If you’ve been following the previous posts on “discerning the time” and “beginnings of birth pangs” you might be wondering; OK, I see that we’re getting close to Jesus’ second coming, and I understand that we are probably experiencing these BBp’s currently, so what else should we be looking for prior to the start of the tribulation ?
Well, Jesus did add this sign in Matthew’s gospel. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14) While it’s true that it can be said this has been fulfilled in our day, I don’t believe it will be fully completed until the “Two Witnesses” of Rev. Chapter 11 and the angel (messenger) of Rev. 14:6 have completed their missions. Their ministries are definitely during the 70th week and will insure that the whole world hears the gospel. In fact, I think I can state with confidence that all of the events and judgments of Revelation take place during the time of Jacob’s trouble – Daniel’s 70th week. So, we shouldn’t be looking for these yet.
The beginning of the 70th week is clearly marked by this event “Then, he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week…”.(Daniel 9:27) When this takes place, we will then know that in exactly seven years, Jesus will return and set up His kingdom. Sound bible exegesis indicates the “he” here is the antichrist. What this indicates, then, by this time, whoever this antichrist is, will have established himself as the dominant world leader in the middle east with world-wide influence. He will have been successful in regional wars and promoting peace with Israel and her enemies. He does not come from traditional royalty, but gains authority through intrigue and craftiness. By this time, he will probably be backed by a ten nation confederacy led by him. Remember, he is called the “Assyrian” (ancient Assyria) in Micah Chapter 5: 3-8 and is said to be from Yavan (modern day Turkey) in Daniel Chapter 8:9 & 21. All this gives us some things to watch for in the near future. The rise of the antichrist and the establishment of his ten nation supporting confederacy will not take place in the dark. We should have a good idea of who he is when he “confirms a covenant with many”. As I write this, the world seems to be facilitating the systems necessary for him to come to power, socially, politically, economically, and religiously. Think-“great reset”.
As far as this “covenant” that the antichrist confirms with many; it’s identification will be important for us to determine just what it is so that we can determine with confidence the identity of the antichrist. Bible scholars do not agree on what the confirmation of the covenant entails. I’ll give you my interpretation of this in my next post.