Abomination of Desolation

The Bible predicts that at some point during the Tribulation, probably somewhere right before the mid-point, there is going to be some sort of assassination attempt on the life of the Antichrist. Whether he will die and actually be raised to life by Satan (God could allow Satan to do that if He wanted to), or whether it's a near fatal wound that is healed is up for debate. What we do know for sure is that the world is going to be amazed, and probably be more convinced than ever that hey, maybe this guy is some sort of deity.

At the exact half-way point of the seven year Tribulation period, the Antichrist, who is evidently feeling his oats from many military successes, not to mention ruling the world, and, oh yeah, "rising from the dead," will walk into the aforementioned temple and declare himself to be God. Not a god, the God. This event is known as the "Abomination of Desolation." With the help of his vice-president, the False Prophet, he will demand that people worship him.

Let's back up for a minute. As we mentioned earlier, up to this point, the Antichrist's government has pretty much let people worship how they want and who they want, which is one reason why these Two Witnessess will be such a thorn in his side. Have you ever seen that bumper sticker that reads COEXIST, where each letter represents a different religion? We feel that's how it will be for the first three and a half years of the Tribulation. As long as you practice "tolerance" and don't say that your religion is the only way, everything will be honky-dory.

All of that will change at the mid-point of the Tribulation. "Tolerance" will go out the window and the Antichrist will proclaim himself to be God, geting rid of all other religious systems. The penalty for not bowing the knee to him will be the death penalty (and you thought born-again Christians were narrow minded)!

An interesting scenario will come out of this demonstration of arrogance. For perhaps the first time during the Tribulation period, many Jewish folks will suddenly discover that this guy is not Messiah-like after all, and is far from the person they thought he was. But they will quickly discover that their problems with him are just beginning.