Sabbath 19/9/32/120
Dear Friends,
This message follows on from the text explaining Revelation chapters 12 to 14 at:
http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Sabbath/2009/S_11_07_09.html;
and also the text explaining the sequence of Empires in Daniel chapters 2 and 5 at:
http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Sabbath/2009/NM_11_17_09.html
The other text of importance is the paper The Last Thirty Years the Final Struggle (No. 219).
Please read these messages and the paper before you go on to this message. This message explains the texts in Revelation from Chapters 12 to 14 which are explained in more detail and develop the sequences in Revelation chapters 15 to 19.
We are in the midst of these prophecies as was explained in the previous messages.
The texts of the previous three chapters deal with the sequence from another aspect. This next series deals with the same sequence from a different aspect.
Revelation 15
[1] Then I saw another portent in
heaven, great and wonderful, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the
last, for with them the wrath of God is ended. [2] And I saw what appeared to
be a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and
its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with
harps of God in their hands. [3] And they sing the song of Moses, the servant
of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and wonderful are thy
deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are thy ways, O King of the ages!
[4] Who shall not fear and glorify thy name, O Lord? For thou alone art holy.
All nations shall come and worship thee, for thy judgments have been
revealed."[5] After this I looked, and the temple of the tent of
witness in heaven was opened, [6] and out of the temple came the seven
angels with the seven plagues, robed in pure bright linen, and their breasts
girded with golden girdles. [7] And one of the four living creatures gave
the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives for ever
and ever; [8] and the temple was filled with
smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the
temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were ended.
Note that this sequence begins the wrath of God.
This sequence is actually after the First Resurrection
of the dead, which occurs at the return of the Messiah.
No one is able to enter the Temple until after the
plagues of the wrath of God are completed.
The First Resurrection is complete and the 144,000 and
the Great Multitude are resurrected and translated (see the paper The Resurrection of the Dead (No.
143)). The elect of this resurrection are thus kept from the moment of trial which is about to engulf the whole world.
The rest of the world is divided into two camps. The camps are of those who
took the mark of the Beast and those who did not but who were not part of the
elect of the First Resurrection. In other words, they were not baptized as
adults by the officers of the Church of God in sufficient time for the First
Resurrection. Most of the people who are aware of the problem of the mark of
the Beast do not know enough to be part of the elect who follow the
Commandments of God and the Testimony or Faith of Jesus Christ (Rev. 12:17;
14:12).
Most of the people who took the mark of the Beast were
those who had no understanding of the Bible and who disregarded what they were
told in the First Angel’s Message, which is the witness of the church of the
Last Days, and also by the witness of the Two Witnesses in Jerusalem over the
1260 days of their testimony (see the paper The Witnesses (including the Two
Witnesses) (No. 135)).
This sequence that follows is a totality of the
plagues that were the warnings of the Six Trumpets that preceded this sequence.
These people who enforced the mark of the
beast on all men are they that will truly suffer and die for what they did to
the people of the earth who would not follow them.
Firstly they are inflicted with the sores that came
from the marks they took and inflicted. Their idolatry is to be visited on
them. This commences even before the complete end of their system and the
arrival of the Messiah. They come under judgment from the Restoration of the
nexus of the law with the arrival of the Two Witnesses, one of whom is Elijah
who will restore all things. The only thing that we cannot restore and have not
restored is the “Nexus of the Law of God”.
The next sequence deals with the false religion they
set up and the environmental idolatry they worshipped contrary to the Laws of
God.
The seas die and all living matter in the seas die.
The very arguments they used to bring in their false system and the Empire of
the Beast are visited on their own heads.
The third vial ensures the waters of the earth are
turned to blood in memory of the saints that were killed by these
pseudo-religious imposters. The judgment of God is just, as it is God who
judges them.
The Fourth Angel causes the sun to heat and the Global
Warming they sought to use as a means of enslaving the earth will in turn be
used to punish them. There will be nothing they can do to stop it.
Revelation 16
[1] Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels,
"Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God." [2]
So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth, and foul and evil
sores came upon the men who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
[3] The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood
of a dead man, and every living thing died that was in the sea. [4] The third
angel poured his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of water, and they
became blood. [5] And I heard the angel of water say, "Just art thou in
these thy judgments, thou who art and wast, O Holy One. [6] For men have shed
the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink. It
is their due!" [7] And I heard the altar cry, "Yea, Lord God the
Almighty, true and just are thy judgments!" [8] The fourth angel poured
his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch men with fire; [9] men were
scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over
these plagues, and they did not repent and give him glory.
Even after this they do not repent and turn to God
although they are given the opportunity to do so.
Then the Fifth Angel dealt directly with the World
Government of the so-called New World Order, which had been given power by
Satan to rule the world and to persecute the elect of God. They were in pain
and anguish yet even then did not repent. God is allowing them to see the
consequences and to bring them to repentance and yet they do not repent. It is
this sequence that sees the King of the North destroyed and its religious
system destroyed with it.
[10] The fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast, and
its kingdom was in darkness; men gnawed their tongues in anguish [11] and
cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores, and did not repent of their
deeds.
Then the Sixth Angel is allowed to prepare the way for
the kings from the East. The Northern system is being destroyed and then the
remaining kings of the earth are brought down to Megiddo to be destroyed and
rid the earth of their evil destruction.
[12] The sixth angel poured his bowl on the great river Euphra'tes, and
its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.
During this last phase the demonic Host is allowed to
marshal the entire world to bring its armies down to destruction. They do this
by signs and lying wonders and the people of the earth follow them because they
want to be deceived by them. The three foul spirits like frogs are the lying
spirits that control the Beast and also the False Prophet and false prophecy.
The Beast is the final system of government which is
the supranational World Order. The false prophet and the false religious system
that leads them are Babylon and the Religious system that controls it. We will
deal with this aspect in the following chapters. This sequence is immediately
prior to the arrival of the Messiah
[13] And I saw, issuing from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth
of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet, three foul spirits like
frogs; [14] for they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to
the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of
God the Almighty.
This is the Battle of Armageddon. The Messiah
comes and brings all men down to Megiddo to destroy their armies and their
power base.
Here Messiah announces the coming and then the
assembly. He first deals with the Antichrist and the False Prophet at his
coming. He then resurrects the elect, as we saw in Revelation chapter 7, with
the 144,000 and the Great Multitude represented by the evening sacrifices.
[15] ("Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake,
keeping his garments that he may not go naked and be seen exposed!")
The Empire of the King of the North is plunged into
darkness and pain over the period of prophecy of the Witnesses even though it
endures and overcomes them and ultimately kills them.
The First Angel’s Message has already occurred and
Babylon the mother of harlots is in its last throws. The Beast turns on the
whore and destroys it because the Dragon that empowers the Beast hates the
whore even though it is a product of his own evil design. He had to keep some
similarity to a religion to ensure that it survived and deceived the whole
world. In the Last Days it is such that if it were possible the system would deceive
even the very elect. We will explain this in the later sections.
The King of the North now comes to an end with none to
help him as foretold by the prophet Daniel. The empire of ten toes has overcome
the saints and Christ arrives to save those who eagerly await him.
The First Resurrection occurs and then the Kings of
the East are brought into Megiddo and then the whole world is brought into
captivity and Christ takes captivity captive. He who is to go into captivity to
captivity he goes and he who kills with the sword by the sword must he be
killed.
[16] And they assembled them at the place which is called in Hebrew
Armaged'don. [17] The seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud
voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, "It is done!"
[18] And there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, and a
great earthquake such as had never been since men were on the earth, so great
was that earthquake. [19] The great city was split into three parts, and
the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered great Babylon, to make her
drain the cup of the fury of his wrath. [20] And every island fled away,
and no mountains were to be found; [21] and great hailstones, heavy as a
hundred-weight, dropped on men from heaven, till men cursed God for the plague
of the hail, so fearful was that plague.
Thus the Battle of Armageddon is followed by the
destruction and splitting in three parts of the city and surrounds of Zion. The
great earthquake has split the Mount of Olives and the complete movement of the
Jordanian fault and the Rift systems are split.
The destruction of the priesthood of the whore has
occurred but now the entire system is to be systematically destroyed by the
resurrected saints under Jesus Christ. Rome is obliterated and every single
building of its religious system is to be destroyed.
The sequence of the destruction of the Great Whore is
then explained for the benefit of John and the reader. It has already started
sometime earlier in the sequence but the precise nature and sequence of its
destruction has to be explained.
The sequence is as follows:
Revelation 17
[1] Then one of the seven angels who had the seven
bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the
great harlot who is seated upon many waters, [2] with whom the kings of the
earth have committed fornication, and with the wine of whose fornication the
dwellers on earth have become drunk."
The great harlot seated upon many waters is the
religious system that ruled the earth from Babylon down to Rome. These were the
empires explained in Daniel chapter 2. The head of gold was Babylon, and then
the Medes and Persians succeeded to their authority as the torso and arms of
silver. The body of bronze represented the Greeks who split into four divisions
and the thighs of bronze in east and west. The Roman system was of the legs of
iron that was ruthless in its military might. It ruled in two divisions of east and west. There can be no debate about
who these empires represented as God explained them through Daniel. The feet of iron and miry clay represented
another empire based on Rome resembled by the iron in the feet but also of clay
representing the other nations bound together but weak in its affiliations.
There is only one church system that inherited the Roman religious system taken
over from the Babylonians and that was the religion that was located at Rome
and based on the religious systems of east and west embracing its doctrines and
the calendar of the mystery and sun cults. The system of the Triune God was
located at Rome based on Jupiter and Juno and the Minerva or perpetual virgin.
It had taken over the Baal system of Attis in Rome with Rhea or Cybele and of
Adonis in the east. In Canaan it was as Baal and Ashtoreth and in Egypt it was
Osiris and Isis with the child Horus.
This empire was created in 590 CE by Pope Gregory
(called Great) and lasted until 1850 CE or 1260 years. Any pretence of a
military arm was finally disbanded by 1872. From 1872 this religious system
plotted with the powers of Europe to re-establish its system.
Two world wars were fought to re-establish it and in
the Last Days the final Empire of the ten toes of iron and clay will come
together. Many people have been misled by the fact that this empire which is
the eighth but is of the seven and goes into perdition with it is of a group of
ten nations represented by ten kings. That is a complete misunderstanding of
the nature of this Beast.
These ten kings that rule this Beast are a
supra-national system. The ten toes represent a parliament that has all power
given to it by the whole world. The closest example to it was the five Alcvin
twins that ruled the old Germanic parliament of the “Thing.” The toes represent
two of each of the five sets of the twins that decided the fate of the tribes.
This last government by a totally unrepresentative parliament not based on any
system of democratic or national representation is now being established and we
will explain how it will happen and how it will be destroyed. The whore will
seek to ride this Beast but will be destroyed by it. Christ will return as the
stone uncut by human hands to destroy this system. Daniel records that it is
struck on the toes and the entire edifice falls. He will then establish a
kingdom that will last forever and the saints will rule with him.
The stage for this last battle, firstly of the kings
of the North and South and the removal of the power of the nations, was set
with Babylon. The seven times began in 605 BCE from the Battle of Carchemish. Egypt
established independence forty years later, and the second arm of forty years
was ended with the invasion by Cambyses in 525 BCE. This important prophecy is
outlined in the paper The Fall of Egypt: The Prophecy of Pharaohs Broken Arms (No. 36). The “Seven Times” of 2520 years of
this prophecy ended with the period from 1916 with the major battles of WWI.
The eighty years to the end of the time of the Gentiles, or the nations, was in
1996. The restoration of Egypt as the king of the South was in 1956 with the
Suez Crisis.
The reorganisation of the Roman system as the King of
the North, based on a union of Northern powers, was with the treaty in 1956 with then the Club (1968) of
Rome. That decision was to commence the post-national New World Order. The
ground work was commenced but it was not allowed to come into power until 1997
after the Times of the Gentiles or nations were complete.
[3] And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. [4] The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and bedecked with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; [5] and on her forehead was written a name of mystery: "Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earth's abominations." [6] And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her I marveled greatly. [7] But the angel said to me, "Why marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. [8] The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to perdition; and the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will marvel to behold the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. [9] This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; [10] they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while.
This Beast is an eighth but it belongs to the empires
and systems preceding it. WWI and WWII were the last of the systems ruled by
the Triune priesthood. They tried to exterminate the seed of the woman both
physical and spiritual Israelite and they failed. However, they did exterminate
tens of millions of people. The bizarre twist is that they used half Jews to do
it both in Hitler and in Stalin.
The ten kings that are “not yet” receive power with
the Beast for one hour. A prophetic hour has a few alternatives. A prophetic
day is a year divided into 12 which is one month. Divided by 24 it is two
weeks. The nightmare scenario is a day for a thousand years which would mean
41.6 years for the duration of its rule. The Last Generation commenced in 1987
and ends in 2027 and thus we can assume that the power of the Beast is not that
long.
[11] As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it
belongs to the seven, and it goes to perdition. [12]
And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal
power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with
the beast.
These kings are of one mind and they give over their
power and authority to the Beast. Now what group of kings rules the whole world
and causes their power to be given over to this Beast of the Last Days?
[13] These are of one mind and give over their power and authority to
the beast; [14] they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them,
for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and
chosen and faithful."
So this union of nations in the Last Days makes war on
the Lamb and the Lamb makes war on these people and overcomes them and conquers
them with the “called and chosen and faithful”. These are the elect of the
First Resurrection. The text then proceeds to explain the Harlot and what it
does and how it rules and then explains what is to happen to it.
Note that the Beast and the nations hate the harlot
and are instrumental in its destruction. Note that God is in complete control
and allows the Beast to turn on the harlot so that the prophecies of God, as
declared in the pages of the Bible, are fulfilled. Scripture cannot be broken
(Jn 10:35).
[15] And he said to me, "The waters that you saw,
where the harlot is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.
[16] And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the harlot;
they will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up
with fire, [17] for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his
purpose by being of one mind and giving over their royal power to the beast,
until the words of God shall be fulfilled. [18] And the woman that you saw is
the great city which has dominion over the kings of the earth."
We will now explain how this system will occur in the
Last Days and how God will bring about His will using those opposed to Him and
His Law. The next chapter regresses to the pronouncement of judgment on the
great religious whore that committed fornication with the kings of the earth
and persecuted the saints of the Churches of God.
Revelation 18
[1] After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority; and the earth was made bright with his splendor. [2] And he called out with a mighty voice, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! It has become a dwelling place of demons, a haunt of every foul spirit, a haunt of every foul and hateful bird; [3] for all nations have drunk the wine of her impure passion, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich with the wealth of her wantonness." [4] Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; [5] for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. [6] Render to her as she herself has rendered, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double draught for her in the cup she mixed. [7] As she glorified herself and played the wanton,so give her a like measure of torment and mourning. Since in her heart she says, `A queen I sit, I am no widow, mourning I shall never see,' [8] so shall her plagues come in a single day, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she shall be burned with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who judges her."
So we see that it is the very people that were subject
to this religious system that used its power to manipulate the kings of the
earth that turn on it and destroy it. There is only one religious system that
fits this prophecy and that is the great woman of the Sun cults that has
perverted the Commandments of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ and is
drunk on the blood of the saints. That is the Trinitarian Church that is based
on the city of seven hills and from which were sprung many harlot daughters
that embrace the Triune God as its identifier. That is why, to be recognised as
one of its people, you have to be a Trinitarian and embrace its false doctrine
and its days of worship. The Adventists think that because they became Trinitarians
for recognition but still keep the Sabbath that they are not going to be
punished for all their sins. They are deluding themselves. They above all keep
the doctrines of demons of the Last Days teaching to abstain from meats that
God meant to be eaten with thanksgiving.
This religious system of Mystery Babylon is supporting
the final consolidation of the empire of the Beast thinking that they will
control it and destroy the seed of the woman which is the inheritance of the
Messiah.
Only when the Beast turns finally on the whore and
destroys that church and all her harlot daughters that the kings realise what
they are faced with and how prophecy is unfolding. These kings will have seen
the heavenly signs and only too late realise that the Antichrist and False
Prophet are part of this Beast system and Satan’s pawns. For them it will then
be too late, as it will be for everyone that was duped by them.
[9] And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and were wanton with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning; [10] they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, "Alas! alas! thou great city, thou mighty city, Babylon! In one hour has thy judgment come." [11] And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo any more, [12] cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, [13] cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls. [14] "The fruit for which thy soul longed has gone from thee, and all thy dainties and thy splendor are lost to thee, never to be found again!" [15] The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud, [16] "Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, bedecked with gold, with jewels, and with pearls! [17] In one hour all this wealth has been laid waste." And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off [18] and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, "What city was like the great city?" [19] And they threw dust on their heads, as they wept and mourned, crying out, "Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! In one hour she has been laid waste.
Note that the entire trade system is bound up with her
and the merchants and the rulers of the earth mourn over her. Remember that the
people who took the mark of the Beast, and the only ones who had the funds to
buy their merchandise, are now dying in agony and every one of their religious
system is dying. The ones who repented and did not take the mark are not part
of the system anymore and thus their corporate structure is doomed and they are
powerless to do anything about it. They cannot enter the city because it is
destroyed and polluted and will remain forever desolate. This is not just
confined to the city of Rome, which formed the basis of the treaty of Rome in
1956 and onwards, but also the cities that are the centre of her power and
trade that remained before her destruction. She conspired to destroy the other
centres of commerce and the nations that contained the seed of the woman which
is the US and the British Commonwealth and Western Europe. As she conspired so
was she judged and these punishments were visited on her head.
[20] Rejoice over her, O heaven, O saints and apostles
and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!" [21] Then a
mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea,
saying, "So shall Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and
shall be found no more; [22] and the sound of harpers and minstrels, of flute
players and trumpeters, shall be heard in thee no more; and a craftsman of any
craft shall be found in thee no more; and the sound of the millstone shall be
heard in thee no more; [23] and the light of a lamp shall shine in thee no
more; and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall be heard in thee no more; for
thy merchants were the great men of the earth, and all nations were deceived by
thy sorcery. [24] And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and
of all who have been slain on earth."
This whore that thought herself the true and righteous
body of Christ and who killed the saints and the apostles and prophets and
maintained the Roman curial system of the Babylonian Mysteries against the Laws
of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ is judged and the elect are given
judgment against her. This religious system was responsible for the entire wars
of the false religious system as it unfolded throughout the world. It will not
die quietly. It will be thrown down with violence and the city that has played
host to it will also be thrown down with violence, as will its system of power
throughout the world. It will be destroyed by fire and nothing will inhabit it
again.
The reason in modern days is obvious. It will be
destroyed by nuclear blast, as will many other centres of the system that it
set up in trade.
After this event and the fall of great Babylon we see
then that the Marriage Supper of the Lamb has come. Its destruction comes in
one hour. At the very most that could be over a month period on a prophetic
basis but it is also quite probable that we are looking at a literal hour. For
the Resurrection that leads to the Marriage Super of the Lamb is commenced by
the voice of the archangel that resurrects the Two Witnesses from the dead (see
the papers Trumpets (No. 136) and
the paper The Witnesses (including the Two
Witnesses) (No. 135)).
Thus we see that these texts are explanatory of a
sequence that deals systematically and thoroughly with the removal of the
earth’s powers under Satan and of the entire fallen Host and all that it stood
for and all that it worshipped.
Revelation 19
[1] After this I heard what seemed to be the loud
voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying, "Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, [2] for his judgments are true
and just; he has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her
fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants." [3]
Once more they cried, "Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and
ever." [4] And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell
down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying, "Amen.
Hallelujah!" [5] And from the throne came a voice crying, "Praise our
God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great." [6] Then I
heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many
waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying, "Hallelujah! For
the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. [7] Let us rejoice and exult and give him
the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made
herself ready; [8] it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and
pure" -- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. [9] And
the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to
the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are true
words of God." [10] Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he
said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your
brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God." For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. [11] Then I saw
heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful
and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes
war. [12] His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems;
and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. [13] He is clad in
a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
[14] And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed
him on white horses. [15] From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to
smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the
wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. [16] On his robe and
on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings
and Lord of lords. [17] Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a
loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, "Come, gather
for the great supper of God, [18] to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of
captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and
the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great."
[19] And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies
gathered to make war against him who sits upon the horse and against his army.
[20] And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in
its presence had worked the signs by which he deceived those who had received
the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown
alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. [21] And the rest were
slain by the sword of him who sits upon the horse, the sword that
issues from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
So we ask the
question: How did this come about and how did the world give its power over to
this Beast and allow it to destroy so many people and so much of the creation?
How does it all unfold?
We will now explain exactly how it all comes about.
Wade Cox
Coordinator General