4.2 --- The Antichrist

Throughout the Bible there are many references to the antichrist.

One of them is in the New Testament, in 2 Thessalonians 2 verses 3 and 4: “Do not let anyone deceive you in any way. For the Day will not come until the final Rebellion takes place and the Wicked One appears who is destined to hell.   He will oppose every so-called god or object of worship and will put himself above them all. He will even go in and sit down in God's Temple and claim to be God”. "The day" refers to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being united with him. "The wicked one" is the antichrist. Here it is explained already what will be his mission: "To oppose every so-called god or object of worship and will put himself above them all”.

As already described in Chapter 3 of this blog, major world wars will break out soon after the Tribulation begins.  (The Tribulation encompasses a future seven year period when God will complete his final judgment upon the unbelieving citizens of the world).

The first war of the tribulation is described in Revelation 6.

Although the Antichrist will rise to world power through cunning, deception, and intrigue (Daniel 8:23), he will have to resort to military power to conquer the world. We are told in Revelation 13:7 that the Antichrist will ultimately achieve "authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation." This authority will be achieved through war. Revelation 6 records the outbreak of one these world wars. It results in the death of one-fourth of humanity, or 1.7 billion in today's terms (Revelation 6:8).

Some more references to the antichrist are: Daniel 7: 8, “While I was staring at the horns, I saw a little horn coming up among the others. It tore out three of the horns that were already there. This horn had human eyes and a mouth that was boasting proudly”.  Daniel 9:27, “That ruler will have a firm agreement with many people for one week (other translations say: seven years), and when half this time is past, he will put an end to sacrifices and offerings. The Awful Horror will be placed on the highest point of the Temple and will remain there until the one who put it there meets the end which God has prepared for him”. … Also in Revelations 13: 5 and 6, “The beast was allowed to make proud claims which were insulting to God and it was permitted to have authority for forty-two months. It began to curse God, his name, the place where he lives, and all those who live in heaven”.

..... There are many more references to the antichrist.

It is important to note that the last two references have been chosen because in there, are mentioned two events: a) "... he will have a firm agreement ....… when half this time is past and b) "for forty-two months." I advance here that in the book of Daniel it says that the ruler will have a firm agreement for one week. This one week of 7 days indicates seven years. Half of 7 years are 42 months, the same timespan as is indicated in Revelation 13, as the time allowed for the antichrist to have authority............ I will come back to this issue in the next chapter.

One more reference to the antichrist we read in Daniel 12: 6 and 7 –“One of them asked the angel who was standing further upstream, “How long will it be until these amazing events come to an end?”  The angel raised both hands toward the sky and made a solemn promise in the name of the Eternal God. I heard him say, “It will be three and a half years. When the persecution of God's people ends, all these things will have happened.”  Again we see here the 42 months or three and a half years. 

4.1 --- The False Prophet

We will first talk about the false prophet: He's the individual whose mission on earth is to induce humanity to worship the Antichrist.

Already in Jeremiah 23 verses 16 and 17 we are warned to not listen to those who call themselves prophets but are in reality false prophets. It says in this chapter of Jeremiah: “The Lord Almighty said to the people of Jerusalem, “Do not listen to what the prophets say; they are filling you with false hopes. They tell you what they have imagined and not what I have said. To the people who refuse to listen to what I have said, they keep saying that all will go well with them. And they tell everyone who is stubborn that disaster will never touch them”….

The false prophet of the end times is described in Revelation 13:11-12, where we read: “Then I saw another beast, which came up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb's horns, and it spoke like a dragon. It used the vast authority of the first beast in its presence. It forced the earth and all who live on it to worship the first beast, whose wound had healed”.

This "another beast" also called "second beast" is the false prophet who made ​​the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, who is the antichrist. More about the false prophet we read in Revelation 16:13, “Then I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs. They were coming out of the mouth of the dragon, the mouth of the beast, and the mouth of the false prophet”.

Other information about him we can read in Revelation 19: 20, “The beast was taken prisoner, together with the false prophet who had performed miracles in his presence. (It was by those miracles that he had deceived those who had the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped the image of the beast.) The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur”. ….. The antichrist and the false prophet will gather the kings of the earth and their armies to prepare for war against "He who sits on a white horse" (Jesus Christ, revelation 19:11)). This final battle results in the beast being seized, along with the false prophet, where they are thrown alive into "the lake of fire".

And finally in Revelation 20:10, “Then the Devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever”…..…

These last references in Revelations about the false prophet and also about the antichrist are given here to show what will be their final destination. 

4 --- EVENTS LEADING TO THE INVASIONS INTO ISRAEL.

                                                               

From the first year of the existence of Israel as a nation in 1948, talks are going on about reaching a lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors.

David Ben-Gurion during the declaration of independence of Israel.

At the time I write these words there has begun another round of negotiations in a new attempt to arrive at peace.

Many wonder if one day a lasting peace can be reached.......

It could be that, for the purpose of arrive at a lasting peace, there will be a peace pact prepared that will divide Israel. There is talk about that Israel should return to the borders it had before 1967. Mount Olives (the place where Jesus will return) would then return into Arab hands. However God will not permit that, because He will not allow the land of Israel to be divided again . Joel 3 verses 1 and 2 refer to this division of the land: “The Lord says, “At that time I will restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem. I will gather all the nations and bring them to the Valley of Judgment. There I will judge them for all they have done to my people. They have scattered the Israelites in foreign countries and divided Israel, my land”….

(See also Amos 9: 14, 15, as was mentioned before, where it says that Israel will never be pulled out of their land again once it has returned there).

Hereafter I will discuss the (false) peace attempts by the antichrist, as explained in the bible. We will discuss its negative results, culminating in the outbreak of the war against Israel, by the nations located to the north of Israel.

To understand the circumstances that will lead to this invasion of the northern nations into Israel, we have to talk first about two figures that will appear at the end of time: The false prophet and the antichrist.

3.3 --- The final attack of the nations against Jerusalem.

The final attack of the nations against Jerusalem will culminate with the final victory of God against the enemies of his people. Because of its importance, I repeat here what it says in Zechariah 14: 1-4, about this great battle: “The day when the Lord will sit in judgment is near. Then Jerusalem will be looted, and the loot will be divided up before your eyes. The Lord will bring all the nations together to make war on Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half of the people will go into exile, but the rest of them will not be taken away from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past. At that time he will stand on the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem. Then the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west by a large valley. Half of the mountain will move northward and half of it southward”.

Mount of Olives. 

 More about this we can read in Joel 3: 9-21, from where I will copy the following verses: “……. 9 Make this announcement among the nations: ‘Prepare for war; call your warriors; gather all your soldiers and march!.......14 Thousands and thousands are in the Valley of Judgment. It is there that the day of the Lord will soon come. 15 The sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine. God Will Bless His People. The Lord roars from Mount Zion; his voice thunders from Jerusalem…………“19 Egypt will become a desert, and Edom a ruined waste, because they attacked the land of Judah and killed its innocent people. 20-21 I will avenge those who were killed; I will not spare the guilty. But Judah and Jerusalem will be inhabited forever, and I, the Lord, will live on Mount Zion.”

 Mount Zion; Zion is an archaic term that originally referred to a specific mountain near Jerusalem (Mount Zion), on which stood a Jebusite fortress of the same name that was conquered by David. "Zion"

 …There are many more places in the bible which refer to this final moment. The texts here referred to are clear and do not require more explanation. 

3.2-The invasion of China into Israel

We read in Revelation 16 verse 12: “Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River. The river dried up, to provide a way for the kings who come from the orient”. The orient is east of the Eurasian continent, which is China. The Sixth Trumpet (The sixth angel) also sparked an invasion coming from the other side of the Euphrates; see Revelation 9.13-16 which reads: “Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet. I heard a voice coming from the four corners of the gold altar standing before God. The voice said to the sixth angel, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River!”  The four angels were released; for this very hour of this very day of this very month and year they had been kept ready to kill a third of the entire human race. I was told the number of the mounted troops: it was two hundred million”.

 What stands out here is the prediction that a third of all people will be killed. We also see the number of soldiers who will take part in the invasion: 200 million! We know that China is able to collect that number of soldiers.

This will be the bloodiest war in human history.

Also in Revelation 16 verse 12 we read: “Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River. The river dried up, to provide a way for the kings who come from the east.

That's why in Daniel 12 verse 1 it says that there will be no other time as distressing as this one..... We read there: “The angel wearing linen clothes said, “At that time the great angel Michael, who guards your people, will appear. Then there will be a time of troubles, the worst since nations first came into existence”.

(More about the invasion of China can be red in Matthew 24:21, Mark 13:19, Revelation 7:14, 12:7, Isaiah 66:15, Joel 2:2, 3, 31, Zephaniah 1:18, Malachi 4 : 1 ....)

(Continuation of 3.1 --The invasion into Israel of the nations from the north with its allies).

Also Psalm 83:5-8 refers to Arab countries that always seek to destroy Israel and therefore it can be assumed that they will also accompany the northern countries in their campaign against Israel. There we read:” All of them fully agree in their plans against you,

and among them are Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites; Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia and Phoenicia.

Even Assyria has joined forces with Moab and Ammon”.

We can say that no other biblical text mentions the simultaneous alliance of all nations mentioned in this Psalm. Therefore it can be assumed that the psalm does not refer to a particular historical fact, but describes a typical situation, as the people of God, throughout its history, have had to endure the attacks of their enemies

.... But, the northern countries and their allies are not going to win but will be punished as we read in verses 21 and 22 of Ezekiel 38:

“I will terrify Gog with all sorts of calamities. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken. His men will turn their swords against one another.

I will punish him with disease and bloodshed. Torrents of rain and hail, together with fire and sulfur, will pour down on him and his army and on the many nations that are on his side”.

In addition, in Ezekiel 39: 11-15 we read: “The Lord said, “When all this happens, I will give Gog a burial ground there in Israel, in Travelers' Valley, east of the Dead Sea.  Gog and all his army will be buried there, and the valley will be called ‘The Valley of Gog's Army.’ It will take the Israelites seven months to bury all the corpses and make the land clean again. Everyone in the land will help bury them, and they will be honored for this on the day of my victory. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken. After the seven months are over, men will be chosen to travel through the land in order to find and bury those bodies  remaining on the ground, so that they can make the land clean. As they go up and down the country, every time they find a human bone, they will put a marker beside it so that the gravediggers can come and bury it in the Valley of Gog's Army”.

We see here a very accurate description where God Himself explains the intensity of the efforts of the Israelites to clean the country. There is even some irony when it says:" I will give Gog a burial ground there in Israel, in Travelers' Valley ....” It is impressive to see that the Israelites need seven months to bury their enemies and leave the country clean.

Question: ¿Could this be the time, the bible refers to in Genesis 15 verses 18 – 21, when it says: “Then and there the Lord made a covenant with Abram. He said, “I promise to give your descendants all this land from the border of Egypt to the Euphrates River,  including the lands of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”?  This was God’s covenant with Abraham, about 4000 years ago and this covenant is still alive.  

3- THE WARS OF THE NATIONS AGAINST ISRAEL AFTER 1967.

The warfare of the many nations that will organize themselves to fight against Israel does not consist of only one battle, but a campaign of three successive battles:

3.1 ---The invasion into Israel of the nations from the north with

          its allies.

We will take as reference that what is written in Ezekiel 38: 1-6: “The Lord spoke to me.   “Mortal man,” he said, “denounce Gog, chief ruler of the nations of Meshech and Tubal in the land of Magog. Denounce him and tell him that I, the Sovereign Lord, am his enemy. I will turn him around, put hooks in his jaws, and drag him

and all his troops away. His army, with its horses and uniformed riders, is enormous, and every soldier carries a shield and is armed with a sword. Troops from Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with him, and all have shields and helmets. All the fighting men of the lands of Gomer and Beth Togarmah in the north are with him, and so are men from many other nations”.

An explanation of the names used in the text from Ezekiel 38 is as follows:

Gog: Is the leader or head of the alliance of nations from the north.  Ezekiel identifies Gog as being of Magog.  Gog is the political leader who organizes the alliance.

Land of Magog: The Jewish historian Josephus identified the land of Magog as Scythia, the progenitors of Russia which is north of Israel.  Also, in Genesis chapter 10, Magog is identified as one of the sons of Japheth. Therefore, by the time of Ezekiel his offspring would be a major nation. 

Meshech...Tubal:  These nations, like Magog, are the descendents of Japheth; In Ezekiel’s days, these nations were listed as traders for the goods of Tyre, north of Israel.

Gomer and Togarmah are located in Asia Minor or modern day Turkey. All these countries are located directly north of Israel.

Note: ……I need to mention here that there is some disagreement about the exact location of the various countries, however it is clear that they are all directly located north of Israel as mentioned in Ezekiel 38…………

The northern nations mentioned above will be accompanied by a federation of Arab states including Iran, Ethiopia and Libya, and Gómerd, and Beth-togarmah.