Where Are We in Prophecy?
It May Be Later Than You Think! (Summary At the End of the Article)
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven but My Father only” (Matthew 24:36).
We live in a world that is chaotic and confused. It seems that nothing is stable and steady, as generation after generation dips further and further into lawlessness and depravity. As a young man growing up in the farm country of the Northern Plains of Minnesota, it was rare for couples to divorce, and there was a strong sense of morality among most people my age. In fact, several of my class mates married their high school sweethearts, and they remain together to this very day. Today the norm is becoming cohabitation rather than marriage, a very tenuous relationship without life-long commitment that forms the glue for stable societal structure, as it has for millennia. (1)The erosion of marital integrity is only one symptom of cultural collapse, but it is a major one. Along with it come other sexual aberrations, such as homosexuality, transgenderism, and adultery, but also thievery, lying, covetousness, drunkenness, drug usage, idolatry in its various sorts, contacting of spirits, and the list goes on. All of these sins, so eloquently spelled out by Paul in II Timothy 3:1-7, are what he stated would be prevalent in the “last days.” They are aberrations of human behavior on a wide scale that were predicted to overtake the earth shortly before the return of Jesus Christ, as related in Matthew 24:37-39.
“But as in the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away; so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
We are well aware that the condition of mankind on the earth before the Great Flood was incredibly evil, for “… the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). These pervasive conditions within society, while not unique to this time but can be found at other times in certain cultures — Roman, Grecian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and other civilizations, especially among the elite classes — are rapidly becoming pervasive among Westerners today. (2) Could quote statistics on wickedness: abortion, adultery, theft, murder, gluttony, drug usage, and the list goes (3) Jesus Christ told us to watch for signs of the end of the age.
“Now learn this parable from the fig tree. When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near — at the doors!” (Matthew 24:32-33).
What things is Jesus speaking of here? He cannot be referring to the resurrection mentioned in the preceding verses, for the very people He is addressing these words to will be in the resurrection. He could be referring to the signs leading up to the resurrection — the sun and moon darkened, meteors falling, and the powers of heaven shaken — but most likely He is referring to words spoken earlier in the Mount Olivet Prophecy: wars, pestilences, famines, earthquakes, deception by false prophets, and the preaching of the good news of the coming government of Elohim throughout the world … and surely also the lawless conditions throughout society that have led up to the chaos that inevitably results from such lawlessness.
We Are Nearing the End
Seeing such strong indicators that civilizations worldwide are nearing the time of the end of this dispensation as predicted by the prophets, I have been strongly motivated to reexamine the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation relevant to the end time. It seemed that the prophesies of the seals and trumpets, in particular, might have a more symbolic, metaphorical application instead of a literal fulfillment as I was instructed to believe during the earlier years of examining these scriptures. Therefore, in an effort to properly understand these prophesies, I have embarked on an intensive examination of them all, to try and place the present time within this awesome scheme of events that the Eternal God is working out here on the earth.
This examination can best be done by starting at the beginning of mankind’s sojourn on this earth. Let us begin with Adam and Eve at the creation and move forward through history in a disciplined fashion to piece together events, so we might understand as well as possible the fulfillment of prophetic events, and place ourselves in the correct position along this prophetic timeline. (4)
Creation to the Flood
4004 Adam created, and Eve was taken from Adam (Genesis 2:21-22). They sinned sometime after, removed from the Garden of Eden, and gave birth to Cain and Abel. Cain murdered Abel. Adam died in 3074 at age 930.
3874 Seth born. He died in 2962 at age 912.
3769 Enos born. He died in 2864 at age 905.
3679 Cainan born. He died in 2769 at age 910.
3609 Mahalaleal born. He died in 2714 at age 895.
3544 Jared born. He died in 2581 at age 962.
3382 Enoch born.
3317 Mathuselah born. He died in 2348, the year of the Flood.
3130 Lamech born. He died in 2353, five years before the Flood.
3017 Enoch “translated”, 57 years after Adam’s death.
2948 Noah born. He died in 1998 at age 950.
2448 Japeth born.
2447 Ham born.
2446 Shem born, when Noah was 502. He died in 1846 at age 600.
The Flood to the Exodus
2348 The Great Flood.
2346 Arphaxad born, two years after the Flood. He died in 1908 at age 438.
2310 Salah born. He died in 1878 at age 433.
2281 Eber born. He died in 1817 at age 464.
2247 Peleg born. He died in 2008 at age 239.
2217 Reu born. He died in 1978 at age 239.
2185 Serug born. He died in 1955 at age 230.
2155 Nahor born. He died in 2007 at age 148.
2126 Terah born. He died in 1921 at age 205.
2056 Haran born when Terah was 70.
1996 Abram born. Estimates of the date of his birth vary from 2300 to 1700, but a period of 2,000 years from the creation of Adam is likely, making this date 2004. He died in1821 at age 175.
1946 Abram’s “first call,” at age 50 in Ur of the Chaldees (Acts 7:1-4).
1921 Abram’s “second call,” at age 75. He departed from Haran (Genesis 12:4) 430 years before Israel left Egypt.
1910 Ishmael born to Hagar. He died in 1773at age 137.
1896 Isaac born.
1891 Ishmael was cast away, and the 400 years of Acts 7:6 begins (see also Genesis21:10-12; 12:7; Galatians 4:30).
1863 Isaac was offered up by Abraham at Mt. Moriah.
1859 Sarah died at age 127.
1854 Isaac married Rebecka.
1846 Abraham married Keturah.
1836 Jacob born when Isaac was 60. He died in 1629 at age 147.
1759 Jacob obtained the blessing from Isaac, and fled to Padan-Aram to Laban.
1752 Jacob married Leah and Rachel, and obtained two handmaids.
1739 Jacob fled from Leban and met Esau.
1728 Rachel died.
1727 Joseph was sold by his brothers into Egypt.
1715 Joseph interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream, and was promoted to second in command in Egypt.
1707 The great famine began.
1706 Jacob and his family moved to Egypt.
1571 Moses born.
1531 Moses fled to Midian.
1491 The Exodus of Israel from Egypt.
The Exodus to the Kingdom
1451 Crossing of the Jordan River into Canaan.
1431 Servitude under Mesopotamia from 8 years (Judges 3:8).
1384 Servitude to Moab for 18 years.
1365 Ehud gives rest to the land for 80 years.
1285 Servitude to Canaan for 20 years.
1265 Barach delivered Israel for 40 years.
1225 Servitude to Midian for 7 years.
1218 Gideon delivered Israel for 40 years.
1120 Servitude to the Philistines for 40 years.
1040 Samuel judged Israel for 40 years.
1020 Recovery of the Ark of the Covenant, 430 years after entry into the land.
1000 Saul was made king, and reigned for 40 years.
960 David became king for 40 years.
920 Solomon reigned for 40 years. The Temple was completed in 910, Solomon’s 11th year.
880 Rehoboam ruled Judah, and Jeroboam ruled Israel.
611 Samaria captured by Shalmanezer of Assyria, and taken into captivity.
477 Jerusalem taken by Nebuchadnezzar and the temple burned.
The Rise of World-Ruling Empires
Towards the end of the existence of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, the first of the major world-ruling empires described by Daniel rose. This kingdom was Babylon, which arose from the very soil where mankind first began — in the Fertile Crescent along the routes of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It is interesting that this is the very same area where Nimrod and his cohorts built the first cities after the Great Flood, and constructed the Tower of Babel (Genesis10:8-12; 11:1-9), and also where some scholars believe the Garden of Eden was situated, near the mouth of the Euphrates River where it empties into the Persian Gulf. This site, Eridu, is 12 miles south of Ur, the city community where Abram grew up! (5)
It is with this departure of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah from the scene — though by no means the people themselves, who were preserved in captivity in Assyria and Babylonia — that I will move on now to the gentile kingdoms that the books of Daniel and Revelation so strongly focus upon. The first mention of these four major kingdoms is in Daniel 2:31-45, when a huge image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was interpreted by Daniel, See the figure of this image, with the following meanings of the parts of the image.
Head. Made of gold, the Kingdom of Babylon (approximately 612-339 B.C.)
Chest and arms. Made of silver, the Medo-Persian Empire (approximately 539-330 B.C.)
Belly and thighs. Made of bronze, the Greek Empire (about 330-168 B.C.)
Legs. Made of iron, the Roman Empire (about 168 B.C. – present)
Feet. Iron mixed with ceramic clay, ten nations present at the time of the end which have a poor affinity for one another.
A stone strikes the image at its feet — at the finality of the time represented by the entire image — whereupon the entire image collapses and is smashed to dust. This stone, which is Jesus Christ, cast without hands but by the Father Himself, strikes the image at the final conflagration (Revelation 19:19-21) and destroys it. Since the image encompasses the cultures of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the final 10 kings extending back to a least the 7th Century B.C., the stone is actually annihilating the accumulated characteristics of civilizations passed down to the present day, utterly pulverizing them so they become “… like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found” (Daniel 2:35). The stone then grew to become a mountain that filled the entire earth: Christ’s culture and economy replace all of the destroyed pagan cultures that have accumulated into one another throughout the millennia of mankind’s history. The prophesies of these kingdoms mentioned in Daniel are shown in the chart below. (6)
No effort will be made to examine the civilizations of Asia — China, India, Malaya, Japan, and other major countries — since the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation center upon the empires that impinge upon God’s chosen people, the descendants of Jacob. It is these nations that will be dealt with from here on to elucidate the prophecies of these two prophetic books, in particular Revelation, for this final book of the New Testament gets quite specific about end-time events. Let us now focus on the period following Israel’s captivity.
Babylon to Rome
BABYLON (about 612-339). During this period, the Kingdom of Babylon rose to unprecedented heights as a world power, eclipsing the might of nearby Assyria and extending its authority, at its height, from Egypt, through southern Asia Minor, and on through the Fertile Crescent to the Persian Gulf. (7)
MEDO-PERSIA (about 559-330). Cyrus the Great was the leading figure in the establishment of the Medo-Persian Empire. He and his army conquered Persia in 559B.C., followed by Media, a huge landmass extending from the Indus River of India and north into Asia, west to the southern Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, and west to include all of Asia Minor. The Babylonian Empire was subdued in 539 B.C., and Egypt in 525 B.C., creating a huge empire until Alexander arrived on the scene. (8)
GREECE (about 330-168). Alexander the Great of Macedonia rose quickly to power, and during the course of his career and those of his successors, he conquered nearly all of the Medo-Persian Empire, plus Greece and Macedonia were added to his territory. The Grecian Empire was truly a massive enterprise of amalgamating many races and cultures into a nation that was educated into the Greek language and culture, changes that endured even for centuries after its passing. (9)
ROME (about 168-538 A.D.). The “two legs of iron” of Daniel 2:40, representing the Roman Empire, extended the world-ruling domination of human leaders even more, as each phase of world domination absorbed more and more of the earth’s face. At the height of its power in 117A.D., Rome encompassed all of the Middle East that Alexander had accrued before it, but extended far beyond that, encompassing all of western and Southern Europe, England, and North Africa. It did not, however, extend as far east into India as did Alexander’s farthest conquests. True to its prophetic pronouncements, the two legs of iron — the eastern leg based in Constantinople, and the western leg based in Rome — were brutal indeed, “… strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything: and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others” (Daniel2:40). As Heather Cowell states in The Roman Empire, Roman society was deeply hierarchical, enabling the military and political structures to maintain an iron-clad, authoritarian grip on its citizens and conquered peoples. (10)
The Seals of Revelation 6 and 7
Having briefly reviewed the history of mankind and civilization and world-ruling empires up to the Dark Ages, let us now examine the seals of Revelation 6 and 7 and how they apply to history, as well as to prophecy.
SEAL 1 (Revelation 6:1-2). A white horse, and the rider had a bow and a crown, and went forth conquering. Some commentators claim this horse symbolizes the “triumph of the gospel in the First Century dispensation,” since the whiteness of the horse symbolizes the purity of the faith, and the crown pictured the message of Christ going forth in great zeal to the limitless four corners of the earth. (11)However, others claim this white horse and its warrior rider represent a conquering false religious power, running roughshod over peoples and nations the world over. It is an apt picture of the Roman Catholic Church in many respects, and could very well represent it, plus any apostate religion which deviates from the pure faith of our Savior, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light (II Corinthians 11:14). We also read that “many false prophets will rise up and deceive many” (Matthew 24:11), and “… false Christ’s and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). This seal is likely a prophecy of false religion misleading people worldwide throughout the last millennium.
SEAL 2 (Revelation6:3-4). A fiery red horse with a rider having a great sword, to take peace from the earth and encourage people to kill each other. The view of some is that this red horse symbolizes a corruption of the original gospel message given by Christ and the apostles, whereupon errors in doctrine, worldliness, and the amalgamation of the ecclesia with the secular government brought about great perversion of the truth. Some say that the spirit of this seal reached its climax with the so-called conversion of Constantine to Christianity in 323 A.D. Perverted Christianity rose to the throne of civil government, and contaminated the pure, white faith with the blood of conflict between this new-found syncretized system and the true saints. (12)
This red horse, however, could very well symbolize armies of men spilling the blood of people in nations across the earth … especially the blood of the saints, who have resisted these corrupted false church-state combines and historically have been persecuted — often to the death — for resisting these evil entities. The evidence is voluminous of the killing of millions of God’s people over the centuries, especially during the Inquisition. (13)
SEAL 3 (Revelation 6:5-6). A black horse, with its rider carrying a balance in his hand, may symbolize the time from Constantine in 323 A.D. to the establishment of the papacy in 538 A.D. During this time many dark errors and superstitions entered the syncretized church, such as the veneration of dead “saints,” the celibacy of priests, the worship of images and relics, and other such dastardly practices and superstitions. Blackness symbolizes ignorance and corruption, evil and death, the likeness of paganism thrust into the heart of the pure faith. It is claimed that the balance held by the rider pictures the civil and religious government, epitomized by the administrators of that government who would balance the authority of each. Wheat and barley could imply church members engaged in worldly affairs and physical possessions, loving money rather than God, while the wine and oil might picture faith, love, and other spiritual fruits that were corrupted during this time, precipitating a great falling away from the true religion. (14)
On the other hand, the third horse could picture a time of famine, a shortage of grain and oil and wine, due to drought and societal disruptions as a consequence of war, indicated by the red second horse and its rider wielding a great sword. Such famines have occurred throughout mankind’s history, and will continue to the very end of the age as we read of the 3.5-year famine during the time of the two witnesses (Revelation11:3-6).
SEAL 4 (Revelation 6:7-8). This pale horse with the rider named “Death” is in reality of a “pale or yellowish” color. It could refer to the time, commencing about 538 A.D., when the papacy arose and exercised unrestrained persecution against those who opposed it, in particular those who joined the Reformation and exposed the corruption of this great false church. The fourth part of the earth may refer to the extent of the earth over which the papacy reigned, and the “sword, hunger, and death” could mean the horrible means of torture and death which opponents of this system were subjected to, during the Inquisition in particular. (15) Fifty million martyrs came out of this Inquisition. (16) “Beasts of the earth” could mean the terrible atrocities committed against God’s people by agents of the papacy acting as beasts. These atrocities of the Catholic Church against the people of God continued for about 500 years, from Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) until roughly1700. As Halley so aptly put it,
“Think of monks and priests, in holy garments, directing with heartless cruelty and inhuman brutality, the work of torturing and burning alive innocent men and women, and doing it in the name of Christ, by the direct order of the ‘Vicar of Christ.’ The Inquisition was the most in famous and devilish thing in human history. It was devised by Popes, and used by them for 500 years, to maintain their power. For its record, none of the subsequent lives of ‘holy’ and ‘infallible’ Popes have ever apologized.” (17)
Some commentators will claim that this Fourth Seal and the pale horse refer to the pestilences that arise from the devastating droughts and food shortages that are pictured in the Third Seal. Such disease outbreaks are the logical result of compromised immune systems resulting from poor nutrition. Such horrible epidemics and die-offs of major portions of populations have occurred at times over the centuries since Christ’s time, including the following. (18)
Antonine Plague of 165-180 A.D. This could have been smallpox, and laid waste to the Roman army and may have killed over 5 million people throughout the Empire. This plague contributed to political instability and the fall of the Empire.
Plague of Cyprian, 250-271 A.D. Apparently5,000 people a day died of this plague in Rome alone. The cause of the plague is unknown.
Plague of Justinian, 541-542 A.D. Named after the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (527-565A.D.), this pandemic was likely bubonic plague, which killed perhaps 10% of the world’s population and began the decline of the Empire.
The Black Death, 1346-1353 A.D. Traveling from Asia to Europe, this bubonic plague outbreak decimated Europe’s population, killing possibly 50% of young and old. Labor was hard to find, wages rose, and serfdom ended, changing the fabric of European civilization.
Great Plague of London, 1665-1666. Bubonic plague struck the city, killing 100,000 citizens, about 15% of the population. This was followed on September 2, 1666, by the Great Fire of London that burned down much of the city over four days.
Great Plague of Marseille, 1720-1723. Bubonic plague decimated up to 30% of the city’s residents.
Russian Plague,1770-1772. In Moscow alone,100,000 may have died from bubonic plague.
These are only seven of countless plagues that have occurred throughout history. How the power to kill with the sword and with the beasts of the earth can relate to this interpretation of the Fourth Seal is questionable. Nevertheless, this seal has occurred over a long period of time, and certainly encompasses the period of the Roman Empire, and in particular the time during which the Popes have directed its activities since the 500s A.D.
SEAL 5 (Revelation 6:9-11). This seal can be tied to a specific time period, like the other seals, as being the period during which the Roman Church grotesquely persecuted the true saints. The altar that is envisioned is on the earth, not in the spirit realm, and correlates to the rampant murder of hundreds of thousands of protesters of the evil and erroneous dictates of Catholicism. Thus, the Fifth Seal corresponds to the Reformation period that officially began when Martin Luther (1483-1546 A.D.) nailed the 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517. The sale of indulgences (bailing people out of purgatory by payments to the Roman Church) and other abuses brought about by the Popes’ doctrines led to a massive exit from the Roman Church. While Luther was excommunicated for being a heretic, the penalty of which was death, he stood his ground even before the assembled dignitaries and political leaders of the Holy Roman Empire and the Roman Church in 1521. He was hidden for a year, and then translated the Bible into German, helping the Protestant movement gain strength. (19)
Thereafter the Catholic Church’s answer to the Reformation began: the Inquisition, which Pope Innocent III initiated. This atrocity claimed untold millions of innocent Christian lives … thus defining those “… slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held” (Revelation 6:9). This included many of the Waldenses and Albigenses of northern Italy and eastern France. (20) The personified cries of those slain, pleading for vengeance against their perpetrators, led to their being figuratively given white robes — a sign of perfect righteousness (Revelation 19:8) — which those yet to be slain by this evil church-state empire would also be given. The time period of this seal would thus extend from the beginning of the Reformation in about 1517 to the end of this age … for there will be many more who will lose their lives for the sake of the truth (Matthew 24:9-10).
SEAL 6 (Revelation 6:12-17). This seal spells out quite literal events, not couched in figurative language like the first six seals. The earth quake alluded to here could likely be the Great Earth quake of Lisbon, Portugal, that struck on November 1, 1755. It effects were noted over at least 4 million square miles: in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The violent upheavals were noted over much of Africa, across western Europe, and into England and Scandinavia. Of Lisbon’s 150,000 inhabitants, 90,000 died that day, and the city was devastated and burned. Shocks were felt as far west as the West Indies and Greenland. Tidal waves caused further devastation. (21)
On May 19, 1780, a dark day was experienced in North America, with no known cause. According to one observer,
“… a most unaccountable darkening of the whole visible heavens and atmosphere in New England — which brought intense alarm and distress to multitudes of minds, as well as dismay to the brute creation, the fowls fleeing, bewildered, to their roosts, and the birds to their nests, and the cattle returning to their stalls. Indeed, thousands of the good people of the day became fully convinced that the end of all things terrestrial had come …. The extent this darkness was also very remarkable. It was observed at the most easterly regions of New England; westward to the farthest parts of Connecticut, and at Albany; and to the north, as far as the American settlements extended. It probably far exceeded these boundaries, but the exact limits were never positively known.” (22)
The following night the “moon became as blood,” surely as a consequence of the particulate matter that was in the air to cause the darkness of the day.
The stars of heaven falling “… as a fig tree casts its figs when shaken by a mighty wind” could refer to the Great Meters showers of November 13, 1833. One account of this event is as follows.
“Extensive and magnificent showers of shooting stars have been known to occur at various places in modern times; but the most universal and wonderful which has ever been recorded is that of 13th of November, 1833, [when] the whole firmament, over all the United States, being then, for hours, in fiery commotion. No celestial phenomenon has ever occurred in this country since its first settlement, which was viewed with such intense admiration by one class in the community, or with so much dread and alarm by another …. During the three hours of its continuance, the day of judgment was believed to be only waiting for sunrise.” (23)
The last events mentioned in Revelation 6:14 — “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places” — have had no fulfillment in the past 200 years, so assumedly these prophecies are yet to occur. We see in Revelation 16:18-21, with the Seventh Trumpet, that “… there was a great earthquake, such a mightly and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth …. Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found,” a likely fulfillment of this Sixth Seal prophecy (see also Isaiah 24:19-20 and Jeremiah 4:23-27).
SEAL 7 (Revelation 8:1-2). This seventh seal encompasses the Seven Trumpets to follow. It is plausible to consider that all but the Sixth Seal have been fulfilled as discussed. That being the case, let us now consider the Seven Trumpets that follow.
The Seven Trumpets
TRUMPET 1 (Revelation 8:7). “The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth; and the third part of trees was burned up, and all green grass was burned up.”
“Hail and fire mingled with blood” most likely refers to the terrible effects of the Gothic invasion (hail), and the burning of cities and the countryside (fire), while the blood relates to the rampant slaughter of the people by these bold and intrepid Gothic warriors. Beginning towards the end of the Fourth Century A.D. these Goths invaded and desolated large swaths of the Roman Empire. Alaric, the Gothic general, spared no one as he moved his carts and wagons from the northlands of Germany and dealt the Roman Empire its first major strike. According to Gibbon, as quoted by Keith, (24)
“A furious tempest was excited among the nations of Germany, from the northern extremity of which the barbarians marched almost to the gates of Rome. They achieved the destruction of the West. The dark cloud which was collected along the coasts of the Baltic, burst in thunder upon the banks of the upper Danube. The pastures of Gaul, in which flocks and herds grazed, and the banks of the Rhine, which were covered with elegant houses and well-cultivated farms, formed a scene of peace and plenty, which was suddenly changed into a desert, distinguished from the solitude of nature only by smoking ruins. Many cities were cruelly oppressed, or destroyed. Many thousands were inhumanly massacred, and the consuming flames of war spread over the greater part of the seventeen provinces of Gaul.
“Alaric again stretched his ravages over Italy. During four years the Goths ravaged and reigned over it without control. And in the pillage and fire of Rome, the streets of the city were filled with dead bodies; the flames consumed many public and private buildings; and the ruins of a palace remained (after a century and a half) a stately remnant of the Gothic conflagration.”
TRUMPET 2 (Revelation 8:8-9). “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and a third part of the sea became blood; and a third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and a third part of the ships were destroyed.”
This trumpet appears to indicate maritime warfare … whereas the First Trumpet involved land warfare by the Goths. The Vandals, with their terrible leader Genseric, first conquered North Africa, and afterwards Italy, mostly though naval conquest. It has been said that his triumphs were “as it were a great mountain burning with fire, cast into the sea.” During the years 428-468 A.D., he helped contribute to Rome’s fall by establishing a base in Africa (Carthage), from which he preyed on Roman commerce and waged war with the Empire. To cope with this piracy, the Roman emperor Majorian prepared a huge navel fleet — 300 long galleys, plus many transports and smaller vessels — and collected them in what he thought was a secure harbor in Cartagena, Spain. (25)
“But Genseric was saved from impending and inevitable ruin by the treachery of some powerful subjects, envious and apprehensive of their master’s successes. Guided by their secret intelligence, he surprised the unguarded fleet in the Bay of Cartagena; many of the ships were sunk, taken, or burned, and preparations of three years were destroyed in a single day.” (26)
The Vandals repeatedly raided the coasts of Spain, Greece, Sicily, Italy, and other Mediterranean ports, causing further erosion of Roman strength. The “third part” phrase likely refers to the tripartite division of the original two-legged iron image, first given to Constantine, Licinius, and Maximin in 311 A.D., and following Constantine’s death the Kingdom was divided into thirds, to Constantine II, Constans, and Constantins in 337 A.D. Thus, it can be presumed that the Vandals were instrumental in fulfilling the prophecies of the Second Trumpet, which John recorded over 300 years earlier. (27)
TRUMPET 3 (Revelation 8:10-11). “And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many people died of the waters because they were made bitter.”
To understand this trumpet, one must discover a chieftain or warrior who might be compared to a blazing meteor, whose rise and exploits would be brilliant for a season — “a great star … burning as a lamp” — and then disappear like a light is quenched in water. According to Barnes, (28) to fulfill this prophecy the desolation would need to strike mainly on portions of the earth abounding with springs of water and streams, with an effect to make the streams and springs bitter … implying many people would perish and there would be widespread desolations in the vicinity of these waters, as if this bitter star would fall into the waters and death would spread to adjacent lands.
The character of history who fits these qualifications is Attila the Hun.
“In the manner of his appearance, he strongly resembled a brilliant meteor flashing in the sky. He came from the East, gathered his Huns, and poured them down … with the rapidity of a flashing meteor, suddenly on the [Roman] Empire. He regarded himself also as devoted to Mars, the god of war, and was accustomed to array himself in a particularly brilliant manner, so that his appearance in the language of his flatterers, was such as to dazzle the eyes of beholders.” (29)
Attila’s principle operations were in the Alps where the rivers originated — the “fountains of waters” — and where these rivers flow down into Italy. As one author states, “The whole breadth of Europe, as it extends above five hundred miles from the Euxine to the Adriatic, was at once involved, and occupied, and desolated, by the myriads of barbarians whom Attila led into the field.” Attila was called “the scourge of God, ”who massacred men and women, and children as well. He boasted that the grass never grew on the spot where his horse had trod. (30)
Attila the Hun (406-453 A.D.) ruled the Huns from 434 to 453 A.D., and was one of the most feared enemies of both the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. He conducted a successful campaign in the Eastern Empire, so he attempted to conquer the Western Empire, and was turned back in Gaul (modern France). Though devastating northern Italy, he was unable to take Rome, and he died not long after this effort in 453 A.D. (31)
The Third Trumpet truly appears to encapsulate the personality and exploits of Attila. The time of his exploits fits the timeline of the other trumpets, as we shall continue to see.
TRUMPET 4 (Revelation 8:12). “And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.”
Trumpet 4 has a clear reference to the barbarian monarch Odoacer, who participated in the final eclipse of the Western Roman Empire. The symbols of “sun,” “moon,” and “stars” most likely refer to the great luminaries of the Roman government: the emperors, senators, and consuls. While Western Rome fell in 476 A.D., the empire still shone faintly (a “third part”) as the senate and consuls continued, but even they suffered reverses until finally, in 566 A.D., the whole form of Roman government was subverted. From that point on the government was reduced from being empress of the world to a weak tributary of the Exarch of Ravenna. In fact, with the resignation of Augustulus — meaning “diminutive Augustus” — the Western Empire consented to the seat of the government be transferred to Constantinople. Thus, the power and glory of Rome to bear rule over any other nation had ceased. Only in name did the Roman Empire exist. The “sun was smitten.” (32)
Theodoric the Ostrogoth was the conqueror of Italy at this time, who claimed the throne in 493 A.D. and ruled Italy until 526 A.D., a fact that was reluctantly acknowledged by the Eastern emperor. So, while a “third part of the sun was smitten,” the consuls (“moon”) and senate (“stars”) were maintained by Theodoric. Yet, even they could not maintain their light forever, and soon Belisarius, the general of Justinian, the Eastern emperor, conquered Rome and extinguished the consuls and senate, the “third part of the moon and stars.” (33)
Though the glory of Rome had already departed by this time, a final catastrophe approached Rome, that of Odoacer, the chief of the Heruli, which was a remnant of the armies of Attila that remained in the Alps. Odoacer demanded that the name of the office of the Roman emperor of the West be abolished, so the last relic of an emperor abdicated his position. As Jerome so aptly put it, “The world’s glorious sun has been extinguished.” (34)
TRUMPET 5, WOE 1 (Revelation 9:1-11). “Then the fifth angel sounded; and I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them. The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.”
Both the fifth and sixth trumpets refer to the Saracens and the Turks, according to all credible evidence at hand. These people of false religion became a scourge to the apostate Roman Church, and thus are termed “woes” besides being trumpets, due to their heavy infliction of trouble to the civilized world. (36)
The bottomless pit in Greek is defined as “deep, bottomless, or profound,” and can refer to in context to any waste, desolate, or uncultivated place. What better description can there be to the wilderness wastelands of the Arabian desert, from which the Sara cans emerged likes warms of locusts. Chosroes, the king of Persia, had besieged Constantinople after the western Roman Empire had been extinguished, that city being the only remnant of the empire except for parts of Greece, Italy, Africa, and a few coastal cities. Chosroes finally, after a six-year seige, agreed to allow the Romans, under Heraclius, to pay a tribute of 1,000 talents of gold, 1,000 talents of silver, 1,000 silk robes, 1,000 horses, and 1,000 virgins to leave off the attack. Meanwhile, Heraclius boldly led his army into the heart of Persia via a back and hidden route, and decimated the Persian army. (37)
Despite the temporary success of the Roman advance — both the Roman and Persian forces being weakened by natural attrition— the hoards of Saracens descended upon the Fertile Crescent likes warms of locusts. Within eight years the Moslem hoards had taken over the provinces captured by Heraclius. Thus, Chosroes, King of Persia, passed into oblivion, and the forces of the Moslems became preeminent. In 629 A.D. the forces of Mohammed had conquered Arabia and begun to strike at the remnants of the Roman Empire. This strike, unlike the pure light of the gospel of the Eternal God of heaven, was like smoke out of a bottomless pit.
From east to west the Saracens advanced like locusts over the region of the former Roman Empire. Moreover, they struck like scorpions, with speedy and vigorous attacks. After Mohammed’s death, Abubekr succeeded him in 632 A.D., a more benevolent despot, as it were, who fulfilled the prophecies of not hurting the grass or green things, but instead he killed the Catholic practitioners. (38)
“When you fight the battles of the Lord, acquit yourselves like men, without turning your backs; but let not your victory be stained with the blood of women and children. Destroy no palm trees, nor burn any fields of corn. Cut down no forest trees, nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as you kill to eat. When you take any covenant or article, stand to it, and be as good as your word. And as you go, you will find some religious persons who live retired in monasteries, and propose to themselves to save God that way; let them alone, and neither kill them nor destroy their monasteries. And you will find another sort of people that belong to the synagogue of Satan, who have shaven crowns; be sure you cleave their skulls, and give them no quarter till they either turn Mohammedans or pay tribute.” (39)
The attacks of the Saracens were not against, however, those having the “seal of God” on their foreheads, who were Sabbath keepers, those who keep the laws of the Eternal and possess His indwelling spirit. Those that the armies of the Saracens were to destroy were likely a class of monks from the Roman Catholic Church, who did not possess the mark of the Sabbath. The true Church of God had spread throughout many areas of the Roman Empire, and it was inevitable that the Moslem attackers would meet up with them. (40)
The Saracens persistently assaulted the Roman territory, even Constantinople itself, though they were not able to subdue these areas. This “torment for five months” was to hurt and pester, not kill and utterly destroy the idolatrous Roman Church. It was a perilous time for these people of the empire, and they grew weary of the periodic, persistent attacks and endangerment, a peaceful respite in life only to be disrupted violently by another attack.
Arabian horses were noted for their strength and stamina, and their riders were swift as locusts and armed like scorpions. The warriors wore showy turbans, and their hair was uncut —“They had hair as the hair of women”— and their their long beards were a symbol of manhood. Having “teeth as the teeth of lions” denotes ferocity and strength to devour, as a lion. Many of the Arab warriors wore breastplates, and their charges were with swift horses, spears, and arrows, unlike the tactics of the compact infantry of the Greeks and Romans, like “The sound of their wings … as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.” (41)
The prophetic time of five months can be defined as 5 x 30 days per month, or 150 days. Using each day for a year (Numbers 14:34), then five months is 150 years. During this time the Moslems were to slay one-third of men (Revelation 9:15) … or a third of the Roman Empire, the Greek division of it. What is the time period being spoken of here? History reveals that after Mohammed’s death until near the end of the thirteenth century the Moslems were divided amongst several leaders, with no central control. However, at this time Othman began to extend control over these tribes, eventually consolidating them into a grand monarchy. This empire was rooted in the religion of Abaddon, “the destroyer,” and Apollyon, “one who exterminates.” This character of destruction has been a hallmark of the Ottoman Empire since its founding. (42)
According to Gibbon, Othman made his first assault on the Greek empire on July 27, 1299. Counting forward 150 years takes us to July 27,1449. During this period the Turks engaged in perpetual warfare with the Greek empire, but did not conquer it, although they held several provinces. Constantinople still stood, but not for long. A big change was forthcoming as the sixth trumpet was about to blow. (43)
TRUMPET 6, WOE 2 (Revelation 9:14-21). “… Release the four angels who are bound at the great River Euphrates! So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. Now the number of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed — by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. For this power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm. But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither seen or hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries [drugs] or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”
There were four principle divisions of the Ottoman empire — situated at Aleppo, Iconium, Damascus, and Baghdad — all of which were watered by the River Euphrates. Though previously restrained, they were now loosed to conquer other lands. In 1449 A.D., John Palaiologos, the Greek emperor, died and his brother Constantine XIII took the throne … but not before gaining permission to reign from the Turkish sultan Amurath. This was essentially a bloodless, voluntary surrender of the Greeks to the Turks. Recall that the Greeks comprised a third of the defunct Roman Empire. (44)
Amurath soon died, to be succeeded in 1451 A.D. by Mohammed II, who determined to conquer Constantinople and make it the seat of his empire. Keep in mind that the prophecy in verse 15 was that the angels were loosed for “an hour, a day, a month, and a year.” This period of time is 360 + 30 + 1 + 1/24 days, or 391 1/24 days, or 391 years and 15 days, considering each day for a year (Numbers 14:34). (45)
Mohammed II commenced the siege of Constantinople on April 6, 1453, and on May 16 he captured the city. The means by which the city, an impregnable fortress that no invading army had been able to breach for centuries, was ingenious and written colorfully in the words of John. The number of horseman in this army was incredible. According to Gibbon, “The myriads of Turkish horses overspread a frontier of six hundred miles, from Taurus to Etzeroum; and the blood of 130,000 Christians was a grateful sacrifice to the Arabian prophet.” The “200 million” number likely means “200,000 twice told,” a number that may indeed equal the warriors who besieged Constantinople. Others think that the 200 million represents the total of the warriors who fought during the entire 391 years and 15 days of the Ottoman Empire. (46)
Now thing get very interesting. The imagery of verse 17 points to horsemen having breastplates of fiery red, deep blue, and brimstone yellow. Records from this period confirm that the Turkish uniform was comprised of these colors. Moreover, the horses’ heads “appeared like lions” in terms of their strength, courage, and fierceness … but how does one explain, “out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone”? As one author stated, with gunpowder having recently been invented,
“As the Turks discharged their firearms on horseback, it would appear to the distant beholder that the smoke, fire, and brimstone issued out of the horses ’mouths ….” (47)
The breach of the thick high walls of Constantinople was accomplished through casting cannons at a foundry in Adrianople, which could hurl projectiles at the walls with such force that they crumbled under the onslaught. Gunpowder— a mixture of sodium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal — proved its worth in battle. By “fire, smoke, and brimstone” was the “third part of men killed,” or should we say the army of the Eastern Roman Empire was vanquished, a third of the empire. According to Gibbon,
“… the volleys of lances and arrows were accompanied with smoke, the sound, and the fire of the musketry and cannon …. the long order of the Turkish artillery was pointed against the walls, fourteen batteries thundering at once on the most accessible places …. the fortifications which had stood for ages against hostile violence were dismantled on all sides by the Ottoman cannon, many breaches opened, and near the gate of St. Romanus, four towers leveled with the ground …. from the lines, the galleys, and the bridge, the Ottoman artillery thundered on all sides, the camp and the city, the Greeks and the Turks, were involved in a cloud of smoke, which could only be dispelled by the final deliverance of destruction of the Roman Empire …. the double walls were reduced by the cannon to a heap of ruins …. [the Turks] rushing through the breaches.” (48)
Constantinople was subdued, and her religion was trampled into the dust by the Moslem conquerors. Concerning the “tails” in verse 19, the horse’s tail was a well-known Turkish symbol of office and authority, explaining how they had “tails like serpents.” The power “in their mouth” was a figure of the cannons, whose opening is referred as a mouth. (49)
The supremacy of the Moslems — the Ottoman Empire — over the Greeks was to continue, as mentioned earlier, for 391 years and 15 days. That time period, together with the 150-year period of the Fifth Trumpet is as follows. (50)
Beginning of the 150 years……..July 27, 1299
Ending of the 150 years and the beginning of the 319 years and 15 days….July 27, 1449
Ending of the 319 years and 15 days…..August 11, 1840
On August 11, 1840, exactly to the day as predicted in Revelation 9:15, the Ottoman empire officially ended. The sultan in 1838 was embroiled in a war with his vassal Mehemet Ali, the leader of Egypt. Foreign ambassadors stepped in to try and defuse the conflict, but hostilities erupted again in 1839 A.D. This time the sultan’s army and fleet were decimated, and the remnants of his fleet were taken to Egypt. Then, in 1840 A.D., the countries of England, Russia, Austria, and Prussia intervened to try and expedite the return of the sultan’s ships. Ultimatums were drawn to return the ships in exchange for territorial concessions by the sultan. Bargaining from a very inferior position of power, the sultan sent a steamboat to Alexandria, Egypt, to show the ultimatum to the Mehemet Ali, a communication that was placed in his hands on August11, 1840, exactly 319 years and 15 days from the beginning of the Ottoman Empire! The sultan’s independence was gone; the Ottoman Empire’s power had vanished, just as Scripture said it would. (51)
The Two Witnesses
Revelation 11:3-12. “And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophecy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sack cloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. When they finish this testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here,’ and they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.”
The two witnesses may be an allusion of the two olive trees, to the right and left of the lampstand in Zechariah 4:11-14. “These are the two anointed ones who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.” Since God’s word is a lamp and a light (Psalm119:105) that testifies of Him (John 5:39), it is possible that these two witnesses are the Old and New Testaments. Other commentators claim that these two witnesses are actual people among God’s elect who will preach the truth at the very end, during the Great Tribulation up until the resurrection. Support for this view is given in verses 11 and12, where they are shown to stand up on their feet and then ascend into the air, as will occur at the resurrection at the Seventh Trumpet (I Thessalonians 4:16-17; I Corinthians 15:51-52). (52)
The plagues of drought, turning water to blood, and other marvelous plagues are performed through the word of God, such as Elijah shutting up heaven for three-and-a-half years (I Kings 17:1), and the plagues that Moses poured out on Egypt (Exodus 7 to 12). So will the last seven plagues of Revelation 16 be poured out according to the word of God.
The testimony of these two witnesses was to occur for 3.5 years, or 1,260 days, meaning, in prophetic terms, 1,260 years. If one accepts the year of 538 A.D. as the time that papal supremacy began, then 1,260 years later brings us to the year 1798. Is there an event that occurred in that year that would typify a beast coming out of the bottomless pit to make war against the witnesses — the word of God? Interestingly, such formally-sanctioned, government-sponsored atheism did indeed occur that year in France. The government officially denied God’s existence, and in a real sense made war on the Creator. Amazingly, there was a major push to formally encourage sexual license — the major sign of Sodom — by advocating fornication in a law. At the same time, the French plotted to destroy the Christian Huguenots, who were descendants of Israel, and during the St. Bartholomew Massacre killed 70,000 of them. The rallying cry of the French apostates was “crush the wretch,” meaning destroy Christ, which could be extrapolated to be “where also our Lord was crucified” … a spiritual Egypt with no firm foundation on Biblical truth but, like Pharaoh said in Moses’ presence, “I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). (53)
The French Assembly so “made war” on the word of God that in 1793 it passed a law forbidding the possession of a Bible. Bibles were confiscated and burned, and Bible colleges were abolished. The Sabbath was also removed from observance, and instead every tenth day was substituted as a day of mirth and profanity. Baptisms were outlawed, the being of God denied, and death was pronounced as an eternal nothingness. At the same time the “Goddess of Reason” was publicly displayed and worshipped.
In response to the horrible suppression of God’s word and name in France, the “people and kindreds and tongues and nations” of Europe and elsewhere were outraged at this disrespect and impugning of God’s word — its being “put in graves” — inspiring them to support its dissemination throughout Europe. While verse 10 denotes the joy of the atheists who attempted to stamp out God’s word, yet their triumph was short (Job 20:5), for in 1796, just three years after their initial efforts to destroy God’s word, the French Assembly passed a decree granting tolerance to the scriptures. It lay on the table for six months, and was then voted upon without a single dissenting vote. (54)
From that point forward the word of God has been made available to nearly all people on earth, translated into most languages … “ascending up to heaven in a cloud,” as it were, and the enemies of these precious words could do nothing to stop its spread: “their enemies beheld them”
Revelation 11:13 goes on to speak of a great earthquake, whereupon a tenth part of the city — that is, the papal Roman power — fell. France is one of the ten horns that gave power and strength to the papal beast (Daniel 7:24; John 13:1; Revelation 12:3), one of the kingdoms that arose from the Western Roman Empire, and one of the ten toes of the great image that Daniel interpreted from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2:33, 42). France was perhaps the greatest focus of papal fury, and when it fell, then so did the last civil vestige of the pope’s strength. (55)
The “men” of verse 13 refers to “titles of men,” and in the French Revolution of 1789-98 there was war on all titles of nobility. Records from France during that period reveal that 7,000 titles of men were abolished. During the horrible bloodshed and carnage of that revolution, those that escaped indeed glorified God, probably not willingly but in order to save their own skins. They apparently saw that making war against God will exact a just and painful punishment. (56)
TRUMPET 7, WOE 3 (Revelation 11:15-19).“Then the seventh angel sounded: and there were 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!’ And the twenty-four elders who sit before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying: ‘We give You thanks O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.’ Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightenings, noises, thunderings, and earthquakes, and great hail.”
This great prophecy is referring to the particular time in the future when the rulership of Satan the devil in this world will be terminated. When this handing over of authority to Jesus Christ occurs, the final battle at Armageddon will have been finished (Revelation 19:20), or it could occur when the Devil and his henchmen are cast into the abyss for 1,000 years and can no longer influence mankind (Revelation 20:1-3). Whenever it happens, we know that the saints will have begin their reign on the earth (Revelation 5:10). The confrontation of Jesus with Satan in the wilderness reveals the fact that the devil does indeed posses power in this dispensation, for he stated, “All these things [the kingdoms of the world and their glory] I will give You if You will fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9). He knew he had the power to do so, and has been influencing and controlling peoples and nations worldwide ever since Adam and Eve were forced out of the Garden of Eden. In fact, Deuteronomy 32:8 reveals that the sons of Elohim (incorrectly translated “children of Israel” in several translations) are presently presiding over the nations of the earth, and have been doing so ever since “… the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, when He separated the sons of Adam [by confusing their languages at Babel; Genesis 11:1-9], [and] He set the boundaries of the peoples ….” Thus we see the prince of Greece and the prince of Persia as examples of these sons of Elohim (Daniel 10:13, 20).
Revelation 12 — The Church and Satan’s Empire
Revelation 12 is rife with symbols, and can be understood by rightly dividing their meanings. (57)
Verse 1. Woman. Here the woman represents the true ecclesia, whereas a corrupt church is indicated in Revelation 17:3-6, 15,18, and Ezekiel 23:2-4.
Sun. The good news of the Kingdom of God, as preached throughout Jesus’ ministry (Mark 1:14; 4:30;10:14-15; Luke 8:10; 9:60; 12:31; John 3.5).
Moon. This is the Mosaic dispensation, according to some commentators.
Crown of twelve stars. The twelve apostles.
Verse 3. The great red dragon, or Pagan Rome.
Heaven is the space above John where he saw the vision, not the abode of the Father.
The moon “borrows” light from the sun in the same fashion that the Mosaic covenant borrows strength from the truth of God’s word as revealed through the Word, Christ Himself (John1:14). In one way of speaking, the moon under the feet of the church pictures the cessation of the Levitical priesthood — which was poured out as Joel 2:28-29 had predicted. Being “pained to be delivered” most assuredly pictures the ecclesia awaiting its birth into new, eternal bodies (Isaiah 66:8), which will occur at a time when “… there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22).
The possibility that a constellation of stars is intended here is not out of the question. According to this view, the woman is the virgin of the constellation Virgo, and the crown of twelve stars represents the nine stars of the constellation Leo in conjunction with Mercury, Mars, and Venus. The moon can be positioned under the “feet” of the constellation Virgo in certain situations, and the sun can pass through the constellation … thus the woman “clothed with the sun.” Verse 2 of Revelation 12 continues by saying that the woman was pregnant and about to give birth. A fulfillment of that could be Jupiter traversing the constellation after having undergone an apparent retrograde motion after entering what is perceived to be Virgo’s “womb.” Then Jupiter can exit the lower part of the “womb” 42 weeks later; this is the approximate time of human gestation.
These conditions might signify the birth of the children of God — the resurrection to eternal life — and they do occur at certain rare times, such as happened on September 23, 2017, over Jerusalem. The resurrection did not occur then, but other alignments could have significance in future years. (58)
For comments on the seven heads, ten horns, and seven diadems, please refer to Revelation chapters 13 and 17, where these are discussed.
Verses 4-6. The “third part of the stars of heaven” could denote a portion of the rulers of Judea during the time of Christ. In Judea there were three classes of rulers: kings, priests, and the Sanhedrin, but a third of these were removed by the Roman rulers … thus “cast to the earth.” It is clear that the man-child of verse 5 is Jesus Christ — prophesied to rule all nations with a rod of iron (Revelation 2:27) — and “the dragon who stood before the woman … to devour her child as soon as it was born” can aptly be identified as the ruler of the dragon, the Roman King Herod. Though he was an Edomite, he nevertheless ruled under the auspices of the Roman Empire. That event was prophesied (Jeremiah 31:15) and is well documented to have occurred (Matthew 2:16). Then, in verse 6 we are told that the woman — the true ecclesia— fled into the wilderness for 1260 days —1260 years — from the time the papacy was established in 538 A. d. to its demise in 1798. The people of God have always existed, though a “little flock” (Luke 12:32), scattered throughout the earth away from the wiles of the opposing great false whore. (59)
Verses 7-9. The “war in heaven” is a most marvelous event that is difficult for us humans to conceptualize, for spirit forces far transcend our flesh and blood human capabilities. Yet in verse 7 we read of this great battle between Michael— and archangel, or “ruler over angels,” one whom I believe is a son of God — and righteous angels, versus the dragon, Satan himself, and his allied evil spiritual minions. This insertion is a flashback in time, likely to the period before Genesis 1:1 to the pre-Adamic civilization during which I believe Lucifer ruled. He and his angels lost that battle — can evil ever succeed over righteousness? — and were cast onto the earth, where they have continued to harass and oppress mankind ever since Adam’s first sin. That oppression is through these spirits inhabiting leaders and other people, thus influencing their decisions, as well as influencing all of creation— even the weather and geological events like earthquakes and volcanoes — as we read in Romans 8:22: “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.”
Verses 13-14. Seeing that he was cast out of the presence of the Eternal in his heavenly Zion — for how can light and dark coexist (II Corinthians 6:14) — and knowing that God’s plan was to bring many sons to glory in His image, in essence replacing Satan from his own authority on earth, this mighty, evil son of Elohim burst forth in wrath to persecute those elect whom the Father had chosen as His sons (verse13). Yet, to preserve His people, the Father provided protection in “wilderness” places, such as the Waldenses in their mountain recesses of northern Italy and eastern France … the hidden places of the Piedmont, and similar places in other countries away from the great false church that trumpeted her ostentatious banners before awestruck crowds. For 1260 years of papal rule the true ecclesia was preserved, as verse 14 reveals. (60)Verses 15-16. During the 1260 years of the ecclesia in the wilderness, the Church of Rome hurled mighty persecutions against her, attempting to “carry her away with the flood” (verse 15). Estimates of 50 to 100 million saints were killed by this false church, but “the earth helped the woman” by initiating the Reformation in the sixteenth century. Then followed many other reformers, such as Wesley, Knox, Zwingli, and Calvin who helped stifle the onslaught of Roman Catholic darkness for major portions of Europe, and turned the tide of history. The dragon’s (Satan’s) efforts to extinguish the true faith were squelched; Pope Leo and his minions were rendered impotent as their bulls and anathemas were burned and ignored. (61)
Verse 17. This verse reveals the sobering truth that, to the very end of the age, Satan the devil, the dragon, will continue his relentless war against the elect, those who “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
Revelation 13 — The Two Beasts
Once again we are brought face-to-face with pregnant symbols. (62)
Verse 1. Sea: The vast expanse represents peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues (Revelation 17:15), essentially everyone on earth.
Beasts: This animal typifies an unrighteous nation, sometimes the civil power itself, and sometimes the civil power together with the ecclesiastical element. By rising out of the sea the beast is shown to be ruling in a populous area.
The beast has seven heads and ten horns, just as the dragon had in the previous chapter (Revelation 12:3). It is leopard-like in character (verse 2), and is a part of the scene beginning in Revelation 12:3 and ending in Revelation14:6. The powers represented here fiercly persecute the true ecclesia. Once again we are brought back to the beginning of the Roman Empire in 538 A.D. when the popes’ power became thoroughly integrated with the civil power. The leopard symbolizes a power wielding this united civil and religious authority.
Verse 2. Dragon. While the dragon is shown to be pagan Rome in chapter 12, it became a combined secular-religious body once the popes gained power.
Leopard beast. This is the Roman government in its papal form, with a new religious system introduced into it called Christianity, though a perverted form of it.
This leopard beast is the same power as the little horn of Daniel 7:8, 20, 24, and 25, as shown here. (63)
1. Both speak great words against the Most High and blaspheme Him.
2. Both make war against the saints and overcome them.
3. Both have a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies.
4. The little horn and beast arise after the pagan form of Rome collapsed; the dragon gives him power, his seat, and great authority.
5. Both are given power for 1260 years.
6. After the 1260 years, dominion was taken away, or “led into captivity.” These both refer to the exile of the pope and the temporary overthrow of the papacy by France in 1798.
In John’s day the sixth of the seven heads, the imperial head, was in power, and the seventh head was the papal head, which was wounded unto death in 1798; it “went into captivity.” This deadly wound was healed on March 14, 1800, with the election of a new pope. This new pope “opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and they that dwell in heaven” by drawing attention away from the God of heaven and directing it toward Rome, the so-called “eternal city.” The pope and his priests pretend to forgive sins, rather than the heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, the only Mediator between us and the Father. (64)
Verse 11. Two-horned beast. This beast, with two horns like a lamb that spoke like a dragon, most likely symbolizes America, with its predominance of Protestantism.
While the dragon symbolizes pagan Rome, and the leopard beast symbolizes papal Rome, this new beast shows many characteristics of Protestant America. One may at once recognize that a major icon of the United States is the bison, a stately animal with two horns, having a character that typifies in many ways the United States, a new and different nation “coming up out of the earth,” full of youthful vigor, the innocence of a lamb, and gentleness, the world’s vanguard of liberty, enlightenment, progress, and power. Let us examine these identities of the United States with the two-horned beast. (65)
1. It is difficult to imagine that a nation as great and powerful on the world scene as the United States would not be mentioned in prophecy.
2. The two-horned beast “coming up out of the earth” correlates with the same time as the little horn is “killed” in verse 10. The papal line ceased for a short time in 1798, right at the time that the United States founders signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and ratified the Constitution in 1798. Also, during the period of 1817 to 1867, the United States added 1,968,000 square miles to its territory, four times more than its closest rival: Russia.
3. Having the horns like a “lamb” indicates that the nation rising from the earth is a youthful power, like a lamb is youthful. Otherwise, this prophecy would likely have used a symbol like a ram or older sheep.
4. This new beast is totally separate from the first beast in Revelation 13:1. The prophecies of Daniel 2, 7, and 8 deal with Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, and those of Revelation 9 deal with the Saracens and Turks. The papacy is an outgrowth of the tenth horn of the leopard beast. All of these nations belong to the Eastern Hemisphere, and comprise the “sea” out of which the beast rose up (verse 1). Yet, this nation rose up out of the earth (verse 11), which could only logically refer to the single great nation of the Western Hemisphere, the United States.
5. The Greek word for “coming up” in verse11 is anabaino, meaning “to go up, rise, climb up,” much like a plant springs up. There is no other nation in modern history that has risen up the way the United States has, without overflowing some surrounding nation. Settlers came from England, Holland, Poland, Norway, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, and other mostly European nations to settle this new land. This settlement, and that of other South American countries, was unique in the annals of modern history.
6. The nature of the United States government is symbolized by the ”two horns like a lamb,” with its republican form of government: the ecclesiastical practices were to be separated from the civil power, as specified in Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution. A church without a pope and a state without a king can be likened to the two horns. As the First Amendment, Article 1, of the Constitution reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
7. By having no crown on the horns of the two-horned beast, a republican form of government is implied, unlike a kingly or monarchical form of government. Such is the nature of the United States government.
8. In Catholic countries the people voluntarily worship the beast, or papal system. However, in the United States the people voluntarily worship in their preferred venue, at least in theory. This shows that the religion the people mostly embrace is not Catholicism, but rather Protestantism, the only real Christian alternative, which is the most common belief system in the United States.
It may seem incongruous with our perception of the United States that it could “exercise all the power of the first beast before him” —that is, the leopard beast, or papal Rome — for the Constitution of this country guarantees freedom of worship and conscience, assembly and bearing arms, but governments can change and disappoint its citizens. Here in 2021 we see a nation that has become, by and large, morally bankrupt, soft, materialistic, “having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof” (II Timothy3:5). We see the decades-long crusade of Communist-leaning officials in government, education, and media having a marked effect on the culture of our nation, appearing to open the door to the anti-Christian ideas of those planning to topple the government and culture of the country, and replacing it with a totalitarian state like China or Venezuela. (66)
Are we about to witness the rising of a beastly empire that disrespects the Constitution and tramples upon the guaranteed rights of the country’s citizens … opening the door to powerful forces that will emulate papal Rome, right here in the United States? Already prayer has been all-but-outlawed in schools, and the Ten Commandments are seldom viewed on classroom walls, while not many years ago they were commonly displayed. (67) Even statues of prominent historical leaders — Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson — have been torn down by angry mobs, and efforts to rewrite history in the so-called “cancel culture” movement are making headway in many parts of the country. (68) Signs abound all around us that indicate freedom to worship as one pleases is under attack. (69)
The dragon heart of the two-horned beast appears to be alive and well. The government of the United States will be enacting more and more unjust and oppressive laws against the religious profession. The prediction is coming true that in the last days many people will lapse into a depraved moral condition (Matthew 24:12; II Timothy 3:1-5; II Peter 3:3-4; Luke 17:26-30; 18:8; etc.). Roman Catholic influence in Untied States government is very strong. As of 2021 the country has a Roman Catholic president, 24 senators out of 100, 134 representatives out of 434, and seven out of nine Supreme Court justices. Protestants comprise 55 of the 100 senate seats, 223 of the 434 House seats, and none of the Supreme Court positions. (70)
It is not well understood that the Civil War was in large part an effort by the Vatican to extend its rule over the New World; slavery and banking issues were major forces motivating the war as well, but the plot by European monarchists to destroy the American republic was outlined in the secret Treaty of Verona in 1822, where in the Biblical understanding of all people being equal before the Creator — made in His image with the purpose of being brothers of Jesus Christ — was attacked vehemently. The objective was to divide the nation through Jesuit training concentrated in the South, to then bring insurrection against the Constitution and its guarantees. As Burke McCarty stated in The Suppressed Truth About the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, (71)
“… the story leading up to the death of Abraham Lincoln, which was instigated by the ‘Black’ pope, the general of the Jesuit Order, camouflaged by the ‘White pope,’ Pius IXth, aided, abetted, and financed by other ‘Divine Righters’ of Europe, and finally consummated by the Roman Hierarchy and their paid agents in this country and French Canada on ‘Good Friday’ night, April 14th, 1865, at Ford’s Theater, Washington, D.C. I am convinced that if this knowledge can be given adequate distribution … the wicked boast of the Jesuits and their lay agents, the Knights of Columbus, to ‘MAKE AMERICA CATHOLIC,’ can never be accomplished.”
The Jesuit order was Rome’s answer to the Lutheran Secession of the Reformation. Founded by Ignatius Loyola, a Spaniard, the group expressed absolute and unconditional obedience to the pope, with the objective of recovering territory lost to Protestants and Islamists, and conquest of the entire heathen world for the Roman Catholic Church. Their aim was to destroy heresy, which was anything that differed from the pope’s thinking. In this process anything was justifiable, such as deception, immorality, sexual vice, or murder. They utilized schools for the ruling classes (especially in the South of the United States) to gain mastery over pupils, the confessional especially for kings and civil rulers, and force, persuading rulers to exercise the Inquisition. (72)
The assassination of President Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth was a Jesuit plot through the Surratts and other Roman agents, but it was hardly the only effort by the Catholic Church to disrupt and destroy the republic. President William Harrison was poisoned in 1841, President Zachary Taylor was likewise poisoned in 1850, President James Garfield was shot in 1881, and William McKinley was shot in 1901. President James Buchanan in 1857 was poisoned but survived, though 38 people who dined with him that day died. Other assassinations of United States presidents, or attempted assassinations, might also be tied to the Jesuits, such as that of John F. Kennedy in 1963, Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, and Andrew Jackson in 1835. (73)
Verse 14. Regarding the prophecy of Revelation 13:14, where miracles are mentioned that deceive people, it is possible that the “spiritualism” movement has a part here. The movement probably had its origins centuries ago, and invokes the power of spirits to move objects, levitate people, create music with or without instruments, cause “automatic writing,” and even show themselves in bodily form. (74)
The “image of the beast” in verse 14 appears to be an entity that mirrors the papal supremacy … and the papacy was a church clothed with civil power, having the power to punish dissenters by confiscation of goods and property, imprisonment, torture, and death. What could that power be? In the United States, where Protestantism predominates, then it logically follows that these Protestant churches would carry out the same heinous atrocities upon the true church as did the Roman church in Europe. While these Protestant churches are quite diverse in their corporate structures, they do hold certain commonalities: the doctrine of the immortal soul, the Trinity, and Sunday observance. (75)
Is it possible that a cooperative organization of these different dominations might bring together the various groups? Such may indeed be the case, if the largest ecumenical group in the world, the World Council of Churches, is somehow given power to enforce Sunday worship on all people. It is difficult to see how this might come about, since their professed purpose is “… a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional, and sub-regional, national, and local churches seeking unity, a common witness, and Christian service. ”the group was founded in 1948 to promote ecumenism, and includes Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Anglican, Orthodox, Mennonite, and other Protestant groups, though the Roman Catholic Church rejects participation, claiming it is the “One True Church,” and to engage with other denominations is irrelevant. (76)
The Mark of the Beast
We have now seen in Revelation 13 three different beasts:
(1) The papal beast, also known as “the beast,” “the first beast,” “the beast which had the wound by a sword, and lived,” and “the beast whose deadly wound was healed.”
(2) The two-horned beast, identified with the United States.
(3) The image of the beast.
Verses 16-17. The “mark” of verse 16 is enforced by the two-horned beast: “And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right-hand, or in their foreheads.”
What is this mark? The Greek word for mark is charagma, “a graving, sculpture, a mark cut in or stamped.” In ancient times servants would customarily receive a mark of their master, and soldiers and religious converts would be given a mark that represented a deity of the town home they were devoted to. The marks would be made on their right hand or forehead, and could be letters, hieroglyphs, or numbers to disguise a name. (77)
It is probable that actual letters or tattoos are not implied by this mark in verse 16, but rather some act or confession to acknowledge the authority of some power. There are laws and authority of God, and laws and authority of men, and to whomever a person submits himself determines what “mark” he will take (see Romans 6:16). The Roman church expressly claims that it has papal authority to change the Fourth Commandment to Sunday keeping, even though there is no scriptural authority for such a change. They claim that change to Sunday is a token or mark of authority of the church. Thus, we can say that Sunday keeping as the rest day of the Fourth Commandment (the third commandment in Catholic Bibles) is the mark of the beast, for those who understand that they are breaking the law of the Eternal. For those who are deceived into believing that Sunday is the intended day of rest according to Scripture, there can be no condemnation, for “… sin is not imputed when there is no [knowledge of the] law” (Romans 5:13). It follows that one will not possess the mark of the beast until the keeping of Sunday will be enforced by the two-horned beast, and a person must adopt that mark knowing it is the work of the beast power, and receive it on the beast’s authority in opposition to God’s requirement. (78) Most Sunday keepers believe they are keeping God’s command of Sabbath keeping. When they learn otherwise, however, it is incumbent upon them to cease breaking the law and conform with the truth, which is in opposition to the beastly authority.
Verse 18. We must finally ask how to identify the “number of his name” of this beast with two horns. This number is 666, and while many writers have claimed this number applies to one of several individuals found in history, such as Emperor Nero, and even the bar code on products to thus tie in the control of buying and selling, there really is only one valid candidate for this dubious honor. It is the number of a man, one in a special position who blasphemes God’s name, His tabernacle, and those that dwell in heaven (Revelation 13:6). This individual is the pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church whose name totals 666 when his Latin title —Vicarius Filii Dei— is given values to the letters of the title: I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50, C = 100,and D = 500. Latin is used rather than Greek for this calculation because Latin was the official language of ancient Rome and papal Rome. This title was also, in earlier times, inscribed on the pope’s crown, though in more modern times it has not been seen. (79)
This name and its number — the number of man, not God — is chosen because (1) it must be a blasphemous name, whose bearer claims to represent God and exercise His power and prerogatives; (2) the name must be in Latin; (3) the numerical equivalents must be found in Roman numerals; and (4) the number must be that of a man. Vicarius Filii Dei fulfills all of these requirements. Pope John Paul II explained what he understood to be the source of his power.
“The leader of the Catholic Church is defined by the faith as the Vicar of Jesus Christ (and is accepted as such by believers). The Pope is considered the man on earth who represents the Son of God, who ‘takes the place of’ the Second Person of the omnipotent God of the Trinity.” (80)
This incredible admission by a pope reveals just how radically true it is that people in this position consider themselves to actually represent— take the place of — Jesus Christ here on earth! Represent translates exactly into the Latin Vicarius.
Further, a quote from Pope Nicholas I (858-867) states the following.
“It is evident that the popes can neither be bound nor unbound by an earthly power, nor even by that of the apostle [Peter], if he should return upon the earth; since Constantine the Great has recognized that the pontiffs held the place of God upon earth, divinity not being able to be judged by any living man. We are, then, infallible, and whatever may be our acts, we are not accountable for them but to ourselves.” (81)
The popes have claimed the right to exercise the power that belongs only to God: to forgive sins (Mark 2:7), set up and remove kings (Daniel 2:21), change the Sabbath (Daniel 2:21;7:25), change God’s prophetic calendar (Daniel7:25), be the supreme judge of heaven and earth (John 5:22, 27), and be the infallible expositor in faith and morals (James 1:17). These claims by the popes run headlong into the clear truth that God Almighty is the Vicar of the Son of God.
A situation where people are required to bow to the pope’s decrees, and likely to those of the two-horned beast and its decrees, will not occur until a major worldwide unprecedented crisis occurs, during which the pope and his minions will be hailed as saviors. He will not openly blaspheme Christ, but will subtly strive to pervert believers from within by posing as the founder of the faith, the fake substitute who pretends to be Christ and will be hailed as a savior to many.
Revelation 14 — Babylon Is Fallen
This chapter tells us little about the schedule of prophetic events, but builds upon things said before and after. It discusses the 144,000 (verses 1-5), the true redeemed saints of God, the firstfruits who are figuratively at the very throne of the Father in heaven. They are totally forgiven of their sins and follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. There is no reason to believe that these are not the same 144,000 as are mentioned in Revelation 7:4-8, those who are sealed on their foreheads. This sealing of the saints bears an uncanny resemblance to the mark of those worshipping the beast and his image in Revelation 13:16 and 14:9-10, the implications of which are opposites … righteousness verses evil. Verse 8 states that,
“Babylon is fallen, is fallen,” a direct reference to the destruction of the hedonistic construct of society in Satan’s image as repeated in Revelation 18:2: “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Verses 9 to 11 describe the fate of those who possess the mark of the beast — those who willingly submit to the evil Roman papal system — and his image. The fate of these individuals is not pretty, for they will receive the brunt of God’s wrath and indignation, which is described as being “tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.” That end-time desolation and pain is described in Revelation 18 as the Babylonian system of merchandising — patterned after Satan’s materialistic character of heaping up riches to oneself (Ezekiel 28:15-18) — which is cast down, never to rise again.
Verse 13 unveils the reality that many will yet die at the hands of the papal beast and his image before the age closes, perhaps during a repeat of the Inquisition. We are warned of this in several places in Scripture, such as in Matthew 24:9, 10:16-12, and Revelation 20:4. Then we read of the horrible war that will culminate at the end of the beast’s rule on earth. Blood shed from the bodies of multitudes of soldiers in the beast’s armies, in particular during the final battle at Armageddon (Revelation 16:16; 19:17-21), may indeed find its way into streams of the area, whose water will be colored red for 1,600 furlongs (200 miles; 1 furlong = 1/8 mile). (82)
Revelation 15 and 16 — the Seven Last Plagues
The last seven plagues, or vials, constitute the wrath of God upon the beast power. These are future plagues, and they occur rather quickly, as can be proven by the fact that for Vial 5, darkness, those who lived in the kingdom of the beast “… blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds” (Revelation 16:10). Yet, these sores were doled out during the first vial (Revelation 16:2). As these plagues are addressed, it will become obvious that they deserve a literal interpretation, and none of these horrible scourges have as yet occurred. Had they already happened we would certainly have a record of them.
Moreover, some of these seven plagues closely resemble some of the plagues that God poured out on the Egyptians, all of which occurred over a matter of days or weeks. Let us take a close look at these various plagues as they occurred in Egypt, and compare them with the vials.
Egyptian Plagues
1. The river turned to blood (Exodus 7:20-21)
2. Frogs over the land (Exodus 8:5-6; eight days after plague 1)
3. Lice (Exodus 8:17)
4. Swarms of flies (Exodus 8:24)
5. Death of Egyptian livestock (Exodus 9:6)
6. Boils and sores on people and animals (Exodus 9:10)
7. Hail (Exodus 9:22-23)
8. Locusts (Exodus 10:13-15)
9. Darkness for three days (Exodus 10:22-23)
10. Death of the firstborn of men and livestock (Exodus 12:29)
Last Seven Plagues
1. Sores (Revelation 16:2)
2. The sea turned to blood (Revelation 16:3)
3. Springs of water turned to blood (Revelation16:4)
4. Great heat from the sun (Revelation 16:8-9)
5. Darkness (Revelation 16:10)
6. Armies gathered for the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:12-16)
7. A great earthquake, changes in topography, and great hail (Revelation 16:17-21)
Interestingly, the first three plagues of Egypt affected all of Egypt, including Goshen where the Israelites lived, whereas the last seven plagues affected only the Egyptians. Thus, we have seven plagues afflicting only the Egyptians, and seven plagues affecting the beast. Seven indicates completeness in both cases (Hebrew shevah, from the root savah,” to be full or satisfied, have enough of”). (83)
The first plague, painful and ugly sores of some sort on the people carrying the mark, is swiftly followed by the sea turning to blood. This “blood” is likely a coloration caused by a microorganism of some sort, which would make the water highly toxic to animal life, and likely to plants as well; it could be caused by certain minerals. Shortly after, the third plague will turn rivers and springs into blood … either from some red minerals or micro-organisms that cause the water to be toxic. It is a plague that grants just retribution to the saints whose blood was shed during past generations through their righteous clinging to the truth of God, in the face of the lawless papal Rome that murdered and tortured tens of thousands of the elect (Revelation 16:6-7).
Plague four involves great heat from the sun, likely a nova, or brief outburst of energy for a few days. (84) Heaped upon the sores and toxic water, the people possessing the mark of the beast must surely experience incredible misery, which will cause them to think deeply about what might be the cause of such suffering. Yet, these afflicted people still will not repent of their lawlessness and will blaspheme the name of God (Revelation 16:9). Darkness of the fifth plague will add further misery to their lives (verses 10-11).
The sixth plague is a most fascinating one, for it pictures the “drying up” of the Euphrates River to make way for the kings of the east, to gather at a place called Armageddon … i.e., the hills of Megiddo overlooking the plain of Esdraelon. One might ask the question, why would a river like the Euphrates, being much smaller than the Mississippi River, need to be dried up to allow for the passage of an army? Many armies in ancient times crossed that river during their campaigns without difficulty, and modern armies would be even better equipped to cross. Cyrus even diverted the entire river to another channel to enable the capture of Babylon. (85) Besides, the Tigris River, which is somewhat greater in discharge than the Euphrates, and only a short distance from it in its parallel course, for some reason is not even mentioned in the text. (86)
The solution to this dilemma likely is that the term “Euphrates” refers to the government holding the territory of that great river. Today that country is Iraq, with the headwaters in Syria and Turkey. Once a part of the Ottoman Empire, as recently as 1917 before and during World War I, that empire fell apart during the war, and Britain and France through the Sykes-Picot agreement broke up the Ottoman Empire into various nations, including Iraq. (87) The history of that country, encompassing most of the Tigris-Euphrates Fertile Crescent region, has been very unstable over the decades since its creation, moving from a British-imposed Sunni Hashemite monarchy under Emir Faisal, to a regent-directed monarchy ruled by his son, Faisal II, when his father died in a car accident. In 1948, Iraq entered the Arab-Israeli War with other members of the Arab league, with negative consequences, and in 1958, inspired by the Egyptian President Nasser, an insurrection by military officers killed the Hashemite leaders. Declared a republic, considerable instability followed with a Ba’ath Party coup in 1963, reinstallation of a republic in 1966, the return of the Ba’ath Party in 1968 after the Six-Day War in 1967, and in 1979 Saddam Hussein assumed power. The Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988 reaped a terrible toll on the population, and in 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait to try and secure the oil fields, precipitating the Gulf War and operation “Desert Storm” in 1991. Iraq, in particular Baghdad, was decimated. More religious and Kurdish insurgencies ensued, along with widespread poverty, malnutrition, and hyperinflation, caused in part by United Nations sanctions following the Gulf War. (88)
Following Saddam Hussein’s ouster in 2003, efforts towards democracy after decades of dictatorship brought mixed results. The United States military occupied the country, and strove to build a new military, create a civil society, and draft new laws including a new constitution. Yet, internal strife among Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds resulted in up to 500,000 deaths. Up to 160,000 United States troops attempted to stem the bloodshed of sectarian violence. The three-phase military effort to stabilize the country — from 2003 to 2017 — met countless roadblocks, and by 2014 the Islamic State (ISIS) declared control over some areas of Iraq, and instituted a reign of rape, executions, mass murder, pillaging, and other mayhem. To combat the rise of ISIS, in 2014 the United States intervened with a coalition of 79 countries and institutions to destroy ISIS, and by 2017 the territory claimed by ISIS was reclaimed. The country now reclaimed, subsequent leaders have not been able to solidify strong and effective leadership, and protests and killings continue. (89)
With Iraq being so unstable, it would pose no great problem for “the way of the kings of the east” (Revelation 16:12) to find the way open to approach Israel. Joel 3:12-13 speaks of this mass outpouring of troops across the Iraqi area.
“Let the nations be awakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshahat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow— for their wickedness is great.”
This prophecy sounds very much like that of Revelation 14:17-20, when the grape clusters are harvested and pressed out by the wine press of the wrath of God … the end-time Armageddon of the final war of this age when the beast’s armies are gathered to fight Jesus Christ and the saints (Revelation 19:17-21). The Moslem forces of Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, India, and China all lie east of Israel.
The three unclean spirits like frogs that come out of the mouth of the dragon, the mouth of the beast, and the mouth of the false prophet are demonic, and deceive “the kings of the earth and of the whole world” (Revelation 16:13-14).The three spirits could very well represent the three great religious divisions of mankind: paganism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. (90)
Finally, plague seven arrives, which constitutes the final consummation of God’s fury upon a rebellious mankind. A great earthquake strikes (Revelation 16:18), stronger than any that has previously struck the earth. In verse 19, the “great city” may refer to the world’s system as a whole, and its three main religious systems: paganism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. The cities of the nations will be destroyed to a large extent — or as Isaiah 30:25 says,”… in the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall” — the skyscrapers, radio, cell phone, and television towers, church steeples, and everything that reflects the hierarchical, authoritarian character of Satan’s world. Hail the weight of a talent (57 pounds; verse 21) will certainly raise havoc upon the remaining structures, and people, animals, and all of the creation.
Revelation 17 — Babylon the Great
We are thrust here into a fairly comprehensive description of the end-time Babylonian system, which exists today throughout the earth …for its tentacles reach out to virtually every nation through telecommunications, education, and trade. This church-state combine is vividly represented here as “… a woman [false church] sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 17:3). The woman, the Roman Catholic Church, is pictured sitting on the civil power, which she controls and guides to her own ends, like a horseback rider controls a horse. Purple and scarlet are the colors of her clothes, which are the colors that adorn popes and cardinals, and her adornment with precious stones and pearls, while having a golden cup, ought to picture purity and righteousness, but she is called a whore, these symbols being the antithesis of righteousness (verse 4). So, this system of papal Roman rule over the civil government — called Babylon — is not restricted just to Rome, but to all governments across the earth … for “Babylon the Great” is called “the mother of harlots and abominations of the [whole] earth” (verse 5). All nations with their various religious belief systems are included in this title of Babylon: they all partake of the same false spiritual family.
We read in verse 6 that John wondered greatly at this woman, drunk with the blood of martyrdom of the saints. Why? Likely because, while he was persecuted by pagan Rome and knew its nature well, here was a church claiming to be Christian persecuting true believers of the Son of God.
“The beast that was, and is not, and yet is” (verse 8) must symbolize the pagan Roman Empire, which persecuted God’s people as a “beast,” but later, for a brief time became a more benign force when first introduced to Christianity during the first four centuries A.D. Then, when papal power asserted itself it became a “beast” once again, persecuting and killing the true servants of God. Note too that “the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits” (verse 9), further identifying the heads as forms of government which are, as has already been mentioned, (1) kingly, (2) consular, (3) decemvirate, (4) dictatorial, (5) triumvirate, (6) imperial, and (7) papal. John was living during the sixth form (“and one is,” verse 10), and the pope was removed for two years after 1798, but reinstated in 1800 (“and the other is not yet come … even he is the the eighth”; verse 10 and 11). This papal Roman rule comes from the bottomless pit; it bases its power on doctrines that have no Godly foundation — it is “bottomless” — but rather its power is based on a mixture of Christian errors and pagan superstitions.
The ten horns of verse 12 may refer to the ten kingdoms that arose out of the Roman Empire, as stated also in Daniel 7:7. These are the Huns, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi, Burgundians, Heruli, Anglo-Saxons, and Lombards. They receive power for “one hour” (Greek hora, “an indefinite space of time”; verse12) with the beast, i.e. contemporaneously. Thus, the seven heads are successive while the ten horns are contemporaneous. (91)
Verse 14 restates the fact that, at the end of the age, there will be the great battle at Armageddon when the Lamb — King of kings and Lord of lords — will face off with these armies and entirely defeat them (Revelation19:11-24). We might ask where these ten horns of the beast are today. Are they specific parts of an Empire as they were during the Roman Empire? This could very well be, since the ten kingdoms cover all of Europe and North Africa. This is where a “revived Roman Empire” could arise, somewhat on the order of the European Union (EU), though the EU at this time has far more than 10 nations.
These ten kings might also represent the ten regions of the world that have been subdivided by the United Nations, for that organization desires to be a world ruling government, and we can be certain that the Vatican plays a big part in this organization. Notice what Clark Eichelberger says about the designed purpose of the United Nations.
“The answer to the subject of ‘World Government via the United Nations’ can, according to my point of view, be given easily. World government has evolved and will evolve through the United Nations as the people are willing for it to evolve. The process has already begun. I believe that all people who want peace realize there must be some degree of world government, but we may disagree as to the timing, the form, and the amount. Among the peoples of the world and the member states of the United Nations, I would have just enough government to accomplish these objectives: political security, economic advancement, and the guarantee of human rights …. I believe a considerable degree of world government is needed in the highly complex and integrated world of today. Those who believe in world government want essentially a few definite things. First, the law of the world community must be above the sovereignty of the individual nation. There must be a supreme law against war. Second, there must be an executive authority strong enough to use police force or whatever measures are necessary to preserve the peace. Third, there must be a constant procedure for producing such regulations as are necessary to lessen friction among the peoples of the world and enable them to grow and expand in their world community.” (92)
It is obvious that this vision of the ten kings would involve totalitarian control, and if under the jurisdiction of the Vatican there would be the potential for persecution of anyone who does not agree with Catholic designs for society … including Sunday worship. Regulations would be passed by a legislature of delegated people, and enforced by police action. How much would this differ from Middle Age France, Spain, and Italy during the Inquisition? This matter of the United Nations being the ten kings is pursued more thoroughly in a discussion that follows, concerning man’s efforts to rule the world.
We should take special note of the fact that Revelation 17:9 speaks of the seven heads as being seven mountains on which the woman sits. While “mountains” refer here to governments, they are also literal in the sense that the location of the city of Rome was founded on seven hills. The Oxford Dictionary states, “Rome … the ancient city was founded by Romulus (after whom it was named) in 753 B.C. on the Palatine Hill. As it grew it spread to the other six hills of Rome: Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, and Quirinal.” (93) Other sources confirm this view, showing that the Roman Empire, and the Vatican in particular, are indeed the intended objects of this prophecy. (94)
Another view on the identity of these seven heads of Revelation 17:3, 7-10, as well as Revelation 12:3 and 13:1, is that the seven heads refer to the seven consecutive world-ruling governments beginning with Egypt. (95) They are listed as follows.
1. Egypt
2. Assyria
3. Babylon (a lion in Daniel 7:4)
4. Medo-Persia (a bear in Daniel 7:5)
5. Greece (a leopard in Daniel 7:6)
6. Rome
7. A future revived Roman Empire
At the time John was writing Revelation he was living with the period of Roman rule, whereas others claim that, while John was indeed living within the Roman realm, the seven kings refer to the seven successive types of Roman government; he was living within the sixth out of the seven, which was imperial Rome. The result of either system of identification of the seven kings is the same, in that at the end of the age there is to be a revived Papal Rome. In one case it is presumed to be after the pope was removed in 1798, whereas in the other case a revival of the Roman Empire occurs in some yet unknown way. Both systems of calculation agree that there will be in the very end time a ten-nation federation of some sort.
It is significant to note that the ten horns, or kings, of Revelation 17:12 are to adorn the seventh head of the beast … the Roman Empire, being controlled by the “beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth” (Revelation 17:11) —the pope, or Vatican in general. This is likely the same individual spoken of in Daniel 7:8, “…another horn, a little one, coming up among them [the four beasts and their horns] …. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.” The setting for this event appears to be just before the end of the age (see verses 9-14), so the little horn fits the person of the Catholic pope. In verses 21 and 25 of Daniel 7 this same individual is discussed, who, like the papacy, has made war against the saints, persecuted them, intends to change times and laws, and speaks pompous words against them. Once again, in Daniel 8:9, the little horn is mentioned.
Revelation 18 — Babylon’s Fall
The prophecies of Revelation 18 are for future events, and how profound they are! The announcement in verse 2 is that “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen,” and is the habitation of foul and unclean spirits and depraved morality. The word Babylon is the Greek Babulon, which is derived from the Hebrew Babel, meaning “confusion.” Indeed, this whole society of the beast is one without a firm foundation, an abyss of gentile admixture of man’s ideas as inspired by the adversary of the Almightly. The entire system rejected the truth of God, the laws and statutes that would grant it stability and strength. But, in the footsteps of Satan, the lure of merchandising and accumulation of material wealth— Satan’s first sin (Ezekiel 28:15-18) — and the love of money and things (I Timothy 6:10) led the societies of nations worldwide into this den of sin. Kings all over the earth were party to the sins of this great Babylonian system of merchandising, as we read in the balance of the chapter.
The merchants of the earth, those who plied the oceans with holds and containers filled with cargoes of all sorts (verses 12-17) — gold, silver, precious stones, fabric (clothes), wood, metals, stone, spices, wine, oil, grains, animals, machinery, autos and trucks, even people and slaves — were the great men (verse 23). These great men became very rich through this trading, and we should not neglect mentioning the sorceries (phamakeia, “medication as magic,” from phamakeus, “a drug, or spell-binding potion”) they pushed on people … the pharmaceutical compounds that conceal symptoms of diseases but do not remove the cause. Prescription drugs are even today used by 66% of all of people in the United States, and by about 91% of those age 80 and order; illegal drugs are used by 18% of the population. (96) Drugs alter the judgment and will of the users: (97) “… for by your sorceries were all nations deceived” (verse 23). We are not speaking just about so-called illicit drugs either, the methamphetamines, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and other addictive drugs, but also prescription drugs, used even for children to supposedly calm their normal energies such as Ritalin, or treat the depressed, such as Prozac and Zoloft. Vaccines may be included among these medications, which are incredibly profitable for pharmaceutical companies.
When the great earthquake strikes and the cities of the nations fall (Revelation 16:18-19), the merchandising flow among nations will be utterly disrupted, and these wares traded by the Babylonian transportation and retail chains will be crushed. These merchants who had “waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies” (verse 3) will now “… stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing” (verse 15), for the merchandise that made them rich will be gone (verses 14-15). It is likely that the famine mentioned in verse 8 will be caused by massive disruptions in the food distribution networks. Most food reaches consumers by truck deliveries, and without normal transportation and ocean shipping the people in cities, in particular, will soon be without food. Also, water will become unavailable as underground distribution pipes will be fractured, and water treatment plants will be nonfunctional. To survive in a city once the electrical grid goes down will be a harrowing challenge.
Likewise, the kings of the earth who sold their souls, as it were, to the Babylonian system, both religiously and economically, will “… bewail her, and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning” (verse 9). They too, as will the merchants, stand ”… afar off for fear of her torment” ( verse 10), for in such a short time (one hour = hora, “a day, hour, instant”) (98) the entire false system has been judged, found wanting, and will be “… thrown down, and shall be found no more at all” (verse 21).
The whole Babylonian system, based upon the false premises of the papal Roman system and greed-driven corporate multinationalism, will be overturned. I do not doubt that the allusion in verse 9 is a literal one, of the cities of this beast system burning after the great earthquake levels cities worldwide.
Where Are We in Prophecy?
I will not delve into Revelation 19, 20, 21,and 22 for the purpose of this discussion, since these chapters deal with the time of the Marriage Supper, the return of Jesus Christ and the saints to destroy the beast and the false prophet, the capturing and imprisonment of Satan and his cadre, the millennial reign of Jesus and the saints, the Great White Throne Judgment, and events after that. We need to analyze the facts uncovered in this overview of the prophecies of Revelation and Daniel and see, as best we can, where we are presently situated along this timeline.
My best judgment says that we are presently approaching the Seventh Trumpet, the time of the resurrection (I Thessalonians 4:15-17; I Corinthians 15:51-52; Matthew 24:31), since all of the previous seals, and the first six trumpets, have sounded and been fulfilled by world events that can be documented in history. The last seven plagues have not yet begun, since the first one is a plague of sores on people. We have no record that such a scourge has occurred as yet.
We must also recognize that certain other things must occur before the time of the end that need to be considered … in particular the Tribulation. The Tribulation [thipsis, “pressure”; from thlibo, “to crowd, make narrow (as by pressure), press upon, persecute, press hard”] (99) is a time of great end-time trouble on earth as mentioned in Matthew 24:21 and 29, Mark 13:24, and Revelation 7:14. It is akin to the Day of the Lord that we see in Isaiah 2:12; 13:6, 9; Jeremiah 46:10; Ezekiel 13:5; 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14; Amos 5:18, 20; Obadiah 15; Zephaniah 1:7, 14; Zechariah 14:1; Malachi 4:5; Acts 2:20; I Corinthians 5:5; I Thessalonians 5:2; II Peter 3:10. Not all of these references may refer to the end-time Tribulation period, but some certainly do. During this seven-year period, which begins with the initiation of the sacrifice and oblation in Jerusalem (Isaiah 28:14-18; Daniel 11:28:30), the trials thrust upon the elect by the papal beast will be accelerated, especially during the last 3 1/2 years, known as the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21), when the kings of the earth, at the behest and deception of the devil himself, will threaten to wipe out all humanity from the earth.
“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. And unless those days were shortened no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22).
The resurrection will occur in the mist of the Great Tribulation, at the Seventh Trumpet, after which the plagues will be poured out upon those that possess the mark of the beast. During this short period of the seven plagues after the resurrection — at which time the saints will be given white robes at the marriage supper in heaven (Revelation 19:7-9) — conditions will become so untenable and precarious for life that, unless that time period is short, no one would survive. Thus, the time must be cut short so those whom the Eternal has prepared from all nations may survive and enter into the new age (Acts 3:23).
The Great Tribulation will begin after 3 1/2 years — in the “midst of the week” — of Tribulation when the sacrifice and oblation will cease (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; Matthew 24:15). It is after this time that the resurrection and plagues will occur. There are some that contend there is not going to be a first 3 1/2 years of tribulation, but only a Great Tribulation for 3 1/2 years, during which the two witnesses are alive (Revelation 11:3-6).
What will be the circumstances on earth that will threaten the very existence of mankind? Let us take a close look at the ways that humankind could be exterminated.
Methods of mankind to exterminate life
1. Radiological
- Nuclear bombs. These come in the form of atomic (fission) and hydrogen (fusion) bombs. People are killed by the direct blast, but in addition deadly radiation emitted by the blasts will sicken and kill people through radiation sickness. Also, fallout from harmful radioactive isotopes are swept up into the atmosphere and deposited downwind to contaminate people and food and water supplies, giving cancer and other diseases months or years later. The biggest threat of nuclear attack is not the explosions themselves — though they would cause widespread, though not total, destruction and loss of life — but the “nuclear winter” they would trigger. If many massive explosions occurred, enough ash and dust would be thrust into the upper atmosphere to reflect sunlight and cause global cooling, greatly hindering crop production and causing famines. (100)
- Nanotechnology can be employed by small groups of dedicated people to greatly speed the development of bombs by enhancing the ability to extract uranium from raw ores and seawater, and speed isotope separation. (101)
- Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) weapons. These weapons, detonated at high altitudes over a nation, would send out tremendous electromagnetic surges that would knock out electronic components such as computer chips. Since most power grid, automotive, and industrial and home infrastructure and items are controlled by computers, the effect on society would be devastating, grinding to a halt the power grid, automobile, truck, and airplane functions, and the operations of businesses and individuals everywhere. Chaos and massive death would result. An estimated 90% of people in areas affected by an EMP weapon would die. (102)
- Cell phone radiation. Cell phone towers and devices are known to cause cancer and other illnesses, as well as disorientation. If the anticipated 5G system is installed, these negative health effects will be magnified, most likely leading to rampant disease outbreaks and mental disorders. (103)
2. Chemical
- Military distribution of toxic chemical agents delivered by missiles or ground equipment: nerve agents like sarin, soman, cyclosarin, tabun, and VX; vesicating or blistering agents like mustards and lewsite; respiratory agents such as chlorine, phosgene, and diphosgene; cyanides; antimuscarnicagents like anti-cholinergic compounds; and opioids. (104)
- Chlorine and fluoride in water supplies. These are already in use and have been for many years, and are mandated by law in many cities and states. They cause cancer and various other diseases over time. (105)
- Poisoning of the food supply. Already there is a multitude of chemicals that have been introduced into foods which cause long-term health problems: coloring agents, flavoring agents, emulsifiers, preservatives, and other compounds which are toxic to the human body. (106)
- Drug usage. A majority of the population of the United States uses one or more legal drugs, and many use two or more. These cause many health problems and shortened lifespans due to their side effects, while merely covering symptoms of disease and pain. Many people use illegal drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, and others that can greatly shorten one’s lifespan. (107)
3. Biological. The military is well-known for its secret programs to develop diseases (enhanced smallpox, cholera, etc.) that can kill off large populations over a short period of time. These can be distributed by missiles, city water supplies, or ground distribution. The organisms are usually genetically engineered for maximum lethality and production of toxins. (108)
4. Food supplies. A goodly portion of the foods offered to the American public are processed, refined, and contain chemicals and genetically modified grains or produce. Hybrids are usually grown for their higher yield compared to open-pollinated varieties, but nutrients are diluted and nutritional quality is reduced. Food is also refined and treated to maintain a long supermarket shelf life, the results of these various modifications being diets bereft of proper nutrition — “foodless foods” — giving rise to various illnesses. (109)
5. Vaccines. While promising to eliminate various diseases, vaccines are essentially not effective, and because of their contents cause a number of ailments from allergies to autism to the disease itself, and death. Mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, chemical preservatives, mRNA, fetal cells, and live organisms are among the components of vaccines. (110)
6. Reduction in population growth. Birth control agents, abortion, vaccines, genetically modified foods, cell phones, sex robots, and even an organization called Voluntary Human Extinction are conspiring to reduce the birth rate below the replacement rate. One estimate shows that at present replacement rates for countries like Germany and Italy, mankind would be extinct by the year 2,400 A.D. (111) The Georgia Guidestones contain an inscription in four languages that states, “Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature. (112)
7. Terrorist attacks on power grids. By blowing up electrical generation facilities and disrupting power distribution systems, the entire nation or part of the nation would see its industry, transportation, agriculture, and governments grind to a halt, since all depend on electricity to function. (113)
8. Takeover of society by robots (Robopocalypse). Though still only a theoretical possibility, robot development is rapidly advancing such that robots could conceivably be given the wherewithal to decide for themselves to turn against mankind and take over society. The robots would be soulless, showing no pity or remorse, and might even become inhabited by evil spirits to give them “consciousness.” War robots are already a reality. (114)
9. A scientific accident. It is possible that an experiment using a particle accelerator or some other matter-affecting device might set off a chain reaction that would incinerate wide areas of the earth. For example, when the first atomic bomb was exploded in the desert Southwest, it was not known for certain whether or not a chain reaction would ignite nitrogen and destroy the atmosphere. (115)
10. Nanotechnology. Some people have theorized that certain nanotechnologies might create self-replicating robots that would take over the ecosphere and replace food plants with useless “gray goo.” Gray goo is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all biomass on earth while building more of themselves, a scenario that has been called ecophagy (“eating the environment,” more literally “eating the habitation”). (116)
11. CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats). CRISPR is a family of DNA sequences found within the genomes of prokaryotic organisms such as bacteria and archaea. These sequences are derived from DNA fragments from viruses that have previously infected the prokaryote and are used to detect and destroy DNA from similar viruses during subsequent infections. Hence, these sequences play a key role in the antiviral defense system of prokaryotes. However, this genome-modification technology can be used to alter the inheritance of any organism, and could possibly be applied to the human genome, or those of the plants that feed people, and cause unknown diseases or disruptions that would threaten mankind’s health and food supply. (117)
Methods of God to exterminate life
1. Solar storm. A violent solar storm could shower the earth with subatomic particles similar to an EMP weapon, knocking out the electrical grid and causing widespread societal chaos and death. Such a solar storm may have been what caused the infamous Chicago Fire in 1871 that started mysterious fires throughout Chicago and up into Wisconsin (see Mrs. O’Leary’s Comet by Mel Waskin, Academy Chicago Publishers, 1985). (118)
2. Asteroid or comet collision. Astral bodies colliding with the earth, if large enough, could obliterate life from major portions of the earth, or indirectly through massive amounts of dust introduced into the upper atmosphere that would reflect solar radiation, causing crop failures and famine due to global cooling and a shortened growing season. (119)
3. Weather upsets. Drought, excessive rains, hailstorms, and other disruptions can reduce food output and lead to famine. These could be a result of an astral body collision (see above) or a Grand Solar Minimum. (120)
4. Disease epidemics. See Revelation 6:8 above. Some authors have theorized that diseases can originate from space, as evidenced by studies searching for causes of the Black Death during the Middle Ages, which have shown could not have been spread merely through human vectors. See Diseases from Space by Fred Hoyle and N. Wickramasinghe (J.M. Dent and Sons, Ltd., London,1979). (121)
5. Incitement of war. See Revelation 6:8 above. “And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, ‘Come and see.’ Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.”
6. Super volcanoes. These eruptions, such as from the Yellowstone Caldera or Mount Rainier, could wipe out huge populations, and if large enough could cause famines due to global cooling, much like would atomic explosions. (122)
7. Direct incitement of death. God can directly kill a population if He so wills, as He did in Israel (II Samuel 24:15; Exodus 32:27-28), or kill entire armies (Exodus 14:28; II Kings 19:35) or other populations.
Efforts Towards a One-World Government
In the process of discovering where mankind is situated along the prophetic timeline, it is important to understand mankind’s attempts to form a world-ruling government. This government would, of course, be patterned after the designs of the adversary, Satan the devil, whose objective is to create a world after his own character. This project of his we have seen unfold throughout the history of mankind, since the very beginning of this age when the serpent sought to deceive Adam, thwart God’s plan, and replace him as the leader of a new age. Our Creator appointed Adam to begin the reclamation of our earth in His pattern … to create an Eden worldwide. It has been the adversary’s objective since that time to replace the wonderful plan of the Creator with his own, which in reality is the effort to reclaim sovereignty over the world that he possessed before the recreation of the earth in Genesis 1. (For a review of this world of Lucifer, see Part I of The Three Edens.) (123)
Here are some approaches to world government, a few of which have already been introduced in this paper.
- Roman Catholicism/United Nations
- Islam
- Communism
- Zionism
- Freemasonry/Illuminati
- Fourth Reich
- Corporations
- The 13 Families
Roman Catholicism/United Nations
The efforts of Roman Catholicism to unify the world under its command — a religion posing as Christian, riding upon and controlling the world’s governments — is truly the overarching power for most of these efforts, though Satan uses several ploys to achieve his goal of world domination. It is the Creator’s intent that all people live freely and joyously, prosperously and abundantly, basking in the power of His spirit by virtue of simply existing — of having been born into the world and living in His image, having direct and intimate contact with Him.
Satan’s desire is the opposite … for people to reject the Creator and follow him, the imposter, and if men will not chose this course freely he will attempt to impose a totalitarian regime to force obedience to his illegitimate system.
We have already discussed the development of the Roman Church through history. Today that harlot that rides the beast is tied to a three-part system that controls about 80% of the world’s wealth. It does so through three small “countries.” Each of these locations displays a large obelisk, the ones in London and the Vatican imported from Egypt. The Washington Monument is also an obelisk. All three are surrounded by a circular structure, the two portraying the male and female sexual organs. In summary, the three cities function as follows: (124)
City of London— financial center
Vatican — religious center
District of Columbia— military center
a. The City of London, Incorporated. This mile-square autonomous “city”, along the Thames River, is separate from the city of London itself, having its own laws, police force, and tax base. This City of London houses the Rothschild-controlled Bank of England, Lloyds of London, the London Stock Exchange, all British banks and branches of 384 foreign banks, 70 United States banks, newspaper and publishing and news monopolies, the headquarters of worldwide Freemasonry, and the headquarters of the worldwide money cartel called “The Crown.” This mile-square area directly or indirectly controls mayors, councils, banks, corporations, judicial systems, and the European Central Bank, IMF, World Bank, Vatican Bank, U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of International Settlements, and Reserve Banks all around the world including those in Europe and the United States. The Crown controls the global financial system and runs the governments of all Commonwealth countries, and many non-Commonwealth countries as well. In essence, one might call the City of London the “One World Earth Corporation” that controls the world. (125)
b. The District of Columbia, Washington. Occupying 10 square miles of land on the East Coast, the District of Columbia is a separate entity from the United States, with its own flag and independent constitution. This constitution operates under a tyrannical Roman law known as Lex Fori, and has no relation to the American Constitution. The District of Columbia came into being in 1871 when Congress created a separate corporation called The United States, with its three-starred flag denoting the District, the Vatican, and the City of London. Thus, there are two constitutions operating within the country of America. The reason for the passage of the act in 1871 was because the country had incurred considerable debt during the Civil War. As a consequence, Congress made a deal with the Crown of England — established by the Catholic Church in 1855 — which in essence made the pope the receiver to the loan. Thus ended 95 years of independence from Britain and any other foreign entity … from 1776 to 1871. In essence, the president of the United States operates as a vassal king under the Crown in the City of London. Thus, the United States is a Crown Colony, like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, that owes its allegiance to the British king, and ultimately to the Pope of the Vatican. (126) According to one source,
“The President of the United States (POTUS) is the chief executive (president) of the Corporation of the United States operating as the CEO of the corporation. POTUS governs with a board of directors (cabinet officials) and managers (senators and congressmen) …. [The] POTUS [is] operating as vassal king taking orders … from the Crown through the RIIA (Royal Institute of International Affairs). The Illuminati (founded by the Jesuits, the largest Roman Catholic military order headed by the Black Pope) created the RIIA in1919.” (127)
c. Vatican City. The Vatican, like the City of London and Washington, D.C., is not a part of the country in which it resides; it is not a part of Italy. It is a last remnant of the Holy Roman Empire. The City’s wealth exceeds that of any other entity on the earth, according to some reports, and includes investments with the Rothchilds in Britain, France, and the United States, and with oil and weapons production. This wealth is controlled by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank and the Bank of England, accumulated over centuries. (128)
These three cities control much of what happens in the world, through entities such as the Fabian Society. This group apparently played a major role in the erection of Communist China, the promotion of fascism in Germany and Italy, and financed the Communist takeover of Russia. The leaders of the Fabian Society promote totalitarian regimes in the form of Communism, fascism, and socialism. According to some sources I have found, the Fabian Society, tied closely to the Vatican, City of London, and District of Columbia, has its tentacles in the International Monetary Fund, Bank of International Settlements, Club of Rome, Central Intelligence Agency, Council of Foreign Relations, Tri-Lateral Commission, Bilderbergers, Federal Reserve System, Internal Revenue Service, United Nations, Israeli Mossad, European Union, and the Associated Press and other news outlets, among other entities. (129) It is claimed that every event that happens in the Western world, however small, is engineered and orchestrated by a handful of people who control what goes on in the world. Of course, they cannot control the weather — though they are trying — nor the collective efforts of grass-roots movements that oppose their “Deep State” activities. Neither can they override the will of the Father in heaven who allows these miscreants to operate at all.
Through governments and other agencies, the three cities’ agenda is currently pursuing… (130)
a. Climate change efforts.
b. Control of money through Federal Reserve banking.
c. Promoting pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines to weaken and alter the judgment of people worldwide, part of Babylon’s major effort (Revelation 18:23).
d. Abolition of property rights.The 1974 Habitat Conference identified private property as a threat to peace and equality, under the guise of “environmentalism,” in an effort to take over the earth’s resources and place them under a United Nations central authority … which would place the City of London and the Vatican as controllers of property. Heritage areas, conservation parks, Biosphere Reserves, and other select areas are already set aside in United Nations programs.
e. A one-world currency.The World Bank is likely to be replaced by the World Conservation Bank, with the aim of merging national banks into this massive bank, and ultimately issuing two or three major currency groups, and then replacing them with an electronic currency called the “earth dollar.” The implications of these changes directly fit into the prophecy of Revelation 13:16-18: it would be quite possible for a system to be set up whereby cash is eliminated, and everyone would be coerced to possess only digital money through modern technological banking, so that buying and selling — and thus the ability to survive — would be centrally controlled, requiring everyone to possess the mark of the beast.
f. Increasing national indebtedness, making it impossible for governments to operate without the approval of the central bankers — which are tied to the City of London and the Vatican — and as we know “the borrower is the servant of the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). This principle is true on a national as well as on an individual scale. The huge stimulus spending currently being promoted in the United States, as well as other government spending, is financed through “quantitative easing,” another word for printing or creating money out of thin air, at the behest of loans through the Federal Reserve system. Thus, governments are held captive to those few who control the banking system; 13 families of bankers apparently are involved in this systemic seizing of power from nations.
g. Instituting wars. In many respects, “all wars are banker’s wars,” for these conflicts enrich the banks through the military-industrial complex. Weapons, munitions, ships, airplanes, tanks, and other hardware of war are purchased through government outlays, much of that by debt which is financed by the banking cartel … The City of London. Moreover, the loss of human life in wars helps stem the growth of populations, a major objective of the one-world agenda.
A reduction in world population is the goal of several organizations to supposedly prevent populations from outstripping the planet’s ability to sustain them. In eight languages the Georgia Guide stones, located near Stone Mountain, Georgia, outline ten points that an anonymous group of Americans has constructed. The first point states, “Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature. ” (131) Others have also advocated for a similar reduction in world population by 90%. (132)
The government of the United States currently has a Roman Catholic president, a senate that is 24% Catholic and 55% Protestant, a House of Representatives that is 31% Catholic and 52% Protestant, and a Supreme Court that is 78% Catholic. (133) These percentages show that the Pope has considerable leverage in promoting his agenda on the nation if these congressmen and judges and the president decide to follow their religious convictions.
The Roman Catholic pope also is intent on incorporating Moslems into the Catholic brotherhood. According to an NBC news report, “The Jesuit pope made the call during a speech at the Jesuit-run theology university in Naples. It followed his outreach that same year to the Muslim world with the signing of a joint statement with the imam of Cairo’s Al Azhar, the seat of Sunni learning, establishing the relationship between Catholics and Muslims as brothers, with a common mission to promote peace.” This effort marks a turnaround from the centuries-old animosity between Catholics and Moslems, which has been punctuated by frequent wars between the two major religious groups. (134)
Islam
It is the avowed goal of Islam to make the world a one-religion Islamic state. It is a little-know fact that Catholicism created Islam, a major reason for which was the elimination of Sabbath-keeping Christians throughout the Middle East, as well as the creation of an army to capture Jerusalem for the pope. A Vatican briefing with Cardinal Bea provides the history to this event. (135)
“A wealthy Arabian lady who was a faithful follower of the pope played a tremendous part in this drama. She was a widow named Khadijah. She gave her wealth to the church and retired to a convent, but was given an assignment. She was to find a brilliant young man who could be used by the Vatican to create a new religion and become the messiah for the children of Ishmael. Khadijah had a cousin named Waraquah, who was also a very faithful Roman Catholic, and the Vatican placed him in a critical role as Muhammad’s advisor. He had tremendous influence on Muhammad.
“Teachers were sent to young Muhammad and he had intensive training. Muhammad studied the works of St. Augustine which prepared him for his ‘great calling.’ The Vatican had Catholic Arabs across North Africa who spread the story of a great one who was about to rise up among the people and be the chosen one of their God.
“While Muhammad was being prepared, he was told that his enemies were the Jews and that the only true Christians were Roman Catholics. He was taught that others calling themselves Christians were actually wicked impostors and should be destroyed. Many Muslims believed this. Muhammad began receiving ‘divine revelations,’ and his wife’s Catholic cousin Waraquah helped interpret them. From this came the Qur’an. In the fifth year of Muhammad’s mission, persecution came against his followers because they refused to worship the idols in the Kaaba. Muhammad instructed some of them to flee into Abyssinia where Negus, the Roman Catholic king, accepted them because Muhammad’s views on the Virgin Mary were so close to Roman Catholic doctrine. These Muslims received protection from Catholic kings because of Muhammad’s revelations.
“Muhammad later conquered Mecca and the Kaaba was cleared of idols. History proves that before Islam came into existence, the Sabeans in Arabia worshipped the moon god, who was married to the sun god. They gave birth to three goddesses who were worshipped throughout the Arab world as ‘Daughters of Allah.’ An idol excavated at Hazor in Palestine in the 1950s shows Allah sitting on a throne with the crescent moon on his chest.
“Muhammad claimed he had a vision from Allah and was told, ‘You are the messenger of Allah.’ This began his career as a prophet and he received many messages. By the time Muhammad died, the religion of Islam was exploding. The nomadic Arab tribes were forming forces in the name of Allah and his prophet, Muhammad. Some of Muhammad’s writing were placed in the Qur’an, others were never published. They are now in the hands of high ranking holy men (Ayatollahs) in the Islamic faith.
“When Cardinal Bea shared information with Rivera in the Vatican, he said, these writings are guarded because they contain information that links the Vatican to the creation of Islam. Both sides have so much information on each other that, if exposed, it could create such a scandal that it would be a disaster for both religions.
“In their ‘holy book,’ the Qur’an, Christ is regarded as only a prophet. If the pope was his representative on earth, then he also must be a prophet of God.This caused the followers of Muhammad to fear and respect the pope as another ‘holy man.’
“The pope moved quickly and issued bulls granting the Arab generals permission to invade and conquer the nations of North Africa. The Vatican helped to finance the building of these massive Islamic armies in exchange for three favors:
1. Eliminate the Jews and Christians (true believers which they called infidels)
2. Protect the Augustinian Monks and Roman Catholics
3. Conquer Jerusalem for ‘His Holiness’ in the Vatican
“As time went by, the power of Islam became tremendous — Jews and true Christians were slaughtered, and Jerusalem fell into their hands. Roman Catholics were never attacked, nor were their shrines, during this time. But when the pope asked for Jerusalem, he was surprised at their denial! The Arab generals had such military success that they could not be intimidated by the pope — nothing could stand in the way of their own plan.
“Under Waraquah’s direction, Muhammad wrote that Abraham offered Ishmael as a sacrifice. The Bible says that Isaac was the sacrifice, but Muhammad removed Isaac’s name and inserted Ishmael’s name. As a result of this and Muhammad’s vision, the faithful Muslims built a mosque, the Dome of the Rock, in Ishmael’s honor on the site of the Jewish temple that was destroyed in 70 A.D. This made Jerusalem the second most holy place in the Islamic faith.
“The pope realized what they had created was out of control when he heard they were calling ‘His Holiness’ an infidel. The Muslim generals were determined to conquer the world for Allah, and now they turned towards Europe. Islamic ambassadors approached the pope and asked for papal bulls to give them permission to invade European countries. The Vatican was outraged, war was inevitable. Temporal power and control of the world was considered the basic right of the pope. He wouldn’t think of sharing it with those whom he considered heathens. The pope raised up his armies and called them Crusades to hold back the children of Ishmael from grabbing Catholic Europe. The Crusades lasted centuries, and Jerusalem slipped out of the pope’s hands.”
These facts concerning Islam are not well know, but show its origins through the Vatican, and its goal to conquer the world, a goal the pope did not take kindly to.
Communism
The history of Communism is the history of Marxism. Karl Marx and Frederick Engels in the mid-1800s worked together in writing a prescription for a world society that was codified in Das Kapital, published in 1867. (136) He had written in 1848 the Manifesto of the Communist Party, (137) which incorporated their vision of how society should be ordered: history is replete with class struggle, the proletariat (working class) must be victorious over the bourgeois (leaders), private property must be abolished in favor of a stateless society, workers all across the world must unite to form this world system, and religion is termed the “opiate of the people,” a means for people to imagine pleasant illusions in the face of a painful world. (138)
Marx believed that societies passed through six states: primitive communism, slave society, feudalism, capitalism, socialism, and finally global, stateless communism. The planks in the platform of the Communist Manifesto are: (139)
1. Abolition of private land holdings, and rents of land for public purposes
2. Heavy progressive income tax
3. Abolition of rights of inheritance
4. Confiscation of property of emigrants and rebels
5. Centralization of credit to the State, using a national bank
6. Centralization of communication and transport with the State
7. State-owned factories and production, and bringing wastelands into production
8. Equal liability for all to work, with “industrial armies”
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing
10. Free education for children in public schools, and the combining of education with industry
To further the move to Communism in the United States, Cloward and Piven introduced a strategy to eliminate poverty by the redistribution of wealth, and then create a political crisis that forces control over citizens to implement Communism. This program is as follows: (140)
1. Universal government health care
2. Gun confiscation to prevent a revolt
3. Control what is taught in schools, what people read, and what is spread by the media
4. Remove God from people’s lives, and ridicule Christianity
5. Divide people through class warfare (free college, etc.)
6. Divide people through race warfare (such as Black Lives Matter, ANTIFA, etc.)
7. Overload entitlement programs until they collapse (welfare, housing assistance, VA, etc.)
These items are being aggressively pursued by the Democratic Party in the United States, which can now be labeled the Communist Party of the United States. The objective of this form of government is to eliminate capitalism where anyone can own property, run a business, and trade freely, and replace it with a community-regulated means of production, distribution, and exchange. However, rather than eliminating and giving power and control to the working class (proletariat), the system ends up with a ruling class of people who own the means of production and distribution, which is the opposite of what Marx and Engels state is the result of this form of government. It is a lie, and depends on evolutionary theory, Godlessness, and ignorance of the public to sustain it.
It is interesting that the World Economic Forum (WEF), a consortium of international business and political leaders, economists, and other high-profile individuals that discuss global issues, is a force behind these changes towards Communism, and is pushing “The Great Reset,” a transformation of society resulting in permanent restrictions on liberties, mass surveillance, and the restructuring of business to remove small players in favor of large corporations and monopolies. The motto of the WEF is, “You’ll own nothing and you’ll be happy.” A universal basic meme is suggested, with no personal property, not even one’s own clothing; everything is either provided by the government or rented. (141) It goes without saying that this form of societal structure is far from God’s system based upon love, kindness, service, personal responsibility, and capitalism on a family scale.
Zionism
The term Zionism is officially termed an international political movement that originally supported the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine, and continues primarily to support the modern state of Israel.Theodor Herzl, an Austro-Hungarian journalist, was the brain child of the movement in the late 1800s, and during the Nazi conflagration in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s Zionism became the dominant political movement after World War II. Eventually the movement succeeded in establishing the State of Israel in 1948. (142)
With any discussion of Zionism and the Jewish people, it is critical to first of all understand who these people known as Jews really are. Unlike the well-accepted belief by most that the Jews are descendants of Jacob through the line of Judah, history proves otherwise. The situation is brought into good perspective by Arthur Koestler in his book The Thirteenth Tribe, (143) which the reader is highly encouraged to read.
The Khazarians flourished from the seventh to the eleventh centuries in the area from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea on the south, and from the Caucasus Mountains to the Volga River in Eastern Europe. They were a world empire at the same time as the Moslem and Byzantine Empires to the west and south, and were instrumental in stopping the Moslem onslaught against Byzantium, thus preventing Islam from advancing into Eastern Europe. (144) However, the Khazars found themselves in a precarious position between the two major powers, and they chose a surprising method of resisting both the Western pressure to become Christian and the Eastern pressure to become Islam. Resisting both, they converted to Judaism. The story of how this happened is a most remarkable saga that Koestler recorded.
“There can be no question that the [Khazarian] ruler was activated by political motives in adopting Judaism. To embrace Mohammadanism would have made him the spiritual dependent of the Caliphs, who attempted to impress their faith on the Khazars, and in Christianity lay the danger of his becoming an ecclesiastical vassal of the Roman Empire. Judaism was a reputable religion with the sacred books which both Christian and Muhammadan respected; it elevated him above the heathen barbarians, and secured him against the interference of Caliph or Emperor.”
These people of Khazaria were of Turkish stock, but that term does not tell us much. We need to know where these people came from and who they were. History does not give us a lot of information on this topic, but certain things can be understood. Some of the descendants of Esau remained in the land given to them south of Judea, an area called Idumea or Mt. Sier. These people, descendants of Esau, also known as Edomites — which means “red,” since when Esau was born he appeared all red and hairy (Genesis 25:25) — in part converted to the religion of the Israelites, (146) but many, if not most of them, migrated east and north. When Nebuchadnezzar conquered Edom, many of them migrated to Central Asia away from the powerful empires of Mesopotamia. Edomite names pop up in Turkestan, for example, where the name Amalek appears; Amalek was a grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:12). Other place names of Esau’s lineage also appear in Central Asia. (147)
These Edomites inhabited the same land as the Mongoloid Turks, who were descendants of Japheth, and adopted their language. When the Turks rose to power, then these Edomites — at least in part — migrated back into Asia Minor and gained prominence as part of the Ottoman Empire. It is also supposed that these Esauites migrated into areas north of the Black Sea and north, into the area that later became known as Khazia. That kingdom converted to Talmudic Judaism in the mid-1700s, so that the statement could be made in The Jewish Encyclopedia of 1925, “Edom is in modern Jewry.” (148) Let us now explore how that can be.
We know that much of Idumea was absorbed into Israel when Hyreanus subdued Idumea. The Edomites were permitted to stay if they were circumcised and kept the laws of Moses. According to Josephus, “And they were so desirous of living in the country of their forefathers that they submitted to the use of circumcision, and of the rest of the Jewish [Judean] ways of living. At which time therefore this befell them, that they were hereafter no other than Jews [Judeans].” (149)
However, the Edomites who had migrated to the regions north of the Black Sea also had converted from their pagan worship to a form of Judaism. It was not strictly Orthodox — i.e., a system of following the Torah — but more inclined to Talmudic traditions. When the Khazarian Empire collapsed in 1239, many of these Khazarians were forced to migrate west to seek freedom into Europe: first Eastern Europe, and then Western Europe, where they comprised the Jewish population of those nations. According to Arthur Koestler,
“What is in dispute is the fate of the Jewish Khazars after the destruction of their empire, in the twelfth and thirteenth century. On this problem the sources are scant, but various late medieval Khazar settlements are mentioned in the Crimea, in the Ukraine, in Hungary, Poland, and Lithuania. The general picture that emerges from these fragmentary pieces of information is that of a migration of Khazar tribes and communities into those regions of Eastern Europe — mainly Russia and Poland — where, at the dawn of the Modern Age, the greatest concentration of Jews were found. This has led several historians to conjecture that a substantial part, and perhaps the majority of eastern Jews — and half of world Jewry — might be of Khazar, and not of Semitic origin.” (150)
In the 1973 edition of Encyclopedia Judaica, this connection between ancient Khazaria and modern Jewry is further continued.
“The Turkish-speaking Karaites (a fundamentalist Jewish sect) of the Crimea, Poland, and elsewhere have affirmed a connection with the Khazars, which is perhaps confirmed by evidence from folklore and anthropology as well as language. There seems to be a considerable amount of evidence attesting to the continued presence in Europe of descendants of the Khazars.” (151)
A.N. Poliak in his book Khazaria stated that,
“[The facts demand] a new approach, both to the problem of the relations between the Khazar Jewry and other Jewish communities, and to the question of how far we can go in regarding this [Khazar] Jewry as the nucleus of the large Jewish settlement in Eastern Europe …. The descendants of this settlement — those who stayed where they were, those who emigrated to the United States and to other countries, and those who went to Israel — constitute now the large majority of world Jewry.” (152)
Thus, we see that both the Judeans in Israel, as well as the Khazarians who migrated westward into Europe and constitute the vast majority of those known as Jews throughout the world, have a major genetic component from Esau, the twin brother of Jacob who sold his birthright for a bowl of soup (Genesis 25:29-34)— and lost that promise of many descendants, much land, and greatness in the world that had been given first to his grandfather Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3). This point is emphasized because the Jews of today are thus to a considerable degree genetic descendants of Esau. Is it not plausible that their “genetic memory” would still crave after the birthright blessings that were lost to Jacob for a bowl of soup? Could this not account for the efforts of Jews worldwide — who largely control the banking system, Hollywood and entertainment, the media, and much of industry and trade — to attempt to control and monopolize world affairs and establish a world-ruling empire? One Israeli spokesman put the situation into perspective.
“You know very well, and the stupid American knows equally well, that we [Israelis] control their government [through AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee], irrespective of who sits in the White House …. What can they [Americans] do to us? We control Congress, we control the media, we control show biz, and we control everything in America. In America you can criticize God, but you can’t criticize Israel!” (153)
Thus we see the efforts of Zionism to return not just Palestine to the Jews, but control of the entire world through efforts of the Esauites holding positions of power in key parts of Babylon … especially in money and banking. The descendants of Judah, on the other hand, are a different people than the Edomites in Israel who converted to Judaism, along with the Khazarian people who were a mixture of genetics — including Esau — that comprised the Khazarian nation. Those Judaites who can trace their lineage to King David and others from the tribe of Judah are Semitic in every way, and are often called Sephardic Jews, as were those in Spain. Many of them migrated to other countries, such as nations in South America, where some families have preserved their lineage through tight family intermarriage. I have seen some of these people on trips to these countries, and some have red hair with light complexions, blue eyes, and Nordic features.
Associated with Zionism, as well as the United Nations, is the World Economic Forum (WEF) and its “Great Reset” plans; see the discussion on this topic in the section on Communism. Championed by Klaus Schwab, a Jewish economist who 50 years ago initiated a plan to “improve capitalism” by pursing the well-being of all people and the entire planet. To do this, profits and self-interest must take a back seat to the common good, and fall in line with government dictates, regulations that involve global warming reductions, land and property ownership, and virtually every aspect of living. It is essentially fascism — government ruling business through regulations cloaked in utopian language. The WEF states that by 2030, “You’ll own nothing and you’ll be happy.” The wealthy few will maintain control, and like all totalitarian systems the masses of people will essentially be subservient slaves. National sovereignty and cultural traditions will be eliminated. As one author put it,
“With the link completely severed between food production, nature, and culturally embedded beliefs that give meaning and expression to life, we will be left with the individual human who exists on lab-based food, who is reliant on income from the state, and who is stripped of satisfying productive endeavors and genuine self-fulfillment …. But do not worry — you will be property-less and happy in your open prison of mass unemployment, state dependency, track and chip health passports, cashlessness, mass vaccination, and dehumanization.” (154)
A world-rulership set of plans by Zionists has been proposed, called the Protocols of Zion. Listed below are a few planks of their platform. (155)
1. Take control of the media and use it for propaganda
2. Start fights between different races, classes, and religions
3. Use bribery, threats, and black mail to get our way
4. Appoint puppet leaders who can be controlled by blackmail
5. Replace royal rule with socialist rule, then communism, then despotism
6. Abolish all rights and freedoms, except the right of force by us
7. Eliminate religion and replace it with science and materialism
8. Control the education system to spread deception and destroy intellect
9. Rewrite history to our benefit
10. Corrupt minds with filth and perversion
11. Keep the masses in poverty and perpetual labor
12. Introduce a progressive tax on wealth
13. Make long-term interest-bearing loans to government
Freemasonry/Illuminati
These two movements have been combined in this discussion, because their goals are similar and their activities in many cases overlap. These groups also tie in closely to several other movements whose goals include authority over nations throughout the world. Freemasonry is a focus of organized occultism and secret societies, whose objectives have been articulated by Albert Pike in Morals and Dogma. (156) He traces Freemasonry back to the beginnings of civilization, even to the Babylon of Genesis 11:1-9, where Nimrod sought to create a one-world government this side of the Flood. The effort was broken up when Elohim confused the languages of the people at Babel, causing the various families to migrate to parts of the earth they were designated to inhabit. Pike stated,
“By whatever name it was known in this or the other country, Masonry existed as it now exists, the same in spirit and at heart … before even the first colonies migrated into Southern India, Persia, and Egypt, from the cradle of the human race …. We reproduce the speculations of the Philosophers, the Kabbalists, the Mystagogues, and the Gnostics …. The Gnostics derived their leading doctrines and ideas from Plato and Philo, the Zendavesta, and the Kabbalah, and the sacred books of India and Egypt ….” (157)
Gnosticism took many forms, but all of them were untied in the adoration of Satan and hatred for Jesus Christ. The Knights Templar, established in Jerusalem in 1119 A.D., protected pilgrims enroute to Palestine during the Crusades. Pilgrims donated funds to them, and in most every Christian country they gained wealth and favor. Strongly influenced by the Gnostics and Assassins, they assembled a wide-scale attempt to organize and mobilize the forces of occultism to gain world control. While posing to be Christian, they secretly worshipped Satan. The Knights Templar failed in its efforts to win the world, falling into sex-worship, worship of Baphomet the idol of Luciferians, and other degenerate practices, and lost their wealth and membership. Their compromised efforts were carried on or merged with the Rosicrucians in the 1300s. (158)
Later, the Templars merged with and controlled the stone mason guilds of Europe, and adopted much of their symbolism. The merger of the Templars with the stone masons was a natural one, since the Templars were great builders of castles and monuments, and within a few decades the “operative masons,” those who actually built things, were dominated by the “speculative masons,” the leaders in occultism who sought a New World agenda. In 1717 the world’s first Grand Lodge was established in London. Rosicrucianists were installed in the structure and hierarchy of the Freemasons, and within a century, as their public reputation grew, it was time for a top-secret Luciferian agenda to be introduced. (159)
Thus we are introduced to Adam Weishaupt, who in 1776 in Bavaria founded the secret Luciferian order called the Illuminati. Its objective was to abolish Christianity and overturn all civil government. With Freemason lodges in many European nations by 1782 — and this order now the undisputed leader of the occult one-world movement — an inner circle of “illumined” or high Freemasons proposed to create a new world order by influencing key decisions of Europe’s leaders through infiltrating their political apparatus. This agenda was divulged at a Masonic conference in Wilhelmsbad, Germany, in 1782, when Freemasons, Illuminati, and Martinists met. Weishaupt, a fellow Jew with the Rothschilds, forged a deal with the growing Rothschild banking empire to finance the order’s ambitions, which attracted royals, nobles, and Jesuits across Europe. (160)
By the late 1700s the Freemasons had a strong foothold in the United States, with headquarters first in Charlestown, South Carolina, in 1801, which was relocated to Washington, D.C., called the Mother Supreme Council of the World. Thereafter, Masonically-inspired groups sprang up, including the Theosophical Society, Christian Science, Unitarianism, and Mormonism. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young of the Mormon Church were both significant Freemasons.
Important activities of Freemasons and Illuminists over the past decades have included the establishment of the Federal Reserve System— created in part by the Rothschilds, long-time Jewish Freemasons, plus other Jewish bankers — the League of Nations in 1945, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the Royal Institute of International Affairs, the Bilderbergers, the Club of Rome, the Trilateral Commission, the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the International Criminal Court. According to Dan Smoot, a former F.B.I. headquarters staff member,
“”The ultimate aim of the CFR … is … to create a one-world socialist system and make the U.S. an official part of it.” (161)
Carroll Quigley, Bill Clinton’s mentor at Georgetown University and CFR member, claimed in his book Tragedy and Hope,
“The CFR is the American Branch of a society which originated in England, and which believes that national boundaries should be obliterated, and a one-world rule established.” (162)
James Warburg, of the Warburg banking family, in testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated that “We shall have world government whether or not you like it —by conquest or consent.” A President Clinton administration official claimed that, “In the next century, America will not exist in its current form. All states will recognize a single global authority.” The preamble to the United Nations Earth Charter states,
“We stand at a critical moment inEarth’s history, a time when humanity must choose its future …. We are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace.” (163)
It is clear that all of these occult, Satan-inspired institutions of Freemasonry, the Illuminati, and the banking and governmental entities that have been spawned from them are seeking to subvert the sovereignty of nations, and create a one-world order. Every global crisis is used as an excuse for global solutions and a new world order. United Nations agencies announce and monitor each new threat, and call for global solutions to combat them. Although there is currently no global military, legislature, judiciary, president, or constitution, we already have some degree of political, economic, religious, social, legal, and environmental unification. The Freemasons and Illuminati have helped build an infrastructure that is ready to function as a whole once the prophesied charismatic world leader arises.
Fourth Reich
Some researchers have labeled the current state of affairs in the world as a rising of the Fourth Reich, on the heels of the supposed demise of the Third Reich in 1945. There are indeed similarities to what is happening today, and what happened once Adolph Hitler and the Nazis gained power in the early 1930s. Some will even say that the Nazis won World War II. For instance, today there are book burnings (censorship of books, publications, websites, and social media), gun control efforts, genocide (abortions that target blacks), government control over the economy through lockdowns and regulations, and so forth.
There are still many on this earth who believe in Aryan superiority, and point to the fact that American space technology was fueled by Nazi technology and Nazi scientists, through Nazi scientists brought to the U.S. via Operation Paperclip after World War II. The current moves toward fascism in this society — government controlling industry through regulations — could be interpreted as the adoption of Nazi-style totalitarianism. (164)
Interestingly, there are indictions of a Nazi military base still existing, in the unlikely area of Neuschwabenland, located south of Africa in New Swabia. In fact, in 1946 a force of up to 5,000 sailors, scientists, and naval infantry men, along with 13 ships and 26 aircraft, were gathered by the U.S. Navy’s Task Force 68 for Operation High Jump. This task force sailed to Neuschwaben land to supposedly eliminate remnants of the Nazi war machine that had escaped Germany before the final collapse of the country. Rather than mop up these remnant forces, the Nazi came out in force against the American flotilla, with anti-gravity flying disks that could fire some sort of laser to down planes. An observer of the conflagration had the following to say.
“They [the saucers] flew out of the water in a fury, slipping between the masts of ships with such speed that the air flow perturbed and dislodged the radio antenna. I didn’t have time to blink an eye; the two Corsairs from the Casablanca were slain by some kind of mysterious ray, shot from the nose section of the flying saucers. They then dived into the water near the ships …. These objects were silent as they floated between ships, like satanic beasts spitting deadly fire. Suddenly, I saw the destroyer Mardoch which was about 120 feet away; the flames flashed and it began to sink …. The nightmare lasted about 20 minutes. When the saucers again dived under the water, we evaluated our losses. They were terrifying.” (165)
Although Hitler viewed Christianity as a religion only for slaves — its teachings a rebellion against the natural law of selection and survival of the fittest — the Vatican did support the Nazi regime in a somewhat quiet way, providing priests to the front line, offering church properties to be converted into military hospitals, and granting tens of thousands of nuns to be nurses. (166) Thus, the Catholic Church aided Hitler in his quest for world domination, if only to placate the dictatorship from wreaking further havoc on its members.
Corporatism
While multinational corporations per se may not be proven to promote the formation of a one-world new order, they can certainly contribute to it through their control by governments and their agendas. For example, control of the food supply — from field to table, or even a portion of that chain — could greatly assist an overarching entity such as the United Nations in forcing compliance to its aim of forcing all nations to cooperate under its flag. The same could be said for energy resources, especially petroleum and coal. Control of these essential inputs to human survival can help mold a unified system of population control, especially when people are coerced to comply … or face the consequences: incarceration, torture, or death.
Yet, a study has shown that of the 43,060 transnational corporations, there are only 147 of these that control 40% of their wealth. All of these are part of one another, and most are banks such as Barclays and Goldman Sachs. Thus less than 1% of these transnationals control a huge portion of the corporate wealth. While this corporate interconnectedness is due to business concerns — profit making — and not world domination, yet global control invariably fits into their operations since they can become tools for leaders to use to further their one-world agendas. (167)
Moreover, heads of corporations often throw their power and funding towards political ends, encouraging certain candidates and their agendas to win elections and control of the course of nations. Witness the influencing of voter opinion by Facebook, Twitter, and other social medias during the 2020 elections. (168) Note also the frequent “musical chairs” of executives moving back and forth between large corporations and government bureaucracies, so that regulations put in place by the government will benefit the companies financially. (169)
The 13 families
There are some researchers who have delved into one-world governments who contend that there is an over-arching governing elite that encompasses virtually all of the other efforts directed at one-world governance. These families are few in number, comprising, as some would say, only 1% of the elite 1% super-rich who essentially control world events. This shadow force follows a slow-paced agenda of total control over the world’s population and resources, according to some, sort of “totalitarian tip-toe,” using very small steps towards the enslavement of mankind. Such a slow pace of capture leaves people essentially unaware that they are losing their liberties. (170)
These elitists are said to rule over mankind because they are direct descendents of the ancient gods, and consider themselves of royal genetics, making them better than others. These families have been identified as follows: (171)
1. Rothschild (Bower or Bauer)
2. Bruce
3. Cavendish (Kennedy)
4. De Medici
5. Hanover
6. Hapsburg
7. Krupp
8. Plantagenet
9. Rockefeller
10. Romanov
11 Sinclair (St. Clair)
12. Warburg (del Banco)
13. Windsor (Saxe-Coburg-Gothe)
Other families within this group may be the Astor’s, Bundy’s, Collins’, Dupont’s, Freeman’s, Li’s, Onassis’, Russell’s, Merovingian’s, Van Duyn’s, and Reynolds.’ (172) Unquestionably the Rothschild dynasty is the most powerful visible family, with an estimated wealth of some $500 trillion. This family owns most central banks around the world, claims to have financed both sides of every war since Napoleon, and owns the media and petroleum interests, and controls much of what goes on within governments.
Their control is exercised through the “world banking empire,” which includes the City of London — already discussed at length — and the Federal Reserve banking systems in the United States and other countries. Supposedly the various secret societies — Free masons, Rosicrucianists, and others — operate as branches of a mega-corporation that is owned by this group of 13 families. (173)
The means of subjugating people to their one-world agenda, while promoting an education system that involves memorization of facts and “thinking inside the box,” obey without questioning — as well as casting fear within the population, such as the Coronavirus “false pandemic” (people are held in the grip of fear of death throughout their lives: Hebrews 2:15), the main weapon is the financial system.This money system pervades all societies around the world, and is at the core of the Babylonian merchandising economy which enables these families to enrich themselves (Revelation18:17-23), and which Lucifer was guilty of when he first sinned (Ezekiel 28:15-18). It is a debt system whereby individuals, towns and cities, states, nations, corporations, and virtually all of civilization is encouraged to be indebted to the banking system, with collateral being their very substance for survival: their homes, land, businesses, automobiles and trucks … almost everything involved in living. We know that “the rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant of the lender” (Proverbs22:7). These families are the rich — the very rich — and they hold dominion over peoples, governments, and businesses worldwide through debt … debt made possible by fiat currency, usually through digital transactions. True money — gold and silver — is relegated to the sidelines, since the intrinsic value of these rare metals cannot be manipulated as easily for gain through usury as can fiat money.
People thus become “currency slaves” with their 8 to 5 jobs, oftentimes just to survive until the next paycheck arrives. A recent study revealed that 78% of workers live paycheck to paycheck, and more than half of them believe they always will. Over half of minimum wage workers have to work more than one job to make ends meet, and of those making $50,000 to $100,000 annually, 28% live paycheck to paycheck; 70% are in debt. (174) People under such financial duress find little time to educate themselves, critically analyze world events, cultivate spirituality, and oppose efforts to force them into the mold of the new world order. The wealthy managers of the system generally have little incentive to educate their workers in critical thinking and encourage them to discover their purpose in life as God’s people. The ultra-rich families apparently consider how they might profit in most any way through their money-lending and usury, through war, disease epidemics, debt and poverty, and the exploitation of the earth’s resources.
The one-world interests of the 13 families, based on money and its accumulation, are an end-time symptom of greed and corruption that is only possible because of the modern banking system.
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (I Timothy 6:10).
These ultra-rich controllers of world economies and the people that depend on them will face their ultimate reward as we discovered in Revelation 18, but even today they are pictured as being “… pierced … through with many sorrows.” Besides, we hear pronouncements about the rich.
“… but the abundance of the rich will not permit them to sleep” (Ecclesiastes 5:12).
“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days” (James5:1-3).
“For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:25).
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
The hearts of these rich bankers are not intent upon serving the living God, but are engrossed in serving themselves. Many of them are heavily involved in occultism, serving the Adversary, Satan himself, thus explaining their greed to accumulate for the self — as Lucifer did in his first sin — using that physical wealth to force conformity to his plan and draw people away from the true God and His plan of salvation. Those following in Satan’s footsteps have no hope of salvation, but seem intent upon finding immortality through transhumanism, genetic manipulation, and esoteric life-enhancement strategies. Many of them do, apparently, believe they are descendants of the gods.
In fact, there is strong evidence that people within these blood lines of the 13 families can “shape-shift” from human to reptilian form, taking on the appearance and nature of demonic, evil creatures. As one witness to this shape-shifting remarked (I will not indicate who the individual is that shape-shifted, but the person is well-known),
“I have seen her sacrifice people and eat their flesh and drink their blood. One time she got so excited with blood lust that she didn’t cut the victim’s throat …[but] just went crazy, stabbing and ripping at the flesh after she’d shape-shifted into a reptilian. When she shape-shifts she has a long reptile face, almost like a beak, and she’s an off-white color …. This description fits many depictions of the gods and ‘bird gods’ of ancient Egypt and elsewhere.” (175)
A One-World Government
The reality of a coming world government, ruled by Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords, has been prophesied for millennia. This truth is revealed in I Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14 and 19:16, as well as in Daniel 2:37 and other places. The prophesies about Jesus’ rulership over the earth in a literal one-world government are encapsulated in both Testaments.
“And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be — ‘The Lord is one,’ and His name one” (Zechariah14:9).
“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all the kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Daniel 2:44).
“You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35).
“Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him” (Daniel 7:27; see also Daniel 7:14 and18).
“Then the seventh angel sounded: and there were 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).This dominion over all nations will be given to the saints along with Jesus Christ, as stated in Daniel 7:18 and 27, and Revelation 5:10; “… and have made them [the saints redeemed by the blood of Jesus out of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation; verse 9] a kingdom and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” This is the kingdom — or government — that the Israelites at the time of Christ on the earth were expecting. Many thought that Jesus was the prophesied King to restore the kingdom to Israel at that time, so they spread their clothes and branches on the road to Jerusalem as He rode in on a donkey (Matthew 21:4-9). It is the kingdom that He and the disciples spoke of throughout their ministry (Mark 1:14; Luke 4:43:8:1; 9:2; 16:16; Acts 8:12; 20:25; 28:31).
Satan the devil, extremely jealous of the Father’s plan to place the new Adam — Jesus Christ — on the throne of the earth has ever since that time sought to build his own world-ruling empire to mimic the one that is to come. Every effort to build that empire upon Satan’s pattern has failed. Beginning with Egypt, then moving on to Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, each attempt has succeeded for a time but has ultimately failed because the premises upon which they were built were composed of sand.
“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will belike a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” (Matthew 7:26-27)In like manner, each of these world-ruling empires was built upon an infirm foundation of sand, and fell. The great image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of Daniel 2 was crushed to powder — a time-ordered image of cultures beginning with Babylon to Rome — each culture becoming less valuable than the one before it but wrapping up the previous cultures into its fabric. Finally, the iron mixed with miry clay, which constituted the feet of the great image, was struck directly by the rock — Jesus Christ— at His return with the saints (Daniel 2:34-35; Revelation 19:11-21), showing that in time sequence this event is at the very end of the image’s message: Babylon being the first kingdom during the sixth and seventh centuries B.C., while the feet of mixed iron and clay represent the very end of the age. The adversary’s efforts to take charge of history’s events and somehow circumvent the plan of the ages of our great God will not succeed. His prophecies are right on schedule. The one world government designs of Roman Catholicism and the Vatican, the United Nations, Islam, Communism and fascism, Zionism, Freemasonry, the Illuminati, the Fourth Reich, and corporations will seem to be succeeding for a time. The mark of the beast will become a reality, and will cause untold heartache to those who refuse to take the mark (Revelation 13:16-18). Yet, in the end it will be those who take the mark who will suffer the most, and will wish they had never allied themselves with the beast and false prophet … for once the dust settles they will have nothing on which to pin their hopes. Their futures will be meaningless and hopeless … for only the Creator can give them meaning and purpose in life that is intended for each person made in His image, that the very purpose to be brought into the God-family (Ephesians 3:14-17). All of the efforts to create a one-world system on earth by the devil, working through human leaders, will coalesce in some way. A very recent declaration by the pope appears to indicate this, as he uses the same term “Great Reset,” as does the World Economic Forum and other pro-Communist, pro-fascist, pro-Zionist, and pro-United Nations organizations. In a just-released book, God and the World to Come, he has aligned himself with globalist leaders for a “Great Reset” in response to the coronavirus epidemic. In the book he pushes a shift from financial speculation, fossil fuels, and military buildups to a green economy based on inclusiveness. He states,
“The world will never be the same again. But it is precisely within this calamity that we must grasp those signs which may prove to be the cornerstones of reconstruction …. Let us keep in mind that there is something worse than this crisis: the drama of wasting it. We cannot emerge from a crisis the same as before: we either come out better or we come out worse.” (176)
The pope said justice can be healed “… by building a new world order based on solidarity, studying innovative methods to eradicate bullying, poverty, and corruption [with] all working together, each for their own part, without delegating and passing the buck.” While touting the evils of social injustice, arms manufacturing, and planetary discord, the pope called for an end to short-sighted nationalism and “political selfishness,” saying that the “magic theories” of market capitalism have failed. Existing systems cannot be “refined,” which leave the few rich and the masses poor, and to do this we must remove the right to individual property; rather, the earth’s resources must be managed for the common good. (177)
Pope Francis appears to have latched on to the agenda of the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, and other one-world advocates. While identifying many evils in this present world, his solutions are eerily like those promised through Marxism and other totalitarian ideologies. He is herding the Catholic flock towards the “Great Reset” of the New World Order of the beast and Babylon the Great, and these open, blatant pronouncements are being made at this very moment!
Where We Are in Prophecy
There is ample evidence to show that we are currently, in early 2021, within the time preceding the Great Tribulation. Once that Tribulation begins there will be 3 1/2 years until the return of Jesus Christ with his holy angels at the resurrection, followed by the last seven vials, and then the destruction of the beast and false prophet — and the entire Babylonian system —just before the millennium begins. At this time Satan and the demons will be chained and cast into the abyss for the thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3), and the saints will rule with Christ to make the earth a veritable Eden, like the original Garden of Eden described in Genesis 1. The nature of this coming world is described in detail in my book the Bridge to Eden. (178) It will be an incredibly beautiful, productive, peaceful, loving, kind, and harmonious world for a thousand years, as the fruits of God’s spirit permeate all people living in this renewed world. The entire ecosphere — its plants, animals, waters, atmosphere, and sunlight — will likewise shine forth this Edenic perfection.
The seven seals are past. All but the seventh trumpet has been blown. Only the seventh trumpet and the last seven vials remain. These remaining prophetic events will happen rapidly. Once the last trumpet is blown, the vials will likely be poured out within 45 days, or else life on earth would not survive.
“And then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved, but for the elect’s sake these days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22).
I believe the elect [eklektos,”select, favorite”] mentioned in verse 22 refers to those people of all nations who will be populating the millennial age. Unless the horrible consequences of the inability to buy or sell without the mark of the beast, the great drought and subsequent famine during the prophesying of the two witnesses (Revelation 11:6), and other plagues are cut short, indeed the earth would become an uninhabitable moonscape, more or less. While there will be dwindling food supplies, and horrific weaponry that could be unleashed against humanity across the earth, the entire effort of Satan to obiterate mankind will be stopped in its tracks. People from all nations will survive, those destined by the Eternal to raise families in the new age, and who will listen to Him with open minds (Acts 3:23).
We need not fear the rulers of this age who try to capture the allegiance of people by offering them safety and security in the face of chaos. Recall the words of Hebrews 2:14-15, which state that the Adversary has through the centuries kept people in bondage through fear of death. We need not fear death or the author of it, but we need to fear the One who has the power over both body and soul (Matthew 10:28).
Though I believe we are indeed very near the end of the age, as for all of the saints who have lived through the seven seals and the first six trumpets — through the reigns of Attila, Alaric, the Moslems, and the Papacy — we must never forget Paul’s words about the wisdom of this age, “… nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing” (I Corinthians 2:6). Our lives are not to be caught up in fear when we see these awesome events about to happen, but rather when these end-time “… signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars, and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, men’s hearts failing them for fear … for the powers of heaven will be shaken“ — and Christ will come in a cloud — then we are to “… lift up our heads, for our redemption draws near” (Luke 21:25-28).
Are you preparing each day for the return of our Lord and Master?
Bibliography and Notes
1. Jennifer Morse, The problem with living together, Focus On the Family, January 1, 2001,www.focusonthefamily.com.
2. Kerby Anderson, Rome and America — comparing to the ancient Roman Empire, Probe for Answers, May 25, 2009, www.probe.org.
“In his 1934 book, Sex and Culture, British anthropologist Joseph Daniel Unwin chronicled the historical decline of numerous cultures, including the Roman Empire. He found that cultures that held to a strong sexual ethic thrived and were more productive than cultures that were“ sexually free.” In his book Our Dance Has Turned to Death, Carl Wilson identifies the common pattern of family decline in civilizations like the Roman Empire. It is significant how these seven stages parallel what is happening in America. In the first stage, men ceased to lead their families in worship. Spiritual and moral development became secondary. Their view of God became naturalistic, mathematical, and mechanical. In the second stage, men selfishly neglected care of their wives and children to pursue material wealth, political and military power, and cultural development. Material values began to dominate thought. The third stage involved a change in men’s sexual values. Men who were preoccupied with business or war either neglected their wives sexually or became involved with lower-class women or with homosexuality. Ultimately, a double standard of morality developed. The fourth stage affected women. The role of women at home and with children lost value and status. Women were neglected and their roles devalued. Soon they revolted to gain access to material wealth and also freedom for sex outside marriage. Women also began to minimize having sex relations to conceive children, and the emphasis became sex for pleasure. In the fifth stage, husbands and wives competed against each other for money, home leadership, and the affection of their children. This resulted in hostility and frustration and possible homosexuality in the children. Many marriages ended in separation and divorce. In the sixth stage, selfish individualism grew and carried over into society, fragmenting it into smaller and smaller group loyalties. The nation was thus weakened by internal conflict. The decrease in the birth rate produced an older population that had less ability to defend itself and less will to do so, making the nation more vulnerable to its enemies. Finally, unbelief in God became more complete, parental authority diminished, and ethical and moral principles disappeared, affecting the economy and government. Because of internal weakness and fragmentation, the society came apart. We can see these stages play out in the decline of the Roman Empire. But we can also see them happening before our eyes in America.
“What about the spiritual decline in Rome and America? We can actually read about the spiritual decline in Rome in Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. In the opening chapter he traces a progression of spiritual decline that was evident in the Hellenistic world of his time. The first stage is when people turn from God to idolatry. Although God has revealed Himself in nature to all men so that they are without excuse, they nevertheless worship the creation instead of the Creator. This is idolatry. In the past, this took the form of actual idol worship. In our day, it takes the form of the worship of money or the worship of self. In either case, it is idolatry. A further example of this is a general lack of thankfulness. Although they were prospered by God, they were ungrateful. And when they are no longer looking to God for wisdom and guidance, they become vain and futile and empty in their imaginations. They no longer honor God, so their foolish hearts become darkened. In professing to be wise, they have become fools. The second stage is when men and women exchange their natural use of sex for unnatural uses. Here Paul says those four sobering words, “God gave them over.” In a society where lust-driven sensuality and sexual perversion dominate, God gives them over to their degrading passions and unnatural desires. The third stage is anarchy. Once a society has rejected God’s revelation, it is on its own. Moral and social anarchy is the natural result. At this point God has given the sinners over to a depraved mind and so they do things which are not proper. This results in a society which is without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful. The final stage is judgment. God’s judgment rightly falls upon those who practice idolatry and immorality. Certainly an eternal judgment awaits those who are guilty, but a social judgment occurs when God gives a nation over to its sinful practices. Notice that this progression is not unique to the Hellenistic world the apostle Paul was living in. The progression from idolatry to sexual perversion to anarchy to judgment is found through out history. In the times of Noah and Lot, there was the idolatry of greed, there was sexual perversion and promiscuity, there was anarchy and violence, and finally there was judgment. Throughout the history of the nation of Israel there was idolatry, sexual perversion, anarchy (in which each person did what was right in his own eyes), and finally judgment.”
3. For a sampling of statistics: Susan Dudley, Women who have abortions, National Abortion Federation, 2003, www.prochoice.org; Wendy Wang, Who cheats more? The demographics of infidelity in America, Institute for Family Studies, January 10, 2018, www.ifstudies.org; Anonymous, 2018 crime in the United States, 2018, www.ucr.fbi,gov; Anonymous, Crime in the United States, en.wikipedia.org; Anonymous, Alcohol and drug abuse statistics, American Addiction Centers, www.americanaddictioncenters.org.
4. E.W. Bullinger, The Companion Bible, Zondervan Bible Publishers, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1974. The dates given in this section are extracted from Appendix 50, and may not agree with some other sources.
5. H.H. Halley, Halley’s Bible Handbook, Zondervan Bible Publishers, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1965, pages 65-66.
6. Anonymous, Seventh-Day Adventist eschatology (Daniel’s prophesies), en.wikipedia.org.
7. See 6.
8. See 6.
9. See 6.
10. See 6.
11. Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California, 1907, page 432.
12. Johann von Mosheim, An Ecclesiatical History, from the Birth of Christ to the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century, translated by James Murdock (1832), 1726.
13. David Plaisted, Estimates of the number killed by the Papacy in the Middle Ages, Numbers and Necessities, www.webwitness.org.au. Some estimates of deaths from the Inquisition, from 606 A.D. to the mid-1800s, exceed 50 million.
14. See 12, Fourth Century, part 2, chapter 3.
15. See 11, page 438.
16. See 13.
17. See 5, page 777.
18. Owen Jarus, 20 of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history, March 20, 2020, www.livescience.com.
19.See 5, page 788.
20. Anonymous, A history of the Waldenses, Musee Protestant, www.museeprotestant.org.
21. Robert Sears, The Wonders of the World, Robert Sears, New York, pages 50, 58, 381;Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology, John Murray, London, 1872.
22. Robert Sears, The Guide to Knowledge, a Repertory of Facts, E. Walker, New York, 1847.
23. Anonymous, The New York Journal of Commerce, New York, November 14, 1833, www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
24, Alexander Keith, Signs of the Times, Volume1, William Whyte and Company, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1832, pages 221-223.
25. Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament, Blackie and Sons, London, 1884; from Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1998; quoting Edward Elliott, A Commentary on the Apocalypse, Critical and Historical, Still Water Revival Books, 2015.
26. See 25.
27. See 25.
28. Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible, Revelation Chapter 8 notes, Blackie and Sons, London, 1834.
29. See 28.
30. Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Harper and Brothers, New York, 1836.
31. See 30.
32. See 11, page 488.
33. Edward Elliott, Horac Apocalypticae, Volume1, Still Water Revival Books, 2015, pages 357-360.
34. See 33.
35. See 33.
36. See 24.
37. See 24.
38. See 11, page 498.
39. See 11, page 500.
40. See 30.
41. See 30.
42. See 30; J. Litch, The Probability of the Second Coming of Christ, David H. Ela, Boston, Massachusetts, 1843.
43. See 30.
44. See 11, page 508.
45. See 11, pages 508-509.
46. See 11, page 509.
47. See 33, Volume 1, pages 482-484.
48. See 30.
49. See 11, page 514.
50. See 11, pages 514-516.
51. See 11, page 516.
52. See 11, pages 531-532.
53. See 11, page 531-533.
54. See 11, pages 533-536.
55. See 11, page 538.
56. See 11, page 537.
57. See 11, pages 543-545.
58. Paul Macisker, Revelation 12, The End Time Bible Commentary, www.endtimebible.com.
59. See 11, pages 546-549.
60. See 11, pages 552-555.
61. See 11, page 555.
62. See 11, page 559.
63. See 11, pages 558-562.
64. See 11, pages 563-564.
65. See 11, pages 565-579.
66. Bill Fullen, Sr., U.S. passing through socialism on way to communism, The Daily News, Galveston Country (Texas), March 19, 2021, www.galvnews.com.
67. Anonymous, School must remove Ten Commandments plaque, Freethought Today, May 4,2019, www.freethoughttoday.com.
68. Brooke Kato, What is cancel culture? Everything to know about the toxic online trend, New York Post, March 10, 1021, www.nypost.com.
69. Jordan Bule, Franklin Graham: Christianity under attack, believers should engage in politics, The Tennessean, May 16, 2017, www.tennessean.com.
70. Anonymous, Faith on the Hill; the religious composition of the 117th Congress, Pew Research Center, Religion and Public Life, January4, 2021, www.pewforum.org; Matthew Franck, Is the Supreme Court too Catholic?, The WallStreet Journal, October 10, 2020, www.wsj.com.
71. Burk McCarty, The Suppressed Truth About the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Arya Varta Publishing Company, Haverhill, Massachusetts, 1924.
72. See 5, page 780.
73. Anonymous, List of United States presidential assassination attempts and plots, en.wikipedia.org.
74. Anonymous, Spiritualism, en.wikipedia.org.
75. See 11, pages 587-588.
76. Anonymous, World Council of Churches, en.wikipedia.org.
77. See 11, page 597.
78. Anonymous, The Sunday law, The truth about the mark of the beast, www.markofbeast.com.
79. See 78. Michael Scheifler, Vicarius Filii Dei,666, the number of the beast, www.aloha.net.
80. Gary Coulter, The Pope: a scandal and a mystery, www.frcoulter.com.
81. Anonymous, Pope Saint Nicholas the First, www.popenicholas.weebly.com.
82. Anonymous, Furlong, Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com.
83. E.W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1984, pages 167-168.
84. Anonymous. What is a nova?, Ask An Astromoner, June 27, 2015, www.curious.astro.cornell.edu. A nova is a strong, rapid increase in the brightness of a star.
85. Daan Nijssen, Cyrus the Great, World History Encyclopedia, www.ancient.eu.
86. Anonymous, Tigris, en.wikipedia.org; Anonymous, Euphrates, en.wikipedia.org. The Tigris River has a mean annual discharge of nearly 52 billion cubic meters, while the Euphrates River has a discharge of 32 billion cubic meters annually.
87. Anonymous, Modern history of Iraq, en.wikipedia.org.
88. See 87.
89. See 87.
90. See 11, page 694. In this identity, the dragon represents paganism, the beast pictures the beast, and the false prophet indicates Protestantism. Such identities may indeed by correct.
91. See 11, page 706.
92. Clark Eichelberger, World government via the United Nations, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS), July 1, 1949, www.journals.sagepub.com.
93. Herbert Rose and John Scheid, Romulus and Remus, Oxford Classical Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom,2021, www.oxfordre.com.
94. Anonymous, The 7 hills of Rome: What are they and what can you see?, Italo file, March 17,2021, www.italofile.com; Anonymous, Seven hills of Rome, en.wikipedia.org; Anonymous, Seven hills of Rome, Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com; Anonymous, Seven hills of Rome, www.vatican,com.
95. John Walvoord, The destruction of ecclesiastical Babylon, www.walvoord.com.
“Of these seven regal mountains, John was told ‘the five are fatten,’ dead, passed away, their day over’; the one is,’ that is, was standing, at that moment, was then in sway and power; ‘the other is not yet come, and when he shall come, he must continue a little time.’ What regal mountain, then, was in power at the time John wrote? There can be no question on that point; it was the Roman Empire. Thus, then, we ascertain and identify the sixth in the list, which shows what sort of kings the angel meant. Of the same class with this, and belonging to the same category, there are five others—five which had then already run their course and passed away. But what five imperial mountains like Rome had been and gone, up to that time? Is history so obscure as not to tell us with unmistakable certainty? Preceding Rome the world had but five great names or nationalities answering to imperial Rome, and those scarce a schoolboy ought to miss. They are Greece, Persia, Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt; no more, and no less. And these all were imperial powers like Rome. Here, then, are six of these regal mountains; the seventh is not yet come. When it comes it is to endure but a short time. This implies that each of the others continues a long time; and so, again, could not mean the dictators, decemvirs, and military tribunes of the early history of Rome, for some of them lasted but a year or two. Thus, then, by the clearest, most direct, and most natural signification of the words of the record, we are brought to the identification of these seven mountain kings as the seven great world-powers, which stretch from the beginning of our present world to the end of it. Daniel makes the number less; but he started with his own times, and looked only down the stream. Here the account looks backward as well as forward. That which is first in Daniel is the third here, and that which is the sixth here is the fourth in Daniel. Only in the commencing point is there any difference. The visions of Daniel and the visions of John are from the same Divine Mind, and they perfectly harmonize, only that the latest are the amplest.”
96. Anonymous, Prescription drugs, Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University, District of Columbia, www.hpi.georgetown.edu; Buddy T., Rates of illicit drug abuse in the U.S., Very Well Mind, March 12, 2021, www.verywellmind.com.These figures are from studies conducted in2018.
97. Anonymous, Ways that drugs can cause impaired judgment, Foundations Recovery Network, October 29, 2014, www.foundations-recoverynetwork.com.
98. Anonymous, Strong 5610, hora, Bible Hub, www.biblehub.com.
99. Anonymous, Strong 2346, thelibo, Bible Hub, www.biblehub.com.
100. Seth Baum, The risk of nuclear winter, Federation of American Scientists, May 29, 2015,www.fas.org.
101. Mohammad Mafhouz, Ahmed Galhoum, and Nabawia Gomaa, Uranium extraction using magnetic nano-based particles of diethylene triamine-functionalized chitosan: equilibrium and kinetic studies, Chemical Engineering Journal262:198-209, February, 2015.
102. Kyree Leary, Congressional report: A North Korean EMP attack would kill 90% of all Americans, Futurism, October 16, 2017, www.futurism.com.
103. Julia Belluz, A comprehensive guide to the messy, frustrating science of cellphones and health, VOX, November 2, 2018, www.vox.com; Janice Frey, Before it’s too late, Greenfield Recorder, September 11, 2020, www.recorder.com.
104. Anonymous, Chemical warfare, en.wikipedia.org.
105. Anonymous. Health effects, Fluoride and health, www.flouridealert.org; Anonymous, How does chlorine in water affect my health?, Global Healing Center, www.bioray.com.
106. Vilma Ruddock, Dangers of food additives and preservative, Home and Garden, www.greenliving.love to know.com.
107. Anonymous, The long term effects of drug abuse and life expectancy, American Addiction Centers, www.americanaddictivecenters.org.The use of prescription drugs also likely reduces longevity.
108. Anonymous, The world’s most dangerous bio weapons, Army Technology, January 20,2020, www.army-technology.com.
109. Anonymous, The many health risks of processed foods, Laborer’s Health and Safety Fund of North America, Volume 15, Number 12, May,2019, www.lhsfna.org; Anonymous, Just one piece of bacon daily increases dementia risk by 44%, World Net Daily, March 22, 2021,www.wnd.com.
110. Ida Honor of and E. McBean, Vaccination the Silent Killer, Honor Publications, Sherman Oaks, California, 1977; Randall Newstaedter, The Immunization Decision, a Guide for Parents, North Atlantic Books, Berkely, California,1990.
111. Anonymous, The voluntary human extinction movement, vhemt.org.
112. Rose Eveleth, Nobody knows how to interpret this doomsday Stonehedge in Georgia, Smartnews, Smithsonian Magazine, September 10, 2013, www.smithsonianmag.com.
113. Anonymous, Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System, The National Academies of Sciences, www.cart.nap.edu.
114. Daniel Wilson, Robopocalypse, Vintage Press, 2012.
115. Ross Pomeroy, The fear that a nuclear bomb could ignite the atmosphere, Real Clear Science, September 12, 2019, www.realclearscience.com. This is just one example of what could happen when a scientific experiment might go out of control. Early on in the Manhattan Project, the scientists taking part knew that they were pursuing a weapon that could give humankind the unprecedented ability to destroy itself. What they didn’t know, however, was how this destruction might occur. In 1942, Hungarian-American physicist Edward Teller, known now as “the father of the hydrogen bomb,” entertained a devastating nightmare scenario: that an atomic bomb could ignite the atmosphere and the oceans. He reasoned that a nuclear fission bomb might create temperatures so extreme that it would cause the hydrogen atoms in the air and water to fuse together into helium, just like in our sun, generating a runaway reaction that would eventually engulf the globe, extinguishing all life and turning the Earth into a miniature star.
116. Anonymous, Ecophagy, en.wikipedia.org.
117. Greg Licholai, Is CRISPR worth the risk, Yale Insights, August 21, 2018, www.insights.som.yale.edu.
118. Chris Scott, The violent solar storms that threaten earth, BBC News, November 22, 2018, www.bbc.com; Mel Waskin, Mrs. O’Leary’s Comet, Cosmic Causes of the Great Chicago Fire, Academy Chicago Publisher, Chicago, Illinois, 1985.
119. Anonymous, Impact event, en.wikipedia.org.
120. J. Neumann, Great historical events that were significantly affected by the weather: 4, The great famines in Finland and Estonia, 1695-97, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society60 (7), July, 1979, pages 775-787. This is just one small example of famine and death caused by weather events. An estimated 25 to 33% of Finns died due to cold winters and cold, wet springs. Failure of monsoon rains in the Sahel of Africa has caused much starvation at times as well. Volcanic eruptions can spew ash into the air and cool the climate, with disasterous consequences; see Anonymous, Year without a summer, en.wikipedia.org.
121. Anonymous, Pandemics that changed history, History, December 21, 2020, www.history.com.
122. Anonymous, Super volcano, the world’s biggest band, BBC Home, www.bbc.co.uk. The major effect of a super volcano would be that ash in the stratosphere would reflect sunlight energy and cool the climate, causing mass starvation.
123. Paul W. Syltie, The Three Edens, Xulon Press, Maitland, Florida, 2011, pages 19-57.
124. Shenali Waduge, Three corporations run the world: City of London, Washington, D.C., and Vatican City, Sinhalanet, May 31, 2014, www.sinhalanet.net.
125. See 124.
126. Anonymous, Two constitutions in the United States. First was illegally suspended in favor of a Vatican “Crown” corporation in 1871, We Are the News, January 19, 2021, www.wearethenews.com.
127. See 126.
128. See 124.
129. See 124.
130. See 124.
131. See 112.
132. Ronald Bailey, To save the planet, kill 90 percent of people off, says UT ecologist, Reason, April 3, 2006, www.reason.com.
133. See 70.
134. Anonymous, Pope begins to unveil his plan for one world religion, Muslims to be treated as brothers, The Beltway Report, February 20, 2021, www.thebeltwayreport.com.
135. Cardinal Bea, Islam created by the Roman Catholic, Nairaland Forum, October 21, 2011, www.nairaland.com.
136. Karl Marx. Das Kapital, Verlag von Otto Meisner, Germany, 1867.
137. Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, The Communist Manifesto, Second Congress of the League of Communists, Germany, 1948.
138. Anonymous, Karl Marx 200 years on — five core ideas, TRT World, May 4, 2018, www.trtworld.com.
139. Anonymous, The “10 planks” of the Communist Manifesto, The Conservative Caucus, www.conservativeusa.net.
140. Cynthia Hren, Cynthia Hren: Communist agenda for America, The Union, Nevada County, California, October 12, 2020, www.theunion.com.
141. Anonymous, Great reset, en.wikipedia.org; Colin Todhunter, Dystropian “Great Reset”: “own nothing and be happy,” being human in 2030, Global Research, Center for Research on Globalization, March 6, 2020, www.globalresearch.ca.
142. Anonymous, Zionism, en.wikipedia.org; Anonymous, Zionism, New World Encyclopedia, www.newworldencyclopedia.org.
143. Arthur Koestler, The Thirteenth Tribe, Hutchinson and Company, Ltd., London, 1976.
144. Anonymous, Khazars, en.wikipedia.org.
145. See 143, page 59.
146. Anonymous, The absorption of Edom/Idumea into Judea is recorded by Josephus and Strabo, Esau is Edom: Edom is modern Jewry, Esau Today, www.esau.today.org.
147. Anonymous, East, west, or neither? Trumpet Brief, From Philadelphia Trumpet, Issue 139, November/December 2011, www.thetrumpet.com.
148. Anonymous, Edom, Jewish Encyclopedia, Volume 5, page 41, 1925, www.jewishencyclopedia.com.
149. See 146
150. See 143. page 15.
151. See 143, page 16; Anonymous, Encyclopedia Judaica, 2nd edition, 1973.
152. Abraham Poliak, Khazaria: History of a Jewish Kingdom in Europe, Tel Aviv, Israel,1951.
153. Tzipora Menache, Israel says, “We control stupid Americans,” www.goodnewsaboutgod.com.
154. Colin Todhunter, see 141.
155. Anonymous, The Protocols of Zion, March17, 2009, www.rense.com.
156. Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Supreme Council, Thirty-Third Degree, 1871.
157. See 156.
158. Anonymous, Knights Templar, en.wikipedia.org; Anonymous, Birth of the Rosicrucian Order, Crusader History, www.crusaderhistory.wordpress.com.
159. Anonymous, The move towards one-world government, The Prophetic Well, Immanuel Community, www.immanuelcommunity.org.uk.
160. See 159.
161. Anonymous, The Council on Foreign Relations: the Illuminati in the United States, www.people.virginia.edu.
162. Carroll Quigley, Tragedy and Hope, Macmillan Publishers, New York, 1966.
163. See 159.
164. Mike Adams, The “Fourth Reich” — Nazi-types in charge — coming false flag, March 5,2021, www.naturalnews.com.
165. Stephen Quayle, Empire Beneath the Ice: How the Nazis Won World War II, End Time Thunder Publishers, Bozeman, Montana, 2015, pages 34-35.
166. Anonymous, In “confession of guilt,” German Catholic Church admits “complicity” with Nazis, The Times of Israel, May 1, 2020,www.timesofisrael.com; Anonymous, Religious views of Adolph Hitler, en.wikipedia.org.
167. Rob Waugh, Does one “super-corporation” run the global economy? Study claims it could be terrifyingly unstable, Daily Mail, October 20,2011, wwwdailymail.co.uk.
168. Andra Brichacek, Six ways the media influence elections, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, www.journalism.uoregon.edu.
169. Michael Jensen, Musical chairs in business and government, The New York Times, May 12,1972, www.nytimes.com.
170. Alexander Light, These 13 families rule the world: the shadow forces behind the NWO, www.humansarefree.com.
171. See 170.
172. Fritz Springmeier, Bloodlines of the Illuminati, Pentracks Publications, LLC, 1999.
173. See 170
174. Zack Friedman, 78% of workers live paycheck to paycheck, Forbes Magazine, www.Forbes.com.
175. David Icke, The Biggest Secret, Bridge of Love Publications, USA, Scottsdale, Arizona,1999, page 455.
176. Art Moore, Pope calls for “new-world order” after coronavirus pandemic, World Net Daily, March 15, 2021, www.wnd.com.
178. Paul W. Syltie, The Bridge to Eden, Xulon Press, Maitland, Florida, 2016.
Footnotes to “The End-Time Prophecy Timeline”
1. The decree of Cyrus to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem is recorded in Ezra 1:1-4, 6:1-7, and Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1. Various dates have been assigned to this decree, and when Ezra traveled from Babylon to Jerusalem. Most scholars place the date as 458 BC. Yet, what is the real year of this decree? According to Rick Lanser of “The Daniel 9:24-27 Project,” Did Ezra Come to Jerusalem in 457 B.C.? (https://biblearchaeology. org/abr-projects-main/the-daniel-9-24-27-project-2/4549-did-ezra-come-to-jerusalem-in-457-bc),
“If Nehemiah is not using Persian reckoning, he must be using Jewish reckoning. Internal evidence (Nehemiah 13:6-7, for instance) suggests that the book was written in Jerusalem. Moreover, his choice of language (Hebrew), his careful recording of facts that he did not need to record for himself, and the actual survival of his book — all indicate that the purpose was to set down a history that would be read by Jewish posterity. Therefore, he computed the dates at the outset of his memoirs in terms of a regnal year beginning in Tishri. Many scholars have endorsed this conclusion.
“For these reasons I am not persuaded that a Persian regnal year, either Nisan-based or tied to variable accession months, should be assumed in understanding the dating of Nehemiah. Yet in the case of Haggi we cannot assume Tishri dating by the Jewish civil calendar either. The best, and Scripture-based, explanation appears to be that two different Jewish calendars — one civil and indicated by the use of Babylon-derived month-names, the other religious and indicated by the use of month-numbers typical of the calendar God gave the Jews at the first Passover — were behind the thinking of the different writers. From this, coupled with the likelihood that an interregnum meant Artaxerxes did not begin his accession year until after Tishri 1, 465 BC, I am driven to the conclusion that Ezra’s trip to Jerusalem took place in the spring of 457 BC. In this way we can accomodate what seems to be a Biblical requirement to understand the Seventy Weeks prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 as based on sabbatical years.”
Note that Rick Lanser’s conclusion that Ezra commenced his trip to Jerusalem in the spring of 457 BC correlates perfectly with my contention that …
(1) Jesus was born in the late winter or early spring of 4 B.C.
(2) Jesus’ baptism was just before the Passover of 27 AD (see the flow of events in John 1:29-51; and 2:1-13, where it is documented that there were not many days from Jesus’ baptism until the Passover. Jesus began his formal ministry at about age 30, which began after his baptism (Luke 3:21-23).
(3) After three years of ministry He was crucified, at Passover time in the spring of 30 AD (Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13 to 18).
2. The 70 weeks totals 490 days, or 490 prophetic years, each day for a year (Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:34. Daniel 9:24-25:
“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going fourth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah and Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.”
From 457 BC one is brought forward 490 years to 34 AD, when the gospel was preached to all nations, not to just the Israelites.
3. Sixty-nine weeks elapsed from 457 BC until the Messiah would come in power to preach the good tidings of the Kingdom of God (see Daniel 9:25 above). That brings one to 27 AD.
4. Christ was born most likely in the late winter or early spring of 4 BC. See Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, translated by William Whiston, Book 17, Chapter 6, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1970. Read Luke 2:6-7 for the birth of Jesus.
5. Christ was baptized by John (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:29-33).
6. Jesus was crucified at Passover time three years after he began His ministry (Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13 to 18). He was cut off in the “midst of the week” when He was to bring an end to sacrifice and offering … for He was the object of the sacrifices and offerings practiced all through the generations of Israel (Daniel 9:27). Midst is the Hebrew chetsiy, meaning “half, middle, midst, or part.” It does not have to mean exactly in the middle of something, but close to the half or middle, as when Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh when he said, “And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth” (Genesis 48:16). Similarly, the messages of Yahweh spoke to Moses from the midst of the bush (Exodus 3:2, 4), which was not exactly in the middle of the bush but near the center. Likewise, three years is near the center of a seven-day week.
7. The 70 weeks (490 years) from the decree of Cyrus to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem takes us to the spring of 34 AD. It was at this time that the Apostle Paul was converted and began to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God, and the resurrection of Christ to Israelites as well as to gentiles. This conversion is described in Acts 9:1-22, after the stoning of Stephen, to which Paul had consented (Acts 7:55-60). Most sources place the stoning of Stephen in 34 AD (Anonymous, Saint Stephen, September 13, 2011, www.bbc.co.uk; Anonymous, Saint Stephan, en.wikipedia.org), and the conversion of Paul that same year (Anonymous, Timeline of the Apostle Paul, Blue Letter Bible, www.blueletterbible.org). Some sources give a range of possible years, such as 33-36 AD (Janet Everts, The Apostle Paul and his Times: Christian history timeline, April, 2021, Christianity Today, www.christianitytoday.com).
8. See Daniel 12:7 and 14.
9. Five months = 150 days, or 150 prophetic years. See Revelation 9:1-11. Interestingly, a locust’s lifespan is about five months.
10. The Ottoman Empire. Hour, day, month, and year = 391 1/24 days = that many years.
11. The Seven Trumpets are discussed in Revelation 8, 9, and 11.
12. The Seven Seals are discussed in Revelation 6; the seventh Seal is in Revelation 8:1.
13. The Tribulation is a time of intense suffering during which the Seven Vials will be poured out. See Matthew 24:21-22.
14. See I Corinthians 15:51-52, I Thessalonians 4:15-17, and Matthew 24:30-31, all of which indicate the trumpet sound at the resurrection.
15. See Revelation 19:6-9. This is a vision of the marriage supper in heaven following the resurrection, and before the return of Christ and the saints to battle the beast and false prophet.
16. See Revelation 19:11-21. After this battle the devil and his demons are cast into the abyss, where they cannot influence civilization during the millennial reign of Christ and the saints (Revelation 20:1-3).
17. The Seven Vials are discussed in Revelation 16.
