Category: end time

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end time 10. The rebellion

The rebellion, an important marker:
The last days will come in an acceleration, when Christians apostate en masse, when they no longer consider the Christian way of life as the center of their lives.
Maybe in some parts of the world, such as Africa, there is still limited Christian growth, but this important marker of the Christian rebellion is, according to us, already passed. First in Europe and then in the rest of the world:

ASV (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9) 3 let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the rebellion come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, 4 he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know that which restraineth, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming; 9 even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

In verse 4 Paul speaks of a false prophet, the opponent, one who exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped. In verse 6 Paul says, that they – the Christians of his time – now know what restrains him. First the rebellion has to come according to verse 3. The solid faith of the Christian communities, from the first disciples of Jesus until the appointed time, is the reason what restrains this false prophet. Who restrains him in verse 7, until ‘he’ be taken out of the way, that is not written. It is clear that the Christian communities throughout the centuries benefit divine protection:

WEB (Matthew 28:18-20) 18 Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”Amen.
WEB (1 Corinthians 10:13) 13 No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

God will not allow His people to be tempted beyond what they can bear. Jesus also watches over the Christian communities.
Because the period of ‘restraining him’ spans nearly 2000 years, it is likely that Christians are protected (for this false prophet) by an angel, until the time has come of the massive rebellion.
Then, this angel will be relieved from his task.

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end time 3. Revelation; the 7 seals

Revelation 1
The apostle John receives from Jesus (through an angel) a vision of things which must shortly take place:

WEB (Revelation 1:1) 1 This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John,

Revelation 2,3
Inspection by Jesus of the 7 assemblies: Éfeze, Smyrna, Pérgamum, Thyatíra, Sardes, Filadélfia en Laodicéa.

Revelation 4
After the inspection of the 7 assemblies, John is asked to ascend to heaven so that further heavenly vision can be shown to him:

WEB (Revelation 4:1-2) 1 After these things I looked and saw a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, like a trumpet speaking with me, was one saying, “Come up here, and I will show you the things which must happen after this.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit. Behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and one sitting on the throne

John sees God on his throne and around the throne 24 older persons:

WEB (Revelation 4:4) 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones. On the thrones were twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white garments, with crowns of gold on their heads.

The prophets are already sitting like 24 kings around the throne. They are also anointed and are also among the first fruits and will receive a heavenly resurrection before the 144,000 saints.

Revelation 5
He who sits on the throne, the heavenly Father, has a sealed scroll in his right hand, which can only be opened by the Lamb:

WEB (Revelation 5:1,9) 1 I saw, in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book written inside and outside, sealed shut with seven seals. 9 They sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the book, And to open its seals: For you were killed, And bought us for God with your blood, Out of every tribe, language, people, and nation,

John will get to see what is written in the scroll with the seven seals, a fulfillment of a prophecy of “kings and priests”:

WEB (Daniel 7:27) 27 The kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole the sky, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

The scroll is thus a vision within a vision and describes the purification and sealing of the 144,000, with as spectators; God, the Lamb, the 24 prophets, the four living creatures, the angels and the great multitude.

The Lamb opens the scroll with the seven seals;

Revelation 6:1-17
When the Lamb opens the first seal of the scroll, the person on the white horse is given a crown, and he goes forth to complete his victory.
This person on the white horse is logically an image of Jesus, who had to wait a long time as King, before the crown is given to him as a sign of received Kingdom power:

WEB (Hebrews 10:12-13) 12 but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 from that time waiting until his enemies are made the footstool of his feet.

With the opening of the second seal, the peace of the earth will be removed, resulting in wars. (Rev.6:3,4)
The opening of the third seal means famines. (Rev.6:5,6)
The fourth seal means the death of the 4th part of the earthlings, by wars, food shortages, diseases and by wild beasts. (Rev.6:7,8)
During the fifth seal, there is a persecution of Christians and the number of the 144,000 saints must still be filled. (Rev.6:9-11)
When the sixth seal is opened, we arrive at the end of the great tribulation, the great day of wrath or anger. It starts with a great earthquake, the sun will be darkened, the moon will be as blood and the stars fall from the sky, and every mountain and [every] island is removed from its place (Rev.6:12-17). And the people will be desperately of fear:

WEB (Luke 21:25-26) 25 There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves; 26 men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Revelation 7
In Revelation 7 is described that the number of 144,000 saints is completed from the twelve tribes of Israel, and that there also can be found a great multitude around the throne.

Revelation 8:1-13
After the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven:

WEB (Revelation 8:1) 1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Now, all seals of the scroll with the seven seals are opened by the Lamb.
After this silence an angel throws some altar fire to the earth, and from the throne come lightnings, thunderings, and an earthquake. (Rev.8:5)

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end time 4. Revelation; the 7 trumpets

Seven angels take turns blowing their trumpet, resulting as plagues on the people, who have not turned to God:
When the first starts to blow, a third of the earth burns by hail and fire from heaven. (Rev. 8:7).
When the second blows, a huge mountain of fire is thrown into the sea. A third of the sea becomes blood, a third of the sea creatures’ dies and a third of the boats perishes. (Rev. 8:8,9)
With the blowing of the third trumpet, a great star from heaven falls on the rivers and springs, and a third of the waters becomes bitter and many people die of it. (Rev.8:10.11)
After the fourth trumpet, the earth is no longer illuminated for a third day and night. (Rev. 8:12)

Revelation 9:1-21 The three woes

The fifth trumpet sounds, the first woe:
A star falls from heaven to earth, who is given the key of the abyss. (Rev.9:1)
The key of the abyss is not a real key, but a competence to open, just as Peter has been given the (symbolic) keys of the kingdom of heaven.
Stars sometimes represent angels, just like Jesus called himself a morning star:

WEB (Revelation 22:16) 16 ….I am the root and the offspring of David; the Bright and Morning Star.”

Because Satan is finally imprisoned in the abyss (Rev. 20:1-3), this is also the support, that in Rev.9:1 with ‘abyss’ is meant the place (the prison) of the disobedient angels:

WEB (Revelation 20:1-3) 1 I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were finished. After this, he must be freed for a short time.

‘Falling’ from heaven means, logical reasoning, cast out of heaven. This is something else as ‘descend’ from heaven as described in Revelation 10:1:

WEB (Revelation 10:1) 1 And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, ……

Although Jesus saw Satan already been cast out of heaven (Luke 10: 18), it is unlikely that this star, which is fallen from heaven, is meant to be Satan:

WEB (Luke 10:18) 18 He said to them, “I saw Satan having fallen like lightning from heaven.

Satan is thrown down to the earth ‘after’ the war in heaven against Michael and his angels, apparently, the previously described angel has been cast out of heaven earlier:

WEB (Revelation 12:7-9) 7 There was war in the sky. Michael and his angels made war on the dragon. The dragon and his angels made war. 8 They didn’t prevail, neither was a place found for him any more in heaven. 9 The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Angels who are thrown down to the earth, still have the freedom on earth, but Tartarus is a prison for angels, an abyss, where they have to live in darkness. According to the Scriptures, they are imprisoned in the days of Noah:

WEB (2 Peter 2:4-5) 4 For if God didn’t spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved to judgment; 5 and didn’t spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly;

These angels, who are thrown into Tartarus since the flood, stay there awaiting their verdict.
Before the Flood (the Flood was about 2350 BC), these angels disobeyed God and were disloyal to the heavenly Jerusalem. It is noteworthy that Jesus has preached to the spirits in Tartarus after his resurrection:

WEB (1 Peter 3:18-20) 18 Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ark was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.

Jesus preaching in their prison has probably the aim to make arrangements with the angels, that their judgment will be heavier if they – after opening the prison – harm the people with the seal of God on their foreheads. It is only allowed to tormenting them, who have not the seal of God. They are not allowed to kill anyone:

WEB (Revelation 9:1-6) 1 The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from the sky which had fallen to the earth. The key to the pit of the abyss was given to him. 2 He opened the pit of the abyss, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke from a burning furnace. The sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke from the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke came forth locusts on the earth, and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, only those people who don’t have God’s seal on their foreheads. 5 They were given power not to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion, when it strikes a person. 6 In those days people will seek death, and will in no way find it. They will desire to die, and death will flee from them.

People without the seal want to die, but they do not get the opportunity or they are not allowed to die. (Rev. 9.6)
These angels are allowed to proceed for five months, then, they lose their power again.
Concerning Satan and his angels, they will be imprisoned later on. (Revelation 20:1-2)
It is therefore not obvious, that the already imprisoned angels belong to Satan, as is the case with the angels who will be thrown with Satan down to the earth. There is also not written in Scriptures, that these angels will again be imprisoned in Tartarus after the torment of people (5 months).
Satan and his demons will later on be imprisoned in Tartarus and finally destroyed:

WEB (Revelation 20:1-3) 1 I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were finished. After this, he must be freed for a short time.
WEB (Revelation 20:10) 10 The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
WEB (Matthew 25:41) 41 Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;

The angels in Tartarus also have an own king of the abyss. This will almost certainly not be Satan, again, because these angels are imprisoned in darkness, separated from Satan and his demons. Also, there is not one word written in Scriptures, that the angel who falls from heaven, is the angel or king of the abyss.
This king comes thus probably from the abyss itself:

WEB (Revelation 9:11) 11 They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is “Abaddon,” but in Greek, he has the name “Apollyon.”

According to various dictionaries, the Hebrew name Abaddon or the Greek name Apollyon
means ‘to destroy’ or ‘destroyer’. (Rev.9 :7-11)

Webster’s Online Dictionary Definition: Apollyon

  1. The Destroyer – a name used (Rev. 9:11) for the angel of the bottomless pit, answering tothe Hebrew Abaddon.

Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary.
Apollyon destroyer, the name Given to the king of the hosts Represented by the locusts (Rev. 9:11). It is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Abaddon (q.v.).
These angels from the abyss are ‘symbolically’ described as locusts, with the power of scorpions.

Revelation 9:7
The appearance of the locusts is like horses, prepared for battle.
At their heads is something like crowns of gold. The crowns are not literally golden crowns, but give the impression of gold ..
Their faces are as the faces of humans.

Revelation 9:8
They have long hair like women’s hair.
They have teeth like lions.

Revelation 9:9
They have breastplates of iron. They are standing ready like horses, equipped for battle.
The sound of their wings is as the sound of a huge number of chariots.

Revelation 9:10
They have tails like scorpions.
In their tails is their power to torment people, but they may not kill people.

Revelation 9:11
They have a king over them, Abaddon or the Greek name Apollyon
Their outfit with – what seems – golden crowns, human faces and women hair tells something about their behavior.
With their crowns they seem to be of important origin, like princes, with their human faces they look like understanding people and with their female hair they seem to be as lovingly as women.
In reality, they possess fearsome teeth like lions and venomous tails like scorpions.
In the Scriptures, there is frequently spoken of destroyers. However, they all have performed a divine task, such as the death of the firstborn in Egypt:

WEB (Hebrews 11:28) 28 By faith, he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them.

The star that falls from heaven (Revelation 9:1) has no divine command, after all, he is cast out of heaven.
He is just like Satan, a rebellious angel, perhaps with enforced permission to open the abyss.
That this demon uses the angels of the abyss, to torment ‘his own’ human worshipers, it doesn’t matter him, apparently. He has an interest that God’s plan of salvation is not working:

WEB (Revelation 9:20) 20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, didn’t repent of the works of their hands, that they wouldn’t worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk.

The sixth trumpet sounds, the second woe:
Four angels are released and make it possible, that a very large group of riders can kill the 3rd part of the people. (Rev. 9:15)
The rest of the people did not repent of their transgressions and refuses to call out the name of the heavenly Father, their only salvation (Rev. 9:20,21):

WEB (Acts 2:20-21) 20 The sun will be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. 21 It will be, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Revelation 10:1-11
An other angel descends from heaven. According to the context, this angel is not the same one as the previous angels, this angel has a face like the sun (like Jesus in Rev. 1:16), and with a little opened scroll in his hand. It is obvious that this angel is an image of Jesus, also because this angel roars like a lion. Jesus is the Lion of Judah:

WEB (Revelation 5:5) 5 One of the elders said to me, “Don’t weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome; he who opens the book and its seven seals.”

When this angel speaks, voices are sounding of 7 thunders of which the message should not be written. This angel speaks out, there will be no more delay. (Revelation 10:1-7)
When the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, the sacred secret of God according to the good news that he has disclosed to the prophets, is brought to an end.
This sacred secret concerns the intention of God, to have a government at the final end, where people from all nations will be part of:

WEB (Ephesians 1:8-10) 8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him 10 to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him;
WEB (Ephesians 3:4-6) 4 by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; 5 which in other generations was not made known to the children of men as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel,

The apostles form the foundation stones, and Jesus is the chief cornerstone of the New Jerusalem. The 144,000 saints act as pillars in the New Jerusalem:

WEB (Revelation 21:14) 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
WEB (Ephesians 2:19-20) 19 So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, 20 being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone;
WEB (Revelation 3:12) 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more. I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.

The New Jerusalem has no temple, because God Almighty with the Lamb are its temple:

WEB (Revelation 21:22) 22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.

Only those who are written in the scroll of life of the Lamb shall be in the city. The 144,000 will reign with Jesus:

WEB (Revelation 21:27) 27 There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
WEB (Revelation 22:5) 5 ….They will reign forever and ever.

That the sacred secret is brought to an end means, that the rigging of the New Jerusalem is ready, Jesus, the apostles, the 144,000, the great multitude and the staying of the heavenly Father in the New Jerusalem.
Then, John gets the instruction to measure the temple, the altar, and those who worship therein. (Rev. 11:1) The forecourt may not be measured. This measuring of the temple can not be the measuring of the literal temple, because this temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70.
This measuring is meant symbolically and represents an inventory of those who participate in the pure worship, which is compared with the symbolic altar of incense. This altar of incense stood in the inner sanctum of the temple before the entrance of the most holy.
In Rev.8: 3.4 the golden altar of incense is associated with the prayers of the saints:

WEB (Revelation 8:3-4) 3 Another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer. Much incense was given to him, that he should add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand.

The altar of the burnt offering stood in the forecourt of the temple, but John was not allowed to measure this forecourt.(Rev. 11:2) This (symbolic) altar of the burnt offering is intended to give everyone the opportunity to accept the perfect sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son.
It is therefore logical that John must inventory the approved saints, prophets and Christians in the (symbolic) temple. The nations (non Christians) will trample the (symbolic) forecourt with the (symbolic) altar of the burnt offering for 42 months:

WEB (Revelation 11:2) 2 Leave out the court which is outside of the temple, and don’t measure it, for it has been given to the gentiles. They will tread the holy city under foot for forty-two months.

WEB (Hebrews 10:10) 10 by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

That the nations trample this altar for 42 months can mean nothing else, than that for 42 months no person can join Christianity on the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus. The great multitude of Christians is – as the saints – in the temple (sanctuary – naos) itself, to perform service to God:

WEB (Revelation 7:15) 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.

In the temple of Herod was provided in an inner forecourt (for Jews only) and an outer forecourt. John speaks only of ‘forecourt’, making no distinction, thus referring to the – under Divine inspiration built – temple of Solomon.
Then there is an announcement, that during the tribulation two witnesses of the Lord will be on earth for 1260 days (Rev.11: 3), or the aforementioned 42 months Rev. 11:2 (each 30 days)

The two witnesses:
The two witnesses will work for 1,260 days and are dressed in sackcloth. This means that their coverage entails a message, where repentance will fit.
The work of these two prophets witness will be a testimony to all nations, the last chance to repent and show faith in the Heavenly Father and His Son:

WEB (Matthew 24:14) 14 This Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The two witnesses are compared with two lamp stands and two olive trees. (Rev.11: 4) This imagery can also be seen in Zechariah 4:11-14, where these lamp stands are an indicating of the two anointed ones:

WEB (Zechariah 4:11-14) 11 Then I asked him, “What are these two olive trees on the right side of the lampstand and on the left side of it?” 12 I asked him the second time, “What are these two olive-branches, which are beside the two golden spouts, that pour the golden oil out of themselves?” 13 He answered me, “Don’t you know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

Moses and Elijah are among the anointed prophets:

WEB (Numbers 11:25) 25 Yahweh came down in the cloud, and spoke to him (Moses), and took of the Spirit that was on him, and put it on the seventy elders: and it happened that when the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did so no more.
WEB (1 Kings 19:16) 16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi shall you anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah shall you anoint to be prophet in your room.

They are also the two prophets in the transfiguration of Jesus:

WEB (Luke 9:30) 30 Behold, two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah,

Jesus is depicted in Acts as the greater Moses and John the Baptist is the anti-typical Elijah:

WEB (Acts 3:22) 22 For Moses indeed said to the fathers, ‘The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me. You shall listen to him in all things whatever he says to you.
WEB (Matthew 11:12-14) 12 From the days of John the Baptizer until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come.

The two witnesses have the authority to shut heaven, that no rain falls, to change water into blood and to strike the earth with all sorts of plagues. (Op.11: 6)
As prophet Elijah had received the authority that no rain fell:

WEB (1 Kings 17:1) 1 Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the foreigners of Gilead, said to Ahab, As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

As prophet Moses had received the authority to change water into blood and to carry out the plagues in Egypt:

WEB (Exodus 7:20) 20 Moses and Aaron did so, as Yahweh commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

In all probability Moses and Elijah are these two witnesses.
Will Elijah and Moses appear personally in the end time?
That is not to be expected, because in the earlier appearance of Elijah, there was not said that John the Baptist would literally ‘be’ Elijah, but that he would have ‘the spirit and power’ of Elijah:

WEB (Luke 1:17) 17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the wild beast that ascends out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. (Revelation 11:7)
The article “ world powers 9. The woman and the scarlet colored wild beast “shows, that this ‘scarlet’ beast from the abyss (Rev. 17:8) means a financial system, the 8th kingdom, that has a firm grip on the New World Order, the political power . This beast from the abyss, this financial system, will kill the 2 witnesses on command of the 10 kings:

WEB (Revelation 17:8) 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present. (Financial power)
WEB (Revelation 11:7) 7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.

Their bodies will lie in the broad street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Revelation 11:8

This great city is an image of the situation of “Jerusalem” in Jesus’ day, claiming to worship God but became sinful as Sodom for fornication and became part of idolatry like Egypt. It is an image of unrepentant people, who do not have faith in the Messiah, the Son of Man:

WEB (Isaiah 1:8-10) 8 The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a hut in a field of melons, Like a besieged city. 9 Unless Yahweh of Armies had left to us a very small remnant, We would have been as Sodom; We would have been like Gomorrah. 10 Hear the word of Yahweh, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
WEB (Zechariah 13:1-2) 1 “In that day there will be a spring opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. 2 It will come to pass in that day, says Yahweh of Armies, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they will no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the spirit of impurity to pass out of the land.

The people on earth are cheerfully about their death, but after 3.5 days they will be resurrected and ascend into heaven. Revelation 11:9-12
A major earthquake follows, whereby seven thousand people are killed. Revelation 11:13

The seventh trumpet sounds, this means the third and final woe:

After God has taken the kingship to himself, along with his Messiah, the 24 elderly give an enumeration to John of the events that subsequently will take place:

WEB (Revelation 11:15-18) 15 The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!” 16 The twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God’s throne, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was; because you have taken your great power, and reigned. 18 The nations were angry, and your wrath came, as did the time for the dead to be judged, and to give your bondservants the prophets, their reward, as well as to the saints, and those who fear your name, to the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

The 24 elders tell in the vision of John, that the dead will be judged, about the giving of rewards and also about the reward of themselves as God’s servants, the prophets.
The already resurrected prophets, saints and the great multitude receive as a reward – as we shall see later in this article – their installation in the New Jerusalem, each with its own task.
Next, the sanctuary in heaven is opened, and the ark of the covenant is seen, so the access to the holy of holy is opened. Rev. 11:19. During the opening of the temple sanctuary, an earthquake and great hail followed.
When Jesus died, the curtain separation between the holy and the most holy tore in half as a sign that Jesus offering had opened the access to the most holy place:

WEB (Matthew 27:50-51) 50 Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. 51 Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split.

Read more at: end time 5. Revelation; the pregnant woman

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end time 12. What is the current status?

If we consider the signs in the Gospels (see end time 2. The Gospels), we are in the transition from ‘Beginning of woes of distress’ to ‘The great tribulation and persecution’, a period that is called  ‘the last days’ in 2 Timothy 3:1-2:

WEB (2 Timothy 3:1-2) 1 But know this, that in the last days, grievous times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, ….

Beginning of woes of distress:
False Christs, Wars, Famines, Infectious Diseases, Earthquakes.

The great tribulation and persecution:
Be slain, By all be hated, Many Christians will stumble, Will betray and hate, Lawlessness increases, Love will grow cold, Gospel preaching worldwide, The great tribulation, False Christs and false prophets who will do great signs, Many nations will search for God

The chosen approach is, to only make an overview of the signs of ‘The great tribulation and persecution’ in the last days. These signs will soon gain momentum since Christians especially in this time period have become massively apostate. The great tribulation and persecution will therefore take place shortly.

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What the current status concerns, the last days, there are 3 clear starting points:

The massive apostate has already come (2 Thess. 2:3, Daniel 8:23)
The people have widely become greedy. (2 Tim. 3:1-2) See: end time 10. The rebellion
The 8th kingdom, the financial system, reigns. (Rev. 17:11) See: end time 11. The main themes
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The seventh king, the American empire
The seventh head or crowned king, the American empire, must continue a little while “a short time” and then make room for the 8th kingdom, a financial system. (Rev.17: 10) (see also: world powers 3. The 7th King, the American Empire)

The 8th kingdom, a financial system
After the American empire, a new king comes, a world power, with no mention of crowns as public identification of the monarchy as with the previous kings. (compare Rev. 13:1 with Rev. 17:3) This last world power, the 8th kingdom, is not a power of a kingdom as before (it was, but it is not), but is a financial power and comes from the seven. (Rev. 17:11) (See: world powers 9. The woman and the scarlet-colored wild beast and world powers 10. The 8th kingdom, the 10 kings)

WEB (Revelation 17:11-12) 11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes to destruction. 12 The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour.

This eighth kingdom will, according to Revelation, receive the power to govern  for 1 hour (a short period), who represents the 10 uncrowned kings, who have not yet received the kingdom.
Our study shows, that the central banks – particularly the Fed – are the 8th kingdom.

The apostate
The last days are now gaining momentum because Christians have become massively apostate. (2 Thess. 2:3)

WEB (2 Thessalonians 2:3) 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction,

This important marker of the Christian departure is in our eyes already passed, first in Europe and then in the rest of the world.
Maybe in some parts like in Africa or Asia there is limited growth, but to set the Christian moral lifestyle centrally in life is in most countries really over.

The false prophet
Immediately after the apostate, the false prophet appears, who exalts himself as a God  and demands exclusive devotion. (2Tess. 2:3,4)

WEB (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) …. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.

The false prophet does great signs
We have from Scripture a clear picture of how the false prophet will manifest himself, but we still  can not identify him precisely  because we have not yet seen the powerful signs that he will do.

WEB (Revelation 13:13-14) 13 He performs great signs, even making fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the sight of people. 14 He deceives my own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs he was granted to do in front of the beast; ….

The false prophet is the initiator for making the image
(see also world powers 7. An ‘image’ for the first wild beast)

The mark of the false prophet;
The false prophet exerts coercion on all people to accept the mark of him, his name or the number of his name  and ensures that only people with the mark can buy or sell.

WEB (Revelation 13:16-17) 16 He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads; 17 and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name.

This mark predicts unfortunately not much good, people with the mark will also undergo the wrath of God:

WEB (Revelation 14:9-10) 9 Another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, …..

The heavenly vision
After the inspection of the 7 municipalities, John is asked (in Rev. chapter 4)  to ascend to heaven so that further heavenly vision  can be shown to him:

WEB (Revelation 4:1) 1 After these things I looked and saw a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, like a trumpet speaking with me, was one saying, “Come up here, and I will show you the things which must happen after this.”

The inclusion of the firstfruits, the prophets, in heaven
(See also: end time 7. Revelation, the harvest)
The birth of the child, the New Jerusalem, also relates to the resurrection of the prophets, they are also among the first fruits.

WEB (Hebrews 11:13-16) 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and embraced them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking after a country of their own. 15 If indeed they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had enough time to return. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

WEB (Revelation 4:4) 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones. On the thrones were twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white garments, with crowns of gold on their heads.

The fifth trumpet sounds, the first woe:
The angels, imprisoned in Tartarus, get the power for 5 months to torment the people who do not have the seal of God on the forehead. (Rev. 9:5-6) (See: end time 4. Revelation, the 7 trumpets)
They are presenting themselves with their crowns as of important descent, king’s sons, with their human faces they present themselves as understandable people and with their female hair they present themselves as sweetly as women. (Rev. 9:7-8)
In reality they possess fearsome teeth like lions and venomous tails like scorpions.

The sixth trumpet sounds, the second woe:
Four angels become loosened and make it possible that a very large group of riders can kill the third part of men. (Rev. 9:15)
The rest of the people did not repent of their works. (Rev. 9:20,21)
There is no postponement anymore. (Rev. 10:6)

Preaching by the 2 witnesses
The two witnesses will work for 1,260 days clothed in sackcloth. This means that their witness work entails a message, where repentance fits in.
The testimony of these two prophets  will be a testimony to all nations, the last chance to repent and showing believe in the Heavenly Father and His Son:

WEB (Matthew 24:14) 14 This Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the wild beast that ascends out of the abyss (the 8th kingdom) will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. (Rev. 11:7)

The seventh trumpet sounds, the third and final woe:

God’s kingdom has come.

The heavenly Father has begun to reign as king. (Rev. 11:15-17)
The kingdoms of the world have become the kingdoms of God and his Messiah. The 24 elders give a summary to John of the rewards for people who are going to take place in the New Jerusalem: The reward for the prophets, the saints and those (young and old) who have respect for Your name. (Rev.11: 18)

The rapture of the saints in heaven
(See also: end time 7. Revelation, the harvest)
During the seventh trumpet, the 144,000 saints will receive an inclusion into heaven, caught up by the Lord:

WEB (1 Thessalonians 4:17) 17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever.

WEB (1 Corinthians 15:51-52) 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.

The birth of the New Jerusalem
The heavenly Jerusalem, a heavenly organization of angels, is about to give birth. The birth of the ‘symbolic’ child is the New Jerusalem. (Rev. 12:1,2) (See: end time 5. Revelation, the pregnant woman)
Michael and his angels fight against Satan and overcome him. (Rev. 12:7)
Satan is hurled down to the earth, together with his angels. (Rev. 12:9)
Now Satan is hurled down, God’s kingdom may operate. (Rev. 12:10)
After Satan was hurled down to the earth, he  first prosecutes the angels who also have tasks on earth and he is furious. (Rev. 12:12,13)
Then Satan prosecutes ‘the remaining seed’, the saints on earth. (Rev. 12:17)
The newborn child, a ‘symbolic’ male child, is a new heavenly organization that will rule all the nations with an iron rod. (Rev. 12:5)
This ‘ruling with a rod of iron’ refers to the way of ruling that will be very fundamentally. (Rev. 2:26-27)

The king of the south
The king of the south (not yet identified) will collide with the king of the north, with the US. (Daniel 11:40)

China has invested heavily in U.S. Treasuries. According to Bloomberg, the debt is more than $ 1000 billion.
If the dollar further dilutes or if the U.S. would not be able or doesn’t want to pay back the debt, then it could just happen that China becomes the king of the south.

The persecution of Christians
The US will, led by the 8th kingdom, persecute Christians.

WEB (Daniel 8:24) 24 …. and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and do his pleasure; and he shall destroy the mighty ones and the holy people.
 
WEB (Matthew 24:9) 9 Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake.

The 8th kingdom will, together with the US, make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them, along with all faithful Christians.

WEB (Revelation 17:14) 14 These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. They also will overcome who are with him, called and chosen and faithful.”

The destruction of whore, the (financial) idolatry in all its forms
Then follows a fierce struggle of the 10 kings together with the US against the whore and ‘her idolatry in all its forms’ will be destroyed:

WEB (Revelation 17:16-17) 16 The ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute, and will make her desolate, and will make her naked, and will eat her flesh, and will burn her utterly with fire. 17 For God has put in their hearts to do what he has in mind, and to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished.

The great war at Har-Mágedon
The kings of the earth (the NATO) are gathered unto the war of the great day of God the Almighty to Har-Mágedon:

WEB (Revelation 16:14-16) 14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs; which go forth to the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of that great day of God, the Almighty. 15 “Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his clothes, so that he doesn’t walk naked, and they see his shame.” 16 He gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew, Megiddo.

Jesus makes war with his army  in righteousness:

HerzSt (Revelation 19:11) 11 I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war.

The inclusion of a great multitude in heaven
(See also: end time 7. Revelation, the harvest)
After the 6th scale, but before the seventh bowl is poured, the great multitude is included into heaven:

WEB (Revelation 16:12,15) 12 The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates. Its water was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sunrise.

15 “Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his clothes, so that he doesn’t walk naked, and they see his shame.”

The great multitude  will be servants in the temple

WEB (Revelation 7:15) 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.

Jesus begins to reign with the 144,000 saints
The saints sit down on their thrones and reign a thousand years as kings and priests together with Christ. (Rev. 20:4,6)

The conclusion of the system of things
The great tribulation will be a financial and economic oppression caused by the 8th kingdom, the central banks, who will prove to be a ruthless king.
Greed and power will be important reasons for this financial debacle.
Christians will be hated and persecuted, not in the least because they are not willing to accept the mark of the false prophet, under no circumstances.
This false prophet will require exclusive devotion.
Not being able to buy or sell, will test every Christian, and will show who will persevere in faith. Every Christian must therefore under tribulation show  his faith and trust in the heavenly Father and the Lamb.
The heavenly Father will not allow His faithful people succumb under this oppression.
The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night and when they say that there is peace and security, their destruction will come. (1 Thess. 5:2-3)
Just before the attack on the great multitude is deployed by the US and 8th kingdom, Jesus will intervene with his army. (Daniel 11:45) (Daniel 8:23-25) (Rev. 17:12-14)
This is the war of the great day of God the Almighty at Har-Mágedon.
The false prophet and the 10 kings will be destroyed  in this war. (Rev. 19:19-21)
Like the unrepentant men, – as the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars (Rev. 21:8) – for they who destroy the earth, will now be destroyed themselves. (Rev. 11:18)
The immediate end will be marked by natural disasters on such a scale that have never occurred before.(Luke 21:25-26) (Luke 17:26-29) (2 Peter 3:10) (Rev. 6:14)
Before natural disasters break loose in the last days, the great multitude will also have to obey “immediately and without hesitation” and leave as Noah and Lot did.
Satan is imprisoned in Tartarus. (Rev. 20:2)

Who endures to the end, and who remains the worship of the only Heavenly Father, those will be saved:

WEB (Acts 2:21) 21 It will be, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
 
WEB (Matthew 24:13) 13 But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.

What follows after 1000 years
The already deceased people will be resurrected again only after a thousand years. (Rev. 20:5)
They will be judged according to the book of life. Whose names are not written in the book of life, will be destroyed. (Rev. 20:11-15)
Satan will be released, will still deceive many and will then be destroyed. (Rev. 20:10)
The New Jerusalem descends from heaven, God is with the people, and will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and death will be no more. (Rev. 21:2-4)

With the resurrection of the deceased people and the descent of the New Jerusalem to earth, the prophecy will be fulfilled, that the meek shall inherit the earth. (Matt. 5:5)

WEB (Isaiah 11:4-9) 4 But with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with equity for the humble of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; And with the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his waist. 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow and the bear will graze. Their young ones will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child will play near a cobra’s hole, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. 9 They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; For the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea.

End

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end time 11. The main themes

Main themes Gospels:

a)       Beginning of pangs of distress

Matt. 24:5+Luke 21:8                                False Christs
Matt. 24:6+Luke 21:9+Rev. 6:4                Wars
Matt. 24:7+Luke 21:11+Rev. 6:6,8           Famines,  infectious diseases,  earthquakes

b) The great tribulation and persecution

Matt. 24:9+Luke+21:17,21+Rev. 6:9       Persecution, be slain, be hated by all
Matt. 24:10+Luke 21:16                           Many Christians will stumble, will betray and hate
Matthew 24:12                                         Lawlessness is increasing, love will grow cold
Matthew 24:14                                         Gospel preaching worldwide
Matthew 24:21                                         The great tribulation
Matthew 24:11                                         False Christs and false prophets who will do great signs

c) The Second Coming of Jesus

Matthew 24:17                  If you are on the roof during the inclusion, do not go in the house to pick up goods.
Matthew 24:18                  If you are on the field during the inclusion, then turn not back home to pick up clothing.
Luke 17:26                       Jesus days will be as in the days of Noah, after the closing of the ark, suddenly the flood comes.
Luke 17:29                       Jesus days will be as in the days of Lot, after his departure from Sodom, suddenly fire and brimstone are coming upon Sodom.
Matt 24:44 + Luke 12:40  The son of man is coming at a time when you do not expect Him.
Revelation 6:2                  Jesus is given a crown as a sign of Kingdom Power.
Matt 24:30 + Luke 21:27+Rev. 1:7   Sign of the son of man in the clouds.
Matthew 24:31                 Jesus begins with the gathering of the elect saints.

d) The final end of the world

Matt. 24:29+Luke 21:25+Rev. 6:12,13 After the tribulation the sun will be darkened, the moon will not shine, and the stars fall from the sky
Matt. 24:29+Luke 21:26   The powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Revelation 6:15,16          The people will have great fear of the wrath of God and the Lamb.
2 Peter 3:10                    The heavens will pass away with a great noise.
Luke 21:25                      The people become desperate by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
Revelation 6:14               All the mountains and all the islands are torn from their places.
1 Thess. 5:2-3                The day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them.

Main Themes of Revelation

The false prophet is the initiator of the NewWorldOrder: (see world powers 7. An “image” for the first wild beast)

WEB (Revelation 13:14-15) 14 He deceives my own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs he was granted to do in front of the beast; saying to those who dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who had the sword wound and lived.15 It was given to him to give breath to it, to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as wouldn’t worship the image of the beast to be killed.

The false prophet has authority and tells the Earthlings that they have to make an image of the world powers.
For further info about the image, see:
Idolatry    5. Worship of the ‘image’   https://www.dojc.nl/?p=5272&lang=en

The NWO is not yet formed. This will not take long, because the 8th kingdom, together with the NWO, will receive authority for one hour. (Rev. 17:12)
The 10 kings will give their power to their financial system. (Rev. 17:13)

WEB (Daniel 11:38-39) 38 But in his place shall he honor the god of fortresses; [the wild beast with two horns, the man of lawlessness (2Thess. 2:3,4,9)] and a god whom his fathers didn’t know shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god: [the helper of the 8th kingdom, the beast with two horns, the false prophet (2Thess. 2:3,4,9)] whoever acknowledges him he will increase with glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price. [the 8th kingdom has as a financial system  a complete grip on the NWO]

The NWO
There are now discussions between 11 members and 1 interested about commercial interests that have never been so radical for national democracies, the Trans Pacific Partnership.
It is an open partnership where eventually more members can participate.
The current 11 TPP members, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam have completed their 16th round of talks in Singapore in mid-March 2013. The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on 15 March that Japan (the third world economy) has offered to join the TPP negotiations to join. Multinational companies will get great power in the participating countries.
The U.S. government of Obama wants the negotiations have been completed in October 2013.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/15353-transpacific-partnership-will-undermine-democracy-empower-transnational-corporations
Trans Pacific Partnership Will Undermine Democracy, Empower Transnational Corporations

“On critical issues, the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) being negotiated in secret by the Obama administration will undermine democracy in the United States and around the world and further empower transnational corporations. It will circumvent protections for health care, wages, labor rights, consumers’ rights and the environment, and decrease regulation of big finance and risky investment practices.
The only way this treaty, which will be very unpopular with the American people once they are aware of it, can be approved is if the Obama administration avoids the democratic process by using an authority known as “Fast Track,” which limits the constitutional checks and balances of Congress.

If the TPP is approved, the sovereignty of the United States and other member nations will be dissipated by trade tribunals that favor corporate power and force national laws to be subservient to corporate interests.”

As we understand it, the multinational companies are increasingly interested parties and therefore governors of the participating countries. If this partnership (TPP) has been established and is functioning, more countries will want to join. The NWO exists ,in our eyes, out of the large multinational companies that will actual govern the countries.

The current currency system – based on the US dollar as the world reserve currency – is about to fall over, because the debt system is blown up like a bubble and can no longer be controlled by applying inflation.

The 8th kingdom, a financial system

After the American empire, a new king comes, a world power, with no mention of a crown as a public identification of the monarchy as with the previous kings (Rev. 17:3) This last world power, the 8th kingdom, is not a power of a kingdom as before (it was, but it is not), but is a financial power and comes out of the seven. (Rev. 17:11) (See world powers 9. The woman and the scarlet colored wild beast and world powers 10. The eighth kingdom, the 10 kings)

WEB (Revelation 17:11,12) 11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes to destruction. 12 The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour.

The Federal Reserve System or the Federal Reserve (also known informally The Fed) is the private, central bank of the United States of America, similar to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. The Bank is governed by a Board which is appointed by the President. Although the Federal Reserve name suggests otherwise, the bank is not owned by the state: the shares are required by all participating banks (“members”). (Source: Wikipedia)

The FED and ECB banks are autonomous, they operate independently of governments.
In March / April 2013, the Dow Jones rose to a new All Time High final record.
According to various stock market gurus, the Fed has become the most powerful organization on earth with its free money stimulation policy.

According to Paul Craig Roberts – a former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury – the extreme “printing” of extra dollars has as a result an enormously fleeing into gold.
This is also been seen by the Fed and this undermines the value of U.S. bonds, has a negative impact on maintain low interest rates and worsens the position of the dollar as a world currency.
According to Roberts, the participating banks of the FED have widely gone short on gold to get the price down, to understand well, the physical gold price. The demand for gold is still very large through the currency war.

The gold price

When central banks bring a lot of money into circulation as now in the U.S. and Japan (early 2013), then there is historically a high demand for gold by the dilution of the currency.
Only 5 banks are involved in order to determine the London gold price: Société Générale, HSBC Holdings, the Bank of Nova Scotia, Deutsche Bank and Barclays.
According to the Protocol, the gold price is determined 2x a day by the difference between supply and demand.
However according to GATA (Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee) the gold price is manipulated:

http://www.gata.org/node/12429
“When news such as the Cyprus banking debacle hits the headlines, gold and silver get sold down aggressively,” Macleod writes. “This contrary action is consistent with intervention designed to bolster confidence in paper money. The evidence that central banks and their agencies have been suppressing the price of gold is therefore overwhelming, and Paul Roberts’ analysis confirms why this is happening.”

http://goldinvestingnews.com/33634/gold-price-manipulation-gata-central-banks-united-states-federal-reserve.html
Chris Powell, treasurer, secretary and director of GATA:
Central banks whose currencies – the U.S. dollar in particular – want to support, the interest rates and government bond rates to control, so they intervene in the gold market through the public sale of their gold by leasing in the market through of bullion banks and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and by these to swap with other central banks such sale or rental will do. They also sell gold options and futures contracts through the BIS. They go far ‘short’ in gold to the price control.

Going short or short selling is the selling of securities that one not possesses, in order to benefit from a fall in the share price.

The Bank for International Settlements (often abbreviated as BIS) (German: Bank für Internationalen Zahlungsausgleich) is an international organization that strives for international monetary and financial cooperation and acts as bank for the national central banks. The bank is based in Basel, Switzerland and has a branch in Hong Kong and Mexico City. (source Wikipedia)

http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2013/04/04/the-assault-on-gold-paul-craig-roberts/
Paul Craig Roberts, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration

For Americans, financial and economic Armageddon might be close at hand. The evidence for this conclusion is the concerted effort by the Federal Reserve and its dependent financial institutions to scare people away from gold and silver by driving down their prices.

We can not but conclude that the central banks reign, they have become the 8th kingdom! They don’t show yet their royal power fully, but that is only a matter of time.
The eighth world power will occur recognizable when the bought government bonds have to be repaid or interest (now slightly more than 0%) on the bonds will be increased.
The 10 uncrowned kings (the 8th kingdom) will receive for 1 hour (only a short period) authority (Rev. 17:11,12)

Babylon the Great, the city of idolatry

WEB (Revelation 17:5) 5 And on her forehead a name was written, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

The woman has a revealing name on her forehead, Babylon the great, mother of the prostitutes and  abominations  of the earth. (See world powers 9. The woman and the scarlet colored wild beast)

This makes it clear that the woman represents all fornication, an image of the global (financial) idolatry or adulterous relationship with respect to the Creator.
In other words: The (financial) idolatry in all its forms.

WEB (Revelation 18:4) 4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that you have no participation in her sins, and that you don’t receive of her plagues,
 
Christians are begged to go away from all idolatry , if we do not want to receive God’s wrath together with Babylon the Great, the city of idolatry. (Rev. 18:4)
On one day  her plagues shall come, death and mourning and famine, she will be burned with fire. (Rev. 18:8)
But who endures to the end, and continues to worship the only heavenly Father, will be saved:

WEB (Acts 2:21) 21 It will be, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

WEB (Matthew 24:13) 13 But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.

WEB (Luke 21:19) 19 By your endurance you will win your lives.

Read more at: 12. What is the current status?

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end time 9. Revelation; chapter 17-22

Revelation 17         (see world powers 9. The woman and the scarlet colored wild beast)

Revelation 17:3-5     Babylon the Great, the city of idolatry
Revelation 17:7-8     The financial world power, the 8th kingdom
Revelation 17:12-14 The 10 kings will  fight against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them.
Revelation 17:16      The 10 kings will hate the whore and destroy her.

Revelation 18
Revelation 18:2     An angel with great authority cried that Babylon the Great has fallen.
Revelation 18:4     Come out of her to not receive a part of her plagues, is said against God’s people.
Revelation 18:8     On 1 day her plagues will come, death and mourning and famine, she shall be burned with fire.
Revelation 19:9-19 The kings of the earth will weep over her. The traveling merchants mourn over her. Each sailor will weep and mourn.

Revelation 19
Revelation 19:2        The judgment of the whore is executed.
Revelation 19:6         A great multitude says that God has begun to reign.
Revelation 19:11-16 There appears a white horse with the “Word of God” as rider and makes war in righteousness. He will rule the nations with an iron rod. (See also end time 5. Revelation, the pregnant woman)
Revelation 19:17-21 A war arises between the rider on the white horse and his army against the financial system and the NWO, but these will be destroyed just as the false prophet and those who worship this financial system.

Revelation 20
Revelation 20:1-2 Satan for 1000 years locked in the abyss.
Revelation 20:4 The 144,000 chosen ones will rule as kings with Christ, a thousand years.

After the great tribulation the sign of the Son will appear followed by – after a loud trumpet – the inclusion of the 144,000 chosen ones.
Then ‘all tribes’ will mourn:

WEB (Matthew 24:29-31) 29 But immediately after the oppression of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; 30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn , and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 is written that during a sound of a trumpet, the Lord will come, and that the deceased together with the living saints will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 is written that the dead saints are raised during the last trumpet, the 7th trumpet. The ‘dead prophets’ will be previously raised as the saints.
Only afterwards,  all other living faithful Christians will be included. The latter may not sit on thrones but get a task as servants in the temple.

WEB (Revelation 20:4-6) 4 I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived, and reigned with Christ for the thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead didn’t live until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him one thousand years.

Revelation 20:5 is a partially interleaved sense and is therefore sometimes in brackets: (The rest of the dead didn’t live until the thousand years were finished.)
The part of Rev. 20:5: “This is the first resurrection” refers to both verse 4 and 6.
The first resurrection is only for the firstfruits. The second resurrection is meant for all deceased people who will receive a resurrection after 1000 years and are given a chance. In verse 6 is written that death has no power over the first resurrection. Logical Reasoning, death will have power over the second resurrection.

Revelation 20:7-10 Satan will be released after the 1000 years for a short period, he will deceive many and will collect them to war. Afterwards Satan will be destroyed.
Revelation 20:11-15 The dead are judged according to the book of life. Whose name is not written in the book of life, will be destroyed.

Revelation 21
Revelation 21:1 the old heaven and earth have passed away.
Revelation 21:2 The New Jerusalem descends to earth, God is with his people.
With the descent of the New Jerusalem to earth, the prophecy will be fulfilled, that the meek shall inherit the earth:

WEB (Matthew 5:5) 5 Blessed are the gentle, For they shall inherit the earth.

Revelation 21:9   One of the angels (of the bowls) shows the bride of the Lamb, the 144.000.
Revelation 21:22 The New Jerusalem has no temple because God Almighty as the Lamb are its temple.

Revelation 22
WEB (Revelation 22:1-2) 1 He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Read more at: end time 10. The rebellion

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end time 8. Revelation; the 7 bowls

Revelation 15 The seven bowls
Revelation 15:1 Sign of 7 angels with 7 plagues, which forms the end of God’s wrath.
Revelation 15:7 The seven angels receive golden bowls with the wrath of God.

Revelation 16 The seven plagues
Revelation 16:2 The first bowl give ulcers on the people who have the mark of the beast
Revelation 16:3 The second bowl makes the sea like blood, everything in the sea dies.
Revelation 16:4 The third bowl makes the rivers and springs as blood.
Revelation 16:8 The fourth bowl makes that the sun scorches people with great heat.
Revelation 16:10,11 The fifth bowl makes that the 7th and final world power is experiencing great tribulation, but does not repent. The fifth bowl is poured out on the throne of the beast which received his throne from Satan. (see Rev. 13: 2)

Concerning Babylon the Great see:
4. Worship of the ‘image’ https://www.dojc.nl/?p=5231&lang=en

WEB (Revelation 16:13-16) 13 I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, something like frogs; 14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs; which go forth to the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of that great day of God, the Almighty. 15 “Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his clothes, so that he doesn’t walk naked, and they see his shame.” 16 He gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew, Megiddo.

From the mouth of the dragon (Satan), from the mouth of the wild beast (the financial eight kingdom) and from the mouth of the false prophet, are coming three unclean spirits. Spirits of demons, which perform signs and will gather the kings of the earth (New World Order) to the war of the great day of God the Almighty at Har–Mágedon.
The conduct of these three unclean spirits is compared with frogs, like the frog plague during the exodus from Egypt. The land stank because of this plague:

WEB (Exodus 8:3,14) 3 and the river shall swarm with frogs, which shall go up and come into your house, and into your bedchamber, and on your bed, and into the house of your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens, and into your kneading-troughs:
14 They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.

In Revelation 16:15, after the outpouring of the 6th bowl, the inclusion follows of the other faithful Christians, who have not accepted the mark. (See also end time 7. Revelation, the harvest)

Revelation 16:17-18 The seventh bowl makes, that a loud voice from the throne is saying, It is done, followed by the largest earthquake since men on earth.
Babylon the Great falls apart and also the cities of the nations collapse.
Revelation 16:20-21 All the islands are fled away and mountains were not found. A large hail with extraordinary large hailstones fell from the sky. The men blasphemed God for this hailstorm.

With the pouring out of the seventh bowl (Rev. 16:17-21) happen extremely vehement things on earth, natural disasters that have never been taken place on such a scale:

WEB (Luke 21:25-26) 25 There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves; 26 men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

WEB (Luke 17:26-29) 26 As it happened in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, even as it happened in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky, and destroyed them all.

WEB (2 Peter 3:10) 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

WEB (Revelation 6:14) 14 The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

It is very doubtful whether with all these vehement natural forces the (nuclear) power plants, chemical industry, oil industry and platforms, etc. can stop harmless by itself or can be stopped.
According to Scripture, it will take a thousand years before the earth settles and will be recovered again for habitation. Then, the rest of the dead will be resurrected:

WEB (Revelation 20:5) 5 The rest of the dead didn’t live until the thousand years were finished……

The rest of the dead’ do not receive the first resurrection, this first resurrection only concerns the deceased 24 prophets and saints.

Read more at: 9. Revelation, chapter 17-22

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end time 7. Revelation; the harvest

Revelation 14:
Revelation 14:1-5     The Lamb stands with the 144,000 saints on the heavenly Mount Zion.
Revelation 14:8         Babylon the Great has fallen.
Revelation 14:9-11    Anyone who has received the mark will receive God’s wrath.
Revelation 14:14       A white cloud with the Son of Man with a sickle wants to harvest.
Revelation 14:15-16  The earth is harvested by the Son of Man.
Revelation 14:17-20  Another angel harvest the unrepentant people who will undergo God’s wrath

The rapture of the saints in heaven:

The installation of the New Jerusalem will begin, according to the Scriptures, with the first fruits:

WEB (Romans 8:22-23) 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only so, ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

WEB (James 1:18) 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

WEB (Revelation 14:1,4) 1 I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. 4 These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed by Jesus from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb.

First, the deceased saints will receive a resurrection, afterwards the still living saints will change in an instant and meet the Lord during the last (7th) trumpet:

WEB (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, 17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air……

WEB (1 Corinthians 15:51-52) 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.

The inclusion of the prophets in heaven:

The birth of the child, the New Jerusalem, also relates to the resurrection of the prophets, they are also among the first fruits.
They have always prophesied by Holy Spirit and in that regard they also belong to the sons of God:

WEB (2 Peter 1:21) 21 For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit.

WEB (Romans 8:14-15) 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. 15 For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba ! Father!”

The prophets will be included in the heavenly kingdom as first fruits, even before the 144,000 saints.

The 24 prophets sit around the throne of our Heavenly Father, who has His throne in the New Jerusalem:

WEB (Revelation 4:4) 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones. On the thrones were twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white garments, with crowns of gold on their heads.

WEB (Revelation 21:22) 22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.

WEB (Zechariah 8:3) 3 Thus says Yahweh: “I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called ‘The City of Truth;’ and the mountain of Yahweh of Armies, ‘The Holy Mountain.’”

The rapture of the great multitude in heaven:

During the 7th trumpet the 144,000 saints undergo a change, in an instant, they receive a heavenly resurrection and they go to meet the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:16-17) (1 Cor. 15:51-52)
After the 7th trumpet the seven bowls’ with the wrath of God are poured out as described in Revelation chapter 16.
In Revelation 16:15, after the outpouring of the 6th scale, the rapture of the other faithful Christians follows, who have accepted under no circumstances the mark:

WEB (Revelation 13:16-17) 16 He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads; 17 and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name.

WEB (Revelation 14:9-10) 9 Another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.

Concerning the worship of the image, see:
5. Worship of the ‘image’ https://www.dojc.nl/?p=5272&lang=en

Just before the final end, the great multitude gets an inclusion in heaven:

WEB (Revelation 16:15-17) 15 “Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his clothes, so that he doesn’t walk naked, and they see his shame.” 16 He gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew, Megiddo. 17 The seventh poured out his bowl into the air. A loud voice came forth out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”

In Luke and Matthew is written, that the moment of the rapture of the great multitude is a very urgent matter, similar to the sudden destruction by the flood or the sudden destruction of Sodom with fire and brimstone:

WEB (Luke 17:26-32) 26 As it happened in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, even as it happened in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky, and destroyed them all. 30 It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 31 In that day, he who will be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away. Let him who is in the field likewise not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife!

WEB (Matthew 24:36-39) 36 But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37 “As the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39 and they didn’t know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

The prophets will be the first to be incorporated into the heavenly kingdom, afterwards the 14,000 saints and after the 144,000 citizens, the household of God (the great multitude):

WEB (Ephesians 2:19-20) 19 So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, 20 being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone;

The great multitude will be servants in the temple:

WEB (Revelation 7:13-15) 13 One of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are arrayed in white robes, who are they, and from where did they come?” 14 I told him, “My lord, you know.” He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb’s blood. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.

WEB (Revelation 21:22) 22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.

The great multitude is after the inclusion invited to the wedding of the Lamb with the saints:

WEB (Revelation 19:6-7) 6 I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns! 7 Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let us give the glory to him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.”

Read more at: 8. Revelation; the 7 bowls

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end time 6. Revelation; the false prophet

Immediately after the departure the false prophet appears, who exalts himself as a God and desires exclusive devotion. (2Tess. 2:3,4) (see also: world powers 6. The origin of the wild beast with two horns)

WEB (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.

The false prophet therefore is according to 2Thessalonicenzen 2:3 the son of destruction.
In Revelation, the false prophet is described as a person with the appearance of an innocent lamb (Messiah), but with the story full of lies of a dragon (Satan).

WEB (Revelation 13:11) 11 I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke like a dragon.

The number of the false prophet is the number of a man; six hundred sixty-six:

WEB (Revelation 13:18) 18 Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six.

In Scripture, this number appears again in 1 Kings:

WEB (1Kings 10:14,15) 14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold, 15 besides that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mixed people, and of the governors of the country..

Solomon had a great financial wealth in his kingdom, he received 666 talents of gold per year. If we make a direct comparison with Solomon, the person with the number 666 represents probably a very rich person in his time, like King Solomon was.
He wants to be worshiped as God, and be showered with riches: (see: world powers 8. The wild beast with two horns)

WEB (2 Thessalonians 2:4) 4 he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.

WEB (Daniel 11:38) 38 But in his place shall he honor the god of fortresses; and a god whom his fathers didn’t know shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

The wild beast with two horns will provide powerful signs such as fire coming down:

WEB (Revelation 13:13-14) 13 He performs great signs, even making fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the sight of people. 14 He deceives my own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs he was granted to do in front of the beast; saying to those who dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who had the sword wound and lived.

In Rev.  19:20 this wild beast with two horns is identified as “the false prophet”:

WEB (Revelation 19:20) 20 The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived…….

Because the rebellion has already come, the false prophet must soon be revealed.
If we relate the above section to the world as we know it today, there must already be interfaces or connections.

In 2010, an organization is founded, The Giving Pledge.
Pledge  means in this case a signed agreement by a philanthropist to  donate half of his wealth to society, however, it is not a legal contract.
It is an initiative of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet and a lot of very rich people have signed so far The Giving Pledge.
The donated money is mainly used as an investment in education, even kindergartens, in which the foundation wants a delegation in the board.

The reactions to The Giving Pledge are divided:
Pablo Eisenberg, who works at the Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership at Georgetown University, is afraid that it only adds to the amount of mega-foundations. This can have bad consequences for democracy, because these foundations do influence the political agenda very much.
Other people find it a legitimization of greed to then by the people – as appreciation – be placed on a pedestal if in times of crisis  many billions are strewed.

http://www.economist.com/node/21555605
At a recent meeting of The Giving Pledge at Santa Barbara was the hottest topic – according to the article – “impact investing,” a phrase that describes how to invest money to make money and do good at the same time.
Each signatory shall submit a written explanation why he signs the Pledge, many of them take an example of the 19th century steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, who wrote the book “The Gospel of Wealth”.
Herein describes Carnegie that the rich must be trusted by the government so that their money can be useful applied in society to improve the living conditions of the disadvantaged.
Carnegie spent the bulk of his fortune to the construction of 2,500 public libraries.
The theory of Carnegie seems debatable if we look at the huge tax evasion by companies and super rich.

Recently it appears in a TV documentary about ‘tax havens’, that  by a collaboration of large accountancy firms, lawyers and bankers absurd amounts of cash out of the economy are removed and through various tax havens fully or partially  tax-free be laundered.
According to ‘The Guardian’ it may well be possible of globally 32.000 billion dollars:

http://www.euronews.com/2013/04/04/rich-using-offshore-tax-havens-exposed/
It is estimated to 32.000 billion dollars that could stand in offshore accounts , according to The Guardian in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
The offshore industry, said the ICIJ, allows the rich a tax evasion, allows fuel corruption and ignites considerable economic difficulties in both poor countries and rich countries.

The philanthropists of The Giving Pledge, most of their lives people have squeezed through as much as possible to sell for the highest price and many of them have evaded taxes, which are apparently suddenly changed benefactors.

The philanthropists of The Giving Pledge, of which the most  all their life have squeezed people  by selling as much as possible  for the highest price and of which many have evaded taxes, these apparently are suddenly changed into benefactors.

As a Christian, it really is a sin  to want to stand as a benefactor to the fore. They are described in Scripture as hypocrites who want to be honored by men.
Christians don’t let the left hand know what the right hand gives:

WEB (Matthew 6:1-4)  1 “Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most assuredly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does, 4 so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Because this way of charity is in contrary to the Christian lifestyle,  questions arise about this charity:

What do these foundations want back, will they first help people out of the fire with an overwhelming gesture or support them financially  and then impose requirements and make them dependent?
Or it is developing power, to gain prestige and desire exclusive dedication?

In the latter case, this is the identification of the foretold false prophet .

From Scripture we have a clear picture of how the false prophet will manifest himself, but we have not yet seen the powerful signs that he will do.
This false prophet is probably a very rich person, like Solomon. (1 Kings 10:14,15)
He’s like Satan an opponent of God, who opposes and exalts himself and wants to be worshiped as God. (2Thess. 2:4)
This false prophet has the same method as Satan, with all sorts of power and signs and lies. (2 Thess. 2:9)

It is not yet certain that The Giving Pledge is the foretold false prophet.
After all, so far, the actions of The Giving Pledge appear in our eyes still as rather soft signs, which does not mean that it can still start manifesting very different  ….

Read more at: 7. Revelation; the harvest

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end time 5. Revelation; the pregnant woman

WEB (Revelation 12:1-4) 1 A great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was with child. She cried out in pain, laboring to give birth. 3 Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns. 4 His tail drew one third of the stars of the sky, and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

This woman is clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and has a crown of 12 stars. The number 12 occurs more frequently in Scripture  as an organizational form that is complete, as the 12 tribes of God’s covenant people and the 12 apostles of Jesus.
Clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of stars has the meaning of continuous illumination. This light has the meaning of the support of God and the Lamb:

WEB (Revelation 21:23) 23 The city has no need for the sun, neither of the moon, to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

This woman represents the Jerusalem above, the heavenly Jerusalem, the heavenly mother:

WEB (Galatians 4:21-26) 21 Tell me, you that desire to be under the law, don’t you listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the handmaid, and one by the free woman. 23 However, the son by the handmaid was born according to the flesh, but the son by the free woman was born through promise. 24 These things contain an allegory, for these are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar. 25 For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to the Jerusalem that exists now, for she is in bondage with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

WEB (Hebrews 12:22-24) 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable multitudes of angels,…

The heavenly Jerusalem turns out to be a heavenly city and includes an organization of angels with their tasks.

Some tasks of angels:
The transfer of the law of Moses (Acts 7:53) (Galatians 3:19)
An angel defeated the army of the Assyrians, one hundred eighty-five thousand men (2 Kings 19:35)
Angels protect us (Psalm 34:7) (Psalm 91:11-12)
Angels provide an escape from prison (Acts 5:19-20)
An angel strengthened Jesus (Luke 22:42-43)
Angels bring messages, as to Zacharias (Luke 1:5-20), to Mary (Luke 1:26-38), to Joseph (Matthew 1:18-25), to Mary Magdalene (Luke 24:4,5)
Angels make war (Revelation 12:7)
Angels have a leader, an archangel (Jude 9)
Angels can function as monarchs (Daniel 10:13,20-21)
Angels accompany Jesus at his second coming (Matthew 16:27) (Matthew 25:31) (Matthew 24:31)

Not all angels are loyal to the woman, the heavenly Jerusalem.
There is an angel with supporters who rather opposes the woman.
This angel is in Rev. 12:3 depicted as a fiery colored dragon, who wants to destroy the newborn child. Rev.12:9 shows, that this “fiery colored dragon” is Satan.
The heavenly woman is pregnant and has birth pangs. In the scriptures we can read in Isaiah 26:17-21, that birth pangs are the beginning of radical events:

WEB (Isaiah 26:17-19) 17 Like as a woman with child, who draws near the time of her delivery, is in pain and cries out in her pangs; so we have been before you, Yahweh. 18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not worked any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. 19 Your dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth the dead.

The heavenly woman underwent such birth pangs when the birth of the ‘symbolic’ child presented itself:

WEB (Revelation 12:5-9) 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. Her child was caught up to God, and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that there they may nourish her one thousand two hundred sixty days. 7 There was war in the sky. Michael and his angels made war on the dragon. The dragon and his angels made war. 8 They didn’t prevail, neither was a place found for him any more in heaven. 9 The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

The dragon, Satan, is after losing the war in heaven (Revelation 12:7,8) thrown down to the earth, together with his angels.
According to Revelation 12:5, the male child is ‘caught up to God and to his throne’. The child is fully protected by God, who takes care.

The war in heaven:

Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and overcame him:

WEB (Revelation 12:7-10) 7 There was war in the sky. Michael and his angels made war on the dragon. The dragon and his angels made war. 8 They didn’t prevail, neither was a place found for him any more in heaven. 9 The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now is come the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ; for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night.

The name Michael means: Who is like God.
In the Scriptures, Michael is the only angel who is called an archangel:

WEB (Jude 1:9) 9 But Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil and arguing about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him an abusive condemnation, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”

In Daniel, Michael is named one of the chief princes:

WEB (Daniel 10:13,21) 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; but, behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
21 But I will tell you that which is inscribed in the writing of truth: and there is none who holds with me against these, but Michael your prince.”

Whether there are other archangels in heaven, Scripture does not say, but the description “one of the chief princes” suggests this may be the case. (Vine’s Dictionary)
Some believe that Jesus is the archangel Michael, but according to Ephesians 1:20-21, Jesus was raised above all princes, including heavenly princes:

KJV (Ephesians 1:20-21) 20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, the word ‘principality’ in Ephesians 1:21 is a translation of ‘arche’, which is the prefix of archangel:

Topic: Archangel
… cp. Also Rom. 8:38; Eph. 1:21; Col. 1:16, where the word translated “principalities” is arche, the prefix archangel. “* [* From Notes on Thessalonians, by Hogg and Vine, pp.. 142.]…..

That Jesus shouts with a voice like an archangel is no conclusive evidence that Jesus is the archangel Michael:

WEB (1 Thessalonians 4:16) 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first,

This proof is also not provided by the fact, that they both perform a war. In both Revelation 12:7, where is written that Michael and his angels are fighting, as in Revelation 19:11-14, where is written that ‘the one on the white horse’ is in war and his name is ‘The Word of God’, so Jesus (See John 1:1). Michael and his angels fought against the dragon (Satan), but Jesus on the white horse performs a war in justice, a judgment against the kings of the earth and their armies. (Revelation 19:11,19)

Revelation 12:10 speaks of the blessing / salvation of our God, the power of our God, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority or power of his Christ:

WEB (Revelation 12:10-11) 10 I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now is come the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ; for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 They overcame him because of the Lamb’s blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn’t love their life, even to death.

This verse is thus about the salvation of men, the first fruits as first, the powerful intervention of God and the beginning of God’s kingdom with Jesus as King. Because Satan is thrown down to the earth, the promised kingdom can finally start functioning. The 144,000 saints overcome Satan by unconditional faith in the blood of the Lamb, by believing that this blood was also shed for them and by the continued testimony about Jesus under life-threatening conditions.
This ‘symbolic’ newborn child can be nothing else as the newborn New Jerusalem, the heavenly city whose foundation stones are the apostles and Jesus the chief corner stone. (Ephesians 2:19-20) (1 Peter 2:6) (Revelation 21:14)
The 144,000 saints are represented as ‘pillars’ in the New Jerusalem. (Revelation 3:12) That they have the opportunity to reign as kings and priests with Jesus, that is the reward for these saints.
The promised Kingdom will commence:

WEB (2 Peter 3:13) 13 But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which dwells righteousness.

The beginning of this new heavenly organisation, the New Jerusalem, is also the explanation for the severe birth pangs of the heavenly woman. (Revelation 12:2)
That the newborn child is a son, called a male child (Rev. 12:5) indicates, that this new organization is powerful.
After the dragon – Satan – was thrown down to the earth, he first persecutes the heavenly woman who has also tasks on earth. He is furious:

WEB (Revelation 12:12-17) 12 Therefore rejoice, heavens, and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil has gone down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.” 13 When the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14 Two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, so that she might be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 15 The serpent spewed water out of his mouth after the woman like a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream. 16 The earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon spewed out of his mouth. 17 The dragon grew angry with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep God’s commandments and hold Jesus’ testimony.

Protected by the earth means, in this case, protection by Satan’s world system of governments and idolatry. (See the article “world powers 5. The great fiery-colored dragon“)
Then Satan persecutes “the remaining seed” of the woman.(Rev. 12:17). This seed are “the children of the kingdom”, who obey the commandments of God and have made testimony about Jesus, to the death (Op.12: 11):

WEB (Matthew 13:37-39) 37 He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel are the children of the evil one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

The children of the kingdom “are the elected saints, who – like the angels – are sons of God:

WEB (Romans 8:14-15) 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. 15 For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba ! Father!”

The prosecution of the remaining seed means the prosecution of the still living saints.
What says the Scripture furthermore about the child?
This male child will rule all nations with an iron rod. (Revelation 12:5)
This ‘ruling with an iron rod’ refers to the way of reigning, that will be far-reaching:

WEB (Revelation 2:26-27) 26 He who overcomes, and he who keeps my works to the end, to him I will give authority over the nations. 27 He will rule them with a rod of iron, shattering them like clay pots; as I also have received of my Father:

WEB (Revelation 19:13-15) 13 He is clothed in a garment sprinkled with blood. His name is called “The Word of God.” 14 The armies which are in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in white, pure, fine linen. 15 Out of his mouth proceeds a sharp, double-edged sword, that with it he should strike the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty.

Until the end time, this ruling with a rod of iron will take place, the treading of the wine-press of the wrath of God.

Read more at: 6. Revelation, the false prophet