A laymans commentary on Matthew 24. Chapter Four, verses 11- 15. “Because iniquity shall abound.”

 Chapter Four

“Because iniquity shall abound.”

Matthew 24:11 NASB "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”

Matthew is not the only one to make this statement.

“Many will come in [appropriating to themselves] the name [of Messiah] which belongs to Me [basing their claims on the use of My name], saying, I am [He]! And they will mislead many.”
Mark 13:6 AMP

And we find something similar in Luke's account.

“And He said, Be on your guard and be careful that you are not led astray; for many will come in My name [appropriating to themselves the name Messiah which belongs to Me], saying, I am He! and, The time is at hand! Do not go out after them.”
Luke 21:8 AMP

“Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold.”
Matthew 24:12 TLV

You would have had to be born numb to NOT understand that the love of many is growing cold on a daily basis. Perhaps all these wars are having this effect.

The Amplified Bible conveys verse 12 in this manner.

“the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity.”

Here in America, where the moron lawmakers raised the monetary amount to around $900+ dollars before stores can get a police officer to respond, they have motivated the bad guys to form up in mobs and attack high-end stores. Each individual steals less than $900, so they can't be touched, supposedly. But more than just a few of us have had enough. Perhaps our love has grown cold.

The word iniquity is the Greek word anomia and means illegality or violation of law.

• A CNN article by Terry Frieden, CNN Justice Producer, updated 10:01 AM EDT, Wed October 17, 2012, and pulled from the internet, states that - U.S. violent crime is up for the first time in years.

• Data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in telephone surveys showed a 22 percent increase in assaults, pushing up the overall rate of violent crime for the first time since 1993.

Seriously, who has not noticed this?

Matthew 24:13 NASB: "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

If you are paying attention to the context and you are enduring, then you are neck deep in the time of wrath – the seven years of tribulation, specifically the last three-and-one-half years known as the great tribulation.

Endure is the Greek word hupomeno, which means to stay under or bear as in a trial.

End is the Greek word telos. It means to set out for a definite point or goal.

I believe this makes it clear that some, not necessarily Jews, will survive the horrors of this time.

“And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”
Matthew 24:14 NLT

I have already pointed out that God uses an angel as an instrument to proclaim the gospel around the globe. (Revelation 14:6-10.)

“It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.”
Isaiah 6:1-2 NLT

“The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!)
Matthew 24:15 NLT

Parallel verse

“For warships from western coastlands will scare him off, and he will withdraw and return home. But he will vent his anger against the people of the holy covenant and reward those who forsake the covenant. “His army will take over the Temple fortress, pollute the sanctuary, put a stop to the daily sacrifices, and set up the sacrilegious object that causes desecration. He will flatter and win over those who have violated the covenant. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him.”
Daniel 11:30-32 NLT

Here it is, January 20, 2024, and suddenly, the idea that warships from western coastlands scaring “him” off and making “him” withdraw is becoming more understandable and more of a reality. Why, because the Mediterranean Ocean and the Red Sea are currently filled with Western warships due to Israel's war with Hamas.

“And from the time that the continual burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days.”
[Dan. 11:31.] Daniel 12:11 AMP

1290 days divided by 360 days, the length of a year on the Jewish calendar, equals three-and-one-half years. From the time that the antichrist adds his confirmation to “the covenant,” until the time that they take away the daily sacrifice will be 1290 days. This assumes that the third temple is built, but it is NOT necessary as it seems that this “covenant” has a mandatory role in eschatology.

If the rapture comes today (1/22/2024), there is still no temple; the Jews have plans already laid out, and I would guess that the tilt-up cement panels that will be used to make the temple are probably already made and awaiting the crews to assemble them. I point out these things because there are so many things that must still happen, all of which will trigger the destruction of the mosque and an abundance of warfare, of which Israel will take a horrific beating and only a third of their population will survive. 

Daniel 9:27, in the NASB, uses the Hebrew word gāḇar twice, "And he will make^H1396 a firm^H1396 covenant with the many.” Using a word repetitiously, and in short order, conveys the idea that something is very important. 

The passage itself tells us that the antichrist will establish, confirm, and cause a covenant to prevail or make an existing covenant firm. I could easily retell this passage by reading that he will make this covenant and cause it to be established.

Covenant is the Hebrew word b^erı̂yth and can also mean confederacy.

Let's put the situation in these terms. Hamas, nor any other Middle Easterner, is going to make a treaty with Israel, as the Islamic nations have but one goal, the total annihilation of Israel and the Jews.

The explanation that Daniel received went on to say.

“Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.”
Daniel 12:12 NKJV

That exceeded the seven years by 45 days.

"Then, after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.”
Daniel 9:26 NASB

One might assume that Jesus was coming back precisely at the end of the seven-year mark, but that does not appear to be the case. Is it possible that the incessant warring will extend the time?

Daniel 9:27 AMP “... until the full determined end is poured out on the desolator.”

Speculation seems pointless as I know that the world's system of doing things will come to a crashing halt, and then peace will reign for those who walk into the thousand years of Jesus' sovereignty on earth.

Do we know who this antichrist character is?

We have NO clue who will fill the role of the antichrist, and no one else will until the bride of Christ is lifted from the earth.

You want substantiation?

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 NKJV.

• “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work;”

  Do you realize that He is talking about the beast that empowers the antichrist? The beast is both a spiritual entity, a demon, and a man that will be possessed by, at minimum, one powerful demon/fallen angel.

• “He” is those who are filled with the Holy Spirit and stand against the destruction and demise of the world around us with our words of prayer and our actions.

• “ He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.”

  The only way we are going to be taken out of the way is by the catching away of the church, with us in it, prior to God's wrath being poured out upon the earth.

I cannot remember how we got to this point, but something got said about hell.

I know many who believe God has already thrown people into hell, but that has NOT happened yet, and, in general,  it will NOT happen until the great throne event at the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ. 

Why do I have the right to say that?

Well, there are passages like this:

“Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other just as God in Messiah also forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32 TLV)

“And you—being dead in the trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh—He made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all the trespasses,”
(Colossians 2:13 LSV)

“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven through His name.” (1 John 2:12 BSB)

Do I realize that this forgiveness was established by Jesus' actions on the cross?

Yes, I do, but this forgiveness, in a sense, is just hanging out in there in space until you choose to accept that forgiveness and the Father's love through the death and resurrection of the Son.

So, at least for now, I can exclude Judas, who hung himself from hell.

(At the end of the seven years of wrath, the beast and the false prophet, along with Satan, will be thrown into the lake of fire. The only one that gets out of that lake is Satan at the end of the thousand years so that he can deceive the nations. Having done that, he is tossed, along with those he deceived, back into the lake of fire.)

So a common problem I see is that some of us believe we have been appointed judges and have the right to send people to hell. The fact that all sin was forgiven on the cross should shut many mouths or at least change their condemning hearts. But, unfortunately, I merely stated what far too many of us are willing to do, especially when this job of judging is for Jesus alone. 

Wow, is that in the Bible?

“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever He wants. The Father does not judge anyone, but has handed over all judgment to the Son.”
(John 5:21-22 TLV)

There are two outstanding aspects of these passages.

• First, here is one you may have yet to notice.  So, not only does the Son do all the judging, but He gives life “to whomever He wants,” and He is NOT asking your permission to whom He can give life.

• Secondly, there are NO limitations on whom the Son can give this life to. 

So, I said, Jesus took the keys to hell by going there Himself and set the captives free.

This was met with what seemed like an angry response, and it went like this.

Jesus did NOT go into hell! After a few seconds of glaring, the person added it was the place of the dead.

A few seconds later, I pulled out my cell phone and found this.

"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." (Revelation 1:18 KJV)

I am not a big fan of the King James version, but most who spent a lot of time in a church would admit that the KJV was not only a standard but the primary version most would buy. However, that began to change, and we saw the Amplified, the NIV, and the NASB enter the mix.

It sounds like our King and savior got the keys to both places. As attendees at church, we, for the most part, were content to let the pastor do all the studying, as we assumed he would never lead us astray.

With a conversation like that, don't you think the average answer would be Jesus took the keys to hell? But, when the standard Bible translation tells us that He did, there is a propensity to believe He did. And, there is no reason to think that someone did this and then slipped Him the keys so He could look good. No, Jesus did all that.

So hell is actually the Greek word hadēs and means the abode of departed spirits.

Since the KJV was the new standard, then hell would have been the common assertion and expected answer. Because we, as the church in general, DO NOT READ our Bibles, then we would never know the origins of the word hell, which we just discussed to be hades, the place of the dead.

I think we believe that the lake of fire is hell, but we do not allow for an abode of departed spirits. A common picture comes from Revelation 19:20.

“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”
(Revelation 19:20 KJV)

The final scene is found in Revelation 20.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
(Revelation 20:13-15 KJV)

Something notable in Revelation 20:13-15, death and hell are cast into the lake of fire. Once again, we are constrained to use the word hell, which is Greek the word hades, the place of the dead. Is it any wonder that we call this place of the dead hell?

In “The Chosen,” there is a discussion between Jesus and Matthew about the substance of “the sermon on the mount.” Matthew humorously elaborates on this portion by adding you would have a city full of people with only one eye.

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” (Matthew 5:27-29 KJV)

The point here is not the eye but things that we cannot validate from scripture. In this case, the conversation leaned toward potentially being sent to hell over poor decisions. Hell, in this case, is NOT hades but an allusion to Gehenna, the place of perpetual burning or the lake of fire.

A piece of information to help confuse you is the narrative about the beggar Lazarus (a person that the audience of that day may have been well aware of) and the rich Jew.

“And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;   (23)  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeing Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
(Luke 16:22-23 KJV)

Hell, as used here, is hades, the place of the dead. To the Jews, the idea that a rich man would go to hell is unacceptable; now, the beggar, maybe. But they also had the understanding that heaven initiated with Abraham's bosom.

Now, what am I to make of a statement that tells me that the dead lie in a condition of inactivity after what Jesus told us about Lazarus and the rich man?

A piece of substantiating evidence comes from King David. I am using the Amplified, in this case, as it typically has other defining terms or words.

- “Let me not be put to shame, O Lord, or disappointed, for I am calling upon You; let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol (the place of the dead).”
(Psalms 31:17 AMP)

First, an awareness that this was written in Hebrew, which used Sheol instead of Hades, which means the same thing, to define where David wishes these people would go.

The writer of Ecclesiastes 9:5 gives us a clue.

- “For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing;..” (CJB)

To know is to have comprehension, care, or recognition. But the Hebrew word m^e'ûmâh, meaning nothing, puts the entire thought into the negative and implies that they do not know a speck of anything.

Another passage that affirms the prophetic qualities of Ecclesiastes comes from Job.

• Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.” (Job 30:23 BSB)

The general idea, it would seem, is that this is the earth as we return to dust; and yet, Job refers to them as living.

• He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”
  (Luke 20:38 BSB)

At least, we can agree that there is an appointed collection place for the dead, and, since we should understand that the spirit or soul never dies, then even in hades, Sheol, or hell, depending on your preferred language and Bible translation, your soul lives on forever. Now, if you are a part of the body of Christ, then it's an entirely different matter, as, upon your graduation from this earth, you are in the presence of Jesus.

"having courage, then, at all times, and knowing that being at home in the body, we are away from home from the LORD— for we walk through faith, not through sight— we have courage, and are well pleased, rather, to be away from the home of the body, and to be at home with the LORD."
(2 Corinthians 5:6-8 LSV)

They are not that high-tech, are they? Revelation 13:16,17.

 “ It (the false prophet – also referred to as a beast) causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.” Revelation 13:16-17 (Emphasis mine)

If you think about how Islam deals with infidels, they are not that high-tech, are they?

I say that because, for the longest time, we were subjected to watching the beheading of Isis captives and an American citizen like Nick Berg – who was an American freelance radio tower repairman who went to Iraq after the United States invasion of Iraq. He was taken hostage and eventually beheaded on public television. Others have been shot in the head, and some have been hanged in public squares.

I have been watching how Islam treats people for several years now and decided to do a little research to see if the Quran prescribed the sword as the unique method of death for infidels. I can't say that I found that directive, but it is clear killing infidels is communicated.

If you attempt to research this for yourself, you will find the obligatory rebuttals to these passages from the Quran. In their rebuttals, they will tell you that Muslims are only to kill if attacked. It would seem that even an oral statement, especially one like this, in which my statements could be deemed blasphemy against Allah, constitutes an attack. Oh yes, the Quran tells them that deception is an elevated form of Jihad; and from what I understand, Allah is openly stated as the greatest of deceivers. So take that for what is worth. So, when they stand in defense of orders to kill, we might need to perceive what they say as nothing more than an attempt at deception.

While the next few lines may not speak to the method of death, it does speak to how serious they are about killing you.

From the website https://www.markalanwilliams.net/post/2017/01/02/koran-says-to-kill-infidels-bible-doesnt.

“So, let’s look at where the Koran says to kill infidels and then the fact that the Bible does not teach the same.”

1. The Koran says to kill infidels.

Note: an “infidel” means “a person who does not believe in religion or who adheres to a religion other than one’s own.”
Synonyms are unbeliever, agnostic, atheist, pagan, idolater, and heretic.

Here are passages from the Koran that teach Muslims to kill infidels (note: a sura is like a chapter reference):

“But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem [of war]; but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them: for God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful” (Sura 9:5).

“Fight those who believe not in God nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by God and His Apostle, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, [even if they are] of the People of the Book [Christians and Jews], until they pay the jizya [tribute] with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued” (Sura 9:29).

“Prophet! Make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal sternly with them. Hell shall be their home, evil their fate.” (Sura 66:9)

Two surahs could potentially be used to provide a justification for beheading in the context of war:(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beheading_in_Islam#Beheading_in_Islamic_scripture)

When the Lord inspired the angels (saying) I am with you. So make those who believe stand firm. I will throw fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Then smite the necks and smite of them each finger. (8:12)

Now when ye meet in battle those who disbelieve, then it is smiting of the necks until, when ye have routed them, making fast of bonds; and afterward either grace or ransom 'til the war lay down its burdens. (47:4)

There is much more than this, but I am trying not to bore you.

This idea that outsiders cannot work freely in an Islamic-controlled land is not a new concept.

Look at what the Qur'an says:

"Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued." Qur'an (9:29)

So, if you submit or are subdued and pay the Jizya tax, then you can live in relative freedom; otherwise, no.

Having been told by a “brother” at church that he was NOT interested in extra-biblical literature, and I have shoved a good deal of this type of literature down your throat, then let me show how this applies and aligns itself with scripture.

“And he (He is the false prophet. Islam believes this to be their version of Jesus, and they believe that he will be of the lineage of Aaron and, therefore, entitled to be the high priest in the Jewish temple.) causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves (With the arrival of the vaccines do you believe that people like Bill Gates had that deadly concoction injected in their bodies? Of course not, after all, they have to run this great reset, that Klaus Schwab refers to as the fourth industrial revolution where humans become bio machines due to the ingredients in the vaccinations and further upgrades,) to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.”
(Revelation 13:16-17 NASB) (Emphasis mine)

I never would have guessed that even the great and rich will have to comply.

But what if this mark is not that high-tech, and Islam, who may have control at this point, may have their own simple idea of a mark.

The Jews, forced into the ghettos of Poland, were

given marks, and they were not allowed to do anything without the yellow star that said Juden on them. Few realize that there were many colors used to denigrate people groups under the direction of the Nazis.

 

A puzzling aspect of this prophetic word is the reference to this 666 indicator and how it is the number of a man. For a moment, I thought Walid Shoebat sounded good, as he described how it looked like the Arabic symbols meaning there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger. I am not sure, and I am not willing to play with Gematria. So if there is one thing in Revelation that throws me for a loop, it is this 666 stuff. We already know it is a man; I am confident that it will be someone fulfilling the role of the Mahdi; they will head the restored Islamic caliphate, but who it is, is anybody's guess. For a few minutes, I thought Principe Erdoğan of Turkey was going to take the lead in this role, but I now lean toward former President Barack Obama. We should not rule him out.

The passage reads:

“This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.”

Contextually, John had just finished speaking about the image of the beast being set up, but as I said, we have too many options to define this as yet.

Your best bet is to stay ready on God's side. Start by having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You do that by turning your life over to Him and asking Him to come to be the center of your life. Then work on trimming off the bad fruit you have grown. Jesus Christ knows how to do that.

A deception that no one would have seen coming.

 Islam is looking for a Jesus as well.

I wrote this post in 2017 (here I am in 2022, editing and adding clarifying information). Two years passed, and I was still struggling to comprehend this, just like everyone else. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit saw fit to put Glenn Beck (he used to be a commentator on Fox news and now has his own internet show) before my eyes. Glenn had the author Joel Richardson on the show, comparing Jesus to Islam's Mahdi. To say the least, I was stunned, as NO ONE had ever spoken about these things as Joel did. Within minutes I ordered Joel's book, The Islamic Antichrist, and began devouring the information there; it changed everything for me.

Now you can see how you have to, on occasion, humble yourself to learn, and honestly, how many of you would have thought to consider what a Muslim believed?

The false prophet, although they do not call him that, 

• Will be a Jew of the ancestry of Aaron and therefore allowed to be a priest. 

• He will declare himself to be a Muslim, 

• He Bow (submit) to the Mahdi (the Antichrist), 

• And he will do significant signs like calling fire down from heaven, raising the dead, and causing it to rain again. 

Although all these things sound ridiculous and improbable, they will happen. 

All this will cause many to turn from God and follow this second beast. The fact that Jesus needed to say, “see to it that no one misleads you,” indicates that SOME will be misled. In one case, we are warned that even the elect will be deceived. Who is the elect in a book centered upon the Jewish nation? The Jewish religious leadership. 

Why should some of you have a problem with this information about Islam?

Because the Bible does NOT explicitly say this will happen. 

As a brother in Christ once said, I refuse to be concerned with extra-Biblical literature. I responded with, it's fascinating that you would say that because you are already steeped in traditions of men, which are based in extra-biblical information. For example, we say that Jesus was a carpenter when the assertion was made by Jewish religious zealots, not to Jesus but about his father, Joseph. What makes this worse is that they DID NOT call Joseph a carpenter; they called him a tekton, the same word they were now using to demean Jesus. The Greek word tekton means an artisan and could even apply to poets or an artisan who works with granite. 

A recent (2020) archaeological find on the outskirts of Nazareth demonstrated that tektons worked there and that they had been making granite bowls, cups, and water pots.

That's great, the man responded, but what does that have to do with me not accepting extra-biblical information?

An archaeological dig would undoubtedly fall under the category of extra-biblical, but tie that information to the first miracle that Jesus performed publicly, turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana, and you have some monumental information that could shake your attitude toward extra-biblical knowledge. 

Did you ever consider that Jesus, a Jew, would have been familiar with Jewish ritual cleansing rules; yet, He sent the servants, of which we know nothing and can therefore assume that they were gentiles, to go and fill the vessels with water. Just because they were not Jews, Gentiles would have been unclean, and having them touch the “ritual cleansing vessels,” typically, pottery would have contaminated the pots, and they would have only one recourse, which was to destroy the expensive water pots. Even if the servants were Jewish, there would have been some point at which they touched those vessels, and yet, NO ONE raised an uproar, and you had to know that there were religious leaders at this wedding. 

What makes this significant is that apparently Jesus the tekton probably knew that the cleansing vessels were made of granite and NOT subject to Jewish cleansing laws because He had made those very vessels. Of course, we do not know this either.

Here is a peculiarity that no one has ever mentioned before. Several years before this wedding, an enterprising Jewish businessman was reading about the purification laws in Deuteronomy and realized that the Biblical specifications said nothing about granite. The logical assumption then was that God perceived granite to be permanently clean, and this piece of information was presented before the Jewish elders. They thought this was a great revelation and approved the usage of granite wholeheartedly. 

Why do you suppose that no concern about purification was shown at any point, and doesn't the lack of concern catch your attention?

Odd, isn't it? Perhaps Jesus knew all about this because He, being a tekton - an artisan – a craftsman – a stone mason, and had made these pots himself?  But, of course, we don't know any of that, yet we accept many things like this that are extra-biblical, and you don't even blink an eye. 

But, if I tell you that Islam has their own set of prophecies, which conflict with scripture and are in direct conflict with Christian beliefs, and you feel comfortable rejecting that understanding without even thinking about it and continue wallowing in your unbelief and misdirection; then perhaps you are the one that is deceived.

Evil spirits that looked like frogs leapt from their mouths. Revelation 16:13-14.

 I ended the previous post with these verses.

Revelation 16:13-14 NLT  And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.  (14)  They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty.

What can I gather from this?

That the evil spirits leap from the mouths of the dragon/Satan; the beast/antichrist; and the false prophet. The spirits are clearly identified as demon spirits. Demons are not some bizarre, original creation, they are fallen, angels. Now, there might be some association with the hybrids created by the Nephalim having sexual relations with human women, but I will leave it at that.

Defining the false prophet is not a simplistic answer, so let's dig into this for a moment.

If I were to say, there was an oil spill, would you assume it was an oil tanker in the Persian gulf that got hit with an explosive UAV, or would you theorize that I had a bad moment while trying to fry chicken?

As you can see the answer requires a bit more information doesn't it, especially if I wanted you to be able to perceive an accurate mental picture. Now apply my logic, in this case, to whom or what this person is.

Another assumption we make, as religious Christians, is that we cannot look outside of the religious box we live in. Let's apply this assumption to the oil scenario. If you are a chef, can you receive information that provokes you to consider oils other than, olive or vegetable oil, especially if you wanted to comprehend something like a ruptured oil line in Long Beach Harbor, that was damaged by a ships anchor and polluted miles of beaches? Any reasonable person would and should.

Why tell you any of this?

Because there was a day at church when we were having lunch together. I can be rather introverted at times and on this particular day, I chose to make conversation with some people I had seen frequently but never talked with. Just days before this moment I had come across archaeological information from Israel that opened a door that changed the way I look at Jesus, “the carpenter.”

The first consideration about Jesus being a carpenter, and part of my religious mentality is,

• He did NOT say these words about Himself; they were spoken by others about His father.

  Matthew 13:55 "Is not this the carpenter's son?

• Secondly, those speaking about Him did NOT say carpenter, they called Him a tektōn.

  A tektōn is a craftsman and does not limit Him to being a carpenter. The idea of Him being a carpenter came from tradition and tradition said, you learned your father's trade. If you want to have a problem with this, you can take guesses as to how old Jesus was when Joseph died.

• So we cannot assume that Jesus was a carpenter, but we do.

  So we live in an extra-biblical world on a regular basis.

So, how does this information change my life or perception?

Perhaps it does not change anything unless you are willing to consider information OTHER than direct Biblical information.

Guess what I talked about with these strangers? Archaeology, and how the Israeli archaeologists had uncovered a granite quarry, no more than a quarter-mile outside of Nazareth, the town Jesus grew up in. At the quarry, those scientists found broken and partially completed remnants of granite drinkware, all of which showed clear lathe marks. The family I shared this information with seemed to follow what I was saying.

With only a moment's hesitation, the husband says, “I do NOT believe that we should consider anything extra-biblical in forming our understanding of Jesus.”

I responded by saying, fascinating that you should say that, as we accept the idea that Jesus was a carpenter when the Greek terminology tells us that Jesus was a tektōn. We don't challenge what the word tektōn means, we merely accept that it means Jesus was a carpenter, however, it is an undefined term and cannot be defined without additional information.

So what do we do?

We chose to ignore that archaeology has intelligibly demonstrated that it was possible for Jesus to be a craftsman at this particular quarry.

You might try to tell me that we have no evidence to demonstrate that Jesus was a craftsman with granite, but we do, and it is NOT so un-biblical. In the second chapter of John's gospel, Jesus and the disciples were invited to a wedding in Cana of Galilee.

“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, "They have no wine." And Jesus *said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." His mother *said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."”
(John 2:1-5 NASB)

No other disciple recorded this incident so we have NO other biblical information to pull from, and, therefore, have to make logical, even non-biblical assumptions.

• What we do see is a mother inserting herself into a situation that may not have been her responsibility.

• We do not know how she would know they were out of wine,

• And, neither do we know the nationality of the servants that Mary spoke to.

  To say they were Jewish servants is pure conjecture on your part. Since the Jews were so quick to tell Jesus, we have NEVER been slaves to anyone, we must presume that these were Gentile slaves.

• What is made very clear to us, is that Mary understood Jesus' capabilities for the miraculous, and told the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

What happened next is extraordinary.

• Jesus seemed to know that there were stone pots, of enormous size.

  Remember, we have NO other constrictive information, so anything we assume about this is conjecture.

Now there were six stone water-pots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus *said to them, "Fill the water-pots with water." So they filled them up to the brim. And He *said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him. (John 2:6-8 NASB)

Nobody pays attention to the fact that these stone pots were most likely handcrafted, lathed, and capable of holding up to thirty gallons of water; and quite possibly made one-quarter mile outside of Nazareth. The other significant thing was that they were made of stone.

What is the big deal about that?

Israel had some severe sanitary laws, laid out by God, that they had to abide by. For example.

'As for any earthenware vessel into which one of them may fall, whatever is in it becomes unclean and you shall break the vessel. (Leviticus 11:33 NASB)

For the longest time, all they had was wood or clay vessels from which to eat. However, history records that several years prior to this wedding, an enterprising Jewish council member, realizing that the restrictions of God's law said NOTHING about granite and therefore was meant by God to always be ceremonially clean, This entrepreneur presented his case to the council and they agreed. From that day forward granite was declared perpetually clean and is looked on as clean to this day. For the most part, we Gentiles know nothing about Jewish laws concerning cleanliness, nor do we know that a Jew could explain this to you if you asked, as they hold to this exception today. If those pots had been earthenware and Gentile slaves had touched them, the pots would have to be broken and trashed; but since they were granite, Jesus could have slaves fill them, without a thought.

Is it possible that the craftsman, Jesus, made those very pots?

We have nothing to tell us otherwise. Because Jewish law was modified, it was now possible for Gentiles to fill the waterpots without harm. All this information may have played a role in Jesus turning the water into wine, but should you exclude it because it is extra-biblical?

The answer from this man I spoke to was, no.

If I have done my job in conveying this story, then you should be able to see that extra-biblical information might help to explain who this false prophet is.

While we, in the Christian community, have prophetic Words and scriptures contained with the Bible to guide us in our attempt to understand, don't be shocked to find out that Islam does as well. For them, scriptures are the words of the Qur'an and they have their own prophetic words in writings called hadith.

Our imagery of the false prophet varies so much that some portrayals show the man as a vicious wolf covered in sheepskin; and yet, this is how Islam portrays Jesus, although they don't call Him that, they call him the Dajjal¹.

Here is a short definition of what they perceive the Dajjal to be.

Dajjal means "deceiver" in Arabic. In Islamic eschatology, Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal is an evil false prophet who, it is said, will come to earth and try to lure people into following Shaytan (Satan). It is believed he will then be destroyed by Christ or the Imam Mahdi.

The Dajjal, to Muslims, is the false prophet, which we believers understand to be Jesus. How convenient that Jesus shows up about the same time as the biblical end of the false prophet, and Islam's Mahdi – the antichrist.

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."" (Revelation 19:11-16 NASB)

And the beast [the Antichrist] was seized and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast [An interesting fact is that the only one who takes this mark will be those who DO NOT have their names written in the book of Life.] and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. (Revelation 19:20 NASB)

How does the Bible describe the false prophet?

Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. (Revelation 13:11 NASB)

The fact that he had two horns like a lamb is indicative of him being a representative of “godly teaching,” either that or a Jew. Keep in mind, that the Bible sitting on your shelf, is a Jewish book and is centered on the Jews. We, the church, are just a side note.

As I have pointed out in previous posts, there is a man that already exists and fits this role. His name is Rabbi Baruch Kahane, and he has been the high priest designate since 2016. When I mention this and show the picture of the Rabbi, their response is, he seems like a nice man.

This phrase “ he seems like a nice man” is exactly what the enemy wants out of us, as it will be the catalyst for a great deception. Think about this, scripture tells us that he has two horns like a lamb. City folk, like myself, perceive the horns as a bad thing not knowing that sheep are born with horns and that the shepherds presumably cut them off to preserve the wool of other sheep.

"For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. (Matthew 24:24 NASB)

If, a loved man, like this, suddenly began performing great signs and wonders, do you think it might be possible to draw Jewish teachers away from their fragile relationships with God?

No doubt in my mind, although religious teachers, who ignore God's words, portray this “misleading” differently and try to make you think this is talking about you instead of God's chosen – the Jewish leadership. Remember, there is always a context and it applies to a time when the church, as the body of Christ, is gone. It would be impossible to mislead the church if it has been caught away. Secondly, this time is halfway through the seven years of God's wrath upon Israel and the nations – the time seen as the time of the antichrist.

• Horns like a sheep are telling us that the false prophet is a religious man.

• Performing great signs only happens at the halfway point, and, up to this point has NOT been a regular part of the false prophet's functions. If this man, who becomes the false prophet, has been acting as the high priest, imagine the awe and respect he will have.

• When it comes to signs and wonders, you have to keep in mind that there have been two witnesses from God, and they have been performing signs and testifying of God's greatness for three and one-half years. With their mission accomplished God allows for them to die. You have to realize that everyone has tried to kill them without success or harm. These two witnesses have been doing the very thing that this false prophet will do. It is not a question of mimicry, but it is exactly what Satan/the serpent/the dragon does, he perverts God's will and ways, and, as scripture shows us, he is empowered by Satan just as the beast is.

Revelation 13:11-12 NASB “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence...”

Daniel 8:24 is speaking about the insolent king that will come when he says this.

"His power will be mighty, but not by his own power, And he will destroy to an extraordinary degree And prosper and perform his will; He will destroy mighty men and the holy people. (Daniel 8:24 NASB)

Since you know that the false prophet exercises ALL THE AUTHORITY of the first beast, then you should understand that it is the dragon that gives the false prophet this authority. If you want validation of what I just told you above, then read the entirety of Revelation 13:11-17.

One last comment.

These two passages that I initiated this study with are here to show you a purpose.

And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.
(Revelation 16:13-14 NASB)

The entirety of their purpose is to gather the kings of the whole world for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.

“kings” is the Greek word basileus, and according to Thayer's definitions also means leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land.

It would seem that everyone who thinks they have power is being drawn to this battle.

The terminology that the NASB uses is the phrase “the war of the great day of God, the Almighty,” Many focus on the term Armageddon and will deem this battle we see in Revelation 16:14 to be that very battle.

If you do a word search for the term Armageddon the KJV produces one result, while the NASB gives us NO instances of the term.

The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury defines Armageddon in this manner. It is called

• The hill of slaughter,

• The Mount of Decision or Sentence (Lange).

• The Meggido Valley,

• A symbol of defeat;

• A hill of victory.

• Armageddon is also known as, the Hill of Megiddo, where the Lord would avenge the crime of the heathen (Gebhardt, p. 274, cited in Dusterdiek, Note LXXX, p. 425)

• I will add that virtually every Biblical battle has been fought in this valley.

  An example of this comes from the book of Judges.

  "Kings came; they fought. Yes, the kings of Kena`an fought at Ta`anakh, by the waters of Megiddo; but they took no spoil of silver. (Judges 5:19 CJB)

• And that Megiddo is situated in the plain of Jezreel, which happens to be where David killed Goliath.

  1 Samuel 29 tells us of how David, running from King Saul, went to Achish and allied himself to him, in the land of Philistines, the Jezreel valley.

Though we are not there yet, the only place we find Armageddon in the scriptures is in Revelation 16.

And he shall gather them together into a place which in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

(Revelation 16:16 DRB)

Notice that it does not imply that you will find the word in the Old Testament, merely because it says, “in Hebrew is called Armageddon.”

So, in the world of battles, we have the

• Gog, Magog war of Ezekiel 38,39

  This will be a massive attack against Israel. It almost sounds as though this war has some nuclear weapons being launched, and God appears to launch fireballs against the enemies of Israel. This might happen moments before the rapture of the church, or a short time later; it's hard to say.

• The antichrist calls for peace, but keep in mind that Israel is not mentioned in that call. Three and half years later, the false prophet will launch a deadly war against believers and Jews. At some point 2/3 of Israel is killed or destroyed.

• Revelation 19 tells us that Jesus returns at the end of the time of wrath. All those who chose to fight against Him will be killed. This battle also happens in the Jezreel valley, and there is where the blood will run as high as the horses' bridle.

• After all this, we enter a thousand years of peace. While people stop fighting, considering that the nations, though limited in number, will continue to live during this time and still have their free will choices. At least Satan will be bound and unable to affect their decision-making process. At the end of this thousand-year period,  Satan will be released to deceive the nations one last time. They will rise up in a war against God and the Holy City, where most of us will live. This battle will also take place in the Jezreel valley.

With this information and lack of scriptural witnesses, it seems that it would be inappropriate to walk in confusion and call everything the battle of Armageddon.

Hopefully, this helps.

Today would be a great day to turn your life over to the Lord.

1I had intended to give you extensive, extra-biblical, information, but I get whined at about my posts being too long already. If you want more information then I suggest you do an internet search for: Dajjal; Isa ibn Maryam; The Mahdi; Twelvers; Islamic prophecies; Qur'an, and Islamic eschatology. You should find the answers you seek.