It's the End of the World As We Know It: The 144,000

Then I looked and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father's name written on their foreheads.  And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder.  The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.  And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders.  No one could learn the song except for the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.  These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure.  They follow the Lamb wherever He goes.  They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.  No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless (14:1-5).

This is one of the more enigmatic passages of the Scriptures.  I love the Bible, don't get me wrong, but every so often there's a passage that frustrates me, and this is one of them.  Why? Oh, let us count the ways. . . .

All joking aside, this is a fairly bizarre interlude, mostly because it has no place in any of the narratives - the 144,000 haven't shown up prior (we'll look at that in a moment), and they do not appear to show up again; they are simply here, and with no explanation at all.

Now, having said that, there are many who say that this group of people is the same group of 144,000 Messianic Jews who show up in Chapter 7 (vs. 1-8), but other than the number, there is no reason to believe that.  There is nothing in the text of Chapter 7 that indicates that the Jews who accept Jesus during this time were sexually pure and completely honest.  Nothing.  And there is nothing in this text to indicate that these men are Jews.  Again, nothing.  So there is very, very little foundation for making this assumption.

Now let's talk about their characters.  We're not told much, but what we're told is pretty loaded.  The first thing we're told is that they had not defiled themselves with women.  I'm not sure whether this means they were celibate (though sex in a Godly marriage-covenant is certainly not defiling), or that they had somehow managed to avoid all forms of sexual immorality.  My Bible commentary says that it's "symbolic," and means they had not defiled themselves with the idolatrous world system of the Beast.  The thing with that, of course, is that if this is symbolic, then "they follow the Lamb wherever He goes" would also be symbolic.  So would, "purchased from among men," and "offered as firstfruits."  They also would not actually be found without lies, and would not be considered blameless, which renders this entire description of them a moot point, because none of it would actually be descriptive; undefined and unexplained symbols are completely useless.  The easiest explanation, therefore, is that John wrote what he meant, and he meant what he wrote.  These were clearly men who were absolutely, one hundred percent devoted to God during their lives.

Now, we see that they are on Mount Zion, with Jesus.  I don't know if it's physical - at which point we're looking at a point in time after Christ has returned, or if John is seeing something in the spiritual realm, at which point this could be at any time.  It is also interesting that we are told that they sing their new song "before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders" (3).  This would indicate that they were also present in the throne room of God (see Chapter 4).  My guess - and that's all this is - is that these are 144,000 specific, very special people who have lived and died over the many centuries, and, having returned with Christ when He sets up His kingdom (or been resurrected at the final judgment), they stand on Mount Zion, singing their unique song in praise of Jesus.

On a side note, I'm a big Rich Mullins fan, so when I hear that this is a "new song" that roars like "rushing waters" or a "loud peal of thunder," and sounds "like that of harpists playing their harps," I sort of hope this is a new Mullins song, being sung to a rock ensemble of hammered dulcimers.  Wishful thinking, no doubt, but still a cool idea.

I know this is short, and relatively unhelpful, in terms of interpretation, but the fact is that I cannot interpret the Scriptures beyond what they say.  I can offer a guess, certainly, and I can form a reasonable guess based on what little information we have, but that's all I can do.  If any of you have insight into this passage, maybe some other parts of Scripture that I have overlooked, please feel free to share that insight in the comments below!

Okay, next time, we'll take a look at the Bowls of God's Wrath.

It's the End of the World As We Know It: The Trumpet Judgments, Part 3

Hail.  Fire.  Blood.  Demons.  These are the fun things in store for those on earth during the first Six Trumpets.  And while I believe (not claiming certainty, here!) that the blast of the Seventh Trumpets follows the Rapture, what we know for certain about this Trumpet is still pretty intense.  Let's back up and put this in context:

The second woe is passed; the third woe is coming soon.

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

"The kingdom of the world has
     become the kingdom of our
     Lord and of His Christ,
and He will reign for ever and
     ever."

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying:

"We give thanks to you, Lord God
     Almighty,
   the One Who is and Who was,
because you have taken Your great
     power
   and have begun to reign.
The nations were angry;
   and Your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
   and for rewarding Your servants the
     prophets
and Your saints and those who
     reverence Your Name,
   both small and great - 
and for destroying those who destroy the earth."

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within His temple was seen the ark of His covenant.  And there came peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm (11:14-19).

The two witnesses have ascended, the "second woe" has finished, and the last trumpet sounds.  This doesn't seem particularly bad, however, because, aside from (yet another) earthquake and hailstorm, all that appears to happen is that the elders and angels in heaven break out in song, right?  What is so "woeful" about that?

Notice their song:  "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ."  Wait, that doesn't sound so bad either, right?  Isn't that what we are all waiting for?  Believers, yes, but for the world - for those who have taken the Mark of the Beast, who have set up their hopes and security in this world and it's god - the coming of Jesus is a terrible thing.

Let's take a moment and reflect on this term, "woe."  It isn't one we use much in our culture today, but what it signals is a deep, relentless anguish of the soul.  When Job lost his family, his wealth, his health, and his friends and wife all turned against him and tried to persuade him to disavow God, Job became woeful.  He lost everything, and those he trusted tried to take God from him, too.  When the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of Christ, the world will experience woe.

It's humiliating enough to be confronted with being wrong, but to be confronted by Jesus Himself, in the flesh, when you have totally rejected Him?  It's the worst kind of "I Told You So" imaginable.  But I think that what adds insult to injury is that it also heralds the series of events that lead up to Jesus' return and establishment of His Kingdom:  the Seven Bowls of God's Wrath.  Each of these bowls is specifically meant to remove power and authority from the kingdom of the Beast and bring an end to his rule.  And, just like pruning a bush means cutting out part of a living organism, pruning a person and a kingdom can be very, very painful, even if that person and that kingdom deserve to fall.  And of course, as we mentioned just a moment ago, it all leads to that the final moment when the heavens are torn open and Jesus Himself appears and says (much more eloquently, of course), "I told you so."  But all of that - every single moment of it - begins with the blowing of the Seventh Trumpet.

The last and final Trumpet of Revelation heralds the pouring out of God's Wrath on the earth.  The preceding judgments?  Just the warm-up, so to speak. The global move to Satanism, the downward spiral we see beginning even today, all of these things are shaken up and interrupted by God's Seals and Trumpets, but they are utterly destroyed - and many of the people involved with them - by a sequence of events heralded by the Seventh Trumpet.  So while it's "only" an earthquake, but mostly a song, don't pass over this Trumpet so quickly.  Let it sink in that this is the beginning of the Day of the Lord.  For those who are in Christ, it truly is an awesome, praiseworthy thing, but for the rest of mankind, it's a horrifying, terrible thing.  It is, in fact, woeful.

It's The End of the World As We Know It: The Trumpets, Part 1

One of the most common arguments people make against the accuracy of the Scriptures is that God is inconsistent between the Old and New Testaments.  God, they (always) claim, is all about wrath and judgment in the Old Testament, but suddenly He becomes all about love and grace in the New Testament, and that sort of inconsistency is unacceptable to them.  But, as is the case with inconsistencies in the Bible, there actually is no inconsistency.  God has always been, and always will be, a God of justice, and justice will always involve punishing the wicked.

But . . . God is also a consistent God of love Who offers grace as a means of fulfilling His wrath, which is poured out on Jesus, instead of the wicked.  So God's wrath (the "Old Testament God") is most visible in His greatest display of love:  the Cross.  Grace and wrath are not two opposing entities, but are very closely entwined, and God's grace can be found just as much in the Old Testament as His wrath can be found in the New Testament; the Trumpet Judgments are a clear example of God's wrath in the New Testament.  So let's back up and re-read what happens prior to the sounding of the trumpets:

When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.

Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar.  He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.  The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand.  Then the angel took the censer, filled with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.

The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth.  A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up (8:1-7).

As we looked at last time, the 144,000 Israelites were sealed so as to protect them from whatever harm would befall "the land or the sea or the trees" (7:3).  The first trumpet, which I personally believe may be the beginning of God's Judgment against the Tribulation of the Saints, does almost exactly what the angel in 7:3 predicted:  it harms the land and trees.  While some speculate that this judgment only falls on a third of the earth - hence only a third of the earth and a third of the trees being burned up - the fact that "all the green grass [will be] burned up" indicates that this fiery, bloody hail will indeed fall on the entire planet, but will "only" destroy a third of the world's forests.  At this point, I'm going to issue a magnificently large conjecture alert, and comment that this could be God's judgment against our world's ever-increasing environmental worship.  One of the mantras that has been chanted over and over and over again for decades is "Save the Trees."  Here in America, we even have a day set aside and dedicated specifically to trees.  Sounds an awful lot like worship, to me, but that's just my opinion, and I wouldn't make that the bedrock of your interpretation of Revelation.

So the First Trumpet harms the grass and the trees, right?  But wait, doesn't 7:3 specifically references the "sea" as well?  Yes, but so does the Second Trumpet.

The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea.  A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed (8:8-9).

Obviously, the Big Asteroid that astronomers keep going all Chicken Little on us about will eventually hit, and when it does, it will turn a third of the sea into blood.  Now, it's unclear whether this happens because a third of the ships - and the people on them - die, as well as a third of the sea creatures, or whether the sea turns to blood in a First Plague of Exodus sort of supernatural event.  Either way, God reveals that we really aren't in control of anything.  All of our attempts at only eating sustainable food sources, all of our attempts at removing mercury, all of our fretting over contamination, all of it comes to naught when God pours out His judgment on the earth.

I'm not suggesting we keep pouring mercury and other harmful substances into the ocean, or that we bulldoze every available piece of land in order to build yet another strip mall, but I am suggesting that protecting the environment as an expression of our worship for Mother Earth is idolatry, and for those who continue to worship false gods, these judgments will bring the global economy to a grinding halt.  It will also cause massive destruction and mayhem.  This is what makes the sealing of believing Israel so important.  Remember, part of the reason for sealing the Israelites was to protect them from these two Judgements.  But, for believers in Jesus, there will be a stark contrast when they are unharmed by the judgments, and I believe that this will be a means of preaching the Gospel and declaring God to be God (c.f. Exodus 9:16).


The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water - the name of the star is Wormwood.  A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter (8:10-11).

We should take a moment here and examine some claims that the Trumpet Judgments are largely symbolic.  This is mostly due to the fact that the third trumpet is a little hard to interpret.  There are, for instance, persistent rumors that "Wormwood" in Russian is "Chernobyl."  This has led many to believe that the "star" is actually a bomb.  Truthfully, I can see this; it makes sense . . . if it were accurate.  As it so happens, "chernobyl" translates to "mugwort," rather than "wormwood" (although, interestingly, both are part of the artemisia family, although mugwort is properly called artemisia vulgaris, whereas wormwood is artemisia absinthium - so the "chernobyl" plant is related to Wormwood, but they are not the same thing).  Also, if you are interested, "wormwood" is gorech' - bitter - in Russian.  But this is neither here, nor there.

What we know - beyond speculation - is what John tells us:

1) it's a star
2) it blazes like a torch
3) it has a name - Wormwood
4) it poisons a third of the earth's freshwater supplies

 We know what is is, what it looks like, what it does, and even what its name is.  Where the Second Trumpet was clearly a large asteroid, this is most likely a meteorite (i.e., a "shooting star").  I do not know the mechanism by which it poisons a third of the earth's fresh water, but, once more, the destruction of our so-called "fragile" environment - the environment that so many people today try to "save" - is merely a reminder that it all belongs to God anyway.  Folks, if the bedrock of your faith, if the hope you have for our future, if your most persistent worry is finding clean energy and sustainable food sources, then you need to throw out that flimsy false god that we call "the Environment," and you need to replace it with Jesus.

The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark.  A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.

As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice:  "Woe!  Woe!  Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!" (8:12-13).

Where I live, I currently have about twelve hours of light each day, depending on the season; winter is a little less, summer is a little more.  At night, we have the moon and stars to provide some light, and those usually last for twelve hours.  Imagine, then, eight hours of complete and total blackness each day, leading well into the night.  Imagine the looting that will happen during these eight hours.  Oh, and lest you think, "I'll just turn on the lights," do you think the power plants will be working after the previous three trumpets?

An alternative reading is that the light is diminished by 33% each day and night.  Better, perhaps, than the first reading, but would you want it to be dusk all day, every day?  It would be absolutely maddening to be able to see, but not to be able to see well enough to do anything.  And night would be virtually impossible.  It would be like going blind.  You know, upon reflection, I think this reading is worse than the first interpretation.

But the most alarming part is the eagle, telling us all that things are going to get worse.

Worse than fire, blood, and hail raining out of the sky.  Worse than watching all of the grass burn up.  Worse than the largest forest fires anyone has ever seen.  Worse than the smoke that comes with those.  Worse than an asteroid plummeting into the sea.  Worse than the stench of rotting sea life.  Worse than the loss of ships and their crews.  Worse than the tsunamis that will inevitably follow.  Worse than losing the earth's freshwater supplies.  Worse than rampant looting, or "going blind" but still being able to see.

Folks, are you looking for legislators to save us through their laws and regulations?  Are you looking for us to save ourselves through recycling and "going green?"  Are you counting on the earth being here for future generations, as long as we take action immediately to save it?

God is the God of our earth.  He does not bend to its will, but it bends to His, and the first four trumpets of Revelation prove it.

"You shall have no other gods besides Me" (Exodus 20:3).
 
      

It's the End of the World As We Know It: The Antichrist, Part 3

I realize that at the beginning of this series, I said it would be "quick."  I also realize that it has not been "quick."  I had no real intentions of misleading anyone, but I truly did not believe I would have to spend three posts on just the Antichrist (wait until we get to the Rapture!  Ha ha!  Just kidding.).  However, it would be a great disservice to gloss over the Scriptures in an effort to give a quick summary of the Beast.  Why?  Because there is so much information out there - there is so much misinformation out there - that things can get really confusing if we're presented with a quick summary, and then left to wade through massive amounts of interpretation; it's how we end up becoming convinced that Jesus specifically named Barak Obama as the Antichrist.

With that being said, I want to wrap up this part of the series with a closer look at the personality of the Antichrist, as well the world religion that he enforces.  And, yes, there is some speculation involved, due to the very nature of apocalyptic literature.  Again, though, I'm trying to keep this speculation out of the realm of prediction, and more in the realm of recognition.  This is not an exercise in naming the Antichrist, but a record for posterity, so that when he arises, people can see it.  Remember:  there is a resurrection ahead, and it is by this, I believe, we can truly know who the Beast is.  Because a lot of the characteristics we're going to look at in this post can easily be applied to Obama.  Or the Pope.  Or the French President.

Or the Queen of England.

Or John F. Kennedy.

Or Hitler.

But none of these people have been killed by a fatal sword wound to the head (bullet, yes; sword, no), and none of them have died and been resurrected.  At least not yet.  I truly do not believe we can point to anyone today and say, "This is him."  I do believe, however, that when the events begin to unfold, we will be able to look at those events and say, "Now, this is him."

To be fair, Jesus did tell us to watch and be ready:

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 let his house be broken into.  So you must also be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect him (Matthew 24:42).

When you see 'the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong - let the reader understand - then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains . . . So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time (Mark 13:14; 23). 

"Be dressed and ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.  It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes.  I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.  It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.  But understand this:  If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.  You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him (Luke 12:35-40).


He told them this parable:  "Look at the fig tree and all the trees.  When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.  Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near . . . For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.  Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:29-31; 35-36).

What I don't believe Jesus meant by "watch" was for us to stand in the middle of the street and stare at the sky all day.  He clearly gives us signs to watch for (e.g., Matthew 24-25; Mark 13).  However, I don't think that is for us to spend our time trying to "solve a puzzle."  Jesus' final command in Matthew 28 and Acts 1 is to be His witnesses:  witnesses to His life, death, and resurrection; witnesses to how He has changed our lives.  It is not to sit at our computers and scour the internet for the latest "Could-CERN-be-the-opening-of-the-Abyss-in-Revelation-Nine" theory.  Part of the above passages that I didn't include involved Jesus telling His disciples that the servants who are busy doing their work when the master returns are the good, honest, and elected servants.  Those who are wasting their lives doing nothing because they don't take the master of the house seriously will be cast out with the unbelievers.  Jesus' point in giving these signs - even the ones in Revelation - are not for us to sit around and try to predict what's coming next.  Rather, they were for us to be able to see and say, "Yep, this is what He talked about, so His return must be soon."

Look, I've had to repent of trying to "figure things out" myself; I've gotten caught up in it, too.  But the Scriptures are not given to us in order that we may focus on the world, but on Christ.  And, truthfully, that's the point of the book of Revelation.  We'll see in a few posts that things get bad on earth.  We've already seen that things get bad.  But the common thread throughout the book is that, no matter how bad things get, God is still God, and Jesus wins.

And the Beast is not Jesus, though he very well may claim to be.

Jesus says that many will come, claiming to be Him, and over the years we've seen a few.  But there will come a time when someone resurrects from the dead and begins a faith of self-worship.  He appoints a prophet to perform miraculous signs, he has an idol built in his image that also performs miraculous signs.  It is probably not a stretch to say that he will claim to be the long-awaited Messiah.

Do not believe him, for his claims are built on lies and deceptions:

[The angel] gave me this explanation: . . . The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom.  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.  The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time (Daniel 7:23; 24-25).

While it's unclear what "the set times and the laws" specifically refer to, the gist is clear:  he will attempt to change the very nature of life.  He will, at the same time, by the way, also be committing genocide.


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.

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.  It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them.  It set itself up as great as the Prince of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of His sanctuary was brought low.  Because of rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it.  It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground . . . 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 men 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 8:8-12; 23-25).

Notice the arrogance.  Notice the lies.  Notice that, once people begin to feel secure under his reign, he turns and destroys many.

The 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, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.  Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.  He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him.  He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price (Daniel 11:36; 37-39).


Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for [the Day of the Lord] will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.  He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

"The king will do as he pleases," sounds an awful lot like a dictatorship.  He'll also destroy you if you don't worship him (yep, dictator)  He will be a self-worshiping, murderous, arrogant, prideful, Satanically-empowered dictator.  Do not fall for his lies, do not buy into his religion, no matter how impressive he may seem.  I'm telling you right now so you can identify him when he shows up:  he will come back from the dead.

But he is not God, and there is only one Messiah.  He will set himself up as such, but he is not.  Wait, you may ask, Jesus set himself up as God, and he supposedly "rose from the dead," so what's the difference?

Jesus never forces anyone to worship Him.  He invites:  "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

He loves:  "No one will die for a good man, though for a righteous man, some might possibly die.  But God demonstrates His love for us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:7-8).


The same cannot be said for the Beast.  Let's take a closer look at the religion and world government that the Beast institutes.

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.  The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion.  The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.  One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.  The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.  Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast?  Who can make war against him?"

The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.  He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.  He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them.  And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.  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.

He who has an ear, let him hear.

If anyone is to go into captivity,
   into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the
   sword,
      with the sword he will be killed.

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.

Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth.  He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon (Revelation 13:1-11).

 We've seen the arrival of the first beast, but now we see the arrival of a second beast.  The "two horns like a lamb" indicate an appearance of innocence - perhaps even holiness - but his words are lies coming straight from Satan ("like a dragon").

He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.  And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men (13:12-13).

His fire trick is not an illusion.  It's not some sort of Chris Angel-like camera trick (you do know that Angel uses mostly camera tricks, right?).  It's a supernatural event that convinces people to worship the Beast. 

Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth.  He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.  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 (13:14-15).

Idolatry.  Most people today (Hindus and Buddhists excluded) would scoff at the idea of worshiping a statue.  But idolatry has been around for centuries, and it hasn't truly gone anywhere.  There is no real reason to think it can't make an even bigger comeback.  In fact, we're told it will. And we're also told that failure to worship this image receives the death penalty.

If you don't convert - from your Buddhism, your Hinduism, your atheism, your Scientology, your Islam, your Judaism, your Catholicism, your Protestantism - you die.  That's the kind of "peaceful messiah" the world is going to deal with.

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls [see  Revelation 16] came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on  many waters.  With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries. 

Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert.  There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.  The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls.  She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and with the filth of her adulteries.  This title was written on her forehead:

MYSTERY

BABYLON THE GREAT

THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES

AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH

I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.

When I saw her, I was greatly astonished (Revelation 17:1-6).

Greatly astonished is right.  Pretty weird stuff, eh?  A whore on a beast.  She's drunk with blood.  She's obviously wealthy (business is good, I guess).  Kings of the earth sleep with her, and everyone else gets drunk off of the blood in her cup.  On the surface, this is gruesome and . . . baffling.  Now, fortunately, the rest of the chapter goes into more detail for us, but for now, let's just look at the Old Testament for a second.

Throughout the Old Testament, idolatry is equated with prostitution.  In Exodus 34, God tells Israel not to marry with the nations around her, because they will "prostitute themselves to their gods" (34:15-16). 

In Ezekiel, God compares the nation of Israel to a woman who prostitutes herself to "male idols" (Ezekiel 16).  Yes, you are interpreting that correctly.  In chapter 23, He compares the two kingdoms of Israel to young girls who allowed "their breasts [to be] fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed" (23).

The book of Hosea, which tells of Hosea's marriage to an adulterous wife, acts as an allegory for God's relationship with his idolatrous Israel.  In chapter 3, God even tells Hosea, "'Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress.  Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes'" (3:1, and, sorry, I'm not going into "the sacred raisin cakes" right now).  There are other examples, and even in the New Testament, idolatry and temple prostitution were sometimes connected (e.g., I Corinthians).

For John to use this image of a prostitute on a beast, he is undoubtedly referring to a religion of idolatry.  Couple this with the fact that her nature is a "mystery" [which probably refers to the "mystery religions" of ancient (and modern-day) cultures], and her title is Babylon the Great (see Daniel 3), John is no doubt referring to the religion we read about earlier in chapter 13.  At the time, however, he had no idea what he was seeing.

Luckily for him (and us), it's explained:

Then the angel said to me, "Why are you astonished?  I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns.  The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction.  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.

This calls for a mind with wisdom.  The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits.  They are also seven kings.  Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for 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.

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."

Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.  The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute.  They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.  For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish His purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled.  The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth  (17:7-18).

Okay, so maybe "explained" is too strong of a word.   Defined is a more appropriate word, I suppose.  Now, I'm going to have to speculate some, but I'll try to remain as close to the text as possible.

First, it seems a fairly safe assumption that the beast the woman rides is the same beast in Revelation 13.  Both have ten horns, both have seven heads, and this beast "once was, now is not, and yet will come," while the beast in chapter 13 had a fatal wound that was healed.  Also, in both cases, the world is astonished at these beasts, and follows them.  So while John does not explicitly state that they are one and the same, I think it's fairly safe to assume that they are.

One thing of interest to note is that the beast has seven heads, which stand for the "seven hills upon which the woman sits."  Most scholars believe this refers to Rome, because Rome has long been referred to as "The City on the Seven Hills."  To be fair, there is also a city in Ohio that has the same name, but I doubt Ohio will be the headquarters of the Antichrist and his false religion.

I could be wrong.

According to some, the city itself is called "Babylon the Great."  While Babylon was a city, it was also a nation and an empire.  Revelation 17 also connects the name, not with a specific city, but with the prostitute, or false religion.  Let's be clear:  she is called "Babylon the Great," but she sits on the City of the Seven Hills.  Go back and reread the whole chapter if you need to.

Now that you've done that, you'll notice something.  The last verse calls her "the city."  And you thought understanding this would be easy. . . .

This has caused lots of people to speculate that the ancient city of Babylon will be rebuilt (in fact, Saddam Hussein was actively rebuilding the ruins during his reign).  But here's the thing:  Babylon doesn't sit on seven hills, nor has it ever been called "The City on the Seven Hills."  Rome, on the other hand, does sit on seven hills.  And while the prostitute does represent a city, her nature is one of an idolatrous religion full of greed, opulence, and violence, as we've already seen.  So while she represents a city, and her name is "Babylon the Great," I don't think that's meant to be the name of the city.  Rather, the city is Rome, but it's very heart is a callback to the occult religions of Ancient Babylon, most notably idolatry.  This makes sense in light of the "image of the beast" set up in Revelation 13.  Again, though, keep in mind that this is speculation, and Babylon could be rebuilt (but then we still have the Seven Hills Problem, so . . . no). 

All of this has led some to speculate that "Rome" actually refers to The Vatican, and that Catholicism will morph into an openly Satanic, occult religion whose "savior" is the Beast.  There's some circumstantial evidence, to be sure.  The Pope, for one, has taken a solemn charge to uphold the Scriptures, and yet he undermines them at every opportunity.  Part of Babylonian religion involved sun-worship, and the sun is an image found throughout a vast majority of the Vatican.  The last thing we need, however, is an anti-Catholic crusade, so hear me well:  I certainly disagree with Catholicism on more than one issue, I certainly disagree with Pope Francis on just about every issue, and the Vatican may very well be a large part of this New World Order/Antichrist system that is coming.

But we don't know that.  Not for certain.

So please don't begin persecuting Catholics because you think they may be secret Satanists.  Please don't burn down local Catholic churches because you want to stop the Mystery Religion of Revelation.  It's not our job to persecute, and we can't stop this from happening.  It is our job to be and to make disciples of Jesus.  There are many in the Catholic Church who love Jesus.  They may have some heretical theology, but we all have some of that to varying degrees.  If you have Catholic friends who love Jesus but have some "off" beliefs about the Scriptures, do you know what you should do?

Disciple them.

Not sure if some of your beliefs are Scriptural?

Be a disciple.

Certain that all of your beliefs are Scriptural?

Be a disciple, anyway.

Our job as believers is not to look down on the world, but to reach down and lead them to Jesus.  I don't care if your friends and family are atheists, Muslims, Hindus, Catholics, Protestants, or even fellow disciples, our job is twofold:  to follow Jesus, and point to Him with everything in our lives in order that others may follow Him, too.  This is the essence of the Great Commission, and the core of Jesus' last words to His disciples:  "And you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

It's the End of the World As We Know It: The Antichrist, Part 2

So why is the Antichrist (or the Beast, as he's actually called in the Bible) such a big deal?  In other words, why are so many Christians so obsessed with "figuring out" who he will be?

Truthfully, we shouldn't be.  We are given certain signs to look for (like the passage in Daniel, and the passages we're going to look at in this post), but they aren't given so that we can try and decipher any particular hidden code.  The signs are given to us so that, as Jesus put it, we can watch and be ready.  In other words, it's not about predicting, but recognizing.  And why should we be able to recognize him?  Two reasons:  first, be ready for the Return of Christ.  Secondly, it's so we can point to events and certain signs in order to share the Gospel.  The key to that, of course, is pointing to the actual signs, not our interpretations of those signs.

Which brings me to one of my all-time favorite examples of interpretation gone awry.  I saw a video on Youtube several months ago that claimed that Jesus Himself gave us the name of the coming Beast.  It cited Luke 10:18:  "He [Jesus] replied, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.'"  Now, I'm going to go through their argument the way they went through it, as if it were undeniable truth.  I must admit, it's a convincing argument.  But only up to a point, which I will deconstruct after I've presented their case.

So here's what they point out.  Luke was written in Greek, but Jesus would not have been speaking Greek, right?  He was a Jew.  Greek was reserved for conversations with the Romans and other Gentiles, but Jesus would not have been speaking to His disciples in Greek; we need to look at the Hebrew meaning of the words, not the Greek.

In Hebrew, the word for lightning is baraq.  Now, the word for "heaven" is a little more difficult, because there are two Hebrew words that can be translated "heaven," but only one word in Greek.  In Greek, ouranos can refer to one of two "heavens":  the sky and the universe (the domain of Satan, as Paul calls them in Ephesians 2); or Heaven, where God's throne is located.  Now, in Hebrew, the word for "sky" is shamayim, but the word for High Places or highest heavens is . . . ready?  Bama.  Now, as in most other languages, the word we translate as "like" can also be translated as "as."  So Jesus is saying, in Hebrew, that He sees Satan falling "as Baraq Bama."

Jesus named our current president as the future embodiment of Satan.  Mind blown, right?

And the wording is solid; you can look it up yourselves.  The Hebrew is absolutely accurate here.  Which is the problem, because Jesus wouldn't have been speaking Hebrew.  The language in that region at that time was Aramaic, which, while related to Hebrew, is different enough that baraq bama becomes birqunn shamaya.  Not exactly our President's name, is it?

Secondly, even if He were speaking Hebrew, we would have no idea which word for "heaven" He is using.  It could be bama, but not necessarily.  Of course, it doesn't really matter, because, as I noted a second ago, the verse would have been in Aramaic.  Either way, bama is thrown out the window, too.

Lastly, within the context of the Scripture, Jesus' naming of the Beast makes no sense.  At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples to go to the villages and towns and proclaim the Gospel.  They return, excited and amazed, because not only did people accept the Gospel, but the disciples saw people healed in Jesus' name, and, more amazing to them, they inform Him that, "'Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your Name'" (10:17), to which Jesus replies, "'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.'"  He continues, "'I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.  However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven'" (10:19-20).

In context, the way it is translated, the passage makes sense.  "Man, Jesus, even demons submit to us in Your Name!"

"Satan will even fall like lightning from heaven.  I have given you authority to proclaim My Gospel, and nothing can harm you without My permission.  But you should really be more excited that you are Mine, than that you have authority over demons."

Makes sense.  The way this video interprets it, though, makes no sense at all.  Check it out:

"Man, Jesus, even demons submit to us in Your Name!"

"Satan will embody someone named Barak Obama.  I have given you authority to proclaim My Gospel, and nothing can harm you without My permission.  But you should really be more excited that you are Mine, than that you have authority over demons."  Okay, I admit that Jesus could be cryptic at times, but that's just bizarre - the interpretation, when put in context, makes no sense.

Do you see what I mean about interpretation gone awry?  We must always, always put passages within their context.  I'm not against speculation, but speculation that removes and ignores Scripture is both wrong and, potentially, dangerous.  As I said before, I will say again:  we must always put passages within their context.

Which is why I spent the last post of this series looking at the dragon, because Satan has a direct influence on the man we call the Antichrist.  After chasing "the woman" (12:17), he goes "to make war against the rest of her offspring - those who obey God's commandments and hold tot he testimony of Jesus," but John tells us that first, "the dragon stood on the shore of the sea" (13:1).  In the very next verse, John sees "a beast coming out of the sea," a beast who will be "given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them" (13:7).

So let's catch up briefly (if you haven't read the first part of this, I strongly suggest you do so):

- Satan attempts to "devour" Christ, but fails (12:4-5)
- There is a war in heaven, and Satan and his followers are evicted (12:4, 7-12)
- Satan pursues Israel, but she is supernaturally (?) protected for 3 1/2 years (12:6, 14-16)
- Satan stands on the shore of the sea and waits for "the beast" (13:1)
- "The beast" will wage war against, and conquer, Christians (12:17, 13:7)

So let's take a look at this "beast," and see what kinds of things we should look for.  And I'll try and keep wild speculation to a minimum, though I make no concrete promises.  Alright, Revelation 13:

And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.

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.  The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion.  The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.  One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.  The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.  Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast?  Who can make war against him?" (13:1-4).

Okay, so we need to look at this for a moment.  John is directly referring to Daniel's vision of the beasts in Daniel 7.  We have two statements that lend to this interpretation:  first, the numerology of "ten horns."  In Daniel's vision, he sees "a fourth beast - terrifying and frightening and very powerful . . . it was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns" (7:7).  I do not believe this to be a coincidence.

Secondly, John gives us a very bizarre description of this beast, that its body is like a leopard's, its feet are like a bear's, and it's mouth/head is like a lion's.  Really weird, but for a Jew familiar with the prophets of the Old Testament, this would make sense, particularly in light of the ten horns.  In Daniel 7, Daniel sees a total of four beasts, and while the fourth one has ten horns, the first one is "like a lion," the second is "like a bear," and the third is "like a leopard" (7:4,5,6).  While this is speculation of sorts, John truly appears to be referencing Daniel 7.  Coupled with the angel's admonition that all of this "concerns the distant future" (Daniel 8:26), and we have a pretty good idea that what John saw here is the same person and events that Daniel saw in Daniel 7 and 8.  Beyond this, the meanings of John's symbols are sort of up in the air.

I have a theory that the different parts of the body of the Beast indicate some sort of characteristic.  In Daniel's vision, each beast represented an empire:  the lion was Babylon, the bear was the Medo-Persian empire, and the leopard was Greece.  In John's vision, therefore, I wonder if it's possible that each part of the beast was derived from some aspect of each empire.  The "mouth like that of a lion," for example, would indicate perhaps a language or teaching derived from Babylonian influence.  What, exactly, would that mean?  No idea. "Feet like those of a bear"; no clue what an empire with "Medo-Persian Feet" would look like.  Right?  Like I said, this is a theory (and not a particularly fleshed-out theory, at that).  Please, do not go looking for the rise of a Babylonian-speaking, Medo-Persian culture with a government based on the Greeks - I'm not claiming that!  It's just a matter of curiosity for me.

Here's what we can say, however.  The ten horns refer to the ten nations from which this Beast derives his political power.  Now, as a quick comment, many eschatologists assert that the Beast restructures the earth into ten kingdoms, but this is not supported by the Scriptures.  You can look up the passage in Daniel yourself, but it clearly states that the fourth beast has ten horns, and then another smaller horn grows up among the ten horns, uprooting three of the other ten horns in the process.  In other words, don't look for a world leader to restructure the planet, and then say, "Ah ha!  It's HIM!"  That's not the timeline Daniel gives.

Anyhow, the ten horns represent ten leaders.  I can say this with authority, because we're told what they represent in Revelation 17: 12-14:

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. 

The main takeaway here - and this sets up the rest of the chapter - is that the world not only follows this guy, but they worship both him, and Satan.  Listen to me:  this is not speculation.  This is not a conspiracy theory.  This is stated Biblical truth.

The world will turn to Satanism.

They will worship the Antichrist, but they will also worship Satan, who gives the Antichrist his power.  Revelation 13:4:  "Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast. . . ."  There will come a time when atheism dies.  There will come a time when all world religions die.  There will only be two types of people:  those who follow Christ, and those who worship Satan.


The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies [another reference to Daniel?] and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.  He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander His name and His dwelling place and those who live in heaven.  He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them.  And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.  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.

He who has an ear, let him hear.

If anyone is to go into captivity,
   into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
   with the sword he will be killed.

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints . . .

. . . I was greatly astonished.  Then the angel said to me:  "Why are you astonished? . . . the Beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction.  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 (13:5-10; 17:6-7; 8).

Many of you will notice I skipped over quite a bit of Scripture.  We will get to those verses, because they involve more detail about the religion set up during this time.  For now, I want to wrap this up and leave you with something very important.  First, this Beast is resurrected.  There aren't too many other ways to interpret this.  We're told four times that he was dead, and has come back to life.  We're told in 13:3 that one of his heads had a fatal wound, but it was healed, we're told in 13:12, 14 that he had a fatal wound to the head, and that it was inflicted by a sword, and in 17, the angel who is describing everything to John tells him twice that this Beast "once was, now is not, and yet will come" (17:8).

I want to pause and look at verse 8 for a second, because it's interesting.  Notice that John is watching the Beast utterly destroy Christians, and the angel tells him that the Beast "now is not."  To what, exactly, does the "now" refer?  Obviously not the events that John is watching.  That leaves one possibility:  the "now" refers to John's real-time life.  As in, "The Beast isn't on earth yet."  That would mean . . . wait for it . . . that the "once was" refers to someone who lived prior to John.  I recognize this isn't the traditional interpretation of the Antichrist.  Most eschatologists believe that someone will show up on the scene, be killed, resurrect (most likely on the third day, in an obscene mockery of Christ), and then unleash Hell on earth.  Maybe - maybe - that view is correct.  I'm not trying to undo traditional interpretation, I'm just commenting on what the Scriptures actually say.  The Beast arises out of ten kings - kings John is seeing at that moment, but who "have not yet received a kingdom" (17:12); the kings are present in John's vision, but future for John's life.  John then sees the Beast, who is present in the vision, but "once was, now is not, and yet will come" for John's life.  Again, I know this flies in the face of popular theology, but this seems to indicate that the Satanically indwelt ruler has already lived, and one day, we will see him live again. 
  
This is why I'm not quick to jump on the "Obama is the Antichrist" bandwagon.  Nor have I jumped on the slightly less popular but rapidly growing "Pope Francis is the Antichrist" bandwagon.  Now, if either of these men is killed by a sword (beheaded by ISIS, perhaps?), I'll start keeping a closer eye on their bodies.  Until then, I'm not going to worry too much about it.

And here's why:

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 (17:14).  Jesus is still Lord.  He wins.  He is God.  Whether the Beast is alive now, whether he lived three-thousand years ago, whether his return is around the corner or fifteen years from now, it doesn't matter for me.  I recognize that I'm a miserable sinner who has nothing to offer God but the very Grace He gives me.  Without Him, I would be one of those people who follow the Beast.  Without the work of Jesus on the cross, I would be deceived by Satan, too.  There is no strength, no goodness, no righteousness within me.  Anything good in me is Jesus manifesting Himself in my life.

And while my steps are not always in line, while my desires are not always faithful, He has called me, and I trust in Him.  If you are in this same position, then there is nothing that this world can throw at us that will compare to the riches that are in Jesus Christ our Lord.

If you're on the fence, choose a side and be done with it.  Stop being indecisive.

If you've set your face against Jesus, the good news is that the Beast isn't here yet, so you can repent.  You can turn from your self-worship (which is, ultimately, Satan-worship) and worship the God Who loves you even though you don't deserve it, the God who came here and became one of us in order to make us more like Him.

Decide today.  We may have fifteen years, fifteen days, or fifteen minutes.  But whether you fight against Jesus for the next fifteen minutes, fifteen days, or fifteen years . . . it doesn't matter, because you're fighting for something that is temporal and will all be destroyed, anyway.  Seems rather silly, doesn't it?