Revelation 14:12-13

12 Here [comes in a call for] the steadfastness of the saints [the patience, the endurance of the people of God], those who [habitually] keep God's commandments and [their] faith in Jesus. 

13 Then I heard further [perceiving the distinct words of] a voice from heaven, saying, Write this: Blessed (happy, to be envied) are the dead from now on who die in the Lord! Yes, blessed (happy, to be envied indeed), says the Spirit, [in] that they may rest from their labors, for their works (deeds) do follow (attend, accompany) them! 

People will be seeing our Father’s Truth preached during the end times as they never have before. The Bible teaches us that we are crucified with Christ and nevertheless we live, yet it is not us who lives, it is Christ within us Who lives, Galatians 2:20. We are dead and our lives are hid with Christ in God, Colossians 3:3. So the voice from Heaven is saying blessed are those who are empowered to accept and believe during this time. Remember the parable of the workers that Jesus showed us of in Matthew 20. Jesus told us that even those who are called during the last hour will receive the same pay as those who worked all day!  

The Truth is that if we are required to be martyred for being used to testify of Jesus, it is a great thing. It means that our Father has empowered us to be a true force of the Truth. And the reality is that if we are called and chosen to be alive during the Great Tribulation, it will mean that we will have been empowered as no generation in Christ has been. If we are required to be martyred during the Great Tribulation, we will have truly been empowered with the Holy Spirit, and with Him comes great blessings! Remember, Jesus taught us to morn at a person’s birth, and to rejoice at their death, so everyone who dies in the Lord is blessed. This is not telling us to rejoice because we escaped the wrath, but rather to rejoice at how we were used by our Father.

Think of how today we glory over Stephen for how he died. Think of how we praise God for how Peter and Paul were persecuted and killed for testifying about Jesus. Think of how we glorify God for Jesus at the Cross. This is how those who are asked to be martyred during the Great Tribulation will be thought of. Why do so many want to be gone for all of this preaching and power? They do because their focus is on themselves and not on others. So they grasp at scriptures that feed their own egos and fears and they try to make the Word say things that it doesn’t. 

Revelation 14:11 Part 2

11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no respite (no pause, no intermission, no rest, no peace) day or night--these who pay homage to the beast and to his image and whoever receives the stamp of his name upon him.

This is a great place to go and study the Truth about Hell. Many will use verse 11 to teach that people who are sent to Hell will suffer for all of eternity, because our Father had it written that “the smoke of their torment ascends forever.” This teaching is false and once our Father teaches you the Truth about Hell, it will remove a great deal of fear and dread that so many in religion try and place on us. 

Hell is very real. In Revelation it is called the Lake of Fire. Death and Hades will be thrown into it, Revelation 20:14. The angels that rebelled will be thrown into it, 2 Peter 2:4. The anti-christ and the false prophet will be thrown into it and those who take the mark of the beast will be thrown into it. The Bible is very clear about these. But here is the thing, just because the smoke rises forever, does that mean that the people who are thrown into it suffer forever? Here are some verses that address it.

Then I heard a mighty voice from the throne and I perceived its distinct words, saying, See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away. Revelation 21:1-4

But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs [that is consumed in smoke] and as the glory of the pastures. They shall vanish; like smoke shall they consume away. Psalm 37:20

FOR BEHOLD, the day comes that shall burn like an oven, and all the proud and arrogant, yes, and all that do wickedly and are lawless, shall be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. Malachi 4:1

And you shall tread down the lawless and wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 4:3

Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them. They cannot even deliver themselves from the power of the flame [much less deliver the nation]. There is no coal for warming or fire before which to sit! Isaiah 47:14

As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away, so he who goes down to Sheol (the place of the dead) shall come up no more. Job 7:9

Drought and heat consume the snow waters; so does Sheol (the place of the dead) those who have sinned. Job 24:19

Such people will pay the penalty and suffer the punishment of everlasting ruin (destruction and perdition) and eternal exclusion and banishment from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 2 Thessalonians 1:9

There is a Hell and our Father tells us that some people will be thrown into it. My hope is that it is only one person as Jesus alluded to in His parable of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, Matthew 22:11 and John 17:12. The things and people that are thrown into the Lake of Fire cannot suffer forever because our Father does away with all suffering when He comes. Their punishment is eternal, these people can not come back into being, that is why the smoke of Hell is eternal. Those who are cast into the Lake of Fire are eternally cast out of the presence of the Lord, Who is omnipotent, so they have to just cease to be, or our Lord would not be omnipotent. So there is a Hell and the punishment is eternal, but the idea of the people who are thrown into it being eternally aware and tormented does not fit with the scriptures about Hell. Nor does it fit with what we have ever seen from our Lord, Who alone holds the Keys of Hell, Revelation 1:18, and Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, Hebrews 13:8.  

Revelation 14:9-11

9 Then another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a mighty voice, Whoever pays homage to the beast and his statue and permits the [beast's] stamp (mark, inscription) to be put on his forehead or on his hand,

10 He too shall [have to] drink of the wine of God's indignation and wrath, poured undiluted into the cup of His anger; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

   

11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no respite (no pause, no intermission, no rest, no peace) day or night--these who pay homage to the beast and to his image and whoever receives the stamp of his name upon him.

The testimony of Jesus must be something to behold during these last days. All of the inhabitants of the earth are hearing the Truth and it is being preached with power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit. It has to be, for our Father to be so forceful as to offer no chance for redemption for those people who take the mark of the beast. The preaching has to be miraculous through the 144,000, and the numbers who could not be numbered, and the two witnesses. The Gospel will be incredibly plain and simple to understand. So plain and powerful that a person has no choice but to accept or deny Jesus as Lord. I believe that the preaching during this time will be greater then in any other time in earths history. Jesus said that the works that He did, so shall we, and even greater ones, John 14:12, and here is a time when I believe will be the greatest preaching of all time. The Holy Spirit will cause it to be powerful, plain, and clear!

In our next post we will study about Hell. 

Revelation 14:6-8

6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, with an eternal Gospel (good news) to tell to the inhabitants of the earth, to every race and tribe and language and people.

Here we are shown the Truth that the Gospel of Jesus and of the Kingdom is being preached everywhere during the Great Tribulation. In the midst of all of this turmoil the Gospel is still preached with great power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit. The Church has to be around during the Great Tribulation to preach it! The Church has always been the instrument that our Father has worked through to share the Truth that sets men free! How will people hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14  

7 And he cried with a mighty voice, Revere God and give Him glory (honor and praise in worship), for the hour of His judgment has arrived. Fall down before Him; pay Him homage and adoration and worship Him Who created heaven and earth, the sea and the springs (fountains) of water. 

As the anti-christ is calling for people to falsely worship, we see here in verse 7 that Jesus is still alive, He is still living to testify of the Truth, and He still is empowering believers. The angel, the messenger, is flying in midair, this shows us that all of the inhabitants of the earth are hearing the gospel, just as Jesus proclaimed that they would. The 144,000 special messenger’s are being used by our Father to preach the Truth, the two witnesses are being used, and all who are in Christ that still remain on the earth are being used to preach the Truth of the Kingdom. The Gospel is being preached to the entire world during these last days, including Israel, as it never has been before.  

And this good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end. Matthew 24:14

8 Then another angel, a second, followed, declaring, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She who made all nations drink of the [maddening] wine of her passionate unchastity [ idolatry]. 

John is shown here that Babylon has fallen. The anti-christ hasn’t fallen yet, so it cannot be him or his false church. The false prophet has not fallen, so it could not be America. So what is Babylon? I believe that Babylon is the world’s economy. Nothing has ever made nations act with evil as much as money. The love of money is the root of all evil and the nations of the world have always been all about the love of money and the power that it brings! During the Great Tribulation inflation will be running wild; a measure of wheat will cost a full day’s wages. War will be sucking up the wealth of nations like crazy. Taxes will have to be enormous to cover it all. And the government will be controlling every aspect of society and commerce. The worlds system and its economy will have failed. Nothing will be able to get done, commerce will cease to exist, money will be useless, and society will be in utter ruin. Even if the society never was industrialized, the natural disasters that our Father will release during these times will destroy agriculture and live stock the world around. 

But be of good cheer, we have Jesus and He will use us to give food and water in time of need, Matthew 24:44-46. We are not appointed to wrath, but to righteousness, 1 Thessalonians 5:9. We will have peace that passes all understanding during the great Tribulation, Philippians 4:7, and we will be fed and supplied water abundantly and miraculously during these times. Our needs will be met according to our Father’s riches and glory by Christ Jesus, Philippians 4:19! We will be more than conquerors through Christ, Romans 8:37, because He will be greater within us than anything that is in this world, 1 John 4:4. 

Revelation 14:4-5

4 These are they who have not defiled themselves by relations with women, for they are [pure as] virgins. These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These are they who have been ransomed (purchased, redeemed) from among men as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb. 

These 144,000 men could very well be true virgins as we know the term virgin. But they also could be 144,000 men, who have never known any church but the true church. Remember how Jesus showed John that the woman, the Church, was rescued away from the dragon. Either way, they are chosen by our Father to preach salvation to the children of Israel and our Father will be successful through them. 

5 No lie was found to be upon their lips, for they are blameless (spotless, untainted, without blemish) before the throne of God. 

Just a thought here, why does this verse just teach us of 144,000 men? John does not make mention that they were from the twelve tribes of Israel as he did in Revelation 7. We are shown that these 144,000 were taken from among men; the Holy Spirit does not have John write that they were taken from Israel? These 144,000 could be the same people mentioned in Chapter 7, Jesus does appear to John on Mount Zion, or they could be a different 144,000. 

But here is the thing; these men seem to be a leadership of the Church, who Jesus uses during the Great Tribulation. We are shown that they have not defiled themselves with women. Marriage and the physical relationship involved with it does not defile a man. Marriage and sex is an ordained instrument of our Father. It really doesn’t matter whether they are virgins as we know it, or if they have not been involved with any other church, the Truth is there are 144,000 special messengers of Christ who will be used like no others have been used to preach to the Children of Israel. Only they can sing their song! They may be true virgins, or undefiled by false religion, they may be from the twelve tribes of Israel or from among all men. The only thing that really matters is that Jesus has selected 144,000 special messengers for a special ministry and He uses them in truly a great way, a way unique to these men alone. 

Remember though that all true Christians have been washed clean by Jesus. We all now stand without spot wrinkle or blemish, this is how Jesus has made us, Ephesians 5:27. This is the power of His Blood for us; it is eternally working for us so that we are all saved to the uttermost. So just because Jesus tells us that these 144,000 are blameless, in no way means that all who are saved are not the same way. We are all one body, as Jesus is, so are we in this world, 1 John 4:17. So these men are not better or worse than any other child of God. They have just been chosen for this specific ministry. 

Therefore He is able also to save to the uttermost (completely, perfectly, finally, and for all time and eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He is always living to make petition to God and intercede with Him and intervene for them. Hebrews 7:25 

We are just shown here that these 144,000 are used like no others have been used to minister to the children of Israel. Also remember the glorious Truth that the Gospel is being preached throughout the whole earth during these 3 1/2 years. The anti-christ and the false prophet cannot stop us. Even though huge amounts of us are being killed for testifying of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit still drives us, rejoicing and singing as we are used to preach to all nations, tribes, and tongues! 

Revelation 14:1

1 THEN I looked, and behold, the Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 [men] who had His name and His Father's name inscribed on their foreheads. 

We are shown here by Jesus that these 144,000 men have our Father’s Name inscribed on their foreheads. This shows us that they are totally filled with the Holy Spirit and that they are one with our Father through Jesus Christ. Mount Zion is a representation for the Jews. So John is seeing that the message of salvation has finally come to the Jews, our Father finally removes the blinders from the children of Israel. John is shown here that there is going to be wide spread salvation for Jews during the Great Tribulation.

He has blinded their eyes and hardened and benumbed their [callous, degenerated] hearts [He has made their minds dull], to keep them from seeing with their eyes and understanding with their hearts and minds and repenting and turning to Me to heal them. John 12:40

These may be the same 144,000 men that we were shown earlier in Revelation 7, or they may be a different 144,000. Either way these individuals are going to be used by our Father in a very powerful way during the last 3 1/2 years of this earth age. 

2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of great waters and like the rumbling of mighty thunder; the voice I heard [seemed like the music] of harpists accompanying themselves on their harps. 

3 And they sang a new song before the throne [of God] and before the four living creatures and before the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin]. No one could learn [to sing] that song except the 144,000 who had been ransomed (purchased, redeemed) from the earth. 

These 144,000 men are special ministers for Jesus to the Jews. Their message is loud and clear, just like thunder and when John heard the message that our Father was having them preach, it was music in his ears. Think of the joy that John must have felt as he finally sees the Truth being poured out and accepted by his countrymen? These 144,000 alone have been anointed by our Father for this specific ministry. They were redeemed from the earth, yet they stand before the Throne, not in the Throne, so they are still on the earth serving the Kingdom. Since they are the only ones chosen for this special ministry they alone sing the song. And the message that they have been chosen to preach is great, it is powerful, loud, and it is music to the ears of those who hear it. 

I hope that you are seeing through these postings of Revelation that there is a ton of good things shown to us that will happen during the end times. There will be wrath, absolutely, but there is also miracles, salvation, healing’s, and most of all Grace! Our Father never abandons Grace!   

Revelation 13:18

18 Here is [room for] discernment [a call for the wisdom of interpretation]. Let anyone who has intelligence (penetration and insight enough) calculate the number of the beast, for it is a human number [the number of a certain man]; his number is 666.

The beasts number, the last Pope’s number is 666. The number 6 represents the worship of man, and is the number of man, signifying his rebellion, imperfection, works, and disobedience. The number six is used 273 times in the Bible, including its derivatives (e.g, sixth) and another 91 times as “threescore” or “60.” Man was created on the sixth day (Genesis 1:26, 31). See also Exodus 31:15 and Daniel 3:1.

I am by no means a Greek scholar, but from most of what I have studied on this topic, the letters in the name of the anti-christ will add up to 666. Greek letters are given numbers: alpha is 1, beta 2, and so on. For instance Jesus’ name in Greek (iasous) adds up to 888. So whoever the anti-christ is, his name will add up to, when spelled in Greek, 666. Since the anti-christ’s name is never given to us, Jesus shows John a way for us to know who it is. John was not permitted to reveal what the seven thunders said to him. They could have very well been saying the specifics of who the anti-christ and false prophet will be, but that is just me guessing, and what good is that?

Here is what will bring us great peace: that when the anti-christ is finally revealed, the true church will clearly know who and what he is. Our Father will make sure that we do, because if we take his side, we are told that there is no coming back. People do put a lot of effort into trying and figuring out who the anti-christ is though, when the Bible clearly tells us that he will not be revealed until the end times. 

We have not been given a spirit of fear, but one of faith, love, and a sound mind, 2 Timothy 1:7. We have not been appointed to our Father’s wrath, 1 Thessalonians 5:9. What brings us peace when we read all of this about the end times is that we know beyond any shadow of a doubt that our Father will still operate with Grace. Our Father is Love, 1 John 4:8, and even during these times, He does not stop loving. Our Father’s wrath is against evil and sin, not the humans who are caught up in all of it. The wrath of the Great Tribulation is not meant to destroy the disobedient but to set them free. Our Father is not so insecure that He will torture people, kill them, throw them into Hades to be further tortured, then raise them up, give them back their bodies, only to throw them into a worse place called Hell, to torture them forever. That is what dictators do, not our Father. Grace and Love will discipline, but never leave or forsake! 

Revelation 13:15-17

15 And he is permitted [also] to impart the breath of life into the beast's image, so that the statue of the beast could actually talk and cause to be put to death those who would not bow down and worship the image of the beast.

You ever notice how much of the world makes huge portraits of their leaders and every dictator has a great statute of himself. Making one talk is nothing and with computers today, it can speak of great things. Notice that the dragon does not cause the image to speak, it is America, who is the false prophet that does. It could easily be miraculous and not worldly at all, that really doesn’t matter though. The fact that matters, is that people will be thinking they are glorifying our Father, while all of the time they are blaspheming Him. I honestly believe that people will be very religious during the Great Tribulation. Yet their religion will always begin with and end with what man is doing. Jesus will be mentioned, as will our Father, but it will always be in the context of what man is doing first. Man will always be the focus. 

16 Also he compels all [alike], both small and great, both the rich and the poor, both free and slave, to be marked with an inscription [stamped] on their right hands or on their foreheads, 

17 So that no one will have power to buy or sell unless he bears the stamp (mark, inscription), [that is] the name of the beast or the number of his name. 

With the instability of the world at this time, of course the anti-christ and America will want total control. Right now the USA believes that it is the policeman of the world, so in these times of great trouble, how much more will it? Especially when a bunch of totally ungodly people will be running the government. Look right now how liberal leaning leaders that think they have to impose their views on the less enlightened people. Then think of how religious right leaning leaders believe they can force their opinions and beliefs on the ungodly. Now in these times of Great Tribulation, think of how in the name of peace and safety that they will force their beliefs, all in the name of stability.

Revelation 13:14

14 And because of the signs (miracles) which he is allowed to perform in the presence of the [first] beast, he deceives those who inhabit the earth, commanding them to erect a statue (an image) in the likeness of the beast who was wounded by the [small] sword and still lived.

People will see miraculous things that they have never seen, while at the same time they are experiencing horrors as they never have before. They will believe that these miracles are showing us that the anti-christ is of God. They will be looking to man’s abilities to move God, and the anti-christ and false prophet will be telling them just how great they are with God. They will be telling the lost to just look at what God does for them! The anti-christ will have statues of Mary, Peter, Paul, and Jesus. He will tell you to pray to them and bow before them. And the world will believe that this man is as great as any of them, so why not make a statue to him as well? They will fall down before him; they will believe that surely this pleases our Father, they will justify this false belief by looking at the miracles of the false prophet. All along they will be blaspheming our Father, by glorifying man. They will have a form of godliness, but they will be denying the Truth.

These people will see a Pope that speaks so wonderfully. They will want to be part of this popular movement. The lost will marvel at how quickly the Pope, this religious guy, who was always just kind of there, but never had any real world power, came to such great power, and the world will marvel! 

After people have seen and experienced the natural disasters that are our Father’s wrath, they will be so desperate for a sign. Anything that looks like it will bring about peace and safety during this time will be heralded. How easy it will be to force the earth to follow what America believes will bring about stability. The two witnesses of God will be showing signs that hurt people, these two will be showing signs that seem to help. The world will hate the two who are truly of our Father and love the two who are not. 

Also, this is a great place to talk about the false teaching of a pre-tribulation rapture. There will be a great falling away of false believers during the end times, 2 Thessalonians 2:3. These people who will un to the anti-christ and away from the Truth will be many of those who believed in a pre-tribulation rapture. Actually they will probably still believe in a rapture and they will just believe that it hasn’t happened yet. They will be blinded to the Truth of the anti-christ. They will believe that the last Pope cannot be the anti-christ because Jesus still has them here on the earth. So they will praise God for the miracles of the anti-christ, who will be glorifying man and man’s efforts. They will do this because for most people who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture that is what they do now. They glorify themselves for prophesying in Jesus’ name. They glorify themselves by saying that they do mighty works in Jesus’ name, but the Truth is that Jesus does not know them, Matthew 7:22. Jesus doesn’t know them because these people believe that they do things first, so that our Father can then do something. They confess that we have to accept or that we have to have faith, not that our Father is causing us to have faith, Hebrews 12:2. We act only because Jesus first acts through us, without Jesus we can do nothing, John 15:5. 

Revelation 13:12-13

12 He exerts all the power and right of control of the former beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell upon it to exalt and deify the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed, and to worship him. 

Remember in our previous post how we studied that the second beast shown to John in Revelation seems to describe America. With that in mind, look how America’s leadership could support the last Pope in a time of Great Tribulation. There will be turmoil everywhere. America is hated by most of the world right now, so they could throw their support towards the last Pope, who is unifying Europe and the Middle East, to try and sure things up. American leaders have seen that religion has worked for them in the past, and the last Pope will be a world wide leader, so they could easily force people to follow what the Pope says. Not so much because they care about the Pope, but to bring peace and stability. Remember satan is a divided house, all of these kings, and beasts will not be together as one. There will be jealousy, mistrust, and bitterness. Everything that satan is, these world leaders have been empowered fully with. America throwing its support to the anti-christ is all in an attempt to bring about some peace and stop the wrath of our Father.

Do you really think that satan is going to show the anti-christ what he is doing to him? I believe that the Pope will believe that he is doing the right thing. But he is so blinded that he cannot see. I think the same of America, everything being done is an attempt to bring stability and peace. Look at the government now: they don’t speak against anything evil, abortions, forced redistribution of wealth, homosexual marriage, all of these things have failed, yet to try and bring peace and harmony, world leaders will go for it.

So the false prophet could easily be the President of the United States trying to stabilize the world. All the time thinking of His legacy, just like satan does.

13 He performs great signs (startling miracles), even making fire fall from the sky to the earth in men's sight. 

America’s weapons are the best in the world and causing fire to fall from the sky is nothing. But I also believe that this man will be permitted by our Father to do miraculous things. People will love him and one thing for sure, when times are tough, Americans are willing to give up tons of freedoms to try and have peace.  So an ego driven, satan filled leader, will be able to thrive in these times of trouble. 

Revelation 13:9-11

9 If anyone is able to hear, let him listen:

10 Whoever leads into captivity will himself go into captivity; if anyone slays with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Herein is [the call for] the patience and the faith and fidelity of the saints (God's people).

You ever hear Christians who talk about hoarding food and having guns to protect themselves during the end times? These people will be slain during the Great Tribulation as people overtake them for what they have. The whole world will be against us during this time. Only Jesus will feed us, shelter us, and give us water. And once again, Jesus shows us that the saints, the church, that are here during the Great Tribulation, will be patient. Jesus shows us that we will not fight back; we will not kill those who kill us. Think of the love that will be flowing through us at this time to act this way. This is the end and we will not want anyone to die, even if they are killing us, because they might have a chance to be called and chosen! And A-men, I believe that millions will be saved! There will be so many saved during this time that they will not be able to be counted. Millions saved out of every nation, tribe, and tongue. And Hallelujah, if it requires us to be killed so that they can be saved, bring on death!

11 Then I saw another beast rising up out of the land [itself]; he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke (roared) like a dragon.

Think of America here. The beast has two horns, yet no crowns; freedom of religion and democracy, or maybe our economic and military power? Look at how the beast is portrayed like a lamb, but speaks as a dragon. Think of how the USA has been used by Jesus and yet our leaders speak like a dragon. This revelation clearly shows America, no other country on the earth is used by Jesus as much as America to spread the Gospel and yet our government officials, our countries official voice, shy away from Him and speak just like satan. Our politicians are always glorifying the works of themselves and of men. Satan doesn’t speak like a ruthless dictator, he is subtle and usually uses half truths that sound good. Just like our Presidents, who say that they have faith, and yet never mention Jesus.

Also look at how the beast rises up out of the land, the wilderness. America is a very new country, it is a very powerful country, and it gained its power very quickly! We do not have a king and this beast has no crowns on its horns. 

Revelation 13:8

8 And all the inhabitants of the earth will fall down in adoration and pay him homage, everyone whose name has not been recorded in the Book of Life of the Lamb that was slain [in sacrifice] from the foundation of the world. 

Everyone will worship the anti-christ, everyone except those who have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, those who have been empowered, and those who are chosen to be one with Jesus. We are one with our Father and our Father bows to no one. We are God’s body, empowered with our Father’s Strength; we will be lights shinning brightly on the sides of the hills. We will still be the salt of the earth even during the Great Tribulation, Matthew 5:13. We will still lay hands on the sick and they will recover, the gifts of the Spirit will operate through us in their full power and demonstration for all to see, Mark 16:15.

Now here is an interesting point, Jesus shows us that there is a book called the Lamb’s Book of Life and we are also shown in Revelation 3:5, and several other places in the New Testament,   that there is also a Book of Life. I have always heard that the two Books are the same. But the more that our Father shows me I believe that there are two distinct Books: One For the Bride of Christ and one for the Guests of the Bride. I believe that those who are called to be the Bride have their names in both books, but the Guests of our’s only have their names in the Book of Life. These people will not be able to see the Truth that the anti-christ is actually wrong. He will look and sound so right. They will see miracles and very amazing things. They will believe the lie, but I honestly do not believe that it is just so that our Father can get even with them for what they have or have not done. I believe that it is to bring them to a point of true repentance. It will be a disciplining, but what our Father allows to happen will be out of love and it will bring in the Truth for all to see. 

Many of these people will even have to go to Hades to be further disciplined, but I honestly believe that in the end, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord and that they will be saved, Romans 14:11. Everyone will confess the Truth. The death of our flesh does not stop our Father from working on us to see the Truth that will set us free.  Jesus went to Hades once before and preached to the disobedient and set them free, 1 Peter 3:19-21. Why would He not do it again? Our Father wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth, 1 Timothy 2:4. The Bible shows us one thing very clearly and it is that our Father gets what He wants! So we have been given the hope, that will not disappoint us, Romans 5:5, that our Father will do whatever it takes to keep us all from Hell. He will do this even though we are weak, even though we are ignorant, and regardless of our abilities to accepts and believe it! That is just how powerful Jesus’ sacrifice is for us all. 

This is also another great verse that teaches us that there is no pre-tribulation rapture. Notice how there are those who are still on the earth whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life who do not worship the anti-christ. If there was a rapture of the Church, then why are these people still here. Our Father left some of the Bride while taking others? Or He left those who are new to being the Bride here while taking away all of the older ones?

Revelation 13:6-7

6 And he opened his mouth to speak slanders against God, blaspheming His name and His abode, [even vilifying] those who live in heaven. 

The last Pope will claim that he has done miraculous things. He will claim that only through him can the world survive. He will always talk about what man must first do for our Father to then act. His focus will always be on our responsibilities and human free will. It will all sound very religious. It will have a form of godliness, but it will deny our Father's power that is working through us and praise man's power of working for God. 


When it is brought to his attention what the Bible teaches, he will vilify those who the Holy Spirit used to write it. People will listen, and they will flock to him, praising his wisdom, and worshipping him, and killing those who oppose him. They will do it all in the Name of God! Just as they did during Jesus' time, the Dark Ages, and just as the radical Muslims do now! The anti-christ will teach that the Bible was mistranslated and that we are taking God’s Word out of context. This is how he will attempt to maintain a form of godliness. 

7 He was further permitted to wage war on God's holy people (the saints) and to overcome them. And power was given him to extend his authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.

Who permitted the anti-christ to wage war? Our Father did! Our Father will give the anti-christ power over every tongue, nation, and tribe. Think of how the anti-christ will try to make people worship? He will demand that people pray to and bow down to graven images, priests, Mary, and false teachings that are ordered from his throne and not from the Bible. Everything that he does will look religious too. So of course he will come after the woman, the true Church, for preaching the Truth. He will have an army and governments supporting him that can reach the world. We will be hated by every nation, but victorious everywhere our Father leads us.

Our Fathers Word is eternal, it never passes away, Mark 13:31. So even during this time, we are more than conquerors through Christ Who loves us, Romans 8:37. Even during this time our yoke is easy and our burden light, Matthew 11:30. Jesus will never leave us or forsake us, Hebrews 13:5, and our Father will never allow us to be tempted above that which we can bear, 1 Corinthians 10:13. The power of our Father will be mighty in us during the end times. Our Father will be using us to do greater works than He used Jesus for, John 14:12. Our Father’s strength is perfected in us when we are our weakest, so just think of how great the power of the church will be during this time, 2 Corinthians 12:9 ! 

Also we can see that once again, the Church is mentioned here before Chapter 20. It is a flat out lie that teaches the church is not mentioned from Chapter 4 of Revelation until Chapter 20 as those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture teach. You may have never heard this teaching, but I sure have. I have heard it a lot and it is wrong! Our Father uses us greatly during the last 3 1/2 years of this earth's history and millions upon millions are born again.  

We have seen that the Church is kept safe and fed for the three and a half years of the anti-christ’s rule. So how is it that we are allowed to be overcome? Christians have always been allowed to be martyred, but death where is thy victory and grave where is thy sting, 1 Corinthians 15:55? The grave has no victory over us, for us to be absent from the body, is to be present with Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:8! So what we have seen all fits together. We may be killed, but we will never be lost and Jesus will always be victorious through us, even during the Great Tribulation. 

Revelation 13:5

5 And the beast was given the power of speech, uttering boastful and blasphemous words, and he was given freedom to exert his authority and to exercise his will during forty-two months (three and a half years).

Satan will give his power to the anti-christ and satan has been allowed to do it for 3 1/2 years. Ask yourself this question here: why did satan have to be given the freedom to do this? If satan had any authority on his own, why did our Father have to give him the power and freedom to exert his influence in the first place. I run into a lot of people who believe that satan has power over this world, but repeatedly we are shown that he doesn’t. Repeatedly we are told that our Father has to first empower and allow satan to do things. Satan only has as much power as our Father gives him!

But even though our Father will give satan such power during the last 3 1/2 years of this period of earth's history, we were shown in Revelation 12:14 that the church has been provided with an escape and that we are protected for the entire time. This Truth infuriates satan to no end! Because he will see the Gospel of the Kingdom being preached to every nation, tribe, and tongue through us. During the Great Tribulation satan will see the righteous being used by our Father to do the works that Jesus did and He will see us being used to do even greater works then Jesus did, John 14:12. We will give food when all of the grass has been burned up, Matthew 24:45-46. We will give water when a 1/3rd of all of the water is unusable. We will be a blessing to every tribe, nation, and tongue during these times. We will be the one sign that Jesus spoke of regarding His return, Matthew 24:14!

Think of the blasphemy now of the Pope. People bow down to him, this is nowhere to be found in the New Testament, and it is actually spoken against, Acts 10:26. People actually kiss a ring on his finger. He allows and actually expects people to bow down and kiss a graven image that he wears. The ring is supposedly Peter’s ring and Peter emphatically said to never to do such things! The Pope believes that He is the Christ on the earth. He places himself above people, Jesus hates this. 


It is not hard to imagine how the last Pope will be when he has the backing of kings and a fearful and wary population. A population that for the first time in History will really see the full carnage of war. There will be 24 hour news, the internet, clear and precise pictures, with networks trying to make the people as afraid as they can be, all to get ratings and to make money. Could you imagine World War II with today’s news coverage? And imagine the power this last Pope will have over people when he is able to speak as no one has before. But once again, the children of God are protected from the wrath of our Father. We may be asked to be sacrificed during this time, yet we will have the anointing of Christ upon us to endure it and to further the Gospel of the Kingdom, just as we read about with Jesus, Stephen, Paul, John, and Peter.

Romans 13:3-4

3 And one of his heads seemed to have a deadly wound. But his death stroke was healed; and the whole earth went after the beast in amazement and admiration. 

The Roman Catholic Popes power was taken away by Napoleon in the 1798. From the time of Justatine in 538 when the Bishop of Rome became the Pope, until 1798, 1260 years, the Pope had a great army and was the predominant world leader. The Pope will come back into great power as the anti-christ, the leader of the beast. He will speak with such power that he will actually seem to unite christian and muslim believers, and the world will marvel at how great a leader he is. He will offer peace and the world will believe him, even though millions are dying in wars and terrorist attacks. Just as now, people look far more at how people say things, then actually at what they do. And this guy will say things with such glory and the world will marvel and follow right along! The wicked will erect statues to him and pass laws that tell people to worship him. The anti-christ will seem exactly like what the world has always needed.  

4 They fell down and paid homage to the dragon, because he had bestowed on the beast all his dominion and authority; they also praised and worshiped the beast, exclaiming, Who is a match for the beast, and, Who can make war against him? 

Now think of the carnage that these people will have been seeing for 3 1/2 years. They will have seen a war that killed a fourth of all mankind, locust that had consumed them for five months, natural disasters that turn a third of the waters bitter, and a spiritual attack from the Abyss that kills off a third of all mankind. Of course the wicked will be looking for someone who they hope will bring peace. And the anti-christ will be able to speak as none ever has and the world will flock to him. He will seem to be their only hope. Even people who have confessed to not believe in anything will believe in this guy. They will have to, or they will not be able to buy or sell, and that is what evil people have always believed in, money. Even though the world will have noting to buy, the love of money will still motivate people. 

Think of how people fall down before the Pope now and then think of when he has the full support and power of Europe, the Middle East, and satan. God during this time will have caused a great falling away of the false believers. He will have spewed the luke warm out of His mouth. These false christians will probably run to the fake church of the anti-christ, which I believe to be the Catholic faith, ran by the anti-christ who is acting as the Pope.

Also notice how our Father finally permits satan to try and imitate Him. Our Father finally allows satan to give all his power and authority to the anti-christ, just as Jesus has given all of His power and glory to us. Think of what satan is thinking here, that he can finally control and empower things. All of his schemes and plans will fail though, because it is all our Father’s plan and it is His wrath. Satan is still a servant of our Father, even though he believes that he is in control, it is all our Father’s will being done on earth, as it is in Heaven.   

Revelation 13:2

2 And the beast that I saw resembled a leopard, but his feet were like those of a bear and his mouth was like that of a lion. And to him the dragon gave his [own] might and power and his [own] throne and great dominion. 

The anti-christ is fully powered by satan. Which means that he is fully powered by a loser, a loser who has failed at everything that he has ever attempted. Think about satan’s dominion during the end times, it will have definitely shrunk, millions of his people will have been killed and many of his nations will have been destroyed. Think about satan now, he and a third of the angels who followed him have been kicked out of heaven and they have been suffering defeat after defeat for thousands of years! So the anti-christ is in for one huge loss after another, because his kingdom will be built upon the sand. Everything that he will attempt will fail and it will cause him to become angrier and angrier. Look at popular politicians now when things don’t go their way and how they act. The beach is sandy and the storms are great, so it all erodes quickly for him and the kings who side with him. Think of it, all of these things that we have been shown in the Book of Revelation only last for 3 1/2 years. These guys come on the seen fast and are destroyed fast. 

The beast is a symbol for a revised Roman empire and Rome is where the Pope is headquartered. The leopard represents the empire of Greece. The beast also has feet like a bear, the Persian Empire, and a mouth like a lion, the Babylonian Empire, Daniel 7:4-6. So the anti-christ has the power behind him of Europe and the Middle East. This makes sense, think of the oil and the money that the Middle East possesses. The anti-christ will need it to secure his power and our Father will allow and empower the union. Look at how tolerant Europe is now of radical Islam. The alliances that the anti-christ will use are being formed right now. People will say that it is for tolerance and peace, but it is for money. The love of money is the root of all evil, it always has been and it always will be! 

Remember that the Four Angels have been released from the Euphrates River and also remember all of the terror and death that we were shown that come along with them. Right now the world is petrified of the threats of radical Islamists. During the Great Tribulation 200,000,000 radical Muslims will be demonically empowered to kill people left and right. Europe will allow it to happen to try and maintain peace in their own borders, and they will have entered into treaties that will allow the money from the oil to come to them, so that they will not intervene militarily. The love of money will still be the root of all evil, even during the end times. So it is easy to see how the anti-christ power will be from the leopard, the lion, and the bear. 

Revelation 13:1

1[AS] I stood on the sandy beach, I saw a beast coming up out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads. On his horns he had ten royal crowns (diadems) and blasphemous titles (names) on his heads. 

In Bible prophecy the Sea is often used to represent a great number of people and the ten crowns represent ten kings. The seven heads represent seven kingdoms, and the beast is the anti-christ. The anti-christ uses the power of these ten kings to force his power on the people. We are shown that the beach is sandy, which means that there are many divisions in the anti-christ’s organization. The anti-christ’s power will not be established on a solid foundation, because it will be established on satan, and satan is a defeated foe. 

On the heads of these ten kings we are shown that there are blasphemous titles. So these kings are claiming that the things of our Father’s are theirs. Blasphemy is basically taking something of our Father and claiming that it is not of Him. We can see this in the Gospel’s when people told Jesus that the works that were being done by our Father through Him where actually of the devil. When Jesus heard what the religious leaders were saying about the miracles being performed through men, He warned the leaders of the unforgivable sin of Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 12:31. These kings will be glorifying themselves and the anti-christ. While the works of these kings may very well may have a form of godliness, they will deny our Fathers power and place it all on man’s abilities.

Jesus tells us that right before the Great Tribulation begins people will be saying peace and safety, 1 Thessalonians 5:3.  Why is this important? It is because we are told that these ten kings are saying blasphemous things. The will not be taking credit for the wars and the natural disasters that are happening, they will be taking credit for the power of the holy Spirit that is working on the earth right before the Great Tribulation begins. Right before our Father pours out His wrath, people will be saying that all is peaceful and that all is safe. During this time leaders will be glorifying themselves and the laws that they have passed as the power behind this peace and safety, instead of the power of the Holy Spirit that will be pouring out through the body of Christ. They will be blaspheming our Father. It will all look religious and it will all be done in the name of love, yet all of the glory will be directed towards man, towards government, towards policies, and not towards God.  

Revelation 12:17

17 So then the dragon was furious (enraged) at the woman, and he went away to wage war on the remainder of her descendants--[on those] who obey God's commandments and who have the testimony of Jesus Christ [and adhere to it and bear witness to Him].

If you were like me growing up, you always heard that the church is not mentioned in Revelation from Chapter 4 through chapter 20. But right here, Jesus tells us that satan will come against those who bear His testimony, the Church! Jesus is not divided, there are not several different churches, anyone who truly bears the testimony of Jesus, does so through the power of the Holy Spirit, and they are of the Church. 

Satan failed before, he has always failed, and he will fail again here. Even when the whole world is against us, through Christ, we will absolutely prevail. During the end times millions of us will be martyred for being used by the Holy Spirit to tell of Jesus. Satan will be furious because of it, think of it, he will have empowered the anti-christ and the false prophet with all of his power, and through Christ we will still prevail. He will have ordered that we cannot buy or sell, and we will prevail. Satan will see millions of his people being killed by plagues, wars, and diseases, and yet he will see Jesus’ Bride prevailing. Everything that satan does has failed, and everything that he will do will fail. Our Father made satan to be a failure and our Father was very successful at what He created. 

The church will be glorious, without spot, wrinkle, or blemish during the end times. We will be used by our Father to give food, water, and most importantly Truth during these 3 1/2 years, Matthew 24:45-46. A ton of people want to be raptured out during these years, not me. I want to be used through Christ to serve when I cannot trust in myself at all, when I cannot trust in money, when I cannot trust in a job, or government. I want to be part of the glorious church that is used when the world is at its worst. Desiring to be raptured is for those who fear and through Christ we have not been given a spirit of fear, but a spirit of faith with a sound mind, 2 Timothy 1:7.

Revelation 12:15-16

15 Then out of his mouth the serpent spouted forth water like a flood after the woman, that she might be carried off with the torrent. 

Satan pours people out to persecute the Church. Most of the world will be against us, many are called to be the Bride of Christ, but only a few are chosen. Waters represent people in prophetic writings. We can look at History and see that this is true; the world has always been against our Father and His chosen ones. Our Father has always allowed them to be. He does this because it allows us to see that He is alive and real, and it gives the world no excuses when they are judged.

We can especially see that satan has always used wolves in sheep’s clothing. He has always used those who look religious, but whose hearts desire is to take you from God and place your trust in a lie. Examples like praying to Mary, or some other person that was used by our Father. Making graven images and bowing down before them. Placing one man above every other and then telling us that that man is the substitute for Christ on this earth. There are several other religions that do the same things, I am only pointing out the Catholic Church here, to go along with the anti-christ, who I believe will be the last Pope. The anti-christ’s seat is in Rome and he will have great political power. We will study more on this later, but as we study the Revelation of our Lord, keep this in mind.

16 But the earth came to the rescue of the woman, and the ground opened its mouth and swallowed up the stream of water which the dragon had spouted from his mouth. 

Satan’s people are always stopped. So whether it is a wilderness that our Father delivers us to, a natural disaster, or a miraculous event, satan fails each and every time. Failures always cause anger, and satan is always angry. During the end times the whole world is against us and many of us will be sacrificed for our testimony, but not all of us! There will be those who are alive in Christ that will be caught up to be with our Lord in the air when the seventh trumpet is sounded.

Remember what we have been shown, a third of the water is ruined; there are earthquakes, asteroids, darkness, and plagues. Our Father will use humans, as well as supernatural events, to pour His wrath upon the children of the devil. But Grace is never abounded by our Father. He is always love. Our Father’s wrath is not revenge, it is wrath against what is wrong and He will aggressively cleanse it from His creation. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord and eternity will be filled with multitudes of people who at one time aggressively attacked the Church, just like Paul did.