12 FOUNDATION STONES—CLASS 7B SIGNS OF THE TIMES BIBLE PROPHECY, PART 2.2 ------------------------------------------ > Verses 15–21: The Antichrist One-World Government and the Great Tribulation ------------------------------------------ All of the sobering signs—the increase in disasters, in famines, in wars—were the "beginning of sorrows." The fact that the Gospel has been preached brings us to the next phase: The very last days. Now Jesus is going to be even more specific about the exact end of things: Matthew 24:15–21—Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), (16) then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (17) Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. (18) And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. (19) But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! (20) And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. (21) For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. ------------------------------------------ > The Antichrist, his government, his image, and his mark vs. 15—When you see the ‘abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place… ------------------------------------------ Jesus is referring to the prophecies in the book of Daniel. Daniel 11:31—And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. There are many references in Revelation and other places in the Bible that also expand on this. We don't have time to go into a detailed study now, but we'll summarize. We learn from the Bible that when the Antichrist claims control of the world, he sets up some kind of an Image or an idol, "the Abomination of Desolation" which the people of the world are ordered to worship—signifying their worship of him. Revelation Chapter 13 puts this in terms that we can understand quite easily, so let's look at the key verses. Revelation 13:14–15—And [the Antichrist's false prophet] deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. (15) He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. The "beast" is the Antichrist. But the Image of the Beast is something else. How could an image speak? If we think of an old marble idol, it's hard to picture it; but if we think of a computer that sends out instructions, whether the instructions are literally verbal or written, then it's easier to imagine. We don't know what the Image will be, but it is now technologically possible for it to be "speaking." Revelation 13:16–18—[The false prophet] causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, (17) and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (18) Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. Here's the famous "Mark of the Beast" or "666." It sounds like some kind of financial control, because without the mark, nobody is allowed to buy or sell. Until this point in history, no government could have had such total control, but now the technology is available in ways that are unprecedented! Society is even being prepared and convinced that such a government would be the solution to the world's pressing problems—a New World Order. The mechanisms of the Antichrist's New World Order are being put in place little by little. Technology has broken down borders and national sovereignty has become less important. These conditions will make the creation of a one-world government relatively simple. It's happening so gradually that global government will be a logical next step. The poor of the world will certainly embrace it. At the moment, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and those who are poverty-stricken won't think it can get any worse. The mark will probably be touted as a great financial convenience, but there is more to it than that. In the Bible receiving the mark and worshipping the Beast are usually mentioned together. Though it doesn't specifically say how they relate, the implication is that receiving the mark is part of accepting the Antichrist's rule and something God's children should therefore not do. Revelation 14:9–10—If anyone worships the Beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God. The Invisible World Order (Atlantic Unbound) On July 17th 1999, 120 member states of the United Nations agreed to create a permanent global war-crimes tribunal, to be called the International Criminal Court. The ICC and other projects like it are signs that the world is getting serious about thinking of itself as a world. As we envision more and more of these global institutions we are simultaneously confronted with the prospect of more and more databases of increasing size and complexity. The time has come to take a step back and ask the question: Are we ready to live in such a place? Wiring the West (Steve Harris, The Age Melbourne) In a six-day live chatroom, 40 heads of state, 250 political leaders, 300 scientists, artists, academics and intellectuals, and 1,000 corporate chiefs (each with $1 billion in revenue) talked over what in the world is going on, and where the world might be going. The annual World Economic Forum is committed to improving the state of the world. It seeks to bring leaders from various fields together to discuss key issues, away from the usual obstacles of bureaucracies, protocols, and media scrutiny. Whichever word in whichever language, the world's elite has either fully embraced globalization, or fully accepted it as unstoppable: ready or not, the world is being plugged into one hot-wired, digitized, interactive marketplace, with normal definitions and understanding of time, distance, corporations, assets, value, consumers and government being challenged or transformed with astonishing speed. Globaphobia? (Tony Parkinson, The Age Melbourne) Technology is shrinking the planet. Satellite communications have seen the cost of a three-minute transatlantic phone call fall from $244.65 in 1930 to less than $4 today. The cost of computing power has fallen by 99 per cent since the ‘60s. In 1980, IBM predicted the world market for personal computers over the next 10 years would be 275,000 machines. By 1990, there were more than 60 million PC users. World trade has also expanded exponentially as nations open their markets. A study by Michele Roth, of the Global Policy Forum, found that 160 of the top 200 most influential institutions on the planet today are transnational corporations. They have overtaken all but the wealthiest nation states. As the 1997 Asian financial meltdown demonstrated, governments can be powerless before the tidal wash of international capital. The Bank for International Settlements reported a flow of more than $100 billion into Asia in one year, and $100 billion outflow the next. Canada's Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, voiced the growing sense of vulnerability among the political class. "Capitalism hasn't come up with all the answers. We cannot see prosperity disappear overnight because some boy in red suspenders in New York decides this is not a good currency." General Motors has corporate sales bigger than the revenue of the Danish government. Toyota has a turnover greater than Norway's. The 10 biggest industrial multinationals (Mitsubishi, General Motors, Mitsui, Itochu, Ford, Sumitomo, Toyota, Exxon, Marubeni and Shell) each has revenue bases bigger than the tax take of the Australian government. Only the governments of the U.S., Japan, Germany, France, Britain and Italy carry more financial clout than the biggest multinationals. But even they may not be able to stare down the cumulative might of global financial markets. In 1992, speculator George Soros "broke" the Bank of England and forced a devaluation of the pound sterling. The postwar era has produced the most remarkable rise in living standards in history. Yet the number of the truly destitute exceeds 1.3 billion. For one-fifth of the world's population, mainly in Africa, living standards fell during the ‘80s. More than 1.5 billion people lack safe drinking water and more than a billion are illiterate. The charter for global democracy (Henry Lamb, WorldNetDaily) In less than a year [September 2000], the United Nations will convene a special Millennium Assembly as a global summit on the future of the world. A Charter to achieve global governance was developed for presentation at the Millennium Assembly. It is called The Charter for Global Democracy. It has already been signed by influential leaders in 56 nations, and has the support of NGOs [non-governmental organizations] around the world. The document is, in reality, a Charter for the abolition of individual freedom. The first of 12 principles calls for the consolidation of all international agencies under the direct authority of the United Nations. The second principle calls for regulation by the UN of all transnational corporations and financial institutions, requiring an "international code of conduct" concerning the environment and labor standards. Dozens of documents, all promoting some form of world government, have been circulating for most of this decade. All contain these same principles. The Millennium Assembly will receive these documents and meld them into the legal instruments required to modify the existing UN Charter. It will take a year or two for the legal documents to be prepared and adopted, and another year or two for ratification. The world is truly standing at the threshold of world government. (Editors: The Summit was convened as planned in September 2000, attended by more than 150 heads of state.) Controls and limits on personal freedom—already happening! (Wired) The European Union is quietly getting ready to approve legislation that will allow the police to eavesdrop both on Internet conversations and satellite telephone calls without obtaining court authorization. The legislation is part of a much wider memorandum of understanding between the E.U., the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway, a non-member European nation. That agreement allows authorities to conduct telecom surveillance across international borders, according to a Europol document leaked to members of the European Parliament. If approved, the agreement would permit real-time, remote monitoring of e-mail, as well as of calls placed on satellite telephone networks. Unlike most laws in Europe, the agreement will allow law enforcement to listen in without a court order. (Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily) * Your e-mail communications and phone calls overseas are being intercepted by a global government surveillance system. * Your cellular phone calls to your elected government officials are being monitored by the same mysterious Echelon program controlled by the U.S. National Security Agency. * Your international faxes are also being copied and analyzed by this 50-year-old international civilian espionage organization. (Simon Davies, Los Angeles Times) Fifty years ago, a bizarre and terrifying novel went on sale in bookshops across the world. George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four caught the imagination of millions, and in the process catapulted Big Brother into the international vocabulary. The phrase soon became shorthand for the power of the state, and it helped entire generations to express their fear of intrusion by authority. To the digital generation, the all-seeing, all-knowing Big Brother is represented by large computer systems. Each adult in the developed world is located, on average, in 300 databases. As these databases converge with the telecommunications spectrum, nearly everyone becomes entangled in a web of surveillance enveloping everything from our bank accounts to our e-mail. To millions of people, Big Brother looms as a chilling warning about the creation of a surveillance society through information technology. Superficially, Orwell got it wrong—1984 came and went with many of our freedoms apparently still intact. But a closer reading of the book reveals that we are nearer to Big Brother than we might imagine. In Orwell's fictional Oceania, a mass of "telescreens," complete with microphones and speakers, watched over every square inch of public and private space. These devices, centrally monitored, began their life as public information systems and ended up policing the morals, thoughts and behavior of all citizens. Compare this with the present day, where hundreds of thousands of cameras have been placed on buses, trains and elevators. Many people now expect to be routinely filmed from the moment they leave the front gate. Hidden cameras are being installed unhindered in cinemas, alongside roads, in bars, dressing rooms and housing estates. In the United States and Britain, visual surveillance is becoming a fixed component in the design of urban centers, housing areas, public buildings and even throughout the road system. The Mark of the Beast—financial control, and more! (The Straits Times) SINGAPORE—Take out your wallet and count the number of cards you carry, not to mention all the Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) that you have to memorize for every possible transaction. Then there is your passport, driver's license, insurance documents, not to mention details like home and work addresses, phone and fax numbers. All that information, says BT Laboratories' Peter Cochrane, can be put into a single silicon chip on a smart card. Everything from employment and medical records to financial status can be written into the chip. Add a short-range wireless transmitter-receiver, implant the whole thing under your skin, and you have a personal transponder, just like those in airplanes. A chip like that can give you total freedom, according to Professor Cochrane. You walk into an airport and clear Customs and Immigrations in minutes because all your personal information will be processed by computers instead of humans. Since all your financial information is also in the chip, you can simply walk up to an ATM machine in any country and withdraw money as and when you need it. Even grocery-shopping could be easier. Just walk into a store and pick up whatever you want to buy. No more queues at the cashier's counter. All this could be reality in 10 years time. The future of money (Time) Cash is headed for a whole new dimension. MasterCard has invested millions in the development of an E-cash system called Mondex. Smart Mondex cards have tiny embedded microchips that can store not only electronic dollars but also five other types of currency, an abbreviated medical history and even a personalized electronic "key" that can open everything from your apartment to your office. Says Henry Mundt, MasterCard executive vice president for global access: "The chip that we are putting on the card now will form the platform for the ultimate in remote access for consumers to their funds, anytime, anywhere. What we really see happening in the future is consumers being able to design their cards to meet their individual needs. We refer to that as moving more toward life-style cards." E-cash is already everywhere, from highway tolls to subways. Technology and finance have become one and the same. As William Niskanen, chairman of the Washington-based CATO Institute, puts it, "The distinction between software and money is disappearing." And nowhere is that truer than in the world of cold, hard cash. Paper money is, in its way, amazing stuff. It is, for instance, easily transferable and widely accepted. You can pay the baby sitter without even thinking about the complex financial dynamics underlying the transaction. Cash—especially U.S. dollars—is also portable, storable and exchangeable. (Just ask the thousands of Russian Mafiosi who pay for nearly everything with $100 bills.) But paper cash does have some awful drawbacks. Lose it and it's gone; sit on it and it may lose its value overnight: think about what just happened in Asia, or earlier in South America. Enter electronic cash. The idea of digital money is simple enough: instead of storing value on paper, find a way to wrap it in a string of digits that's more portable and (most important) smarter than its paper counterpart. Smart money? Well, yes. Because digital cash is endlessly mutable, you can control it much more precisely than paper money. Think about the $2,000 check you send to your daughter at college for expenses. How is that money really spent? Books … or beer? Electronic cash takes that relatively simple transaction—passing an allowance—and makes it into a much more intelligent process. And one that hardly requires something as old-fashioned as a bank. For starters, you can send the money over the Internet encoded in an E-mail instead of sending a check. Your daughter can store the money any way she wants—on her laptop, on a debit card, even (in the not too distant future) on a chip implanted under her skin. And, you can program the money to be spent only in specific ways. You might instruct some of the digits to go for books, some for food and some for movies. Unless you pass along a few digits that can be cashed at the local pub, she'll have to find someone else to buy the drinks. Smart, digital cash may also address some of the other problems of paper money. If you lose your digital cash, for example, you will be able to replace it instantly by asking your computer to invalidate the disappeared digits and replace them with a fresh set. And unlike paper money—which stops earning interest as it shoots out of the ATM slot—smart money can keep earning interest until the moment you spend it. ------------------------------------------ > The Great Tribulation vs. 21—For then there will be great tribulation… ------------------------------------------ When the Antichrist has set up his Image, Jesus Himself said then begins the Great Tribulation! We know from other Scriptures that the Antichrist will rule for seven years (Daniel 9:27), and he sets up his Image halfway through. The Great Tribulation begins halfway through his reign. Not all seven years of his reign is tribulation, the first half is perhaps going to be fairly good, restoration of peace and the economy, a worldwide government at last, and perhaps less wars, especially at the beginning. The "Great Tribulation" is a time of persecution of Christians and other devout religious believers. It's going to be dangerous for those who love God and stand up for Him and refuse to accept the Mark of the Beast. The New World Order's forces will be trying to kill those who refuse to worship the Antichrist. Contrary to what some prophecy teachers have taught, the Christians of the world are still going to be here during the Tribulation. They're going to have to go through it. But the Lord assures us: Matthew 24:22—And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. The Lord doesn't let it last too long, so it won't be too hard on you and me. Otherwise, "no flesh would be saved." During this time, the Lord's children will be miraculously protected and provided for, and it will also be a time of great witnessing and reaping. We'll learn more about this in a future course. ------------------------------------------ The Tribulation ------------------------------------------ We know from the Scriptures that the reign of the Antichrist is seven years: Daniel 9:27 We also know from a variety of other verses that the Tribulation period is 3½ years: Daniel 7:25—He [the Antichrist] shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time* and times and half a time. (*"Time" meaning one year.) Revelation 13:5—And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. See also Revelation 12:6 and Daniel 12:7b. ------------------------------------------ > Watch out! Matthew 24:23–25—Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!' or ‘There!' do not believe it. (24) For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (25) See, I have told you beforehand. ------------------------------------------ Jesus says to watch out during this time! He's talking about the Tribulation period, especially. "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there"—why? Why would people start looking for Christ then? They're going to start looking for Jesus because they know that He's coming soon! Jesus says that when they say "I'm here," "Jesus has come here," or "He's over there," don't believe it! You know why? You're going to know it when Jesus comes! You're going to know it! "For," He says, "false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." Even the Antichrist and False Prophet are going to do great signs and wonders, so that their followers will believe a lie and be damned. Matthew 24:26–28—Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it. (27) For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (28) For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. Jesus warns not to expect Him sooner than has been predicted, and that there will be many false Christs and false prophets who will try to deceive people into thinking either that they are Christ or that Christ is coming nearby somewhere, He is here or there. And He finally says, "Don't believe any of them, because when I come you'll know it!" The sky will light up like lightning from one end to the other, and there will be such a sign in the Heaven that you couldn't possibly mistake the fact that Jesus is coming! He will gather you together to His Body, and we will meet Him in the air! This is spoken of a number of times in God's Word. It is spoken of in the first chapter of Acts, and in 1st Thessalonians chapter 4, etc. (This event is commonly known as the "Rapture.") What does this mean about a carcass and eagles? The coming of Christ will be as obvious as the gathering of eagles or vultures around a carcass. The best way you're going to know when Jesus comes is you're going to be there! You're going to rise to meet Him in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord! ------------------------------------------ > Jesus returns! Matthew 24:29–31—Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (30) Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. ------------------------------------------ Some theologians have taught that Christians will be "raptured" (resurrected) before the time of Great Tribulation. However it is clear from these verses that the Rapture occurs "after the tribulation of those days." That's when Jesus is going to come: after the Tribulation! It says after the Tribulation shall appear the sign of the Son of man in Heaven. After the Tribulation, then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn. After the Tribulation they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory. After the Tribulation He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together His elect. That's when Jesus is going to come back for His elect, to rapture His Saints, to gather them together! How are you going to know when Jesus comes?—He's going to come like lightning, shining even from the east unto the west! You'll know when He comes because He'll shine like lightning around the world and you'll rise to meet Him in the air! ------------------------------------------ > Keep watching the signs! Matthew 24:32–44—Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. (33) So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near— at the doors! (34) Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. (35) Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. (36) But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of Heaven, but My Father only. (37) But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (38) For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, (39) and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (40) Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. (41) Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. (42) Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. (43) But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. (44) Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. ------------------------------------------ We've been talking about the signs. We know things are happening. Just like the leaves on the tree, we know summer is near! Which generation will not pass? It wasn't the generation of the disciples who Jesus was talking about, but the generation who sees the signs. That's us! God's Word is true and is going to happen. Just as we've been studying about so many prophecies that have already been fulfilled, all these other things that the Lord has said shall also happen! The next part of this passage talks about the days of Noah. They were days of wickedness and violence on the earth. That's something else we can see around us. Then the Lord talks about those He takes with Him in the Rapture. It doesn't matter where you are, or what you're doing at the time. If you're one of the saved, Jesus is going to take you to Heaven! Jesus is not going to forget you! He's not going to leave you behind when He comes, no matter where you are or what you're doing. If you're asleep in bed, He's going to wake you up and take you. "Two shall be working out in the field," and some will be taken and some will be left behind. But nobody who has received Jesus is going to be left behind! No one who trusts Christ for his salvation is going to be left behind. When Jesus comes at the end of that Great Tribulation He's going to take all of us who love the Lord, all of us who are saved, to be with Him forever! Jesus is going to come then in the clouds with lightning and thunder and earthquake and stars falling and moon darkened and sun blacked out! The whole world's going to know something very unusual and very apocalyptic is happening! His coming won't be a secret, hidden event by any means! And it's going to be the Apocalypse for sure!—The revelation of Jesus Christ Himself coming in the heavens, in the clouds, in great power and glory, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and Christ Himself will shout and call us from every part of the Earth and we'll be gathered together to be with Him! "And so," He tells us, "shall we ever be with the Lord!" 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17—For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (17) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (continued in part 3)