THE END: THREE AND A HALF YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH

Things will be looking up!  Israel will be guaranteed, by the one whose goal it to rule the world, that she can live peacefully within her borders for seven years (Dan. 9:27).  All around her, there will be talk of war, and in many places, war will actually be raging, but not in Israel (Mt. 24:6).  And around the world, in diverse places, people will be suffering from famines, pestilences (plagues), and numerous earthquakes, but not Israel (Mt. 24:8).  Israel will even have a new Temple, and will have resumed offering animal sacrifices!  Yes, the Gentiles will still be all over the place, but they will respect the sacred areas of the Temple (Rev. 11:1-2).  In fact, you might say that Israel will have it made.  Except for one little "teeny-weeny" problem:  there will be two guys who will be making everyone miserable!  

The two culprits will claim they are prophets from God, and they will spend three and a half years telling the whole world they are going to hell if they will not repent, and recognize Jesus Christ as their King (Mt. 24:14; Rev. 11:3).  Many will try to kill them, but every attempt will be thwarted by them, and believe this or not, they will defeat their would be assassins by breathing fire on them like some sort of mythical dragon (Rev. 11:5)!  That's not all; they will have somehow figured out a way to stop rain from falling, and they will even have the power to produce plagues wherever and whenever they want (Rev. 11:6)!  Not only will Israel be miserable, but the whole world will be willing to give anything for someone to shut them up!

Then it will happen!  The man believed to be the savior of the world, will himself be attacked by a sword-wielding madman, and though it will be a mortal blow, he miraculously will be healed (Rev. 13:3, 14).  Something will happen to him; it will be as though Satan will have taken over his body (Rev. 13:4).  He will not only be healed, but with Satan empowering him, he will be able to kill the "two thorns" (Rev. 11:7)!"  Thinking he had won, the whole world, including Israel, will celebrate their deaths (Rev. 11:9-10).  The celebration will come to an abrupt end when the two dead prophets stand to their feet, and the whole world watches them ascend into heaven (Rev. 11:11-12). 

For the first three and a half years of the seven year agreement, they will have preached the Gospel, and now, the last half of the seven years, which Jesus call "the end," will have begun.  He said, "And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Mt. 24:14)!  Now, all of a sudden, the Antichrist will desecrate the Holy Temple, and he will declare himself to be god (Dan. 9:27; Mt. 24:15; Rev. 13:4-8).  For three and a half years, Israel will be on the run.  But thanks to the faithful witness of those two men, and the blasphemous actions of the Antichrist, their eyes will have been opened, and they will understand that Jesus was, is, and always will be, their Messiah (Rom. 11:25-26)!  Even if they are caught and killed, they know they will spend eternity with the God of their fathers!
     

"The end" is the beginning of Israel's Great Tribulation!