Prophecy
11
The Rise of Babylon –
Revelation 12:7 – 14:5
___________________________________
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
-8-
Revelation
13:12
And
he exerciseth all the power of the
first beast before him, and causeth
the earth and them which dwell
therein to worship the first beast,
whose deadly wound was healed.{12} To
make this deception all encompassing,
Jesus gave the lamblike beast greater
miracle working powers than He had
given to the 144,000. To obtain loyal
support from Babylon’s leaders,
the devil performed an assortment of
miracles on their behalf. When he
appeared in different world
locations, he honored the leaders of
Babylon by telling the people that
they must obey (worship) God as
Babylon’s leaders dictate. This
flattery, of course, made the leaders
of Babylon very happy to think that
God himself would endorse their
legislative efforts to appease His
wrath!
God empowers
Lucifer (the man of lawlessness) to
come as “a strong delusion”
because the wicked refused to believe
the truth and be saved. “The
coming of the lawless one will [appear
to be the work of God, but it will] be
in accordance with the work of Satan
displayed in all kinds of counterfeit
miracles, signs and wonders, and in
every sort of evil that deceives
those who are perishing. They [those
refusing the eternal gospel must] perish
because they refused to love the
truth and so be saved. For this
reason God sends them a powerful
delusion so that they will believe
the lie and so that all will be
condemned who have not believed the
truth but have delighted in
wickedness.”[103]
Revelation
13:13
And
he doeth great wonders, so that he
maketh fire come down from heaven on
the earth in the sight of men,{13} At
various times and in different
places, the devil called fire down
from Heaven in full view of men. This
miracle was his most overpowering
deception and the devil reminded
everyone that even in Elijah’s
day, only the true
God could send down fire from Heaven.[104]
Day 1,039
– Everything Changes
Revelation
13:14
And
deceiveth them that dwell on the
earth by the means of those miracles
which he had power to do in the sight
of the beast; saying to them that
dwell on the earth, that they should
make an image to the beast, which had
the wound by a sword, and did live.{14} The
devil’s miracle working powers
eclipsed and silenced the miracles
performed by the 144,000. As a
result, millions of wicked people
were deceived. They embraced Lucifer,
believing that God Himself had come
to Earth to dwell among men. The
wicked were ensnared by what they
saw. Of course, the wicked did not
realize that Jesus permitted the
devil to put on this show of
deception because they refused to
love the truth and be saved.[105] Since
the wicked had refused to believe the
truth and be saved, they would be
compelled to believe a lie and be
condemned.
For five
months the lamblike beast will
produce miracles on behalf of
Babylon’s leadership. The devil
will quickly subdue nonreligious
people and gain the confidence,
allegiance, and adoration of most of
the world, but on day 1,039 of the
Great Tribulation, everything will
change. The sixth trumpet will sound
in Heaven’s temple and the angel
standing at Heaven’s Altar of
Incense will say, “Release the
four angels who are bound at the
great river Euphrates.”[106] When
these words are spoken, the devil and
his demons will abruptly change
character. This phrase sets the devil
free to forcibly take control of the
world.[107] During
the fifth trumpet, the devil will not
be allowed to kill anyone. When the
sixth trumpet sounds, the
devil’s “benevolent”
character will immediately change and
he will be permitted to kill
one-third of mankind. Suddenly, he
will begin speaking as a dictator,
for without a doubt, the great red
dragon is a narcissistic dictator. He
will immediately dissolve the
religions of the world because when
“God” dwells among men
there is no room for religious
diversity. There will be one lord,
one faith, and one baptism for
everyone on Earth. The devil will
also move to dissolve the
governments of the world because as
“God,” he owns the whole
world. He will distribute the land to
his wealthy followers.[108]He will
appoint ten puppet-kings to rule
under him. Their purpose will be to
oversee the day to day administration
of an evil and brutal theocracy.[109]
By dissolving
the religions and governments of the
world, the devil effectively
consolidates Babylon into a one world
church state. He will declare that
Phase I was necessary because of
man’s diversity, but now that
“God (referring to himself)
lives among men,” there has to
be one faith, one lord, and one
baptism. He will tell the world that
he has come to establish a thousand
years of peace on Earth. Therefore,
the religious and political diversity
of the world has to be eliminated.
There must be one government and one
religious body and no one other than
God himself can rule as king of kings
and lord of lords.
Because
God’s Sabbath day will be an
inflammatory issue, it seems likely
that the devil will change the weekly
cycle from seven days to ten days to
insult the Creator and His Sabbath
rest. By establishing a day for
worship which the whole world will
accept as a holy day,[110] the
devil will expose those who rest from
working on the seventh day If the
devil makes this transition, his
action would end the argument that it
does not matter which day a person
sets aside to worship God.
Revelation
13:15-16
And
he had power to give life unto the
image of the beast, that the image of
the beast should both speak, and
cause that as many as would not
worship the image of the beast should
be killed. And he causeth all, both
small and great, rich and poor, free
and bond, to receive a mark in their
right hand, or in their foreheads:{15} After
the sixth trumpet sounded, everyone
refusing to worship Lucifer and obey
the laws of his counterfeit theocracy
was killed (if captured).
{16} Everyone
wishing to survive, including the
small and great, rich and poor, free
and slave, received a mark, a tattoo (Greek: charagma means
an etching) on his right hand or on
his forehead.[111]
It is likely
that to manage the logistical needs
of Earth’s population, the
lamblike beast will command the
people of Earth to be divided into
groups of one thousand.[112] One
person from each group will be chosen
to serve as the captain of the group.
Each captain will be told that the
first 666 people to receive a tattoo
on their right hand showing the
number “666” can live,
while all others must be put to
death. This gruesome tactic will work
very well. It will quickly eliminate
those in opposition or hesitant to go
along with Lucifer’s counterfeit
theocracy.[113]
Revelation
13:17
And
that no man might buy or sell, save
he that had the mark, or the name of
the beast, or the number of his name.{17} No
one was permitted to buy or sell
(that is, able to survive) unless he
had the tattoo. The captains of each
group also received an additional
tattoo on their foreheads. This
tattoo showed their high rank in
Lucifer’s government and the
tattoo was the name by which Lucifer
was called.[114]
Many people
overlook the fact that the mark of
the beast is more than a number
tattooed on the right hand. This mark
of the beast actually includes the
name of the beast, that is, the name
that Lucifer will be called.
Lucifer’s name will be tattooed
on the foreheads of his captains so
that everyone can tell from a
distance that one of Lucifer’s
captains is approaching or present.
Lucifer will have their foreheads
tattooed to mock Jesus because after
the 144,000 are taken to Heaven, they
will wear the name of the Father and
the Lamb on their foreheads
(signifying their exalted rank).[115] Of
course, the name of the Father and
the Son will not be an ugly defacing
patch of ink. Instead, I believe the
names of the Father and Son will have
an eternal electro-luminescent glow,
a beautiful insignia of light that
never fades.
Revelation
13:18
Here
is wisdom. Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the
beast: for it is the number of a man;
and his number is Six hundred
threescore and six.{18} Understanding
how the mark of the beast becomes the
number 666 is a simple calculation
for those who are perceptive.
After a
captain is selected from each group
of a thousand, this leaves 999 people
in each group. After one-third of the
group is killed, this leaves 666
survivors in each group.[116] The
tattoo showing “666” on the
right hand will serve as a
non-transferrable passport (physical
evidence) showing that the wearer is
loyal to the devil’s counterfeit
theocracy and that he is eligible to
buy or sell rations, the necessities
required to remain alive. A simple
tattoo will be a very efficient
identification method because it does
not require accounting, electricity,
computers, or paper work. Those who
wear the tattoo on their right hand
will belong to the devil. They defied
the gospel of Jesus. They rejected
the clearest evidences of God’s
will and they blasphemed the Holy
Spirit. Receiving the tattoo means
they committed the unpardonable sin.
Therefore, they become Satan’s
servants. They prostituted their
souls to the devil for the sake of
survival. Conversely, God’s
people will be totally shut off from
all earthly support, but Jesus will
not abandon His children. He will
provide for them because, “The
just shall live by faith.”[117]
Jesus loves
children and also those who are not
mentally capable of making these
kinds of choices. In His sight, a
person is not considered guilty of
blasphemy or defiance when he is not
qualified to make an intelligent and
informed decision to do so. Jesus
paid the price for sinners long ago,
so do not worry about minors or those
who are not capable of making the
decisions that are forthcoming. Jesus
understands their situation, and long
ago He generously provided atonement
for them.”[118]
After Lucifer
destroys a third of mankind and the
144,000, open opposition to his
demands will no longer exist. This
will prove to be a mixed blessing
because the wicked will then turn to
Lucifer to fulfill his promises. They
will expect him to use his miracle
working powers to create a new Heaven
and a new Earth as he so often
promised. The wicked will not
anticipate the seven bowls that God
is about to pour upon them on the
1,265th day. Early on the morning of
the 1,265th day, the 144,000 will be
resurrected.[119] The
people who murdered the 144,000 will
see their victims come to life right
before their eyes. They will hear a
voice say to the 144,000, “Come
up here,” and the 144,000 will
ascend to Heaven. Fear and uneasiness
will overtake the wicked. They will
begin asking, “If God is here on
Earth, who called the 144,000 to
Heaven? Is this a divine vindication
of the 144,000 and their
testimony?” Then, the seventh
trumpet will sound.
