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KINETIC MILITARY ACTION . . . “Rumors of War” and Apocalypse Dawn Chapter 22 – The False Prophet By Doug Krieger
Phony messiahs and phony wars – sounds more like “rumors of wars” to me. And, wouldn’t you know it – they kind of go together; having a certain rhyme to it all for the “end of the world” as we know it. Having police actions, “hostilities” and various “conflicts” – grief, whatever you do as THE major power, don’t call it WAR! It sounds so punitive, so calloused, politically bigoted and presumptuous of us – so, let’s just call it like it is: KINETIC MILITARY ACTION. Or, as the United Nations Security Council calls it: Imposing an Immediate Cease Fire on Libya! It’s almost like a sport or learning experience – you know, these are the kids that are all over the map when it comes to learning. So, instead we should (taken from: Is Your Child a Tactile/Kinetic Learner, ParentingIdeas.org): 1. Let them use physical actions to approach learning something instead of asking them to listen to lectures or long explanations. Okay – “physical actions” speak louder than words – hummm – “kinetic military action” – that’s got to be it – and who cares about Congress or whoever lecturing to us – answer: Apparently no one! 2. When they read, they can’t sit still. So allow them to have some body movement, like walking around. Some body movement? They can’t sit still – time to start another “kinetic military action” … let’s see, how about 110 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles? 3. Let them act out the story while listening to it. Without acting, they have difficulty in absorbing and understanding the information. Act it out – better than listening to the Congress in any event – like what do they know anyway? And, by acting it out, like we’re doing in Libya, we’ll be able to absorb and understand what we’re finally doing there in the first place! YES! Oh, and while we’re at it – forget about exit strategies or worse yet, downsides or just about anything – it’s called the “Indiana Jones Syndrome” – “We’re makin’ this up as we go!” 4. Take time to play and work with them. It’s hard for them to read, write or think on their own. It’s taken about a week so far and we’re still playing with them – we do better playing with others rather than thinking on our own! It’s actually hard for us to “think on our own” – better to just keep playing and trying to work with “them” – by the way, we’re still trying to figure out who “them” are! 5. Sign them up for some sports.
6. Give them a hug. Let them “feel” your love for them. If ever there were a time to “feel the love” – IT IS NOW! The ambiguity of the Libyan “disorder” or “war” was only exacerbated by the immediate leadership of the Kinetic Military Action (KMA – to make it easier on us) at the command, of course, of the 800 lb. gorilla in the room, the United States of America. The newly formed – 4-year old – US Africa Command, known as AFRICOM – operates out of Stuttgart, Germany and has some 1,500 staff and another 1,000 other troops conducting sundry training, security assistance and various “temporary duties” throughout the African Continent. Notwithstanding, the new three-week old commander of AFRICOM, General Carter F. Ham, has been forced to table safe and staid diplomacy talks to lead what has become a rather complicated hot war in Libya. (Libya Crisis thrusts U.S. Africa Command Into Leadership Role, Eric Schmitt, New York Times, March 22, 2011). “Indeed, the command, known as Africom, is intended largely to train and assist the armed forces of 53 African nations and to work with the State Department and other American agencies to strengthen social, political and economic programs in the region, including improving H.I.V. awareness in African militaries and removing land mines.” (Ibid.) Ham’s baptism of fire in Libya – which vainly attempts to play down the US role as leader of the KMA – has taken charge by air, sea and I am quite confident, land (a.k.a., special ops. to train the rag-tag rebels on bringing down Gadaffi). Never mind who appears to be leading this operation - “Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said on Sunday (March 20, 2011) that the United States would turn control of the Libya military operation over to a coalition — probably led either by the French and British or by NATO — ‘in a matter of days.’ But the American military would continue to fly missions.” (Ibid.) Indeed, according to Gen. Ham on PBS (March 25, 2011), no matter who’s leading what, American military prowess would provide “unique US military capability” – but in the same breath indicated that there would be “no direct military support to the rebels” fighting Gadaffi. Now, if that isn’t doublespeak, I don’t know what is – he must be taking lessons from higher ups, can’t imagine who? Speaking in terms akin to our Indiana Jones Syndrome, Gen. Ham concluded speaking in terms of the mandatory change in command: “It’s fairly complex to do that while simultaneously conducting operations,” he said. “But we’ll figure it out.” (Ibid.) “Administration officials told congressional aides in a closed briefing earlier this week (March 21-24, 2011) that the United States is not at war with Libya, and Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes danced around the question in a Wednesday exchange with reporters aboard Air Force One.” (“Kinetic military action’ or ‘war’? Jonathan Allen, Politico, March 24, 2011) Come on now – how can you call “precision bombing” with Tomahawk Cruise Missiles war? We’re simply having a United Nations Resolution clambake. Why, we’re just “carrying out” what others told us to do. Don’t tell me we’re at war when we’re simply “out there” involved in a “humanitarian exercise” – settin’ up a no-fly zone” or, better yet, we’re all about “kinetic military action.” It’s either “kinetic” or it’s Moamar Gadaffi and the Slaughterhouse 5; take your pick. MISSION ODYSSEY DAWN
“Mission” – Military jargon for what we’re suppose to accomplish here – that question hasn’t been resolved yet, but we’re working on it. “Odyssey” – Dictionary – here’s a couple of meanings: 1. An extended adventurous voyage or trip. 2. An intellectual or spiritual quest: an odyssey of discovery. Actually, either one of the above might work – someone’s certainly on a trip and we’re certainly on an “odyssey of discovery” – like in: Who’s leading this thing? But the “Odyssey” I like best is this one: “The younger of the two surviving ancient Greek epic poems, traditionally ascribed to Homer but containing much orally transmitted material composed over several centuries, and concerning the adventures and ordeals of the Greek warrior Odysseus after the fall of Troy as he struggles to return home and reestablish himself as king of Ithaca.” (As in Homer’s “Iliad and the Odyssey” - Taken from: The Free Dictionary by Farlax) Now, why I like this one best is its “war theme” and a lot of “orally transmitted material” like in the Libya affair. Trying to wrap this thing up and struggling to get home to reestablish one’s kingship sounds familiar too – can’t imagine why or who we’re talking about? Finally, the word: DAWN. Like in the morning – we’re just starting on this wonderful, serendipitous Odyssey – and you thought it was but a little affair and it’d be all over but the shoutin’ – well, buddy, have we got news for you: The sun just came up and you’re about to commence on your Odyssey, big time! There you have it: MISSION: ODYSSEY DAWN…and now you know the genius of our military commanders (and you thought they didn’t know what they were talking about). LEAD, FOLLOW OR GET THE H--- OUT OF THE WAY!
Allow me to disabuse us all regarding the following military axiom of the real world: “Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority . . . so they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’” (Revelation 13:2, 4). You see, dear friends and foes, since America spends more than the entire world on “defense” for maintaining its Commercial Empire, it only stands to reason that what George Friedman, Founder and CEO of STRATFOR, concludes in his “Next Decade” – to wit: “I genuinely believe that the United States is far more powerful than most people think. Its problems are real but trivial compared to the extent of its power. I am also genuinely frightened, not about America’s survival, but about the ability of the United States to keep the republic provided by the founders. The demands and temptations of empire can easily destroy institutions already besieged by a public that has lost both civility and perspective, and by politicians who cannot lead because they are capable of neither the exercise of power nor the pursuit of moral ends….Four things are needed. First, a nation that has an unsentimental understanding of the situation it is in. Second, leaders who are prepared to bear the burden of reconciling that reality with American values. Third, presidents who understand power and principles and know the place of each. But above all, what is needed is a mature American public that recognizes what is at stake and how little time there is to develop the culture and institutions needed to manage the republic cast in an imperial role. Without this, nothing else is possible. The situation is far from hopeless, but it requires an enormous act of will for the country to grow up.” (The Next Decade, Final Chapter - The Empire, The Republic, and the Decade, by George Friedman, p. 243, Doubleday, 2011) MASTER OF DECEPTION What are we trying to say here? Simply this – America is truly at the crossroads and is having a crisis of leadership – especially in its wars and rumors of wars. Someone’s going to either get out of the way or lead and it won’t be pretty and probably it won’t appear all that decisive…however, it will be subtle and almost no one will know when we’ve moved from the Republic to the full-blown Empire with all its Greco-Roman accouterments, such as the Emperor. May I take the liberty to illustrate the type of leadership that awaits our present ambiguity? “At the end of their rule, when their sin is at its height, a fierce king, a master of intrigue, will rise to power. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause a shocking amount of destruction and succeed in everything he does. He will destroy powerful leaders and devastate the holy people. He will be a master of deception (my emphasis) and will become arrogant; he will destroy many without warning. He will even take on the Prince of princes in battle, but he will be broken, though not by human power. This vision about the 2,300 evenings and mornings (Daniel 8:13-14) is true. But none of these things will happen for a long time, so keep this vision a secret” (Daniel 8:23-26 – New Living Translation).
Again, although the Amillenarians, Harold Camping, the Seventh-Day Adventists, the Mormons and the Jehovah Witnesses have attempted to sequester these 2,300 days to benefit the church’s interpretation of them to fit their own prophetical schemes (Please see: Israel’s Prophetic Witness… “To Finish the Transgression and to Anoint the Most Holy” - Israel’s Temple Sacrifice and the Abomination of Desolation and Jesus Christ Does the Work of Antichrist?), we reject these interpretations as hyperbolic allegorical rendering of the plain text; to wit: “Understand, son of man, that the vision (i.e., of the 2,300 days) refers to the TIME OF THE END (my emphasis) . . . Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in THE LATTER TIME OF THE INDIGNATION; for at the appointed time THE END SHALL BE (my emphasis throughout)…Seventy weeks are determined for YOUR PEOPLE and for YOUR HOLY CITY to finish the transgression, etc.” (Daniel 8:17, 19; 9:24). The clear hermeneutic of the text refers to Daniel’s people and Daniel’s Holy City – Daniel was a Jew and the city was literal Jerusalem – it is the INDIGNATION – the DESOLATIONS – the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION at the “time of the end” – “the latter time” – and the “transgression” so referred to has everything to do with the “Transgression of Desolation” (Daniel 8:13) which is in context and by force of its association, the Abomination of Desolation spoken of in Daniel 12:11 and prophetically legitimized by Jesus Himself in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14 – an event far into the future, but immediate to our time frame in that Israel’s materiality cries out for its fulfillment! For these disillusioned (even “deceived”) groups – and their erstwhile compatriots who fill the rank and file of today’s Evangelical Left Wing (some of whom we personally know all too well) – they have become so incensed with Israel of the flesh and of the Christian Right’s attempts to form some sort of political alliance between the USA and Israel, that they are now feeding the fires of virulent anti-Semitism and hatred toward the Jew at a pace and intensity heretofore thought impossible – given their Evangelical credentials – some who claim the mantel of Premillennialism and of the Almighty’s purposes for prophetic Israel, this is both shocking and shameful! GETTING RID OF AMERICAN LEADERSHIP – GETTING RID OF BABYLON THE GREAT
The Bible speaks of a latter-day Babylon the Great – the struggle between the Holy City New Jerusalem and the Great City, Babylon. Of course, there are some (mainly old-line Reformation-style Christians) who are still so incensed with the Roman Catholic Church that to them the sum and substance of Babylon the Great as seen in the Book of Revelation is today’s Roman Catholic Church, with – no doubt – the Pope being some kind of Antichrist or False Prophet – and the whole entourage being carted off to the Europeans. As they say: In your dreams that will be the case! Their vision – and many a dear brother and sister who embrace this prophetical escapade – know that Babylon is far more than a “religious system” – but that she is most definitely a vast “commercial empire” manipulating the nations of the earth in the latter days to the extent that her leader, the Antichrist, along with the False Prophet, institute some form of super control wherein no one is able to “buy or sell” without the “Mark of the Beast.” Furthermore, most of these brethren – and, if you watch the history channel, many worldlings also so affirm – realize that the final Antichrist is a “man of war” – though he feigns peace; hence, this latter-day False Messiah will be some kind of political super star that will affect and afflict the nations of the earth. Therefore, Babylon the Great, to most eschatologists is far more than a sexually-deviant Roman Catholic Church spreading heresy while she’s at it. In fact, she’s apparently got plenty of “daughters” within Christendom itself who can’t wait to align Church and State into some kind of end-times super Church-State amalgamation of corruption – a distortion of the Kingdom of Heaven; a sort of Crusader effort as envisioned by people like, well, Moamar Gadaffi and his ilk. But to many of these same prophecy buffs and/or diligent eschatologists – many of whom see an “expanded role” in Babylon’s final identification (i.e., that she’s a religio-politico-economic powerhouse) – they are, in the main, determined to get rid of Babylon the Great much sooner, rather than later. Some of them – as our dear brother David Wilkerson affirms (along with scores of other dear brethren) – are so fed up with America’s march into immorality and abandonment of her “moral authority” that the sooner she ends up upon the trash heap of history, the better for all of us; therefore, once the Church is raptured, according to most of these proponents of America’s immediate demise, at the commencement of Daniel’s final week and just before the revelation of the Antichrist, she will somehow be destroyed. Now, we have spoken much about their various scenarios in the illumination of America until she doesn’t play a “bit part” in Bible prophecy (Please See our Text: The Rise or Fall of American Empire) – and since she in their eyes doesn’t play ANY Biblical role (aside, perhaps a veiled allusion to her whereabouts as the “Merchants of Tarshish” found in Ezekiel 38:13 during the Gog-Magog prophetic war) she must be eliminated via cataclysmic disasters, disease, social disintegration and immigration, military catastrophe, economic calamity, hedonism – the list is endless – the bottom-line is the elimination of the United States of America as leader among the nations. Why? Because Antichrist doesn’t come out of America and there’s too many Christians living in America; therefore, God would never allow such a hideous thing to happen! Really? Absolutely – That’s why Antichrist must ascend out of the Old Roman Empire states or even out of the Eastern Roman Empire like Syria or as Al Dager suggests:
Al continues: “The king who will rule over the nations for Satan in the last days has planted his tabernacle between the seas (the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea). It is called the Dome of the Rock, and it stands on the holy mountain either in place of, or in close proximity to, the site of the last Jewish temple. It was built between A.D. 689 and 691 by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. If my understanding is correct, Scripture and the history of Islam reveal that the king who would place his tabernacle on the holy mountain, then in the last days will come to his end—at the time Michael delivers Israel—is none other than the anti-Christ spirit that will bring together the remnants of the old Roman Empire. That empire encompassed Western Europe, the western portion of the Middle East, and North Africa.” (“Turmoil in the Middle East,” Al Dager, Media Spotlight, Vol. 34 – No. 1, Spring, 2011)
GETTING RID OF BABYLON THE GREAT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEVENTIETH WEEK So – let’s say we’re post-tribulational in our eschatology (like the Tribnet) – but we affirm that Babylon must be quickly eliminated – sometime just before the appearance of Antichrist or shortly thereafter. And, let’s say, like Tim McHyde, that America is not THE Babylon the Great but “the Daughter of Babylon” who will be, according to McHyde, destroyed at the outset of the Gog-Magog War, giving the highly commercial and anti-Semitic British a run at the Antichrist; besides, this will make room for McHyde’s Antichrist personified by none other than – you guessed it – Prince Charles of Wales! So, just when we find America in Bible prophecy, she’s wiped out by World War III – according to McHyde. Well, anyway, she was but a “daughter of Babylon” and not Babylon the Great in the first place (See: Escape All These Things). McHyde is not alone in eliminating America the Beautiful before she turns really ugly. If she’s going to be destroyed by World War III – known by these folks as the Gog-Magog War of Ezekiel 38-39 – then we better bail while we still have a chance. One such aspirant told Jack Hook on one of his lively correspondent chats, the following: “WWIII is at our door, and we will not escape. I say get out of the country while you can. I'm selling my home and moving to South America, Lord willing.” So much for “stand and deliver!”
· FIRST, the commandment itself: "COME OUT OF HER." · SECOND, the REASON why we must "Come out." · THIRD, the JUDGMENT that will accrue to us if we fail to obey the heavenly command. Steve apparently does not take into account the timing of Babylon’s judgment which comes at the terminus of the Seventieth Week of Daniel’s prophecy, prior to the Wrath of God as seen in the Seven Angels who pour out the Seven Vials upon the earth (Revelation 16:1-21) – although he admits that there will be those believers left in “physical Babylon” during the Tribulation Period who will “testify in the street of the Great City” for 3.5 years; however, according to Steve Shearer, that will not include Dene McGriff, Doug Krieger nor others he has selected as unfit for such a testimony because of their failure to leave Babylon now – and the consequences of their iniquitous disobedience will have allowed Babylon the Great to have contaminated them with “sins and plagues” – they, having partaken of her heinous crimes: “So, I must tell you, ‘YES,’ there will be a TESTIMONY given AGAINST Babylon in the streets of that great city (i.e., the United States) given to those who remain in Babylon - and while we do not have the time to go into this matter now, suffice it to be said, it will be an EXTREMELY super-natural one, and one that will utterly conform itself to the TESTIMONY of the TWO WITNESSES that we described in Chapter VIII of the New Antipas Papers. But those prisses and wimps like Dene McGriff, Doug Krieger, …. who remain in Babylon after failing to obey God’s command to COME OUT will have little or nothing to do with this testimony.” (Understanding What You Will Be Facing During the Tribulation, Steve Shearer, Antipas Ministries, August 23, 2010) Apparently, Steve Shearer believes that if believers cannot physically extricate themselves from Babylon proper (i.e., the USA) they will be “Left Behind” (as part of the Tim LaHaye series) and partake of Babylon’s final judgment (plagues). Notwithstanding, there may be some hope for these compromisers, prisses, and wimps who can’t get out fast enough – “little or nothing to do with this testimony” could mean they might have at least a tidbit to do with it? Maybe we should visit Steve somewhere in Babylon proper, since he still lives here, and see if we can have at least a “little” testimony, if nothing less? APOCALYPSE DAWN – THE TIMING OF BABYLON THE GREAT’S JUDGMENT Before we exegete Revelation 18:4 – which is clearly placed within the timing of Babylon’s final judgment – “lest you receive of her judgments” – we must recognize Babylon the Great’s persistence throughout the Revelation into the final 30 days of “desolations” alluded to in Daniel 12:11 (“And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days" (Note: Thirty days beyond the 1,260 days or the final half of Daniel’s Seventieth Week – which thirty days we affirm to be the period in the Revelation known as the pouring out of the Wrath of the Lamb and the Seven Vials – wherein the Seventh Trumpet sounds throughout this time frame.)). First Mentioning of the Great City in the Book of Revelation
Unfortunately, many expositors, including Dr. John Walvoord of Dallas Theological Seminary, adjudge this “Great City” to be Jerusalem and not Babylon the Great. However, the phrase “great city” is again mentioned in Revelation 16:19 (“Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.” The context in Revelation indicates that the “holy city” (Revelation 11:2) is mentioned juxtaposed to the mentioning of this “great city” in vs. 8. Clearly, we have in this astounding account the horrific spiritual and physical struggle between the holy city and the great city – between Jerusalem the Holy and Babylon the Great. “Their Lord” – i.e., the Lord of the Two Witnesses – was crucified in the Great City which “allegorically” or “spiritually” is called “Sodom and Egypt.” This great city has nothing to do with Jerusalem – for neither Sodom and Egypt (both used together) ever referred to Jerusalem. Insofar as our Lord’s crucifixion – it took place “outside the camp” – outside the city of Jerusalem: “Therefore Jesus also that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come” (Hebrews 13:12-14). Also: “. . . for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city” (John 19:20). Near is close, but not good enough – it was the Great City which crucified the Lord of Glory, not the holy city and certainly not the Holy City mentioned in Revelation 11:2 for this speaks of the 42 months, 1,260 days or the latter half of Daniel’s Seventieth Week wherein the Two Witnesses (i.e., the “holy city”) – for “they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months” (Revelation 11:2). This “treading down” of the “holy city” by the “Gentiles” – by those known as “the court of the Gentiles” clearly speaks of those Gentiles who would come to the temple, uncircumcised (not wanting to take the final step to offer up their sacrifice at the altar) but were accorded a vast area known as the “Court of the Gentiles” (not having paid the final price). . . these are the compromising Gentiles who will persecute the Two Witnesses for 3.5 days or for 42 months.
We affirm their resurrection to be at the terminus of Daniel’s Seventieth Week and that their resurrection is, in fact, the “resurrection of the just” mentioned in Daniel 12:2 which occurs immediately after “there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life” (Daniel 12:1-2). Indeed, then shall be fulfilled I Thess. 4:14-17: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” Immediately following the resurrection of the dead and their subsequent rapture, as well as the rapture of the living who remain, there will immediately “in the same hour” be “a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven” (Revelation 11:13). This earthquake is the very Wrath of Almighty God, the Wrath of the Lamb, the fall of Babylon the Great (i.e., “the city fell”) as a precursor to the Great City’s complete judgment…but it is not until the very Second Coming of Christ at the close of these “desolations” and Babylon’s final demise that we hear the conclusion of the Seventh Trumpet: “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever . . . the nations were angry, and Your wrath has come’” (Revelation 11:15, 18). It’s this particular sequence of testimony (“I will give authority to my Two Witnesses and they shall prophecy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth” – Rev. 11:3); and perseverance with suffering for Him (“they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months” – Rev. 11:2); resurrection and rapture; the judgment of the Great City Babylon; and finally, the Second Coming of Christ in Glory) that is repeated throughout the Revelation. Although we will skip other portions in the Revelation which substantiate this sequence, we will focus our greater attention upon Revelation 14, 15, and 16 – then we will conclude with Revelation 18:4. Revelation 14:6-13 – The Message of the Three Angels
Clearly, those who have led “many to righteousness” have given their testimony and it is after this that the “hour of His judgment” – the judgment of the Great City Babylon is announced – but, praise God, the “victory over the beast, his image and his mark, as well as over the number of his name” is announced, juxtaposed to those who have worshiped the beast, his image and have received his mark. Finally in this portion it elaborates upon those who have gotten the victory: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God (Israel) and the faith of Jesus (the Church)” . . . “Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.’” (Rev. 14:12-13). Attention is drawn to the Two Witnesses (Israel and the Church) – their fervent witness and testimony (many of whom have been martyred) – for their testimony has endured unto the end of the Great Tribulation…thus, “blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on” for now they may “rest from their works” which “follow them” – and then is the Wrath of God come upon the earth where there will be no rest. Revelation 14:14-16 – Reaping the Final Harvest of the Earth
Revelation 14:17-20 – Reaping for “The Great Winepress of the Wrath of God” Finally, the judgment is meted out after this great end-times harvest. This harvest is altogether dissimilar to Revelation 14:14-16 – for “another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire (judgment), and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, ‘Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.’ So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the Wrath of God . . . and the winepress was trampled OUTSIDE THE CITY (i.e., the Great City – similar to “outside the city” used in John 19:20)” (Rev. 14:18-20a).
Revelation 15:1-8 – the Victory of the Saints over the Beast, his Image, his Mark and his Number! Some Bibles announce this chapter in the Revelation as “Prelude to the Bowl Judgments.” In other words, this chapter is an introduction, perhaps highlighting what the “Seven Angels having the Seven Last Plagues” is all about. For one – we are going to connect the Seven Angels/Seven Last Plagues or Judgments to “the wrath of God” (Revelation 15:1). We are discussing how the “Wrath of God is complete.” By the time the Seventh Angel pours out the Seventh Plague from the seventh Vial or Bowl – then and then only would the “Wrath of God” be complete. But before we can disclose the magnitude of the “Bowl Judgments” we view a cosmic scene of staggering import: “And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire” (vs. 2) – the “sea of glass” is naught but the heavenly throne room of God Almighty (Revelation 4:6) but it is “mingled with fire” which clearly indicates that judgment is pending from the throne room of the Almighty (Revelation 1:14; 4:5; 8:5, 7-8; 10:1; 11:5; 14:10, 18; 16:8; 17:16; 18:8; 19:20; 20:9-10, 14-15; 21:8). But our attention is drawn to “those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of the name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God” (Revelation 15:2). From where do these hail? How did they get there before the “throne of God and the Lamb?” In Revelation 7:9-17 is the description of a vast multitude “which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” The question is asked by one of the 24 Elders before the Throne: “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” The answer is given: “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:9-17 excerpts). Since both of these vast multitudes are clearly within the Throne Room of God Almighty within the Revelation – it is not a quantum leap to conclude that those of Revelation 15:1-2 are those of Revelation 7:9-17 – i.e., “the one who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” These are the same individuals who have triumphed over the political system of Babylon the Great (“those who have the victory over the beast”); have triumphed over the False Prophet’s religious apostasy known as Mystery Babylon (“over his image”); have triumphed over Babylon the Great’s commercial exploitation (“over his mark”); and, finally, a most interesting statement: “over the number of his name.” This last statement (“over the number of his name”) is directly related to “the number of his name” or “the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666” (Revelation 13:17-18). Although Babylon the Great is a “trinity” in its “construction” – Political, Religious and Commercial, the emphasis of those who have the “victory” includes the victory “over the number of his name” (i.e., the Beast’s number which is equal to 666). Much has been said and spoken about this number and its apparent hidden meaning; however, the one to which I adhere to is closer to that of Tom Horn and Rense and was disclosed in fairly copious detail to me by one of our readers now living in New Zealand. Rob and Heather Berger connected the dots so well – and, along with Tom Horn’s descriptions of Osiris and Gilgamesh (Apollyon Rising) and the connection they have with our nemesis, Nimrod, of Tower of Babel fame – the possibility very much exists that the “Beast” could well be (based on more recent discoveries of ancient tombs in both Egypt and Iraq – See: Babylon Rising 2012) Nimrod’s DNA (as bizarre as it may sound) inserted into the body of a man destined to be the Antichrist, who, through the Abomination of Desolation, is likewise incarnated by Satan himself (“as Satan entered into Judas” – Luke 22:3 – and was known by Jesus as the “son of perdition” – John 17:12 – which also Paul entitled as the Antichrist, “the son of perdition” – II Thess. 2:3 – and is announced as “the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is one of the seven, and is going into perdition” (i.e., “destruction”) – Revelation 17:11) – i.e., “going into the Antichrist to become the Beast, the “eighth king.”
It is without question that all those who take the “mark of the Beast” are marked for “destruction” – their bodies have been taken over by a contagion of immense consequence wherein all possibility of redemption is removed (Revelation 14:10-11) – these “sons of perdition” “shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation….he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb…and the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
Suffice it to say – there is both a spiritual and physical phenomenon going on here in the devolution of the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition and all those who take his mark, the number of a man. If you would, a satanic metamorphosis takes place within their bodies doing irreparable damage to their human spirits and constituting them all to perdition. This is the victory party going on before the Throne of God and the Lamb that we see in Revelation 15. Likewise, these Two Witnesses who have come out of Great Tribulation – yea, those against whom “the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them” – have gloriously overcome. The phrase “make war” (Grk. πȯλɛµον/polemon or πȯλɛµος/polemos) is not something used by the Greeks to connote a mere skirmish or a small struggle between two individuals or even small groups of individuals - it is taken from the Greek word πέλοµαɩ (pelomai) which means WARFARE – a series of battles – no mere tussle between super heroes but between masses of peoples – between the Gentiles who will “tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months” and “the two olive trees and the two lampstands” (i.e., the Beast vs. Israel and the Church – Revelation 11:1, 4, 7). But the scene in Revelation 15 has the victorious ones singing “the song of Moses, the servant of God (Israel), and the song of the Lamb" (the Church) – and, at the end of their song they exclaim: “For Your judgments have been manifested.” They alert the universe in a cosmic display before the Throne of God that He Who sits upon the Throne is worthy as the King of Saints to mete/pour out judgment upon the earth at this time. Note: They are in the heavens – not on the earth at this time. Judgment – divine judgment upon Babylon the Great will not take place unless and until the victorious ones are before the Throne of God and the Lamb. Then we hear the most glorious statement having to do with divine judgment ever recorded: “After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the WRATH OF GOD who lives forever and ever. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed” (Revelation 15:5-8).
It is from the innermost sanctuary (i.e., “the temple (lit. “sanctuary” or “inner shrine”) of the tabernacle of the testimony”) that judgment is justified. Brethren, man is a spirit, soul and body. The Israelites in the wilderness had the “tabernacle of the testimony” and Solomon’s Temple replicated the three distinct sections of that Tabernacle/Temple: The Outer Court (the body), the Holy Place (soul) and the Holy of Holies (spirit). Man’s spirit experiences the rebirth/regeneration of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-8) – man’s soul is transformed and man’s body is transfigured. God’s work begins in man’s innermost sanctuary, his human spirit, his inner man. Our fellowship with the Almighty takes place within the deepest part of our being – “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:16-17). Our victory over principalities and powers, over Babylon the Great, is wrought in us by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit – this inner work of the Almighty within our hearts (“having their chests girded with golden bands”) is the victory wrought in us by the transforming (golden bands) Life of Christ in the believer – God’s judgments are predicated upon the work of Christ in us, the Hope of Glory! It is not an outward, religious system which keeps our hearts and minds – but the “power of an endless Life” that enables us to “overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony” (Revelation 12:11). Then and only then can the bowls of the Wrath of God be poured out. Revelation 16 – The Seven Bowls and the Coming of the Lord
“And Great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath” (Revelation 16:19). The Seven Angels pour their Seven Bowls of the Wrath of God “upon the earth” – “GO AND POUR OUT THE BOWLS OF THE WRATH OF GOD ON THE EARTH” (Revelation 16:1). Specifically, “upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image” (Rev. 16:2). “True and righteous are Your judgments” – for “You have judged these things…for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink…For it is their just due” (Revelation 16:7, 6). Listen, God Almighty is not playing games here – these statements may strike fear into your heart if you know not Him Who sits on the Throne – but better to “overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony” than to perish and fall under the Wrath of God! Outrageous – again and again – the earthlings (not the saints and prophets) – “did not repent of their deeds” (Revelation 16:11). “Their” testimony culminates in the Battle of Armageddon and Great Babylon’s final judgment – AT THIS TIME! The “their” here are the “three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the Dragon, out of the mouth of the Beast, and out of the mouth of the False Prophet” (Revelation 16:13). Yes, their vile testimony – the Satanic Trinity – the anti-type of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – i.e., the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet. Indeed, these “frogs” are “spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:14).
Overwhelmingly, we are convinced, that the Seventh Bowl’s outpouring is the judgment of Babylon – and “out of the temple of heaven, from the throne” comes “a loud voice” saying: “It is done!” (Revelation 16:17). What is done? Babylon’s judgment. “There were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a GREAT EARTHQUAKE (the same great earthquake recorded in Revelation 11:13, 19; 6:12), such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth” (Revelation 16:18). Again, these are the “days of vengeance” – the final “days of desolation” – the THIRTY DAYS of God’s Wrath poured out upon the Desolator and his Great Babylon – the Devil’s Masterpiece (Daniel 12:11). The saints of the Most High at the conclusion of the Great Tribulation (i.e., the final 3.5 days, 1,260 days, 42 months, time, times and half a time – yes, the last three-and-one-half years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week) have either resurrected/raptured or the Remnant of Israel has been preserved to herald Messiah’s Coming (“Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord, Hosanna” – Matthew 23:39; Daniel 12:12). “And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1b). Now, we hear these words from the mouth of the Lamb, our Lord Jesus: “Behold, I am coming as a thief, Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame” (Revelation 16:15). This is spoken just before you hear these words: “And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon” – in preparation of Great Babylon’s judgment (Revelation 16:16).
The victorious ones are in heaven before the Throne of God and the Lamb – they are not upon the earth for Babylon’s Judgment – and judged she is: “Now the great city was divided into THREE PARTS [the false trinity – Dragon, Beast and False Prophet – and their Masterpiece: Religious, Commercial and Political Babylon the Great], and the cities of the nations fell. And GREAT BABYLON was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great” (Revelation 16:19-21). Astounding – “Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail!” So hardened are the hearts of these degenerates – they are “destined to wrath” – and so at the very close of the 1,290 days Babylon the Great is destroyed. Revelation 17-19 simply goes into further detail as to her destruction and judgment. The themes of testimony, repentance, salvation, persecution, overcoming, deliverance, perseverance, resurrection/rapture and ultimate judgment are repeated again and again throughout the Revelation
In keeping with the preponderance of Scriptures heretofore discussed – there is little doubt that Revelation 17-19 takes place inside the confines of the Wrath of God – the saints have been taken out of Babylon the Great – transported via Resurrection and Rapture upon the “sea of glass mingled with fire” – they are standing before the Throne of God and the Lamb (Revelation 15:2). Revelation 18:4 simply tells us that Babylon’s destruction has awaited until the very end of the Seventieth Week of Daniel’s prophecy; unto the final thirty days of desolations as found in Daniel 12:11. What is recorded in Revelation 18:4 is a continuous refrain throughout Scripture to God’s ancient people, Israel – they are enjoined to “flee Babylon.” However, the “essence” of Revelation 18:4 is akin to the Almighty’s deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt – “when we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt” (Numbers 20:16). It is not that we in our own strength and ability can manage to escape Babylon’s imprint upon this fallen system which has permeated the entire earth – “And all the world marveled and followed the Beast” (Revelation 13:3). They who aspire to “flee” to Canada – to Columbia – to the Philippines – to wherever – have completely missed the mark. Who will deliver us from evil? Our Father Who is in heaven, that’s Who! Revelation 18:4 is set deep within the context of Babylon’s ultimate demise – what the Almighty declares here is simply this: Come up out of Babylon…I am about to judge her for her sins with my righteous judgments – justified by those of you who have testified against her and her abominations – you have overcome the Beast, the Second Beast and his Image, and the Mark of the Beast and the Number of the Beast – now, I will deliver you by My strong hand PRIOR to pouring out My wrath upon Babylon the Great! Forgive me for putting words into the mouth of the Almighty – however, that is precisely what He is saying and going to do on that Day of Judgment. You think you can flee Babylon on your own? You think you can escape her judgments on your own? I don’t have the time to wish you luck because you’re so arrogant to think you can escape the inescapable on your own when Babylon’s tentacles envelop the earth! Not only is your timing off, your brain is off – it is impossible to reason with a fool who believes that by moving to Outer Slabovia that somehow they have escaped Babylon the Great. Try getting Babylon out of your own heart before you attempt to get brethren out of Babylon proper. Grant it, living over a tavern does not make one an alcoholic any more than every bartender I meet is an alcoholic. Alas! Did not Daniel stay in Babylon and supernaturally and with a contrite heart gave testimony to the Lord God Almighty?
God will not waste His grace upon our stupid conjectures of torture and persecution – He will abundantly strengthen us when we need to be strengthened to “endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” Our dear brother, Pastor Wally, who for seventy days and seventy nights was tortured beyond belief for his faith in our Lord Jesus in the middle of one of the worst prisons on earth – sentence to have his head cut off unless he renounced Christ by the Supreme Muslim Council of Saudi Arabia, refused to deny his Lord and Savior – did he have any idea what awaited him after they kidnapped him and commenced their torture? Of course not. Did not fear grip his heart? Yes, a thousand times – but the angels of the Lord came into his exhaustion – into the prison house and ministered grace to him. Eventually, by His strong hand – the Lord miraculously delivered Pastor Wally and set him free – though he was free inside because Christ said to him: “Wally, greater am I within you, than he that is in the world – My grace is sufficient for you – for my strength is made perfect in your weakness.” Brethren, did not Dietrich Bonheoffer’s testimony – to this day – ring out throughout Nazi Germany in its darkest hour? A thousand times YES. Was he sufficient for the torture which awaited him? Of course not; but did he deny his Lord and Savior – NEVER! His death at the Flossenburg concentration camp in 1945 is a remarkable testimony to true discipleship and conformity to the image of Christ. “The ultimate question for a responsible man to ask is not how he is to extricate himself heroically from the affair, but how the coming generation shall continue to live.” — Dietrich Bonheoffer, After Ten Years (December 1942) His was not to flee Babylon – to “extricate himself heroically from the affair” – for he realized that his life could only have meaning and purpose for the next “generation” – to demonstrate to them a life lived sold out to the Savior. Yes, it cost him his all. You may criticize his suppercessionism relative to the Jew (theologically) or his apparent complicity in the assassination of Hitler; however, given the rank liberalism and traditional confessions of the German Church – both confessions – Catholic and Protestant – his stand for Christ was altogether remarkable and left an awesome testimony in the midst of Europe’s darkest hour. We conclude this rather conflicted content – from sordid policy discretions currently imposed by Babylon’s immediate and perhaps ultimate carrier of the creed held by the Antichrist-Beast and the False Prophet, whose deceitful craft even now can be heard throughout the earth, with our beloved Corrie ten Boom; whose life in tribulation is well known – but who overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of her testimony and was willing to love not her life unto the death…. Corrie ten Boom (1892 – 1983) . . . . . . . . . .
“He that overcometh shall inherit all things: and I will be His God, and he shall be My son.” This is the future and hope of this world. Not that the world will survive – but that we shall be Overcomers in the midst of a dying world. Betsy and I, in the concentration camp, prayed that God would heal Betsy who was so weak and sick. “Yes, the Lord will heal me,” Betsy said with confidence.
There are some among us teaching there will be no tribulation, that the Christians will be able to escape all this. These are the false teachers that Jesus was warning us to expect in the latter days. Most of them have little knowledge of what is already going on across the world. I have been in countries where the saints are already suffering terrible persecution.
"We have failed. I feel I have a divine mandate to go and tell the people of this world that it is possible to be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in training for the tribulation, but more than sixty percent of the Body of Christ across the world has already entered into the tribulation. There is no way to escape it. We are next.
When I was in the concentration camp, a camp where only twenty percent of the women came out alive, we tried to cheer each other up by saying, "Nothing could be any worse than today." But we would find the next day was even worse. During this time a Bible verse that I had committed to memory gave me great hope and joy. "If ye be reproached for the name
of Christ, happy are ye; I found myself saying, "Hallelujah!
In America, the churches sing, "Let the congregation escape tribulation", but in China and Africa the tribulation has already arrived. This last year alone more than two hundred thousand Christians were martyred in Africa. Now things like that never get into the newspapers because they cause bad political relations. But I know. I have been there. We need to think about that when we sit down in our nice houses with our nice clothes to eat our steak dinners. Many, many members of the Body of Christ are being tortured to death at this very moment, yet we continue right on as though we are all going to escape the tribulation. How can we get ready for the persecution? First we need to feed on the Word of God, digest it, make it a part of our being. This will mean disciplined Bible study each day as we not only memorize long passages of scripture, but put the principles to work in our lives. Next we need to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Not just the Jesus of yesterday, the Jesus of History, but the life-changing Jesus of today who is still alive and sitting at the right hand of God. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is no optional command of the Bible, it is absolutely necessary. Those earthly disciples could never have stood up under the persecution of the Jews and Romans had they not waited for Pentecost. Each of us needs our own personal Pentecost, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We will never be able to stand in the tribulation without it. In the coming persecution we must be ready to help each other and encourage each other. But we must not wait until the tribulation comes before starting. The fruit of the Spirit should be the dominant force of every Christian's life. Many are fearful of the coming tribulation, they want to run. I, too, am a little bit afraid when I think that after all my eighty years, including the horrible Nazi concentration camp that I might have to go through the tribulation also.
When I am weak, then I shall be strong, the Bible says. Betsy and I were prisoners for the Lord, we were so weak, but we got power because the Holy Spirit was on us. That mighty inner strengthening of the Holy Spirit helped us through. No, you will not be strong in yourself when the tribulation comes. Rather, you will be strong in the power of Him who will not forsake you. For seventy-six years I have known the Lord Jesus and not once has He ever left me, or let me down. "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him", (Job 13:15) For
I know that to all who overcome, - Corrie Ten Boom - 1974 | |||
