The 7 bowl judgements which emanate from the seventh trumpet are the second and last series of God’s wrath meted out on the Dragon-Beast and their supporters: indeed anyone with the mark of the beast. The living wicked earth-dwellers are the object of God’s wrath. The believers have been raptured to Heaven prior to the breaking of the seventh seal, when the back-to-back sign was given in the sun, moon and stars. The woman, the 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel, the other Jews who survived the first six trumpets have been shepherded to Azel where they are protected from the the wrath of God. The ministry of the two witnesses is over. They have been resurrected and taken to heaven after they have been murdered on the last day of the 70th week at the expiry of their ministry. It must be understood that there are some on Earth at this time who have not taken the mark of the Beast nor are they believers in Jesus Christ as we are today. These are not the object of God’s wrath. They will however be affected by it. Those of them who survive the wrath of God must be processed further through the sheep and goat judgement in order to be admitted into the New millennium. The seven bowls are administered by seven avenging angelic reapers. The bowls used here are shallow saucers which permit easy discarding of the contents. From the time the seventh trumpet is blown on the 5th day of the 30-day reclamation period, there remaineth but 25 days to the battle of Armageddon. So these seven bowls must be poured out on the inhabitants of the Earth in quick succession. It will be very horrible. Finally God’s patience and longsuffering have run out. God has given man long time to repent, he would not, but rather grew worse, deceiving and being deceived(2 Tim.3:13).

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying to the seven angels, Go your ways and pour the vials of the wrath of God upon the Earth.

The revelator heard a great voice out of heaven. Whose voice it is, we are not told. It is probably the voice of the Son to whom God the Father has committed all judgement. It could be also the voice of the Father Himself. In the chronology of end time events, the son is in heaven at this time. The phenomenon of omnipresence is the prerogative of the Trinity. I personally do not think it matters much which one of the two whose voices it is, the Father or the Son. It may well be the voice of the Holy Spirit. Whatever is the case, the outcome is the same. The voice commanded the seven avenging angels to go their ways, and pour out the wrath of God upon the Earth. Go your ways implies that these seven avenging angelic beings are given separate missions in different locations and target different objects of God’s wrath.

The First Bowl(2): Suppurative Cutaneous Eruptions.

And the first went, and poured out of his vital upon the earth, and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

The first went, and poured his vial upon the Earth. The result was instantaneous. There fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men who had the mark of the beast, and upon them who worshipped his image. Although this bowl was poured out upon the whole Earth, the effect was selective. It targeted those who had the mark of the Beast-antiChrist and those who worshipped his statue no matter where they were. This is the phenomenon of double reference. Those who worshipped the statue of the Beast whether publicly or in the privacy of their homes also had the mark. It may be there were some who were chipped just for economic reasons, but never really believed in the worship of the Dragon-Beast. The outcome is the same. They will face the wrath of God. These noisome and grievous sores what are they? In the special branch of medicine called dermatology and venereology, they are many diseases that could present with noisome and grievous sores. They could be Suppurative eruptions, mucocutaneous or venereal diseases. Some translations render it malignant sores. Malignant sores or ulcers are cancerous. They take years to develop following exposure to ultraviolet rays of the sun, x-irradiation from nuclear bomb blasts, and non healing ulcers from physical injuries. Considering the short period in which the bowls are poured out, these sores develop in a matter of hours and days. Since they are so painful, they are most probably malignant. They may start with vesicles which coalesce to form bullae. They rupture leading to malignant ulcers. Survivors of the nuclear bomb blast at Hiroshima and Nagasaki developed ulcers which were malignant.

This is an epidemic of sort, manifesting as painful sores, a consequence of the first bowl. There are historical precedents in the Bible in the plagues of Egypt and Divine afflictions of the Philistines when they violated the Ark of Covenant after defeating the Israelites in battle(Ex.9:8-12; 1 Sam.5:6-12). There is really nothing new under the Earth. This kind of disease is not new. What is new however is that it would be of epidemic proportion though selective in targeting those who bear the mark of the Dragon-Beast and those who bow before his image whether secretly or openly. It is obvious the beast-marked worshippers are the target. “Men” is used here in generic sense. Humanity in general is view. That would include men and women, boys and girls, any beast-marked worshipper of whatever age. I do not think however that those who have not reached the age of sin consciousness, the age of the knowledge of sin and evil would be held accountable.

The Second Bowl(3): The Polution Of The Salt Water Sources.

And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became like the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

The second bowl targets the seas. The waters of the seas shall be turned into blood. This also is not new. There is a historical precedent in the Bible in the first plague of Egypt(Ex.7:14-25). Remember that the wise men of Egypt, the magicians, were able to reproduce and duplicate this plague. Here, no one would try that. Remember that at the breaking of the sixth seal, men understood that God meant business. He is about to punish the world for their evils. No one is ready to argue any more. The disputers of this age, the wise men of the world, the mighty men, the high and the low, philosophers of all persuasions, the Kings and the nobles and the commoners, the rich and the poor peasants shall hide themselves in the dens and rocks of the mountains, inviting the rocks and the mountains to bury out of the sight of Him that sitteth on the throne(Rev.6:15-17). Here no one is contesting with God. The humanists, the evolutionists, the religious bigots and the Islamic jihadists and the terrorists, and the intolerant Hindus dare not rear up their ugly heads in those days. In those days the loftiness and haughtiness of man shall be brought low, only The True GOD of Israel shall be exalted in that day. Men shall enter into the caves and hide in the rocks for fear of the Lord and the glory of His Majesty(Is.2:10-22). The mean man boweth, and the great humbleth himself- to worship the Dragon-Beast and his Statue; therefore forgive them not(Is.2:9). Forgiveness is no more. The mercy of God has ceased, because it has run its course. This is the time for the punishment of the living wicked earth-dwellers.

The sea shall be turned into blood. The sea here is blanket term for all salt water sources, salt water lakes, the seas and the oceans. The blood of a dead man is incapable of supporting life. The blood is the only aspect of the dead body that cannot be used for transplant or transfusion purpose. The blood of a dead man does not flow; it is not oxygenated. All the oxygen in the seas will be used up. The seas would become very toxic to marine plants and animals. The specific gravity of blood and water are different. The blood will not support ocean going vessels, ships and boats. This would spell doom to all forms of life in the seas, the oceans and the salt water lakes. Does any one have doubts that this would be a disaster when every living thing, and all men in the ships in the oceans and seas and salt water lakes perish at once, and there is nothing anyone can do about it? Although the wrath of God targets the worshippers of the Dragon-Beast, it is obvious that anyone who does not have the mark of the Sea-Beast and the number of his name, who happens to be in the the oceans, the seas and the salt water lakes at that time would be a victim. He is at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Third Bowl(4): The polution Of The Fresh Water Sources.

And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.

Here the third bowl targeted the fresh water sources: the rivers and fountains of waters. There is no need to repeat the outcome. The results are the same as in the second bowl judgement. Whatever that is in the rivers and fountains of waters that had life died. It would be as it were in Egypt in the days of Moses. Men would dig everywhere to find fresh water to drink. Thank God this would not last long, lest everyone would die of dehydration. Considering there remaineth but 25 days to Armageddon from the sounding of the seventh trumpet, this plague would last a few days, but the result shall be devastating as is the second bowl.

The Doxology By The Angel Of The Waters(5-7).

And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgements.

And I heard the angel of waters say. We are not told who this angel is nor his regalia, other than that he is the angel of waters. Is he one of the seven bowling-carrying angels? We are not told. The judgements of the second and third angels affected the waters, but he is probably not one of these two angels. He is probably a higher angel in charge of both the fresh and salt water sources. His praise and worship is directed towards He who was and is and shall be. This is most probably the second person of the Trinity, Jesus the Son of God. This phrase is not referent to the Father. Besides, he added: because thou hast judged this. This clinches it ; for the Father had committed all judgement to the Son. As we have pointed out several times, God the Father is Spirit. He does not have a physical body. He cannot rule the Earth directly. He must of necessity do so indirectly, through a human and earthly representative, an Adam. The first man is of the earth earthy: the second man is the Lord from the heavens(1 Cor.15:47). The title deed of the Earth which the first Adam lost is regained by the the last Adam, the second Man who is the Lord Jesus the Christ, the Son of God who is also the Son of Man. He praised God the Son for His judgment which was just and meet. God’s judgement was weighed and balanced, commensurate with the iniquities and atrocities of the perpetrators, the Dragon-Beast and the living wicked earth-dwellers who worshipped the sea-beast and his image. They are worthy of this sort of punishment, inasmuch as they have shed the blood of saints and prophets. If the church had been raptured seven years before the start of the 70th seven of Daniel’s, there would have been no saints and prophets whose blood would have been shed by the living wicked earth-dwellers. God is just. These men and women have shed blood. Therefore God hast given blood to drink. They are worthy of this sort of punishment because God is God of justice: there is no unrighteousness with Him.

The praise and worship rendered to God by this adoring angel is chorused and affirmed by another angel, out of the altar. We are not told which of the altar it is other than he is identified simply as the angel of the altar. He is probably a high ranking angel who guard the altar of God. It is probably out of the second altar of incense from under which the fifth seal matters cried out to God in supplication for vengeance. Remember Daddy told them to wait for a little while until their brethren who were to be killed as they were was completed. Now the full complement of the saints to be martyred is history. The church have been raptured to Heaven. God is now pouring out His wrath on the beast-marked adorers and worshippers of the Dragon-Beast who are the persecutors of the saints and the prophets. How gracious is our God? These slain saints were taken care of by the angel of the altar of incense who ministered to them whilst they waited the vengeance of God on their murderers. The angel of the altar, like those he ministered to was expectant, and now praises God for the fulfillment of His promises and His faithfulness, righteousness and justice. Even so Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgements. He is The God of faithfulness, without injustice; true and upright is He(Deut. 32:4).

The Fourth Bowl(8 & 9): Solar Burns And Dehydration.

And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

And the fourth bowl-carrying avenging angle poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given him to scorch men with fire. The Sun is 93 million miles (approximately 200 million km) away from the Earth. Scientists tell us that this is the perfect distance at which it supports life on the planet Earth. If it were any closer the Earth will melt away; if it were any farther, the Earth would be frozen into one massive solid rock. How would this angel scorch men with fire. This would be probably through solar flares and coronal mass ejection(CME), which send electromagnetic pulse(EMP) waves to to Earth. This would not only scorch men with fire but also disrupt electronic communications, incapacitate power grids, paralyze life generally by disrupting all electronic communications. It would be impossible to send e-mails, make phone calls, browse the net, drive cars, pilot aeroplanes and ships etc. Aircrafts in space would literally fall off the sky. Vehicles in motion would malfunction, leading to catastrophic accidents all over the World. Drones, smart cars, smart aircrafts, smart cities, and anything else that operates through Artificial Intelligence and algorithm in the net will fail. Whatever that is left of the navies and airforces of the nations from the second and third bowls, if any at all, shall be paralyzed by the electromagnetic pulse attack from the Sun.

When men are scorched with fire, there would be severe solar burns. Although it does seem however, that the aim is not primarily to scorch men to death, some would die from severe burns and dehydration, both of which could lead to electrolyte imbalance. The survivors would not repent but would rather blaspheme the name of God who hath power over these plagues; and repented not to give Him glory. This is the effect of repeated sining on the heart and soul of man. Repetition of sin leads to searing of the heart and mind, the cicatrization of the soul that renders the sinner impervious to penitence even when the opportunities abound. In pharmaceutical parlance, sin is a cicatrizant; it favours and causes the scaring of the soul. Does anyone have doubts that sin ensnares and enslaves the soul and hardens the heart and deadens the conscience? These men have sinned beyond repentance; no magnitude of mercy or punishment would bring them to repentance. In a bald language, their hearts and minds are seared, frozen. Their faces are set as it were towards Hell. They would rather curse God than repent.

The Fifth Bowl(10 & 11). Solar Eclipse Over The Seat Of The Beast.

And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain. And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

And the fifth angel poured his vial over the seat of the Beast-antiChrist; and his kingdom was full of darkness; they gnawed their tongues for pain. The fifth bowl plague is focused on the kingdom of the Beast-antiChrist and his seat of power. We have seen this pattern in the seal and trumpet judgements the first four seals were different from the last three seals. The common denominator in the first four is the wrath of Satan. The common denominator in the last three the wrath of God. Here the first four bowls are directed towards anyone with the mark of the Beast anywhere in the world. The last three are directed towards the Beast-antiChrist and His kingdom. This cutting off of the rays of the sun is directed towards the 8th and final Beast Empire and the Seat of government of the Beast-antiChrist. At the middle of the 70th seven, the antiChrist transferred his headquarters to Jerusalem. So we expect the effect of the fifth bowl judgement to be worst in Jerusalem and its environs. The rays of the sun are totally cut off over the designated areas, producing extreme low temperatures. This will in turn lead to extreme cold leading to frost bites and chilblains. These are very painful clinical conditions. Under extreme temperatures, blood supply to the vital organs, the brain, the heart, the liver, the kidneys and adrenals are maintained, leading to impaired blood supply to the extremities. The extremities are also more frequently exposed to cold, leading to coagulation of blood in the blood vessels of the extremities, and thromboembolic phenomena. The dead tissues in the extremities may become gangrenous. There probably would be snowstorms leading to power failure, roadblocks. Some would be trapped in their houses and cars and offices unable to exist. All these in the midst of horrible darkness. Telecommunications would be virtually impossible. There could be network failures, televisions and radio receptions would be poor or virtually nonexistent. It would be difficult to provide emergency services like medical emergencies and rescue operations. Since these bowl judgement last a few days, temperatures may normalize but men would be left with painful sores from from frostbites, chilblains and gangrene and perhaps digital auto-amputations. Like in the previous plague, they would not repent of their deeds, but rather blasphemed God for their pains and their sores. Does anyone have doubts that sin ensnares and enslaves the soul and hardens the heart?

The Sixth Bowl(12-14): The Desiccation Of The Euphrates River.

And the sixth angel poured out his vital upon the great River Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of the devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the Kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the River Euphrates. The result was dramatic. The waters of the River Euphrates was dried up, that the way of the kings of the East may be prepared. As we pointed out earlier, whether this would be an engineering feat accomplished entirely by human ingenuity is difficulty to say. But there is a historical precedent. During the siege of Babylon by the Medopersian army in 538 BC, one of the generals under Darius the Mede, named Gobirus diverted the upper waters of the Euphrates River into lateral channels. The Babylonians were caught by surprise as the Medopersian army marched into the walled city state of Babylon whilst Belteshazzar and his high officials were banqueting. This happened exactly according to the handwriting on the wall seen by the vice-regent Belteshazzar and interpreted by Daniel the prophet, an exile from Judah(Dan.5). Considering the rapidity with which the bowls are poured out, there does not seem to be much time for this kind of engineering feat to be accomplished. On the other hand , considering the advancement in modern technology, it is quite feasible. That the way of the Kings of the East may be prepared. Besides the 8th and final beast empire, there are other kingdoms in existence at this time. The kings of the East may include China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and perhaps Japan, etc. Due to ideological and religious differences, they are at loggerheads with one another.

Verse 13 says, I saw three spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are the spirit of demons. The Greek word “daimone” translated devils in KJV is better translated demons. The devil is “diabolos.” There is only one devil but many demons. These three unclean spirits are the spirits of demons, working miracles. The Bible acknowledges here that these evil spirits can work miracles. Miracles are not always from God. They sometimes, come from the Devil and his demons. So, we must have the gift of discerning of spirits to distinguish between the two. They go to the kings of the Earth, and of the whole world to gather them together to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. The Kings of the Earth include the Beast-antiChrist, the ten kings of his ten nation confederation, the kings of the East, the king of the South and the king of the North. As we have explained earlier, what happens here is that these kings of the Earth and of the whole world, who have differences, myriads of them, huge differences-ideological, philosophical, political etc- shall put aside their differences, and unite to fight Christ at Armageddon, because their kingdoms are under threat from external heavenly aggression. Christ has reclaimed God’s rule over the Earth. He is about to retake physical possession of the Earth when He defeats the kings of the Earth and their armies at Armageddon.

Admonition To Be Watchful(15).

Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and the see his shame.

In verse 15, Christ interrupts the narrative to give a word of warning. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garment, lest he walk naked and the see his shame. To whom is this warning directed? There are two ways of looking at it. The first is that the warning is directed to the readers of this scroll who have opportunity to repent before the eschatological day of the Lord, in order that they may not face the wrath of God. Here the reference to Jesus coming as a thief would be in relation to the rapture. The coming of the Lord to rapture the true saints would be as thief, sudden and unexpected to the unprepared. It is not unexpected to the saints who have been prepared. The other way would be to look at it in chronological order, in relation to the ones living at the time of the eschatological day of the Lord who had not taken the mark of the beast. Giving literal interpretation of the trumpet and the bowls, it is beyond human comprehension that anyone on Earth would continue to resist God’s rule and authority. In chronological order, it would be incorrect to refer the phrase behold I come as a thief to the rapture. The conclusion that it refers to the rapture fails to appreciate not only the context, but the historical nature of the usage of this phrase.

In John 10:10, the thief cometh to steal, kill and to destroy. This is the purpose of the thief. However there is another issue related to the coming of the thief, his modus operandi(how he operates). The day of the Lord comes suddenly and unexpectedly. In 1 Thess.5:2, the Apostle Paul indicates that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Paul indicates that the point at issue in the usage of the figure of speech is suddenness. The image of a guard having disrobed and fallen asleep, who is then caught napping by the captain of the guard, awakened by surprise and forced to parade naked is very clear. The point is obvious: the Lord will suddenly appear, and the unprepared would suffer a great disaster. For the kings of the Earth and their armies, the only way to prevent a disaster is to stay away. If they come, they die. This application applies only to those who are not beast-marked. For those who are beast-marked, they will die whether they come or not. Anyone with the mark of the beast will eventually be executed.

The Gathering At Armageddon(16).

And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Verse 16 tells us that they were gathered to a place called in the Hebrew tongue Har Megiddo or Mount Megiddo or in the Greek tongue Armageddon which is Greek transliteration of the Hebrew Har Megiddo. This is a literal geographical location. It is a hill in the Jezreel valley(Hebrew), the the valley of Esdraelon(Greek). It is bounded in the northeast and southeast by mount Gilboa and mount Tabor respectively. It is a natural battlefield. Napoleon said so when he visited the sight.

Who did the gathering? Considering that the three spirits like frogs which convinced the Kings of the Earth to gather at Armageddon come from the Devil, the sea- beast and the false prophet, it is Satan who did the gathering. But ultimately God is in sovereign control, and nothing can happen but that which He permits. Now, these armies have commanding officers. No army matches at the command of invincible spirits. It is the commanding officers at whose orders the armies match that the evil spirit will possess who then give the orders to match.

The Seventh And Final Bowl(17-21). The War Of Armageddon.

And the seventh angel poured out his vital into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, it is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nation fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

And the seventh angel poured his vial into the air, and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne saying, it is done. The son has vacated His Throne in the temple in heaven. This voice from the temple in heaven, from the throne is the voice of the Father. He said, it is done. Verse 18 says there were voices, thunders and lightnings. We are not told where these voices came from. But since the scene is the Throne Room of the temple in heaven, it most likely the usual occupants of the Throne Room, the four beasts who are closest to God, the twenty and four elders, an innumerable company of angels and the innumerable multitude consisting of redeemed humanity. The sounding of these voices in heaven, the lightening and the thunderings resulted in a great earthquake on Earth, so great that there has not been any like it since the advent of man upon the Earth. This earthquake was so mighty and so great. This great and mighty earthquake brought about the division of the great city into three parts. Remember that the judgement is now concentrated on the Dragon-Beast kingdom and the seat of his government but also sends ripples to the ends of the Earth. Therefore the great city is Jerusalem which the Dragon-Beast had made his international headquarters(Dan.11:45). The cities of the nations also fell. This is a bit ambiguous and imprecise. We must understand however that this is as a result of the great and mighty earthquake. So there must be a collapse of the cities of the nations. This is the final plague. Apart from the effect being devastating on Jerusalem, the seat of government of the Beast-antiChrist, it is also devastating on the cities of other nations, the seat of governments of the kings of the kingdoms of the Earth. This should not be a surprise inasmuch as death is decreed for the unrighteous wicked. Besides, Babylon came into remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. If Babylon were Jerusalem, would it be proper to say it came into remembrance before God after it has been divided into three parts by the great and mighty earthquake? I doubt very much. The judgement of Babylon is recorded in chapters 17 & 18. Chapter 17 emphasis the religious aspect of the city whilst chapter 18 the commercial aspects. The city of Babylon will never again gain political prominence and dominance, but Babylon remains a universal ideal. Every island fled away and the mountains were not found. This great and mighty earthquake devastated not only the cities of the nations but the islands of the seas and the mountains. Whilst islands shifted positions, the mountains were leveled. These devastations would allow God to renovate and restore the Earth for His millennial reign. In the midst of these devastations is heavy rainfall and snowstorms. Hailstones are falling from heaven, skyrocketing to the Earth, about the weight of a talent each, about 100 lb or 33.33 kilograms in weight. Whatever has life it hits is crushed to death. It is incredulous how the armies of the nation were able to gather at Armageddon for the final showdown in the midst of these devastations and hailstones. It is by the workings of the three spirits like frogs from the mouths of the Dragon, the beast and the false prophet. In the kingdom of darkness, these frogs are some of the highest demons in the satanic hierarchy. And again because the Lord has purposed and permitted it. The descent of Christ with His armies from the heavens to do battle at Armageddon with the kings of the Earth and their armies, is recorded in Rev. 19.

Avraham Shallom.

And I saw another sign in heaven. Here John the revelator saw another sign in heaven. Therefore this is a heavenly scene. This sign was great and marvelous. But what did he see? Great and marvelous seven angels, having the seven last plagues. This is the second and last group of seven avenging angels. They have seven plagues. We have intimated several times that seven is the number of divine perfection. This indicates that Daddy is in sovereign control and that everything is done with divine accuracy and precision. There are seven plagues here filled with the wrath of God. There are seven angels with seven bowls filled with plagues which are the wrath of God. Just as in Egypt, God plagued Pharaoh and his subjects who persecuted the Israelites in Egypt, so also will He plague the living wicked earth-dwellers with his wrath for their molestation, harassment and murder of the people of God.

We have distinguished between the wrath of Satan and the wrath of God. Satan’s wrath is directed towards the children of God, whilst God’s wrath is directed towards the children of Satan, the living wicked earth-dwellers who are antagonistic and hostile to the believers in Jesus The Christ and the Jews. We can see that there are differences between the object of Satan’s wrath and that of God. The wrath of Satan is found in seal one through to seal four. The four seals were administered by the cherubim of God indicating that, although God is not directly responsible for the wrath of Satan, the persecution of the saints and nonconformist Jews and Gentiles to the dragon-beast, God is in sovereign control. He controls the extent of the persecution. The wrath of God is consists of the seven trumpet and seven bowls. Just as the seventh seal has no judgement of its own but opens into the seven trumpets, the seventh trumpet has no judgement of it’s own but opens into the seven bowls. The seven trumpets are revealed in chapter 8 through to chapter 11. The bowls are revealed in chapter 16 through to chapter 19. The seventh bowl ends in Armageddon.

Verse 2 reveals another wonderful sight, as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire. On this sea of glass mingled with fire are those who have gotten the victory over the beast, over his image, over his mark, and over the number of his name. In chapter 14, there is flashback to the 144,000 in chapter 7:1-8, so also in chapter 15, there is a flash back to the great multitude which no one could number in chapter 7:9. Biblical scholars regard these chapters as parenthetic. What this means is some events already revealed are brought back and then further illuminated to give the reader further details about these events. Therefore this chapter is a periscope. The reason for the retrogression in the historical chronology of end time events is to provide a background for the wrath of God in its final form.

The Overcomers (2)

These are the overcomers. They have overcome the Beast-antiChrist, his enlivened images or statues which identified and caused those who did not have the mark of the beast to be killed, his mark and the number of his name. His mark and the number of his name are one. His mark is 666, so also the number of his name. The beast and his image or statue are one. They are synonymous with his mark and the number of his name. Anyone who had overcome anyone of these must overcome all. It is all or none law. This mark is not forcibly imprinted on anyone’s forehead or right arm, but one can be coerced or hoodwinked into accepting the mark of the Beast. These are victors over the mark of the Beast. They were not all martyred, but a good number of them were. Therefore they include the fifth seal martyrs. They however do not included those who were beheaded for the testimony which they held. These were given new eternal immortal resurrection bodies on the first day of the new millennium(Rev.20:4).

They stand in their glorified bodies on the sea of glass mingled with fire. What a glory? What a revelation? What a Magnificient scene? What a resplendent splendour? They have the harps of God. We are not told what these harps look like, other than that they are the harps of God. May be they are of different kinds or another of the same kind. Whatever they are, they are the harps of God. They are no doubt better than the harp of David and the ones used in modern times. They are of heavenly origin.

The Victors’ Song (3 & 4)

In verses 3&4, they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. The song is marvelous. It is a song of overcomers. It is the victors’ song. It is the song of Moses the servant of God. It the song of the Lamb. We are not told when Moses sang this song. We are not told when our Lord Jesus The Christ, The Lamb of God took away the sin of the world sang this song. It must be at the completion of their respective ministries. Therefore it is the song of victors and overcomers. It is a song that praises and worships the Father for His great and marvelous work of redemption, and His just and true judgement of the living wicked earth-dwellers. Even though God the Father has committed all judgement to the Son, He is the sovereign Lord of the universe. The Son is His representative and the executor of the Father’s will in the earthly realm of His universal kingdom. Who shall not fear thee O Lord and glorify thy name? This is rhetorical question. The answer is no one. These ones have tasted of the love of God.

They have seen the mercy of God. They are the beneficiaries of His goodness, faithfulness and trustworthiness and righteousness. Who shall not fear this God that executed righteous judgement? Who shall not bow in reverential awe to the magnificence of His love, mercy, righteousness and justice? Who shall not glorify His name for He is Holy. God is holy because He is unique, divided and different from what is common or ordinary. He is wholly Other. One of a kind. In the millennium, all nations shall come annually to worship before the Sovereign Lord of the universe whose judgements are made manifest by the Son. The Son in council is the manifestation of the just and true judgement of the Father. On this side of eternity, it may be painful, it may be dark and gloomy. We may not and in fact we do not understand it all. There are misunderstandings; there are aches and pains. Here we see through a glass darkly, but then we see clearly: we shall know even as we are known. There will be no aches, no more pains and sorrows. There will be no more pleading for vengeance, all would have been avenged in righteousness and justice. It shall be victory at last and our mouths shall be filled with the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb, the victors’ song, the overcomers’ song.

The Last Seven Avenging Angels (4-8)

After this is a literary formula that John the revelator used to introduce a new unit of vision. Here John sees the temple in heaven, described as the tabernacle of testimony. This is the tabernacle of testimony of which Moses received the exact copy. See that thou do everything according to the pattern shown to thee in the mount(Exod. 27:8; Heb.8:5).This temple or the tabernacle of testimony was opened. We are not told who opened it. Probably one of the four living creatures because they are the ones closest to God. Out of this temple in heaven emerged the last seven avenging angels. They bear the last seven plagues. The content of the plagues are revealed in chapters 16-19. The last seven avenging angelic reapers were clothed in pure and white linen which signal righteousness. The Greek word translated linen is linon. This is the first time it is used. This may signal a high order and purity of beings. As we pointed out earlier, the angels who did not participate in the satanic revolt in eternity past are locked in righteousness.

The pure and white linen garments worn by these angels signal not only their intrinsic righteousness but also the righteous judgement of God. They have their breast girded with golden girdles, not because they are kings but that God whose judgement they represent and execute is a righteous King. Their sashes are of gold. There is no unrighteousness with God. His judgement is just and true. One of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God who liveth for ever and ever. We are not told which one of the four it was. But since this judgement is linked up with humanity, it is most probably the third beast with the face of man. We have pointed earlier that these vials are better rendered bowls. The Greek word phiale which is translated vial in the KJV is better translated bowl. Vial is narrow- throated vessel, the content of which is difficult to empty like the vials used in medicine today. But the vial here is a shallow saucer, the content of which can be easily emptied with a quick swish. This implies the rapidity with which these seven last plagues will be poured out upon the living wicked wrath-dwellers, considering the fact that there are but twenty and fours before the expiry of the 3o-day reclamation period from the sounding of the seventh trumpet when God Almighty reclaims His rule over the Earth.

These seven last bowls contain the final outpouring of the wrath upon the nations that know not God. When these seven avenging angelic reapers were handed these seven bowls full of the wrath of God by one of the four beasts, the temple in heaven, the tabernacle of the testimony was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power, and no one could enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven avenging angelic beings were fulfilled. This reminds us of the dedication of the tabernacle by Moses in the wilderness and the dedication of the temple by Solomon in Jerusalem(Ex.40:34-38; 2 Chron.7:1-3). Smoke is a biblical motif that appears in context with the manifestation of the glory of God. That no one could enter into the temple until these plagues are fulfilled signals the rapidity with which these plagues are fulfilled. They are poured out rather quickly, in quick succession, each with a swish. Also since the final wrath of God is going out, there is no need to enter. There is no intercession at this point, no supplication, and there is no appeal.

Avraham Shallom.

Rev.14 is a preview of the judgement God intends for the Beast-antiChrist and his beast-marked worshippers. Here, God shows He is able to protect His people who bear His mark, whilst the Beast-King cannot protect his beast-marked worshippers. He warns everyone not to take the mark of the Beast, his name or worship the beast. Finally, He shows how He would destroy the Beast-King and his beast-marked worshippers at Armageddon.

The Lamb On Mount Zion With The 144,000 (1-5)

“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”

And I looked, and, lo, a lamb stood on mount Zion. I looked, and, lo is a phrase that John the revelator uses to introduce a new unit of vision. A lamb stood on Mount Zion. This is the Lord Jesus the Christ, the Lamb of God that took away the sin of the World. He stood on Mount Zion with the 144,000. Jesus descended from the heavenly Mount Zion(Heb.11:26) en route to the earthly Mount Zion(Is.59:20), to the general area of Mount Paran in the Edomite wilderness to gather the remnant of Israel, the woman, who do not have the mark of the beast prior to the final outpouring of the wrath of God. This group of 144,000 have the Fathers name written on their foreheads. This is the same 144,000 who were sealed in Rev.7 with the seal of God prior to the beginning of the outpouring of the wrath of God. They have already been protected from the trumpet judgements. They will now be given greater protection from the bowl judgements which are more extensive and devastating. The seal is for the purpose of protection, ownership, authenticity and identification. Here it is revealed that the seal is the Father’s name. Whatever that name is , we are not told. It may be the Hebrew Tetragrammaton YHWH revealed to Moses as the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob which was inscribed on the holy crown upon the mitre of Aaron the High Priest(Exod.3:13, 29:6,28,31). Jesus gathered them from the general area of Petra across the Jordan River where they have been hiding: from the Judean wilderness, and from Egypt and Assyria, and from Jerusalem itself and its environs to the earthly mount Zion. The 144,000 were probably not the only ones gathered. But they were the ones who have the seal of God on their foreheads. The seal of God culminated in their salvation.

When Jesus ascended into heaven after the resurrection, He did so from this same location on the Mount of olives. He promised to return in the same manner as the disciples saw Him go into heaven. This coming is not to rapture the Church: that has already been accomplished prior to the breaking of the seventh seal. This coming is to reclaim God’s rule over the Earth at the blowing of the seventh trumpet on day 5 of the 30-day reclamation period. This event occurred on the 2nd day of the 30-day reclamation period before the two witnesses were raised from the dead and taken to heaven. They are from the twelve tribes of Israel. They appeared with The Lamb on Mount Zion where He reclaimed God’s rule over the Earth, and later were taken to Azel in protective custody(Zech.14:5). Azel is an unknown location. There is no place in ancient Israel so named. This is for security reasons.

verse 2, the revelator heard a voice from heaven. It was like the voice of many waters, and the voice of a great thunder. There was the voice of harpers harping with their harps. This is an heavenly orchestra. It consists of an innumerable multitude of redeemed humanity who stand in the presence of the Father in the throne room of the temple of the tabernacle in heaven. Verse 3 says they sang a new song before the throne, before the four beasts and the twenty and four elders. The usual orchestra in heaven includes the four beasts, the four and twenty elders and an innumerable company of angels. Here the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders are not part of the choir, since the orchestra performs in front of them and the throne and God the Father who is the occupant of the throne. On Earth, no man could learn this song, but the 144,000 who were redeemed from the Earth. This is so because it is the song of the redeemed. This innumerable multitude, standing on the crystal sea, with harps in hand harping away, singing with one voice are the redeemed of all ages gathered before the throne of God in heaven. The 144,000 are also redeemed. So they too could sing the song here on Earth being in their natural bodies. But the rest of the living earth-dwellers who were not redeemed could neither learn nor sing this song, not even the unbranded remnants of Israel because they have not yet been reconciled to the God of Israel. Therefore this event must occur before the mystery of God is finished on the 3rd day of the 30-day reclamation period. This song was sung in heaven but heard on Earth. Those who were not redeemed could hear this song but could not learn nor sing it. Anyone who could learn and sing this song must be redeemed with the blood of the Lamb.

In verse 4, the characteristics of the 144,000 are enumerated. They were not defiled with women, they are virgins. The reference to virginity here may not be figurative and symbolic as some affirm and teach. They did not have sexual intercourse with women. They are Jewish celibates. Celibacy as a form of purity and dedication to God is an ancient Jewish practice. Our Lord Jesus said some have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake(Matt.19:12). These Jewish men have vows of celibacy which they jealously kept. The Greek word used is Parthenoi which usually describes a woman who has not known a man. They did not worship the beast or his image. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They followed Him from Petra through the Judean wilderness to Mount Zion in Jerusalem. They were the ones qualified to do this because they not only did not worship the Sea-beast nor take his mark nor bowed to his image but were sealed with the name of the Father. There are others on Earth at this time who did not worship the Beast or his image but were not marked with the seal of God on the their foreheads unlike the unbranded Jewish remnants and the unbranded Gentiles. They were redeemed from amongst men being the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb, of those who were to be redeemed after the rapture of the church from the nation of Israel. When Christ appears to them in the Edomite wilderness, they will see that the Messiah of Israel in whom they believed, and have been waiting for has nail-pierced hands. They embrace Him as their personal Lord and Saviour and are washed with the blood of the Lamb by the Holy Spirit. Because they are the first from the household of Israel and the whole Earth to receive Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour after the rapture of the saints, they are the firstfruits of those who will be redeemed from the Earth, both from Israel and the rest of mankind who will enter the Millennium in their natural bodies to repopulate the Earth.

God will never leave Himself without a witness on Earth. It is like the handing over of a baton in a relay race from the Church to Israel. These men were not witnesses in the sense they went about proclaiming the gospels as some affirm . They were not evangelists as some have suggested. They were in protective custody in Petra and Judean wilderness and in cellars, sewers, basements and underground bunkers in the city of Jerusalem. Like the church they needed to be rescued. Verse 5 continued their characteristics. In their mouth was found no guile. They would not lie. They would not dissemble. The remnant of Israel will not tell lies(Zeph.3:13). These men were not hypocrites. They did not say one thing and do another. They stood for what they believed. They were not beast-marked worshippers. Therefore, they were without fault before the throne of God. These are the reasons why they could learn and sing the song of the redeemed.

The Three Angelic Announcements(6-13).

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”

In terms of chronology of end time events, this section is difficult to locate. By the time The Lamb appeared on Mount Zion with the 144,000, only the seventh trumpet remaineth to be blown. And from the time the seventh trumpet is sounded, God Almighty reclaims His rule over the Earth and the mystery of God is finished, there remaineth but twenty and fours days to Armageddon, the last act in the final wrath of God. Is this the time to give this warnig to the inhabitants of the Earth? Some biblical scholars and interpreters see it as a parenthesis, a flashback and a recapitulation of an earlier warning. There are some who believe that this warning is given at this time to those who have not yet taken the mark of the beast, that is, the sheep of the sheep and goat judgment, in order that they may not do so between now and Armageddon. The condition on Earth at this time, after the breaking of the sixth seal, earthly and celestial disturbances, after the rapture of the church is such that the Beast-antichrist and his beast-marked worshippers could not actively be enforcing the mark of the beast, inasmuch as they themselves are in hiding, inviting the rocks and the mountains to fall upon them and hide from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. The sun and moon are darkened, though temporarily, earthquakes in diverse places, meteorites are falling from the sky and impinging on the Earth, and perhaps also comets, and asteroids. And there are earthquakes. The Beast-antiChrist is paralyzed and cannot enforce his programme anymore. It is most probably that this is a periscope, a recap of earlier warnings rather than fresh ones. At this time the sixth trumpet and the second woe are over. The 7th trumpet has no judgement of its own but opens in the seven bowls which are more devastating in scope but poured out over a shorter period.

The First Angelic Announcement: The Everlasting Gospel(6 & 7).

The revalator saw another angel. This angel is not one of the ones he has seen before. This angel was flying through the heavens or sky, moving horizontally through the midst of heaven. We are not told who he is. He has the everlasting gospel to preach to the earth-dwellers, of every nation, kindred, tongue and people. This message is universal in scope. This message is proclaimed with a loud voice, so everyone could hear. The content of this everlasting gospel does appear to be different from the gospel of our Lord Jesus the Christ. However, there is no mention of Jesus or His finished work on the cross of Calvary. The content of the message is fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: worship Him that made heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of Waters. What is in view is not salvation as we know it but a recognition of the sovereignty of God Almighty over the heavens, the earth and seas and fountains of waters, and that the day of judgement is come. So the content of the gospel is not salvific, but rather aimed at urging the hearers to recognize God’s sovereignty over the the heavens, the earth and the seas and fountains of waters in order that one would not worship false gods. The message here is the message of the kingdom: it is the message of wrath. It was given before the wrath of God begins, most probably in the heat of the Great Tribulation. We know also that the gospel of our Lord Jesus the Christ is also preached at the same time. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”(Matt.24:14 ).

The Second Angelic Announcement: The Fall Of Babylon (8)

The second angel was moving horizontally over the heavens saying: Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of her fornication. The repetition of is fallen, is a literary device employed to emphasize the inevitability of that which is spoken. There are some who argue that Babylon is the holy city of Jerusalem but I beg to differ. I route for literary Babylon and the religious institution of the antiChrist headed by the Second Beast, the False Prophet. This message also was given in the midst of the Great Tribulation, to warn the inhabitants of the Earth not to put their trust in the antiChrist and his bankrupt false religious system headquartered in literal Babylon.

The Third Angelic Announcement: Beast-marked Worshippers Doomed (9-12)

The third angelic announcement is a warning to the living earth-dwellers not to take the mark of the beast, the number of his name or worship his image or statue. If anyone became a beast-marked worshipper, the one shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without dilution into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. The wine of His wrath which is poured out without mixture is a figure of speech indicating the severity of His wrath on the beast-marked adorers and worshippers of the Dragon-Beast. The smoke of their torment shall ascend for ever and ever signals the everlasting nature of their torment. And they shall have no rest day nor night who worship the Beast and his image, and whosoever receive the mark of his name. Verse 12 is very interesting in that it speaks about those who keep the commandments, and the faith of Jesus. This implies that the remnant of Israel and believers were probably present here on earth at the time this instruction was given, and that what we have here is a periscope and a recap or flashback. Here is the patience of the saints implies that those who endure to the end shall be exempt from the wrath of God which is directed towards the living wicked beast-marked worshippers and adorers of the Dragon-Beast. It is therefore most probable this warning occurred in the midst of the heat of the Great Tribulation when the inhabitants of the Earth are under immense pressure to capitulate to the authority of the Beast and submit themselves to be branded with the mark of the Beast or the number of his name. And the revelator heard a voice from Heaven saying unto him , “write, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours ; and their works do follow them.” It would be hard for anyone to prove that this message was not directed at believers in Jesus the Christ. Here the Holy Spirit is addressing the believers in Jesus the Christ. I therefore concur that the proper timing of this message would be at the middle of the reign of the Beast-antiChrist, when he initiates the great tribulation, and that what we have here is a recapitulation.

For someone to die in the Lord, the one must believe in Jesus then be killed for one’s faith in Him. And for one to believe, one must hear the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For one to hear, the message of the gospel must be preached. And for one to preach, the one must be sent(Isa.52:7,8; Rom.10:14,15). There are some that believe in God, but do not believe that Jesus is God nor accept Him as the Saviour of all mankind. On this basis some reject the Mark of the Beast. Therefore, I submit that the everlasting gospel is the same as the gospel of the kingdom. However, in the everlasting gospel, the emphasis is on the sovereignty of God over all creation, the heavens and the Earth, and the rejection of the Mark of the Beast. In the gospel of the kingdom, the emphasis is on the apostolic kerugma, the substitutionary and the soterioloigical works of Christ on the Cross of Calvary.

The Final Harvest: Overview Of Armageddon (14-20)

“And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.”

The purpose of Rev.14:14-20 is a preview of the final judgement of God against the wicked earth-dwellers. In Rev.14:14-16, the saints, the real wheat are harvested to keep them away from the scene of the wrath of God. The final wrath of God occurs in Rev.14:17-20 will be expanded in chapters 15-20.

And I looked and behold a white cloud. Cloud signals the glory of God, and white His righteousness. Clouds are also transportation mechanism used to transport heavenly brings to various places in heaven and on earth. This indicates that the one sitting in the cloud is righteous and is enveloped in glory. He is like unto the Son Of Man. This is reminiscent of Dan.7:13. This is the favourite appellation by which Jesus designates Himself in the gospels(Matt.8:20, 9:6, 10:23, 11:19, 12:8,32,40, 13:37,41, 16:13,27,28, 17:9,12,22, 18:11,28, 20:18,28, 24:27,30,37,39, 44, 25:13,31, 26:2,24,45,64; Mk.228, 8:31,38, 9:9,12,31, 10:33,45, 13:26,34,41, 14:62; Luk.5:24, 6:5, 734, 9:22,26,44,56,58, 11:30, 12:10,40, 17:22,24,26,30, 18:8,31, 19:10, 21:27,36, 22:22,48, 24:7; Jon.3:13,14,6:62, 8:28, 13:31). That he is the Son Of Man implies He is of Adam’s descent and therefore has right to the title deed of the Earth. For one to rule on Earth, one must have physical body with which to relate to the external physical environment. Jesus is the only one of the three persons of the Godhead that has a physical body. Angels do not have physical bodies. Just as the Father and the Holy Spirit can assume a body that may be comparable to the the physical body of man and become visible to the optical eyes, so also may the angels at the behest of the Almighty. Some biblical scholars are agreed that the identity of this person is that of Jesus. This is based on the fact that he is like the son of man. But would the Son of man be commanded by angel to thrust in His sickle? The Lord Jesus would hardly need an exhortation from an angel to begin the earthly harvest(Rev.14:15). Or else the angel would be God the Father. But our Lord Jesus said explicitly in Matt.13:39 that the reapers are the angels. This would cast great doubt on the above analysis. The one thing that can be dogmatically asserted is the fact that this is a unique heavenly being. He has on His head a golden crown. Both gold and crown are symbols of royalty. Gold also signifies royalty and wealth. Angels also wear crowns. The twenty and four elders mentioned in Rev.4:4,10 wore golden crowns, so also the horse and rider in Rev.6:2. The locust cavalry wore golden crowns(Rev.9:7). Golden crowns obviously depict authority and status. He has in hand a sharp sickle. The sickle is the instrument of harvest in the ancient Neareast. Jesus has right to execute judgement because the Father has committed all judgement unto The Son(Jon.5:22). And Jesus has an army of angels at his beck and call.

And another angel came out of the temple crying to Him that sitteth on the cloud, trust in thy sickle and reap; for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. Who is this other angel that came out of the temple, that cried unto Jesus to trust in His sickle and reap, for the time for thee to reap us come, and the harvest of earth is ripe. We are not told who this angel is. He is most probably the Father, considering the fact that he came out of the temple and had the audacity to command the Son to reap. In the OT, it is not unusual to refer to any of the three persons of the Trinity as an angel. That God is in control of the situation is suggested by the fact that the hour or time of harvest has arrived. In verse 16, the Son obeyed, and trust in His sickle on the Earth and the Earth was reaped. Reaping the earth is a metaphor. The time of judgement is come because the Earth is ripe. Literally, wickedness has run its course and demands punishment. It means to execute judgement. Only the Father who has committed all judgement to the Son could command Him to do so. But in the light of the fact that the reapers are the angels, am inclined to believe that the two personalities involved are angels of high rank if not the Son and the Father.

Another angel supports the conclusion that the rider on the white cloud is an angelic being. Emerging from the temple, this angel is undoubtedly under the authority of God. The fact that an angel commands the cloud-rider to begin the harvest argues against the identity of the cloud-rider as Our Lord Jesus the Christ. The fact that the reapers are the angels at the end of age, argues strongly in favour of the fact that the identity of the cloud-rider is an angelic being. The duty of the angels is to gather in the harvest. There are two harvests in ancient Israel, the wheat harvest and the wine harvest. The command to put in the sickle is an allusion to Joel 3:13. Both of them are in view here. Therefore this is a metaphorical preview of Armageddon. Verse 17 says another angel came out of the temple, he also having a sharp sickle. We are not told the identity of this angel. There is no consensus of opinion as to his identity. In verse 18, another angel came out from the altar who has power over fire. This implies that not all angels have power over fire. Therefore he must be a high ranking angel. He too cried to the angel with the sickle to trust in his sickle into the Earth and gather the clusters of the vine of the Earth, for the grapes are fully ripe. The angel with the sickle also obeyed and thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine press of the wrath of God.

The second set of two angels are most probably high ranking angels. The angel who came out from the altar is probably the angel that comforted the martyred saints until the time God avenged their death at the hands of the beast-marked worshippers. In the parable of the seed and the sower, the harvest is the end of the ages and the reapers are the angels. But the actual threading of the winepress is done by Jesus Himself who is the judge of the whole Earth. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the city unto the horse bridle, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. A winepress is the place where the grapes are pressed to separate the juice from the pulp. God’s literal winepress will be on the plains of Megiddo. The angel gathers the wicked earth-dwellers to the place where God’s wrath will be administered. What is presented here is an overview, a panarama of sort. This overview will be expanded in Rev.16:12-16, and Rev.19, the actual battle of Armageddon. The final threading occurs at Armageddon. The war begins in the general area of Jerusalem and moves over to the Jezreel valley or the valley of Esdraelon where Mount Megiddo is located. The carnage would be so great that the level of spilled blood shall reach unto the horse bridle, about 5 feet deep or 1.5 meters and cover a distance of about 180-200 miles or 288-320 kms.

Avraham Shallom.

This chapter deals with two evil and wicked personalities and their activities in the end times. These two personalities are human: for they possess physical bodies, and are therefore able to function in this physical world. However, they are not alone: behind them is a third personality, Satan, the god of this age. These three persons constitute the satanic trinity. We have pointed out earlier that Satan mimicks God: for he said, I will be like the Most High…(is.14:14). So, whatever God does, he tries very hard to copy. But unlike the Divine Trinity, there is no equality involved here: Satan is the supreme leader; the two other personalities, the First and Second Beasts are only his subalterns and minions. In the Divine Trinity, the three persons of the Godhead, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit are of the same substance and coequal but choose to submit to one another. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus The Christ said, My Father is greater than I. And again I and My Father are one. This a mytery: the Father is greater than the Son, yet they are one in substance and coequal. In the satanic Trinity, Satan is the supreme leader. I shall not proceed further with this comparison. This is just to give us an idea of the copycat that is Satan.

Verse 1-10: The First Beast.

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”

Verse 1:John the revelator stands on the sand of the sea, and sees a beast rise up out of the sea. Although the sea signifies the mass of people, it could also stand for the underworld of the dead. In that case, this may be an indication the first beast comes out of the underworld of the dead, a different mass of people so to say. Dr. Marvin J. Rosenthal believes the sea here refers to the Gentiles. In that case the antiChrist will be a Gentile. The revelator is among the living. But he sees a beast come out of the underworld of the dead. Like his father and mentor, who had taught him in the underworld, the dragon in the previous chapter, he bears seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and in addition to that, upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

In Middle Eastern culture, kings are synonymous with their kingdoms. The context sometimes distinguishes between the two. At other time the phenomenon of double reference may be implied which obviously is the case in this context. Therefore, the 8th And Final Beast empire is a composite Beast Empire with all the characteristics of the seven previous Beast Empires. We have enumerated these seven Beast Empires in the previous chapter. Inspite of having all the characteristics of the seven previous Beast Empires, this 8th And Final Beast Empire consists of ten horns. We have earlier stated that horns symbolize powers. Therefore, the 8th And Final Beast Empire consists of ten nations or better still ten peoples groups. That these horns have crowns indicate their rulers are sitting kings, contemporaneous. We shall enumerate these nations or peoples groups later on. One thing is obvious, all these horns owe allegiance to the First Beast who is the overall head and absolute ruler, or more appropriately the Emperor of this beast Empire. The Beast-King or better still Beast-antiChrist, like the Beast-Nation over which he reigns is a composite personality with characteristics of the most prominent of the emperors of the seven Beast Nations. These emperors were the worst and impacted Israel negatively. On his head, are the names of blasphemy: this phrase indicates that unlike Israel, a theocracy, which these nations have persecuted throughout history, these nation were idolatrous. As nations, they never believed in the God of Israel and they never worshipped Him, but rather were blasphemous of Him and persecuted His people whom He had chosen. They were Gentile Nations and had no allegiance to The God of Israel. However, that did not mean that there were no individuals amongst them that knew the God of Israel. These nations were the exact opposite of Israel. Their gods were idols, their temples were dedicated to idols, their priests were priests of idols. They were satanists, they blasphemed the God of heaven: hence the names of blasphemy.

“And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”

Verse 2: this composite and nondescript beast is like a leopard, the Greek Empire and the worst of its kings, Antiochus IV Epiphanes or Antiochus theo Epiphanes, Antiochus god made manifest, who persecuted the Jews, and is a prefigure of the antiChrist. The feet were like those of a bear, the Medopersian Empire and the worst of its kings who persecuted Jews in exile. And his mouth as the mouth of lion: the Babylonian Empire and its worst king, Nebuchadnezzar II who took Israel into exile in Babylon. We see here that three of the ten nations that constitute the 8th And Final Beast Empire are mentioned: Greece, Medopersia and Babylon. The nondescript beast itself and its own kingdom are one, i.e., Rome. The others are named in the book of the prophet Ezekiel, viz: Magog, Meshech, Tuval [Rome], Cush (Ethiopia in The KJV, but more appropriately Sudan), Phut(Put or Libya), Gomer and Togarmah(Turkey). In Ezekiel 38:1-6, the Beast himself is referred to as Gog who is the head of Magog from whom came the ancestors and founders of Rome. We shall delve more into this when we study the beast empires.

And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat and great authority. After his expulsion from heaven Satan indwells the Beast-antiChrist. He empowers him: he gives him his power, his seat and great authority. This exchange with Satan and the resultant transformation occur precisely in the middle of the 70th seven of Daniel’s 70 Seven prophecy. At this point, the Beast suffers from a sever mental disorder called Political Megalomania. He has a psychiatric problem, but he does not know it. Indeed, he is more than a psychiatric case, it is political ‘Galomania. He becomes a dictator, a political demagogue. He proclaims himself to be God and demands worship of all mortals. And the Great Tribulation begins. This event coincides with the 4th seal of Rev.6:7-8.

“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.”

In verse 3 one of the seven heads of the Beast was wounded or slain to death. This means that the man died. But his deadly wound was healed, which means he came back to life. And all the world wondered after the beast. We can imagine what it would look like for the world to understand that this world leader is a dead man come back to life. This man lived in time past and ruled over one of the seven previous Beast Empires. He was slain to death by a military weapon in battle. Now he is revived to rule over the 8th And Final Beast Empire. It is not only that this man is a dead man come back to life, his kingdom also is revived. We have pointed out earlier that this man would remain incognito and unrecognized as a dead man come back to life until the middle of the 70th seven when he is unveiled, when he makes his debut at the rebuilt Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. Who would be willing to oppose such a man? I wonder. Only believers, Jews and a few nonconformist nuts. Nevertheless, believers will not be able to kill him. Only our King Jesus, the true Messiah shall be able to kill him.

“And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”

In verse 4, the effect of this realization on the world is that the mass of humanity will follow him out of fear. They go after him straightaway as an ox to the correction of the stocks. They worshipped the Dragon who gave power to the Beast: and they worshipped the Beast, saying, who is like unto the Beast? Who is able to make war with him? We have established that Satan rules by proxy. When the Beast is worshipped , Satan is worshipped also. So these Beast-marked worshippers of the Dragon-Beast are satanists. Jesus said, he who receives me received Him who sent me. When we worship Jesus, we worship God the Father also . Similarly those who worship the antiChrist worship his master the Devil. Why do the world worship the Dragon and the Beast? Because they cannot make war with the Beast. Why is it that they cannot make war with him? Because they don’t have what it takes. To resist the Beast-antiChrist one must have The Father, Son and The Holy Spirit. It requires strength beyond oneself. He is a dead man come back to life. He is too powerful for the world to handle.

“And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.”

In verse 5 a mouth is given him to speak great things and blasphemies against God. This man shall seek to change times and seasons and utter blasphemous words against the God of heaven. Dan.11:36-39 gives us further insight into the carrier of the infamous Beast-antiChrist. We shall delve more into this when we look in depth at this man in our study of eschatology. Whatever this man does, he will not exceed his allotted time of forty and two months or three and one half years.

“And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.”

Verse 6 tells us that this man’s blasphemy is against The God of heaven and His abode or tabernacle and those who dwell in the heavens.

“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”

Verse 7 tells us that power was given him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. This is the great tribulation which begins precisely at the breaking of the 4th seal of the scroll of Revalation 6:8. The breaking of the fourth seal occurs precisely at the midpoint of the 70th week of Daniel. The Great Tribulation will be amputated by the cosmic disturbance of Rev 6:12. Except those days were shortened, there shall no flesh be saved(Matt.24:22). But for the elect sake those days shall be shortened. What is shortened is the great tribulation not the forty and two months allotted to the Beast-antiChrist and two witnesses to prophesy. Power was also given him over all kindred and tongues(languages, peoples) and nations. He shall have worldwide influence.

“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

Verse 8 tells us those who shall worship this man are those whose names are written in the scroll of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. These were not saved by the blood of the lamb. Here we see that Jesus was chosen by God to die in atonement for the sin of humanity before the foundation of the world.

“If any man have an ear, let him hear.”

Verse 9 tells us to pay attention to what is written. The words are particularly reassuring and comforting here in verse 10.

“He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”

The KJV translation is not particularly helpful here. A better translation would be: “if any man is destined to go into captivity, into captivity he goes: and if any man is destined to be killed with sword, with the sword, he shall be killed. Here is the patience and faith of the saints.” These are like the 5th seal martyrs under the altar(Rev.6:9-11). “Wait until your brethren who should be killed like you were killed should be fulfilled.” The patience and faith of the saints lie in the fact that those who should be killed would be killed and those who are to go into captivity, into captivity they go. So there is no need for us to be overly fearful; for what will happen will happen according to the will, plan, and purpose of God. If we take the sense of the KJV translation here, what it means is that eventually God will turn the table on the antiChrist and his followers. He and his followers shall be taken captive and killed at Armageddon.

Verse 11-18: The Second Beast or The False Prophet.

“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.”

Here in verse 11 the revelator saw another beast, but unlike the first Beast, the second Beast came out of the Earth, another part of the underworld of the dead. Inasmuch as the Earth was formed from the sea, it is probable that the second Beast’s emergence from the Earth implies a subordinate role of the second Beast to the beast first. [Marvin J. Rosenthal believes land here may refer to Israel, which if true means the false prophet may be a Jew]. This is indeed the case as the second Beast has only two horns though he spoke as a dragon. Though he has two horns, he bears no crown. Therefore, though he has some form of authority which stems from the horns, his is not a sitting and reigning king in the class of the first Beast or in the the class of any of the ten horns of the First Beast. In other words he does not rule over any nation. He is not a reigning king. That he spoke as dragon implies he is not the dragon but that his power derives from and is subordinate to the dragon who is the actual and invisible ruler or the god of this age. As we have pointed out earlier, the Dragon is the head of the satanic Trinity, but because he is invisible, he reigns by proxy through his minions, the First and Second Beasts, the Beast-antiChrist and the False Prophet. He has horns like a lamb. Remember Jesus is the Lamb Of God who taketh away the sin of the world(John 1:29). We have earlier established Satan is a copycat. He has his own lamb in the person of the Second Beast who will establish a false religion which will lead the world to the worship of a false god, Satan. So the Second Beast is a religious leader. Jesus the True Lamb of The One True God established The True Religion through His Apostles, based on His finished works on the Cross of Calvary, but the Second Beast will establish a false religion that will mislead the world to the worship of a False god, Satan.

“And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.”

In verse 12, the Second Beast receives all the power and annoiting of the First Beast, his superior, for the sole purpose of misleading the living wicked earth-dwellers to worship the First Beast who is a dead man come back to life. In verse 3, The Dragon, Satan emptied himself into the First Beast, giving him his power, his seat and great authority for the sole purpose of his being his earthly representative; in the same vein, the First Beast reproduces himself in the Second Beast in order that he may represent him where he could not be. Neither Satan nor his subordinates are omnipresent. Omnipresence is the prerogative of the three persons of the Godhead. However, there is a phenomenon called “demonic expansion” which Satan and his minions could use to give the false appearance and impression of being in different places at the same time. This is not the same as omnipresence. Therefore the Second Beast, the False Prophet is his enforcer. Just as Jesus the good Shepherd has an army of under shepherds, the False Prophet has an army of false prophets under his command to carry out the programme of the Beast-antiChrist.

True Christianity is the worship of the one True God, but in Satanism, there are many gods. Satan is the author of idolatry, polytheism and pantheism: they worshipped the Dragon who gave power to the Beast, and they worshipped the Beast(Rev.13:4). In this one world religion to be established by the False Prophet, there will be many false christs(Matt.24:5) and many false prophets(Matt.24:11). But all these shall be subordinate to the ultimate antiChrist and the ultimate false prophet who in turn are subordinate to Satan, The Dragon. Satan is not bothered by the confusion created by the multiplicity of religions. He is the author of it all and it serves his purpose. Men can believe they or anything else is God. They can worship anyone or anything but the one true God, Satan is satisfied. When anyone or anything other than the one true God of Israel is worshiped, Satan is worshipped and glorified.

“And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.”

Verses 13 & 14. Apart from the fact that the First Beast is a dead man come back to life, the inhabitants of the Earth have also to grapple with the fact that the Second Beast performs miracles and signs and wonders which do not appear fake, but genuine. “He maketh Fire come down from heaven in the sight of men.”(verse 13). By means of these outstanding miracles, he is able to hoodwink the living wicked earth-dwellers into making an image to the First Beast who had a wound by the sword and did live. It is a given that anyone with outstanding powers to perform miracles will win and attract followers, considering the fact that the mass of humanity are gullible. The images of the First Beast were made of wood, stone, bronze, silver and gold, every man according to what he could afford. These images in the likeness of the Beast were to be worshipped. Rev.9: 20 says they worshipped demons and idols. How did they do that. Through these images. Though these images were made of inanimate materials like wood, stone, bronze, silver and gold which neither can see, hear, talk nor walk, they were indwelt by demons. In my own part of the world, initiated images, masks and idols that can be harmful to or even kill the uninitiate are not new at all. There was a brother known to me who was studying Fine Arts at the University at the time of this incident. He travelled to particular city in the south of Nigeria with his wife. On their way back, they bought a mask. Unbeknownst to them, the mask was initiated. Every night he was severely weeped until a minister identified the mask as the source of the oppression. As soon as it was removed, the oppression ceased. Masks, images and idols though inanimate can be indwelt by demons.

By worshipping the demons in the statues of the beast, they worship the Dragon. The demons indwelling the images are subordinates of Satan. The false prophets hoodwinked the wicked earth-dwellers to commit mass idolatry. Individuals will have demonized images of the beast, made of these materials we have enumerated to keep in their homes as evidence of their allegiance to the Beast-antiChrist. When God shall begin to pour out His wrath on the living wicked earth-dwellers, adorers and worshippers of the Dragon-Beast, they shall throw always these idols or images of the beast to the moles and to bats to seek non-existent refuge in the caves and rocks of the mountains. “And the idols He shall utterly abolish.” “And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they have made. Each for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the top of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth”(Is.2:18-21). “Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.”(Jer.10:11)

“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:”

Verse 15 & 16. Besides the little images of the Beast that people have in their homes, cars, and offices, there are enlivened images of the beast in public places for passers-by to worship. The enforcer is the one who enlivens the statues of the Beast. He gives them power both to speak and to cause as many passers-by who refuse to bow to these images of the Beast should be killed. This is not unlike the days of the Roman Empire, when Emperor worship was practised. Citizens were required to offer a pinch of insence to the statue of Caesar at the city square as sign of allegiance. Those who refused were arrested, prosecuted, and blackballed out of business.

Before these images can do their work effectively, the enforcer will cause everyone, rich or poor, small or great, free and slave, to receive a mark on their forehead or right arm. These marks will enable these these publically displayed enlivened images of the beast to identify those who do not have the mark of the beast and to cause them to be killed. What are these enlivened images of the Beast? They are probably robocops equipped with AI and NFC to identify those who have not the mark of the beast. Artificial Intelligence has empowered our generation to send unmanned aerial vehicles to Outer Space, use drones to gather intelligence and in targeted killings. There are authomated driverless cars and robots which perform countless chores in industries and homes.

I had dialogues with two of my brethren in the Lord, friends and protégés, in private telephone conversations, on computer programmes and AI. What both of them said are quite interesting and enlightening. I posed each of them this question in private dialogue. How could a combination of numbers 0-9 produce intelligence? Austine Agbasi, a reverend gentleman and a businessman said “computer programmes are demonic incantations.” Kola Arimoro who happens to be an IT specialist, said “in AI, there is what is called fuzzy logic, and they give nod to the supernatural by such terms as daemons and wizards.” My conclusion is that there are more to computers and AI than meet the unaided eye. Elon Musk says “by AI we are summoning the demon.”

The other question we should ask ourselves is what is the mark of the beast? There was a time when it would be too wide a guess to answer this question, but not today. In animal husbandry when a pig farrowed, the piglets are chipped to identify them and monitor their growth and age. The chip as a seal is a sign of ownership, authenticity, identity, security and for protection. The reason why the antiChrist wants his mark on everyone is to say I own everyone, I protect everyone and everyone owes allegiance to me. Jesus, you have no subjects or followers here, so get out. That would not be because there are believers who will not take the mark of the beast and unbelievers who also will reject it for ideological reasons. India have a national ID programme. Nigeria of all nations in the world have launched electronic ID called NIN which would be used to withdraw money from the bank. Sweden have begun to implant microchips on its citizens. The first woman to be chipped boasted, “I am the first swede to chipped.”

“And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

In verse 17, it is written: that no man might buy or sell save him that have the mark of the beast or the number of his name. The world is progressively moving towards a cashless society. In Sweden over 95% of transactions are cashless. Most bank transfers are cashless. The world would one day, in no distant a future go cashless. Why would the antiChrist horde food? The breaking of the first three seals of Rev.6 will lead to war, famine, pestilence and earthquakes. These factors can cause severe economic crisis and lead to severe dearth and extreme scarcity of food, goods and services. There probably would be agricultural and economic boom prior to the 70th seven of Daniel’s 70 sevens prophecy. With the advancement in modern technology, genetically modified food(GMO), new species with increased yield, improvement in livestock farming, the world may one day have plenty for everyone to eat. Scientists have found out that one-fourth of the ice free surface of the Earth can support a population of 40 billion people. The antiChrist being the smart Alec that he is would stockpile food in the days of plenty which he would use as a bagaining chip in time of scarcity. Not unlike in the days of Joseph in Egypt: seven years of plenty was followed by seven years of famine and scarcity. If one does not have the mark of the beast or the numbers of his name, one cannot buy or sell because every transaction is electronic. We can imagine what it would be for those who have not adequately prepared for this situation. What one purchases online is delivered at one’s door by robots and drones. All transactions will be monitored electronically.

“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”

Verse18: Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. We simply call this number 666, but in actuality it is a computer bar code consisting of 18 digits. This number on a microchip alongside other biometric data specific to the individual shall be implanted on the forehead or right or left arm. Whatever is the case, whether the antiChrist is here or not, believers should not accept any form of biometric implants into any part of their body for whatever reason. It is not by force. Satan is not dumb. He knows if it is forcefully implanted, it would not count. But it can be done by coercion. We must not be hoodwinked into accepting the mark. If anyone takes the mark, the one is doomed for eternity; for the wrath of God abides on the one for ever. “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” ( Rev.14:9-12 ). Amen. If anyone takes the mark of the Beast, the one shall be banished to Hell. If anyone takes the mark of the Beast, the one is doomed for eternity. If anyone is branded with mark of allegiance to the Beast, the one has sinned beyond repentance. If anyone takes the mark of the Beast, the fate of the one is sealed for eternity.

Avraham Shallom.