Chronicles of the End Times
Occasionally, people say, are we really in the last days? How do we know? Does it matter one way or another? We will try to answer these questions and many others in this study. But the most important question may be, how can we reach others with hope in these changing times? One part of prophecy is often emphasized over another, causing us to lose perspective and miss the blessing and beauty of prophecy in scripture. I have taken the information in this study from many authors and teachers who have their lives studying God's word. I have added some insight that the Holy Spirit taught me. With God's help, I have endeavored to keep the whole counsel of the word of God in full view to give us an accurate picture of Christ and His great love for a lost world. I pray that this will challenge you and cause you to grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, as it has me preparing it. Let's begin!
Chronicles of the End Times
The New Pope, Trump the Antichrist?
The sensationalist claims about Donald Trump being the Antichrist are nothing new in the world of biblical prophecy speculation. Drawing from five decades of walking with the Lord and forty years of teaching Scripture, I offer a sobering perspective on the confusion surrounding end-times prophecy and political figures.
Throughout the years, I've heard countless theories: Nixon was the Antichrist, then Clinton, then Obama, and now Trump. These speculations reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of biblical eschatology. The Scriptures clearly indicate the Antichrist will rise from the Middle East, specifically from the territory of the ancient Roman Empire, and will establish a seven-year covenant with Israel. No American president fits this biblical profile.
What troubles me most isn't confusion about external figures like Trump or the Pope, but the dangerous heresies circulating within our own churches—teachings that we are gods, that everything we speak happens, or that true salvation guarantees physical healing. While these false teachers gather crowds and build megachurches, Christians worldwide face genuine persecution for their faith. Instead of speculating about political figures, we should recognize that God has given the church a moment of opportunity. Whether Trump's initiatives in the Middle East represent political strategy or divine intervention, our focus should remain on sharing Christ's message of reconciliation and redemption.
Daniel and Matthew provide clear markers for recognizing the end times, and Jesus himself warned about deception within the faith community. As we navigate these challenging days, remember this isn't the millennial reign of Christ—we're in spiritual warfare for souls. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, use every opportunity to share His love, and stand firm in biblical truth amidst rampant speculation and sensationalism.
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Speaker Names
Speaker 1
00:11
Welcome everyone. This is Russ Scalzo. Chronicles of the End Times. Thank you for joining me today. Today I'm going to address some stuff that's going on social media and in other places where people believe that Donald Trump, because of all the things he's doing now in the Middle East, is the Antichrist.
00:32
I've been in this a long time. I have heard everything that all the things that are prophesied in Revelation have already taken place spiritually. Revelation have already taken place spiritually. There are those preaching about replacement theology, which is the church taking the place of Israel, that Israel no longer has any place in Bible prophecy or in God's plan you name it and it's been out there for years.
00:59
I got saved in 1974, and the Lord immediately opened my eyes to what he wanted me to do and I began studying many, many books and listening to many people when I was younger and learning and growing, and now, at this stage of my life, I guess you could say I have perspective. It's hard to have perspective when you're 22 years old. Even if your life has been exceptional and you have been involved in a lot of things good and bad and ugly. There is still just so much perspective you can have, especially when it relates to history and the Word of God. So, from my vantage point, I'm sharing with you my perspective from walking with the Lord for these last 50 plus years and teaching the Word of God for 40 of those years, at least. We just have to be aware there are voices that shout that this is the end. Now this new pope is coming. He's going to be far left, he's going to be very liberal and do things that the Bible talks about in the last days, that spiritual leaders will do. But once again, I have to warn everyone that it's not the pope. We have to worry about everyone, that it's not the Pope we have to worry about. It's our own preachers, our own leaders in the Christian world that are preaching heresies. We are gods and that what we speak happens and that when we get saved, we should be totally healed and restored in our bodies. I mean, it's unbelievable what is being preached, and they're drawing crowds and building large churches, and I'm sure they're taking in a nice salary.
02:53
Those of you who have been listening to me have never heard me say this person is the Antichrist, or this person's going to be the Antichrist, or I see the Antichrist, I know who he is. You'll never hear that from me because what I'm looking forward to, and I hope you're looking forward to as well, is the coming of Jesus Christ. One of my good friends shared with me a post by this person who had gained quite a few comments and praise for saying that Donald Trump was the fourth beast in the book of Daniel. I'm not saying that I am shocked or stunned by this, because I've like I said I've heard many such claims through the years. I heard that Bill Clinton was the Antichrist and Obama was the Antichrist. If you go back far enough, I remember when people said Nixon was the Antichrist, You know, it never ends. What we need is knowledge of the Word of God to discern what God is really saying. He's given us a lot of information so we would not be confused, so we would not be looking at the wrong things, so we would not be wasting our time sharing about things that we have no business sharing. I'm just going to read this to you.
04:12
This is Daniel, chapter 7. It begins with verse 7. Now we've done a number of podcasts on this subject, so I'm not going to go like deep water here, but I just want to explain a few things. Verse 7 begins. It says After that, in my vision at night, I looked and there before me was a fourth beast terrifying, frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth. It crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from the former beasts and it had ten horns. While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up from among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully If we look back over the entire book of Daniel, and there's just so much. You've heard me say this before, Bible prophecy is very intricate. You need to read Genesis through Revelation to really begin to get a picture of what God is saying. It's not a chapter or a verse. It's not enough. The Bible has to testify to itself. That's how we know what's true and what's not. So we don't just take a couple of things out of the Bible and start running with it and hoisting our flag running like through the night with a message that is not right.
05:41
The Antichrist is going to rise out of the Middle East. There's no doubt about it. This is what the scripture is telling us. It's the old Roman Empire, which consisted of many nations, just about all of the Middle East and parts of Europe. Will he be part Jewish? Some say he's going to be Islamic. Is that even possible? Whoever he's going to be, he's going to come out of there and the very first thing he's going to do is make a covenant with Israel, a seven-year covenant. He's going to protect them and watch over them. He's not going to be from the United States and, as far as the Pope is concerned, like I said, all religious leaders are going to be involved in this.
06:23
We like to aim at the Catholic Church. A lot of us in Bible prophecy who speak about it tend to point at the Roman Catholic Church and put everything on them. Let's not point fingers at other people who may or may not be believers, or may not think exactly like us, yet love Jesus That'll show up in your life. You and I both know, when you meet somebody, if they really love the Lord. That's for God to discern.
07:05
As Christians, we need to separate ourselves from the political and keep our eyes on Christ. If someone is going to do things that benefit the church, that benefit the gospel, I'm for that. If they're not, I'm not, and that could be anyone who comes into the political scene. I believe Trump was the better choice this time around and I also believe that he's trying to do what he feels is best, and I believe God has his hand on him. Does that make him holy? Does that make him special? No, if you know your Bible history, God has used so many people. He's used me. I've made plenty of mistakes when I was coming to Christ and in my life. And if we look in the mirror, we'd have to agree that no one is perfect but Christ, and he's the only one we should worship. I've said this before, that if King David was running for president today, he would never make it. The Christian community would crucify him.
08:01
We have to keep our eyes open. We're looking for the Messiah, not a political leader. And whoever God's going to use to do what he's going to do, that's his business. And I believe that in this situation we're in right now, God has given us a moment. So, exactly what is going on? What is the plan here? Those of us who follow this stuff closely, we know that what Trump is doing, he's making these deals with the Mideast nations because he's trying to stop the influence of China and Russia and Iran, so if he can get them together and thinking more about making money and about being one unit and cooperating with the United States, cooperating with Israel, signing a peace accord, then this is going to put pressure on Iran. They're going to have less support. China and Russia will have less influence.
09:03
We need to discern what this moment in time is for the church of Jesus Christ. I don't understand why Christians can't see this. Why are we reaching out, looking for the Antichrist, looking for the worst of everything instead of the best? Now, God has given the church an opportunity of greater freedom to share the word of God. And what are we doing with it? Some are falling asleep thinking this is the greatest thing in the world now that Trump is president . Others are calling him the Antichrist. It's sad. I wonder what our Heavenly Father is thinking. These are moments we're never going to get back, folks. We're never going to get back today or get back tomorrow, never. We have to use each day as God sees fit, and that is to spread his love, the message of repentance, telling people what the word of God really says, not what they think it says. What God has for us in the future is going to be wonderful, yes, but we're not in the future right now. We are in a time of testing. God is looking to see who is really going to follow him at all costs, and who will listen to a new doctrine that tickles their ears. If you know anything about eschatology, the study of the coming of Christ, you know that there's going to be a great testing of the church. God is going to put a lot of pressure on his church to perform.
10:43
Persecution is what makes the church grow. I don't like it. I hope I don't have to face what people are facing in the Middle East and in Africa and in China, but our brothers and sisters all over the world are facing it. It's kind of embarrassing to listen to some Christians, especially from the United States, what we call the West, and the things that they say, when in many places in the world people are under severe persecution, they're not declaring this and declaring that they are persevering. They are growing in their faith. God is using them as a witness.
11:21
This comes from John, chapter 15, verse 20. Remember the word that I said to you a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they keep my word, they will also keep yours. Are we greater than the master? I believe in miracles. I believe in the power of God. If you have listened to me for a long time, you know that I'm a man of faith. But let's not get confused. This is not the millennial reign of Christ. We are at war. Sometimes I shake my head at what I'm hearing. If we read Matthew, chapter 24 and 25, it's pretty clear. And it's also pretty clear that no president of the United States is going to be the one to stand in the new temple that will be built during the tribulation period and declare himself God.
12:11
Let's listen to the words of Jesus. Watch out that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name claiming I am the Christ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars, rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these things are the beginning of birth pains. Now I want you to understand this is now a break in what he's saying that it shifts. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. But he who stands firm to the end will be saved and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations. Then the end will come. From this we can see that there's going to be wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against each other, earthquakes in different places. But Jesus said this is just the beginning. What he is most concerned about is the deception and the falling away, and that is what we are experiencing today.
13:35
I want to end with this. I have a good friend of mine who will be going into glory in the next few days. Great man of faith, amazing life always giving, always caring about other people more than himself. He's dying of cancer and I'm sure many of you can relate to this. Cancer is all over the place. We've all been touched by it one way or another. My wife and I have lost a longtime friend a year ago to cancer, an amazing woman who just gave and gave a true disciple of Jesus Christ. This is not all there is, folks. All the great promises of God are coming. We are indeed going to rule and reign with him. It is beyond our imagination what he has for those who love him.
14:22
But today, right now, we are in a battle for the souls of men, women, and children. That's got to be our focus. I know there's a lot of people looking for help these days. Many people need financial help, but if you feel lead, go to Standing with Dad and His Cancer Journey, on GoFundMe. I will have the link to it in the transcript today. https://www.gofundme.com/f/standing-with-dad-in-his-cancer-journey
And I want to say a word about my friend Wayne. His biggest concern during his cancer battle was not for himself but for his family His worries about leaving them overwhelmed with bills because of the long journey he had and the long fight he had with cancer. So this is a man who loves Jesus. Take my word for it. He's one of a kind. Those of you who have bought the audiobook of the first two books of the hidden throne series know his voice. He is the narrator for those books. So if you can find that in your heart, you feel the Lord touching you to help them click on the link. It's called standing with dad in his cancer journey.
15:29
I encourage you to walk close with Jesus. Take advantage of every opportunity he gives you. We're not going to get them all. We're not going to be faithful all the time. We all fall and fail, but the idea is to stay on the road and to keep walking, and when we do, God is there to pick us up, dust us off, encourage us and push us forward. That is what he does. So don't worry about failing we all do it. But just keep your eyes on the prize. Keep your eyes on the Lord, Jesus Christ. Thank you for listening. I hope this has been a blessing to you. I've included a five-minute clip of the prologue of Hidden Thrones, narrated by my buddy Wayne, for you to listen to. Love you all, keep looking up. The King is coming.
Speaker 2
21:03
Thank you for listening. Hidden Thrones book one and two are available on audiobook on Amazon. God bless.
Donate here.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/standing-with-dad-in-his-cancer-journey
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