Part 4
“It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.”-Revelation 13:12
Perhaps the greatest threats to a one world government and currency are the numerous and diverse religious communities that exist around the world; each religion armed with its own doctrine, beliefs and objections. It is hard to fathom, but in the last days, there will be a false prophet that will appear that will lead the entire world to worship the Anti-christ.
How is it possible that such a variety of religions that seem so opposed to one another would ever come together in a solitary religion? It will begin by bringing all the world religions together under the guise unity. However, the ultimate goal will be singular worship of the Anti-christ. The Ecumenical movement we see today promotes unity among churches and denominations, but also a variety of religions. It stresses religious inclusiveness and denies the possibility that there is only one way to heaven, as is confessed by Christianity. It believes that all religions are equal and can coexist, however, those who refute this concept are marginalized and excluded.
So, is there a push for this type of united religious organization? On June 26, 1995, an Ecumenical service was held in San Francisco to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter. After this ecumenical meeting, exactly five years later, the United Religions Initiative (URI) was founded. Their stated goal is to bridge differences between people of all beliefs, to create community, and to solve local and global challenges. Is there much support globally for such a movement? According to the URI website there are 1078 cooperation circles working in over 111 countries. I am no way saying that the URI is the emerging one world religion, but the framework is firmly in place.
In 2019, another development signaled a continued pursuit towards these ends, when plans were unveiled for a new massive interfaith complex in Abu Dhabi which would include a mosque, a church and a synagogue.The facility, to be known as the Abrahamic Family House, will be located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This happening at the same time as the Abraham Accords and normalization agreements (peace deals) between Israel and UAE were being established. It is easy to see that the framework for a one world religion has already been set in place.
However, these are not the only events signally the return of Christ. Ezekiel 38 records a prophesy regarding a future war that Israel will be thrust into:
“Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you. 7 “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. 8 After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. 9 You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”-Ezekiel 38:1-9
As you read the biblical account several countries are said to come from the north in opposition to Israel. Bible scholars have proposed that some of those nations mentioned include: Rosh-Russia, Beth-Togarmah-Turkey, and Persia-Iran. As we speak, just north of Israel is a country that is in complete upheaval- Syria. Since 2015 Russian, Iranian, and Turkish troops have occupied various parts of that nation. Russia established a military presence in 2015. Turkey in northern Syria inserted a military force in 2016 and Iran in 2015. Does this mean that the Ezekiel 38 war is imminent? Perhaps, but at the very least the framework for such a war is in place.
Next week we will conclude our study looking at just a couple additional things that are unfolding before us that are signaling the soon return of Christ.
Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church
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