2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye, not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

There is one final prophesied event which must take place and be fulfilled as it is written in the Word of God, before Jesus Christ can come again.

This final event that is spoken of and declared by Jesus Christ Himself as well as the prophets Jeremiah, Daniel, and Habakkuk and the Apostle Paul, is sure to come upon this present generation (genea) that has witnessed the blossoming not only of the "fig tree" (modern Israel) but also "all the trees" (the modern nations of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt) which immediately border Israel.

This final prophesied event, that is known by different descriptions in the various Scriptures, will take place in the city of Jerusalem and will be the last awakening sign that the coming of the Lord and of the end of the world (the present age) is at hand and upon us.

When this event occurs before the eyes (visible and literally) of the whole world, it will mean that the saints (the Church or Body of Christ) will be entering into its final test: the taking on or rejecting the Mark of the Beast in the right hand or the forehead, in order to buy or sell. Revelation 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man, might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

There are certain unmistakable events prophesied in God’s Word that must and shall precede this final event that Jesus of Nazareth calls "the abomination" 
Matt 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
 

  
Mark 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: He simply refers to it connective to one of the other preceding events which will signal its nearness as "the desolation". Luke 21:20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

The "desolation", as Jesus clearly calls it, is a single happening that will be the beginning of "desolations" to fulfill Jeremiah’s written prophecies: Jeremiah 25:11And this whole land shall be a desolation, [and] an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, [that] I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.

It is in this inspire prophecy that we find one of the great purposes for the "great tribulation" which follows "the abomination of desolation" as it is recorded in Matthew’s gospel account. Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be

Now, it is plainly set forth in verses 16 -20 and 23 -26: the events that will follow "the abomination that maketh desolate", beginning at Jerusalem, as Daniel the prophet wrote in 11:31. Daniel 11:31 And arms shall stand on his part, and the shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily [sacrifice], and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

As is revealed in Daniel 9:27, it is only when the (renewed) "daily sacrifice" (that will be on the holy site or holy place) is "taken away" (Dan, 8:16), that the "overspreading of abominations" will follow. Daniel 9:27 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 over spreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

It is this one event that Jesus refers to in his prophetic declaration in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13: 14: But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains. He refers pointedly back to Daniel’s prophecy, who refers directly, in Chapter 9, verse 2, to Jeremiah’s prophecy in Chapter 25, verses 11 -13 of his book.

One of the great purposes of the "abomination of desolation" is that it is to be an unmistakable sign to show when the final "desolations" are to be renewed under "The King of Babylon" (specifically), that fell some two and one-half to three and one-half years short of the prophesied 70 years, from Nebuchadnezzar’s reign through Belshazzar’s reign.

This is one reason why they are the only kings of Babylon named and described in the book of Daniel; they are the first and last.

It all has to do with "the abomination" and the "desolations that will follow", called the "great tribulation" in Matthew and "affliction" in Mark. Mark 13:19 For [in] those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

It will begin in Jerusalem on the holy site, in the soon-to-be rebuilt Jewish Temple, following the "covenant" or final Middle East Peace treaty of Daniel 9:27. And, once this "holy covenant" is broken by the "prince" who "confirms" it (the "King of Babylon", Iraq’s future and final ruler), then the desolation will spread over Judea to the ends of the earth before Jesus Christ comes to resurrect and translate his saints who have "overcome" the beast and the "mark of the beast" to deliver the bride (His Church) from the Wrath of God that is "without mixture", or the seven last plagues of the Revelation, Chapters 15 and 16. Revelation 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, [and] over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 1Thessalonians 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is and will be no excuse for anyone to be deceived into not knowing and understanding the events which must precede the second appearing or coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Only if they do not "search the Scriptures" (John 5:39) and then not receive the word of truth that they might be saved. 2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

The time is now, Dear Soul, to take heed to the Word of God and prepare by learning the events that are and will be coming upon the Earth in this generation.

The final sign that we are to watch for and witness to others about, so as not to be "caught unawares" (Luke 21:34-36) at Christ’s coming, is the revelation of "that anti-christ" (1 John 2:18), when he shall go into the soon-to-be rebuilt Jewish Temple on the holy site atop Mount Moriah in eastern Jerusalem, and reveal himself as "that man of sin" by not only "taking away" the daily sacrifice and oblation, and sitting down in the seat of God in the Temple (reserved for the one true Messiah) in the room called "the holy of holies", and claim that he is God. Ezekiel 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart [is] lifted up, and thou hast said, I [am] a God, I sit [in] the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou [art] a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

It will be by men believing that "that anti-christ" is the Christ that they will receive his mark, number, or name in their right hands or in their foreheads. Revelation 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, I f any man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brim-stone in the presence of the holy angles, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

I say again, there will be no excuse. Hear and prepare now. Jesus will not fail to keep and be with you unto the end (Matthew 28:20).

By Jack L. Frost

Christ fellowship International
P.O. BOX 1791 
      JASPER, AL. USA 
35501

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