BABYLON THE GREAT WHORE
great whore that sitteth upon many waters.” (Rev 17:1) The judgment
of course is because of her sins and iniquities: “For her sins have
reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” (Rev
18:5)
The early Fathers of the Church unanimously understood Babylon
to be a code name for the Roman Empire. They all thought (and
hoped) that the Roman Empire will be destroyed before the Lord’s
second coming. Many verses in Revelation actually support this
interpretation.
Revelation 17:6 tells us that “Babylon” is a persecutor of the saints,
“And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” And so does Revelation 18:24,
“And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all
that were slain upon the earth.” The greatest persecutions of the
Church happened during the reign of Rome, the new Babylon!
Rome was surrounded by seven hills, and Revelation 17:9 tells us,
“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven
mountains, on which the woman sitteth.”
The Roman Empire ruled over people from different nations and
languages, and so does “Babylon” “And he saith unto me, The waters
which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and
multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” (Rev 17:15)
Rome ruled over all the world and appointed “kings” as
representatives of Rome, like King Herod, who was subject to Rome.
Revelation 17:18 tells us the same about Babylon, “And the woman
which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the
earth.”
The lifestyle of “Babylon” is decadent and so boastful, “How much
she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and
sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no
widow, and shall see no sorrow.” (Rev 18:7) This fits neatly with the
life style of the Romans during the glory of their empire.
The Fathers thought that the destruction of Rome is God’s revenge
for the persecution Rome unleashed on the Christians. “Rejoice over
her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath
avenged you on her.” (Rev 18:20)
There are, however, many problems with this interpretation! The
main reason for this, is that in the early church there was a strong belief
BABYLON THE GREAT WHORE
that the prophesies of Revelation will be fulfilled very soon, and the
only country that resembled the prophetic Babylon was Rome.
On close examination however, we have to admit that Rome was not
destroyed in “one hour” but rather disintegrated slowly over decades,
which certainly differs from the sudden and complete destruction of the
Revelation’s Babylon.
Revelation makes it absolutely clear that the destruction of Babylon
will precede the destruction of the world and the second coming of our
Lord with a very short time. Rome has disappeared from the world
stage many centuries ago and the world is still intact and the Church is
still waiting for the second coming.
A third and most important point is that the destruction of Babylon
will be brought about by God by using “ten kings” who will be reigning
at the time of Antichrist. No one will doubt that Antichrist is yet to
come. And so, Babylon is NOT ancient Rome!
Now we are back to square one! So, who or what is Babylon? To
answer this question we have to look for a great world power that will
be found near the end of time, that will resemble the ancient Rome in
power, lifestyle and sinfulness.
To do this we have to glean through the Book of Revelation looking
for clues that will help us construct a model for Babylon.
WHORE ... FORNICATION:
Babylon is described as a whore (Rev 17:15, 17:16) and even
designated as “the great whore” (Rev 17:1 and 19: 2.) We are told that
she has committed fornication in many places, for example, (Rev 14:8,
17:2, 17:4, 18:3, 18;9 and 19:2.)
The “whore” is judged by God for corrupting the whole world with
her fornication as we are told in Revelation 19:2, “For true and
righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which
did corrupt the earth with her fornication.”
We are also told that the rulers of the world have committed
fornication with her! (Rev 17:2, 18:3, 18:9.)
This corruption of the world is likened to being drunk or intoxicated,
“Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations
drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” (Rev 14:8) “With
whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the
inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her
BABYLON THE GREAT WHORE
fornication.” (Rev 17:2) “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the
wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed
fornication with her.” (Rev 18:3)
But how can a nation or a country commit fornication with the
“kings of the earth” or seduce “all nations” and “the inhabitants of the
earth” with her fornication, making them intoxicated as if drunk and
following her example and committing fornication?
It is obvious that fornication is used here symbolically (as is the case
with everything else in the Book of Revelation!) So, let us examine the
meaning of “fornication” in the prophetic and apocalyptic language.
In the Old Testament, the words whore, harlot, fornication and
adultery were used figuratively to describe polytheism or idolatry.
When Israel, God’s own people, the bride of Yahweh worshipped other
gods, God sent the prophets to rebuke them for their whoredom. For
God considered Israel His bride and if Israel would love someone else
other than her Husband Yahweh, then she has become no more than
a whore or a harlot. There are many examples of this, the earliest of
which is in the Book of Judges, when we are told, “And yet they would
not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods,
and bowed themselves unto them.” (Judg 2:17) The same expression
is used by God in rebuking Israel through His prophet Hosea, “Rejoice
not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring
from thy God.” (Hos 9:1) In the same book, the Lord is inviting Israel
to repentance by telling them, “Plead with your mother, plead: for she
is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her
whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her
breasts.” (Hos 2:2) By worshipping other gods, Israel lost her privileges
as the bride of Yahweh, but she can always return to her heavenly
spouse if she repents. The faithlessness of Israel (the Northern
Kingdom) was soon followed by the harlotry of Judah (the Southern
Kingdom). “And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding
Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of
divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and
played the harlot also.” (Jer 3:8) In the same book, the Lord rebukes
His bride saying, “thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and
with thy wickedness.” (Jer 3:2) The same sentiment appears in the
words of the Lord through the mouth of Ezekiel, “Wherefore say unto
the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye polluted after the
BABYLON THE GREAT WHORE
manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their
abominations?” (Ezek 20:30) And in the opening chapter of Isaiah, the
Lord laments the unfaithfulness of His own city, Jerusalem by saying,
“How is the faithful city become an harlot!” (Isa 1:21)
If that is the meaning of whoredom and fornication in the Old
Testament, bowing to other gods and becoming idolaters, then how can
we relate this to the New Testament use of these words?
St. Paul gives us the first clue, “Mortify therefore your members
which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate
affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col
3:5) So, in the New Testament, covetousness is the equivalent of the
Old Testament’s idolatry. Accordingly to covet things of the world, to
become worldly and immersed in the pleasures of the world is
considered spiritual fornication. For as in the Old Testament Yahweh
was the spouse of Israel, so it is in the New Testament that Christ is the
Spouse of the Church and of each unit of the Church, of each human
soul. Are we not told by St. Paul, “for I have espoused you to one
husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” (II Cor
11:2) A chaste virgin would love her spouse more than anything else or
anyone else. She cannot love God and the world in the same time, for
the Lord tells us, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate
the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise
the other.” (Matt 6:24) And St. John warns us, “Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him.” (I John 2:15)
The clearest indication that worldliness is actually unfaithfulness to
God and indeed adultery in the spiritual sense is emphasized to us by
St. James, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the
friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will
be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (Jas 4:4) St. James calls
“adulterers and adulteresses” and “enemies of God” those who even
befriend the world, those who “go awhoring” after worldly things and
worldly lusts.
Now the picture becomes clear, this “Babylon” or modern world
power is guilty of being very worldly, of loving worldly things more than
God. It is also guilty of seducing the other nations, the inhabitants of
the earth and the rulers of the earth into following the same life style,
a lifestyle of materialism and instant gratification that makes the love
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of God disappear from the hearts of men. That is why she is called
“Mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” (Rev 17:5)
Now, let us start from the beginning of Revelation 17, “And there
came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with
me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment
of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings
of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the
earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” (Rev
17:1-2)
One of the seven angels offers to show St. John the “great whore
that sitteth upon the many waters.” The seven angels are probably the
seven archangels, they are to carry the final set of seven plagues and
pour them on a world that has turned its back to God and has gone
after the Abomination of Desolation, the Beast, also known as
Antichrist.
The many waters are explained to us in Revelation 17:15 as,
“peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” This means that
this world power, this modern day Rome is made up of multitudes of
people from different ethnic origins and different mother tongues.
THE SCARLET BEAST:
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a
woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy,
having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in
purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and
pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and
filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name
written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF
HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (Rev 17:3-5)
The scarlet beast that the woman is sitting upon with the seven heads
and ten horns is none other than the beast of Revelation 13, Antichrist.
The woman is sitting upon the beast that means, she is not part of his
kingdom but is just “riding on his bandwagon.” Being a world power in
her own right, the “New Rome”is not conquered by the beast, but
remains on the side lines cheering for him and agreeing with whatever
he does without actually being under his control.
BABYLON THE GREAT WHORE
The woman is arrayed in purple and scarlet and decked with gold and
precious stones and pearls. This refers to the worldliness of this world
power. Contrast this woman with the other woman of Revelation 12,
the Church, who is clothed with the Sun and the moon under her feet.
As we said earlier, the woman is the Church, clothed by the Sun of
Righteousness, that is Christ, while the moon representing the things
of the world is under her feet, despised. What a difference!
The woman has a golden cup full of her abominations and
fornications; she is drinking the sour wine of the love of the world and
even offering the same drink to the people and the kings of the earth,
inviting them and enticing them and teaching them the art of her
fornication: love of the world which is enmity of God.
Her name starts with the word “mystery” meaning code name, not
her real name; a mystery that will be revealed to the faithful whenever
the woman (the world power) appears on the world’s stage near the end
of time.
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the
bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth
shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is
not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven
heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are
seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come;
and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast
that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth
into perdition. (Rev 17:8-11)
We dealt with the beast in a previous chapter, suffices to say that he is
Antichrist. The seven heads are seven kings that we also dealt with
previously, they are the previous “prototypes” that Satan erected before
the real thing. Minor antichrists that Satan experimented with before
perfecting the real thing. The five that are fallen are: Pharaoh king of
Egypt, Sennacherib king of Assyria, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,
the kings of Medo-Persia, that kept Israel in captivity, and Antiochus
Epiphanes the Greek king, who destroyed and desecrated the second
temple, declared himself God, and butchered the Jews who refused to
worship him. Each one of these persecuted the Church of the Old
Testament, and was a little antichrist, particularly the last one.
BABYLON THE GREAT WHORE
The “one that is” is of course the Roman Emperor Nero who
persecuted the Church of the New Testament. The “other that is not
yet come” is the originator of a new politico-religious movement that
was to come six centuries later. A movement that also persecuted the
Church of the New Testament.
THE TEN HORNS:
And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received
no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the
beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall
overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that
are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And the ten horns
which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall
make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with
fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and
give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be
fulfilled. (Rev 17:12-17)
The ten horns have been dealt with previously. We are told that they
are ten kings that will reign in the time of the beast (Antichrist). They
will be allies of Antichrist putting their strength and power in his
service. The author of these articles has a theory, that if we take these
prophecies as probably speaking about our time (as all the Fathers did)
then these are the European Union nations. They have one mind (the
European parliament). They will enter into an alliance with Antichrist
who will most certainly be in control of the Middle East and its oil,
which is vital to these European nations. None of the Fathers
speculated on the identity of these kings or kingdoms except Saint
Hippolytus, who peculiarly calls them “ten democracies!”
Being allied to Antichrist, they will participate with him in
persecuting the Christians (referred to as making war with the Lamb).
Even though they are in alliance with Antichrist, yet God will use
them for the fulfilment of His will, that is to punish Babylon for her
sins.
THE FAITHFUL ARE WARNED TO FLEE BABYLON:
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of
BABYLON THE GREAT WHORE
her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath
remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and
double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she
hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and
lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in
her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and
famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord
God who judgeth her. (Rev 18:4-8)
A warning goes out to God’s people to leave “Babylon” before its
destruction. The same happened in the time of the destruction of
Jerusalem in 70 AD. Again we are told that it is because of her sins
that she is punished. These sins are summarized for us. First, she has
glorified herself (pampered herself) and lived deliciously (over indulged
herself in the pleasures of this world). The Lord Jesus in the Parable
of the sower, tells us, “And that which fell among thorns are they,
which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and
riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.” (Luke
8:14)
Overindulgence in riches and pleasures of this life can make one
fruitless and thus one loses his eternal life. The second sin is pride and
arrogance, over confidence, for she says to herself, “I am queen and am
no widow and shall see no sorrow.” People who live only for worldly
pleasures often think that life will go on like that and often forget or
convince themselves that there is no judgment or retribution, until
suddenly they come face to face with God’s righteous judgment; to give
each one according to his deeds.
Another clue about the destruction of Babylon is given to us, “she
shall be utterly burned with fire” that means she will be burned to the
ground, completely destroyed. Finally, we are reminded that this is the
judgment of God, “for strong is the Lord God who judges her.”
WORLD LEADERS WILL LAMENT BABYLON:
And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived
deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they
shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her
torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for
in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall
BABYLON THE GREAT WHORE
weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any
more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of
pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine
wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most
precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and
odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine
flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and
slaves, and souls of men. (Rev 18:9-13)
The world leaders who are guilty of the same sins as Babylon herself,
who committed spiritual fornication by following her lifestyle (lived
deliciously with her) will lament her destruction when they see the
smoke of her burning. Notice two things here, first, that they stand afar
off for fear of her torment, and second that the destruction is sudden
“In one hour is thy judgment come”. If we put these two together, we
can theorize that Babylon will be destroyed by a surprise nuclear attack
by the 10 kings (The European Union?) Only such an attack can
destroy a mighty world power like Babylon and accomplish this in one
hour. Only a strong alliance like the European Union can deliver such
a devastating attack. But never forget that this happens according to
God’s plan for punishing Babylon for her sins.
We are also told that the merchants of the world will weep over her
“for no one buyeth their merchandise any more.” A list of merchandise
follows, all of them are luxury items. From this we understand that
Babylon is the world’s largest importer of luxury goods, consuming the
great majority of these, since, after her demise, no one will buy these
items anymore.
The list includes “chariots” (cars?) It also includes slaves (the Greek
original translates as ‘bodies’). This means that Babylon is an importer
of able bodied people, which can be interpreted as a country that allows
and benefits from immigration. The reference to “souls of men” may
be interpreted as being engaged in “brain drain” or acting like a magnet
for the upper crust of thinkers in other nations.
The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand
afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, And saying,
Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and
scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in
one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and
BABYLON THE GREAT WHORE
all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood
afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying,
What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads,
and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city,
wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her
costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. (Rev 18:15-19)
Notice that the destruction of Babylon will lead to a major financial
crisis, since the merchants of the whole world were made rich by trading
with Babylon. Not only is Babylon a “mighty city” (Super power?), but
also probably the richest country on earth. Again we are reminded that
the destruction is accomplished in one hour. We are told repeatedly
that those who mourn Babylon will “stand afar off for fear of her
torment.” This means that they will not try to come close to rescue her
because of “fear of her torment.” Certainly after a major nuclear attack
no one wants to come near because of fear of radiation.
HEAVEN REJOICES AT THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON:
Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for
God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like
a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence
shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no
more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and
trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of
whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound
of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a
candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the
bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for
thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were
all nations deceived. (Rev 18:20-23)
Because of her sins, and the fact that Babylon made the world drunk
with her fornication (worldly lifestyle), heaven will rejoice at her
destruction. The angel declares to us that Babylon will forever
disappear from the face of the earth in a violent cataclysm. We are also
told that by her “sorcery” the whole world was deceived. Sorcery here
may mean the dazzling technological wizardry that Babylon offered the
whole world. The story of the destruction of Babylon is also echoed in
Old Testament prophecies:
BABYLON THE GREAT WHORE
Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the
earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the
nations are mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her;
take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have
healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every
one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and
is lifted up even to the skies. (Jer 51:7-9)
We are told once again about Babylon making all the world drunk with
her wine (seducing the world with her lifestyle). The sudden
destruction is also prophesied. There is no cure for Babylon and that
is why the elect are instructed to flee her, because her judgment is
sealed.
The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of
the waves thereof. Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a
wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of
man pass thereby. (Jer 51:42-43)
This is a parallel to the angels throwing of the millstone into the sea.
Again the utter destruction of all her cities is confirmed. She will never
be a place where humans can live.
My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his
soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.” (Jer 51:45)
Once again the elect (God’s people) are told to flee Babylon, so that
they may escape “the fierce anger of the Lord.
Now, dear reader, you may ask who or what is this Babylon? The
answer is entirely up to you. If you believe that the prophecies of
Revelation may be a few hundred or even a few thousand years away,
then Babylon may be a future nation yet to appear on the world stage.
If, on the other hand, you believe that Antichrist could be around the
corner, then make your own opinion about who or what is Babylon the
Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.
HIS END1
The Book of Revelation is like a big jig-saw puzzle, with the pieces
scattered all over the place. It is up to the reader to gather the pieces,
and find out where they fit. After all the pieces are put together in the
right place, the picture will become clear. If even a few pieces are
missing or are misplaced, the picture will not be clear and meaningful.
Prophecies are not put in their chronological order, and the challenge
is to place them correctly. For example, Revelation 6:12-17 reads as
follows:
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was
a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,
and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto
the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is
shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when
it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out
of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and
the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every
bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the
rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall
on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne,
and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is
come; and who shall be able to stand?
If we examine this superficially, we might think that the end of the
world and the second coming of the Lord will happen after the sixth
seal! Yet, as we read on, we discover that there is a seventh seal, which
in turn leads to another set of seven plagues, the seven trumpets. As we
go through the seven trumpets and after the sixth trumpet, we read
(Rev 10:5-7):
And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth
lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever
and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and
the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things
which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the
1Published: September, 2002
HIS END 137
days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound,
the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his
servants the prophets.
Again, one may be led to the assumption that the seventh trumpet will
signal the end of the world, and that “there will be time no longer” And
yet again the seventh trumpet comes and the end is not yet for there
opens for us another series of seven plagues called the seven vials!
Revelation 14:14-20 reads like this:
And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat
like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in
his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple,
crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy
sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the
harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his
sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel
came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp
sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power
over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle,
saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine
of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 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. And the winepress was
trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even
unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred
furlongs.
The reader may say, this is it! The angel with the first sickle will gather
God’s elect and take them “to meet the Lord in the air” (I Thes 4:17)
and the angel with the second sickle is the one that will gather the
ungodly for their eternal punishment. And yet the end is not here
either! Chapter 16:12-17 again tells us:
And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river
Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the
kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits
like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the
mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For
they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto
138 HIS END
the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the
battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief.
Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk
naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into
a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh
angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice
out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
You may say now, “That’s it!” Armageddon is the end of the world!
Wrong again! For the next two chapters (17-18) tell us about the
destruction of Babylon, which was mentioned briefly in Revelation 4:8:
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen,
that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the
wrath of her fornication.
The narrative picks up again in Revelation 19:11-21, where we get the
details of Armageddon:
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. And 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; 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. 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. And the beast was taken,
and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him,
HIS END 139
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.
Here once again, one is tempted to believe that this is it, The Lord
comes, the Beast (Antichrist, Abomination of Desolation) as well as
the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire and their followers are
“slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse (the Lord).” Well,
not quite! For in Revelation 20:7-10 we are told:
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out
of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in
the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them
together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the
camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down
from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that
deceived them was 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.
You see, even after Armageddon, the world does not end, but there is
a final assault on the Church by Satan even after he loses his right hand
man (Antichrist) and his left hand man (the false prophet). It is at this
final assault that the world will end by “fire coming down from heaven,”
the devil will be cast into the lake of fire to join his two lieutenants, and
the elect will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
The Book of Revelation is likened to a telescope with three
segments; each one is “telescoped” inside the other. If you look at it
while it is folded you can determine a beginning and an end. But, as
you reach the end, you discover that there is another segment hidden
inside. You open this segment only to find that there is a third segment
hidden inside the second. Only after you open the third segment that
the picture becomes clear. The first segment of the telescope
corresponds to the seven seals, as one reaches the end, he discovers the
seven trumpets (the second segment of the telescope). At the end of
140 HIS END
these, the third segment of the telescope opens for us to reveal:
THE SEVEN BOWLS:
Although the last and final set of plagues is mentioned in chapters
15 and 16, yet chronologically it follows the destruction of Babylon,
which is detailed in chapters 17 and 18.
And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle
of the testimony in heaven was opened: And the seven angels came
out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and
white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And
one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials
full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the
temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his
power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven
plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. (Rev 15:5-8)
St. John tells us that he saw the temple of the tabernacle of the
testimony in heaven, so what does that mean? You see, when God
ordered Moses to make the tabernacle of the Testimony, He showed
him a heavenly tabernacle and told him to make the earthly tabernacle
after the pattern of the heavenly tabernacle as we are told in Exodus:
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle,
and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make
it. (Exod 25:8-9)
St. Paul also emphasizes this in Hebrews 9:19-23:
Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the
vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged
with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was
therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should
be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with
better sacrifices than these.
St. Paul calls the earthly tabernacle as “the patterns of the things in
heaven.” And, in Hebrews 8:4-5, this is emphasized again:
HIS END 141
For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there
are priests that offer gifts according to the law: Who serve unto the
example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished
of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he,
that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in
the mount.
So, one should not wonder about this, because this was the heavenly
tabernacle that God showed Moses and ordered him to copy when he
made the earthly tabernacle.
The seven angels entrusted with the final plagues are probably the
seven archangels. They are given seven vials by one of the four
incorporeal beasts (probably the highest rank of all the heavenly orders,
since they carry the throne of God). We are then told that no man
could enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels
are fulfilled. What does that mean? This is generally understood to
mean that no intercession would be allowed once the order to the seven
angels has been given, it is final! It means that the privilege of the saints
to intercede on behalf of humanity will be suspended! The death
penalty has been passed and there is no way to appeal it.
And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven
angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God
upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the
earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men
which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped
his image. (Rev 16:1-2)
One thing is peculiar about these plagues, they are not universal. They
are directed towards the worshippers of the Beast, who acknowledge
him as their god and accept his mark and the number of his name!
There is very scant commentary about these plagues, but there are
theories. And what I propose to present is my own personal opinion
and it is entirely up to the reader to accept it or reject it.
I believe that these plagues will happen just after the destruction
of Babylon, and that most of them can be explained by the aftermath of
a major nuclear war.
The “grievous sores” of the first vial, which are interpreted by The
New Unger’s Bible Handbook as “malignant sores” are very suspicious
142 HIS END
of the manifestations of the cutaneous type of Anthrax, which medical
text books call “malignant pustules.”
The most common form of the disease in humans is cutaneous
anthrax, which is usually acquired via injured skin or mucous
membranes. A minor scratch or abrasion, usually on an exposed
area of the face or neck or arms, is inoculated by spores from the
soil or a contaminated animal or carcass. The spores germinate,
vegetative cells multiply, and a characteristic gelatinous edema
develops at the site. This develops into papule within 12-36 hours
after infection. The papule changes rapidly to a vesicle, then a
pustule (malignant pustule), and finally into a necrotic ulcer from
which infection may disseminate, giving rise to septicemia.
Lymphatic swelling also occurs within seven days. In severe cases,
where the blood stream is eventually invaded, the disease is
frequently fatal.1
It is not inconceivable that Babylon, sensing that it is under attack and
not knowing what kind of weapon is being used against it, may decide
to retaliate by using biological warfare in the form of Anthrax, which
causes this kind of skin condition. These types of malignant sores can
even be attributed to small pox, another feared weapon of biological
warfare.
And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it
became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the
sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and
fountains of waters; and they became blood. (Rev 16:3-4)
The second and third plagues can be attributed to radiation poisoning
of the seas and the rivers, which normally follows nuclear warfare.
Unlike the earlier plagues where only a third of the seas and rivers are
poisoned (probably due to pollution), we are told here that all living
creatures die in the seas. Radioactivity can easily accomplish this.
1Bacteriology 330 Home Page: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Department of Bacteriology
HIS END 143
And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power
was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched
with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath
power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast;
and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues
for pain. (Rev 16:8-10)
The fourth and fifth plagues can also be the aftermath of a major
nuclear war. Scientists tell us that a major nuclear explosion can
catapult the earth out of orbit. To explain this let us consider the
example of the space station. The space station is carried to space by
giant rockets that can place it into a pre-determined orbit. If the space
station moves from the orbit that the scientists have determined, they
correct this by the use of “booster rockets.” Each one of these rockets
can move the station in a certain direction, and by manipulating these
booster rockets the scientists can return the space station to its normal
orbit. Imagine if one of these booster rockets malfunctions and fires
on its own, what would happen to the space station? It will be either
catapulted into space to be lost forever or come crashing down to earth.
Now, imagine if all the booster rockets malfunction at the same time or
in sequence one after the other. What would happen to the space
station? This is what could happen to the earth in the case of a major
nuclear explosion or a series of these explosions. Each explosion will
be like a booster rocket catapulting the earth in a different direction.
Let me give you another example, suppose you have a balloon, an
ordinary birthday balloon, and you inflate it and then suddenly let go.
It will go all over the place; the escaping air will be like the booster
rockets moving it erratically.
These erratic movements of the earth can explain these two
plagues, excessive heat that burns the people, followed by darkness and
cold. If the earth follows an erratic course around the Sun, sometimes
coming close to the Sun, and at others going the other way then we
could have this happening. Seems far fetched you think? Hold it my
friend! For there is something in the Bible that supports this theory:
The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the
earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a
drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage. (Isa 24:19-20)
144 HIS END
The earth is utterly broken down, since a big chunk of it has been
destroyed. The earth is moved exceedingly, it is moved out of its orbit
that God had created for it to follow. The earth shall reel to and fro
like a drunkard! Doesn’t that describe the erratic movement of the
earth around the Sun that we just proposed? The earth shall be
removed like a cottage, in the same way a tornado removes a cottage!
And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river
Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the
kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits
like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the
mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For
they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto
the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the
battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief.
Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk
naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into
a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (Rev 16:12-16)
The unholy trinity of Satan, Antichrist (the Beast) and the false prophet
now gather their troops to go to war. The military headquarters of this
great army is situated in a place called Armageddon. This place is
actually located to the southeast of the port of Haifa. It is a very
strategic location in Israel (Antichrist’s homeland).
As we said earlier, the seventh vial depicts the end of the world,
but the details of the battle of Armageddon are resumed in Revelation
19:11-21:
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
HIS END 145
OF LORDS. And 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; 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. 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. 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.
What this is telling us is that it is the Lord himself who will fight against
the unholy trinity. The Lord himself shall excise that cancer called
Antichrist, Abomination of Desolation, the Beast, the little horn and
many other names out of the earth and send him straight to Gehenna!
St. Paul tells us so about his end:
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. (II Thes 2:8)
Note the emphasis on the fact that it is not a human that will remove
him but the Lord Himself, “Who shall consume him with the spirit of
His mouth.” The word “pnevma” in Greek can be interpreted as either
spirit or breath. And I personally understand it in the latter sense
(breath of his mouth rather than spirit of his mouth, in this context). In
other words, the Lord will blow him away, all the way to Gehenna.
When St. Paul refers to the “brightness of His coming,” he is not talking
about the second coming, which will have to wait until Satan’s final
assault on the Church that we explained earlier. This appearance of the
Lord is a “special appearance” to rid the world of the Tyrant, in a
similar way to the Lord’s appearance to Saul on the way to Damascus,
although the outcome of the two appearances is quite different.
146 HIS END
Daniel 8:25 reinforces this:
And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his
hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall
destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;
but he shall be broken without hand.
When he says, “he shall be broken without a hand,” Daniel the prophet
means without human hand. It will be as insurance brokers like to say
‘an act of God!’
The Book of Isaiah gives us this magnificent sarcastic dirge
(mourning hymn) that the Church will sing when the Abomination of
Desolation is translated alive to Gehenna:
How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! The LORD
hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. He
who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled
the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. The whole
earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the
fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since
thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. Hell from
beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up
the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised
up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall
speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou
become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and
the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms
cover thee. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and
consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble,
that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and
destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his
prisoners? All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory,
every one in his own house. But thou art cast out of thy grave like an
abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust
through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a
carcase trodden under feet. Thou shalt not be joined with them in
burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people:
the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. (Isa 14:4-11, 16-20)
THE DAY OF THE LORD1
THE FORTY-FIVE DAYS:
The Book of Daniel is one of the most difficult books to interpret,
but, perhaps the most difficult verses in that book are the next two
verses, “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away,
and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a
thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and
cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” (Dan
12:11-12)
None of the Fathers of the Church offers any attempt at explaining
these two verses except St. Hippolytus of Rome:
“Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred
and five and thirty days;” for when the abomination cometh and makes
war upon the saints, whosoever shall survive his days, and reach the
forty-five days, while the other period of fifty days advances, to him the
kingdom of heaven comes. Antichrist, indeed, enters even into part of
the fifty days, but the saints shall inherit the kingdom along with Christ.2
To me, the interpretation is more difficult to understand than the verses
themselves! So, let us try to understand these two verses on our own.
“From the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away,” this refers
to the abolition of the Eucharist by Antichrist, which will happen when
he reveals his real colours and starts persecuting the Church. “The
abomination that makes desolate is set up” refers to Antichrist (also
known as the Abomination of Desolation) declaring himself as god and
ordering people to worship him or else face the consequences. These
two events, the declaration of the divinity of Antichrist and the
abolition of the daily sacrifice of the Eucharist mark the beginning of
the Great Tribulation. So, it follows that the thousand two hundred
and ninety days refers to the length of the Tribulation (three and a half
years, forty two months etc.). This of course is symbolic and is
interpreted as a time that shall be shortened, as the Lord Himself tells
us, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh
be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.” (Matt
1Published: November, 2002
2Hippolytus: Scholia on Daniel
DAY OF THE LORD
24:22) The second figure, “thousand three hundred and five and thirty
days” refers to time of the only event that is expected to happen after
the end of the Tribulation, the second coming of Christ, the day of the
Lord, as we are told in Matthew 24:29-30:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall
from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then
shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the
tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
From this we can assume that the forty-five days (1335-1290) is the
period between the end of Antichrist, which we narrated in the previous
chapter and the second coming of Christ, also referred to as “the day
of the Lord.”
Of course the figure 45 is also symbolic for no one is supposed to
know the time of the second coming of the Lord which will be “as a
thief in the night.” (I Thes 5:2, II Pet 3:10, Rev 16:15) All we can say
is that it probably refers to a two digit number of days, a short time.
What will happen during this period, known figuratively as the forty
five days? A lot! Let us find out what the Bible tells us concerning
them.
If we read Matthew 24 carefully, we can find out these events that
will follow one another. Verses 1-14 tell us of the “beginning of
sorrows” or the signs that will happen before Antichrist is revealed:
wars, pestilences, earthquakes and persecutions. Then in Matthew
24:15-18, we are told about Antichrist (Abomination of Desolation)
declaring himself as god and the urgency by which we should flee him,
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of
by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him
understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains.
Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out
of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his
clothes.” This urgency is explained later, since when this happens, the
great tribulation will start and the Church will take flight, being carried
away into the wilderness by the wings of the great eagle. (Rev 12), “For
then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of
the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days
DAY OF THE LORD
should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's
sake those days shall be shortened.” (Matt 24:21-22)
Immediately after this we are told, “Then if any man shall say unto
you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise
false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and
wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very
elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto
you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret
chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east,
and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of
man be.” (Matt 24:23-27)
You see, even after Satan loses his greatest advocate (Antichrist) he
tries to lure the elect to their destruction. Now that Antichrist is gone,
having been sent alive to Gehenna by the Lord Himself, the only
expectation of the elect, who were given victory over Antichrist and the
Great Tribulation by the Lamb in whom they trusted, and to whom they
remained steadfastly faithful, is the coming of the Son of God to take
them into His heavenly kingdom. Satan, knowing this, will use this
heightened expectation of the imminent second coming to his own
advantage. How is he going to do this? By false christs! Rumors that
Christ has appeared here or that he is there, in the hope of luring the
elect into believing in these false christs and thus losing there salvation.
Imagine how ingenious this plan is, if he (Satan) could not deceive the
elect by the greatest false christ of all time (Antichrist) then he tries
something else, the various false christs that will appear during the
“forty-five days” and try to deceive even if it were possible, the elect.
It is for this reason that the Lord admonishes us at length, “if any man
shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. ... if they
shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he
is in the secret chambers; believe it not. ... Behold, I have told you
before.” Then He tells us the secret of His second coming, “For as the
lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so
shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” This means, since when
lightening appears every body sees it whether they are in the east or in
the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man, every one will
see Him equally, and no one needs to be told about His coming, for
“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him.” (Rev 1:7)
DAY OF THE LORD
Since every eye shall see Him, then it would be foolish to listen to
others telling us that he has already come! And a further clue is given
us in the same verse, “Behold He cometh with clouds.” So, Christ,
unlike Antichrist and the false christs that will come after he is gone,
will come on the clouds, from heaven and not from earth.
This will be the desperate attempt that Satan will put forward,
hoping that if it were possible, to deceive the very elect. But God
forbids that those who endure the Great Tribulation in the sure
knowledge that Christ will come and save them, should follow those
false christs.
SATAN’S FINAL ASSAULT ON THE CHURCH:
Having failed to destroy the elect by tricking them into going after
the false christs, Satan now plays his last desperate card: an all out
assault on the Church using whatever forces remain at his disposal in a
world already half destroyed. Revelation 20:7-9 summarizes for us this
final assault of Satan on the elect:
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of
his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four
quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to
battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up
on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints
about, and the beloved city.
The thousand years has ben dealt with in a previous chapter. The
Church believes that the thousand years began with Christ’s redeeming
death on the cross, by which the strong man (Satan) was bound and his
goods (the souls that were his captives in Hades) were spoiled (Matt
12:29). It will end in the last days before the second coming of the
Lord.
Satan will use nations that have not taken part in the events that
ended in the destruction of Babylon. These nations are called Gog and
Magog. Note that we are told that they “compassed the camp of the
saints about” that means they came against the place prepared by God
for the “Woman clothed by the Sun” (the Church) where she shall be
kept away from the tyranny of Antichrist, (see Revelation 12 and our
chapter on the flight of the Church.) More details about this final war
against the church are given to us in Ezekiel 38, 39 and Zechariah 14:
DAY OF THE LORD
Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the prince of
Rosh,1 Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the prince of
Rosh, Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks
into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and
horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great
company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia,
Kush, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer,
and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all
his bands: and many people with thee. (Ezek 38:2-6)
Almost all commentators agree that Gog, the land of Magog refers to
parts of the former Soviet Union. Specifically it refers to the lands
north of the Black Sea. Some people think that Rosh symbolizes
modern day Russia and Meshech symbolizing Moscow. Tubal may
refer to either the Tobol river which runs for a 1000 miles (1,600 km)
through Kazakhstan and ends in Siberia near Tobolsk or Tobolsk itself.
Whether we accept these views or not, the consensus of opinion is that
this refers to the former Soviet Union, a great force that so far has not
been involved in the turmoil close to the end.
We are also told that together with the former Soviet Union, Persia
(modern day Iran,) Kush (modern day Sudan) as well as Libya will
come marching against the Church of the elect.
Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to
cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same
time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil
thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages;
I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling
without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to
take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now
inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations.
(Ezek 38:9-12)
1KJV has “chief prince” instead of Prince of Rosh, but almost all
other versions including the Arabic version have “prince of Rosh”
The Septuagint has “prince of Rohs”
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Notice that the Church in its place of refuge will have no fortifications
or walls or gates since the only defense she will have are the two wings
of the great eagle.
"And to the woman were given two wings of the great eagle, that she
might fly into the wilderness, where she is nourished for a time, and
times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." That refers to the
one thousand two hundred and threescore days (the half of the week)
during which the tyrant is to reign and persecute the Church, which
flees from city to city, and seeks concealment in the wilderness among
the mountains, possessed of no other defense than the two wings of the
great eagle, that is to say, the faith of Jesus Christ, who, in stretching
forth His holy hands on the holy tree, unfolded two wings, the right and
the left, and called to Him all who believed upon Him, and covered
them as a hen her chickens.1
Note also how the place is described as “desolate places that are now
inhabited” which agrees with Revelation 12, where we are told that the
Church will be given “ two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into
the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and
times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” (Rev 12:14)
The Church will be kept safe and “nourished” or looked after by the
Lord during her sojourn in the wilderness in the same way that the Lord
nourished and protected the Church of the Old Testament for forty
years in the wilderness of Sinai. The prophecy of Ezekiel tells us that
the Church will be at rest and dwelling safely. We are also told in the
same prophesy that the “camp of the saints” or the place of refuge of
the elect during the Great Tribulation will be made up of “peoples that
are gathered out of the nations,” that means the elect from all over the
world will be gathered in this one place.
Satan’s final assault on the Church will fail, even as his first assault
on the fleeing Church failed, as we are told in Revelation 12:15-16:
And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman,
that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth
helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up
the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
1Hoppolytus of Rome: Treatise on Christ and Antichrist
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Revelation 20:9-10 tells us how God will defend his elect against this
final assault of Satan, and his armies of Gog, Magog and their allies:
and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And
the devil that deceived them was 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.
The destruction of the armies gathered by Satan will herald the
destruction of the world, since immediately after that verse we are told
that the great day of Judgment will come about:
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face
the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for
them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the
books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book
of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written
in the books, according to their works. (Rev 20: 11-12)
Now we have to pause a little, for before the destruction of the world
will come about some very important events that are narrated for us in
various parts of the scripture, which we will summarize here.
THE SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN:
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matt 24:30)
Here is what St.Cyril tells us about the sign of the Son of Man:
But what is the sign of His coming? lest a hostile power dare to
counterfeit it. And then shall appear, He says, the sign of the Son of
Man in heaven. Now Christ's own true sign is the Cross; a sign of a
luminous Cross shall go before the King, plainly declaring Him who was
formerly crucified.1
1St. Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical lectures, lecture XV
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A luminous Cross will appear in heaven, then the Lord will be seen by
all in His second coming, awesome and full of glory. To the elect, this
will be the sign of victory, to the rest of the world, this will be the sign
of doom, as we are told in Rev 1:7:
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they
also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because
of him.
Revelation 6:15-17 gives us more detail of the terror of the people of
the world at seeing the Lord in His Parousia (second coming):
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and
the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every
free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the
face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
On the contrary, when the elect see the sign of the Son of Man, and
then see the Lord coming on the clouds, they shall sing this song that
Isaiah 25:9 prophetically proclaims:
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for
him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we
will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPET:
Saint Paul tells us another detail about the second coming of our
Lord:
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in
Christ shall rise first. (I Thes 4:16)
The Church Fathers always believed that the Archangel (Michael) will
sound his trumpet to announce the resurrection of those who died in
Christ. That is why, in the hymns of Easter, we call Archangel Michael
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“the trumpeter of the resurrection.” The trumpet is also mentioned in
I Corinthians 15:52:
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed.
THE RAPTURE:
Immediately following that, Christ will send His angels, to gather the
rest of the elect who are alive at His second coming, and bring them up
to meet Him on the clouds. They will not die, but will be suddenly
changed into the body of the resurrection, a body similar to the body of
the resurrection of the Lord (an immortal body). Please note that in I
Corinthians 15:52, we are told that when the trumpet sounds, the dead
(in Christ) shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. St.
Paul emphasizes this again in I Corinthians 15:51 “Behold, I shew you
a mystery; We shall not all sleep , but we shall all be changed.” St. Paul
here is speaking about the elect that will be alive at the second coming
of our Lord, who will not sleep (die), but will be changed. That the
change will make our mortal bodies similar to the glorified body of the
resurrection of the Lord is explained to us in Philippians 3:21, “Who
shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his
glorious body.” St. Paul emphasizes that the resurrection of those who
died in Christ will precede the “change” of those who are alive at the
second coming:
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are
alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them
which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with
a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead in Christ shall rise first. (I Thes 4:15-16)
The change of the bodies of the elect will be followed immediately by
“the rapture,” a technical term applied to the gathering of the elect
unto the Lord in the clouds, as we are told in 1 Thessalonians 4:17:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be
with the Lord.
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So, the dead in Christ shall rise first and come with the Lord in His
second coming, since St. Paul tells us that those which are alive at the
second coming will be caught up with them (i.e, with the risen saints)
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. This agrees with what St. Jude
tells us in Jude 1:14-15 about the saints coming with the Lord:
Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute
judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of
all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all
their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
This taking up of the elect to meet the Lord on the clouds has already
been declared to us by the Lord Himself in Matthew 24:30-31:
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall
send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather
together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other.
Revelation 14 tells us that this gathering of the elect will precede the
punishment of Gog and his armies, and the destruction of the world:
And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like
unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his
hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying
with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and
reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth
is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and
the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which
is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out
from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to
him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and
gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
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.
And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of
the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand
and six hundred furlongs. (Rev 14:14-20)
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This scene, which St. John saw in heaven clearly shows us two events
following one another in sequence. The first sickle that reaps the earth
corresponds to the angels gathering the elect to meet the Lord in the
air, the ‘rapture of the elect.’ The second sickle is the destruction of the
wicked represented by the enormous blood shed. Note that the second
reaping is ordered by the angel having power over fire, for the
destruction of the world will be by “fire which comes down from God.”
THE FIERY DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD:
There are many verses in the Bible that tell us that the day of the
Lord (the second coming of the Lord) will be associated with a fiery end
of the world. Here are some of these verses:
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour
before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. (Ps 50:3)
A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. (Ps
97:3)
For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a
whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of
fire. For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh:
and the slain of the LORD shall be many. (Isa 66:15-16)
The strongest indication of this, however, is given to us in St. Peter’s
second epistle, chapter 3:
But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are
kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and
perdition of ungodly men. (II Pet 3:7)
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which
the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein
shall be burned up. (II Pet 3:10)
To me, personally, the image given by St. Peter for the fiery end of the
world looks like that of a major thermo-nuclear war. Another passage
in the Old Testament that strongly suggests this is found in the Book of
Zechariah:
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And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the
people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume
away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume
away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
(ZEC 14:12)
Jerusalem here refers to the Church, the true Jerusalem rather than the
earthly Jerusalem that killed the prophets and stoned those that were
sent unto her, and to whom the Lord said, “Behold, your house is left
unto you desolate.” (Matt 23:37-38) The people that are fighting
against her are Gog and Magog and all the earth that is now gathered
around Satan in his final assault on the Church. There was a movie
made about what would happen in a Thermo-nuclear war. The movie
was actually very well researched, it was called “The Day After.” Any
one who had watched that movie will relate to the words “Their flesh
shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes
shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away
in their mouth.” The Bible even tells us how this massive thermonuclear
war will come to pass:
And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord
shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of
his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his
neighbour. (Zec 14:13)
And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains,
saith the Lord God: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
(Eze 38:21)
What this suggests is that the Lord will cause confusion among the
multitude of nations coming to destroy the Church, so that, instead,
their weapons shall be deployed against each other. Imagine if all the
nuclear warheads that are left in the apostate world would be fired in
all directions. That is what these passages suggest to me. The whole
earth will be a gigantic ball of fire. The prophet Isaiah gives us the grim
result in Isaiah 34:9
And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof
into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
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The elect, of course, will be spared this, since they will be “caught up to
meet the Lord in the air” moments before God passes His righteous
judgment against the world and the prince of the world.
The general resurrection will have to follow so that the judgment
takes place. Those who died in Christ will be resurrected first, and will
come with the Lord in His second coming. Those who are alive at the
Lord’s Parousia will change and will be caught up to meet the Lord in
the air. The rest of the dead will then be resurrected to be judged.
That is why we say that Christ will come to judge the living and the
dead.
THE HERESY OF THE “LEFT BEHIND”:
For 19 centuries, the Church believed that the “rapture” or the
snatching of the elect from earth will happen on the great day of the
Lord, just before the end of the world. Towards the end of the
nineteenth century, a mercenary preacher decided to change this
universal understanding of the rapture and substitute it with his own
erroneous views. The error spread like fire among many who call
themselves “Evangelicals” and millions are now lead astray by this
fallacy. Here is what Time Magazine recently wrote about the preacher
and his innovation:
An Anglican priest turned travelling evangelical preacher named John
Nelson Darby, who arrived in the U.S. in 1862 for the first of seven
visits, bearing a radical new eschatology. His most striking innovation
was the timing of a concept called the ‘Rapture,’ drawn from the
Apostle Paul’s prediction that believers would fly up to meet Christ in
heaven. Most theologians understood it as part of the Resurrection at
time’s very end. Darby repositioned it at the Apocalypse’s very
beginning, a small shift with large implications. It spared true believers
the Tribulation, leaving the horror to non believers and the doctrinally
misled, thus moving Christianity’s us-vs. -them concept of heaven and
hell into a new and exciting theatre.1
1Time Magazine July 1, 2002
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According to this fantasy, true believers (meaning Evangelical
Christians) will be caught up into heaven just before the Great
Tribulation and thus being spared the tyranny of Antichrist or the
agonizing decision whether to follow him or be banished with the rest
of the elect. They leave this to the rest of us, who disagree with their
fantastic but wrong doctrine. The heresy lead into literally hundreds of
books, tapes, videos and even movies showing the snatching of the “true
Christians” from among the others, who will be “left behind!”
The danger of this heresy is that it gives those who believe it a false
sense of security. It makes teaching about Antichrist and the Great
Tribulation unnecessary, since according to the myth, “true Christians”
will be taken up to heaven to be spared all of the above! Of course
those who are deceived by this myth will be caught unawares by the
coming of Antichrist and the Great Tribulation, and, having allowed
themselves to be duped into this false sense of security, will be among
the first that will join themselves to the Tyrant, since they will be totally
unprepared to deal with the situation at hand.
The videos and movies that are made about this are very
entertaining! But they are more science fiction than doctrine!
THE JUDGMENT:
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels
with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him
shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from
another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall
set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the
King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave
me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed
me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we
thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when
saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall
answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto
me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me,
ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye
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gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and
ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall
they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or
athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not
minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say
unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did
it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but
the righteous into life eternal. (Matt 25:31-46)
This is how the Lord Himself describes the day of Judgment. The day
of Judgment, of course has to be preceded by the general resurrection,
because, as St. Paul tells us in II Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all
appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive
the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it
be good or bad.” So, the judgment has to be for both body and soul in
as much as both body and soul have been partners in the deeds whether
they be good or evil, so, both have to give account of these deeds and
receive the wages of these deeds. This is also clear from the words of
our Lord in John 5:28-29:
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the
graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done
good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto
the resurrection of damnation.
Note that the deciding factor here is works! “Those that have done
good” and “they that have done evil.” The same is said in Proverbs
24:12, “Doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that
keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every
man according to his works?” And again in Matthew 16:27 we are told,
“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his
angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”
There is nothing said here about faith! No verse in the Bible says
that the judgment will be according to faith! So, what will happen to
the unbelievers? To those who do not believe in God? Psalm 1
answers this question for us, “Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in
the judgment.” (Ps 1:5) Why would the ungodly or the unbelievers not
stand in the judgment? Our Lord answers this question for us in John
3:17-18:
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For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that
the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already.
According to the Bible, the unbelievers have already been condemned.
They do not deserve to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Only
those who believe will be judged, and only on the basis of works!
This brings us to another error that has crept into some Christian
congregations recently. This is called “The doctrine of eternal security”
or “assured salvation.” This error that has crept into Christian thought
within the last 100 years, states that a “believer” has already been saved
by the grace of God. He is assured of a place in heaven on account of
God’s own purpose and election. According to this view, works are
worthless. Some people even teach that works are an “insult” to the all-
sufficient grace of God. Those people depend on verses like the one
quoted above “He that believes on him is not condemned” to prove
their error.
What is meant here is that there are two stages for the judgment,
one based on faith, and this decides whether you will stand trial or be
summarily condemned. And according to the verse quoted above, if
you are an unbeliever, you have already been condemned and you don’t
deserve to stand trial. Those who believe, are not condemned in this
“triage” to separate the believers from the unbelievers, but they still
have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ to be judged according
to their works!
Those on the left (the goats of Matthew 25) protest their judgment
by saying, “Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto
thee?” People who say these words are not unbelievers! They address
the Judge as “Lord” and insist that they would have done these good
works had they realized that it was the Lord indeed that needed food
and drink and raiment! The same is very clearly stated by our Lord in
Matthew 7:21-23:
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in
thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto
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them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
What this means is that you can be a believer, and a “prophet” even an
exorcist and a miracle worker in the name of the Lord and yet if you
“work iniquity” you will not be saved on that judgment day. The same
we are told in Luke 13:23-28:
Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said
unto them, Strive to enter in at the straight gate: for many, I say unto
you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master
of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand
without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and
he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then
shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and
thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you
not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Those who are going to be left behind once “the master of the house is
risen up, and hath shut to the door,” are all believers! They plead with
Him saying, “Lord, Lord, open unto us!” They acknowledge Him as
Lord, and they want to be with Him. They even give evidence of
knowing Him by saying, “We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and
thou hast taught in our streets.” Probably meaning, “we have often
taken Communion and listened to many sermons,” but they hear the
awesome words, “depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” He did
not say “depart from me, all ye unfaithful ones” or “O ye of little faith”
but “all ye workers of iniquity.” There shall be “weeping and gnashing
of teeth.” The Parable of the ten virgins illustrates this very clearly:
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which
took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of
them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their
lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their
vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all
slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the
bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose,
and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of
your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not
so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them
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that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the
bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the
marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins,
saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say
unto you, I know you not. (Matt 25:1-12)
You see, all ten were virgins, which means pure and dedicated. All
were invited to the wedding, which means they were among those who
were called. They all went to meet the Bridegroom, that means that
they all knew the Bridegroom and believed in Him. They all wanted to
be with Him. The difference is that five took their lamps (faith) but did
not take oil (works). The rest is history. You see, faith without works
is like a lamp without oil, it cannot shine. “Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father
which is in heaven.” (Matt 5:16) The works are the light that shines, and
without works your faith cannot shine. Listen to what St James tells us,
“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”
(Jas 2:20) “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without
works is dead also!” (Jas 2:26) So, according to Biblical teachings if you
think that faith alone gives you “eternal security” or “assurance of
salvation” you are “foolish” (Matt 25:2) and “vain.” (Jas 2:20) The
Book of Revelation gives us more information about the day of
Judgment:
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books
were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life:
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which
were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them:
and they were judged every man according to their works. And death
and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire. (Rev 20:12-15)
We are told that books were opened, books that record our works, for
we are told that people will be judged, “out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their works.” And once again we are
told, “and they were judged every man according to their works.”
DAY OF THE LORD
What about the other Book, the one called “the Book of Life”? The
Book of life is a record of all believers. Your name was entered into the
Book of Life when you were baptized. When the priest inquires into
the name of the baptized and enters it into a register, he is not only
doing this for book-keeping purposes. He is doing this as a symbol that
the name of the baptized has been entered into the Book of Life.
However, having your name in the Book of Life is no guarantee that
you will inherit Eternal Life because, through your works, you can have
your name blotted out of the Book of Life! The Lord himself tells us
so, in Rev 3:5, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white
raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I
will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”
A condition for having your name Not blotted out, out of the book of
life, is that, you have to overcome! Overcome what? Overcome the
world like the Lord, Who told us, “I have overcome the world.” (John
16:33) Overcome sin and the lusts of the flesh. To overcome means to
strive to enter through the strait gate, “Strive to enter in at the strait
gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be
able.” (Luke 13:24)
This is very frightening! “Many shall seek to enter in, but shall not
be able!” How come? “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
(Matt 22:14) Every one that has been baptized is “called” but few are
the chosen, those who strive and overcome! This “calling” only gives
us hope not assurance as St. Paul tells us in Eph 1:18, “The eyes of your
understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of
his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the
saints.” And again, in Ephesians 4:4, “There is one body, and one
Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” The calling
gives us hope that we may be “Chosen” or “elected.” St. Peter
reinforces this in II Peter 1:10, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give
diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these
things, ye shall never fall.” So, we have to be diligent to make both our
calling and election “sure.” St. Peter does not say “do nothing, just
believe and your calling and your election shall be assured.” He says, be
diligent to make your calling and your election assured! And St. Paul
very clearly tells us the same thing in different words, “work out your
own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Phil 2:12) With fear and
trembling, he says, not assurance and security. I think we have said
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enough about the fallacy of “eternal security” or “assured salvation.”
THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH:
God promised us a new heaven and a new earth, in which He will
live forever with His elect, in eternal happiness. God will restore the
world and all the creation into the happy state in which He had created
it, before the fall of Adam and Eve brought a curse on the earth. (Gen
3:17) God’s new creation is called the New (or Heavenly) Jerusalem.
Many passages of the Bible speak about this new world:
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall
not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for
ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing,
and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my
people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the
voice of crying. (Isa 65:17-19)
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a
new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (IIPet 3:13)
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (Rev 21:1)
What these verses tell us is a new creation, a new heaven and earth, in
which God will dwell with His people, His elect, those who had pleased
Him since the beginning. We are told that there will be joy, no more
weeping or crying. There will be sin no more, for righteousness shall
dwell in the new world. The Book of Revelation tells us that the sea
will be no more, for the sea in Apocalyptic language symbolizes sin.
That is why Revelation 13, tells us that the Beast (Antichrist,
Abomination of Desolation) will come out of the sea which symbolizes
sin. Note that St. Paul calls him “that man of sin.” (II Thes 2:3) The
theme of joy and lack of sorrow is further emphasized for us in Isaiah
35:10:
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with
songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and
gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
DAY OF THE LORD
The Book of Revelation gives more information about this new world:
And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God
out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I
heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God
is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people,
and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the
former things are passed away. (Rev 21:2-4)
Here we are once again assured that pain , sorrow, and even death will
be found no more in this new Jerusalem. The Book of Isaiah also tells
us about the demise of death:
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away
tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away
from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. (Isa 25:8)
In this new world there will be no need for sun or moon, for God
Himself will be the light of this heavenly Jerusalem:
The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall
the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an
everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down;
neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine
everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy
people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the
branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
(Isa 60:19-21)
The Book of Revelation has a parallel passage to this:
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and
shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven
from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone
most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; And I saw no
temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the
temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon,
to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the
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light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the
light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour
into it. (Rev 21:10-11, 22-24)
Another very important aspect of the heavenly Jerusalem, is that, there
we will be able to see God face to face:
And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light
of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for
ever and ever. (Rev 22:4-5)
St. John lets us in on a secret, we will be able to see God because we will
be like Him: “when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall
see him as he is.” (I John 3:2) Not only will we be able to see God, but
we will be able to see Him as He is. That means we will be able to
know Him perfectly. “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then
face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am
known.” (I Cor 13:12) Because we will see God face to face, we will be
able to know him perfectly, even as much as he knows us! Because we
will be like Him, we will be able to see Him as He is, in His Divinity!
It is this vision of God and knowledge of God that is the most
wonderful aspect of the heavenly Jerusalem.
There are certain difficult passages about this new world that are
“hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable
wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”
(II Pet 3:16) We would like to discuss these passages and see how the
“unlearned and unstable” use them to teach “diverse and strange
doctrines”: (Heb 13:9)
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down
with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed;
their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like
the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the
weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not
hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of
the knowledge of the Lord. (Isa 11:6-9)
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The “unlearned and unstable” use these verses as “proof” of a thousand
year rule of Christ on earth, the so called millennial rule. The Church
has condemned this teaching in the Second Ecumenical council. What
these people say is that this description of the wolf co-existing with the
lamb and the lion eating straw must happen on earth during Christ’s
millennial rule. What they fail to understand is that these prophecies
pertain to the new earth that the Lord promised us: to the heavenly
Jerusalem. They shake their heads when we tell them this! They ask,
“Will the heavenly Jerusalem have animals?”! We answer, Why not?
The new heaven and the new earth are a restoration of heaven and
earth to their pure state before the fall of man. And, before the fall of
man, the lamb and the wolf co-existed, and the lion ate straw, as we are
told in Genesis 1:30:
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to
every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have
given every green herb for meat.
The whole creation was vegetarian, including man, as we are told in
Genesis 1:29:
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which
is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit
of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Animals lived in peace with each other and with man. There was no
violence among humans nor among animals, nor between humans and
animals. The whole creation of God lived in perfect harmony, until that
fateful day when Adam and Eve disobeyed God.
When Adam and Eve fell, human nature fell too. Adam’s first born
killed his brother because of that fallen nature. The rest of the creation
suffered because of the fall. The earth was cursed:
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice
of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee,
saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in
sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and
thistles shall it bring forth to thee. (Gen 3:17-18)
DAY OF THE LORD
Because of Adam’s sin, the nature of the earth became corrupted,
instead of bringing up “every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good
for food” (Gen 2:9) it started to bring up thorns and thistles.
The nature of the animals too became fallen. God created all the
animals tame and under the authority of Adam and Eve:
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and
let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the
air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own
image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he
them. (Gen 1:26-27)
Man was created in God’s image of authority, that’s why we say in the
liturgy of St. Gregory, “Thou hast inscribed in me the image of Thine
Authority.”
God gave Adam the honour of naming all the creatures, and by
doing so, God has established Adam’s authority over all other
creatures, for he that names another is greater than he who receives
the name.
And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field,
and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he
would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that
was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the
fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field. (Gen 2:19-20)
But when Adam fell, he lost this authority over other creatures. In
Genesis 37:20 we learn that beasts can devour a man:
Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit,
and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see
what will become of his dreams.
You see, even the beasts became evil after the fall of Adam. But, in
the restoration of the seed of Adam, the earth that has been cursed will
also be restored with all the creatures on it. Here is what St. Paul tells
us in Romans 8:19-23:
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For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the
manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to
vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same
in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the
bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain
together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have
the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves,
waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
What this means is that even as we are groaning within ourselves
awaiting for that restoration of our nature to incorruptibility, the whole
creation is also groaning and waiting with us for this restoration,
because once we are restored to incorruptibility, they too will be
“delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of
the children of God.” Then the wolf shall co-exist with the lamb, and
the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
THE LAKE OF FIRE:
If God’s elect will live happily ever after in the heavenly Jerusalem,
the wicked and the unbelievers will be eternally tormented in the lake
of fire.
And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that
have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall
their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. (Isa
66:24)
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers,
and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have
their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is
the second death. (Rev 21:8)
THE DAY WILL COME SUDDENLY:
All these things will happen suddenly and unexpectedly, that is why
we should watch and be sober and prepare ourselves for that day,
hoping to stand on the right hand of the Lord, so that we may enjoy the
delights of the heavenly Jerusalem.
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And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the
Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were
given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the
flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days
of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted,
they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained
fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall
it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. (Luk 17:26-30)
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a
thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then
sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with
child; and they shall not escape. (I Thes 5:2-3)
St. Paul later on tells us that we shouldl not be afraid of this:
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that day should overtake you as
a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we
are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do
others; but let us watch and be sober. (I Thes 5:4-6)
Even though we as children of light should not be afraid of that day, yet
we have to “watch and be sober” St. Peter tells us the same thing:
Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest
ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own
stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. (IIPet 3:17)
WE SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID:
As Christians, we should not be afraid to think about these things,
but, if we stay sober and faithful, should rather look forward to that Day
of the Lord. For, even though it will bring destruction to the world, it
will bring salvation and eternal life for us. We should encourage each
other and strengthen those who are weak.
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up
your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Luk 21:28)
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Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of
persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking
for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens
being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent
heat. (IIPet 3:11)
Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to
them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God
will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come
and save you.(Isa 35:3-4)
Surely I come quickly.
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (Rev 22:20)
IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD?
In the last issue of PAROUSIA, of November 2002, we published the
final chapter of our series, THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION.
It never occurred to me that we will re-visit that subject so soon!
Things, however, worked differently than we anticipated, as I will
explain.
Sometime during the month of December, I was researching
something on the Net when this screen attracted my attention in one of
the web-sites:
Maitreya is the Biblical Antichrist... 666!*
He exists on Earth right now, and this is NO JOKE.
Very soon, he will make his presence known,
and by then it will be too late!
Mankind is in real danger!
I remembered that we wrote something about this Maitreya in one of
our previous chapters on THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION.
I looked into my files and indeed, in the December 1998 edition of
PAROUSIA, I found the following passage:
In the article “The Reign of Antichrist” referred to above and which
was published in Parousia six years ago, it was mentioned that
Antichrist will be introduced as “universal teacher.” A few days ago,
while on the plane back from St. John’s, NF, I read this ad in the Globe
and Mail (December 12, 1998):
AS THE BUDDHA of Compassion, Messiah,
Imam Mahdi and Christ, Maitreya the World
Teacher is now here. All humanity will see him
soon. How will we recognize him? What is he
saying? Free info: 1-888-278-TARA.
At the time I made no further comment on this small ad in the
classified section of Canada’s largest newspaper. I merely pointed to the
similarity between the word “World Teacher” in the ad and a previous
article published in PAROUSIA, December 1992, in which Antichrist
was presented as “universal teacher”.
IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD? 175
The next step was to do a search of the word “Maitreya” on the Net.
The shock came when “Yahoo” search engine churned out 89,500 sites,
not only in English, but also in French, Italian, Russian, Romanian,
Japanese, Korean, and a whole pile of other languages. What I saw on
these sites was mind boggling, and I intend to share with you some of
these things, adding my two pennies worth of thoughts, as I usually do.
A few sites attacked him outright as Antichrist, including an
influential Catholic site. One site tried calculating his name and came
up with 666, but the article is not very convincing. Some sites advertised
books about him, others CD’s or tapes. There were retreats offered and
youth clubs named after him, as well as all sorts of places where you can
buy water blessed by him. A pharmacy in France even had “water
tablets” made from springs he is supposed to had “magnetized”!
It was quite obvious that he had a powerful organization working for
him, promoting him as Lord, Saviour, Teacher and Christ. This is how
he is introduced to first time visitors to the sites:
Many now expect the return of their awaited Teacher, whether they call
him the Christ, Messiah, the fifth Buddha, Krishna, or the Imam Mahdi.
Few know that the Teacher who fulfills all these expectations already
lives among us now.
Although the names are different, many believe that they all refer
to the same individual: the World Teacher, whose personal name is
Maitreya (pronounced my-tray-ah). Preferring to be known simply as
the Teacher.
HIS SOCIAL AGENDA:
The world is portrayed to be in a hopeless condition and in need for
a great social reformer with a new agenda that caters to the needs of the
masses:
At this time of great political, economic and social crisis Maitreya will
inspire humanity to see itself as one family, and create a civilization
based on sharing, economic and social justice, and global cooperation.
He will launch a call to action to save the millions of people who starve
to death every year in a world of plenty. Among Maitreya's
recommendations will be a shift in social priorities so that adequate
food, housing, clothing, education, and medical care become universal
rights.
Under Maitreya's inspiration, humanity itself will make the required
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IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD?
changes and create a saner and more just world for all. He is here to
inspire us to create a new era based on sharing and justice, so that all
may have the basic necessities of life: food, shelter, health care, and
education.
Maitreya's social concerns are reflected in his list of priorities: an
adequate supply of the right food, adequate housing for all, healthcare
and education as universal rights. His social message can be
summarized in a few words: "Share and save the world." Maitreya
knows we will accept his message and that we are on the threshold of
an era of peace and goodwill.
In our December 1999 issue we wrote the following:
He will offer a plan for the successful resolution of the world crisis,
based on social and political wisdom - the establishing of a uniform
political and social structure over the whole world. Mankind, being
spiritually blind, will not recognize this project as a cunning snare luring
it into the most merciless, continual slavery. To the contrary, man will
hail Antichrist's manifestations of great erudition, wisdom and genius.
Worldwide publicity of Antichrist as a genius-thinker, a new leader and
a saviour of all peoples will flash throughout all nations in the shortest
period of time.
HIS TEACHINGS:
In the same issue we wrote concerning Antichrist:
Most of the Fathers believe that Antichrist will present to the world a
false facade of piety and righteousness that will make him look
blameless to the eyes of the naive and unspiritual. Faced with corrupt
politicians and money-crazed Tele-evangelists, the world will see in the
Beast (Antichrist) a fresh leader, whose reputation is so impeccable,
that any one trying to warn people against his deceiving exterior will be
looked upon as a raving fanatic or even a lunatic!
Maitreya’s “sermons” portray him as a champion of morals and family
values. Here are excerpts from a sermon on “The Family”:
The family unit is the basis of all social life. Its importance cannot be
over-emphasized. Today, this pre-eminence is being eroded by neglect,
experiment and a misunderstanding of the essential needs of children.
All children need a stable background in which to grow and the
IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD? 177
exemplars of that process, a mother and father. That not all parents
provide that stability or offer worthy examples is, sadly, all too true, and
many factors are involved in this unfortunate condition: lack of
education, poverty, inadequate housing, illness, and irresponsible and
feckless adults, immature and unfit for the rigours of family life.
The young couples commence the subtle and difficult art of upbringing
and nourishing of souls in incarnation with little more than their
conditioning to guide them. That conditioning they duly pass to their
children and so the follies and ignorance perpetuate. Thus the need for
the light of a new approach to this sacred service.
Today, there is an added and growing twist to the problem. Mounting
sexual experimentation in the field of family life is leading to a
distortion and misunderstanding of the true nature of the parent-child
relation. The child is a soul in a family of souls. Hierarchy is not the
enemy of homosexuals, but the growing demand of homosexual men
and women for the right to raise children is mistaken and unhelpful to
the child. All people, of whatever sexual persuasion, should think deeply
about the nature and purpose of incarnation: the nurturing of souls
who need a mother and a father to provide the examples, guidance and
karmic opportunity to grow and evolve according to the Plan. If, for
whatever reason, people feel inadequate to the task, a wise
self-sacrifice for this life may be the wisest course.
Any one reading this will certainly be impressed. Even the position
towards homosexuals and their demands for parenting are very
reasonable. Certainly, anyone calling such a man “Antichrist” will be
ridiculed, on account of the “great words”(Dan 7:11) that he is saying.
A PEACE MAKER:
Maitreya’s political views are in no measure less wise than his views
on values. Here is what he says about September 11:
The minds of most are focused on the political crisis which threatens to
destabilize the world. This is natural and inevitable. The hysteria
engendered in the United States by the events of 11 September 2001
has swept across much of the world. The fighting talk and tone of the
American President has fanned the flames of fear, making it all but
impossible to take a balanced view. That such a balanced view is to be
desired is obvious if correct assessments and responses are to be made.
Speculation and rumour hold sway in the present situation and drain
the vitality of the watching world.
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IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD?
On the Palestinian-Israeli situation, he says:
There can't be true peace in the world until 'the Middle East' question
is settled. ... So deep are the feelings aroused in both sides, so
entrenched are the positions which each adopt, that I believe Maitreya
alone has the spiritual authority to point to the solution and achieve its
implementation.
I have always been of the opinion that whoever solves the Arab-Israeli
conflict will be Antichrist!
On the war with Iraq, he says:
The first priority is true knowledge of the facts. This, however, is hard
to find. So many voices chant or scream their various conflicting
information, so many opinions are elevated to the status of facts, that
few can be believed or listened to with respect. Under such conditions
caution and restraint are wisely counselled.
Comprehensive actions are under way and planned, and few can see
whereto they lead. Our view is that they will be both positive and
negative in effect: the destruction of a bleak and punitive tyranny at the
cost of many innocent lives, and the further destabilization of an area
already in crisis.
There are voices in America and elsewhere which call for caution but,
it would seem, they are not strong enough to stem the passion of the
group of zealots around the President. They are lost in the glamour of
power and will take much to bring to reason. The oil-rich sands of Iraq
are too tempting a target for their unconstrained greed and urge to
dominate.
This indifference to world opinion can be maintained for a time only.
World events, events of a different nature, are moving now so fast that
they will outstrip these men of the past, locked in the outworn methods
of the past, and consign them, silently, to that vanishing yesterday.
Maitreya, the Great Lord, is emerging and will show the way. Be not
discouraged for all will be well.
What wisdom! And what a balanced approach! The last paragraph
actually gives me shivers. A war with Iraq that goes wrong can be the
opportunity Satan is waiting for (or working hard to achieve) in order
to bring about his “Great Lord” that will fix everything.
IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD? 179
THE SPIRITUAL SAGE:
Maitreya speaks words of spiritual wisdom that almost match those
of the Desert Fathers. Here is a sample:
“Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” There can be few, especially
in the Western world, who are unfamiliar with this ancient Christian
maxim. Passed down the generations from adult to child, it has found
its way into the moral framework of countless millions. However,
despite this long conversance, there are relatively few who appear to
understand its meaning, and even fewer who live its wisdom.
Essentially, it concerns detachment. The evil -- the criticism, destructive
gossip and actions -- which abounds in most so-called ‘spiritual’ groups,
succeeds in its intent where there is no detachment. Its bitter and
corrosive venom flourishes where it is given the energy of constant
thought and defence.
When evil strikes the best defence, then, is detachment. When the
hunted animal stands, silent and still, the hunter, baffled, goes
empty-handed. When a man is detached -- free from fear and the need
to retaliate -- he can calmly leave the Great Law to fight his battle for
him. Thus the evil gains not, nor waxes in strength. This profound
teaching of the Christ is usually expressed as an injunction against
carrying injury or hurt from day to day -- thus prolonging its life and
further hurting the victim. This relates closely to the Christian concept
of forgiveness. When a man is truly detached he has already forgiven.
He waits patiently for the originator of the evil to realize the harm he
does to himself, the victim and the group, and to make amends. Thus
is the evil blunted and thus is it “sufficient unto the day.”
How can anyone attack a person that says these words of wisdom? How
can you tell people, “This could be Antichrist, the man of sin, the Beast
of Revelation 13.” Here is a comment by one of his helpers:
When Maitreya, the Great Lord, emerges fully and publicly, He will
devote much time to the concept of detachment. Not for nothing is it
central to His Teaching: He has already given His thoughts on honesty
of mind, sincerity of spirit and detachment. Not all, at first, will be able
to follow His thoughts but in time His energy of Love will awaken men
to the practicality of His wisdom. Gradually, the old, mechanical
reactions of hate and envy will disappear as the social needs are met,
as more and more are lifted up by the joy of working for Maitreya's
cause.
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IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD?
Maitreya’s “sermons” are collected in a book that people can buy on
the Net titled: “Messages from Maitreya the Christ”
HIS MIRACLES:
No one who is familiar with the scriptural passages concerning
Antichrist will be ignorant of the fact that his coming will be
accompanied by great false miracles wrought by Satan. People who
promote Maitreya, list many miracles that they attribute to him,
complete with very impressive pictures on the Internet.
Weeping and bleeding statues; healing crosses of light and springs of
water; divine messages inscribed by the seeds within fruits and
vegetables; bronze and stone sacred statues that appear to drink milk
-- through such steadily increasing signs and manifestations, now widely
reported in the media, he has touched the hearts of millions, preparing
them for his imminent emergence.
The age of miracles has no end. Miracles? What sort of miracles?
And why do we need them? Why? Because Maitreya hopes, by means
of these ‘miracles’, to strengthen the climate of hope and expectancy
in to which he can emerge as the Teacher for all humanity. And
indeed, over the last couple of years the world has seen thousands of
them. So many, in fact, that Life editor Peter Bonventre, in a cover
article wrote: “I started investigating and it would seem that there is a
real flood of spiritual phenomena taking place all over the world.”
CROSSES OF LIGHT:
Before 1988, no one had heard of them. Today, they dazzle people on
every continent: crosses of light suddenly appearing in windows. Even
science has taken an interest. In a tiny church in Knoxville, Tennessee,
they seemed to be 30 or 40 feet high. Weeks before the first one
appeared, Benjamin Creme announced that Maitreya was going to
amaze the world through a highly unusual light phenomenon.
Up to the present day, new crosses continue to be discovered from
Canada to New Zealand, Slovenia to the Philippines, Japan to
Germany. “Hundreds of people have visited the home of Carlos and
Ines Alvarez in Bakersfield, California, since the couple discovered a
large cross of light in their bathroom window on 7 March,” the
Bakersfield Californian wrote in 1996. “A lot of people think it’s a
message God is trying to send us because we’re in the last days,” said
Mrs Alvarez. According to the article, the family said a priest told
them the cross was a sign of the Second Coming.
IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD? 181
The most dangerous deception is that people confuse the coming of
Antichrist with the second coming of Christ. One simple fact: Christ
comes on the clouds. Antichrist comes to earth and does miracles.
CIRCLES OF LIGHT:
Share International magazine receives large numbers of photographs
from around the world showing ‘circles of light’ which suddenly appear
on buildings, pavements and other surfaces reflected when the sun
shines, and which often appear and disappear over a period of days and
weeks. Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms these light miracles are
another sign of Maitreya’s presence in the world. Here is a small
selection of photographs from the numerous packages received from
Share International readers. (Sorry, we can’t show you the pictures!)
WORLDWIDE HINDU MILK MIRACLE:
On Thursday 21 September 1995 the news swept around the world of
the extraordinary miracles of milk-drinking Hindu statues. Never
before in history has a simultaneous miracle occurred on such a global
scale. Television, radio and newspapers eagerly covered this unique
phenomenon, and even sceptical journalists held their milk-filled
spoons to the gods -- and watched, humbled, as the milk disappeared.
The media coverage was extensive, and although scientists and ‘experts’
created theories of “capillary absorption” and “mass hysteria,” the
overwhelming evidence and conclusion was that an unexplainable
miracle had occurred.
At the Southall temple in London the chairman Mr Bharbari offered his
explanation. “All I know is that our Holy Book says that wherever evil
prevails on earth then some great Soul will descend to remove the
bondage of evil so that right shall reign. We believe this miracle, and
those happening at other Hindu temples, may be a sign that a great
Soul has descended, like Lord Krishna or Jesus Christ.”
APPEARANCES AND VISIONS:
Equally impressive is the explosive growth in the number of miraculous
appearances. All over the world, people claim they have seen the Virgin
Mary or Jesus, or both. Many others talk about having met “angels.”
And hundreds of people see Maitreya in dreams, in visions, or in
reality.
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MAITREYA’S HAND:
The web site shows a picture of a mirror with a big life-like hand
imprinted on it. It is scary! Here is the caption:
This is the hand of Maitreya, portrayed on a mirror in a bathroom in
Barcelona. The lady-owner went into the guest bathroom and saw a
handprint on the mirror and cleaned it off. She thought no more about
it. A few days later when she went into her own bathroom she saw the
same handprint on the mirror. Like the Turin Shroud, it is a fantastic
hand. It is ‘real’, three-dimensional in appearance, similar to the print
on the Turin Shroud of the body of Jesus after the Crucifixion.
HEALING WELLS:
Since his appearance in Nairobi, Maitreya has re-enacted this event by
suddenly showing up in the midst of large audiences, usually groups of
fundamentalists. In advance, Maitreya often energizes water sources in
the vicinity of spots he is about to appear. So far, healing waters have
been discovered in Mexico, Germany, China and India.
PRIVATE APPEARANCES:
From 1991 to the present, Maitreya has been appearing miraculously
before gatherings of orthodox religious groups worldwide. He addresses
them briefly in their own language and is recognized by the majority of
people in attendance as their awaited Teacher. Maitreya also creates
healing springs of water in the areas near these appearances. These
healing waters in Mexico, Germany, and India have drawn millions of
visitors.
The promoters have a log for these appearances. They last on the
average 17 minutes and they involve religious congregations of 100-200
people: Christians, Moslems, Hindus, and Buddhists. In countries
where more than one religion exists, he appears to different religious
congregations. For in India, there are separate appearances to
Moslems, Hindus and Christians. Christian denominations are not
identified except Orthodox denominations which are recorded as
Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, etc. One appearance in Egypt is
claimed on September 30, 2001 in Luxor to 200 Moslems. There were
no appearances to Copts, but there was one appearance in Asmara,
Eritrea to 100 Orthodox Christians. The most puzzling appearance,
however, is the following:
IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD? 183
MAITREYA IN NAIROBI:
On 11 June 1988, a man suddenly appeared before a vast crowd in
Nairobi, Kenya, gathered to witness healing prayers. Instantly
recognizing the tall, white-robed figure as “Jesus Christ,” the crowds fell
down overcome with emotion. The editor of the Swahili edition of the
Kenya Times, veteran journalist Job Mutungi, witnessed the event and
took some pictures. A summary of his article as it appeared in his
newspaper follows. About 6,000 worshippers at Muslim Village,
Kawangware, Nairobi, believe they saw Jesus Christ, in broad daylight
last week. The scene was at the Church of Bethlehem, where Mary
Sinaida Akatsa conducts miracle prayers, praying for the sick, the blind,
cripples, mad people, and the barren. Worshippers were singing Mungu
ni Mwema, a popular Swahili hymn, when Mary Akatsa interjected. She
announced that God had spoken to her and told her to “await a miracle
because a very important guest would be coming to give her a very vital
message.”
Five minutes later, she asked those who were singing to stop as the
messenger had arrived. “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus of Nazareth!” went the
loud whispers from the crowd as they raised up their hands in divine
welcome.
The tall figure of a barefooted white-robed and bearded man appeared
from nowhere and stood in the middle of the crowd. He was walking
slowly towards the new church building away from the tent. Mary
walked with him, side by side. I stared at the stranger without blinking.
Strange, sporadic light wafted on top of his turbaned head, his feet and
his entire body.
In clear Swahili, which had no traces of accent, the strange man
announced that the people of Kenya were blessed, especially those who
had gathered at the venue that afternoon. “We are nearing the time
for the reign of heaven. But before that I shall come back and bring a
bucketful of blessings for all of you,” the man said. It took the crowd
nearly 20 minutes to recover after the man left the meeting in a car
belonging to a Mr Gurnam Singh, who offered to give him a lift. But it
will probably take Mr Singh his lifetime to recover from the shock he
got two minutes later. On reaching the bus terminus, the man informed
Mr Singh to stop the car. On getting out, he walked a few paces beside
the road and simply vanished into thin air
The promoters comment on the appearances by saying:
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IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD?
The people before whom he appears are in every case fundamentalists
of one persuasion or another. Denominationally they vary
tremendously but the consistent factor is that they are all extremely
dogmatic in their beliefs. Maitreya appears to them to soften them up.
These are the groups from whom, throughout the world, he expects the
major opposition and rejection. He speaks to them in their own
language and many healings take place during the process. He does not
say: “I am Maitreya,” “I am the Christ,” or “I am the Imam Mahdi,” he
just appears, out of the blue, but in a form which they will recognize -as
he did in Nairobi in Kenya, on 11 June 1988, an appearance of which
we have photographs.
The pictures from Nairobi are certainly very impressive. They were
published in a Nairobi newspaper, and show a man in his thirties,
dressed in an Old Testament style white Robe, with a thick black beard,
and a turban on his head that bears a lot of similarity to the Biblical
turban worn by Aaron and the other priests of the Old Testament. His
face is attractive, and one can sense a charismatic aura about him.
HIS APPEARANCE TO THE WORLD:
A major American television network has requested an interview with
Maitreya, which he has accepted. This interview will take place at the
earliest possible moment, to be determined by Maitreya. It is believed
that the timing is relative to the global financial collapse Maitreya
predicted and which is now coming to pass.
This interview is expected to be followed by major network interviews
in Japan and most probably in the UK, which will lead to an
international press conference and, ultimately, Maitreya's 'Day of
Declaration.'
Let me make a guess that the invitation is from CNN’s Larry King!
This interview will be followed by a world wide Television appearance,
that is called, “The Day of Declaration”:
At the earliest possible moment, Maitreya will demonstrate his true
identity. Through a growing public response to his presence, Maitreya
will be invited to speak to the entire world via the linked television
satellite networks. On this Day of Declaration, we will see his face on
television, but he will not actually speak. Instead, each of us will hear
his words telepathically in our own language as he simultaneously
IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD? 185
impresses the minds of all humanity. His energy of love will enter the
hearts of all, galvanizing humanity to save the world. At the same time,
hundreds of thousands of spontaneous healings will take place
throughout the world. In this way we will know that Maitreya is truly
the World Teacher for all humanity.
In our article of December 1999, we wrote:
The false prophet will order everyone on earth to make an image of the
Beast (Rev 12:14). “And he had power to give life unto the image of the
Beast, that the image of the Beast should speak. (Rev 12:15). Many
people believe that this image that comes to life and speaks is none
other than the almighty Television! Saint John in the Revelation saw
an image of Antichrist in every house and the image was “alive” and
speaking. Of course, St. John did not know that something called T.V.
would be invented nineteen centuries later.
This means that Antichrist will use Television to its maximum potential.
He will be on every channel and people will be worshipping him even
at home when they see him on T.V. delivering his sermons or giving his
“blessing” to his “flock”.
The promoters give us some more information on this “Day of
Declaration” on which their “Christ” will appear to the world:
This [Day of Declaration] will be a repetition, only now on a world
scale, of the true happenings of Pentecost, 2,000 years ago. . . . In
celebration of this event, Pentecost will become one of the major
festivals of the New World Religion which, eventually, Maitreya will
inaugurate.
In the same issue of December 1999, under the heading
“Antitheotokos”, we analysed in depth the pretensions of an evil spirit
that pretends to be the holy Virgin Mary. We gave this evil spirit the
name “Antitheotokos” (false Theotokos) This false prophetess also
spoke about a “second Pentecost.” Here is what she said about this:
The glorious reign of Christ will correspond to a general flowering of
holiness and purity, of love and justice, of joy and peace. For the hearts
of men will be transformed by the powerful force of the “holy spirit,”
who will pour himself out upon them through the miracle of the second
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IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD?
Pentecost.
The miraculous event of the second Pentecost must now be
accomplished, implored and expected by you. Again, there will be
descending upon the church and upon all humanity miraculous tongues
of fire.
RELATIONSHIP TO ANTICHRIST:
Every Christian who knows the Bible, knows that Antichrist has to
come first before Christ makes His Second Coming as we are told in II
Thes 2:3-4:
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, shewing himself that he is God.
The problem now is the first one that comes is Antichrist. Maitreya has
to solve this problem if he wants to have any chance with Christians.
Here is how he does this:
The Anti-Christ is a sum total of all that is negative in the world today.
Just as there is light and those who work in the light, there are those
who prefer the darkness. Their belief is that they are in truth, but they
are in their illusion. They do believe that they are right, and that those
in the light, who are positive and happy, are wrong.
The Anti-Christ is an energy. An energy made up of the collective
thought of anyone who is negative. Just as there is the Ultimate Being,
the God of the Light, there is the God of the dark, the Anti-Christ. The
more positive you are, the less fear you have, the more faith that you
have, the more you support the Light, the more you will move forward.
Here is the trick, tell people that Antichrist is not a person but an
“energy” and then you don’t have a problem.
HIS BLASPHEMY:
Perhaps the most dangerous teaching of Maitreya is his teachings
about Christ. Here is where we can comfortably expose his false piety
and say with confidence he is an antichrist. Here is what he says:
IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD? 187
Jesus of Nazareth and the Christ are not one and the same person. This
is one of the most difficult claims for many Christians to accept in
connection with Maitreya, the World Teacher, and it therefore needs
some further explanation.
In fact, the title Christ does not refer to an individual at all. It is the
name of a function in the Hierarchy of Masters of Wisdom, that group
of advanced beings who guide the evolution of humanity from behind
the scenes. Whoever stands at the head of this Hierarchy automatically
becomes the World Teacher.
Maitreya, who embodies the energy we call the Christ Principle, has
held that office for over two millennia. In Palestine he manifested
himself as the Christ to inaugurate the Age of Pisces, then beginning.
The method he used is called spiritual overshadowing, that is, his
consciousness informed and guided the actions and teachings of his
disciple Jesus. It was, therefore, the consciousness of the Christ,
Maitreya, which was seen and experienced by those around Jesus.
Here you have it! Jesus is a disciple of Maitreya! He almost fooled us
with his sermons and his false righteousness. Here is some more:
The events from Jesus' life and his words have been greatly
misinterpreted due to this little-understood connection between his
work and that of Maitreya the Christ. This has given rise to the age-old
theological point of contention -- namely, whether Jesus was God or
man, or perhaps both together. The answer is that Jesus was a man
who, as a result of the process of evolution, became a Son of God --.
Others had gone before him on that path and many have taken it since.
Now we know that he is an imposter (not that we thought otherwise!)
For anyone who denies the divinity of Christ is Antichrist. Hear some
more blasphemy:
Two thousand years ago in Palestine, the Lord Maitreya's consciousness
entered into that of His disciple Jesus, at the Baptism. For three years,
Jesus demonstrated the consciousness of the Christ -- the Lord
Maitreya -- and became Jesus, the Christ, or Messiah.
The imposter claims that our Lord will be assisting him in his role when
he manifests himself in the world:
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IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD?
With the emergence of Maitreya, the Master Jesus is playing a major
role for the second time. This open collaboration, which will be visible
to all, will end any lingering doubts concerning the true relationship
between Maitreya the Christ and his disciple, the Master Jesus.
He then tries to woe the Christians by saying that he and Christ are
one! Here is how it goes:
Thus the seemingly paradoxical claim that Jesus and the Christ are not
the same person, in the literal sense of the word, is more reasonable
than it would appear. Those Christians who find it difficult to accept
that “their” teacher is not the highest leader of all humanity may,
however, take solace in a second paradox: Jesus and Maitreya the
Christ were (and are) one, in the sense that they, each on his own level,
work together in perfect concord to further the divine Plan.
THE ULTIMATE BLASPHEMY:
I am the creator of the universe.
I am the Father and Mother of the universe.
Everything came from Me.
Everything shall return to Me.
Mind, spirit and body are My temples,
for the Self to realize in them
My Supreme Being and Becoming.
RESISTANCE AGAINST HIM:
Maitreya knows that he cannot fool the elect (but that will not stop
him from trying) so, he warns those who are fooled by him that some
people will actually resist him:
Not all men, however, will recognize Maitreya as the One awaited by all
the nations. Steeped deeply in the world's scriptures, however
fragmented, and however discoloured by time, many will turn away, at
first, from this latest manifestation of God's continuing Plan for the
world. They will find it hard to reconcile Maitreya's simple and practical
approach with their mystical expectations and dogmas. Do not be
surprised, therefore, by their angry and anxious rejection. Thus it was
in Jesus' time. Thus, also, when the Buddha began His work. Thus, too,
did Krishna know dissent and condemnation. Thus has it always been
when the New has presented itself to the Old.
IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD? 189
He expects opposition to come first and foremost from priests and
bishops and especially those who wear distinctive priestly clothes, so he
warns his followers about this:
Be not afraid, therefore, when the “men of cloth” raise their voices
against the Great Lord, naming Him anti-Christ and arch-deceiver, for
they know little of the laws which underlie their faiths and act and speak
from ignorance and fear. They, too, are tested in this fashion.
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE:
Maitreya is trying to warn the elect that resistance is futile and that
sooner or later, he will prevail:
The ‘status quo’ cannot be upheld. Needless to say, the ‘status quo’ can
never be upheld for long; change and evolution are the very nature of
life, and, for good or ill, impose the pattern of the new. The form and
quality of the new structure are conditioned by men themselves. Thus
useless it is to resist the Great Magnet that drives all life forward on its
perfecting course.
When Maitreya and His Group walk freely among men, much will be
revealed of the laws which govern life. Men’s bafflement will give way
to a dawning understanding and a wiser response to the phenomenon
of change. The old die-hards, of course, will remain, but their influence
will ebb as the new takes hold. Thus will it be, and thus will men realize
better the nature of the adventure we call life.
Notice how he is called “the Great Magnet.” In one of my articles,
published December, 1998, I used the same imagery:
I often explain the perils of coming near the Abomination of Desolation
by using a parable! If you have a compass, it will always direct you in
your way. For it will always point to the North Pole (elementary
physics!) The compass is your free will, always directing you to heaven.
(The North Pole is on the top of the globe towards heaven! ) Now, if
you bring your compass close to a strong magnet, it will no longer point
to the North Pole, but will always point to the magnet. The magnet is
the deceiver, and if you come near him he will captivate your free will
and you will not be able to go back to your previous condition. That is
why the Lord in a most urgent way admonishes us to “flee” and to
“remember Lot’s wife.”
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IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD?
The second important point here is the fact that we were not told by the
Lord to resist him but rather to avoid him and run away from him, as
we are instructed in Matthew 24:15-18:
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of
by Daniel the prophet, .... (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then
let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on
the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither
let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
We have explained this sufficiently throughout the series that we
published over the last five years, and which is now available in book
form for the benefit of those who would like to learn more about
surviving Antichrist and the Great Tribulation.
Now we are left with the million dollar question, Is Maitreya the
Antichrist? I am not so sure. I have my doubts. Mainly, because he is
following the script given to us by the Fathers, so closely. There are no
variations or twists. The plot is so simple and unsophisticated. Perhaps
I am mistaken. Perhaps the spiritual ignorance in the world has reached
such a degree that even this simplistic plot will work.
But, if he is not the real McCoy, who is he and why is he here? I can
offer two theories to explain this.
THE WEATHER BALLOON THEORY:
When governments want to introduce a controversial piece of
legislation or implement a controversial project, they sometimes leak
the information to the press, in order to gauge the reaction of the
people. Like scientists who release “weather balloons” to find out which
way the wind is blowing. Satan may be using Maitreya to find out the
reaction of people to the idea, and then use the information gained in
doing a better job on the real thing.
THE FALSE ANTICHRIST THEORY:
Throughout the series, I tried to present as much as possible the
complete sayings of the Fathers concerning Antichrist and the end of
the world. I have however, omitted some sayings because they were
against the Biblical facts. As an example, are the medieval “prophecies”
that spoke of Antichrist as a horrible person, who will kill the Pope of
IS ANTICHRIST ALREADY IN THE WORLD? 191
Rome and usurp the papacy. They claim that when the elect cry to God
for help, God will respond by sending into the world a righteous king
(invariably called “The Great Monarch”), who will rid the world of the
tyrant and institute a reign of peace and prosperity in the world.
It is obvious that this is unbiblical, since St. Paul tells us that it is the
Lord that will “consume [him] with the spirit of his mouth, and shall
destroy [him] with the brightness of his coming.” (II Thes 2:8) Daniel
8:25 and Revelation 19:20-21 confirm this.
Why then did Satan propagate these false “prophecies”? Here is the
scenario that I imagine. Satan knows that Christians expect Antichrist
to come first, then Christ comes. So, he sends a false Antichrist, allows
him to do some mischief in the world, and after a while, lo and behold,
a knight in shining armour comes to rescue the world from the bad
Antichrist. And, guess who is the knight in shining armour? He is the
real Antichrist. It seems too complicated a scenario, but one really
worthy of the Father of lies.
Regardless of whether this theory or that will come to pass, one
thing is for sure, if Maitreya is not Antichrist, then Antichrist is around
the corner. The magnitude of this Maitreya thing is frightening. I
refrained from reproducing the pictures in order that I may avoid
starting a real panic among our readers.
A final warning to our dear readers, do not try to go to the internet
to find out more! It may be dangerous. And, if it does happen that this
Maitreya should make a “world wide” T.V. appearance, do not watch.
Just go to your room and pray. Remember the magnet analogy. Curb
your curiosity and “remember Lot’s wife.”
“Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors
about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the
indignation be overpast.” (Isa 26:20)
SAINT MARY’S COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH
388 OTTAWA STREET SOUTH
KITCHENER, ONTARIO, CANADA N2M 3P4
The Abomination of Desolation - A series of articles published by Father Athanasius Iskander in PAROUSIA September, 1997 - January, 2003 - Part Three
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