The Bible Prophet's Visions Revisited - 2009
New Truth File Information by + Stephen :[Controversial articles for the advanced student of Bible prophecy]
Truth File News + This section of the Truth Files will present significant news items as they apply to the prophetic scriptures: [Note: Truth Files Subject "Islam in Bible Prophecy"]
Debka Files
December 4, 2009
Iran successfully simulates nuclear warhead detonation. German intelligence reports that Iranian scientists have successfully simulated the detonation of a nuclear warhead in laboratory conditions, in an effort to sidestep an underground nuclear test. Debka File's Iranian and intelligence sources report that this development is alarming because detonation is one of the most difficult technological challenges in the development of a nuclear weapon. Mastering it carries Iran past one of the last major obstacles.
Debka Files
December 2, 2009
Ahmadinejad taunts Israel, says Iran will enrich uranium to 20 percent. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday, Dec. 2, that Iran will enrich uranium to 20 percent. Taunting Israel, he said: "The Zionist regime is nothing. Even its masters cannot do a damn thing." For Tehran the nuclear issue is "over." The Islamic republic will "not back down from its rights."
Scripture For The Day
Revelation
21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
The Lord Stands In The Breach + The Lord reveals His plan of salvation:
Genesis
3:1 Now the serpent [satan .... Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Revelation 12:9] was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
3:15 And I will put enmity [hostility] between thee and the woman, and between thy seed [satan and his followers] and her seed [Jesus Christ and His followers]; it shall bruise thy [satan's] head [ultimate destruction], and thou shalt bruise His [the Lord's] heel [temporary wounding].
The Lord's Restraint + The Lord places restraint against satan and his fallen angelics in varying degrees over time.
These angelics rebelled against the Lord long long ago. His judgment against this behavior is revealed in Genesis 1:2, Jeremiah 4:23-25, and Ezekiel 28:12-16, and He will ultimately destroy all of them. [Job 1:6-7; 38:1-7; Isaiah 14:12-27; Ezekiel 28:1-19; Revelation 12:3-4; 12:7-9; 19:20; 20:10; 20:15]
Little restraint was placed upon satan and his angelic followers at the onset of the creation of humans of our kind about 6,000 years ago. This condition resulted in a major corruption of the world's population and the Lord's ensuing judgment of a worldwide flood. [Genesis 3; 6:1-7]
A greater degree of restraint was applied after the flood and this restraining against satan and his angelic princes is revealed to the prophet Daniel by the Lord Himself. [Daniel 10:4-21; 11:1]
Even greater restraint has since been place by the Lord and this action was instituted at His first advent just after His ascension. This function of His holy spirit was activated at Pentecost and is still inplace today. [Acts 2:1-17]
This further restraint has limited satanic activity to a level of influence, but with no latitude for actual manifested interactions on the earth including the possession of a human by a satanic entity.
This limited influence cannot be induced against human will. Humans have the choice to resist any of it, but unfortunately many do become entangled including those who profess to be believers in Jesus Christ. [Matthew 24:4-5; 2Peter 2:1-22; 2Timothy 3:1-17; 4:1-5]
The Lord will remove a large measure of this existing restraining function which will allow for satan and his fallen angelics to interact directly with humanity during His coming hour of trial and judgment against an unbelieving intransigent world. Satan and his fallen angelics will be released upon the earth and kept from access to heaven during the period [2Thessalonians 2:1-12; 2Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6; Revelation 3:10; 6:12-17; 9:1-21; 11:7; 12:9-12; 13:1-7; 13:11-18; 17:8-14]
The Voice Of The Lord + The Lord speaks to the church in the following verses .... first His evaluation of the present [the things that "are"] condition of the church on the earth in Revelation 1, 2 and 3 .... and then His call to immortalize the true believers just before He brings His hour of trial upon an unbelieving world [the things that shall be "hereafter" .... at the time of the end].
First Trumpet Sounding For The Church
Revelation
1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet
1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea
1:19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter [at the end of this present age]
4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Last Trumpet Sounding For The Church
Revelation
18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
1Thessalonians
4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first
4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
1Corinthians
15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
The Day Of The Lord + This is the beginning of the coming "day of the Lord" .... His hour [time] of trial and judgment against an intransigent an unbelieving world .... but just before He will keep His promise for those that believe in Him and are ready [many of professing christianity will not be ready and are not really saved]:
Matthew
25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
25:2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
25:3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
25:4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
25:7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
25:9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Revelation
1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
1:19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of trial, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
The Voice Of The False Teacher + False teachers existing within professing christianity draw, attract, and control with the following primary and significant misleading precepts. They then insert their cult like designs to deceive the unlearned and the unwary away from the truth:
1.Salvation by works
2.Removal and replacement of national ethnic Israel presented in scriptural prophecy
3.Refutation of the Lord's pre-tribulation "rapture"
4.Induced pseudo-sensual experiences in their worship services
5.Proprietary and exclusive membership for the followers
Once convinced, the followers can then be led astray with all sorts of fabricated falsehoods including those that can result in the loss of one's own salvation.
The false teacher must be able to impose legalisms for controlling the membership, remove national Israel from future prophetic fulfillment, eliminate the Lord's pre-tribulational immortalizing of the believer, attract with false manifestational experiences, and claim the exclusivity of the teacher's dogmas.
All of this is done in order to insert and sell the deceptions by those who come in the name of Jesus Christ to capture the unlearned and the unwary. Those who do this sort of thing are legion today and they have infested the professing church for the purpose of attracting attention, spreading deceptions, causing division, and promoting self gain.
At the same time they enhance satan's ambition to make a mockery of the truth. The Lord has said that many would come in His name with the intent to deceive. [Matthew 24:4-5; Mark 13:5-6; 2Peter 2,3; 2Timothy 3,4]
The "Lie" + Those who "profess" christianity only are not believers in the first place and are no different that the rest of unbelieving humanity ..... they do not belong to Jesus Christ and these living at the time will be subjected to His coming hour of trial and wrath [the tribulation period] just like the rest of the world. [Matthew 25:1-13; Revelation 3:16]
These refuse to believe the truth about Jesus Christ, even if they come in His name, just as all of intransigent humanity, and they are no different .... unfortunately the world is full of these people today and the Lord will judge them. [Matthew 24:4-5; Psalms 2]
In the process He will allow for satanic infestation by removing restraint against satan and the fallen angelics and they will be sent and sequestered upon the earth during the tribulation period .... because the world refuses to believe the truth about Him, He will give them the devil. The world is moving closer toward this setting and there are, both pseudo-christian and non-christian factions, who are seeding the winds of deception for the cause. [2Thessalonians 2:1-15]
This satanic infestation will produce many supernatural and strange conditions upon the earth and the hallmark of satan's beast will be his capacity to make war and to defeat all human effort against him .... he will conquer without failure and none will stop him. [Revelation 13:4-8; 13:11-15]
His core followers will admire his astounding success against nations, their governments, and certainly the nation of Israel of which he will invade and occupy .... his followers will believe his claims to be a "god" as he moves to conquer the world. [Daniel 11:36-45]
He will be followed and admired by many as he destroys their enemies by killing hundreds of thousands in one devastating blow after the other .... nothing will stand in his way and his angelic and human armies will ravage the earth and those who refuse to submit will be hunted down and killed. [Daniel 8:23-25; 11:36-44; Revelation 6:4-11; 9:5,18; 13:7; 14:13; 20:4(those beheaded)]
This action will be the "lie" and delusion that the Lord will send to the followers of satan's beast who will think that he is a "god" ..... then the Lord Himself will turn on the beast and his kingdom of followers, destroy them just at the end of the tribulation period, and restore the kingdom to Israel. [Ezekiel 38:39; Joel 2:20-32; 3:1-21; Micah 4:1-3;, 5:1-15; Zechariah 14:1-16; Revelation 14:14-20; 16:1-16; 19:11-21]
Keep in mind that this beast will not be an ordinary human, he is a fallen angelic possessing excessive destructive powers imputed by satan .... he will appear as nothing the world has ever seen in the human little horn of Daniel's visions .... and this angelic king of the abyss cannot be killed by ordinary means which will astonish the world .... only the Lord can destroy angelics in His lake of fire. [Jude 1:6; Revelation 9:11; 11:7; 13:2-4; 17:8; 19:20]
This is the "lie" and delusion that satan will be allowed to present to a world of humans who will follow and perish in the process .... this will all be part of the Lord's judgment against humanity for their unbelief and rejection of Him .... and He will also at the same time ultimately destroy satan's ploy by eliminating his angelic and human agents and then capture and send him to the abyss. The next objective will be to destroy him forever. [Revelation 20:1-3; 20:7-10]
The Lord never looses a battle and His ways are unfettered, even by satan and his manipulations .... He will draw satan in to the fray .... and then crush him .... while the devil is watching one hand, the Lord will kill him with the other. [Genesis 3:14-15]
The Covenant Confirmed + The covenant confirmed in Daniel 9 has to be the covenant of the 70 weeks of years decreed for Israel in the context of the chapter .... there is no other covenant described: [note: see article entitled 70 x 7's]
.... and there is no indication that this covenant is some sort of peace treaty between Israel and the nation's enemies.
Only the Lord can confirm this covenant by executing the coming 70th week .... thereby reaching the 6 objectives for the believing remnant of Israel who will turn to Him during His hour [time] of trial. [Daniel 9:1-27]
Visionary prophecy must be read carefully and in this case one needs to see that there are two princes involved .... the Lord .... and the other prince .... satan's beast of Revelation 13:1 and 17:8.
It is the Lord who was "cut off" at the end of the 69th week .... it is the other prince and His followers who will come and desecrate at the middle of the 70th week decreed. [Daniel 9:26]
The vision then repeats this same contrast between the two princes.
Daniel
9:27 And he [the Lord] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: [note the : divider in the KJV]
.... and in the midst of the week he [the other prince] shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
The Lord ["He"] will confirm the covenant .... the other prince cannot do this and would not because of the 6 objectives that will be met for Daniel's people, the believing remnant part of national Israel. [Daniel 9:24; Romans 11]
Then the other prince ["he"] will cause the sacrifice oblation to cease. [Israelite worship at the base of the western wall of the temple mount ... the most holy place for Israel today] [Jeremiah 30:5-7; Daniel 8:9-12; Zechariah 14:1-5; Matthew 24:15-16]
This other prince is the little horn of Daniel 11:36-45 and 12:7. This king of the north and his followers will invade, occupy and rule over Israel, Jerusalem, and the temple mount for 42 months before the Lord will pour out His wrath upon the desolaters. [Jeremiah 30:1-7; Ezekiel 38:11-16; Daniel 11:41; Micah 5:5; Zechariah 14:1-5; Revelation 11:2; 12:3-17; 13:5]
None of the events of the time frame of the 70th week of 2,520 days has transpired yet and is still pending at this time. [Romans 11:25-26]
In fact, there is a breach in the time lapse that can be found in all of the prophetic visions related to the time of the end of this present age.
Events on the earth between the end of the 69th week [about 33 A.D.] and the beginning of the 70th [still future] are not recorded in the scope of visionary prophecy ... many significant things have come and gone over the last 2,000 years and they are simply not there.
For example: Daniel's visions track the geopolitical phases of the Middle East through the end of the rule of Antiochus IV [11:21-35] .... and then the rest of the unfulfilled portion jumps directly to the time of the end. [Daniel 11:36-45; 12:1-12]
The Prince That Shall Come + The return of Abaddon-Apollyon, a fallen angelic prince, is given in scripture and just who the human little human horn that this fallen angelic will possess is not known yet: [Revelation 9:11; 11:7; 17:8]
The little horn, a human king, will appear in the northern Middle East rising up among 10 other Middle Eastern kings who will follow him at the time of the end .... his appearance will occur just at the beginning of the tribulation period. [Daniel 7:7-25; 8:9-12; 8:23-25; 11:36-45; Revelation 9:1-11; 17:8]
Abaddon-Apollyon is the first beast of Revelation who will come out of the abyss .... released by satan himself. Here the term "beast" is used to describe a fallen angelic. [Revelation 9:1; 9:11; 17:8]
This term is used differently in Daniel's visions and symbolizes the succession of different Middle Eastern empires ... three historical and the future and last of Abaddon-Apollyon's human dominions. [Daniel 7:3-7 .... three of these are historical [neo-Babylon, Persia, and Syrio/Babylonia]; the fourth will emerge at the time of the end]
This final dominion will include two phases ... a 6th smaller dominion in the northern Middle East followed quickly by an expanded dominion of the region with 10 other kings. [Daniel 8:9; Revelation 17:10-14]
His presence, kingdom on the earth, and actions are noted specifically in Revelation chapters 9:11; 11:7; 13:1; 14:9; 16:13; 17:8; and 19:19. He is the "angelic prince" that shall come to rule again and stand against the Messiah Prince .... Jesus Christ at the time of the end. [Daniel 8:9-12; 9:24-27]
This beast [in the little horn, human king of the northern Middle East] will conquer the Middle East including Israel, and will fend off all other national opposition including the noted destruction of the "great city" [civilization] of the Gentiles [the nations]. [Daniel 11:36-44; Revelation 8:7-12; 14:8; 16:19; 17:16-18; 18:1-21; 19:1-3]
Those who oppose his rule from the south, far east, and far north outside of the Middle East proper will be vanquished. [Daniel 11:40-44]
The Lord's two Israelite prophets will stand for the Lord against this angelic prince [Abaddon-Apollyon] and his false prophet [also a fallen angelic who will manifest in two human cleric leaders .... two horns] during the 42 month rule of a conquered Israel [last 1,260 days of the 7 year tribulation period]. [Revelation 11:2-7; 13:11-18]
The Lord will protect His two prophets during their service which will take place in Jerusalem occupied by the little horn and his followers .... the adherents of Islam. [Psalms 83; Ezekiel 38:4-7; Micah 5:5]
The Lord will then turn on him and his human followers and destroy them in the next 30 days consumating at the battle of Armageddon. [Ezekiel 39:17-29; Revelation 14:14-20; 16:1-16; 19:20-21]
This angelic beast and the false prophet will be destroyed in the lake of fire [only the Lord can destroy angelics], the human little horn and his followers will become bird food and their remains will be buried by Israel, and satan will be tossed into the same abyss. [Ezekiel 39:9-16; Revelation 20:1]
This is a future picture of Israel and the nation's Middle Eastern enemies .... the adherents of Islam. Mohammud's claims of a visitation by the angel Gabriel were false, and he was most likely visited by satan himself .... or it is possible that he just made the whole story up to support his ambitions of control and conquest.
The situation in the Middle East today is ripe for the coming of the "other prince" .... the "Mahdi" of the Islamic nation.
The Lord's Wrath + It is the Lord who will allow [use] satan and the fallen angelics for His purposes of judging an unbelieving world. Since the world refuses to believe the truth about Him ..... He will give them the devil. And He will ultimately destroy satan in the process: [2Thessalonians 2:3-12; Revelation 12:12; 17:16-18; 20:10]
The coming tribulation period of the Lord's wrath is His hour [time] of trial and judgment ..... the entire time frame of 2,550 days. The Lord will then turn on the beast and his followers at the end of the period. [Daniel 9:24-27; 12:1-12; Revelation 3:10; 6:12-17; 16:1-16]
This day of the Lord will come unexpectedly as a "thief" ..... no warning, and will include His hour of trial [wrath against an unbelieving world] which will last for 2,550 days [7 years and 30 days]. This time frame will then extend for another 1,000 years when He will rule the earth from Jerusalem personally .... and then He will renovate the present heavens and earth with fire; and eternity will begin. [2Peter 3:1-13; Revelation 20:7-11; 21:1]
The entire 70th week [the 7 years decreed for national Israel] of the tribulation period will be the Lord's wrath and "great tribulation" such as the world has never seen in human history. It will be His hour of trial, His coming judgment against all unbelief of those who follow the beast, and the rest of humanity living at the time. A few will turn, repent, and will be saved ..... but most of the world will not just as it is today. They will not even turn under the Lord's unmitigated wrath of confusion, vexation, and destruction. [Matthew 24:21; Revelation 6:15-17; 9:20]
The events of the time frame of the Lord's hour [time] of trial will come without warning .... the Lord will intervene as a "thief" and the world will be instantly plunged into the darkest and most terrifying period known to mankind. Few mortals will survive it.
Those that do and are found believing will enter His millennial kingdom as mortals and they will populate His millennial kingdom on the earth. The body of Christ of today's church [those asleep and those living at the time] will be immortalized just before the day of the Lord begins. [Matthew 24:37-39; 1Thessalonians 5:2-3; Revelation 3:10; 18:4]
Those who become believers during the period of His wrath and are killed for their faith will be raised at the end of it and will rule with Him over a kingdom of mortals on the earth for 1,000 years. [Revelation 6:9-11; 14:13 .... these will join the pre-tribulation church [those on thrones] as revealed in Revelation 20:4].
You Must Be Ready + There are many today of professing christianity who seek the coming tribulation period of the Lord's wrath against an unbelieving world and teach the need for today's believer to be judged for "purification". There seems to be an intrinsic need for receiving the Lord's unmitigated wrath during His coming judgment against human intransigence in spite of the truth about the matter as the scriptures tell. This is a strange thing indeed.
There are even some who teach and claim super "elite" status in the tribulation period and that they will be transformed into invincible perfected beings for the purpose of establishing the Lord's coming millennial kingdom themselves [the many membered "manchild" corruptions of Revelation 12 presented by "latter rain" MSOG movements].
There are those who claim "protected" status by inserting themselves as the 144,000 sealed mortal children of Israel [the Watch Tower membership of the Jehovah Witnesses], or the believing part of national Israel who will flee into the Jordanian wilderness [replacement theologies], and even the two prophets who will stand before the Lord in Jerusalem [those who teach corporate body theologies]. Those who will be protected are limited and specific; and only if one is an ethnic Israelite. [Revelation 7:1-8; Zechariah 14:1-5; Matthew 24:15-16; Revelation 11:3-12]
All of these teach and project themselves into the events of the Lord's coming tribulation and wrath attempting to convince others to go with them. The Lord will suddenly execute His coming judgment against unbelief and intransigence .... and those of professing christianity who teach and follow heresy will be caught off guard. [Matthew 25:1-13; 1Thessalonians 5:1-4; Revelation 3:16-21; 16:15; 22:7; 22:18-21]
Revelation
16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame [parenthetical].
3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
1Thessalonians
4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout [command], with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [harpazo] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Revelation
18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of [away from] great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
19:2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
19:3 And again they said, Alleluia And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
19:4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
19:5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them [the 24 elders and the great multitude]: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands [the martyrs of the tribulation period]; and they lived and reigned with Jesus Christ a thousand years.
WARNING: The believer must be ready for the Lord's coming abrupt action to immortalize the believer and not to be found refuting His promise on this issue.
There are only two resurrections to immortality scheduled during the tribulation period .... the Lord's two prophets [Revelation 11:11-12] and the tribulation martyrs [Revelation 6:9-11; 20:4 (those beheaded)].
No others are described. The gatherings of a few surviving mortals at the end of the tribulation period are not resurrections to immortality. The Lord will gather the survivors and separate them; those found believing will enter and populate His coming millennial kingdom on the earth. [Matthew 24:29-31; 25:31-46]
But before all of this .... just before His coming hour [time] of trial .... He is going to immortalize today's church of both those asleep and those living in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye .... at a time that no one can know [1Corinthians 15:22-58; 1Thessalonians 4:13-17; 5:1-4; Matthew 25:1-13; Revelation 3:10-11; 18:4]
Do not let the false teachers and the false prophets of professing christianity deceive you regarding this issue. They have come, are in abundance today, and all carry the hallmark false teaching of refuting the Lord's early immortalization of the believer just before He brings His wrath and judgment against a world of unbelief and intransigence against Him.
Satan is behind this onslaught of false teaching against the Lord and His intents .... because he hates the potential for human immortality. [Matthew 24:4-5; 2Peter 2,3; 2Timothy 3,4]
Understanding 2Thessalonians 2 + The early believers of Thessalonica were troubled because of the prevalent false teaching that the day of the Lord was in process .... they thought they had missed the Lord's "harpazo" action to immortalize them:
Paul had discussed this issue with them earlier [1Thessalonians 4, 5] and so he sets the record straight by explaining that the day of the Lord had not yet come ..... he also tells them why ..... because certain conditions were not present .... the coming of the lawless one and his following [the falling away].
The gathering Paul speaks of and the day of the Lord are not the same events and the Lord's immortalization of the believer [both those asleep and those living at the time] will occur first ..... and then the day of the Lord will begin abruptly with no warning given to earth dwellers.
The day of the Lord will begin with His "hour" of trial [the coming tribulation period of 2,550 days] .... and will then include His coming millennial kingdom upon the earth for 1,000 years.
The term "last day" [the time frame of the day of the Lord] used in prophetic presentation is a period of time .... not just "one" 24 hour day .... and when this is used it is always presented as "at", or "in" the last day .... not "on" the last day.
Revelation confirms that the gathering noted in 2Thessalonians 2:1 is the Lord's call to immortalize the believer just before His coming hour of trial. Today's church is seen with Him dwelling heaven, in His temple, and around the throne just before, during, and at the closing of the tribulation period. [Revelation 3:10; 4:4; 5:5-10; 7:9-17; 11:1; 12:12; 13:6; 17:14; 19:1-14; 20;4 (those on thrones)]
Pieces + Political states of the ancient Middle East are described in scripture, forecasted by the Biblical prophets, and are the basis for forming the end time picture of unfulfilled prophecy today: [Daniel 2:31-45]
Traditional christian interpretation of the same has been to place the focus on a European common market or some sort of global world government which would dominate the picture at the end of this present age. Closer investigation and a more precise study of the Bible’s view reveals otherwise.
There are seven kingdoms defined in the scope of prophecy presented in the prophetic scriptures and all of them are Middle Eastern based, both those of the past and the ones that will exist in the future.
These are human dominions ruled over by human king positions and influenced by satan and his agencies who are all fallen angelics. Five of theses human dominions, or kingdoms, are historical and succeeded one another in an unbroken change of political power and authority. These began shortly after the flood and all were centered in the northern sector of the Asian Middle East. [Revelation 17:8-14]
This condition of human self government apart from the Lord started when humans began to build cities which eventually became the cores of the kingdoms that were developed. The first geographical outline of the northern Middle East presented in scripture related to empire building was the land of Magog and his brothers with the next four including the Akkadian/Assyrian, the neo-Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, and the northern Greek [Syrio/Babylonia]. These are the five “fallen” according to the prophetic scriptures and historical records.
Each succeeded one another with different human rulers over the same core location in the Middle East and each came and went with variant extents in geographical coverage as they grew and then diminished as they were conquered by the next. The inhabitants in these kingdoms were primarily the same with different governing conquers and they still remain the same for the most part today.
Human migrations out of the Middle East have formed other nations around the globe today, but the scope of Bible prophecy is focused upon the same initial area of human development and extends to the time of the end of this present age. The later inclusion of the nation of Israel in the Middle East and the relationships with these first five human kingdoms are the subject of both O.T. and N.T. visions of the Bible prophets.
Israel’s return to the land after centuries of exile is predicted in the visions of the Bible prophets; the stage is being set up today for the Lord’s coming involvement with national Israel and the other nations of the world. [Isaiah 11; Jeremiah 30; Ezekiel 36; 37; 38; 39; Daniel 9; 12; Micah 5; Zechariah 14]
The scope of Bible prophecy is limited primarily to the Middle East and Israel. The time frame of events recorded is unique and does not include evens of the last 2,000+ years of human history, but only the era of the first five human Middle Eastern kingdoms, which ended just before the first century, and the next two that will exist there at the time of the end.
These two future kingdoms will be different, but will develop in the same area of the northern Middle East as those preceding. The first will be a smaller kingdom, the sixth, and it will then be expanded into the larger seventh divided kingdom which will include ten separate, but confederated kingdoms.
Each of the ten kingdoms will be ruled by a king (political leader) and all will be united by and will follow the little horn/beast presented in Daniel's visions. [Daniel 7:1-8; 7:19-25; 8:9-23; 8:23-25; 11:36-45; 12:7; Revelation 17:8-14]
This human ruler will be incarnated by the first beast of Revelation who is a fallen angelic and who rules over the seven human kingdoms for satan. [Revelation 9:1-11; 11:7; 13:1-10; 17:8-14]
Today’s current turmoil and instability in the Middle East will eventually produce the setting for these last two successive kingdoms to emerge. It is the little horn, human king of the northern Middle East, of Daniel’s visions who will form his sixth smaller kingdom in the area of the ancient post flood land of Magog and his brothers who first ruled there long ago [northern Iraq today].
He will then expand it by alliance and by conquering into the seventh which will include all of the countries of the Middle East .... including Israel. These will be the pieces of the ancient Middle East that will form and set the stage for the time of the end of this present age.
Image Elements + Daniel’s vision of the primary rulers of the Middle East is limited in scope and the student of Bible prophecy needs to consider this when interpreting those of the ancient past and future. Distinct changes of the elements in the scope of the vision represent changes in human rule of the Middle East except for the 6th and the 7th where the iron element is contained in both. These are the major rulers of the Middle East from ancient times to the present: [Daniel 2:31-45]
Post Flood [not included in the vision of the image]
1. Land of Magog ad his brothers
2. Akkadian/Assyrian
Ancient Image Elements
3. Neo-Babylonian – One head of gold
[Medo/Persian] – Two arms of silver
4. Persian – One chest of silver
5. Greek – One belly of Bronze
[Greek North/South] – Two thighs of bronze
Non-Image Elements [not included in the vision of the image]
These are all subsequent major rulers of the Middle East with distinctive changes, but they do not appear in the scope of visionary prophecy and all exist between the end of the 69th week decreed for national Israel and the beginning of the future 70th week.
Roman
Arabian
Seljuk
Kurd
Mongol
Mamluk
Turk
British
10 primary Islamic nation states and Israel [current]
Future Image Elements
6. Unnamed [North [little horn]/South] – Two - legs of iron
7. Unnamed [10 divisions ruled by little horn/beast] – Feet and toes of iron and clay
8. The Lord’s millennial Kingdom – Stone
There is a break in the image elements presented between the 5th and the 6th segments. This period represents the last 2,000+ years of history [list of non-image elements] and is still running. It corresponds with the lapse time of the 70 weeks of years [490 years] decreed for national Israel which began in 445 B.C. under Persian rule. 483 years of this time lapse transpired in approximately 33 A.D and the balance of 7 years is still pending. [Daniel 9:23-27]
This future period will include the image elements of the 6th and 7th segments [the iron and clay]; and then the Lord’s millennial kingdom [stone] which will replace all human rule, will be centered in Israel and the Middle East, and will include the entire world.
Daniel’s other corresponding vision of the 4 “beast” dominions of the Middle East in chapter 7 includes the rule of Neo-Babylon, Persia, and Alexander’s Asian dominion [his kingdom was broken and the two bronze thighs represent the kingdoms of the northern and southern Greeks who ruled the Middle East, one north of Jerusalem and one south]. The 4th dominion presented is a combination of the 6th and 7th elements of the unnamed rulers of the Middle East at the future time of the end.
The 6th will be the northern iron leg [northern sector of the Middle East] of the little horn/beast who will conquer the southern iron leg, the rest of the Middle East, and Israel. He will rule over the Middle East for 42 months [1,260 days] with the 10 other kings, will cause horrific destruction and upheaval for the rest of the world, and then his kingdom will be destroyed and replaced by the Lord’s millennial Kingdom on the earth.
Revelation has this same identical line up and limited scope of image elements and they are described as the 7 heads [dominions] of satan’s angelic beast who rules over the Middle East. The first two elements not included in Daniel’s vision are added to the next 5 in the scope bringing the total to the 7 dominions of the Middle East. This is why the beast has 7 heads [dominions] in the scope of the visions of which 5 have fallen [are historical and existed before the first century], and two will exist in the near future in succession one after the other. [Revelation 17:8-14]
His 6th kingdom will be the one that “is” [at the beginning of the 70th week decreed for Israel] and the 7th will follow. The beast’s 6th rule will be a small [little horn] kingdom located in the northern Middle East, and he will then quickly expand it into the 7th divided kingdom of iron and clay [today's Islamic countries centered in the Middle East]. [Psalms 83; Ezekiel 38; Daniel 8:9; 11:36-45; 12:1]
70 x 7's + The time frame of all unfulfilled visionary prophecy is still future. All fulfilled prophecy has been fulfilled through the end of the 69th week of the 70 weeks of years decreed for national Israel. A week of years is the Jewish “heptad”. Each year represents 360 literal prophetic days. This calculates to a 7 year period of time or 2,520 days. The 69 weeks of years represent a time period of 173,880 prophetic days or 483 years:
This time frame began at the decree to return and build the city Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity [under Persian rule] in 445 B.C. 483 prophetic years lapsed in about 33 A.D. and the Lord was then cut off at His first coming. There is one “heptad” (one 7 year period) remaining for the completion of the decreed amount of total time of 490 years and this 7 year period is still future. [Daniel 9; 12]
It is significant that the nation of unbelieving Israel is existing as an independent political entity in the land of Israel today after many centuries of domination by the Gentiles and exile from their land. They are there to experience the coming 70th week decreed for the nation which is still pending.
Israel's continuous intransigence against the Lord's providence and direction has resulted in the loss of His personal guidance and direction. Israel is still in this condition at the present time. His long term preservation of Israel's national identity is specifically for His ultimate plans and purposes ..... not Israel's self-generated nationalism. [Jeremiah 30; Ezekiel 36; 37; 38; 39]
The years following the reign of Israel's prominent kings David and his son Solomon included political division of the nation and subsequent invasion and assimilation of ten of the tribes of Israel by the Assyrians. Successive dominance of the remainder of the nation followed by the three empires of neo-Babylon, Persia, and Grecia.
The neo-Babylonians conquered what was left of the remnant, took many captives, and relocated the population. It was under the rule of the next empire, Persia, that a remnant of Israel was allowed to return to the land of Israel [445 B.C.]. This began the count down of the 70 weeks of years [490 literal prophetic years]. 483 years have lapsed with one 7 year period yet to be experienced by Israel after their second return from the nations of the Gentiles to the land of Israel. [Daniel 9:24-27]
If the death of Jesus occurred around 33 A.D. then the following calculation can be made. The time lapse would be 444 calendar years to the first century from 445 B.C. plus 33 additional years to equal 477 years. The conversion factor for 360 day prophetic years can be calculated by dividing 365 by 360 which is 1.0138. Prophetic years are shorter so there are more of them included in the time frame of 477 calendar years.
There are 483.5826 [477 x 1.0138] prophetic years in the time frame. If one adjusts this result by leap year days, the final calculation is very close to 483 years [69 weeks of years]. Daniel's vision of the time frame allows for this amount of time to lapse after which the Messiah Prince would be cut off and have nothing.
The last segment of 7 years [1 week of years] is still yet future and requires Israel's return in part to the Land of Israel from the nations. This final 7 years will include future prophetic events leading up to the visible return of Israel's Messiah who is Jesus Christ.
The covenant of 70 weeks of years is described in the 9th chapter of Daniel. The Lord will confirm this covenant by executing the last 7 years including the 6 objectives that will be met for national Israel at the time of the end which is still pending. These objectives must be met for national Israel at that time since most of the nation has been and is in the state of unbelief. Some will turn and accept their Messiah and King, Jesus Christ.
This period will be exactly 2,520 prophetic days long and there will be another 30 days and 45 days added. The Lord will turn on satan's beast and his kingdom of followers and destroy it during the 30 day period ending with the battle of Armageddon. The Lord will then appear to the world and gather all of the mortal survivors of the tribulations of the 70th week and separate them for entrance into His kingdom during the next 45 days.
Satan and his fallen angelics are coming to the earth at the beginning of the 70th week and it will take the first 1,260 days for him to develop his kingdom in the Middle East including the invasion and occupation of Israel, Jerusalem, and the temple mount. He will also gain a large human following and these will worship him as a god. He will then rule over the Middle East for the next 1,260 days [42 months]. The Lord will then force him and his human followers to Armageddon and destroy his kingdom within the next 30 days.
There is nothing of earthly events recorded in the scope of visionary prophecy between the end of the 69th week and the beginning of the 70th. The end time frames of the O.T. visions of the prophets, the Lord’s discourse in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and Revelation beginning in chapter 4 are all about the 70th week which is still pending.
The Lord’s discourse in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 concerning the time of the end is all focused upon the generation of national Israel that will be living during the 70th week. No known events on the earth are included in the time lapse between the end of the 69th week [about 33 A.D.] and the beginning of the future 70th week. There have been many attempts to insert them, but they are not there. All of the time lapse of last 2,000+ years up to this very day is not included in the visions.
For example, the Roman invasions of Israel in 70 A.D. are not presented in the scope of the visions. These events occurred long after the 69th week and were certainly not part of the 70th which is still pending. The people of the prince that shall come [satan's beast in the little horn, king of the northern Middle East] were not the Romans in the first century.
These will be the followers of the this king during the 70th week. The 6th king "position" that John sees, the king that "is", will be the little horn of Daniel's visions and not a Roman king in the first century. John sees the "things that shall be hereafter" .... the coming 70th week.
The Lord also addresses the mystery kingdom of the Church [composed of a few Israelites and many Gentiles] in the parables of Matthew 25. His focus is on His “harpazo” action which will divide professing christianity into those that are ready .... and those that are not. The first [both dead and living together] will be immortalized and the balance will remain to experience the tribulations of 70th week.
Some of national Israel and of the nations will repent and turn to the Lord during His hour of trial and judgment, but most will not. Many of these who turn will be martyed for their faith and a few will survive the period. The development of this mystery kingdom [the church] was revealed at Pentecost and will be completed when the fullness of the Gentiles are added. [Romans 11:25]
The precept of the time frame of the 70 weeks of years decreed for national Israel must be applied to all unfilled prophecy written in scripture for correct and accurate exegesis of the prophetic scriptures. All of the content of future events can be identified and these will fit exactly into this time frame.
Most traditional interpretations do not incorporate this method of exegesis and all of them have difficulties that require some level of apologetics, selective allegory, contextual extraction, misapplication of scriptures, and elimination of the same. I would suggest the student of Bible prophecy test the precept of the 70 weeks decreed against all known scriptural passages related to visionary prophecy. I will be glad to assist any one with reconciliations related to the pre-conceptions of other views.
The Cities of Lost Humanity + City building began shortly after the flood:
Gen 11:1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
Gen 11:2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
Gen 11:3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
Gen 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top [may reach] unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
Gen 11:5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
Gen 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people [is] one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
Gen 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
Gen 11:8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
Gen 11:9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
The first kings and their cities:
Nimrod built Babel in the land of Shinar [southern Iraq]
Gen 10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod [descendant of Ham]: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
Gen 10:9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
Gen 10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel (Babylonian), and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Asshur built Nineveh in the land of Magog (northern Iraq)
Gen 10:11 Out of that land went forth Asshur [descendant of Shem], and builded Nineveh (Assyrian), and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
Gen 10:12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same [is] a great city.
The last "great city" in the world and all of the other cities of the nations at the time of the end:
Destruction of this great city early in the tribulation (see Revelation 8:7-12)
Rev 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Rev 18:6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Rev 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong [is] the Lord God who judgeth her.
Destruction of the land area where the great city once stood and of all of the other cities in the world during the battle of Armageddon [Ezekiel 38:19-20]. The Lord revisits the great city's continent [double unto her double] and the rest of the cities in the world with the greatest earthquake since humans have been on the earth.
Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, [and] so great.
Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
The 7 Kingdoms and The Great City + There are seven stages of the kingdoms of lost humanity [symbol of the woman in Revelation 17 and 18] recorded in the scope of Bible prophecy. The time frame begins with development shortly after the flood and ends with a worldwide condition of the same at the time of the end. Five of the stages are historical and the scope of these visions in scripture is limited primarily to the Middle East:
The two remaining stages are still future and the scope is worldwide but with focus upon the Middle East. The Lord first reveals His view of lost humanity in the process of organizing for self determined separation from Him by building cities shortly after the flood in the Middle East. He then reveals this same condition existing at the time of the end on a global scale and His related actions to eliminate it. [Genesis 10:10-11; 11:1-9; Revelation 17:16-18; 18:1-21]
The visions and records of the O.T. prophets provide details of all seven stages with focus on the Middle East, and the book of Revelation notes all seven providing a broader view of last two which includes the Middle East specifically and the rest of the world in general. There is a breach between the Lord's first and second advents in the scope of all of the visions of the Bible prophets .... this delay is between the 5th and 6th stages and this period of human history is not included in the scope of the visions.
The condition of lost humanity is expanded in Revelation and includes a great city [civilization] and all of the other cities of the nations in the world at the end of this present age. The picture is one of the great city connected with all others on a global scale. [Daniel 2:31-45, 7:3-27; Revelation 14; 17; 18; 19]
The term kingdom implies a human king position ruling over a geographical territory with human inhabitants representing the extents of the king’s dominion or control over the area. The seven stages of these kingdoms are referred to as mountains upon which the woman, the condition of lost humanity, sits. The change from one stage to the next indicates the change in human government, or ruling authority. All of these seven stages noted are Middle Eastern oriented. [Daniel 2:31-45; 7:3-27; Revelation 17:8-11]
These stages are also referred to as the seven heads [dominions, kingdoms] of the beast. This description adds another factor and indicates satanic rule over each. Satan has entered into and has become the god of lost humanity. He does this by and through a structure of other powers and principalities who rebelled with him against the Lord long ago and they are the fallen angelics who worship satan as god. [Daniel 10:20-21; Revelation 12:3-17; 9:1-2; 9:11; 9:15-16; 11:7; 13:4; 17:8-14]
The particular beast represented in Revelation is Abaddon-Apollyon, the destroyer, and angelic king of the abyss. He is also seen in Daniel’s visions as the little horn, the last human king of the north in the Middle East. He is both because he becomes the little horn by incarnation and full possession. He once ruled five dominions of the past in the Middle East and will come out of the abyss to rule his next two in succession there at the time of the end. [Daniel 7:8; 7:19-20; 8:9; 8:23-25; 9:26; 11:36-45; 12:7]
The scope of the visions of five of the stages of lost humanity of the past is limited to the Middle East and includes satan’s primary dominions of the ancient post flood land of Magog and the next four successors of this geographical area which included Assyrian, neo-Babylonian, Persian, and northern Greek rule. [Syrio/Babylonia]
Each dominion expanded in size until Alexander’s Asian empire was divided resulting in a smaller northern dominion ruled by a successor general. The last Greek king to hold the king position of the northern division in the scope of visionary prophecy was Antiochus IV. [Daniel 8:3-8; 11:2-4; 11:21-35]
Alexander is noted as the “great horn” because of the extent and size of his initial dominion. The next ruler of a diminished kingdom noted in this vision is the "little horn" of the time of the end. He is noted as the little horn because his dominion will be small at first, and it will be centered in the ancient land of Magog.
The reader should recognize that this transition moves directly from the end of Greek rule before the first century to the time of the end. There is nothing in the scope of the vision between these two dominions. [Daniel 8:8-13; 8:23-25; 11:36-45; 12:7]
The book of Revelation expands the scope of the seven kingdoms of the woman [where the condition of lost humanity sits] to reveal all of the kingdoms and their cities in the world at the time of the end. This end time condition is global and there is a "great city" which is dominating all of the rest.
The specific and Middle Eastern dominions of the beast [where the woman sits as well] are represented by his last two heads, the 6th and the 7th. His five ancient dominions have already fallen and are historical. [Revelation 17:8-18; 18:1-21]
Daniel’s visions give us the symbolic links of the beast’s past rule in the Middle East [five fallen] and also two in the future, the 6th and the 7th that will exist in succession during the time of the end. The leopard [Syrio/Babylonia], bear [Persian], and lion [neo-Babylon] represent the three most significant of his past dominions located in the ancient Middle East.
The little horn, king of the north, will begin with a smaller dominion at first and then expand it into the next which will include most of the Middle East at the time of the end. The beast, who is satan’s agent controlling the little horn, is described with the symbols of his past ancient Middle Eastern rule. [Daniel 7:3-7; 8:9; 8:23-25; 11:36-45; 12:7; Revelation 13:2]
Further revelation indicates that there will be 10 other kings existing when the little horn rises at the time of the end. He will unite them and they will eventually share power and authority with him in ruling his 7th dominion. It is this alliance that will attack and destroy the great city of the woman [lost humanity], which will have a huge financial and economic impact on a global scale. This specific part of lost humanity will not be located in the Middle East which will be dominated by the little horn and the other 10 kings.
Satan will also drive his agents and followers to attack, invade, and occupy the holy land. This will include unbelieving Israel as part of lost humanity, except for a believing remnant [the woman of Revelation 12 symbolizes this remnant]. [Ezekiel 38,39; Zechariah 12,13,14; Daniel 9:26-27; 11:41, 12:1-7; Revelation 12:1-2; 12;5-6, 12:13-17]
These are the IDs of satan [the dragon], the woman [lost humanity], the great city, the beast, the little horn [king of the north], the 10 horns [10 kings], and the beast’s seven dominions [kingdoms].
The Lord is going to judge the woman [all of lost humanity .... Mystery Babylon the Great] during his hour of trial including the great city part first, then Israel, and then all of the other cities of the nations [including the land mass where the great city once stood], destroy the beast and those parts of unbelieving humanity who will follow him, eliminate human rule of the earth, and bar satan from interaction with humanity for 1,000 years. He will restore the kingdom to national Israel and rule the earth from Jerusalem Himself during the same time frame of the 1,000 years.
The Holy Place + Jesus refers to the holy "place" and says that there must be correct understanding of what He is saying. He does not say the "temple", but refers to the holy "place": [Matthew 24:15]
Pronunciation Guide
topos {top'-os}
TDNT Reference Root Word
TDNT - 8:187,1184
Outline of Biblical Usage
1) place, any portion or space marked off, as it were from surrounding space
a) an inhabited place, as a city, village, district
b) a place (passage) in a book
Pronunciation Guide
anaginosko {an-ag-in-oce'-ko}
TDNT Reference Root Word
TDNT - 1:343,55
from 303 and 1097
Outline of Biblical Usage
1) to distinguish between, to recognise, to know accurately, to acknowledge
2) to read
Pronunciation Guide
noeo {no-eh'-o}
TDNT Reference Root Word
TDNT - 4:948,636
from 3563
Outline of Biblical Usage
1) to perceive with the mind, to understand, to have understanding
2) to think upon, heed, ponder, consider
The Place of the Lord's Sanctuary
Daniel's visions reference the same place at the time of the end. [Daniel 8:11, 8:13]
Pronunciation Guide
makown {maw-kone'}
TWOT Reference Root Word
TWOT - 964c
from 03559
Outline of Biblical Usage
1) fixed or established place, foundation
a) fixed place
b) foundation
Pronunciation Guide
miqdash {mik-dawsh'}
TWOT Reference Root Word
TWOT - 1990f
from 06942
Outline of Biblical Usage
1) sacred place, sanctuary, holy place
a) of the temple
b) of the tabernacle
c) of Ezekiel's temple
d) of Jehovah
The temple of the man of lawlessness
Paul's reference to the man of lawlessness and the temple he will sit in. [2Thessolonians 2:4]
Pronunciation Guide
naos {nah-os'}
TDNT Reference Root Word
TDNT - 4:880,625
from a primary naio (to dwell)
Outline of Biblical Usage
1) used of the temple at Jerusalem, but only of the sacred edifice (or sanctuary) itself, consisting of the Holy place and the Holy of Holies (in classical Greek it is used of the sanctuary or cell of the temple, where the image of gold was placed which is distinguished from the whole enclosure)
2) any heathen temple or shrine
3) metaph. the spiritual temple consisting of the saints of all ages joined together by and in Christ
The "holy place" referred to in the setting of the coming 70th week decreed for Israel is the temple mount area and not a rebuilt edifice [a temple of the Lord's on the earth]. The actual temple was destroyed in the first century and is no longer there. The Lord has said that not one stone would be left standing of His first century temple and this fact is still true today .... and will be during His coming hour [time] of trial and judgment. It was destroyed during the Roman invasions of 70 A.D. [Matthew 24:1-2]
Satan's "man of lawlessness" will sit in the temple of "his" god, showing that he is god [either the Muslim Dome of the Rock or the Al Aqsa Mosque]. Paul understood the relationship between a pagan god and the related heathen temple. [2Thessalonians 2:4]
There are no instructions contained in scripture to rebuild a temple for the Lord before He establishes His millennial Kingdom on the earth. There are instructions for rebuilding in this future time frame just after the 70th week decreed for Israel. [Ezekiel 40-48]
The Lord's temple is seen in Revelation several times during the coming tribulation period of His wrath upon earth, but it is His temple in heaven and not one on the earth. In fact, the outer court of the temple mount on the earth is "without" His temple and the mount [court] will be trampled [controlled] by satan's little horn/beast and his human followers [the adherents of Islam] during his 42 month [1,260 day] rule. [Matthew 24:15-16; 2Thessalonians 2:3-12; Revelation 11:1-19; 13:1-8; 14:15-17; 15:5-8; 16:17]
The first 1,260 days of the 70th week decreed for Israel will include satan's bid for control over the earth through his angelic agents and human followers. This period will be an extreme time of devastation and destruction including the fall of the "great city" [civilization] of the Gentiles [nations] and the release of millions of satan's angelic hosts. [Revelation 8; 9; 14; 17; 18]
The Lord will continue to harbor [protect] national Israel from invasion and occupation and this has been the case since 1948. His protection will continue until just before the middle of the coming 70th week. [Jeremiah 30; Ezekiel 38:8-16; Zechariah 14]
Satan's followers will then be in position without opposition to invade, occupy, and add the holy land, Jerusalem, and the temple mount area to the dominion of his man of lawlessness, the little horn/beast, king of the northern Middle East.
Ezekiel's War + This vision is addressed to satan [gog] and to the geographical location from where he will invade a regathered Israel through his angelic and human agents [the angelic king of the abyss and the human little horn and his followers] at the time of the end of this present age. [Ezekiel 39; 39]
The ancient names used are the immediate post flood habitations reflecting original land settlements in the Middle east proper. Ethnic lineage is not the significance, but the land locations are to be recognized since today's Middle East has been mixed and the original inhabitants have migrated far and wide across the earth.
The geographical area in view includes the following segments of the Middle East:
The far north from Asia Minor [Turkey] in the west stretching across the northern borders just south of the Caucasus divide. [Gomer and Togarmah]
The central core from the Mediterranean sea board to the borders of India [Put, Cush, and Persia]. These areas include Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The center of this land area was the ancient land of Magog and his brothers and is north central Iraq today.
Ezekiel records the initial invasion of Israel by the little horn king of the north just before midweek. He then records the resulting battle of Armageddon which will take place at the end of the week. [the invasion: Ezekiel 38:1-17, 39:1-2] [the battle of Armageddon: Ezekiel 38:18-23, 39:3-29]
Zechariah also records the same including the invasion of the surrounding nations in the Middle East and the Lord's return to defeat Israel's enemies, restore the Kingdom to Israel, and establish His personal rule over the earth for 1,000 years. [the invasion: Zechariah 12:2-9, 13:8-9; 14:1-2, 14:4-5] [the battle of Armageddon: Zechariah 14:3, 14:12-15] [the Kingdom: Zechariah 14:8-11; 14:16]
Psalms 83 has the same picture and identifies Israel's immediate neighbors as the enemies and their confederacy. It also should be noted that Assur is the supporter of their intentions. Assur was the early pioneer of the ancient Assyrian Empire whose core cities were located in the northern sector of the Middle East. [Genesis 10:10-11]
Israel's position in the land of Israel upon their return is and will be one of protection and permanency. The Lord is keeping them there for His purposes. This is the case today even though the nation has been attacked many times by surrounding enemies .... the nation will not be moved until the Lord allows. The Lord is protecting them and Satan [gog] knows it. [Ezekiel 38:11-12; 38:14]
The Lord addresses satan as "gog" who is the ruler of the beast from the abyss and the little horn, human king of the north. It is satan who then again will deceive and foment a human rebellion at the end of the Lord's millennial Kingdom 1,000 + years later.
Gog is not a human. The terms "gog" and "magog" are used again, but symbolically, to identify satan and the nations that he will deceive at the end of the Lord's millennial Kingdom. [Revelation 9:11; 13:4; 17:8-14; Ezekiel 38:2; 39:1; Daniel 7:8-11; 7:17-21; 7:24-26; 8:9-12; 8:23-25; Revelation 20:7]
The land of Magog noted is the geographical area of the original ancient habitations of Magog and his brothers in the northern Middle East, not Russia or some other European location. There were later migrations out of the Middle East, but these extensions are not part of the vision. The ancient names are used to ID the geographical location of gog's human forces at the time of the end. [Ezekiel 38:2-7]
The little horn's related actions are also recorded in Daniel 11:36-45. He will rise in the northern Middle East, unite the Middle East by forming alliances (as noted in Ezekiel 38:4-9) and by conquest [Daniel 11:39-43], and he will invade and conquer Israel by the middle of the 70th week decreed. [Ezekiel 38:8-12; Daniel 11:41,45; Daniel 12:7]
At the same time forces from the far east and far north will challenge his ambitions [Daniel 11:44]. He will quickly vanquish his opposers and then he will then rule over the Middle East and Israel for 42 months. [Revelation 11:2; 12:14; 13:5]
This will position him for his ambition to gain control of the world. Mystery Babylon's "great city" and related fall of western financial and economic influence with the ability to oppose him militarily will have already been destroyed early at the very beginning of the coming tribulation period. [Revelation 8:7-12; 17:16-18; 18:1-24]
Most of the rest of the nations of significance that are left will join and follow his quest for world rule because of a common bondage which I believe is the religion of Islam.
The Lord will turn on him, his kingdom [dominion], and followers at the end of his 42month rule and will destroy them within 30 days. This will involve the judgment of the 7th trumpet sounding of His wrath and end with the battle of Armageddon. [Ezekiel 38:18-23; 39:3-29; Revelation 14:9-20; 16:1-21; 17:14; 19:11-21]
Satan, the little horn [controlled by satan's beast from the abyss], and satan's false prophet will gather the military forces primarily from the near east [east of the Middle East proper] and including his own Middle Eastern forces; he and will be challenged by the Lord at Armageddon. The near east forces will transverse the dry Euphrates River bed from the Persian Gulf to reach the battle area north of Israel. [Revelation 16:12-14; 17:14; 19:19]
The Lord will destroy the little horn, the human armies under his command, his kingdom and followers, and will cast the satan's beast and the false prophet who are both fallen angelics into the lake of fire. Satan [gog] will be captured, cast into the abyss and kept there for 1,000 years. [Revelation 19:19-21; 20:1-3]
The Lord's Coming Judgment .... and Beyond + The Lord’s call for the believer just before the 70th week begins:
The Day of the Lord,
I will keep thee from the hour of trial that is coming upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the earth. The Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ shall rise, and living believers will be caught up together with them to meet Him in the air. Come out of her my people so that you do not share in her destruction and resulting plagues. [Matthew 25:1-13; 1Corinthians 15:51-57; 1Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2Thessalonians 2:1-15; Revelation 3:10; 18:4]
The seals are opened – A preview of the coming judgments and prevalent conditions during the 70th week.
1. Preaching of the gospel
2. Intense warfare
3. Economic collapse and effects
4. Mass killing of humans
5. Martyrdom of those who turn to the Lord during the 70th week
6. Human attitude and response to the Lord’s judgments
7. Silence in heaven
The Lord’s Covenant of the 70 weeks of years decreed for Israel confirmed during 70th week.
[Daniel 9:24-27]
144,000 mortal Israelites on the earth are sealed for service
[Revelation 7:2-4]
144,000 take gospel to Israel and to the nations during the coming tribulation period[Revelation 6:1-2; 14:4-7]
Short silence in heaven
[Revelation 8:1]
The Lord’s hour of trial begins
1. A great earthquake .... the beginning of the tribulation period
[Revelation 6:12; 8:5]
2. Darkness
[Revelation 6:12]
3. Satan and the fallen angelics come to the earth
[2Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6; Revelation 6:13; 8:10-11; 9:1-11; 9:13-19; 12:4; 12:7-9; 12:12 ]
4. Heaven departs
[Revelation 6:14]
5. The earth shakes
[Revelation 6:14; 8:5]
6. Humans hide from the Lord and acknowledge His judgments
[Revelation 6:15-17]
7. The Lord’s wrath begins
[Revelation 6:17, 8:2-6]
8. Satanic warfare begins
[Revelation 6:4, 12:12]
9. Mystery Babylon’s great city destroyed
[Revelation early destruction 8:1-4, 17:16-18, 18:1-24, later re-visit 16:19]
10. Marriage supper for the Church in heaven
[Revelation 19:7-9]
11. Worldwide economic collapse and effects
[Revelation 6:5-6]
12. Satan’s beast and fallen angels released
[Revelation 8: 9-19]
13. Satan’s warfare continues as he conquers the Middle East and attempts to control the world
[Daniel 8:9-12, 8:23-25, 11:36-45; Revelation 6:7-8; 13:1-18]
14. Satan invades and conquers the Land of Israel
[Ezekiel 38: 1-17; 39: 1-2; Daniel 11:41; 12:7; Zechariah 13:8-9; 14:2; Revelation 11:2; 12:13]
15. Satan's king of the northern Middle East vanquishes opposition from south, far east, and far north
[Daniel 11:40; 11:44]
16. Satan’s beast will rule with 10 other kings for 42 months [Daniel 2:40-45; 7:7-8; 8:14, 12:11; Revelation 13:2-5]
17. Abomination of desolation is set up
[Daniel 12:11; Matthew 24:15; Revelation 13:14-15]
18. Believing Israel flees into the wilderness
[Zechariah 14:4-5; Matthew 24:15-22; Revelation 12:6-14]
19. 144,000 take Gospel to the nations
[Revelation 6:1-2; 7:1-8; 14:1-5; 14:6-7]
20. The Lord’s two prophets witness in Jerusalem during the rule of the beast
[Revelation 11:1-13]
21. Worldwide martyrdom of believers begins and continues
[Revelation 6:9-11]
22. Many will follow and worship satan’s beast
[Revelation 11:7-10; 13:4,8,12,15; 14:9-11; 16:2,6,9,10,12,16,21; 17:8; 16; 17; 19:18-21]
23. Satan’s beast kills the two prophets
[Revelation 11:7]
24. The two prophets are resurrected and taken to heaven
[Revelation 11:11-12]
25. Martyrs are resurrected and added to the church in Heaven
[15: 2-3; 20:4 (those beheaded)]
26. The Lord turns on satan’s beast and followers and destroys them
[Ezekiel 38:18-23; 39:2-29; Daniel 11:45; Zechariah 12:3-9; 14:3; 14:12-15] [Revelation 10:7, 11:15, 14:9-11, 14:19-20, 15:1, 16:1-21, 19:11-21]
27. The Lord comes with the church to the earth
[Jude 1:14-15; Revelation 19:14]
28. Armageddon
[Ezekiel 38:18-23; 39:2-29; Revelation 14:14-20; 16:12-21; 19:15-21; 20:2-3]
29. The greatest earthquake
[Ezekiel 38:19-20; Revelation 16:18-19]
30. Satan’s beast and false prophet are cast into the lake of fire
[Revelation 19:20]
31. Satan is cast into the abyss for 1,000 years
[Revelation 20:1-3]
32. The Lord resurrects those who will become believers during His hour of trial
[Revelation 20:4]
33. The Lord gathers the mortals of the elect of national Israel
[Matthew 24:30-31]
34. The Lord gathers the mortals of the nations that are left and separates the sheep from the goats
[Matthew 25:31-46]
35. The Lord’s millennial kingdom on the earth for 1,000 years
[Isaiah 2:2-4; Zechariah 14:8-11; Micah 4:1-5]
36. Satan released to spawn a human rebellion again
[Revelation 20:7-8]
37. The Lord quickly vanquishes the rebellion
[Revelation 20:9]
38. Satan is cast into the lake of fire
[Revelation 20:10]
39. The dead of all unbelieving humanity judged and cast into the lake of fire
[Revelation 20:11-15]
40. The Lord destroys and then renovates the earth and the universe.
[2Peter 3:7-10; Revelation 21:1]
41. The Lord creates a new universe and earth for all eternity
[2Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1-27; 22:1-5]
Ten Trumpet Voices + There are ten significant trumpet voices mentioned in the New Testament regarding the Lord's second coming. The trumpet voice sound that the Lord uses is described as the voice of the archangel and trumpet of God. This is a unique voice that sounds like a trumpet and at the same time contains audible speech that can be understood: [1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 1:10-11; 4:1]
Two of these ivolve the Lord's communication to the church. The first one is heard by John in Revelation 1:10 and preceeds his recording of the things he has seen and that are related to the church. These conditions still exist today.
The second one is mentioned three times and this one marks the end of the church age [the things "that are"] and the beginning of the things that "shall be" at the time of the end. This trumpet voice is related to John's spirit's departure in the first century. He is transported to heaven in advance and into the future to view the things that "shall be hereafter" during the time of the end.
Paul reveals this same trumpet in 1Corinthians 15:51-52 indicating the immortalization of both sleeping and living believers, and for the same event in 1Thessalonians 4:16-18.
The next seven trumpet voices are those that precede judgments as part of the Lord's hour of trial against an unbelieving world and all are recorded in Revelation. Six of these involve major destruction on the earth in conjunction with the arrival of satan, his angelic agents, myriads of other fallen angels, and those humans who will worship him as a god.
The seventh trumpet voice of the set of seven will sound just before the end of the second half of the 2,550 day period and will incorporate the Lord's wrath against satan, his angelic agents, and his human followers [Revelation 16]. The Lord will destroy his kingdom within the next 30 days terminating at Armageddon.
The next and last trumpet voice of the set of ten will occur just after the tribulation of those days and will sound for the Lord's gathering of His elect [first those of national Israel who survive the tribulation period]. He will then gather all survivors of the other nations and will separate them for entrance into His coming millennial kingdom on the earth. [Matthew 24:29-31; 25:31-46]
I provide evangelistic website services related to the prophetic scriptures of the Bible on the Internet for those evangelists who have websites and related church affiliations.
There are a number of leaders of christian organizations who are not well versed in the subject of Bible prophecy and their memberships need and want this training. If it is not provided, a number of them will seek and be exposed to an array of aberrant teachings today which can lead to being trapped in falsehoods that can include misleading error affecting their own salvation.
In many cases the leader of a church has many general and broad responsibilities in the process of pastoring the membership. Because of this they may not possess the skills and knowledge related to the focused study of the prophetic content of the scriptures. I can assist anyone with support for teaching and answering the questions that believers have in this complex area of study. I carry no traditional baggage of any established organizational affiliation and have no loyalties except to the Lord and His Word.
All of my Truth Files and content at this site are available to any who want to use them. I will also expand on any prophetic subject via e-mail for those who want further details [click: E-Mail Me].
I can train evangelists and their staff via e-mail on my current position and understanding of Bible prophecy, and how to present it to others. There is much confusion today on the subject as we move closer to the time of the end of this present age.
It is very significant to have a complete and correct understanding of the prophetic scriptures in order to convey the message of salvation to unbelievers. Believers also need reinforcement and growth in their knowledge of biblical truths.
TIME LINE
[?]
Rebellion of Satan and 1/3 of The Angles
[?]
Desolation of The Earth
[?]
Renovation of The Earth
[6 Days]
Adam
[1,000 Years]
Flood - Noah
I - Land of Magog
II - Akkadian/Assyrian
[1,000 Years]
Abraham -Israel
Land of Israel
[1,000 Years]
David -Israel
II - Assyrian
III - Babylonian - Gold [Head] - Lion - I
IV - Persian - Silver [Chest - Arms] - Bear - II
Start 70 Weeks [490 Years]
V - Grecian - Bronze [Belly - Thighs] [N-S] - Leopard - III
[1,000 Years]
Jesus
End 69th Week [483 Years lapsed]
Interlude - Church
[2,000 Years + ? Years]
70th Week [7 Years + 30 Days + 45 Days]
VI - [Small - Unnamed] - Iron [Legs] [N-S] - IV
Divided Dominion of The Beast
VII - [Lion-Bear-Leopard] - Iron [Leg] [N] + Clay [Feet] - IV
42 Months [1,260 Days]
Jesus - Stone
[1,000 Years]
Eternity
[1st Day]
Jesus Takes Believers to Heaven
Confirmation of the Covenant for One "7" with many
144,000 Israelites Sealed
Satan Thrown to Earth [Given Key to Abyss]
Little Horn Removes and Replaces 3 Horns
4 Trumpets [Judgments]
Mystery Babylon's great city destroyed
5th trumpet (1st Woe)
Release of Abaddon-Apollyon and Abyss Angelics
[ Next 150 Days]
6th Trumpet (2nd Woe)
Release of 4 Euphrates Angelics + Host of 200 million
[ Next 1,110 Days]
Middle East Conquered By Little Horn + 10 Horns
Israel Invaded and Conquered
Abomination of Desolation Set Up
[Next 1,260 Days]
42 Month [1,260 Days] Rule of The Beast
144,000 Preach Gospel to the World
Two Witnesses [1,260 Days]
Protection of Remnant in Wilderness [1,260 Days]
[Next 30 Days]
7th Trumpet (7 Vials) (3rd Woe)
Destruction of Beast's Dominion
Destruction of the Continent of the Great City
Destruction of the Rest of the World's Cities
Armageddon
Beast and False Prophet Destroyed [lake of fire]
Satan sent to The Abyss
Jesus Appears to the World
[Next 45 Days]
Gathering of The Elect [Israelites]
Separation of The Nations [Gentiles]
Millennial Kingdom
[1,000 Years]
Satan Released From Abyss
Satan Destroyed [lake of fire]
New Heavens and Earth
Eternity
He who believes in Me though he were dead,
yet shall he live.
He that believes in Me and lives
will never die."
[John 11:25-26]
Introduction
The purpose of this website is to share the author's studies and practical explanation of Bible prophecy in a clear and consistent manner with reference to the inspired Word of God. [the construction of Truth Files began October 5, 2005]
The material is presented in short form sentences and paragraphs for easy reading and for comparative analysis to related Bible references. [the addition of scriptural references is continuously in process]
The suggested links include the Blue Letter Bible which has an excellent concordance and selective translations. The other links include related current world news items, intelligence reporting from Israel, and study maps.
This writer is a believer in Jesus Christ and the inspired Word of God, the Holy Bible, and does not vary from this position [John 3:16-18].
It is also my opinion that the Bible is the only authority to be completely trusted and used for the correct understanding of the past, present, and future related to the material universe and human existence.
Much has been expressed verbally and written over the course of human history and presented strictly from a human point of view.
The prophetic scriptures contained in the Bible are specifically unique and they reflect absolute truths from the Lord's point of view.
but from men moved by the Holy Spirit"
[2 Peter 1:20-21]
The prophets' visions contain information that some would consider to be extremely negative content. Much of this has to do with the way in which the Lord views world conditions that are unacceptable to Him.
The world of humans, physical universe, and the earth are in a state of decadence which includes the fall of all human beings and one third of the angelic realm.
The Lord is very candid about these facts and warns us about the consequences. [Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 1:18-28, 2:1-12]
Prophecy deals with these issues in very direct literal ways which can be shocking, disturbing, and critical to the unregenerated human who typically does not see things the way that the Lord is looking at them.
There are also extremely positive values contained within the writings of the prophets which tell of a future abrupt reversal of these downward trends.
This will lead to a fantastic future for all of those individuals who seek and find their way back to a right relationship with the Lord. [Revelation 21:1-22]
In addition, there are significant truths revealed in scripture which seem strange and different to us. They are well beyond our perceptibility and we must rely upon the Bible for correct explanations.
Current world events seem to be focused on the Middle East or in many cases related to that part of the earth. So are the prophetic scriptures.
This ancient land of Eden, post flood beginnings, and empires will attract human and satanic forces for a direct encounter with the Lord at the end of this present age.
There is a time coming when all nations will be drawn into the vortex of unprecedented vexation and ultimate destruction at the hand of the Lord in the Middle East. [Psalms 83; Ezekiel 38,39; Micah 5; Joel 3; Zechariah 14; Matthew 24:21; Revelation 14:14-20; 16:1-16; 19:11-21]
Israel exists today as an independent political entity after an extended absence of almost 2,000 years from the land of Israel. [Jeremiah 30; Ezekiel 36]
This reality is a definite indication that we may be very close to events described in Bible prophecy yet to be fulfilled at the end of this present age.
How close are we? No one really knows, and this is because the Lord has not revealed the time for His second advent. [Matthew 25:13; Acts 1:6-7; 1Thessalonians 5:1-6]
Many have tried to predict the start date of these things by using a combination of scripture and speculation. All have failed. Beware of those who do this because they may be the ones who come in the name of the Lord with the intent to deceive [Matthew 24:4-5]
We can only watch and wait while comparing observed events against the back drop of scripture .... not the other way around. The Lord has said to be continuously watching and waiting, and ready .... for it will be at a time that no one can predict. [Matthew 24:36]
There are signs and observable events which will take place at the time of the end that the ardent student of Bible prophecy would be able to recognize, but only after the coming day of the Lord begins .... not before.
There are also stage setting events that can be observed like Israel's return to the land of Israel. Those individuals who have a correct comprehensive understanding of the Bible are in a position to make proper evaluations based upon solid truths.
This website will be updated frequently with the intent to continuously perfect, to the extent possible, a proper and complete view of current events as they relate to and are evaluated against the backdrop of the Bible.
The Bible is an intricate and complex set of materials which the writer believes can be comprehended and understood given proper motivation and a desire to seek the truth about human existence and each individual's journey through this life.
The scriptures of the Bible prophets contain unique symbolic visions that were conveyed to them by the Lord Himself. He is the Author of all of the prophetic scriptures.
These individuals lived and scripted their prophecies at different times, sometimes centuries apart, and in different places .... and yet all of their visions are totally congruent.
There are no contradictions present in the original manuscripts showing that all of the prophecies were authored by the Lord and conveyed to the prophets through His Holy Spirit.
The contents of this website are presented primarily for the student of Bible prophecy who has a fairly in-depth knowledge of the Bible and is in the process of expanding their knowledge.
Much of the details of the overall christian faith will not necessarily be included under the assumption that the reader has a solid background in these areas.
I have no bias against positions of others who may be affiliated with various christian denominations or other religious groups .... or any other individual beliefs for that matter. All must be accountable for their own seeking and related behavior.
There is no objective to mislead, persuade, correct, evaluate, or criticize individuals who may have a different perspective than presented at this website .... however, I will take issue with those who pervert the scriptures with aberrant teaching by way of false interpretation.
I do believe it is imperative for each individual to search for the true meaning of life and the need for personal salvation through a belief and trust in the only Son of God who is Jesus Christ .... there is no other way given to humans by which they must be saved.
Knowledge of Bible prophecy and the pursuit of the same has virtually no value apart from this truth. Many have and do use and abuse the prophetic scriptures for the purpose of deceiving others and for personal gain.
I am also of the opinion that professing christians should not engage in endless arguments over the details of certain positions taken on the interpretation of the prophetic scriptures.
On the contrary, knowledge and information should be shared for improving understanding and also encouraging one another to continue the search.
Factions and disputes are also observed by those who will never find Jesus Christ because of this type of behavior, and the believer should always be sensitive to this possibility.
I believe that any person, regardless of experience, knowledge, ability, or any other qualifying characteristics has the potential to develop a high level of practical understanding of the prophetic scriptures.
I will personally assist anyone who needs additional information regarding the christian faith and the Bible that may not be directly addressed at this website.
I do not possess any extraordinary insight regarding the contents of the Bible, I have no formal theological training, and have not been or am I affiliated with any particular religious organization today.
My knowledge is totally a product of an applied determination to know the meaning of life as it is conveyed by the Creator of all things, purposes, and plans which I believe can be found in His Word.
I also believe that He has purposely conveyed His truth in scripture for all humans to discover in one way or another.
I do not understand every facet of the contents of the Lord's Word and have had to adjust my position on various issues many times over the last 25 years of my journey.
My objective is to share with those who have an interest, my experiences and understanding related to the prophetic visions of the Bible prophets.
I believe that Bible prophecy, when presented properly, is a great faith builder, and also very effective witness to unbelievers.
If you happen to discover this website, I will welcome any and all responses that you may have and will attempt to answer questions directly or will do research to find related information for you.
If I speculate for the purpose of illustration, or give an opinion or impression, I will indicate that it is the same and not necessarily to be considered as the only way to interpret Scripture.
There are a few settings contained within broad significant themes of the Bible that need to be identified and applied for understanding other content.
These themes and settings create structural relationships which serve as a backdrop for grasping the bigger picture and the overall scope of the Lord's communication to us. I define these in the File Guides at this website.
Many doctrines, ideas, theories, and traditions have been developed by individuals and institutions since the days of the early church.
There are those that have added a great deal to the understanding of Bible prophecy and there are those that contribute very little .... and those that are misleading and may contain the ulterior motives of the presenters.
My current discoveries do not always reflect some of the traditional teachings of the various established christian denominations. If the reader has questions related tothe differences, I will respond directly with my explanations.
In addition to the File Guides, there are also a number of specific Subjects presented which are updated frequently. In addition, there is new and current information that is added and posted at the beginning of this website.
I would also suggest that the Bible link provided should be used frequently for comparative analysis. The Bible must always be the final authority.
Perfect Word
It is significant for the student of Bible prophecy to recognize that all prophetic scripture contained in the Bible has been originally generated from the Lord Himself, is inherently perfect, and totally harmonious when understood correctly.
The believer's task is to discover, with guidance by His Holy Spirit, the correct structure and relationships which will lead to proper understanding.
It is something like constructing a jigsaw puzzle. The framework of the puzzle needs to be put in place first so that the body of the same can then be added. As more correct fits are made the task becomes much easier until the finished picture is finally completed.
I always suggest that one start with the book of Revelation rather than leaving it for last. This communication of the Lord's is the capstone of the scriptures that presents a broad overview and framing of the ages with His focused objectives.
Revelation should be read and referenced frequently as one proceeds with adding the details of all other scripture even though its contents may not be understood initially. Repeated reading of Revelation is essential for grasping all of the magnificant and profound truths contained within the context of the passage.
Personal Motivation
This task must be taken with a personal motivation that is purely truth seeking and a desire to know what the Lord wants to tell us.
Any other motivation including self-serving gain, impressing others, power, misdirected influence, etc., will be detected by Him and will produce negative results.
Task and Challenge
It is an arduous task that requires effort, dedication, sincerity, and an open mind always trusting that the Lord will reveal His message to us in due time.
Getting it "right" is not always easy, and I believe that He has purposely given us a challenge in order to keep us searching through the scriptures of His word.
Contrasts
There are many significant contrasts in scripture which reflect exact opposite motives, behavior, objectives, and outcomes.
The following examples and others will be referenced frequently. Contrasts can be found throughout the scripture, and they are fundamental to the proper understanding of Bible prophecy.
The Lord is the "Truth" and satan is the "lie". The Lord is the "savior" of humanity, satan is the "destroyer" of the same. The Lord is the "light" while satan is "darkness".
The Lord is the creator and ruler of the universe and the earth while satan is the ruler of this present world of unsaved humanity on the earth, and of the fallen angels.
There is a contrast between the nation of Israel and all of the other nations of the world. The Lord's covenant with Israel through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is eternal and prevails past, present, and future. This relationship includes the covenant of the 70 weeks of years time line presented in Daniel 9.
The geographic "land" of Israel is set apart from the geographic "sea" of the surrounding Gentiles of all other nations.
The land of Israel is also contrasted with specific early post flood habitations of humans in geographical areas of the Middle East including the land of Egypt, the land of Canaan, the land of Magog, and the land of Shinar.
The woman of Revelation 12 symbolizes the nation of Israel and Jerusalem, while the woman of Revelation 17 and 18 symbolizes the Gentile nations and their cities.
There is the body of Christ of both Israelite and Gentile who are trusting in the Lord for their salvation. Within this body there are two contrasting groups including those true believers who are ready and waiting for His return, and those professing believers who are not. [Matthew 25:1-13; Revelation 3:10; 3:16]
The Lord's hour of trial [the coming tribulation period] will begin with His wrath and will end 7 years later at His appearing. The careful reader will note the distinct differences between Revelation 6:12-17 [beginning] and Matthew 24:29-31 [ending].
Beginning - Revelation
The beginning of the tribulation of those days [note 6:17]
Earthquake [note 8:5]
Darkness caused by the destruction on the earth [note 8:7-13]
Stars [fallen angelics] falling to the earth [note 9:1-21, 12:4,9]
Humans intransigent attitude and their hiding from the Lord's coming wrath [note 8:7-13; 9:1-21; 16:1-21]
No sign of the Son of Man
Earth dwellers do not see Him
No gatherings
Ending - Matthew
After the tribulation of those days [note 24:29]
No earthquake [note Revelation 16:18 and Ezekiel 38:19. This quake at Armageddon will occur just before the end of the tribulation]
Darkness caused by the cosmic disturbances. [note 24:29]
Stars [cosmic] falling because of the cosmic disturbances [note 24:29]. Not to the earth .... just one would obliterate the earth.
Sign of the Son of Man appears [note 24:39]
Earth dwellers see Him [note 24:30]
Humans mourn when they see Him [note 24:30]
Gatherings of the mortal elect of Israel and the nations that are left [note 24:29-31; 25:31-46].
The Lord's Judgments
The current world that we live in is under the Lord's coming judgment [hour of trial] and He will personally intervene at the end of this age for the purpose of bringing human rule to a close.
This will include an array of both natural and supernatural catastrophic events. His purpose will be to focus attention on and confirm His rightful position as creator and ruler of the earth.
His previous judgment of the earth recorded in Biblical accounts include one related to satan's fall and rebellion against His position, authority, and control. [Ezekiel 28:11-19]
This rebellion occurred long before humans were introduced as an act of the Lord's creation recorded in Genesis. Satan considers himself equal to or above the Lord and he commands one third of the angelic realm who joined his rebellion.
Genesis 1 introduces us to the concept and truth that the Lord created all things in the beginning.
We are next given a description of the earth which indicates a condition of cataclysmic judgment, upheaval, and massive destruction. [Genesis 1:2; Jeremiah 4:23-26]
This is not a description of the earth in the form of its original creation. This later judgment of the earth by the Lord was against satan's rebellion.
The next judgment was directed toward satan, his angelic followers, and humans in the form of a worldwide flood on the earth which destroyed all life except for Noah and his family. [Genesis 6, 7, 8; Matthew 24:37-39]
The corruption of all humanity had reached a level that was beyond the Lord's tolerance which led Him to His intervention and subsequent actions.
The world is currently approaching another judgment by the Lord for refusal to believe the truth about personal salvation through Jesus Christ and for similar conditions as they existed before the flood.
Because of these things He will send strong delusion in the form of satanic deception to an unsaved world. Most of the world's population will not be expecting the Lord's sudden intervention just as they did not anticipate the flood. [Matthew 24:37-39; 2Thessalonians 2:3-12]
He has said that this generation [existing at the time] shall not pass away [end] without all of these judgments taking place upon them which will lead up to His visible return to the earth.
Generation in this application includes all human beings descended from Noah through the end of this present age. It also may be that He refers to the generation that will be living at the time. [Matthew 24:34]
Paul tells believers that this sudden intervention will begin without warning and will catch the world off guard. He also links this beginning of the day of the Lord to the immortalization of believers just before. [1Thessalonians 4:16; 5:2-11; Matthew 25:1-13; Revelation 3:10; 3:16; 18:4]
Believers are not appointed to the Lord's coming wrath, will not be caught off guard, and will escape the coming time of His judgment against an unbelieving world.
Prophetic Time Line
The Bible portrays an historical and a future linear time line of events related to the earth and human existence.
There are two distinct interludes or breaches in the continuous time lapse from the beginning of the Biblical account of the original creation of the universe and the end of this present universe.
The first breach is an unspecified amount of time running from the original creation to the remaking of the earth in preparation for the creation of human beings and their habitation. [Genesis 1:1-2]
The second breach includes the time lapse between the first coming and departure of the Lord from the earth, and the beginning of certain events that will lead to His future appearing on the earth. [Daniel 9:24-27]
There is a specific time lapse related to the second breach. It is decreed for the nation of Israel and it includes 490 literal [360 day] years [70 weeks of years decreed for national Israel].
The beginning and ending time frame is separated by an indefinite interlude between the end of 69th week [483 years lapsed at about 33 A.D.] and beginning of the future 70th week [7 years to come].
The prophetic year has 360 days and used as a standard for time measurement when calculating lapse time of the prophetic scriptures. It is applied to time segments that exist within the scope of prophecy.
The time period started with Israel's exodus from captivity in Persia [the next rulers of the neo-Babylon Empire] and includes 483 years expiring at the first coming of of the Lord and His departure from the earth early in the first century.
The remaining 7 year period [one week of years .... heptad] is still future and will begin at the Lord's discretion .... a time [date] not revealed in scripture.
The 70th week [the last 7 of 490 years] will include a number of very significant events leading up to His visible appearance on the earth.
This future period of time holds all of the events related to the time of the end seen in visions given to the Old Testament prophets of Israel and the Lord's own direct discourse recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21; and His book of Revelation.
There is an additional 30 day extension the of the 70th week of 7 years that will involve the Lord's wrath against the 42 month (second 1,260 days of His hour of trial) rule of satan's beast and his followers. [Daniel 12] [Revelation 16]
Another 45 days will include a gathering of the mortal survivors of the tribulation period .... the elect of Israel and of the nations for separation of those found believing who will enter and populate the Lord's coming 1,000 year millennial kingdom on the earth. [Matthew 29-31; 25:31-46] [Revelation 20]
Details of these events are included in the New Testament and the same are the subjects of the book of Revelation beginning with John taken to heaven in chapter 4 [to be shown the "things hereafter"]. The scriptures from chapter 4 through 22 are all for the time of the end and beyond.
The scope of the visions given to the Old Testament prophets does not include the interlude [breach] between the first coming of the Lord and His departure at the end of the 69th week .... and the beginning of His coming hour [time] of judgment which is still pending.
When He speaks as a prophet in Matthew 24 regarding coming His hour of trial and judgment, it is always in reference to the time frame of coming 70th week decreed for Israel .... the time of the end. A great deal of confusion has been generated because of the failure to understand this truth.
The destruction of the temple by the Romans and actions taken against the nation of Israel during the first century [70 A.D.] are not in the scope of the visions of the Bible prophets.
These historical events took place long after the end of the 69th week and were not the fulfillment of any part of the future 70th week presented in the scope of the visions.
The Lord responds to His early followers about their impression of the temple and other parts of the complex indicating their soon coming destruction. [Matthew 24:1-2]
They were impressed with the temple and other buildings, but He conveyed His evaluation as being much less significant than what they had hoped for and He told them that the temple would not exist during the coming time of the end [not one stone standing .... and this is still true today].
An additional comment is made about the persecution that His immediate followers were to experience after His departure in the first century.
He begins describing the events and conditions of the future 70th week decreed for their nation and then adds, "but before all of these things" that they would be subjected to persecution and even death. [Luke 21:12-19]
He then continues with more details of the future events that will lead up to His visible return at the end of this present age. He does not explain to them that they would not personally be present during the coming 70th week which has been delayed until the fullness of the Gentiles are added. [Romans 11]
The start date of this period is still yet future and is not revealed in scripture. It is a time [date] that He has not revealed. [Matthew 24:36 & 25:13]
He also told his followers that some of them would not taste physical death before they would see Him in His glorified state that He now possesses. [Matthew 16:28]
He said that they would see Him "coming in His kingdom". There are some who take this expression out of context to claim that His second coming was in the first century and that all prophecy of the 70th week has been fulfilled.
But, six days later, after He told them this truth, they were with Him and He was transfigured before them. They observed this transformation which gave them a visible view of His future glorified body and they heard God speak saying that this was indeed His Son. [Matthew 17:1-8]
This event happened exactly as He had stated and was before He went to the cross and then left the material world. His second advent is scheduled and will take place at the end of this present age ... He has purpously delayed His return.
There is another statement made by the Lord prior to sending His apostles to begin preaching the "coming of His kingdom".
He told them that they would not reach all of the cities of Israel before His kingdom would come (the invisible kingdom of believers to be revealed at the time of the end). He is referring here to His first coming, not His second coming.
His first coming was marked by revealing Himself as the Son of God including His entry into Jerusalem, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His appearance to some of them, and the subsequent sending of His Holy Spirit.
The apostles were to preach this and they did not reach all of the cities in Israel before the above events took place.
So His present kingdom on earth is an invisible one that exists in the minds and spirits of believers. His literal millennial kingdom on earth will be established at His second coming.
There are those of the persuasion of preterism who teach that He returned for this event back in the first century, hence all prophecy was fulfilled at that time .... not true .... His second advent is still pending.
His second advent [the day of the Lord] is yet future and will begin without warning and will include all of the events of the 70th week decreed for Israel leading up to His visible appearance on the earth .... and beyond.
He will first come invisibly to administer all of His judgments of the 70th week and will appear to the world visibly immediately after the tribulation of His wrath to rule the earth for 1,000 years. [Micah 4; Matthew 24:29-31; Revelation 20]
The experiences in the first century of the Israelite remnant under Roman rule are recorded in secular history records including the New Testament.
The Roman invasions and ultimate removal of the remnant part of Israel from the land were similar to the things that will take place during the 70th week .... but not included in the scope of the visions of the Bible prophets.
The Romans began their military actions beginning around 70 A.D. which was approximately 37 years after the end of the 69th week [about 33 A.D.] decreed for Israel. Some view these events as part, or all of, the 70th week, but they were not.
If these things were part of the 70th week it would all be historical today. This would mean that the appearance of the lawless one [the little horn/beast], the battle of Armageddon, and the visible return of the Lord and many other associated events are all historical.
There is nothing of the past after the end of the 69th week that even comes close to the Biblical descriptions of these things that will take place in the future at the end of this present age.
One should seriously question any other view and should avoid confusing events of the first century just after the 69th week with the events that will take place at the time of the end.
There are numerous warnings in the New Testament that in the last days would come those who teach false doctrine even to the extent of denying the Lord's second coming and His judgment of this present world. [Second Peter 3:3-7]
A return of a substantial population of Israel from all nations to create an independent state in the land of Israel is a necessary pretext to end time events of the coming 70th week and beyond. [Ezekiel 36,37,38,39; Jeremiah 30:1-11; Zechariah 14]
This process did not take place in the first century A.D., and did not begin until the 20th. Israel now exists as an independent political nation for the first time since the invasions by Assyria and neo-Babylon in the ancient past.
Another invasion by the armies of the satanic " prince that shall come " will take place during the 70th week when he invaded and occupy the land of Israel inhabited by the current nation of Israel. [Psalms 83; Ezekiel 38: Daniel 9:27, 11:40-42; Luke 21; Revelation 12]
There will be a believing portion of this Israelite remnant who will be persecuted for their faith just as they were in the first century.
The Lord speaks of the great time of trouble [tribulations of the 70th week] to be experienced by the nation including hatred by all other nations, persecution, death, destruction, and temporary loss of the land of Israel. [Jeremiah 30; Zechariah 14; Matthew 24:21; Luke 21:20]
He addresses His followers in the first century just as if they would personally experience these things and yet does not reveal the timing of the same which are all scheduled for the future 70th week decreed for the nation.
He also discusses the abomination of desolation. He said, " When you see the abomination standing in the holy place, flee into the wilderness," as if they would personally experience this event. [Matthew 24:15; Daniel 12:12]
Members of the New Testament church can be Israelite or Gentile with no significance attached to national identity and related to matters of salvation only. Only believing Israelites will be the "elect" of the remnant who will enter and populate His earthly kingdom as mortals at the time of the end .... these are the subject and focus of Matthew 24 .... not the church.
Believing Gentiles who survive the coming tribulation period and found believing are the surviving "sheep" who will enter and populate His earthly kingdom, but the church of today will be in heaven with the Lord just before the tribulation of the 70th week begins. [Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 4, 5, 6, 7:9-17; 11:1; 12:12; 13:6; 19:1-14; 20:4 (those on thrones)].
Antiochus and The Little Horn
Bible prophecy presents a revelation of the existence of the spirit world in addition to the material world of humans. These are angelic and include both those who serve the Lord and those who serve satan.
The primary example of this involves relationships between satan and his agents who are fallen angels.
These can operate through human kings like the Greek king Antiochus IV of the ancient past and the coming little horn [king] of the future who rule over human dominions like city/states, countries, nations, and empires. [Revelation 9:11, 12:9, 17:8-11]
The symbol of the horn indicates that the human king position has a satanic connection. Examples of these include Sargon, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great (great horn), Antiochus IV, and the little horn king of the northern Middle East at the time of the end of this present age.
Certain angelic creatures are often referred to as a "prince" [principality] in contrast with the human leader defined as a king. There are God's angelic princes like Michael the archangel who is the protector of the nation of Israel [Daniel 12:1] .... and there are those who follow satan who is himself an angelic prince.
Abaddon-Apollyon is the angelic king of the abyss who in turn rules over others like the prince of Persia and the prince of Grecia [this "prince" rules over the 7 human kingdoms of the Middle East, past and future, for satan [Revelation 17:8]. He will be the angelic "prince that shall come" out of the abyss at the end of this present age.
He will rule directly through and in the coming little horn [human king of the northern Middle East], and will also rule over the 10 other contemporary horns that represent the 10 human kings of his divided kingdom at the time of the end
The people of this angelic "prince that shall come" were not the Romans during the first century, but will be his human followers during the coming tribulation period.
He is satan's christ [anti-christ .... meaning "against" Christ] operating directly through the little horn at the time of the end. [Daniel 9:26]
It is his followers who will invade Israel during the coming 70th week decreed for the nation. The Roman Empire is not included in the scope of the prophetic visions, is not represented by the iron legs of Daniel's image, and was not Daniel's fourth beast.
There is a reference in Daniel 11:30 to the ships of "Chittim" [Rome] interfering with military movements by Antiochus, the ancient Greek king of the north in the Middle East who ruled Syrio/Babylonia at the latter end of the Greek presence.
This naval incursion was carried out by the Romans stationed at Cyprus. Secular history records such an incident that involved a threat directed at Antiochus.
He was conducting military operations against the Greeks ruling the south and was told to end his expansion adventures and leave the area.
The Roman officer drew a circle around Antiochus in the sand and demanded that he give his agreement to cease military operations before he stepped out of the circle.
This humiliated him in front of his men and as he returned to the north he vented his rage by attacking Israel. He had pigs sacrificed on the altar of the temple and placed a statue of Zeus on the temple mount.
Daniel's visions include much detail about the interactions and wars between the Greek kings of the north and those of the south in the Middle East with the remnant of Israelites positioned geographically between these two dominions.
The northern division of Alexander's empire was the one that portrays the track of satanic involvement [the 5th head of the beast] through its kings.
Visions of the prophets are generally focused on the northern sector of the Middle East in relationship to Israel. This area will be [satan's base of operations at the time of the end. [Daniel 8:9-10, 11:36-45]
Antiochus is the subject of the visions leading up to the end of northern Greek dominance. This king was heavily influenced by the first beast of Revelation, Abaddon-Apollyon, and his subordinated angelic prince of Grecia [another fallen angelic prince] specifically with his designs against Israel.
It is important to understand that Antiochus was not the end time little horn viewed by Daniel in other parts of his visions. Antiochus was one of the last Greek kings who held the fifth king position related to the beast's fifth head [dominion .... kingdom of the Middle East].
Another controversial item involves the breach in Daniel's visions between the end of Greek rule and the appearance of the little horn at the time of the end.
A careful study of the historical record of the career of Antiochus will verify that all of the verses recording his rule, from Daniel 11:21 through 11:35, should be applied to him. Daniel is told that the rest of the vision is for the time of the end. [Daniel 11:36-45; 12:7]
Some try to apply a number of previous verses up to the end of verse 35 to the little horn of verse 36 and then are looking for those events to take place as part of the time of the end.
Verses 21 through 35 are actually a very accurate account of Antiochus and his political career foretold in advance. Skeptics claim that these things must have been written after the fact by someone other that Daniel because of their accuracy.
Antiochus obtained his position as king by trickery and deception. He had a few very significant political supporters who made it possible for him to seize the larger northern division of Alexander's empire without direct rights to the throne.
He eliminated his political rivals with the support of the large armies of his political backers and then subsequently raised armies of his own to support his designs on additional Middle Eastern territory.
He also deceived the remnant of Israel and the Greek kings of the south by intrigue [forming agreements and breaking them] and subsequent hostile military actions.
His ambitions were to consolidate the Middle Eastern segment of the Greek Empire under his rule. He was never able to conquer the south [Egypt], but this will be accomplished by the little horn at the time of the end. [Daniel 11:40]
He made common cause with Hellenized Jews who were supportive of Greek rule and had the high priest murdered [ruler of the covenant]. He also subjugated Israel to Greek customs and laws including desecration of the holy places.
He attacked and killed thousands of Jews who were opposed to Greek culture and would not forsake their covenant with the Lord.
His actions were different than those of his predecessors including his father Antiochus the Great. These rulers were often more benevolent and allowed the Jews a good measure of autonomy.
Some of the Israelite remnant who refused to forsake their covenant with the Lord revolted against Greek rule toward the end of the Greek presence.
The Maccabees succeeded in regaining their independence and restored the temple and related worship that was desecrated by Antiochus. They had support from Rome against their Greek rulers, but eventually became subjected to Roman rule.
Daniel is told at the end of verse 35 that full and permanent restoration for his people would take place, but not until the time appointed which will occur at the end of this present age. [Daniel 11:35]
A similar situation will exist during the 70th week when Israel will be attacked, invaded, and occupied by the coming little horn who is the king of verse 11:36-45; 12:7.
Israel's victory will be the result of the intervention of the Lord to rescue the believing remnant part of the nation. [Micah 5]
The last and final king of the north will be Abaddon-Apollyon [the first beast of Revelation .... 9:11; 17:8], a fallen angelic who does satan's bidding on the earth, operating in the human little horn. He will be allowed to actually incarnate the little horn and persecute Israel during the 70th week decreed for the nation at the end of this present age.
Antiochus raised armies and attacked the Greeks ruling the south [Egypt] three times but was never able to conquer and add the south to his kingdom. Egypt will be conquered by the little horn at "the time appointed", which is still yet future.
There is a breach in the scope of Daniel's visions at the end of verse 35 which ends with the rule of Antiochus. Verse 36 should be applied to the little horn who will rule the Middle East at the end of this present age.
The little horn's activities will be similar, but will not include all of the things that Antiochus did and will include other things that Antiochus did not do.
Abaddon-Apollyon was active and influencing Antiochus. Glimpses of this truth can be seen when the visions seem to switch from the human king to this angelic master prince and his higher role as the satanic enemy of the Lord. [Daniel 8:9-12]
Some define this as a double reference considering only the human side of the vision which includes both Antiochus and the little horn.
In fact, the common denominator is Abaddon-Apollyon because of his involvement and objectives with the activities of both kings.
There is no double reference between the little horn and Antiochus. These are two different human kings. Abaddon-Apollyon is the same angelic prince.
Abaddon-Apollyon will continue when he is released from the abyss at the time of the end to influence and ultimately incarnate the little horn during the 70th week.
All of the remaining verses of Daniel 11 starting with verse 36 and including all of chapter 12 apply to the 70th week.
Alexander was the first Greek king of Abaddon's fifth head [dominion] and Antiochus was the last Greek king to hold the position recorded in the scope of Bible prophecy related to Greek domination.
Daniel sees the little horn immediately after he is shown the division of Alexander's empire. [Daniel 8:9-12; 8:23-25]
He is told that the divided empire would not be ruled by Alexander's posterity and would be ruled by others even after Greek dominance. [Daniel 8:18-25]
The others will be the people of the little horn who will rule the Middle East during the time of the end. If we are close to the beginning of the time of the end, these would be the current Islamic occupiers of the Middle East.
There are indications of where the geographical locations of the inhabitants will be and their ancestral links.
Psalms 83 is an example of this that includes land areas adjacent and close to the land of Israel. The other greater extents of his future Middle Eastern kingdom are described in Ezekiel 38.
If we are close to the time of the end then the current Islamic occupiers of the Middle East would be suspect. The student of Bible prophecy should consider this possibility.
The little horn is the subject of the coming 70th week who will first rule the sixth smaller head (dominion, kingdom) of the beast which he will then expand to form the seventh and final divided kingdom with 10 other human kings. He is the king of fierce countenance described in Daniel 8:23-25 and Daniel 11:36-45; 12:7.
The 70th Week
Revelation's visions of the future time of the Lord's coming judgment are connected with the 70th week, the last of the 70 weeks of years decreed for Daniel's people national Israel [Daniel 9]
There is historical reference involving Israel's beginnings, satan's rebellion against the Lord long ago, and his attempt to kill the Lord at His first advent in the 12th chapter of Revelation. He stood before the woman [Israel] to devour her child, but the Lord was caught up to God and to His throne.
The balance of the passage beginning in 12:6 is a projection regarding satan's ambition and actions to destroy Israel during the future 70th week decreed for the nation. Daniel's visions parallel the same sequence in chapter 9 when the Messiah is cut off just after the 69th week [Daniel 9:24-27; Revelation 12:4-5].
Satan and his angelic and human agents will invade and occupy the land of Israel again during the future 70th week in his attempt to prevent the Lord from returning to establish His Kingdom [restore the kingdom to Israel .... Acts 1:6]. [Psalms 83; Ezekiel 38; Micah 5; Zechariah 14; Revelation 11:2; 12:6-17]
John's spirit is transported into the future and taken to heaven [Revelation 4:1] to show him what must take place during the 70th week and beyond [the things "hereafter" .... Revelation 1:19]; and his view and point of reference begins at the onset of the 70th week decreed for Israel .... the Lord's coming hour of trial and judgment. [Revelation 3:10]
The human king that "is" will be the little horn occupying the sixth king "position" of the sixth head [dominion] of satan's beast [Abaddon-Apollyon] at the beginning of the 70th week, not a Roman king in the first century. [Revelation 17:9-13]
The little horn will also occupy the seventh king "position" of the larger expanded seventh head [dominion, kingdom] of the beast [Daniel 7:7-8]. Abaddon-Apollyon is the first beast of Revelation 13 and 17 who will operate directly through the little horn. [Revelation 17:9-13]
It is also significant to note that the beast [Abaddon-Apollyon] "once was" and "is not" and "has not" been present and operating since the end of his northern Greek rule [Syrio/Babylonia .... his fifth dominion] in the Middle East. He will come out of the abyss at the end of this present age to rule there again. [Revelation 9:11; 11:7; 17:8-11]
His fifth head [dominion, kingdom] was terminated just before the first century and he lost his kingdom and was sent to the abyss where he cannot interact with humanity
He will be released by satan and will come out of the abyss at the beginning of the 70th week [Revelation 9:1-11, 13:3, 17:8]
Upon release he will connect with and possess the little horn ruling his sixth head [dominion-healed] which will be located in the Middle East.
He will then expand his sixth head [northern dominion, leg, of iron .... Daniel 2:40-45] into the seventh head [the divided dominion of iron and clay]. This dominion will include ten other horns [human kings]. [Revelation 13, 17]
It is imperative for the student of Bible prophecy to recognize that all of the events after the 69th week [about 33 A.D.] and the "cutting off of the Messiah" are scheduled for the end of this present age.
Time of The Church
The development of a unique group of humans composed of both a few Israelites and mostly Gentiles who have and will accept the Lord's offer of salvation began in the first century. This group is often referred to as the Body of Christ. [Revelation 1:4-6]
This group also includes all Old Testament believers who followed the Lord, both Israelite and Gentile, from the beginning of human creation to the first century.
The Lord outlines the conditions of the church in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, however, all, of the rest of Revelation beginning with chapter 4 contains visions and historical references that pertain to the His coming judgment and subsequent millennial kingdom on the earth at the future time of the end.
Revelation 4 through 22 deals specifically with what must take place in the future at the time of the end after the invisible kingdom of today's church has been completed and immortalized.
We are somewhere between the initial development of the church in the first century and its completion which will be just prior to the beginning of the the Lord's coming judgment against an unbelieving world.
The church is not a building or any specific religious organization, but is composed of all past, present, and future members who have placed their trust and faith in the Lord's grace for their salvation.
These are a mystery form of His kingdom that is not visible to the material world and exists only within the mind and spirit of each true believer. [Luke 17:20-21]
The mystery form of the church will change when He returns to initiate the "day of the Lord" at the end of this present age.
All believers, physically dead [sleeping] or alive, will be resurrected and transformed respectively into the eternal immortal state of existence. [1Thessalonians 4:13-17]
The conditions of the church just prior to the beginning of the Lord's hour of trial [the tribulation period] will be as implied by the contrasts contained in the letters written to Philadelphia and Laodicea. [Revelation 3:10; 3:16; Matthew 25:1-13]
The first describes those who have kept the truth and are watching and waiting in anticipation of the Lord's return. [Revelation 3:7-10]
These will be kept from His judgments against those who have refused to believe the truth about Him. The salvation of professing christians who openly stand against the Lord's intents as the scriptures tell must be suspect.
The second describes those who have not kept the truth, have become complacent, superficial, unbelieving, and not focused upon the Lord's return. These will be rejected by the Lord when He arrives unannounced. [Revelation 3:14-17; Matthew 25:1-13 .... He will shut the door]
The 24 elders and the great multitude are seen in Revelation's unfolding is today's church, both Israelite and Gentile. Those asleep in death and the living believers at the time will be kept from the coming tribulation period.
These will all be immortal and before the Lord's throne in heaven and they will observe the events of the tribulation period on earth .... those who dwell in heaven and are worshiping in the Lord's temple there [Revelation 4:5; 5:5-10; 7:9-17; 11:1; 12:12; 13:6; 17:14; 19:14; 20:4 (those on thrones)].
They will return to the earth with the Lord at the end of the coming tribulation period of His wrath [Revelation 19:11-14]; and they will rule with Him over His millennial kingdom of mortals for 1,000 years .... they are those on thrones [symbol of the Lord's government] in Revelation 20:4.
Resurrections
New and Old testament believers, dead or living, will be resurrected and translated respectively, in a split second of time prior to the testing and judgment of an unbelieving world by the Lord at the end of this present age.
This is a future event that has not taken place yet and it should be noted that believers who have and will shed their physical bodies through physical death are not yet immortalized. [1Corinthians 15:22-58]
but we shall all be changed"
[1 Corinthians 15:51-52]
They are sleeping and waiting for return to the material universe.
with the voice of an archangel,
and the trumpet of God,
and the dead shall rise first"
[1 Thessalonians 4:15-16]
This is the first resurrection which is the resurrection to eternal life.
will be caught up
together with them"
[1 Thessalonians 4:17]
When the Lord returns these will be translated directly into the eternal state of being. Resurrection from physical death will not be necessary.
The Apostle Paul understood this truth as expressed in the above scriptures. A common teaching is that believers who have experienced physical death are already in heaven. They are not.
Those who die in the Lord prior to His return will remain sleeping and will awake to His call at His return for the believer. [1Corinthians 15:22-58]
He said that He would go to prepare a place for all who trust in Him, and that then He would come the second time and receive them unto Himself. [John 14:2-3]
Those who die in the Lord [those who sleep], having accepted Him as their savior, will awake to eternal life, and those who are living and are ready at the time will be changed [transformed] instantly to immortality.
All humans who die without accepting Jesus Christ as their savior will not experience this change. These will be evaluated and judged by the Lord Himself just after His 1,000 year reign on the earth. [Revelation 20:11-15]
They will experience the second resurrection type which leads to the second death of their spirits. This will include all from Adam who did not, have not, and will not seek the Lord's providence, direction, and a necessary relationship with Him. [Revelation 20:11-15]
He will look for their names in the book of life and will not find them. The first death is the loss of the physical body. These will experience the second death which is the termination of their spirits for all eternity.
The Lord will come as a "thief" to begin the process of the day of the Lord [the time of His judgment and subsequent millennial rule upon the earth] in which the elements of the entire universe will melt with intense heat. This statement made by Peter is condensed and covers a very long period of time .... 1,007 years .... 7 years of tribulation [judgment] and 1,000 years of His millennial kingdom on the earth. [2Peter 3:10; Revelation 16:15]
Included will be the beginning of all of the events of the tribulation period, the millennial reign of the Lord on the earth for 1,000 years, and the destruction of this present earth and universe. [Daniel 9:24-27; 12:1; Micah 4; Revelation 20:6-9]
The Lord will then instantly recondition the universe and the earth to last eternally. This action by the Lord will be at least 1,007 years from now. [Revelation 21:1-5]
The day of man [human rule] will be fractured and will cease at the end of this present age. This change will begin with the 70th week events [the tribulation period] and will be completed at the end of the 7 years of the Lord's coming hour of trial [Revelation 3:10].
An additional 30 days will incorporate His direct wrath upon the kingdom of satan's beast, the other 10 kings, and their followers. [Ezekiel 39; Daniel 2:36-45; 11:36-45; 12:1-12; Micah 5:1-15; Revelation 14:14-20; 16:1-16]
There are two events that will be associated with the beginning of the 70th week explained to the early christians by Paul. The first relates to the prevalent human behavior at the time [falling away .... intransigence against the Lord] and the second relates to the presence of the lawless one [satan's little horn/beast].
Paul told the early christians that they were not experiencing the events of the 70th week in their time because these two conditions were not present. They were troubled by the false teaching that the day of the Lord had come and that they had missed His call to immortalize them. [2Thessalonians 2:1-12]
The transgression and rebellion of humans against the Lord had not reached the level of intensity that will take place in relation to the coming 70th week and the presence of the lawless one .... the beginning of the day of the Lord [Daniel 8:23-25]
Daniel is told about this same transgression which will be connected with the appearance of the human little horn, king of the northern Middle East. [Daniel 7:7; 8:9; 8:23-25; 11:36-45; 12:7; Micah 5:5]
Paul said that neither of these conditions existed at the time and that the day of the Lord was not present [at hand]. [2Thessalonians 2:1-17]
He relates all of this to the Lord's future coming for all believers, which was still yet a future event, and was assuring them that they had not missed it [the gathering]. [2Thessalonians 2:1]
Paul also discusses the removal of the restraining function of the Lord's holy spirit which He has in place for the purpose of limiting satan's influence on the earth during the time of the mystery form of the Lord's kingdom, the church.
His holy spirit has been and is present in this form for the purpose of comforting believers, leading them into all truth related to His Word, and for restraining satan's level of activity and involvement with humans. [2Thessalonians 2:6-8] [Revelation 12:7-12]
This restraining function will diminish and the day of the Lord will begin. Satan and his angelic followers will then be cast to the earth with great wrath because satan knows that his time will be short. [Revelation 12]
This does not mean that the presence of the Lord's holy spirit will be absent during the time of the end, but that He will no longer place the current level of limitation on the actions of satan and the fallen angles related to interaction with humanity on the earth.
The beginning of the day of the Lord will occur without warning and at a time that no one can predict. The Lord has stated that no one can know the time and we should consider this fact when speculating about the subject. [Matthew 24:36]
He also gave warning that the living believer at the time must be ready, watching, and not to be caught off guard by the beginning of His hour of trial and tribulation against an unbelieving world. [Matthew 24:42-44; Matthew 25:1-13; Revelation 3:10]
This condition of being ready also applies to all humans who have, or will, experience physical death before the time of the Lord's second advent.
We must be ready when physical death comes to us. If so, our spirits will be resurrected and translated by the Lord at His coming. If we are fortunate to be alive when He returns we will be translated to immortality without dying physically. [1Corinthians 15:22-58]
The Lord was asked about the time of the end and part of His answer was that it would be like the days of Noah before the flood. [Matthew 24:37-41]
Humans living on the earth before the flood had not kept the truth, were not seeking a relationship with Him, and were caught up in the cares of the world.
These same conditions will exist at the time of the end when humans will be oblivious to His approaching judgment. There will be very little awareness of the correct teachings of the Bible even among those who profess christianity.
He also said that He will keep living believers at the time who have kept the truth from the hour [time] of trial [judgment] that is coming upon the world. [Revelation 3:10]
Those who only profess christianity and have not kept the truth at the time will experience the tribulation and wrath of His coming judgment. Those who have kept the truth and are ready will not just as He has promised. [1Thessalonians 5:1-11; Revelation 3:10]
There will be some who will seek the truth and turn to Him after the beginning of His hour of trial. They will become believers and most will be martyred for their faith [Revelation 6:9-11; 20:4 (those beheaded)] .... and some of these will survive the tribulation period and will enter and populate His millennial kingdom on the earth as mortals. [Matthew 24:29-31; 25:31-46]
This does not mean that they will be given a second chance just because they were not ready. Salvation will be still be granted during the tribulation just as it is today. [Matthew 24:14; Revelation 6:2; 14:6-7]
Those on earth who are not ready and miss the Lord's pre-tribulation call will experience an unprecedented time of vexation, great confusion, and difficulty. These conditions may hinder, if not prevent one from seeking and finding the truth. [Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:15-22; Revelation 6:12-17; 9:20-21]
Many people "profess" Christianity, and believers do have the potential to fall away from their faith during their life time. If this were not true, there would be no need for the Lord to warn believers about being ready.
The idea of "once saved......always saved" does not fit this picture. He does the saving and will not withdraw His promise, but one must retain a position of a willingness to trust and obey Him.
There are those who think they are saved, for whatever reasons, and are not. They are no different than any other human who has not been saved. [Matthew 25:1-13]
Believers who have a knowledge of Bible prophecy would recognize events of the coming tribulation period, would certainly be anticipating His return, and could predict the timing of His visible appearance at the end of the tribulation to the day.
He said that no one will be able to do this. The time that no one can predict will be the beginning of the day of the Lord, not His visible return at the end of the tribulation period. [Matthew 24:44, 24:29-31]
Sealing of the 144,000 Israelites for service on earth is presented with the observation of the 24 elders and the great multitude from every nation already before the throne of God prior to the sounding of the 7 judgment trumpets beginning in the 8th chapter of Revelation. [Revelation 7]
The 24 elders are positioned around the throne with the Lord in the midst of them. The 24 elders and the great multitude (Israelite and Gentile) are the saved out of all nations who are kept "away from" [have come out of] the tribulation period and are already before the throne of God [Revelation 18:24].
These who dwell in heaven will observe the tribulation events on the earth and are noted several times in Revelation in chapters 4,5,7,11,12, and 19. The 24 elders are the prominent leaders of the great multitude of believers.
The Lord will prevent the 7 trumpets sounding and corresponding judgments until the great multitude is in heaven and the 144,000 mortal Israelites have been sealed for service on earth. These Israelites will be the first believers [first fruits] of the tribulation period. {Revelation 7:1-3]
The great multitude that John sees is one that no man can number [count]. This group is so large that it must include "the dead in Christ" of the past as well as those believers who will be living just prior to the beginning of the coming Lord's hour of trial. [Revelation 7:9-17]
If so, then it cannot be said of all of these that they have all come "out" of [from] the great tribulation after experiencing it. Believers who die physically before the tribulation period cannot possibly experience it.
The great multitude consists of both the dead in Christ [those asleep in death] and the living believers [those living just before the tribulation period begins]. They will not "experience" the Lord's time of judgment and will all be "kept from" the great tribulation. [Revelation 3:10; 18:4]
It would be hard to imagine that the world will produce a great multitude of living believers to "go through and come out of" the great tribulation at the end of this age when the world will be primarily ripe for judgment .... an unbelieving world.
There will be those who become believers during the tribulation period, but it is doubtful that this will be a "great multitude" in number. Most of the world will worship the beast and/or will rebel against the Lord's judgments.
He will send strong delusion to an unbelieving world during the tribulation period, not a believing world. He also begged the questioned of whether He would find faith on the earth at His second advent ..... this leads to the conclusion of very little.
There are over six billion humans on the planet today and very few of them are truly believers in Jesus Christ. Do a great multitude of living believers exist today ? .... I doubt it. How many will there be on the earth just before, or during the 70th week ? .... not many.
Also, if the great multitude does not include the dead in Christ, then where are they? .... He will come for both the dead and living believers together at the same time and these [the church of today] will be immortalized just before the tribulation period begins .... at the "last" trumpet sounding .... for the church.
The "last trumpet" associated with the resurrection and translation of the church should not be confused with the sounding of the 7th judgment trumpet of Revelation. [Revelation 10:7; 11:15]
This 7th judgment trumpet sounding will herald the closing days of the tribulation. There is no mention of the immortalization of the church of today with this trumpet.
Neither should the last trump for the church be considered as the trumpet that is connected with the gathering of the "elect" after the tribulation. This will be a gathering and separation of the mortals who survive the tribulation physically. [Matthew 24:29-31; Matthew 25:31-46]
The term "elect" recorded in Matthew 24:31 represents those Israelites who will be gathered by the Lord and will enter and populate His millennial kingdom on the earth.
These will be 144,000 Israelites sealed and a believing surviving remnant part of Israel. He refers to the "elect" as "His brethren" (Israelites) when He separates the surviving Gentiles of the nations in Matthew 25:31-46. The believing "sheep" of this group, those found believing of the Gentiles, will also enter the kingdom.
The surviving unbelieving "goats", both Israelite and Gentile, will be rejected. Their spirits will face the Lord and the second death at the great white throne judgment. Their names will not be found in the Book of Life. [Revelation 20:11-15]
The spirits of all Israelites and Gentiles of the unbelieving dead [Old Testament, New Testament, and the coming tribulation period] will not be resurrected until the great white throne judgment at the end of the 1,000 year kingdom of the Lord's upon the earth.
There are two trumpet voices recorded in Revelation that are associated with the church. The first is heard by John when he is told by the Lord to record "the things that are" and send the messages to the church. We are still in this time frame of "the things that are". [Revelation 1:10]
This last trumpet voice is the one that Paul refers to when discussing the resurrection and translation of church. This is the last "trump" for the church. [1Corinthians 15:22-58]
This last trumpet for the church has no relationship with the 7th judgment trumpet sounding in Revelation, or with the trumpet sounding heralding the gathering of the "elect" in Matthew 24 after the tribulation period is over.
There are presently those who are questioning the immortalization of living believers before the tribulation. They are saying that if believers are expecting to be kept from the tribulation and are not, then they might lose or reject their faith.
They suggest that it would better to avoid dependency on escaping the Lord's judgments and must prepare to experience them. They deny the Lord's promise to keep living believers at the time from His hour of trial that is coming upon the world.
They explain that this promise means to "protect" the living believers as they go "through" the tribulation. There are only two groups and two individuals who will experience the tribulation period and will be "protected" according to scripture.
They are the 144,000 Israelites, the believing remnant part of Israel, and the Lord's two witnesses. All other references in Revelation to tribulation believers describe martyrdom by beheading. This is not "protection" by any stretch of the imagination. [Revelation 7:1-8; 14:1-6; Matthew 24:15-16; Zechariah 14:4-5; Revelation 12; 11:3-5]
There will be some not included in these groups who survive the tribulation period, both believers and unbelievers, and they will have to be gathered and separated by the Lord immediately just after the tribulation period is over.
The believers of the mortal survivors will enter and populate His earthly kingdom as mortals. The others will be cast off [rejected] to face judgment and the second death of their spirits at the end of His millennial kingdom on the earth.
The concept of a post-tribulation call ["rapture"] for living believers is based upon the second coming of the Lord being one event [including all resurrections and translations] .... after the end of the tribulation.
Most who hold this position also place all or part of the events of the 70th week back in the first century around 70 A.D. [preterists say it all happened in 70 A.D. .... even the Lord's second advent]
The 69th week of the 490 years decreed for Israel ended around 33 A.D. and the Messiah [the Lord], was "cut off". The Romans did not invade Israel until 37 years after the 69th week ended ... the 70th week of 7 years is still yet future and none of this 7 year period was fulfilled in 70 A.D.
I do not buy either of these theories and would caution one about taking this position. One should question the credibility of those who either do not understand the Lord's Word and or they purposely distort scriptures to fit their ideas.
Their position may generate unconcern about being ready since there will be no indicators, signs, or warnings leading up to the " beginning" of the day of the Lord's coming judgment.
He will come without warning and all of those who are not ready, watching, and anticipating the event at the time will be subjected to the conditions of the tribulation. [1Thessalonians 5:1-4; Matthew 24:36-39]
Humans have a habit of dropping their guard when there are periods of time with no visible signs of impending danger. There is a tendency to become complacent and one can move too far away from avenues of recovery if the danger strikes.
This can and does happen to those who become distracted from the priority of being focused on the Lord and His return. It would be far better to be ready and to anticipate that He could come at any time without warning.
This is a basic Biblical truth which not only keeps the believer focused upon the Lord, but will provide motivation for carrying out the disciplines of christian living.
It is also the greatest promise, hope, and reward that a human could ever possess. I would question all doctrines and associated motives that vary from this truth. [Revelation 3:10-11]
Satan would like nothing more than to prevent the early imortalization of living believers who would then be subjected to his presence on the earth during the tribulation period.
Israel is the Lord's Time Piece
The beginning of the return of Israelites to the land of Israel from the nations in the 20th century is a prelude to the events of the time of the end of this present age reflected in the scope of Bible prophecy. [Isaiah 11; Jeremiah 30; Ezekiel 36,37,38, 39; Daniel 9,12; Micah 4,5; Joel:2,3; Zechariah 12,13,14]
Israel's absence or presence in the land of Israel has a direct correlation with stopping and restarting the prophetic clock.
Israel today is positioned for the start of the beginning of the 70th week decreed for the nation by the Lord which will then run its course for a period of 7 years and culminate in His visible presence on the earth. [Daniel 9,12].
The Lord has maintained the Abrahamic covenant with Israel and will carry out His promises to the nation including the establishment of His earthly kingdom for 1,000 years. He will rule the earth from Jerusalem [Micah 4]
Abraham lived in Ur a province of ancient Babylonia which was the center of the Sumerian civilization. He was a descendant of Noah's son Shem and he recognized that there was only one true God. Babylonia's post flood culture was one of paganism.
Abraham is the father of modern Israel and most of the Arab nations that exist today. The southern Babylonians [Sumerians] occupying the land of Shinar and the northern Babylonians [Assyrians] occupying the land of Magog are their ancestors. [Genesis 12:1-8]
The countries of modern day Iraq, northeastern Syria, eastern Turkey, and northwestern Iran include a large portion of both of these ancient areas. The inhabitants today are a mixture of Semitic, Hamitic, and Japhetic lineage [a majority are adherents of Islam today].
The Lord had already warned humanity about building their cities and the consequences of organizing to a level that would lead to self-determination and separation from His providence and direction. [Genesis 11:1-9]
This development had grown considerably by the time He called Abraham to leave the area and migrate to establish the land of Israel. [Genesis 10: 8-12]
His purpose was to separate a people for Himself who would be different from all of the rest of humanity [unbelieving nations of the Gentiles] by recognizing Him as the only true God and creator of the universe.
Israel would then be a witness to an unbelieving, unsaved world by their relationship to Him through their coming Messiah and King Jesus Christ.
Part of His purpose with Israel has been a success by producing the scriptures contained in the Bible through the nation's prophets, scribes, and apostles.
Israel is also the nation that the Lord came to for His mission on the cross and will be the nation that He will return to at the end of this present age.
Israel as a national people did not fulfill their part of the Lord's expectations and failed in their relationship with Him.
As a result He has subjected them to exist in the world without His providence and they have paid the price. Greater difficulties are scheduled at the end of this present age.
It is significant that the nation of Israel is existing as an independent political entity in the land of Israel today after many centuries of domination by the Gentiles and exile from their land.
The nation's continuous intransigence against the Lord's providence and direction has resulted in the loss of His personal guidance and revelation. Israel as a nation is still in this condition at the present time.
The Lord's long term preservation of Israel's national identity is specifically for His ultimate plans.....not Israel's self-generated nationalism.
The years following the reign of Israel's prominent kings David and his son Solomon included political division of the nation and subsequent invasion and assimilation of ten of the tribes of Israel by the Assyrians.
Successive dominance of a remnant part of the nation followed by the three Middle Eastern empires of neo-Babylon, Persia, and Grecia.
The neo-Babylonians conquered what was left of the remnant, took many captives, and relocated the population. It was under the rule of the next empire, Persia, that a remnant of Israel was allowed to return to the Land of Israel [445 B.C.].
This began the count down of the 70 weeks of years [490 literal years] decreed for the nation. 483 years have lapsed with one 7 year period yet to be experienced by Israel after their second return from the nations of the Gentiles to the land of Israel. [Daniel 9:24-27]
If the death and resurrection of Jesus occurred around 33 A.D. then the following calculation can be made. The time lapse would be 444 calendar years to the first century from 445 B.C. plus 33 additional years to equal 477 years.
The conversion factor for 360 day prophetic years can be calculated by dividing 365 by 360 which is 1.0138. Prophetic years are shorter so there are more of them included in the time frame of 477 calendar years.
There are 483.5826 [477 x 1.0138] prophetic years in the time frame. If one adjusts this result by leap year days, the final calculation is very close to 483 years [69 weeks of years].
Daniel's vision of the time frame allows for this amount of time to lapse after which the Messiah Prince would be cut off and have nothing.
The last segment of 7 years [1 week of years .... 1 heptad of 7 years]) is still yet future and requires Israel's return to the Land of Israel from the nations.
This final 7 years will include future prophetic events leading up to the visible return of Israel's Messiah who is Jesus Christ.
A remnant of Israel returned during the Persian Empire and were subjects of the next rulers of the Middle East. Attempts were made to regain independence from their Greek overlords, but with limited success.
Much difficulty was experienced as a result of the behavior of the Greek kings of the north who continuously imposed cultural and religious practices upon the remnant.
Similar conditions were experienced under Roman rule in the first century and the small Jewish remnant was eventually attacked, persecuted, killed, and scattered .... virtually removed from the land of Israel.
The end of the 69th week [483 years] decreed for Israel lapsed at the departure of Jesus from the earth [about 33 A.D.]. Subsequent Roman invasions are not included in the scope of Biblical prophecy as it relates to the time of the end.
Israel's current presence in the Land of Israel is a prelude to the beginning of the 70th week which will lead up to the coming of their Messiah a second time.
The nation will experience an unprecedented time of trouble ("Jacob's" trouble), but a believing remnant part will be rescued by the Lord at His second coming. [Jeremiah 30]
He will establish His literal Kingdom and rule over Israel and the world for 1,000 years. [Micah 4; Revelation 20]
Another satanically inspired human rebellion will occur at the end of His Kingdom which will result in the total destruction of the earth, its rebellious inhabitants, and the entire universe. [Revelation 20]
The Lord will then recondition the universe and the earth for eternity without imperfection. All evil will be eliminated including satan, the fallen angels, and all unsaved humans [Revelation 19; 20; 21].
Fallen Angels
The fallen angels are those who have rebelled against the Lord of whom satan is the leading rebel and chief prince. One third of all of the Lord's created angels are of this persuasion. [Revelation 12:3-9]
Satan and a selected number of these angels will play a central role together in his strategy to replace the Lord's rule, specifically over the earth, and to project satan's influence of deception and destruction toward humans. [Jude 1:6]
Leading fallen angels are often referred to as a "prince" [principality] ruling over an assigned dominion or geographical organization (city/state, country, nation, empire) of humans and their kings. [Daniel 9:26; 10:1-20; Ezekiel 38:2]
A fallen angel can also be described as a beast when associated with the direct possession of humans. [Revelation 9:11, 11:7, 13:1, 13:11, 16:13, 17:8, 17:11, 19:20]
This allows for the angel to gain a visible presence in the material world. The angel can then be seen and experienced by other humans.
These angels should not be confused with the description of the four "animal" beasts used that identify four successive dominions and related king positions in Daniel's visions. [Daniel 7]
Satan is referred to as the "chief" (head) angelic prince in Ezekiel 38 and this title designates him as the leader of all other fallen angels. The Lord addresses him as gog of the land of Magog.
Another example is Abaddon-Apollyon, the beast of Revelation 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, and 19, who is the angelic prince that is to come". He will personally possess and incarnate the little horn, human king of the northern Middle East, seen in Daniel's visions at the time of the end. [Daniel 8:9; 8:23-25; 11:36-45; 12:7]
There will also be another of satan's angelic agents who is called the false prophet. This fallen angel will manifest himself by possessing two human religious cult leaders and both will lead humans to worship Abaddon-Apollyon. [Revelation 13:11]
Abaddon-Apollyon was active as satan's angelic beast ruling over subordinated angelic princes like those of Assyria, neo-Babylon, Persia, and Grecia in the ancient Middle East. These are all part of satan's system of government to rule over the earth as the god of this world. [Daniel 10]
His name in Hebrew means the "destroyer" and he is king of the abyss ruling over the other fallen angels who have been confined there with him. These will be released to participate in the Lord's judgment of the earth at the time of the end.
There are three significant groupings of the fallen angels. Those imprisoned in the abyss, those bound at the Euphrates River, and those that are free.
Abaddon-Apollyon and the abyss angels inhabited the pre-Adamite earth. These angels are the same who then later interacted with human women during the millennium before the flood. [Genesis 6:1-7; 2Peter 3:5-6; Jude 6:1]
They were captured and sent to the abyss during the Lord's judgment of the world with a flood in Noah's day. The abyss is a place where He has reserved them for the coming day of judgment at the end of this present age.
Abaddon-Apollyon was allowed to continue his involvement of the re-populated earth after the flood with other free angles who were subordinated to him for the purpose of ruling over human dominions and their kings. [Revelation 17:8-11]
All of the fallen angels are subordinated to satan who is their god and he has been and is still free to interact currently with humanity on a more limited basis.
When a Middle Eastern empire fell in the past the associated subordinate angels of that empire were captured and bound at the Euphrates River.
Once captured and imprisoned, these angels cannot interact with humans or the earth. Both the abyss and Euphrates angels will be released upon the earth during the Lord's judgment at the end of this present age. [Revelation 9]
Abaddon-Apollyon and all angels subordinated to him during the post-flood period were imprisoned before the beginning of the first century.
This included angels like the prince of Persia and the prince of Grecia who ruled over the human kings of these ancient empires.
Abaddon-Apollyon was sent to the abyss to join the pre-Adamite, pre-deluvian angels. The other post-flood subordinate angels were captured and are currently bound at the Euphrates River.
Satan and all of the other free angels continued to interact with humanity after the first century began, and they still do, but at a much more limited level. The Lord sent His holy spirit to produce a level of restraint against this angelic activity.
This restraining influence is still in effect today. Satan and the free angels continue to be held in check, but conditions will change when the Lord reduces this function of His holy spirit during His coming period of wrath upon the earth. [2Thessalonians 2:3-6]
Satan and the free angels still influence humans regarding one's thoughts, motivations, and related behavior even though they are not allowed to interact directly at this time.
The human will has to be open to their suggestions which generally target the area of separating one from a correct relationship with the Lord. There are numerous methods of deception and other tactics used by them to this end including false prophets and false teachers of professing christianity.
Human failures should be attributed to one's fallen condition and not necessarily the result of fallen angelic involvement. At the same time they will take advantage of human weakness to gain a foot hold and to deceive.
Satan's objective under his current limitation is to keep humans from finding out the truth about the Lord and their own fallen state. He also attempts to frustrate and disrupt one who has returned to a correct saving relationship.
Satan directs and influences his angels to do the same thing and their involvement is limited to the same extent. There are accounts reported and claimed by humans of demonic possession, visible sightings, habitations, and related.
One should question these accounts as to whether they are actual experiences or fabrications of those who report and or are subjected to them. The Biblical record of this type of direct satanic involvement since the Lord's restraint was activated is scant.
When satan and the fallen angels are released and cast to the earth their access to the heavenly dimensions will be closed, a good measure of restraint against them will be removed, and humans will be subjected to their direct contact and interaction.
They will all move about the earth with little restraint and will do satan's bidding during the coming tribulation period. [Revelation 9]
The Lord will use them as part of His judgment process of an unbelieving world of humans and then they will all ultimately be destroyed in the lake of fire. [Jude 1:6]
The primary focus of Bible prophecy is the Middle East. Satan's initial influence and control over the northern geographical sector of the fertile crescent after the flood included the land of Magog and then the subsequent Akkadian\Assyrian Empire.
Next were the human empires of neo-Babylon, Persia, and the northern portion of Alexander's Grecian Empire.
Satan will have the same influence and control over two additional consecutive dominions in the Middle East that are still in the future. [Daniel 2:31-45; 7:7; 11:36-45; Revelation 12; 13; 17]
The sixth will be the basis for forming the expanded seventh and last phase of human domination on the earth which will be replaced by the earthly kingdom that the Lord will rule for 1,000 years.
Abaddon-Apollyon, the false prophet, and all of the other fallen angels will be removed from the earth and destroyed in the lake of fire at the end of the coming tribulation period. [Revelation 19:20]
Satan will then be sent to the abyss for 1,000 years and released to deceive the nations again after which he will also be destroyed in the lake of fire. [Revelation 20:1-3, 20:7-10].
Satan's Strategy
Humans began to organize into cities shortly after the flood. These units of human habitation were formed for the purpose of self-government apart from the Lord's providence and direction. [Genesis 11:1-9]
The units included a king, government, political structure, offensive and defensive military, and cultural, economic, and false religious systems.
Further development led to larger city/states which eventually grew into the size of empires, usually through conquests and various alliances.
The symbolic terms used to describe this organization are Mystery Babylon the Great, the "woman", the "great city part", and all of the other cities in the world. [Revelation 17, 18]
She is the nucleus of the 7 heads [dominions] of the beast of Revelation 13 and 17, and her existence and influence will be worldwide at the time of the end. [Revelation 17:15]
She is the symbol and sum total of all organized unsaved humanity that has separated from the Lord for the purpose of avoiding His rule. She behaves in ways that are self-deceiving and this effect is spread throughout her presence. [Revelation 17, 18]
Her great city part [civilization] is dominating and is connected economically with all of her other cities in the world at the time of the end. [Revelation 17:15-18]
The Lord is totally against this type of organizational behavior since it tends to separate humans from Him. This can prohibit the necessary relationship humans must have with Him in order to insure their eternal life and future.
Israel and the Gentiles have both gone their way of self-determination without Him and this will always result in total failure.
Satan directly exploits this organizational behavior of humanity in many different ways. His objective is the destruction of human existence in one way or another and to place himself above the Lord as ruler of the earth.
Satan does this by his own direct involvement as described in Revelation 12. He also includes the agency of two other significant fallen angelics at the time of the end.
These are Abaddon-Apollyon, the first beast of Revelation 13 and 17, and the false prophet, the second beast of Revelation 13.
The symbolic beasts describing four different successive Middle Eastern dominions [kingdoms, empires] and associated king positions in Daniel's vision include four symbolic animal beasts, not angelic beasts. [Daniel 7]
Abaddon-Apollyon's focus is on the human kings who occupy the "position" of the king ruling over a kingdom of humans. He has influenced the kings of his past 5 Middle Eastern dominions through subordinate angelic princes, and will do this directly through the little horn/beast. [Daniel 7:7, 8:9; 11:36-45; Revelation 13:1, 17:8]
Examples of these kings of the ancient past were Sargon, Senacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, Cyrus, Alexander the Great, and Antiochus IV. Many kings filled the king positions of the ancient empires of the Middle East.
A dominion, head, or mountain describes the geographical extent of the human king's control over city/states, nations, and empires. [Daniel 2:36-38, 2:44-45; Revelation 13:1, 13:3, 17:7-13]
The king "position" is the symbolic position of the king, and is not used exclusively in reference to any particular human king. [Revelation 17:9-10, 17:12]
Satan's strategy for the time of the end will include Abaddon-Apollyon, the false prophet, and 11 contemporary human kings. The symbol of the horn is used to describe a human king who is linked to satanic influence.
The little horn of Daniel's visions will be ruling the sixth "smaller" dominion at the beginning of the 70th week [the Lord's coming hour of trial]. He will expand the sixth into the seventh which will include the other ten horns [kings]. His power and authority will come from satan and Abaddon-Apollyon.
The ten kings that share power with the little horn are the same kings associated with Daniel's fourth animal beast and the seventh head of the beast in Revelation 13 and 17.
Three of the 10 kings will be overthrown and replaced by the little horn. These will then rule the divided kingdom of iron and clay with the little horn. [Daniel 7:24; Revelation 17:12-14]
The initial set of these ten kings will exist in the Middle East at the beginning of the 70th week decreed for Israel. The little horn will appear among them and those of his choosing will rule with him. [Daniel 7:7, 7:24]
The little horn will remove and replace three of these kings in the process of consolidating his Middle Eastern dominion. [Daniel 7:8; Revelation 17:12-18]
He will be incarnated by Abaddon-Apollyon and will rule the seventh dominion of iron and clay. Abaddon-Apollyon and the final set of ten will be challenged by the Lord and destroyed at Armageddon. [Revelation 17:11, 19:11-20]
Satan's strategy will also include his false prophet whose mission will be to lead the cult of Abaddon-Apollyon and offset the two witnesses [prophets] that the Lord will send to Israel during the 70th week decreed for the nation. [Revelation 13:11-18]
This beast is another fallen angel like Abaddon-Apollyon who will incarnate two human religious leaders [two horns]. The primary characteristic of this creature is that he acts like a lamb [a religion of "peace"], but speaks like a dragon.
His promotion of the cult religion of the first beast as a god is related to a religion that appears to be one of peace .... but the preaching and actions will be satanic.
This religion will be represented as peaceful, but will actually incorporate hatred and destruction toward those who will not submit to its doctrines. [Revelation 13:15-17]
These two religious leaders will appear in the land of Israel during the time of Israel's occupation by the little horn and his followers. [Revelation 13:11]
They will direct attention to the first beast, Abaddon-Apollyon, who will be incarnated in the little horn, as the eighth and final king of the Gentiles.
The Lord will use the little horn and the ten other kings (horns) to destroy the great city part of Mystery Babylon the Great in one day and this will take place shortly after the beginning of the 70th week [the tribulation period]. [Revelation 17:16-18]
MBG's great city part will not be located in the Middle East where the little horn will have his base of operations. This great city [civilization] of the Gentiles [nations] will have a significant worldwide influence with regard to commerce and culture. [Revelation 18]
Once out of the way, the little horn will begin to form and rule his seventh dominion which will include the conquering of the Middle East and the invasion and occupation of the land of Israel. [Daniel 8:9, 11:41]
The Lord will then direct His wrath against satan, Abaddon-Apollyon, the little horn and his followers. This will lead to their destruction at the battle of Armageddon. [Revelation 14:9-11, 16:2, 16:10, 16:12].
Who is Gog ?
Ezekiel
38:2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him
+ The Lord addresses "gog" in Ezekiel 38 and 39 with respect to Israel's return to the land of Israel at the end of this current age. The vision begins by addressing satan and his early involvement with the post flood inhabitants of the land area of Magog, son of Japheth, and his brothers. [Genesis 10:1-2]
Careful study of Ezekiel's vision and other related scriptures are necessary in order to identify gog [satan] and his involvement with humanity over a very broad time frame.
This includes his connection to both the spirit world, human kings, and the human organizations contained within the dominions of the human kings and their kingdoms.
There are some identifiers and other links to be considered which will lead to the realization that gog is not human. This entity has angelic characteristics which can be determined by studying the identifiers and the links given in scripture.
Gog is identified by other biblical prophets as being connected with different human rulers, in different geographical areas, at different times, over periods which exceed the limitations of human life span. [Ezekiel 38:17]
The Lord's angelic creatures do not age and are the same today as they were at their creation in the beginning. This angelic trait allows for perpetual involvement over vast time periods. [Job 38:4-7; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Revelation 20:1-3]
He notes that gog is a subject of many of the prophets, yet he is referred to as "gog" in only one other place in scripture .... in the 20th chapter of the book of Revelation. This must mean that he is identified by different profiles and agencies in the visions of the other prophets. [Ezekiel 38:17]
All other references refer to him or his agents by some other name or title. For example, Daniel sees the "prince that is to come" [Abaddon-Apollyon] in the little horn [a human king]. Both of these entities will be empowered and directed by satan. [Daniel 7:7; 8:9-12; 8:25-25; 11:36-45; 12:7; Revelation 9:11; 11:7; 17:8]
Gog is described as the chief angelic prince, in this case, of Mesheck and Tubal [the early post flood settlements of Magog's brothers]. The term "prince" is generally applied to an angelic ruler in prophetic scripture who rules over, influences, and operates through human kings [horns]. [Ezekiel 38:2]
The term "chief prince" indicates that gog is the ruler or leader of others of the same kind. The Hebrew word "rosh" used for "chief" is not in reference to "Russia" as some teach, but should be translated as "chief" or "head" prince. [Revelation 12:3-4; 12:9]
The title of "prince" is revealed to Daniel in describing angelic activity related to the archangel Michael's battle against the opposing forces of the princes of Persia and of Grecia. [Daniel 10:13-20]
The title of prince is used by the Lord when addressing the human king of Tyre. The message goes beyond the king to another entity [satan] who apparently has interaction and control over the king. [Ezekiel 28:11-19]
Isaiah contains references addressed to the prince of Babylon and to Lucifer. These are descriptions of satan's existence as an angelic being and his connection and influence with humanity. [Isaiah 14:12-17]
The angelic prince that "shall come" will be revealed at the end of this age during Israel's 70th week [the tribulation period of the Lord's coming judgment]. Daniel contrasts this entity with the Lord, the Messiah, the Prince that was "cut off". [Daniel 9:26-27]
This prince will stand against [oppose] the Prince of Princes, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. The result of the conflict will be the destruction of this prince [first beast of Revelation] in the lake of fire at Armageddon. [Revelation 19:20]
Other references to satan and his agents in the visions of the prophets include the Assyrian, prince of Persia, prince of Grecia, the beast, Abaddon-Apollyon [angelic king of the abyss] the destroyer, the man of lawlessness, and son of perdition. [Micah 5; Daniel 10; Revelation 9:11; 11:7; 13:1, 17:8; 2Thessalonians 2:3-12]
Satan plays the role of "chief prince" when his angelic agents are functional. He is the power behind them as they do his bidding on the earth in relation to the influence and control of human kings and their dominions. [Ezekiel 38:2; Revelation 12:3-12; 13:1-2; 17:8]
Abaddon-Appolyon is satan's [gog's] angelic agent for all seven heads [human dominions, kingdoms, and related human king positions] as they are defined in Revelation 13 and 17. He is the beast from the abyss .... the first beast of Revelation. [Revelation 9:11; 11:7; 17:8]
It is clearly stated that this "beast" [Abaddon-Apollyon] has seven heads [kingdoms]. Five have fallen [are historical], and the other two will exist in sequence during the 70th week decreed for Israel ... the Lord's hour of trial and the time of "Jacob's trouble". [Jeremiah 30; Revelation 3:10; 17:7-13]
Abaddon-Apollyon's connection with the seven human king "positions" is limited to influence and control. He is "of the seven" and is connected with all of them.
This limitation will change when the Lord allows him to become the eighth king himself by an actual incarnation. This is the "lie" and strong delusion that the Lord will send against an unbelieving world [2Thessalonians 2].
It will occur during the little horn's [human king's] rule in the seventh king "position". "Of the seven" can also be translated "of the seventh" which more specifically describes Abaddon-Apollyon's connection with the little horn at the time of the end. [Revelation 17:11]
He will then become the 8th king himself. This manifestation will be exceptionally unique to humans who experience his presence. [2Thessalonians 2:3-12]
The little horn will expand his sixth Middle Eastern dominion toward the south, the east, and toward Israel by forming alliances and by conquest. [Daniel 8:9; 8:23-25; 11:36-44]
He will be occupying the seventh king position of his seventh dominion when Abaddon-Apollyon becomes the eighth king himself by incarnating [possessing] the little horn. [Revelation 17:11]
Abaddon-Apollyon will rule directly as an angelic king over most of the Middle East for a 42 month period [1,260 days] which will occur during the last half of the 70th week decreed for Israel. [Daniel 11:36-45; 12:7]
This entity will have an astounding presence and those who follow him will worship him as a god. His presence wil be like nothing that humans have experienced in the past.
This angelic beast wll be destroyed by the Lord in the lake of fire at the end of the next 30 day period, and satan will be captured and sent to the abyss for 1,000 years. [Daniel 12:11-12; Revelation 19:20, 20:1-3]
Revelation 20 also records satan's future release after the 1,000 years and his attempt to deceive the nations once again. He is referred to as "gog" again, and all of the nations involved are referred to symbolically as "Magog". [Revelation 20:7-10]
The Lord addresses satan as gog in Ezekiel and Revelation because of his early connections with the inhabitants of the land of Magog shortly after the flood.
The focus of Bible prophecy presents the view of satan's activities specifically in the northern regions of the Middle East [upper Tigris River basin]. [Ezekiel 38:15; Micah 5:5-6]
I believe this is because of the area's position in relation to Eden, Mount Ararat, and its northern interface with the land of Israel. There have been no valid archeological discoveries related to these inhabitants of the immediate post flood era so we must rely upon the scriptures for identification
The larger land areas of the early habitations of humans in the Middle East shortly after the flood are described in the Bible as the land of Egypt, the land of Canaan, the land of Magog, and the land of Shinar.
These lands formed a crescent shape from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf starting with the land of Egypt and ending with the land of Shinar [southern Babylonia] in clockwise order.
The land of Israel was developed later which replaced part of the land of Canaan on the eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean.
The general area of the ancient land of Magog today includes parts of northeastern Syria, eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, northwestern Iran, and Armenia and Georgia.
It is currently inhabited by a mixed group of original ethnic tribal ancestry plus genetic lineage from the other land areas of the Middle East.
The current populations located in the original ancient land of Magog are mainly Turkoman, Assyrian, Kurdish, Iranian [Medes and Persians], and Arab. The predominant religion is Islam. This common theology will have significance with regard to the coming end time events. [Psalms 83; Ezekiel 38]
This is the geographical area where satan's beast [Abaddon-Apollyon incarnated in the little horn] will arise to power in the Middle East at the beginning of the time of the end of this present age .... ten other kings will rise with him. [Daniel 7:19-20; 8:9-12; 8:23-25; Revelation 13:1, 17:12-18]
Why does the Lord addressed satan as gog, connect him with the land of Magog, and identify him as the chief prince of Mesheck and Tubal?
Why does the Lord call him out of his place in the northern Middle East to attack a regathered Israel in the land of Israel at the end of this age?
The Lord has allowed satan to rule over this northern geographical area, from shortly after the flood and continuously through Greek rule just before the first century.
The visions of the prophets indicate his presence in the same geographical area at the time of the end. Included are the original land of Magog, the Akkadian/Assyrian Empire, and the subsequent empires of neo-Babylon, Persia, and Grecia.
All of these human dominions were centered in the ancient Middle East with connections to the northern area of the fertile crescent. This same area will be satan's base of operation at the time of the end.
His human agents will come from his place out of the north, the ancient area of the land of Magog [northern Iraq], with the objective of gaining control of the Middle East and destroying the nation of Israel.
Satan's strategy for this event will include Abaddon-Apollyon, the false prophet who will appear in the land of Israel, and the little horn who will become the human manifestation of Abaddon-Apollyon.
The little horn is seen in the visions coming out of the same land area of the northern division of Alexander's ancient divided empire at the time of the end. There is a breach in the scope of the visions from the ending of the ancient Syrio/Babylonian domination and the beginning of the little horn's appearance at the time of the end. He will expand his control over most of the Middle East. [Daniel 8:9-12, 8:23-25]
The important identifier will be the location of his original base of operation at the time of the end, and not necessarily his ethnic origin. He does not have to be a direct descendant of Magog, although this is a possibility, but he must appear in the area of the ancient land of Magog. [Ezekiel 38, 39]
Satan is the "chief angelic prince", as indicated in one of his former relationships with the ancient trading centers of Mesheck and Tubal. Magog's younger brothers were the founders of these two early and prominent commercial centers of trade. [Ezekiel 27:13; 38:2]
The Lord addresses satan as gog in Ezekiel 38 and satan is called gog again in Revelation 20. The ancient land of Magog in the Middle East has been and will be satan's point of origin and focus upon the earth at the time of the end during the coming tribulation period. He will be released again after 1,000 years to cause another human rebellion and then he will be destroyed in the Lord's lake of fire.
Ezekiel's War
Ezekiel
39:1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
39:2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel
+ Ezekiel 36; 37; 38; and 39 taken together gives a broad brush overview with focus on Israel's return to the land of Israel after a very long period of absence.
Ezekiel's presentation of satan's [gog's] forces opposed to the Lord, Israel's return and subsequent invasion, and satan's defeat at Armageddon are the subjects of the vision.
This setting includes the initial invasion and occupation of the land of Israel and the ensuing warfare which will consummate in the battle of Armageddon. [Ezekiel 38:7-12, 38:18-23, 39:3-6]
Ezekiel's description of the war parallels the same battle of Armageddon given in Revelation and includes additional details regarding the Lord's purposes for His direct intervention. [Revelation 14:14-20; 16:1-16; 19:11-21]
He will call for war [a sword] in the mountains of Israel in order to eliminate the forces of gog and will send His wrath (fire) upon extended geographical areas of the Middle East and beyond to those follow gog and who dwell securely in the coast lands. This is the battle of Armageddon. [Ezekiel 38:18-23; 39:3-29]
The battle will involve satan's human followers fighting among themselves because of the confusion and panic caused by the Lord's direct intervention; and also being driven out and defeated by the Lord. [Psalms 83; Ezekiel 38:21; Joel 2,3; Micah 5]
The Lord will extend His wrath to other followers of satan who will be dwelling in the coastal areas of the Middle East and those further away from the main battle area. [Ezekiel 39:6]
Many of the details of events of the 70th week decreed for Israel are not part of Ezekiel's vision. The Lord's focus is directed at satan's initial invasion .... and then the vision moves to his defeat of his angelic and human agencies at Armageddon 1,260 days [42 months] later. [Daniel 9:25-27; 12:1-12; Revelation 11:2; 12:6-14; 13:5]
There will not be an immediate defeat resulting at the point of invasion as some interpret the vision. The scope of the vision does not include the events of the first 1,260 days of 70th week decreed for Israel .... the invasion will come at midweek .... and then the resulting battle of Armageddon will consummate at the end of the second 1,260 days. ["at the same time" should be understood to mean during the period and not an immediate defeat upon invasion .... Ezekiel 38:18]
Satan is addressed in Ezekiel's vision, but his beast and the human little horn are not directly identified. These are three separate entities, but also act as one in many prophetic presentations. Revelation, Daniel, and other scriptures supply related details of satan's angelic and human agents that will be involved. [Daniel 11:36-45; 12:7; Micah 5:5; Revelation 16:13; 19:20; 20:1-10]
The human little horn will be transformed by Abaddon-Apollyon's full possession and he will have great power and supernatural angelic abilities far beyond human capacity that will be bestowed by satan [gog]. [Daniel 8:9-12; 2Thesalonians 2:9; Revelation 13:4; 13:13]
Satan [gog] will move from his primary place of habitation out of the ancient land of Magog [northern Iraq today] to attack the land of Israel. The original land of Magog was in the northern part of the Middle East's fertile crescent sector and gog's initial base of operation will begin there again at the time of the end.
This area today includes parts of north eastern Syria [Put], eastern Turkey [Gomer], northern Iraq [Cush], north western Iran [Persia], and parts of Armenia and Georgia [Togarmah].
Canaan was a descendant of Ham and his descendants inhabited the eastern Mediterranean seaboard and the coastal and central regions of Anatolia [Asia Minor]. Primary examples would be the Canaanites, Phoenicians, and Hittites.
The land of Shinar was the location of the Sumerian culture developed by the descendants of Noah's sons Shem and Ham. Abraham was a descendant of Shem and lived in the Babylonian province of Ur. [Genesis 10, 11]
Nimrod was a descendant of Ham through Cush and built several of the first cities in the Tigris and Euphrates river valley. Asshur was a descendant of Shem and built Nineveh, the later core city of the Assyrians. [Genesis 10:8-10; 10:11]
Ancient Babylon was located in the land of Shinar which was northwest of the Persian Gulf and this area is in the southeastern portion of Iraq today. The original land of Magog including Mesheck, Tubal, Gomer, and Togarmah's settlements were all located in the region between the land of Canaan and the land of Shinar.
The land of Magog was later invaded and ruled by others including Akkadian/Assyrian domination toward the end of the first millennia after the flood. This vast land mass included the northern areas around Mount Ararat, south and west to the borders of the Canaanite civilizations, and south and east to the borders of the Sumerian civilization.
Cush, Put, and Persia are mentioned next. The reference to Persia would include those inhabiting an area east of the Zargos Mountains, and this would be Iranian territory today. [Ezekiel 38:5]
This area included both the Medes in the north [descendants of Madai of the Zargos mountains] and the Persians in the south [descendants of Elam]. These are mixed and still living in the country of Iran today.
The descendants of Ham were located in at least three different land areas including the Tigris and Euphrates river valley, the Land of Canaan, Egypt, and areas near Egypt in Africa.
The original location of the descendants of Put was in the western extents of the Tigris and Euphrates river valley before migration to Africa.
Gog and his allies will be located in the land areas originally settled by all of these included above at the time of the end. Most of the Middle East is in view.
The present inhabitants of these locations today include original ancestry and others who have moved in and through the area over the centuries of the past. There has been a complex intermixing of Middle Eastern populations and others outside of the area over the vast sweep of historical change.
This leads me to believe that the significance of identifying gog's allies by ethnic origins has more to do with original geographical locations rather than the specific ethnic lineage of subsequent migrations.
The land area in view has been ruled by several early post flood patriarchs starting with Magog and his brothers. The next rulers were the major empires of Akkadian/Assyria, neo-Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, Rome, Arabia, Mongolian, the Ottoman Turks, and the British.
The first five are included in the scope of Bible prophecy which then moves directly to the time of the end of this present age and identifies the future rulers, but does not name them.
The purpose of Israel's invaders will be to attack and occupy the land of Israel and for exterminating the returned remnant of Israel. Psalms 83 indicates the same confederation of Israel's direct enemies adjacent to the nation's borders.
Ezekiel is told that the position of his nation at the time of the end will be one of security [living safely .... in confidence] and permanency [at rest] before the invasion takes place.
Israel has great confidence and the military ability to secure and protect the nation even during great opposition and conflict brought against them.
The Lord will make it possible for Israel to defend themselves and maintain a national presence in the midst of their enemies against overwhelming odds in order to fulfill His plans and purposes.
Israel's existing security and confidence is self-generated. The nation possesses the third ranked overall military force in the world and they are fearless when pushed against the wall by their enemies.
The Lord states His intentions very clearly in Ezekiel's vision. His intervention and related actions will be to reveal Himself so that the nations will know that He is the creator of the universe and the one and only true God. [Ezekiel 38:23, 39:25-29]
There are common threads that run throughout the Middle East today which include the religion of Islam and the existing inhabitants who are the traditional enemies of Israel.
It is my opinion that Islam is replacement theology for Judaism and Christianity. The teachings of the religion display distinct satanic hatred against Israel and against believers in Jesus Christ.
It is also interesting to note that the area today is divided into several states which resemble the little horn's [beast's] divided dominion at the time of the end [Daniel 2:31-45; 7;7-14; Revelation 17:12-17].
Daniel is told that these would remain divided politically [10 kings, horns], but will be mixed in the seed of men [genetically].
Their unity will come about because of the leadership of the little horn. [Daniel 2:40-43; 7:19-23; Revelation 17:7-17]
It seems that the prevailing religion Islam, the ancestry of its adherents, and its historical hatred for Israel, is the glue that will consolidate satan's strategy at the time of the end. [Psalms 83; Ezekiel 36; 38; 39]
If Islam is part of the process, satan will be in good position to leverage the conditions that this religion has amplified. He may have been the instigator in 600 A.D. when Mohammed contrived Islamic monotheism.
This religion is not identified by name in the Bible although the events, actions, and behavior of the little horn and his followers described in scripture resemble fundamental Islam today.
The Lord's purpose of Ezekiel's vision adds to an even larger theme which includes the final destruction and dismantling of the rule of all nations. [Psalms 2; Jeremiah 30:1-11]
He will establish the nation of Israel as the center of His literal 1,000 year long Kingdom on the earth. [Micah 4; Revelation 19:11-15; 20:1-4]
There will be universal recognition and acceptance of the Lord's rightful position as creator and ruler of the universe and the earth as the result of His intervention.
The proper identification of Gog is essential for the correct understanding of Ezekiel 38 and 39. Gog is satan who works through his angelic and human agents.
This satanic deception is his beast, the man of lawlessness, the angelic destroyer, little horn, and king of the north. He will rule over the Middle East and will cause great tribulation and destruction upon the earth. [Revelation 12:12]
Many interpret Ezekiel's war as an event of the past. Some view it as a war that is future, but separate, and precedes the battle of Armageddon.
Another view is that the war takes place 1,000 years after the battle of Armageddon and is the war of satan [gog] and the nations [symbolically Magog] described in Revelation 20:7-9.
Israel's future regathering for the purpose of being present in the land of Israel at the time of the end eliminates the first position. Also, there is no record of history that fits the description of this coming battle of Armageddon.
The magnitude and description of the war compared with Revelation's description of the battle of Armageddon and the Lord's purposes described in Ezekiel 38, 39 eliminate the second position.
The rebellion at the end of the 1,000 years of His personal rule on the earth is totally different than the war described in Ezekiel 38; 39; and Revelation 14:14-20; 16:1-16; 19:11-21.
Satan [gog] is the same after being released from the abyss where he was sent 1,000 years earlier and just after the battle of Armageddon. [Revelation 20:1-3]
The nations [Magog] are symbolically the same, but the rebellion results in an incineration of the rebels, earth, and universe which the Lord will replace with new heavens and a new earth. [Revelation 20:9; 21:1-2]
In contrast the battle of Armageddon, which is Ezekiel's war described in 38, 39, will result in a continuation of this present earth under the rule of the Lord for 1,000 years.
The Lord and His Israel will be victorious in this war and Abaddon-Apollyon and the false prophet will be destroyed forever in the lake of fire. [Micah 5; Revelation 19:20]
The little horn, human king of the north, will be buried in Israel along with all of his defeated human armies and satan will be sent to the abyss. [Ezekiel 39:11-13; Revelation 20:1-3]
The Lord will defeat satan at the battle of Armageddon and his human confederation will be vanquished. Satan [gog] will fail to halt the Lord's plans and purposes and will ultimately be destroyed in the lake of fire [Revelation 20:10].
Daniel's Image
Daniel
2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
2:32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
2:33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
+ This monolith in Daniel's image presents an outline of specific Gentile dominions [kingdoms] located in the Middle East. [Daniel 2:31-45]
This vision was actually first given to Nebuchadnezzar, king of neo-Babylon, and later the interpretation of his dream was given to Daniel.
The symbolism includes vertical divisions of various materials and horizontal divisions of body parts. The vision includes five distinct vertical segments representing five dominions, three of which are historical and two that will exist in the future.
There are two other dominions that existed prior to the five included which do not appear in the vision. Taken together, there are seven in the set which corresponds to the 7 heads [dominions, kingdoms] of the beast [Abaddon-Apollyon] in Revelation 9:11; 11:2; 13:1; and 17:8.
The vision begins with the ancient neo-Babylonian dominion in the Middle East and ends with an unnamed Gentile dominion in the same geographical area during the time of the end of this present age.
There is substantial scriptural support and historical evidence that can be referenced to identify the ancient dominions of the past. The Assyrians, neo-Babylonians, Persians, and northern Greeks all ruled the Middle East.
The two that are yet future will exist in the same area and are described in scripture, but not identified by name. These will be one of the iron legs (north) and the final mixture of iron and clay feet and toes. [Daniel 2:31-45]
The other iron leg [south .... Egypt] will be a rival dominion defeated by the little horn, king of the north [Daniel 11:40]. The little horn will eventually rule over most of the Middle East and will cause great difficulty and destruction on a worldwide scale for all nations.
The first two of the seven dominions of the beast not included in the scope of this vision were the land of Magog and the Akkadian\Assyrian Empire. This is because Daniel is looking forward from neo-Babylon.
The next three dominions included were the subsequent empires of neo-Babylon, Persia, Grecia. The last two unnamed dominions represented will be uniquely initially separated, but ultimately combined at the time of the end.
The vision looks forward from Daniel's position in history and does not include the earlier dominions of the land of Magog or the Akkadian/Assyrian Empire that preceded the neo-Babylon Empire.
The first inhabitants to dominate the northern segment of the fertile crescent were Magog and his brothers during the first 500 years after the flood.
These were direct descendants of Japheth and they formed small independent states in the land of Magog like Mesheck and Tubal. Their significant relationships to one another included trade and commerce.
The next rulers of the area were the Semitic Akkadians who developed the concept of federating smaller city/states into a unified empire.
These northern Babylonians [northern Iraq] separated from the Sumerian culture in the south [the land of Shinar .... southern Iraq] over religious differences and eventually ruled most of the Middle East.
Sargon of Agade was the first ruler of a distributed group of city/states that spanned most of the Middle East from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. He ruled the Akkadian Empire.
The core of Sargon's rule incorporated the city/states of the northern fertile crescent which continued to be ruled by Sargon's Semitic lineage, the northern Assyrians.
They experienced a few short term intrusions from external invaders like the Mittanis and Hurrions from Asia Minor and the migrating Arameans who were Semitic nomads from Arabia.
They ultimately succeeded in creating the powerful Assyrian Empire of the 7th century B.C. This empire ruled most of the Middle East.
The Assyrian kings were the extremely cruel military autocrats who attacked and removed 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel from the land of Israel in the 7th century B.C.. The Akkadian/Assyrian domination of Mesopotamia lasted for 1,800 years before falling to the neo-Babylonians [the Chaldeans of the south].
The materials [elements] of the monolith recorded in Daniel's vision represent changes in rule of the Middle East. The gold represents the neo-Babylonian Empire, the silver the Medo-Persian Empire, and the bronze Alexander's Grecian Empire.
The iron, and the iron and clay, represent two future unknown and unnamed dominions. It is significant to note that the iron component is represented in both. All of the elements of the preceding dominions are totally separated.
The segmentation of horizontal body parts provides further details. Neo-Babylon began as a single dominion and ended as a single dominion [gold head].
The Persian Empire began as an alliance of the Medes and Persians [two silver arms] and ended with Persian dominance [silver chest].
Alexander's empire began as one dominion [bronze belly] and divided into two separate dominions [two bronze thighs]. His divided empire had other divisions which are not included in the scope of the vision.
These two dominions ended, but two others will appear as two separate dominions [the two iron legs] located in the Middle East at the time of the end.
The northern dominion of these two will conquer and dominate the other, and will then dominate most of the Middle East in the form of a divided kingdom of iron and clay ruled by the little horn, human king of the north. [Daniel 11:36-45]
The two thighs, the two legs, and the two feet all have individual north/south orientations. The final form of this iron and clay dominion will be mixed and divided into ten separate horizontal segments. [Daniel 2:40-45; 7:7; Revelation 17:7-18]
The current north/south orientation of the Middle East today looks much like this picture. The broad northern division would include the areas of the states of Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
The southern division would include the areas of the states of Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The ten divisions of the little horn's final dominion may be different, but will be in the same geographical area of the Middle East.
The Lord's judgment will fall during the days of the rule of these kings and will bring Gentile domination to a cataclysmic end in the Middle East and also on a worldwide scale.
The stone kingdom will replace Gentile rule and represents the dominion of Israel's Messiah, Jesus Christ. His kingdom is described as a great mountain that fills the whole earth.
The mountain [head, kingdom] is a symbol that is used to represent a large kingdom or dominion. Each of the 7 dominions [heads] of the beast containing unsaved organized humanity [the woman] and the burning mountain of Revelation are examples. [Revelation 8:6-12; 17:1-11]
The symbol of the "woman" in Revelation 17 and 18 represents lost humanity and her "great city" part [burning mountain] which is separate from her Middle Eastern presence related to the beast's dominion.
Mystery Babylon the Great's [the unfaithful woman] "great city" part will be dominating the world economically at the time of the end and will be located outside of the Middle Eastern domain of the little horn and his followers.
The seven heads [kingdoms, mountains] of the beast are described as representing Gentile empires which all have dominions that were and will be located in the Middle East. Five have fallen and two are still future.
These should not be interpreted as the seven hills of Rome which were not separate successive dominions with human king positions. This is an error of interpretation made by most reformation theologies.
The stone kingdom, or mountain that is not fashioned by human hands strikes the composite image at the base and eliminates all remnants of the other kingdoms. This is the Lord's coming kingdom which will replace human rule on the earth.
Significant scriptures identify this future literal kingdom which will immediately follow the tribulation period at the end of this present age. Micah 4, Zachariah 14, Matthew 25, and Revelation 20 all describe this kingdom which will last for 1,000 years.
There is an extended breach in time lapse that exists between the dominions of the two bronze thighs and the dominions of the two legs of iron of the image. This is the same as the interlude between the 69th and 70th weeks decreed for Israel. [Daniel 9:25-27]
Many place the Roman Empire in the vision as the iron legs whose dominion would return in the future as a worldwide global empire with ten regions at the time of the end.
Another variation is similar and defines the ten divisions as a union of European states. These nations are not in the Middle East and are currently moving away from unification. Both are errors of interpretation made by reformation theologies.
The third variation begins with political Rome changing into Papal Rome which still exists and will be the end time dominion of the Catholic church with the Pope filling the position of the beast. This idea has no support from the prophetic scriptures and has been taught largely by the SDA and JW organizations of the professing church.
Rome did not start out as two separate dominions ruling the Middle East at the end of Greek rule. The vision clearly moves directly from the two bronze thighs to the two iron legs.
These two iron dominions will exist at the time of the end after a substantial time lapse and they will be located in the Middle East. The little horn will emerge from the northern dominion.
Neither Rome or any of the other rulers of the Middle East during the last 2,000 years are included in the scope of this vision.
The northern iron dominion of the little horn, king of the north, will conquer the Middle East forming the divided kingdom of iron and clay. He is the iron in the 6th and 7th dominions of the beast [the northern leg and the feet].
His kingdom including the other 10 kings will be destroyed and replaced by the Lord's kingdom at His second advent.
Daniel's Four Beasts
Daniel
7:2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
7:4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
7:6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
+ There are additional details contained in several other visions given to Daniel that pertain to the dominions [kingdoms] of the Gentiles and their relationship to Israel.
This vision of the four beasts parallels the image of the monolith and the seven dominions of the beast of the book of Revelation. [Daniel 7; Revelation 17]
This perspective is slightly different and gives some important details for understanding what will take place at the time of the end.
The fourth beast is presented as a combination of the fourth and fifth segments of the monolith given in Daniel's vision and represents the 6th and 7th heads [dominions, kingdoms] of the beast of Revelation 9, 11, 13 and 17.
Modification here implies that there will be two future dominions ruled by the same king of the north (little horn) who is represented by the iron in both. [Daniel 7, 8:9, 8:23, 11:36, 12:7]
The dominions are ruled by the same king yet will be different positions for him as one is expanded to form the next. He will rule the first and then will share power with 10 other kings in the second expanded dominion.
The term "beast" is applied to describe the succession of four separate consecutive Gentile dominions [kingdoms] and the related human king "position" of each in the 7th chapter of Daniel.
These are symbolic "animal" beasts that represent human kingdoms, and are not the same as two fallen angelics who are also described as "beasts" in the book of Revelation. These two angelic beasts are associated with human kingdoms, but they are not the kingdoms themselves. [Daniel 7:23; Revelation 13:1-2]
The lion [neo-Babylonian], bear[Persian], leopard [Grecian], and final nondescript beast are the same as the head of gold, arms and chest of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and combination of the iron and the clay.
Daniel is told that the first three beasts would have their dominions taken away, but would continue to exist in part even until the time of the end.
Each would be absorbed by the next in succession, but all three would remain in the same geographical area and have a presence associated with the dominion of the fourth beast. [Daniel 7:12]
The book of Revelation describes the final head [dominion] of the beast possessing exactly the same make up of the mouth of a lion, the feet of a bear, and the body of a leopard. [Revelation 13 .... symbolizing three of his ancient Middle Eastern kingdoms]
Abaddon-Apollyon's [satan's beast from the abyss .... Revelation 9:11; 17:8] seventh and final dominion will include the combined geographical territories and the ancestry of the inhabitants of these three ancient Middle Eastern dominions of the past. [Revelation 17:8]
Abaddon-Apollyon ruled over these Gentile king positions of the ancient neo-Babylonian, Persian, and Grecian dominions located in the Middle East. He will rule over two future consecutive dominions through the human little horn at the time of the end.
Satan's design of Abaddon-Apollyon's incarnation in the little horn will be the final "antichrist" .... the son of perdition, the man of lawlessness. He will rule the Middle East and will cause great tribulation for Israel and most of the world.
Daniel views the little horn immediately after he is told that Alexander's empire would be divided. [Daniel 8:9]
The vision then moves directly to the end of this present age at the latter end of Gentile rule in the Middle East. [Daniel 8:8-12; 8:23-25; 11:36-45: 12:7]
The times of the kingdoms of the Gentiles will end when the transgressors have reached the limits of the Lord's patience. A king of fierce (bold) countenance will appear who will be stronger and dominant over the other ten kings who will rule with him.
The Apostle Paul said that the day of the Lord will not be come until the great apostasy of the transgressing Gentiles is in process and the lawless one is revealed whose coming is after the workings of satan. [2Thessalonians 2]
All of the Gentile kingdoms in view have transgressed against the Lord by separating from Him and by ignoring His providence and direction. This behavior will be specifically offensive and unacceptable to Him at the time of the end.
Daniel's fourth animal beast begins as an iron dominion and then changes into a dominion of iron and clay. He describes it as a "terrible" beast and views it in its final form of development.
The Lord will not tolerate this last stage of Gentile domination [latter end of their rule] in the Middle East and the related occupation of the land of Israel by these enemies of His nation of Israel.
This fourth animal beast has two distinct stages; one iron leg, and iron and clay feet and toes. The little horn will rule the first and then expand it by conquering the rest of the Middle East by alliance and by force.
The first will be a smaller nation or country......or even a clandestine tribal organization located somewhere in the area of the ancient land of Magog (northern Middle Iraq).
There will be another contemporary dominion represented by the other iron leg (Egyptian) located south of Israel.
Daniel is told that at the time of the end the king of this dominion will "push at" the king of the north. This rival king of the south will attempt to stop the little horn's expansion ambitions. [Daniel 11:40]
The king of the north's response will be to invade, conquer, and add the land of Egypt to his dominion. The same vision includes further conquests by the little horn and results in his dominance of most of the Middle East. [Daniel 11:36-44]
He will then rule most all of the land area that was incorporated in the ancient dominions of the lion, bear, and leopard. [Revelation 13]
This will be the divided dominion of iron and clay. The land of Israel, Jerusalem, and the temple mount will be included. [Revelation 11:2]
It is important to recognize that there is a breach in the scope of Bible prophecy which falls between Daniel's third and fourth "animal" beasts [kingdoms].
Understanding this truth will clarify much confusion that has been created by attempts to place Rome and/or subsequent rulers of the Middle East over the last 2,000+ years into the visions.
Little Horn
Daniel
8:9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land [Israel].
8:10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
8:11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the sanctuary was cast down.
8:12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.
+ Daniel 11:36-45; 12:7 Gives a profile of the little horn, king of the northern Middle East. He is the one Daniel is shown in his earlier vision coming out of the land area of the northern division of Alexander's divided ancient empire .... at the time of the end. [Daniel 7:2-8; 8:9-12; 8:23-25]
This geographical area [Syrio/Babylonia] of the Middle East was ruled by the northern Greek kings just before the first century and Daniel views the little horn arising out of the same area at the time of the end.
These visions contain a number of attributes describing him, his rise to power, his rule of the Middle East, his dealings with other parts of the world, and his eventual demise.
The entity in view is Abaddon-Apollyon, the first beast of Revelation, who will manifest himself in the little horn, human king of the north.
His attributes are both angelic and human which explains his strange make up. This creature will be unlike any other king of the Gentiles [heathen of the past]. [Daniel 8:9-12; 8:23-25; 2Thessalonians 2:3-10; Revelation 9:11; 11:7; 17:8]
It is very significant to understand that the little horn is the combination of a human being and a fallen angel, both acknowledging satan as their source of power and authority. [Daniel 11:36-39; Revelation 12:12; 13:4]
Satan considers himself above or equal with the Lord, Abaddon-Apollyon is his angelic beast and the human little horn is Abaddon-Apollyon's targeted manifestation. The application of this truth will reveal the correct interpretation of the vision. [Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 28:12-19 (satan is revealed here as the demonic force behind the ancient human king of Tyre)]
This satanic triad will not be presented as a false Israelite or christian Messiah, however it will be one that many will be deceived into following ["anti-christ" means "against" christ in scripture]. The little horn is the human king presented in Daniel's visions and he appears as the first angelic beast seen in Revelation .... because Abaddon-Apollyon becomes this human king by complete possession. [Revelation 9:11; 11:7; 17:8]
Satan will attempt to openly exterminate both the nation of Israel, christians [those who become believers during the coming tribulation period], and others on the earth who will not follow him. He will be out to win at all costs either by deception and or direct elimination of all humans .... even those who will follow him.
This human king [little horn] will behave according to his will which reflects Abaddon-Apollyon's will under the direction and objectives of satan. There is a definite inter-dependency reflected in this relationship. [Daniel 11:36-39; Revelation 13:4]
The little horn receives his supernatural abilities and related success from Abaddon-Apollyon who will in turn receive his power and authority from satan. [Daniel 11:36-39; Revelation 13:1-2]
Satan uses these two agents in his unrelenting pursuit to corrupt and destroy humanity, and to usurp the Lord's authority. His price will be that they both worship him as their god and carry out his purposes on the earth at the time of the end.
Satan's personal presence will be restricted to the earth by the Lord at the time of the end of this present age and he will be prohibited from his access to heaven. His next stop will be the abyss for 1,000 years just after he is defeated at Armageddon .... his final elimination will be the lake of fire. [Revelation 12:7-12; 20:10]
The little horn will not recognize the god(s) of his human ancestors, but will honor satan [the god of forces], and will consider himself to be above all other gods, real or imagined. [Daniel 11:36-39]
He will consider himself above the true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He will have no regard for the Lord who is the Son of God, or any other false gods contrived by humans like the pagan gods of antiquity.
He will acknowledge satan as the one and only true god of gods above any other contenders and will claim that he himself is the manifestation of his god. [Daniel 36:38-39]
He will underscore his authenticity by demonstrating supernatural knowledge and abilities, and by his successes. His religion will be one that values the ability to wage warfare in the name of "peace" and destruction against those who will not submit to him and his god. [Daniel 8:23-25; Revelation 13:1-10]
His human ancestors [fathers] were never presented with the direct overt worship of satan accompanied by satan's personal presence and power which will be openly demonstrated to a level never experienced by humans at the end of this present age. Their pagan gods of the past were created by them, were imaginary, and did not exist.
Satan and Abaddon-Apollyon are both real living angelic entities and can interact with humans if the Lord permits. In this case He will actually promote this action as part of His judgment process at the time of the end.
He will send strong delusion to a world that refuses to believe the truth about Himself as the only god and creator of all things. This delusion is the "lie" that satan will be allowed to present to those who refuse to believe the truth. He will give them the devil [2Thessalonians 2:3-11]
The religion of the little horn will be monotheistic, not pagan, and will resemble the two major religions of Judaism and Christianity. He will claim that his religion supersedes both, and any others that exist at the time. This cult of the beast will be Islam .... the present predominant religion of the Middle East. [Revelation 13:11-18]
He will persecute and have put to death those who will not submit to him as the one and only god and primary targets will be the perceived members of these other two monotheistic religions.
Islam is and has been presented as a monotheistic religion as well, but the Bible does not identify it by name, however the Islamic inhabitants of the Middle East are. [Psalms 83; Ezekiel 38]
The teachings, actions, and extremes of this religion look exactly like the Bible's description of satan's system of influence, and control presented in the visions.
Satan's strategy will include justification for using the most unimaginable destructive forces to eliminate those who will not submit to him. [Daniel 11:44; Revelation 17:16-18]
He will extend Abaddon-Apollyon's rule over many strong holds of the Middle East and he will distribute power, authority, and geographical areas of dominance to those who follow him. He shall cause them to rule over many and will distribute the land for a price. [Daniel 11:36-45]
He will also destroy the "great city" of Mystery Babylon the Great. The elimination of this great influential end time economic power will provide the opportunity for him to expand his Middle Eastern empire further and to dominate the world for a short period of time. [Revelation 8, 12, 13, 17, 18]
His conquests will included the defeat of the king of the south [Egypt] and occupation of his land, the invasion, defeat, and occupation of Israel, and of several other countries in the Middle East. [Ezekiel 38,39; Daniel 11:36-45; 12:7; Zechariah 14; Micah 5; Revelation 11:2, 12:12]
He will also annihilate many in reaction to perceived threats from the far north [Russian/European] and far east [China/Orient] of his base of operations. [Daniel 11:44]
Daniel's vision in chapter 8:9-12 conveys the nature of this final king of the north. He operates as a human king by expanding his dominion in the Middle East to the south, the east, and toward the land of Israel.
He will disrupt Israel from worshiping [daily sacrifice at the base of the western wall of the temple mount] and will gain control of the Lord's temple mount on the earth. [Daniel 8:9-12; 9:27; Revelation 11:2]
His invasion of Israel will include destruction of anything related to the Israel in conjunction with the temple mount and the city of Jerusalem; and He will trample [control] the temple mount and give it over to his followers for 42 months. [Daniel 8:9-12; 9:27; Revelation 11:2, 13:5; 12:4; 12:14]
John is told in Revelation 11 to measure the temple of the Lord in heaven, but not to measure the temple area on the earth that is "without" the earthly temple, for it is given over to the Gentiles [the Islamic followers of the beast] to trample [control] for 42months [3 1/2 years].
He will also attempt to eliminate "truth" regarding national Israel's covenant relationship with the Lord and he will have an army of human followers [host] who serve him in these objectives. [Daniel 8:12]
Other significant attributes of this little horn are also revealed in the vision. He has the capacity to engage and defeat some of the Lord's angelic armies [host of heaven]. [Daniel 8:9-12]
These angels will be serving the Lord as a restraining force against the Abaddon-Apollyon's ambitions, but he will have the power and ability to overcome some of them.
This reveals that the little horn is more than just a human king. He is also Abaddon-Apollyon, the beast of Revelation 9, 11, 13, and 17 who will incarnate and possess the king becoming the eighth king himself.
He will be able to defeat the military and economic power of Israel and the same of other prominent world governments. He will also destroy and also scatter a major portion of Israel's population.
Abaddon-Apollyon is a very powerful and destructive angelic creature, possibly the most powerful of the fallen angels next to satan himself. [Revelation 9:11]
Abaddon-Apollyon's own strength will be greatly enhanced directly by satan, and he will be supported by the other fallen angels who join him on the earth during the time of the end. [Revelation 9; 13:2-5]
He will even stand up against the Lord [Prince of Princes], but will be defeated at Armageddon and destroyed in the lake of fire. [Daniel 8:11; Revelation 19:20]
The Lord will turn on him after using him for His judgment process during the coming tribulation period. He will focus His wrath against Abaddon-Apollyon's occupied territories in the Middle East and against his government and followers. [Micah 5; Revelation 16]
Abaddon-Apollyon will react in desperation, calling on all forces at his disposal including the armies of the kings of the nations that are left who follow him. [Revelation 16:13-14]
It is interesting to note that the Euphrates River will dry up to make way for the armies of the kings that come from the east of the little horn's dominion.
They will move from a staging point at the mouth of the Persian Gulf to another staging area north of Israel located in Syrian territory.
The bed of the entire Euphrates will be used for transporting the armies. The river bed is shallow and has a uniformly flat bottom. The maximum distance traveled will be about 1,500 miles.
The Lord will defeat them at the battle of Armageddon. The little horn his armies, and allies will die in the battle. Abaddon-Apollyon will be destroyed in the lake of fire and satan will be captured and sent to the abyss. [Ezekiel 38; 39; Revelation 19:20; 20:1-3]
One should be careful to notice that Daniel's vision beginning in chapter 11:36 is continuous including chapter 12. The little horn, king of the north, is referred to as the one ["he"] who invades and conquers Israel in Daniel 12:7.
His agenda "all of these things finished" listed in chapter 11:36-44 will be completed by the end of 1,260 days [first half of the 70th week]. He will then set up the abomination of desolation and begin his 42 month [1,260 day] rule. [Daniel 12:7-12]
Daniel then asks what will happen to Israel after being conquered by the little horn. His is told that there will be a total of 1,335 from when the abomination of desolation is set up on the temple mount to the end of the days of tribulation for Israel. [Daniel 12:11-12; Matthew 24:15-16]
The additional 30 days will include the Lord's wrath against the little horn's kingdom and his defeat at Armageddon. [Revelation 16]
There will be another 45 days for gathering the elect of Israel and the separation of the survivors of the Gentile nations for entrance into the Lord's 1,000 year earthly kingdom. [Matthew 29-31; 25:31-46]
The destruction of Jerusalem [the city] and the sanctuary [holy place of worship] will take place 110 days after the abomination of desolation is set up on the temple mount.
There will the be another 1,150 days [2,300 mornings and evenings] before Jerusalem and the temple mount are restored to Israel at the end of the tribulation period [110 days + 1,150 days = 1,260 days]. [Daniel 8:13-14]
The Lord's wrath will then be directed at the little horn and his followers during the next 30 days. The beginning of this action will draw the little horn away from Jerusalem and the temple mount and both will be recaptured by Israel. [Micah 5]
The satan's little horn and his kingdom will begin to come apart and he will be forced to fight the Lord and the believing remnant part of Israel at Armageddon. He will come to his end in total defeat [Ezekiel 39; Daniel 11:45; Micah 5].
Revelation Beasts
Revelation
13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy
13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
+ The study of the beasts of Revelation is a real challenge and the approach to accurate and meaningful understanding needs to include some basic tenets. The visions are dimensional, interactive, and interdependent.
A broad knowledge of text pertaining to the subjects is essential and requires careful investigation of the visions contained in other sections of the Bible as well as a comprehensive and correct rendering of the book of Revelation.
A great deal of symbolism is used and it is necessary to define the meaning of each symbol and its application. All of the definitions are explained within the text or in other related passages of scripture.
The symbol of the "dragon" is used in the book of Revelation to represent Satan [the ancient serpent in the garden] and his relationship to human kingdoms as "the god of this world". [Genesis 3; Revelation 12:3-17; 13:2; 20:2]
Satan is a fallen angel and is the instigator of a rebellion against the Lord's position and authority. [Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Revelation 12]
The symbol of a "beast" is used in Revelation to identify two specific fallen angelics. They are angelic princes who worship satan as their god and do his bidding on the earth for him.
The first is Abaddon-Apollyon, the angelic prince and king of the abyss who rules over seven Middle Eastern kingdoms for satan and is also king of the fallen angelics of the abyss. [Jude 1:6; Revelation 9:11; 11:7; 17:8]
He is seen coming out of the "sea" of Middle Eastern habitations in Revelation chapter 13. The sea is symbolic for the Gentile masses in the Middle East proper that surround the nation of Israel.
The same are the many waters that the woman [symbol for the condition of lost humanity apart from the Lord's providence and direction] sits on. These are described as peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.
The second is the false prophet who will control two religious clerics [two horns] who will support Abaddon-Apollyon and will lead a cult religion that worships him as a god. Abaddon-Apollyon is also associated with eleven horns who are all human kings.
The little horn of Daniel's visions is the one who will be possessed by Abaddon-Apollyon .... the other ten are those who will be united and will rule with the little horn. [Daniel 7; Revelation 9:11; 11:7; 13:1; 17:8]
The false prophet is seen as coming out of the "land". The land is symbolic for the land of Israel and this will be where he will operate when Abaddon-Apollyon and his followers occupy and control Jerusalem and the temple mount. [Revelation 11:2; 13:11]
Satan is addressed early in Ezekiel 38 and 39 as gog the "chief" angelic prince of Mesheck and Tubal. He is the same as the dragon revealed in Revelation. [Ezekiel 38:17; Revelation 12; 13:1-2]
Revelation 12 includes a vision of satan's role as the god of this world, and ruler of the kingdoms of the Gentiles.
He is the enemy of the Lord, the predator of the nation of Israel, and the adversary of the Christian believer. Revelation 12 gives the account of his invasion of the nation of Israel at the middle of the coming tribulation period.
Revelation 12:2 and 17:8 present the seven heads [dominions, kingdoms] of satan's beast, seven angelic principalities (indicated by the crowns) seven human king positions (not in the vision), and ten additional human kings (indicated by the horns). [Revelation 12:3]
Satan delegates authority over these dominions to Abaddon-Apollyon. Further investigation of chapters 9; 11; 13; 16; and 17 will reveal Abaddon-Apollyon as the first beast of Revelation who receives power and authority from satan.
The seven human king "positions" are revealed in the 17th chapter Of Revelation. Daniel's little horn, human king of the north, is Abaddon-Apollyon incarnate and he will occupys the 6th [king that "is"] and 7th [king "yet to come"] "king positions". [Daniel 7, 8, 11:36-45; 12:7]
Revelation presents a picture of satan's past and future relentless pursuit of attempting to disrupt, prevent, and destroy the Lord's plans for the salvation and future immortalization of human beings to enter eternal life.
He has been on this track since he discovered the Lord's purposes related to the creation of humans, provision of a remedy for their salvation, and their eventual inheritance of His universe.
It should be noted that the time line of this part of the vision presented in Revelation 12 starts with satan's rebellion which included drawing off 1/3 of the angels to follow him in the distant past after his creation and initial habitation of the Lord's universe. [Revelation 12:4]
He will have all of these angels with him when he is cast to earth at the beginning of the Lord's coming hour [time] of trial and wrath [Revelation 12:4, 12:9]
The Lord will allow the release of those which are in the abyss and those bound at the Euphrates River for the purpose of taking part in His judgment process of the earth. [Jude 1:6; 2Peter 2:4; Revelation 9:1, 9:11, 9:14]
Abaddon-Apollyon is now among the captured abyss angels and he is their king. He will also be satan's representative on the earth, the first beast of Revelation. He will be released with them at the beginning of the Lord's future hour of trial upon the earth. [Revelation 9:11; 13; 16; 17]
Abaddon-Apollyon and the abyss angels are the ones who inhabited the pre-Adamite earth and were involved with the corruption of humans before Noah's flood. They were all sent to the abyss during the flood except for Abaddon-Apollyon. [2 Peter 2:4]
Abaddon-Apollyon was free to continue and rule his five Middle Eastern post-flood dominions [human kingdoms] and was then sent to the abyss just before the first century. He will be released from the abyss by satan at the beginning of the coming tribulation period. [Revelation 9:1; 9:11]
The four bound fallen Euphrates angelics are the angelic princes of Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Grecia. These were subordinated to Abaddon-Apollyon in his past rule of the Middle East and will be released to do his bidding at the time of the end. [Daniel 10; Revelation 9:13-21]
Their function will be to lead their fallen angelic armies [200 million of them] to kill 1/3 of all humans during the coming tribulation period of the Lord's judgment. [Revelation 9:15-20]
Abaddon-Apollyon ruled his first dominion, the land of Magog, just after the flood and the next 4 in succession .... all were located in the Middle East. He will rule over his 6th and 7th dominions of the little horn when he is released from the abyss at the time of the end.
The rest of the fallen angels have been and are with satan now and they reside as powers and principalities of the air [the earth's atmosphere].
Satan and these angelics still have access to the heaven, but will be thrown down to the earth with him at the time of the end. [Revelation 12:4, 12:9]
Next the vision moves to satan's attempt to kill the Lord in the first century and then jumps to the time of the end of this age when he will be earth bound and will persecute Israel. [Revelation 12:6]
The vision then re-states these things and adds more details. Michael and his angels will force satan and his fallen angelics that reside with him out of the heaven.
This archangel is assigned to Israel and he will stand up against satan at the beginning of the time of the end. [Daniel 12:1; Revelation 12:7]
Satan and his angels will be thrown to the earth and denied access to the heavenly dimensions at the beginning of the 70th week. The restraining function of the Lord's holy spirit will be diminished to allow satan the freedom to destroy the earth and its inhabitants. [2Thessalonians 2:6-12]
He will go forth with great wrath because he will know that his time is short. He will cause great destruction on the earth, attack the nation of Israel, and will persecute believers on a worldwide scale. [Revelation 12:12-17]
Satan knows that the Lord is working out His plans and purposes through the nation of Israel and believes that Israel's destruction will complicate, if not end, the process.
He has great fear of the Lord and knows that he must attempt to eliminate Him, or be eliminated himself. He knows that the Lord will return to the earth and to Israel at the time and will attempt to prevent this.
The woman with the crown of 12 stars represents the nation [twelve tribes] of Israel. She is presented in contrast to the woman of Revelation 17 and 18. [Revelation 12:1-2, 12:5-6, 12:13-17]
The Lord will protect a remnant of Israel who will flee into the east [Jordanian wilderness area of Petra/Bozrah]. Their place of refuge will be off limits to satan for 1260 days (3 1/2 years) during the reign of Abaddon-Apollyon. [Zechariah 14:4-5; Matthew 24:15-16; Revelation 12:6, 12:13-16]
Only one third of the Israelites living in the land of Israel will escape death. Two thirds will be killed. Some will be taken into captivity by their attackers and some will flee into the wilderness where they will be protected by the Lord from the beast. [Zechariah 13]
It is significant to know that Satan and Abaddon-Apollyon are not the same entities. Careful observation of their destinies and the timing of the same will support this fact. [Revelation 19, 20]
They are shown as separate beings when the kings and their armies are gathered for war at Armageddon. These three, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, set the gathering in motion. [Revelation 16:13]
Abaddon-Apollyon is the beast who was, is not, and will come out of the abyss at the time of the end. He has the symbolic body of a leopard, the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion. These three "animal" beasts are the symbolic parts of Abaddon's Middle Eastern dominions including Grecia [leopard], Persia [bear], and neo-Babylon [lion].
These three empires are contained in Daniel's visions showing that they had their dominions taken away, but the lives of these habitations were prolonged in part so that they would exist at the time of the end. [Daniel 7:12]
Abaddon-Apollyon has ruled over five ancient dominions located in the Middle East in the past. These were the land of Magog, the Akkadian/Assyrian Empire, followed by neo-Babylon, Persia, and Grecia.
He will rule over two successive additional dominions at the time of the end. The second one will include the geographical land area and human inhabitants of the ancient dominions of the lion, bear, and the leopard.
John's vision of Abaddon-Apollyon is from the perspective of his final stage of development in chapters 13 and 17.
He has incarnated and has become one with the little horn (human king). The little horn is the king that "is" and the next king that "shall come".
He does not appear as the "little horn" in chapters 13 and 17, but as Abaddon-Apollyon the beast from the abyss. Other visions in Revelation and Daniel will support the identity of the little horn as this possessed human king of the time of the end.
John sees one of the heads [dominions, kingdoms] as though it were wounded to death. This was the termination of the northern Greek dominion in the Middle East. The Greeks lost their empire to the Romans in warfare [by the sword]. [Revelation 13:1-3]
When Abaddon-Apollyon is released from the abyss at the time of the end his position of power and authority will be healed. He will again have a kingdom [head healed] in the Middle East as in the past.
John sees a star [angel] "fall" from heaven who has the key to the abyss for the purpose of releasing Abaddon-Apollyon and the other abyss angels. This star is satan who is thrown to earth during the 70th week.[Revelation 9:1; 12]
One of the Lord's angels "comes down" from heaven and has the key for imprisoning satan in the abyss just after the battle of Armageddon and just before the 1,000 year reign of the Lord on the earth. [Revelation 20:1]
Satan will be imprisoned in the abyss so that he cannot deceive the mortal nations that will exist on the earth for 1,000 years. He will be released again, that is gog [satan] and Magog [symbol of the nations], to deceive once again before he is destroyed in the lake of fire.
There are ten additional contemporary human kings (horns) in this vision who are present during the little horn's rule of both his sixth and seventh dominions [kingdoms] at the time of the end. {Daniel 7:7; Revelation 17:8]
The little horn is the eleventh king of the set and will develop the sixth smaller dominion into the seventh divided dominion under the influence and control of Abaddon-Apollyon.
Abaddon-Apollyon will then incarnate him, become the eighth king himself, and rule the divided dominion for 42 months. Daniel 11, 12; Revelation 11, 13]
There is another "woman" in Revelation 17 and 18 who represents the organized unsaved masses of the Gentiles [nations] and their cities. She is the "other woman" in contrast to the "woman" [nation of Israel) of Revelation 12.
It should be noted that Israel's behavior and intransigence toward the Lord has placed the nation in the same position as Mystery Babylon the Great [the balance of unbelieving humanity] revealed in Revelation 17 and 18, but His covenant with Israel will stand and she will ultimately turn back to Him.
The woman [the condition of unfaithful humanity] of Revelation 17 and 18 is connected with all seven dominions [heads] of the beast. Her presence began shortly after the flood when humans began to build cities with collective populations. [Genesis 10]
She is the nucleus of the dominion ruled by the human king and they are both influenced and controlled by satan through his angelic agents; and satan is the god of this present intransigent world.
A very significant event will take place at the beginning of the tribulation period that will include a lethal attack against Mystery Babylon's "great city" part. Mystery Babylon the Great is the symbol used to describe all of unbelieving humanity .... past, present, and future.
The little horn [human king], possessed by Abaddon-Apollyon, and the ten other human kings will hate her and destroy her core "great city" part with fire in one day. [Revelation 8:7-12; 17:16-18; 18:1-21]
Her primary feature is her arrogance and economic materialism which has a controlling worldwide influence. This great city part of Mystery Babylon the Great will not be located in the Middle East where the little horn will have his base of operations.
The Lord will use satan and his angelic and human hosts to judge her for intransigence. He will also reduce all of her other cities in the world to rubble at the time of the end with a worldwide earthquake. [Revelation 17:16-17; 16:19]
Human self-rule including government, social infrastructure, offensive and defensive military, economic systems, culture, false religions, etc. will end at the hand of the Lord.
The second beast of Revelation is also a fallen angel and he will operate through two religious clerics [two horns]. This beast is identified further as the false prophet who will promote the cult of the first beast. [Revelation 13:11]
He will present the cult as one that is to bring peace to the earth [will look like a lamb], but will actually preach [speak like a dragon] hatred and violence toward those who will not submit to the religion.
This false prophet will perform signs and wonders which will convince humans that Abaddon-Apollyon is a god. Those that follow will make and/or possess an image of Abaddon-Appolyon for the purpose of idol worship. [Revelation 13:13-17]
There are some very strange statements made related to this activity. This image can apparently sense individuals who will refuse to worship Abaddon and can kill, or will have them killed.
These idols may actually be a demonic connection to a satanic network of fallen angels. There is scriptural support for the presence of large numbers of these fallen angelics operating on the earth at the time of the end. [Revelation 9; 12]
The idols carried by the followers of Abaddon-Apollyon may be able to detect and transmit information on humans who will not submit to their religion. Those who refuse to submit will then be hunted down by Satan's agents and killed. [Revelation 13:15]
It is possible that there will be a similar image, or idol, of this type placed in Israel on the temple mount. Some consider this to be the abomination of desolation that is to be set up during the time of the end. [Daniel 12:11; Matthew 24:15-16]
There will be an attempt made to restrict the economic transactions of those who will not worship Abaddon-Apollyon. Those with his mark will desire it for the purpose of identifying with him. [Revelation 13:16-17]
Humans will need to display identification of the mark of the beast in order to buy or sell. This mark is described as "the number of a man" and it is 6-6-6.
This will be a number that identifies the little horn [human king] who will be incarnated by Abaddon-Apollyon. Many have tried to identify the little horn [human king] using numerical equivalents for the letters of his name. None have been correct.
The number 6-6-6 is symbolic of the relationship regarding satan(6), Abaddon-Apollyon(6), and the human little horn(6) .... the number of the beast is his name, and or the number of his name, and also the number of a human [number of a man].
Satan will be the power behind Abaddon-Apollyon and his false prophet. His "anti-christ" [meaning "against" Christ] Abaddon-Apollyon, will rule the Middle East for 42months [1,260 days], and will cause great tribulation for the nation of Israel and the rest of the world.
Abaddon-Apollyon, his ten kings, and their followers will be destroyed by the Lord just at the end of His coming time of trial and judgment during the battle of Armageddon [Revelation 16].
144,000 Sealed
Revelation
7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
7:3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
7:4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
+ These 144,000 sealed ethnic Israelites are a unique group composed of 12,000 from each of 12 tribes of the children of Israel. They are ethnic Israelites of the nation.
Many theories have been presented describing this group. Some Gentile Christian denominations have identified themselves as the 144,000 and there are those who advocate a general application which includes all believers.
Neither of these interpretations is correct. The 144,000 are 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of the children of national Israel, they are believers, and they will be present during the coming tribulation period .... the Lord's hour of trial against an unbelieving world. [Revelation 7:1-8; 14:1-7]
These will be the first converts [fruits] of the Lord's during the coming tribulation period of His wrath. The link to their Israelite ancestry is given describing the practice of idolatry that prevailed where the kings of Israel [like Solomon] were lead to worship foreign gods by women .... these 144,000 will not follow this course during the tribulation period, but will be loyal to the Lord.
Their mission will begin in Israel at the beginning of the tribulation period [the 70th week decreed for the nation] and will reach other Middle East nations and beyond.
By the middle of the week they are seen in Jerusalem with the Lord [He will be present, but not seen by the world until the end of the period] and they will take the gospel to the whole world during the tribulation period. [Revelation 14:6-7]
There are a few direct explanations about this group, their purpose, and their activities appearing in the Book of Revelation, but no where else in scripture. These servants of the Lord are sealed with His protection.
Their sealing will include protection against the attacks by the angels of the abyss during the 5th trumpet judgment and all other dangers during the 70th week including the Lord's judgments and those instigated by satan and his agents. [Revelation 9:4]
They will also be the first fruits [first believers] of the tribulation period and will enter the Lord's millennial kingdom as surviving mortals. [Matthew 24:29-31; Revelation 14]
The 144,000 Israelites are not to be confused with the church [the 24 elders and the great multitude] which is composed of both Israelite and Gentile believers [Old and New Testament periods]. These will dwell in heaven during the Lord's coming time of judgment upon the earth [Revelation 4:4; 5:5-10; 7:9-17; 11:1; 12:12; 19:1-14; and 20:4 (those on thrones)]
Both of these groups will be protected from the judgments of the tribulation as the result of the Lord's immortalization of the church and the sealing of the 144,000 mortal Israelites on the earth. The Lord will enter the material world unexpectedly as a thief and execute both of these events. [1Corinthians 15; 1Thessalonians 4; Matthew 25:1-13; Revelation 3:10; 18:4; 7:1]
The 144,000 sealed Israelites will be set apart from all other unsealed mortals who will experience the tribulation. They will be the only living believers [first fruits of redemption] on earth at the beginning of the 70th week just after the church is taken by the Lord to heaven.
There will be other unsealed humans who will become believers during the tribulation and, but not many [most humans will not repent]. The Lord will resurrect those believers who die physically by beheading [martyred] at the end of the tribulation period. [Revelation 20:4 (those beheaded)]
All believers who remain alive [survive the tribulation] will enter His earthly kingdom as mortals. He will gather and sort out these believers from all of the humans left in the nations of the world just after the coming tribulation period. [Matthew 24:29-31; 25:31-46]
The "elect" will consist of believing Israelites [His brethren] and the sheep will be the believing Gentiles. These will all be mortals who will enter and populate His worldwide millennial kingdom which will last for 1,000 years.
The rest of the survivors will be unbelieving [goats] who will not enter the kingdom, but will be cast off into the outer darkness.
All unbelievers will be resurrected [the second type of resurrection to the second death] to face judgment and elimination. Their names will not be found in the Lord's book of life. [Revelation 20:6-15]
This is the resurrection that leads to the second death. The first resurrection type is the resurrection to life. The Lord was the first to experience this type of resurrection, the church will be next at His second advent to immortalize the believer, and the tribulation martyrs will be resurrected at the end of the period. [1Corinthians 15:22-58; Revelation 20:4 (those beheaded)]
There will also be a believing Israelite remnant who will be living in the land of Israel during Israel's defeat at the hands of the little horn [satan's beast].
It is these who will flee into the Jordanian wilderness when they see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place [temple mount].
Their escape route will be along a great rift valley that is formed by the Lords who will split the Mount of Olives to the north and to the south. This event is recorded in Zechariah 14, Matthew 24:15-16, and Revelation 12.
These will be kept from the reaches of Abaddon-Apollyon [the beast in the little horn] whose armies will occupy and rule the nation of Israel for 42 months [1,260 days]. [Revelation 11:2; 13:5]
This Israelite remnant will receive the Lord as their Messiah during the tribulation period and will enter and populate His coming kingdom on the earth as mortals at the end of the end of it.
This remnant is not to be confused with the sealed 144,000 Israelites who will spread the gospel of the kingdom. The 144,000 will be active during the entire tribulation period. First to Israel, and then to the entire world. [Matthew 24:14; Revelation 14:1-7]
A more comprehensive understanding of the purpose of the 144,000 Israelites can be developed by researching Revelation for the Lord's continuous provision of individual salvation during the tribulation.
The coming tribulation period [the Lord's hour of trial] experienced by Israel and the nations will be a very confusing and perplexing time with regard to the events that will be taking place which will be very difficult for humans to understand and experience.
The Lord will provide a very strong measure of the truth about what is happening in proportion to the confusion, deception, and the judgments during the period.
The first seal that He opens is the symbol of the white horse which depicts one of six themes [seals] that will be characteristic of the conditions of the tribulation period. [Revelation 6:1-2]
The symbol of the white horse represents an ongoing communication of the truth about the Lord, personal salvation, and His soon coming 1,000 year earthly kingdom which will emerge in the wake of the destruction of human self rule.
This activity will begin at the onset of the Lord's hour of trial and will continue throughout the tribulation period. The white horse is the symbol of the Lord's conquering salvation.
The 144,000 will be a powerful force that the Lord will use to continue spreading the gospel of the kingdom and of individual salvation to an unbelieving world during the tribulation period.
They will also serve as an inspiration for those believers who will be present during the tribulation period. Many of these will be martyred for their faith. [Revelation 6:9; 14:13; 15:2; 20:4 (those beheaded)]
An angel will appear having the everlasting gospel that will be preached to all that live on the earth during the coming tribulation period. This angel will appear at the beginning of the period and the 144,000 Israelites will begin their mission in Israel and then will reach the whole world. [Matthew 24:14; Revelation 7; 14]
The message will be to fear and worship the Lord, that His judgment is in process, and that His visible appearance to establish His Kingdom is at hand. He said that this gospel of the kingdom will be preached to the whole world just before His visible return.
The 144,000 are seen by John on Mount Zion [in Jerusalem] with the Lord [the world will not see Him until just after the tribulation period is over]. Their sealing will take place just before the beginning of the tribulation period.
The Lord will be present during the entire period of His hour of trial [He will not be seen by he world during this time frame] and He will lead the 144,000. He opens the seals, controls all of the judgment events of the period, and His visible appearance to the world is scheduled immediately after the tribulation period.
The Lord can have an invisible presence or a visible presence in relation to His involvement with the material world. Scripture records events and evidence of this unique ability at His first coming. He will function in the same manner during His involvement at the time of the end.
He can be present and invisible to humans during one encounter, and visible and present in another. He will be present and invisible during the tribulation period, and then visible to the world when He appears at the end of it.
Heaven is not a place in some far off corner of outer space .... it is a state of existence which allows for optional entry or exit of the material universe.
There is a great deal of confusion concerning the event of the Lord returning from heaven visibly at the end of the tribulation period. Some interpret this as nullifying the possibility of His invisible presence for involvement in the events of His hour of trial that will lead up to His visible appearance at the end of it.
His first action will be His unannounced and sudden invisible presence as a "thief" to immortalize dead and living believers of today's church. This action will take place just before the day of the Lord begins .... His judgment of an unbelieving world, and beyond.
The day of The Lord is not just one 24 hour day when He appears visibly to the world. His "day" will include bringing man's day [human rule] to a close at the end of this present age first .... and then He will establish millennial kingdom on the earth.
The primary mission of the 144,000 Israelites will be to communicate the message of personal salvation and the Lord's soon coming earthly kingdom.
Two Witnesses
Revelation
11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
+ The Lord will not leave the nation of Israel without a prophet during the coming tribulation period. The 70th week [2,520 days] is the final seven years decreed for Israel and it will be a time of testing for the nation as well as one of redemption for a believing remnant. [Revelation 11:3-12]
All of Israel's past encounters with divine intervention and judgment have included the presence of a prophet. The same will take place during the time of the end of this present age and specifically for Israel .... the time of "Jacob's trouble" [Jeremiah 30; Daniel 12; Zechariah 14; Matthew 24; Revelation 12]
Two prophets [witnesses] will be present and active during the last half of the 70th week and will continue for a period of 42 months [1,260 days]. [Revelation 11:1-13]
This period will begin when Israel is conquered by the little horn at the middle of the 70th week and will end just prior to the beginning of the Lord's turning against satan's beast and his kingdom for 30 days following the end of his 42 month rule.
Israel will have been invaded and will be occupied by the little horn's armies when these two prophets of the Lord begin their testimony. The symbols used to represent these prophets are the olive tree and the candlestick [lamp stand]. These symbols identify them as both Israelite and followers of the Lord.
Some think that they will be Enoch and Elijah, but the two prophets will be mortals who are supernaturally protected. They will be killed by the beast and subsequently resurrected as a witness to the Lord's resurrection power and authority. This process would not be necessary if they were immortal humans from the past. [Revelation 11:8-12]
The location of operation for the two will be from Jerusalem, and any attempt to harm them will bring sudden death to their adversaries.
Their purpose will be to demonstrate the Lord's presence and power in the face of the beast by performing supernatural acts which will include calling down His judgments upon an unbelieving world.
Satan's offset and counter to these two witnesses of the Lord will be his false prophet, the second beast of Revelation 13.
This beast is another fallen angel who will lead the cult of Abaddon-Apollyon and will be manifested in two human religious clerics [two horns]. These will cause the followers of the beast to worship him as a god.
The Lord's two prophets will play a significant role as part of His intent to provide salvation to unbelievers and assurance to those who are believers during the tribulation period.
Their supernatural acts will demonstrate His power and authority which will prove to be more than a match for satan's beast and his false prophet.
The Lord will be in command of these two witnesses and the 144,000 Israelites who will be communicating the gospel during the tribulation. Their victories will be the salvation of some.
When the two witnesses have finished their testimony the Lord will allow Abaddon-Apollyon to attack and kill them. Their physical bodies will be left unattended for public viewing in Jerusalem. [Revelation 11:7-8]
Those affected by the judgments that were administered through them will celebrate their deaths, thinking that Abaddon-Apollyon has been victorious gainst these two prophets.
The Lord's response will include an audible command, resurrection of the prophets back to life, and their resurrection and removal from the earth.
This will cause great fear and anguish for those followers of the beast who will observe this demonstration of the Lord's power and authority. Some of these will actually repent and turn to the Lord. [Revelation 11:13]
An earthquake will accompany this event and one tenth of Jerusalem will be destroyed and 7,000 humans will be killed [some followers of the beast who observe the killing of the two witnesses].
Most of Jerusalem will be reduced to rubble during the invasion of the little horn's followers [armies] which will occur earlier at the middle of the 70th week. The rest of the city will be destroyed by this earthquake just at the end of the period.
It should be noted that Jerusalem is called the "great city" involved in this event. The other "great city" of Mystery Babylon the Great is the great city part of the Gentiles nations. [Revelation 11:8; Revelation 17; 18]
There are two great cities noted in Revelation at the time of the end and Jerusalem is not Mystery Babylon's great city.
Once the two prophets are called up to heaven, the Lord will activate the 7th trumpet sounding bringing His judgments against the beast and his followers which will occur during 30 days following 1,260 days of the last half of the 70th week decreed for Israel. [Revelation 10:7; 11:15]
The Lord will then appear visibly to the world, gather the mortal survivors, separate believers who will enter and populate His millennial kingdom, and He will rule the world from Jerusalem for 1,000 years. [Matthew 24:29-31; 25:31-46; Micah 5; Revelation 20:1-6]
Mystery Babylon
Revelation
17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
+ The symbolic meaning of Mystery Babylon the Great is revealed for the first time from the Lord's comprehensive point of view in Revelation 17 and 18. This adultrous [unfaithful] "woman" represents the prevailing condition of lost humanity estranged from Him on a global scale.
This historical and end time view of the Lord is revealed regarding His evaluation of the same and His ultimate intent to bring the rule of earth by a lost civilization to an abrupt ending. [Psalms 2; Daniel 2:31-45; 1Thessalonians 5:1-6; 2Thessalonians 2:1-17; Revelation 6:12-17]
The term Babylon is used symbolically to describe human organizational behavior apart from His providence and direction. Humans began to organize shortly after the flood for the purpose escaping the Lord's intervention and control. [Genesis 10:10; 11:1-9]
They did this by grouping collectively and developing political, social, and false religious systems, etc.; and building cities and related infrastructures.
Post flood inhabitants living in the Tigris and Euphrates river valley believed they could become self-sufficient and create survival measures which would prohibit the Lord's intervention so that they could control their own destiny.
One essential requirement for the accomplishment of their ambitions was a common language which they had. This feature coupled with human intelligence allowed for great potential to move in the direction of self-determination.
The Lord observed their activities, warned them of the consequences, and as a deterrent He confused their language so that they could not understand one another. [Genesis 11:1-9]
This had the temporary effect of halting the building projects and dispersing the people. His action was His way of getting attention and making a point which was soon ignored. Many cities and their collective habitations were eventually constructed in the river valley and beyond.
Some of them became city/states with their own king, government, offensive and defensive military, false religions, culture, and economic trading systems. These then grew into larger dominions, and then into empires by forming alliances and by conquest.
The name Babylon, which is derived from the word "Babel" [confused languages], was the name of the first major city of the ancient Sumerian civilization in the land of Shinar [southern Iraq].
This was also the name of the greater neo-Babylonian Empire which ruled most of the Middle East in the 6th century B.C.. This model of advanced human organizational structure has been repeated many times through out history and exists today as a connected worldwide integration.
The name "Babylon" has been used in scripture to define other cities like Jerusalem because of its intransigence and likeness to the ancient city of Babylon. Jerusalem is defined as a "great city" in the book of Revelation [Revelation 11], but different from the "great city" part of Mystery Babylon the Great [Revelation 17 and 18].
The concept and process of human organization is not the problem. It is the fallen condition of humanity that becomes amplified by the environment created by human interactions and intransigence against the Lord.
Humans have lived in a fallen state of existence since Adam and Eve decided not to trust the Lord's providence and direction [Genesis 3:16-24]. Post-flood populations decided to do the same thing and continued on without regard for His presence. [Genesis 11:1-9]
His warning to Adam and Eve was that they would die physically and spiritually, and would eventually cease to exist if they refused to trust Him and then to separate themselves from Him.
We are all in this same condition and must turn, seek His forgiveness and grace, and receive His gift of eternal life by accepting Him as our Lord and savior. [Romans 1:16-32; 2:1-8]
Mystery Babylon the Great has been and is influenced and controlled by satan who is called the god of this world and of the kingdoms of the nations.
He knows that humans have been created for eventual eternal life and his objective is to deceive them and turn them away from the Lord. All of Mystery Babylon's attributes are vulnerable to satan's manipulations.
The woman in Revelation 17 is Mystery Babylon the Great and she is shown sitting on the heads [dominions, kingdoms] of the beast indicating a connection with the heads.
These heads symbolize successive and specific human kingdoms [dominions] and related king positions; and these dominions contain the lost human civilizations represented by the symbol of the unfaithful "woman".
Satan rules over the specific seven kingdoms presented in the scope of the visions through his beast Abaddon-Apollyon who is another fallen angelic, and they symbolize seven successive dominions which have and will exist in the Middle East. [Revelatyion 13:1, 17:8]
Each of them has a human king "position" that rules the dominion, or kingdom, which represents the geographical extent of the king's influence control.
The woman is unsaved organized humanity existing within the domain [kingdom]. Babylon is used symbolically to describe her. She is the prevailing condition of lost humanity over time.
She also has and does exist in other parts of the world outside of the Middle East, but these dominions are not seen in the scope of the visions recorded in the Bible [many known civilizations of the past are not recorded in the visions].
The exception is her "great city" part [possibly a great nation] seen in the book of Revelation which will be located outside of the Middle East at the time of the end of this present age. [Revelation 17, 18]
This core great city part of lost humanity is seen dominating all of the other nations, their kings, and their cities in the world with specific reference to worldwide economic influence and control.
Abaddon-Apollyon is a fallen angelic prince who influences and rules over all of the seven human king positions and their dominions of the Middle East for satan. His presence is revealed with specific connection to the earth and world of humans centered in the Middle East. [Psalms 83; Ezekiel 38; Micah 5:5; Revelation 9:11; 11:7; 17:8]
The woman is always present as the rule of each dominion falls and the next prevails. Her first five dominion relationships of the past recorded in the scope of Bible prophecy were all centered in the Middle East. [Revelation 17:8]
The Lord reveals her past and future existence in the book of Revelation. In the broader context she represents all of the dominions [nations] and their cities in the world during the coming time of the end.
Her future great city part will be dominant over the sixth dominion of satan's beast and in the Middle East and all of the other nations and their cities in the world at the time of the end.
Satan [the dragon], Abaddon-Apollyon [the beast], the human little horn [human king], and the ten other horns (human kings) will hate her great city part and destroy it with fire in one day. This will occur just the beginning of the Lord's coming judgment. [Revelation 8:7-12; 14:8; 17:16-18; 18:1-21]
The Lord will draw satan and his agents to carry out His judgment process against her great city part.
This will be His first direct response and judgment against an unbelieving world of humanity just at the beginning of the coming tribulation period. He will strike at the woman's core civilization [the great city] and destroy it in one hour.
The rest of her dominion relationships of the cities of the nations will remain during the coming tribulation period and will include the sixth and seventh dominions of satan's beast in the Middle East.
She will be completely destroyed when the Lord destroys the dominion of the beast and all of the remaining dominions (nations) and their cities in the world. Not one will be left standing and all human rule of self government will come to an end. [Revelation 16:17-20]
Mystery Babylon's attributes [the lost condition of humanity] are deception, arrogance, self-sufficiency, greed, materialism, vice, corruption, violence, crime, murder, false religion, religious persecution, and offensive warfare.
She is the corporate collection of unbelieving unsaved human societies and empires that have existed since the flood and have separated themselves from the Lord.
He considers her accountable for the killing of prophets, believers, and all humans who have been slain on the earth. The nations [dominions] of the Gentiles and Israel have been guilty of all of these actions in many ways over time. [Revelation 17, 18]
Any combination of her attributes and behavior can influence and contribute to the ultimate destruction of humans by distraction and by keeping them from seeking and finding the right relationship to the Lord.
She will have grown to enormous advanced proportions [Mystery Babylon the Great] by the time of the end and her most prominent feature will be her commercial, financial, and economic dominance on a worldwide scale. [Revelation 18]
The Lord will judge her by motivating the little horn [the beast incarnate] and the ten other horns [human kings] to attack and destroy her great commercial and economic center of influence with fire in one day. [Revelation 17:16-18]
Her great city's destruction will occur just at the beginning of the tribulation period of the Lord's coming wrath and it is recorded with the first 4 trumpet soundings recorded in the book of Revelation. [Revelation 8]
The smoke of her burning will be viewed by those far off who depend upon her commercial and economic strength and presence; both as a provider and a market place. [Revelation 18]
Her abrupt fall will cause worldwide economic upheaval and huge environmental contaminations. Much of the world will reel in the confusion as the result of her destruction.
If we are close to the time of the end of this present age, her great city may very well be the combined cities of the USA [a unified nation of states .... a great city]. I am speculating on this possibility.
These states are all connected via financial, economic, and commercial interests which in turn dominate most of the world's commercial trade, wealth, and finance. The USA is the current leading economic power of the group and could be the part of the woman called the "great city" described in Revelation 17 and 18.
The little horn [the beast] and the other ten horns will be in the Middle East where his sixth and seventh dominions will be located.
I am speculating about the actual identification and location of the "great City", but not about the location of the sixth and seventh dominions [kingdoms] of satan's beast. [Ezekiel 38; Daniel 8:9-13; 11:36-45; Micah 5]
Satan and Abaddon-Apollyon will dominate the Middle East through the human little horn and he will cause much difficulty and destruction on a worldwide scale during the coming tribulation period. His sixth kingdom will be a small one [the one that "is") located in the northern sector of the Middle East. [Revelation 17:10]
He will then expand the sixth into the seventh and final divided kingdom incorporating the ten other Middle Eastern kings and their kingdoms. [Ezekiel 38; Daniel 7]
The current Islamic factor in the Middle East will be part of this picture. This religion is the common denominator that will produce the cult worship of the beast. The core of Islamic fundamentalism is located in the Middle East. [Psalms 83; Ezekiel 38]
The student of Bible prophecy needs to be aware of these possibilities as we move closer to the end of this age. We could be on the very door step of the beginning of the time of the end of this present age.
Current conditions may change over the course of time and could present a different picture, but there are significant similarities existing today which resemble the Bible's descriptions of the coming end time events.
Two declarations are made in Revelation in conjunction with the Lord's judgment of Mystery Babylon's great city part, her other cities of the world, and the battle of Armageddon.
He will call His people to, "come out of her", so that they do not experience her calamities when her great city is destroyed. [Revelation 18:4]
This will be a command and action by the Lord to remove living believers from her great city part and the rest of the world just before the destruction comes. [Matthew 25:1-13; 1Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 3:10]
"I will come as a thief", is the other declaration made which is what the Lord has said regarding His unannounced return to start the judgment process of His hour of trial against an unbelieving world. [1Thessalonians 5:1-4; 25:13; 2Peter 3:10; Revelation 16:15 (parenthetical)]
His warning is that believers must be prepared [keeping the truth], and watching, and waiting for this event so that they are not caught off guard and subjected His the hour of trial [judgment] that is coming.
Elect, Sheep, and Goats
Matthew
24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
+ The Lord will move upon the earth without warning at the onset of His coming hour [time] of trial for the purpose of judging an unbelieving world of intransigence. [Revelation 16:15]
He is the one who removes the seals of His pending judgments which He will personally send upon the earth during the period. [Revelation 5; 6]
His initial presence will be invisible and He will not be seen by the world until just after His time of trial lasting 2,550 days is completed. {Matthew 24:29-31]
His first action at His visible appearing at the end of the tribulation period will be to gather all humans who are still living on the earth to Jerusalem. [Matthew 24:29-31; 25:31-46]
These will include the elect of Israel and all Gentiles of the nations who survive the tribulation period. This gathering will be of the surviving mortals of the period.
This gathering is not a resurrection to immortality as the pre-tribulation gathering of the church will be .... today's church will already be immortalized and dwelling in heaven [those who dwell in heaven] with the Lord [Revelation 4; 5; 7; 11; 12; 13; 19; and 20 (those on thrones)]
Some will repent and become believers during the tribulation period and those who die physically [martyred for their faith] will be resurrected at the end of the same period. They will be added to the pre-tribulation church and will rule with the Lord over His millennial kingdom of mortals for 1,000 years. [Revelation 6:9-11; 14:13; 20:4 (those beheaded)]
The spirits of all others of the human dead [unbelievers] who have existed since the beginning of human creation will remain sleeping in death until the end of the 1,000 years. They will then face judgment and none of them will be found recorded in the Lord's book of life. [Revelation 20:11-15]
The Lord said that His action to bring His coming hour of trial would be like the days of Noah when all of humanity was taken in judgment [lost their lives] except for Noah and his family who were left to enter a post flood world. [Matthew 24:37-39]
Similar conditions will exist at the end of this present age and many humans will lose their lives and will be lost forever during the tribulation period. Others will be left and physically alive when He appears visibly to establish his earthly kingdom.
Those "taken" will be those who lose their physical lives during the tribulation just as those did who experienced the flood. The effects and intensity of the tribulation period will kill many and leave others who will survive. [Matthew 24:36-42]
Those who survive and are "left" will include believers and non-believers and these will require separation in order for the Lord to determine who will be allowed to enter and populate His post-tribulation kingdom of mortals on the earth.
The elect "My brethren" [national Israel] will include the 144,000 sealed at the beginning of the coming judgment and an additional believing remnant part of national Israel. [Matthew 24:29-31]
The "sheep" of the nations gathered will be all of those found believing that survive the tribulation period. The "goats" will be all non-believers left from the nations on the earth who survive the tribulation period. [Matthew 25:31-46]
The Lord will say to the sheep that when He was in need during the tribulation they were accommodating to those needs for food, shelter, and protection. They respond that they were not aware of accommodating Him for these things. [Matthew 25:31-46]
He will then state that since they did it for His "brethren" [the elect.......the believing Israelites], that it was the same as doing it for Him and He will allow them to enter His kingdom.
He will then turn to the unbelieving goats and say that when He was in need they did not accommodate Him, and they will respond that they were not aware that they had not done this.
Then He will state that since they did not do these things for His "brethren" [the elect....the believing Israelites] that they did not accommodate Him.
Because of this they will not be allowed into His kingdom and He will reject them to face final judgment and eternal punishment.
Satan will be captured and confined to the abyss during the 1,000 year earthly kingdom of the Lord so that he cannot influence and deceive the mortal nations that will exist during the period. [Revelation 20:1-3]
He will be then released from the abyss at the end of the 1,000 years and will go forth to deceive the nations again. [Revelation 20:7-10]
Satan [gog] will succeed in creating another human rebellion among the nations [symbolically .... Magog] against the Lord which will be quickly terminated. Satan will then be destroyed in the lake of fire. [Revelation 20:9-10]
The Lord will renovate the earth and the entire universe with fire, and will renovate His entire creation. All past, present, and future humans who are recorded in His book of life will live forever in His new and perfect universe. [Revelation 21]
The things He has prepared for the believer are so incredible that we cannot even begin to imagine them with our finite minds.
Seals and Judgments
Revelation
5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
+ The seals of the scroll [Revelation 5; 6] symbolize the prevalent conditions that will dominate the coming judgment period of the Lord's hour [time] of trial on the earth and the 7 trumpet soundings will herald the actual judgment events beginning in chapter 8 of the book of Revelation. All of the judgments are activated and controlled by the Lord and they will lead up to His visible return at the end of the tribulation period. [Revelation 6; 8]
The first 6 trumpet soundings will transpire in rapid succession at the beginning of the period. The first 4 represent the physical destruction of 1/3 of the target area of the great city part of Mystery Babylon the Great. The 5th and 6th represent the release of fallen angelics from the abyss and from under the Euphrates River. [Revelation 9]
The seventh trumpet sounding includes judgments which are specifically directed at Abaddon-Appolyon [satan's beast] and his human followers at the end of the period. This trumpet heralds the destruction of the kingdom of the beast, the victory of the Lord, and the establishment of His millennial kingdom on earth. [Revelation 10:7; 11:15; 16:1-17]
The trumpet judgments are purposely held in check [Revelation 7:1-3] until the 144,000 mortal Israelites are sealed for service on the earth. Then John is shown the 24 elders and the great multitude of believers in heaven and around the throne [Revelation 4:4,5:5-10,7:9-17] .... the actual judgment events then begin in chapter 8.
John first sees the 24 elders and the great multitude of believers in heaven when he is transported there to be shown what is to take place "hereafter" during the coming hour of the Lord's judgments and beyond.
The Lord has said that He would keep all living believers at the time from the hour of His trial [judgment] that is coming upon the whole world. Both dead and living believers of the church will be immortalized just before the judgment trumpet soundings begin in chapter 8 of the book of Revelation. [Revelation 3:10; 18:4]
The 144,000 Israelites will be selected for service and will be the first fruits [saved believers redeemed from the earth] of the tribulation period. Their mission will be to take the gospel to Israel and to the nations during the period. [Matthew 24:14; Revelation 14:6-7]
They will be sealed with the Lord's protection so that the effects of the tribulation will not harm them. They will begin their witness at the onset of the period and will continue during the entire tribulation of 2,550 days. [Revelation 14:1-7]
The symbol of the first seal [white horse] represents the spreading the eternal gospel of the kingdom [Matthew 24:14] and salvation of those who become believers during the entire period of the Lord's wrath. He will not withdraw His offer of salvation from those who will turn to Him.
The actions of "conquering", and to "conquer" again during the tribulation period represent the saving power of the gospel just prior to the coming judgments and then during the period. [Revelation 6:1-2]
The Lord is seen with the 144,000 sealed Israelites on Mount Zion [Jerusalem] and they follow Him wherever He goes. He will be leading them to spread the gospel of His soon coming kingdom. He will not be seen by the world while engaged in this activity. [Revelation 14:1-7]
In the symbol of the white horse [first seal .... symbol of the Lord's salvation power] the rider is not weaponized [no arrows] and goes forth conquering and to continue to conquer. In the later phase of His involvement the Lord is seen riding a white horse at Armageddon and He is weaponized [fire and sword] for war. [Revelation 6:1-2: 19:11]
The symbol of the white horse is used to represent His continuous involvement from the beginning of His hour [time] of trial to and including the battle of Armageddon. He is both the savior of those who believe and the conquering King who will take back the earth for His own purposes.
After this He will appear visibly to the whole world and every eye will see Him and every knee will bow to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. [Matthew 24: 29-31; Revelation 1:7-8]
The symbol of the second seal [red horse] represents intense warfare by the actions of satan and his angelic and human agents including Abaddon-Apollyon, the false prophet, the human little horn [king], and the 10 other horns [kings]. [Revelation 6:3-4]
Satan will be denied access to heaven and confined to the earth during the Lord's hour of trial. He will be thrown to the earth with his fallen angelics at the beginning of the period having great wrath because he knows his time will be short. [Revelation 12]
These shall take peace from the earth by warfare, great destruction, persecution, and suppression. Satan's warfare will begin with the destruction of the "great city" of Mystery Babylon the Great. [Revelation 6; 8; 17; 18]
The next wars will involve his conquering of most of the Middle East including the land of Israel and then will include his own defeat at Armageddon. [Ezekiel 39; 39; Daniel 11:36-45]
Egypt [the king of the south] will be conquered and other governments in the Middle East will be over thrown. Abaddon-Apollyon [in the little horn, a king of the northern Middle East] will attack and destroy others north and east of the Middle East that he will view as a threat [Daniel 11:31-45].
Abaddon-Apollyon is satan's "anti-christ" [against Christ] and he will rule the Middle East and will cause great destruction to the rest of the world. He will rule for 42 months, but will be challenged and defeated by the Lord at Armageddon. [Revelation 13:5; 11:2]
The warfare will begin with the first four trumpet judgments [fire, massive physical destruction, environmental pollution of water sources, and darkness]. [Revelation 8]
These judgments are directly related to the destruction of the great city part of Mystery Babylon which will be located in an area outside of the Middle East. [Revelation 17; 18]
This attack will trigger the conditions of the third seal [black horse] representing worldwide economic collapse and famine which will result in the aftermath of war and destruction [Revelation 6:5-6].
The condition of the fourth seal [pale horse] represents the mass physical killing of humans in warfare and related sickness and disease. These conditions will continue in varying degrees throughout the period. [Revelation 6:7-8]
One fourth of the world's land surface [50% of the current land area is inhabited by human populations] will be subject to human death. This would amount to one half of the current world population and would mean that as many as three billion humans will be killed.
The condition of the fifth seal reveals tribulation believers who are martyred for their faith by the beast and his adherents. These will become believers during the period and will be killed for their faith. [Revelation 6:9-11]
These martyrs will be resurrected at the end of the tribulation period. This is the first type of resurrection to immortal life of those who become believers and are martyred for their faith during the period. [Revelation 20:4]
This resurrection is not to be confused with the immortalization of today's church which will occur just before the beginning of the Lord's hour of trial. The tribulation martyrs will be beheaded for their faith.
The first type of resurrection is the resurrection to life. The second death will have no power over these believers as it will over all other humans who have not and will not responded to the Lord's call for the salvation of their spirits.
All of Adam's descendants up to the end of this present age who don't respond to the Lord's offer of salvation will experience the second type of resurrection to the second death of their spirits and will face judgment at the end of the coming 1,000 year rule of the Lord on the earth. [Revelation 20:11-15]
Their names will not be found in the book of life and these will experience the second death of eternal punishment [elimination of their spirits] and cease to exist forever.
The symbol of the sixth seal portrays the related human response to the Lord's judgment during the tribulation period. These will hide from Him and will avoid repentance [Revelation 6:12-17; 9:20]
The 7th seal represents silence in heaven just before the Lord begins His judgment process on the earth [Revelation 8]
The fifth trumpet sounding [first woe] will follow immediately on the heels of the destruction of the great city of Mystery Babylon [first 4 trumpet judgments] and heralds the release of Abaddon-Apollyon, the fallen angelic king of the abyss and the other abyss angels.
Abaddon-Apollyon will be released from the abyss by satan and will begin to influence and control the little horn [human king] who will be ruling his sixth head (dominion, kingdom) in the Middle East. [Revelation 9:1-11, 13:1; 17:8]
The human little horn and the ten other kings will destroy Mystery Babylon's great city part and then Abaddon-Apollyon's release by satan will immediately follow. Satan's objective will be to incarnate his angelic beast who is Abaddon-Apollyon in the little horn of Daniel's visions to rule the next and seventh divided kingdom of iron and clay for 42 months. [Daniel 2:31-44, 7;7-27; 8:9-12; 8:23-25; 11:36-45; 12:7]
The fifth trumpet will also trigger the release of myriads of other abyss angelics who are under the command of satan. These are fallen angels who have been reserved for judgment actions during the the tribulation period. [Jude 1:6; Revelation 9]
They are described [symbolized] as scorpions and they will cause great pain and suffering for those who are not sealed and protected by the Lord. The 144,000 Israelites will not be harmed by this judgment or any others during the tribulation.
The opening of the abyss is conducted by a star [a fallen angelic] "falling" from heaven who has the key of the abyss. This is satan who is thrown to earth at the beginning of the Lord's hour of trial. He will be allowed to release Abaddon-Abaddon Apollyon, the first beast of Revelation. [Revelation 9, 12]
The Lord's angel [not satan] who "comes down" from heaven is also given the same key to the abyss at the end of the tribulation period. He captures satan and locks him in the abyss for 1,000 years so that he cannot deceive the nations during the 1,000 year reign of Lord. [Revelation 20:1]
The sixth trumpet judgment [second woe] will involve fallen angelic armies who will be released from the Euphrates River area for the purpose of killing one third of all humans on the earth. [Revelation 9]
The seventh and last trumpet sounding of the tribulation period [third woe] is unique and its sounding will bring the Lord's direct judgments upon the beast [Abaddon-Apollyon] and his kingdom of followers at the end of the period. [Revelation 16]
The sounding of this trumpet will include the destruction of the kingdom of the beast and then the restoration of kingdom to Israel .... the 1,000 year kingdom of the Lord on the earth. [Micah 4; Acts 1:6-7; Revelation 20:1-8]
These judgments will be directed at the beast and his followers and will culminate in the battle of Armageddon. Their duration will be for 30 days following the last half of the of the 70th week decreed for Israel [the tribulation period .... the time of Jacob's trouble]. [Jeremiah 30; Daniel 12]
The judgments will include grievous sores on their bodies, environmental pollution, drought, and severe scorching heat from the sun. They will not repent of their transgressions toward the Lord, will openly defy Him, and will attempt to hide from Him. [Revelation 6:12-17]
The beast's government and base of operations will be in the target area and the beast and his armies will react by challenging the Lord at Armageddon.
Satan, the beast, and the false prophet will gather the human armies of their allies into the Middle East for war. It is the Lord who will set up satan up for his own defeat. [Ezekiel 38, 39; Micah 5; Revelation 14:14-20; 16:1-16; 19:11-21]
The Euphrates River will be emptied of its water and the river bed will serve as a means to transport the armies that come from the near east. [Revelation 16:12]
The Lord will activate a worldwide earthquake during the battle of Armageddon that will destroy all of the cities left in the world. [Revelation 16:18-19]
It will also divide the land mass into three parts where the great city part of Mystery Babylon existed before it was destroyed at the beginning of the His hour of trial. [Revelation 16:18-19]
The last seven years of this present age will come to an end, the beast and the false prophet will be destroyed in the lake of fire. Satan will be sent to the abyss, and the Lord will rule the earth from Jerusalem for 1,000 years. [Micah 4; Revelation 19, 20]
Islam in Bible Prophecy
Psalms
83:1 Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
83:2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.
83:3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.
83:4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
83:5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:
83:6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
83:7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;
83:8 Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.
+ There is an eerie resemblance of the teachings, practices, and ambitions of fundamental Islam to the Biblical descriptions of events recorded in visions of the prophets for the time of the end.
Careful study and observation of today's Islamic presence in the Middle East and the rest of the world should be essential for the student of Bible prophecy. [Psalms 83; Ezekiel 38,39; Micah 5]
There are over one and one half billion adherents of the religion on earth today and this number is growing. Two hundred and eighty million currently reside in the various countries that directly surround the nation of Israel.
This monotheistic religion of Mohammed's was developed around 600 A.D. and has its foundational beliefs rooted in the early generations of Abraham's offspring set in contrast against the lineage of Isaac and Jacob.
Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, and Israel and the Arabs represent this divisive theme set by God which extends from its beginnings to the present day.
The Lord has purposely separated the two lines of Abraham's descendants and has favored Israel with His Covenants regarding the land of Israel and His future restored worldwide kingdom on the earth.
Islam's teaching attempts to build on the opposite position, namely that the same promises should be applied to Arabic and other adherents of Islam's national status rather than the nation of Israel.
It appears to me that Mohammed's objectives were to develop theology which directly contradicts the Bible. His claim was that the Old Testament was corrupted by Israel and that he was given additional revelation to correct the errors.
The concept is extended further to reveal that Israelites are actually the descendants of monkeys and pigs because of a curse placed on them by Allah for corrupting the Bible.
This type of reasoning exposes Mohammed's obvious lack of intelligence and insight which would place his claim to be a messenger from God in question.
Israel has failed to meet the Lord's plans and objectives in many ways, but He has never referred to them or any other humans as monkeys and pigs.
I might add that there have been and are apostate "christian" organizations who also refute Israel's national position as the Lord's covenant nation and related promises. They claim the same promises given to Israel for themselves and fail to see the distinction between national Israel and the church given as a continuing theme throughout the scriptures.
The church consisting of both Israelite and Gentile believers is based upon matters of salvation and not national identity. The Lord distinguishes between Israel and the nations on all other aspects of His intents in all related scripture. [Jeremiah 30; Ezekiel 36; 37; 38; 39; Romans 11]
A study of the Koran and many christian traditions reveal that the claims of the adherents not only oppose the Word of the Lord, they also contain many contradictions and a great deal of confusion themselves.
Islam presents a direct refutation of the basic foundational beliefs of true christianity including the belief in God's Son Jesus Christ.
God does not have a Son according to the Koran and there are many other fundamental Biblical truths that Islam either denies, ignores, or attempts to change like the need for personal salvation through Jesus Christ.
The coming of the "lawless one" the beast, little horn, will incorporate an attempt to openly change the "times and the laws" of the biblically based festivals, seasons, and legalisms of orthodox Judaism .... and all scriptural truth regarding the past and present position of the Israelite nation.
The purpose will be to eradicate anything connecting the nation of Israel with the past, present, or future. This action will also include claiming the promises contained in the covenants that the Lord has with Israel for the religious cult of the beast.
The adherents of Islam have in the past and continue to do this very thing today and this will be the backdrop of satan's strategy at the time of the end during the coming tribulation period. [Psalms 83; Daniel 7:25; 8:9-25]
Apostate christian traditions including various christian cults have replaced basic fundamental biblical truths with their own replacement theologies as well. They often focus their adherents on very specific exclusive requirements for acceptance by the group.
Their doctrines include salvation by works and keeping legalisms which are unsupported by scripture. The salvation of the believer is based exclusively upon the Lord's grace and by faith.
They claim special revelation and traditional teachings of their leaders and add them to the basic tenets of the scriptures. Much harm has been committed by those who have acquired the name of christianity for their own motivations and purposes.
The Lord spoke about them when He said that they would come in His name and would deceive many. He said,
for many shall come in My Name
and shall deceive many people"
[Matthew 25:5]
This response to questions asked about His second coming is given first and foremost before any of the other significant events or signs are given.
Deception has existed within professing christianity since the first century and He gives specific warning about it before He continues with the rest of His response regarding the time of the end.
Mohammed was a descendant of Ishmael and a self-appointed prophet who was raised in the deserts of Arabia. His family were pagans and they worshiped a pantheon of false gods, one of which was Allah.
This god is the moon-god that was worshiped by the ancient Middle Eastern cultures of the Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, and neo-Babylonians.
The pre-Islamic Arabians worshiped this same god whose symbol is the crescent moon and this fact has been verified by recent archeological discoveries.
Mohammed claimed he was visited by Gabriel who is the Lord's angel assigned to reveal truths to the prophets of Israel.
Gabriel supposedly gave Mohammed the inspiration to write the Koran and to worship the one and only true god Allah.
My opinion is that Mohammed contrived all of this himself or was actually visited by satanic spirits, possibly by satan himself.
If one believes the Bible, then Allah is a fictitious god who does not exist. There is only one true God, the God of the Bible. He has revealed Himself in the form of His Son Jesus Christ.
All other "gods" are imaginary concepts contrived by humans which can be covers for satanic influence and deception.
In any case it appears to me that satan's foot prints are all over this religion of Islam considering the overt beliefs and behavior of its adherents.
Satan's primary objectives are revealed in scripture and include placing himself above the Lord, denying the deity of Jesus Christ, destroying His covenant people Israel, and deceiving and or eliminating all humans who are trusting in Him for eternal life.
The adherents of Islam are influenced to please their impersonal "god" by eliminating all humans (infidels) who will not submit to Allah.
One method of killing christian martyrs who will not worship the beast during the tribulation period will be by beheading.
This practice is prescribed by the teachings of Islam today and is currently being carried out by radical Islamic terrorists in the Middle East.
Are these radical elements truly believers of the Islamic faith ? I think that they are. This would be difficult to prove, but I get the impression that they have a definite reliance and belief beyond ordinary human limitations.
Their ultimate ambition is to obtain world domination which they believe will require the intervention of their god Allah on their behalf.
Do the so called moderate members of Islam have the same beliefs and ambitions ? I believe they do. The tenets of the religion require ultimate victory for the followers of Allah and they could not be truly Islamic if any of these beliefs were not adhered to.
Is it possible that Islam could be the cult worship of the beast of Revelation 9:11; 11:7; 13:1 and 17:8 ? I think this is the case.
Islamic writings predict the coming of the "Mahdi", the 12th Imam who will conquer the world for Allah and his followers. This could very well be a setup for man of lawlessness .... the biblical "antichrist". [2Thessalonians 2]
The Bible is the only trusted authority regarding future predictions by its prophets. The visions recorded in scripture are always 100% accurate by evidence of past events and will be the same for events that are still yet future.
How could the Islamic adherents of the Middle East become a dominating world force given the existence of today's greater nations with superior military capabilities?
The trump card for them will be the coming of the lawless one, the beast .... Abaddon-Apollyon in the human little horn king of the northern Middle East who will possess extraordinary powers and abilities far beyond those of ordinary mortals. [Daniel 7:7; 8:9; 8:23; 11:36] [2Thessalonians 2:1] [Revelation 9:11; 11:7; 17:8]
The Big Picture
Genesis
1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Revelation
1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
1:19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.
+ This publication is a combination of scriptural precepts and my own commentary. Not all of the content is proof text material and the reader needs to be aware of this.
There are impressions that I hold and suggest for consideration which may be helpful to the reader in understanding the Lord's Word and the related prophetic scriptures.
The Bible is the final authority on all truths that the Lord has revealed to us and must be adhered to for evaluating any related extended perceptions and thoughts.
Humans live in a material universe as spiritual beings confined to physical bodies and there are many questions one has about who we are, why we exist, and what happens to us when we experience physical death.
The Bible answers all of these with some degree of limitation imposed by the Lord and by our own lack of attention, focus, and determination applied to the study of His Word.
We are also limited to the extent of our capacity for perceiving all of the mysteries and complexities of His creation(s) in our present state of physical existence.
His opening statement to us is that in the beginning He created the heavens (universe) which include the earth and other celestial bodies. [Genesis 1:1]
He can create substance, matter, and life forms out of nothing and He fashions His desired creations and objectives from these things.
He also reconditions and adjusts any of His creative results at will, and He can also eliminate, remove, or destroy the same. [Genesis 1:2; 2Peter 3:10; Revelation 21]
He is an infinite spirit being who has always existed and will continue to exist into the infinite future. [John 1:1-3; Revelation 1:8]
He is not dependent upon and is not subject to any part of His creation including life forms, powers, principalities, or the material universe that He creates.
He is uniquely self-sufficient and needs nothing outside of Himself. He is the Alpha [beginning] and the Omega [end] of all things. His existence is timeless.
He has definite eternal plans and designs for His creation(s), is all-knowing [total perfect knowledge], is omnipresent [everywhere all of the time], and is pre-cognizant [knows all that will happen in advance].
He is all-powerful, totally trustworthy, possesses great care and concern for all that He creates, and He always ultimately succeeds in everything He sets out to accomplish.
He can manifest Himself as multiple life forms [spiritual and/or physical] simultaneously which can exist separate from Himself and still remain a part of Himself. [John 1:1-14]
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God,
and the Word became flesh"
[John 1:1-14]
Jesus has existed from the beginning, all things were created by Him and through Him, and He is the only begotten Son of God who is uniquely both God and human. He is an extension of God and is described as the Word of God.
He became the "Son of Man" [a human being] and lived among humans. He manifested in a physical body so that He could be seen and experienced by human beings. [John 1:14]
There was a time when the angelic realm expressed joy over the perfect creation that the Lord had provided. The Lord created these in the beginning of whom some were called sons of God. [Job 38:1-7]
Satan was among this distinguished group and possibly the leading angel who was set to rule over vast portions of the universe. [Job 2:1-2; Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 28:1-18]
His pride motivated Him to rebel against the Lord, to become like Him, equal with Him .... to replace Him as ruler of the universe.
One third of the Lord's created angels joined satan's rebellion and he is their god. This act of intransigence was allowed by the Lord for at least two significant reasons. [Revelation 12:3-4]
The first is that He apparently does not impose His will against the will of His created beings, but prefers that a dependent relationship be voluntary on their part.
The other reason relates to the interplay allowed between satan and his followers, and human beings. [Revelation 12:12]
The fallen angels still exist today and humans are subjected to their influence to some degree. This interplay will increase at the time of the end.
The Lord's ultimate plan for humans is a perfect eternal life along with the recognized and accepted requirement for His presence, His providence, and His position as the only true God of all the He has created. [Revelation 7:9-17; 21:1-7]
The human will has an apparent need for testing to insure that believing and trusting in Him in and for all things without condition is not breached. [Genesis 3:1-15]
The primary example of the bottom line test is that the human must believe that He will save them for eternity prior to the actual experience without proof.
This leads to the next fact of the relationship and it is that we cannot continue to exist without this connection.
Without it we are lost and are destined to a finite existence with no hope beyond a short and trouble filled life.
He has chosen to expose us to angelic intransigence for emphasizing the condition of sin and the presence of evil which can ultimately destroy us. The return to a right relationship is essential and involves trusting Him to save us.
The Bible is a book of beginnings and endings and there is much detail presented about earthly things of significance in between.
Does the Bible answer questions related to the existence of the earth, its creation, its purpose, its place in the material universe, its past, and future ?
Yes it does, but it takes time and effort on the part of the believer to study, ponder, and understand a wide range of the scriptures and their correct applications in order to grasp what the Lord is telling us.
The most advanced students of His Word realize that He has not revealed everything to them and that acceptance of this truth will produce a more accurate understanding of some subjects.
He tells us that in the beginning He created the heavens and the earth. We are not told when or exactly how this was done. We know by observation that these things exist because we can detect them with our senses.
There has been much controversy about when and how He created the material universe and observable life forms, particularly humans of our kind who have been created in His image.
This is primarily because of the credibility factor and questions arising from the apparent inconsistencies of what the Bible says and what humans think they observe by discoveries and evaluations of the material world.
Several positions have developed over time for the purpose of either proving or disproving the validity of the Bible as an accurate record of the past, present, and future in regard to the material universe and related life forms.
The positions range from a total rejection of the Bible as truth choosing to rely upon scientific discovery and observation to total reliance on the Bible as the Word of God and authority on creation.
I will address the apparent disparity between the Biblical account of creation, genealogical time inconsistencies, and related observations of the material world.
There are a number of approaches that deal with these issues and at least three significant ones.
The first is that the heavens and earth are very old and the Lord has used an evolutionary process of creation which has taken a very long time to reach the level of human kind.
The attempt here is to extend the six creation days in Genesis into long immeasurable lengths of time.
Creation and evolution continue during each of the six periods. Human evolution then becomes the end result which occurred about 6,000 years ago.
Proponents blend evolutionary processes to account for a very old earth and the recent appearance of humans of our kind to fit the biblical genealogical time frame of about 6,000 years for human existence.
A second theory proposes that the heavens and the earth are in fact very young and only about 6,000 to 10,000 years old. Much is done to refute modern scientific methods and evaluations in order to prove this.
If true, then there is no need to make reconciliation for the time differences between the observed apparent age of the universe and the human genealogical record in the Bible.
I would suggest that neither of these theories give adequate understanding of the Biblical account of creation and related observations made through discovery and analysis.
They are both self limiting and do not provide the best presentations for supporting the Genesis record of creation.
The first theory ignores the literal 24 hour day indicated by the rotation of the earth and the life form "kind after kind" process.
There is also a tendency to support or compromise with the pure theory of evolution which does not include a creator.
There is no need for compromise on this issue in order to support the Bible's picture of creation. Genesis clearly tells us that the Lord used six 24 hour days to do His work.
There is also clear explanation that distinct life forms were created separately and that they reproduce in kind, not by evolution from one species to another.
The second theory limits His creative time frame to only a few thousand years with no indication of any previous knowledge of His existence or actions.
Attempts are also made to prove scientifically that the earth and universe are very young and this is an exercise in futility.
What was the Lord doing before 6,000 years ago ? Did He sit around for billions of years doing nothing and then start His process of creating the universe ?
In the beginning He created the heavens and the earth "together".... at the same time. Genesis 1:1 states this fact.
Our solar system's components were created in the beginning and were not later additions to the universe. Neither was the earth created first with the other components like our sun and moon added later.
We know today that the earth's orbit is dependent upon the existence of the sun's gravitational attraction, not the other way around.
The earth was obviously present in Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. To say that the Lord then created and added the sun and moon next is absurd.
One must use common sense and allow for guidance of His Holy Spirit in the process of interpreting His Word.
Those who manipulate scriptures in order to support their unique interpretations of the Bible cause one to question their credibility.
The heavens and earth are in fact very old by observation and by evaluation through at least a few proven physical laws like the speed of light. Even our own solar system has the visible markings of age, degeneration, and judgment.
We have evidence today that planets close to the earth once had environments like the earth. Now they are desolate and uninhabitable. What happened to them and when ?
There is a third view of these issues which I consider to be much more correct and convincing with no need to compromise, twist, or deceive. The Lord's Word is totally true, complete, and reliable when understood properly.
There is not a great deal of scriptural information addressing this subject, but there is enough to grasp an understanding that makes sense.
Not everything in the Bible can be proven by human intellect and observation and must be accepted on faith.
Genesis chapter 1:1 indicates that the Lord created the heavens and the earth in the beginning. This opening statement tells us that He exists and that He created the heavens and the earth in the beginning.
There is a summary of His creating and forming activities in Genesis that includes the beginning, reconditioning of the earth, creation of replacement life forms, and creation of humans in His own image. [Genesis 2:1-8]
This summary is a recap of how the heavens and the earth came into existence and the generations or phases of His actions.
The "day" (time) in which the Lord "created" is not just one day, but the times and generations of His creative and forming acts. [Genesis 2:4]
These included those in the beginning and those about 6,000 years ago. Humans were His final act of creation for this present generation.
He will renovate and create again after this present age of man's rule of the earth comes to an end. [2Peter 3:10; Revelation 20, 21]
We are not told when the beginning of His creative acts took place. There is substantial evidence in scripture that satan and the fallen angels rebelled against Him sometime between the beginning of creation and Genesis 1:2.
We can only speculate as to what was going on during the time from the beginning and Genesis 1:2.
The Lord created the angels first and then the material universe and other life forms. We know this because all things were created by Him and the angels observed His creative acts. [Job 38:4-7]
One third of the angels followed satan in rebellion against the Lord sometime between the beginning of creation and 6,000 years ago. Satan and his angels will be cast and confined to the earth at the end of this present age. [Revelation 12:4-9]
Satan's rebellion, sin, and the presence of evil were all operative before the reconditioning of the earth and subsequent creation of humans.
Sin entered the human race through Adam as a result of the choice to disobey the Lord's advice and that we must reject the idea of separating from His providence, direction, and trusting relationship. [Genesis 2:6-17]
There are significant references available to us in scripture and the physical observation of the material world regarding these issues which can enhance our understanding of Biblical truths about creation.
The earth is the only inhabitable planet in our solar system for life forms that we know of from recent observation. Environments for life support do not exist on any of the other planets.
We find that there is much evidence of death, decay, and destruction of very old life forms buried beneath the earth's surface.
Large reptilian creatures have been found that existed before humans of our kind were created. There is no record of the existence of these creatures in scripture.
Their huge size and the impact they would have had on humanity would be there for sure. One should conclude that these creatures existed before Genesis 1:2.
We can also observe an apparent long term decadent entropic decline of life forms from the fossil remains of these creatures and many others.
This decline was part of their life cycle and this is different than what one would expect of the Lord's original creation. Something motivated Him to cause this process of entropy and death to operate in His universe.
There is also an apparent desire by the Lord to create new heavens and an earth in the future which will be eternally perfect. This change will involve a return to the conditions of His original and perfect creation. [Romans 8:18-22; Revelation 21]
The original creation was balanced, stable, and perfected. For example we are told that satan was created perfect in every way. [Ezekiel 28:12-19]
One can then conclude from this that the rebellion of satan and one third of the angels resulted in the Lord's judgment and subsequent decline of the original creation.
It does appear to us that the other planets and moons in our solar system had environments similar to the earth in the distant past.
If the earth is the same age as the others and all were created in the beginning before Genesis 1:2, then one could speculate that satan's fall resulted in the Lord's widespread judgment of the material universe.
This would bring us to Genesis 1:2 and the following reconditioning of the earth for the habitation of living life forms, with no similar adjustments to any of the other planets and moons.
Genesis 1:2 opens with an earth that is void of all living life forms and has experienced significant upheaval and destruction. One should ponder this and view the Lord's actions from the perspective of being located on the earth.
We could speculate that the Lord's initial phase of the judgment process was to freeze the earth and cover it with ice. This would explain the "ice age" that we have observed. All life forms on the earth were destroyed in the process.
A warming of the earth would then produce the water cover [waters below] and the water vapor [waters above] as described in Genesis. The earth is described as being desolated and totally covered with surface waters.
The space immediately above the waters is saturated with thick water vapors (dense clouds). There is no visibility, everything was in total darkness on the earth.
The sun, moon, earth's solar system, and universe were present, but these could not be seen from the earth. They were created in the beginning long before Genesis 1:2 and were made visible again from the earth by the Lord's reconditioning actions.
The time is about 6,000 years ago and He moved rapidly to prepare the desolated earth for the habitation of life forms including the initial introduction of humans of our kind. [Genesis 1:2]
His actions begin in Genesis 1:3. He dissipates enough of the cloud mass (waters above) above the surface waters so that a faint glow of light coming from the sun can be seen.
The statement "let there be light" is not a creative act, but the result of the dissipation process.
Light was created in the beginning when He created the heavens and the earth, but obscured by the conditions of judgment.
The dissipation process allowed for one to observe day and night because of the rotation of the earth and enough light from the sun.
He then separated the waters above from the waters below and formed the atmosphere between them. This was necessary for the support of the new life forms that were to come.
Next He caused the surface waters on the earth to recede to the extent that dry land appeared in various areas.
Natural vegetation seed that already existed in the earth began to grow and reproduce at an accelerated rate.
Further dissipation of the atmospheric cloud mass allowed for observation of the sun, moon, and stars from the earth. He made these to be lights appearing in the atmosphere by observation from the earth's surface and for distinct purposes.
He created them in the beginning long before 6,000 years ago, but made them appear and function for the reconditioned earth.
Next He created new life forms to replace those destroyed by His former judgment of the earth. These were distinctly different creatures who multiply only in kind and in distinct habitations. They are very much like the ones living on the earth today.
Earlier life forms that existed prior to the Lord's judgment of the earth were similar but also included creatures that He did not replace.
Evidence of these extinct life forms are found in the fossil discoveries today like large reptilian creatures.
Dinosaurs existed before Genesis 1:2 and they were not replaced by the Lord when He created the new life forms recorded in Genesis 1:20-26.
Claims have been made in modern times that some of these still exist, but they are not convincing.
There has been speculation that two creatures described in the book of Job are dinosaurs which coexisted with humans and lived in Job's day.
Careful analysis of behemoth and leviathan as they are described leads to a very different conclusion. [Job 40:15-24, 41:1-34]
The first one is the manatee, or dugong, and the second one is the legendary crocodile. Neither of these should be confused with the dinosaurs of the pre-Adamite earth.
Manatees are aquatic air breathing mammals who spend much of their time eating marsh and under water grasses. The Biblical description says that behemoth eats grass like the ox.
The manatee has a very large unique tail which can rotate in any direction and is used to propel it through the water.
The design of the tail, very strong diaphragm muscles, and sensitive snout feelers used for detection in searching for food are described in scripture.
The creature's rear appendages are merged together internally to form its multi-directional tail. This provides the power and flexibility for the large manatee to move through the water at amazing speed.
Movement of the tail is much like the movement of a large tree swaying in the wind. The statement "it moves its tail like a cedar" is used to describe this action.
They have large thick tails. The largest manatee on record in modern times is about 3,500 pounds.
This creature also has the densest bones of any other known animal. The bones have no marrow and are exceptionally strong.
The bones are so dense and thick that when the manatee expounds enough air from its lungs, it sinks immediately to the bottom of the water like a submarine. This bone structure is described in Scripture.
The Manatee has a very humble spirit and is described in contrast to leviathan who is mean spirited and aggressive.
Behemoth's temperament is described as the "chief ways of the Lord", or primary and receptive behavior. Leviathan displays the opposite trait of His latent wrath.
Manatees inhabited costal waters of the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and associated river systems like the Jordan in Job's day. This is the Biblical description of the manatee (dugong, sea cow).
The description of leviathan is a dead ringer for the crocodile. This creature has both a larger pre-Adamite fossil record and a more recent smaller version which is described in the book of Job.
Even the smaller version of this obnoxious reptilian is extremely dangerous and highly implacable.
They are at the top of the food chain and known for their fearless aggressive behavior. The Bible's description is accurate and appropriate.
The sparks, fire, and smoke that proceed from his mouth are symbolic of his great wrath when he is in attack mode. He does not actually produce the sparks, fire, and smoke, but one might think so if ever confronted by this killing machine.
The crocodile's angry, relentless, and sudden attack is very much like the Lord's wrath in judgment which is often described with symbolic fire and brimstone.
The Lord's final act associated with the reconditioning of the earth about 6,000 years ago was the creation of human kind. We are distinctly different from all of the other living creatures including the angelic beings.
We are spirits with physical bodies created in His own image. No other beings of his creation have this distinction.
His extend plans and purposes for the human are eternal and future from the present. We are creatures with independent wills and must choose our ultimate destiny.
The first humans of our kind were Adam and Eve, and the Lord placed them in a special place on earth called the garden of Eden where they enjoyed the His presence.
There is also another garden of Eden associated with mountain of the Lord [the symbol of His government], and the garden is His perfect universe
Adam and Eve knew that he created them and at first they obeyed His perfect direction and providence for living in harmony with His creation and associated environment.
It is not known today exactly where the garden of Eden on the earth was located, but there is a convergence of four rivers recorded in Genesis that apparently flowed from the area.
They are the Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel [Tigris], and Euphrates. The two of these rivers flow south and east from northeastern Turkey, and northern Iraq. [Genesis 10:2-14]
It is believed that the Pison flowed southward toward Arabia and the Gihon flowed northward toward the original Asian branch of the land of Cush [northern Iraq].
There is possible identification of the other two rivers today, although there are more than four rivers in the area and Noah's flood may have adjusted their courses.
This area is also close to Noah's landing on Mount Ararat after the Lord's judgment of the flood approximately 1,000 years later.
The Euphrates is the river that will dry up at the time of the end of this present age to make way for the armies of the kings of the east headed for the battle of Armageddon. [Revelation 16:12]
It is significant to note that the focus of the Bible prophecies just prior to the second advent of the Lord is in the area where human existence began and continued just after the flood. [Genesis 10:1-11; 11:1-9]
I believe that this same area today is well worth watching by the student of Bible prophecy as related to the coming time of the end of this present age. [Psalms 83; Isaiah 11; Jeremiah 30; Ezekiel 36,37,38,39; Daniel 2:31-45; 7:7-27; 8:9; 11:36-45; 12:1-7; Micah4; 5; Zechariah 14; Luke 21]
Much of the far distant history of the earth, our solar system, and Lord's endless universe is not revealed in scripture. There are only a few direct insights given and the rest has to be contemplated by the reader.
One can formulate a broader picture by deductive reason and indirect application of scriptural texts under the guidance of His Holy Spirit. We must also realize that there is much the Lord has not and does not reveal to us at this time.
If one considers that His original creation was perfect and complete in every way, then one must ponder why it is not so now. What would have caused Him to set His creation on a course of entropy, decay, and death ?
Why did He warn the first humans about 6,000 years ago of the existence and presence of evil and give His command to avoid the same ? Scripture has some information to consider. [Genesis 2:16-17]
We are told about satan's rebellion against the Lord and his resultant fall which is specifically recorded in scripture. [Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 28:12 Revelation 12:3-4; 12:7-12]
We also get the impression that this angelic creature was himself a perfect creation in the beginning.
If we could look at the past of a pre-Adamite earth as being corrupted by satan and his fallen angels we might see a planet, solar system, and beyond with very strange and despicable habitations.
One example would be the blood thirsty world of the flesh eating reptiles that we find in the fossil records today.
Where did these creatures come from and why would he Lord create and allow them to exist over extended periods of time on the earth ?
The answer may be that these were satanic corruptions of altered genetic material life forms. This is most likely why satan is often referred to as an ancient serpent or dragon in scripture.
Would the Lord have allowed satan and his angels to manufacture these hideous creatures for fun and games on the earth and other planets ? He may have until He decided to bring this activity it to a halt.
Could satan have been allowed to alter genetic DNA for producing his gladiator lizards for sport ?
Humans have discovered this process of DNA manipulation today and are doing it to some degree. If we can, then it is very possible that satan had the ability to do the same to a much greater extent.
There is no telling what this angelic creature and his followers were doing in the long distant past after their rebellion against the Lord.
If left alone to experiment, he could very well have been the inventor of a very strange and deadly world that one would not want to visit.
I am speculating about these things, but the more significant question might be, what was the Lord's reaction to the rebellion of satan and 1/3 of all of the angels ?
I think the answer relates to the observable conditions of decay and death found in the fossil records, and the massive upheaval of the earth's crust.
Genesis 1:2 states that the earth was at the time totally covered by the great deep and in total darkness. All life forms on the surface and in the waters had been eliminated.
The Lord would surely react to satan's venture to show him that his actions were folly and doomed to failure. His response was devastating and on a scale of universal proportion including the earth.
He moved to strip satan of his interactions with and habitations of the material universe to the maximum degree. This left satan with a total loss of his trusted position of power, authority, and the free use of the Lord's creations.
Scriptures related to satan's fall reflect this very possibility and we can find these in Isaiah chapter 14, and Ezekiel 28.
The Lord's initial and perfect universe was inhabited by the angelic realm in the beginning and included vast arrays of His perfect creative works. Included were endless places of habitation with all kinds of interesting life forms.
The angels were created just before that of the material universe. We know this because they observed His creative processes.
where are the foundations fastened,
who laid the corner stone,
when the morning stars sang together
and the sons of God shouted for joy ?"
[Job 38:4-7]
We are told in Scripture that Satan was originally a covering cherub of the highest order of angels. He was given great authority, responsibilities, and the use of the Lord's creations.
Satan walked, and still does walk, among the stones of fire [heavenly bodies, stars, and planets].
His walk today is one in desperation since the universe is a very hostile place and his opportunities are very limited.
Most of his focus is now and has been on the earth since the creation of humans of our kind and his objective is always to destroy them by any means possible. Satan hates the idea of future human immortality.
He will be confined to the earth with no further access to the heavenly dimensions at the time of the end of this present age. His visitation will be violent and extremely destructive before his is captured and sent to the abyss. [Revelation 12, 20]
Satan was initially upon the Lord's holy mountain [His government] before his rebellion and had a position at a very high level in the Lord's universal government.
A day came when the Lord found satan abusing his granted and vaulted position and it was all down hill for him from that time forward.
He found iniquity, pride, arrogance, and greed in satan's behavior. Satan may have been hiding his ambitions, but did not hide his actions.
He was apparently engaged in using his position, authority, and personal attributes to possess and distribute the wealth of the Lord's material universe for his own gain by any means including violence.
His market place was the entire universe which was created in perfection and included great material wealth and blessings from the Lord. Satan's merchandising was the beginning of his down fall.
This behavior corrupted satan and pushed him further to the extent that he challenged the Lord's position and as creator and ruler of the universe. He then set out to rebel against Him and to replace Him.
"I will exalt my throne above the stars of God"
"I will sit upon the mountain of the congregations"
"I will ascend above the clouds and be like the most High"
[Isaiah 14:13-14]
For this the Lord cast him out of his original position in His government and He will ultimately destroy satan so that he will no longer walk freely among the stones of fire [heavenly bodies, stars, and planets].
The Lord began His judgment process sometime between the rebellion of satan and 1/3 of the angelic realm and the reconditioning of the earth about 6,000 years ago.
He brought darkness, disorder, and destruction to satan's valued habitations in order to punish him for his pride, arrogance, and rebellion. The earth and related solar system was affected in the process.
The planet Mars appears that it was a habitation of ancient life forms and it has not been restored like the earth. The earth has been uniquely reconditioned while the others of the solar system are still uninhabitable.
There is evidence of forces much greater than that of Noah's flood which altered and twisted the earth's topography at some time in the far distant past.
There is also evidence of the existence of life forms over an enormous period of time which reflect entropy, decay, and death before the Lord's renovation of the earth just 6,000 years ago.
Genesis 1:2 gives us a picture of an earth that had been visited by the Lord with devastating destructive forces for the purpose of dealing with satan's intransigence.
He was not willing to allow satan and his followers to exercise unmitigated and unlimited corruption of His universe in their fallen state of rebellion.
Genesis 1:3 tells us that the Lord then moved to recondition the earth for the habitation of human beings who were to be created in His own image.
This unique creature would be His centerpiece with an ultimate journey to inhabit new heavens and a new earth which He will produce in the future. [Genesis 1:26-27; Revelation 7:9-17; 21:1-7; 22:1-5]
The first humans had the capacity of free will which allowed them to decide for themselves whether they would continue to live under the Lord's providence, guidance, and protection. He will also judge those who refuse Him [Romans 1:18-32; 2:1-11]
He does not force His will upon us when it comes to the question of whether we want to depend and rely upon Him for our well-being and our continued existence.
Adam and Eve were created in an environment that was very good, but still subject to entropy, decay, and death brought on by the Lord's prior judgment against satan's initial rebellion.
The Lord did not eliminate these conditions, but was willing to protect the first humans if they would trust and obey Him.
These conditions still exist today and were the result of the Lord's actions against satanic rebellion which involved at least two of His objectives.
The first was obviously to punish satan and the other fallen angels by limiting their use of His universe and their ultimate destruction. Revelation 20:10-15]
This would be an example of how He reacts to rebellion against the necessity of His creatures (created beings) to recognize the need for His role as the life source in relation to their very existence.
The second was to allow for human exposure to conditions that would force the choice of adhering to an existent relationship with Him, or to separate one's self from a dependency upon His role as creator and ruler of His universe.
The human must choose life and eternal existence, or death and elimination. He requires that we make this choice, and we must be confronted with this issue since we are not forced by Him into one or the other.[Daniel 12:1-2; Revelation 20:6]
What He has revealed to us is that the first choice is not possible without a willingness to trust, rely upon, and accept Him for who He is.
The second will be the result of rejection and if one refuses to address the issue the second choice is automatically implied. He made this very clear to Adam and Eve and then allowed for them to decide for themselves.
They chose the second option which separated their necessary relationship with Him and set them off on their own journey. We all do this and must return to a rightful relationship with Him.
He knew that the first humans would do this and allowed for it to take place. All of their descendants would then follow the same course up to this very day.
This condition creates the necessary contrast for us to evaluate our relationship to Him and His corresponding remedy for recovery.
He knows that the human will must be tested on this issue in order for one to voluntarily find the path back to an acceptable relationship with Him.
One must then choose to take it. If we do this He accepts our "willingness" unconditionally. Our approach has to be serious, truthful, and direct.
He will then set us on the path of return and give us the power to stay on course since we cannot do this totally on our own. Many humans have and will respond accordingly, but unfortunately most will not.
The Lord has said that the road to eternal life is a narrow one and few will find it. On the other hand, the road to death and destruction is a broad road, and most will take it. [Matthew 7:13-23]
He addressed two issues with Adam and Eve on this matter. He warned them about the potential outcome of making the wrong choice and He allowed them to be exposed to satan's deceptions. [Genesis 3]
Satan observed the Lord's reconditioning of the earth after experiencing His wrath and judgment against his own position and freedom of action.
He also saw the creation and placement of humans on the earth who were made in the Lord's image and immediately set out to lead Adam and Eve away from their creator.
He heard Him say to them that if they chose to give up His relationship of providential care and direction then they would surely die (both physically and spiritually).
Satan then persuaded them to disobey the Lord and to take the risk. They proceeded to ignore His warning.
Satan's suggestion was that they could become like God(s), and would not die, and his objective was to separate them from the Lord with the hope that He would in fact destroy them.
Satan does not want the human being to gain the promise of eternal life that he has already lost and he has great fear of the Lord who will ultimately destroy him.
The Lord said to satan the He would place "enmity" between the seed of the woman and satan and his seed [followers], and that satan would bruise "His" heel. He then added that "He" will bruise satan's head [kill him]. [Genesis 3]
This statement was a forecast of His plan for the recovery and redemption of humans from their fallen state. It was also a declaration of satan's future demise.
The "He" in the declaration is Jesus Christ, who has gained the victory over satan and will eventually eliminate him.
He did this by becoming a human, by going to the cross, and by rising to eternal indestructible life thereby demonstrating His intents for the believer.
This demonstration of power and authority has been presented to human beings for their own individual redemption and to save humanity from spiritual death and destruction.
Only the Lord has the power to do this and the human must choose to accept or reject a voluntary relationship with Him. He said: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no human can come to the Father except by me." [John 14:1-12]
The only exclusive way to gain eternal life is by the acceptance of and trusting in Jesus Christ for one's salvation. No other being can offer and execute this promise.
The question is often posed that since not every human being has or will hear of the Lord, then how can these be given a chance to choose ? The answer is very simple.
Since He is all knowing and can anticipate human behavior in advance, He knows what one would do if presented with the truth. The Lord is continuously aware of human thought and actions, past, present, and future.
Those who are seeking a right relationship are detected by Him and He will respond accordingly in absolute perfect justice even if one has not heard of Jesus Christ.
The Bible tells us that we are without excuse when it comes to the need for seeking our way back to the Lord. Even the very existence of our being and the material world is evidence to us that He exists. [Romans 1:18-20]
Even as an infant we know that He exists. What we do is ignore this fact and then choose many other avenues and theoretical beliefs to follow. We have the capacity for great imaginations and corresponding intransigent behavior.
The first humans and all of mankind must deal with this issue. He has placed it before us to choose. There are no excuses for us to side-track, ignore, or reject this truth.
The first 1,000 years of human habitation on the earth developed into a world that was totally corrupted. So much that the Lord destroyed all humans with the exception of Noah and his family. [Genesis 6:1-7]
Human intransigence with satanic deception and involvement was so widespread that the Lord brought judgment to the earth in the form of a worldwide flood. Did He know in advance that this would occur and that His actions would be necessary ?
Yes He did and we must recognize the He is willing and capable of eliminating human existence including the physical body and the human spirit by His justified choice. He is all powerful, totally just, and has the right to give and take life from His created beings as He chooses.
There is little detail in scripture covering the period from Adam to the flood. The world of humans must have grown to a very large population on the earth.
There was more land surface exposed for human habitation, climatic conditions were very favorable, and the level of satanic involvement was higher than it is today.
The behavior of fallen humanity and the interaction of fallen angels caused the earth to become totally corrupted. Satan's quest to destroy the Lord's plans and purposes for mankind reached a level that He was no longer willing to tolerate. [Genesis 6:1-7]
We are told that the "sons of God" who left their former estate (angelic rebellion) became involved with human women and their offspring were human\angelic combinations.
The earth was corrupted and filled with violence to the extent that the Lord destroyed the world with a flood. Even the tops of the highest mountains were covered long enough to eliminate all air breathing creatures including humans.
He kept one man and his family and various land animals from destruction. Noah was apparently one who walked with the Lord and recognized his dependency upon Him.
Noah obeyed the Lord's direction and as a result he and his family survived the flood. All humans who have lived since that time are descendants of Noah.
Noah had three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. From these the earth was repopulated as their descendants first settled lands in the Middle East and then to the rest of the planet. [Genesis 10]
The Bible presents a view of five significant land areas of the first habitations that were centered in the Middle East. These boundaries were initially set by the Lord and Bible prophecy [the visions of the Bible prophets] are all focused within them.
The student of Bible prophecy needs to understand that the scope of the past and the future recorded in all of the prophetic scriptures including the book of Revelation are primarily limited to these ancient land areas of the Middle East.
Other areas of the earth were quickly populated by Noah's descendants as they migrated out of the Middle East, but the prophetic scriptures do not for the most part include them.
The lands of Egypt, Canaan, Magog, and Shinar were areas of significant population growth initially and they formed a crescent from northeastern Africa to southern Iraq.
The fifth and later development of a land area displaced part of the land of Canaan. This became the land of Israel. Most of the Bible's prophetic focus is related to these land areas from ancient times. [Genesis 11:27-31; 12:1-3]
Speculative attempts to extend the prophetic visions to include other significant population centers outside of the Middle East on most subjects will only result in confusion and misinterpretation.
There are some prophetic references to a larger picture of human habitation and these are included in subjects of the visions for the time of the end of this present age which is still yet future.
But the central focus is always upon the land of Israel and Jerusalem when Israel or a remnant of the nation's population is present and abiding there. The scope of Bible prophecy is also limited to this presence.
The nation was removed from the land of Israel by the Lord for their intransigence in the past and eventually ceased to exist there by the end of the first century.
The scope of prophecy ends with 69 weeks of years [about 33 A.D.] decreed for the nation of Israel [483 years] and then continues with the 1 remaining week [7 years] which is still future. [Daniel 9, 12]
This last segment of Bible prophecy will begin at a time [date] which is not revealed in scripture. The Lord hs said that no one can know the start time for coming the 7 year period of the time of the end of this present age.
A remnant part of the nation has returned to the land of Israel and exists there today. The Lord has brought them from the nations of the world in part to be in place to experience the last 7 years [the time of Jacob's trouble .... Jeremiah 30]which will include His judgment of their nation and the world for unbelief.
This period will include events that lead to the visible return of the Israel's Messiah and King, and His rule of the earth for 1,000 years. Most of the world's population including Israel will not survive the Lord's judgments of the 70th week.
The Lord's view of the lost world of unbelieving humanity at the time of His coming hour of trial is symbolized by Mystry Babylon the great in the book of Revelation. [Revelation 14:8; 17:1-18; 18:1-21; 19:2]
Humans began to build cities shortly after the flood. The initial concept was to create interdependency and collective structure for the purpose of self determination apart from the Lord's providence and direction.
The city is the model that is still used today for the same purposes and it is the nucleus of human populations that fills the dominion or kingdom ruled by human political authority.
The society that is created is symbolized by a "woman" who is separated from a relationship with the Lord. One of the first cities was Babel and many others were built between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the Middle East.
The symbol of "Mystery Babylon the Great" is derived from Babel [confusion of languages], one of the first cities built after the flood. All spoke a common language until the Lord intervened.
His purpose was to halt the building process and to scatter the inhabitants by limiting their communications. He would prefer that humans live separate nomadic life styles with dependence upon His direction and care.
Babylon is also the literal name of the ancient city of Babylon which was the center of the Babylonian Empire ruling the Middle East during the 6th century B.C.
Nimrod, a descendant of Ham, was one of the first human leaders (kings) and he built Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar. This was the beginning of his kingdom (dominion)in the land of Shinar. [Genesis 10:6-10]
Later Asshur, a descendant of Shem left Akkad in the land of Shinar, and built the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth, Calah, and Resen. These cities were located further north and west of the land of Shinar in the land of Magog [northern Iraq]. [Genesis 10:11]
His kingdom (dominion) was the beginning of the Akkadian/Assyrian Empire which eventually ruled most of the Middle East by the 7th century B.C. These first cities established his dominion in the heart of the land of Magog. Magog's direct descendants were displaced by the Akkadian/Assyrian rulers.
Magog and his brothers Gomer, Mesheck, and Tubal, were descendants of Japheth and established the first initial settlements in this same area located between the land of Shinar and the land of Canaan.
This area was directly south of Mount Ararat and was the beginning of their habitations shortly after the flood. Further extents of this area were developed westward and southward toward the land of Canaan.
The two cities of Mesheck and Tubal were built in this land and were named after Magog's younger brothers. These two inland commercial centers traded with early Canaanite settlements on the Mediterranean coast.
Magog's other relatives Gomer and Togarmah settled in the northern extents (north quarters) of land of Magog. The rule of Magog's land eventually passed to the Akkadian/Assyrian political powers.
This same area of Magog's original settlements is where the little horn, human leader [satan's beast .... the little horn in Daniel's visions] will first appear at the end of this present age. [Daniel 8:9-12; 8:23-25; 11:36-45; 12:7; Micah 5:5]
He will begin with a smaller dominion there at first and then expand it to rule most of the Middle East. This is why the Lord has Ezekiel address satan [gog] and the land of Magog in Ezekiel 38 and 39.
The Akkadian king Sargon was the first to establish and rule over a system of combined city/states from this same area. All paid tribute and were subjected to his rule. This same area is in northern Iraq today.
The "position" of the human "king" is part of the composite model of the "woman" [the human inhabitants], and the king's "dominion" [head, mountain, kingdom] as it is described in the book of Revelation. [Revelation 17]
It is vital for the student of Bible prophecy to understand these symbols used to describe human organization that separates from a necessary relationship with the Lord.
Sargon's rule eventually covered most of both of the lands of Magog and Shinar and extended to the Mediterranean in the west and to the Persian Gulf in the east.
All of these early human habitations were designed and built on the concept of self rule apart from the Lord's providence and direction. This has been and still is the model of human civilization.
The city became the corporate center of the human king's power, following, support, and resources. Human organization of this type was a necessary component of the king's dominance over his kingdom.
He could develop political infrastructure, collect taxes, raise armies, and control these human populations within his kingdom. The next step was further expansion by conquering other peoples and their lands and adding them to the kingdom.
Human interaction creates the energy, synthesis, and motivation for the development of culture, social infrastructure, materialism, trade, commerce, false religions, and self determination.
This model of human design includes the human king "position" [government], the dominion [extent of the king's rule], and the habitant society [woman] that exists within the dominion.
It also creates the potential for expansion by alliance and conquest. The world has experienced continuous warfare and human decadence; and human civilization has been conditionally responsible for mass death and destruction in many ways, both physically and spiritually since the beginning of time.
The Lord is against this man made model of human civilization because it is built upon the fallen condition of human nature, and because it excludes His interaction.
Human behavior can and does become antagonistic toward Him beyond His tolerance. When this happens His judgment can fall and can be sudden and brutal.
Human societies are collectively and individually lost without a relationship to Him and this can lead to an individual's eventual spiritual death and elimination.
The model produces an environment packed with deceptions, distractions, seductions, and misleading influences which can prevent humans from finding out the truth about their existence and future survival.
There is a contrasting theme presented in scripture involving the social context of this model. The Lord called Abraham to leave the city of Ur and the Sumerian culture for the land of Canaan about 1,000 years after the flood. [Genesis 12:1-4]
There he was to establish [father] a nation and city that would be set apart from all others. The land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem was to be the human organization model of contrast.
It was to be an example to the world of a nation and city under the providence and direction of the Lord. He would be their King and they would be His people.
The relationship was eventually traded by Israel for the ways of the other cities and nations of the earth, but the Lord has and is still honoring his agreements with Israel of whom some [a remnant part] will eventually accept and obey Him at His second advent. [Isaiah 11; Jeremiah 30; Ezekiel 36,37; Daniel 9]
He came to be the king of the nation of Israel 2,000 years ago and He was rejected by His own people and was and is also rejected by all other nations for the most part. [Romans 11:1-36]
The scope of the visions of the Bible prophets ends with His rejection 2,000 years ago .... and resumes again including events that will lead up to His visible return and presence on the earth. [Daniel 9:24-27]
He will come again the second time at the end of this present age and His kingdom [dominion] will extend over the entire earth and He will rule from Jerusalem. [Daniel 2; Micah 4; Revelation 20]
Israel's early intransigence caused the Lord to bring judgment against the nation by allowing the surrounding nations to attack, destroy, and occupy their land. The Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans were all examples.
He sent prophets to the nation to warn of impending judgment if Israel did not turn to Him and repent of their intentional behavior towards Him.
The same prophets recorded their visions in the Old Testament and these visions also include related events that are yet future from today. The nation was expelled entirely from the land by the end of the first century.
The Lord scattered Israel to reside in the very nations that He brought against them from which they are to return for the future and second advent of their Messiah and King.
They will experience a time of unprecedented trouble almost to the point of total extinction in the land of Israel and on a worldwide scale at the end of this present age. [Jeremiah 30; Zechariah 14; Matthew 24]
This will take place during the last 7 years of the 70 weeks of years decreed for Israel. [Daniel 9]. The nation will be invaded, conquered, and occupied by the beast [Abaddon-Apollyon in the little horn, human king of the northern Middle East] and his followers for 42 months. [Jeremiah 30; Ezekiel 38; Daniel 11:41, 12:7; Micah 5; Zechariah 14; Luke 21; Revelation 12]
A believing remnant of the nation will turn to the Lord during His hour [time] of trial [time of Jacob's trouble] and these will discover and accept the kingship of their Messiah. [Jeremiah 30; Matthew 24:15-16; Zechariah 14:4-5; Revelation 7:1-8]
There is another dimensional component related to human civilization revealed in scripture. We do not detect this with our limited senses, but the Bible contains a great deal of information and its significance to human existence.
This is the parallel dimension of the spirit world of fallen angelic creatures of whom some have been, are, and will be involved with human civilizations. This interaction is allowed by the Lord and is subjected to His control by degree of restraint. [Daniel 10; Revelation 12:3-4; 12:12]
The trend has been from a higher to a lower more restrained level of interaction since the beginning of human existence and it will increase dramatically at the end of this present age during the time of the end.
The pre-deluvians had a very high level of satanic infestation including the co-habiting of fallen angelics and human women; this condition ceased during the post flood era and was greatly restrained; the Lord's first advent brought even further restraint by the sending of His holy spirit which has predominated up to this very day.
This is trend going to take a dramatic swing in reverse at the end of this present age and the Lord will greatly diminish restraint against satan's interaction with humanity on a scale never experienced in the past. [2Thessalonians 2:3-12]
Satan lost his position and authority in the Lord's government because of his rebellion and intransigence. His focus has been on corrupting and destroying humans since Adam and Eve were created and he still pursues these objectives today.
The Lord addresses satan as gog in Ezekiel 38, identifies his place of origin on the earth as the land of Magog [the upper Tigris/Euphrates River basin], and calls him the "chief" prince of Mesheck and Tubal.
This description is an example of satan's involvement with humanity in the early stages of human settlements in the Middle East shortly after Noah's flood.
The Lord uses these ancient location identifiers to pinpoint satan's future operation on the earth at the time of the end of this present age. His involvement with the two early ancient commercial centers of Mesheck and Tubal describe his connection and rule over these trading centers located in the land of Magog.
The developments of human organization into cities, larger city/states, and empires all become targets of satanic exploitation. Satan is the "chief" prince of the other fallen angels who follow and participate in his strategy of corrupting the human race on a worldwide scale.
Visions contained in Bible prophecy are specifically focused upon the Middle East and the human civilizations that have existed there since the flood; the scope of the visions is limited by the Lord for His specific purposes.
He is drawing attention to this area of the world today as we move closer to the reality of His second advent .... He has delayed this event, but will come to the earth again just as the prophetic scriptures tell.
The Middle East is the central theme of the visions of the Bible prophets and is very much in the focus of today's current news headlines. Many nations are involved and vexed by the instability and conflicts taking place involving a returned remnant part of Israel and the nation's surrounding militant Islamic enemies. [Psalms 83; Ezekiel 38]
All of this picture is specifically presented in the visions of the Bible prophets for the time of the end of this present age.
I believe the stage is setting up in the Middle East for the final drama involving the Lord's second advent and His contention with satan and the nations of the unbelieving world.
The believer in Jesus Christ is blessed indeed beyond measure in contrast and possesses His promise and hope of a perfected magnificent eternal immortality. [1Corinthians 15:22-58]
My personal and sincere hope is that all who read this little book will seek the Lord and His salvation and will also be challenged to learn and understand His prophetic truths for the purpose of conveying a greater witness to others who are lost and without hope.
If you have not discovered Jesus Christ and His offer of salvation you must do so now .... time is of the essence for you .... there is no other way to secure your eternal future.
Psalms
2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
Matthew
25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
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