hope of regaining Jerusalem. He renamed the city Aelia Capitolina and built temples to various Roman gods, including one to Jupiter on the site of the Jewish Temple. Hadrian even prohibited Jews from visiting or living in Jerusalem. But the city's importance as their spiritual center continued. By 200 A.D. the ban against Jews visiting the city was no longer strictly enforced. During the early 300's Emperor Constantine I made Christianity legal in the Roman Empire. He built the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, and gave the city its old name again.  In 395 Jerusalem became part of the Byzantine Empire, the eastern half of the old Roman Empire.*

 

*Ezekiel 37:1-14, "The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD."

 

In 605 B.C. the captivity of Israel began. From that period in time Israel's history has been filled with one nation after another dominating the land that God had promised through Abraham's son Isaac. From 605 B.C. to 1948 A.D. Israel was a land forsaken of it's heritage; however, Jesus spoke to His apostles of an event that they were to look for, another 'sign.'
 

*Matthew 24:32-35, "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."

*Mark 13:28-30, "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away."
 
*Luke 21:29-33, "And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away."
 

Jesus spoke to them in a parable. A parable, as we know, is a metaphor. The metaphor used in these scriptures is "the fig tree." "Behold the fig tree. When you see the fig tree shoot forth or when you see its leaves begin to blossom you know that summer is near." This points to a definite period in time that occurred in 1948.

In 1948, after over 2000 years of wars, captivity, disbursement, and foreign domination, Israel was declared a nation once again. Their war of independence was a struggle to possess the land that had once been theirs. A land given to them by God as a portion of their inheritance. Since that date there have been many of those dispersed throughout the nations who continue to return to the land of their heritage.

*Isaiah 11:10-16, "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt."

God's promise to the nation of Israel has always been that He would return them to the land that they once inhabited. That He would bring them out of the nations where they had been scattered.  *Luke 21:24, ... and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." According to the Jewish believers, in 1948 'the times of the Gentiles' ended and Israel once again became a nation inhabited by the people chosen by God. "This generation shall not pass away until every thing is fulfilled;" however, Jerusalem is still void of the one thing which it desires the most, the Temple of God.

 

*Jeremiah 4:29-31, "The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein. And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers."

 

Throughout the scriptures Israel has been warned of a time. A time of darkness and calamity. A time of great distress. And throughout  seven-thousand years mankind has been warned by those who have spoken the word of God there is a time of judgment coming upon the earth.

Matthew 24:4-8, "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."

*Mark 13:5-8, "And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows."

*Luke 21:8-11, "And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven."

Jesus told His disciples not to be troubled when false prophets arise and when they hear rumors of war because this does not mean the end is near. The 'beginning of sorrows' will come when nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famine, pestilence, and earthquakes in different areas.

The Greek word for sorrows in these scriptures is 'odin.' It means 1) the pain of childbirth, travail pain, birth pangs 2) intolerable anguish, in reference to the dire calamities preceding the advent of the Messiah. The 'beginning of sorrows' points to a definite period in time. The beginning of the last seven weeks of Daniel chapter nine. *Daniel 9:27, "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week."

*Revelation 6:1-2, "And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white 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."

The 'beginning of sorrows' brings us to the time of affliction. 'The prince that shall come' will confirm the covenant for one week, seven years. Could this covenant have something to do with the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem? He will come with the delusion of peace. *Daniel 8:25, "And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many." Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. Great earthquakes shall be in divers places, famines, pestilences, and fearful sights. Great signs from heaven.

*Revelation 6:3-17, "And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."
 
"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

 

*II Thessalonians 2:1-12, "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 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, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 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: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

 

The phrase, 'abomination of desolation' in Greek is  bdelugma eremosis. It is defined in Strong's as, a foul thing, a detestable thing, of idols and things pertaining to idolatry. A making desolate, desolation. Some theologians refer to this phrase as pointing to the Roman legion ensign which was an eagle and considered an abomination to the Israelites.

*Daniel 12:11, "And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days."

The time reference in Daniel chapter twelve is three and one-half years. After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., three and one-half years later in 73 A.D., the Romans had managed to block all supplies to the fortress in Masada. The resolve of the Jews was not to surrender but rather to burn the camp and commit suicide. The scriptures in Matthew and Mark give definite reference to another period in time.

*Matthew 24:15-25, "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 Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the 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, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should 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 Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before." 24:29, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken."

*Mark 13:14-25, "But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house: And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment. But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not: For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken."

Jesus uses the term 'great tribulation' or affliction in these verses. The Greek word for tribulation and affliction used in these scriptures is "thlipsis." It means: 1) a pressing, pressing together, pressure 2) metaph. oppression, affliction, tribulation, distress, straits.

Further indication of time reference is the words, "After the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from heaven. All the powers in heaven will be shaken." These things have not yet occurred.

 In Matthew 24 and Mark 13 we are given another 'sign' of the end;  'the abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it should not. *Daniel 11:31, "And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate."

 

*Revelation 14:9-12, "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

 

In Daniel chapter two we looked at the embodiment of the prophesies in Daniel. We were given the vision of a statue whose feet were part of potters' clay and part of iron. The two feet indicated the kingdom would be divided. The ten toes indicated ten kings. Because the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, the kingdom would be partly strong and partly broken. Also, because they were iron mixed with clay, they would mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they would not cleave to one another. It would be in the days of these kings that the God of heaven would set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. The kingdom would not be left to other people but it would break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms.

In Daniel chapter seven we looked at a 'little horn.' This horn had plucked up three other horns by the roots that were on the head of the beast in Daniel's vision. This horn had eyes like the eyes of man and a mouth speaking great things. Daniel was mesmerized by the voice of the horn and the words it spoke. He stared until the beast was killed. Then his body was destroyed and given to the burning flame.

Daniel chapter nine gave us a time reference, a period of seventy weeks. From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince would be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks. The street and the wall would be rebuilt in times of trouble. After threescore and two weeks Messiah would be cut off and have nothing. Then the people of the prince that will come destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end would be with a flood and until the end of the war desolations are determined.

The prince to come would confirm the covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. Because of the overspreading of abominations he will make Jerusalem desolate until the consummation. That determined will be poured upon the desolate.

Now, compare these observations with the following scriptures from the book of Revelation.

*Revelation 9:11-12, "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter."

*Revelation 11:7, "And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."


*Revelation 17:8, "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."
 

The name 'Abaddon' is of Hebrew origin. It's translation is "destruction" meaning 1) ruin 2) destruction 3) the place of destruction 4) the name of the angel-prince of the infernal regions, the minister of death and the author of havoc on the earth. 'Apollyon' is of Greek origin. It's translation is "Destroyer" meaning 1) the angel of the bottomless pit, the Destroyer. When we looked at the word 'eromos,' desolate, we found that this meant to bring to ruin, or to destroy.

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11:36-45 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.


All this fills in the gap in Daniel chapter eleven between verses 29-35 and 36-45. The 'abomination of desolation' has a name in the Hebrew tongue and the Greek tongue. The Christians have a name for this abomination; the antichrist.

Easton's Bible Dictionary gives us a description of this antichrist. Antichrist - against Christ, or an opposition Christ, a rival Christ. The word is used only by the apostle John. Referring to false teachers, he says (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7), "Even now are there many antichrists." This name has been applied to the "little horn" and of the "king of fierce countenance" (Dan. 7:24, 25; 8:23-25). It has been applied also to the "false Christs" spoken of by our Lord (Matt. 24:5, 23, 24). To the "man of sin" described by Paul (2 Thess. 2:3, 4, 8-10). And to the "beast from the sea" (Rev. 13:1; 17:1-18).*

*Revelation 9:1-6, "And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them."

After three years of wars, famine, pestilence, and earthquakes the angel from the bottomless pit will be released. In II Thessalonians, Paul refers to him as 'the man of sin, son of perdition.'  Like the image of the 'little horn,' who was given eyes like a man and a tongue speaking great words, he will assume the form of a man, 'the prince that shall come,' and enter the temple in Jerusalem declaring himself god.

*Revelation 10:7, "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets."

When the three and one-half years are completed he will break the covenant with Israel and stop the daily sacrifices and offerings. He will blaspheme God, His temple, His Son, and the people of God. Then he will turn his forces against the people of Israel. But at the end of three and one-half years he will come to his end and no one will help him. *Daniel 2:34, "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces."

 

*Revelation 17:10-14, "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. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, 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."


 

  &O Greatly Beloved, this brings us to the final chapter of Daniel. Don't forget to fill in your observations on your sheets including anything that the Lord has shown you personally. We will look at the remainder of the prophesies in Matthew, Mark, and Luke in chapter twelve. Is everything beginning to come together? Are you seeing the importance of the book of Daniel?

 

 

 

 

The Time of the EndAt the Time AppointedWhat's In A Name

 

 

*References taken from: "Great People of the Bible and How They Lived" Reader's Digest, 1971