Comment: There is a lot of buzz about this subject on the Internet and there have been a good number of people asking me about it at conferences and through email. My response is always the same. Why would anyone interested in the subject of end times be more concerned with whatever the Mayans believed than the proven prophets of God? Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah and others wrote extensively about the end times. They have spelled out fairly clearly how the end times would play out. None of God's prophets have ever been discredited because they prophesied falsely. Their credibility is "over the top" on the issue. Yet, many people prefer to pay attention to other sources. In this case, the Mayan calendar.
    What is significant here is the fact that the Mayan calendar simply ends at 2012. The subject is left hopelessly to speculation from that point. Unlike hopeless speculations, God's prophets gave us the full picture. Thanks to them, the future is very clear:
    1.) Israel would be scattered from their land.
    2.) The Church would be founded and operate in the interim.
    2.) After many years, the Jewish people would return.
    3.) Israel would be reestablished and rebuilt as a nation
    4.) Israel would have to fight for their lives.
    5.) All nations would eventually come against Israel.
    6.) The Lord would fight against those nations at His return.
    7.) The Lord would set up His Kingdom in Israel for 1,000 years.
    8.) God would then bring New Jerusalem down and dwell among man forever. (See Ezekiel 33-48 and Revelation 19-22

Question: Will the Antichrist be a Muslim?

Answer: I do not believe so. The following are the reasons why.

    1). He (the Antichrist) shows no regard for the God of his fathers - he magnifies himself above them all (Dan. 11:37). This would be against the first pillar of Islam. All followers must state that there is no God but Allah. No Muslim can declare himself to be god, especially in a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem as the Antichrist will in II Thess. 2. If one did, the 1.2 billion Muslims around the world would have him beheaded before the sun sets.

    2.) It appears that the world is about to witness the collapse of Islam. Inside the Muslim world there is desperation. This Allah is supposed to be greater, but 1.2 billion Muslims are witnessing that Allah cannot expel six million Jews from Israel for the last 60 years. He is not greater and history is proving it. Jehovah is greater!

    3.) Daniel declares that the Antichrist will come from the people who destroyed the city (Jerusalem) and the Sanctuary (Temple) in Daniel 9:26. We know that Titus and the Roman 5th Legion who were in charge of the operation against the Jews and the Temple in 70A.D., were Italian Roman. The orders came from Rome, Italy. Those who destroyed the Temple were loyal to Caesar and Rome, Italy.

    4.) A strong point: All this is interesting to ponder, but in the end, if one believes in a Rapture before the Tribulation, WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE HERE!!! The Antichrist cannot be revealed until He that now restrains him is taken out of the way and that will be during the coming Tribulation.

Question: Some people have the bent that all Arabs (Ishmael's offspring) are mapped out only for disaster prophetically. Can you point me to a Scripture that addresses this issue?

Answer: Ishmael's descendants were to inherit the land "east of his brothers" (Gen. 16:12). This would include the countries of Jordan, Syria, Iraq, etc. Ishmael's violent tendencies are also prophesied there in Genesis 16:12.

However, according to Isaiah 19:23-25, peace will finally one day be achieved between Ishmael and his brother, Isaac. Together, when this Scripture is fulfilled, they will enjoy great blessings from the Lord. "In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, 'Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance". Isaiah 19:23-25 (NAS). How we should all long to see this prophecy fulfilled!

Question: Is there any one Scripture that causes you to conclude that the Rapture of the Church will take place before the Tribulation?

Answer: Yes. Revelation 3:10 says, "Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth". (NAS)