The Coming Tribulation: A History of the Apocalypse
Part 4:
Revelation 11:15 - 15:8
by Dr. Robert D. Luginbill
I. The Seventh Trumpet (the Third Woe): Revelation 11:15-19
II. The Woman and the
Dragon: Revelation 12:1-6
III. War in Heaven:
Revelation 12:7-12
IV. The Dragon's
Persecution of Believing Israel: Revelation 12:13-17
V. The
Beast out of the Sea: Revelation 12:18 - 13:3
1. The Biblical
Symbolism of the Beast out of the Sea
2. The Kingdom of the
Beast
VI. The Beast's
Prophet and the Worldwide Anti-Christian Religion: Revelation 13:4-18
1. The Anti-Christian
Religion and its Worldwide Expansion: Revelation 13:4-10
2. The False Prophet:
Revelation 13:11-15
3. The Mark of the
Beast: Revelation 13:16-17
4. The Number of the
Beast: Revelation 13:18
VII. The Great
Persecution: Revelation 14:1 - 15:8
1. The Martyrdom of the
144,000: Revelation 14:1-5
2. The Three Angelic
Proclamations: Revelation 14:6-13
a. The Way
of Salvation Proclaimed: Revelation 14:6-7
b.
The Coming Judgment on Babylon Proclaimed: Revelation 14:8
c. The Need for Fortitude in Persecution Proclaimed: Revelation 14:9-13
3. The Harvest of the
Martyrs: Revelation 14:14-16
4. The Vintage of the
Persecutors: Revelation 14:17-20
5. The Vindication of
the Martyrs: Revelation 15:1-8
Introduction: Having examined the career of antichrist up until the
mid-point of the seven year tribulational period, we return to the book of
Revelation and resume our verse by verse treatment of the history of the
apocalypse. The establishment of the beast as the effective ruler of this
world under the guidance and support of his father the devil and his session in
God's temple in Jerusalem representing himself as God (2Thes.2:4) marks the end
of the Tribulation's first phase. With this "revelation" of antichrist, we
are brought to the threshold of the most terrible time in world history, the Great Tribulation.
And it shall be a time of distress such as has never occurred since people first existed on the earth until that time.
Daniel 12:1b
For at that time there will be a Great Tribulation such as has never occurred from the beginning of the world until now, and [such as] will never again occur thereafter.
Matthew 24:21 (cf. Mk.13:19)
The Great Tribulation will unquestionably be a devastating experience for
all the inhabitants of the earth, but it will fall especially hard upon
believers in Jesus Christ. For the principal and truly eponymous event
of that period, that is, the intense tribulation that will characterize
those three and a half years, will be the unprecedented persecution of the
Church and the martyrdom that accompanies that persecution. Key to the
solidification of his world kingdom will be the beast's pseudo-religion.
As was the case to a somewhat lesser degree in historical Rome, adherence to
the cult worship of the ruler will be the litmus test of loyalty to the
state. But while Roman emperors made use of this admittedly evil
device primarily for pragmatic reasons relating to the solidification of
their power, antichrist and his father the devil will also be intent upon
eradicating faith from the earth through the elimination of the faithful.
This has always been a central design of Satan's plans, for if all to whom
the promises of God have been made could be removed (either through death or
apostasy), then God's promises would have to fail. If there is no one
left for Christ to return to, then the devil wins. Such, at any rate,
runs Satan's twisted thinking. With the whole world under antichrist's
control, the forcible conversion of all of the inhabitants of the earth to
the beast's devil worshiping religion becomes not only theoretically
possible, but is also the perfect satanic final solution: all who
refuse to convert will be put to death so that, either way, faith will
perish from the earth. And such would be our fate, except for the
mercy, the goodness, and the power of our God, who is coming to rescue us
through the return of His Son our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
And they will say on that day, "Behold! This is our God! We waited in hope for Him to deliver us. This is our Lord. We waited in hope for Him. Let us rejoice and be glad in His deliverance!"
Isaiah 25:9
Strengthen the hands that are weak. Bolster the knees that are giving way. Say to those with anxious hearts, "Be strong! Don't be afraid! Behold! Your God will come, as an Avenger. [Your] God will come, as a Rewarder. He will come, and He will deliver you".
Isaiah 35:3-4
We must ever look forward to that ultimate deliverance. But we must
also remember that the Great Tribulation is aptly named, and that just as
many fell through apostasy during the Tribulation's first half, many will
fall in martyrdom during those final three and a half years. We must
remember, learn well the lessons the Bible has – not without good reason –
stored up for us in advance, and make every effort to prepare spiritually
for whatever may betide.
(15) Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, "The world Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ has [now] come, and He will rule forever and ever. Amen". (16) And the twenty-four elders were sitting in front of the throne, and they fell on their faces and worshiped God, (17) saying, "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and the One who was, even because you have taken up your great power and begun to reign! (18) Although the nations thronged together in their wrath, your wrath has come, even the time for the dead to be judged, for giving to your servants the prophets and to the holy ones, even to those who fear your Name both great and small, the reward [that is due them], and for destroying those who are destroying the earth!". (19) And the temple of God which is in heaven above opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there occurred flashes of lightning and thunderous voices and an earthquake, and large hail [fell].
Revelation 11:15-19
1. The Seventh Trumpet (Revelation 11:15a): With the sounding
of the seventh trumpet, the Great Tribulation begins. Seven is the
number of perfection and completion (cf. Ps.12:6; 119:164; Prov.6:16; 9:1),(1)
and as we saw in
part 3A of this series, while the first six trumpets announce and
commence warning judgments of ascending intensity and longevity during the
Tribulation's first half, the seventh trumpet opens the longest and most
intensive warning judgment of all, namely, the Great Tribulation itself.
For the Great Tribulation is the ultimate admonition to prepare to meet with
God, for He is coming at the end of that final three and a half years in the
Person of the conquering Messiah who will mete out vengeance to His
adversaries even as He brings deliverance to His people (cf. 2Thes.1:3-12).
That is why all of the other events and proclamations in this paragraph,
Revelation 11:15-19, directly connect the sounding of the seventh trumpet
and the Great Tribulation's commencement to that glorious future day.
For the Tribulation as a whole is, as we have seen, the opening twilight of
the Great Day of the Lord whose dawn will come in blazing glory with the
Second Advent of the Morning Star, the Messiah, our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, the true Light of the World (Num.24:17; Matt.2:2-10; 2Pet.1:19;
Rev.2:28; 22:16; cf. Jn.1:4-9; 3:19-21; 8:12; 9:5; 12:36; 12:46).(2)
2. The Proclamation of the Kingdom (Revelation 11:15b): The
traditional translation of this verse "the kingdom of this world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ", common to all the major versions
(with which the author is familiar) and popularized by Handel's "Messiah"
is, while possible, very unlikely from both a linguistic and a theological
perspective. Linguistically, the traditional translation depends upon
taking the genitive phrase "of our Lord and of His Christ" as the predicate
of the sentence, and, while this is not impossible, it is somewhat rare and
certainly uncharacteristic of John's writing. But in its particular
word order, directly after the first genitive phrase, "of this
world", deriving such a meaning would be suspect for most later Greek prose
and altogether incongruous with John's style. On the other hand, the
translation given above, "The world Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ
has [now] come", is entirely in keeping with John's Hebraic compilation of
genitives. The above translation is to be preferred on theological
grounds as well (although it may seem at first glance as if there is no
great difference of meanings between the two translations). For while
the imminent arrival of the Kingdom of heaven in the person of the Messiah
is a central theme of Revelation, that Kingdom's arrival cannot correctly be
understood as in any way an equivalent to the current kosmos
of evil. Satan's rule over planet earth has never been absolute or
uncontested, and to equate the two kingdoms in any way (as the traditional
translation of necessity does) is a mistake. Simply put, there is no
sense in which the devil's kingdom of evil could ever "become" the Kingdom
of the Messiah. Satan's kingdom is on the point of being entirely
replaced
by the Messiah's coming millennial Kingdom, not "morphed" into it in any way
or in any sense.(3) When the Kingdom of
heaven does arrive with the second advent of our Lord in glory, Satan's
kingdom will come to an end. It will not "become" anything except
extinct. What we have here is not a transfer of power but a complete
replacement of the old with the new heralded here through this
proclamation of the imminent arrival "in the flesh" of the Kingdom (now
spiritually operational) at the revelation of its King, our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, whose rule will endure forever and ever (exactly the same
point made in very similar language at Rev.12:10ff.).(4)
3. The Worship of the Angelic Elders (Revelation 11:16-18): The
seventh trumpet is the Great Tribulation, the final twilight
of the devil's rule soon to be dissolved by the brilliant light of the
Day-Star's dawning as our Lord returns and takes up His millennial rule in
Jerusalem. Each of the sections of Revelation chapter 11:15-19 speak
to this same central point, even as each adds additional details. The
proclamation of verse 15b puts into words the underlying meaning of the 7th
trumpet, namely, the imminent judgment upon the world, its evil, and present
evil ruler with the victorious return of the rightful King. At the end
of this final 42 month period, Christ will return to portion out judgment
upon the nations who have thronged together to oppose Him, and will wreak
vengeance upon all those who have persecuted His Church and oppressed His
people Israel. In the synoptic picture presented in the hymn of the 24
elders, therefore, we find the establishment of the Kingdom whose imminent
advent on the far side of the Great Tribulation the 7th trumpet
announces ("you have taken up your great power and begun to reign"), the
destruction of the nations at Armageddon at the second advent ("the nations
thronged together in their wrath, [but] your wrath has come"; cf. Ps.2:1-2),
and the culmination of all of history in the last judgment ("the time for
the dead to be judged"), with the rewarding of the resurrected Church in the
newly established millennial Kingdom receiving additional emphasis as an
encouragement for all who will endure the dark days of the Great Tribulation
immediately preceding that time ("for giving to your servants . . . . . the
reward [that is due them]"). Finally, the vengeance about to fall upon
all involved in committing, aiding, or abetting the Great Persecution comes
in for special mention. Christ's impending return will result in the
literal destruction of "those who are destroying the earth", a phrase with
primarily moral and spiritual implications, referring in particular to all
who have been responsible for the martyrdom of those who remain faithful to
Jesus (rather than referring exclusively to any physical or environmental
damage to planet earth proper; cf. in Rev.19:2, the whore Babylon "who was
destroying the earth by her excessive prostitution", that is, destroying it
in a moral and spiritual sense; cf. Is.14:18; Hab.2:17; Rev.6:7-8).
This includes Babylon, the beast, the devil, his angels, the nations and
those from the nations who participated in Satan's evil plan to eradicate
the faithful and the seed of Israel from the earth. So we see that
just as they did prior to the opening of the book with its seven seals
representing the beginning of the Tribulation proper (Rev.5:8-10; albeit in
this earlier instance they do so in company with the four living creatures),
here too the twenty-four elders are performing a special hymn of worship to
memorialize the importance of the 7th trumpet, the event which
marks the beginning of the Great Tribulation even as it heralds the imminent
arrival of the Kingdom and its King who will vindicate His own on the
dawning of the Great Day of the Lord.
4. The Appearance of the Ark (Revelation 11:19a):
As we have had occasion to see several times in the past, the earthly ark of
the covenant along with its "mercy seat", constructed under the supervision
of Moses, together symbolize God's throne which takes the form of a battle
chariot (Ezek.1:4-28; 10:9-22; cf. Ps.132:7).(5)
The earthly ark no longer exists (cf. Jer.3:16), but the appearance of a
heavenly ark here is highly significant. As the temple opens, the
rolling out of this war chariot of God symbolizes the imminence of the
Messiah's return to do battle on behalf of His people, meting out
retribution upon all the enemies of God. For, as we have seen before,
the ark is itself a picture of Jesus Christ (with the acacia wood covered in
gold representing His true humanity and resplendent deity respectively), so
that what we have here is a powerful symbol of the conquering Messiah poised
to return to earth at the head of His heavenly hosts for the vindication of
His saints and for the destruction of His foes. Therefore the message
behind the appearance of the ark is substantially the same as that of the
sounding of the 7th
trumpet, of the heavenly proclamation of verse 15b, and of the hymn of the
twenty-four elders. For all of these events and symbols focus our
attention upon the coming judgments of Armageddon as our Lord returns in
glory to vanquish His enemies and in victory to establish His millennial
Kingdom on earth.
The fourfold emphasis upon this same essential point unquestionably means
that we are to take special note: the beginning of the Great
Tribulation (announced by this final trumpet blast), for all the horrific
suffering those three and a half years will entail, is in truth merely a
prelude to the end of the devil's control of planet earth and to the
beginning of the reign of the Son of God following His glorious and decisive
victory at the second advent. This is an extremely important point to
digest, especially for all those to whom it may fall to endure those dark
days. For the message is clear: the darkest period of human
history and the period of greatest Satanic persecution is, from God's
perspective, merely a brief overture that serves to usher in the end of the
reign of evil and darkness upon the earth and the beginning of the reign of
truth and light in the person of the Son of Man, the true Morning Star, our
blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
5. The Heavenly Signs (Revelation 11:19b): With the sounding of
the 7th
trumpet and the beginning of the Tribulation's final phase, the "Great
Tribulation", there will occur a series of signs of unmistakably divine
origin which serve to punctuate the significance of the opening of this
final phase of Satan's rule on earth and its impending replacement by the
millennial Kingdom of the Messiah. These signs are almost identical to
those which heralded the beginning of the Tribulation proper (as we saw in
our treatment of Revelation 8:5) as well as to those which will signal the
imminence of Christ's return on the eve of the battle of Armageddon
(Rev.16:18). But while each of these three sets of heavenly signs
includes thunder and lightning and a worldwide earthquake, there is an
intensification factor as the end approaches. Here, on the threshold
of the Great Tribulation proper, we see the addition of a worldwide
hailstorm of powerful effect (Rev.11:19). Prior to Armageddon, the
earthquake which occurs as part of the seventh bowl judgment will be of
previously unprecedented magnitude, while the hail will become even more
massive in its size and devastating in its effects (Rev.16:18-21). The
thunder, lightning, earthquake and hail which here signal the arrival of the
Great Tribulation will serve notice worldwide to everyone on earth – both
for those who care to take warning and for the majority of humanity
remaining under the sway of the beast who do not – that the terrible time of
testing has now arrived.
6. The
Character of the Great
Tribulation: It should be safe to assume that anyone reading
this series will understand both from its prior installments and from their
own previous Bible study that the second half of the final seven years
before our Lord's return, the "Great Tribulation" as our Lord Himself calls
it, will be a period of suffering and disaster unprecedented in all of prior
human history (Matthew 24:21; Mk.13:19; cf. Dan.12:1).
The vastly increased level of worldwide trouble and tribulation that serves
to qualify this period as the "Great Tribulation" is perspicuous from a
comparison of the competing trends which we have previously studied from the
Tribulation's first half with those of the Great Tribulation (to be
covered in our study below):
The primary differences between the Tribulation's first and second halves from a thematic point of view should become readily evident by comparing the two charts above. From the earthly perspective, while the first three and a half years – terrible as they will be – will be consumed by the prologue to the devil's plans, the final phase of the Tribulation, the "Great Tribulation", will see the fulfillment of the earthly rule of his antichrist, and the logical extension of his ultimate purpose, namely, his brazen attempt to destroy faith and the faithful from off of the earth. From the divine side of things as well the Great Tribulation will be an intensified phase inasmuch as judgments of wrath must of necessity be more severe than judgments of warning. And while it will be painful for true believers in Jesus Christ to experience the severe ostracism of their former fellow believers who fall into antichrist's trap during the Great Apostasy, the persecution and martyrdom of the Great Persecution during the Tribulation's final phase will be, beyond all argument, even more difficult to bear and endure.
The second thing to notice about the trends of the Great Tribulation is that all four revolve around the one, central theme of those final years, namely, the Great Persecution of the Church. Satan's primary purpose in installing antichrist and promoting his worldwide rule is precisely the elimination of the remnant of faith on earth, for thereby he vainly hopes to frustrate God's promises to believing humanity and so prove Him a liar (thus "winning" the conflict which now dominates human and angelic affairs, the rebellion which occasioned the creation of mankind in the first place). The massive martyrdom which this persecution will produce and the subsequent divine wrath that it will bring down upon the unbelieving world are likewise results of this one central plank in the devil's planning as carried out by his antichrist, that is, the unleashing of a monstrous and worldwide persecution of believers designed to eradicate from the earth all who stay loyal to Jesus Christ come what may. It is important for believers to note, however, that although this will be a period of extreme testing, it cannot begin until God Himself gives the signal (i.e., the 7th trumpet), and, as it is with everything else that has ever happened in human history, even this most terrible of times is designed to accomplish the will of God (cf. Is.45:4; 46:11 Ezek.38:4). We believers, all who may be called upon to endure those dark days, must never forget that even such trials as the Great Tribulation serve to demonstrate God's grace to us in testing, just as they offer us an opportunity to demonstrate our faith in Him and our unshakeable love for His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And the greatest opportunity to do so will come during the persecution and martyrdom of the Great Persecution where faith and truth will find themselves more directly opposed by satanic forces than ever before in human history.
But these [believers] have defeated [the devil] through the blood of the Lamb and the Word of their testimony. For they did not love their lives, [even] to the point of death.
Revelation 12:11
During the Great Tribulation, the essence of evil will be laid
completely bare with all the artifice of the first three and a half
years stripped away in the intensity of the crucible of the Great
Persecution. But, especially if we find ourselves involved in
these events, we must not lose sight of the fact that this final fury of
the devil will remain entirely subject to the power and grace of God, as
He works His will in judgment, replacement, and restoration, culminating
in the return of our King Jesus Christ. Marana Tha! O our
Lord, return [we pray]! (1Cor.16:22).
The Woman in the passage above symbolizes Israel, and these verses trace her
history in synoptic form in a breathtakingly beautiful way from the
patriarchs to the earliest days of the Great Tribulation, the period now
under study. As the origin of both the written and the living Word of
God, the Woman is clothed with the sun, the symbol of day and of light,
while the moon, which rules the night and the darkness (the time and the
realm of evil and evil one: Lk.22:53; 1Thes.5:4-10), lies in submission at
her feet. The twelve stars in the crown on her head symbolize the
twelve sons of Israel and the eponymous tribes which spring from them
(Gen.37:9; cf. Gen.15:5; 22:17; 26:4). But by far Israel's most
significant and glorious offspring is the Messiah Himself, our Savior Jesus
Christ, whose human lineage is traced through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
(Rom.9:5; cf. Rom.9:7). Jesus is the Seed of the woman (Gen.3:15), the
true Seed of Abraham (Gal.3:16), and the Son of David destined to rule all
the nations with an iron scepter (Ps.2; Rom.1:3; cf. Is.4:2; 11:1; 53:2;
Jer.23:5; 33:15; Zech.3:8; 6:12). Thus the Messiah, the true Christ,
is the Son of the Woman Israel, and all of the pangs, the
pains, and the purpose of this archetypical Woman's history are focused
upon, concentrated upon, and culminate in the birth of the archetypical Son,
Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Son of Man, the One through whom alone
salvation comes (Gen.3:16; Mic.5:3-5; cf. 1Tim.2:15).
Directly opposed to the impending birth of the Messiah, the God-Man Jesus Christ, we next see another sign in the sky representing the chief fallen angel, Satan, depicted here symbolically as a great red dragon (Greek drakon, δράκων). The term "dragon" in the original Greek refers to a serpent (cf. Gen.3:1-15), albeit one of exceptional size, and the addition of the adjectives "great" and "red" bring home the monstrous nature of the sight.(6) This particular dragon, moreover, has seven heads and ten crowns, and thus symbolically reflects the devil's world rule which the Messiah is destined to replace, with the seven heads and ten crowns specifically representing the revived empire of Rome which will be Satan's (and antichrist's) final stepping stone to the long sought after goal of total world domination which will finally be achieved during the Great Tribulation just heralded by the 7th trumpet (cf. Rev.13:1; 17:3-9).(7) As in the case of the Woman, the description given here of the dragon's actions is synoptic of the devil's history, beginning with Satan's original rebellion and his seduction of a third of the angels, the stars of heaven (and anticipating the one third of believers who will fall away from God to follow the beast during the Great Apostasy),(8) moving then immediately to his most direct opposition to God in his attempt to destroy the Messiah who embodies the plan of God in every way (cf. Matt.2:1-15; 4:1-11; Lk.22:3; Jn.13:27). Following the failure of his attempt to thwart the plan of God by destroying the Messiah and after our Lord's subsequent ascension to heaven (where He waits at the Father's right hand until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet at His glorious return at the end of this final period of Great Tribulation: Ps.110:1; Eph.1:20-23; Heb.10:12-13; cf. 1Cor.15:25), the dragon will concentrate his efforts on attempting to destroy the Woman and all of her spiritual offspring "who obey God's commandments and hold fast to the testimony of Jesus" (Rev.12:17).
What we have here in synoptic form, therefore, are the key developments in God's plan for victory over Satan and his rebellion set against the backdrop of the devil's efforts to oppose and frustrate that plan. By taking us from Satan's prehistoric seduction of the fallen angels to his opposition to the first advent of the Messiah to the devil's final attempt to destroy all who remain faithful to Him, we have been brought by these verses full circle to the point where the Great Tribulation and the Great Persecution which it embodies begin. These verses thus serve as a prologue and an introduction to the events of the Great Tribulation (i.e., everything that happens after the mid-point of the seven years has been reached following the sounding of the 7th trumpet which announces the final phase of God's pre-millennial plan), and especially to the event which in spiritual terms dominates those final years, the Great Persecution.
(7) And war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon and the dragon and his angels fought [back], (8) but they did not prevail against him, and they could no longer find any place [of refuge] in heaven. (9) And [so] the great dragon, the ancient serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, was thrown down; even he who deceives the entire world was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (10) And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,
"Now our God's deliverance and might and kingdom have come, even the power of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, the one who accuses them day and night in front of our God, has been thrown down. (11) But these [believers] have defeated [the devil] through the blood of the Lamb and the Word of their testimony. For they did not love their lives, [even] to the point of death. (12) Because of this, rejoice, O heavens and those residing in them! [But] woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you, having [great] anger, because he knows that he has [only] a short time [remaining]."
Revelation 12:7-12
Antichrist, the visible prime-mover of earthly events during the Tribulation, is not even mentioned in the verses above, nor anywhere else in chapter twelve. Instead, it is the dragon, Satan, who is clearly seen as the opponent of the plan and people of God historically and specifically during the Great Tribulation. Just as the allegory of the woman and the dragon served to concentrate our attention on the true albeit invisible nature of the conflict that dominates all human events, so here we are given to see at the very outset of the Great Tribulation that angelic events are at the heart of everything which will transpire during those horrific three and a half years. For Satan's ejection from heaven along with his followers will be a crucial turning point in the history of his rebellion against God. From that point forward, the dynamics of the conflict will change so radically and fundamentally that no other period in human history will be comparable. That is in no small part why, from the divine point of view, the Great Tribulation is largely inseparable from "the Day of the Lord" which brings it to a close at our Lord's return. For once Satan has devoted all of his resources to this final furious assault upon the people of God, God's wrath, God's judgment, and God's deliverance cannot be long delayed.
War in heaven: The fight described here between Michael and Satan
and their respective forces, resulting in the expulsion from heaven of Satan
and his angels, is the first event of the Great Tribulation proper.(9)
The way in which the outbreak of the "war" is described in this verse
indicates that "Michael and his angels" are the initiators of this attack,
and we may be certain that they commence these hostilities on divine
authority. It may seem strange to some that up until this point in
human history God has allowed the devil to present himself in the heavenly
assembly and to continue to bring accusations against the elect
(1Ki.22:19-22; 2:1; Job 1:6-19; 2:1-7; 15:8; 38:7; Ps.29:1ff.; 89:5-7;
Jer.23:18 & 22; Zech.3:1; 1Pet.5:8; Rev.12:10). Clearly, God has
always had the power to cast the devil out of heaven, whether by immediate
means or, as here, through the agency of his elect angels. But
everything which has yet transpired in heaven and on earth has all been
according to the ineluctable plan of God "whose judgments are unsearchable
and whose ways are beyond finding out" (Rom.11:33). God's plan to
repair the breach in the moral fabric of the universe rent by creature
rebellion has always involved the allowance of true creature free will on
the one hand together with an irrefutable demonstration of the justness and
rightness of God and His perfectly holy, good and loving character on the
other. In all of the time and opportunity given to Satan and in all of
the devil's assaults upon the righteous throughout time, God's will has ever
triumphed, and all of the evil done by creatures, human and angelic alike,
has only served to demonstrate the quality of the faith of those who have
chosen for God together with the faithfulness and mercy of the One in whom
they have put their faith. The process of judgment, restoration and
replacement has been proceeding apace throughout human history,(10)
but with the sounding of the 7th trumpet, the final warning which
marks the true "beginning of the end" (cf. Rev.12:10), we enter a new phase
of God's plan, the second phase to be precise, wherein God will judge
the devil's kingdom on earth, restore the earth to an
environment of blessing (i.e., the Millennium), and replace
the present de facto ruler of this world with His own Anointed One, the true
Messiah, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.(11)
Thus the period of Great Tribulation which starts immediately following the sounding of the 7th trumpet and at the same time as Satan's expulsion from heaven is in essence theologically indistinguishable from the Day of the Lord which follows hard upon its heels. For this is the beginning of the judgment that is answered by restoration and replacement through Christ's millennial kingdom and reign. In the casting down of Satan and his angels we see the process of judgment beginning, immediately after the concluding sign of warning, the 7th trumpet, has been given.(12) All of the trends of the Great Tribulation which follow are either part of the process of judgment (i.e., the seven bowl judgments of wrath and the remaining sequence of seven major judgments on Babylon, at Armageddon, and etc.) or provocations thereto (i.e., the blasphemous rule of antichrist and the Great Persecution), and are essentially inextricable from the blessed restoration and replacement that is to follow immediately when the powerful and cleansing wind of judgment has swept away all that is fetid and foul and ushered in the crisp and bright new day of righteousness in the Messiah's kingdom of a thousand years.
The last three and a half years of Satan's reign thus constitute the final darkness before the dawn when the Morning Star rises and bathes the earth in the glorious light of His presence and His truth. What we have here in verses seven through twelve is the first step in this process of judgment, restoration and replacement in the exclusion of Satan and his fallen angels from heaven and their consignment to the earth for this last, terrible period of human testing and suffering.
It is surely in no small part the devil's restriction to planet earth for
the remainder of the time allotted to him that makes the Great Tribulation
so horrific, a time like no other in the history of the human race
(Dan.12:1; Matt.24:21-22). No longer will Satan split his time between
heaven and earth, accusing our brothers and sisters before the Lord even as
his minions assault us on earth. From this point forward, all of the
devil's efforts will be focused upon the earth – if only because this is
where he and his will have been confined until the Great Day of the Lord
sweeps them away. So while a number of factors contribute to the
"greatness" of the Great Tribulation such as the removal of Holy Spirit
restraint and the subsequent unleashing of lawlessness, and such as the one
world rule of antichrist and the subsequent breakdown of all human
restraint, the confinement of Satan and his minions to the earth is,
nevertheless, not the least of the reasons why the Great Tribulation will be
so consummately horrific.(13)
But] woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you, having [great] anger, because he knows that he has [only] a short time [remaining]!"
Revelation 12:12
Michael's victory and the devil's expulsion is nonetheless cause for great
rejoicing as well (Rev.12:12a), for it marks a tangible beginning of the end
of the reign of evil and the devil's reign of terror, made possible through
the victory of Jesus Christ on the cross and now entering into the phase of
final glorious fulfillment.
[For by means of the cross, God] has stripped [demon] rulers and authorities [of their power] and subjected them to public humiliation, having triumphed over them in [Christ].
Colossians 2:15 (cf. Rom.16:20; Heb.2:14; 1Jn.3:8b)
Satan's casting out of heaven is a first visible step in the eventual
exclusion of all evil from the coming eternal kingdom wherein righteousness
dwells, and one which is well documented elsewhere in prophetic scripture at
that:
(12) How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, O son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, O you who laid the nations low. (13) For you said in your heart, 'I will ascend heavenward. I will set my throne above the stars of God. And I will take my seat on the mount of assembly on the sides of the north. (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High God'. (15) But indeed you will be brought down to Sheol, to the sides of the pit.
Isaiah 14:12-15In all your ways you were perfect from the day of your creation until unrighteousness was found in you. In your extensive conspiring, you were filled with wickedness, and you sinned. So I cast you from the mountain of God as one profaned, and I blotted out [your memory] from among the stones of fire, O covering cherub. Your heart became haughty because of your beauty, [and so] you destroyed your wisdom on account of your splendor. So I cast you to the earth, and I made a spectacle of you before kings.
Ezekiel 28:15-17The seventy-two returned and said with joy, "Lord, even the demons obey us in your Name!" And Jesus said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like a star".
Luke 10:17-18
Michael: A brief aside is perhaps
necessary at this point concerning Michael and his angels and the battle
fought with Satan and his angels. While scripture does have much to
say about the angelic realm, it says less than we may perhaps desire to know
and yet everything we need to know.(14)
Lacking physically material bodies such as we possess, angels apparently
cannot be wounded or killed (though they may be incarcerated). So the
exact nature and detail of the combat that will transpire when the 7th
trumpet sounds is beyond our ability to know. We are given only the
result, that is, the total defeat of the devil and his forces and their
complete exclusion from the heavenly realm. We have posited before
that the ultimate tally of saved humanity will eventually equal twice that
of the fallen angels (the first half constituting the Church, and the second
the echelon of millennial believers).(15)
Therefore such massive numbers and the completeness of the victory and
defeat certainly indicate that the struggle will be a monumental one,
especially given the extraordinary power of angelic kind. Furthermore,
the significance of the expulsion of the fallen angels from heaven, an
"estate" which they have held since before the re-creation of the heavens
and the earth and the creation of mankind, is immense. This event will
be real, and the mere fact that we are unable to see it and can barely
imagine its specifics in no way diminishes that significance. For the
world of angels, the change will be profound for both victors and
vanquished, and will also of course not be without serious consequence for
the earth and for humanity.
One thing that we can surmise about this decisive battle between elect and fallen angels is that, while the numbers involved will be immense, not all of angelic kind will participate. Michael, by rank an archangel, is one of a college of seven such "general officers".(16) Positing an equal share of the total elect "host" under the command of each officer would leave Michael in charge of a force less than one third the size of Satan's entire command (i.e., one seventh of two thirds versus a full third for the devil). Although a large number of demons will certainly be involved in earthly activities, the same will be true at least to some degree of Michael's forces as well (cf. Dan.12:1). What all this means is that instead of the elect angels fighting an easy battle with overwhelming numbers on their side, Michael's victory will require extraordinary strategy and tactics, and exceptional courage and bravery. Even though this victory has been prophesied for nearly two millennia here at Revelation 12:7-9, the brazenness of the attack with such inferior numbers and the astounding nature of the defeat still seems to come as a surprise to the devil and his cohorts, and this humiliation will be no small contributing factor to the "wrath" Satan will subsequently vent upon the world in the short time remaining to him (Rev.12:12b). Although we are not privy to the details, a clear principle does emerge from Michael's most impressive victory. Armed with this prophecy, Michael and his forces are even now using the time allotted to prepare for the unequal fight to come, and will as a direct result of this diligence be astoundingly successful in conquering a complacent foe who has clearly drawn false confidence from superior numbers. Finally in this regard it is very likely that Michael's forces are the elite of the elect warrior angels (we may think of them as the "Marines" or the "Rangers" among angelic kind). For as we have seen previously, the number of the elect angelic clans totals six, not seven.(17) It certainly fits the context and everything else we may discern about angelic organization, therefore, to posit that while each clan possesses an archangel (in addition to four elders; see the previous note), Michael holds a special command composed of elite warriors who have distinguished themselves in the fight against the rebellion thus far by their martial valor, courage, integrity, and zeal for the Lord (compare David's cadre of heroes marked out for special mention: 2Sam.23:8-39; 1Chron.11:10-37; cf. 1Sam.22:1-2). It certainly behooves us as loyal followers of Jesus Christ to remember that in the spiritual conflict in which we are engaged what we do for the Lord is not only of critical importance – it certainly does not go unnoticed now, nor will it be unrecognized on that great day to come. Let us therefore continue to encourage one another with the truth that, like David's mighty men and like Michael's elite, we too have a great opportunity to likewise write our names on the Lord's scroll of valor for exceptional conduct in the spiritual conflict in which we are engaged. And let us remember as well that, although the darkest of times may lie ahead, the battlefield of the Great Persecution will also offer those who fight upon it unprecedented opportunities for glorifying Jesus Christ and winning in the bargain an undying crown of glory (1Pet.5:4; cf. Rev.12:11).
The victorious proclamation: This heavenly proclamation to the
effect that God's "deliverance and might and kingdom" have now arrived on
the scene establishes what we have said above, namely, that in divine terms
the return and victory of the Messiah are at this point so close and so sure
as to be all but a present reality. From God's point of view,
attempting to distinguish between the rescue of believers from the devil's
final offensive, the demonstration of divine power at Christ's return which
accomplishes this deliverance, and the blessed Kingdom of the Messiah
established thereafter is both fruitless and pointless. Satan's
launching of the Great Persecution, beginning with Israel and then expanding
to the Church at large, guarantees the judgment and deliverance which
follows and cannot rightly be separated from them. All of these
aspects of victory spelled out in the proclamation of verse ten come from
God, and all three are summed up in one breath in the following phrase,
"even the power of His Christ". For Jesus will accomplish the
deliverance and set up the kingdom as the true Messiah operating in the
delegated power (Greek ἐξουσία, exousia) of God the Father Almighty.
We who now contemplate the inception of the Great Tribulation and all those
who will experience it have a right, indeed a need, to see the horrendous
events to come in this same heavenly light. For the very assaults of
the devil, taking his campaign to exterminate faith and the faithful from
the earth to never before seen levels of intensity, are thereby guaranteeing
the protection and personal deliverance of the people of God by God's own
Son through His omnipotent power into a blessed new day and a glorious new
kingdom ruled in perfect righteousness by our very own Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. So although we are tempted to fear the prospect and groan
under the weight of the actual experience, it is incumbent upon us to
remember that God's power is not to be compared to that of a mere creature,
no matter how great the power of devil and his forces and no
matter how
terrible and onerous the persecution he will launch at that time.
The accuser thrown down:
The Greek conjunction
hoti ("because", "for") here significantly links the victorious
proclamation of the first half of verse eleven with the casting down of the
"accuser" in the second half of the verse. That is to say, the
imminent coming of the kingdom is signaled by the casting out
of Satan – that is Jesus' point in Lk.10:17-18, coming right after the
mission of the 72 witnesses (just as the actual casting out occurs following
the ministry of the 144,000). As terrible as the consequences of the
devil's confinement to earth will be for its inhabitants, it is an
unmistakable sign that the wonders of the kingdom are not far off.
Further, we also see here an important change of dynamics in the ground
rules under which the devil has heretofore been allowed to prosecute his
rebellion against God. Up until this future time, Satan's slandering
of believers before the throne of God has been tolerated, and has apparently
been a very regular occurrence (cf. Job 1-2).(18)
After all, it is not for nothing that scripture calls him diabolos
(Greek διάβολος, "slanderer" or "accuser"; cf. Hebrew Satan,
שטן, "adversary [who accuses]").(19)
By virtue of his confinement to the earth, however, the devil will no longer
be able to bring slanderous accusations against believers before God (cf.
Jude 1:9), and this constitutes a highly significant turning point.
Now the entire course of the rebellion Satan undertook against God so long
ago has entered an entirely new (and final) phase. God's tolerance of
Satan's attempts to challenge human free will by attempting to influence His
treatment of errant believers is at an end, and we may extrapolate from this
the end of such tolerance in general terms as well. Since his
intrusion into the garden of Eden, the devil has been testing and twisting
the hearts of mankind. In His unfathomable wisdom, God has allowed
Satan to observe us, to try us, and to accuse us – yet not to destroy us –
all within the parameters of His all-wise and comprehensive plan. The
end of the devil's accusatory audience with God on the one hand and the
removal of much restraint from his attempt to destroy faith from the earth
on the other vividly give evidence of the coming termination of all such
operations at the end of these final three and a half years of the Great
Tribulation. The heavenly truce which has obtained since God's
judgment upon the universe in the wake of Satan's coup d'état
is now at an end. Hostilities have moved into their final phase with
the devil and his followers soon to be removed altogether from any part in
the affairs of mankind upon Christ's return, but determined in their attempt
to eradicate believing mankind from the earth in the meantime. It will
be helpful to recall at this point that the plan of God can be viewed as
working in three distinct phases (see
part 4 of
Satanic Rebellion). This three phase process, consisting of
Judgment, Restoration and Replacement, phases I, II, and III respectively,
is, essentially, God's plan for total victory over Satan
and his rebellion as described in strategic terms:
Phase I: Constitution: Lays the foundation for the eternal victory (the "much" phase).
Judgment I: The Genesis Gap judgment: judgment is
passed upon Satan and his angels while the devil's original
headquarters, the pre-historic earth, is devastated and the original
universe plunged into darkness.
Restoration I: Earth is restored to a habitable environment (the
Seven Days of Re-creation).
Replacement I: The creation of the first Adam begins the human race
(the source of eventual replacement for Satan and his angels). The gift of
the Last Adam, Jesus Christ, provides the grace necessary for the salvation of
the human race after the fall through the Messiah's work on the cross. The
Church is called out for replacement.
Phase II: Completion: Realizes eternal objectives with victory in time (the "more" phase).
Judgment II: the Tribulation (the Day of the Lord): God's
judgment upon the devil's kingdom and upon his earthly subjects.
Satan and his angels are expelled from heaven and later imprisoned.
Restoration II: the Millennium: earth is restored to an environment of
blessing.
Replacement II: Christ the King replaces Satan as the de facto ruler of the earth. The Church is resurrected in replacement of the devil's angels, one for one.
Phase III: Consummation: Crowns the victory with surpassing
eternal blessing (the "most" phase).
Judgment III: The Final Judgments: Satan and his
angels are removed to the lake of fire along with unbelieving
humanity (the Great White Throne judgment).
Restoration III: The New Heavens, New Earth and New Jerusalem
provide an unparalleled and eternal environment of perfect blessing.
Replacement III: The Advent of the Father: along with Christ, He will rule forever from earth. The Church is complemented by the double portion of millennial believers.
Thus with the commencement of the Great Tribulation we are likewise witnessing
the commencement of Phase II of the plan of God, the great "Day of the Lord",
which begins with the tribulational process of judgment upon Satan and his
angels, along with the beast and his human followers. In the casting down
of the devil we see the beginning of this process of judgment which will
terminate in the series of seven judgments associated with the second advent of
the Messiah (see
part 6 of this series).
This also has implications for the completion of the second echelon of the
resurrection, the initial replacement for the devil's fallen angels, namely, the
Church. The end of standard-type satanic testing tolerated and used by God
(replaced during the Great Tribulation by direct satanic opposition of the most
severe sort) demonstrates that the Church, the company of believers from Adam to
the second advent, has now been completed (and so testing of the standard sort
has now fulfilled its purpose). The missionary efforts of the 144,000
under the sponsorship of Moses and Elijah will also terminate with the onset of
the Great Tribulation so that those final three and a half years will not be a
time for evangelism and adding to the numbers of the true Church, but of
endurance and refining, as many of those who had formerly professed faith slip
away into apostasy, while many others who remain faithful until the end are
martyred for Jesus Christ.
There is no little irony in the fact that, while the devil in his own grand strategy has been driving towards the Tribulation and the installment of antichrist as ruler of the world as the capstone of his own plan, his complete and penultimate defeat (foreshadowed none too subtly in his expulsion from heaven) is nevertheless in a very real sense a result of the reaction that this violation of all divine ground rules inevitably provokes. Fathering antichrist, establishing for him a one-world rule, and attempting to eliminate Israel and all believers from the earth are clearly courses of action that God has never and will never allow to stand. The Great Tribulation, whose inception is thus marked by Satan's expulsion from heaven, marks in turn the start of the second phase of the plan of God wherein the perfect world rule of the perfect King will replace and be directly juxtaposed to the most horrendous rule of the most anti-God ruler in history, and the unparalleled horror of the latter compared with unparalleled blessing of the former will only serve to glorify God and His victory in Jesus Christ all the more.
The martyrs vindicated: In verse eleven we find the heavenly voice
continuing this beautiful hymn which foreshadows the Great Tribulation's major
trends. Beginning with the ultimate victory of God in the coming of His
Messianic Kingdom (verse 10a), and punctuating the victory with a chorus of
exaltation over the casting down of the adversary (verse 10b), the hymn now
turns its attention to the faithful on earth who will be tested by the devil's
redoubled efforts in the fires of the Great Persecution. We are told that
these courageous believers who have refused to fall in behind antichrist, and
who have not wilted under the many tribulational pressures so as to fall away in
the Great Apostasy, have defeated the devil (Greek nikao, νικάω).
That is, they have "won the victory" over him (the central idea in the Greek
root nik-; cf. Nike) "through the blood of the Lamb" (that is, they have
been justified by faith so that the devil's accusations have fallen on deaf ears
before the throne of divine justice). This victory is, then, the victory
of faith, maintaining one's belief in and faithfulness to Jesus Christ in spite
of all pressures and challenges to the contrary (cf. Rom.8:37; 12:21;
1Cor.15:57; 1Jn.2:13-14):
For everyone who has been born from God overcomes (nikao) the [devil's] world. And this is the victory that has overcome the [devil's] world: our faith [in Jesus Christ]! For who is the one who overcomes (nikao) the [devil's] world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
1st John 5:4-5
In the passage above we see clearly the victory of faith defined not only by our
continued belief in and allegiance to our Lord, Jesus Christ, but also by our
continued faithful defiance of the present lord of this corrupt world. The
tribulational believers in the context we are studying, Revelation 12:11, are
likewise said to gain their victory over "him", that is, the accuser, Satan, now
thrown down to the earth. During the Tribulation and especially during its
final three and a half years this reality of faith locked in a deadly struggle
with the devil and his dark forces will become all the more visible in practice
just as it now is in principle:
You are of God, children, and you have overcome (nikao) them (i.e., the precursors of antichrist; cf. vv.1-3). For greater is He who is in you (i.e., the Spirit) than he who is in the world (i.e., Satan represented by his antichrist-like false prophets now, and, ultimately, by antichrist himself).
1st John 4:4
The theme of victorious faith seen in our context of Revelation 12:11 is more
overtly prevalent in the Book of Revelation than any other place in scripture,
and with good reason. For there will never be a crucible of testing the
likes of which believers will have to endure during the Great Tribulation and
its concomitant Great Persecution (Dan.12:1; Matt.24:21; Mk.13:19). The
life of faith is a serious and difficult fight under the best of
circumstances, and the reality and importance of our "faith struggle" will be
all the more so as never before during the Great Tribulation. Victory
during the time of greatest satanic opposition will constitute the greatest
victory of all.
To the one who wins the victory, I will give to him [the right] to eat from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:7
The one who wins the victory shall not be hurt by the second death.
Revelation 2:11
To the one who wins the victory, I will give to him the hidden manna, and I will give to him a white stone, and on it will be written a new name which no one knows except the one who receives it.
Revelation 2:17
And to the one who wins the victory and gives heed to My works until the end, I will give to him authority over the nations.
Revelation 2:26
And I saw a sea of glass, glass [yet] mixed with fire, and those who were winning the victory out from [under] (i.e., suffering martyrdom rather than submit to) the beast and his image and out from [under] the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass with lyres of the Lord God.
Revelation 15:2
The one who wins the victory shall be heir to these things (i.e., the glories of the New Jerusalem), and I will be His God, and He shall be my son.
Revelation 21:7
The tribulational believers in our context are said to be victorious over "him", the accuser, by means of persistent faith manifest in faithfulness, specifically, "through [their faith in] the blood of the Lamb and [through] the Word of their testimony [faithfully preserved]". The means of victory as described here in Revelation 12:11 are thus twofold, representing respectively the object of faith, the Person and work of Jesus Christ, and the production of faith, their work of witness in the world, requiring in many cases during this most trying of times the sacrifice of their lives on the altar of truth as martyrs of the Lamb. For the final words of this hymn of victory, "they did not love their lives, [even] to the point of death", adumbrate the main challenge to faith during this time, namely, the Great Persecution, and make it abundantly clear that faith-victory during the Great Tribulation will absolutely require valuing one's relationship with Jesus Christ much more dearly than one's physical life. For many believers during those final three and a half years will be called upon to render the ultimate witness for our Lord, the loss of their lives through martyrdom, and all who live through that period will also have to live with the threat of being martyred at any time for what they believe (not to mention having to endure the daily abuses of the Great Persecution; see section VII below).
Joy and woe: The final section of this hymn which encapsulates the Great Tribulation as a whole is concerned with the extreme contrast between the new reality in heaven as a result of Satan's having been cast down and the new reality on earth. In the presence of God, all is joy and rejoicing as no longer will the adversary trouble the assembly of the righteous by his vile presence and slanderous accusations, and the fact that the devil has now been consigned to earth is a harbinger of the coming of the Kingdom of the Messiah. At this juncture, all in the heavenly realms will know that the time is short indeed, and will be looking forward in blessed anticipation of that glorious time which is shortly to arrive.
On earth, however, the situation is reversed. Satan too knows that his time is short now, and there is no longer any reason to husband any resource or respect any rule. In his wrath, the devil (along with all of his subordinates, likewise confined to earth along with him) will now spare no expense and forgo no effort in his attempt to make Israel and the faithful in Jesus Christ "pay" for his expulsion. So while heaven is aglow with the prospect of the second advent, earth will groan under the satanic assault of those days as never before in her history. The Great Tribulation will affect all who live upon the earth, but will fall heaviest upon the seed of Israel, whether saved or unsaved, and upon all who have chosen for Jesus Christ and are determined to stay faithful to Him no matter the cost.
(13) And when the dragon saw that he had been cast down to the earth, he gave chase to the woman who had born the male [child]. (14) And to the woman were given two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly into the desert to a place [prepared] for her where she is [going to be] sustained there away from the presence of the serpent for a time and times and half a time. (15) And the serpent spewed [forth] from his mouth after the woman water like a river in order to sweep her away. (16) And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon had spewed [forth] from his mouth. (17) And the dragon was enraged at the woman, and he went away to make war with the rest of her seed, [even] those who are keeping the commandments of God and maintaining their testimony to Jesus.
Revelation 12:13-17
Beginning in verse thirteen we find the first earthly event of the Great
Tribulation proper. Satan's first assault upon the people of God,
foreshadowed in the final stanzas of the heavenly hymn previously studied above
(Rev.12:11-12), is an all-out attack against the largest concentration of Jewish
believers on earth, specifically all who had responded to the ministry of Moses
and Elijah and the 144,00, and who now reside within the state of Israel.
As we have mentioned before, while scripture does not say so explicitly, yet it
is more than probable that the new remnant of faith present in Israel and
described as the object of the devil's wrath in chapter twelve has neither
arisen primarily from among the citizens of Israel proper nor does it constitute
a majority of them (Rom.9:27; cf. Is.10:21-22), but must instead have assembled
there from elsewhere in the world in response to the ministering of the 144,000
(just as they themselves were drawn to Jerusalem through the ministry of Moses
and Elijah as we have seen in
part 3A of this series).
Moreover, the verses above also indicate that this trend in migration of believers of Jewish ancestry to the present day Jewish state will be a uniquely Jewish phenomenon. Gentile believers in nations outside of Babylon will face persecution in their own countries following God's frustration of Satan's plan to eliminate this new Jewish remnant (cf. Rev.12:17, which marks the inception of the Great Persecution). From what we know about present day realities, it seems extraordinarily unlikely, given the apparent magnitude of the wave of Jewish immigration to Israel which will result during the Tribulation's first half, that the state of Israel, which has never been particularly welcoming of non-Jewish immigration (especially when the intended newcomers have been evangelical Christians), will allow any significant number of gentile believers who might desire to come and study at the feet of Moses and Elijah to do so. We who are gentiles should not lament this fact overly much. Each of us has his own gifts, his own mission field, and a particular effectiveness of ministry ordained, intended and empowered by God (1Cor.12:4-6). That we are to remain behind in our places, ministering and witnessing to our own countrymen, is clearly what God has in mind for us, even though (and especially since) in very many cases this will result in intensive persecution and even martyrdom.
Babylon constitutes a special case. As we have also mentioned before, there are indications from scripture that as the beast's original power-base, Babylon, will be somewhat of a safe-haven during this period of intense persecution, although the safety involved must be understood in relative terms (cf. Rev.18:8). For there will indeed be a call for all believers to "flee Babylon" in the days before her destruction (and we shall have more to say about this in part 5 of this series), a fact that in and of itself suggests a large number of believers are still residing within her borders and effectively surviving if not thriving up until that point.
Before beginning our detailed exegesis of this section of Revelation, it will be helpful to recap the series of events which will transpire just prior to the flight of the Jewish believers into the desert described here in chapter twelve. Prior to the blowing of the 7th trumpet and the commencement of the Great Tribulation proper we have seen . . .
Antichrist's complete and total victory in his second campaign
against the south (Dan.11:29-30a; 11:40-43).
The collapse of all remaining organized resistance to antichrist,
his armed forces, and his empire worldwide (Rev.13:3-4).
The plundering of the riches of Egypt, antichrist's final objective
at the end of the second campaign (Dan.11:43; cf. Ezek.29-32).
The failed assassination attempt against antichrist (Dan.11:30b).
Antichrist's subsequent return to Israel with a substantial
contingent of his armed forces (Dan.11:30c; Lk.21:20-24).
The breaking of the treaty with Israel by antichrist, and his war on
Moses and Elijah (Dan.9:27; 11:30c-31a; Rev.11:1-13).
The erecting of "the abomination which causes [spiritual]
desolation", and antichrist's session in the temple of God,
proclaiming himself to be God (Dan.11:31b; 12:11; Matt.24:15-16;
Mk.13:14; 2Thes.2:4).
The expansion as compulsory of his new worldwide religion whose
object of worship is himself and his father the devil (Rev.13; see
section VI.1 below, "The Anti-Christian Religion and its Worldwide
Expansion").
The dragon's reaction to his expulsion from heaven: It is at this point that the 7th trumpet sounds and Satan, along with all his angelic forces there residing, are cast out of heaven and confined to the earth for the duration of the Tribulation. Thus the dramatic steps listed above designed to finally implement his grand scheme for frustrating the plan of God by eliminating faith from the earth and establishing in its stead a visible and physical worldwide kingdom whose inhabitants universally worship him and his antichrist meets with an immediate and equally dramatic consequence: the termination of his access to heaven and the presence of God, which access Satan had continued to enjoy up until this point.(20) In all this we see clearly the plan of God in action and the devil's schemes in reaction. Just as Satan is on the point of carrying through his fondest desires, he is cast to the earth, no doubt in part because of the actions he has taken to bring those plans close to fruition (the spawning of antichrist, the establishment of a one-world rule, the setting up of the abomination of desolation in the temple court, and his session in the temple of God being the primary apparent violations of the ground rules under which he and his compatriots have heretofore been allowed to operate). And although the effects of the devil's intensified depredations on the earth create the greatest wave of apostasy in history and will soon result in the greatest outbreak of persecution of believers, in short order it will be revealed how even these most distressful events have only served to bring about the fulfillment of what God has had in mind all along. This will take place when the Messiah returns at the apex of the Tribulation's final battle to lay all of God's enemies low, to rescue the remnant of believers, to deliver the nation of Israel, and to establish His kingdom of light and justice, with Satan and his followers removed not only from heaven but from the earth as well for the duration of Christ's millennial rule.
Finally in this regard, although the dragon, Satan, is viewed here as the actor in the persecution of the woman which follows immediately upon the heels of his expulsion from heaven, the earthly agent for this persecution is not the devil but his antichrist. The consonance of action between the devil and his son can be seen in the similarity with which scripture describes the two. Comparing these verses with the immediately following opening verses of chapter 13, we see that both the dragon and the beast are "red", both have "seven heads" and both have "ten horns". We will discuss the various aspects of this symbolism in section V.1 below, but suffice it to say here that the complete agreement and seamlessness in planning and execution between the devil and antichrist respectively is effectively brought out by this deliberate similarity in symbolism.
The frustration felt by the devil at being expelled from heaven even as he is on the cusp of finally accomplishing his long planned designs on earth brings immediate retaliation in his driving out of the woman. The woman, as noted above, represents true Israel, and in our context here it is very important to understand that she represents believing Israel as opposed to the majority of the population of the nation Israel at that future time (and this believing remnant will most definitely be a minority: Rom.9:27; cf. Is.10:21-22; Joel 2:32; Rom.10:13). These are the converts of 144,000 witnesses and the ministry of Moses and Elijah. They are Jewish believers in Jesus Christ who have assembled from the nations in response to the unique evangelism of the Tribulation's first half (covered in parts 2B and 3A of this series). In that these believers, "the woman, Israel", are said to be driven out by the dragon, it should be noted that the devil's purpose is definitely not merely to evict them from the land of Israel. Were he able to do so, antichrist at the behest of his father the devil would have destroyed these Jewish believers at this point. Only the divine intervention mentioned in the following verses preserves them from that fate, a fate of martyrdom which will indeed befall many of their brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ around the world.
The wings of the
eagle: In keeping with the symbolism of the
allegory, the woman's deliverance is likewise expressed in metaphorical terms
with the "eagle's wings" representing miraculous divine provision for escape.(21)
The Lord's miraculous deliverance of Israel from Pharaoh, which event is typical
of this deliverance (with antichrist functioning as an anti-type of Pharaoh),
provides an identical use of this metaphor (Deut.32:11; cf. Is.40:31):
You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
Exodus 19:4
Just as the Lord miraculously delivered Israel from Pharaoh in the past,
sustaining her in the desert and bringing her safely into the land of promise,
so now the Lord will deliver believing Israel from the hand of antichrist,
sustaining her in the desert through the Great Tribulation until our Messiah
returns and establishes the millennial Kingdom in the land of promise. The
wings of the eagle vividly convey the idea of soaring majestically over the
trouble on earth below, and of swiftly departing from the danger at hand.
When the time comes, the Lord will bring about the woman's deliverance in a
manner so dramatic and miraculous that this passage in Revelation thus
deliberately compares it to the dramatic and miraculous Exodus of the sons of
Israel out of Egypt and out of the hands of Pharaoh.
1. Warning Signs: Deliverance will require unhesitating obedience. Scripture gives sufficient indications of the imminent arrival of this attempted persecution and leaves in no doubt the absolute necessity for swift and immediate flight just as soon as the conditions prophesied below by our Lord have been met. The first such sign is a great earthquake which, as we have seen, will occur immediately following the departure of Moses and Elijah to heaven (Rev.11:13). The upheaval following such an intense disaster will no doubt cause the initial departure of the believers to go unnoticed. The second sign, mentioned by our Lord Himself, will be equally unmistakable, namely, the erecting of the so-called "abomination of desolation", the statue of antichrist set up in the temple court:
(15) So when you see the abomination of desolation (which is spoken of through Daniel the prophet) standing in a holy place – let the reader understand – (16) then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (17) Let the one on top of his roof not go [back] down to pick up his things out of his house, (18) and let the one in the field not turn back to pick up his cloak. (19) And woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing in those days. (20) And [so] pray that your flight may not take place during a storm or on a Sabbath. (21) For at that time there will be a great tribulation such as has never occurred from the beginning of the world until now, and [such as] will never again occur thereafter.
Matthew 24:15-21 (cf. Lk.17:31-32)(14) But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not – let the reader understand – then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, (15) and let the one on top of his roof not go [back] down, neither let him enter [back] into his house to pick up anything out of it, (16) and let the one in the field not turn back to pick up his cloak. (17) And woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing in those days. (18) And [so] pray that it might not take place during a storm. (19) For those days will see a tribulation the like of which has never occurred from the beginning of God's creation of the world until now, and never will occur again.
Mark 13:14-19
Once the abominable idol of antichrist becomes visible in the temple court,
believers remaining inside the city must flee without delay. At that
point, the necessity for departing immediately and with deliberate speed will be
so urgent that even the briefest delay – only to retrieve one's coat or a few
essential items – may result in being caught in the beast's net. Further,
this emergency departure will be a "one day only" affair, for those involved are
told to pray that that day of flight might not be one of inclement weather
(which would hinder their movement) nor a Sabbath (where their movements would
be obvious). For all who have remained in the city up until this point,
strict obedience to our Lord's command to depart without any further hesitation
will be absolutely essential in order to avoid being swept up in the persecution
the dragon and his antichrist intend. Only swift response will ensure that
those believers who have stayed on in Jerusalem will be able to escape safely
into the desert now.
This absolute last chance for deliverance from the impending persecution is delivered from the perspective of those believing Jews who are still resident in Jerusalem at that time. Once antichrist has conquered the southern alliance, returned to Jerusalem, killed Moses and Elijah, and put a stop to the temple rites, he will erect the idolatrous statue of himself in the temple court, the so-called "abomination of desolation" (i.e., "the abomination which causes [spiritual as well as material] desolation"; see part 3B, section VIII.1), and this will be the signal for believers in Jerusalem of their final opportunity to leave the city safely. For the dragon's pursuit of the departing Jewish believers will follow immediately, and any who choose to remain or otherwise neglect our Lord's command to make haste will find themselves trapped.
Which of you will listen to this or pay close attention in time to come?
Isaiah 42:23 NIV
In addition to the passages in Matthew and Mark which address this issue from
the point of view of believers in Jerusalem, in the gospel of Luke our Lord also
gives an earlier warning sign, addressing it to believers residing outside of
Jerusalem:
(20) And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that her desolation is near. (21) Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and those who are in the middle of [Jerusalem] depart from her, and those who are in the countryside not enter into her. (22) For these are days of retribution in order that everything which has been written may be fulfilled. (23) Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing in those days! For there will be great distress on earth and [great] wrath against this people. (24) And they will fall by the mouth of the sword and will be taken captive into all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trodden [down] by the gentiles until the times of the gentiles have been fulfilled.
Luke 21:20-24
The armies mentioned above are the forces of antichrist returning from
plundering Egypt at the conclusion of the beast's victorious second campaign
against the south. It will be recalled that during this second campaign
for the first time significant contingents of antichrist's armies will swarm
through Israel in conjunction with his surprise naval assault to the rear of the
Mahdi's armies. This event is prophesied to be an unpleasant experience
for Israel as she will be treated roughly at that time, a sure indication of
things to come (Num.24:23-24). However it will not be until after the
defeat of the king of the south that antichrist's forces will return to the land
of Israel and "ring" Jerusalem. For during the prosecution of the second
campaign their movements will be focused upon defeating the Mahdi's armies.
It will only be after his defeat that antichrist will redeploy his forces
northward with the express intention of removing Moses and Elijah to enthrone
himself in the temple, a development which will require no small "war" in and of
itself as we have previously seen (Rev.11:7; cf.
Part 3A in loc., section V, "The War against Moses and Elijah"). Thus
between our Lord's words in Luke on the one hand and in Matthew and Mark on the
other we are given both the inception and the terminus of the period of warning
for believers to flee Israel proper for safety and refuge in the mountains and
desert, with antichrist's initial encircling of Jerusalem marking the beginning
of the period of flight and his erecting of the idolatrous image of himself in
the temple court marking its end. Before this time Moses and Elijah will
still be ministering so that such flight will be premature, but by the end of
this time those still remaining in Jerusalem and Israel will have missed their
opportunity for a retreat under divine protection to the safe haven where this
remnant of Jewish believers will ride out the remainder of the Tribulation,
protected from the wrath of the dragon and the beast and from the Great
Persecution they will subsequently launch.
The reason for the necessity of paying careful heed to our Lord's commands in
this respect is made clear enough in the verses above. We have shown
previously in this series how that the Tribulation, and especially the Great
Tribulation, is characterized by divine judgment (see the
synoptic chart in section I.6 above). In the second half of the
Tribulation, and especially in its latter days, these judgments will take the
form of exceptional divine wrath poured out upon the unbelieving world (the
"retribution" referred to in Lk.21:22 above). And while believers can
expect protection from the direct effects of these judgments, it is nonetheless
obviously true that life in the protected haven to which these fleeing believers
are about to be led will be far less onerous during those dark days than life in
Israel, the very focal point of the penultimate and ultimate divine judgments of
wrath, the battle of Armageddon and the second advent (Rev.16:12-21; cf.
Rev.6:12-17; 19:11-21). Secondly, and even more pertinent to this point,
is the fact that the Tribulation's second half will be, as we shall shortly see
in detail below, characterized by its defining event, the Great Persecution
(i.e., the "great wrath against this people" mentioned in Luke 21:23 above), and
those believers in Israel who at this time for whatever reason fail to flee
according to our Lord's command will, to one degree or another, be caught up in
the suffering produced through the attempt on the part of the dragon and the
beast to eradicate faith and the faithful from the earth.
This pressure and persecution upon believers residing in Israel, whether those
who failed to flee at the proper time or those who became believers as a result
of the beast's depredations as indicated and implied in the verses above, will
continue throughout the time of gentile control, that is, the 42 months of the
Great Tribulation which terminate with our Lord's return and victorious
eradication of the forces of antichrist at the battle of Armageddon (compare
Lk.21:24 with Rev.11:2).(22)
2. Divine Protection for the Flight: Once Jewish believers within Israel do heed the warnings to escape, all indications both from this passage, Revelation chapter 12, and from elsewhere in scripture suggest abundant divine provision for that flight. In the first place, after the beast's conquest of Moses and Elijah, we may safely assume that the devil and his son will make their first order of business the capture and destruction of genuine Christian leaders worldwide, beginning with those in the territory of Israel. Inasmuch as the general persecution of the Church follows antichrist's attempt to exterminate believing Jews residing in the land, and that it is only after the dragon is "enraged" by the frustration of his attempt in this regard that he turns his attention to "the rest of [the woman's] seed" (Rev.12:17), Christian leadership is the next logical target. And beyond question the most significant leaders in the world at that time next in rank behind Moses and Elijah will be the 144,000. Now while their teams of two are distributed throughout the world, we may posit a disproportionately large number in the land of Israel for reasons discussed previously (see part 2B of this series, section V, "The Sealing of the 144,000"). We know from Revelation 14:1-5 (in the context of all of chapter 14 whose subject is the Great Persecution and the antithetical fates of those who love and those who oppose the Lord) that the 144,000 constitute the first wave of martyrs. In this respect then, the 144,000 will serve to "cover" the escape of the rank and file believers in Israel at that time, refusing to hide or cower or run, and offering up a testimony to their persecutors as penetrating as that of Stephen prior to his martyrdom in Acts chapter 7 (cf. Matt.10:17-20; Lk.21:12-15).
Secondly, since, as we have already seen above, the parallel to the Exodus here in Revelation chapter 12 is being drawn by the Holy Spirit in such a deliberate and obvious way, we are right to conclude that the provision for these Jewish believers of this "second Exodus" out of the hands of this "second Pharaoh" will be equally miraculous and equally sufficient. It will be remembered that on that first occasion God provided absolutely everything the people needed, from strong and competent leadership, to specific divine guidance, to tangible material support, to powerful divine protection. For it will be recalled that the command to depart from Egypt on that first occasion came so abruptly that the people did not even have time to leaven their bread (the origin for the memorial of the unleavened bread at Passover: Deut.16:3; cf. Ex.12:11; 12:33-34), yet they suffered no ill-effects on account of their rapid departure. Now too we must understand that our Lord's command not to return home even for one's outer garment will not present any serious hardship. For those who obey with due speed and diligence, every material need will be met and provided. Just as the Lord provided Moses and Aaron to lead the people and a pillar of cloud and fire to guide them by day and night, so we may be confident that these exiles will not lack for whatever leadership and guidance they need to bring them to their safe haven out of the clutches of the beast (cf. Ps.77:20). And just as the shoes of those participating in that first Exodus did not wear out nor did their feet swell (Deut.8:4; Neh.9:21), we may be confident that whatever stretching of material means and strengthening of personal health may be necessary for a safe escape will be faithfully and miraculously provided by our Lord as a part of the "wings of the eagle" carrying these refugees out of harm's way. As those early refugees "plundered Egypt" through the divine favor our Lord poured out for them among their enemies (Ex.12:36; cf. Ex.3:21-23; 11:2-3), so we may expect a like measure of favor for these future believers to find grace in the eyes of all they encounter on their flight to safety (Is.21:13-15; cf. Is.48:20-21).
Thirdly, it is very clear both from our passage and from the obvious threat
posed by the victorious armies of antichrist against an unarmed civilian column
that these refugees would stand no chance whatsoever without a very large
measure of supernatural protection. Revelation 12:16 describes the earth
as giving aid to the woman by swallowing up the forces of antichrist sent in
pursuit of the retreating remnant, and in this we see a clear parallel to the
sea which "helped" retreating Israel during the first Exodus by covering over
Pharaoh and his hordes. Obviously, in both cases the Lord is the One who
is working supernatural deliverance for the children of Israel. In the
latter case to come, moreover, we actually have an indication of direct angelic
support as well against the unseen forces of Satan ranged against these
believers in their flight, for the role played by Michael and his victorious
angels in this safe retreat is specifically referenced in the book of Daniel:
At that time, Michael the great prince (i.e., archangel) will take his stand [in your defense], [even] he who stands [in defense] over the sons of your people. For [that time] (i.e., the Great Tribulation) shall be a time of distress such as has never occurred since people first existed [on the earth] until that time. But during that time your people will escape, [that is,] everyone who[se name] is found written in the book [of life] (i.e., present and future believers).
Daniel 12:1
Since the context here is the commencement of the Great Tribulation, we can see
from the correlation of these events that Michael's ejection of Satan from
heaven is followed up by his immediate protection of Israel (something that is
thus clearly taking place behind the scenes in Revelation 12:13ff.).
Following the defeat of the devil's army, Michael and his forces are thus
instrumental in preventing Satan from effectively spilling out his wrath upon
these Jewish believers as they make their way into the desert and safety.
3. The Place of Refuge: In Revelation 12:6, we were told that the
woman would find refuge "in the desert" and that there was a place "prepared by
God" for her there. This point is reiterated in greater detail at
Revelation 12:14 where we find that provision has been made for her in her
desert sanctuary sufficient to endure the entire time of the Great Tribulation.
This will be a fulfillment in part of several Old Testament prophecies.(23)
Thus says the Lord: "Those from among the people who are survivors from the sword will find favor in the desert [prior to] My coming to give Israel rest (i.e., at the Second Advent)."
Jeremiah 31:2
Therefore, behold, I am going to woo her (i.e., Israel). For I shall bring her into the desert and speak to her heart.
Hosea 2:14 (cf. the Exodus comparison in v.15)
Our Lord's command given in the synoptic gospels to flee "to the
mountains" (Matt.24:15; Mk.13:14; Lk.21:21), rather than being
contradictory, actually offers us some additional information about the
progress of the flight. In rough terms, the historical land of
Israel is split from north to south by the Jordan valley rift (the
'arabah as it is often called in scripture). To the east of
this wide valley one finds what is essentially an unbroken range of
mountains running all the way from Lebanon in the north to the gulf of
Aqaba in the south as the land rises out of the rift to the central
plateau beyond. Even in our Lord's day and before, this area and
the plateau beyond was predominately "desert" in both senses in which we
employ the word, namely, arid, inhospitable land which is at the same
time largely unpopulated. Thus "mountains" and "desert" are not
mutually exclusive terms, but we can glean from our Lords words when set
against the context of Revelation 12 and the related passages we are
considering here that the mountains on the far side of the Jordan valley
are to be the first objective of these fleeing believers.(24)
Once the initial safety of this remote area is gained, we can safely
assume that by various means, human, angelic, and divine, the refugees
will be gathered together and, under divinely provided leadership,
provision and protection, taken further into the desert sanctuary where
they will pass the darkest days of the Tribulation in complete security.
(40b) And [the beast] will invade the lands [of the southern alliance], and inundate [them] and sweep through [them], (41) and he will advance into the Beautiful land (i.e., Israel). Now many lands will fall before him, but these will escape from his control: Edom, and Moab, and the first [part of the territory] of the sons of Ammon (i.e., the southern half of historical Ammon contiguous to Edom and Moab).
Daniel 11:40b-41
This passage in Daniel shows that the northern limit of the flight will be
roughly parallel with Jerusalem (i.e., the northern part of biblical Ammon will
not be safe). This means that the corridor from Jerusalem to Jericho will
be the northernmost escape route, with many refugees undoubtedly opting for more
southerly routes, either traversing the Dead Sea or taking to the highways
heading south of Dead Sea through the Negev towards biblical Moab and Edom.
Once the remnant has made its way thus far, the "wings of the eagle", all the
unspecified divine provision necessary for their journey, will continue to carry
them southeastward into the desert to the specific place "prepared" for them by
God (Rev.12:6; 12:14).
(13) An oracle concerning Arabia: You caravans of the Dedanites, who camp in the thickets of Arabia, (14) bring water for the thirsty; you who live in Tema, bring food for the fugitives. (15) They flee from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the heat of battle.
Isaiah 21:13-15 NIV
Dedan and Tema are settlements located several hundred miles farther out into
the Arabian desert. Along with Dumah to the north (Is.21:11-12; cf.
Is.42:11), they constitute the extreme eastern boundary of Edom (see
Ezek.25:13). We can thus posit as a general area for the place of refuge a
parallelogram of at least some 20-30 thousand square miles in area, extending on
lines running roughly from the mountains opposite Jericho in the north and from
the central Negev in the south southeastward into the Arabian desert for a
distance of between 200 and 400 miles (and possibly farther). This is the
approximate location of the biblical Kedar (Is.42:11; cf. Is.21:13-17).
4. Divine Provision in the Desert: Just as during the Exodus the
Lord provided manna from the sky and water from the solid rock, so He will
miraculously provide for all the needs of these tribulational refugees.
(18) "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. (19) See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. (20) The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, (21) the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.
Isaiah 43:18-21 NIV
The context of comparison for the verses in Isaiah above is the Exodus (cf. Is.
43:16-17), but instead of 40 years in the desert, these believers will endure
only three and a half before being resurrected at the glorious return of their
Lord and ours. For while that earlier generation tested the Lord "ten
times" until He lost all patience with them (Num.14:22-23), these believers will
truly be "the salt of the earth", departing from trouble at His Word, and
abiding in the place prepared for them by Him in complete safety and perfect
divine provision through the Tribulation's darkest phase, kept safe "away from
the presence of the serpent" (i.e., the devil; Rev.12:14), and so kept safe from
the beast and all his forces until the time of trouble finally comes to an end
(cf. Is.40:3-4; compare also Elijah's years in hiding and our Lord's infancy in
Egypt).
Get out, My people. Go into your rooms and close your doors behind you. Hide yourselves for a little while until My indignation has run its course. For behold, the Lord is about to come forth from His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. And the earth will reveal the blood shed upon it, and conceal its slain no longer (i.e., the persecution of believers will be punished).
Isaiah 26:20-21 [cf. 2Pet.3:10b]
The earth's drinking up of the water: The symbolism used here for the destruction of the armies of antichrist assigned the task of hunting down the Jewish fugitives is both clear and, to a certain degree, paralleled elsewhere in scripture. At Daniel 9:26, for example, we also find this image of armies dispersing like the waters of a flood, albeit in that context the reference is to Armageddon (and cf. the same Hebrew word, sheteph, שטף, used in this same way also at Dan.11:26; cf. Dan.11:22; 11:40; Nah.1:8; Is.8:7-8; 28:15-22). In both instances, the flood waters are impressive and impetuous, but each time they dissipate into nothingness without having accomplished the task for which they are sent forth. A number of other biblical parallels suggest themselves, such as the earth swallowing up Korah and his rebellious adherents (Num.16:30), and "the stars fighting against" the forces of Sisera, a reference to divine intervention in the form of torrential rains which impeded the chariot force of the Canaanites (Judg.5:20-21). But again, the closest parallel is provided by the Exodus. In the retreat of the children of Israel into Sinai, the armies of Pharaoh were, of course, drowned by the Red Sea. Here, in our present context, the armies of antichrist will be "swallowed up" by the earth, but just as miraculously removed as a threat to the retreating children of Israel. Beyond the fact that "the earth helped the woman", we are not told of the precise manner in which these forces will meet their demise, but we can say that the context clearly indicates their complete destruction at the hands of the Lord. Under such circumstances, it is easy enough to see why Satan and the beast leave off pursuit at this point. In need of consolidation of their newly won worldwide empire, the loss of such a large contingent of picked troops fresh from the victory over Egypt and not easily replaced will certainly be one which they will not be eager to repeat immediately. It will not be until the battle of Armageddon that the devil and his antichrist duplicate this folly, and then on the grandest scale of all, mustering their entire strength to do battle with the returning Messiah (Ps.2).
The dragon's war on the rest of the woman's seed: This prophecy in Revelation 12:17 marks the beginning of the "Great Persecution", the defining feature of the Great Tribulation which we shall study in detail in section VII below. Enraged and frustrated in his attempt to destroy "the woman", that is, the believing remnant of the people of Israel, the dragon, that is Satan, will transfer his attentions to "the rest of her seed", specifically, "[even] those who are keeping the commandments of God and maintaining their testimony to Jesus". These are clearly all other believers in Jesus Christ throughout the world, for they both follow God's will for their sanctification (i.e., keeping His commandments), and also His will for their production (i.e., testifying to Jesus Christ), the twin hallmarks of those who have faith in and are faithful to our Lord. The devil's efforts in this regard are described in Revelation 12:17 as "making war" against believers in Jesus Christ, and there is no better short description of what the Great Persecution shall entail for those of us who may find ourselves the object of the devil's wrath in those difficult days. Viewed in traditional terms, this "war" will be entirely one-sided, for we believers will most certainly not be authorized to use active measures to oppose the beast in his attempt at his father's behest to destroy us. Our weapons will be faith and perseverance, and our objective the gaining of maximum glory for our Lord through our faithful endurance of all that comes our way, even to the point of death. This is an important principle to grasp, for we shall have to deal with extremes on both sides of this issue – calls to resist as well as calls to compromise – and we cannot afford to give in to either false approach. We must take comfort that whether through death and martyrdom or the timely return of our Lord, "all who are written in the book of life will be delivered" (Dan.12:1).
(18) And [the dragon] stood at the shore of the sea. (1) And I saw a beast rising from the sea, with ten horns and seven heads. And on the horns were ten crowns. And on its heads was a blasphemous name. (2) And the beast which I saw resembled a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth was like that of lions. And the dragon gave to him his power and his throne and great authority. (3) And one of the [beast's] heads [looked] as [if] it had been fatally smitten, yet its mortal wound had been healed. And the entire earth was in awe of the beast.
Revelation 12:18 -13:3
We have previously treated the verses above in respect to their application to the early career and character of the beast in our examination of antichrist in part 3B of this series. What concerns us here first is the wider biblical symbolism of this passage, coming as it does in the chronological sequence here at the outset of the Great Tribulation, and, second, the implications this passage has for antichrist's consolidation of power following his defeat of the southern alliance and his subsequent enthronement in the temple at Jerusalem.
The allegory of the woman Israel and her opponent, Satan the dragon, comes to a conclusion here with the summoning by the dragon of the beast from the sea. This event marks the shifting of the allegory, a device designed to compress the prior tribulational events for us in a symbolic way, back to a more strictly chronological treatment of the remaining three and a half years. For in the verses above we see for the first time in the text of Revelation the beast being introduced as an actor in the Tribulation's events. Immediately after this symbolic "summoning" by the devil, antichrist's actions form the focus of all the evil that unfolds upon the earth (in stark contrast to the heavenly actions and judgments which oppose him and will ultimately destroy him and his followers). Simply put, these verses serve to shift our attention now to the beast and to his worldwide rule whose conduct will be characterized by the most significant of all tribulational horrors, the Great Persecution, that event which singlehandedly marks out the Great Tribulation as "great" (in the sense of being horrible beyond expectation or prior human experience). For in the allegory, it is precisely because of his rage and frustration over his inability to destroy the woman that the dragon seeks to make war with the rest of her seed (Rev.12:17). It is therefore crystal clear that the dragon in his summoning of the beast has this objective of persecuting believers foremost in mind (a conclusion that is reaffirmed by the "war" soon undertaken against the saints at Revelation 13:7-10). Satan's number one purpose in establishing the one-world rule of antichrist is thus to eliminate faith and the faithful from the face of the earth. Finally, it says much about the blinding effects of arrogance that Satan, who was originally the highest ranking and perhaps most intelligent of God's creatures, should, after some 6,000 years of experiencing God's ability to frustrate such plans, still entertain the vain hope of destroying all of believing mankind.
The Beast Rising from the Sea: The fact that the beast is
summoned up from the sea by the dragon (representing Satan) shows
conclusively that the allegory of chapter twelve continues here, and
that what we have in this passage is a symbolic as opposed to a literal
description. Whatever one may personally feel about the oceans of
the world, it is undeniable that in terms of biblical symbolism the
picture we receive from scripture of the sea, which is generally equated
with death and the netherworld, is anything but positive (Gen.1:2; cf.
Job 26:5-6; Is.27:1; 51:9-10; Dan.7:2-3; Lk.8:31; 2Pet.2:4; Jude 6;
Rev.9:1-11; 17:8; 20:1-3; 21:1).(25)
For in the symbolism of the Bible, the sea, the Abyss, death, Sheol
and Hades are essentially synonymous (cf. Rev.17:8, where the beast
comes out of the Abyss). This rising of the beast from the sea is
therefore meant to convey a rising up from death, and, more
specifically, from a place symbolic of evil. This is true in a
twofold sense, applying equally both to the revived Roman empire of the
beast and to antichrist, the personal beast himself, each of which have
in their own separate ways been given a new lease on life, if only for a
very short while and if only for the perpetuation of the most horrendous
evil and devastation.
Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea."
Daniel 7:2-3 NIV
The final beast of the four described by Daniel in the verses immediately above
is, of course, Rome
(Dan.7:7), and not only historical Rome, but
also revived Rome under the rule of the "little horn", namely, antichrist (Dan.7:8).
Thus the image of the dragon summoning the beast serves to identify Satan as the
one responsible for the rule of antichrist, both in terms of the establishment
of a one-world empire of evil and in the empowerment of its emperor (cf.
Rev.13:2b). Inasmuch as heaven is the place of God and the earth is the
place where the conflict between God and the devil which explains so much of
human history is being fought out, the figure of the sea (or Abyss) as the
devil's and antichrist's symbolic realm is all the more perspicuous. And
even this symbolic realm will be put under the Messiah's feet when He returns
(cf. the angel coming down from heaven prefiguring the 2nd Advent who places one
foot on the sea as well as one on the earth: Rev.10:1-3). As the
symbolic realm of Satan and the place of every sort of diabolical monster (Job
3:8; 9:13; 26:12-13; 41:1-34; Ps.74:12-14; 87:4; 89:9-10; Is.27:1; 51:9-10; Amos
9:3), it should come as no surprise then that from the sea will arise the most
terrifying satanic beast in all of human history, antichrist.
The specific description of the beast in these verses, Revelation 13:1-3, has been sufficiently covered in our prior treatment of antichrist in the preceding installment of this series (part 3B: "Antichrist"). It must suffice here to recall the interpretation of the details given there in regard to this passage:
The sea: The sea suggests the beast's evil origin and
represents resuscitation from death of both the empire and its
emperor.
The seven heads: The seven heads primarily represent the seven
rulers of revived Rome allied with antichrist from the beginning of his rise.
In Revelation 17:9-11 we discover that they also have a secondary symbolic
meaning, for they also represent the original six emperors of Rome with
antichrist being the seventh emperor of revived Rome. In terms of the
primary application of the seven heads, antichrist is "the eighth" (Rev.17:11a;
i.e., he too is a "head", but a "head" in his own right and the primary "head"
at that); in terms of the secondary application of the seven heads,
antichrist is "one of the seven" (Rev.17:11b; i.e., he is the next
dominant emperor to arise after Nero, the sixth and last of the Julio-Claudians
falls from power in 69 A.D.).
The ten horns with crowns: The ten crowned horns represent the ten
kingdoms and their kings, three of whom support antichrist surreptitiously, and
only become part of his kingdom of revived Rome after the defeat of the southern
alliance in the middle of the Tribulation.
The (single) blasphemous name on the seven heads: As we saw in
part
3B, the "name of blasphemy" is the seven letter Greek word Χριστός (i.e.,
"Christ") written distributively on the seven heads, blasphemously and falsely
asserting antichrist's status as Messiah. Its presence on the seven heads
shows their full complicity in accepting and propagating the beast's false claim
to be "the Christ".
The resemblance to a leopard: Inasmuch as the leopard
is winged in Daniel 7:6, speed as well as treachery and ferocity are
indicated. After his victory over the south, the beast will
consolidate his one-world rule with exceptional rapidity and
merciless force in those few instances where resistance is met.
The four wings (in Daniel) likely represent the four quadrants of
Alexander's empire so that here, by extension, they can be seen to
apply to the four quarters of the world and antichrist's swift
ascension to worldwide domination.
The feet like those of a bear: The bear in Daniel 7:5 refers to the
Persian empire which possessed bear-like tearing power based upon its massive
mobilization potential, so that the reference to the bear's feet here represents
the immensity of the military power which the beast's empire will be able to
deploy.
The mouth like that of lions: The winged lion in Daniel 7:4 refers
to the lion-like "bite" of Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian empire, so that the
reference here to the mouth of lions (plural) is an apt description of the
formidable offensive capability available to the beast in the consolidation of
his worldwide rule.
The apparently fatal wound seemingly miraculously healed: This mortal wound on one of the beast's heads refers to the apparent revival of Rome as well as to the apparent return to life of antichrist. The fact that new Rome will in many important ways be different from historical Rome and that antichrist will only appear to return to life will not reduce the wonder of the world at these ostensible "miracles". The fact that the wound is found on one head only serves both to personalize the trauma to antichrist, as well as to show that at this point in the Tribulation the beast will be identified primarily with a single member of the original seven kingdoms of his revived Roman empire, namely, Israel, where his headquarters will be henceforth as he takes his seat in the temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Finally, in terms of the beast himself, the fact that the wound is "on the head" clearly foreshadows God's ultimate judgment upon him (Gen.3:15), indicating for all who remember and believe the Genesis 3:15 prophecy that this is not the Christ but antichrist.
Revelation 13:2 tells us that during the Great Tribulation, the devil will lend antichrist his "power, throne, and great authority" over the nations now under Satan's limited control as a result of Adam's fall (Lk.4:5-7; cf. Matt.4:9). At His return, the true Messiah, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, will rule the world for a thousand years in a Kingdom of blessedness, justice, and prosperity, a kingdom that will, in effect, never come to an end, since at the conclusion of the Millennium He will "hand up the Kingdom" to the Father as the New Jerusalem descends from heaven and the eternal state begins (1Cor.15:24-28; Rev.21:1ff.). By way of the sharpest possible contrast, the world rule of the beast will be characterized by the most severe accursedness, injustice, and privation in human history, and in very short order will be abruptly terminated by the return of the true Messiah. Thus antichrist accepts the offer which the devil made to Christ and which our Lord emphatically rejected (Matt.4:10; Lk.4:8), with the result being the clearest possible demonstration of the difference between a world ruled by the true Christ and one under the control of the false Messiah, the anti-Christ.
It is an open question whether the beast, ever of one mind with his father the
devil as far as we can tell, will at this point also be possessed by him.
Scripture does not say for certain, but it is clear enough that Satan, now
expelled from heaven and consigned to the earth, does at this point empower the
beast and his kingdom as never before, even going so far as to "give to him his
power and his throne and great authority" (Rev.13:2b), with the picture given by
scripture going forward emphasizing the complete unanimity of purpose between
the devil and his antichrist (cf. Rev.16:13-14). Furthermore, the
"summoning" of the beast out of the sea by the dragon seems to indicate a large
degree of control.(26) In any case, the
unbelieving world will certainly see no great distinction between the two,
worshiping antichrist as the Messiah and the devil as God (2Thes.2:4; Rev.13:4;
13:11-17; cf. Dan.11:38-39). The amazement and awe in which the beast will
be held by the world at large will in no small measure account for the rapidity
with which he will consolidate his rulership over the world following his
astounding defeat of the southern alliance. Whatever charisma and success
antichrist had before is now exponentially expanded as all resistance melts
away. For in the eyes of unbelievers everywhere, resistance to this
"divine" individual will seem folly, making antichrist's occupation of the
remaining kingdoms of the world child's play.
And he (i.e., the "little horn", antichrist) threw truth to the ground, and was successful in whatever he did.
Daniel 8:12b
And he (i.e., antichrist) will become exceptionally powerful – but not through his own power. And he will be astoundingly successful in his corrupting [activities].
Daniel 8:24a
For [during that period] the king [antichrist] will consult only his own desire, and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and against the God of gods he will speak astonishing things. He will have success until the [time of] indignation is complete, for [all this] has been firmly decreed to take place.
Daniel 11:36
And the entire earth was in awe of the beast. And they worshiped the dragon because he had given his authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? And who is able to make war with him?".
Revelation 13:3b-4
Scripture does not go into detail about the precise course of antichrist's
domination of the rest of the world following his defeat of the southern
alliance, but, as the verses above make clear, this domination will be complete.
To the extent that there is any further serious resistance to the establishment
of his worldwide kingdom, we can expect a ruthless implementation of the same
sort of techniques employed in his initial rise to power in Babylon and in
gaining control over revived Rome. As we have seen, much of what Daniel
chapters 8 and 11 have to say about this subject document antichrist's
deceptiveness and intrigue, and it takes no great leap of interpretation to see
in the descriptions given therein a continuation of the asymmetric warfare which
stood the beast in good stead in the past (i.e., a thorough integration of
terrorism, infiltration, fifth-column-ism, technological sabotage, cunning
double-dealing, surprise, unscrupulous methods, violation of agreements and
expectations, violations of all conventions of warfare, striking at the head –
neutralizing command structures, national and military, etc.).
Importantly, we should keep in mind that now
antichrist will be able to deploy a conventional military establishment whose
superiority vis-à-vis whatever remains of other military forces around the world
will be overwhelming to an unprecedented degree in the history of the world.
Furthermore, we may expect the international movement that had formed the basis
of the beast's success in his ascension to power over the seven kingdoms to have
been active throughout the period, and to have greatly multiplied around the
world as a result of the inevitable bandwagon effect that will surely follow his
complete victory over the south. And, after all, as a result of his
supposed "resurrection", the whole (unbelieving) world will worship him
(Rev.13:12; 13:16; 16:9; 16:11; cf. Rev.14:8; 17:18), so that even the "kings of
east" will obey the command to assemble for Armageddon (Rev.16:12-14).
Thus during the Great Tribulation the kingdom of the devil's messiah, the beast,
will form a near-perfect antithesis to the true Messiah's coming Kingdom by
which it is destined soon to be conquered and replaced in fulfillment of the
plan of God (cf. Rom.9:17).
Until that blessed day, life on earth during the Great Tribulation will be
monstrous. For believers, the Great Persecution, the subject of
section VII below, will
be the primary reason that the final three and a half years will be so utterly
terrible. However, the entire world population will, to one degree or
another, be forced to deal with the implementation of antichrist's diabolical
policies designed to consolidate his rule and impose his will on all human kind.
In
part 2B of this series, we saw how the first six seals of Revelation chapter
six indicate and predict the unique trends of the Tribulation, with the first
four originating in and dominating its first half, and with seals five and six
referring to the second three and a half year period, the Great Tribulation
(with the opening of the seventh seal representing the beginning of the
Tribulation overall). While as we have noted above the Lord's worldwide
judgments of wrath and divine displeasure cannot be underestimated in explaining
the horrific nature of these final three and a half years (cf. Is.24),
antichrist's world rule constitutes the satanic trend that parallels this divine
trend of judgment, accounting for a great deal of the intensified tribulation of
those days. In addition to his establishment of an extremely oppressive
and mandatory worldwide religion of devil worship and his institution of the
Great Persecution, the characteristics of the beast's worldwide rule can be
expected to parallel and intensify the four
seal-trends we saw at work during the Tribulation's
first half:
The Tribulation's First Half (four major trends):
1. White horse: Antichrist's Conquests: the trend of warfare and aggression.
2. Red horse: Civil Discord: the trend of lawlessness and political destabilization.
3. Black horse: Economic Constraint: the trend of economic dislocation and famine.
4. Pale-green horse: Accelerated Mortality: the trend of plague and rampant death.
The Great
Tribulation (two major events):
5. Martyrs: the Great Persecution (of believers by antichrist and his religion).
6. Judgments: the Second Advent (with its preliminary and concomitant judgments).
While scripture gives us no indication that the underlying dynamics behind the first four seal-trends will change in any significant way during the Great Tribulation, the fact that antichrist’s empire will control the entire world to one degree or another at this time does mean that these trends will most likely manifest themselves in a somewhat altered way after the beast's consolidation of power. With the establishment of the beast's worldwide kingdom, we can expect 1) the trend of conquest to give way to one of ruthless exploitation and consolidation; 2) the trend of civil discord to give way to one of forcible conformity; 3) the trend of economic restraint likewise to become a matter of policy and fiat as much as one of circumstance; 4) the trend to accelerated mortality to be less random and more a direct result of all of antichrist's repressive policies. What scripture there is that applies to this aspect of the Great Tribulation agrees with this assessment:
1. Political Exploitation and Consolidation (seal #1):
Although this passage deals primarily with revived Rome, it also suggests that
the method of unification attempted within the ten kingdoms will likewise be
attempted worldwide to a greater or lesser degree (no doubt with equally
questionable results). The reason for the failure is that the devil and
his antichrist, in spite of all the power they dispose of at this time, will
nonetheless be incapable of altering the human language patterns and our
inherent disposition to nationalism instilled by God Himself at the division of
the nations at Babel (Gen.11:1-9). Nevertheless, we should not
underestimate the pain and suffering that this attempt on the part of the devil
and the beast to create a new, politically homogenized one-world "Babel" will
cause. Furthermore, just as the rider on the white horse "went out
conquering and did conquer" (Rev.6:2 in the Greek), so we may
expect that antichrist will enjoy some measure of success in his initial
efforts, even if he is ultimately unsuccessful in the main.
2. Social Homogenization (seal #2):
And he (antichrist) will speak words against the Most High, and he will persecute the saints of the Most High God. And he will plot to change times and law. And they (i.e., believers, "the saints") will be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time (i.e., for the duration of the Great Tribulation).
Daniel 7:25
The second major tribulational trend, exemplified by the red horse, is "to take
away [social] peace" from the earth through the creation of civil discord.
Just as the first seal-trend sees a transformation from exterior conquest to
interior enforcement and domination, so this second trend will also undergo a
like transformation, with antichrist's efforts now switching from the incitement
of differences for the sake of creating political opportunities to an enforced
homogenization of the realms under his control. As we can see from the
juxtaposition of the elements in Daniel 7:25 above, a large portion of
antichrist's "changing of times and laws" will involve the forcible imposition
of his satanic religion upon the world resulting in the persecution of
believers. But the beast's essential goal of completely eradicating the
ingrained law of God at work in the human heart will not succeed despite all his
draconian methods and policies imposed from above. God's basic ground
rules limiting the devil's activities in human history have as an essential part
of their purpose the preservation of each individual's ability to choose for or
against God in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, the
extent to which the availability of the gospel of truth and the faithful
following of Jesus through that truth will be attacked by the devil and the
beast in the course of the Great Persecution will come closer to eradicating
this essential principle than ever before in human history. Isaiah
describes this development by prophesying that mankind will at this time "break
the everlasting covenant" (Is.24:5), a reference to the effective removal to a
significant and unprecedented degree of any ability to hear or receive the truth
of the gospel or grow in the Word (cf. 2Pet.2:21).
The only previous worldwide precedent is the situation which obtained when Nimrod organized a similarly exclusive universal religion during the building of the tower of Babel (Gen.11:1-9).(27) As in that historical parallel, so in the case of antichrist's religion and the Great Persecution it sponsors and spawns, God will not allow such things to continue forever or even to reach a point where faith is entirely wiped off the earth. This one fact alone should encourage the faithful who anticipate or experience these things. For an end will come to such evil, an end which the faithful will see with their own eyes if only they remain faithful to the end (Joel 2:30-32). It is also a certainty, given the perfect and gracious character of our God, that in no case will any individual who truly desires it be deprived of salvation or spiritual growth despite the severe restrictions upon believers actual and potential in those days – for nothing is impossible for our God (Gen.18:14; Job 42:2; Jer.32:17; Matt.19:26; Lk.1:37; 18:27).
The descriptions throughout Revelation of the bulk of humanity at that future time indicate as we have pointed out before that mankind during those fateful days will be more hardened and more negative to the truth of the Word than ever before in human history, meaning that Satan's progress will be as much a result as an original cause of the evil and apostasy that will obtain during the Great Tribulation. In part for this reason the changing of times and laws will go well beyond the religious persecution with which this characteristic of the last days is linked in Daniel 7:25 above. The phrase "times and law" refers to the alteration by antichrist of customary practices and legal statues respectively.(28) In his attempt to homogenize humanity, the beast will make every effort to neutralize both specifically statutory and more general norms of customary behavior (e.g., morality et al.). His purpose will be to cause every human being to break with the traditions of the past insofar as that can be achieved (in the same manner that cults strive to sever all of their victims' prior associations the better to control them and command their loyalty).(29) As in the French revolution, we may expect some of these changes to be only mildly wrenching and awkward in their implementation – like the decimal system which is workable in some arenas for all its many faults (e.g., many things are more normally and naturally divisible by two or three or twelve, while "feet" and "pounds" are very needful and workable divisions for which the metric system has no suitable replacements). Other attempts are likely to be both more onerous and more unworkable (cf. the abolition of Sunday as a day of rest during the French revolution which soon resulted in draft animals dropping dead all over France). But unlike earlier examples, during the Great Tribulation the population of the earth will enjoy no respite from any of antichrist's oppressive decrees until the return of Jesus Christ.
We may also anticipate in this respect, given antichrist's adeptness at co-opting others (Dan.11:24; 11:39), that the biblical parallel we saw in the last installment of this series between the beast and the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes will apply to some extent to antichrist's methodology in this area as well. Antiochus Epiphanes, in addition to the proscriptive elements of his regime, also did much to make the inhabitants of his realm feel part of one nation despite their disparate ethnic backgrounds. He did so by aggressively spreading Greek culture and institutions throughout his kingdom, as well as by being very generous with his favors towards those who enthusiastically and wholeheartedly adopted this policy of cultural homogenization. Antiochus' liberal use of Greek theaters and performance art, Greek military training institutions (specifically the ephebate), Greek coinage and economic standards, and Greek athletics (establishing gymnasiums and palaestras throughout his realm) gave his supporters (likewise organized into Hellenic senates and assemblies) both the tangible means of expressing their devotion to this policy as well as an incentive to do so. At the same time, these new institutions became veritable litmus tests for all those who were reluctant to give up or compromise their traditions in favor of the Greek way (a conflict most clearly seen in Israel prior to and during Antiochus' persecution and the Maccabean revolt). History provides other examples of ruling elites co-opting useful members of indigenous, conquered societies by demanding allegiance to a common cultural norm (e.g., the Roman empire, the Goths, the British empire, and, in their own especially twisted ways, the Nazis and Communists), but it is likely that the degree of allegiance and the intrusiveness of the changes demanded by antichrist's party will be beyond anything yet witnessed.
In all this, the pattern set in the beast's assimilation of the seven kingdom empire of revived Rome will provide the model. We cannot say for certain, but it is possible and perhaps probable that the essential core of "culture" at the heart of this program of homogenization will be that of Babylon (and we can already see the spread of American culture in many of its more dubious aspects around the world today). If so, we may possibly see in the prophesied "purification" of human language that will be a part of the millennial blessings of the kingdom of the Messiah a divine reversal of antichrist's attempt to impose a single "tongue" upon all the inhabitants of the earth as well (Zeph.3:9).(30)
Finally, the attempt on antichrist's part to make the union of peoples within the seven kingdoms as close as possible is certainly apparent in Daniel's prophecy of the great statue (Dan.2:39-43). In that passage we see beyond any question an attempt to accelerate the process of homogenization through intermarriage (compare the efforts of Alexander the Great in this regard), and it certainly stands to reason that this pattern will be applied to the entire world during the Great Tribulation. Coupled with his efforts in regard to social institutions, this attempt to join the entire world together "in the seed of man" (Dan.2:43) will be designed to accelerate the breaking down of cultural and social as well as of ethnic and nationalistic distinctions and political establishments, the better to further Satan's ultimate plan of eliminating any opportunity or place for faith by making the practice of following God stand out in stark relief against an otherwise undifferentiated and homogenous backdrop of satanic allegiance.
3. Economic Exploitation (seal #3):
And through [the same] seductive [methods] he will enter the strongest provinces (i.e., the seven nations) of the empire (i.e., Revived Rome), and will do what neither his fathers nor their fathers have done. He will distribute plunder, spoils and riches to his [followers] and will afterwards plot against the [remaining] powers (i.e., the three sub-coalitions of the southern alliance), but [will wait] for an opportune time.
Daniel 11:24He (antichrist) will treat with [conspiratorial] gatherings in the [preeminent] powers (i.e., nations of military and monetary strength) with the help of [his] foreign god (i.e., the devil) whom he will greatly honor, and he will put these [individuals] in charge of the majority [populations], and will also distribute territories [to them] as a reward.
Daniel 11:39
In company with the description of the third horseman in Revelation 6:5-6
(covered in
part 2B of this series) and the description of the mark of the beast
and its economic consequences in Revelation 13:11-8 (see
section VI
below), these verses give us a taste of how antichrist will administer
his realm worldwide in terms of economics. From all these passages
(and indeed from what we know about the beast generally), it seems clear
that the economic system that will obtain during the Great Tribulation
will be merely one of gross exploitation, designed only to supply the
military needs of antichrist's kingdom, to enrich his supporters, and to
reduce everyone else to such a state of subsistence survival that the
means of revolt will not lie readily to hand. The privileged
Babylon will constitute an exception to this rule (Hab.1:11; 1:16-17;
2:6ff; Rev.17:1-6; 18:1-34), but this very fact will play no small role
in the growing jealousy that will eventually contribute to her
destruction (Rev.17:15-18).
4. Ruthless and Lawless Disregard for Life (seal #4):
Those who look at you will contemplate you; they will consider you: 'Is this the man who confounded the earth, who shook [the foundations of] the nations? He made the world like a desert, and trampled its cities underfoot. He did not let its prisoners go home.
Isaiah 14:16-17
Just as the beast's political, social, and economic policies during the
Tribulation's final three and a half years as outlined in the sections
immediately above will continue the patterns prophesied in the first three
seal-trends (Rev.6), so we can see in the fourth seal-trend the continuing and
accelerating ruthlessness and contempt with which antichrist will treat human
life generally during the Great Tribulation. In the verses above, Isaiah
14:16-17, we can glean from the beast's "shaking of the earth" so that its
"kingdoms trembled" the terror inspired by his methods. His making of the
world "like a desert" and his "trampling of its cities" clearly reflects the
devastation that antichrist will wreak upon the earth in the process of
consolidating and administering his realm. Finally, we can also see in the
statement that he "did not let its prisoners go home" a policy of widespread
mistreatment of those enemies actual and potential not killed outright.
This phrase without a doubt encompasses population deportation (cf. Is.23:6),
hostage taking on a grand scale (Hab.1:9), and mass incarceration in
concentration or prison camps (cf. Ps.79:11; 102:13-20; Is.14:2; 42:7; 49:9;
49:24-25; 51:14; 61:1; Zech.9:11-12; Lk.4:18).
They Worshiped the Dragon: The amazement the world will manifest at
the beast's pseudo-resurrection (Rev.13:3) along with his military successes
(being now the effective ruler of the world as a result) spills forth at this
point not only in the worship of antichrist himself, but also in the worship of
his father, the dragon (i.e., the devil). It is to some extent a moot
point whether or not these worshipers who will constitute the vast majority of
the world's population really understand that it is Satan and his antichrist
they are worshiping and not the one true God and His true Messiah. For the
beast will certainly represent himself as the latter so that there will also be
no doubt about the representation in this worldwide religion of Satan as "true
God" (cf. Ezek.31:11; Jn.12:31; 2Cor.4:4). Clearly, however, the
world
ought to know, inasmuch as antichrist's reign in Jerusalem from the
temple of God itself will be pursuant to his prior eviction of the two servants
of God, Moses and Elijah, who, it will be recalled, mediated the trumpet
judgments of warning (Rev.11:1-13; cf. Zech.4:14).
At the very least, therefore, it will be impossible for the world which now so enthusiastically worships not only antichrist but his father the devil as well not to know that whoever this new "god" may be, his right to be called such and to be worshiped as such is not uncontested. In other words, the "war in heaven" has now come to earth, and the world at this time will quickly and definitively be divided into two camps: those who accept the divinity of antichrist and his empowering "god", and those who reject them, choosing instead to remain faithful to Him who is the one and only true God and His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As the Great Tribulation progresses, this essential opposition between the two camps will become even more pronounced, eventually manifesting itself in a mass persecution which begins with believing Israel (as we have already seen in chapter 12) then rapidly expands to include all believers worldwide after true Israel has been miraculously delivered (Rev.12:17). Thus the "war in heaven" will continue on earth, reaching its climax as the beast and his father the devil summon all of their forces to fight against the Lord at the battle of Armageddon. But the fundamental point that we should come away with here is precisely that scripture is presenting the issue as a battle, a fight to the finish to decide once and for all "who is really God and who is His true Christ?" As believers in the truth, we may find this question somewhat nonsensical, and so in truth it is. However, that has not stopped Satan since before the creation of mankind from attempting to do everything in his power so that he might not only be viewed as God but also might assume that role in fact as well. For as impossible as this is, it should not be overlooked that such a complete reversal of reality is exactly what the devil has been lusting for since the beginning, namely, to replace God not only in his own thinking but also in actual practice, to shut Him out of the universe and to assume His role of rulership and authority. With the events of the mid-Tribulation now accomplished, the devil will proclaim these wild desires of his as the inevitable truth to come in the person of his own pseudo-Messiah, and will set in motion a process of attempting to complete and confirm this new regime in preparation for the final showdown with our God and His Christ at Armageddon. What this means for believers, of course, is the beginning of the most difficult time in the history of the world, the Great Tribulation, characterized and indeed defined in our cases by the Great Persecution.
The most effective, most dramatic, and most abhorrent means that the dragon and his antichrist will employ to consolidate their kingdom will be the establishment of a mandatory, worldwide religion designed to replace all genuine worship of the one true God with the worship of the beast and his father the devil instead. As Revelation 13:4 demonstrates, the population of the world at large, awed by recent events, will easily and readily put aside whatever scruples and reservations they may have had before and will enthusiastically embrace the worship of Satan and antichrist. Their reasoning and motivation is simple enough and is made crystal clear in our context: the dragon will be considered a legitimate object of worship "because he gave his authority to the beast", and antichrist in turn will be regarded as such 1) because of his extraordinary person (exemplified in particular by his pseudo resurrection: "Who is like the beast?"), and 2) because of his extraordinary deeds (exemplified in particular by his conquest of the world, including his "defeat" of the two witnesses: "And who is able to make war with him?").
Thus the world's new-found reverence for the devil and their acceptance of him
as "God" is a result of their prior conviction that antichrist is God's divine
representative on earth. While this may perhaps seem a somewhat
unbelievable development to followers of the true Christ as we sit comfortable
at home today, we would do well to remember the words of our Lord:
At that time if someone says to you "Look [(as they will tell you then)]! Christ is here!", or "Here [He is]!", do not believe [it]. For false christs and false prophets will arise and will perform great miracles (lit., "signs") and wonders [sufficient] to deceive even the elect, if [that were] possible. Look [(as I am telling you now)]! I have told you ahead of time.
Matthew 24:23-25
The parallels between the beast and the true Messiah will be both deliberate and
numerous. If, as Jesus tells us in the verse above, even the elect will be
tempted to interpret the signs and wonders of antichrist as proof of his
Messiahship, it is small wonder that those who have rejected the truth of Jesus
Christ will be easily ensnared by the satanic lies of the beast and the dragon.
For at this point, in addition to the signs and wonders mentioned above,
antichrist will have defeated the "unbelieving nations" of the southern alliance
in a "holy crusade" to deliver "Christendom and Israel" from Islamic tyranny;
he will have defeated the "forces of evil" in the persons of Moses and Elijah
who had for many months been "tormenting" the unbelieving population of the
world (Rev.11:10); and he will have (to the eyes of the world) even risen
from the dead. Following these unprecedented signs, he will take up
residence in the temple of God in Jerusalem proclaiming himself to be God
(2Thes.2:4), and setting about to begin the millennium of blessing prophesied in
scripture as he rules from Jerusalem a united world without war. Not only
will it be no wonder that unbelievers, attributing his feats to the supernatural
authority of his father (which is indeed true enough), will accept him as
divine, but it also follows logically for those viewing the circumstances in
such a way that the imposition of a mandatory form of worship upon the entire
world will seem reasonable and good in every way. Only those who know
their God will be able to resist the incredible pressures to take part in the
new phase of antichrist's religion about to be unveiled and proclaimed
worldwide. And it is likewise understandable that the satanic propaganda
which has been around since pagan days which seeks to paint the true God as "a
bad god" and Satan as "the good god" bent on replacing him will find a ready
audience in all those whose names are no longer written in the book of life.
Therefore one of the chilling ironies of the Great Persecution about to be
unleashed against all who are determined to preserve their faith in Jesus even
until death is that believers are going to be charged with "devil worship" by
the very people who have in fact sold themselves to Satan. Our Lord's
words on the subject are important to remember in this regard, for they accused
Him, the Son of God Himself, of being in league with the devil (Jn.8:48-59; cf.
Mk.3:22-30), and He has assured us of the world's hatred and persecution,
because it hated and persecuted Him first (Jn.15:18-25).
Daniel 11:36-39 presents us with a similar picture of antichrist's activities at the commencement of the Tribulation. Inasmuch as Daniel provides additional details, it will be helpful here to consider that passage together with its implications for the interpretation of Revelation 13:4-10.
Verse 36: With the melting away of all military and political
resistance worldwide, antichrist, "the king", will have a free hand to carry out
his own will (indistinguishable of course from the devil who spawned him), and
so "will consult only his own desire". Notwithstanding his unprecedented
self-exaltation and self-magnification, and the temerity with which he will
disparage the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords (i.e., he "will exalt and
magnify himself above every god, and against the God of gods he will speak
astonishing things"), he will yet enjoy "success until the time of indignation
is complete". This will happen not contrary to the will of God but
in accordance with it: "for [all this] has been firmly decreed to take
place".
This is not the first time that our Lord has made sanctified use of secular, even evil agents in the cause of divine justice and holy judgment (though it is the most extreme). Egypt in the person of the Pharaoh of the Exodus (Ex. chap. 3-14), Assyria (Is.10:5-6), and historical Babylon (Jer.27:3-8), to name a few of the other most prominent examples, were all employed by God to render discipline upon rebellious Israel (along with other nations as well). As discussed above, the Tribulation, and the Great Tribulation in particular, is preeminently a time of divine judgment (cf. the chart of corresponding main trends given in section I.6 at the beginning of this study). Pharaoh, a type of antichrist as we have seen (in part 3B), is a particularly instructive parallel in the similarly unusual latitude he was allowed in opposing God to what was at that time an unprecedented degree (cf. Acts 12:21), but not without God's permission and only with the purpose of demonstrating God's power and glory (Ex.9:16). The fact that antichrist's extension of his will and rule around the world is here prophesied in the Bible millennia before it actually comes to pass should be sufficient to show for all who believe scripture that the beast and his father Satan could never have brought things to this pass by their own efforts absent the permissive will of God. This, then, should remind us all that everything that will happen during those terrible days to come will not only be entirely within God's hands, but will be important, even critical, to bringing about the end that He has ordained since before the heavens and the earth were created, namely, His complete refutation of evil in the process of thoroughly destroying the evil one and his works (1Jn.3:8; cf. Heb.2:14).
Verse 37: The phrase often translated "the desire of women" is not a reference to any particular pagan god, but represents the replacement or rather superceding of all other pagan activity by the new religion which worships only Satan and antichrist. In Jewish experience, foreign women were often the ones who led their husbands to idolatry (cf. Num.25:1-3; 1Ki.11:1-13), so that this phrase stands for all pagan influence in contrast to the "God of his fathers". Not only will antichrist "have no regard for the God of his fathers" (i.e., the Lord), but will also not revere "those [gods and religions] favored by their wives", and, indeed, will not even have any "regard for any god [at all]", but will instead "exalt himself above them all". In place of both the worship of the one true God and all other pagan worship (wherein the satanic origins and effects may be presently concealed to one degree or another), antichrist's new religion will put into place the direct worship of the devil (along with the worship of his son, the beast).
Verse 38: The pseudo-deity preferred by antichrist is described here as "a god whom his fathers did not know", meaning that whatever the pagan unfaithfulness indulged in by the sons of Israel in times past, it was at least not clearly revealed to them that behind each of these pagan deities stood the angels of Satan and, ultimately, the devil himself. With the advent and full unveiling of antichrist and his religion, the subterfuge is over. The beast and with him the vast majority of the world's population will honor Satan with offerings of "gold and silver and precious stones and [all sorts of] delightful things", making pilgrimage to the new Mecca, Jerusalem, which is, figuratively speaking, "Sodom and Egypt" as long as antichrist holds court in the temple with his animated image on display in the temple court (Rev.11:8; cf. Dan.8:10-14; 11:31; Matt.24:15; Mk.13:14; 1Thes.2:4).
The devil, worshiped by the beast and the unbelieving world, is here described
as a "god of powers". This phrase reveals much about Satan, his kingdom,
and his modus operandi. In contrast to the description "god of powers",
our God is a God of Power. That is to say, our God, the one true God, is
omnipotent in every sense of that word, while the devil's might, significant as
it may be relative to minuscule human strength and capacity, is not to be
compared to our Lord's in any meaningful way. And while our God describes
Himself as a God of love, mercy, and righteousness, Satan, lacking all of these
truly impressive qualities, loves to describe himself in terms of his power.
While our Lord flatly rejected this offer with the words of Deuteronomy 6:13,
"you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve", antichrist
will unhesitatingly embrace it. For, like his father before him, "power"
will be the ultimate good, the ultimate goal, the ultimate end.
It is worth considering that concentrating upon this material world and the charms of it, be they expressed in terms of power, or wealth, of fame, or possessions, or various and sundry pleasures, is fundamentally satanic and hostile by nature to true spirituality. For the quest for worldly security and worldly priorities through expediency and materialism is idolatry in its most quintessential form (cf. Eph.5:5; Col.3:5). Naturally (all too naturally) as fallible human beings, adopting a perfect standard of divorcing ourselves from such false values without at the same time falling into the equally dangerous trap of asceticism or withdrawal from the world is not an easy task. But it is important to note that every time we look for solutions or solace in the power of things, people, organizations, movements, or nations, we are essentially playing the devil's game and esteeming what he esteems foremost, namely, fleshly solutions in place of spiritual ones. For he is "a god of [material rather than spiritual] powers". Given that it is important even now to beware of such a mind-set, and given that we ought rather to be taking pains to remember that God is in control regardless of what the eye may see, how much more will that not be true under the incredible pressures, challenges, and testing of the Great Tribulation!
Verse 39: The "preeminent powers" mentioned in this verse are the
world's remaining power centers, nations, for the most part, but not exclusive
of prominent organizations and individuals. Scripture gives a glimpse here
of the methodology used by antichrist to consolidate his power worldwide after
his mid-tribulational successes. The beast will essentially "franchise"
his rulership around the world especially in far-flung places which have yet to
feel the boot of his marching legions. The cost of the privilege of
sharing in antichrist's rule in this way will be steep, including not only
complete obedience in the carrying out of the will of the one who now "does what
he pleases" without any restraint of any kind, but also the responsibility for
propagating and enforcing the new mandatory religion of Satan worship (whom the
beast will "greatly honor"), and it will only be through the continued, active
support of the devil that this worldwide consolidation of power and expansion of
the anti-Christian religion will be able to flourish (i.e., "with the aid of
[his] foreign god"). But despite all his reliance on the power of human
flesh and these "pillars" (literal "mighty fortresses" in the Hebrew), the beast
and his armies are destined to be swept away by the terrible swift sword that
proceeds from the mouth of the Son of God "on the day when the towers fall"
(Rev.19:21; cf. Is.30:25; Jer.50:15; Amos 1:10; Zeph.3:6-15). No matter
what our eyes may tell us, our faith assures us that our Lord is in complete
control of the process of human history (cf. Is.37:26-29; 46:11; 48:3).
(8) Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world tremble before Him. For He spoke and it came into being. (9) He gave the command and it arose [out of nothing]. (10) The Lord shatters the plans of the nations. He frustrates the intentions of [the world's] peoples.
Psalm 33:8-10
They Worshiped the Beast (Revelation 13:4): Returning to our exegesis
of Revelation chapter 13, as we have just seen from the parallel verses in
Daniel, at that time it will be impossible to separate the worship of the devil
and the worship of the beast. When the world of that dark day to come
worships the devil, it will be "because he gave his authority to the beast".
That is to say, the tangible "proof" of Satan's perceived "divinity" will be the
successes of his pseudo-Messiah, antichrist. And it will be precisely
these successes which produce the world's admiration, both his
pseudo-resurrection ("who is like the beast?"), and his counterfeit Armageddon
in defeating the vast southern alliance ("who is able to make war with him?").
Before the accomplishment of these two primary deceptions (and the domination of
the world which followed), it was neither feasible from the standpoint of
persuasion nor possible from the standpoint of political power either to reveal
fully the nature of the new religion or to make it mandatory worldwide.
The constellation of the events at the Tribulation's mid-point are what make
possible (in company "with the help of [his] foreign god") antichrist's
transformation of his rule from regional to global. That transition will
be both horizontal (i.e., geographic expansion until the entire surface of the
globe renders him effective allegiance), and vertical (i.e., an increasing
measure of loyalty and control within all political entities as well as all
other power-nodes), with a corresponding degree of increased intensity in the
demands he will make of those controlled. For immediately after his
initial consolidation of power we can expect a greater requirement for
allegiance to and participation in his cause and in his religion which will
manifest itself most significantly in the Great Persecution about to be
unleashed upon all who refuse such allegiance and participation.
A Mouth to Speak Presumptuous Things and Blasphemies (Revelation 13:5a):
As we saw in our previous installment of this series, such temerity is a salient
characteristic of antichrist (Dan.7:8; 7:20; 7:25; 8:25; 11:36; 2Thes.2:10-11;
Rev.16:14; cf. 2Pet.2:10-12; Jude 1:8-10). Here, however, we have the
beast taking his assault on the Person of God to unprecedented levels.
Such presumption of deity for himself even as he denies it to the true God of
the universe will both require and help to facilitate the unbelieving world's
complete capitulation to the "empowerment of error" prophesied in 2nd
Thessalonians 2:11.(31)
The Forty-Two Months (Revelation 13:5b): At this time, antichrist will
be restrained in only a very minimal way from doing all he pleases.
Instead, a free hand will be "given" to him to implement his satanic plans for
one world rule, including the destruction of believers and the elimination of
any possible avenue for faith and faithfulness. As it says in Daniel
11:36, "he will consult only his own will". It is this removal of
restraint through the permissive will of God that will make the second half of
the Tribulation "Great" in every negative aspect that word can bear. As
believers who may potentially be called upon to endure those terrible days, we
must keep in mind that, indeed, it is only because God allows it that such
things can happen, and, if God allows it, He is doing so for good, especially
for our good, even if the "good" will be veiled from our sight for a time during
those days (Rom.8:28).
Call to remembrance the former things from the beginning of creation (lit., "eternity"). For I am God – no other One exists. [I am] God – and there is nothing like Me. Since the [very] beginning, I have been making known the end. Since [eternity] past, things that have not yet been done. [I am the One who] says, "My purpose shall stand", and "I will accomplish all My good pleasure".
Isaiah 46:9-10
Blasphemy against the Name, Dwelling, and People of God (Revelation 13:6):
This listing of the objects of antichrist's blasphemy indicates that his
opposition to God at the behest of his father the devil has now become an overt
"crusade". At this juncture, the beast will begin to attack not only the
Person of God (i.e., His holy "Name"), but also "His dwelling and those who
dwell in heaven". The Greek root common to both "dwelling" and "dwell" in
this verse is
sken- (σκην-), and has the literal meaning "tent" (from which we derive
our English word "scene", from the changing of the "tent" or canvas backdrop in
Greek dramatic presentations). This usage is significant, because, after
all, God is merely "tenting" in the third heaven at present, and "those who tent
with Him", that is, the eternal family of God, are also only there on a
temporary basis as well, for the rightful place of God and all who belong to Him
is the earth (the ultimate of the seven Edens: Rev.21-22).(32)
These verbal attacks upon elect angels and victorious believers are thus
antichrist's way of representing their presence in heaven as somehow
illegitimate, while his blasphemy against "the dwelling of God" suggests that he
and his father Satan likewise regard the Lord's continued physical presence in
"their" universe as offensive. In this horrendous reversal of all that is
right and righteous, we see clearly the depths not only of outrage to which the
devil and his son are capable of sinking, but the essential madness their
unbridled arrogance has produced. At the heart of all lies and slander one
finds the erroneous assumption that verbalizing falsehoods can somehow make them
realities. Despite the damage that such active disparagement and deceit
can do, the idea that God could somehow be affected or diminished through any
means (especially mere words) can only be understood to arise from the same
self-induced insanity that will produce the Armageddon campaign wherein the
devil, the beast, and the false prophet will attempt to overthrow our Lord
Himself by physical force (cf. Rev.19:11-21).
War against the Holy Ones (Revelation 13:7a): As was the case in
Revelation 12:17, this is of course a reference to the Great Persecution.
Scripture describes it as a "war", not because believers will take up arms
against the beast but because despite what we may think or feel under the
pressures of that time our suffering will be a part of the larger invisible
conflict that has been underway since Satan's rebellion began. We are
indeed soldiers in this war, but our weapons are spiritual ones, the "panoply of
God" (Eph.5:10-17; cf. Rom.13:12; 2Cor.10:4; 1Thes.5:8). What will
transpire on earth, therefore, will only be a reflection of the true realities
taking place beyond our ken. We should thus make every effort before the
time to fortify ourselves with faith (rather than with material means), that we
may avoid the equally devastating mistakes of allowing ourselves to plunge into
despair on the one hand (thus forgetting that we are soldiers in our Lord's army
and that He is glorified through our persistent faithfulness), or of allowing
ourselves to be caught up in human solutions such as opposing antichrist in a
material way (thus forgetting that God is our mighty fortress, our strength, our
shield, and our sword). For this scripture tells us explicitly that "it
was given to [the beast] to make war on the holy ones and to conquer them",
so that beyond all argument the Great Persecution will come about through the
permissive will of God, and the suffering and martyrdom which results will be
unavoidable. Let us not forget that all this will be according to our
Lord's good pleasure and for His great glory – and for our ultimate blessing and
inheritance in His eternal kingdom, if we but trust Him in that dark hour and
stay faithful to Him no matter what the cost or the consequences.
(21) I was watching, and this horn (i.e., antichrist) was waging war with the holy ones (i.e., believers). And he was prevailing over them (i.e., "conquering them"), (22) until the Ancient of Days came (i.e., our Lord's second advent) and rendered judgment on behalf of the holy ones of the Most High, and the time came when the holy ones took possession of the Kingdom.
Daniel 7:21-22
Authority over Every Tribe, People, Language and Race (Revelation 13:7b):
In the Greek text, antichrist's "authority over every tribe and people and
language and race" follows directly after and is phrased in a parallel way to
his conquest of believers. He has power over both because it is "given to
him". The parallelism between the two also shows that antichrist's
initiation of the Great Persecution is interconnected with the worldwide
authority he will assume. In the prior history of the world, there was
always some haven to which persecuted believers could flee with the help of our
God, and thus find shelter from the storm. On that terrible day to come,
however, no such refuge will exist. For the beast will be given through
the permissive will of God an authority over the world which no one since Nimrod
has enjoyed. Like Nimrod, antichrist will use his control over the world's
population to create an atmosphere of compulsion for the express purpose of
opposing God (as in the case of the tower of Babel). The opposite side of
this coin of course will be the active oppression of any and all who do not
embrace antichrist, his religion, and his anti-God agenda, with the beast's
growing control over every aspect of life on earth facilitating a persecution
which will be unlike anything the world has yet witnessed (and that is saying
quite a lot: Matt.24:21). The rapidity with which the nations of the world
will fall into line will be expedited by antichrist's delegation of the process
of consolidation to a highly organized chain of command beginning with his
trusted associates, his "party", prominent groups and individuals in the newly
subordinated countries, and to specific nation states as well, all chosen for
their power, influence, and absolute loyalty to the beast (Dan.11:39). Yet
none of this would be possible unless our God permitted it, and we have faith
that in His doing so everything is working out for our good and for His glory.
The
Book of Life (Revelation 13:8): At this
time, the vast majority of the world's population will accept antichrist as the
Messiah and his father Satan as God and will worship them as such, that is
"[all] whose names are not [still] written in the book of life [where they were
written] from the beginning of the world, [even the book] which belongs to the
Lamb who was slain". The reader's close attention to the precise
translation is solicited at this point since this verse is often mistranslated
and even more frequently misunderstood. As sinners at birth, none of us is
worthy of eternal life by our own merits and therefore all are equally unworthy
of being included in any "book of [eternal] life". Absent divine
intervention, we would all instead suffer the just condemnation for the record
of sins we have and will commit in this world (through our own volition).
Blessedly beyond all expression God has intervened in the Person
of His Son, and through His precious blood has redeemed us, paying the price in
the priceless coin of the blood of Christ for all the sins of every single
person who has ever lived. As a result, all human beings have their name
written in "the book of life" since the beginning of the world, for Christ's
sacrifice was ordained and valid from the time of God's original decree
(Rom.3:25-26; Eph.1:4; 1Tim.2:6). Only by rejecting God and
His solution in the Person of Christ and His work is anyone's name "blotted out"
of the book, whether this is an active process as in the case of those who
reject God in preference for the beast, or a passive one in the case of those
who, though never definitively rejecting God, yet refuse to come to Him before
their days on earth expire (cf. Dan.12:1; Lk.10:20; Phil.4:3; Rev.3:5; 17:8;
20:12; 20:15):
May the [godless] be blotted out of the Book of Life, and may they not be recorded with the righteous.
Psalm 69:28"And now, if You will forgive their sin, [fine]. But if not, [then] please blot my name out of Your book which You have written." But the Lord said to Moses, "The one who sins against Me, him will I blot out of My book."
Exodus 32:32-33
As is true even today, the unbelievers at that time will not recognize what was
behind the humiliation and suffering of the true Christ in our place or accept
its necessity. As a result, they will easily (and wrongly) accept and
exult in the glorification of the anti-Christ". As it says in 2nd
Thessalonians 2:10, "they perish because they refuse to believe". Such is
the "empowerment of error" which will prevail so mightily in the darkened hearts
of the followers of the beast at that time.(33)
"If anyone has an ear to hear, let him hear" (Revelation 13:9): We
have seen this exhortation before in our study of the seven churches of
Revelation chapters two and three. In fact, this same exhortation in
nearly identical phrasing occurs in each of Christ's messages to the seven
churches (Rev.2:7; 2:11; 2:17; 2:29; 3:6; 3:13; 3:22), which, as we have seen,
represent the seven periods of the Church Age (see
Part 2A of this series). This is the only other place in
Revelation where we find this exhortation, and that is highly significant.
The second important thing to understand about this phrase is that it is looking
forward here, not backward. In other words, the exhortation addresses the
coming persecution of the Church during the Tribulational period and the advice
given believers in verse ten regarding the necessity of perseverance. It
is to these words in God's own voice that the exhortation points, and,
specifically (on the basis of the parallel of the other seven passages where
this phrase occurs), to Christ's own words directed to His Church on earth at
the Tribulation's mid-point about to enter the Great Persecution. This message
will be one of great importance to the believers of that time, and is comparable
in its significance to the other exhortations to pay close attention such as the
one to Laodicea which is addressed to us today (Rev.3:14-22). Just as our
Lord outlined the most important characteristics and failings of the seven
periods of the Church, exhorting each to take the appropriate corrective action,
so here we find our Savior giving what in His perfect view is the most important
advice for those of us destined to experience that final time of testing, and we
would indeed do well to "give ear" to His words.
The Perseverance of the Holy Ones (Revelation 13:10): What we have here then is not only a preview of the Great Tribulation to come from the believer's point of view. What we have here are the direct words of Jesus Christ to us, summing up the attitude and the perspective that will be necessary for us to adopt and maintain should our Master call upon us to endure those terrible days ahead. The first thing to notice about this verse is that it presents only two possibilities for the experience of believers during the time of the Great Persecution: martyrdom and imprisonment. That is not to say that there will be no other possible outcome for those of us who face the pressures of that fiery furnace to come, but the fact that our Lord gives us only these two eventualities to consider when we contemplate the possibility of our participation in those future events is highly significant. The fact is that martyrdom and imprisonment will be so common that it will be folly to assume that somehow "we" will escape one or the other or both. We may very well do so, but for our spiritual health and spiritual survival the most essential armor we can don in preparation for the crucible of the Great Persecution will be the mind-set of complete obedience and patient submission to the will of God whatever that may be in full recognition and acceptance of the fact ahead of time that such obedience and submission may very well and may even very likely require that we endure imprisonment and or martyrdom at the hands of antichrist. For at no time in human history will it be more important for believers to be properly attuned to the will of God for their lives. And it will be of critical importance for all of us who must run this gauntlet to understand fully and completely that should such be our lot, that lot has been allotted by our Lord Himself, serves His purposes, glorifies Him, and is not a result of our failings, but rather is the ultimate opportunity to demonstrate our love and responsiveness to Him for the sacrifice of sacrifices He made for us.
The comparative experience of Peter and John is illustrative of this. Both men were apostles of the Lamb, both great believers, both authors of significant portions of the Word of God. Without the benefit of scripture, we would be hard-pressed to guess which of the two would be a candidate for martyrdom while the other was to be spared that particular fate for continued ministry. But John 21:18-19 records how our Lord Jesus told Peter ahead of time that it was his destiny likewise to glorify God with a martyr's death. Upon hearing this, Peter immediately asked about John, "Lord, what about this one?" (Jn.21:21). To this Jesus responded, "If I want him to remain until I come [back], what does that have to do with you? You follow Me!" (Jn.21:22). In a similar way, our Lord is telling us here to be accepting of the imprisonment and martyrdom that may be destined to come our way, even if, in the end, we are spared such a fate. For it is true that there will be surviving believers who will "be caught up to meet the Lord in the air" (1Thes.4:17; cf. 1Cor.15:51-52), but it is entirely the Lord's decision whose role it will be to endure until the end, and who will be removed from this life in a death that glorifies Him in a very special way. We cannot know before the fact what our particular destiny will be in this respect, but one thing is certain as this passage makes clear: in order to cope with the tribulation of those days we must arm ourselves ahead of time with the proper attitude of accepting God's will for our Savior's glory, even if that entails imprisonment or martyrdom or both. Revelation 13:10 is itself a quote or paraphrase of Jeremiah 43:11, and it is significant that the Jeremiah passage occurs in the context of divine judgment upon unbelievers who had defied God's will and out of fear had fled to Egypt instead of staying in the place of blessing. In our verse the Great Tribulation has temporarily overturned the natural order of things, and we see the righteous receiving what the wicked deserve. Yet we are confident that our God will never abandon or forsake us, and that none of this will transpire apart from the will of God, to the glory of God, and in anticipation of a swift reversal of our fortunes in a most dramatic way at our Lord Jesus' imminent return. But we must wait patiently for that day and guard against fighting antichrist's minions (that must be left to the Lord) or fleeing from them (unless and until our Lord directs us to do so). Herein lies "the perseverance and the faithfulness " of all of us blessed to be included in the number of His "holy ones".
Characteristics of the New
Religion: Before moving on, it needs to be stressed at this point
that despite the inherent horrors of antichrist's universal religion of Satanism
and the terrors it will hold for all who refuse to bow down to it, we should not
think that it will be for those reasons a system of worship that most people
find oppressive and abhorrent but are only embracing out of necessity. As
suggested in
part 3A
of this series, the situation will be much to the contrary. As in the case
of many cults, beyond the obvious mind-control and group coercion, there is
always also an element that appeals to and even legitimizes the secret desires
of many if not most of its members. Just as we would be mistaken to
imagine the devil as some horrible looking creature when in fact he was made
beautiful (Ezek.28:12-13) and even now masquerades as "a messenger of light"
(2Cor.11:14), so in the case of the worldwide cult designed to worship him,
rather than imaging some repulsive collection of odd and onerous rituals, we
would do better to understand this new religion as something that most people
will find incredibly appealing (cf. Nah.3:4 and the harlot analogy generally:
Rev.17:1-5; 17:15-16; 19:2). Cults often attract new adherents by
promising them a welcoming and friendly society, and by offering them a "deeper"
spiritual relationship through initiation into "secret doctrines and mysteries"
unavailable elsewhere. And if in the process they also appeal to the
hidden desires of the new initiate (be they of either an ascetic or licentious
nature), then their appeal can seem irresistible. The unique feature of
the beast's religion will be, as we have seen, a syncretism of all such
elements, allowing virtually every human being to clothe his or her base desires
in the mantle of religion, in a friendly and welcoming environment, and with the
conviction that the "truth" is thus being sought, and the "true God" thus being
served, to the end that "true eternal life" may be earned (such as antichrist
seems to exhibit in his feigned rise from the dead).
One of the trends visible in our own day is the increasingly meticulous concern
large segments of the population are showing towards their dietary regimes even
as they are less and less bothered by sexual indiscretions – as if God were
greatly concerned about the former and little about the latter when in fact
exactly the opposite is the case. The beast's religion is prophesied to
take great advantage of this trend, fulfilling the deep-seated need to "do
something" about holiness on the one hand (i.e., practicing a pseudo-holiness of
dietary restraint), while having one's true sins and indiscretions excused and
even justified on the other (i.e., it is probable that antichrist's religion
will, in the manner of pagan cults, include all varieties of sexual practices as
"acts of worship", even as the one divinely authorized venue for sexual
activity, marriage, is denigrated).
Perspicuous in the verses above is the perverse reversal of God's natural order
of things as marriage is discouraged – but not sexual practice of all sorts,
both natural and unnatural. Inhabitants of urban 21st century America may
well wonder what great change this will represent from contemporary practices.
Nevertheless, there will be a decided change for the worse as the incipient
trends now visible burst into full flood, are blessed by the state and the state
religion, and become mandatory for all loyal citizens of antichrist's world
state. And while believers will have as much trouble accepting this
degraded and degrading behavior as they do accepting antichrist, the partisans
of antichrist will be disposed by the darkness of their minds to embrace his
religious strictures even as they have been drawn to embrace him – a phenomenon
which cannot be disentangled from the prior rejection of the truth of God:
I have come in My Father's Name, and you do not accept Me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.
John 5:43
Of course, this new Satanic religion will not spring out of nowhere. It
will be a development, expansion, and consummation of the religious movement
developed by the beast in Babylon and elsewhere which was instrumental in his
rise to power in the first place. In
part 3A of the present study, we saw this religion in its incipient and
growth phases.(34) Here in chapter 13 we
now see it in its implementation phase, spreading under the umbrella of the
beast's protection both horizontally (i.e., to every corner of the world) and
vertically (i.e., becoming an ever more intrusive part of the daily lives of all
the inhabitants of the world). The logical extension of the world's
acceptance of antichrist as God and the true Messiah as a result of his
extraordinary successes and personal "rise from the dead" will be the universal
forced conversion of all humanity, marginalizing, then ostracizing, then
persecuting, then executing all who refuse to join and participate.
In general terms, the religion of the beast will stress the material and the visible over against invisible spirituality of which, of course, it will be completely bereft. And in all of its worldly manifestations it will attempt to mimic the outward appearance of Christian forms (although this will be more in terms of the "traditional" forms of the church visible as opposed to genuine Christian faith and practice). One thing that will be noticeably missing from antichrist's "church" will be the Bible. For while false religions often have some doctrinal focal point or other, it behooves any organization that is in truth no part of the truth to maintain "flexibility" about the truth. In other words, when an organization or movement is built upon lies, the freedom to continue lying without restraint or fear of contradiction is crucial. For this reason, we may expect that with his "revelation" as the Son of God, antichrist will expect the world to accept his words as fully sufficient and authoritative since they come from "God". What need will the world then have for an outdated, outmoded written Bible when they now have the purported author to worship in person? It is worth noting in this regard that, in effect, this is where we find much of contemporary Christianity in our present Laodicean age of spiritual lukewarmness . For while many so-called Christian churches and organizations pay lip service to the Bible (and we imagine that the beast and his religion will do so as well), in terms of practice and application the scriptures often take a distant second place to entertainment, self-help, motivational speaking, emotional appeals, pop-psychology, and "worship". For many groups, therefore, the adoption of the beast's religion in both name and practice will sadly mean very little change in either outward appearance or inward effect.
1. Its Ultimate Object of Worship: As our context of
Revelation 13:4 makes clear, "the dragon and the beast" will be the ultimate
objects of worship in this new religion. So while there will be other
focuses of worship and veneration as well (e.g., the idolatrous cult statue in
the temple court and the false prophet), the world will have no excuse – Satan
and his antichrist will replace the Lord God Almighty and His true Christ in the
active worship in which the unbelieving world will now orgiastically indulge.
The prior apostasy of one third of the Church, coupled with the removal of Holy
Spirit restraint, and the empowerment of error spoken of in 2nd Thessalonians
2:11, will, as we have seen, contribute mightily to the rapidity and the
totality of the world's rush to embrace the devil and the beast:
2. Its Ultimate Place of Worship: Just as antichrist
proclaims himself to be the true Messiah and makes every attempt to support that
claim in ways that would, "if possible", deceive even the elect (Matt.24:24), so
Jerusalem and the temple of God are not accidently chosen as the supreme place
of worship. The idea of substitution is clear in everything that the beast
and his father Satan will do in this regard, for it has ever been the devil's
desire to replace God, so that the installing of his son on the throne of God
with himself enshrined as the ultimate object of creature worship is in many
respects the fulfillment of a dream which has been millennia in the making.
Indeed, Satan will take pains during this entire period to represent this time
as the beginning of "the Millennium". For, after all, the true Millennium
begins following the revelation of Jesus Christ, the defeat of His enemies at
Armageddon, and His installment in the temple at Jerusalem as the Ruler of the
world. To the unbelieving world, antichrist's pseudo-resurrection, conquest of
the southern alliance, and usurpation of the temple and Jerusalem for his own
use will fit this bill. Needless to say, the ensuing three and half years,
the time of greatest tribulation in world history, will hardly seem
"millennial", but the selection of Jerusalem as the supreme place of worship
will contribute to the persuasiveness of the beast's claims and to the
acceptance by the unbelieving world of his new universal religion. For not
since the tower of Babel will the world be thus so completely "united" in a
political sense, or have a single unifying religious center and motivation as it
will have at that time as antichrist begins his rule from Jerusalem with the
intent of putting all of
his enemies under his feet – if they refuse to worship him.
3. Its Ultimate Priest: As with all of the other supreme foci of the beast's religion, so in the case of the "clergy" we can expect to see a deliberate usurpation of both true and traditional Christianity in antichrist's system. There is, of course, nothing biblical about Roman Catholicism's "pope", but the false prophet will indeed be a true "vicar" or substitute for antichrist, serving him in a way that falsely parallels the true Christ but in reality models antichrist and the devil (e.g, the false prophet has "two horns like a lamb", but "speaks like a dragon": Rev.13:11). We may expect this to be the case with the other lesser "clergy" as well, especially considering that in all probability antichrist will make use of already existing clergy who are co-opted into his new universal religion, so that any distinction as seen by the world between the beast's church and the "Christian church" will be difficult to draw (since in most cases it will be a question of the same people in the same buildings employing many of the same rituals only now committed to worshiping the beast "as Christ"). In general terms, we can expect antichrist's new clergy to be extremely persuasive (cf. Matt.24:23-24; Col.2:16-23; 2Thes.2:3-12; 1Tim.4:1-8; 2Tim.3:1-13; 2Pet.2:1 - 3:18; Jude 1:4-16).(35)
4. Its Ultimate Sign of Membership: Believers in Jesus Christ have as their sign and as their seal of divine ownership the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (2Cor.1:21-22; Eph.1:13-14; 4:30; cf. Rom.8:9:-17; Rev.7:1-3). Antichrist's substitute for this true yet invisible sign is, once again in keeping with the pattern above, a false, visible sign, the "mark of the beast" (covered in section VI.3 below).
5. Its Ultimate Promise: Given that the beast has been "restored to life", it is likely that the promise of a similar reward will be given to those who embrace his religion, especially in the context of antichrist's claim to be the true Messiah. It should be noted in this connection, however, that rather than being a universal good promised to all, as in the case of the true resurrection of the righteous, we may instead expect this false promise of resurrection to be qualified, offered only to the few who distinguish themselves in loyalty, and thus used as a goad to spur the "faithful" on to ever greater degeneracy and fanaticism. Moreover, the type of "eternal life" being offered will be along the same lines of materiality we see in every other aspect of the beast's religion, namely, the continuation (or revivification) of the sordid and (apart from God) pointless temporal life that is humanity's lot, rather than any true transformation. That so many around the world will find this offer appealing is almost a cause for pity, especially considering that antichrist will be incapable of making good on this promise in even a single instance.
6. Its Ultimate Sacrifice: It is a common-place in literature to portray those who make a "deal with the devil" as having "sold their souls". And it is true that the unbelieving world of that future time, by their embracing of the beast's religion, will have likewise embraced their own condemnation, willfully rejecting through the worship of antichrist and his father Satan the grace and mercy in Jesus Christ that God was eager to give them freely (cf. Jonah 2:8). However, the true nature of the "bargain" is this: they have forsaken eternal life and spiritual riches beyond calculation for the sake of some trifling and, in many cases, totally disgusting short-lived material benefits. In other words, like Esau, the unbelieving world of that time will sell en masse "their birthright for a mess of pottage" (Heb.12:16). To those concerned, the bargain will actually seem reasonable, for it will involve substituting present persecution endured for the sake of intangible advantages (which their hearts blinded by unbelief find incredible) for tangible "benefits" in the here and now (cf. the pattern of Is.57).
7. Its Ultimate Service: As in the case of its ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate service for believers in antichrist and his religion will reflect a sick parallelism to genuine Christianity. After the pattern of our Savior (e.g., Jn.13:1-17), true Christians are committed to service for the sake and the benefit of their fellow believers, seeking their spiritual growth and welfare above all else (Rom.14:19-21). For adherents of the religion of the beast, however, "the ultimate service" will not be edification but destruction, namely, the betrayal of all who refuse to accept antichrist in preference for the true Christ.
The beast rising up from the earth: The first beast's rising from the
sea is in part, as we have seen, an indication of his non-human paternity.
The fact that this second beast's origin is also described in unusual terms in
that he will rise up “from the earth” likewise may be taken as an indication
that he too is not completely human (cf. Rev.19:20 where both are cast into the
lake of fire without the trial of a last judgment that all created by God in His
image do undergo).(36)
But the contrast between these three and the genuine Trinity could not be more
pronounced. For while Father, Son and Holy Spirit share a single divine
essence, three unique and individual Persons though they are, in the devil's
counterfeit version we see an angel (Satan), a human being (the second beast
from the earth, that is, the false prophet; cf. Rev.16:13; 19:20; 20:10), and
one who is neither of the above, but is instead an abominable combination of the
two (antichrist). None of the three, it goes without saying, are divine,
but this does not preclude such a claim, and, indeed, the world will for the
most part gladly pay these three divine honors while enthusiastically
persecuting those who refuse to do so.
He [will] act with all the authority of the first beast: Another clear
contrast between the true Trinity and Satan's pseudo-trinity is that while the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit are coequal, there is a clear hierarchy in the
counterfeit version. The first beast receives his power and authority from
the devil (Rev.13:2; 19:20), just as in our context the second beast receives
his power and authority as a clear subordinate of the first beast. In this
respect we see another deliberate (though false) parallel between the high
priest and the head of state in the original Jewish monarchy. As believers
in the only true God, we understand very well that Jesus is both the ultimate
King and the ultimate High Priest "in the order of Melchizedek", having
offered Himself on the cross as the only sacrifice sufficient to cleanse us from
our sins (Ps.110:4; Heb.4:14; 5:5-10; 6:19; 7:1-3; 8:1-2). Antichrist,
however, will ignore the true Savior's redemptive work and will instead stress
the regal aspects of the Messiah who is destined to institute the worldwide
"kingdom of heaven". For those who reject Jesus and His work on the cross (i.e.,
the true functioning of His priesthood) and choose instead to accept
antichrist's claim to be the legitimate ruler of the world, it will seem
reasonable that there should be a new high priest to conduct the worship of the
first beast and his father (the devil).
Two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon: Herein we see yet
another difference between the true Trinity and the devil's counterfeit version.
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each have very clearly defined and very clearly
necessary roles in the plan of God. But in the case of the false prophet,
one finds no such clear role. For while the devil falsely assumes the role
of God with antichrist as his false Messiah, the second beast bears absolutely
no resemblance to the third Person of the true Trinity, the Holy Spirit.
And it is no wonder that the false trinity should lack such a presence since it
and the false religion it represents, encompasses and propagates is entirely
fixated upon the material realm, having no part in anything which is truly
spiritual. That is one reason why the false prophet is described as he is
here, namely, as outwardly resembling a lamb but speaking like a dragon.
For while it is very true that the false prophet will seek to establish and
support antichrist's claim of Messiahship (hence the horns of the lamb) and will
in so doing actually be furthering Satan's plan (i.e., speaking like a dragon),
it is also the case that this person's significance is not only less than the
other two members of the pseudo-trinity but is also entirely dependent upon
them, a fact which by itself gives the lie to all of the false claims of
divinity for this trio (at least for anyone who is still paying the slightest
attention to scripture).
He [will] make the world and all its inhabitants
worship the first beast: This phrase demonstrates that the second
beast, the false prophet, will take the lead in the administering of
antichrist's religion, both in terms of its expansion and also in the
implementation of the compulsory aspects of it, including the Great Persecution
which mandatory conversion will occasion in the case of all who refuse.
The administrative and cultic center of this new religion will not be Rome, as
many have surmised, but Jerusalem. For it is in Jerusalem that the beast
will take his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God, and it
is in the temple court that the statue of the beast, the "abomination which
causes [spiritual] desolation" will be erected (Dan.11:31; Matt.24:15;
Mk.13:14). Thus the temple and the idol then associated with it will be
the new religion's focal point from the middle of the Tribulation onward.
And it will be in front of the temple and its idol that the false prophet will
perform his miracles, acting with antichrist's authority "in his presence"
(Rev.13:12; 13:13). In his implementation of the first beast's false
religion, we see the second beast following the pattern of counterfeiting true
forms and practices, and, specifically now that the focus of worship has moved
to the temple in Jerusalem, of paralleling the Mosaic Law with a series of
practices designed to resemble the truth even as they propagate satanic lies:
1. False Pilgrimage: In the law, all males in Israel are commanded to present themselves before the Lord on three occasions every year, i.e., at the Passover, the festival of first fruits, and the feast of Tabernacles (Ex.23:14-17). We may infer from the testimony given in our context to the effect that the false prophet will "deceive those who dwell upon the earth on account of the miracles which have been given to him to perform in the presence of the beast" that many individuals, especially those of any sort of prominence, will be expected to make what amounts to a similar "pilgrimage" to Jerusalem during those 42 months in order to worship at the feet of the beast, paying homage to him and to his idol under the watchful eye of the false prophet (compare the behavior of Nebuchadnezzar vis-à-vis the idol of gold which he had erected on the plain of Dura in Babylon: Dan.3:1-12).
2. False Worship: It is likely that the false prophet will represent himself as the high priest of Israel (though scripture does not give him that title possibly for the very good reason that he is not so in fact), and that much of the ritual carried on in and around Jerusalem at this time, illegitimate though it is, will closely parallel the historical temple rite (i.e., the appointment of divisions of priests, the reconstruction of all the trappings and paraphernalia of the Aaronic priesthood, and the continuation of various rules and regulations; although apparently not sacrifices per se: cf. Dan.9:27). It is the case that this show of historicity will in truth have nothing to do with the original temple worship, or the worship re-instituted by Moses and Elijah, or the millennial temple worship reestablished by the true Messiah. But to those who have been deceived to the point of accepting antichrist as the Christ, restoration of the temple rite at least in some form or other far from being surprising will indeed be expected of this pseudo-Messiah who has now come to Jerusalem to begin his "millennial reign".
3. False Dietary Regime: Dietary regulations play a significant role in the Mosaic Law for the purpose of "distinguishing between the holy and the profane" (Lev.10:10). That is to say, Israel's separation from the practices of the world in diet were to be representative of their far more important spiritual separation (Rom.4:13). Reversing this relationship, that is, claiming holiness or righteousness on the basis of "keeping the Law" in any of its aspects is, as any reader of the New Testament is well aware, diametrically opposed to the true purpose of the Law and the true meaning of grace. Yet a key feature of antichrist's religion as administered by his high priest, the false prophet, will be to take traditional legalism a step farther, instituting a system of aggressive vegetarianism that will give its practitioners a feeling of "holiness" and "purity" on the basis of diet (i.e., physical, substituting for spiritual, purity), despite whatever truly sinful behavior in which they may be engaged (1Tim.4:1-5; cf. Col.2:16-23; 2Tim.3:5; Heb.13:9).
4. False Communion: Closely tied to these everyday
dietary restraints will be the practice of a false "communion" which will follow
closely after the pattern of historical pagan practices (cf. Zech.9:7):
Those who sanctify and purify themselves for the gardens following the lead of the one [characterized] by violence, eating the flesh of swine, and of whatever is an abomination, and of rats will be swept away together (i.e., at the Second Advent), says the Lord.
Isaiah 66:17
The context of this verse (both preceding and following, but see especially
Is.66:18-24) shows clearly that while the behavior described is not
unprecedented in Israel's past (cf. Is.65:3-5), the disgusting communal meal
described above will be the one in vogue during the Tribulation. Therefore
the "one with violence",(37)
clearly an individual acting as a sort of priest officiating over the
proceedings, is best taken to be the false prophet, antichrist's own "high
priest" and the one responsible for directing his false religion. The fact
that meat will be eaten in this "communion" whereas vegetarianism will be the
rule otherwise is not contradictory, for this eating of abominations will
represent a "sacrifice" and for that reason necessarily includes behavior not
otherwise sought out or condoned.
5. False Piety: The "sanctified" behavior of antichrist's religion will go beyond diet including in particular a general prohibition against normal marriage (1Tim.4:3). Genuine Christianity does indeed forbid sexual conduct outside of marriage (e.g., 1Thes.4:3-8), but never forbids legitimate marriage (1Cor.7:8-9). Here once again, therefore, we see the beast's religion turning the truth on its head. While preaching and encouraging sexual licentiousness (cf. 2Pet.2:17-22), the false prophet will lead the charge to forbid the only valid forum for sexual behavior. We may expect many such instances of making virtue out of sin and vice versa. One particularly well documented form of counterfeit piety will be the tattooing of the beast's name (or number) on the forehead and/or right hand of his worshipers (covered in section VI.3 below), wherein we see a clear attempt to mimic legitimate biblical practices past and present (Is.44:5; Rev.3:12; cf. Ex.13:9-16; Is.62:2; 65:15; Rev.2:17), even while violating the express commands of scripture (Lev.19:28; Rev.14:9-11; cf. Rev.16:2; 19:20; 20:4).
6. False Millennial Program: During the Great Tribulation, antichrist will represent himself as the Messiah. Therefore it should not be surprising that his religion will attempt to counterfeit and play off of the prophecies regarding Christ's true Millennial Kingdom. One of the key thematic characteristics of the genuine Millennium will be justice, divinely defined and directly administered by the Lord worldwide for the first time in human history since the garden (cf. Ps.2; Ps.9; Ps.24; Ps.45-48; Ps.50; Ps.68; Ps.72; Is.11; Is.24; Is.25-27; Is.32; Is.34-35; Is.49-52; Is.62-66). Instead of true justice stemming from divine administration of the world (an under-appreciated blessing that is worth far more than many material blessings with which the Millennium will be replete), the beast's religion will offer unprecedented "freedom" from innumerable legal and societal restraints (Dan.7:25; 2Pet.2:17-22; cf. Is.24:5), but this "freedom" will in fact help to produce the most outrageous violations of the most basic human rights as well as of the most important freedom we as a species possess, namely, the right to choose for Jesus Christ and to follow and serve Him in this life without persecution. From the believer's perspective, the beast's false millennium is best understood by its divinely assigned name, "The Great Tribulation". Instead of a time of justice and safety, these final forty-two months will be a time of trampling down of all that is just and right and decent in the name of "freedom". For whatever good one may find in anti-materialistic, new age, vegetarian, libertarian anti-commercialism, in the context of antichrist's pseudo-millennium all such things will be mere fig leaves employed solely for the purpose of covering a campaign of crime, lawlessness, licentiousness, and the judicial murder of all who find themselves in opposition to the beast for whatever reason, and especially those who have determined to stay faithful to Jesus Christ regardless of the consequences. One category of "freedom-blessings" scripture does spell out for this period is a general redistribution of wealth by antichrist on behalf of his supporters (Dan.11:24b; 11:39). Presented no doubt as a "jubilee" along Old Testament lines (Lev.25; 27), this action will instead be motivated out of the beast's desire to firm up his own support rather than any desire to help the poor.
7. False Service: Finally, the "righteous works" required of the adherents of antichrist's religion as led by his high priest, the false prophet, will entail first and foremost participation in the satanic attempt at universal conversion to the beast. In addition to all the other depravities required of those who choose to serve the beast, this final "crusade" will involve the active destruction of the free will opportunities of others to choose for Christ, even to the point of betraying those they ought to love the most (Matt.10:36; Lk.21:16).
Great
miracles: More persuasive than any of the lies
the false prophet will spout will be the exceptional "miracles" he is permitted
to perform in the name of the beast and in the power of the devil.
Scripture is very clear here and elsewhere that these signs and wonders will be
most impressive, "deceiving those who live upon the earth" (v.14; cf.
2Thes.2:9-10), and even capable of deceiving even the elect, "if that were
possible" (Matt.24:24; Mk.13:22). In the production of these miraculous
signs once again we see Satan's familiar pattern of aping the wonders of God in
order to appear a god in the eyes of world (2Cor.11:14). Moreover, the
specific false miracles given to the second beast to perform are particularly
deceptive in that they so directly parallel demonstrations of genuine divine
power. For Moses and Elijah, both historically and even more importantly
during their recent return to earth to direct the missionary activities of the
144,000, performed similar signs and miracles (Rev.11:5; cf. 1Ki.18:38;
2Ki.1:9-14). Just as Pharaoh's magicians, Jannes and Jambres, were able to
produce counterfeit signs and miracles that nevertheless fell short of what God
gave Moses to perform (Ex.7:11; 7:22; cf. 2Tim.3:8-9), and just as the devil was
able to manipulate the pre-historic creation and yet fell pitifully short of the
power of God, so the false prophet's signs and miracles will in fact be
pathetically lacking compared to true divine power. However, we must not
underestimate the power of their persuasiveness upon the
unbelieving world. As believers contemplating these events before the
fact, we need to realize that these signs and wonders will appear to the human
eye as indeed being the "real thing", so that only through our understanding of
the truth of scripture will we be able to resist being impressed to the point of
misguided belief as the rest of the world will be. Believers in Jesus,
therefore, must take pains to remember at all times (and especially at that
time) that what we know to be so from the Bible is always of much greater import
than anything our eyes may happen to see – it is by faith in God's truth that we
navigate this world, not by how we may feel or by what we may experience or
by what our eyes behold (2Cor.4:18; 5:7). However impressive and
persuasive the signs and wonders we may see, the true "test" lies in whether or
not those who perform them contradict the truth and seek to lead us astray
(Deut.13:2-4).
Commanding the inhabitants of the earth to make an image of the beast:
The fact that the world's entire unbelieving population is included here as
involved in the construction of the idol, the "abomination which brings
[spiritual] desolation",(38)
indicates that this statue will be of massive size and probably constructed of
extremely valuable materials. Given the close relation between many
aspects of this occurrence and Nebuchadnezzar's similar construction of the
huge, ninety foot tall golden idol in the plains of Babylon (Dan.3:1ff), we
would be justified in assuming that this statue is made of gold as well.
We may posit that the false prophet in his role as high priest of the beast's
religion will supervise a worldwide campaign of contributions for the
construction, for this is most likely what is to be understood from the phrase
"commanding the inhabitants of the earth to make an image of the beast" (cf.
Ex.35:4 - 36:7). Once the idol is in place, the false prophet will animate
it through satanic power (i.e., v.15: "it was given to him to provide a spirit
for the image of the beast so that the image might speak"). This ability
to animate a statue so large and impressively appointed will play no small role
in the deception of the world, and we may anticipate that many who come to
Jerusalem unconvinced will be awed into "belief" by this unprecedented sight
(cf. Nebuchadnezzar's attempt to impart a similar sense of awe through ornate
and extensive musical accompaniment: Dan.3:5; 3:7; 3:10; 3:15).
And [it was also given to him] to bring it about that as many as refused to
worship the image of the beast might be put to death: It stands to
reason that only those in the presence of the image of the beast can be put to
the test as to whether or not they are willing to worship it. This verse
indicates that all whose allegiance to antichrist is suspect will be brought to
Jerusalem and made to stand before the colossal idol, with those who refuse to
give their obeisance in its presence being put immediately to death. The
means of execution is not given, but it would certainly continue the parallel
with Nebuchadnezzar's statue if the imminent demise for all who refuse was a
horrifying death by fire in a furnace akin to that into which Hananiah, Mishael,
and Asariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were thrown upon their similar
refusal (cf. Dan.11:33). The terrifying sight of this monstrous, animated
colossus, and the prospect of being cast alive into the flames for refusing to
worship it, will no doubt prove too much for anyone to bear – except for those
who are solidly grounded in their faith in Jesus Christ, and ready to follow Him
even unto a fiery death rather than prove unfaithful in this life.
(16) And he (i.e., the false prophet) compelled everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to allow [his clergy] to place a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, (17) so that no one would be able to buy or sell except those with the mark, [consisting of] either the name of the [first] beast or the number of his name.
Revelation 13:16-17
We see again in these verses that the false prophet, antichrist's high priest,
is responsible for the implementation of the policy regarding the "mark".
Several important points contained in the text above need to be considered
before proceeding to the discussion of the "number of the beast" in verse
eighteen:
1. The beast's universal religion results in universal compulsion to receive the mark: Whatever civil rights and benefits of citizenship obtain under antichrist's worldwide state, we are right to expect that these will all be closely tied to membership and participation in his universal religion because it is through this religion that his "majesty" will be worshiped and revered. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that at this juncture the false prophet will administer the placement of a visible sign of obeisance upon all of the beast's followers with the objective of "marking" the entire world. Given the dire consequences the reception of this mark will have, we may posit that, in addition to true believers, there will be an indeterminate number of unbelievers who will avoid it as well. We should not, however, underestimate the short-term negative consequences which resisting this mark will entail (see point #3 immediately below).
2. The placing of the mark is most likely carried out by the clergy of the beast's religion: Since antichrist's religion is a purposefully syncretic mixture all other religions distinguished mainly by its universal acknowledgment of the beast as God, we do not have to find in this policy of marking its adherents any fundamental reconstruction or reorganization of its parts. More than likely, the same priests, pastors, imams, etc. of all religions and cults previously co-opted into antichrist's universal religion will be at the forefront of the process of marking all of the world's "believers" in antichrist, and that this process will be essentially religious rather than civil in nature (though it will have definite civil consequences).
3. The pressure to receive the mark: The mark will accomplish a melding together of church and state such as the world has not seen since the tower of Babel. For while the taking of the mark will have a putative religious purpose and be imprinted in a religious setting, its consequences for every other sphere of life can hardly be underestimated. In addition to the economic hardships of a posture of refusal spelled out here in our context (i.e., essentially banning the unmarked from commerce of any sort), we may expect all such persons to become what amounts to "unpersons", bereft of any rights, legal recourse, or any consideration of any kind whatsoever under the beast's system of governance. The beast's focus upon economic activity as related in verse seventeen is entirely understandable as the most effective stimulus to the progress of this universal conscription of humanity into the official ranks of evil. For while legal matters, voting, various registrations and the like might all be of use in the process of coercing the world to enroll, "buying and selling" are weekly if not daily activities in which all but those engaged in the most independent of agricultural operations must necessarily engage.(39)
As one of the most important functional and practical spheres of daily life, therefore, commerce, and specifically the exclusion of the unmarked from commerce, will be an ideal vehicle for the universal enrollment of mankind into antichrist's religion. For in addition to the necessities of life, commerce is also the entrepot into all of the key aspects of the devil's worldwide system of lust generally:
a. Money: If currency, cash, gold, money and fungible assets of every sort were "important" in the eyes of the world in the past, during the Tribulation, a time of such intense insecurity, we can expect the twin desires for financial security and opportunity based upon a large store of liquid assets to be more intense than ever. Clearly, under the new mandate of the mark, those who have it or seek or otherwise want and need money will feel the pressure to be marked all the more intensely according to the degree of their wants, desires, lusts, and needs for it. For without the mark, not only will they be unable to acquire monetary assets, but they will also be largely unable to make use of what they have previously accumulated.
b. Possessions: As mentioned above, part of the beast's system will entail the redistribution of wealth, real estate in particular. We can well imagine that gaining new lands and holdings will be virtually impossible for those who lack the mark, and that likewise retaining what substantial possessions one may have will also be difficult in the short run and essentially impossible in the long run. Most large, hard assets, moreover, require various types and degrees of maintenance, a process that also requires engaging in commerce on some level. Therefore it will be very difficult for those who are rich in any sense in which this world defines it to maintain that wealth and those possessions during this period without receiving the mark.
c. Pleasure: Whether large or small, illicit or legitimate, the gratification of non-essential pleasures makes up a large part of the current world economy. Inevitably, in order to gratify most pleasures one must engage in commercial activity. Therefore even those who might for other reasons be willing and able to resist the process of marking – and be stubborn and bold enough to do so – will be sore tested on this count, for they will find themselves largely shut out of this particular aspect of the devil's world system if they do.
d. Fame: Glory, celebrity, reputation, fame of every sort, large and small, is an important area of lust in Satan's world system. For those whose self-image and ultimate desires are bound up in this area, the prospect of becoming an "unperson" and being shut out of all commercial activity and the essential things that often attend that activity will be difficult even to contemplate. However defined or derived, antichrist will have a virtual monopoly on "fame" during the Great Tribulation, so that failure to take the mark will necessarily turn any good reputation to "infamy", a hard road to take for any one who does not value God's opinion over the opinions of mankind.
e. Power: The ultimate lust in the devil's world system is that of power (on whatever level), the myth of having some sort of control over others by virtue of position or other means. Generally this also has a base in commercial activity on some level (if only indirectly). But in any case, it is virtually certain that, during the Great Tribulation, the powerful will owe continuation in their positions of power to antichrist, making it a near certainty that they will be among the first to receive the mark.
Since everything that human beings lust after and desire apart from God will be
put at risk by refusing to accept the mark of the beast, it is a mistaken notion
to assume that the taking of the mark will be something easily avoidable by
merely refraining from direct "legal" commercial transactions. The end
result will thus be that many who would rather not take the mark, even if they
would be otherwise willing to go underground or seek to skirt the system not out
of any love for God but just on general principles (i.e., the taking on to one's
body of a large tattoo not even of one's choosing is bound to rub many people
the wrong way, not only Christians), will ultimately do so. For,
otherwise, they will find themselves entirely deprived of or at least seriously
hindered from seeking and enjoying the things that, for a large part of the
secular world, "make life worth living".
For those who know their God, the loss of the things of this world, culminating
for many in the loss of their very lives, will constitute a true blessing, the
privilege of persecution and martyrdom for the Lord who died for us (though the
world will not realize it as such). But for those who do not believe, the
down side of refusing to take the mark will be so horrific without any apparent
appreciable benefit that only the most irascibly independent are likely to try.
One thing is certain: anyone at this point who "has anything" as defined
by the five areas delimited above will certainly think twice before refusing the
mark and losing everything, even though accepting it is a guarantee of divine
judgment (Rev.14:9-11; cf. Rev.16:2; 19:20; 20:4). For during the Great
Tribulation, at the center of the spider's web of these five main
cross-fertilizing and intersecting lusts of Satan's world system will be the
beast himself and his religion, Satanism, the worship of the devil in preference
to the worship of God. And this is the devil's strategy and objective: to
present to God a world inhabited only by those who of their own "free
will" have taken upon themselves the mark as a proof of their choice of Satan
over God.
4. The mark will take the form of a permanent, visible tattoo:
The Greek word used here for the "mark" is charagma (χάραγμα), meaning
something that has been permanently marked, generally through inscription or
carving or other permanent imprinting (cf. our derived word "character").
The context and its logic certainly suggest the same, for there would be little
purpose to antichrist's requiring an easily removable mark. The whole
point is to make the world choose for him in a visible and irremediable way, and
requiring a permanent, highly visible tattoo certainly accomplishes this
purpose. But the beast's "sealing" of his faithful is so dramatically at
odds with our Lord's sealing of us that it bears comment. We are sealed
with the Holy Spirit, an act of God on our behalf with positive and invisible
spiritual consequences for good in every way (2Cor.1:21-22; Eph.1:13-14; 4:30),
while those who choose for antichrist and for Satan are physically sealed for
short-term material benefit without any positive spiritual consequences
whatsoever. Indeed, receiving the mark is guarantee of condemnation
(Rev.14:9-11; cf. 16:2; 19:20; 20:4).(40)
5. The significance of the two places for the mark: Why two
places for the mark? The answer most likely has to do with a hierarchy of
marking, that is, we may assume that the mark received on the forehead will be
considered "better" than merely marking the hand. While it is possible
that this distinction will be one of choice with each person deciding where to
receive it, the more likely scenario is that only the elite will be "allowed" to
receive a mark on the forehead, and this will constitute a badge of honor
showing that those who have it are not merely responding to universal coercion
but are instead enthusiastic communicants of antichrist's religion. The
danger in this two-track system for those under pressure to receive the mark is
that they will make the mistake of assuming (in the face of divine warning to
the contrary) that only the mark on the forehead is spiritually dangerous (i.e.,
since the mark on the hand will represent more of an attitude of acquiescence
than of enthusiasm). But in fact receiving the mark in either place will
be a cause for "drinking of the wrath of God" (Rev.14:9-11).
6. The significance of the two variations of the mark: An
additional "choice" is afforded those who respond to the false prophet's demand
that the whole world be marked for antichrist, namely of receiving the "number
of his name" in place of the name itself. The fact that the number comes
second in the sequence in verse seventeen (just as the forehead marking comes
second) suggests that this is the "better" choice signifying a deeper commitment
to the beast. The fact that verse eighteen is taken up with explaining the
significance of the number of the beast confirms this analysis. Inasmuch
as the name or the number can be placed on either the forehead or the hand, we
see in this system a hierarchy of four levels of dedication to antichrist as
follows:
Highest: Number on the forehead
Second Highest: Name on the forehead
Third Highest: Number on the hand
Lowest: Name on the hand
As noted above, scripture is quite clear that in God's eyes there will be no
distinction between the highest and lowest in this hierarchy, for by taking the
mark in any of its four manifestations the individual in question is willfully
throwing his lot in with antichrist and his father the devil, and so by
definition and of necessity has in the process deliberately turned his back on
God the Father and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. One further monitory
note here. Since in every way possible he attempts to counterfeit the true
Messiah, it is very possible that the beast's "name" will in some way mimic one
of Jesus' names or titles. We cannot know the precise "name" before the
fact (on this point and on the Greek system of enumeration generally see
section VI.4 immediately following), but it is worth noting that several
divine names come very close to the requisite "six hundred and sixty six" when
computed via the Greek numbering system wherein letters of the alphabet
represent numerals (n.b., the system of Arabic numerals which we use today is a
much later development). For example, Messiah in Greek,
Messias (Μεσσίας), is short by only one letter, an iota, of 666 (a
deficit easily made up by any number initials that would equal ten in the Greek
system). If this word or any number of other legitimate divine titles
variously calculated should turn out to be antichrist's name, there is at least
the danger that some believers under coercion may rationalize the taking of the
mark as really being a name of the Lord, since it may well be, at least in some
form. But scripture is adamant about the fact that the mark, however
innocuous it may seem and whatever alternative meaning it may be made to bear,
will constitute an act of ultimate unfaithfulness so extreme that any and all
who may have been believers before the fact will by that act become believers no
more – taking of the mark by any brother or sister will put faith to death
(Rev.14:9-11; cf. 16:2; 19:20; 20:4).
Here is wisdom: let everyone who is alert [at that time] calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man['s name]. And his (i.e., the beast's) number is six hundred and sixty six (i.e., 666 "ways").
Revelation 13:18
Since in verse seventeen we are told specifically that the alternative form of
the mark is "the number of his (i.e., the beast's) name", the "number of the
beast" mentioned here, therefore, has to be the same numerical equivalent of
antichrist's name referenced in that previous verse. That is to say, "six
hundred and sixty six" is the number which both constitutes a numerical value
for the beast's name and which also functions as the alternative (and superior)
form of the mark.
Before considering the number of the beast per se, we need to say a few words about his "name" as it will occur in the other versions of the mark along with its numerical value. The "wisdom" given here is not in any way mysterious. If at that time one is merely "alert" or paying attention to what scripture says about this issue, the formula provided will easily dispel all doubt about what is the true "mark of the beast" so that believers will have no trouble whatsoever identifying it (and no excuse for failing to avoid it). As part of the New Testament, this book of the Bible is written in Greek, and for that reason it is the Greek system of numerals which must be employed to calculate the "name" for its numerical value (use of Arabic numerals in the west was not widespread until the 15th century). In the Greek system, each letter of the alphabet (and some symbols as well) has a numerical value, with alpha, the first letter equaling one, and omega, the last letter equaling eight hundred. For example, the Greek transliteration mentioned above for the Hebrew word Messiah (meaning, "anointed one"), is as follows:
Μεσσίας: Μ = 40 + ε = 5 + σ = 200 + σ = 200 + ί = 10 + α = 1
+ ς = 200 > = 656
By adding the Aramaic imperative "come!" (cf. Marana tha!, "O our Lord, come!"), we create a phrase equaling the requisite number of six hundred and sixty six (because the letters theta and alpha equal nine and one respectively so that θα = +10). Before the reader gets too excited about all this, let me point out what should be readily obvious, namely that in such a system the number of possibilities for constructing names that add up to 666 is incalculably large (if not literally infinite). For this reason, the information given us in Revelation 13:18 cannot possibly be used to figure out antichrist's name before the fact. For even if one was fortunate enough to hit upon the precise sequence of letters for the actual name, there is absolutely no way to determine before his revelation that said sequence was the uniquely correct one. What we are given in Revelation 13:18 is thus not a key to figuring out the identity of antichrist before the fact. On the contrary, it is an analytical tool or "litmus test" for evaluating the putative name of the beast to see if he is indeed antichrist after we have a name to work from. With a simple transliteration of any name into the Greek system, we can with relative ease examine any name and discover fairly easily whether it might have the numerical value of 666. This was a fairly common sort of cipher in antiquity (often called a "gematria"), and one finds, for example, graffiti recovered from Pompeii where the names of lovers were concealed in this manner, as well as riddles on funeral monuments in the Greek speaking areas of the Mediterranean which substitute a sum of letters for the name of the deceased and invite the onlooker to solve the puzzle. Without clues, such riddles are impossible to solve, since, as mentioned above, the number of names that can be made to fit into any large sum is, for all practical purposes, endless. The relatively small number "10", for instance, could be a lone iota, an alpha plus a theta, a beta plus an eta, etc., etc. And the possibilities grow geometrically the larger the numbers become.
One should also note that once the universal marking begins, decoding the precise mark of the beast as it occurs at that time will be a fairly simple matter despite issues of transliteration. Before the precise form of his name as it is to be used for the mark comes to light, however, this test is unlikely to be the best litmus test for uncovering antichrist. For example, will the mark contain only his last name? Will it include his first name or merely his initials, and which ones? More to the point, will antichrist change his name in some way at the point when he takes his seat in the temple of God in Jerusalem and proclaims himself to be God? The point is that until the exact form of the name as it occurs in this alternative version of the mark becomes generally known, there is little point in making the calculation recommended here. And Bible believing Christians should take careful note that scripture only gives us this information at the point when the actual marking begins, indicating very clearly that any attempt to identify antichrist in this way before the process of universal marking is pointless. In any case, by the middle of the Tribulation it is difficult to comprehend how any genuine believer in Jesus Christ who has the least bit of spiritual discernment could not know that the dictator who has come to control the world and has invaded God's very temple is antichrist. The real danger here is that believers in the early days of the Tribulation will fail to recognize the beast because his name as it occurs at that time may not seem to fit the formula given in verse eighteen.
The significance of 666: The first thing to emphasize here is that
we do not necessarily have to do with three consecutive numeral "sixes", that
is, some precise variant of 6-6-6. In our system of Arabic numerals, a
system that does not greatly antedate the printing press here in the west, it is
true that there is no distinction between the number six hundred and sixty six
and its representation by three consecutive sixes: 666. In the Greek
system, however, this is not at all the case. In Greek, the language of
Revelation and therefore the basis for the system that must be employed to
understand this issue correctly, six hundred and sixty six would be represented
by two letters and a symbol, namely, chi, xi, and stigma.
What this means for our purposes here is that much popular theorizing that makes
the "sign of the beast" a series of three sixes may be entirely wrong. And
while it is certainly possible that three Arabic numeral sixes will indeed
constitute the essential mark that stands for the name of antichrist, there is
no convincing reason why this should be so. Just as the Arabic numeral
representation 666 would appear different in the Greek system (i.e., as χξϛ), so
it is also fair to point out that the contemporaneous Roman system (i.e., "Roman
numerals" wherein 666 = DCLXVI) and Hebrew system (an alphabetic system similar
to Greek wherein 666 = תרסו) certainly have as much claim to be considered as
the much later, non-contemporaneous western version of the Arabic system.
Moreover there is no way that we can say before the fact that antichrist might
not adopt, say, a base two system (stressing technology), or a base twelve
system (stressing Babylonian mysticism), or any other system of mathematical,
geometrical, or mystical symbolism to represent the integer 666, perhaps even
one of his own devising not yet extant. The point is that discerning
Christians cannot afford to assume that any mark that does not
have three Arabic numeral sixes (i.e., 666) could not possibly be "the mark of
the beast".
The significance of the number itself has also long been a matter of as much speculation as its appearance. Like "pi", a repeating system of sixes may have some significance for the mythology that antichrist creates around himself and his system of devil worship. As Christians, we would rather choose to note that whether 666 is seen as single integer, a series of sixes, or a repeating decimal, at all points it falls short of perfection (i.e., of the perfect number seven) by "one", namely, through rejection of the "One" who is the way, the truth and the life, our true Savior Jesus Christ.(41) One thing that is generally not appreciated in such discussions is that, unlike English, Greek numerals are at times declinable, and such is the case in this instance. Specifically, "six hundred and sixty six" in this instance at Revelation 13:18 is feminine,(42) so that what the text here is really saying is "six hundred and sixty six (feminine) _________'s, and it is left to the reader to fill in the blank from the context. This is a not unfamiliar situation in Greek where one often understands the occurrence or repetition of a particular noun which can be easily guessed from the information contained in the ending of an adjective (in contrast to English where adjectives are unchangeable). Of course there is no feminine noun in context, a situation which no doubt explains why various other versions switched the ending to masculine, neuter, or eliminated the problem entirely by using symbolic notation (i.e, the Greek equivalent of 666 mentioned above: χξϛ). But in fact the case of a feminine adjective with no noun expressed is far from unprecedented in Greek, there being a generally understood short list of common nouns to be supplied in such circumstances. By far the most common noun to supply in such situations is the Greek word for "way", hodos (ὁδός; cf. "odometer" = "road-measurer"), and that is the noun to be supplied here. Since 666 represents an infinitely repeating cipher, the "six hundred and sixty six ways" may be understood as the all inclusive and virtually infinite number of "paths to salvation" in the beast's religious system. Provided only that one worship antichrist and his father the devil as god, all other religious, traditional, or cultic practices will be pronounced acceptable and deemed effective in "saving" the individual worshiper. But in fact, this cipher leaves out the "one" that would end its pointless repetition and instead produce completion and fulfillment, the "One" who is the one and only true "Way", our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 9:2; 19:9; 19:23; 22:4; 24:14; 24:22; 2Pet.2:2;):
I am the Way: the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
1. The Great Persecution is what makes the Tribulation's second half
"Great": We have made the point repeatedly in this series that the
"distress" and "tribulation" which characterize the final seven years of human
history before Christ's return are seen in scripture first and foremost from the
standpoint of believers (cf. Dan.12:1; Matt.24:21; 24:29; Mk.13:19; 13:24).
It is true that many of the events of that terrible time to come will weigh
heavily on the people of God, but believers will be protected to a large extent
from much of the worst of it (viz. the judgments of God which are directed
toward the reprobate). The Great Persecution is the preeminent exception,
for it will be a period of the greatest testing wherein because of widespread
martyrdom believers in unprecedented numbers will have to put into practice what
we should all understand in principle, namely that our true security consists in
our eternal relationship with Jesus Christ rather than in clinging to this
temporary physical life (Matt.16:25; Mk.8:35; Lk.17:33; Jn.12:25; Rev.12:11).
The uniting of the globe under the banner of antichrist and the one-world "peace" which results will be the worst thing that has yet happened in human history by virtue of its elimination of any countervailing power to check the machinations of the beast and of his father the devil. This will be particularly true for believers in regard to the Great Persecution, an event which will begin not long after antichrist's consolidation of power. For with the world united in evil, there will be no place to hide, no place to run. Those who in the will of God are destined for martyrdom will be martyred, while those who are destined to survive must endure persecution until the return of our Lord (Rev.13:10).
As is evident from its occurrence in chapters thirteen and fourteen of Revelation, the Great Persecution will begin not long after the beginning of the Tribulation's second half, the Great Tribulation. To recap in brief some of the preceding events, following his total defeat of the southern alliance, antichrist will quickly turn his attention to the establishment of his capital in Jerusalem. The beast will be the target of an assassination attempt at this time, and his remarkable recovery coupled with his victory will do much to swing the great majority of the world's population in his favor. Using this attempt on his life as a pretext, antichrist will make war on Moses and Elijah, killing them and then occupying the temple of God, even proclaiming himself to be God, erecting the "abomination that causes [spiritual] desolation" in the temple court. Those in Israel who have responded to the ministry of the two witnesses and the 144,000 will flee to the wilderness at this time, evading through divine intervention the beast's attempts to catch and destroy them. His frustration in this attempt will result in the commencement of the Great Persecution, a reign of terror directed against all true believers in Jesus Christ, the implementation of which will be part and parcel of the establishment of antichrist's worldwide system of religion:
And the dragon was enraged at the woman (i.e., the escaping Jewish believers), and he went away to make war with the rest of her seed, [even] those who are keeping the commandments of God and maintaining their testimony to Jesus.
Revelation 12:17
The scapegoating of believers in the matter of the assassination attempt will
have the dual effect of provoking a violent reaction in Israel and worldwide
against all believers on the one hand, and on the other hand will also
contribute to an environment of great suspicion wherein unbelievers will be
eager to show by their acceptance of the mark that they are without blame in the
matter, and even more eager and willing to "smoke out the traitors" by way of
this litmus test. Thus will the stage be set from the very early days of
antichrist's worldwide reign for the event that more than any other defines and
characterizes the coming Tribulation, namely, the Great Persecution.
2. Key Passages: The precise term "Great Persecution" is, as
we have said before, one coined for the purposes of this study. But that a
persecution of believers the likes of which the world has never seen will take
place at this time (and through its terrible nature make the second half of the
Tribulation "great") is evident from the volume and specificity of the major
passages which treat this event, especially in (but not limited to) the book of
Revelation:
(9) And when He (i.e., the Lamb) opened the fifth seal, I saw below the altar the living persons who had been slain because of the Word of God and because of the testimony which they had maintained. (10) And they cried out with a loud voice, saying "How long, O Master, holy and true, will you [wait and] not render judgment and vindication for our blood upon those who dwell on the earth?" (11) And a white robe was given to each one of them that they might rest yet a little while longer until their brothers who were destined to be killed in the same fashion should also fulfill [their course].
Revelation 6:9-11
Comment: It will be recalled that only two seals, the fifth and sixth,
deal with the trends of the last three and a half years (the seventh serving to
"open the book" and begin the seven year period itself), with the sixth seal
referring to Armageddon and related events. Therefore the fact that this
seal serves as the sole agent of characterization for the bulk of the
Tribulation's second half demonstrates that the Great Persecution is the
decisive event of that period.
(9) After this I looked and, behold, [there was] a huge multitude which no one was able to number from every nation and tribe and people and tongue standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and with palm branches in their hands. (10) And they were shouting in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God, the One who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!" (11) And all the angels had taken their stand around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, (12) saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might belong to our God forever and ever! Amen!" (13) And one of the elders who was speaking with me replied, "These people dressed in white robes – who are they and where have they come from?" (14) And I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who are about to come forth from the Great Tribulation. And they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (15) For this reason they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple. And the One who sits upon the throne will pitch His tabernacle over them. (16) They will neither hunger nor thirst again, nor will the sun beat down upon them nor any burning [heat], (17) because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and will lead them to fountains of living water (lit., "fountains of waters of life"), and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes".
Revelation 7:9-17
Comment: There are so many who have been martyred that they can not be
counted, showing clearly the scope of the Great Persecution. Moreover, the
fact that these martyrs come "from every nation and tribe and people and tongue"
demonstrates the worldwide nature of the persecution. Finally, this
passage definitely fixes the time of the Great Persecution, for as the angel
says in verse fourteen, these martyrs are "about to come forth from the Great
Tribulation", that is, the second half of the seven year period.
(7) And war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon and the dragon and his angels fought [back], (8) but they did not prevail against him, and they could no longer find any place [of refuge] in heaven. (9) And [so] the great dragon, the ancient serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, was thrown down; even he who deceives the entire world was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (10) And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,
"Now our God's deliverance and might and kingdom have come, even the power of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, the one who accuses them day and night in front of our God, has been thrown down. (11) But these [believers] have defeated [the devil] through the blood of the Lamb and the Word of their testimony. For they did not love their lives, [even] to the point of death. (12) Because of this, rejoice, O heavens and those residing in them! [But] woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you, having [great] anger, because he knows that he has [only] a short time [remaining]!"
Revelation 12:7-12
Comment: In verse eleven the martyrs are described as virtually
synonymous with all believers alive at this time, indicating the scope of the
Great Persecution. The casting down of Satan at the midpoint of the
Tribulation (verse nine) and the proclamation that his remaining time is short
(verse twelve) further serves to fix the time of the Great Persecution as the
final three and a half years. Finally, in this synopsis of the Great
Tribulation, we see that from the standpoint of believers the Great Persecution
is the event which dominates this period.
And the dragon was enraged at the woman (i.e., the escaping Jewish believers), and he went away to make war with the rest of her seed, [even] those who are keeping the commandments of God and maintaining their testimony to Jesus.
Revelation 12:17
Comment: Just as the dragon, Satan, attempted to use his newfound
mastery of the world's political systems united under his son, the beast, for
the destruction of Jewish believers in Israel, so now, at the Tribulation's
midpoint, he will turn his attention to the destruction of "the rest of her
seed", namely, gentile and Jewish believers worldwide. This passage
likewise fixes the time of the Great Persecution (i.e., it follows the escape of
believing Jews immediately after the beast's victory and shift of headquarters
to Jerusalem), demonstrates the universal sweep of the persecution (i.e., the
target is all the rest of "her seed", that is, all other believers not removed
to the special place of protection), and characterizes its horrible nature
(i.e., it will be a "war" whose object is the annihilation of the faithful).
"If anyone is [destined] for captivity [to captivity he will go]. If it is necessary for anyone to be put to death by the sword, by the sword he must be put to death. Herein lies the perseverance and the faithfulness of the holy ones."
Revelation 13:10
Comment: This caveat from our Lord removes all doubt about either the
intensity of the Great Persecution to come or the possibility of avoiding it.
Only two outcomes are contemplated, death or prison cell. While other
outcomes are not necessarily ruled out, this passage suggests that they will be
the exception rather than the rule, and thus encourages us to steel ourselves to
these grim realities before the fact.
And it was given to him (i.e., the false prophet) to provide a spirit for the image of the beast so that the image might speak, and [it was also given to him] to bring it about that as many as refused to worship the image of the beast might be put to death.
Revelation 13:15
Comment: Here we see that the Great Persecution is central to the
institution of the beast's worldwide religion, for it will be by means of the
litmus test of willingness to worship antichrist that true believers will be
winnowed out. This passage also makes it clear that the number of those
martyred will be significant, for refusal to worship, once a believer has been
"processed" to that point, will apparently result in a sentence of death in
every case.
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on so that they may rest from their labors", says the Spirit. "For their deeds follow with them."
Revelation 14:13
Comment: This verse, coming immediately after the most stringent of
warnings to refrain from the beast's religion in any form (i.e., the third
angel's proclamation of Revelation 14:9-12 [on which see
section VII.2.c below]), encourages believers to face martyrdom with
confidence and a sense of peace, since the end will be rest and reward. The need
for such comfort is a sure indication that the Great Persecution will be a
horrendous experience which is near universal in its scope and impossible to
survive apart from a close walk with the Lord.
(14) And, behold, a white cloud. And sitting on the white cloud was what looked like a man with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. (15) And another angel came out of His temple, shouting in a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud, "Send [forth] your sickle and reap, because the hour of the harvest has come, and the harvest [crop] is ripe" (lit., "dry"). (16) And the one sitting on the cloud set his sickle to the earth, and the earth was harvested.
Revelation 14:14-16
Comment: As we shall see below (section
VII.3), the reaper represents Jesus Christ, and the believers martyred
during the Great Persecution are the harvest. This passage shows that, far
from being an accident, the Great Persecution is an integral part of the plan of
God designed for the glory of God, reflected in the faithfulness of His
witnesses, and the ultimate good of the martyred, who, like a ripe crop, are
removed at precisely the right time, being spared the time of final judgments of
the Great Tribulation while yet receiving all the rewards that accrue to those
genuinely martyred for Jesus Christ. The dramatic and worldwide nature of
the Great Persecution is also evident from the above.
(2) And I saw [something] like a sea of glass, [but this time it was] mixed with fire, and those who were [in the process of] winning the victory over the beast and his image and over the number of his name were standing on the sea of glass holding lyres of the Lord God, (3) and they were singing the song of Moses the servant of God, even the song of the Lamb, saying . . .
Revelation 15:2-3a
Comment: While this passage is often taken to represent the victorious
martyrs who have come out of the Great Tribulation, the fact that they are seen
here actually standing on the glass sea, the "viewing port", so to
speak, whereby earthly events are visible from heaven, gives us instead a
picture of faithful believers enduring the Great Persecution while still on
earth. The glass sea familiar to us from its description in chapter four
is now described as being "mixed with fire",(43)
a clear and hardly subtle symbol of the intensity of the trial that the
believers of that time will experience (1Pet.1:7; 4:12; cf. Dan.11:33;
Heb.11:34). This interpretation explains the fact that the participle
describing the endurance of the faithful is in the present tense here, and by
rights should be translated "who were [in the process of] winning", expressing
their status as being still in the midst of the fiery trial.(44)
The passage above describes all believers who remain faithful as belonging to
the same essential category of those "[in the process of] winning the victory"
over the beast, indicating that no one who maintains faith in Jesus Christ will
be exempt from the fire or the fight (nor, blessedly, from the exaltation of
victorious struggle on behalf of the Lord who bought
us).
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them (i.e., they sat in judgment), namely the persons who had been executed (lit., "beheaded with an ax") because of their witness for Jesus and because of the Word of God, [that is] whoever did not worship the beast or his image and did not take the mark on their forehead and on their hand. For they came to life and began to rule with Christ for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4
Comment: We know from a number of important and specific New
Testament passages (1Cor.15:50-55 and 1Thes.4:13-17 in particular)
that a significant number of believers do survive the Great Persecution
and are resurrected while yet alive at Christ's return. The fact
that this verse equates refusal to worship the beast with execution
demonstrates unequivocally the widespread martyrdom and intensity of the
Great Persecution.
(21) I was watching, and this horn (i.e., antichrist) was waging war with the holy ones (i.e., believers). And he was prevailing over them (i.e., "conquering them"), (22) until the Ancient of Days came (i.e., our Lord's second advent) and rendered judgment on behalf of the holy ones of the Most High, and the time came when the holy ones took possession of the Kingdom.
Daniel 7:21-22
Comment: As in Revelation 12:17, the Great Persecution is here
described as a "war", with antichrist continuing to "conquer" (i.e., execute)
believers until our Lord's return. The implication is that no believers
will be "neutral", that is, immune from the effects of the Great Persecution.
Further, the casualties (i.e., martyrs) will likely be horrific since the beast
will continue to "prevail" until the second advent.
And he (antichrist) will speak words against the Most High, and he will persecute the saints of the Most High God. And he will plot to change times and law. And they (i.e., believers, "the saints") will be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time (i.e., for the duration of the Great Tribulation).
Daniel 7:25
Comment: This passage also fixes the period of time during which
antichrist will persecute (lit., "wear down", "consume") believers as lasting
through the entire Great Tribulation (the "time and times and half a time", or
three and a half years). As mentioned in
section V.2.2 above,
the Great Persecution is here also connected directly to the implementation of
the beast's religious and his not unconnected radical social "reforms", the net
effect of which places all believers "into his hand" (i.e., subject to
persecution) until our Lord returns.
Comment: This passage (cf. Dan.8:23-35), previously covered in our
treatment of the Great Apostasy,(45)
deals primarily with the Tribulation's first half when seduction will be
the primary means of leading believers away from Jesus Christ. But also
clearly foreshadowed in the verses above is the near future time when seduction
gives way to compulsion (i.e., in verse 12 "the host fell into his power", and in
verse 14 "the trampling down of the host") which is only terminated by our
Lord's second advent.
(32) And with enticements he will seduce [people] to violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will continue to hold fast to it. (33) And those among the people who have insight will teach the people who will be persecuted by sword (i.e., martyrdom), and flame (i.e., torture leading to martyrdom), and captivity (i.e., imprisonment), and plundering (i.e., confiscation of property), for some time. (34) And when they are persecuted, they will receive a little help, yet many will ally themselves to them under false pretenses. (35) And even from among [the ranks of] those who have insight, some will be persecuted, in order to refine, purify, and cleanse them until the final end. For [it is] yet to come at its appointed time.
Daniel 11:32-35
Comment: These verses are some of the most explicit in detailing the
harrowing time that those who continue to "hold fast" to Jesus Christ will have.
Set in the context of antichrist's establishment of the abomination (v.31), and
indicating that the ordeal will continue "until the final end", this passage
likewise establishes the time period for the Great Persecution as essentially
extending over the entire final 42 months of the Great Tribulation, and likewise
apportions the suffering, "sword, and flame, and captivity, and plunder", to
everyone subject to it.
(8) But all these things (of vs. 3-7) are [merely] the beginning of the birth pangs (i.e., the first half of the Tribulation). (9) Then (i.e., the beginning of the Great Tribulation) men will betray you [bringing you] into tribulation (i.e., the Great Persecution), and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all of the nations on account of My Name.
Matthew 24:8-9 (cf. Matt.10:16-33; Mk.13:9-13; Lk.21:12-24)
Comment: Our Lord's words here anchor the previous prophecies of
Daniel and later prophecies of Revelation, and demonstrate with certainty the
reality of a coming persecution during the second, final phase of the
Tribulation of such unprecedented scope and intensity that it can only be
described as "great".
The above are only the major passages which directly describe the Great
Persecution in some detail, but they are sufficient to show that this widely
underappreciated teaching is both heavily stressed in scripture and of absolute
importance to us all "upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (1Cor.10:11).
Nor are these the only passages where one finds reference to the Great
Persecution (cf. also Is.24:16; Jer.31:2; Mic.7:1-7; Jn.16:1-4; 2Thes.1:6-10;
cf. Jer.9:4; 12:5-6; 31:2). For example, the attribution of the divine
wrath that will come upon the earth at the end of the Tribulation is
consistently characterized by scripture as a direct divine response to the
"blood of the saints", that is, divine judgment descending upon antichrist, his
kingdom, and his minions as a direct result of the Great Persecution (e.g.,
Is.26:20-21; 2Pet.3:10b; Rev.16:5-6; 17:6; 18:24; 19:2). In conclusion, it
may also be mentioned that there have always been persecutions of believers in
every age of world history, so that the many biblical passages which deal with
this general subject will be, if anything, even more important and applicable
during the quintessential persecution to come, the Great Persecution (cf.
Jer.45:1-4; Mic.7:1-7; Matt.13:21; Jn.15:20; 16:33; Acts 14:22; 1Thes.1:6-10;
3:3; 2Tim.3:12; Heb.11:32-40; 1Pet.4:12-19).(46)
3. The Precedence of the 144,000: Immediately following the description of the false prophet, of his administration of the Great Persecution, and of the mark and number of the beast in chapter thirteen, chapter fourteen turns directly to the 144,000. The appearance of these unique Jewish witnesses at this point, following the inception of the Great Persecution in the chronological sequence (yet preceding the angelic blessing upon those about to be martyred and the symbolic description of the general course of the Great Persecution in Revelation 14:14-16), is highly significant. We will cover this passage in some detail below, but suffice it to say here that this juxtaposition of passages definitively establishes the martyrdom of the 144,000 as the inaugural event of the Great Persecution. Scripture describes them here as being "purchased first from among men for God [the Father] and for the Lamb" (Rev.14:4), an explicit representation of these witnesses as having been delivered from the crucible of tribulation through martyrdom.
We should not let it go unnoticed here that this precedence of the 144,000 in
martyrdom is an exceptional honor which in turn teaches us how we should view
the prospect of our own potential martyrdom during that most difficult of times
to come. Instead of seeing the possibility of literally giving up our
lives for Jesus Christ as a terrible tragedy to be endured, we need to learn to
see it for what it truly is, namely, a deliverance which is both a great honor
and a great blessing, honoring the One we love, while guaranteeing great reward
for us through all eternity. This does not mean that we seek martyrdom
(the choice is God's, not ours), nor that the experience is likely to be easy or
painless, only that if so wills the will of God we need to be ready to accept
the eventuality of martyrdom not with sullen resignation but with confidence,
faith, and joy that God is accomplishing His will for our lives in a special way
that brings special honor to our dear Savior and ultimate benefit to us (if only
we comport ourselves honorably in the process – and this we shall do, God
helping us).
Demonstrate faithfulness unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.(47)
Revelation 2:10b
4. The Number of the Martyred:
(9) After this I looked and, behold, [there was] a huge multitude which no one was able to number from every nation and tribe and people and tongue standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and with palm branches in their hands.
Revelation 7:9
As we have already seen, many of the passages dealing with the Great Persecution
present the possibility of martyrdom for those who would remain faithful to
Jesus Christ as a near certainty. This passage which describes them as "a
huge multitude which no one was able to number from every nation and tribe and
people and tongue" removes all doubt about the magnitude of their number,
while at the same time emphasizing the worldwide nature of the Great
Persecution. The actual number is withheld in Revelation 7:9, a
significant fact in and of itself inasmuch as the Book of Revelation does often
provide specific numbers, even when they are extremely large (e.g., Rev.9:16).
Nor are we given a ratio, another form of specification found on more than one
occasion in the book (e.g., Rev.8:7-12). Yet we know, even given the
unprecedented magnitude of the number of these martyrs, that even so there will
apparently be a sizeable host of believers still alive when our Lord returns at
the end of the Great Tribulation (1Cor.15:50-54; cf. Matt.24:36-51; 25:1-13;
1Cor.15:23; 1Thes.5:1-11; 2Thes.1:3-12):
(15) For we tell you this by the Lord's own Word, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord (i.e., the Second Advent which brings the Great Tribulation to a close) will not precede those who have fallen asleep. (16) For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the archangel's blast on the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first (in resurrection), (17) then we who are alive and remain will be snatched up together with them in clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and in this way we shall always be with the Lord.
1st Thessalonians 4:15-17
It is worth noting in this regard therefore that the fact that those martyred
will be an innumerable multitude does not necessarily mean that they will
constitute the majority of those still faithful to Jesus Christ when the Great
Persecution begins (although that may be the case). Based upon the
passages covered above all we can say of a certainty is that virtually all
believers will be subject to persecution during that time, and that an extremely
large number will be martyred while a sizeable number will be spared in order to
be resurrected while still alive at our Lord's return. It is therefore
probably best to estimate the ratio at approximately "50/50". This
proportion of the martyred to those who survive until the coming of the Lord is
supported indirectly by the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.
In that parable the light of the lamp represents faith so that the five virgins
whose lamps are extinguished before the bridegroom arrives stand for those who
fall away in the Great Apostasy. Thus the five wise virgins whose lamps
continue to shine represent those who maintain their faith until the end of the
Tribulation (in contrast with those who fall away). Since we do know that
those who fall away constitute one third of the Church (see
part 3A, section II, "The Great Apostasy"), and since in this parable they
are complemented by an equal number of believers who survive until the second
advent, the only way that the one third proportion can thus be preserved is by
positing an equal number who neither fall away nor abide until the end, namely,
the martyrs who will quite possibly be commensurate in number with both of the
two groups described in the parable.
5. General Persecution and Imprisonment: The refusal of
believers to accept the mark of the beast will, from the very start, bring upon
them general persecution including but not limited to social ostracism and
economic hardship (Matt.10:17-20; 24:9; Mk.13:9; Lk.21:12-15; Jn.15:20-21;
16:2). As the Great Persecution gathers momentum, moreover, we may expect
the faithful to come under ever greater pressures and more intense forms of
persecution, not the least of which will be imprisonment (and possibly torture)
as a transitional stage preceding eventual martyrdom.
(33) And those among the people who have insight will teach the people who will be persecuted by sword (i.e., martyrdom), and flame (i.e., torture leading to martyrdom), and captivity (i.e., imprisonment), and plunder (i.e., confiscation of property), for some time.
Daniel 11:33
In fact so many passages of scripture allude to the widespread incarceration of
believers during the Great Persecution either directly or by application that it
seems the most prudent course on the basis of Revelation 13:10 for us to assume
our imprisonment as a matter of course, even if it should be God's will for some
believers to be spared this particular ordeal (Is.14:16-17; 42:7; 49:9; 51:14;
61:1; Dan.11:33; Hab.1:9; Zech.9:11-12; Matt.10:17-20; Mk.13:9; Lk.4:18-19; cf.
Ps.79:11; 102:13-20; Is.14:2; Matt.14:3; 18:30; 25:36-44; Acts 5:19; 8:3; 12:4;
16:23; Heb.10:34; 13:3).
But, [what is] even more [grievous] than these things (i.e., the disruptions of the Tribulation's first half),(48) they will lay hands upon them (i.e., believers during the Great Persecution), betraying them into [the hands of] their [religious] assemblies and prisons, haling them before kings and governors for the sake of my Name.
Luke 21:12Have no fear of what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will have tribulation for ten days.
Revelation 2:10a
6. Betrayal: Notwithstanding the difficulties for believers
in sustaining life, and the dangers involved in collective worship that will
attend the Great Persecution, it is still questionable whether such a large
number as prophesied would or could ever be rounded up for imprisonment and
execution without an efficient method for actively hunting them down. But
the Bible leaves us in no doubt about the fact that many of the "candidates" for
persecution will be secured in a most disheartening way, namely, by betrayal,
often by those most near and dear to them (see also Dan.11:34; Mic.7:5-7;
Mk.13:9-13; Lk.21:12; cf. Jer.9:4; 12:5-6; Matt.24:23-26).
(16) And you will be betrayed even by parents and siblings and friends. And they will put some of you to death, (17) and you will be hated by everyone because of my Name.
Luke 21:16-17
(10) And at that time many will fall away and will betray each other and will hate each other, (11) and many false prophets will arise and will deceive many. (12) Now because of the increase of lawlessness [at that time], the love of the many will cool. (13) But he who endures until the end, this [is the one who] will be saved.
Matthew 24:10-13
(34) Do not think that I have come to hurl peace upon the earth. I have not come to hurl peace upon the earth but a sword [of divisiveness]. (35) For I have come to divide, [so that] 'a man [will be set] against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; (36) [with the result that] a man's enemies will be the members of his own household' (cf. Micah 7:6). (37) Whoever loves his father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves his son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me. (38) And whoever does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. (39) Whoever has found his life will lose it, and the one who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
Matthew 10:34-39
In these passages we can also see the close connection between the Great
Persecution and the Great Apostasy, as the pressures of persecution serve to
intensify the trend of abandoning Christ (see
part 3A, section II, "The Great Apostasy"). For those believers
determined to stay loyal to Jesus no matter what, the example of Daniel comes to
mind, who was thrown into the lions' den precisely because he refused to alter
his behavior of prayerful worship to God in spite of the fact that his enemies
in the Persian government had managed to make it illegal (Dan.6).
Confronted with the suspicious eyes of nearly all our prior acquaintances who
are now hostile towards us no matter how close the prior relationship, it will
be nigh on impossible to live and worship as true believers in Jesus Christ
without exposing ourselves to similar charges of illegality and without inviting
similar persecution. But just as God was able to deliver Daniel contrary
to all human expectation, we need to be confident of the same potential
deliverance (cf. the "help" promised in Dan.11:34), even as we accept the very
real possibility outlined throughout this section that it may well be God's will
for us to die as witnesses for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (cf.
2Tim.2:11-13. We must be prepared to show the world that we truly do love
Him more than our very lives.
But these [believers] have defeated [the devil] because of the blood of the Lamb and their word of witness (lit., "martyrdom"). For they did not love their lives, even to the point of death.
Revelation 12:11
7. The Mechanics of Martyrdom: In his famous exchange of
letters with the Roman emperor Trajan (no. 96-97), Pliny the younger in his
capacity as governor of Bithynia was told that the government should not
initiate investigations to determine who might or might not be a member of this
new "sect", Christianity, but that once someone was denounced as a Christian,
failure to sacrifice to the emperor must be considered a capital offense.
Harsh as this "don't ask, don't tell" policy was, it will appear mild in
contrast to the regime of persecution that will obtain during the Great
Persecution. For the elimination of faith from the earth has always been
an objective near and dear to the devil's heart, and with the entire world now
under the thumb of his son antichrist, the process of actively hunting down
Christians in order to extirpate Christianity stock and stem will have no equal
in world history. The combination of the economic prohibitions directed at
those who lack the mark of the beast, the (seemingly certain) prohibitions upon
Christian worship et al. (along with the infiltration of true Christian groups:
Dan.11:34; cf. Matt.24:23-26; Mk.13:21-23; Lk.21:8), and the pressures placed
upon friends and family to betray their kindred who are still faithful to Christ
(no doubt out of a persuasive mix of penalties for inaction and rewards for
cooperation) will all combine to produce a flood of captive believers into the
hands of the beast's politico-religious apparatus. Those who do not
immediately acquiesce by renouncing Christ while proclaiming antichrist's
divinity will become the grist for the mill of the Great Persecution.
Although the scale of the Great Persecution will dwarf anything of the like in
the past, in individual terms such has often been the lot of those who truly do
choose Jesus over this world (cf. Rev.2:10; 2:13).
Some [of these great believers of the past] were tortured, refusing release, that they might obtain a better resurrection (i.e., worth more to them than their lives; cf. Ps.63:3). Others endured ridicule and beatings, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, sawed in half, killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goat hides. They were deprived, persecuted, abused. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered the deserts and the mountains, making their homes in caves and fissures in the earth. And through their faith, all of them became witnesses [to the world] (lit., "were martyred") . . .
Hebrews 11:35b-39a
Although individual experiences will no doubt differ somewhat, scripture gives
us enough information to establish a basic schematic of the typical stages of
the process to be endured by a believer during the Great Persecution once
betrayed and arrested upon initial refusal to "repent". It should be noted
that the three stages delineated below parallel exactly the sort of ordeal to be
faced by a person wrongly accused of some heinous crime for which the penalty is
death.
a. Imprisonment: We have covered above the Bible's frequent
references to the imprisonment of believers during this period. The wide
scale incarceration of so many believers at this time on the basis of "religious
crimes" would no doubt be impossible without the cooperative efforts of clergy
and authorities in a world-state where there is effectively now no separation
between "church" and state, and it is further likely that only logistical issues
will prevent the immediate imprisoning of the entire believing population of the
world. Indeed, it is a blessed encouragement to remember that God's
limitation of the devil's logistical reach, great though it will be at this
time, will stymie Satan's efforts to achieve his goal of removing faith from the
earth (cf. Mk.13:20). But, as noted above, a large percentage of believers
will indeed be cast into prison, and, given the emphasis that scripture places
upon their release at the hands of the returning Messiah, we can expect that
once arrested, most of those who are not executed will not see freedom again
until the second advent (cf. Is.14:17; 42:7; 49:9; 51:14; 61:1; Zech.9:11-12;
Lk.4:18-19). This prospect will undoubtedly add to the pressure to
apostatize on the part of those whose faith is weak. Finally, the
atmosphere in which these mass arrests will take place will probably be ugly in
the extreme. Just as Nero blamed the Christians for destroying Rome in
order to deflect attention from himself, antichrist will in an analogous way
blame believers for the assassination attempt on his person, so that we should
not underestimate the zeal and vitriol with which the followers of the beast,
many of them nominal "Christians", will turn to rounding up these "enemies of
the state" who refuse to swear allegiance to antichrist, and, in doing so, will
actually feel that they are doing God a favor:
But a time will come when everyone who kills you will think that he is making an offering in worship to God.
John 16:2
b. Quasi-Judicial Scrutiny: Just as our Lord's false arrest,
imprisonment and trial was carried out on the basis of pretext alone (cf.
Is.53:7-9; Matt.26:55; Mk.14:55-56; Lk.22:37; 22:52-53; Acts 3:13-15; 8:33;
1Pet.2:22), so those who are called to "walk in His footsteps" (Jn.13:15;
1Cor.11:1; 1Pet.2:21-25; 1Jn.2:6; cf. Matt.11:29; 16:24; Mk.10:38-39; Phil2:5)
and "share in His sufferings" (Rom.8:17; 2Cor.1:5; Phil.1:29; 3:10; Col.1:24;
1Pet.4:13; cf. Gal.6:17) in this special way will be subjected to a severe
process of interrogation, pressure, and abuse, along with judicial and
quasi-judicial inquisition. Anyone who has been through any sort of trial
will understand immediately how a string of illegal and abusive ordeals will
bring enormous emotional pressures to bear on those so accused. When we
add to this the concomitant physical abuse, scourging, ostracism, humiliation,
and plundering of all that we have (Matt.10:17; Mk.13:9; cf. Dan.11:34), it
should be obvious that this gauntlet of opposition will constitute an enormous
test of faith, and one for which those so tested will be extremely grateful for
every bit of prior preparation in the Word and its application. Clearly,
what we may have to endure, no matter how stressful or terrible, will be nothing
like what our Lord did endure. Yet we must in any case avoid
underestimating either the difficulties of this process so as to lose heart, or
the great honor it bestows in God's eyes so as to fail to count it the great joy
amid the tears that it can and should be. Many of the greatest believers
of all time endured similar extreme tests of their faith (and it is very much
worth studying in this regard the examples of Daniel and his friends: Dan.3:1ff.;
6:1ff.;
Stephen: Acts 6:8-7:59; Peter: Acts 5:17-42; 12:1-19; and Paul: Acts chapters
21-28).
Further, in that time of testing we will receive divine "help" (Dan.11:34), so
that even the words we shall speak will not be ours, but will be graciously
given to us through the Holy Spirit with the result that even those among us who
are not gifted in public speaking need not worry in the least about this ahead
of time:
(9) Take care for yourselves. For they will betray you into [the hands of their] tribunals and you will be beaten in their assemblies. And you will stand before governors and kings for my sake as a witness to them. (10) For the gospel must first (i.e., before "the end"; cf. Matt.24:14) be proclaimed to all the nations. (11) And when they betray and hale you [in before them], do not worry about what you will say, but whatever is given to you in that [very] hour, say that. For you are not the ones speaking but the Holy Spirit.
Mark 13:9-11(11) And when they bring you into their assemblies and rulers and authorities, do not worry how or what defense you shall make or what you shall say. (12) For the Holy Spirit will instruct you in that very hour [as to] the things which must be said.
Luke 12:11-12(12) But, [what is] even more [grievous] than these things (i.e., the events of vv.8-11), they will lay hands upon them, betraying them into [the hands of] their [religious] assemblies and prisons, haling them before kings and governors for the sake of my Name. (13) For this will result for you in an act of witnessing [for Me]. (14) So set it [firmly] in your hearts not to prepare ahead of time to make a defense. (15) For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your enemies will be able to oppose or refute.
Luke 21:12-15
c. Trial by Fire: As these martyrs follow in the footsteps of our
Lord, if their betrayal by their friends and loved ones and consequent
imprisonment is roughly analogous to His betrayal by Judas and arrest in the
garden of Gethsemane (Matt.26:48-49), and if the inquisition they undergo is
roughly analogous to His series of trials by Herod, Pilate, and the Jewish
religious leaders, then their subsequent trial by fire will be roughly analogous
to His condemnation and ordeal in crucifixion (excepting, of course, His death
for our sins). Please understand, what our Lord did for us at the cross is
not to be compared with any other earthly event. But as we are called to
walk in imitation of Him (Jn.13:15; 1Cor.11:1; 1Pet.2:21-25; 1Jn.2:6; cf.
Matt.11:29; 16:24; Phil2:5), and to share His sufferings (Rom.8:17; 2Cor.1:5;
Phil.1:29; 3:10; Col.1:24; 1Pet.4:13; cf. Gal.6:17), the parallels which
scripture points out in general terms between His experience and that of these
martyrs does need to be considered. Indeed, our Lord Himself drew a clear
parallel between His imminent death for us and the high calling of those who
choose to follow Him (i.e., we too are to "pick up our cross" and follow Him:
Matt.10:38; 16:24; Mk.8:34; Lk.9:23). So while we would never wish to make
an exact comparison between martyrdom and our Lord's unique sacrifice (for only
His death could suffice to accomplish our salvation), it is nonetheless true
that these martyrs for our Lord by their similar experience will be His unique
witnesses, calling attention to His unique sacrifice through the absolute faith
they will demonstrate in it and in Him, when they give up their lives rather
than denouncing the One who bought them with His life's blood.
And when He (i.e., the Lamb) opened the fifth seal, I saw below the altar the living persons who had been slain because of the Word of God and because of the testimony which they had maintained.
Revelation 6:9
In the preceding section, the verses in the gospels which detail the process of
the inquisition that these believers will undergo mention first "tribunals" and
"assemblies" (Matt.10:17; Mk.13:9; cf. Lk.21:12). The second word is a
translation of the Greek synagoge, often transliterated as synagogue.
This is somewhat misleading in that it suggests a solely Jewish setting whereas
in truth what we should understand in terms of the true context being studied
here is indeed a religious venue but one which is much more likely to be
pseudo-Christian than Jewish. For what is being described in respect to
the quasi-judicial examination process of believers incarcerated during the
Great Persecution is part and parcel of the pressure placed upon them by
antichrist's religious establishment. These believers will be commanded to
"repent" of their "misplaced" faith in that "other Messiah" (i.e., our true Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ), and to declare instead their acceptance of antichrist
as the true Christ by taking the mark of the beast. As in the case of our
Lord who was called upon to deny Himself, and who was tried numerous times in
the hours before His crucifixion, this process may involve numerous "trials"
before various tribunals, but in every case those doing the examination will be
adherents of the beast's political and religious apparatus. In particular,
as has been suggested above, it is likely that many main line religious
organizations completely co-opted at that time by antichrist to serve and
worship him will take the lead, at least initially, in the process of pressuring
those who still have true faith to abandon it in order to save their lives.
That is what is meant by the "tribunals" (synedria), namely, smaller
screening bodies of religious officials analogous to Jesus' first trial before
Annas and the Sanhedrin (derived from synedrion, the singular form of the
same word: Jn.18:12-24), whereas "assemblies" (synagogai) will refer to
more public meetings presided over by larger numbers of religious officials with
a larger audience, analogous to our Lord's second trial before Caiaphas (compare
Jn.18:24 with Matt.26:57-68; Mk.14:53-65).
In this regard we should recall that the apostle John identified "many antichrists" at work during the Church age (1Jn.2:18-22; cf. 2Jn.1:7), and gave as the means for that identification the fact that "they went out from us". Applied to our present discussion, this gives us a clear indication that both antichrist and many of his key followers will be erstwhile "Christian leaders" as indeed we have already seen.(49) We have already noted here a consistent parallel between our Lord's trial by fire prior to the cross and the experience of the martyrs of the Great Persecution. In this respect we may anticipate present-day equivalents among the beast's co-opted "Christian leaders" which likewise parallel the various religious sects of our Lord's day, groups which in prior years and centuries had no doubt included genuine believers, but which by the time of Jesus' multiple trials had similarly been co-opted into doing the devil's work. For the "scribes" who consistently put tradition over truth, the similarly traditionalist denominations of the Orthodox and Catholic persuasions are the best fit. For the secularist Sadducees, the old line now quite liberal Protestant denominations who have come to prefer "reason" to scripture along with other related groups (e.g., Unitarians and Christian Scientists) are a good match. The legalistic Pharisees who used judgmental applications of the Law to eliminate mercy and faith bring to mind the trends now found in many conservative Protestant denominations such as various Baptists and other spin-off independent denominations (and one may wish to place the Mormons here as well). The other-worldly Essenes are somewhat analogous to the various "charismatic" groups who worship experience over scripture, while we may find in the Zealots a parallel for any of the many fringe groups, left or right, which embrace violence, setting their extreme efforts in place of God and His plan. Apologies ahead of time to any and all who are partial to any of the groups mentioned above, but the reader is asked to remember that we are talking here about future events that will take place only after the removal of the Holy Spirit's restraining influence in the crucible of the Tribulation. This set of parallels is thus not meant to indict any present group (and indulgence is also asked for any which may have been inadvertently left out), but merely to illustrate how the various tendencies of all the major Christian (not to mention pseudo-Christian) organizations could very well result in their being employed in the service of evil once they no longer contain any true believers, that is, the very situation which obtained in our Lord's day and the very one which we are contemplating during the Tribulation after antichrist co-opts the church-visible for his own ends.
Before final approval is given for the execution of those who refuse to repent despite such pressures, the political authorities will also have to weigh in. These are the "governors and kings" mentioned in the pertinent scriptures above (Matt.10:17; Mk.13:9; Lk.21:12), and are analogous to our Lord's trials before Herod and Pilate. Just as religious officials are co-opted in antichrist's kingdom, so of course will all of the world's political officials be, for the beast's rule will be a worldwide rule (Rev.13:1-9). For those being persecuted, it is very important to understand that being alone and having been subjected to extreme physical and verbal abuse, these trials will constitute an inordinate amount of pressure the degree of which is difficult to grasp before the fact, even by those among us who may have been subjected to a lengthy legal process. It is therefore imperative as we study these things to appreciate ahead of time the importance of prior spiritual preparation to the successful endurance of such trials, even as we gain a better appreciation for the gauntlet our Lord ran for us even before He got to the cross and died for our sins.
Revelation 6:9 quoted above tells us that those put to death in the Great Persecution will be executed "because of the Word of God and because of the testimony which they had maintained". We have also seen that the false prophet will be given the authority "to bring it about that as many as refused to worship the image of the beast might be put to death." (Rev.13:15). Further, the resurrected martyrs seen in Revelation chapter twenty who reign with Christ for a thousand years are said not to have worshiped "the beast or his image and did not take the mark on their forehead and on their hand" (Rev.20:4). The litmus test then for execution and martyrdom will be the two-sided coin of refusing to reject the true Christ on the one hand and of refusing to worship the pseudo-Christ beast and his image in conjunction with the reception of his mark on the other.
This brings up the question of whether or not a person can be said to refuse to worship the image of the beast in any place other than Jerusalem. For clearly the false prophet who forces obeisance and administers capital punishment on all who refuse will be in Jerusalem, as will antichrist and antichrist's abominable image. Given the vast numbers of those put to death for the Lord and their geographical diversity, "a huge multitude which no one was able to number from every nation and tribe and people and tongue" (Rev.7:9), it is likely that, when Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:9 "and [they] will put some of you to death", He is talking about the local "governors and kings" mentioned above. Therefore just as the mark of the beast is discussed in a manner that seems to connect it with worshiping the statue in person (i.e., Rev.14:9-11; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4) and yet it seems improbable that everyone who agrees to take the mark will have to go to Jerusalem to do so, so in this case it seems preferable to understand some sort of satellite process, possibly enhanced through technology, whereby many of the martyrs will be put to death locally.
As to the timing, we can expect persecution to go hand in hand with the ceremonial placing of the mark of the beast, with the coercion, compulsion, and execution of some believers beginning from the start. It stands to reason, however, that the process of denouncing, arresting, examining, and executing those who refuse to acknowledge the beast will have to gather speed and momentum over time. Human limitations being what they are, a period of transition into the new, harsh economic reality that accompanies the mark (Rev.13:7) will thus be unavoidable despite the devil's best efforts, so that not all believers will be identified immediately (indeed, as we have seen, fully half of those who remain at that time will most likely survive until the coming of the Lord). Nevertheless, we can be sure that the beast will do everything in his power to make that time of transition as short as possible so that we may expect to see a rapid implementation of this policy and subsequent ensnaring of the faithful. Given the desire for speed, sheer logistics would seem to indicate that, while there will be a certain amount of celebrity worship and marking done in Jerusalem itself (and the conspicuous execution of prominent Christians there too, for that matter), this process will take place mainly on the local level. Whether or not the local venues will have smaller replicas of the "abomination that causes [spiritual] desolation" or be fitted out with large viewing screens or some other such substitute, we cannot say for certain. What is certain, however, is that worshiping the beast and his image, in person or remotely, and taking the mark, whether from the second beast himself or one of antichrist's clergy far from Jerusalem, will just as surely guarantee condemnation. Finally, inasmuch as Revelation 13:15 shows that the false prophet will be engaged in personal direction of some of these inquisitions which result in the execution of those who refuse to worship the beast and his image and take his mark, it is therefore also the case that some of the martyrs will indeed be killed in Jerusalem – and perhaps a large number of them at that. For those so "selected", it will certainly mean the necessity not only of being strong under the initial pressures following imprisonment, but of staying strong in faith for what is likely to be a long and arduous process. Gaining a temporary reprieve on the local level merely for the purpose of being transported to the headquarters of evil for "special treatment" will no doubt be very much like facing a firing-squad twice.
As to the manner of execution, scripture does not provide any basis for
dogmatically singling out a preferred method (although see Rev.20:4 where the
martyrs are described as having been beheaded). The "sword" in Revelation
13:10 is a common biblical metaphor for capital punishment (cf. Matt.26:52;
Rom.13:4). Crucifixion as well as more traditional modern modes of
execution are certainly possible (cf. Jn.21:19). However, given that fire
is closely connected with antichrist and his false prophet (Rev.13:13), and the
close analogy already noted between the refusal by Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego to worship the statue of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 3, it is more
than likely that a similar death by fire will be the end result of this "trial
by fire" for the tribulational martyrs (cf. the fiery sea" of Rev.15:2).
Just as those three great men of God were not intimidated into forsaking Him
despite the terror before them and were vindicated in a most miraculous way, so
we need to commit ourselves to trust and obey God in spite of the commands of
the world's authorities to reject Him, in spite of the confidence of the beast's
followers that they are "doing good" in putting us to death (cf. Jn.16:2), and
in spite of every terrifying eventuality with which we may be threatened.
For while it will not be the fate of the tribulational martyrs to walk out of
the fiery furnace the way Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did, it will be their
lot to rise first in the ranks of the redeemed (1Thes.4:16b), and to reign with
Jesus a thousand years:
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them (i.e., they sat in judgment), namely the persons who had been executed (lit., "beheaded with an ax") because of their witness for Jesus and because of the Word of God, [that is] whoever did not worship the beast or his image and did not take the mark on their forehead and on their hand. For they came to life and began to rule with Christ for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4
8. The Great Persecution in Israel: As we saw in our study of
Revelation chapter 12 above, the vast majority of believers within Israel will
respond to the divine command to flee into the desert and will thus be shielded
from the otherwise universal persecution of the faithful. However, Daniel
chapter eleven, a passage already covered above in some detail, does seem to
indicate that, along with Moses and Elijah and the 144,000, a certain number of
believers will remain in the land (as is also indicated by a number of other
passages which suggest continued problems for believers in Israel despite the
flight of the faithful: e.g., Jer.30:7; Dan.8:12; 12:7; Zech.10:11).
(30) For ships of Kittim (i.e., the western "Babylon") will attack with him (i.e., antichrist) [so that he will be victorious]. Then he will be stricken [as if dead], but will revive. And he will be enraged at the holy covenant, so that on his return [to Israel from the far south] he will take action [against it] (i.e., ending the sacrifices, setting up the abomination, taking his seat in the temple). And he will give his support to those who abandon the holy covenant. (31) For it is from him that the military forces will issue forth which will pollute the sanctuary (i.e., ending the ministry of Moses and Elijah), remove the daily sacrifice, and set up the abomination of desolation. (32) And with enticements he will seduce [people] to violate the [holy] covenant, but the people who know their God will continue to hold fast to it. (33) And those among the people who have insight will teach the people who will be persecuted by sword (i.e., martyrdom), and flame (i.e., torture leading to martyrdom), and captivity (i.e., imprisonment), and plundering (i.e., confiscation of property), for some time. (34) And when they are persecuted, they will receive a little help, yet many will ally themselves to them under false pretenses. (35) For even from among [the ranks of] those who have insight, some will be persecuted, in order to refine, purify, and cleanse them until the final end. For [it is] yet to come at its appointed time.
Daniel 11:30-35
Whether it is the case that those described in the above persecution in Israel
following the Tribulation's mid-point failed to depart at the proper time, or
were led by the Spirit to remain, or became believers after the fact, it is
certainly true that what is being described here is applicable to the Church as
a whole and to the pattern of the Great Persecution as a whole everywhere else
in the world as well (and that is undoubtedly an important connection we are
meant to make). One thing is certain: all those who remain in the land
during this period, believers and unbelievers both, are in for a very difficult
time (e.g., Is.8:14-15).
9. The Role of Babylon: The book of Revelation very emphatically makes Babylon responsible for the Great Persecution, both directly (Rev.17:6; 18:20; 18:24; 19:2; cf. Rev.16:6), and also in terms of the beast's religion of "prostitution and witchcraft" which lies behind it and for which she is the primary source (Rev.17:1-5; 18:3-4; cf. Rev.14:8-9; 16:19). In fact, Babylon the great prostitute is said in Revelation 17:6 to be "drunk with the blood of the holy ones, even from [the blood of] the witnesses for Jesus", providing us with a clear linkage between the Great Persecution and Babylon in her capacity as the original headquarters of antichrist's religious and political base. Babylon, of course, is also the wealthiest state in the world (cf. the descriptions in Rev.17:1-6 and in all of chapter 18), so that the commercial restrictions upon those who lack the mark (whereby so many believers will be identified, incarcerated and martyred) are doubtless to be understood as intimately connected with her role in this regard as well. Since the Great Persecution is thus largely indistinguishable from Babylon in scripture, showing that she will thus be the chief agent of that persecution through the amalgamated world-system of religious, economic and political power she represents, we are further correct to conclude that the new pseudo-Christianity developed by antichrist in Babylon will be instrumental in conducting the Great Persecution itself. Just as our Lord was haled before a series of Jewish religious councils which ought to have worshiped Him, the Messiah of the Jews, so believers during the Great Persecution will find themselves being accused, berated, and condemned by erstwhile fellow "Christians", a fact that will make the burden of martyrdom all that much more difficult to bear.
10. A Brief Christian "Code of Conduct" for the Great Persecution: While the issue of proper conduct for believers during the Tribulation generally is properly the subject of part 7 of this series, it seems appropriate to discuss the topic here in brief. After all, the most difficult testing of the Tribulation will fall upon those caught up in the Great Persecution, especially the martyrs. It is hoped that the following list of guiding principles, though not meant to be exhaustive, will prove to be some help to those facing the trying circumstance of that future time (or indeed similar pressures in the present):
a. Don't hide your light of faith under a bushel (Matt.5:15-16):
Be courageous in continuing to carry out the ministries and Christian witness to
which Christ has called you (Matt.10:28). Many contemporary Christians
seem to believe that once the Tribulation arrives we are to go into "survivalist
mode". This seems to run counter to everything the Bible has to say.
When the apostles were told to stop speaking and teaching in the Name of Jesus,
they refused on pain of scourging, imprisonment and death (all three of which
fates lay in wait for many of them because of their determination to serve Jesus
no matter what the cost; cf. Acts 5:29). Certainly, we are told to be wise
as well as innocent in the way we conduct ourselves in the world (Matt.10:16; cf. Rom.16:19; 1Cor.14:20), and no one is suggesting that we
volunteer to be executed, that we "dare" the authorities to martyr us, or that
we deliberately go out of our way to run afoul of those who are administering
the Great Persecution, calling attention to ourselves rather than to Christ (cf.
Matt.6:2). This extreme is clearly not what God would have us to do any
more that He expects us to run for cover rather than confess our faith in His
Son. Daniel and his three friends give us the perfect examples of how we
should behave in this regard. Daniel did not immediately go into the
presence of the king and protest the wicked decree forged against him, daring
him to make him a martyr for the Lord; but neither did he run and hide as he
well might have done for just a day, or even change in any way his normal walk
with the Lord, but continued in exactly the same way as he had before the harsh
decree was passed. Likewise, Hananiah, Mishael, and Asariah (Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego) did not make a point of identifying themselves to the
king, daring him to throw them into the fiery furnace so that they might be
martyrs for the Lord; but neither did they run and hide as they well might have
done for just that day, or even change their normal manner of faithful service
to the king as a reflection of their duty to God, but were present on the plain
of Dura at the king's command. In each case, continuation of faithfulness
in normal spiritual and secular behavior led these men to be martyred – but in
each case God delivered them in a miraculous way. It is well for us to
consider, should it so be that we face such circumstances ourselves, that God is
completely capable of delivering us as well, so that if we should be caught in
the process of living our lives as God would have us to do and then martyred as
a result, it can only be because this is the will of God for us, and it is only
through our response to His will that He is glorified through us (Is.43:7;
Eph.1:5-14). Everyone will have to make his or her own applications of
this principle during that time and it may very well be that some measure of
greater circumspection will be appropriate in some things (such as avoiding
commercial venues where the lack of the mark will be an issue; cf. Is.26:20;
Matt.10:17; Mk.13:9), while more boldness will be appropriate in others (such as
visiting those who have been imprisoned for their faith: Matt.25:39;
Heb.13:3; cf. Rev.2:10). The point is that, just as we should do today,
during the Great Persecution we ought to be consulting our Lord and His Word of
truth in prayer and in the power of the Spirit in order to know the right thing
to do in trying circumstances, rather than consulting the world and our
circumstances in it first and foremost, making God merely an afterthought.
[But in contrast to those who receive the mark of the beast and worship him], the saints have perseverance, [even] those who in this way (i.e., by refusing to receive the mark or worship the beast) keep God's commandments and [retain] their faith in Jesus (viz., even though it may cost them their lives).
Revelation 14:12
b. Don't fall asleep spiritually (Mk.13:32-37): Stay alert through
continued spiritual growth and ministry. As we mentioned above, one of the
most disturbing ironies of the Great Tribulation is that true believers in
Christ will be persecuted as at no other time in history for being unwilling to
accept this pseudo-Messiah. Therefore we should not underestimate the
degree to which antichrist and his pseudo-Christianity will resemble the real
thing at least on the surface, nor the degree to which the pressures to conform
and join-in arising both from putative fellow "Christians" and also especially
from friends and family will be persuasive (as they were in the case of Jewish
believers in Israel during the first century: cf. Hebrews 10:23-39).
For the comforting aspects of "belonging" to the pseudo-church of that day will
be even more deadly to faith in truth than it was in the situation described
throughout the book of Hebrews or than it is today (where what we are
experiencing is in most cases merely rank superficiality and lukewarmness to the
truth of scripture rather than outright worship of the devil). Embracing
apostasy out of pressure, even the extreme pressure of persecution, is the one
sure way to put faith to death and thereby lose out on all the blessings of
eternity so very close at any time, but especially during the waning days of the
Tribulation (Heb.11:26; 11:37; cf. Rev.14:9-11).
c. Don't let your light of faith go out (Matt.25:1-13): Keep fighting the good fight of faith in spite of the many difficult challenges to faith that will arise during the Great Persecution. Holding onto faith will require the correct mental perspective informed by scripture regarding the true situation at that time. Even Moses became distraught at Pharaoh's lack of positive response amid the increased pressures on the children of Israel (Ex.5:22-23), but we have the advantage of hindsight so that we know from the Bible what the Lord's plan was all along. We know from scripture how it was that the Lord would work everything out for good in spite of repeated trouble and testing. And we know too, unfortunately, that the people continually failed to trust the Lord in spite of the many extraordinary miracles they witnessed. As believers who may experience the things to come, we need to remember this example (cf. 1Cor.10:1-13). We need to prepare ourselves, not with canned goods in the basement but with Bible truth in the heart, to endure what the Lord has told us about through scripture ahead of time, remembering not to take these terrible times and events personally, but rather to appreciate the inner workings of the overall plan of God upon these final events of history before the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.(50) The believers of that time who do survive with faith intact will be those who were prepared to stand against their country (cf. Rev.18:4), family (cf. Matt.10:36; Jn.16:1-4), church (cf. Jn.16:2), and economic well-being (Rev.13:17). For as bad as the Great Persecution will be from the very start, we may expect it to grow progressively worse before our Lord returns.
d. Don't value your life over your faith (Matt.16:24-27): Love the Lord with all your heart. Don't put physical things, even those essential for minimal survival, over the truly more important spiritual ones. If it comes to it, it is far better to lose one's life for His sake than to gain the world without Him at the price of forfeiting the eternal life that is in Him (Matt.10:37-39). The Tribulation in general and the Great Persecution in particular will be a refining process (Dan.11:35; cf. Dan.7:18-27), whereby the Lord will not only demonstrate who are truly His but will also glorify Himself through what those who prove faithful in this trial are willing to suffer for His Name. The entirety of human history is "God's threshing floor" (Matt.3:12), used by Him to demonstrate beyond any doubt what we really do choose, and how emphatically we choose it (the basis for rewards on the part of believers). At no time will this be more true than during the Great Persecution. If we really are thinking like God is thinking, instead of becoming disconsolate under the pressures, inconveniences, trials, tribulations, and loss of the Great Persecution, we will see beyond the veil that shrouds this life from the next and realize that the rewards we are earning through patient endurance and joyous acceptance of our Lord's will for us are not to be compared to any of the troubles we are presently suffering, even if they cost us a few short years of our physical lives, lives which would be completely pointless in any case apart from our faith in and faithfulness to our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who died for us (Rom.8:18; 2Cor.4:17).
e. Don't be afraid (Lk.12:32-34): Let hope and joy rule your heart
as you continue to look forward in eager anticipation to the glories of the
Kingdom to come rather than focusing upon the miseries of the present. The
beast and his father the devil along with all their followers can only kill the
body, not the spirit (Matt.10:26-31), and can only do that if the Lord allows –
our deaths are always precious in His sight and we can expect that to be doubly
true during this unprecedented period of martyrdom (Ps.116:15). Given that
as we have seen above the likelihood is for fully one half of those whose faith
survives the Great Apostasy to perish in glory as martyrs for our Lord during
the Great Persecution, our hope of eternal life and joy in our eternal reward
ought always to temper any prospect of earthly survival in light of the very
real possibility of martyrdom (cf. Zeph.2:3; Jer.45), ever making it our first
priority to demonstrate faithfulness to the One who is ever faithful to us.
Therefore let all those who are suffering according to the will of God entrust their lives (while doing what is good) to a Creator who is faithful.
1st Peter 4:19
Demonstrate faithfulness unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Revelation 2:10b
In all of this, then, we need to keep in mind that the Tribulation is an
essential part of the Plan of God and could never happen in the first place
apart from His specific will (2Thes.2:6-8; Rev.5:1-5). That is true both
on the worldwide level and in the case every individual believer, no matter what
the Lord has in store for us personally. As we have seen in our comparison
of the competing tribulational trends (see the
chart in the introduction above), the Tribulation constitutes a key part of
God's demonstration of Satan's complete evil and ultimate powerlessness on the
one hand, and of His own righteousness and faithfulness on the other (with the
Millennium which follows providing the ultimate counterpoint to a world ruled by
the devil in contrast to a world ruled by God). The Tribulation thus has
an important role to play in the overall Plan of God and in His refutation of
Satan. For it will be seen more clearly than ever before during those
final seven years that the devil is in no way "for" mankind as he seeks to
destroy the world, while at the same time we will observe God's miraculous
protection of a holy remnant in the world in spite of otherwise complete satanic
control. And not only that, but the Tribulation will also demonstrate that
in spite of the greatest pressures of human history, there will indeed be those
who continue to remain faithful to the Lord, notwithstanding the incredible
enticements of its first half (which is destined to sweep so many away in the
Great Apostasy), and the unprecedented pressures of its second half (wherein
half of the faithful will be subjected to martyrdom). In short, though we
may be forced during those dark days ahead to "make bricks without straw" for what
seems a never-ending stretch of time, we should recall that in the analogy of
the days preceding the Exodus, Pharaoh, a type of antichrist, was really making
the Lord the issue in this persecution (cf. Ex.5:17). Those abused during
the Great Persecution will likewise and most assuredly be persecuted
because of Jesus Christ, and this is at once the greatest compliment to
a believer's faith and the greatest opportunity to demonstrate that
faithfulness, separating for all the world to see the seed in good soil from
that which fell upon the rock.
Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we persevere, we will also reign with Him. If we disown Him, He will also disown us; If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.
2nd Timothy 2:11-13
The 144,000: The first martyrs of the Great Persecution will be, as
seen above, the 144,000. Along with Moses and Elijah, these Jewish
evangelists will be the most conspicuous believers in Jesus Christ, and for that
reason alone an obvious first target of antichrist's unprecedented pogrom.
This precedence in martyrdom is why they are described in verse four as having
been "purchased first from among men". The worldwide
proclamation of the gospel first prophesied in Mark 13:9 is the event we see
actually taking place in Revelation 14:6 immediately following our present
context. Therefore the experience of inquisition described in Mark 13:10
and following can be understood as having a special applicability to the
144,000. Following the beast's war upon Moses and Elijah, his cessation of
the temple rites, and his pursuit of believing Jews into the desert, we may
expect the Great Persecution to commence in earnest with the rounding up of the
144,000 worldwide and their subjection to a series of highly publicized "show
trials" of the sort described in Mark and in the other gospels as a result of
which these evangelists will be publically and conspicuously put to death (e.g.,
Matt.10:5-42; 24:4-28; Lk.9:1-27; 10:1-24; 21:12-36).(51)
It is entirely conceivable that while the main body of martyrs will be too large
to entertain such a possibility, that the 144,000 will indeed be transported to
Israel and made to stand before the "abomination that causes [spiritual]
desolation" on the temple mount in Jerusalem before being formally convicted and
executed. It will thus be very important for them to keep the words given
by our Lord firmly in mind throughout this ordeal (as well as for those called
to follow later in their footsteps in similar or identical circumstances).
This will be true in particular in regard to His command to leave their verbal
defense to the Holy Spirit (Matt.10:17-20; Mk.13:9-11; Lk.12:11-12; 21:12).
For, as suggested above, it is probable, in the absence of Moses and Elijah, now
miraculously translated into heaven, that the beast and his false prophet will
attempt to blame the 144,000 for all of the troubles that have befallen the
world as a result of the trumpet judgments (for we have seen how Moses and
Elijah actually administered some of these judgments as well as other judgments
similar to them). And we may expect this justification to be extended
later to the Great Persecution in general, with all believers being similarly
made scapegoats for the judgment that has so far fallen upon the unbelieving
world by way of warning (but which cannot be compared to the intensity of the
bowl judgments soon to come as just divine retribution for the Great Persecution
itself), as well as for the conspiratorial attempt to assassinate the beast.
Since the 144,000 and all the martyrs will be slandered and wrongly held
accountable in this way, it is all the more understandable why Jesus tells them
to let God the Holy Spirit do the talking in defense – God's authority in Jesus
Christ is the true issue here (cf. the Lord telling Samuel not to be upset at
the people's request for a king since "It is Me they have rejected":
1Sam.8:7-8).
In the verses translated here, Revelation 14:1-5, we see the 144,000 in their interim, pre-resurrection state, fresh from their martyrdom on the earth. That this is not a preview of the second advent as is sometimes supposed is made clear by the fact that 1) John hears the sound of their singing coming "from heaven" (v.2); 2) they are said to have been redeemed "from the earth" (which shows that they are not presently on it: v.3); and 3) the presence of heavenly objects and persons such as the throne of God, the four living creatures, and the angelic elders (v.3). Therefore the Mount Zion referred to in verse one is the heavenly Mount Zion rather than the earthly one (Heb.12:22-24; cf. Gal.4:14; Rev.3:12; 21:10). Indeed, we have already seen the presence on this heavenly Mount Zion of the temple and the ark of the covenant (Rev.11:19; cf. Rev.14:15-17; 15:5-8; 16:1; 16:17), whose mention is likewise in keeping with the clear counterpoint being given here of the true heavenly realities which contrast so sharply with the earthly desecration of the temple mount by antichrist. We see that same counterpoint, that same contrast, in the description of the 144,000 who, though just martyred under the most trying of circumstances, now stand before the Lamb in unimaginable bliss. Killing them has merely resulted in blessing beyond description.
We may also observe from this passage the principle that special service to the Lord never fails to produce exceptional rewards. This is certainly true of the 144,000 and should be of immense encouragement to everyone caught up in the Great Persecution (not to mention personal tribulation at any time in history). For we see here three unique privileges bestowed upon these martyrs. First, we see them with Jesus in what can only be described here as close and intimate fellowship. Quoting Isaiah 8:18 (a passage which also mentions Mt. Zion), Hebrews 2:13 unequivocally ascribes to Christ the future assembly of all the "children" given to Him by the Father. This is the common blessed destiny of all who have put their faith in the Son of Man, but here we see the 144,000 enjoying a special preview of that eternal fellowship even before the resurrection and second advent (quite an exceptional honor). Second, the Holy Spirit seal they had received upon their foreheads in chapter seven now is legible as the Name of the Son and of the Father. All who have chosen for Jesus will receive "the Name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem (which is going to come down from heaven from My God), and My new Name" (Rev.3:12), but here we see the 144,000 enjoying this special preview of that eternal demonstration of being God's own unique possession (quite an exceptional comfort). Third, John also hears them singing a special hymn of praise before the throne (i.e., a "new song").(52) While we will all sing the praises of our Lord throughout all eternity (cf. Rev.5:13), here we see the 144,000 performing in unison(53) this special song in a way in which no one else is able to duplicate, suggesting, rather than an inability to learn the words (which are recorded here for us even now), that they are all given some special musical talent to render this unique song (quite an exceptional blessing). It should be noted in passing that the 144,000 do not have "harps" or "lyres". The Greek adverb hos merely tells us that their vocal ability to perform this melody is such that it can only be described by John as if they were using instruments.
Finally, some explanation is required of the statements regarding the
"virginity" and "blamelessness" of the 144,000. We have already
had occasion to show in
part
2B of this series how that these men were indeed all virgins, a
special sacrifice undertaken in order to carry out their unique
ministries (cf. "eunuchs for the Kingdom of God": Matt.19:13), but,
clearly, no human being has ever been sinless, apart from our Lord.
(54)
As to their present status, standing before the throne in the presence
of the Lamb, they most assuredly are blameless and
incapable of any prevarication (as indeed we all shall be then and
should strive to be now: Eph.1:4; 5:27; Phil.2:15; Col.1:22; Jude 1:24).
As to their former lives, "blamelessness", while not allowing for
sinless perfection, does speak to their incredible integrity of
lifestyle, an important ingredient in the specialized ministries they
undertook. The statement "no lie was found in their mouths", while
not allowing for a life without ever so much as bending the truth, does
speak to the absolute integrity of their message, as they witnessed in
all sanctification to the truth of Him who is the truth throughout their
earthly ministries. In each of these two pairs of phrases, the
Greek conjunction gar
(γάρ) is being used to adduce the grounds for the first phrase.
That is to say, the grounds for concluding that the 144,000 had perfect
integrity of message is their blamelessness (i.e., their good conduct
supported their message; cf. Jas.3:2), and likewise the grounds for
concluding that the 144,000 had a perfect record in abstention from
illicit sex (apparently a widespread part of antichrist's new religion;
cf. Num.25; 2Pet.2:15; Jude 1:11) is the fact of their virginity (i.e.,
their virginity is the proof). One thing seems clear from the
blessed description of the 144,000 as they stand and sing in the
presence of the Lord: despite the difficulties of their lives and
of their deaths, none would have had it any other way, for they have
been highly rewarded for glorifying God in this special way.
[Jesus] said this indicating by what sort of death (i.e., one of martyrdom analogous to our Lord's) [it was that Peter] would glorify God. And having said this, He says to him, "Follow me!"
John 21:19
Prior to the commencement of the seven punitive "bowl judgments", God in His
great mercy will give the unbelieving world one final chance to turn from its
evil, and towards Him and salvation through Jesus Christ instead. This
final series of warnings will be heard worldwide through angelic proclamation, a
true indication of the gracious and forgiving character of our God (cf.
Is.18:3). First, the "eternal gospel" is given with a warning appended to
"fear God" because "the hour of His judgment has come". Then, a
second angel warns of the coming destruction of Babylon, the mightiest and
wealthiest of the nations of the world. Lastly, a third angel spells out
in great detail the terrors that await those who persist in worshiping the beast
instead of the one true God. The stubborn refusal of the vast majority of
the world's population in the face of the bowl judgments to come can be seen at
Revelation 16:9 and 16:11, as a "hardness of the gentiles" comes to replace the
"hardness in part" of Israel (Rom.11:25) in these the waning days of the times
of the gentiles (Lk.21:24; cf. Rev.11:2), a reversal of roles to the pre-Church
status quo already having been witnessed on the positive side with the
reestablishment of Jewish leadership through the ministries of Moses and Elijah,
and the 144,000.
a. The Way of Salvation Proclaimed: Revelation 14:6-7
(6) And I saw an angel flying in mid-heaven, [one who] had an eternal message of good news (i.e., "gospel"): "Give the good news to those dwelling on the earth, even to every nation and every tribe and every language and every people (7) [and do so] in a loud voice, [telling them to] 'Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come, and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the fountains of water'".(55)
Revelation 14:6-7
Immediately following the martyrdom of the 144,000 who had carried the gospel
message to the four corners of the world (albeit primarily to Jews), we now have
the final evangelistic effort of the Tribulation, the last chance for the
unbelieving world to turn from evil and respond to the truth, one which was
prophesied by our Lord Himself as presaging the coming of the end:
And this good news (i.e., "gospel") of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the inhabited world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:14 (cf. Mk.13:10)
From this point forward, for those who choose to reject this good news and
harden their hearts beyond any possible future repentance there will be only
spiritual darkness (Jn.9:4 cf. Is.21:12), until the Light of the world Himself
returns. It is important to point out that the order to give the good news
comes from this angel but that it is not he alone who carries out the command.
We must assume that this is a high ranking angel, and, while scripture is not
specific, the fact that there are seven angels mentioned in this context (i.e.,
Rev.14:6; 14:8; 14:9; 14:14 [an angel representing our Lord]; Rev.14:15; 14:17;
14:18), strongly suggests that these are the archangels (a supposition which
certainly is in keeping here with the issuing of a command that will take a very
large complement of other angels to fulfill).(56)
The gospel message recorded here is very similar to the essence of the message
given by our Lord during the initial days of His earthly ministry:
"Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matt.4:17). Then as now
and at that future time, the first order of business is to get the attention of
the unbelieving world by fixing their gaze upon God (i.e., the need to fear Him
and the nearness of the kingdom respectively), and then to respond with a basic
change of attitude ("repent" and "worship" respectively). In our Lord's
day, He Himself was the one giving the message, so that the issue of Jesus was a
personal one. In this passage, we should not fail to note that as the
person of the Trinity responsible for physically creating the world (as well as
maintaining it: Jn.1:3; 1:10; 1Cor.8:6; Col.1:16; Heb.1:2), Jesus Himself, the
Giver of life, is the One "who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the
fountains of water", necessities for basic human life as even the most calloused
unbeliever would have to admit. Hearing loudly and clearly and in their
own language the essentials of the good news, words of life which, if followed
with a mustard seed size grain of faith will lead to life, the world of that
time will have even less excuse than that of today for their failure to repent
and turn to Jesus Christ for eternal life (cf. Rom.10:13).
(22) Turn to me and be saved, every[one from the] ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other. (23) By Myself I have sworn. From my mouth a righteous word has gone forth which will not be revoked, that every knee will bow to Me, and to Me every tongue will swear. (24) And so they will acknowledge Me: "Only in the Lord are righteousness and might." Before Him will come all who raged against Him and they will be put to shame.
Isaiah 45:22-24
b. The
Coming Judgment on Babylon Proclaimed: Revelation 14:8
And yet a second [angel] followed, saying, "Babylon the Great has fallen! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the [divine] wrath [to come on account] of her prostitution".
Revelation 14:8
The fall of Babylon, vividly described in chapters 17-18 of Revelation, will be
covered in detail
in part 5, the next installment of this series. It is sufficient to
mention here that this next warning, also heard worldwide and the second in a
series of three, is intended to warn the world of the imminent destruction of
Babylon, antichrist's original home country (see
part 3B, section
II.1.c, "Antichrist's national origin"). While all unbelievers who
live in Babylon at this time would be wise to respond to this warning, those who
live elsewhere would also be wise to take heed themselves in the face of God's
humbling of the mightiest of the nations of the world. For believers who
have suffered the most at Babylon's hands during the Great Persecution (see
section VII.9 above), the impending judgment against her is also meant as an
encouragement, for they will soon see just recompense weighed out upon her in
full measure. For the Lord will soon give Babylon to drink of His wrath
(Rev.16:19; 18:3; cf. Rev.14:10; 14:19; 15:1; 15:7; 16:1; 19:15). The
asyndeton between the two sentences in this proclamation shows that divine
judgment upon Babylon is coming about as a direct result of the corrupting
influence ("prostitution") which she has exercised upon the nations of the
world.(57) As we have already seen, one of
Babylon's chief outrages is her nurturing and sponsoring of antichrist's
religion (inherently intertwined with his evil politico-economic system; i.e.,
she is a "land of idols", cf.
Jer.50:38-39), along with the Great Persecution which that religion has spawned
and is administering (see
section VII.9 above). Given the intensity and worldwide nature of this
pogrom aimed at all believers, and the fact that the Great Persecution is the
dominant theme throughout this entire section of Revelation (i.e., Revelation
13:11-18; 14:1-5; 14:9-13; 14:14-16; 15:1-8 are all focused upon that
event either directly or indirectly), we can be sure that the divine "wrath" in
which the nations of the earth are said to be about to share is forthcoming
primarily because of their participation in the persecution of believers
sponsored by Babylon. For in very short order the entire world, not just
Babylon, will begin to pay a severe price for their treatment of the Body of
Christ (cf. Rev.14:10; 14:19; 15:1; 15:7; 16:1; 19:15).
c. The Need for Fortitude in Persecution Proclaimed: Revelation 14:9-13
(9) And yet a third angel followed them, saying in a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives [his] mark upon his forehead or upon his hand, (10) he himself will also drink from the wine of God's wrath which has been mixed undiluted in the cup of His anger. And [that person] will be tormented in fire and sulfur before angels, [and] saints,(58) and before the Lamb. (11) And the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night, those who worship the beast and his image and whoever takes the mark of his name." (12) [But] the saints have perseverance, [even] those who in this way (i.e., by refusing the mark and worship of the beast) keep God's commandments and [retain] their faith in Jesus. (13) And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on so that they may rest from their labors", says the Spirit. "For their deeds follow with them."
Revelation 14:9-13
The third archangel's proclamation (which will likewise be carried around the
world by his subordinates) complements the second. While the first proclamation
served the purpose of a final positive call to turn to God, the second and third
proclamations serve to demonstrate the alternative to repentance, with the
second approaching things from the national point of view (i.e., the impending
fate of Babylon, the nation whose efforts have made the Great Persecution
possible) and with this third and final proclamation making the issue clear from
the individual point of view (i.e., the imminent divine judgment about to fall
upon everyone worldwide who has supported the Great Persecution through their
participation in the beast's religion). Since everyone in the world will
hear these proclamations, no one will be in a position to claim ignorance when
at last they stand before the judgment seat of God. It is a sobering
thought to consider the state of the unbelieving world at this time, for having
witnessed God's powerful warning judgments of the Tribulation's first half, and
now having heard with their own ears this series of admonitions about the
impending punitive judgments to come, they nonetheless will refuse to turn away
from following antichrist and his father the devil. And not even under the
pressure of those final, terrible judgments will they deign to repent (Rev.16:9;
16:11). Indeed, instead of throwing themselves on the mercy of God, their
reaction will be to curse Him (Rev.16:21). This reaction serves to
demonstrate that, far from being arbitrary, the wrath of God upon these
implacable rebels is not only entirely justified under the circumstances, but
abundantly so, both because they have received numerous, clear divine warnings,
and also because their intransigent attitude in the face of that wrath proves
beyond any doubt that indeed their participation in the beast's religion makes
them just as guilty as those most actively involved in directing the Great
Persecution.
Torment in fire and sulfur: Rather than focusing upon the earthly (and for that reason short-lived) consequences of their choice of antichrist over the true Christ, this third archangel's warning places the eternal future of all proponents of the beast in the forefront. The everlasting state of those who reject God and His Son is most assuredly not, as some would wish to maintain, one of oblivion but rather one of eternal punishment. The torment in fire and sulfur described here is a reference to the lake of fire (Matt.25:41; Rev.19:20; 20:10; 20:15; 21:8; cf. Is.66:22-24; Mk.9:48), the final abode of all unbelievers following the last judgment which takes place not at the end of the Tribulation but at the end of the Millennium at the termination of pre-eternal human history (to be discussed in detail in part 6 of this series). These verses are quite explicit in saying that "if anyone worships the beast" (v.9), and "whoever takes the mark" (v.11) will suffer this horrendous, eternal damnation. Scripture thus puts the issue in unmistakable terms. Taking the step of becoming an active participant in antichrist's religion will constitute an irrevocable decision that leads inevitably to the lake of fire. This is not because of any deficiency in the grace or mercy of God, but rather because, with the consequences made so crystal clear through the preceding events of the Tribulation, the ministries of Moses and Elijah and the 144,000, the trumpet judgments, and not least these three universal proclamations, any and all who can, in spite of everything, make themselves turn away from the truth to such a degree that they embrace the worship of the devil and antichrist have, like the Pharaoh of the Exodus, hardened their hearts past the point of no return. Such eternal condemnation is thus self-willed and self-chosen in direct defiance of Christ's sacrifice, God's grace, God's mercy, and God's first, best will for their lives (Ezek.18:23; Matt.18:14; Jn.12:47; 1Tim.2:4; 2Pet.3:9). By their own free will, those who agree to worship the beast and take his mark have their names blotted out of the Lamb's book of life (see Matt.22:1-14 for the two categories where coming to the wedding banquet without proper attire represents the passive rejection of not having received the clean garment of God's righteousness through faith; cf. Dan.12:1; Rev.13:8; 14:9-11; 16:2; 17:8; 19:20; 20:4).
One further point needs to be addressed here. While the description in
our context of the fate of those who take the mark of the beast is a preview of
their ultimate state, it is also true that those who have worshiped the beast
and allowed themselves to be so marked will not be allowed to enter the
millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ. Sometimes called "the
baptism of fire" (after the phrase used by John the baptist:
Matt.3:11; Lk.3:16; cf. Mk.1:8), this post second advent event, to be covered in
detail in the next installment of this series, is also often misunderstood.
A fiery removal of unbelievers from the earth occurs both at the inception and
at the conclusion of "the Day of the Lord" (cf. 2Ki.1:9-15).(59)
What concerns us here, however, is not the final removal of unbelievers to face
the last judgment, but the removing from the incipient millennial kingdom of
those who have already willfully and irreversibly rejected its King, namely, all
those who have taken the mark of the beast still alive following the battle of
Armageddon (Rev.19:11-21; cf. Zech.14:12-13; Rev.14:17-20).
(10) For the ax has already been put to the trunk of the trees. Accordingly, every tree which does not produce good fruit is about to be cut down and thrown into fire. (11) Now I am baptizing you with water for the purpose of [your] repentance. But the One coming after me is more powerful than me and I am not worthy to carry His sandals. It is He who is the One who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (12) His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will sweep clean His threshing floor, and will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Matthew 3:10-12
Comment: The trees that fail to produce good fruit are the unbelievers
at the second advent who have the mark of the beast (as well as unbelievers at
the end of the millennial kingdom who have failed to respond to the offer of
salvation even under the reign of the Messiah). In the ancient world,
before it was ground the useful part of a head of grain was separated from its
accompanying chaff by repeatedly casting it up into the air so that the wind
would catch the chaff and blow it away while the heavier grain came back down
onto the central part of the threshing "floor", ideally a smooth, flat rock
surface on a hilltop (where the wind could blow across it unimpeded). Once
separated, the grain could be gathered, stored, and processed, while the chaff
was good for nothing except for burning. The fire with which these beast
worshiping unbelievers are to be "baptized" is said to be "unquenchable", so
that this passage too looks forward to the lake of fire, the ultimate eternal
end of all those who receive the mark.
(6) Since indeed it is just for God to repay with tribulation those who are subjecting you to tribulation, (7) and to give you who are being distressed relief along with us at the revelation of our Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful angels, (8) wreaking vengeance in a flame of fire upon those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (9) These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power, (10) when He comes on that [great] day to be glorified in the midst of His saints (i.e., resurrected believers) and to be marveled at among all those who have believed – as our testimony has been believed in your case.
2nd Thessalonians 1:6-10
Comment: As in Matthew 3:10-12, "that day" is the Day of the Lord
(and the prophecy is thus applicable both to its inception and termination).
Further, the specific description of the eternal state of these unbelievers is
said to be "away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power"
(v.9), indicating clearly that while their last judgment will indeed take place
in His presence (cf. "before
angels, [and] saints, and before the Lamb" in Rev.14:10 above), the lake of fire
itself will be far removed from the blessed new heavens and new earth which the
righteous will inhabit in glory with the Lord forever.
Comment: Here we see the Lord's glorious second advent return
(v.15) and the dual destruction by means of sword (i.e., at the battle of
Armageddon: Rev.19:21), and by fire of unbelievers who oppose Him. That
the fiery destruction is the baptism of fire directed towards all who have taken
the mark can be seen from verse 17 where the description of abominable cult
activity refers to those who worship the beast and take part in his religion's
foul rites and activities, including the Great Persecution (i.e.,
"[characterized] by violence").
And I will place a sign among them, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations, to Tarshish, and Put, and Lud, those who draw the bow, Tubhal, and Yavan, the islands far away who have not heard my Name, and have not seen my Glory. Thus will they proclaim my Glory among the nations.
Isaiah 66:19
Comment: The sending forth to the gentiles of evangelists from the
Israelite survivors (i.e., those who are converted to Christ at His second
advent: Zech.12:10-14; Rev.1:7; cf. Rom.11:25-27), shows that there will be
survivors among the gentiles as well, unbelievers who did not take the mark of
the beast nor worship him despite the pressures of the Great Tribulation (cf.
Is.2:2-3).
I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered – with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath. I will bring you into the desert of the nations and there, face to face, I will execute judgment upon you. As I judged your fathers in the desert in the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will take note of you as you pass under my rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against me. Although I will bring them out of the land where they are living, yet they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
Ezekiel 20:34-38 NIV (cf. Jer.31:2)
Comment: The basis for the distinction between those who enter the
land and those who do not after the regathering that follows the second advent
is most likely also the presence of the mark of the beast. For those who
are excluded as they "pass under the rod" are referred to as "those who revolt
and rebel against me", and there is no greater rebellion against the Lord than
accepting the irrevocable mark of Satan worship. Here too, therefore, we
see even among Israel those who will be expunged from the Messiah's kingdom
during the baptism of fire. Jews, if anything, will have less of an excuse
for taking the mark than gentiles, given the strict contrast of this abominable
procedure to the specific teachings of the Mosaic Law (e.g., Deut.11:18).
At that time, Michael the great prince (i.e., archangel) will take his stand [in your defense], [even] he who stands [in defense] over the sons of your people. For [that time] (i.e., the Great Tribulation) shall be a time of distress such as has never occurred since people first existed [on the earth] until that time. But during that time your people will escape, [that is,] everyone who[se name] is found written in the book [of life] (i.e., present and future believers).
Daniel 12:1
Comment: As we saw in
section VI.1 above, the book of life contains the names of every human
being, and these names are blotted out of the book only through active or
passive rejection of God's solution to the problem of sin and death, the person
and work of our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In this verse we see
everyone who has not actively rejected Jesus through taking the
mark and worshiping the beast admitted into the millennial kingdom, either
through resurrection (believers at the time of the second advent), or through
exemption from the baptism of fire (through having refused the mark of the
beast; Rev.13:8; 17:8b cf. Josh.6:25; Matt.25:37-40). This leads us also
to suppose that taking the mark of the beast will be an informed and therefore
an adult decision, suggesting that many of those who are spared the baptism of
fire will be children who have not yet been officially enlisted into the beast's
religion (cf. Is.2:2-3; 66:17).
The combination of those killed on account of the harsh conditions of the Tribulation, the trumpet and bowl judgments, Armageddon, and the baptism of fire shows the truth of the predictions that the Lord will make mankind "as rare as gold of Ophir" (Is.13:12), and that "unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have survived" (Mk.13:20). As it is, believers will enter the new millennial kingdom of the Messiah in resurrection, rising to meet our Lord on His return, and those who survive until the coming of the King will not precede those who die as martyrs and witnesses for Him (1Thes.4:15-17). Herein lies the greatest tragic irony of the baptism of fire related in our context: while the unbelieving world had given themselves up to the beast in order to save their lives, they will only have guaranteed themselves a fiery end, while the believers who were willing to lose their lives rather than do so, will have gained eternal life (Matt.10:39; 16:25; Mk.8:35; Lk.9:24; 17:33). The believers did not set their hearts on the lust, and rust, and dust of this world, on the wealth that cannot be taken beyond this world, but have taken their works with them (Rev.14:13), and have gained rewards that are eternal (1Pet.1:3-9; cf. Ps.49). This is the holy perspective upon which the perseverance necessary during those trying days to come must be based (Rev.14:12).
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on so that they may rest from their labors", says the Spirit. "For their deeds follow with them."
Revelation 14:13
(14) And, behold, a white cloud. And sitting on the white cloud was what looked like a man with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. (15) And another angel came out of His temple, shouting in a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud, "Send [forth] your sickle and reap, because the hour of the harvest has come, and the harvest [crop] is ripe" (lit., "dry"). (16) And the one sitting on the cloud set his sickle to the earth, and the earth was harvested.
Revelation 14:14-16
This is the first of three allegories whose purpose it is to provide graphic
previews of what is yet to come, all related in one way or another to the
Tribulation's eponymous event, the Great Persecution. In Revelation
14:14-16, we have the harvest of the martyrs, a description of the Great
Persecution from the heavenly perspective as it relates to those who give up
their lives for Jesus Christ. In Revelation 14:17-20, we have the vintage
of the persecutors, a description of the grim end at the battle of Armageddon
about to befall those who have supported the beast and enabled this persecution.
Finally, Revelation 15:1-8 gives us a description of the triumph amid suffering
of all believers persevering through the Great Persecution (verses 2-4),
enclosed by the real-time heavenly preparations for the preliminary divine
answer to Satan's and antichrist's horrendous abuse of the saints, namely, the
punitive "bowl judgments" which precede and portend the even more emphatic and
decisive divine judgments of the second advent and the baptism of fire.
The harvest metaphor, often used in scripture to describe gracious divine selection (e.g., Is.17:5-8; 27:12; Matt.9:37-38; 13:39; Mk.4:26-29; Lk.10:2; Jn.4:35), here depicts as ready for reaping the believers who are being martyred in the Great Persecution. They have fulfilled their purpose for the Lord on earth, and are now being removed by Him at just the proper time, the time of His perfect choosing. Thus we should remember in our concern for these believers and for ourselves as we contemplate this possibility in our own lives that things really are not as the world sees them. Antichrist and his father the devil will delight in the holocaust of believers, but God is working everything out for good, taking home to glory those whom He ordained for this in eternity past in a manner that brings special glory to the One they love, the One who died for them on Calvary. The death of every saint has always been precious to the Lord (Ps.116:15), but that the martyrdom of these tribulational believers constitutes a special case can be seen from the extraordinary symbolism employed here. In the verses above, the archangel who symbolically harvests the martyrs from the earth, is made to represent our Lord Jesus Christ as can be seen from his human rather than angelic appearance, the golden crown upon his head, and the cloud upon which he sits (since this foreshadows Jesus' return: Dan.7:13; Matt.24:30; Mk.13:26; 14:62; 1Thes.4:17; Rev.1:7). The crown here is not the kingly crown or diadema (cf. Rev.19:12), but instead the victor's crown or stephanos, the same word used for the crown of life promised to believers who are "faithful unto death" in Revelation 2:10, and thus a symbol of the great reward that will fall to the lot of those who die in this way.(60) What we have here is thus a blessed and special allegory for all who may face martyrdom during the Great Persecution, designed to demonstrate to us in advance how precious in particular the deaths of these martyrs will be to the Lord Jesus, and how personally and intimately concerned He will be with gathering them in at just the proper time and in just the proper way.
In Revelation 19:15 we similarly see our Lord "trampling down the winepress of
the fury of the wrath of God Almighty", making it clear that the passage above
is a preview of Armageddon, with the "blood" of the grapes representing the
literal blood or death of those who oppose Him, spattered on His robes in the
slaughter of that great day (Rev.19:13; cf. Is.63:1-6 with Gen.49:11).
While the harvest is a positive metaphor of ingathering, the symbolism of the
vintage and the "blood of the grape" is always concerned with divine judgment
(e.g., Jer.25:30-31; and the sickle would otherwise be an inappropriate instrument
for gathering grapes).
Send forth the sickle for the harvest is ripe! Come down into the winepress for it is full and the vats overflow. For great is their wickedness. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of doom! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of doom.
Joel 3:13-14
The city mentioned in Revelation 14:20 above is Jerusalem, the focal point of
the battle of Armageddon, and the distance of 143 miles (not 190-200 miles as
many versions have it following a lesser manuscript tradition) is the
approximate extent of the inhabited portion of the state of Israel from the
northern border to the central Negev. This indicates that while Jerusalem
will be the gravamen of the campaign, our Lord's destruction of the armies of
antichrist will surge like a flood throughout the entire land of Israel.
The fact that the first angel of this pair has "authority over the fire" is also
an indication of coming judgment and presages the baptism of fire which will
remove from the earth those who while they may not have taken part in the
invasion of Israel nevertheless have supported antichrist and taken his mark.
The altar, as we have seen before, is the altar of incense, and was used
previously in Revelation to show that the prayers of the saints during these
difficult times are indeed being answered (Rev.8:3-5). We therefore see in
this second allegory the encouraging fulfillment of the ultimate deliverance for
which all believers on earth during this time have been fervently praying for so
long.
(1) And I saw another sign in heaven, great and wondrous, seven angels with the seven final plagues, [final], because with them the wrath of God shall have been brought to a full end. (2) And I saw [something] like a sea of glass, [but this time it was] mixed with fire, and those who were [in the process of] winning the victory over the beast and his image and over the number of his name were standing on the sea of glass holding lyres of the Lord God, (3) and they were singing the song of Moses the servant of God, even the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and wondrous are your deeds, O Lord God, the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the ages! (4) Who shall not fear you, Lord, and give glory to your Name? For You alone are holy. For all the nations will come and worship before you. For [these] judgments shall have been made manifest before You". (5) And after this I looked and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. (6) And the seven angels with the seven plagues came out of the temple dressed in linen, shiny and clean, and with golden belts tied around their waists. (7) And [one] of the four living creatures (i.e., a cherub) gave the seven angels [seven] golden bowls, filled up with the wrath of God who lives for ever and ever. Amen. (8) And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter into the temple [again] until the seven plagues of the seven angels had been completed.
Revelation 15:1-8
Here we have a real time depiction of the suffering of believers in the
crucible of the Great Tribulation and the divine response in the
preparation of the final seven plagues of wrath, judgment, and
vindication (of the believers). These last seven plagues, do, as
verse one declares, complete the wrath of God since the seventh plague
is synonymous with the series of judgments that precede and include
Armageddon and the second advent, wherein Satan, antichrist, the false
prophet, and all those who have aided and abetted them in their evil
deeds are removed from the earth (cf. Rev.16:17ff.). John's
description of these events as a vision of a great and wondrous sign
shows that, as was the case in the last two passages, what we are
dealing with here is allegorical in part. John saw a similar
"sign" (i.e., of the dragon) at Revelation 12:1-3, but that sign was
"great" in the sense of being terrible, for it portended and portrayed
the beginning of the Great Persecution, while this sign is not only
truly "great" but also "wondrous", for it portends and portrays God's
mighty deliverance of those being persecuted. The seven angels who
administer these final plagues of wrath, judgment, and vindication are
the archangels, the same seven angels who were depicted in the previous
two allegories of the harvest of believers and the vintage of the wicked
(i.e., they are described here as "the" seven angels:
Rev.15:7). Their rank is indicated in part by the similarity of
their dress to that of the Messiah (likewise girt with a golden sash:
cf. Rev.1:13). Additionally, they receive their orders
directly from one of the cherubim, the highest ranking of the angelic
orders.(61) The charge with which
they are here entrusted is so dramatic that after they have received
their commissions we see the heavenly tabernacle, God's temple in
heaven, filled with smoke, a sign that God Himself has now taken over
active and decisive control of events, and that nothing will now stay
His purpose until His saints are vindicated and rescued, and judgment
paid out to His enemies. No one will be able to enter into His
presence until these final plagues are carried out (cf. Ex.40:34–35;
1Ki.8:10-11; Ezek.10:3-5; Is.6:4).
The Song of Moses: The song of Moses is a song of deliverance (Ex.15:1-18), of salvation and vindication from the hands of unbelieving persecutors, from Pharaoh (a type of antichrist as we have seen) and the Egyptians in the historical analogy, and from antichrist and those with his mark in our context. Moses' song celebrated God and His delivering of the children of Israel both from the point of view of His glorious power and goodness in doing so, and also from the point of view of their miraculous deliverance and appreciation for it. Such is the case in the passage above. There is a critical difference, however, which is often misunderstood because of a misreading and mistranslation of the text. As pointed out above (in section VII.2, "Key Passages" dealing with the Great Persecution), this is a portrayal of believers who are still alive on earth and suffering in the crucible of the Great Persecution, for the glassy sea is heaven's "looking glass" into events transpiring on the earth.(62) Therefore the depiction of these believers as standing on the sea tells us clearly that they are still on the earth at this point. The fire represents the fiery trial of persecution they are currently enduring and demonstrates their need of immediate deliverance.(63) So here we see these heroic believers enduring, persevering, and anticipating the deliverance to come while yet in the midst of the crucible – Moses and the Israelites praised God for deliverance through the sea; these believers are still in the midst of the fiery sea (cf. Daniel's three friends fellowshipping with the Lord while yet in the fiery furnace: Dan.3:25), and praise Him for what He is about to do for them, humbling the nations and delivering them from the grasp of antichrist. For them, this is just as certain as if it had indeed already happened. Here is true proof of faith and faithfulness, when with the eyes of faith we can look beyond the sorrows, the terrors, and the hardships of the here and now into the glorious future, though veiled from our earthly eyes, and glory in our Lord's sure deliverance even before the fact.
That city is the New Jerusalem, and these tribulational believers, singing God's praises in the midst of the most intense persecution in history, surely belong to the number of those of whom our God is not ashamed. May we be worthy of that number, and prepared to behave with equal courage in the difficult and trying days ahead.
"And there will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars, and on the earth there will be [great] distress among the nations [who will be greatly] bewildered by the roaring of the sea and [its massive] waves, [and] men will lose heart out of fear and expectation of what is about to come upon the inhabited world. For the luminaries of the heavens will be [powerfully] shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and much glory. When these things begin to happen, stand up and raise up your heads, because your redemption is near." Then He told them a parable. "Look at the fig tree and all its leaves. When they have already come out [like this], you can see for yourselves by examining it that summer is near. So also when you see that all things have come to pass, know that the Kingdom of God is near."
Luke 21:25-31
[Go to: Coming Tribulation part 5: Armageddon and the 2nd Advent]
Footnotes:
(1) For further references and discussion see J.J. Davis, Biblical Numerology (Grand Rapids 1968) 116ff.
(2) On the symbolism of the Day of the Lord, see part 1 of this series, section IV.1.b, "The 'Day of the Lord' Paradigm".
(3) See part 5 of The Satanic Rebellion: Background to the Tribulation: "Judgment, Restoration and Replacement", section IV, "Things to Come: Judgment, Restoration and Replacement Phases II and III".
(4) i.e., our Lord is already the true ruler of this world by virtue of His victory on the cross (cf. Matt.28:18-20): for details see part 4 of The Satanic Rebellion: Background to the Tribulation: "Satan's World System", section II.8, "Satan is now on the defensive".
(5) See especially part 2B of this series, "The Earthly Tabernacle and Temple as a Type of the Heavenly Temple:" in section I.
(6) Red, the color of blood (cf. Rev.6:4 which also uses as in this passage the Greek adjective pyrros; cf. Is.63:2), is suggestive here of the sin of bloody murder in particular (Is.1:15-21; cf. NIV Study Bible note in loc. Is.15:18).
(7) See The Coming Tribulation: Part 3B: Antichrist and his Kingdom, section III, "The Kingdom of the Beast".
(8) For a discussion of the symbolism and a treatment of the stars in this passage as both apostate believers and fallen angels, see The Coming Tribulation: Part 3A: From the Seventh Seal to the Two Witnesses, section II.1.a, "The Great Apostasy: Definition". See also part 4 of Satanic Rebellion: Satan's World System, section III.3, under "Titles of Rank: 2) Elders".
(9) The "flight of the woman, Israel" does not occur until after the devil is cast down to earth as the following verses make clear (cf. especially Rev.12:13). Revelation 12:6 is therefore to be understood as prospective, giving us a preview of the escape to the desert of all those in Israel who responded to the ministry of Moses and Elijah, with the details being provided in Revelation 12:13-17.
(10) These themes are treated in detail in the Satanic Rebellion series. See especially part 5, "Judgment, Restoration and Replacement".
(11) See part 5 of The Satanic Rebellion: Background to the Tribulation: "Judgment, Restoration and Replacement", section IV, "Things to Come: Judgment, Restoration and Replacement Phases II and III".
(12) i.e., this is the end of the "truce" which has been in place since God's initial judgment of the universe in response to Satan's coup d'etat. See part 4 of the Satanic Rebellion series, section III.1, "The current heavenly truce".
(13) See part 2B of this series for the former, parts 3A and 3B for the latter set of developments mentioned here.
(14) We have dealt extensively with these matters before. See especially Bible Basics: Part 2A: Angelology, and part 4 of the Satanic Rebellion series, section III, "Satan's Order of Battle".
(15) See part 5 of The Satanic Rebellion: Background to the Tribulation: "Judgment, Restoration and Replacement", section II.7, "The Seven Days of Human History".
(16) See part 3A of Coming Tribulation: From the Seventh Seal to the Two Witnesses, section I.1 "The Seven Archangels with the Seven Trumpets".
(17) See part 4 of The Satanic Rebellion: Background to the Tribulation: Satan's World System, section III.3, "The Organization of the Holy Angels".
(18) See part 4 of The Satanic Rebellion: Background to the Tribulation: "Satan's World System", section V.5, "[Satan's] Accusation of Believers"
(19) See part 4 of The Satanic Rebellion: Background to the Tribulation: "Satan's World System", section V.1, "Names for the Devil".
(20) For the importance to the plan of God of the filling up of the full number of the Church and the devil's attempts to thwart this process see part 5 of The Satanic Rebellion, section II, "The Plan of God in Human History" and section III, "Satan's Counter-Strategy".
(21) Compare the "eagle Cherub" representing the victorious, returning Messiah (see part 2B of this series, section I, under "The Four Living Creatures"). The eagle reference also reminds us of our Lord's comparison of the Second Advent to a "gathering of eagles" (Matt.24:28; Lk.17:37).
(22) The "times of gentiles" refers specifically to the 42 months of antichrist's control of Jerusalem which does not extend to the entire temple mount for this entire period, since that place will be regained by the rebels along with some other parts of Jerusalem during the final days of the Tribulation (cf. Dan.8:13-14; Zech.12:1-9; 14:1-5). See The Coming Tribulation: Part 3A: The Tribulation Begins, section V, "The Two Witnesses", and The Coming Tribulation: Part 3B: Antichrist and his Kingdom, section VIII, "The Abomination of Desolation".
(23) There is also application here to our Lord's regathering of Israel at His Second Advent, bringing her first into the desert to separate the wheat from the chaff (cf. Ezek.20:32-38). See part 6 of this series, section I.6, "The Regathering and Purging of Israel".
(24) Compare our Lord's command in Lk.21:21 not to enter Jerusalem which sits in the midst of the Judean hills, showing that these are most assuredly not the "mountains" meant.
(25) As this point has been covered exhaustively in section II.3 of The Satanic Rebellion: Part 2: The Genesis Gap, "The Sea", the details are not repeated here.
(26) Compare the fact that Gen.49:17, which speaks of antichrist, recalls Gen.3:15, which speaks of Satan. Consider also the scriptural parallel noted in part 3B between antichrist and Judas who was possessed by the devil (cf. the serpent of Genesis 3, likewise possessed by Satan).
(27) See part 5 of The Satanic Rebellion: Judgment, Restoration and Replacement, section III.2, "Satan's postdiluvian attack on human freedom (the Tower of Babel)".
(28) The word "law"(Heb. dhat, דת) commonly refers to statutory law. On the significance of "times" (Heb. 'itiym, עתים) as referring to established customary practices which often have the force of "common law", see Esther 1:13 "wise men knowing the times", a phrase which in the context of that verse clearly sums up every aspect of "law and justice" both (cf. Est.1:19; 4:11; 4:16; 1:15; 1Chron.12:32; Jer.46:17).
(29) See the study, Read your Bible: Protection against Cults.
(30) i.e., Babylon's English to be replaced by Zion's Hebrew.
(31) For a full discussion of this facilitation of unbelieving hardness of heart, see The Coming Tribulation: Part 3A, section II.3.a, "The unleashing of the 'mystery of lawlessness'".
(32) See part 1 of the Satanic Rebellion series, section II.6, "The Seven Edens".
(33) See The Coming Tribulation: Part 3A: From the Seventh Seal to the Two Witnesses, section II.3.a, "The unleashing of the 'mystery of lawlessness'".
(34) See The Coming Tribulation: Part 3A: From the Seventh Seal to the Two Witnesses, section II.3.c, "The rise of false teaching".
(35) See The Coming Tribulation: Part 3A: From the Seventh Seal to the Two Witnesses, section II.3.c.1, "The persuasiveness of tribulational false teaching".
(36) It is interesting to note that, like antichrist who is the preeminent antitype of many other lesser “antichrists” (1Jn.2:18-22; 4:3), so in the case of this premier “false prophet” scripture describes him as an exemplar, so to speak, of other lesser false prophets (Matt.24:23-24; 2Pet.2:1; 1Jn.4:1).
(37) Reading tokh instead of tavekh, a change in vocalization but not in the orthography of the MT.
(38) See The Coming Tribulation: Part 3B: Antichrist and his Kingdom, section VIII, "The 'Abomination of Desolation' and the 'Session' of Antichrist".
(39) See the discussion of the "third horseman" in The Coming Tribulation: Part 2B: The Heavenly Prelude to the Tribulation, section IV.3, "The Black Horse: Economic Constraint".
(40) See also in The Coming Tribulation: Part 2B: The Heavenly Prelude to the Tribulation, section V, "The Sealing of the 144,000".
(41) On the significance of seven as the number representing perfection and completeness, consider the seven Genesis days of re-creation, the seven millennial days of human history, the seven Spirits of God (i.e., the Holy Spirit described in this formula of perfection: Is.11:2-3; Rev.1:4; 1:20; 3:1; 5:1ff.; cf. Ps.12:6; 119:164; Prov.6:16; 9:1). For further references and discussion see J.J. Davis, Biblical Numerology (Grand Rapids 1968) 116ff.
(42) We find hexakosiai (ἑξακόσιαι), the feminine form of the number meaning "six hundred", both in Sinaiticus (א) and Ephraemi Rescriptus (C), two of the best ancient witnesses to the Greek text.
(43) See The Coming Tribulation: Part 2B: "The Heavenly Prelude to the Tribulation", section I, Revelation 4:1-11.
(44) This point is universally misunderstood in the versions and is incorrectly rendered in, e.g., the KJV: "that had gotten the victory"; the NASB: "who had come off victorious"; and the NIV "who had been victorious".
(45) See The Coming Tribulation: Part 3A: "From the Seventh Seal to the Two Witnesses", section II, "The Great Apostasy".
(46) See especially Peter lesson #25, "Personal Tribulation".
(47) For crowns as indicating levels of eternal reward, see Peter #18, "Eternal Rewards", and section I.7 of Coming Tribulation part 6, "The Judgment and Reward of the Church".
(48) The use of the Greek preposition pro in the phrase pro de touton (πρὸ δὲ τούτων) is misunderstood in the versions as being temporal, whereas it should be taken here as preferential in degree rather than in time, that is "more significant" rather than "more recent" (cf. 1Tim.2:1; Jas.5:12; 1Pet.4:8). The point is that for believers the Great Persecution will be much more of a shock to the system than even the horrendous and notable judgments for which the Tribulation is renowned.
(49)
See
The Coming Tribulation: Part 3A: From the Seventh Seal to the Two
Witnesses,
section II.2, "The Situation of the Church-visible on the Eve of the
Tribulation"
(50)
See part 4 of
The Satanic Rebellion: Background to the Tribulation: "Satan's World
System, Past, Present, and Future", section I, "Strangers in the Devil's
Realm".
(51)
For all of these issues involving the 144,000, please see in
The Coming Tribulation: Part 2B: The Heavenly Prelude to the Tribulation,
section V, "The Sealing of the 144,000".
(52)
cf. Ps.33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Is.42:10; see also the
treatment of this phrase as it occurs in Rev.5:9 in part 2B of this
series.
(53)
Our best biblical manuscript, Sinaiticus (or א as it is often
represented in critical editions), has, in addition to the number, the
word mian
(μίαν). This is the accusative feminine of the Greek integer
"one", but is being used here adverbially to mean "as one" (a usage
paralleled in koine inscriptions).
(54)
See Bible
Basics: Part 3B: Hamartiology: The Biblical Study of Sin,
section II.2, "The Universality of Sin".
(55)
The translation here follows the text of Sinaiticus (or א), which does
not have the participle "saying", but does have the verb meaning "to
proclaim the gospel" in the imperative or command mood rather than in
the infinitive. Confusion about the fact that this angel is giving
the command to others apparently led to textual confusion in later
versions.
(56)
See the discussion in Bible
Basics: Part 2A: Angelology,
section II.9.3, "Archangels".
(57)
i.e., there is no connective here as is normally the case in Greek, a
device which is often used to call special attention to what follows.
The relative pronoun he [ἥ] is absent in the best manuscripts.
(58)
The absence of the definite article in the Greek text preceding the
words "angels" and "holy [ones]" allows for the possibility that the
adjective is being used here as a substantive, referring to resurrected
believers. There is no reason for believers to be absent from this
picture (cf. Rev.20:4), and the phrase "holy angels" is relatively rare
in scripture, occurring only twice in the New Testament and in both
instances in company with the definite article which is absent here
(Mk.8:38; Lk.9:27; cf. Acts 10:22).
(59)
An example of prophetic conflation of end time events for simplicity's
sake, a phenomenon which we have studied before: see
Part 1 of
this series, section IV.1.b, "The 'Day of the Lord' Paradigm".
(60)
For crowns as indicating levels of eternal reward, see
Peter #18, "Eternal Rewards", and
section
I.7 of Coming Tribulation part 6, "The Judgment and Reward of the
Church".
(61)
See
Bible Basics: Part 2A: Angelology,
section II.9.3, "The Organization of Elect Angels".
(62)
See part 2B of
this series, section I, "The Sea".
(63)
The lyres too are symbolic (cf. our discussion of the 144,000 above),
indicating the pleasing nature of this song as it rises to heaven into
the presence of the Lord (cf. the incense of Rev.8:3-4).