[music playing] NARRATOR: The man who
will start a world war goes by many names-- Lucifer, Mephistopheles,
Beelzebub. He has corrupted souls,
waited for millennia. Now, Satan's time
has finally come. And his army of the
damned is being assembled, winner takes all. For thousands of years,
prophets around the world have predicted the end of days. More than one suggests the
apocalypse is fast approaching. We call this theoretical
convergence between doomsday prophecies and today's events
the "Nostradamus Effect." MAN: (WHISPERS)
How the end began. NARRATOR: Does the
devil really exist? More than 70% of all Americans
believe that he does. And one third of them fear
his power will ultimately consume the world. Biblical prophecies predict that
Satan will seize power in what is known as the end times. The ancient texts describe how
he will amass an army of evil, whose sole purpose is
to destroy humankind. These prophecies suggest
Satan will seduce millions into following him,
and ultimately bring about the end of the world. Some say that today's unrest
is a sign that Satan's army has begun to assemble. DAVID PACK: Rising violence,
not just between nations, but within societies
all over the world, one of the greatest signs,
perhaps the greatest that we're at the very end of the age. And it will grow much worse. The scripture says
the whole world lies in the lap of the evil one. NARRATOR: Does Satan
actually exist? Is he possibly
orchestrating our demise? Do other ancient cultures
suggest similar evil figures, tempting us to
commit wrongful acts? And could Satan, in
one of his many guises, assemble an army of lost souls
at the biblical Armageddon, a place where the world as we
know it ends in annihilation? We will neither refute nor
endorse these theories, merely present the evidence. Satan is the father of lies. He is the one who is ultimately
bringing all these conditions to the world around that
affect men as they do. NARRATOR: Satan appears in early
Judaic texts as an agent of God whose sole purpose is to
tempt mankind into sin. But many Christians believe
Satan is a fallen angel who was once loyal to God, and in
the ultimate act of vengeance is now conspiring to
overthrow his kingdom. Here's God occupying the
top spot in the cosmos. And Satan doesn't like that. He can't stand it. His pride won't let
him accept that. So arrogance and pride-- those
are the hallmarks of Satan throughout the ages. NARRATOR: In the
book of Revelation, Satan appears during
the time of tribulation, a seven-year period
characterized by extreme disasters. At the end of this
biblical time period, Satan returns to Earth
to recruit corrupt souls for an army that
will confront God. This Revelation prophecy
establishes the ultimate battle that will occur
between good and evil. MAN: Woe to the
inhabitants of the Earth and of the sea, for the devil
has come down unto you, having great wrath because he knoweth
that he hath but a short time. This form of writing
we call apocalyptic. It comes from the word for
revelation, apocalypse. This apocalyptic writing
had certain characteristics that were common all
across apocalyptic examples of writing. For example,
virtually all of them feature some kind
of great cataclysm, some kind of great battle
between the forces of good and the forces of evil. NARRATOR: But is Revelation's
depiction of Satan's prophecy meant to be taken literally? And how does this belief
compare to other religions? An examination of
early civilizations reveals that certain
cultures believe in a supernatural evil being. If you go back to the
earliest cave paintings, several thousand years before
Christ, and you look at those, there be animal-like
half-man, half-beast figures. NARRATOR: A powerful
God, capable of death and destruction, emerges from
the texts of ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptians had a
kind of devil-like figure that at the end of your life, you
would appear before the gods and they would weigh your life. The goodness in your life
had to outweigh a feather. If it didn't, you were cast
off into some form of darkness. NARRATOR: And what of Islam? Does this global faith,
1.5 billion strong, have a Satanic figure that
orchestrates the end of days? Satan in the Islamic
tradition is known as Iblis. And Iblis is different than the
devil in Christianity in that he is not a fallen angel. He is a separate type of
creation known as a demon spirit or a jinn. NARRATOR: According to the
Koran, Islam's holiest text, this demonic spirit corrupts
humanity and brings down God's wrath upon the world. IMAM JIHAD TURK: There are
signs that the day of judgment will come. There'll be all kinds
of catastrophes. NARRATOR: According to
traditional Islamic beliefs, the end of the world
will be preceded by two distinct catastrophes-- a red death and a white death. MAN: Before the Qa'im's
rise, two deaths will occur, one death
red and the other white. These will kill five out
of every seven persons. The red death will occur by
means of killing and the white through epidemics. NARRATOR: Interpreters believe
that these two forms of death correspond with two
of Revelation's Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In Revelation, the
red rider brings death by war, the pale
rider by sickness. There is some indication
that the end of time will be near when there is
mass devastation and famine and hunger and environmental
degradation and conflict and warfare. NARRATOR: But does Islam,
like other religions, feature an actual
Satanic figure? And does this figure also
lure humanity to destruction in a final battle? According to Islamic tradition,
Muhammad told his companions-- MAN: --he will claim to be
God and try to create doubts in your minds. Have a firm belief. The one-eyed creature
cannot be your lord. He will claim to have come
with the gifts of paradise and an arsenal of hell. IMAM JIHAD TURK: There will be a
great deceiver, the Dajjal, who will appear and
lead people astray and will wreak havoc on the
environment and on civilization and will destroy and
kill many people. NARRATOR: In the midst
of this suffering, the Islamic prophecy suggests a
Redeemer called the Mahdi will return alongside Jesus Christ. The Islamic view of
the end of the world is very similar to that
of the Christian view. Muslims believe that Jesus will
come back at the end of time. NARRATOR: According to Islamic
tradition, Jesus and the Mahdi will join forces and lead
their chosen ones into battle against the one-eyed
Dajjal and the Sufyani, a blood-thirsty tyrant. There'll be a day of judgment. And people will be
sent to heaven or hell depending on how they conducted
themselves in this world. NARRATOR: Images of a
figure similar to the devil also appear in the carvings of
the Aztecs, some as many as 680 years old. In addition, the Hopi Indians
believe in a malevolent force. They imagine this force
not in human form, but as a fog that rises from
the Earth to delude the hearts and minds of people. Like Satan, the
fog is prophesied to bring about complete
destruction, which the Hopi call the Day of Purification. The Hopi had five worlds. We're moving from the
fourth into a fifth. And they predicted it would
be a time of unrest and chaos and disorder. And I think, again, if you look
at the news, we're seeing that. [shouting] NARRATOR: The Hopi doomsday
prophecy gained attention in 1958, when a minister
driving along an Arizona highway offered a ride to a Hopi elder. After riding in silence
for several minutes, the elder shared his prophecy of
a battle between good and evil that will abruptly end
the current era of man. MAN: The world shall
rock to and fro. The white man will battle
against other people in other lands with
those who possess the first light of wisdom. There will be many
columns of smoke and fire, will cause disease
and a great dying. NARRATOR: Some interpreters
of the Hopi prophecy say the white man could
refer to Western nations and that those who possess
the first light of wisdom may refer to the world's
earliest civilization, in Mesopotamia, now
the site of Iraq. But there was more
to the Hopi prophecy. MAN: You will hear of the sea
turning black and many living things died because of it. They also predicted that there
would be an astronomical event. MAN: You will hear
of a dwelling place in the heavens that shall
fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star. MARIE JONES: Now, we don't know
exactly what year they were referring to. They were not that specific. But they did also
say that at this time of chaos, what
would follow would be the return of the great
white brother, union, harmony, similar to the New
Testament Revelation, where hell would be
followed by heaven. NARRATOR: Both the Hopi
prophecy and the Bible suggest that man's demise will
be triggered by God's effort to purge the world of evil. For many, the similarities
between the prophecies of Islam, the Hopi,
and Christianity are more than coincidence. Some believe they are evidence
that one supernatural figure of evil exists to lead the
world toward a final cataclysm, a cataclysm that may take
place here in the very heart of the Holy Land. Ancient texts suggest that
Satan will lead an army of evil against Jesus and
God's forces on Earth and that this battle will
lay waste to the world. If so, that final battle,
according to biblical prophecy, may take place here-- Jerusalem, Israel. For millions, it is the
world's holiest city. Here, three great
religions have converged-- Islam, Judaism,
and Christianity. According to one biblical
prophet, Ezekiel, Jerusalem is where a great
destruction will take place. His prophecy, dated
around 586 BC, is recorded in
the Old Testament. MAN: I will bring them
out from the nations and gather them
from the countries. And I will bring them
into their own land. God said throughout
the Old Testament that in the last days, I will
draw my people from the four corners of the Earth back to
the land of their forefathers, Palestine. NARRATOR: This roughly
40-mile-wide stretch of land between the
Mediterranean Sea and the river Jordan has been
besieged by violence and war since the dawn of man. The United Nations established
land for a state of Israel here in 1947. And the Jewish people who
populate this tiny nation have struggled to
survive ever since. The Bible says that
God set Jerusalem at the center of the nations and
placed the rest of the nations around her. I describe Israel as the
epicenter of the world, Jerusalem as the
epicenter of Israel, and the Temple Mount as
the epicenter of Jerusalem. NARRATOR: Those who accept
Ezekiel's prophesy that Israel marks the site of
our ultimate doom also look to another Old
Testament prophet, Zechariah. In 518 BC, he recorded
his prediction that Israel would regain
the city of Jerusalem. MAN: On that day, the
Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem so
that the feeblest among them will be like David. And the House of David
will be like God. NARRATOR: Israel captured
East Jerusalem in 1967 in what has come to be
known as the Six Day War. Some believe this pivotal event
precipitated the beginning of the end, one step closer
to Satan's reign on Earth. A third Biblical prophecy offers
yet another sign of the end times. It is from the Book of Daniel,
written over 2,000 years ago. MAN: In the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set of a kingdom, which
shall never be destroyed. NARRATOR: Some Bible
scholars interpret this to mean Christ would return
during the time of the Roman Empire to defeat Satan. But that vast empire collapsed
over 1,500 years ago. However, some say
that Daniel's prophecy refers to our own time
and the modern descendants of ancient Rome. They point out that in 1993,
nations and kingdoms that were once part of
the Roman Empire reassembled into
the European Union. The EU now consists
of 27 member states across the European continent. RENALD SHOWERS: European
Union and other nations around the world are trying
to pressure Israel to give up more and more land to the
Palestinians, particularly the West Bank. NARRATOR: Do believers see this
pressure by the European Union on Israel leading to Satan's
battle at Armageddon? Or is it merely coincidence? According to the
Gospel of Matthew, Jesus told his Disciples
of several more signs of end times. MAN: For a nation will rise
against nation and kingdom against kingdom. DAVID PACK: Christ
said you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Think of the world today. There's rumors of
wars with Iran. There's Afghanistan and Iraq. There's rumors of wars almost
every day with North Korea. RANDALL PRICE: And we're
at that place in history where there's a
nuclear proliferation. No one really seems to
have a good idea of how to manage this. NARRATOR: Believers in Satan
prophecy point to the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel, who
wrote that in the end days, a great military power will
threaten Israel from the north. MAN: You will come from your
place in the far north, you and many nations with
you, a mighty army. You will come up against
my people, Israel, like a cloud to cover the land. NARRATOR: Some believe there is
a direct link between Ezekiel's prophecy--
MAN: March. NARRATOR: --and Russia. JOEL ROSENBERG: Just because
Russia has, in fact, started to form a very dramatic military
and political and economic alliance with Iran, just
because Israel has been reborn as a country, Jews have poured
back into the Holy Land, just because a leader of Iran
is saying we will wipe Israel off the map doesn't
necessarily mean that these dramatic, apocalyptic
Bible prophecies come true in our lifetime. On the other hand, the
question is can you really rule out that possibility, given
what is happening in our world today? [explosions] NARRATOR: Others argue that
looking for connections between prophecy
and world politics is a dangerous tendency. The problem with this tendency
to identify the enemies that we feel we have at a
particular moment and to identify
them with the Bible is that now you have a sort
of religious endorsement for your anger, for your
political or social anger. And that can be a very
dangerous tendency. NARRATOR: Some
Christians suggest Satan's presence
in the end times may also be seen in the most
controversial book of the New Testament-- Revelation. Written by John of
Patmos before 70 AD, this apocalyptic vision
predicts that a nation to the East of Israel will
amass an enormous army. MAN: And the four
angels were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted
troops was 200 million. What it says in the
Book of Revelation is that the River Euphrates
will be dried up to make way for the kings of the East. [explosion] NARRATOR: Assuming he exists,
how will Satan gain such power? There are those today
who worship Satan openly. But are these modern
pagans really soldiers in Satan's army, leading
us to annihilation? Satan, the malevolent
figure Christians accept as the ultimate
force of evil-- Biblical texts predict
he will lead the world to a violent and
destructive end. To some, today's unrest is proof
that the prophecies contained within these texts
are being fulfilled. He is a father of deception,
so he's behind drawing people to those things which are not
the truth, which are things which are a lie. And so this is his final assault
on humanity and on planet Earth. NARRATOR: Those convinced
that Satan truly exists believe he can only challenge
God by raising a massive army. Armies with troops numbering
in the millions exist today, not to mention
less-structured guerrilla and terrorist soldiers. They would appear to be perfect
candidates for Satan's army. But is this what
believers think? Ancient texts suggest
instead that Satan will recruit his army
by corrupting mankind, one soul at a time. The Apostle Paul said
that in the last days, perilous times shall
come or dangerous times. And then he listed
about 15 things that all have to
do with character. NARRATOR: In the Bible's
Book of Timothy, written in the first century
AD, the disciple warns-- MAN: --for men will be lovers
of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant,
brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless,
conceited, lovers of pleasure. NARRATOR: Many believe Satan to
be a fallen or corrupt angel. Satan is a very
powerful angel. And angels have a
intelligence and a knowledge far greater than human beings. And so Satan knows
humanity in and out. He knows all of our weaknesses. NARRATOR: According
to the Bible, Satan's seduction of humankind
is just one of several ways he will gather his
doomsday legions. One passage in the
Gospel of Matthew indicates he will also create
false messiahs and cults. 1993, Waco, Texas-- the world
watches as a ranch complex burns to the ground. 80 people die, 17
of them children. They call themselves
the Branch Davidians. And they were led by their
charismatic leader, David Koresh. Having proclaimed
himself the son of God, Koresh claimed he was the lamb
who would open the seven seals. After a firefight with
federal agents, who believed he was hoarding illegal weapons,
Koresh and his followers perished in a fire
after a 51-day standoff. 1978, Guyana, South America-- another self-anointed messiah,
the Reverend Jim Jones, believes his commune is under
attack and leads more than 900 of his followers
in a mass suicide. 1969, Los Angeles, California-- Charles Manson seduces
his so-called family to commit a series
of gruesome murders. Were these men puppets of Satan,
recruiting souls for his army? We like to personify
kind of feelings and senses of what goes on in the world
often in terms of individuals and notorious criminals
who go about carrying out terrible acts of terrorism, kind
of inhuman acts of terrorism that we sort of
struggle to understand. I think that is when we
start trying to think, well, there is a kind of force
for evil in the world that is bigger than any individual. People can easily
convince themselves that they're doing good while
they're doing terrible things. I'm surprised that we don't
have more Jim Jones, more David Koreshes, and more
Charles Mansons. I mean, we're lucky that
these people are fairly rare. NARRATOR: Much like
Christians today, fringe groups, including
some satanic sects, believe in Satan's existence and
that he will dominate the world as it approaches Armageddon. [latin] Lucifer [latin]. NARRATOR: One of the
more moderate groups is the Church of Satan, founded
in 1966 with many adherents across the US. Their beliefs tend
more toward hedonism, with carnal pleasures leading
to greater self-knowledge. Hail Satan. Hail Satan. The best way to explain
the philosophy of the Church of Satan is probably
that it's a very secular, rational philosophy based on
responsible self-indulgence. At its core, it's
certainly atheist. There's no faith. There's no God. It's all based on human nature
and really human behavior. NARRATOR: But
Christian believers counter that in the end of days,
Satan will exact a high price from those he seduces-- enslavement in his army of evil. Some also believe that those
whom Satan cannot seduce he will control by
demonic possession. In my own evaluation
of cases or alleged cases of demonic possession,
at some point always, there is a willingness
of the person to allow the evil to enter in. He or she gets lost. In that darkness. [screaming] Demonic possession is real. It's one of the proofs,
by the way, perhaps one of the greatest proofs for
those who've experienced it that demons are real,
that the devil is real. NARRATOR: According to a recent
study by Fordham University, exorcism is more
readily available today than perhaps ever before. In 2007, Pope Benedict
XVI ordered his bishops to establish teams
known as exorcism squads to stop what the
Catholic Church believes is Satan's rising influence. It was a special
school set up in Rome to help in the
training of exorcists. NARRATOR: But many doubt that
demonic possession is real. JEFFREY BURTON
RUSSELL: There are not very many cases of legitimate
exorcism going on today. Exorcisms used to be more common
because we didn't know very much about human psychology and
how the unconscious can trick us. NARRATOR: Even so, certain
Christian believers accept that demonic
possession is valid. And they fear that
Satan continues to use it to gather his army. According to some
of these believers, there are more gruesome
examples of Satan on Earth. They point to the rise in
cases of ethnic cleansing, a euphemism for the
persecution or massacre of a select population. During a three-month
period in 1994, the Hutu-led militia in Rwanda
killed about 800,000 Tutsis in what has been called
the Rwandan Genocide. For those who believe in
the existence of Satan, such shocking
events seem possible only through his direction. G.M. BLACKWOOD: Satan
teaches us many things. The first thing that he teaches
us, that he's returning. And we are to provide
an army for his return. IMAM JIHAD TURK:
Whenever there is evil, genocide, atrocities
that are committed, violations of human rights, a
destruction of the environment, all of these are evil deeds. And evil, in its
essence, is rooted in the teachings
of Satan and those who follow his temptations. NARRATOR: Believers
in Biblical prophecy suggest that before Satan can
implement his plan to wipe out mankind, he will need to enlist
the help of two lieutenants into his army. Together, they will
become an unholy Trinity. And their communion will
be one of the last signs that Armageddon is at hand. The most evil
figure in the Bible is believed by many
to be amassing an army at this very moment. His name is Satan. His plan is to fulfill the
prophecy in Revelation that says he will challenge
God at the end of time. But before his army can
attack signs must be revealed. And events must
fall like dominoes, leading to a final
confrontation, a poisoned landscape,
calamitous events, and the arrival of two
monsters, the Antichrist and the false prophet,
are a few of the signs that Satan's army is assembling. But is there any evidence
of these prophecies coming to pass? Is global warming
the work of Satan? Is globalization
the work of Satan? Is terrorism the work of Satan? That might be true. The atomic weapons, are
they the work of Satan? Of course, there are
all those things today. But there always have been. There always have been wars
and plagues and famines. So I don't see any
reason myself to suppose that any particular thing
today is the work of Satan. DAVID PACK: Certainly,
there have always been problems in every age. But it's an intensifying
of problems. Those are the two key
elements-- greater in intensity and greater in number. And no one seems to be able to
figure out what to do about it. NARRATOR: Further examination
into the Book of Revelation may provide clues on how
Satan may lead mankind into Armageddon. It says Satan will bring
to power two key allies, both men-- the Antichrist and
a false prophet. The text describes
how these figures will help Satan deceive
humanity and lead the world to annihilation. According to
Revelation, Satan's plan begins when the Antichrist is
first introduced onto the world stage. MAN: And behold, a white
horse and its rider has a bow. And a crown was given to him. And he went out
conquering and to conquer. NARRATOR: According to
some biblical experts, the Antichrist, the first of
the notorious Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, will
falsely claim to bring peace. TERRY JAMES: And it's going to
be the peace that will destroy many, it says. It will be made and confirmed
by the one called Antichrist. DYRON DAUGHRITY: Labeling
people the Antichrist, the whole concept smacks of
somebody having an ulterior motive, and that is to demonize
and caricature somebody. That being said, we
can't discount altogether those voices that see
it as something real. NARRATOR: Revelation describes
how the Antichrist begins to consolidate his power. MAN: And he was given authority
over every tribe, people, language, and nation. He is going to stir up
such international problems that people will be looking
for some kind of savior, some kind of messiah, somebody
who will step into the scene politically who will
be able to solve the problems of the world. He'll bring war,
he'll build problems, but he will bring a
sense of unification. [cheering] NARRATOR: Nostradamus, the
renowned 16th-century seer, also wrote of an Antichrist. In one quatrain written
in 1555, Nostradamus seems to be describing the
same Antichrist depicted in Revelation. MAN: One who the
infernal gods of Hannibal will cause to be reborn,
terror of all mankind. Never more horror,
nor the newspapers tell of worse in the past
than will come to the Romans through Babil. Babil is the
ancient name for Iraq. Iraq comes up as Mesopotamia,
where a crusading army goes and loses a war. Who did Hannibal worship? He worshipped the Phoenicians. Where were they worshiped? Across North Africa
and what is currently the Middle East, all the way
to Persia and into Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Iraq. NARRATOR: To some, this
suggests the Antichrist will come from the Middle East. MAN: One who the
infernal gods of Hannibal will cause to be reborn. JOEL GRAVES: The Antichrist
is probably here. And this man may not even
know he is the Antichrist. DYRON DAUGHRITY: Christians
have to consider the reality of a possible Antichrist. However, we have
to keep in mind, we're dealing with
apocalyptic literature. What they're trying to express
is a feeling, a sentiment. And they're speaking
through imagery. It's analogy. It's symbol. It's metaphor. NARRATOR: Even so, the
ancient text of Revelation suggests another puppet of
Satan must appear to prepare the way for Armageddon. The Bible calls this second
evil emissary the false prophet. He gives us a man who is
called his false prophet, the ability to do pseudo
miracles and signs and wonders so that he deceives
the nations at this point. NARRATOR: The description
bears a superficial resemblance to some modern-day preachers,
but with a key difference-- Revelation describes that
by performing a miracle, the false prophet will trick
the world into worshipping the Antichrist, whom the
text also calls the Beast. MAN: And he had power to
give life unto the image of the Beast and cause that
as many as would not worship the image of the Beast
should be killed. NARRATOR: Revelation also says
the false prophet will employ awesome powers. MAN: And he performed
great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come
down from Heaven to Earth in full view of man. DAVID PACK: He's able to
call fire down from Heaven. That's not something your
everyday, ordinary prophet can do. It has to be a venerated,
respected religious figure that everybody would not suspect
as being someone who could be a person of darkness
or great evil. NARRATOR: According
to Revelation, the false prophet
will command everyone to take the mark of the Beast. MAN: He also forced everyone,
small and great, rich and poor, free and slave to receive
a mark on his right hand or on his forehead so that no
one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is
the name of the Beast or the number of his name. NARRATOR: Some interpreters who
understand the Bible literally believe this scenario
could be played out today using current technology. Bar codes, first implemented
in grocery stores in the 1970s, are now used to track a host of
items, including household pets and cattle. Could this tracking
technology also be applied to human beings? Right now, we have RFID
technology which could possibly tag every single person in
the world, to track them and to locate them
wherever they are. And we also see
other technologies that might come about,
such as nanotechnology, that could possibly form some of
these Bible prophecies as well. NARRATOR: But others have
a different interpretation of the Bible. What's being
expressed here, I think, is more a fear of
technology, and probably a very good fear of
the increasing power of big brother, rather
than something that I think is a literal understanding
of the Book of Revelation. NARRATOR: Believers
in the prophecy suggest that Satan,
the Antichrist, and the false prophet will
combine their powers to finally lead humanity into
World War III. DAVID PACK: The devil had
no problem finding people. He can stir up again through
his spirit whole armies. And Revelation says he will. NARRATOR: Will Revelation's
prophecy come true, dooming most of the world's
population in a final battle with Satan's ? army? As the hour of
Armageddon approaches, the last dominoes prophesying
the end times will fall. According to the Bible,
the unholy trinity of the false prophet,
the Antichrist, and Satan will finally concentrate
their power in the Holy Land as D-Day dawns for Satan's army. Biblical prophecies
describe how two forces will engage in a deadly battle
for the souls of humankind. One of these forces will be led
by the Bible's fallen angel, Satan, the other by the
son of God, Jesus Christ. The site of the
prophesied conflict-- a place called Megiddo,
better known as Armageddon. But the biblical text says
that before this can happen, Satan must bring his
chosen leaders to power. MAN: Even now are there many
Antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time. The Antichrist is likely
to start out by offering us all kinds of goodies. And then once he gets
us, then he's got us. NARRATOR: According to
the Book of Revelation, the conditions for
battle will finally be set once Satan's chosen
emissaries, the Antichrist and the false prophet,
gain power in the last days of tribulation. This is when the
end begins, enabling the following key
events to unfold. First, the Antichrist
forges a treaty that allows Israel to rebuild
the temple in Jerusalem. Now the Antichrist,
on Satan's behalf, declares himself to be gone and
moves into the rebuilt temple. MAN: He takes his seat
in the Temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. And this is what
Satan always wanted, was to be exalted and made
like God or worshiped as God. NARRATOR: According
to Revelation, the Antichrist and
the false prophet will launch a reign of terror,
killing all who oppose them. In response, God will
challenge Satan's followers with a series of disasters, each
more terrible than the last. One passage from the text
describes how a falling star will cause one third of all
water to become poisoned. MAN: And a great star, blazing
like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers
and on the springs of water. NARRATOR: Could
this falling star be the same star that crashes to
Earth in the prophecy mentioned by a Hopi elder
in the late 1950s? MAN: You will hear of
this sea turning black and many living things
die because of it. NARRATOR: Revelation states that
the destruction will intensify with fierce storms. A massive earthquake will reduce
cities and mountains to rubble. Islands will disappear,
engulfed by tidal waves. The text also describes
how a great hail will fall from the heavens,
each stone weighing nearly 100 pounds. Is this a veiled reference
to some new Ice Age? The final battle ensues as
the world is transformed. The judgment now is coming. And he will be the
instrument of bringing it to its final climax. As he raises the
nations up against God, he brings all of the nations
of the Earth against Jerusalem to do battle. NARRATOR: Some biblical scholars
believe that the Book of Daniel describes how great
military powers will rise up against the Antichrist,
attacking him from the south and the north. The Book of Daniel says
armies will surround Jerusalem. NARRATOR: Some
biblical interpreters suggest the Antichrist will
oppose the forces of good with an even larger
army of 200 million that approaches from the East. DAVID PACK: And they come across
the dried-up Euphrates river and they gathered at a place
called Har Megiddo, which is north of Jerusalem. NARRATOR: The prophesied
place is a broad Valley called Armageddon. Here, according to
the Bible, Jesus will make a dramatic appearance
to lead the forces of good. MAN: Then shall the
Lord go forth and fight against those nations. And it shall come
to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy
all the nations that come against Jerusalem. NARRATOR: The final battle
between good and evil begins. This is according
to John the Apostle, as he reported in the
controversial Book of Revelation nearly
2,000 years ago. MAN: And I saw an angel
standing in the sun and he cried with a loud
voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven,
come and gather yourselves together unto the
supper of the great God, that he may eat the flesh of
kings and the flesh of captains and the flesh of mighty men. NARRATOR: Revelation
provides no details of the prophesied battle,
only that Christ and his army are victorious. But some believe the Old
Testament prophet Zechariah foresaw the grim aftermath. MAN: Their flesh shall
consume away while they stand upon their feet. And their eyes shall
consume away in their holes. And their tongue shall
consume away in their mouth. DAVID PACK: Christ
literally dissolves them where they stand. It's a horrific
picture in Zechariah 14 of what Christ will
do to that great army. And the blood that will
flow is quite a picture. NARRATOR: Revelation says the
Antichrist and false prophet who will be destroyed and
that Satan will be chained and imprisoned,
ultimately powerless. And then finally, at the
very consummation of the age, he will be consigned to the
lake of fire, which is really hell itself. NARRATOR: The prophecy
culminates with Christ ruling on Earth in
peace for 1,000 years. If, according to prophecy,
the end has already begun, some believe we should also look
to the prophets for guidance on how to prepare for that day. Muhammad, the
prophet of Islam, taught his followers
to live in this world as if you're going
to live forever, but prepare for the
meeting with your Lord as if you're going
to die tomorrow. DANIEL SMITH-CHRISTOPHER:
In Matthew chapter 25, the message is about how
we're to live our lives. It means take care
of each other. It means have compassion. It means to work for
peace and justice. DYRON DAUGHRITY: Prophecy makes
us realize our own potential, good and bad. They force us to come to terms
with which path are we going to take? Are we going to line up
behind the forces of evil and destruction? Or are we going to line up
behind the forces of good? NARRATOR: If ancient
prophecy is, indeed, converging with recent history,
the Battle of Armageddon will soon be upon us. Some may see it
as an opportunity to consider how to change
our ways as that final hour approaches. [music playing]
