by John Hagee
The protest appeared on anarchist websites and social network pages on the Internet, the memo said. “Numerous incidents have occurred in the past which show attempts by Anarchist groups to disrupt, influence, and/or shut down normal business operations of financial districts.”12
The world is upside down! Right and wrong are no longer absolute but relative to man’s personal opinion. Every man is doing that which is right in his own eyes. “If I think it’s right, that makes it right.” America has contextual morality and situational ethics. “If you don’t like the law, break it; if it makes you feel good . . . do it!” As a result, we have civil chaos.
Daily newscasts show angry mobs holding protest signs and screaming obscenities, demanding special entitlements. America has become a nation of polarizing groups, each with their own agenda and having no regard for the well-being of our country as a whole.
University students protest so violently that speakers with different opinions are driven from the podium and denied their basic right to freedom of speech while administrators stand by and surrender to the mob. When television cameras arrive, the mob grows bigger and more violent. The police are called in to do what the parents of these students refused to do ten years earlier.
There is little discipline in government, in school, in the home, or in most individuals. The rebellion against authority is also alive in the apostate church that has thrown discipline overboard and no longer mentions the necessity of submitting to spiritual and civil leadership.
The alternative to discipline is mayhem where the nation has become an asylum, and the inmates are in charge.
AMERICA’S SPIRITUAL AND MORAL COLLAPSE
America has become so feeble, fearful, permissive, and promiscuous. The forces of evil are taking advantage of our spiritual decline and moral weakness by spreading havoc across our nation.
Thanks to a skewed court system, the offender gets more sympathy than the victim of his crime. Police officers are put on trial for doing their duty against a criminal with a rap sheet that reaches to the floor. Who’s the one who broke the law—the criminal or the policeman? Police officers are investigated while criminals write books that make them rich, famous, and features them on television talk shows.
The vicious crime wave in America today is not only wicked but demonic. When young men charge into schools and theaters with assault rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition to slaughter innocent men, women, and children at will, it’s evil and it’s demonic! These are no longer crimes, these are the hideous acts of heartless executioners.
There is no king in Israel (America or the world), and every man is doing that which is right in his own eyes. However men may justify it . . . and by whatever name they call it . . . it’s anarchy!
Recently, a student attending Florida Atlantic University was told by his instructor, Deandre Poole, to write the name of Jesus on a piece of paper, drop it on the ground, and stomp on it. When the student refused, academic charges were brought against him. A hold was placed on his academic records until a final decision was reached. His faith was under fire! Fox News exposed the story and they obtained a synopsis of the lesson taught by the instructor. When the story became public, Florida Atlantic University issued an apology.13
I wonder if the instructor would dare order one of his students to write the name of Muhammad on a piece of paper and stomp on it. Never! The outrage would get him fired, as a mob of irate campus protestors would demand an immediate resignation and complete apology. But in America, attacking Christians has become an art form. The spirit of anarchy rules our nation.
In our spiritual and moral collapse we have forgotten that the definition of marriage is between a man and a woman. We have forgotten that life begins at conception and to destroy life in the womb of a mother is murder in the courts of heaven. We will face God in the judgment for the death of the unborn in our nation.
We have forgotten that there is a difference between a boy and a girl. “From the city of Fountain, Colorado, comes news of liberal parents who believe their little boy is actually a little girl on the ‘inside.’ ” The parents are insisting that their six-year-old son be allowed to attend classes dressed as a girl and that he be allowed to use the girl’s bathroom.14
When the school told the parents they would not permit their son to use the girl’s bathroom, the parents, with the help of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, filed a discrimination complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division.15
America is going in the wrong direction! Wake up, America! Remember what the Word of God says!
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. (PSALM 33:12)
The wicked shall be turned into hell,
And all the nations that forget God. (PSALM 9:17)
Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a reproach to any people. (PROVERBS 14:34)
After describing the lawlessness of the land, Jesus continued His Prophecy Conference with the Twelve by presenting the concept of the gospel of the kingdom.
CHAPTER 10
The Gospel of the Kingdom
This gospel of the kingdom will be preached
in all the world as a witness to all the nations,
and then the end will come.
—MATTHEW 24:14
Following the rapture of the church, the Antichrist will be in total control of the earth. He will become the persecutor of those who refuse to receive his mark (Revelation 13:7). Many will die a martyr’s death. For this reason Jesus said, “He who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13).
The gospel of the kingdom was preached by John the Baptist: “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ ” (Matthew 3:1–2).
Jesus preached the message of repentance in Matthew 4:17: “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ” Jesus also sent His disciples out with the same message (Matthew 10).
During the reign of the Antichrist, the gospel of the kingdom will be preached all over the world. It will be preached by the one hundred forty-four thousand from the twelve tribes of Israel who will be sealed on their foreheads to protect them from the power of the Antichrist who desires to destroy them (Revelation 7:3–4).
God will also send His angels to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the nations of the world (Revelation 14:6–7). In addition, God will send Elijah to the Jewish people to tell them, “Messiah is coming!” The last message given to the Jewish people in the Old Testament was to look for the Prophet Elijah:
Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
(MALACHI 4:5)
For centuries, at every Passover celebration, at a specific point in the meal, Jewish people open the door of their homes for Elijah to enter and be seated at a place at the table reserved exclusively for him.
During the tribulation, Israel will sign a seven-year peace treaty with the Antichrist, which will guarantee their national security from all the hostile nations that now surround them. In my opinion, based on the historical precedent established by Hadrian in AD 135, the Jewish people will also be granted permission by the Antichrist to rebuild the Third Temple on the Temple Mount. Later, the Antichrist will break that treaty and Elijah and Enoch will appear to the Jewish people. These two witnesses will preach the gospel of the kingdom with shocking supernatural power. The Bible says:
If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. . . . These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls . . . and they have power over waters to turn them to blood.
(REVELATION 11:5–6)
As a result of the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom, many will come to faith in Christ during the tribulation. In the process of time Paul declares that all Israel will be saved just as he was—by divine revelation when the scales tha
t judicially blinded him to the recognition of Jesus Christ fell from his eyes (Romans 11:25).
The impact of the angels flying through the heavens preaching the gospel of the kingdom and of the two witnesses, will produce a harvest of souls: “a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues” (Revelation 7:9). The multitudes will have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (v. 14).
Until the time of the Rapture, the church is to preach the gospel of salvation. It is the message of the first coming of Christ. It speaks of Christ’s virgin birth, His life, death, and resurrection. The preaching of the gospel of salvation produces our redemption by grace through faith in Christ, which promises eternal life.
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.
(EPHESIANS 1:13 NIV)
Jesus now reminds his disciples of the coming perilous times referred to by the prophet Daniel as the “abomination of desolation.”
THE ABOMINATION OF ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand).
(MATTHEW 24:15)
What is the “abomination of desolation”? The abomination of desolation is the desecration of the Temple in Jerusalem and the termination of blood sacrifices for the atonement of sin.
Daniel (7–6 BC) prophesied about the vicious Greek king Antiochus Epiphanes, saying, “Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation” (Daniel 11:31 NASB).
Antiochus Epiphanes ruled the Jews from 175 to 164 BC killing over one hundred thousand during his reign. Epiphanes hated the Jewish people, and in his desire to defile the Temple, he offered a sow on the altar, which, according to the Law of Moses, was an unclean animal making the Temple unclean—and an abomination for the Jewish people (Leviticus 11:7). In addition to offering the sow on the altar, Antiochus set up a statue of the Greek god Jupiter to be worshiped in the Temple of the Lord.
Daniel is prophesying of the “abomination” of Epiphanes. Jesus, in Matthew 24, is referring to the future abomination that will be caused by the Antichrist saying that he will be like Epiphanes. While Epiphanes placed a Greek idol in the Temple, the Antichrist will set up an image of himself for all to worship.
The book of Revelation makes a clear reference to this image:
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, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.
(REVELATION 14:9–11)
THE ABOMINATION OF GENERAL TITUS
In AD 70, the Roman General Titus was sent to Jerusalem to crush Jewish resistance against the Roman Empire. Titus placed on the entrance to the Temple a Roman eagle—an unclean animal according to Jewish law—which was an abomination to the Jewish people (Leviticus 11:13). Roman standards representing their idols were placed in the Temple for all to worship. This was the “abomination of desecration.”
Jerusalem was viciously destroyed, the Temple leveled, and the Jewish people were banished from their beloved capital. The Roman army built a garrison on the ruins of the city. Meanwhile, in the city of Rome, the victory over Jerusalem was celebrated by the construction of the massive Arch of Titus near the entrance to the Roman Coliseum. I have been there to see this tribute to Titus, who was responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of Jews.
Over the top of the Arch of Titus is depicted a great military parade of triumphant Roman soldiers carrying away the Temple treasures from Jerusalem, and herding seventy thousand Jewish captives toward Rome. Those Jewish captives were forced to build the Roman Coliseum, where thousands of Christians were later fed to lions and slaughtered for their testimony of faith in Christ. Three words made them an enemy of the state and cost them their lives: “Jesus is Lord!”
In AD 107 the Emperor Trajan came to Antioch and forced the Christians to choose between the Pagan Roman gods and death. Ignatius refused and the emperor condemned him to death by being torn to pieces by wild beasts at Rome—“damnatio ad bestia.” Ignatius travelled to Rome, guarded by soldiers, and showed no fear of being devoured by lions in the Roman Colosseum.1
THE ABOMINATION OF EMPEROR HADRIAN
An even greater demonic Roman leader, Hadrian, walked onto the stage of history in AD 117 as emperor of Rome. Hadrian promised the remnant of Jewish people who remained in the city that he would restore Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. The Jewish people were jubilant and filled with hope.
In AD 130, Hadrian broke his promise to the Jewish people. Jerusalem would be rebuilt—but as a Roman city named Aelia Capitolina. Aelia reflected the second name of Hadrian, which indicated an act of imperial worship. Capitolina was a reminder that the city was dedicated to the worship of the Roman gods. At the heart of the paganized city, a temple to Jupiter (Satan) was erected on Mount Zion, desecrating the site of the Holy Temple. This was an abomination of desolation.2
Hadrian followed in the footsteps of Antiochus Epiphanes by tormenting the Jewish people. Hadrian outlawed circumcision, the observance of the Sabbath, and prayers in the synagogue in an effort to assimilate the Jews into the Roman Empire.3
In his rage against the Jews, Hadrian made an attempt to obliterate their name and existence from the pages of world history. He decreed that all the maps in the Roman Empire would no longer read Judea but would read Palestine after the name of the ancient enemies of Israel (Philistines). Goliath of Gath was a Philistine.4
Historically there has never been an autonomous group of people called Palestinians. Only with the coming of Yasser Arafat in 1959 and his terrorist organization (PLO) did the word Palestinians become a distinctive word to describe a specific group of people.
The next cruel dictator to copy the pattern of Hadrian will be the Antichrist, described by the prophet Daniel and referred to by Jesus during His Prophecy Conference.
THE ABOMINATION OF THE ANTICHRIST
Daniel 7:8 refers to the Antichrist when he speaks of “another horn, a little one.” In prophetic scripture a “horn” represents a king of an existing or coming empire. This prophecy introduces us to a figure (the Antichrist) who will be elevated to a position of authority over ten nations that arise out of the original Roman Empire.
The one whom John called “the beast” will come to power, not by military conquest but by the request of the people (Revelation 17:13). He will eventually become the leader of the New World Order!
He will appear on the world scene in the “latter time” of Israel’s history (Daniel 8:23). He is a Gentile, because he arises from the sea (Revelation 13:1), which represents the nations of the world (Revelation 17:15).
The Antichrist will come from the Roman Empire since he is a ruler of the people who destroyed Jerusalem (Daniel 9:26). He will be a political leader of a world government with seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 13:1). This means that when he comes to power, there will be, for a short time, a New World Order that has ten leaders. The Antichrist will conquer three of those leaders, and he will wear their crowns. Again, he is emulating Jesus Christ, who is King of all kings and Lord of all lords.
The coming Antichrist will be ultimate “abomination of desolation” because he will introduce himself as god (Daniel 11:36–37; Revelation 13:5) and demand that the world worship him. He will set up his image in Jerusalem and present himself as the savior of the world.
This “little
horn,” this son of perdition—the chief son of Satan—will be anointed to receive demonic power from Satan himself (Ezekiel 28:9–12; Revelation 13:4). He is driven by the demonic spirit of pride given to him directly by the prince of darkness. He will cause deceit to prosper (Daniel 8:25) and be exceedingly arrogant. Daniel states, “He shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many” (8:25 KJV), which means the Antichrist will make peace treaties he never intends to keep, especially with Israel.
He will blaspheme God, as John the Revelator states: “He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God” (Revelation 13:6). He will force everyone on planet earth to take his mark, and without that mark you cannot buy or sell (vv. 16–17). Information technology already exists today to mark and manage every person on planet earth via computer chips with unlimited data that will enable total control by the New World Order.
What is the future of the Antichrist? He will be defeated by the hand of God, the defender of Israel. He will be cast alive into the bottomless pit with the False Prophet, who helped him deceive the nations into believing he was god (Revelation 19:20).
How will Israel and the Jewish people be able to finally identify the Antichrist? They will know by the specific sign that he will repeat the “abomination of desolation” of Antiochus Epiphanes, Titus, and Hadrian.
Jesus’ warning to the Jewish people about the time and identity of Antichrist is as follows:
Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is on the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.