The Trumpet Sound

The Trumpet Sound
By Abraham Israel

Seven angels sounding the trumpets are the prophetic voice though the prophets who will bring these catastrophes to the earth. It is a warning to the earth dwellers to repent and look to God, instead of looking to the anti-christ and his flattery which will make them reject God and will make them worship Satan openly.

Trumpet in the scripture always speaks about the word of warning which the prophets spoke in Gods Name, So that if people heed it, destruction will be averted (Amos 3:6-8; 1 Corinthians 14:8; Numbers 29:1; Joshua 6:4-5,16; 6:20; 2 Chronicles 29:26; Hosea 8:1; Joel 2:1; Jeremiah 4:5,6; Numbers 10:1-10; Ezekiel 33:3-7; Zech 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:11).

It is appointed for man once to die after this the judgment (Heb 9:27). According to this word every man born in this planet earth must die once and this has been appointed by God. And we know that God never breaks His word (Malachi 3:6). Even if God breaks His word only once, His whole word becomes a lie that cannot be trusted. But God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19; James 2:10). But in the Bible we can see only two persons were taken up into heaven [sheol or paradise in the Old Testament], without ever seeing death. They were both prophets in the Old Testament, specially used to declare about the coming of the Lord and to testify and demonstrate the power of God and to challenge Satan and his demonic world face to face. Both of them did not see death (Heb 11:5; Jude 14; 2Kings 2:1, 9, 11, 16, 18; 1 Kings 18:36-39).They were both taken in to heaven and both of them did not see death. One is Elijah and the other is Enoch.

Death is a spirit that comes upon every man at the moment he becomes ready to leave the earthly body, to torment them as a sign of judgment and control over their fleshly body. Because of sin, the spirit of death has authority over the natural body. So only Paul in 1 Corinthians spoke about the victory that Jesus had over death, by getting resurrected in a brand new body, perfect in holiness and glory over which Satan has no control. It has been swallowed up. In other words, it has been defeated (1 Corinthians 15:54-57; Rev 1:18; Romans 6:9, 23).

If death is not a spirit which has personality, how can it have dominion? (Rom 6:9). If death is not a spirit which controls Hades [Unseen realm] in Satan’s kingdom why should it be thrown in to the lake of fire? (Rev 20:13-15). If death is not a spirit which has personality how can it be judged? Hades is the place where under the spirit of death, a lot of other demon spirits control the area under the sovereignty of God. If Death is not a personality with understanding, how can Hades[demons under its subjection] follow with him [here a personal pronoun is used for Death implying it as a personality], how can it be given power over a fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth (Rev 6:8). If it is not a personality how can both death and Hades deliver up the dead, if it does not have control over it in the unseen realm? (Rev 20:13-15). And Satan works as the king of this unseen realm and death. He is the instructor whose instruction these spirits fulfill in the bottomless pit in the unseen realm (Rev 9:11). So only Satan is called as Destruction [Abaddon.Heb] and Destroyer [Appollyon.Greek]. His very intention is to steal, kill and destroy because of his jealousy over mankind (John10:10). If death does not have mind, will and emotion to act and move, why should the Bible say, “….And to God the Lord belong escapes from death.”(Psalm 68:20).
In other words death pursues every man to make him die. And why should God help people to escape from death continually [Note the plurality of language: escapes].
But now Christ holds the authority over the spirit of death and Hades because through His death and resurrection he has dismantled the authority structure which has been completely held by Satan before (Rev 1:18; Col 2:14-15).

My question to you is, ‘How can God break His word by exclusively taking these two prophets without seeing death?’, Does the word of God have discrepancy in truth proclaimed?

The answer is No. But in the word of God it is mentioned that these two prophets are specially chosen by God as the sons of fresh oil or anointed ones who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth (Zech 4:14).

If we ask ourselves the question, what for these two anointed ones stand loaded with fresh oil beside the Lord of the whole earth? Who are these two anointed ones?
These two are standing very close or next to the Lord because they are ready to come back to the earth and fulfill the rest of the God’s plan for them in their life. In other words they are ready to die and return back to heaven. Lamp stands refer to the church and Lamp stand refers to Israel as a nation (Rev 1:12-13; Zech 4:2; Exodus 25:31-40; Heb 9:1-2). These two are symbolically represented as two olive tree standing at the left and right side of the lamp stand which is the nation of Israel. Olive tree represents the origin of these two prophets as from Israel (Romans 11:24-27, 17; Jeremiah 11:10, 16). These prophets are the olive trees or anointed ones who were shown as having two branches that drip in to the container of the two golden pipes from which the golden oil [i.e. purity of the Spirit] flows away (Zech 4:11-12).

These are the same two prophets who will come to witness to the anti-christ and the whole earth for 1260 days clothed in sack cloth to show their deep concern and sorrow for the destruction that is going to come upon the people of Israel who were having Anti-christ as their messiah and for the whole earth which is worshipping Anti-christ as God. They are waiting and standing before the Lord of the whole earth to return back to the earth (Rev 11:4). Elijah and Enoch will be resuscitated [breathed life in to them] in their natural bodies by the super natural power of God. They will be sent from heaven only for this limited period of time (Rev 11:3). They will absolutely demonstrate the supernatural power of God in a sovereign way to make people repent. Whenever the enemies of the prophets try to harm them, they will be destroyed by fire when the two prophets speak out judgment against them (Rev 11:5; 1 Kings 1:10, 12). Here fire represents God’s judgment upon the enemies of these prophets (Amos 1:7, 10, 12; 2:2, 5).

The days that they will spend here on earth will be the days of Prophecy [trumpet] and these will have power to shut heavens [to cause drought], will have power over waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. These events will happen just as when Moses did before pharaoh in Egypt and Elijah shut the heavens in confrontation with Ahab, when he was here on earth before the Lord took him (Rev 11:6; 1 Kings 17:1; 18:1; Exodus 7:14-11:10).

These are the list of plagues that haunted Egypt,

1. Waters become blood.
2. Frogs [Smiting the territory with frogs].
3. Lice [The dust of the land becomes lice].
4. Flies [Swarm of flies on people].
5. Livestock diseased [Pestilence].
6. Boils [Boils that break out in sores on man and beast].
7. Hail [Hail rained down].
8. Locusts [Locusts eats all the herbs and fruits].
9. Darkness [They were not able to see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days].
10.Death of the First born.

In the Bible God foretold that Elijah will be sent from heaven before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. The day of the Lord is when the wicked will become like stubble [short stiff pieces left in the fields after corn, wheat, etc has been cut]. The day of the Lord will burn them up (Malachi 4:1, 5-6). Elijah will come and try to turn the heart of Israelites toward their true God and all the people of the earth towards God.

The Jews even before 2000 years, when Jesus Christ came the first time to die for their sins, they looked to this prophecy and got confused and thought Elijah will literally come and only after he comes, Messiah will come and defeat Romans [their enemy at that time] and will rule the earth from Jerusalem. But they were mistaken. As the spirit of Elijah rested upon Elisha in double portion (2 Kings 2:9-10, 15), so also John the Baptist also came in the imparted spirit capacity and power of Elijah. So only Jesus said to the people listening to Him,‘ If you are willing to take John is Elijah who is to come.’ In other words he was saying to them, if you can understand spiritually, John has come in the Spirit measure of Elijah (Matt 11:7-15; Luke 1:76-80; Luke 7:24-35; 20:2-8; Matt 16:13-14).

When Jesus told Peter, James and John not to tell the vision of transfiguration that happened on a high mountain to no one until resurrection, the disciples were perplexed and confused seeing Elijah and Moses in the spirit appearing just moments before. So they asked Jesus this question, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”(Matt 17:1-10). Jesus answered and affirmed their belief [i.e. scribes belief] that Elijah is coming and will restore all things.

In other words he was saying to them, ‘See Elijah is coming in his very physical body before my second coming, but at my first coming Elijah has already come in the spirit and power of Elijah [i.e. John the Baptist] and people have killed him. Just as they did to John the Baptist so also will they do to me because it is my first coming.’ The disciples had the spiritual understanding to know that he was speaking about John the Baptist as Elijah spiritually (Matt 17:11-13; 14:1-13; Luke 1:15-17; Mark 9:11-13). As we have seen from the scripture, Elijah will come physically before the second coming as Jesus affirmed and Enoch will come along with him because both of them never faced death and will literally come back physically in flesh.
The other evidence that they will come back with their literal physical body is because in Revelation 11:7, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit [Satan] will use his authority through the anti-christ and will kill these two prophets sent from heaven (Rev 13:2-5,7). If they had come in their glorious resurrected body, they could not be killed (Luke 24:37-43; John 20:19, 20, 26).

Their bodies will lie in the street of Jerusalem and it will be telecasted live to the whole world by anti-christ who will be controlling air waves under his authority. This scene will be watched in television, mobile handset television, internet, etc. They will watch this for three and half days and will not allow people to put their body in the graves (Rev 11:8-9). Many will rejoice and celebrate it as a festival along with anti-christ because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on earth for rejecting God and following anti-christ (Rev 13:3-5; 11:10). Because anti-christ has killed these prophets, they will worship Satan openly, who gave his authority to anti-christ through which he killed the prophets.

These prophets who were killed, suddenly after three and half days, the breath of life from God will enter them and they will stand on their feet. This also will be seen by the whole world and great fear will fall on those who see them alive. This is because they will rise up in their glorious eternal bodies (Rev 11:11). They [the two prophets] will after this hear a loud voice from heaven saying, “Come up here”. And they will ascend to heaven in a cloud and their enemies will see them. If they still had their natural physical body they will not be able to ascend in to heaven in a cloud as Jesus had ascended. There the disciples saw them ascend into heaven and here their [the two prophets] enemies will see it (Rev 11:12; Acts 1:9-11).

The physical is designed only to live in this earth and die in this earth. With it nobody can live outside earth naturally without any change. Only after one’s death, at the appointed time of resurrection the people will be changed and will have the glorious God designed body (1 Corinthians 15:35-40; Heb 9:27). The earthly body is made of dust and is corruptible, the heavenly body will be made of heavenly material and is incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:40, 47, 42).

The image or appearance of us now is in the image pattern of our forefather Adam who was the first man in the image of the man of the dust. Likewise, we shall be in the image pattern of the heavenly man who is the second man with a heavenly image and materiality (1 Corinthians 15:47-49), who was not created like the first man but is the Lord who came from heaven. He was the first man to become a second man. For every human being, born naturally is the first in sequence and born spiritually in a glorious body during the resurrection is the second in sequence (1 Corinthians 15:46). This is the spiritual body with the heavenly glory and power (1 Corinthians 15:43, 44).

The first Adam became a man who had the capacity to procreate life or living being. The last Adam [Jesus Christ] became a life giving spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45). Just as the first Adam had the sperm of earthly life in him to procreate another living being through procreation, the last Adam had the sperm of heavenly life in Him to procreate many other spiritual being like Him in His image (1 Cor 15:49). Ever since He came to this earth, He has lived for this purpose and died for this purpose and purpose alone.

The spirit of Anti-christ

The spirit of Anti-christ
By Abraham Israel

Most of the end time events will not be driven by human intelligence or human efforts, but it will be strongly driven by the spirit influence of the heavenlies, in executing events even up to the battle of Armageddon. This is when Christ will step in to this planet earth to save it from self-destruction. If we turn to the Bible to find the truth about the end time events, normally the first thing that people notice with their human perception is to see it with their focus on a single man who is named as “the man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

This man is called as the Anti-christ because Christ came to fulfill the Law of God through the empowerment of God’s Spirit (Matt 5:17; Luke 4:16-21), but this man will come to break the commandments of God from the greatest to the least empowered by the spirit of lawlessness which is Satan himself who is the chief of it (2 Thessalonians 2:3; Genesis 3:15). And the Bible also affirms this fact by saying that, “the coming of the Anti-christ [lawless one] will be [is] according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders….” (2 Thessalonians 2:9). This Anti-christ is also referred in the Book of Daniel 11:36 as the king [man with authority] with particular noticeable character traits such as those described below,

(i) He will do according to his own will [self-will (Proverbs 18:1)],

(ii) He will exalt and magnify himself above every god [pride (1 Peter 5:5)],

(iii) He will speak blasphemies against the God of gods (2 Thess 2:4; Rev 13:4-6; Dan 7:8) [despiser of God (Prov 14:2)],

(iv) He shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished [walker of the deceitful way of Satan (Prov 14:12)],

(v) In Rev 13:4, we notice that it is Satan who will be giving his authority to Anti-christ, in exchange for the worship that Satan will receive through Anti-christ from the whole of humankind. The Anti-christ will act as a fully surrendered vessel of Satan, knowingly he will sell his soul to Satan in exchange for his power and authority. This is the same power and authority that Satan promised to give Jesus if He will fall before him and worship him, but Jesus rejected this deceitful offer of Satan openly (Luke 4:5-8). The Anti-christ will be a normal man empowered by Satan himself.

The other things that Anti-christ will do is,

(i) He shall neither regard the God of his father’s [i.e. he must be of a Christian lineage].

(ii) He shall not regard the desire of women [i.e. population control, birth control through strict abortion law, one family no child policy, marriage without covenant (i.e. live-in relationship) and polygamous relationship].

(iii) He shall not regard any god.

(iv) He shall exalt himself above them all (Daniel 11:37).

(v) But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses [an eastern god which is nothing but an idol in which Satan himself will reside to be worshipped]; and a god which his fathers did not know [because they must have worshipped the true God as an Assyrian Christian (Is 14:25; Dan 11:37)] he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things which is a custom of eastern idolatrous religion of China, India, etc… (Dan 11:38; Rev 9:20-21; Deut 31:29; 1 Cor 10:20; Dan 5:23).

(vi) He shall act against the strongest fortresses [nation of Israel and its allies] with a foreign god [i.e. a god foreign to him and also to the nation of Israel], which Anti-christ shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them [i.e. pagan gods] to rule over many [i.e. nations which followed the living and the true God], and divide the land [the land points to the land of Israel and also the whole planet earth in general] for gain [economic gain will be the driving force of co-operation for the emergence of the one world government with one world leader] (Dan 11:39).

(vii) As the Bible says “the lawless one [Anti-christ]…. [will work] according to the working of Satan, with all power [because then the saints shall be given in to his hand for a period of three and half years (Dan 7:25)], signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish…..[being unsaved]” (2 Thess 2:9-10).

(viii) The spirit of Anti-christ is nothing but Satan and his evil cohorts because the Bible says, “every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh…is the spirit of Anti-christ, which you have heard was coming [when? Exactly at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, to make Him disobey His Father’s commandments and to kill Jesus Christ physically if He cannot be killed spiritually (John 14:30-31)], and is now already in the world [why? Because they were all thrown out of the place of absolute authority over this planet earth (Job 1:7; 2:2; John 12:31-33)].” (1 John 4:3-4). In other words all the spirits that does not submit to the authority of Jesus Christ, and those who do not want to obey His word will all come under the category of the “spirit of the Anti-christ” (1 John 4:3).

(ix) Anti-christ is not a illusionary character or a fable that the Bible indicates, but is a unique person who will open his spirit in such a way to Satan, that he will become the first human person to openly challenge Christ to fight Him in a war (2 Thess 2:8; Rev 13:4-10; 16:10-11; 19:19-21). Apostle John spoke about this person of Anti-christ as the one who is coming. Even though he said many anti-christs have come already during his time in the first century itself, yet undeniably he was pointing to a single person as Anti-christ who is coming. Because these things were happening even during those times, hence Apostle John said these events give us a clear evidence that it is the last hour. If we ask the question in what way it is the last hour? The answer is, it is the last hour for every human being to make a choice to accept Christ as the one who has come in the flesh or reject Him and deny this fact to become a part of the spirit of Anti-christ (1 John 2:18; 4:2-3,4).

(x) The other important thing to understand is, the world [i.e. the world system of governance] is at present is highly influenced and directed by this spirit of Anti-christ, hence the voice of the world system of governance is the voice of the spirit of Anti-christ (1 John 4:5).

(xi) Those who are of the world will not like to know God or hear His apostolic messengers because of the strong influence of these spirits of Anti-christ. They will only like to hear those things that come from the source of the spirit of Anti-christ, because they will be accustomed in hearing its voice. By this we can know any person whether he is on God’s side or not. In other words recognizing the above characteristics in a person, we can easily find out whether that particular person is of the Spirit of truth [i.e. Holy Spirit and all the God’s angelic spirits] or the spirit of error [i.e. Satan’s spirit and all His cohorts of evil demonic and angelic spirit’s (Luke 8:2)].

The Rise of Anti-christ

The Rise of Anti-christ
By Abraham Israel

The Bible says that the city of Jerusalem and the temple sanctuary will be destroyed by the people of the prince [Romans] who is to come [Anti-christ]. The first event of destruction has happened as written in the book of Daniel before nearly 2000 years ago. But this verse has also connected the Anti-christ [prince who is to come] to it. And from this we can understand that the End Time events will have the city of Jerusalem and the temple that is going to be built in the coming years will play a major role in the End Time events. The Bible says there will be emptiness and sadness that will continue till the end of the war that is waged by the Jewish people for controlling Jerusalem inside-out with the sanctuary. This will happen only when Jesus Christ comes back to the earth. Until then the Jews who are in Israel will try their best to make it happen. Their only aim now will be to build the temple back on its place and still then the outer court area will be occupied by Gentiles as said in the Bible (Daniel 9:26; Rev 11:1-2).

The Gentiles will fully crush and destroy the city of Jerusalem for three and half years [42 months] underfoot. This will happen during the time when Anti-christ will sit in the temple showing himself that he is God (2 Thess 2:3-4).

But if we ask the question how did he occupy the temple with out the Jews letting him in or accepting him as their leader and messiah?
The Bible says that the Anti-christ will deceitfully confirm a covenant with Israel, with the consent of many nations using his influence. Because of this, the Israelites will believe him to be the messiah who is to come and will honor him by letting him take the seat of the messiah in the temple (Dan 9:27; Matt 24:5; John 5:43).

Before this time period only as the Bible describes there will be wars, rumors of wars and the Bible affirms the end is not yet [Ex: I and II World wars, after that rumors of a third World war]. But after these wars and rumors of wars, nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom in reality. During these times, there will be famines, pestilences and earth quakes in various places around the world in a greater intensity than all the millenniums that has passed by [Last 50 Years]. When these things start to happen, the Bible says sorrows of the End Time have already begun.

Once these sorrows begin, resistance against the preaching of the Gospel will increase. All the nations will start hating Christians because lawlessness will become a lifestyle and there will be no love between human beings because of selfishness. During the loveless times many false prophets will rise up and deceive many Christians. Many Christians will do things against their own feeling of what is morally right and because of indulging in its [fleshly] lust, will betray or stop supporting their beliefs and principles in order get power and avoid trouble.

They who indulge in the lust of the end times will betray their covenant with their family [wife and children], church [God] and community [friends]. They will hate others who walk in the uprightness of heart. But those who continue to hate evil and walk against the tide of lawlessness and lovelessness will be delivered from eternal destruction.

The Great News is that during these times [the time in which we now live], the gospel will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations. These things are happening right now with God raising up many ministries to preach the Gospel with miracles, signs and wonders in every nation. The Gospel is also preached through television, Internet and mobile television [coming shortly] and all other mediums like books, CD’s, DVD’s and news magazines. And the Bible promises when it is fully done, the end will come. Or in other words, it will be time for the Anti-christ to appear. God is restraining the events because of His mercies (Matt 24:3-14).

What ever we have seen until now is the sign of the coming of Jesus Christ. But the appearance of the Anti-christ indicates the end of the age of the Gentiles, which started with the time of Egypt to the time of Anti-christ, who will come out of the Revised [not Revived] coalition of the Roman Empire. Anti-christ will take complete authority over the Revised Empire of democracy. And Anti-christ will give authority to the leaders of the coalition to reign as kings in complete authority over their countries with Anti-christ. Because of his flattery they will give their power and authority to the Empire under Anti-christ (Revelation 17:10-13; Daniel 11:32).

As we have seen those who know their God and those who keep the New Covenant will be strong and do great exploits. They shall instruct many other people about the seriousness of the time of the end in which the wrath of God will appear. Serious opposition and persecution will be faced by these true Christians. When they fall in to these trials of persecution, they will be aided with a little help from God to come out of it as during the first century (Acts 5:17-21; 12:2,5-11; 16:25-34). Many will try to join the true Christians by flattery and will betray them in to the hands of their persecutors. This will happen until the time of the end, which is the appointed time of seven year period (Daniel 9:27). Here we can understand that Anti-christ have been influencing the world not just 7 years, but years ahead itself he has started to corrupt people with his flattery and day by day the world is joining him. His hate will be towards Christ and Christians, right from the starting time of his (Daniel 11:32-35). Main theme of Anti-christ will be peace and prosperity (1 Thess 5:3; Daniel 11:36). Only for the three and a half year period the saints will be given in to the hands of the Anti-christ directly (Daniel 7:25). And the time of trouble which is described in Daniel 12th chapter will start in the middle of the seven years period (Daniel 9:27;12:1,7).This will happen like that because only at the middle of the seven year period, Anti-christ will break the covenant with Israel.

Till this time of the end, many shall run to and fro [traveling around the world will rapidly increase (Job 1:7)] and knowledge [we call it information technology] shall increase. Because of nearing to the very time of the end, these things are rapidly increasing like never before in our period of time (Daniel 12:4). As the Bible says that the words of the book of Daniel will be understood only by the generation which lives at the time of the end (Dan 12:9, 10). In the exact passing of three and half years from the day he made covenant of peace with Israel, he will bring an end to the sacrifice and offering of the Jews in the temple (Dan 9:27). From this time [i.e. Anti-christ making a peace covenant with the nation of Israel] to the abomination of desolation is set up there shall be 1290 days (Dan 12:11; 9:27). The person who waits for Jesus up to 1335 days [i.e. from that day of abomination of desolation is set up to the day of His second coming] after the daily sacrifice is taken away, will see him come to the earth with His saints (Daniel 12:11,12).

The day of the Lord will not start when Christ comes to reign on the earth, but the moment Christ comes in the air to take His church away, from that time itself the day of the Lord will start. That is why the Bible says that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. One day with the Lord is equal to thousand years (2 Peter 3:8, 10), so only the thousand year period that Jesus is going to reign on this planet earth is called ‘the day of the Lord’ in the scriptures. Once the day of the Lord starts, tribulation and wrath of God will be seen and experienced by the whole earth (1 Thess 4:14-17; 5:2, 4-9).

In the same chapter of 1 Thess 5:9, Paul after speaking about the day of the Lord was telling to the believers, that God did not appoint us to wrath but to obtain salvation. This clearly indicates that after the rapture [i.e. starting time of the day of the Lord], immediately the wrath of God will begin. The day of the Lord will start with the wrath of God and at the end of thousand years will end with the destruction of the earth completely by fire (2 Peter 3:10). Paul also in this chapter indicates the times and seasons, in which this event will happen. The day of the Lord will come as a thief when Anti-christ and his followers will be saying “peace and safety!” Then this sudden destruction [wrath of the Lord] will come upon the Anti-christ and his followers. They shall not escape. Here Paul was describing the suddenness of this event of tribulation as labor pains upon a pregnant woman (1 Thess 5:3).

This is the same phraseology [“as labor pains upon a pregnant woman”] that has been used to describe the tribulation that will come upon Israel and the whole earth in the Old Testament books (1 Thess 5:3; Isaiah 13:6-8; Hosea 13:12-13). The Faithful church [consisting of each faithful individual Believer] which continues to love God and man, which keeps the word of God, which will not deny the Name of Jesus and which continues to do the work of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in obedience to His Great Commission (Matt 28:19-20), will be the church that will be raptured when Jesus will come like a thief (Rev 3:7-10).The faithful church will persevere to follow Jesus Christ in spite of lawlessness, lovelessness, persecution, deceitfulness even among brethren and flattery of lust. This church will move against all the tides [flood] of evil that is coming upon the whole earth. We are living in this time period which the Bible clearly portrays.

Here in Rev 3:10, “…the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world…” is that great tribulation that Jesus spoke about in the Gospels (Matt 24:21-22, 29; Mark 13:19, 24). This will come as a test for every man who lives upon the planet earth, whether he will follow God who is the real owner and provider for all men or will follow Satan who is the false God who deceives man with enticements to follow him (Rev 3:10; 14:6-12).

Also in 2 Thess 2:1-2, Paul assures the believers that the day of Christ had not come [i.e. rapture has not taken place] because some people have begun to spread rumors that the day of Christ has already come.

Paul gives two signs for the season and time before the day of Christ comes finally.

(i) The falling away [from true Christian faith] will come first.

(ii) Then the man of sin will be revealed [to the believers (Luke17:32)].

The Greek word used for the word “revealed” is used in relation to ‘alpha’, which is the first word of the Greek alphabet indicating that Christ is the beginning and the end [a verb “revealed” with a subjective noun “alpha”]. This implies that he will be revealed to the believers before rapture, by direct revelation from God that Anti-christ is boasting himself as God the Christ (2 Thess 2:3, 4; Matt 24:23-26; Mark 13:21-23).

The Greek word for “revealed” is “apokalupto” in all of 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 6, 8; apokalupto signifies “to uncover, unveil” (apo, “from,” kalupto, “to cover”); both verbs are used in Matt_10:26; in Luke_12:2, apokalupto is set in contrast to sunkalupto, “to cover up, cover completely.” “The NT occurrences of this word fall under two heads, subjective and objective. The subjective use is that in which something is presented to the mind directly, as, the Lawless One, 2_Thess_2:3, 6 and 8.” This shows that God will be seeing the heart of every man who is obeying his word, by heeding to the warning of Jesus in all the gospels and according to their heart conditions, revelation will be directly given in to the mind of every God-seekers [Praying Believers] (1 Samuel 16:7; Luke 21:34-36). The objective revelation will occur when people realize and understand that something is happening or has happened as has been foretold because they see the very object that has been described do the things openly without restraint.

Jesus said that the rapture will be clearly felt by the believers as “the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west so also will be the coming of the son of man [during rapture] be.” (Matt 24:27; Luke 17:22-37).

How do we know that Jesus is speaking about rapture? Because in context to the previous passages, it can be identified as speaking only to the believers (Matt 24:25-26). Hence in the succeeding verse Jesus is also speaking about the resurrection of believers symbolically as eagles gathering together. The believers are identified as eagles in the Old Testament scriptures. So in other words, Where ever the bodies of the believers are, there those who waited for the day of resurrection will gather together as young eagles. Eagles are represented in the Bible for royalty, strength and flight (Matt 24:28; Luke 17:37; Ezekiel 1:10; Isaiah 40:31; Proverbs 23:5; Rev 12:14). The new resurrected body of all the believers will have royalty, strength and flight.

Some people say that if Anti-christ sits in the temple everybody will know the time of Jesus coming? First of all we must understand that these people who will follow Anti-christ are under a strong delusion from God because they did not believe the truth that Jesus had already said and warned about (1 Thess 2:9-11). When Christ came it was a time of expectation of messiah’s appearance, but they were mistaken because they did not believe the words of Jesus and rejected Him (Luke 3:15; 13:10-16).

As per the Bible the disciples asked Him this question before his ascension, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts1:6). In other words they were asking Him, ‘Are you now going to deliver Israel from the Clutches of the Roman Empire and restore it back to us?’ If Jesus had plainly told them the truth at that time, their enthusiasm and the plans and purposes of God would have got disrupted and derailed in their life. So only Jesus told them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the father has put in His own authority.” (Acts1:7).

If really times or seasons cannot be known by the believers, how did Paul the apostle knew it, why did he inform the believers about it? (1 Thess 5:1-2; 2 Thess 2:5). Why in all the Gospels Jesus spoke more about the rapture, Anti-christ and His second coming seasons and times than any other topic (Matt 24; Mark 13; Luke 17,18,21).

In the Bible Jesus only said that you will not know the hour or day in which Jesus comes to take away His church during the rapture (Matt 24:36). But never once did He say that you will not know the seasons or times in which the son of man will come. Instead He gives information about what kind of times or seasons it will be in the succeeding verses (Matt 24:36-44). Jesus said to all the believers, “Therefore you also be ready, for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matt 24:44). In other words, it is like Jesus saying, ‘See I have told you what are all the activities that will take place during that [rapture] season or time, but you do not know the hour that I will come. Do not get involved in those lustful activities that the world will be involved in during that [rapture] season or time, or else you will miss the hour when I come to take the church’.

After the day of the Lord has come and the church has been taken away to be with the Lord, then the complete authority of governance will be with Anti-christ. Up to that time, the Holy Spirit will restrain Anti-christ from fully ruling the world in complete authority (2 Thess 2:6-7). But after this rapture he will have authority even over every saint who is left behind, and then only those who are left behind will come to understand the lukewarm ness of their life, in spite of the warnings of Jesus in the word of God (Rev 3:10,16,18-22; Dan 7:25). This has happened to them because of deception and delusion. They will come to realize it and will stand and keep the commandments of God (Exodus 20:1-6) and the faith of Jesus (Rev 3:15-21; 14:9-13; 2 Thess 2:8-12; Rev 7:13-15).

The revelation that Anti-christ was boasting as ‘alpha’, which has been known to those saints who had been raptured, will also be revealed to those who had been left behind, who have been deceived by him. But this revelation will come to those lukewarm people only after the rapture had already taken place and this will take them through the persecution of the chastisement of God. At this time those who have been left behind will hardly have any other choice other than to die for their faith or else to worship Satan openly because they will be given in to the hands of Anti-christ (2 Thess 2:3,8; Dan 7:25;Rev 14:9-12).

When the disciples asked Jesus, “What will be the sign of your coming, and when will be the end of the age [times of the gentiles]? (Matt 24:3). In other words they were asking Him about the times and seasons of His coming.

In answer to their question, Jesus spoke about two seasons mainly.

(i) Summer (Matt 24:32; 13:39; Proverbs 10:5; 11:30; 6:8; Jer 8:20; Luke 21:30; 14:14-16).

(ii) Winter (Matt 24:20, 21; Mark 13:18, 19; Sos 2:10-12).

The spring season is when we see the first new leaves come out of the trees. It comes before summer season and is the first season in the season year calendar (Matt 24:32). After the spring season comes the summer season of harvest. When the summer is over, after it comes the autumn season and then winter season. In the autumn season the leaves will fall and the trees will mostly be without leaf because nearly all of it would have withered. The trees that remain without its leaves getting withered or falling away are those who have meditated upon the words of Jesus and have waited for the rapture (2 Thess 2:3; Ps 1:2, 3; Matt 24:23, 42). The autumn season comes in between the summer season of soul harvest and the winter season of tribulation (2 Thess 2:3; Matt 24:14, 20-22).
Always summer and winter season are contrasted and placed only at the opposite ends of each other (Genesis 8:22).
During the summer season, summer fruits would be harvested in Israel. The Hebrew word ‘Kayiz’ means fruit-harvest. Fruits of all kinds especially figs were harvested during summer season in Israel (Amos 8:1-2; 2 Sam 16:1,2).That is one of the reason God described Israel as the land of fig trees (Deut 8:8). Israel is symbolically represented in the scripture as a fig tree (Hosea 9:10; Jer 24:3, 5, 8; Joel 1:6, 12).

Jesus cursed the Fig tree symbolically as a sign that because they [Israel as a nation] do not produce any fruit, they too will be cursed for not bearing fruit. And because of that curse, they will dry of without any strength and vitality and even the nations identity with the true God will be taken away from them (Mark 11:12-14, 20-21; Micah 4:4-5). As we see that Jesus cleansed the temple and then after that this incident happened, He cursed the fig tree, which shows that He was symbolically saying to Israel what was going to happen to them in the coming days (Matt 24:18-20; Mark 11:11-14,20; Luke 13:1-9; Malachi 4:6; Matt 23:34-24:2).

Figs appear before or with leaves, so the leaves indicated that the tree must have figs, even though the time of figs to be fully ripe was not yet come (Mark 11:13). Here the story or parable that Jesus said does not end by the fig tree drying up from the roots forever. But Jesus said a little afterwards at the end of Mark 13:28, he continued in another parable that when you see that the branch of the fig tree [nation of Israel] has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. In other words Jesus was saying, when the nation of Israel has been reborn and begins to strengthen itself in the place where God had given, you know that the summer harvest of fruit [harvest of souls] is near. Summer soul harvest will be the biggest and the greatest of all time which will happen with the saints coordinating with the angels of heaven (Matt 13:37-39,43; 24:14; Rev 14:14-16; 2 Kings 6:16-18).

The winter season as the Bible says is described in Matt 24:20, 21. It is speaking about the season of great tribulation that is going to come upon the whole world. This is also the season of harvest, but with harsh weather condition which is tribulation (Matt 13:40-42; 24:29, 31; Rev 14:17-20). The Sabbath day is when God rested from His activities on the seventh day. The Holy Spirit who restrained lawlessness and the appearance of the Anti-christ will start to rest from his intense activity (2 Thess 2:6-7; Genesis 6:3; 2:2-3).The Sabbath day will start the moment “…the abomination of desolation…stands in the holy Place” (Matt 24:15). In other words only when the restrainer the Holy Spirit starts to take rest from His restraining activities this abomination will start. The restrainer is identified as a person by the Bible using a personal pronoun [‘He’], which indicates it is the Holy Spirit who does the restraining by convicting the world of sin and hence not allowing the lawlessness of man boasting as God to take place for six millennium in the past(2 Thess 2:7; 1 Thess 4:7-8; John 16:8-9,11). Once man tried to do this when he tried to build the tower of Babel, but was prevented by God (Genesis 11:1-9). The day the rapture takes place after this, that day is called as the ‘Day of the Lord’ in the scripture (1 Thess 5:2-4, 6; 2 Thess 2:2-3). Only after this day of rapture, the wrath of God will be released on the earth because the Bible affirms that the believer is not appointed for wrath, but for the rapture of salvation (1 Thess 5:9-11). Sabbath day will continue for a thousand years when the Holy Spirit will rest from His work and Jesus will directly rule the nations with a rod (Rev 20:6; 2 Peter 3:8, 10). Jesus was saying to the believers living during that time, their flight [i.e. flying to safety when rapture takes place] may not be [Jesus is admonishing them to pray and watch in this scenario] during [after a certain time lapse period during] the tribulation. The Greek word used for ‘flight’ is ‘phygē (pronounced-fügā)’. It comes from the root word ‘pheugō (pronounced-fyü’-gō)’ which is apparently a primary verb which means 1) to flee away, seek safety by flight 2) metaph. to flee (to shun or avoid by flight) something abhorrent, esp. vices 3) to be saved by flight, to escape safely out of danger 4) poetically, to flee away, vanish. This clearly points to the rapture more than hiding in the mountains of Jerusalem. With the kind of modern technology, no one can hide in any part of the world without being noticed through the satellite or radar technology.

In other words Jesus was telling the believers to pray so that there will not be any delay for the rapture to take place during that starting time of tribulation in the earth, so that the believer will fly away or be snatched away to safety from the tribulation of those days (Matt 24:20;Luke 21:34-36;2 Peter 2:4-9). Satan will spew flood of filth [water] to make the believers to be consumed in the judgment of wicked, but those who watch for rapture as Jesus forewarned will be rescued at that time through rapture (Rev 12:14-16;2 Peter 2:5-9;Mark 13:18-23). In the next verse 22 he explains why he is wishing like that. Because of the intensity of tribulation, no flesh would be able to live through it. For those believers sake it will be shortened so that Jesus will be able to see faith filled believers when he comes back to the earth (Matt 24:21-22; Luke 18:1-8). Even though such tribulation will come, very soon or speedily God will avenge Anti-christ and his followers when He [Jesus] comes back to the earth (Matt 24:29-31).

Jesus also added at the end saying, ‘the mass of people living during this period of time will not die before all these things happen.’ This means as per the Biblical estimate of a time period of a generation is around thirty to thirty three years approximately. This also implies that there will be a terminal generation that will be present during the entire End-Time events (Matt 24:34). When Jesus was asked about the times and seasons of his coming and the end of the age by the disciples, His immediate answer was “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” (Matt 24:3-5). This makes us understand that the very predictions or even the topics about the End-Time which arises from the sources other than the word of God will be full of deceptions.
Do not take heed to any other information of lies which will be sugar coated as logical, scientific or even historical information that will bombard you in these times of the end. Look only to the truth, which is the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus delicately starts the message of end time with a warning and affirms that many will use His name and say, ‘I am the Christ [the anointed one of God]’ and will deceive many. The Anti-christ will do this and will fulfill it at its zenith.

The sign that Jesus told the people to look out during the end time is the moment you see Anti-christ seating himself as God, who will place a statue for Satan and will tell other people to worship it voluntarily like Nebuchadnezzar did in the Old Testament during Daniel’s time, then let every one flee from that place to the mountains, especially the Jews [those in Judea] (Matt 24:15-19; Daniel 11:27-31; 2 Thess 2:3-4; Rev13:1-8,11-18; Daniel 9:27; 7:23-27; 8:23-27). Jesus admonishes those who see abomination of desolation set up in the temple, to flee from Judea [Jerusalem and its surroundings] because from that point of time anti-christ will declare himself to be God and will pressurize the Jews living in Israel at that time to worship Him and receive His seal or face execution. From that point of time onwards, he will slowly extend that ordinance to all the other parts of the earth. Finally all the earth will worship Him, those of them whose names are not written in the book of life (Matt 24:15-16; Rev 13:8, 15-16).When we see why Jesus said to those in Judea to flee to the mountains, comparing this in context with the destruction of temple after Christ’s first coming in Luke 21:20-24, we see in those days as the history says those who heeded Christ’s word and fled to the mountains did not get killed when the Roman’s invaded and destroyed Jerusalem in the 1st century A.D. Those who heeded and obeyed Christ’s words were saved from imminent vicarious death. This is the same that will happen to those who will heed Christ’s word during the end-time event of the rapture of the Church also. They will be saved from death. Those living in Judea [Israel] who will believe in Jesus as their Messiah will be those who will heed the words of Christ as also in the first century.

Jesus is telling the Jews to flee because it will be the time for the rapture to take place, so that they will not be caught up by anti-christ and hence be going through the torture of being killed just moments before the rapture will be taking place. If they flee to the mountains and start praying and watching because God has revealed that the anti-christ is boasting as God in the flesh, then they will be a part of the flight that escapes tribulation. Here in Matt 24:22, The Greek word used for ‘the elect’s sake’ is ‘eklektos (pronounced-ek-lek-to’s)’ which means ‘1) picked out, chosen a) chosen by God, 1) to obtain salvation through Christ a) Christians are called “chosen or elect” of God 2) the Messiah in called “elect”, as appointed by God to the most exalted office conceivable 3) choice, select, i.e. the best of its kind or class, excellence preeminent: applied to certain individual Christians’. And this word ‘the elect’ is an adjective which means a word that describes a noun or pronoun. Hence it points to Christians and all those whose believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord which includes Jews [i.e. Messianic Jews] and Christians alike who live at that period of time.

Hence this message of fleeing is not only for those Jews, but in Matt 24:15, Jesus was saying whoever reads let him understand. It means it is also for all those who have understanding. It is for all the saints who do His commandments (Ps 111:10).Jesus has told the believers that when they see these things happening, they should pray so that they may not be left behind (Matt 24:15-20; Luke 17:27, 29, 30-37; Luke 21:36).

The other sign of Jesus coming to the earth is “…there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars [these are the signs in the heavens] and on the earth distress of nations (2 Tim 3:1), with perplexity [the feeling of confusion and worry because of something that people cannot understand], the sea and the waves roaring; men’s heart failing them [i.e. heart attack] from fear and the expectations of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heavens [strength power (‘dunamis.gr’; Luke 10:19), ability consisting in or resting upon demonic armies, forces, hosts that control the heavenlies (Eph 2:2).] will be shaken [dislodged], then they [all the people living on earth] will see the son of man coming in a cloud (Acts 1:11) with power and great glory” (Luke 21:25-27).

Jesus exhorts that when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads [start praying], because your redemption [rapture] draws near (Luke 21:28). When Jesus comes back to the earth the whole armies, forces and hosts of demonic powers will be dismantled and authority of ruling will be given to the saints of the most high God (Isaiah 24:21-23; Rev 3:21; 19:11-16; 20:4, 6;Daniel 7:22, 27). Yet those who are voluntarily in rebellion against worshipping Him [Jesus] will be given under the curse of some of these demonic forces which will haunt their lives and lands in which they live and they will eventually die (Zech 14:17-19; Is 60:12; 65:20-25).

The Revelation of Jesus Christ- Part 4

Revelation of Jesus Christ-Part 4

By Abraham Israel

The Religious city of Babylon is Vatican in Rome. This politico-religious church of Rome will fall and will become a desolated place right after the rapture takes place. It will be desolated by the ten kings who will hate the harlot and destroy her (Rev 17:12, 16). Note the Bible calls this politico-religious body as “The Mystery, Babylon the Great…..” and this is also described as “…The Mother of Harlots [Note the plurality of the language] and of the Abominations [Here also note the plurality of the language used] of the Earth.” (Rev 17:5). The harlot mother is described as the same source of all other politico- religious paganistic abominations of all the earth. This woman is directly referred to as “that great city which reigns [When? Two thousand years ago] over the kings of the earth” (Rev 17:18). Rome was that city that the angel described to John in a present continuous tense approximately during A.D 100, when John was imprisoned in the island of Patmos. Rome was undeniably reigning over the kings of the earth during that period of time. This mother of harlots has spread her influence in all the nations through trading within them. It has always enticed the merchants and influential people to give money for its cause and trade through its influence luxuriously (Rev 18:3).

The ten kings will receive authority with the anti-christ for one hour [i.e. appointed time- approx 31/2 years up to the rapture and a little beyond]. These ten people even though are described as kings, they receive no kingdom even up to the time they give all their power and authority to anti-christ. In other words, this one world government will have no national boundary but a boundary divided on division of zones based on economic viability and prosperity of the world system (Rev 17:12-13). This is the deceitful way in which anti-christ will influence with his false-charisma and will take the whole world in to his authority with an iron grip.

The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. Rome has always been called as the city built on seven hills. Actually the Romans dedicated each mountain to a paganistic god, each having been given unique characteristics over which they honored this mother goddess [harlot] who ruled over all (Romans 1:21-25). Even to this day this immoral spirit disguises itself with the name of Mary and shows itself as though having a little child in her arm. Satan has always deceived people with a religious overtone and wearing a religious attire but denying its power (2 Cor 11:2-4, 13-15; 2 Tim 3:5, 13).

This woman is that which influences the governments of the world even to this day through its cohorts (Rev 17:7). The seven heads are the fullness of the government of the world which started with Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persian, Greece, Rome and ends with the one world government which will consist of ten kings (Rev 17:7). The beast will be someone described in verse 8 of chapter 17 of Revelation who was active and influenced the world mightily and has been thrown in to the bottomless pit for a certain period of time just like when satan will be thrown in to the bottomless pit for a thousand years (Dan 10:20-21;Rev 17:8; 20:1-3,7-10). This spirit was that which is described as the “Prince of Greece” which was prophesied by Gabriel as one who “…will come” (Dan 10:20). This is the reason apostle John described the spirit coming out of the bottomless pit as “….the beast that was [When? It is when the kingdom of Greece ruled the world] and is not [When? It is the time when the Roman Empire ruled the world and in which John the apostle received the revelation] and yet is [When? This will be at a time the one world government will emerge as the revised Roman Empire, out of which anti-christ will emerge empowered by this beast [i.e. the prince of Greece (powerful spirit)] out of the bottomless pit]” (Rev 17:8; Dan 7:23-24;9:26-27;8:21-25). Seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits which is the politico-religious spirit which still resides in that city of Rome as its head-quarters.

It does not end there but as this connection is a politico-religious connection, this also has six world governments that ruled the world and is still ruling in the present time and the one world government that is going to come, under its strong influence and control. These seven kings are the seven world governments which at that time of prophecy, five have fallen [i.e. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece (Exodus 2:23-25; 2 Kings 17:23-24; 18:11-12; 2 Chronicles 32; Dan 7:17,19)], one is [the Roman Empire that ruled during that time approximately two thousand years ago], and the other has not yet come [i.e. one world government under anti-christ as its leader who will rise out of it]. And when he comes [i.e. note the personal pronoun used for this person of anti-christ], he must continue a short time [i.e. approximately three and half years which is the time described as the time in which satan will pursue and make war with the rest of the true Woman’s (Woman-the bride of Christ which will be the Church which was raptured moments after the 3 ½ years of anti-christ reign begins) off spring ( the Lukewarm believer’s who will be left behind (Rev 12:17)] (Rev 17:10;12:12). The beast that was and is not [i.e. the prince of Greece (Dan 10:20)], is himself also the eight [i.e. the unique spirit is not of the Roman Empire but will arise out of it by empowering anti-christ supernaturally (Rev 17:8)], and is of the Seven [i.e. this indicates that the connection of the eight king (i.e. the One World government) is not a separate world governing spirit but is of the seven because already it has ruled already in the past and has been bound in the bottomless pit for its wickedness (Eph 6:12)], and will go in to perdition [destruction] when Christ will come and throw it again in to the bottomless pit for the final judgment (Rev 17:11; Rev 20:1-3, 7-10). Jesus has all the power to send any spirit back to the abyss or bottomless pit any time [i.e. open or close the bottomless pit any time] because by legal rights He has got the key to this realm of death and Hades [i.e. Bottomless Pit] even before He died for us through His sinless life of Perfect obedience to God the Father (Luke 8:31; Rev 1:18; 11:7; 9:1-5; 17:8).

The ten horns are ten kings or ten leaders of the one world government that will arise at the end time. Because this one world government is a revived entity of the Roman Empire, it will have authority to distribute to these ten leaders who will be selected from 10 different zones of the Revived Empire as in the days when Roman Empire ruled the world by appointing governors under one head [i.e. Caesar] who was considered as Lord and God of all. As the Bible says the ten kings or leaders did not receive a kingdom first and then act in authority as any other king normally. But they received authority first equal to that of a king and then they reign as kings along with the beast [i.e. this beast is the beast of Greece which will empower anti-christ at that time of the Revived Roman Empire for one Hour (i.e. Specified set time or appointed time of three and half years which is pre-designed by God (Rev 3:10;18:17;Dan 7:25))] (Rev 17:12). The world and all other kings will marvel when this beast which will operate in anti-christ and will show itself to the world as when it showed itself to the world when Alexander the great conquered nearly the whole world with in a shortest period of time, the result of which the world marveled at it (Rev 17:13). This one world government will be set up before anti-christ comes and makes the deceitful covenant of peace with the nation of Israel. When this one world leader anti-christ emerges out of this one-world government, then he will pursue his goal to fight against God and His armies directly (Rev 17:14; 19:19; Dan 11:36-45; 7:19-27). The anti-christ who will arise out of the Revived Roman Empire will subdue [i.e. defeat and will bring them in to subjection] three kings. He shall be different from the first ones because out of this Revived Roman Empire he will arise, but empowered by a different spirit [i.e. prince of Greece] (Dan 7:23-25; Rev 13:1-10). The anti-christ will arise by the charisma of this different spirit and will make a league with all the other kings and will deceitfully come up and become strong (Dan 11:21-24). But the beast from the earth in Rev 13:11-18 is the false prophet who will be doing miracles by the unclean spirit’s which will co-ordinate the three of them [i.e. satan, anti-christ and the false prophet] (Rev 16:13).

These unclean spirits [i.e. spirits of demons (Rev 16:13-14)] will co-ordinate and achieve the highest or fullness of wickedness by their deceptive signs, which is helping satan to act as an incarnated individual in a statue by making it to speak, so that the people of the whole world will directly worship satan as their god who has all the powers of the whole universe (Rev 16:13-14; 13:4, 14-15, 16-18). Satan just like he deceived Eve by speaking through the Serpent, he will deceive the people at the end time by making the image of the beast [statue] to speak, thus making people to worship Satan himself directly (Gen 3:1-7; Rev 13:14-15).

The woman who is the harlot will have control over all the earth and it will reign behind the scene over the kings of the earth (Rev 17:15,18). The ten kings will hate this religious control of the harlot woman over their dominion. Hence these kings will hate the harlot woman of politico-religious Vatican church. In exchange for the destruction of this harlot woman of the end-time religious body, these kings will finally make a pact with the anti-christ and give him their authority for the destruction of this harlot religious body. This will be put in to their hearts for the purpose of God to be fulfilled which is the destruction of the mother of Harlots which is the great city of Rome (Rev 17:16-18). This will exactly happen after the rapture of the Church takes place because until then people [i.e. believers and unbelievers] will be mixed up with in the same world system [i.e. believers will be in the world system, not of the world system (John 17:11,16)] (Rev 18:4; Matt 13:36-43). Just like Pharaoh got furious when Israelites crossed the red sea to escape his clutches of evil oppression, even so satan will become furious when the Church will be raptured out of the world (Exodus 14:5-31; Rev 12:15-17).

This Babylonian religion was used as a means by people to fulfill their own desire. Those who were in the politico-religious church used the church to trade and conduct business with one another which the Bible describes as “….the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” (Rev 18:3). It is also obvious that all nations have a part in it, but here we see the judgment not on all nations but only specifically on the politico-religious Babylonian church. Everyone who traded with her will sit at the sidelines [i.e. these are the ones that got benefitted by trading with this Harlot Woman] and will exclaim their surprise by seeing its destruction all over the world by satellite technologies [i.e. global network under one world government]. This Babylonian church will have acted exactly as those priests, scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees used the Jerusalem temple to conduct business and politics. For this reason only it finally got destroyed by the wrath of the Lord. Like in the same way this Babylonian politico-religious church will also be destroyed (Rev 18:3; 18:15-20; Luke 11:49; Mark 11:15-17; Matt 21:12-13; Mark 13:1-2).

In the past two millenniums, the real Body of Christ got persecuted not mostly by a paganistic religious body, but by this false Babylonian church (Rev 18:4, 6, 20, 24; 19:2). If we take the history and see it, this false politico-religious church has claimed for itself the honor of a true universal Church by calling itself ‘The Catholic Church’. Catholic means universal. Yet without knowing, they themselves have called their church as not just Catholic but ‘Roman Catholic’, which identifies this church with its politico-religious hidden nature of this Babylonian church, indicating it is the Mother of Harlots. This is a mystery which has been hidden to their own eyes because of their blindness, as in the days of Jesus when most of the religious Pharisees and Priests in the temple were blinded by this kind of harlotorous spirit (Rev 17:5; John 9:39-41; Matt 15:1-20).

This church can easily be compared to lukewarm Church which will appear when a lull will happen inside the Body of Christ because of a deceitful prosperity and safety that will be achieved by the one world government of the end time. This is when the falling away will happen inside the Church before the rapture take place (Rev 3:14-22; 2 Thess 2:3; 1 Thess 5:1-3). This Babylonian church is not indicated as many having many cities or nations, but a single city with a stunning exclamation made by people as “…What is like this great city?”(Rev 18:17). As we have seen earlier it is indicated that at the appointed time after the rapture [i.e. in one hour which is a very short period of time] that great city [Which city was called as great for millenniums? Rome (Rev 18:16)] will be burnt to ashes by fire (Rev 18:10, 17-19). Even today we use the age old proverb which says, ‘All roads leads to Rome and Rome was not built in a day’, indicating the awesomeness of that great old city which includes Vatican.

This great city of Babylon is the religious Mother of Harlots which have used sorcery to deceive all nations. Sorcery means using magic and evil spirits help to influence peoples mind and make them accept the one who uses sorcery. This politico-religious church has highly used evil spirits to influence people’s mind in various nations (Rev 18:23). It has influenced them [i.e. various nations of the world] with their demonic doctrines of abstaining from marriage and related issues to increase their trade and wealth (1 Tim 4:1-3; Rev 18:3). Because of this hidden agenda of trading and wealth acquisition for itself and others who wanted that luxury, indirectly satan has used this Mother of Harlots [i.e. head quarters of false religion and belief] to merchandise for itself “…of [the] bodies and souls of men” (Rev 18:12-13). This woman in essence is one demonic spirit which has shown itself to be the woman with a child to many people to deceive them. It has always boasted itself as a queen even during the Old Testament days of Babel tower. This same spirit has been used by satan to blind people even from the days of the tower of Babel which was built in rebellion against God (Rev 18:7; Isaiah 47; Gen 11:1-9). When this spirit first instigated its influence over man, man began to pursue building for himself “…a city…a tower….to make a name for [themselves]…” (Gen 11:4). Men started to build a city and a tower by having one aim, which is to make a name for themselves which is utter idolatry and rebellion against God.

This woman which is identified as an evil spirit searched for a base to establish itself for a few millenniums and finally it landed itself in a comfortable place by finding the city of Rome and operating from it as its base for its operation in to all nations (Zech 5:5-11; Rev 18:7). When a powerful demonic principality sits at a place and makes it as a base for dwelling, the other lesser demonic and foul spirits of lower hierarchies will not be able to occupy that place until it is dislodged. This is what will happen to it when God will dislodge this particular spirit during the destruction of this city, after its dislodgement, all the other lesser demonic foul spirits will come and occupy this place which has been controlled by this particular woman spirit principality for nearly more than two millenniums (Rev 18:2; Matt 12:29,43-45; Eph 6:11-12; Col 2:15-23). Here the woman spirit means, the spirit has adopted and has characterized itself in the image of a woman. Judgmental, critical and condemnatory attitude has been the tool by which this wicked spirit has controlled people who opposed her deceit in the past and intimidation against those who tried and who still try to expose her as in the days of Elijah when he tried to expose this deceitful spirit which immediately intimidated the prophet through the queen Jezebel who was possessed by this wicked spirit (Rev 2:18-29; 1 Kings 16:31; 21:25; Exodus 34:15-17).

The main pastime or enjoyments which this wicked spirit used by which it deceived and enticed people to stay in contentment with its so called religiosity are,

(i) The sound of musical instrument [i.e. Ceremonial religion],

(ii) The sound of mill stone [abundant provision of food all the time] (Rev 18:22).

It has used lights and lamps in its ceremony to falsely identify itself with the true revelation of God and it has also falsely used the voice of the bride and bridegroom to boast itself as the true voice of the bride and bridegroom which is the real Jesus and his bride [i.e. the Church washed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus Himself through the Holy Spirit] (Rev 18:23; Galatians 1:6-8; 2 Cor 11:2-4,12-15; John 3:29; Rev 21:2; 22:17). This destruction of the apostate church of Babylon the great harlot will be destroyed completely as a judgment from God for corrupting the earth with her fornication [i.e. false doctrines and false worship] and as a result shedding the blood of His [i.e. Jesus’] servants who spoke against her false and deceitful ways (Rev 19:2). We must differentiate between the political Babylon which is based purely on the political agendas of the world fulfilled by them [i.e. world governments] with an attitude of self development in a selfish way which will be their main focus [even when it has to be done against the will of God without integrity and in rebellion] (Gen 11:1-9). This self styled purely political Babylon will have one aim “….Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Gen 11:4). And this will be their one and only agenda. This single minded agenda without God will be the main reason for the people’s rebellion against Christ when He will come back again to this planet earth at His Second Coming. This will be the time when anti-christ and his armies will assemble in the valley of Megiddo to fight against Christ and His armies from heaven. This is why the Book of Revelation calls this political setup of Babylon as the “great Babylon…” (Rev 16:19). And the city of Jerusalem which is the centre of the earth which will be chosen by anti-christ to be the head-quarters of the whole world is called as the “great city” (Rev 16:19). From this place anti-christ will try and establish a one world government [i.e. a name] and a city [i.e. Jerusalem as the headquarters which is called as the great city and is spiritually is called as Sodom and Egypt (Rev 11:8)] and a tower [i.e. which will be the temple tower on the temple mount] (Rev 16:18-19; 11:8, 13).

This is the same place [i.e. city of Jerusalem and its nearby mountains] which has been prophesied by the Old Testaments prophets more than once in which the final battle for the universal establishment of God’s kingdom on planet earth will take place. The final great earth quake which will happen during this battle time has been prophesied in many places (Rev 16:18-21; 11:8,13; Zech 14:1-5; Psalms 2:1-5, 12; Is 13:1-13; Joel 2:1-11, 32; Rev 16:14-16). The other Babylon as we have seen is the politico-religious harlot Babylon which is under the direct control of this religious harlot-spirit of Babylon which instigated this whole rebellion against God. This great harlot who will corrupt the earth with her fornication will be judged by God which has set its base in the great city of Rome, will be absolutely destroyed and burnt. This judgment will happen after the rapture of the Church, as an avenging of God for all the blood of His servants that has been shed by her. This politico-religious Babylon is called as “the Mystery, Babylon the Great, The mother of harlots, the abominations of the earth, the woman sitting on a scarlet beast, the great harlot who sits on many waters [nations (Rev 17:15)], the woman and the great city that reigns over the kings of the earth” (Rev 17:5,3,1,18). These are all symbolic and synonymous of the one harlot of the Politico-religious Babylon.

And it is also with the same name in the other 18th and 19th chapters of the ‘Book of Revelation’ it is called as “Babylon the great….” (Rev 18:2), “that great city…” (Rev 18:16), “…the great city Babylon…” (Rev 18:21) and “….the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication…..”(Rev 19:2). These are all one and the same. The celebration in heaven does not start with the marriage of the lamb but with the destruction of the great harlot in the earth (Rev 19:1-6). This is when Jesus Christ will start to reign directly on the earth from heaven. He will be the one who will be in control of the whole apocalyptic events of the end-time and this is the reason the Book of Revelation is called “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1) and not as ‘The Revelation of the End Times Events’. From the moment he opens the first seal until the time He will defeat anti-christ and his armies with His heavenly army, He will be the one who will have sovereign control and the only one who will have the rights to release each new events in this planet earth (Rev 4:1–>6:17). Because of this reason the saints can be bold and courageous during the whole period of apocalypse and the whole of end time events (Dan 11:32).Praise the Lord!

After this event the marriage of the lamb will take place in which all the saints who ever lived for the past two thousand years even up to the day of rapture will be clothed with various levels of the amount of the glorious clothing of the Spirit which is described in the Bible as “And to her it [the clothing of the Spirit of glory (Rev 22:17; 1 Pet 4:14)] was granted to be arrayed in fine linen [the righteous acts of the saints (Rev 19:8)], clean and bright….” (Rev 19:8). I am telling you that this clothing is the glorious clothing of the Spirit in various measures to each individual for all the works which has been done by the saints in Jesus Name (Rev 19:8; Gen 15:1–>Gal 3:14; 1 Cor 15:40-41,43,49; John 3:34; 1 Cor 3:11-16; Matt 10::40-42; Col 3:3:17). These people who will attend the marriage of the Lamb will be in Blessed category because they will be watchful of Christ’s coming even unto the day of rapture heeding the warning’s of Christ to be watchful (Rev 19:9; Matt 24:42-44). In other words all these saints who are all essentially parts of the universal Body and the Bride of Christ would have been watchful over comers in each successive generation (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 25-26, [29]; 3:2,5-6, 10-13). The lukewarm church which will be left behind in the rapture is only promised a granting to sit with Jesus in His throne during his millennium reign in this planet earth (Rev 3:21-22; 20:4-6). The saints of tribulation period will be left out of the Blessedness to be a part of the marriage of the Lamb in their resurrected Body, there is a chance for them to attend in their spirit if they die and go to heaven during that time. God may grant them to see it in the spirit as He took and showed Moses the Canaan Land (Deuteronomy 32:48-52; 34:1-4). These saints will be resurrected back and will be rewarded only at the time of Christ’s second coming (Rev 19:9; Matt 24:29-31; 25:31-46; 25:21,23; Matt 19:28; Luke 22:28-30; Mark 10:35-40; Rev 19:16). Our Master will visit the earth at His second coming after the Wedding of the Lamb in the heavenlies, to make the watchful servants who will be present on earth at that time to be made rulers over all that He has (Luke 12:36,37,40-44; Rev 16:14-16; 19:7-9; Matt 25:31-34, [21,23], 27,35-46; 24:45-51; Luke 18:7-8).

A true mark of a servant of God [i.e. whether angels or men], they will only worship God and they will never accept worship from anybody, will discourage it and will warn every one even if they accidently do it. When we worship God truly in our spirit and in His truth [i.e. Jesus Christ is the person of truth (John 14:6)]. We as believers will experience in our spirit the words of Jesus from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself which is described in the Bible as the “…the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev 19:10; John 4:23-24). This will happen only as we allow the Spirit of God to supply these words to us and take it by faith in to our soul [logical mind] (John 6:63; Rev 19:10). When Jesus opens the seventh seal we notice there is a silence in heaven for about half an hour (Rev 8:1). Silence in heaven indicates that the Great Day of the Lord’s second coming to the earth has come (Zephaniah 1:7-8). After this silence in heaven will be over, the heaven will be opened and Jesus Christ will appear to make war with the anti-christ and defeat them through His armies of saints from heaven. This battle is called often as “…the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” (Rev 19:15; 14:17-20; 16:19; 17:14). And also this final battle is called as Armageddon (Rev 16:14, 16, 19-21; 6:14-17). This final battle is also described in the Bible as “…the Supper of the great God” once in the Old Testament and New Testament (Rev 19:17-21; Ezekiel 38-39). Here in Ezekiel and in the Book of Revelation, it indicates that in this war God will use hailstones to wage war against these armies of nation (Ezek 38:22-23; Zech 14:12-13; Rev 16:21; Gen 19:24-25, 28-29; 2 Pet 2:6-7; Joshua 10:10-15).

Ezekiel Chapter 38-39 battle is not a separate battle apart from the battle of Armageddon, but it is the same because in that day Israel will accept Jesus as their Messiah because God would have poured out His Spirit upon them. This is the reason they will mourn seeing the Messiah’s wounds in His hands (Ezek 39:26-29; Zech 12:10-11; Matt 24:30-31). As a direct result of this war, nations shall know that Jesus is Lord and the Holy one of Israel. This is only possible only at the second coming of Jesus Christ when He will sit in Israel and rule the nations with an iron rod (Ezek 39:6-7; Rev 19:15-16). In both the battle birds were invited for the sacrificial meal or the supper of the great God (Ezek 39:17; Rev 19:17). A group of nations consisting of kings were seen in both the war (Ezek 39:1,20; Rev 19:19). And the fact that the nation of Israel burns the weapons of the defeated armies for seven years shows that it is the final battle of Armageddon and not any battle that happens before or after or during the tribulation period, which is just only a part of seven year time (Ezek 39:9). And also we see that immediately after this battle, the building of the millennial temple of Messiah in Israel which again shows that the preceding Ezekiel thirty ninth chapter battle is Armageddon battle (Ezek 39, 40). We also notice that these nations come against the mountains of Israel [i.e. Jerusalem] from which the Lord will fight against them in that day of battle which again shows that it is Armageddon Battle (Ezek 39:2; Zech 14:2; Joel 2:32).

God calls this day in which He will fight against the enemies of His as ‘The day of His Wrath or Fury ‘ in all other scriptures which shows that this war in Ezekiel 38-39 is the war of Armageddon (Ezek 38:18; Rev 16:19; 19:15). There is a great quake which is described in this day of battle in Ezekiel 38:19-21, and also it says that at the Messiah’s presence all men who are on the face of the earth will shake in that day which again shows that this war is the war of Armageddon as it is described exactly the same way in the other references of the Scriptures (Zech 14:3-5; Amos 1:1; Rev 16:18-19; 6:14-17; Zephaniah 1:14).

The battle is predicted to take place after the ingathering of all the Jewish people from all the nations which again clearly points to the day of Armageddon Battle (Ezek 38:12, . This war in Ezekiel is declared to happen in the latter days or times which again points that the battle is the Armageddon battle (Ezek 38:16; Dan 10:14; 1 Tim 4:1; 2 Thess 2:3; Matt 24:4,23-26). Again variety of nations take part in the battle against Israel with Gog of the land of Magog as its head which can truly be said as the coalition of nations of the world, hence pointing this war to the final war of Armageddon (Ezek 38:1-10; Ps 83; Joel 3:1-2; Micah 5:5-6; Zech 12:3; 14:2-3;Rev 16:12-14).

As the army of anti-christ will be with the banner of one world government, Gog will be playing a major role in that army. The Gog of the land of Magog [i.e. Russia] with the prince of Rosh [Aquila the chief prince of Meshech] and its army will spearhead the cause of anti-christ exactly at the time of the battle of Armageddon. These [King of the North which is Gog of the land of Magog] who will be the enemies of the anti-christ will be subdued by him through fighting against them with great fury and thus annihilating many by force, thus these who were the enemies of anti-christ before will suddenly become friends for the purpose of God to be fulfilled in the battle of Armageddon (Ezek 38:1-7; Dan 11:40-45; Luke 23:12). Persia the real Babylon is seen as an ally of Russian army of Ezekiel 38-39. And as it is seen in other passages of the Bible that the Anti-christ will be an Assyrian, who will come from Assyria which was situated in the olden days Persian belt which is called as Iraq in our times (Ezekiel 38:2,5; Isaiah 10:5-6, 20-25; 28:14-20, 21-22; 30:27-33; Daniel 9:27; Micah 5:5-6). This again points to this battle as the final battle of Armageddon.

The army under anti-christ will openly declare a war cry against the Messiah of Israel to come and fight to rescue the nation of Israel, If its Messiah is truly God Almighty (Rev 13:4,6-10;17:12-14;19:19;6:15-17). The people who say that Ezekiel 38, 39 war is a separate war from Armageddon use two words “…dwell safely…” to substantiate their claim out of context. In the Hebrew ‘yashab’ is used for the word ‘dwell’ which means ‘to dwell, remain, sit, abide’. This is a root word out of which all these sub division occurs ’(Qal) to sit, sit down, to be set, to remain, stay, to dwell, have one’s abode, (Niphal) to be inhabited, (Piel) to set, place, (Hiphil) to cause to sit, to cause to abide, set, to cause to dwell, to cause (cities) to be inhabited, to marry (give an dwelling to), (Hophal) to be inhabited, to make to dwell’. This clearly points to the return of the nation of Israel back to its land by causing cities to be inhabited by them. And this has already happened.

The other Hebrew word used here for ‘safely’ is ‘betach’ which can be translated as ‘security, safety, securely’. This word can also be translated as ‘ safely , safety , carelessly , careless , safe , securely , assurance , boldly , care , confidence , hope , secure , surely’. The word ‘carelessly’ exactly fits the context of the scripture because it is a war situation where the people of Israel will have carelessly trusted anti-christ as their messiah already, through a careless covenant agreement of peace for seven years (Dan 9:27). This word is used three times in other places to point to the same meaning of a lethargic attitude towards God and His ways (Isaiah 47:8; Ezek 39:6; Zephaniah 2:15).

As we have seen, this word exactly fits the context because of the false covenant agreement that the anti-christ will make to bring safety to the nation of Israel and then exactly at the half of the seven year time he will break it. The word ‘carelessly’ in this context is used in Ezekiel chapter 38 verses 8, 11, 14. In other words, the Israelites who will be inhabiting the cities of Israel before the battle of Armageddon take place, the time during which they will live carelessly [i.e. without their absolute knowledge of the God (Jehovah) who protects them] and thus ignorant of the God of their fathers who brought them in to the land of Israel to be a nation after millenniums of living in exile in various nations (Isaiah 11:12; Jeremiah 33:24-26; Ezek 36:24).

Many hypocritical Jews will worship anti-christ even when he will break the covenant with Israel and also even after he begins to boast himself as God thus directing all the peoples of the earth to worship satan openly (Rev 13:8). These hypocritical Jews will be deceived in to thinking that their messiah is anti-christ even up to the battle of Armageddon in which the true remnant will be saved from the clutches of Israel’s enemies (John 5:43; 1 Thess 2:11; Rev 13:8,13-18; 16:2,8-11). It will be only on the day of Armageddon battle, many of the Israelites will come to know that the anti-christ is not their messiah, but is actually their enemy who has planned to destroy and completely wipe them out of the planet earth (Rev 19:19-21). Until then the anti-christ will act as though he is the real Saviour of the nation of Israel and many Jews will be deceived during this time of the end (Rev 3:9-10).

After this false safety will go bust just before the battle of Armageddon, then these same Israelites will mourn for the true Messiah to appear and rescue them to safety, at this point of time He will return to rescue Israel and inhabit in it forever Then in true safety they will dwell in their land (Jer 23:6; 32:37; 33:16; Ezek 28:26; 34:25, 28; Zech 14:11).

The ‘un walled villages, prosperous people, dwelling safely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates’ are all the words the boastful anti-christ will use to make the Israelites [i.e. Jews] feel safe throughout the whole false peace covenant period (Ezek 38:11,14; 1 Thess 5:3). Thus absolutely indicating that the war which has been foretold in Ezekiel 38th and 39th chapter is the same Armageddon war described in the Book of Revelation (Rev 16:12-14; 19:17-21).

After all these events take place, the human rebellion will be subdued by Jesus and His heavenly army on the day of the battle of Armageddon. And then satan and his evil cohorts will be thrown [i.e. not all but only those in frontline rebellion just as in the case of humans] in to the bottomless pit for a thousand year of glorious reign of the true Messiah [Jesus Christ] for a thousand years in this planet earth. But not all the demons will be thrown in to the bottomless pit. As in the days of Noah when many demons which directly possessed people by illegally breaking God’s law were thrown in to the bottomless pit, so also will be at this time (Rev 20:1-3; Jude 6-8). This is the reason the demons which possessed the man who met Jesus in the country of Gadarenes cried and begged to Jesus to not send them in to the abyss immediately. They knew that possessing people by breaking God’s law will make them to be eligible to be thrown in to the bottomless pit any time (Luke 8:31).

A question may come to your mind here, why should God release Satan out of the bottomless pit for a little while after the glorious millennium will be over?
What we should understand here is, God always wants to remind people that the heart condition of man never changes, for it is absolutely wicked and have no possibility of repair. This heart that God speaks about is the soulish heart which is not under the control of God and in fact it cannot be (Jer 13:10; 7:24; 17:9-10; Gal 5:17; Rom 7:17-18, 23-24, 5). This must give us a good understanding of who we are without God in our own. Without Him [i.e. Jesus Christ] we will be in rebellion to God and His ways. Without Him we cannot do anything (Rev 20:1-3; John 15:5; 5:30). After this event of satan thrown in to the bottomless pit, thrones will be put on earth for Jesus and His saints to rule the world for a thousand years (Daniel 7:14, 27; Rev 20:4). We see the same thing described in the Book of Daniel where it says that the sound of pompous words of the anti-christ was heard until the thrones were put in place and Christ started to judge the nations based on how they treated His brethrens who were in Christ [i.e. all the messianic Jews and the saints who were martyred in all of history even up to the time of His reigning ] (Dan 7:11,9-10,26; Matt 25:31-46; Rev 20:4-6). The moment the throne of Christ is put up in this planet earth [i.e. the throne of Christ will be put up anytime once His feet touches the Mount of Olives], anti-christ will be slain in the succeeding battle of Armageddon and his body will be destroyed and will be given to the burning flame (Dan 7:11; Rev 19:20-21).

The Book of Daniel Chapter 7 Verse 12 also explains about the beasts [Note: not beast (anti-christ) which is singular] whose dominion will be taken away during this time when Christ starts to reign in this earth. In other words, the other political kings or governmental authorities who have not directly participated in the war of Armageddon against Christ and His heavenly army of saints, their dominion will be taken away but their lives will be prolonged for a season and a time. Here we see Christ giving a chance to these people to follow Him. O what a mercy! This also indicates that some kings will try to resist anti-christ’s tyranny of a one world governance and these kings will have a peculiar spirit influence which will be different from that of anti-christ (Dan 7:12; 11). To all martyrs who ever lived during all of the various ages in the past, right from the day of creation to this time [i.e. the kingdom establishment] just before the millennial rule is established, these will be resurrected along with the martyrs of the tribulation period. This is also called as the first resurrection. This is called the first resurrection because right from the day of creation up to that day of the first resurrection these saints have been waiting and have nearly missed two previous resurrections of the saints [i.e. 1) Resurrection of saints along with Jesus 2) Rapture]. Thus for them this is the first resurrection in which they will be resurrected with their glorious bodies which will happen at Christ’s Second Coming to this planet earth (Rev 20:5-6).

These resurrected people are compared with the other non-resurrected people because these precious martyr saints have missed all the previous resurrections just like the unbelievers [i.e. these unbelievers will be resurrected only at the white throne judgment] have missed, until Jesus comes to this earth and resurrects them because they were placed in a Special Blessed martyrs category to be qualified as priests of God and of Christ for a thousand years (Rev 20:6; 6:9-11; 7:9-17). But the unbelievers will be resurrected only at the end [i.e. at the white throne judgment] and the intensity of punishment for each unbeliever will be different according to their works and how much they have neglected the voice of God when God tried to reach out to them. This is known as the second death (Rev 20:5-6, 11-15; Matt 11:20-24; Luke 10:10-16). The Book of life will be opened to show to the unbelievers the importance of it and their neglect of it during their earthly life. This is also opened to check the names of the millennium saints for their entry in to the eternal city and in to the new heaven and new earth (Rev 20:15). This also shows that there will be sinners who will rebel against the authority of the Messiah even during the Millennium, but the Messiah will subdue them all under Him (Isaiah 11:4; 9:7; 32:1; 65:18-20; Zech 14:16-19; Eccl 8:12-13). This is also the reason the Book of Life will be used during the white throne judgment to check and separate the sinners who died during the millennium from the saints who lived very long and died during the Millennium (Rev 20:11-12, 15). Praise the Lord!

All the unbelievers will be judged according to the works because they were not covered by the perfect work done on their behalf which is the blood of the lamb, but the believer’s [i.e. the millennium saints] will be rewarded with a eternal bliss of all new city, heaven and earth. The crux of the matter is either they will be qualified by the 100% perfectness of their faith in the blood of Jesus to enter in to eternity with God or without that perfectness to enter in to eternal fire based on their imperfect works which is compared to a filthy rag in Isaiah 64:6.

After the 1000 years will be over, satan will be released out of his prison, but the surprising thing that we see here is satan’s nature has not changed even a little bit and in fact it cannot be changed (Rev 20:7; 1 John 3:8; Eccl 1:15). Once again satan will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth and will gather a huge human army from across the world to come against the city of the saints with Gog and Magog as the armies spearheading this final war against God and His Christ, just as in the days of anti-christ when he brought an army against Israel and Jerusalem to attack, capture and destroy it from the face of this planet earth. The capacity or the number of men in this army will be innumerable as the sand of the sea (Rev 20:7-8).

Satan when he is released out of the bottomless pit for a while will deceive and make the people to think that they are invincible. Hence when these people come up against the saints and surround the camp of the saints [i.e. saints of the Most High will camp and rule from various nations and places] and the beloved city [i.e. Jerusalem in which the Headquarters of the all the camp of the saints will be], this time the judgment of the Lord God Almighty will come swiftly by God sending fire from heaven by which all of them will be destroyed (Rev 20:9-10).

The new heaven and the new earth will be a completely brand new one that will have been created and have been already prepared by God. That is why nothing was said about the creation of the new heaven or new earth. The moment John saw this new heaven and the new earth; he saw a complete and a whole picture of it, not a quarter or half of it. This is the same new heaven and new earth that Jesus promised every believer by saying, “….I go to prepare a place for you [i.e. all believers].” (John 14:2). In other words Jesus was promising all the believers that the reason he will stay in heaven until the Millennium is to prepare a new heaven and a new earth to accommodate every one of us. Again this is the reason Apostle Peter encouraged all believer’s to look forward to the new heaven and the new earth and not just the Millennium of reigning in this present earth with Jesus as the king of kings (Rev 20:4-6; 2 Peter 3:13). The believer’s will also reign during the millennium as a part of the Lord’s army which will subdue the earth under Jesus, which was the first original purpose of the creation of man [i.e. in a reigning with in a dominion sense] (Rev 19:11-16; 1 John 3:2; Daniel 7:27; Gen 1:26-28, 29-31; 1 Cor 15:20-28; Acts 3:21).

This old heaven and old earth will be melted away and will be burnt by fire, just like in the days of Noah the earth was destroyed by flood. When flood comes at least the remains of the earth will be found. But when the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat [i.e. both the earth and the work that are in it will be burned up]; nothing of the remains can be found because at that high degree of temperature, everything will be melted to gas and ashes (2 Peter 3:7, 10-12).

Here in the Book of Second Peter 3:10, because of the shortness of the millennium compared to eternity (2 Peter 3:8), Apostle Peter is referring to the day of the Lord in a reverse manner in which he says that the elements of the earth will melt away with fervent heat and both the works that are in it will be burned up. In this verse, when he says ‘the day of the Lord’, he is referring to the end of the day of the Lord because it will soon be over just as a day with morning and evening passes by (2 Peter3:8). In other words, Apostle Peter was pointing to the fact that as fast as the Millennium comes so fast will the Millennium be over, but for all the believers there is a greater eternity of reigning and ruling with Jesus in the new heaven and the new earth which will start when the Millennium will be over. But unlike the Millennium reign of Jesus, God’s eternal new heaven and the new earth will be inhabited only by those saints and saved believers as its occupants (Rev 21:1-8). There will be no more sea in the new heaven and new earth because it was not God’s original will for the earth to be filled with the waters of the sea, but because of a angelic rebellion that happened against God’s sovereign rule on earth, this sea came in to existence which was supposed to be under the layers of the earth to water it as in the garden of Eden before man was created (Rev 21:1; Gen 1:1-2; 2:4-7).

After all these things we see the real woman [i.e. the bride, the lamb’s wife] which is the Holy City [i.e. the real great city of God which is the heavenly Jerusalem] descending out of heaven from God having the glory of God [i.e. filled to God’s fullness with the Holy Spirit]. As we notice that those carried away in the Spirit’s fullness can only experience such vision of the heavenly Jerusalem which is real. The earthly has been patterned by God according to the order of the Heavenly Jerusalem which is called the city of God. The earthly Jerusalem for example is in the centre point of the earth, so also the Heavenly Jerusalem will be at the central point of the universe in heaven. This earthly Jerusalem is called the city of God on earth which God has chosen to dwell, even so with the heavenly Jerusalem. The earthly Jerusalem is the logical head quarters of God’s rule on earth, even so with the heavenly Jerusalem in heaven (Rev 21:9-11; Heb 12:22-29). Abraham in the Old Testament had the faith to be carried away by the Spirit to see a glimpse of the vision of the city of God. This encounter with God gave Abraham a longing and an intense desire to look forward to the day when he will depart from these earthly cities of pilgrimage to be settled in this heavenly city of God forever. For this reason Jesus Himself said about Abraham that he waited in expectation in Sheol to see the redemption day when Jesus Himself will come to Sheol and take them back with the resurrected body to the city of God after His death and resurrection (Acts 7:5;Prov 11:31;Heb 11:8-16; John 8:56-59; Matt 27:52-54). In the Old Testament time the Bible says that Abraham waited for the city whose builder and maker is God (Heb 11:8-10). But by the time the writer of the Hebrews was writing it he said, “But now…..He has prepared a city for them [Note the past tense]” (Heb 11:16).

Here according to the context we see a literal city filled with God’s glory, which will be inhabited by the saints who had eagerly expected to dwell in it. The Holy Jerusalem represents each individual member saints like as houses grouped together and formed will be considered a city. Thus both the glory of God covering the saints and also the literal material city is described as the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:9-21). This city according to Apostle Peter, God has been building these houses [i.e. Physical bodies of saints for the Spirit to dwell] which are grouped together [in various resurrections] to become a city for the eternal Millenniums ahead and will continue until the White throne judgment take place when the building of God’s magnificent buildings with human stops and the present earth will be no more present. This will be the end of the building of the Eternal City of God (1 Peter 2:4-12; 2 Peter 3:10-13).

The saints who are in the heavenly city of Jerusalem will now be brought down from the elevated place where God has created and kept for the saints [i.e. the new heaven and the new earth] right through the millenniums for its inauguration and inhabitation will finally be fulfilled on that glorious day! Hallelujah! Here again as the city represented the saints on earth, so the temple of God always represented God on earth. Now that the fulfillment of the real thing has happened in heaven of which the earth contains and showed only its shadows, the city had no temple but God Himself was that temple (Rev 21:22).

The Holy Spirit of God not only filled the saints but the whole city with His beautiful illuminating presence which will connect God to the saints in an intimate manner. The Lamb of God [i.e. Jesus Himself] will be the object of relationship and revelation for eternity (Rev 21:23). The saints and angels of God will be settled in the new heaven and the new earth, which is God’s original purpose for which He created the heavens and the earth in the Book of Genesis. Thus from this time forth and for evermore “God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, and all the saints will be connected to God through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit in them. God will live among His people for eternity to enjoy with His people. Hallelujah! (Matt 22:29-30; 6:10). Just like we have nations now, then also we will have nations and leaders who will represent their nations to bring honor and glory of nations to Jesus in the city of God, whose gates will not be closed at all.

These people who will enter and dwell in this new heaven and new earth will only be saved people whose names will be written in the Lamb’s Book of life (Rev 21:24-27). People will not be like spirit zombie’s singing Hallelujah’s to the Lamb like a robotic machine, but as much as Jesus was alive and well with His glorious body to even eat natural fish and drink wine as he forecasted, so we will be for eternity! Hallelujah! (Luke 24:36-43; Matt 26:29; Mark 14:25; Matt 25:34; Acts 10:41).

The new heaven and the new earth will be the fulfillment of God’s original intent for mankind. What we have lost in the first few chapters of God’s creation is seen completely restored with the last few chapters of Revelation. Here in the last chapter of Revelation, we see “the water of life….from the throne of God and of the Lamb” and the “tree of life” which will be the legal rights of all those who will have the submissive heart to serve Him (Rev 22:1-2; Gen 2:8-10). It is still the will of God that every man should happily live in God’s garden of this planet earth in a blessed loving relationship with Him and with each other (Luke 10:25-37). God said to Moses that no man can see the face of God and live, because in the natural state we will die the moment we see Him in His glory. But the glory covered saints will be just like Jesus, hence they will be able to see the face of God (Exodus 33:20; 1 John 3:2; Rev 22:4).

The other original intent of God’s creation is to reign in this earth through connecting with God and using His authority to rule the earth with His righteousness. This will also be fulfilled completely through saints in the new heaven and the new earth. This is where the present life that we live for God will give us the position of reigning that we will hold in the new heaven and the new earth forever and ever (Rev 22:5; Matt 25:14-30). There will be no more curses because God Himself will dwell in the midst of the new earth, thus supplying His blessing and His presence for every one forever and ever. Thus out of an obedient and heart and gratefulness, His servants shall serve Him (Rev 22:3). This direct presence of God for the sustenance of man is indirectly referred to as “The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Rev 22:2). We see here that a angel bringing from God the visions of God for the Apostle John to experience and to see and tell it to others (Rev 22:16). But John missed God by being overwhelmed by the vessel through which the message of God came. Every true servant of God will point only to worship God, and will not accept worship from anybody (Rev 22:8-9; Acts 14:11-18; Acts 3:11-16).

The “water of life” is symbolically represented by the voice of the Spirit and the bride (Rev 22:17; John 4:7-26). It is more important to obey God and keep His commandments to have the right to the tree of life and to enter the city through the gates (Rev 22:14). The prophecy of the Book of the Revelation is the truth of God; hence those who add words to this book will be afflicted with the plagues by God. In other words, when we alter the truth of God it will become a lie which will mislead many in to destruction. This is the reason God will add plagues to these kinds of people (Rev 22:18-19). Praise the Lord!

The Revelation of Jesus Christ- Part 3

Revelation of Jesus Christ-Part 3

By Abraham Israel

The Tribulation

Exactly after the rapture has taken place, I believe the two prophets of God will return back to the earth (Rev 11:3). They will be present here prophesying for exactly three and a half years, not less or not more for one more day. They are the one who will blow the trumpet through the angels of God. The seven trumpets that are blown by the angels are released from heaven exactly in harmony with the words of these two prophets (Rev 11:3-6). In the Bible the trumpet sound is equated to the warning that the prophets spoke in the name of God regarding the destruction that would come on the people if they reject the word of the Lord and become unrepentant. The prophets hearing a word from God’s mouth would warn people about God’s impending judgment (Ezekiel 33:3-7; Isaiah 44:26).

Before they start blowing, God will have a remnant of His servants sealed who will be sealed just before the prophets will start prophesying. These sealed servants will be protected as a testimony to God’s sovereign hand that rules over the world even during these times in which the Anti-christ completely controls the whole world (Dan 11:32-35;Rev 7:1-8;Exodus 11:6-7). These sealed servants will not only be protected from God’s wrath but also from the destruction of Anti-christ because of God’s protection over their lives just like the two prophets, these God’s chosen servants will be protected even as they all testify against Anti-christ and his deceitful government (Rev 11:5). If we ask the question for what purpose God is specifically protecting these servants of God who are essentially Messianic Jews? These servants of God who are Messianic Jews will be a witness to the whole nation of Israel and will lead many of their fellow brethren in to the living faith in Jesus Christ who is their real Messiah.

The Messiah who have been rejected by them for more than two millennium because of their tradition will continue, and by that time many Jews would be believing the Anti-christ as their messiah, as Jesus has already prophesied before two thousand years ago itself (Rev 7:1-8; Dan 11:31-16; John 5:43; Mark 7:6-13; John 5:46). This is because the false prophet who will rise from the nation of Israel will bring fire from heaven to be seen by the nation of Israel. Because of this miracle the nation of Israel will believe that he is the true Elijah of the Old Testament because of this sign that he was granted to perform by God but would be deceived because they have rejected the truth of God which is in Jesus Christ (Rev 13:13;2 Thess 2:8-12;Duet 18:15-22;Duet 13:1-3). The false prophet is described in the Bible as coming out of the earth (Rev 13:11). The Jews who will be expecting that Elijah will come before the coming of the messiah, will be completely deceived by the false prophet who will declare himself to be the true Elijah (Malachi 4:5;Matt 17:11). The nation of Israel is the only nation that has been described by Jesus as earth in the New Testament. As the rendering of ‘erets’ in the New Testament, “the earth” denotes the land of Judea (Matt 23:35); also things carnal in contrast with things heavenly (John 3:31; Col 3:1, 2). Hence the false prophet will be a Jew who will rise from the nation of Israel. When the Jews believe that he is the real Elijah, it will be during the time of the first three and a half year period of false peace and covenant of the Anti-christ (Daniel 9:27).

The Anti-christ will rise from the sea as the Bible says which represent all the gentile nations of the world (Rev 13:1; Dan 7:2; Rev 17:15). After the Jews will believe this false-Elijah, he will point to the Anti-christ to be their messiah and because of this reason the Jews will receive Anti-christ who is essentially an Assyrian to be received as their messiah (Isaiah 14:24-27). This unholy alliance between the false-Elijah and Anti-christ will happen because the Anti-christ will lure the false prophet by promising him a world status for him in his government, which Anti-christ will establish from Jerusalem from the newly built Jewish temple by breaking the covenant with the nation of Israel and seating himself as God the messiah who is worthy of worship from all human being including Jews (Rev 13:11-18; 2 Thess 2:4; Daniel 9:27). Once he seats himself as God, there will come a rebellion and uprising against him from the Jews who will reject him because he has seated himself as God which is a desecration of the temple to the true Jew who considers that there shall be no God before Yahweh the Lord (Matt 24:15-16; Daniel 9:27; Exodus 20:1-6; 2 Thess 2:4). During this rebellion of the Jews, he will be wounded by a Jewish zealot with a sword, but he will recover and will be healed miraculously from the mortal wound and all the world will marvel and will follow him [i.e. give their political power completely to Anti-christ to run a one world government](Rev 13:3,14). From this point onwards the Anti-christ will be worshipped as the sole leader of the whole world by the entire world except the saints as in the days of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3:8-18; Rev 13:13-18).

The false prophet will be the personal advisor and will be the close partner of Anti-christ from the day they joined together to the day they both will be thrown in to the eternal hell fire. He will be the one who will tell those who dwell on the earth during that period of time to make an image to the Anti-christ who was wounded and had recovered from the deadly mortal wound (Rev 13:14). When they make such an image, the false prophet will make the image to breathe and as a result will cause the image to speak. In this case God will have granted to the false prophet to do such mighty sign in order for those people who have not received the truth of God from the two prophets and the servants of God, to be deceived to believe a lie (Rev 13:3,15;2 Thess 2:9-12;Duet 13:1-3). From this point of time the false prophet will cause all those who do not worship this image of the beast [which he had made to speak miraculously] to be killed openly (Rev 13:15). This worship is not just man worship, but open satanic worship declaring to the world that it was Satan who gave his very own authority for the beast to reign over the whole world (Rev 13:4,Matt 4:8-9). This satanic authority is nothing but the authority to directly influence the whole world [i.e. all the kings and political leaders of the world] in the very realm of the spirit, where Satan and all the demons will directly speak in to the minds of all the people of the world, through thoughts that will influence them to follow Anti-christ as the sole leader of the whole world (Rev 16:13-14). Hence when the whole world will submit themselves in to the hands of Anti-christ and there will be one world currency. After this event takes place, nobody in the whole world will be able to trade or even buy their daily food if they have not received the mark of 666 on their hand or on their foreheads (Rev 13:16-18).

This will continue until the true Messiah comes and defeats the Anti-christ and throws the Anti-christ and the false prophet in to eternal hell fire (Rev 13:4-10; 16:12-16; 19:19-21). This false Elijah will precede the true Elijah who will come just after the rapture takes place and the false messiah will also precede the coming of the true messiah who will appear on earth after those seven year period of Anti-christ’s covenant time expires with Israel. The true Messianic Jews will be raptured as a part of the Church which is the Body and the Bride of Christ (Rom 11:24; Matt 21:43; Gal 3:26-29; Col 3:11). But those zealous Jews who had been deceived by the Anti-christ will come to see their folly when Anti-christ will seat himself in the temple declaring Himself to be God, these Jewish zealots will reject both of them [i.e. Anti-christ and the false prophet] and will mourn for their true Messiah by receiving faith in Him through the testimony of those sealed servants of God and the two anointed prophets among their own brethren (2 Thess 2:4, . These true Messianic Jews will be persecuted and many will die as martyrs just like the Luke warm believers who were left behind will face persecution all over the world, who will be ready even to die as martyrs (Rev 12:17). Many of them will die as martyrs (Rev 7:9-17). The Anti-christ will do as he wants till the wrath of God is accomplished and fulfilled.

How can we say that the sealing of the servants of God will happen before the trumpets are blown? The answer is when the fifth trumpet sounds, the demons like locusts which came upon the whole earth was commanded by God not to harm those men who do have the seal of God on their foreheads (Rev 9:1-5). The two prophets as the Bible describes will have power to shut heavens, so that no rain will fall in the days of their prophecy, and they will have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. The trumpets are that which will be operated completely through the prophetic words of the two prophets (Rev 11:6; 8:2-13; 9:1-21; 11:14-19). I believe that the seventh trumpet is the last trumpet that Paul described in 1 Cor 15:50-58. Once it has been started by the prophets, the trumpet’s sound will culminate only when Jesus comes back again during His Second Coming to the earth. This is the reason the Bible describes the seventh trumpet as “the days of the sounding [i.e. present continuous period of time, which will culminate at the second coming of Jesus to the earth] of the seventh angel…..”(Rev 10:7). Just when he [the seventh angel] is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the Prophets (Rev 10:7). In other words, just when the seventh angel who is about to finish the sound that he had started to sound forth in the [starting] days of the sounding, all the mysteries of God that has been hidden for the ages will be revealed because the seventh trumpet sound will make the kingdoms of the world [which was at that time ruled by Anti-christ] to become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ forever and ever. As the Bible also affirms that by saying, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly [Enigma in English is derived from this Greek word ainigma which means mystery which is the word used here for the word ‘dimly’], but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then [when? In the resurrection of believers (first during the rapture and then at the second coming for those who have died during the tribulation even up to Armageddon)] I shall know just as I also am known.” (1 Cor 13 :12).

It is at this time that all who were dead during the tribulation will be resurrected and they shall reign along with Him forever and ever which in itself is a mystery unveiled before the eyes of all the people of the earth as they see Jesus Christ appearing on the earth with His saints (Rev 10:7; 11:15-19; 19:11-21 -> 20:1-6; 1 Cor 15:51; Zech 14:3-5;Matt 24:30-31). During the starting time of the sounding of the seventh angel the bowls of wrath will be poured out and manifested in this planet earth because at that time the 24 elders in heaven were saying that the resurrection time has come and You are going to destroy those who destroy the earth [Who were those? These were the Anti-christ and the false prophet] (Rev 11:18).

During the time of the seventh trumpet these bowls of wrath will be poured out because in the bowl judgment the first angel was seen pouring out his bowl upon those who had taken the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image all over the earth and also the Bible shows the fifth angel pouring out his bowl on the throne of the beast which will make him furious to gather an army to fight against God openly (Rev 11:15-19; 15:1-21).

Revelation chapter 14 speaks about various events. The first event of the Lamb standing on mount Zion with 144000 saints is the day of His second coming where the number 144000 represents all the saved saints of the New Covenant who were redeemed from the earth who were not defiled with the woman [i.e. false religion of Idolatry (Rev 17:18)] and are considered as chaste virgins being first fruits to God and to the Lamb. In their mouths was found no deceit because they have accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord of their lives (Rev 14:3-5; Eph 5:25-27; 1 Cor 10:14-17; 15:20, 23; 2 Cor 11:2-5; 1 Cor 12:3). They are all without fault before the throne of God because they are all washed by the Blood of the Lamb (Rev 14:5;1 John 5:7;Rev 19:13;1 Peter 1:2,23-25). On the day of His second coming to this planet earth Jesus Christ and His saints will fight against the Anti-christ and will defeat Him (Rev 17:14; Rev 19:11-21). This is the same event that has been described in the Old Testament Book of Zechariah where it says that “His feet [i.e. the feet of Jesus] will stand on the Mount of Olives [i.e. mount Zion]” on the day of the Lord (Rev 14:1-5; Zech 14:1-5; Joel 2:32). This is the same thing the two men [i.e. angels] declared to the disciples who looked steadfastly toward the heaven where Jesus seconds before vanished by saying, “…“Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.” (Acts 1:11-12).

Jesus promised the Church of the end time if they will overcome the things of the world and its lust by boldly proclaiming the gospel then He will write the name of His God on each individual who will be a over comer, which I believe are the same saints who are described in Revelation chapter 14 as having His [i.e. Lamb’s] Father’s name written on their foreheads (Rev 3:12; 14:1). These saints were not defiled with the woman, for they are virgins. The woman is the apostate church which compromised all that God hated and were having just a form of religion but denying its transforming power (Rev 14:3-5; 2 Tim 3:1, 5-9). Many of these saints coming with Jesus Christ will consist of the glorious church of the end time and also all the heroes of faith [i.e. saints] who lived during the church age. Also the Old Testament saints will be part of the army who will follow Jesus Christ to the earth during His Second Coming (Zech 14:1-5).

The woman of the false religion that makes it look like the true one is completely propagated by a false religious spirit which will project another Jesus and will make people receive a different spirit by making people accept a different gospel (2 Cor 11:4; Rev 17:6). The proclamation of another angel flying in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach will happen during the season of summer harvest time just before Anti-christ will come to be the leader of the peace league in which he will make a covenant of seven years with the nation of Israel up to the time of rapture of the Church which will happen just moments before or after the tribulation starts (Rev 14:7;3:10;Matt 24:20-22). Babylon which is the religious city of Rome [i.e. Vatican] which I believe is that great city, because the Bible describes this city as the head of the apostate church whose origin is a politico-religious one which was started with the blood of apostles and prophets. This judgment of the apostate church will happen exactly after the rapture takes place and it will be a judgment that will come through the hate of those ten political kings of the unified revised Roman Empire (Rev 14:8;18:20,23-24). And also the other indication that the apostate church of Babylon is Rome [i.e. Vatican] is because John the apostle marvels with great amazement seeing it. My question to you is, why should he marvel if it is a paganistic religious spirit which was normal during the first century (Rev 17:6)? The next indication that it is Rome [Vatican’s politico-religious church] which is that apostate church is because God is calling certain people out of it before its destruction, calling these people as “Come out of her My people….” (Rev 18:4). These people who are called out of it before its destruction are some genuine God-seekers who were left behind because of their lukewarmness, who will again be longing for God realizing their mistake of lukewarmness (Rev 3:14-22).

The last indication which is as clear as crystal to indicate that the woman is the apostate politico-religious church of Rome [i.e. Vatican] is because the apostle John described the identity of the woman as that great city which reigns [when? Nearly 2000 years ago when Rome was the capital of the world] over the kings of the earth (Rev 17:18). The third angel’s declaration will be proclaimed just before the false prophet makes all those who dwell on the earth to worship the beast and his image by performing the signs which he was granted [by whom? By God like in the Old Testament when God gave His power in to the hands of Satan to fulfill His purpose (Job 1:12; 2:3,6)] to do in the sight of the beast (Rev 14:9-13). This wine of the wrath of God is the time of tribulation up to Armageddon when a big harvest of souls will be reaped during that winter season which will be only next in magnitude to the summer harvest which would have been over by then even before the falling away [apostasy of the Church] had come during the autumn season (Rev 14:17-20; Matt 24:20; 2 Thess 2:3). The wine of the wrath of God will start from the first trumpet and will end with the war of Armageddon. Hence the harvest in Rev 14:14-16 will be the summer harvest which starts in the Revival Proclamation of the gospel to the ends of the earth [before the End-time or the time of the end of 7 years covenant of the Anti-christ with the nation of Israel (Dan 12:4,9-10)] to the rapture of the Church which will happen moments before or after the tribulation starts (Rev 3:7-13;Matt 24:14;24:32-35). The harlot who sits on many waters symbolically represents the control which the false religion had on the peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues. The woman which is the Roman religious body which has encouraged religious-harlotry on earth through its religious system will have firm control on the revived Roman Political body or the league during the first half of the 7 years of the Anti-christ’s covenant with the nation of Israel during which he will boast globally as the man of peace who has finally solved the unsolvable Israel-Palestine conflict in a unprecedented way (Rev 17:1,3,15). It has always been a mystery of how a religious spirit of harlotry has been directly influencing the governments of the world for the ages past (Rev 17:1-5).

The Wilderness is a place where there will be no human presence but only the beasts (Mk 1:12-13;Ps 22:12,13;91:13;68:30;2 Tim 4:17-18). The wilderness where John was carried was the heavenly place from where satan sat and controlled through the religious spirits the human government of the world by directly influencing it wrongly in rebellion against God from this high elevated place of spiritual dimension, so only the woman was directly drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus (Rev 17:6). It is really amazing to find this profound truth of how satan controls the world calling it as his kingdom (2 Cor4:4; Eph 2:2; Matt 4:8-9). Even in the Book of Zechariah this woman who was seen controlling from the heavenlies was seen shifting its base to the earth and keeping the Middle Eastern land of Babylon to be their headquarters to operate directly by possessing the people who are going to rule at the end time. This control of the whole world will be done through digitally advanced satellite network through which the one world government will operate with the one world control centre. Because this Digitalized Central network acts under the control of Anti-christ, it will act as the curse carriers in to every house of the end-time (Zechariah 5;Rev 16:12-14;Dan 11:40-45 -> 12:1). The moment rapture takes place the Church will be taken in to this place of Dominion of influence over the world for three and half years (Rev 12:14), where satan will be thrown out from that wilderness of heavenlies and the power of air will be dislodged and as a result satan will become furious to destroy the real woman which gave birth to the male child [i.e. Jesus Christ] which is the people of the kingdom of God on earth as a nation, but they will be raptured because the earth will open its mouth and will swallow up the flood of deceit and destruction of satan. Then immediately satan will go after those lukewarm saints who were left behind [i.e. the church which is that nation of God in the New Testament era, which was Israel in the Old Testament time (Matt 21:43)] (Luke 21:25-28;Rev 12:13-17). The moment Israel will accept Jesus as the Messiah the nation of Israel will again become the nation of God. From this time onward’s God will rule the world from the nation of Israel through the Messiah and his armies.

This wilderness is the 1st heaven which is directly the air atmosphere above the earth from where the harlot woman has been sitting ever since the creation and later after the fall of man, began to directly influence the world system of governance. Because at the fall of man the direct control of God’s influence over the world system of governance was cut off because Adam voluntarily chose to disobey God by taking the side of satan through his disobedience to God’s command. The earth opening its mouth and helping the woman is nothing but the earth which held up the life of the saints in it through the spirit of death, will give up those who are dead in Christ and satan will try his best to hold them up in that state through its influence over the spirit of death but Jesus who is having the keys of Hades and Death will prevail on the day of the rapture of the Church as He prevailed over those powers and principalities two thousand years ago when He disarmed [i.e. made it powerless and under subjection] those spirits on the cross (Rev 12:7-16;Col 2:15;1 Cor 15:50-58;Gen 4:11;Is 59:19;Rev 20:11,13). Satan will hence after the event of rapture will make war with the left behind offspring of the woman who are believer’s in Jesus Christ (Rev 12:17;14:12-13;13:5-10).

After their [i.e. two anointed prophets] forty two months of prophesying will be over, the Anti-christ who will be possessed by Satan himself after his healing from the mortal wound by the sword will become very furious against these anointed prophets because of the fifth bowl of wrath during the sounding of the seventh trumpet that will be poured out right on the throne of the Beastly Anti-christ (Rev 10:7;16:10-11). This will make his whole kingdom reel under darkness which will cause pains and sores to come up in their bodies. But they will not repent, instead they will blaspheme God for all their troubles. As a direct result of this judgment of God executed through the prophets, the beastly Anti-christ by the direct empowerment of satan will make war against these two anointed prophets, will overcome and kill them (Rev 11:7;16:10-11). And their dead bodies will lie in the streets of Jerusalem for three and half days. It will be telecast live to all the people of the world and it will be seen by them with their Television and Internet-Television. These people will not allow anybody to put the bodies of the two dead prophets in to graves, but will rejoice and celebrate their death as a festival, sending gifts to one another because it was these prophets who brought the direct wrath of God upon all the people of the world [i.e. earth dwellers who were not heaven seekers and God haters] and tormented them (Rev 11:7-10).

After three and half days, the two prophets will be resurrected back to life and will stand on their feet, great fear will fall upon those who see it. They will hear a loud voice of God from heaven saying, “Come up here”. And they will ascend in to heaven in a cloud and their enemies will see them ascend with their own eyes as the disciples saw Jesus ascend in to heaven in a cloud (Acts 1:9-11). In that same hour there will be a great earth quake and the tenth of the city of Jerusalem will fall by it. In this great earth quake, seven thousand people will be killed as a result of it and the rest will be afraid and give glory to God (Rev 11:11-13).

The Apostle John taking the little book from the hand of the mighty angel and eating it up describes that the prophetic content spoken by John the Apostle is not from his own self, but is from God and will be genuinely fulfilled by God. The content of that little book of prophecy is about many peoples, nations, tongues and kings. Exactly like the Apostle John, in the Old Testament the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel ate the scrolls of prophecy and then prophesied in to the spirit realm which caused all the prophecies to be fulfilled in their appointed set-times of God (Rev 10:8-11; Jer 15:16; Ezek 2:7-10 -> 3:1-7).

The mystery of lawlessness was at work two thousand years ago itself and it is the spirit of Anti-christ which rejects the authority of the Lord’s government and acts under satan’s lawless rebellious government (2 Thess 2:7; 1 John 4:3; 2 John 7). Lawlessness is a mystery and sin is lawlessness (2 Thess 2:7; 1 John 3:4). Godliness is a mystery too which has been given to us by believing the package of salvation which Jesus Christ achieved for every believer (1 Tim 3:16).

The woman in the Old Testament was the nation of Israel. God always considered the people to whom He bestowed the kingdom of God through His Spirit as a woman (Rev 22:17) and called them His wife. When the nation of Israel started following after other pagan gods, the same nation was equated to a woman who was unfaithful to her husband by practicing harlotry (Rev 12:1;Gen 37:9-11; Hosea 2:2,13;Matt 21:43; Rom 14:17). In the New Testament the church as a nation has been bestowed the kingdom of God through His Spirit and hence has been called a betrothed virgin woman or bride (Matt 21:43;1 Peter 2:9;Eph 5:23-27). The close connection and relationship between Christ [i.e. the husband] and the Church [i.e. the betrothed bride] is a mystery as Paul the Apostle says (Eph 5:28-33; 2 Cor 11:2-3;Hosea 2:19-20). The woman fleeing in to wilderness is the event of rapture described symbolically, which will make the believing Messianic Jews and the Church which is in Jesus Christ to be caught up together in the clouds along with the saints who were dead in Christ to meet the Lord Jesus in the air (1 Thess 4:16-17;Rev 12:6,14). When Jesus comes at the time of rapture, He will not touch upon the earth but will wait in the air to receive the Church to Himself (John 14:2-3), by then the air which has been occupied by the prince of the power of air will be dislodged and thrown to the earth to make way for Jesus (Eph 2:2;Luke 21:26-27). The woman who gave birth to the male child is the seed of the woman which is the people of God who believed God’s word of a promised saviour (Rev 12:13;Gen 3:15;Luke 1;28,31-38,46-48,54-55).

Apostle John saw a mighty angel coming down from heaven which he thought was an angel (Rev 10:1), but actually it was Jesus coming down from heaven. As Jesus also said in John 3:13, “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.” He is the only person whom the Bible has compared His face to be like a sun, no other angels in heaven have been spoken in this manner (Rev 10:1;4:3;1:16,15;Acts 26:13-14). A hand from heaven supplied the scroll for the prophet Ezekiel to eat, and that hand was God Almighty’s hand. Here as God’s representative for human kind the little book of prophetic writing is carried by Jesus (Rev 10:2;Ezekiel 2:8-10 -> 3:1-4). Also here we see the angel has his right foot on the sea which symbolically represents that He [i.e. Jesus] has taken the sovereign authority of God over the kingdom of the world (Dan 7:1-3;Matt 28:18;Mark 14:62). The clothing over Him was with a cloud which represents the powers of heaven empowered by the Spirit which includes all the angels of God (Mark 14:62;Matt 24:30-31;25:31). And His left foot on the land represents His authority in the earth through the Church. The Kingdom of God which is on earth is symbolized in the Bible as the earth or land (Matt 23:34-35;6:10; Ps 114:2; 24:1; 115:16). This angel’s voice was like the lions roar because Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev 5:5;10:3). When He cried seven thunders uttered their voices. The seven thunders actually uttered the prophetic timings of these important events exactly. Hence Apostle John was told not to write these things (Rev 10:4). The seven thunders is the voice of the Lord (Ps 77:18;Rev 14:2;2 Samuel 22:14). It is the glory of God that thunders and it is the voice of the Lord that comes out of it (Ps 29:3-4). When people hear the voice of the Lord from heaven it will sound like a thunder to them (Matt 12:28-29). Nobody knows the exact timing of the events except God the trinity. Even the angels of heaven do not know it (Acts 1:6-7;Matt 24:36;1 Thess 5:1-2). The sealing up of the things happened once during the time of Daniel, but God conveyed to him that it will be sealed up only until the time of the end. Hence the moment the Anti-christ makes a peace covenant with Israel, all the sealed events will be broken open by the Lord Jesus Himself (Rev 5:1-2). Then all the sealed events will happen before our very eyes which means only God knows the exact timing’s of all these events. Once the seal is opened all the world of God seekers will come to openly see the events of the end time and know where they are in the whole process of time even up to the sounding of the seventh trumpet which is the last trumpet which will usher in the Kingdom rule of Jesus in this planet earth at His second coming (1 Cor 15:51;1 Thess 4:5;Rev 11:15).

By the time of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the signs of the coming of the Son of man will be openly manifested in heaven and all the tribes of the earth will mourn seeing it (Rev 10:7;Dan 8:26;12:4,9;Matt 24:29-31). The angel then swears by God who lives forever and ever that there should be no longer delay after all these events because by the time of the sounding of the seventh angel is going to end, all the wrath of God would have been poured out and it will be over by then. The mystery of God will be finished fully and all the people who are left by that time will look to the deliverer out of Zion to come and restore the earth from the cruel bondage of corruption of the enemy who has used the Anti-christ and the false prophet to devastate the earth with his lawlessness (Rom 11:26;Is 59:20;Acts 3:21;Romans 8:18-25). They will mourn for deliverance, asking the Lord Jesus to come and deliver them. This is the mystery that has been spoken by the prophets throughout the Bible describing it as the day of the Lord when He will deliver Zion (Rev 10:5-7;16:17-21;Zechariah 14:1-5;Joel 2:31-32).

Again taking the passage of scripture in Rev 12:6,13-14, some people say that the woman described here is Israel and that they will be kept on the mountain wilderness of Israel and some have even tried to load boxes of Gospel tracts in the mountains of Israel thinking that the Jews will hide there in the mountains of Israel [i.e. Petra] for three and half years during which they will be protected by God so that they can read those tracts to receive their Messiah Jesus. These people say this is the reason Jesus is admonishing the people in Judea to flee to the mountains. But in the Bible there is not even one scripture that points directly to Israel hiding in the mountains and caves as these people say. God has not promised anything like that, it is purely a baloney. These people some of them point to the scripture in Isaiah 26:19-21 and say that entering the chambers is symbolic of going in to hiding in the mountain rocks of Israel. But rather the verse 19 speaks about the resurrection of Jesus and the rapture that happened together with His Body for many of the Old Testament saints which actually happened when Jesus was resurrected two thousand years ago (Matt 27:52-53). Thus within the context of the above scripture the meaning of “Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the LORD comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood, and will no more cover her slain.” (Isaiah 26:20-21) means nothing but the rapture of the Church [which includes all who are in Christ and the Messianic Jews who believe in Jesus as their Messiah] that will happen before the wrath [indignation] of God’s punishment comes upon all the people of the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. Thus this scripture indicates the rapture of the Church that will happen for the Glorious Church which will include the believer’s in Christ and those of the Jews who will believe in Jesus as their Messiah (Is 26:19-21; John 14:1-4; 2 Thess 1:6-10; Rom 11:5).

In spite of what people may think, the Bible says only those rebellious people who will lived through the tribulation will go in to hiding in the mountains asking the rock to fall on them to escape the glorious rising of the messiah Jesus Christ (Rev 6:12-17;Matt 24:29). If these Jews were hiding in the mountain chambers of Israel, then why should the people of Israel who are called the remnant [those few left alive and protected through tribulation] should escape in the midst of the mount olives which will split and make way for them to escape on the day when Jesus will come to make war with Anti-christ and all those rebellious people of the earth in the valley of Megiddo (Rev 16:17-21;14:17-20;19:11-21;Zech 14:1-5,11;Amos 1:1;2 Chronicles 13:1-22; 1 Kings 14:7-20;Rom 11:26,27).

The Revelation of Jesus Christ- Part 2

The Revelation of Jesus Christ-
Part 2
By Abraham Israel

When the seals are opened by the lamb, we see the starting point of the cataclysmic events of the end time starting to happen (Rev 6:1). Jesus referred these events as the preceding sign that the end time is about to start (Matt 24:3-14). These end time sign of His coming to take the church away will culminate at the point when anti-christ seats himself as God in the temple at Jerusalem. That is when the rapture of the believers will take place (Matt 24:15). The horses of various colors that we see are angelic beings that are released upon the earth as a sign of His coming and the succeeding judgment that is going to come upon the world for its wickedness. These angelic beings are demonic power and principalities that have been bound for the ages past, so that the world [world system of governance] could continue to exist until the appointed time for its release (Jude 6-8; 2 Peter 2:4-10). These wicked beings work under the sovereignty of God by acting as intermediaries in the world government of this age, just like satan who works under His authority (Zech 1:7-11; 6:1-8; Job1:7; 2:1-2; 1 Sam 18:10; 19:9). These can act, only when God gives them the power to do a thing of fulfill it. When power is granted to them, they will work in rebellion against God by acting independently, acting with its own wicked heart under the influence of satan who desire is to steal , kill and destroy the humanity which God loves dearly (Rev 6:4; Matt 6:10). That is the reason, we as His children pray that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In other words we are praying to God saying, ‘Let all these evil rebellious intermediaries that does wickedness be removed soon by Your kingdom power acting through us [i.e. Your children’s ] as priestly intermediaries and kings.’ (Matt 6:13; Rev 1:5, 6; Jer 10:10-12). First we intercede against these forces of wickedness which controls the activities of the earth from heavenly places to be made powerless, by God showing His favour by releasing His Spirit’s kingdom power upon us, then when the power is once released, we act as kings under the instruction of the king of kings [i.e. Jesus Christ] to destroy these spirits of wickedness by acting against them in the natural realm by demonstrating or using kingdom power against them (Luke 11:5-26; Eph 6:10-12,18-20; 2 Cor 10:3-6; Acts 10:38; 1 John 3:8). This is the reason the Bible calls every believer as kings and priests, In other words Kingly-Priests.

When the fourth seal is opened, we see the beasts of the earth were given power to kill a fourth of the earth with sword, hunger and death. The beasts here are the false prophet and the anti-christ through whom satan himself who has death and Hades [all demons of the prison where dead wicked spirit are kept until the white throne Judgment] always following him, rules directly over the earth with the complete intention to make it worship him and to destroy it if they don’t (Rev 6:7-8; 13:3, 7, 10, 11, 14, 16-17; 16:13, 14). The satanic trinity will point themselves as one god, yet distinctly three in person. It will call itself as a single god working as a man through anti-christ the messiah of the world (Rev 13:18). When the fifth seal was opened we see the frustration and anxiety in the voice of the martyrs who had been slain for the word of God and the testimony which they held (Rev 6:9-10). These souls are those who have died right from the first martyr Abel to the martyr up to that time when the anti-christ starts to control the whole earth, these have been given a special place in heaven under the altar which is nearest to the throne of God (Heb 11:4; 12:24; 9:12; Gen 4:9-11; Matt 23:34-36).

Actually when the lamb started opening the seals, these souls under the altar of God in the Most Holy Place thought that the Judgment on the wicked had started already and did not understand that it was only a preceding sign to the coming judgment upon the wicked people of the earth (Matt 24:4-8; Rev 5:8-10). Here we see the saints declaring that they will reign on the earth with expectancy in their words. One of the reasons the martyrs became disturbed and anxious is because they were already seeing before them the bride of the lamb arrayed in fine [white] linen with their glorious bodies, because the rapture had already taken place at this point of time and the marriage of the lamb was beginning to take place at this time in heaven gloriously (1 Cor 15:40-44; Rev 19:5-9).

At this point of time, when they saw from heaven satan, anti-christ and the false-prophet prevail over the saints of God just after the rapture, they were very disturbed and asked this question to God, “How long, o Lord…..until you judge [pour out your wrath on the wicked] and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev 6:10; Matt 24:9-13; Rev 13:5, 7, 8; Dan 7:25). In other words they were asking Him, ‘When we will be resurrected and reign with you on the planet earth?’. They too were excited to be resurrected with their glorious bodies, so that they can reign with Christ. God as a gift and a bonus to appease these martyrs will start to supply a white robe because the marriage supper of the lamb would have already started or commenced in heaven with much fanfare during this time. We see that this time would be the time when the great tribulation would be going on in the earth. This is why God was telling the souls of these martyr’s that they should wait or rest a little while longer until both [O.T & N.T] the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed (Rev 6:11). The number of martyr’s would be completed once the great tribulation gets over and the time for Jesus Second Coming starts inching closer. The white robe which God begins to distribute to the martyrs will be done throughout the time of the marriage supper of the lamb after which He will start to descend to this earth as the king of kings (Rev 6:11; 7:9-17; Rev 19:7-9, 11, 14-16; Matt 22:1-14). The white robe given to the martyrs is different from the fine linen clean and bright robe which is the righteous acts of the saints given to the bride of the lamb during the marriage of the lamb (Rev 6:11; 7:9,13;19:7-8). The garments given to guests [martyr’s, friends and other saints of the O.T times] of the bridegroom is a must for attending the wedding feast of the lamb [i.e. which will take place just after the marriage will be over] (Matt 22:10-12; John 3:29).

This is why we see two categories of people when Jesus comes back to the earth to rule the earth for a thousand years. The Bible says in Rev 19:14, “And the armies of heaven, clothed in fine [white] linen [bride of Christ], white and clean [all the martyrs up to the point of time from all ages past], followed Him on white horses.” These martyr’s at the moment they step out of Heaven to come with Jesus Christ, they will be resurrected with a glorious new body in the first resurrection, for them this is the first resurrection and not the rapture which has already happened. His elect are those who have been martyred (Matt24:22), particularly during the great tribulation (Rev 20:4-6; Matt 24:29-31; 1 Cor 15:50-58; Rev 10:7; 11:15-19). The martyr’s resurrection will be a better resurrection because they will become priest of God in His temple forever (Heb 11:35; Rev 20:6; Matt 27:52-54). These martyrs’s will be with Jesus Christ as priests in the heavenly temple and the new temple which will be built by the Messiah and it will be unique privilege given only to the martyr’s (Ps 102:16). And Jesus Himself will personally shepherd them (Rev 7:15-17; Ezek 34:23-24; Heb 8:1-2; 9:11-12; Rev 20:4-6). Jesus is the High Priest of the heavenly temple and also of the temple which will be built in the millennium by Him. The martyr’s will be ministering as priests along with Him (Acts 15:16-17; Amos 9:11-12; Ezekiel 40:1-2,4,5; 43:4-7,12; 44:1-3; 48:35). Prayer will be made continually for Him and daily He shall be praised by these priests (Ps 72:15).

When Jesus [the lamb (John 1:29)] opened the sixth seal there was a great earth quake and the sun became black as sack cloth of hair and the moon became like blood and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. This is the exact time the bible describes as the days succeeding or after the great tribulation (Rev 6:12-17; Matt 24:29-31). Even up to these time people will be saved, even by calling on the name of Jesus (Acts 2:16-21). During this period of time, immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sign of the son of man will appear in heaven [wonders in heaven above (Acts 2:19)] (Matt 24:29-30). People who wanted to see Him appear and have waited for Him will mourn over all the earth to Him, to bring deliverance to them from the evil rule of satan and from all the cataclysmic events that will happen as an indication of His coming (Matt 24:30; Zech 12:10, 11; Rev 6:12-14; Isaiah 24:1, 5-6, 18-23). This is the day of His judgment when many of the erring angels who have acted against Him will be thrown in to prison along with satan their captain for a thousand years and those of them that have not exalted themselves against God like its companions will be left, which is also the reason for disobedience of His word in rebellion during the millennium by some nations and people, over which He will use a rod of iron to rule over them (Isaiah 24:21-22; 65:20; Rev 12:5; Ps 2:9). Those people who are still with a rebellious heart, along with the anti-christ and false prophet will gather all the nations to make war against Jesus Christ, openly declaring it and will come towards Jerusalem to destroy it completely because it is the city of God and the Messiah.

These group of People when they see the Messiah coming, they will run and try to hide from Him when they see Him (Isaiah 24:21; Matt 5:35; Rev 6:15-17). Just moments after the great tribulation will be over [i.e. the appointed time will be over (Matt 24:22)], the servants of God who have not received the seal of anti-christ during the tribulation period will be delivered from the wrath of the Messiah on the day He arrives on the earth (Dan 11:31-36;12:1-3). This will happen just moments after Jesus the Lamb of God opens the seventh seal, during which there will be an half an hour silence in heaven. After which all hell will break loose step by step in heaven and on the earth which is the sign of the coming of the Son of man (Acts 2:19-21; Matt 24:29-31;Isaiah 24:17-23). Many will be protected with special protection from the wrath of God who will mourn for deliverance by expecting the Messiah to appear and deliver them (Matt 24:30; Luke 18:1-8). That is why Rev 7:3 says, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” [Note: This verse does not say seal the children of Israel but the servants of our God which indicates that there will be a universal sealing of the servants of God before the tribulation starts, of which Israel is a part of it which is indicated in the next 4th verse to 8th verse.] God has described Israel specifically by their tribes to indicate that Israel too will have servants of God who will have accepted Jesus as their Messiah and Savior because by then the Spirit of grace and supplication would have already have been poured upon the remnant and they too will mourn for Him participating in the group which Jesus called as all the tribes of the earth (Rev 7:4-8; Zech 12:10-11; Matt 24:30; 5:4). All the tribes of the earth would have some people by then who will be waiting for their Messiah Jesus Christ the deliverer out of Zion and similarly all the tribes of Israel also will a group of servants of God who will be eagerly waiting for the same Messiah Jesus Christ the deliverer to come out of Zion (Rev 7:3, 4-8; Matt 24:30; Zech 12:10-11; Ps 102:13-16). These sealed servants of God will be protected through all the cataclysmic event that will happen even after the great tribulation which is specifically targeted at those who have received the mark of the beast and kingdom of the anti-christ and his throne (Luke 18:8). This wrath of God will continue until the victorious appearing of Messiah in Zion. Praise the Lord!

End Time

End Time

The Book of Revelation

The Revelation of Jesus Christ – Part 1

The Revelation of Jesus Christ-Part 2

The Revelation of Jesus Christ – Part 3

The Revelation of Jesus Christ – Part 4

The Rise of Anti-christ

The Trumpet Sound

The spirit of Anti-christ

The Revelation of Jesus Christ-Part 1

The Revelation of Jesus Christ – Part 1
By Abraham Israel

The book of Revelation is not just about Apocalypse or Anti-Christ or any other event, but rather it is ultimately about the Revelation of Jesus Christ as a person to the Church and then to the world and its system of governance. First part of the Book is the revelation of Jesus Christ about who He is [i.e. the Savior and Judge] in relation to the Church His Body and the next part is what He is in essence to the world [i.e. the righteous Judge who is God]. In this Book the person of Jesus Christ is revealed more and more as the present world system gets deteriorated to become extinct forever. All His servants must have a good understanding about this Book of Revelation because it carries a special blessing along with it (Rev 1:1, 3).

Mainly all of the Book of Revelation that which Jesus had sent to us by His angel to understand is signified (1:1). In other words it is in sign language signifying or giving us the truth concealed in it. All these things Jesus has revealed to us to make us understand that He is in control of all these event when these must shortly take place (1:1). The first messages that Jesus gave were the messages to the seven Churches which were in Asia. These were the Churches which were established by the Apostles of John’s time. John himself was one among them as more of a Prophetic Apostle.

Here we should understand that these Churches were actually Churches present in the natural during John’s time which Jesus signified [used as a sign] to bring a message to the Church of all time. Church of all time represents the Church which was established at the time of Pentecost through the Apostles, up to the time the Church will be raptured from this planet earth as the Church with out spot and blemish as ministered through the Apostles of End Time (Galatians 2:8-9; 1:18-19; 2 Cor 12:11-13; Eph 4:13; 5:26-27; Luke 11:49-51; Rev 18:20, 24). These each Churches in Table 1.1 represents various time periods that the Church went through and is still going, up to the rapture in the nearer future.

The Church of Jesus Christ will be there until the kingdom gets established on earth at His second coming. But the truth about the rapture is, those who obeyed Him and kept watching for Him before the tribulation period begins will be rewarded with rapture because of their obedience in watching out for Him. Others because of their disobedience and lukewarmness will go through tribulation (Daniel 11:31-35). This will be refining process for those lukewarm believers. We need to refer the Book of Daniel to indicate all the details about the End Time because Jesus Himself did that and said, “…whoever reads [the Book of Daniel], let Him understand.” (Matt 24:15), when He spoke about the End-Time events in the Gospels. He expects us to read the Book of Daniel and understand it. When Jesus spoke this, the Book of Matthew was still not written, so it implies that He spoke about the Book of Daniel in this Verse of the Book of Matthew.

These periods are given in sequential order and can be called with a title relating to the major characteristics of each Church such as,

Table 1.1

S.No : 1

The Church’s Name : Ephesus

Dominant Characteristics : The Loveless Church

Time Period : A.D. 96 to 3rd Century A.D.

S.No : 2

The Church’s Name : Smyrna

Dominant Characteristics : The Persecuted Church

Time Period : 3rd to 5th Century includes Persecution [A.D. 303 to 313].

S.No : 3

The Church’s Name : Pergamos

Dominant Characteristics : The Compromising Church

Time Period : Early Heresies [5th to 7th Century A.D].

S.No : 4

The Church’s Name : Thyatira

Dominant Characteristics : The Corrupt Church

Time Period : Jezebel in the Church [8th to 13th Century].

S.No : 5

The Church’s Name : Sardis

Dominant Characteristics : The Dead Church

Time Period : Spiritually dead [13th Century to 1517 A.D].

S.No : 6

The Church’s Name : Philadelphia

Dominant Characteristics : The Faithful Church

Time Period : 1517 A.D – The Rapture [The open door].

S.No : 7

The Church’s Name : Laodicea

Dominant Characteristics : The Lukewarm

Time Period : Church Rapture – Kingdom rule on earth [Kingdom establishment].

In all the apostolic doctrines, right from our Lord Jesus Christ who is our Chief Apostle to the present time, they will always interpret Scripture through another Scripture and will give the collection [Word-Collections] of it as doctrine to understand and follow. Even logical reasoning will be done only based on the Scripture and not apart from it. The canon of the Scripture has been closed with the Book of Revelation as the Last of it, no more to add or take away out of it (Rev 22:18-19). But the cutting edge teaching that the apostles teaches for the application and understanding of the Scripture in real life are from the Canonized Scripture through revelation from God about the Scripture, not apart from it (Eph 1:17-18; Luke 24:32, 45; Acts 2:42).

Up to the time of rapture Jesus directly only rules [governs] over His Church [i.e. now in the Present time]. Once the rapture happens, from that moment Jesus will also take over the government of the world system [from the heavenlies (i.e. the air of first heaven) (Rev 12:7-10), because moments before the rapture happens Satan already would have been thrown to the earth, this is the reason the saints will be meeting Him in the air because by then the prince of the power of air would have been thrown down or dislodged from his position of power (1 Thess 4:17; Eph 2:2)]. The revelation of Jesus Christ will start from the rapture, but on the day of His second coming all the tribes of the earth will see Him and they [the people on earth at that time] need no revelation to identify Him at His second coming and will mourn Him (2 Thess 1:6, 7; I John 3:2, 3; Heb 9:28; Luke 17:30; Acts 1:9, 11; 1 Thess 4:17; Zech 12:10; Matt 24:29-31 ). On the day of rapture, the saints need the revelation of the Son of man to be caught up in the clouds (1 Thess 4:16-17; Luke 17:24, 37). So only this day is called the day [not days] of the revelation of the Son of man (Luke 17:30).

The days of the Son of man will be the days preceding the rapture of the Church in which His people will become lukewarm like what happened in the days of Noah (Luke 17:25-27). The same also happened in the days of Lot also (Luke 17:28-30), until all [lukewarm believers and unbelievers] were caught up in the destruction and Judgment from the Lord and were swept away. The judgment of the world from the day of rapture is shown on the Book of Revelation by Jesus as the one and only Lamb of God opening the seals of Judgment which were stored for the End-Time because of His Grace that came upon every man to repent from the day of Calvary to the present time (Luke 24:46-49; Rev 5:1-7, 8-10 [new song about reigning in the earth], 11-13 [blessing, honor, glory and power was given to lamb for ever and ever]).
Now from here on the government of the Lamb rules the world, and it is shown by the Lamb opening the seals of Judgment which comes upon the earth by His choice (Rev 6:1).

Scriptures proving The Rapture of The Church is a separate event from The Second Coming of Christ,

1) Scriptures on the Rapture: Christ’s Coming FOR the Saints : Pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things….and to stand before the Son of man (Luke 21:36).

Scriptures on the Second Coming: Christ’s Coming WITH the Saints : One like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages shall serve Him (Dan 2:44-45; 7:13-14; 18, 27).

2) Scriptures on the Rapture: Christ’s Coming FOR the Saints : In My Father’s house are many mansions….I go to prepare a place for you….I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:1-3).

Scriptures on the Second Coming: Christ’s Coming WITH the Saints : Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations….His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which….shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west…the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee (Zech 14:1-5, 9, 16-21).

3) Scriptures on the Rapture: Christ’s Coming FOR the Saints : Christ loved the church….that He might present it to Himself (Eph 5:25-27).

Scriptures on the Second Coming: Christ’s Coming WITH the Saints : Immediately after the tribulation….then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matt 24:29-31).

4) Scriptures on the Rapture: Christ’s Coming FOR the Saints : From whence [heaven] also we look for…Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body (Phil 3:11, 20-21; 2 Cor 5:1-9).

Scriptures on the Second Coming: Christ’s Coming WITH the Saints : When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne His glory. And before Him shall be gathered all the nations (Matt 25:31-46).

5) Scriptures on the Rapture: Christ’s Coming FOR the Saints : For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven…the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air [not on earth, to go back to heaven with Him] (1 Thess 4:13-18; 2:19; 3:13; 5:9, 23).

Scriptures on the Second Coming: Christ’s Coming WITH the Saints : When the Lord shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. In the flaming fore taking vengeance on them that know not God (2 Thess 1:7-10; 2:8).

6) Scriptures on the Rapture: Christ’s Coming FOR the Saints : We beseech you…by our gathering together unto Him…until He be taken out of the way (2 Thess 2:1, 7-8).

Scriptures on the Second Coming: Christ’s Coming WITH the Saints : The Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all…that are ungodly (Jude 14-15).

7) Scriptures on the Rapture: Christ’s Coming FOR the Saints : When Christ….shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory (Col 3:4; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; 1 Peter 5:4).

Scriptures on the Second Coming: Christ’s Coming WITH the Saints : He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him…all kindred’s of the earth shall wail because of Him…the armies of heaven followed Him upon white horses (Rev 1:7; See 19:11-21; 20:1-3; Isa 63:1-6; Joel 3).

The verses in James 5:7-8 speaks about the rapture by saying, “Be patient…unto the coming of the Lord…until He receive the early and latter rain” and it tells that Jesus is waiting to pour out His Spirit fully upon His church before the rapture takes place, to make it a glorious church with out spot or wrinkle so that she should be holy and with out blemish (Eph 5:27). This is when we all [the universal church] will come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:13).

The verses in 1 Cor 15:51-56 says, “We shall not all sleep [die physically], but we shall all be changed [here all emphasizes that nobody will be left after this first resurrection (Rev 20:4-6)]. In a moment…at the last trump…the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we [the living saints in Christ who died during the tribulation period even upto the second coming of Christ] shall be changed…put on immortality…then…death is swallowed in victory”. Here we see that the Scripture speaks about the resurrection that will happen for the believers at the second coming of Christ to the earth, because it says this resurrection will happen at the last trump which is the seventh trumpet that is indicated in the Book of revelation as the last trumpet just before Jesus comes to the earth (Rev 11:15-19).

The faithful church of Philadelphia [i.e. the church that is present during the time period before rapture takes place] is promised with the rapture by Jesus saying, “…I…will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” (Rev 3:10). This is the church that will bring the fullness of the gospel to the whole world by proclaiming it inspite of opposition and difficulties. This ministry Jesus symbolically identified as ‘opening through the key of David [mercies of God]’ the door of blessing to the world (Rev 3:7). Jesus assured this church that it is He who opens the door for the work of the ministry and no one can shut throughout this period of time (Rev 3:7; Col 4:3; 2 Cor 2:12; 1 Cor 16:9; Acts14:27; 19:8, 9). This ministry He also identifies as works that has been done in His name by keeping His Word.

This work of ministry will be completely done in the strength of the Lord. Identifying with His name and keeping His Word will always bring the power of the king and His kingdom behind us (Rev 3:8; Mark 9:38-41; Eccl 8:4). There will also be a rise in Jewish false religion which Satan will propagate saying to the true believers that they [i.e. the Jewish believers] are the real people of God. But Jesus has promised that He will make them realize their folly by His awesome display of power through the Church.

After the rapture takes place, there will be a sudden surge in the one world Babylonian religion of the Harlot. The believers who were left behind due to lukewarmness will be tempted by this religion to join it because of severe persecution for true believers. But whoever seeks the Lord in desperation knowing the reality of the false religion, will become spiritually rich and will be refined as gold in the fire of tribulation and will wear pure white garments [symbol of purity by rejection of the impure false religion]. They will be clothed and will not be naked [by being blind to Spiritual reality]. They will see the reality of the false religion. In this time period of tribulation which has been signified by the church of Laodicea is a very short period of time before the second coming of Jesus Christ to this earth. Those people who overcome these things will enter directly in to His millennial kingdom and even if they die will rise up in the first resurrection when Jesus comes back to the earth (Rev 3:14-22; 6:9-11; 7:13-17; 18:4, 5; 20:4-6).

The seventh Trumpet will be the last trumpet of His coming (Rev 11:15-19; Dan 12:1-3, 6-7, 10-13; 1 Cor 15:52). The seventh trumpet will be the time when Jesus who has taken His power back at the time of opening the seals by taking the scroll, will literally establish His power on earth by destroying those who destroy the earth (Rev 11:15-19). The great Babylon is the political world system that ruled the whole world up to the time of Armageddon and is different from Babylon the Great (Rev 16:19; 18:2). Praise the Lord!

The Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation
By Abraham Israel

The whole book of revelation is not fully sequentially arranged in order but rather some parts of it is sequential arranged in order; the problem with many people is that they think that it is fully sequential arranged in order. This is the reason of confusion that exists about its meaning. And I believe that the churches are arranged in sequential order according to various time periods in the church history. But after that all the events are mixed up and jumbled. If only we will take the thread over there and tie it in a chronological order according to the time periods and events that happen in it, then we will be able to tie the pieces of it together to see the whole length of it clearly.

This Book of Revelation is all about the “The Revelation of [the person of] Jesus Christ [in all His majesty and glory]”, given to show His servants the things which must shortly [quickly or swiftly] take place. But when the angel gave the message to Apostle John nearly all of the contents of the book was signified. In other words, the message was conveyed in signs and symbolism (Revelation 1:1). The Book of Daniel is used as a reference in explaining the Book of Revelation more in-depth. The Book of Daniel in the Old Testament is the Book of Revelation concealed. The Book of Revelation in the New Testament is the Book of Daniel Revealed. Praise the Lord!

The Seven Year period of Anti-christ’s false covenant with Israel can be exactly termed as the time of the End (Daniel 12:4, 9). This same ‘time of the End’ which is also described as ‘the appointed time’ in the preceding Chapter11 of Daniel (Daniel 11:27, 29, 35, 40, 45; Matt 24:6,13). So only we will be referring to the Book of Daniel often to understand the Book of Revelation in-depth. The sign that the terminal generation is nearing the time of the End [i.e. Sign of Jesus’ coming and the end of this age (Matt 24:3)] will be when the terminal generation that Jesus described in Matthew 24:34 will be present on earth to experience the forth-telling of Jesus, till all the scenarios that Jesus described will be fulfilled even to the last word of prophecy to this particular generation (Matt 24:35).

The opening of the seals by the lamb and consequently the horses going in to the earth to create a catastrophic and cataclysmic situation in the earth (Rev 6:1-6), perfectly fits the sign that Jesus spoke as a prelude (Matt 24:3-8) before the end [i.e. 7 years covenant of anti-christ during the time of the end] comes in Matt 24:13. This is also the reason Jesus said at the end of Chapter 24 and Verse 6 in Matthew, “….all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” If we ask ourselves the question, what end Jesus is referring to? In the suceeding verses Jesus is particularly referring to a very intense time of persecution against the preaching of the gospel, a time of lovelessness due to lawlessness, revelation of the Anti-christ to the beleivers, rapture of the Body of Christ, Tribulation and the Second Coming ( Matt 24:9-31).All these events are termed as the end. The time frame for all these things to take place will be with in the time frame of Seven Years in which the Anti-christ will rise to world prominence. But the things of Matt 24:7, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places” Jesus is only calling it as “….the beginning of sorrows.” (Matt 24:8). This also reveals that the End-time will be very hostile to the true saints of God. In spite of such hostility of the world towards the gospel and the saints who proclaim them, the saints will preach the gospel in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end [i.e. The time of the end or the appointed time] will come (Matt 24:9-14). This preaching of the gospel and the obvious result of Billions of souls turning to God is termed as the ‘harvest of the earth is ripe…and the earth was reaped’ in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 14:14-16; John 4:35-38).

The more closer we get to the time of the end [i.e. the 7 years of false peace covenant of anti-christ with the nation of Israel], the more sorrowful, fearful and distressed the world will become according to the forth-telling of Jesus Christ (Matt 24:8; Luke 21:24-26; 2 Tim 3:1). If we ask why these things will be increasing at the time of the end, is it fateful? In other words can’t we do anything to prevent it from happening? The answer is because men will love wickedness more than they love the truth of God and His word, God will give them over to a debased mind which will not only corrupt the people involved in such activities but also the atmosphere and environment surrounding them as a sign of the judgment that is coming ahead in to this world political and religious arena as a warning from God to repent (2 Tim 3:2-9; Rom 1:18-32; Matt 24:9-14; 2 Thess 2:9-12). If the people who are living at this time of the end, heed to the warning’s of Christ and repent from their wicked ways and as a result of it if they continue to endure to the end, they will be saved during the time of rapture (Matt 24:30). Once the rapture happens, anti-christ will pursue his purpose to establish his one world government with in the world economy and will establish himself as that one world leader. This one world leader will boast himself to be God by seating himself in the temple demanding to be worshipped as God (Matt 24:15-28; 2 Thess 2:3-4). Those who will not accept his stance will be hunted by him in every corner of this planet earth. And this is what is called as ‘the tribulation’ in the Bible (Matt 24:29; Rev 6:7-11). Then exactly after these things, there will be a great earthquake, the sun will become black as a sackcloth of hair, and the moon will become like a blood and the stars of heaven will fall like a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind…and Jesus will return back at this time to this planet earth to reign and to rule the nations with a rod of iron as the king of kings and the Lord of Lords for a 1000 years (Matt 24:29-31; Rev 6:12-17; Acts 2:19-21). When Jesus will come back to this planet earth with His heavenly armies of saints, He will fight against anti-christ and his armies to slay them with the breath of His mouth, kill them with the sword that will proceed from His mouth and they will be destroyed forever by the brightness of His coming (2 Thess 2:8; Rev 19:19-20; 6:14-17).

Thus there is a perfect co-relationship and sequence of events in unison between Matthew 24th Chapter and the seals of Revelation 6th Chapter. The seals are hence opened years ahead of the 7 year false covenant period of anti-christ with the nation of Israel which is the real end time scenario or apocalypse. The 7 Trumpets are contained within the 7 seals and the prophets will start blowing the trumpet through the angels, after the rapture of the Church will take place right after the abomination of desolation happens inside the temple and may be the tribulation might have just started to spread around the world slowly (Matthew 24:15-21). Just like Moses and Aaron confronted Pharaoh the King of Egypt [i.e. the house of bondage (Exodus 13:3; Jud 6:8)], so will these two prophets [Elijah and Enoch] will confront the anti-christ who will act as like a pharaoh in the days of old when he ruled the world from Egypt as its headquarters (Rev 8:6-8, 10,12; 9:1,13; 11:15). The 7th Trumpet will contain the seven bowls of wrath which will be mainly directed towards anti-christ and His followers for their rebellion before the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to this planet earth (Rev 11:15; 10:7->Acts 3:21; Rev 15:1-2; 11:19; 15:5, 8; 16:1-2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 12, 17).

The Trumpets will be blown by the two prophets as a sign of the coming judgment that will come upon the whole world when Messiah Jesus Christ will appear on this planet earth. This is also a warning sign given to people to turn from their wicked ways, to repent and turn towards God in humility so that they can receive salvation. The Babylonian politico-religious capital city and the false church headquarters will be destroyed by the ten kings right after the rapture of the Church takes place. After the rapture of the Church takes place there will still be a gathering of ‘the clusters of the vine of the earth …[because] her [i.e. believers in Christ (Eph 5:25)] grapes are fully ripe [i.e. the saints who will accept Jesus as their Messiah and Savior and will not take the seal of anti-christ on their foreheads or in their hands, many of them will die as martyrs for their testimony they will hold on to, even up to the battle of Armageddon takes place (Rev 12:17;13:7-10; 14:19-20;19:15)]’ (John 15:1-8;Daniel 11:32-35;Rev 14:17-20;Acts 2:20-21->Matt 24:29-30). Jesus is the one who conducts the harvest and He is the one who has the sickle in His hand [i.e. harvesting tool which represents the controlling authority of the process of harvest] (Rev 14:14, 18). Praise the Lord!