Cecil J. duCille
Omega Message – March 1987
The Signs of Christ’s Coming:
The question the disciples asked as recorded in Matt. 24:3 – “When shall these things be? What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Was answered by Jesus Christ in detail as He freely quoted Daniel and the other prophets, therefore a thorough examination of this is necessary. We cannot deal with the subject fully in this article but further material will be available on request.
In order to fully comprehend the answer Jesus gave, we must first understand the question. Jesus had just spoken of the destruction of the temple, therefore the first part of the question – “When shall these things be?” – referred directly to the destruction of the temple. This temple was destroyed about AD 70 by a Roman army led by Titus a Roman general. It is said that the rumor went out among his soldiers that the stone of the temple had gold fillings like that of Solomon’s. They mutinied and in their frenzy to get out the gold, destroyed the temple and tore it down stone by stone, even as Jesus said. Had this been just a fact of history then it would not have any value in Scripture, but this was not just history. Daniel’s prophecy in Chapter 9:26 states –
Daniel 9:26 “…And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.”
It was over six hundred years since Daniel spoke those words, and one temple was built and destroyed, (Nehemiah’s temple) but Jesus Christ was here identifying the temple which would be destroyed by the people of the Antichrist. Since it was a Roman army, we believe that this clearly identifies from what place the Antichrist will come.
This is particularly significant because the same people who destroyed the temple in AD 70 is to
“…make war with the saints, and prevail against them; until the Ancient of days comes….”Dan. 7:21-22.
It is no secret that millions of Christians have been martyred by Rome and millions yet remain to be martyred:
Rev. 6:9 “And when we had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held….”
Rev. 6:11 “And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a season until their fellow servants also and their brethren that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled.”
Deception:
Deception would be the main weapon of Antichrist and his system. ”…if it were possible they shall deceive the VERY ELECT.” The Elect are those who are CHOSEN from among the children of God to stand forth with the truth in every age.
Those who reject the rulership of Christ as King and supreme head of the Church are being sucked into a maelstrom of deception of powerful but lying signs and wonders and strong delusions. In this age, the truth will only be recognized by the Elect – those who are called and chosen and faithful. Jesus spoke of ‘false christs’.
2 Thessalonians 2:9 describes it as “lying wonders,” verse 10 speaks of “deceivableness of unrighteousness,” and verse 11 calls it “strong delusion.” These are very strong words when we consider that they are not being used against some outsider but gospel preaching of our time.
The first sign that Jesus mentioned to the disciples was deception.
“Take heed that no man deceive you.” Mat. 24:4.
Man has always been addicted to deception, but what Jesus was speaking about is deception in the church. The devils have got too smart now to instigate anyone to go around saying “I am Christ,” but what is happening is that they are usurping Christ in the churches without calling themselves by that name. For instance men are calling themselves and others by the title, “Reverend”. If ever there was a name of blaspheme here is one.
Psalm 111:9 – “Holy and Reverend is His name,” speaking of God.
The peculiar circumstance which we must be aware of is that once a sign begins it does not stop but continues to maximize until it comes to its fullness at the end. In view of this we can see, false christs, wars and rumors of wars, nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom, famines, pestilences, great earthquakes in different places, afflictions and persecutions, hate against Christians, defections, false prophets, people of God fighting against one another, all these things on the increase. These however, we have gotten used to seeing and experiencing, but there is one sign which never happened before, and this is the sign of Daniel’s prophecy.
Jesus Christ here quoted Daniel the prophet:
Mat. 24:15 “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
24:16 “Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
24:17 “Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
24:18 “Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.”
This is the sign of the Abomination of Desolation standing in the Holy Place. First of all we are told by this scripture and by many others that when we see this we are to flee into the mountains. We must therefore know:
- What we are to see;
- Where we are to flee;
- How we are to flee;
1. What?
The King James translation tells us that it is the Abomination of Desolation. The Amplified translation is “the appalling sacrilege.” The Greek words used are, “bdelugma eremoseos” – Bdelugma = loathsome, horrible, detestable thing; idolatry with all its pollutions; – Occurs in Titus 1:16 meaning “deceivers who profess to know God, but deny Him by their works.” To make foul; to stink; to cause to be abhorred. The word used in Romans 2:22 signifies turning away oneself from, as if from a stench, and in Rev. 21:8 denotes to be abominable.
“Eresmoseos” = desolate; lonely; being absolutely and totally void as the habitation of Judas; his bishopric been taken away, his life taken away and being cast into hell. It is not possible for anyone to be more desolated.
The answer then to the question WHAT are we expecting to stand up in the Holy Place, is – The personification of REBELLION the great sin of all times, coming forth in a place which has been reserved for God and being worshipped in place of God. The Greek translation was taken from the Hebrew and we need to understand that the apostles who wrote the word did not write or speak them in Greek. This thought is very important in order to get back to the exegetical meaning – ask yourself the question, what did Jesus really say, and what did He see in the Spirit while He was saying it. From Scripture we understand that Jesus did not speak in Greek or Latin, and that the unlearned disciples and people to whom he spoke only understood their own language – Aramaic.
We must then in this context go to the Hebrew to see if there is any strength of understanding which has been lost in the translation from Hebrew to Greek, since we know that every time a script is translated from one language to another, it loses some of the power of the original:
There are Four Hebrew words which are translated in the King James Bible – Abomination:
- Piggul = sacrificial flesh left too long – rotten, Leviticus 7:18.
- Siqqus = refers to idols and customs derived from idolatry brought into the worship of Yahweh. I Kings 11:5; Jeremiah 16:18.
- Seqes = related to (2) has the added meaning of food prohibited for Israel to eat. Leviticus 11:10.
- Toeba = of the four “toeba” is the most important. This denotes all practices which offendtheworshipofYAHWEH: i.e.
- Idolatrious practices = as Ahaz making his son to pass through the fire to Moloch, II Kings 16:3.
- All magic and divination, = Deuteronomy 18:9-14.
- Sacrifices offered to Yahweh in the wrong spirit, = Proverbs 15:8; Isaiah 1:13.
- Sexual sin , = Leviticus 18:22.
- Lying and business cheating, = Proverbs 12:22; 20:22.
Jesus Christ spoke in Aramaic, probably using the word “Toeba” to describe the idolatrious evil spirit of divination, wrong thinking, sexual misconduct, lying and cheating spirits of the modern church which would make its advance into the Holy Place church. In the same word He advised us to look up the meaning in Daniel, for it is the same one in Daniel that He Jesus is referring to. The term “bdelygma” is identified with the Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4; and the fact that Mark 13:14, instead of saying “In the Holy Place,” says “Where it ought not to be,” makes the view that it is referring to the Antichrist, most plausible. When Antiochus Epiphanes, whose name means god, (one of Alexander the Great’s four generals who ruled Israel) slaughtered pigs on the alter in Jerusalem, the Jews felt that this was the abomination which Daniel spoke of, but what we were seeing then is much greater now. The abomination which has been continuing from the beginning of Babylon, must continue until it comes to the fullness of Abomination which will cause the desolation of the whole earth.
This is a formidable array of meaning which one word of God conveys, and this is what God says will be standing in the HOLY PLACE. The Biblical phraseology makes the word “standing” to carry the additional meaning of “taking authority over.” Now that we have seen the horror of what will be taking authority over the church, then let us look at what is meant by the HOLY PLACE;
God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Man is Spirit, Soul and Body, and the Church is Holy of Holies, Holy Place and Outer Court.
- THE HOLY of HOLIES in the temple was the place where God appeared, and had face to face meetings with man. God entered the tabernacle or temple through the Holy of Holies. Since our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost, then our Holy of Holies must be our SPIRITS.
- THE HOLY PLACE was the Middle Court of the tabernacle or temple where the oil and the lamps and the table of showbread as also the golden altar of incense were. In the human dimension this would speak of our Souls.
- THE OUTER COURT was the court out in the yard, where the animals and birds for sacrifice were, and this speaks of our Bodies.
The passage under review says that the abomination would set up its throne in the Holy Place in the end of time. Both Daniel, Matthew and the apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2 are here combined to come to this conclusion.
The Abomination in the Mind:
Because the abomination is first a spirit which is manifesting in the children of disobedience, both in the world and in the church, it will first be discernable in the mind of the thinking of man. As men we do not have to go far to find the thinking of man, and how far it is alienated from the thinking of God. This thinking of man, no matter, how charitable it might seem to us, is the nature of the beast being manifested. The nations of the world are moving headlong into a devastating third world war and they are trying to halt it by the thinking of man, but they cannot and they will not.
The Abomination in the Church:
The church as the temple or dwelling place of God must also have its three parts or dimensions. The Outer Court church would be described as that part of the church which have received Jesus Christ as Saviour, but denied His Lordship. He is only Saviour to them because He has rescued them from hell, both on earth and in another place. These same Christians, however, want to have their own ways, and refuse to submit to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, thus they get other voices talking to them and they go about saying “The Lord says, the Lord says,” when the Lord did not say.
The Holy Place Church:
The Holy Place Church is that church that is walking in the Light of Christ and obeying the Holy Spirit, being conformed unto His death and walking in newness of Life. Any individual therefore, who has Jesus Christ as his head is in the Holy Place Church.
All the signs of the Abomination which we have described above are abundantly evident in the church. The world has accepted Aphrodite, having submitted themselves and their children to aphrodisiac and erotic behavior as a modern way of life, and the church is no better. Most of the ministers that I know are fallen stars: They fall for MONEY, they fall for WOMEN, and they fall for the desire to be FAMOUS. Christian men and women are betraying one another every day. For many years we have been warning of the great destruction to come to the present church system. The Pentecostal churches have ceased from hearing the Holy Ghost which would have made them holy, therefore they are about to be smashed to the ground, and will be glad to consummate the unholy alliance with the Roman Catholic church and her daughters. In Order to be part of God’s Church, one must be Born Again or Converted. On the other hand in order to belong to most of the denominational churches, you only join. Any organization which anyone can join to become a member is not a Church in the Biblical Sense.
The deliberate perversions in biblical translations from the “Alexandrian text” down to the “Living Word”, has weakened the whole church system and created an heretical trend in bible interpretation so that they are about to fall prey to the Roman System, which has always maintained that their Pope (a Blasphemous nomenclature) is the head of the church in the world and that in effect he is Christ. In order to foster this claim he has the designation: “Vicarius Filii dei”, which is interpreted Vicar of the Son of God or “Vice Christ”. It might sound appalling to the casual reader, but every church, even the protestant churches of all kinds, subscribe inadvertently to the same idea.
I can hear someone saying “NO, NO., not my church.” Everyone who has a Pastor or a Bishop, does indeed subscribe to the idea of one man being in charge. If you agree with it on a small scale, then you agree with the idea no matter what scale it is on. God has a divine order, not Clergy and Laity which creates hierarchy. Plural ministry with elders, who are the overseers, is God’s order. The truth is that God abolished the Priesthood with the Law. The Roman Church reinstituted the Priesthood, and created other mediators between God and man against Jesus Christ. The reason this is done with complacency is that the belief of Rome is that the apostle Peter was the first pope and that he handed down the authority to all the others including our present pope. The word of God however, declares that it is God who sets in His church Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, and Teachers. No conclave of men can vote anyone into apostleship, but man has gone to great lengths to put himself in where Christ should be in the Congregation of God’s people.
God created the priesthood to be mediators between Himself and men, but when Jesus came, He said:
I Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and ONE MEDIATOR between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”
There is a new Ecumenical move being fostered among all religious peoples which seems to have as its motto, “Unity at all Cost.” It fosters prayers for peace with Buddhists, Mohammedans, Hindus, and all the other non-Christian religions with many strange gods. It brings together Pentecostals, charismatic’s, evangelicals, and all denominations under one human head to form one church with many gods. There will be a monster meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. in July (1987) where all the churches will meet in a love feast.
God has shown me a great explosion in the midst of all these leaders who will not listen to the Holy Spirit. I do not know what form this explosion will take, but I do know that it will destroy them all.
The Kingdom of the Antichrist is already set up in the minds of the people, therefore, we need to flee from the world-way of thinking. All the ground work for the Kingdom of the Antichrist is already set up in the churches, and very soon there will be a take-over by consent.
The next move will be the exertion of enormous pressures through incentives, as well as coercion, against those who dissent. This will usher in great persecutions against the true body of Christ by those who join the false.
2. Where We Are to Flee:
The Word says, “Flee into the mountains.” If we become fundamentals and translate this literally, then mountain land would be the most precious real estate at this time. How ever, we cannot afford to be carnal in this interpretation: It is necessary for us to understand from scripture what is meant by “the mountain;” apart from its natural meaning.
Isaiah 14:13 “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.”
This verse speaks of the ambition of Satan to ascend into the mount of God and to take charge of a congregation of people of whom God must have previously spoken. David, however, identifies this congregation and this mountain as being a spiritual one. Of course we would not expect the devil who is a spiritual being to sit upon a carnal mountain.
Psalms 48:1 “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God in the mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the Great King.”
Zion is the name God gives to His Elect of all ages. His Zion people is His mountain, and this represents a place in God. When the scriptures therefore say, “flee to the mountain,” to us it is prophetic word telling us to get up into a high place in God.
3. How Do We Flee?
Revelation 12:5 “And she brought forth a man child which was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up to God, and to His throne.”
The Overcomers will be caught up to God, which is not a rapture of the kind that the church teaches, but a spiritual rapture which will give them power to overcome the beast. If they were taken out according to the rapture doctrine, then they could not be still here to fight and overcome the devil and his kingdom. The overcomers, therefore, will flee by being caught up into a place of power, which is the receiving of the fullness of Christ at midnight.
Revelation 18:4 “And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her my people, that ye be not partakers of Her Sins, –ye receive Not Her Plagues.”
The Last Sign Is upon Us Now, and It Is Time for Us to Flee to the Mountain!
Sonlight Devotional 