In the 1981 Indiana Jones movie, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” there was a scene where Indiana Jones and his friend Sallah, after examining the crystal that would appear on top of a staff that would show them where the Ark of the Covenant was hidden said, “They are digging in the wrong place.”
It is my strong view that what has long been written about The Book of Revelation echos that quote from the Indiana Jones movie.
It is also my view that this world – yes, the one Jesus said his kingdom is no part of – has no interest in presenting the truth about The Revelation From Jesus Christ Which God Gave Him To Show His Servants What Must Soon Take Place. Why? Because Satan is the god of this world. The truth about this matter would not serve his purpose, only that which resembles the truth would. (2 Cor 4:4; Matthew 4:8-9; and John 18:36)
The problem today is that there are so many “Christian” denominations and groups under the umbrella of Christianity who do not believe that they are “a part” of this world. Yet, that is precisely what they are a part of.
The system of religion men named and call Christianity does not have its roots from the heavens above, but owes its growth from this world. It was planted and – over time – has grown into a tall and expansive tree with a very large trunk, deep roots, and many branches. (Matthew 7:21-23)
Christianity has created its own images, too. Those images were created by men. One image is the crucifix. People wear them as jewelry. We see them on top of steeples. It is a pagan symbol. To me, it looks like a giving the Creator of the heavens and the earth the middle finger.
The other image – created and named by men – is a book called the Bible. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying the Bible is evil and one should not read it. No! I read it! I have studied it! Yet is must not be placed in a holy place where it does not belong.
God did not authorize any book to a lofty and holy position. Men have done this. Only His Son can occupy the holy position as Word of God. It is important that we know where the Bible does not belong.
Men gave it its name, not God. True or false? Men call it holy, not God. True or false? Men call it Scripture, not God. True or false? Men even call it the Word of God. True or false? No book can be holy. No book can be The Word of God. There is only one God and one Word of God.
I reason that if men have gone so far to do all of the above and even create teachings contrary to what Jesus taught – such as hellfire, going to heaven, rapture, and the trinity – why not call the Bible God, too! If they will call Jesus God, then why not the Bible?
This confusion and struggle within the system of religion men created and call Christianity along with its many thousands of denominations and sects to make sense of Christ’s teachings, reflect that its origin is not from above, but one that rose out of a world that Jesus said that his kingdom is no part of. If Christianity was a house, it is a house divided against itself.
Therefore, out of Christianity there are many teachings and explanations about the topic I will be presenting to you: Babylon The Great.
It does not serve the interest of Christianity to present the truth about Babylon the Great if it knew the truth. I submit to you that it does not.
There are many articles, books, lectures, sermons, and videos about Babylon the Great. Many of them say the same thing just spun differently. Some of them are religious-organization-biased. Some – according to the writers – are “Bible-based” and assumed to be true. Almost all of them claim Babylon the Great is and exist at present. Almost all claim that we are in the last days.
Yet, there is still much confusion over who or what Babylon the Great is. The common consensus is that Babylon the Great is one of the following …
- The United States of America
- The Vatican
- An Empire of False Religion Which Makes Up An Empire (Jehovah’s Witnesses teach this)
I submit to you that Babylon the Great is neither of the above. I also submit to you that Babylon the Great has not arrived yet. I submit to you that Babylon the Great is something far grander and world-encompassing than a nation, a religious organization, or some empire of false religion.
This article will explain why I believe this. I will also explain what or who Babylon the Great will prove to be.
Since this is not a topic to be quickly glossed over, I decided to break the discussion down into two parts. I believe it will help sort out the tangled yarn about who or what Babylon the Great will prove to be.
Part 1 lays the foundation upon which Part 2 is built.
Establishing A Timeline of Future Events
Before moving on to reveal to you who or what Babylon the Great will prove to be, it is important to understand the timeline of events that must occur before she arrives as laid out in The Revelation From Jesus Christ, Which God Gave Him. That timeline can proceed from our current time period. The timeline is as follows:
- Human Rule Runs It’s Course and Then Ends. At present, we are in what is called The Times of the Gentiles or Appointed Times of the Nations. This time period precedes the establishment of Christ’s kingdom over the earth. It is a hands-off-non-intervention time period where God allows mankind to do-his-own-thing and make a go at governing and ruling over one another. (Luke 21:24)
Events on earth will wax worse as mankind has proven that he is incapable of successfully ruling and leading other humans. Human governance has been an abject failure. God will not allow mankind to continue to ruin his property, the earth. Yet, even now, we are nowhere near what is called the last days. No one can tell us how long we will be within this time period of the Appointed Times of the Nations – not even Christ or any of the angels – as God alone knows this and holds that information within His lofty and righteous jurisdiction. (Read Matthew 24:36, Matthew 24:42, and Acts 1:7)
Many things must occur before coming to the door of the last days. That door is not in sight. The many events that must occur present themselves as thick clouds guarding the way to that doorway leading to the last days and preventing any of us from seeing that door.
The end of human rule over the earth is not the last days of this current day – the seventh day or time period – which we are in now. When human rule ends and all of the existing kingdoms of men on the earth are destroyed, the end still is not yet! After all of the kingdoms of the world are destroyed, Christ must set up his kingdom of 1000 years over the earth and Satan must be Abyssed during that 1000 years “to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the 1000 years were ended.” (Revelation 20:3)
Even at that future time, the end is closer, but not yet. The seventh day unfinished. - Christ is Coronated King Over The Earth From Heaven. After all of the kingdoms of the world are destroyed by God, unseen and unheard by anyone on earth, Christ is given his kingdom of a thousand years over the earth by his Father in heaven.
At present, Christ waits patiently at his Father’s right side until “I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” (Psalms 110:1)
This event – a coronation – occurs in heaven, an invisible realm in which no human can look into. (Matthew 24:30). This event signals the beginning of Christ’s 1000-year reign over the earth. The end is not yet. This a beginning. The seventh day not finished. - All of Mankind Must Die (Not perish). This is a hard pill to swallow and even more difficult to digest, believe me, I know.
What comes with the destruction of all of the kingdoms on the earth today is the destruction of the earth’s human inhabitants. I do not know what will take us out. A virus? An impact by a heavenly object? However, we all must die. Mankind must die. Jesus told his disciples, “I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it.” Why must all die? Because death and resurrection are the prerequisites for entry into Christ’s kingdom over the earth!
Remember that convicted criminal who died next to Jesus? What did Jesus promise him? “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
That man died, did he not? The promise Jesus made to him was not a going up to heaven, but resurrection in distant future days from the dead up from his grave. There is no way that man way back then would have preceded Jesus into heaven because Jesus spend three days dead in the grave and then his Father in heaven resurrected him. Then Jesus spent some 50 days on earth before he ascended into heaven appearing to his disciples! So, is one to believe that that condemned man preceded Jesus up to heaven? Jesus’ words at John 3:13 are true: “No one has ascended into heaven except the one that came down from heaven.” The human family did not come from heaven, we came from the earth. When we die, we return to that from which we came. (Genesis 3:19)
Jesus said at John 8:23, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.”
At present, like all of the dead, that condemned man awaits that promise to a resurrection from the dead.
To follow Jesus means to follow his teachings; to follow his example in love for all persons, even our enemies; to follow him in obeying God and doing his will; to follow him in a literal death; being raised to life again in a literal resurrection.
None of us are greater than our Master. (John 13:16) Anyone who thinks they will escape death in some rapture or by entering into a made-up “God’s Earthly Organization” deceive themselves because the curse of death upon Adam still applies to his offspring today! Is it not true that people all around us every day die? Anyone who thinks they will bypass death is essentially saying that they are greater than their Master. The sentence pronounced upon Adam was death, not a perishing.
Adam died. He did not perish. Adam will have a resurrection. Does John 3:16 not say that Jesus was sent so that mankind not perish?
This is how we should understand life and death: Life to Death. Eternal Life to Perishing (The Second Death). Notice that there are two lives: (1) The life we have now that leads to death and the grave. This is due to Adam’s disobedience. (2) Eternal life. At one’s resurrection, this the new prospect we will have in front of us.
We all have been given a free gift in which we are not deserving of: Being brought back to life when we die! Jesus’ sacrificial death accomplished that. Neither Jesus or his Father in heaven asked anything from us in order to receive this free gift. If they did, then it would not be a free gift, would it? (Ephesians 2:8)
Unfortunately, Christianity teaches that we must do something in order to receive that gift, accept Jesus as ones Lord and Savior, get saved or enter into some religious organization. This is one of the reasons why Christianity is a counterfeit, fraud, and misleader because it deviates from Christ’s teachings and creates its own teachings and requirements,
Notice that there are also two deaths. Each death corresponds to one of the lives mentioned above:
(1) First Death. This is death as a result of the death sentence pronounced upon Adam and his offspring. We all are born to have life, grow old, get sick, and die. The end result is the grave. Jesus suffered this type of death, too. It is from this death, all are resurrected. This the First Death.
(2) Second Death. One will have to be resurrected from the dead that is born again from the dead, in order for them to have in front of them the prospect of either a Second Death or eternal life.
No one today is marked and sentenced to a Second Death, or perishing. No one has been granted eternal life.
One would have to enter into death and resurrection (second life) before they are prospects for the Second Death or granted eternal life.
The Second Death is a state of being no more or a perishing. Put another way, the Second Death or Lake of Fire is the state of ceasing to exist. No longer in God’s memory or Book of Life. If you throw paper into a literal fire, it ceases to exist. Therefore, anything thrown into the Lake of Fire ceases to exist as if consumed by fire. (Revelation 21:4)
Revelation 20:14 tells us that “The lake of fire is the second death.” It also tells us that death (the first death) and hell are both thrown into the Lake of Fire.
Teaching Point: Is hell eternal? No, it is thrown into the Lake of Fire.
The “born-again” that one hears so many speak of is not as they say. Born-again is being born again from being a dead soul (once alive and having died) to live again as a living soul. Entry into Christ’s new kingdom (paradise) on earth does not come without becoming a dead soul again and being resurrected to be a living soul again.
Recall that the first man at his creation existed in two states:
(1) As a dead soul and (2) as a living soul. He did not become a living soul until God breathed into his nostrils. When Adam died, he returned to that from which he was taken – the dust of the ground – and back to the state of being a dead soul again.
Adam, like the billions who have died, remain in that inactive state until they are resurrected to become living souls again. Such is with all of us who are born.
Prior to being conceived what were we? Dead souls! Then we are given the gift of life to become air-breathers! We live, grow old, get sick, stop breathing, die, and return to being a dead soul again. (Eccl 9:5)
All who die become dead souls again waiting to be born again back to life again as living souls. No one alive today will enter into Christ’s future 1000 year kingdom over the earth without first dying.
Many will not be able to bear this truth. It will pain many of them. It will agitate many to anger. I am fully aware that it will be rejected and even ridiculed. I am aware that the truth will never be popular in this world. It should not be expected. The majority will believe the lies, the false teachings, and become entrapped within them. Only a few will find and enter through the narrow gate and end up on that narrow road that leads to life eternal. (Matthew 7:13-14)
The deception, programming, and conditioning of the masses over the many hundreds of years is so deeply embedded in this world, it is not difficult to understand why what is written here will be rejected.
The deception is so deep, many will refuse to even consider it or approach God and ask for illumination. They prefer to listen to the religious systems that stand in place to tell them what to think and dare them to venture outside of what they have been told.
That is why we see so many escapist teachings coming out of the religious systems of the world that talk about going to heaven or a rapture. No human goes to heaven. There will be no rapture. All must die. Consider it a blessing. (John 16:12 and John 5:28-29)
NOTE: There is a difference between dying and perishing as I explained above. Dying or death is a state of inanimation. The dead are not conscious of anything: heat, pain, feelings, the passage of time. They still exist, however, in God’s memory. Thus, qualify for a resurrection back to life. To Perish (second death) is a state of being-no-more or nonexisting. One who has perished does not exist in God’s memory and thus no resurrection.
In The Book of Revelation, this perishing is referred to as The Lake of Fire which is The Second Death. (Revelation 20:14 and Revelation 21:4) (Related articles HERE and HERE) The good news is that no one or nothing today is in a state of perishing. Why? Because the bad things committed were done by creatures -namely, us – who are imperfect and who do not know what we were doing. We still don’t. We are unrighteous. That is, not right! We are wrong 99.9% of the time with regards to good and bad. That is why Jesus could confidently teach, “No one is good—except God alone.” (Mark 10:18) To qualify for a perishing one would have to be perfect and know what they do. That state of perfection will not come until after Christ’s 1000 year kingdom ends and mankind is restored – perfect and knowing – to his Creator. Recall what John 3:16 says: God sent his Son so that we do not perish. It does not say die … as we must and will all surely die.
The last days not yet. The seventh day unfinished. - Satan the Devil Imprisoned. This is another act Christ will perform as earth’s king. A war breaks out in heaven where Michael and his angels battle with The Dragon and his angels. (Revelation 12:7-9)
The Great Dragon (Satan) and his angels are cast out of heaven down to the earth once and for all, banished from ever entering into God’s abode and presence again. He and his angels are temporarily imprisoned by Christ.
Satan is not destroyed at that time but imprisoned for the duration of Christ’s 1000 year kingdom over the earth so that he cannot mislead the nations and interfere with its administration. This event will be unseen and unheard by anyone on earth. Why? Because (1) it occurs in heaven and (2) all of us will be in graves when this war occurs. (Revelation 20:1-3 and Revelation 20:7-8)
The last days not yet. The seventh day unfinished. - The Great and Promised Resurrection of ALL of the Dead. Now begins the literal and promised resurrection of the dead into Christ’s kingdom over the earth! What a marvelous event that will be! Billions of persons from all time periods in human history brought back to life. Most will have never heard about someone named Jesus or Christ. But they will find themselves alive again and in an earthly environment completely different from the one they died in!
The resurrection will not occur all at once but in stages. Jesus promised at John 5:28-29 that all of mankind will be resurrected. He did not speak of some special group among mankind who would be resurrected to go to heaven and another group resurrected to live on earth as the Watch Tower claims. This is nowhere written. The Watch Tower cleverly sneaks in what it calls a heavenly resurrection and an earthly one. This is not written or spoken of by Jesus. Yet, many are compelled to accept those teachings as a condition of being accepted into those respective religious organizations where the programming and tight control over the accepting masses continue in large measure. Freedom of thinking for oneself subtly stripped away leaving empty vessels of persons in which the dirty water and bad food (teachings) are poured into.
Jesus taught at John 3:13 that “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.” The reason why Christ was the only one to ascend into heaven is because that is where he came from. No human born from a human mother and father can ascend into heaven because they did not come from that place.
So, for the Watch Tower to speak and teach a heavenly resurrection runs contrary to what Jesus taught at John 3:13. The Watch Tower should not point fingers at any religious group or organization for making up what they call false teachings as they become hypocritical They have many teachings Jesus did not teach. Those teachings as just as false as the ones they claim all of the other religions have.
Understanding what the resurrection is can be confusing for some. One can be resurrected from the dead back to life again and still be dead in God’s eyes. How so? Because there is a life beyond this life. There is also a death beyond the death we all will have.
But the life beyond this life is called eternal life. Those who are part of the first resurrection and are resurrected from the dead and will not have to prove themselves worthy of eternal life. God and Christ know who they are and chooses them.
Those a part of the second or last resurrection is resurrected from the dead back to life again but they are considered dead with a view of not being granted eternal life. They will have to be tested (Great Tribulation) and if they faithfully endure that test, they come to life, that is they are granted eternal life. The Great Tribulation occurs after Christ’s 1000 year kingdom ends. (Revelation 20:4-6)
The last days not yet. The seventh day unfinished. - The Earth Completely Transformed. Under Christ’s rulership from heaven over his domain below on earth, his visible Kings of the Earth, infused with his power and authority and under his guidance and direction, perform seemingly miraculous feats and, in time, the earth becomes a veritable paradise.
No one is in graves. All of mankind is alive. All of mankind is taught God’s righteousness and expectations. All of mankind at peace with one another and in harmony with the animal kingdom and the environment. No one gets sick. No one dies. There is plenty for all. All are prosperous. All content. All are happy. No one gets old. No crowded and noisy cities of steel and concrete like we see today.
By the time Christ’s kingdom of a thousand years over the earth ends, no one will be with excuse if they do a bad thing. Doing what is bad will be knowing, willful, wittingly, and in disobedience to God. All will know good and bad.
At present, we do not know what we do. We do not know good and bad. We know some things that are good and bad. None of us imperfect creatures can speak as if we know God’s righteousness, that is, knowing good and bad. We do not know. It is not possible for us to be good at present because we are flawed. Many can act good or perform acts of kindness, but those things do not make us good. Only God is good. (Mark 10:18)
Many think they know what is good and bad, but what they think they know comes from a flawed and imperfect mindset that defines for itself what is good and bad.
There are many in the world today who view what others do is bad as good and what is good is bad. God determines what is good and bad. We are not right if we judge our Brother because we ourselves are unrighteous. We are not the judges over others. Yet, Christianity teaches its members to point fingers, condemn, and issue ultimatums if persons do not accept what they teach or join them. This is a mental dysfunction. Jesus never taught this. (Matthew 7:5)
I personally know many who claim to worship God and follow Christ who are utterly vicious and hostile towards those who do not believe as they do. They do not look upon the lost masses as Jesus did. They are quick to condemn them, They have this “us versus them” attitude. People outside of their groups are the enemy and deserving of death and condemnation.
Do not think for one moment that Jehovah’s Witnesses are an exception to this mentality. Anyone outside of the Watch Tower organization is considered worldly people. According to Watch Tower teaching, those persons will lose their prospect of eternal life if they do not enter into the Watch Tower organization. Yet, Jesus taught at John 14:6 that he is the life.
Christianity has made itself a god and a savior.
Yet, it is God’s rightness or righteousness that all will know by the time Christ’s 1ooo year kingdom over the earth ends. The earth transformed into a beautiful paradise beyond what anyone today can imagine.
The last days not yet. The seventh day unfinished. - Christ’s Kingdom of 1000 Years Over the Earth Ends. An age ends. The age of Christ’s kingdom is 1000 years. This is what Christ’s disciples at Matthew 24:3 were interested in. Christ’s kingdom of 1000 years must come to an end. It is not to be an indefinite kingdom but a definite one lasting 1000 years.
All of human society is matured to know good and bad. All at complete peace and harmony. All restored to their Creator; the Creator of the heavens and the earth. They no longer need a Christ or Messiah. They no longer need a Christ to intercede on their behalf and plead their case before the Father should they do evil. They will be as Adam was, perfect. Did Adam have a Mediator? A Christ? No! He stood before God without one. He was one-to-one with God. Christ will have completed the assignment his kingdom was established to complete. Now begins the start fulfillment of all that is written in “The Revelation From Jesus Christ Which God Gave Him To Show His Servants What Must Soon Take Place.” (Revelation 1:1)
The last days not yet. The seventh day unfinished. - A Promise of an Inheritance Kept. When Christ’s kingdom of 1000 years ends, it does not mean the earth will be without governance. When alive, Jesus promised that the meek or “mild-tempered ones” will inherit the earth. What earth? The paradise earth that will have taken 1000 years to create.
As already mentioned, when Christ’s 1000-year kingdom over the earth ends, he will no longer be needed as king over the earth. He has a promise to keep. He will have restored all of mankind – perfect – to their creator. Left behind on earth will be an uncountable multitude of people who will have been resurrected from all time periods and over them is Christ’s appointed The Kings of the Earth. Their number is sealed at 144,000. They continue as kings over the earth as Christ gives them the earth as their inheritance, they will rule successfully for a time. They will have a good and trusted name or reputation among the multitudes or waters of people.
Collectively they are “a kingdom” over the earth. (Revelation 5:10 and Revelation 20:6)
The last days not yet. The seventh day unfinished. - Satan Released From The Abyss. “When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number, they are like the sand on the seashore.” (Revelation 20:7-8)
Question: So what “must soon take place” after Christ’s kingdom of 1000 years ends? Satan must be released! It is from this future timestamp that we see all of the events mentioned in “The Book of Revelation” unfold.
When Satan rises out of the Abyss, he sees a perfect human society, united, and at peace with one another. He sees sitting on top of that perfect human society and responsible for governance over them, 144,000 Kings of the Earth.
Satan, the great Dragon, brings up out of the Abyss his Beast and stations it on the shore of the sea (of mankind). (Revelation 13:1)
This Beast comes up out of the sea. It does not remain in the sea, it comes up on the shore, the earth.
Along with the Beast that comes up out of the sea (of mankind), Satan brings up and establishes another Beast out of the earth. (Revelation 13:11)
This beast is the same as the first Beast except it is shown standing on the earth and with the one head alive and active and speaking.
It has the same authority as the first Beast. Why? Because it is a head on the first Beast.
So before Satan is destroyed once and for all, he is turned loose upon that new perfect and righteous human society. For what end? To mislead it and establish his visible throne over the earth. (Revelation 2:13)
To bring all on the earth under his rule, subjugation, and worship. He is subtle in his approach. His worship must come through something. What? Well, what did he offer Jesus in the wilderness? All of the kingdoms of the world and their glory or splendor. (Matthew 4:8-9)
Satan will tempt and deceive God’s visible representatives on earth – The Kings of the Earth – with what he presents as something greater than what they inherited from Christ: A kingdom under his throne. (Revelation 17:12 and Revelation 20:7-8)
This shows the immense power Satan has and what he is able to do? Placing bright and shining light-bearing objects before the people to lure them in. Satan knows that these kings already have inherited a kingdom over the earth so he misleads these kings by powerful temptation and gets them to submit their power and authority as kings to service under his throne! (Revelation 17:12).
Satan will sit invisibly in the spirit realm on his throne. Under his throne will be a visible government on earth, the Beast.
I will explain In greater detail what these are in Part 2 of this series.
Even when Satan is released, the last days not yet. The seventh day unfinished. - The Inhabitants On Earth Admire Satan’s Government. Viewed As Invincible. Satan will present to all of the inhabitants of the earth a safe, peaceful, and prosperous government that they will not want to end and one they will view as invincible to all threats. (Revelation 13:4)
So thoroughly will Satan have misled the earth in those future days, they will resist anything that threatens its existence and “whistle-blow” on anyone who speaks badly about it. The inhabitants of the earth will forget Christ’s purpose for having a kingdom over the earth for a thousand years, the sacrifice he made before that, and his teachings!
Hopefully, those with understanding and wisdom can see the importance of what Jesus said a Luke 22:19 where he said, “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” All reading this – including me – will be under Satan’s throne when he comes up out of the Abyss. It is forced upon us. Most of us will not discern that we are under the throne of the Dragon. This powerful angelic being is powerful, subtle, and light-bearing.
The last days not yet. The seventh day unfinished. - God Dispatches An Angel With a Declaration To The Earth Where Satan’s Throne Is. What approaches (and Satan knows this) is God’s kingdom out of heaven. Its establishment on earth means that the earth – like heaven already is – falls under the rule of God’s kingdom. There can be no other kingdoms on earth. The Dragon and his Beasts must be removed and destroyed once and for all!
An angel is given a message to declare to the earth where Satan’s throne will be in those future days. What is that message? The Good News of the Kingdom of God! That declaration has not been made yet. No human will be entrusted with declaring such a message to that diamond of a world in those days.
No human today knows what the message is. No Good News of the Kingdom is being preached today as The Watch Tower and others claim they are declaring. Ask ten Jehovah’s Witnesses what that message is and you will probably get ten different responses. It certainly is not placing publications and starting Bible studies. That message is given to an angel in future days to declare. This is clear at Revelation 14:6.
That declaration will shake and stir things up – as if by literal earthquake – as most of its inhabitants will have already been conditioned, programmed, and thoroughly convinced that “no one can do battle with the Beast.” (Revelation 13:4) But this powerful angelic declaration will cause much agitation within Satan’s throne on earth.
The last days not yet. The seventh day unfinished. - The Great Tribulation Begins. “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.” (Matthew 24:21)
The angelic declaration will be totally unwelcomed by the inhabitants of the earth in those future days. They will not want their peaceful and secure lives threatened and upset.
It must be understood that Satan establishes a kingdom on earth, his Beast! Establishment implies something deeply rooted. It also takes time for something to become rooted. It also takes power and effort to uproot something deeply rooted.
The Dragon will have provided the inhabitants of the earth a paradise, something they will become accustomed to! The relatively few loyal to God and His kingdom to come will listen to and accept the angelic declaration and accurately spread it to others. They must not change the message and make it into something they want it to be. To do so would corrupt that message and it becomes their message. This is God’s declaration to the earth in those days through His angel. I mention this because the teachings of Christ have been corrupted today by men. If God gave man such an important message and sent him out to declare it, by the time he reached three or four people with it, the original message would change. This, the reason why an angel in entrusted to declare it.
The angelic message will be a threat to the maintenance and existence of the Beast. Those heeding and accepting the angelic message will take a stand and refuse to worship the Beast and its image. Others will see them take a courageous defiant stand against worshiping the Beast. This will present the Beast with a problem and threatens peace and security Satan’s Beast has created to its worshipers. Others might join them! They must be dealt with!
Satan, through his visible government (the Beast), will pass rules, regulations, and laws and incorporate them into its image (a Constitution) that will force-worship (allegiance and support) of the Beast and its image. It will be unlawful not to do so.
Punishment is meted out to anyone refusing to worship the Beast, its image, and accepts its mark. All will be made to accept (worship) this image (Constitution) and all edicts within the Beast’s image by receiving a literal or figurative mark on the right-hand or forehead identifying them as loyal to the Beast. This mark could be something as simple as some visible act one must perform that shows where one’s loyalty and allegiance lies.
Remember those three Hebrew boys Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego who refused to bow down (a visible act) before Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image? The act of bowing down before that image marked the individual – identified the individual – where their allegiance lie. What is in their head and heart.
NOTE: (Today, as in the past, all governments have salutes using the right-hand to one’s forehead, placement of one’s right hand over their hearts, a “Sieg Heil” or some other visible act such as kneeling before an object that marked that person and showed all publicly where their allegiance lies.
To my knowledge 189 out of the 195 countries and dependent territories on earth today have a codified written document – a Constitution – by which its citizens are governed. The other six countries have uncodified constitutions meaning that not all elements are written into law and therefore not enforceable. But they do have constitutions.
The constitutions of those countries reflect or images the manner in which those countries govern.
The image of The United States of America is The Constitution of the United States of America.
Many loyal to God and Christ in those future days of the Beast will refuse to worship the Beast and its image and they will be made to suffer for it. Many will be put to death. They will be betrayed by their former Brethren just as Judas betrayed Jesus. (Revelation 13:15-17)
They will undergo a terrible time of trouble. This will be their test of loyalty to God, just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were tested. Anyone who faithfully endures this time of testing and trouble – The Great Tribulation – will be saved. (Matthew 10:21-22)
The Great Tribulation does not come upon the whole earth in those days, it is a targetted event and targetted at God’s faithful ones. The Great Tribulation occurs many years after Christ’s kingdom of a thousand years ends. It occurs during the time of Satan’s Beast (kingdom) on earth. The last days not yet. The seventh day unfinished. - Satan’s Beast Determined to Wipeout God’s People. God Intervenes. “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” (Matthew 24:22)
Many people stumble at what Jesus says at Matthew 24:22. Jesus was not referring to all persons on earth. When he said “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive …” he was referring to those subject to the tribulation: God’s faithful ones!
In fact, those days of the tribulation will be so intense, they are cut short for the sake of the elect!
Teaching Point: Where do we see the elect? In heaven or on earth? They are on earth, the location where there be great tribulation! So intense the pressure upon God’s loyal ones to comply, support, and worship the Beast and its image and so heinous the campaign to hunt each one down, the Beast (now a scarlet-colored Beast with a woman on top of it) will become bloodguilty and drunk with the blood of God’s holy people an those who bore testimony to Jesus. (Revelation 17:6)
God intervenes – cuts those days short – and brings to an end Satan’s kingdom on earth and his seat of power over it.
There is a woman in this story. You will learn about this woman and the mystery-name on her forehead, Babylon the Great, in Part 2 of this series.
Some of you may have already discerned who she will prove to be based on what I have written so far. The last days not yet. The seventh day unfinished. - Contention Over the Earth. The Destruction of Satan’s Throne Over The Earth. A part of the Great Tribulation is what is called Armageddon. The Great Tribulation occurs within the time period of Armageddon. Both the Great Tribulation and Armageddon occur within the time period of the establishment and reign of Satan’s kingdom on earth. Contrary to what many have been taught, Armageddon itself is not a war, it is the place where the last battle will be waged. (Revelation 16:16)
An intense spiritual battle will be waged over who is the rightful owner and sovereign over the earth! Recall back in the Garden of Eden, God placed the Serpent there along with the man and the woman. This Serpent was not Satan and Devil. We are told at Genesis 3:1 that God made the Serpent. This creature was a righteous angel who became Satan and Devil. In other words, this angel made himself Satan and Devil. For example, children born of human parts are not born evil or criminals. In time as they grow and mature, they become those things.
We do not see the expressions Satan and Devil mentioned in Genesis. The Serpent was placed in the Garden to take care of it and to take care of the man and woman. It is not a far stretch of the imagination for the Serpent to come to view the Garden, the earth, and the man and woman as his property. He was given charge over all of it, not ownership of it.
It was when the Serpent called God a liar did he become Satan and Devil (which means Deceiver and Opposer).
To the woman, he said, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’? “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5)
That he was taking care of the earth and all in it and had it as his dominion, the lie he told the woman was a challenge who is to be given worship, himself or God!
The Serpent knows who created the heavens and the earth. He is fully aware of who created the angelic hosts including him. The Serpent’s complaint was with regards to worship, not ownership of the earth.
To exact worship, he must have a throne, a kingdom, and subjects. Eve was his first subject. Adam listened to his wife (ate the fruit of her lips) and he became his subject. The command God gave not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad in the middle of the garden was given to Adam. Eve was not around when the command was given. Adam obviously passed that command on to his wife because she was able to repeat it when she was talking with the Serpent. (Genesis 3:2)
Did not Satan want to worshiped by Jesus? (Matthew 4:8-10) It is a throne, a kingdom, subjects, and worship Satan wants. To this day, Satan has been successful in manipulating the affairs of men to bring them under his dominion. He has even instigated the deaths of God’s Prophets and even His Son as they presented a threat to his dominion over the earth.
Armageddon is Satan’s last-ditch effort to get the inhabitants of the earth (his subjects) to resist the greatest threat to another dominion he will establish on earth in future days: God’s kingdom.
He will have already provided all of his subjects with a peaceful, safe, and prosperous environment. His subjects will have already been conditioned to view the Beast as invincible. (Revelation 13:4). Thus, the majority of the inhabitants of the earth in those future days will be primed to resist all perceived threats to the Beast’s existence.
A figurative woman – Babylon The Great – plays an important role in this battle. She sits directly on top of the people. She rewards and does favors for those who listen to her and lie down (bow down) with her. She punishes those who do not.
Satan’s throne over the earth which makes up the Beast, its image, the False Prophet, and all of those who knowingly worshiped it, and its image are destroyed.
The Beast is proven not to be invincible after all. Satan finds himself without a throne, a kingdom, and subjects to worship him. He is destroyed once and forever. (Revelation 20:10) The last days finished. The seventh day unfinished. - God’s Kingdom Comes Down. At the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the seventh day ends. It is completed. God will surely say as He did the first six days, “And there was evening, and there was morning – the seventh day, IT IS FINISHED!” (Revelation 21:1-27)
All resistance on earth to the establishment of God kingdom on earth (enveloping it) gone! Unfaithful ones who knowingly fought against the establishment of God’s kingdom, erased from God’s memory and they perish. That is, they cease to exist.
Do not worry as no one today qualifies for a perishing as we “do not know what we are doing.” (Many arrogantly think that do, though.)
We are not perfect and thus will make many mistakes. So, it not possible for any of us to know what we do today.
Knowing comes after Christ’s one-thousand-year kingdom ends and the angelic message of the kingdom is declared. God will not leave us ignorant. Once informed, it will be the choice of each individual to obey or disobey God.
A great deal has to happen from where we stand now before Babylon the Great Arrives the end comes.
I now want to proceed with Part 2 and identity what or who Babylon the Great will prove to be.
