"Vengeance is Mine", Says the Lord

 

Paul wrote that we humans should refrain from taking revenge. Rather we should “leave room for God’s wrath”. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay”, says the Lord. (Romans 12: 19; also Heb 10:30). 

God’s wrath and vengeance are not laden with the emotion of getting even, like we humans. No, His vengeance is just, it is deserved judgment upon evil. Furthermore, it is seldom meted out immediately, in the heat of the moment. Not that God believes that revenge is a dish best served cold. He simply is not in a rush to wrath.

Why doesn’t God deal with evil more swiftly, rather than waiting? There are likely many reasons, but let me suggest just a few. Sometimes evil serves his purposes, so He waits to mete out judgment. Egypt enslaved the Jews for 400 years, and God allowed it to continue. Though it was evil it prepared a fledgling bedouin tribe of Hebrews to grow in number and strength and perseverance, traits they would need to flee their persecutors, endure forty years in the wilderness, and then defeat the inhabitants of the promised land. When Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, he slaughtered many of the Jews and took captive thousands more. God designed the seventy-year captivity as judgment upon His own chosen people. God eventually meted out judgement upon the Babylonian empire, defeating them by the hand of the Medes and Persians.

Another reason God delays vengeance is to display His glory in the act of judgment. How memorable was the judgment upon Pharaoh and his oppressive army when they were destroyed in the Red Sea? The years of oppression and subjugation finally faced a climactic judgment, an event never to be forgotten.

Now consider the judgment of God upon the enemies of Israel in the battle of Armageddon. That great army will be an Arab-Islamic onslaught upon Israel and Jerusalem. The Arabs were the enemies of God’s people as early as the time of the patriarchs, then through repeated deliverances by judges raised up by God, continuing through the kingdom age. They were not an enemy at the time when John wrote the Apocalypse, but his vision predicted that they would once again become an enemy of the Jews (Rev 17:8,11). And that enmity is in full bloom, now, at the end of the age. When God finally judges the Arab nations, it will be just vengeance, and it will be an awesome display of his wrath and righteous judgment. His defeat of Gog and his armies (Ezekiel 38:22-23) are for one grand purpose, so that the “nations will know that I am the Lord”.

Before Armageddon, though, God will soon mete out His wrath and vengeance upon America -- the great empire of the end of the age, the little horn of Daniel 7, and the seventh best of Revelation 13 and 17.  America will be destroyed, utterly, not even allowed to limp along like other great empires that God judged (Daniel 7:11). 

Many are disgusted at bringing up the great sins and travesties of America’s past. They think such purveyors are Woke, or trying to degrade America’s history. But God says, “her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes” (Rev 18:5-8). God has withheld judgment until his perfect timing. There is no “statute of limitations”. America will be judged for its great evils – slavery, killing and corralling the native Americans, abortion, pride and arrogance, making itself rich off the nations of the world by means of cheap trade and cheap labor, and enforcing its will upon countless autonomous nations as it built an “empire”. 

Despite its evil God raised up America to serve His purpose. It brought about great gains in industry, medicine, electronics, and innovation. And it fostered an era of “pax Americana” following WW2. America was a leader in missionary outreach to unevangelized nations and indigenous peoples. But, in God’s perfect timing, America must be neutralized, by God’s judgment. 

America’s destruction will accomplish another milestone in God’s unfolding plan of the last days. It will allow the man of lawlessness and the great Arab-Islam army to rise up and invade Israel. The “restrainer”, America, will be removed (II Thes 2:6-7). 

One more thought to put into the mix. America will be destroyed before the rapture, while we as Christians will still be here, feeling smug and safe. The rapture will occur at the second coming of Christ, not seven years prior. We will suffer a great time of “death, mourning, and famine” (Rev 18:8). America, including Christians, will not escape God’s judgment, no more than the Jews escaped annihilation by Assyria, the captivity by Babylonia, or the slaughter by Titus in 70AD. “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay.”

 

America Sliding Into The Abyss

Historians tell us that when an empire falls it usually happens quickly. The build-up to the fall may be gradual and prolonged, but the fall is sudden. The same is true of most cataclysms – defeat in war, financial collapse, business failure, divorce. One minute you are standing on the edge of a daunting abyss, the next minute the ledge collapses, and you tumble to the bottom of the abyss, with rocks and debris falling in on top of you.

America is featured in prophecies of the last days, in three different places. (So many still ask the question, “Is America mentioned in the Biblical prophecies of the last days?” To keep asking that question is like wondering if you have a nose on the front of your face.) America is the feet of clay mixed with iron in Daniel 2. America is the little horn in the vision recorded in Daniel 7. And America is the seventh head of the beast recorded in Revelation 13, and again in Revelation 17. In all three instances the prophecy warns that America will be destroyed – utterly, not just a temporary defeat or set-back (Dan 2:44; Dan 7:11-12; Rev 17:16; Rev 18:6-8, 10). 

Those prophecies clearly describe the ultimate fall into the abyss. And the timetable for that coming destruction is very soon, not years and years away. So, then, there must be some obvious indicators, or signs, of our gradual, prolonged build-up to the final slide. What are they?

From the Biblical prophecies of America we observe two dominant themes that denote the cause of the slide into the abyss. Current events seem to be validating, confirming, and interpreting these prophecies. I always say, History is the best interpreter of prophecy.

The first is in Daniel 2, where Daniel interprets the meaning of the feet which are a mixture of clay and iron. God foretells, through the mouth and the pen of Daniel, that the kingdom will be a divided kingdom… that the people will be a mixture and will not be united. (Dan 2:41,43). That divisiveness is building to an explosive crescendo, it seems. The saying goes, “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” The American Civil War was our first occurrence of such devastating division. The division we are experiencing now is every bit as dangerous and deeply felt, but it probably will not end in another civil war. Rather, the end result will be a country that loses it unified will and ability to stand against outside enemies that want to destroy it.

Political violence is on the rise, against officials and citizens alike. Hatred is spreading like wildfire. We cannot talk rationally and constructively about gun violence, gun control, increasing crime rates, mental illness, or homelessness. Universities are accused (sometimes deservedly) of being hotbeds for socialist ideology, antisemitism, climate apocalypticism, postmodern relativism, gender ideology, even atheism. Left-wingers are referred to as anarchists, baby killers, soft on crime, and WOKE.  Maga Trumpers are accused of being white supremacists, pro-gun, against women’s rights, intolerant of opposing views and free speech, and conspiracy theorists. America is becoming two nations, not only red and blue, but torn apart by vitriolic discourse, rampant mistrust, corrupted data, political enmity, and by social media that feeds and exacerbates extreme views, left and right, by targeted newsfeeds and algorithms that fan the flames of enmity.

One author wrote, “This is a good country. It is a great country. But it is now disintegrating.” 

The second dominant theme about America in the Biblical prophecies shows up in Daniel 7 and Revelation 13. America, and supposedly its leaders, are boastful, arrogant, blasphemous, and oppressive, particularly of the saints. I will develop this more in another article, The Strongman in the White House. 

Write About It

Re-examining Biblical prophecy has been a mission for most of my life. My message about End Times prophecies has slowly evolved over those years. The burning in my heart was ignited in a seminary class when I came to the conclusion that prophecy “theologians” were merely parroting one another rather than “rightly dividing the word of truth”. They were like lemmings going over a cliff.  I read most of the popular and scholarly books on eschatology written in the 20^th century, but each of them was merely a slight variation on one grand theme – a seven-year tribulation with a rapture preceding it. They had to be shelved if I was going to re-examine prophecy.

One little book, though, stoked the flame in my heart -- Last Days in America, written by an unknown author. He wrote that the seven-headed beast of Revelation 13 represented seven nations, and America was the seventh beast, the one elaborated in the vision.  Consequently, Revelation 13 was not describing the Antichrist. Like a domino effect, that one insight helped me to understand more and more of Revelation in a whole new light.

A few years later, while serving as a Youth Pastor in Oregon, I was put on trial for heresy, because of a lengthy deliverance ministry. Soon after being expelled we went to visit another church. After the meeting, a stranger walked up to me in the aisle, handed me a pen, and said, “Write about it”. Then he turned and walked away. I look back, now, and marvel. Having just lost my job, my income, my credentials, and eventually my house, I was discouraged and defeated. Like Elijah the prophet, Ahab and Jezebel had done me in. But God gave me a new mission. He told me, “Write about it.”

I sat at a typewriter for months writing a book about demonic deliverance. But that manuscript still sits on my shelf in a 3-ring binder. Not until years later did I make sense of what God intended me to write about. The Holy Spirit reminded me of the message from years earlier and unveiled the meaning of the word “it”. One big key to understanding Revelation is the pronoun “it”, which appears throughout Revelation 13. I realized that God had told me years earlier to write about a new understanding of end times prophecy. Ah-hah, so that burning in my heart was not just a personal interest, it was a calling.

My first attempt at writing a book was self-published, Apocalypse Puzzle. I naively thought I had it all figured out. That was a beginning point, but the evolvement continued.

Along the way, I came to realize that the seven trumpet judgments were events that were already occurring, warning the world of God’s impending judgment. That meant that the seven-year Tribulation could not be a time frame in which to fit those seven trumpets, nor any of the other events of Revelation. The concept of a seven-year Tribulation was essentially a hoax, a false teaching. So, then, the pre-tribulation rapture had to go, as well.  I began to realize that my interpretations were going to be like little David going up against Goliath and the Philistine army with a tiny rock and a sling shot.

Currently (2024), my message has become a warning, almost like prophets of old, rather than a theological debate. My calling was not just to explain the prophecies, but to amplify the end-time warnings inherent within them. The aspect of warning did not come into focus until a couple years after publishing the book, Right At The Door. Unfortunately, it is hard to soft pedal an urgent warning of coming destruction and hardship.

The timing is critical to re-examine your beliefs about prophecy. The end is very near. Great turmoil is on the horizon. America will be destroyed. And then the church will be raptured, not before. In a nutshell, that is the message that God called me to write about. I have persuaded only a handful of people over the years, but perhaps I am right on schedule. When God calls you to do something for His kingdom, He doesn’t call you to be successful, He only calls you to be obedient.

Run, Or Stay Put

When the time comes that America is destroyed, there may be enough of a last-minute warning to make a run for it. Or some may decide to stay put and ride out the destruction and be a survivor, if possible. But I dare say that most people in America will not believe it even possible that America could face destruction, so considering whether to run, or to stay put is pointless to them.

First of all, what is this talk about America being destroyed? Who is so brash as to even suggest such a thing? After all, America is indomitable, indestructible. We have the greatest firepower and military strength of any nation in the world. Everyone in the world stands in awe and fear of America.

While that has been true over the last eighty years (cf. Rev 13:4), that elite position will soon come to an end. It has happened to every other great world power, and America will be no exception. God is in control of the rise and the fall of nations. God predicted in Daniel’s dream that the little horn nation, America, would be destroyed – utterly destroyed, not just defeated and allowed to limp along (Daniel 7: 11-12). God said it, not me. But most Christians will deny it, because they cannot fathom that America was in the crosshairs of God’s prophecy, 2500 years ago.

The destruction of America is also prophesied in Revelation 17. An eighth beast arises for just one hour at the very end of the age, and that eighth beast hates the Great Babylon, America. The eighth beast is an alliance of ten Arab nations who will eventually invade Israel – the battle of Armageddon. But first it must destroy America, probably with the help of some nuclear-armed super-powers. “They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire” (Rev 17:16).  The Arab-Islam nations have a chant, “Death to America, Death to Israel, Allah is great.” Their threat is very real.

Now, if you choose to take seriously these prophetic warnings, we in America may want to plan ahead. We have a choice – run, or stay put. In many of God’s previous judgments the righteous were encouraged to run. Two angels led Lot and his family out of Sodom and Gomorrah just hours before the sulfur and brimstone rained down (Genesis 19:15-17).  Lot’s sons-in-law were warned, too, and could have escaped. But they thought that the warning of the two angels was a joke (Gen 19:14).

When Jesus spoke to his disciples about the coming destruction of Jerusalem he said, “Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (Matthew 24: 15-22). Forty years later Titus ransacked and burned the city, killing a million Jews. Only a handful of Christians who were living in Jerusalem fled to the Transjordan hillsides.

God warned Joseph to take the baby Jesus to Egypt to escape Herod’s slaughter of newborns in Bethlehem. It is not a cowardly act to flee destruction and judgment.

Where would be a good and safe place to flee to, though? Maybe Canada, or Mexico, or Brazil, perhaps. I am not sure what benefit would be gained, though, since much of the world will be in turmoil, and the build-up to Armageddon will hastily proceed.

The return of Christ, including the rapture, will not occur until a few short years after America’s destruction, so it may be nearly impossible to hang on as a survivor.  Regardless, some Christians may make a decision to stay put, hoping to survive the nuclear destruction and fallout. Their heart may lead them to try to assist friends and family to endure the “death, mourning, and famine” (Rev 18: 8) that will be left in the wake of destruction. Jeremiah told the remnant in Jerusalem, after it fell to Nebuchadnezzar, not to flee to Egypt, but rather to stay put. But the situation was different – it was safe to stay put.

Each person will have to decide, based on the leading of the Spirit of God, whether to run, or to stay put. May we trust God fully, hear His voice, and respond accordingly.

A Matter of Life and Death

I recently had a video trailer produced for my book, Right at The Door. I sent the producer a page of talking points to give him some ideas to include in the narrative. One particular line that he included in the trailer caught my attention. “Understanding prophecy accurately is a matter of life and death.” When I heard my talking point restated in the trailer it seemed very bold. I had to ask myself, was it dramatic hyperbole – exaggerating for effect? Or is it really true?

There are many people – Christians, for the most part – who say that understanding prophecy correctly is not that important. After all, God is going to do what He is going to do, anyways. Oh my, you cannot believe how many times I have heard that statement. In my opinion, that view pretty much relegates Biblical prophecy to the same level as Aztec folklore of the end of the world.

That view conveniently goes hand-in-glove with the prevailing belief amongst most American Christians that the rapture will precede a seven-year Great Tribulation. If that were true, God’s prophecy is not really much of a matter of life and death. It’s more like an intriguing puzzle to contemplate and debate. Because, after all, God will dish out death and destruction after Christians escape. You must admit, there is no urgency, no matter of life and death in prophecy when you believe that you will be blissfully caught up and rescued from any severe turmoil and suffering which is coming upon the world. Yes, for the rest of mankind prophecy is certainly a matter of life and death. They must look forward to extreme tribulation, death, torment, famine, and pestilence. But not Christians, there is simply nothing too scary or painful on the horizon.

But if the Great Tribulation theory is jettisoned, along with an early-escape rapture, then the end times prophecies become much more urgent. They take on a foreboding character. The seven trumpet warnings of Revelation have already been sounding, for over 100 years. The end is very near, like at the door, right now. Daniels vision (Dan 7) and John’s vision (Rev 13 and 17) both make it clear that America is the beast nation of the end of the age. And here’s the crux of the matter, the matter of life and death. God also makes it clear that America will be destroyed (Dan 7:11; Rev 17:16), before the ten-nation Arab alliance rises up as an eighth beast, before the great battle of Armageddon, before Christ’s second coming and simultaneous rapture. Armageddon is the sixth trumpet, and Jesus does not return until the last trumpet. So, then, Americans are in fact facing a life and death scenario. And Christians will still be here when America’s destruction happens.

America’s destruction is very, very near on the horizon, and it will be unexpected and utterly cataclysmic. Many, many people will be killed when America is destroyed. I hate to have to say it so bluntly, millions will meet their death. Are you ready to die? Have you believed and trusted in Jesus as your savior, God’s provision for the forgiveness of your sin so that you can spend eternity with Him in heaven?

And for those few who do not die in the destruction, prophecy is a warning to prepare for living in extreme hardship. How do you prepare to live in a war-torn, nuclear destroyed landscape? How do you prepare psychologically? How do you prepare logistically? How do you prepare socially – family, friends, neighbors, and enemies?

And there you have it. Interpreting and understanding the prophecies of the end times is a matter of life and death. That’s no exaggeration. 

Trusting The Lone Voice

 

“When the whole world is running over a cliff,

 he who is running in the opposite direction 

appears to have lost his mind.” – C. S. Lewis

  

Throughout the Biblical story there have been men and women that stood out as a lone voice. Their message, or mission, was so contrary that everyone took them to be fanatic, or lunatic. Noah must have endured incredible mockery and rejection because he warned of judgment while building a monstrosity of a boat – for 120 years, no less. Jeremiah lamented, in anguish, over being a messenger of doom and destruction. Jesus, too, was a lone voice – the vast majority of the Jews wanted nothing to do with his kingdom message.

I recently had a lengthy discussion with a church elder about prophecy, explaining my contrary interpretation of the tribulation, the false hope of a pre-trib rapture, and the seven trumpets that are already being fulfilled. Eventually, he stated his biggest concern. How could all the great prophecy teachers of our day all be wrong? He listed a few – David Jeremiah, John McArthur, David Reagen, and his favorite, JD Farag. Actually, the list is quite extensive. But the truth is, they all parrot one another. Like lemmings running over a cliff, they all follow the leader. Their teachings may have slight variations, but they could all be condensed into one uniform theme, or encapsulated onto one Revelation Timeline chart.

The overwhelming majority of American Christians and their prophecy preachers have bought in to a false teaching -- hook, line, and sinker. It started with John Darby in the !840’s, then came down through Scofield, Pentecost, Chafer, and Walvoord. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins rode the wave, a tidal wave by that point, casting in stone the false teachings about a seven-year tribulation, a pre-trib rapture, and false notions about the Antichrist.

I am sure they all mean well. I am sure they have all studied and read countless books to come up with their teachings. And I am quite sure they have no intention of knowingly misleading their followers. Don’t get me wrong. I am not trying to cast aspersions on their character or discount their studiousness. Like little David with his sling and a smooth rock from the brook, I just want to slay the giant and send the Philistine army, with their pervasive false teachings, fleeing into the foothills. “Rightly dividing the word of truth” is a huge responsibility – it really does matter (2 Tim 2:15). I have a passion to re-examine prophecy and get it right. My motive is not to be the winner in some sort of theological contest, but to help God’s people be prepared for what God revealed about the coming days ahead. Most of the time I feel foolish and hopeless spouting the warning that I do. But that’s my lot in life, my calling I guess, a messenger of doom and destruction, starting in America, with Christians still on board the sinking ship.

So, there you have it. You can continue to believe the host that are running over the cliff, or you might seriously consider listening to the message of the few who are running in the opposite direction. America will be destroyed, before Armageddon. We will endure death, mourning, and famine (Rev 18:8). After that (not before) Jesus will return to gather up those Christians who are still alive and desperately awaiting His rescue and redemption.

Gog and Magog, Again

Gog and Magog appear in Ezekiel 38-39, and then we find Gog and Magog, again, in Revelation 20:7-10. Are there two great wars involving Gog and Magog? Or are they one and the same? This repetition presents somewhat of a conundrum.

The Gog and Magog battle in Revelation 20 seems to be a different war than the one referred to in Ezekiel 38-39. Ezekiel’s reference to Gog and Magog is definitely describing the battle of Armageddon, described several times in the book of Revelation (e.g. Rev 16:16). Gog, then, is the same person as the man of lawlessness (aka Antichrist), who leads the eighth beast into battle against Israel in Revelation 17. The Revelation 20 reference to Gog and Magog appears to be another great battle that will take place at the end of the 1000-year Millenium. Why the second battle has the same name as the first is confusing, but it may simply be symbolic. Even the nomenclature suggests this to be the case. In Ezekeil Gog is made out to be a prince, and Magog is his resident domain. But in Revelation, “Gog and Magog” seem to be a title, of sorts, borrowed, symbolically, because the second gathering of nations from the four corners of the world is reminiscent of the alliance of nations that Gog forms for the Armageddon battle.

The battle In Revelation 20 is similar to the Ezekiel battle in some regards, besides just the name. Both armies of Gog are innumerable – “like the sand of the sea” (Rev 20:8), and “like a cloud” (Ez 38:9). Both armies attack Israel and the holy city, Jerusalem (Rev 20:9 and Ez 38:8, 16). This doesn’t necessarily indicate they are the same battle. Armageddon will pit an Arab-Islamic alliance against the Jews, the apex of a hatred that has existed for thousands of years. The battle at the end of the millennium will pit Satan against Jesus, and Jerusalem is the focal point because it is the place from which Jesus will reign during His earthly kingdom Zech 14:9; 16-17).

There are some distinct differences in the two battles, which help to confirm that they are different battles. The army of Gog, in Ezekiel, consists of Arab nations (Ez 38:5; cf Rev 17, the eighth beast), while the army in Revelation consists of nations from the four corners of the earth (Rev 20:8). Second, in Revelation the buildup and attack are spearheaded by Satan himself (Rev 20:7), whereas in Ezekiel, Gog’s army is drug into conflict by God. But God may use Satan’s deception to drag Gog into battle against Israel, so the two scenarios may not be all that different. The third and biggest difference is the aftermath of the two battles. In Ezekiel, the carnage will be so great that it will take seven months to bury the dead (Ez 39:12). This would indicate that the clean-up will extend into the Millennial kingdom. After the Gog and Magog war at the end of the Millenium, Satan will be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet (Rev 20:10). Satan will then spend eternity there, in torment. The fate of Satan after the second war is different than after the first war. After Armageddon Satan is bound in the Abyss for 1000 years, after which he will be loosed for the second war (Rev 20:2-3; 7-8).

These two battles indicate that Satan is very effective at deceiving people into rising up in rebellion and insurrection against God and against Jesus. He always has been good at it, and he will go all out at the end. So, you better choose whose side you are on, and don’t waver.

History Repeats Itself

 

People never change. We ignore warnings until the catastrophe is right on top of us. And then it’s too late. Hurricanes, wildfires, floods, check engine light. But most importantly, God’s warnings of judgment. History seems to always repeat itself. We just don’t learn. We tell ourselves, “They were foolish and stubborn, but we are not that stupid.”

When it comes to Biblical prophecy, God always gives clear warning before He metes out judgment. “When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets” Amos 3:6-7).

God warned mankind of coming judgment in the days of Noah. For 120 years Noah “prophesied” that God would destroy the world with a flood. But they ignored him and continued on in their sinful lifestyles. God warned Sodom and Gomorrah by sending two angels into the city but they perversely mocked the messengers from God. God warned Israel that Assyria would destroy them. And it happened in 721 BC, so completely that we now call them the “lost tribes of Israel”. God warned Judah and Jerusalem, through the prophecy of Jeremiah, that they would be destroyed and taken captive if they did not submit to becoming a vassal state to Babylon. None of the religious leaders believed Jeremiah. They were crushed, many taken into exile. King Belteshazzar was warned that his kingdom would fall to the Persians, by God’s handwriting on the wall inside the palace ballroom. He denied that his walled city could be captured by the army of Cyrus. God even judged His own beloved, chosen people, the Jews, again in 70 AD.  He had warned them twice, but they refused to believe it. More than 1 million were slaughtered.   

What do these lessons from history have to teach us about the coming judgment in our near future. God clearly prophesied that this age would come to an end in catastrophic judgments. He even made it clear that there would be seven trumpet warnings when the time of judgment drew near. Those trumpets began with World War 1 and have continued for nearly 120 years now. Yet the masses of mankind continue on in life like nothing will ever change. And that’s exactly what Jesus predicted (Mt 24:37-39). 

Christians live in denial of coming judgment, also, particularly American Christians. We can’t believe that a nation as great as America could possibly be destroyed, even though God clearly has given warning in prophecy (Dan 7:11; Rev 18:8). We insist that those prophecies are not about America, rather, about the Antichrist, or someone else. Anyone and everyone else are deserving of judgment, but not America. We have come up with a great alternative to judgment. Christians will be raptured, unscathed, prior to the seven-year Tribulation. Then God can cut loose and pour out His judgment upon all those wicked people left behind. How convenient to interpret prophecy the way you want it to turn out. We ignore that God severely judged his chosen people in 721 BC, 606 BC and in 70 AD. We ignore that judgment begins with the household of God. And we ignore the sins of our nation, both past and present. We are convinced, contrary to both history and prophecy, that we will be caught up before judgment and destruction begins.

History teaches us that people who are warned by God of coming judgment always ignore it, manufacturing their own desirable outcome. But God will not be mocked or misconstrued. American Christians, and the world as a whole, should prepare for destruction and devastation.

Final Judgment

God is a holy God. That is a fearsome thought. Because holiness, in all its glory, cannot fellowship with sin, rebellion, and darkness. So how does mankind deal with a holy God? Some simply deny that He even exists. That makes it easy to indulge in lust and pleasure without guilt. Others write their own moral code, and dutifully follow it, hoping that God will be pleased with their effort, and overlook a few mulligans. Neither of those mindsets will suffice when the day comes to stand before the great white judgment seat of the God of eternity. 

God created mankind, knowing full well that they would choose to live in sin and rebellion toward Him. He didn’t just know it, He allowed it. He gave Satan permission to “take his best shot”. But God loves the humans that He created, and desires to fellowship with them, But He could not just ignore sin, since He is holy. So He revealed a plan, based on his great love, to redeem men and women out of their guilty condition. That way, He could fellowship with them, both during their lifetime, and throughout eternity.

God’s redemptive plan was to send His Son, Jesus, to earth to die on a cross. Those who believe in Jesus have their sins washed as white as snow, and they are declared righteous before God. The most famous verse in all of Scripture tells us that they “will not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).  Their name is transferred from the book of deeds to the Book of Life -- saved and redeemed, they will live with God in His eternal kingdom, forever. That is good news -- really, really good news.

The bad news is this. All of mankind who choose not to believe in Jesus remain in their sin. They cannot abide in the presence of a holy God. Though God loves them, “not wanting anyone to perish” (2 Pet 3:9), He must judge them accordingly. Don’t believe the lie that God will not send anyone to hell, but will accept all mankind into heaven.

We must see and understand that judgment is a principle by which God has always operated. He judged the wickedness of mankind in the early stages of their existence with a flood. He repeatedly judged His chosen people, the Jews, to bring them to repentance and humble obedience. He will judge the Church, too, in preparation for Christ’s return. And He judges nations -- when they become oppressive. But these are all temporary and corrective judgments, not eternal punishment.

Revelation reveals that there will come a day of final judgment (Rev 20:5-6,11-15). When the second resurrection occurs, after the Millennial kingdom, all the dead, from all the ages will be resurrected. Resurrection involves the uniting of an eternal soul with a renewed, eternal body. The dead in Christ will be resurrected at the time of Christ’s second coming (I Cor 15). But the dead who rejected Christ will be raised later. They will go before the great white throne, the throne of Holy God. And their deeds will be read from the books. They will then be condemned and sentenced to eternity in the lake of fire, the same place where Satan will be consigned. Some like to think that the final judgment will simply be annihilation, where all existence, feeling, and thought, come to an abrupt and final end. But that is not the judgment that God spells out. And I certainly would not want to take my chances on spending eternity in a place where I am tormented (Rev 20:10; 21:8), where I wish for just a drop of water to quench my parched tongue (Luke 16:24).

You may ask, but what if I truly am a moral person? Will I be judged by Holy God just because I did not believe in Him and put my trust and faith in Jesus? Yes, I am afraid so. Even your self-righteousness is an afront to God. And your disbelief is unpardonable, as well. God loves each and every person, immensely. All He wants in return is your love and trust. Then your eternity will not be judgment, but rather everlasting joy in the glorious kingdom of Jesus. 

The Eternal Kingdom

Revelation, if we be honest, is full of bad news – judgment, beasts, the dragon, Armageddon, turmoil, death, and destruction. But it ends with really good news – a new heaven and a new earth (Rev 21). But wait, let’s be clear. That good news is the blessed hope of the redeemed, those who have trusted in God’s grace, and been made righteous by the blood of Christ. The “good news” chapter makes it very clear that many people will not spend their eternity in the realm of God’s glory, under the reign of King Jesus. They will spend their eternity in the lake of fire (Rev 21:8).

The eternal kingdom finds its fullest description in Revelation 21. The description is quite symbolic, but we can get a real good idea of what our “forever” reality will be like. Most of us have become accustomed to calling the eternal kingdom by the name, heaven. But that is not technically correct, although there is no reason to argue the point. The only problem is that we think of heaven being up there somewhere, rather than here on earth.

You see, God’s redemptive plan is essentially a journey to the original condition (cf Rev 21:6, “I am the beginning and the end”). After the fall of mankind into the control and punishment of sin, pioneered by Adam and Eve, we have spent thousands of years dealing with the consequences. Things changed when God slammed the gates closed on Eden. I have to deal with weeds on my tree farm, constantly. Drought and insects seem to wipe out my crop every few years. And I deal with temptation and failure, guilt and shame. If it weren’t for forgiveness – both from God and from one another – this world would be a hopeless existence. But God’s intention from the beginning was to rescue and redeem mankind from this fallen state, and provide an Eden-like earth once again for those who choose to believe in Jesus, the central figure of His redemptive plan.

In the vision recorded in Revelation 21, John sees the Holy City, a new Jerusalem, coming down to earth form God’s Heaven. This city symbolically represents the bride of Christ, all the redeemed of the ages. The description of the city, while symbolic, is quite extensive. It is 1400 miles wide, long, and high. The footprint of the city is 1.9 million square miles, over 200 times the size of modern-day Israel. It is cubic, similar to the Most Holy place in the temple and the tabernacle. Main Street is paved with gold. The city will have 12 gates in the wall. Why it needs a wall, I do not know, since there will be no enemies. The description includes so many symbolic elements, all alluding to aspects of God’s long term redemptive plan of the ages – the gemstones from Eden, the twelves tribes of Israel, and the twelve apostles.

Some of the important points to glean from this chapter are these. God said, “I am making all things new”. The old earth will be burned up (2 Pet 3:7) and a new earth formed. There will be no more tears, death, or pain, since the old is gone. Not only the earth will be new, but we will have resurrection bodies (I Cor 15:35-54). There will be no temple in the New City (which distinguishes the eternal kingdom from the Millennial Kingdom; cf. Ezek 40-44). And there will be no need for the light from the sun or moon, since the glory of God and of Jesus will be the light and the lamp of the eternal kingdom. And it seems there will be nations and kings from around the world that will visit the Holy City (Rev 21:24-27), probably the inhabitants of New Jerusalem disbursed around the globe --holy people and nations, governed by holy kings.

Glory, Hallelujah! God is so good to those who love Him. Jesus said, ^“My Father’s house has many rooms…. I am going there to prepare a place for you…. I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (Jn 14:2-4). What we can look forward to, eternally, is security, peace, happiness, living water, and the glory of the God we have come to know in this life.

Islamic Jihad and Armageddon

 

The Battle of Armageddon is a significant component of the Book of Revelation. The attack on Israel triggers Christ’s second coming. And Messiah’s victory is instrumental to establishing His earthly kingdom, the Millennial kingdom.

Armageddon is described in both Old and New Testament prophecies. Ezekiel wrote that Gog, from Magog, would lead a massive army against Israel. Paul wrote that the man of lawlessness would rise to power and lead a massive rebellion, referring to this same end-time battle. And Revelation 17 describes this army as an eighth beast, represented by ten horns, who will rule for “one hour”. This ten-nation alliance will wage war against the Lamb when He returns as Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

Who are these enemies of God, and enemies of the Jews? The Bible identifies them for us. Since the time of Abraham, the Arabs have been a thorn in the side of God’s chosen people, the Jews. They are descended from Abraham, just like the Jews, but they were not God’s chosen race. So, with spite and hatred they rejected the God of Abraham and despised the descendants of Jacob. They hated the Jews from the very get-go, and they still do, nearly 4000 years later. The Arab race and the Islamic faith eventually morphed into one. The hatred at the end of the age, then, will not just be racial, but will also be fueled by the Jihad teachings of Muhammed.

How is it possible to identify the enemy of Jesus at Armageddon as the Arabs? First, the Old Testament makes it clear that it is the Arab nations that will be judged at the Day of the Lord. Many of the prophecies of judgment upon Arab nations, in context, were not intended for near fulfillment They will be accomplished by the Messiah, at His second coming. Then secondly, the Arabs are identified in Revelation 17, by a key phrase, which is somewhat cryptic but shockingly accurate and relevant. “The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction” (17:7, 8 and 11). The Arabs dominated the world scene for a long time, but “not now” (at the time of John’s writing), and they would indeed rise up again, in the seventh century, with the help of Muhammad’s teachings. The Ottoman Empire took the helm and ruled for centuries. The Arab-Islam coalition, under the banner of Jihad, is clearly the eighth beast described in Revelation 17.

The beliefs of Islam confirm what the Scriptures teach. Islam teaches that their “Messiah” will come at the end of the age, whom they call the Mahdi. The Mahdi, besides being Allah’s divine presence, will also be the political leader of the Arabs. He will be the long-awaited Caliph, restoring the Caliphate that ended with the downfall of the Ottoman Empire. Jesus, who they call Isa, will also return at the end of the age to defend the Jews from Jerusalem, and lead the “infidels” into battle against the Islamic Jihad. And Muslims believe that Mahdi will defeat Isa.

Many Muslims are sincere in their faith, truly seeking God. Only a small handful of Muslims are terrorists, now, but that number will swell once Mahdi convinces them that they must submit to him and to all of Muhammed’s teachings, including the call to Jihad. The intent of Jihad is to bring all people of the earth into the Islamic faith, and subject to Sharia law, by force. Any who resist will be slain by the sword. Some say that Jihad is not condoned in the Quran, but that is not true. Muhammad wrote that Allah will “smite terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, then you smite them above their necks and smite all their fingertips off them” (Q. 8:12; cf Q. 2:193, 216; 9:14, 39, 111). Where Jihad is promoted, most, is in the Hadith, the divine teachings of Muhammad, including the Book of Jihad.

The Islamic command for Jihad is what motivates the enemy that surges in mass against Israel and their Messiah at Armageddon. It is the hook in their nose to draw them into the valley of decision, their meeting with judgment. Believing the Mahdi’s host of lies, millions will be drawn into Jihad. The massive army will be hell-bent on accomplishing world domination and annihilation of the Jews, by force and by the sword. The groundwork for Islamic Jihad is unmistakable in the resounding slogan of the Houthi regime, “Allah is great; Death to America; Death to Israel; A curse upon the Jews; Victory to Islam”.

We can expect to see, soon, the unveiling of the Islamic Caliph-Mahdi. His great surge of deception and his rebellious war preparation will portend that Armageddon is soon to start. And then it won’t be long until the second coming of King Jesus.