Seven Year Treaty
Sometime during this period, Antichrist will make a 7-year treaty with many nations, including Israel. He may even pose as Israel's great protector, because the Bible states that Israel will honor and accept him. The Jews rejected Christ, who came in the name of the Father, saying that He came from Heaven to represent Him, and was sent by Him. But when the Jews refused to receive Him, Christ prophesied that while they refused Him they would at a later date accept someone else who would claim to represent only himself. So we know that Israel will honor and accept the Antichrist, even entering into a treaty with him.
During his reign Antichrist will demand that everyone receive his mark on their forehead or on their right hand (Revelation 13:16-18) in order to buy or sell. This mark will be either the Antichrist's name, his symbol, or his number. We don't know his name or his symbol, but we are given his number: 666.
But all who accept the mark of the beast, as Scripture calls it, will damn their souls. This warning, plain in Scripture (Revelation 14:9-11), needs to be sounded loud and clear. It will be far better to suffer a thousand deaths than to receive the temporary benefits of this mark, and be damned to Hell! (This number, or mark, however, is not to be confused with present-day commercial numberings which have no religious significance.)
During this period, a great religious monstrosity (Revelation 17:1-7,15-18) will reassert itself and become a political power. The Bible gives this monster the mysterious name of MYSTERIOUS BABYLON, THE GREAT MOTHER OF WHORES AND ALL KINDS OF PERVERSIONS AND CORRUPTIONS TAKING PLACE ON THE EARTH. Seemingly, this woman is symbolic of a great world church.
There is a powerful movement underway among decadent Protestant denominations to unite all Christian churches and denominations into one great union, that would be tolerant of all ideas and faiths. This great body will then find solid acceptance and union with the major heathen religions of the world. This is exactly what these religious bodies have been working toward for years.
This great world church will then evidently ask Israel for the privilege (Zechariah 5:5-11) of setting up its world headquarters in or near Jerusalem. Israel will refuse. As an alternative, the world church will make the same proposal to new Babylon, and will be accepted there. They might even call their headquarters the City of God, located within new Babylon, as a separate entity within the city limits, or just beyond.
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We are told that the rulers of that time, the ten rulers of Europe, and possibly the Antichrist and others, will use this world church to gain world power. It is evident even now that those who advocate one-world government are those most interested in forming the world church. But when the world rulers have used the world church as a springboard to power and no longer need her, they will turn on her and burn her headquarters city (Revelation 17:16), destroying and dissolving her completely as a recognized body.
Simultaneously, the Lord will send two prophets to Israel. In just 11 verses in the Bible (Revelation 11:3-13), we are given a marvelous glimpse of these two prophets who will come to warn Israel of her ways and of the judgment to come. These prophets will be so empowered by God that they will be able to stop rain from falling and do as many wonders as necessary to prove their God-given authority.
Anyone who tries to kill them will be killed himself by fire coming from the prophets' mouths. When their witness is finished, however, God will allow the Antichrist to kill them. He and the Israelis will refuse to bury their bodies, leaving them in the streets of Jerusalem where they fell, for the whole world to view, evidently by television.
The animosity and conviction generated all over the world by these prophets will be so great that people will celebrate their deaths with parties and great jubilation. But after lying dead in the streets three days, the two prophets will rise up with new life and ascend to Heaven in the sight of all. There will be some world-wide shock waves as a result of this.
Soon after the prophets' resurrection, Antichrist will traitorously break his treaty with Israel. In the middle of the 7-year period of the treaty, he will bring his armies into Israel, possibly on the pretext of protecting it.