Prophecy
11
The Rise of Babylon –
Revelation 12:7 – 14:5
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[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
-6-
Revelation
13:2
And
the beast which I saw was like unto a
leopard, and his feet were as the
feet of a bear, and his mouth as the
mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave
him his power, and his seat, and
great authority.
{2} I
noticed that the body of the
composite beast resembled a leopard,
but it had feet and claws like a bear
and a mouth like a lion. I also saw
that the source of Babylon’s
awesome power was Lucifer. The devil
gave this government beast its power,
its throne, and great authority. The
power within this puppet beast was
“supernatural.”
This beast
from the sea is called a
‘composite beast’ because
it has features borrowed from three
awesome predators. This combination
of features exposes the predatory
nature of Babylon. The composite
beast will be swift like a leopard,
ferocious like a bear and deadly like
a lion. Currently, the world does not
anticipate the first four trumpets or
the creation of the composite beast.
Millions of Christians are totally
unaware of what the Bible predicts.
They have no idea that the devil has
been preparing for more than two
hundred years to ambush everyone who
follows Jesus. Lucifer is crouched
like a lion, waiting to pounce on the
remnant of the woman with the
ferocity of a grizzly bear and no one
can outrun a leopard. When millions
of Christians are forced by
circumstances to admit that there
will not be a pretribulation rapture,
when millions of other Christians are
forced to admit that the seven
trumpets were not fulfilled in past
history, a devastating tsunami of
bitterness will flood through
Christianity and wash many away.
Revelation
13:3
And
I saw one of his heads as it were
wounded to death; and his deadly
wound was healed: and all the world
wondered after the beast.{3} One
of the seven heads seemed to have had
a fatal wound, but when the composite
beast rose from the sea, the fatal
wound had been healed (notice
the past-perfect tense). Because the
first four trumpets had destroyed
much of the world and its population,
the survivors sought to appease
God’s wrath by following the
instructions of the composite beast.
The seven
heads on the composite beast
represent the seven religious systems
of the world: Atheism, Heathenism,
Judaism, Islam, Eastern Mysticism,
Catholicism, and Protestantism. In
terms of political clout and
religious prowess, the Roman Catholic
Church (having approximately one
billion members and one leader) is
the preeminent religion of the world.
The Roman Catholic Church today has
diplomatic relations with heads of
state in 179 nations. History and
Bible prophecy indicate the sixth
head[79] of the
composite beast (the Roman Catholic
Church) received a fatal wound in
1798, but the Bible also indicates
the fatal wound will be
healed when Babylon forms.
The healing of the wounded head
points forward to a time when a pope
will be restored to a position that
has persecuting power. In fact, the
pope will lead a coalition of
religious leaders into persecuting
the remnant of the woman.
During the
first four trumpets, the religious
leaders of the world will unite in an
effort to appease God’s wrath.
They will create a global authority
(Babylon) that will be responsible
for “helping” the nations
of the world appease God. World
leaders will select the pope to
oversee this authority. This does not
mean that the pope will be able to
impose Catholic beliefs on
non-Catholics (approximately 85% of
the world is non-Catholic). Instead,
the pope will be appointed to lead a
coalition of religious leaders in a
united endeavor to appease God on a
nation by nation basis so that His
wrath will cease. At first, almost
everyone will accept the pope as the
leader because they realize that
something must be done quickly.
Millions of people will be
traumatized and religiously
disoriented (humbled and confused) by
the evidences of God’s wrath.
The Catholic Church has an existing
network already established among the
nations, so the pope will be the
obvious choice to lead Babylon, but
he will not serve alone. Religious
and political leaders of the world
will also serve on Babylon’s
board of directors and this unity
will enable Babylon to move quickly,
as the leopard portion of this
composite beast reminds us.
Revelation
13:4
And
they worshipped the dragon which gave
power unto the beast: and they
worshipped the beast, saying, Who is
like unto the beast? who is able to
make war with him?{4} People
worshiped the devil when they obeyed
the laws of Babylon without realizing
at first, that they were actually
worshiping the devil. Out of fear for
God, most people cooperated with the
demands of Babylon, the composite
beast. No one wanted to do anything
that might further offend Almighty
God.
This verse
teaches a profound truth: A person
worships the devil when heknowingly obeys
a law that has a requirement contrary
to the law of God. The composite
beast (Babylon) will create many laws
regarding worship and moral conduct.
Civil authorities will implement
these laws as though they were the
will of God, when actually, these
laws will be the handiwork of
Lucifer. Any law regarding
worship that stands in conflict with
the Ten Commandments, including the
fourth commandment, is blasphemy. The
religious leaders of Babylon will
prove that their religious system is
blasphemous (insulting to God) when
they make laws that oppose the laws
of God. Jesus is man’s Creator
and during creation week, He set
aside the seventh day as a memorial
to Creation by declaring it holy. The
144,000 will faithfully and clearly
present God’s demand that
everyone rest from their work on the
Creator’s seventh day Sabbath.
(This topic will be examined in
Prophecy 12.)
The 144,000
will inform the world that
Babylon’s laws are blasphemous
in God’s sight. Furthermore,
Babylon’s efforts to appease
God’s wrath will have no effect
on God’s wrath! Corporate
atonement for Earth ended forever
when the censer was cast down. The
first four trumpets have sounded and
the fifth trumpet will occur on time!
Life as it was known is over! There
will be no further judgments from God
until the fifth trumpet sounds.
Of course,
the testimony of the 144,000 will
inflame and insult the arrogance of
Babylon’s leaders.
Babylon’s leaders will become
furious when the 144,000 explain that
Babylon is merely a hand puppet of
Lucifer that is designed to destroy
the remnant of the woman, those who
love Jesus and keep His commandments.
The testimony given by the 144,000
will cause a great uproar. Many
wicked people will attempt to harm
and kill the 144,000, but they cannot
be silenced until they have completed
their work. Severe penalties will be
imposed on anyone who defies the laws
of Babylon. God permits this so that
faith can be tested. God wants to
reveal who will worship as Babylon
demands and who will trust in God and
do as He requires (live by faith).
Many people
will complain to the 144,000,
“Why should we resist the laws
of Babylon and be punished? We have
seen the wrath of God. We know that
God is angry with the world’s
degenerate behavior. If all of us do
not repent and worship God, we will
offend Him further and bring more
disaster upon ourselves. What
difference does it matter if we
worship God on Tuesday, Friday,
Saturday, or Sunday? As long
as we worship God, which day we
worship should not matter.” The
144,000 will respond that God’s
law has higher authority than any law
made by man. Surprisingly, Babylon
will maintain that it does not matter
which day a person keeps holy and it
will then establish a day it wants
people to observe as a holy day.
However, the fourth commandment
clearly indicates that a person
cannot honor the Creator and treat
His seventh day Sabbath as a secular
day.
The Bible
identifies the remnant of the woman
as those who obey the commandments of
God.[80] Currently,
this distinction is not apparent, but
this will change when the remnant
defy the commandments of men.[81] Even
though most people do not consider
the topic of worship to be essential,
it will become a topic of heated
debate during the Great Tribulation.
Worshiping God as He commands will
produce a great deal of conflict,
persecution and suffering for
God’s people. It is ironic that
the worship experience of Cain and
Abel illustrates this problem. Abel
offered the required lamb. Cain
ignored God’s command to
sacrifice a lamb and he
presumptuously offered fruit from his
garden. God honored Abel’s
offering and rejected Cain’s
offering. When Cain saw that God had
rejected his worship, Cain was
insulted and embarrassed. He became
jealous of his younger brother,
thinking that Abel might take his
place as the firstborn of mankind. In
a rage of jealousy and hatred, Cain
killed Abel. Think very carefully
about this point. If we presume to
tell God how and when He is to be
worshiped, we are like Cain. When we
defy God’s authority by telling
God how and when we will worship Him,
we attempt to supplant God.
Revelation
13:5
And
there was given unto him a mouth
speaking great things and
blasphemies; and power was given unto
him to continue forty and two months.{5} Babylon
(the composite beast) created many
laws which usurped God’s
authority.[82] Babylon
insulted the Creator of Heaven and
Earth with insults and blasphemies
and it exercised authority for
forty-two months (42 lunar months
times 29.53 days per month equals
1,241 days).
Contrary to
what many private interpretations
claim, Rule One proves the composite
beast does not yet exist even though
all of the elements that will make up
the beast are present. (A building
full of car parts does not mean that
a car is in the building.)
Note: Rule
One requires the composite beast to
rise out of the sea after 1798
because the Bible states that when
the composite beast rises from the
sea, the deadly wound had been healed
(past perfect tense). If the papacy
received a deadly wound in 1798, then
it stands to reason that the healing
of the deadly wound must occur after 1798.
Therefore, the composite beast has to
appear on Earth after 1798 and we
know this has not occurred because a
one world crisis government does not
yet exist.
The composite
beast will be granted power for
forty-two months. The forty-two
months in verse 5 are not to be
confused with 1,260 days granted to
the Two Witnesses.
1,260
Days Are Not 42 Months
The Two
Witnesses will begin their work on
Day 1 of the Great Tribulation and
their work will end on the 1,260th
day of the Great Tribulation. As I
calculate it, the forty-two months
given to the composite beast will
begin on Day 64 and end on Day 1305
when the fifth bowl begins. Remember,
42 lunar months equals 1,241 days,
whereas 1,260 days equals a time,
times, and half a time.
Because the
world is religiously diverse (having
seven religious systems), the leaders
of Babylon will have to adjust their
demands on a nation by nation basis.
In countries where Christians are a
majority, Babylon will require
worship on Sunday. In countries where
Islam is dominant, Babylon will
require worship on Friday, and in
countries where Judaism is dominant,
Babylon will require worship on
Saturday. In nations where Atheists
and Eastern Mysticism (Hinduism,
Buddhism, etc.) is dominant, a day
for worship will be selected and
announced as circumstances permit.
Babylon will create worldwide
confusion over the issue of worship,
because its policies will be so
diverse. This is ironic when you
consider that from man’s point
of view, Babylon was created to
appease God’s wrath. However,
from Lucifer’s larger point of
view, Babylon was created to
persecute God’s people.
