XXV On The Edge of The End

XXVII:
ON THE EDGE
OF THE END
f
tion o
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Produ OG
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the sk op
orksh
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Revelation 14-18: Restoration, Rescue,
Redemption and Retribution
http://www.visualbiblealive.com/stock_image.php?id=47365

I assume you’ve
read about the return of
Christ in Rev 19 + 20. Now
see what led up to Christ’s
return!

I will treat Revelation Chapters 14-18
(inclusive) as a single story unit. All
the content contained therein paints a
full and coherent picture of events and
activities immediately preceding and
involving the Return of Jesus Christ.

I’m just
filler . . . you know, ‘No
hyperlinks for you till Slide 4!”
Contracts on the cat and the kid
ran out and now Lenny’s using
me. ‘Best for last’ and all
that!

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items of interest.
Slide Array Table of Contents

TITLE PICTURE: http://en.wikipedia.org/
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EMAIL: leonard.hoy@gmail.com

REVELATION: STORY STRUCTURE
Part Two: Seeing Revelation 14-18
As A Story Unit

ELEMENTS IN REVELATION 14-18
CHAPTER 14: SECTION OVERVIEW
14:1-5 The Lamb stands on Mt Zion accompanied by the 144,000 Jewish ‘first
fruits’. I label this as a snapshot of conditions AFTER Christ’s return.
14:6-13 A flight of three angels
1. Angel #1 flies through the skies (midheaven) calling on mankind to
worship God.
2. Angel #2 announces the destruction of Babylon the Great
3. Angel #3 describes eternity’s hellish fate for AntiChrist’s worshippers
AND encourages believers to persevere in their faith in Jesus
14:14-20 TWO different reapings
1. First Reaping: (vs 15-16) One like the Son of Man is told ‘the hour is
come”; He reaps a harvest from the earth. (The NOT wicked?!?!?)
2. Second Reaping: (vs 17-20) An angel reaps the wicked with a sickle; the
wicked thrown in the ‘wine press of the wrath of God

14:1-5 The Lamb stands on Mt Zion accompanied by the 144,000 Jewish ‘first
fruits’. I label this as a snapshot of conditions AFTER Christ’s return.

Chapter 14
14:6-13 A flight of three angels
ry item in
ice that eve emingly stands at
not
Please flies through the John se
1. Angel #1
calling on mankind
und. skies (midheaven)ping his eyes to
s EarGod.
iworship th-bo m Earth, swee
nce frothe destruction adth ofthe Greatlanet
distaannounces and breof Babylon the p
2. a
Angel #2
visions of
e length
t
over#3h
ith speciﬁc t teeters
3. Angel
describeshapterhellish fate for AntiChrist’s worshippers
eternity’s w
Cencouragement to persevere inane faith in Jesus
to ﬁll thisget
AND believers
racked pl their
he wrath-w
as t
Earthreapings f the End.
14:14-20 TWO
the edge o
on
1. First Reaping: (vs 15-16) One like the Son of Man is told ‘the hour is
come”; He reaps a harvest from the earth. (The NOT wicked?!?!?)

2. Second Reaping: (vs 17-20) An angel reaps the wicked with a sickle; the
wicked thrown in the ‘wine press of the wrath of God

14:1-5 CAULamb-stands on Mt Zion accompanied by the 144,000
The TION SP
ECULA
Table o
TION A
f Conte
LERT: C
nts angels
th A flight
14:6-13 e ultim of three for the
hapter 1
ate fate
rest of t
4 serve
s of thre
his 5 ch
s
apte st
e uma (midheaven)rcalling on almost as to
1. THE flies through thehskiesn gr
1. Angel #1 J
ory unit mankind a
oups ap
EWS: E
. In brie
pear in
f,
after God. t mbodied
worship the
almost
in
7 h
list form
the Pro 0 Week (?) o the 144 Thous
mised L
n Je r u s
an the e
2. Angel #2 announces the destruction ofm
ale Babylon d, thgreat pe
a n d , se
y ap a
’s Mt Zi
2. BEL
cu re i n
r,
on(?)–c
their rel
IEVERS
ro worshippers
a io AntiChrist’s wn of
IN the eternal hellish fate tof nship
3. Angel n t describes CHRIS
eve #3o
with the
T: Activ
the very
L in .
e y persevere in their faithordJesus
wh believers get encouragement lto called
ANDen T
end of t
he Fath
out of th
h
er gives e Tribulation,
3. THE reapings
‘harves e nations
the wor
14:14-20 TWO ST
ted’ by C
LO :
d. (14:1
The a) A
h ri st
4 -1 6 )
lo, their
ntiChris
doom is
1. First Reaping: Oneulikee Son b) Harlois told ‘the hour is come”; He reaps
s re: the t, of Man t a
Chapte
erna to
n
rs 15-1from the earth tfor itl is ready. (The NOTeir f
rment in d c) th wicked?!?!?)
a harvest 8 will
ollowers
Hell.
expand
:
on thes
e he wicked
2. Second Reaping: An angel reaps tthemes in s with a sickle; the wicked
ome de
tail.
thrown in the ‘wine press of the wrath of God

CHAPTER 15: A SCENE IN HEAVEN
15:1 The Seven Angels of the Seven Bowls of Wrath step onto the stage and
open this chapter
15:2-4 We see those who have overcome the Beast (Rev 12:11?) standing on
Heaven’s Sea of Glass. They sing two songs and then offer praise in verse.
1. Song #1: The Song of Moses: Moses’ song from Exodus 15, a song
celebrating Jewish deliverance from Egyptian pursuers.
2. Song #2: The Song of the Lamb: Possibly a chorus of verses like that
found in Revelation 5? A celebration of Christian deliverance?
3. Praise in Verse: Voices extol God’s strength and righteousness,
announce the impending submission of the nations to Christ
15:5-8 The temple in heaven fills with God’s glory and the 7 angels receive
their deadly Bowls of God’s final wrath. The scene now switches to how
God’s judgment and wrath affects the earth and its various classes of
inhabitants.

15:1 The Seven Angels of the Seven Bowls of Wrath step onto the stage and
open this chapter
15:2-4 We see those who have overcome the Beast (Rev 12:11?) standing on
Heaven’sleas Glass. They sing two songs and then offer praise in verse.
P Sea of

e notice th
at e ery i song from
15 appeaSong of Moses:vMoses’tem in Exodus 15, a song
1. Song #1: The rs
Chapter
indeliverance.from Egyptian pursuers.
Heaven W
locations f
celebrating Jewish
e’ve chang
rom Chapt
each aTheon of the Lamb:r 14. Wa chorus ed
e Possibly e d
2. Song #2: cti Song
o seof verses like that
taken in H
e how
planintRevelation 5? A celebration n af
eaveof Christian deliverance?
found e , bu
t the cente
fects the
rGod’s strength and righteousness,
of action i
3. Praise in Verse: Voices extol
s Heaven.
announce the impending submission of the nations to Christ

15:5-8 The temple in heaven fills with God’s glory and the 7 angels receive
their deadly bowls of God’s final wrath. The scene now switches to how
God’s judgment and wrath affects the earth and its various classes of
inhabitants.

15:1 CAUTION-SPE
The Seven Angels of the Seven Bowls of Wrath step onto the stage and open
CULATION ALERT: C
hapter 15 interweaves
the chapter ely seque
narrativ
and
nces a.) the movemen
ts of the seven Bowl a
and b.) the redeemed
n of Glass and
on Hea en Beast (Rev 12:11?)
15:2-4cThose who have overcomevthe’s Sea of Glass. I thon the Sea gels
en ouragement to beli
erefore find
eve that .in .verse
thy sing two songs and offer praise .
1. Chapter 14’s First
1. Songthe Fait Song ofReaping Moses’-16) wfrom-iExoduse Raptu
#1: The
Moses: (14:15 song as a f-not-th 15, a song
of
hful from out of the Tri
re
buEgyptian pursuersg
lation. This reapin ea
celebrating Jewish deliverance from
accounts for the decla
sily
red presence of believ
ers from out of the
Tribulation on Heaven
’s Sea o Glass in 5:2
2. Song #2: The Song of the Lamb: fPossibly a1chorus of verses like that found
-4
2.inThe pouring5 f the
Revelation o
7 Bowls of Wrath narr
atively* begins AFTER
the celebration on the
Sea of Glass This line
3. Praise omVerse: Extol God’s strength .and righteousness,g me
in e
of thinkin announce the
I’m s
ans
kind of Pre-Bowl Post
TribulaChrist Just say
impending submission of the nations to tionist.
big deal.
ing. No
*”Na Temple in after” fills
15:5-8 rratively . . .heavenmea with God’s glory and the 7 Angels receive their
ns ‘after’ as part of a s
tory, not just ‘after’
in order of writing owrath.
deadly bowls of final r ‘after’ in
its appearance on a p
age.

CHAPTER 16: THE BOWLS OF WRATH
Bowl 1: MALIGNANT SORES-targeted to the worshippers of the Beast, to the
bearers of the mark of the Beast. Demonstration of God’s power over this false
god and of God’s harsh judgment of the wicked who worship the Beast.
Bowl 2: MARINE LIFE DIES-completes the second Trumpet judgment’s work.
(8:8)
Bowl 3: SPRINGS AND RIVERS TO BLOOD-completes the third Trumpet’s
work. (8:10)
Bowl 4: SUN SCORCHES THE EARTH-Another demonstration of God’s
authority and control over His creation’s every element.
Bowl 5: KINGDOM OF BEAST DARKENED- A judgment specifically targeted to
humiliate the kingdom of this failed challenger of God’s authority.
Bowl 6: EUPHRATES DRIES UP- The way is cleared for the kings of the east to
come to Armageddon.

t we
a moment so tha
s for
l judgments stop
Bow
de–the listing of
darkens and his
terlu
An in
gdom
t does as his kin
Bowls1:e what the AntiChris
to the worshippers
can e MALIGNANT SORES-targetedir and blaspheme. of the Beast, to the
despa
bearers rs gnaw their tongues in Demonstration of God’s power False
over this false
followe of the mark of the Beast.
nd the
t) a
god and of God’s judgmentSatan),wicked ast (AntiChris the Beast. ogs’ . . . I
of the the Be who worship
(
fr
:13–The dragon
. 16
emissaries (‘like
1
ing
ree miracle-work second Trumpet ons of the work.
Bowl 2: MARINE nerate th
Prophet geLIFE DIES-completes the to gather the nati judgment’s
o forth
atan
at ways?) who g
(8:8) wonder in wh
, the Almighty. S
God
the Great Day of
rt.
of
-dr third Trumpet’s
world to the war RIVERS TOlast, desperate, hatetheiven effo
Bowl 3: SPRINGS AND ts for one BLOOD-completes
e
marshals his ass
–
work. (8:10)
thief’.(I Thess 5:2
ike a
e He is coming ‘l
ake’ and to ‘ke p
–God declares th EARTH-Another demonstration of God’s e
2. SUN
Bowl 4: 16:15SCORCHES THE any who’ll listen to ‘stay aw
ber?) He warns creation’s every e 10 virgins. I wonder: if the
reme control over His
authority andm
element.
,
the parable of th
lass, as I believe
thes’. I think of
a of G
his clo
om Heaven’s Se judgment targeted to the
on fr
Bowl 5: KINGDOMhOF BEAST DARKENED- Another ir warning to the
ed C urch looks
raptur
ere? Is this just fa
n
om
kingdom of thisom does God warof h
h failed challenger God’s authority.p me honest and far fr
just w
ke e
uestions like this
large? Q
population at DRIES UP- Theyway siocleared ings. kings of the east to
Bowl 6: EUPHRATES
is
of th for the
bout m ver ns
a
come to Armageddon. certain
dogmatically

I have many, many questions at this point. Please forgive me if you
came here for answers and I leave you with new questions.
1. I wonder what Satan’s thinking! He knows roughly when and precisely where
to prepare for the “Great Day of God, the Almighty”; doesn’t he know that ‘lo,
his doom is sure’ to paraphrase Martin Luther? What drives him onward?
Why follow the Bible’s script? (Maybe it’s blind, murderous hatred! Or
maybe he has no choice in the matter?!?!?)
2. Has the last martyr given his or her life now? Is the Church, in fact, in
Heaven at last ? My reading of the text would make our entrance into heaven
a rather recent, just pre-Bowl experience. Does this mean that while Satan
prepares, we experience the celebration of the Sea of Glass (Revelation 15),
the Judgment Seat of Christ (I Corinthians 3:11) and the Marriage Supper of
the Lamb (Revelation 19:7)? A tight time table means nothing in Eternity!
3. What kind of fight is this? Daniel 11:40 describes this time of the end as
involving attacks against the AntiChrist; Revelation 16:13 describes this time
of the end as involving a gathering of forces seemingly allied with the
AntiChrist. Hmmmm . . . . . Maybe it’s like a bizarro WWE brawl that gets
out of hand??? Sorry, till the moment, there’ll be lots of loose ends!

Bowl 7:
1. “It is done!” The “it” in question may well be God’s wrath, for were not
these Bowls the final outpouring of that wrath. And yet . . . .
2. Peals of thunder and lightening and the GREATEST earthquake mankind
has ever experienced will follow these words and . . .
3. The ‘great city’ splits into three pieces (Is this the ‘great city’, Jerusalem,
of Revelation 11:8 or do we focus on great-city Babylon here?
Hmmmm . . . ..) and the cities of the earth fall and . . .
4. God gives Babylon the cup of His wrath (see #3 above?). Is this
punishment over and above the attacks on the AntiChrist earlier?
5. Islands flee, mountains crumble, 100 pound hailstones come-a-crashing
down and . . . .
6. All the lost population can do is blaspheme the One in control of all this
power! (I’d be begging for mercy long before this!)

s
n to God’s obviou
reactio
nter-productive
Bowl lf-destructive, cou
This se 7:
it?
w to account for
: Ho
tence in Bowl #6 “it” in question may well be God’s wrath, reason God
1.
for were not
omnipo “It is done!” The
or this. . .
these bowls the final ess 2:11, God pthat ised: “. And yet .
outpouring of rom wrath. . . F
h
at is
mber back in II T
Well, reme
y will believe wh
2. Peals of thunder luding influencand the tGREATEST earthquake,mankind
and lightening e so tha the
but
em a de
l send upon thexperienced follow these wordsdand ot . elieve the truth
b
wil
has ever
judged who id n . .
ay be
r that they all m
or d e
re represents how
, in
ee he
false3. The ‘great city’ splits into three pieceswhat we the ‘great city’, Jerusalem,
ks that (Is this s
thin
ss
wickedneor.” Me focus on great-city Babylondisadvantage:
as Revelation 11:8 do we
eir here?
took pleof ure in
hese people to th
st
Hmmmmm. . ..) land the cities ct the earth fall and . .essfully assaults
. enta bondage affli of
.
cc
rely this judg
d su
seve
g God even as Go
hipin
4.an’t segivesir way to wors of His wrath (see #3rist.
God e the Babylon the cup
above?). Is this
they c
tiCh
n
punishmentir chosen object of wattacks on the AntiChrist earlier?
over and above the orship, A
e kingdom of the
th
GMENT against
5. Islands flee, mountainsiChrist’s w100hpound s a JUD come-a-crashing
crumble, ors ipers ahailstones
nt
od’ll
li
ind: Go.d b. nds A
down
ehavior so that G
p in m and . .
Ke e
misb
ot incitement to
rist, n
r rejection of Chcan do is blaspheme the One in control of all this
m All the
the6. for prio lost population
er.
to judge them lat
n ‘pret
have apower!ext’


I find this
curious!!!
The cresc
lightening
endo of th
and earth
under and
quakes, c
BowlT s
NO 7: egu
ursing an
e to the re
turn of Chmay well be d blasphemywere not
1. “It is done!” The “it” in question ris
God’s
t! wrath. Andwrath, .for does
yet . . .
Now, Ithese bowls the final outpouring of that
f I were st
agand lightening
few 2. ePeals of thunder e managingand the GREATEST earthquake mankind
b tter line
this s and .
s to let se
has ever experienced follow these words crip.t, .I can
through th
rve as cue
e smoke a
s for Chris think of
n into hten
the f3.st a ‘great city’ splitsd ligthree pieces (Is this the ‘great brea
t to city’ Jerusalem of
ir Thengel’
ing and here? Hmmmm . . k..) and the
s glori do we
Revelation 11:8 orous s focus on Babylon clinched
.
h..
fists than
cities of the earth fall and .out, “It is finish
ed!”
But two w
hole Babylon the
4. God giveschapters cup of His wrath and . . .
deals with
will interv
Christ’s re
ene befor
turns in C
5. Islands flee, mountains crumble, 100 pound hailstonesB
ible
hapter 19 e the come-a-crashing
down and . . . .
.
Why? Wh
at could b
e that imp
6. All the lost population can do is blaspheme the One in control of all this
ortant?
power!

THE PAUSE IN WHAT SEEMED LIKE
AN IRRESISTIBLE MARCH
TO THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST
Introduction
Letters to the Seven Churches
The Story of the Tribulation

Doom of Babylon
Christ’s Return
The Millennium
Great White Throne Judgment
The Eternal City
Final Message


CHAPTER 17: THE GREAT HARLOT

“BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

Verses 17

: The Har
As symbo
lot Introdu
ls, women
ced and D
represent
Our Harlo
escribed
re l i g i o n s i
t: A creatu
n the Bibl
re of imm
Char
e

orality, bla
acterized
by great w
sphemy a
Mentione
nd innoce
ealth and
d in our o
nt blood
luxury
pening ‘O
figure in t
verview’ C
he run-up
hapter, #1
to Christ’s
4, The Ha
If the belie
Return.
rlot is a ke
vers (14:1
y
4 ) w e re re
now read
ady to rise
y to fall in
to glory, M
judgment
John–and
ystery Ba
.
us, his rea
bylon is
ders!–will
learn:
The impo
rt and me
aning of t
The natur
his ‘myste
e and sign
ry’ woman
ificance o
The signif
f the ‘bea
icance of
st’ on whi
the beast
ch she rid
’s multiple
es
heads an
d crowns


hich Bears Her Described
Verses 8-13: The Beast W
e and co
the Harlot-they are allied in purpos
east initially supports

-

The B
rulers of the earth, as it were.
sumed
Beast has a life interrupted yet re
‘Was, is not, and will come’: The
in some form or fashion
is
and one is yet to come’ marks th
e is
Seven heads: ‘five have fallen, on
us kings.
ifesting itself across time in vario
Beast as a spiritual entity man
n yet himself a distinct and eighth
The Beast itself is one of the seve
ion.
ifestation appearing in the Tribulat
man
pport his
Beast’s allied kingdoms which su
The ten horns represent the
ion.
final manifestation in the Tribulat
struction.
God has marked this Beast for de



y for the Lamb
erse 14: Victor
V
and
H entities, Harlot
BOT
st the Lamb. . .”
gain
e will wage war a
“Thes
.
war on the Saints
in a
e
are initially allied
east,
are the called, th
B
who
em. . .” and we
e th
chills
amb will overcom
“. . .the L
9:14)! Gives me
ev 1
company Him (R
ful ac
, but participate!
sen and the faith
here
cho
will not spectate
We
out that moment.
thinking ab



Verses 15-18: The Great Falling O
ut of Conspirators
But First: The Harlot has a global
reach–she sits on many waters,
representing the people and mul
titudes and nations of the earth.
Betrayal: The ten horns and the B
east will hate the Harlot: Jealousy
(?)
perhaps over who really rules this
earth?
Our God Reigneth: He it is whose
purpose these ten kingdoms exec
ute.
This Harlot who rules over the king
s of the earth will be destroyed w
ith
fire on God’s initiative yet by the
agency of the 10 Kingdoms of th
e Beast.


I–What’s Up With This: The Beast

Both of these entities are End-Tim

es physical manifestations of spiri

tual
entities that have had a long hist
orical reach back into time.
The Beast/AntiChrist goes back in
to five historical kings/empires. H
e is
at once one of the seven (as a sp
iritual entity) and a distinct and ei
ghth
physical manifestation in the End
-Times (AntiChrist).
There was a time when he ‘is no
t’, that is, he ceased to have a
manifestation.
There was a time when he was ‘re
strained’ (II Thess 2)
There was a moment in the End
Times when he was killed (Rev
13:3, Zechariah 11:17???) and th
en revealed/resurrected
He initially enjoyed the support of
the Harlot, but when the Beast ‘ro
se
from the dead’, he demands sole
worship and finds the religious sy
stem
of the Harlot to be a competitor. S
he must OF be destroye
“BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHERnow HARLOTS d.

CHAPTER t’s Up With This: The Harlot
17: THE GREAT HARLOTd a
II–Wha
entity that has ha
n of a spiritual

o
ysical manifestati
ven’,
An End-Times ph
al ‘Queen of Hea
rigin
k into time: The o
bac
ed
g historical reach
lon
ay of the deceas
by w
le Child’ Tammuz
irac
iramis and her ‘M
Sem
rd
hrist has no rega
Nimrod.
AntiC
n” for whom the
ome
ly the “desire of w
?)
Possib
d. (Daniel 11:37?
be Go
two
laims himself to
Babylon) by the
ce he proc
on
inar (
ah, carried to Sh
eph
the woman in the
sibly
(Catholicism and
Pos
-11.
in Zechariah 5: 5
rks
h the wings of sto
women wit
ore
Islam?)
d, I think I have m
Lan
ved from the Holy
e
remo
an the Beast. Sh
s a Christian far
A
lot th
tion from the Har
ecu
the
worry about pers
reason to
ore provincially in
dm
east seems roote
ch; B
ful.
a world-wide rea
has
against the Faith
rails
mies even as he
ene
East, fighting off
Middle

II–What’s Up With This: The Harlo
t

Possibly we meet the woman in th
e ephah, carried to Shinar (Babyl
on)
by the two other women with the
wings of storks in Zechariah 5: 511.
WILD SPECULATION ALERT: R
ight now, I consider these two wom
en to
be what remains of a discredited,
scandal-ridden Roman Catholicis
m and
a broken and shattered Islam. A
n ascendency of Judaism may oc
cur
after a pre-emptive Israeli nuking
of Mecca. In the resulting power
vacuum, Israel rises to economic
hegemony in the area, provoking
the
jealousy and greed of Gog and its
allies (Ezekiel 39/9). These even
ts
drive the two older religions to th
e margins. Both RC and Islam re
sort to
their pagan roots and there they
find new purpose in a shared wor
ship of
Wickedness herself: Ishtar, Venus
, Semiramis, etc. Babylon is the
natural place for her temple and
to Babylon (Shinar) they all go, th
e
Harlot and her escort. See my w
eb site for details and more metho
dical
explanation of what may yet tran
spire along these lines.


Links to further reading:
1. Marv Rosenthal’s Zion’s Fire carries an excellent two part series on the
Harlot of Revelation 17 and 18. Part One focuses on her past manifestations
in historical worship and Part Two focuses on her End Times manifestation
2. I have an essay entitled “Getting Here From There” which describes a
possible arc of events involving the impending religious ascendency of Israel
and Judaism. Such developments represent a possible process of clearing the
decks of a failed, institutional Catholicism and a hostile yet defeated Islam so
that the Harlot can appear as the world religion of the End Times.

CHAPTER 18: FALLEN BABYLON

http://angelstarspeaks.wordpress.com/lament-over-fallen-babylon/

7. To the degree that she glorified herself and
lived sensuously, to the same degree give her
torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I
sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and I will
never see mourning.’

http://chr

istiansun
dergroun
d.org

The first eight verses of Chapter 18 declare
and describe the ruinous state of the Great
City once God has finished with it.

8. For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and
mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord
God who judges her is strong.

Verses 9 through 20 chronicle how pitifully the
merchants, seamen, shipmasters, sailors and
passengers mourn the destruction of Babylon,
whose commercial interests in luxury items made
them all rich.

http://chr

istiansun
dergroun
d.org

Notice well: All these commercial interests and
webs of trade and transportation have survived, in
some form or fashion, nearly seven years of God’s
tribulational wrath! Amidst the chaos, misery,
famine and plague, wealth accumulates, merchants
still prosper and trade flourishes.
The center of this trade was Babylon the Great!

11. And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because
no one buys their cargoes any more . . .

21. So wi
ll Babylon
, the grea
not be fou
t city, be t
nd any lon
hrown do
ger . . . 2
and of sa
wn with v
4. And in
ints and o
iolence, a
her was fo
f all who h
nd will
und the b
a ve b e e n
lood of pr
slain on th
ophets
e earth.


I used to pass over these two chapters: too symbol ridden and obscure, didn’t
seem to fit in anywhere. I pay attention now.
What God’s Word devotes two whole chapters to must have significance for its
Author. That these two chapters immediately precede (and delay the telling of!) the
depiction of Christ’s Return further focuses my attention. By contrast, the
depiction of the Bowls doesn’t occupy half as much text space as does the depiction
of Mystery Babylon. I get all flushed with excitement over the imagery of the Bowls.
What response should I reserve the Harlot’s long arc of tyranny?
The Mystery of Wickedness (See Marv’s treatment in Zion’s Fire!) has stalked
mankind for millennia. Its final manifestation does more to subvert mankind
globally than anything the AntiChrist does. He directly attacks Christians, but has
many nations opposing him and therefore limiting his influence. (See text of Daniel
11 for the King of the South and the King of the North and ships from Kittim etc.).
Mystery Babylon asks all for ecstatic worship, trades globally in wealth and
splendor and encourages allegiance with excesses of immorality and sensuousness.
MYSTERY BABYLON represents a major threat to the sanctity of believers and
spills their blood with abandon. The AntiChrist seems to me to have a more limited
geographical sphere of influence than the Harlot. She gets two whole chapters!!!

Here’s a summary statement of the relationships among the AntiChrist, Jews,
believers/Church and the Harlot:
1. The AntiChrist receives extensive treatment in the OT, especially in Daniel and
Zechariah. He also gets coverage in the Olivet Discourse, whose geographical
focus seems to be Jerusalem, a Jewish venue, as well. The AntiChrist gets
extensive coverage in Revelation, where his war on the saints gets featured. My
conclusion: We should expect that Satan uses the AntiChrist for a
combined attack on ALL God’s people, Jew and Christian alike. This
attack finds its center in Jerusalem and the mideast.
2. The Harlot has her center in Babylon, which I’m not inclined to interpret as
anything like Rome or the UN. She represents a final manifestation of ancient
religious worship patterns that feature the Mother/Child virgin-birth concept.
Sensuous living, luxurious appointments, immoral practices make her appeal
near universal. So-called Christians apostatize under her spell. She spills the
blood of prophets and saints the world over. She eradicates opposition to her
religious authority. She receives biblical coverage-and HUGE chunks of
coverage and that at a key point of Christian reader interest: Chapters 14-20. My
conclusion: Satan uses the Harlot to challenge and threaten believers
all over the planet. God directs the Church’s attention to this, our
larger peril, so we can prepare to meet that challenge!

NEXT–
XXVIII: Daniel’s 70th
Week gives us a timeline to
spread these scenes out
on!

We’ve worked backwards from Revelation
Chapter 22 to 14. Everything connected up
in story-order. Now, story-order is over!
Chapters 4-13 present disconnected scenes,
judgmental processes and interludes with
solo performances by various entities.

XXV On The Edge of The End

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