Let's Talk END TIMES

Nearly two thousand years have passed since Jesus gave his followers the signs prior to his return. Matthew 24:4-51 warns the nations of 21stcentury Israel, “Watch out that no one deceives you.For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” 

Revelation 2 and 3—the churches of Revelation. Deception is Jesus’ first concern. He is warning Judeo-Christians that many in the ministry will come as if they were given the authority to teach in Jesus’ name and interpret scriptures through their own authority. 

After Jesus was resurrected, he met with seven of his disciples who had returned to fishing. He called out to them early that morning to throw their net on the right side of the boat and there they caught 153 big fish. After this catch, Jesus specifically spoke to Peter questioning his love for him. Three times, Jesus asked Peter if he loved him. Peter could not understand Jesus’ line of questioning. Peter was the bold and outward disciple of the twelve. He was adamant of his love for Christ like many churches in the 21st century, yet Jesus had to remind Peter that he must follow Jesus (John 21:22b). Peter was walking side-by-side with Christ, an image of one who considers himself as having equal authority with Christ, not one following Christ. There have been in the past and it continues into the present, a ministry, like Peter, who have assumed the authority of Christ to interpret scriptures through their own eyes. As a result, Christ’s seven churches do not teach the same doctrines because some in the ministry have assumed the authority of Jesus Christ to be a teacher, yet Jesus said that we have only one teacher.

“Don't let anyone call you 'Rabbi,' for YOU HAVE ONLY ONE TEACHER, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called teachers, for YOU HAVE ONE TEACHER, that is, CHRIST” (Matthew 23:8, 10).

Only Christ has the authority to interpret scripture for he is the Word and Son of God.

Nowhere in scripture has Christ, our one interpreter: 

• changed the Sabbath to Sunday
• nailed the law to the cross
• terminated God’s Holy days
• approved the Christianization of pagan celebrations.
  

In addition, difficult teachings written in the Bible should not be interpreted by the ministry, but through humble and fervent prayer asking God through Christ for understanding. Christ taught one theology. The ministry is required to repeat, not interpret the teachings taught by Christ and avoid falling into the sin of the ancient priests in Jerusalem who “ruled by their own authority, and the people loved it that way” (Jeremiah 5:31b).

Jesus warned the churches of Revelation to overcome their misunderstandings and misconceptions. The ministry and the congregation of these churches who do not overcome will not be saved. Only the overcomers will be rewarded. It is the responsibility of each member of the church to test the teachings of their ministry. Judgment rests on individuals; there is no option to push blame on someone else.

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” 

Revelation 6—the first four seals. These events are the beginning of birth pains as Christ, the rider on the white horse gives the churches of Revelation the task to take the gospel to the whole world. A congregation is growing within the womb of a faithful church—a congregation obedient to God’s law and living God’s ways. The rogue heavenly rulers, powers and principalities of Ephesians 6:12 work against God’s plan of moulding mankind into a repentant and righteous people. They will stir up hatred among the nations on earth and squelch the word of God causing many of faith to faint and grow weary looking to alternative theologies. The work of the beast of the earth led by the false prophet will be very successful during this time. People will be enticed to embrace theologies taught by science, medicine, alternative religions, and strange philosophies.

There is a physical parallel as false theologies rise; famine and sicknesses of all types increase. People fill the hospitals today and unstable governments struggle to feed their people. This parallel will increase as time moves closer to the persecution of the faithful.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Revelation 6:9-10—the fifth seal lasts seven years.
Persecution of the Christians who hold the testimony of Jesus and keep the commandments of God will opportune the preaching of the gospel to the whole world. A movement began with the election of President Trump in the U.S.A. and has continued where the 21st century nations of Israel and other nations are standing up to their globalist leaders. They are voting against them in support for leaders who stand for sovereignty.  The globalist leaders are fighting back attacking all national leaders who go against them. The anti-globalist leaders support their rule of law and are standing strong enforcing their law, which was instituted as a direct result of their Christian values and culture. This movement is still in its early stages, but as God’s plan for mankind comes into fruition, the nations of 21st century Israel may find themselves in a religious revival and standing alone, separated from the rest of the nations in the world when their time of testing is in full force.

A time rests on our near horizon when Christians within these anti-globalist countries will be attacked by the powerful globalist leaders because they will be seen as opposing their theology. During this time, the opportunity to take the gospel to the whole world will be amplified. The Smyrna church of Revelation is prophesied to be persecuted. They are rich in the word of God and their testimony will be the pure word of God. They will stand by their faith and grow even stronger. They will not be alone. The Philadelphia church will stand by them.

The Philadelphia church has “little strength” (Revelation 3:8b) because they are a scattered people. There is always strength in numbers, but Christ will open the door for this group of people and no one will be able to shut it. They, too, will speak the gospel as they are brought before leaders. “When you are brought before the synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say. For at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say” (Luke 12:11-12).

Both the Smyrna and Philadelphia churches will be opposed even by the other Christian churches. Initially, the five general groups of the Christian churches of Revelation won’t support them because these churches still need to overcome their misunderstandings and misconceptions of God’s word, but a change will come for them at the half-way point when the two witnesses arrive and preach the same message as the Smyrna and Philadelphia churches. The gospel will go out to the whole world.

A hatred for God’s word will be intensified as the rogue heavenly rulers, powers and authorities of Ephesians 6:12 knead their hatred into the nations. Hatred, itself, will increase for no logical reason or for any just cause. Two camps of people will rise out of this darkness. One group will despise the other and the other group will stand strong holding the testimony of Jesus and keeping the commandments of God through persecution from within and without.

“So, when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 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.”

Revelation 6:9-10—the fifth seal.Persecution of the Jews in Israel. As the movement back into sovereignty and opposition against globalism increases, a yet unknown opportunity will ignite a religious revival among the Jews and sacrifices again will be instituted. The globalist forces will oppose this religious revival at the same time opposing the Christian religious revival.

Persecution will affect both Jews and Christians, within and without. The nations of the world will watch in awe and in confusion with the religious turmoil within these nations. They won’t understand the work of the Great Potter moulding His people; they will only see the discomfort of His pressure on them.

Pressure of all types will escalate. Satan will be thrown down to earth and his beast coalition from out of the sea will arise and the nations will surrender without a fight because of the immense display of power from this rogue alien force.

The Antichrist, the leader of the coalition is “a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty” (Daniel 11:21a). This leader is not human nor is he a royal heavenly member, but an insignificant rogue heavenly being filled with hatred for God and Jesus Christ. When Satan increases his spiritual power, this “king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods… He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women [Jesus Christ], nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all” (Daniel 11:36a-37). Only a heavenly being can do this. If he were merely a mortal, he could be taken out easily by special forces from all the nations. He is not taken out, rather, he is worshiped by all the nations.

“The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshiped the dragon [Satan] because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worship the beast and asked, ‘Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?’” (Revelation 13:3b-4)

They know that they cannot make war against him because of his massive strength, so they surrender and worship him.

This wicked heavenly ruler will torture the Jews and Christians who he will take into captivity. Their time of suffering will be like no other time in their history. The Antichrist is determined to prolong the suffering of God’s people and eventually kill every man, woman and child, even those who coward over to his side.

“The people of Israelare oppressed, and the people of Judahas well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to let them go. Yet the Redeemer is strong; Yahuah Almighty is his name. He will vigorously defend their cause so that he may bring rest to their land, but unrest to those who live in Babylon” (Jeremiah 50:33-34).

“At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.”

The beasts of the earth and sea—those rogue heavenly rulers, powers and authorities will play with the Jews and Christians presenting to them false Christs and false prophets. They will do all they can to lead them away from God—their God. Those who remain faithful, will be mocked and they will say, “Where is your God?”(Joel 2:17b)

“At that time, I will deal with all who oppressed you. I will rescue the lame; I will gather the exiles. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they have suffered shame” (Zephaniah 3:19).

“The enemy said of you, ‘Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession’… because they ravaged and hounded you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people’s malicious talk and slander, this is what Yahuah says, ‘In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession… and because you have suffered the scorn of the nations, I swear with uplifted hand that the nations around you will also suffer scorn” (Ezekiel 36:2-7).

“So, if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”

Jesus warned the people of Judah and Israel that the exact moment of his arrival is top secret, but when he is given the green light by God Almighty, his arrival will be like lightning in the sky and everyone will see. There will be no doubt.

“Immediately after the distress of those days ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’”

Revelation 6:12—the sixth seal.
“And when I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind” (Revelation 6:12-13).

“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Joel 2:31).

The distress “of those days” will primarily be the rogue heavenly forces against the nations of 21st century Israel. God’s people will be brought “into the fire”. God says that He “will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God’” (Zechariah 13:9).

 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man[lightning from the east during absolute darkness] will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

Revelation 6:15—continuation of the sixth seal.
God, together with Jesus Christ and the resurrected saints, will overthrow the beasts of the earth and sea and their coalition and rescue His people.

“Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:15-16).

The rulers, the commanders and all who hold positions of authority and those who submitted to Wickedness will fear the arrival of Jesus Christ. They will seek their death and cry out, “Hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne [God Almighty] and the wrath of the Lamb [Christ]!” (Revelation 6:16b)

Zachariah detailed the rescue of the Jewish people in Jerusalem.“Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You [the Jews] will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You [the Jews] will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light” (Zachariah 14:3-7).

Zachariah described the great battle of God with His remnant from the nations of 21st century Israel against the nations of the world. “Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope,” God says in Zechariah 9:12. Finally, God’s people are trusting and relying on Him. “I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion [God’s children on earth], against your sons, O Greece [descendants on earth from His ancient heavenly enemy], and make you [Judah and Israel] like a warrior’s sword” (Zechariah 9:13).

“I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. The Ephraimites will become like mighty men, and their hearts will be glad as with wine… Then, the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south, and the LORD Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar. The LORD their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people” (Zechariah 10:6-7, 9:14-16).

God Almighty will give these remnant people victory over the raging nations. The remnant nations of 21st century Israel with the faithful people within the nations of the world—all the people who refused to worship Satan and the beast, will rejoice together in this great victory. “And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name” (Revelation 15:2).

“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb… ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9, 14).

The gospel will go out to all the world during Jacob’s trouble and countless people will listen, repent and turn to their Creator—the Almighty God, the God of Israel.

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.”

The fig tree images the people of Israel—all twelve tribes. Fig trees produce twice in a year. The first fruits appear in Spring and produce from the old branches—the Breba crop. The second fruits appear in Summer and produce from the new growth—the Higos crop.

Jesus is describing the crop from the new growth—the tender twigs. Watch for a conversion of the people of the nations of 21st century Israel. They should be acknowledging the God of Israel, desiring to obey His commandments and striving to live His way. During their captivity, they will call out to Him for their rescue and declare their allegiance to Him. That is the lesson from the fig tree and the sign just before the return of Christ. This will be an exceptional time when millions turn to God sincerely and completely. 

“I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

“This generation” is the house of Judah who rejected Christ. They will not pass away; they will go on despite calamity and having rejected Christ as their Savior until the great persecution of the 21st century nations of Israel has taken place, Jacob’s trouble is complete.

This prophecy is absolute.

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

It is top secret! God’s enemies—the rogue heavenly rulers, powers and authorities of Ephesians 6:12 are planning their counter-attack and God Almighty will not disclose that day or hour. He has kept that piece of His plan secret to everyone—even His Son. It will be a surprise for the enemy; they won’t be ready. To the righteous, they will be ready because they are watching and they are wearing the armour of God: self-controlled, belief in God, love for God and fellow mankind, and have immense hope that God will extend them grace despite their past behavior.

“Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night [for the wicked]. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.You are sons of the light and sons of the day… So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled… But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet” (I Thessalonians 5:1-5a, 6, 8).

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

Mankind under the rule of Satan and the beast of the earth and sea will be living in peace. They will have accepted the rule of Satan; they will have totally surrendered any hope of freedom; many may even enjoy the worldwide state of wickedness. It will be as it was in the days of Noah: eating and drinking, giving in marriage, and accepting daily living in wickedness as the norm.

“While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (I Thessalonians 5:3).

Noah, his wife and three children were the only people prior to the flood who sought God’s way of life. They warned the rest of the people, but the people would not listen. So, it will be prior to the return of Christ, the repentant remnant of the nations of 21st century Israel will warn the nations, the wicked will not listen.

“Two men will be in the field, one will be taken and the other left. Two womenwill be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.”

The parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins mirrors the future event prior to the return of Christ. Only five, the five wise virgins, entered into the marriage supper with Christ.

“Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have left his house be broken into. So, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Be ready! God has given His people His Holy days and His plan is woven into them. Still, that critical moment in time when Christ returns remains top secret. Being ready entails a permanent lifestyle in the ways of God: building day by day a closer relationship with God and Christ, living daily God’s way, growing in grace and in the knowledge of God, studying God’s word daily, looking forward to the return of Christ and all people living God’s way, and standing strong under the flag of the Almighty God pledging an eternal allegiance to the Great Creator with enduring patience.

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant,  the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Choose God’s way and never look back or fall backwards. Whenever Christ returns, he will find the faithful servant studying the word of God, obeying and loving God and His Son and living God’s way today, tomorrow and eternally.

The signs of the end of the age will be first the repentance and conversion of the people of the nations of 21stcentury Israel, then the people in the nations of the world. It will be wonderful!

The world is at war. Many still do not see it. They may point to different countries, but the truth, all of mankind is at war right now. Coming out of the shadows are the puppets—the people allied with the Cabal/Deep State/ Illuminati who are attacking mankind. They want to depopulate the world so they have full control. They believe they are entitled to rule over mankind because they are a special species of the ruling class. Dark times are coming for mankind and great distress.

War in heaven will bring Satan’s war on earth into full force and completely into the open. The final king of the beastly coalition will be given Satan’s throne, power and great authority to try and accomplish what Satan failed to do. The final king will put all of his military effort into taking over God’s law courts in heaven to introduce laws that will pardon Satan and lift the final king and his coalition above the law so he can change the timeline of God’s plan. Daniel recorded, “He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws” (Daniel 7:25).

The final king, the “little horn” of Daniel, will rise from nothing to become very powerful, even appearing to be successful in his attack against Jesus Christ and God’s army in heaven. Daniel recorded terrifying and distressful events foretold thousands of years ago. God told Daniel to close the book, but today, it has been opened and the ancient pages are shedding light on geo-political events, the secrets in every-day technology and an economic structure that can divide and categorize people into classes. Terrible times are coming. It will be like no other time ever on earth, nor ever to occur again.

Jesus said, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, [Russia, Ukraine, NATO, USA and their Western allies, Sudan, China and Taiwan, Africa, the Middle East] but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation shall rise against nation [war on earth], and kingdom against kingdom [war in heaven]” (Matthew 24:6-7). The end of this age will not close with warring nations on earth and warring kingdoms in heaven. God Almighty is in charge. His plan cannot be thwarted.

A legal witness must go to the whole world first, then the end will come. Mankind will be without excuse. They will be brought before the courts of Almighty God.

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations,and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). 

Judgement will also be upon the evil, heavenly rebels on earth who at that time will have become completely wicked. It will occur during the latter part of their reign (Daniel 8:23) when a great religious revival of God’s word is being trumpeted by His people. God will pour out His Holy Spirit and the world will learn about their Creator—their loving, heavenly Father and His saving plan for them. The beastly coalition on earth will oppose God’s people and do all that they can to deceive the nations into their believing lies and false promises.

Jesus said, “So when you see standing in the holy place, ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand… 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” (Matthew 24:15, 21-22).

The great distress occurs during the latter reign of the “stern-faced king,” the “master of intrigue,” the “little horn” recorded by Daniel. He is desperate to gain control, panicking for his life and raging against the saints who are uncovering his deceit and propaganda.

Who is this king that will rise, increase in power to become the last world ruler on earth? The Bible provides many details about this mystery character.

THE REBEL LEADER THAT BRINGS THE END OF THE AGE

To identify this powerful leader as he rises, a study of where his power begins is critical. It would appear that his story begins when war breaks out in heaven. “Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back” (Revelation 12:7).

Can we know what that war looks like in heaven?

THE BACK-STORY

A back-story is essential. In Daniel 8, God uses imagery to describe two warring kingdoms. The ram and goat recorded in Daniel 8 are the heavenly rulers over their kingdoms called Persia and Greece. Their existence is evident when Gabriel, the archangel, is withheld by the powerful prince of the Persian kingdom. This prince of Persia is a spiritual being ruling over the kingdom of Persia in heaven and on earth. Gabriel is freed from the grip of this powerful prince by Michael, a chief prince serving under Jesus, the high commander of God’s army in heaven. After a 21-day delay, Gabriel reached Daniel to explain what will happen to God’s people in the future. Conflicts in heaven are taking place, likely since the creation of mankind on earth.

The Persian kingdom on earth rose to superpower status, but fell under the force of Alexander the Great of Greece. That battle on earth mirrored challenges of supremacy in heaven. Gabriel left Daniel in a hurry saying, “Do you know why I have come? Soon I must return to fight against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia, and after that the spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece will come” (Daniel 10:20). The New Living Translation adds the adjective “spirit” prince to clarify where these princes reside. Alexander the Great won against all odds because the spirit prince of Greece was stronger than the spirit prince of Persia.

Alexander the Great was influenced by the spirit prince of Greece. Into the 21st century, mankind disregards any existence of spirit beings or a creation in heaven. They will seek to understand history through earthly logic.

History.com states, “Whether motivated by Greek pride or the spoils of imperial conquest, Alexander picked up where his father left off and marched into Persia in 334 BC, where his army of 50,000 would be tested against the largest and best-trained fighting force in the known world.”

“It’s estimated that King Darius III of Persia was in command of a total of 2.5 million soldiers spread across his vast empire. At the heart of the Persian army were the “Immortals,” an elite regiment of 10,000 infantrymen whose numbers never changed. When a man was killed, another rose to take his place. The Persian cavalry and archers were also legendary, as were the scythe chariots which cut down enemy infantry with their razor-sharp wheel hubs.”

https://www.history.com/news/alexander-the-great-defeat-persian-empire

Alexander the Great was a savvy military strategist. He overthrew the Persians and took full control of world power.

In Daniel 8, this history is recorded using specific language and imagery of a two-horned ram to reflect the double leadership of the Medes and Persians.

“I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns… One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later” (Daniel 8:3). This imagery points to one leader being stronger than the other for a time.

“Suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great rage. I saw him attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him; the goat knocked him to the ground and trampled on him, and none could rescue the ram from his power. The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven” (Daniel 8:5-8).

THE RAM

God’s use of the Medo-Persian empire imaged as a ram provides succulent details to the story. A ram is a male sheep. This points to national leadership in the use of the male gender and sheep pointing to a leadership style of following a level of righteousness. Cyrus the Great was mentioned in the Old Testament 150 years before he was born to be a servant of the Hebrew God.

“I will raise up Cyrus in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild My city and set My exiles free, but not for payment or reward, says the LORD of Hosts” (Isaiah 45:13).

The large horns of a ram curl downwards pointing to leadership on earth—in this case, righteous leadership under the guidance of Almighty God. King Darius witnessed the power of the Hebrew God who protected Daniel when he was unjustly thrown into the lions’ den.

“Then King Darius wrote to the people of every nation and language throughout the land: “May your prosperity abound. I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion will never end. He delivers and rescues; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, for He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions” (Daniel 6:25-27).

The honour King Darius and King Cyrus demonstrated toward Almighty God is reflected in the statue in Daniel of arms and shoulders of the precious metal, silver. King Nebuchadnezzar was awarded the head of gold because he submitted to Almighty God after his trial and also decreed worldwide worship of the God of the Hebrews. Unfortunately, King Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson did not continue in his grandfather’s footsteps.

God, then gave the Medes and Persians victory over the world-ruling power of Babylon on earth when King Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson disrespected Him. God’s uses imagery when He is describing matters in heaven. 

Mountain rams live in the highest places on earth. This points to a residence in the highest level of government. God consistency uses the imagery of mountains as the highest level of government; hills image state or provincial levels of government.

THE GOAT

God uses the image of a goat to reveal several key features of importance. The large horns of goat point to beings having authority. Mountain goats are the largest mammal to live in alpine and subalpine environments. Their habitat indicates that these leaders imaged as a goat hold positions at the highest level of government. They are sure-footed pointing to successful movements due to inherent abilities.

God uses the image of a goat in the ceremony that takes place on Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement. Two goats are selected imaging two leaders from God’s highest level of government. One is the scapegoat cast out into the wilderness. That goat images Satan, the once guardian angel in the third heaven who is to blame for the sins of mankind. The second goat images Jesus Christ, the one sacrificed in payment for the sins of mankind.

In the case of Daniel, the goat with a prominent horn between his eyes (Daniel 8:5), is Alexander the Great, commander of the Greeks.

Still in his youth, Alexander the Great died of a mysterious illness at the age of 32 years. Like the imagery of the goat in Daniel 8, “at the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven. Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land.”

“THE LITTLE HORN” RISING UP FROM ONE OF THE FOUR HORNS ON THE GOAT

This is where the story becomes interesting. From out of the Grecian empire, the “little horn” rises. Scripture states that a little horn rises from one of the four horns on the goat identified as Greece. Traditional Christian teaching assumes the leadership of Greece was fully passed onto Rome. But Rome embraced the Greek culture and by adopting their gods, they continued to serve under the heavenly rulers’ kingship of Greece. The “little horn” who does so much destruction in the latter days comes from out of Greece imaged as the goat. Daniel did not record a third animal that would point to a leader from a different kingdom in heaven.

Zechariah recorded God Almighty’s declaration to restore His people [both houses] and through them, He will overthrow the sons of Greece in the latter days. “I will use Judah as my bow and Israel as my arrow. I will take the people of Zion as my sword and attack the Greeks” (Zechariah 9:13 Contemporary English version).

Scripture does not indicate that Greece [on earth] in the latter days will be a force of contention. God is referring to the rogue heavenly rulers over the kingdom of Greece that bears the same name as the nation of Greece on earth. The Romans adopted and worshiped all of the gods of Greece. They gave these Greek gods Roman names.

God has not dealt with the heavenly rulers of Greece completely. The story of the gods ruling over nations on earth was common knowledge at one time. Working with the enemy, scholars mythicized the gods who once ruled over the nations.

GOD’S HEAVENLY COURT RULING OVER THE NATIONS AND GOD OVER JACOB’S DESCENDANTS

The back-story continues to be critical in order to understand Bible prophecy. God gave the members of His holy court in heaven an opportunity to apply their skilful legal knowledge, understanding and wisdom. He saw the people on earth going astray again after the flood. He decided to give His highly trained sons of God in His heavenly court rulership over mankind to guide them back onto the road of righteousness. This took place at the time of Babel when God divided mankind into different family with boundaries and different languages. God decided to participate in His plan to help mankind. He chose the descendants of Jacob as His “inheritance.” God made Himself king over the descendants of Jacob.

“When the Most High assigned lands to the nations, when he divided up the human race, he established the boundaries of the peoples according to the number in his heavenly court. But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance” (Deuteronomy 32:8-9).

Watching the members of His holy court fail and rebel choosing to join Satan was a painful experience for God. He wept. “On the day it [the heavenly prince ruling over Assyria] was brought down to the realm of the dead I covered the deep springs with mourning for it” (Ezekiel 31:15).

What happened before the flood, happened again. Power corrupts. God’s creation cannot handle great power. Only the Son of God, Jesus Christ, has proven to handle absolute power humbly and righteously. He is the only heir of God’s kingdom.

When the Apostle John recorded, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16), he was referring to the Son not as His only Son, but His only heir. All of the first creation in heaven who are part of the God-family are sons of God. The Apostle Paul mirrored the story of God’s only Heir through Abraham and his only son, Isaac. “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son” (Hebrews 11:17). Isaac was not Abraham’s only son; he had a son through Hagar, Sarah’s servant, named Ishmael. Abraham’s only heir was designated by Almighty God to be Isaac, the son born from Sarah, a free woman, and Abraham, a free man—born free not through slavery. Through Christ’s redemptive sacrifice, mankind can be reborn free from sin—to live as free people not as servants to fallen gods serving Satan.

Back-stories provide critical understanding to present and future events. War will break out in heaven again. Rebel princes over vast dominions in heaven have allied with Satan, will attempt to overpower Almighty God and Jesus Christ, the only heir to God’s kingdom. The imagery in Daniel 8 continues the events leading up to the rise of the “little horn.” “From out of the goat, came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. It grew until it reaches the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them.” The “little horn” can only be a spirit being who obtains rulership among the rebels in heaven. He will acquire so much power and strength that he will lead an army against “the host of the heavens”—God’s army. 

THE ENEMY OF MANKIND IS NOT MORTAL

This power grab begins when these heavenly rulers are completely wicked. This is a warning to mankind that there will be a time when these same wicked rulers will appear somewhat good.

“In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty and the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes” (Daniel 8:23:25). The “mighty” is reference to heavenly warriors and the “holy people’ are the saints.

The host of the heavens is God’s army in heaven. How could Almighty God allow some of His military to fall, to be thrown down to earth and trampled upon? God remains in charge. He allowed Jerusalem to fall in 70 AD. He allows falls to occur to strengthen the weak and to bring charges against all who are against Him. His plan is for a new heaven and a new earth, when all of the wicked are brought into judgement and destroyed. The present heaven and earth are merely temporary testing and training grounds. In heaven and on earth, “Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time” (Daniel 11:35).

At times it can be difficult to differentiate when God is referring to events in heaven or on earth. The “little horn” and his forces can only be spiritual because a mortal cannot increase in power and authority to be successful at harming those in God’s army and throw them down to earth. Only a spiritual being is at play in this case. Daniel added, “It set itself up to be great as the Prince of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of his sanctuary was brought low” (Daniel 8:11).

God will allow His enemy to walk through the front door, to catch them in the act, so He can legally subpoena them and bring upon them indisputable judgement. He remains Supreme always. Christ works with the Father undisturbed by the attempt of this “little horn” to gain control of heaven. “Because of rebellion, the host and the daily were given over to it” (Daniel 8:12).

The “host” is God’s army and the “regular” or “continual” are services performed by Jesus Christ in heaven. The word “sacrifice” is inserted in most of the translations to point to the type of regular and continual service performed that relates to forgiveness of sins will be stopped for a short duration. This type of service may be Christ’s daily service of intercession in heaven for the sins of mankind. God is cleaning out the swamp in heaven. Christ is watching to see who is for or against them. There are many bad characters at play who will use force and great determination to disregard truth, spread disinformation and discredit God’s word. The “little horn” will throw truth to the lowest level of creation—earth—as a display of his power and disgust in God’s law and His ways.

The “little horn” will be ecstatic with his success and he will “magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place” (Daniel 11:36).

At the time God commands, “Michael, the great prince who protects His people, will stand up. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then” (Daniel 12:1). The Great Tribulation reaches a climax.

WAR BREAKS OUT IN HEAVEN BUT ENDS ON EARTH

War will break out in heaven, the great prince, Michael and his angels will fight against the dragon and his angels. Michael and his angels will be stronger and the dragon and his angels will be thrown down to earth out of heaven. 

“The great dragon was hurled down—the ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him” (Revelation 12:9).

Those who do not know the scriptures well may not recognize the enemy when they arrive. The leader will declare himself to be Supreme. The Apostle Paul forewarned Judo-Christians of the arrival of the leader of the beastly coalition, “He opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (II Thessalonians 2:4 KJV).

God Almighty has never manifested Himself in mortal form. Jesus, the angel of the LORD, has manifested himself as a man in the Old Testament many times. Angels have manifested themselves as men in both the Old and New Testament. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2).

During ancient times, there were frequent encounters with the spirit world on earth. They recognized angels. “Now the two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them, bowed facedown” (Genesis 19:1).

Once Satan is thrown down to earth, his game plan is heightened and desperate. He gives up his throne, power and great authority (Revelation 13:2b) and gives it to the leader of the beastly coalition of once ten kings now seven because the “little horn,” their leader, will overthrow three of the ten kings who will be given rulership for just “one hour”. Satan’s time is short; he has been judged and sentenced. He now needs help from his coalition. He is the goalie who takes himself out of the game to give greater power to the remaining players.

On earth, great wonders by those claiming to be mankind’s saviours will be performed that could deceive, if possible, even the very elect (Matthew 24:24). Could these wonders include a rebirth of an ancient god into a robust physical body?

The “little horn”, the “ruler of Tyre”, the “man of lawlessness”, the “eighth king” could these titles point to one rebel? Is this a resurrected being? Recorded in Revelation, “There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction” (Revelation 17:10-11).

The eighth king suffers a mortal wound, and yet, he comes back to life. “One of the heads of the beast appeared to be mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast” (Revelation 13:3). This eighth king is the beast who once was, and now is not, but will be in our near future.

Prophesied in Ezekiel, God proclaimed, “Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre… ‘In the pride of your heart you say, “I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas.’ But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god… By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud… Because you think you are wise, as wise as a god, I am going to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations; they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom and pierce your shining splendor” (Ezekiel 28:2, 5-7).

The ruler of Tyre in Ezekiel is not fallen Lucifer as he is the king of Tyre. God uses the sea as imagery for the home of Wickedness. Land is the home of the righteous. Tyre is a sea port, the docking location for Wickedness, to trade with those on the land. Could the eighth king that once was, is not now, but will be, a resurrected being who is a hybrid of sorts, with the radiance of a spirit being and supernatural powers?

This being will have a “shining splendor”, but it won’t protect him from death. “They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the seas. Will you then say, “I am a god,” in the presence of those who kill you? You will be but a man, not a god, in the hands of those who slay you. You will die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners” (Ezekiel 28:8-10).

When God declared, “You will be but a man, not a god, in the hands of those who slay you,” He is saying that this being will be easily killed; he will not have the full power of a spirit being, a god. This type of resurrection will tempt godless people into believing they can obtain eternal life through alien technology. This character was likely never a royal member of God’s family in heaven. Daniel suggested this when he wrote, “He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty… With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him” (Daniel 11:21, 32).

The ruler of Tyre is a chip off the old block, the king of Tyre—fallen Lucifer, who too, has a shining splendor. To the king of Tyre, God said, “You were a model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God… You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you… You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you… I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So, I threw you to earth…” (Ezekiel 28:12-13, 14-15, 16b-17).

Satan’s splendor will also disappear. “But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. Those who see you will stare; they will ponder your fate: ‘Is this the man who shook the earth and made the kingdoms tremble…’” (Isaiah 14:15-16). This scripture points to the mortalization of Satan. His decayed state is already set and the ruler of Tyre will follow him.

WICKEDNESS IS LOSING, SO THEY WORK TO CHANGE SET TIMES AND LAWS

Plotting and scheming, Satan needs the beastly coalition to get control and change God’s law, reverse the judgement and pardon his sentence. “The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom [rogue kingdom in heaven]. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws” (Daniel 7:24-25).

The “little horn” will try to change God’s decree, His law and His timed-plan. God decreed the time of wrath to be a specific, limited time period. The “little horn” is successful only until the time of wrath is completed (Daniel 11:36). Their time is short and they seek to extend it for all eternity. He will attempt to establish laws that favour him, Satan and the fallen angels and change God’s decrees so that they are all above the law so they can escape judgement. God has bound Himself under His own law, which He obeys fully and completely.

The Apostle Paul knew God’s unbreakable commitment to His law. It is impossible for Him to sin. “So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us” (Hebrews 6:18-19).

Regardless of their attempt to overthrow the law of God and change the timing of His plan, the outcome is conclusive. “But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever” (Daniel 7:26).

It can be expected that events on earth during the reign of terror by the “eighth king”, “the little horn”, “the ruler of Tyre” is the great “Antichrist”. His resurrection will deceive many into believing that he is a saviour. Carnal mankind wants to reject Jesus as their redemptive Saviour. The “shining splendor” of this trickster will sway people into desiring an inferior body to what Almighty God is offering humbled, repentant mankind. Many show-men will come forward to offer mankind some form of life-extending science in opposition to the humble, loving Son of God, who before the foundation of this world, agreed to die for the sins of mankind while they were still obnoxious sinners.

False teachers from within God’s people have rejected Jesus, the Messiah and teaching the unthinkable that Almighty God is not our loving Father in heaven. “Children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us. But they went out, in order that it might be shown that all of them are not of us. And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you have it, and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son” (I John 2:18-22).

“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess Jesus Christ coming in the flesh. This person is the deceiver and the antichrist!” (II John 7)

The beastly coalition that will arrive on earth to spread their hatred of Almighty God and His Son. Those who stand by God and Jesus Christ will also be hated, mocked, ridiculed, persecuted and killed. The beastly coalition will exude a toxic, contagious dark hatred against all who oppose them. Jesus said that the wars, famines and earthquakes in the wake of the reign of terror will merely be the birth pains of what will come. “You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase in wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:9-14).

THE GOSPEL WILL GO OUT TO ALL THE WORLD AS A TESTIMONY, THEN THE END WILLL COME

A bright light will shine on all the lies, and twists in the truth by these so very wicked, rulers thrown out of heaven. The gospel of God’s kingdom, His holy, royal, ruling family will be preached to everyone on earth. Their destiny was always to become a vast kingdom of holy, royal priests—experts in righteousness. This great honour has only been offered to mankind on earth. Only they can come into perfection through the suffering caused by the hands of Wickedness. Mankind is a special creation, planned before creation to hold important positions within God’s eternal kingdom. This great truth will be uncovered, no longer hidden by the evil heavenly rulers, powers and principalities and the nations will bend their knee to Almighty God when they see God’s people living God’s way of peace and love. They will marvel and humbly ask to be taught the ways of God, their Great and Loving Creator.

“In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. And many nations will come and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Micah 4:1-2).

Notice, again, God’s imagery and use of “mountain” to describe God’s highest level of government and His government will be the chief government over heaven and earth. The nations of earth will bend their knee to serve their God, their Creator.

The war of good against evil has already begun on earth. It will surface more and more into the open, but as positive as the international “white hat” alliance profess, it won’t be them who will crush the “deep state/cabal”. They will work hard and accomplish much to their credit, but it will be Jesus Christ only, who will totally crush the monster represented in the statue recorded in Daniel into fine dust. “While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them” (Daniel 2:34). This image reveals the spiritual war at play and that only the great King of kings and Lord of lords will be able to permanently take out the rogue, powerful spiritual beings pictured in the statue of Daniel.

King David knew the final outcome—gathering of all of mankind under the allegiance of the great Almighty God. “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name” (Psalm 86:9) and “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him” (Psalm 22:27).

The Apostle Paul prophesied the final task of Jesus Christ. “Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere” (I Corinthians 15:28).

God wins! His plan cannot be thwarted. He reigns supreme. He is the Great God and there is no one like Him!

Nearly two thousand years have passed since Jesus gave his followers the signs prior to his return. Matthew 24:4-51 warns the nations of 21st century Israel, “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” 

• Revelation 2 and 3—the churches of Revelation. Deception is Jesus’ first concern. He is warning Judo-Christians that many in the ministry will come as if they were given the authority to teach in Jesus’ name and interpret scriptures through their own authority. 

After Jesus was resurrected, he met with seven of his disciples who had returned to fishing. He called out to them early that morning to throw their net on the right side of the boat and there they caught 153 big fish. After this catch, Jesus specifically spoke to Peter questioning his love for him. Three times, Jesus asked Peter if he loved him. Peter could not understand Jesus’ line of questioning. Peter was the bold and outward disciple of the twelve. He was adamant of his love for Christ like many churches in the 21st century, yet Jesus had to remind Peter that he must follow Jesus (John 21:22b). Peter was walking side-by-side with Christ, an image of one who considers himself as having equal authority with Christ, not one following Christ. There have been in the past and it continues into the present, a ministry, like Peter, who have assumed the authority of Christ to interpret scriptures through their own eyes. As a result, Christ’s seven churches do not teach the same doctrines because some in the ministry have assumed the authority of Jesus Christ to be a teacher, yet Jesus said that we have only one teacher.

“Don't let anyone call you 'Rabbi,' for YOU HAVE ONLY ONE TEACHER, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called teachers, for YOU HAVE ONE TEACHER, that is, CHRIST” (Matthew 23:8, 10).

Only Christ has the authority to interpret scripture for he is the Word and Son of God.

Nowhere in scripture has Christ, our one interpreter: 

o  changed the Sabbath to Sunday

o  nailed the law to the cross

o  terminated God’s Holy days

o  approved the Christianization of pagan celebrations.

In addition, difficult teachings written in the Bible should not be interpreted by the ministry, but through humble and fervent prayer asking God through Christ for understanding. Christ taught one theology. The ministry is required to repeat, not interpret the teachings taught by Christ and avoid falling into the sin of the ancient priests in Jerusalem who “ruled by their own authority, and the people loved it that way” (Jeremiah 5:31b).

Jesus warned the churches of Revelation to overcome their misunderstandings and misconceptions. The ministry and the congregation of these churches who do not overcome will not be saved. Only the overcomers will be rewarded. It is the responsibility of each member of the church to test the teachings of their ministry. Judgment rests on individuals; there is no option to push blame on someone else.

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” 

• Revelation 6—the first four seals. These events are the beginning of birth pains as Christ, the rider on the white horse gives the churches of Revelation the task to take the gospel to the whole world. A congregation is growing within the womb of a faithful church—a congregation obedient to God’s law and living God’s ways. The rogue heavenly rulers, powers and principalities of Ephesians 6:12 work against God’s plan of moulding mankind into a repentant and righteous people. They will stir up hatred among the nations on earth and squelch the word of God causing many of faith to faint and grow weary looking to alternative theologies. The work of the beast of the earth led by the false prophet will be very successful during this time. People will be enticed to embrace theologies taught by science, medicine, alternative religions, and strange philosophies.

There is a physical parallel as false theologies rise; famine and sicknesses of all types increase. People fill the hospitals today and unstable governments struggle to feed their people. This parallel will increase as time moves closer to the persecution of the faithful.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

• Revelation 6:9-10—the fifth seal lasts seven years.

Persecution of the Christians who hold the testimony of Jesus and keep the commandments of God will opportune the preaching of the gospel to the whole world. A movement began with the election of President Trump in the U.S.A. and has continued where the 21st century nations of Israel and other nations are standing up to their globalist leaders. They are voting against them in support for leaders who stand for sovereignty.  The globalist leaders are fighting back attacking all national leaders who go against them. The anti-globalist leaders support their rule of law and are standing strong enforcing their law, which was instituted as a direct result of their Christian values and culture. This movement is still in its early stages, but as God’s plan for mankind comes into fruition, the nations of 21st century Israel may find themselves in a religious revival and standing alone, separated from the rest of the nations in the world when their time of testing is in full force.

A time rests on our near horizon when Christians within these anti-globalist countries will be attacked by the powerful globalist leaders because they will be seen as opposing their theology. During this time, the opportunity to take the gospel to the whole world will be amplified. The Smyrna church of Revelation is prophesied to be persecuted. They are rich in the word of God and their testimony will be the pure word of God. They will stand by their faith and grow even stronger. They will not be alone. The Philadelphia church will stand by them.

The Philadelphia church has “little strength” (Revelation 3:8b) because they are a scattered people. There is always strength in numbers, but Christ will open the door for this group of people and no one will be able to shut it. They, too, will speak the gospel as they are brought before leaders. “When you are brought before the synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say. For at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say” (Luke 12:11-12).

Both the Smyrna and Philadelphia churches will be opposed even by the other Christian churches. Initially, the five general groups of the Christian churches of Revelation won’t support them because these churches still need to overcome their misunderstandings and misconceptions of God’s word, but a change will come for them at the half-way point when the two witnesses arrive and preach the same message as the Smyrna and Philadelphia churches. The gospel will go out to the whole world.

A hatred for God’s word will be intensified as the rogue heavenly rulers, powers and authorities of Ephesians 6:12 knead their hatred into the nations. Hatred, itself, will increase for no logical reason or for any just cause. Two camps of people will rise out of this darkness. One group will despise the other and the other group will stand strong holding the testimony of Jesus and keeping the commandments of God through persecution from within and without.

“So, when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 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.”

• Revelation 6:9-10—the fifth seal. Persecution of the Jews in Israel. 

As the movement back into sovereignty and opposition against globalism increases, a yet unknown opportunity will ignite a religious revival among the Jews and sacrifices again will be instituted. The globalist forces will oppose this religious revival at the same time opposing the Christian religious revival.

Persecution will affect both Jews and Christians, within and without. The nations of the world will watch in awe and in confusion with the religious turmoil within these nations. They won’t understand the work of the Great Potter moulding His people; they will only see the discomfort of His pressure on them.

Pressure of all types will escalate. Satan will be thrown down to earth and his beast coalition from out of the sea will arise and the nations will surrender without a fight because of the immense display of power from this rogue alien force.

The Antichrist, the leader of the coalition is “a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty” (Daniel 11:21a). This leader is not human nor is he a royal heavenly member, but an insignificant rogue heavenly being filled with hatred for God and Jesus Christ. When Satan increases his spiritual power, this “king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods… He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women [Jesus Christ], nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all” (Daniel 11:36a-37). Only a heavenly being can do this. If he were merely a mortal, he could be taken out easily by special forces from all the nations. He is not taken out, rather, he is worshiped by all the nations.

“The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshiped the dragon [Satan] because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worship the beast and asked, ‘Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?’” (Revelation 13:3b-4)

They know that they cannot make war against him because of his massive strength, so they surrender and worship him.

This wicked heavenly ruler will torture the Jews and Christians who he will take into captivity. Their time of suffering will be like no other time in their history. The Antichrist is determined to prolong the suffering of God’s people and eventually kill every man, woman and child, even those who coward over to his side.

“The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to let them go. Yet the Redeemer is strong; Yahuah Almighty is his name. He will vigorously defend their cause so that he may bring rest to their land, but unrest to those who live in Babylon” (Jeremiah 50:33-34).

“At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.”

The beasts of the earth and sea—those rogue heavenly rulers, powers and authorities will play with the Jews and Christians presenting to them false Christs and false prophets. They will do all they can to lead them away from God—their God. Those who remain faithful, will be mocked and they will say, “Where is your God?” (Joel 2:17b)

“At that time, I will deal with all who oppressed you. I will rescue the lame; I will gather the exiles. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they have suffered shame” (Zephaniah 3:19).

“The enemy said of you, ‘Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession’… because they ravaged and hounded you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people’s malicious talk and slander, this is what Yahuah says, ‘In my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession… and because you have suffered the scorn of the nations, I swear with uplifted hand that the nations around you will also suffer scorn” (Ezekiel 36:2-7).

“So, if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”

Jesus warned the people of Judah and Israel that the exact moment of his arrival is top secret, but when he is given the green light by God Almighty, his arrival will be like lightning in the sky and everyone will see. There will be no doubt.

“Immediately after the distress of those days ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’”

• Revelation 6:12—the sixth seal.

“And when I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind” (Revelation 6:12-13).

“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Joel 2:31).

The distress “of those days” will primarily be the rogue heavenly forces against the nations of 21stcentury Israel. God’s people will be brought “into the fire”. God says that He “will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God’” (Zechariah 13:9).

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man [lightning from the east during absolute darkness] will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

• Revelation 6:15—continuation of the sixth seal.

God, together with Jesus Christ and the resurrected saints, will overthrow the beasts of the earth and sea and their coalition and rescue His people.

“Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:15-16).

The rulers, the commanders and all who hold positions of authority and those who submitted to Wickedness will fear the arrival of Jesus Christ. They will seek their death and cry out, “Hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne [God Almighty] and the wrath of the Lamb [Christ]!” (Revelation 6:16b)

Zachariah detailed the rescue of the Jewish people in Jerusalem. “Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You [the Jews] will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You [the Jews] will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light” (Zachariah 14:3-7).

Zachariah described the great battle of God with His remnant from the nations of 21st century Israel against the nations of the world. “Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope,” God says in Zechariah 9:12. Finally, God’s people are trusting and relying on Him. “I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion [God’s children on earth], against your sons, O Greece [descendants on earth from His ancient heavenly enemy], and make you [Judah and Israel] like a warrior’s sword” (Zechariah 9:13).

“I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. The Ephraimites will become like mighty men, and their hearts will be glad as with wine… Then, the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south, and the LORD Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar. The LORD their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people” (Zechariah 10:6-7, 9:14-16).

God Almighty will give these remnant people victory over the raging nations. The remnant nations of 21st century Israel with the faithful people within the nations of the world—all the people who refused to worship Satan and the beast, will rejoice together in this great victory. “And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name” (Revelation 15:2).

“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb… ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9, 14).

The gospel will go out to all the world during Jacob’s trouble and countless people will listen, repent and turn to their Creator—the Almighty God, the God of Israel.

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.”

• The fig tree images the people of Israel—all twelve tribes. 

Fig trees produce twice in a year. The first fruits appear in Spring and produce from the old branches—the Breba crop. The second fruits appear in Summer and produce from the new growth—the Higos crop.

Jesus is describing the crop from the new growth—the tender twigs. Watch for a conversion of the people of the nations of 21st century Israel. They should be acknowledging the God of Israel, desiring to obey His commandments and striving to live His way. During their captivity, they will call out to Him for their rescue and declare their allegiance to Him. That is the lesson from the fig tree and the sign just before the return of Christ. This will be an exceptional time when millions turn to God sincerely and completely. 

“I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

• “This generation” is the house of Judah who rejected Christ. 

They will not pass away; they will go on despite calamity and having rejected Christ as their Savior until the great persecution of the 21stcentury nations of Israel has taken place, Jacob’s trouble is complete.

This prophecy is absolute.

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

• It is top secret! 

God’s enemies—the rogue heavenly rulers, powers and authorities of Ephesians 6:12 are planning their counter-attack and God Almighty will not disclose that day or hour. He has kept that piece of His plan secret to everyone—even His Son. It will be a surprise for the enemy; they won’t be ready. To the righteous, they will be ready because they are watching and they are wearing the armour of God: self-controlled, belief in God, love for God and fellow mankind, and have immense hope that God will extend them grace despite their past behavior.

“Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night [for the wicked]. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are sons of the light and sons of the day… So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled… But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet” (I Thessalonians 5:1-5a, 6, 8).

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

• Mankind under the rule of Satan and the beast of the earth and sea will be living in peace.

They will have accepted the rule of Satan; they will have totally surrendered any hope of freedom; many may even enjoy the worldwide state of wickedness. It will be as it was in the days of Noah: eating and drinking, giving in marriage, and accepting daily living in wickedness as the norm.

“While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (I Thessalonians 5:3).

Noah, his wife and three children were the only people prior to the flood who sought God’s way of life. They warned the rest of the people, but the people would not listen. So, it will be prior to the return of Christ, the repentant remnant of the nations of 21st century Israel will warn the nations, the wicked will not listen.

“Two men will be in the field, one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.”

• The parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins mirrors the future event prior to the return of Christ. Only five, the five wise virgins, entered into the marriage supper with Christ.

“Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have left his house be broken into. So, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

• Be ready!

God has given His people His Holy days and His plan is woven into them. Still, that critical moment in time when Christ returns remains top secret. Being ready entails a permanent lifestyle in the ways of God: building day by day a closer relationship with God and Christ, living daily God’s way, growing in grace and in the knowledge of God, studying God’s word daily, looking forward to the return of Christ and all people living God’s way, and standing strong under the flag of the Almighty God pledging an eternal allegiance to the Great Creator with enduring patience.

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

• Choose God’s way and never look back or fall backwards.

Whenever Christ returns, he will find the faithful servant studying the word of God, obeying and loving God and His Son and living God’s way today, tomorrow and eternally.

The signs of the end of the age will be first the repentance and conversion of the people of the nations of 21st century Israel, then the people in the nations of the world. It will be wonderful!

The scroll of stars and planets covering earth keep mankind from seeing into the realm in heaven. Long before the genesis of man, life in heaven came into being by the Son through the power of His Father (I Corinthians 8:6). He created them spiritual and with knowledge of God immediately—upon their first breath. The Son created countless beings through the power of His Father and this creation comprises of vast dominions with robust kingdoms organized by thrones, powers, rulers and authorities (Colossians 1:16).

Earth was left void and formless (Genesis 1:2) for time unknown. It wasn’t until iniquity was found in heaven and wickedness had reached the tipping-point, when God was ready to give His Son the green light to create mankind exactly as they had planned based on all God foreknew. Through the creation of the genders: male and female, a reflection of the two creations: one in heaven and the other on earth could be understood, until it is time to roll back the sky covering earth.

“All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree. When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction” (Isaiah 34:4-5).

The starry host is described in the Strong’s Concordance as an organized army for warfare. צְבָאָ֣ם (ṣə·ḇā·’ām)“Strong's Hebrew 6635: 1) that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host 1a) army, host 1a1) host (of organised army) 1a2) host (of angels) 1a3) of sun, moon, and stars 1a4) of whole creation 1b) war, warfare, service, go out to war 1c) service.”

The fall of the wicked army in heaven will become visible to mortal man on earth when the scroll of stars and planets is rolled back. Wickedness began with the creation in heaven. God will give mankind on earth time to repent, but on the day of the LORD, he will “punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days” (Isaiah 24:21-22).

When God speaks about the creation in heaven, He uses earthly images to help us visualize something that we cannot yet see with our own eyes. Many of the heavenly creation are spiritual giants. God refers to these leaders as “trees” and some are especially tall spiritually and He calls them “cedars”. This is an image all of mankind easily understands. The imagery God uses to describe His headquarters in heaven is Lebanon comprised of these spiritual giants, these “cedars”.

“Cedrus libani, commonly known as the cedar of Lebanon or Lebanon cedar, is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. It is an evergreen conifer that can reach 40 m (130 ft) in height. It is the national emblem of Lebanon and is widely used as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedrus_libani)

Our God is the source of all power and life—He is invincible and yet, He feels pain deeply. Of the one-third in heaven who have turned against Him, He has mourned their spiritual death deeply.

He shared this type of heart-wrenching pain with Ezekiel who recorded the fall of every member in God’s headquarters in heaven. He wrote, “Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon… it towered on high, its top above the thick foliage…The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it… I made it beautiful with abundant branches, the envy of all the trees [leaders] of Eden in the garden of God… it was proud of its height, I handed it over to the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside… On the day it was brought down to the grave I covered the deep springs with mourning for it…I clothed Lebanon with gloom… I made the nations tremble at the sound of its fall… then all the trees [leaders] of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the trees [leaders] that were well-watered, were consoled in the earth below” (Ezekiel 31:3, 8a, 9a, 10b, 11,15a, 16).

Replacing the word “tree” with “leader”, every leader in God’s headquarters in heaven—the choicest and best, have fallen and turned against our Father in heaven and He wept.

The fall of these mighty heavenly rulers came about after they received an inheritance. Preserved in the Song of Moses, it is written, “When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly” (NET Bible). The Good News Translation states, “The Most High assigned nations their lands; he determined where peoples should live. He assigned to each nation a heavenly being” (Deuteronomy 32:8). The Contemporary English translation states, “that God Most High gave land to every nation. He assigned a guardian angel to each of them.”

Though Abraham and his descendants were not born for another two hundred years at the time these heavenly rulers received their inheritance, God foreknew the birth of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and claimed these people and their descendants to be His inheritance—His rulership over them (Deuteronomy 32:9). God had set over the nations, members of His Holy Council—princes filled with God’s Holy Spirit and rich in the knowledge of God and His ways, in heaven to lead the people away from the rebellion at Babel, back to God. These heavenly spiritual giants received rulership as their inheritance—rulership over the nations on earth. Mankind, upon their resurrection into God’s kingdom will too, receive rulership as their inheritance.

These spiritual giants were delighted to show their earthly kingdoms the way of God, until the love of power and pride set in; they entered into a battle against each other. Powers rose up on earth, ambition surfaced, trust was broken and suspicion entered into the game of thrones.

The heavenly ruler over Assyria was a favourite to rule God’s way. He was the tallest spiritually. “The cedars [gigantic spiritual leaders] in the garden of God [in the family of God] could not rival it… no tree [leader] in the garden of God could match its beauty… the envy of all the trees [leaders] of Eden [God’s government] in the garden [family] of God” (Ezekiel 31:8-9).

And yet, this favourite fell. He became an arrogant, cruel and terrifying rebel. Through the words of his earthly subjects, they all boasted, “Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my forefathers deliver them—the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena or Ivvah?” (Isaiah 37:11-13)

Over time, through many generations, the earthly kings of Assyria invaded and destroyed many other kingdoms. God Almighty responded to the heavenly ruler over Assyria through His words to King Hezekiah of Judah who prayed for God’s protection. He said, “You have said, ‘With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon [God’s headquarters], I have cut down its tallest cedars [cut down the members of God’s Holy Council], the choicest of its pines [even other choice leaders]. I have reached its remotest heights [hard to reach areas in the heavens], the finest of its forests [groups of spiritually strong leaders]… I have dried up all the streams of Egypt [a majestic kingdom]’” (Isaiah 37:24b-25). God closed the boasting of this sadly arrogant ruler with His knowledge that He foresaw this rebellion and He is using rebels to overthrow weaker rebels. This Wickedness is the cause of all suffering. God is using Wickedness to test and purify all of creation in heaven and on earth.

“Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone. Their people, drained of power, are dismayedand put to shame” (Isaiah 37:26-27).

In case, this proud heavenly ruler thought he worked in secret, God added, “But I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against me” (Isaiah 37:28). From a royal, envied spiritual giant, this heavenly ruler had sunk deep into the toxic darkness of hatred and rage.

God foreknew the fall of His headquarters in heaven, which did not ease the pain on the day it happened. His Holy Council members did not fall all at the same time. Pharaoh of Egypt, God declared under the rule of its heavenly ruler was majestic, yet God saw the direction of the heavenly ruler and He said, “Yet you, too, will be brought down with the trees [leaders] of Eden [God’s government in heaven] to the earth below [prison—the pit]; you will lie among the uncircumcised [wicked], with those killed by the sword [destroyed by the word of God]. This is Pharaoh and all his hordes,’ declares the Sovereign LORD” (Ezekiel 31:18).

KING OF BABYLON, SERVANT OF GOD

During this time, even God’s people from both houses of Israel had rebelled against Him. The king of Assyria took the house of Israel into captivity. When it was time to overthrow Assyria, God turned to the heavenly ruler over Babylon—a faithful servant, to lead the battles against Wickedness. Later the king of Babylon took the house of Judah into captivity. After their overthrow, God revealed to the earthly leader, King Nebuchadnezzar that the most powerful of all gods, gave him the victory and that his god is inferior to the God of Israel.

Babylon would become a model kingdom for a time. King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed wicked Tyre, though a difficult battle, he would not relent until Tyre was overthrown. This battle brought him no compensation, except the pleasure of serving God.

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it. Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This will be the wages for his army… I have given him Egypt as a reward for his efforts because he and his army did it for me” (Ezekiel 29:18, 20).

Rogue heavenly rulers had taken the nations on earth down the treacherous road of treason against their Creator. They were taught to obey these rulers, carve out images of them and set up shrines for worship. The heavenly ruler over Babylon remained faithful to Almighty God, while many around him fell.  When Egypt fell, God Almighty declared, “I will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis. No longer will there be a prince in Egypt…I will break the yoke of Egypt there her proud strength will come to an end… I WILL STRENGTHEN THE ARMS OF THE KING OF BABYLON AND PUT MY SWORD IN HIS HAND, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a mortally wounded man” (Ezekiel 30:13, 18, 24).

Upon the fall of Egypt’s heavenly ruler, he groaned gasping for life. This would be a sight to behold for eternal rulers who view their spirituality as invincible. God gave the glory of this victory to the king of Babylon.

God also turned against the rebellious house of Judah and gave the victory to the king of Babylon, His servant. “Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him.  All nations will serve him and his son and grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will enslave him” (Jeremiah 27:6-7).

The house of Judah watched their God of Israel work with this gentile king who responded in awe and reverence. Daniel humbly acknowledged, “You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory” (Daniel 2:37).

While he heard the words of Daniel, this king did not fathom the God who gave him victory. So, God gave him a dream that revealed the fate of kings who do not acknowledge the Supreme God. King Nebuchadnezzar saw a great tree [great leader] being cut down and branches trimmed, leaves stripped, and fruit scattered. No animal or bird sort shelter. Then the “holy ones” in heaven—likely those involved in the rulership over the kingdom of Babylon on earth, decided on the method of humbling King Nebuchadnezzar. “Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, tell seven times pass by for him” (Daniel 4:15b-16).

After King Nebuchadnezzar was humbled, he acknowledged the God of Israel as the Supreme God and declared, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true, and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride” (Daniel 4:37).

King Nebuchadnezzar’s humility before Almighty God and his reverence for the Supreme God awarded him the head of gold of the enormous, dazzling statue of a man.

“Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold” (Daniel 2:38).

This great king declared God’s supremacy to the whole world. He wrote, “To the peoples, nations and men of every language, who live in all the world: May you prosper greatly! It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. How great are His signs, how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; His dominion endures from generation to generation” (Daniel 4:1-3). 

This was a significant achievement since each of the nations on earth were told by their heavenly rulers that they were supreme. The Egyptian heavenly ruler boasted, “The Nile belongs to me; I made it for myself” (Ezekiel 29:3b). The heavenly Assyrian ruler boasted of his many military achievements and with the earthly rulers of Assyria, they revelled in cruel and barbaric battles conquering, ravaging and pillaging.

King Nebuchadnezzar would head the reign of the worldwide kingdoms on earth with glory to the Supreme God; he earned the honor of a head of gold. He ruled over “the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians’ pride” (Isaiah 13:19a). Each kingdom on earth would be led by its heavenly rulers with progressively decaying reverence to the Supreme God, until finally, the last worldwide ruling kingdom on earth is but a mix of brute force, blasphemy and depraved values.

THE KING OF BABYLON FALLS, BUT A QUEEN RISES

Into the 21st century, the honor this kingdom had in its time is long forgotten and every trace of its faithfulness has vanished. But, what is very clear is that Babylon is no longer a servant of God. Like the heavenly rulers over Assyria and Egypt, he chose rebellion against God and his relentless ruthless attacks in heaven terrified the righteous who feared their own fall.

“On the day the LORD gives you [Israel] relief from suffering and turmoil and cruel bondage, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon… Even the pine trees [heavenly leaders in God’s government] and the cedars of Lebanon [remaining leaders in God’s headquarters in heaven] exult over you and say, ‘Now that you have been laid low, no woodsman comes to cut us down’” (Isaiah 14:3, 8). God is consistent in His use of imagery throughout the whole Bible.

"I will punish Bel in Babylon, And I will make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth; And the nations will no longer stream to him even the wall of Babylon has fallen down!” (Jeremiah 51:44)

The use of the male gender indicates that God is referring to the national leadership who was overthrown by the Medes, God’s “warriors who rejoice in my triumph” (Isaiah 13:3) and the king of Babylon fell, disqualified from the race for God’s kingdom.

The king of Babylon was imprisoned and cast into Sheol, “the pit” inside the earth with the other fallen heavenly rulers, powers and authorities awaiting judgment. "The grave below is excited over you to meet you when you come; it arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth; It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones. They will all respond and say to you, 'Even you have been made weak as we, you have become like us. Your pomp and the music of your harps Have been brought down to Sheol; maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you and worms are your covering’” (Isaiah 14:9-11).

But, from out of this kingdom a woman rises. The use of the female gender indicates that God is referring to a church—a religious body and her ministry is preaching her own theology. The national leadership of a king is replaced with the religious leadership of a queen who, when she is riding the beast from out of the sea, will claim invincibility—seated on an eternal throne. She thinks that the beast, her King united with her—his Queen, have seized rulership of God’s kingdom. She is gravely mistaken. While God was prophesying to Jeremiah about the destruction of the national leadership of Babylon, He continued to detail the destruction of the body preaching idol worship, sorcery, and mysteries.

“‘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. Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will should for joy over Babylon, for out of the north destroyers will attack her,’ declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 51:47-48).

HER STORY: CITY OF TRADERS

Her story began with his story. Long ago in the land of merchants, a city-center grew luring traders from all over the world. Ezekiel recorded the story of God’s spoken words. “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: A great eagle with powerful wings… came to Lebanon [God’s headquarters in heaven]. Taking hold of the top of a cedar, he broke off its topmost shoot [took a member from God’s headquarters in heaven] and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders” (Ezekiel 17:2-4).

God knew the rebellious house of Judah would not understand the imagery in His warning. He said, “Do you know what this means?” (Ezekiel 17:11) He continued without a reply and provided the meaning. For this study, what is important is the identification of the “shoot” from the top of the cedar. “The king of Babylonwent to Jerusalem and carried off her king and her nobles, bringing them back with him to Babylon” (Ezekiel 17:12).

The king of Babylon was the leader of the ancient city of traders, but into the 21st century, a woman dressed lavishly in royal clothes is seen ruling over a worldwide trading center—called Babylon. The Apostle John wrote in Revelation. “O Babylon city of power (Revelation 18:10)… city filled with “cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men” (Revelation 18:12-13). Such is the glorious description of the 21st century Babylon.

21st CENTURY BABYLON AND THE CITY OF TYRE

She mirrors another maritime trading center—the powerful city of Tyre situated at the gateway to the sea. The descriptor of the “sea” is another word that is used by God to provide a spiritual image. The sea images the place of wickedness. When God creates a new heaven and a new earth, there will be no sea—no place for wickedness (Revelation 21:1). The Apostle Peter confirmed that the creation of the new heaven and new earth is the home of righteousness (II Peter 3:13).

The great city of Tyre is located in the realm of heaven. “O Tyre,” God said. “You say, I am perfect in beauty. Your domain was on the high seas, your builders brought your beauty to perfection” (Ezekiel 27:3). The builders chose the best of the best and built the finest and most robust ship on the sea (Ezekiel 27:5-11). They built a maritime city. “Your home is the seas” and “all the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside to trade for your wares” (Ezekiel 27:4, 9). Clearly, this is not an image on earth, however, the wicked on earth do participate in her activity.

This image is more than a bustling, robust enterprise on the sea, but it also details the list of the most knowledgeable and skilful specialists within this powerful trading center: heavenly leaders who know how to withstand the outside forces of the sea, a heavenly leader from God’s headquarters to provide a bird’s eye view and direction is the mast, strong heavenly beings who can move this enterprise forward are the oaks from Bashan, royal heavenly members that keep the enterprise together under stress is the cypress wood adorned with ivory; it also includes earthly kings and queens who pledge their service, influential members of society who contribute to earthly knowledge bases, skilled members who work to fix the cracks when they appear are all working to maintain and forward this enterprise. The imagery of the various wooden materials, fine linen and awnings identify the heavenly leaders that are part of this trading enterprise, while the rest describe the earthly members (Ezekiel 27). This enterprise is a coalition of rogue heavenly rulers, powers, authorities and self-glorifying, self-determined earthly people holding positions of power and authority.

This maritime city also maintains an army of mercenary troops. “Men of Persia, Lydia and Put served as soldiers in your army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls, bringing you splendor. Men of Arvad and Helech manned your walls on every side, men of Gammad were in your towers. They hung their shields around your walls; they brought your beauty to perfection” (Ezekiel 27:10-11). 

This well fortified maritime city is a complete package: self-defending, self-reliant, self-determined coalition.

Babylon on earth into the 21st century will be like a sister to Tyre in heaven. She will work her magic of deception; she will protect her chosen who keep her secrets; she will reward those of every skill in wickedness with wealth and power. Everyone who works for her is imaged by God as a master of the sea [wickedness]: the shipmasters, the captains and sailors transporting her ideas, falsehood, alien technologies, false salvation to all the merchants who sell to all the people on earth.

“I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" (Revelation 17:3-6).

God uses the image of a harlot for an unfaithful religious body who embrace the religion of the gods they worship. The reality of heavenly rulers, powers and authorities also referred in many verses throughout the Bible as “gods” is viewed by modern thought as mythology; these people have traded truth for falsehood.

“For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods” (Psalm 95:3).

“God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the ‘gods’” (Psalm 82:1).

“For you, LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods” (Psalm 97:9). 

"Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, who boast themselves of idols; worship Him, all you gods" (Psalm 97:7). These rogue heavenly rulers, powers and authorities of Ephesians 6:12 boast about the idols, mortals have made of them. King David pleaded with these heavenly rulers to repent and return to worshiping God, “worship Him [God Almighty], all you gods” (Psalm 97:7).

The Apostle Paul supported their claim of many gods and lords in heaven and on earth, but reminded the Gentiles to worship only ONE God. “Truly even if indeed there are those called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God the Father,from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him" (1 Corinthians 8:5-6). The gods and lords commanding worship are the rogue rulers, powers and authorities from the realm in heaven where most operate, while others lurk in the shadows on earth. God’s people battle against these evil spiritual beings, of which there are many and they are not flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).

During ancient times, the rulership of the gods was the reality and their greatest suffering. Distressed about a vision, Daniel prayed for understanding. Three weeks after his prayer, Gabriel an angel, appeared to him. “Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia” (Daniel 10:12-13).

Michael is a chief prince in heaven. He rescued Gabriel from the prince of the Persian kingdom. These are members of the creation in the realm of heaven. All these beings were created long before the second creation—on earth. Battles are being fought in the realm of heaven. Gabriel added before leaving Daniel, “Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come” (Daniel 10:20). The names of the kingdoms on earth mirror the names of the kingdoms of the princes in heaven. Those who received an inheritance from God to rule over the nations on earth, named their kingdom on earth as an extension of their kingdom in the realm of heaven.

The chief prince of Meshech and Tubal is Gog (Ezekiel 38:1). This is not a mortal prince on earth; this is a heavenly prince with a vast kingdom located in the far north (Ezekiel 38:15). He is a rogue heavenly ruler sitting quietly watching battles in heaven and on earth, but God will call him to battle. On that day, the raw power of the God of Israel will explode and devour Gog and his hordes in an instant (Ezekiel 38:19-22). The purpose of saving this rogue heavenly leader and his hordes until after the Millennium is to demonstrate to mortal man on earth the immense power of their God. Heavenly rulers do not have the power of the I AM and there is no one like Him (Ezekiel 38:23).

God’s first commandment instructs the ancient Israelites not to worship any other gods but Him. The first commandment is not referring to idols. The second commandment forbids the making of idols, bowing down to them, or worshiping them. The first commandment of all commandments would not have ranked so high if these gods were merely mythical characters or mortal impersonators. God Almighty is not a joker. This commandment became number one because rogue gods in the realm of heaven committed treason and have become the chief enemy of all the faithful. They have turned against their Creator, the Supreme God. Their primary goal is to overthrow God Almighty and His Son, Jesus Christ—then, all creation in heaven and earth will be forced to worship them.

Babylon is a center of theology, preaching the doctrines that oppose God Almighty. She has led and continues to lead the religious persecution throughout time. “In her is found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth” (Revelation 18:24). She is the religious body “drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 17:6). And yet, when the Apostle John first saw her, he was struck by her outward appearance—something grand and good. Her outward speech will lure the world to buy her wares for a very high price.

TRADERS EXCHANGING TRUTH, KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM FOR LIES, DECEIT AND FOOLISHNESS

The trade described in Ezekiel and Revelation is expressed in material goods, it could also be surmised that a spiritual counter-part is really taking place. God trades with His faithful people. “Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding” (Proverbs 23:23).

Isaiah described the wealth of the righteous. “The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the LORD is his treasure” (Isaiah 33:5-6).

While God sells truth, wisdom, instruction and understanding, it is likely that the wares sold by Babylon are falsehood, the ways of Satan, salvation through every other means outside of accepting Christ’s sacrifice, and the hidden knowledge in science, medicine and technology that extends physical life, expands the limitations of earth-bound mankind and a means to remain self-glorifying, self-reliant and self-determined.

Christ urged the Laodicean church, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich, and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness, and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see” (Revelation 3:17-18).

What the Laodicean church considers as wealth was not wealth in Christ’s eyes. They are a naked people without righteousness or knowledge of God’s truth, yet the ministry of this church is actively preaching something. Christ urges five of the seven churches of Revelation to return to the pure word of God and of the other two, to hold onto what they have.

God will bring an end to His opposition. He will put in the mind of the scarlet beast from out of wickedness to bring her down; he will destroy her. She images all theologies outside of God’s law and His way. There is no hope of any lifestyle, belief system or ideology that is not of God that will survive and enter into God’s kingdom. She will not only fall from queenship, but she will be totally destroyed to be forever forgotten without a trace.

Using sarcasm, God says to this infamous prostitute, “Virgin Daughter of Babylon, go down sit in the dust” (Isaiah 47:1). She was convinced that her theology was pure; she taught it with absolute conviction. People on earth listened and considered her to be “tender and delicate”—so perfect. God will use this intolerant and cruel religious body to persecute His people who have wandered away from Him.

Through their suffering, the 21st century nations of Israel will turn from their unfaithfulness and call out to God. “I was angry with my people and desecrated my inheritance; I gave them into your hand and you showed them no mercy. Even on the aged you laid a very heavy yoke. You said, ‘I will continue forever—the eternal queen!’” (Isaiah 47:6-7) The fifth seal of Revelation is two thousand years of persecution, but the last seven years will bring the 21st century nations of Israel to their knees, weeping and crying out to the God of Israel for their rescue.

BABYLON, THE I AM

When God revealed Himself to ancient Israel, Moses said, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name? What should I tell them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ God also told Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered in every generation” (Exodus 3:13-15). This is one of the names of God Almighty. Babylon of the 21st century will claim the same supreme name. “Now then, listen, you wanton creature, lounging in your security and saying to yourself ‘I AM, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children” (Isaiah 47:8).

Only the God of Israel is I AM—the invincible eternal God. “Remember this,” God said, “fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels [ancient Israel]. Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me; I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please” (Isaiah 46:8-10).

The God of Israel reigns supreme. What He plans cannot be thwarted. Rogue heavenly princes may try all they want, but they will fail. God is speaking to the powerful heavenly rulers, powers and principalities of Ephesians 6:12, not weak mortal man who has a life-span of moments and is dead before he can raise his fists.

The “Queen” from the realm of heaven who has set her roots on earth, boasts, “I AM, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children” is the same prostitute riding the beast. “To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, 'I SIT as A QUEEN and I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will never see mourning’” (Revelation 18:7). The people on earth who revel in her theology and persecute God’s faithful will suffer God’s wrath.

God uses the imagery of a widow as a ministry without a head, which she understands leaves her without protection and power. Jesus Christ is the head of the church and a church without Christ is a widow left without protection, direction and love. While Babylon is riding the beast, she has achieved her goal. She has her leader and she is sitting with honor and reverence. 

God Almighty is not at all comforting towards her. He states, “Both of these will overtake you in a moment, on a single day: loss of children and widowhood” (Isaiah 47:9). She becomes a widow because the beast turns against her and she loses all her followers [children] because once the beast rises up without her, he claims Supreme Kingship; he doesn’t want a queen; he wants to rule alone; and he will do as HE pleases (Daniel 11:36).

Her claim to never suffer the loss of children images a ministry teaching a congregation [the children] and bringing them all to come to the full knowledge of the theology being taught. Babylon’s plan is to teach their theology and bring all of creation in heaven and earth under their belief system with her as their supreme leader.

Before she goes down, she will battle hard to conjure up and use all of her magic spells and sorceries, but she will fail quickly and in full measure. 

“Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away… a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you… You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, ‘I AM, and there is none besides me’” (Isaiah 47:11, 10). She deceived herself into believing that she was the Supreme Ruler with knowledge of the deep things, understanding of wonders and the key to mysteries.

Her preaching will come to an end; in silence she will sit. “For the LORD will destroy Babylon; He will silence her mighty voice. The waves will roar like great waters; the tumult of their voice will resound. For a destroyer is coming against her—against Babylon. Her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken, for the LORD is a God of retribution; He will repay in full. I will make her princes and wise men drunk, along with her governors, officials, and warriors. Then they will fall asleep forever and not wake up,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts” (Jeremiah 51:55-57).

God warns His people to get out of her—recognize her lies, deceit and fallacies. “Flee from Babylon; escape with your lives! Do not be destroyed in her punishment. For this is the time of the LORD's vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves” (Jeremiah 51:6).

BABYLON HAS FALLEN, HAS FALLEN

When catastrophe surrounds her on earth, this spiritual force may crawl back to strengthen her fortress in heaven, but she will fail; the true I AM will overpower her. “‘Though Babylon should ascend to the heavens, and though she should fortify her lofty stronghold, from Me destroyers will come to her,’ declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 51:53).

“Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon because the destroyers from the north will come against her," declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 51:48).

Her religion will be shattered into dust. "Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs." And one said, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the images of her gods are shattered on the ground" (Isaiah 21:9).

Those on earth who embraced her theology for their financial gain and power will stand in horror on that day in that moment, they will cry, “‘Woe! Woe, O great city… In one hour, such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’” (Revelation 18:17-18)

God will avenge the deaths of His faithful by this lying and deceitful ministry and their congregation. “After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God! For His judgments are true and just. He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His servants that was poured out by her hand.’ And a second time they called out: ‘Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever’” (Revelation 19:1-3).

The spell she cast over the people on earth will be lifted. The people will cover their mouths in horror. “How the hammer of the whole earth has been cut off and broken! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!” (Jeremiah 50:23)

ANOTHER WOMAN RISES

These deceived shipmasters, passengers and sailors—the experts in wickedness have yet to see another woman rise.

She is radiant, humble, forever indebted to her husband for his sacrifice and eternally grateful for the grace of her God. She is the New Jerusalem—a glorious city trading pure truth, God’s knowledge, eternal understanding and precious wisdom. She is a body of men and women—mere mortals with the life-span of moments. Their resurrection into eternal life will be a gift they will eternally treasure; it will never be taken for granted; it will be guarded with a vengeance for they will never forget the suffering caused by sin. They will never turn back, but they will always look forward following and leaning on Jesus Christ, co-ruling with him over the realm in heaven and on earth as his Queen.

She is the body of resurrected and transformed mortals who ran the race to the end. They are the victorious who will receive the promised salvation of eternal life. They will fill the positions lost by the fallen rulers, powers and authorities who chose to rebel against their Creator and attempt to take by force His Kingdom. They will be blessed with the honor of serving the Almighty God, their Supreme I AM in His great, eternal kingdom that can never be shaken. She is the true eternal Queen.

God’s is destroying His old headquarters in heaven. “Open your doors, O LEBANON, that the fire may devour your cedars! Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, because the glorious trees have been destroyed; Wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable forest has come down” (Zechariah 11:2).

“See, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power. The lofty trees will be felled; the tall ones will be brought low. He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; LEBANON WILL FALL BEFORE THE MIGHTY ONE” (Isaiah 10:33-34).

God is building His new headquarters on earth! “In a very short time, will not Lebanon be turned into a fertile field and the fertile field seem like a forest?” (Isaiah 29:17)

“The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree; he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. PLANTED IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, they will flourish in the COURTS OF OUR GOD. They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green” (Psalm 92:12-15).

“I [God] will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily, and he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon [solid leaders]. His shoots will sprout, and his beauty will be like the olive tree [image for priests] and his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon” (Hosea 14:5-6).

God’s new government is sprouting and it will grow into a thick forest in Lebanon full of faithful and loyal leaders with many beautiful gifts and wonderful qualities. God will move this new headquarters to earth and He will live with man. “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:3). God will bring an end to the battle over His kingdom. He has awarded it to His Son and the saints, the Bride of the Messiah. God has chosen to live with His second creation on earth—the new earth where only the righteous live. No buts or whys because God has said, “It is done” (Revelation 21:6).

“For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief” (I Thessalonians 5:2-4).

NO SURPRISE, NO MYSTERY, NO SECRECY. THOSE WHO OVERCOME WILL BE READY.

The disciples asked Jesus about the sign of his coming. He replied, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark, and THEY KNEW NOTHING ABOUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN until the flood came and took them all away” (Matthew 24:36-39).

The only people on earth prior to the great flood who were NOT surprised, was Noah, his wife and family. The rest of mankind were oblivious. They were celebrating life and marriage planning the same lifestyle for generations to come.

The reason for their destruction is recorded in Genesis 6:5-6. “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.”

They were destroyed when God cleaned the earth from wickedness and one only family who spent 100 years preparing for the great flood, began the new era. The flood took by surprise the rest of mankind. This same similar situation will exist prior to the return of Christ. What could that time look like?

“When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman… But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 13, 16-17). The faithful church is protected during the Great Tribulation, but her churches who keep the commandments—the congregations who don’t preach that the Ten Commandments were nailed to the cross and those who hold to the teachings of Christ following him wherever he goes, will be the victims of Satan’s wrath and the trampling of the beast.

Satan standing on the shore, the boundary line between Wickedness and earth conjures up the beast—a coalition of rebellious and God-hating heavenly rulers, powers and principalities who reside in the place imaged as the raging sea. They are the enemy of mankind identified by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:12. This terrifying and wild beast has seven heads—ruling kingdoms, each kingdom despises the Great King, God Almighty. Written on each head is a blasphemous name like “I AM,” “KINGDOM OVER ALL” or “WORSHIPPED BY ALL” names that declare their supremacy over Almighty God.

Daniel saw this fourth and final beast. “Terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns” (Daniel 7:7). Each horn images a leader—a king. They are ten kings ruling for “one hour” during the Great Tribulation. These kings were promised rulership a long time ago, likely at the time of Babel when the sons of God in His Holy Council received an inheritance, rulership over the nations. At this time, God Almighty gave himself an inheritance, rulership over the descendants of Jacob (Deuteronomy 32:8-9). The promise to these ten kings will be fulfilled, but for a short time and they will rule along with the beast (Revelation 17:12).

Conflict bubbles and boils within this beastly coalition as three kings are overthrown and a little horn grows. One that is not of royal descent. He is boastful, arrogant and defiant. He is determined to subdue any force that will not surrender.

The victims most likely crushed and trampled would be God’s covenant people who turn to seek their God and obey Him. The little horn known as the Assyrian will not tolerate such a detestable revolt and he will unleash on these people, who form multiple nations into the 21st century his rage to such a degree that many will die while the remainder are thrown into captivity.

The nations of the world will witness the horror, power and force used on these God-fearing nations and conclude, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?” (Revelation 13:4). The whole world will be astonished. They will surrender and follow the beast. “Men worshiped the dragon because Satan had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast” (Revelation 13:4). Their reward for their submission and service is the captured followers of Christ who serve God. The beast is thought by some Biblical scholars as a physical nation or group of nations on earth, but that cannot be the case since all the nations on earth, except the captives, surrender and worship both Satan and the beast. The nations accept their powerless position and surrender accepting a different Saviour and a rebellious theology.

Satan will rule on earth declaring himself as the Almighty, Supreme God while the little horn—the Assyrian—the Antichrist will rule over the nations on earth offering extended life through their alien technology and superior science all adding to their extensive knowledge in every area known to man. The power these rulers display will dazzle the nations like a magic spell and they will fall into deception without a fight. The myth of worshipping gods will become a reality into the 21st century for the nations and they will come to delight and celebrate this surreal lifestyle. They will consider this leadership as good and plan their future with Satan as their eternal head and the Antichrist as their eternal King of kings and Lord of lords. Corruption in politics, business, and in the service industries will continue. Justice will fall by the way side and oppression will increase. And yet, the nations will not call out to Almighty God for help, despite the global witness of the captives. It is this resolution that triggers God’s wrath against the nations all before the second coming of Jesus Christ; it will be just like the days of Noah. Many people will continue to love sin and wickedness will be their delight.

The captives will remember their God. “Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their heart will be glad as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be glad, their heart will rejoice in the LORD. I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before.When I scatter them among the peoples, they will remember Me in far countries, and they with their children will live and come back” (Zechariah 10:8-10).

Their witness will go out to all nations. “And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on My menservants and maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days” (Joel 2:28-29).

Mistaken scholars preach the fragmentation and in some cases the decimation of God’s covenant people. They declare that Almighty God, who took these people as His inheritance to rule over them forever has rejected them and they no longer exist as a cohesive body. These scholars will give an account to Almighty God who has heard their falsehood. “Have you not noticed what these people are saying: 'The LORD has rejected the two families [House of Israel and House of Judah] He had chosen'? So, they despise My people and no longer regard them as a nation” (Jeremiah 33:24).

To these naysayers God declares, “‘Only if the heavens above could be measured and the foundations of the earth below searched out, would I reject all of Israel's descendants because of all they have done,’ declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 31:37).

God has a plan for His people and all of mankind. His plans cannot be thwarted. What He says He will do, nothing will keep Him from accomplishing His will. He will bring His people to their knees and in the last days, they will remember Him and turn their hearts sincerely and eternally to Him, their Creator, their King. “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

“As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I SHALL BE KING OVER YOU. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrathpoured out; and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face” (Ezekiel 20:33-35).

God will judge His people for their unfaithfulness and godlessness during a time when they felt mighty and strong, suddenly all will be taken away from them. The nations of the world will experience the same, they will witness the attack on God’s covenant people and in fear, surrender to Satan and the beast without a fight.

“I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. When I brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will show myself holy through them in the sight of many nations… I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares Almighty God (Ezekiel 39:24-29).

Bearing the heavy yoke of captivity and servitude both houses: the Christians and the Jews will repent. Both will turn to their God, together. Israel and Judah will go home together: “‘I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says Almighty God. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it’” (Jeremiah 30:3).

Their Messiah’s return will not surprise them. They will be prepared because they will:

• Recognize how things were during the days of Noah.
• Complete the witness of the gospel to the whole world.
• Humbly wait for their rescue by their God.
• Learn again the meaning of God’s Holy Days which lay out the plan of God for all of mankind.
• Delight in God’s goodness by choosing them again to serve as priests and teachers of righteousness.
• Love the word of God and His righteousness.

The day and the hour will come when God Almighty deems enough time is given for His people and the nations to repent.

His people will not return alone for with them a countless multitude of people from all nations of the world will join them (Revelation 7:9). Satan’s reign over the earth will come to a sudden end. The beast and false prophet will be overthrown and destroyed by the anointed King of kings and Lord of lords.

The world will be forever changed. Deception will be washed and scrubbed from the face of the earth. The sky will be rolled back and the people on earth will see the vast heavenly realm and its dominions. Satan, the father of iniquity was once a guardian cherub in the third heaven given the great honour to serve before the Great God. His beauty was exceptional and his position was envied, yet that was not enough. His pride caused him to fall away and God removed him out of His presence into the heavenly realm where he built a vast empire of rebels selling his theology to the creation there. A battle in heaven still awaits on our near horizon. Satan knows he will fail and be thrown down to earth where he will sit disgruntled on a deteriorating throne. His decaying status will continue to rot. His captivity is assured and a changed body from eternal to lowly mortality is prophesied before he is burned to ashes. The world watching will be sickened having eaten from his fruit.

“Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade, you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more’” (Ezekiel 28:16-19).

A wonderful life is the destiny for all of mankind who call on the name of Almighty God. This evil age will end; glorious light will replace darkness all in God’s time. The saints are preparing now for Christ’s return; they are pilgrims looking for the kingdom whose maker and architect is Almighty God. They will wait for God patiently because they too, want all of mankind to repent and be saved.

                                “Because of the signs [miracles and wonders] 

                                      he [the beast from out of the earth] 

                           was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, 

                                he deceived the inhabitants of the earth” 

                                                   (Revelation 13:14).

The Apostle John recorded, “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).

Before and from the foundation of the earth, names of people were written in the Book of Life. Scriptures identify four different groups.

1.  A foreknown people will be awarded important and special roles in God’s eternal family. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “For He chose us in Him BEFORE the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding” (Ephesians 1:4-8).

2.  There is also another group of people whose names were written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world. It would appear that all of the children of Adam and Eve have their names written in the Book of Life from creation. Jesus speaking to the Sardis church said, “Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels” (Revelation 3:5).

Their names have already been written in the Book of Life and will not be erased.

Moses understood that God has a book complete with the names of every man and woman born from Adam and Eve. It is God’s will that everyone be saved and with that hope, He wrote their names in the Book of Life before creation.

While Moses was receiving instruction during the writing of the ten commandments on stone, the Israelites lost faith, due to his long absence, and they turned to worshipping gods. They were seeking an allegiance with the heavenly princes ruling over the nations. This stirred Almighty God to anger because these gods had turned against Him. They had allied with Satan in pursuit of overthrowing Almighty God to establish their own kingdom. Moses fully understood the treasonous action of the Israelites and in pleading for their lives, he was prepared to sacrifice his eternal life to save them. He said, “Yet now, if You would only forgive their sin.... But if not, please blot me out of the book that You have written" (Exodus 32:32). God Almighty responded, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel [Yeshua] will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin” (Exodus 32:33-34).

The blotting out of a name from the Book of Life is the sentence for any man or woman who is treasonous and dedicated to the worship and service of the rogue heavenly rulers, powers and principalities who are battling against Almighty God to overthrow Him and establish their own kingdom.

God’s plan has always been to preserve the names of creation on earth in the Book of Life. “God wants everyone to be saved and to fully understand the truth. There is only one God, and there is only one way that people can reach God. That way is through Christ Jesus, who as a man gave himself to pay for everyone to be free. This is the message that was given to us at just the right time” (I Timothy 2:4-6).

While it is God’s plan to first work with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and establish them as a model kingdom, His plan was never to limit eternal life to just one group of people on earth.

Though into the 21st century, mankind revels in corruption and deceit, a time will come when all the nations of the world will know their Creator, the Almighty God and seek to keep His law of love and gratefully accept His grace. They will revere Him and humbly serve Him. “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him” (Psalm 22:27).

The names of the righteous will be in the Book of Life. “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued” (Daniel 12:1).

“Nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:27).

3.  The unrepentant wicked people will have their names blotted out of the Book of Life. “Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation. May they be blotted out of the Book of Life and not listed with the righteous” (Psalm 69:27-28).

“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).

In addition to the inhabitants of the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life at the foundation of the earth, the people who commit treason by worshipping the beast, kneeling before the idol and taking the mark will have their names erased from the Book of Life and they will be sentenced to death. “A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehand or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb’” (Revelation 14:9-10).

4.  There exists on earth inhabitants whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world. Their origin is suspect. They worship Satan and perform his detestable and heinous rituals believing the lie of their supremacy over mankind. These inhabitants will welcome the arrival of the beasts from out of the sea and the earth and worship Satan along with the outcast rogue heavenly rulers. They will be ecstatic at their arrival on earth to establish their world ruling kingdom. “The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come” (Revelation 17:8b).

In the time of Apostle John, “the beast from out of the sea” was not ruling—it had a fatal wound, that is, it was overthrown and yet, it will rise again to rule. The beast could be those released for a time out of the Abyss (Revelation 17:8), inner earth, their present home and the prison of the wicked, fallen angels. God’s use of the description of the beast from out of the “sea” is imagery for the haven of wickedness. There will be no sea when the new earth and heaven are created (Revelation 21:1). No home for Wickedness.

“All the inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).

Kept from the general public for hundreds of years, is a group of people who serve Satan and practice his detestable and heinous rituals, magic and runes. These people were known to appear on earth by Almighty God before the creation on earth. At the time when God wrote the names of His children in the Book of Life, those foreknown to belong to Satan from the beginning, were excluded.

There is much discussion today about thirteen elite families on earth who claim to be the entitled rulers over all of mankind. These families are extremely wealthy and powerful and they directly influence national leaders worldwide to achieve their agenda of world dominance. Organizations have been established to slip into the fold willing puppets by promising them key leadership roles. The World Economic Forum, the World Health Organization, the World International Trade Organization, the Council of Foreign Relations, the Bilderberg Group, the Davos Group, the International Banking Institutions, the International Money Fund, world summits are some of the core establishments working to raise up Satan’s New World Order. Main stream media and social media are engines of their propaganda. Hollywood casts a sleeping spell over mankind. Millions of people all over the world hold positions of influence and they are working feverishly to bring about a New World Order. Into the 21st century, this organization has become so vast setting its roots deep into every country worldwide that its overthrow appears impossible. World wars were planned and implemented by the puppets of this global monster. They will not retreat under pressure. 

Securing world dominance over the descendants of Adam and Eve on earth is their final attack to take a kingdom of their own. Keeping the people on earth asleep to their evil deeds is critical to their success. “Conspiracy theory” will be blasted onto the wave lengths of every Satan serving outlet. They lie, deceive, kill and capture to ensure their success. The law does not restrain them. Love is a foreign emotion. They revel in darkness and cloaking. The children of Adam and Eve are their targets. They put on a cloak of service and trumpet fine words of goodness only to keep the illusion at play. They orchestrate terrifying attacks with a devastating aftermath to promptly kneel before the people with a solution that appears to help them or justify the taking of freedom from the people. Claiming to protect them, only the ordinary people are patted down by security, while the mercenaries continue to riot, steal and destroy. These ruling elites hide in the shadows, operating outside of the law and reducing humanity into the populace co-dependent on them.

Klaus Schwab, leader of the World Economic Forum said in his book, The Great Reset, “You’ll own nothing and you’ll be happy.” They claim to be committed to improving the state of the world by taking ownership of everything away from the people and then telling them, “you’ll be happy.”

While they are battling to take a full grip over the nations on earth, another group—an international alliance of “white hats” are warring against them for the good of mankind and the restoration of freedom. 

The inhabitants whose names are not written in the Book of Life are schooled in their ancient religion and they await their saviour—the eighth king. He will reappear as their prophecy has foretold. “The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died” (Revelation 17:8).

“The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction” (Revelation 17:11).

Their promised king will return again to rule over the earth. This eighth king is a rebel son of God. This eighth king could be Abaddon (in Hebrew) and Apollyon (in Greek). He is presently imprisoned and is king over all who are imprisoned in inner earth. They will be released for a time from out of the Abyss (Revelation 9:11). As mortals await the return of Jesus Christ, a righteous Son of God; other mortals await the return of their king, a rebel son of God. Our fight has always been a spiritual war.

This battle of good against evil will erupt onto the world scene for all to view and will continue until Jesus Christ returns. He will strike the beastly rulers and remove them completely and totally from power never to rise up again. 

“A rock was cut out [a very strong leader was prepared], but not by human hands [not a physical leader]. It struck the statue on its feet [timeline revealed as an end of this evil age] of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold [the heavenly rulers imaged as different compounds reflects their different spiritual conditions when they ruled will be destroyed all at the same time] were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock [Jesus Christ] that struck the statue became a huge mountain [Christ will rule the whole earth] and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:34-35). Christ’s government will fill the whole earth.

WHAT DOES SCRIPTURE SAY ABOUT THE INHABITANTS WHOSE NAMES ARE NOT WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE?

There are two groups that Almighty God vows He will destroy.

1.  The offspring of Satan. “The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again. Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the sins of their forefathers; they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities” (Isaiah 14:20-21).

The reference to the male gender—his sons—points to the national and state/provincial leaders and those holding civic leadership offices who are Satan-worshipping leaders participating in detestable and heinous blood rituals. These leaders will command obedience. Freedom will be taken and returned in small portions to those who bend their knee to them. Hatred will rage against those who refuse to serve this leadership. Persecution from within the family and outside will bring intense suffering to those who will not take the mark of the beast or bow to the idol. For the first time in the history of mankind, most powerful cruel and wild, rogue heavenly rulers will stand as leaders over the nations implementing oppressive laws, while at the same time, fighting among themselves to become the supreme leader.

The offspring of Satan will hold all top positions in governments worldwide. They will be ecstatic and feel they have won the battle against the “white hats.”

2.  The survivors, the offspring and descendants of Babylon. “‘I will rise up against them,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘I will cut off from Babylon her name and survivors, her offspring and descendants,’ declares the LORD” (Isaiah 14:20-22).

The reference to the female gender—her offspring and descendants—points to a religious body. These are religious leaders involved in Satan worship, performing detestable and heinous blood rituals.

The core to this Babylon’s theology is the rejection of Jesus Christ as the Saviour of mankind and Almighty God as the Great Creator and Heavenly Father. She will likely provide healing technologies at a high price, continuing Satan’s lie that mankind, despite their sins, will not die. Babylon will trade her miracle wonders with godless mankind promising eternal life through the renewing of a decaying body. She will reduce sinning to a minimal offense that cannot be helped. She will introduce a new lifestyle that will replace common sense, knowledge of Almighty God, His word and His law. It will become as it was in the days of Noah. They will be eating and drinking and giving in marriage fully accepting this new covering that appears to be good on the outside, but totally excludes the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the grace of Almighty God. Those participating in this religion will work towards a salvation believing that they are a god already; they just need to tap into their spiritual selves and develop it.

The Harlot Babylon will persecute and kill the followers of Christ who refuse to buy into her technologies and her theology. For three and a half years, this theological body will rule and she will feel that her queenship is eternal. 

The inhabitants whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the earth are the offspring of Satan and Babylon. They comprise of two groups: national and religious leaders. The parable of the weeds in Matthew 13 provide details to understanding these characters. 

Jesus told the parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ He replied, ‘An enemy did this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He answered, ‘No, because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Jesus explained the parable to his disciples. The man who sowed good seed is Jesus Christ [the Son of man]. The seed are the people who will be transformed into spiritual beings in God’s kingdom and rule under Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords. The field is the world.

Satan is the enemy of God and the Son of God. He scatters his children across the whole earth in every nation during the night, working in the shadows, hiding in the darkness. It is not until the children of God show the fruits of righteousness that the evil children of Satan are recognized. The two grow into maturity together and only at the end of this evil age, two very different crops become clearly visible. For hundreds of years the weeds—the children of Satan—go unnoticed. “The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels… The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:39b, 41-42). These people will be weeping and gnashing their teeth in bitter anguish and fear because they lost the final battle against Almighty God and Jesus Christ. They are not repentant.

There are common characteristics of unrepentant, wicked people whose names may or may not be written in the Book of Life. 

The wicked will despise Almighty God.

“And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name” (Revelation 13:1).

The beast from out of the sea is an unsavable coalition comprised of one-third of the angels, seven dominions ruled by rebel kings along with ten rogue heavenly sons of God who were promised rulership over nations on earth at the time of Babel, but did not get their promised kingship until the final years of this evil age.

“The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 

They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers” (Revelation 17:12-14).

These ten kings turned against Almighty God sometime after being promised rulership over nations on earth. God foreknew their rebellion and put off giving them rulership until the final great battle between evil sons of God and Jesus Christ. The power the Messiah wields is greater than their collective power, for he is Lord over all lords and King over all kings. This spiritual battle will terrify mortals on earth. It will be like a time never experience on earth previously nor ever to occur again.

Jesus Christ alone will paralyze and destroy this powerful spiritual coalition. With him, will be his called, chosen and faithful followers who will witness his judgement and execution.

The wicked will not declare Jesus Christ as their Saviour of mankind and that he is the Son of God.

“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him [the Son of God, Jesus Christ], the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:10-12).

“Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also” (I John 2:22-23).

The rebel forces in heaven despise Jesus Christ. They consider themselves as his equal and they resent his humble service to our Father in heaven. They are rogue spirit beings drained of God’s Holy Spirit; they are not briefed on God’s plans; they lack insight and sound judgement; they operate solely on brute force. They live manufacturing lies, spreading and even believing their own lies. Still powerful, they will fight to the end.

Test the spirits. The wicked have a dark spirit that will not acknowledge Jesus as having come in the flesh.

“This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world” (I John 4:2-4).

Satan, fallen angels and rogue sons of God have a toxic spirit that poisons their reasoning and exhibits every dark emotion and a long sequence of twisted logic producing their perverted reality and faulty beliefs.

The wicked plot to silence, even kill people who call out the liars and speak the truth. These people block freedom of speech, freedom of thought and freedom of religion through intimation and labeling, such as “conspiracy theorist.”

“Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it” (Isaiah 8:12).

Jesus said to the Jews who were plotting to kill him. “Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word… Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God” (John 8:37, 43-45, 47b).

Those who live in sin: corruption, lies, theft, murder, adultery, lawlessness are the children of Satan.

“Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness… No one who lives I him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him… He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning… This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother” (I John 3:4, 6, 8, 10).

Those who promote hatred and relish in the spreading of hatred are children of Satan.

“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light… whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him” (I John 2:9-10a, 11).

The only enemy of mankind are rogue heavenly rulers, powers and principalities (Ephesians 6:12). To combat these extremely powerful, sinister and crafty beings, mankind must put on the armour of God in order to stand your ground.

o  Hold to the truth

o  Live righteously

o  Resolve conflicts peacefully

o  Remain faithful to Almighty God

o  Remember God’s promise of salvation

o  Know God’s word and apply it

o  Prayer for those under attack by Satan and his coalition that they are protected and do not grow weary.

There are people whose names are written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the earth and yet, they are behaving badly. Pray that they repent. God wants to save them. Until God deems them irredeemable, remain hopeful that they will see the light and turn away from darkness. Humanity is a victim of spiritual deception by powerful fallen sons of God.

Scoundrels and villains stirring up trouble are children of Satan.

“A scoundrel and villain, who goes about with crooked speech, winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger, with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord;therefore, calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing” (Proverbs 6:12-15).

“There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:

1.  Haughty eyes

2.  A lying tongue

3.  Hands that shed innocent blood

4.  A heart that devises wicked schemes

5.  Feet that are quick to rush into evil

6.  A false witness who pours out lies

7.  A man who stirs up dissension among brothers” (Proverbs 6:16-19).

There are some who are evil at the core.

“Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies” (Psalm 58:3).

Some people disdain righteousness and love rebellion. Satan taps into these people while they are very young and they respond immediately.

Sorcerers and magicians, wizards and witches call out to fallen angels for help. These are the children of Satan along with false prophets.

“Now having passed through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, a man of intelligence, summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.

Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas and said, ‘O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?

Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.’ Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand” (Acts 13:6b-11).

The last seven years of this evil age will be a time of massive deception. False saviours will appear and false prophets.

“For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible” (Matthew 24:24).

God Almighty will not allow His elect to be tricked through crafty spiritual powers. The world will lavish in the spiritual abilities of their new religious leaders who will offer them eternal life through their technology and a different lifestyle where sin is part of life and cannot be helped. They will appear to be compassionate and have understanding of the weak, vulnerable state of the human body and mind; mistakes are part of being human, they will say. Their goal is to bring all humanity on earth into servitude under their leadership.

The wicked will fight to the end and at any cost.

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, and never shall be again” (Matthew 24:21).

The spiritual battle on earth will be terrible and frightful, like no other distress ever to have occurred on earth since the beginning of the world. The war that will take place will be a powerful display of spiritual weapons, deception at every level and crazed ideologies. This great distress on earth will overshadow any world war that has taken place on earth.

God desires those people whose names are in the Book of Life, to repent of their sins. He will correct them during the time of His wrath. If they refuse, their names will be erased. The inhabitants whose names have not been written in the Book of Life will not repent; they are sold into sin because they believe Satan lies and they are part of his family from the beginning.

Satan has promised them rulership, power and prestige, but he is a liar. Satan hates the whole creation on earth. He will betray his very own children.

Creation on earth is intended to become a vast kingdom of holy, royal priests: experts in righteousness. Satan revels in wickedness and righteousness is abhorrent to him. He deceives even his own children. The beast from out of the earth receives power from the beast from out of the sea. He performs miracles and wonders for all to see and gives honour and glory to the beast from out of the sea who receives great power from Satan.

In Revelation 13, we see how the beast from out of the earth deceives the inhabitants of the earth (whose names are not written in the Book of Life). He does it through signs and wonders. Then, “he orders them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lives. 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. He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666” (Revelation 13:13-18).

The inhabitants who worship the beast, take the mark and bend their knee before the idol will ALL be destroyed by God. They believe their gods and they will not surrender. God will not allow mankind to be exterminated. “If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short” (Matthew 24:22).

The rogue sons of God and fallen angels thrust down to earth will fight to the end without any concern for the lives of mortals. Their sole concern is the spiritual battle that is thrust out of heaven onto earth. “Woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has gone down to you!” (Revelation 12:12)

There is a vast group of dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world and people who will refuse to repent and their names will be erased. Knowing the fate of those inhabitants whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the earth, Satan will do nothing to protect them—his own children. He has deceived them into worshipping him by leading them to believe they are the entitled rulers over the earth under his leadership. He has led them to believe that he is a loving father. He lured them into believing that he would protect them. He has taught them to hate, kill, steal, hurt, lie, deceive and do all they have to, to keep a tight grip of their power and position. They are instrumental at manipulating the population, deceiving them, promoting war, controlling the economic growth and collapses in all nations worldwide, dumbing down education at every grade level, pushing pharmaceutical products over healthy alternatives and creating a population hooked on every social product on the market. The existence of God, their Creator is taught to be a myth along with every evil heavenly ruler, power and principality on earth and in heaven. Mankind is exactly where Satan wants them to be. They are sitting ducks lost in the fantasy land he has made for them.

Despite Satan’s craftiness, God Almighty remains fully in charge. A great awakening is on our near horizon. The heads of wheat described in the parable of the weeds in Matthew 13 are soon to become visible, then evil will step fully out of the shadows. Every man and woman will have to make a choice. They cannot serve two masters. The battle of good against evil is already warring close to the surface. Many see it already. Satan’s children are working to destroy national sovereignty to bring about a one world government; they are destroying borders to weaken nations; they have created national debt levels that are impossible to repay; they are destroying the image of God made male and female; they are working to bring all humanity whose names are written in the Book of Life into their kingdom to be fully controlled by them at every level of their life. These children of Satan are recognized today as key players in the destruction of nations worldwide coupled with their depopulation program. Satan doesn’t know exactly how much time he has left before he is captured and imprisoned for 1,000 years, but once he is thrown down to earth, he will respond in fits of rage like a trapped wild and crazed animal.

“Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea; with great fury the devil has come down to you, knowing he has only a short time” (Revelation 12:12).

“And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him” (Revelation 12:9).

GOD’S DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE IS INTENTIONAL

·  Crafty Satan: Satan is described as a “dragon” because ‘The serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made'" (Genesis 3:1a).

Satan masquerades as an angel of life (II Corinthians 11:14).

·  Powerful Satan: Satan is described as “great” because he was “anointed as a guardian cherub… on the holy mountain [government]of God” (Ezekiel 28:14). He has not been fully stripped of his great power because God’s work is not yet complete.

·  Deceiver Satan: Satan is the father of all lies. He cannot speak the truth and all who follow him will weep and gnash their teeth on Judgement Day because they believed his lies. “He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he might speak falsehood, he speaks from the own; for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).

HOW DOES HUMANITY PREPARE?

·  Trust in Almighty God.

·  Build an intimate relationship with Almighty God, through Jesus Christ.

·  Follow Jesus Christ wherever he goes. Live the theology he taught and practiced when he was on earth.

·  Stand strong by putting on the full armour of God.

·  Love one another, even when your fellow man sins against you. Pray for their repentance. Let God be the judge.

·  Avoid toxic people, those ensnared into serving Satan.

TWO KEY ROLES ARE UNDER ATTACK

These are the only two roles that Almighty God anoints as they hold the structure of His kingdom in place so that it withstands against all attacks.

1.  LAW: The enforcement of law to bring order is accomplished through the authority of national, state/provincial and civic leaders. The tools of law enforcement are:

a.  The law of God and of the land

b.  Courts, judges, national guard and police

c.  The military when necessary

Jezebel is the name Jesus used when addressing the Thyatira church. He said, “You tolerate Jezebel.” Jezebel was the non-Israelite wife of King Ahab. She used her powers as the queen to bring in her Satan-worshipping priests and their perverted theology. She used the seal of King Ahab to command. She was not a born a citizen of Israel and she led them into corruption. She images the same type of illegitimate, Satan worshipping leaders today and they will be purged from among the leadership within God’s 21st century 12 nations. They will rule with a rod of iron, once Christ returns, to ensure law and order are never violated and the people are never exploited again.

2.  RELIGION: Righteousness through the expert knowledge of religious leaders who live the example of Jesus Christ. The teaching tools are:

a.  God’s written word: the Bible, scrolls and ancient texts, as well as, God’s library in-the-making of the millions of studies produced by the Christians. God is preserving and storing them till the time He opens the doors.

b.  Jesus Christ’s example: Follow him wherever he goes.

c.  God’s Holy Spirit: The power of God’s unique spirit is its ability to uncover spiritual knowledge, provide eyes to understanding and a critical mind to know wisdom.

d.  The power of example: God’s model kingdom is in the making and it will be one of the key teaching mechanisms in the Millennium.

The ordinary people, both men and women, will take complete the great job of igniting a powerful religious revival and taking the gospel to the whole world Joel 2:28.

They will succeed. Recorded in Zechariah, “So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. Then he will bring forth the capstone accompanied by shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” (Zechariah 4:6-7).

God describes the deep state—the cabal fighting for world dominance today as a “great mountain”—a powerful world power that will rule during the final three and a half years of this evil age. Before Zerubbabel, it will be flattened into a plain. Then, Zerubbabel will usher in Jesus Christ, the capstone, with shouts of excitement and honour, “Grace, grace to it!”—that is, Christ’s holy and righteous government that will replace the destroyed mountain.

Righteous rulership will replace brutal tyranny. What is righteous will be taught by God’s priesthood and rulership will be exercised through the adherence of God’s law. Religion will be married to Law. The creation in heaven and on earth will be brought together as one under the righteous rulership of Jesus Christ and his bride. The nations of the world will see a model kingdom of holy, righteous people rise and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law [LAW] will go out from Zion, the word [RELIGION] of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3).

The core to this teaching is to draw attention to Satan’s duplicity. He mimics Almighty God in every way that he can.

·  He gives power to the beast from out of the sea as God has given all power to Jesus Christ.

·  He seeded his own sons on earth after Jesus seeded the overcomers.

·  He will amaze his children with the return of their king to mirror the explosive, joyous celebration of the return of Jesus Christ.

·  He promises his children rulership as Almighty God has promised rulership to his children in His holy, royal, ruling family.

·  The spiritual battle of Satan against Almighty God is the only battle at play.

·  Satan trumpets a guaranteed win to his followers, but he is a liar. Almighty 

God prophesies the completion of His will that cannot be thwarted. God wins because He is All-powerful—the Almighty. Righteousness will win over wickedness.

There is great light at the end of this tunnel.