Bible Prophecy Master Class, Part 3
by Alvin Mitchell
Random Studies from the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ
Podcast episodes
Season 1
Revelation 13: The Beast (Part 4; The Anti-Christ)
The Resurrection, Rise and Reign (Daniel’s Mouthy Little Horn, aka, the Abomination of Desolation; Paul’s Son of Perdition) Advent of the Beast (Revelation Chapter 13, Verses 1 and 2) This juncture in the unfolding drama of the Apocalypse marks the halfway point in the period of seven years immediately preceding the Battle of Armageddon. This “mother-of-all” battles will usher in the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Jews’ Messiah for whom they long and wait. This does not, however, indicate the midpoint of the entire period encompassed by the Apocalypse, nor does it limit this span (of the Apocalypse) to only seven years—as is commonly taught in evangelical, and perhaps some Pentecostal, or other circles. Verse 1, 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. In this vision, John finds himself standing upon sands that adorn the shore of the sea (a most likely reference to the Mediterranean, although this ocean is itself most probably a symbolic reference to the restless mass of humanity.). There, he is shown the emergence of a strange looking creature called a beast (in the sense of a dangerous, wild animal, per the Greek word, “therion”, thay-ree’-on) bearing striking, though not exact similarities to those of the dragon, studied earlier in chapter 12. No doubt, these physical likenesses are meant to signify an inextricable link between the two, while at the same time assuring readers that they are not the same (combined, one might say, the ‘name’ and physical traits help set the tone in terms of character or psychological orientation and general description). This beast, John says, is emerging out of the chaos and restlessness of humanity (symbolized by the Mediterranean!). Furthermore (like the dragon), this beast has seven heads, each of which is marked by names of blasphemy (that is, this creature has that about it—let’s call it an aura or an atmosphere, for now—that clearly signifies a willful, woeful misrepresentation, mischaracterization and defiance of the True and Living God!). John also observed that the dangerous wild animal coming out of this clamorous agitation, that is the noisy commotion of mankind without a central focus in terms of leadership, had ten horns, upon which were ten crowns. In biblical terminology, horn as a metaphor in poetry and prophecy is usually a symbol of authority, strength, power, and rugged individuality. The crowns (Greek, kingly ‘diadems’, as opposed to ‘stephanos’ or wreaths given to the winner of a contest), of course, symbolize sovereignty and dominion. Thus, while the horns wearing crowns signifying sovereign individuality are in a close alliance with the beast, they are yet symbolic of 10 different personalities, separate and distinct from that beast and its seven heads; in an association that is largely voluntary. In addition, each horn is separate and distinct from each other (able to govern as well as stand on and under their own authority. Ironically, per chap. 17, as such, neither existed during the days of John, they do not exist today and they will not exist as any kind of geopolitical entities until after the bowl judgments, shortly before the return of Christ.)....
Revelation 11:1-7: The Beast (Part 3; And, The Two Witnesses of God)
Scourge of the Two Witnesses Woe #2 Begins Verse 3a, And I will give power unto my two witnesses, The appearance of these individuals, identified here only as the “two witnesses of God”, will mark the official launch of the beginning of the end—the horrific, last seven hellish years of human history (not that the years leading up to this point will have been any picnic. God will take pangs to insure that they will be no cake walk.). These will be the years known to Bible prophecy students as Daniel’s 70th Week…which then begs the question: Since we are told that none of the Trumpet Judgments will begin until the peeling of the 7th Seal…which proves that they do not overlap or happen at the same time as the Seal Judgments…and, given that this “woe #2” (Rev. 11:3-14; encompassing the ministry of the witnesses and the death of Daniel’s little horn, before he becomes the “beast”) clearly follows the events of woe #1 (Rev. 9:1-12; the torment of the Locusts from the Abyss)…and, realizing that each of these woes is consigned to the sound of the 6th Trumpet, further proving that not one of the Trumpet Judgments occurs concurrent with the Seals, one cannot but wonder then, how is it that practically all prophecy students and the so-called experts insist that the entirety of the Apocalyptic period, starting with Rev. 6-19 will be confined to only 7 years? Consider also that, “woe #3” covers the following events, and they only transpire AFTER the sounding of the 7th Trumpet (and is limited to the latter 3.5 years of the last 7 before the 2nd Coming of Christ!): · Satan is ousted from Heaven forever (Rev. 12:7-12) · Satan allowed to resurrect and empower Daniel’s horn, who (at that moment and only under that circumstance) becomes the abomination of desolation, Paul’s son of perdition, John’s beast (aka, the “antichrist”; per Dan. 12:11; Matt. 24:15; II Thes. 2; Rev. 11:7; 13:3-5; 17:8-11)
Revelation 12: : The Beast (Part 2; The Power and the Authority behind The Anti-Christ)
Great Red Dragon While John watched the woman’s struggle to deliver her Child, the focus shifted to another, more bizarre, somewhat sinister portrayal. The sight that arrested his eyes had seven heads, seven crowns on each head, flanked by ten horns. In chap. 13, John was told that those horns have crowns (Greek=“diadema”, or, diadems), signifying their status as heads of state over individual sovereign kingdoms or domains (thus, the horns, we might argue, are symbols of authority, sovereignty, strength and individuality.). Chap. 17 confirms that the horns are indeed to be interpreted as autonomous and independent. John called this new seven-headed wonder a “great red dragon”. Seven Heads John is here given no clue as to the significance of the seven heads of the dragon, although the dragon is itself identified. Being the book of riddles that the entire Apocalypse is, we are able to draw valuable insights and clues from chap. 13 and 17, by means of which we can correctly deduce that the heads of the great red dragon are in fact representative of seven kingdoms. Thus, we may further conclude that this portrait of a body having seven heads, topped by seven crowns (as in “diadems” worn by a sovereign or king), and the ten horns signifies Satan’s presence, dominance and influence throughout the ages over the kingdoms, and states of this world, particularly those having to do directly with the people of the Book—i.e., all of those individual kingdoms with whom the nation of Israel can be most closely linked, one way or the other.
Revelation 10-11:14; Acts of God (Part 5; Trumpet #6a__Woe#2)
The Two Witnesses' Ministry of Torment! CHAPTER 11 Woe #2 The Two Witnesses At this point, it appears that the God imposed war moratorium, temporarily stopping the fighting amongst the nations, continues. It will remain in effect until after the pommeling of the beast and the literal trashing of his kingdom, during the judgments from the bowls (chap. 16 & 19), which will set the stage for the Battle of Armageddon. As shown already, the scene we saw in chapter 9 (of the massive military gathering, at the Euphrates River) depicts one faction of the armies involved headed for the opening moments of what will be that final melee in the Valley of Megiddo (chapter 16). That conflict will itself occur within the last (approximately) 1.75 years of the final 7 years of man’s autonomous history (life without direct oversight by God Almighty). In violation of the moratorium, the beast will further add to his offenses by militarily reigning in three of his unruly former submissives. At about that time, the fight freeze will be officially lifted. Side Bar Given that Titus had, at the time John is pinning this prophetic book, sacked and destroyed Jerusalem and its Jewish temple, there was therefore no Temple of God on earth. There is no Temple of God even at this hour, two thousand years later, as the mount or spot upon which the Jews intend to rebuild is currently occupied by a Muslim mosque— called, one believes, the Dome of the Rock (or, Mosque of Omar). That mosque will have to be torn down (although there are some accounts that say the actual spot of Solomon’s old Temple is actually in a slightly different location than that of the mosque, it does not matter. Jewish dominance will doubtless demand that it still be destroyed.). This no doubt will occur following the Russo/Arab thrashing at the hand of the Almighty Himself, on behalf of His beleaguered people, upon the mountains of Israel, as foretold by Ezekiel the prophet. This will not only weaken the Muslim world, as it will also destroy their resolve and hold on that spot, subjecting them to the will (of God, albeit nominally for a time, via) the Jews
Revelation 9:17a-21: Acts of God (Part a; Trumpet #6; PREVIEW: Armageddon, Phase 1)
Battle of Armageddon, Phase 1: Kings of the East verses the Beast and the Kings of the Earth (West)! Thermo Baric Warfare & MOAB Future Warriors’ Weapon of Choice Verse 17b, and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. Verse 18, By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. In preparing this study, and in looking over these verses, “here”, I said within myself, “is a passage which lacks merit/support, technologically, in modern terms”. How, I wondered, can this possibly ever be? What military wizardry is there under the carpets or on the maps, which would allow for death in this fashion—by fire, by smoke and by brimstone (yellow sulfur)? Most all the other prophecies of this nature could readily be explained in light of recent (as within the past 105 years of) technological developments but, I thought somewhat whimsically, “should be interesting to see how You pull this one off, Lord”! Knowing only that if God says it can and will happen, it therefore can and will happen, I resolved not to use this passage in my study, because it to me could not be explained in light of modern military advancements (several days later, I was forced to “recant” this decision!). Too bad that it never occurred to me to reflect on an old Steven Sigel thriller (or, was that Nicolas Cage; I believe that show was the one co-starring Sean Connery). This movie featured bad guys wielding a weapon one had never seen or heard of before, not even during my years of military service; nor did it, in the years following the movie, ever make sense—whenever, if ever, one thought upon it. The gun was one having all the trappings and outward appearances of a regular military styled rifle. Here, the similarities end, as things were strangely different, however, whenever the bad guys took aim, and opened up on the guys in “white hats”. Instead of hearing the usual rat-ah-tat-tat, pop and ricochets of bullets that normally characterizes such a scene, there was only a weird kind of sound followed by a trail of smoke, ending in a kind of explosion accompanied by more smoke and maybe some sparks. Totally a bizarre kind of a weapon but, manifestly more powerful than the average rifle or, even the typical shotgun—and that, when we are not even talking “Star Trek” or “Star Wars”! So, what was this weapon? Does it have basis in reality, beyond, Hollywood, one may well be wondering? How does its existence illumine our understanding in terms of its highlighting and supporting the viability of the Lord’s assertion, here? Or, does it? As, in my research, I was trying to establish the place of nations like China and Russia (and other European powers) in the grand scheme of things, particularly space-based warfare, I stumbled across (the Lord answered the former challenge with!) a number of interesting themes and topics, including electromagnetic pulse generators and high-powered microwave weapons. That theme, which is most apropos to this discussion, however, is that regarding something called thermobarics, and thermobaric weaponry.