This world is looking for a politician to pull them out of their woes. Not only America, but the world is looking for a super politician. There is a prime minister in Belgium, Paul-Henri Spaak, who has stated with all the issues in the European Union not coming together as well as they would have liked and the falling of the Euro especially in light of what has happened in Greece, that he has stated he doesn't care who comes as long as they can pull them out of the mess they are in. We don't care whether he is a devil or a Christ as long as he is a deliverer. This prayer will be answered in the form of the Antichrist in the not too distant future. The world is going to have to be in a place of hurting. This man will come to deliver humanity from it's dilemma and we are seeing the stage being set even now.
The world today in 2015 is in a political, economical, and void of leadership, borders are erasing around the globe, and the world is desperate for a deliverer. The world doesn't care who it is, as long as they do what is needed, but as believers, we know that only Jesus Christ can do just that!
Remember as we get back into our study today that from Revelation 10 to Revelation 11:14, this entire portion of Scripture is called a parenthetical pause, a break in the ongoing storyline to give the reader some much needed information before continuing on in the events during the Tribulation Period. This is perhaps the biggest challenge I faced when reading Revelation the first couple of times, was I never knew what was going on with these interruptions in the events, that we found first in Revelation 7 and now again in Revelation 10-11:14. God is pausing the story as if to give us some much needed information to help us process the rest of the events. This is why so many people simply give up their study into this amazing Book of the Bible, is because it doesn't seem to flow right. When you study it and understand what is happening, you can truly appreciate what is happening and make sense of it to further your understanding of the book of Revelation.
You also have to understand that the Book of Revelation begs us to have a deep, deep understanding, especially from Revelation 10-11:14 of the Old Testament. We can't understand the events and meanings without seeing how the Old Testament plays a role into this Book! Remember too, that as a believer in Jesus, we do not have to be a part of this time in history. We can completely avoid the entire Tribulation period as a believer in Jesus Christ. That is the most important thing to understand in this study. Thus the urgency in sharing the gospel with others. The Bible makes is perfectly clear that believers will be gone from the earth before the Tribulation begins. These things wait an unbelieving world. The reason God brings this judgment upon the world is because they have rejected Christ's sacrifice upon the cross.
If you are a Christian, where was our sin judged? On the cross. The Bible says that that being so, there is no judgment left to us any longer. The Tribulation period is a time of judgment upon the earth, for those that have rejected Christ and the cross. You need to make a decision this morning, will you experience these things which we are reading about in Revelation of the coming judgment or will you take advantage of the opportunity that Christ has given to you, that He died on the cross for our sins, taking upon Himself our judgment. I don't know about you, but that is a good deal!
We learn that as God's final witness He gives a very specific warning of events.
Revelation 11:1-2 ~ "I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months."
We looked last time that there will be a temple built in Jerusalem because the apostle Paul and the prophets have said so. Jesus said so as well. There is a coming temple to Jerusalem. We studied that just north of the Dome of the Rock, there is a vacant area that can house the square footage of the space required to build the Temple or Solomon's Temple if you measured it that way. We learned that in both the Old and New Testament, there will be a dividing wall between the area of the Gentiles that is defiled and the area in which the Temple will be built during the Tribulation period. The outer area is an area that is an abomination to God. It's not acceptable to Him. It is a defiled area.
They already have the plans and have begun to process of creating the items to be used in the coming Temple. They have been assembling the people who have the last names of Levi or Levy or Kohan. These names that can be traced back to the Levitical priesthood. They are being instructed in priestly operations. The implements that will be used in the temple that have been created are currently under lock and key because they are made out of pure gold, pure silver and solid brass. Israel is excited for the day when they will have the Temple once again. We know that the days are coming because this talk is already happening and it is exciting to see this happening even now. It means the time is drawing closer. We already know that beheadings are on the rise around the world and it is only going to increase in the last days.
Information travels around the world now in a flash thanks to modern advances in technology. Anytime anything happens on the Temple Mount it makes national news! It is the most hotly contested piece of real estate in the world. Something will happen in the future where Israel will be granted access to build their Temple again. There is going to come an announcement that this will be happening and it is a promise you can bank on. These are some future headlines that are coming to the world in the near future.
Israel will sign a 7-year peace treaty with the United Nations that will allow them to build a temple in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount.
How do we know this. It's found in the Bible in Daniel 9, Matthew 24, Luke 21, Mark 13.
This agreement will allow certain rights and privileges to the Muslim people to practice their ancient pagan worship system of Ancient Babylon, the worship of the moon god. What will be happening on the Temple Mount will be a co-existing worship system of the Jewish Temple and the Dome of the Rock Mosque with the crescent moon on top of it, to worship the Babylonian moon god. They don't know his name or reference his name, but in Arabic they just call him God, because it is his title not his name. Allah is God is Arabic. This will take place there and it will happen.
How do we know this? It is found in Revelation 11 which we will study more in depth later.
These two systems of worship happening at the same time, will offend the God of heaven. Revelation 13, Daniel 2-3. This will be a divided yet united practice that both these groups will worship on top of God's holy mountain.
The Bible warns that there will be a global "church" of lost souls during this time. A one world church. That it will have the outward appearance of Christianity but be anything but deny the power of God. (Luke 13, 2 Corinthians 11, 2 Timothy 4, Matthew 7).
That there will be a global economic system of commerce and it will be cashless system where by transactions will be made electronically via a numbering system with a certain numerical prefix = 666. Look at any bar code today and you will find those numbers in the beginning, the middle and on the end of the bar codes. It may not be 666 but if you turn it over it is 999. Interesting how this is happening even now. There will come a time however that in order to buy or sell without that prefix of 666. (Daniel 8, Revelation 13, 2 Thessalonians 2, 1 John 2).
That Europe will once again be resurrected in a demonically energized godless government of nations that will ultimately produce a representative, a man, who will swoon the world into a false sense of peace and hope. Hasn't God tried to warn us over and over again of this happening. How many times has Europe tried to produce a global leader? Interesting if you know European history. It will happen again. This guy will be somewhat successful because Satan will dwell within him. (Daniel 7, Revelation 12, Daniel 8, and Daniel 11).
Paul told us of this time that we are studying in Revelation 11.
1 Thessalonians 5:3 ~ "While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."
Israel will love this point in the Tribulation. They will finally have peace with their neighbors, there are no more attacks in their nation, they have their Temple on the Temple Mount again. Things are great in their eyes. They will believe that they are in a time of safety but it will not be. It will be at a mid-point in the Tribulation period that Israel will see what they couldn't see earlier.
Matthew 24:17-22 ~ "Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be a great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."
This is a warning to Israel. He is saying in Revelation 11, that there is a deception coming to Israel.
Revelation 11:2 ~ "But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because is has been given to the Gentiles."
As long as there is a Muslim presence on the Temple Mount, and the Jews wanting to build a Temple on the Temple Mount, this coming leader will strike a deal to make that happen. Think about what would have to happen to make this a reality. With the European Union, the U. N., the United States, all of the Arab nations around Israel? How will this happen? No one has been able to pull this off no matter how much they have tried in the past. It will take Satan, himself, dwelling inside a human being to strike a demonic deal, that is called in the Bible, a 7-year peace treaty. Satan will pull this off through his indwelling of a human being. A man we refer to as the Antichrist. The Bible calls him the Son of Perdition. The Old Testament calls him the Beast. He will be amazing because people will be deceived by what he says and does. He will bring incredible prosperity to the world. He will bring all kinds of peace to the world. He will be the master politician like this world has never seen.
This deception will not only come upon the whole world but Israel specifically. There will come a time when human government will reign.
Revelation 11:2b ~ "it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months."
Luke 21:24 ~ "They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."
We know that 7 years will be the time until the Gentiles are fulfilled. The Tribulation Period marks that quite clearly. The Bible says when human government ends that Jesus will return. To establish His kingdom and to put an end to human government.
Zechariah 14:3-4 ~ "Then the LORD will go out an fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountains moving north and half moving south."
Daniel 2:34, 44 ~ "While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. In the time of those kings, the God of Heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever."
This is a reference to the return of Christ in Daniel 2. A time when human government will cease. How can you look at the events in Revelation 11 and not see the comparison to what is happening in the world today? It's easy when you dig a hole and put your head in the ground. The Bible tells us that the sons of Issachar observed the times in which they lived, and determined what Israel ought to do. No one should be more attuned to what your family should be doing next or the pastor in your church should be the one leading your church in the community, because we, as believers, are discerning the times in which we are living in. We should be engaging more than ever. As we look around and see the signs of the times and seasons, we want to know our Bibles, get excited to know that the Lord is at work, and live for Him because it's time to go full throttle for Jesus.
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