Antichrist, America and the End of Days - II

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by harvest partners, helping people everywhere know God, you want to hear from you. Would you consider emailing me you can reach me at greg@harvest.org again that's Greg harvest.org and you can also make me one of your friends on Facebook and drop me a comment crisis coming to dominate the glow he will be a scene telling Superman you will be a time when evil is unleashed with supernatural fury of the whole story coming up today after Greg Laurie points out, the flipside that I crisis good news. Jesus Christ is coming before the therefore we should not be looking around, like right to be looking Jesus Christ and is a man shrouded in mystery. How could he be adored by somatic and then soon bring death and destruction upon the planet to bring a divided world together and then tear it apart. How can that be today on a new beginning after Greg Laurie gives us a detailed view.

This man, this edition clear that it clears up the mystery and solidifies our home soon return of Christ day worker and Art Daniels very were calling end of days turned into passages Daniel chapter 7 versus polonium chapter 4 in the title of my message is antichrist America and the end of days.

Let's talk about the Antichrist himself, he will be sent by state of the devil around the sun. This will be him. The Antichrist will be energized by Lucifer himself, but is not going to be what you might expect, you know, dressed head to toe in black with glowing red eyes and steam coming off of them with the Darth Vader song playing in the background when he enters a room not telling you this guy will be charismatic still be magnetic will be a powerful orator will be a convincing speaker you will do it. No man is ever been able to do before he will establish a treaty between the Jewish and Arab nations that they will abide by and he will pave the way for the long-awaited third temple in Jerusalem. He will be a satanic Superman but it's all a mask hiding who he really is the most evil man who ever lived. Daniel seven verse eight I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots.

And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking pompous words. There so if you're taking notes there is point number one antichrist is coming to defy. Take the place of Jesus antichrist is coming to defy and take the place of Jesus all more is mentioned herein.

Daniel 78 as a symbol of power in Scripture. But this horn has both eyes and a mouth reminding us that this is a person that is being addressed and I would also add this the prefix & does not only mean against it also means instead of so it's not just that this coming world leader. This piece, this charismatic politician extraordinaire is going to oppose Christ.

He will, but he also comes in the place of Christ and for some, they'll believe he is the Christ, or is there Messiah at least. But here's some else to know about antichrist point number two is coming to declare war on believers is coming to declare war on believers. Daniel 725 says, then the saints will be given into his hand for time and times and half J so will read this phrase in Daniel and elsewhere. It basically comes down to this, the Antichrist will inaugurate what is often called the great tribulation. That will last for seven years. In the beginning of the tribulation, the Antichrist will come up like a good guy will come with this peace treaty don't come with his brilliant words will come with economic solutions and many will hail him and love him and especially when he rebuilds the third temple for the Jewish people, but at the three and I Earmarked the abomination of desolation takes place will talk about this more later to this is one temple is rebuilt and it desecrated by the antichrist, marking the second section of the tribulation.

Were this coming world leader shows his true colors and they're not pretty, he begins to persecute Jewish people and he persecutes Christians and he begins to rule by force and so that is what this is referring to number three and I crisis coming to dominate the glow is coming to dominate the globe.

Revelation 13 seven says authority was given to him over every tribe and tongue and nation now again when I emphasized how does he do it through war. No initially through piece.

The Bible says the PC will deceive many. And so he'll establish please read then you'll be the ultimate man of war.

Following that, here's another interesting thing about him.

Number four antichrist will establish global control through a cashless society antichrist will establish global control through a cashless society requiring people to take a mark and no one will be able to buy or sell without the mark under the reign of Antichrist. Now I ask you, is this possible in technology today. Of course it is will know what is so you know some of your thinking. While this is like the most depressing message ever heard LME Tribbett change my direction and I crisis coming. That's the bad news, good news. Jesus Christ is coming before the therefore we should not be looking for antichrist to be looking for Jesus Christ. Don't waste your time trying to figure out who the anti-Christ is the one understand what you mean Jesus Christ I mean is coming is coming back for his people.

I don't even believe the antichrist can be revealed until Christ comes for his people. What we call the rapture of the church to find in the moment but over in second Thessalonians to seven it says the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. I know he who restrains will continue to do so until he is taken out of the way so the Bible say and then the wicked one will be revealed whom the Lord will destroy with the brightness of his coming. So let me simplify that Bible say before antichrist can be revealed.

The restraining force, the thing that's holding the back has to be removed. So what is the restraining force in the world today that keeps people from spreading wholesale Christians Christians to stand up for what is true Christians to speak out against what is wrong Christians to make such a difference in every situation imaginable. We were all suddenly just removed from the planet. You could see how all hell could literally break loose so the restraining force is the work of the Holy Spirit through the church once the church is removed or caught up to heaven. I don't mean buildings I mean people want to recut up to heaven.

Antichrist can begin his reign he say no, you mention the word rapture.

You know, I don't know that I've ever seen. The word rapture in the Bible.

Well, okay, and I know some people are critical of the rupture of the ruptures not in the Bible. Show me the word rapture. Okay, I'll show you the word rapture when you show me the word Trinity in the Bible, this also you the word rapture when you show me the word Bible in the Bible the word Bible is not in the Bible that you know that, but we use that phrase so you so what is the deal with the rapture, the teaching of the rapture is clearly in the Bible many times in fact, the Jews 13 times in the New Testament the word rapture is just a translation of a Latin word rapture us. So if you of a Latin translation you of the word rapturous okay but the Greek word is harp also harp also. So don't get hung up on the word rapture. I'm just saying that there is an event coming call of the rapture. Call it the harp also call it the great escape whatever you like, but it is the teaching that people are going to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air were her closet can be translated to take forcibly to snatch or to catch up. The rapture is when Christ ascends from heaven and were caught up to meet no. Could we be the generation that sees the rapture. Yes. Are we the generation that will see the rapture, and no one else. By the way, no one knows the day of the hour and every now and then someone comes alive figured it out. I cracked the code after eating a lot of chinos and drinking Diet Coke figures that date already know they're wrong because when Jesus says no one knows the day of the hour of the return of the Son of Man.

If you were to go back to the original language it would translate no one knows the day of the hour. What it means is, no one knows the day of the hour, so we should avoid setting Greg Moore of the second half of this message just a moment. So many listeners have commented on the strength he received from these daily messages God's word ministers to them and it often gets them through some of their darkest hours staring, I listened recently. I listen to your sermon about how you handled your son's tragic death expanding something similar.

My family restraining to me for Wednesday night Bible study at our church when they were stand head on by an elderly typing. I 16-year-old daughter and a four-year-old granddaughter 17-year-old daughter is currently at a rehabilitation center trying to recover a traumatic brain. My stepdaughter who is driving escape within a few broken bones and a concussion is her four-year-old daughter that we lost.

I'm grateful that God has led me to listen to your sermon help prepare me for the spiritual and emotional struggles in my heart so that I could stand strong in my faith we continue to pray for my daughters complete. Please continue to be revealing your sermons about death as they provide a wonderful foundation when things don't go their way and we expect them to God's word is such a comfort to so many difficult times, and if you like to share your story from Pastor Greg an email send it to great@harvest.org again that's greg@harvest.org will were considering the biblical facts surrounding the antichrist today and how the rapture may hasten our exit before the man of lawlessness even arises your semester grade to continue today.

Study one of the most requested messages of the year so were caught up to meet the Lord in the air and it is that that moment that we receive our new resurrection bodies, and it's also at that moment that were reunited with loved ones who preceded us, bringing me to point number two. Why is our rapture listen to this now. Why is there rapture well back in Thessalonica. There were a lot of Christians and many of them and died some from natural causes.

Some been martyred for their faith. So there was a concern among the Thessalonian Christian that they would never see their loved ones who had preceded them to Kevin and they wondered if they would miss the rapture and so Paul writes these words first Thessalonians 413 we don't want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who have died so that you will not grieve as those who have no hope to bring this up because sometimes it will say there's no point in studying Bible prophecy. No one can understand that there's a lot of use. Don't study it know we need to study Bible prophecy because if we understand it, it will impact us in the way that we live in. I find great hope from this teaching of the rapture so I don't have to grieve hopelessly listen Christians grieve, but we grieve. Hopefully not hopelessly. I just met a family after first service and there's a young lady and their family. Mckenna, who went to be with the Lord. Recently, rather unexpectedly, as she was 20 years old. Mckenna died of a blood clot and she attended our church and she wanted her whole family to come and visit our church and they're all here today affect one or two guys all stand up are all here.

The family center. There are so there are in honor of Mckenna and you know I was talking to them after the first service in and I said this is you know I understand what you're going through, not completely. It's all different, but in our son want to be with the Lord.

10 years ago. As most of you know and you don't Christians grieve and sometimes while many believers say things like this to people who just lost loved one don't cry there in heaven, and the correct biblical answer to that would be shut up because Christians can bring an Christians should grieve they should mourn because the Bible says there is a time for morning and a time for laughing. I mean, Stephen was the first martyr of the early church. He was put to death for his faith and we read godly men warmed over halfway. Why are you mourning over me one thing evidence our vision of Jesus. Yeah, but they missed him, they knew they would see him again, but they missed them. It's okay to mourn. You need to more but we know more hopelessly we mourn. Hopefully, because we know will see our loved ones again have will either see them through death. When we die, will them in glory or will see them in the rapture. So imagine this. Those of you who have lost loved ones you be just going about your business.

One day, and I suddenly in a moment so quick you can't measure.

The Bible says the rapture will happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye pretty fast assessment, twinkling of an eye. It's faster than the blink of an eye blink arrives. 123 link faster than that.

That's fast, trying to imagine it. I don't think you can wrap your mind around it is walk along when you're even thinking about your loved one how much you miss them how much you wish you could be with them.

All of a sudden boom here with them. It's arrived from here. There reunited with them.

The dead in Christ rise first. Which means when you die as a Christian you go to heaven and we which are alive and remaining shall be caught up together with them, who knows what preceded us will be caught up together with them in the clouds and so shall we ever be with the Lord and then Paul says therefore comfort one another with these words to. That's the practical side of this. There is no theology without doxology that simply means it's great to study doctrine and it's great to study Scripture. But what does it mean to me in real life and that's what it means to you. It means you'll see them again and that is a great hope that we have as followers of Jesus Christ caught up in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye to meet them and to meet the Lord so the rapture is going to come and sometimes people get confused about the rapture and the second coming. By the way there two events that are separated by seven years may want to talk about date setting on Sunday when the second coming of Christ is you want to know very simple set the end of the tribulation. It's during the battle of Armageddon ones that I don't know but I just know once the church is rapture and Antichrist is revealed.

You can do the math and go forward seven years and that's in Christ is going to come back at the second coming. But here's the difference in the rapture comes for his church and the second coming becomes with his church and the rapture.

He comes as a thief in the night and then the second coming.

Every eye will see him, Jesus said, as the lightning shines in the east of the West, so will the coming of the Son of Man be so let's conclude we talk about Antichrist. Now let me ask you a question that may surprise you. Are you anti-Christ will you say I could be the Antichrist.

I didn't ask you that there's a difference between the antichrist of the beast and being anti-Christ.

That term is used of those who turned against Jesus and away from the church.

First John 218 says, dear children, the last hour is here and you have heard that the antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrist have a peer. From this we know that the end of the world is come. These people love our churches because they never really belonged with us. Otherwise they would've stayed with us, they left us to prove they did not belong with us. Remember and try Christ anti-doesn't just mean against it means instead another to be someone here listening to me here. Wherever there watching her hearing this later and though so I'm against Jesus Christ. I'm against Christians and I'm against the Bible. Okay man you are antichrist you are within there can be someone that would say something against Christians, it's just that I have other things in the place of God in my life.

It's not that I don't care about God but I care more about my career try care more about my vice try care more about my money right care more about this relationship, you realize I can be a form of anti-because it's instead of Christ and these people are in our church and they left our church and then never came back proving they were never part of. So what about people to come to church and museum for weeks, months, maybe years, and they seem to be a passionate Christian that one day they just walk away believing that the mark not into it and they never come back to the Lord again did they lose their salvation. I would suggest you. Maybe they never have salvation here so you know if your real Christian. It's where you end up Christians of lapses of faith. Christians have doubts.

Christians fall short, and Christians backslide, but if the real believers will always come home again will always return to the Lord again, but if they never return to the Lord.

Again, I suggest they were never Christians to begin with, and in effect in the strict biblical definition there anti-Christ.

You do not want to be that person. So let me ask enclosing are you antichrist or youth for Christ. Those are your only options and before he was death and life in heaven and hell. You decide what shall be rapture. It's common could come in your lifetime could come this year could come this month could come today nothing standing in the way of it.

So I ask you now are you rapture ready is how do you know if your reps are ready.

Well, here's what you need to do. You need to admit your center you need to turn from your sin need to ask Christ to come in your life forgive you of your sin. Also, your basically sin you need to be a Christian and go see if you're Christian you got all your bases covered. If you're a Christian it's win win win win right so if I die I go to heaven of the rapture comes up taken to be with the Lord. I have purpose in this life and hope for the life to come. That's our hope.

So that's how you know you're rapture ready by having Jesus live inside of you. Listen to this, when Jesus comes back for his people not everybody is going to be caught up to meet him in heaven. Only believers will still be people who are left you want to be that person. So if you're not sure if you're ready for the return of the Lord. If you're not confident that you would go to heaven if you were to die today. Why don't you respond to this invitation and asked Jesus Christ to come into your life forgive you of all of your sin, you don't have to be afraid of any of the things we've been talking about you not to be afraid of antichrist or the tribulation. Her hello or any of that because you have hope in Christ, and you of the promise of spending eternity with him.

If you're not sure of this, let's get this resolved.

Right here right now.

Let's all pray together. Father, thank you for your word to us. Thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross in our place on the rise again from the dead.

Now I pray for any that have joined us who do not yet know you, Lord, help them to see their need for you to help them come to you and believe in you. Now your name we pray. Pastor Greg Laurie suggested that rapture ready to come back in just a moment to lead you in doing so stay tuned is just too important to turn away. Well if you missed any part of today's addition of a new beginning you can get a replay by going to harvest.org or for permanent copy on CD. Call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. The message title is antichrist America and the end of days and we hope you've ordered your copy of Casterbridge brand-new Johnny Cash, the redemption of an American icon fascinating biography.

I think he's just iconic teaches at his own style and his own sound generally like to sing about trains like to sing about death and redemption so often from the beginning, middle, into the end of his career that was extra strong faith in Christ that he put across to his music, including singing it many many milligram producing what some remember Johnny as much for his misdeeds as music. He was just like us is flawed.

He blew it. He fell and he got up again. He never lost his faith. Pastor Greg takes you on a journey through the complicated, puzzling, inspiring life of Johnny Cash. You see, no matter how far we fall in life. God's hand is there. The main focus of my book is I want to look at the puffy roots of Johnny's struggle and is strong faith, especially in the end of his life, Johnny Cash, the redemption of an American icon, the from Greg Loring and Marshall Terrell is available now and will be glad to send you a copy to thank you for your investment.

These daily studies can.

The only way we can be listened.

Call 1-800-821-3300 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org Greg, you mentioned our need to come to Christ for forgiveness of sin in today's study. Maybe there's somebody listening would like to do that like to take that step.

Maybe you could help them with that right now, I'd be delighted to listen if you would like to accept Jesus Christ into your life right now.

By that I mean if you would like your sin forgiven and have the assurance that you will go to heaven when you die. Would you pray this prayer with me, Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner but I think you for dying on the cross for my sin and rising again from the dead.

I'm sorry for my sin, Lord, and I turn from it now and I put my faith in you to be my Savior, my Lord, my God, my friend.

Thank you for loving me and calling me and accepting me in Jesus name I pray, amen. Listen if you just pray that prayer in minutes.

I want you to know on the authority of God's word that Jesus Christ has just come to take residence in your heart. The Bible says these things we write to the believe in the name of the son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. Listen we want to send you some resources that will help you grow spiritually. So here's Davison details and let me say God bless you and welcome to the family of God, and those resources Pastor Greg mentioned are all included in something we call our new believers growth packet. It'll help you get started in living your life for the Lord can be sent until you just ask for the new believers growth packet. Our mailing address is a new beginning.

Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call us at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org and click know God well on our next program we take you back in time 1977, Jimmy Carter had just taken office. A new movie called Star Wars box office gold and gasoline is just $0.62 a gallon and who's that preaching why is 24-year-old Greg Laurie will step into the Time Machine and have a list next time beginning possible by harvest partners, helping people everywhere know God sign up for pastor grades free daily email, devotions@harvest.org