The Resurrection, Rise and Reign

(Daniel’s Mouthy Little Horn, aka, the Abomination of Desolation; Paul’s Son of Perdition)

Advent of the Beast (Revelation Chapter 13, Verses 1 and 2)

This juncture in the unfolding drama of the Apocalypse marks the halfway point in the period of seven years immediately preceding the Battle of Armageddon. This “mother-of-all” battles will usher in the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Jews’ Messiah for whom they long and wait. This does not, however, indicate the midpoint of the entire period encompassed by the Apocalypse, nor does it limit this span (of the Apocalypse) to only seven years—as is commonly taught in evangelical, and perhaps some Pentecostal, or other circles.

Verse 1, And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

In this vision, John finds himself standing upon sands that adorn the shore of the sea (a most likely reference to the Mediterranean, although this ocean is itself most probably a symbolic reference to the restless mass of humanity.). There, he is shown the emergence of a strange looking creature called a beast (in the sense of a dangerous, wild animal, per the Greek word, “therion”, thay-ree’-on) bearing striking, though not exact similarities to those of the dragon, studied earlier in chapter 12. No doubt, these physical likenesses are meant to signify an inextricable link between the two, while at the same time assuring readers that they are not the same (combined, one might say, the ‘name’ and physical traits help set the tone in terms of character or psychological orientation and general description). This beast, John says, is emerging out of the chaos and restlessness of humanity (symbolized by the Mediterranean!). Furthermore (like the dragon), this beast has seven heads, each of which is marked by names of blasphemy (that is, this creature has that about it—let’s call it an aura or an atmosphere, for now—that clearly signifies a willful, woeful misrepresentation, mischaracterization and defiance of the True and Living God!). John also observed that the dangerous wild animal coming out of this clamorous agitation, that is the noisy commotion of mankind without a central focus in terms of leadership, had ten horns, upon which were ten crowns. In biblical terminology, horn as a metaphor in poetry and prophecy is usually a symbol of authority, strength, power, and rugged individuality. The crowns (Greek, kingly ‘diadems’, as opposed to ‘stephanos’ or wreaths given to the winner of a contest), of course, symbolize sovereignty and dominion. Thus, while the horns wearing crowns signifying sovereign individuality are in a close alliance with the beast, they are yet symbolic of 10 different personalities, separate and distinct from that beast and its seven heads; in an association that is largely voluntary. In addition, each horn is separate and distinct from each other (able to govern as well as stand on and under their own authority. Ironically, per chap. 17, as such, neither existed during the days of John, they do not exist today and they will not exist as any kind of geopolitical entities until after the bowl judgments, shortly before the return of Christ.)....

Scourge of the Two Witnesses

Woe #2 Begins

Verse 3a, And I will give power unto my two witnesses,

The appearance of these individuals, identified here only as the “two witnesses of God”, will mark the official launch of the beginning of the end—the horrific, last seven hellish years of human history (not that the years leading up to this point will have been any picnic. God will take pangs to insure that they will be no cake walk.). These will be the years known to Bible prophecy students as Daniel’s 70th Week…which then begs the question: Since we are told that none of the Trumpet Judgments will begin until the peeling of the 7th Seal…which proves that they do not overlap or happen at the same time as the Seal Judgments…and, given that this “woe #2” (Rev. 11:3-14; encompassing the ministry of the witnesses and the death of Daniel’s little horn, before he becomes the “beast”) clearly follows the events of woe #1 (Rev. 9:1-12; the torment of the Locusts from the Abyss)…and, realizing that each of these woes is consigned to the sound of the 6th Trumpet, further proving that not one of the Trumpet Judgments occurs concurrent with the Seals, one cannot but wonder then, how is it that practically all prophecy students and the so-called experts insist that the entirety of the Apocalyptic period, starting with Rev. 6-19 will be confined to only 7 years? Consider also that, “woe #3” covers the following events, and they only transpire AFTER the sounding of the 7th Trumpet (and is limited to the latter 3.5 years of the last 7 before the 2nd Coming of Christ!):

· Satan is ousted from Heaven forever (Rev. 12:7-12)

· Satan allowed to resurrect and empower Daniel’s horn, who (at that moment and only under that circumstance) becomes the abomination of desolation, Paul’s son of perdition, John’s beast (aka, the “antichrist”; per Dan. 12:11; Matt. 24:15; II Thes. 2; Rev. 11:7; 13:3-5; 17:8-11)

Great Red Dragon

While John watched the woman’s struggle to deliver her Child, the focus shifted to another, more bizarre, somewhat sinister portrayal. The sight that arrested his eyes had seven heads, seven crowns on each head, flanked by ten horns. In chap. 13, John was told that those horns have crowns (Greek=“diadema”, or, diadems), signifying their status as heads of state over individual sovereign kingdoms or domains (thus, the horns, we might argue, are symbols of authority, sovereignty, strength and individuality.). Chap. 17 confirms that the horns are indeed to be interpreted as autonomous and independent. John called this new seven-headed wonder a “great red dragon”.

Seven Heads

John is here given no clue as to the significance of the seven heads of the dragon, although the dragon is itself identified. Being the book of riddles that the entire Apocalypse is, we are able to draw valuable insights and clues from chap. 13 and 17, by means of which we can correctly deduce that the heads of the great red dragon are in fact representative of seven kingdoms. Thus, we may further conclude that this portrait of a body having seven heads, topped by seven crowns (as in “diadems” worn by a sovereign or king), and the ten horns signifies Satan’s presence, dominance and influence throughout the ages over the kingdoms, and states of this world, particularly those having to do directly with the people of the Book—i.e., all of those individual kingdoms with whom the nation of Israel can be most closely linked, one way or the other.

The Two Witnesses' Ministry of Torment!

CHAPTER 11

Woe #2

The Two Witnesses

At this point, it appears that the God imposed war moratorium, temporarily stopping the fighting amongst the nations, continues. It will remain in effect until after the pommeling of the beast and the literal trashing of his kingdom, during the judgments from the bowls (chap. 16 & 19), which will set the stage for the Battle of Armageddon. As shown already, the scene we saw in chapter 9 (of the massive military gathering, at the Euphrates River) depicts one faction of the armies involved headed for the opening moments of what will be that final melee in the Valley of Megiddo (chapter 16). That conflict will itself occur within the last (approximately) 1.75 years of the final 7 years of man’s autonomous history (life without direct oversight by God Almighty). In violation of the moratorium, the beast will further add to his offenses by militarily reigning in three of his unruly former submissives. At about that time, the fight freeze will be officially lifted.

Side Bar

Given that Titus had, at the time John is pinning this prophetic book, sacked and destroyed Jerusalem and its Jewish temple, there was therefore no Temple of God on earth. There is no Temple of God even at this hour, two thousand years later, as the mount or spot upon which the Jews intend to rebuild is currently occupied by a Muslim mosque— called, one believes, the Dome of the Rock (or, Mosque of Omar). That mosque will have to be torn down (although there are some accounts that say the actual spot of Solomon’s old Temple is actually in a slightly different location than that of the mosque, it does not matter. Jewish dominance will doubtless demand that it still be destroyed.). This no doubt will occur following the Russo/Arab thrashing at the hand of the Almighty Himself, on behalf of His beleaguered people, upon the mountains of Israel, as foretold by Ezekiel the prophet. This will not only weaken the Muslim world, as it will also destroy their resolve and hold on that spot, subjecting them to the will (of God, albeit nominally for a time, via) the Jews

Battle of Armageddon, Phase 1: Kings of the East verses the Beast and the Kings of the Earth (West)!

Thermo Baric Warfare & MOAB

Future Warriors’ Weapon of Choice

Verse 17b, and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

Verse 18, By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

In preparing this study, and in looking over these verses, “here”, I said within myself, “is a passage which lacks merit/support, technologically, in modern terms”. How, I wondered, can this possibly ever be? What military wizardry is there under the carpets or on the maps, which would allow for death in this fashion—by fire, by smoke and by brimstone (yellow sulfur)? Most all the other prophecies of this nature could readily be explained in light of recent (as within the past 105 years of) technological developments but, I thought somewhat whimsically, “should be interesting to see how You pull this one off, Lord”! Knowing only that if God says it can and will happen, it therefore can and will happen, I resolved not to use this passage in my study, because it to me could not be explained in light of modern military advancements (several days later, I was forced to “recant” this decision!). Too bad that it never occurred to me to reflect on an old Steven Sigel thriller (or, was that Nicolas Cage; I believe that show was the one co-starring Sean Connery).

This movie featured bad guys wielding a weapon one had never seen or heard of before, not even during my years of military service; nor did it, in the years following the movie, ever make sense—whenever, if ever, one thought upon it. The gun was one having all the trappings and outward appearances of a regular military styled rifle. Here, the similarities end, as things were strangely different, however, whenever the bad guys took aim, and opened up on the guys in “white hats”. Instead of hearing the usual rat-ah-tat-tat, pop and ricochets of bullets that normally characterizes such a scene, there was only a weird kind of sound followed by a trail of smoke, ending in a kind of explosion accompanied by more smoke and maybe some sparks. Totally a bizarre kind of a weapon but, manifestly more powerful than the average rifle or, even the typical shotgun—and that, when we are not even talking “Star Trek” or “Star Wars”! So, what was this weapon? Does it have basis in reality, beyond, Hollywood, one may well be wondering? How does its existence illumine our understanding in terms of its highlighting and supporting the viability of the Lord’s assertion, here? Or, does it?

As, in my research, I was trying to establish the place of nations like China and Russia (and other European powers) in the grand scheme of things, particularly space-based warfare, I stumbled across (the Lord answered the former challenge with!) a number of interesting themes and topics, including electromagnetic pulse generators and high-powered microwave weapons. That theme, which is most apropos to this discussion, however, is that regarding something called thermobarics, and thermobaric weaponry.

The Creatures From The Abyss/Armageddon Preview

In this chapter the judgment of God continues, as—given that men will not submit to the will of God, choosing rather to give heed to the doctrines and seduction of demons—He will now summon from hell’s zoo, demons of the worst sort to do His bidding in the further castigation of rebel mankind—a first phase of this reprimand, one might say, having been by his own hands, under the seal judgments. These demons can materialize of their own accord. They do not need to inhabit the bodies of men, as do those who followed Satan in his fall. Disgustingly hideous though they are, they have their own, thank you very much!

As the interlude in the international fighting among the nations begun earlier in Rev. 6:14 persists, for the time being, the Trumpet Judgments draw closer to a close. All of the trumpet judgments (excluding one) are actual acts, per the Hand of Almighty God. It should not come as any surprise to any astute student of scripture, that, like all of the Bible’s predictions over the past 2500 years, beginning in Ezekiel, the Acts of God are totally inconsistent with reality or, might we say, “counterintuitive”. That is, they do not follow any logic or logical path designed or intended to square with the understanding of man. No effort is or will be made to insure that they succumb to normal protocol, in terms of how men “think” things should occur, or what they “feel” “should” happen. God will be out to get man’s undivided attention, and that is just precisely what He will do (way back in the prophecies of Ezekiel, we are warned that much of the Lord’s last days effort would be geared toward, and set in motion with, this specific type of goal in mind.). With the exception of the sixth, as cited above, these judgments are meant mostly to “scare”, as it were, not to kill; to force the opening of stubborn blinded eyes, and, closed minds, which would otherwise never see (eyes which by this time cannot be reached by normal reason, or, trouble-free preaching and teaching of the word of God; “…come now, let us reason together…” will simply not be an option.). When this is all over and the dust settles, billions upon billions of eyes barred shut to the things of God will have been pried open by the pressure exerted during the days of the Seal Judgments, followed by the Trumpet Judgments. Multitudes will be saved, having been brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Trumpet #5

Attack of the Locusts (9:1-11)

Chapter 9, Verse 1, And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven to the earth: and to him was given the key to the bottomless pit.

Verse 2, And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Verse 3, And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

Verse 4, And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

Prime Objective: Hunt for “Red October”?!

The world at large will defy God to the bitter end. Every sight, every thought of the mere presence of the Jew will be a galling reminder of the reality and presence of the Lord; this, notwithstanding the fact that the Jew will be as much anti-God and anti-Christ as will any unbeliever. By this time, per Ezekiel 38 & 39, the Jew will be a sight to which the global community simply cannot blind itself, thus, no risk will be too great, no exertion too grueling for the nations, as they imperil themselves to be rid of this God-ordained Jew spectacle; the hope being to achieve a world in which the God of the Bible is effectively, banished. Thus, the ‘cease and desist’ order that stops the fighting between the nations, will do nothing to quiet international hostile intent and general bad blood toward all things Jew.

Given that the United States will be no more, during these days of upheaval, and, given that a significant, if not substantial, portion of the US navy—with its nuclear powered ships and submarines, all dangerously armed, having deadly, nuclear tipped warheads on board—is likely to be out of port when she is leveled, it is not entirely unthinkable that—in light of the generally friendly relations between the US and Israel—whatever remains will seek safe haven in and among the Jews. It is not clear how many of such subs the US has, hence, some (like a homeless, maverick mercenary force), may even join whatever is left of the British and/or the French military forces (possibly, the more probable scenario)—like mercenaries, seeking to sell their services to the highest bidder(s), in exchange for a share of ever dwindling global food supplies. They will not be able to fund and/or otherwise re-supply themselves, given their homeland and all her ports will have been reduced to fields of rubble. While it may be that no single nation will be willing to avail themselves of their services otherwise, the benefit in light of (then) recent failed, hostile objectives and aggression, might easily outweigh the burden. This would mean, or at the very least, suggest very strongly then, that—contrary to the USA’s current pledge of undulating support for the Jewish state—these remnant military forces might choose to unite against the Jews. Should that ring true, it would create an unconscionable danger, an extreme threat to a nation still settling in, establishing itself, standalone. As the God ordained “king of the hill”, that nation of unbelieving Jews would be virtually on its own, at the helm among bewildered, flustered enemy combatants of the world—each sulking in never-ending, scarcely containable resentment. In addition, in light of the dilapidated condition of Israel’s economy today, and the likely, inevitably worse condition it will be in at the outset, following the collapse of the US and its gluttonous marketplace, it should not at all be difficult to envision how Israel will not be able to afford or to support the weight of the USA’s foreign based military (at least not initially. Moreover, with the might of the Russian war-industry under their belts, whatever is left of the US war machine might be deemed non-feasible. In so many words, advances and overtures from any residual US forces could be outright rejected—on grounds they are non-essential.). Every commander will of course be fully apprised of these facts, on which account, in part perhaps, they will be more inclined to write the Jews off as a lost cause. Thus, then, they will be eager to sell their services to the highest bidders, like the Muslim countries, eager to rebuild and rebound militarily so as to avenge the earlier Russo/Arab/EU defeat (see Judgment Day (Part 2)…).

Weaponizing Nature, by the Finger of God!

As the moratorium barring international fighting continues, peeling open the seventh seal by the Lamb ushered in a silence in heaven that lasted .5 hours (30 minutes). It is this solemn moment, that introduces the next round of Judgments. In addition, it should be noted that, contrary to teachings of some groups that are classified as preterist or amillennialist or some such thing (in which case they deny certain commonly held aspects of the Revelation, including the separation and distinctions between the 3 groups of Judgments), verse 1 makes it clear that the Trumpet Judgments are not to be and therefore they cannot be superimposed over the Seal Judgments. Furthermore, the first Trumpet blast cannot even be sounded until the 7th Seal is broken. Thus, the Seal and the Trumpet Judgments each not only happen at different points in time in the Apocalypse narrative, they are also distinguished by the very nature of their being and the damage they are designed to inflict upon humanities living space (also, it bears repeating that this is not a point past the beginning of the last 3.5 years before the coming of Christ, as taught by Pastors Scheving, Hamrick and others. All of this will transpire well in advance of the coming and rise of the beast to global authority. In fact, the calamity and the chaos brought on by the administration of these judgments will contribute in part to the cause behind his rise to international acclaim, as well as the need for someone like him.).

As will be shown later, to further drive home the fact that the various groups of seven Judgments are not different ways of explaining the same things, verse 13 of this chapter will introduce what might rightly be called the “WOE” factors—a rapid succession of 3 independent events that drastically increase the agony and the misery to which humanity will be subjected during the Apocalypse period. Finally, while the sounding of the 7th Trumpet marks the end of the 2nd Woe, and the 3rd and final Woe takes place afterwards, all of the Bowl Judgments will occur well after this 7th Trumpet blast, with the first Bowl being poured out approximately half-way through the rise and reign of the beast—who will assume the reins of the world only 3.5 years before the return of Christ.

Following and/or during that silence, John saw seven angels standing in front of God, holding seven trumpets that will initiate each of the next round of Divinely inspired, terrifying events— each calculated to contribute, in limited doses, to the eventual complete destruction of humanity’s habitat. Then, there appeared another angel carrying a golden censer. With that censor, he came and stood before an altar (this appears to be the one under which the souls of the slain saints appeared earlier in chapter 6).