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Nov 21Chapter 5 – END-TIME DESTRUCTION IN TWO CHRISTIANITIES
Of all those prophesied events, most have occurred over the past 30 years and the fulfillment of these events are speeding up and becoming far more intense. Remember that the fulfillment of these prophesies is following the pattern of a woman in labor pain. Yet as explained, the magnification of these events and their greater fulfillment will finally begin to be recognized by this world once the United States is attacked and conquered during the first five Trumpet events of Revelation.
In addition to physical destruction, the Book of Revelation also foretells of cataclysmic end-time events that would occur within the two vastly different groups of Christianity that were described in the previous chapter.
Events of disastrous proportions have already occurred in the group of Christianity that began in 31 AD, the one named as God’s Church. The fulfillment of the first five Seals of Revelation is about those apocalyptic events, and they will be covered in the latter part of this chapter.
END-TIME DESTRUCTION OF THE CHRISTIANITY OF 325 AD
The group within traditional Christianity which had its organized beginning in 325 AD is prophesied to yet experience catastrophic destruction. To better grasp what is prophesied in Revelation about these events that will be fulfilled during WWIII, it is needful to know some related history.
These events are directly tied into what was covered in Chapter 2 concerning the seven prophesied revivals of the old Roman Empire, and the last revival that consists of ten nations of Europe.
The Origin of Europe
There is a term that one can look up for themselves that has much to do with the formation of Europe and its modern-day religious beliefs. It is Europa. The name comes from Greek mythology. This was the name of a Phoenician princess that was abducted by Zeus who had taken the form of a white bull and who then carried her (Europa) to Crete. It is from this name that the continent of Europe received its name. This has much to do with the eventual establishment of religious ideas in that region of the world, which later spread throughout all the world.
As an aside, it is interesting to note that when the euro was established as the new currency of the European Union, each country had symbols placed on the two-euro coin. The symbol that was printed on the coin for Greece was a woman riding a bull—the symbol for Europa, and much more. The representation is very symbolic in the Book of Revelation.
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, ‘Come and I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.’ So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, and having seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 17:1-3).
These verses are prophetic concerning the seven revivals of Europe that lead up to the final one that has ten horns. These “ten horns” represent the ten nations that will come together in military might and use nuclear weapons during the period of the fulfillment of the Fifth Trumpet.
God has used this depiction of a woman on a beast to describe the connection between rulership and false religious beliefs within the prophesied European empire and its revivals through time. The influence of many deities runs deep in the beginning formation of the rise of the Roman Empire—the beginning of a prophetic empire—a European empire that would continue up to the very end-time and the last war on earth.
A heading in Wikipedia entitled “List of Roman Deities” actually captures in the very first paragraph what a person needs to grasp concerning the foundational formation of the Roman Empire from the beginning.
“The Roman deities most familiar today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts, integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin literature, Roman art, and religious life as it was experienced throughout the Empire.”
As partially explained in the previous chapter, the practice of the early Romans was to adopt the deities and religious practices within the different regions of the Empire and mix them. The resulting religious practices and beliefs went through many transformations and gradually changed over hundreds of years and eventually morphed into what became known as “Christianity in the Roman Empire.”
That is why today a person can come to recognize and identify the actual beginning for the kinds of mysterious teachings and beliefs that have no connection and no origin to any scriptural truth, doctrine, or teaching from the Bible. Instead, the ideas, origins, and teachings of Easter, Christmas, trinitarian symbolisms, symbolisms contained in crosses, sun and Sunday sunrise worship, mother with child worship, rabbit and egg fertility symbolism, and much, much more, have morphed into the current teaching and practices of over 2 billion people on earth. Simply put, the origin of these ideas used in the creation of this new Roman religion came from religious ideas and practices from those who believed in the ancient deities.
God has much to say about mixing false teachings and practices from the belief in other deities with what He has revealed as the true ways of worshipping Him. Since mankind has ignored God and has further polluted His truth with fables and false religious practices, He is now bringing the world into judgment for doing so. It is during this time of judgment that He will bring an end to mankind’s self-rule and religions as He establishes His Kingdom to rule over all nations on earth.
Full of the Names of Blasphemy
Going through history from the time the Roman Empire began and seeing the transformation of religious ideas can help a person better face the actual truth of what has morphed into what we see today in “traditional Christianity.” The birth of traditional Christianity has its roots in the very custom of mixing widely varying beliefs.
Indeed, the Romans incorporated the custom of blending religious beliefs and mingling other peoples’ gods with their own. After conquering a nation, they were accepting of others’ beliefs because it made it easier for them to merge different groups of people together to unite their expanding empire. This practice not only mixed beliefs from the Greeks, Celts, and Germanic people but also beliefs from Judaism and those who held to true Christian beliefs and teachings in the empire.
These widely varying beliefs also included the belief in many deities. It is for this reason that God described this beast in Revelation 17 the way he did. His description of this beast is reflective of the mythical god Zeus who disguised himself as a white bull carrying the princess Europa on his back to Crete. Crete is the largest and most populated island of Greece, and it has a deep history of being the center of Europe’s first advanced civilization, the Minoans, from 2700 to 1420 BC.
Although this mythological bull was white in color, God describes it as a scarlet-colored beast with seven heads and ten horns. Scarlet is used here to prophetically reflect the system of government and religion of the Roman Empire. The color scarlet was a symbol of the wealth and power of that empire.
This color is also used prophetically to depict prostitution and adultery, which is how God prophetically describes what took place in the religious practice of the Roman Empire that produced a false Christianity. In those verses quoted from Revelation 17, it spoke of judgment that was coming to “the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk on the wine of her fornications.”
So when it states, “I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy,” then one needs to understand the purpose for such a statement. The name for Europe coming from this mythological story epitomizes the very process that created a “false Christianity.” The custom within the Roman Empire of blending mythology, religious beliefs and practices, and concepts relating to many different gods was used in much of what formed a false Christianity.
Since this practice was so deeply incorporated into the creation of traditional Christianity, it is prophetically described as being full of names of blasphemy. Blasphemy is a matter of assuming the right to change or act against what God has given as true and right regarding how one is to properly worship Him.
That which is described as “a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy” is exactly what was described in Revelation 13.
“Then I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name” (Revelation 13:1).
“So they worshiped the dragon [referring to Satan] who gave authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’ And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven” (Revelation 13:4-6).
As shown through these verses, the formation of false Christianity is filled with blasphemy. Some of that has been addressed already as in the example of how God began to be called a Trinity. It has also been covered how the very name of Joshua was corrupted by using the name Jesus instead. Although it is difficult to fully prove after so many hundreds of years, there are some who give a pretty good argument to the belief that the name Jesus actually has its roots in the name of Zeus.
Although this description of “names of blasphemy” is given, it is about more than just literal names. It also includes those things that were described in mythology as being used in various practices of worship. Even art and sculpture used in worship in mythology have been mixed into worship in false Christianity. These too fit the description of carrying the “names of blasphemy.”
Indeed, there are a very large number of things that fit this description that have become incorporated into false Christianity. Although much of this has been mentioned, some bear repeating.
God’s Sabbath day on the seventh day of the week was changed to a weekly worship on the first day of the week, which is a day named after the sun—Sunday. The formal ceremony of baptism where an adult chooses to repent of their sins and is then immersed in water has been blasphemed. It has been changed to a ceremony of christening by sprinkling water on the head of a child and calling it “baptism,” even though the very word translated as baptism comes from the Greek word meaning “to immerse.”
There is a considerable amount of artwork with symbols and objects that has originated from the practice and teaching about false gods and false doctrines from these false deities. Much of this has been adopted and used in the exact same representations in false Christianity. The artwork involving these false gods often depicts scenes from heaven and hell. The symbols of crosses and other religious objects like a mother and child statue were used to worship false gods centuries before Christ was born of his mother Mary. All these things have been mingled into a false Christianity.
It is also good to be reminded of all the blasphemous things done by Constantine, who called together and presided over the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and helped create a new state religion that called itself “Christianity.”
God commanded that Passover was to be observed yearly by His people for all time. Yet in that annual observance of partaking of the symbolism contained in eating a small portion of unleavened bread and drinking a small portion of wine, they changed the partaking of these symbols to a ceremony called Communion that can be observed weekly.
Part of the very definition of blasphemous is about “that which is sacrilegious against God or sacred things, and is simply a lack of showing respect to God.”
Calling the name of God’s Son by some other name than what He instructed it should be is blasphemous. Calling God a Trinity is blasphemous. God clearly reveals that He alone has had eternal existence inherent in Himself and that no other God has eternally existed. Even before His own Son was born from a physical woman, God made this clear.
“I am the LORD [Heb.- Yahweh, meaning the Eternal], and there is no other; There is no God [Heb. – Elohim] besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, that they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the LORD [Yahweh, the Eternal], and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:5-6).
“For this is the word of the LORD [Yahweh, the Eternal], who created the heavens, who is God [Elohim], who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited: ‘I am the LORD [Yahweh, the Eternal], and there is no other’” (Vs. 18).
God explains here and in many other areas of scripture that He alone has eternal existence. But a church rose up in the Roman Empire that stated God is a Trinity. That is the definition of blasphemy.
The Council of Nicaea established the observance of Easter after outlawing the observance of Passover. The Roman Empire accepted a religious observance called Easter, which has its origin in the goddess of many ancient cultures.
The Christianity of the Roman Empire taught a false timing for Christ’s death, a false timing of his resurrection, Sunday morning worship, Christ’s supposed death on a cross, the distortion of his name, the use of his name in an observance of his birthday—a birthday that did not occur in winter, and so much more. Do such things fit the definition of being blasphemous?
As it has also been covered, the religious titles pertaining to God that Christ commanded should never be used by religious teachers have been attached to the names of thousands of people who have called themselves ministers of God.
The leaders of this church and those who have come out of her have blasphemed God’s name by usurping the title of Father, Reverend, Pope, Cardinal (wearing scarlet), and more. Her religious leaders have taken to themselves the right to absolve people of their sins, of which only God Almighty can do. It is through the sacrifice of His Son as the Passover who spilled his blood to the earth for that very purpose—so mankind, through Christ, can become forgiven of sins.
The question in all this should actually be, “What is true and what is false?” Only that which is false can blaspheme God and His name. It is the misuse of His name and of His true words that are given throughout scripture. By definition, to twist, distort, and mistranslate what God has spoken is a matter of blasphemy.
The Woman on the Beast
So who is this woman who rides on the beast in Revelation 17? Each reader has covered enough already to give a truthful answer to this. It is good to read the verses again and then continue in order to learn much more about this seventh and last revival that is right now being fulfilled.
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, ‘Come and I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.’ So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, and having seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 17:1-3).
The woman who is likened to Europa symbolizes the religion that became established in the Roman Empire. Prophetically, a woman pictures a church. God’s own Church is referred to as a woman—and is even described as “the mother of us all.” God has intended that His people be nourished and fed by the Church. However, the description of this woman is not about God’s Church but about one that is responsible for feeding (nourishing) in a blasphemous manner—making others drunk on what she gives them.
“The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls, and having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. On her forehead a name was written: Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth. I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Joshua. When I saw her, I marveled in great astonishment. But 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, which has the seven heads and the ten horns’” (Rev. 17:4-7).
When the meaning of the representation of a “woman” is understood here, it is quite easy to see what God is describing by such prophetic symbolism. The woman as a church is described as being clothed in bright and costly colors and pictured as having great wealth and making a display of it. She is a church and she stands out to all who see her. In Europe, she stands out as the center of cities in order to be seen by all, as much sacrifice and wealth went into such constructions.
The woman is depicted as having a golden cup, another symbol, but which also is actually used in one of its religious practices that reflects its teachings and use of the word of God—to blaspheme. God’s people are commanded to drink a small portion of wine once a year on the night of Passover. As this was covered earlier, this is symbolic of the blood of Christ that was spilled for us in order for our sins to be forgiven and to reflect that he fulfilled the meaning of Passover and died as our Passover Lamb. Those taking of this small portion of wine on the annual observance of Passover do not do so from a golden cup or chalice.
But the teaching of that great church of the Roman Empire is that it can be done weekly in what is called Communion during the second most important part of its worship service. That service is referred to as mass and specifically during this second portion of mass is the Liturgy of the Eucharist. In the eucharistic prayer, this church “commemorates Jesus Christ and his redeeming work, especially his sacrifice for the sake of all humankind through his crucifixion.”
So what is true and what is false? Is it the observance of a Communion service in a ceremony referred to as the Liturgy of the Eucharist or is it Passover that is observed only once a year? Do such things matter to God? The truth is that such an altered observance from what God and Joshua the Christ commanded is an abomination to God. God refers to changing what He has commanded, especially in the practice of customs from the worship of manmade deities, as a form of adultery and spiritual fornication because it reflects unfaithfulness to God and His true word.
So this woman is referred to as a harlot—one who practices adultery—or who is simply casual in her approach to sexual relationships with others (the mixing of religions with God’s word). When looking at this on a spiritual plane in what a relationship with God should be, one faithful in spirit and in truth, then this has a much deeper meaning.
This woman is described as “the harlot” who rides the beast and also the mother of harlots. In other words, many other harlots came out of her. The truth of that should be obvious as well for anyone who is willing to face the truth of it. Many churches did come out of that great church that became established in 325 AD as the state religion of the Roman Empire. Her daughters took with them most of her false doctrines.
She is referred to as “Mystery Babylon” because her teachings (words) are like a mystery because they claim their validity comes from God, yet they do not agree with God’s words. Babylon is a good description because the word is derived from the word “babel” meaning “confusion,” and is defined as something that is unclear or confusing due to the result of mixing many voices together. This church actually states that their most important teaching, which is about the Trinity, is not from scripture, but it is a “mystery given to the church, as something that cannot be truly comprehended.”
This reference to Babylon is given for two reasons. The first concerns what began to happen shortly after the flood in Noah’s day when false religion once again began to spring up in different cities, one of which was Babel. Those living in that city had determined to build a tower that would reach up into the heavens. This pursuit was mingled with false religious ideas. Corruption and pride were accelerating at such a fast pace in the minds of those living there that God had to intervene to slow down the process of further corruption once again.
At this point in time after the flood, all people spoke the same language. The means by which God was going to slow mankind in their evil pursuit was to confound the people with different languages. This is the origin for the basis of differing languages today. God changed a portion of the spirit in their mind in an instant so they had understanding and ability to speak another language. When God did this, different groups could no longer understand each other, and they were only able to understand those who were given the ability to speak the same language as themselves.
It would be like everyone speaking English one day, and then all of a sudden, certain groups could only speak French, others Japanese, while yet others spoke only Russian, and so they would divide into groups. It may be hard to imagine such a thing happening, but that is exactly what occurred. For a person who spoke a single language on one day and a completely different one on another, it was as if they had always known the new language they were now speaking and had no memory or understanding of their previous one.
The name of the city became known as Babel. The term Babylon, which became one of the first prophetic world-ruling empires, carries that same meaning. It was that first prophetic kingdom depicted by the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue.
Babel and Babylon both mean “confusion.” That term has become synonymous with the way of religion and governments of this world. They are man-made systems that only create confusion, turmoil, division, and wars. These are all opposite to the way of God that produces unity, soundness of mind, and true peace.
An even deeper understanding can be derived from the use of the expression “Mystery Babylon” since that is where the formation of false religion actually began. After the flood, it was in the city of Babel that false religious ideas and practices began to form. These evolved into the worship of different false deities that stemmed from the same ideas when there was still one language spoken by all in Babylon.
After people became divided and then separated into different regions with those of the same language, the names of these deities varied because of those different languages. Each culture then began to develop a little differently in religious beliefs and practices. That is true with the worship of the sun gods, and the moon and planets, as well as gods of fertility.
The histories of the worship of Tammuz, Ishtar, Astarte, Diana, Zeus, Artemis, Ra, Aton, Apollo, and so many others all have their roots in Babylon. It is from what began in the city of Babel that the evolution of false religion began and then finally worked many of its practices and ideas into what later became organized in 325 AD and called itself Christianity. That was the birth of false Christianity, and that is why it is indeed referred to as “Mystery Babylon.”
These verses also state that it is this woman, this church, that has been drunk on the blood of the saints. The word “saints” is simply a term used by the apostles to describe members of God’s Church who were faithful to living God’s way of life. Saints are not what that church has pictured them to be.
That church has been responsible for persecuting, imprisoning, and killing many of God’s people through time. After all, it was the Roman government that created this church and it was that government that convicted the Son of God, Joshua the Christ, to death by nailing him to a pole. It was also that same government that beheaded John the Baptist.
It is even believed through writings and traditions passed down that all of the early apostles were imprisoned, some several times, and that all but one was eventually killed at the behest of the Roman government. It states that Herod killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. Records reveal that John, who was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos, was likely the only one not killed by the Roman government.
Paul, the apostle to the gentile world, was beaten, stoned, imprisoned, and then kept under house arrest in Rome for an extended period of time before he was eventually killed. Candidly, ever since that time, people have continued in great hatred of the message that God’s apostles and teachers have brought, and as a result, many other leaders of God’s Church have been imprisoned and/or killed.
Satan and the Bottomless Pit
After John described the woman riding on the beast, the angel went on to explain that he would tell him the mystery of the woman and the beast that has seven heads and ten horns.
“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is” (Revelation 17:8).
As we continue through the story, it will become evident that the beast symbolizes Satan. He is the one being described as being responsible for supporting and carrying the woman—of giving strength and power to this church. He is behind all the consecutive revivals of the prophesied European empire. Indeed, Satan is described as a beast—one like a great dragon and the other being a scarlet-colored beast that has seven heads—the seven revivals of the European empire that would occur over a span of time just over 1,450 years from the time of the first revival which happened under Justinian.
That which is written about the beast that will ascend out of the bottomless pit is partially in the form of a riddle. It has already been mentioned that this beast carries the woman—this Roman church. It is the beast that gives the woman even greater power and prominence. This beast is Satan, and the term “beast” also describes much of the role of the nations with whom he specifically works to carry and lift up that church to greater power and prominence during each revival.
These revivals are for the purpose of war. That church was always involved in one way or another in those revivals that covered that first 1260 years up to the time of the fall of Napoleon, which was also the time that marked the beginning in the progressive decline of the power and influence of the Catholic Church over the European empire. That decline in power and influence has been ongoing ever since, just as it is today, and it is leading to the end-time destruction of that form of Christianity that began in 325 AD.
Most of the involvement of that church in those revivals and wars during that period took place behind the scenes and in secret. Nevertheless, this has much to do with this description of the beast that supports that church because he is the actual power behind it—Satan and the demonic spirit world.
Satan is the one in scripture who is referred to as being restrained in a “bottomless pit” and who then ascends out of it for a short period of time. The timing of these references that use the form of a riddle is very specific.
This “bottomless pit” is first referred to in events that result from the blowing of the Fifth Trumpet. In that specific account, smoke symbolically begins to ascend out of the pit at a time when a spiritual phase of the Fifth Trumpet was being fulfilled (Rev. 9:1-3). That phase was fulfilled and more will be covered in the second portion of this chapter, which is about end-time destruction that came upon the original Christianity—God’s Church. This destruction occurred in December 1994. It is about massive persecution that Satan was allowed to exert upon God’s Church, and now that period has passed.
However, the physical phase of Satan being released from the bottomless pit is yet to be fulfilled. When Satan is fully released again he is pictured as ascending out of the pit, which simply means he will be without restraints so that he can influence and move ten nations of Europe into one last great war—an all-out thermonuclear war—WWIII.
God has allowed Satan to influence the different revivals of the European empire. When one revival has come to an end, then that is when God has restrained Satan once again from exerting such power and influence for war until it is God’s time to allow him to do so again. The time when Satan will be allowed to fully ascend out of that pit, which is to be released from his restraint this next and final time, is when it is God’s time to allow those ten nations of Europe to be brought together for the purpose of war. When those nations are able to fully unite as a single power without the drag of the rest of the current European Union it will be the time that leads into a full-scale world war—WWIII.
It is so very important to try to grasp the significance of what is being said in the next paragraph.
If God did not control the timing of all this and release Satan when He does, these nations would still come to war. This is especially true in this end-time. The nations of the world are headed toward WWIII no matter what, for the simple fact that people and nations have become so corrupt in their thinking. If God did not intervene in exactly the way He does (and will), that war would last much longer and bring far greater agony and suffering from the long-lasting, hideous upheaval in the world. So not only is God going to intervene to stop mankind from destroying itself, but He is also shortening the time that would otherwise multiply the intensity and length of mankind’s suffering.
The “bottomless pit” is simply a physical description derived from two words. One has the meaning of an “abyss” (translated as “bottomless”) and the other word “pit” is often used to describe a cistern (literally, “a place prepared for holding water”).
It is rather difficult to describe things that exist in a spirit realm using physical explanations or examples. This place is simply a specially prepared spirit state that restrains Satan’s ability to exert his full spirit power. It is a condition or state that holds back and contains much of his power, primarily the power to lead people into war. It is something that God does not allow him to do until a specific moment in time. Again, such things can be difficult to understand, but they are all timed to serve God’s greater purpose in how to most effectively help deliver mankind.
While in the abyss, Satan is not able to use his full power. However, he is still able to broadcast a strong spirit attitude that influences mankind. There is a time coming at the very end of this age just before the Kingdom of God is established in the Millennium that Satan will be sealed in complete restraint so that he will have NO ability to use any powers upon mankind throughout those 1,000 years.
The timing of Satan ascending out of the bottomless pit from this condition of spirit restraint is toward the very end of this last and seventh revival that began to form back in the 1950s. It is this last revival that is represented by the ten horns. This will be spoken of again a few verses later. It will be over these ten horns (ten nations) that Satan is able to exercise his greatest power to influence and move those leaders to agree to go to war. However, even though Satan can work to try and influence and lead these rulers to do his bidding, the decision to heed such influence is still in their own hands.
The Beast that Was and Is Not
This verse in Revelation 17 about the beast, Satan, “that was, and is not” reads like a riddle. The only way to comprehend this is to understand that for all these revivals, God does not restrain the full powers of Satan.
The beast “that was” can refer to any time Satan was active during one of the revivals in Europe when he was not being restrained by the spirit abyss. However, this section of scripture is referring to a very specific period— the last time he was unrestrained. It was when he was stirring up Germany and Italy through the power of influence, which he used directly upon Hitler and Mussolini.
Once WWII was brought to an end, Satan was restrained again, and it is in that current restraint that he “is not” exercising his full power because he is restrained by the spirit abyss, as has been the case for close to 75 years now.
Even when in spirit restraint, Satan has always been able to exercise his influence and powers to broadcast his spirit attitude in order to manipulate and deceive people, but he has not been allowed to always use his greater powers of influence to destroy as “the Destroyer” in war. Satan has many names that describe his evil actions and another one of those mentioned in scripture is Apollyon, which means “the Destroyer.” This verse goes on to foretell what will follow after this period ends: “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition” (Rev. 17:8).
Satan is now described as ascending out of the spirit abyss, his place of restraint. This is the time that he is able to use all his power to speed up the inevitability of an all-out WWIII. After that is over it states that he then continues until he finally comes to his time of “perdition.”
This word “perdition” is one that has a wide variety of uses and can mean “waste, destruction, and death.” This has a dual purpose as it is used here because once Satan is released, he will quickly move people and nations into a full-scale nuclear WWIII. His actions lead to great destruction, waste, and death of hundreds of millions. However, this is also the last time Satan will be allowed to stir up a war that causes massive destruction, although he will still try one more time.
Europe will respond to Satan in the way he wants them to, and they will become engaged in a great nuclear war with others, but to the degree they do so is a matter of their own choosing.
WWIII truly is the war that will end all war. God will never allow another war once He brings an end to mankind’s self-rule on earth. Once God intervenes and brings WWIII to a close, He will establish a peace that will reign on earth for the next 1,000 years of mankind. God will not allow war ever again. This is actually part of the true “good news” (gospel) of the Kingdom of God because it is about the very establishment of peace and God’s rule on earth.
As Satan stirs up one last great war that causes massive destruction and death, he will also be pressing forward toward his own destruction and death. Once he has engaged in one last war, he himself will be headed straight toward his own perdition, although that will come much later.
Now, “the Beast that Was, and Is Not, and Yet Is”
The last part of this same verse is still written as a riddle, but it is different from what was stated in the first part of the verse. Notice:
“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is” (Revelation 17:8).
One must first understand who those people are whose names have already been written in the book of life. This is not a matter of predestination like some doctrines teach. As it was mentioned earlier, those who are written in this book of life are those whom God has worked with at different times throughout the past 6,000 years who will come with Christ to rule on earth. They are those who have been called to that purpose since the foundation of the world when mankind was first placed on earth.
They are the ones who will be resurrected to spirit life at Christ’s coming, who are composed of spirit essence but able to manifest themselves in physical form just as Christ did after his resurrection. God’s plan from the beginning, “before the foundation of the world,” was that there would be 144,000 that will return with Christ at his coming. They are those whom God has “chosen” over a period of 6,000 years to be part of the first resurrection to spirit life at Christ’s coming—the ones written in the book of life to this point in time. Many of these are named in scripture, but many more are not.
The others spoke of here, “whose names have not yet been written in the book of life,” are those who live during that millennial period under the rule of God’s Kingdom. They live during the time when they will know (see) what Satan has done for 6,000 years against God and mankind. They will marvel and they will know that this being and the demonic world are no longer able to be in the presence of mankind to deceive and hurt.
All who live during the Millennium will know that Satan was the beast that “was,” and now “is not,” because he is no longer around mankind. They will also understand (see) that he still exists—he “yet is.” The people living during that 1,000 years know and believe the truth that is already recorded in scripture that this being will be completely removed from mankind and released only for a short time once the Millennium is over.
So indeed, this verse is very prophetic about the beast—about Satan. It is about the 7th and last revival. Then it focuses on the time that follows it when Satan is finally placed in the bottomless pit (spirit abyss) and a seal placed completely over it for 1,000 years, beginning right after Christ returns.
The End of Mystery Babylon
This chapter is entitled, “End-Time Destruction in Two Christianities.” One Christianity that became fully organized in 325 AD has been described as the “woman sitting on a beast,” and on her forehead a name that was written: “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth.”
It is at the time of Christ’s coming with his spirit army of 144,000 that God brings a complete end to this false Christianity. It is recorded in Revelation as being a time when seven angels pour “the wrath of God” out of their bowls, meaning “the judgment of God against it,” which brings final destruction upon that system to completely destroy it. This is about what began to be quoted at the beginning of this chapter concerning the destruction of this false system.
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, ‘Come and I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.’ So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, and having seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 17:1-3).
The end-time judgment upon this great harlot results in destruction that is mighty upon it.
“Then he [the angel] said to me, ‘The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are of peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. The ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until these words of God are to be fulfilled. Even the woman whom you saw is that great city [Babylon] which has reigned over the kings of the earth’” (Rev. 17:15-18).
This false religious system that has held great sway over rulers and people’s lives for centuries will be brought to an end toward the end of WWIII. God will allow Satan, the beast, to sway ten nations to enter into nuclear war, but God will also put it into the minds of these leaders to turn against this woman—this false church—because of its evil influence, approval in counsel for war, and the catastrophic results for having listened. They will, in turn, as it says, strip her naked and make her desolate as being thoroughly burnt up with fire—devoured and destroyed.
The next chapter of Revelation continues by describing the complete destruction of Babylon. All that will remain are the foul spirit beings consisting of Satan and the demonic realm as they are placed in total restraint for a period just beyond the Millennium when they will once again be released.
“After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. He cried out mightily with a loud voice, saying, ‘Babylon the great has fallen, has fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons: a prison for every foul spirit, a cage for every unclean and hated flying creature [speaking of Satan and the demons being placed in spirit restraint—all that is left of Babylon]. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her sensuality’” (Rev. 18:1-3)
It is made clear through these latter chapters of Revelation that the religious system of the harlot who rides the beast and carries the name of Mystery Babylon is destroyed.
“Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and threw it into the sea, saying, ‘Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all’” (Rev. 18:21).
Just before the 1,000-year reign of Christ and the 144,000 begins, God will destroy the counterfeit Christianity that emerged in 325 AD. Then indeed, Christ will begin his reign as King of kings as he begins to establish God’s rule—the Kingdom of God—on earth. This also means that he will establish God’s Church as the only religious organization on earth. All other systems of religion will be destroyed and only the truth of God will remain.
END-TIME DESTRUCTION ON THE CHRISTIANITY OF 31 AD
It was stated in the beginning of this chapter: “Events of disastrous proportions have already occurred in the one group of Christianity that began in 31 AD, the one named as God’s Church.” This destruction began on the 17th of December 1994. Yet the world was oblivious to those major prophetic events becoming fulfilled because it was unaware of the existence of God’s Church.
The fulfillment of the first five Seals of Revelation is about those apocalyptic events upon God’s own Church. These events and the timing that has followed reveal a timeline that is leading up to Christ’s second coming—his return as the Messiah—the Christ of all mankind.
Not only has the world been unaware of the existence of God’s Church, but traditional Christianity has led people astray from what is true about the end-time. Although most do not even address it, those who do have the wrong interpretations of what God has to say about the subject.
The major misinterpretation about end-time events concerns what Revelation has to say about the first four Seals of Revelation that describe catastrophic end-time events through the depiction of four horsemen who are riding different colored horses, with each one representing different end-time destruction that follows. Since none of those major events that they misinterpret are happening in the world, they believe that WWIII must yet be far off. However, the truth is that this war is about to begin at any time, and they are not prepared.
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Some have come to view the end-time through misguided stories about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Knowing why people believe as they do will help give a better understanding of what is actually true concerning the timing and actual fulfillment of these prophetic events that have already happened.
Some organizations in traditional Christianity do teach about the four horsemen. However, they believe that these horsemen are about great physical tribulation. They also believe that this massive worldwide tribulation is what will later lead into a full-blown WWIII. But again, that is not true!
The meaning of the word “apocalypse” has changed over the centuries. That is primarily due to confusion that was created by traditional Christianity over their many interpretations of what is written in John’s Book of Revelation. The word “apocalypse” first appeared in both Greek and Latin. The Greek word “apokalyptein” was used by John in his writing of the book, as that word carried the definition “to uncover, disclose, and reveal.”
It was nearly 300 years later when the Catholic Church commissioned the Bible to be translated into Latin that the word “apocalypsis,” then meaning “revelation,” began to be used.
Much later, during the period of Middle English, this word carried the meaning of “insight or vision” and even of “hallucination.”
Then, in the mid-1800s, writings about the meaning of things written in the Book of Revelation began to give credibility to this word “apocalypse” as bearing prophetic meaning of cataclysmic events and belief of an imminent end of the present world.
Over the past few decades, traditional Christianity has gone way off base and highly exaggerated how it uses such terminology. They have created interpretations or ideas that now carry a definition of a complete final destruction of the world, the end of the world, of great catastrophic tribulation on earth before WWIII begins, of theories about a final Armageddon (the last and completely destructive battle of mankind) and other nonsensical interpretations.
It is because of such flawed interpretations as these that the first four Seals of Revelation have taken on some of these distorted definitions when speaking of the four different horsemen that are described in these Seals.
The first four Seals of Revelation that are depicted by four different horsemen are not at all about a modern-day apocalypse that brings about great physical destruction on earth. These apocalyptic ideas about an end to this world are false. The very expression and teachings associated with the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” are sheer nonsense!
The truth is that the first four Seals are about events that have already happened to God’s Church—prophetic events that would be the very sign that signaled the beginning of a specific countdown in this current end-time. While many are waiting for the events of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to be revealed, they do not know that those events have already taken place.
In order to grasp what these first four Seals are really about, it is necessary to know a little bit about God’s Church that exists today—a Church the world does not know. It is important to know what God has been doing through His Church in these end times.
God’s End-time Church
For nearly 70 years now, God’s Church has been striving to warn people that we are in the end-time that is prophesied throughout the Bible. That warning is about one more world war—a nuclear war. It is about the prophecy that Europe will once again play a major role in great war. As it has already been covered, those warnings from God’s Church, through Herbert Armstrong, began right after WWII had come to an end.
For over a decade now, God’s Church has heightened end-time warnings, and people still will not listen. It is simply the nature of mankind to ridicule and dismiss what God’s Church has been proclaiming ever since it began in 31 AD. As a result, end-time events have remained hidden.
It is difficult for the human mind to believe that there is any authoritative source that can know what God’s will and purpose actually is for mankind. It is difficult for anyone to believe that God’s true Church has remained small throughout the centuries while other organizations claiming to be Christian have grown large. Human nature tends to believe that the larger a church organization is, the more likely God is working through them.
It is even far more difficult for the human mind to believe how it could be possible that over two billion people have been deceived about traditional Christianity. Yet that is what has happened over the centuries. This is true about traditional Christianity just as it is true of other religions of different deities, wherein billions today are deceived.
This book has laid out proof to show what is true and what is false concerning many teachings and doctrines about God and Christ. It is by the truth that is taught that you can identify God’s Church. There is no other organized group on earth that teaches what this book has already covered as being true.
However, it also needs to be stated that God’s Church does not yet have all truth. That is because God has progressively been revealing what is true over the past 6,000 years. Only after Christ returns will God’s Church then be given all that is true.
Over the centuries, God’s Church has struggled to survive and through time it grew weaker and smaller until it nearly died out. It was at this point in the 1930s that God raised up an apostle, Herbert Armstrong, through whom He began to restore truth to His Church.
God gave prophecy to John, in the early 90s AD, about seven eras that would exist in His Church up to the end-time. The fifth era was known as Sardis and it had nearly died out by the late 1920s, just as God said would happen. As God was bringing the era of Sardis to a close, he raised up Herbert Armstrong to restore truth to His Church in an era known as Philadelphia.
God’s apostle was not only to begin restoring truth to His Church, but he was to begin fulfilling a commission that God gave to him concerning this end-time. Herbert Armstrong often spoke of that commission since God had revealed to him that this is what he was to fulfill.
“And this gospel [good news] of the kingdom will be preached [proclaimed] in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).
This book has already covered the incredible extent to which Herbert Armstrong proclaimed the good news of the coming Kingdom of God that will rule over this world once Christ has returned as the King of kings. The massive worldwide circulation of The Plain Truth magazine, the worldwide broadcasts of radio and weekly television program of The World Tomorrow, as well as his meetings with numerous world leaders, were all part of fulfilling that commission.
This was indeed a “witness” to the nations of the world that the end-time was upon mankind and that God’s Kingdom would soon be established. But the people and nations of the world rejected what was proclaimed to them, and this too is a witness against mankind of their refusal to listen to God. Then after that commission was completed by the time of his death in January 1986, end-time events did begin to emerge as the seventh and final era of God’s Church came on the scene—the era of Laodicea.
It is toward the end of this era known as Laodicea that major end-time events occurred in God’s Church that fulfilled the first four Seals of Revelation that are commonly referred to as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. These were prophetic concerning God’s Church and not about physical end-time events that would happen to this world.
Prophetic Timing for Christ’s Second Coming
During the Church era of Philadelphia, God gave to his apostle, Herbert Armstrong, a very specific prophetic key concerning the first four Seals of Revelation. He understood that the Olivet prophecies of Matthew 24 were the key to understanding these four Seals, but he did not see that these were not about physical end-time events.
Christ gave the Olivet prophecies to his disciples when on the Mount of Olives on the last night of his life on the Passover of 31 AD.
Although this key was given to Herbert Armstrong, God did not reveal the full meaning of those prophecies to him, and neither was he given the ability to use that “key” because it was not yet time for the Seals to be opened. He was not given to see that it was a prophetic matter concerning the very Church of God, so instead, he mistakenly believed the First Seal was about the physical “religious” world of traditional Christianity.
Matthew 24 and the other accounts of the Olivet prophecy parallel this account of the Seals found in Revelation 6. Even within the Church, it wasn’t until after the First Seal was opened that these first four Seals were starting to be seen in a different light, as something other than being physically fulfilled. So it is no wonder that even within the world these things have been viewed as having a physical fulfillment about great physical tribulation on the earth.
As mentioned, these first four Seals are often referred to as the time of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse because they have been viewed as being “apocalyptic” in their physical, destructive power over the earth. Apocalyptic destruction will come on this world once the events of the first four Trumpets of the Seventh Seal begin to lead to the destruction of the United States. However, these earlier Seals are about the powerful destruction that occurred in God’s own Church. They were of an apocalyptic nature spiritually.
The following verses describe the disciples walking with Joshua around the temple as he prophesied about God’s Church at the end-time. Then the conversation moved to questions and answers concerning that time.
“Then Joshua went out and departed from the temple and his disciples went with him to view the buildings of the temple. Then Joshua said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you that there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down’” (Matthew 24:1-2).
Those things that Joshua was telling his disciples were perceived by them as being something physical in nature. That is the natural human response to the teachings of Joshua the Christ. Mankind, by nature, deals with the “physical world” that surrounds it. That is because mankind cannot see or measure that which is spiritual.
The Book of John is filled with such examples. In chapter 3, Joshua was speaking to Nicodemus, a great leader of the Jews. Nicodemus could not understand what Joshua was talking about when he spoke of the need to be “born again” of spirit. He asked how one could be born again once he is old. He knew he could not enter again into his mother’s womb and be born a second time.
Even traditional Christianity embraces a wrong interpretation of this. They believe that being born again is some kind of “spiritual experience” while still in this physical body. But Joshua was explaining a literal change that has to take place in human life. That change is part of God’s purpose for mankind. Mankind has the opportunity to be born of spirit essence into the Family of God as an eternal living, spirit being.
John 4 records the account of a Samaritan woman who met Joshua at a well. He explained to her that she could drink from the water in that well, but she would become thirsty again. He then said he had living water to give, and if a person drank of it, they would never again thirst. She asked for that water so she would never have to return to the well daily to draw water for drinking. She didn’t understand that he wasn’t speaking of physical water, but of being able to “drink in” of the “spiritual water” of the Word of God.
Then, in John 6, Joshua spoke of some of the future symbolism for the observance of Passover, which Paul later explained in 1 Corinthians 11:23. Joshua told his disciples they would have to eat of his flesh and drink of his blood. In John 6:66 it is recorded that many of his disciples (not the twelve) quit following him after that because they abhorred what he had said. The Jewish people have always accepted the laws of clean and unclean foods. They knew that eating human flesh and drinking blood was a flagrant and obvious breaking of God’s law.
But Joshua was not speaking of a literal physical interpretation. He was beginning to lead his disciples to understanding what would later be given about the future observance of the Passover. In that future ceremony, drinking a small amount of wine would serve as a reminder of his spilled blood, and the eating of a piece of unleavened bread would symbolize his flesh—his physical life, sacrificed for the sins of mankind, as the Passover.
The Book of John continues with more stories that were interpreted on a physical plane but were intended to be interpreted spiritually. This is the same case as with the story of Joshua the Christ talking to his disciples concerning the stones of the temple being cast down. This was not intended for a physical interpretation, but a spiritual one. Although the physical temple was later destroyed by the Romans during the first Church era of Ephesus in 70 AD, Christ was not referring to that event. This prophecy was about the Church at a future time—the end-time.
The stones of the temple are spiritual. They are about God’s own Church.
“Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God [a spiritual temple], and you are being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Joshua the Christ himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building is being fitly framed together and growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for an habitation of God through the spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22).
Paul explained here that those whom God has called into His Church are described as being part of a spiritual temple—a holy temple in the Lord. The apostle Peter explained this in a similar fashion.
“To whom coming, as unto a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, you also as lively stones are being built up as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Joshua the Christ” (1 Peter 2:4-5).
Members of the Church of God are being described as being like “living stones” (spiritual) that are being built into a spiritual house. That spiritual house is the temple of God.
In this Olivet prophecy, as Christ explained that the stones of the temple would be cast down, he was speaking of a future time for the Church. He was speaking similarly when he told the Jews, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” On that occasion, he was speaking of himself, and he was foretelling his death and resurrection that would follow after being dead and in the tomb for three days and three nights.
After Christ told the disciples that there would not be one stone left upon the other in the temple, they then wanted to know more about what he was telling them.
“As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when shall these things be and what shall the sign of your coming be, and of the end of the world [Gk.—age]?’” (Matthew 24:3).
Do you see the context of this prophecy? It not only involves the Church but here it makes clear the timing for when these things would occur. The disciples asked Joshua about the timing of events surrounding the stones of the temple being cast down. By their very question, it is clear that they knew he was speaking of the time for his coming (in his Kingdom) and the end of the age. This prophecy is about those things that would happen to the Church at the end-time, just prior to the return of Joshua the Christ to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
As future accounts reveal, the disciples wanted to know when the Kingdom of God would become established, but they had no idea it would not be in their lifetime. Instead, they believed it would be soon. At this point, they still did not understand some of the things he had been telling them about the fact that he was going to be killed. This same account is worded a little differently in the Book of Mark.
“Tell us, when shall these things be and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?” (Mark 13:4).
Joshua was telling his disciples about the timing for when he would actually come as King of kings in the Kingdom of God, and the very sign that would lead up to that time. The sign He would give would involve the Church—events and signs that would occur in the Church of God—not signs that would occur in the world, even as the following verse should clearly show.
“This gospel [good news] of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).
In these accounts, Christ began to reveal more to them that would become fulfilled in God’s Church over time. Then he began to narrow in on the events that would lead directly into the end-time. It is here that he revealed a specific event. The fulfillment of this event was when the commission that God had given to His apostle, Herbert Armstrong, was completed. It was accomplished by the massive work he did in spreading the gospel through publications, radio, and television worldwide, and directly to world leaders. Indeed, the gospel of the kingdom was preached in all the world, and after that was completed, Christ said that “then the end would come.”
It was after Herbert Armstrong’s death that the last Church era called Laodicea then came on the scene. More is stated in the Olivet prophecy of the very sign of Christ’s coming and it came to pass just as he said it would. The disciples had asked what that sign of his coming would be, and he answered exactly what that was—when the end-time countdown would begin. After Christ stated that “then the end would come,” he went on to show what would reveal the beginning of those end-time events that would lead up to his second coming.
“Therefore, when you shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains” (Matthew 24:15-16).
Christ was revealing what would come to pass on a spiritual plane by giving the analogy of what had occurred before in the physical temple concerning an abomination with which they were all familiar. There was the event that was known as the “abomination of desolation” that occurred in 168 BC when Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the temple by erecting a statue of Zeus in the temple and having a pig offered before it upon the altar.
The account in Daniel had a dual prophetic fulfillment. The first fulfillment was a physical one in 168 BC, but Christ was explaining that there would be a spiritual fulfillment as well. That spiritual fulfillment would come about when an abomination of desolation would occur in God’s Church—in the spiritual temple.
This event would be so devastating to God’s own people (referred to here as Judea—about spiritual Judah—the Church) that they were warned to flee into the mountains. This will be explained more fully, but it is about a time in which the Church would be scattered. In prophecy, “mountains” are used to symbolize governments. It is about a time of scattering of God’s own Church when even the organized government of the Church (within the ministry) would itself become scattered.
There are many groups who look at these prophecies concerning the sign of Christ’s coming and they believe that this abomination of desolation will involve something that happens in Jerusalem in the temple mount area. Some believe that these verses can begin to become fulfilled if construction of a new temple becomes desecrated soon after, even if it is only with a few stones being delivered and erected in that location. Some believe that this could even become fulfilled if only an altar were to be placed in that location so that a pig could once again be offered upon it. Such ideas are ludicrous and too far-fetched to be considered realistic.
The Olivet prophecy is indeed the key to understanding that the first four Seals of Revelation are about God’s own Church and what would happen once a “spiritual” abomination of desolation would occur within the Church—the true spiritual temple of God. The fulfillment of these Seals is not about physical tribulation that would come upon the world, but of spiritual tribulation that would come upon God’s Church.
Indeed, God’s word reveals that great destruction would come upon two different Christianities in the end-time. As has been addressed, once it is time for WWIII to be brought to an end, the institutions of traditional Christianity that first became organized in 325 AD will begin to become completely destroyed.
In addition, God’s word reveals that His own Church would undergo massive destruction, which Christ foretold in the Olivet prophecies that would come to pass in the end-time, leading up to his coming to establish God’s Kingdom. Understanding the true meaning of what has become known as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which is about the events of the first four Seals of Revelation, reveals an actual timeline that is leading up to WWIII and Christ’s second coming.
The Church of God - Preparing for the Kingdom of God