Fortunately, we, through the scriptures, have a perspective that allows us to see narrow and broad views. We have also had adventurous explorers and astronauts who proved that the earth was NOT flat. Over the course of time, humanity has managed to launch crewed space vehicles, and those crews were able to look back at the ball-shaped world we live on, take pictures of it as it rotated, adding to the evidence that the earth is round. It was their perspective, or point of view, that allowed them to do that.
So, as we try to understand the Revelation, especially chapter 13:3-6, we must keep the context and
In God's perspective, the entire mystery, plan of redemption, and the millennial reign is centered around the land He promised Abraham. Perhaps it is about time we remembered, God has not and will never back away from that promise; and, He plans to set the New Jerusalem in that same area, which, by the way, is 1500 miles square; for you who use the metric system that is approximately 3885 kilometers squared.
At this point in time we have made it to Revelation 13:5-8. I will be surprised it gets beyond verse 8.
So what has been happening up to this point in chapter 13?
Then I (John, in this extremely vivid vision,)
stood on the sand of the sea (Both the sand and the sea are representative of the hordes of people that are descendants of Abraham, both from Ishmael and Isaac,)
and I saw a Beast rising out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, ten diadems on his horns, and blasphemous titles on his heads. The Beast I saw resembled a leopard, his feet were like a bear's, and his mouth like a lion's (Pay attention here, as the beast is first the description of empires or kingdoms, and then, like a butterfly morphs into a man.)
To him the dragon gave his own power and his own throne and great authority (The dragon is Satan. Many, it would seem, have been given power and authority to perform atrocities.)
One of his heads looked as if it had been slain and killed, but the deadly wound was healed (There is NO man with multiple heads, but there are kingdoms. Try thinking in terms of a Caliphate and this might make more sense to you, as the Ottoman Caliphate, which was effectively killed in 1924 and yet resurrected in 1979 under the guise of the Islamic revolution fits this description well,)
and the whole earth went after him in wonder (If we attribute this description to Allah – a demonic entity which no one has seen, then this too makes more sense,)
worshiping the dragon for having given authority to the Beast, and worshiping the Beast with the cry, "Who is like the Beast? Who can fight with him?" (Since the so-called overthrow of Afghanistan, the Islamic world is crying out a similar message, who can fight against the Taliban, but the underlying motive for the Taliban is a strict reading and understanding of the Quran.)
(Revelation 13:1-4 Moffatt NT) [Italics are mine.]
Page one.
The information above is brief, and, it is information that I have covered in detail in my previous posts. (Read Daniel chapters 2:17-45; Chapter 7; 8:22-25; 9:26,27; 11:28-45; Chapter12)
We know who the first three of these beast/kings are: Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire, the Medo-Persian empire under the rule of Darius, and the Grecian empire under Alexander:s dominance. There is no immense gap in time as though we are awaiting the Roman empire to come along, as many would imply, for upon Alexander’s death four of his generals contended for power. Two victorious Grecian generals emerged, Seleucid in the North and Ptolemy in the South. It is those two empires and their integration with the Assyrian nations that still haunt us today.
Daniel expressly asks about the fourth beast. Daniel 7:19-23, and this is the answer he received.
“Then he said to me, “This fourth beast is the fourth world power that will rule the earth. It will be different from all the others. It will devour the whole world, trampling and crushing everything in its path.” (Daniel 7:23 NLT)
Is it possible that we are talking about the Roman empire?
Many Bible teachers would love to tell you that we are looking for the return of the Roman Empire as the beast that rises again, however, the bible itself tells us, in a variety of locations and ways, that it is NOT the Roman Empire. Read the description and try to tell me, that Roman empire is different from any other empire, as they have all been strong, devoured, and crushed their victims.
What if it is the Ottoman Caliphate, as I have pointed out, that took the provebial shot to the head, and, therefore, stood the greatest chance to comeback to life?
You should know that while the Ottoman empire is gone, many followers of Islam are pushing hard for the return to the rule of a Caliphate, and we may have seen the resurrection with the Islamic revolution of 1979.
What makes this empire different?
It is religiously driven. If you were paying attention one of the things the Taliban did after gaining control of Afghanistan, was to round up all the Christians and kill them. The Taliban leadership projected this slaughter to be complete by Friday, Sept 10, 2021. As a side note, they also went to the music academy in Kabul and destroyed all the musical instruments because the Quran does not allow for musical instruments either. We have never seen more vicious people that were religiously driven, and that makes them different.
How did I start this post?
By talking about having a perspective that is focused on the Middle East.
Is it possible that what we have seen happen in the Middle East can happen in America?
Absolutely, and because our government has masked and covered up what is going on, we have progressively been inundated with governmental decision-makers that hold to Sharia law. Many citizens of America refuse to see this. Here is a couple websites to enlighten you to the subtle changes happening to our governing bodies.
Summary of H.Res. 576: Recognizing Islam as "one of the great religions of the world.". https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/hres576/summary
I am told that Islam is an ideology and not a religion, but it does not matter.
Another
website points out the Muslims elected in
2020.
https://deplorablekel.com/category/islam-in-the-u-s/muslim-candidates-2020/
The idea behind showing you this information is NOT to promote hatred, but you need to know that the Quran demands Jihad against those who do not follow Islam. The triggers for these attacks is often associated with hate messages from an Imam at a local Mosque.
Page two.
How long before this all turns against the citizens of this country, like it has in Britain?
The point here is, we are in the last days and America will fall; you have been watching it happen.
Why tell you any of this?
Because scripture starts off talking about a beast with four heads, which represents kingdoms, and then redirects our attention to a singular entity, and refers to that entity as him. As if you needed more puzzle pieces, the four-headed oddity and the man is both referred to as the beast.
Back to the verse at hand where we find a clue that might answer the question as to who or what we are looking at, and how we might expect this particular beast to act.
Revelation 13:5-6 NASB There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. (6) And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
If I am looking at one of the heads of this four-headed beast, then according to Revelation 13:5, there has to be a spokesperson, “a mouth” that is assigned to speak on behalf of the beast.
Common sense tells you that this mouth should be a politically correct diplomat, because that is what kingdoms who want to survive in the global marketplace, do. But NOT this person and NOT this empire. (You may have noticed that I am trying to be socially correct and NOT refer to this “mouth” as a man, because several women have held positions as diplomats, like Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina. Try as I may, I am wasting my time because the Muslims will never accept a woman in leadership, nor will they accept an infidel.)
What if the mouth is NOT the spokesperson of an Islamic nation?
Then this “mouth,” who you would think would be in opposition to a leadership mired in money lust, strangely speaks in admiration of the “kingdom.” The dynamics surrounding the antichrist - the mouthpiece then change, and none of this makes much sense.
Could I focus on a broader picture, like the Assyrians - an entity that is difficult to define and yet contains subsets of most Islamic groups?
This too opens the door to an Islamic spokesperson. We heard our, former American president, Barack Obama, on many occasions, speak longingly of the Islamic religion. Keep this in mind, Revelation 13:5 tells us he speaks arrogant words and blasphemies.
A collection of interesting words.
Arrogant is the Greek word megas and means great, numerous, large in size, and too much. It is becoming increasingly apparent that this guy talks too much.
Blasphemies - it seems that few truly knows what this means, as many Pastors will lead you to believe that your sins - a blasphemy of God, would prevent you from entering heaven.
An excellent definition came one day as Jesus cast the demons out of a possessed child, only to have the Pharisees and scribes accuse Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan (Beelzebub.) Jesus, responded angrily to them because they had crossed the line by attributing the things and power of God to Satan. Since there are NO other gods, then attributing the things of God and the power of God, to Allah – a god of Satan's creation, should be a blaphemy, don't you think?
Blasphemy is the Greek word blasphēmia and means to vilify or slander.
To vilify is to attempt to defame someone, while slander adds to the act of vilifying by attempting to injure by maliciously uttering a false report respecting another person. The two words are so similar.
Page three.
This “mouth” or spokesperson is attempting to defame and injure God, Jesus, and anyone who follows Him, by uttering a false report. Right now, in America, we are coming to the point of vilifying conservatives and Christian conservatives by saying that we are cause of Covid 19 spreading when in reality it is the globalist agenda and those who pursue that agenda, that have spread this lousy flu, so that they can shove their “vaccine” into you.
Even though this mouth only goes on for 42 months so many horrendous things will be happening, as none of this begins, in earnest, until the church is removed from the earth.
And watch what the next verse brings.
Revelation 13:7 NASB 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.
This spokesperson is now making war with the saints, just as the Taliban made war with their bullets and short swords against the saints in Afghanistan and overcame them,.
These saints are some of the martyred that John saw in heaven. When the wrath of God begins, anyone who dies for following after Jesus becomes one of the martyred saints.
How is it possible that this spokesperson gains “authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation”?
Because he is part of the globalists plan for world domination, at least for 42 months, then, with the cooperation of Muslim nations warfare will erupt against anyone who is not a Muslim; and, there are Muslims in every nation.
Revelation 13:8 NASB 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.
If I can picture a Muslim antichrist, then I can understand better why “all” will worship him. It is definitely NOT all, but a vast number.
Worship is the Greek word proskyneō. We have seen this before in a previous post. It means to do reverence or homage by kissing the hand, to do reverence or homage by prostration, to pay divine homage.
If I go back to Revelation 13:4, we see “the whole earth” worshiping the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and hence they gave reverence and allegiance to the beast. God's commandment about worshiping Him only can be seen in Deuteronomy 6:13,14. This is the passage from which Jesus constructed His response to Satan. So the "world's " worship of the beast must be especially annoying to God.
"You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name. "You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you,”
(Deuteronomy 6:13-14 NASB)
Notice how Revelation 13:8 tells us that the only ones worshiping the antichrist, are those whose names ARE NOT written in the Lamb's book of life. Their names being written happened before the foundation of the world, and it is only God's projection of a future event, your coming to Him, that would prompt Him to write your name down.
It is uncomfortable writing someting like this, as I am aware that I am projecting my humanity into the equation, and God does not have to respond to our frailties, although I have seen the evidence that He does.
"Everyone whose name is written in the Lamb's book of life,"
Even during the time of wrath, people are sealed, not as the 144,000 who are protected from the locusts with the scorpion like tails, and though sealed by the Holy Spirit of God they are still subject to death and the pains of the time period.
Honestly, I am not sure I grasp this, but it is clear that we are dealing with the time of wrath.
Many would tell you that only sinners go through the time of wrath, but it is becoming clear that this is not the case.
In the paragraphs below I talk about the ten virgins.
VIRGINS, how many implications can a person read into this word, and yet half of the number invited missed the call to come to the wedding.
There is a correlation between this event and call for the church home to be with Jesus.
If their names ARE written in the Lamb's book of Life, why then did they not go up in the rapture?
Even after the rapture, people still come into relationship with Jesus Christ, and it could be that this is a huge clue. Unfortunately, even this logic fails because God knew what they would do and therefore wrote their names in the book before the earth was made. So, I am still stuck with the question.
All were virgins, and because of that one might think they all had their names in the Lamb's book of Life.
They all got the same invitation, so none were judged for anything; and yet, 50% of them did not make it in.
We assume they all had the same opportunity to check their lamps. But then, seeing as they did not know the exact time or the hour when the bridegroom would call them to the wedding, perhaps it was one of those waiting until the last minute things.
We assume they all had the knowledge and insight to trim their wicks, but to the 50% it was not that important.
We assume they have oil, and if not had plenty of time to obtain more; but 50% of them did nothing to prepare.
The answer is NO, but we assume there is, as the alternative to going into the wedding is to endure what you will be exposed to on the outside; in this case it is the wrath of God. I must think on this.
Maybe there is more to the story than we thought.
Maybe their names were written in the book of life knowing that they would go through something that was not meant for God's children. How is that even possible, and yet is seems that many will go through the wrath.
Maybe God is more merciful than we have been led to believe.
From the reader. We impose all varieties of guilt and foolishness to the five who did not make into the wedding.
I would have.
Page five.
Revelation 13:9 NASB If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
What a strange statement. We all have ears, but assuredly, we do not all hear.
The phrase “an ear' is the Greek word ous and means the obvious, but there is a catch as it can also apply to mental perception.
If you are not hearing from God or His Word, then you either have a veil over your eyes from the enemy, which in many cases has to do with some activity of your choosing that affronts God; or, you merely choose not to hear.
Here in California, at the time of this writing, we have one more day to vote to remove our Governor from office and put someone else in his place. A person close to the family is simply going to let the vote just slide by and, therefore, either eliminate the necessity of making an informed decision, or they are declining just so that they can throw their left leaning ideals in our faces. To do nothing, much like the agnostic, is making a choice for the opposition; this person has ears, but they refuse to face facts and consequences. (By the way, the majority voted to keep the man, who for a time, locked us out of our churches. The saddest part of this, is that the majority, giving into the propaganda, believed that the only one capable of displacing the Governor was going to kill us by taking away a mask mandate. He was not taking away your lousy mask, he was merely giving you the choice to wear one, and I believe we should all have a choice.)
Revelation 13:10 CJB "If anyone is meant for captivity, into captivity he goes! If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he is to be killed!" This is when God's holy people must persevere and trust!
Focus on the context and don't get lost in the words, as we are dealing with the time of wrath. So when something like this gets said, the words apply to events within the time period known as God's wrath (or the tribulation, for those who will not read their bibles.)
Could the possibility of being killed or captured apply to things outside of the “tribulation”?
Yes, but because humanity will continue to do depraved things to other people; this happens because the others are of a different religion, practice a religion, have a different skin color, or whatever suits the need for the day. What we see, on a daily basis, is groups like Boko Haran, or the Taliban (ISIS), killing Christians as they go to church, meet in church, or identify as a Christian.
“If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he is to be killed.”
What this says to me is that though many may think they can fight back, they will be killed in the manner they chose, most often by return fire. The Holy Spirit is giving you a heads up, though you may take out many of those you deem the enemy, you will die or go into captivity.
Take note: captivity is certainly going to happen during this time period. I wonder who will take the Christians captive? It is beginning to be quite obvious that the government will be a major player in taking us captive; it is happening already in Australia.
I used the Complete Jewish Bible for my translation of this verse. I appreciate how the verse ends; “This is when God's holy people must persevere and trust!”
Who are God's holy people?
The Jews.
I can, by extension, apply these words to those who come to Jesus during the time of wrath as well, as they would be deemed to be grafted into the vine. No doubt there are some who upon reading this who will say, then why didn't God just rapture them up to heaven and bypass the horrors down here. Because, this is all happening after the catching away of the church, and the time of grace is up. It was almost as though we had a free ride for a while, now, you get to prove your love and affection for God with your life.
So God's admonition is, “This is when God's holy people must persevere and trust!”
Persevere, in it's simplest form, is to hold on.
Confidence is a reliance or resting the mind on the integrity of the Father.
I wrtite these things because I do not want you to have to go through the time of wrath. If you are a follower of Christ and actively waiting for His return for His bride, then you will escape the wrath. If not, then admit that you are a sinner and that you need His love and mercy for your life. Honestly give your life to Jesus, and you will be a Son of the Father.
