But let’s go a little deeper. How could this ever happen in our world? Many in our world today are convinced that religion is the problem and more specifically the difference in one’s religious or theological views. Hollywood has been making this point for years with nearly every movie to hit the box office. Take a closer look and you will see films portraying people from different religions working together for a common goal. You will see them demonstrating mutual respect and acceptance of one another’s religious views. The United States has seen their own President read from both the Koran and the Bible in a speech to the Muslim world. We have also seen the Roman Catholic Church create a dialogue with other world religions to garner mutual respect. But this is just the beginning because it only lays the ground work for removing the divisive force between religions and paves the way to a universal peace.

Before proceeding we must ask the question: “Why does it appear that Christianity in this country is so vehemently attacked while other religions seem to go relatively unscathed?”  I will answer that question with one word: “exclusiveness.” For two thousand years now the world has had a very big problem with the exclusiveness of Christianity. We must return to Ancient Rome to see how this all started. Rome was an empire that had embraced every known religion. Every time Rome conquered a country she would allow its gods to be brought into an equal footing with the rest. But Christianity arrived claiming to be the only true religion above all the rest and spoke of Jesus Christ as their only King which caused them a great deal of difficulty ensuing the great persecutions.

To this day many still believe that Christianity has tormented the world with its prophets of doom proclaiming Christ as the only way and its refusal as a certain path to the burning pits of hell. To preach the exclusiveness of Christianity is seen as divisive working against the possibility of world peace. As the world grows more tolerant of other world religions it has become less tolerant to Christians bent on winning the world for Christ. It is the belief of this author that the coming Antichrist or the one claiming to be the true prince of peace will outlaw any and all religions to proselyte. That is, to preach Christ to someone of another religious group would be punishable by death because it would be seen as an act of terrorism. This would be the first step in silencing the voice of Christianity and it would cause the entire world to rejoice and send gifts to one another (see Revelation 11:10). Many believe to silence Christianity would usher in a time of universal peace with mutual respect and acceptance of all world religions.

Clearly Antichrist will come claiming to be the true prince of peace and no doubt will win the noble peace prize. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

The election process was of no concern to Jesus Christ, because His method for bringing in the Kingdom would be radically different. Many of His fights with the religious leaders were over this very point. They simply could not understand why He would not take His place upon the throne of Israel, throw off the yoke of the Roman Empire, and institute His laws for all mankind to follow. They wanted to forcefully bring in the Kingdom and require everyone to be subject to its laws. But what did Christ say, “render unto Caesar the things of Caesar and render unto God the things of God.” So apparently Christ had a different way to bring in His Kingdom. It would not be done by force like the Muslim religion or other man made governments to rule the people. It would be done radically different. It is to these principles we must return even in the face of violent opposition.

Let’s be clear, this is a spiritual battle that must be waged if we are to stand firm in the last days. At this point God is still calling people into His Kingdom and away from the kingdom of this world.  Our Job has not changed in over two thousand years. We must proclaim the whole gospel whenever and wherever we go. We must proclaim a Gospel that teaches people how to die to self (deny self), pick up their cross, and follow the King by obeying His laws and serving His interest. Friends, when we follow His ways we will let our light shine as brilliant as the noon day sun that will attract others to Christ and bring glory to our risen Lord. When we follow His unchangeable laws then our righteousness will become our breastplate in our struggle against worldliness, materialism, and the antichrist forces arrayed against us.

Friends, the Kingdom of God is within us and only manifested in the assembly of God’s Holy people the true Church of God. Any attempt to manifest this Church in the governance of man will only lead to legalism, corruption, and bloodshed. On the other hand, following God’s commandments placed upon the heart of every Christian in the Kingdom of God would have a profound effect upon the world as we know it.  To reject excessive materialism would impact our economy more than any elected official. To reject the use and proliferation of drugs would impact the physical and mental health of this nation more than any health care plan pushed by an elected official. To reject the culture of immorality will impact the world more than any of the empty promises of an elected official. To overthrow what is wrong in our world can only be accomplished by doing what is right – one person at a time – obeying our King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.

But now we see something new, instead of attacking the West the people are attacking their own leaders seeking to throw off their old restraints and find a new path. What is really happening in the Middle East? As stated in my blog last week some believe that there will be a new spiritual leader, the Mahdi that will come in the last days to unite all the Muslim nations and dominate the world. There is a call from some to institute Sharia Law not only in the East, but also in the West. Quite clearly they see Islam as the only true religion that can save humanity from certain calamity as it sinks further into the pit of moral degeneration. There is a real fear that as each country’s dictator is overthrown it creates a void to be filled by radical Islam. And it’s this radical element that longs for their spiritual leader to bring all Muslims together in a Holy war against the West.

From a biblical perspective God deals with the entire world and that includes the Muslims. It is written in our sacred text, the Holy Bible, that in the last days when the revived Roman Empire and its political leader is exercising his authority over the entire world, that God’s angel will “pour out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water is dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.” (Rev. 16:12) Why would God allow this to happen? Are not most of His people living in the West? Before we are too critical of God let’s be clear that the Bible does not say that the kings from the East will defeat the West, nor does it say that West under the leadership of the Antichrist will defeat the kings from the East. What is clear, however, is that he brings them both to the valley of decision – which is also referred to as Armageddon. It is here where the great battle takes place between God and all of fallen humanity. It is very instructive that prior to God destroying all of fallen humanity in this final battle, God issues a final warning to His people. “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.” (Rev. 16:15)

So here is the point friends, we do not need to fear what is happening in the Middle East, but we do need to fear God who is sitting on His Throne. As the biblical Antichrist begins to exercise his power in the West this country will not become more righteous. On the contrary those in the West will be deceived into thinking that they can build the perfect world without God. They will be deceived into thinking that they can develop their own self righteousness to save the world and defeat their enemies (specifically the hordes from the East). In fact this deception will deepen where the Antichrist will promise to protect Israel, and then break his covenant with her at the last moment. Retrospectively, as the Antichrist tightened his grip on the entire world through miracles signs and wonders the deception will grow. But the truth is man must die to self and trust in God alone for His imputed righteousness. Those who awake to this truth and put on the righteousness of God will “not go naked and be shamefully exposed” at Christ’s magnificent return to earth. Friends, we need to be more concerned about our being ready for the coming of Christ rather than the turmoil in the Middle East.

Not only does Barack Obama deny the exclusiveness of the Christian Bible, but he denies the exclusiveness of Christ as the only Son of God. Obama’s speech to the Muslim world made the other prophets equal to Christ. He does this by quoting from the Muslim story of Isra as if he were quoting the very truth of God. He said, “When Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon them) joined in prayer.” The story of Isra indicates that the archangel Gabriel comes to Mohammed and carries him to the temple mount of Jerusalem. It also indicates that the second part of the journey takes Mohammed to the heavens, where he tours the circles of heaven, and speaks with the earlier prophets such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and then is taken by Gabriel to Allah.

For Barack Hussein Obama to unite every, “tribe, people, language, and nation” together as the new world order he must first of all do away with the exclusiveness of Christianity. Jesus Christ can no longer be seen as the last Prophet and true Son of God. Christ said that, “False Christ’s and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.” (Mt.24:24) So this means if anyone who comes claiming to be equal or more than Jesus Christ is a false prophet and must be rejected on the grounds of Holy Scripture. Furthermore, Jesus Christ said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except trough me.” (John 14:6) We simply cannot allow Christ to be put on the same level as Mohammed or any other prophet. To do so will destroy the very foundations of Christianity and allow the Antichrist to rule the world.