The End of the World as We Know It 9
Last time, we were working our way across the timeline of the book of Revelations, where we received a clearer picture of the devil’s players in the tribulations period, e.g., the Harlot (great prostitute) that is the institution of ‘false religion’, which is supporting the Antichrist, until he declares himself to be God. At that point he turns on false religion and destroys ‘Babylon the Great.’ (see The End of the World as We Know It 8).
Before that juncture, it is the Antichrist that drives false religion forward, (at the behest of Satan). He is supported by 10 kings who help him in his quest to conquer Christ. Prior to that battle, Babylon will be destroyed, and those that followed her will mourn her passing.
However, the martyred saints in heaven will be overjoyed at seeing Jehovah finally deliver His justice upon those who persecuted them.
After Babylon falls, heaven throws a big party, as John relays in his continuing vision:
After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting, “Praise the LORD! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. His judgments are true and just. He has punished the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the murder of his servants.”
And again their voices rang out: “Praise the LORD! The smoke from that city ascends forever and ever!” Then the twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They cried out, “Amen. Praise the LORD!” Rv. 19:1 – 4. NLT (see also Dt. 32:43).
And from the throne came a voice that said, “Praise our God, all his servants, all who fear him, from the least to the greatest.” Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: “Praise the LORD! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.” Rv. 19:5, 6. NLT
This last shout of praise is an outpouring from all people who have been redeemed by Christ. Indeed, the coming of the Son is imminent, and His name is confessed by all, as the Lord and Savior.
They continue:
“Let us rejoice and shout for joy! Let us give Him glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb has come [at last] and His bride (the redeemed) has prepared herself.” She has been permitted to dress in fine linen, dazzling white and clean – for the linen signifies the righteous acts of the saints [the ethical conduct, personal integrity, moral courage, and godly character of believers].
Then the angel said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed ae those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me [further], “These are the true and exact words of God. Rv. 19:7 – 9. AMP
And here, is what you’ve been waiting for:
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who was riding it is called Faithful and True (trustworthy, loyal, incorruptible, steady), and in righteousness He judges and wages war [on the rebellious nations].
His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many royal crowns; and He has a name inscribed [on Him] which no one knows or understands except Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God.
And the armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, [dazzling] white and clean, followed Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword (His word) with which He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He will tread the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty [in judgment of the rebellious world].
And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name inscribed, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Rv. 19:11 – 16. AMP
There indeed is the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in all His majesty, power and righteousness – ready to judge the unrepentant sinners of this world. And He does so just with His word, there is no battle per se. By His command alone, all His enemies yield up their lives. This is Armageddon:
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: “Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.”
Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast – miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue.
Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding on the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies. Rv. 19:17 – 21. NLT
There are 3 ‘great judgments’ when Christ returns. Let’s insert them in their proper place on the Revelation timeline: the first, ‘judgment seat of Christ’ (see 1 Cor. 3:11 – 15.), occurs following the ‘rapture’ of the Church during the tribulation period – where the believers will have their works of righteousness judged and rewarded accordingly.
The second, ‘the judgment of nations’, follows the end of the tribulations, after the battle of Armageddon is decided. The third, the ‘Great White Throne judgment’ is for unbelievers only – for the judgment of their unrepentant sins, which befalls them at the end of Christ’s millennial reign, (to be discussed below).
To recap Armageddon, Jesus vanquished all His foes (except for Satan) by speaking out the word of God. That is some righteous power! And He did it all for you…
The Millennium:
The apostle John’s vision is now focused earthward, just after the tribulations, after Christ’s victory over the forces of the devil:
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while. Rv. 20:1 – 3. NLT
As you would expect, there are varying interpretations regarding the meaning of the Millennial reign. Amillennialists believe that it is symbolic for the spiritual reign of Christ through the church until His second advent, with the 1000 years being figurative for ‘completion’.
The Premillennialists (as well as your author) believe that there is a literal 1000-year reign of Christ on earth following His return, as is clearly spelled out in the following Scripture:
Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years. Rv. 20:4 – 6. NLT
Those people sitting on the thrones were the saints who were resurrected during the ‘rapture’ of the church. Those who were ‘beheaded’ were those believers who were martyred during the tribulations – who also reign with Jesus.
We see (Rv. 20:1 – 3.) that during the millennium, Satan is taken out of the picture, so that his influence is not present. We also see that ‘nations’ were still on the earth. Thus, it can be inferred that they would be made up of unbelievers who were not part of Satan’s armies and managed not to get killed in the second half of the tribulations.
So, who were on the side of Christ in the Millennium? It would include the elders (Mt. 29:28; Lk. 22:30) and the saints [the raptured church and the martyrs who accepted Jesus during the tribulations (Dn. 7:22; 1 Cor. 6:2; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17), the 144,000 Jewish believers (Rv. 14:1 – 5.), the great multitude (Rv. 15:1 – 3.), and the ‘two witnesses’ (Rv. 11:12).
The Millennial world is a changed place. It must be. It was rendered uninhabitable by God’s final judgments against the old earth. It is now the physical kingdom of Christ – a place where all the saints’ troubles will be removed and forgotten, having direct communication with the Father and the Son, and even cohabitating with animals that have been recreated in their original vegetarian states.
There will also be unbelievers, still having children, still growing older and dying, and still sinning – even though Jesus Himself is in their midst and the devil was not.
The devil takes his last shot:
When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison.He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore.And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.
Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Rv. 20:7 – 10. NLT
That’s it for our enemy and accuser. He’s out of the picture forever…
Now, we are brought to the final judgment of those who rejected Christ as their Savior:
And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire. Rv. 20:11-15. NLT
Those who spurned Jesus are condemned to die again – this time to eternal torment. Not a place you want to be. Not a place where you have to be, if you embrace the Son of God.
It begs the question: What is in store for the believers?
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Rv. 21:1, 2. NLT
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. Rv. 21:3 – 7. NLT
Time has come to an end. We look forward to eternal bliss through the salvation offered by Jehovah through His Son.
John’s vision is coming to a close:
Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls containing the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone—like jasper as clear as crystal. The city wall was broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels. And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates. There were three gates on each side—east, north, south, and west. The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Rv. 21:9 – 14. NLT
All the children of God together forever, in the very presence of the Father and the Son:
The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.
I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. Rv. 21:21 – 25. NLT
Heaven has arrived and the paradise of Eden is restored:
Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever. Rv. 22:1 – 5. NLT
Finally, Jesus leaves us with His eternal promise:
“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.” Rv. 22:7 NLT
“Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Rv. 22:12, 13. NLT
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.”
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life. And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.
He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people. Rv. 22:16 – 21. NLT
Goodnight and God bless.
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.