The End of the World as We Know It 8

Last time, we looked at the Great Harvest, that gathering of the unbelievers at the beginning of Christ’s return. Also, we witnessed the great magnitude of destruction delivered upon the earth and to the remainder of the godless – through the ‘7 bowls of judgment.’ (See The End of the World as We Know It 7).

In John’s vision, (now focused earthward and back in time, to reveal more of Satan’s schemes to bring humankind to ruin), he is now accompanied by an angel:

One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters.

The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.” So the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it.

The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality. A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.”

I could see that she was drunk – drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement. Rv. 1 7:1 – 6. NLT

These verses describe the destruction of the rebuilt city of Babylon, (originally destroyed in 539 B.C.), located by the Euphrates River; and of all the people in the world under her evil sway. The ‘harlot’ symbolizes the state of moral degradation of the same. ‘Many waters’ refers to the followers of Babylonian ways.

The harlot is also interpreted as a global form of ‘false religion’, that the Antichrist submits to at this time in history. The scarlet color of the beast she was astride, denotes sin (see Is. 1:18). The harlot is wealthy, influential, and drunk with immoral power.

Some biblical scholars understand the meaning of the seven heads as being six historically successive regimes: Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman, and a seventh one, that consists of the ten horns – representing 10 kings that are intimately involved and in cahoots with the harlot.

‘Mysterious’ comes from the Greek mustering, meaning a ‘secret’ or ‘mystery’ – associated with occult rites; and ‘Mother of all prostitutes’ depicts the immeasurable decadence of the harlot. ‘Babylon the Great,’ when not referring to that ancient empire, is always used in the Bible to represent false religion.

In the Bible, when the word ‘fornication’ or ‘adultery’ is not referring to sex out of wedlock, it always refers to idolatry, i.e., ‘false religion’, (an institution that perverts the word of God, to bring glory to itself). So, when the Scripture under our consideration says, ‘The kings of the world have committed adultery with her’, it is saying that all the world’s governments are conspiring with false religion to control its worldly followers.

The harlot has grown wealthy from her association with the world and is literally astride (being supported by) Satan’s beast, thus by the devil himself.

Finally, we see that false religion is responsible for many of the deaths of the saints throughout history.

The angel speaks to John’s amazement:

But the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

The beast that you saw was [once], but [now] is not, and he is about to come out of the abyss (the bottomless pit, the dwelling place of demons) and go to destruction (perdition). And the inhabitants of the earth, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, will be astonished when they see the beast, because he was and is not and is yet to come [to earth].” Rv. 17:7, 8. AMP

The beast (Antichrist) was and then was not, (i.e., was mortally wounded) and will appear to come back to life (to resurrect); but this is a deception, (see Rv. 13:3 & 14.), which will deceive many into following him – much to the destruction of the deceived (those who rejected Christ, and thus not found in the Book of Life). However, the Antichrist’s remaining time on earth will be short.

The angel offers further clarification:

“This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings. Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief.

“The scarlet beast that was, but is no longer, is the eighth king. He is like the other seven and he too is headed for destruction.” Rv. 17:90 – 11. NLT

Some biblical scholars see the harlot as representing the Roman Empire. Some see it as the papacy. Still others see this Scripture to represent all kingdoms that rise up against the children of God.

The most sensible interpretation centers around the events that were occurring in the time (90 A.D.) that the apostle John was receiving his Revelation vision. This elucidation describes the seven mountains / kings as representing world empires – the five which have fallen being the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Medo-Persian, and Greek.

The kingdom that ‘now reigns’ is the Roman Empire, (and there hasn’t been a ‘world empire since). The seventh kingdom will be Satan’s world system, and the eighth king will be the Antichrist, who uses false religion to bring himself to power, and then turns upon Babylon when he declares himself to be God.

The angel continues:

“The ten horns of the beast are ten kings who have not yet risen to power. They will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast. They will all agree to give him their power and authority. Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.” Rv. 17:12 – 14. NLT

The ten horns are ten kingdoms who give their brief allegiance to the Antichrist – standing in battle with him, in his confrontation against Christ and His followers.

John’s angelic companion offers yet more revelation:

Then the angel said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her desolate and naked [stripped of her power and influence], and will eat her flesh and completely consume her with fire. For God has put it in their hearts to carry out His purpose by agreeing together to surrender their kingdom to the beast, until the [prophetic] words of God will be fulfilled. The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over and dominates and controls the kings and the political leaders of the earth.” Rv. 17:15 – 18. AMP

When the Antichrist declares himself to be God, he will destroy the institution of false religion, because they cannot support his claim of divinity and hold onto its supposed relevancy. Until the beast declares this, the false religion will reign supreme over the worldly systems and is personified as the ‘great city’.

What is happening here is that God is using the devil’s own devices to wipe out false religion.

John’s vision remains focused earthward, but shifts time-wise to the last of the mid-tribulations:

After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, possessing great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his splendor and radiance. And he shouted with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen [certainly to be destroyed] is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a dungeon haunted by every unclean spirit, and a prison for every unclean and loathsome bird.

For all the nations have drunk from the wine of the passion of her [sexual] immorality, and the kings and political leaders of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth and economic power of her sensuous luxury.” Rv. 18:1 – 3. AMP

So, Jehovah’s prophecy about the final destruction of false religion has come to fruition (see Rv. 14:8).

At this point, Jesus stops the flow of John’s visions momentarily, and speaks a warning to everyone to stay away from false religion:

Then I heard another voice calling from heaven, “Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her. For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God remembers her evil deeds.Do to her as she has done to others. Double her penalty for all her evil deeds. She brewed a cup of terror for others, so brew twice as much for her. She glorified herself and lived in luxury, so match it now with torment and sorrow. She boasted in her heart, ‘I am queen on my throne. I am no helpless widow, and I have no reason to mourn.’

Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—death and mourning and famine.
She will be completely consumed by fire, for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.” Rv. 18:4 – 8. NLT

God will judge all people who persist in prideful and willful sin. That includes all the kings and merchants that were lining their pockets in their association with false religion. They were all devastated over the fall of Babylon.

However, the saints in heaven are called to celebrate God’s judgment:

Rejoice over her fate, O heaven and people of God and apostles and prophets! For at last God has judged her for your sakes. Rv. 18:20 NLT

Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted, “Just like this, the great city of Babylon will be thrown down with violence and will never be found again…you deceived the nations with your sorceries. In your streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God’s holy people and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world.’ Rv. 18:21, 23 & 24. NLT

Christ is coming! Next time…

Goodnight and God bless.

Building Better Americans 115

The Woke Leftists are hell-bent to destroy America through the destruction of our history, freedoms, rights, customs, and our values. They prefer to pillage and burn.

The End of the World as We Know It 7

Last time, we looked at the sounding of Jehovah’s 7^th trumpet, which heralded the coming victory of He and His Son, against Satan and his followers. And we examined the ‘7 signs’ – an overview of the latter half of the tribulations. Those signs were centered around Israel being hidden away from the onslaught of Satan and his two beasts: the Antichrist and the False Prophet (see The End of the World as We Know It 6).

We also witnessed a war in heaven, where the devil is thrown out of heaven, with him subsequently pursing the followers of Christ. Then we watched the unbelievers worship the Antichrist and his idol statute of himself, and witnessed miracles performed by the False Prophet, and the initiation of the ‘mark of the beast.’

Our study ended with the appearance of 3 angels: the first proclaiming that we must glorify God, the second to let us know that the world governmental system of the tribulation period was collapsing, and the third warning everyone to turn away from receiving the mark of the beast, or face eternal condemnation.

All of this leads us to embracing the urgency of persevering in our faith in Christ, no matter what befalls us:

This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus. Rv. 14:12 NLT

John’s visions in the mid-tribulations begins to end:

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!” Rv. 14:13 NLT

God is calling upon His children who accepted Him, through Christ, during the first half of the tribulations – to stand firm in their faith, because their redemption is guaranteed.

He is also comforting those whose martyrdom is imminent, that they will be instantly translated into the arms of their Lord – delivered from the vast severity of Jehovah’s final judgments during the latter half of the tribulations.

The vision of John shifts both heavenward and forward in time, towards the end of the tribulation period, where we become privy to the ‘Great Harvest’:

Again I looked, and this is what I saw: a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was One like the Son of Man, (see Dn. 7:13, 14.) with a crown of gold on His head and a sharp sickle [of judgment] in His hand.

And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to Him who was sitting on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap [at once], for the hour to reap [in judgment] has arrived, because the earth’s harvest is fully ripened.” So He who was sitting on the cloud cast His sickle over the earth and the earth was reaped (judged). Rv. 14:14 – 16. AMP

After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.”

So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath. The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and high as a horse’s bridle. Rv. 14:17 – 20. NLT

First, we see Christ (the Son of Man) coming in judgment. Some scholars, ascribe His coming to being a ‘mid-tribulation rapture’. However, this is a somber occasion. Jesus is coming to gather up those who are found wanting in God’s eyes (the rebellious). This is further confirmed by the advent of angels appearing to assist Him.

This is followed by the onslaught of Jehovah’s wrath (‘great winepress’) delivered outside of Jerusalem, through His Son – bringing destruction to rebellious armies (see Rv. 19:15 – 19.)

(This is a preview of the time that follows Armageddon – the last battle where Christ and His army will stand against the 2-million-man army from the ‘east’ + the army loyal to the Antichrist. There will be unprecedented destruction – creating a swath of blood from the vanquished that is 180 miles long and 4 feet in depth.)

Now, we get to look at John’s vision (heavenward and in the latter half of the tribulations) of all those who withstood Satan’s machinations in the mid-tribulations, and who came to Christ – many of whom were martyred. This is the 3^rd interlude in heaven, in the book of Revelation:

Then I saw in heaven another marvelous event of great significance. Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues, which would bring God’s wrath to completion.

I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name. They were all holding harps that God had given them. And they were singing the song of Moses (Ex. 15:1 – 18), the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

“Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed.” Rv. 15:1 – 4. NLT

The last ‘7 plagues’ (bowl judgments), are the fullest expression of Jehovah’s wrath against the rebellious unbelievers. But before He thrusts them upon the earth, He saves (raptures up if you will) those believers in the tribulations who have clung to Him and His Son in the face of severe satanic opposition.

(The ‘song of Moses’ celebrated God’s deliverance through Moses for the Hebrews, after they crossed the Red Sea.)

John’s vision remains heavenward at the beginning of the latter half of the tribulations:

Then I looked and saw that the Temple in heaven, God’s Tabernacle, was thrown wide open. The seven angels who were holding the seven plagues came out of the Temple.

Then one of the four living beings handed each of the seven angels a gold bowl filled with the wrath of God…The Temple was filled with smoke from God’s glory and power. No one could enter the Temple until the seven angels had completed pouring out the seven plagues. Rv. 15:5 – 8. NLT

Then I heard a mighty voice from the Temple say to the seven angels, “Go your ways and pour out on the earth the seven bowels containing God’s wrath.” Rv. 16:1 NLT

God is ready to strike the earth. This is setting the stage for the end of all that is familiar. John’s vision straddles both heaven and earth:

Bowl 1: So the first angel left the Temple and poured out his bowl on the earth, and horrible, malignant sores broke out on everyone who had the mark of the beast and who worshipped his statue. Rv. 16:2 NLT

Bowl 2: Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse. And everything in the sea died. Rv. 16:3 NLT

Bowl 3: Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs, and they became blood. And I heard the angel who had authority over all water saying,

“You are just, O Holy One, who is and who always was, because you have sent these judgments. Since they shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, you have given them blood to drink. It is their just reward.” Rv. 16:4 – 6. NLT

Bowl 4: Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire. Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over all these plagues. They did not repent of their sins and turn to God and give him glory. Rv. 16:8, 9. NLT

Bowl 5: Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. His subjects ground their teeth in anguish, and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they did not repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. Rv. 16:10, 11. NLT

Bowl 6: Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River, and it dried up so that the kings from the east could march their armies toward the west without hindrance.

And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty.

“Look, I will come as unexpectantly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.”

And the demonic spirits gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place with the Hebrew name Armageddon. Rv. 12 – 16. NLT

Bowl 7: Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne [of God], saying, “It is done. [It is all over, it is all accomplished, it has come.]” And there were flashes of lightning and loud rumblings and peals of thunder; and there was a massive earthquake – nothing like it has ever occurred since mankind originated on the earth, so severe and far-reaching was that earthquake.

The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And God kept in mind Babylon the great, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce and furious wrath. Then every island fled away, and no mountains could be found.

And giant hailstones, as heavy as a talent (~ 100 lbs) fell from the sky on the people; and people reviled and spoke abusively of God for the plague of hail, because the plague was so very great. Rv. 16:17 – 21. AMP

Wow! Jehovah is getting ready to bring total destruction upon the earth and the remnants of the rebellious. We have seen the complete annihilation of all aquatic life, no more potable water, tumors on those who took the mark of the beast, increased solar heat that burns everyone, God’s dominion is established over the throne of the Antichrist, the purposeful enabling of the gathering of the world’s armies for the battle of Armageddon, and unprecedented global geological devastation.

God is cleaning house. What happens next? Tune in next week!