“It is easier to understand those things that are past, than to write of those things that are yet to be.” – Anonymous

At the beginning of Part 4, there was a reference made to “the relative safety of the Book of Daniel”. It was a tongue-in-cheek allusion in anticipation of entering into the “dangerous waters of the book of Revelation”. There was kind of an old joke among ministers back in the day:

“Many a theologian has waded out into the deep waters of Revelation, only to have never returned!”

So, for the purpose of self-preservation, this writer does not plan on making that particular mistake. 🙂

Instead, he will stick to the sole topic at hand and will avoid the extensive whirlpool of symbolic subject matter that the entire Revelation of John entails, and will leave it up to the individual reader to build up or cast down that which he examines in these final parts.

May God grant us all “…the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him” (Ephesians 1:17)

“The eyes of (our) understanding being enlightened; that (we) may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Ephesians 1:18-21)

Amen!

Part 6: Babylon The Great

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” (Revelation 13:1)

Later on in Revelation 17:3-5, as an angel is revealing the vision to John, the beast is portrayed in another way:

“So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.”

“And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

In other words:

The “ten toes” of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream are the “ten horns” of Revelation. And these ten horns are a culmination of a Babylonian system that has been carrying this “woman” who, in turn, has been responsible for all of the harlotry and abominations that have occurred on the Earth down through the centuries!

But God is going to destroy this whore by using the very beast that has been carrying her!

“And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” (Revelation 17:16-17)

Strange, but true! The question is “why”? It sounds like the beast is destroying part of himself. But there is a difference between the Beast and the woman who rides it.

Part 7: The Last Babylonian Kingdom

The answer lies in the personhood of the Beast!

The Beast, in short, is Satan himself along with the kingdoms which he has dominated in the past and which he will also dominate in the near future. For out of one of those ten horns will arise a “little horn” who is basically a man possessed and empowered by the nature of Satan himself … in much the same way that Judas was empowered to betray Christ after “Satan entered into him” at the last supper (John 13:27).

In the near future, this little horn will rule over humanity through a One World Government and receive the worship of humanity through a One World Religion.

Though the varying nations of the world may retain some of their outward trappings, once this Satanically-possessed individual takes charge, there can be NO other form of government, socio-economic system or religious entity existing other than his. They ALL have to be “destroyed”. All of the previous “isms” of the world system (known as Babylon the Great), have to be dismantled in order to give way for a world in which, like the Tower of Babel, all peoples will be UNITED in establishing the kingdom of Satan on the earth.

Over the last six millennia, the combined energies and activities of all of the preceding governments and religions of the world has created an environment of wealth, lust, greed, power and blood throughout the centuries … including those in existence today. From these entities have come wars, famines and financial crises but have also produced great wealth, power and fleshly lusts in the process.

They all have been the breeding ground of the Whore of Babylon in which “…the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” (Revelation 17:2)

And not only so, but she has…

“…become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.” (Revelation 18:2-3)

“And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” (Revelation 18:24)

Therefore…

“…shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.” (Revelation 18:8)

“For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” (Revelation 18:5)

And that is why, even now, the Lord is sending out a warning to His people to fully separate themselves in the Spirit unto Himself.

For too long, the modern-day ecclesiastical church has comforted itself in the trappings of Babylon … enjoying its “delicacies” right along with the “foul birds” of the world. But those trappings are going to be destroyed and a new Babylon created in the form of a new satanic Tower of Babel … which is not going to be in any way friendly, conducive or tolerant to truly born-again Christians.

Though God, in His ultimate wisdom, allowed the Israelites to be taken captive into King Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon (in order to temporarily sustain them after the fall of Jerusalem), this last Babylon must be seen for what it is. Through the centuries, we have been like those Israelites who were sustained by the “goods and services” of the Babylonian system of their day.

We have been a “peculiar nation” of saints within a mostly civilized world that has enabled us to thrive and enjoy life (especially in America). But for many in the church, the pleasures and pleasantries of that world system has caused them to remain “immature” and, hence, become “lukewarm” in their relationship with their heavenly Father.

Therefore, there is a call being made right now for His people to obtain a clear perspective of current events and enter into an ark of safety before the Great Whore is judged. This will not be an ark made of pitch and gopher wood, but one whose substance is that of the Spirit and whose maker and builder is God Himself!

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” (Revelation 18:4)

As a Christian, this writer believes that as members of the body of Christ, we should continue to reflect the glory of God as lights in a darkening world. Wherever the Lord has placed us, let the gifts and talents which are ours be deemed effectual through the Spirit of God. We must continue to follow the exhortation of the Apostle Paul…

“…that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” (1Timothy2:1-2)

But we must also be mindful of the changing Babylonian landscape around us that is trying to envelope the world in darkness. So let us…

“…sanctify the Lord God in (our) hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh (us) a reason of the hope that is in (us) with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of (us), as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse (our) good conversation in Christ.” (1Peter 3:15-16)

Part 8: IS THERE HOPE?

We know that the book of Revelation must eventually be fulfilled. And the exact timing of that fulfillment lies squarely with the Father. However, that doesn’t mean that Christians need to roll over in defeat as though we have no power or understanding in the Spirit of God.

Jesus said:

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)

Just as the Israelites rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem with a sword in one hand and a brick in the other, so we continue to promote God’s kingdom on the Earth according to the work that He has placed within each our individual hearts.

During that time in history:

“They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.” (Nehemiah 4:17-18)

But our “trumpet” is the glorious message of the Good News and our “sword” is the Word of God!

This writer cannot help but also be reminded of Jonah. The Lord commanded him to preach against the evil city of Ninevah which, later on, would eventually be destroyed. And just as God has purposed in His wisdom to destroy Babylon the Great, he told Jonah:

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.” (Jonah (1:2)

“And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” (Jonah 3:4)

“So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.” (Jonah 3:5)

“For word came unto the king of Nineveh … And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh … saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man … cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.” (Jonah 3:6-8)

And here is the most important thing that the King proclaimed:

“Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?” (Jonah 3:9)

As Christians living day by day within the present global system, we need not fear as the Ninevites did of “perishing”. We are forever safe and secure in the Father’s loving and merciful hands!

However, we do not know how far we will yet have to travel alongside the evil agendas and purposes of the modern-day Babylon.

But as we are travelling on our journey in this life, our “hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:5)

For at the very time Nineveh was staring into the abyss of God’s pending wrath…

“…God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” (Jonah 3:10)

Maybe, even now, through the prayers and intercessions of His saints, God will have mercy and allow a final and glorious proclamation of the Gospel in the very midst of Babylon the Great … the fruits of which would be nothing less than the glorious manifestation of His sons and daughters upon the Earth!

The Old Testament road to this victory was 2 Chronicles 7:14…

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

As Christians, our “land” (as a peculiar spiritual nation) has already been “healed”, and its sin has already been “forgiven”. What is needed now is the New Testament road to victory:

“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude 1:20-21)

Nothing changes a hardened heart more than the opportunity that it has to gaze upon the pure love of God shining (as a great beacon of light) through a saint who has matured and blossomed…

“…like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Psalms 1:3)

That is our true goal as Christians:

To be so immersed in the Word of God (upon which our faith is built) and spending precious time worshipping God and praying in the Spirit (which draws us closer to the Father’s heart) that, as a tree planted by living waters, we mature into a great season of “fruit-bearing”.

Even now the Holy Spirit is at work in each of His saints to be “vessels unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” (2Timothy 2:21)

For “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14)

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