The grizzled old missionary paused. He’d been preaching the good news of the gospel, but now his raspy voice was silent.

He placed both hands on the pulpit and gazed about the packed room. Deep lines around his mouth and eyes gave him a fierce expression, and he seemed to scowl at each person there.

It was December in South Africa. Summertime. Outside, it was a blistering heat.

It was not much better inside. The sweltering air was still, and the little bush church smelled like a stale locker room. I could feel trickles of sweat running down the back of my neck. I was miserable.

Lizards clung to the dried mud walls. They watched flies pinging against the smudgy windows. A captive chicken in a basket panted with open beak. Women wrapped in colorful garb fanned themselves with sheets of paper, grass fans, and scarves – anything they could use.

BAM!

The elderly preacher suddenly slammed the pulpit with his fist. Everyone flinched.

“AND THIS GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM SHALL BE PREACHED IN ALL THE WORLD FOR A WITNESS UNTO ALL NATIONS!” he bellowed. His voice was like a sonorous growl forced through a bed of gravel.

THUNK!

The young Zulu translator reached over and struck the same pulpit on the other side. We all saw it coming this time, so nobody jumped.

“LELI VANGELI LOMBUSO LIYAKUSHUNYAYELWA EMHLABENI WONKE, KUBE NGUBUFAKAZI EZIZWENI ZONKE!” His voice was high and shrill, but he did his best to emulate the elderly preacher.

I was quite young at the time. Growing up on the mission field as I did, I’d often heard Matthew 24:14 quoted like this. It was not until I was older that I realized there was a Part B to this verse, “….and then the end will come.”

I wish I could tell you that faithful old warrior was the only one I’d ever heard to use that verse out of context, but it’s a staple for mission conferences. That verse is still employed to excite candidates and to infuse them with a “higher calling.”

Earlier, in Matthew 24:3, we find Jesus’ disciples asking Him about “….the sign of your coming and of the end of the age(?).” This was just before Jesus’ crucifixion, and verse 14 is part of His reply.

Jesus emphasized two themes as He responded to His disciples’ queries. They are:

THE JEWISH PEOPLE – Jesus told of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in verse 2. He called out “those who are in Judea” in verse 16. He warned of the restraints of the Sabbath in verse 20 and about false Messiahs in verse 23. Jesus also used the example of a fig tree in verse 32. The Bible likens the nation of Israel to a fig tree, and His disciples did not overlook that connection.

THE END OF TIME – In Matthew 24 and in the parallel accounts of Mark 13 and Luke 21, Jesus reveals the signs of His proximal Second Advent. These are listed as signs on planet Earth (earthquakes, famines), signs within humanity (lawlessness, deception), signs of eroding faith (apostasy, false prophets), signs in the heavens (fearful cosmic disturbances, asteroids), and signs concerning Israel and the Jews (wars, severe persecution, hatred by all nations).

The phrase, “….this gospel of the kingdom,” sits squarely within the mix of these two themes. It is a Jewish-centric phrase, and it is associated with the end of time just before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

In context, Matthew 24:14 chiefly concerns Christ’s future Millennial Kingdom, during which time He will reign from Jerusalem. Certainly, Jesus preached a message of both personal repentance and kingdom expectation (Matt. 3:2, Et Al.), but as Dr. Stan Toussaint remarked, “Every time the term kingdom is used theologically in Matthew it refers to the same thing, the kingdom yet to come on this earth inaugurated and governed by the Messiah.”

Jesus’ disciples understood it that way too. In Acts 1:6, shortly after Christ’s resurrection, they asked Jesus a related question, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” They remembered Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:14 just a few weeks before. This shows Israel’s promised kingdom was top of mind for them, even if they were “a little off” on its timing.

All said, it is mostly ignorance that assumes the church will succeed in comprehensively evangelizing this fallen world. It is mostly arrogance which argues the church will gain dominion over this present earth by means of spiritual combat. Neither position is supported in the Bible.

What IS supported in the Bible is the fact that evangelism will reach its peak during the Tribulation – a point AFTER the church has been removed. What IS declared in the Scriptures is the good news of salvation will finally reach every corner of the globe within those seven years of horror. These truths conform to the larger message of Matthew 24:14.

To properly understand this future time of unprecedented trauma when the good news of salvation will be advanced as it never had been before, we need to accept three basic facts:

1. It will be a time of supernatural phenomena (Matt. 24:24; 2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 13:13; Et Al.)
2. It will be a time of unprecedented deception (Matt. 24:24; 2 Thess. 2:11; Rev. 13:14; Et Al.)
3. It will be a time of unparalleled persecution (Dan. 7:21, 25; Matt. 24:9; Rev. 12:17, 13:7; Et Al.)

Together, these three facts clarify how and why the seven years of the Tribulation become the zenith of worldwide evangelism.

Today, the strategies to spread the good news of salvation are many. Personal witness, printed materials, radio, television, social media, public events, and music and art are among the available means to advance the fundamentals of the great commission (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; Et Al.).

However, very few of these conventional approaches will find any opportunity during the Tribulation. The antichrist and his murderous globalist regime will make sure of that. They will work to stop it all.

Even in our time, censorship has begun. You are just as likely to have your Facebook or Twitter account shut down for stating Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6) as you are for exposing the facts about COVID-19 or for supporting a large prayer ministry for Jews. Truth is no longer welcome.

In the years just prior to Jesus Christ’s Second Coming, the means of spreading the good news of salvation will therefore include some unconventional approaches. It’ll be God’s way of getting the job done despite Satan’s best efforts to squelch it.

The Bible unpacks these exceptional methods as follows:

THE SAINTS – There is no question that people will come to saving faith during the Tribulation. The end-time Scriptures are replete with this evidence, and the Holy Spirit will remain omnipresent as He continues to convict the world of its sin (John 16:8).

It’s not this article’s purpose to argue those points. My point here instead is the gospel will still get advanced through personal witness – via those saints who have gained salvation AFTER the church has been supernaturally raptured.

But these won’t be your ordinary saints! They’ll be distinct from saints now – that’s why their personal witness is exceptional. These people will have lived in the church age, but they will not belong to the church. While they will wear robes made white “….in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14), they are not part of the Bride of Christ.

These Tribulation saints are exceptional in two other ways. First, as a group, they’re radically committed to the gospel of salvation during the absolute worst period of human history (Matt. 24:22; Rev. 6:9; 12:11, 17; 20:4; Et Al.). Over and over, the point is made that this group of saints is known for “….the Word of God and the testimony they had maintained” (Rev. 6:9, Et Al.).

These Tribulation saints will actively LIVE and DECLARE the gospel, and so they will contrast starkly with the unprecedented depravity and deception around them. Perhaps some of them will once have attended a church, but they were not truly saved. They will realize they were much more part of the world at that time than they were any part of the body of Christ.

That leads to the second reason these tribulation saints are exceptional, because again – as a group – they are far more likely to be martyred for their faith than not (Rev. 6:9; 20:4, Et Al.). The world will hold no promise for them – except to lose their life – so they will live 100% for the assurance they have in Jesus Christ. They will viscerally understand Paul’s words, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).

THE 144,000 JEWS – Much has been debated about this special group. Various efforts exist to define it as something other than what God’s Word plainly states (Rev. 7:4-8).

Chief among those misguided efforts is the assertion that these 144,000 are not ethnic Jews – but the Bible is transparent about this. It’s 12,000 Jews from each of 12 tribes of Israel, and they are identified around the start of the Tribulation. The fact that we – or even they – may not know their bloodlines does not discount the fact that God DOES!

The second claim detractors make is these 144,000 Jews are not evangelists. This point is touted because the Bible does not specifically call them such. It is similar faulty logic that concludes the church will not be supernaturally snatched from this earth since the word “rapture” doesn’t appear in the Bible.

The Scriptures make the points of the rapture quite clear, and it’s much the same with these 144,000 Jews. What we learn of them, and the context within which we learn it, tells us what their impact will be. It is evident this group will play a major role in declaring the gospel of salvation during the Tribulation.

Besides their Jewish descent, they are supernaturally selected and sealed by God between the opening of the 6th and 7th Seal Judgments. They are called “servants of God,” and they are marked for divine protection against the unparalleled persecution of that time (Rev. 7:3-4). They are completely devoted to the service of their Lord and Savior (Rev. 14:3-4), they are “firstfruits to God” (Rev. 14:4), and they’re noted for their purity and righteous conduct (Rev. 14:4-5).

I have this growing conviction that these 144,000 Jews are not necessarily from the land of Israel at the time God seals them. The Bible makes no case that they are. While they eventually show up on Mount Zion (Rev. 14:1), it is reasonable to assume they arrive in Israel at that time as part of the second – and final – worldwide regathering of Jews to their homeland.

The Bible says this future regathering of Jews to Israel will be in belief (Isaiah 11:11-12:6). A true faith in Jesus Christ as their Messiah will mark the Jews of this future occasion. That is a very different dynamic than “making Aliyah” in unbelief, a prophetically significant process we are seeing in our present time (Ezek. 34 to 37, Et Al.).

Meantime, Jews live in nearly every nation as a result of the diaspora (Deut. 28:64; Jer. 29:18; Ezek. 12:15; Amos 9:9; Zech. 10:9; Et Al.). They know the people, cultures, and languages of these diverse places they are now part of. They are perfectly positioned for spreading the good news of salvation “in all the world” when God supernaturally seals 144,000 of them.

Imagine the impact 144,000 Jews from all parts of the globe would have once they are commissioned as devoted “servants of God.” Some scholars liken this to multiplying Paul’s ministry 144,000 times. It is little wonder this group appears to be key in leading “….a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” to salvation (Rev. 7:9). This supports the core message of Matt. 24:14.

THE TWO WITNESSES – A mysterious duo shows up at the start of the Tribulation. Like the 144,000 Jews, there are things we know about them, and things we can conclude about them.

Among the things we know from Rev. 11:3-12 is they are based in Jerusalem. Their mission will be “to prophesy”; they will declare God’s Word and events to come. They will do this for 1,260 days – right up to the midpoint of the Tribulation. We know their message will be so unwelcome to a depraved world that multiple attempts to harm these two figures will occur. Those efforts will be unsuccessful.

We also know these two witnesses will have miraculous powers, including “striking the earth with plagues, turning water to blood, stopping rain, and consuming their enemies with fire” (Rev. 11:6). “Seeing is believing,” and it will be no different here when these two witnesses validate their message.

When their appointed time of ministry is complete, God will permit the antichrist to kill them. Their deaths will be celebrated as a worldwide spectacle. Just as public will be their supernatural resurrection and their ascent into heaven three and a half days ‘post mortem.’

What we can conclude about these two witnesses is their ministry of prophesying will be blunt. They will be hated by “the inhabitants of the earth” for speaking the truth and for showing evidence of their preternatural commission by God.

We can also sensibly conclude these two witnesses’ primary focus is the Jewish inhabitants of Israel. While the impact of their message will be worldwide, it seems most likely these two witnesses are sent by God to remind the Jews of the Messianic prophecies, to expose the truth about the antichrist and his covenant with Israel (Dan. 9:27), and to challenge the nation’s errant return to a temple worship system.

When all the issues are weighed, I feel we can reasonably conclude that these two witnesses are a miraculous physical return of two Biblical figures: Moses and Elijah. While Enoch warrants consideration too, Moses and Elijah best represent “the law and the prophets” to Jews. The miracles these two witnesses will perform are like those miraculous signs Moses and Elijah had performed.

Furthermore, it was Moses and Elijah that appeared with Jesus at the transfiguration (Matt. 17:3-4). Jesus had dressed this event in end-times language by stating some of His disciples would still be alive when they saw “….the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” (Matt. 16:28). The fact that Jesus gave a show of his future glory in physical accompaniment with Moses and Elijah is not a dynamic to lightly dismiss.

One last thing we can responsibly conclude about these two witnesses – regardless of who they may be – is they will call others into a proper relationship with Jesus Christ. That is not specifically stated, but it’s clear in context. Why would these two witnesses send judgments upon the earth and devour their enemies with fire if such consequences were not proof of Almighty God who had sent them?

THE ANGEL – Of all the unconventional approaches to communicating the message of salvation during the Tribulation, the angel “….flying in midair” in Rev. 14:6-7 is the most dramatic. It underscores God’s determination to communicate the gospel by any means – even those apart from human agency.

In this passage, an angel flies around the earth and delivers an important dispatch. Remember, this is a time when life on earth will see the unnatural and the natural coexist. We cannot assess events during the Tribulation by today’s routines. Supernatural phenomena will mark those years.

I have little doubt this angel will be visible to “….those who live on the earth.” What is most important is He’s audible to them. The Bible says this angel delivers his message in “….a loud voice,” and he’s heard by “….every nation, tribe, language, and people.”

The point is nobody is missed. From the remotest jungles of the Amazon to the icy vistas of Siberia, and from lonely atolls in the Pacific, to dusty villages in the Sahara – the angel’s words are received and understood by all.

The Bible states the angel’s message is “the eternal gospel,” but it’s not what you might hear in church. It is in every sense of the concept the “last hope” for anyone that hears it:

“Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

It’s simple and straightforward. It’s Genesis to Revelation. It’s creation, and it’s judgment. It’s about the need for a right relationship with Jesus Christ. Everyone who hears it will be compelled to make a choice.

This is not the seeker-sensitive salvation message we often toss out with dubious intentions today. There is no goal in the angel’s approach to be attractive to the lost or to “have a conversation.”

The “eternal gospel” declared by the angel is based in urgency and common sense. Conditions in the world at that time will support everything he says. The result is the angel’s words are confrontational, brief – and by every one of today’s lukewarm standards, “politically incorrect.”

They’re also effective! Everyone on the planet will know the truth, and everyone will be accountable to it.

Roughly two thousand years ago, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives and gazed down upon a city and a religious system that had rejected Him. He knew the church age was about to begin. While Jesus would task the church to be His witnesses “….to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8), He also knew it would conclude with work still left to do.

With His disciples around Him, Jesus pulled the curtains back on the future. His words were grim. He explained how things in the world would get much worse. But, by God’s sovereign design, it was all part of the plan. The good news of the gospel would finally be preached in all the world.

And then the end will come.

© Steve Schmutzer 2021. All Rights Reserved

No rational mind regarded the new leadership as legitimate.

All clear-eyed assessments knew the incoming man-in-charge was undeserving of his position. The means by which he’d come to power were marinated in corruption and fraud.

Conversely, the case of the rightful leader was legally sound – but law and order had been systematically undermined. The true top dog was spurned. Chaos abounded as his adversaries refused to grant him what he’d justly earned.

The fraudulent new leader was widely regarded as a bungling fool. He’d have stood no chance of gaining power if his unstable mental state had been properly disclosed. He assumed titles he wasn’t qualified to receive, even as he gained infamy for his bizarre antics. Nicknames which drew attention to his lack of self-control, his brittle ego, and his inept behaviors were well-known.

It came to light that the new leader’s ascent to power had been assisted by unethical people in key places. One might argue it was all “politics as usual,” but this was over-the-top “deep state” stuff: cold, covert, conniving, and corrupt. There was nothing remotely proper about any of it.

And it wasn’t far into the new leader’s rule that it was learned this cronyism was much bigger than it had initially appeared. Other countries were part of the collusion too – including their top leadership. These roots of corruption had run wide and deep.

The fake leader’s subjects paid grievously for his ill-gotten gain. The gravity and number of his authoritarian decisions were unparalleled. New taxation plans were heavy-handed, and decisions that eroded national welfare were made. Redistribution tactics were implemented which benefitted his shady supporters most.

Though relative peace and security had preceded the fraudulent leader’s rule, that all changed when he came to power. The new leader schemed with his advisors to undermine various places and pillars of vitality. Long-standing stalwarts of socioeconomic influence were attacked.

Foreign relations eroded quickly under the new leader’s administration. Diplomatic campaigns with other powers were insincere. Shoddy and meaningless agreements were struck, and the likelihood of wars grew.

Tensions and mistrusts swelled in the wake of the sham leader’s myopic postures, most notably in the Middle East. The new ruler made it clear from the get-go that his regard for Israel and the Jews was very poor. It was plain to see his crosshairs were on the back of the Jewish state.

Moreover, the new leader was personally compromised. Behind the scenes, he was indebted to other empires whose influence was clearly surging. His decisions could not cross the wishes and demands of these outside powers, and so they controlled him. These foreign nations cared little for the interests of the bogus leader’s own people.

Many innocent lives suffered due to the new leader’s disastrous decisions. Tens of thousands died as he failed to display even basic common sense. His zeal to enforce conformity placed him at odds with many who would not embrace his ideals. These dissenters posed threats to the new leader’s agenda, and he chafed as their liberties were expressed.

Rumors of a civil war simmered. His subjects writhed under his foolish antics, his desire for control, and his senseless schemes. This fiasco should not have happened in the first place.

The fraudulent new leader was Antiochus Epiphanes. Did you have somebody else in mind?

Antiochus Epiphanes reigned from 175 BC to his death in 164 BC. He ruled the Seleucid Kingdom which was headquartered in the area we know today as northern Syria. He is prophetically introduced in the Bible, roughly 350 years before his reign, in Daniel 11:21-35.

This portion of Daniel, and many historical records, provide a detailed account of a despicable king. Antiochus Epiphanes was not the rightful heir to the Seleucid throne; that claim belonged to another, Demetrius I Soter. With the help of King Eumenes II of Pergamum (Turkey), Antiochus Epiphanes seized the throne for himself and murdered remaining lineage threats.

The Bible records that the entire reign of Antiochus Epiphanes was marked by dishonesty and perversion. From beginning to end, his rule had a broader pagan agenda. His decisions pleased his godless supporters and other pagan cultures, but they displeased God.

Antiochus Epiphanes came to power during a time of relative calm. While his kingdom was still paying tributes to Rome for conflicts from years before, an acceptable status quo had entered. The century-long wars between the Seleucids up north and the Ptolemies down south in Egypt had yielded to a do-able peace. Folks had moved on with their lives, and routines were established.

It all proved to be a false security. Antiochus Epiphanes’ ascent to the throne caught people unawares. His illegitimate power grab was a dramatic and disruptive event. The unexpected circumstances traumatized many both inside and outside his kingdom.

His insatiable lust for power dictated his bizarre conduct. Historical records are rife with the claim that Antiochus Epiphanes was “not right in the head.” He gave himself divine titles like Theos Epiphanes (“God Manifest”) and triumphant names like Nikephoros (“Bearer of Victory”). Such pretenses failed to disguise his eccentric tendencies, and some of his contemporaries called him Antiochus Epimanes instead. It was a wordplay off of his name, and it meant “The Mad One.”

In the immediate aftermath of his rise to power, Antiochus Epiphanes set out to crush all opposition to his reign. He reignited tensions and initiated a series of conflicts with his perceived enemies. Notably, he murdered the high priest, Onias III. This signaled to the Jews under his rule that Antiochus Epiphanes was not going to tolerate any religious dissension to his policies.

A sobering fact on the ascent of Antiochus Epiphanes is found in verse 23. Here, we find his rise to power was aided by “a few people” (NIV). The New Living Translation puts it more bluntly, “He will become strong despite having only a handful of followers.”

The bottom line is Antiochus Epiphanes was not a leader who had gained majority support. He did not represent the mainstream, and instead, his base was quite small. It is why his rise to power was a corrupt and deceitful process. He would not have acquired power any other way.

Once in power, Antiochus Epiphanes and his cronies pushed the envelope of frank corruption. The Bible records these activities as unprecedented – and strongly socialist in nature. He schemed to tear down the strength of others, and he plundered their wealth. Historical records note that he distributed these resources to influence and benefit his most ardent followers – in the form of blackmail, bribes, and other unethical transactions.

A veritable list of Antiochus Epiphanes’ character flaws rounds out the balance of this passage in Daniel. To start, Antiochus Epiphanes was markedly disingenuous in his dealings with other nations. He ignored common sense, and he broke terms of agreement to act out of self-interest. He met with foreign leaders with his own heart ‘bent on evil.” He engaged in lies instead of truth.

To top it all off, Rome made the final calls. Rome was the new emerging world power, and what Rome wanted, Rome got. While Antiochus Epiphanes was focused on acquiring greater plunder and influence for himself, he could not overlook his own compromised position with Rome.

The entire state of affairs inflamed Antiochus Epiphanes. He blamed the Jews for problems they were no part of, he actively meddled in other nation’s political affairs, he sought ways to limit his subjects’ rights and liberties, he persecuted those who disagreed with him, he elevated those who supported him, he silenced others who spoke out against him, and he escalated conflicts where he perceived he had something to gain.

His irrational and tyrannical behaviors were so corrupt, so violent, so murderous, and so comprehensive that they incited the famous Maccabean revolt.

I already know what many of you are thinking; “So much THEN sounds like so much TODAY!”

You’re right. Many details in the story of Antiochus Epiphanes feel as though they were lifted straight out of America’s present challenges. An entire book could be written to make that case.

I recently finished teaching Daniel 11:21-35 to my Sunday School class. It took a few weeks to get through this passage, but as I worked my way through it verse by verse, I was also struck by the similarities between past and present leaders.

I received several questions several times as I taught this portion of Scripture. I share some of them here as I offer a few concluding points:

Why does the Bible give us so much information about Antiochus Epiphanes?

We are given extraordinary detail about Antiochus Epiphanes because he is a “type” – or picture – of the final antichrist. Nimrod, in Genesis Ch. 10, is too. Both came from the same region of what eventually became the eastern leg of the Roman Empire. That is probably significant.

Because the Bible makes the case that the antichrist will emerge from a “revived” Roman Empire, many people believe the antichrist will come from Europe. Such views fail to recognize the Roman Empire also had a powerful eastern leg, and that eastern leg outlasted the western one politically and militarily by hundreds of years.

Keep in mind, the Roman Empire never really disappeared. It merely changed form and function over time. It became the Holy Roman Empire and was once headquartered in Turkey. It then became the Holy Roman Catholic Empire, and today it’s simply called The Catholic Church.

Presently, The Catholic Church is headquartered in The Vatican, and its increasingly godless influence is obvious and worldwide. It traces its roots all the way back to its rise as a Gentile military and political kingdom around Antiochus Epiphanes’ time.

But the greater point is, we are given many specifics about Antiochus Epiphanes because much about him will also be true about the future antichrist. The Bible doesn’t waste words. We need to pay close attention.

What kind of administration will the antichrist have?

It’ll be a lot like the administration of Antiochus Epiphanes, but far worse. It’ll also be global. If you’re connecting all the dots here – it’ll be a much baser expression of the type of leadership we’re seeing right now in America: corrupt, deceitful, conniving, unethical, hostile to personal freedoms, anti-God, power-hungry, agenda-driven, suppressive, senseless, – – – and yes, socialist.

Jesus warned us we would see certain events exacerbating as the time of His Second Coming draws closer (Matt. 24:7-8). Typically, we think in terms of earthquakes, wars, famines, and such. But we are also seeing other trends in our time that portend the proximity of Christ’s Second Coming too. Like earthquakes and wars, these elements are increasing too.

These trends are “setting the stage” for one-world governance, and they include an erosion of national boundaries, an embracing of socialism, a systemic rejection of Godly values, an obsession with “mother earth,” and various attempts to force the masses into conformity.

America was the world’s last holdout under its previous administration. The “America first” policies of President Trump thrust a hard stick into the spokes of a globalist agenda. This nation’s current administration is now working overtime to reverse those prior policies and to make America an active participant on the one-world stage.

Why would God allow America’s current administration into office?

Many believers suffer from looking at the Bible through a wrong lens. They try to interpret the Scriptures through a western-centric view.

The Bible is not only eastern-centric instead, but – in the prophetic sense – it is focused on the nation of Israel. Dr. John MacArthur said it best, “If you get Israel right, you get your eschatology right.” For us to properly understand the times in which we live, we need to properly understand that Israel is the hub of end-times events.

From my vantage point, President Trump did a lot of things right when it came to Israel. He formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. He endorsed the Golan Heights as Israel’s land. He negotiated breakthrough peace deals with nations that historically were adversarial to the Jewish state. In nearly every way, he supported Israel, and the Middle East had a rare calm.

Not so with the current leadership. America’s policies now are to advocate for Israel’s enemies and to undermine Israel’s national welfare. The effects of such shortsightedness are obvious.

Tensions have inflamed in the Middle East since Biden “took” office. His policies have invited this. The IDF and Israel’s neighbors are all projecting an imminent war against Israel from multiple fronts. The prophecies of Psalms 83, Jeremiah 49:34-39, and Isaiah 17:1-3 could occur any day.

My own opinion is God is using America’s current corrupt administration to bring about the next chapter of prophetic events concerning Israel. God has used depraved leaders and nations before to fulfill His plans with Israel – King Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon are a great case in point (Jer. 25:9; 27:6; and 43:10). Like past leaders, current leaders remain subject to God’s sovereignty.

The story of Antiochus Epiphanes is not only a story about the past; it’s a window into the present. As we ponder the things which once took place, we are better equipped to understand the things which are now occurring.

The grand takeaway here is we live in the most exciting of times. The signs are so clear. We are likely the generation that will experience the Rapture. Every morning I wake up wondering if this will be the day of our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13). Nearly every night, I pray for that.

May God strengthen our hearts with new resolve and encouragement as we glean from His Word, and as we faithfully endure in one righteous direction.

© Steve Schmutzer 2021. All Rights Reserved