In our teaching series at CrossHope Chapel we are in 2 Thessalonians 2 which seems timely when placed as the backdrop to President Trump’s current trip to the Middle East.

President Trump has traveled to Muslim Saudis Arabia, then to Jewish Israel, on to the Catholic Vatican, and then to a world leader economic gathering.

Maybe its just me, but the very optics of these stops remind me of end time prophecies dealing with the beasts of Revelation 13 and the Jerusalem peace deal of the anti-Christ in Daniel 9:27.

President Trump did say that he will make a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians “within a year.”

Could it be that our president is brokering the biggest deal of his career by pressuring the two-state solution and division of Jerusalem resulting in some type of peace deal involving the Pope?

President Trump, perhaps more than any other previous president may have the highest peak of influence upon the leaders in this last days scenario. Playing into our president’s perspective is the first First Lady, who is Catholic, and his daughter and son-in-law, also his closet advisers, who are Jewish.

Muslim leaders respect him, the pomp and display for President Trump’s arrival to these country’s was unmatched, his wife and daughter were able to forgo the hajib, and the Saudis allowed Air Force One to make the traditionally forbidden flight directly to the land of Israel. The Egyptian leader may have summed things up when he said that President Trump is “capable of the impossible.”

No doubt, our president knows that former President Reagan was able to broker the fall of communism because of his alliance with the papacy so it may give to reason that President Trump would at least evaluate some type of alliance with the current Pope for sake of brokering so-called Middle East peace.

The pope, former and current, have already been at the center of bringing together Muslims and Jews, seeking peace through talks, private meetings, and even prayer services in the Vatican.

Revelation 13:11 points to a “beast coming up out of the earth,” a political power who gives credibility and authority to the beast that comes out of the sea, a unique political and religious power.

While most scholars don’t know who the beast out of the land may be, some have pointed to an Islamic leader, or the leader of the United Nations, or a president of the United States.

Of course, I thought of this later theory as our president was in the news for this trip. The theory cites the lamb like beast description as referring to peace making, it’s two horns as representing the Democrats and Republicans, and even pointing to the possibility that the Apostle John may have seen a bison in that vision. The fact that the beast comes up from the land may indicate the opposite of “sea” meaning underpopulated land.

John F. Walvoord comments on the the beast out of the sea “that it represents the revived Roman Empire and its ruler in the end times. Revelation here corresponds to the description given in Daniel 7:7-8; Revelation 12:3; 17:3, 7. This passage makes plain that the beast, the future world ruler, will come out of the Mediterranean situation, with the sea representing the mass of humanity.”

In JD Farag’s recent Mid-East Prophecy Update video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8_51MU9wuc) on President Trump’s trip he referred to the prophecies of Zechariah 12:1-3, Daniel 9:27, and Joel 3:2 as pointing to the division of Jerusalem.

I don’t claim to know the identities of the beasts of Revelation or the players in the coming end time drama, but I think it’s safe to say that watching world leaders, world politics, and the Middle East may be prudent.

I don’t have any interest in starting another prophecy teaching ministry, but I do want to be able to inform and equip our church fellowship regarding the signs of our times and nearness of our Lord’s return.

One thing I do know, our Lord said in Luke 21:28, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”