The Bible describes two great kingdoms that will
exist upon the earth immediately prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
These kingdoms are the kingdom of the beast, and the power known as
"After that, in my vision at night I
looked, and there before me was a fourth beast--terrifying and frightening and
very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and
trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former
beasts, and it had ten horns. While I was thinking about the horns, there
before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three
of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of
a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully… Then I continued to watch because of
the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was
slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire." Daniel 7:7-11
While in vision Daniel asked for an explanation
from a heavenly being (
"I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the
visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached one of those
standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this. So he told me and
gave me the interpretation of these things:
‘The four great beasts are four kingdoms that
will rise from the earth. But the saints of the Most High will receive the
kingdom and will possess it forever--yes, for ever and ever.’
"Then I wanted to know the true meaning of
the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying,
with its iron teeth and bronze claws--the beast that crushed and devoured its
victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. I also wanted to know about
the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which
three of them fell--the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that
had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. As I watched, this horn was waging
war against the saints and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and
pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came
when they possessed the kingdom.
"He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth
beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from
all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and
crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After
them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue
three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try
to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for
a time, times and half a time. But the court will sit, and his power will be
taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and
greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the
saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting
kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’
"This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel,
was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the
matter to myself."
The fourth beast is the final kingdom on the
earth prior to the Second Coming. It will be led by the Antichrist, who was the
little horn that spoke boastfully and persecuted the saints. This kingdom will
be destroyed when Jesus Christ returns and throws the Antichrist into the lake
of fire, setting up the Messianic Kingdom of one thousand years. The
Antichrist’s kingdom, the fourth beast that Daniel saw with ten horns, is also
described in Revelation 13:1-2,
"And I saw a beast coming out of the sea.
He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each
head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like
those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion."
When Daniel received his vision he watched as
kingdoms resembling a lion, a bear and a leopard all came out of the sea,
followed by the fourth terrible beast-kingdom with ten horns. When John saw
this fourth beast in Revelation he writes that it has the characteristics of
the former kingdoms: it resembles a leopard, has feet like a bear and a mouth
like a lion. The order of the descriptions may be reversed because Daniel was
looking forward in time, while John in his vision was looking back. Revelation
continues to describe this beast, and then mentions the Antichrist in terms
that are very similar to those given by Daniel,
"The beast was given a mouth to utter proud
words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. He
opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling
place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the
saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe,
people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the
beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to
the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world." Revelation 13:5-8
The final rebellious kingdom on the earth will
be the kingdom of the Antichrist’s New World Order. It will establish a
mandatory and universal religion that will focus on the image of the
Antichrist, and it will establish a mandatory economic system based on the Mark
of the Beast. Every person within this kingdom will be forced to take the Mark
and people will not be able to buy or sell without it. This kingdom will
achieve its greatest power during the last three and a half years of the 70th
Week and finally it will be destroyed at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
The Bible’s end-time prophecies do not only
focus on the kingdom of the Antichrist. The Bible also devotes a great deal of
attention to the other end-times power. This power is introduced in Revelation
as a mystery, and she is named Babylon the Great:
"One of the seven angels who had the seven
bowls came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the punishment of the great
prostitute, who sits on many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed
adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her
adulteries.’ Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There
I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous
names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and
scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones
and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things
and the filth of her adulteries. This title was written on her forehead:
MYSTERY,
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH"
Revelation
17:1-5
The beast that the woman sits on represents the
final global kingdom, as described by Daniel and Revelation 13. The seven heads
of the beast are explained as representing seven kings, and then the beast is
also explained as an eighth king. The beast is a kingdom as well as a
king. The ten horns of the beast are described as "…ten
kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive
authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give
their power and their authority to the beast," (Revelation
When
"The woman thou sawest is that great city which reigneth
over the kings of the earth."
However, when the Antichrist, the king
aspect of the beast, becomes a public figure, and rises up among the ten kings
as described in Daniel, he will come into conflict with Babylon the Great.
Prior to the Antichrist, the woman rules over the kings of the earth, including
the ten kings. But when the Antichrist appears these ten kings will embrace him,
for their sole purpose is to give the Antichrist their power and authority.
When he appears the woman will no longer be useful and the supporters of the
New World Order will turn on her and attack her (
"The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the
prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her
flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their
hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to
rule, until God's words are fulfilled."
The Antichrist and
Let us now examine other aspects of
The prophetic descriptions in Revelation combine
to create a very clear picture of
This should be understood as adultery in a
spiritual sense. In the Old Testament Israel was also described as an
adulterous nation because she often cheated on the Lord and turned to other
gods. The same should be understood of
"With her the kings of the earth committed
adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her
adulteries." Revelation 17:2
"For all the
nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth
committed adultery with her…" Revelation 18:3
"When the kings of the earth who committed
adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will
weep and mourn over her." Revelation 18:9
"Salvation and glory and power belong to
our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great
prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries." Revelation 19:1-2
Babylon’s worship of materialism is
shown through her emphasis on riches, luxury and the material things of this
world.
"…her sins are piled up to heaven, and God
has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given…Give her as much
torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself." 18:5-7
"…the merchants of the earth grew
rich from her excessive luxuries." 18:3
Babylon is a great consumer of material
goods and when she falls the merchants mourn over their loss of revenue,
"The merchants of the earth will weep and
mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more-- cargoes of gold,
silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth;
every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly
wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh
and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and
sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men."
"They will say, ‘The fruit you longed
for is gone from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to
be recovered.’ The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from
her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn and
cry out: ‘Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such great
wealth has been brought to ruin!’" 18:11-17
"For all the
nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth
committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from
her excessive luxuries." 18:3
"When the kings of the earth who committed
adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning,
they will weep and mourn over her." 18:9
"The merchants who sold these things and
gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her
torment."
"Woe! Woe, O great city, where all who
had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has
been brought to ruin!"
"Your merchants were the world's great men.
By your magic spell all the nations were led
astray."
The city of
"When the kings of the
earth... see the smoke of her burning... they will stand far off and cry: 'Woe!
Woe, O great city, O
"Every sea captain, and all who travel by
ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far
off. When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there
ever a city like this great city?’" 18:17-18
"The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the
kings of the earth."
"In her heart she boasts, 'I sit as queen; I am not a widow,
and I will never mourn.'" 18:7
Ancient
Ancient
"Then the angel who was speaking to me came
forward and said to me, ‘Look up and see what this is that is appearing.’ I
asked, ‘What is it?’ He replied, ‘It is a measuring basket.’ And he added,
‘This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.’ Then the cover of
lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! He said, ‘This is
wickedness,’ and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed the lead cover
down over its mouth. Then I looked up--and there before me were two women, with
the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted
up the basket between heaven and earth. ‘Where are they taking the basket?’ I
asked the angel who was speaking to me. He replied, ‘To the country of
The Bible is clear that there will be a terrible
end-times persecution of believers. The Antichrist's final empire will carry
out the majority of this persecution, but John's vision shows that God will
also hold
When John first sees her in his vision he
remarks, "I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the
saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus." 17:6
And when his vision concludes an angel says,
"In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who
have been killed on the earth."
The Destruction of
The fall of
Perhaps
The first phase of
The merchants of the earth confirm this fact,
"Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and
glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such great
wealth has been brought to ruin!"
And then the sea captains add their comments as
well, "Woe! Woe, O great city, where all who had ships on the sea became
rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!"
After this first phase of judgment Revelation
may hint of another that may come soon after. An angel explains to John how
The first judgment of fire,
that comes from God while
The end-times tribulation, or Great Tribulation,
will begin with the opening of the sixth seal. Then the rapture and
resurrection of saints will occur, and these saints are shown in heaven having "come
out of the great tribulation." At the time of the rapture there will
be an earthquake, followed by the cosmic signs of the darkened sun, blood red
moon and the shower of falling stars. These events continue for only a matter
of hours and then the Day of the Lord will begin with the great and terrible
shaking of the earth. After this happens the 144,000 are saved and sealed prior
to the judgments of the first four trumpets.
The first trumpet judgment is one of hail and
fire, mixed with blood, that is poured out over a
third of the earth. This judgment is reflected in the prophecies of Ezekiel,
which also show it coming after an earthquake and after the shaking of the
earth that affects all mankind. The fiery hail will come after
The "coastlands" mentioned in Ezekiel
might be a reference to
Perhaps the warning that is given of "Come
out of her, my people… so that you will not receive any of her plagues," is
also a veiled reference to the rapture. The rapture will likely occur only days
prior to God’s judgment of
In the aftermath of the first trumpet judgment,
which will bring fire upon
"The second angel sounded his trumpet, and
something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of
the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and
a third of the ships were destroyed."
Perhaps this is what the angel was referring to when
he gave the following prophecy of
"Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder
the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: ‘With such
violence the great city of
The prophet Jeremiah gave a prophecy that can
only refer to end-times
"The sea will rise over
"The beast and the ten horns you saw will
hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will
eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into
their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their
power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled." 17:16-17
The seventh bowl judgment is the last judgment
of Revelation and it will cause a great earthquake that will split
"
"Because of the LORD's
anger she will not be inhabited but will be completely desolate. All who pass
"So desert creatures and hyenas will live
there, and there the owl will dwell. It will never again be inhabited or lived
in from generation to generation. As God overthrew
"‘I am against you, O destroying mountain,
you who destroy the whole earth,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will stretch out my
hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain.
No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone, nor any stone for a
foundation, for you will be desolate forever,’ declares the LORD."
Jeremiah 51:25-26
"‘
The book of the prophet ISAIAH contains further
references to the destruction of
Come
down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of
Take
the millstones, and grind meal; remove thy veil, strip off the train, uncover
the leg, pass through the rivers.
Thy
nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take
vengeance, and will spare no man.
Our
Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts is his name, the Holy One of
Sit
thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans;
for thou shalt no more be called The
mistress of kingdoms.
I was
wroth with my people, I profaned mine inheritance, and
gave them into thy hand: thou didst show them no mercy; upon the aged hast thou
very heavily laid thy yoke.
And
thou saidst, I shall be mistress for ever; so that
thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter
end thereof.
Now
therefore hear this, thou that art given to pleasures, that sittest
securely, that sayest in thy heart, I am, and there
is none else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the
loss of children:
but these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day,
the loss of children, and widowhood; in their full measure shall they come upon
thee, in the multitude of thy sorceries, and the great abundance of thine enchantments.
For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness;
thou hast said, None seeth me; thy wisdom and thy
knowledge, it hath perverted thee, and thou hast said in thy heart, I am, and
there is none else besides me.
Therefore
shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know the
dawning thereof: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt
not be able to put it away: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which
thou knowest not.
Stand
now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude
of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast labored from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest
prevail.
Thou
art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels: let now the astrologers, the star-gazers,
the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from the things that shall
come upon thee.
Behold,
they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver
themselves from the power of the flame: it shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before.
Thus
shall the things be unto thee wherein thou hast labored: they that have
trafficked with thee from thy youth shall wander every one to his quarter;
there shall be none to save thee.
And Revelation 18:2 records, "Fallen!
Fallen is
Apparently,
There is one final text that confirms the
chronology of events that make up the beginning of the Great Tribulation as put
forth in this book. It is a prophecy given by the obscure Old Testament prophet
Haggai, and they are the very last words that this man of God wrote down:
"And again the word of the Lord came unto
Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the
heavens and the earth; And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will
destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the
chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come
down, every one by the sword of his brother. In that day, saith
the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my
servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith
the Lord, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts."
In this passage Haggai confirms a number of
events that will occur at the very beginning of the tribulation. He mentions
the shaking of the heavens and the earth, which will come at the sixth seal,
which was also predicted by Ezekiel to come at the time of the Magog invasion.
Haggai goes on to describe the Magog alliance, and the chariots, horses and riders that
will invade
Haggai predicts that at this time the "strength
of the kingdoms of the heathen" will be destroyed. He also writes that
at this time the "throne of kingdoms" will be
overthrown. This is a reference to end-times
The last thing that Haggai
records is that at this time Zerubbabel will
be raised up, to become a "signet" for the Lord. Zerubbabel is one of the olive trees who will be
resurrected at the time of the rapture, to serve the Lord as a Witness during
the first half of the 70th Week. Joshua will also be resurrected at this time,
to be the other Witness, the other olive tree during this time as predicted in
the third and fourth chapters of the prophecies of Zechariah. Zerubbabel and
Joshua were the two men most influential in the rebuilding of the
Below is a chart comparing Haggai’s words with
some of the other prophecies that deal with the early part of the tribulation:
|
Haggai 2:21-23 |
Revelation |
Ezekiel |
Other Prophets |
|
I will shake the heavens and the earth. |
6:14- The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up,
and every mountain and island was removed from its place. |
38:20- The fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all
the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. |
Isaiah 2:19- Men will flee to caves in the rocks
and to holes in the ground from dread of the LORD and the splendor of his
majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. |
|
And I will overthrow… |
18:8- She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is
the Lord God who judges her. |
39:6- I will send fire… |
Jeremiah 50:25- The LORD has opened
his arsenal and brought out the weapons of his wrath… |
|
…the throne of kingdoms… |
17:18- The woman you saw is the great city that
rules over the kings of the earth. |
39:6- …on Magog and on those
who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am
the LORD. |
Isaiah 14:5-6- …the scepter of the
rulers, which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury
subdued nations with relentless aggression. |
|
…and I will destroy the strength of the
kingdoms of the heathen. |
8:7- …and there came hail and fire mixed with
blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned
up |
38:22- I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones
and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. |
|
|
and I will overthrow the
chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall
come down… |
|
38:4- I will turn you around… your whole army--your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde…
|
|
|
…every one by the sword of his brother. |
|
38:21- I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD.
Every man's sword will be against his brother. |
|
|
In that day… will I take thee, O Zerubbabel … and will make thee as a signet: for I have
chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts. |
11:3-4- And I will give power to my two witnesses…
These are the two olive trees… that stand before the Lord of the earth. |
|
Zechariah |
The Great Tribulation
The end-times tribulation, also known as the
Great Tribulation, will begin with the opening of the sixth seal. The living
and dead believers in Jesus Christ will then be raptured
or resurrected as an earthquake strikes Israel, the sun is darkend,
the moon turns blood red and stars fall from heaven. Hours later the Day of the
Lord will begin when God reaches out and shakes the earth in His fury. Mankind
will realize that God has acted and they will understand the terrible state of
their souls.
After the earth is shaken God will save and seal
a select group of 144,000 Jewish men, the firstfruits
of the Great Tribulation. Soon after, the four angels who harm the land and the
sea will bring forth their judgments. The first four angels who blow their
trumpets are all a part of a terrible, global, astro-physical
catastrophe. Jeremiah says that God’s arsenal will be opened and the weapons of
his wrath will be brought out. The earth will pass through a bombardment of
hailstones, small meteors that will hurtle through the earth’s atmosphere and
strike the land to burn up a third of the earth, destroying
After the earth is struck by these interstellar
weapons of God’s wrath, one third of the fresh water on the earth will become
undrinkable. The earth will also be plunged into semi-darkness,
and all of the natural light sources, the sun, moon and stars, will be dimmed
by a third, and the earth’s climate will be radically altered.
After the four angels have harmed the land and
the sea, then there will come a respite. The nations
will begin their recovery but their governments will be shattered and helpless.
Into this climate will step the Antichrist, and he will appear on the scene
exercising the authority of the ten most powerful men on the earth, and with
the support of the world’s most influential spiritual leader: the False
Prophet. The New World Order will then begin its ruthless rise to power, and
this beast will trample on, subdue and crush every nation that stands in its
way. The 70th week will then soon be established with
The first half of the 70th Week will be marked
by the completion of the
The first half of the 70th Week will also be
marked by two demonic invasions. The fifth trumpet will cause the earth to be
plagued by demonic beasts that will harm all but the 144,000 sealed Jews,
causing an agony similar to a scorpion sting. It will not cause death, but will
last for five months, which may also be the length of this plague upon the
earth.
The second invasion will include two hundred
million demons, led by four fallen angels, which will kill one third of
humanity. This invasion is also described by the prophet Joel, who predicts
that these demons will be impervious to harm and that their advance will leave
complete devastation in its wake (2:1-10). This invasion will be a terrible
plague for the world to endure, but the Antichrist will likely use it as an
excuse to consolidate his worldwide empire. It may last for exactly one year,
one month, one day and one hour (Revelation 9:15), and we know that it will end
exactly three and a half days after the midpoint of the 70th Week (Revelation
11:14), when another earthquake strikes Jerusalem when the bodies of the Two
Witnesses are resurrected to heaven from off of the streets where they lie.
The midpoint of the 70th Week will be a very
momentous day. The Antichrist, having been killed at an earlier time, will be
resurrected out of the Abyss. This day will mark the end of the ministry of the
Two Witnesses, and their powers of protection will be gone. This day will also
mark the beginning of the Antichrist’s unlimited power to "make war
with" and "overcome" the saints, and then he will
immediately "make war against" and "overcome"
the Two Witnesses, killing them to the great delight of most of the world. On
this day the
The Jews and other believers who obey Jesus’
warning and flee to the mountains will find refuge in the mountainous desert
area of southern
The midpoint of the 70th Week will also mark the
beginning of the campaign to establish the Mark of the Beast as the foundation
of a worldwide economic system. Taking the Mark will involve a conscious
decision to serve the Antichrist and to reject Jesus Christ, and all who take
it, upon the right hand or forehead, condemn their eternal souls to the fires of
hell. Believers will be separated from unbelievers during this time. Those who
refuse to worship the Image of the Beast will be hunted down and killed, and
those who refuse the Mark of the Beast will be unable to buy or sell. Believers
will be forced to exist in an underground network, living like hunted animals,
scrounging for food and fearful of being turned in as criminals and resistors.
The last half of the 70th Week will be
characterized by this ruthless persecution of saints and the world will be taken
over by the Antichrist’s religion and by the Mark. Some time later, probably
years after the midpoint of the 70th Week, after the Mark has been completely
implemented and given to all who will accept it, the final bowls of God’s wrath
will be poured out. The first will cause terrible sores on those who have
accepted the Mark. The second and third will turn the oceans into blood,
killing all sea life, and turn all the fresh water to blood as well. The angel
remarks, "You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the
Holy One, because you have so judged; for they have shed the blood of your
saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they
deserve."
The fourth will cause the sun to give a
scorching heat, and the fifth will cause a complete darkness over the
Antichrist’s entire kingdom. But still the wicked followers of the Antichrist
will refuse to repent of their sins and glorify the God of heaven.
The sixth bowl will send out three evil spirits
that will go out to the kings of the earth, to gather the armies of the world
to the
Jesus Himself tells what will happen next,
"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all
the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the
clouds of the sky, with power and great glory," (Matthew 24:30).
Out of the blackness that envelops the earth
will be seen a small spark that will grow brighter, lighting up the darkness,
as the Shekinah Glory of Jesus Christ first appears.
Then Jesus Christ Himself will be seen, coming on the clouds of heaven, and He
will turn on the armies that have assembled at Armageddon to fight against Him
(Revelation
"I saw heaven standing open and there
before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With
justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his
head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his
name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on
white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes
a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an
iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God
Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
"And I saw an angel standing in the sun,
who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, ‘Come, gather
together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings,
generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all
people, free and slave, small and great.’
"Then I saw the beast and the kings
of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider
on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false
prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs
he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his
image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the
rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh."