Well, this is going to be kind of a different sermon.
It's probably not going to be very long, but I kind of have a theory about what the Antichrist
will be.
I'm not saying who it's going to be or anything like that, but the title of my sermon actually
tonight is Peace and Safety, and I just kind of have a theory about where the Antichrist
is going to come from and what he's going to be, not who he's going to be.
So I'm not trying to pin the tail on the Antichrist tonight or anything like that, but I was going
to preach a sermon about the Day of the Lord, but it hasn't been that long where I preach
a sermon called The Day of the Lord vs. The Day of Christ, and so this chapter does focus
on that, but if you want to hear that sermon, I kind of go through and diligently kind of
compare Scripture with Scripture.
And I personally believe that the Day of the Lord and the Day of the Christ are the same
day, but they're different events for different people.
For the people that are saved, it's going to be a great day for us because we're going
through great tribulation.
Jesus is going to come back in the clouds, He's going to raise those that are dead in
Christ, and then those that are alive and remain will be caught up to meet the Lord
in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
But the people that are left behind, all the tribes of the earth will mourn when they see
Christ.
They're going to be upset, they're going to be hiding in the clefts of the rocks and in
the caves and the dens of the earth, all these rich men and mighty men, and they're going
to all be afraid because we'll see the Lamb of God that's welcoming us into the kingdom,
and they're going to see the horns of the Lamb.
That's the lion of the tribe of Judah when he comes back.
And so the Day of the Lord is darkness, there's a lot of verses that just teach about the
Day of the Lord.
There's been multiple days of the Lord, as you will, like shadow fulfillments in the
minor prophets and in the major prophets in the Bible, and you can see those.
And maybe, I mean, I have the sermon written, it's seven pages long, I didn't want to do
that to you tonight.
And again, I just preached a sermon about it.
I think it was from Malachi, my series of Malachi, where I preached that sermon.
So I didn't want to get into that, but I wanted to get into something else.
And I've thought this for a long time, and I just want to tell you why I think, where
the Antichrist is going to come from, and what he's going to be.
And so I titled the sermon Peace and Safety from verse number three.
It says in verse number three here in our chapter, it says, For when they shall say
peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman
with child, and they shall not escape.
And so this term, peace and safety, is actually, if you were a Roman citizen 2,000 years ago,
you would have understood exactly what this is talking about.
When the Romans came along, and they conquered all the world, I mean, they basically, they
were the one that came, the nation that came forth after the Greek Empire, they kind of
just took over, and they went and conquered all these places, and they basically kind
of had a world government, so to speak.
The known world was under the boot of Rome, England was controlled by Rome, even up until
you got to Scotland, because Scotland just couldn't be conquered.
But anyway, 35%, anyway, but this same peace and safety is something that would be familiar
to people back in the times of Rome, which is the time where this is being written, and
one of their slogans was Pax Romana, which means Roman peace, and they promised that
if you would let them rule you, they would provide peace and safety.
So they'd probably come in with emissaries and say, hey, we can either destroy you, or
you can let us take over, we'll let you keep the people in place that you want to keep
in place, but we are gonna tax you, we're gonna rule over you, which is what they did
to Judea.
I mean, they took it over, and they ruled, and they would provide peace and safety for
you.
So their motto was peace and safety when it came to conquering people, and I don't think
that that's a coincidence that that's there in the Bible.
I think that that's a clue for us to help us to understand what's kind of going on in
the end times, because of course, at this church, we believe that the end times Babylon,
if everything started now, which it just seems like every couple years something crazy
happens, and we're like, well, it seems like it could be pretty close.
We just don't really know at this point.
But there's a lot of crazy stuff going on in the Middle East.
That's not why I preach this.
I had this sermon written before that even happened.
But the Romans would come in, they'd offer peace and safety, and there's gonna come a
time when they're gonna say this in our world too.
And the United States does control a lot of countries, more than you would think.
And we have military bases in 153 countries, maybe even more than that.
If we're not giving them money, they're not surviving, basically.
And so we owe money a huge debt that we can't pay right now, because we give all of our
money to other nations.
So it's a really strange deal.
But a lot of places hate America, but they also exist or are able to live and thrive
because of the United States.
And if you don't do what the United States says, then they will sanction you.
And they will take away the money that they gave you, it's just like that African nation
that was saying, you know, we're gonna put the death penalty on homosexuality in the
United States.
What did they say?
They freaked out.
We're gonna sanction them.
We're gonna make sure.
And the Bible talks about how the Antichrist will rule through policy.
And I believe that that's probably part of it.
It's not just gonna be wars.
I'm sure there'll be wars and fighting.
I know there will be.
But there's also gonna be a policy, you know, where, you know, we're gonna just take your
money away from you, and then you're not gonna be able to exist.
But of course, you know, when it gets down to the final, you know, three and a half years,
the Antichrist will make himself ruler.
He's gonna call himself God, and we'll go to those scriptures later, but he's gonna
get up in the temple, he's gonna call, he's gonna say that he's God, he's gonna put himself
above all gods, and, you know, he's gonna worship the God of forces.
He's gonna promote the God of forces, whatever that means.
But I don't know if he watches Star Wars a lot or what, but anyway, so, you know, you
just had to give Rome your allegiance, and they would provide that peace and safety.
And I believe that the United States is that revived Roman Empire.
I think that you can see where it's passed down, the spirit of Babylon has passed down
from different places.
Now, the Roman Catholic Church used to rule the world in the Dark Ages as, like, a religion
and a governmental power at the same time.
They crowned kings, and it wasn't until, I think, Napoleon took the crown out of the
Pope's hand and put it on his own head, and, like, the kind of, the power of the Roman
Catholic Church started to die down after that.
A lot of people still think that they rule, but they definitely, you know, if you would
have been in the 1500s, 1600s, or even the 1200s, 1300s, you would have probably thought
that they, the Pope was the Antichrist, and that Rome was the end times Babylon whore.
And he would have probably been right.
But you know, in Zechariah, it talks about how these winged creatures take this ephah,
where wickedness resides in, and takes that from Assyria to Babylon.
And I've showed those scriptures to you before.
It's in the book of Zechariah.
I'm not sure exactly what chapter, just right off the top of my head, I feel like it's like
chapter five or six.
But anyway, there's a transfer of power that takes place where, you know, and then that
four, that kingdom where, you know, Babylon was the head of gold, the Medes and the Persians,
and then you had the Greek Empire, then you had the Roman Empire.
And out of the Roman Empire, that Roman Empire was the two legs, and it branched off into
the feet, which are the ten-toed kingdom of the end times.
And I believe that there is, so most people believe that we're kind of, there's this like
time gap between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel.
I believe that's true, and I believe that, you know, we're waiting for that week to kick
off, but, you know, there's still been a transfer of power that's taken place in the United
States.
If everything happened right now, nobody fits the bill like the United States.
And as much as people want to wave their flags and eat their apple pie and watch some
baseball games, you have to understand, yes, not everybody in America is wicked, but there's
a lot of wickedness being promoted in this nation.
There's just no if, ands, or buts about it.
So the reason why I kind of started off with the whole Pax Romana and peace and safety
is because that verse says, for they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction
cometh upon them.
So they're going to be saying peace and safety, but in reality, the wrath of God is going
to come and destroy this planet for the most part, and it's going to kill a lot of people,
and that's when the Antichrist is going to be reigning.
But there will be a one-world government, a one-world religion, and a one-world ruler.
That one-world ruler is going to be called the Antichrist.
Go ahead and turn to Daniel chapter 9, verse 26, and I mean, these are my theories, okay?
Just based upon scripture, I'm not just grabbing it out of a hat and just saying, well, I just
think this.
People go, a seven-year treaty will happen in Israel.
Does it say Israel?
It doesn't.
But do I think it is?
I think it says a treaty with many.
So many means more than just Israel.
It's probably going to be everybody.
But I'm sure it will include Israel.
But it doesn't say that.
See, we can't go off what the Bible doesn't say.
We have to go off what the Bible does say.
So there's these people that just, right now, they're just raging about how Israel is still
God's chosen people, and we've got to bless them that bless thee.
That was talking to Abraham.
The is singular, by the way, and that's what it says in the King James Bible.
So anyway, look at Daniel 9 26, it says, and after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah
be cut off, but not for himself and the people of the prince that shall come.
I want you to focus in on that really quickly.
The people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and the
end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
And so I believe that this is talking about the Roman Empire, and why do I think that?
Because in 70 AD, the Roman Empire destroyed the temple, and they destroyed the city.
And just like Jesus said, there was not one stone left upon another, just like he said
was going to happen.
So the Jews have not had a temple since 70 AD, and they want to build one really bad
again.
But that's not happened up to this point.
But in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, it talks about how the man of sin must be revealed
first before Christ will come back.
And he's going to go into a temple.
So obviously, the temple's going to get rebuilt at some point.
But it says the people of the prince.
So who are the people of the prince?
The people of the prince would be the Roman Empire, okay, if you're kind of tracking what
I'm saying here.
And who's the prince?
Anybody know?
That'd be the Antichrist, right?
So the Antichrist is the prince, his people are who?
The Roman Empire.
I mean that's how I view that verse, and you can be like, well, I don't know if that really
says it or not, but that's how I read that verse.
I'd be happy to discuss that with you after service if you disagree with me, but there's
no doubt that the Romans destroyed the city.
There's no doubt that the Romans destroyed the sanctuary, and there's no doubt this prince
that it's talking about is not talking about Christ, because Christ is not a Roman, okay?
So this prince, this prince, this little horn, as he's called in the book of Daniel, will
rise from this people.
And that's what I believe it's saying there.
And was it Christians that destroyed the city?
No, it wasn't Christians that destroyed the city.
It was the Romans, okay?
Look at verse 27, and he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.
Who's the he?
Well, if you go back to verse 26, the prince is the he, right?
He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.
One week is seven years.
If you go back to Genesis, Jacob, Serph, Rachel, for Rachel, for one week, right?
That was seven years, and he had to fulfill the week again, because he actually got tricked
and got Leah, and then he had to serve another seven years for Rachel.
That's how you get that interpretation, that it's the week.
He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week he
shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations
he shall make it desolate.
So notice that it says he there three times, right?
He shall confirm the covenant.
He shall cause the sacrifice and oblations to cease.
He shall make it desolate.
Even unto the consummation and the determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Now, Daniel is a very cryptic book.
There's a lot of hard sayings in Daniel, but the Bible and Jesus Christ help us to understand
who this is talking about.
It mentions the abomination of desolation in other parts of Daniel, but this is what
this is.
This is the abomination of desolation it's talking about.
Now, turn over to Matthew chapter 24, Matthew chapter 24, and look at what it says in verse
number 15.
Matthew chapter 24, verse 15, it's to the right of your Bible if you were in the book
of Daniel.
We're going to go back to Daniel, but we'll go back to chapter 11, but we'll do that in
a few minutes here.
But Matthew chapter 24, verse 15, the Bible says, When ye therefore shall see the abomination
of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place.
What is the holy place?
Anybody know?
I'm trying to get you all involved here.
Yeah, it's not just the temple though.
Think about what that place is.
There was a set of curtains that you couldn't go past.
The holiest place was the holiest of holies.
The priest was only able to go into that place one time a year.
He had blood on his right ear, on his thumb, on his right toe, and so on and so forth.
So he's standing in the holy place here.
It says, Whoso readeth, let him understand.
So a lot of people say, well, I think it's a European guy, or I think it's going to be
some Muslim or something.
The Jews aren't going to let a Muslim walk into the temple.
They're just not going to allow that to happen.
When Paul came, they accused him of letting the Gentiles come in with him, and that's
why they freaked out and started trying to beat him to death, and they were falsely accusing
him, saying he brought Gentiles into the temple.
But just because we know what's right, we know the right theology, it doesn't mean that
the Jews are going to abide by what we believe.
They're still going to hold to the fact that Gentiles are not allowed to come into the
temple.
So if the temple's rebuilt, no one's just going to walk in, not everybody can just walk
in whenever they feel like it, right?
So if someone's standing in the holy place, then they commit this treacherous act, the
abomination of desolation.
Jesus said, when you see those things happen, that's when it's time to run for the hills.
So now let's look over at 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse number 3, 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2, verse number 3.
Now I mean, obviously, if he's the Antichrist, he could walk up and he could shoot all the
people, but I don't think for theatrics, that that's the way it's going to go down.
I think he wants to have that betrayal happen.
Everybody's ushering him into the temple, because remember when Jesus came, they're
putting palm trees on the ground.
They're calling him God.
The Jews are probably going to be calling him the Messiah.
You know they are.
I mean, what's the Bible say?
That Jesus came into his own, and his own received him not.
But then they said, and I'm not quoting this exactly I'm sure, but that another will come
in his own name, him they will receive.
That's talking about the Antichrist.
So the Jews are still waiting for a Messiah, even though the Messiah already came.
So when this false Messiah comes, they're going to welcome him, probably a lot like
people welcomed Christ when he came to the city of Jerusalem and put the palm branches
down on the ground.
So I just, to me, I just, and again, I don't have a verse for this necessarily, but I just
see that he's probably going to just walk up, it's going to be a big pomp, everybody's
going to be really happy, and then he's going to be like, I'm God, or whatever.
Whatever he says, he's going to go and stand in a place he's not allowed to, in the holiest
place, and he's going to declare himself to be God.
Look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 says, it says, Let no man deceive you by any means,
for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of
sin be revealed, the son of perdition.
So there's a lot of people out there that teach a pre-Trib rapture.
The Bible says that we're not supposed to let anybody deceive us.
No man.
The Bible says what it says, that's what we're supposed to go by, it says that man of sin,
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, this is talking about the Antichrist,
and it says, Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped,
so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
So this is what I believe the abomination of desolation is.
And then, that's when everything kicks off, that's when Christians will know for sure
that we're in the midpoint of the final seven years.
Not seven years of tribulation, like you'll hear the dispensationalists say, the tribulation
is over after Christ comes back, that's in Revelation chapter six, when the sun and moon
are darkened, and so on and so forth, but there's a great tribulation after this midpoint.
The midpoint is when the Antichrist reveals himself, and approximately 70 days later,
give or take, whatever, that's kind of how the mouth adds up, that's kind of all the
symbolism that we see, which I don't have time to get into tonight, but I preached sermons
about it before.
But anyway, so this is all lining up, right?
Daniel chapter nine, there's a prince that's gonna come, he's gonna be, the people of the
prince are the Roman Empire, okay?
We know the Roman Empire is gone now, but there is gonna be another Roman Empire.
The spirit of Rome, the spirit of Babylon has lived on, okay?
And so this Antichrist, he's gonna reveal himself in the temple, it's gonna be like,
surprise, I'm not really your Messiah, I'm actually the Antichrist.
And then of course he's gonna turn on the Jews, he's gonna destroy them.
But do you see how there's like, there's an alliance between the United States and Israel
right now that is like an unbreakable alliance right now.
There's some tying to our country to them that's never been, it wasn't like that when
our country first started, but now it is.
And now even Democrats are supporting the Israelis, and that's, I'm old enough to remember
when the Democrats were always the ones that were against us helping the Israelis, and
now it's just like, hey, we're helping them no matter what happens, and you got all this
stuff going on right now, and America's like, we got their back.
Who do you think made the Iron Dome system that they have?
The United States gave them that.
We support them, we protect them, that's why they're still there.
So now let's turn back to Daniel chapter 11 verse 36.
Daniel chapter 11 verse 36.
And again, this is just my theory about it, but even if you don't agree with me, I don't
really care, because it's not really that big of a deal.
But I just wanted to show you kind of why I'm thinking the way that I do.
So Daniel chapter 11 verse 36, the Bible says, And the king shall do according to his will,
and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god.
Doesn't that kind of sound like 2 Thessalonians chapter 2?
And shall speak marvelous things against God, the God of gods, excuse me, and shall prosper
till the indignation be accomplished, for that is determined shall be done.
Neither shall he regard, look at this term right here, the God of his fathers.
That is really important as to why I believe what I believe about the Antichrist.
It says, Nor the desire of women.
Now this could either be that he's a homo, or this could be that he's trying to be like
Jesus and that he's celibate where he doesn't.
Jesus, he didn't marry anybody, he was a virgin or whatever.
That could be the case also, but with all the queerness that we have around this world
today, it wouldn't surprise me if it was that.
So anyway, whatever that means, it says, Nor regard any god, for he shall magnify himself
above all.
This is what the devil has always wanted to do.
He's always wanted to magnify himself above God.
And the Antichrist is basically his Antichrist.
The devil is going to possess actually the body of this guy, that's why he's called the
son of perdition.
And so anyway, but that term, the God of his fathers, is what I want to spend most of the
rest of this sermon talking about.
So look at, oh actually let's read one more verse here, it says in verse 38, it says,
But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces, and a God whom his fathers knew
not, shall he honor with gold and silver and with precious stones and pleasant things.
Of course this is talking about the Antichrist.
Now chapter 11 goes in and out of history and there's shadow fulfillments, but when
it's talking about this, this is the Antichrist that it's talking about, there's no doubt
in my mind about that.
Now the term the God of his fathers or a God whom his fathers knew not, so this is why
I believe that he's going to be a Jew.
The reason I believe he's going to be a Jew is because this term is put forth to the God
of Abraham every single time you see it in the Bible.
In the New Testament it's used five times in the book of Acts, and I'm not even going
to go through all the instances because there's just too many.
But I want to spend a little bit of time showing you some verses where it says this term and
see who they're talking about.
It's always talking about the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and
so if that's the Antichrist, that's being said about the Antichrist, then what other
God is it talking about?
And so if it's the God of the Jews, then that means that what?
This guy's probably a Jew, right?
So look at Exodus chapter 3 verse 15, the Bible says, I didn't have you turn there yet,
go to Exodus 3 verse 15, I'm getting excited here, Exodus 3, 15.
The Bible says in Exodus 3, 15, and God said, moreover unto Moses, thus shalt thou say unto
the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob has sent me unto you.
This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
What does he say?
The Lord God of your fathers, right?
Now look at verse 16, it says, go and gather the elders of Israel together and say unto
them, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob appeared
unto me saying, I have surely visited you and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.
So I feel like God's just like really making it clear who he's talking about, who he is.
He says it twice, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of your fathers, he's making
it really clear to Moses, isn't he?
And that's what he tells Moses to say to the children of Israel when he goes back to Egypt.
Now look at Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 11, Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 11, and again
I didn't go to all the verses, I just grabbed some enough to prove my point, so maybe even
more.
Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 11, the Bible says, the Lord God of your fathers, make you
a thousand times so many more as you are, and bless you as he hath promised you.
Turn to Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 1, Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 1, the Bible says in Deuteronomy
4 one, now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes, unto the judgments which I teach
you, for to do them that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord
God of your fathers giveth you.
And now turn to Joshua chapter 18 verse 3, so are you seeing the theme here?
That every time he's saying it's the God of your fathers, right?
Joshua 18 verse 3, because it is important to identify the right God.
It's just like today, we want people to know who the right Jesus is, right?
It's the Jesus Christ of the Bible, it's the Jesus that saves by salvation by faith alone,
it's the Jesus that gives you eternal life, a life that you cannot lose, it's not the
Mormon Jesus, it's three gods, you know, it's the Father, Son, the Holy Ghost, they're three
different gods, and it's not the Jesus of, you know, the Jehovah's Witnesses where he
is actually Michael the Archangel and is not equal with God, he isn't God, he's an angel,
so on and so forth.
God likes to make sure that when he's identifying himself, he's telling you exactly who he is.
Now in Joshua 18, 3 it says, And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are
you slack to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you?
Turn to 2 Chronicles chapter 13 verse 12, 2 Chronicles chapter 13 verse 12, I only have
a couple more in the Old Testament, then I'm going to move on to the New Testament here.
But 2 Chronicles 13, 12, the Bible says, And behold, God himself is with us for our captain,
and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you.
O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers, for ye shall
not prosper.
So you have that verse, and then 2 Chronicles 33, 2 Chronicles 33, and I really like this
little passage here because, I mean, some people don't believe that Manasseh got saved, but
I do believe he got saved because of what it says right here.
2 Chronicles 33 verse 10, it says, And the Lord spake to Manasseh and to his people,
but they would not hearken.
Wherefore the Lord brought up upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria,
which took Manasseh among the thorns and bound him with fetters and carried him to Babylon.
And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord God, or his God, excuse me, and humbled
himself greatly before the God of his fathers.
What God do you think that is?
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, right?
And prayed unto him, and he was entreated of him, and heard his supplication.
It's pretty weird that he wouldn't get saved, but God's going to listen to his prayers?
Yeah, I think he got saved.
It says, And brought him again to Jerusalem, to his kingdom.
Then Manasseh knew that the Lord, he was God.
So Manasseh gets saved there, but the point I'm trying to make is how it says that he
specifies what God he humbled himself before.
It was the God of his fathers, the children of Israel, the children of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob.
In the New Testament, the expression God of thy fathers, or God of my fathers is used
five times in all of them in the book of Acts.
Let's go to the book of Acts chapter number three.
Acts chapter number three.
The Bible says in Acts chapter number three, verse 13, the God of Abraham, and it's funny
how it really specifies for us again who it is in the New Testament.
And the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified
his son Jesus, whom he delivered up and denied him in the presence of Pilate, that he was
determined to let him go, when he was determined to let him go.
So the God of our fathers expression is used here, referring to the father.
And then it says in Acts 5, 30, go to Acts 5, 30, and you notice that this is when they're
testifying to the Jews that don't necessarily believe, or they're trying to win over a group
of them, and then they specify, just like Moses specified who he was talking to when
he went to, what God he was talking about when he went to the children of Israel.
This is what the people in the New Testament did too.
They went to the synagogues, they went right to the people and said, the God of your fathers.
So look what it says in 5, 30, it says, and the God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom
he slew and hanged on a tree.
But they're careful to say what God that is.
Acts 7, verse 31, Acts 7, verse 31.
The Bible says, when Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight.
This is, of course, the telling of the whole basic story of Israel from Stephen right before
they killed him.
It says, when Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight, and as he drew near to behold,
the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.
So you've got that telling of the same story from Exodus chapter 5, and now, or actually
Exodus chapter 3, excuse me.
And then Acts chapter 22, I've got two more spots to show you, then I'll move on with
the sermon.
Acts 22, verse 13.
I'm just showing you like how much this is actually in there, and again, I didn't go
through all of them, so it might seem like I did, but I didn't.
So Acts 22, verse 13, the Bible says, came unto me and stood and said unto me, Brother
Saul received thy sight in the same hour I looked up upon him, and he said, The God of
our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that just one, and
shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
So when Paul's converted, he is told by Ananias, the God of our fathers hath chosen thee.
So he tells Saul that, remember Saul is a Pharisee, he's a Jew, he's a Hebrew of the
Hebrews, and God sends him to Ananias to have him get saved or whatever.
So anyway, he uses that phrase.
Now let's look at one more, Acts chapter 24.
This is Paul again testifying in front of a court of law, and that's also what Acts
chapter 22 was, he's telling this story, the story of his conversion to his captives, and
this is another time when he has to do that, but it says in verse 14, But this I confess
unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worshiped by the God of my
fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.
So when Paul is testifying, he makes sure to say the God of my fathers.
Do you think that all that is just a coincidence?
And then when you match it with what it says about the Antichrist in Daniel chapter 11,
how it says that he didn't worship the God of his fathers, what do you think that he
is then?
I mean, I feel like you're like, well, it doesn't say that's what he is.
I mean, okay, but I think there's a pretty good case for it.
So that's just why I believe that, but I believe it can mean, obviously, if it's the God of
our fathers, if we would say that, we would say he really wasn't the God of our fathers,
though, was he?
I mean, unless you're talking about the other Gentile believers before us, but in the Old
Testament, that wouldn't have been true.
So when that term is used, it is usually being used in the context of talking about the children
of Israel, and that's not what we are.
We're the children of the Gentiles, basically, everybody in this room, for the most part.
I'm sure we probably have some Israel in us somewhere, but in most cases, we probably
don't.
So you could frame it like he is the God of our fathers in the New Testament, and this
is Paul saying that the Jesus that he believes in, the Jesus that he worships, is the God
of his fathers.
So I mean, if you were going to use one verse to say he's talking about, you know, in the
New Testament about, I mean, because it's the same God.
Jesus is God.
Jesus is the Son of God, but he also is God, and so he is really the God of our fathers
or the God of the fathers that they were talking about in the Old Testament, but the Jews don't
believe that.
But the way it's framed in these instances in the Old Testament, New Testament, is that
it is God that the Jews worshiped, which is the same God that the Gentiles now worship,
which is Jesus Christ and God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
So this saying, again, multiple times, you saw all the times, I belabored the point,
and that's why I believe that the Antichrist is going to be a Jew, and I think he's going
to be probably from the United States, or whatever, you know, say it's a thousand years
in the future, and there's a new Babylon, well, then it's still going to be a Jew from
the revived Roman Empire, but if it is this country, then it probably will be someone
that rises up from this nation.
You know, obviously people thought Hitler was the Antichrist, and he was, you know,
not the Antichrist, but there's been a lot of people that people thought were the Antichrist,
but they weren't, but, you know, I think that there's a good case that he at least was a
convert to Judaism at some point, so, but I don't think it would use that term, if it
uses that term every time to identify who he's talking about, and then for it to be
applied to the Antichrist, it kind of tells me something about who he is.
So let's look at verse 9 back in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, we'll go through a couple more
verses and then we'll be done here.
So that's really the main purpose of my sermon, though, is to get through that, but I did
want to just kind of go through a couple more verses and then we'll be done here.
So 1 Thessalonians 5, 9, I know I skipped verses in the study, but I am going to preach
one more sermon out of it that's kind of a standalone sermon for the end of it.
So anyway, verse 9 says, For God hath not appointed us unto wrath.
So in the clear context of this chapter, though, it's talking about the day of the Lord, right?
So if we read, if we follow along during the reading, it's talking about the day of
the Lord, but God has not appointed us to wrath.
So this is where the pre-tribbers lose their mind with us, they're like, we're not appointed
to wrath!
It's like, we know, we're going to be gone before the wrath.
But the wrath of God is not the same as tribulation.
Tribulation is something that we go through when our enemies are persecuting us, our enemies
are afflicting us, and we believe that that's the devil's wrath.
It's not God chopping Christians' heads off in the end times, it's the devil's people
doing that.
So we're not appointed to wrath, and that's the context of this passage.
It says, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.
So again, same day, different things happening for different people, and the people that
are saved, it's going to be a great day for us.
Bad day for the people that wanted to mock us, wanted to mock the God of the Bible, calm
the Magic Sky Daddy, calm the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and all the other stupid, idiotic
things that they say about God, and they're going to be really scared.
They're going to be saying to the mountains and the rocks, fall on us and hide us from
the face of the wrath of the Lamb, and the time of His wrath is going to come after He
gets us out of here.
Look at verse 10, who died for us, so we're appointed to salvation, not to wrath, who
died for us that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
This is an interesting verse, but He died for us that whether we wake or sleep, we should
live together with Him.
So we can wake up and be in heaven, but when we sleep, when we die, we're still with Him.
So you're going to wake up, and whether we wake or sleep, we're going to live together
with Him.
Wherefore, comfort yourselves together and edify one another, even as also ye do.
So let's look at one last verse here, go to Romans chapter 8 verse 23, because we're going
to obtain salvation, but there's this waiting process that we have.
It's like we've been adopted into God's family by faith, we're sons and daughters of God
by adoption, but it's kind of like the papers haven't fully been signed yet.
The paper fully, I mean we are, we might as well be in heaven right now, but like when
we get our bodies from Jesus Christ, the everlasting bodies that can't die, when He comes back
for us, that's when the adoption and everything is going to be complete, that's when salvation
is going to be complete for us.
Because right now, we're in bodies that can die, we're in bodies that can stub their toes,
and we're in bodies that have dandruff, and we're in bodies that have B.O., and we're
just corruptible, and we're sinful.
But there's coming a day when it's going to be different, and it's hard for us to understand
and wrap our mind around how it's going to be like that, but forevermore we get to have
this salvation.
It says in Romans 8 23, and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits
of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to wit,
the redemption of our body.
So we're waiting for that full salvation to hit.
We are saved.
It's going to happen.
If we die tonight in our sleep, we're going to wake up in heaven.
But then there's going to come a time when those bodies that sleep in the dust of the
ground, the people that have died before, if we die before the coming of the Lord, those
bodies and souls and spirits are going to be together again.
And that's what the full assurance of salvation is.
So my theory and opinion, although not 100% locked down on the whole anti-Christ thing,
I feel like I had some super clear verses, but in some people's eyes it might not be
enough.
Again, I'm not dogmatic about stuff like that.
It's the end time stuff.
We see through a glass darkly.
There's a lot of cryptic things in the scriptures.
I don't think anybody has it all figured out.
So I mean, you can take or leave it, but that's just my theory about all those things.
And as far as who I think it's going to be, I don't know.
And I don't know if it's going to be a general, I don't know if it's going to be a president,
or somebody else that rises up, but I feel like that the picture I guess we see is that
Titus rose up.
He was a general in the army.
He destroyed the temple.
He became Caesar after that.
So it's kind of a comparable picture.
Of course, he wasn't a Jew though.
So there's the picture.
The picture is ruined.
And if I'm wrong, then I'm wrong.
It's fine.
But I think it's a definite possibility.
I don't know why it would use that term, the God of our fathers, if he wasn't a Jew.
And of course, people might not even agree about the whole Babylon thing.
I don't really break fellowship with people over end times Bible prophecy.
I was talking to a guy last night, and he's not fully with me on all this stuff.
But I believe he's saved, and his heart's in the right place.
It takes time.
Prophecy's not where we're at.
So as far as what we believe on end times, I'm sure there was a time when we were all
really confused about some things, and just trying to fit all the pictures and pieces
together.
And maybe we still are.
It's pretty complicated.
The end times Bible prophecy stuff is not really super just surface level things.
There's a lot to study.
There's a lot to dive into.
If you had to sit there and explain the whole end times process to somebody, you'd probably
have a pretty hard time doing it without actually going forth and studying it, or already having
your notes printed before you, like I do, when I get up to preach.
But there has to be a study involved in that.
And people are going to come to different differences or whatever.
I'm not going to be mad if people don't agree with me on this.
But anyway, I thought that was an interesting point about the whole God of our fathers thing.
And I've thought that for a long time, so I just kind of wanted to get it out there.
I got criticized by someone because I said that that's what I thought.
And then I don't think that I have a locked down John 3.16 verse about it, but I think
there's a lot of good superficial verses.
It's kind of like the two witnesses.
It's like, who's right about that?
Well, it's Pastor Anderson.
It's Pastor Jimenez.
It's like, the Bible doesn't really say who it is.
So we have to guess.
And Elijah is a pretty good guess for one of them.
And then whoever it is, which I don't think it's Moses, but I have a good reason.
We both, we're all friends.
We don't fight about stupid things like that.
It's not a big deal.
And at the end, we'll be like, yeah, you were wrong.
It's like, who cares though?
Now, if you're wrong about salvation, you're wrong about major themes in the doctrine,
that's a whole nother story.
That's where I would separate.
But if someone's got really weird end times beliefs, then I might be just like, eh, that's
a little strange, Tyler Doka, where he's the temple, and he's Jesus and all this other
stuff.
So anyway, let's pray.
Lord, we thank you so much for this church and for people that love the Bible.
Lord, I pray that you just help us this weekend and fill us with your spirit.
I pray that you just bless everybody that's come here tonight, that you take us all home
safely, and we have a great night of fellowship, in Jesus' name we pray, amen.