This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Thanks for joining us for today's program. At Connect with Skip, our mission is to help you connect with God's Word in a deeper way and see how it applies to everyday life. That's why we make Bible teaching like today's available to you and people all around the world, on radio, online, and through resources that equip you to grow in your faith. One great way to do that is by taking the 30K 30-day challenge, a free daily email journey through the New Testament.
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Now, let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig. Baby Jesus got stolen. How's that for an opening line? In a town called Wellington, Florida, where they have nativity sets. out every year that the city puts out its big nativity set.
The little baby Jesus in the crib. One year. Got stolen.
Now this is a wealthy community, Wellington, Florida, and To replace baby Jesus, he cost 1,800 bucks.
So they replaced him the second time, a new baby Jesus in the Nativity set, and wouldn't you know it? Got stolen a second time.
So they replaced The baby Jesus, the third time, this time they wised up and put a GPS unit in Little Baby Jesus. to track him. If he got stolen a third time, he got stolen a third time. And they found By tracking the GPS. They found the 18-year-old girl.
Who stole baby Jesus?
Now, this is not an isolated incident. I did a little more research and found in 2008. Eureka Springs, Arkansas. They also City display, baby Jesus got stolen from there also. But this time they stole baby Jesus.
The chain and the cement block he was chained to to keep him from being stolen, they took it all.
Some people do it as a joke.
Some people do it. Just despite Christmas. But I did a little more research and discovered this is quite common. In fact, Researchers have a name for this. They call it, and I kid you not.
The stolen baby Jesus Syndrome. How wacky is that? People do this all the time. In some cases, they steal the baby Jesus and replace him. with a doll.
or a stuffed animal. And I submit to you that on a much greater scale, There is somebody who is going to come to this earth to replace. Jesus Christ. The very name Antichrist, which everybody's heard of, When you hear anti, you think somebody who's against Christ. That's true.
But the little word anti in Greek is a word that also means instead of Christ. He's gonna Posit himself as one who takes the place of for the world. He'll be a messianic figure. Called the beast in Revelation 13. We know him most definitely as the Antichrist.
He'll be a deceiver. President Abraham Lincoln said, You can fool some of the people all the time, and all the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time. This guy is going to do a pretty good job of deceiving the world at that time. You know, deception wears many masks.
Sometimes there's political deception.
Sometimes there's spiritual deception. And sometimes there's economic deception. And this guy is going to be able to put all those masks on and wear them so well. In the 1920s, There was an actor A Scottish actor, rather famous one for his time, by the name of Arthur Ferguson. Arthur Ferguson.
had incredible abilities on stage and abilities to sell. Because he was an actor. He was trained at it.
Well, the story goes that Arthur Ferguson was walking one day in London's Trafalgar Square. And if you've ever been there, it's very impressive. There's a pillar, and on top of the pillar is Admiral Lord Nelson. It's impressive. He noticed a wealthy American admiring the statue.
And Arthur Ferguson with his persuasive abilities sold This pillar and statue in Trafalgar Square to the American for $30,000.
Sold. Like what are you gonna ship it to me? But he sold it to him. took the money. said it would be delivered.
A little while after that, Same actor, Arthur Ferguson.
Sold big band. You know the big clock that's. over there to another american what is it with americans are we like that gullible For $5,000. and took a $10,000 deposit on Buckingham Palace. And before the law finally caught up with him, and he served a lot of time in jail when they did, he managed to sell.
Not only all those things, but the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. The Antichrist will come to this world and sell this world the biggest bill of goods it has ever seen. And if you even wonder if that's possible, because after all, we're so smart, we're so enlightened, never gonna happen. Understand that Paul promises in 2 Thessalonians that God will send them strong delusion. that they will believe.
The lie. Don't believe it. The world will believe it. And if they don't, there will be consequences, the Bible also says. We have been in Daniel chapter 7 for a few weeks and We're gonna there today again, and here's why It is what we call the The passage of primary reference.
Jesus Christ, Paul the Apostle, John the Apostle, all of them look backward to this writing of the book of Daniel, chapter 7, chapter 9, and others. And Jesus even referred to Daniel as Daniel the prophet.
So We're considering Who Daniel the prophet said in chapter 7 is coming on the world scene in this passage of primary. Reference. In this chapter, we've already seen it. But as a little bit of a recap. Daniel sees an incredible panoramic Vision of the future.
World governing kingdoms that will come from his day onward. Beginning with the Babylonian Empire, followed by the Medo-Persian Empire, followed by the Grecian Empire, followed by the Roman Empire. But this fourth one, the Roman Empire, is odd. It's different from all the other previous ones because it seems to have an early and a latter. Rain.
That it will be somehow resurrected or brought back in some fragmented form in the end of days, just before. The Messiah comes. But what is most important about the Fourth Empire is A leader that emerges from it, a powerful leader. We have called him the Antichrist. He goes by 25 names in the Bible.
including the beast in Revelation chapter 13. But he's called in this chapter the little horn. Remember that? The little horn? He's the little horn with the big mouth.
And I would say the little horn with the big mouth with big plans to take over the world. Today we're going to look at this in a different kind of an angle and consider something that probably few here have ever considered.
So I want to ask three questions. Number one, what do we know for sure? What do we know from the Bible? What do we know for sure? Second, what are we told?
That we'll see. by others who look to the future. And finally, what do we hope? For some I'll explain as we go along.
So what do we know for sure? I sound like a Californian, don't I? For sure. This is what we know for sure. We know for sure that This ruler Is coming.
The Antichrist is coming. And we know for sure. That he's going to persecute God's people, verse 25 tells us. In Revelation chapter 12, we understand that he's going to specifically target at the end of days. Jews and Christians.
And one of the ways he will do that, according to Revelation 20, is cut their heads off, beheaded for the name of Christ. In Daniel chapter 9, We're told that this guy will set up a peace agreement with the Jews. And the West. for seven years. In the middle of that agreement, he will reneg on it.
And he will persecute the Jewish people. Setting up in the temple in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount. What Jesus referred to using Daniel. As the abomination that causes desolation. And Jesus Christ in Matthew 24 said, All the Jews who were reading that at this time should flee Jerusalem, get out of the city.
Because this Ruler will set up his headquarters in Jerusalem.
Furthermore, this Antichrist is depicted in Revelation chapter 6 as the rider on the white horse. He comes with the bow, no arrows. Conquering and to conquer comes peacefully at first. Just a bow. But a threat Conquering and to conquer, and what follows him is carnage and devastation and bloodshed.
Now we know that for sure because it's all over the Bible. But there's something else we know for sure. Not only will the Antichrist come, but he's going to have a compadre coming with him called the false prophet. Revelation chapter 13, chapter 16, chapter 19, chapter 20, mention or describe this false prophet.
Now, wouldn't you say that because he's called a false prophet, that denotes that the Antichrist will have some sort of religious nature? about his rule. And get this. The false prophet is described as one that has the appearance of a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. The appearance of a lamb but he spoke like a dragon.
He's going to direct the world to obey the beast. His primary job will be deception. He'll be able to perform miracles, the Bible says, and deceive people to follow the beast, the Antichrist.
So we have the false prophet. We know that for sure. We had the Antichrist followed by the false prophet, we know that for sure. Here's what else we know for sure, and it's the best news. After all of that, Jesus Christ will indeed come back and vanquish the Antichrist and the false prophet and set up his kingdom all over the earth.
Verse 27. Then the kingdom, well, let's read verse 23. Let's go. Then he said, the fourth beast. shall be a fourth kingdom on earth.
which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it, and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings which will arise from this kingdom. and another shall rise after them. He shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High.
shall persecute the saints of the Most High. and shall intend to change Times and law. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we return to today's teaching, let me ask. Are we living in the last days?
With uncertainty, conflict, and moral confusion dominating the headlines, it's a question many believers are asking. Pastor Skip wants to help you understand what God's Word says about the end times so you can face the future with confidence. That's why this month we're offering two timely resources: his 2 CD teaching from Daniel, Bible from 30,000 feet. and his booklet, Are We Living in the Last Days? These will give you a clear biblical perspective on what's happening in the world.
and how to be ready for what's ahead. Request your copies when you give a gift of $25 or more at connectwithgift.com/slash offer. or call 800-922. 1888.
Now let's get back to today's teaching. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time times and a half a time. But the court shall be seated. and they shall take away his dominion to consume and destroy it forever. And then the kingdom.
And Dominion? And the greatness of the kingdoms, plural, under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey. Him.
Now that's what we know for sure is going to happen. What we don't know for sure is exactly who the Antichrist is, and I'm not going to be added to the list of people who've tried to guess and were wrong all throughout history. It started in the early church. They said Caesar Nero was the Antichrist. Then they said Caligula was the Antichrist.
And then just about every single pope who's ever been in the Vatican has been called the Antichrist. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was called the Antichrist. Henry Kissinger. Ronald Reagan, Bill Gates, Barack Obama. has been called the Antichrist, maybe even by some of you, I don't know.
But I would think it's safe to say they're wrong. Hello. If you had asked me when I was 19, I said And my anatomy professor, I think that's the Antichrist. I had a rough class there. For years, scholars have looked to Western Europe.
For a revived Roman Empire, because they said, well, that's sort of where the Roman Empire was and fragmented. And so they have looked for some secular Western leader. Or perhaps a religious leader like the Pope Today I'm just going to suggest that we look in a different direction. And we consider What is today the fastest growing religious system on planet Earth? If for nothing more than to be aware of it, To be able to pray for it.
and to share Christ with those people. Did you know that right now on the earth, you may not see a lot of it in this town, but there is an Islamic revival. A revival. It is the fastest growing religion, get this, since. september eleventh, two thousand one.
Did you know that before 9-11 They estimate roughly 25,000 Americans per year converted to Islam. Since 9-11, it has quadrupled, 100,000 a year. Over 80% of the American converts to Islam were raised in Christian churches. Islam will bypass Christianity as the world's largest religion in about 20 years. And when that starts to happen, there's going to be an emotional, psychological tipping point that happens on both ends of that spectrum.
I guess With all of that significant data, it's just good to ask this question. What plan do 1.8 billion Muslims have? In the plan of God for the end times. Any at all? My hope is there will be mass conversions to Christ.
But could there be something else?
Now I know. I know that Even talking about this is not politically correct. Probably most of what I do is not politically correct. But I know it's fashionable to sort of lump all religions together and put bumper stickers in our car that say, coexist and Yeah.
Okay. I know it's fashionable to say that Judaism and Christianity and Islam, because they're monotheistic, they believe in one God, they're basically all the same with just different names. It's fashionable to say that. It's even fashionable in Christian churches to say That Muslims are okay because they believe in Jesus. And you're right.
They do believe in Jesus. but the Jesus they believe in. Is not the Jesus that this book speaks about. It's a very different Jesus.
So there's things we know for sure. But then number two The second question. What are we told that we'll see? You see, we're not the only ones that are predicting the future using our Bible. The Muslims have their idea of what the end times is going to be like.
What do Muslims believe about the future? Did you even know that Muslims had an eschatology? And some of you are giving me that look like, what is an eschatology? Eschatology simply means a theology, a belief system. About the end of days.
The end times. All that I'm talking to you about in the last couple of weeks has been eschatological. It's the theology from the Bible about the end of days. Muslims refer to Jews and Christians. In a rather respectful term, they don't do this all the time, but we are called the people of the book.
The people of the book means that we believe in the Bible.
Now, they believe that our Bible, Old and New Testament, has been corrupted over time, does not reveal the will of God. Because it has been corrupted, God gave the final revelation to mankind, and that is the Quran.
So there are two sources for theology for all Muslims. Number one, the Quran. The word of Allah. The scripture of Allah. And number two, the sunnah.
The Sunnah are the words and the works of Muhammad the Prophet. It includes the hadiths, simply whatever Muhammad said, whatever he did, whatever he condemned, whatever he condoned, all of that forms the tradition called the Sunnah, and they use the Sunnah and the Quran to establish everything they believe in. Much like Roman Catholic theology is based upon scripture and the tradition of the fathers. Or Jewish theology is built upon the Old Testament and whatever is the tradition of the rabbis over time.
So the Sunnah and the Quran form their view, their world view. According to Islam, There will be three great signs at the end of days, and all three signs are three persons. First of all, they believe somebody is coming called the Mahdi.
Now the mod D, if you've ever heard The Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations. He's addressing all the nations that are there. He always mentions that the Mahdi is coming. In fact, Always, every time he speaks, he says, glory to the Mahdi. Glory to the 12th Imam.
One and the same persons. The Mahdi means the guided one. He is also called the awaited savior. the Lord of the Age, interestingly, and the 12th Imam. What is he going to do?
And by the way, all Shia and Sunni Muslims believe in him. as coming. The Mahdi, they say, is coming to set up a new world order. to establish an Islamic caliphate around the world. that is a civil, political, and spiritual world domination.
He will lead a world revolution. He'll establish Islam as law around the earth. According to their sources, quote, Mahdi will offer the religion of Islam to the Jews and the Christians. If they accept it, they will be spared, otherwise, they will be killed, close quote. He's going to do that through a series of battles, holy wars, jihad.
Using a massive army on Earth, all carrying black flags. On the black flag is one word, punishment. Interestingly. The armies of Iran today carry black flags. Because they pray for that they will be included in that massive army of black flags when the Mahdi comes.
He will lead the army of black flags to conquer Jerusalem. He will kill Jews in the process. He will establish his headquarters, his rule, from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. They call it Haram Ash Sharif. He will make a peace agreement after that with the Jews.
And the West whom interestingly they refer to as the Romans. And what is probably most noteworthy and most amazing is the timeframe they say the Mahdi will rule. Take a guess. Seven years. The Mahdi will rule seven years.
They even say he's going to come riding a white horse. And get this, they even say in their writings, as it is predicted in the book of the prophets, Revelation chapter 6, verse 1. He will come Conquering and to conquer, the rider on the white horse.
Now, they say that our scriptures are corrupted, but evidently there's a few that aren't, and that's. In their view, some that aren't.
So put it all together, here's the summary. They say he's a messianic figure. An unparalleled leader, He'll take control of the world. He'll destroy all who resist him. He'll invade many nations.
He'll enact a seven-year peace treaty with the Jews. He'll conquer Israel and massacre Jews. He'll establish Islamic world headquarters at Jerusalem on the Temple Mount. He'll ride a white horse. He'll rule seven years.
He'll be loved by all people on the earth.
Sound familiar? It's what the Bible describes as the Antichrist. That's sign number one in Islamic eschatology. Their second sign is the coming of Christ. Yes, they believe Jesus Christ is coming again.
You go, oh goody, see? Yeah, but just wait. Muslims do not believe that Jesus is anything but a man. And that he never died. He certainly didn't die on a cross and atone for sins.
Nobody, they say, can do that.
So he didn't die. You know what that means? If he didn't die, he didn't what? Rise. If he didn't die and he didn't rise, there is no atonement for sins like Christians claim.
So, what they say is, Jesus almost died, but God whisked him to heaven where he is now at the side of Allah, waiting to come back. And at some point in the future, Allah will send Jesus back to the earth. Why would Allah want to send Jesus back to the earth? He's got a lot of prophets to choose from. They say, so that Jesus can correct.
All of the Christians who have misunderstood who he was. That he is not the Son of God. He is not God in the flesh. He did not die on the cross. And he's gonna correct Christians and direct them.
In Islam. They say he's going to come back as a radicalized Muslim. He's going to descend from heaven to a minaret just east of Damascus. As the Mahdi is gathered with his army of black flags, as they gather for prayer. He will come and Mahdi will see him and ask Jesus to lead in the prayer.
Jesus will say no. He will stand behind the Mahdi. showing that he's inferior to the Mahdi. and asking the Mahdi to pray. They say that Jesus will be the greatest witness on the day of judgment against non-Muslims.
And he will kill. The Dajal. The Dajal is the Muslim version of Antichrist. Then Jesus will Get married. Raise a family.
Die and be buried next to Muhammad. The third person they believe is coming after Mahdi and Isa, Jesus, is Dajal, this Antichrist, third major sign. His full title is Al-Masih ad-Dajjal, which means the Messiah, the deceiver. It's written in numerous hadiths in Islamic literature. Get this.
He's going to come as a false miracle worker. He's going to claim to be Jesus. and even claim to be God. They say he will attempt to destroy Mahdi and Jesus. But the Islamic Jesus, Isa, will conquer and kill.
The Dudjal.
Now are you putting all this together? The Bible's Antichrist is Islam's Savior. The Bible's false prophet is Islam's Jesus Christ. And the Bible's returning Jesus Christ is their Antichrist. It is an exact threefold reversal.
and substitute counterfeit. Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, don't miss your chance to request this month's featured resources from Pastor Skip. The Bible from 30,000 feet 2 CD teaching from Daniel, and his booklet, Are We Living in the Last Days? Together, they'll help you understand what the Bible says about the future and how to be ready for it.
These resources are our thanks for your gift of $25 or more to help share God's word with more people. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwisgift.com slash offer. And while you're there, sign up for the free 30K 30-day challenge to grow in your knowledge of God's Word. Thanks for spending time with us today, and we'll see you next time on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection Make a connection.
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