June 1, 2020: What in the World is Going On? (Part 4)
Last edited June 30, 2020
This is my fourth article in the series titled “What in the World is Going On?” and it covers Revelation chapters 12 and 13.
NOTE: I am not a Bible scholar. While I read the Bible everyday and I’ve read the books of Revelation and Daniel many times, I very well may not have the perfect understanding of them. Therefore, I urge you to please read the Bible for yourself, asking God to pour out the Holy Spirit upon you before you do and to provide you with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of what you are about to read. I am very analytical and was a software tester for many years. I am all about the details, and I like things to have a clear understanding. However, in these books, I think in particular, there are some things that God just doesn’t want us to know exactly how they will play out. I think if we could figure them out, then many would not turn to Jesus Christ and would not be looking and ready for His return until the very last moment in time. I think this is one reason why Jesus always told us to be ready, and watching.
Israel, Jesus, Satan, Antichrist, and the False Prophet
Before the seven bowl judgements are poured out upon the earth, John describes the woman (Israel), her Child (Jesus), the dragon (Satan), the beast from the sea (the antichrist), and the beast from the earth (the false prophet).
I’ve heard it said before that Satan always copies what God does. Since God has a holy trinity of Himself (God, the Father), Jesus (God, the Son), and the Holy Spirit (God, the Spirit), Satan has an unholy trinity of himself, the antichrist, and the false prophet. People who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be deceived into believing that Satan is God when he is not; he is the great deceiver whose lies and deception cause people to reject Christ and spend their eternity in hell.
The Woman (Israel), Her Child (Jesus Christ), and the Dragon (Satan): Revelation 12:1-6 tells us of a great sign appearing in heaven: “A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.” Catholics believe the woman described here is referring to Mary, the mother of Jesus. However, I and many evangelical Christians believe it is referring to Israel, and there is a strong correlation between this verse and the verses in Genesis 37:9-11. In the Genesis verses, Joseph, who is one of the 12 sons of Jacob, whom God called “Israel,” referred to his father, Jacob, as the “sun,” his mother Rachel as the “moon,” and his 11 brothers as “the eleven stars.” Thus, the 12 stars refer to the 12 tribes of Israel, which all began with Jacob’s 12 sons.
Then another sign appeared in heaven that was a fiery red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems (crowns) on his heads. This is Satan. “His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.” Satan is referred to in the Bible as a “fallen star” and it is believed this represents the one-third of the angels that were cast out with him.
Satan was waiting for the woman to give birth “to devour her Child as soon as it was born.” We know that when Jesus was born, King Herod, the Roman client king of Judea at that time, ordered all male children two years old and under to be murdered because he “was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” Clearly he was threatened by what he had been foretold of this Child. This fulfilled a prophecy by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:15).
Revelation 12:5 states the woman “bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.” We know there are other Bible verses that speak to Jesus ruling with a rod of iron, and we know that after Jesus was resurrected, He ascended to heaven (Acts 1:9-11) to sit at the right hand of God the Father.
It then says the woman fled into a safe place in the wilderness prepared by God, and she stayed there 1,260 days (3-1/2 years). Many believe this place is in Petra, Jordan, and Israel will flee to it during the mid-point of the tribulation, after the abomination of desolation by the antichrist when he breaks the peace treaty/agreement he had with Israel.
Then the archangel Michael and his angels fought with the dragon and his angels. Satan and his followers were cast out of heaven, down to the earth. They are currently here on earth and Satan is deceiving many. When he will be cast out of heaven, as John describes, there will be great rejoicing in heaven but it also says “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” During this time, Satan will only have access to the earth and he will do everything he can to steal, kill, and destroy because he knows his time is short. He persecutes Israel, but she escapes when she is given “two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished…” I’m not sure what this represents but whether it be Israel’s defense forces and/or another nation, perhaps the USA, Israel is protected for 3-1/2 years from Satan. This enrages him and then “he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” I understand this to mean that Satan persecutes those people still alive on earth who were not raptured but have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Antichrist (The Beast from the Sea): John saw a beast rise up from the sea that had seven heads, ten horns, and ten crowns on the horns and on the heads a blasphemous name. The beast looked like a leopard but had the feet of a bear and a mouth like a lion. Satan gives the beast, who is the final antichrist, his power, his throne, and great authority. The Bible speaks of other antichrists but this is the final antichrist.
One of the antichrist’s seven heads looked as though it had a mortal wound but it was healed. All of the world was amazed and followed the beast. Some Christians believe that the seven heads and ten horns represent a future one- world government that will be led by ten countries, possibly an expansion of the Group of Seven (G7) that currently includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and the USA. There is also an existing Group of Ten (G10) that exists for economic reasons and actually includes the 11 nations (not 10) of Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the USA. Thus, you can clearly see we already have a foreshadow of this future one- world government. In fact, people now are calling for it amidst the coronavirus and race wars chaos. They want a “Mr. Fix It” to lead this one-world government and come and fix everything.
It is interesting to note that in Daniel 7:1-8, and 7:15-28 it describes four beasts. The first was like a lion and had eagle’s wings, the second was like a bear, and the third like a leopard, and the fourth was different from the other beasts and Daniel described it as “dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong.” It is interesting to note that the beast that John described in Revelation has the same appearance as the first three beasts that Daniel described. Daniel goes on to say that the beasts are four kingdoms. It widely accepted that these four kingdoms are: 1) Babylon, 2) Medo-Persian Empire, 3) Greece, and 4) the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire, the fourth kingdom, has 10 horns that are 10 kings that arise from this fourth kingdom. Another king rises and he subdues 3 of the 10 kings. This is mentioned again in Revelation 17:7-18. Since the Roman Empire no longer exists, it is widely believed that Revelation is referring to a revived Roman Empire, from which the antichrist will arise. You can see there are many similarities between the books of Daniel and Revelation.
The world worshipped Satan, who gave authority to the antichrist, and they worshipped him. They asked, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” If they had read their Bible, they would know that he is nothing like the one true God, who will destroy not only the antichrist but also Satan, the false prophet, and all those who follow them.
The antichrist spoke great things and blasphemies against God and against those who live in heaven, and he continued for 3-1/2 years (42 months). The antichrist was given authority to make war with the saints (believers in Jesus Christ) and to overcome (kill) them. He has authority over the entire world. Everyone who has not had their name written in the Lamb’s Book Life, meaning all unbelievers, will worship the antichrist.
It is interesting to me that I’ve heard that in the Bible, the sea or oceans represent division. The seas divide the world into separate continents and divides countries. It separates people. Also, remember that Moses divided the Red Sea. In the new heaven and the new earth that God will create, there will be no sea. I’ve heard the reason is because the world will no longer be divided. Perhaps this is why the antichrist is represented as the beast of the sea because he seeks to divide people, to turn them against each other, as we are clearly seeing in today’s world.
False Prophet (The Beast from the Earth): John then saw another beast but this one came up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. I believe this means the false prophet will pretend to be gentle and unassuming as a lamb but he will be vile and full of hate. He has all authority of the first beast (antichrist) and makes everyone on the earth worship the antichrist. The false prophet performs great signs and even makes fire come down from heaven to the earth. He deceives people and tells them to make an image to the beast. It is interesting to note that in this verse (Revelation 13:14), it says “…telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.” Thus, it sounds like the wound the beast had suffered was from a sword. The false prophet then gives breath to the image of the beast/antichrist that it should “both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”
The false prophet then makes everyone living on the earth receive a mark on their forehead or their right hand. No one can buy or sell except those who have the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. It then says the number of the beast is a number of a man: HIs number is 666. There has been much speculation about this number and I won’t go into that but the Bible is clear, particularly in Revelation 14:11 that those who take the mark and worship the beast will spend their eternity in hell, where they will be tormented forever and ever and will have no rest day or night. If anyone tells you otherwise, do not listen to them; they are liars.
My Next Article
Lord willing, my plans are to cover Revelation chapters 14-16, where I’ll discuss the Lamb (Jesus) and the 144,000 sealed of Israel, the reaping of the grapes of wrath, and the seven bowl judgments.