He makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast. Revelation 13:11-18.

 Previously, the Apostle John saw this.

“It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.” (Revelation 13:7-8 NASB)

We established who this “him” or spokesperson for the beast, is; and it is the antichrist (the Assyrian.) As you can see above, this man:

• Makes war with the saints and to overcome them.

  War is the Greek word polēmos and, according to Strong's concordance means warfare (literally or figuratively); whether a single encounter or a series of battles.

  So, the reality is that this guy, with some help, is going to kill the saints. But you have to remember where you are at – in the early stages of the time of wrath. The assumption most people make is that we apply the term and characteristics of the Biblical Christian to those who go through the wrath. Christians – followers of Christ or believers are the church. The church is to be caught up into the clouds, to forever be with Him.

  “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17 NASB)

  Another aspect of being a Christian is the fact that we, the broken, will be changed. Ah, but changed into what? We will be like him (Jesus.).

  Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:51-53 NASB)

  Let me point out a few other things here. Raised perishable we will put on the imperishable – immortality, a term that I used frequently in my last post. I only point to this because religious zealots, who skimmed right over this term, will have hate-filled thoughts that I could apply comic book characteristics to this life that we will soon have.

  Now, many think they are Christians, though their lives show very little fruit. Using the story of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13,) it becomes clear that 50% of those who deem themselves to be in the family, will not make it in on the first pass. For me, the burning question is will these people, who believe they are Christians, and go through the time of wrath, be changed and therefore free from the draw of sin? Perhaps a part of the answer may come from 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 itself. Pay attention to the words “For this perishable must put on the imperishable.”
  Is it possible that some of us will put on the imperishable, while others will not?

  If they do not put on the imperishable then they are subject to pain and death, just like everybody else. If they displayed some love toward God, and yet, could not bring themselves to stay the course, to the point that like the virgins, did not choose to trim their wicks, put adequate oil in the lamps, nor bring extra oil, just in case. It is not hopeless for them but they, like everyone else, will have to prove their love for Him in martyrdom. It almost seems as though their love will be more precious because the cost was so high. These are those who are called saints in Revelation 13:7.

• Has “ authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.”

The extent of this man's actions is global. At the moment my mind says, how is that possible, but the reality of of global communications, and the fact that we see, even now, the world working in unison to get everyone vaccinated, should explain a bit of how this will happen. Holocaust again.

Page one.

• And we see this. “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.”

  Everybody worships this fool with the exception of one group of people, those whose names are written in the book of life.

  Have you ever thought about this?

  All of these people who are refusing to worship the antichrist/the beast have been known to God all along.

  Let's go back to the virgins of Matthew 25. I want to scream here, as they were all virgins. What happened, because only half made it to the wedding.

  Did their hearts change toward God?

  Did God's heart toward them change?

  Did He erase them out of the Lamb's book of life?

  The answer is NO to all these questions, although I have experienced momentary shifts in my attitude toward God, especially when I knew I was in the wrong.

  And now, we find “virgins”, Christians, and people who have fought to maintain their denial of Christ because it made them look uncool. Suddenly everything becomes clear and you know that you have to hold on to the testimony of Christ, even if it is a bloody gurgle before you die.

Revelation 13:11 -

At this point in time, the madness above has been going on for three and a half years. Out of the shadows of the temple, this man called the false prophet steps forward.

Revelation 13:11 NASB Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.

• Coming out of the earth?

  I looked at J. Vernon McGee because he tends to explain things on a farm level simplicity. He said, “The earth from which this second beast arises is symbolic of Palestine, and it is naturally assumed that the second beast comes from Israel. He is a messiah, and Israel would not accept him unless he had come from their land and was one of them.”

  Having spent my life in church I can say I have heard everything, but this is the first time I have heard this. The beast coming out of the sea represents a vast horde, but for me, it certainly seemed to convey the idea of a wide spread horde.

  I have pointed out that the Revelation is Middle East centric, with that in mind it would be easy to look solely at the Mediterranean and the Levantine coast.

  So, then, where should I look for the false prophet?

  You got it, the Middle East, but the passage gives us a huge clue in that it says, “he had two horns like a lamb.” The lamb is Jesus and the Revelation itself, give us this. John is told, not to weep, behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

  “and one of the elders *said to me, "Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals." And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.” (Revelation 5:5-6 NASB)

  
  

Page two.

• So what is John now expecting to see?

  You got, a lion as regal as the imagery of Aslan from the C.S. Lewis book, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

  But what does he see?

  A Lamb, standing, as if slain. Something completely the opposite. In case you have forgotten, the Lion voluntarily became the Lamb for our benefit.

  With all this in mind, there is a strong push to see this false prophet as coming out of Israel, as Dr. McGee mentioned.

  What relational passage can we find from the Old Testament?

  'These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth.

  (Daniel 7:17 NASB)

  “Four beasts,” is similar to the terminology, used to describe the four beasts coming out of the sea. Using the term land forces us to re-center upon the Middle East.

  “And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper.”
  (Daniel 8:12 NASB)

  The “host” may well be referring to the Jewish religious leadership. The verse implies that all of them will cave to this false prophet, but if we use Nicodemus as an example, then we can know that NOT all will sell their sole to the devil.

  You need to know something, Islam has its own set prophecies, and one of them includes their understanding that in the last days there will be a high priest in the last temple.

  Israel already has this guy appointed, and this appointment happened several years ago. His name is Rabbi Baruch Kahane. He is respected and loved by many.

  Islam believes that this man, whom the Jewish council did an extensive background check to validate his lineage as it relates to Aaron, will, at some point, (3.5 years into the seven-year reign of the antichrist,) switch teams, convert to Islam, join himself to the antichrist (whom the Muslim's call the Mahdi,) and become the deadly enforcer of Sharia law. He will throw down the law of God in exchange for Sharia law. Empowered by the dragon – Satan, he will perform miracles and signs; one of those signs is to turn the rain back on again.

  What is he doing turning the rain back on?

  Because the two witnesses from God, have been doing signs and wonders, not so dissimilar to what Moses and Aaron did before Pharaoh; and they have turned off the rain. Because after three years God calls the two witnesses back home, He has allowed to be killed, up to this point NO ONE has been able to touch them; and now they are gone.

  What or who is there to stop this false prophet from performing any evil miracle he wants?

• The verse, Revelation 13:11, finishes by saying “he spoke as a dragon.”

  When you consider that this is Satan filling this priest's mind and soul with evil power and direction; to the point that this priest, serving in the newly built temple, is speaking on behalf of Satan when he speaks.

As if speaking on behalf of Satan was not bad enough, “He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence.”

Page three.

Revelation 13:12 NASB He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.

The false prophet exercises all the authority of the beast, or antichrist, strangely, the verse adds, in his presence. So, whatever powers or authority that the beast has, he has, and so the false prophet continues the killing. Apparently, the antichrist and now the false prophet, do not care that the church, and, therefore, the Christians, were caught up to be with Jesus, and, therefore, protected from the dangers of the wrath. And so, the people they are now killing without thought or reason, are those that were NOT anxiously awaiting Jesus return, and they were non-believers when the rapture came, so I would be hard-pressed to call them Christians. Thank God a change can still come and God calls them saints.

But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (2 Corinthians 3:15-16 NASB)

An even more decisive verse comes from Isaiah. I included verse 6 as it speaks to the marriage supper of the Lamb. The mountain is where the New Jerusalem will be.

The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. And on this mountain, He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 25:6-8 NASB)

Look at these words, “And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations.” What did I tell you? That the veil over the world will be lifted. I assumed that this would happen at the rapture, a prime moment of time as it would be logical and open the door for the world to come to know Him.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4 NASB)

• “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,”

  Are you telling me, that if by believing, and, therefore, no longer perishing, that the veil is lifted from the those who come to the Lord during “the tribulation.”

  So, if someone during the time of wrath believes, are you telling me that they have the veil lifted from their heart and eyes?

  Yes.

• “ And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast.”

  The false prophet, quite possibly the rabbi who is to become the high priest, will make everyone on earth worship the first beast.

  The first beast is the antichrist, but wait a minute, didn't the antichrist emerge from one of the heads of this four-headed beast?

  Yes, he did. The problem here is that the story just made a shift and assigned this head wound that apparently kills a kingdom.

  "The broken horn and the four horns that arose in its place represent four kingdoms which will arise from his nation, although not with his power. (Daniel 8:22 NASB)

Page four.

• “whose fatal wound was healed.”

  I have explained on multiple occasions how the Ottoman empire fits the description of the kingdom that sustained a mortal head wound in 1924, and yet came back to life in 1979 with the Iranian or Islamic revolution.

  But, because the context is focused on a man, the false prophet, who is following the antichrist – the beast, the terminology feeds into the false teachings that we should be looking for someone who survives an assassination attempt.

  The truth of the matter is that the followers of Christ, really have nothing to do with any of this. We are merely trying to inform those who insist on getting caught up in this torture; this is especially grievous since you don't have to endure the wrath of God, simply turn you heart to God and look for His salvation.

Revelation 13:13 NASB He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.

We talked about this briefly. It is highly possible that God has already sent the two witnesses. They have been here for three and a half years and have been doing the very things that this passage describes. The witnesses use fire to destroy anyone who tries to harm them. And, remember that the magicians in Pharaoh's court copied or mimicked the signs and miracles that Moses and Aaron performed; an exception came when Aaron threw down Moses' rod and it turned into a serpent. The magicians did the same thing, but Moses' rod ate theirs; this they could not duplicate.

Revelation 13:14 NASB And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the wound of the sword and has come to life.

Previously, we saw that everyone except for those whose name is written in the book of Life worshiped the antichrist – the beast. Now, the false prophet deceives everyone who is dwelling on the earth, and he does it by the signs.

Consider for a moment, that if this is actually a known, well-accepted rabbi, who the Jewish council promoted to be the high priest of the new temple, and suddenly he is doing the same signs that the two witnesses performed.

What would the potential impact be?

Jesus, in His response to the disciples about when these things would come to pass, said, see to it that you do not become deceived. The deception will be great, but only because these men do not have their hearts settled in God's word.

Revelation 13:15 NASB And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

The beast was a four-headed monstrosity; a kingdom; a man – the antichrist, and all of them empowered by Satan, and most likely a fallen angel, a demon.

Which one of these will become the model for the image?

So, we truly have no major clue as to what this image will look like. It just makes sense that it is the image of a human.

But what if it is the image of Allah?

No one has seen Allah unless you count the demonic angel that tried to choke out Mohammad in an effort to convince him to follow Allah.

We live in an age of robotics and audio-animatronics, thanks to Disneyland. I don't see this false prophet using techniques like Disneyland but they might use some of the projection techniques.

Revelation 13:16-17 NASB (16) And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, (17) and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Dear Lord, who is left on earth to accept this mark?

The antichrist and now the false prophet, have been on a rampage killing followers of Christ during the time of wrath. One might think that most would have been killed by now. If that is the case, this has to be only those who are still coming to an acceptance of Christ. In other words, people, from every nation, who have been able to dodge the sword; the vaccine; the wrath of man, and the hatred of the antichrist.

Are you aware that the technology to permanently mark you with a traceable tattoo, is less than three years away from being implemented in association with the vaccine?

So this can happen at almost anytime.

Revelation 13:18 NASB Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

This is like Rubik's cube to me and I have never figured it out.

The beast has been associated with empires, like the Ottoman empire, and finally connected to a man, empowered by Satan. The last representation is a demonically empowered man. I suggest, strongly, that he is a Muslim because one of his names (given in Daniel's prophecies,) is the Assyrian. Do your homework and you will find that the Muslims and the remnant of the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires are all Assyrians. In short, Middle Easterners; sons of Abraham through Ishmael.

Revelation 21:8, as for murderers, the immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars of all kinds.

 

Several years ago my mother, who is in heaven now, asked me if we were going to have to go through the tribulation. I said mom, Jesus told us that our lives would be filled with tribulations merely because we have a relationship with Jesus Christ. However, there is a separation between everyday life, and this seven-year period that is the time of wrath – we seem to have a strange attraction to calling it, the Great Tribulation. I realize where those words come from.

Tribulation is the Greek word thlipsis and it means pressure, affliction, anguish, persecution, trouble, and avoiding the obvious – tribulation.

An interesting thing about translations. I looked at four and got a different word in place of tribulation each time. So let's look at Revelation 7:14 with some substitute words. Pick a noun from above and insert it below, they all work.

I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great (________,) and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:14 NASB)

Pressure works very well here. Honestly, I have been alarmed at how rapidly the move to a global government has come upon us. One could deem it as pressure. We are getting pressured to get several injections of their poison under the guise of a Covid 19 flu shot; although they won't tell you that it is meant to kill you, or that you can no longer participate in public venues or go shopping, as though you are the problem. Consider using the word propaganda to explain much of this, as we, on a daily basis, get pounded with “information” about the Covid.

All of this is conveyed throughout the Bible, but primarily in the Revelation and in Daniel's prophecies. Revelation 9:21 and Revelation 16:9, 11, all tell me that these people DO NOT repent of their deeds or their murders.

The thing that I really wanted to talk about happened on multiple occasions, at a men's bible study I used to attend. Yep, I left that “study” and this was one of the reasons why.

The leader of the bible study, on this particular day, said, no one goes into the millennial reign but Christians! Really? This is not only brash and ignorant, it is racist as he is excluding the Jews. Although he promoted the idea that he was approved by the Assemblies of God, it was obvious that he never read the bible for himself, because if he had, he would know that many Jews survive, turn to Jesus, and enter the millennial reign.

Want proof?

Isaiah 37:32 NASB "For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant and out of Mount Zion survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."'

You can also find this idea of survivors in Joel's writings. Notice that I gave you a lead-in that enforces that these survivors are coming out of a time of great distress.

Joel 2:31-32 NASB "The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. (32) "And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the LORD has said, Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls."

The prophet Isaiah also said this.

In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel. It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy--everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 4:2-3 NASB)

In Revelation 21 we see terminology that should make us believe that we have finally made it to heaven. For example, Verse one states “ I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.” Try to explain how heaven and earth can pass away without fire – a fire that burns everything, which should include any mortals.

Page one

I want you to think about something. Since we the church will have been changed into a non-corruptible body, free from sin, then what are we?

The answer is easy, though your mind will fight with the idea, we are immortals, like Jesus and the Father.

Anyone surviving, and not going through that change, would still be what?

Mere mortals, and therefore subject to death.

Since we know that death is separation from God, are these mortals, during the millennial reign, still subject to being separated from God?

Yes, and we know this because Satan, having been released at the end of the thousand years, deceives the mortals into attempting an overthrow of God one last time and many follow him to his eternal hell. As we read this story it appears that all of them fall for this ploy and God burns them with fire. Soon thereafter there is a final judgment. You would think that God saw every bit of this “mutiny” and erased any chance of them maintaining a lasting relationship with Him. Even as I write this, I can hear the Holy Spirit saying to me, you don't know that. Aren't you the one who proclaims that I am the God of mercy? Well then, leave all that judgment stuff up to Me.

In battles, do you typically see women and children going into battle?

No, and in the Middle Eastern cultures, women have roles and rarely step out of those roles.

So, is it reasonable to see everyone living outside of the New Jerusalem as being completely burned up?

The answer is no. It is also reasonable to think that as the husband of the family goes, so goes the family. How God deals with this is not clear to me, but then there are those leaves on the trees of life, that provide healing for the nations. If no one has told you this, allow me. God is merciful beyond your wildest expectations.

There is no need for another trial when it comes to Satan, as his final sentence has already been proclaimed; therefore, he is immediately sent to his hell along with its eternal separation from God.

Now, where are those who tried to overthrow God in a final mutiny and got themselves burned up?

Ecclesiastes tells us,

For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. (Ecclesiastes 9:5 NASB)

They are, at least for a few minutes, laying there on the ground where they fell, without a thought.

So, at this point have we moved on from the millennial reign into the perpetual heavenly kingdom?

The answer is, not yet. For those that would want to argue, I understand that for the believer who was caught up in the rapture, we are, from that point on immortal. That means the world and the sin that continues to exist there, cannot touch us. From the beginning of the millennial reign and forward, there will be peace.

But, there is an obvious catch to this, and that is where Revelation 21:8 comes into play.

"But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8 NASB)

If I were to preach that only Christians can enter the millennial reign, then obviously I would have to tear out a few pages of my bible in order to maintain that belief. For the Jew-haters among us, I have already pointed out that they too enter the millennial reign and have every right to be counted among those of Revelation 21:8.

Since the entirety of the Revelation is prophetic and subject to validation through repetition, where else can I find a theme like this?

Students of scripture, in John's day, would have been very familiar with the prophet Jeremiah

"Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: The committing of adultery and walking in falsehood; And they strengthen the hands of evildoers So that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like Sodom And her inhabitants like Gomorrah. (Jeremiah 23:14 NASB)

Page two.

Here, God equates these evildoers to the prophets of Jerusalem. This is speaking of leadership; let that sink in for a moment.

We also have a directive from God to not be fearful.

Deuteronomy 31:6 NASB "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."

When I get to Revelation 21, I get the sense that all this pain is about to end, but, like I said, for those who follow Christ, it has.

Revelation 21:1-6 NASB Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. (2) And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. (3) And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, (4) and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." (5) And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He *said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." (6) Then He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.

As I move slowly through the words I see in Revelation 21:1-6, I see the long-awaited hope coming to pass. However, I keep forgetting that I am one of those who is embedded in Christ and therefore will have already received my kingdom reward. That means that the crowd standing around, perpetuating abominable sins, while living during the millennial reign, will have NO impact on me.

If you think they do, then you too have forgotten that the millennial reign will be ruled by righteous judges who react as swift as lightning. Sure, the mortals will continue to die, but aging will be something like we read about in Genesis, where 900 years was not unusual.

(Kingdom rewards can easily equate to the feared Bema Seat. It is only feared because of lousy teaching, from lousy teachers, who are trying to control a people that is NOT theirs to control. We belong to Christ and it is the Holy Spirit of God that leads us and teaches us all things and shows us things to come.)

So, have we passed from the millennial reign and into the eternal heaven, that is free from sin?

Again, yes and no. No, because there is one more thing that has to happen, and that is the great white throne judgment. This is the same throne we see in Matthew 24. I know that sends many of you off the edge, as you want everyone passing before this “great white throne” to die a fiery death. Sorry, but that does NOT happen.

Guess what, I do not find the Great white throne in Revelation 21 or 22, so I have to go back to Revelation 20 to find it, but I am going to go back to Revelation 19 to understand what is going on here.

Revelation 19:1-5 is a grand announcement, and verse two may encapsulate what is being said.

BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER." (Revelation 19:2 NASB)

In short, the people who are shoving this vaccine in our arms are the harlot.

The next announcement is that the marriage of the Lamb has come.

"Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Then he *said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" And he *said to me, "These are true words of God." Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he *said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
(Revelation 19:6-10 NASB)

Page three.

Since the church - the bride has already been in heaven, with Jesus, for seven years, apparently, we have to wait until this moment in time. And then the most unusual things happen.

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. (Revelation 19:11-13 NASB)

You show up to your wedding and the groom is covered in blood! He is actively at war and the armies of heaven follow Him.

And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. (Revelation 19:14 NASB)

It only takes a minimum amount of research to figure that this is the church following Him. Hey, I did not sign up for this! Oh yeah, I keep forgetting that I am immortal at this point and cannot be defeated. Besides, Jesus does all the fighting, even though I have a sinister desire to bring some justice to earth.

Note the analogy, a wine press.

From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." (Revelation 19:15-16 NASB)

If He is treading out people, in a winepress, then what is coming out of the press?

Yep, blood, as deep as the horse's bridle.

Now it gets gross.

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in mid heaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great." And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him, the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.(Revelation 19:17-21 NASB)

I thought we were being invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. I must admit I am a bit confused. It matters not as I am now, and forever, permanently with Him; and, I am on the winning side of the battle. But still, the imagery throws me for a loop.

How many people get killed in this battle?

The antichrist and the false prophet are thrown alive into the lake of fire.

The rest, all those who have come for war, are killed. What, that is NOT what I have been taught. Yeah, more of that lousy teaching encroaching on our sanity.

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“so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men, and slaves, and small and great." And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.”

Are you telling me, that if they did not assemble for the war they are spared?

Yes, now you are catching on; and the merciful God allows these people entrance into the millennial reign. These non-combatants are not constantly forced to submit to a daily set of religious rules. They are, however, forced to come to Jerusalem once every year and participate in the week-long feast of booths. During this time they must be compliant and bow before God or lose their rainwater for a year. A second offense they immediately turn to dust. Look at it this way, during the days of grace you could turn your back on God and ignore Him, not anymore.

How many people are thrown into the lake of fire?

The answer is right there before you, but, because of, yes you got it, lousy teachers, we think everyone gets tossed and that is not the case, as yet. So far there are only two, and we have covered this already.

Then where are all the dead, and it seems that there are many?

Lying quietly in the ground, another subject we already covered.

Think about this, the earth is filled with corpses, and innumerable plastics that take around 10 thousand years to break down, not to mention the toxic waste we have created and left behind. God has a plan for all that, and it is to burn it all up. When this happens, and the best I can do is to apply some form of broken logic as to when best to do this, would be right after the “great white throne judgment, somehow, someway, this earth will burn. Not to worry as there will be a new one made immediately thereafter.

Why burn the earth up right after the Great White Throne?

Because after the Great White Throne judgment there will be no one left but immortals. There are always people who display their twisted, un-biblical thinking because they see these people as gaining access without Jesus. If we consider Matthew's account we see the gentle shepherd separating the crowd of dead people into two groups, one is called the sheep and the other, the goats. The sheep are given entrance into the kingdom, while the goats are told:

"Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew 25:41-46 NASB)

Do you really believe that people, and we will call them sheep for this example, are merely walking into the kingdom by their own selection; who do you think is sitting upon that throne, the Apostle John?

It is Jesus; and, you seem to forget that the trees of life are lining the banks of the river and that the leaves of those trees are for the healing of the nations.

in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

(Revelation 22:2 NASB)

What do you think, especially in the millennial reign, healing looks like?

It looks a lot like salvation.

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Think about this, God is not the least concerned with time or laws of gravity and such; Jesus walked through a locked door for crying out loud; and, He is not concerned about your lack of faith and trust in His decision to bring others into the kingdom as sons and daughters.

Chapter twenty of the Revelation shows the dragon captured and put out of harm's way for a thousand years.

You might ask, what does that have to do with Revelation 22. The answer is, there is no one here on earth to promote sin, such as the dragon/Satan.

Don't you realize that the evil we see in these people are things that they have brought with them in their heads and hearts; and yet, they are still allowed to live outside the New Jerusalem during the millennial reign?

"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.”

(Revelation 22:14-15 KJV)

So when we get to the great white throne, where are all these dead people coming from?

Revelation 20:5-6 NASB The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. (6) Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

Well, we just saw those who came to fight with Jesus killed. Others, outside of martyrdom, have died during the time of wrath (the seven-year period), and then there is everyone that died outside of a relationship with Jesus prior to the catching away of the church. Look, if you were in a relationship with Jesus, and you died, you got caught up, so don't sweat it.

But I don't know precisely how to explain everyone prior to the cross of Christ. This is where I throw them into the merciful hands of God, and, I have something to validate that idea.

Matthew 25: 31-46 speaks of a final judgment, that some like to call the sheep and goat judgment. It is the same judgment as the great white throne judgment we see in the Revelation. If you balking at that idea, then you need to follow a logical path. If we start with the premise that Jesus is God, then He is the one seated on both thrones. In the Revelation, He comes as an angry God, but in Matthew's account, He is a gentle shepherd, (If you have been watching The Chosen on YouTube, then you will understand this better.)