Quoting from Revelation 13:5 concerning the Anti-Christ and the final 3 ½ years prior to the return of Jesus Christ we read, "And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months."
The Word of God reveals to us in this passage of Scripture that the Anti-Christ will not just suddenly appear as a dictator upon the world scene to initiate a satanically orchestrated mission during the final 3 ½ years of this present age, but we are made aware that his final 3 ½ years will in fact be a continuation of an earlier period of his developing authority upon the earth.
The focus of this scriptural revelation (which is that the Anti-Christ's appearance will be witnessed prior to the final 3 ½ years of the Tribulation Period) is of utmost importance when examining the teachings of those who maintain that there are only 3 ½ years left to fulfil the climatic 70 weeks of years recorded of in Daniel 9:24.
At the close of this prophesied time period we are told that God will make an end of sins, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy and anoint the Most Holy.
The Word of God that came to Daniel declared that this allotted time of 70 sets of 7 years were specifically for Daniel's people and for his holy city. There is no question that this prophecy of the 70 sevens is for the Jewish people and their holy city of Jerusalem.
God tells us in Daniel 9:25 that a total of 69 sets of these 7 year weeks would be fulfilled from the time the command to rebuild Jerusalem would go forth until the coming of the Messiah. Believers in Jesus Christ should know that this prophecy was fulfilled precisely as God foretold when Jesus came to the Jews in Jerusalem in 33 AD
Sixty-nine of the 70 sets of 7 years has been fulfilled. After Jesus' heralded arrival in the holy city, He was executed for no sin of His own, but for the sins of the world just as was prophesied in Dan. 9:25-26.
The opportunity for the people of Daniel to stay on the straight road to their final destination in the Kingdom of God took a temporary detour away from God's final and 70th week of years when they rejected their promised Messiah. From that point on, Jesus's mission was no longer exclusively to the Jews, but He has focused on the deliverance of the entire world.
Within the Christian Church there is now no recognized distinction between Jews or Gentiles by God. The eternal Church of Christ flourishes across the earth by the power of the shed blood of God's only begotten Son.
Just as suddenly as the Church was filled with power upon the earth at Pentecost after the 69 weeks of years were completed for Israel, so too (we are convinced) will the removal of the Holy Spirit filled Church take place before the remaining final 7 years begin.
Someday there will come a last Gentile believer who will complete the number of the Church according to Romans 11:25. Only then will Israel's eyes be opened to understand the fullness of the Gospel. "For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be wise in your own opinion, that hardening in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in" (Rom. 11:25).
It is our firm belief that the catching up of the Church to Heaven, as prophesied of in I Thessalonians 4:15-18, will serve as a catalyst to expedite this awakening of Israel.
The final 7 years must be fulfilled for the Jews and Jerusalem exactly as the prophecy demands.
In our opinion, the manifest favor of God toward the Raptured Church is directly linked to the dramatic day when Daniel's people will have the hardness of their hearts shattered and the jealous love for their Savior ignited. Romans 11:11 tells us by the Apostle Paul, "I say then, have they [that is the Jews] stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles."
Why else might Israel suddenly recognize and accept that salvation has been legitimized in the Church of Christ and come to the Gentiles after almost 2,000 years of rejection and unbelief?
The catching up to Heaven of the Christians will be a truly awesome demonstration of God's favor upon those who trusted in His Son Jesus Christ. Such comparable favor in the Old Testament towards Enoch and Elijah will surely come to their minds.
Returning to the prophecy of the last 7 years for the Jews and Jerusalem found in Daniel 9:26-27, we are told that the start of this final block of years will be recognized when a coming prince shall strengthen a 7 year covenant with Israel. This prince will come forth from the people who were prophesied to destroy Jerusalem and the Temple.
Some try to say this prince is Jesus, but Jesus came forth from the line of the Jews and history abundantly records that it was the Roman Empire, not the Jews, which destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD. The prince who signals the start of the final 7 years countdown for the Jews and the holy city with a confirmed covenant could not fulfill this prophecy until June of 1967 when the re-established nation of Israel regained control of Jerusalem.
It is the errant teaching that Jesus was "the prince"that shall come that fueled the teaching that there are only 3 ½ years left to fulfill Daniel's 70th week of years. It is taught by those who perpetuate this error that Jesus already fulfilled the first 3 ½ years prior to His going to the cross so only 3 ½ years remain. Besides the problems of Jesus having been a Jew and the chronological impossibility to squeeze an extra 3 ½ years into the first 69 sets of 7 years, they have the insurmountable problem of the Anti-Christ's allotted time of 7 years to overcome in order to validate any teaching that claims there are only 3 ½ years remaining to fulfill Daniel's 70th week.
Revelation 13:15 revealed that the beastly Anti-Christ will be given authority to continue in his role for 3 ½ years.
Verses 16-17 tells us that during this closing half of Daniel's final 7 years, "...it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
As the Apostle Paul prophesied in Romans Ch. 11 the Jews are to have their eyes opened to recognize their Messiah Jesus. These Jews comprise the focus of the saints spoken of in Rev. 13. We must never stray from God's Word which tells us that this prophesied time period is for the people of Daniel.
Reading from Daniel 7:25 we find a companion verse which further tells of this man of sin's exploits during the final 3 ½ years before the return of Jesus Christ. It is important to take note that in this verse the Anti-Christ's list of activities are shown to start before the saints are given into his hand during the final 3 ½ years.
"He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and laws. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time." (That is 3 ½ years.)
When read in their full context it is unquestionable that this time period being spoken of is the 3 ½ years that immediately precedes the return of Jesus Christ. This as we had been shown is a "continuation" of the Anti-Christ's dealings with Israel according to Rev. 13:5.
Daniel 9:27 revealed to us that the Anti-Christ's dealings with Israel start 3 ½ years earlier with his confirming of a 7 year covenant. A 7 year covenant that harmonizes perfectly with the unfulfilled week of 7 years which will complete the 70th week of Dan. 9:24.
In verses 8-10 of Revelation 5 we are shown the living Church in Heaven as they witness Jesus Christ receiving a scroll sealed with seven seals. As each of the seven seals are opened throughout the Book of Revelation, Christ sends a horrendous judgment upon the earth.
Since the final 7 years of Daniel's 70th week begins with the Anti-Christ strengthening a covenant with Israel, it would be logical to expect that the first seal of judgment to be opened by Christ at the start of the 7 year Tribulation Period will bring forth this wicked ruler.
Revelation 6:1-2 confirms that this is precisely what takes place. "Now I saw when the lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see." And I looked, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer."
"And then," just as is prophesied in II Thessalonians 2:8-12, "...the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
The lawless one is irrevocably intertwined with the final 7 years. During the first 3 ½ years he will grow in prestige and strength by Satan's power. He will then voice the desire of his master Satan's heart when, according to II Thess. 2:4, he will sit in the soon to be rebuilt Temple of God in Jerusalem and will claim himself to be God.
With the Jew's rejection of this Romans Ch. 11 the Jews are to have their eyes opened to recognize their Messiah Jesus. These Jews comprise the focus of the saints spoken of in Rev. 13. We must never stray from God's Word which tells us that this prophesied time period is for the people of Daniel.
Reading from Daniel 7:25 we find a companion verse which further tells of this man of sin's exploits during the final 3 ½ years before the return of Jesus Christ. It is important to take note that in this verse the Anti-Christ's list of activities are shown to start before the saints are given into his hand during the final 3 ½ years.
"He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and laws. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time." (That is 3 ½ years.)
When read in their full context it is unquestionable that this time period being spoken of is the 3 ½ years that immediately precedes the return of Jesus Christ. This as we had been shown is a "continuation" of the Anti-Christ's dealings with Israel according to Rev. 13:5.
Daniel 9:27 revealed to us that the Anti-Christ's dealings with Israel start 3 ½ years earlier with his confirming of a 7 year covenant. A 7 year covenant that harmonizes perfectly with the unfulfilled week of 7 years which will complete the 70th week of Dan. 9:24.
In verses 8-10 of Revelation 5 we are shown the living Church in Heaven as they witness Jesus Christ receiving a scroll sealed with seven seals. As each of the seven seals are opened throughout the Book of Revelation, Christ sends a horrendous judgment upon the earth.
Since the final 7 years of Daniel's 70th week begins with the Anti-Christ strengthening a covenant with Israel, it would be logical to expect that the first seal of judgment to be opened by Christ at the start of the 7 year Tribulation Period will bring forth this wicked ruler.
Revelation 6:1-2 confirms that this is precisely what takes place. "Now I saw when the lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see." And I looked, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer."
"And then," just as is prophesied in II Thessalonians 2:8-12, "...the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
The lawless one is irrevocably intertwined with the final 7 years. During the first 3 ½ years he will grow in prestige and strength by Satan's power. He will then voice the desire of his master Satan's heart when, according to II Thess. 2:4, he will sit in the soon to be rebuilt Temple of God in Jerusalem and will claim himself to be God.
With the Jew's rejection of this Romans Ch. 11 the Jews are to have their eyes opened to recognize their Messiah Jesus. These Jews comprise the focus of the saints spoken of in Rev. 13. We must never stray from God's Word which tells us that this prophesied time period is for the people of Daniel.
Reading from Daniel 7:25 we find a companion verse which further tells of this man of sin's exploits during the final 3 ½ years before the return of Jesus Christ. It is important to take note that in this verse the Anti-Christ's list of activities are shown to start before the saints are given into his hand during the final 3 ½ years.
"He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and laws. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time." (That is 3 ½ years.)
When read in their full context it is unquestionable that this time period being spoken of is the 3 ½ years that immediately precedes the return of Jesus Christ. This as we had been shown is a "continuation" of the Anti-Christ's dealings with Israel according to Rev. 13:5.
Daniel 9:27 revealed to us that the Anti-Christ's dealings with Israel start 3 ½ years earlier with his confirming of a 7 year covenant. A 7 year covenant that harmonizes perfectly with the unfulfilled week of 7 years which will complete the 70th week of Dan. 9:24.
In verses 8-10 of Revelation 5 we are shown the living Church in Heaven as they witness Jesus Christ receiving a scroll sealed with seven seals. As each of the seven seals are opened throughout the Book of Revelation, Christ sends a horrendous judgment upon the earth.
Since the final 7 years of Daniel's 70th week begins with the Anti-Christ strengthening a covenant with Israel, it would be logical to expect that the first seal of judgment to be opened by Christ at the start of the 7 year Tribulation Period will bring forth this wicked ruler.
Revelation 6:1-2 confirms that this is precisely what takes place. "Now I saw when the lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see." And I looked, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer."
"And then," just as is prophesied in II Thessalonians 2:8-12, "...the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
The lawless one is irrevocably intertwined with the final 7 years. During the first 3 ½ years he will grow in prestige and strength by Satan's power. He will then voice the desire of his master Satan's heart when, according to II Thess. 2:4, he will sit in the soon to be rebuilt Temple of God in Jerusalem and will claim himself to be God.
With the Jew's rejection of this blasphemous claim the man of sin will be allowed by God's extraordinary forbearance the authority to continue for the final 3 ½ years and to overcome the tribulation saints of Christ.
Revelation 12:11 prophesies, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death." If only the Church of America could live with such conviction.
Today is the day to come to Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. The Rapture of the Church is near. Don't miss out on this glorious opportunity to enter, by God's grace, the portals of Heaven without passing through the Valley of Death. This moment an eternal transformation from Hell-bent sinner to Heaven-bound saint can take place. Simply come to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
Our closing words from the Lord are found in Ch. 15:9 of the Gospel of John. Jesus said, "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love." God's love for Jesus is unconditional and eternal. This is the same love that Christ has for you and I. Let us rejoice!