Prologue to War ...

Our world has suffered through 2 wars that touched it on a massive scale; everyone dreads the idea of a World War 3.  But while most of us have tried to stem back fears over the years that communism might try a military solution over inherent dedication, few have imagined that the actual World War 3 would pit the evil men in humanity, aligned with Satan and his demonic hoard, against God in the form of a returning Jesus Christ.  The intensity and destruction of the first four plagues have not let up.  Their effects can still be felt; their calamity is still seen upon those who carry the Mark of the Third Beast.  And strangely, those who have not forsaken their identity as followers of Jesus Christ alone, remain untouched by the disasters of God’s judgments upon the world.  This only serves to intensify the hatred for the untouched by those who are suffering.  A worldwide hunt to pursue and kill any who do not wish to take the Mark, replaces a “starve them to death” strategy.  In this the evil of those who have steadfastly refused His salvation only intensifies.  Evil does what it always does.  It refuses to admit defeat and doubles down on its previous course.  No repentance will be sought, no mercy offered to the untouched, none sought for themselves.  The hate that leads us to murder is seen magnified in a world where no longer are the winds of strife held back.

The first four plagues were universal in nature, and served to rouse the world’s attention that all was not right.  Had reason, or love, remained even a little in charge, repentance might have been sought and patience might have been extended.  But now, the choices of men were sealed.  The final Mark of the Beast offered a choice from which there is no further changing of the mind.  There would be no retreat from the course now pursued by those immersed in evil.  The next two plagues however, had a new element of geographical significance.  They begin in specific locations, and cause specific reactions.  They act as a prologue to the great and final ending World War 3.  Who we have chosen to oppose as evil reigns supreme is none other than the returning Christ.  But self-deception is also a key trait of those plagued by evil.  They see no evil in themselves, only point it out in others as a reason for what they do.  Under another self-inflicted plague of blindness to who they are, and with whom they quarrel, they pursue the drums of war, attempting to stamp out once and for all time, the people of Jesus Christ.

However where the Third Beast has established his mark on a universal basis, the restriction of commerce as threat to compel the conscience and attack the identity of those who follow Jesus Christ alone; there is another mark worth examining.  Those who have refused to follow the edicts of mankind, those who look to Jesus Christ alone for their salvation, not trusting to men or self, or doctrines and majority opinions on the interpretation of scriptures, are quietly sealed with a different mark.  These attacks of the enemy have always been about identity.  To clarify and identify those who side with Satan and his promises of ease and wealth and power over others, against those humble servants who refuse to follow anyone but Jesus Christ.  Those of us who cling to Jesus Christ alone are also marked in our foreheads with the Name of His Father.  Our invisible marking may be such to human eyes, but it is crystal clear to those from the realm beyond our own.  Our angels see our transformation, as do those of the enemy.  There is nowhere to hide, and frankly no reason to do so.  For our lives are fully in the hands of our God, should He elect not to protect us, we would perish.  But then, this is a realization we should have in the here and now, for His protective mercies alone keep us alive this very minute.

There are always sides chosen in a war.  It began in heaven itself.  Lucifer convinced, perhaps deceived, perhaps bribed, a third of heaven’s population of angels to rebel against God and pursue this new course of pleasing self instead of others.  He must have had strong verbal arguments that made logical sense.  But then the entire birth of evil came from a breaking of trust in God, and instead trusting to the wisdom of self.  The war in heaven did not begin through acts of murder, but through words of persuasion.  But when persuasion had accomplished all that it was going to, the birth of war entered the universe, and angel rose up against angel, and against the Father and Son, our perfect God.  The love of God was reflected even in this first war, as Lucifer was defeated, but not exterminated.  He was instead cast out, perhaps our God still hoping that Lucifer might change his mind before his new name of Satan must be bound to him.  But there would be no changing of minds, only a deepening of the path of destruction and death that comes from any sin – even one so seemingly small as to trust our own common sense, rather than the word of our God.

When our world stood before on the brink of destruction, Noah too, might have trusted to his own common sense, instead of to the words of our God.  Building a giant boat for rain that had never been seen, upon dry land that had never known a flood, for a period of 120 years, while preaching of the coming flood – does not qualify as heeding to common sense.  Logic would dictate the impossible and never before seen, simply cannot and will not occur, but they did.  While the doors of the ark stood open, and Noah preached, any one of mankind could have elected to join “Noah’s folly” and enter the ark for safety.  Surely there should have been some pure cowards living then who enter the ark only for an insurance policy “just in case” Noah was right.  But none entered.  Fear of the mob, was greater than fear of an invisible God, promising destruction no one had ever witnessed.  The same was true then, and will be true in our near future.  Now is the time before the door is shut, before the final choice has been forced upon the world, before the plagues of miraculous destruction begin to fall.  Now is the time when minds still have time to change and alter their course.  Once the door is shut, this time will be no more.  Lucifer became Satan, he never reverted back.  The war rages on for him, and now he wishes to enlist us in its next chapter.  Fear of the mob will once again over-ride fear of an invisible God.

There are only two sides now.  Those who have accepted and been marked by the third beast, either through oral declaration, or by refusing to submit and be transformed by Jesus Christ; and those who through submission have seen the power of Jesus Christ transform how they think, what they want, and therefore what they do.  Both sides are clearly marked, either through the actions of the hands, or the thinking of the foreheads.  Both sides have established identities.  Both sides have seen the results of the first four plagues – either suffering them because of an embrace of evil, or completely sheltered from them through the protective mercies of God’s love for His children.  The war must now continue.  So the capitals become the prime targets.  Satan will target heaven, and where he believes it will descend.  But God too will pour out His wrath upon the capitals of evil, and focus His attention upon the locations where sin has had its closest embrace, and where the false doctrines and edicts of men have their strongest hold and influence.

John begins to chronicle the last three plagues in chapter 16 of his book of Revelations of Jesus Christ and in verse 10 continues saying … “And 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, [verse 11] And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.”  The location, or capital that God chooses to attack with this fifth plague may have multiple targets.  If we assume the beast mentioned is the second beast raised by the dragon (whose seat and authority were established by the dragon and mentioned earlier), then we can expect the Vatican or Rome to experience physical darkness, because of the darkness they allowed to corrupt the purity of the Christian faith throughout the dark ages and into today.  For the seat or capital of this beast is clearly in Rome or Vatican city.

But there is another beast to consider.  If the beast referred to here by John is the third beast, not the second, then the United States would be its target.  Perhaps Washington D.C. our seat, or even our entire nation from coast to coast is to see a plague of darkness to come upon us.  For darkness to be effective, we would have to lose power.  A well-lit night sky and homes tends to defeat the idea of a plague of darkness.  Perhaps what lies in our future after a series of calamities already expressed, is the loss of our electrical power combined with a plague of darkness that causes men to gnaw at their tongues to see if they are still alive.  Whether this plague is poured out in a constrained fashion on our nation’s capital, or universally across our nation, its intent would be to target the locations most steeped in the evil of blasphemy.  The Pope has claimed equal authority to God in this world and in so doing has established ceremonies and traditions mandating and controlling the nature of the worship of men.  The United States will have mandated the mark of the third beast, compelling the conscience under threat of commerce attempting to make itself equal with God to mandate the nature of the worship of men.  Both beasts caused the compulsion of conscience, perhaps both are to suffer from the darkness of the edicts they caused.

There is still however one more beast to consider, the dragon himself.  Perhaps the capitals of atheism, and the religions of the world that do not accept Christ at all, are to be plagued by the plague of darkness they have chosen to embrace.  Protestant churches who now dictate the conscience of men are no more immune than corrupt governments, or churches that have no concept of Jesus Christ.  Any organization or assembly, or conspiracy that would seek to compel the conscience of others, and cause others to abandon following Jesus Christ alone, to instead augment or add to, who they follow and corrupt their identity as followers of Christ, stands equally upon the side of the dragon, and perhaps may also be a part of his capital under the attack of this plague.  The results are the same, whether in Rome, or the USA, or across the world in places and churches of abject rejection of Jesus Christ alone; none of those impacted by the plague of darkness repent of what evils they have done.  Instead they lament their continued suffering (the sores have not gone away), and they blaspheme further the name of God. 

It is now when the final war is to commence.  It is now when Satan intends to marshal what is left of his earthly evil forces and summon them to battle.  John records in verse 12 saying … “And 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.”  The sixth plague begins in nearly the same location as the fifth and sixth trumpet that sounded when leaders who did not embrace the religion of Christ emerged before.  There were historically many wars between those surrounding nations who opposed Israel (God’s people).  In the Middle East, which has traditionally been so long a focal point for conflict in our world, is to begin the last great world war.  Perhaps the loss of power in the capitals of darkness think to believe they must own the oil reserves in these lands to rectify what has been lost.  Perhaps the religions of Islam and the traditional Jewish faith which cannot embrace the idea of the Messiah of Jesus Christ have finally come into remembrance before God, and for this reason the location of the last most intense human conflict has been selected.  In any case, a plague is poured out in the regions of Iraq, Iran, Israel, and the Middle East.  The waters have been dried up in preparation for kings bent on war.

It is at this point in the sequence of events that miracles are needed to rally the troops of Satan.  Sores, lack of water, scorching heat, darkness, and the death, destruction, and chaos that ensues have left little will or strength in the evil ones of this world to make one last ditch final attack.  But by now, Christ has long since left His temple in heaven with His accompanying angelic throng.  He will arrive here soon, and Satan wishes to attack Him upon His arrival.  To do this he needs to make one more rallying cry.  So given the lateness of the hour, and severity of the stakes, demons must take a more active and visible role in the affairs of men.  Without working some miraculous deceptions of his own, no one will believe Satan any further.  So John continues his revelations in verse 13 saying … “And 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. [verse 14] For 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.” 

Demons emerge from the mouth of the dragon himself.  But also they come from the mouth of the beast, which perhaps in this case refers to our nation.  They also come from the mouth of the false prophet, which perhaps in this case refers to the Pope seated in the Vatican.  The identity of the dragon is clear.  But whether the beast mentioned is the second, or third, or both is less so.  The false prophet has heretofore been unmentioned.  It is however commonly believed that in order to deceive the nations, Satan will impersonate the return of Christ with a false version of these events.  He will not be allowed to fully mimic Christ’s returns descending in the clouds with every eye seeing him and trumpet of God sounding.  However he will make enough of a parity to deceive nearly the entire world, even the elect if time were not shortened.  It may be in this series of events that a supernatural figure is introduced to the world as Allah, and Buddha, and Ganesh, and the Messiah, and Jesus Christ – but in reality he is only the false prophet here described, a demon in the form of whoever we wish him to be.  It may these other demons traverse the world attempting to show by supernatural power, that the false worship and edicts of men are worth rallying behind one more time.  The intent is to rally mankind for the final extermination of those who have refused the mark of the third beast.  It is to prepare them for a war perhaps Middle East based for land, or oil, or money, or religious dominance – but no matter why men of evil rally, who they are destined to fight against is Jesus Christ returning triumphant.

In the midst of the revelation of all this calamity, John pauses.  He reminds us that he is writing in the future tense.  He reminds us that the mission of redemption, is ALWAYS the mission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  While the intensity of all these plagues is nearly upon the wicked and the time of the end of all things nearly in sight of you and I.  John pauses, to once again remind us, redemption is still within our grasp in the here and the now.  John pauses in verse 15 with a message from the only true Messiah as he relays … “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”  You and I have been living on the precipice of all these things, yet we live as if time has no end, and nothing is imminent.  This is the reason the coming of Christ is as a thief in the night, when NO ONE is expecting Him.  Our hearts have grown cold of eager anticipation, and routine is the master of all.  In the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, ALL were found sleeping.  None escaped the sleep of complacency and weariness of time passing.  The difference was in the preparation for the final events.  Some looked to be ready, even though they fell asleep.  Some assumed they would have what they need later on, and slept.  Both had to be woken up by the return of the Bridegroom.

Even with all this calamity, John reminds us that NOW is time to prepare for His return.  We are to keep our garments ready, to take on His righteousness for our own lack thereof.  We are to cloth ourselves with His white raiment, or be found naked in our shame and unreformed sin.  The wise virgins took extra oil “just in case”.  We need the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and His fire in our lives, to bring us the reform of character we so desperately need.  And we need it now.  We need to be prepared now, not delayed in anticipation of some future date.  For some of us, death will be a surprise before these events transpire on a day and time when we are not ready to see it come.  On that day and time, our ability to prepare will be forever cut short.  Our chances at a changed mind, forever gone.  The life He wants to give us, one that is free from the pain and death that sin brings, can begin now.  All we need do, is to submit to Christ, and let Him bring our new lives to us, in the here and the now.  This is the message of pause John relays.  Do not read of these events that are still to come, without an eye for where your salvation stands today.  Do not read the sure word of God, and let it roll off of your soul like the water rolls off of ducks and geese.  Absorb the water of life.  Let it sink into your soul.  Let the healing power of Jesus Christ transform you today, and begin a process in you that has no end, forever making you better than you are at this moment.

After his pause, to remind us again, of the message of redemption while there is yet time, John resumes with the events that are fast transpiring.  He continues in verse 16 … “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”  Again geography plays a role in the sequence of the final seven plagues.  World war 3 is ready to commence.  No matter who we thought the foe would be, no matter who Satan in his imitation of Jesus Christ has purported to war against, the true foe of evil is about to return in triumph.  There will be no winner of earthly, or demonic origin, in the battle about to be intended.  There will be no final solution for followers of Jesus Christ like that which Hitler proposed in the past for his Jewish enemies.  There will be no final extermination of those who bare the mark and seal of the Father God, refusing to sacrifice their identity as followers of Jesus Christ.  Instead there will be a culmination, a reckoning, a judgment, and a consequence the evil ones of this world are wholly unprepared for.

For there is one more plague about to be unleashed …