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Readings in the Book of
The Revelation
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Revelation 9:
1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven to the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
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In the Bible the Son of God is described as a “Star out of Jacob” (Numbers 24:17), but this “star” is not He, but His greatest enemy. It is Lucifer the “Daystar” (the sun), turned Satan “the adversary”, whom John saw falling from heaven. The “brilliant one”, the “son of the morning”, he who had once stood closest to the Son of God had chosen to leave heaven before the creation of Adam and lead a controversy against the way of God. However, now he is spoken of as “falling” again. Of the first time it is written;
“The angels which kept not their first estate, but LEFT their own habitation, He has [p]reserved in everlasting chains under darkness to the judgment of the great day”. Jude 1:6. There is a difference between willing sin and sins of ignorance.
In heaven God permitted Lucifer to carry forward his work until the spirit of disaffection ripened into active revolt, and he became Satan. (“For a man’s enemies ….”) It was necessary for his plans to be developed, that their true nature and tendency might be seen by all. But his power to deceive was very great. By disguising himself in a cloak of falsehood, he gained an advantage. All his acts were so clothed with mystery, that it was difficult even for God to disclose to the loyal angels the true nature of his work. It was Satan’s policy to perplex them with subtle arguments regarding the purposes of God. Everything that was simple he shrouded in mystery, and by artful perversion cast doubt upon the plainest statements of the Son of God. His agenda was so subtle that it could not be made to appear before the heavenly host as the thing that it really was; and so there was a war of words in heaven, and then Satan left with all who would not stand on the side of loyalty to God's government, or exercise faith in His word. That’s when he thought of having the sun’s “day” as his own.
“And there was war in heaven [a great pleading]: Michael [He who is like God] and His angels fought [with “the sword of His mouth”, Revelation 2:16; 19:15] against the dragon [Satan, begging him not to take this action]; and the dragon fought and his angels, and [reason] prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven”. Revelation 12:7-8.
They came to this earth, and as we all know, were successful in taking it over and changing it dramatically. But, like all sinners, there was danger that they would destroy themselves quickly as a result of their sins, so the Son of God has not allowed them to do this, but has actively preserved them till everyone can see their characters. (He does this with humanity too, when He covers us with the gift of His universal grace when we are born. However, humans show their true colours much quicker.)
In John’s case, it was the result of the Son of man’s experience on the cross which caused Satan to “fall” again, for at that time the peoples of the universe saw clearly his hatred and anger against the LORD of life, his former Friend. From the moment of His birth Satan and his angels had attempted to kill Him (Matthew 2:16; Luke 4:28-30 etc.), but only apparently succeeded when He voluntarily came under Satan’s power at Calvary. (See Hebrews 2:14.) But it was only apparent, for while on earth Jesus said, “Therefore does My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father” [as part of the plan of redemption]. John 10:17-18.
So now after the crucifixion, “The great dragon was cast out [a 2nd time], that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying IN HEAVEN, ‘Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brothers is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night’.” Revelation 12:9-10. Thus the last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken.
In our case, the “fall” will be when the principles of obedience are more fully revealed by the last living group of Christians on earth. They will stand without a Mediator for a time to prove that the power of God is sufficient to keep them from sinning. Without the life-line of forgiveness, they will be exposed to the full brunt of Satan’s wrath and refuse to give in to it. They will hang on to the God of life through that terrible time of Jacob’s trouble and refuse to let Him go till He blesses them. See note 3. Then Satan will “fall” for the third and last time!
Back to history:
As this trumpet was blown we are shown that Satan opened the “bottomless pit” of religious warfare anew. (The words mean “a desolate place” and are used to describe the chaos of the world before establishment, Genesis 1:2). After the mighty events of the first five centuries and the setting up of the Papacy as his own church, we might be forgiven for thinking that he would settle down and relax for a bit. But he wants to hurt the Son of God in retaliation for his humiliation at Calvary, and so he continually stirs up the religious elements of his army to fight and kill one another before they can be saved.
Lateral thought:
We should always be aware that Satan is the original “sinner” and as such he has an unregenerate nature like all other sinners. This power within him controls his actions as it does for all who are not reborn (including his angels), and he cannot always stop himself from doing wicked things. In concert with many others, he has to say, “For we know that the law [of God] is spiritual: but I am carnal [the opposite], sold under sin [as a slave to it]. For that which I do I allow not [I don’t always want to]: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I”. Romans 7:14-15. The remedy for this condition is accepting a portion of the life of the Son of God in exchange for the carnal nature, and then depending on Him for power ever after, but Satan and his followers will not have a bar of that, so they remain unsaved, trying to enjoy what they are doing.
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Revelation 9:
3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have NOT the seal of God in their foreheads [Satan’s followers].
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John at first saw “locusts”, a fitting symbol for very destructive creatures. Later he describes them as men sitting on horses, which is closer to the reality. The “locusts” are also like “scorpions”, which can hurt with their tails.
Even though they were loosed at Satan’s behest, the Spirit of God laid a prohibition upon them – they were only to be successful with those who rejected or neglected God’s protection (which is actually the normal situation He works in). The “grass”, the “green things” and the “trees” are used to describe those who, in varying degrees, were looking to the God of heaven for their safety and finding it.
Who were the locusts? In the early 600’s a terrible “plague” came upon the earth. It was called Islam (which means “submission” [to God]), and it had a mission to evangelise the world in Satan’s ways. It started with a man named Muhammad, and then spread over a major portion of the then known world. See note 1. These Saracens, or Arabs as we know them today, were descendants of Ishmael, that “other” son of Abraham whom they regard as the rightful heir (after all, he was firstborn). See note 2.
Lateral thought:
Those professed Christians who think of Muslims as “fellow worshippers of God” have not understood the meaning of these verses in The Revelation. Islam says that it worships the God of Abraham, but rejects the truth that the Son of God is divine, thereby coming under the umbrella of an “antichrist”. “Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son [as equals]. Whosoever denies the Son, the same has not the Father: (but) he that acknowledges the Son has the Father also”. 1 John 2:22-23. Note 4.
In verse 11 of this reading their leader is clearly identified as Satan the destroyer, and their mission is to destroy those who believe in the Roman Catholic type of trinity.
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Revelation 9:
5 And to them [the locusts] it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he strikes a man [quick and decisive]. 6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
7 And the shapes of the locusts were like to horses prepared to battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings [their means of transport] was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
10 And they had tails like to scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is “Abaddon”, but in the Greek tongue has his name “Apollyon” [destroyer].
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At first they concentrated on expanding their religious influence throughout Arabia and northern Africa. Not until July 27, 1299 did they begin to systematically attack the city of Nicomedia (aka Constantinople, the capital of the eastern part of the empire) and begin their harassment of the Europeans. By that time they were called “Ottomans”. See note 5.
Their mission, for “five months” or 150 years, was to annoy and harass the people of Europe who had banded under the pope and who claimed the Holy Land of Israel as their rightful possession. They were constantly attacking the city of Constantinople, the capital of the eastern empire. Riding on their swift Arab horses, using guns that had recently become possible through the Chinese invention of gunpowder, they could come and go virtually as they pleased. (Very few of the European forces were able to stand against them during the crusades.) Many of their prisoners of war would like to have died, but they were normally kept as slaves under horrific conditions, many ending up as rowers on galleys.
As John watched their behaviour he came upon a conundrum – they looked like men on their horses, but they had the long hair of women! Their “crowns” (which were actually turbans) often concealed this, but John obviously saw them at rest as well as fighting. He mentions their lack of body armour (they only had breastplates), while the knights of Europe clothed themselves from head to foot in iron suits. This latter actually proved a disadvantage because they needed much larger horses to carry them, and were slow and cumbersome in battle, like tanks. On the other hand, the Arabs were swift and versatile, often running rings around their enemies.
John also noted their ability to kill on the battlefield by apparently using their horses’ tails! Of course, he had never seen or heard of a rifle but anyone who has seen a western movie will know what he was looking at – the Indians often shot over the backs of their horses. One thing John did see clearly was that their leader was Satan the destroyer!
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Revelation 9:
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
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One down, two to go!
Bye for now, Ron
Some of the comments in these readings are adapted from books in my library. No recognition is given because they are not intended as authorities, but are used because they express my understanding clearly. All the ideas expressed in these readings, right or wrong, are my own.
Some of these readings are available at http://www.oocities.org/weprotest.geo/BibleReadings/books_index.html
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad
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Muhammad (Arabic: محمد Muḥammad; also Mohammed, Muhammed, Mahomet, and other variants)[2][3][4] (c. 570 - June 8, 632 CE), was the founder of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as the last messenger and prophet of God (Arabic: الله Allah).[5] Muslims believe that he was not the creator of a new religion, but the restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham and others. They see him as the last and the greatest in a series of prophets.[6] . . .
Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", [i.e. not a trinity*] that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām)[8] is man's religion [duty] (dīn),[9] and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and other prophets. . . . [See note 4 for more on Jesus.]
In Medina, Muhammad managed to unite the conflicting tribes, and after eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to ten thousand, conquered Mecca. In 632 AD, on returning to Medina from his 'Farewell pilgrimage', Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death, most of Arabia had converted to Islam. . . .
He expanded his mission as a prophet, publicly preaching strict monotheism, condemning the social evils of his day, and warning of a Day of Judgment when all humans shall be held responsible for their deeds.[7] . . .
Under the caliphs who assumed authority after his death, the Islamic empire expanded into Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, North Africa, southern Spain, and Anatolia. Later conquests, [and] commercial contact between Muslims and non-Muslims, and missionary activity spread Islam over much of the Eastern Hemisphere, including China and Southeast Asia. Back
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The red insertions are mine:
* The truth lies between Islam’s one god and the Roman Catholic three-headed god, for there are three distinct Persons in the God-head.
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Genesis 16:
11 And the Angel of the LORD said to her [Hagar], “Behold, you are with child, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name “Ishmael”; because the LORD has heard your affliction. 12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him [including his brothers]; and [yet] he shall dwell in the presence of all his brothers”. [It requires great cunning and ruthlessness to be able to do that.] Back
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Genesis 32:
26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks”. And he [Jacob] said, “I will not let You go, except You bless me”. 27 And He said to him, “What is your name [character]?” And he said, “Jacob” [thief]. 28 And He said, “Your name shall be called no more “Jacob”, but “Israel” [a prince of God]: for as a prince have you power with God and with men, and have prevailed”. Back
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus
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In Islam, Jesus (Arabic: عيسى, commonly transliterated as Isa) is considered one of God's most beloved and important prophets, a bringer of divine scripture, a worker of miracles, and the Messiah. Muslims, however, do not share the Christian belief in the crucifixion or divinity of Jesus. Muslims believe that Jesus' crucifixion was a divine illusion and that he ascended bodily to heaven. Most Muslims also believe that he will return to the earth in the company of the Mahdi once the earth has become full of sin and injustice at the time of the arrival of Islam's Antichrist-like Dajjal. [The wicked one]. Back
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottomans
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The Ottoman Empire (Ottoman Turkish: دولت عالیه عثمانیه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, also known as Turkey or Turkish Empire by its contemporaries, see the other names of the state) (1299 to 1922), was a multi-ethnic and multi-religious Turkish ruled state which, at the height of its power (16th – 17th centuries), spanned three continents (see the extent of Ottoman territories), controlling much of Southeastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, stretching from the Strait of Gibraltar (and in 1553 the Atlantic coast of North Africa beyond Gibraltar) in the west to the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf in the east, from the edge of Austria, Slovakia and parts of Ukraine in the north to Sudan, Eritrea and Yemen in the south.
The empire was at the centre of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for six centuries. With Istanbul (then known as Constantinople) as its capital, the Ottoman Empire was in some respects an Islamic successor to earlier Mediterranean empires — namely the Roman [western] and Byzantine [eastern] empires. As such, the Ottomans regarded themselves as the heirs to both Roman and Islamic traditions, and hence rulers of a “Universal Empire” through this “unification of cultures”.1 . . .
The empire was the only Islamic power to seriously challenge the rising power of Western Europe between the 15th and 19th centuries. It steadily declined during the 19th century and met its demise after its defeat in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. In the aftermath of the war, the Ottoman government collapsed and the empire's lands were partitioned . . .
However, the Ottoman Empire is one of the longest lasting empires in recorded history. The empire adopted its coat of arms during the Crusades. Back
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