2 Thessalonians 2:1-4; Revelation 13-It stands to reason that IF INDEED the rapture of the church is near, then the beast, the Antichrist, the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction, is alive today and waiting in the shadows to step onto the worldwide stage. Who is he? What will he be permitted to do?

Matthew 5:10-12; John 16:33-As you reflect on your commitment to Christ, is there a scenario in which you would consider recanting, renouncing your loyalty to the Lord Jesus? Unpleasant question, isn’t it? Have you heard of Meriam Ibrahim? Her story is genuinely remarkable.

Ezekiel 38:1-6-Where does ISIS fit into Bible prophecy? It is true that the organization ISIS is never mentioned specifically in the Word of God. Neither are airplanes. Nor smartphones. Nor iPads. Thus, we must inspect what is plainly stated in the Scriptures regarding the end times.

Matthew 16:13-16- Islam is a false religion based on a false book written by a false prophet. Often we hear that Christians and Muslims pray to the same God. Christians pray to Jesus; Muslims pray to Allah. It’s all the same, or so we are told. Allah of the Koran is not the God of the Bible. The Jesus of the Koran is not the Jesus of the Bible.

Matthew 24:36-42- How close are we to the return of Christ? Good question.

Revelation 20:11-15-NO ONE had more to say on the subject of judgment than did the Lord Jesus Christ. Repeatedly, Jesus informed and warned of impending doom for the unrepentant, rebellious sinner. Ironically, Jesus spoke of the reality of hell far more often than He spoke of heaven, and always in the most vivid and disturbing terms. In fact most of what we know about the everlasting doom of unrepentant sinners comes from the lips of Jesus.

Various Texts--Does God have a calendar? If so, what’s next on the Sovereign’s timetable as we move closer to the return of Jesus Christ?

Matthew 24:4-14- Good news--the Lord, Jesus Christ is coming again—just as He promised. Are you watching for His return or are you waiting for His return?

1 John 5:18-20- In October 2014 President Barack Obama made this statement at a fundraiser in New York City: “There’s a sense possibly that the world is spinning so fast and nobody is able to control it.” What are we to make of such an accurate assessment? Are the signs of the times we now see precursors to the Lord’s return?

John 11:28-44- Every person who is now living has a sworn enemy. There is an enemy who stalks every last one of us. Our eventual confrontation with this enemy is unavoidable; it is inevitable. It’s coming. The text this morning contains, as one theologian summarized, “This may very well be Jesus’ greatest miracle!”