The Disciple's Road

Mystery Babylon (Part 1)

Posted on February 9, 2017 by russellmckinney

Bible Prophecy in Chronology series (post #18)

In Revelation 14:8, we read about an angel who makes a predictive pronouncement in the opening days of the last half of the tribulation period. The angel cries out, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” Later on, in Revelation 16:19, after the seventh bowl judgment has produced a planet-rocking earthquake, we read: “And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.”

It is with these two verses in mind that we now come to chapters 17 and 18 of The Revelation. These are two parenthesis chapters in the book’s chronological timeline. They serve the purpose of providing us with more details about the fall of Babylon. It’s as if God enjoys the fall so much that He brings everything to a halt and says, “Let’s not rush past this because I want to savor it and bask in it.”

However, every student of prophecy who comes to these chapters must answer a fundamental question right at the front gate. That question is: Does John use the name “Babylon” to refer to the actual city of Babylon or does he use it symbolically to refer to another city? The answer that I and many others give is: He uses it to refer to the city of Rome. Let me give you seven facts that lead to this conclusion:

There are certain Old Testament prophecies – namely Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51 – that seem to teach that Babylon will never again be a major city.
In Revelation 17:18, John describes the city in question as “that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.” It’s important to note that he didn’t call it “that great city which will reign over the kings of the earth.” In John’s day, the city that reigned over the known world was Rome. The Babylon of that time was a small and insignificant town.
In Revelation 17:5, John uses the title “Mystery Babylon” rather than just “Babylon.” This shows that he is referring to a city other than literal Babylon.
In Revelation 11:8, John refers to Jerusalem as “Sodom” and “Egypt.” This proves that he didn’t mind labeling one city with the name of another if the symbolism fit.
Revelation 18:17 says that sailors and those who trade on the sea will be able to stand at a distance and see the smoke from this burning city. The actual city of Babylon cannot be seen from the sea. Babylon’s only possible link to the sea would be down the Euphrates river into the Persian Gulf and out into the Arabian sea, but the Euphrates river gets dried up in the sixth bowl judgment (Revelation 16:12). The city of Rome, of course, sits in close proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.
It is logical to assume that if the Antichrist leads a revived Roman empire, the city of Rome will be a major player in the tribulation period.
In 1 Peter 5:13, Peter actually refers to the city of Rome as “Babylon.” This probably shows that “Babylon” was a code name for Rome among the early Christians.

Still, though, even if we concede that John’s “Babylon” is Rome, we must keep in mind that Rome isn’t just a city in Italy; it is also a system. Just as Wall Street is an actual street in the city of New York, it is also a symbolic title for the system of high finance that flows out from that street. Just as Madison Avenue is an actual avenue in the city of New York, it is also a symbolic title for the system of advertising that flows out from that avenue. Just as Las Vegas is an actual city in Nevada, it is also a symbolic title for the system of gambling that flows out from that city. And, yes, just as Rome is an actual city in Italy, it is also a symbolic title for the system of religion and commerce that flows out from that city.

And what is the system of religion and commerce that has flowed out of Rome for almost 2,000 years? The Roman Catholic Church. Therefore, chapters 17 and 18 of The Revelation foretell the demise of not only the city of Rome itself but also the Roman Catholic Church in the last half of the tribulation period. Chapter 17 deals with the downfall of the Roman Catholic Church and chapter 18 deals with the downfall of the city.

Everything starts in Revelation 17:1 as one of the angels involved with the bowl judgments says to John, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters.” Thankfully, we don’t have to guess what the symbolic imagery of the “many waters” means. In Revelation 17:15, the angel explains that the waters are “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.” Okay, got it. But who is “the great harlot”? It is the Roman Catholic Church. The teaching is that the Roman Catholic Church has a worldwide religious and economic influence.

But how can the Roman Catholic Church be thought of as a “harlot”? For one thing, the Bible frequently uses the imagery of harlotry to describe false religion, particularly false religion that involves idolatry. Catholicism is certainly a false religion that involves idolatry, such as the kneeling down before statues of Mary or Jesus. For another thing, a harlot has relations with many men. The Catholics, of course, boast numbers by the millions around the globe.

In Revelation 17:2, the angel offers two other thoughts about the great harlot. First, the “kings of the earth” have “committed fornication” with her. For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church has seduced and compromised large numbers of the world’s political leaders to further its religious and commercial interests. Second, the “inhabitants of the earth” have been “made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” Multiplied millions around the world have bought into Catholicism’s error-riddled “gospel,” built their lives around her false doctrines, kept her rituals, excused her gross sins, and trusted in her to get them into heaven. That’s what you call being “made drunk with the wine or her fornication.”

Next, in Revelation 17:3 John moves from talking about “the great harlot who sits on many waters” to talking about a strange looking woman who sits atop a scarlet beast. Here again we get some angelic help concerning the symbolism. In Revelation 17:18, the angel identifies this “woman” as “that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.” That city is Rome. As for the beast, it surely represents the Antichrist just like it did in Revelation chapter 13.

Summing things up then, the “woman” is the actual city of Rome, while the “great harlot” represents the Roman Catholic Church that is based in the city and sends out its system of religion and commerce to all the world from there. The fact that the “woman” rides the “beast” shows that the city of Rome will attach itself to the Antichrist in the first half of the tribulation period. This makes perfect sense considering that the Antichrist will springboard to power from a ten-division revived Roman empire. Where else would a revived Roman empire be based except in the city of Rome?

As usual with The Revelation, we can’t just have a plain “woman” or a simple “beast.” Each one has to have outlandish features that force us to try to understand the symbolism. The beast has seven heads and ten horns and is full of names of blasphemy. Since I’ve used previous posts (post #6 and post #14) to explain the symbolism attached to the Antichrist, I won’t rehash it all here. I will say that him being called a scarlet beast speaks to the fact that he will be responsible for high death tolls and much bloodshed during the last half of the tribulation period.

But what about the woman (the city of Rome)? Oh, she is quite the spectacle.

She is “arrayed in purple and scarlet” (Revelation 17:4). These two colors have both been long associated with royalty, nobility, and wealth. No one was more royal, noble, and wealthy than Rome’s emperors. In addition to this, the Vatican – the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church – is located in the city of Rome, and purple and scarlet are often worn by the Pope and his Cardinals.
She is “adorned with gold, and precious stones, and pearls” (Revelation 17:4). Rome was the most important city in the world long before the origination of the Roman Catholic Church. It was the capital city of the sprawling, wealthy Roman empire. It was called “the eternal city,” and a common saying was “all roads lead to Rome.” It featured beautiful, elaborate structures such as the Colosseum, the Temple of Caesar, the Temple of Saturn, the Temple of Jupiter, and the Arch of Septimius Severus. When the Roman Catholic Church came into being and eventually built impressive structures such St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Museums that house all kinds of art masterpieces, the city’s wealth only increased.
She holds in her hand “a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication” (Revelation 17:4). The city of Rome’s history is a sordid one that does indeed involve various kinds of abominations (the worship of the emperors), filthiness (the gruesome man-to-man battles in the Colosseum), and fornication (both spiritual and sexual).
She is drunk “with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Revelation 17:6). It is impossible to total up an accurate figure for the number of Christians that were put to death in the city of Rome. For example, in the wake of the great fire that occurred during the reign of the emperor Nero, Nero blamed Christians for the fire and had untold numbers of them rounded up and put to death. Legend says that Nero was responsible for the deaths of Paul and Peter.
On her forehead was written: “MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHERS OF HARLOTS, AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” In ancient Rome, it was customary for a harlot to wear a headband that had her name on it. (I’ll explain the name “Mystery Babylon” in just a moment, so keep reading.)

In the end, though, the alliance between the Antichrist and Rome will end badly for the city and its system of religion and commerce. Revelation 17:12-13 says the kings of the ten divisions that will make up the Antichrist’s revived Roman empire will give their power and authority to him to do with as he pleases. Not surprisingly, when he changes at the midway point of the tribulation period and begins conducting himself as a messiah, those ten kings will tolerate no rivals to his new religion. Well, obviously, rival religions don’t come much bigger than the Roman Catholic Church. This explains why Revelation 17:16 says the ten kings will grow to hate “the great harlot” and will make her “desolate” and “naked.” They will also “eat her flesh” and “burn her with fire.” Wow, all that sounds terrible. But what does it mean?

The idea of making the Roman Catholic Church “desolate” and “naked” is most likely a reference to how the ten leaders will use their power to strip the Roman Catholic Church of all its lands, wealth, possessions, and power. Burning her “with fire” might refer to the burning of Catholic cathedrals and other buildings. Perhaps even the Vatican complex itself will be set ablaze. Eating “her flesh” could be a graphic way of saying that when the ten kings are finished with the Roman Catholic Church, there won’t be anything left of it. They will have devoured it completely.

But now let me explain why the woman (the city of Rome) has the name MYSTERY BABYLON written on her forehead. I wish there was a shortened, simplified way to explain this and do it any kind of justice, but there isn’t. So, just hang with me.

Genesis chapters 10 and 11 tell of an impressive leader named Nimrod. He was the great-grandson of Noah through Noah’s son, Ham. The beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom was Babel (Genesis 10:8-10), and Nimrod and his followers built the Tower of Babel to be the centerpiece of the city of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). But that building project didn’t sit well with God and He stopped it by confusing the peoples’ languages so that they never completely finished it. Centuries later that general site became Babylon, the capital city of the Babylonian empire.

Now, as far as the Bible’s record goes, this is about all we know of Nimrod. However, there are historical records and stories that tell us a great deal more about the man. These records and stories sometimes differ a bit in the details but the basics are usually in place. First, Nimrod worshiped the sun god Molech. Second, the priests of Molech instructed him to marry his mother. Her name was Semiramis. Third, according to the mythical legend that surrounds Semiramis, when Nimrod was killed she claimed that he was the sun god. Fourth, Semiramis supposedly miraculously conceived a son by way of a sunbeam and claimed that he was Nimrod reborn. No doubt she did this as a way of holding on to her power after Nimrod’s death. She named the son Tammuz. Fifth, when Tammuz was grown, he was supposedly killed by a wild boar, which prompted Semiramis to weep for him for 40 days, after which he allegedly miraculously arose from the dead.

Semiramis became known as “the queen of heaven” and Tammuz became known as a miraculously conceived/miraculously resurrected messianic figure. In Babel, a system of worship grew that centered upon the mother (Semiramis) and the child (Tammuz). This religion was filled with rites, rituals, mysteries, and secrets. It featured: the confession of sins to a priest, the lighting of candles, an annual 40 days of weeping for the death of Tammuz, and a feast in honor of his resurrection. As a part of this feast, the people exchanged eggs, with each egg symbolizing new life.

As the centuries rolled on, this system of worship that was based upon the mother/child false religion spread like a cancer. It even made major inroads into Israel. As evidence of this, in Jeremiah 44:17-23 the women of Judah profess their belief that going through the rituals of worshiping “the queen of heaven” brought supernatural blessings upon their lives. Similarly, in Ezekiel 8:14-17 the prophet Ezekiel sees Jewish women at the temple in Jerusalem going through the ritualistic weeping for Tammuz.

Of course, whenever the religious system made its way to a new race of people who had a distinctive language and culture, the system would be adapted to fit that language and that culture. Thus, Semiramis (the queen of heaven) and Tammuz (the messianic son) came to be known by many different names. At its core, though, the system of worship was always the same one that had first begun in ancient Babel.

Finally, the system made its way to Rome, and it held sway there for a long time. This was the “Mystery Babylon” that John knew in his day. But something shocking happened in 312 A.D., a couple of centuries after John and the other early Christians had died off. A Roman emperor named Constantine became a professing Christian. Whether or not he actually got saved is very much up in the air, but there is no denying that Constantine began a systematic process whereby Rome’s version of the Babylonian mother/child religion was merged into true Christianity. This merging created a truly bizarre mix of authentic Christianity and rank idolatry and paganism. And what would this mix come to be known as around the world? The Roman Catholic Church. This, then, is the “Mystery Babylon” that Revelation chapter 17 prophesies will come to an end in the tribulation period. You see, Catholicism is not the pure, undiluted false system of worship that began on the sands of ancient Babel, but it houses within it the remains of that system as it is a weird mixture of that system and authentic Christianity.

So, does this mean that no Roman Catholic is saved? I didn’t say that. I am of the opinion that there is enough of biblical Christianity in Catholic teaching for an individual to have a “born again” experience if that individual will place his or her belief in Christ alone for salvation. Consequently, I think there are some authentic Christians within the ranks of Catholicism who tragically are spending their lives bogged down in a religious system that is half Christian and half Babylonian idolatry.

However, with that understood, the simple fact that there is a “Mystery Babylon” in the tribulation period proves conclusively that there will be millions of lost Catholics left on earth after the Rapture. This is a stark reminder that born again Christians should not compromise with the Roman Catholic church, let alone give it the vaunted place of religious preeminence that it craves and demands. And as for the assertion that the Roman Catholic church is the “true church,” well, that is just plain wrong.

Posted in Catholicism, Prophecy, Series: "Bible Prophecy in Chronology" | Tagged are Catholics saved?, Babylon is fallen, Constantine, is Rome "Babylon"?, Mystery Babylon, Nimrod, Semiramis, Tammuz, the great whore who sits upon many waters, the mother-child religion, the queen of heaven, the sun god Molech, the woman who rides the scarlet beast | 6 Comments

Finishing up the Bowl Judgments

Posted on February 7, 2017 by russellmckinney

Bible Prophecy in Chronology series (post #17)

There is a lot that will happen in the coming tribulation period, but the three separate waves of judgment that will strike the earth during those seven years will serve as some of the anchor events. The first wave of judgments is known as the Seal Judgments. The second wave is known as the Trumpet Judgments. The third wave is known as the Bowl Judgments. The first two waves will occur during the first half of the tribulation period, and the third one will occur during the last half. In my previous post, I covered the first four of the bowl judgments. With this post I’ll cover the remaining three.

Bowl Judgment #5 (Revelation 16:10-11): Darkness

The fifth angel poured out his bowl “on the throne of the beast (the Antichrist), and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain” (Revelation 16:10-11). The fifth bowl judgment is a bit different from the previous four in that it locally affects the Antichrist’s throne and kingdom rather than the entire world. While it’s true that at this point the whole world will, in a sense, be the Antichrist’s kingdom, he will have a specific throne and base territory from which he reigns.

There are three options that get bantered about as to where this throne will be. First, it might sit inside the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, in close proximity to the image the False Prophet will have erected. Second, it might sit someplace in the city of Rome, which presumably will be the headquarters for the Antichrist’s revived Roman empire. Third, it might sit somewhere in a rebuilt city of Babylon.

Since 2 Thessalonians 2:4 says the Antichrist will sit “as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God,” I tend to believe his actual throne will be in Jerusalem. This also makes sense in light of the fact that he wants to mimic or imitate Jesus and Jesus will reign from Jerusalem for the 1,000 years of His earthly reign. At any rate, wherever the exact location of the Antichrist’s throne is, that’s the immediate area that will be struck with supernatural darkness.

I take this darkness to be literal because God did this same thing to Egypt during the 9th of the 10 plagues. For three days, a thick darkness engulfed that land. This darkness was so thick that it could actually be “felt” (Exodus 10:21). The Egyptians couldn’t even see one another, which prompted all of them to stay inside their homes for the three days (Exodus 10:23). Miraculously, though, “all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings” in the Egyptian region of Goshen where they lived (Exodus 10:23). Interestingly, the fifth bowl judgment acts as the opposite to the ninth plague. While the world has light, darkness covers the immediate region of the headquarters of the Antichrist.

In a strange way, this supernatural darkness will at least offer those affected by it a relief from the scorching heat of the intensified sun of the fourth bowl judgment (Revelation 16:8-9). However, their pain won’t stop and it will be bad enough to cause them to “gnaw their tongues.” Have you ever chewed on your tongue to take your mind off the pain? I haven’t either, but it sounds gruesome.

But what kind of specific pain is John describing? Well, it doesn’t seem to be the result of the sores from the first bowl judgment. I say this because he speaks of the pain and the sores as two separate things in Revelation 16:11 when he says, “They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.” Could it be pain from being blistered by the intensified sun in the fourth bowl judgment? That’s certainly possible. Then again, perhaps the darkness itself will somehow involve physical pain in a way we can’t understand. We simply aren’t given all the details.

Bowl Judgment #6 (Revelation 16:12-16): The Euphrates River Dried Up

The sixth angel poured out his bowl “on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up” (Revelation 16:12). If you recall, the sixth trumpet judgment also involves the Euphrates river. I can’t imagine that’s a coincidence. During that sixth trumpet judgment, four powerful fallen angels (demons) will be released from their imprisonment at the Euphrates river. The old King James translation says these angels are “in” the river, but modern translations more accurately render the Greek as “at” the river. So now we learn that in the 6th bowl judgment the river itself will be dried up.

As we total up the effects of all the events of the tribulation period, it isn’t hard to see that the Euphrates river will have a rough seven years. First, there’s the distinct possibility that it will be affected by the third trumpet judgment in which that great star (called Wormwood) falls from heaven and somehow makes one-third of the earth’s rivers and springs bitter (Revelation 8:10). Second, it will no doubt be affected by the three-and-a-half years of drought that will accompany the ministries of God’s two witnesses (Revelation 11:6). Third, it will be turned to blood as a part of the third bowl judgment (Revelation 16:4). Fourth, much of its water will be lost due to the increased evaporation produced by the intensified sun of the fourth bowl judgment (Revelation 16:8-9). Finally, in the sixth bowl judgment the river will become a dry river bed.

John, for his part, doesn’t dwell on the details of how the river will be dried up. Instead, he emphasizes why it will be dried up. And what is that reason? He says, “so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared” (Revelation 16:12). In the Bible, all directions are given in relation to the land of Israel (most specifically to the city of Jerusalem). So, these kings from “the east” will be kings from countries east of Israel. If you look at a world map, you’ll see that the countries that lie immediately east of Israel are Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. To the far east are India, China, and Japan.

It’s no coincidence either that an army of 200 million is mentioned as a part of the sixth trumpet judgment. That army, which will be demonically inspired and energized by those four fallen angels that will be released from their binding at the Euphrates river, will march out in the first half of the tribulation period and slay “a third of mankind” (Revelation 9:16). The only nation on earth that has the population numbers to field an army of 200 million is China, but the reference is to “the kings (plural) of the east.” Obviously, an alliance army consisting of soldiers from China, India, Japan, and perhaps a few other countries such as Mongolia could add up to 200 million soldiers. This is why virtually all prophecy experts identify “the kings of the east” with these countries.

Historically speaking, the Euphrates river is the most important river in the world, even more important than Egypt’s Nile. The river that flowed through the garden of Eden became the heads of four other rivers once it exited Eden, and one of those rivers was the Euphrates. The flood plain of the Euphrates was the site of Babel, the first city built after the flood of Noah. Centuries later, Babylon, the capital city of the Babylonian empire, was built on the banks of the Euphrates river.

Perhaps the most historically significant thing about the Euphrates is the fact that in some strange way it has always served as a barrier that has kept the armies of China, India, Japan, and Mongolia from invading Israel and then marching either southwest toward Egypt or northwest toward Europe. While the river itself is certainly formidable – it’s 1,800 miles long, as much as 3,600 feet wide in places, and on average 30 feet deep – it’s not so formidable that it can’t be crossed. For some reason, though, the countries of the far east have never done it. I don’t want to speculate too much here, but I secretly wonder if those four fallen angels that are even now bound at the Euphrates have something to do with it all. That’s just a theory of mine, mind you. What isn’t in question is that the Euphrates will be dried up during the last half of the tribulation period, and this will allow the kings of the east unencumbered access into the holy land.

But why will those kings suddenly decide to break from the pattern of thousands of years of history and march toward Israel? They’ll do it because they will be convinced to do it by three persuasive demons who will work for the unholy trinity of the Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet (Revelation 16:13). In similar fashion to John describing the demons that came out of the bottomless pit as “locusts” (Revelation 9:1-12), he describes these demons as “like frogs.”

These three demons will go out to the kings of the whole world (including the kings of the east) and perform “signs” (miracles) that will convince the kings to send their armies to the holy land. What will these signs be? We aren’t told. Will the kings of the earth be able to see the demons or will the demons remain invisible and just whisper into the kings’ ears? We aren’t told. At the bottom line, though, the primary outcome of the sixth bowl judgment is that the kings of the earth, regardless of whether or not they will fully realize the ramifications of their actions, will send their armies to the battle of Armageddon that will end the tribulation period (Revelation 16:14,16).

The name “Armageddon” literally means “Mount Megiddo.” Mount Megiddo is located approximately 60 miles north of Jerusalem and its valley is one of the most natural battlefields in all the world. That valley is some 14 miles wide and twenty miles long. This is the site where human history as we know it will come to an end as Jesus will return to the earth, interject Himself into the battle of Armageddon, and put to death all those soldiers of all those armies from around the world (Revelation 16:15, Revelation 19:11-16).

Actually, despite whatever political or military goals the countries of the world will have in mind for their stake at Armageddon, Satan’s primary objective for having those millions of soldiers assembled there will be to attempt to prevent Jesus from setting up His 1,000 year kingdom on earth. That attempt, however, will be futile.

Bowl Judgment #7 (Revelation 16:17-21): The Worst Earthquake Ever

The seventh angel poured his bowl “into the air” (Revelation 16:17). This was followed by a loud voice in heaven saying, “It is done!” Following that there were “noises and thunderings and lightnings” (Revelation 16:18). Then “there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth” (Revelation 16:18). As a result of the earthquake, “every island fled away, and the mountains were not found” (Revelation 16:20. Furthermore, “the cities of the nations fell” (Revelation 16:19). One city – “the great city” – was divided into three parts.

In the first half of the tribulation period, a great earthquake will be part of the sixth seal judgment (Revelation 6:12). In the second half of the period, an even worse quake will be part of the seventh bowl judgment. The first quake will produce the effect of every island and every mountain being moved out of its place (Revelation 6:14). That’s mind boggling enough. But the second quake will produce the effect of every island fleeing away and the mountains disappearing (Revelation 16:20). I won’t even begin to guess what percentage of these descriptions is factual as opposed to exaggerated, but it’s undeniable that the events of the tribulation period will dramatically change the way planet earth looks. The mountains won’t look the same. The islands won’t look the same. The oceans won’t look the same. The rivers won’t look the same. The cities won’t look the same.

And exactly which city does John have in mind when he says in Revelation 16:19, “Now the great city was divided into three parts”? That little question is one of the more contested ones in the whole realm of prophecy. As was the case with the specific location of the Antichrist’s throne and kingdom, we have the same three options.

Option 1 is Jerusalem. Earlier, in Revelation 11:8, John calls Jerusalem “Sodom” and “Egypt,” which proves that he doesn’t mind calling a city by its symbolic name rather than its actual name. Furthermore, in that same verse he actually refers to Jerusalem as “the great city.” Option 2 is Rome. Since the Antichrist will rule over a revived Roman empire, it’s impossible not to think of the city of Rome as being a major world hub in the tribulation period. Also, in the same sentence in which John speaks of “the great city,” he goes on to talk about “great Babylon.” This is potentially significant because many students of prophecy interpret the “Babylon” of Revelation chapters 17 and 18 as Rome. Option 3 is Babylon. Just as John calls Jerusalem “the great city” in Revelation 11:8, he calls Babylon “that great city” in Revelation 14:8. If he’s not speaking of Babylon in symbolic terms when he really means Rome, then he must literally mean Babylon when he uses the name “Babylon.”

The problem with acquiring the correct answer from this sizable debate is that the debate itself is built off the foundation of another debate. That other debate stems from the question, “Will the literal city of Babylon ever be rebuilt?” Excellent commentators such as John Phillips, Henry Morris, J. Vernon McGee, and Clarence Larkin have contended that it will be, but other equally reputable commentators such as Harry Ironside have contended that it won’t be. All those who believe that Babylon will never again be rebuilt reference the prophecies of Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51 as their proof texts. Those who believe that it will be rebuilt and be prominent again in the tribulation period see those prophecies as having been only partially fulfilled with the ultimate fulfillment involving a future, rebuilt Babylon.

I myself lean toward the interpretation that Babylon will not be rebuilt and that Jerusalem is “the great city” that will get divided into three parts by the earthquake of the seventh bowl judgment. As I understand it, the earthquake will level all the cities of the world except Jerusalem, which will remain standing even though it will now be divided into three parts. It has to remain standing because Jesus will rule from His throne there during the 1,000 years of His earthly kingdom.

I will say, though, that if I live to see a time when Babylon is rebuilt before the Rapture, it won’t render everything I’ve ever believed and taught about prophecy null and void. If you know your history, you know that Iraq’s former president Saddam Hussein had actually made great strides toward building a new Babylon on the site of the ancient ruins before the 2003 invasion of Iraq and his eventual execution. Of course the fact that he was stopped before he could complete his plans might be taken as evidence that God is never going to allow Babylon to be rebuilt.

Lastly on the subject of the seventh bowl judgment, John tells us that as a part of it hailstones that weight a “talent” will fall (Revelation 16:21). A talent was a unit of measurement. A Greek talent equaled 56 pounds, and a Jewish talent equaled 114 pounds. How would you like to be struck by a ball of hail that weighed around 100 pounds? That could be deadly. One reaction to surviving such a hailstorm would be to cry out to God for mercy and believe in Jesus as your personal Savior. Sadly, though, that is not what the people decimated by the judgment will do. Much to the contrary, John says, “Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.”

In closing, let me mention that it’s along about here that some people will start talking about how twenty-pound balls of hail have been known to fall after certain nuclear tests. From there you just a hop, a skip, and a jump from interpreting the shaking of the earth in the seventh bowl judgment as being the detonation of some kind of nuclear weapon. Do I understand why some people try to find nuclear warfare in The Revelation? Yes, I do. And if God wants to bring the events of the book to pass by allowing mankind to use such weapons, He’s not going to get scolded by me.

It should be understood, though, that God doesn’t need any help to produce the named catastrophes of the tribulation period. Have you ever read Joshua 10:11? That verse talks about how God reigned hailstones down upon a particular army that was fighting against Israel, and the verse says that more of those people died from the hailstones than died at the hands of Israel’s soldiers. That, you see, is the God of the Bible, and He doesn’t need help from anything that mankind has built to get His plans accomplished.

Posted in Prophecy, Series: "Bible Prophecy in Chronology", The Trinity | Tagged a hailstone that weighs 100 pounds, darkness on the beast's throne, demons "like frogs", history's most important river, Mount Megiddo, the 9th plague of Egypt, the bowl judgments, the Euphrates river dried up, the Euphrates river in history, the kings of the east, the vial judgments, the worst earthquake ever, where will the Antichrist;s throne be?, will Babylon be rebuilt? | Leave a comment

The Bowl Judgments

Posted on February 3, 2017 by russellmckinney

Bible Prophecy in Chronology series (post #16)

Our studies in prophecy have now brought us to the last half of the tribulation period. Satan and his fellow rebellious angels have lost a second war in heaven. The Antichrist has either literally arisen from the dead after an assassination attempt or at least duped the world into believing that he has risen from the dead. Either way he is now possessed by a powerful demon. He has broken his treaty with Israel. He has taken over the Jewish temple. The world is worshiping him as a messianic figure. His False Prophet has erected an image to him in the Jewish temple. The False Prophet has also instituted a system of buying and selling that requires a special mark. Anyone who refuses to take this mark will either be put to death or be forced to live in hiding and survive as best he can. Okay, so where do things go from here? Let’s find out.

In Revelation 14:1-5, John says, “Then I looked, and behold a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him, one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.” We know who these 144,000 are because we met them in Revelation 7:1-8. They are the 144,000 Jewish evangelists who will take the gospel into all the world and win millions to Christ during the first half of the tribulation period. But here now, at the opening of chapter 14, their ministry is finished and they are standing with Jesus on what John calls “Mount Zion.” While it’s true that the earthly city of Jerusalem is referred to as Zion (2 Samuel 5:7, Psalm 87:2-3, etc.), Hebrews 12:22-24 leaves no doubt that there is also a heavenly Mount Zion. And it’s this heavenly Mount Zion where John sees the 144,000 standing.

How do we know this? We know it because the entire chapter describes a heavenly scene. John hears “a voice from heaven” (Revelation 14:2). He hears “the sound of harpists playing their harps” (Revelation 14:2). He hears the 144,000 singing a new song as they stand before the throne of God (Revelation 14:3). The four living creatures (some type of angels) are there (Revelation 14:3). The 24 elders (a group that represents the entirety of the raptured church) are there (Revelation 14:3). John sees an angel come out of the temple in heaven (Revelation 14:17). He sees another one come out from the altar in heaven (Revelation 14:18). Even Jesus Himself moves from standing beside the 144,00 in verse 1 to sitting on a cloud in verses 14-16.

The question, then, is not, “Where are the 144,000 at this point in the tribulation period?” Clearly, they are in heaven. The question is, “How did they get there?” Unfortunately, that’s an answer that we simply aren’t given. This leaves us with two possibilities. Option 1: They were miraculously transported alive to heaven in a type of specialized event similar to the Rapture. Option 2: Once the time of their ministry on earth was finished, God dropped the protective seal (Revelation 7:1-4) they had enjoyed for the first half of the tribulation period and the Antichrist put them to death not long afterward.

No one can say for sure which of these options is correct, and any attempt to do so is mere speculation. That’s why I won’t even make an attempt. What I will do is draw your attention to the fact that, with the earthly departure of the 144,000, the evangelistic good the tribulation period produces will for the most part end.

I say “for the most part” because John does inform us that God will dispatch three angels from heaven to fly through the earth’s sky sometime during the last half of the tribulation period. The first angel will preach the gospel (Revelation 14:6-7). This is actually the only time in the entire Bible where an angel is commissioned to preach the gospel. The second angel will pronounce the soon-coming judgment upon “Babylon” (Revelation 14:8). (I’ll explain that in a later post.) The third angel will remind the earth’s inhabitants that anyone who takes the mark of the beast or worships the beast’s image will surely experience the eternal wrath of God (Revelation 14:9-11). I’ve heard these three angels described as God’s “mop up operation” to make sure that every last person in the closing half of the tribulation period has a chance to believe in Jesus as Savior and shun the lie that is the Antichrist.

Really, though, as amazing as these “preaching” angels will be, there won’t be many people saved after the midway point of the tribulation period. As a matter of fact, there is no record in The Revelation of anyone becoming a Christian after that midway point. It’s just not that kind of season for the earth and its inhabitants. Instead, it’s a season of God’s wrath.

As evidence of this, we should pay close attention to what Jesus is holding as John sees Him sitting upon that cloud in Revelation 14:14-16. He is holding a sickle. What’s He going to do with that sickle? John watches as He figuratively swings it over the earth and harvests the earth. You see, this is a heavenly scene that figuratively depicts what is about to happen upon the earth in the last three-and-a-half-years of the tribulation period. God’s sickle of judgment is about to be swung.

Jesus swinging the sickle in verses 14-16 typifies how grain was harvested in ancient times. Thus, there is no mention of anything flowing from the effect of the blade. In verses 17-20, however, yet another angel gets involved. This angel comes out of heaven’s temple holding his own sickle, and when he swings it over the earth it typifies how grapes were harvested. We know this because John talks about how the angel’s sickle “gathered the grapes from earth’s vineyard” (Holman Christian Standard translation) and “threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.” Some commentators believe these two different harvests speak of the two different groups who will be alive on the earth at Christ’s second coming. The Christians (the “wheat”) will be harvested in the sense of being rescued and welcomed into Christ’s 1,000 year kingdom on earth, and the lost (the “grapes”) will be harvested in the sense of being put to death and their souls banished to hell.

Like the juice that flows when clusters of grapes are thrown into a winepress and crushed, much blood will flow from the inhabitants of the earth as a result of God’s wrath (Revelation 14:17-19). This blood will flow especially high “outside the city (Jerusalem)” (Revelation 14:20). John describes a river of blood “up to the horses’ bridles” that runs for “one thousand six hundred furlongs.” That’s over four feet high and 200 miles long. This is surely a reference to the blood that will flow in and around the area of Jerusalem as a part of the lead up to and culmination of the battle of Armageddon. Perhaps the language is exaggerated. Then again, perhaps it isn’t. One thing is for sure: MUCH blood will be shed during the last days of the tribulation period.

The fact is, though, that even before the world gets to all that bloodshed, it will have to endure one final wave of seven judgments as the last half of the period opens. The old King James translation refers to these as the “vial judgments” but modern translations call them the Bowl Judgments. This name comes from the fact that each judgment involves an angel pouring out the contents of a bowl of judgment. John describes these seven judgments as “the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete” (Revelation 15:1). I’ll use the remainder of this post to examine the first four of these judgments.

Bowl Judgment #1 (Revelation 16:1-2): A Terrible Sore

John watched as the first angel poured out his bowl upon the earth, and “a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image” (Revelation 16:2). This sore is what we might think of as an ulcer on the skin. It is a running boil that oozes pus. Since it is “foul” it must give off a bad odor as well. In similar fashion, the sixth plague with which God struck Egypt was a plague of boils that broke out on people and animals (Exodus 9:9-11).

Any and all who have taken the mark of the beast will be afflicted with this sore. It’s possible that the sore will pop up in the location of the mark, either on the right hand or on the forehead. These sores will last for a while too. Revelation 16:11 indicates that people will still have them well into the fifth bowl judgment. And let’s not underestimate the irritation and pain of a sore. I get cranky when I get a fever blister on my lip!

Bowl Judgment #2 (Revelation 16:3): The Sea Turned To Blood

The second angel poured out his bowl upon the sea, and “it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died” (Revelation 16:3). We’ve seen this kind of thing before in The Revelation. As we studied the second trumpet judgment, we read about a great mountain burning with fire being thrown into the sea (Revelation 8:8). This mountain causes one-third of the sea to become “blood,” one-third of the sea’s living creatures to die, and one-third of the sea’s ships to be destroyed (Revelation 8:9). Here now with this second bowl judgment we have the entirety of the sea becoming like blood and every living creature in it dying.

I’ve always found it interesting that both these judgments affect the “sea” (singular) as opposed to the “seas” (plural). What should we make of this? One explanation is that John is speaking exclusively of the Mediterranean Sea. Remember that he was in exile on the island of Patmos, which is in the Aegean Sea, which is a part of the larger Mediterranean. A second explanation is that God’s perspective from heaven is that the earth’s various oceans total up to one big “sea” that covers 70% of the planet. A third explanation, one that sounds more provocative, is that by the time of the tribulation period the earth’s seas will have risen to a point high enough to flood over enough areas to actually merge and become one sea. But please don’t run off too far with that last explanation. I only included it to offer a bit of “outside the box” thinking.

As was the case with that second trumpet judgment, the question everyone wants answered is, “Is John talking about literal blood?” In my comments on that trumpet judgment, I mentioned that there is a phenomenon called a “red tide” in which billions of microorganisms die in a body of water and turn the water red. Another term for this natural occurrence is an “algae bloom.”

So, could this be what John saw? Maybe, but it seems doubtful. First, no “red tide” has ever covered an entire ocean. Second, John seems to make a point of emphasizing that he’s talking about literal blood when he says the blood is “as of a dead man” (Revelation 16:3). Regardless of whether or not the blood in the water is literal blood, the primary thing to understand about the second bowl judgment is that its scope and magnitude are far worse than the second trumpet judgment. We aren’t dealing with one-third of the salt waters and sea creatures this time; we’re dealing with all of them.

Bowl Judgment #3 (Revelation 16:4-7): The Fresh Waters Turned To Blood

The third angel poured out his bowl “on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood” (Revelation 16:4). Here again we’ve seen this kind of thing before in our walk through The Revelation. The third trumpet judgment gives us a great star that falls from heaven and makes one-third of the rivers and springs of water bitter. The difference in the third bowl judgment is that all of the rivers and springs of water become blood.

Again, is John describing literal blood? A straightforward reading does seem to point in that direction. In verses 5 and 6, the angel who poured out the third bowl explains that God has now judged those who shed the blood of saints and prophets in that He has given them blood to drink as their just due. Those martyred saints and prophets certainly didn’t shed algae blooms, did they?

Bowl Judgment #4 (Revelation 16:8-9): An Intensified Sun

The fourth angel poured out his bowl “on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire” (Revelation 16:8). During the fourth trumpet judgment a third of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened. The reverse happens, though, concerning the sun in the fourth bowl judgment. This is more evidence that the last half of the tribulation period will be much worse than the first half.

Can you imagine what it would be like to live in a world in which the sun’s rays scorched people? Forget about vacationing at the beach or at the lake. Then again, apparently all those waters would be blood anyway. I suppose the people alive on the earth during this time will be forced to remain indoors during the day. And what about all the grass, trees, flowers, and herbs? Evidently, all that greenery will be burned up.

I’m old enough to remember the 1970s and 1980s and the dire warnings about how the spray from aerosol cans was depleting the ozone layer that protects the earth’s atmosphere from the harmful rays of the sun. This led to the worldwide phasing out of those types of products, a phasing out that is now almost complete. It just could be, though, that in the last half of the tribulation period the ozone layer will be weakened somehow, which will result in an intensified sun. On the other hand, the ozone layer could remain the same but the sun could start spewing out solar flares, go supernova altogether, or something like that.

Whatever the exact details will be, we might assume that all these ecological disasters will cause the earth’s inhabitants to turn to God and cry out to Him for help. But that assumption would be wrong. John says, “And men scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues, and they did not repent and give him glory” (Revelation 16:9).

The reality of the situation will be that once a person takes the mark of the beast, there won’t be any turning back spiritually. No matter what befalls that person, he/she will have lost the ability to turn to God. The only time these people will speak of Him will be when they curse Him, blaspheme His name, or blame Him for all their troubles. This is a rock-bottom state in which to exist, but it’s how the majority of the earth’s inhabitants in the tribulation period will live.

Posted in Prophecy, Series: "Bible Prophecy in Chronology" | Tagged a red tide, a sore on the right hand or forehead, an algae bloom, an angel preaching the gospel, blood flowing four feet high for 200 miles, Jesus holding a sickle, the 144000 standing on Mount Zion, the bowl judgments, the earth having one sea, the fresh waters turned to blood, the ozone layer depleted, the sea turned to blood, the sun intensified, the winepress of God's wrath | Leave a comment

The False Prophet

Posted on February 1, 2017 by russellmckinney

Bible Prophecy in Chronology series (post #15)

The Holy Trinity is God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. In the tribulation period, the unholy trinity will be Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet. Satan will play the role of God the Father as the grand planner. The Antichrist will play the role of Jesus as the one who will carry out the plan upon the earth. The False Prophet will play the role of the Holy Spirit as the one who will point the world to the one who will carry out the plan. Since I haven’t really said much about the False Prophet in this series, I’d like to devote this entire post to him before we launch forth next time into the record of the third and last wave of tribulation-period judgments.

In the symbolic language of The Revelation, the False Prophet is similar to the Antichrist in that he too is described as a “beast.” However, whereas the Antichrist is depicted as having seven heads with a blasphemous name upon each head and ten horns with a crown upon each horn (Revelation 13:1), the False Prophet is depicted as having “two horns like a lamb” (Revelation 13:11). Whatever else might be said about the differences in these two descriptions, we can at least understand that the Antichrist will be more powerful than the False Prophet. In Bible prophecy, horns indicate power, and ten horns beats two horns any day. Even more than that, ten horns with crowns definitely outdo two horns with no crowns. What all this means is that even though the False Prophet will be granted enough power to do the things he needs to do, he will exist to serve the Antichrist.

But you don’t have to be an expert in sheep to know that a lamb doesn’t have horns. What’s the significance, then, of the False Prophet’s imagery including “two horns like a lamb”? Since The Revelation also portrays Jesus as a lamb (Revelation 5:6-8), the implication is that the False Prophet will specialize in spiritual matters and religion. He is called, after all, the False Prophet (Revelation 16:13, 19:20). Also, a lamb seems to be a harmless, innocent, even pleasant thing. No one would expect a lamb to do any damage. I take this to mean that people will underestimate the deviousness of the False Prophet until they have been caught in his snare.

Like most effective prophets, the False Prophet will be an excellent orator. John says that he will speak “like a dragon” (Revelation 13:11). We’ve only met one dragon in The Revelation, and that was Satan (Revelation 12:3-4). So, like the Antichrist (Revelation 13:4), the False Prophet will be energized by Satan. When he speaks, Satan’s words will flow from his lips. Just imagine a religious, “beastly” man who has the character traits and abilities of not only a lamb but also a dragon. That’s a dangerous man!

In John’s account, he sees the False Prophet “coming up out of the earth” (Revelation 13:11). Perhaps you’ll remember from a previous post that John’s imagery has the Antichrist coming up “out of the sea” (Revelation 13:1). Based upon Revelation 17:15, various commentators submit that “out of the sea” means that the Antichrist will emerge from the Gentile nations of the world. If this interpretation is correct, what does it mean that the False Prophet comes up from the earth rather than the sea? Many believe “the earth” (or “the land”) refers to Israel and that the False Prophet will be a Jew. I tend to agree with this assessment, but I won’t present it as irrefutable fact. I do feel pretty strongly that one man arising from the sea and the other one arising from the earth most likely indicates a stark ethnic difference between the two.

As a part of playing his role of pointing the world to the Antichrist, the False Prophet will erect an image to the Antichrist in the Jewish temple and have anyone killed who refuses to worship the image (Revelation 13:14-15). This reminds us of that great image of gold that Babylon’s Nebuchadnezzar once had built on the plain of Dura in Babylon (Daniel 3:1-30). That image was approximately 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide, and anyone who wouldn’t fall down and worship it was thrown into the fiery furnace. We aren’t given the specifications of the image the False Prophet will erect to the Antichrist, but it will surely be an impressive site there in Jerusalem’s temple.

And where precisely will the image be located in the temple? The most blasphemous place would be inside the Holy of Holies. That’s the small room where the Jews once kept the Ark of the Covenant. However, it would take a relatively small image to fit inside a room that size. If the False Prophet chooses to go for a much larger image and a more open space that will allow for larger crowds to worship the image simultaneously, it could be located in the outer portion of the temple complex, perhaps in the area of the sacrificial altar.

The False Prophet will also institute a system of buying and selling that requires each individual to bear a specific mark in the right hand or the forehead (Revelation 13:16-17). This “mark of the beast” will be associated with the Antichrist’s name or the number of his name (Revelation 13:17-18). That number is 666, and John calls it “the number of a man.”

Some students of prophecy point out that in Biblical numerology “6” is the number of man because Adam was created on the 6th day of the creation week. Likewise, “3” is the number of God because God is a Trinity. Perhaps, then, the number 666 is simply the Bible’s way of saying that the Antichrist will be a man masquerading as God.

Others, however, start with the fact that in the languages of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, letters had numerical equivalents. From there, these people devise incredibly elaborate systems by which the names of Antichrist candidates are produced. I confess that I’m not intelligent enough in either linguistics or mathematics to follow the reasoning behind these systems, but over the centuries this process has produced such names as Caesar Nero, Gaius Caesar (Caligula), Benito Mussolini, Adolph Hitler, and basically any United States President the people doing the ciphering didn’t like. Truth be told, this whole approach to interpreting the meaning of “666” has been so laughably wrong so many times that I find it impossible to take the area of study seriously.

As for our understanding of how the mark will actually be implemented on the right hand or in the forehead, that too is constantly evolving. Clarence Larkin was a prominent Baptist preacher and teacher of prophecy in the late 1800s and early 1900s. His books on prophecy became so popular that he had to quit the pastorate to devote his time to writing. In his commentary on The Revelation, he states quite emphatically that the mark of the beast will be either branded on or burnt on.

That, of course, was a perfectly reasonable interpretation in Larkin’s day, but he’d never checked out at Walmart or his local grocery store and had them scan his items by using barcode technology. He also couldn’t have envisioned a world in which everyone’s information and wealth is stored on computers. So, in our day and age, the latest take on how the mark of the beast will be implemented involves computer chips implanted in the right hand or forehead. The idea is that these chips will do away with the need for cash as the process of buying and selling is whittled down to a scanner passing across your right hand or forehead, money thus being either deducted from or added to your computerized account. Boy, that sure sounds like a logical interpretation, doesn’t it? Sure it does, right now. But twenty years from now it might sound as outdated as being branded or burnt.

One thing that we need to come to grips with about the False Prophet is that he will be granted a certain level of supernatural power. He will “exercise all the authority” of the Antichrist (Revelation 13:12). He will perform “great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men” (Revelation 13:13). He will use these signs to deceive those who dwell on the earth (Revelation 13:14). He will be granted “power to give breath to the image of the beast (the Antichrist), that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (Revelation 13:15).

How do we explain all this? We can’t fully. The best we can do is acknowledge that Satan does have power, real power, and he is perfectly capable of imparting it to those who do his bidding. This power is contained and governed somewhat now, but in the tribulation period, especially the last half, it will be allowed to run free and virtually unencumbered.

I’ve heard a few guesses as to how the False Prophet will be able to make the Antichrist’s image breathe and talk. Perhaps it will be some sort of state-of-the-art robot or artificial intelligence machine. Perhaps it will be a sophisticated computer. Perhaps it will be the latest and greatest invention of that future day.

While I don’t completely rule out any of these possibilities, it’s hard for me to dismiss the element of supernatural power John attributes to the thing. He says the False Prophet was granted power to give breath to the image. The Holman Christian Standard translation renders it: “He was permitted to give a spirit to the image of the beast…” Also, it’s no small detail that the Greek word that John uses for the “signs” the False Prophet is able to perform is semeion. That’s the same Greek word John frequently uses in his gospel to describe the miracles that Jesus performed.

So, to sum up, the False Prophet will be the Antichrist’s vice-president, chief promoter, public relations director, advertising campaign manager, and biggest fan. He will make people feel like fools for not coming into lockstep with the Antichrist and pledging their undying allegiance to him. He will be a religious charlatan, a Satanic voice, and a truly evil man. Omitting him from the unholy trinity would be like omitting God the Holy Spirit from the Holy Trinity. That’s how important his role is in the story of the Antichrist, and that’s why I needed to devote this entire post to him.

Posted in Prophecy, Series: "Bible Prophecy in Chronology", The Trinity | Tagged 666, barcode technology and the mark of the beast, Clarence Larkin on the mark of the beast, the False Prophet, the image to the Antichrist, the mark of the beast, the unholy trinity, two horns like a lamb, will the false prophet be a Jew? | 1 Comment

The Midway Point of the Tribulation Period: The Antichrist Becomes a Beast

Posted on January 31, 2017 by russellmckinney

Bible Prophecy in Chronology series (post #14)

The last three-and-a-half years of the seven-year tribulation period are sometimes referred to as “the great tribulation.” This term comes from Christ’s quote concerning the midway point of the period: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21). I myself have never been too concerned with dissecting the seven-year period into the general tribulation of the first half and the great tribulation of the second half. As we’ve seen in our studies, the first half will be plenty bad! Still, though, there is no denying that those final three-and-a-half years are going to ratchet things up to a much more intense level.

In my last post, I explained that the trigger for the closing half of the tribulation period will be a second war in heaven between Satan’s angels and God’s angels (Revelation 12:7). As they did so long ago in the first war in heaven, Satan and the other rebellious angels will come up on the losing end and be cast down to the earth (Revelation 12:9). But Satan won’t land on earth, learn from his mistakes, and humbly slink away to lick his wounds and ponder his future. No, he’ll be MAD! Really MAD! He’ll come down “having great wrath” knowing that he now has but a short time – the last half of the tribulation period – to seek his revenge upon God (Revelation 12:12). He’ll achieve this revenge by persecuting God’s people. And how will he get this persecution done? He’ll do it through the Antichrist.

In Revelation 13:1, the Antichrist is called a “beast.” This description speaks of his character rather than his appearance. The verse also says that he has seven heads and ten horns. Upon each horn is a crown, and upon each head is a blasphemous name. Thankfully, in Revelation 17:9-11, an angel explains most of this symbolism:

The seven heads have a dual meaning. They represent not only seven mountains but also seven kings. The seven mountains surely speak of the city of Rome, which has long been known as the city which sits upon seven hills. The seven rulers refer to seven historical rulers of the Roman empire, with the Antichrist serving as the seventh on the list.
The ten horns are ten kings who will receive authority during the time of the Antichrist. This explains why there is a crown upon each horn. These are the ten kings of the alliance that Daniel prophesied would make up the revived Roman empire of the end times. According to Daniel, the Antichrist will rise up as an eleventh horn (a “little horn”) and take over the entire alliance by subduing (“plucking up”) three of the ten kings (Daniel 7:7-8,23-24).
The seven blasphemous names, one upon each head, evidently refer to the level of hatred the Antichrist will exhibit toward God. In scriptural numerology, the number seven frequently symbolizes completion or perfection. Therefore, the Antichrist bearing seven blasphemous names speaks to how completely and perfectly blasphemous his intentions, words, and actions will be toward God, especially in the last half of the tribulation period.

Now, one of the most perplexing prophecies concerning the Antichrist is found in Revelation 13:3 and it has major implications on the midway point of the tribulation period. John says, “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.” This “deadly wound” must surely be important because it is also mentioned in verse 12 and verse 14. In verse 14, John even adds in that the wound was caused “by the sword.”

One interpretation of this prophecy is that the Antichrist will experience some type of resurrection after the whole world thinks he has been assassinated. Obviously, this will be Satan’s attempt to replicate Christ’s resurrection. However, a debate rages as to exactly how we should interpret the Antichrist’s death and resurrection. Will he barely survive an assassination attempt or will he actually be killed and somehow miraculously brought back to life? It doesn’t help that even John seems to offer conflicting descriptions of the event. Let me show you what I mean.

In Revelation 13:14, we read that the Antichrist “was wounded by the sword and lived.” Okay, that wording seems to imply a wound that is life-threatening but not fatal. However, in Revelation 13:3 and 13:12 the wound is described as “deadly,” and in Revelation 13:3 the words “mortally wounded” are used. Okay, that seems to imply a wound that results in actual death.

But wait, there’s more. Even though Revelation 13:3 does use those words “mortally wounded” it precedes them by saying “as if it had been mortally wounded.” That makes it sound like the wound appeared fatal but really wasn’t. But then we get Revelation 17:8 and Revelation 17:11 where the Antichrist is described as the beast “who was, and is not.” Well, if the word “was” speaks of a time when the man was alive, then it only makes sense that the words “and is not” speak of a time when he is not alive. Right?

Those who believe that the Antichrist will literally die and literally be resurrected point to the fact that Pharaoh’s “sorcerers” (“wise men” “magicians”) were seemingly able to duplicate some of the miraculous things that Moses and Aaron did in their attempts to convince Pharaoh to free the Israelites from their bondage in ancient Egypt. First, when Aaron threw his rod to the ground so that it could become a serpent, Pharaoh’s sorcerers matched that feat by throwing their rods to the ground and causing them to become serpents (Exodus 7:8-13). Second, when Moses used the rod to strike the waters of Egypt and turn them into blood, Pharaoh’s sorcerers used their enchantments to somehow produce the same effect (Exodus 7:14-25). Third, when Moses used the rod to call forth frogs from Egypt’s waters to come upon the dry land and ruin everyday life, Pharaoh’s sorcerers copied that act by causing even more frogs to come upon the land (Exodus 8:1-7). Admittedly that’s as far into the ten plagues as those sorcerers could go in their attempts to keep up with Moses, but the fact that they could keep up that long leads some to assert that those sorcerers were performing authentic miracles via the power of Satan. And if that really is what was happening, perhaps Satan similarly has enough power to literally resurrect the literally dead Antichrist.

Others, however, scoff at the whole notion that Satan has any genuine miracle-working power. After all, 2 Thessalonians 2:9 associates the Antichrist with “all power, signs, and lying wonders.” The use of that word “lying” might be taken to mean that the wonders (including the supposed resurrection) aren’t legitimate. Also, if Pharaoh’s sorcerers were able to perform honest-to-goodness miracles wouldn’t the better course of action have been to reverse whatever Moses and Aaron were doing rather than mimic it? I mean, why turn even more water into blood and bring up even more frogs just to show your power? Isn’t that evidence that what those sorcerers actually did was perform parlor tricks rather than authentic miracles?

As you might expect, whichever camp you align with on this debate will provide you with plenty of company. Rarely do both sides of an argument offer such compelling evidences to back up their positions. But since I’m the one writing this post I’ll be brave enough to offer my opinion. Just know going in that I don’t claim any secret insight for what you’re about to read. This is just one man’s take on a controversial subject.

I tend to side with those who teach that the Antichrist will literally die and literally be resurrected, and I’ve got two main reasons for choosing this side. Reason #1 comes from the original Greek of Revelation 13:3. The Greek word translated as “wounded” in the phrase “mortally wounded” is sphazo and it literally means “to slay.” It’s actually the same Greek word that is used in Revelation 5:6 in reference to Jesus as a “slain” Lamb. That sounds like a literal death to me.

Reason #2 involves Revelation 17:9-11. Do you remember that I told you that those verses explain that the Antichrist’s seven symbolic heads represent seven historical rulers of the Roman empire? What I didn’t tell you is that the passage offers us clues as to the identities of those seven rulers. Revelation 17:10 says: “There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.”

Many scholars identify the five “fallen” kings as the Roman emperors who had ruled before John’s day. Those were Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Cladius, and Nero. Continuing with this line of thought, the “one is” king of John’s day was Domitian – the Roman emperor who had exiled John to the island of Patmos. This leaves only “the other who has not yet come.” He will be the Antichrist, the ruler of the revived Roman empire in the tribulation period. This makes the Antichrist the seventh of the seven kings.

It is important to note, though, that the prophecy says that the Antichrist (the seventh king) will only “continue a short time” before he is replaced by an eighth king. And who will this eighth ruler be? Revelation 17:11 plainly says, “The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth.” You see, the way the prophecy reads, the Antichrist will be not only the seventh king but also the eighth. It’s as if he has two completely separate reigns, one in the first half of the tribulation period and another in the last half. To me, this indicates that he will have two separate existences.

But how could such a thing be possible? I believe the answer is found in a demon. The Revelation doesn’t just call the Antichrist “the beast”; it calls him “the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 11:7, Revelation 17:8). As we learned in a previous post, “the bottomless pit” (the abyss, the deep, Tartarus) is a place exclusively used for the incarceration of certain fallen angels (demons).

Hopefully you’ll recall that in Revelation 9:1-12 Satan is given the key to the bottomless pit as a part of the fifth trumpet judgment in the first half of the tribulation period. When he opens the pit the incarcerated demons (symbolically described by John as hideous looking locusts) are released (Revelation 9:3-10). Their “king” (leader) is a fallen angel John calls “the angel of the bottomless pit.” That fallen angel’s name is Abaddon in the Hebrew and Apollyon in the Greek (Revelation 9:11). Both names mean “Destroyer.”

So, what all this means is that at some point in the tribulation period the Antichrist will become demon possessed by a demon that ascends out of the bottomless pit. We are never given the name of that demon but it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s Abaddon/Apollyon himself. I’m not presenting that as absolute fact, but it would explain why that demon’s name is the only one given. Regardless of whether or not it’s Abaddon/Apollyon, it seems to me that the demon that enters the Antichrist’s body and possesses it will provide the impetus and empowerment for the miraculous resurrection.

Did you know that in Luke 22:3 the Bible says that Satan literally entered into the body of Judas Iscariot just before Judas betrayed Jesus? What this shows us is that when Satan wants to do his biggest work he brings out his biggest guns for demon possession. The demon that possesses the Antichrist will change the Antichrist’s personality overnight. The man of peace will become the man of war. The diplomat will become the dictator. The politician will become the punisher. The mogul will become the madman. In the words of prominent pastor and denominational leader Adrian Rogers, “He will enter the grave as a human, but he will arise as a super human.”

And now I’ll close this post by providing a list of seven events that will occur immediately following the Antichrist’s death and resurrection at the midway point of the tribulation period:

The Antichrist will be granted a God-given authority to have dominion for 42 months (Revelation 13:5). These 42 months will be the last three-and-a-half years of the tribulation period. The power he wields before the midway point of the period will be minor compared to the power he wields after it.
The Antichrist will break his treaty with Israel and claim the Jewish temple as what we might think of as his personal palace. He will sit “as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
The people of the world will marvel at the Antichrist’s resurrection and begin to think of him as a godlike figure (Revelation 13:4,8). Not only will they worship him, they will either knowingly or unknowing worship the devil who empowers him (Revelation 13:4).
The Antichrist will begin to publicly speak blasphemies against God and will go to war with and overcome the “saints” (Revelation 13:6-7). These “saints” will be people who have become Christians during the tribulation period. Not all of the tribulation-period Christians will end up martyred, but many of them will, and the Antichrist’s chosen method of execution will be death-by-beheading (Revelation 20:4).
The Antichrist will have a right-hand man known as “the false prophet.” (I’ll have more to say about him in the next post.) This false prophet will have the power to perform incredible “signs” that will give him the platform by which to convince the whole world to worship the Antichrist (Revelation 13:11-14).
The false prophet will erect an image to the Antichrist inside the Jewish temple. Somehow this image will be given breath and the power to speak (Revelation 13:14-15). Anyone who refuses to bow down and worship the image will be put to death (Revelation 13:15). Jesus described the erecting of this image inside the temple as “the abomination of desolation” and warned future eyewitnesses to flee the region as fast as they can (Matthew 24:15-22).
The false prophet will institute an economic program that will force individuals to take a certain mark either in the right hand or in the forehead. Without this mark they will not be able to buy or sell anything. This mark will be directly associated with the Antichrist and will somehow involve his name or the number of his name. Revelation 13:18 cites that number as 666. In the ancient world, each of the letters of the alphabets used in languages such as Hebrew or Greek corresponded to a number. This has led countless students of prophecy to spend countless hours trying to break the code of the numbers 6-6-6. The problem is that if you work hard enough at it you can manipulate the system to make the numbers 6-6-6 correspond to a long list of names. For example, the name “Ronald” has six letters, as do the names “Wilson” and “Reagan.” So there you have it, Ronald Wilson Reagan was the Antichrist. Get my point? That’s why I don’t stress out over the numbers 6-6-6. The mark itself and its ramifications are much more important than the specifics of the mark. And what are those ramifications? If you refuse to take the mark you will doom yourself to starvation, poverty, and a high chance of martyrdom. But if you take it you will doom yourself to eternal separation from God. Nice choice, huh? Welcome to the last half of the tribulation period.

Posted in Prophecy, Series: "Bible Prophecy in Chronology", Uncategorized | Tagged 666 the mark of the beast, Abaddon, Apollyon, can Satan perform miracles?, his deadly wound was healed, Satan entering into Judas, the abomination of desolation, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit, the city that sits on seven hills, the great tribulation, the mark of the beast, the resurrection of the Antichrist | Leave a comment

The Midway Point of the Tribulation Period: War in Heaven

Posted on January 28, 2017 by russellmckinney

Bible Prophecy in Chronology series (post #13)

Our studies in Bible prophecy have now brought us to the turning point of the coming tribulation period. This turning point will occur at the period’s midway point, three-and-a-half years into the seven years. Actually, though, the trigger for the shift occurs in heaven rather than upon the earth, and it involves angelic happenings rather than human ones.

Revelation 12:1-5 gives us a brief, symbolic overview of the war that Satan has waged against Israel and her Messiah Jesus for thousands of years. As we interpret the symbolism, we first learn that Israel is the “woman” whom John sees in heaven (Revelation 12:1). She is clothed with the sun, has the moon under her feet, and wears on her head a garland of twelve stars. This description hearkens back to a prophetic dream that Joseph once had (Genesis 37:9-11). In the dream, Joseph saw his father Jacob (whom God had previously renamed “Israel,” Genesis 35:10) represented as the sun, his mother represented as the moon, and he and his eleven brothers represented as stars. You see, at the time Joseph had that dream he and his family were the entirety of the nation of Israel.

Second, John sees that Israel has a “baby” in her womb (Revelation 12:2). This baby will be born a “male Child” who will “rule all nations with a rod of iron” (Revelation 12:5). This “baby” is Jesus, who was born a Jew, and will one day establish His 1,000 year reign over the earth. As for the birth pangs, they are the centuries of Jewish history that led up to the time when Jesus was born into this world. The fact that John says the Child “was caught up to God and His throne” is a reference to Jesus’ ascension back up to heaven following His birth, life, death, and resurrection.

Third, the “great, fiery red dragon” is Satan (Revelation 12:3). Keep in mind that this is a symbolic description of him rather than a literal one. The word “great” speaks of how powerful he is. The color “fiery red” speaks of all the bloodshed he has caused down through the course of history. Finally, him being represented as a “dragon” illustrates the fear that he induces.

The hard part in the description of Satan is trying to rightly understand the seven heads, seven diadems on his heads, and ten horns. Various interpretations have been set forth, but I think the best one ties it all in with Revelation 17:3’s description of the Antichrist as a “scarlet beast” with seven heads and ten horns. (I’ll say more about all that in a later post). This tie-in shows that Satan will be the power behind the throne for the Antichrist. Just as Jesus did God the Father’s will, the Antichrist will do Satan’s will.

Fourth, the “third of the stars of heaven” are the other fallen angels who have been banished from heaven along with Satan (Revelation 12:4). If you recall, Satan himself is described as a “star” in Revelation 9:1. But what does John mean when he says the tail of the “dragon” (Satan) “drew” them out and “threw them to the earth”? This imagery describes what happened in heaven long ago when Satan convinced one-third of all the angels to join him in a rebellious coup to attempt to overthrow God (Isaiah 14:12-14, Ezekiel 28:11-17, Luke 10:18). When that coup failed, Satan and the other rebellious angels were cast out of heaven, were thrown down to the earth, and thus became “fallen” angels (demons).

In the wake of this humiliating and debilitating defeat, Satan and his army of fallen angels immediately went to work on earth to mess up what God was trying to do (1 Peter 5:8, Ephesians 6:10-17). There is no consensus among Bible scholars as to the exact time when Satan and his angels fell, but I tend to believe it happened between the last verse of Genesis chapter 2 and the first verse of Genesis chapter 3. Think about it: At the close of chapter 2 everything in Eden is perfect, but then chapter 3 opens up with a serpent that can talk and tempt! It seems clear to me that something big happened in that white space between those two chapters.

Ultimately, Satan’s most important goal for messing up God’s plan involved his attempt to get Jesus killed before Jesus could go to the cross and die His sacrificial death for the sins of the human race. John describes this attempt by saying, “And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born” (Revelation 12:4). If you know your New Testament, you can guess the story that matches up with these words. It’s the story of how Herod the Great tried to kill the young Jesus (Matthew 2:1-15). Of course Satan’s attempt didn’t work, and Jesus did eventually fulfill His mission by dying on the cross for the sins of the world.

Okay, now that we understand Revelation 12:1-5, let’s ask the question, “Why is John giving us this history lesson concerning the longstanding war that Satan has waged against Israel and her Messiah Jesus? The answer is: He’s doing it because this war serves as the backdrop for what is about to happen in the tribulation period. Revelation 12:6 talks about Israel fleeing into the wilderness to a God-prepared place and spending 1,260 days there. On a prophetic calendar of 360 days per year, 1,260 days equals three-and-a-half years exactly. These 1,260 days will be the last half of the tribulation period. But why will Israel need to go into hiding for the last half of the tribulation period? We’re about to find out.

Revelation 12:7 is written in a very jolting way as John bluntly says, “And war broke out in heaven.” In this war, John sees Michael (God’s archangel, Jude verse 9) and his angels fight against the dragon (Satan) and his angels. Make no mistake, what we are dealing with here is a second war in heaven as Satan and the other fallen angels make another run at the place. Perhaps Satan’s newfound boldness to try again will have something to do with the recent release of his fallen angels from the bottomless pit (Revelation 9:1-12) and the Euphrates river (Revelation 9:13-15).

You ask, “But if Satan and his cohorts were banished from heaven, how could they get back up there?” Well, it’s clear that the banishment, as bad as it is, doesn’t prevent them from visiting heaven in some limited way. I say this because in the book of Job we read about two different occasions in which Satan comes in with the unfallen angels when they present themselves before the Lord. (In the Old Testament, the term “the sons of God” refers to angels: Genesis 6:1-4, Job 1:6, Job 2:1).

And so what will be the outcome of this second war in heaven? It will be the same as the first outcome. Satan and his angels will not prevail and will be cast down to the earth again (Revelation 12:8-9). What will be different this time is that the casting down will serve as the trigger that changes things for the worse in the tribulation period. That’s why John hears a loud voice in heaven immediately afterward that says, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” That “short time” will be the last three-and-a-half years of the tribulation period. Surely it isn’t mere coincidence that Revelation 12:9 is the exact middle verse of the book of The Revelation!

Now take a guess as to who Satan will immediately focus his wrath toward once he is cast back down to the earth. If you guessed his old enemy – the “woman” Israel – you win the prize. John says in Revelation 12:13, “Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child” (Revelation 12:13). This explains why Israel will have to go into hiding in “the wilderness” where she will be “nourished for a time and times and a half time, from the presence of the serpent” (Revelation 12:14). That phrase “a time and times and a half time” is another way of saying “three-and-a-half years.”

Let me remind you that at the beginning of the tribulation period Israel will sign a treaty with the Antichrist and his revived Roman empire (Daniel 9:27). The Jews living in and around Jerusalem at that time will also be worshiping in a temple (Revelation 11:1-2) that will be built either just prior to the Rapture of just after it. The point is, by the middle of the tribulation period they will be feeling safe in covenant alliance with the Antichrist and ecstatic over being able to worship in their beautiful temple. It is precisely at this time, though, that Satan will come after them. You’ll notice that Revelation chapter 12 doesn’t offer any specifics as to exactly how he will persecute Israel in that day, but those specifics will be given in the next chapter, and I’ll cover them in my next post.

As far as the exact “wilderness” area in which the Jews of that day will hide out and be nourished by God, many prophecy experts point to the region of ancient Edom, Moab, and Ammon. This region is located east of Israel and is now a part of the country of Jordan. But why do the experts single out this region? It’s because Daniel 11:41 says that the people of Edom, Moab, and Ammon will escape from the hand of the Antichrist when he enters into the land of Israel. If you want to try to really narrow things down, the ancient Edomite city of Petra, which is built out of rock, is often named as the singular site where the Jews will hide out during the last half of the tribulation period.

John says that Satan “spewed water out of his mouth like a flood” in his efforts to catch Israel as she fled out of Jerusalem, but “the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood” (Revelation 12:16). While some commentators have attempted to explain this scene in a very literal way involving literal water, my take is that it’s just more figurative language in a chapter filled with such language. I understand it to mean that no matter what Satan tries to do to keep Israel from escaping to God’s appointed place in the wilderness, those Jews will arrive there safely.

And how will Satan respond to this missed attack on Israel? John says, “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17). That last part of the description lets us know that in this instance John is talking about Jews who have believed in Jesus as their Messiah and gotten saved during the first half of the tribulation period. This group will probably include not only the 144,000 Jewish evangelists themselves but also their Jewish converts. Unfortunately for these Jews, many of them will become martyrs in the last half of the tribulation period. If there is one thing that Satan hates worse than a Jew, it’s a Jewish Christian.

This then is where we’ll leave off the story for now. In the next post, we’ll jump right back into the fray and pick things up from here. We’ll read about the Antichrist surviving an assassination attempt on his life. We’ll read about him turning bad. We’ll read about the work he does with his false prophet. We’ll read about the image he has erected to himself. And we’ll read about his “mark of the beast.” Believe me, The Revelation doesn’t call this guy “the beast” for nothing, and in our next study he’s going to start acting downright beastly.

Posted in Prophecy, Series: "Bible Prophecy in Chronology" | Tagged a woman clothed with the sun, does Satan still have access to heaven?, Israel as a woman, Israel in hiding for 1260 days, Israel in hiding in Petra, Satan as a dragon, Satan's tail drawing a third of the stars out of heaven, the first war in heaven, the second war in heaven, when did Satan fall? | 3 Comments

One Mighty Angel and Two Incredible Witnesses

Posted on January 26, 2017 by russellmckinney

Bible Prophecy in Chronology series (post #12)

In my last post, I finished up the study of the seven Trumpet Judgments that will take place after the seven Seal Judgments in the first half of the tribulation period. However, in order to work in that seventh trumpet judgment and include it with the post, I had to cheat a little bit by jumping from Revelation 9:13-21 (the sixth trumpet judgment) to Revelation 11:15-19 (the seventh trumpet judgment).

This jump makes chapters 10 and 11 each what commentators call a “parenthesis chapter.” That means the chapters veer from the book’s straightforward timeline slightly in order to add in some additional details and important information. We saw this same kind of thing when we studied the seal judgments. The sixth seal judgment comes at the end of chapter 6 and the seventh seal judgment comes at the beginning of chapter 8. This makes chapter 7 a “parenthesis chapter.” In that instance, the parenthesis is used to introduce the 144,000 Jewish evangelists and their martyred tribulation-period converts. Here now, in this second parenthesis, we are introduced to a mighty angel and two prophets whom God calls “my two witnesses.”

We meet the mighty angel in Revelation 10:1-7 as he descends down from heaven to the earth and comes to rest with one foot on the sea and the other one on the land. Having one foot on each represents the claim he is making concerning both sea and land. This angel is impressive enough in appearance for some commentators and prophecy teachers to contend that he is none other than Jesus. To back up this interpretation, they point to the Old Testament instances where Jesus makes preincarnate appearances upon the earth as “The Angel (capital A) of the Lord” (Genesis 16:7-12, Exodus 3:2, Judges 2:1-4, etc.). They also note that this angel is holding an opened book in his hand (Revelation 10:2). Presumably, this “book” would be the now unsealed and opened scroll that Jesus took from God the Father’s hand in Revelation 5:1-7. So, could this actually be Jesus? And could this “book” be that scroll?

My answers are, no and no. You can count me in with all the commentators and prophecy teachers who interpret this angel to be simply that: an angel. There are three good reasons for choosing this side of the debate. First, from the gospel of Matthew to the epistle of Jude there isn’t a single passage where Jesus appears in angelic form. Because of this it seems likely that Him appearing as an angel ceased forever when He took upon Himself human flesh. Second, if this angel is Jesus it means that Jesus will step foot upon the earth again before His actual second coming at the end of the tribulation period. That, of course, just doesn’t fit with the totality of prophecy. Third, the angel raises his hand and swears (takes a vow) by the God who created all things (Revelation 10:5-6). Since Jesus is that God (John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 1:1-2), He could simply swear by Himself if He wanted to take a vow, and He certainly wouldn’t have to speak in third-person to do it. So, as I see it, this angel isn’t Jesus, and any similarity he bears to Jesus can be explained by the close proximity he probably enjoys to Jesus in heaven, just as Moses’ face shown with the glory of the Lord after he spent 40 days and 40 nights with the Lord on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:27-35).

As for the book the angel holds, the Greek word for it is biblaridion, which specifically refers to a small book. This is different from the Greek word for the scroll of Revelation 5:1-7. That word is biblion, which refers to a large book. Furthermore, if the scroll of Revelation 5:1-7 is the title deed to the earth – as most commentators suggest – it seems very odd that John would hear a voice from heaven that tells him to go take the book from the angel’s hand and eat the book (Revelation 10:8-10).

By the way, the idea of eating the word of God symbolizes that the word has become an integral part of your life. The word doesn’t just get inside your ears or your mind; it goes deep down inside you. We find this same kind of language in the prophetic ministries of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 15:16) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 2:7-10, 3:1-3).

But if this book this angel holds isn’t the scroll from Revelation 5:1-7, what is it? It seems to be the record of the events that will play out from that time (Revelation 10:1-7) forward in the tribulation period. You see, at the time this angel descends to the earth, the earth will be right on the cusp of the seventh trumpet judgment, and it is in the days of that trumpet judgment that the “mystery of God” will be “finished” (Revelation 10:7).

Perhaps you’ll recall that I said in my previous post that the seventh trumpet judgment includes everything from the blowing of the trumpet in Revelation 11:15-19 up through Christ’s second coming at the end of the tribulation period in Revelation 19:1-21. In light of this, the role this angel with this book plays is one of descending down to the earth right before the beginning of that seventh judgment and loudly proclaiming that there will be no more delay to the beginning of the events written in the book he holds. Those events will involve the sea and the land, and they will culminate in Christ’s second coming. Think of it this way: With the appearance of this angel and this book, the end game of the tribulation period is now in sight and God is eager for it to happen.

John, for his part, is going to serve as not only a front-row eyewitness but also a court recorder to it all. For one thing, he will see Christ’s magnificent return to establish His kingdom upon the earth. This explains why the little book tasted “as sweet as honey” when he ate it (Revelation 10:10). Before that second coming, though, John will see all the horrific events that will play out in the last three-and-a-half years of the tribulation period. This explains why the little book became “bitter” in his stomach (Revelation 10:10).

But now, with this mighty angel explained, let me get to those two important figures whom God calls “my two witnesses” (Revelation 11:3). I’ll start by giving a list of the ten descriptive facts The Revelation gives us about these men. Then I’ll close this post by offering my opinion as to the actual identities of the men.

Fact #1: The two witnesses will prophecy for 1,260 days in the tribulation period (Revelation 11:3). 1,260 days is three-and-a-half years. Remember that the Jewish calendar, which is the calendar God uses in prophecy, marks years in terms of 360 days, not the 365 we Gentiles know so well. I explained all this in post #4 of this series. So, we know that the two witnesses will have a ministry that lasts three-and-a-half years.

The disagreements start when the question is asked, “When will these three-and-a-half years begin and end?” Many prophecy experts believe the two witnesses will minister during the first half of the tribulation period. Renowned prophecy teacher David Jeremiah even suggests they might be the ones who win the 144,000 Jewish evangelists to Christ at the very beginning of the period.

On the other hand, other prophecy experts place the ministry of the witnesses in the last half of the tribulation period. John Walvoord, who some would consider the 20th century’s most influential teacher of prophecy, argued that it must be the last half because the witnesses need divine protection from the Antichrist lest they be killed by him before their ministry is complete. The Antichrist, you’ll recall, won’t reveal his true colors until the midway point of the period.

As for my take on all this, I side with Walvoord and the others who favor the last half of the period as the answer. Getting even more specific, I believe the two witnesses will begin their ministry just prior to the midway point of the tribulation period and finish it just prior to the end of the period. I base this upon the fact that The Revelation introduces these two men in chapter 11, not chapter 12. That’s significant because virtually everyone agrees that chapter 12 marks the beginning of the last three-and-a-half years of the period.

Fact #2: The two witnesses will be clothed in sackcloth (Revelation 11:3). Sackcloth is rough, coarse cloth that is made from goat or camel hair. Wearing clothing made from it has served as a visible object lesson of humility, suffering, somberness, grief, and mourning for thousands of years (Genesis 37:34). This clothing will set these two witnesses apart as being wildly different from the rest of the world. You don’t get any more “old school” than to do your witnessing and prophesying while wearing sackcloth.

Fact #3: The two witnesses are described as “two olive trees” and “two lampstands” (Revelation 11:4). In the ancient world, lampstands provided light, and the oil from olive trees was used to fuel lampstands. Symbolically speaking, the two witnesses will be lampstands in the sense that they will shine God’s spiritual light into a spiritually dark world. Likewise, the oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit who will empower them to minister. Oil is often used in the Bible to symbolize or typify the Holy Spirit (1 Samuel 16:13, Isaiah 61:1, Acts 10:38, 1 John 2:27, etc.). Lastly, the symbols of olive trees and lampstands undoubtedly relate back to a certain prophecy found in Zechariah 4:1-14.

Fact #4: The two witnesses will be invulnerable until their ministry is completed (Revelation 11:5). These men will have the ability to project some kind of “fire” from their mouths to devour anyone who tries to harm them. It’s hard to say whether or not this “fire” will be literal. In Jeremiah 5:14, God says to Jeremiah, “I will make My words in your mouth fire and this people wood, and it shall devour them.” Obviously, God’s words in Jeremiah’s mouth weren’t literal fire. So, perhaps the same will be true of the two witnesses. However, I’m not dismissing the possibility that the “fire” will be literal.

Fact #5: The two witnesses will have the power to produce drought, turn waters into blood, and strike the earth with plagues (Revelation 11:6). I can’t come up with any legitimate way to explain all this other than to take it all literally. The Bible tells us that prophets of old such as Moses, Elijah, and Elisha could perform deeds that were astounding or even downright miraculous. In each instance it was actually God who was accomplishing the deed, but that doesn’t completely minimize the fact that He was doing it through the man. Clearly these two witnesses will be prophets in that same vein.

Fact #6: When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the Antichrist will kill them (Revelation 11:7). Since the Greek word for “witness” is martus, from which we get the word “martyr,” these two men will indeed live up to their title. Their deaths will not occur, however, until their ministry is thoroughly completed. No matter how much they are despised and hated, the Antichrist won’t be able to stop them until day 1,261 of their ministry. And will he kill them himself or merely order others to kill them? We aren’t told, but if he kills them himself that would bolster his reputation enormously as he would become the man who personally killed two prophets no one else had been able to kill.

Fact #7: The dead bodies of the two witnesses will lie unburied in the street of Jerusalem for three-and-half days (Revelation 11:8-9) The Antichrist will loathe the two witnesses so much that he will enjoy seeing their bodies dishonored even in death. Other lost people will despise them as well and thus have no incentive to bury the bodies. That will only leave tribulation-period believers to do the burying, and they won’t dare try such a thing for fear of being killed themselves by the Antichrist.

Fact #8: People from all tribes, tongues, and nations will not only see the dead bodies in the street but also send gifts to one another in celebration over the deaths (Revelation 11:10). When John first penned this bizarre portion of this prophecy, there was no way imaginable for all tribes, tongues, and nations to witness a singular event in Jerusalem. Now, however, with satellite television and the internet such a thing is easy. But why the worldwide celebration over the deaths of the two witnesses? It’s because the two men had “tormented those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 11:10). How had they tormented them? Well, if nothing else, causing it not to rain for three-and-a-half years (Revelation 11:6) won’t win you any popularity contests.

Fact #9: After the three-and-a-half days are finished, God will resurrect the two witnesses and call them up to heaven (Revelation 11:11-12). At the end of the three-and-a-half days, “the breath of life from God” will enter into the two corpses and they will stand up on their feet. As you can imagine, these resurrections will throw terror into all those who see them. The two witnesses will then hear a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here,” after which they will ascend up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watch.

Fact #10: The resurrection and ascension of the two witnesses will be followed by a great earthquake that strikes Jerusalem (Revelation 11:13). The damage from the quake will leave 7,000 people dead and one-tenth of the city lying in ruins. This earthquake seems to be God’s way of taking revenge upon the city for allowing the bodies of His two witnesses to lie unattended on the street for three-and-a-half days. However, there will be some good that comes out of the catastrophe as the survivors will be struck with great fear and give “glory to the God of heaven.”

Okay, so now that we understand the pertinent facts about the two witnesses, we come to the question, “Who will these men be?” Well, our best interpretation is that they will be two characters from the Old Testament who come back upon the scene to minister again. I won’t say this is the only interpretation concerning their identities, but it is without doubt the most commonly held one. But what two Old Testament characters are we dealing with?

One prime candidate is the prophet Elijah. He had the God-given ability to keep the rain from falling for three-and-a-half years (1 Kings 17:1) and to call fire down from heaven (1 Kings 18:20-38). And have you heard that he never actually died? Instead of dying, he was snatched up one day and taken up into heaven by means of a chariot of fire that was pulled by horses of fire (2 Kings 2:1-11). Then, as if all that isn’t enough, centuries later God spoke to the Jews through the prophet Malachi and said, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (Malachi 4:5). That term “the great and dreadful day of the Lord” is a reference to the second coming of Christ. Therefore, in view of all this evidence, I agree with those who think that Elijah will be one of the two witnesses.

But what about the other witness? Admittedly, his identification is more disputed. For the most part, though, there are two candidates: Moses and Enoch. Allow me to present the arguments for each man.

Just as the two witnesses will have the power to turn waters into blood, Moses performed that same miracle for the first of the ten plagues in Egypt (Exodus 7:14-25). Likewise, just as the two witnesses will have the power to strike the earth with plagues, Moses certainly leveled Egypt with a whole assortment of them (Exodus chapters 7 through 12). Lastly, when Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him to the top of the so-called Mount of Transfiguration, those three men saw Jesus talking to none other than Elijah and Moses (Matthew 17:1-3, Mark 9:2-6, Luke 9:28-31).

Okay, so all this seems to make an open-and-shut case for Moses as the other witness, doesn’t it? But wait, there’s a flaw with this line of thinking. The flaw is that, unlike Elijah, Moses literally died upon the earth (Deuteronomy 34:1-8). Even though there is an odd little statement in Jude verse 9 about Satan contending with the archangel Michael over the body of Moses, there is no disputing that Moses did in fact die. And why is this such a big deal? It’s a big deal because the Antichrist will kill both of the witnesses, and Hebrews 9:27 says that it is appointed for men to die once. You see, if Moses is indeed one of the two witnesses, he will have to die twice.

So, is this an automatic deal-breaker for Moses as the other witness? Maybe, but maybe not. Truth be told, there have been some people who died twice. That list includes anyone who was ever resurrected back to earthly life. Lazarus is on that list (John 11:1-44). So is Jairus’ daughter (Matthew 9:18-25). So is Tabitha (Acts 9:36-43). So is the son of the widow at Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17-24). So are a few others. It is probably significant, though, that Moses would be different from the others on the list in that there would be thousands of years between his first death and his resurrection and second death.

And with that we come to Enoch. Like Elijah, Enoch never actually died. Instead, there came a day when God “took him” (Genesis 5:21-24). Furthermore, even though there is no Bible record of Enoch ever performing any miracles, Jude verses 14 and 15 mention a prophecy that he once gave concerning the second coming of Jesus. Isn’t that interesting?

Someone might ask, “But doesn’t the other witness have to be Enoch because, according to Hebrews 9:25, he (like Elijah) owes God a death?” Not necessarily. We shouldn’t forget that at the moment of the Rapture millions of believers will leave this earth and go to heaven without dying (1 Corinthians 15:51-55, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). As a matter of fact, Enoch – an Old Testament believer – is often cited as being a “type” or a “foreshadowing” of the New Testament Christian who is alive on the earth at the moment of the Rapture and gets snatched up to heaven without dying. This means that the theory that Enoch, like Elijah, absolutely has to be one of the two witnesses because he can’t cheat death doesn’t hold water.

Finally, now, with all this information presented, I’ll give you my humble opinion on this question. My best educated guess is that the two witnesses will be Elijah and Enoch. Years ago, when I first started preaching prophecy, I preached the Elijah-and-Moses interpretation. As I’ve gotten older, though, and studied the matter more and more, I’ve now come to believe that it will be Enoch instead of Moses. For me, the crucial piece of evidence is that Moses would become the only person in history to die, wait thousands of years for his resurrection, and then eventually die again. It’s those eons of time between Moses’ two lives that gnaws at me and causes me to side with Enoch. Could I be wrong? Certainly. But at least you have to give me credit for examining the argument from all sides before offering my opinion.

Really, though, I hope you understand that God’s prophetic word doesn’t rise or fall on the identification of the two witnesses. Even if they aren’t Elijah, Enoch, or Moses, it doesn’t change the astounding ministry the two witnesses will have in the tribulation period. How great will their impact be upon the world? All you have to know is that their deaths will create a worldwide celebration in which the lost people will rejoice and send gifts to one another because these two men who “tormented” them are now dead (Revelation 11:10). Trust me, any servants of God who are a big enough thorn in the side of lost people to be considered tormentors and a big enough threat to the Antichrist to have him kill them must make an incalculable impact on the world. Needless to say, we Christians should be excited about getting to meet these men in eternity, whoever they happen to be.

Posted in Prophecy, Series: "Bible Prophecy in Chronology" | Tagged David Jeremiah, Elijah and Enoch as the two witnesses, Elijah and Moses as the two witnesses, is the angel of Revelation 10:1-7 Jesus?, John Walvoord, parenthesis chapters in Revelation, the two witnesses in the tribulation period | Leave a comment

Finishing up the Trumpet Judgments

Posted on January 24, 2017 by russellmckinney

Bible Prophecy in Chronology series (post #11)

In the previous post from this series, we covered the first four of the seven Trumpet Judgments that will take place toward the end of the first half of the tribulation period. In this post, we’ll cover the remaining three. These three judgments will bring the world right up to the doorstep of the midway point of the period.

Trumpet Judgment #5 (Revelation 9:1-12): An Invasion of Demons

When the angel blows the trumpet to begin the 5th trumpet judgment, John says, “And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:1). The fact that John refers to this “star” as “him” shows that we aren’t dealing with a literal star. This is a being, one “fallen from heaven to earth.” And so who is this “star”? It’s Satan.

If by nothing else, Satan’s identity is given away by the fact that he is glad to get the key to the “bottomless pit.” The Greek word that is translated as “bottomless pit” is abussos, and it’s the word that gives us the English word “abyss.” In the King James translation, abussos is also sometimes translated as “the deep” (Luke 8:31, Romans 10:7). By piecing certain scriptures together, we learn that abussos (the abyss, the deep) is only the description of the place. Its actual name in the Greek is Tartarus (2 Peter 2:4), which unfortunately gets translated as “hell” in the King James translation. Summing it all up, abussos, Tartarus, the abyss, the deep, and the bottomless pit are all different ways of describing the same place.

Now, the all-important thing to remember about this place is this: It is a place exclusively for the imprisonment of fallen angels. No human – alive or dead, saved or lost – ever has anything to do with this site. Fallen angels (demons) are the only beings that ever need worry about “the bottomless pit,” and they are terrified of it. This explains why a group of them once begged Jesus not to send them there (Luke 8:31).

Okay, so why does Satan want the key to this bottomless pit? It’s because some of his most powerful fallen angels are imprisoned in there. 1 Peter 3:18-20, 2 Peter 2:4, and Jude verse 6 all talk about a group of angels (“spirits”) that sinned and were cast down to the “prison” of Tartarus (the bottomless pit) where they are currently kept in “chains of darkness.” These twice-fallen angels were disobedient in “the days of Noah” (1 Peter 3:20). All this only fits one group of fallen angels: the infamous “sons of God” from Genesis 6:1-4. These are the ones who somehow married human women and fathered children through them in the days leading up to the flood of Noah. That sin was so heinous in God’s eyes that He imprisoned this group of demons in the bottomless pit.

Sometime just before the midway point of the tribulation period, Satan will be granted the key to the bottomless pit and he will immediately free his long-imprisoned demons. As John watched Satan open the pit, smoke like the smoke of a great furnace rose up into the air and temporarily cloaked the sun in darkness (Revelation 9:2). This shows us that the bottomless pit is located somewhere deep within the bowels of planet earth. This isn’t some mystical place that exists way out there in the far reaches of space. And Satan knows just exactly where its entrance is.

But how can the pit be “bottomless”? One possible answer is that the center of the earth, like deep space, is void of gravity. Obviously no one knows for sure what exactly is going on at the center of the earth, but the idea of no gravity makes some sense and would explain the description “bottomless.”

Once the smoke rises up, out of it come all the demons, however many there are, that have been incarcerated in that prison for so long. John figuratively calls them “locusts” (Revelation 9:3), but his description of them makes it clear that he’s not talking about actual locusts. He even says they have a king over them, and this king is “the angel of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:11). In other words, this is the chief fallen angel (demon) who leads the whole group. In the Hebrew language, this angel’s name is Abaddon. In the Greek, it is Apollyon. Both names mean the same thing: Destroyer.

As for the description of these demons, John says that even though they “were given power” (Revelation 9:3) they were commanded not to harm any of the earth’s vegetation or any of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists (Revelation 9:4). They also couldn’t actually kill anyone. All they could do was torment the people of the earth for five months. This torment will be like the pain of a scorpion sting (Revelation 9:5). The pain inflicted by these demons will be so great that John says, “In those days, men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them” (Revelation 9:6).

Continuing on with the description, John says the demons had the shape of “horses prepared for battle” and wore on their heads “crowns of something like gold” (Revelation 9:7). The phrase “horses prepared for battle” seems to convey the picture that these demons will emerge from that pit primed and ready for battle, like war horses snorting and pawing at the ground as they impatiently stand on the outskirts of a battle. Perhaps the crowns the demons wear symbolically speak of the high ranking the demons hold in Satan’s army.

John then says that the demons had faces “like the faces of men,” “hair like women’s hair,” and teeth “like lions’ teeth” (Revelation 9:7-8). Frankly, there’s just no way of telling when John is speaking literally and when he is speaking symbolically. I will say that if the demons literally have faces like men, that could explain how they fooled those human women into marrying them back in Genesis chapter 6. Likewise, if they literally have hair like women’s hair, that could simply mean that they have long, flowing hair. And what about those teeth like lions’ teeth? I suppose that could merely mean that their teeth are very strong.

But John isn’t finished. He continues on by saying that the demons “had breastplates like breastplates of iron” (Revelation 9:9). A breastplate is a protective covering that protects the chest. The demons had wings too, and when they flew it sounded like “chariots with many horses running into battle” (Revelation 9:9). This shouldn’t surprise us. After all, angels do have wings, right? For example, a seraph angel has six wings (Isaiah 6:2).

Lastly, John says the demons had “tails like scorpions” and there were “stings in their tails” (Revelation 9:10). Are these tails literal? I have no idea. If the face, hair, teeth, and wings are literal, I suppose the tails could be too, even though we don’t normally think of angels – fallen or unfallen – as having tails. If the tails aren’t literal, then the symbolism speaks to the demons’ power to inflict pain upon people. Noted commentator William MacDonald suggests that these demons will inflict all this pain upon people by entering into their bodies and possessing them. That’s possible. Again, it’s hard to interpret every last detail with any kind of certainty.

Trumpet Judgment #6 (Revelation 9:13-21): 4 More Demons & An Army of 200 Million

When the sixth angel blows his trumpet, four fallen angels (demons) are released from their imprisonment in the Euphrates River (Revelation 9:13-14). Unlike the demons released from the bottomless pit, these demons are released “to kill a third of mankind” (Revelation 9:15). These demons “had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year” (Revelation 9:15). At face value, this phrase can be taken to mean the demons will reek their havoc for a little over 13 months. While this does fit neatly into the months just prior to the midway point of the tribulation period, it might be significant that John says the demons are prepared for “the hour and day and month and year.” That might show that the phrase, rather than being literal, simply means that God has a divinely appointed schedule for these demons to do their damage. I myself lean toward the literal interpretation of 13 months.

Of course, the whole subject of these four demons raises some valid questions. Who are these demons? Why are they imprisoned in the Euphrates river? When were they imprisoned there? Unfortunately, John doesn’t lay out any pat answers to these questions.

Our best guess (and that’s all it is) as to the identity of these demons takes us to the pages of the book of Daniel. That book is built around prophecies concerning four great empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Interestingly, Daniel chapter 10 uses the word “princes” to refer to mighty angels, either unfallen or fallen. God’s archangel Michael, for example, is called “one of the chief princes” (Daniel 10:13). Mention is also made of “the prince of the kingdom of Persia” (Daniel 10:13) and “the prince of the kingdom of Greece” (Daniel 10:20). It seems logical, then, to assume that there is also a “prince” of the kingdom of Babylon and a “prince” of the kingdom of Rome. These “princes” would be four mighty angels who are the powers behind the thrones of these kingdoms. They are also our best guess as to who these four angels from the sixth trumpet judgment are. As for why, when, and how they were imprisoned in the Euphrates river, it’s hard to even venture a guess.

What we do know is that historically speaking the Euphrates river is probably the most important river in the world. According to Genesis 2:14, the singular river that flowed through the garden of Eden became the heads of four other rivers once it exited the garden. One of those four rivers was the Euphrates. The Euphrates was also the river that flowed right through the heart of ancient Babylon. Later on it served as the eastern border to the Roman empire. Traditionally, the Euphrates has played the role of the unofficial boundary between the West and the East.

But how will these four demons kill off one-third of the world’s population? Well, John doesn’t tell us, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that right after talking about these four demons he launches into his description of an army of 200 million (Revelation 9:16). Did you know that there isn’t a single Bible passage in which a fallen angel – even Satan – actually kills a human being? Jesus Himself called Satan “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44), but Satan has never personally killed anyone. What he does instead is use human beings to get his killing done. If you think about it, that’s how he got Jesus killed. And in the coming days of the first half of the tribulation period, four powerful demons will be unleashed from their imprisonment in the Euphrates river and will work through an army of 200 millions soldiers to kill off one-third of the world’s entire population.

It boggles the mind to realize that when John wrote this portion of prophecy there weren’t even 200 million people on the earth! So, is there a nation now that could produce such a staggering number of soldiers? Yes, there is. China could do it. In the May 21, 1965, edition of Time magazine, China boasted that it could field an army of 200 million soldiers. Clearly, if China could put that many soldiers on the field back then, they can put even more on the field now. This is to say nothing, of course, of the sheer numbers of soldiers that could be produced by an alliance between China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Indonesia, India, etc. Along these lines, Revelation 16:12 talks about the “kings (plural) from the east” bringing their troops to the battle of Armageddon at the close of the tribulation period. So, I believe that the four demons from the Euphrates river will inspire and energize this army of 200 million soldiers from the East to slay one-third of earth’s population by means of war in the tribulation period.

And now let’s get to John’s account of the army. He begins by talking about “horses” with riders who had multicolored breastplates of red, blue, and yellow (Revelation 9:17). However, like the “locusts” earlier in the chapter, these “horses” aren’t actual horses. We know this because their heads “were like the heads of lions” and “out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone” (Revelation 9:17). (Brimstone is a yellowish, sulfuric rock that when heated melts and produces a suffocating gas.) It is by the fire, smoke, and brimstone that a third of the world’s inhabitants die (Revelation 9:18). The fact that the percentage of one-third is used here just like it was in regards to the number of deaths attributed to the four angels proves that the angels do their killing through this army of 200 million.

But if these “horses” aren’t to be taken literally, how should we interpret them. Well, I agree with all the prophecy experts who feel that this particular passage is John’s way of describing some of our modern weapons of warfare. Think about tanks. If a first-century man saw such vehicles being driven by soldiers, would it be a stretch for him to classify them as some type of incredible horses? If he saw the tanks, because of their rotational guns, appearing to fire out of their fronts and backs, wouldn’t he describe that as the horses having “power in their mouth and in their tail” (Revelation 9:19)? And when he says the soldiers wore breastplates of red, blue, and yellow, couldn’t he be describing the colors of their uniforms or their battle gear?

I am not one of these preachers who sees 21st century weaponry on every page of The Revelation, but I would be lying if I said these so-called “horses” the army of 200 million sit upon don’t sound a lot like our modern tanks. Could this be a wrong interpretation? Sure. If it is, though, the correct one might be even more bizarre.

The Seventh Trumpet Judgment (Revelation 11:15-19): All the Events of the Last Half of the Tribulation Period

To find the seventh trumpet judgment, we have to jump ahead in the chronological timeline of The Revelation just a touch and find Revelation 11:15-19. (In the next post, I’ll cover the information we are jumping over). This jumping ahead allows us to learn that when the seventh angel blows the trumpet for the last of the trumpet judgments, John hears 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” (Revelation 11:15).

The strange thing about this pronouncement is that immediately following it the kingdoms of the world do not become the kingdoms of God the Father and God the Son. And Jesus certainly doesn’t begin to reign upon the earth, either. As a matter of fact, the promise of the pronouncement won’t be fulfilled until Christ’s second coming at the very end of the tribulation period. What this means, then, is that the seventh trumpet judgment actually encompasses everything beginning with Revelation 11:15 and concluding with Revelation 19:21. In other words, it includes everything that makes up the last three-and-a-half years of the tribulation period.

And would you believe that among those events are seven more judgments? These judgments are known as the Bowl Judgments and they are recorded in Revelation chapter 16. You see, just as the seventh seal judgment held within it the seven trumpet judgments (Revelation 8:1-6), the seventh trumpet judgment holds within it, among many other things, the seven bowl judgments.

We’ll soon get to our study of these judgments as well as all the other events that take place at the midway point of the tribulation period and beyond. Before we begin all that, though, we’ve got one more study to do to complete the first half of the tribulation period. That will be the post next time. So, until then, keep studying prophecy and keep looking for the Rapture!

Posted in Prophecy, Series: "Bible Prophecy in Chronology", Uncategorized | Tagged a star fallen from heaven, an army of 200 million, angels mating with women, four demons in the Euphrates, modern weaponry in Revelation, tartarus, the "sons of God", the angel of the bottomless pit, the key to the bottomless pit, the trumpet judgments | 1 Comment

The Trumpet Judgments

Posted on January 20, 2017 by russellmckinney

Bible Prophecy in Chronology series (post #10)

The trumpet judgments are the second wave of judgments that will occur during the first three-and-a-half years of the tribulation period. They gain their name from the fact that an angel blows a trumpet to begin each one. This post will deal with the first four of these seven judgments.

As we work our way through these four judgments, we are going to find that each of them involves some kind of catastrophe that is possibly natural. This raises an interpretative question. Are these occurrences natural or supernatural? My answer is that if they are natural they are, at the very least, amped up on God’s steroids, which makes them supernatural. In my opinion, though, these judgments cannot be rightly understood through a purely naturalistic lens. It’s more likely that they are unique, specialized, miraculous events that God cooks up and sends down to the earth to suit His purposes.

Another interesting aspect of these four judgments is that each one produces an environmental disaster of epic proportions. We should keep this in mind whenever we are confronted with the subject of environmentalism. Slogans such as “save the planet” and “remember your mother (earth)” have become popular nowadays, and the environmentalist movement has made some real dents in the way big business conducts itself. I think this is good to a certain degree. I’m all for a healthy planet, and the only way we can have it is to be good stewards of the environment. The problem arises when people lose perspective and try to replace “Father God” with “mother earth.” Rather than nature being God, God uses nature in His plans. And the first four trumpet judgments prove that in the tribulation period He will do more damage to the environment than mankind ever dreamed of doing.

Trumpet Judgment #1 (Revelation 8:7): Hail and Fire Mingled With Blood

When the first angel sounds his trumpet, hail and fire, mingled with blood, are thrown down to the earth. The devastation from this event is so great that it results in one-third of the earth’s trees and all of the earth’s green grass being burned up. Wow.

If we want to consider the naturalistic interpretation of this judgment, this event might be produced by something that happens just before the first angel blows his trumpet. According to Revelation 8:5, before the trumpet judgments officially begin, the earth experiences noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake (a different earthquake from the one mentioned in Revelation 6:12). So, could this earthquake be large enough to produce massive volcanic eruptions all around the planet? And could these eruptions account for all the devastation? For example, could the steam and water blown into the sky by the eruptions condense into hail that falls back down to the earth? And could the fire that falls be explained by all the fiery lava that blows out of the volcanoes? Well, I wouldn’t completely discount this theory, but it’s hard for me to imagine volcanic eruptions and their aftermath doing the extent of damage described. Even if such eruptions could burn up one-third of the planet’s trees, I don’t see how they could burn up all the green grass.

Continuing on with the naturalistic approach, some have suggested that this event could involve a massive storm system that produces electrical storms complete with hail across a large swath of the planet. The reasoning here is that God once hit Egypt with a hailstorm the likes of which had never been seen (Exodus 9:22-25), and that storm featured hail mixed with fire (the same Hebrew word that is used to describe the fire of Moses’ burning bush). Furthermore, the hail and fire from that storm in Egypt had an effect similar to the first trumpet judgment in that they struck every herb of the field and broke every tree. Again, though, the problem we run into is that it seems highly unlikely that any storm system, no matter how impressive, could destroy all of the green grass. I mean, if “all” really means all, we’re talking about WORLDWIDE devastation.

And then there is the matter of the blood. What kind of volcanic eruption or storm could produce blood? None. Someone says, “But the blood shouldn’t be understood as literal blood.” Tell that to the prophet Joel, who quoted God as saying in reference to the days of the tribulation period, “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke” (Joel 2:30). This is why I conclude that it seems best to understand the first trumpet judgment as a supernatural event that cannot be categorized as volcanic eruptions, electrical storms, or anything else the earth has ever seen.

Trumpet Judgment #2 (Revelation 8:8-9): A Great Mountain Burning With Fire

When the second angel blows his trumpet, John reports that something like a great mountain burning with fire is thrown into the sea. The result is that one-third of the sea becomes blood, one-third of the sea creatures die, and one-third of the ships are destroyed. As for which sea (singular) John has in mind, I suppose our best guess is the Mediterranean. I say this because John was exiled on the island of Patmos, and Patmos is in the Aegean Sea, which is a part of the Mediterranean.

One possible interpretation for this “great mountain burning with fire” is that it’s the blown off cone of an island volcano. Under this interpretation, the volcano’s lava, debris, and windblown dust have a deadly effect upon a wide section of ocean waters. First, the lava could perhaps give the surrounding ocean the look of “blood.” Second, the lava, debris, and dust could cause the deaths of the sea-creatures. Third, the tsunami created by the blast could race across the ocean and strike heavily populated sea ports, which could account for the loss of one-third of the ships.

The problem with this interpretation is that John doesn’t actually call the triggering force a mountain, let alone a volcano. He calls it “something like a great mountain.” This has led many to speculate that what John is really describing is an asteroid that comes in from space, hits the earth’s atmosphere, ignites, and crashes into the ocean. The impact into the ocean subsequently creates the tsunami that reaches the busy shipping ports and thus destroys one-third of the world’s ships.

While this interpretation makes some sense, my issue with understanding trumpet judgment #2 as an asteroid strike is that trumpet judgment #3, which we’ll look at next, sounds even more like an asteroid strike. Therefore, since I don’t believe that two of the four trumpet judgments are the same type of deal, I tend to dismiss the idea of the “great burning mountain” being an asteroid.

I would like to mention that, in my mind, the most important question to be asked about not only this second judgment but also the first one is: When John uses the term “blood” is he talking about literal blood? If he’s describing hail and fire mingled with literal blood, and one-third of the sea becoming literal blood, that rules out anything that could be produced by either nature or the cosmos. If, however, he’s only talking about the sea taking on the appearance of blood, that might bring into play a well known phenomenon called “red tides.” A “red tide” is produced when billions of microorganisms die in a large body of water and turn the water’s color red. Obviously, either a volcanic eruption or an asteroid crashing into the ocean could cause the deaths of billions of microorganisms.

Trumpet Judgment #3 (Revelation 8:10-11): The “Star” Called Wormwood

When the third angel blows his trumpet, a great “star” falls from heaven. As it falls it burns like a torch. The Greek word that is translated as “star” is aster. Now you see why I feel safe in calling this “great star” an asteroid that comes into earth’s atmosphere flaming hot and crash lands somewhere on the earth.

As I said earlier, though, even if this is an asteroid it’s one that is amped up on God’s steroids. How amped up is it? It’s amped up enough to poison one-third of the earth’s rivers and springs and cause many people who drink from those rivers and springs to die. This accounts for the name “Wormwood.” Wormwood is a species of plant that grows in the Middle East. All of its varieties have a strong, bitter taste (Proverbs 5:4, Lamentations 3:19). These plants aren’t poisonous, but John is only using the name as a way of expressing that the “star” turns the water’s taste bitter.

But could an asteroid really have such an effect upon the world’s water? Maybe it could if it crashed with enough force to imbed itself deep at the headwaters of some major rivers or the underground water sources of some major springs. Here again, though, a normal asteroid wouldn’t behave this way. Clearly this “star” (whatever exactly it is) has God’s customized design all over it.

Trumpet Judgment #4: (Revelation 8:12-13): A Darkened Sun, Moon, and Stars

When the fourth angel blows his trumpet, the sun, the moon, and the stars are all darkened by one-third. This can be interpreted in two different ways. First, it could mean that the actual radiating power and luminance of these celestial bodies is reduced by 33.3%. Second, it could mean that their radiating power and luminance remain exactly the same but they are covered over by clouds, dust, smoke, an eclipse, or something else for eight hours each day so that people cannot see them during those hours. The favorable interpretation seems to be that their radiating power and luminance will be reduced. This fits best with John’s words about them being “struck.” No explanation is given for how this reduction takes place. Evidently it’s just something that God handles personally.

Surely this judgment will have unnamed effects. For example, a 33.3% drop in the warmth of the sun will certainly create a colder planet. I should point out, though, that later on in the tribulation period the sun’s heat will actually be intensified to a dangerous level (Revelation 16:8-9). So, whatever effects the fourth trumpet judgment has, those effects appear to be temporary. One thing is for sure about this judgment: It will be a scary thing to look up in the sky and find a lessened sun, moon, and stars!

Something else that is certain is that even after these four judgments have occurred, three more trumpet judgments are to come. John reminds us of this by giving us Revelation 8:13, and it is with those words that I’ll conclude this post:

And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

Posted in Prophecy, Series: "Bible Prophecy in Chronology" | Tagged a hailstorm in Egypt, a mountain burning with fire, all the green grass burned up, an asteroid strikes the earth, hail mixed with blood, one third of the trees burned up, red tide in the bible, the Christian and environmentalism, the moon darkened, the stars darkened, the sun darkened, the trumpet judgments, the Wormwood star | 2 Comments

Martyrs, Cataclysms, and More

Posted on January 18, 2017 by russellmckinney

Bible Prophecy in Chronology series (post #9)

Seal #5 (Revelation 6:9-11): The Martyrs Under the Altar

When Jesus breaks the fifth seal on the seven-sealed scroll that serves as the title deed to the earth, the reader is introduced to martyrs under heaven’s altar who are crying out to God to avenge their deaths (Revelation 6:9-11). These martyrs cannot be martyrs from the church age because they are described as disembodied “souls.” If they were martyrs from the church age, their souls would have been reunited with their resurrected and glorified bodies at the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:14). So, who are these martyrs? There are two plausible interpretations.

Interpretation #1: They are the souls of all the martyrs from the Old Testament era. Abel was the Old Testament’s first martyr (Genesis 4:1-8) but he certainly wasn’t the only one. And since the Old Testament believers have no part in the Rapture, the Old Testament martyrs would be existing in heaven as disembodied souls at the time of Revelation 6:9-11. (Their bodies won’t be resurrected, glorified, and reunited with the souls that once inhabited them until Christ’s second coming: Daniel 12:1-2, Job 19:25.) Furthermore, the fact that the passage talks about an altar and blood reminds us of the imagery of the Old Testament blood sacrifices and how the sacrificial blood was poured beside the base of the altar in the tabernacle/temple (Exodus 29:12, Leviticus 4:7). Lastly, John doesn’t serve as an eyewitness to the deaths of these martyrs because their deaths apparently have already occurred sometime in the past. All John sees is the aftermath of what has previously happened.

Interpretation #2: These are the souls of all the martyrs who are slain in the early part of the tribulation period. With this interpretation, the order goes as follows:

the Rapture occurs
the 144,000 Jewish evangelists begin their ministry and immediately win multitudes to Christ
many of these new Christians are put to death as they take their stand for God and His word in the midst of the rise of the Antichrist (seal #1), the warfare (seal #2), the famine (seal #3), and the pestilence (seal #4)
the deaths of these martyrs become a part of the death toll of one-fourth of the world’s population (Revelation 6:8)

Even though both interpretations make sense, it’s the second one that is favored by virtually all modern commentators, and I myself think it’s the better option. As I see it, there are three good reasons for identifying these martyrs as martyrs from the early part of the tribulation period. Those reasons are:

The martyrs want to know when God will judge and avenge their blood “on those who dwell (not dwelt) on the earth.” That wording makes it sound like their murderers are still alive on the earth at the time of the 5th seal.
If the martyrs are the Old Testament martyrs, why do they wait until this particular time in the tribulation period to begin crying out for their murders to be avenged? Abel, for example, would have been waiting for approximately 6,000 years for God to avenge his murder. Shouldn’t he be able to hold out for another few years until the close of the tribulation period and the second coming of Christ?
Rather than be granted immediate approval for their request, the martyrs each receive a white robe and are told their avenging must wait for more martyrs to fall. The matter of the white robe begs the question, “Wouldn’t all the martyrs from the Old Testament already have such a robe?”

Of course, there is no debate as to the identity of the future martyrs for which these first martyrs must wait. They can’t be anyone other than more people who get saved under the evangelizing of the 144,000 and get martyred for their faith sometime later. In Revelation 7:9-17, John sees a great multitude in heaven standing before God’s throne. Each individual from this multitude is clothed with a white robe and holds a palm branch in hand. John is told, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation…” (Revelation 7:14). And how will so many tribulation believers end up martyred? The answer is, the Antichrist. Later on in The Revelation, John writes, “Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or in their hands” (Revelation 20:4). These are the martyrs for which the martyrs from the fifth must wait.

Seal #6 (Revelation 6:12-17): Cataclysms Upon the Earth

Following the fifth seal, Jesus breaks the scroll’s sixth seal, and when He does the earth is hit with “a great earthquake.” Either simultaneous with this earthquake or in the aftermath of it, the sun becomes “black as sackcloth of hair” and the moon becomes “like blood.” Also, as if all this isn’t enough, stars begin to fall from the sky, the sky recedes like “a scroll when it is rolled up,” and every mountain and island is “moved out of its place.” You talk about terrifying, cataclysmic events! It’s all bad enough that the inhabitants of the earth, no matter of how rich and mighty they are, try to hide themselves “in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains.”

Entire books have been written to explain exactly how all of these astounding events could come to pass. For example, some have theorized that volcanic eruptions could turn the sun black and the moon blood red. Likewise, the “stars” falling from the sky could be either the rocks blown out by the volcanic eruptions or meteors/asteroids striking the earth.

Then again, some have presented the possibility that all this could be John doing his best to describe the effects of the dust, ash, and debris that is blown into the atmosphere during a nuclear detonation. For that matter, maybe the blast itself is what causes the great earthquake. Such a detonation could account for the receding of the sky as well. Studies have shown that a nuclear blast has a strange effect upon the sky in that it causes a temporary vacuum in the atmosphere until the air comes rushing back into the vacuum. Perhaps this could be described as the sky “receding.”

While I certainly find the nuclear detonation theory intriguing, I can’t fully embrace it because of the quote that is given from some of the eyewitnesses to these cataclysms. As these eyewitnesses seek shelter in the caves and rocks of the mountains, they say to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:16-17). I find it interesting that these people don’t attribute these cataclysms to the armies of the world or nuclear war. They don’t say, “Oh no, someone has dropped a bomb on us!” Instead, they immediately start talking about God and the wrath of Jesus. Evidently they have previously heard some preaching on Bible prophecy either before the Rapture or after it but refused to believe in Jesus as their Savior.

Seal #7 (Revelation 8:1-6): The Trumpet Judgments

As we come to Christ breaking the scroll’s last seal we are immediately confronted with something different. John writes, “When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (Revelation 8:1). It’s the only time of silence mentioned in The Revelation. As for what brings about the need for this silence, we can only speculate. Perhaps it’s the fact that the scroll is now completely open and unrolled. Or, perhaps it’s the sheer awe and magnitude of what the seventh seal contains. If that’s the case, it’s an eerie silence before a colossal storm.

And what does that seal contain? It contains seven more judgments that will play themselves out in the first half of the tribulation period. These judgments are called the Trumpet Judgments because each one is introduced by a certain angel blowing a certain trumpet. As hard as it is to believe, these judgments will be even worse in intensity than the Seal Judgments.

And that’s where we will pick up the story next time. Keep in mind that we are still in the first three-and-a-half years of the seven-year tribulation period. Even though we’ve already read about 25% of the world’s population dying off, things are about to get even worse as the midway point of the period approaches. Also keep in mind that it’s the Lord who is in charge of this whole operation. He is the one sending down these judgments. Revelation 6:16 uses the phrase “the wrath of the Lamb.” That’s not a Jesus with whom the world is familiar, is it? But it’s a role He will surely play sometime in the future, and that’s why it’s so important to know Him as Savior now.

Posted in Prophecy, Series: "Bible Prophecy in Chronology" | Tagged martyrs in the tribulation period, nuclear war in Revelation?, silence in heaven, the martyrs under heaven's altar, the seal judgments, the souls under heaven's altar, the trumpet judgments, the wrath of the Lamb | Leave a comment

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