Has God ever pored out His wrath over a people while protecting His people from His wrath? How could that be accomplished? Let us study some passages to determine if this is indeed true. We will start with the account of Lot, Abraham, and Sodom and Gomorrah.
Genesis 18:22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD. 18:23 Abraham came near and said, "Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
Abraham asked the Lord this very same question we are trying to understand ourselves. Sodom and Gomorrah will be destroyed for their horrendous, abominable sexual practices. But, Abraham is very concerned as his nephew Lot and his family who have chosen to live in Sodom.
18:32 Then he said, "Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it on account of the ten."
Abraham asked the Lord 5 times about whether the Lord would destroy this city if 50,45,30,20, or 10 righteous people could be found in Sodom. The Lord knew that there were not 10 to be found, but demonstrated His divine mercy by clearly declaring that for 10 He would not destroy Sodom.
19:1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 9:2 And he said, "Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant's house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." They said however, "No, but we shall spend the night in the square." 9:3 Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
Lot had two concerns, one was the nature of hospitality in that time and place, but the overriding concern was the safety of these two, as he knew the evil that the men of Sodom practiced.
19:4 Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; 19:5 and they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them."
What does having relations with them mean? What did God condemn them for? Why would God destroy two whole towns? The answer is that they practiced what God condemned as abominable. The penalty for these practices was death.
Leviticus 20:13 'If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their blood guiltiness is upon them.
Sexual sin is viewed by God as deserving of the death penalty.
19:10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 19:11 They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.
Even when blinded by the angels, these man did not stop trying to find them. Their evil passions blinded them more than their physical blindness.
19:12 Then the two men said to Lot, "Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place;
19:13 for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it." Gen 19:14 Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, "Up, get out of this place, for the LORD will destroy the city." But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
19:15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city." 19:16 But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, one said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.
What have we read and learned?
First, God will send warnings.
Secondly, the world will not understand, believe, or care for God’s warnings.
Thirdly, God will make sure His people escape, even if He has to send angels (messengers) to drag them away from experiencing His divine, holy, righteous wrath.
We will study another example next time.
Unfortunately, the emphasis on the false pre-trib rapture includes being saved from any pain or suffering. This uniquely held belief found primarily in the U. S. implies that the believers in this period of time will escape any discomfort or persecution, which these false teachers confuse with God’s righteous wrath. Let us try and understand what God has said on the issues of persecution, His discipline, and His wrath. These two passages both in Thessalonians are the primary sources of these beliefs.
1Thessalonians 1:9 For they themselves witness what kind of entrance we had to you, even how you turned from idols to God in order to serve the living and true God, 1:10 and to wait for His Son from Heaven (whom He raised from the dead), Jesus, who delivered us from the wrath to come.
What does this say? Wrath can also be interpreted as anger. It’s primary use is in regards to God’s wrath toward the unrighteous. It has a few uses as it relates to our wrath or anger. But, in terms of prophetic emphasis, it always points to God’s wrath which He will pour out on the unrighteous. This is clearer in the next passage.
5:9 For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 5:10 who died for us, so that whether we watch or sleep we should live together with Him.
Here we read how Paul is trying to comfort the church. The church has always been persecuted and will always be persecuted. Jesus gave us a number of references on this very point.
Matthew 5:10 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 5:11 "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
This teaching of Jesus was from His sermon on the Mount; His first teaching and it warned of being persecuted.
Luke 21:10 Then He continued by saying to them, "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, 21:11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
21:12 "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake. 21:13 "It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. 21:14 "So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; 21:15 for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
21:16 "But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 21:17 and you will be hated by all because of My name.
In Luke, Jesus is again telling His disciples of what it will be like as we near the end, but also as we live for Him in the present time. Even our family will turn against us, as many of you may be able to attest.
John 15:20 "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 15:21 "But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.
Why would anyone think that they would not have to suffer for their faith? The more challenging question may be; if you are not being persecuted does that imply you are not doing the work God has prepared for you?
So clearly, persecution from the world under the deception of Satan should be expected. The world will experience God’s righteous wrath, but we will be protected from it. This does not mean being taken out of the world in some divine escape plan.
We will study that teaching next time.
Now we come to one of the most misunderstood passages in the Bible on when Jesus returns for His bride. Without the other passages we have already studied and the rest we will study, this passage alone drives the pre-trib rapture traditions. Let us start.
1Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, that you be not grieved, even as others who have no hope. 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will also bring with Him all those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.
First, apparently some in the church thought they had either missed the rapture or that those who died missed the rapture. This caused great concern and confusion. So Paul tried to add to his previous teachings and clear this up.
14:15 For we say this to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not go before those who are asleep.
The saints who have died will have their physical bodies resurrected before the remaining living saints rise up to meet the Lord.
4:16 For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first.
The Lord is only coming back once not twice as pre-trib teachers proclaim. As we studied from Matthew 13 the saints are gathered up when the Lord returns.
Matthew 13:28 He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Then do you want us to go and gather them up?
Matthew 13:29 But he said, No, lest while you gather up the darnel you also root up the wheat with them.
13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest. And in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, First gather together the darnel and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my granary.
4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall ever be with the Lord.
As we just studied in Matthew 24, this is confirmed and is in perfect alignment with 1 Thessalonians.
Matthew 24:29 And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
24:30 And then the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of the heaven with power and great glory.
24:31 And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Here we find the great sound of the trumpet as the Lord descends and all the saints ascend to meet Him. He is coming with His army clothed in white, but they as we, are there just to watch the Lord destroy His enemies with His word.
Revelation 19:11 And I saw Heaven opened. And behold, a white horse! And He sitting on him was called Faithful and True. And in righteousness He judges and makes war.
19:12 And His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head many crowns. And He had a name written, one that no one knew except Himself.
19:13 And He had been clothed in a garment dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
19:14 And the armies in Heaven followed Him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
So we are to take comfort in these things, which all occur at the end of time.
First, the Lord will come to gather us to Him, those who have already died and those who have survived the persecution during the Tribulation.
Second, the evil, disobedient servants of Satan will be gathered and condemned, never to persecute us again.
Lastly, the Lord will completely, perfectly, swiftly vanquish all of His enemies.
4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
What will this terrible day be like? How much warning will we receive? Who will be ready and who will not be ready? Will anyone be looking or waiting? This follows the last study.
Matthew 24:39 And they did not know until the flood came and took them all away. So also will be the coming of the Son of Man.
24:40 Then two shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
24:41 Two shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
24:42 Therefore watch; for you do not know what hour your Lord comes.
This clearly reveals that no one will know exactly when our Lord will return. Just as with Noah and the flood, life will go on right until the waters starts rising and the door of the ark of redemption is forever closed to them. No one got in after God closed the door. You may be working right next to a friend when the end comes. Will you be ready?
24:43 But know this, that if the steward of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be dug through.
24:44 Therefore you also be ready, for in that hour you think not, the Son of Man comes.
This just makes the point more clearly. You won’t be watching or may not even be awake. We won’t get a warning so we can get ready, we must always be ready. What does ready mean?
4:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord has made ruler over His household, to give them food in due season?
24:46 Blessed is that servant whom his Lord shall find him doing so when He comes. 24:47 Truly I say to you that He shall make him ruler over all His goods.
Ready means doing what the Lord has appointed us to do; His work, His will, obeying His commandments. God has saved us to do the very work He has prepared for us.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.
Mat 24:48 But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delays His coming, 24:49 and shall begin to strike his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, 4:50 the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he does not look for Him, and in an hour which he does not know.
The world, under the control of Satan, has convinced nearly everyone that since God has delayed so long, He is not really coming or does not really exist. God clearly is coming and those who deny Him, disobey Him. or don’t believe in Him are facing a terrible eternal destiny.
24:51 And He shall cut him apart and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Many false teachers deny the reality of Hell, the eternal nature of Hell, and all references to any eternal punishment in Hell. Jesus taught most of what is know about Hell and He did not fail to make it very clear. If He wanted to introduce any other understanding, such as annihilation, second chances, intermediary re-education or repentance opportunities, etc. He failed to do so.
Weeping is a very profound sorrow over a loss or injury. Gnashing of teeth is evidence of anger and rebellion. Both clearly portray a consciousness and continuance of life and the reality of eternal torment and punishment.
How have you prepared yourself for this day? Are you truly ready?
No one knows that day and hour that will reveal the return of our King and the beginning of His earthly reign for 1000 years. His return and the end of his 1000 year reign will both include the battle with evil and those who follow Satan. Satan knows the end, but like many, refuses to believe that he cannot challenge God and defeat God.
Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not the angels of Heaven, but only My Father.
This is one more contested and often misinterpreted verses relating to prophecy. This could also be understood as at this time, Jesus was in His flesh and had given up His independent use of His power, glory, and majesty. All of which have now been restored to Him.
24:37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall be the coming of the Son of Man.
24:38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark. 24:39 And they did not know until the flood came and took them all away. So also will be the coming of the Son of Man.
It is a good time to once again remind ourselves of what this means.
Genesis 6:1 And it happened, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and when daughters were born to them, 6:2 the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were good. And they took wives for themselves from all whom they chose.
As was studied months earlier, fallen angels are the sons of God. As they left their domain, i.e., in Heaven as created spiritual servants of God, they bred with women, daughters of Adam. What was the result of this evil?
6:3 And Jehovah said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, in his erring; he is flesh. Yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years. 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days. And also after that, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore to them, they were mighty men who existed of old, men of renown.
6:5 And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6:6 And Jehovah repented that He had made man on the earth, and He was angry to His heart.
A new type or breed of man was created. These evil, demonic giants created a world that soon became devoid of the ‘fruit of the spirit’ and full of immoral, ungodly, unrighteous desires and practices.
6:7 And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth, both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air. For I repent that I have made them.
So God destroyed them all and only saved 8. God will always save a remnant, but the majority then, as well as now, will be destroyed.
6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of Jehovah.
So few are actually true followers of the King that most will not believe they are not included in the ark of Salvation.
2Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare sinning angels, but thrust them down into Tartarus, and delivered them into chains of darkness, being reserved to judgment.
2:5 And He did not spare the old world, but saved Noah the eighth one, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.
2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, He condemned them with an overthrow, setting an example to men intending to live ungodly.
2:7 And He delivered righteous Lot, oppressed with the lustful behavior of the lawless. 2:8 For that righteous one living among them, in seeing and hearing, his righteous soul was tormented from day to day with their unlawful deeds.
Noah preached for over 100 years, while he made the ark. But none believed! Maybe it was like today when these same truths are given out to an unbelieving world; they mock the truth and all who proclaim it. For those who don’t want to believe in God’s divine wrath, judgment, and condemnation, Peter provides another example. Of course, people deny that one as well.
2:9 The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust for a day of judgment, to be punished, 2:10 and especially those who walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise dominion. They are darers, self-pleasing; not trembling at glories, speaking evil.
The righteous before God will be saved just as they are known by God. The unjust, the unrighteous, the ungodly, the disobedient will be punished. This is an eternal punishment that is far beyond what anyone can imagine.
God’s warnings are for our benefit, just as our earthly parents warned us, to save us from pain, suffering, and even death.
It is my sincere, biblical opinion that we are closing in on these last days. Lawlessness is everywhere and condoned by the army of Satan. Yes, these mayors, governors, legislators, and even police are all firmly deceived to do Satan’s bidding. When billions of dollars or property can be destroyed, 47 people lost their lives, police headquarters and vehicles burned, and yet no one is charged or arrested!!! It is hard to say this is not the beginning signs of the end of time.
Let us continue where we left off last time. The Coming of the Son of Man is introduced by Jesus in Matthew.
Matthew 24:29 And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
This will not be missed nor misunderstood. There has never been a time like this and never will again. This will signal the end or the terrible tribulation and herald the return of our King.
24:30 And then the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of the heaven with power and great glory.
24:31 And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
This is the great gathering that so many have written about, preached about, and taught about. But if you remember what Jesus said in Matthew 13, you will identify this as Jesus coming with His army to defeat Satan. His angels will gather us as we all meet Him in the air.
24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When its branch is still tender and puts out leaves, you know that summer is near. 24:33 So you, likewise, when you see all these things, shall know that it is near, at the doors.
Everyone in Israel would probably have known when all about fig trees. It is something you could see unfold in front of your eyes.
24:34 Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass until all these things are fulfilled.
Now to the passage that keeps many in confusion. But, there is a very easy to understand explanation. This generation are those He is speaking to about those who will be alive when He returns. When they see the signs mentioned, they will see the end as well, i.e. not pass away.
24:35 The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away.
Jesus is the Truth, God is Truth, His Word is Truth, and we have inherited the Spirit of Truth, all eternal truth.
So far, we have learned that there is coming a day when the great tribulation will begin and will eventually end. What can we expect? How will we know the times and seasons? God has not left us without any information, but has not given us an exact day or year. We must therefore, we vigilant, ready, and continually in prayer. It will be preceded by strife, persecution, and even death for many true believers.
Last time we studied some general signs and some troubling warnings.
Matthew 24:15 Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand).
First, as we get closer to the end, we see Jesus referencing the prophecy given to Daniel some 600 years earlier. This is a very specific sign that should not be overlooked by the true believers.
24:16 Then let those in Judea flee into the mountains.
24:17 Let him on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; 24:18 nor let him in the field turn back to take his clothes.
24:19 And woe to those who are with child, and to those who give suck in those days!
24:20 But pray that your flight is not in the winter, nor on the sabbath day;
Notice where this prophecy is occurring. It is in the land of Israel. For the abomination to enter into the holy place, it must be seen in Jerusalem.
So, it begins with those in the area, i.e. Judah, to flee into the mountains. It is not a general warning for everyone in the world to flee into their local mountains. However, there is a very real sense of urgency, a desperate emergency. No looking back or going back! Much like with Lot’s wife, you are fleeing for your life.
This doesn’t mean God is not sovereign or not looking after His people, but we all must be obedient to His warnings and commandments.
24:21 for then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be.
This is a terrifying event that signals the end of the world as we currently know it. The 1000 year reign of Christ on earth is close to commencing. But, the turmoil and evil that attends this end, will be very hard to endure.
24:22 And unless those days should be shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened.
24:23 Then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ! Or, There! Do not believe it. 24:24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders; so much so that, if it were possible, they would deceive even the elect.
At this time of stress and terror, false prophets and false Christs will try to keep many deceived unto their eternal damnation. Satan will basically pull out all stops with great signs and wonders to gather support for his great battle against the Lord. The only ones who will be able to resist these deceptive signs, will be spirit-filled believers.
24:25 Behold, I have told you beforehand.
24:26 Therefore if they shall say to you, Behold, He is in the desert! Do not go out. Behold, He is in the secret rooms! Do not believe it.
People will falsely claim sightings of Jesus everywhere and false Jesus’ will indeed be everywhere.
24:27 For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines even to the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man. 24:28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gatherer.
Here, we end for today with a very important truth, all will know when Jesus does indeed return. He will be seen by all and no one will be able to deny His appearing. It will as visible as lightning. All the other false Jesus’ will be seen for who they were.
There is no one like the real, glorified King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, no one!
The many references to God’s prophetic timeline have baffled scholars for centuries. They are very confusing and some may never be fully understood until Christ returns. However, we can learn from them and so we will study them one by one. Jesus taught much of what we can understand and referenced both Daniel and Noah in Matthew 24.
Matthew 24:1 And Jesus went out and departed from the temple. And His disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple. 24:2 And Jesus said to them, Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, There shall not be left here one stone on another that shall not be thrown down.
This is one of the reasons some may be confused about timing. Jesus begins this with a prophecy that will soon come into view, that is the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. But, the rest of the chapter leads into the timing of the end of the world as we know it.
24:3 And as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the world?
This question has been on the minds and lips of true and false believers for thousands of years. I firmly believe that the whole world, deep down in their hearts, knows that this world will someday come to an end, a fiery end.
24:4 And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
This is a very revealing introduction. The first part of His answer begins with a warning.
24:5 For many will come in My name, saying, I am Christ, and will deceive many.
Notice who will come and how they will come. Not just a few, but many. Perhaps the most revealing verses in the Bible on many and few can be found in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 7:13 Go in through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in through it. 7:14 Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
24:6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for all these things must occur; but the end is not yet.
24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in different places.
24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
You may think, wars and rumors of wars have been a part of every generation throughout history. That is true, but it is especially true during the last days. Jesus clearly states that this is indeed some of the first signs.
24:9 Then they will deliver you up to be afflicted and will kill you. And you will be hated of all nations for My name's sake.
24:10 And then many will be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another.
Mark 13:12 And a brother will betray a brother to death, and a father his son. And children will rise up against their parents and will cause them to be put to death. 3:13 And you will be hated by all for My name's sake, but he enduring to the end, that one will be kept safe.
Have you seen any recent evidence like this in the US? Seems like the governors and mayors are encouraging it for this ‘pandemic’.
24:11 And many false prophets will rise and deceive many.
This is the real problem today. The many are indeed the many, or in reality should be called the majority. There are far more false teachers today than true men of God. Unfortunately, those who only come to be entertained and distracted from the worries of the world are clueless and therefore easily misled.
Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, Lord! Lord! shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. 7:22 Many will say to Me in that day, Lord! Lord! Did we not prophesy in Your name, and through Your name throw out demons, and through Your name do many wonderful works? 7:23 And then I will say to them I never knew you! Depart from Me, those working lawlessness.
These are the mis-believers. They do many ‘right’ things, proclaim the name of Jesus without being known by Jesus, and are self-righteous in their self-affirmation of their godliness. But, what does Jesus say to them? Depart! Where? Where do the lawless go; to Hell. Many will come of ‘that’ day, the day of final judgment. This is too late to change their eternal destiny.
24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will become cold.
This seems like an indictment of the many in our world today.
24:13 But he who endures to the end, the same shall be kept safe. 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all nations. And then the end shall come.
This ends with two truths.
First, you must endure, that is, persevere, contend, struggle and overcome adversity.
Second, the gospel must go out to all the world. Some contend that this occurred during the time of the early church, as it refers to the ‘known’ world not the entire world. That doesn’t make any sense in context of the entire chapter.
That being said, today that may be true. If it is, the soon coming of the Lord may indeed be soon coming. More later.
Now we must see if God has given us any idea of timing or the ‘rapture’ of the church. Many, within the Christian ‘community’, ascribe to an overall ism in regards to understanding biblical truths and doctrines. Unfortunately, the ‘ism’ often has to bend scripture, be selective in using scripture, or/and reinterpret scripture to make their ‘ism’ appear to be the one and only correct one.
The Pre-trib rapture is such a doctrine of the Dispensationalism belief system. Let us see if this doctrine can be supported by scripture.
First, why did Jesus use parables so often in His teaching.Mat 13:10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"
Matthew 13:11 Jesus answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 13:12 "For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
This is a very chilling revelation from Jesus! There are some, even the majority, that will not understand because God has prevented them from understanding.
13:13 "Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
Just, as God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, after he had hardened his heart, God keeps some people in the dark and out of His kingdom.
13:14 "In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, 'YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;
13:15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.'
So here we come up to another element of the created trying to understand the Creator in areas that escape our abilities and finite concerns with justice and fairness in our eyes.
13:16 "But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 13:17 "For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. In this chapter of John, Jesus used a number of parables; Matthew 13:3 And He spoke many things to them in parables…
13:24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 13:25 "But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 13:26 "But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
This is a parable that references wheat farming, which is one of the primary occupations within Israel at the time and one everyone should have had some understanding.
It is also an example of the spiritual battle that rages around us even to this day.
13:27 "The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'
This could very well reach back to the creation story in Genesis. God did create everything and called it good, but Satan quickly came to destroy the good that God had created.
13:28 "And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The slaves *said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' 13:29 "But he *said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. God’s mercy is seen in the long-suffering He exhibits by not immediately all who disobey Him. He knows which is the wheat and which is the tares, as does His heavenly messengers, angels.
13:30 'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
This parable ends with a question that the ‘isms’ often miss. What or who is gathered first?
Rapture proponents maintain that the ‘church’ is raptured first, to keep the godly from the wrath of God. But, here we read that at the time of the harvest, the last days, the ungodly are gathered up first! Since this is true, the godly must still be on the earth i.e. gathered second.
The great judgment separates the godly from the ungodly. The ungodly are gathered up first, to eventually face their eternal punishment.
We will go to other passages to make sure we correctly understand this parable and the truth of the timing of the godly being gathered unto the Lord.
More later.
Last time we read about the end of the great harlot and the destruction of Babylon. This leaves a few open questions for us to consider.
First, as a reminder, the harlot is the final, ecumenical one world religion that controls the one world order of government.
Secondly, what city is Babylon? This is the city associated with the harlot as well. So the city and the religion are the same in their identity. What city could this be? There are numerous cities mentioned in the Bible, but only one is identified with God which is Jerusalem. Babylon was once a great city, but the Bible consistently refers to Babylon as the wicked city, which Jerusalem has been for some time. Just how wicked is Jerusalem in God’s eyes?
Revelation 11:8 And their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
So finally the city of Jerusalem is destroyed, not physically, but it is no longer useful for Satan to continue to deceive the nations. Eventually it will be eternally destroyed physically, which will make way for the new Jerusalem. Now let us continue.
Revelation 18:20 Rejoice over her, Heaven, and the holy apostles, and the prophets, since God judged your judgment on her. 18:21 And one strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, So on an impulse the great city, Babylon, will be thrown down and not at all will be found any more.
When Jesus Christ returns, He will reign in Jerusalem for 1000 years. God has judged Jerusalem and the false religion that resides within its walls. Interestingly, the Pope has a castle there, the Muslims have a mosque there, the Christians have a stake there, and the Jews have always been there. They will all come together in a worldwide false religious system under Satan.
18:22 And the voice of harpers, and of musicians. and flutists, and of trumpeters will be heard no more at all in you. And every craftsman of any craft will not be found any more in you. And the sound of a mill will never more be heard at all in you. 18:23 And the light of a lamp will never more shine at all in you. And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will never more be heard at all in you.
All of the worldly attractions and affections that have permeated every aspect of worship and living in Jerusalem will be gone.
For your merchants were the great ones of the earth; for by your sorceries all nations were deceived. 18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all those who were slain on the earth.
Didn’t Jesus remind the Pharisees that the blood of the prophets was on their hands?False religions and the nations under their control, have killed more people, especially true Christians, than all the wars.
Matthew 23:27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outside, but inside they are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
23:28 Even so you also appear righteous to men outwardly, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
23:29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets, and decorate the tombs of the righteous, 23:30 and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
23:31 Therefore you are witnesses to yourselves, that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets; 23:32 and you fill up the measure of your fathers.
23:33 Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
Since this was true in Jesus’ day, how much worse will it be near the end?
Once again God reminds all of us of the power and pervasiveness of the deception. All the nations will be deceived. The great ‘reset’ is fulfilling Biblical prophecy.
Here we come to the last chapter referencing this ‘little horn’. We may now have enough revelation to know when he begins to take his place on the world stage.
Revelation 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from Heaven, having great authority. And the earth was lighted up from his glory. 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great has fallen, has fallen!
And it has become the dwelling-place of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a cage of every unclean bird which has been hated, Rev 18:3 because of the wine of the anger of her fornication which all the nations have drunk.
And the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her. And the merchants of the earth became rich from the power of her luxury.
Here we read of the great ending of this political system, this nation state, and one world religion. Since they are all intertwined, they go down together. It is a frightening world in which to live. A dwelling-place for demons sounds terrifying, evil, and dangerous.
It is also filled with every unclean spirit. What is the difference between demons and unclean spirits is not really provided, but it cannot be anything but murderous, unmerciful, uncaring, selfish, and brutal.
Also, the love of money, the attractions of power, and the desires of the flesh are all available till the very end.
18:4 And I heard another voice from Heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that you may not be partakers of her sins, and that you may not receive of her plagues. 18:5 For her sins joined together, even up to Heaven, and God has remembered her unjust deeds.
Come out is an oft-mentioned warning by God. God has continually warned everyone to come out of the love of the world and into His kingdom. He has consistently, routinely, and carelessly been ignored for centuries. God’s last call for redemption falls on a deaf world.
18:6 Reward her as she has rewarded you, and double to her double, according to her works. In the cup which she mixed, mix double to her. 18:7 As much as she has glorified herself and has lived in luxury, so much torment and sorrow give her. For she says in her heart, I sit as a queen, and I am not a widow; and I do not see mourning at all.
This unified world doesn’t need God and is deceived that the attractions of this ungodly, fleshly world are the only things worth pursuing. Interestingly, the Roman Catholic Church often refers to itself as a queen.
18:8 Therefore her plagues will come in one day, death and mourning and famine. And she will be consumed with fire, for the Lord God who judges her is strong. In one day, one moment of time, God will judge and destroy the physical city and then the Lord will descend to destroy all who come to fight with the Lord of Lords.
18:9 And the kings of the earth who have committed fornication and lived in luxury with her will weep for her, and will wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning; 18:10 standing afar off for fear of her torment, saying, Woe! Woe to the great city, Babylon, that strong city! For in one hour your judgment came.
18:11 And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their cargo any more;
18:12 the cargo of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and every ivory vessel, and every vessel of very precious wood, and of bronze, and of iron, and of marble,
18:13 and cinnamon, and incenses, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
18:14 And the fruits of the lust of your soul have departed from you, and all the fat things and the bright things departed from you, and you will find them no more, not at all.
What are they doing? Why are they so sad? What will they do? First, these precious cargoes are still available till the very end. The world has not destroyed itself through carbon footprints, global warning, or global pandemics, or over population. Secondly, they mourn the passing of their great economic provider. It is the end of all of their dreams of living happily ever after.
18:15 The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, will stand afar off because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning 18:16 and saying, Woe! Woe to the great city which was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!
18:17 For in one hour such great riches was desolated. And every ship-pilot, and all the company on the ships, and sailors, and as many as work the sea, stood afar off.
18:18 And they cried out, seeing the smoke of her burning, saying, What is like the great city?
18:19 And they threw dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe! Woe to the great city, by which all who had ships in the sea were rich out of her costliness! For in one hour she was ruined.
In the Bible, the tearing of clothes, dust cloths, and ashes are all signs of humble remorse, repentance, and an honest seeking of reconciliation to a Holy God. This is not the reason for their dust, crying, weeping, or mourning. God doesn’t even get mentioned in their losses.
It has nothing to do with God, but with their being deceived in thinking the world is their only home and they only have a few years to make the most of it. They will have eternity to remember their being deceived, punished, and condemned.
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, 2:16 because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 2:17 And the world passes away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever.
What are you seeking with all of your heart?
Much of what we have studied thus far has included references to this ‘little horn’. But, we need to now look once more at them as a subject to make sure we can recognize him and will not be deceived by him.
We will need to add one more passage to gain some new confirmation of both the end times, the first beast, and the other beast, the ‘little horn’, the antichrist. As we read through these verses take note of again the number 7 & 10, the references to a beast, and the way this passage describes major participants.
Revelation 17:1 And one of the seven angels who had the seven vials came and talked with me, saying to me, Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot sitting on many waters, 17:2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and became drunk with the wine of her fornication, those inhabiting the earth.
Daniel is once again receiving prophetic revelations. We are now in the period of God pouring out His wrath at the closing end of the great Tribulation.
17:3 And he carried me away into a desert by the Spirit. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast, filled with names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet. And she was gilded with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.
Women are often used to describe religions or belief systems, just as true believers are referred to as the ‘bride’ of Christ. This is God’s divine way of referring to these entities in the feminine.
17:5 And on her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
17:6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with a great marveling.
This religion kills true believers, saints, and is referred to as a harlot. Remember, God does refer to false believers as adulterers. Since that is true, the harlot is their partner in sin.
17:7 And the angel said to me, Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, that has the seven heads and ten horns. 17:8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to ascend out of the abyss and go into perdition. And those dwelling on the earth will marvel, those whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Who is soon going into judgment; Satan and his demonic followers and helper.
17:9 And here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits. 17:10 And there are seven kings; five have fallen, and one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.
Now it once again gets a little confusing. We begin with 10 crowns or kingdoms. We have read before there is a reduction to 7 from 10 as the ‘little horn’ has subdued 3, which would leave 7 intact. But, here we read a little further into the 7. Five have fallen, one is (not fallen), and one is still to be revealed or come out into plain view.
17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition.
The beast, the antichrist, comes out of the ten and is counted as one of the surviving 7. So what does this mean? The antichrist is the one who suffers a deadly blow, but to everyone’s surprise, he comes back into total, dominating power.
17:12 And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have received no kingdom yet, but will receive authority as kings one hour with the beast. 17:13 These have one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.
These 10 are rising to power, but they will give all their “power and authority” to the antichrist. They are all agreed and will act as obedient servants to the demands of the antichrist.
17:14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them. For He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those with Him are the called and elect and faithful ones.
The whole world will try and fight God, as they believe that the beast is god, even perhaps as the resurrected son of god. This confirms that the Devil is the god of this age.
17:15 And he says to me, The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues,
17:16 and the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked. And they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
Well, as the antichrist now redirects worship from this original deceptive religion, he now attacks it as he positions himself as god.
17:17 For God gave into their hearts to do His mind, and to act with one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast until the Words of God will be fulfilled.
17:18 And the woman whom you saw is the great city which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth.
What is this great city? It is Jerusalem, as we have already studied.
More on what is coming through the revelation of the antichrist next time.
While we have studied the beast and the appearance of the ‘little horn’, we must now make sure we know his traits, characteristics, and methods of deceit and enslavement. He will not tolerate any dissension, opposition, or disobedience to his absolute mandates. This is not a democratic leader or one who rules thru mutual agreements, but an absolute totalitarianism dictator. We will search out this information from Revelation and Daniel
Daniel 9:26 And after sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. And the people of the ruler who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And the end of it shall be with the flood, and ruins are determined, until the end shall be war.
We begin near the end with his destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the sanctuary. Who hates the nation of Israel, the people of God, the City of Jerusalem, and the Temple or Tabernacle of God more than Satan?
9:27 And he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease, and on a corner of the altar desolating abominations, even until the end. And that which was decreed shall be poured on the desolator.
Here we read that he starts with a peaceful proposition, that after a few years he violates and rescinds. So he lies and deceives from the beginning of his public reign. In doing so, he convinces most (upwards of 95%) of the world to follow him.
John 8:44 You are of the Devil as father, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not abide in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.
This one who speaks lies is the ‘little horn’ the antichrist who is empowered and controlled by the Devil. What are his other traits and plans?
Daniel 8:23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king, fierce of face, and skilled at intrigues, shall stand up.
8:24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. And he shall destroy marvelously, and shall prosper and work, and destroy the mighty and the holy people.
8:25 And also through his understanding, he shall cause deceit to succeed in his hand. And he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many. He also shall stand up against the Ruler of rulers. But he shall be broken without a hand.
Here we find more on the antichrist’s true nature. He is a king, a ruler. He is skilled at deceit, which is from his true father, and has a fierce face. He has an evil nature that will be displayed whenever he is not fully followed in blind obedience.
He is very powerful, so powerful he reigns unopposed. But, his power is all sourced from the Devil. By his dishonest claims for peace, he will lure many to their own destruction. He will even challenge God in public, in effect, denying His existence. His power will be used to subjugate the world to his desires for worship and honor.
His true goal is to destroy all of God’s people. The powerful and the holy will be pursued, persecuted, and destroyed.
Daniel 7:7 After this I looked in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, frightening and terrifying, and very strong. And it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with its feet. And it was different from all the beasts before it; and it had ten horns.
The antichrist will trace his heritage from this fourth beast. He will arise from within these 10 horns or nations.
7:23 And he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all kingdoms and shall devour the whole earth, and shall trample it and crush it.
7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise. And another shall arise after them. And he shall be different from the first, and he shall humble three kings.
7:25 And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and plot to change times and laws. And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and one-half time.
Here we find more confirmation of his tremendous power, his evil intentions, his plans, and his history. He is different from all prior kings or rulers. He comes out of one of these 10 kingdoms or nations. He will have defeated 3 kings that may have tried to oppose him. Not because they are part of the holy, but that they are vying for power and position.
He will work to alter times and laws, mostly God’s times and laws. The world has already challenged and changed most of them.
God has allowed him to have a very time constrained rule, but it will still be terrifying to those he hates.
We will continue next time.
We left off last time with the ‘little horn’ coming out from the four kings following the terrible attack by the he-goat. Who are these kings, who is this he-goat, who is this ‘little horn’? God did not let this be a complete mystery to Daniel or to us.
Daniel 8:15 And it happened when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me the form of a man. 8:16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called and said, Gabriel, make this one understand the vision.
Who gives orders or assignments to Gabriel? Could it be Michael or is it God?
8:17 So he came near beside my place. And when he came, I was afraid and fell on my face. But he said to me, Understand, O son of man, for the vision is for the time of the end. 8:18 And as he was speaking with me, I was stunned, on my face toward the ground. But he touched me and set me upright.
All too often angels (heavenly messengers) are both ignored and trivialized. They are depicted as cuddly cherubs at Valentine’s Day, as female comforters, as winged protectors, etc. You can find them in paintings, sculptures, cards, murals, pageants, and in movies. God has not given us permission to try and portray them, in fact, He has said the opposite.
How did this affect Daniel? He fainted and fell to the ground.
Exodus 20:2 I am Jehovah your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 20:3 You shall have no other gods before
20:4 You shall not make to yourselves any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
20:5 You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them.
For I Jehovah your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation of those that hate me, 20:6 and showing mercy to thousands of those that love Me and keep My commandments.
No images of any kind. Never! Not even if it is by some famous artist or in a ‘church’! Angel networks, personal angels, names of angels, and praying to or soliciting angels are all abominations to the only true GOD.
8:19 And he said, Behold, I will make you know what shall happen in the last end of the indignation. For it is for the time appointed for the end.
This is still coming in its entirety, but was initiated in history.
8:20 The ram which you saw having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
The beasts in the other prophecies are here disclosed.
8:21 And the shaggy goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king.
This is Alexander the Great who arguably was the most successful, charismatic military leader of history.
8:22 And as for that being broken, and four stood up in its place; four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in its power.
This is also history as Alexander died young, most likely from his evil lifestyle. None went to his children, but to his four ‘generals’.
8:23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king, fierce of face, and skilled at intrigues, shall stand up.
This is the ‘little horn’ mentioned in Daniel 7. Daniel 7:8 I was thinking about the horns, and behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom three of the first horns were uprooted. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
8:24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. And he shall destroy marvelously, and shall prosper and work, and destroy the mighty and the holy people.
8:25 And also through his understanding, he shall cause deceit to succeed in his hand. And he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many. He also shall stand up against the Ruler of rulers. But he shall be broken without a hand.
Out of all of these kingdoms will arise this last kingdom ruled by this last king or ruler. He will succeed on a platform of lies and demonic total control. He will succeed in killing off both the mighty and the holy, that is true Christians; not Muslims or Hindus or Atheists or Spiritualists or any of the false, liberal, social, prosperity gospel mis-believers.
8:26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true. But you shall shut up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
This did not happen in Daniel’s day, nor during the time of Jesus Christ on earth. But now, some 2000 years after Jesus, it seems to be coming into these days.
8:27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick for days. Afterward I rose up, and did the king's business. And I was amazed at the vision, but there was no understanding.
Again, Daniel was sickened by what he was allowed to see, even with the explanation given by Gabriel.
More on this ‘little horn’ next time.
I skipped number 5 in my counting so don’t think you missed one. We have now studied Daniel 7 & Revelation 13 on this beast, but one more chapter is available to both confirm this beast but also amaze the world on God’s perfect knowledge of past, present, and future. In fact, most of the unbelieving and mis-believing world proclaims that this chapter was written after the fact, not hundreds of years before that event.
Fortunately, God has already told us that He alone knows and controls the future, not the globalists, the socialists, the elitists, or the World Economic Forum, although they maintain and believe that they are in control.
Numbers 23:19 God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent. Has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?
Isaiah 46:9 Remember former things from forever; for I am God, and no other is God, even none like Me, 46:10 declaring the end from the beginning, and from the past things which were not done, saying, My purpose shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure; 46:11 calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my purpose from a far country. Yes, I have spoken, I will also cause it to come; I have formed; yes, I will do it.
Psalms 89:34 I will not break My covenant, nor change the thing that has gone out of My lips.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever.
While all of us should already know this truth, it is good to reaffirm our understanding with the very words of God. What can we learn from Daniel 8?
Daniel 8:1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first. 8:2 And in a vision I looked. And it happened when I looked, I was at Shushan the palace, which is in the prvince of Elam. And in a vision I looked, and I was by the Ulai Canal.
This is the third year, while Daniel 7 was the first year. We should all consider the very accurate and specific manner in which Daniel provides for the occasion of this vision. It is not abstract or generalized.
Dan 8:3 Then I lifted up my eyes, and looked. And behold, a ram with two horns stood before the canal having two horns, and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. 8:4 I saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward; so that no beasts could stand before him, nor any that could deliver out of his hand. But he did according to his will, and became great.
As with Daniel 7 and Revelation 13, God used animals to depict kingdoms. Why? Not sure, but God rewards those who seek to know and understand His Word. So constant searching and studying will be rewarded by God.
8:5 And as I was watching, behold, a he-goat came from the west, over the face of the all earth, and did not touch the ground. And the he goat had an outstanding horn between his eyes. 8:6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran to him in the fury of his power. 8:7 And I saw him come close beside the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the ram and shattered his two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him. But he threw him down to the ground and stamped on him. And none could deliver the ram out of his hand.
This would be a very disturbing scene to Daniel as it should be to us. The fury and power of this attack is terrifying. It reveals just how kingdoms are possessed to gain power and control over others. Nothing has changed in that regard. The globalist world today seeks to control, but many within don’t realize that once in control the leaders no longer need them either.
8:8 Then the he-goat became very great. And when he was strong, the great horn was broken. And in its place came up four outstanding ones towards the four winds of the heavens.
8:9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which became very great, toward the south and toward the east and toward the bountiful land.
8:10 And it became great, even to the host of heaven. And it made fall some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.
8:11 Yea, he magnified himself, even to the ruler of the host, and the daily sacrifice was taken away by him, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
8:12 And an army was given to him against the daily sacrifice because of transgression, and it cast the truth to the ground. And it worked and succeeded.
This powerful kingdom came to an end and four weaker kings followed. Out of them will eventually come this ‘little horn’ which is mentioned in Daniel 7 and may also be the ‘another beast’ in Revelation 13. He became great toward the south and east and to the bountiful land, which can only refer to the land we now know as Israel. He takes away the daily sacrifice and casts down the sanctuary. He also casts truth to the ground, that is, only lies and deceit are spoken. This is censure-ship of the truth and silencing all who would oppose his demonic reign.
We are seeing this unfold right before our eyes today, with all the ‘social media’ tyrants refusing to allow anyone to publish or post anything that calls to question the election or the true cause and purpose of this ‘global pandemic’.
8:13 Then I heard a certain holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that one who spoke, Until when shall the vision last, concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression that astounds, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled? 8:14 And he said to me, For two thousand, three hundred evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be vindicated.
Daniel is now given a timeline as to how long this terrible reign will continue. While there is vast disagreement as to the real times of this passage, we can be certain that is of a God limiting duration. We also can read that God will vindicate His Temple, display His power, and reveal how all of this brings glory and honor to Him.
What countries are included in this vision? Next time, God will tells us.
First, a correction. I mistakenly used Lithuania while I intended to insert Ukraine as Russia’s current target to reclaim as their own. Now onto to today’s study. We left with Daniel’s dream which entailed 4 beasts, which is somewhat different from his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2. First, what did this dream also reveal?
Daniel 7:9 I watched until the thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days sat, whose robe was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool. His throne was like flames of fire, and His wheels like burning fire.
7:10 A stream of fire went out and came out from before Him. A thousand thousands served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The judgment was set, and the books were opened.
7:11 Then I was looking because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke. I watched until the beast was slain, and his body was destroyed and given to the burning flame.
7:12 And the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away. Yet their lives were made longer for a season and time.
7:13 I saw in the night visions, and behold, 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.
7:14 And dominion and glory was given Him, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and languages, should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
In the middle of Daniel’s dream we come to the end of time, while being in the middle of time. We read that this terrible beast is slain physically and all power was removed from them. Then our glorified High Priest and King will take His rightful place over all of creation. This should calm our fears even as we read on.
Daniel 7:15 I Daniel was distressed in my spirit in its body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 7:16 And I came near one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the meaning of the things. 7:17 These four great beasts are four kings; they shall arise out of the earth. 7:18 But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.
Even though Daniel trusts in God, he is still distressed by what is being revealed to him. Yes, it all eventually ends well in human terminology, but the process is full of terror, persecution, and destruction.
7:19 Then I wanted to know the truth of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, very frightening, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of bronze; who devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with his feet; 7:20 and of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth speaking very great things, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.
Daniel skips right thru the first three kingdom or beasts to go to the most fearsome, powerful, ruthless, and evil of them all. Much like John’s vision in Revelation 12, we again see ten horns.
Revelation 12:3 And another sign was seen in the heavens. And behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads!
Here we see that the terrifying beast in Daniel 7 is described as a great red dragon. Dragon is a term uniquely applied to Satan himself.
7:21 I watched, and that horn made war with the saints and overcame them 7:22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High. And the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
7:23 And he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all kingdoms and shall devour the whole earth, and shall trample it and crush it.
7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise. And another shall arise after them. And he shall be different from the first, and he shall humble three kings.
7:25 And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and plot to change times and laws. And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and one-half time.
What have we just read? This beast/dragon will make war against the saints. That is us! This war will continue up to the very second coming of our King. He will devour or take complete control and dominate over the whole world.
Again in vs. 25 we read of his blasphemous tirades against God and relentless attacks on the people of God. He will change the Law, the conditions of God’s worship, and redirect everything toward himself. This is Satan’s lifelong desire and pursuit. He will not tolerate or permit any other worship.
7:26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his rulership, to cut off and to destroy until the end. 7:27 And the kingdom and rulership, and the greatness of the kingdom under all the heavens, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. And all kingdoms shall serve and obey Him.
He will come to an end, a terrible end of his reign but only the beginning of his eternal punishment. Now all the kingdoms will serve our King forever and ever. Never again will Satan rule the world, but after the Millennial kingdom, he will get one more disastrous try and fail. So why do we worry?
7:28 Here is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my thoughts troubled me much, and my face changed on me. But I kept the matter in my heart.
If Daniel remained troubled, so should we. Persecution is not something most are comfortable with especially in the US. We are not used to it, although it is very common is the worldwide church today. Persecution has permeated history throughout the world and is often cited as the very reason the early Puritans and pilgrims took the dangerous risk to come to this new land. Over half died in the very first winter!
But, from their sacrifice and trust in God, we still have a country that has been blessed by God and are somewhat free to worship Him. At least for now with ungodly and unconstitutional restrictions.
Give God all the praise, honor, glory, thanks, and worship He alone deserves.
Of course we know that Satan has a multitude of servants, both spiritual and physical. Since we also know that he will deceive the whole world (Revelation 12:9), we should not be surprised of what the world is coming too in our time.
Daniel 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head on his bed. Then he wrote the dream and gave the sum of the matters.
Here we find out the time of this dream and that Daniel himself wrote it out. This gives us the prophetic reference that many deny.
7:2 Daniel spoke and said, In my vision by night I was looking: and behold, the four winds of the heavens were stirring up the Great Sea. 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, different from one another.
One common thread from Daniel to Revelation is the number of four kingdoms. While often described somewhat differently, there are just 4 of significance.
7:4 The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings. I watched until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on its feet like a man. And a man's heart was given to it.
Since God revealed this to Daniel for help in the future, we must seriously consider how it may have already been played out in history and continuing through history.
The nation that has for hundreds, even thousands of years, that has been associated with the lion is the UK. The wings being plucked out could very well be the US.
7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like a bear. And it raised itself up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said this to it: Arise, eat up much flesh.
Of course, most would consider Russia being the bear. Interestingly, Russia is once again trying to regain some of its prior dominance over territory that they had lost. Lithuania is one of the three currently being pressured to come back under ‘mother’ Russia.
7:6 After this I saw, and lo, another, like a leopard, which had four wings of a bird on its back. The beast also had four heads; and rulership was given to it.
Germany is the leopard and has proceeded through 4 kingdom changes. We all remember that Hitler’s reign was the third Reich, so now they are in their fourth Reich or kingdom.
7:7 After this I looked in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, frightening and terrifying, and very strong. And it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with its feet. And it was different from all the beasts before it; and it had ten horns. 7:8 I was thinking about the horns, and behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom three of the first horns were uprooted. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
Here we come to all the controversy and will need more time to search out the truth. But, the ten horns represent 10 kingdoms. They are somehow all part of this 4th beast. They could represent 10 provinces or ‘states’ within this dangerous, strong political system.
The little horn will be the one to watch as history unfolds in front of our eyes in today’s efforts to implement the great reset.
More next time.
As we read in Revelation 13, the beast has been described in terms of the characteristics of animals. The major book of these days is Daniel. But, even within Daniel there is much confusion and controversy. While we may not come to a complete agreement in these areas, we should agree on what God has said. Daniel’s prophecies begin with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2.
Daniel 2:27 Daniel answered before the king and said, The secret which the king has demanded cannot be shown to the king by the wise men, the conjurers, the horoscopists, or the fortune-tellers. 2:28 But there is a God in Heaven who reveals secrets and makes known to King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed are these. 2:29 As for you, O king, your thoughts came on your bed, what should happen after this. And He who reveals secrets makes known to you what shall happen. 2:30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living man, but so that the meaning might be known to the king, and that you might know the thoughts of your heart.
Daniel humbly begins where we should always begin, that is, only God knows the future, plans the future, and is totally sovereign over the future.
2:31 You, O king, were seeing. And, behold! A great image! That great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you. And its form was dreadful. This image's head was of fine gold; his breast and his arms were of silver; his belly and his thighs were of bronze; 2:33 his legs were of iron; his feet were part of iron and part of clay. 2:34 You watched until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image upon its feet which were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. 2:35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken to pieces together. And they became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Imagery is often used in prophecy and especially in the last days. Thankfully, Daniel is given a very definite starting point.
2:36 This is the dream. And we will tell its meaning before the king. 2:37 You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of Heaven has given you a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 2:38 And wherever the sons of men, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens live, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all. You are this head of gold.
Now we have a very definite starting point for our study. This kingdom historically covered the time of 612-539 BC.
2:39 And after you shall arise another kingdom lower than you, and another third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron. Since iron crushes and smashes all things; and as the iron that shatters all these, it will crush and shatter. 2:41 And as to that which you saw: the feet and toes, part of potters' clay and part of iron; the kingdom shall be divided. But there shall be in it the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. 2:42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 2:43 And as you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mix themselves with the seed of men. But they shall not cling to one another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
So each of these other parts of this image are also kingdoms and are progressing from strength to weakness and ultimate defeat.
2:44 And in the days of these kings, the God of Heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other peoples, but it shall crush and destroy all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
This explanation ends with Jesus’ final complete victory and the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom.
2:45 Because you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it crushes the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what shall occur after this. And the dream is certain, and its meaning is sure.
Daniel is 100% convinced of the truth and certainty of this prophecy, as should we.
Now that we know this is all about the kingdoms that will come and go as the end of the world comes near, we must try to discern where we are today in this timeline.
While great certainty and accuracy cannot be assume, Jesus Himself said we should be able to discern signs and seasons. We will go to Daniel 7 to study further next time.
We left off last time with a fearsome beast rising up to make war with the saints. This of course implies that true believers will still be on earth at this time. But, now another beast comes onto the prophetic scene. Who is he?
Revelation 13:11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. And it had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke like a dragon. 13:12 And it exercises all the authority of the first beast before him, and causes the earth and those dwelling in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
So here we have what appears to be an individual who comes to power over this worldwide political system, i.e. the One World Government. As now the uncontested leader, he enforces his will onto all in the world. That is to worship this Satanic belief and to not worship God.
13:13 And it does great wonders, so that it makes fire come down from the heaven onto the earth in the sight of men.13:14 And it deceives those dwelling on the earth, because of the miracles which were given to it to do before the beast, saying to those dwelling on the earth that they should make an image to the beast who had the wound by a sword and lived.
He will have available to him all the power of Satan at his disposal, even though he is totally under the control of Satan. We will discuss the wound next time.
13:15 And there was given to it to give a spirit to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might both speak, and might cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
This beast now has an image, perhaps similar to the image made by Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3. The same warning made then will now be enforced with the same deadly force. Remember, only 3 men refused to worship the image for King Nebuchadnezzar.
13:16 And it causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark on their right hand, or in their foreheads,13:17 even that not any might buy or sell except those having the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of its name.
Here we read of the mark of the beast. What it looks like to consists of is not clear, but with technology rapidly advancing daily, it is not hard to see something new appearing to make this happen today.
13:18 Here is the wisdom. Let him having reason count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. And its number is six hundred and sixty-six.
The Hebrew alphabet also has a numerical equivalent. Hence the number to his name. It seems like this number is appearing more frequently today in a number of areas. I don’t believe this is just some random coincidence.
We will go to Daniel 2 and 7 next to gain further understanding
There is a lot of confusion in regards to who Satan will reveal in the last days to bring the whole world under his evil, hateful, murderous control. What are there names? What will they do? How are they identified? Let us begin where we left off, who or what is the beast(s)? While some of the following verses have been reviewed in light of the mark of the beast, this time we will try and understand this beast(s) in greater detail.
Revelation 13:1 And I stood on the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns. And on its horns were ten crowns, and on its heads was the name of blasphemy. In this verse we see a beast rising from the sea.
This imagery suggests that this nation, belief system, or worldwide association will rise up from within the world i.e. the sea. It is comprised of ten authority figures or worldwide leaders, such as, kings, emperors, presidents, or rulers. It could very well be the World Economic Council, G-7, or any similar organization that believes they should be in control of the world. They are vulnerable to Satan’s lies and deception. The World Council of Churches is the religious equivalent to them.
13:2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and its feet like those of a bear, and its mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him its power and its seat and great authority.
They get their power and authority from Satan. They are his servants, his followers, his slaves. It is not immediately noticed from where they get this power or authority, as they just seem like the intellectual elites that are often depicted and seldom deplored.
Rev 13:3 And I saw one of its heads as having been slain to death, and its deadly wound was healed. And all the earth marveled after the beast.
Something happened here that is hard to identify with absolute assurance. One of the heads was so wounded or made ineffective that it appeared to be forever destroyed or made insignificant. But, miraculously it rose up like the mythical Phoenix and resumed with power. It could be a religious organization, like the Roman Catholic Church. It could be a nation-state. It could be a system of beliefs in government, cultural, or societal areas that once was ‘destroyed’ but now is back.
13:4 And they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with it? 13:5 And a mouth speaking great things was given to it, and blasphemies. And authority was given to it to continue forty-two months. 13:6 And it opened its mouth in blasphemy toward God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, and those dwelling in Heaven.
Now we read about the goal or main purpose of this organization or nation. It’s sole purpose is to blasphemes God and bring worship to Satan. This has been Satan’s life goal. This is the very reason for Satan’s fall. It has now finally come to fruition, but only for a very short time and only at the very end of time.
13:7 And it was given to it to war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given to it over every tribe and tongue and nation. 13:8 And all dwelling on the earth will worship it, those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain, from the foundation of the world.
A number of sobering truths.
It will make war against the remnant of true believers.
It will overpower them and take control over them.
It will assume absolute power over the entire world, which is now solely comprised of non-believers.
It will require worship.
This is now where the mark of the beast is clearly evident.
Do any of these terrible warnings look like what we are seeing and experiencing today?