Sunday, November 30, 2014

Text: Revelation 20:1-6
Subject: “Joyful Anticipation of the End Times,” Part VI
Introduction:

This is the sixth and final message in our series, “Joyful Anticipation of the End Times,” with the main focus being on the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus. We have tried to communicate just how significant and stunning this event will be on a world wide scale. Not since the Mighty God spoke the time and space universe into existence has anything like this taken place. The first coming of Jesus began quietly as a baby in a manger and as a humble carpenter with twelve disciples. However, the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus will come with “a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God![1] There will be nothing quiet or hidden when the Lord comes the second time.

At this amazing revelation of the Creator-God, the New Creation of God in Christ Jesus will come forth in power and glory, and if you are a born again believer in Jesus, you will be there to experience this event! The point is this: we were not there at the first creation of God when the angels sang for joy,[2] but we will be there when the New Creation comes forth at God’s command. And I believe, at that moment, we will out sing the angels!

Beloved, having joyful anticipation in the last days is being able to receive the revelation of the magnitude and wonder of the unveiling of the New Creation of God at the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus. As I have said many times—on purpose—it will be the most stunning event that the world has ever witnessed!

Prayer: Let it be our continual prayer that we will grow in our understanding and insight of this incredible Biblical revelation that will really happen in real time.

A. Learning to think with an eternal mind-set.

Over the past few days God has been speaking to me about learning how to think more like He thinks. My thinking is mostly temporal whereas God’s thinking is eternal. Learning to think with an eternal mind-set is important because it will help us in better understanding the amazing truth of what God has planned for His people at the end of this age.[3]


The best way that I can illustrate this truth is with the death of Jesus. Hebrews 9:12 says, “He (Jesus) did not enter by means of the blood of bulls and calves; but He entered the most Holy Place once and for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.” Jesus, the one and only begotten Son of God, did not shed His blood to save us for a day, a week, a month, a year, or even a lifetime. Rather, He shed His blood to save us for all eternity!
Beloved, the point is this: God is eternal, and His plan for us—you and I—is eternal. When you were saved, you were saved for eternity. What began when you were saved or born again is never to end!
Two weeks ago on Monday, November 10, 2014, I preached Willie Mae Garrett’s funeral. She took her last breath on Friday, November 7, 2014, at the age of 96 years old. However, what ended for her here on terra firma was not the end for Sister Willie Mae! You see, Willie Mae was born again through faith in Jesus Christ and by the power of the eternal Spirit of God. So for her, and for all of those who have “fallen asleep” in Jesus, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”[4] On November 7, 2014, Willie Mae simply changed her residence from earth to glory!
Jesus shed His blood on the cross to save FOREVER all those who come to Him and put their faith in Him as Savior and Lord. And the point is that we need to stop thinking temporally about life and begin thinking eternally—like God thinks.
I fully believe that this is why the Apostle Paul, at the end of his life, could say these words to the young preacher Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who have longed for His appearing.”
As you have heard me say on more than once occasion, the Greek word for “departure,” is a maritime term, a shipping term. The Greek word picture for this word is a ship that has been loaded down with heavy cargo and has just been cut loose from the dock to make its voyage and deliver its cargo. And what Paul, a man who had been taken to the unique dimension called “the third heaven,”[5] is telling us is this: when we die, our journey doesn’t end. Rather, we simply go to the next level of eternal life in God! You see friends, Paul had an eternal mind-set. He was thinking more and more like the eternal God. And I believe that this is the call of the Spirit to the Church—begin thinking more with an eternal mind-set. With this understanding then, let’s now take a look at our text in Revelation 20:1-6.

1. First of all in verses 1-3, the Word of God makes it clear that we are talking about the time after the Great Tribulation period that has ended with the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus.[6] The Devil, Satan, the Red Dragon, the Ancient Serpent, has been bound for one thousand (1000) years.
2. In verse 4, we see another amazing revelation of what happens when the Lord returns to the earth. John draws, I believe, special attention to those who were martyred for their faith in Jesus during the tribulation period: “I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the Word of God. They had not worshipped the Beast (Antichrist) or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand (1000) years.”
Again, I believe that the martyrs are being singled out here so as to give them special honor and to declare that they have been avenged by God for their sacrifice and suffering; for remaining true to the Lord even in death! And what looked like a total defeat when they were martyred was completely turned around when they were resurrected from the dead!
Just like their Savior before them: His death on the cross looked like a win for the Devil right up until Sunday morning when Jesus arose victoriously from the dead—conquering death, hell and the grave! You see Church, martyrdom may look like a believer’s life has ended, but that is most assuredly not the case! Why? Because true believers in Jesus are eternal, and they will be resurrected when the Lord returns and raptures them from the grave. And at that time, they will reign with Christ for a thousand (1000) years!
3. In verse 5 we read, “This is the FIRST resurrection.” Then we read that the rest of the dead (those not saved) will not come to life (and be judged) until the thousand (1000) years are ended.
Beloved, this scripture makes it clear that “the first resurrection” happens at the end of the tribulation period and at the beginning of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. There is no mention here of a “pre-tribulation” resurrection. This is not the “second resurrection” with another resurrection having occurred seven years earlier before the tribulation period. Rather, the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus is the “FIRST RESURRECTION,” and according to this text, along with Matthew 24:29-31 and 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, it comes at the end of the tribulation period.
And I will tell you, it is important for you and those in your circle of love to know that the timing of the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus is in harmony with “the first resurrection” spoken of in this text which occurs at the end of the tribulation period and at the beginning of the Millennial Reign.
With that hopefully understood, we must not dare miss the beauty and wonder of this spectacular and stunning event at the end of the age for what it truly is!
Remember now, we are thinking eternally, although at present we are in these temporal bodies.
4. In verse 6, the Apostle John says, “Blessed and holy (set apart) are those who have part in the first resurrection.” Why are they blessed and set apart from others? Besides the many reasons that we have shown you from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and I Corinthians 15:50-58, John continues by saying, “The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and Christ (Messiah) and will reign with Him for a thousand (1000) years.”
Revelation 20:14 tells us that the “second death” is the lake of fire. It is eternal separation from God. Those who are raptured and resurrected at the Second Coming of Jesus will never, ever, be subject to death again—forever! They will not be subject to death as we know it now nor will they be subject to the second death, which is the lake of fire.
Yes Beloved, Blessed and holy (eternally set apart for God and with God) are those who experience and are a part of “the first resurrection” which happens at the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus at the end of the tribulation period.
Someone may say, what will happen to believers after the thousand (1000) years are ended? We will enter even into another spectacular dimension of the eternal life that is ours in and because of Jesus. Beloved, our salvation in Jesus is eternal. It has no end!
CONCLUSION
Can we truly have a Joyful anticipation of the end times? A million times YES!
Yes, because we will be eternally reconciled with loved ones who Jesus will bring with Him when He comes!
Yes, because we will receive our New Creation bodies that will be eternal.
Yes, because we will literally see Jesus and be with Him eternally.
Yes, because death, including the second death, will never ever have any power over us again, forever. Our destiny is eternal life with God, and all that that will eternally mean!



[1] I Thessalonians 4:16-17
[2] Job 38:4-7
[3] This age will end with the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus. The next age will be the Millennial reign of Jesus.
[4] 2 Corinthians 5:8
[5] 2 Corinthians 12:2

[6] See I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:50-58; Matthew 24:15,29-31; Revelation 19:11-21

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Text:  Matthew 24:29-31
Subject: “Joyful Anticipation of the End Times,” Part V
Introduction:
 
In our last message, we defined “the abomination that causes desolation” by answering four important questions.
1. Where is this important event first revealed in scripture? Daniel 9:24-27. From this text we see that “the abomination that causes desolation” occurs in the final seven (7) years of the four hundred and ninety (490) years that God decreed for the Jewish nation and the city of Jerusalem.  Four hundred and eighty three (483) of those years were fulfilled with the first coming of Jesus the Messiah. But the last seven (7) years will be completed with the second coming of Jesus. The last seven (7) years COULD NOT be fulfilled until Israel supernaturally became a nation again in 1948, after almost two thousand (2000) years of not being a nation,  and until the Jews miraculously retook control of Jerusalem again in 1967 for the first time since 70AD![1]
 
2. What is “the abomination that causes desolation?” II Thessalonians 2:1-4. Simply said, it will occur when the Antichrist (he will not be known as that by the world) breaks his seven year covenant (likely a seven year peace treaty that offers Israel security with her hostile Muslim neighbors) by going into the rebuilt Jewish Temple and proclaiming himself to be “God.” This will be an “abomination” to God when this takes place, and it will set in motion the most intense “desolation” that the earth has ever known! The Antichrist will make war on all who refuse to worship him as “God,” and God will release His judgments on all who do! This will be the Great Tribulation period.
 
3. When will “the abomination that causes desolation” take place? Daniel 9:27; Revelation 13:5. According to Daniel 9:27, it will take place at the midpoint of Daniel’s 70th week or in the middle of the last seven (7) years of the four hundred and ninety (490) years decreed for the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem. And Revelation 13:5 tells us that “the abomination that causes desolation” will last for forty two (42) months or three and one half  (3 ½) years.
 
4. What is the relevance of “the abomination that causes desolation” to the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus?
 
The short answer to that question is this: according to II Thessalonians 2:1-4 and Matthew 24:15, 29-31, the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus CANNOT take place UNTIL “the abomination of desolation” has occurred. That means that the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus will take place at THE END of the Tribulation Period and NOT BEFORE.
 
And as we said in our last message, how exciting and encouraging it will be to the Church when we see on the news “the abomination that causes desolation.” When the Antichrist walks into the rebuilt Jewish Temple and proclaims himself to be “God,” then we will KNOW that we are only three and one half years (3 ½), forty two months (42), and one thousand two hundred and sixty days (1260) away from being reconciled with loved ones who are already with the Lord; from receiving our new and eternal bodies and from seeing the Lord Jesus Himself!
 
“The abomination that causes desolation,” although the beginning of the most intense and difficult time the earth has ever known, will be an amazing sign that will actually give strength and hope to all of those who are looking for the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus!
 
As I have said in previous messages, the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus will be the most outwardly significant event that has happened since God spoke the time and space universe into existence. It will be, to say the very least, the most stunning revelation of the glory and power of God that the world has ever seen!
 
Let’s pray that God will now give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation to further see what He has planned for the end of the age.
 
I want to begin by trying to gain some sense of where the world will be when the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus takes place. What will the world look like when the Lord returns to the earth?
 
According to verse 29 of Matthew 24, it will be a time of “distress” on the earth. “Immediately AFTER the distress of those days . . .” the days that began with “the abomination that causes desolation”—when the Antichrist proclaims himself to be “God” in the rebuilt Jewish Temple. The actual Greek word for “distress,” is “thlipsis.” It is translated “tribulation” in the KJV. It means pressure, anguish, persecution and trouble. Again, this will be the last three and one half years (3 ½) of the final seven years prophesied in Daniel 9:27.
And as we saw in Revelation 13:5-8, “The Beast (Antichrist) was given a mouth to utter proud words and exercise his authority for forty two (42) months.  He opened his mouth to blaspheme God and to slander His Name and His dwelling place and those who live in Heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And He was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All the inhabitants of the earth will worship the Beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb slain from the creation of the world.”
 
The last world empire—the Beast kingdom led by the Beast or Antichrist—will negatively affect the whole world either directly or indirectly. Imagine ISIS or ISIL as a world empire and you will have a glimpse of the Antichrist kingdom that will be in power the last forty two (42) months of this age. It will be a time of “distress” in the world but especially in the Middle East. According to Revelation 12, Israel and the Church will be the two people-groups that will be the primary targets of the Antichrist. Even now, you can see the antichrist spirit at work in anti-Semitism and anti-Christian bias and persecution.
 
Now at the same time that the Beast or the Antichrist, who is claiming to be “God,” is causing such chaos and distress among the nations by trying to force the world to worship him, God is also sovereignly at work. How so? The book of the Revelation tells us that God is causing desolation for an unbelieving world by releasing divine judgment through seven (7) seals and seven (7) trumpets. (This is setting things up for the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus)
 
I’m going to very simply list them for you with only a brief explanation of what they are. It is not my intent here to go into a deep theological, exegetical explanation.
 
Revelation chapter six (6).   (The Lamb (Jesus) sovereignly breaks the seals!)
1. First Seal—the rider on the white horse, the Antichrist, is released to begin his mass deception of the world. His speech will be smooth, like Hitler, but war will be in his heart!
2. Second Seal—the red horse in which the rider takes peace away from the earth (war).
3. Third Seal—the black horse, famine.
4. Fourth Seal—the pale horse, death and hades where ¼ of the earth’s population is killed by war, famine, disease, and by the wild beasts of the earth.[2]
5. Fifth Seal—martyrdom, those who will be killed because of the Word of God and the testimony that they maintained.
6. Sixth Seal—an earthquake; the sun turning black and the moon blood red; the stars—could be comets and meteorites—falling from the sky; the sky itself being ripped open.
Many Bible commentators see these seals and their effects associated with nuclear war. However they may come and whatever they are, we know that one reason for them is the Antichrist claiming to be “God” and trying to force the world to worship him as such. However, we also know that these seals are the sovereign and divine judgments of God on an unbelieving and rebellious world. And as we will soon see, they are setting the stage for the stunning return of God’s Son and the Rapture of His Church at the end of the age.
 
After the release of the six seals, in Revelation seven (7), God sends His angels to seal the remnant of Israel who will be saved—thus fulfilling His promise that there will always be an Israel.[3] Beloved, “the abomination that causes desolation” will begin a very difficult time for the Jewish people. The Antichrist will do all that he can to wipe them off of the face of the earth! You can actually hear this satanic hatred daily in the news in the vitriolic speech of Islamic extremists. But the devil’s plan will not succeed![4]
 
7. Seventh Seal—this is the half hour of silence in Heaven. Many commentators believe that this is the “deep breath” before the intensity on earth goes to another level in the seven (7) trumpet judgments.
(The seventh seal and the seven (7) trumpet judgments begin in Revelation chapter 8. You have the seventh seal followed by a description of the church interceding before the seven (7) trumpets are sounded).
 
1. First Trumpet—in this judgment, one third (1/3) of the earth is burned with fire. Again, this could be nuclear war.
2. Second Trumpet—this is the judgment on the oceans and the sea life.
3. Third Trumpet—this is judgment on one third (1/3) of the fresh water supply.
4. Fourth Trumpet—judgment on the sun, moon, and stars and how that this judgment affects the people living on the earth.
5. Fifth Trumpet—judgment on all those who do not belong to God, possibly through some kind of modern warfare—perhaps through chemical weapons.
6. Sixth Trumpet—the release of a two hundred million (200,000,000) man army—possibly from China and Asia, with the result of one third (1/3) of mankind being killed.
 
It is in this context (“distress” and “desolation” in the world like never before) that will set the stage for the seventh (7) and final trumpet being sounded!
 
 
Revelation 10:5-7 “Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, ‘there will be no more delay. But in the days that the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery (what has not yet been known) will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.’”
 
Revelation 11:15,18 “The seventh angel sounded his trumpet,[5] and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Messiah, and He will reign forever and ever. . . v.18 The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your Name, both small and great—and for destroying those who destroy the earth.’”
 
Now let’s go to our text in Matthew 24:29-31. With the earth reeling from the Seal and Trumpet judgments—the atmosphere, land, water, and of course mankind profoundly impacted—possibly from nuclear exchange among the nations; with the Antichrist still trying to wipe out the Jewish remnant; and with a church that has been attacked relentlessly and ruthlessly by the Beast, it happens. The Seventh Trumpet sounds!
 
Matthew 24:30 “At that time. . . ” What time? (The time we have been describing in this message) “. . . The sign of the Son of Man (Jesus, the Messiah and Son of God) will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They WILL SEE the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a LOUD TRUMPET CALL[6] and they will gather His elect[7] from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” Try and imagine this climactic, stunning and world changing event if you possibly can?
 
Beloved, this is the Feast of Trumpets, the next feast to be fulfilled on God’s prophetic calendar.[8] And as we have said in a previous message, it will be judgment for the world but blessing and reward for the people of God—for both those who have fallen asleep as well as for those who are still alive on the earth when He comes.
 
 
 
Following the Feast of Trumpets, ten (10) days later, Jesus will save the remnant of Israel from the Antichrist, thus fulfilling the Day of Atonement! It is my belief that the Lord will begin in modern day Jordan (ancient Bozrah)[9] and move forward to Jerusalem,one hundred and twenty miles (120), pouring out the seven (7) bowls of wrath—the final seven (7) judgments of God—killing the armies of the Antichrist as He goes. He will then kill the Antichrist himself! Five days later, He will begin the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles and the beginning of the thousand (1,000) golden years of the earth being under the leadership of the Greater Solomon—Jesus Christ the Jewish Messiah!
 
I will conclude this message by telling you how that you can have joyful anticipation in the last of the last days (3 ½ years, 42 months, and 1260 days from the time of “the abomination that causes desolation”) in spite of the fact that this will be a time of “distress.”
 
1. First, as we have seen previously, the last days will end with the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus to save Israel and the Church.
2. Secondly, as we see the numbered judgments of the Seals and Trumpets being fulfilled before our very eyes we will know that the Feast of Trumpets will soon become a reality. Can you imagine the pure excitement and anticipation as we realize that the eternal plan of God is at the door! The Church will be a place of genuine purity and power in those climactic days! I don’t think holiness will be a problem!
3. Third, just to think that YOU will literally witness and EXPERIENCE the Rapture and Second Coming –whether from Heaven or on the earth—can and should fill you with joy unspeakable and full of glory!
 
Beloved, when Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation Period and appears in the sky with great power and glory, and shouts or commands His New Creation to come forth, it will be the greatest event that the world has ever witnessed. And you and I will literally be part of it!
 
So yes, a thousand (1,000) times yes: we will have joyful anticipation in the end times! For the best, the very best is yet to come!
              




[1] Mark Twain once said, “If you want proof of God, look no further than the Jews.”

 

 


[2] With the current population of just over seven (7) billion people, that would mean that about 1.8 billion people would be killed.


[3] Genesis 17:7-8


[4] Romans 11:25-27


[5] Keep in mind that the number seven (7) in the Bible is the number of completeness.


[6] See further I Thessalonians 4:16; I Corinthians 15:52; Revelation 11:15.


[7] Of the twenty two (22) times this word is used in the NT, it is clear that it is referring to believers and not Israel.


[8] Jesus fulfilled, 1.Passover, 2.Unleavened Bread, 3. First Fruits, and 4. Pentecost, with His first coming.   


[9] Isaiah 63:1-6

Sunday, November 9, 2014


TEXT: Matthew 24:15-31

SUBJECT: Joyful Anticipation of the End Times, Part IV

INTRODUCTION:


This is the first part of a two part message from the above text. Our goal in this message is to define “the abomination that causes desolation” that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:15. This will be critical in understanding the timing of the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus.


Therefore, I will answer four important questions about this significant event. They are:

1.) Where, in scripture, do we first find “the abomination that causes desolation?”

          2.) What is it?

          3.) When does it occur?

          4.) What is its relevance to the Rapture and Second Coming?


By having a Biblical understanding about “the abomination that causes desolation,” the church will be better equipped to embrace the end times with a joyful anticipation!


Prayer: “Father God we humbly ask for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Your Word that we might be the people that we need to be in these amazing days that are leading to the end of the age and the beginning of the New Creation in Christ Jesus. It is in His strong Name that we pray, amen.”


I. Question one: Where, in scripture, do we first find “the abomination that causes desolation?”


A. Daniel 9:24-27

1.) Verse 24 “Seventy sevens (490 years) are decreed for your people (The Jews) and your holy city (Jerusalem) to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.”


It is my conviction that the end times cannot be properly understood without an understanding of the importance of Israel in biblical prophecy. To that end, may the Holy Spirit remove the veil that has been over the Church’s eyes concerning Israel and the end times!


In verse 24, there are six things prophesied that the Jewish Messiah (Jesus Christ) will fulfill. Although Daniel doesn’t make a distinction between the first and second coming of the Messiah in this text,  it is clear that Jesus fulfilled part of the above six things at His first coming and will fulfill the rest at His second coming. But that is not our subject in this message. Our focus here is to see how that this text lays the groundwork for discovering and understanding “the abomination that causes desolation.”


Keep in mind that the “seventy sevens” or 490 years is connected to the Jewish nation and the Jewish city of Jerusalem. (The Hebrew as well as the context of the prophecy makes it clear that this means years and not days).


2.) Verse 25 “Know and understand this: from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the anointed one, the ruler, comes, there will be seven sevens (49 years) and sixty two sevens (434 years). It (Jerusalem) will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.”


This prophecy reveals that from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah (Jesus), there would first be seven sevens and then sixty two sevens.


First, let’s do the math: 49+434= 483. That would be 483 years from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah would come. The question then is this: when was that decree issued?


II Chronicles 36:22-23 “In the first year that Cyrus was king of Persia, in order to fulfill the Word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: This is what Cyrus King of Persia says: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of His people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.” Note: the seven sevens (49 years) were fulfilled when Ezra led a company of Jews back to Jerusalem from captivity to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Ezra 7:11-26).


According to historical sources, that decree was issued in the year 445 BC. Now if you go forward 483 years, you come to the year 38 AD. History shows that Jesus had to be born between 6 and 4 BC because Herod the Great who was alive when Jesus was born died in 4 BC. And remember that Herod, trying to kill the child Jesus, ordered that all male children who were two years old or younger (from the time that Jesus would have been born) should be killed. Therefore, this would put the birth of Jesus at 6 BC. So if you subtract 6 from 38, you get 32 AD! This would be the approximate year of when Jesus was crucified. And that leads us to Daniel 9:26


3.) Verse 26 “After the sixty two sevens, the Anointed One will be cut off and have nothing…”


The “Anointed One,” that is the meaning of “Christ” in the Greek, was rejected and crucified. He was “cut off,” and as far as Israel was concerned at that time,  He “had nothing.” The rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah was a huge event for the nation of Israel and the world!


As I alluded to previously, like so many other prophets, Daniel did not make a distinction between the first and second coming of the Messiah. He did not account for the time period between the two events. That was not an uncommon practice in the Old Testament prophets.


So what you have in verse 26 and verse 27 is the event of the first coming of Messiah and His crucifixion followed by the coming of the antichrist and his beast kingdom at the end of the age and prior to the second coming of Jesus. Verse 26 “. . . the people of the ruler who will come (the antichrist) will come and destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (the rebuilt Jewish Temple). The end will come with a flood: war will continue until the end and desolations have been decreed. Verse 27 He (the antichrist) will confirm the covenant with many for one seven (7 years). In the middle of the seven he (antichrist) will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the Temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”


In the final seven years of the 490 years decreed for the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem, the Antichrist will enter into a covenant with Israel only to violate that covenant after three and one half years (or in the middle of the seven) by ending Jewish sacrifices and offerings that have been restored for the first time since 70AD, and by doing something in the Jewish Temple that will be “the abomination that causes desolation.”


Before I move forward, I need to make a very important point here.  Someone may be saying, “a rebuilt Jewish Temple?”  “The restoration of Jewish animal sacrifices”? “It will never happen!”


May I remind you, this is exactly what people were saying prior to 1948 when Israel became a nation again for the first time in almost two thousand years! It will never happen!


And that is exactly what most people were saying prior to June 1967, when for the first time since 70AD, the Jews retook control of the holy city of Jerusalem!


Beloved, just as sure as Israel became a nation again in 1948, and just as sure as the Jews retook Jerusalem again in 1967, there will be a rebuilt Jewish Temple and there will be the restoration of animal sacrifices by the Jewish people!


O how the devil hates the Jewish people! Why? Because they are God’s symbol and witness to the world that God exists! And that is why that there will always be a Jewish people!!


II. Question two: What is the abomination that causes desolation?


A. II Thessalonians 2:1-4

“ Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (Second Coming) and our being gathered together to Him (Rapture), we ask you brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the Day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness (the Antichrist) is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in GOD’S TEMPLE, proclaiming himself to be God.”


According to this text, “the abomination that causes desolation,” which must come before the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus, is when the Antichrist or man of lawlessness( they are one and the same) goes into the REBUILT JEWISH TEMPLE and sets himself up and proclaims himself to be God! In the simplest terms, this will be “the abomination that causes desolation.”


So then, thus far, we have seen that “the abomination that causes desolation” first occurs in the book of Daniel, Daniel 9:24-27, and we have also seen what it is from II Thessalonians 2:1-4. Now let’s go to our next question.


III. Question three: When does it occur?


A.  Revelation 13:5

“The Beast (Antichrist) was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty two months.”


Forty two months is three and one half years and 1260 days based on the Jewish calendar.

These 42 months will be the last three and one half years of the Tribulation period—also known as the Great Tribulation. So that means that “the abomination that causes desolation” will occur in the middle of Daniel’s Seventieth Week or the final seven years of this age.


Daniel 9:27 “He (the Antichrist) will confirm the covenant with many for one seven. In the middle of the seven (3 ½ years; 42 months; 1260 days) he will put an end to sacrifice and offering and on a wing of the Temple he will set up the abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”


In simple and plain language, “the abomination that causes desolation” occurs at the midpoint of the seven year tribulation period.


Before I answer the fourth and final question in this message, I need to say one more thing about what “the abomination that causes desolation” is. First of all, it is called the “abomination” because it will be an abomination to God when the Antichrist goes into God’s Jewish Temple and proclaims himself to be “God.”


Secondly, the “desolation” occurs because the Antichrist will begin attacking and making war against anyone who opposes his claim of being God (this is the purpose of the mark of the beast); on the other hand, God will declare war on all of those who do worship the Antichrist and receive the mark of the beast!


The “abomination that causes desolation” will mark the beginning of what is known as the Great Tribulation. In Matthew 24:21-22, Jesus said this about this time period on the earth: “For then there will be 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.”


Beloved, “the abomination that causes desolation” will be the most intense time that this world will ever know! And that leads to our last question in this message.


IV. Question four: What is the relevance of the abomination that causes desolation to the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus?


The answer to this question will set up our second message to you from Matthew 24:15-31 that will come next week.


          

In verse 15 of Matthew 24, Jesus said this, “So when you see standing in the Holy Place (the Holy of Holies in the Temple) the abomination that cause desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand” (those alive at that time).


In the following verses, Jesus goes on to tell the people living in Israel at that time—especially those living in Judea where Jerusalem and the Temple are located—to flee!


Then down in verses 29-31 Jesus tell us what will happen at the END of the Great Tribulation[1] which began at “the abomination that causes desolation” in the middle of the Tribulation period or Daniel’s Seventieth Week ( the last seven years of the 490 years).


Verses 29-31: “Immediately AFTER the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. AT THAT TIME, the Son of Man (Jesus—the Messiah) will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky and with power and great glory. And He will send His angels WITH A LOUD TRUMPET CALL and they will gather His elect[2] from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”


Beloved, according to the above scripture, Jesus will return and rapture His Church at the END of the Great Tribulation period that begins in the middle of the final seven years of this age with “the abomination that causes desolation.”


And as it is in I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and I Corinthians 15:50-58, this will be the fulfilment of the Feast of Trumpets. Matthew 24:31 “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”


We will take a closer look at this stunning event next week, but I will close this message to you with these thoughts.


1. Where does the abomination that causes desolation first appear in scripture? In Daniel 9:24-27—Daniel’s Seventieth Week (The last seven years of the 490 years decreed for the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem).



2. What is the abomination that causes desolation? II Thessalonians 2:1-4. It is the Antichrist proclaiming himself as “God” in the rebuilt Jewish Temple.


3. When does it occur? Revelation 13:5. In the middle of the seven year tribulation period—in the middle of Daniel’s Seventieth Week—at the three and one half year mark, 42 months, or 1260 days.


4. What is its relevance to the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus? Matthew 24:15-31. It tells us that Jesus will return and rapture the Church at the end of the Great Tribulation period that began with “the abomination that causes desolation.”


Now, these four questions may have left someone with this question: Where is the joyful anticipation in all of this?


Beloved, when we see on the news that “the abomination that causes desolation” has taken place in the rebuilt Jewish Temple, in the city of Jerusalem, by the man who signed a seven year covenant or agreement with the nation of Israel, we will KNOW that we are only three and one half years away from the Feast of Trumpets—the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus. . .


. . .only 42 months away from being reconciled with our loved ones who are in heaven and who Jesus will be bringing with Him. . .


. . . and only 1260 days away from receiving a new and glorified body as the fulfillment of being a new creation in Christ Jesus. . .


. . . and best of all, 3 ½ years, 42 months and 1260 days away from seeing the face of the Lord Jesus Himself!!!


ALTAR/PRAYER

Father God, we humbly ask you to fill us with joyful anticipation of what it will mean to know that we are so close to the Feast of Trumpets—and all that that will mean! Amen!




[1] Matthew 24:21 NKJV
[2] From the 22 times that the Greek word for “elect” is used in the New Testament, it is clear that this is referring to believers and not Israel.