Success and Failure Blog

Introduction

One of the ways that God chooses to reveal Himself is through prophecy. Some prophecies have been fulfilled and some prophecies have not. In this particular case, a prophecy that has not been fulfilled will be looked at in detail. The unfulfilled prophecy that this paper concerns itself with is the identity of the beast in Revelation 13:1-10. There are many points that will be addressed within this theological paper. They include the following: 1.) The Beast Revealed, 2.) The Components of the Beast, 3.) The Beast’s Wound, 4.) The Beast’s Agenda, 5.) The Mark of the Beast, 6.) The Beast’s Religion, and 7.) The Beast’s Destruction. All of these points and more will be discussed in detail, and different viewpoints will be examined until the best possible interpretation in light of biblical evidence is revealed.

The purpose of this paper is to educate people on the importance of the Beast. This writing is not designed to be polemical. This paper will look at each view objectively and determine the best objective interpretation. This paper is important to believers and non-believers. It is important to believers because it shows believers that now is the time to witness to the lost, because today is the day for salvation. It is just as important for lost people because if a person were to live during this period of time, then they would have a ravaging Beast with which to deal. If anything, this paper when all said and done, should be used as an evangelistic tool for the lost as well as a treatise that will bring enrichment to the believer’s life. This paper is important to eschatology, the doctrine of the last days, because what a person believes about the Beast, especially whether he is in the future or not, indicates what an individual believes about the entire book.
One delimitation of this study would be that when dealing with the Antichrist it would take an systematic theology to write everything there is to know about the Antichrist. Because of this, Revelation 13 was chosen because it deals only with certain aspects about the Beast as discussed in Revelation 13. It also has to be noted that the sources that are going to be used will consist of books, commentaries, and journal articles. It also has to be noted that this topic is beyond the scope of this paper. This paper will not discuss all the passages in the Bible concerning the Beast, only certain ones in Revelation, Daniel, Matthew, and in the books that Paul writes. With that being said, by no means is this treatise taken lightly, because this is a very deep topic. It is with hope that as this paper is read that the paper will be so enlightening that it will be as if the individual is actually there experiencing the horrors talked about.
This paper will be written from a pre-millennial viewpoint. The paper will account for the other views but in the end it will affirm the pre-millennial position. It is with anticipation and hope that as this paper is read, people will grow to enjoy and even love eschatology. It has to be said outright that this treatise is written from the view that everything mentioned is yet future.
This paper will show that there is a coming conqueror that will appear on the earth and deceive the masses into believing that He is God. He will be a man of intelligence, a man of oratorical skill, a man of war, and man who will at first bring peace to Israel. He will be resurrected satanically in the middle of the tribulation period and he will cause Hell to break loose on the earth. He is known in Revelation 13:1-10 by one title: He is the Beast.

The Beast Revealed

Since the beginning of time, there has been a war raging in the cosmos. It is a war that starts in heaven when Lucifer decides that he wants to be God. Lucifer was God’s most beautiful creation. He walked before the throne room daily and was considered an archangel. But Lucifer became jealous of God, and it was out of that jealously that Lucifer convinced one third of the angels to join his efforts to overthrow God and become God himself. It was at this point He ceased being an archangel and became the Prince of Darkness. The Devil’s revolt resulted in him being cast out of Heaven by God and ever since Satan and God have been enemies.
In our time we look forward to the day that evil will no longer hold sway in the world. We long for a heaven on earth. And one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth. But until that day comes when evil is finally no longer, evil still remains and causes much pain on the earth. John the Revelator knew of the evil on the earth and thought that it could not get any worse than it already was. But John quickly found out that is not the case. John found out that great tribulation is coming, the day of Jacob’s trouble. John saw the world being judged by God and the things he saw were horrific. He saw stars falling from the sky, water turning to blood, large chunks of hail falling to the earth. John saw many things but perhaps the most dreadful thing he sees is people selling their soul to the Devil and paying homage to a Beast, the Beast which rises out of the sea.

Is The Beast Revealed Before Or After the Rapture?

Revelation 13 introduces the reader to the beast. Arthur Bloomfield says that Revelation calls the Antichrist the beast out of the sea. Here is a symbol used for a name. The symbol is a beast that rises out of the sea, the sea being the symbol of the masses of the people. The question that must be asked concerns the revealing of the beast before or after the rapture. It is important not to leave out the doctrine of the rapture. The rapture has been one of the most debated topics in churches today. Why mention it when this paper discusses Revelation 13:1-10? What a person believes about the rapture has an impact on what they will believe concerning Revelation 13:1-10. There are those that believe that the beast is revealed before the rapture, and there are those that believe that the beast will be revealed after the rapture. There are two views that will be discussed concerning this issue and they are the following: Preterism and Futurism. These two views are completely opposite in nature. That is why they need to be looked at in detail.

Preterism

Preterism is a view that states that the book of Revelation for the most part happened in the past under the old Roman Empire nearly two thousand years ago. The preterist’ interpretation of the beast in Revelation is worthy of examination. Preterists believe that the beast … portrays the Roman Empire generally and Emperor Nero Caesar specifically. So the beast of Revelation 13 is not some future world dictator but he has already been. According to preterists he is none other than Nero, the emperor who led Rome from A.D. 54-68. and was responsible for murdering many Christians during his reign. The Nero Redivivus View is gaining steam among many preterists, The Roman Empire was the most dominant empire on earth at the time, and it is easy to see why those that hold to this method of interpretation interpret this passage of Scripture the way they do.

However, there are some inconsistencies that need to be looked at in detail concerning this view. The first inconsistency about believing that Nero is the beast of Revelation 13 is one of duration. Craig Keener says that none of this is to say that Revelation predicts a literal return of Nero from the dead- at least not before the resurrection of the damned. In Revelation 13:% it is made clear that the beast’s reign will only be approximately forty-two months. Now history tells us that Nero reigned for approximately fourteen years. One cannot overlook this fact. Secondly, Revelation 13:4 says that they worshipped the beast and everyone worshiped him with awe. The reason why this has to be mentioned is that the beast of Revelation will rule the entire world and it is only logical to conclude that the worship the beast will receive will be worldwide. Even though Nero does receive worship from Rome, he did not receive it on a worldwide scale like the beast will. These inconsistencies are hard to overlook because Scripture makes it clear that Nero does not meet the requirements according to the Word of God.

Futurism

The second view that needs to be discussed is the futurist view. This view is also known as classical dispensationalism. Marvin Pate in the book Four Views on the Book of Revelation says that classical dispensationalism believe the teaching about a two-fold return of Christ which accounts for Revelation 1:1-3. Thus the Rapture can occur at any moment, which will then set in motion the prophecies of the Apocalypse and the revealing of the beast. Those that hold to this view believe that after John talks about the seven churches everything following is future and has not happened yet. Thus Revelation 13 would have to be future making the beast also future. This view is the most consistent among evangelicals today. The futurists believe that the beast will be revealed after the rapture and they get this view from different places in Scripture.

The primary place where futurists go for support of their view is found in Daniel 9 and it is in this chapter that it refers to the prophecy of the seventieth week. In order to understand why this is so important and why this has relevance one must look at this prophesy in detail. One very important piece of information that should be discussed while interpreting the full scale of this prophecy is the doctrine of the rapture and how it relates to Daniel’s seventy weeks. What people believe about the rapture impacts what people believe about the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy. Sir Robert Anderson points out that History contains no records of events to satisfy the predicted course of the seventieth week. Most post-tribulationists believe that the seventieth week has already been fulfilled. One question to this interpretation is how can they explain that the tribulation will be started with a seven year peace treaty between the Antichrist and Israel. If the seventieth week has already been fulfilled then where is there in history documented proof of a peace treaty that was signed between the beast and Israel for seven years? This is not possible because Christ would have already come back and this world would be over if the Posttribulationist’s interpretation of the seventieth week is true. One simply cannot ignore that these events are yet future. Even Christ said in His famous Olivet Discourse that there would be wars and rumors of wars. These things can be seen before our very eyes.

Is The Beast An Individual Or is the Beast A World System?

Within the eschatological ranks, there is a question that is permeating among theologians. It is the question, is the beast an individual or is the beast referring to a world system? Revelation 13:1 starts out by saying, And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. There are those out there that believe that Antichrist is an individual. Many attempts have been made to identify who the Antichrist is. Some say he is Nero, some say he is the pope, and others even say that he is Judas Iscariot reincarnated. The point is that many of history’s theologians such as Tertullian, Hippolytus, Irenaeus, and Jerome believed in a personal Antichrist that would wreak havoc on earth at some point of time. Whether he has already existed or is a future world ruler does not take away from the fact that in each case he is looked upon as an individual. There are at least two reasons why people look at the beast as an individual and the reasons are scriptural.

First, the apostle Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians writes in 2 Thessalonians 2 that Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Paul clearly refers to his beast as the man of sin, the son of perdition. He also states that this individual will oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped. If he was just an entity or a force then why would Paul refer to him as a man?

Second, it has to be pointed out that what John says in Revelation 13:6 and what Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2 correlate. In Revelation 13:6, it is evident that this beast is opening his mouth and blaspheming God. The same is going on in 2 Thessalonians 2. So by making this correlation it is evident that the man of sin and the beast are the same individual.

There are also those who believe that the concept of the beast is just a world view, or a way of thinking that is contrary to the things of God. The apostle Paul clearly said that in the last days there would be a great falling away from the truth. According to Samuel J. Andrews, to apostatize means to fall away from the faith. Andrews points out that in this case, apostasy means falling away from the true standing of the Church as appointed by God and in its culmination, as represented in the man of sin and in his adherents, it is undoubtedly a total denial of the Christian faith. He denies both the Father and the Son.

The apostle distinguishes two forms of the apostasy, one being the corruption of Christianity, the other its absolute rejection. With the rise of all the worldly philosophies that permeate the earth, it is easy to see the spirit of Antichrist at work. Anyone that denies Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is Antichrist, and it will be this attitude that coerces people to worship the beast. So with the philosophies of the world, and the church falling away, beginning with the loss of love, it is not to be confined only with doctrine, it embraces the whole spiritual life; and therefore the whole external order of the Church. There cannot be a loss of or a falling away without a corresponding decay in the entire ecclesiastical constitution, its ministries, its sacraments, its activities, and also, in practical godliness. This apostasy which according to Andrews is already happening will lead to the beast receiving worship in Revelation 13. This apostasy can be traced back all the way to the book of Genesis where Satan told Eve that when she ate the fruit her eyes would be opened and she would be like a god, knowing good and evil. Man from this point on has desired to be like God, and one day there will be a literal beast who will declare that he is god and demand worship.

The Components of the Beast

Within this section several questions will be looked at in detail. The first question that will be looked at is what are the seven heads and the ten horns? The second question that will be looked at is what does Daniel seven have to do with Revelation thirteen concerning the appearance of the beast?

The Seven Heads and the Ten Horns

Revelation 13:1 says that the beast has seven heads and ten horns. What does it mean? Well, in Revelation 17:9 it says that the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sittteth. The city of Rome was known in ancient times as being the city that sits on seven hills or mountains. However, the Rome that historians are talking about no longer exists. It was wiped off the map. Could knowing this provide problems with this view? No because, scripture says that in the last days a world empire will arise and rule the world. So if that is the case then it is not preposterous to believe that the Roman Empire will rise again from the ashes to rule the world again in complete dominance.

Daniel Two And Daniel Seven’s Relation To Revelation Thirteen’s Message Concerning The Appearance of the Beast

The literal interpreters believe that the head of gold that Daniel saw in Daniel 2 symbolizes the Babylonian Empire. The breast and arms of silver Daniel saw symbolize the Medes and Persians. The thighs made of brass symbolize the Greeks, and the legs of iron and feet and toes of iron and part of pottery symbolizes a future empire. The name of the final empire Daniel does not give. However, there has been much speculation as to what this empire is. Most literal interpreters such as John Walvood believe that the Roman Empire is the future empire that is symbolized.
The non-literal interpreters agree that the first four empires are Babylon, the Medes and Persians, and even believe that the fourth is Rome. Where they differ is concerning the interpretation of the stone. The non-literal interpreters such as the amillenialists and the postmillennialists interpret the stone as meaning the Lord Jesus Christ. They say that the meaning of the stone is evident when Jesus came to earth the first time and introduced the gospel, assuring the ultimate victory of the saints over the evil powers of Gentile political rule. However, the premillenialists say that this interpretation is not correct. The literal interpretation is that this vision stretches forward in time to the second coming of Jesus Christ. They believe that the image that Daniel saw has for the most part been fulfilled. However, the feet stage, including the implied ten toes, is yet future and is related to a period just before the second coming of Christ. The point is that the Roman Empire in some form or fashion will be revived and therefore the ten toes representing a ten-nation confederacy are yet to be fulfilled.

Secondly, the vision of Daniel 7:7-8 is depicted and shows that this chapter does correspond with Daniel 2. The difference is that in Daniel 7 he sees four beasts. These four beasts represent the same empires as in Daniel 2. The lion represents Babylon, the bear represents the Medes and the Persians, the leopard with four wings on the back on four heads represents the Greeks, and the beast with ten horns represents the revived Roman Empire. Walvood points out that this vision is more detailed than the one of Daniel 2. Daniel 7 tells the reader that the four beasts are four kings or kingdoms. Daniel 2 does not go into detail, however on the fourth empire. Daniel 7 does. It tells us that a little horn will arise and will uproot three of the kings or horns. There is a question that one can postulate. Has the little horn appeared? Walvood sums it up by saying that any reasonable literal interpretation of this prophesy requires the expositor to take the position that this is yet future from the standpoint of the twentieth century. If this vision is to be viewed as prophetic then people have to ask themselves, has the ten-nation confederacy ever been on earth? The answer is no. So then it requires a future ten-nation confederacy as a key to the political and international situation in the days just preceding the second coming of Christ and his kingdom.

Finally, two more important passages must be looked at in detail, and they are Revelation 13:1-3 and Revelation 17:3,7, 12-18. Revelation 13:1-3 describes a beast rising out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns. The description of the beast is very similar to the one prophesied hundreds of years before by Daniel. The beast John saw was like a leopard, and the feet were the feet of a bear, and his mouth the mouth of a lion. The fact that it mirrors the beast in Daniel 7 confirms that it is the same beast, and the ten horns and ten crowns suggest ten kings who rule ten kingdoms. What is different from Daniel’s prophesy is John’s mentioning of the seven heads. One possible interpretation that Walvood points out is that the seven heads represent seven successive rulers in the Roman Empire which are succeeded by a ten-nation confederacy which has ten simultaneous kings.

Revelation 13 makes it clear that this prophesy is yet future. The beast is given power to rule for forty-two months. The forty-two months describes the future great tribulation, and appears to be the last three half years of the tribulation. Revelation 17 says the same thing as Revelation 13, only this time it adds a wicked woman to the equation. The visions that each prophet had were alike and that is amazing. The ten-nation confederacy will come in the last days. It is not to be taken allegorically, but it is to be taken literally. All of the evidence that the Bible gives indicate a coming world ruler, the little horn, who will rule the world with the help of these ten kings.

The Beast’s Wound

In Revelation 13:3, the verse tells the reader that one of the heads was wounded unto death, and then this wound was miraculously healed. Within this section, questions will be answered concerning this issue. The first question that will be answered is will the beast be resurrected from the dead? Finally the last question that will be answered is how will the world react to this resurrection? All of these questions are important and if the best possible interpretation is to be expounded then these questions need to be looked upon with detail in order to understand this issue.

Will The Beast Be Resurrected From The Dead?

There are several viewpoints that must be looked at concerning this issue. First there is the reincarnation view which postulates the wound of the beast refers to the reincarnation of some individual such as Judas Iscariot.

First there is the reincarnation view which postulates that wound of the beast refers to the reincarnation of some individual such as Judas Iscariot. There are several reasons why some people think that when the wound is miraculously healed that the spirit of Judas Iscariot will enter into the body of the beast, and thus the beast will be Judas reincarnated. The reason people ascribe to this view can be found in the book of Acts. In Acts 1:25 it says that Judas went to his own place. It is not clear what that means. Die he die and go to Heaven or did he die and go to Hell? A.W. Pink argues for Judas Iscariot when he says that the Antichrist is Judas Iscariot reincarnated. However, it can be said that this view can not be scriptural because the Bible says that when a person dies, then the only thing that is left is judgment. Second there is the Revived Roman Empire View. This view means that the great Roman Empire which fell would be revived in the end of days. Thus the wound of death that will be healed refers to the revived Roman Empire, and not the beast. Third, there is the Antichrist View. This view states that an individual yet to appear on the world scene will arise and receive the wound. Then after he receives the wound he will die and then be resurrected from the dead. After all, Satan is the imitator of Jesus Christ. However, it is not clear whether Satan will have the power to resurrect him from the dead unless God gives him the power.

The wound of the beast in the Tribulation, when it is truly dissected should never lean toward an allegorical interpretation. Instead, it should be taken as literal, and in the context of Revelation 13, it refers to an individual man, ( the beast out of the sea), who will receive a wound and will miraculously be resurrected. The only other plausible view is the Revived Roman Empire View, but again context is very important in Revelation 13 and will all the facts out there, it is with the utmost certainty that an individual man that has not been revealed on earth is the one who receives the wound and not the Revived Roman Empire.

How Will The World React To The Resurrection Of The Beast?

Before, it was mentioned that the doctrine of the rapture is important. Based on biblical study there is enough evidence to suggest that the Church, the collective body of Christians as a whole will be snatched away before the tribulation and before the beast is revealed. This view is known as the pre-tribulation view. In other words, all the Christians will be in Heaven with Jesus before the beast takes center stage. There are other views out there.

There is the Mid-Tribulation View which states that Christians will be caught up into heaven in the middle of the tribulation period, just before the worst part of the tribulation starts, the last three and a half years of the tribulation. There is also the Post-Tribulation View which postulates that the Christians will have to go through the tribulation and thus experience all the horrors that everybody else will have to experience during the tribulation, including the reign of the beast. J. Dwight Pentecost thinks that the reason why the pre-tribulation rapture theory stands out is because of the role of the restrainer, the Holy Spirit. Pentecost says that explanations as to the person of this restrainer such as human government, law, the visible church will not suffice, for they will all continue in a measure after the manifestation of this lawless one. He goes on to say that as long as the Holy Spirit is resident within the church, which is His temple, this restraining work will continue and the man of sin cannot be revealed. Thus, this ministry of the restrainer which will continue as long as His temple is on earth and which must cease before the lawless one can be revealed, requires the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, for Daniel 9:27 reveals that the lawless one will be manifested at the beginning of the week, or the tribulation. Why is all of that important? It is important because Christians will not be present on earth during the reign of the beast. That is why the whole world will be in awe of the beast when he resurrects from the dead. Those that are left behind will be those that do not believe in Jesus and will be blinded from the truth. They will think that the Antichrist is the long awaited Messiah and they will worship him. If Christians were left on the earth then they would be able to discern then that the Antichrist was not the Messiah. Even the Jews for a period of time will think that he is their Messiah until he desecrates the temple and declares that he is God.

There are two reasons why people will worship him. First, they will worship because of all the miracles he will do, and then they will worship him out of fear for their lives. If one does not worship him then a certain death is awaiting them. There will be people saved, but there will be many more during the tribulation period that will not get saved because the beast will be the master of deception. People are being deceived today by various cults, but compared to what will happen in the tribulation when the beast rules the world it will fail in comparison.

The Beast’s Agenda

Now, we are on to a very important part about the beast, and it is the beast’s agenda. What will his agenda be during the tribulation period, which is forty two months. Approximately seven years? What are his characteristics? Will he be a military genius? Will be he a peacemaker? Will he be a Jew? Will he be a religious person? These are all questions that need to be answered, and it is with hope that they will be answered according to what Scripture says.

The Characteristics Of The Beast

According to Revelation 13:6-8 it says, And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

The one thing that should be noticed is that the beast is in direct defiance against God and against the Lamb, Jesus Christ. In fact, the beast and Jesus Christ contrast in their nature. Here are some ways in which they contrast. Christ came from above (John 6:38), whereas the beast will ascend from the pit (Rev. 11:7), Christ came in His father’s name, and the Antichrist will come in his own name, Christ humbled Himself, the Antichrist will exalt himself, Christ was despised, the Antichrist will be admired, Christ will be exalted, the Antichrist will be cast down to hell, Christ came to do His Father’s will, the Antichrist came to do his own will, Christ came to save, Antichrist will come to destroy, Christ is the Good Shepherd, the Antichrist is the idol shepherd, Christ is the true vine, the Antichrist is the vine of the earth, Christ is the truth (John 14:6), the Antichrist is the Lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11), Christ is the Holy One, The Antichrist is the lawless one (2 Thessalonians 2:8), Christ is the man of sorrows (Isaiah 53:3), the Antichrist is the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3) , Christ is the Son of God (Luke 1:35), the Antichrist is the son of perdition, Christ is the mystery of godliness, God’s manifestation in the flesh, the Antichrist will be the mystery of iniquity, Satan manifested in the flesh (2 Thessalonians 2:7). One can clearly see that the Bible makes it clear that the beast and the Lord are two different people. They are opposite and contrast in everything they do.

The Military Genius

Revelation 13:7 states that the beast will be given power to make war against the saints and he will be given charge over the whole world. How will he be able to do this? The answer is that he will be a conqueror. He will literally conquer the world and establish a one-world government. He will have help in establishing this one-world government. He will have help from ten king who are the ten horns that are spoken of in Revelation 13:2. These ten kings will help the beast achieve world domination. These kings will not rise up against the beast. Instead, they will pay homage to him and worship him like the rest of the world.

The Peacemaker

Everyone in the world wants peace. Politicians have been trying to make peace for years. There will be a man that will rise on the scene (the beast) who will convince the leaders of the world that world peace can happen. The beast will make a covenant with Israel for seven years and within that covenant the beast will promise Israel peace, but it is a false peace. After the first three and a half years of the tribulation the beast will break that peace treaty with Israel and will enter into Jerusalem and proclaim to the world that he is god. When he does this then Israelites will see his true colors and will flee to the mountains, possibly to Petra. So in reality, although he promises peace, true peace never happens in the world.

The Jew

Why will the Jewish people at first believe that the Antichrist is their long awaited Messiah? The reason is because he regards not the God of his fathers. This is found in Daniel 11:36-37. The beast will not regard Jehovah as his father. The only god he has is power. He is not a religious person. He desires worship for himself. So in this way he is a humanist. He believes that he is god. Humanists believe that man can control his own fate. Ed Hindson says that the New Age philosophy has an paradigm. Its logical paradigm is, All is god, God is all, man is part of all, therefore man is god. The Romans borrowed this philosophy from the Greeks. Caesar was worshipped as God. In the twentieth century after Darwin’s theory of evolution, humanism had all it needed. The beast will reinstate emperor worship and he will receive worship. The beast is a humanist. Of course the Father of Lies, Satan himself is behind this. When the beast resurrects from the dead he will get the worship he desires, and the Jews will believe that he is the Messiah because the Old Testament tells the Israelites that the Messiah will rise from the dead and that he would rule the world. For three and a half years the beast will be the Jews political Messiah because he will bring peace to the land and all will seem to be going well. They will be duped by the master of deception himself, Satan.

The Beast’s Destruction

Within this section it will briefly be discussed how the beast will be destroyed and what is the beast’s final destination? When it comes to how the beast will be destroyed, the beast will gather his armies, all the armies of the world, and they will meet at a place called Armageddon, which is in the valley of Megiddo. There the final battle will be fought, and it will be between the armies of Christ and the armies of the world. Revelation 19:11-20 best illustrates this battle: And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Conclusion

This paper has shown many different viewpoints. This paper has shown that the Antichrist is an individual who is the head of the revived Roman Empire. This paper has shown that the beast will be given a wound and he will resurrect from the dead. It has also shown that his agenda is that of complete world domination, and to establish a false peace with Israel. The beast has not appeared on the earth yet. He is waiting for the Lord to rapture the Church before he comes on the scene. He will be the embodiment of evil let by Satan himself. He is the beast. This paper was written to Christians because it will show them that there is a time coming on earth that is much worse than it is now. It reminds Christians that they should witness to a lost and dying world. This was written to lost people, people who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior. It is with hope and anticipation that many people will be saved before it is too late. If people are saved then they will be in heaven during this time, and if not then they will have to experience a ravaging beast and worst of all they will have to face the Great Tribulation.

The recent announcement that Wal-Mart would tag clothing with the RFID chip, and the chip’s use for other purposes, has raised concerns among privacy advocates, as well as questions about whether the RFID chip might be the Mark of the Beast, as discussed in Revelation 13. Perhaps not as many have heard of RFID specifically – indeed, my fingers seem to want to type RDIF. (Relax, Dude, it’s Friday?) However, the notion of chip implants for numerous purposes is in the news a lot.

The fact that God’s Word told of microchip technology – as well as webcams and other things – over 1900 years ago isn’t the only thing that makes many wonder about chip implants. Privacy advocates also warn that they could lead to an Orwellian society in which everything is monitored.

A look at both sides reveals this to be a fascinating new technology. It’s not all horrible, as it has great uses. Still, in the wrong hands, it will, someday, led to great troubles. As we’ll see, the Mark of the Beast is clearly not the same as the RFID chip as used in 2010. However, because it could be used for evil rather easily, it is definitely something that – like the above webcams and satellites – could be used for evil purposes. However, there is a way to escape such a fate.

What Is the Mark of the Beast?

First, a look at Revelation 13 shows what the Mark of the Beast will be:

16 And he [note: the false prophet] causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast [the antichrist], or the number of his name.

This Mark is used for control and identification. The world ruler in this period will have great power. However, he won’t be just any ruler – he will eventually proclaim himself God (Dan. 9:27, 2 Thes. 2:4, Revelation 13, etc.) Indeed, that verse in Second Thessalonians says the ruler, known as the Antichrist, will exalt himself “above all that is called God, or that is worshipped.” He will force and demand worship. This is unlike God, as the Lord Jesus Christ lovingly lets us choose whether or not we wish to serve Him. He simply lets us know there can be severe consequences to our choices if they are poor ones.

In the beginning, though, this ruler will be just a great man – some will call him the greatest leader ever. He will unite many behind his global agenda. He will bring peace. In fact, he will likely be responsible – though maybe behind the scenes – for the rebuilding of a Jewish temple in Jerusalem. In the middle of a seven-year period, though, he will break a covenant with the Jewish people, and wage war against them. (Dan. 9:27)

His mark is one of control. Note that nobody may buy or sell without it. They will be forced to declare allegiance to the Antichrist and his government. Either he, or his realm, will suffer a deadly wound which will be healed.

Rev. 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
4 And they worshipped the dragon [the devil] which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
…
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

You can read all of Revelation 13 on your own, but notice that the one who sets up this image will also be the one implementing the Mark of the Beast. Through holograms, computer animation, or some other means, the image will speak.

We see, then, that the Mark of the Beast will be much more than just an ID tag. Oh, it will most likely contain that. It’s quite possible that it will contain all vital information. At the rate things are going, it could contain an internet connection!

People have worried many things were the Mark in the past – Bar codes, credit cards (VI is 6 in Latin, and the number of the Beast is 666), tattoos, and so on. The reason people believed things like credit cards were the Mark is because they twisted Bible prophecy to their own era. That’s normal – the Thessalonians did the same thing. Believers were confused because they thought they were supposed to all disappear in the twinkling of an eye, instead of dying one by one. Paul had to comfort them that those who trusted Christ as Savior and then died were in Heaven; (1 Thess. 4:13-18)

This doesn’t mean the mark won’t be like any of those. Each of those places us closer to the Mark. The Mark isn’t RFID in the way it is being used now. However, the RFID chip, like a credit card, is an ID that means people are more accustomed to these things.

it is a sign of the times. In other words, we probably know now how many of those things in Revelation chapter 13 occur.

We must read the Bible literally. Sometimes it’s hard, like before satellites, webcams, and the like, Rev. 11:9-10 (all the nations of the world looking on two dead bodies) was hard to understand. Like the Mark of the Beast, though, it will happen. Something will be put into people, to cause them to be monitored, to swear allegiance to the Antichrist, and so prevent them from buying or selling anything without it.

Still, privacy experts are worried. So, what is RFID, and what isn’t it?

The RFID Chip and Other Implants

Despite the typo I mentioned, RFID is not a typo for Relax, Dude, it’s Friday. It stands for Radio Frequency Identification. An RFID tag is used to monitor an item, animal, or person by using radio waves. It can be used to track and identify merchandise. However, it can also be used to monitor animals – such as finding lost pets – or humans. The FDA has approved one – called Verichip – for use in humans; and it has raised even more alarms.

It can be read from farther away than traditional bar codes. (A funny sounding term when one considers those haven’t been around for that many decades.) This leads to numerous concerns, such as identity theft. It also could be monitored if a tracking device such as a GPS system were placed inside of one.

There are, of course, benefits to RFID chips as well. At times, mankind has invented things and even put them into mass production without considering all the possible drawbacks or increasing safety first – people died on rare occasion from shocks caused the earliest lights, for instance.

While there are safety concerns, proponents of the chips, if they were honest, would likely acknowledge the potential problems, and promise to solve those, as was done with electricity. After all, microchip technology does allow things to be identified faster than ever, monitored for problems easier than ever, and so on.

However, problems with insulating electrical wires enough are technical in nature. It’s easy to fix a light switch when you have the technology. It’s impossible for people to fix human nature totally – sure, they can make things better, but imperfect people can’t lift other imperfect people above the level of imperfection. They can’t make people perfect.

Since people can’t become perfect on their own, there will always be people out there who can use microchip technology for their own, evil ends. Some of these can easily become leaders of entire nations. In other words, the RFID Chip as it is being used now is not yet the Mark of the Beast.

However, it’s easy to see how it can be. It’s easy to see how something that is meant only for identification can rob a person of liberty, and be used to control everything he or she consumes. It’s quite possible that the information on a chip can be programmed, so that a person’s identify can be changed or wiped out.

And, given human nature, it’s only a matter of time before someone does just that.

What’s better, though, is knowing how to avoid the pain and suffering. God has clearly wanred us that this Mark will be used as a sign of worship to the Beast, the devil. And, He has provided a way to avoid it.

Rev. 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

How to avoid that terrible fate?

q. Remember, this world is not our home. We will spend forever in one of two homes, Heaven or Hell. The verses above describe Hell. The Bible tells us many times what Heaven will be like. It is a place where nobody has seen, heard, or imagined the wonders. Just picture a world with no suffering, no pain, no death, where everyone is peaceful – including the animals!

Heaven will be filled with the most joyous things, and most amazing sights and sounds. It will be like a person, totally blind from birth, suddenly seeing perfectly. Our finite minds can’t grasp the wonders that await us.

The way to avoid the Mark now is to simply “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” (Acts 16:31) We are in the Church Age, and have not yet seen the worst that mankind will do. That may be hard to believe, with the increase in violence, hatred, lawlessness, and so on. But, it will continue to get worse.

Right now, though, you can put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you for your sin. We don’t all commit every sin. There are some who have never stolen, for example, but who haave told lies. No sin can enter into the presence of God. So, God Himself, in the form of a man, Jesus Christ, came to this world to die on the cross, and to rise from the dead. He took your sins and mine on Himself (2 Peter 2:24), taking the punishment so we could go to Heaven.

And, the wonderful thing is, He will come live in you right now, and guide you through the many problems of life. He does that through the Holy Spirit, which is another way God manifests Himself.

All if takes to do ths is to receive Him by simple faith: believe that He died for you and rose from the dead, that He took the punishment for your sins, and repent of them. That means agreeing with God that you need Him to save you, and invite Him to do so; invite Him to come live in your heart to change you on the inside.

One day, He which letteth (the Holy Spirit) will be taken out of the way, and the “man of lawlessness” (the Antichrist) will be revealed. (2 Thess. 2:7-8) If that time has come by the time you read this, you may still receive Him by faith, like above, but things will be a lot tougher. You may well be one of those who is beheaded in the end for the cause of Christ. However, you will be sure of going to heaven, and in the meantime, you can trust in God to guide you through things. It’s just that His Holy Spirit will not be able to indwell believers in the end, since He will have left the earth. Instead, He will be on believers to guide them, just as He was in the Old Testament.

Thankfully, we know that at that time, if you endure to the end, you will be saved.

Where’s the Church

“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” Revelation 4:1. The Apostle John was given a special preview of future events as they would occur in Heaven. John wrote the book of Revelation approximately 2,000 years before the events he was allowed to see would actually occur. Our Lord Jesus Christ allowed this Apostle a very special gift and John wrote about all He saw as he gazed into the future.

The book of Revelation can be a little mysterious for believers who don’t understand what it’s all about. Many denominations just write this book off as allegory or dismiss it as past history with no bearing on the future of the Church. When I was first saved I asked my pastor about the book of Revelation hoping, as a new believer in Christ, to get some clarification about a book that had fascinated me for years, long before my becoming born again. I was seeking answers from a man who I presumed would be able to enlighten me as to the mysterious writings in that book; he had been a pastor for many years. His response to me was simple, “I don’t understand the book of Revelation therefore I just ignore it.” Consequently I never asked that man another question about the Bible and after a few more painful years at that church, my family and I left that non-denominational denomination. I went on to study my Bible and to place much emphasis on eschatology. I now understand the book of Revelation, and you can too.

There are 22 chapters in the book of Revelation, but after the first five chapters the only people who need concern themselves with the next 17 are those who will be left behind after the Rapture of the Church. Within the first three chapters Jesus addresses believers as well as others who think they are His followers but who are actually living a lie. As we can see from the verse above John is told to explain to all who will read this book of prophecy some of what Heaven is like and also who’s already there.

Remember, the voice which called to John in verse one above told him he would show John the things that must occur “hereafter”, in other words, things that must happen (in the future). John couldn’t have had any idea how far in the future this would occur, but he is sure of his location. He records the events as they occurred as the Holy Spirit directed.

“And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” Revelation 4:2. John was in the spirit. Why? Because no sinful flesh can enter Heaven “…and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…” Isaiah 64:6. Jesus Christ is in Heaven, and in the flesh, but He was and is sinless. His righteousness is perfect.

John was given an awesome gift as was the Apostle Paul; they were both given a glimpse of Heaven, an advance look if you will, into the Throne room of God Almighty. John goes on to explain what he saw there and his explanation is what assures all believers in Christ that they will not see the tribulation week unfold.

“And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.” Revelation 4:3. John was looking upon the Throne of God as God sat on His Throne. He uses the most descriptive terminology possible at that time to provide readers with understanding as he views God’s glory. John hands believers in Christ a most glorious insight into what awaits all those who place their trust, their faith, their lives in Christ’s hands, a peek at Who awaits us at the Throne of God.

John’s next view is quite significant for those who will be Raptured. “And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.” Revelation 4:4. The elders spoken of here by John are representative of Christ’s Church. This is where we who follow Jesus Christ realize that we are, at this point and from here on until sometime just after the end of the tribulation week, assembled before the Throne of God worshiping Him and giving Him all glory, honor and praise.

In Revelation 5:9-10, the twenty-four elders sing a song of praise to Jesus, and they cry out: “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9. In that passage, the twenty-four elders are clearly speaking as representatives of all God’s people, of the great company of the redeemed (Christ’s Church).

“The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:10-11.

“The white robes and crowns of the elders seem to indicate that they are indeed human beings – in glory, of course. Angels are sometimes presented in white robes or garments (Mark 16:5; John 20:12; Acts 1:10), but saints also have white robes (Revelation 6:11; 7:9; 7:13-14) as a picture of their imputed righteousness (Isaiah 61:10; Revelation 3:5-18). However, we never see angels crowned, but believers are and will be (1 Corinthians 9:25; 2 Timothy 4:8; 1 Peter 5:4).

Therefore, redeemed, glorified man sits enthroned with Jesus, on lesser thrones, to be sure, but thrones none the less. We are joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17), and we will reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12). John, through Jesus’ insistence, gives the Church a wonderful picture of the saints in Heaven, and kneeling before God, and recognizably way before the wrath of God is unleashed on a Christ rejecting world.” – David Guzik

“… four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb…, and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:8, 10. At the end of the Great Tribulation the saints will return with Jesus Christ as He assumes His visible position as King and reigns over all of earth for 1,000 years. This is proof positive for all the scoffers and naysayers who reject the Rapture that the saints (those who belong to Jesus Christ) are in Heaven and that we are made kings and priests and that we will reign with Christ on earth. If we are to come back with our Lord to rule and reign with Him, at some point we must have left earth to be able to return to earth. Clearly, the Church will not be here during the seventieth week spoken of by Daniel the prophet.

From this point and throughout the remainder of the book of Revelation, the tribulation and the wrath of God is clearly portrayed with no further mention of the Church (the body of Christ) being on earth. The seven year tribulation week becomes the point where God once again turns His attention to Israel. Even though the majority of Jews are blinded to the truth of the Gospel during the first half of the tribulation week, at the 3 ½ year point of the tribulation week, when the anti-Christ introduces the abomination of desolation, we’re told that all remaining Jews on earth will be saved. And not only Jews but many gentiles will also come to faith in Christ during that final week.

The Bible clearly tells us that through Jesus Christ, and only through Him, can we ever expect to enter Heaven. John was a believer, a follower of Jesus Christ and he was allowed a trip to Heaven before his death. To be in the presence of God Almighty we must be purged of our sins. The only way to be purged of sins is to believe in Jesus Christ; to believe is to accept His truth and His Gospel through faith, faith in the fact that His sacrifice on that cross was to pay the price for the sin of the world, that all might be saved. The Bible is written to everyone and everyone can either accept it as truth or reject it as a fairy tale. Believing the Bible to be a fairy tale, though, doesn’t negate the fact that God’s word is true. Unbelief and the rejection of the truth will only act as a catalyst in the condemnation of that person.

Rejecting the Bible and thereby rejecting the Gospel of Jesus Christ will automatically place you or your loved ones in the next chapter of the book of Revelation. “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” Revelation 6:1-2. Enter the anti-Christ, not Jesus Christ, although Jesus Christ does return on a white horse in Revelation 19:11-16. This is not Him, this is a satanic dictator who imitates Jesus. He rules (a crown was given), he rules with a bow not a sword, and he exercises dominion over the earth (went out conquering and to conquer). But the results of his rule show that this is not the reign of Jesus Christ.

I think we can tell much about how a person understands the book of Revelation and God’s prophetic plan by seeing how they understand this first rider. Those who think Revelation is mostly a book of history believe that this rider is Jesus. Those who believe that this is a prophetic passage, yet to be fulfilled, mostly account this rider to be the antichrist. This final satanic dictator over men will be more terrible than all previous dictators. He will rule over men as a false Messiah, and lead man in organized rebellion against God.

This (anti-Christ) guy is going to demand everyone take his mark and worship him and if they don’t they will be killed (beheaded). From this point on the Revelation of Jesus Christ gets very disturbing, even gruesome. There won’t be any place to hide from the coming horrors, they will be worldwide, fierce to behold, and completely consuming in their vastness. No one on earth during this time will escape the tidal wave of tribulations. Those who miss the Rapture yet become believers during the tribulation week will fall prey to some of the horrors spoken of in those remaining chapters. Most will be martyred for their faith.

Only by becoming a born again believer in Christ now, before the Rapture, can we be assured of our non-involvement in all those horrors. The book of Revelation is God telling all who will read it that they will be blessed by it and that they should see their need for a savior and repent while there is still time. That’s the blessing. Read it for yourself and tell others to read it also. Keep in mind that you only have the first five chapters as a time frame for repentance and avoiding all those judgments which will ultimately prove God’s displeasure with those who’ve rejected His only begotten Son.

Those first five chapters of this awesome book speak of blessings, churches doing well and churches doing not so well, about things going on in Heaven, and about who is surrounding God’s throne. There’s no doubt about who’s there and who isn’t. Besides God Almighty, only angels and believers in Christ are there.

“…to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass…” Revelation 1:1. The word “shortly” in this verse means quickly or speedily. In other words, what John was about to witness were things that once they began their succession would bring quick and speedy results. Jesus said the signs we were to be watching for would come on this planet like a woman in labor (birth pangs). We are currently witnessing the beginning of many end times signs spoken of by our Lord Jesus. It seems, according to the book of Revelation, we’re now in the ninth month of labor.

Many will ignore the book of Revelation as my ex-pastor has. Many others will write it off as simply an allegory. Some will read it and dismiss it as having already taken place. God, on the other hand, is quite specific when it comes to this book and its wonderful blessing, and the future it holds. “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” Revelation 1:3. Folks the time is at hand for the prophecies that have been spoken of.

The book of the Apocalypse is a book of prophecy in which we are given the events that lead up to Christ’s return. “Apokalypsis” in the Greek is transliterated Apocalypse, which is translated Revelation in English. Its meaning is more simple than what many perceive it to be. It literally means “uncovering, unveiling, revealing or laying bare a mystery, of things before unknown”. The book of Revelation was never meant to confuse or scare anyone away; on the contrary, it was written to benefit each and every believer in Christ and to open the eyes of the lost.

So, the question is, how will you respond to God’s blessing as it’s associated with reading this book concerning “things before unknown”?

God bless you all,

Ron Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

All scripture is from the KJV

The Gulf Oil Spill, which may become the largest man-made disaster in human history, is getting worse, as the news shows it’s now full of methane.

Pictures show things which appear to be out of the Book of Revelation, as the oily mess appears blood-like in color and texture. (It looks close enough to blood, the squeamish should be ready.) With devastation of almost Biblical proportions possible, including worst case scenarios involving billions of barrels , it makes one wonder if this is some kind of judgment.

God is a God of grace and mercy. He loves to pardon sinners who come to Him by faith and repent; He came to this world to seek and save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10) He is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any perish, but that all come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) Mercy is not getting what we deserve – grace is getting what we don’t deserve. Because of His love, God loves to shower those good things on us.

But, God also is a God of justice. We like it when other people get what they deserve, especially if they wronged us. Well, this latest Gulf Oil Spill is so bad, it’s almost certain to be a disaster of Biblical proportions by the end. This leads some to ask, is America being judged?

Let’s look at that dichotomy for a moment, the love of God as shows in His mercy, and in His divine judgment.

Not a Contradiction

It is certainly not a contradiction – a police officer or judge, for instance, can be very wise and fair, and good at tracking down and punishing criminals to the “full extent of the law,” he or she may “always get the bad guy,” but yet that same officer or judge can be a warm, loving family man who is lenient and merciful with his or her children.

The difference, of course, is the relationship. Oh, that person will provide discipline and correction when needed, but in a merciful, more gentle way because they are his or her children. That person lovingly nurtures them, as the Bible instructs fathers, and will not provoke them to wrath, as fathers are warned not to do. (Eph. 6:4)

God is just like that. He hates sin, and must punish sin, because He can’t allow it into His perfect Heaven. This is how much he loves us, and how His love includes punishing sin. Because, just as a loving judge punishes criminals partly with innocent family members in mind, so, too, does God punish sin so we won’t have to deal with it in Heaven. He keeps sin completely out of it.

There’s another reason Heaven will be so wonderful. It’s because God will wipe away all tears, there will be no suffering, no pain, no sorrow or death. (Rev. 21) Nobody can imagine the wonders that await us, because we are finite humans. Who knows, we might have senses we never felt before, just as the blind will see for the first time.

See, this world was made perfect – there was no decay, no death, no sin. However, when people sinned, they brought that into the world, and it spread like crazy. It was a catastrophe that touched the whole world. God had to judge that sin, but He consistently gives us a chance to repent. Indeed, He will put it off if enough call on Him with repentant hearts. He was willing to spare Sodom from judgment if there were only 10 righteous people in the city. (Gen. 18) And, wicked Nineveh was spared from destruction for 70 years, because they repented. (Jon. 3)

However, even before He judges something or somebody, He lets them realize the natural consequences of that sin, which can be enormous. Indeed, even secular researchers have shown that humans naturally repeat mistakes & don’t learn from disasters.

They don’t always understand that it’s our fallen nature, but it is – we are not perfect because of sin. Sin separates us from God, and it’s only by His grace that He loves us. He never stops loving us, even when we turn away from Him. In fact, as he suffered on the cross, being punished in our place, Jesus – God Himself ion flesh – called out for them to be forgiven. (Luke 23:34)

That part – allowing people to experience the consequences of sin – isn’t always God directly allowing disasters; it’s often just His removing His hand of protection. Because, this entire world is filled with awful things that could happen, but don’t

Divine Judgment or not?

So, did God allow this to happen as a consequence for sin? Is He judging America? Has He removed His hand of protection?

Nobody can claim to know God’s heart for sure, except by what it says in the Bible. It can’t be certain that God has removed His hand of protection from anything. However, we don’t have guidelines that tell us it is possible, and that tell us what to do.

God condemns those which call good evil, and evil good. This has happened quite often in our society, as our culture has so much hatred, greed, corruption, and so on in it. The Bible tells us that in the end times, “the love of many shall wax cold” (Mat. 24:12) It’s true – that deep, unconditional love that we should have for others has been replaced by a shallowness in many cases. We’re so busy with our lives, few people care about others anymore. However, others are supposed to be put ahead of ourselves and our feelings. That means we shouldn’t be offended at every little thing, nor should we be selfishly trying to get everything for ourselves. The “great love chapter” of the Bible, after all, tells us what love really is; among other things, it isn’t hurtful or selfish. It “seeks not its own,’ meaning it doesn’t keep trying to get; it’s all about giving. And, so on. (1 Cor. 13) We have refused to condemn sin.

We need to love all sinners, but sin separates us from God’s perfect love, and needs to be confessed and forsaken. At the same time, we need to love the sinner, and show them compassion and understanding. We need to help them do as Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery when he forgave her – “Go, and sin no more.” (John 8:10) And, if we sin, we need to confess and forsake it, because “We have an advocate with God the Father – Jesus Christ the righteous,” (1 John 2:1), who took the punishment for our sins.

Of course, we’ve had problems for centuries, in how we treated other human beings. We refused to show natives, Africans-American/blacks, and other minorities love and compassion. We were, at times, filled with hypocrisy, as individuals, state governments, and as a national government.

Yes, we built a great nation, but we confess that we are not a perfect one. We were still blessed richly, though, despite all of our problems, because we had enough people who insisted on following the Golden Rule with everyone, regardless of who they were – such people were just drowned out by the wicked. Just like today, those who insist on moral decency and common sense are drowned out at times.

The Conclusion:

It’s hard to say if God has removed His hand of protection on us or not. But, we know 2 things for sure about this situation.

1. The Gulf Oil Spill could be a foreshadowing of the prophecy of a third of the seas of the world turning to blood, and a third of the sea life dying (Rev. 8:7-9, which also mentions hail – which the evaporation could cause to look like bits of blood), and then everything in the sea dying (Rev. 16:3-4). Revelation tells us it will partly happen because of a comet or meteor, but the tidal wave caused by a meteor crashing into the sea would definitely cause this to spread a lot more than it is even now. In other words, we could be close to the end times, just based ont his alone.

2. Just as we, and other nations, have in the past called on God in repentance and prayer to forgive and save us, we can do it, too. Second Chronicles 7:14 is a great model for this type of national prayer of repentance, calling on God to forgive us.

Whether or not this is God lifting His hand of protection, we are getting closer and closer to the days prophesied many years ago in the Bible. Life won’t be the same. However, each person alive today has a future.

That future is with Jesus. Jesus is God in flesh – He and His father are one. (John 10;30, etc.) He came to this world because, while He is a God of justice, He is also a God of mercy. That same Jesus who cried out, while being crucified, “Forgive them, Father, they know not what they d,” died for you, and rose from the dead the third day. He took the punishment for each of our sins – mine, yours, everyone’s – because HE DOES NOT WANT YOU TO FACE JUDGMENT. (I normally wouldn’t type in caps like that, but something in my Spirit, which is how God indwells believers, is just thinking about how bad this *could* get, and crying out for people to come to Jesus, so He can lead them through this with the peace that passes understanding!)

He is a God of everlasting mercy, who doesn’t want to see people suffer. Like that policeman or judge in the first example, who doesn’t want his or her children to grow up to become hardened criminals, God knows what awaits those who reject his perfect love and goodness. It’s everlasting destruction from the presence of God. (2 Thess. 1:9)

I don’t know how bad the oil spill will get, but even if it’s not near the end, this is the time to make peace with God, because none of us knows what tomorrow will bring. You don’t have to do anything to make peace with Him, though. You don’t’ have to clean up your act and then come to Jesus – you can’t. It was “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) He gave us a free gift – the gift of life forever with Him. (Rom. 6:23) All we have to do is “call upon the name of the Lord,” and we’ll be saved.(Rom. 10:13) Salvation is “by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)

All you need to do to receive Him, and have Him in your heart to give you peace and to guide you through things and get you to Heaven someday, is to: A. Admit you’re a sinner, just like me, just like everyone, and that this sin keeps you from heaven; B. Believe that Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died for your sins, took your punishment on the cross,and rose from the dead; and, C. Choose to turn from your sins (repent) and receive Him as your Lord and Savior; invite Him into your heart and life, making you new on the inside.

It’s not about specific words, but you can pray something like this right now to receive Him:

“Dear Lord Jesus, I know I’m a sinner. I can’t reach Your perfect Heaven on my own, because my sin separates me from you. I know You died for my sins, though, and rose from the dead. You took my place, You suffered my punishment on the cross. Lord Jesus, I turn from my sin, and I trust You to forgive me. I choose today to become a follower of You, and I invite You into my heart to make me new on the inside, so I can have a relationship with You. I accept You have done all that is needed to get me to Heaven, and I trust You as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

That’s all there is to it. If you prayed that and meant it, you are a child of His now, and nothing can take you away from Him. (Rom. 8:38-9, Eph. 4:30) Tell others all about His wonderful love and grace, in how He has forgiven them, too, and all they must do it turn to Him by faith for forgiveness. He never tells us in His Word to do anything but call on Him.

Find a good Gospel preaching church where the love of God is also shown, as well as the truth of God’s Word being preached. I recommend the “rapture ready” bulletin boards, too, as a good place to fellowship and learn about all the apostasy (false religion) that is out there.

Our nation has lots of problems. It may or may not be under God’s judgment; but soon, the whole world will be. It might still be quite a while from now. But, His return for us has always been imminent; even in the first century, people awaited that blessed hope of His Glorious Appearing.

We can look forward to that, too. The Gulf of Mexico, and life in that area, may be greatly harmed, but Jesus promises that “In this world, you will have tribulation; but, be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) And, He can help you to overcome, too.