The Beast from the Sea
Believers must feel nervous when yet another brother attempts to describe what some feel is unknowable information. I feel nervous myself. Oh, the incredible ignorance displayed by persons with unworthy motives. They seek to dazzle or entertain. But regardless of the foolishness abounding in books and video and internet, the mystery before us is still beckoning to be solved. The Lord Himself has told us that herein is wisdom. Persons of understanding, He says, should know what these things are about.
Revelation 13:1-10 and 17:8-14 provide a basic profile of the last-day world ruler known generally today as antichrist. In the Scriptures he is more often called the Beast, or the man of sin, or the little horn. There is actually a lot of Biblical content that points his way, but we will confine today's comments to the verses mentioned. Here are some no-doubt facts that we can glean. And once we establish facts, no one can come our way with off-the-wall suggestions about this or that man, or this organization, etc.
He comes from the sea, 13:1. Not like his partner of the latter half of the chapter, who has a normal earth-bound existence. He comes from below, from the pit. I will not be surprised if he literally makes an entrance from the sea, just as the text says. These two passages, together with II Thessalonians 2, let us know that he is now being held back by a restraining angel. When he is released he must find a way to get to the land. God says his entrance will be by signs and wonders.
His seven heads are equated with seven mountains, 17:10. Both of these symbols speak of empire, political leadership. The traditional interpretation - and I have nothing better at this point - is to simply point to the seven world empires that history and Scripture enumerate: Egypt, Babylonia (Old and New), Assyria, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the coming ten-nation confederation that rises out of Rome. On each of these mountains has at one time sat a despot who hated the God of Israel, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He persecuted, enslaved, and/or tried to annihilate the people of God. Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Sennacherib, Antiochus Epiphanes, Xerxes, Trajan, are possible entries.
The ten crowned horns represent the final rule of a man of sin 13:1,2. He will incorporate aspects of former kingdoms but will be different in his full devotion to and filling with the evil spirit of Satan.
The final world ruler has already lived and reigned. He was mortally wounded, was held by spiritual angelic powers behind the scenes, and will be revealed when the time is right to continue Satan's quest for world power. Hence it is fruitless to guess his identity among the sons of men. He is invisible now. The only way to know who he is is to know the history of anti-God rulers. Most if not all of these men are alluded to in Scripture. Some I have listed above. So the simple-minded lovers of God will know the truth, not the erudite theologians and thinkers and scholars. It's in the Book!
He will be characterized by blasphemy. His name will be blasphemous. He will constantly, openly blaspheme Heaven, and the world will worship him for it. That's called political correctness. His blasphemous name, when taken a letter at a time and calculated, using numerical equivalents for each letter, will add up to 666. I have not yet been able to crack that code. Yet I believe God wants us to know, so I will continue to seek. Many have devised ingenious plans of calculation, and it seems that many historical names add up to 666. No matter. We start with the facts that we already have and we don't let them go. Fact is, as I stated, he has already reigned and won't be back until he reigns again. That knocks out most of the numerical guesswork.
There is much more, but the above should suffice to whet one's appetite. For me, I've come close to settling on Antiochus Epiphanes, since Daniel's 11th chapter seems to point that way. And Epiphanes is a blasphemous word when applied to anyone but God. It means, "a (Divine) manifestation." Another candidate could be that Assyrian ruler, Sennacherib, who was killed with a sword. The story is in your Bible. And the "sword" part points to a phrase in Revelation 13 that says the original "head" of the beast was wounded with a sword.
No, I don't have all the answers on this. I am confident of the bulleted parts above. And I am equally confident that anyone who will dig for these treasures will find them and be so far ahead of the crowd.
It has been my custom lately [2006 -2009] to say a word about North Korea in every piece I write. Today's thought is pretty easy. The coming world ruler will feel just a bit familiar to the North Koreans. Hatred of God. Hatred of Christians and Jews. Torture, torments. Isolation. Demand for worship. Look to NK for a picture of what the entire planet will one day experience. Thank God it will be the last of Earth's experiences before the true Ruler comes and brings peace and joy and the liberty of the sons of God. Oh Jesus, come!
Alas, Babylon
So you've figured out what the Bible is talking about when it mentions Babylon? Let me ask you: Is the Babylon in the Old Testament the same as the one in the New? Have the Old Testament prophecies been fulfilled? In the New, do the seven hills of Revelation 17 point to Rome? Is it Catholicism? Is it America?
Babylon is a study in confusion, to be sure. But then the very name means confusion, and when you attach the word Mystery to it, as God does when talking to John, there should be no surprise that it's hard to figure out.
One thing you do not want to do in coming to a conclusion about this mystery or any Biblical mystery is, trust men. Including this one. Go check it out yourself. Read everything that Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the apostle John had to say about it. Look at its history in the Kings and Chronicles. Look at the Tower in Genesis 11, and Nimrod, the founder of this city as well as Nineveh, the true "man behind the myths" of the mystery city.
If you read as I read, you'll discover some of the following evidence, I believe - but don't take my word for it:
• Babylon of old was founded by Nimrod. The record is in Genesis 10. He was a mighty man opposed to God's rule. He was able to persuade others to leave the God of Noah. False religion in the new world began in this rebellion.
• Babylon and the empire that formed around it became one of the mighty forces surrounding the Bible story, along with Egypt, Assyria, and Medo-Persia.
• Babylonish-type religion was transferred from kingdom to kingdom. Only names of gods changed. Idolatry was the order of each empire.
• Eventually Babylon was permitted to attack and conquer Israel. Its resultant delight, instead of remorse that it had to be used in this horrid task, caused God to plan its destruction.
• Many prophecies in Isaiah and Jeremiah point to a sudden, swift and complete annihilation. Unfortunately, those prophecies were not fulfilled totally. Babylon only very slowly retreated from power and population.
• Empires that succeeded Babylon used that still great city as one of their places of renown, as we would a tourist attraction. Emperors used "King of Babylon" as one of their titles.
• Even in New Testament times, hundreds of years after the warning of a swift demise, Babylon prospered. Many Jews lived there, and a church was born in that place.
• But unquestionably, the city had lost its world-wide prestige, so much so that the prophecy of the New Testament about a great and wealthy business center, could not, at least in those days, refer to the same city.
• Instead, the New Testament Babylon actually ruled over the kings of men. This is a not-so-veiled reference to Rome, the only city in John's day that could be so described. The fact that seven-hills are mentioned has caused most Bible scholars to point to the New Testament's Babylon as being that famous city on the Tiber.
• Many of the predictions about the New Testament Babylon parallel the Old. Sudden, swift and permanent destruction.
• Must we conclude that there is more than one Babylon? My own study, found in Scarlet Threads (1994), revealed a Babylon type of religion in every age, dominating the religious landscape. The mysteries are simply passed on from generation to generation.
• It should be no secret that Romanism, though containing much that is absolute truth, has mixed in with its belief system much that can only be called pagan and Babylonish. Why Bible believers want to head back toward this system that killed Jews and saints of God shamelessly is another mystery.
• But certainly it cannot be ignored that Babylon is a city, and is so labeled by the apostle. The Catholic tradition is not all that is Babylonian in Rome's history. There was pagan Rome too. More than that is the move toward even greater paganism that has been afoot in Rome since Vatican II. The same Popes that have convinced Baptists to "come home" have been able to sway Buddhists too. It's the nature of Babylon to mix, and that's the reason God's people are called out of it.
• In short, the ecumenical movement will eventually be dominated by Rome and will later, I believe, have a "false prophet" at its helm. He will be granted miraculous power.
• When Rome dominates again, she will crush those who try to oppose her. In this she will be aided by the antichrist, whose back she rides to world power. There is nothing but trouble for those who oppose, or "protest" in that day. trouble and death.
I absolutely and categorically mean no insult to any person of any religious faith. I speak only of governmental systems and the doctrines that come from anywhere but Heaven and the written Word.
So where are we with this? When the Bible says Babylon will be destroyed, is that just a continuation of the Old Testament prophecy that was never totally fulfilled? Shall Rome surrender its religious powers one day to a revived city of Babylon? Or is Babylon a code name for the Satanic system that found its way to Rome? Is Rome therefore the target of God's wrath?
One thing is pointed out by John's writings. Many other cities are going to fall in that judgment. Whatever city is storing up the wrath of God because of its treatment of His special children, will be visited on that day. But exactly who and where Babylon is still hasn't fully emerged. At least, in my opinion.
In my ongoing appeal for attention for North Korea, this word that relates to today's subject: I have spoken elsewhere about my concern for the nation when it finally opens up. People who have been treated as the North Koreans have been are going to be easy prey for anything false. We must pray that God's true people will have a voice all over the land, and that North Koreans will have a discernment to weed out that which can only harm them.
Earth's final Empire
There is wild speculation, then there is speculation based on facts. Bible facts. Let me share a few facts from Daniel and John, then I'll speculate with some current information.
The prophet Daniel relates in chapter 2 of his book an incident that takes place involving himself and King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of all Babylonia. The king is looking for someone who will not only tell him the interpretation of a dream he had, but will relate the dream itself. Daniel's God is able to satisfy the monarch, and in the process gives us some very important history.
The dream is of a statue of a human body, the parts of which tell the story of mankind from Daniel's day until past our own time. There is the Babylonian period, the Medo-Persian and Greek periods, and finally, the Roman. Important to point out here is that the Roman period is the final one. It is the legs and feet, which on most bodies reach the floor when standing. From the end of Greece until the end of time, one Empire is to dominate Earth's affairs. It is to be concluded with a ten-part kingdom.
We talk about the revival of the Roman Empire, and so it shall be. But not a revival from death, for Rome still lives. It is more of a revival from a long illness. First pagan Rome, then Papal Rome, then the gradual weakening until its present state. Yet is there a power on earth today that is greater in number and in potential political and financial power than Roman Catholicism and its powerful Pope?
A treaty that was signed in (political) Rome back in the 50's gave rise to the European Common Market and its offspring the EU. Prophecy students have long salivated over this piece of work, looking at its telling flag, and its currency and its potential military might. Surely this is the world's last power, they have said. I was of course swept into this thinking too until the number of members so far exceeded 10 as to cause one to lose count.
I shall share my speculation about what I believe the ten-nation confederation is after this brief run-down of the Biblical facts. Here is what Daniel and John (Revelation 17) tell us:
• after the iron-like entry of Rome into the world, it will resolve eventually into a mixture of iron and clay, in ten separate parts. Ten toes, using the language of the body.
• the iron and clay will not adhere to each other. Strong nations, weak nations.
• when this final empire is in place, the seventh world ruler will arise and moderate it for a short time.
• the miraculous and forceful appearance of the man of sin will cause the 8th ruler, who is really one of earth's 7 great anti-God anti-Israel anti-Christ personages, to gain the ascendancy.
• using the 10-nation alliance as a base, he will eventually conquer the world.
• in the days of these 10 kings and this world ruler, God will establish His own rule out of the New Jerusalem, a true city set on a hill in Israel.
Speculation: Since John and Daniel see antichrist rising from the Great Sea, it seems to me that a Mediterranean Alliance, and not the strictly "European" Union, will be the seat of the Beast. Headquarters, Rome. If this man is Antiochus (about which I have written elsewhere), Greece must be a part of it. Add on Turkey and Syria, part of the kingdom he reigned when here before. Then there are Libya and Egypt, mentioned in Daniel 12 as part of his final conflict.
Oh, and let's add on France and Morocco, who have begun making deals, with an eye toward a Mediterranean union. That leaves only two more nations.
Now I go from speculation to true subjectivity and ask not that you agree but consider. While thinking about all of this and wondering if indeed the world was headed toward what the Scripture seemed to be saying, the phrase "Mediterranean Alliance" came to my mind and I felt I should Google it. I had never, to my knowledge, heard that phrase. I was gratified to find that indeed the men of earth are contemplating a Mediterranean Union or Alliance, and the sooner the better, as the security issues in that part of the world get out of control more and more by the day.
That's as far as I can go for now. Like the statue's toes, today I offer you iron-clad facts mixed with some not so solid clay. Perhaps readers will care to respond with research of their own.
And as always I invite my readers to consider praying for North Korea, whose plight may someday be our own.
Whoever reads, let him understand
Whoever reads, let him understand, said Jesus. Or was it Matthew's comment? Regardless, it comes from the Spirit of God to us today. The quote is from Matthew 24:15, and has to do with the sign Jesus gave to His disciples regarding the coming holocaust and the end of the world as we know it. It's a very important directive.
Jesus said that the visible signal of the beginning of the end is when the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet is standing in the Holy Place. For years I have thought and taught that the command to understand had to do with the words of Jesus in this passage. I believe it could just as easily, and with even more meaning, be applied to the book of Daniel, a truly mysterious collection of prophecies!
My own experience with Daniel and Revelation has been that when one pursues the Truth in these and any books from God, he will sooner or later begin to gain ground which can be held as further truths are unveiled. But the warning is meaningful. Let him that reads Daniel be understanding that there are a few problems here, one of the most serious being that history repeats itself. For example, there is at least one series of events mentioned in the book that has already happened in history, but clearly will happen again. And this is the history that involves the abomination of desolation.
Anyone who has studied Bible prophecy with any seriousness knows that the abomination of desolation is the placing of unauthorized objects of worship in the Temple, that was set aside for the worship of the one true God only. Daniel 11 prophesies that the vile king that history has identified as Antiochus Epiphanes will make the standard Jewish sacrifices stop and replace this worship with some abomination, as a pig. Following this outrage, judgment will fall, and many godly will suffer. Desolation of the area will be accomplished by horrendous war and all the rest.
Trouble for some people is that this indeed did happen. It's over. But Jesus could not have been referring to a past historic act in his giving of a sign. He was talking about something that is future, and he used that same prophet. This is where digging pays off. Pursuing. Believing God's Word cannot be false.
For you see, the taking away of Jewish sacrifices and the setting up of the abomination of desolation is mentioned three other times in Daniel. And in every instance the event is tied in to the end of the world, not local Greek history. And by the way, not local Roman history either. Saying that Matthew 24 and Luke 21 refer to Titus' destruction in A.D. 70 will not fit with Daniel, or even with Jesus' words. According to Jesus, the abomination is followed soon by unprecedented tribulation, and then immediately by His return. That's why he gave the sign, to let us know when we're almost there.
So who is the antichrist, really?
Do I know who antichrist is? Here is the summary of my findings. If you want to know how I got there, Please read my book entitled, "Who is the Antichrist?" From pages 35-36 in the booklet:
And what have we found, exactly? One last review of the important points:
1. Jesus says this age will begin to come to an end shortly following the world’s greatest catastrophe, which itself follows the revealing of the “abomination of desolation.” (Matthew 24)
2. Jesus points us to the prophet Daniel for preliminary definitions of that abomination. (Matthew 24)
3. In Daniel we are introduced to Antiochus Epiphanes who began an anti-God, anti-Jew campaign decades before Christ appeared. (Daniel 8, 10-12)
4. Gabriel (in Daniel10-12) leads us to believe that though Antiochus began his career in ancient history, his final blasphemous rise to power will be at the end of all things.
5. The abomination of desolation, the sacking of Jerusalem, the persecution of believers, spoken of by Daniel the prophet is fully orchestrated by Antiochus in a three and one half year period of supernatural power. (Daniel 10-12)
6. John confirms all by using the same visual demonstration that there will arise such an evil man, who will do the same destruction, the same persecution, the same blasphemies, in the same time frame as Daniel has already recorded. He will even rise to power from the same “Great Sea.” John and Daniel agree. (Revelation 13, 17)
7. John lets us know that the final world dictator will be one who has been raised from the dead, thus allowing for one who began in antiquity to end in the last days. (Revelation 13, 17)
8. Paul agrees with all of the above, using the man of sin as the sign that must happen before Jesus comes. (II Thessalonians 2)
Paul says that even now this one is being held back, so that he will be revealed at the right time in history.(II Thessalonians 2)
The evidence is then clear and concise. There are things all along the way that we cannot quite figure out. Like, exactly how shall he appear? But then, we believe Elijah shall return and we do not allow that question to stop us from believing it. Our faith tells us that, as a detail is needed , it will be provided. For now, we know it will be with incredible deception. (II Thessalonians 2)
It seems to me important for us to take on a last-days mind-set that is more accurate than that with which we were raised. It demands more faith, more acceptance of the Word as it is, with less “explaining away” of hard things. But a solid faith has always demanded this. May the Lord keep our eyes open, ready to see and know what is happening in God’s plan.
Who will reign with Jesus?
There is a group of saints described in a very straightforward manner in the Book of Revelation, chapter 20. Looking for explanations of Revelation in the words of Jesus and Paul only helps to solidify the answer to the question I pose today. It is not good news for a lukewarm church.
In Revelation 20, the Spirit of God shows John just what He had shown Daniel centuries before. After world crises are quelled and brought into order by the returning King of Kings Jesus Christ, thrones are set up. Plural. We know that the Father and the Son are the only ones originally worthy. But through acts of His grace He will confer on Adam's line the honor of kingship also. Christians have prided themselves in these king-to-be passages through the years, announcing to all who will hear, "Hey, I'm bound for the throne! I'm a priest of God, a king who will reign with Jesus for a thousand years!"
I will not deny what God has said. Such a thing is dangerous business. But I will affirm the whole truth of what He said, and see how many of the boasts dry up or at least calm down. John seems to put some other qualifications to kingship that we don't hear about so often.
The people John saw (in the Spirit) "had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus." Further, they had not worshiped the beast or received his mark. What would that mean in this generation before the beast and the mark have arisen? Would it mean staying away from ungodly yoking? Would it mean honoring our God with our time and treasure, to the point where we ignore the world and the flesh?
These ones identified by John clearly were allowed to live and reign with Jesus for that 1000 years. They are part of the first resurrection. And those who did not reign were raised later, to the resurrection of damnation.
Is it that cut and dried? Will no others reign with Jesus, from all the ages before the last one? Let's hear Jesus and Paul, but again I say, the indications are a bit troublesome.
Paul told the Philippians that they were privileged to be able to suffer for Jesus. So let us put to rest the modern theory that says Jesus takes His folks out just before mankind's greatest Tribulation, and the rest of the saints are left behind to deal with antichrist because for the most part they are second class backsliders.
No, those who suffer with Jesus are the blessed ones. We got it backwards.
To the Roman Christians Paul goes on to say that if saints suffer with Christ, they shall reign with Him. That's saints in every generation, I presume. He repeats these sentiments to son Timothy, "all who desire to live godly will suffer persecution," and " if we suffer with Him, we will also reign with Him."
So Paul widens the door, and seems to allow for saints of all ages being among the reigning throng. But he quickly narrows the options too, by suggesting that it is only those saints who suffer who will be there. In fact, the very definition that Paul seems to be giving for sainthood - the Biblical sort, as opposed to that promoted in Rome - is a life made holy by persecution. So what says Jesus?
Jesus' words are the most familiar of all, and perhaps that is why we have set them aside in our thinking. May they be real to us as we contemplate our place around the Heavenly Throne:
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven..."
I have said often that we need North Korean Christians more than they need us. We need them to teach us what the cross means again. They are living what Jesus and Paul taught. Serving Christ means persecution. But then, they shall experience what Paul and John taught: if we suffer, we will reign with him.
In the light of this blinding truth, I ask you, who should we pity most? Christians who sit in concentration camps but who will sit around the Throne of God, or Christians who never learned to carry the cross at all?
Let us strive to live those godly lives, that we may enter into the fellowship of His suffering.
Supper with Jesus
The marriage supper of the Lamb of God. Ever think of what this means? Reservations are needed, but the meal and the eternity that follows with Christ Jesus have been totally paid for. What will it be like to sit and eat with the King of Kings? There'll be no bickering about places at the table. The apostles and other Bible-mentioned chiefs of the faith will sit at His right and left. And anyway, the honor on that day will be all His.
What will the food be like? Yes, we'll be able to eat, in our new bodies. Jesus showed us that after He rose from the dead. And attire, well that's one area covered by the Revelation of John, chapter 19. Let's go there.
The chapter opens with great rejoicing for the annihilation, finally, of wicked Babylon. The smoke rising up will be a constant scene for eternity, a perpetual reminder that God avenges His people.
Then comes the announcement. It is not the feast itself, mind you, only the proclamation that we have now come to the point of the Jesus story called Wedding Day. The saints are given their clean bright linen wedding clothes, symbolic of the righteousness imputed to them all by Jesus, His wedding gift. Forgiveness. Clean slate. Holiness. Purity. And all by grace.
Then it's time to depart. Take care of some business. And eat.
One of the downsides of the so-called pre-tribulation coming of Jesus is that the passage before us is whisked away to a time seven years prior to the Babylon events. In the mind of the pre-trib theologian, any day now we'll be spirited away, while on earth will break out chaos. But it won't bother us, because after all, we overcame. The saints left behind, backslidden and unworthy, will have to deal with antichrist on their own, while we sit at the table spread by Jesus Himself.
It will be a happy day when this man-made theory dries up totally, loses its sway over Western believers, and joins the ranks of the hundreds and thousands of strange notions that have plagued God's people through the years.
You can see that the passage before us is clearly at the end of earth's suffering. You can see that the words are a mere announcement. No one sits and eats. Heaven is going out to dine. Out to a quaint little place called Earth, on the top of a hill there called Mt. Zion.
Why not eat in Heaven? First, it makes more sense for your Bride to be taken away to joy after a wedding ceremony, not to battle, as is the next thing in the text. Though the saints are dressed to dine, they must get to their dining place through a mine field readied by the Devil himself. Jesus will be coming with His saints to judge the earth's wickedness. Then we can sit and eat and rest.
But the main reason I know the Wedding Supper is on terra firma is that Jesus said so. The promise is in Luke 22, twice. I paraphrase verses 15-18:
I have really been looking forward to this Passover meal . I tell you the truth, we will not enjoy a Passover together until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. Then He took the cup, prayed, and said, Drink this, and remember, I will not be drinking wine with you until the Kingdom of God comes.
And the Kingdom of God comes, per Daniel, Jesus, Paul, and John, from Heaven to Earth when Jesus comes to judge sin, and establish His Throne in Jerusalem. The whole series of Kingdom events begins around the great Table.
Don't miss it! And join me in prayer that the closed nations of Earth, such as our dear friends in North Korea, will be able to receive their personal invitation to the Dinner, without which entry will not be gained.
