Who are the Major Players & Events?

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Here is the founder and chairman of the Citizens for America Foundation, Dr. Chris Hughes. Well, if you've been listening to the show the last few days, we have been talking about the end times. We recently saw a survey that said that over 40% of Americans believe that the Russian invasion of the Ukraine could be a signal that we're entering the end times described in the Bible. Now, I don't know if it's true or not. The Bible tells us that no man, and I want to be clear, no man knows the day or hour or time of Jesus' return.

And anyone that tells you that they do is lying to you. But I will tell you that the Bible has prophecy. Prophecy is just a prediction of what's going to happen in the end times, and every one of those prophecies have been fulfilled. If you were listening to the show yesterday, we were talking about a seven-year period of time called the Tribulation. The Tribulation is just a time when God is going to really focus His wrath on the earth and get the attention. It's a seven-year period of time that will begin by the signing of a peace treaty with Israel. That's why some of these people believe that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could signal the beginning of the end times, because some people believe that Vladimir Putin won't stop in Ukraine but will continue to work his way down the map and eventually land to Israel. And the Bible tells us that the beginning of the clock will start ticking on the seven-year period of time that we call the Tribulation with the signing of peace treaty of Israel. There's no need to sign a peace treaty with Israel unless somebody attacks them, which is what the Bible says is going to happen. And when that attack takes place and the peace treaty is signed, if we haven't been raptured away, we better wake up and pay attention, because things are fixing to get really bad and Jesus could return at any time. Well, welcome to Christian Perspective.

I'm Chris Hughes. We're usually talking about issues in culture and what's going on, but really if people are concerned about what's going on in the culture today, and they're concerned that we could be to the end times, I thought we should take a few days to talk about it. We've talked about the rapture of the church. Is the rapture the same thing as the second coming?

And it's not. The rapture is when Jesus comes in the air and takes Christians away or his followers from this earth in preparation for what he's going to be doing in the following time. The second coming is when Jesus doesn't just come in the air, but he actually comes to earth and returns to have his earthly kingdom that the Bible talks about.

So there are differing opinions and we've been talking about those issues. Would Jesus return before the tribulation, which is called the belief of a pre-tribulation rapture? Would he return in the middle of the tribulation?

And some people believe that. They call that the mid-tribulation rapture. Or would Jesus return after the tribulation, which is called a post-tribulation rapture? There are even some people who don't believe that a rapture will take place at all. Some people say, well, and we've talked about this in a previous show, Chris, the word rapture is not in the Bible, so I don't believe it. Well, the word Trinity is not in the Bible.

Do you believe in the Trinity? And by the way, none of the English words that we use today are in the Bible because the Bible was not written in the English language. The word that we use for rapture comes from a word harpazo, which in Thessalonians describes a snatching away or taking away of people. We just refer to that term as the rapture of Christians, of taking them away from the earth at that time. If you were listening yesterday, and by the way, if you weren't, I encourage you to go get the podcast, share it with your friends, you can give it a transcript as I begin talking about a period of time called the tribulation. The tribulation, we have described yesterday, the seven seal judgments, and we talked about the seven trumpet judgments, and in a minute, we're going to jump into what is called the seven bowl judgments of the tribulation. Remember, we talked about the tribulation divided into two three and a half year periods.

The first three and a half are going to be bad enough, but the second three and a half are literally going to be hell on earth. Before we do that, I want to thank Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary for being the home of Christian perspective studios where we come to you every day from beautiful Memphis, Tennessee. And we want to thank them for letting us have our studios on their campus. If you have a student in your family or your wife who's looking for a college to attend, I highly recommend you take a look at the College of Mid America. Not only will your student get a great education, but it will be from a biblical perspective and your student will not be brainwashed with CRT or transgenderism or any of the crazy social things that are going on in the world today.

So they get a great education, they'd be firmly founded in the word of God. Maybe you're at a point in your life where you want to learn more about God's word and you could start beginning a master's education. You might want to take a look at Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary. You can find out more at mabts.edu. That's mabts.edu, which stands for Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary. And of course, we want to thank our show sponsors, the Citizens for America Foundation that sponsors The Christian Perspective, citizensforamericafoundation.com is where you can learn about all types of subjects.

We are an educational organization with the purpose of educating Christians to learn what they believe and why they believe it. And specifically with all the things going in culture today, what did the Bible say about homosexuality? What's the Bible say about transgender or the traditional family? What does the Bible say about gun ownership?

All these things are really covered in the Bible. We want you to know what the Bible says about them. Understand what you believe and why you believe it, and then take that into the world. All of us have a worldview.

A worldview is simply the lens through which we see the world. As Christians, I want to encourage you to have a biblical perspective, a Christian perspective, to know what God's word says on these issues. Once you get educated and informed, I want you to take that knowledge and engage into the arena of public policy and politics. It is time for us to let godly men and women to public office who will put an end to abortion, who will defend the traditional family, and who will take a stand on biblical principles and the word of God.

You can learn more at citizensfromamericafoundation.com. Coming up on April 30th, the Cultural Engagement Summit is one of our major events. It's going to be in Memphis, Tennessee.

Some of the biggest names in the political world and in the Christian world. Some of the greatest preachers in the world will be there that day. It's a one-day event, and I would encourage you to join me. God will be there. I look forward to meeting you on April 30th at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, Tennessee. It's called the 2022 Cultural Engagement Summit.

You can learn more at citizensfromamericafoundation.com. Now let's jump into the tribulation. So we've been talking about end-time prophecy this week, and today I want to finish up talking about the tribulation, if we can. So we talked about, remember, the trumpet judgments, the seal judgments, and today we're going to start off talking about the seven bowl judgments. So remember, with each of these success, success, and judgments are terrible things that are going to happen on this earth.

They're just going to get worse and worse and worse, and we do not want to be here. The point of me sharing this with you is to tell you that you do not want to be here when that happens. You want to live your life with an urgency in the word of God, and you don't want to be here when these terrible things happen on earth.

So let's take a look at what the Bible says about these issues. The seven bowl judgments are found in Revelation chapter 16, verses 1 through 12, and they are the result of the seven trumpet judgments. Remember, the seven trumpet judgments came after the seven seal judgments, and the first of the bowl judgments was going to cause painful sores to break out on everyone. This is talked about in Revelation chapter 16, verse 2, and I don't know if they're going to be... I kind of envision them maybe being like boils all over somebody.

The truth is, I really don't know what they are, but the Bible tells us that they're going to be extremely painful all over our bodies. I don't believe it's going to be my body because I don't have any intention of being here at that time, but these painful sores will be all over the bodies at that time. Next, in Revelation chapter 16, verse 3 tells us that the second bowl judgment will cause the death of every living thing in the sea. Remember, previously there had been damage to everything in the sea, now everything in the sea, and yes, I believe the Bible literally says it, is going to die. Can you imagine the diseases and the stench? Years ago I went on a mission trip to India and I was preaching in India and doing some crusades over there, and I went to visit the sea and it was after a tidal wave, a tsunami had taken place, and dead fish had been washed ashore for more than a mile inland, and the stench was just unfathomable.

I can't even imagine the disease, the flies, the worms, the maggots, the stench of the rotting flesh of every sea creature dying at that time. In Revelation chapter 16, verses 4-7 the third bowl judgment will cause all rivers to turn in blood. Clean drinking water is virtually going to be removed from the earth, and people are going to die because of it. Revelation chapter 16, verses 8-9 reveals that the fourth bowl judgment will result in the sun's heat being so intense that it's going to cause great pain. Now you want to talk about global warming, well I'll tell you, the fourth bowl judgment in Revelation 16, that's when you're going to see your global warming.

So all you liberals out there, you're right, global warming is coming, and I don't want to be here when that happens. The fifth bowl judgment is going to cause great darkness and pain from the boils of the first bowl judgment. The Bible says it's going to be greatly intensified during this time. So people have these boil oils, the fish have died, the water has turned to blood, there was terrible heat, and now we're going to have darkness and the boils are going to hurt even more. The sixth bowl judgment is described in Revelation chapter 16, verses 12-14 that results in the Euphrates River being dried up. Well you know the Bible talks about a battle taking place in Armageddon later on, how could they march down the banks of the Euphrates River when it was still there? Now that it's dried up, that will clear the path for those armies to be able to enter the scene where the Bible says will take place for the battle of Armageddon eventually. Revelation chapter 16 verses 15-21 tells us that the seventh bowl judgment will result in a devastating earthquake, and that earthquake is going to be followed by great hailstones, again big huge blocks of ice. And I'm not talking about the little golf ball things which are terrible enough that we have sometimes in the world today.

These things are going to weigh hundreds of pounds and cause great devastation on the earth. We're talking about the tribulation and end-time prophecy. When we come back, we're going to talk about how long the tribulation will last, a lot more information you're going to want to have. So stick around, we'll be right back with more of The Christian Perspective. This show is brought to you by Generous Joe's, the coffee company with the Christian perspective. This is the answer that Christians and conservatives have been looking for, a coffee company that gives back to causes you care about.

Order your coffee today at shopgenerousjoes.org, and even subscribe to a subscription coffee plan and never forget the coffee you love or the causes you care about. Walk in the footsteps of Jesus and see the Bible come to life. This December, join nationally syndicated radio host and founder of the Citizens for America Foundation, Dr. Chris Hughes, on a life-changing trip to Israel. It's one of the world's oldest and most fascinating travel destinations. Learn the faithful from all over the world for thousands of years. Visit Jerusalem's religious quarters and explore Christianity's most treasured religious sites, like the Wailing Wall, the Dome of the Rock, and the Via Dolorosa. Walk with Chris through the winding alleyways of Nazareth's Old City and visit ancient Bethlehem, the place of our Savior's birth. Float in the Dead Sea, visit the Sea of Galilee and the Jewish fortress of Masada. See first-hand where the events of the Bible took place. Touring Israel with Dr. Chris Hughes is a travel odyssey like no other.

Visit CitizensForAmericaFoundation.com and get ready for an unforgettable trip and memories that will last a lifetime. Do you desire to build family relationships that stand the test of time? Does creating a godly family seem like a daunting challenge?

You're not alone. I'm Connie Yaupers, author of Parenting Beyond the Rules and host of Equipped to Be. As a mother of five, I understand your struggles. For 35 years, I have been helping families just like yours build lasting relationships.

I'd like to invite you to tune in to Equipped to Be and visit ConnieYaupers.com where I share useful tips and proven strategies to help you navigate the seasons of motherhood, faith, and life with confidence and joy. History was made on today's date. Stay tuned for an American Minute with Bill Federer. Mark Twain, a river measurement meaning twelve feet deep, was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens who died this day, April 21, 1910. Growing up along the Mississippi, he left school at age 12 when his father died and became a printer's apprentice. He piloted steamboats, but the war between the states suspended all river traffic. Famous for such works as Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, he talked Ulysses S. Grant into writing his Civil War memoirs. In his classic style, Mark Twain remarked, If the Ten Commandments were not written by Moses, then they were written by another fellow of the same name. This has been an American Minute with Bill Federer.

For a free transcript, call American Minute at 1-888-USA-WORD. Welcome back to Christian Perspective. We've been talking about end-time prophecy. We're talking about what's going to happen in the seven-year period, tribulation. We talked about the rapture and the second coming of Jesus. Right before the break, we were talking about when the tribulation will begin. So when will the tribulation begin? Daniel, who is quoted by Jesus, did you know that?

Jesus quoted Daniel more than any other prophet, described the tribulation as a seven-year period of time that would begin by the signing of a seven-year covenant or contract between Israel and Antichrist, who was also, the Antichrist, also referred to as the Beast and the Prince that shall overcome. In Daniel chapter 9, verses 26 through 27, the Bible tells us that the Antichrist, three and a half years into a seven-year peace treaty with Israel, is going to break that covenant, break that peace treaty with Israel. The Bible says that he would desecrate the temple in Jerusalem. So in order for that to happen, that tells us that a new temple will be built on the Temple Mount where the Wailing Wall is in Jerusalem. Do you know that the people of Jerusalem want to build a new temple? The only reason they're not right now is because there's two mosques, two Muslim mosques on that property. So those Muslim mosques are going to have to be destroyed at some point, which will probably be part of the reason for the battle and the war in Israel that needed a peace treaty in the first place.

But all the things that are needed to go inside that temple, the furniture and all the things, just like from the Old Testament that were in a temple, I've been over there, they have already got all those in place in warehouses just waiting to build that building of that new temple. But the Bible tells us in Daniel chapter 9 that three and a half years into this peace treaty, that the Antichrist is going to desecrate the new temple in Jerusalem and he will eventually be empowered and totally possessed by Satan. The Antichrist, not only is he going to desecrate the temple, but he's going to set up an image of himself in the temple and he's going to demand that every living person on earth worship his image. He is going to declare himself God. And that's pretty scary and God's not going to take that lightly.

So we know when it's going to begin. It's going to begin with the signing of a peace treaty with Israel and three and a half years into that, the Antichrist is going to break that peace treaty. But how long will the tribulation last? Daniel chapter 9 verse 27 tells us that the tribulation will last seven years. And y'all, I know these last few days I've been throwing a lot of scripture at you, but it's important for you to get in the one God's word and see for yourself.

Don't take my word or anybody else. The only word that's important is the word of God. That's why I'm giving you all these scriptures. So this show will be released later today on podcast. You can get it anywhere you get your podcast.

If you have the truth network podcast, uh, you can get there. Also a word for word transcript that'll give you these scriptures. The book of revelation divides the tribulation into two, three and a half year periods.

And those are comprised of 1,260 days each. Think about the rapture for a minute. When the rapture occurs, any pilot, you know, that's calling an airplane and he tried driver, any bus driver and millions of other people could disappear instantly.

So think about it. If you're an airplane, the rapture comes, Jesus comes again and raptures Christians and the pilots are Christian. Your plane is going to crash and everybody, and it's going to crash.

If a truck driver's running down the road and he's beamed up, that truck is going to wreck and kill other people. Millions of people can die as a result of this. Think about our military.

Now, granted, president Biden has done everything he can to destroy the military and let transgenders and, and, and, and homosexuals and others and filtrate in the military that were never allowed in the past, but there's still a lot of Christians in the military. Our military, the American military can literally be wiped out during the rapture. That might be one of the reasons you never hear any reference to the United States of America and end time prophecy. Once the tribulation begins, billions more are going to die. Things I've already described to you during the first three and a half years alone, more than half of the world's population will die and it gets even worse in the second half of the tribulation. So when does the tribulation in Matthew chapter 24 verse 29 and Daniel chapter nine verse 24 tells us that the tribulation will end after seven years and immediately upon the second coming or the return of Jesus to the earth to set up his earthly kingdom. Now I'm not talking about here, the rapture, because Jesus doesn't come to the ground during the rapture. He comes in the air and the second coming. Jesus will actually step foot. And the Bible tells us we've studied earlier this week that that will happen at the Mount of Olives.

This period of time will then be referred to as the millennial reign or the millennial kingdom, because it's the period of time that's described in Revelation chapter 20, where Jesus will rule the world from Jerusalem for a thousand years. So what's the purpose of tribulation? You say, Chris, this mess is going on and people are dying and why in the world is God allowing all this to happen? Well, it may not sound like it when you first read the biblical account of what's to come, but the tribulation will actually be a seven year period of time where God really expresses his mercy and grace. I say, Chris, you're crazy. That's not mercy and grace.

Well, let's talk about it because I think you'll see that it is. It'll be a time where God focuses much of his attention on the children of Israel, the nation of Israel, the Jewish people. And he's going to do that in an attempt to call his chosen people back to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and to have them realize that his only begotten son, Jesus, is the true Messiah. Right now, Jews do not believe practicing Jews don't believe that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah.

But he clearly is. Later, we're going to get into much more detail about what happens during the tribulation with certain people and some of the events. But one of the things that will happen during the tribulation is that the Antichrist is going to set up his kingdom and the temple in Jerusalem. In order for that to happen, as I mentioned earlier, a new temple has got to be built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which is currently controlled by Muslims. In his article about the future temples, a man named Randall Price describes the existence of a future temple in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount. And that might seem ludicrous today, and I'm sure to many people it does, because the Temple Mount is currently occupied by two Islamic mosques. It'll literally take an act of war to remove those mosques and to make room for the temple.

But I think that's what's going to happen. Daniel, Chapter 9, Chapter 27 tells us that there will be a seven-year peace treaty signed between Israel and Antichrist. Isaiah 66, verses 1 through 6 describes a new temple that will be built during that time. Daniel, Chapter 11, verse 45, and Revelation, Chapter 11, verse 2 tell us that the Antichrist will invade Jerusalem three and a half years into the tribulation, where he will set up an image of himself to be worshipped, and he will begin what's really an unparalleled period of Jewish persecution. You can read about that, by the way, in Mark, Chapter 24, verse 15, and Mark, Chapter 13, verse 14. Now, the Jews have been tortured mercilessly throughout all of history.

Why? Because Satan wants to destroy God's chosen people. And over six million were brutally murdered in World War II. But I want to tell you that that's nothing compared to what the Antichrist is going to want to do to them in the end time. And at some point, that temple will be destroyed because Jesus' return to the earth is coming. And the Bible talks about how when Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives, he will split the Mount of Olives in two.

And that's described in the book of Zechariah in the Old Testament, in Chapter 14, verse four. Zechariah, chapter 14, verse 10 and Isaiah 2, 2 tell us that there will also be another new temple built during this millennial kingdom, or the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ. So from our day forward, and again, you know, Jesus might not come back. This tribulation period might not happen for 10,000 years.

I think he could return at any time, and we need to live our lives accordingly, be in prayer, be in preparation, live our lives with urgency and tell everybody we can about him because I believe he could return at any time. But from this day forward, we know that there will be at least two new temples built on the temple now. The first one that I'm referring to is the temple that I talked about where the Antichrist will go in three and a half years into the tribulation and desecrate the temple and put an image of himself there that he wants the whole world to worship. That temple will be destroyed, and in the future we're going to talk about the thousand year, or millennial reign of Jesus as king on this earth. There will be a new temple built at that time that will be the throne of Jesus Christ himself when he literally rules from that throne on this earth.

So we're looking at two more temples at least from the time of where we are right now. Zechariah chapter 6 verse 12 and 13 tells us that this new temple will be built by Jesus. The final temple which is described in Revelation chapter 21 verses 2 and 10 will occupy the new Jerusalem. So you've got the temple that will come, the Antichrist will desecrate the temple built by Jesus, the temple of the new Jerusalem. In Revelation chapter 21 verse 22, John the Revelator describes the millennial temple as the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.

During the tribulation, many terrible events will take place we've been talking about, and they're all really bad, but the events will get progressively and exponentially worse. And the greatest question that you will ever answer is, are you ready? Are you ready for the return of Jesus Christ? You might say, Chris, well how do I get ready? You get ready by asking Jesus Christ to become the Lord and Savior of your life, by asking him to come into your life to change you and to radically make you a new person where you serve and honor Jesus Christ for the rest of your life.

If you haven't done that today, I want to encourage you, you can email me at chrisuse at chrisuse.com. I'd love to share with you how you can become a Christian today, because I'm telling you, you do not want to be here when that time happens. We're going to take a quick commercial break and come back. We're going to talk about a little more detail of some of the individual players of the tribulation.

Stick around. We'll be right back with more on the Christian perspective. The United States of America has a strong Christian heritage, but most Americans don't know the truly important role that God in the Bible played in the founding of this great nation. This June, join nationally syndicated radio host and founder of the Citizens for America Foundation, Dr. Chris Hughes, for four amazing days in our nation's capital. With Chris, you'll embark on a journey of discovering the hidden secrets of Washington DC and rediscover much of America's forgotten Christian heritage. Your tour will include an up close and personal look at the nation's establishment and how it's evolved over the centuries. Learn about the government and the men who helped forge this new kind of republic, one that acknowledged the creator from its very inception.

Know the truth about the creation of the United States of America, about the faith of the founding fathers and how Christian principles were used to establish this form of government. Visit CitizensForAmericaFoundation.com today and secure your spot to join Chris Hughes in Washington DC this June. This show is brought to you by Generous Joe's, the coffee company with the Christian perspective. This is the answer that Christians and conservatives have been looking for, a coffee company that gives back to causes you care about.

Order your coffee today at ShopGenerousJoes.org and even subscribe to a subscription coffee plan and never forget the coffee you love or the causes you care about. The Conservative Baptist Network is a dynamic movement of Southern Baptist pastors, churches and Christians committed to standing for the sufficiency of God's Word in the face of a culture of compromise. The passion and prayer of the Conservative Baptist Network is that God would help Southern Baptists stay bold for the Gospel so that we might see revival in America and the world reached for Christ.

Visit our website today at ConservativeBaptistNetwork.com to learn how you and your church can join and support this exciting movement. Welcome back to The Christian Perspective. We've been talking about the last few days the rapture, the tribulation, the second coming of Jesus, and I hope you realize this is not a time where you want to be. The tribulation, you want to be a Christian that has been taken away from this earth before the world is destroyed and you don't want to be here.

And if you've missed some of this, go back to our podcast and pick up this information I've been sharing. So now I want to jump in to some of the tribulation players. The imminent return of Jesus, the timing of the rapture, the second coming, the glorious appearing, tribulation of 70 weeks.

These are all things we've been talking about. Let's get into a little more detail and talk about future temples. Just as in past times, there's going to be a temple, which I've already talked a little bit about, during the tribulation in Jerusalem. According to Scripture, there will be three more temples before the end of time. There will be a temple during the tribulation, a millennial temple, which is during the thousand year reign of Christ on earth, and then an eternal temple, which will be in the new Jerusalem that is to come. Isaiah chapter 66, verses 1 through 6, and Daniel chapter 9, verse 27 talk about the tribulation temple. Three and a half years into the tribulation, the Antichrist will break a covenant with Israel, and that's just going to be a time when you don't want to be here.

Daniel chapter 11, verse 45, Revelation 11, verse 2, Matthew 24, 15, and Mark 13, chapter 14 tell us that the Antichrist will break the treaty three and a half years into the tribulation, signaling the midpoint of the tribulation, the Antichrist will set up an image of himself and demand that the whole world worship him. This temple is going to be destroyed at some point, and some Bible scholars believe that it will be destroyed when Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives, because there's going to be a great earthquake. That's described, don't take my word for it, look up Zechariah chapter 14, verse 4. Zechariah 6, verses 12 to 13, Ezekiel 43, verses 10 to 11, and Haggai chapter 2, verse 7, reference a new temple that will be erected during the millennial kingdom by Jesus. Redeemed Jews and certain Gentile nations will all take place in building that new temple.

The details of both the dimensions and the furnishings of the millennial temple can be found in Ezekiel chapters 40 through 48. God gives great detail of all these things that are going to happen in the future. The millennial kingdom will be removed at the time of the creation of the new earth, and that's described in Isaiah chapter 65, verse 17, and Revelation chapter 21, verse 1. A lot going on here, but the Bible tells us in great detail all these things that are going to happen. The final temple will be built in New Jerusalem in our eternal dwelling place.

Revelation chapter 21, verses 2 and 10, and Revelation chapter 21, verse 3, Revelation chapter 22, verse 4, all indicate that the final temple will not be a physical building, but actually be God himself. So now you learned a little bit about the temple. Let's talk about the false prophet or the second beast. Kind of like how John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus.

Remember that story where John prepared the world for Jesus? The false prophet is a man who's going to prepare the way for the Antichrist. At some point there will be a worldwide spiritual deception which will be led by a man who the Bible refers to as the false prophet. In the midst of all the plagues that we've discussed, the false prophet is going to convince people that a world leader is needed and that the man who becomes the Antichrist is the man they need as their leader. We just imagine, I mean, why do you think the whole world would unite? Once a rapture takes place, as I've talked about, people are going to disappear. They're probably going to say the aliens took them, airplanes are going to crash, buses, cars, all because of the rapture. Terrible things are going to begin to happen and the world is going to need somebody who can unify them. Now someone is going to be the Antichrist. In Revelation chapter 13, you can find ten characteristics of the false prophet.

Let me tell you what those are. He rises out of the earth. He controls religious affairs. He'll be a religious leader. He'll be motivated by Satan. The Bible says he promotes the worship of the beast. It says he performs signs and miracles.

That'll be like from biblical days. He will deceive the whole world. He empowers the image of the beast. He kills all who refuse to worship the Antichrist and he controls all economic commerce and he controls something that we call the mark of the beast that we'll talk more about later. So just like God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost make up the Trinity, Satan who is referred to in Bible prophecy as the dragon, the false prophet who is referred to as the beast of the earth, and the Antichrist who is referred to as the beast of the sea, make up an unholy trinity. So Satan is trying to copy what God's done. The false prophet will look religious to the world, but he's going to talk like the devil. Just like the Holy Spirit leads people to Jesus, the false prophet will lead people to the Antichrist.

Revelation chapter 13 verse 11 and 12 tell us that the false prophet gets his power from Satan and spiritual deception as the goal of the false prophet as he will encourage people to follow the Antichrist. So now let's talk about the Antichrist or the beast. The term Antichrist is found in 1 John chapter 2 verses 18 through 22 and in 2 John chapter 1 verse 7. It refers to a coming world leader who will negotiate a seven year peace treaty of Israel. Three and a half years into that peace treaty, the Antichrist will break the treaty of Israel, he'll go to Jerusalem and he will set up an image of himself in the temple in Jerusalem.

He's going to be possessed by Satan and demand that the whole world worship him as a god. Revelation chapter 12 and 13 tell us that the power possessed by the Antichrist will come from Satan himself. The Antichrist has many names in the Bible.

Let me give them to you. Revelation chapter 13 verse 1 refers to him as the beast. 2 Thessalonians 2, 3 calls him the man of sin. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 8 he's called the wicked one. In Revelation chapter 24 verse 15 he's called an abomination. In Daniel chapter 7 verse 8 he's described as the little horn. In Daniel chapter 8 verse 23 he will be a fierce king. In Daniel chapter 9 verse 26 the Bible says that he is the prince that shall come. In Daniel chapter 11 verse 21 he is a vile person.

He's described as a vile person. In Daniel chapter 11 verse 36 the Bible says he will be a strong willed king. So the Antichrist as you can see is not just mentioned casually in the Bible, he's mentioned many times and I've given you the scriptural references where you can read about him and learn more about who this character is that the Bible describes as the Antichrist. The Bible tells us that the Antichrist will stand against everything that we call dear and holy. Luke chapter 21 verse 24 tells us that he will unite the Gentile powers and be part of the time of the Gentiles.

So Gentile by the way if you're not familiar with that term is anyone who is not Jewish. So he's going to unite the people who are not Jews. Well that's kind of what Hitler tried to do to unite people against the Jewish people and this guy is going to be a lot more successful than Hitler was. Hitler was bad but the Antichrist will be a genius. He will be powerful and he will be a master of deception. The Bible tells us that he's going to be empowered by Satan and you all know Satan is a father of all lives. He promises peace but he's really going to eventually drive the world into war. A lot going on here, a lot to take in and I hope that you're taking notes and that you'll get a copy of this show in the podcast format later today.

Share it with your friends and if you get it from the Truth Network there is a transcript where you can get all these Bible verses that are listed. So the Bible is 10 ways to identify the Antichrist. There have been a lot of bad people in history. A lot of people thought that some of these people were the Antichrist. I'm sure that a lot of people thought that Hitler was Antichrist. I remember when I was younger a lot of people thought that Mikhail Gorbachev was the Antichrist as he's over the Soviet Union because if you remember him, or if you're not old enough go back and get a picture, Mikhail Gorbachev was going bald and he had this birthmark on his hood and some people thought that was the mark of the beast but they were wrong about that. A lot of people have thought different people, I know a lot of people used to say it was President Obama or whoever, a lot of people throughout ages, not just recent times, throughout all of ages, people have thought that different characters that did terrible things in the world were the Antichrist. So how can we know who the Antichrist is, and remember you need to wake up when that peace treaty is signed with Israel, but the Bible is 10 ways to identify the Antichrist.

And there have been many bad people as I said, but only the Antichrist will fulfill all 10 of these things, they're all found in the Bible and I'm going to give you the Bible verses where they're found so you can look up for yourself and when someone fulfills these things you better pay attention because that person is the Antichrist. Let's start with the first one, in Daniel chapter 8 verses 19 through 23 the Bible says he will rise to power in the last days. So he's going to come to power and he's not just going to be, I mean he might start as maybe a legislator in some country, he may start as a prime minister or president of some country, but he will eventually rise to power and rule over the whole earth. He's not going to be a world leader though until after the rapture, remember I told you that I believe in a pre-tribulation rapture and that's described in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 3 through 8. The Antichrist will rule the entire world and the Bible tells us that in Revelation chapter 13 verse 7 and the Bible tells us that he will rule by international consent.

What does that mean? That means people are going to want him to rule. Remember I told you earlier that people in the world are going to be in disarray, terrible things are going to be going on and they want a leader, the whole world is going to be begging for a leader and it's going to happen by international consent. You can find that in Revelation chapter 17 verses 12 through 13. The Bible tells us in Daniel chapter 8 verses 24 through 25 that he will rule by deception. Daniel chapter 7 verse 20 says that he will be intelligent and persuasive. Well you know a lot of politicians have persuasive skills and even great politicians, I know the liberals listening won't agree with this but like Ronald Reagan in my opinion was a great president for our country and he was a very persuasive man. But that pales a comparison to the persuasive skills that will be held by the Antichrist. He's going to be a super super smart guy and he's going to be able to convince people that he's telling the truth even though he's lying and that they need to follow him. Revelation chapter 13 verses 16 and 17 tell us that he will control the global economy. Well that's already beginning to be set up right now.

I mean when you look at Bitcoin and other types of online currency it's easy to see. You know right now very few people use cash anymore but we will probably, I think we'll eventually have a cashless society with an international currency and it will be easy when all currency is controlled and there's only one main currency that we're using for that one person to be able to control all the global economy and the currencies and monies during that time. And probably we'll turn over control of the economies because the terrible things are going on. Remember we've wanted this world leader. Revelation chapter 13 verses 11 and 18 tell us that he will be assisted by a false prophet. I've already talked to you about the false prophet. Daniel chapter 9 verses 26 and 27 tell us that he will make and break a peace treaty with Israel. Remember I told you at some point Israel is going to be attacked and you're going to have to be at war because in order for the temple to be built on the temple mount the two mosques there have got to be destroyed.

Now I want to tell you when those mosques are destroyed there will be war with Muslim nations across the world and there's going to be a need for a peace treaty when that happens. So that peace treaty is going to be signed and the Bible tells us that three and a half years after that peace treaty is signed that the antichrist is going to get much worse than he already was. He's going to go to Jerusalem and he is going to set up his kingdom in Jerusalem and he's going to build an image of himself that will be worshipped there in Jerusalem. And then finally in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 4 this man will claim to be a god. You know it's really been a long time since a world leader has claimed to be god.

It's happened a lot throughout history but it's been a while but this guy is going to do it. The Bible tells us that the antichrist will rule the entire world and he will promise peace and ensure peace through a series of treaties, agreements and alliances and he's going to break all those treaties and he's going to lead the world into the worst war in history. We're talking about end time prophecy. We've been talking about the rapture and the return of Jesus. We've talked about the tribulation. We're now describing something that ain't going to be as a tribulation.

We're going to continue this in our last segment so stick around and be right back. A brand is a design, name, symbol or any other feature that sets an organization or individual apart. Bringing that brand to life can be difficult but Diggs Design is here to help you take that next step or re-energize your current situation. We can handle logos, social media graphics, cards, weddings, clothings, prints, photo editing and much more. Give us a call today at 704-984-2432 or connect with Diggs Design on social media.

Visit minamerica and minamericabaptisttheologicalseminary at mabts.edu and be equipped to light the way. This show is brought to you by Generous Joes, the coffee company with the Christian perspective. This is the answer that Christians and conservatives have been looking for. A coffee company that gives back to causes you care about. Order your coffee today at shopgenerousjoes.org and even subscribe to a subscription coffee plan and never forget the coffee you love or the causes you care about. The United States of America has a strong Christian heritage, but most Americans don't know the truly important role that God in the Bible played in the founding of this great nation. This June join nationally syndicated radio host and founder of the Citizens for America Foundation, Dr. Chris Hughes for four amazing days in our nation's capital. With Chris you'll embark on a journey of discovering the hidden secrets of Washington DC and rediscover much of America's forgotten Christian heritage. Your tour will include an up close and personal look at the nation's establishment and how it's evolved over the centuries. Learn about the government and the men who helped forge this new kind of republic, one that acknowledged the creator from its very inception. Know the truth about the creation of the United States of America, about the faith of the founding fathers and how Christian principles were used to establish this form of government. Visit citizensforamericafoundation.com today and secure your spot to join Chris Hughes in Washington DC this June. Welcome back to Christian Perspective.

I'm Chris Hughes. Boy, we've been digging into end time prophecy these last few days. We've talked about Jesus coming back again. We've talked about the rapture and the second coming. Are they two different things? Are they the same thing? Are they two phases of the same event?

Go back and get that podcast. We talked about how Jesus and the rapture will come into the sky. The second coming is when Jesus will actually step foot on the Mount of Olives.

There will be a great earthquake when he does and he will return to lead his millennial kingdom. We've talked about the tribulation. What is the tribulation? It's that seven year period of time where great pain and suffering will come on the earth as God's last attempt to draw people unto him. Now we've been talking about the false prophet, the antichrist.

Now let's talk about Gog and Magog. Ezekiel chapter 38 tells us that one day Israel will be invaded from out of the north. Now that's why a lot of people right now are real concerned with what's happening in the Ukraine because Russia, a lot of people believe that the country from the north that the Bible talks about could be Russia. So Russia is invaded through Ukraine.

If they continue to plow through Ukraine they could work their way down to eventually attack Israel. I don't know if that's going to happen and I don't know if that's going to happen now, but that's what a lot of Bible scholars believe. The only identification for these people up in the north is found in Ezekiel chapter 38 verses 2 and 3 and Ezekiel chapter 39 verse 1. As I said, many Bible scholars believe that these verses reference, when they say the north, they think they're referencing Russia. Don't know for sure, okay, so I want to be clear on that, but it is clear that someone in the north will attack Israel. Ezekiel 38 describes a man, Gog, who will lead his people in an attack on Israel. So Gog is a man who will lead a attack on Israel as described in Ezekiel chapter 38 verse 9.

Ezekiel chapter 38 verses 1 through 6 describes several geographic allies who would join Gog in his attack on Israel. There are Meskah, Tubal, Gomer, Togemara, which together are believed to make up modern Turkey. Magog is probably located in Central Asia and could be, now I'm giving you, these are speculation, okay, I don't know for sure exactly what these are, I'm just telling you what Bible scholars think they are. Magog is probably located in Central Asia and could be the former Soviet Union south Islamic republics.

Persia is modern day Iran, by the way, which is no friend of Israel. Ethiopia and Cush are probably the area we know as today as a Sudan and Libya. Again, remember the world's map is different today than when these books were written 2,000 years ago, and some in Ezekiel thousands more years before that.

So the places, the names of the cities and countries may not necessarily be the same today, so these are where some of the scholars think that those areas are. Ezekiel chapter 38 verses 8 through 12 talks about a period of peace in Israel, and I believe this proved to be the first three and a half years of the tribulation, that's just my theory. Halfway through the seven year tribulation, the Bible tells us that Gog and his allies, which again, don't know for sure, but based on what Bible scholars believe, are probably Russia and the Middle Eastern Islamic nations will attack Israel. That's described in Ezekiel 38 verse 9. Now we know if Israel's going to build a new temple in Israel, and by the way, I've told you, they've already got the furnishings and everything ready to go.

If they do that, you can bet you that Islamic nations are going to attack them, so that makes sense. Remember that the Antichrist brokered a peace treaty with Israel at the beginning of the tribulation, so if Gog and his armies attack Israel, they'll also be attacking the Antichrist, and he will defeat Gog's armies, and then he will break his peace treaty and invade Israel himself, where I told you he will declare himself a god. In Revelation, God's going to release the four horsemen of the apocalypse, which will bring further wars, a great earthquake, disease, giant hail, and brimstone, brimstone is fire falling from heaven. Ezekiel 39 and Revelation 19 tell us that birds and animals will eat the dead.

It will take more than seven months to bury all the dead in the aftermath of Gog's, not God, but Gog's attack on Israel, and many weapons will be burned and destroyed. The Bible also talks about someone referred to as the two witnesses. Revelation 11 described two people who were commonly referred to as the two witnesses. The Bible says that two men will come to prominence during the middle of the tribulation. The Bible says that these two men will wear sackcloth, and that they will have the power of the prophets, like from the time of the Old Testament, and that they will perform many great miracles.

For the past 2,000 years, many people have tried to guess who these two men might be. Some people think that they might be Moses or Elijah, because Moses gave the law and Elijah was the first writing prophet. Another reason that people speculate these two men are Moses or Elijah is because Moses and Elijah were the two men mentioned in Matthew 17. Remember that we call that the transfiguration, where two men met. The Bible tells us Moses and Elijah met with Jesus.

That's found in Matthew 17. The miracles of the two witnesses described in Revelation 11 are also very similar to the miracles performed by Moses and Elijah. Revelation 11 5 tells us that no one will be able to harm the two witnesses. The two witnesses will identify the antichrist at 1,260 days, or three and a half years into the tribulation, after being untouchable. In other words, they're doing all these things, they're defying the antichrist, and God will not allow them to be killed or died. Then the Bible says three and a half years into the tribulation, the Lord is going to allow the antichrist to kill these witnesses, and you can read about that in Revelation 11 and verse 7. The Bible says that their dead bodies will lie in the streets of Jerusalem for three days and the whole world will see them.

That's why this couldn't have ever happened before we had internet or international television, because the whole world will see them at one time. Revelation 11 verses 11 through 13 tells us that God will do great miracles with the two witnesses. While the whole world is watching, God will raise these two men from the dead and take them to heaven, which will make God's existence and power over the antichrist known to the whole world.

So here this bozo has been trying to kill these two men. God finally allows it to do it. He's celebrating and thinking, see, I told you all I was a great God, you should worship me as a God. And then God Almighty, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is going to raise these two men from the dead after three days, and they will ascend into heaven declaring the truth that the one true God is the great God and rules over all, even the antichrist. As bad as the tribulation is, it's a period of time where people will be drawn back to the one true God. Not only will two witnesses perform great miracles and lead people to Jesus, Revelation chapter 7 verses 4 through 6 talks about 144,000 Jews who were sealed by God, excuse me, for the specific purpose of serving as great evangelists during the tribulation.

Now what does it mean? It says they are sealed by God. It means they are going to be protected from the plague, they'll be protected by the devastation, and all that I've told you about that's going to take place on the earth. Some people believe that these people will be the only ones who will be saved during the tribulation. I don't know about that, because in reality, they are a select group of Jewish believers called to proclaim God's message during the end times.

There could be millions of people, I believe, saved during the tribulation as a result of the ministry of these 144,000 witnesses. There's also something called the mark of the beast. The Bible tells us from Revelation chapter 13 verses 15 through 18 that the antichrist will force people to accept his mark in order to buy goods and sell goods during the tribulation. There are also references to the mark of the beast in Revelation 14, 15, 16, 19, and 20. I remember when those barcodes first came out and people didn't want to buy anything with a barcode on it because they thought it might be the mark of the beast.

Or even more recently, some people didn't want to get the vaccines for COVID-19 because they thought that could be the mark of the beast. The technology that we have today could be the beginnings of what will be needed to have that mark, whatever it may be. It's going to serve as a seal for those who worship the antichrist.

And I want to tell you, do not, do not, do not, if you don't get raptured and you're hearing during that time, folks, do not get the mark of the beast or you will be doomed for all of eternity. The false prophet be the one who causes people to take the mark of the beast. The mark of the beast will literally be placed on the hand or forehead of people.

It's not going to be a card or cell phone or ID or chips or implanted chips. I don't think, I'm trying to take the Bible literally, you know, you determine what you think by reading it. Um, we, we do not know, and the Bible does not tell us exactly what the mark is or how it be applied. A medical implant of a chip at birth, I don't think will be a mark of the beast because you're going to have to make a choice to do it.

And a baby doesn't have that choice to make. It will be given to those who worship the antichrist and they must make a conscious decision to accept the mark of the beast. So the Bible also talks about the number of the beast. The Bible refers to the number of the beast is 666. It's found in revelation 13 verse 18, 666 refers to the number of the beast or the number of the antichrist.

Uh, it references a person, not a date. It's the number of antichrist and may not necessarily be the mark of the beast. Somehow the number 666 will be used to identify the antichrist, but the Bible is not clear.

And second Thessalonians two versus three through four. The Bible tells us that one day the antichrist will be revealed and when he's revealed, it will be clear how the number 666 identifies antichrist quickly. What is the battle of Armageddon? That refers to the mountain of the ghetto. The ghetto is a valley in the Middle East, which will be the site of the final battle in times. Revelation 16 or relation 20 all talked about. We learned about the battle of Armageddon. That'd be a battle where God will have enough and he would destroy the armies of the antichrist.

We don't know exactly where the battlefield is located, but a lot of Bible scholars believe this is the valley between Mount Carmel and the city of just real. Y'all, we've talked about a lot of things and we kind of run out of time again today, but I want to tell you, I'm sharing this information with you because the Bible says it. The Bible has always been clear with everything that's ever been predicted. It's happened and the Bible says these things will happen.

There's no reason to doubt if everything else that's had happened happened that this will happen too. I want to encourage you, if you've never done it, you need to ask Jesus to come into your heart today. You need to admit to him that you're a sinner. Ask him to forgive you of your sins and then change your ways and don't live a sinful life anymore. Tell him that you believe that he sent his son Jesus to live a perfect life, to die on the cross and rise again on the third day, and that he ascended into heaven and he's willing with the right hand of God the Father, and that you believe that he will return one day to the rapture of the church and move on, and then return to you and land on earth for either and no other. Ask that you would do that today because you don't want to be here and he's terrible to unpack. I'm praying for you. God bless you. Now let's get out and invite the culture for Jesus.