Series: Living in the End Times

Title:  What to Expect as The End Draws Near?

Matthew 24:15-28

¹⁵ “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

The “abomination of desolation” refers to the “image of the beast.” Which will be set up by the Antichrist.  It will be an object of worship enforced globally.  He will sit in the temple of God, acting like he is God”

This will take place after the completion of the seventy weeks foretold by the prophet Daniel.

Daniel 9:24-25

²⁴ “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. ²⁵ Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. 

One of the first things to look for is the command to restore and build Jerusalem’s temple.  In doing so there will be a reestablishment of their worship rituals.  There has been much preparation in bringing back the Jewish temple.

• Ritual garments and vessels have been created
• Copper vessels have been made for the third temple
• The golden menorah has been crafted
• Temple Institute’s Schoolis training certified, DNA-tested Cohen (descendants of the High Priest Aaron) to perform the Temple duties.
• And the final element, the Red Heifer, is being bred in Israel to be sacrificed in the ritual purification of the priests and the vessels, so they may formally enter the holiest of holy.
• Everything is ready except the land. Since 1967 the Muslim world has claimed the sacred land as their own.
• Incitement to violence increases whenever rumors spread that a Jewish presence will be established on the Temple Mount or its own Muslim structures
• Only an incredibly respected, trusted, and honored man by both Muslims and Jews will be able to establish a peace planthat allows the Jewish People to worship the Lord in a Temple on the Mount.
• There will be a seven-year treaty with the “prince that shall come” (that is, the Antichrist) which will allow the rebuilding of the temple.

However, he will break this covenant “in the midst of the week” (that is, after the first 3 ½ years of the treaty period), and erect his “overspreading of abominations”—his great idol image, with overstretching arms, mocking the cherubim in the original holy place—in God’s temple

Daniel 9:27

²⁷ And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week (7 years), and for half of the week (3 1/2 years) he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

This will signal the unleashing of his genocidal fury against Israel and all who refuse to worship him.  Obviously, there will be a people living in the last days who will be present on the earth who will not worshipthe beast nor his image.

From the moment this image is set up there will be 1290 days of a time known as the Great Tribulation. 

Daniel 12:11-12

 ¹¹ And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. ¹² Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. 13 But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.”

 The Bible describes this time of Great Tribulation as follows:  

 Matthew 24

 ²¹ For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 

 Meaning if the time allotted for the Great tribulation went longer than 3 ½ years then no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, (God’s chosen people) those days will be cut short.  This also indicating there will be God’s elect on the earth during the Great Tribulation.

We will not go into everything that will take place during that time only the highlights.

During this time of Great Tribulation there will be a rise of what is described as the first and second beast. 

 Revelation 13:11-18

• The first beast (anti-christ or the anti-messiah) is said to have been given its power by the dragon(satan Revelation 20:2)

 Rev. 13:7-8 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, ⁸ and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

 We see that those whose names were not written in the book of life will be persuaded to worship this beast.  Also implying that those alive on the earth whose name is written in the Lamb’s book of Life will be wise enough to not worship this beast.

 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

 ³ Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 

 Paul tells us that before the coming of the Lord the man of lawlessness (anti-Christ) will be revealedand will proclaim himself as God.

• The second beast of Revelation 13

When the time comes, satan plans to:

• make himself equivalent to God the father,
• raise up a man who is the anti-messiah who he would make equivalent to our messiah,
• raise up a religious leader who he will deem to be equivalent to the Holy spirit.

 satan is an imitator, so it is not surprising that he will imitate the structure of God’s kingdom, to deceive the world and turn the world from God and towards himself.

 However, God’s plan is to save and deliver those who would believe and trust in Him while satan’s plan is to destroy the works of God. As you can begin to see, the great tribulation will surpass anything that this world has ever faced. 

 According to Revelation 13 there will be three destinies for the end time saints.

 ¹⁰ If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.

• Captivity - faithful for 10 days then they will kill you.
• Take up the Sword - Die by the sword
• Escape, survive, endure to the end

 Is there any hope for the end time saints who must go through the tribulation?

 With God there is always hope.

 Matthew 24:16-28 (Continued)

 ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, ¹⁸ and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 

 Jesus tells those who are in Judea to flee to the mountains during that time.  It is there they will find refuge.  He tells them not to worry about taking any of their material possessions (such as things in their house or cloaks in the field) with them as they flee, God will provide for them.   

 Another glimmer of hope is that the Lord has cut short those days for the elect’s sake.  Meaning, though you may have to endure trying times you still belong to Him.  He still loves you and cares for the elect. 

 ²³ Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you beforehand. 

He loves us enough to tell us what will happen in the end times so that we can be prepared, if in fact we are the end time saints who will see the Lord’s coming.  He warns of false prophets who perform great signs and wonders.

 The hope is that everything He has revealed to us about Himself through His word is 100% accurate and trustworthy.  So that when we see a fake, we will know it because we know Him.  We can trust that Jesus is the Son of God. He is the messiah, and we can trust in His promise that He will one day return. We can trust that He is the Good Shepherd

 John 10:4

 ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 

²⁶ So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 

 He promises to return we can trust in that promise.

 ²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

  Revelation 19:17-19

 ¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” 

He promises to destroy satan and his followers. There will be justice once and for all.

Other glimpses of hope in scripture regarding the end times.

Daniel 11:32 (regarding the anti-christ)

³² He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.

 Revelation 7:9-14

⁹ After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

 On the other side of the tribulation, we get a glimpse of what it will be like.

• Standing before the throne of God and before the Lamb
• Joined together with the saints of God from every tribe and nation
• Clothed in white robes (white symbolic of purity)
• Worshipping God face to face with their voices and with palm branches

Revelation 12:11

 ¹¹ And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

Revelation 20:10

¹⁰ and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Every time the devil reminds you of your past failures and mistakes remind him of his future.

There is even greater hope than these as we will discuss them next week.