” The beast was given a mouth to utter proud  words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.  All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast – all whose names HAVE NOT (capitals mine) been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. He who has an ear, let him hear.”

Revelation 13:5-9

Last night my wife and I were watching a fascinating TV show on TCT called “Israel, The Prophetic Connection” (listed in my Resources). Fascinating because the entire show is shot in Israel and gives a picturesque glimpse of places like The Temple Wall, the valley of Armageddon, the Dome of the Rock, the Mount of Olives, the River Jordan, etc. The host, Dr. John Tweedie has a very simple message, one that accurately follows Biblical teachings regarding the Last Days.

On his show he had a guest speaker, Yishai Fleisher, an English radio show host in Israel, who was asked by Dr. Tweedie to define who the messiah is from a Jewish perspective. I personally had never heard the answer but assumed that the Jewish messiah, also known to Jews as Yeshua, was very similar to our Christian Jesus, the Son of God. He is not!  In fact, one of the basic reasons the Jews turned on Jesus and demanded he be crucified was because he DID NOT accomplish what they had been told he would do when he came to Israel. Let me not deceive you, Yeshua is a mystery figure. The Jews pay very little attention to who he is and the circumstances of his birth, life, etc. Interestingly, Jewish tradition says he will be born on the 9th of Av where so many of the tragedies of the Jewish people happened (see my earlier post on this subject. Looking backward sometime in the future, it wouldn’t surprise me). Rather, they believe their messiah will do 3 things, therefore “earning” him the right to be their messiah:

1. He will throw off the yoke of the world. Israel will finally be viewed as a Jewish country, free to do what free countries do.
2. He will gather the Jews from all over the world and bring them ALL back to Israel to fulfill the Blessings God gave the Jewish people as part of the Abrahamic Covenant.
3. Finally, he will build the 3rd Temple and allow the long delayed sacrifices for forgiveness of sins to continue again.

This is unlike Christianity, that believes Jesus was put on this earth by God as part of His Grace, to die as the sacrificial lamb for all our sins. BUT, we must first accept that “pardon” to enjoy that forgiveness. Did you know according to the laws of the United States a President or Governor can pardon a death row inmate and keep him from being executed but that inmate MUST first accept the pardon or else he will be executed? This is God’s promise and promise to us. But, I digress…

Obviously, the Jews still await their messiah to fulfill their belief of what God promised them. At some point an individual will show up on the Jewish/world stage and accomplish those things expected by the Jews of their messiah. He will write a peace treaty finally recognizing Israel. He will encourage and bring ALL Jews back to their land. And, most importantly, he will allow the rebuilding of the 3rd Temple on its holy site in Jerusalem. He will be praised as the messiah! None of this was possible until 1948 when the Jews became a country again and 1967 when they took control of Jerusalem, things that have been seen by this generation (read my post on Time Line of the Final Days). Of course, we also know that this same man, the anti-Christ, will go into the rebuilt Temple mid-way through the Tribulation period and will demand to be worshipped as God. This is referred to as the Abomination of Desolation and we know that his reign on earth after that will be exactly 1290 days until Christ gloriously returns at Armageddon to defeat him and his demonic armies. But at the Abomination of Desolation the Jews will finally recognize the anti-Christ IS NOT their messiah:

“And from that time the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”

Daniel 12:11

On the same day I saw this show,  I was researching several topics to discuss in future posts and ran across an article written by two prominent prophetic scholars (Webber and Hutchings) giving the reader a timeline for the last days. In all transparency, this was written in 1982. One of the chapters was titled “False Christs“. Now I suppose this could be construed by some that reading this and watching the show on the same day is a mere coincidence but when I went back and reread that chapter after seeing the show I realized it was NOT a coincidence!  I believe God brought me to this point for a reason! They were speaking directly of an individual Jews may believe is their messiah but which we recognize is the anti-Christ. But not to offend my Jewish friends, Christians are also awaiting the return of Christ; Muslims await the Imam Mahdi; Buddhists look forward to the fifth Buddha; and, the Hindus await Krishna. The entire world is ready for a Savior, one that finally brings us peace!

On April 25, 1982 there were advertisements in major newspapers all around the world proclaiming that THE Christ is here now. This is not the Christian Christ (in fact, he is never called Jesus) but rather a man concerned with modern problems – political, economic and social.  The New Age ad says he has not yet identified himself but would in the future and would keep us from a 3rd World War and solve the many problems of the world. OK, so it has now been 35 years since this ad appeared with no one coming forward and admitting to be this individual. That doesn’t mean it went away, rather you must delve further into it to discover the ad was sponsored by the Tara organization, a New Age movement funded primarily by the government of the United States! And, it continues…Not only does it continue but we see  its teachings are today proclaimed by the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Club of Rome, the Masons, Skull & Bones, and many others.

Since that time, the message has remained but now the major organization pushing for all this is called the Lucis Trust with an address of 806 United Nations Plaza, Suite 566, New York, NY 10017. (Pretty close to the United Nations) If you Google the name you will be, like me shocked! The Lucis Trust was started in 1922 by Alice and Foster Bailey as Lucifer Publishing Company. According to Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary to promote her views of a one world theocracy, Lucifer and Lucis mean the same thing: “Light-bringing to bear light. Satan, especially as the leader of the revolt of the angels before his fall.” I am not making this up! Their belief was that the differences in the many religions were causing the world’s problems and that if there was a one world religion (and a one world government and one world economy), our problems would simply disappear. Of course, you would need a leader to bring this all about. The Holy Bible identifies him as Satan aka the anti-Christ. And, their plan is NOT God’s Plan! This is Satan’s plan to create his own counterfeit world.

The beauty of God’s Promise to all is that we WILL NOT be surprised when Jesus Christ returns! Jesus Himself said:

“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect…Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightening cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

Matthew 24:24-27

Again, don’t be frightened by this coming individual. Believe in the true Christ, ask for forgiveness of your sins  and understand it will be those that DO NOT believe and follow the anti-Christ that will be damned. Don’t be fooled by an individual promising to “save” the world. Trust me. When Christ returns we will KNOW HE is the Son of God! Personally, I am immensely comforted with the Bible and these words and I hope you are too “…therefore comfort one another with these words.”