The final scenes of this age will be swift and decisive. The Antichrist will have by that time completely established his authority over mankind and to a certain extent life on earth will have regained a semblance of normality. The whole kaleidoscope of religious opinion, however, with its multiple shades of Pagan and Christian interpretation, will have gone. Instead, the Beast alone will be revered by the vast majority of earth's population as God On Earth! All the world, with the exception of Yahweh's church, will in that day worship and obey the Man of Sin the Lawless One.
| 2 Thess.2: | 3: Let no man deceive you
by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a
falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the
son of perdition; 4: Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. |
When Yeshua (Jesus) finally returns to earth, as he repeatedly promised he would (Matt. 24, John 14:1-3) the Beast will convince mankind that the Saviour's approach is an invasion from outer space, an alien attack to be repulsed. The peoples of this world, already programmed to the idea of space invaders and inter-galactic wars, will rally to the Beast's call and strongly resist the returning Son of God. The outcome of their short, sharp encounter with Jesus Christ is pictured in these telling words:
| Rev.19: | 11: And I saw heaven opened,
and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make
war. 12: His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13: And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14: And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15: And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16: And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17: And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18: That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19: And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20: And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21: And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. |
It is not necessary to write at length
about the Beast's crushing defeat by the Son of God. Suffice to
say that it will be swift, total and eternal in its effect. The
Antichrist, we are told, will be incinerated in a lake of fire,
a prospect too terrible to imagine.
1. At the Messiah's return the first general resurrection will occur, a resurrection at which millions of believers will rise from their graves to meet the returning king. (1 Thess. 4:16-17, Rev. 20:4-6)
2. Then the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and he will begin to exert the authority over mankind which he has already received from his Father. (Psalm 2, Psalm 98, Daniel 2:43-44, Zechariah 14, Matthew 28:18)
3. Special positions of authority will also be granted to certain believers in that day to govern the nations under the leadership of the Messiah. Foremost amongst them will be those who are martyred for refusing to accept the Mark of the Beast. (Luke 19:11-27, Rev. 2:26-27, Rev. 20:4-6)
4. During the millennium Satan will be completely immobilized in the Abyss, that bottomless black-hole where the Beast was formerly imprisoned. (Rev. 20:1-3 Rev. 9)
5. Yahweh's law, the sacred specifications of His lifestyle, the eternal constitution of the universe will then be proclaimed to all the nations of the world and will be administered by officials of the Kingdom with telling effect. Sin will be subdued and righteousness will flourish as never before. Then at last mankind will rest; mankind will rejoice with joy unspeakable; mankind will be full of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 2:1-5, Isaiah 51: 1-11)
6. The earth itself will blossom as the garden of God and even the barren wilderness will bring forth fruit. There will be no more food shortages, no famine and no more freak weather conditions. All nature will be at rest and a spiritual calm will settle upon the human race the like of which has never been seen before. (Isaiah 35)
7. During the millennium the Festivals of Yahweh, those sacred memorials of His greatest acts in the Programme of Salvation, will be observed by all the nations of the world. This amazing fact is amply proved in the prophecy of Zechariah, where we find a whole section (chapter 14) devoted to the keeping of the Feast of Tabernacles during the Messiah's millennial reign. Oh yes, God's signature will be upon all mankind in that glorious age of peace.
In a sentence, the Messiah's Millennial
Reign will be a day of rest and gladness, a day of health and
holiness, a day of peace and prosperity for all mankind. Is it
any wonder that even the Almighty is looking forward to it?
At the end of the millennium three notable events will occur.
| Rev.20: | 7: And when the thousand years
are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8: And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9: And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10: And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 11: And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12: And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13: And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14: And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15: And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. |
| Rev.21: | 1: And I saw a new heaven
and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were
passed away; and there was no more sea. 2: And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3: And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4: And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5: And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6: And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. |
No one will doubt but that the Revelation
tells of disasters on a scale quite impossible to imagine; of
wars, famines and pestilence involving all humanity;
of persecutions and other spiritual pressures geared to exhaust
the bravest heart; of deception so subtle that only a few believers
will detect them; of sin so blatant that multitudes of believers
will abandon righteousness and return to their sins. But, and
let us pause here to praise Yahweh the Almighty God of Israel
for this fact, the Revelation does not end on a note of despair
and doom. The above passage about the creation of a new universe
is proof of it. Indeed the whole of chapters 21 and 22 are additional
proof. This old universe, battered and scarred as it is through
sin, is going to be renewed at the end of the millennium
the Day of the LORD! (2 Peter 3:10-13)
The new earth will be the absolute masterpiece
of creation, a sanctuary of happiness and peace far beyond anything
anyone can imagine. On the new earth there will be no suffering,
no sickness, no sorrow, no pain and no death. What's more, the
Creator has promised to make all things new, (Rev. 21:5)
a promise so encompassing that one could spend hours musing on
it.
The final passages of the Revelation tell of the New Jerusalem, the capital city of the new universe. Its glories, symbolically described in chapters 21 and 22, are as numerous as the saints who will one day walk in its magnificent streets. And, believe it or not, it is to this eternal paradise of God that you dear reader are being invited. If you have not already accepted the Saviour's offer of salvation, then here in the Revelation is an invitation which includes you. After reading this invitation pause awhile and let its infinite worth sink into your mind. Think about it, believe it and accept it for yourself. Above all, act upon it, for failure to do so would be a mistake too tragic to tell.
| Rev.21: | 6: And he said unto me, It
is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I
will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water
of life freely. 7: He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. |
| Rev.22: | 12: And, behold, I come quickly;
and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work
shall be. 13: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14: Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15: For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 16: I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. 17: And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. |
For many centuries the declarations of
Jehovah by the mouth of His prophets have been treated
by unbelievers with a measure of bemused contempt bordering on
blasphemy. The Holy Scriptures, published in hundreds of languages
at enormous cost to the saints, have been generally set aside
by the masses in preference for a diet of fiction, much of which
is too degrading to even consider. But, and here is a truth so
profound that it cannot be repeated too often, the Scriptures
must be fulfilled. (Luke 21:22) This means that the predictions
of the Almighty will come to pass, they will happen, no matter
whether people believe them or not. Politicians may prattle, priests
and parsons may preach, monthly prognosticators may pretend, but
this Himalayan fact becomes increasingly clear every day
Bible prophecy is being fulfilled before our very eyes all
over the earth.
Therefore, to really benefit from this
study of the Revelation we will advise the reader to do three
things: Compare, Examine and Obey.
FIRST: Compare world events with
Bible prophecy. Take special note of what the news bulletins and
papers say and see for yourself how astonishingly accurate the
Holy Scriptures are. In particular check world events against
the messages of the Seven Seals and do not be slow to recognize
the fact that the Revelation is exactly what it claims to be
a divine disclosure of mankind's future.
SECOND: Examine those passages in Bible prophecy which warn of Satan's many counterfeits which are designed especially to delude mankind, and especially the Christian church, into rejecting the Almighty's Truth.
Thoroughly investigate the truth about
the Sign or Signature of Yahweh the God of Israel. Also learn
to recognize the signature of Satan, the Mark of the Beast.
Carefully study all the references quoted in this booklet and
do not allow others to detract you from the Truth, because your
eternal salvation could be jeopardized if you do.
THIRD: Obey the Almighty's commandments. Yes, add to your faith - obedience, before it is eternally too late.
The Revelation, as you can see, is Yahweh's final warning message to this rebellious world. It is a divine call to obedience and it specifies the only route believers may take to escape the terrors of Abaddon. Be quick to take that route, for the crisis at the close of this age has already begun!
