The Future Times by Neal Fox - HTML preview

total destruction. This discussion is not in the linear time line since we will learn more about Babylon later in Chapter 15.

Rev 14:9 “A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.”

A third angel warns that there will be grave consequences for unbelievers worshiping the Beast-Antichrist, both on earth and for all eternity. Also, believers must not take the mark of the Beast even though the temptation will be very strong due to the economic boycott of everyone who refuses the mark. Remember that since all believers will be removed prior to the start of the Tribulation, these will be relatively new believers. But great faith and endurance will be required of them since the temptation will be very strong to succumb just to survive and protect their family. They must understand what the Bible says and follow it precisely. Matthew 24:10 “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved [delivered]. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Time will be short, so there will be no time to waste.

Rev 14:13 “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

Refusing the mark of the Beast will result in martyrdom for many believers. The second half of the Tribulation will be a very difficult time for all believers. All will face deprivation, and many will die a martyr's death. Families will be torn apart as they argue among themselves that taking the mark is 97

required for the survival of themselves and their children. Those who try to remain strong and refuse the mark will be under intense pressure to give in to evil for the sake of their families. Matthew 24:12-13 says: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved [delivered into the Millennium].” Those who take the mark will die anyway. But those who refuse will be a testimony for Jesus Christ to a hardened world, and they also may be delivered into a perfect environment for 1000 years. Taking the mark will be certain death and no rewards for eternity. Refusing the mark will mean the opportunity to save unbelievers and also possibly (no guarantees) to go into the Millennium and have 1000 years of pleasure after this relatively short time of intense misery. Either way those who remain faithful will have eternal rewards. It will still be a hard choice for many believers. Maintaining love will be difficult but indispensable to survival and for fulfilling God’s special plan for their lives. As a side note, it would be wise to avoid having children during the Tribulation since that will greatly complicate the suffering for those involved.

God allows this evil during the Tribulation to serve as a witness and aid in the evangelization of the hardened world. The Tribulation is Satan’s final argument in his appeal trial against God. Part of Satan’s final strategy is that if believers are faced with a choice of family survival or Satan’s plan, they will chose for Satan. God will show Satan that is not true. And God also assures the faithful believers they will be at rest in Heaven after their trials on earth are completed, and their reward will be great for a short but incredibly difficult level of extreme service in God’s Plan. They must remain strong and follow the commands found throughout Revelation and elsewhere in the Bible. This also shows why all believers in Israel must flee to the mountains at the mid-point of the Tribulation. So many believers will be martyred during the last half of the Tribulation that a group of Jewish believers must be set aside and protected to populate the Millennium after the Tribulation ends, and that is the primary reason for Jews fleeing to the mountains at the mid-point of the Tribulation. They will be the primary remnant of survivors.

Preparation for Final Judgments: View From Heaven

The remainder of this chapter summarizes what will happen during the final judgments as most

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unbelievers remaining on earth will be killed by them. There are seven Bowl Judgments and one final Trumpet Judgment (the 3rd Woe) left to administer, and these occur near the end of the Tribulation.

John now sees four angels who are engaged in harvesting the earth, which means killing unbelievers for the martyrdom of God's believers.

Rev 14:14 “I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. 17 “Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20

They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.”

This is not the Lord sitting on a cloud, but rather all those mentioned here in verses 14 - 19 are angels.

The Lord does not take orders from angels. The angel said to be “one like a son of man with a crown of gold” is a highly decorated angel since the verse says “then another angel” after discussing this one.

“One like a son of man” means an angel who can take the form of a man, like the angels who went to Sodom in human form (Genesis 19:1). Angels have various rewards for excelling in their spiritual life during the ancient angelic conflict before man was created, and this angel has a golden crown because of his past accomplishments. These verses are an overview showing how angels will administer Bowl Judgments which take vast numbers of unbelievers off the earth during the latter part of the Tribulation.

The deaths are retribution for the martyrdom of believers during the Tribulation. Those who kill God's believers will die a horrible death in astounding numbers, and their entire bodies will be ground up and the resulting mush will flow like a bloody river said to be 200 miles long and five feet deep at the initial gush, as with a flash flood which surges at the onset and then decreases to a steady flow. Just as an example, that would be roughly 250 million people to make a river 50 feet wide, 5 feet deep at the 99

initial flash flood surge and 200 miles long. That is what God thinks of those who kill His own believers. Remember once again the discussion of the Worthy Judge, and how important that issue is in view of such large scale human casualties.

The explanatory parentheses are closed (for now) and John returns to the time line discussion where he left off at the end of Chapter 9 after describing the sixth Trumpet Judgment (2nd Woe).

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REVELATION CHAPTER 15

Preparations for the Bowl Judgments

Now John provides details of the approaching Bowl Judgments. We have seen the natural disasters, man-made disasters, and divine judgments revealed by the Seals, including the first six Trumpet Judgments. The next two chapters discuss the seven Bowl Judgments, which occur after the Sixth Trumpet Judgment. God's patience is at an end.

Rev 15:1 “I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues

—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.”

These seven last plagues or Bowl Judgments are executed between the 6th and 7th Trumpet Judgments.

Since they are called the “last plagues” they occur very close to the end of the Tribulation. The Trumpet Judgments are executed throughout the period of the Great Tribulation, which is the last 3 ½

years, so the Bowl Judgments must fit in very near the end of that 3 ½ year period. And since the 7th Trumpet Judgment includes the Second Advent, these 7 Bowls obviously must occur before the Second Advent and in rapid succession, which will intensify their effects.

Rev 15:2 “And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations.”

The scene in Heaven shows the Church Age believers as the “sea”, meaning they are in their

translucent resurrection bodies, and Tribulation martyrs who are not yet in resurrection bodies standing alongside. The “fire” is the imprecatory prayers for revenge on those who killed these martyrs, which God has heard and is now prepared to answer. The “harps” here has been picked up as a regular activity in Heaven, which it is not. The harp playing is used to accompany the song of the judgments of Jesus Christ, who is about to carry out final judgments and then cleanse the earth of all unbelievers who had tormented and killed – directly or indirectly – believers during the Tribulation.

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Rev 15:4 “Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

The song looks forward to the approaching Millennium during which time Jesus Christ will rule all nations from His throne in Israel. All nations will worship Him and bring Him offerings during His 1000 year reign. (Psalm 66:4, Psalm 86:9 Isaiah 2:3)

Rev 15:5 “After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. 6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests.”

From the true Temple in Heaven seven angels come out prepared to execute the seven Bowl

Judgments. They were dressed for the occasion, showing their authority from God, a sash showing past superior achievement in the angelic conflict, and having the ability to fairly and justly carry out their mission per the instructions from the Judge.

Rev 15:7 “Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.”

A Seraph from the throne room of God handed out the seven Bowl Judgments which will be judgment on unbelievers for the evil perpetrated against God's believers, then the heavenly Temple was closed down by smoke (indicating judgment is underway) until the Bowl Judgments have been completed.

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REVELATION CHAPTER 16

The Bowl Judgments Begin

It is time to execute the seven Bowl Judgments to avenge the killing of believers during the Tribulation.

These judgments will be the worst seen in all of human history, and lead up to the return of Jesus Christ at the Second Advent. God does not cause misery without a good reason. These Bowls occur very late in the second half of the Tribulation between the 6th and 7th Trumpet Judgments, after God has sent many forms of evangelization to those who are about to be severely judged. The 7th Trumpet includes the Second Advent of Christ, so this shows how near the end these Bowl Judgments occur, certainly during the last year and maybe even the last few months of the Tribulation.

Rev 16:1 “Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” 2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.”

Upon the command of the Lord the seven Bowl Judgments begin, and the first Bowl causes unbelievers on earth to break out in awful, thick, painful sores in judgment for worshiping the Beast-Antichrist and taking the mark of the Beast. This judgment hearkens back to the Pharaoh of Egypt and the plague of sores in ancient Egypt. The unbelievers of the Tribulation took the mark of the Beast, and since they like marks on their skin, God gives them pockmarks all over their bodies. And the pain associated with them will be excruciating.

Rev 16:3 “The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.”

The 2nd Bowl turns all the oceans to blood and kills all remaining sea life. The rain cycle is also disrupted by this judgment since the oceans are key to rain formation. Recall that the Trumpet Judgment had previously killed 1/3 of all sea life, so this Bowl occurs later since all sea life is now killed. This shows once again the timing of the Bowl Judgments, which are very late in the Tribulation, 103

certainly later than the 2nd Trumpet Judgment of Rev 8:8-9 which occurs during the last couple years of the Tribulation.

Rev 16:4 “The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were; 6 for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”

The 3rd Bowl Judgment targets the remaining supply of drinking water. The 3rd Trumpet targeted 1/3 of all drinking water, now the remainder is taken away. Since the people on earth could not survive very long without drinking water, the Second Advent is very near. The unbelievers were bloodthirsty while killing so many believers, so God now gives them blood to drink. Believers will have special provisions during all the judgments, but the intensity of the adversities will be felt by all as God removes the most basic necessities for sustaining life from unbelievers.

Rev 16:7 “And I heard the altar respond: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.”

Those in Heaven who have offered prayers to have the deaths of the martyrs avenged acknowledge the perfect Justice of God.

Rev 16:8 “The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.”

The 4th Trumpet Judgment had diminished the sun, and now the 4th Bowl Judgment causes the

remaining daylight hours to yield scorching heat on the inhabitants of the earth as the protective layers of the atmosphere are removed.

Rev 16:10 “The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.”

The power of the Beast-Antichrist is targeted directly, and his capital and kingdom (Western nations) are turned dark. The empire of darkness now gets the darkness they deserve. The accumulation of the 104

Bowls is taking a severe toll, with the sores, the oceans turned to blood and sea life destroyed, drinking blood instead of water, scorching heat, and now intense darkness. The unbelievers of the earth are in maximum pain and under extreme stress. But they still refuse to believe. Again we recall the Pharaoh of Egypt and his hardness of heart, whereby Moses caused darkness for 3 days as part of the 10

plagues:

Exodus 10:21 “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.”

This total darkness over the empire of the Beast-Antichrist occurs close to the Second Advent of Christ, and is used to delay the movement of the Beast-Antichrist's armies as they maneuver to get into position to attempt to finally destroy Israel. But this darkness will not stop the other armies moving against the Beast-Antichrist. There will also be a separate day of total darkness over the entire earth on the day the Lord returns, as we will see later.

Rev 16:12 “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.”

The 6th Bowl prepares the way for Armageddon. The impediments are removed which restricted the Kings of the East from invading the Middle East and Israel, described as the Euphrates River being dried up. But that is not a literal impediment today, so it represents some unknown barrier being removed, possibly political, military, or physical. Many unbelievers will be killed as these armies from the Far East advance on the Middle East. Powerful demons (“frogs”) are sent out by Satan and his two emissaries the Beast-Antichrist and the False Prophet to stir up war emotions among the other kings and bring the whole world into one final battle. Satan simply wants everyone dead at this point, and especially the Jews. He has lost all semblance of control. He is mad with rage and lashes out in total 105

fury. The stage is set for Armageddon, which is the last battle of the Tribulation, and the return of Jesus Christ.

Rev 16:15 “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.” 16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.”

Jesus Christ will surprise the armies of the world gathered to battle one another at Armageddon, which is in northern Israel. Some of the Beast-Antichrist's forces will also be in southern Israel and around Jerusalem trying to destroy Jewish believers there, so the Lord will also deliver the Jewish believers fighting in those areas (Daniel 11:36 – ff). The believers must remain vigilant and continue to have faith in the Lord and do as they have been instructed. The Jews hiding in the high desert area of Jordan must remain there, and must not come out of their hiding places even though they will be tempted to want to help their fellow Jews fight the Beast-Antichrist. The Jewish believers in southern Israel and Jerusalem must stay and fight the invading army. Unbelievers who want salvation must believe very soon. The end of the Tribulation is only days away at this point.

Rev 16:17 “The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.”

After the 7th Bowl is released, the phrase “It is done!” is stated by the Lord from the throne room in Heaven. This is the final Bowl Judgment before the Second Advent of Christ. Tremendous

earthquakes, huge hail, and devastating natural disasters torment the remaining unbelievers around the world. The huge hailstones kill many unbelievers, destroy their homes and other structures, and cause widespread panic. Again, believers are spared from these judgments unless they take the mark of the 106

Beast. Jerusalem is split into three parts by an earthquake, allowing the Jewish believers in the city to flee to safety as they are fighting the armies of the Beast-Antichrist who is attacking Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:4-5). “No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth”

describes its intensity. Babylon is completely destroyed by a combination earthquake and nuclear attack (discussed in detail later) from the Beast-Antichrist who was formerly its benefactor. Many other major cities also collapse during the massive earthquakes. Islands cease to exist from all the tsunamis and explosive volcanoes set loose by the earthquakes. Mountains are leveled worldwide. All of this sets up changes in the landscape for the Millennium, when the earth will be leveled as mountains fill in the valleys setting the stage for perfect weather. (Isaiah 40: 4-5; 42:15; 49:11; 54:10; 64:1) But this is getting ahead of the current context.

Immediately after this 7th Bowl occurs the 7th Trumpet Judgment will take place, and it will include Armageddon and the Second Advent. We are all excited to see what happens next, but before we are allowed see that, John goes back in time to explain the concept of Babylon. So we must understand yet another parenthesis just when we were all set to see the Lord return? Yes, but patience will definitely be rewarded.

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REVELATION CHAPTER 17

Babylon the Great

The last verse of Chapter 16 has just showed how Babylon the Great will be destroyed during the 7th Bowl Judgment. The issue of Babylon is so important that the next two chapters will go into great detail about Babylon, what it is, where it came from, how it was destroyed, why it was destroyed, and other related issues. Chapter 17 is a retrospective parenthesis which takes us back to the early part of the Tribulation to see how Babylon developed.

The city called “Babylon” here (not its real name) is not the literal Babylon of ancient times. The literal ancient Babylon was completely destroyed several hundred years before John wrote Revelation, so it no longer existed except in ruins and was located in what is now central Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The name for the Tribulation city discussed in Revelation was chosen for specific reasons to describe how it will be like ancient Babylon in several ways. Ancient Babylon was the most powerful and richest city of its day, as the Tribulation Babylon will be. Ancient Babylon was the center of a degenerate religious system for a large part of the people on earth during that time, as the Tribulation Babylon will be. These two factors make the name “Babylon” the perfect choice for the name of the analogous city during the Tribulation. Early Christians called Rome Babylon, and Peter referred to Rome as Babylon in 1 Peter 5:13 “She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings”. Since Peter was in Rome when writing the epistle, this ties Rome and Babylon together as he sends greetings from Rome. But this does not necessarily imply that the satanic religious system will grow out of any current religious order or group. Although such information is not revealed, it could be that the satanic religious system throws out those who have their headquarters in Rome to take over existing location and infrastructure. The Second Advent is only 3 ½ years away at this point, so time will be short. Taking over existing infrastructure would make sense to a dictator who wants to rule the world and also believes he is a god.

The Babylon of the Tribulation describes Rome as the headquarters of Satan's worldwide religious 108

system, and the city and religious system are thoroughly interrelated. This chapter will use the analogy of a prostitute riding on a beast to discuss both the city and the religion as if they are one entity when referring to it as either “Babylon” or the “great prostitute”. The city Rome will be a center of international trade and wealth during the Tribulation, and the seat of power for the Beast-Antichrist. So it is a place of great power – political, economic, and religious combined. All the nations of the western world look to this city as a source for their own power. The Beast-Antichrist's religious system, with himself as the deity, is a major key to his power over his 10 nation confederation. We will see in this chapter how the city will be “destroyed in one hour” by “burning”, a clear reference that a nuclear explosion will destroy this great city and all in it. It is significant that it takes three chapters of Revelation to discuss this powerful city which will be the center of such evil and degeneracy as the source of Satan's worldwide religious system. During the next several chapters we will once again see the discussion time line is not linear, but rather goes back and forth several times to provide important details.

Rev 17:1 “One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

After John had just been shown the destruction of Babylon, an angel takes him back in time to see what led up to it. Babylon will be the focal point of Satan's international false religious system, and this religion will deceive the entire world, and will control most of the political leaders of the world by giving them their power, fulfilling their lusts, and making them wealthy. Satan is a master at providing power, money, sex, and absolution of guilt all together in the name of the common good. But it only lasts for a very short time as with Babylon.

Rev 17:3 “Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery: 'Babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth'.”

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This is a picture of the prostitute false religion (synonymous with Babylon the city) riding on (supported by) its State sponsor, the political power of the scarlet Beast-Antichrist, and further invoking the image of the power behind both of them, who is Satan. The satanic religious system sits on a “scarlet beast” which is the Revived Roman Empire composed of 10 nations (“horns”) which in ancient times were part of the Roman Empire. During the early part of the Tribulation the Beast-Antichrist will use false religion as a tool to gain power, and to control people on a worldwide scale.

The false religion and political State will find each other useful, and their combined exploitive powers will be enhanced by their unholy union. The “blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns”

shows this is the Beast-Antichrist as discussed in Daniel Chapter 11 since these attributes were all attributed to him.

But as the Tribulation proceeds, religion as the rider will end up controlling the Beast-Antichrist (“sitting on the scarlet beast”) and he will grow to despise and resent it, so Satan's own political forces will eventually destroy his religious forces as evil fights evil due to internal struggles, jealousy, and arrogance of power. The Beast-Antichrist will end up destroying “Babylon” by launching a nuclear strike on it, which will be discussed in detail later. Satan cannot control his own forces of evil or keep them from fighting each other since his plan depends on using the basest instincts of mankind, which easily get out of control and are not controllable even by Satan. The Tribulation shows that Satan is not nearly as smart or powerful as he believes he is.

The 7th angel who just executed a Bowl Judgment now explains to John how the city Babylon will be punished. The city will be the center of the evil international religious system developed by Satan with the Beast-Antichrist as its head deity, so Babylon is very much at the center of this union of the prostitute religion and the scarlet beast's 10 nation Revive