Franklin Graham Warns America - Meanwhile Radical Islam Awaits The Mahdi And Israel's Destruction

It is interesting how both of these are converging at the same time:

He was banned from a Pentagon prayer service because of Muslim complaints about his beliefs, and he later charged that Barack Obama has “shaken his fist” at God by endorsing same-sex “marriage,” so no one would expect mild platitudes from the strong-willed Franklin Graham.

Franklin Graham warns that the nation’s financial cliff is nothing to worry about compared to the spiritual cliff he sees.

But to liken America’s current situation to the status of the Old Testament tribe of Judah under Manasseh, the “wickedest king to rule?”

“This is only the tip of the iceberg. The moral decline we see on television programs – blatant immorality, senseless violence, media-friendly gay and lesbian behavior – is just a reflection of the moral corruption that has infected our entire nation. These are indeed dark days … but there is hope.

“The Bible says, ‘If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?’ (Psalm 11:3, ESV). No question our country’s foundations are being destroyed, but I am reminded of an era in the Old Testament where the Lord moved in a dramatic way to bring godly change to a spiritually dark and depraved nation like Judah, whose moral foundations had been seriously eroded.”

Graham, who heads not only the BGEA but also Samaritan’s Purse and has been a standard-bearer for the Christian faith for years, described Manasseh as “the wickedest king to rule over Judah.”

“Throughout his 55 years of evil reign, the land had been defiled with innocent blood. He led Judah into witchcraft, sorcery, and the worship of false gods and idols, including the fertility goddess Asherah. He even sacrificed his own son in the fires of idolatry,” Graham wrote.

But he noted the Bible story continues, with the account of Josiah, Manasseh’s grandson, who when he was 18 and king, came across the “book of the law.”

“Apparently it had been lost and neglected for a number of years. When Josiah heard the books read aloud by a scribe, he tore his clothes, and said, ‘Great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled again us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us,’ (2 Kings 22:13),” Graham wrote.

The result, he said, that “idols were smashed, spiritists and mediums forcibly removed, and the worship of the one true God reinstated,” Graham wrote.

“For far too long, as a nation we have neglected – and even rejected – the Word of God and His commands. Yet the Scriptures are mighty, able to penetrate even the most hardened and darkened hearts with convicting, life-giving power,” Graham wrote.

“This is the only cure for a sin-sickened country that is about to slip into a moral abyss, and it is why we must proclaim the Good News,” he wrote.

'Not A Single Jew Will Be Left On The Face Of The Earth'

A Muslim cleric from Egypt is forecasting an end times annihilation of every Jew on the face of the Earth and says that will be the ultimate victory for Islam.

In a recent broadcast on Al-NAS Television in Egypt, cleric Mahmoud al-Masri pontificated on his belief about the future of the nation of Israel and the Jewish people.

“The final annihilation [of the Jews] will come at the time of the Mahdi, or shortly before the Mahdi appears. Then the Muslims will regain the Al-Aqsa mosque, if they do not manage to spread Islam throughout the land,” he said.

“A small group of Jews will remain, but not the Jews living in Palestine. A group of Jews from Isfahan will survive, and they will follow the Antichrist, but eventually, they will also be killed, along with the Antichrist,” he continued. “Ultimately, not a single Jew will be left on the face of the Earth. Victory is coming, Allah willing.”

The Mahdi is believed by some sects in Islam to be the 12th imam, an end times figure who will arise to lead Muslims on a worldwide rampage in which all “enemies” of the belief are eliminated. Some Christians believe the Mahdi is the same as the biblical Antichrist, the personification of evil.

Former terrorist turned Christian Walid Shoebat noted the report, and said, “As the West attempts to split hairs when determining if Islamists with this view are part of al-Qaida or not, the words of Islamists like this fall on deaf ears. His idea of victory is for the Earth to be uninhabited by a single Jew.”

Shoebat has posted online the video that was assembled by theMiddle East Media Research Institute, which monitors and publicizes statements from media outlets in the Middle East.

Shoebat continued, “Note that this guy is rooting for the Syrian rebels.”

WND previously reported that a Pew Research poll said two-thirds of a billion Muslims expect the Mahdi – the last Islamic imam they believe will come and rule the world – to arrive in their lifetimes.

Those results affirmed the warnings from author Joel Richardson, whose book, “Mideast Beast,” is a sequel to his New York Times bestselling 2009 “The Islamic Antichrist.”

In a column written in WND, Richardson noted that he has been criticized repeatedly for believing many Muslims have a faith in the coming Mahdi, especially that there are a significant number who believe that will happen soon.

The survey by Pew Research at that time noted that in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia, “half or more Muslims believe they will live to see the return of the Mahdi. This expectation is most widespread in Afghanistan (83 percent), Iraq (72 percent), Tunisia (67 percent) and Malaysia (62 percent).

Also see:

Egyptian Mag Affirms Brotherhood Infiltration Of The White House

'No Substitute For Unity' Abbas Tells Fatah Supporters

How Bad Is Egypt's New Constitution?

Middle East Powder Keg Back In The News

The two main themes in today's news are the continuing crisis in the Middle East, EU power grab and the demise of America:

Fearing A Third Intifada

Israel is stepping up arrests of Hamas members and other anti-Israel activists in the West Bank in order to preempt a possible Palestinian uprising, AFP reported Thursday.

Quoting an unnamed security official, the French agency said Jerusalem was trying to prevent low-intensity flareups from turning into a mass uprising against Israel.

“There is a certain [Palestinian] awakening,” the official told AFP. “As a consequence a decision was taken within the security establishment to increase intelligence activity and arrests among members of Hamas or activists against Israel… It started in the past few days and will increase.”

Flames of unrest in the West Bank — possibly stoked by the Palestinians’ upgraded status at the United Nations, to that of a nonmember observer state, and Israel’s recent war against Hamas in Gaza — have surfaced over the past few weeks.

The first two intifadas (“uprisings”), which started in 1987 and 2000, were characterized by widespread violence, civil disobedience and terror attacks. The second intifada saw an onslaught of suicide bombings that declined as Israel constructed the West Bank security barrier.

Jordanian Minister Accuses Israel Of Planning To Erect Third Temple

Jordanian minister accused Israel on Wednesday of planning to partition the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount plaza surrounding it in order to erect the third Temple.

Islamic Endowments Minister Abdul Salam Abadi told a visiting clerical delegation from Australia that he received instructions from the “Hashemite leadership” to safeguard the Arab and Islamic identity of Jerusalem, Jordanian media reported.

Abadi said Israel was planning to divide the mosque from its courtyards with a 144-dunam structure.

Jordan, which extended its sovereignty to East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1950, continues to administer the Islamic holy sites on the Temple Mount. Abadi told the Australian delegation that his ministry employs 600 civil servants in Jerusalem and oversees 40 Jerusalem schools.

Judea And Samaria Essential To Israeli Security

Former New York Mayor Ed Koch has sent a letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron, asking him why his country chose to criticize Israel for approving new construction in Judea and Samaria.

Koch pointed out in the letter that the Israeli presence in Judea and Samaria is essential to ensuring Israel's security, especially in the wake of recent comments by Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal.
Mashaal, who visited Gaza for the first time last month, said in a public speech that the terror group reserves the right to use "resistance" - the Arab term for terrorism - to "liberate Palestine".
"Israel and the Palestinian Authority have not agreed to final borders and the Gaza government has said - the speech of Khaled Meshal is set forth in my commentary - that it will never recognize the legitimacy of the state of Israel and will continue to pursue violence against that state including the kidnapping of its soldiers," Koch wrote Cameron.
"The official head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has refused for the last two years to come to the peace table to negotiate without preconditions," he added.
"You ask Israel to cease building settlements on the West Bank, which are intended not only to house Israelis, but to provide a defense bulwark when the Islamist armies of the surrounding states, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria - Assad or his opponents - and Iraq, again try militarily to crush Israel," wrote Koch.
"Will Britain come to Israel's aid? I recall when in one of those wars, Britain declined to deliver to Israel tanks it had purchased from your country. Britain under Chamberlain participated in the Munich sellout of Czechoslovakia. What you and your Europeancolleagues are doing now is repeating the sellout, this time of Israel. The Czech Republic, mindful of what happened to it, is the only European country to vote no to Palestinian statehood. When one of your predecessors told the world that he offered 'peace in our time,' he wrote himself into history as a disgrace. How will history on this issue recall you?
"Why would you expect Israel to cooperate in its intended lynching?"
Israel recently approved the construction of homes in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and said it would promote construction in the area known as E1, which connects between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim.

IDF Preparing Hospitals For Chemical Attacks

The IDF Home Front Command is preparing all hospitals in Israel for a range of security threats, including large-scale missile attacks and chemical attacks, a senior military source told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.

“We train a lot for chemical weapons,” a Home Front Command source said. “This is our business, and only ours. There is no room for error.”

The Home Front Command’s medical department – under the jurisdiction of the Health Ministry – has been tasked with preparing hospitals for all possibilities.

All 27 hospitals in Israel have undergone intensive chemical weapons incidents drills – including surprise exercises.

Russia To Hold Large Scale Mediterranean, Back Sea Naval Drills

 Russia will hold large-scale naval drills in the Mediterranean and Black Seas in late January with the involvement of warships from the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific Fleets, the Russian Defense Ministry’s press office reported on Wednesday.

“The Russian Navy’s drills of this scope will be held for the first time over the past few decades and are designed to improve control, ensure and practice multiservice force interaction of the fleets in the far-off maritime zones,” the press office said.

The drills will be held in line with the Russian Armed Forces’ 2013 combat training plan and will aim to “practice the issues of establishing a multiservice grouping of forces (troops) outside Russia, planning its use and conducting joint actions as part of a united naval grouping based on a common plan,” the press office said.

EU Uses Crisis And Immigration To Get More Power

To EU it is all about power. Of course EU knew about the poor economies of especially the South European countries but used the situation like any other mafia and lended even more money to them so they could use it as an excuse for demanding power over the indebted nations

With rules inforced by a self appointed commission, including a president whose name only few remember, EU breaks open our national borders and force us to live with millions of people with completely other values.
The aim is to wear down our national identity by making us feel less home in our own countries and thereby making the step towards an European superstate governed by a self chosen closed circle of political correct elite whose wettest dream is to force a sligthly modernised Soviet style model of society over the heads of houndreds of millions of "ignorant" citizens a simple formallity.

Luckily for the totalitarians, 90 percent of the tens of millions of Muslims that they invited here vote Socialist - because Socialists follow the sharia, have laxer immigration rules and offer more money to people who are too inbred; badly educated by their parents, culture and religion; criminal; supressed and/or lazy to work.
More than that: Muslims tend to know and care less about democracy and are thereby perfect citizens in the eyes of the totallitarians in Brussels.

Alexander Hamilton (And Others) On Dianne Feinstein

What Alexander Hamilton says to traitors like Dianne Feinstein

From The Federalist Papers, No. 28, emphasis added:

If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers, may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual state. In a single state, if the persons intrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair.

Here are more quotes you need to read and understand if you hope to keep America free from traitors like Sen. Feinstein:

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly From The Fiscal Cliff Deal

The Ugly

According to the Congressional Budget Office, as a result of this deal the U.S. national debt will be about $4 trillion higher a decade from now than it would have been if Congress had done nothing.

The deficit for fiscal year 2013 alone will be about $330 billion higher than it would have been if Congress had done nothing.

So this deal has made our debt problems even worse.

Right now, the U.S. has a debt to GDP ratio of about 103 percent.  We are already well into the "danger zone", yet most Americans still don't seem very concerned about all of this debt.

It's Time We Became Leaders

Those of us leading the charge for truth find ourselves battling this eclectic mix of entrenched and trendy formidable opponents as they continue to tell us that everything is fine and getting better. They have entranced large portions of multiple generations like accomplished magicians performing their stage magic. The performers andsupporting cast know that they are taking part in an illusion so convincing and captivating that it replaces rational thinking with an alternate reality.

Meanwhile, political pundits of all stripes are comfortable using their face and talk time and print space with political theater to convince others that there is a viable solution to save our country through a particular political party or candidate. The answer, we are told, lies in the results of the next election or the next congressional vote, as if they are broadcasting the play-by-play action of a football game to a captive audience.

As true leaders, however, we are able to see well beyond the playing field and over the stadium walls. We are seeing everything outside of the stadium being razed and burned to the ground while everyone else is fixated by the action on the field. We must not only resist this futile fixation, but assist others in overcoming their political myopia and normalcy bias so we can discuss our plans to save ourselves, our families and our future.

We need to see through the magician’s fog as the media continues to report economicconditions that originate from cooked books and have no basis in reality. The media continues to report the partisan struggle to reach a deal on the fiscal cliff while he reality is that our fate has already been decided, and the perception of partisan acrimony is akin to a professional wrestling match. The adult reality is that the “game” is rigged, and has been rigged for the last century.

The days of the U.S. dollar are numbered, and the collapse you will ultimately witness is by design. Once our currency is lost, so too is our sovereignty. Then, our freedom, as well as the freedom of our children and their children.

We must discuss what others won’t.  We must expose the counterfeit banking system, the fraudulent debt and the corporate fascism. We must demand redress of those who have placed us in this position of slavery, and abandon allegiance to anything except God and our Constitution.

At the same time, our liberties remain under assault under the guise of security. The powers are laughing at us, and sadly, many among us don’t believe it, have fallen under the spell, or have accepted it as a “new normal.” The powers have seen that the average American will not only forfeit their Constitutional rights, but their own human dignity at the hands of the TSA. Many men have abandoned their role as protector of their own families and allowed, without objection, their own wives, daughters, mothers and sons to be sexually molested or exposed to radiation at airports.
Against the backdrop of such historical and shameful acquiescence, this tyrannical body of leaders, empowered and emboldened by our historical acquiescence, is now coming for our guns. It’s for the children, they will say. The same children they have aborted away or sold into perpetual bondage through a corrupt economic system.
The safety of the children permitted to survive and perpetually mortgaged, absent of any objection, will trump our Second Amendment rights and vastly curtail our First Amendment rights faster than banning a Big Gulp in New York City. Count on it.

In The News:

Today's news touches on a variety of prophetic related items:

The first article is interesting because it reminds us of Mr Netanyahu's routine bible study and his source of 'information' during his decision making process:

Citing Biblical Precedent, Netanyahu Cautions Against 'Rushed' Peace Agreement

Netanyahu, speaking at his weekly Bible-study session, compared political changes in the region to the weekly portion, saying just as a benevolent Pharaoh was replaced by one who enslaved the Jews, leaders around the region are being forced out and that could happen to Abbas as well.

“In this week’s Torah portion it is written, ‘Now there arose a new king over Egypt who knew not Joseph.’ That’s also happening today,” he said from his Jerusalem residence, referring to the Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, who replaced Hosni Mubarak as Egypt’s leader last year.

“Everyone knows that Hamas could take over the Palestinian Authority,” Netanyahu said. “It can happen after an agreement [with Israel], it could happen before an agreement, as was the case in Gaza.”

"As opposed to the voices that I have heard recently urging me to run forward, make concessions, withdraw [from the West Bank], I think that the diplomatic process must be managed responsibly and sagaciously and not in undue haste,” he said. “Otherwise a third base for Iranian terrorism will arise here, in the heart of the country. Peace can be achieved only when security is assured.”

Martial Law In 2013? Warnings by A N.C. Police Lieutenant

In this broadcast of the Cybertribe News Network, a North Carolina Police Lieutenant calls in to give his first hand knowledge of preparations being made within his own department to train and prepare for martial law in the United States, possibly in the coming year.  Many similar reports are starting to trickle in from all across the country, through various independent media resources and even organizations like Oath Keepers.  The consensus is that a major economic event is expected, and that it will be used to provide cover for the institution of draconian policies being readied behind the curtain.  The exact timing of this event is not clear, but we do know the planning is being done, and that provisions are being put in place.  The following officer's admissions are another startling indicator of just how close to the precipice we really are...

Egypt Official: Israel Will Be Wiped Out In A Decade

The Muslim Brotherhood official, who also serves as the Freedom and Justice Party's deputy chairman, explained on his Facebook account that Jews must return to Egypt in order to make room for Palestinian refugees.

"Palestine houses people who conquered it and those occupiers have previous homelands," he wrote.

He added that Israel is destined to collapse. "There will be no such thing as Israel, instead there will be Palestine which will be home to Jews, Muslims and Druze and all of the people who were there from the start.

What We Can Expect: Top Ten Memes For 2013

What a year it's been, marked mainly by increasing worldwide chaos, senseless wars and economic upheaval, all leading inevitably to increased "chaos" out of which shiny, new global government can be born – along with new, more global currencies.

The top elites – the ones we think control central banking and money creation – created an EU sovereign crisis, from what we can tell, and wasted the world's time this past year in intense and fruitless negotiations to "resolve it." There can be no resolution, of course, and that's just the point. The EU mess is to continue until every aspect of that pitiful union is further centralized and bureaucratized.

National Socialist policies and further authoritarianism will continue to be promoted throughout the West and especially within the EU. When one examines the globalist policies now being put into place, one is struck by various National Socialist elements. Nazi public banking (see Ellen Brown) and generally the creation of the Imperial State organizing and controlling corporate marketplaces are the order of the day. Question: Given the exposure of this emergent police state, especially in the US and the EU, will it be possible to expand this political structure without considerable resistance?

Return Of The 'Red Decade'



I am slowly coming around to the conclusion that America’s financial crisis and Obama’s election and reelection and even the current “fiscal cliff” crisis have been carefully contrived and orchestrated. 

Looking at our immediate future, I am now expecting a devastating US monetary collapse probably before the summer of 2013.  Why?  Because it is the next logical step in the devolution of the United States as a constitutional representative republic.

If I am right, and I now believe that there is a very good chance that I am, the US government must be rendered inoperable.  We are very nearly there even now. 

Not to worry, though, I suspect there is a brand new government, waiting in the wings, to immediately step forward and save the day.  It won’t be a constitutional government.  It won’t be a representative republic.  It WILL be an authoritarian, powerful, central government based on Marxism—Communism. 
Why in the world would I dare even speculate such a thing?  Because, dear reader, I am a student of history. (Emphasis on “STUDENT”.  I’m STILL learning!)  We are told by “the preacher” in the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”  Ecclesiastes 1:9.

It is unfortunate but most do not understand that by studying the past one also studies the future.
I have made an attempt here to connect the past of the US to the its present and to my interpretation of the country’s immediate future.  And no, it is not pretty nor pleasant.




Also see:



Works And Days: 2013 Welcome To Very Very Scary Times

Registering Property? Biometric ID A Must

Turning forest waste into biochar

Too much biomass waste in tundra and boreal forests makes them prone to wildfires, especially when heatwaves strike. Furthermore, leaving biomass waste in the forest can cause a lot of methane emisions from decomposition.

In order to reduce such methane emissions and the risk of wildfires, it makes sense to reduce excess biomass waste in fields and forests. Until now, this was typically done by controlled burning of biomass, which also causes emissions, but far less than wildfires do. Avoiding wildfires is particularly important for the Arctic, which is vulnerable to soot deposits originating from wildfires in tundra and boreal forest. Such soot deposits cause more sunlight to be absorbed, accelerating the decline of snow and ice in the Arctic.

A team of scientists at University of Washington, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, has developed a way to remove woody biomass waste from forests without burning it in the traditional way. The team has developed a portable kiln that can be assembled around a heap of waste wood and convert it to biochar on the spot, while the biochar can also be burried in the soil on the spot.

Demonstration in Kerby, Oregon,
Nov. 6, 2012,  by Carbon Cultures. 
Credit: Marcus Kauffman at Flickr

The team initially started testing the effectiveness of a heat-resistant blanket thrown over woody debris.  The team then developed portable panels that are assembled in a kiln around a slash pile.

Students have set up a company, Carbon Cultures, to promote the technology and to sell biochar. CEO of Carbon Cultures is Jenny Knoth, also a Ph.D. candidate in environmental and forest sciences.

The kiln restricts the amount of oxygen that can reach the biomass, which is transformed by pyrolysis into biochar. The woody waste is heated up to temperatures of about 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit (600 Celsius), as the kiln transforms some 800 pounds of wood into 200 pounds of biochar in less than two hours. “We also extinguish with water because it helps keep oxygen out and also activates the charcoal [making it more fertile in soil].”

Currently, the total costs of disposing of forest slash heaps (the collections of wood waste) approximate a billion dollars a year in the United States, according to Knoth.

And of course, adding biochar to the soil is a great way to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. “Biochar is proven to fix carbon for hundreds of thousands of years,” Knoth said.

Demonstration in Kerby, Oregon, November 6, 2012, organized by Carbon Cultures.  Credit: Marcus Kauffman at Flickr

As said, when biomass waste is left in the open air, methane emissions are produced during its decomposition. Moreover, such waste will fuel wildfires, which produce huge amounts of emissions. The traditional response therefore is to burn such waste. Pyrolyzing biomass produces even less greenhouse gases and less soot, compared to such controlled burning.

Biochar is produced in the process, which can be added to the soil on the spot. This will help soil retain moisture, nutrients and soil microbes, making forests more healthy, preventing erosion and thus reduces the risk of wildfires even further, in addition to the reduction already achieved by removal of surplus waste.

A healthy forest will retain more moist in its soil, in the air under its canopy, and in the air above the forest through expiration, resulting in more clouds that act as sunshades to keep the forest cool and return the moist to the forest through rainfall. Forests reinforce patterns of air pressure and humidity that result in long-distance air currents that bring moist air from the sea inland to be deposited onto the forest in the form of rain. Finally, clouds can reflect more sunlight back into space, thus reducing the chance of heatwaves.

References

- Recycling wood waste - The Daily of the University of Washington
- Helping Landowners with Waste Wood While Improving Agribusiness and Energy - National Science Foundation

Related

- Biochar
- CU-Boulder gets into biochar

- Fires are raging again across Russia
- Abrupt Local Warming

Facing Our Coming Challenges With Faith

That is the central message in Hal Lindsey's latest video update and it is well worth watching if you are struggling to cope with what we all know is coming.

Hal Lindsey Update

These are interesting times and undoubtedly scary for those of us who can see what is coming. The main question for a prophecy watcher is how much carnage we will witness before the gathering up. 

No one knows. Only God knows that one. We do know that we will experience the "gathering up" prior to the Tribulation, but the question remains - how much will we see and experience prior to these two main events (Rapture of the Church and the Tribulation). 

Either way (avoiding a lengthy discussion of the pre-Tribulation Rapture which has been discussed many times before) we have to look at it like this:

The "birth pains" illustration of the last generation holds ever so true - and based on that description, we know we are drawing very very close to both events (Rapture-->Tribulation). That should be exciting news to a believer. We're finally, almost there. It's so close we can almost touch it. 

Even though we are in the midst of seeing significant movement towards the Tribulation and all that it brings it (financial collapse, famine, warfare, lawlessness, evil, carnage, suffering, etc.) - we have to remember that Jesus told us that we would see the beginnings of such things:

"...but see to it that you are not alarmed" (Matthew 24:6). 

We have to look away from the things that are potentially scary - which is a lot these days (totalitarianism, martial law, gun confiscation, imprisonment, famine, etc.), and look towards Him. 

We cannot let "them" steal our joy at what is coming. The groom is coming for His bride - that promise has been made abundantly clear (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, 5:3-9, 1:10, Revelation 3:10, John 14, etc.). We also know that this coming is close. Very close. 

We also know that the current state of affairs is temporary (for believers), as the evil and darkness that we see descending can only go so far as long as the "restrainer" walks on this earth - aka the presence of the Holy Spirit that resides within believers:

Referencing the coming Tribulation (aka "The Day Of The Lord") the apostle Paul had the following to say:

"Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming Himself to be God."

And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.

For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming."

(2 Thessalonians 2:1-9)

So much is wrapped up in this passage, and I highly recommend Renald Showers "Maranatha, Our Lord Comes" for a detailed review of this passage (and many others). 

We can clearly see here, that the antichrist 's environment is beginning even before he is "revealed" (which happens at the event of Daniel 9:27 and the "confirming" of the covenant, which begins the 7 year Tribulation), and this environment "the secret power of lawlessness" where we find ourselves today - as Jesus stated "the beginning of birth pains" (Matthew 24:8). 

But the bible tells us that this period can only last so long - because the reign of the antichrist and the Tribulation is approaching but can only proceed so far because of the "restrainer" - also known as the Church and the Holy Spirit. Here, I will shamelessly quote from "Signs Of The Coming Christ" mainly because I don't want to recreate work already done :)

"Here, the "restrainer" clearly refers to the Holy Spirit's presence in the Church, as this interpretation represents the best answer to the grammatical, contextual and theological questions in 2 Thessalonians. Other possibilities as to the identification of the restrainer, such as human government or some powerful human figure seem highly unlikely. Understanding the role of the restrainer further confirms that it is the Holy Spirit residing within the Church:

 first, this restraint must represent a worldwide influence which suggests omnipresence; second, the restrainer must have supernatural power in order to be able to restrain such potent forces such as worldwide apostasy and the emergence of the antichrist; third, the restrainer must have some logical reason for ending the restraint of lawlessness and the ability of the Antichrist to seize absolute power. 

There is simply no other choice than the Church, including the presence of the Holy Spirit as representing this Restrainer (2,3). In addition, the scripture speaks of the Holy Spirit as the One who restrains Evil (4), both in this world (Genesis 6:3) and in the heart of the believer (Galatians 5:16-17).

This "restraint" most likely includes both a spiritual and literal restraint. Spiritually, the presence of the Holy Spirit on earth has a restraining influence upon evil. Man alone or any form of government is unable to do this. 

However, once the "restrainer" is removed - he will be revealed, and can assume his power unencumbered by the presence of the Church. This was the assurance Paul was giving the Thessalonians - that they couldn't be living during the Tribulation, because the Church must be removed first.

Note the chronology of events:

1) the restrainer is removed

2) the lawless one (Antichrist) is revealed, and

3) Jesus will destroy him and begin his 1,000 year reign on earth. 

After the restrainer is removed, we see what the Antichrist will be able to accomplish without the restraining influence of the Church, in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12:

'The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and with every sort of evil that deceives those who are now perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.'"

The whole point is this: We will see some things. We will see the "lawlessness" which is already at work. But this can only go so far as long as the presence of the Holy Spirit, via the Church (aka the bride of Christ) is present on earth. Once the restrainer is removed, then the signs that we see around us today will escalate into hyperdrive and the Tribulation will be on the threshold. 

How much will we see prior to Jesus' coming?

That is the million dollar question. 

But does it really matter? 

Think of what awaits us:

Eternity in Heaven. In the presence of Jesus. An epic reunion with those who have gone before us. Eternal paradise. Exploring the vast wonders of Heaven. Seeing the place that Jesus has prepared for us (New Jerusalem). Being in the presence of the apostles, the Old Testament Saints. No more tears. No more sadness. No more death. No more pain. No more suffering. Glory. Sinlessness. Unabated worship. And on and on this list goes. 

This is what awaits us. Those who have rejected Christ have the Tribulation looming. 

No matter what happens in this interval - the interval between seeing the early signs ("beginning of birth pains") and the gathering up - simply doesn't matter. We are just on the threshold of what awaits us. 

They can take our freedom. They can take our property. They can take our money. They can take our earthly possessions. They can take our only means of self-defense. They can impose whatever silly rules and regulations. They can impose tyranny. They can take away our freedom to worship in public. They can give us temporary hardships. 

So what? Let them. That's all they have. 

But they cannot take away what really matters. They cannot take our faith. They cannot take away Jesus. They cannot take away Heaven. They cannot take away God's promises. They cannot prevent the gathering up. They cannot take away anything that awaits us. 

So during these times, we can stand firm in God's promises. We have a wedding approaching. We have a reunion approaching. We have an appointment with Jesus - an appointment that was made centuries ago. 

Rather than have any fear or apprehension about what man will attempt to do in these last days, we can focus on Jesus:

"When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift your heads, because your redemption is drawing near"

"Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near."

We also cannot forget Psalm 33. God laughs and mocks our all-powerful government figures - those people who are causing so much hardship and destruction here on earth, while plotting totalitarianism and tyranny:

"The Lord foils the plans of the nations;

he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 

But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,

the purposes of his heart through all generations.

From heaven the Lord looks down
and sees all of mankind;
from his dwelling place he watches 
all who live on earth

No king is saved by the size of his army;

no warrior escapes by his great strength.

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,

on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.

We wait in hope for the Lord

he is our help and our shield.

In him our hearts rejoice, 

for we trust in his holy name.

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,

even as we put our hope in you."

The bottom line?

Don't let them steal your joy by creating a fearful environment and their appearances of being "all powerful". They will most certainly try. In the eyes of God, their actions are laughably feeble. We must always remember that. 

They cannot take away Christ or His promises. They cannot take away what really matters. 

We are just on the threshold of His coming. And when it happens, "they" are going to be in for a rude awakening. 

Meanwhile, we'll be in the presence of Christ Himself, experiencing the vast wonders of Heaven. 

It's a promise and a guarantee. 

Maranatha! He is coming!