Jehoshua is on the throne of David in New Jerusalem and He is the King of a New Israel
My study on the book of Revelation from a historicist position part 8
Revelation 16:1-2 1And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.2And the first went, and poured out his vial 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 seven last plagues begin, it appears possible that the saints as seen in Revelation 15 are in New Jerusalem in heaven at this point. Otherwise, if they are on earth they will be protected from the seven plagues. The first vial is poured out on the unbelieving world. What this sore is that affects those who have the mark is not clear, however those who have the mark are those who break God's commandments and the image of the beast is likely the Babylonian Church-State union which will promote ecumenism. Revelation 16:3-4 3And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.4And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. We are already seeing waters that are turning blood red due to mass deaths of fishes and other sea animals. It appears here that these will continue in greater number especially once the second vial is poured out. The third vial shows that not only the sea will be affected by blood but also rivers and water springs. This will affect the health of those with the mark as unclean will likely cause disease and death. Revelation 16:5-6 5 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.6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. The world loves to shake their fist at God and blame Him for the evil in the world but in that day it will be Jehovah God who brings destruction and He is praised for this by the angel who says that the world deserves these plagues. This is God's judicial system executing the death sentence on the world. There is a reason for this and we are told in verse 6. The reason for Jehovah's judgment being poured out is that the world persecuted and shed the blood of the people of God. Here Jehovah is holding all the unbelievers guilty for their hatred of His people whether they literally shed their blood or approved of it or even indifferent. Revelation 16:8-9 7And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Jehovah God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.8And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.9And 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. The fourth plague is one that affects the sun. It appears that the sun in that day will give off more heat than usual and the temperature of it will be unbearable. The severity of the sun's heat will be such that men will blaspheme God. In the day of the seven plagues men will not repent but only continue to harden their hearts. In that day they may continue to blame global warming rather than give God glory and acknowledge His righteous judgments. The angel starts off the plague by acknowledging that Jehovah is just and righteous in His judgments. Revelation 16:10-11 (KJV) 10And 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,11And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. The kingdom of the beast is the target of this plague. The Papacy is likely in view here as the ruler of the new world order beast system. What this specific plague is seems unclear but it invloves some type of physical ailment it appears. Again, the plagues don't bring a repentant response but rather the wicked unbelieving world will continue to blaspheme God. Revelation 16:12-14 12And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.13And 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.14For they are the spirits of 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. This is the sixth vial. The kings of the east kay refer to the armies of the Messiah that will destroy Satan's world system. The drying up of the waters refers to the destruction of Babylon and the salvation of Jehovah's people. This indicates that the saints are indeed on the earth during the plagues. Satan, the beast and the false prophet work together to deceive the whole unbelieving world to make one final attempt to destroy God's people. These miracles spoken can be what we are seeing today with technology such as the blue beam project. With the quick spread of information through technology, the beast system could easily convince the world that it is the people of God who need to be exterminated in order for the false utopia of the new world order to be realized. The great day of God Almighty is the prophesied "day of Jehovah" it is the eschatological conflict that will end this age. Revelation 16:15-16 15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.16And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. This passage is a strong indication that the saints are still here on the earth during the pouring out of the plagues. As we approach the seventh plague the coming of the Son of God is at the doorstep and He pronounces a blessing on those who are walking in righteousness (keepeth his garments). This is akin to the wise virgins who had their lamps trimmed with oil. Those who are naked are the foolish virgins had no oil. Oil represents the holy spirit and garments represent righteousness. You can't have one without the other. Verse 15 serves as a warning by Jehoshua for those in the faith to live righteously otherwise they will be found naked and not invited to the marriage supper. In verse 16 we see that the armies of the nations will be gathered together to battle against the Son of God and His armies. This is the battle of Armageddon, it will be the nations vs. The Messiah. Revelation 16:17-18 17And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.18And 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. The seventh plague brings about the completion of God's wrath and arrives in the timeframe of the seventh trumpet (Rev 11:15-19). Revelation 16:19 "And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." The great earthquake of the seventh vial causes the cities of the nations to fall. These will be the major metropolitan areas of the world. These are targeted due to them being urban centers of filth with the sexually immoral activity abounding as well as the love of money. The great city Babylon being divided into three parts could refer to it's political-economic-religous components. In wider application the whole world is Babylon which is why we see the cities of the nations recieving the fierceness of Jehovah's wrath. Revelation 16 20And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.21And 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. Due to the great earthquake the islands will be flooded by tidal waves and tsunamis and mountains will be leveled. Revelation Chapter 17 1And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:2With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication The judgment of the great whore in terms of this passage is the likely the religious component of Babylon the great. The Roman Catholic Church throughout their history have played the harlot with the governments of this world in order to opress the true commandment keeping Church. The Roman Catholic Church has made the nations drunk with her wine which means false doctrine i.e. spiritual fornication. The Catholic Church has influenced the world with pagan holidays and have made merchandise of the Son of God with the commercial Christmas holiday. The worship of dead saints and mother worship are two other false doctrines that the Church has spread around the world. Revelation 17:3 "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns." John is taken in vision to see the woman who sits on the scarlet covered beast. A woman in bible prophecy represents a Church. The beast is the same beast as described in Revelation 13 which is the Papacy. The woman is the Roman Catholic Church. Full of names of blasphemy was discussed in my coverage of chapter 13. Revelation 17:4 "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication." The above colors are worn by Catholic clergy. This woman is a rich woman. The Roman Catholic Church is extremely wealthy and powerful. Her cup of abominations and fornications is speaking of the multitude of false doctrines taught in the Catholic Church. Her doctrine is called filthy doctrine which would include the doctrine of the trinity. Revelation 17:5-6 (KJV) 5And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.6And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jehoshua: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. The Roman Catholic Church is referred to as Mystery Babylon as she is the antitype of the pagan Babylonian religion of Nimrod's day. This would include lent, the trinity, Sunday worship, celibate priesthood and celibate nuns. The Roman Catholic Church proudly calls itself "The Mother Church" however she is the mother of many harlots as she herself is a great whore. She is the mother of the many abominable doctrines that her daughters teach. The trinity is the most notable of these as well as Sunday worship and changing (RCC) or doing away with (Protestants) God's law. One has to ask, who are the daughters of the Catholic Church? The answer is obvious, it is the Protestant and Evangelical churches as they came out of the Roman Catholic Church during the reformation of the 1500's. Every Protestant and evangelical Church can trace their roots to the Roman Catholic Church. Many Protestants and sone evangelicals even say they are the Catholic (universal) faith as stated in their creeds. Of course they mean this the way the term was used before the specific formation of the Roman Catholic Church but it reveals that they know the source of their faith is Catholic. Many of the doctrines are the same, the main differences are optical. The Protestants and evangelicals are the obvious fulfillment of the above verse as they are the harlot daughters of Rome. They just protested their Mom for a few hundred years but they are increasingly uniting with them and finding common ground. This woman has persecuted the saints, the Roman Catholic Church killed over 50 million bible believing Christians during the dark ages of their reign over Europe. Revelation 17:8 "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is." There is a time where this beast will be "Not" and this likely refers to the time where the Papacy was taken captive in 1798 by the French general Berthier. The time where the beast will rise up i.e. ascend out of the bottomless pit is likely the time where it gained political sovereignty when the Italian government made the Vatican it's own sovereign nation. Also, the ecumenical movement has effectively healed the wound of the Papal beast with the 500 year anniversary of the Protestant reformation unting the Roman Catholic Church with the various denominations of the Protestant/Evangelical world. Only those who are not saved and sealed by God will fall for the Papacy's spell as they do not have their names written in the lambs book of life. Those who have their names written in the book of life only hear the voice of the Son of God because He and no one else is their shepherd. Those who are sealed will not hear the voice of a stranger i.e. the Papacy. Revelation 17:9-10 9And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.10And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. The seven mountains point to Rome which is built on seven hills. The seven kings likely refer to Roman emperors, the one who has yet come is likely the office of the Papacy in its final hour. The final Pope will rule only for a short time. Revelation 17:11 "And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." The final Pope will be the one to be destroyed as prophesied in 2 Thessalonians 2. He will be cast into the lake of fire. While the entire historical office of the Papacy constitutes the man of sin, the final Pope will be the ultimate manifestation of this. Revelation 17:12-13 12And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.13These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. Their is a brief space in which the nations of this world will join the beast system. Verse 14 of Revelation 17: "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful." The nations of the world will make war against the Son of God at His second advent. We must not minimize the idea of a real physical war when the Son of God makes His descent to earth. Jehoshua is coming as the conquering Davidic King as the titles Lord of lords and King of kings are rooted in the Davidic covenant. In His last words in the book of Revelation, Jehoshua states His Davidic roots as a fact that alludes to His authority to give the Revelation (Revelation 22:16). Jehoshua's church is called and chosen and faithful. The Son of God's true Church is faithful to Him by keeping His commandments. These commandments are those outlined in the sermon on the mount. Verse 15 of Revelation 17: "And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." The whore is a worldwide entity. The Roman Catholic Church and it's apostate Protestant daughters are all over the world. The Roman Catholic Church is the most powerful religious institution in the world. Verse 16 of Revelation 17: "And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." Eventually the political aspect of Babylon turns on religious Babylon. The 10 horns signify completeness and likely represent the nations of this world that join in league with the antichrist system. Verses 17 and 18 of Revelation 17: 17For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.18And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. The nations of this world will give their allegiance to the beast system. This will fulfill God's plan which is this context will lead to the battle of Armageddon. The woman that reigns over the kings of the earth is likely the false religious system of Babylon most notably the Roman Catholic Church but also includes false religion as a whole. Revelation 18:1-2 1And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.2And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. We are coming to the culmination of bible prophecy. A mighty angel descends and proclaims with a loud voice that Babylon the great has fallen. This statement is prophetic as Babylon will fall shortly after this proclamation. The reason for the impending destruction of Babylon is stated as it has become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. This speaks to Babylon's moral depravity such as it's rampant sexual sin most notably homosexuality but also including adultery, incest, rape and pornography. Of couse, the overall breaking of God's commandments is included such as idolatry and sorcery. America is a big promoter of sexual sin and promotion of pharmaceuticals. Verse 3 of Revelation 18: "For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies." Babylon is obviously a world power so much so that it heavily influences the world and is the central economic power in the world making rich the merchants of the world. America obviously fits this description. Revelation 18:4-5 4And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.5For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Jehovah God calls His people to leave Babylon. This shows that He demands that we separate from false religion and loyalty to the world system. It also shows that Jehovah does indeed have people that are in the systems of false religion. We must be careful to not dismiss someone as a brother or sister just because they belong to an abhorrent Christian group. We should call them to separate but acknowledge they may be God's people. Jehovah God keeps in mind the sins of Babylon which will prompt Him to act on the Church's behalf. Revelation 18:6-8 (KJV) 6.Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. 7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. The chief sin of Babylon is soft and luxurious living. Soft and luxurious living produces apathy to the least of these. Just as Sodom and Ghomorra lived luxuriously yet maltreated the poor and less fortunate, Babylon has lived luxuriously at the expense of the poor and least of these. America was built on the back of slave labor and to this day is run by Corporations that build to what amounts as slave factories across third world countries. Many of these factories have horrible work conditions which have caused many suicides. The people of America enjoy their comforts at the expense of much of the third world. Even the Church in America is not immune to this deliciously abundant life. This privilege of the American Church has produced a despising of the poor and immigrant. America is a big consumer and user of resources producing bad environmental effects. The destruction of the earth is one of the main reasons Jehovah pours His wrath out on Babylon (Rev 11:18; Isaiah 24:5-6). In view here in Revelation 18 is economic Babylon. Babylon is political, economic and religious. Revelation 17 describes religious Babylon. All three components of Babylon intertwine. As powerful as America seems it's destruction will be swift and sudden as Jehovah God will judge her. America's arrogance has prevented its inhabitants from repenting and seeking God. The attitude of Americans is described in verse 7 where America sits as a queen and will be no widow and will see no sorrow. This is the height of arrogance. America, because of its great wealth and comfort, cannot possibly imagine hard times. The statue of liberty sits on the waters outside New York as a queen. Americans have been used to dominance and believe they are favored by God that they have been blinded to their own wickedness. America's destruction will include death and famine and burning with fire which could possibly allude to a nuclear attack. Revelation 18:9 "And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning," This could only describe America as no other country could elicit such morning by the kings of the world's nation's. This passage shows that the destruction of America will happen before the nations of the world are destroyed as they actually witness the destruction of her. Revelation 18:10 "standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour is thy judgment come." America's destruction will be swift and decisive. Her allies will not come to her aid in the day of Judgment. Revelation 18:11 "And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise any more" Only one nation in the world could cause such a repsonse that all the merchants of the earth would weep over her. Americans are big consumers and known as a prosperous and materlialistic people. Revelation 18:12-13 12merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stone, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet; and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble;13and cinnamon, and spice, and incense, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep; and [merchandise] of horses and chariots and slaves; and souls of men. Babylon is a nation that is a huge importer. Anyone who visits the ports on the coasts knows this. What is noteworthy is the end of verse 13 where it says Babylon purchases slaves and souls of men. For centuries America was plagued by slavery and the after effects are still with us today. Revelation 18:14-15 14And the fruits which thy soul lusted after are gone from thee, and all things that were dainty and sumptuous are perished from thee, and [men] shall find them no more at all.15The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning; The result of America's destruction will cause a lack of goods to be found in her. It will be a day of scarcity. The merchants will weep and mourn in that day as they have gotten rich off America due to the country being a huge importer of goods. Again, in that day no one will come to America's aid but they will only be able to look from afar. Revelation 18:16-18 16And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!17For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,18And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! Babylon is described as a rich city yet in just one hour these riches come to nought. Verse 17 indicates that Babylon is a port city where ships deliver their goods. The ports in Long Beach and San Pedro, Ca. bring in tons of imports from merchants all over the world who deliver by ships. All the merchants can do is look from afar and lament the destruction of their meal ticket. It will be like 9-11 where the world was basically powerless to do anything about the destruction of the world trade center. Babylon is described as the greatest city on earth "What city is like unto this great city!". This can only describe America as it is the desire and envy of many from around the world who do almost anything to come and live here. Revelation 18:19 "And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate." Again, the merchants are described as weeping over the great city Babylon wherein the merchants of the earth were made rich. America's destruction will be swift and decisive leaving her desolate. America will return to her desolate condition before the european migration. Revelation 18:20 "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her." This scripture here causes some to doubt that indeed America is Babylon because she has never persecuted the saints of God. The titles apostles and prophets should not be seen as being limited to the 12 apostles and the old testament prophets. Apostle means "sent one" and any Christian that is sent on a mission for the Kingdom can fit this description. Also, the gift of prophecy is still for today so there are prophets today. Its important to note Revelation 18:21 "And a strong angel took up a stone as it were a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all." The fall of America will be devaststing and swift. It will be Jehovah God that destroys America. Revelation 18:22-23 22 And the voice of harpers and minstrels and flute-players and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft, shall be found any more at all in thee; and the voice of a mill shall be heard no more at all in thee; 23 and the light of a lamp shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the princes of the earth; for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived. The Babylon of Revelation 18 is an entertainment hub. America is known for it's pop culture and was the pioneer of music videos via MTV. On the day of her destruction no more musicians will be heard playing their music. Businesses will no longer operate within Babylon's borders. As the days of Noah were men and women were marrying but after Babylon's destruction there will be no more wedding joy heard. America's merchants are esteemed throughout the globe, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Donald Trump, Elon Musk etc. The nations are decieved by America's sorcery. What is this sorcery? Hollywood! The television and movie industry has a huge influence over the world it is the standard by which the tv/movie industries throughout the world judge themselves. People all over the world either have t.v.'s or they have cell phones which enables them to watch the memorizing Hollywood productions. Much of the social morals of America are gleaned from the shows on t.v. whether reality shows, talk shows, sitcoms etc. This Hollywood culture with it's unbiblical morals is spread and promoted across the world through the airwaves. Youth from many countries have been influenced by American entertainment which have dramatically changed the fabric of their respective countries. Revelation 18:24 "And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth." Many may wonder how does America fit this verse since by and large Christians have not gone under serious persecution here especially being killed. There are a couple of thoughts regarding this. One, some say that it is the spirit of Babylon that is spoken of here whether Jersusalem which has killed the prophets or Rome which brutally persecuted Christians or even the holy Roman empire which murdered bible believing Christians for centuries. Two, this could also refer to a future persecution of Christians here in America in which believers will be put to death. Once unthinkable, Christians are increasingly being maligned in the media, movies, t.v. shows and universities. During the coronavirus lockdown Pastors who chose to keep their churches open were villified by the media, spoken evil of by citizens and arrested and fined by the government. It is likely both, in that this verse (24) refers to the historical Babylon's persecution of God's people as well as a future persecution of Christians here in America.
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