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]
-7-
Revelation
13:6
And
he opened his mouth in blasphemy
against God, to blaspheme his name,
and his tabernacle, and them that
dwell in heaven.{6} As
the Great Tribulation progressed, the
leadership of Babylon became more
bold in their blasphemy. Persecution
intensified. When the fifth trumpet
occurred, the devil appeared
physically and Babylon’s leaders
slandered God’s holy name by
claiming that God and his angels
dwelled among men! They proclaimed,
“Let the world and everyone in
it worship him!” The saints on
Earth and the angels in Heaven
abhorred this degrading insult.
Blasphemy
occurs whenever man usurps God’s
prerogative or authority. God
commands everyone to rest from labor
on Saturday, the seventh day of the
week.[83] When
Babylon forms, it will require the
nations to worship God according to
the religious majority in each
nation. Babylon’s religious
leaders will make many declarations
about God that are insulting and
blasphemous. For a while, it will
seem like God’s wrath has
stopped and Babylon will take credit
for causing God’s wrath to
cease. What the leader’s of
Babylon do not know is that God does
not send devastating judgments during
the fourth and fifth trumpets.
Babylon will demand that all people
worship God or be severely punished.
Ironically, when men presume to tell
the Creator of the universe when He
is to be worshiped, they presume to
have God’s authority! Blasphemy
is the logical end of the fallen
nature. When confronted with the
clearest evidences of God’s
will, the carnal nature will
naturally defy God’s authority.
This is why the unpardonable sin is
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.[84] If we
deliberately continue to make sinful
choices, eventually God will be
unable to save us.
Babylon’s
blasphemy will continue to escalate
because Lucifer is the hand inside
the puppet. Babylon’s
persecution will be intense,
intimidating many Christians. For
fear of punishment and lack of food,
many Christians will give in to
Babylon’s demands and refuse to
put their faith in Jesus. The remnant
of the woman will be imprisoned,
beaten, tortured, and many saints
will be put to death. Like the
Pharisees and Sadducees in
Christ’s time, religious leaders
will angrily reject the testimony of
Jesus, faithfully spoken through the
lips of the 144,000.
Revelation
13:7
And
it was given unto him to make war
with the saints, and to overcome
them: and power was given him over
all kindreds, and tongues, and
nations.{7} Babylon
made war against the remnant of the
woman for forty-two (lunar) months.
By the end of the forty-two months,
it appeared as though the saints had
been eliminated from Earth. The power
of the holy people (the 144,000) was
broken.[85]
During the
Great Tribulation, God will speak
forcibly and clearly through His
servants, the 144,000. In addition to
this, the Holy Spirit will be poured
out on all flesh[86] so that
everyone will be stirred to hear and
thoughtfully consider the testimony
of the 144,000.[87] The
gospel presented by the 144,000
cannot be defeated because Jesus
Himself will speak through their
lips. Most, if not all of the 144,000
will be killed on or before the
1,260th day of the Great Tribulation[88] and
Babylon will exercise authority
over every tribe,
people, language, and nation on Earth
(including the United States).
God’s sheep (the honest in
heart) will hear Jesus’ voice[89] and
they will embrace and obey His two
laws of love.[90] It is
interesting to note that in
God’s sight, the difference
between sheep and goats is the
direction of love. Sheep love
outwardly, goats love inwardly.
Revelation
13:8
And
all that dwell upon the earth shall
worship him, whose names are not
written in the book of life of the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world.{8} All inhabitants
of Earth will worship and obey the
laws of the composite beast
(Babylon); all whose names have not
been written in The Book of Life that
was written before the creation of
the world. The Book of Life is the
book sealed with seven seals and is
the book belonging to the Lamb that
was slain.[91]
The second
word in verse 8 speaks volumes. With
the exception of the saints, the
whole world will worship and obey
Babylon’s laws. Lucifer brings
this specification to fulfillment
during the fifth and sixth trumpets.
John defines the wicked in verse 8 in
an interesting way. He describes them
as “all whose names
have not been written in the Book of
Life that was written before the
creation of the world.” This
phrase is used for good reason. The
Father, having perfect foreknowledge,
foreknew the names of those who would
rebel against His kindness and grace,
but everything possible was done to
save each person. Jesus will send out
the 144,000 so that God’s will
might be clearly set before all
mankind. Jesus will pour out the Holy
Spirit on every person so that
everyone will intelligently and
thoughtfully consider God’s
will. Jesus has leveled the playing
field by offering salvation to
everyone who puts their faith in Him
and obeys the eternal gospel. Even
though the Father foreknew the
choices that everyone would make, He
has done everything possible to
save all mankind.
In a sense,
Jesus was slain from the creation of
the world, because before Adam and
Eve were created, a plan for
redemption existed. Jesus volunteered
to die in their place the day they
sinned.[92] Of
course, Jesus did not actually die
until 4,000 years later, but when
Jesus promised to die, His promise
was as good as done because God
always fulfills His promises![93]
Jesus will
permit the composite beast to rule
over the world (Babylon – Phase
I) until the sixth trumpet occurs and
then Jesus will allow Lucifer to
overtake the world and reign as king
of kings and lord of lords (Babylon
– Phase II). Prior to the sixth
trumpet, millions of saints will
support the ministry of the 144,000.
Their love for one another, and their
testimony and loyalty to Jesus will
impress many of the wicked to repent
and be saved. Consequently, the
saints will nurture millions of new
converts who put their faith in
Jesus. Prior to the fifth trumpet,
the number of people sealed will
increase daily. When the gospel fails
to transform additional people, the
fifth trumpet will sound. When the
devil and his angels arrive, they
will eliminate most of the
non-religious wicked through torture.
Then, during the sixth trumpet
(Babylon – Phase II), Jesus will
bestow a martyr’s faith on
millions of His saints so that they
can be sacrificed as
martyrs. (This is the fifth seal).
Jesus needs sacrificial martyrs
because there is no greater testimony
that a person can give than that of a
martyr who willingly lays down his
life for what is true. Jesus will
permit many Christians to die during
the sixth trumpet in an attempt to
convert those few souls in Babylon
who are still open to the prompting
of the Holy Spirit. If the Father so
loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son to redeem one sinner, it
is easy to see why Jesus would be
willing to sacrifice a few million
people to save a dozen sinners. The
value of one sinner in God’s
sight can only be measured by the
enormous price He was willing to pay
for our redemption.
Do we really
need to understand this prophecy at
the present time? Jesus said to His
disciples, “All
this I have told you so that you will
not go astray.”[94]Jesus knows
the value of foreknowledge. By giving
His followers a schematic of His
plans and purposes, they will not go
astray. They will not be discouraged
or caught off guard when this crisis
occurs. Paul knew that many
Christians would not want to hear
from God’s Word. He warned
Timothy, “For the
time will come when men will not put
up with sound doctrine. Instead, to
suit their own desires, they will
gather around them a great number of
teachers to say what their itching
ears want to hear. They will turn
their ears away from the truth and
turn aside to myths.”[95]
Revelation
13:9
If
any man have an ear, let him hear.{9} If
a person has an ear for the things of
God, the Holy Spirit will make sure
that he hears and understands this
prophecy.
Jesus said, “Do not
worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow
will worry about itself. . .”[96]
Jesus
said, “I have told
you these things, so that in me you
may have peace. In this world you
will have trouble. But take heart! I
have overcome the world.”[97]
Revelation
13:10
He
that leadeth into captivity shall go
into captivity: he that killeth with
the sword must be killed with the
sword. Here is the patience and the
faith of the saints.{10} Jesus
knows who will go into captivity and
who will die. (See NIV translation.)
Therefore, He says, “Do not
worry about the future or your
personal situation. I will never
leave you or forsake you.” We
need to learn all that we can from
God’s Word. We need to practice
standing firm for what is right and
true each day by allowing Jesus to
take care of the consequences. This
is the essence of living by faith.
Trust in God! Be assured that when
Jesus requires the death of a saint,
He will bestow a martyr’s faith
on that saint. The words, grace, and
courage needed for the moment will be
provided and on top of this, that
saint will receive eternal life. So,
even though these matters may be
unsettling, we need to know and
understand God’s plans and
purposes without worrying about
tomorrow. If we abide in Jesus, we
can do everything He commands. A
great reward awaits the faithful,
those who patiently endure to the end
or their end.
The Beast
from the Abyss
Revelation
13:11
And
I beheld another beast coming up out
of the earth; and he had two horns
like a lamb, and he spake as a
dragon.{11} At
the beginning of the fifth trumpet,
the 891st day of the Great
Tribulation, I saw another scene. I
saw a beast come up from the Abyss,[98] out of
a hole in the Earth. This beast
looked very similar to the Lamb that
had been slain in Revelation 5, but
it had only two horns
instead of seven.[99] Even
though this beast looked like the
Lamb, it spoke like the dragon.
The
“lamb-like” beast is the
great red dragon wearing sheep’s
clothing. Lucifer will personate
Jesus. Lucifer will appear on Earth
about two years after the composite
beast appears. The devil and his
angels will be released from the
Abyss at the fifth trumpet.
Meanwhile, the 144,000 will deliver a
third message (discussed in detail in
Prophecy 12) warning everyone to have
nothing to do with this beast for his
appearing is the greatest deception
ever created.[100] Because
the saints understand Bible prophecy,
they will anticipate the arrival of
this deception and they will not even
go out to see Lucifer and his angels
when he arrives at their locale.[101]
The devil
knows that “seeing is
believing,” and in his
situation, this phrase will be
particularly true. During the five
months of the fifth trumpet, Lucifer
and his angels will travel the world
nonstop from one heavily populated
area to another. Wherever he goes,
millions of people will go out to see
him. He will claim to be God. He will
claim that he sent the first four
trumpet judgments upon Earth because
of man’s degenerate and decadent
behavior. His brilliant glory and
awesome powers will appear to back up
his blasphemous assertions.
Physically, he will be larger than
life. He will be a glorious being
surrounded by thousands of dazzling
angels (demons in disguise). Every
day, the devil will put on a great
show of signs and wonders to bedazzle
his spectators. He will speak kind
words and heal the sick. He will even
appear to raise some dead people from
their graves! His demeanor will seem
genuine and generous. He will show
sympathy for the suffering of
mankind. He will miraculously feed
millions who have been impacted by
the severity of the famine in the
land.[102] When
people consider this glorious being
with all his generous actions,
billions of people will easily accept
his claims of divinity.
