Jesus told us to watch and pray that we may be counted worthy to escape all the evil things that would be coming on the earth in the last days. Chief among the evil things to come will be the appearance of the Antichrist but, we know there will have to be things that appear first before he sets up an abomination that desolates. He will in some way acknowledge a covenant with many in Israel that will last for seven years, as the prophet Daniel foretold.

” … and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” – Dan. 9:26,27

The phrase “confirm a covenant” has had many interpretations. Some say he will sign a new peace agreement with Israel; or some say it means he will affirm a previous agreement, such as the Oslo Accord between Rabin and Arafat and Clinton, but it could also mean he affirms the covenant God made with Abraham that the land belongs to Israel. This is essentially what President Trump did by declaring that Jerusalem is the Capital of Israel. If and when the U.S. Embassy is moved to Jerusalem would be such a declaration and that is why the Arab world is so upset by it.

Abomination of Desolation

Since the ‘for sure’ way we will recognize Antichrist is when he sets up his abomination in the Temple, the Temple must first be rebuilt. Here we have a big problem – no one knows for sure where the old Temple was located. Some believe it was on what is called the Temple Mount where the Muslim Dome of the Rock is now located. The problem with this is that location doesn’t match what the Bible says or what early historical records say. Some believe it was located in the City of David, which is just south of the present Temple Mount location. Recent archaeological finds tend to agree with this as is shown in the following video.

Daniel was told at the end of his revelations – “But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” (Dan. 12:13), and it is very interesting the amount of knowledge that was previously lost is now being uncovered. They have now discovered where Moses and the Hebrew children crossed the Red Sea, where the real Mt. Sinai is, and even the ark of the covenant. Some of these findings are controversial but I think the evidence for their truth is strong. So, at the risk of including too much data, I include the following video as well.

In a future posting I will include a video of the finding of the Ark of the Covenant.

Exciting events are happening for Israel; they have found vast supplies of natural gas in the Mediterranean Sea, and recently they found what is thought to be the largest underground pool of oil in the middle east in the Golan Heights.

All these events, and more, should urge us all to watch and pray because any of them could bring great consequences for us all. The discovery of new found natural reserves adds new meaning to Ezekiel’s warning – “… Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” (Ezek. 38:13).