How the Bible states the end will come. What began as short post from Pete Garcia, who goes by REV310 on Telegram.

 This essay was, in a sense, a critique of a short post from Pete Garcia. You can view his page, education, and background on the Telegram app as REV310. 

Part one of at least three.

I am doing this because numbered points are things that you might hear in church but rarely understand; that, and I happen to think that some things need definition, especially when it comes to the Revelation. And I tend to get carried away with my writing and, therefore, have to cut my essay into segments.

I have noticed that Mr. Garcia has become a sought speaker in a brief time when it comes to Eschatology (The study of end-time events related to scripture.) Like Dr. Chuck Missler, he has an extensive military background, but I don’t buy everything he says. 

Having said all that, when I saw his eight quick points on how the end will come, I immediately wanted to see what he had to say, and, if what he was trying to convey was valid; the way I do that is to look at the passage he uses to define his points and see if they work. 

For example, Number 1 is the Church age. I will tell you that most, even the old-timers, which I have now become, cannot define what the church age is. Can I relate this age to say, the stone age, seeing as somehow, at least the stone age can be defined? Perhaps an answer to this is simply from the day the church that believes in Jesus began on the day of Pentecost when over 3000 people came to accept Jesus as their savior/Messiah. This event occurred around 200 decades ago and will continue until the church is snatched away from the turmoil.

The title of this post is: How the Bible states the end will come. The numbered points 1) etc, is Pete's.

1. Church age (or our present-day) Philippians 1:10, Romans 11:25, Revelation chapters 2-3.

   We are starting with Revelation 2-3. While these passages are descriptions of the church, they, for the most part, were written to existing churches, most of whom were in the Asia Minor region. All of these continue to represent the church age as it progressed through the centuries. Today, we are a living representation of the Laodicean church; we have turned our backs on God.

   Philippians 1:9-10 NASB (9) And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, (10) so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;

   While Philippians does not speak to a particular church associated with Revelation 2-3, the church of Philippi was one of the many churches started by Paul. It was also in Asia Minor, along with the seven churches. Again, these words speak to us as well. Note how Paul prayed that their love would abound, that they would operate in knowledge and discernment, and be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.

   Although we loudly proclaim that Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles, his evangelism toward the Gentiles, for at least 15 years, was only a consequence of his messages to the Jewish communities he tried to enlighten. An understanding of who Paul was talking to should cause us to understand what he is saying when he proclaims, “in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.” Most of these “converts” had a Jewish background, and one might assume that the day of Christ could have everything to do with Jesus coming back as the warring Messiah. 

If that had been the case, the terminology would have been stated “as the day of the Lord,” but it was not, so our understanding leans toward Jesus coming back to retrieve His church.

And finally, let’s try to consider why Mr. Garcia included Romans 11:25. 

Romans 11:25 NASB For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery--so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;

This verse has everything to do with a hardening of the heart that causes them NOT to believe. Current day Jewish teachers in Israel forbid the reading of scriptures like Isaiah 53 and the prophecies of Daniel. Passages like these should be life-changing, but perhaps not because there is a hardening of the heart that prevents understanding. 

Note how Paul uses the word mystery. Most religious folk will tell you that the Bible is a mystery and that NO ONE can understand it or know. 

There is a problem if you try to use the word mystery as a weapon in your goal to keep the masses illiterate and uneducated. 

The word mystery is the Greek word mustērion  and means something previously hidden but now fully revealed. 

Eugene Peterson’s Message says it best.

“‘Go on about your business, Daniel,’ he said. ‘The message is confidential and under lock and key until the end until things are about to be wrapped up.
(Daniel 12:9 MSG)

This may not shock you, but God is about to wrap this church thing up. With that being said, I do not see how reading about the seven churches can convince some that we are living in that age, especially since this age has lasted for over two thousand years. But then, there is that idea that God has unlocked the understanding for those who choose to understand.

2. Rapture of the Church (John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:9; 1 Corinthians 15:51-56, Revelation 3:10

   The first consideration is that there is NO direct reference to the phrase “the rapture of the church;” Yet, there are many examples of the church being caught up. The expression is derived from the Latin Vulgate, which uses the term rapio, which means to be snatched.

   Revelation 12:5 speaks of the church, her child, being caught up unto God. In 1 Thessalonians 4:17, the Apostle Paul states that we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And finally, Philip in Acts 8:39 was caught up and moved a great distance to another place, Azotus – not that the site is essential. 

Here in Acts 8:39, the translators used the word snatched. Webster’s dictionary defines snatched as seized suddenly and violently.

Caught up or snatched is the Greek word harpazō, and it carries several implications such as: to seize, take away by force, snatch away, to convey away suddenly, or transport hastily.

There are many willing to fight with you about this subject. Some believe that we, the church, are already in the time of tribulations. I think that if I could have a conversation with “believers” from Ukraine, they might agree. 

My point of view, and I believe my opinion stems from a competent comprehension of the scriptures; we will experience a catching away of the church prior to God’s wrath being poured out upon the world. 

John 14 does not use the term harpazo but bears the implication of our being gathered.

John 14:2-3 NASB “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. (3) “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

Why would He need to gather us, the church, back to Himself? Because there is wrath that is coming, that exceeds your imagination.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 NASB (10) and wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

Paul wrote this letter to the church in Thessalonica to address worries and concerns about some being left behind. I give you a portion of Pete Garcia’s reference.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NASB (16) For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (17) 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 5:9 speaks of the church not being destined for wrath. Most call the time of wrath – the Great Tribulation. Well, how would you expect to be delivered from this wrath? Only through death or the catching away of the church. By the way, Jesus told us that tribulations would be a way of life for His followers.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 NASB (9) For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, (10) who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.

1 Corinthians 15 communicates how these perishable bodies cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 

1 Corinthians 15:50 NASB (50) Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

There is a solution for that, to go through a change in which we obtain imperishable bodies.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 NASB (51) Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, (52) 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.

So, when does that change occur, most likely when we are caught up or snatched into the clouds to be with Jesus. The last example the author uses is Revelation 3:10. 

Revelation 3:10 NASB ‘Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Though it does not speak expressly about catching away or snatching, the idea is there, and the presumption is that you would understand this by now.

Babylon the Great has fallen; I wish. Revelation 14:8.

Revelation 14:8 almost seems to stand alone.

Revelation 14:8 NASB And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

If we try to define the Babylon we see in Revelation we have to ask, what is it and what are the implications for us; and, can we obtain a clue from the passage itself??

• "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, ..”

God had used Babylon to punish Israel for ignoring the Shemittah (times of rest and restoration), because of this they went into captivity for 70 years and might play a role in its utter destruction. Thanks to the interactions we have between Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, we know that during the reign or Nebuchadnezzar Babylon was great. Daniel - in explaining the statue dream to Nebuchadnezzar - told him that he, as representing Babylon, was the head of gold.

Daniel 2:37-38 ESV You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, (38) and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all--you are the head of gold.

Considering that Nebuchadnezzar had threatened to kill all the wise men if no one could tell him the dream and what it meant; it was probably the wiser choice to say, you are the head of gold.

Does Babylon exist anymore?

The answer is no.

Can we make the connection between a Babylon that was once great and the modern day world?

No, so greatness carries a different connotation these days. Babylon, having served its purpose, was to receive God's wrath.

Jeremiah 51:29 ESV “The land trembles and writhes in pain, for the LORD's purposes against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.

When you read this it is easy to say, “that happened and therefore does not apply to today.” We see this same logic applied to the temple of the last days. Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple and Israel saw that happen in 70 A.D.; yet his words also applied to a time in the distant future in which there would be a third temple. Therefore these words about Babylon could just as easily apply to a future time, a time which I happen to believe is upon us now.

You might not be aware that Saddam Hussein was attempting a restoration of Babylon. He built one of his fortress-like residences on a hill just outside of Babylon along the Euphrates. Chuck Missler told us that while active combat missions in Iraq were still ongoing, the military was running high speed communications cables into Babylon.

Does any of that literally mean that Babylon, as a city, would be resurrected to greatness?

No, therefore we should be looking for something else, something more symbolic. I believe the key phrase here is “her sexual immorality”.

Clearly Revelation 14:8 is speaking about a sensuality, and there is nothing sensual about the region in which Babylon was built. So the context has more to do with something spiritual. Bel Marduk might fit that bill.

• 
  “...she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality."

Since things seemingly went well for Daniel, we assume that all went well for Israel. We also assume that Babylon was just a beautiful, fun loving place, but that was not the case. If you think about the fact that they threw Daniel's companions into the fire, then its easier to understand that evil lurked in the background. Babylon was conquered by successive empires, of which two are clearly defined: The Medo-Persian, and the Grecian empires. It is clear that something happened.

Now, what do we do with this cryptic sentence - “...she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality”?

Apparently we know far too little about Babylon because Revelation focuses, rather intently, on the words sexual immorality. The prophet Jeremiah spoke a word against Babylon:

Jeremiah 50:1-2 ESV The word that the LORD spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet: (2) "Declare among the nations and proclaim, set up a banner and proclaim, conceal it not, and say: 'Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed. Her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.'

Commentary from the IVPBBC:

Bel and Marduk. “The title Bel was applied to the supreme god of the Akkadian pantheon, which until the beginning of the second millennium B.C. was Enlil (the patron of the city of Nippur). After the emergence of Babylon as the chief city of Mesopotamia, the title was transferred to its patron deity, Marduk. Evidence of this succession to divine supremacy can be seen in Marduk's prominent place in the Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish and in the prologue to the Code of Hammurabi. In both instances, Marduk is said to have achieved the rank of chief god through his combative powers and the will of the other gods. The name Bel Marduk then continues to be used by the Assyrians and the Neo-Babylonians, and his New Year's festival is the celebration of the renewal of fertility and life (see comment on Isa_46:1). Even the Persian king Cyrus looked at his own accession to power and the capture of the city of Babylon as having been achieved through the assistance of Bel Marduk. Connections in the northwest Semitic pantheon with Bel are to be found in the name Baal, also translated as “lord.”

Now again, the question is, how do I perceive and apply this information?

Mark Hitchcock, in his book The Second Coming of Babylon, states rather simplistically, “The city and the tower (of Babel) represent the two aspects of Babylon that continue today: political power balanced against rebellion and apostasy.” Mark Hitchcock continues, “The city they built represents the political unity of the city of Babylon. Babylon was a literal place, ruled over by a literal king who exercised political power over all the inhabitants of the world.”

I had to think about Mark Hitchcock's comments for a moment.

So, is Babylon, a lasting, global, political power?

I already pointed out that God decreed devastation upon Babylon. Common sense then should tell you that Babylon's ability to persist has to first be spiritual. Many years after its establishment by Nimrod, and after the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon is captured by Cyrus, but this line from the IVPBBC is very telling:

“ Even the Persian king Cyrus looked at his own accession to power and the capture of the city of Babylon as having been achieved through the assistance of Bel Marduk”

We are introduced to the beginnings of Babylon in Genesis chapter 10, when we are told about the generations of Noah. The son of Ham was Cush, and Cush fathered Nimrod.

Let's explore this lineage of Ham for a minute.

Genesis 10:8 ESV Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man.

“He was the first on earth to be a mighty man” ???

The word mighty in the Hebrew is: gibbôr it means powerful; and by implication warrior, tyrant.

Another instance of the word gibbôr is used to depict a mighty man, comes before the flood, and describes the Nephilim upon the earth.

Genesis 6:4 ESV The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

Most do not believe Nimrod to have been a giant as much as he was of a reckless ferocity.

Reckless ferocity – What names come to your mind when you think about the words reckless ferocity?

Og, the king of Bashan who may have been 13 feet tall; how about Ghengis Khan, or Vlad the impaler.

How did Nimrod become the first on the earth to be a mighty man when clearly the earth was filled with violence and there were giants or mighty men prior to the flood?

Genesis 6:10-13 ESV And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (11) Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. (12) And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. (13) And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Genesis 9:9 ESV "Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you,

Genesis 10:1 ESV These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

So Noah, and his generations are the fresh start. It only took three generations for everything to go sour again. Nimrod was the controlling authority and driving force behind the tower of Babel. That may or may not be the case, but it is clear that all known inhabitants were of the same mind and direction.

Genesis 10:8-10 ESV Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. (9) He was a mighty hunter before the LORD. Therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD." (10) The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

Genesis 10:8-10 fills in a few blanks, for it tells us that Nimrod founded the towns of Babel, Erech, Accad (the Accadian race) and Calneh. All in the land of Shinar.

Genesis 11:1-4 ESV Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."

I want to you to see something before we move on.

Genesis 11:4 LITV And they said, Come, let us build a city and a tower with its head in the heavens, and make a name for ourselves, that we not be scattered on the face of all the

If you are anything like me you would have read a verse like this, for years, and said, how nice, and never grasped the depth of what is happening here. It is not as simple as it looks and requires that you dig a little.

1. God has yet to state that he will scatter them, but they almost seem to be prophesying over themselves by declaring: “that we not be scattered on the face of all the earth.” As you know that happened.

2. If we hear of someone who made a name for himself there are generally admirable thoughts that go along with that, like having a beautiful park named after that person. However there are those that were not so admirable, like: John Wayne Gacy, Charlie Manson, or Ted Bundy. They certainly made names for themselves.

3. Here in America we have Donald Trump – the business mogul. He ran for President and won for one term. As a notable person he has his name plastered on the many things he has built. The height and design are not necessarily the issue, and there is something more implicated in Genesis 11:4.

let us build us a city H5892 - (a place guarded by waking or a watch)

and let us make H6213 - accomplish

for ourselves a name H8034, - the Name (as designation of God)

I get the sense that they were trying to make their own name a god. “Babylon also represents false religion.”

According to Mark Hitchcock:

“The first organized false religion has passed down from Babylon into all other false religions of the world. Their tower symbolizes the religious unity that dominated Babylon.”

The IVP Bible Background Commentary on the Old Testament tells us:

“The central feature of these early cities in southern Mesopotamia was the temple complex. Often, the temple complex was the city. The temple complex in this period would have been comprised of the temple itself, where the patron deity was worshiped, and, most prominently, by the ziggurat. Ziggurats were structures designed to provide stairways from the heavens (the gate of the gods) to earth so that the gods could come down into their temple and into the town and bring blessing. It was a convenience provided for the deity and his messengers. These stairways were featured in the mythology of the Sumerians and also are portrayed in Jacob's dream.”

By the way, The Hadron collider, often called CERN, has two major goals: “Two of the major goals for CERN is to collapse and break apart the God Particle that creates and maintains our physical world and to tear a hole through the veil that is the barrier protecting our physical universe from the unknown, non-physical universes and other non-physical dimensions believed to be located outside our physical universe.”

So one might say, that CERN, in a sense, is just another tower, in the attempt to bring the gods down to earth.

John Walvord summarizes the Babylonian religious system:

“Nimrod, who founded Babylon, had a wife known as Semiramis who founded the secret religious rites of the Babylonian mysteries, according to accounts outside the bible. Semiramis has a son with an alleged miraculous conception who was given the name Tammuz and in effect was a false fulfillment of the promise of the seed of the woman given to Eve (Gen 3:15).”

“Various religious practices were observed in connection with the false Babylonian religion, including recognition of the mother and child as God and of creating an order of virgins who became religious prostitutes. Tammuz, according to the tradition, was killed by a wild animal and restored to life, a satanic anticipation and counterfeit of Christ's resurrection.”

Walvord adds:

“Babylon then, is the symbol of apostasy and blasphemous substitution of idol-worship for the worship of God in Christ.”

As to this last quote. Nimrod probably had no concept of Christ, so I do not think it is fair to pin that on him. However, since God found Noah to be favorable (there is a tremendous mystery about this man having to do with the heritage that might intrigue you, but I do not have the time here) you might assume that Noah had a strong concept of who God was. Keep in mind that any knowledge of God had to be verbally passed to the next generations. As the generations begin to rebuild something very dark creeps in and Noah curses one of his sons. It did not take that long for one generation to essentially move away from God. Project this idea three generations ahead and we have Nimrod.

The worship of Baal

Isaiah 21:9 LITV And, behold, here comes a chariot of a man, a pair of horses. And he answered and said, Babylon has fallen, has fallen! And He has smashed the graven images of her gods to the earth.

There is a clear sense of multiple gods. The prophet Jeremiah identifies two of them: Merodach and Bel.

Jeremiah 50:2 LITV Declare among the nations, and make them hear, and lift up a banner. Make them hear, do not hide it; say, Babylon is captured, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is broken in pieces, her images are put to shame, her idols are broken in pieces.

From John Gill's commentary:

“Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth,.... These are names of the idols of Babylon. Bel is by some thought to be the contraction of Baal, the god of the Phoenicians, called by them Beel; so "Beelsamin" (h), in the Phoenician language, is Lord of heaven: but rather this is the Belus of the Babylonians, who was a renowned king of them, and after his death deified; whom Nebuchadnezzar, according to Megasthenes (i), calls Belus his progenitor, and by whom Babylon was walled about. This idol is, no doubt, the same with Jupiter Belus, who had a temple in Babylon with gates of brass, and which was in being in the times of Herodotus (k), as he reports. This name is sometimes taken into the names of their kings, as Belshazzar or Beltesbazaar. Nebo was another of their idols, an oracular one, from whom, by its priests, prophesies of things future were pretended to be given out...”

Back to Mark Hitchcock's book The Second Coming of Babylon.

“From the beginning then, Babylon was both a town and a tower, a city and a system, a place and a philosophy. We will encounter this same twofold depiction of Babylon later when we look at Babylon in Revelation 17 and 18.”

From the very beginning Satan has been at war. Sometimes it is hard to tell who he hates the most – God, or those that follow after him.

After Satan deceives the woman we have God saying:

You and this woman will hate each other; your descendants and hers will always be enemies. One of hers will strike you on the head, and you will strike him on the heel." (Genesis 3:15 CEV)

Hitchcock defined this epic struggle like this:

“The situation at Babylon in Genesis 10-11 played right into Satan's plan. While he is not mentioned by name, we can be certain that the old serpent introduced in Genesis 3 was working feverishly to energize this rebellious plan. In this setting he could influence and direct world affairs through one man.” …. “He could be 'god' in the eyes of all men, through occult worship and practices. After all, this is his desire.” ….. “The masses could also be converted to his false religion, with little to stand in his way.”

Make no mistake, God is, and has always been in control. Man, living in the illusion that he is in control, found out differently, for God came down and confounded their language, and scattered man across the face of the earth. Thus ended the first global community.

As Mark Hitchcock puts it:

“Globalism was put on hold.

But Satan wasn't finished.

He set out immediately to bring the world back together so he could control all of it once again.

In a sense, human history is the story of Satan working to bring man back to Babylon under his rule.”

More and more every day, I am convinced that we are witnessing Babylon the great – the harlot that rides the beast (they are one and the same) plays its hand by manipulating the economy, the food chain, and worst of all, the population of the earth through propaganda and this phony immunizing agent – as though it has some benefit in dealing with a flu virus (which happens to be humanly designed to fuel their desires to bring about a severe population reduction and global governance. 

So in trying to understand what Babylon is, keep this passage in mind.

Jeremiah 51:29 ESV “The land trembles and writhes in pain, for the LORD's purposes against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.

We are looking at power structures, guided by the gods of greed and sensuality.

i John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible; Dr. John Gill (1690-1771)

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.