(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.) All right, amen. Matthew chapter number 24. So we've been in this chapter now for quite a while and it's going to be a little bit longer before we escape. And the reason for that is I want to make sure that we all have a great foundational understanding of the end times. I think it's very important for us to know these things and to also be familiar with things that can be taken different ways. All right, now the title of the sermon this morning is the common abominator. The common abominator, kind of like common denominator. And what I mean by that is out of everything that we've already talked about the last several weeks, you know, we may have different opinions on how these things will unfold, but there's some different, definitely there are some common themes that we all agree on. For example, we all agree that the third temple is the body of Christ. There's no way you can really dispute that. Now that is not to say that the Jews won't be successful building their own temple. Okay. They're in the process of doing that now. I don't have a problem with that. You know, I mean, it's not the temple of God. Okay. It's just, just clear as day. Okay. The Levitical priesthood is gone. It is polluted as they would have said back in Ezra and Nehemiah's day and enough on that. We also agree that the rapture takes place after the tribulation before God pours out his wrath. And we also agree that the falling away and he that withholdeth, okay, is not the Holy Spirit being removed from the earth. Okay. So again, you may read that passage in second Thessalonians chapter two differently than I do. It's totally fine. We all agree though, that the pre-tribbers are wrong on that. Okay. So there's definitely some commonality in all of these different views. Now you're in Matthew chapter number 24. Go back if you would to verse number one and let's just do a review. So today's sermon really is, it's more of a Bible study. It's designed to help us review the things that we've talked about thus far, because next week we're going to spend some time in Daniel and we're going to kind of go into some, some deep territory next week. So I want to make sure that we have a great foundation of everything that we've talked about thus far. So if you would look at verse number one of Matthew 24. So it says, and Jesus went out and departed from the temple and his disciples came to him for to show him. Now pay attention to the last part of this verse. To show him the buildings, plural, of the temple. Okay. So the disciples obviously are proud. You know, they take a little bit of pride in their buildings, the temple and that entire setup. Okay. And they want to show the Lord. And the reason why I'm bringing that up is because I want you to understand that all of these things have come down. And that's exactly what Jesus says in the next verse. Look at verse two. And Jesus said unto them, see ye not all these things. Okay. All these things, everything that you see here. Okay. The temple, all of these buildings of the temple, the temple itself, all of that. See ye not all of these things. Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. That is the Lord speaking there. That is a promise that was fulfilled in 70 AD that is so important for us to understand for several reasons. Okay. Because if you don't understand that, when you read through Daniel and you're studying end times prophecy, there are a few places that can really throw you for a loop. And there are people out there that are well versed with verses in the midst of Ezekiel that will take those out and try to confuse you and just, just put your mind all over the place. Okay. And so we don't want to fall into any of those traps. Now look at verse number three. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately saying, tell us when shall these things be? So first question, they want to know when shall these things be? Meaning when are the buildings of the temple and all this stuff going to be thrown down? Now look at the second question. And what shall be the sign of thy coming? Okay. And the end of the world. So they want to know the answer to all three of these questions. And I'm going to have to keep bringing that up as we come back to this chapter, because this chapter includes the answers to all three of those things. Not to mention these things are also prophesied in the book of Daniel. And you're going to have to pay attention not only today, but especially next week so that you can have a clear picture of what's been fulfilled, what's going to be fulfilled and things of that nature. Cause this stuff does get very deep. Now verse of the morning. Okay. Look down at verse number 15. So jump down to verse number 15. So the Bible says, this is what Jesus says. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place. Now look at this parenthetical statement. Whoso readeth, let him understand. Now we're going to break this down completely next week, but we're only going to really focus on one part of it today. So get the picture here. Okay. The disciples came to Jesus privately. They asked him three questions. He starts to provide them with information. He starts to tell them when these things are going to happen. And he speaks this to them. Okay. Several years later, holy men of God, as they were moved by the holy ghost wrote these things down in the holy ghost inserts, this statement right here. Whoso readeth, let him understand. And so the question is understand what? Well, obviously what he just said, understand what was spoken of by Daniel, the prophet. Now, before we can do that though, we want to understand what comes before that, which is the holy place. Okay. And we want to make sure that we also understand what the abomination of desolation is. And I know we've already gone through this, but we need to go through some of these things again. Now keep your place there. We're going to come back to Matthew 24 at the end, but go to Revelation chapter number 11. Revelation chapter number 11. And let's start to take a look at a couple of things here. Okay. What is the holy place? Now, somebody said, Oh, are you saying that Jerusalem isn't holy? Okay. It sounds like you're against God's people, the elect, the Jews. Oh, who isn't? It's like God's against them. Why do you think the veil was torn? You know, but that's not to say that Jerusalem today and that part of the world isn't somewhat holy because it is holy in a historic, uh, sense, I guess you could say. Okay. And let me just kind of show you some proof of that. So revelation chapter number 11, look at verse number one. So this passage here, obviously a lot going on. You get introduced to the, uh, the two witnesses, which we'll get into in detail in the future, but look at verse number one. So it starts off with the word and, okay. And there was given me a reed, like unto a rod and the angel stood, sing, rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and them that worship therein. I've sat in churches before where they've read this and they're like these, this here is talking about the third Jewish temple. That's going to be built. And they're like, you know, I've heard even pastors say, if you go over to Jerusalem right now and you look at the blueprints, it lines up perfectly with all this. And that's not true, by the way. That's not true. That's not what he's talking about. Understand that John is receiving a vision here. Okay. The temple of God is either the one in heaven or it is us, the body of Christ. Okay. So keep that in mind. Look at verse two, but the court, which is without the temple leave out and measure it not for it is given unto the Gentiles and the holy city shall they tread under foot 40 and two months. Okay. So 40 and two months. Now the question is here, okay, well, what's the holy city? He's talking about Jerusalem and saying that, you know, Jerusalem is holy and that is the city of God and the Jews are going to get revived and they're going to all come back and make animal sacrifices again. And then they're all going to turn to God after the abomination of desolation. No, that's not what I'm saying. Okay. The question here is what is going on? What's the holy city? What's without? Okay. Look at verse two, but the court, which is without the temple, meaning outside of the temple. So remember John is seeing this in a vision from God and God tells him, leave that out. Don't measure it, measure it not for it is given on to the Gentiles. Now we're going to have to talk about that in great detail next week, but look at the rest of the verse and the holy city shall they tread underfoot 40 and two months. What I've always found interesting here is that people will read this and say, well, we're gone by this point. Okay. We're out of here. The horn's blown. The body of Christ is gone. The Gentiles are going to come in and they're going to basically trample Jerusalem and they're just going to stomp it out again. And that's, what's going to upset God. And that's why he is going to basically send hell on earth. And the problem that I have with that is, well, I've got several problems with that actually. And many of them I've already named off number one. I don't believe that Jerusalem is holy and we're going to talk about that. I mean, holy in a spiritual sense is what I'm saying. Okay. So you might be thinking, okay, well, what's the holy city. Keep your place there and go to the book of Daniel, go to the book of Daniel, Daniel chapter number seven. And I want to kind of show you what this is basically in reference to Daniel chapter number seven. So this guy here, obviously the holy city shall they tread under foot 40 and two months, the Gentiles. Let's see what in the world is going on here. And then after that, you're going to read about the two witnesses that come into Jerusalem, that come into Israel and start preaching the gospel. And of course you have to ask yourself, why is that? Well, Daniel actually answers why that is now Daniel seven, just for context, look at verse number 18. So again, you're back to Daniel's visions here. He's giving a vision that he received when the Babylonians were still in power after Nebuchadnezzar died and his son Belshazzar took over. So before Belshazzar fell to the Medes and Persians, he got a vision. Okay. And he gets this vision of four beasts and the fourth beast really puzzles him and it really troubles him and causes as it would anyone, a lot of questions. So look at verse number 18, he says, but the saints of the most high shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever, even forever and ever. Okay. Sounds like what? Like eternity. Look at verse 19. He says, then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron and his nails of brass, which devoured, break in pieces and stamped the residue with his feet. Then he gets into the 10 horns and obviously we could go into the Kings and things of that nature that you read about in Revelation, but we're going to make these connections next week. I just want to show you something here. Jump down to verse 25. So verse 25, it says this, and he shall speak. This is in reference to the Antichrist. Okay. The fourth beast that's more dreadful than the other that arose from the sea or from the earth. Verse 25. And he shall speak great words against the most high and shall wear out the saints of the most high and to, and think to change times and laws. And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of times. Okay. So that's that three and a half year period that we often speak to or speak about. Now go back to Revelation chapter 11 with that in mind. Okay. So when you see the Gentiles here in the Antichrist wearing out the saints, what's commonly taught is that he's wearing out the Jews because we're all gone. And that's simply not the case. Okay. Saints are believers in God. They are converts. They are born again, whether they were Old Testament or New Testament, it refers to saved people, people that are written down in the Lamb's book of life. And so what you're reading here in verse two and the Holy city, shall they tread under foot 42 months. That is in reference to the war that he's making with the saints. Okay. Now, what I find interesting here is they're like, well, a lot of people are like, well, you know, this is where he's destroying Jerusalem again. And God gets mad. It's like, this is the first three and a half years that he's referencing here. Okay. So why would it, how would it make sense that the Antichrist comes and destroys and treads down Jerusalem and allows the Gentiles to do their thing. But then all of a sudden the temple's built and they start animal sacrifices and the Antichrist goes in there with a false prophet and they establish the abomination of desolation. And then the Jews get scattered. It doesn't line up. It doesn't make any sense. Look at verse number three. Okay. And I will give power unto my two witnesses and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days clothed in sackcloth. So what's the purpose for these two witnesses? Well, unfortunately, because there is a war with the saints, what do you think is going to happen? Well, if we're the salt and the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and he's making war with us and he's killing us at an alarming rate. Okay. The gospel being preached is slowing down. So God empowers his two witnesses to come onto the scene and start preaching the gospel and to start basically being an extreme nuisance to the Antichrist and his cronies. Look at verse four. These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies. And if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. And of course, verse six says that they have power to stop rain and do all of these plagues and things of that nature. And of course, that fits also into Matthew 24 when Jesus talks about the many plagues and things that will be coming on the earth during the tribulation. A lot of that people are going to understand is from the two witnesses, which is why the world wants to kill them, which is why when they do get killed, that people send each other gifts. It's like a black Christmas, if you will. We don't have time to get into it today. But when these two witnesses are killed, obviously before they come back to life, it's crazy how the Bible says that people in the world are just rejoicing. They don't even want to bury their bodies. So the way I see that is I almost wonder if CNN and MSNBC, and probably Fox News by the time, will just be showing their bodies on a 24-7 type rotation. And people will be like, yeah, they're dead. These conservative guys are dead. These Christians, these fundamentalists, they're gone. They're dead. We won. Our liberal commie agenda is going to succeed. And so they actually start sending each other presents. Can you think about that? Has that ever happened in history when somebody dies and the whole country is just like, oh, let's just celebrate this and start giving each other gifts. But they will during this time. Now, enough about that. If that didn't make a lot of sense, don't worry. We're going to come back and hash that out again next week. I'm just trying to get your appetite wet as we get deeper into some of these things that Jesus talked about in regards to Daniel. Daniel is a hard book to read. I'm going to say this a couple of times today, which you guys need to do. And it is definitely possible because I've been doing it a lot lately. Take the book of Daniel, sit down in the evening, put the phone down, turn it on airplane mode and read the whole book all the way through. Read it all the way through. And if you get to parts like chapter seven, chapter eight that don't make sense, keep reading. Just read the whole thing through in one sitting. Read that whole thing through in one setting because next week it's going to help you out tremendously. So go back to Matthew 24, actually go to Matthew chapter number 23. We're going to move on here. So we're answering the question here. What is the holy place? And obviously, Jerusalem is holy. It's where our Lord was crucified. It's where God did have his name at one point in time. But the problem is the Zionist. The problem is that the Zionists have got their tentacles so deep throughout Christianity that people read that and are like, oh well that is the holy city. That's definitely where it's at and what's going on. And then it's all about the Jew in the end times and all about the temple, the physical temple. And we can't wait till it's built. I've been reading a lot of new evangelical commentaries just to see how they teach this stuff. And it's just consistent down the line. They're just like, okay, the Antichrist cannot come on the scene until that temple is built. That's not what the Bible says. What happens if that thing does get built and he allows them to start sacrificing but the false prophet comes on the scene and introduces the abomination of desolation from Rome and obviously then brings it to Jerusalem. It does it in an order that's not commonly taught. People can be like, oh no, no. He's not the Antichrist. We just had it wrong. He's basically like Christ. He's the Messiah. This is how it was supposed to be. We don't have the original manuscript. So this makes total sense because we can see the miracles he's doing. He's calling fire from heaven. He's doing all these wonderful things. He's not married. He's got a lot of attributes of Christ and you can see how this rabbit trail could just go and go and go and go. And so the point of me challenging maybe what you believe or what you've been taught is to get you to think. It's to get you to do your own research. You have to study these things on your own. Study to show thy self approved unto God. Not some college, not some man, not some pastor, not some friend unto God. You have the Holy Ghost. You have the Bible. You are responsible for your studies. So with that being said, Matthew chapter 23, I want to walk you through the New Testament here and demonstrate the view that God has towards physical Jerusalem. Now let's take a look at something here. Matthew 23, look down at verse number 37. So this is Jesus speaking here and he says, Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets. You say, well, how does a city kill prophets? Well, obviously it's in reference to the leadership and the people, kind of like the Holy City in Revelation 11. You know, sometimes that could be talking about people. Okay. And stonest them, which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings and ye would not. So Jesus here is crying out against the sins of Jerusalem and their wicked history. Okay. And we've, you know, we've studied that in great detail. You know how, how we explain it. It's like, you know, the moment the children of Israel get the promised land, they have the judges. They're, they're going to follow God. Then they don't. It's just this roller coaster all the way into the Kings, all the way into their captivity. And then up until now, it's the same story. And so he's rebuking them. Now, what I find interesting here is the fact that Jerusalem, once again, will be responsible for stoning prophets because the two witnesses will be slain in the streets of Jerusalem, which we'll look at here in a minute. Okay. So notice that this is a rebuke here. Okay. That this is a rebuke towards Jerusalem. Verse 38, behold, your house is left unto you desolate. Okay. What is he saying here? Well, he's saying what he's already been teaching them. And that is the fact that the oracles of God are going to be taken from you. The kingdom of God is going to be taken from you and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits there of verse 39. For I say unto you, you shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Okay. So there's Jesus' opinion on earthly Jerusalem. And it gets even worse. Go to Galatians chapter number four. Galatians chapter number four. So in Galatians four, Paul is going to bring up a story in the Old Testament about Abraham. And I'm just going to kind of talk about this before we read a couple of verses here. So Abraham in the Old Testament, as many of you know, was promised a son from God. Okay. God promised him a son in his old age. And of course, after that promise, a process of time is occurring. And so Abraham and his wife are like, well, we're already old. What does he really mean by this? Right. And they start reasoning amongst themselves. And Abraham's wife comes up with this idea. And she's like, oh, you know what? Maybe I'll give you Hagar, my maid, to bear a son for us. And she'll bear the son. And I'll basically be the mother and you'll be the father. And Abraham's like, all right, cool. Now we can go ahead and do that. And so that happens. And then God shows Abraham. That's not what he meant. No, God says, hey, Abraham, when I told you that your wife would bear a son, I meant your wife, not Hagar. Okay. So with that in mind, Paul uses that story. Okay. And understand what's going on here. So with, in regards to Abraham, he had Hagar, okay, which was not his wife. Basically, she became a concubine. Abraham had a child with her. And that child's name was Ishmael. And that child and his mother Hagar were driven out from Abraham's house. Okay. Now, obviously after that, or before that, after Ishmael was born, God explains what's going on to Abraham and is like, hey, no, Sarah's going to have a child. She bears Isaac. Okay. She bears Isaac. And Isaac is the child of promise. Okay. Now these, so you've got Sarah, you've got Isaac, you got Abraham, you've got Hagar, you've got Ishmael, you've got Abraham. Okay. And Paul's going to separate these two situations here. These two children will say Ishmael and Isaac. And one means one thing and one means the other. And he's going to explain how this is an allegory for something that you and I really desperately need to understand. Okay. So look at verse number 25. So after Paul's explaining all this, he says this, for this Hagar, which is Hagar, okay, for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and answerth to Jerusalem, which now, okay, which now is, and is in, look at this next word, bondage with her children. Okay. So what Paul's saying here is you're supposed to read the Old Testament and look at that story and look at how Hagar was given to Abraham and bear Ishmael. And you're supposed to picture that part of the family as bondage. Okay. As the will of the flesh, meaning that wasn't God's plan. Okay. And you're supposed to look at Isaac as the child of promise. Who's going to receive the inheritance. Okay. So Jerusalem, which now is, which existed during Paul's day, which is earthly Jerusalem. Okay. Is in bondage with her children. Why is that? Well, because Jerusalem rejected Christ. Therefore Christ rejected Jerusalem. Look at verse 46, but Jerusalem, which is now notice this next word above is free, which is the mother of us all. Okay. Now, as he's saying that the Jerusalem, which is above is the mother of every single person alive, whether they're saved or lost. No, not at all. When you read this book in context, he's saying that Jerusalem, which is above is the mother of us who are born again. Okay. All meaning whether you were born Jew or Gentile, it doesn't matter. The Jerusalem from above does not regard race or nationality. Okay. Very important for you to understand. So Jerusalem here on earth is not holy in that sense. Okay. What we're looking forward to is Jerusalem, which is above that is the mother of us all. Okay. So again, another negative connotation about Jerusalem on this earth. Now go to Hebrews chapter number 12. And again, we're going through this because Jesus said, when you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, stand in the holy place. Okay. Now that abomination of desolation is going to be in the whole world. So it will be in Jerusalem. It will be in Rome. It will be here. It will be everywhere. Okay. Because no one will be able to escape. And we're going to look at that in detail. Okay. But for right now, I just want to show you that this is not holy. The heaven or earthly Jerusalem is not holy and in any really sort of sense. Okay. Look at verse 22, Hebrews 12. So the writer says this, but year come unto Mount Sion and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable company of angels. And so what that's talking about there is the fact that angels are ministers to those who inherit eternal life. Okay. So that's why prayer is so important. That's why we have a prayer list on Wednesday. That's why hopefully everybody in here has a prayer life. Okay. Because that is how you make changes in what we do and in our daily lives. Okay. It's through prayer. That's because we have entered into the heavenly Jerusalem. Okay. But we are considered the court that is without. So we're outside of the heavenly Jerusalem because it hasn't come down yet. Okay. Hopefully that makes sense. Now we are the kingdom of God on earth and we're connected to the kingdom of God in heaven. But obviously there's a difference because us down here, we unfortunately don the old man still and we have issues and things of that nature. But like I said, I told you some of this stuff gets complicated. Now go back to the book of Revelation and go to chapter number 21. Revelation chapter number 21. And so no matter how you look at Matthew 24, 15, you know, it could be that the false prophet comes down, stands in the center of Jerusalem and introduces the abomination of desolation. It could be that, you know, we'll know when we see it. Okay. That's the common abominator. We'll know once we see it. Okay. That is something that we can definitely all agree on. But, okay, there are so many people out there teaching these things falsely and saying things like, and, and this is just really prevalent. I was really surprised to learn this, that this more prevalent than what I think is that the teaching that you and I are going to be somehow in the millennium and an eternity, just basically being like busboys to the Jews. Okay. And this, this idea that somehow the blood of Christ is no longer going to be efficient or effective to save people in the tribulation, that people have to go back to sacrifices. And then that's the whole point of bringing the Gentiles into eternity so that we could serve the Jews forever and ever. Okay. Now, come on, just sit there and think about that. Okay. Now, if you were a physical Jew, that'd sound pretty good to you, wouldn't it? So it kind of, kind of poses the question, well, who do you think came up with that doctrine? Because they certainly did not get it from the word of God. They certainly did not get it from the Bible. Revelation 21, look at verse number 10. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God. Go to Revelation chapter 11. So again, with the abomination of desolation, okay, whether it takes place in Jerusalem, it doesn't matter. It's going to be everywhere throughout the whole world. And one way that it will stand in the holy place is that it stands in our faces because this image, and you're going to see this in a minute, this image is going to be able to basically confront you and say, guess what, pal? You either take the mark or you get killed. Okay. So the minute that that situation and however that looks happens, that is standing in the holy place. And we'll look at that here in detail. Revelation 11, look at verse number eight. It says that the dead body shall lie on the street of that great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. So again, I don't want you to get the impression I'm saying that Jerusalem today doesn't have any holiness about it at all. Of course, that's where our Lord was crucified. That's where a lot of our history comes from. Okay. It comes from Jerusalem, comes from Israel. You know, read the Bible, read the Old Testament, read where these things took place. But okay, Jerusalem itself, God does not look at that. Oh, that's a holy city. Okay. That's the apple of my eye. And those people are my people. And I promised them I'd bring them all back. Okay. And I'm going to restore all Israel, all 12 tribes. And they're going to sacrifice. And I promise them a temple. You're not going to find that anywhere in the Bible. Okay. Now, you know where you will find a lot of that stuff is in a lot of these modern Bible versions. Okay. You go read 2nd Thessalonians chapter two in a modern Bible version. And it says, like, it changes all those verses about the temple. It says that basically the Antichrist will sit in the new built temple. It goes that far. Okay. And the reason for that is confusion. The devil doesn't want us to understand what Jesus clearly told us not to be deceived about. Okay. Remember, a couple of weeks ago when we introduced prophecy, we said the main thing that you keep seeing over and over and over again is be not deceived. The unfortunate part is that we have to endure teachings like this. Okay. I typically don't like to do these deep type sermons on Sunday mornings, but it's just kind of how it felt. And in this crowd, you guys get it. You understand it. You're good to go. Go to John chapter number four. John chapter number four. So one more about Jerusalem that I got to, I got to mention this here. Look at verse 21. So obviously this is the story about the woman at the well that Jesus is preaching the gospel to and conversing with. And of course she's got questions. She's like, well, why do people say that we have to go to Jerusalem to worship? Okay. Because she's a Samaritan and the Samaritans are basically where the Northern Kingdom of Israel was. Remember the Assyrians came in, they conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel. They took the Israelites out, all 10 tribes that took them out and put other people in. And so you had this mix going on and those people were an abomination unto the Jews. And of course they don't understand what's going on. They're like, why do we have to go down to you to worship? Well, of course, back in the day, when this temple was around, that was the religious system. That was where the one true religion was. And so Jesus is trying to explain that to her, but then he gives her this verse here and it's a comforting verse and it says a lot. And I believe it's a verse that a lot of dispensationalists and a lot of Zionists really don't like to cover. And that's verse 21. Jesus saith unto her, woman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the father. Okay, now why is that? Well, because the kingdom of God was taken from the Jew. It was taken from Jerusalem and given to the body of Christ. We now are the temple of God. We have the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. We have the word of God. We have the truth. And that combination is what makes up God's powerhouse. That's what makes up God's army on this earth. Okay, now go to Revelation chapter number 13. So enough about that. So again, all of that, just to kind of put it into your mind, understand what is the holy place, okay? Because remember that parenthetical statement in Matthew 24, 15, whosoever readeth, let him understand. The way I read that and the way I kind of think about this is that it's like the Holy Ghost is telling us, hey, it's not as simple as you might think, okay? It's not as simple as you might think. This whole temple of brick and mortar and all that stuff, that's not what it's all about. That's the way that I see it. That's the way that I read it, okay? And again, I could be wrong. The Antichrist might, you know, start working behind the scenes and they might finish that temple and they might start doing sacrifice. They're already trying, okay? I just have a feeling that it's going to play out a little bit different. That's all I'm saying. Okay, don't get mad, oh, you're not following the, you're not towing the line, okay? Come on, all right? Just relax. It's all good. All right, Revelation chapter number 13. So again, when you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, okay? Whoso readeth, let him understand. Again, next week, we're going to really just sandwich this together. I believe it's going to make perfect, absolute sense. But what I'm trying to do now is I'm trying to just prime your mind. I'm just trying to get you a little bit warm, pose a little bit of thought to you. I'm purposely not saying certain things to get you to think, right? I want you to run home and read these things and study these things. That's why this is turning out the way that it is. So let's go back now. We're in Revelation 13. Let's understand what exactly is the abomination of desolation? Because remember, the New Testament is the commentary on the Old Testament. So the way I like to do this is I like to see everything that the New Testament says and then go back to the Old Testament. Because look, I'm telling you, when you read Daniel, it's like, whoa, man, hold on. It's like, hold on here. Like, I don't get it. That doesn't make a lot of sense. But when you have a good understanding of the New Testament, it's not going to be much of a problem for you at all, okay? So Revelation 13. Let's read a few verses here in the beginning of the chapter, and then we're going to skip a few and go to the false prophet, okay? So the way this chapter breaks down, pretty much the first part, maybe close to the first half, is in reference to the beast, okay? The Antichrist himself. And the last part is really in reference to the false prophet and the abomination of desolation, okay? That's how this breaks down. Now look at verse number one. So remember John, okay? The Apostle John, he is getting a vision from God. So he's seeing a vision, and this vision means something, okay? Look at verse one. And I stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast rise up out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. So he's actually seeing like this creature-like thing come up, okay? And God explains to him what that represents, okay? And obviously the sea is the people, okay? And obviously these seven heads are our kings. Look at verse two. And the beast, which I saw, was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority, okay? Now is this saying that the Antichrist, you'll be able to see him pretty quick because he's going to have like these iron teeth and look like a leopard and a lion? No, it's describing a person, okay? And these are unfortunate attributes about this person. Now who's the dragon in the story here? Well the dragon is Satan who gives the Antichrist, who gives this devil here, the son of perdition, it gives him his seat, meaning his political position, and his power, okay? Now because of free will, God has allowed the devil to basically be in charge of the world's kingdoms to a certain degree, which again brings up the necessity of prayer, okay? Remember Matthew chapter four, when Jesus was led out of the, or into the wilderness and he was fasted, and remember when the devil came to him, one of the things he did is he offered him all the kingdoms of the world if he would simply fall down and worship him. And of course the Lord rebuked him with scripture and a good lesson for us. So again the devil has that ability. You know when I was in the military, I got a very clear picture of how this type of authority works. So in the military you're going to have your enlisted ranks. These are people that are not officers. These are people that typically did not go to college but they're in charge, okay? So let's say you have a group of people like this, okay? You're going to have at the top, kind of close to the top, you're going to have two sets of leaders. You're going to have let's just say the sergeant major, okay? He's an enlisted man. Let's say he's been in for 20 plus years, okay? He's the top enlisted dog and you're going to do whatever this guy says. If he says, hey come cut my grass with a pair of scissors and bring a can of green spray paint and spray paint the grass, you're going to do that, okay? And yes I have had to do that. But you're also on the officer side, you're going to have the company commander, okay? Now a company commander and the sergeant major will often come out and give speeches and give talks and things of that nature. And one of the things they'll often tell you, like you'll often hear sergeant majors or top enlisted guys say something like this, they'll say I'm in charge but he runs the place, okay? And that's kind of how it is in the world today. The devil's in charge but God obviously runs the place. We all know that. The devil doesn't have any power other than what God allows him to have, okay? And so he has the ability to give a political position or power unto the beast, unto the antichrist and great authority it says at the end of verse two. Now look at verse three. So John says this next, and I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death and his deadly wound was healed and all the world wondered after the beast, okay? So pretty close, you know, to the end of the three and a half years here, he gets this deadly wound, okay? Somehow this wound happens, look at verse four, and they worship the dragon which gave power unto the beast and they worship the beast saying who is like unto the beast who is able to make war with him. So this is the attitude that the world is going to have after he recovers from this deadly wound. They're going to be like wow who can mess with this guy, okay? He's something special, he's something different. Verse five, and there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and power was given unto him to continue 42 months, okay? So obviously he's going to be reigning, he's going to be continuing even during the time that God is pouring out his wrath on this earth, okay? That's what you have to understand, that's what this is in reference to. And just to even blow your mind even further, and we'll talk about this in great detail, I mean it's just crazy to me to read this story because after the abomination of desolation obviously the saints are really going to be put under blast. Like it's hard times, you know, most people aren't going to make it but some will. And then the day of the Lord happens, we're out of here, we're gone, okay? And it's like people see this and they know this and they know that Jesus is on his throne, they can tell, they can look at that, and yet somehow the Antichrist, obviously at this point powered by the devil, okay, filled with the spirit of hell, is somehow able to convince the armies of the world that they can fight against God. Like they can actually physically take their tanks and their f-35s, which they can barely keep track of these days, and their nukes and they can beat God somehow in a physical war. It's just mind-boggling. But you know what, that's the world we live in today. Because think about it, I mean there are so many people today that hate God and hate the Bible and it just seems to be increasing and just getting worse and worse. Even though there's all this proof, all this evidence around, people are just like, I don't care, I don't want nothing to do with it, I want somebody to give me mine and I just care about me. Anyways look at verse six, and he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven. So at some point this guy is going to be like, yeah those guys up there are suck and are terrible, and all your college professors and all the people down here go like, you know what, you're right, they do suck, they are horrible. It's just absolutely crazy. And something else that I'm thinking about is I want to know who actually gives this guy his wound. Is it a disgruntled seal team six guy, you know, a group of special forces that just get together and somehow figure out like, no we got to stop this guy and they take him out. I don't know, doesn't say just, you know, just some speculation there. Some more food for thought. Verse seven, and it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them and power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations. Okay, so again this abomination of desolation, it is a worldwide event and there's a lot that really goes into this. But the problem today is that most of Christianity, they just focus Jerusalem temple, Jerusalem temple, oh my Jews, oh I love the Jews so much and I just want to help them sacrifice, you know. It's stupid, it's ridiculous, it's not what the Bible says. This is a worldwide event. This clown is going to be given power over the entire earth, okay. Verse number eight, and all that dwell upon the earth, what does that say? Shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life, the lamb of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And of course verse nine, if any man here, let him here. Now for sake of time here, jump down to verse number 11. So now we're going to introduce to the second beast, okay. And he has a lot of power like the first beast, okay. So you're kind of getting set back here, okay. So look at verse 11, it says this. And I beheld, so John, and I beheld another beast coming out of the earth. And he had two horns like a lamb and he spake as a dragon. So that's where we get your religious guy from, okay. He's got two horns like lamb, so he's kind of religious. This is kind of like an imitation of Christ here. He's got some religiosity to him, but he speaks as a dragon. Now does that mean he's just dropping F bombs and stuff like that? Probably not, okay. He's probably just very well spoken, very articulate. If you look at a lot of these false prophets like Joel Osteen and, you know, Paul Washer, a lot of these people, I mean, they are very well spoken. They can take their thoughts and communicate them very well. And of course, you know, you do a study on false prophets in the Bible, they get help from the kingdom of Satan. So that's the reason for that. But this guy's going to be on a whole other level. It's not going to be like the popes of today. And I'm not saying it is a pope. I have a feeling it will be something like that, okay, because the pope seems to have a lot of influence in the world today. And I do believe that if things play out in our lifetime or shortly thereafter our lifetimes, the Catholic church, I believe it will definitely somehow fit into this, okay. But subject for another day, look at verse 12. And he exercises all the power of the first beast before him. So again, so whatever the first beast can do, he can do as well, okay. And who knows, maybe they'll come together and be like, see, if you guys want to be like us, right, and reach this higher state of consciousness, God is within you, then you need to come on our side, you need to worship the beast, and so on and so forth. So he exercises all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth, and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed. So you guys always hear this saying, right, never let a good crisis go to waste. That's where they get it from, right here, okay. So get the picture here. The beast, the antichrist, receives a deadly wound, comes back to life. The false prophet's like, this is our crisis right here. We're going to take full advantage of it, and they do, and it works, unfortunately, like a charm. Look at verse 13. Okay. And he doeth great wonders so that he make a fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. Okay, so men are seeing this. What are people looking for today? They're looking for signs, wonders, and miracles. That's the idea. That is what people are looking for today. Well, they will be able to provide that, and there will be no doubt. It won't be like Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn and your Pentecostals of today. These guys are going to get it done, and they're going to make it seem legit, and people are going to fall for it. Look at verse 14, okay, regarding the beast, or the second beast, the false prophet, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast. Okay, so the beast oversees this, and he is like, yes, this is great here. We're deceiving the whole world. And also, don't forget what else is going on. God is sending strong delusion in the earth at this time that people should believe a lie. Okay, so rest of the verse. Saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword and did live. Okay, so the first thing here that I really want you to understand is that the false prophet is the one that comes up with the idea to basically implement the abomination of desolation. Okay, this image here that he comes up with and says to the world, hey, so maybe he gets on the news and gets on the phone and say, hey, you know, you all know my boy just rose from the dead here, right? You know what that means. I've been, you know, giving you guys all these, you know, false scriptures for years and blah, blah, blah. Well, we ought to make an image up to him, and the people of the earth are going to be like, oh, yeah, you're right. Yeah, we should. This is great. He's like Christ. That's how we envision Christ. See, the anti-Christ is a type of Christ, and he's going to be that Christ that everybody wants. Okay, he's not going to be like, oh, I'm King James only. No, there's going to be none of that. Okay, he's going to be the original language. Well, back, this is what this really means. Okay, and they're going to speak like that, and they're going to cause doubt, and that's why I have such animosity and anger towards the new evangelical side of Christianity is because they will fall, I believe, hook, line, and sinker for all of this stuff. The recipe, the ingredients, the traps are already there. Okay, it's already set up. They're just going to fall right for it. So verse 15 again, and he had power. Okay, so the false prophet, look at this, and he had power to give life unto the image of the beast. So he has this power, this demonic power to give life to this image. Now, we don't know what this image is going to be. Okay, is it going to be a hologram, or is it going to be like a statue, and he just has the ability to cause it to come to life? Will it be an AI robot that he's able to really improve and give life to? I don't know. Okay, that's just something that we'll have to see when it happens. That's when you'll know for sure is when this happens. It's good to speculate though. It's good to kind of, you know, take a look at what's going on in the world today and think about this because it kind of also demonstrates to you how close we might be to these things being able to happen. So again, verse 15, and he had power to give life unto the image of the beast. Okay, so this is the abomination here. The worldwide idolatry is being set up. This is the abomination that will make desolate. Look at the next part of the verse. That the image of the beast should, and notice these two things here that this image is going to be able to do, both speak and cause. Okay, so this image will be able to speak and cause. Cause what? Well, look at the rest of the verse. Cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. So this image, whatever it is, is demonically empowered and it has the ability to speak. You say, well, AI robots do too. They can speak. Yeah, but they're pre-programmed. This is going to have life. This is going to be completely different. And somehow this image is going to be able to tell whether or not people in the world really worship the beast. That's the really scary part here. Okay. And you say, you know, and I've been thinking for years, like, how is this going to happen? Like, are they going to, you know, set up these machines that can just like somehow read your internal thoughts and be able to tell if you really worship or not? Because, you know, people would have the idea, like, is there any way we can circumvent the system? Is there any way that we can make a false mark so I could still buy some groceries and pay my bills, you know, but not worship the beast? The answer is no. You're going to have to make the wholehearted choice to either to worship the beast or to reject the beast. Okay. That's the way it is. And this image here is going to be able to know somehow whether or not you are able or whether or not you've actually made that choice. And now when you really go back to the basics, it makes sense because the false prophet has the power to give it life. Okay. Well, who's orchestrating all this? Well, the kingdom of darkness, Satan himself. So this thing is probably or definitely empowered by a demonic spirit and these demonic spirits, what have they been doing forever? Well, they study people. You ever heard of familiar spirits? You remember Saul went to the witch at Endor. She was a familiar spirit and she called upon Saul. And obviously that was a special situation. But we read in the Bible all the time of people consulting these mediums and these witches and these familiar spirits and trying to talk to the dead and so on and so forth. And so when you really get into that realm, it makes sense that they've been studying people and they're able to travel, you know, invisibly and go from person to person. They are able to do things that you and I can't do. Okay. You think AI is smart and everybody's talking about, look at what we built. AI is so smart. Check GBT and all this stuff. It's great. When it comes to the demonic realm, it's 10 times more in depth, 10 times more powerful than any of that stuff. So it's the demonic side of this that is able to basically look inside you and be like, no, you belong to him. We're killing you. So on and so forth. Okay. So verse 15 again, and he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. So that's your desolation. That's your abomination and your desolation in one verse. So anybody who doesn't take the mark, who doesn't worship the beast is gone, is cut off, either driven away to the wilderness or you're killed in this process here. Okay. Now look at verse 16 and he causes all both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads. Now, who's this? He here looks kind of interesting. This is this image that the false prophet was able to give power to. He's able to speak and cause these things to happen so we can talk somehow, be all over the place. Now, one thing I've thought about, and I don't know if this is going to happen here, but you know, when you read that story in the gospels about that demon legion, okay. And the Lord casts out demon or casts out legion and asks him what his name is, says, Legion for we are many. And Legion says, Hey, you know, could you give us permission to basically go into this herd of swine? And the Lord's like, okay, go ahead. So they go into the herd of swine and the herd of swine runs off a cliff and basically chokes all the pigs. Right. And it's kind of a bizarre thing that you read about in the gospels here, but it really pictures a lot. And I heard somebody say this once. I said, well, that's why all the coastal cities have the most reprobates and sodomites and pigs is because they like the water. I don't know. It might be some truth to that. I don't know. But if you look at that from this perspective, it does kind of picture what's going on here because it could be that by the time this happens, there's so many of these images or robots that maybe they're just able to crank them out and put them everywhere. And they're able to just really get around the earth and get to a lot of people and just somehow be able to come up to you and be like, Hey, here's your opportunity. You know, you're going to worship the beast. Here's what he's done good. Cause it can speak. And then if you say no, it can tell, you know, and it just causes you to be put to death. So really what you're having here is an outpouring of demons coming into the world and causing the world to basically choke and run off the cliff into the pit. That's kind of a little symbology that I see in that story, but look at verse 17. So it says that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. And so that opens up a whole can of worms too. Like what is the mark of the beast? Is it a tattoo? Is it a microchip? Well, if you look right here, no man may might buy or sell save he that had the marks of some kind of a mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. And of course we know that the Bible says it goes in the right hand or in the forehead. And we'll have to dive into that later on. Let's see here. Quick review. We're almost done. Look back at verse number seven, revelation 13. Look at verse number seven. So again, just to kind of cover what makes desolate. So the abomination is the fact that the false prophet stands up and says, Hey, you know, we, we can't let a good crisis go to waste. The beast died. Someone killed him and he's back to life. So guess what? And he speaks to the world. He causes them on the earth. He poses this to the world and says that we should make an image onto the beast. Like, okay, let's do it. And so he gives that image power. Now the question is, is that going to happen inside of a brick and mortar temple in Jerusalem? Will it happen just somewhere in Jerusalem? You know, I don't know. Okay. I don't know. It doesn't really matter because it affects the whole world. Again, you know, the Jew and the Zionists, they want you to just be fixated on Jerusalem, Jerusalem, brick and mortar temple Jew. That's all you, that's all prophecy. Okay. You're just lucky that you got saved and that you get to sweep the crumbs and you get to clean about for the offerings and the blame. You're just lucky you get it to do that. Okay. No, we're going to look at the whole thing at the whole picture. Okay. So the abomination of desolation, that abomination is that worldwide idolatry, that image that gets life from the false prophet. That's what it is. So what's the desolation quick review verse seven. And it was given unto him. This is the first beast. Now we're going back. This is the Antichrist. It was given him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. So even by the time this false prophet gets and says, Hey, you know, we're going to make this image here. And if you don't worship, you're out. Okay. The Antichrist is already making war with the saints. He's already been coming after us and already been, it's just going to intensify greatly because once that image is established, that begins the great tribulation. Okay. That begins the last part of that three and a half year period that is known as the tribulation. And then the day of the Lord happens. And then God pours out his wrath for three and a half years on this earth. Okay. So verse seven, and it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And power was given him over all kindreds, tongues, and nations, verse eight, and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. Whose names are not written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And so, you know, I read that and we go soul winning and we talk to so many people. I go to Calvary church. I don't know if I'm safe. I go to this church. I go to tree city church. I go to blah, blah, blah church. And you got to work your way to heaven. Okay. Now the crazy part about this is there's a lot of people around here that you can tell they're sold after that they're sold unto works like that. Like they will not change their mind. Okay. And you know, those types of people, their names not written in the book of life, and they will fall for this deception. Now we're almost done. Done right here. Go back to Matthew 24. We'll look at two verses really quickly. We'll leave you with a couple of reminders here. Verse 24, Matthew 24. For there shall arise false Christs verse 24 and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders and so much that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Okay. This deception that is coming is going to be so strong that even the elect, I think we're going to be like, Whoa, we need to get the, but we need to start like really studying what's going on here. Okay. And that's what I believe. And that's why I believe it is necessary to not just hover on surface level prophecy, but to take a deeper dive and a deeper look in to these things. And of course, I want to finish up right here in Matthew 24, verse 15, where Jesus says, when you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation. Okay. Spoken of by Daniel. And we'll look at this next week from Daniel's perspective, but we know based on the new Testament, that the abomination that makes desolate is the image that the false prophet poses to the world and creates and gives power unto. Okay. And this thing does what it speaks and it causes it speaks and it causes that's what it does. Okay. So when we see that, then we'll know, okay, that's the false prophet, the guy with the, you know, that just came back to life, so to speak, that's demonically possessed now is the Antichrist. Okay. The son of perdition, obviously the falling away has happened at this point. Now we need to, we need to bounce. Okay. So when you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, the prophet stand in the holy place, who so readeth, let him under stand. Who so readeth, let him understand. And so my challenge to you is to read the entire book of Daniel. If you don't have time to read it in one day, I get it. Like it does. I'm serious. It really doesn't take long. And you're going to feel really good after reading it in one sitting, I'm telling you just doing this one time. Okay. I've done it many times, but you do it one time. You're going to be able to be like, okay, chapter one, this happens chapter two, this happens. And you're going to have a really good understanding of the layout of it. And I just really believe it's going to help you. But if you don't have time to do it in one sitting, just do it before next Sunday. Okay. Read the entire book of Daniel. I promise you it's not painful. It's not long. You're only going to get blessed by it. And then we will continue to explain the rest of this. We'll get into who so readeth, let him understand from Daniel's perspective, and then we'll be able to move on to some of the other things that we've mentioned. The witnesses, the wrath of God, obviously is something we need to definitely get into because all of Matthew chapter 24 is basically answering those three questions. Okay. You know, when are these things going to be? What's the sign of that coming and the end of the world. Okay. And so we want to make sure and do a good, thorough job in answering all of those questions that Jesus gave us the answers to. So let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much, Lord, for allowing us to be able to meet here. Fellowship, learn from one another, learn from your word. Just pray that you'd bless the fellowship after the service, Lord. And we do thank you that some folks from the community got mad at the dogs this morning. We just pray that you would get rid of them for us, Lord. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.