14 posts tagged “revelation”

We continue our discussion of the “beast out of the sea” of Revelation 13. We explore more Biblical prophecies relating to the beast. Once again, I agree with Steve’s evaluation of the prophecies mentioned in this discussion.

From “End Time Delusions”:
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All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. –Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

“What time is it?” How many times have we heard that? The clock relentlessly governs this high-tech world of ours. Cell phones, computers, palm pilots, fax machines and radios all have clocks on them. In other words, we live our lives and make decisions based on time. This may surprise you, but even the Creator of the universe is concerned about time. His Word says, “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son” (Galatians 4:4). In fact, the entire life of Jesus Christ was based on time. He knew when “His hour had come” (John 13:1) and when it was time for His holy heart to experience the horror of sin upon the cross. Just as Christ’s life and death was based on time, the same is true of antichrist. Paul predicted that antichrist would “be revealed in his own time” (2 Thessalonians 2:6). What is the time of the antichrist?

Daniel described the antichrist as a little horn “making war against the saints, and prevailing against them” (Daniel 7:8, 21). A few sentences later he wrote, “the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time” (vs. 25). This is the time of the antichrist. This special time period is actually referred to seven times in God’s Word, being spoken of as 3 ½ times (see Daniel 7:25); 12:7; Revelation 12:14), 42 months (see Revelation 11:2; 13:5), and 1260 days (Revelation 11:3; 12:6). Most scholars recognize that a “time” represents a year (the Hebrew 360-day year), and thus 3 ½ years, or 42 months (based on a 30 day month), or 1260 days. It’s simple mathematics.

Is this a literal time period, or a symbolic one? Consider this. Just as Daniel 7 reveals the time of the antichrist (see Daniel 7:25), even so does Daniel 9 reveal the time of Jesus Christ (see Daniel 9:24-26). That latter prophecy pinpoints “seventy weeks”, or 490 days. As we’ve mentioned before, all Bible scholars interpret this 490 day period according to the day-for-a-year principle found in Ezekiel 4:6 and Numbers 14:34. Thus the 490 days are 490 literal years. We know the prophecy in Daniel 9 is a day-for-a-year because it begins with a command to rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity (Daniel 9:25) and reaches all the way down to the first coming of Jesus Christ (Daniel 9:26). Because 490 literal days would not reach far enough to the time of Jesus since that would only be about 1 year and 4.3 months, the prophecy must be a day-for-a-year. That’s proof positive. Few question this.

Prophecy teachers in our generation definitely apply the day-for-a-year principle to the famous 70th week of Daniel 9:27, which says, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice…to cease” (Daniel 9:27). Based on the day-year truth, this “one week” is really seven years. Almost everyone agrees with this. Yet, as we have already seen, many prophecy scholars today - following the lead of J.N. Darby – have decided to sever this 70th week from the first 69 weeks (creating an almost 2,000 year gap or parenthesis), slide it down to the end times and call it “the seven years of tribulation”. We have already analyzed the problems with this view and have proven it was really Jesus Christ who brought an end to the Jewish sacrificial system through His death on the cross. Net conclusion: no seven-year tribulation.

Here’s a startling mega-point. Protestant scholars from the 1500’s to the 1800’s not only applied the day-for-a-year principle to the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 (the time of Jesus Christ), but also to the 3 ½ years of Daniel 7:25, to the time of antichrist. And they applied it to papal Rome. They interpreted the 3 ½ years, 42 months or 1260 days as 1260 literal years of papal rule.

This is easy to prove, as a little study in church history will quickly demonstrate. Dr. H. Grattan Guiness reported:

The seventy weeks of Daniel, or 490 days to the Messiah, were fulfilled as 490 years; that is, they were fulfilled on the year-day scale. On this scale the forty-two months or 1260 days are 1260 years. We ask then, has the papacy endured this period? An examination of the facts will show that it has.

In 1701, Robert Fleming published his book, The Rise and Fall of Papal Rome. Fleming showed, as others had done for many centuries, that the 1260 days of prophecy represent 1260 years.

E.B. Elliott, in his 1862 classic, Horae Apocalypticae, often referred to:

….the great prophetic period of 1260 years.

David Benedict’s A General History of the Baptist Denomination also commented on…the rise of antichrist…his reign [for] 1260 years.

Such quotations could be multiplied, but this is enough to prove that Protestant commentators of the past did not apply the 1260-day period to a supposedly future 7 year period of tribulation like modern pre-tribulation rapture teachers often do. Instead, they applied it to real history – to the long period of papal supremacy spanning the Dark Ages.

When did the 1260 years begin? In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul gave a clear clue. In verse 6, he made a definite connection between the removal of the restrainer and the beginning of the time of the antichrist. Notice carefully. Paul told the early Thessalonians, “And now you know what is restraining, that he [antichrist] may be revealed in his own time” (2 Thessalonians 2:6). As we have previously proven, this restrainer was the fourth beast of Daniel 7, which was the Roman Empire. In 476 A.D., when Rome fell, the Caesar restrainer was “taken out of the way” (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Thus we would expect the 1260 year period to begin shortly after 476 A.D.

H. Gratton Guiness places the beginning of the 1260 year period shortly after 476 A.D. He states that it began with “the notable decree of the emperor Justinian [525-565 A.D.] constituting the Bishop of Rome as the head of all Churches [in Western Europe]”. When the Roman Empire collapsed in 476 A.D., there were still rulers in the East. One of them, named Justinian, believed the key to peace in Europe was the uniting of all religions under the leadership of the Roman Church. So, he issued his famous decree which made the Pope the legal “Head of all the Holy Churches”. This decree fully established the papacy’s political power over all of Christianity in Western Europe. Justinian’s decree went into effect in 538 A.D., which was shortly after 476 A.D.! That key date – 538 A.D. – marks the beginning of the time of the antichrist.

Daniel predicted that during the 1260 year period the little horn would “persecute the saints of the Most High” (Daniel 7:25) – a prophecy that was fulfilled to the letter by papal Rome during the Dark Ages. By the end of this period, enough was enough, and Europe was ready for a change. If we start at 538 A.D. and count down 1260 years, this takes us to 1798 A.D., the time of the French Revolution. In the midst of a bloody reaction against the Roman Church and its monstrous torture chambers, Napoleon finally decided to abolish the papal government entirely. Can you guess what year this feat was accomplished? 1798! That’s why Guiness marks the conclusion of the 1260 years at the time of “the tremendous Papal overthrow in the French Revolution”.

In 1798, a general of Napoleon named Berthier entered Rome with a French army. He swiftly abolished the papacy, dismissed the Vatican’s Swiss guards and proclaimed Rome to be a republic for France. “Berthier entered Rome on the 10th of February, 1798, and proclaimed a republic.” “One day the Pope was sitting on his throne in a chapel of the Vatican, surrounded by his cardinals…Very soon a band of soldiers burst into the hall, who tore away from his finger his pontifical ring, and hurried him off, a prisoner.” Pope Pius VI was taken to France where he died in exile. “Napoleon gave orders that in the event of his death no successor should be elected to his office, and that the Papacy should be discontinued.”

This happened in the exact year 1798, marking the end of the predicted 1260 year reign of the persecuting “little horn”. In that very year Protestant scholars all over Europe and America recognized the fulfillment of the prophecy. In the downfall of the papal government…many saw in these events the accomplishment of prophecies, and the exhibition of signs promised in the most mystical parts of the Holy Scriptures.

Thus many scholars of the past have applied the 3 ½ year, 42 month, 1260 day prediction found in Daniel and Revelation to a 1260 year period starting in 538 A.D. and ending in 1798 A.D. These well-respected theologians saw those dates – 538 and 1798 – as prophetic milestones, and they appealed to the whole world to take note that God’s “sure Word of prophecy” (2 Peter 1:19) had not been fulfilled in a corner.

Here is a quick summary of biblical and historical facts surrounding “the time” of the antichrist:

1. Paul clearly wrote that after the restrainer was removed, the antichrist would be “revealed in his own time” (2 Thessalonians 2:6).
2. Daniel predicted that after the fourth beast fell, the “little horn” (the antichrist) would rule for 1260 years, “making war against the saints” (Daniel 7:7-8, 21, 25).
3. Shortly after the Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476 A.D., the Eastern Emperor Justinian issued his famous decree giving the Roman Church special power in Europe.
4. Justinian’s decree went into effect in 538 A.D., marking the beginning of 1260 years of European papal supremacy.
5. During the 1260 years, the Roman Church did indeed “make war against the saints” by papal crusades against heretics and through the nightmarish barbarism of inhuman inquisitors who set up their deadly tribunals in Europe, England, India, South America and even Mexico. Literally, millions of “saints” lost their lives.
6. In 1798 A.D., exactly 1260 years from 538 A.D., Napoleon’s general (Berthier) abolished the papacy’s political power, thus ending that long and painful period of papal rule.

So what time is it? If you check your watch, computer, or cell phone you can discover the exact minute in the Pacific, Mountain, Central or Eastern time zones.

Only the Bible reveals the precise time of Jesus Christ (490 years) and antichrist (1260 years).
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The truth can make us uncomfortable. Biblical truth calls for us to examine not only what is going on in the world and how it relates to prophecy, but it calls for us to examine ourselves. Can we overcome the world and its deception? Will we believe the truth when presented with it? …or will we deny the truth because it doesn’t fit with our theology? Do we believe God’s Word unconditionally or are we picking and choosing what to believe from the Bible as it fits our lifestyle? I have learned over the past year that there is only one, uncorrupted, clear truth in this world….and that truth is the Holy Bible.

As I mentioned before, it’s very difficult to overcome years of believing something that has been told to you over and over for your entire life to this point. We must take a step back and seek God and His truth, regardless of what we have believed in the past. Are we first seeking God and His righteousness in this life or do you have a few items ahead of Him on your list of priorities? Have we accepted His offer salvation through faith in Jesus Christ or are we focused on man-made religious traditions and rituals? The question you MUST ask yourself……am I being deceived? How can I know? You must read and study God’s word and pray to Him. Ask Him to show you the truth. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Mathew 7:7) This is all that I have done. I have sought the Lord with a humble heart and prayed for wisdom and knowledge. He listens and answers.

We continue with our discussion of the ‘beast out of the sea’ of Revelation 13. If you have studied Biblical prophecy in the past, then you probably know that the ‘beast’ is wounded at some point and then healed. Most modern day prophecy teachers once again apply this prophecy to a future antichrist – a world leader who is somehow killed and then resurrected by satan. You’re about to see that another modern, speculative theory about Bible prophesy is once again incorrect. I believe Steve is correct in his interpretation of this prophecy.

From “End Time Delusions”:
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The truly educated man is that rare individual who can separate reality from illusion. – Author Unknown

The Bible warns about the beast, “….his deadly wound was healed and all the world wondered after the beast” (Revelation 13:3).

Near the end of The Indwelling – The Beast Takes Possession, book seven of the Left Behind novels, antichrist Nicolae Carpathia is assassinated in Jerusalem. His corpse is jetted to New Babylon and a funeral service takes place before millions of viewers with full media coverage. As the world’s TV cameras are fixed on the coffin, the unbelievable occurs. Carpathia’s left index finger moves; his chest starts to swell; his eyes open. Nicolae finally stands up and triumphantly declares before an awestruck world, “Peace be unto you!” In Left Behind’s next book, The Mark – The Beast Rules the World, “His Excellency Global Community Potentate Nicolae Carpathia is back, this time as satan. Resurrected and indwelt by the devil himself, it’s no more Mr. Nice Guy as the beast tightens his grip as ruler of the world.”

This is how many Christians imagine Revelation 13:3 might be fulfilled.

This literal view of a murdered and resurrected Mr. Sin has been depicted in scores of prophecy books and was graphically illustrated in the multi-million dollar Christian film, The Omega Code. Although details vary, most modern portrayals involve the antichrist being shot with a gun and then miraculously being raised to life. When Ronald Reagan survived a gunshot wound during his presidency, some speculated that he might be the antichrist whose deadly wound was healed!

As always, there’s a big difference between fact and fiction. The wounding of the beast is referred to four times in Revelation (13:3, 10, 12, 14). Yet notice, the beast “was wounded by the sword and lived” (13:14). Thus his wound comes from “the sword”, not a pistol, rifle or submachine gun. Revelation 13:10 also reveals the additional insight that the wounding of the beast seems to involve his going “into captivity”.

Paul declared “the sword of the Spirit” to be the Word of God itself (Ephesians 6:17). During the Reformation times, it was this that “wounded” the papacy. As John Wycliffe, John Huss, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, John Calvin, John Wesley and countless other Spirit-filled reformers wielded the Bible’s message about Jesus Christ and antichrist, papal Rome received a nearly fatal slash. Hundreds of thousands left the Roman Church and Europe was shaken as with a mighty earthquake. The final blow against the weakened Roman system came in 1798 when the army of Napoleon invaded the Vatican and took the Pope into exile. God’s prophetic clock had set the year 1798 as the end of the papal supremacy, and when the hour struck, the mighty ruler on the Tiber, before whose anathemas the kings and emperors of Europe had so long trembled, went “into captivity” (Revelation 13:10), and his government in the Papal States was abolished.

You’ve heard the expression, “You’ve come a long way baby.” This is especially true when it comes to prophetic interpretation. Bestselling books and blockbuster Christian movies now apply Revelation’s prophecy about a beast that receives a deadly wound to some fictitious Mr. Deception like Nicolae Carpathia who is assassinated after a secret rapture. This is all like a house of illusion at an amusement park. The truth is, the Bible says the beast, which represents a “kingdom” (Daniel 7:23), would be “wounded by the sword” (Revelation 13:14) and go “into captivity” (Revelation 13:10). The reformation did wound the papal power with Heaven’s razor-sharp “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17) and finally, Rome’s leader went “into captivity” into France. This papal downfall took place on February 10, 1798, exactly at the end of 1260 years predicted in Scripture!

As Paul Harvey so often says, we need to hear “the rest of the story”. The prophecies about the “little horn” and the “beast” do not stop with the 1260 year period, the deadly “wound by the sword” or the beast’s “captivity”. There’s more. In words of deep significance, Scripture predicts, “…his deadly would was healed and all the world wondered after the beast” (Revelation 13:3). Is this happening now? There is no question about it. The former deadly would inflicted upon papal Rome now hardly needs a band-aid. With over a billion members, the Vatican is now the headquarters of the most powerful religious organization on Planet Earth. In spite of horrendous sex scandals which have embarrassed the Roman Church, when the Pope addresses America or the United Nations, the global community listens.

In his 1990 book The Keys of this Blood, Malachi Martin suggested that in his time there were only three powers capable of ruling the world – Russia, America and the Vatican. Of those three, Martin predicted that the Roman Church would win in the struggle over “who will hold and wield the dual power of authority and control over each of us as individuals and over all of us together as a community; over the entire 6 billion people expected by demographers to inhabit the earth by early in the third millennium.” Along with the Pope himself, Martin upheld “the papacy as the ultimate arbiter for problems and dilemmas affecting nations all over the globe” because it alone is the “Mother of all men’s souls”.

It’s a fact: In our 21st century, there is no president, statesman, or even rock-and-roll singer who can gather a larger crowd than the Pope. In 1995, the front cover of Time magazine labeled Pope John Paul II its “Man of the Year”. “When he talks, it is not only to his flock of nearly one billion; he expects the world to listen. And the flock and the world listen”.

The Holy Bible says:

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast (Revelation 13:3).

Have Protestants lost their swords? Why don’t they discern the fulfillment of prophecy?

Because they are waiting on Nicolae.
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This is a chilling, but accurate thought. Keep everyone thinking about evil coming someday….while it’s already here and actively working against God’s saints. I believe there is another reason why no one is sounding the alarm – political correctness. This fear of offending has permeated our society to the point that we won’t even talk about something if it might offend. We’re now afraid to bring up anything controversial for fear we might alienate someone. When was the last time you heard a sermon on the prophecies of Revelation? Simply too controversial. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it - the truth is that our spiritual enemy is very intelligent, very deceiving and evil. He’s coming at us from many different avenues to blind us from the truth….and it’s working. Only those that are close to Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven have the spiritual eyes to see what is happening. We’re told in God’s Word that the devil is constantly scheming against us. “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11). “Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). We all need to be awakened from our sleep.

There is another "beast" described in Revelation 13 (vs. 11) that makes "the earth and all its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed" (vs. 12). We'll discuss this at a later time, but this verse makes it clear that the Roman Catholic Church will once again act like a "beast". This church may seem friendly in our present time, but that is about to change. This second beast is going to force the world to worship in the manner dictated by the first beast....which will eventually lead to the Mark of the Beast. We'll discuss the Mark at a later time as well...but it is of the utmost importance that each of us is prepared for what is going to happen in our lifetime. Think of it this way, if you are confronted with staying faithful to Jesus or execution.....could you continue to stand with our Lord? It's going to be a reality many of us must face.

We continue to explore what the Bible tells us about the ‘beasts’ of Revelation 13. As we continue, we’ll also continue to discuss current events in our world and how we are being deceived by these ‘beasts’. As you’ve learned, this isn’t a Bible study of what is going to happen at some point in the future, we’re discussing the Book of Revelation and how it applies to world events today. Although many refuse to believe this, it is the truth. We are winding our way through the Book of Revelation, nearing the end of this evil age.

If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands. –Douglas Noel Adams

Every time I travel overseas, I always carry my passport so I can identify myself before local or government officials. After comparing my face with my photo, they know it’s me. In America, my driver license serves the same purpose. It lists my name, birth date, height, hair color, and current address. These details are not so much for information, but for identification. That’s the issue.

In addition to the other puzzle pieces we’ve found so far, the Bible gives us another highly practical clue to help us identify that which is truly antichrist.

Notice carefully:

…Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world (1 John 4:2-3).

Again John wrote:

For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist (2 John 7).

Thus the Bible plainly says twice that a denial that “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” is a definite mark of the antichrist. To continue my analogy, if you ever wonder whether something or someone might be the antichrist, just look closely at the information on their passport or driver license. If you see the words, “Does Not Confess Jesus Christ Has Come in the Flesh,” you have your answer.

Every Christian should “confess” Jesus has come in the flesh. But this confession must be more than a lips-only statement that Jesus Christ was a real person who was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, and died on a cross for our sins. Amazingly, a person may confess all this and yet still be a “deceiver and an antichrist” (2 John 7). According to the Bible, our confession must be more specific. We must confess Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. And this confession must be genuine, from the heart, prompted by the Spirit of God (see 1 John 4:2). What does it really mean that “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh”? Let’s delve deeper and find out.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). “The Word” was Jesus Christ before His nativity in Bethlehem. “The Word became flesh” simply means the infinite Son of God became Man. Here’s a key question: What kind of flesh did Jesus become when He fused with humanity? Paul answered with the utmost clarity: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same” (Hebrews 2:14). Don’t miss it. Paul said Jesus took “the same” flesh as “the children” have. “The children” doesn’t apply to Adam and Eve, for they were never babies, but were created directly by God in the Garden of Eden. Rather, “the children” applies to their descendents after sin entered the world, that is, to fallen humanity.

“As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same” (Hebrews 2:14). Thus the Bible plainly says Jesus Christ Himself “took part” of the same flesh we have. You might ask, “So what? What does this have to do with antichrist?”

First, we must understand what “the flesh” is. “The flesh” is a biblical expression which describes our basic human nature as it has been affected by sin. Paul said, “ For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells….” (Romans 7:18). In other words, the flesh itself is bad. It’s our enemy. It’s like a nasty cesspool that often stinks and seeks to drag us down. “The flesh” is the channel through which satan works to tempt us and lead us into actual sin.

One of the most impenetrable mysteries found in the Bible is the truth that God sent “His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3). It may be hard to fathom, but Jesus Christ “took” upon Himself the very same flesh we have. Why did He do it? So He could relate to us, understand our struggles, experience our temptations, and reach us where we are. In other words, God didn’t simply send us a rope. He entered our world’s slime and mud to get us out of it!

Yet in all of this, there is one monumental truth we must never forget, or we will drift into heresy. Even though Jesus “took” our sinful flesh and shared our humanity, He never committed one sin. He was “in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). In spite of His real connection with human flesh, Jesus Himself – in His thoughts, feelings and character – remained “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26). This is exactly what the Bible says. By taking our flesh but not participating in its evil, Jesus literally “condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3), which means He met and conquered the very temptations that give us so much trouble.

Not only did Jesus defeat our flesh on our behalf, but He also died for all of our sins wherein we have yielded to temptation (see 1 Corinthians 15:3). Thus He is a perfect and complete Savior! After His total victory over satan, Jesus ascended to Heaven to become our High Priest. Notice the following connection between Christ’s being tempted in the flesh down here and His present ability up there as our High Priest to help us in our struggles.

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession [or confession]. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Fantastic! Jesus Christ is now our High Priest in glory. Because He took our fallen flesh down here and conquered it, we can come directly to Him by faith up there for mercy, grace, and spiritual power. It’s true. Today, at this very moment, we have immediate access to His throne. Christ earnestly solicits our approach. We can “come boldly”!

Hebrews 2:17-18 also firmly connects Jesus Christ’s coming in the flesh with His High Priestly ministry and with His present ability to save us from sin.

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God…For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted (Hebrews 2:17-18).

Again the truth is established. We need no other mediator. We can be direct. This is all part of our confession.

It’s time to tie this in with antichrist. As we have already seen, it was the teaching of the major Protestant Reformers that the “little horn” (Daniel 7:8), the “beast” (Revelation 13:1), and “the man of sin” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) all apply to papal Rome. So here’s the all-important question. Does the Roman Church genuinely confess “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh”? On the surface it claims to do so, but let’s take a closer look.

One of the official doctrines, or “confessions”, of the Church of Rome is a dogma called The Immaculate Conception. Contrary to what many think, this does not refer to the birth of Jesus as a sinless baby, but rather to the conception of Mary herself inside her own mother’s womb. The dogma teaches that when Mary was conceived, she was miraculously preserved from all original sin. Thus her nature was “immaculate”, or sinless, and therefore fundamentally different from ours. In other words, according to papal teaching, Jesus’ mother did not have exactly the same flesh and nature that we have. Now don’t miss this. What is the implication of this teaching? According to papal Rome’s official statements, when Jesus Christ was born, He took Mary’s supposedly sinless nature, not ours. If you think about it, this is really a denial that “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (1 John 4:3).
Here’s the proof from official, Vatican-approved sources:

This is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses [this is their own word], as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.

As a consequence, according to the Roman Church, when Jesus Christ was born, He took Mary’s perfect nature, not our fallen one. The famous Cardinal Gibbons said it this way:

In other words, we affirm that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity…by being born of the Virgin, [took] to Himself, from her maternal womb, a human nature of the same substance with hers….a true human nature of the same substance with her own.

This doctrine of The Immaculate Conception with its idea of the entrance of Jesus into Mary’s sinless nature, not ours, really removes Christ “one gigantic step away from mankind.” As a result of this dogma and others, Rome doesn’t teach sinners to “be direct” by going straight to our heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ for free forgiveness. Instead, the Vatican encourages poor sinners to come to Jesus through Mary, popes, priests and saints – that is, through the mediation of the Roman Church itself. Even more than this, Rome declares that by virtue of Mary’s Immaculate Conception and supposedly sinless life, she now has a “saving office” in addition to her Son. Through Mary’s “manifold intercession”, she is now our “Advocate, Helper, Benefactress and Mediatrix” who can ”bring us the gifts of eternal salvation” and “deliver our souls from death.”

Thus, in her official teachings, in spite of appearances, the Roman Church really denies “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (1 John 4:3), that is, in “the same” (Hebrews 2:14) fallen flesh the rest of us have. No matter what she may deceptively claim, Rome’s declaration that Mary is now our “Advocate” and “Mediatrix” swerves sinners away from childlike trust in Jesus Christ alone, and thus really “denies the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). God’s Word says, “Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1 John 4:3).

According to the Bible, “the spirit of antichrist” was “already” working in John’s own day (church history records a group called Gnostics who denied Jesus Christ’s coming in the flesh in the first century). As history progressed, the same spirit later reared its head through the Immaculate Conception idea. Today, “the spirit of antichrist” continues its subtle efforts through various individuals and organizations around the world to entice humanity away from direct faith in the Savior of sinners.

Personally, I think “the spirit of antichrist” can also work through popular TV shows, flesh-flaunting models, and hip-hop musicians. The same chapter that talks about the spirit of antichrist also says, “They are of the world. Therefore, they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1 John 4:5-6). Ultimately, any spiritual influence that leads away from Jesus Christ comes from the greatest anti-Christ being of all, lucifer himself.

Now let me ask you personally, is your own flesh dragging you down? Are you struggling with tobacco, alcohol, pornography, appetite, bitterness, an evil temper or pride? If so (and who isn’t struggling with at least one sin?), I have good news for you. Not only did God’s Son pay the full price on the cross for all our sins (see 1 Corinthians 15:3) thus enabling Him to forgive us totally, but “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (1 John 4:2). Yes, He took our flesh and conquered it! And now, as our High Priest, “He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Because Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, He alone is our Savior, Intercessor and Mediator. He is our High Priest – we need no other. “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus”(1 Timothy 2:5). Our almighty Savior has enough God-power to deliver us from the flesh’s deadly grip, no matter how tightly it holds us. He loves us all, and He now invites Jews, Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Democrats, Republicans, alcoholics, prostitutes, drug addicts, and everyone else to be direct and come boldly to His “throne of grace” for undeserved mercy, free forgiveness, and spiritual power to overcome evil.

Even if you feel like Mr. Weakness himself, Jesus Christ is Mr. Strong. His encouraging word is “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Do you trust Him today?
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Very powerful words from Steve. Are you beginning to see just our deceptive our enemy is? On the surface, everything seems fine, but if you dig a little bit deeper you begin to see the truth of what is transpiring. Our enemy has not changed tactics for thousands of years for one simple reason: they work. Think about sin for a moment. Do you think Bernie Ebbers or Ken Lay envisioned a massive accounting fraud that would not only destroy their own lives, but the lives of thousands of their employees? They probably could see a bad financial quarter coming up…and a little voice whispered in their ears that there was a way to fix the problem. Nothing major mind you, you will probably be able to correct it in the next quarter. The problem is, the next quarter is worse and you begin a downward spiral and very soon, you can see no way out other than to continue the deception through to its conclusion. Eventually, you have destroyed your life and the lives of many others. Of course this was the devil’s “scheme” all along. “The thief comes only to kill and steal and destroy…..” (John 10:10). “…in order that satan may not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:11).

The same thing happens with infidelity. Someone of the opposite sex begins to show a little interest, becomes a little too friendly and you’re faced with a choice. Make it clear you are happily married and not interested, or begin to listen to the whispers that you’re marriage really isn’t that great right now…..what’s a little lunch with someone….it won’t hurt anyone. You’re never shown the long term consequences of your actions, only the short term pleasure. Marijuana isn’t that bad, I’ll just try a little and stop there………

These deceptive tactics are present in governments across the world. Think that our government’s number one goal is protecting us? Think they have our best interests in mind? Think they are doing everything they can to make our lives better? If you think the answer is yes, you’d be wrong. “It is better to take refuge in the Lord, than to trust in man” (Psalm 118:8). We’ll discuss this in more detail when we discuss the ‘beast out of the earth” of Revelation 13, but rest assured, when the Bible tells us the world is evil, God isn’t saying that America is immune to it. Far from it. The problem in the United States is that we’ve been living the good life for so long, we think we are immune to it….and we’ve allowed our enemy to deceive us. We’re about to be shown that the world is truly evil, and America has had a big part to play in the devil’s schemes. Keep Proverbs 29:25 in mind as we continue: “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” Where is fear leading us to today? The answer lies in the Book of Revelation. Read on………

We continue our discussion on the “beasts” of Revelation.

From “End Time Delusions”:
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That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach. – Aldous Leonard Huxley (1894-1963)

As we have already seen, the major Protestant Reformers had one primary passion: To inspire sinners to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 16:31) and to obey God’s Word above the traditions of men (see Mark 7:13). But as they tried to lead their English and European countrymen to the Bible alone, to Christ alone, to His grace alone, and to faith alone, they encountered fierce opposition from the Roman Church hierarchy. As persecution increased, it drove them deeper into their Bibles.

“There are two great truths that stand out in the preaching that brought about the Protestant Reformation”, American Bible Commentator, Ralph Woodrow, reminds us, “The just shall live by faith, not by the works of Romanism - and the Papacy is the antichrist of Scripture. It was a message for Christ and against antichrist. The entire Reformation rests upon this twofold testimony.”

H. Gratton Guiness provides this stirring testimony, not only of the effects of the Reformation, but also of one of the mightiest instruments in its accomplishment – the preaching of God’s holy prophecies about the antichrist:

From the first, and throughout, that movement was energized and guided by the prophetic word. Luther never felt strong and free to war against the papal apostasy till he recognized the pope as antichrist. It was then that he burned the Papal bull. Knox’s first sermon, the sermon which launched him on his mission as a reformer, was on the prophecies concerning the Papacy. The reformers embodied their interpretations of prophecy in their confessions of faith, and Calvin in his “Institutes”. All the reformers were unanimous in the matter; even the mild and cautious Melanchthon was as assured of the antipapal meaning of these prophecies as was Luther himself. And their interpretation of these prophecies determined their reforming action. It let them to protest against Rome with extraordinary strength and undaunted courage. It nerved them to resist the claims of that apostate Church to the uttermost. It made them martyrs; it sustained them at the stake. And the views of the reformers were shared by thousands, by hundreds of thousands. They were adopted by princes and peoples. Under their influence nations abjured their allegiance to the false priest of Rome. In the reaction which followed, all the powers of hell seemed to be let loose upon the adherents of the Reformation. War followed war, tortures, burnings and massacres were multiplied. Yet the Reformation stood undefeated and unconquerable. God’s word upheld it, and the energies of His almighty Spirit. It was the work of Christ as truly as the founding of the Church eighteen centuries ago; and the revelation of the future which He gave from Heaven – that prophetic book with which the Scripture closes – was one of the mightiest instruments employed in its accomplishment.

As you can imagine, papal Rome rose to its own defense in what became known as the Counter Reformation. In 1545, she convened a special council destined to become the heart of her central intelligence operation against Martin Luther and the Protestants. This famous council took place in northern Italy in the city of Trent, and is now known as the Council of Trent. During its many sessions (which continued until 1563), the leaders of the Vatican developed a highly sophisticated “game plan” to counteract the reformers. Up to this point, Rome’s main method of attack had been largely frontal – the open burning of Bibles and heretics. Yet this type of warfare only confirmed Protestant convictions that papal Rome was indeed the very beast which would “make war with the saints” (Revelation 13:7). A new tactic was needed, something less obvious. This is where the Jesuits came in.

On August 15, 1534, Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) founded the Society of Jesus, otherwise known as the Jesuits. “From the very outset of the Reformation, the Jesuit Order hung upon its heels as closely as its shadow.” This highly secretive and militant Catholic order has a dark history of intrigue and sedition; that’s why its members were expelled from Portugal (1759), France (1764), Spain (1767), Naples (1767), and Russia (1820). “Jesuit priests have been known throughout history as the most wicked political arm of the Roman Catholic Church. Edmond Paris, in his scholarly work, The Secret History of the Jesuits, reveals and documents much of this information.”

The conflict between Romanism and Protestantism was basic and irreconcilable. The Romanist believed in the authority of the Church; the Protestant, in that of the Bible. The one yielded his conscience to the priest; the other, to God alone. The Romanist believed in the pope as the visible representative of Christ on earth; the Protestant looked, instead, upon the pope as antichrist.

At the council of Trent, papal leaders and Jesuits brainstormed about how to counteract Protestantism and bring defectors back to the mother church. Behind closed doors, they decided this was to be done, not only through the Inquisition and torture, but also through theology. What kind of theology? Here’s the answer: by re-interpreting the prophecies about “the man of sin”, “the little horn”, and “the beast”!

Two very intelligent Spanish Jesuits rose to the challenge, Luis de Alcasar (1554-1613) of Seville and Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) of Salamanca. Their strategy was, in a nutshell, one of reapplication and diversion, yet they went in opposite directions. After reading the Bible by candlelight like Martin Luther did, Alcasar decided to apply the Bible’s antichrist prophecies to the ancient past while Ribera applied them to the distant future. “Smart move!” was the response from Rome. By reapplying these prophecies to the past and to the future instead of to the present, these two tricky Jesuit scholars sought to divert the prophetic finger light-years away from the Vatican. Their views quickly became official positions within the Roman Church – even though these two views contradicted each other!

Even the Catholic writer, G.S. Hitchcock, confirmed the origin of these anti-Protestant counter-theories:

The Futurist School, founded by the Jesuit Ribera in 1591, looks for antichrist, Babylon and a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, at the end of the Christian Dispensation.

The Preterist School, founded by the Jesuit Alcasar in 1614, explains Revelation by the Fall of Jerusalem or by the fall of Pagan Rome in 410 A.D.

It’s time to clarify three important isms – preterism, futurism, and historicism – which reflect three competing schools of prophetic interpretation.

Preterism is what Luis de Alcasar taught. Its prefix, “pre”, points back to the past. Preterism sees the majority (or all) of the prophecies found in Mathew 24 and the Book of Revelation as having already been fulfilled in either the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. or the in the fall of the Roman Empire. For preterists, “the end of the world” usually means “the end of the Jewish world”. Concerning the core issue – who is the antichrist? – preterists usually see the Roman Emperor Nero as the number one candidate. Compared with futurism and historicism, preterism has always been a minority viewpoint within the church, yet it is now making increased inroads into 21st century Christianity. Developed in the 1600’s by the Jesuit Alcasar into a full anti-Protestant system, preterism strategically removes the “little horn” stigma away from the Vatican. Jesuit objective achieved.

Futurism is what Francisco Ribera taught. In contrast to preterism, futurism usually sees the majority of Revelation’s prophecies (from Chapter 4 onward) on the horizon. Concerning the antichrist, instead of preterism’s application to Nero in the past, futurism generally applies the prophecies of “the little horn”, “the man of sin” and “the beast” to a single, yet-future Mr. Serpent who will slither into history during time’s last sliver (now usually seen as a “seven year” sliver). Compared to preterism and historicism, futurism has by far the most adherents in the 21st century as the majority report. As with preterism, futurism’s net result is that it also significantly wipes away “the beast” stain from the papacy. Jesuit objective achieved again.

In staunch opposition to both preterism and futurism is historicism, which is what the vast majority of Protestants used to teach. In essence, historicism teaches straight-forward, chronological progression by saying that the major prophecies of Daniel and Revelation find fulfillment throughout Christian history while pointing toward a climactic, visible second coming of our Savior. Historicism also places special emphasis on the ongoing struggle between Jesus Christ and satan inside the Christian church. While not wanting to attack honest individuals, historicism still points the prophetic finger at the Vatican by calling it “the little horn”, “the man of sin”, “the beast” and “Mystery Babylon”. Jesuit objective not achieved.

Describing historicism as the truest and most reasonable method of interpretation, E.B. Elliott comments on the entire Book of Revelation:

Its subject matter I assume to be the continuous fortunes of the church and of the world, (that is of the Roman world and Christian Church settled therein), from the time of the revelation being given, or time of St. John’s banishment, to the end of all things.

In another description of the “historic Protestant view of the Apocalypse,” Elliott wrote:

That view regards the prophecy as a pre-figuration of the great events that were to happen in the Church, and the world connected with it, from St. John’s time to the consummation; including specially the establishment of Popedom, and the reign of Papal Rome, as in some way or the other the fulfillment of the types of the Apocalyptic Beast and Babylon.

Historicist teachers of the past (and present), far from being aberrant theologians, include some of Christianity’s most illustrious scholars: John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, Philip Malanchthon, Ulrich Zwingli, Robert Barnes, Isaac Newton and many others. These may not see eye to eye on every doctrinal detail; but they’ve all discerned the fulfillment of prophecy in church history and especially in the anti-christ nature of the papacy as a colossal institution whose doctrines deny the New Testament message of free salvation by grace through simple faith in the Crucified and Risen One, apart from works.
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I think we can all agree that the majority of people in today’s Christian world believe the futurist view of the Bible’s end time prophecies. Did it surprise you that the Roman Catholic Church initiated this theory? It surprised me. I will also say that in all the time I’ve spent in the Protestant Church over the course of my life, I have never once heard that the early Protestants believed the Catholic Church was the antichrist….even though it fits these prophecies. Is the historicist view politically incorrect in our modern world? Why do most Protestant churches now adhere to this view? We’ll examine this in the next posting.

Countless Christian books and movies adhere to the futurist view. It does a nice job of selling books and tickets and there really isn’t any opposition to it. The enemy is always some future bad guy, so therefore, no one gets offended today. Imagine if a movie studio tried to make a movie about Martin Luther and his belief that the Catholic Church was the antichrist. It wouldn’t be pretty. I believed the futurist view myself until earlier this year and I will agree that it is intriguing. It’s also more comforting to believe that these prophecies will happen at some point in the future outside our lifetime. Regardless of whether is makes us feel better, is it the truth? Would God leave a 2,000 year prophetic void in history? As I’ve said before, I believe the answer is no. I agree with Steve Wohlberg in that the futurist view was launched in the 1600’s as a way to deflect us from the truth. It has worked so well, that today, most of us don’t even know when it originated or where it originated from. In the next posting, we’ll examine how this view found acceptance in modern-day Protestant churches.

In this posting we’ll discuss how the futurist view of the antichrist found its way into Protestant teaching. In Steve’s book, this chapter is called “The Path of the Virus”, which is a fitting analogy. It is astonishing to me that many of us (myself included) have never taken the time to learn these things. Once again, the world keeps us too busy to really look into what is important. These are things that we all need to know, because ultimately, true knowledge and wisdom from God’s Word will lead you to salvation in Jesus Christ. Lack of knowledge and wisdom will lead you to an eternal life in desolation. “my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). What does God say about worldly knowledge and wisdom? “for the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight” (1 Corinthians 3:19). Worldly knowledge and wisdom is foolishness. All the Doctorate degrees in the world won’t help you gain knowledge and wisdom of what is truly important – God and His plan of salvation for us. True knowledge and wisdom come from God. You must ask God through Prayer for the truth.

Let’s continue our history lesson with “End Time Delusions”:
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Oh, how powerfully the magnet of illusion attracts. –Karl Gutzkow (1811-1878)

Code Red, Melissa, Sircam, Nimba, Loveletter, Klez, Mydoom – what do they all have in common? They’re computer viruses that can turn one’s beloved laptop or PC into a terribly malfunctioning machine that becomes good for nothing. Just as Osama bin Laden became public enemy number one to the United States after September 11, 2001, even so has the computer virus become public enemy number one to all who sit before a monitor.

This chapter is about prophecy, not computers, nevertheless we can learn many spiritual lessons from the virus. As we have plainly seen, the Protestant reformers held two core beliefs: 1) Salvation is through the all-sufficient merits of Jesus Christ alone; and 2) Papal Rome is the antichrist of Scripture. Their prophetic perspective was called historicism. In the language of computers, we might say that historicism was their basic prophetic operating system, much like Windows XP is now the main operating system for most PCs. Even though computer programs and systems become quickly outdated because of upgrades to better versions, it is an amazing fact that historicism remained intact as the primary operating system of most Protestant churches for almost 400 years.

But in our 21st century, historicism has faded and futurism is in as the majority report. What happened? How did the seismic shift take place? The story is both fascinating and tragic. Here are the highlights. We have already seen that at the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic Church reacted against the Reformation by commissioning members of the Jesuit Order to counteract historicism. In a short time, Alcasar and Ribera put forth their anti-Protestant counter-theories. In this chapter, the inroads of Ribera’s influence into Protestantism will be traced because, although Alcasar’s preterism is now making renewed progress into churches, Ribera’s teaching is overwhelmingly dominant.

Shortly after the Council of Trent, with the blessing of the Pope, Francisco Ribera master-minded a virus, the virus of futurism. For the next 300 years his Jesuit cohorts did their best to insert this virus into Protestant churches, especially through educational processes connected with the universities of Europe, but they failed. Protestants were too smart and they consistently blocked futurism’s entrance. In addition to effective Holy Spirit virus protection, they basically said, “Sorry. We don’t open foreign attachments!”

But in the 1800’s they dropped their guard. The futurism of Ribera never posed a positive threat to the Protestants for three centuries. It was virtually confined to the Roman Church. But early in the nineteenth century it sprang forth with vehemence and latched on to Protestants of the Established Church of England.

Dr. Samuel Roffey Maitland (1792-1866), a British lawyer and Bible scholar, became a librarian to the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth. It is likely that one day he discovered Ribera’s commentary in the library. In any event, in 1826 he published a widely read book attacking the Reformation and supporting the Jesuit idea of a future Mr. Antichrist person. For the next ten years, in tract after tract, he continued his anti-Reformation rhetoric.

After Dr. Maitland came James H. Todd, professor of Hebrew at the University of Dublin. Giving credit to Maitland, Todd published his own futuristic pamphlets and books. Commenting on the views of Maitland and another so-called Protestant (Mr. Burgh), E.B. Elliott reported how these “two Protestant writers excused the Papacy from any concern with the predicted antichristian apostasy.”

Next player: John Henry Newman (1801-1890), a member of the Church of England and a leader of the famous Oxford movement. In 1850, Newman wrote his “Letter on Anglican Difficulties” blatantly revealing that one of the goals of the movement was to lead “the various English denominations and parties” back to Rome. The “Oxford Tracts” gave fresh weight to “anti-Protestant opinions,” gave “assistance to the laborers of the futurist school,” worked to “unprotestantize the Church of England” and “set aside all application to the Roman Papacy of the fearful prophecies respecting antichrist.” After publishing his own pamphlet about a future Mr. Sinister, Newman himself became a Catholic, and later a highly honored cardinal. Through the combined influences of Maitland, Todd, Burgh, Newman and others, a definite “Romeward movement had arisen that destined to sweep away the old Protestant landmarks, as with a flood.” The virus was sneaking in.

Then came the Scottish Presbyterian minister Edward Irving (1792-1834) who pastured the large Chalcedonian Chapel in London with over 1,000 members. Co-founder of The Society for the Investigation of Prophecy, Irving eventually accepted the one-man antichrist idea of Newman, Burgh, Todd, Maitland, Bellarmine and Ribera, yet he went a step further. Somewhere around 1830, Edward Irving began to teach the novel idea of a two-phase return of Christ, the first phase being a secret rapture before the rise of antichrist. Where he got this concept is a matter of hot dispute. Christian journalist Dave MacPherson has researched this matter for many years. In his investigative books – The Rapture Plot and The Incredible Cover-Up – Mr. MacPherson suggests Irving snatched it from a young Scottish girl named Margaret MacDonald who first “saw” it during an ecstatic “revelation”. Regardless of where Irving got it, the fact is, he taught it!

In the midst of this growing anti-Protestant climate in England came the man we talked about earlier, John Nelson Darby (1800-1882). A brilliant lawyer, pastor and theologian, Darby wrote more than 53 books on Bible subjects. On the positive side, he staunchly defended the infallibility of the Scriptures against British liberalism and soon became one of the leaders of an English group called the Plymouth Brethren. Darby’s contribution to the development of evangelical theology has been so great he has been called The Father of Modern Dispensationalism. Yet John Nelson Darby, like Edward Irving, not only became a champion for the pre-tribulation rapture idea (some say he grabbed it from Irving, others say he found it on his own), but also of a future antichrist who appears only after we disappear. Both teachings – a secret rapture and a future Mr. antichrist – are now dispensational pillars.

Reporting on Irving and Darby’s rapture-then-antichrist views, MacPherson wrote:

Into this [futurist] system both Darby and Irving had injected a further refinement, based upon a declared attempt to reconcile the different parts of the New Testament which they considered to be relevant. In their view, the Second Advent would take place in two stages: first, there would be a quiet appearance – the “presence” – of Christ, when all true Christians, the true Church, would be removed from the earth. This was the “rapture of the saints”. Only then, when the restraining presence of the Holy Spirit in His own people had been removed from the world scene, would antichrist arise. His rule would be brought to an end by the second stage of the Advent – the public “appearing” of Christ in glory.

Concerning the highly probable link to Margaret MacDonald, MacPherson testified:

Since Margaret MacDonald was the first person to teach a coming of Christ that would precede the days of antichrist, it necessarily follows that Darby – back to whom pre-tribism can easily be traced – was at least the second or third or even further down the line. To date, no solid evidence has been found that proves that anyone other than this young Scottish lassie was the first person to teach a future coming of Christ before the days of antichrist. Before 1830, Christians had always believed in a single future coming, that the “catching up” of 1 Thessalonians 4 will take place after the Great Tribulation of Mathew 24 at the glorious coming of the Son of Man when He shall send His angels to gather together all of His elect.

Whether she realized it or not, Margaret did her part to pave the way for the doctrine that would demand separate waiting rooms at the end of this age – one for the church and another one for Israel!

In light of MacPherson’s careful research, it seems Margaret MacDonald’s pre-antichrist “rapture revelation” is the real smoking gun behind Darby’s theology. Regardless, the essential pre-tribulationism of Margaret’s doctrine soon became a weapon of mass deception in the hands of Darby and his dispensationalist followers.

One of the most important figures in this whole drama is Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843-1921), a Kansas lawyer who was greatly influenced by the writings of Darby. In 1909, Scofield published the first edition of his famous Scofield Reference Bible. In the early 1900’s, this Bible became so popular in American Protestant Bible schools that literally millions of copies were printed. What made Scofield’s Bible so energizing was not so much the Scripture itself, but his footnotes. Yet those footnotes contained the virus. Anti-Reformation interpretations were inserted that pointed the finger away from papal Rome and toward a future antichrist. As 20th century American Protestants “downloaded” Scofield’s notes into their unsuspecting brains, the virus attacked file after file linked to historicism, clicking “delete”.

The Moody Bible Institute and the Dallas Theological Seminary have strongly supported the teachings of John Nelson Darby. Thus these firmly Christian institutions, in spite of the good they have done and continue to do, have unknowingly enabled the virus to do what viruses do best – multiply rapidly.

Then in the 1970’s, Pastor Hal Lindsey, a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, released his blockbuster book, The Late Great Planet Earth. This 177 page, easy-to-read volume brought futurism to the masses of American Christianity, and beyond. The New York Times labeled it, “The number one best-seller of the decade.” Over 30 million copies have been sold and it has been translated into over 30 languages. Through The Late Great Planet Earth, the Jesuit virus of futurism made incredible progress in its ancient intelligence strategy to replace historicism as the prophetic operating system of the Protestant world.

Enter Left Behind. In the 1990’s, Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins took the future Mr. Evil idea of Hal Lindsey, Scofield, Darby, Irving, Newman, Todd, Maitland and the Jesuit Ribera, and turned it into “the most successful Christian-fiction series ever” (Publisher’s Weekly). Lindsey’s book, The Late Great Planet Earth, was largely theological, while Left Behind is a fast-moving sequence of highly imaginative novels “overflowing with suspense, action and adventure” (Entertainment Weekly). The novels have reached the bestseller lists of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and have even resulted in an interview of LaHaye and Jenkins on Larry King Live. Left Behind books are now available at Wal-mart, Costco, Target, airports and inside countless other stores. The central figure of this blockbuster series is Nicolae Carpathia, representing Mr. Nightmare himself, the after-the-rapture antichrist. The result? Through Left Behind, the virus of futurism has multiplied exponentially and practically taken over the prophecy-minded Christian world. Most Christians expect a future antichrist, which means Protestantism’s original operating system has crashed!

Tragically, historicism has been knocked down by a powerful punch, but let me clarify something – it’s not entirely out of the boxing ring. Though not as popular as it once was, historicism lives. God’s truth never dies.

In the light of history, the Protestant Reformation, and a correct understanding of the Bible’s antichrist prophecies, in this sense only, historicism is a the good virus. Who is bold enough to upload the truth? Dear friend, an essential component of this good virus – the biblical truth about the antichrist – when rightly understood, will blow both preterism and futurism into a million pieces. It may be painful, but it needs to happen for the sake of Christians everywhere.

Truth may be in the minority, but don’t forget, its power is limitless. In the 1500’s, it started with individuals like Martin Luther. He studied the Word of God and then inserted its high-voltage force into European Christianity. Through the Holy Spirit’s power, Luther and his associates helped dissipate the Dark Ages. The Reformation shook the world.

In the 21st century, God again wants to shake the world (see Revelation 18:1).

He’s looking for heroes to upload His good virus.
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So, now you know how Nicolae Carpathia was born. Very sobering history lesson. Let’s take a look at how this happened through spiritual eyes. Let’s start by stating who our true enemy is. Who does the Bible say is our enemy? People walking around with us on the Earth? No. Our enemies are spiritual forces of evil and wickedness. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12). So, our true enemy is satan and his demonic forces. Let’s think about our enemy for a second. Does he plan and scheme against us? Absolutely. “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Ephesians 6:11). What do these schemes lead to? What is the devil trying to do to us? “The thief [satan] comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” (John 10:10). To summarize who are enemy is and what he is trying to do:

1. Our enemies are spiritual forces of evil (satan), not human beings.
2. Satan plans and schemes against us using temptations, people not filled with the Holy Spirit, etc.
3. The goal of our enemy is to destroy us…..physically, mentally, financially, spiritually.

So, knowing this, how can our enemy use futurism against us? It may seem trivial at first, but let’s think this through. Our enemy slithers into Christ’s Church after the fall of the Roman Empire and takes over. The simple message of faith in Jesus Christ for salvation is pushed out and man-made rituals and worldly religious traditions are installed (sounds very similar to what the enemy did to religion leading up to and during Christ’s time on earth). A simple invention, the printing press, leads to the printing of millions of copies of the Bible being distributed throughout Europe (Think that was a coincidence? – don’t forget, we’re in a war). The Reformation results from the spreading of God's Word and the papal system is labeled as the antichrist. Now, if you’re the enemy, you’ve got a problem. Hundreds of thousands of souls are leaving the church you’ve infiltrated. They are flocking to the Truth. What’s the initial solution? Let’s kill and torture as many of these “reformers” as possible and drive everyone back to the “mother church” by fear. The problem is that the Holy Spirit is working through these saints and they are not backing down. In fact, it just solidifies their beliefs that the Roman Church is the antichrist. Regardless of death and torture, they are standing for Jesus Christ. So, the enemy tries another tactic that he’s good at – deception. Futurism is introduced, our enemy waits patiently, and after 300 years, the deception takes hold. Attention is diverted from the truth. Everyone is looking into the future (perpetually) and not paying attention to what is happening in the here and now.

What are a couple of things that Christians (and some non-Christians) today are looking for in order to determine when the antichrist will come on the scene? The pre-tribulation rapture, a rebuilt Jewish temple and an antichrist peace treaty with Israel. Think about what happens when these things don’t happen. Think about what the enemy will try to do when horrific wars break out, plagues, famine and diseases get worse and …..no rapture. Think about the “beasts” persecuting God’s saints endlessly and ……no rapture. What do you think the enemy will whisper in our ears then? I’ve got an idea……Where’s God? Where’s the rapture? Doesn’t God’s word say you should be out of here? You’re not out of here, so either you’re not a true Christian or God’s Word isn’t true. He will attack our faith......and he's been planning this for hundreds of years. Remember, our enemy has an IQ of around a billion (don’t quote me). He’s planning and scheming against us. He wants to destroy us. The whole futurist theory is a deception by our enemy. It’s harmless now, but it won’t be harmless much longer. The other problem is that true Christians are waiting around for a rapture instead of putting on the armor of God and preparing for the spiritual battles we face.

What will the spiritual battles look like? It’s not hard to see. All we have to do is look back into history at the first Protestants to see what true faith looks like. The next posting will take a look at what they faced. Ladies and gentlemen, in wars there are casualties. A good soldier can put the fear of battle away and focus on the fight at hand. We must be able to do the same. We don’t fight with the weapons of this world, but it is a life and death battle nonetheless. Remember – “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed” (Revelation 13:3). Although the saints of the Reformation wounded the beast with the Sword of God’s Word, the beast is on its way back. It will be joined with another worldwide political beast (we’ll discuss this beast in future postings). These beasts will “make war on God’s saints”. Are you ready? When I say ready, I mean have you put on God’s armor (Ephesians 6)? Are you ready to die for our Savior? You may be thinking that this statement is a bit harsh. After all, things are pretty good right now. Not for long. It’s the truth of what we face. What we’re going to face is worse than what the Reformers faced in the Dark Ages. We must be prepared to discern the Mark (this will be much more deceiving than a simple microchip) and resist it. God is looking for warriors to rise up and take the battle to the enemy. I leave you with Psalm 94:16-17.

“Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against the evildoers? Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.”

Let's discuss the second beast of Revelation 13 and what it means for us in the near future. Revelation 13:11-12 reads:

This beast doesn't come out of the sea, but from the earth. The 'sea' is representative of all the peoples and nations of the earth, so I believe the 'earth' is representative of a more select group of people...meaning that this beast arises from a much smaller population. It has two horns, which I believe represents two seats of power or two places of power. It is 'like a lamb', meaning that this beast comes to power by giving the appearance of peaceful intentions. I have read Christian authors that interpret this to mean this beast initially has the appearance of being a Christian nation or power. Regardless, this beast is going to be very deceptive. Initially, it will be perceived as the good guy, speaking as though it has the best interests of the world in mind. The next words of Revelation 13:11 give the true nature of this beast, "but he spoke like a dragon." His true nature will be revealed as a power that is evil. The dragon represents Satan throughout the Bible, so I think it is safe to assume that this beast will behave like satan....proud, boastful words and evil actions....and receive its power and authority from satan. This beast will also have great political and military power since it will 'exercise all the authority of the first beast' and make all the people of the world "worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed." So, this beast will be a very powerful political entity that forces the world to join the Roman Catholic Church (first beast) and its doctrine.

So, looking at the world today, can we tell who this beast is? I have read many scholars who believe that the United States is this beast....including Steve Wohlberg. It sounds logical, a Christian nation that has fallen away from God who has great political and military might - the world's lone superpower. The two horns could represent our political parties or something else within the United States. It seems to make sense if you simply view the world today through the information we are given in the media and by our government and believe we are in the last days. I have noticed that those that believe this, never mention anything about secret societies or the Illuminati. They probably have never looked into these things. If I take the knowledge and wisdom that I have been given through prayer and apply it to the Book of Revelation, I believe the truth begins to be revealed. If you've read my previous postings on the Illuminati, then you won't be surprised who I believe the second beast is.

Secret societies of the Illuminati have been planning a 'New World Order' for at least two centuries. This 'New World Order' promotes the idea of no national boundaries and a one world socialist government. I'm not going to go into details here (previous postings have covered some of their goals and beliefs), but it is safe to say that their goals are very similar to what is described in Revelation 13 regarding this second beast....worldwide political control. If you think this is impossible because the U.S. seems to be firmly in control, I would suggest that you spend some time researching the Illuminati and how they have infiltrated world governments. The Council on Foreign Relations is a U.S. organization that promotes the New World Order agenda. It's members include most of the major political figures in our government. President Bush is currently, in secrecy, expanding NAFTA politically to create a future 'North American Union'. If you think this is simply another 'conspiracy theory', Lou Dobbs focused on this topic on his CNN program a few days ago and said that he couldn't believe that Americans were going to let it happen....so this topic has made it into mainstream media. How could Americans let this happen? Well, that's where our country's future judgment will come into play. The members of the Illuminati are going to create some type of horrible 'terrorist' event in this country that will make it feasible (through martial law or other forceful means) for the U.S. to be morphed into this world government. Americans and the world will allow these things to happen due to fear. We will 'save' ourselves by joining this world government. Sound impossible? It worked with 9/11....we have given up freedoms (Patriot Act, Military Commissions Act) for a false sense of security. Whether you want to believe it or not, this beast is coming and it's rising at the same time that the Roman Catholic Church has regained it's former influence in the world. Think this is a coincidence?

The New King James Version translates Revelation 13:12, "And he exercises all authority of the first beast in his presence....". I believe that it is clear that these two beasts are working together very closely to achieve global dominance. Think about how religion is causing such turmoil in the world today. If you're an evil organization with no belief in the One, True God of the Holy Bible, then how do you solve this problem? You would probably try to consolidate religions (through forceful means if necessary). The authors of Left Behind tell you that this global religion is a new religion that encompasses all world religions. I believe the truth is that the Roman Catholic Church is going to consolidate the world's religions through forceful means. If you don't believe the Catholic Church is open to approving other religious beliefs, think about this. In 1986, John Paul II invited leaders of the world's 12 largest religions to Assisi, Italy for a prayer summit. Each religious leader prayed to "whichever 'God' they believed in, beseeching these deities to bring peace to the world." In order to justify honoring prayers of even witch doctors and fire worshipers, John Paul II told participants that "the challenge of peace.....transcends religious differences." Does this sound Godly? Should we ever allow other religious beliefs, other than His Holy Word, to be accepted in the name of peace? Absolutely not! Once again, our enemy is attempting to morph the truth with lies. "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised - Amen." (Romans 1:25).

Let's focus back on the 2nd beast. Revelation 13:11 says, "He had two horns like a lamb....". I believe that the 'two horns' could represent the two powers of Europe and the United States working together to bring about the New World Order. They are also moving us toward the New World Order secretly. We are consistently told that we are being 'protected' from terrorists by this 'war on terror'. This is similar to buying 'insurance' from the Mob.....you're buying protection from the very people you need protecting from. The 'war on terror' is no different. We think we're 'buying' protection by giving up our freedoms, when this is exactly what our government's goal actually is......the removal of individual freedoms. It is subtle, it is patient, but it is happening.

I believe that Revelation 13:13-14 give us a very clear picture of what we can expect from this beast. "He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived" (Revelation 13:13-14). In the Left Behind series, there is a character who is said to be the false prophet of Revelation who stands before a huge metal 'image' (it's a statue) of the antichrist Nicolae Carpathia and calls down actual fire and lightning from heaven. Is this what this passage refers to? Once again, a prophecy is taken literally by futurists which leads to a misinterpretation. This passage is not referring to some sorcerer who will cause 'signs' through demonic power. In Revelation 13:13, 'He' is the 2nd beast, and as we've learned in previous postings, a beast is a kingdom, not a man. This beast is the political world government (New World Order) that will cause many types of ‘fire’ from heaven (September 11, 2001 is one example of this). This is the 'fire' that is referenced in this verse. We are also told that these 'great signs' will be used to deceive the inhabitants of earth. I believe these 'signs' will be used to strike fear in us in order to tighten their control over the world. It also appears that these 'signs' were coordinated with the first beast. Again, it appears that the 'beasts' are working together.  Eventually, it appears – based on Revelation chapter 13 - that the Catholic Church will be replaced by an ‘image’.  More on this in later posts.

The 2nd beast will give power to this 'image'. "He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed" (Revelation 13:15). You may have thought that my previous postings regarding our need to stand for Jesus even if it leads to our death was a bit harsh. I'm not saying this simply to scare everyone, it's in the Bible. Basically, you and I will be forced to join this worldwide false religion or be killed. The political beast will enforce this. If you think you can somehow escape this death sentence if you refuse, pay close attention to the word 'all' in this verse. I have no doubt that some of us will survive to the return of Jesus, but the Bible makes it clear that most true believers that refuse this false religion will not survive to the end. This beast will also enforce the 'mark of the beast', which we will discuss in another posting. As I've mentioned many times before, now is the time to get close to God, through His Son, and prepare yourself for what we face. I believe that the next 'sign' we will see is the 'fire' from heaven that will 'deceive the inhabitants of the earth'. After this 'sign', things are rapidly going to get worse as both beasts begin to gain worldwide control.

I’m writing another posting regarding the second beast of Revelation 13 that includes Steve Wohlberg’s interpretation of this prophecy. I don’t agree with Steve on this prophecy, but he includes additional insight from Scripture on this topic and I feel it also relates to my interpretation. While I do agree that the United States has played, and is currently playing, a vital role in creating the second beast, I don’t believe that the U.S. is the second beast. I do believe that the United States is mentioned in the Book of Revelation and I will discuss this in a future posting – and be ready, because it's chilling. At the end of this discussion I will tell you some additional insights I have on this prophecy of the second beast.

This is an excerpt from Steve Wohlberg’s book ‘Truth Left Behind – Exposing End-Time Errors about the Rapture and the Antichrist’:
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The United States of America is now “the world’s sole remaining superpower” (Time, July 29, 1991). Washington D.C. has appropriately been called, “the new Rome” (Newsweek, August 12, 1991). The Bible clearly refers to the ancient nations of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. They were superpowers in their day and are mentioned in prophecy because they had a direct historical connection with God’s chosen people. In our modern times, America, more than any other nation, has aided the spread of Christianity. In our national pledge, we still claim to be “One nation under God.” Our coins still say, “In God We Trust.” Therefore, it is appropriate to ask: Has America been left behind in Bible prophecy?

Revelation 13 actually describes two beasts. We have already discovered the irrefutable and immovable fact that in Bible prophecy, a beast represents a kingdom. “The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon the earth” (Daniel 7:23). This point is of mega-importance when it comes to prophetic interpretation. It is also an irrefutable fact of history that for almost four hundred years Protestants have interpreted the first beast in Revelation 13 to represent the kingdom of papal Rome. But there is a second beast also mentioned in the same chapter. John wrote, “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon” (verse 11). Who is this second beast? Let’s find out.

John saw “another beast” rising into power. Everyone admits that Daniel 7 parallels Revelation 13. Therefore, this second beast must also represent a great kingdom or nation. It also must be an end-time kingdom because the second beast is involved in the enforcement of that mysterious mark (Revelation 13:11-17). The second beast rises “out of the earth” whereas the first beast came out of the sea (Revelation 13:1). This often-overlooked detail is actually quite significant. In fact, all four beasts in Daniel 7 came out of the sea. What does “the sea” or water represent in prophecy? In Revelation 17:1, John saw a woman named “Babylon” sitting upon “many waters”. An angel explained, “The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations and tongues” (Revelation 17:15). Thus, the “water” represents lots of people. Historically, the great nations of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome rose up from among the multitude of nations in Europe and the Middle East. The second beast was seen “coming up out of the earth”. If the “water” represents lots and lots of people, then “the earth” would represent a sparsely populated area, more of a wilderness region. The second beast is also described as being “like a lamb”. In the Bible, a lamb is primarily a symbol of Jesus Christ (John 1:29; Revelation 14:1). The second beast is not Jesus, to be sure, but it will be lamb-like; it will be “like” Jesus in some significant way. It also has “two horns”. Horns in prophecy represent either kings, kingdoms, or divisions within a kingdom (see Daniel 7:17, 23, 24; 8:3, 8, 20-22). Thus, the second beast might have a division of power within itself.

Also, there is much more to the matter of the time when this beast arises than a simple appearance near the end time. The prophecy is more specific.

In a previous chapter we talked about the wounding of the first beast. This wound occurred on time in the exact year that marked the end of the 1260 years. What year was that? 1798. This wound is described in Revelation 13:10. In that verse the first beast is described as going into “captivity”. In other words, in 1798, he would be on his way down. Now notice, it is in the very next verse that the second beast is seen “coming up”. It’s like a prophetic teeter-totter. The first beast goes down and then the second beast comes up. This “down and up” activity occurs right around the same time; therefore, we need to look for a great kingdom coming into power around the year 1798.

John Wesley founded the Methodist Church in England in the 1700’s. Like most other Protestants in his day, he had absolutely no interest in the speculative fancies of Jesuit futurism. In the 1750’s, as he was studying prophecy, he realized the 1260 year period would soon come to an end. In 1754, he published his much-respected New Testament with Explanatory Notes. After applying the first beast of Revelation 13:1-10 to the papacy, he contemplated the rise of the second beast. Underneath verse 11, John Wesley wrote, “Another…beast….But he is not yet come, though he cannot be far off; for he is to appear at the end of the forty-two months of the first beast. And he had two horns like a lamb – a mild, innocent appearance” (John Wesley, Notes on Revelation, 1754.). The founder of the Methodist Church was right on target!

A lamb is a young animal, a baby sheep. The fact that this kingdom is described as being lamb-like around 1798 indicates that this would be a young kingdom at this time. All of the other recognizable beasts in Daniel 7 (the lion, the bear, and the leopard) were like hungry wild animals. The nations of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome rose by conquering the previous nation in power. Yet the lamb-like beast was to rise differently, more peacefully. The fact that it has no crowns on its horns is also highly significant. The first beast of Revelation 13 has horns with crowns. Crowns represent kingly power, as in the European nations. Papal Rome did in fact rule over Kings. Yet the lamb-like nation would try something new. It would have no crowns, thus it would be a nation without a king.

Revelation 13 predicts that the second beast will eventually become a superpower. How do we know this? We know this because the beast eventually has the capability to enforce the mark of the first beast upon ‘all’ the peoples of the world (Revelation 13:16). Therefore, the second beast must grow from its comparatively small and peaceful beginnings into a mighty nation or kingdom of superpower status with global influence. And yet, in spite of its lamb-like profession, it will eventually “speak like a dragon” (Revelation 13:11). This indicates a final denial of its principles, internal degradation, and the use of satanic force.

Let’s put the pieces together:

1. What youthful nation was “coming up” into power in a wilderness area around 1798?
2. What new nation around 1798 was “like a lamb”, Christian in its features, mild and peaceful, without needing to conquer another great nation in its ascent?
3. What nation now has “two horns”, that is, a division of power within its government?
4. What nation in its form of government has no crowns, is without kingly power, being ruled “by the people”?
5. And what nation is now the world’s only superpower?

When it comes to Bible prophecy, there is only one nation that qualifies as the second beast of Revelation 13 – The United States of America.
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Steve makes some very good points. However, I feel very strongly that the Lord has instructed me to take the knowledge I have been given personally and apply it to His end time Bible prophecies. As I have stated before, I feel that the judgment of the Lord is coming upon our Nation. Who will the Lord use to do this? I believe it will be the Illuminati…in accordance with their plan of controlling the world (New World Order). The U.S. will have done what the Illuminati wanted the nation to do, so it will be time to knock her down from superpower status in order to incorporate her into the New World Order. I believe true power will then shift back to Europe.

Although I disagree with Steve on this prophecy, he brings up some additional insight from the Scriptures describing this prophecy that I feel have significance. Let’s take a look at the additional insight mentioned by Steve in light of the knowledge of the Illuminati and the New World Order.

As I mentioned in an earlier posting (Illuminati and the dollar bill), the modern day Illuminati was started by Adam Weishaupt in 1776….also around the time of the decline of the Roman Catholic Church. These secret societies of the global elite are working in secrecy to attain their goals….no need to conquer by force. They are not taking a brute force approach to conquering the world, but are using secretive, deceptive means. Therefore, this could be viewed as a ‘lamb-like’ approach. In addition, they have used the U.S. extensively throughout the past 200 years to further their goals, which has always been viewed as a Christian nation.

As I stated in the previous posting, it appears that the Illuminati have two main bases of power – the United States and Europe (Europe being dominant). This could be the ‘two horns’ of the prophecy representing its division of power. Another possible explanation are the methods they are using to patiently and deceptively gain control of the world’s governments – war and economic manipulation. It appears that they have used ‘false flag’ operations to start wars or to bring a country into a war when needed (Examples: 9/11, Gulf of Tonkin)….or manufacture reasons to start a war when it is in the interests of the NWO (Examples: 1991 Gulf War, current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). They exert immense control over the world’s banking and financial systems. Guess who controls the Central Banks in each country? Guess who controls the U.S. Federal Reserve System? You guessed it….the same international bankers control all of this. If they control our banking and monetary systems, they certainly have the ability to control our financial markets, stock markets, etc. It is estimated that the controlling families of the Illuminati control 75%-80% of the world’s wealth…that’s right, trillions of dollars. It seems impossible until you realize they have planned this for over 200 years and started with some of the wealthiest families in the world. So, there are reasonable explanations for the ‘two horns’ of this prophecy representing a division of power within the Illuminati.

As far as I can see, the Illuminati have no ‘kings’ and obviously are not a nation….so the rise of the New World Order also meets the prophetic criteria of the 2nd beast by not having any ‘crowns’.

The important thing to remember as you read these prophecies is that the Book of Revelation is describing current events. The main issue with the futurist view is that everyone is waiting for some supernatural phenomenon to happen to signal everyone that it’s time to pay attention. Millions of Christians are always looking into the future for these things to happen when they are happening now. The enemy is deceiving us on a scale that is almost unimaginable. There are two monumental problems with the futurist view – 1. it shifts our focus into the future and away from the real threats 2. it will be used to attack our faith in the near future when the pre-trib rapture, 7 year tribulation, rebuilt Jewish Temple, etc…don’t happen.

I believe our Lord is revealing the truth to those who are close to Him and want to know. If you are reading this now, He’s revealing it to you for a reason. You must pray and read His Holy Word to discern what to do. We still have a long way to go….read on!

We established in the last post that the woman sitting on the beast in Revelation 17 is the Roman Catholic Church located in Rome. Revelation 18 begins with another Angel coming down from heaven to give John more information. ‘With a mighty voice he [the angel] shouted: “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”’ (Revelation 18:2-3). I believe that God is making it clear – the Roman Church will fall. Why? It cannot get clearer than this - she has become a home for demons. The Lord is telling us that her teaching is not from Him, but from demonic activity. She has committed adultery against God by preaching false doctrine and leading many to idolatry. We are told that the ‘kings of the earth committed adultery with her’. I believe this references the governments of the world throughout history welcoming her false doctrines and gaining worldly power from her. This angel ends his dialog with yet another reference to the excessive wealth of this church.

The next verses are powerful. Another voice from heaven says: ‘Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes…’ (Revelation 18:4-5). The Lord is calling to His people from heaven. He is saying that there are true believers within this church, yet they are deceived. He is telling them to come out of this church and its unbiblical doctrine so that they ‘will not receive any of her plagues.’ We are also told in verse 5 that God ‘has remembered her crimes’. This is chilling. The Lord is going to repay this Church for what it has done to His people. For all of the Lord’s saints that have been killed, for all of the people who have been deceived by false teachings – the Lord is going to avenge.

The Lord continues in verse 6: ‘Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, “I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn.” Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her’ (Revelation 18:6-8). We are given more reasons for this judgment. The Lord mentions ‘torture and grief’ and ‘luxury and glory’. Throughout the middle ages this Church tortured the Lord’s saints and became rich and powerful. I believe that it will once again persecute the Lord’s saints before its judgment. The Lord has heard the cry of his Saints and He is going to avenge them. The Lord is also telling us that He sees the heart of this church and it is boastful and arrogant. Finally, we are once again told that this Church will be judged by fire…..resulting in death, mourning and famine. This parallels Revelation 17:16 ‘…they [the beast and the ten kings] will eat her flesh and burn her with fire’ and Revelation 13:13 ‘he [the beast] performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men’.

The last verse of Revelation 17 states: ‘The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.’ (Revelation 17:18). Revelation 18:9-10 states: ‘When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “Woe! Woe, O’ great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!’ Since Babylon is a reference to the city of Rome, it becomes clear that the entire city of Rome will be affected by this judgment – not just Vatican City. This also gives us another clue. Revelation 17:16 tells us who the Lord uses to judge the Roman Church – ‘The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.’ It’s clear that the highest leadership of the world government is responsible for the destruction of this city. However, Revelation 18:10 tells us that there are kings of the earth who are ‘terrified at her torment’. This leads me to believe that the world’s most powerful leaders are deceiving the rest of the world. If all of the kings of the earth knew what was happening they would not be ‘terrified’ since they would be expecting it. I believe that this world government beast once again uses massive destruction to its advantage. It will use the destruction of Rome to setup its own ‘image’ of the Roman Church. (What will this image look like? We’ll spend some time on this topic in a later post, because I believe we are seeing a glimpse of this image today.)

I also believe that this type of deception will ultimately lead the world to the final worldwide battle of Armageddon. If I didn’t know how things ended according to Bible prophecy, I would probably believe that a worldwide government (evil or not) would have a much tighter grip on the nations of the world. How could wars break out if national boundaries disappear and we’re all one, big, happy family? This sounds logical – and you hear this at times even today. It would be much easier if we only had one currency that was handled without cash or coins (no need to haul money around, no more armed robbery, etc.). Without national boundaries, no need to attack your neighbor to gain more space since we’re all together. It really sounds logical….except for one thing – Satan. This world government isn’t one, big, happy family. This world government will rule with an iron fist. All wealth and power will be at the top….forcing the world to adhere to demonic doctrines. No private ownership of land…no buying or selling unless you receive their ‘mark’…which will force many to deny Jesus Christ. Ultimately, I believe that much of the world begins to rebel against this ‘beast’…..leading to a final worldwide war – Armageddon. Many prophecy scholars today believe that Armageddon will be fought only in the Middle East against Israel. Logically, this doesn’t make much sense. Why send 200 million soldiers to attack tiny Israel? Why not just drop a few nuclear weapons? Why march millions of men, hundreds of miles when we have ships and planes that could do the job much more easily. This simply doesn’t make sense to me. These scholars are once again fitting Scripture to their prophecy beliefs. It is made clear that everyone in the world will be affected by this final battle: ‘For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.’ (Mathew 24:21-22). Jesus makes it clear – no one would survive if not for the grace of God. This is a worldwide event.

Let’s finish our study of Revelation 18. Will Rome ever be rebuilt? Will the Roman Church ever return before the Lord’s return? I believe the answer is no. ‘”They will say, ‘the fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ (Revelation 18:14). Revelation 18:16-17 tells us: ‘Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’ Once again, the colors and wealth of this church are mentioned. These verses parallel Revelation 17:4 and confirm for us that this ‘Babylon the Great’ is the same entity as the woman whose title is ‘Mystery – Babylon the Great’ of chapter 17: ‘The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls’ (Revelation 17:4).

It is clear that destruction is brought on suddenly and without warning. ‘In one hour’ is used more than once to describe this judgment. In verse 20 we’re once again told that the Lord has not forgotten His saints that were tortured and killed by this Church: ‘Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you.’ Regardless of what we face in the near future, we should always take comfort in the Lord and know that it is not up to us to repay those that persecute us – the Lord will repay just as we’re told in Deuteronomy 32:35: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.’

Chapter 18 finishes with the words of a mighty angel: ‘With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again. The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No workman of any trade will be found in you again. The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s great men. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on earth.’ (Revelation 18:21-24). This chapter ends with finality. With violence, this city will be destroyed and never be rebuilt. Never again will people inhabit this city. Never again will a church be built in this city (bridegroom and bride). The chapter ends with the reasons for judgment – false teachings that led people away from Jesus and the killing of God’s saints. Very clear and very chilling.

I realize that it’s hard to believe these things. Much of what I have written about is not easy to believe because it’s not what we want to hear. We would much rather hear that things are going to get better and that the world will be peaceful. The truth of God’s Word tells us differently. The Lord’s truth tells us that things are going to get worse – so prepare yourself. Don’t buy into the lies of the world. Our focus should always be on His kingdom, not this world.

Babylon – Past and Future

The Bible speaks of two Babylons – the ancient empire of Babylon that invaded Israel around 597 B.C. and a ‘Mystery’ Babylon that is mentioned in the book of Revelation.  There is no mystery surrounding the Bible’s description of the Babylon empire.  The Old Testament speaks of the rise and fall of Babylon and the Israelite captivity that resulted from the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem.  The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah both gave prophecies concerning the Babylon Empire – all of which came to pass.

The ‘mystery’ here is – who is the ‘Babylon’ of Revelation chapters 14, 17 and 18?  As we reviewed in previous posts, I believe that the ‘Mystery’ Babylon of Revelation is the Roman Catholic Church.  Since we have already explored Revelation chapters 14, 17 and 18 and related prophecies concerning the Roman Catholic Church, in this post we’re going to examine what the Bible tells us about both Babylons.  Does the Old Testament give us any additional information regarding ‘Mystery’ Babylon?  Does the Old Testament help us confirm who ‘Mystery’ Babylon is?  As we’ve seen before, prophecies in Revelation often relate to Old Testament prophecies – and this prophecy is no different.  We’re going to see that the Old Testament description of Babylon gives us additional insight into who ‘Mystery’ Babylon is and what the future holds for ‘Mystery’ Babylon.

Let’s start by comparing Old Testament prophecies concerning ancient Babylon with Revelation’s prophecies regarding ‘Mystery’ Babylon.  In addition to their names, does the Bible give us a clear indication that these two entities are related?  Absolutely.

Revelation chapter 17 begins the description of ‘Mystery’ Babylon:

“One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries."

 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. This title was written on her forehead:
      MYSTERY
      BABYLON THE GREAT
      THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
      AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.” (Revelation 17:1-6)

To summarize, we see the following regarding ‘Mystery’ Babylon:

1.      Commits spiritual adultery against the Lord

2.      People of the world are ‘intoxicated’ with the ‘wine’ of her adulteries

3.      This Babylon is very wealthy

4.      She holds a ‘golden cup’ in her hand

5.      The ‘golden cup’ is filled with the ‘filth of her adulteries’

6.      She is the ‘Mother’ of ‘Prostitutes’ (false religion/churches) and abominations (unbiblical doctrine and worship)

7.      This Babylon is ‘drunk’ with the ‘blood of the saints’ – meaning that it has killed the Lord’s people

Let’s compare the opening verses of Revelation chapter 17 with what the Old Testament tells us about ‘Babylon’.

“Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad.” (Jeremiah 51:7)

Here we see a ‘golden cup’ mentioned and that Babylon has ‘made the whole earth drunk’.  Because the nations drank her ‘wine’, they have now ‘gone mad’.  What is this referring to?  The Lord is telling us that Babylon’s worship of false idols (idolatry) has made the people spiritually ‘drunk’ with this intoxicating spiritual ‘wine’.  The Lord tells us through Jeremiah that Babylon’s worship of idols causes widespread ‘madness’ – the worship of false gods and idols.  We see the same descriptions regarding ‘Mystery’ Babylon in Revelation chapter 17.  The Lord is telling us that both Babylons are rife with idolatry and false worship.  We’re also told very clearly that much of civilization during the time of each Babylon adheres to these false beliefs.  The empire of Babylon included much of the world during its reign.  It’s easy to see that this ‘Mystery’ Babylon is also present throughout the world.

What was the result of ancient Babylon’s idolatry?  It was judged by the Lord – conquered by Cyrus the Great (Persia) in 539 B.C.  The fall of Babylon was foretold by Isaiah and Jeremiah.

'Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!' (Isaiah 21:9)

“For the time will surely come when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her whole land will be disgraced and her slain will all lie fallen within her.” (Jeremiah 51:47)

"Babylon must fall because of Israel's slain, just as the slain in all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.” (Jeremiah 51:49)

What is the reason for its fall?  Its worship of idols and because it killed the Lord’s people.  Very clear.

“A drought on her waters! They will dry up. For it is a land of idols, idols that will go mad with terror.” (Jeremiah 50:38)

What awaits ‘Mystery’ Babylon?  The same fate.

"Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries." (Revelation 14:8)

"Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.  For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries.” (Revelation 18:2-3)

Your merchants were the world's great men. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth." (Revelation 18:23-24)

What is also amazing is that the Lord warns us before the judgment of both Babylons.

"Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins. It is time for the LORD's vengeance; he will pay her what she deserves.” (Jeremiah 51:6)

"Come out of her, my people! Run for your lives! Run from the fierce anger of the LORD. (Jeremiah 51:45)

We see that the Lord gives a very clear warning before the downfall of ancient Babylon.  Do we see a similar warning concerning ‘Mystery’ Babylon?  Absolutely.

Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. (Revelation 18:4-5)

I believe Jeremiah 51:9 relates to both Babylons – the Lord would have healed both if they would have humbled themselves.  He makes it clear – both refuse to be healed.  Both refuse the path of humility and repentance – and both are destroyed because of this.

'We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to his own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the clouds.' (Jeremiah 51:9)

Did Ancient Babylon fall quickly or did it take some time.  History records that Babylon fell quickly – in one night the mighty city of Babylon fell to the Persians.  Was this foretold?  Yes.

“Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken.” (Jeremiah 51:8)

"Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields! The LORD has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because his purpose is to destroy Babylon. The LORD will take vengeance, vengeance for his temple. Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon! Reinforce the guard, station the watchmen, prepare an ambush! The LORD will carry out his purpose, his decree against the people of Babylon.  (Jeremiah 51:11-12)

We see that ‘Mystery’ Babylon will suffer the same fate – a quick and final end.

“Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine.
She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.” (Revelation 18:8)

"When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: "'Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!' (Revelation 18:9-10)

It’s also interesting to note that the ancient city of Babylon fell in one night.  We also see that ‘Mystery’ Babylon will fall very quickly – and we also see that a ‘city’ is mentioned more than once.  This is a clear message to us that the center of ‘Mystery’ Babylon will be destroyed.  As I’ve mentioned in other posts – I believe these are references to the city of modern day Rome.

We also see that wealth is taken from both Babylons as a result of these judgments.

You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be cut off. (Jeremiah 51:13)

They will say, 'The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered. (Revelation 18:14)

'Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin! (Revelation 18:16-17)

Would ancient Babylon ever rise again?  Jeremiah prophesied that it would not – and history records that Babylon never rose again.

Then say, 'So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will fall. (Jeremiah 51:64)

Once ‘Mystery’ Babylon is judged, will it ever rise again?  The Lord is clear.

Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: "With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again. (Revelation 18:21)

Notice that ‘fire’ is mentioned as a method of judgment for both Babylons.

"I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth," declares the LORD. "I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs,
and make you a burned-out mountain. (Jeremiah 51:25)

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Babylon's thick wall will be leveled and her high gates set on fire; the people exhaust themselves for nothing, the nations' labor is only fuel for the flames." (Jeremiah 51:58)

The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17:16-18)

Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. (Revelation 18:8)

We also see that people are horrified at the aftermath of both judgments.

Because of the LORD's anger she will not be inhabited but will be completely desolate. All who pass Babylon will be horrified and scoff because of all her wounds. (Jeremiah 50:13)

"When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: " 'Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!' (Revelation 18:9-10)

If we compare ancient Babylon with ‘Mystery’ Babylon we see striking similarities:

1.      Both are full of idolatry and false religion

2.      Both deceive many into believing that idolatry and false religion is the way of truth

3.      The Lord considers the beliefs of both to be ‘filth’ and spiritual ‘adulteries’

4.      Both are extremely wealthy

5.      Both are arrogant and full of pride

6.      Both wield enormous worldly power

7.      Both kill the Lord’s people

8.      Both will be judged because of their evil ways

9.      The judgment for both is by fire

10.  In both cases, people see this judgment and mourn

11.  In both cases, the Lord warns people to ‘flee’ or ‘come out’ of these entities prior to judgment

I would recommend that you read Isaiah and Jeremiah to understand all the Lord has to say about Babylon.  It’s very interesting reading.  As always, you’ll gain knowledge and wisdom by being in His Word.  We should note that the Lord raised up someone to overthrow Babylon (Cyrus).  Will He do the same with ‘Mystery’ Babylon?  Time will tell.

"Come together, all of you, and listen: Which of the idols has foretold these things? The LORD's chosen ally will carry out his purpose against Babylon; his arm will be against the Babylonians. I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I will bring him, and he will succeed in his mission.” (Isaiah 48:14-15)

What is amazing to me is that we all go about our lives – and most of us believe that the events taking place throughout the world are purely random - empires rise, empires fall – religions rise and religions fall.  What you are seeing as you read through this blog is that these things are not random.  There has been a hidden hand moving human events.  Only the Lord’s children can truly see this – by His Spirit.  People throughout history have gone their own way – following their own evil ways and then are surprised when their world collapses around them – and this certainly continues today.  We are seeing the beginning of this in America.  We have gone our own way – and our world is starting to collapse.  It is the Lord who lifts us up and it is the Lord who judges those who follow the evil ways of the world.  We like to think that we rule the world – but the truth, as you see – is much different.  The truth is that the Lord gave us the world – and we ultimately destroy it.  I wouldn’t exactly call us good stewards – worthy to rule anything.

Do you think that the rulers of ancient Babylon knew that their rise and fall would foreshadow the future rise and fall of another ‘Babylon’?  Not a chance.  They were the blind leading the blind – and we see this today with political and religious leaders.  Most claim to know God – but few do.  There are few in the world who truly overcome this world and find the Lord waiting for them.  I, for one, am no longer listening to the lies of the world.  I want to hear the truth.  How about you?  Who are you listening to?

Psalm 26

Of David.

Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have led a blameless life;
I have trusted in the LORD
without wavering.

Test me, O LORD, and try me,
examine my heart and my mind;

for your love is ever before me,
and I walk continually in your truth.

I do not sit with deceitful men,
nor do I consort with hypocrites;

I abhor the assembly of evildoers
and refuse to sit with the wicked.

I wash my hands in innocence,
and go about your altar, O LORD,

proclaiming aloud your praise
and telling of all your wonderful deeds.

I love the house where you live, O LORD,
the place where your glory dwells.

Do not take away my soul along with sinners,
my life with bloodthirsty men,

in whose hands are wicked schemes,
whose right hands are full of bribes.

But I lead a blameless life;
redeem me and be merciful to me.

My feet stand on level ground

in the great assembly I will praise the LORD.