TABLE OF CONTENTS |
Part
I
An Ignominious End
"The Name of Blasphemy"
The Dragon Gave Him Power
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Part
II
"Wounded to Death"
"Blasphemy Against God"
"Let Him Hear" |
Part
III
"If Any Man Worship the Beast"
"Seat of the Beast"
"Euphrates"
"Desperate Times"
Armageddon, Israel's View
Armageddon, Christendom's View
City Divided in Three Parts
"Plague of Hail"
|
Part
IV
Fate of the
"Beast" and "False Prophet"
The Final Conflict
The Supper of the Great God
"The Beast Was Taken"
What Happened to the Image? |
Part IV
What Will Be the Fate
of the "Beast" and the "False Prophet"?
While the demise of the papal beast and the false prophet is
undoubtedly described in Revelation 16, yet we are not told specifically what becomes of
them. That story is told in Revelation 19. The challenge was raised in Revelation 13:4:
"Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"
This great Goliath roars its challenge before the world. There is no
organization or groups of mankind or nations that can rise to this challenge. It is too
powerful and too well connected to be subdued. This papal beast would probably be able to
continue in power unabated, except that a greater power appears to destroy it.
The Final Conflict
"The Word of God"
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"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.
"His
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.
"And he was clothed with
a vesture dipped in blood: and his
name is called The Word of God. |
"And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in
fine linen, white and clean.
"And 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.
"And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND
LORD OF LORDS."
Revelation 19:11-16
Here our Lord comes on a white charger, an animal of war. At his
first advent he presented himself as a King riding on a donkey. He was meek and lowly in
presenting himself to the nation of Israel. He had no armies then.
Christ's Triumphal Entry
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Here the scene takes us into his Second Advent at a
time when he has armies, plural, who are arising in spiritual control. This is not at his
immediate return. Rather, it is later during his presence when his "armies" are
clothed in "fine linen, white and clean." This would be equivalent to having
"his Father’s name written in their foreheads."
(Revelation 14:1)
Another way of putting it, "And in their mouth was found no guile:
for they are without fault before the throne of God." (Revelation 14:5) This
could only include "sealed" saints, counted as "overcomers," the
"called, chosen and faithful" "hundred and forty and four thousand."
"He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of
Almighty God." This identifies our Lord with the "treading of the
winepress" picture given in Isaiah 63:1-6. It is based on the teaching that there is
a "vine of the earth." Jesus said, "I am the true vine."
(John 15:1)
There is also another "vine" that has angered our God. We
read of this in Revelation 14:19:
"And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine
of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God."
The Lord’s method is to allow this "vine of the
earth" to grow until its "grapes are fully ripe." Grapes are harvested in
late summer or early fall. This generally ends the harvest of crops in Israel.
Grape Harvest
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So the treading of the "great winepress" is the last
feature of the Harvest time. The Lord has pent-up anger toward this abominable
"vine." The Lord will explode in judgment against this "vine of the
earth." This is called treading the "winepress of the wrath of God."
The Word of the Lord figures heavily in this judgment scene. We are
told that
"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."
It is God’s justice that has been violated, and, therefore, our
Lord Jesus will execute the judgments written, using the "sword of his mouth,"
judgment truths. The banner over our Lord is "The Word of God." Satan has tried
to break the Scriptures for six thousand years with not a single success.
When Jesus comes with the "Word" title, it means Satan cannot
prevail. "Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). When Satan realizes he is
confronting the "Word of God," he knows that the battle is lost before it is
even begun. Who can prevail against God’s Word? Heaven and earth could pass away, but
God’s Word cannot be broken. The Lord is about to put his foot on the serpent’s
head and secure him with "chains."
"The Supper of the Great
God"
"And I saw an angel
[of the "great voice out of the temple" in
Revelation 16:1 that commanded the "seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the
vials [bowls]"—this then embodies the plagues poured out by all "seven angels"]
standing in the sun [the Gospel sunlight]; 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;
"That 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." Revelation 19:17,
18
The Battle Assembled for the Supper of God
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The outcome of this final battle is certain. An invitation is sent
beforehand to the loathsome fowls to assemble for the "supper of the great God."
The "flesh" or substance of these institutions is very large and will provide a
lot of material wealth to feast on.
Just as the papal beast and false prophet confiscated
properties of those they deemed heretics, so the Lord allows the vicious
mobs to consume these institutions with their massive wealth and
properties. In other words, selfishness will cause a feeding frenzy to
accompany these loathsome fowls.
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The "angel standing
in the sun" reminds us of the "sealed" church arising as "kings
of
the east [sunrising]" (Revelation 16:12). This is a position of power and ascending
glory. There is no uncertainty or weakness demonstrated here.
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Victory and only victory is certain when coming from
the east. The enemy is always at a disadvantage in facing the bright sunrising. We are
only told what will happen to the "flesh" of all the forces confronting the
"King of Kings." Only after the battle is joined are we told what happens to the
beast and the false prophet.
"The Beast Was Taken,
and with Him the False Prophet"
"And 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
[singular].
"And 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.
"And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which
sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."
Revelation 19: 19-21
The papal beast is in the forefront of this battle. Hence, the
beast will be taken first. The Lord has long held his patience with this monstrous beast,
and (when the decisive moment arrives) neither its cunning nor its resources are able to
sustain it. It falls easily before the "King of Kings." Most importantly it is
dealt with before the "kings of the earth, and their armies." Revelation 18:9
reads:
"And the kings of the earth, … lament for her, when they shall see
the smoke of her burning."
Both accounts seem to indicate that the papal beast and Babylon fall
before the "kings of the earth." They survive only long enough to lament the
fall of this seemingly invincible beast. It is important to notice that the beast and the
"kings of the earth, and their armies" enter warfare against "him that sat
on the horse, and against his army."
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While
the Lord is said to have "armies" (Revelation 19:14), yet only the weakest flank
is attacked, "his army."
This seems to indicate that the "sealed saints" who remain in
the flesh will be most easily targeted.
This could well be where the saints, represented in John the Baptist, may
leave the battlefield, victorious in death.
|
Salome receives the head of
John the Baptist on a charger. |
If this is true, the papal beast, just like
"Sodom," puts in its worst performance just before it is destroyed. This may
also fulfill Revelation 12:17 where we are told the
"Dragon was wroth … and went to make war with the remnant of her
seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."
When the beast is taken, guess who is with him? No, it is not the
image of the beast. We are told that "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." This helps the reader contrast the image of the
beast with the false prophet. Revelation 13:11-14 is being referred to.
The false prophet is clearly identified as a beast with "two
horns" which speaks "as a dragon." This is the Church of England and
Ireland that broke away from the Catholic Church during the time of Henry VIII. It
prospered greatly and was able to do what the Catholic Church was never able to
accomplish. It became a world power and was able to lift its flag over many nations, even
taking the Holy Land.
The Catholic Church tried to prevent the industrial revolution, while
the British Empire, together with the Church of England, used it to create untold wealth.
It also opened up education to the masses, whereas the Catholic Church sought to deny
education to all but priests and aristocracy.
What happens to the papal beast and the false prophet?
"These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone."
(Revelation 19:20) Notice that they do not die first and then get buried. They remain
powerful functioning institutions up until the time the "King of Kings" casts
them into the "lake of fire," which is the second death. This seems to indicate
they had sufficient resources to continue, but because of the overwhelming power of
Christ, they are swallowed up while still vigorously functioning.
|
The "Lake of Fire" represents
Second Death,
not Eternal Torment. |
Whatever Happened
to the "Image of the Beast?"
The question may arise as to what happened to the image of the
beast? Why isn’t it dealt with as the others? The image of the beast is a short-lived
creation. It will come and expire before the papal beast and the false prophet are dealt
with. It serves as a Protestant Federation. Possibly it might eventuate as the
"World Council of Churches." It started out as the Protestant Evangelical
Alliance, but nothing much ever came of this.
This Protestant Evangelical Alliance later turned over all its papers
to the "World Council of Churches." In recent times, the Evangelical Churches
have made enormous strides in numbers and influence. All of this bears watching to see how
the Protestant image of the beast will come into full development and power. Many have put
this in the past, giving all the brethren an easy victory.
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How easy it is to be able to claim victory over the beast and its image when the saints
have not been confronted seriously in any way as were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
The test will surely come to all the living saints, as it did to these three
Hebrews. The saints are to have "gotten the victory over the beast, and over
his image."
Revelation 15:2
|
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego |
After the saints gain the victory here, the
image of the beast fades out of the picture and only the papal beast remains. None of the
seven plagues are said to fall on the image of the beast.
The first plague falls on those who had the "mark of the
beast" and on those who "worshipped his image." (Revelation 16:2) Notice
that the scripture does not say a "plague" fell on the "image." These
distinctions are important and cannot be glossed over.
We are not told what happens to the image of the beast. Like the
"woman" of Revelation 12, it just fades away. For some mysterious reason the
metaphor changes in Revelation 16. No further active mention is made of the image, but we
are suddenly presented with the false prophet without an introduction. Then in Revelation
19:20 the false prophet is identified with the Church of England and Ireland. Here the
Bible defines who is referred to as the false prophet.
Why aren’t the "kings of the earth, and their
armies" cast alive into a "lake of fire"? A difference is shown
here between institutions and people. The "kings of the earth, and their armies"
are people, and they will be destroyed as enemies of the "King of Kings." This
can be done by ultimately making friends of them.
The beast and false prophet are institutions. While these institutions
are run by people, still it is not people who are cast "alive into
a lake of
fire." Only the institutions of falsehood are destroyed. Never again will the Lord
allow an institution that is built on lies and misinformation to exist and perpetuate
itself. False religion in government will never be permitted again.
While Satan will be "loosed out of his prison" (Revelation 20:7)
when the thousand years are ended, still it is only Satan doing the deceiving. He does not
have an institutional set-up to serve him. While "Gog and Magog" go forth to
compass the "camp of the saints," yet they are the deceived ones and not the
source of the deception. Even here we notice a difference in language.
"Gog and Magog" are consumed by "fire" which
"came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." (Revelation 20:9) This
will be the second death. However, Satan is "cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night
for ever and ever." (Revelation 20:10)
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According to theology, Satan is in charge of "hell" and commands the torture of
others.
This is bad theology. Only Satan, the papal beast and the false prophet are
said to be "cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, … and shall be tormented
day and night for ever and ever."
Here we have one spirit being and two institutions assigned to
"the lake of fire and brimstone."
While all three cease to exist, yet Satan and the two institutions he
fathered, are said to be "tormented."
|
Hell Fire is "Bad Theology"
Obviously, this is not
personal living torture, but an opprobrium that will last forever and ever at the recall
and memory of these terrible sources of evil. |
Those responsible for creating and teaching lies are more responsible
than those deceived. "Death and hell," upon delivering up the dead in them, are
also "cast into the lake of fire."
(Revelation 20:14)
Happy is the ending to this story. Yes, only truth and righteousness
will prevail. We have God’s assurance that deception and those responsible for it
will be removed forever. Only righteousness and truth shall endure in God’s Kingdom.
