Mike Bickle emphasizes the significance of understanding the end times as outlined in Daniel 11-12, particularly the concept of the 'abomination of desolation.' He explains that this event will mark the peak of human sin and demonic power, leading to the Great Tribulation, but also heralding the church's finest hour filled with hope and divine exploits. Bickle encourages believers to prepare for both the darkness and the glory that will unfold simultaneously, urging them to deepen their relationship with God and to be people of understanding in these critical times.

Open your Bibles if you would to Matthew chapter 24. Matthew chapter 24. Before we get into this, I just again want to comment on what Ronnie Floyd shared. It was, you know, our common bond. So many in this room from different streams in the body of Christ. We exalt the Lord Jesus. We want Him to be our magnificent obsession. We honor His leadership. We accept the written Word of God as the final authority of all practice and doctrine. And if people accept those two things and the implications of it, there's all different types of manifestations and expressions of faith. There's so many streams in the body of Christ here tonight. I've told the IHOP family, I said, what's on God's heart? He wants the whole church to love the whole church. I want to say that again. The Lord Jesus wants the whole church to love the whole church. And when I mean the church, I mean those that are honoring His leadership and honoring and upholding His Word as the final authority in their life. Tonight we have about 20 bishops from Russia and the Ukraine. Tonight we have a couple hundred leaders from the Catholic Charismatic Movement, some priests and nuns here. Tonight we have some Messianic leaders from Jerusalem tonight in our midst. Tonight we have different leaders from ministries of different streams of the body of Christ. Many differences, but we love Jesus, we honor His Word, and I don't care what your building looks like or what you put on the walls or what you do on Sunday if you do those two things. And so I love the clarity of which we gather together with the important things being first. So Father, we come before You. Lord, I thank You for the many streams that are seeking You and all the different places of the world, not just in this building. I thank You for what's happening in Asia and all over Africa and Latin America, throughout Europe, all the different parts of the body of Christ. Lord, the Middle East and Russia, God, I ask You, exalt Your Son and honor Your Word. And we thank You in the name of Jesus. Amen. Well, tonight I want to look at an unusual passage of Scripture, but it's one that my prayer is that it is one that you become very familiar with. I'm assuming that not very many of you are familiar with this verse, but my prayer tonight and my aim tonight is to alert you to the significance of this passage. So when you leave tonight, you may not understand all the details, but you say in your heart, by the grace of God, I'm going to grasp what Jesus said here in Matthew 24. Let's read it. He said in verse 15, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet, then the scripture goes on to say, whoever reads what Daniel wrote about the abomination of desolation, here's a special exhortation, make sure you understand it. Make it a priority to understand it. Why? Verse 21, because when you see this happen, what happens is the next thing that happens in the earth is the Great Tribulation. Now maybe you're looking at this passage and you're going, I don't really follow what this is about, and I trust that you're going to be able to understand this a little bit in a just a little bit of a focus on this, and just because the notes are so brief here tonight, I want you to know that on our web stream, I mean on our website, we have about a, I have about a 15 page document explaining the details in far more detail. So I'm going to give you just a real brief overview, and you can develop your understanding more if you're interested in this. Let's read it again. In verse 15, Jesus says, when you see the abomination of desolation, now the abomination of desolation is the central event of the Antichrist's reign of terror. And I'll explain the abomination of desolation in a minute. It's a very simple principle. It's an unusual term, but it's very simple, so don't go like, wow, what's that? That's too heavy, that's too hard to understand. No, it's quite simple. But in a nutshell, I'll say this. It is the central event of wickedness in the Antichrist's reign of terror that's coming in the days ahead. But more than that, or in addition to that, it is the most sinful human act and the most powerful demonic demonstration in human history that is coming together. Jesus is saying, in the days ahead, human sin is going to come to and demonic power is going to be released on the nations beyond any time in history, and it's all going to be combined in this one act called the abomination of desolation, and it will trigger the beginning of the Great Tribulation according to Jesus. Now we read that, we go, oh, but he says, I want to tell you something. Go read what Daniel says about it, because this most negative event where human sin reaches the highest level in history and demonic power the highest level in human history, he goes, go read what the angel told Daniel when the angel revealed this to him, because what you're going to find out is there's great hope in context to the greatest darkness. There's going to be a breaking forth of power and hope and light, and the church is going to reach its finest hour in human history at that time of history. But rather than say all of that, Jesus points out the abomination of desolation, and he goes, now go read Daniel. Go read what the angel told Daniel. And we're going to find out in a moment, and we're only going to look at it briefly. We're not even going to cover all these simple notes here, but again, if your interest is stirred up, I've got a lot more detail on this on the website for those of you, and I trust that some of you are going to really say, I've got to get to know this, because consider it, this is Jesus. He's pointing to one vision in the Old Testament, the vision that Daniel the prophet received from a mighty angel, and he's saying in essence, Jesus. Now, the one vision you've got to understand is Daniel chapter 11 and 12, where this evil, height of human and demonic evil is described. Go read it, and when you read it, confidence will come to your heart. Hope will rise in your heart. You will have a sense of clarity about where the future is going. Beloved, we're drawing close to one of the most dramatic time frames of all human history. All of human history has pointed to one generation, and that's the generation of which the abomination of desolation takes place. Greatest demonic and human sin ever, but the greatest release of the power of God that has power and authority to triumph in the midst of the greatest darkness. Now, Daniel wrote about this in a section of his prophecy in Daniel 11 and 12. There's 26 verses, and I have it all on the notes and more on the extended notes, where a mighty angel appeared to Daniel and says, Daniel, let me explain the abomination of desolation, and let me tell you what else is going to happen when sin and darkness reaches its greatest heights of human history. I want to alert you to the value and the importance of this one vision in Daniel chapter 11 and 12. Now, I'm guessing many of you in this room are unfamiliar with that vision in Daniel 11 and 12, and I'm not saying that negative. I'm not saying, oh, you ought to know it. That's not my point. My point is, did you know that's the only vision in the Old Testament Jesus highly insisted that you understand? Because he knew it would give you great hope, or the body of Christ great hope, in the hour where there's the greatest darkness, the greatest depravity, and the greatest despair ever in the human race. There'll be two companies of people on the earth many filled with despair, confusion, deception, and another company of a billion plus, I believe, that will have a radiant hope, walking in victory in the Holy Spirit, and that is the body of Christ. He's describing this generation, the final generation. It is the most glorious generation in human history, and beloved, we're approaching that time frame, in my opinion. I'm only sharing this with you because I believe this is relevant to your lives. I don't believe it's a distant future. This generation, my opinion, it's not a prophecy, it's an opinion, that we're in the early days of that generation right now, and it's my opinion that there's people on the earth right now, even in this room, that will see the fullness of this within their lifetime. Maybe you won't, maybe it will be your children, maybe their children, I don't know. But in my opinion, and I believe I have a biblically informed opinion, when I look at what Jesus said as the indicators of that generation, those indications, those signs are emerging across the earth. Most of them are increasing on a global level right now, for the first time in history, altogether. It's called the signs of the times. Jesus said, I'll tell you how to know that generation. The Apostles gave signs. The Old Testament prophets gave signs. Now, I'm not a expert on them, but I have studied them pretty zealously over the years, and I want to alert you that almost every one of the signs that Jesus, the Apostles, and the Old Testament prophets outlined, almost every one of them are increasing on a global level right now, for the first time in human history. That needs to awaken our sense of urgency and being alert as to what God is doing in this hour of history. Now, some preachers, they'll tell you a generation is 40 years. And it might be, but that's not necessarily a biblical concept. In Genesis 15, the very first time that a generation was ever defined in the Bible by God, audibly, a generation was 100 years. So, I don't know if that generation that the Lord returns is a hundred-year period, a 50-year period, I don't know. But I know that it's a little longer than some people are expecting, and I believe that it's very possible that some of you in this room will see the fullness of these sayings in your lifetime. I don't know that I will. I might. But I know this, that whatever happens in fullness in that generation at the coming of the Lord will be happening in part for the decades leading up to the coming of the Lord. Let me say that again. The reason we want to know what the Bible says about those final years is because whatever happens in those final years in fullness, those final several years, the decades leading up to it, those things will be happening in part and increasing continually over the decades. And I believe those things are increasing right now. And I believe they're going to continue to increase. The final generation of natural history, the Bible talks more about that generation than any other generation. Jesus talks more about that generation than any other generation. There's a reason He emphasized that generation. And here He points out the abomination of desolation, the most, the epitome of human sin and demonic power coming to fullness manifests in an earthly way. He says when you see that, I want you to know there's cause for hope. It's not a time for despair. Yes, it will be a great tribulation like never been before, but go read the prophecy that the angel gave Daniel when he described this to him, and you will find there's glorious things that are happening at that same time frame. Beloved, it will be the most unique hour of human history, the most glorious hour of human history, the most violent hour, the most dangerous hour, the most glorious hour. It's going to be both extremes unfolding at the same time on a global level. And Daniel, he received from the angel the assurance of total victory of the people of God in the midst of the darkest hour of human history. It will be the church's finest hour, and the contrast will be indescribably great, the contrast between the two. I believe we are in a time frame of which it's never going to go back to how it was before. I believe we're never going to go back to the 1980s and the 1990s, where we were in a relative calm, as far as nations in history go. I believe the darkness is going to get darker. The distress is going to get more intense. But I believe the light is going to get brighter, and the power of God in the church is going to go beyond any other time in human history. People ask, are things going to get better, or are things going to get worse? And the answer is both. They're going to get better. If you love Jesus and you love His leadership, it's going to get better. The church is going to go deeper in the things of God, and a great harvest of all the nations is going to come to the Lord, and the Lord's going to purify His church. Now, we're all excited that the Lord's going to purify His church, except for, if you're objective and you're realistic, there's so much compromise in the church right now, not just in the West, all around the world. There's some exceptions. So much compromise. I said, Lord, what's going to happen between now and the church being filled with purity and glory? And the Lord says, read the vision that was given to Daniel, and you'll see there's going to be a dramatic unfolding of events. I believe the greatest harvest, a billion souls, I don't know the number, but I mean a harvest of all nations, is going to come into the kingdom. But at the very same hour, the same decades, the same years, the great falling away from the faith that was prophesied by Jesus and the Apostles. So somebody goes, what is it? Is there going to be a falling away or a great in-gathering? And the answer is both. They're going to be happening simultaneously. Jesus said that the wheat and the tares would mature together at the end of the age. The wheat, God's purpose, will mature at the end of the age. The tares, the counterfeit, the dark purpose, that's going to mature also at the end of the age. Now some people, very common, when you talk about the end times, beloved, it's time the church starts talking soberly about what Jesus said about the end times. It's not a real popular subject because there's so much negativity related, but there's so much positive related to it as well. We don't need to be fearful. The people of God have every reason to have hope and confidence. It's the church's greatest hour. For the people that love the leadership of Jesus, it is the greatest hour to live in. But for churchgoers who don't really have a deep relationship with the Lord, it's going to be a little rough. Many are going to fall away from the faith, and I believe that that falling away is actually already begun. There are, I don't want to break it all down right now, but there are some things that make it to me very obvious that some negative trend is happening in the church, and many people are backing away from a radical commitment to the Lord and a faithfulness to the written Word of God. Let's look at paragraph C. Paragraph C. Let's look at the vision that the angel gave Daniel. Daniel chapter 11, verse 32. He talks about the abomination of desolation, and the very first thing that the angel says, but know this, when that abomination of desolation takes place, know this, the people who know their God, they shall be strong. They shall carry out great exploits, and the people of understanding shall teach many. Now the verse before, the angel introduced the abomination of desolation. Again, you can read it in your in your Bibles and the larger notes I have on the on the website. If you want to get a lot more detail on this, I'm giving you just a real brief read at this. After the angel commented on the abomination of desolation in verse 31 of Daniel 11, the very next thing he says, but know this, and this is what Jesus wanted us to read, know this, when that abomination happens, when human sinfulness reaches its height, demonic power reaches a level never seen before in combination with human sin, know this, the people that know God, they won't retreat in a corner in fear. They won't draw back in confusion. They will be strong. They will be strong in their spirit. Now all of us in our natural personalities and our natural abilities, we're all weak. None of us are strong in the spirit by nature. Nobody is. I look at this and the Lord says, I assure you, the weakest among you, they will be strong and mighty in the spirit if they'll say yes to my leadership and say yes to my Word. But not only that, they won't retreat in fear and confusion, but rather they will do great exploits. They'll operate in the power of God. God will release miracles and signs and wonders through his church. In the darkest hour of human history, the church will have the greatest victory of any time in history. Then in verse 31, the angel is talking to Daniel. He's describing the trends that will be happening when the abomination of desolation takes place. He said, verse 33, look at this, because I want you to put your name on this verse. Verse 33. Well, verse 32 as well. There will be the people who have understanding. And what the angel is talking about, they will understand, not just general understanding of life, they will understand the purpose of God that's unfolding in that hour of history. They will know what the Bible says, and they will believe it, and they will have living understanding of what is happening in their generation. Jesus said, many in that hour will draw back and they will faint for fear. They will be so confused. They will be so fearful they will faint. They'll just give up and give in. But the angel tells Daniel, there will be a people all over the earth. They are called the people of understanding. And beloved, I believe there'll be hundreds of millions of them all over the earth. People that know what's happening. They know that the King of kings is orchestrating human history. They know that he is removing everything that hinders love. He is confronting darkness by allowing darkness to reach its height, to confront it openly, and then eventually to drive it off the planet entirely. You know, when the Lord returns, he's gonna throw Satan in prison, and all the demons, and he's gonna drive wickedness off of the planet forever and forever. Verse 32, let's look at it again. In the time of the greatest evil, the greatest demonstration of demonic power, the people that know their God will be strong. This is the theme of the Victorious Church. This is the theme for your life. I put my name on these two verses. I'm gonna know God deeper than ever before. I don't know that I'll see the fullness of these events. That's not the point. But I know this, that whatever happens in fullness when the Lord returns is happening now in part, and it's increasing, and increasing, and increasing as time goes by, as the decades unfold. It says here that the people of understanding, they will instruct many. There will be so much hunger in the earth for understanding. And God says, I'm gonna raise up men and women, old and young, and I'm gonna give them living understanding of what the Bible says about this hour. And much of the church just ignores what the Bible says about that hour. They say, well, it'll take care of itself. I'm not really into that. Well, I believe we're approaching that timeframe where we need to know what God says about that hour of history. Jesus said there will be great distress among the nations. Satan will demonstrate his greatest dimension of power ever in history. Human sin will reach the highest heights of history, and the Lord says, you need to know what's going on, or you'll lose your way if you don't understand what I'm doing. Because if people get fearful, fear is very dangerous. When people get overcome with fear, they make really bad choices. And the Lord's saying, you don't need to be fearful if you know what my Word says I'm doing. And there's a significant amount of Scripture about that hour of human history, and I believe we're in the timeframe where it's time for the church to be diligent about what Jesus said about that hour of history, and what the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles said about that time. Paragraph D. The angel gave Daniel, in Daniel 11 and 12, it's one vision. This is the vision Jesus said, you need to understand this vision. This is the one you need to understand, because it will unfold at the time of the great tribulation with great trouble around the earth. Many details were given to Daniel by the angel, and we're not going to go through all the details, but I want you to leave this meeting tonight saying, hey, I'm going to understand that vision. That's the one Jesus pointed to. It's not like that's the only one, the whole Word of God we want to understand, but if He highlighted that one vision, second, and beyond all the other visions, that's the one I'm going to really pay attention to. I have found, as I've studied Daniel 11 and 12, my confidence and my courage increases. Beloved, there's a crisis of courage in the body of Christ right now today. There's a crisis in the pulpits in our land of silence about issues that are very dear to God's heart. Many ministries are being silent on the issues that are politically incorrect, but are essential truths in God's heart, in God's kingdom. They're not politically correct. People get mad, but the Lord says, I want courage. I want boldness. I want you to have hope in your heart. Many will draw back in fear, and again, I told you, fear is dangerous. When fear gets a hold of a person, they lose perspective, and they make really wrong decisions before God. Jesus is saying, you don't want to be overcome with fear in that day, because you're in the dark. You're out at sea in a storm without a compass. He goes, you don't need to be there. It's all right here in the book. In Daniel 11 and 12, it's laid out. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. Laid out quite clear. But not only will people be afraid, many believers will be offended at the Lord. When things intensify in darkness, many believers are going to say, wait, my Bible teachers taught me it's only going to get better and better. The Bible must not be true, or Jesus must not really be a God of love. I don't get why he's letting this happen, and many will be offended at the Lord, because they're buying into a picture of the future that isn't biblical. Yes, it's going to get positive in terms of the glory of God in the church, but in context to great darkness in the nations. And yes, there will be parts of the earth that have a tremendous breakthrough of the glory of God, and other parts of the earth that will have a greater demonstration of darkness. And we don't know which is which, but it's in the hands of God's sovereignty and people responding in obedience and prayer before Him. I'm like Ronnie. I'm believing God for a great breakthrough in our nation here. I'm not giving up our nation. I'm not saying, well, it's too late now. I don't believe that. I believe there's a great invasion of the glory of God, a third great awakening, but I believe that darkness will also increase beyond any time, and I believe that both will dwell together. Some areas will have a far greater intensity than other areas. Some people will be confused, just utterly confused. But beloved, we need not be confused. It's laid out clearly in the Scripture. Well, the preacher told me it's gonna get easier and easier because I love God. It's not. It's getting harder and harder. Either God's a liar or somebody's confused. Where's history going anyway? To many people, history looks like it's a train that's ran off the tracks. It's out of control, but it's not. There's a sovereign king that's leading history, and he is our beloved. He's our bridegroom king. His name is the Lord Jesus. But it's important that we understand and have a right expectation about the future. I'm girding myself for greater difficulty and greater glory. I'm not choosing one or the other. Some say it's only gonna get worse and worse, so they give up contending for the breakthrough of God. Others say it's gonna get better and better, and they're gonna be deeply disappointed when the intensity of negative continues to increase. Many are gonna be offended. And I believe as things increase, a lot of folks are saying, I thought I was gonna be raptured out of here by now. It's happening in my life. What is this? Is the Word of God even true? And the Lord's saying, anchor yourself and your expectation of the future in what I said. Don't take what a preacher says. Don't take what I say. If you can't see it with your own eyes in your own Bible, don't take it. But don't take it, an idea, just because it's popular and thousands of people are applauding. That doesn't make it true. What's in the Word of God is true. And this idea that nobody could understand what the Bible says about that hour anyway, that's a lie. Many of the main subjects are very straightforward. They're not confusing. Yes, some of the nuance and the details we won't understand, but the broad strokes of where history's going is straightforward in the Old Testament prophets, the New Testament apostles, and the lips of Jesus. You can understand it. It's, you're meant to understand it. Let's look at Roman numeral two. This abomination that causes desolation. Jesus said, when you see it, He drew attention to this one phrase, and He said, Daniel will tell you what's going to happen connected to that one evil event. And again, when you go to Daniel, we're going to see there's an evil reality. There's great trouble, but we're going to find tremendous dimensions of the glory of God breaking out at the same time. Paragraph B. Let's make it simple. What is the abomination of desolation? An abomination is simply something very evil. Evil times a hundred. Evil times a thousand. It's the abomination of human history. It's the evil of all evils is what that means. The Bible calls it the abomination. It's not just in the same category of other evil in history. It's called but from heaven, the abomination of human history is the idea. So, it's a great evil. More. It's an unprecedented evil. More. It's the greatest evil and wickedness that will ever happen. Okay. It will lead to desolation. What does that mean? Desolation means it will lead to destruction. There's a great evil that's going to bring destruction or desolation to nations. I mean, this is really heavy when Jesus lays this out. He goes, now go look at Daniel and see what else happens when that evil abomination that causes desolation of nations. Don't give up hope. Don't give up and give in. See what God says because there's going to be a great release of the glory of God at the same time. Now, I wonder why Jesus didn't say what the angel said, the positive stuff. He pointed at the negative, the abomination. He goes, go read the rest of the vision and all the other positive. You'll run right into it. Now, the two components of the abomination of desolation you're all familiar with. It's the mark of the beast and the image of the beast. That's the abomination of desolation. The great abomination is when the Antichrist declares himself to be God and demands that everyone worship him at the threat of death if they don't worship him. That is the great abomination because the power of Satan will be manifest through this man in an unprecedented way and it will be the greatest evil. You all understand it. It's the mark of the beast, the image of the beast, and the issues related to that. It's very clear in Scripture what it is. But it's not like the first thing that you, the believers, will see is that event. There are trends leading up to that event. And when Jesus says when you see that abomination, he implies in it as you see the trends leading up to it, then know what hour you're living in. We need to be familiar with what God says is going to happen and we need to be alert to watching it unfold before us. Paragraph C. Paul the Apostle and John the Apostle, they talk on this subject in very clear ways. This is not a mysterious subject. There's a real man coming. He's really going to do this and the church will really triumph over this man. Top of page 2. Paragraph A. Now this is a long vision that Daniel's getting from this mighty angel. Chapter Daniel 11 and 12 is one vision. It's one conversation. There's no chapter divide. The angel didn't stop and say, hey Daniel put a chapter marker in here. It's one conversation and Daniel undoubtedly is spellbound, I mean just fascinated by what this angel's telling him, I imagine. And in this one conversation, this one section of the vision, the angel mentions the abomination of desolation two times. That's the only time it's ever mentioned in the Bible besides the mouth of Jesus. This is unmistakably the vision that Jesus was talking about. So we look at it. The angel says, I'll just summarize it, you can read it later. The angel says, Daniel, verse 31, there's the abomination of desolation, it's coming. Then the angel gives five trends that are going to happen in that hour of history. The angel gives five characteristics of that generation. And what's going to happen? One of them are negative, four of them are very positive. Then a few verses later, the angel mentions the abomination of desolation again and he gives again a description of that generation. And again he gives five different trends and so he describes the generation two times in the one vision. And when you put those two descriptions together, it's very clear the picture the angel gives Daniel, which is the one Jesus wants us to anchor our understanding and to understand where this thing is really going. Now again, I may not see this in my life and you might not. I don't know. The signs of the times are certainly unfolding. But I know this, whatever happens in fullness at that hour will be happening in part in the decades leading up to that hour. And those trends are happening right now. Let's read the first description. Remember that angel gave Daniel two descriptions where he says basically the same thing two different ways. It's the abomination of desolation section of the vision. Look at verse 31. The angel says, then they shall place there the abomination of desolation. They're going to put a statue of the Antichrist in the temple and worship the Antichrist as God at the pain of death if people don't do it. That's clearly what he's talking about. Verse 32. The very first thing the angel says, the people that know their God, they will be strong. We already looked at this. They'll do great exploits. The power of God will operate in them and through them. And those of the people who understand, they'll teach multitudes. Beloved, I want to be a man of understanding. I want to know what the Bible says about this hour of history. It's not enough to just put it off for some other generation. I want to know. I want to be a man of understanding. It's not too early for the body of Christ to determine to be people of understanding. And it's talking about understanding God's end-time plans. We got to cast off this idea that we can't understand it. It's too confusing, so why bother? The angel told Daniel, there will be people who get it. It's crystal clear. Again, not all the nuances, not all the little details, but the main themes are. Then he goes on in verse 34. And the angel tells him, he goes, but I want you to know, there will be great power. There will be great understanding, but verse 34, but some of the people of God will fall. There's going to be martyrdom. He's not talking about falling in sin. He's talking about falling as martyrs. The angel tells Daniel, the people of God will know God. They'll do exploits. They'll have understanding, but know this, there will be a level of martyrdom unequal in history. I don't believe most of the church will be martyred, but I believe the number of martyrs will go beyond any time of history. The angel tells him, don't loot. Don't, I mean, in essence, the angel's telling the body of Christ, don't lose your faith. Don't lose your confidence. There will be martyrdom. Don't be confused when it happens. It's coming. There's reasons for it. That's another subject for another day. But when the martyrdom happens, the people of God shall be aided with a little help. What does that mean? The Lord says when the martyrdom increases, and it's going to increase, it's already happening in the nations, it's going to increase and increase as the decades unfold. I don't know if the last generation is a hundred years, but I know the Bible says a generation is a hundred years. One of the biblical definitions. I don't know about the final generation. I don't know. I believe we're in the early days, so maybe it's a little bit down the road. Maybe it's not so far down the road. We don't know. But I know this, the martyrdom is going to increase. And a lot of people are going to say, well, if God is the God of love, why did those people who love Jesus die? And the Lord says, study what I said. I laid it all out thousands of years ahead of time, in advance. My leadership is perfect. I know what I'm doing. History's not out of control. I haven't forgotten the body of Christ. I'm leading a great plan where I will bring the most people to the deepest level of love without violating their free will. I'm going to purify my church. I know what I'm doing. He says they will be aided with a little help. And what I believe that means, that in the midst of martyrdom, some people will find deliverance in the midst of the martyrdom. Meaning one man will be supernaturally liberated and set free and protected. The other man will be martyred and the Lord loved both of them equally the same. We find that in Acts chapter 12. James the Apostle was put in prison by Herod and killed. Peter, his good friend, was put in prison at the same time by Herod. But the angel opened the door and let Peter out. One Apostle got killed. The next Apostle, the prison door opened, and he walked out. The Lord says, no, that in that time frame there will be supernatural deliverances. But there was great martyrdom in the early century, the first century. But there were great deliverances as well. And the angel says, Daniel, tell them, I will break in and free some of them. Some of them, the angel will open the prison doors. Others, they'll be put to death. Understand, my master plan is clear. I know what I'm doing. Trust me. Verse 35. He gives us a little bit of understanding. Verse 35, he says, but the people, even the men and women of understanding, even some of the greatest people of understanding of what's happening in that hour of history, some of them will become martyrs, too. People will say, how could the Lord let that man or that woman be cut off? They brought such blessing to the body of Christ. And the Lord says, even some of that group, they will fall as martyrs. I'm not overlooking them. I know what I'm doing. I said it in advance. What am I going to do by this? One reason for this, I'm going to purify the body of Christ through this reality. I don't believe that most will be martyrs. I don't believe it'll be like 50% or 80%. I don't know the number, of course, but I don't believe it's the majority. But I believe the number will be high enough where every believer will decide whether they're in this thing for real or not. The number of martyrs will increase where the people that say, I'm not really into this Jesus thing. This is too intense. They will bail out, and that's the great falling away. Many others will say, you know what? Those men and women of understanding, they didn't draw back in fear. They stood bold and strong. They're not afraid of death. I'm not afraid of death. Jesus, you're worthy. And that whole thing will purify and have a sanctifying effect in the body of Christ. The Lord says, watch. I'll leave it to you. Satan's rage against the church to purify the church. It will embolden many people to stand strong. They'll say, I'm not afraid of death, and Jesus is worth it, and it will have a purifying effect. Paragraph two. A couple verses later, it's the same vision. It's the abomination of desolation section of the vision. The angel says, let me tell you again what I just told you, but I'll say it a little differently. Now remember, Jesus pointed to this vision, and He's telling the end-time church, you're going to want to understand and be, you're going to want your expectation formed by what this vision is telling you. You want to know this vision. Again tonight, you may not be following all the details, but if in your heart you say, you know, I don't get it all right now, but I know one thing. The next few months, next couple years, I'm going to understand Daniel 11 and 12. I'm going to make it a mission to understand that vision. If Jesus said that's the main one, I'm going to go understand it. Well, He didn't really say it's the main one, but that's the only one that He urged the body of Christ to go back in the Old Testament to grasp. Look at this second description. Again, the same vision, same angel. Now He says, Daniel, let me tell you again. Let me tell you the same thing, but a little differently. Chapter 12. He says, at that time, Michael the archangel shall stand up. Now that's an interesting statement. What does it mean for Michael the archangel to stand up? Well, you got to read, again, I got notes on this. I'm not going to go into it now, but you got to read Daniel 10 and Revelation 12 to get a picture of what's being prophesied here. There's an hour at the end of the age where Michael stands up. Now, it doesn't mean he's sitting down in heaven and he stands up. That's not what it means. It means he's going to be involved in the earthly realm of affairs in a far more demonstrated, obvious way. He's going to break into the affairs of what's happening on the earth. In angelic power, him and his angels are going to be deeply involved in what's happening. Now, again, you go back and read Daniel 10 and Revelation 12. You get the picture. When Michael stands up, there's a dramatic release of power and the shifting of God's purpose in the earthly realm. So the angel says, mark my word. The day is coming where Michael and his angels will be very involved. You know how the angel opened the prison door for Peter? There's going to be a release of the angelic ministry in the most dark, evil time of history, because it's going to require this dimension of power and manifestation for the church to walk in victory and purity and see a great harvest in the nations. But he said it's not just that Michael's going to stand up. And again, that's a big subject. You've got to read the other verses to really understand it. I'm only hinting at it right now. He says, the angel said, but tell Daniel, understand this, it will be great trouble. Don't think because there's going to be greater angelic activity, somehow the trouble is going to disappear. He goes, it's going to be great trouble. As a matter of fact, the angel went on and added, if your Bibles are open in front of you, he said it will be trouble at such a degree that has never happened in human history. And that's actually the verse that Jesus quotes when he says the Great Tribulation. He's quoting this Daniel verse, Daniel chapter 12, verse 1, right here. When Jesus talks about the Great Tribulation, this is the verse he's referring to. He says, but your people will be delivered. And many will turn to righteousness. Many will be purified. And there he goes again, the people of understanding, he emphasized again, the wise and the kingdom, they will know what I'm doing. They won't be offended at my leadership. They will rejoice in my leadership. They will understand the purpose of what's unfolding. And then he goes on and he mentions the abomination of desolation again. Well, we'll just bring this to a close in the next two or three minutes. Roman numeral four, he puts, I'm putting the two descriptions, the angel described it, gave five trends. A few verses later he described it again. I'm putting the two descriptions together and outlining five trends that we can expect in the generation the Lord returns. These will happen in fullness the closer we get to the coming of the Lord, but they're increasing now. And as the body of Christ, I believe we can believe the Lord for these kinds of things, even in these days. We don't wait till the final hour to say, Lord, begin. He goes, no, I'm built, these things are all building, the closer you get to the return of the Lord. Trend number one, it will be a time of trouble. We've already outlined that. Notice the falling away. I want you to see this verse. This is part of the trouble, the great falling away. The Scripture describes not a general falling away. I've heard some preachers say, well, this has been happening for 2,000 years. Beloved, this isn't just a general trend of history. This is an observable sign of the times that happens in the generation the Lord returns. It's a distinct global phenomenon that's negative. And I'm already seeing an unprecedented number of believers that were on fire for the Lord ten years ago, backing away from their faith right now. It's remarkable to me in a negative way. The number of people that I know that were fiery for prayer and revival and Jesus and evangelism, ten years later they don't even know if they believe anymore. It's happening all over the college campuses. It's the beginning of something that's going to get worse. This isn't an hour of history to be half in and half out and take your chances. Beloved, the dark's going to get darker. The only way forward is fully giving ourself to Jesus and His leadership. Look at what Paul said. 1 Timothy chapter 4. I want you to catch this. He said, now the Holy Spirit expressly says this. He goes, the Holy Spirit especially emphasizes this. Now that's a pretty dramatic statement when Paul says, the Holy Spirit really emphasizes this. Wow, that's something to pay attention to. That in the latter times or in the last days, some translations say, some will depart from the faith. I don't believe it'll be the majority, but I believe it will be millions and millions. Although I believe a billion are coming into the great harvest or some big number. I don't know the number. He said, here's what will happen. They will give heed to deceiving spirits, doctrines of demons. Now notice in verse 3, Paul said 2,000 years ago, the day is coming, in the end of the age, they will forbid marriage. There will be a conflict and a controversy around marriage that in parts of the earth, they will make marriage illegal. And people are talking about that right now in the nations. In our nation and in other nations. Let's just make the institution of marriage, let's do away with it. Paul said this 2,000 years ago. Beloved, this thing is happening right now before us. Paragraph C, there's going to be supernatural ministry, great exploits. Michael, the angelic involvement, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in fullness. What began in Pentecost, in part, is going to come in fullness in that day. Paragraph E, here's my favorite. I'll end with this one. Many will turn to righteousness. Many will be purified. I love the word many. The body of Christ isn't going to kind of wilt away, retreat into a corner in fear and isolation and confusion. We're going to go the other direction. The angel said John, or Daniel, when this great evil unfolds, there will be an explosion of righteousness. Yes, the martyrdom will be there. Yes, the abomination of desolation, evil, darkness, demonic power. Yes, all this will happen. But let me tell you this, God is leading this in such a way, there will be an explosion of righteousness. Many will turn to righteousness. There will be a great revival in the church. Believers will repent of their compromise and turn to righteousness. Unbelievers will turn to righteousness, the great harvest. Revival in the church and a great harvest among the lost. Many shall be purified. You know, I've heard over the years, well, you know, this young generation, they're so into their media devices and their, you know, all the Facebook, all the stuff. I get, I get told this regularly. They said, if you're going to talk to young people, you've got to keep it real short. You've got to tell a lot of good stories because they don't have an attention span that lasts more than 20 minutes. And I said, well, I got another story. Jesus told me, from the Word of God, to read Daniel. And the angel said, many of them are going to be committed to purity and righteousness and they're going to be people of understanding. They're going to be deep in understanding. It's all the opposite. They go, well, the young people today, it's very common, the body of Christ all over America, the youth groups, the worship teams, they do their ministry and then they go sleep with one another and get drunk. Happens all over America. In this pornified culture, all their dating relationships are defiled because they're all feeding off of pornography. And when they get together after the Bible study, they go do that other stuff. That's why I got good news for you. Many are going to be pure. Many are going to choose righteousness. The beauty of Jesus, the majesty of this man, this love-based righteousness is going to be released across the nations. Beloved, the great harvest of all nations, the Bible says they'll come every tribe and every tongue and every nation. It's mostly going to be young people. Someone says, how do you know? Just the demographics of the earth. Most of the earth is young people. Doesn't take any great mathematics to figure out the harvest is going to be mostly young people. Young people in a multimedia culture, in a pornified culture, satanic darkness, many of them will choose righteousness, many of them will choose purity, and many of these young people will be the men and women of understanding. I'm encouraged. When the dark gets darker, beloved, there's good news. Jesus said, when you look at the abomination, the great evil, the great demonic, the great sin, go read the whole vision. There's hope. There's goodness for the people of God. They will know God like no time in history. They'll do great exploits. They'll be people of understanding. They'll walk in purity. They'll walk in righteousness. Multitudes will do it. This is the future, the way that I see it from the Word of God. I look at the future. I'm braced for difficulty, but my spirit is alive for the glory of God. And I believe that as young people, you need to be looking at the future. We're not going back to the 80s and 90s. It's not going to be calm and business as usual. It's going to get more tense. But this is the greatest hour to be alive. Amen. Let's stand before the Lord.