Matthew 24:15-28
15 "Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 "Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18 "Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 "But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved, but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. 23 "Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe him. 24 "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25 "Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 "So if they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the wilderness,' do not go out, or, 'Behold, He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe them. 27 "For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
Deception will mark the socio-economic-political, climate in the three and a half years before Jesus comes. False prophets, false teachers, hucksters of every kind. Jesus said to ignore all of them. The problem is their ability to perform signs and wonders makes it difficult, but not impossible, to discern them.
The Word of God is as reliable as ever. Drop the plumb line of truth into the vat of confusion and things begin to clear up if the Word is taken literally. Jesus also said their fruit would expose them – you don’t get bananas from an apple tree. The challenge is taking the Word literally instead of being swept away with lying signs and wonders. Satan is still a liar, masquerading as an angel of light when he is still the hell-bound deceiver he always was.
At about three and a half years into the Tribulation, the Antichrist will put his image up in the temple. From there, things will escalate to when the antichrist declares war on Israel. (Hint: he doesn’t win).