and we just got some good things ahead of us, and I'm excited about that. Turn your Bibles, if you would, please, to the last book of the Bible, Revelation chapter number 13. For some time, we've been preaching on this thought, what's next? So much turmoil in our world. Our world is changing in ways we never imagined. We've seen the upheaval that's been taking place in the Middle East. prognosticators getting on social media, other outlets that are predicting this date and that date for the end of the world. What's important is that we don't interpret the Bible by the headlines, but we interpret the headlines by the Bible. And what we want to know is what does God say about what's next? What is coming and what is on the horizon for our world. We talked about the next event on God's prophetic calendar, which is the rapture of the church, the catching away of the saints of God. We know that to be imminent. It is inevitable. At some point, Jesus is going to come and every saved person on planet earth will be transported in a sudden moment of time in less than a nanosecond, if you please, will be translated into the very presence of the Lord. And what a day that's going to be. A great reunion day for the people of God. You don't want to miss it. Boy, if you don't know the Lord, you need to come to know Him. You don't want to miss that day. How important it is, because if you miss it, you'll be left to face the terrible time that we've been preaching on now, known as the Tribulation Period. And when you come to Revelation chapter 13, you meet a man of beastly character. A man that's spoken of in both the Old and the New Testament many, many times. He's known as the Antichrist. We see as we've been studying the tribulation period, we've talked about the various aspects of it. We talked about its definition that it's a time when God will pour out His undiluted wrath on an unbelieving world. He's going to prepare the nation of Israel for His return. the coming of her Messiah. Right now, every day, there's Orthodox Jews that will travel to what's left of their destroyed temple that was destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman soldiers that had laid waste in the city of Jerusalem. And there they will pray and wail and cry out for the coming of their Messiah. Here's the sad part. They've been blinded to the fact that He's already come. He's already come and He offers salvation to whosoever will. The folks tonight that are going to follow the Lord in believer's baptism, they're not getting baptized in order to be saved. They're getting baptized because they are saved. There's a difference. Baptism doesn't save anybody. It doesn't matter whether it's sprinkling, immersion, pouring, dipping, whatever you want to call it. We know that that doesn't save anybody. It's a personal relationship by faith in Jesus Christ. And we find that the world has rejected God's Son and God is going to pour out His wrath on this unbelieving world. And we see that in the tribulation period. We've talked about its duration. It's going to last for seven years, the duration of it. It's divided into two parts. The first three and a half years, the beginning of sorrows. The last three and a half years, the great tribulation period, the middle section, the middle point of the tribulation is when the man that we'll talk about tonight proclaims himself to be God, sets up an idolatrous image in the temple in Jerusalem, and demands all the world to worship him. We've talked about the devastating judgments or events of the tribulation period. It's known of its worldwide judgment, the seven sealed judgment of Revelation 6, the seven trumpet judgments of Revelation chapters 8 and 9, the seven vile or bold judgments of Revelation 15 and 16. We talked about the great persecution that will take place at the hands of the Antichrist of the nation of Israel as Satan seeks the destruction of God's earthly covenant people, the Jewish people. And God still has a plan for Israel, by the way. He does. And we understand that. Somebody says, well, you know, I just don't think much of the Jewish people. Well, let me just tell you, if there wasn't a nation of Israel, there wouldn't be a Savior, and you wouldn't have a Bible, and we wouldn't be saved tonight. Thank God for a coveted people. His earthly people, the saved are His heavenly people during this dispensation of grace. Tonight I want us to look at the rise of the Antichrist and prayerfully we'll quickly finish our study of the tribulation period. Remember, we're doing an overview. We're doing snapshots, so to speak. Photographs. I know that's different. We're not used to that because now you just snap it and it's on your phone forever. It's not really a photograph. But we're just going to pretend like they are. How about that? Look if you would. Revelation 13 and verse number 1. John is seeing future events. He's been translated to heaven. He's been given a vision of what? shall be hereafter. And notice he said, I stood upon the sand of the sea. To the Jewish mind, that would be the Mediterranean Sea. There in that area of the Mediterranean Sea is the heart of the civilized world of John's day. And he said, And saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. We understand that this is not a beast in the sense of some type of creature. He is describing a human, an individual. He's a person that's going to rise up out of the Gentile nations. We learn from Daniel chapter 9 that he's the prince of the people that shall come. And we understand that will destroy the city, excuse me. And we understand that that prince, the people that destroy the city were Romans. I have no doubt that he's of an Italian descent. It doesn't mean that he has to be a citizen of Italy, but it does mean that he'll be of Italian descent. He will be a mastermind politically. He's going to rise up on the political scene during the tribulation period. Just as Jesus is the key person in heaven during the tribulation period, so the Antichrist will be the key person on earth during the tribulation period. You say, well preacher, what about these heads and these horns and these crowns and all of that? What does that signify? It reminds us that these are pictures of kingdoms and rule and power and authority. It pictures what the Bible prophecy students call the group of ten. Ten regions of nations that during the tribulation period, they will gather their power underneath this one man and they will give him authority so that he will be the last world dictator over the last world empire, which will be the revived Roman Empire. It's going to be a western group of nations. The world will hail Him as a Savior. A man of great intelligence. He's a man of resource. He's going to solve the social and political and economic problems of the world. Yet he has diabolical plans. He doesn't have a desire to fix the world. He has a desire to rule the world. We find as you study the chapter, and we're not going to look at all of it, that in chapter 13 and verse number 3 that he's going to experience an attempt on his life, an assassination attempt. Look what it says, verse 3. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death. and his deadly wound was healed, and all the world wondered. They marveled after the beast, this man of sin, Satan's superman. Just as God has His Son, so the devil has his. Somebody always asks me the question, Preacher, do you believe the Antichrist is alive on planet Earth right now? I don't know the answer to that question, but here's what I do know. That in every age, Satan has had someone picked out to become the antichrist because he doesn't know when the rapture is going to take place. You don't know. I don't know. Nobody else knows. And the devil doesn't know. And so he knows that the Lord is going to come. He understands the rapture is imminent. He knows that He has this last-ditch opportunity to rule the world through the Antichrist, and so He has someone picked out. Now listen, if Jesus comes in our generation, then yes, He's alive on planet earth right now. I don't know who He is, and you don't know who He is, and nobody else knows who He is, because He will not be revealed until we're taken to heaven. During His reign, about the middle point of the tribulation period, an attempt will be made on His life, an assassination attempt. He will mimic the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's why the world wonders after Him. He will fake a resurrection. And the world is going to worship Him. as the Messiah, Antichrist. He's a great blasphemer. Look at verse number 5. And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things, and blasphemies, and power was given unto him. This is the length of his reign to continue forty and two months. Let me just help you understand that this man may be a powerful man. He may be the most powerful human being to ever rule on planet earth. He may be the sum total of humanity, Superman in all of its sense, and I'm not saying he can jump buildings and walk through walls and have x-ray vision, but so far as having ability to rule and lead and solve and a genius and a military power, all of that wrapped up in one individual. And the world wonders after him. But God, as great as this man is in human eyes, God's still in control. Notice power, authority was given unto Him. Let me just tell you, no kingdom rises and no kingdom falls. No world leader comes to the forefront and no world leader ever passes off the scene apart from God's sovereign work and choice and allowing of it to be so. Aren't you glad God is in control of our world? It was God that brought our world into existence and it's God who will take it out of existence. We're not going to self-destruct. We're not going to have some kind of earthly solar meltdown because of the fact that we burn oil and gas. Sorry. I believe we ought to be good stewards of the planet that God created. I think we ought to take care of what God has given us. I believe God has entrusted the earth to man. No doubt that's good and it's right. But we're not going to self-destruct because of some type of hoax of global warming. Can I tell you, climate has changed throughout history. Did you know it used to snow regularly in Israel? It doesn't anymore. Just read the Bible. Climate changed over thousands of years. Climate's always changing. It's just a good way to trip people up who have no understanding of Bible truth. And to scare people. But yet, it works, doesn't it? This man's going to oppose God and the things of God. He's going to continue for three and a half years. In II Thessalonians chapter number 2 and verse number 4, the Bible says, Who opposeth and exalted 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. This man's not going to stop at just being a great leader. He's not going to stop at world domination. He's going to demand the world worship him or else. He's going to be a great persecutor of the nation of Israel. We learned that back in chapter 12. He's going to sign a peace treaty with them for seven years. That will mark the beginning of the tribulation period. In the midst of that, we know He will betray the Jewish people. He will then defile their temple. He will set up the idolatrous image. He'll proclaim Himself to be God. He'll demand the world worship Him. And He will seek the annihilation of the Jewish state of Israel. He'll be a persecutor of the saints of God. Look at verse number 7. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. and power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations. Look at verse 8. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of the life of the Lamb from the foundation of the world. And then there goes out an invitation, If any man have an ear, let him hear. Did you see that? Aren't you glad that in wrath God remembers mercy? That even in a time of wrath, God is calling on men to repent, to come to Him? Isn't that wonderful? We find that this man is going to meet his destruction. Before I go there, let me talk about how he's going to turn the world into a concentration camp. Look if you would, verse number 15. And he had power, authority to give life unto the image of the beast. This is his idolatrous image that will look like it's alive. And he'll cause that image. Look what he says. He'll give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. Did you see that? Our world technologically is there. It's there. Artificial intelligence. It's here. Everything is in place. In John's day, people would wonder, how could this be so? How would you give life to an image? But today, that's not hard at all. Just on a small scale, kids go to Disney theme parks and different kinds of theme parks and things of that nature, and they have little animals that do all kinds of things that are images. They're just robotic type things. sing and mouths move and all of that. By the way, you say, well, that wouldn't fool me, but yet if you lived in a third world country and you'd never seen any of that, it would fool you. The Bible doesn't say that it fools everybody. It just says that He'll force everybody to worship Him. That's what it says. There will be people that they're not deceived by all of it. But they'll worship Him. And you say, preacher, why is that? Look at verse 16. And causeth all both small and great. And by the way, God will send strong delusion that men should believe a lie. You see, if you reject the truth, all that's left is a lie. It's all that's left. Look, if you would, verse 16, "...he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free in bond." That means those are free men and slaves to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads. You say, Preacher, there's no slavery today. There's probably more slaves on planet earth today than there was in John's day. and that no man might buy or sell, save he had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." You see, he's going to turn the world into a giant concentration camp. If you don't have his mark, you don't buy your children anything to eat. You starve. You don't do business. You don't have any necessities of life. You say, Preacher, I'd never take that mark. You don't know what you would do when your baby's belly is screaming with hunger and you don't have any food to feed it. Thank God not everybody is going to bow. Not everybody will receive that mark. but multiplied millions will. We can talk about what the mark is. I don't believe everybody's going to walk around with a 666 stamped on their head. I don't believe that. I don't think there's anything mysterious or magical or mystical about 666. The world wants to make a lot out of it. Different Hollywood wants to make a lot of things out of it. Six in the Bible is the number of man. 666 is man in all of his glory. 7 is the number of God. Man may try as he will, but he'll never become God. This man will come on the scene, and the world will worship and follow this man. All of that will take place during the tribulation period. The good news is if you're saved, you'll be in heaven. You don't have to worry about it. Isn't that a blessing? And then we're going to see the war of Armageddon. Look over, if you would, chapter 16. Find, if you would please, verse number 14. Here's the pouring out of the seven vials of the wrath of God. And it's interesting, verse 12, what takes place at the pouring out of the sixth vial or bowl of wrath. Look at verse 12. And the sixth angel poured out his vial, his bowl, upon the great river Euphrates. That is a dividing river. It's a large river. It divides east from west, and the waters thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon. Dragon is a picture of Satan. It's not a picture that there's some kind of literal frogs, that these beasts are literal frogs. He's talking about how these demonic spirits are hideous. And they come out of the mouth. That means they're sent by Satan. And out of the mouth of the Antichrist, they're doing the bidding of Satan and the Antichrist. And out of the mouth of the false prophet, the unholy trinity of the tribulation period. Verse 14, For they are the spirits of demons. He's very clear what these are. and working miracles which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. It's interesting, in the midst of it, Jesus reminds us to be ready, or reminds those to be alive during that time, not us, but them, but I believe it is a warning to everyone. Behold, I come as a thief in the night. He said, I'm coming. We're near the end of the tribulation period now. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. Look at verse 16. He gathered them together in a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon. Armageddon is thought to be the last great climactic battle at the end of the world, and in one sense it is. Yet it's far more than one great battle. The battle of Armageddon is not just one battle, but it's a series of battles. And you're going to find that it will be fought over the tribulation period and the majority of it over the final three and a half years of the tribulation period. Whenever you study your Bible, you're going to find the word battle is translated from two different Greek words. And I'm not going to go into detail with that. But the one word speaks of a single battle, a single conflict. Another word that's translated battle in our King James Bible is a word that speaks of a series of battle. It speaks of a war or a campaign where there is more than one battle. Guess which word is used in Revelation 16, 14? It's not the word for one single battle. It's the word for a series of battles. And Daniel speaks of this, and Ezekiel will speak of this, and then you see here the climax of it all in Revelation 16. as the armies of the East, the Asian peoples of the world will be gathered against the West and they'll come across the Euphrates and they're going to converge in the Middle East and little Israel is going to be caught in the crossfire. Notice verse 15 will involve the whole world. Look what he says again. He said, they're going to go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world. Can I tell you this is not World War III? It's actually World War I. Do you know there's never been a war that involved every nation on earth? In every world war there's always been neutral nations. In this war there are no neutral nations. Armageddon will be a worldwide war where God will gather all the nations of the world together under the great day of God Almighty. Look, if you would, verse number 16. He gives us its location. And He gathered them together in the place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon. That word literally means the mount of slaughter. Geographically, it's located in the valley of Megiddo. It's a wide grassy plain about 20 miles long and 14 miles wide. It's the scene of many Old Testament battles. as well as in later history. Napoleon Bonaparte called it a natural battlefield. It's the focal point at which the armies of the world will converge and encompass the entire land of Israel. And as the armies of the world collide, Israel is caught in the middle and they will seek her destruction. But then we're going to see its conclusion. I'm not sure if it's in your notes or not, but if you would just take for a moment and look with me in Zechariah chapter number 14. Just go back to the book of Matthew, alright? And then you're going to go one book left and you're going to find Malachi and then right behind that you'll find the prophecy of Zechariah. When you come to Zechariah chapter 14, which is the last chapter in Zechariah's prophecy, and find, if you would please, verse number 3. If you don't have time, because I'm trying to move along to finish tonight, if you don't find it, just jot it down. You can look up later. And notice the armies have come against Jerusalem. He says, verse 2, He said, I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle. Verse 3, Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day, verse 4, upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall cleave, it'll divide in the midst thereof, toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley. and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south." And so here's what's going to happen. When Jesus comes again, He's going to touch down on the very Mount of Olives from which He ascended to heaven. It will divide into... there's going to be a great valley, and the remnant of Jews will flee through that valley to a place of safety. That's the picture. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azel, yea, and shall flee like as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Usai, king of Judah. And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. I just jotted down in the margin of my notes Revelation 19 verse 11. That's a good reference, isn't it? And so Jesus is going to come. When Israel's at the point of extermination, the Lord will come in all of His glory to be followed by the armies of heaven. By the way, I'll be in that army. All the nations of the earth will then turn their animosity toward the Son of God. And the Bible says in Isaiah 11-4, with the breath of His lips shall He slay them. Do you know Armageddon's going to be one with a word? The God who spoke men into existence will speak them into oblivion. Zechariah 14.12 says, And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem. Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongues shall consume away in their mouth. God will destroy those armies. Revelation 14.20 tells us the blood will flow like a river to the horse's bridle, four and a half foot deep for two hundred miles. And I love Zechariah 14.9, and the Lord shall be king over all the earth. Right now God has a throne of grace. He invites all the world to come to Him and be saved, to receive Him. But for in men, when they spurn His grace, will one day face His judgment. I'm amazed at how we want to spend all of our time making love of God. God is love. But that's not all that God is. God is also holy and righteous and just. And to worship one aspect of God's nature is to create an idol and to worship a false god. God's not some kind of mush god, some kind of heavenly grandfather that just sort of looks down at people and pats them on the shoulder and tells them to do better. That's not God at all. God in grace says to the world, Whosoever will, let him come. I've given my Son for you. For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son. Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Come unto Me and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth. But yet, wait a minute. God's holy. And when men spurn His mercy, they face His wrath. And here you see God's wrath. And Jesus Christ will be king literally and physically and visibly over all the earth. Can I in the final moments give you number four, the definite conclusion to the tribulation period? Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 24, except those days should be shortened, no one would survive it. And that's a paraphrase. He's not talking about it being less than seven years. That word shorten means to come to an abrupt halt. If God didn't bring it to an end, the judgments would be so horrific no one would survive it. God will bring it to an abrupt end with the return of Jesus Christ in Revelation 19. Would you just turn there real quickly? Are you ready to do a quick Bible survey? And we'll be done in about five minutes. Revelation 19 and verse number 11. And I saw heaven open, John said, and built a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true." Aren't you glad that God's faithful and God's true? And in righteousness, see, God is light. He's righteous. He doth judge and make war. Verse 16, "...and he hath on his vesture, and on his thigh, name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords." Isn't that good? You have the return and the reign of Christ. Revelation chapter 20, that's the climax of the tribulation period. Jot down in the margin of your notes Matthew 24. I think they're in your notes immediately after the tribulation of those days. These are the very words of Jesus Himself. of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. Can I tell you, Jesus is going to put the last period of the last chapter to the last paragraph to the last sentence of human history. That is, the return of Christ is the one great event to which all of creation is moving. Aren't you glad He'll rule and reign for a thousand years? Revelation 20 verses 1 through 8. By the way, can I tell you, He's going to mention 1,000 time and time again. I believe when God says 1,000 years, He means 1,000 years. Don't you? Revelation chapter 20 and verse number 9, you have the doom of Satan. Let's look at it because it's a glory hallelujah moment. Look at verse 9. Actually, I'm getting ahead of myself. You're going to find that he's going to be loosed out of the bottomless pit. There's the battle of Gog and Magog, Satan's one last attempt at overthrowing God's rule and God's reign, and fire's going to come down from heaven and devour them. Verse 10, And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. Isn't that going to be a wonderful day? where the beast and false prophet are. You know the beast and false prophet have been in the lake of fire for a thousand years and they're still there? People don't go to hell and burn up. They're there forever. And shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. When you come to verse number 11 of Revelation 20 of the great white throne judgment, here's the judgment of the unsaved. All the unsaved of all time. From the beginning to the end of human history will one day stand before God. Look at verse 11. And I saw a great white throne and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for Him. And I saw the dead. That's a reference to those who failed to trust Christ as Savior. It didn't mean some of them weren't religious. It didn't mean some of them didn't go to church. Didn't mean they weren't good people, but they weren't saved people. There's a difference. Good people don't go to heaven and bad people don't go to hell. Saved people go to heaven and unsaved people go to hell. And these are the unsaved dead. and they're going to stand before God and they're going to be judged. And look at verse 14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, but I sure love verse 15. Excuse me, I don't love verse 15. I love chapter 21 verse 1. And whosoever is not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. But here's the flip side. The good part of that, if your name's in the book of life, you're not going to face judgment. Can I tell you if you're saved tonight, hell's not in your future. Isn't that a blessing? Not only is the tribulation period not in your future, hell's not in your future. The lake of fire is not my home. And then there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. I love Revelation 21 and 22. Here's eternity. I love verse 1, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. Isn't that amazing? God's going to create a brand new earth for us to explore and enjoy. There's going to be a new city, verse number 2. And I love verse 4, And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death. Never again will somebody weep over the loss of a loved one. Never again will there be pain and sorrow and hurt, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. Verse 5, And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. What a day that will be when my Jesus, when we all get to heaven! Do you like that? And he said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. Human history's done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He said, Anybody who wants to come to heaven can come to heaven. Isn't that good? And by the way, there's some overcomers here. Look at verse 7. He that overcometh shall inherit all things. Who overcomes, preacher? We learned that. Those that are born of God. If you're saved tonight, you're an overcomer. Hey, let's say it together. Are you ready? One, two, three. We are overcomers. You're in eternity. Oh, isn't that wonderful? Friend, the good news is during the tribulation period we'll be in heaven. At the end of that seven years we'll come back with the Lord. He'll fight the battle of Armageddon. We're just going to be spectators. He's going to set up a kingdom. We're going to rule and reign with Him for a thousand years. This world's going to know peace like it's never known it before. And then one day God's going to wrap it all up. Isn't that something? There's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. If you think heaven's a place that's boring, you're just going to be up there plucking on a heart and eating grapes, you missed it. The Bible said, "...and His servants shall serve Him." Throughout all eternity we get to serve the Lord. You think you get to have fun on this earth? There's going to be a brand new earth for you to explore. You hikers. Wouldn't it be something to hike a mountain and don't get tired? Wouldn't it be something? You say, Preacher, I don't believe heaven like that. Well, you can't prove it's not. You can't. Show me that in the Bible that it's not. Did God create a world for us to enjoy here? He did. Do you not think He's creating one for us to enjoy there? Absolutely. Absolutely. What a wonderful day that's going to be. Let's bow our heads in prayer.