Storm Clouds of the Last Days Gather.
There is an unfortunate tendency for some Christians to dwell on the hard things of Bible prophecy. We can see that trying things lie ahead, and the study of prophecy can become fear based, focusing on hardship instead of the promised resolution of the story. While God does not sugar coat the future, and He is honest about the events that will transpire between now and the close of the great controversy, it is important always to read the story to the end. This will fill us with hope not fear.
There is a general pattern in prophecy in which God reveals the truth about the mess created by our human rebellion, and He shows us the consequences. But then he always holds out hope. Just as the prediction of hard times is reliable, so is the promise of deliverance.
While most of you live beyond Newcastle, I would like to invite those who are able to come to our Bible Study hour on this subject this Saturday at 11:30 19 East St, Warners Bay (Church is at 10am) We are just a small church plant group but you would be made welcome. We bought the Jehovah’s Witness’ Kingdom hall!
Chapter 17 summary
Rev.17:3 describes the scarlet beast in terms similar to the sea beast of Revelation 13, which made war with, and overcame, God’s people (Rev.13:5-7). It was this earlier period of persecution that caused the pure woman to flee into the wilderness during the prophetic period of 1,260 days/years, from A.D. 538-1798 (Rev.12:13-14). We would do well to remember the terrible persecution of the past because, according to prophecy, something similar, but only worse, will happen again. The events of the last few years have shown us (warned us) of how quickly things could turn against God’s people and how easy it will be for governments to control the behaviour and consciences of the population.
The scarlet beast is identified as the one that was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. This three-way phrase is, first of all, a counterfeit of the divine name, Yahweh – “who is and who was and who is to come”. It also points to the three phases of existence through which the beast has passed:
(1) The beast “was”. It existed in the past. Its prior activities lasted for the prophetic period of 42 months, also known as 1,260 days/years (The Dark Ages) (2) “Is not”. With its deadly wound (Rev.13:3), the beast went into its nonexistence phase, at least, as a persecutor, in 1798. It vanished for some time from the world scene, yet it survived. (3) Finally, with the healing of the deadly wound, the beast will revive in full satanic rage.
Revelation 17 describes the beast of Rev.13:1-8 at the time of the healing of its deadly wound. Upon this revived beast, the harlot Babylon sits. Once again there will be a short-lived union of religion and politics as it existed during the Middle Ages and persecution again will take place.
There are seven kings, too, who are symbolized by the seven mountains. Also, these mountains are successive, not simultaneous. These mountains do not symbolize individual kings, because Revelation does not deal with individual persons but with systems. In the Bible, mountains often symbolize world powers or empires. In biblical prophecy “kings” represent kingdoms. Thus, the seven mountains symbolize seven great successive empires that dominated the world throughout history, through which satan opposed God and harmed God’s people. These powers are the family tree of the beast.
Revelation 16–18 contains a bewildering array of images describing end time powers and groupings. But upon careful analysis, it becomes evident that many of these images are different ways of describing the same thing. For example, the seven heads of the beast also are described as seven mountains and seven kings (Rev. 17:9, 10). Likewise, the great harlot (Rev.17:1) is clearly the same as the woman who rides the beast (Rev. 17:3), as well as Babylon the Great (Rev. 17:5). We have noticed earlier that God’s people also are named by many names in the book of Revelation. The variety of images in these chapters can all be linked to three great, worldwide alliances that develop in the final period of earth’s history. Firstly, there is a great, worldwide alliance of religious institutions that join together in opposition to God and His faithful people. This alliance is named by many names: Babylon, the great harlot, the great city, and the woman that rides the beast. Secondly, there is a great, worldwide alliance of secular, political, and military powers. This alliance also is named by many names in Revelation: the kings of the whole inhabited world (Rev. 16:14), the cities of the nations (Rev. 16:19), the kings of the earth, the earth dwellers (Rev. 17:2), the beast (Rev. 17:3), the seven heads, the seven mountains, the seven kings (Rev. 17:9, 10), and the 10 horns (Rev. 17:12, 13). These secular powers also are represented by the kings (Rev. 18:9), merchants (Rev. 18:11), and seafarers (Rev. 18:17) of chapter 18. Thirdly, there also is a worldwide, end-time alliance of God’s people, which has the following names: the sealed (Rev. 7:1–3); the 144,000 (Rev. 7:4–8); the remnant (Rev. 12:17); the saints (Rev. 14:12); those who keep their garments (Rev. 16:15); and the called, chosen, and faithful followers of the Lamb (Rev. 17:14).
So, there are three worldwide alliances that develop in the end time: an alliance of God’s people composed of an enlarged remnant church that includes those who have come out of Babylon to join them, an alliance of religious institutions, and an alliance of secular political powers. The last two alliances are precipitated by the final, worldwide proclamation of the gospel by the remnant of God’s Church (Rev. 14:6, 7; Rev. 18:1–4). Through the counterfeit gospel, “inspired” by the demonic angels (Rev. 16:13, 14), Babylon (the satanic triad, Rev. 16:19) gathers the secular/political powers of the world to its side (Rev. 16:14, 16). She “rides” the beast (Rev. 17:2–7). For a short time, united institutions of religion dominate the world’s governments, turning their fury against the saints (Rev. 17:6, 13:15–17). But the drying up of the Euphrates (Rev. 16:12) symbolically portrays the time when the secular/political powers that supported the harlot Babylon turn on her and destroy her (Rev. 17:16). God saves His end-time remnant people from destruction (Rev. 17:14). After the fall of Babylon, the secular powers of the world meet their end at the Second Coming (Rev. 19:17–21).
Tomorrow I will take a detour and in view of the current situation in the Middle East I will revisit Daniel’s last prophecy and put together Revelation 13 , 17 and Daniel 11:40-45: the unholy trinity and the King of the North vs the King of the South in its global fulfilment.