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Welcome everyone. This is Russ Scalzo Chronicles of the End Times. Thank you for being with me today as we continue part three of How It Ends. We've taken some time to look at the first two parts, mainly focusing on the rebellion and how it lays the foundation, the groundwork, for the rise of the Antichrist because John tells us in 1 John that the spirit of the Antichrist is already in the world, and that was nearly 2,000 years ago. This is why we need to understand and read about Bible prophecy and to study it because the spirit of antichrist is already here.
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If we can't recognize it, if we don't know where it's going, why should we care? Why should the average person even care about a digital economy, a one-world government? It sounds really great. We're all together, and everybody's helping each other.
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We know that will not happen, but that's the theory, right for us? Nobodies right that roam this earth and serve the elite. But the elite's plan is for control, and I've said this before. This is the basis for the end-times prophecies with the Antichrist. It's control and eventually to worship him. If someone comes to you and says, you know what? I don't know why you listen to or read about that stuff. I mean, who cares? We're just supposed to live for the Lord, be on mission or whatever. And yes, that is true, but I don't know about you. I don't like to be left in the dark. So, we understand everything that's taking place with the birth of AI and all that's going to bring to the situation, the moral decay that's going on in the world, and two quotes from Jesus that just haunt me. When the Son of man returns, will he find faith on the earth? The second one is because sin and rebellion shall abound. The love of many will grow cold, giving way to the apostasy that we see now developing in the church. That belongs to the Antichrist. Revelation calls the woman on the beast that will partner with the Antichrist and eventually be destroyed by him because only Satan can be worshipped. That's the heart and soul of his mission. So, let's move on to Matthew, chapter 24.
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Jesus talks about the signs of the end of the age. The apostles had a lot of questions for him. He was coming towards the end of his ministry, and they just wanted to know when he was coming back. When is this world going to change? When is Israel going to become the center of the earth? When is all this going to happen?
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It's interesting that the Lord starts with this: Watch out that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name, claiming I am the Christ, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. He goes on to talk about nations rising against nations and earthquakes as part of the birth pangs. So, how far along are we in this pregnancy? Are we feeling the birth pangs? Are we in the last trimester of the earth before the coming of Christ?
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We need to look at what Jesus is warning us of, and when we think of those who will come in the name of Christ, we think of the false messiahs who have risen. We think of Jim Jones, Sun Myung Moon, David Koresh, and so many others that may come to our mind when we think of false messiahs, but if we think about it, it's anyone who pulls us away from the truth. So, we move on to verse 9. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase in wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. But he who stands firm to the end will be saved, and the gospel of the kingdom will be preached to the whole world as a testimony to all the nations. Then the end will come. So, I guess if you stand up and give that invitation to the church, you won't be too popular. Not a lot of people are going to jump up and run forward or raise their hand or want to talk to you later about coming to Christ. If you tell them you're going to be handed over, and you're going to be persecuted and possibly die because you confess Jesus Christ.
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Jesus gives a warning to the church in the last days in Revelation, chapter 3, when he talks to the Laodicean church. He says I know your deeds that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I'm about to spit you out of my mouth. Pretty powerful words from the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet because of his great love, he says I'm standing at the door and anyone that opens the door, we will sit together, and we will eat and talk. He is faithful to the end, so let's get to it.
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Many nations are moving away from the dollar. We've talked about that before, so we won't get into those details because there are other podcasts on that. But it's safe to say that the digital currency is just a step away. We can see that AI is growing month by month. New discoveries are made. It's getting smarter and smarter. New versions are coming out. We can see how AI could easily control everything in the very near future. We see the anti-Semitism rising up. We see Israel at war. There's so much that's already been completed, so many things that are on the brink of happening, so what could be next?
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The biggest question I hear is, where is the United States in all this? And there are so many theories on it, but I want to tell you from what you read in the scripture, there is no mention of the United States, but we eventually become part of the Antichrist kingdom. We have the technology; we have the military force and the will. If the US economy comes to a crashing halt, as some predict, then that will certainly open the door for a digital currency. So, we're just a heartbeat away. Keep in mind that the digital currency itself is not the mark of the beast. It's just the method that will be used to control the money that's in your hand, the money you save, how you spend it. All of the above could be in place years before the mark of the beast is instituted. We don't know how fast it will go. That timing is up to God.
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Most scholars agree that the prophecy about the little horn had initial fulfillment in the person of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, but that ultimately, this prophecy would apply to the end times. Antichrist Antiochus Epiphanes was a Seleucid king, one of the kingdoms given to one of the four generals of Alexander the Great, and I believe this Antichrist will come from the same place. He could very well be from Greece and be part Jewish. Now, there are many other people talking about how he could be a Muslim coming from a Muslim country, but Israel would never accept that person as their Messiah, although there are a lot of great books written about it by a lot of smart people. Sometimes, we strain at the gnat and swallow the camel, as Jesus said. So, if we believe Antiochus IV, Epiphanes was a type of Antichrist to come. Then everything else makes sense, that it should apply that he would be from the northern kingdom or the Seleucid kingdom. That brings me to the conclusion that he'll probably be from that region, but he'll also be part Jewish, so he could legally claim to be the Messiah. He will eventually become very powerful in Europe, and he will pretty much control all the Western nations.
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This will all start off very peace-like in Revelation, chapter 6. John says I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder come. And I looked, and there before me was a white horse. Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown. And he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. This horse is a white horse. It's not Jesus; it's the Antichrist, not the Messiah. He has a bow, but he has no arrow, and he's been given a crown. So, he is going out to conquer. He goes out to conquer, but not in war in the beginning. He conquers with flattery; he conquers with charisma, and he's agreeing with all the things that we've talked about in the first two parts of this series. He embraces the culture that we've been talking about. That is only going to grow more and more before he comes. He will encourage it and he basically will be schmoozing the rest of the world. Like I said before, all the pieces will already be there. He's just going to complete what's already been started.
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One of the first things he will do is he will intervene for Israel. He will look like the hero, and he will guarantee that they will never be invaded again. Isaiah prophesies about this moment, and he says your covenant with death will be annulled. Your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand when the overwhelming scourge sweeps by. You will be beaten down by it. This is a warning from the Lord about the covenant that they're going to make with the Antichrist that he will sign that deal with them for seven years, guaranteeing them that he will take care of them. This will bring him more prominence. He will gain popularity in Israel, political power and the trap will be set, and over those first three and a half years he will gain in power and in strength. And then, at the three-and-a-half-year mark, which we hear a lot about, he will desecrate the temple. He will do what Antiochus IV did. Only this time, instead of pig's blood being splattered all over what Antiochus IV did in 165 BC, he will declare himself God and, in that way, he will desecrate the temple.
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Jesus talks about this in Matthew 24, verse 15. He says so when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel. Let the reader understand and let those who are in Judea so this is important or on the Sabbath, for there will be great distress unequaled from the beginning of the world until now and never to be equaled again. So, this is important. This is another scripture that gets misinterpreted, and when it does, it destroys Bible prophecy. We can't possibly understand it or get a true vision if we don't think about it as Israel. Jesus is talking about Israel here. No Gentile would worry about if it was on the Sabbath. That would just be another day for them. He's telling them that those are in Judea, around Jerusalem. They need to flee. It's said many times, but it's true. If you take Israel out of this equation, all you have is a bunch of guesswork and errors.
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Keep in mind at this point, I believe the church is gone, the bride of Christ, and when we say the bride of Christ. The bride of Christ is pure. It's washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. That's the only way we can be pure, not by our lifestyle, even though our lifestyle should glorify God and honor the word of God. We know our righteousness comes from Jesus and honor the Word of God. We know our righteousness comes from Jesus.
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There's a song by Daniel Amos, a Christian band from the 70s. A great album called Shotgun Angel. If you get a chance to go online and download it, it's a blessing. But there's a lyric in the song. The song is about the rapture and this amazing line just hits me every time I listen to it. It's a place where lovers go. Wow, that just says so many Lovers of God, not just religious people, but lovers of God. I love that line.
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The Lord has a number of objectives here. It is very important that we understand them. One is Israel. He's going to put Israel through the wringer. He will have his remnant. God will not be denied. The promises he made to Israel he will complete. And he's using the Antichrist to divide the believers from the non-believers. The Jewish people who are really dedicated want to know God. They will realize when the Antichrist comes and desecrates the temple and declares himself God. That is not scriptural; that's not how it's supposed to go, and they will run for their lives.
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As we just read, most people believe they will run into Jordan and to the city of Petra. Some calculate it can hold over a million people, and the scripture that is referenced is in Daniel, chapter 11 when it's talking about the Antichrist and the countries he will take over. In verse 41, he said he would also invade the beautiful land, which is Israel. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. So, for some reason only God knows whether they've made a deal with the Antichrist or God just prevents him from invading that land. Either way, that is where Petra lies in Jordan and that matches up with Revelation, chapter 12.
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The woman fled into the desert, which is Israel, to a place prepared for her by God where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days, for three and a half years. So, it matches perfectly what God will do in that desert place. How he will provide for them, we don't know. It's not written. But if I were to guess, I would say he's going to feed them with manna, as he did in the desert once before, and there he will keep them until he comes. So, the next thing God wants to do is he wants to save multitudes of unsaved people during the tribulation period. Keep in mind Revelation chapter, when John says who are all these people? They're like the sands of the sea. He couldn't number them, and the angel said these are those who came out of the great tribulation. So, God never stops saving people, but we have to understand. God could end the world tonight without warning, but he's chosen to give a warning. He's chosen to be merciful. And so, the seven-year tribulation, though horrible, terrible things that are going to take place, things that have never happened in the history of the world. God knows that people need to have their backs against the wall to realize that they need Jesus, and he's gracious enough to be there when they decide to follow him.
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Now, if we follow the theme of the Antichrist, he mimics everything that Jesus did. This is how he continues to fool people. Those who do not know God are easy pickings, as they say, low fruit hanging on the tree. He comes in riding on a white horse, as we read Jesus comes riding on a white horse. He comes in a pseudo-peace. Jesus comes to save the world from destruction and to bring peace. And now we come to the part where he is going to mimic the resurrection of Jesus.
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The scripture says that he gets killed. He gets a mortal wound, a fatal wound, and then the wound is healed, and the world sits back astonished. And we read in Revelation that the people will say who is like the beast? Who can make war against him? At this point, he becomes immortal.
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How does this Antichrist come back from the dead? Well, I've been studying this for well over 40 years, probably close to 45 now, read a lot of books, a lot of studies, had a lot of opinions, but the consensus seems to be and what sits right with me in the Holy Spirit is that to this point, the Antichrist is just a man, deranged and possessed and driven by Satan, but still just a man. He gets killed, he lays in state with all the cameras of the world upon him, people watching them under different devices, in their homes, wherever they are, and they're shocked and die. Who they put a lot into, who was taking them where they wanted to go, and then, lying in state in this condition, with the whole world watching? Satan enters him and just like he entered Judas at the last supper, the only two men in the entire Bible who are labeled the Son of perdition, judas and the Antichrist. They have that in common. Satan is the son of perdition. He and the Antichrist they have that in common. Satan is the son of perdition. He enters the Antichrist's body and sits up. The world is shocked, astonished. Like I said, at this point, he becomes, in the world's eyes, immortal. From that point on, god begins to pour his wrath out on the earth, and the mark of the beast is instituted to pour his wrath out on the earth, and the mark of the beast is instituted.
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Okay, we're going to go into part four. Now, I know I lied. I said it was going to be three parts. Part four will take us to battles the Antichrist fights and how China, Russia, and the kings of the East come into play in the fields of Megiddo for the final battle before Jesus Christ returns. This is Russ Scalzo for Chronicles of the End Times. Thank you so much for listening. God bless and keep looking up. The King is coming.
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