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On the left Senator Jeff Sessions is speaking at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee defending the Bush Administration's proposal to spell out new criteria for interrogating prisoners under the Geneva Conventions. On the right president Bush is taking his proposal to the American public. Friends, although these measures my be necessary to fight terrorism, we should know where this is ultimately going.

We have turned what Jesus said around. Friends, I fear it's not going to be the way we were taught. Earthquakes, wars and rumors of war are not the sign of our Lord's return -- they are just the birth pangs. The sign is the apostasy and the rise of the man of sin. Jesus said:

You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

Now comes the sign. We know because Jesus starts by saying "then." He says: 

Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved (Matthew 24:4-13 New American Standard Bible).

First Century Christians understood the sign of our Lord's return would be a great falling away and persecution of believers. That's why, later, the Apostle John wrote:

Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour (1 John 2:18).

Today, as in John's day, we're witnessing the rise of many antichrists. Yesterday, I actually heard a spokesman for an American Muslim organization say that Christian fundamentalists were responsible for the anger in the Arab streets. And, he said that moderates of all religions must unit against all fundamentalists.

Before you think that this was just one person's opinion, former Iranian president Mohammed Khatami apparently believes the same way. In fact, the International Herald Tribune reported that Khatami actually said that US president Bush and Iran's current president Ahmadinejad are "cut from the same cloth" Read about it here. And, before you think what Khatami thinks doesn't matter, Khatami is a founding member of the UN initiative sponsored by Spain and Turkey called the Alliance of Civilizations (AOC). The purpose of the AOC is, among other things, to fight religious fundamentalism See pdf here.

Every time I look at the initials of the Spanish initiative, AOC, I can't help thinking about another set of initials -- AOD. For us students of Bible prophecy, the initials AOD are for what Jesus called the "Abomination of Desolation." If you recall, after Jesus spoke of a time of falling away of believers and persecution, He said:

Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand) Matthew 24:15).

So, when John said, "just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared", he was thinking about what Jesus said about the sign of a great persecution and what would follow -- the AOD.

Friends, although they call it the Alliance of Civilizations, it should be called the Alliance of Death. Why? Because, according to our Lord and Savior, it will lead to the AOD -- after which a great time distress and death for all civilizations will follow.

But, as they say, it's always the darkest before the dawn. For us believers, the AOD will also lead to the OGH -- Our Gathering to Him.

So, stay tuned!