THE FUTURE OF ISRAEL, THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD

Transcription

1 WATCHMEN OF THE NIGHT MINISTRIES GIVING WARNINGS TO THE CHURCH OF OUR TIMES A PROPHETIC MINISTRY TO THE BODY OF CHRIST IN THESE LAST DAYS BOOKLET NO. EN/11 END TIME SERIES THE FUTURE OF ISRAEL, THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD The Seventh Vial Poured out. A Historicist Exposition of the Last Vial in the Book of Revelation. PART II : THE CONTENTS OF THE SEVENTH VIAL Revelation 16: 17-21: 1.) A Great Earthquake, 2.) The Great City [divided] into Three, 3.) The Fall of cities, 4.) Islands fleeing and Mountains not found, 5.) A Great Plague of Hail from Heaven falling upon men In these prophetic words of the Seventh Vial lie Five Stages of God s Judgements which will make an utter end to mankind s present world. These devastating events are to occur in the years just prior to the coming of the Lord Jesus and His Kingdom. They speak about a GREAT WAR in the MIDDLE EAST, followed by a FATAL COLLAPSE OF THE ECONOMY after which finally a devastating WORLDWIDE ATOMIC WAR will purge the world by Fire. This Seventh Vial is about to be poured out as we write in the year 2004! If this be so, and it is so, what manner of Christian men and women ought we to be to be able to STAND amidst these extra-ordinary calamities which very soon will fall on the world wherein we live? This Manuscript teaches what is to come and how to prepare. First Edition October

2 BOOK NO. EN/11 END TIME SERIES THE SEVENTH VIAL POURED OUT PART II 1 st EDITION, OCTOBER 2004 FURTHER PRINTED OR ELECTRONIC (SENT VIA ) COPIES OF THIS MANUSCRIPT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO FRIENDS OR OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES MAY BE OBTAINED FREE OF CHARGE BY ING WATCHMEN OF THE NIGHT MINISTRIES. THIS MANUSCRIPT MAY BE REPRODUCED BUT ONLY BY PERMISSION OF THE AUTHORS OF THE WATCHMEN OF THE NIGHT MINISTRIES, ADDRESS GIVEN BELOW. AUTHORITY WILL BE GIVEN TO REPRODUCE, BUT ONLY BY REQUEST AND ONLY IF IT IS REPRODUCED WITHOUT CHARGE, IN WHOLE, WITHOUT ANY EXTRACTIONS FROM AND ADDITIONS TO THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT! THIS MANUSCRIPT IS PART OF A GROWING NUMBER OF BOOKLETS CONCERNING VITAL ISSUES FOR THE CHURCH OF OUR TIMES, ALL OF WHICH ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST FROM THE AUTHORS. PLEASE INQUIRE AT THE WATCHMEN OF THE NIGHT MINISTRIES. THE FOLLOWING BOOKLETS OF THE END TIME SERIES ARE SOON AVAILABLE. TITLE: BOOKLET NUMBER: - The Great Day of the Lord. EN/ 9 - Whatsoever Can be Shaken, Shall be Shaken. EN/10 - The Laodicean Church Age. EN/17 - The Signs of His Soon Coming. EN/1 ALL SCRIPTURE REFERENCES USED IN ALL WRITINGS ARE FROM THE 1611 A.D. KING JAMES AUTHORISED VERSION, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED. WE WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN RECEIVING FROM YOU ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS CONCERNING THIS WRITING! PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY WATCHMEN OF THE NIGHT MINISTRIES, NO FIXED ADDRESS. watchmen_min@hotmail.com Website: T H I S B O O K I S N O T F O R S A L E!

3 PART 2 A CHRISTIAN HISTORICIST EXPOSITION OF THE SEVENTH VIAL The Near Future of Israel, the Church and the World We have shown you in PART 1 that the inhabitants of this world are about to drink the bitter cup of the Seventh Vial. The world in the year 2004 is very close to the time wherein it will be forced to embrace an almost indescribable period of difficulty, trouble, turmoil and upheaval in all spheres of men s civilization, as this present post-adamic world has never experienced before! The Earth and the inhabitants thereof have become corrupt beyond measure and the Lord must judge and end it. The overflowing cup of iniquity which has been past around by the three great Apostasies of Islam, Roman Catholicism and False Protestantism, will now be poured out on their own heads in rightly measured Divine Judgements. The Nations that have come against the Eternal Counsels of God will find their assured end when the Seventh Vial has completed its task. This will be a time wherein the True Church will be tried by fire, to see what kind of material has been built upon the Foundation which is Jesus Christ. Is it made with: Gold, Silver or Precious Stones, which will glow and shine amidst the fiery trials? Or is the substance made of: Wood, Hay and Stubble which will be burned up either in a quick or slow pace? All things that can be shaken, shall be shaken, so that only those things which are spiritual, eternal and of God s Kingdom may remain. The Seventh Vial will be the maxim and end of the Trouble unto Jacob. A maxim and an end, because Israel will yet feel the Rod of God before the Lord God of Israel will turn to His people in mercy. The events of the Seventh Vial will prepare God s People the Jews for the Lord s Light, Life, Mercies and Truth. The Seventh Vial is equal to the Complete Ending of the Times of the Gentiles. The Seventh Vial is the Final Preparation of the Earth for the Coming of our Saviour and King: the Lord Jesus Christ. Henceforth His Name shall be One and He shall reign from Jerusalem forever and ever, even for all Eternity. Amen. 3

4 CONTENTS CONTENTS...4 INTRODUCTION...6 IT IS DONE ; THE TIME HAS COME FOR THE ENDING OF ALL THINGS...6 THE CONTENTS OF THE SEVENTH VIAL AND RELATED SCRIPTURES...8 CHAPTER 1: A GREAT EARTHQUAKE; WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST...10 Chapter 1.1: The Earthquake and War:...10 Chapter 1.2: The Characteristics of a Great and Mighty Earthquake in the Natural realm...11 Chapter 1.3: The Great Earthquake in the Old Testament Prophecies : Jeremiah 25: 12-38: Chastisement of Israel and the End of the Gentile Nations : Psalm 83: The Islamic Confederation against the Nation of Israel : The Identity of the Enemies of Israel : The possible Instigator of the Great Earthquake in the Middle East : The Cleansing of the Sanctuary of the Abomination that makes desolate : The Two Idols of Islam in the Word of God : The Cleansed Sanctuary shall not see the building of another Temple! : The Climax and End of Jacob s Trouble: From Jacob to Israel : The Full Ending of the Nations Round About Israel:...48 Chapter 1.4: The Timing of this Great Earthquake, or War in the Middle East...55 Chapter 1.5: Some Concluding Remarks about the Great Earthquake CHAPTER 2: GREAT CITY INTO THREE PARTS; ECONOMY BREAKDDOWN...70 CHAPTER 2.1 AND THE GREAT CITY WAS [DIVIDED] INTO THREE PARTS The Identity of the Great City: The Dividing into Three...74 CHAPTER 2.2: THE ECONOMY COLLAPSE AND THE JUDGEMENT OF BABYLON : The Continuous Judgements of God on Babylon the Great : The Judgement of Babylon in the Old Testament Prophecies...82 Ad. 1: The Suddenness of the Economy Collapse:...85 Ad. 2: The unexpectedness of the Economy Collapse:...87 Ad. 3: The Severity of the Judgements:...88 Ad. 4: Babylon the Great is to rise no more Ad. 5: The sins and iniquities of Babylon:...92 Ad. 6: The Command of the Lord to His People to flee from Babylon:...96 Ad 7 and 8: The Deliverance of God s people out of Babylon and their return to Zion...99 CHAPTER 2.3: OTHER SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES TO THE DISINTEGRATION OF THE ECONOMY : Weep and Howl ye Rich Men; James 5: : Zephaniah 1:11-13: The Crash of Maktesh : The Lamentation for Tyrus (Tyre) CHAPTER 2.4: THE DIVINE PURPOSES OF THE COLLAPSE OF MAN S ECONOMY SYSTEMS CHAPTER 2.5: SOME CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE DIVIDING OF THE GREAT CITY IN THREE CHAPTER 3: THE FALL OF THE CITIES THE CITIES AND THEIR INHABITANTS ARE FAILING TO FUNCTION CHAPTER 4: ISLANDS DID FLEE, MOUNTAINS NOT FOUND MANMADE AUTHORITIES AND INSTITUTIONS WILL BE UNABLE TO GIVE SOLUTIONS AND HELP

5 CHAPTER 5: EXCEEDING GREAT PLAGUE OF HAIL THE GREAT WORLD WIDE BATTLE WITH AN ATOMIC HOLOCAUST CHAPTER 6: THE SEVENTH VIAL IS NEARING: WHAT SHALL WE DO?

6 INTRODUCTION It is Done ; The Time has Come for the Ending of all things. Revelation 16:17 And 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. [Young s translation: And the seventh messenger did pour out his vial to the air, and there came forth a great voice from the sanctuary of the heaven, from the throne, saying, It hath come! ] [Weymouth s translation: Then the seventh angel poured his bowl into the air; and a loud voice came out of the sanctuary from the throne, saying, Everything is now ready."] The earth and the inhabitants thereof have been ripened in their fruit of iniquity so that it can be rightly said that the time has come wherein the world is ready for the receiving of God s wrath which is contained in the Seventh Vial. The Three Unclean Spirits have done their work, and they have done it well, for there will be no delay any longer, but now is the time of recompense; now is the time to reap what has been sown; now is the time of the Divine Visitation. The Lord once more will visit the earth, and He will come with voices, thunders, lightnings, an earthquake and great hail to shake and break the Great Image of mankind into pieces (see Daniel 2) and make an end to the idols that have been set up by men. The Western part of Pagan Rome fell under the sound of the first four Trumpets long ago, and the Eastern counterpart could stand no longer when the Fifth and the Sixth Trumpets had run their course. The dominions of Papal Rome and Islam have more than fulfilled their 1260 years of dominion and Rome has already had a taste of God s Wrath in some measure when the Revolutions and wars of the First Five Vials were poured out in the 18 th and 19 th Centuries. The Euphratean Ottoman River is no more, and the kings, or nations of the east are well settled within their appointed borders. Israel has come back to their land, ready to receive the Divine sifting which will come to them. The Three Frogs have done their croaking and gathered the nations into that place wherein Armageddon will be unavoidable. Everything is ready indeed. The stage has been set, all the major actors are prepared; this is the silence before the opening of the curtains of the Seventh Vial. We who are alive in the year 2004 are about to behold and experience its unfolding Drama. And 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 (Revelation 16:17). The Seventh Angel, having the Seventh Vial, poured out his vial into the air, and a voice said: It is done. 6

7 The first six vials or bowls of judgements were not poured out upon the air, but on the earth, sea, rivers and fountains, the seat of the beast and the river Euphrates respectively. As a matter of fact, it has not occurred before in the Book of Revelation wherein the Lord s intervention in the matters of men was to fall upon the air! This expression air seems to be unique and has not been used in the Trumpets or other Vials before. The air is the place of birds and fowls. It is the spiritual place where Satan dwells, for it is written in Ephesians 2:2: Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. Satan is the Prince of the air. His kingdom and rule is worldwide and not limited to any particular geographical area on this earth. When this Seventh Vial is poured out, it seems to fall upon the whole dominion of Satan which contains the whole world and all the unredeemed therein. Satan is the Prince of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) and when the contents of this last vial have been poured out, Satan s kingdom will be no more. When the Seventh Vial has emptied its last drop of judgement, Satan will be bound for one thousand years (see Revelation 20)! This word air then seems to suggest that none will be exempt in the receiving of this last Vial which is filled up with the Wrath of God. While the first Six Vials were limited to certain appointed geographical boundaries and peoples, this Seventh Vial will eventually reach all the inhabitants of the earth. Its contents are to reach the entire world. It will be universal. None shall be able to escape the Divine judgements that are to be executed during the time of the Seventh Vial. This has not happened before since the days of Noah. It is a unique situation. Never before in the history of mankind since the waters of the great flood receded, was there to be a plague which would reach the ends of the earth! No other prophetic word in the Book of Revelation has such extensive, all-embracing, universal implications as this pouring out of the seventh vial into the air. This fact on its own is sufficient to show us that we are dealing here with the final end of man s dominion on the earth as we know it. The Seventh Vial, of the Seventh Trumpet, of the Seventh Seal; the Seventh of the Seventh of the Seventh, would even by reason of its Divine number have to bring forth the Final, Complete and Perfect End of this dispensation and thus set the groaning Creation free from the curse into the glorious liberty of the Children of God (see Romans 8:16-25). This is exactly what the Seventh Vial will do, as we will see shortly when we come to speak about its contents. And then there came a voice from heaven, from the Throne, saying: It is done (verse 17). The word ginomai in this verse which is translated in the King James as it is done - but by other editions is translated as it hath come and everything is now ready - is obviously not a straightforward, clear cut word which can be solely used for one meaning. We suggest here that the Lord, Who was speaking from His Throne, is announcing here that the time of the fulfilment of all things had come. When the Seventh Vial has poured out its contents and finished its task, all things which were prophesied by the prophets of the old and new Testament concerning the time of the end and the Lord s return to the earth would have found their fulfilment at this time. The general sense of this expression would be: the time has now come for the finishing of God s judgements before the Kingdom of God can be ushered in; the time has come for the last, final outpouring of God s wrath on an apostate world. It hath come or Everything is now ready and when this last Vial is finished, the words of the prophets are finished. When this Vial has come to its end, the world, as we know it would have come to its end. When the Seventh Angel of the Seventh Vial has completed the task, the Earth will be ready for the establishment of the Kingdom of God. When the prophets of old spoke about the judgements which would befall the nations at the time of the end, they were referring to this time of the Seventh Vial. All will be fulfilled at the time of this last Vial. It is the time wherein the Words of God shall be fulfilled (see Revelation 17:17). It is the time of the dispensation of the fullness of times wherein He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in 7

8 him (See Colossians 1:10). It is the time wherein the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets (Revelation 10:7). It is the time wherein the Lord Who sits upon His Throne in the Heavens, will be clearing and cleansing the earth in preparation for the Throne of David upon which the Lord will take His Rightful seat. It is a time wherein the Prince of this world will be dethroned, and the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord (Revelation 11:15). It is a time wherein all will be made ready for the arrival of the King of kings and His Kingdom to the earth! We who are alive at this day are beholding a world wherein all is made ready for the outpouring of the Seventh Vial, and when this last Vial has spilled out its last drops of Wrath, all will be finished and all will be ready for the Lord s return to the Earth. When the last dregs of this Vial are being drunk by the inhabitants of the earth, then it can be justly said: Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken (Ezekiel 38:9). The Contents of the Seventh Vial and Related Scriptures. The Seventh Vial is described in Revelation 16:17-21, but its contents is spoken about in other Scriptural verses as well without being called the Seventh Vial as such. All prophetic utterances of either the New or the Old Testament that are yet to come to pass before the Lord's return to the Earth, automatically have to refer to this time of the Seventh Vial. The Seventh Vial and what it contains, is a continuation of the judgements of God falling upon an apostate world which began with the first Vial in mid 18 th Century. Great Babylon is to be one of the main receivers of this cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath and for this reason the 17 th and 18 th chapters of the Book of Revelation should be connected with the Seventh Vial, for in those chapters is revealed how this great whore of Babylon shall be judged by the Hand of God! Revelation chapter 19 is also included in the time of the Seventh Vial for in that chapter more details are given about the time which follows the judgement of Great Babylon. Revelation 14:9-20 seems to speak about the same event and time as the last stage in the Seventh Vial when great hail falls upon men. Further there are many other Prophetic Utterances scattered throughout the Word of God which must be applied to this period of judgement, but we will bring those to the front when we actually reveal the successive stages of the Seventh Vial. There seem to be five major stages or phases in the outpouring of the Seventh Vial (See next page) which will judge and prepare the world for the coming of an altogether new Civilization, even the Kingdom of God. When these five major calamities or plagues have fallen upon the earth, the nations would have come to their full end, Babylon and Islam would be no more and Israel and the Church (or rather the remnant thereof) would be ready for welcoming the Lord Jesus as the King of all the earth. 8

9 Five Major Stages in the progressive Judgements of the Seventh Vial: 1. The Voices, Thunders, Lightnings and a Great Earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 2. The Great City was [divided] into three [parts]. 3. The Cities of the Nations fell. 4. Every Island fled away and the Mountains were not found. 5. There fell upon men a Great Hail out of Heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent. The Major players in this Great Drama are: 1. The Kings [kingdoms/nations] of the East 2. The Kings [kingdoms/nations] of the Earth (which most probably are equal to the kings of the East] 3. The Kings [kingdoms/nations] of the World 4. The Three Great Apostasies, or unclean spirits of Islam, Roman Catholicism and Apostate Protestantism (of which the last two make up Great Babylon). 5. The Land and People of the Hebrew Tongue, Israel. We will now attempt to disclose the mystery of the five stages of judgements of the Seventh Vial with the purpose that you may know and learn what is yet awaiting you as a Christian in this world so that you may be sober, watchful and prepared when the Divine Wrath is poured out upon the earth. (Please study Graphs in Part I, Appendix 1 in connection with the general layout and contents of the Seventh Vial.) 9

10 CHAPTER 1 A GREAT EARTHQUAKE War in the Middle East Revelation 16:18: And 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. Chapter 1.1: The Earthquake and War: Voices, thunderings and lightnings generally announce a time of upheaval, wars and turmoil, just as real thunder and lightening announces the approach of a storm. These were also being heard before the Trumpets went forth (please see Revelation 8:5 and compare the language in Isaiah 30:30-31 and other Old Testament symbolic expressions of war, slaughter, upheaval, judgements). They generally speaking, announce a time of terrible war, bloodshed and Divine Retributions. It is however, not this sight of voices, thunderings and lightnings that will give us understanding of this first stage of the Seventh Vial, but we must concentrate and look to the sight of that Great Earthquake, which was so great and mighty that it could be said that never before had men experienced such an earthquake, no not since men were upon the earth (see Revelation 16:18)! There, in that expression of a Great Earthquake is hidden the key to understanding and knowledge. This Earthquake, whatever that will have to be, was to be brought about by the work that was done and completed during and after the Sixth Vial. This Earthquake is somehow related to the kings [nations] of the east which came into being after the Ottoman Empire had dried up and this Great Quake is to occur by reason of the workings of the three Great Apostasies which gathered the kings of the earth and the kings of the world to the events of the Seventh Vial. Somehow this great and mighty earthquake must be, according to the Scriptures, related to Armageddon and the people and land of the Hebrew Tongue, Israel. What is the outcome when kings of the east or the kings of the earth (which we suggested are the modern nations which came into existence in the Middle East after the Ottoman Empire had ceased to exist) are taken with the people and land of the Hebrew Tongue into a place or situation called Armageddon? You will have a sudden Earthquake, so great, and so mighty, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great! You will have such an upheaval of WAR in the Middle East between Israel and the Nations Round About which will turn the Middle Eastern Earth upside down as in a mighty Earthquake! You will have a war of such proportions that the whole of the Middle Eastern World will look as if a great Earthquake has shaken its very soil. Such a War would turn the political world of the Middle East upside down. Such a War would change the political landscape forever more. Such a war would redraw the map 10

11 of the Middle Eastern nations in such a way that you would hardly recognize it. It would be a war of such intensity that it can be said: never has there been a sudden dramatic cataclysm like that before, no, not since men were upon the earth. There have been earthquakes before, there have been wars, rumours of wars and political upheavals and changes before, but this Earthquake, this War, this tremendous shaking and quaking of the Middle Eastern World around Israel will be unprecedented in nature, and catastrophic in outcome, not only locally but for the whole world! Its ripples will be felt as it were till the ends the earth. Never before did prophetic Scripture use such phraseology. Nowhere else in the Word can be read about a great and mighty Earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth! Yes, the Scriptures speak about quakes, and great earthquakes, and shakings but this one is altogether unique; this one is altogether extra-ordinary; this one supersedes all the others in magnitude and strength! It is the first time in the history of mankind that such an Earthquake was to take place. What else could it signify but a limited, but nevertheless destructive Nuclear Exchange between Israel and the Islamic nations that are situated around her? What else would change the political map of the Middle East in such a sudden and devastating way besides a terrible and mighty Nuclear War? What else would be able to throw the Middle Eastern World in such chaos, consternation and changes besides a great and terrible war, such as the world has never seen? What has the world never seen? The world has never seen, nor experienced, a Nuclear War wherein the world, or certain parts of the world, underwent such dramatic alteration in the established civilized landscape from one moment to another, like as in an Earthquake. What then were the kings of the east, or rather the modern Islamic nations of the Middle East that came into being after the Ottoman Empire had ceased, what were they prepared for? They were being prepared for WAR! They were being prepared for the Great and Mighty Earthquake in the Middle East. They are called to make the Middle Eastern Earth to tremble. They were being prepared for being a Trouble unto Jacob (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 12:1) to bring Jacob to a lowly and humble place wherein their pride, arrogance and self-confidence would be smashed to the ground, in the dust. They were being prepared to give Israel such a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time (Daniel 12:1). What for? To judge and prepare Israel for the Blessings of God. We will speak about this both terrible and merciful Divine act of Israel s Chastisement and Affliction later on. Chapter 1.2: The Characteristics of a Great and Mighty Earthquake in the Natural realm. Imagine an Earthquake in the natural which is so great, so unusually mighty and powerful, so tempestuous and destructive, like a quake such as the world has never witnessed. When there is a natural earthquake of such magnitude and severity, all the unstable elements will undergo movements, removals and changes, and amongst the living ones involved, there will be great fear, trembling, sufferings and many casualties. A Very Great Earthquake rends the rocks, tears the ground and swallows what is built thereon. It throws down man s structures, uproots nature and turns a world upside down. It shakes the foundation of all things unstable, until they fall and are no more. An earthquake shakes, destroys, brings down and roots up. It completely changes the face of the once reasonably calm and peaceful landscape. Afterwards nothing shall look or be the same. Men will look for the old structure, but it shall be in vain, for it shall be found no more. An Earthquake of such great magnitude and commotion would inspire people with awe, grip them with fear and seize them with panic. It would demonstrate to mankind its petty smallness, 11

12 littleness and futility compared with the mighty power of nature. There is nothing man can do in such a convulsion of the soil beneath his feet! An earthquake uproots nature, buildings and social structures alike. It comes like a sword in the families and divides asunder beloved ones. It takes the life of one, and leaves another; it wounds one, and spares another. It is merciless; it considers not age, sex or position. It touches high as well as low, it reaches the rich as well as the poor; it makes no difference between the master or the servant. An earthquake is no respecter of persons, but whosoever and whatsoever comes in its path will be shaken in its presence. No human help will be of any avail in an earthquake of such cruelty and strength. No man can bind the earth; no man is able to still the rocking; no man can buy its peace; no one has either the wisdom or strength to avoid or stop the reeling to and fro of the depths of the earth. An earthquake has a will of its own; it shall accomplish that for which it has been sent. It will throw down, it will smash, it will chastise, it will slay and it will judge and it will change the landscape and the people thereon, no matter what man might attempt to do! The Earth rolling to and fro. Will take wherever it goes, both ground, and lakes, buildings and human aches. It knows no mercy, it will pity not, for man has said: there is no God! An earthquake is sudden in its appearance. Unannounced it comes and takes away what was there before. It remoulds the whole landscape. It is sudden, unexpected and unforeseeable. It is an abrupt destructive force for which it has no need to prepare. Rumblings and movements might have been present deep in the earth for quite some time, but the forever busy, money-earning people on the surface of the earth, hears not such deep groanings of the earth. Suddenly, as in the split of a second, the earth shows his true nature and releases its destructive forces. Suddenly, as the lightning in the skies, it crashes to the surface and intervenes in man s life as a cruel, murderous thief in the night. The man with the dog, the child with the toy, the captain of the ship and the fellow with the gun, the king in his chamber and the beggar on the street, the reveller in the pub and the broker in the market, are all suddenly subject to the intense trembling and shakings of the earth. It takes the life of one, and leaves another; it wounds one, and spares another. The destructive force of such a mighty earthquake would reach far and wide; its consequences would ripple to the ends of the earth. In such a rolling of the earth s foundation, nothing will remain untouched, but all things that are made unstable will feel its forceful impact far and wide. An earthquake like this will stir the whole world. When the earthquake has finished its destructive eruptions, and the dust of the calamity has settled itself, nothing will look the same anymore forever. Great buildings and the towers thereof which once were demonstrating men s pride and abilities, are smashed to the ground and broken in countless little pieces like match sticks. Where is now man s ability? Men and women who once were enjoying themselves with the pleasures and sin of this world in brawling, drunkenness, banqueting and revellings, are now grovelling in the dust with their blood covering one another. Where is now their joy and happiness? Princes, kings, governors and all the rich merchants of this world, who were once wallowing in their wealth and sensuality, lie now covered with the bricks of those structures they once built. Where is now their wealth and riches? Nurses, doctors, hospitals, ambulances are standing still amidst the great devastation. Police and military personnel are 12

13 standing afar off, helplessly watching the chaos from a distance with amazement. Where is now men s self-confidence? No more shops, no more beauty salons, no more dance clubs, no more gambling halls. No more banks, no more moneychangers, no more stock markets, no more. Where is now the glitter and glamour of this world? The mocker has ceased to mock, and the arrogant one has withdrawn himself, the rowdy have quietened down, the wealthy one has ceased to be comfortable, and the once self-confident and faithless one cries to his Maker. An earthquake like this is devastating, it is horrendous, it is incomprehensible and altogether humiliating. What was so diligently built up is now thrown down. What was so carefully thought over is now lying in the dust. What was so intensely desired is now no more. What was considered so beautiful, artistic and civilized went back to the dust from whence it came. Multitudes and multitudes, countless loved ones dead or wounded. Those whom we love, and cherish and wish no harm, we see them now prostrate in the gutter, with one leg, one arm, having life, no life, sight, no sight, pain, no pain, hope, no hope.. Cursed is he or she who rejoices in such a fall of Jacob! woman who pities and prays for the rising again of Israel.! But blessed is the man and Pity, pity, and reach for all the compassion you can muster, for this will be the reality of the Great Earthquake that is coming to the Middle East! Such will be the reality of the next WAR in the Middle East; a War such as the world has never seen! This coming earthquake in the Middle East between Israel and the Islamic nations round about will be of such magnitude that no one will recognize the landscape after it has done its devastating work. This earthquake will bring down what is high, and uproot which is evil; it will smash that which is unstable and change those things that need to be changed. It will chastise those that need chastisement, judge those that need judgement and bring to an end that which needs to be brought to an end. This coming war will be sudden, unexpected and unprecedented in nature, for never before in the history of mankind was there ever such an event! Suddenly, as from one moment to the other, Israel and the rest of the Middle East will find themselves in the midst of war, bloodshed, death and anguish. Without warning, without any clear sign, like an earthquake will this sudden devastation come. The Ottoman Empire gradually, stage after stage, dried up into an empty riverbed till the Turkish Islamic Dominion was no more, but this earthquake at the beginning of the Seventh Vial speaks a totally different language! An earthquake takes the people by surprise, as in a snare, and will suddenly catch away and alter and shake up a civilization in a few moments of time. This is how the Seventh Angel with the Seventh Vial will commence its work. This earthquake, this war, will suddenly throw down cities, uproot the existing borders and alter the political and physical landscape of the Middle East altogether. Nothing shall be the same again. What was considered standing and stable, will reel to and fro and fall. What was considered invincible and indestructible will be laid in the dust. What was considered unthinkable has come to pass, in a moment of time. We are speaking here of the sudden outbreak of an unprecedented WAR between Israel and the nations round about her which will be most likely be accompanied with nuclear destruction. We are speaking of multitudinous victims, countless numbers. We are speaking of much bloodshed, sufferings, wounds and heartaches. We are speaking of fierce battles, the clamouring of arms and warheads. We are speaking of destruction of whole cities. We are speaking of unimaginable experiences of fears, terror, anguish, panic, hurt, anger, sorrow and altogether an impossible situation. 13

14 Israel will once again be at war with the nations round about, and she will suffer tremendously, but Jacob will not be brought to a full end. For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished (Jeremiah 30:11). The nations round about will once again be at war with Israel, and will suffer tremendously, but this time their loss will be irretrievable, for they will be brought low and the strength of their kingdoms shall be no more because this will be the time of the judgement of the nations round about. This will be the time to bring an end to the nations of Moab, the Philistines and the Edomites. The kings of the east who were preparing for war, shall be no more. Armageddon, or at least the beginning of it, has come, and Jacob will be laid low, but the enemies of Israel shall be scattered. Chapter 1.3: The Great Earthquake in the Old Testament Prophecies. A Great Devastating War in the Middle East is certain. We have no doubts about this. The Scriptures are clear. We nevertheless will allow ourselves to go a little deeper into this event of the next war, in asking the Word of God some questions like: Why must this war happen? What is the Divine purpose behind such conflagration? What do the Scriptures have to say about the timing this dramatic event? When will it happen? How long will the conflict go on for? Why do we of the Watchmen of the Night Ministries say it is near at hand? What is the ground for thinking that this extraordinary time is even at the doors? Why must Israel be so severely chastised in the manner as we have described? What will happen with Israel, or what is left of her, after this war? Why must the nations round about be dealt with in this way? And, what will happen to these nations that have involved themselves in this war? How will the Lord deal with the nations round about? Have the Scriptures got anything to say about the reaction of the rest of the world? Will this lead immediately to the Last Great World War, or is there yet some time in between? What will be the repercussions of such of war for the rest of the world and what will be the consequences of such a war for the worldwide Christian Church? How are the scattered Jews who are not (yet) in the land of Israel going to be affected? We hope to answer or discuss these questions in the remaining of this writing. These are very valid and reasonable questions and the Word of God says that we should search the Scriptures whether these things be so (Acts 17:11). The Lord encourages us to study His Word, so we may know the signs of the times, and prepare ourselves in all watchfulness and soberness, for the times are evil and increasingly so when days go by! Nevertheless, we realize that the more details we attempt to give about the coming scenario of this first stage of the Seventh Vial, the greater are the chances that we will be making some mistake, wrong interpretations or presumptions. It is so easy to follow an expected, well-established pattern of thinking and say to yourself: it must be so. Notwithstanding this danger, we think we should go deeper into the Word of God to see what it might say about this unusual and extremely important event in the Middle East which is to shortly come to pass. When we attempt to go into these deeper questions, we would urge the reader to approach this subject in two ways: 1. Consider it as is a Biblically established fact that a great and terrible war in the Middle East is unavoidable and is imminent 2. At the same time we would encourage the reader to look at the possible interpretations of the details that we are bringing forward in this writing with more caution and critical examination, and to search for yourselves, with much prayer, whether the things we propose are Biblically sound or not. Again, let us all examine all things, and keep those things which are good and spiritually profitable. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21). The last thing we would desire (God forbid!) is to add to the confusion 14

15 already existing in the Church, or present you with a private interpretation of prophecy which is equal to a lie. To receive more understanding and insight into the coming events in Israel and the rest of the Middle East, it is necessary to look into the prophets of old. Unfortunately many Christians of our time do not know the Old Testament that well and some have not looked into the Scriptures of the Old Testament at all. This ignorance becomes a great spiritual handicap when we desire to understand the Lord s dealings with us Christians as His people and when we are looking for some wisdom with regard to the signs of our times and the position of Israel in God s Great Divine program. The Old Testament is part of the whole Counsel of God and needs to be treated as such. The Old Testament contains many prophecies concerning the land and people of Israel which still await fulfilment. The Jewish writing (not the oral) prophets (like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel etc.), of old seem to have prophesied about at least 6 major crises or events in the history of God s people the Jews: 1. The Babylonian Captivity and destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple 2. The return of the Jewish remnant to their land during the time of the Medo-Persians and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple 3. The coming of the Messiah (first time) and the salvation that would reach the Gentiles 4. The Second destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple and the Second and last Dispersion of the Jewish people (since 70 A.D. onwards) 5. The Second return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the end-time events combined with this return 6. The coming of the Messiah (the Second Time). The greatest majority of the Old Testament Prophecies have already found fulfilment in the history of God s People the Jews and the Church. We should here be concentrating on those unfulfilled prophecies of the Old Testament which are referring to the time of the Second return of the Jews to their land and the events that would be awaiting them during this time of the end. All those prophecies that have something to say about this crisis time of the end can teach us more about the possible scenario that is to transpire in the Middle East soon. The words which are associated with a Great and Mighty Earthquake of Revelation 16:18, together with the characteristics of the situation of Armageddon of Revelation 16:16, have already taught us much about the nature of the coming war wherein Israel once again will have to fight her surrounding Islamic enemies. The characteristics of an expression like: a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth has given us already tremendous insight into the extraordinary terribleness and devastation that will be associated with the coming battle! When we turn to the Old Testament Prophecies as well, we learn even more about the nature, characteristics and timing of this great earthquake which shall cause the whole world to tremble. When we speak here about Armageddon, we are not speaking about the last great worldwide battle that must come, but about that great war, the great earthquake in the Middle East whereof Revelation 16:18 speaks. (The worldwide Armageddon, or Battle of that Great Day of God Almighty of Revelation 16:14 is to happen at the end of the Seventh Vial). What have the Old Testament prophecies to say about this event of a Great War in the Middle East, wherewith the Divine Judgement of the Seventh Vial begins? Old Testament Scriptural References in context with this coming War in the Middle East. We would strongly recommend the reader to carefully and prayerfully read the following Scriptures several times: Psalms 83; Isaiah 15-17; 24; 29; 30; 31; 34; Jeremiah 25:12-38; 30:7; 47-49; Ezekiel 25; 35; 36; Daniel 11:45; 12:1; Amos 1-2; Joel; Zechariah 12; Obadiah; Zephaniah, (and others). 15

16 When you carefully study those Prophetic Scriptures that speak about this great War that is yet to come to pass, we will see a pattern or a certain order of events in all of the prophecies that speak about this event. They generally teach us that a Great War must come to that place which we call the Middle East to: 1. Afflict, Judge and Chastise the present nation of Israel; 2. Judge and make a full end to the hostile Islamic nations round about Israel; 3. Turn and spiritually Save a remnant of Israel and perhaps even some of those that are left from the nations round about Israel. We will now go through some of the prophecies of the Old Testament that have something tot say about this next coming war in the Middle East with the purpose to give to the reader some understanding and wisdom with regard to what to expect when this terrible war becomes a reality. We also hope and pray that some of the Beloved Jewish People might take hold of this writing and see what is yet awaiting them, and understand the Biblical Divine reasons behind such great affliction that is yet to come to them. It is not our intention (and we are not even yet able) to give here a full, detailed exposition of all the Old Testament prophecies on this Great Earthquake, but we will attempt to give the reader enough fundamental knowledge wherewith the reader can continue his or her personal studies on this particular all important and dramatic subject! May the Lord increase your compassion, watchfulness and soberness when you read the Old Testament account of this heartrending beginning of the Seventh Vial : Jeremiah 25: 12-38: Chastisement of Israel and the End of the Gentile Nations. At one time, in the past, at the end of the 7 th and beginning of the 6 th Centuries B.C., the great and mighty Empire of Ancient Babylon was used by the Lord to punish a wayward and rebellious Israel. The people of Israel (Judah) were taken captive by the king of Babylon, and the city of Jerusalem and the whole of the land were laid waste. Babylon had been an instrument of judgement and chastisement in the Hands of God, to smite rebellious Israel. Nevertheless, afterwards, when the task of judgement was accomplished, Babylon itself was judged by God. The same spiritual principle or spiritual law applies today! Israel will be soon involved in a tremendous conflict with Islam, but afterwards, when the Divine purpose for Israel is accomplished, the Islamic nations round about which have dared to attack the Apple of God s Eye, will be brought to their end, just like it was in the days of Babylon. Please read carefully the whole of Jeremiah Chapter 25. The prophecies of Jeremiah Chapter 25 have apparently found its fulfilment to some extent in the time of Ancient Babylon when those nations who had helped Babylon (and Assyria) in making an end to the nations of Israel and Judah, were judged and brought to an end by the selfsame Babylonian dominion, according to the accounts of several historians. The Babylonian Empire itself was overthrown by the Medo-Persians shortly after. Yet, this 25 th chapter of Jeremiah is a prophetic type of the end as well; just as it happened unto Babylon and the nations round about in those times of the 6 th Century B.C., so it will happen at the time of the End. Jeremiah 25 is a prophetic chapter. Jeremiah speaks here prophetically about the end of the Times of the Gentiles, which is Biblically speaking a time wherein all those Gentile nations who have lifted their hands against God s People will come to their full end (We speak more about the Times of the Gentiles further on). The Lord commanded Jeremiah to, prophetically speaking, take the wine cup of this fury at My Hand, and cause all the nations to whom I send thee, to drink it (verse 15). This was a prophetic action which in reality is yet to come to pass. All those Gentile nations which have trampled upon the land and people of Israel will be recompensed according to the deeds they have done, and 16

17 according to the works of their own hands (see verse 14). And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them (verse 16). All those Gentiles shall drink of the Cup of Divine Wrath which shall be poured out upon them, because of what they have done and what they will yet do unto God s People Israel. Then from verse 19 to verse 26 Jeremiah sums up the particular nations that would receive this cup of Divine Fury or Wrath. They were the nations who were brought to an end at those times, but will however also be the nations that will yet have to drink, be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you (verse 27). The names like Moab, Ammon, Tyrus, Asheklon, Philistines etc. of all those peoples and areas which are mentioned in these verses, are prophetical, symbolic names for the nations and peoples that are existing in the present, modern Middle Eastern world around Israel as well! The land of Egypt speaks for itself. The land of the Philistines and places like Ashkelon, Azzah (Gaza), Ekron and Ashdod refer to modern Gaza Strip. Edom, Moab and the children of Ammon are generally the countries or peoples immediately East of the River Jordan and can be symbolically signifying the general dominion of Islam, although the country of present day Jordan would be more specifically meant. The kings of Tyrus and all the kings of Zidon lie in the geographical area of present day Lebanon. The isles which are beyond the sea then would refer to those nations further westwards which would not be part of the Middle East. Dedan, Tema and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners are places also East of the river Jordan, but lie further North and South East, which would be more in the direction of modern Syria and Iraq. All the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert would point to modern Saudi Arabia and the other modern Islamic nations that have been formed on its Southern and Eastern Coasts, including the nomadic Bedouins that still nowadays dwell in the desert. All the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes are symbolically speaking referring to those nations lying even more east, which in modern times would be Iran and even Afghanistan. Without being to specific about the details, we can generally say here that those groups of names which are mentioned in verses are symbolically speaking, referring to the modern nations of the Middle East as we know them today: Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the land claimed by the Palestinians, and perhaps even the nations of Iran and Afghanistan. Many of those nations are the kings of the east which were to be prepared after the Ottoman river Euphrates had dried up during the time of the Sixth Vial (Revelation 16:12). It is a remarkable fact that the land of Mesopotamia and the coasts of Palestine have indeed been carved up in such a way after the First World War, that they coincide with the descriptions given in Jeremiah 25! Verse 26 would, prophetically speaking, refer to the nations of the rest of the world: the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach (Sheshach is another name for Babylon!). The nations of the world which are mentioned here in verse 26 do not now relate to our subject of the next great war in the Middle East, but have an important part to play in the remaining contents of the Seventh Vial of which we will speak about later. All these nations were to be loath in drinking the cup of Divine Wrath (verse 28) but the Lord has said to all those Gentile nations: Ye shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts (verse 29. Please read rest of chapter 25). Here then we receive a glimpse of the coming war in the Middle East and the World Wide War which will eventually follow the next war in the Middle East when the last drops of the Seventh Vial are poured out. The Lord is about to make an end to the Gentile Nations, for it is His Divine 17

18 purpose to Judge the Earth in Righteousness and whatsoever a nation has sown, that it shall also reap. Jeremiah 25 prophesies here about the ending of the Gentile nations that are situated round about Israel and the ending of the Gentile nations of the whole world. 1 Will Jerusalem, and the nation of Israel escape? No, for it is said in verse 18 that they also will receive of the cup of fury at the Lord s Hand, because of their rebellion and iniquity. Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day. We know by history that this has already come to pass in the days of Babylon, but symbolically and prophetically speaking Israel has yet to drink a bitter cup before their Gentile Enemies will be judged and brought to an end, to rise no more, ever.. So here is a Cup of Divine Fury and wrath, which was first given to Israel, then to the nations round about, then to the nations of the whole world, and Babylon after them (See Babylon the Great of Revelation; we will speak about this when we proceed with the other events of the Seventh Vial). This 25 th chapter of Jeremiah then confirms that during the next great conflict in the Middle East, the land and people of Israel, together with the nations round about Israel, will have to drink a bitter cup of fury from the Hand of God FIRST, before the remaining nations of the rest of the world will receive of the same. This will be at the time of the beginning of the outpouring of the Seventh Vial of God s Wrath as is mentioned in Revelation 16. Evil will be brought upon Israel, but the Gentile nations round about shall be punished in such a way that they will rise no more. What Middle Eastern Nations will be exactly the receivers of this cup at this next war, and which of those nations of the Middle East will drink it at the time right at the end, when all the nations will be given to the sword (verse 31), is not so clear. We cannot say with surety from these particular verses whether for example the nations of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt will be involved in this next great War or only at the last worldwide one. One thing is sure; many nations of the Middle East will be at war with Israel and will consequently be severely judged and fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you (verse 27) : Psalm 83: The Islamic Confederation against the Nation of Israel : THE IDENTITY OF THE ENEMIES OF ISRAEL Please read Psalm 83. Psalm 83 is a prophetic utterance wherein Israel is pleading with the Lord to take vengeance on their enemies who have attempted to make an end to the nation of Israel. This prophetic Psalm has not yet come to pass and seems to be very much related to the next coming Great War in the Middle East. Psalm 83 is describing a situation wherein the enemies of Israel (who are therefore also enemies of the God of Israel) have plotted an attack on Israel, to swipe Israel off the map and into the sea. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. 3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. 5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against Thee (Verse 2-5). 1 For more on the Times of the Gentiles, see chapter

19 Before we enter into the question why the enemies of Israel are in such consternation and mourning, and cries and anger, that they are stirring themselves up to cling together in battle against Israel, we will first attempt to identify those enemies that will raise themselves up in such a violent way. Who are these enemies that were consulting together to rise up against the nation of Israel to cut them off from being a nation? They are the same names as are mentioned in Jeremiah 25, although the list here is shorter, perhaps giving us a more precise insight into which nations will actually be involved in this next Great War. Ten nations, or groups of people are mentioned in verse 6 to 8: The tabernacles [homes, dwelling places, tents ] of 1. Edom, and the 2. Ishmaelites; of 3. Moab, and the 4. Hagarenes; 5. Gebal, and 6. Ammon, and 7. Amalek; the 8. Philistines with the inhabitants of 9. Tyre; 10. Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Before we go into some detail about these enemies of Israel that would be present and involved in the scheming of a plot against Israel to make an end to that newly established nation, let us first take note of the country which is apparently not there! As we said before, we are entering here into some details, of which we cannot be completely sure, until the event has actually come to pass, but here in Psalm 83 we nevertheless can see that there is a certain Middle Eastern nation who is very obviously, apparently and almost surprisingly absent in this hostile confederation against Israel! We speak about Egypt. Can we conclude from this that this nation of Egypt will not be involved in the next war? We unfortunately cannot conclude anything as yet, but it is nevertheless interesting to note its absence. Which of the nations seem to be definitely present in this confederation which would rise up against Israel in an attempt to cut it off from being a nation? 1. Edom (Idumaea) Edom is physically speaking the geographical area which extended from the head of the Gulf of Akabah, the Elanitic gulf (at the North Eastern Side of the Red Sea), to the foot of the Dead Sea (1 Kings 9:26), and contained, among other cities, the rock-hewn Sela (q.v.), generally known by the Greek name Petra (2 Kings 14:7). Nowadays its area would be part of the modern nation of Jordan and part of Saudi Arabia. Symbolically or prophetically speaking, Edom signifies in general the enemies of Israel, which now, in our day would be the whole entity of Islam and the Islamic ruled nations round about her. Edom is the name of Esau, who was the enemy of Jacob. When Israel was on its way to the Promised Land, under the guiding Hand of the Lord God of Israel, the Edomites refused permission to the Israelites to pass through their land (Numbers 20:14-21) and ever afterwards remained hostile to them. During the decline of the Jewish kingdom (2 Kings 16:6) they made war against Israel. These Edomites also helped the Chaldeans when Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, and afterwards they invaded and held possession of the south of Palestine as far as Hebron. Eventually, however, Edom itself fell under the growing Chaldean power (Jeremiah 27:3, 6). So, if this dominion of Edom was no more, and their land lies presently desolate, and the people have disappeared from history, who or what is Psalm 83 speaking about? Although the physical seed of Edom can be recognized no more, the hostile spirit of Edom against Israel is nevertheless still present, and therefore Edom is also a symbolic name for the whole sum of the Islamic enemies round about her! 19

20 2. Ishmaelites Ishmael was Abraham s firstborn son, by the will of men, through Hagar the Egyptian concubine (Genesis 16:15; 17:23). Ishmael was not the son of promise, who would inherit God s promises made to Abraham, but a usurper, a false claimer of the inheritance. Ishmael grew up to be a wild man of the desert and had twelve sons, twelve princes who became the founders of many Arab tribes or colonies. The Ishmaelites spread themselves over the wide desert spaces of Northern Arabia from the Red Sea to the Euphrates (Genesis 37:25, 27, 28; 39:1), "their hand against every man, and every man s hand against them" (Genesis 16:12). Ishmael was a mocker of Isaac, the seed of promise (Genesis 21:9-10) and in this self-same spirit, it is arising again here in Psalm 83, when the Ishmaelites once again desire to take the rightful inheritance from Isaac who is the father of Israel, in saying: Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession (verse 12). Physically the Ishmaelites of out time then would refer to the Arab tribes who dwell mainly in modern Saudi Arabia, but symbolically speaking there is more to this word Ishmaelites! The Ishmaelites (also called Midianites in Genesis 37:28,36; Judges 8:24,26) in a prophetic sense is a symbolic language for the general enemies of Israel, just like the word Edomites. Both Esau (Edom) and Ishmael were hostile towards Abraham s Godly seed. The Ishmaelites are therefore also symbolically speaking referring to the Islamic enemies of present day Israel, who mockingly and provokingly say to her: one day we will cut you off from being a nation! 3. Moab Moab was the eldest son of Lot, born by an incestuous act with one of the daughters (Genesis 19:37). The Land of Moab geographically speaking lay on the east of Jordan and the Dead Sea, and south of the river Arnon (Numbers 21:13, 26) which would presently be in the middle of the modern nation of Jordan. The Moabites became alarmed with the successful conquests of Israel and it was the Moabites who tried to curse Israel when they were about to enter into the Promised Land, by hiring Balaam (Numbers 22:2-4). From this time the Moabites maintained their hostile attitude towards Israel and fought many wars with the Chosen Race (Judges 3:12-30; 1 Samuel 14). They became a snare and a trap unto Israel (Numbers 25:1-3; Ruth 1:4; 1 Kings 11:1; 1 Chronicles 8:8; Ezra 9:1,2; Nehemiah 13:23). When for example the Jewish people returned from their first Babylonian Exile to rebuild the House of God, it was Sanballat, a Moabite, who took chief part in seeking to prevent the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:19; 4:1; 6:1). Moab has yet to play a very important part in the end-time events and both the prophet Isaiah (chapter 15) and Jeremiah (chapter 48) utter a prophetic burden for her which is yet to be fulfilled in the very near future. We will speak about these prophecies later when we discuss this Great War that must come in the Middle East in the light of the prophetic Scriptures of Isaiah and Jeremiah. Generally speaking then Moab points to the modern nation of Jordan, but prophetically speaking the Moabites also, just like the Edomites and the Ishmaelites, are those Islamic enemies of Israel who are hostile against her, constantly cursing her and busying themselves in hindering the building up of Zion by setting many traps and snares. 4. Hagarenes It is not easy to see why the Hagarenes are specifically mentioned by name here. They were nomadic people who lived on the other side of the river Jordan, which of course nowadays would be part of the modern nation of Jordan, and were distinguished from the Ishmaelites. We are sorry that we can say no more than that the Hagarenes were members of a certain Arabian clan and cannot tell you the real reason why these people are mentioned here as being part of that great confederation which would come against the nation of Israel. 20

21 5 Gebal Gebal was a place in Edom, south of the Dead Sea, now called Djebal, as well as a place in Phoenicia, to the north of modern day Beirut (Ezekiel 27:9), which was called by the Greeks Byblos and is now known by the name Jibeil. If we should take the second place, then Gebal would geographically refer to the modern day nation of Lebanon. 6. Ammon Ammon was the other son of Lot, born by the incestuous act of one of his own daughters (Genesis 19:38). The Ammonites also were involved in hiring Balaam to curse Israel (Deuteronomy 23:4) and did neither show any kindness to the children of Israel when they were on their way to their Inheritance. They, like the Moabites, became hostile towards Israel (Judges 3:13), and warred and conspired against the Jews several times. Eventually they ceased to be a distinctly recognizable people. The prophets of old have nevertheless much to say about the judgements of these hostile Ammonites (Zephaniah 2:8; Jeremiah 49:1-6; Ezekiel 25:1-5, 10; Amos 1:13-15), but these prophecies, we believe, are referring to these people that are presently rising up against Israel in renewed hostility and anger, just like in the days of old. When these end-time prophecies uttered their warnings against the Ammonites or Ammon, they were speaking about things which are yet to come, for these Ammonites are symbolically and prophetically referring to the general Islamic enemies of Israel, just like Moab, the other son of Lot, and the Edomites and Ishmaelites. They all represent different geographical areas and groups of enemies out of that vast Islamic Dominion which is surrounding Israel, presently shaped in the form of independent nations. We will speak about these prophecies about the judgement of Moab, Ammon and Edom etc. which is mentioned in the Books of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and others, some time later. Sufficient here to know that these peoples or nations under the name Edom, Moab, Ishmael and Ammon, which are presently not recognized anymore as a distinct people or nation, are symbolic names for the present existing Islamic nations round about Israel! When we take these terms even more broadly, than we can say that they represent the Islamic enemies of Israel. 7. Amalek Amalek was a grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:12; 1 Chronicles 1:36) and also the chief of an Idumean (Edomite) tribe (Genesis 36:16). The Amalekites were a tribe that dwelt on the East Coast of the Red Sea, between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, south of Edom (Numbers 13:29; 14:25; 1 Samuel 15:7; 27:8), which nowadays would coincide with the western part of Saudi Arabia and parts of Jordan. The Amalekites were apparently not the descendents of Esau, for they already existed in the days of Abraham (Genesis 14:7). Prophetically speaking this Amalek of Psalm 83 relates to the actions and attitudes of the Amalekites wherewith Israel had to deal with in times of old. They to, like the Moabites and Ammonites, were attacking Israel when they were marching through their territory on their way to the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 25:18), and attacked them at Rephidim (Exodus 17:8-13; Deuteronomy 25:17; 1 Samuel 15:2). They afterwards attacked the Israelites at Hormah (Numbers 14:45). We read of them subsequently as in league with the Moabites (Judges 3:13) and the Midianites (Judges 6:3). They were known as the plunderers. Once again we are dealing here with the enemy of Israel which at the present time is: Islam. 21

22 All those hostile nations have several things in common: they hate Israel and desire to see her destruction. They hinder Israel from taking the Promised Land and from entering into their inheritance. This is very much a truth of today, for the Lord God of Israel, even the Lord Jesus Christ, is preparing Israel for entering into their inheritance, but the Islamic nations round about, which are part of the kingdom of Satan, just like all other nations of this world, are doing (and will yet do) everything in their power to hinder Israel from entering into that promise which was given unto Abraham! 8. Philistines Philistines - Palestinians; these two groups of people can strictly, in the sense of the law of the letter, not truly be related, but in spirit and prophetical language, these are speaking about the selfsame thing! There is no doubt that these Philistines of Psalm 83 (and also in Ezekiel 25:15-17; Jeremiah 25 and 47:4) are referring to those peoples we call Palestinians in our days. These foreign people, who supposedly came from Crete, settled themselves on the coast of Canaan in a piece of land which we now call the Gaza Strip. In the whole record from Exodus to Samuel they are represented as inhabiting the tract of country which lay between Judea and Egypt (Exodus 13:17; 15:14, 15; Joshua 13:3; 1 Samuel 4). Their main cities were Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath. Those Philistines were a trouble unto Israel; inroads were common and there was almost a perpetual war between them. They sometimes managed to hold the tribes of Israel, especially the southern tribes, in degrading servitude (Judges 15:11; 1 Samuel 13:19-22) and at other times Israel suffered terrible defeats by them (1 Samuel 14:1-47; 17). These hostilities did not cease till the time of Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:8), but the Philistines were finally conquered by the Romans. In the Books of Samuel they are being spoken of as the uncircumcised. Is this not a perfect picture of the Palestinians of today? Are they not the strangers that dwell along Israel s inheritance (in what has been named the Gaza Strip and the West Bank ), and are they not perpetually at war with the Jewish people? These Palestinian people will definitely, without any shadow of doubt, be among the gathering of the nations against Israel, for their bitterness and hatred against her is deep and continuous! 9 Tyre Tyre is an ancient Phoenician city in present day Lebanon, about 23 miles, in a direct line, north of Acre. It was a wealthy merchant city, full with wickedness and idolatry. There is prophetically a lot to say about Tyre, but this will be more appropriate when we speak about the great economy collapse. Perhaps it is sufficient to say here that Tyre lies in the present day soil of Lebanon. 10 Assur Assur, or Ashur, was the second son of Shem, who went from Shinar to Nineveh (Genesis 10:11,12) and the named the land of Assyria after him. The descendants of Ashur are the Assyrians, and Assur is also the name for the region they occupied and the Empire of Assyria. This region would perhaps presently, in our day, be occupied by Syria, Iraq and parts of Iran. "Asshur," was the original capital of Assyria, a city represented by the mounds of Kalah Sherghat, on the west bank of the Tigris (a river which of course flows through modern Iraq). It is said of Assur in Psalm 83 that they joined the other groups of Israel s enemies, and have holpen the children of Lot, or they have been an arm to the children of Lot. The children of Lot are Moab and Ammon. Assur was to stretch forth its arm and give power, 22

23 strength and might to Moab and Ammon who were arraying themselves against Israel. [holpen = the word zrowa` : the arm (as stretched out), or (of animals) the foreleg; figuratively, force:--arm, + help, mighty, power, shoulder, strength.]. This could mean that Assur, existing out of, perhaps (again we must be careful here in our conclusions) Iraq, Iran and Syria, were the ones to give military power and strength to the not so powerful peoples, the Jordanians, Lebanese and the Palestinians!? Here then are the peoples, tongues and nations that have stirred themselves up in heart, spirit and body to cut Israel off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance (see verse 4). The general sense of this chapter is that the enemies of Israel, existing out of the nations round about her, will at the appointed time organize and array themselves together in some kind of unity against the nation and people of modern Israel. This confederation seems to include the nations of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the Palestinians and even Iraq and Iran, although we can not be sure about these last two in particular. Verse 8 then is suggesting that the nations of Syria, Iraq and Iran have to give the military boost and power to this hostile confederation. We know that many voices can be heard nowadays which claim that the countries of Syria and Iran are very close to having the Nuclear bomb (or have them already) and that Iraq is still stockpiled with all manner of biological and other deadly weaponry, notwithstanding the fact that the United States has occupied that land for more than one year already. We do not know why Egypt is not mentioned here. We will not draw the conclusion here that therefore Egypt is not among those nations which will be involved in that great and terrible conflict that is coming in the Middle East, but do want to make note of this here. Time will perhaps tell why Egypt is not mentioned here. These nations then are the identity of the kings of the east (Revelation 16:12) or the kings of the earth (Revelation 16:14), who will gather the nations to that place called Armageddon, which will be an attempt to annihilate Israel once and for all. Here then are the nations who would cause the great and mighty Earthquake of the beginning of the Seventh Vial in Revelation 16:18 to erupt to the surface. We will speak about them again later, when we attempt to answer some of the other questions that we have brought forward : THE POSSIBLE INSTIGATOR OF THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE IN THE MIDDLE EAST Let us now proceed with this amazing Prophetic Psalm and examine why these Islamic nations burst out in such tumult and anger. What is the reason for their gathering together in once accord and one purpose to destroy Israel? What caused them to rise up in arms against the nation of Israel? Is it just the general, old hatred which those Islamic peoples always have mustered against the Jewish people, or is there perhaps some event, some drama, some action to occur which will trigger this outrage amongst the Middle-eastern Muslim world? According to Psalms 83, the enemies of Israel, which we have identified with the Islamic nations of the modern Middle East, are said to do 6 things: 1. Make a tumult (verse 2) 2. Lifting up the head (verse 2) 3. Taking crafty counsel against Israel (verse 3) 4. Consulted against Israel with one consent. Confederate against Israel (and God of Israel) (verse 5) 5. Purposing to cut Israel off from being a nation in real action of war (verse 4). 6. Purposing to take to themselves the houses of God in possession (verse 12). 23

24 The Islamic nations and the peoples thereof are to be for some reason in great commotion and rage against their neighbour Israel. Some dramatic event, or some action on the part of Israel, it seems, will anger them greatly, so that the Islamic world around them (and probably the whole of the worldwide Muslim community) will unanimously lift up their voices in great lamentation and outrage. They will cry for war, they will cry for revenge, they will be in uproar, on the streets, in demonstrations, with anguished utterances of threats and hatred against the nation of Israel. You only need to watch an Islamic demonstration, for example in the streets of Gaza or the West Bank, or in the streets of Cairo, of any other major city of the Arab World, to see and hear how, in what manner, they utter their frustrations. Bullets fly in the air, shouting and great noise is heard and sometimes they cut themselves with blood with the desire to see the same substance of blood flowing out of the objects of their hatred: the Jewish people. Their sound will be heard all over the world: Revenge, War, Away with those pestilent Jews, Allah is great, let Allah destroy and judge those infidel Jews. Their cries will go up to Allah. They will gather themselves in open, public spaces and cry out for: War! Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation (verse 4); let us finish that troublesome nation, once and forever. Let it be enough, let this be the time wherein we will avenge ourselves in the name of Allah. Let us join our strength, and weaponry, and people, and walk over the heads of the Jews and trample them in the dust. Aha, they will shout in the moments of their feelings of invincibility, now we will have the victory! In such commotion of anger and outrage, the nations, or rather, the leaders thereof, will come and take counsel together which will be most likely held in secret. It often happens that the Muslim nations of the Middle East come together in a conference, to discuss those things which are considered of great importance to them. At this time, they seem to come together in a haste, while the tumult is still raging through the streets of the Middle Eastern world (verse 2). They that hate Israel (and the Lord thereof) have lifted up the head which suggests that the nations have come together and mustered some considerable courage, strength and determination to solve the immense problem (whatever that will be) which has arisen in their midst; a problem that has caused the Islamic world to be in such an uproar. Lifting up the head may also specifically point to the leaders of the nations round about, who together will lift up, sit up, gird up the loins of their mind and strength to rise up in word and deed. It has happened several times in the recent past (since the last war in 1973) that the Arab Muslim leaders have come together in counsel or in a conference wherein they made all manner of threats towards Israel, but they did not translate the threats into actions, because the actual will, unity and military capability was not present. This time though, it seems that some catastrophic event has so outraged and angered the Muslim world, that they have managed to find these necessary ingredients of some form of unity, will power and military strength to actually execute their deepest desires, which will be: the destruction of the nation of Israel! Real unity has often been missing amongst the United Muslim Arab World. They are (somewhat) united in their faith, but not always in heart (verse 5) by any means. At this time though, when the situation as described in Psalm 83 arises, the Muslim world will be one in heart and one in purpose! Their heart has somehow been united by unanimous emotions and a common interest. They have set their mind and will on the same thing. Some event has aroused a common outburst of anger, hatred, frustration, weeping and mourning amongst them. The whole of the Islamic world has in some way been provoked and awoken to a common defiance against Israel and their God. There is unity! History has demonstrated to us that a common enemy joins those who were before not united. The nation of Israel has somehow, for some specific reason, it appears, become a shared burden for the nations round about, of which the heat thereof has melted Arab Muslim world in one iron stave wherewith they intensely desire to strike and crash into that 24

25 nation of Israel so that she will not be able to lift herself up from the ground anymore. The once disunited Islamic world, has become, at least for this special moment, a true confederate (verse 5) a league ; a group of people bound by a covenant wherein they, as it were, have sworn to stay together in will, strength and purpose, until their goal is reached, which will be: the annihilation of the State of Israel! We now need to ask ourselves the question: what could have triggered such an outburst of common anger, anguish and frustrations amongst the Muslim World? What will be the cause behind this great tumult? Why are the Islamic nations stirring themselves up in hatred and warfare against the Jewish nation? We of the Watchmen of the Night Ministries declare, although with some caution (!), that this great commotion in the Islamic world will be most likely and most possibly related to the Two Islamic Buildings which are sitting on the Temple Mount in the Heart of Jerusalem and their removal thereof! Are we just saying this by reason of our own opinions and observations? No, the Word of God has declared unto us at least 3 things with regard to this sensitive matter: 1. The Temple Mount, where once stood the Two Jewish Temples, must be cleansed, which means that those Islamic Buildings that are presently standing in the Holy Place or the Sanctuary of Jerusalem must be removed. 2. This is the general Divinely appointed time of their removal, by reason of the prophecies in the Book of Daniel 3. The Times of the Gentiles with regard to the people and land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem, must also come to a full end, which would mean that the Jewish People need to come into full possession of the Temple Mount. When you take these Biblical facts together, and study carefully the Prophecies which are connected to this mighty event, then we can carefully (but only carefully!) suggest here that the next Great War in the Middle East most likely will somehow be accompanied with the Removal of the Two Islamic Buildings which are presently standing on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Bible declares that 1. The time of the Great Conflict (i.e. the Earthquake ) in the Middle East is at hand, and that 2. The time of the Removal of the Islamic Constructions on the Temple Mount is at hand. These two great events will most probably go together, and the one may even cause the other; that is, the removal of the Third most Holy Place of the Muslim World, may well be the match which will set ablaze the hot anger of the whole of the Islamic community. Yet, we desire to be very cautious and careful here, and say that this is not necessarily, indisputably so. Some other calamitous event could be the cause of this great tumult whereof Psalms 83 is speaking about. The Muslim world may become outraged and terribly frustrated by some other means, but when we look carefully at some other Prophetic Scriptures, we can learn and see for ourselves how these two events (of the removal and the great war) seem to be linked! : THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY OF THE ABOMINATION THAT MAKES DESOLATE We are still in Psalm 83, wherein we behold the enemies of Israel stirring themselves up in great anger and we have seen them in this prophetic Psalm rising up in arms against the nation of Israel, to cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. We have asked ourselves the question: Why? What is the reason for their commotion and hot anger, that they unanimously express their intense desire to make a full end to the nation of Israel? We have suggested that this universal outburst of Islamic outrage is most 25

26 likely linked to the so-called Third most Holy Site in the Muslim world, which exists out of the Islamic constructions and places of worship on the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. To be able to explain why we make such a statement or proposition, we need to go out of Psalm 83, and perusal through some other prophetic Scriptures. We also need to take the ignorant reader, who perhaps knows not so much about the situation in Jerusalem, through some history to demonstrate to you the prophetic and spiritual importance of Jewish History in general and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in particular. Yet, we cannot go into great detail here, for this is reserved for another writing. (Please ask for Volume 2 of the Signs of His Soon Coming, or for the book on The Restoration of Israel.) The Temple Mount of Jerusalem is the place where once stood the First and Second Temple of the Jewish People. The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in the year 586 (some say 587) B.C. and the Second Temple in the year 70 A.D. when the Roman Soldiers threw down the stones thereof till there was not one stone left upon the other (Mark 13:2). Since that time, no Jewish building has ever made its appearance on that site ever, even up to our time, the year On this Temple Mount are presently standing several Islamic buildings, of which the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock (also called Mosque of Omar) are the main ones. They have stood there since the end of the 7 th Century and the beginning of the 8 th, for more than 1300 years! To the Muslims the Temple Mount is known as the Noble Sanctuary, or the Haram Ash-Sharif. The Dome of the Rock has several inscriptions in the Arabic language which say clearly that Allah is God and Mohammed his prophet, and that Jesus Christ is definitely not the Son of God. The Dome of the Rock is a witness against the Lord God of Israel, even the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore an abomination which makes desolate the Holy Place. Figure 1: The Temple Mount in Jerusalem whereupon once stood the Jewish Temples, but whereon presently are standing the Abominations which make desolate the Holy Place; the Al Aqsa Mosque (the black-domed building on the left) and the Dome of the Rock (the golden-domed building on the right). 26

27 The Temple Mount in Jerusalem has been, and still is, the most disputed piece of real estate in the world. Why? Because it is so much more than a piece of real estate! The Temple Mount of Jerusalem is the centre of the World; it is the heart of the Jewish People; it is the mount whereupon Abraham was once ultimately tested in his faithfulness towards God by having to offer up his only begotten son on an altar of sacrifice, which was built in this place; it is the threshing floor of Araunah (2 Samuel 24:18-25) where Solomon built the First Temple in the Name of the Lord God of Israel; it is the place where once the Lord met His People Israel by a Cloud of Glory (1 Kings 8:10) from Heaven; it is the place where the Jews of the Babylonian Captivity cast their eyes and prayers to in longing to return to their home; it is the place where the returning Jews built the Second Temple in the time of the end of their Babylonian Captivity; it is the place where the Lord Jesus Christ Himself came, and taught, rebuked and comforted His people. It is a chosen place, a Divinely appointed place; it is Holy, Special, Peculiar and Separated unto God. It is a place where the Lord s eyes and heart shall be perpetually (1 Kings 9:3). It is the Throne of God! This piece of real estate shall yet see the Feet of the Messiah, the King of the Universe and this place shall yet see the establishment of God s Throne on its soil, from where the Lord Jesus shall reign over the ends of the Earth. This is why! It is, spiritually speaking, the most important piece of land in the world, although the people who have contested for it know this not. Satan and his forces are against this place, and have done everything in their power to desecrate and destroy this site of Holiness and Sanctity. They have succeeded in this effort extremely well, for this most Holy and Beloved Mount has been trampled upon by unholy feet for more than 25 centuries! It was because of the rebellion and iniquity of God s People Israel that Satan and his servants, both angels and men, have been allowed to transform this once Holy Place into an abomination. The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary (Isaiah 63:18). Because the Jewish nation defiled the Sanctuary with their wickedness and many abominations (see Ezekiel 44:7), the Lord gave His place over unto the Gentiles, to rule over it, to trample upon it, and to make it abominable and desecrated in increasing measure as time passed on. The Jewish people lost this Holy Place of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount when the Babylonians burned it to the ground in the year 587 (some say 586) B.C. This was the beginning of that prophetic period of the Times of the Gentiles (See Daniel 4), which was to be a long time wherein, not the Jews, but the Gentile dominions would rule over the people Israel, their land, their Holy City and the Temple Mount. 2 The Babylonians came, the Medo-Persians followed; the Greeks were there and then the Romans took over, after which, finally, the Dominion of Islam brought the Temple Mount to its height of abomination and desecration by erecting Two Islamic Buildings in the Name of Allah, on the site which was consecrated to the Lord God of Israel! Since that deplorable event in 587 (586) B.C. the Jews have had no independent jurisdiction over that place until only recently, when in that celebrated year of 1967, the Jewish soldiers recaptured the Old city of Jerusalem for the first time in about 25 centuries! No wonder that even the hardened Jewish Generals who were involved in the liberation of Jerusalem, allowed themselves to shed some tears at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. There have been many Gentile abominations of all kinds on the Temple Mount, but the most offensive and longest standing, and the last ones were to be the Islamic Abominations which were built when the Jewish Apostasy and Rebellion was at its highest as well, seeing that they had rejected their Messiah! These Islamic buildings which were erected on the Temple Site about the end of the 7 th and the beginning of the 8 th centuries A.D. make up the abomination that maketh desolate of Daniel 12:11, which was to arise 1290 years after the sacrifice was taken away (see Daniel 12:11). 2 We speak extensively about the Times of the Gentiles in Volume II of the Signs of His Soon Coming, obtainable from the same authors. See also chapter 1.4 when we discuss the timing of this Great Earthquake that is to come in the Middle East. 27

28 The Jewish daily [sacrifice] was taken away when the Babylonians came in the 6 th Century B.C. and took away their Temple, wherein on a daily, continual basis the burnt offerings and other sacrifices were presented unto the Lord God of Israel (see the laws and ordinances with regard to the continual offerings in the Temple, in for example, Exodus 29:38-46; Numbers ; 23-25; The continual burnt offering; Exodus 3:7-8; Numbers 28:10: And the burnt offering of every Sabbath; Incense on the lamps every morning and evening; Leviticus 6:12-13: The fire on the altar shall be ever burning and not be put out etc.). And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days (Daniel 12:11). We learn from the well known 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel chapter 9 that one prophetic day, is equal to one prophetic year, for it was after 490 years, not days, that the Messiah was in the world. (70 Weeks = 70 x 7 = 490 prophetic Days = in reality 490 years!). It is said in Daniel 12:11 that from the time when the daily [sacrifices] were taken away, until the setting up of the abomination that maketh desolate, was to be 1290 prophetic Days, which are 1290 years in reality. From figure 2 we can see that 1290 years after the destruction of the First Temple in the year 586 or 587 B.C., the Islamic Buildings on the Temple Mount were erected. This then seems to give the indisputable evidence that those Islamic Constructions, which presently are defiling the Holy Place or Sanctuary in Jerusalem comprise that abomination that maketh desolate which is mentioned in the Scriptures! 1290 Solar Years Calendar Years Lunar Years 704/705 A.D. 686/687 A.D. 665/666 A.D. Era Taking Away Daily Sacrifice 1251/1272/1290 Years El Aksa Mosque Dome of the Rock 587/6 B.C. 665 A.D. 705 A.D. Destruction of the First Jewish Temple The placing of the two Islamic Abominations on the Temple Mount Figure 2: The 1290 years: The Setting up of the Abomination that makes desolate. It is this Abomination of Desolation, which needs to be removed. It is this sanctuary of the Temple Mount, which, according to Scripture (Daniel 8:14) will be cleansed (= made right or justified ). Now, at the present time, these great idols of Allah that are standing in the once so 28

29 Holy Place are making the place detestable, abominable and unacceptable in the eyes of both Jew and Christian, let alone in the Holy Eyes of the Lord God Himself! The time will come, and this time is to be soon, that the Lord will make right His Holy Place which at the present time is not right but an abomination in His Sight. For more than 1300 years they have been allowed to stand there! The Word of God declares that he who waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days (1335 years), will be called blessed (Daniel 12:12). (Please see figure 3 below) / /1335 Years 704/705 A.D / /1335 Years A.D. 686/687 A.D. 665/666 A.D / /1335 Years A.D A.D. Min (lunar)/ (calendar)/1335 (solar) Years Max. 665 A.D. 705 A.D A.D A.D. Era Setting Up of the Abomination Era of Blessedness Removal of the Abominations Figure 3: 1335 Years: Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 years. If we keep in mind that these dates are maxims and that the signs of the times are such that this removal is about to happen, we must be very close to this blessed time indeed! (Again, time and space is limiting us here to go into great details, but we just want to note that the year 2040 as the outermost date is most likely not to be the time, for other prophetic Scriptures teach us that this time must be very close at hand! Any time between the year 2000 and 2040 this removal of the abominations could take place, but the Word of God nevertheless demonstrates that this event is more likely to happen closer to the year 2000 than the year 2040 by far! We will speak more about the timing of this event when we discuss the timing of this coming Great War or Earthquake in the Middle East. It is an extremely interesting and all-important fact that only in recent years, since about the year 2000, the Foundation Walls whereupon the Islamic buildings are built, have begun to become unstable! In the walls of the Foundation upon which once stood the Two Jewish Temples, are cracks and bulges appearing in recent years. Is the Supporting Wall of the Two Islamic Buildings being shaken by the Hand of God, in preparation for their collapse and removal?! Please connect to the Internet, if you have access to these options, and type into the search engine words like: Temple Mount Walls cracks, or bulge, or collapse and such the like, and you will see thousands of up- to-date news articles on this subject! 29

30 The reader needs to know that the Palestinians, who have been given the authority to be the custodians of the Temple Mount (WAKF), have been building some underground constructions on the Temple Mount. The Israeli authorities know of at least two underground mosques that have been built there in recent years, and that is probably not the end of their planning and construction programs on the Temple Mount. It could well be that these constructions have undermined the stability of the Foundation whereupon the Two Islamic Buildings are standing. A few months ago, in February 2004, there was quite a strong earthquake in Israel, which added to the instability of the Temple Mount for since that time more cracks have appeared (in the Eastern Wall) and more stones have tumbled down (Western Wall). The whole of the Temple Mount Foundation seems to be Shaking and Trembling at this time! The Israeli government, and even the UNESCO, have placed this ever so dangerous and sensitive issue high on their priority list of problems and difficulties that need to be solved urgently! Their question to is not: will those walls collapse, but rather: when will this happen, and, how many Islamic worshippers will be in the underground Mosques when the walls and ceiling will topple upon their heads??? These are truly interesting and thrilling facts in the light of the prophetic Word! We are not saying here that those buildings necessarily have to go by an earthquake. We do not know the exact circumstances of the manner wherein they will come to an end. It could be a mixture of both nature and man s doing, or it could be man s doing only that will cause these Structures to come to their end. It is easy to see how some violent actions of aggression can set the heart of Jerusalem aflame in matter of split seconds! It is easy to imagine how the situation on the Temple Mount can get totally out of control when emotions and panic take the overhand. It is easy to envision the Mosques to be blown to pieces in a situation of violent clashes between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Yet, the Scriptures give a strong impression that they are to go by a collapse of the foundation wall, perhaps through another earthquake. We strongly suspect that the Divine Hand will bring them low, perhaps when the Lord takes a hold of the earth and shakes it violently. Whatever will be the case, whatever will be the cause, those Abominations will go, and when those Two Islamic Idols are suddenly removed from the Temple Mount; when the time of the Cleansing of the Sanctuary has come, the whole of the Islamic community worldwide will be undoubtedly in great uproar! Surely a great cry will go up to Allah when these buildings are no more! When these Islamic Idols are flattened, the whole Muslim world will be plunged into chaos and tumult! Their hearts will be one when they curse and blaspheme this loss and great will be their anger, great will be their rage! Could this not be the tumult and outrage that Psalm 83 is bringing forward? For, Lo, Thine enemies make a tumult (verse 2) and they cry out for revenge and war (verse 4). This event then could be the trigger, which eventually will set the Middle East ablaze, but, as we said before, this does not necessarily have to be cause. There can be other calamitous events, which are able to plunge the Middle Eastern Islamic nations into a terrible war with Israel. It nevertheless makes spiritual and Biblical sense that these two major events are connected. Isaiah 30:13: Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. We have not the intention here to spread out before the reader a perfect program or scenario by which order the events of that Great and Terrible War must follow, but hope to instil within you a sense of urgency and renewed interest with regard to the developments in the Middle East, and then Jerusalem in particular. Cast your eyes on Jerusalem; follow its developments if you are able, for there in Jerusalem and Israel is prophecy in the making! When the current events are progressing, and new developments unfold, the prophetic Scriptures will become clearer to us. We encourage you to take a serious interest in that place whereto the Lord will return in due course, for there, in Israel and Jerusalem in particular, we can learn to Watch the Prophetic Clock of God! Watch 30

31 therefore, for when we see the Temple Mount cleansed and/or that Great War shake the earth and the whole world, then we know that intense troublesome times will be with us any time soon, considering that such an event is the inauguration of the Seventh Vial! Yet, then, particularly at that time, we are to lift our heads on high, for then our Redemption (if we are faithful) is very nigh, even at the doors! We must now turn to the Prophetic Word to see what more the Word of God has to say about these Islamic Idols, which are presently still standing in the Lord s Sanctuary : THE TWO IDOLS OF ISLAM IN THE WORD OF GOD The Time Prophecies in Daniel 8 and 12 have taught us that the Two Islamic Buildings, which are presently standing on the high place in the heart of Jerusalem, comprise the Abomination that maketh Desolate the Holy Place which, according to these Scriptures in the Book of Daniel, must be removed. These prophecies in Daniel have shown us further that the time of this cleansing of the Sanctuary is very soon at hand! Besides in the Book of Daniel, there are other references to this event in the Books of the Prophets of Old. It would perhaps surprise the reader (it did pleasantly surprise us!), that the Two Islamic Buildings, the Mosque of Omar (Dome of the Rock) and the Al Aqsa Mosque are actually mentioned in the Word of God by name, albeit under symbolic, mysterious names! We have suggested before that the great tumult (Psalm 83) of the Islamic nations round about Israel will possibly be caused by this event of the cleansing of the Sanctuary ; the removal of the Abominable idols of Islam which are presently standing on that place where once the God of Israel met His people, and where soon the Feet of the Holy One of Israel will stand once again when He will inaugurate His Kingdom from His Throne in Jerusalem! The Muslim communities will of course consider such destruction, by whatever means this might happen, as a great and deplorable calamity! They will undoubtedly raise their voices and fists in anger and outrage against Israel, and cry unto their god Allah for revenge! Cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance (Psalm 83:4). This selfsame cry for revenge can be heard elsewhere in the Prophetic Books of the Old Testament. The selfsame cry, by the same group of people, namely the enemies of Israel round about, are going up in: Isaiah chapter 15; Jeremiah 48; Zephaniah 1:10 and Zechariah 12:11 Please read also again Isaiah 16; 29; 30:13; 31:4; Jeremiah 49; and Ezekiel 36. (Isaiah should be read together with Jeremiah Please keep in mind the interpretation of the symbolic names of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Ishmael, Philistines etc. which, as we have discussed before, are referring to the modern Islamic nations round about the present nation of Israel). Some of Isaiah and Jeremiah could to some extent already have found fulfilment when the Babylonians made an end to the nations round about Israel, (although the Scriptures do not relate the fulfilment of these prophecies), but prophetically speaking, the events which are written in these chapters have yet to come to pass during the next great war, at the end of the times 31

32 of the Gentiles, which war will make an end to the nations round about Israel which are symbolically represented by names like Moab, Edom, Ammon, Philistia etc. The language is such in these chapters that it becomes well nigh impossible to look for a literal fulfilment. Please read the following verses concerning this great cry and tumult, before we make any comments. Jeremiah 48:1-5,34 1 Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed. 2 There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; COME, LET US CUT IT OFF FROM BEING A NATION. [Capital letters ours. Please see Psalm 83:4]. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee. 3 A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction. 4 Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. 5 For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction. 34: From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate. Isaiah 15:1-5: 1 The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. 3 In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly. 4 And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him. 5 My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction. 8: For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beerelim. Isaiah 16:7 7 Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken. 32

33 Isaiah 15:1-5 and Jeremiah 47:1-5 are speaking about the same event, they are referring to the same howling and weeping. Both chapters explain how Moab is to be in turmoil and tumult because some calamity which is to be connected with Ar of Moab and Kir of Moab ; Nebo and Medeba; in the way of Horonaim ; Eglaim and Beerelim; Nebo, Keriathaim; Misgab, Luhith These mysterious sayings are absolutely unique in Scripture; nowhere else can you find such a combination of these deeply profound prophetically symbolic words! (Is it also not very unusual for a city or place to be taken by night like in Isaiah 15:1)? They are describing a unique event, which obviously will be very catastrophic and grievous to the land of Moab, which is prophetically speaking, referring to the land of Islam, the current enemies of Israel (as we have seen before when we spoke about the identity of the enemies of Israel in Jeremiah 25 and Psalm 83.) Why would the Islamic world, especially those Islamic nations that are situated round about Israel, be in such a state of anger, grief, anguish, terror, mourning and weeping that they cry out for revenge and destruction against that nation of Israel which they desire to cut off from being a nation (Jeremiah 48:2)? This language surely sounds familiar in our ears, after having read Psalm 83. It is said in Isaiah 15 that the Muslim world is in a tumult because of what has been done to Ar of Moab and Kir of Moab in the night; Nebo and Medeba; in the way of Horonaim ; Eglaim and Beerelim; Nebo, Keriathaim; Misgab, Luhith and such like. It says that Moab is weeping and howling because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence (verse 1). What has been laid waste and brought to silence? It is said that Moab has gone to the high places to weep, over Nebo and Medeba. What are they weeping for? They will cry Elealeh [= God is going up, or ascending, or rising up] unto their god, because of the shame, anguish and anger. It is said that the armed men of Moab will be in a state of violent anger and grief (verse 4). What has angered the soldiers of Moab that they cry out so violently, with such force? It is said that by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction (verse 5). Why is there from those places of Luthith and Horonaim arising such great cries of destruction, anger and revenge? What is the cause of their cry going throughout the whole of the land of Moab, for the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beerelim. (verse 8). What is Eglaim and Beerelim? And in Jeremiah 48: It is said that Nebo is spoiled and that Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: and that Misgab is confounded and dismayed (verse 1). What is Nebo, Kiriathaim and Misgab in the Islamic world? Why is their such cry of revenge and destruction coming from Horonaim and Luhith (verses 3-5)? What are Horonaim and Luhith? Dear Reader, the Muslim world here is in turmoil here because of the destruction of the Islamic holy site in Jerusalem! They are weeping and howling in great frustration and anger because the Two Islamic Buildings on the Temple Mount are no more! As by overnight, they are gone (Isaiah 15:1). The greatly angered and frustrated Islamic nations therefore are stirring themselves up to devise evil against the nation of Israel, to cut it off from being a nation! The Muslim world is angry, the Muslim world is outraged; the nations round about Israel are in great upheaval and turmoil. Why? Because their place of worship in Jerusalem is laid waste! Their Third most Holy Site is brought to silence. Their beloved Islamic idols are confounded, taken and are no more. The High Places of Islam have been brought to dust. This is why a great cry of spoil and destruction shall be heard. This is why they will cry elealeh unto their god. Allah Akbar shall be heard in the streets of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Gaza, West Bank and the other Muslim nations!. This is why the Muslim world will weep and howl, on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. This is why they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their 33

34 houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly. Because of this destruction, the Islamic armies of the nations round about Israel shall stir themselves up in anger and cry for revenge and war! Ar and Kir of Moab are laid waste and brought to silence [cut off], as by overnight! (Isaiah 15:1), for the Foundations of Kirhareseth are stricken! (Isaiah 16:7). And Moab shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail! (Isaiah 16:12). Ar is a city or place in Moab. Kir [Qiyr ] is a wall or fortress in Moab. In Exodus and Leviticus this word kir is used to describe the sides of the altar, and the walls of a house and the walls of a city. In Ezekiel kir is referring to the walls of the spiritual temple. Here it is said that Ar and Kir of Moab are laid waste, because the foundation thereof is stricken or broken, smitten. The Foundation Wall of Ar and Kir is apparently smitten, and Ar and Kir are consequently laid waste and destroyed. What is spiritually and prophetically speaking the city and fortress or wall (of a Temple or House) of Moab referring to? Or, with other words, what city, place and fortress, wall and sanctuary of the Muslim World, symbolically speaking, is important enough to cause such a great cry of consternation amongst the Muslims when they are laid waste and destroyed? What city or fortress is so important to Moab that the nation of Israel will be the object of anger when they are destroyed? Where is such an Islamic high place or sanctuary where Muslims (Moab) come and pray (Isaiah 16:2)? When Ar and Kir are no more, the Islamic nations will be lifting up their voices against the nation of Israel. Therefore Ar and Kir are obviously related to the people and nation of Israel. What then is Ar and Kir? They can refer to nothing else but the Two Islamic Buildings on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel! They can refer to nothing else but the Haram Ash-Sharif ( Noble Sanctuary ) which is the Islamic Name for the Jewish Temple Mount of Jerusalem. The El Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem are the Two Idols of Moab ; they constitute the city, place, fortress or walls and sanctuary of Moab! The Haram Ash-Sharif is the Sanctuary and place where the Muslims worship their god Allah in the land of Israel. The Muslims would desire to come to their sanctuary in Jerusalem to pray, but he shall not prevail, because it is no more! (Isaiah 16:12). The Foundation Walls whereupon the Islamic Buildings have been resting for more than 1300 years, shall apparently, according to verse 7 of Isaiah 16, collapse or be destroyed by some means, and take the Idols of Moab with them to the ground. For this, the whole Muslim world shall weep and howl! Suddenly, as by overnight (Isaiah 15:1), they shall be laid waste! (See for this event also Isaiah 30:13: Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. 14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. We will speak more about this 30 th chapter of Isaiah later. Compare also: Psalms 62:3 How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall [=qiyr = kir] shall ye be, and as a tottering fence [=hedge, wall].) Moab is going to the high places of Bajith and Dibon to weep (Isaiah 15:2). Bajith is a place in Palestine, but is also translated as a house, or temple, palace or a court. The Easton Bible Dictionary says that Bajith refers to a city in Moab, which had a celebrated idol temple. Bajith has also been regarded as denoting simply the Temple of the Idol of Moab! What is the temple of the idol of Islam? What is the celebrated idol temple of Islam in the land of Israel? What is the most revered and popular temple or mosque, high place or place of worship for the Muslim in the Holy Land? Of course, the Dome of the Rock and the El Aqsa Mosque in 34

35 Jerusalem! This word Bajith is not mentioned anywhere else in the Word of God and is absolutely unique and highly symbolic! It refers to the Islamic Abomination on the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. Bajith is according to this verse one of the high places of Islam and therefore is referring to one of the Islamic buildings on the Temple Mount, which at this time, when the Muslims go up to Bajith to weep, shall be there no more. Dibon is a name for three places in Palestine, one of them being a city of Moab, but carries also the meaning of pining or wasting. Dibon, according to this verse in Isaiah 15:2, is one of the high places of Moab. Bajith was the other. Dibon then must be referring to the other Islamic High Place on the Temple Mount, which at this time is nothing but a waste, a pining away, for it is no more! The place which became a spiritual desolation because of the Islamic Abomination has also become a physical place of desolation or wasting, for the Holy Place is emptied of their presence. The High Places of Islam therefore lie physically desolate, but spiritually speaking the Sanctuary is been made right. A High Place [bamah] is a place where the Jews used to worship their idols. The High Places of Moab would then point to the place, or places where Moab, or the Muslims would worship their god or idol. The High Places of Moab therefore is the Haram Ash-Sharif in Jerusalem, where multitudes of Muslims have come and prayed to Allah their god for many centuries! Please read also whole of Ezekiel Chapter 36 in this context, which contains a prophecy for Israel and her enemies, which is yet to come to pass. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession : and Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people: (verse 3) because of this, the Lord will judge and humble the enemies of Israel: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame (verse 7) [Please Read whole chapter 36]. Moab shall howl over Nebo and over Medeba (Isaiah 15:2). Nebo is a mountain in Moab (Mount Nebo where Moses stood and looked over the promised land), and also a place on the east side of the River Jordan and the name of a town in the area of the tribe of Benjamin. Prophetically speaking Nebo is only mentioned in Isaiah 46:1 and Jeremiah 48:1,22! The word Nebo itself means: Proclaimer, or Prophet. Nebo was also a Chaldean god to whom the Babylonians built a great Idol Temple. Who or what is the Nebo of Islam? Of course Mohammed. What do Muslims build in honour of their god Allah and his prophet (Nebo) Mohammed? Mosques and Islamic shrines. Here Moab (Islam) is uttering their boisterous and angry howling, yelling and wailing over Nebo, for the Islamic Shrine and the Mosque which were built in honour of Mohammed and his religion are no more. The Dome of the Rock Temple (Shrine) and the Mosque (Temple) are destroyed. Nebo is spoiled, it is utterly laid waste (Jeremiah 48:1). The prophet Mohammed has been humbled for the idol built in his name lies in ruins. The prophet Mohammed and all his followers are offended, and therefore the Muslim world will clothe themselves in sackcloth, and on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off (Isaiah 15:2-3). Medeba is an ancient Moabite town (Numbers 21:30) and means: waters of quiet. This Moabite town of Medeba had a large Temple with three great water cisterns. There are presently only ruins of this Temple and the cisterns are dry. Isaiah 15 verse 2 is the only place in the whole of Scripture wherein the word Medeba is used prophetically and symbolically! It is not easy to interpret this particular symbol and to see how it relates to the destruction of the Haram Ash- Sharif. The only thing we can say here is that the Haram Ash-Sharif is symbolically speaking the Temple of Islam, which indeed is also built above many water cisterns. There are underneath the Temple Mount several larger and smaller water cisterns. When the Temple Mount and the 35

36 Buildings thereon collapse, the Islamic Temple, built over the water cisterns will be brought to silence (compare verse 1). The question we would like to bring forward to the engineer in Israel is: if the Temple Mount collapses, would water come to the surface; would water become visible? We need to study the depth of this word and would encourage the reader to watch, pray and study with us, to see whether the Lord will give more light on this matter. So far then we have the city, place, fortress, sanctuary, idols, prophet and high places of Moab, which are all symbolic, figurative speeches of the Islamic Abomination which stands in the Holy Place of Jerusalem: the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque and the other Islamic constructions on, in and underneath the Temple Mount. In the awe-inspiring, all-knowing wisdom and knowledge of the Lord, the present Abomination that is standing in the holy place, is here disguised in the Word of God under highly symbolic names. Now, at this time of the end, the veil is lifted, and their destiny revealed, for the time of the removal of these Islamic idols on the Temple Mount is near at hand! In the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction (Isaiah 15:5). Horonaim [Choronayim] is the plural of chor, which means: cavity, socket, den:--cave, hole. Horonaim then consist out of two cavities, sockets, dens, caves or holes and can be translated as a double-cave place. This peculiar word has not been used anywhere else in the whole of the Word of God, except here and in Jeremiah 48:3, 5, 34 which speaks about the same event. Horonaim is therefore highly symbolic and prophetic and should be interpreted as such. It is from this place horonaim that such an outcry of destruction and vexation is going up. Why? The Muslim world will cry in outrage because after the destructive force has done its work to the Two Islamic Buildings on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, there appears to be nothing more left than two holes in the ground! When the Temple Mount Foundation gives in, and the Islamic Structures come down with it, there are apparently only two caves or dens to be seen on the spot where once stood the glory of Islam! The Islamic world will watch with horror to Horonaim, the Two-Cavern Place, and raise up a cry of destruction! So, if we have understood this correctly, the Word of God is teaching us that by some means the Foundation Walls of the Temple Mount and the buildings thereon will collapse and be destroyed, after which only two holes will be visible on the positions were once stood the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome on the Rock! This is what these words so far seem to imply. We must here take into consideration that some of these peculiar words are absolutely unique in the whole of the Bible, to signify a unique event and situation. The word Luhith for example is also unique, and is again only existent in Isaiah 15:5 and Jeremiah 48:5 and must refer to the same calamitous event, seeing that Moab goes up to that elevated place or hill with much weeping. The cry and howling of Moab is gone unto Eglaim and Beerelim (Isaiah 15:8). These two again highly unique prophetic and symbolic words are truly amazing in their contents and meaning. Eglaim is only mentioned this once in the whole of Scripture! Eglaim is the dual, or plural of the word egel which is translated as: a drop or reservoir. Eglaim therefore stands for a double pond, or two ponds, two drops or two reservoirs. Here we must cast our memory back to Horonaim and Medeba which were also speaking about water and two holes or dens that apparently, possibly, will appear when those two Islamic buildings are destroyed. Could it be - and we are only partially surmising here for all this is yet future and all this yet needs confirmation by the actual event of the future - could it be that after the destruction of those two buildings on the Temple Mount, two holes, filled with water will make their appearance, either immediately afterwards or later in time? It is possible that the places where the Islamic Abominations once stood, will soon be replaced by two ponds or two reservoirs 36

37 filled with water? With great interest will we watch the events that must soon transpire on the Temple Mount! This proposition seems to be confirmed by the word Beerelim, another totally exclusive and highly symbolic word in the Scriptures. Beer is from the word er, which means: a pit or a well. Elim is related to and the plural (dual) of the word el which can be translated as: God, god, goodly, great, idol, might(-y one), power, strong. So here we have the pit or well of the two gods or idols or strong ones, also used as heroes. Here we have the pit or well of the Two Idols, or gods or heroes of Islam, again implying that after they have been laid waste, there will be just two holes, filled with water left!? Both the words of Eglaim and Beerelim, and also the word Horonaim are explicitly demonstrating that we are dealing here with the number two! There are to be two dens or holes, two ponds and two pits or wells on the place where once stood the idols of Moab, all apparently filled with water. There are presently two Islamic Idols standing in the Holy Place. Are they to be replaced by two holes or ponds, filled with water? We find these descriptions extremely interesting and are very keen to see what exactly will happen when these Two Abominations of Islam that are presently defiling the Holy Place, are destroyed. Now let us look at Jeremiah 48, which chapter relates the same event! In Isaiah 15:1 it is said that Ar and Kir are destroyed, because the foundation of Kirhareseth is stricken. In Jeremiah 48:1, Kiriathaim and Misgab are confounded, taken and dismayed. They are put to shame and broken down, destroyed. It should not surprise the reader anymore that the word Kiriathaim is the plural (dual) of the word qiryah, which means: flooring, building or city. In the time of Ezekiel Kiriathaim, or the Double City, was one of the four cities, which formed the glory of Moab (Ezekiel 25:9). Now these two glorious cities or buildings or floorings of Moab are confounded and taken! Now the two glorious buildings of the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are put to shame and lie shattered into small pieces of stone and dust. Misgab is the High Fortress of Moab! It is a high place, a tower, a citadel in some high place of Moab. Such a high place or fortress of Islam is referring to the High Place of the Temple Mount where the Muslims have built idols to their god Allah. Here it says that the high fortress of Moab has been broken down and laid prostrate, in confusion and shame. The High Place of Islam in Jerusalem is no more. And the Fortress of the High Fort [=Misgab!] of thy walls shall He bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust (Isaiah 25:12)! For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. 11 And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands (Isaiah 25:11). This amazing prophetical language speaks for itself. And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together. (Jeremiah 48:7). Chemosh means destroyer, or subduer, and was the National god of the Moabites (Kemosh) (Numbers 21:29; Jeremiah 48:7, 13, 46). Chemosh is the Abomination of Moab, which king Solomon introduced unto Jerusalem: Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:7). Chemosh therefore is symbolically speaking, the Abomination of Desolation which standeth in the Holy Place! It was in the name of this god that the Moabites did battle with Israel, according to the archaeological find of the Moabite Stone. The god of Moab, or the god of Islam is Allah. The idols to Allah, which are standing in the holy site of Jerusalem, shall go forth, together with its priests and princes, which would then refer to the Imams and other religious leaders and authorities who are associated with the Islamic abominations in Jerusalem. This perhaps would 37

38 include the WAKF: the Palestinian trust or authority which is presently ruling over the Temple Mount. The remaining verses of Isaiah and Jeremiah are describing a situation of war and calamity in the land of Moab wherein the land of Moab, Edom, Philistine etc. will be totally laid waste. We cannot go into such details here now. Please read also Zephaniah 1:10: And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills. Jerusalem is surrounded by walls, wherein several gates provide the entrances and exits thereof. The Fish Gate was the North-Eastern Gate, where the present Arab Quarter is situated. Most Scholars say that this ancient Fish Gate must have been very closely situated to the Modern Damascus Gate of the Muslim Quarter. Jerusalem of today knows four quarters in the Old City; the Christian, Armenian, Arab and Jewish quarters. The Arab quarter lies in the North Eastern Sector of the Old City, just were this cry and noise and howling is heard from, because of the great crashing from the hills. The Muslims have to enter two gates when they want to visit the Haram Ash-Sharif to pray. When those Islamic Buildings, situated on the hill, come crashing down, there will be a great cry and howling from that quarter of Jerusalem! This crashing is the same word as is used in Isaiah 30:13: Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking [sheber] cometh suddenly at an instant. Could these verses refer to the same event? Zechariah chapter 12 speaks about the coming war between Israel and the nations roundabout (Please read whole of chapter 12). Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. Now it is interesting to note that after this great war and affliction, the House of David shall be in great mourning and repentance, which mourning is compared with the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon (Verse 11). The mourning of Hadad Rimmon is a mourning for the Two idols of Syria! Hadad and Rimmon are the names of Two Syrian gods or idols! When those Two Idols of Syria, which symbolically could well represent the Two Islamic Buildings on the Temple Mount, as we have seen before, are no more, there will be a great cry and mourning amongst the inhabitants of Syria, which is a symbolic name for the Hostile Islamic Enemies of Israel! It is also interesting to note that this mourning for the two gods of Syria (Hadad and Rimmon) is associated here with the valley of Megiddon, the place of Armageddon. Here then we have another clue that the destruction of the Mosques in Jerusalem, is most probably linked with the coming great war of Armageddon wherein Israel and the nations round about will once again be engaged in a terrible war, and although Israel will win the war, the suffering and loss for her will be incomprehensible! The loss and defeat of the nations round about will be complete, final and irretrievable, for it is written that they will come to their full end. We will write about this a little later. We have yet much more study to do before we can go into a fully detailed exposition of these wonderful chapters and verses, but we nevertheless would desire here to see the reader sufficiently equipped and informed to proceed in studying this amazing Biblical fact that the destruction of the Islamic Buildings on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is actually, most likely, if we are correct, mentioned in the prophetic Word of God! There is much more to say about Isaiah 15-16, Jeremiah 38

39 48-49 and other related Scriptures which are speaking of the coming great war in the Middle East, but we reserve this for another time, either in the next edition or another writing altogether. We are attempting here to present to you the Biblical evidence for the suggestion we have made before, in saying that the great tumult of Psalm 83, which stirs up the nations round about to war against Israel, will most likely and most probably be connected somehow with the removal of the Abomination in the Holy Place! Isaiah and Jeremiah then seem to provide the possible evidence for such a link between these important events of the Cleansing of the Sanctuary and the Great Earthquake or War that must soon occur in the Middle East. We have gone into some possible details and scenarios, but would stress the fact here again that we cannot be sure about the exact way wherein these Islamic buildings will be removed or in what order of events they must come to their end, or what exactly will happen with the Temple Mount afterwards. One thing though is clear: the Temple Mount will be cleansed, and when this event occurs, the whole of the Muslim World will be in great uproar and tumult. Could this then not be the tumult Psalm 83 is speaking about? Could this event indeed not be the trigger which would throw the Middle East in a terrible, ugly and devastating war? Could this event be the instigator of the Great Earthquake of the Seventh Vial? If this is so, if it is true that the destruction of the Islamic Buildings on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem will be the instigator of that great tumult and war that is to follow, does this necessarily mean that war will break out immediately after the ruinous event on the Temple Mount? Again, we are going here into questions of which the answers cannot be given with complete surety and confidence. We would nevertheless want to point out some interesting Scriptures here, which would give us something to consider and ponder and pray about. The Scriptures that we have expounded here in connection with the Islamic buildings on the Temple Mount and their removal are part and parcel of a series of Scriptures, which speak about the judgement and ending of the Islamic nations round about Israel. Please read the whole of Isaiah chapters and Jeremiah again. In these particular chapters you will read about the judgement of Moab, Damascus (Syria), Ammonites, Edom, Kedar, Hazor and Elam, which are, as we know from before, symbolic references to the enemies of Israel round about. We therefore receive a strong impression that the removal of the Islamic buildings will somehow end up in, or be related to a situation of all-out war, wherein Israel will be brought very low, but after which the Islamic nations round about that made war with Israel will be brought to a full end. We speak more about this affliction of Israel and the judgements of the Islamic nations round about later. We must ask ourselves the question here: is this war going to break out immediately after the removal of the Mosques? If it is true that the cleansing of the Sanctuary is to be the spark, which will set the Middle East aflame, does this necessarily mean that war must erupt at once, straight away after the event of the removal of the Islamic Buildings? This is not necessarily so, but could very well be! We do not want to pin ourselves down on any scenario and desire to be very careful in the conclusions we draw. We again remind the reader: War is certain, and the Cleansing of the Sanctuary is certain, but questions with regard to any details, or order of events should be placed in a more careful light. We nevertheless would like to point out to the reader that the Scriptures may be suggesting that there is a little gap, of perhaps a few years, between the removal of the abominations and the outbreak of that great and terrible war between Israel and the nations round about. We say maybe, possible, perhaps, for the Word of God does not make this abundantly clear to us as yet. Or rather, the Word of God is clear, but we have not received full light on this matter yet. War could break out immediately after the event and this is very easy to imagine, but there is the possibility that the nations round about will prepare themselves for some time before this war will break out. Both options are possible. 39

40 Please look with us to some Scriptures, which are interesting in the context of this question: is war going to follow the collapse of the Temple Mount and if so, is this war to occur immediately or some time after? We would like the reader to observe, study and pray with us on this matter, so that the Lord may instruct us in all things aright and that we may watch and follow the current prophetic world events, especially in Israel, from a correct Biblical view. Psalm 83 declares that after the tumult of the enemies of Israel, they would come together in counsel, and scheme a plan to cut Israel off from being a nation. (See Psalm 83:2-4,5). This could suggest that there is some time between the beginning of the tumult and the actual attempt to cut Israel off from being a nation. When there is counsel and consultation, there must be some time given to such meetings and conferences wherein the Islamic nations round about confer how to deal with the situation. The expressions in this Psalm seem to suggest that the nations round about, who have become angry because of what has happened to their holy place in Jerusalem (if this preposition is correct), are not immediately, as by the emotions of panic and rage, attacking the nation of Israel, but are first coming together in counsel and deliberation. The Scriptures do not say how long these deliberations take: one day? One month? One year? Two Years? From a place called Heshbon they cry and have devised evil again Israel, in saying: come let us cut it off from being a nation (Jeremiah 48:2; Isaiah 15:4). Heshbon is the intelligence of the Islamic world. It refers most likely to the leaders, governments and authorities of the Islamic nations round about, who are the ones who will come together to devise evil against Israel. Heshbon actually means literally: intelligence, and plotting, planning, scheming. It is the symbolic name for the place wherein the nations round about will plot and scheme their plan to make a full end to the nation of Israel. This implies again that there is some time between the first uproar and outrage by reason of the destruction of the Mosques, and the actual execution of revenge. Yet, again, the Word does not say how long there will be delay: a few days? A few months? A few years? There is perhaps one, very peculiar saying, which could (and we say here clearly could, not must!) signify that there will be a delay of perhaps two years or so, before the war will break out and the nations round about will eventually be brought to a full end. Please read the following Scriptures: Isaiah 15:5 My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction. See also: Isaiah 16:13-14: This is the Word that the Lord hath spoken concerning Moab since that time. But now the LORD hath spoken, saying, Within three years [or: in, about three years] as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble. And Jeremiah 48:34: From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate. Do these Scriptures suggest that within a space of 3 years, as in the years of an hireling or a heifer, the nations round about will be brought to an end to that there will only be a few left? Is it possible that in the third year, or after 2 or 3 years or so, after the taking of Ar and Kir, after the dismaying and confounding of Misgab and Kiriathaim, the Islamic nations round about Israel will be brought low, by war? Isaiah 16:13-14 says that Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble. Within three years of what? Is it within three years after what the Lord has done unto the Temple Mount as He spoke to his servant Isaiah in chapter 15? A heifer of three years is a beast that is unaccustomed to the yoke. Will the nations round about Israel, especially after the event of the destruction of their holy site in Jerusalem as we just described, be unwilling to submit themselves to the yoke of Israel and attempt to shake off this yoke by means of war? 40

41 Jeremiah says that the cities of Moab are to be laid waste, and that great affliction and calamity is to come to Moab. His chosen young men are gone to the slaughter; the whole land of Moab shall be broken down, in dismay and in derision, and also the Edomites and Ammonites shall not escape, and the city of Damascus will be no more (Please read whole of Jeremiah 48-49, Isaiah 15-17). Does this mean that within, or in, or about, three years after the event of the Cleansing of the Sanctuary, Moab, that is, the Islamic nations round about Israel, will be very small and feeble, as without strength (see Isaiah 16:14)? Is this to happen in a few years time after the Destruction of the Mosques? Does this indicate that the Great War will occur within a few years after the Collapse of the Temple Mount? This is the great and important question we are asking ourselves, and unfortunately we do not have a full satisfactory answer as yet. We would like to encourage the reader to take this selfsame question within their bosom and pray and study with us on this matter. Again we want to repeat here that the order of events do not necessarily have to be thus. It is a Biblically established fact that a Great War must come to the Middle East, during which time the following matters need to be accomplished: 1. The Divine Judgement, Chastisement and Affliction of Israel. 2. The judgement and ending of the enemies of Israel, the Islamic nations round about. 3. The Cleansing of the Sanctuary in Jerusalem. These three Divinely established matters then are to come to pass for sure at any time soon but concerning the timing of these events, and the duration, and the order of events, we cannot be so confident and assured, and we have to give space for different possibilities and scenarios for the time being, until either the prophecy is fulfilled, or more enlightenment and revelation comes to any of us : THE CLEANSED SANCTUARY SHALL NOT SEE THE BUILDING OF ANOTHER TEMPLE! For more than 1300 years the Holy Temple Site or Sanctuary in Jerusalem has been defiled by the presence of the idols of Allah. The Divinely appointed time has now come wherein the Lord God of Israel, the One and Only and True God, even the Lord Jesus Christ, shall cleanse the Sanctuary by removing the Abomination which stands in the Holy Place. Shall the Lord allow men to set up another abomination in the holy place of Jerusalem which is designated as the future Throne Room of the Universe? When the city of Jerusalem and the holiest centre thereof finally, after such a long time, ceases to be trodden down by unholy Gentile feet, shall the Lord permit the Jews to set up another abomination by reinstating a Temple with all the Temple services which would be a blasphemous denial of the perfect Sacrifice of the Lamb of God which was offered for the sins of mankind? Shall the Islamic idols be replaced by a Judaic monument of unbelief with regard to the true Messiah? This shall definitely not take place, for the Lord shall cleanse and make right the Sanctuary which has been made desolate for so long. There shall be no Third Temple! When the Islamic mosques and shrines are no more, the Sanctuary shall be right, justified and cleansed in the eyes of God. How can the Sanctuary be called cleansed if a Judaic Temple would be built thereon? The building of another Temple would include the restoration of the Old Covenant Sacrifices in the heart of Jerusalem, which would again defile and corrupt the Sanctuary for would this not trample upon the offering up of Jesus Christ Who has once and for all opened the way into the Holies of Holy by His Own precious blood? Would man again have to approach God by the blood and sacrifices of lambs, goats, bullocks and so forth? Would the holy and blameless Lamb who was sacrificed 1,976 years ago for the sins of mankind be replaced by the sacrifices and blood of fourlegged creatures? Would the Lord Jesus Christ make void the Covenant which He confirmed by 41

42 His Own precious and costly blood? This obviously is a total contradiction and completely out of order in the light of God s revealed plan of salvation and redemption. The Tabernacle, Temple, the priesthood and all the Temple Services were all pointing to one thing: the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God for the sins of mankind to reconcile sinful man with a Holy God. The people of the Covenant (Israel) were not saved by the sacrifices and blood of the slain animals, nor did they find reconciliation with God through the mere actions and ceremonies of the Priesthood, but they were looking to the One Who was willing to forgive and cleanse by reason of the Perfect Sacrifice which was yet to come and whereto the Temple Service was pointing. All aspects of the Temple Service of the Mosaic Covenant pre-figured the Messiah, Who by His Own Will, and by His Own power, offered Himself as a substitute for the sinner by taking the just punishment and dying the death of rebellious mankind. God came in the flesh, in Jesus Christ, and fulfilled the whole of the Temple Service in His mission on earth and the death on the Cross. Jesus, not the shewbread is the true Bread of Life. Jesus, not the Menorah, is the Light of the world. Jesus, not the multitudinous animals, was the perfect Sacrifice for sin and the sinner. Jesus, not the brook of Kidron, is the true well of Living Water. Jesus, and not the Levite, is the High Priest Who has reconciled mankind unto God. It is the Lord Jesus Who has rent the veil before the Holies of Holy through His death on the Cross, so that we can have free access to the Throne of God by reason of the perfect Sacrifice. Jesus, not the Temple, priesthood and all the services, has become the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) and there is no other Name nor any other way by which men can be saved, but by the Name and Way of Jesus Christ. Through Jesus Christ we offer up spiritual sacrifices and through Him, and in His Name we offer up our prayers of incense. Jerusalem shall therefore see no Third Temple! When the Temple Mount is cleansed and empty, many Jews and Christian will be watching for the erecting of the Temple of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 40-48). Christians will rush to publish countless books which shall teach how now the time has come for the rebuilding of the Temple and the coming of that Antichrist. Many of the orthodox Jews will rejoice in that time of cleansing (and rightly so) and hope to begin with the construction of the Temple (wrongly so). Dear reader, there will be no such thing for the Temple Service has been completely and perfectly fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ and it is He Who has been building the Temple of the Living God, existing out of Living Stones: Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5)! God does not dwell in buildings of bricks but in those who have accepted His Perfect Sacrifice of Atonement on the Cross. Why do many Jews believe that the Temple should be built? Because they still have not been able or willing to see the Lamb of God Who was offered for them in Yeshua Ha Meshiach! Why does most of Christendom think that the Third Temple should be built? Because they have accepted and believed the Futuristic Interpretation of Prophecy which teaches that Antichrist is yet to come, who shall build the Temple within which he will take his seat (2 Thessalonians 2). There are many Christians nowadays who will only accept that this is the end time and that this generation shall see the coming of the King when they see the Third Temple standing and Antichrist appearing! These souls shall watch and wait in vain, for such a Temple shall never arise and Antichrist shall not come for he is already amongst us, and has been sitting (and working out his abominations) amongst God s people which is the Temple of the Living God for more than 1000 years! (We refer here again to Part 1 of this writing wherein we have attempted to explain how the false Church system of Papal Rome was and still is the great Antichrist system which was to come). The Futurist prophetic interpreters teach that the Temple of God of 2 Thessalonians 2 is referring to a literal and physical Temple which has yet to be built in Jerusalem. Could such a building of brick and stone indeed be called a Temple of God? The Church is the Temple of God which the Lord has been building since He came to the earth: And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall 42

43 grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD (Zechariah 6:12). Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are (1 Corinthians 3:16). How could a building of stone wherein again the Old Testament Sacrifices and Priesthood would be reinstalled ever be called the Temple of God, for such a structure would be nothing else but an abomination in the eyes of the One Who has fulfilled the Priesthood and the Temple Service when He sacrificed Himself as a perfect and spotless Lamb of God? And how could the Sanctuary ever be called cleansed or made right if another abomination would follow the Islamic one? We of the Watchmen of the Night Ministries must here declare to the reader that you will be looking in vain for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem! When the Sanctuary is cleansed, no Jewish Temple shall be built thereon. The Temple, which is a spiritual entity existing out of living stones of believers, has already been built by the only Hands which are able and have the right to build the House of God, even the Hands of the Lord Jesus Christ! If you are looking for the appearance of Antichrist, you are watching and waiting in vain, for, as we have explained in Part 1, Antichrist has already come and the spirit of Antichrist (1 John 4:3), or mystery of iniquity (2 Thessalonians 2:7) has already been defiling and corrupting the true Temple of God for many centuries! The Popes of Rome have already been sitting in the Temple of God, claiming to be as God, or God s representatives on earth, for many centuries. The Spirit of Mystery Babylon the Great has already usurped a place in the Living Temple of God since the Church began to fall away from the faith and truth she once had (see 2 Thessalonians 2:3), and even the Apostle Paul stated that the mystery of iniquity was already at work in his time, waiting for the strong Roman Empire to be taken out of the way before the Papal Apostate Church could usurp strong authority and dominion (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8)! Time shall teach you that a Third Temple shall not be built, but we admonish you not to wait in vain for these false signs of the rebuilding of the Temple and the coming of an Antichrist before you begin to earnestly prepare for the coming of the King! We have met Christians who told us: When I see the Third Temple being built, then I will know that I should make serious spiritual preparations for the return of Jesus Christ! Such Christians will therefore never prepare and fail to have a sense of urgency because they consider the rebuilding of the Temple to be the sign of the Lord s soon coming! This expectation is a dangerous and fatal Satanic deception which has crept into the Church and encourages the Christians to continue in their sleepy ways while the storm of the Seventh Vial is rapidly approaching! When the Temple Mount is cleansed, we know that the Lord s coming is nigh, even at the doors! Do not wait for the rebuilding of the Temple before you decide to awake out of slumber and trim the lamps (Matthew 25)! When the Sanctuary is cleansed and the Middle East erupts in a terrible destructive (nuclear) war, do not ask yourself: where is the Temple? Where is Antichrist? And why are we not yet raptured? For such scenarios shall simply not come pass. They are the lies of Futurism. Instead, watch and prepare for the fearful contents of the Seventh Vial! 43

44 1.3.3: The Climax and End of Jacob s Trouble: From Jacob to Israel. Genesis 32: 24-30: And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, He touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. The Land and People of Israel are about to be thrown once more into the furnace of heated warfare, bloodshed, murder, destruction and sufferings. After having wandered from nation to nation, city to city, village to village, for many centuries, being persecuted, hunted, humiliated and altogether treated as an outcast in many ways by the hands of Gentile nations, Israel has returned to her own borders, in her own place, just as the Lord had promised in His Word: And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His Hand again the Second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth (Isaiah 11:11-16). Who knows not about the wondrous story of how the Jewish People came back to the Promised Land in the 19 th and 20 th Century, and how they worked, and laboured and transformed the once malaria invested swamps of Canaan into a high tech, modern civilization known by the name of Israel. Whatever man s opinion may be on this miracle of our time, the fact is that Israel has come back to their land, which was promised to them in the time of Abraham, in accordance with the Wisdom and Counsel and Covenant of God Almighty, even the Lord Jesus Christ. The return of the Jews to the land of Israel has come to pass by reason of the Word of God, which must be fulfilled. The Word of God never fails. Whatever is written must come to pass. It is in accordance with Divine Plan that the descendents of Isaac would return to the place of their fathers in these latter days. When Israel returned to their homeland, and the Islamic Dominion of the Ottoman Turks came to its end, in accordance with the prophetic Word in Daniel 11:45 and Revelation 16:12, Israel faced nothing but trouble. Arab uprisings, hatred, bloodshed, confiscations, destruction of harvest, houses and possessions, killings, thefts and all manner of violence and outbursts of hatred have been the lot of those who came back to the ancient land of Israel. Whatever man s opinion may be on the causes of this trouble, it is a fact that Israel has entered into a phase, which is Biblically called: the Time of Jacob s Trouble! (See Isaiah 30:7). When the king of the North (Turkish Islamic Ottoman Empire, in Daniel 11:40-45) was cast out of the Holy Land in the year 1917, and the Jewish People established themselves as an independent nation in the year 1948 under the Name of Israel, the people of Israel were to be confronted with such a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time (Daniel 12:1). The nation of Israel, and the inhabitants thereof have not known peace for a long time. Trouble, difficulties, afflictions, war, bloodshed, turmoil and upheaval have been their lot, because of the enemies who hate her. 44

45 Whatever man s opinions may be on the cause of this hatred, it is a fact that Israel has had to suffer much at the hand of her Islamic Neighbours. The descendents of Abraham have come back to the land of their fathers, but are not of the faith, nor the heart of Abraham. The Hebrew people have returned in body, perhaps in soul, but not in spirit to the Land of the Promise and inheritance. They are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called (Romans 9:6-7). Those who are circumcised in heart are to be called of the Household of Israel and partakers of the Promises of God. For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God (Romans 2:28-29). Not all people that are presently in the nation of Israel are Jews after the flesh in the first place, and even if they are, many of them have yet hardened hearts and blinded minds, for they are yet in unbelief, just as the Scriptures declare. Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in (Romans 11:25). The bones have come together, and sinews and flesh is upon them, and the skin is covering them: but there is not yet breath in them (Ezekiel 37). The Fig Tree has shot forth its branches and leaves, but there is not yet fruit on them (Parable of the Fig Tree in Matthew 24; Luke 21; Mark 13). The Jews have come back to the Holy Land but have not yet turned to the Holy One. The have seen and beheld the good land, but their eyes are yet closed to the Maker thereof. They have worked and, tilled the soil, sown the seed, and gathered the harvest, but have not seen the Good Hand of the Provider thereof. Jacob has returned, but the sons and daughters of Abraham are yet in spiritual exile, for the Lord has not made an Israel out of them. Israel as a Prince of God, has power and rights with God, but Jacob yet wrestles with the One Who desires to Bless him (Genesis 32:24-30). Jacob s thigh is yet strong (Genesis 32:24-30); there is more than enough confidence in him. When the Jewish people were deliberating a name for their new nation in the year 1948, they should have called it by the name of Jacob, for these descendents of Jacob are not yet Israel. Jacob is not in need of God, neither will he honour the Holy One of Israel in all his ways. Jacob is very capable, crafty and clever. Self-willed is he, strong, self-confident and able to accomplish much. Has Jacob not travelled from far, and built himself a house, and increased unto himself goods, riches, commodities and a honourable name and place? Is Jacob s nation of today not secure and invincible by reason of their strong army, well equipped, well trained and well able to kill? The nation of Jacob has set its heart on earthly matters, material wealth and worldly riches. Their eyes and hearts are yet closed to the nature of their calling and to the One Who is calling them. They do not believe that Messiah has already come Who delivered them from their enemies many years ago. They have not yet understood that the greatest enemy of our soul is their sinful self! They have not yet seen the faith of Abraham, who believed God, and He counted it as righteousness unto him (Genesis 15:6). How shall they escape, if they neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him? (See Hebrews 2:3). Jacob shall not escape, but shall receive the chastisement and punishment, which the Lord considers just and right. Jacob is yet to wrestle with God, but the Lord shall smite Jacob in the hollow of his thigh, and shall yet cause Jacob s flesh to walk with a limp. The Lord shall yet change his name from Jacob into Israel, but not without a price and not without pain! The Lord shall yet take His Rod and Afflict Jacob with many beatings, sores, wounds and painful afflictions. The Father of Heaven shall yet chastise and humble the children of Jacob. The Judge of all the earth shall yet punish His wayward and rebellious people that they may learn to Look and Cry to the Lord God of Israel, even their Messiah, for mercy. The Great Husbandman shall yet take His Pruning hook and cut the branches of the tree that He has planted some 50 years ago. 45

46 The High and Lofty One shall yet bring Jacob low, in the dust of the earth. His weight shall yet fall on them, which shall cause the height, and elevation and strength of Jacob to be flattened as to the ground. The Captain of Salvation shall yet humble the arms of flesh, the multitudes of soldiers, guns, planes, bombs and high tech weaponry of Jacob. The Warrior of the Heavenlies, arrayed in White Robes, shall yet blow upon the pitiful strength of men to demonstrate to Jacob the futility of his own ways. The Messiah of souls shall yet bring down the imaginations and high and lofty thoughts of the descendents of Jacob, to bring them to Himself. He shall yet cast down the wicked and hard hearts of the sons of Isaac, that He may pull them to Himself. The Great Deliverer shall yet blind the eyes, wisdom and understanding of Jacob, so that He may renew their sight, that they may see and behold Him Who is, and was and is to come. The Great Light of the Universe will yet cause Jacob to walk in the valley of great darkness and despair, that He may take the veil from off their hearts and minds, that they may truly be able understand the Readings of Moses. The Source of All Righteousness shall yet confront Jacob with the filthy rags of self-righteousness and works of the law, that He may clothe him in robes of righteousness and holiness, which are of Him, the Lord our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6). Jacob is high, and must be brought low; he is rich, and must be become poor; he is arrogant, proud and self-confident, and must be clothed with meekness and humility. Jacob is strong, boastful and boisterous, and must become like a child, weaned from his mother s breast. Jacob is full with iniquity, sin and abomination. He is rebellious in all his ways. Jacob is still Jacob, but must become the Israel of God! The Next Great War will make an Israelite out of Jacob! Jacob has had trouble before, but the worst is yet to come. Jacob has had times of war and bloodshed, pain and sufferings before, but the worst is yet to come. The great and terrible war, the great earthquake of the Seventh Vial, wherein the nations round about are crying: Let us cut them off from being a nation, shall be the most horrendous and devastating war that Jacob ever had to face in the history of mankind! Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it (Jeremiah 30:7). It is a Day of great wrath, distress, anguish and heartache. Jacob shall have his back to the wall; his thigh will be put out of joint; he shall be robbed of many of his children; multitudes upon multitudes shall be the numbers of casualties; some strongholds of his cities shall be laid waste, perhaps Tel Aviv, perhaps Haifa. The power of the enemy shall overwhelm him; he shall not be able to cope; he shall cry out for help, but no help shall come. Human strength is failing him, all hope shall be lost, despair and anguish will take hold of his heart, and the vision of death, to self and to the nation, shall be staring into his agonizing face. Sweat shall break out of every part of his body. Blood, pain and suffering are in all his members. Many of his beloved ones are no more, children and women have been taken away. Destruction, noise, blood, panic, suffering and pain shall surround him, it shall come near him and it shall touch him. Jacob shall be brought low. The nation of Jacob shall be humbled. The strength of Jacob shall crumble. Jacob shall be smitten in the dust, to rise no more, for the Lord shall raise up another seed, a purged and chastised seed, called by the name of ISRAEL.. The great and terrible war that is to come, even the zenith of Jacob s Trouble, shall transform the name and nature of the nation of Jacob into Israel, the true inheritance of God! Then Jacob shall cry out to God! Then he shall cry unto His Maker. Then he shall be ready to receive the blessings! Then he shall plead: I will not let Thee go except Thou bless Me! Then he shall return and rest, and be quiet and confident in God (see Isaiah 30). And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left (verse 20-21). Then he shall bow his ears and listen. Then shall the Lord send Rain and Light, and a Song, and cause His glorious Voice to be heard (please read whole of Isaiah 30). Then shall the Lord restore what the enemies have eaten. 46

47 Then shall Jacob be ready for Elijah, who shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers (Malachi 4:6). Then shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob (Romans 11:26). And although the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean in that terrible day (Isaiah 17:4), and although the olive tree shall be shaken severely until there are only a few berries left (Isaiah 17:6), in that day shall Jacob look to His maker, and His eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images (Isaiah 17:7-8). And when the enemies have been judged and cast out and down, the Lord will say to His People: Ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to My people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown (Please read whole of Ezekiel 36). Then, in that time In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old (Amos 9:11). Whatever man s opinions and objections are with regard to a war of this nature, they matter not, for it is written in the Word of God that such a time of severe and intense trouble is at hand, and whatsoever is written in the Word, shall come to pass. Man shrinks from such a prospect of judgement and war, for man himself desires to ignore the righteous Judgements of God upon men! The walk and ways of Christ should have made it clear to us how God views sin and sinful man! The sufferings, pain and excruciating death of the Lord Jesus Christ should have fallen upon us, sinful creatures. The crown of thorns should have been pushed on our sinful minds; the shame and pain should have come to us; the nails should have been pierced through our rebellious feet and hands that love to sin; the spear should have gone through our desperately wicked hearts and it is us who should have been laid in the tomb of death forever! The sinfulness of sin has not changed. Rebellion is not overlooked. The mocker and curser is not forgotten by Him with Whom we have to do! But the Lord Jesus in His Great, Unconditional Love, poured out His Own Life for the sake of us, so that we may go free. He took death, that we may live; He took the punishment, that we may go free; He took the sin, that we may be righteous; He took sicknesses and diseases, that we may be whole; He took the blame, that we may be reconciled to Himself, and live forever and ever with Him Who bought and washed us clean in His Own Precious Blood. Now the end has come, the Lord shall judge the world in righteousness. The Lord shall judge His People! It is a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the Living God (Hebrews 10:30-31)! If the righteous are scarcely saved, where will the sinner and ungodly appear (1 Peter 4:17-18)? Therefore Christian reader, be not high-minded, and do not belittle God s people the Jews at this time, but fear, and pray for them and for yourself lest the same chastisement and judgement will fall upon you, if you are also rebellious and continue therein. When the cup of suffering and pain is full; when the tears are shed and collected in a Bottle and written down in His Book (Psalm 56:8) and when the humiliating rod of chastisement has completed its task, the Lord will cause His wrath to cease, and turn to those who have said: Aha, let us cut off Israel from being a nation! When Jacob has been brought low, and has received of the Hand of God Almighty, the Lord will rise up in battle against the enemies of Israel and make a full end of those who have come against the Ones who are called by His Name. The Lord will utterly confound the gods of Mohammed in and around Israel, and lay waste the land of Moab round about. It is the time of vengeance of Zion; it is the time of recompense; it is the time of Divine Retribution, for those nations who have desired to end the nation of Israel shall come to a speedy end themselves. The fruit of their wickedness and spite shall fall on their own heads. It is written. It is the Time of the End of the Gentiles. The people and city of Jerusalem shall be 47

48 trodden under Gentile feet no longer. The blessed time has come. The remnant of Israel shall be set on high, but the high and proud Islamic neighbours shall be brought low. We will look into some Scriptures now to demonstrate to you that this saying is true and trustworthy : The Full Ending of the Nations Round About Israel: Please read and study carefully the following Scriptures with regard to the ending of the Gentile nations round about Israel: Psalm 60; 79; 83; Isaiah 15-17; 29; 30; 31:4; 34; Jeremiah 25; 30; 48-49; Ezekiel 25; 35-36; Daniel 12:1; Amos 1-2; Joel; Obadiah; Zephaniah; Zechariah 12. There is a Spiritual Law which says: Genesis 12:1-3 I will bless them that bless thee [Abraham], and curse them that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 27:9 Cursed be every one that curseth thee [Israel], and blessed be he that blesseth thee For he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His Eye! Zechariah 2:8 God s people Israel are forever His Chosen People, by reason of the promises made to Abraham. Whether they are in sin and rebellion or in just obedience and righteousness, it is not for man to alter the Divinely Established fact that the Jewish Race is God s Beloved People. The Lord shall deal with them, we Christians shall pray for them and make ourselves available to the One Who has called us His Name. The Lord Jesus Christ is a Jew after the flesh, and we twice born Christians have become part of the Commonwealth of Israel by reason of adoption (Ephesians 2:11-13). Who are we to weigh the Seed of Abraham in the balances of judgement and righteousness? What is man that he lifts up his voice and fist against a people who belong to God, and to Him only? Yet, multitudes, if not most, of the Gentile nations and their inhabitants have dared to speak hateful and derogative words against a people who are called by a special name by the Creator of us all. We do not justify the wrongs and sins of the nation and people of Israel, but what has man got to do with the nation who is in the Hands of the Living God? Soon Israel will be judged and chastised, as we have related above, but what will be the attitude of the Gentile man and nation to the chastisement that is coming? 48

49 The Lord hears and beholds the ways of men. He will write all things down in His Book, as it were. Nothing shall escape His all-seeing Eyes. The Gentile nations will turn themselves against Israel. The great majority of mankind shall spit and pull their shoulders against the children of Abraham. They shall secretly and openly laugh, and say: ha, this is your just reward, you who oppress and tread down the poor and helpless. The nations know not that they are being weighed in the balances of God s Righteousness, and they all will be terribly wanting in that Day when the Lord shall visit the earth with the remains of the Vial of His Wrath (Revelation 16:17-21). When the Islamic nations round about have stirred themselves up against Israel, with the purpose to make an end to that pestilent and troublesome nation, they also know not that they are about to receive what they have wished upon God s Chosen nation. The Gentile nations round about Israel shall come, according to the Word of God, to a full end when this next war has run its course! Their cities (at least many of them) will be completely laid waste, and their strength in political and military power will be totally vanished, so that only a few, like a remnant of the people, will be left! The Scriptures paint a terrible and devastating picture of destruction with regard to the nations which are situated round about Israel in the Middle East. The language of several prophecies, if we are correct in the interpretation thereof, points to an almost incomprehensible suddenness and severity wherewith the Islamic nations will come to their end after they have waged war with the nation of Israel for a season. The Gentile Islamic nations round about have cursed Israel and also been a curse unto her, and because of this brought a curse upon themselves. Now shall the curse devour their own corners; it will burn the cities and inhabitants thereof. When we return to Psalm 83, we hear: Keep not Thou silence, O God: hold not Thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, Thine enemies make a tumult (verse 1-2). The enemies of Israel, are the enemies of God! The City of Jerusalem is a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God (Isaiah 62:3) In all their [Israel s] affliction, He was afflicted (Isaiah 63:9). He who touches the Apple of God s Eye touches the Lord Himself. The prophet Amos once said with regard to the Assyrians who came with the intention to take Jerusalem and the inhabitants thereof: Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel (2 Kings 19:22)! When the Islamic nations therefore, make war against Israel, they are making war against the Holy One of Israel. The Words in Psalm 83 continue with the prophetic prayer, requesting that the Lord will do the following unto the enemies of Israel: 1. Do unto them as unto the Midianites; 2. As to Sisera, As to Jabin, at the brook of Kison: Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth. 3. Make their nobles like Oreb, And like Zeeb: Yea, all their princes as Zebah, And as Zalmunna: Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession. (Psalm 83:9-12) Ad. 1: Do unto them as unto the Midianites The Midianites were descendents of Abraham s son who he got by his wife Keturah (Genesis 25:1-2). They principally inhabited the desert of Northern Arabia. The Midianites joined Balak, the king of Moab, in the conspiracy against Israel when they were on their way to the Promised Land, by hiring Balaam to curse them (see Numbers 22:4-7). By the overruling and protecting 49

50 Hand of the Lord God of Israel, this attempt failed, and Balak therefore enticed the Midianites to seduce and entrap the Israelites into their manifold idolatrous orgies, which were connected to their worship of the licentious and sensual god Baal-Peor. In this they succeeded and Israel in this manner brought a curse upon themselves after which the Lord s wrath was kindled against them, and 24,000 Israelis died by the plague that God had sent to them for their rebellion (see Numbers 25:9). For this act of betrayal, the Midianites had to pay a heavy price, for the Lord spoke to Moses and said: Vex the Midianites and smite them (Numbers 25:17), and they were sorely troubled, for when Israel was finished with them, the Midianites were utterly routed, their cities were burned down by fire, five of their kings were put to death and the whole nation was destroyed (see Joshua 13:21,22). The whole country of the Eastern side of the river Jordan was divided among the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh. Some time later, in the time of Gideon, the Midianites regained their power and became again a source of trouble and vexation unto Israel. Gideon utterly destroyed them in the memorable battle in the valley of Esdraelon (or Jezreel ) and pursued them while they attempted to flee over the river Jordan (see Judges 6-7). The Midianites have completely vanished from the history books since that time. Do unto them as unto the Midianites (Psalm 83:9)? This would mean an utter destruction and annihilation of the enemies round about, after which Israel would perhaps even occupy some of their land and extend its own borders. The modern Midianites also are to be brought to that symbolic place of Armagdeddon, or the Valley of Esdraelon, or Jezreel (= God scatters), where they will be totally defeated by the Children of Israel. Ad 2: As to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison: The children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord and the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera (Judges 4:1-2). The king of Hazor and his armies became a trouble and oppressive force unto Israel some 160 years after the death of Joshua, and he mightily oppressed the children of Israel (verse 3). The Israelis cried unto the Lord for deliverance. The Lord stirred up Barak and thousands of Israeli men through the office of the prophetess Deborah, and they gained a great, decisive and remarkable victory over Jabin in the plain of Esdraelon by the Hand of God Who discomfited Sisera and all his chariots and all his hosts (Judges 4:10-16). This was the first great victory Israel had gained since the days of Joshua. They never needed to fight another battle with the Canaanites (Judges 5:31). The city of Hazor was taken and occupied by the Israelites. Sisera was slain by a woman in her tent who thrust a nail through his head, into the ground (see Judges 4-5). The Brook of Kison runs through the great battlefield of Esdraelon and bears a modern name of river of slaughter because of the many battles that have taken place. We have mentioned in Part 1 that this plain of Esdraelon is also compared with the plain of Megiddo, and associated with the Apocalyptic scenario of Armageddon, wherein the enemies of Israel will be judged and brought to an end. Do unto them as to Sisera, as to Jabin (Psalm 83:9)? Again, this would mean that those nations and their kings and generals who come and vex, oppress and attack Israel, will eventually be overcome and destroyed by a complete victory on the side of the people of Israel. 50

51 Ad 3: Make their princes like Oreb, and like Zeeb, Yea, all their Princes as Zebah and as Zalmunna Oreb and Zeeb, Zebah and Zalmunna were four of the leaders of the great Midianite army, which invaded Israel and were completely defeated by the armies of Gideon (Judges 7:20-25). Oreb, Zeeb, Zebah and Zalmunna tried to escape over the Jordan, but were taken and slain. Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb, Yea, all their Princes as Zebah and as Zalmunna (Psalm 83:11)? This suggests that the, governments and army leaders (generals, commanders) of the nations that will attack Israel, will not escape the Divine retribution but find an assured death by the hands of Israel. These verses of Psalm 83:9-11 make it abundantly clear that the nations who will come and attack Israel, to vex, and trouble and attempt to annihilate that nation, will eventually find a total and perfect defeat at the hands of those they desired to destroy. They also demonstrate to us that the governments, the princes and all those in high places, will not escape the vengeance of God, which will fall upon them. These verses speak about a total and complete defeat of the enemies of Israel, after which they will rise no more! There is a pattern here: Israel has sinned, so the Lord sends her enemies to vex and afflict her. The Scriptures teach us that the Midianites and the King of Jabin of the Canaanites came upon Israel because of Israel s rebellion. Nevertheless, after these instruments of chastisement had done their evil and cruel work, and Israel had learned a lesson, the enemies of Israel were utterly destroyed in the valley of Esdraelon. This pattern and this order of events is just what the Scriptures teach us with regard to the coming great war in Israel and the Middle East. Israel has sinned, and lives in rebellion, unbelief and self-confidence. The Lord has sent, and will yet send, the enemies of Israel upon her, to chastise and trouble her exceedingly, until she learns to look to the Holy One of Israel. After the Islamic nations round about have done their devastating work, they eventually will be totally and perfectly brought to a full end, by the hand of Israel, in accordance with the Word of God. Perhaps Israel will even occupy some of the land of the nations round about and extend her borders, as some Scriptures seem to suggest. Then the brave and angry tumult shall be quietened! Then in Moab, in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease (Isaiah 16:10). Please read the following remarkable Scriptures that speak about the judgement of the Enemies of Israel. Jeremiah 30:11,16, 11 For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished. 16: Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all they that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. 51

52 Ezekiel 36:7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame. Zephaniah 2:8-10 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border. 9 Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them. 10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts.. Zechariah 12:2,3,9 I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdendsome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth shall be gathered against it. 9 And in shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Ezekiel 35:5,12,15 5: Thou hast had a perpetual hatred and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end. 12: And thou shalt know that I am the Lord, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume. 15: As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate. Isaiah 44:11-13 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended wit thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the Lord Thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear not, I will help thee. Isaiah 49:16-17, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands; thy walls are continually before Me. Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee : For I will contend with him that contendeth with thee.i will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh, and they shall be drunken with their own blood. 52

53 Isaiah 51:22-23 Thus saith the Lord, and thy God, that pleadeth the cause of His people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of My fury, thou shalt no more drink it again. But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee, which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over. Joel 3:1-2,11-12,19 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. 11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. 12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. Micah 7:8-10 Rejoice not against me [=Jerusalem], O mine enemy, when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He plead my cause, and execute judgements for me; and I shall behold His righteousness. Then she that is mine enemy shall see it and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? Mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets. Zephaniah 2:8-11 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border. 9 Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them. 10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts. 11 The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen. 53

54 Please Read again: Psalm 60; 79; 83; Isaiah 15-17; 29; 30; 31:4; 34; Jeremiah 25; 30; 48-49; Ezekiel 25; 35-36; Daniel 12:1; Amos 1-2; Joel; Obadiah; Zephaniah; Zechariah 12. And with regard to the Old Testament Battles in the place of Megiddo or Jehoshaphat (or Esdraelon/Jezreel), please read the accounts given in: 2 Chronicles 20 (Judgements of Moab, Edom and Ammon by Jehoshaphat); Judges 4-6 (defeat of the Midianites, Canaanites, and King of Hazor) and 2 Chronicles 35:22-24; 23:29 (defeat of King Josiah upon which there was great weeping amongst the Israelites). Whatever man s opinions may be on this dramatic event, it is a Biblically established fact that such a war, such an affliction, such a chastisement and such judgements, of both Israel and the Islamic nations round about Israel, will come to pass, for whatever is written in the Word of God, is an established fact which must be fulfilled. We would like to point out one more thing. When this great war in the place called Armageddon breaks out, and the Islamic nations of the Middle East attack Israel with the purpose to annihilate her once and for all, we must keep in mind the characteristics of the battles that have taken place already in the valley of Jehoshaphat, on the plains of Megiddo and Esdraleon, for as we have proposed in Part 1, Armageddon is associated with a mutual destruction wherein the enemies of Israel eventually turn on one another and help the other to its end (see 2 Chronicles 20). When Judah, under King Jehoshaphat was attacked by the Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites, the Israelites proclaimed a fast, gathered the people to prayer, and the Lord delivered Judah from their enemies by allowing the attackers to destroy one another instead of the children of Israel (2 Chronicles 20:23-25). When the next war breaks out, Israel again will only be able to survive because of the Hand of God, and part of this Hand may perhaps be that some of the enemies will turn on one another. It is not difficult to imagine how the Islamic nations could use and abuse this time of great war, consternation and chaos ultimately for their own gain. Long-lived distrust and hatred among the modern nations of the Middle East could cause them to direct their weapons to one another as well, eventually. We have the examples of the wars between Iraq and Iran, and the invasions of Iraq into Kuwait and the general discontent and disagreements that are still alive and well amongst the Arab League to demonstrate to us that their so-called union of the faith is not necessarily a union in motive and purpose and even in the Palestinian camp there is nowadays much infighting and distrust. Ezekiel chapter 25 becomes interesting in this context for there the enemies of Israel are not only punished and judged by the hand of Israel, but also by one and another (please read whole of Ezekiel chapter 25). Time will tell whether this will be so. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about (2 Chronicles 20:29-30). We also should perhaps not ignore the fact that the mightiest nation of the world, the United States of America - which symbolically speaking almost could be called our current day Kingdom of Babylon (for is she not the Second Beast of Revelation 13?) - is presently abiding and warring right in the Centre of the Middle East, fully equipped with armoury of the highest technological inventions, including of course the nuclear bombs. It is probably not without significance that this most powerful nation of the world has placed its fortresses in the navel of the Middle East. We do not say anymore about this, but just would like to remind the reader of the present unusual situation 54

55 in the Middle East. Time will tell what the exact role of the United States will be in this great drama of the next Middle Eastern War. Whatever the exact order of events will be, and whatever the details will entail, we can be sure about the fact that a great and dreadful war is coming to the Middle East, which will terribly chastise Israel, but make an end to the nations round about. The End of the End of the Times of the Gentiles is near which, when completed, will be a time wherein Israel no longer shall be oppressed, or troubled or trampled upon by the Gentiles, but dwell safely and in quietness and rest, for the Lord will arise and scatter the enemies of Israel that they shall be no more. Psalm 83:13-18 O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. 14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; 15 So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. 16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD. 17 Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: 18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth. Psalm 59:13 Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah. Chapter 1.4: The Timing of this Great Earthquake, or Great and Terrible War in the Middle East. When is this extra-ordinary and terrible conflagration in the Middle East to break out? What is Biblically to be the general season of this Great War? Do the Scriptures give us any guidelines and understanding as to when this great drama of the beginning of the Seventh Vial is to commence? The Word of God indeed does not leave us in the dark. We Christians are Children of Light, and should therefore be watchful and sober, and know the signs of the times wherein we live. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5). This day of destruction should not catch us unawares, although it shall come as a thief in the night to the world which at that time will be sleeping and drunken as in the night, just as it is at this present time. The Prophetic Word of God give us abundant evidence that this great and mighty event is very close at hand, even at the doors. When we look unto the Great Divine Clock, it would be a matter of seconds rather than minutes or hours, so to speak. We have already shown the reader in Part 1 that we who are alive in the year 2004 onwards, are living in the general season wherein the Seventh Vial is to be poured out onto the inhabitants of the earth. We have taken you through the Seals, Trumpets and Six Vials and shown you how they have already found fulfilment in the history of the Church and some Gentile Dominions that have had a major impact on the developments of the Church. You have been able to see from the Great Divine Program, which is disclosed in the Book of Revelation, that we as it were are reading the last, closing chapter of the Prophetic Book, before the Kingdom of God will be established on the Earth. We are about to enter into the events of the Last Vial of God s Wrath, which will utterly and 55

56 perfectly make a full end of this present world, in preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and His New Kingdom which He shall establish on the earth, starting from Jerusalem. Jerusalem! The Centre of the Universe; the Throne Room of God; the Seat of the Coming King! Appointed and Chosen by God to be the Pinnacle of His Kingdom which is coming to the Earth. If we desire to know the time of the next war, we must watch Jerusalem. We cannot read the time, we cannot watch the Divine Clock, if we ignore the past, present and Biblical future of Jerusalem. We will demonstrate to you, from the Word of God, how Jerusalem will be our main Time Indicator with regard to the timing of that great and terrible war which is coming to Israel and the rest of the Middle East. The events in Jerusalem always have been, and still are the most important pointers on God s Divine Clock that will tell us what time it is. Jerusalem, the City of God, the City of Peace, did not come into Jewish Hands until King David drove the Jebusites out of their stronghold of Jebus about 3000 years ago, and David made it into the Capital of Jerusalem, calling it: the Stronghold of Zion; the City of David (2 Samuel 5:5-9; 1 Chronicles 11:4-8). Jerusalem became the centre of government and worship for the people of Israel, who were then still wonderfully united in One Kingdom and One Faith during the times of King David and Solomon. King Solomon was the appointed man who built a splendid and magnificent Temple in the Name of the Lord, all in accordance with a perfect Divinely Appointed Pattern (Deuteronomy 12:5; comp. 12:14; 14:23; 16:11-16; Psalm 122). This was the beginning of Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem had been there before, but this was the time wherein Jerusalem was placed on the Prophetic Map of God. Now Jerusalem was to be the centre of God s dealings with mankind, through His Chosen People Israel. We assume that the reader has knowledge about how after the death of Solomon the united Kingdom of Israel was divided into two, and how Jerusalem became the Capital of Judah in the South only, and how it was promised that there would remain a seed of David on the Throne of Judah in Jerusalem from where eventually the Messiah would be born, and how the Physical Throne of David came to an end when the Babylonians came and conquered the land and city of the People of Judah at the end of the 7 th Century and beginning of the 6 th Century B.C., and how the Temple and City was completely and thoroughly destroyed by the Babylonians in the year 587 or 586 B.C., and how the Jews were killed or taken captive to Babylon for a general season of 70 years, and how they after 70 years, in accordance with the promise of God, returned to their homeland from the year 538 B.C. onwards, and how they under the leadership of Zerubabel, and Ezra and Nehemiah, restored the Jewish Worship and Civil Life by rebuilding the Temple and City of Jerusalem, and how God came in the Flesh in the Lord Jesus Christ and died and rose again for the sins of mankind, and how Israel from the time of the Babylonian Captivity were under the yoke and dominion of some Gentile power 3, and how they were dispersed the second time after their Rejection of the Promised Messiah, unto the ends of the earth when the Romans came and destroyed Jerusalem and their Second Temple in the year 70 A.D., and how they have been homeless ever since, until only in recent time the Jews came back to their land from the four corners of the earth to give birth to the independent nation of Israel in the year 1948, and how they had no access to the Old City of Jerusalem until they conquered the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967 and how the government of Israel refused to take authority over the Temple Mount and decided to give the Temple Mount whereupon the Two Islamic buildings have been standing for about 1300 years, to the Palestinian authorities, and how the Independent nation of Israel has fought 5 major wars and two Intifadahs (Palestinian Uprisings) since 1948 and how the last Intifadah is still raging, and how this present Intifadah is carrying the banner: Battle for Jerusalem, and how the Jewish people are still partially living under the dominion of Gentiles because of the presence of the 3 Please See Part 1: Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Greeks, Ptolemies, Seleucids, Romans, Islam. 56

57 Muslims in their land and city and the presence of the Islamic Mosques on the Most Holy Site on the Earth. This is the Story about Jerusalem. She is the Navel of the Earth, and all spiritual eyes that are able to see should be cast in her direction, for in Jerusalem is always Prophecy in the making. What is therefore Jerusalem saying to us at this time? What sayeth the time, when we look to the present situation in Jerusalem? It reads: Very near to the Cleansing of the Sanctuary and a Great and Terrible War, and, Very near to the Ending of the Times of the Gentiles; and, Very near to the appearance of the Prophet Elijah; and Very near to the Salvation of the Remnant of the Jews and, Very near to the Return of the Messiah to the Throne of David! The Principle behind reading the Divine Clock in the events of Jerusalem is very simple, but ever so profound! The Word of God says: Luke 21:24 Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the Times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Romans 11:25 Blindness [Hardness] in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. Jerusalem was to be trodden down by Gentile feet, until the Times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. When Jerusalem ceases to be trodden down by the Gentiles, the Times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled. When the Times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, Jerusalem shall no longer be trodden down by the Gentiles. The Gentiles are the non-jewish nations or dominions. They were to have authority and jurisdiction over the City of Jerusalem instead of the Jews. When the Gentile dominions cease to have authority over the City of Jerusalem, the Times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled, according to this Prophetic Word. When the Times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, the blindness in part shall also come to its end, and Israel, or rather the remnant thereof, shall see and behold their Messiah! Then they shall see and understand the Identity of their Messiah. Then the remnant of Israel shall come to understand Who Jesus Christ is! Jerusalem has been trodden down by the Gentiles since the Babylonians came in the year 605 (604) B.C. Since that time, the Jews have lost their independence and sovereignty with regard to themselves, the land of Israel and the City of Jerusalem and the Holy Site thereof. It is only after 25 long centuries of subjection that the descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were able to shake off the Gentile Dominion. We can rightly say that the time of the Gentiles began to end when the Jews were beginning to return to their homeland in the 19 th and beginning of the 20 th Century. Yet, an independent nation was not a reality until we reach the year On the 14 th of May 1948 the Divine Clock was saying: Beginning of the End of the Times of the Gentiles for Jerusalem. The establishment of Israel as an independent nation has been a miracle of the highest order! What other people have wandered to and fro on the earth for about 25 centuries and returned to their homeland with the call and strength to establish themselves once again as a sovereign nation, with its own language and all the other civil, social, political, economical and religious 57

58 entities? In 1948 the Gentile Dominion of Islam, which had been ruling in the land of Israel since the year 637 A.D., was finally dispatched from its soil. Yet, the Old City of Jerusalem and its Holy Hill were still in the hands of the Islamic nation of Jordan when the War of Independence was finally over and settled. The Times of the Gentiles had begun to end, but it had not found its full end when we reach the year Israel had to be patient and wait until 1967, for it was in that year, during the Six Day War, that Israel managed to reconquer the Old City of Jerusalem from the hands of the Islamic Jordanians. For the first time in more than 25 Centuries, the Jews were able to come and worship freely at the Foundation Walls whereupon once stood the Two Jewish Temples! For the first time in more than 2500 years the Jewish People were again in possession of the City of David. For the first time they were able to be near to the heart of the Jewish people. Yet, the Holy Place of Jerusalem remained in the hands of the Islamic Authorities. The Jews had conquered the Temple Mount in 1967, but were forced by the Israeli Government to hand it back to the Palestinians by reason of the great sensitivities and dangers that were associated with the Third Most Holy Shrine of the Muslim World. The time was not yet. The year 1967 saw a very important breakthrough in the ending of the Times of the Gentiles, but the Divinely Appointed Time was not yet. The Clock was reading: close, but not yet. Now, in the year 2004, we are still waiting for the full ending of the Times of the Gentiles. We are looking for that event which will empty the Temple Mount of its Islamic Abominations. We are looking for the handover of the Holy Site into the hands of the rightful owners. We are waiting for that time when the cry of Allah will no longer be heard in the streets of Jerusalem We are looking to that moment wherein Jerusalem shall be established in its own place, wherein she will be totally and freely guarded and ruled by God s People the Jews. We are waiting for that time wherein the Land of Israel will be free from its enemies, and the inhabitants thereof will be living in quietness and peace for a season, without being in any way disturbed, molested or attacked by the Islamic neighbours. It will be a time wherein the Jews are in full control, and the Gentile dominions are no more able to have any say in the matters of the Jewish nation. We are waiting for that time wherein the spiritual eyes of the remnant of the Jewish people will be opened, so that they are no longer Gentile in heart, but a true Israeli who is not only circumcised in the flesh. We are longing for that time to see the Jewish People turn to Yeshua Ha Mashiach (= Jesus the Christ, or the Anointed One ). This then will be the full end of the Times of the Gentiles saw the liberation of Jerusalem from the Islamic Turks, 1948 saw the establishment of the nation of Israel; 1967 saw the re-conquest of the Old City of Jerusalem and therefore soon, very soon we shall behold and see the full ending of the Times of the Gentiles, wherein the Jews will have full authority over the Temple Mount of Jerusalem and wherein Israel shall no longer in any way be ruled or dominated by a Gentile Dominion. When the Cleansing of the Sanctuary takes place, we can rightly say that the treading down of Jerusalem has come to an end. The Crowning of the Fulfilment of the Times of the Gentiles nevertheless will of course be when the Lord Jesus Himself comes and takes the Throne of David and the kingdoms of this World are become the kingdoms of our Lord (Revelation 11:15). This is how the events in Jerusalem are the pointers of the Divine Clock by which, if we have learned how to read correctly, we can see at what prophetic time we live in. The last Intifadah began in the year 2000 and will eventually emerge into the great and terrible war that must come. The Cracks and Bulges and Movements in the Foundation Walls of the Temple Mount began to appear in and around the year 2000, and will eventually, by one way or another, end up in the total destruction of the Islamic Site on the Temple Mount. We are very close to those events indeed. The Times of the Gentiles have yet more to say to us. The Prophetic Expression Times comprises a certain prophetic period wherein the Gentile powers would have dominion over the Land and People of Judah and the City of David; the Future Throne of the Kingdom of God. We 58

59 have learned from Part 1 that one time is equal to 360 years, for a time, times and half a time was equal to 1260 years ( ). Please read carefully the whole of Daniel chapter 4! There it is said that Seven Times are to pass over him [over the Tree, which is Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon] (verse 16). Thou art the tree, O king, who art grown and become strong (verse 22). And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will (verse 25). The Book of Daniel declares here that Nebuchadnezzar, who is a prophetic type or figure of the Gentile Dominions who would rule over the nation and people of Judah, was to be mad like a beast for a period of Seven Times. The Times of the Gentiles was to begin with the Kingdom of Babylon, but to be followed by many other Gentile dominions, which were to rule over the Jewish nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem for a long prophetic period of Seven Times. For Seven Times the Gentiles would rule like ferocious, mad and cruel Beasts over a Land, Nation and City, which were called by God s Name, but had been rebellious against Him. King Nebuchadnezzar was to be the Gentile king who would commence this long period of 2520 years. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was to be a prophetic type of how the Gentile powers would rule and have dominion over God s People the Jews, Land of Judah and the City of Jerusalem like a mad beast for a period of seven times, until man would acknowledge that not he, but the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsever He will (Daniel 4:32). We cannot go into any detail here, but if the reader is interested in this amazing prophetic Time Prophecy of the Times of the Gentiles, please ask for Volume 2 of the Signs of His Soon Coming of the Watchmen of the Night Ministries, and soon available free of charge. We are only bringing this wonderful Time Prophecy forward here in this writing on the Seventh Vial to demonstrate to you just how close we are to the Full end of the Times of the Gentiles, and how near we are therefore, to the time wherein the Seventh Vial and the Great Earthquake thereof (the Great War in the Middle East) must come to pass. Seven Times is a period of 2520 years (7 x 360 = 2520 prophetic days = 2520 years). The Gentile Powers therefore were to have dominion over the land and capital city of Israel (or rather, Judah) for a period of 2520 years! The Times of the Gentiles were to last for a period of 2520 years! Seven Times = 7 x 360 = 2 x 1260 = Times, Time and Half a Time Times, Time and Half a Time time time time time time time time Figure 4: Model of the Seven Times ; 7 x 360 = 2520 Years; Times of the Gentiles. 59

60 When Israel became an independent nation in the year 1948, this long prophetic period of 2520 years came to a remarkable ending! We will show you in the following graphs how this Time Prophecy of 2520 years came to an end in the crisis years of 1897, 1917 and We have placed the dates of important beginning and ending events in Figure 6. Please bear in mind that it is an established fact that the Scriptural Time Prophecies can be applied on three different Calendars: The Solar Year (365 days in a year; the Gentile reckoning of time) The Calendar Year (360 Days in the year; used in the Civil Calendar of the Jews) The Lunar Year (354 Days in the year; used in Sacred Calendar of the Jews, and by the Muslims) A Period of 2520 years then becomes a period of either: 2520 Solar Years Calendar Years (2520x360:365 = ) Lunar Years (2520x354:365 = Lunar Years) (Also: Add one year because of the year 0) The People of Israel and Judah had rebelled against God since the time of King Solomon. The once United Nation of Israel was being divided by the Hand of God in two: Israel in the North and Judah in the South. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was eventually carried away by the Assyrians and their land taken and occupied by this foreign power in the 8 th and 7 th Centuries B.C. We do not now consider the fate of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, for the Times of the Gentiles should be particularly applied to the Kingdom of Judah, because only the Kingdom of Judah had the City of Jerusalem, the Throne of David, and the Seed of Promise through which the Messiah one day would come. Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the Times of the Gentiles be fulfilled (see again Luke 21: 24). To Jerusalem and Judah belong the promises of God concerning the Messiah and the Throne of God which will be established when the Lord returns to set up His Kingdom on the Earth. The Times of the Gentiles therefore are particularly referring to that long period of time wherein Jerusalem and Judah - the Future Centre of the Kingdom of God! - would be trodden down by Gentile Feet. Judah became tributary to the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in the year 605 B.C. Some of the Jewish children and Princes, including Daniel, were taken captive and transported to Babylon at this time. This year was the beginning of the loss of independence and sovereignty of the Kingdom of Judah and can be considered as the earliest starting date of that long period of time wherein Judah and Jerusalem were to be ruled over by a foreign, Gentile Dominion, beginning with the Dominion of Babylon. It was however, not till the year 604 B.C., the year in which Nebuchadnezzar became sole king over the vast Babylonian Empire, wherein Nebuchadnezzar officially accepted the submission of the rulers of the Hatti-Lands (a name given to that area), where also Jehoiakim, king of Judah belonged to. Strictly speaking then we should consider the year 604 B.C. as the earliest starting date for the Times of the Gentiles. There are other starting dates also, for the subjection and humbling of the land of Judah and Jerusalem was progressive and eventually ended up with the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Temple thereof in the year 587 (some say 586) B.C. Please look at Figure 6 for more information about some important crisis events and their dates with regard to the beginning and ending of the Times of the Gentiles. We unfortunately cannot go into any details here, but details can be had in Volume 2 of the series called The Signs of His Soon Coming, written by the WOTNM. 60

61 Figure 5 is a model of the Times of the Gentiles wherein you can see clearly how we who are alive in the year 2004 are truly and really living at the end, of the end of the Times of the Gentiles! No Christian generation of any age in the past has lived in the time wherein, for the first time in 2520 years, the Jews have come back to the land and regained an independent, sovereign nation for themselves! This is surely the most wonderful and clear sign that we are the generation that shall see the Coming of the King! LUKE 21:24 DANIEL 4 TIMES OF THE GENTILES: SEVEN TIMES: 2520 YEARS Gentile Dominion Captivity Era Brief Restoration Era Ending Gentile Dominion Ending Jewish Diaspora Restoration Era?? 605/4 B.C / / A.D STARTING DATES TIMES OF THE GENTILES ENDING DATES TIMES OF THE GENTILES Babylon Medo Persia Greece (Pt. + Sel.) Rome Islam End Dominion Islam over Jews /6? B.C. A.D STARTING EVENTS: Jews into Babylonian Captivity Jerusalem and Temple Destroyed Beginning of Gentile Dominion over Land, Capital City and People of Judah ENDING EVENTS: Return of the Jews to the Land Independent Nation of Israel 1948 Conquest of Jerusalem 1967 Awaiting Conquest of Temple Mount Figure 5: The Starting and Ending Eras of the Times of the Gentiles. This is truly a marvellous Time Prophecy wherein it has been made absolutely clear that the Book of Daniel is a Divinely Inspired Book, just like the Book of Revelation, for who else but the 61

62 Lord Himself has such precise foreknowledge of the future? Who else can see 25 centuries ahead in time and proclaim exactly what is yet to happen to the Nation of Israel (and the Church)? As we have said, we are waiting for the next crisis event in the ending of the Times of the Gentiles, which event should cleanse the Sanctuary, bring the Temple Mount into Jewish Hands and liberate the Land of Israel from the control, influence and dominion of the Islamic nations or peoples. What is according to this amazing Time Prophecy the next possible crisis or ending date? What year ought to see some other important event which would further the ending of the Times of the Gentiles? When should we expect to see a further diminishing of Gentile, Islamic power in the Land of Judah and City of Jerusalem? The next important ending date, or crisis date, according to the Time Prophecy of Seven Times, is to be the year 2005/2006! (Please See Figure 5) If we have understood this Time Prophecy correctly, then one of these years should witness another crisis event with regard to the further ending of Islamic Dominion in Israel in general and Jerusalem in particular. The year 2005 or 2006 is 2520 Solar years removed from the year when the Jews finished and dedicated the Temple, which they began to rebuild upon returning to Jerusalem. (We have to mention both the years 2005 and 2006 because some authors say that the Second Temple was Dedicated in the year 516 B.C. and others claim that the year 515 B.C. is the right date of the Dedication of the Second Temple, which would bring us to two differing ending dates). The Finishing and Dedication date of the Temple was a very important crisis date in the brief restoration time of the Jews. Are we about to witness another crisis event 2520 years after this Dedication in 516/515 B.C.? Will we perhaps see a major event in the heart of Jerusalem, which would signify another considerable step forward in the progress of the ending of the Islamic Dominion over Jerusalem and the People and Land of Israel? Allow us to explain. The Babylonian Empire was overthrown by the Medo-Persians in the year 538 B.C. Soon after the Jews were given permission by Cyrus, King of Medo-Persia, to return to their homeland to rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem (please read the Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah). After great and strenuous efforts, battles, work and prayers, the Second Temple was finally finished and dedicated in the momentous year of 515 or 516 B.C. (scholars differ about the date). Ezra 6:14-16 says: And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. 16 And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy (please read whole of Ezra chapter 6). The month Adar in the sixth year of Darius the king is the sixth month of the civil and the twelfth month of the ecclesiastical year of the Jews, which is equal to the full moon of March to the full moon of April of our Calendar. Some authors say that the sixth year of Darius is the year 516 B.C., while others claim it to be 515 B.C. It was in this year, the year 515 or 516 B.C. that the temporary time of restoration had come to its climax since the Jews had returned from the Babylonian Captivity. The year 604 saw the beginning of their captivity; 538 saw the beginning of their return, and 515/516 saw the completion of the Temple and the Dedication thereof! It was truly a highlight for the Jewish People to see their Temple again standing in the Holy Place of Jerusalem. The period between 538 and 515/6 B.C. is a period of time wherein the Jews, prophetically speaking, experienced a measure of restoration, which would also reoccur at the end of that great period of 2520 years. The Jews experienced, in type and figure, a captivity and restoration which would be their lot for 2520 years; that is, for 62

63 2520 years the Jews would be under the dominion of some kind of Gentile power, but after the 2520 years have run its course, they would experience a period of restoration and revival and liberation from the Gentile Dominions. When the Jews were allowed to leave Babylon and return to their land to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple, they were still under the dominion of the Gentile Power of Medo-Persia! The Times of the Gentiles had not come to an end in the time of the Medo-Persian rule, just because they were allowed to be involved in this restoration work! It is nevertheless true that during this period of the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple, the Jews experienced some measure of restoration of their dignity, independence, government and Place of Worship. This period, what we have called the restoration period, was to be a type and prophetic promise of what was going to happen to the Jewish people again at the end of that long period of 2520 years! After 2520 years of Gentile Dominion, the Jews once again would return from Captivity, this time not from a Babylonian one, but from all the four corners of the earth whereto they had been dispersed, and settle in their Land to rebuild their home and nation. This prophecy has been marvelously fulfilled, for it is a historical fact that exactly 2520 years after this time of the Babylonian Captivity and Brief Restoration Era in the 6 th Century B.C., the Jews have been once again drawn from all of the nations of the earth to which they had been scattered into their homeland, where they for the first time in 2520 Years established the Independent Nation of Israel! Please Read the following Scriptures concerning God s Promises with regard to the Return of the Jews to their land at the end of the age. Amos 9:14-15 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God. Ps. 107:3 And He gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. Ps. 147:2 The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: He gathereth together the outcast of Israel. Ps. 147:2 The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: He gathereth together the outcast of Israel. Isaiah 11:11-16 And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His Hand again the Second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Isaiah 43:5-7 63

64 Fear not: for I am with thee; I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, keep not back: bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the ends of the earth. Even every one that is called by My Name. Jeremiah 16:14-16 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither He had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. Read also the Following Scriptures with regard to this Return and Restoration of God s People the Jews in the Latter Days: Romans 11; The Parable of the Fig Tree in Matthew 24; Luke 21 and Mark 13; Psalm 102:13-16; Isaiah 14:2; 35; 51:3; Jeremiah 3:14-15; 11:17-21; 23:1-8; 30; 31; 32:37-44; 33; 46:27-28; 50:4-8; Ezekiel 20:33-43; 34:10-31; 36; 37; 39:25-29; Zechariah 1:14-17; 8; Zephaniah 3; Micah 2:12 and many others. (We can read from these wonderful Scriptures that, besides the Physical Return and Restoration, a Spiritual Restoration and Revival is yet awaiting the Remnant of Israel as well! ) Counting 2520 years from the captivity and restoration period brings us to the time of the Recent Restoration of Israel and the Ending of the Times of the Gentiles! Please see Figure 5 below, and you will see how remarkably this Time Prophecy has already been fulfilled to a great extent. We are yet awaiting the year 2005 or 2006 (or thereabouts) to see what will happen in the City of Jerusalem and the Land of Israel with regard to the furtherance of the ending of the Times of the Gentiles. We again would encourage the reader to carefully watch the events in the Middle East, and then Jerusalem in particular, for surely we must be very close to some mighty and startling events! Because of this Great Time Prophecy of the Seven Times of Daniel Chapter 4, we have further evidence that the great crises of war and the cleansing of the Sanctuary are very near at hand. Please do not misunderstand, we do not say that the year 2005/2006 must be the year wherein these things will have to take place, but would like to point out to the reader that the year 2005 or 2006, according to this Time Prophecy, are very interesting, outstanding crisis years wherein most likely another stage in the ending of the Times of the Gentiles will be accomplished. We do not need to wait long to see whether this is true or wrong, or perhaps close to the truth, seeing that we are already nearing the year Here then are our reasons why we of the Watchmen of the Night Ministries believe and proclaim that the Great Earthquake of the Seventh Vial is very near at hand. Both the prophetic Books of Daniel and the Revelation show us that we are living at the end of God s Great Divine Program with mankind before He returns to the earth. The Time Prophecies of Seven Times demonstrate that the next crisis or ending dates of the Times of the Gentiles are just a few years away. We are without any doubt living at the end of ends of that prophetic period of the Times of the Gentiles! Current events in Israel and the Middle East, including the present ongoing Palestinian Intifadah, the cracking up of the Foundation Walls of the Temple Mount, the instability 64

65 in Iraq, the threats from Syria, and the developments of the Nuclear weapons by more and more nations, all together tell us that we are close to some very dramatic and catastrophic times! Important Starting and Ending Dates and Events. Judah subjected to Babylon Exile Part of Judah to Babylon Jews return to Zion First Settlement 604 B.C Calendar Years = Years 1882 A.D. Jerusalem Besieged First Zionist Congress 589 B.C Calendar Years = Years 1897 A.D. Jerusalem subjected to Babylon Jerusalem Delivered 604 B.C Solar Years 1917 A.D. Jews return from Babylon Nation Israel established 538 B.C Calendar Years = Solar Years 1948 A.D. Dedication of the Second Temple?? 516/515 B.C Solar Years 2005/2006? A.D. Starting Dates Times of the Gentiles Ending Dates Times of the Gentiles Figure 5 : Seven Times: The Times of the Gentiles; some specific starting and ending dates. 65

66 DATE EVENT Reference Necho, Pharaoh of Egypt, sets out against the Babylonians. Decisive Beginning victory of the armies led by Nebuchadnezzar (Nebuchadrezzar) ( ), prophecy the son of Nabopolassar, against Egypt in the battle at Carchemish on the times of the Euphrates. In pursuit of the fleeing Egyptians, the Babylonians overran Gentiles. 605 B.C. Syria and Palestine. In the same year king Nabopolassar of Babylon, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, died on the 15 th (Daniel 1:1-4; of August. Nebuchadnezzar 2 Kings 24:1; commanded the captives he had taken from the Jews, Phoenicians and the Syrians, to be taken to Babylon. Crowned king on the 7 th 2 Chronicles of September :5-7) B.C., Nebuchadnezzar became sole king of Babylon. 605 B.C. 604 B.C. 598 (Filmer : Spring/1 6 March 597) B.C. 589 B.C. Judah at this time for the first time became tributary to Nebuchadnezzar. In the 4 th year of Jehoiakim, (Jeremiah 46:2) Nebuchadnezzar (605 or 606 B.C.) invaded Judea and rendered the king tributary and besieged Jerusalem. For the first time the Jews lost independence and became subject to Babylon. Vessels taken to Babylon (2 Kings 24:13; 2 Chronicles 36:6, 7; Jeremiah 35:11; 36:29-31; Daniel 1:2; and for the date also Jeremiah 25:1). Also the prophet Daniel was taken away. Seventy years Captivity of Judah begins. Same year Jeremiah made Baruch write in a book his prophetic denunciations of judgement (Jeremiah 36:1). Also selfsame year wherein Jeremiah gave the prophecy concerning the Times of the Gentiles in chapter 25! Nebuchadnezzar returned to the Hatti-lands (including Israel/Judah) to accept the formal submission of its rulers, among whom was Jehoiakim, king of Judah. (In 605 B.C. he speedily returned to Babylon after having heard of the sickness unto death of his father Nabopalassar). Nebuchadnezzar s vision of the Great Image of Daniel chapter 2. Jeremiah prophesies about the desolation and captivity of Jerusalem for 70 years (See Chapters 25 and 36). Jerusalem surrendered about early December 604 B.C. Jehoiakim died and was succeeded by son Jehoiachin. Reigned only 3 months and 10 days. Second time Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem; king s family and servants, officers, surrendered themselves and were carried away to Babylon with ten thousands of principal men of the land and the treasures of the Temple and the King s house. (2 Kings 24:11-14). Vs. 14: All Jerusalem carried away. Ezekiel taken away also. Captivity of Jehoaichin, (stayed captive in Babylon for 37 years till son of Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-merodach, released him (2 Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31, 34)). Final overthrow of Judah. The carrying away Jehoiachin and the treasures and all principal men of the kingdom. Zedekiah, last king of Judah, the uncle of Jehoiachin placed on the throne of Judah as Babylonian viceroy. Reigned 11 years. Birth year of the deliverer Cyrus! From this date Babylonian dominion over Egypt with regard to Palestine. Zedekiah, uncle of Jehoicahin, seeking alliance with the Egyptians in a rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar, and took up arms against him. Nebuchadnezzar (general Nebuzaradan) pitched armies at camp at Riblah, the headquarters of the Babylonian army. All Judaea overrun. Besieged Jerusalem for the third time, on the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah (2 Kings 25:1; Jeremiah 39:1). 2 Kings 23: 30-35; 2 Chronicles 36:1-3. Jeremiah 25; 36. Filmer. 2 Kings 24; 2 Chronicles 36:1-10; 2 Kings 25; Jeremiah 52; 2 Chronicles 36:

67 DATE EVENT Reference 19 th Year of Nebuchadnezzar, in the 4 th month: On the ninth day of the fourth month [Tammuz], in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the enemy gained possession of the northern suburb (2 Kings 25:4; Jeremiah 39:2, 3; 52:6, 7). [Ussher: Wednesday 27 July 587]. Before the middle gate the Babylonian 4 th captains held a council of war (Jeremiah 39:2, 3). Then the king and all the 2 Kings 25; regular army sought safety in flight during the darkness of the night Jeremiah 4-7; month (Jeremiah 39:4) but were taken and brought at Riblah headquarters. 7 th day 43:6; 52; of 5 th. Month: [Ussher: Wednesday 24 August]. Destruction of the City and Chronicles B.C. the Temple of Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan took Jerusalem, and the Temple was 36:11-23; (some burned and Jerusalem raised to the ground (2 Kings 25:9-10). After three Ezekiel 12:12, say 586) days the work of destruction was completed; and ever afterwards was the th (9th) of Ab mourned as the fatal day of Jerusalem s fall 21 (Jeremiah 52:12; Zechariah 7:3, 5; 8:19). Zedekiah was in chains taken into exile and the eyes put out and rest of his people carried to Babylon (see prophecy in Ezekiel 12:13 that he would not see). 587 B.C. 582 B.C. 538 B.C. 536 B.C. 521 B.C. (520) 516/515 B.C. (Some say even 517 or 514 ) Civil administration of Judah put in hands of Gedaliah, which lasted two months. Ishmael rebelled against Gedaliah (2 Kings 25:25; Jeremiah 40:8-16). Johanan desired to revenge but fearful for the Chaldeans. Remnant of the Jews chose Egypt as refuge. Last remnant of Judah departed. Remnant under Johanan fled to Egypt and perished there in accordance with the Words of God pronounced against them. In B.C. 582 occurred the last and final deportation. The entire number Nebuchadnezzar carried captive was 4,600 heads of families with their wives and children and dependants (Jeremiah 52:30; 43:5-7; 2 Chronicles 36:20 etc.). Desolation of Jerusalem and the land of Judah complete! Entering fully into her Sabbath rest. Overthrow Babylonian Empire by the Median Monarch, Darius the Median (Cyrus) takes the kingdom in time of the Babylonian king Nabonidus. Belshazzar, his son, was co-regent with his father from 554 or 555 B.C.. Daniel s Prayer in the first year of Darius and the revealing of the seventy weeks period extending to the advent of Messiah the Prince (Daniel 9). First year of the sole government of Cyrus. Cyrus gave the decree to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. (End of the Seventy Years Captivity). Second decree for rebuilding of the Temple (Darius Hystaspis). Restart building the Temple after delay because of the hindrances by the enemies. Haggai, Zechariah and Zerubbabel. Under leadership of Haggai, Zecheriah, Zerubbabel, Jeshua; building of the Temple was finished on third day of Adar (March) in the 6 th year of Darius the king, and was dedicated at the feast of Passover. Some say: B.C. = 70 years prophecy of Jeremiah. Jeremiah Jeremiah Jeremiah 52. Daniel 5, 2 Chronicles 36:21-23; Isaiah 44:28,45 Ezra 1:1-2 Ezra 4: 5-6; Daniel 11:2 Ezra 6:21 Figure 6: Table of some important events and dates connected to the Times of the Gentiles. 67

68 Chapter 1.5: Some Concluding Remarks about the Great Earthquake. This then is the Great Earthquake which is to shake the foundations of the Middle East and indirectly the whole earth. Jeremiah 49:21: The earth is moved at the noise of their fall [of Edom], at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea. Joel 3:16: The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. Haggai 2:21: Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; 22: And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. It will be such a war as the world has never seen! It will be such a sudden outbreak of war, destruction and chaos unlike any other war in the history of the world and the nation of Israel. Jacob once again will be engaged with his Islamic neighbours in an unimaginable cruelly armed conflict wherein the nation of Israel will receive a major setback and be brought very, very low. It is the Climax of Jacob s Trouble wherein the nation of Israel will go through a time of purging and affliction before they will be ready to receive God s blessings. It is the time of the ending of the Gentile nations round about, for when the purging and chastisement is over, the nations that attacked Israel will be brought to their end, and Israel will be at peace for a season. It is to be the general season wherein the treading down of Jerusalem by Gentile Feet will come to an end, and the Temple Mount will return to its rightful Owner. The judgements of this Great Earthquake are but the beginning of the outpouring of God s Wrath upon the earth, for it will be this Earthquake which will set in motion the remaining events of the Seventh Vial that are to directly and dramatically affect the inhabitants of the whole world, including the Christians therein. This coming War in the Middle East will be the Great and Mighty Quake, the ripples of which will be felt throughout the four corners of the earth. It will be a shaking from where all other things that can be shaken, shall be shaken, and fall, and rise no more. It will be this cataclysm, which eventually, at the End of the Seventh Vial, will bring a full end to all the Gentile Nations of this world. The Next War in Israel will be the key to turn the Clock for the Countdown to the last stage of Armageddon, the last drops of the Seventh Vial and the Battle of that Great Day of God Almighty (Revelation 16:14), wherein The Heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up (2 Peter 3:10). The Next Great War in the Middle East will be the greatest sign and evidence that the Return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Earth is very near, even at the doors! When we behold Satan being dethroned from his seat in the Idol Temple in Jerusalem, then his whole kingdom will not be able to stand much longer. When we see Satan s stronghold on the Holy Site of Jerusalem being shattered, then his remaining fortresses in the rest of the world are soon to follow. When we witness the Sanctuary being cleansed from its Abomination, then it will not be long before the Lord and His Temple, which is the Living Church, will be descending from heaven in glory, to rule from Mount Zion unto the Ends of the Earth. When the Hill of Jerusalem is empty, then the Lord will fill it with His Glory very soon. When the Idols of Islam are laid low in the dust, we are to lift up our heads, for our Redemption draweth nigh! 68

69 Psalm 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Pray and Desire that Peace may come to Jerusalem, but have Knowledge and Understanding that War is to knock on her gates First, lest your Heart and Faith fail you in that Terrible and Dark Day! Figure 7: The Western or Wailing Wall where thousands of Jews are gathered. Behind the Western Wall, on the platform of the Temple Mount stands the Dome of the Rock where once the Jewish First and Second Temples stood. Source: Figure 8: Repair of the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount Platform. Since a few years a bulge has appeared in the wall, demonstrating that the Temple Foundations are unstable and moving. Source: 69

70 CHAPTER 2 2. GREAT CITY - INTO THREE PARTS: ECONOMY BREAKDOWN Revelation 16:19: And the great city was divided into three parts (Young s translation: And it came the great city into three parts] Every reader knows that a War in the Middle East of this nature as we have described would undoubtedly have a detrimental impact on the worldwide economy! When the Middle East is in uproar and chaos, when many of the cities lay waste, when perhaps some or all of the Middle Eastern oil wells are smitten out of action and the eyes of the world behold the sudden destructive forces of Nuclear Weapons, then we can be assured that the Economic Systems will not just continue in their old and well-established ways of relative security and stability! The modern Economic Market which is based on oil and human emotions will be like a house which is built upon sand, And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it (Matthew 7:27), and great shall be the fall of all who put their trust in this manmade system which is built upon ungodly principles. When the time has come wherein the Middle East will be turned upside down by the Great Earthquake of War, then the foundations of the World Trade Systems will also be shaken as never before! This is just exactly what the Second Event, or Second Judgement of the Seventh Vial is speaking about! This is just what the Word of God teaches will happen after the next great war in the Middle East: And 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. 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 (Revelation 16:18-19). Either immediately after the Earthquake or some time later (this particular Scriptures does not reveal the timing), the Great City was Divided into Three Parts, or as Young s translation writes: And it came The Great City In three Parts. The Great City In three parts, refers to the total and complete disintegration of the worldwide Economy from which it will not rise again as in times before! This Prophetic Verse of the Dividing of the Great City into three prophesies about the total, complete and perfect dissolution of the Economic System as we know it. It will be curtains for this Economic Drama of man forever! Never again, ever will the manmade ways of buying, selling and trading that man have invented set foot on the soil of the Earth again, for eternity! The Dividing of the Great City into Three Parts is the complete and final end of man s marketplace as we know it. The first question that would come up in the minds of the reader is of course: How is this three-partition in the Great City related to our Economy? How can this expression ever be associated with the collapse of the World Trade Systems? This question then will be the main 70

71 topic of this Chapter. We will demonstrate to you how the Dividing of the Great City into three parts is equal to the absolute failure of the worldwide economy. The second question which could arise in the reader is: How is the downfall of the Economy related to the judgements of Babylon, which after all is the primary object of God s Wrath? How will an Economy Crash affect Babylon the Great? Further it could be asked: What are the Divine Purposes behind such a Economic Catastrophe which, no doubt, will throw the whole of mankind into a terrible plight of poverty, insecurity, chaos, famine, disease and all manner of malice? Why would the Lord visit the Earth with such calamitous judgements? What are the Spiritual reasons behind the sweeping away of man s Economy Systems? In this chapter on the Second Stage of Divine Judgements of the Seventh Vial, we will attempt to answer these questions by showing you the Scriptural References to this catastrophic collapse of the Economy in these last days. Chapter 2.1 And the Great City was divided into three parts (And it came the Great City into three parts). Please read Revelation chapters The Identity of the Great City: What is the Great City? What Great City became three? After having read Part I of this writing, it should not be difficult for the reader to ascribe the identity of this Great City to Babylon the Great, that Great Whore, which is ruling over peoples, and multitudes, and nations and tongues from that Great City on the Seven Hills of Rome, which reigneth over the kings of the earth (Revelation 17). And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication (Revelation 14:8). The Great City therefore, according to this Scriptural witness, is Babylon the Great, which in our time, as we have seen in Part I, has truly become very great indeed. This political-religious City of Apostate Christianity includes everything and everyone, which, in the Name of Jesus Christ, has departed and fornicated from the pure Word of God and the Author thereof. The inhabitants of that Great City are living in sins likened unto Sodom and are as worldly, idolatrous and rebellious as the Pharaohs of Egypt. It is the City wherein Jesus Christ (and His true followers) are crucified and put to silence: the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified (Revelation 14:8). It is a place where the inhabitants call themselves by the Name of the Lord, and do all manner of works in the Name of the Lord, but He shall profess unto them: I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity (See Matthew 7:21-29). It is a City full with iniquity, sin, idolatry, fornication and all manner of abominations (Revelation 17-18). It is a City with 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 (Revelation 17:2). It is a City, which has become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird (Revelation 18:2). It is a City whereof all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication and where the kings of the earth have 71

72 committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies (Revelation 18:3). It is a Merchant City, a City wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness (Revelation 18:19)! And 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 (Revelation 18:3). It is a City wherein the kings of the earth, and the merchants, and all those that trade by sea have become rich by reason of her costliness (Revelation 18). It is that City which is clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls (Revelation 18:16)! It is a prosperous city, a city which knows no torment, nor sorrow (Revelation 18:7). It is a City that has glorified herself, and lived deliciously (Revelation 18:7). She is a City whose merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived (Revelation 18:23). It is a City which has been guilty of shedding the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth (Revelation 18:24). It is a Great City, and yet, it shall be thrown down by a Mighty Angel, saying: Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all (Revelation 18:21). It is a City of which the sins have reached unto heaven and God hath remembered her iniquities (Revelation 18:5). She is a City which will be judged, because she has filled up her cup of iniquity (Revelation 18:5-6). The Great City of Revelation 16:19 therefore, is without doubt the City of Babylon the Great. The vast City of Babylon the Great exists out of the First and Second Beast of Revelation 13 as we have seen in part I. Babylon the Great has many citizens and all the adherents to the Popish religion of Rome and the Apostate Protestant religion belong to her streets. It is a City which is involved in the merchandise of physical as well as spiritual commodities, and even trades, symbolically speaking, in the bodies and souls of men (Revelation 18:12-13). The Babylonian City is one Great Market of all manner of spiritual and physical commodities, whereby the inhabitants, but especially the kings (governments), merchants and tradesmen of the world have become very wealthy (Revelation 18). Great Babylon is deeply entrenched in the politics and economics of this world. She is one with many of the governments and businessmen of this world. The world is part of her, and she is part of the world. The world uses her, and she uses the world. They are one. Satan, the Prince of this world and Babylon the Great are one. The manners and ways of this world and Great Babylon are one. They assist and support and uphold one another. Babylon the Great is one vast political-religious Trade centre, and yet, behold, all these works she does in the Name of Jesus Christ! The lifespan of this City however is not to be forever. The Lord has numbered her years, and destined her age. Babylon the Great has become very old and she is close to her call of death. For many centuries this ancient and well-trained Babylonian Harlot has done her deceiving and crafty works very well, but now she has arrived at the age of her decay and final end (and knows it not). The Handwriting of God is as it were on her idolatrous walls like in the days of Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, and is reading: MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN, meaning: God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. Thy kingdom is divided, and given to, not to any other Gentile dominion but to the Lord Jesus Christ and His Saints forever. The Seventh Vial is filled with the Wrath of God, and during this time great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath (Revelation 16:19). The Lord is hotly displeased with the Apostate Whore of Rome and all her daughters, and now the time of just Divine retribution has come. Now, at this time of the Seventh Vial, after the Great Earthquake has done its devastating work, it is said by the Angel: If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same 72

73 shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name (Revelation 14:9-11). This shall be the moment wherein God will remember her iniquities and shall command the Seventh Angel with the Seventh Vial: 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 Lord shall visit her; the day of her Visitation has come when the Seventh Vial is poured out. How shall the Lord punish her? How shall the Lord take vengeance on this Great City of Babylon who has been guilty of the blood of the martyrs, and has been guilty of terrible deceptions, and has been guilty of distributing the Mark, Name, Number and Image; and has been guilty of many iniquities, blasphemies, idol-worship, fornications and all manner of abominations; and has been guilty of taking God s Church into the Babylonian Captivity; and has been guilty of beguiling the souls of men; and has been guilty of changing the truth of God into a lie; and has been guilty of persecuting, torturing and murdering millions of God s True Church and His people the Jews down through the ages; and has been guilty of trampling on everything which is called worthy, honourable, godly and true; and has been guilty of making Christianity into a religious marketplace, where the graces of God can be bought and sold with corruptible gold, silver and money; and has been guilty of exalting herself on high while trampling upon the lowly; and has been guilty of living in luxury, comfort, pleasures, debaucheries, revelling, molestation, and all manner of sins and iniquities; and has been guilty of changing the gospel of salvation into ceremonies of death; and has been guilty of worshipping idols instead of the living God; and has been guilty of controlling and domineering the souls of millions of men; and has been guilty of the most horrendous blasphemies and atrocities against God and His Tabernacle; and has been guilty of drawing God s people into the world and the arms of Satan; and has been guilty of spitting at the Word of God which is blessed forever; and has been guilty of adding to, and extracting from, and changing the Holy Scriptures; and has been guilty of so many more things which all taken together are reaching unto heaven (verse 5). The innocent blood of the Saints of bygone ages are crying unto the Lord from the earth, and the cry of this city of spiritual Sodom is great, and because their sin is very grievous, the Lord will go down and see, and visit this city with fire and brimstone just like in the days of old (Genesis 18-19). How shall the Judge of the Earth repay the iniquities of Great Babylon? How shall the One Who says: Vengeance belongs to Me, I will recompense (Hebrews 10:30), give the City of Babylon the Great what she deserves? This is how God shall remember her iniquities: The Lord will visit her in Judgements by causing the foundation whereupon the Great City stands to fall. The Lord will shake and punish and torment her by causing the Economy to fall! The Lord will smite the Economic pillars of this Babylonian Temple, and it will come crashing down. When the Economy fails, Babylon fails. When the Economy falls, Babylon falls. When the Economy suffers great loss, Babylon suffers great loss. When the Economy has no more trade, Babylon has no more trade. When the currencies are worthless like rusty iron, how will she live? When the financial markets tumble, how will she stand? When the stocks and shares have become empty numbers, how will she be filled? When the trade comes to a grinding halt, how will she prosper? When people are without jobs and income, how will she have gain? When the capital of this world dries up, how will she be materially fruitful? When the clients have become bankrupt, how will they pay the hire of the Babylonian Whore? When her lovers are destitute, how will they provide? 73

74 When the kings and governments of the earth, and the merchants and traders of all kinds have lost their power and wealth, who is there to support and sustain her? Surely she will sit as a widow in that day (Revelation 18:7). Surely she shall be tormented in that day and have great sorrow (verse 7). Suddenly, as in one day, death, and mourning and famine will come to her and she will be consumed with great anguish, sufferings and terror (verse 8). Surely in that day 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, 10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgement come (verse 9-10). Surely the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more (verse 11). The merchants of these things [in verse 12-14], which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 And 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! 17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And surely in that day of Visitation it shall come to pass that every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, 18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! 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 (verse 17-19). The lovers of Great Babylon have left her; the kings and merchants and tradesmen of the earth have taken their distance, causing Great Babylon to become a widow. The political-religious entity of Babylon the Great has been brought to nought, for what strength is there left without wealth and politics? How can the City of Babylon remain standing without the pillars of money and power? What is Great Babylon without her kings and tradesmen? None more than a destitute widow, forsaken of her lovers, and bereaved of all her children. Once she was one and united with the tradesmen, merchants and kings of the earth, but now she has been left standing naked, alone and in shameful destitution and barrenness. Where is now her wealth, luxuries and power? Death, and mourning and famine have come to her. The economy is no more; the world trade systems have collapsed, and Babylon the Great is forced to lay down her crown and sceptre and scrape her substance together as a wretch in the streets. How has the queen of heaven become a miserable wretch! How has the Mother of Harlots become a bereaved widow. How the religious market become a place for rats and mice! The once united Great City has lost her lovers. The kings and merchants and tradesmen of this earth are no more within her, but have taken distance and are standing afar off (verse 10,15,17). They have detached themselves and are now looking at the ex-mistress of the World with great weeping, mourning and wailing, for no man buyeth their merchandise anymore. They are crying and lamenting for her, for the hour of judgement has come and in a moment of time, so great riches has come to nought; she has been made desolate. God has avenged. This then is the Division of the Great City into Three! The Dividing into Three How can this economy failure wherein the kings, the merchants and tradesmen of the earth are forsaking Babylon the Great, be the Division into Three Parts? The answer lies in Revelation 18. The City of Babylon, once united in intimate cooperation with the governments, merchants and traders of this world, has now become like a divorcee, for all her lovers were forced to leave her. In Revelation 18, which chapter is part of the Seventh Vial, it is said of the Kings of the Earth, and the Merchants of the Earth, and the Shipmaster, and all the company in ships and sailors, and as many as trade by the sea, that they all stood afar off! They had taken distance; they had separated 74

75 themselves; they were standing from afar off, watching and bewailing the fall of Great Babylon. These suburbs of the once united Political-Religious City had broken away and crumbled off. The Great City was divided into Three! When the economy systems of this world collapse by reason of the war-events in the Middle East, the governments and tradesmen and merchants of this world will lose their power and wealth, and Great Babylon will be standing alone. The once powerful and wealthy political-religious City of Babylon will have nothing more left than her empty, vain religious methods and ceremonies. Without authority, money and wealth she ceases to be the powerful, influential Mistress of the world! These are the three types of groups which are said to stand afar off when the day of calamity comes: 1. The Kings of the Earth (Revelation 18:9-10) 2. The Merchants of the Earth (Revelation 18:11-17) 3. The Shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by the sea (Revelation 18:17-19) Of these three groups it is said three times that they would stand afar off : 1. Revelation 18:10 (Kings of the earth) 2. Revelation 18:15 (Merchants) 3. Revelation 18:17 (Every shipmaster, company in ships, sailors, traders by sea) What or who are these three groups practically speaking referring to? Who or what are the kings of the Earth and the merchants of the earth and the shipmaster, company in ships, sailors and those who trade by the sea. Even without going into details it is clear from these descriptions that we are dealing with the nations, and especially the governments/politicians/authorities thereof, and all those who are particularly involved in the Economy of this world. They are the ones who have had intimate dealings with the Great Religious City of Babylon. The kings of the earth are the nations and specially the governments or authorities thereof. We are thinking here of all the governments and leaders of the nations who have associated themselves with the Church of Rome or the Image thereof as it exists in the United States in particular. We are thinking of all those ministers and politicians who have had some dealings with Great Babylon for either political or monetary gain. We are thinking of all those secret deals in Great Babylon that they agree to and sign behind closed doors, invisible to the eyes of the public. We are thinking of those so-called cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests and of course the Pope himself who form a mighty, wealthy and powerful lobby and influence behind many of the political decisions in numerous nations, cities and towns. We are thinking of the rich, famous and wealthy so-called Evangelical preachers and other rich members of the Apostate Church in the United States, who also form a very influential lobby behind the scenes and decisions in the White House and the States, Cities and Towns in that nation. There has always been a close link between the Vatican and many of the political leaders of this world down through the ages. The ministers of Rome, whether they be cardinals, archbishops, bishops, Jesuits or ordinary priests, have never shunned involvement in politics and power. (In fact some former U.S. Presidents have been trained in Jesuit run Colleges). The Church of Rome claims to have the God-given task and authority to rule both spiritually and secularly over the souls of men. Rome rules in heaven as well as on earth. Rome bows for no one, but the kings of the earth ought to bow for her and obey her counsels and commands. With the power of wealth and satanic subtlety she has managed to build countless 75

76 strongholds in the political echelons of the world, high and low, far and wide. The kings of the earth have used Babylon, and Babylon has used the kings of the earth, all for their own gain. At the time when the Great Economy Crash of the Seventh Vial is poured upon Great Babylon, 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, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment (verse 9-10). There are no gains to be had, when the source of all gains has vanished before their eyes. Without money and wealth, both the kings of the earth and Great Babylon are powerless. How has that mighty City become feeble and faint! The United States of America, which is the Second Beast of Revelation 13 and part of that Great Babylonian City, can be considered as the chief king [nation] of the Great City of Babylon. She is the most powerful, affluent and influential Gentile Dominion in the world of our time. She can be rightly called a world-empire for her military and political power stretches to all the corners of the earth. Her apostate Christian religious prosperity doctrine also has found its way into the hearts and minds of millions upon millions worldwide. When the Economy fails, and the Dow Jones Index experiences a severe crisis, and when the stocks and shares and all the other financial commodities become worthless, how shall this Nation and the Babylonian political-religious system therein survive? When the World Trade systems come to a grinding halt, and Great Babylon sits in sackcloth and ashes, the king of Babylon will undoubtedly fall together with them. When the earthly treasures and riches are gone up in smoke, how will the prosperity doctrine stand? The merchants of the earth are said to deal with all those physical and tangible commodities as described in verses 12 to 13, and make merchandise of the bodies and souls of men (verse 13). We have seen in Part I of this writing that Great Babylon is deeply interested and involved in prosperity and moneymaking. Papal Rome of old has always considered the Christian religion to be a wonderful and useful source of income. Who knows not about the selling of indulgences, wherewith the souls can buy their way into heaven, or buy out their loved ones out of purgatory (which according to Roman Catholic teaching is a place wherein the deceased have to suffer for either thousands or millions of years before they reach heaven. Money is supposed to shorten their time of suffering). Who knows not that Saint Peters in Rome, the Seat of the Beast, has been built with the money, which was raised by selling indulgences in the 16 th Century? We do not have the intention here to demonstrate to you how Roman Catholicism is one great religious marketplace wherein the souls of men can trade in the graces of God by giving money to the Church; buying candles, and crosses, and relics, and making offerings to the saints and the dead, and doing good works of almsgiving, and by leaving your inheritance to the capable hands of the Roman priests or bishops. Money making, no doubt, is the central issue in the Church of Rome. We refer the reader to some recommended books in Appendix 2 of Part I for more information about the merchandise of Rome. The Babylonian system of the Second Beast works in a similar manner. The ministers, or rather merchants of the Apostate Protestant Church, especially of the United States, but also of multitudinous other countries, have made money and wealth the central goal of their mission. There also it is taught that the Lord is well pleased if you give much money to the Church or any of their wonderful great projects. There also it is said that the Lord will bless you physically and spiritually when you spread your good seed of money around. The Christian religion has become a useful and profitable tool of trade, wherewith many have enriched themselves. Yet, Great Babylon of today is not only trading in these religious commodities, but is actually also involved in the production and distribution of many commodities. The Church of Rome and the Apostate Protestant Church are involved in the big businesses of this world. They own lands, companies, factories, buildings, real estates and have their billions invested in all kinds of markets, including of course the electronic markets of finances, stocks and shares etc. Again we would like to refer to some other writings on this matter, mentioned in the List of Recommended books of Part I. 76

77 When the economy collapses, this merchandising will stop for no man buyeth their merchandise any more. When famine and death will creep over the earth, who shall be able to trade in either religious or physical commodities? When the mighty dollar is worthless, and millions of people have lost their investments, and when the economy comes to a grinding halt, and businesses close, and jobs are lost, and a state of anarchy comes into being, who shall yet be willing and able to fulfil the desires and needs of Babylon? Who shall donate to Trinity Broadcasting Network? Who shall support the projects of the famous evangelistic names of the Babylonian Church? Who shall pay their regular tithing into the Church treasuries? Who shall donate to the Roman ministers, or pay for a candle, or a pilgrimage, or a prayer for the dead, when there is no food to eat and no money to pay the bills? The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing (verse 15). The shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, we believe could possibly refer to all those who are involved in some way or another in the electronically arranged markets of the world. These who trade by sea are the ones who have dealings with the stocks and shares or other electronic investments of the world. They are the ones who are not actually involved in the production, distribution or selling of the physical (either religious or secular) commodities, but are the financers and investors who keep the world markets going. The merchants dealt with the physical trade of either religious or secular commodities, but these traders by sea are most likely referring to those who are involved in the electronic markets which deal not with physical products, but with numbers and figures and intangible money. The shipmaster who is at the head of the ship would then refer to, what the world crudely calls, the fat cats, the big boys, the big names who are more or less controlling the markets with their billions. They are the big investments companies and the owners thereof. All the company in ships, are the crowd or passengers on board of the ship, who are sailing along with the ship and the shipmaster. They then would refer to the common man and woman in the street who have invested their savings into this electronic market either in the form of stocks, shares or any other investment possibility. The sailors who work on the ship, are not the owners of the ship, but have made the works on the ship their occupation and source of income. They would refer to all those who directly work in, with or at these markets. They are the ones who have made their job at the markets their livelihood. Many, if not most Christians, especially of course in the more affluent countries, are somehow involved in these Electronic Markets of finances, stocks, shares, bonds etc. We read that almost all Christians of the United States for example have some dealings with this market of the sea. Many of those Christians have put their financial security and trust in the markets. Most Christians do not realize or consider that these markets on the sea are not a Divinely instigated or approved way of earning a living. To invest your money, which really belongs to the Lord only, into the worldly markets, is not acceptable in the eyes of the Lord. It is a form of usury and gambling. The life of a Christian, including all his or her possessions, belong to Jesus Christ, the Master. The Lord of Holiness would never command His child to invest His money into the ungodly and crooked markets of this world! Rather would the Lord convict the Christian to distribute as He leads and to prepare for the hard and difficult times to come. Soon, one day, as by overnight, these investments will evaporate and many Christians will be destitute. It is not the Lord s Will that any of His children to be destitute and go hungry. It is the Will of the Lord for His People to listen to His voice, and counsel and wisdom in this matter, so that His people will be thoroughly prepared for the calamitous times that are drawing very near. And they stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city? 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 (verse 18-19). 77

78 There will be such a weeping and wailing in that day when the Electronic Markets of this world suddenly collapse, as by one hour. We cannot imagine the panic, and fears, and chaos this event will cause! People will just not know what to do with themselves, and many will choose to die rather than to have to cope with the sudden shame and poverty that has come to them. The crash of the 1920 s will be nothing compared with the one that is to come. There will be no recovery and the world will sink into a state of death, mourning and famine. This is not just an empty saying, for just as the previous programs of the Book of Revelation have come to pass exactly as it is written, so this calamitous and fearful event will be fulfilled precisely as it is prophesied in the Word of God! Mark our words here; the markets of this world are going to crash suddenly, and the Christian who has failed to prepare him or herself, will simply not cope in that day when the economy ceases to function! Many will suffer the loss of all things; many will die of fear; many will choose to end their lives because of shame and anguish; many will hunger, many will develop diseases; many will resolve to violence, murder, lootings, theft and robberies. There will be anarchy, chaos and turmoil in the countries, cities and towns worldwide. Many of God s people will not be able to handle the situation, let alone the children of this world. Now is the time to reconsider any involvements in the corrupt and ungodly markets of this world and to seek the Lord anew with deepened concern, humility and Godly fear to hear from the Father of Heaven how to spiritually and physically prepare for the downfall of the Economy and of the Great City of Babylon! This then is the Dividing of the Great City in Three! Great Babylon will become Three for the cement of the unity between the kings, merchants, traders by sea and Great Babylon, has been dissolved. The power and wealth of Great Babylon has gone up into smoke, and her three lovers have taken their distance, wailing and weeping as they behold the downfall of the Great City of Babylon. The Christian political-religious Churches in this world will have no more riches and power, for they will suffer shipwreck by the Economic storms of the Seventh Vial. When a ship sinks, the people thereon will be seized by tremendous fear, panic and anguish, for their hour of death has come. The scene is terribly real, for it is written in the Word of God: And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all (verse 21). Suddenly, the Economy shall fail, and the Great City of Babylon shall be pulled into the depth of the sea from where she will rise no more. The wealthy and powerful Babylonian Churches shall cease to function normally, for their foundation was not Jesus Christ, but was formed on the sandy bricks of money, power and wealth. During this time, the true Saints of God shall rejoice, for that Great Babylonian City, which has held so many in captivity and bondage, shall be no more! And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2 For true and righteous are his Judgements: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand (Revelation 19:1-2). This economy failure will come very suddenly, as by one hour (See Revelation 18:8,9,17,19). We can learn from the contents of the Seventh Vial that this crash is to occur some time after the Great Earthquake but we cannot say with surety whether this Economy Collapse will occur immediately after the Great War in the Middle East or some time after. This Dividing of the Great City into Three could happen straight away after the Middle Eastern War, but does not necessarily have to be so. A Great War in the Middle East would definitely have an impact on the Economy, but it could yet take some time, perhaps a few years, before the final collapse of the Economy as we know it, takes place. The War in the Middle East that is coming soon, will beyond doubt shake the Markets, and cause the Economy to go into recession, but the final and total collapse of the Economy could be yet some years removed from the Earthquake in the Middle East. 78

79 On the other hand, it is also possible that this final and complete collapse of the world s economy will immediately follow the terrible conflict in the Middle East. This Dividing of the Great City into Three parts might be the direct result of the great and mighty earthquake of Revelation 16:18. Whatever is the truth, whether the Collapse will come without any delay, or whether there is a space of a few months or years between the first and second event of the Seventh Vial, the fact remains that the world and the Christians therein will have to face a dramatic, catastrophic and lasting failure of the Economy of the world! Chapter 2.2: The Economy Collapse and the Judgement of Babylon 2.2.1: The Continuous Judgements of God on Babylon the Great. The Seven Vials were to make an end to the Great City of Babylon. Has Babylon come to her full end when the Economy fails? The Word of God does not say that the Economy collapse will mean the final and full end of Babylon, for it is written in the 19 th Chapter that the Beast was still existent when the Last Great Battle takes place (Please read whole of Revelation 19). This seems to be confirmed by 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 which says: For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming. The mystery of iniquity was already working in the time of the Apostle Paul, but came to maturity in Mystery Babylon the Great, the mother of Harlots and Abominations of the earth later in time. Here in Thessalonians it is said that this Antichristian false Church system of the man of sin, the son of perdition (the succession of popes), that Wicked one (Antichrist), the mystery of iniquity (mystery Babylon religion), which all are associated with Babylon the Great, shall only be destroyed with the brightness of His coming. Although the Lord will visit Great Babylon and the rest of the world with great Judgements during the Seventh Vial, the real and physical return of the Lord is not to be till the end of the Seventh Vial, when the battle of that great day of God Almighty will cleanse the earth by fire, through atomic war and perhaps other Divine agencies. It can therefore be said that the Great City of Babylon will only find its final grave just prior or at the Second Coming of the King of kings. It is nevertheless true that the Economy Collapse will strip the Babylonian Mystery Religion bare from all her power and wealth. The political-religious Christian Apostate Church systems throughout the world will simply not be able to continue as they always have done. All those Babylonian Church Denominations who were in a more or less measure dependent on finances shall be unable to function normally. The first five vials touched the First Beast of Papal Rome only in a limited way and consequently it managed to recover very quickly from the plagues it received during the 18 th and 19 th century. This time the plague will be universal and thorough; the Economic plague shall consume the pillars and foundation of Great Babylon which she will not be able to erect afterwards, for the material and ingredients of money, power and wealth will not return unto her. The Second Event of the Seventh Vial therefore is definitely a severe judgement of Great Babylon, wherein she will drink of the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath (Revelation 16:19). All her inhabitants, whether great or small, will have to drink this cup of Divine Wrath, which shall be poured on the earth when the Economy collapses. None shall be exempt. Nevertheless, this calamity will specifically and expressly touch the high and wealthy and powerful ones. Those who have the most to lose shall suffer the greatest shame and pain. Those 79

80 who have waxed fat and rich through their ungodly and selfish practices shall be the high ones who will fall the deepest. Also those who have dared to transform the Christian faith into a religious marketplace shall drink the most of the torrent of the Seventh Vial! For this the kings of the earth of Revelation 16:12 were prepared, for this they were gathered to the place called Armageddon, for the kings of the earth which will gather themselves against Israel shall be indirectly responsible for the downfall of Great Babylon! The Great Earthquake of War in the Middle East will be the trigger which eventually will cause Great Babylon to be Divided into Three after which she will sit alone, like a widow in mourning, bereaved of both her lovers and her children. There was once before a situation wherein by a great earthquake a part of the Great City of Babylon fell, but only a tenth of it, and in the selfsame earthquake were slain of men seven thousands (Revelation 11:13). This happened during the 16 th and 17 th century Reformation when the once blessed nations of England and the Seven divisions or Provinces (= thousands, for the Israelites were used to divide their nation into tribes and groups of thousands, hundreds, tens etc. See Exodus 18:21; Numbers 1:16 etc.) of the Netherlands broke away from the dominion of Papal Rome. The division of the Great City in three is more disastrous and effectual, for after this event Babylon the Great will rise no more in political or financial power, but as a millstone shall she be cast into the depths of the sea (Revelation 18:21). And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: 64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 51:63-64). Babylon the Great is a Gentile political-religious dominion, which has taken God s people, spiritually speaking, into Babylonian Captivity, like in the days of old when the Jews were taken captive by the Babylonians at the end of the 7 th and the beginning of the 6 th century B.C. Israel had sinned, and the Lord allowed the Dominion of Babylon to judge and chastise His people Israel. After a period of 70 years, the Lord judged the wicked nation of Babylon for all their cruel, idolatrous and proud deeds. The City of Babylon was suddenly taken by the Medo-Persians when her time was finished. The Medo-Persians of the East were spreading themselves successfully by many victorious conquests in Mesopotamia in the 6 th Century B.C., but the Babylonians thought themselves safe behind the impregnable walls of the City of Babylon. The day of the taking of Babylon by the Medo Persians is related in Daniel chapter 5, wherein it is said that king Belshazzar of Babylon was having an idolatrous, infamous and licentious party in the name of his gods. While the City of Babylon was revelling in sin and pleasures, the Medo-Persians came and took the City by night, slaying many of its inhabitants, but sparing the remaining of the City. The City of Babylon was considered impossible to take, but the Medo-Persians had schemed a clever plan and decided to divert the waters of the river Euphrates into channels which they dug, so that the main body of water would no longer stream through the City of Babylon. This gave them access to the entrance of the City, for they now were able to enter underneath the gates of the City, seeing the water was very low. Suddenly the enemies of Babylon had entered into its gates, and the City was taken by surprise, when the inhabitants thereof were unwatchful, complacent, drunken, selfconfident and at ease. In a similar way shall Great Babylon of our time be taken. With the same suddenness and unexpectedness, when the inhabitants thereof are at ease and in pleasure, the Great City of Babylon shall fall. When the streams of money, wealth and perhaps oil, cease to flow through that Great City of Babylon, she will fall. The fall of the City of Babylon in the 6 th Century B.C. was a prophetic type or prefigure of what is yet to happen unto anti-typical Babylon the Great of our times. The fall of the first Gentile Dominion which was to rule over God s people the Jews, is a prophetic example of how the last Gentile Dominion of Babylon the Great shall come to its end. 80

81 When the city of Babylon fell in 538 B.C. (some say 539 B.C.), and the Medo-Persians took over the City, the Jewish people were allowed to leave Babylon and return to Zion, to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. This shall be true in our days as well, for when Great Babylon falls, then God s people who have been taken captive by that Great City of Babylon, shall be able to leave its gates, march spiritually towards Zion, where the true Jerusalem and the Temple can be built. Jerusalem is free, and the Temple exists out of lively stones of believers, but Babylon has brought the Church into bondage and made her into a physical construction of bricks and stones, filled with the doctrines and ways of men. When Great Babylon falls, Zion shall be free, that is; when the Babylonian Denominations shall not be able to function, then the Lord shall build His True Temple, existing out of lively stones. The Judgement of Babylon is therefore the vengeance for Zion, the true Church, who has been oppressed and persecuted by that great City, just as in the days of the Jews. There is nevertheless a difficulty with a literal comparison, for it is written in Revelation 18:4 that God s people are to leave Great Babylon, before she shall receive of the plagues! We shall speak of this later. Time shall teach us how God s people shall be delivered from Great Babylon! Seven Times = 2520 Years Times, Time and Half a Time 1260 Solar/ Calendar/ Lunar Years Times, Time and Half a Time 1260 Solar/ Calendar/ Lunar Years Starting Dates Gentile Dominion Starting Dates Second Half of Times Gentiles Ending Dates Gentile Dominion Ancient Babylon Starting Era Rise of Mystery 1260 Babylon the Great 1260 Bisection Era Ending Era Captivity and Restoration of the Jews (7th - 6th Centuries B.C.) Rise Gentile Apostasies of the West and East (5th - 7th Centuries A.D.) End Captivity and Beginning Restoration of the Jews (19th - 21st Centuries A.D.) Figure 9: Ancient Babylon and the rise of the Papal Roman Dominion; Mystery Babylon the Great. The prophets of old have also pronounced severe Judgements against the city of Babylon, which Judgements have been fulfilled perfectly when the City of Babylon progressively has been reduced to nothing more than dust during the five centuries before Christ, but the same Judgements can and should prophetically be applied to Great Babylon as well. Please look with us at some Old Testament Prophecies on the Judgements and fall of the City and Land of Babylon and see the similarities between the judgement of the Ancient City of Babylon and the Great City of Babylon the Great of this time. 81

82 2.2.2: The Judgement of Babylon in the Old Testament Prophecies Please read the following Scriptures with regard to the Old Testament prophecies of the Judgements on Babylon: Psalms 137:7-9; Isaiah 13-14; 21:8-10; 47; 48:20; Jeremiah 25:12-13; 50-51; Daniel 5 Figure 9: Left: Imaginary Drawing of the Ancient City of Babylon. Below: the present ruins of Babylon; there is nothing more than a few mounds with rubble. When we read about the Judgements of Babylon in the Prophecies of the Old and the New Testament, then we can notice several aspects which they have in common: 1. The suddenness of the judgement and downfall 2. The unexpectedness of the judgement, for it came by surprise, while the inhabitants of Babylon were unprepared. 3. The severity of the judgement, for there was to be much suffering and death. 4. The thoroughness of the judgement, for Babylon was to rise no more. 5. The causes of the Judgements were related to the sins, pride and idolatries of Babylon and also to the oppression and persecution of God s people. 6. The going forth of the command of the Lord to His people to come out of Babylon and to flee for their lives. 7. The actual departure of God s people out of Babylon and their return to Zion. The deliverance of God s people out of Babylon. 8. The spiritual restoration, restitution and revival of God s people after their return to Zion. 82

83 If we look at, for example, Isaiah chapter 47, we can see the striking similarities between the language of Revelation 18 and Isaiah 47, which will demonstrate to the reader that the Old Testament Prophecies with regard to the Judgements of Babylon ought to be applied to Babylon the Great as well. (Please see table below) Vs. Revelation 18 Vs. Isaiah , ,9, 23 7, 8, 10, 17, 19 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. for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her. 16 And 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! 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. 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. 8 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. 9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her. 23 for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 7 so much torment and sorrow give her. 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. 10 for in one hour is thy judgement come. 17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. 19 for in one hour is she made desolate. 9,18 when they shall see the smoke of her burning, The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing , Daughter of Babylon; Daughter of the Chaldeans, shalt no more be called tender and delicate The Lady of Kingdoms. 7 I shall be a lady for ever. Given to pleasures and dwellest carelessly I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children and widowhood For the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee. Strictly speaking the prophecy of Isaiah 47 and other similar prophecies concerning the judgement of Babylon were fulfilled when the City of Babylon was taken and the Babylonian

84 dominion was judged at the hands of the Medo-Persians and other Gentile dominions which, in the process of about 4 centuries, brought the City of Babylon to nothing more than a heap of rubble. Isaiah prophesied about this judgement some 200 years before the event. Yet, this prophecy and others like it, which so amazingly correspond with the prophecy of Revelation 18, can and should be applied to the downfall of Babylon the Great as well. Isaiah 47 (and others) therefore is in type and symbolic language a description and prediction of the downfall of the world s economy systems, for it speaks about the same event as Revelation 18, and says that the merchants shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee (Isaiah 47:15). The merchants shall stand afar off for they will not be able to do anything to save Babylon. A similar expression is used in Isaiah 13, which also prophesies about the burden of Babylon: Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. 14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land (Isaiah 13: Please read whole chapter). Ancient Babylon ruled over many different tongues, nations, peoples, just like Great Babylon, but when she fell, all these fled to their own land and people and were no longer part of the Dominion of Babylon. When the Economy collapses, Babylon the Great will no longer have a worldwide dominion in power and strength for the wealth and riches she had were part of the cement, which kept Great Babylon together. When these binding materials of money and political power are taken away, the inhabitants thereof are to return to their own land so to speak, without being part of that united system of Babylon. When men began to build the tower of Babel in the land of Shinar in the time after the flood, their desire was to remain united to achieve great things by their own cleverness and strength, but the Lord came down and confounded their language and they were scattered, each and every one to their own people and land. When the Lord comes down and scatters the universal language of money and economics so that it will be no more, the inhabitants of Great Babylon, including the kings, merchants and traders by sea will be forced to withdraw into their own place. The Tower of Great Babylon shall be forsaken and left desolate when the unifying speech of money and wealth has been confounded. All this will happen during the Seventh Vial, when Great Babylon will be judged and brought to an end and the earth will be prepared for the coming of the King Who will inaugurate a totally new order, which is to be in accordance with the principles and truths of the Kingdom of God. Compare also the language in Zephaniah 2:11: The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen. It is not the Lord s perfect Will that man would cruelly and oppressively rule over other men, and that one nation would have dominion over other tongues, nations and peoples, for it is written that the Lord from the beginning had set all people in their own boundaries: And [the Lord] hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation (Acts 17:26; see also Genesis 10). Babylon, both Ancient and Babylon the Great, have had dominion over the souls of men for many centuries, but the Lord shall yet judge the Great City of Babylon and place the people, tongues, nations and also the people who are called by His Name, in their own rightful place, in preparation for the coming Kingdom of God. Please compare Zechariah 12:6, where it is said: In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. For Jerusalem to be inhabited again in her own place would mean that she will be in the hands of the rightful owners and no longer would another nation or tongue rule and have illegal dominion over her. Symbolically speaking this is true of Spiritual Jerusalem as well, who has been trodden down by the Gentile feet of Great Babylon for a long time, but when the Lord judges the Whorish City of Babylon, Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place for she shall be 84

85 set free from the influence and dominion of Babylon. Jerusalem shall unlearn the Babylonian language and be taught how to speak with a pure language, that is: the pure, undefiled and uncorrupted Word of God. When the Jews came back to the land of their fathers after they returned from the Babylonian captivity, they no longer needed to speak the Chaldean language. When the Jews came back to the land some hundred years ago, they also learned the Hebrew language and cast off the language of the Gentiles. In the same way shall the true Church learn to cast off the corrupted language of Babylon, which has not dealt faithfully with the Word of God, and shall instead learn to speak the pure language of the Word and live therein. Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in her own place when Babylon the Great (and Islam) has been judged. The economy crash will cause people, including the true Church, to return to their own place. Jeremiah 51:8-9 speaks about the same concept: Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. 9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgement reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies. Jeremiah 50:16: Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land. In the Kingdom of God there shall be this situation wherein every man or nation shall inhabit its own, Divinely appointed place: Micah 1:3-4: And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. Let us now look at the typical characteristics of the judgement of Babylon in both the Old and the New Testaments. All the quotes are taken from those Scriptures that speak about the judgement of Babylon. Ad. 1: The Suddenness of the Economy Collapse: The Ancient city of Babylon fell into the hands of the newly arising Dominion of Medo-Persia as by overnight. All the prophecies of the Judgements of Babylon stress the abruptness of the fall of Babylon. One day she is there in her fullest glory, pomp and pride and the next day she is no more. Her plagues shall come in one day (Revelation 18:8); In one hour her judgement has come (Revelation 18:10); in one hour so great riches is come to nought (Revelation 18:17); in one hour is she made desolate (Revelation 18:19). One day or one hour is an extremely short period of time; it is the shortest prophetic period of the Scriptures. Although this expression of one hour at times refers to a general season like in Revelation 17:12 and Matthew 20:12, it usually is used to signify a very short season (compare Daniel 4:19; Matthew 26:40; Luke 22:59)! The general sense is that this judgement of Babylon, which will come to her in the form of an Economy Crash, shall happen extremely suddenly, as the lightning of the skies suddenly appears, strikes and burns what comes in its way. This is of course what a sudden collapse of the stock markets would bring forth. Such a black scenario of the collapse of the electronic markets could easily bring the City of Babylon down as by day or overnight, in one hour, or a very short season. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all (Revelation 18:21). When a mighty Angel takes hold of Babylon - which has become so heavy laden with sins that it weighs as much as a great millstone - and casts it with violence and great force into the sea, we can be assured that the event will be dramatically sudden! See how quick a small stone disappears to the bottom of a river through the force of natural gravity, let alone when 85

86 an Angel throws Babylon which is as heavy as a millstone, with force into the waters! We therefore must expect this severe judgement of the total Economy Collapse to come abruptly, at any day after the next war in Israel and the Middle East, for thus it is expressed in the language of this next event of the Seventh Vial. But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments (Isaiah 47:9). Again, suddenly as in a moment, the loss of children and widowhood, for the daughters of the harlot and all her lovers would have forsaken her, seeing she is now a powerless widow, without money, without wealth. And desolation shall come upon thee suddenly.. (Isaiah 47:11). Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed (Jeremiah 51:8). And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: 64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary (Jeremiah 51:63-64). Suddenly the news shall go around the City of Babylon and the whole world that the City is taken at one end ; and when the City is taken at one end, when for example the Dow Jones Index tumbles, it will not be long before the other gates and walls of the City of Babylon are taken as well! One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end, 32 And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted. 33 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come (Jeremiah 51:31-33). Figure 10: The Crash of 1929 wherein unexpectedly, in a few days time the stock markets plummeted severely and wherein after a month the U.S.A. had lost about 30 billion dollars. The Great Depression which followed was worldwide. Unemployment, bankruptcy, loss of homes and farms, higher suicide rates, and even hunger and hunger-related disease were some of the direct consequences of the Crash! When the enemy of the Economy Collapse enters into the Main Golden Gate of Babylon the Great, it will be only a matter of hours before the rest of the Great City of Babylon is taken. The economy systems of our world are arranged in such a way that the collapse of one gate 86

87 automatically takes the other gates and walls down with it. If for example the Dow Jones Index were to slide about 50% or so in a short period of time, every reader knows that the markets of the rest of the world will follow its example speedily. Great Babylon is a worldwide political-religious system, and therefore must the Judgements also be able to reach all the corners of the earth. Babylon of old was geographically limited to the area around the Tigris and Euphrates, but Babylon the Great has an empire which embraces many nations of the world. A local, geographically restricted enemy would not be able to bring the whole of the City of Babylon down, but the wide tentacles of the Economy systems reach the ends of the earth. When suddenly the enemy of the Economy Crash enters one of the Gates of Babylon, the whole of the City will collapse in an hour. Ad. 2: The unexpectedness of the Economy Collapse: Figure 11: New York Stock Exchange 1929: Panicselling of shares. It shook the confidence consumers and investors. People stopped spending and millions lost their jobs during the Depression that followed. The disintegration of the worldwide Trade Systems will not only be sudden, but will also take the majority of mankind by surprise. (just as the destruction of the World Trade Centre Twin Towers in New York was sudden and totally unexpected, which surely was a sign or an omen of things to come, so will the forthcoming economic crash of all World Trade Centres come suddenly, in an instant.) The inhabitants of Great Babylon; all those who are either directly or indirectly involved in those Great Apostate religious systems of Rome and the Second Beast of the United States, are also not aware of the economic calamities which are encroaching on them. Babylon has said: I shall be a lady for ever (Isaiah 47:7) and expects to live in pleasure and comfort for everlasting. And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it. 8 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children (Isaiah 47:7-8). Neither Rome, nor the Apostate, wealthy, prosperity-seeking Churches of this age have any idea of what lies just around the corner. They are spiritually blind, and fail to see the signs of the times. They continue their businesses just as it was in the days of Noah: buying, selling, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage (Matthew 24:38) as if all is well and as if all will just continue as in the days of the fathers. For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. 11 Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief 87

88 shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know (Isaiah 47:10-11). And all the prophets and astrologers, and stargazers and monthly prognosticators (verse 13) of Great Babylon have obviously failed to warn the inhabitants of that Great City, for they have no knowledge about the Day of their Visitation. In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD (Jeremiah 51:39). The Babylonians were in the heat of their idolatrous feasts when the Medo-Persians came and took the city by a crafty plot. Beshazzar the king of Babylon made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand (Daniel 5:1. Please read whole of Daniel 5). Were it not for this revelling in the night, the guards would have remained on their posts, the gates would have been closed, and the enemies would have been discovered before they could enter the city, and the city of Babylon would have remained in the hands of the Babylonians. Were it not for the blindness and spiritual drunkenness of the inhabitants of Babylon the Great, they would have seen the approach of the economic calamities to their gates, and would have prepared, but now it is true that the greatest majority of Christendom is so deeply involved in the world and multitudinous sins, that their eyes have become heavy, and their spirits darkened, so that they cannot see what is coming their way. And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts (Jeremiah 51:57). The Church of our time, generally speaking, is not aware of the coming economic calamities. Many different messengers have preached this message of the coming collapse of the world trade systems for several years, far and wide, but the Christian ears are dull or hearing, or they have an attitude of indifference and complacency towards it. They seem to think: when or if the day of calamity comes, the Lord will look after me, or the Lord will rapture us all away into eternal bliss. How deceived they are, for we Christians must make serious spiritual (and physical if called to do so) preparations for these years of economic drought! One of the greatest step towards spiritual security a Christian can make at this time, is to Come out of Babylon, lest ye be partakers her sins and receive of her plagues (Revelation 18:4)! We will speak a little more on this later. Ad. 3: The Severity of the Judgements: It is no light matter to speak about the coming economy failure, for millions of lives will be at stake when this severe shaking of the economic systems actually happens. It is one thing to write and read about it, and another matter to actually go through such a time of dire want of all things. We who are presently living in times of plenty (that is, for the more prosperous nations), it is not easy to imagine a world wherein the Economy is totally shattered, unless we belong to the older generation who went through the economic depression of the 1920 s. When this economic depression hit the world in 1929, many jobs were no more, money and capital had lost their value and multitudes had to live on the barest minimum and some were not able to survive at all. There were apparently thousands upon thousands who committed suicide, either because of shame, or pain, fears or unwillingness to carry on living under such terrible circumstances. This was about 75 years ago. Now the world is so dependent on oil and the electronic markets, and now the inhabitants of the world have multiplied themselves to a number of more than 6 billion people, and now the cities have become so crowded, and utterly dependent on the constant supply of electricity, gas and water, that any disturbance in any of those modern commodities would be a major disaster for the whole world. It is easy to bring forward the idea that the Lord would never allow such a dreadful calamity to happen. It is tempting to think that the Prophetic Word concerning the Economy Collapse does not mean exactly what it implies. We deceive ourselves in thinking in this manner, for history has 88

89 made it abundantly clear that many times in the past, human kind had to go through a time of terrible sufferings wherein millions of people died of either starvation, disease or the sword of war and plunder! We only need to look at the end stages of the Roman Empire, during the Time of the First Four Trumpets, to learn how almost one third of the whole population of the Western part of the Roman Empire was wiped out! We only need to look at the outbreak of the Black Death or the Plague of the 14 th century wherein also almost one third of the whole population of Europe was laid in the grave in the space of a few years! Rebellion has its fruit, and the fruit of sin and rebellion is: death! The Word of God declares: The soul that sinneth, it shall die (Ezekiel 18:4). Men do not sufficiently realize the sinfulness of sin and the depth of the works of Satan, for if mankind had full knowledge about this, it would flee from any sin like the pestilence! Sin is deadly and eventually it will catch up with human kind. May the Lord grant a remnant to see the wickedness of rebellion and cause them to turn from themselves to the Living Saviour, before it is to late! The severity of this second stage of the Seventh vial is truly horrendous! It will be a time of deep sorrow and anguish for many souls, because there is no income, no food, no provision for paying the bills, no supplies of commodities and life has become colourless for them, as living in a labyrinth of dreary greyness. It will be a time wherein the Great City will as it were be under siege, and the inhabitants therein are consumed with famine and disease. This has happened twice to the city of Jerusalem when the Babylonians and the Romans besieged her. The plight of the inhabitants of the City of Jerusalem, who had chosen to stubbornly ignore and reject the Words of the prophet which the Lord had sent to them, were so extreme that the parents began to eat their own offspring! This is the reality of Judgement! May it sink into our hearts and minds, and may we repent of any known sin or rebellion that has remained in our lives, and humble ourselves, and seek the Lord, so that we will be able to live and survive in that terrible time! The Scriptures on the Judgements of Babylon say that 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 (Revelation 18:8). Death and famine are about to visit the inhabitants of the earth, including the citizens of Babylon the Great, and these words mean exactly what they say! Death and famine will once again knock on the doors of billions of people when the Economy Collapses! Figure 12: Breadlines in the U.S.A onwards. The burning of the Great City with fire does not necessarily mean the literal burning of a city, and is here not to be interpreted as such. The Word Fire in Scriptural language can, as the reader knows, refer to several things. Sometimes it is used to point to literal fire, like in the plagues of Egypt and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but in other cases it is used as a symbolic expression for other matters. Here, in Revelation 18, it should be read in its context of the economy collapse, and therefore the burning fire signifies the intense sufferings and anguish the people will go through when this event takes place. Compare Leviticus 26:16: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it, and 89

90 Deuteronomy 32:25: For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. 23 I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. 24 They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. 25 The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs. The fire of Revelation 18 is the fire of famine, death and mourning. According to Revelation 18, the merchandise will cease, the stock markets will collapse and the kings or governments of the nations shall stand helpless and powerless while they see the smoke of her burning (verse 9). The language of the Old Testament Scriptures with regard to the judgement of Babylon is not less terrifying. Isaiah 13:6-9: Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: 8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. 9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. Please read in the Scriptures mentioned in the box above, how the ancient Babylonians fell by the sword, and the children were dashed to pieces, and their houses were spoiled, and their wives ravished; and how children were not spared; and how it was overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah (Isaiah 13); and how they were put to utter shame; and how they were brought low, and how they became desolate; and how they were burned as stubble (Isaiah 47); and how the idols were confounded and the images were broken in pieces; and how the land was made desolate; and how they were devoured; and how arrows were shot at her; and how they were be a spoil; and how they were made into a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert; and how the land was emptied; and how they were not spared; and how the foundations were fallen, and the walls were thrown down; and how the land of rebellion was utterly wasted and destroyed; and how it was cut asunder and broken; and how Babylon became a desolation among the nations; and how there was nothing left of her; and how all her leaders were gone down to the slaughter; and how the time of their visitation had come; and how none could escape; and how her evil deeds were recompensed; and how the young men fell in the streets, and all the men were cut off in that day of calamity; and how the most proud stumbled and fell, and rose not again; and how the fire devoured all round about; and how the sword came upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes and upon her wise men, and upon the liars and upon the mighty men, and upon their horses, and upon their chariots; and upon all the mingled people that were in the midst of her; and upon her treasures and how they were robbed; and how a drought came upon her waters; and how no mercy was shown to them; and how the hands of the king of Babylon waxed feeble and how anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail; and how their habitation was made desolate; and how the earth was moved by the taking of Babylon; and how the cry was heard among the nations; (Jeremiah 50) and how a destroying wind was raised up against them; and how Babylon was fanned in the day of trouble; and how they were thrust through in her streets; and how Babylon suddenly fell; and how her end had come, and the measure of her covetousness; and how the graven images perished in the time of their visitation; and how unto Babylon was rendered all the evil that they had done in Zion; and how the Lord s Hand rolled Babylon down from the rocks and made her a burnt mountain; and how she would be desolate for ever; and how Babylon was made into a desolation without an inhabitant; and how the mighty men became as women; and how her dwelling places were burned and her bars were broken; and how Babylon was threshed on the threshing floor; and how Babylon became heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment and an hissing, without an inhabitant; and how they were roaring like lions; and how they were slaughtered; and how Sheshach [Babylon] was taken; and how the praise of the whole earth was surprised; and how Babylon had become an astonishment among the 90

91 nations; and how she was covered with the waves of the sea; and how her cities were desolate; and how the land was without a man; and how the idols and god of Babylon were punished; and how the walls of Babylon fell; and how the fierce anger of the Lord came upon her; and how the Lord did judge the graven images of Babylon; and how the whole land was confounded and how all her slain fell in the midst of her; and how through all her land the wounded were groaning; and how the Lord send spoilers to her; and how a cry and great destruction came from the land of Babylon; and how the mighty men were taken; and how their bows were broken; and how the broad walls of Babylon were utterly broken and how her high gates were burned with fire; and how the people were labouring in vain; and in the fire; and how they were to be weary; and how none was to remain in it, neither man or beast, but that is was to be desolate for ever (Jeremiah 51)! This then was the fate of the City and dominion of Babylon, which in due course came to pass exactly as it was prophesied. This then is what is yet awaiting the Great City of Babylon, for she has been equally guilty of all manner of abominations as Babylon of old (or even more so)! The Lord is equally wrath with Babylon the Great, if not more so, and therefore she will receive of the maxim of God s wrath when the Seventh Vial is poured out. Babylon the Great shall suffer severely at the Hands of the Judge Who recompenses all evil, but her utter destruction shall only come when the last drops of the Vial are being poured out. Nevertheless, when the plagues of the Economy failure come upon her, she shall wail and weep and gnash her teeth for pain by reason of the terrible calamities that have come to her. She will be forced to drink the cup which is filled with shame, famine, disease, death, the sword, desolation, pain, sufferings, for it is written that whatsoever she has done, it will be done unto her double (Revelation 18:6-7). It will be the appointed time of Divine Retribution. Figure 13: The so-called Hoovervilles (encampments for the homeless, named after president Hoover who did not want to intervene to much in the dire situation) sprang up across the United States out of sheer poverty. It is hard to imagine in this time that only about 70 years ago many of the Americans (and of course the people of other nations) had to live in these make-shift homes because of loss of income and savings. Apparently a quarter of the Americans had no regular and stable income after the Great Depression had set in. Both adults and children began to suffer from malnourishment and many became weak and sick. Ad. 4: Babylon the Great is to rise no more. Great Babylon has received of God s Wrath before, and five Vials have already been poured upon her during the revolutions of the 18 th and 19 th centuries. She nevertheless recovered from her wounds, causing all that dwell upon the earth to worship the Beast (Revelation 13:8, 12). The Judgements of the Seventh Vial will be far more severe than anything that has befallen the City of Babylon ever before! When the Great City is Divided into three by reason of the collapse of the world trade systems, she apparently, according to the Word of God, will no longer be able to raise her ugly, whorish forehead whereupon is written: Mystery Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the earth. In a moment of time she shall be judged, brought to nought and made desolate in such a way that it is compared with the throwing of a heavy millstone in the sea, and shall be found no more at all (Revelation 18:21). And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; 91

92 23 And the light of a candle 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 great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived (Revelation 18:22-23). All the Babylonian joyous religious ceremonies and profitable economical activities shall cease, for joy has been replaced by sorrow, death, mourning and famine and her riches and costliness have been brought to nought. And I will punish the [Babylonian] world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible (Isaiah 13:11). Money, wealth and power can cause the natural man, including a Christian, to become haughty and proud. Great Babylon is full of all of these. When the economy is humbled, Babylon shall be humbled with it. Her pride will come to a full end when Great Babylon is judged: And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. 21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. 22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged (Isaiah 13:19-22). As it has happened unto Ancient Babylon for even her ruins can hardly be found anymore! so shall it come to pass to the Great City of Babylon. (Please read also Isaiah 47:1-5, 11) And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up (Jeremiah 50:32). Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. 40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein (Jeremiah 50:39-40). And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD (Jeremiah 51:26). And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: 64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary (Jeremiah 51:63-64). We will cause the Scriptures to speak for themselves. The message is clear: when Babylon shall be judged thus, she will not be able to rise again as a mighty political-religious world dominion for ever! She then can be likened unto an old whorish widow, waiting for her final grave.. Ad. 5: The sins and iniquities of Babylon: The sins and iniquities of the City and Dominion of Ancient Babylon had reached unto Heaven and the Lord came down and visited her with the Judgements of the sword which in due course, in the progress of time, utterly laid waste the City and Dominion of Babylon, never to rise again upon the face of the earth. The question here is: what, according to the Word of God, was Ancient Babylon guilty of that she received such severe Divine retributions? We shall see that old Babylon was guilty of the same things as Babylon the Great has been for the last, say, 1700 years (with the Second Beast of the United States joining her from the 18 th Century onwards). The sins of Ancient Babylon are similar to those of Babylon the Great. The sins are the same, and therefore shall the Judgements be the same. After the Seven Vials were shown to John in the visions (Revelation 15-16), one of the Angels, which had a vial showed John the judgement of the Great Whore of Babylon the Great and gave 92

93 more details about the characteristics and identity of the Great City of Babylon. In this chapter we can behold some of the sins whereof she has been guilty. And 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 judgement of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters (Revelation 17:1) What has Great Babylon been involved in that she will receive such great and terrible Judgements by the Hand of God? It is written that her sins have reached unto heaven (Revelation 18:4-5), so what has this great Antichristian apostate Church been guilty of according to the Word of God? She is guilty of committing (spiritual) fornication with the kings [kingdoms/nations] of the earth (verse 2) for is she not causing the nations to be drunk with her cup of idolatries and abominations? Babylon is full of blasphemy (verse 3), abominations and filthiness (verse 4) for the Roman Church claims to be as God on earth, having the power to forgive sins and to change the Word of God at will. She is above God, for she can add to and extract from the Word of God as she pleases, and teaches that the worship of idols, saints and the dead is perfectly acceptable. The Second Beast of Babylon (the Apostate Protestant Churches which came out of the United States) is guilty of the same by reason of their idolatrous worldliness and covetousness and by reason of the ecumenical movement whereby Christians are urged to find union with the Church of Rome. She is the Mother of Harlots and abominations of the earth (verse 5), for does Rome not have many daughter Churches that have taken upon themselves the characteristics of the Mother Whore? Rome brought into the world a mystery Babylon religion (verse 5) in the Name of Jesus Christ. She therefore is guilty of keeping alive the ancient spirit of Babylon under a cloak of paganised Christianity. Babylon is drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs (verse 6), and made war with he Lamb (verse 14) for she has killed millions upon millions of God s faithful Church down through the Ages! Babylon the Great has become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird (Revelation 18:2) for her iniquities and sins have opened the door wide for the work of all manner of demons. The extended City of Babylon, which would include all those Protestant Churches which have apostatized as well, have by reason of their compromises, sins and idolatries opened the doors for legions of demons to work and increase their evil schemes within these apostate establishments. The kings [kingdoms/nations] of the earth have committed fornication with her (verse 3) and the merchants of the earth have waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies (verse 3), for Babylon has made the Christian religion, which is not the Christian faith, into a vast religious market whereby she has greatly enriched herself and all those who are indirectly involved in her economical and political businesses. She hath glorified herself and lived in luxury and said of herself: I sit a queen, and am no widow and shall see no sorrow (verse 7), while she abused and used and trampled upon millions of souls and deceived them with her abominable teachings, thinking she will continue in this high and lofty position forever. Babylon has made merchandise of the sacred Gospel of Jesus Christ, and traded in religious commodities for monetary gain and made merchandise of the bodies and souls of men (verse 11-13) by teaching that salvation can be gained by good works, especially the act of giving money. This Great City clothed herself in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls (verse 16), which are the main outward characteristics of the visible Church of Rome. Babylon had made the Church of God, which is not the Church of God, into an idolatrous, frivolous and business-like enterprise (verse 22-23), wherein all things religious revolve around wealth and gain, for nothing can be had without having to pay some money for it. The Word of God says, freely we have received, freely we shall give (Matthew 10:8), but Great Babylon charges for all her (satanic) services. We have stated before that the Antichristian Dominion of Babylon the Great, is the same as the First and Second Beast of Revelation 13, and the man of sin, son of perdition, that wicked one 93

94 and the mystery of iniquity of 2 Thessalonians 2. They all refer to the same Antichristian false Church, which would come upon the earth. Therefore is Babylon the Great, which is headed by the succession of men of sin and sons of perdition in the line of the Popes of Rome, that wicked one, guilty of opposing and exalting 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 (2 Thessalonians 2:4). It is not our intention to give a fully detailed account of all the characteristics and sins of the Church of Rome and her daughter harlots, but it is a fact that some time after the death of Paul, the Church began to fall away (verse 3) and the mystery religion of Rome began to take hold of the Christian faith and corrupted it, slowly but surely, into a Mystery Babylon religion, which was nothing more than a continuation of the ancient Babylonian religion under a very thin veneer of some Christian teachings and practices. At the head of this Roman Church, which came up in, say the 3 rd /4 th centuries A.D., stood the Pope of Rome, who in the 6 th and 7 th Centuries was proclaimed to be the head of the whole of the worldwide Christian Church. The pope and all his successors, indeed showed themselves to be as God, sitting in the Temple of God (which is the Temple, existing out of lively stones of believers, that is: the Church), by claiming to be God s representative on earth, having the destiny to rule over the spiritual and secular realm of the world and having the power and right to forgive people of their sins. The Church of Rome and the popes thereof called themselves by the Name of Jesus Christ, but opposed Him in all their words, deeds and practices for they made mockery of the Word of God and followed the traditions of men instead. We again would like to refer the reader here to some very good writings on this subject, mentioned in Appendix 2 at the end of the Part I The spirit of mystery Babylon the Great was already working in the time of Paul (verse 7), but would only be revealed openly when the power of Pagan Rome was taken out of the way (verse 7). Then that Wicked would be revealed, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders (verse 9) by which the Church of Rome deceived countless multitudes down through the ages. All those who received not the love of the truth, and who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness, were drawn by the Church of Rome into believing her strong delusions and lies (verse 10-12). The prophet Daniel has also got much to say about the sins of the Antichristian power of Babylon, but identifies this political-religious dominion by the prophetic symbol of a little horn (Daniel 7:8), as we have seen in Part I of this writing (horn = a power, a political dominion). The dominion of Babylon is therefore said to have eyes of a man (verse 8) wherewith it claimed to have spiritual sight, and had a mouth speaking great things, even against the Most High (verse 8, 20,25) for with her mouth she taught, and continues to teach, the most atrocious, proud and blasphemous doctrines and claims which are directly opposing the Counsels and Truths of God. Babylon made war with the saints, and prevailed against them (verse 21); she wore out the saints of the most High (verse 25), because for centuries on end the Church of Rome persecuted, pestered, tortured and killed the true Saints of God. The Dominion of Mystery Babylon thought to change times and laws (verse 25), which belong to God alone, for she has made it her business to corrupt the ways, truths and laws of God as much as she possible could. Whatever can be considered true, righteous and holy, the unfaithful whorish Church of Rome would twist, change, corrupt, deny or trample upon by inventing her own, manmade system of an idolatrous Christian religion, which by no means will lead to life, but eternal destruction. Then it says in Revelation 13 that the Apostate Protestant Church systems which came out of the United States, cause the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed (verse 12). The Second Beast was to do lying wonders and to play with strange fire, and to deceive them that dwell on the earth in saying that men should make an image to the First Beast (verse 12-14). This apostate Church was to cause all to receive a mark in their 94

95 right hand or in their foreheads (verse 16), for which the Wrath of God shall come upon them (Revelation 14:10). This Apostate Protestant Church together with the First Beast of the Papal Roman Dominion make up the Great City of Babylon the Great. Is this mountain of sin not high enough to reach the heavens? Deceit, murder, lies, persecution, theft, robberies, spiritual fornication, idolatries, corruption, covetousness, greediness, worldliness, oppression, control, dominion, blasphemies, and so forth have been the foundation stones whereupon Babylon has built her Idolatrous Framework which she calls the Christian Church! Would God not avenge such a Satanic Church? Would God not avenge His own people who have been trampled upon by the unholy feet of the Whorish City of Babylon? Would God not judge such an apostate, blasphemous institution, which calls herself by the Name of the Lord? Would God not give unto her a double portion of all the cruelty, sufferings and pains she has inflicted on others? Would God not smash this City of comfort, luxury and wealth, which she has taken to herself by making merchandise of the Word of God? The Lord remembers all her wicked deeds; they are written in His Book, and He will collect her iniquities into His cup of Wrath and shall pour the contents thereof on her own head when the Seventh Vial empties itself. This is why the plague of the Economy Crash shall come upon her for such a plague shall consume her bars, walls, princes, leaders and inhabitants while they are yet living and they shall be confronted with shame, pain, suffering and the want of all things, seeing that Babylon has been guilty of inflicting all these on others for many centuries. The Ancient City and Dominion of Babylon had made herself guilty of the same wicked deeds. Babylon of old and the kings thereof were extremely proud, exalting themselves as gods upon the earth unto whom every knee should bow. Babylon of old had the same persecuting rages and we all know about the story how the three friends of Daniel the prophet were thrown into the fires of King Nebuchadnezzar because they had refused to bow down before the Great Image of the god of Babylon (See Daniel chapter 3). Babylon was a city of great wealth, pomp, power, strength and pride and was filled with the most offensive sins of idolatry and all manner of iniquities. The Word of God says so; the prophets of old describe the sins of Babylon, which are very similar to the sins of Babylon the Great. Babylon is no more because of their sins, and so shall Babylon the Great be no more, because of their sins. What do the prophets of old have to say about the sins of Babylon? What was Babylon of old guilty of that the Lord made a full and perfect end to her existence? She was evil, wicked, arrogant, proud and haughty (Isaiah 13:11). Babylon was used to chastise God s People Israel, and the Lord gave Israel in her hands, but she did not show the people of Israel any mercy, and had laid upon them a very heavy yoke (Isaiah 47:6) and considered herself righteous in doing this, and untouchable, as if the Lord would not see such wickedness (verses 7-8, 10), as if the Lord would not recompense such sin. Babylon was guilty of a multitude of sorceries and an abundance of enchantments (verse 9,12) and took counsel of the astrologers, stargazers and monthly prognosticators (verse 13-14). Babylon had been a golden cup in the Lord s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nation have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad (Jeremiah 51:7). Her judgement reached unto heaven, and was lifted up even to the skies (verse 9). She was dwelling upon many waters, abundant in treasures, but her end had come, and the measure of her covetousness (verse 13). She was full with graven images, vanity, the work of errors that, would perish in the time of their visitation (verse 18). They had done evil in Zion (verse 24) (for had they not destroyed the Temple, and carried off the vessels thereof and had they not taken God s people captive and destroyed the city of Jerusalem?). She was guilty of destroying, or corrupting all the earth (verse 25) and was mighty and strong (verse 30-31). The inhabitants of Zion and Jerusalem were crushed and swallowed up, and made like an empty vessel by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon (verse 34). He had filled his belly with their delicates and had cast them out. He 95

96 did violence unto them and had caused their blood to flow (verses 34,35). She was called the praise of the whole earth (verse 41). Babylon worshipped other gods (verse 44) and was full with graven images (verse 47). She was guilty of slaying Israel and therefore was to be slain herself (verse 49). She had lifted herself up to heaven and was strong (verse 53). She had a great, loud and proud voice (verse 55) and was full with princes, wise men, captains, rulers and mighty men (verse 57). For these sins the Lord visited Ancient Babylon and reduced her to the sands of the desert. Her idolatry, wickedness, pride, arrogance, blasphemies and all manner of sins had reached the heavens. Her greatest guilt was her actions and words against the City and People of Israel (Judah), which are called by name by the One and Only True God. Babylon s blasphemous deeds and words were directed against the Lord God of Israel, just as Babylon the Great has lifted up her head against the Holy One of Israel, even the Lord Jesus Christ, by trampling upon His Word and His People, the Church. Because of this, the Lord s wrath is kindled against her, and God remembers her sins, and is about to pour out His Wrath upon the Great City of Babylon, just as in the days of old, wherein Ancient Babylon received a just recompense at the Hand of the Judge of all the Earth! Babylon the Great, both Papal Rome and any Apostate Protestant Church, has been declared utterly guilty by the High Court of God. The Judge has pronounced her punishment, which is to be: the Dividing of the Great City into Three, before the Hail from Heaven will fall and completely finish her (See Revelation 16: 21). The Great Economy Crash is but the just Divine Vengeance on a deeply corrupted Apostate Church, which is no Church, but the Temple of Satan. Ad. 6: The Command of the Lord to His People to flee from Babylon: Revelation 18:4: And 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. We are now confronted with a very difficult and sensitive issue. We now have to speak about a prophetic warning, which we know will be totally rejected by the majority of Christendom. We nevertheless must place before the reader the choice of accepting or rejecting the words we are about to write here, for every man or woman must be fully persuaded in his or her own mind and everyone must examine and decide for themselves what they consider to be Scriptural truth. It is written, if we say we love the Lord, we must keep His words and commandments: Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you; If a man love me, he will keep my words (John 15:14; John 14:23). A command is given in Revelation 18:4: A voice from Heaven is saying to His people: Come out of Babylon, that ye be not partakers of her sins which have reached unto heaven, and that ye receive not of her plagues which will be poured down upon her when the Seventh Vial empties its contents on Babylon the Great (See Revelation 18:4). A voice from heaven is quite unique in the Scriptures. Not often do we read of a voice from heaven in the Word of God! When a voice is heard directly from Heaven, it comes as it were straight from the Heart of God. When a voice sounds from Heaven, the message must be considered as extremely important in the eyes of the Lord, having extra weight. A voice from heaven was heard when the Lord announced the Great period of the Times of the Gentiles in Daniel 4: The voice from heaven was heard when the Lord Jesus was baptized and the Spirit of God 96

97 came upon Him, and the voice was saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17), vindicating the identity of Jesus as being the long awaited Divine Messiah. It was heard when Jesus was praying, Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again (John 12:28) and was heard when the seven thunders of Revelation 10 were about to utter their voices, and John was about to write them down, till John heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not (Revelation 10:4). (Further see also in Revelation 11:12; 14:2,13; 21:3). The Voice from Heaven in Revelation 18:4 - announcing a serious and solemn warning as it does - is the only example of the Scriptures wherein the Voice from Heaven gives a Warning to God s people, for the other instances wherein the voice from Heaven is heard, has no warning message in them but speaks about other issues. The warning and command to God s people to come out of her [Great Babylon] must therefore be taken extremely seriously! It is a direct warning and command from the Throne of God to His people who have been somehow caught up with the Great Babylonian City. The Lord is telling them today to come out of Great Babylon, so that they will not be partakers of her multitudinous sins and receive not of the terrible plagues which will fall upon her soon. Depart from her, separate yourself, touch not the unclean thing, escape from Babylon and deliver yourself from her claws, so that the Lord may receive you as sons and daughters (see 2 Corinthians 6:17-18). This Scripture makes it quite clear that some of God s true, twice born, people are dwelling in the Great City of Babylon. We are not referring so much here to the Roman Catholic Church, for any truly born again Christian would simply not remain in that obviously idolatrous Church, perhaps a few exceptions excluded. No, we are referring here to that vast Apostate Protestant Church system which has become part of Babylon the Great by reason of the Babylonian spirit, which is working within her corridors and by reason of her adulteries with the doctrines and practices of the Roman Church. The Protestant Reformation of the 16 th Century onwards was a blessed move forward to restoration truths, and yet, as we have explained in Part I of this writing, many of those Protestant Churches have failed to shake off many of the Romish tainted traditions and teachings and can therefore still be considered as the daughter harlots of the Papal Roman Mother Church. Further it is true that the modern, evangelical so-called Protestant Churches, especially in the United States, but also in many other parts of the world, have made an Image to the Church of Rome, as we wrote about in Part I when we discussed the Second Beast. The money loving, worldly, compromising and prosperity seeking Churches of today are part of the Great City of Babylon. Control, power, wealth, human tradition and compromise are the foundation stones whereon they have erected their Babylonian Structure, which has completely deviated from that faith which was once delivered unto the Church (Jude 1:3). The Word of God says: Come out of her, My People! There must be many sincere Christian believers who are gathering in the City of Babylon on perhaps a Sunday or another day, who have knowledge that there is something seriously amiss with the Church wherein they gather. They compare the Church in their town with the early Church of the New Testament, and can hardly see the same standard of holiness, truth and spiritual power manifested. They can see that man s ways and concepts have crowded out the liberty of the Spirit of God. They notice very well that the Lord is standing at the door, knocking, and asking: Can I come in (Revelation 3:20)? These people belonging to God may well cry and sigh over the abominations that are being done in Jerusalem, just like the prophet Ezekiel of old (Ezekiel 9:4) and may well pray day and night to the Lord for a Divine intervention which will bring the lukewarm Church to repentance and revive the dry bones of the modern Church. They nevertheless go and visit this particular denomination, for they have full knowledge that in the Church around the corner they are fighting one another, and in the Church further on they do not believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and in the Church on the outskirts of their town they hate Israel, and so on. It is nowadays well nigh impossible to find a Church which functions in accordance with the pure principles of the New Testament, for the spirit 97

98 of Babylon has crept into the Churches of God. It is almost impossible to find a Christian congregation wherein the Babylonian spirit of control, or dominance, or manmade traditions and programs, or worldliness or moneymaking are completely absent. This is truly a fearful situation, for the Word of God declares clearly that Great Babylon shall receive of the Wine of the fierceness of His wrath (Revelation 16:19). We of the Watchmen of the Night ministries would urge any Christian to hereby seriously examine and consider their spiritual standing with the Lord in this matter. Are you one of God s people to whom the Lord is saying: Come out of Babylon, my child, lest you partake of the sins of Babylon, and receive of her plagues which I will pour out on her very soon? The reader must examine the Church denomination or structure where he or she gathers in the light of God s Word, and see whether the spirit of Babylon has taken hold of it. If the particular denomination or group of Christians has direct dealings with the Church of Rome, it is condemned outright, without question, according to the Words and Warnings of God! Remember that it is not we, the authors, mere men and women of flesh and blood, who are saying this, but the Word of God declares that the Wrath of God rests on any soul who is associated with the Beast (Revelation 14:9-11). Any member of the Great City of Babylon shall receive of the Wrath of the Seventh Vial. There are nevertheless many Church denominations that have no direct dealings with the Church of Rome and would not dare to form a dialogue with her, and yet have taken upon themselves the spirit of Babylon by reason of their desire for control, wealth, prosperity, ease, compromise and comfort. The spirit of Babylon is very subtle, and shall adapt itself like a chameleon to the required circumstances. The spirit of Babylon shall seek to compromise the Word of God wherever and whenever it is allowed and made possible. Here a little leaven, there a little leaven, and after a while the whole body is poisoned and corrupted. May the Lord grant the Christian reader discernment, wisdom and understanding when he or she examines his or her own spiritual standing in the light of the Word of God. May the Lord convict and speak to you if you are one of those souls to whom the Lord is saying: Come out of Babylon! The same warning message went out to the God s people the Jews when they were in Babylonian captivity. The prophets sounded the warning trumpet far and wide: Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD'S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense (Jeremiah 51:6)! Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD (Jeremiah 52:11). My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD. 46 And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler (Jeremiah 51:45-46). Many (not all) of the Jews lived as a separated people, who refused to compromise with the idolatrous practices of the Babylonians (See Daniel and his three friends who were severely persecuted and punished for their uncompromising stand). They kept their pure language and were weary of the idolatrous speech of the Babylonians around them. For 70 years the Jews had to remain in Babylon, by reason of their idolatrous sins, which they committed in the land that the Lord had given them as an inheritance. Now the time of chastisement had been fulfilled and the day of vengeance for Zion had come. Now the Lord is crying unto His People to come forth out of Babylon, for the Lord is about to bring Judgements upon her. When Babylon was judged and taken by the Gentile Dominion of Medo-Persia, the Jews were free to leave the dominion of Babylon to return to Zion, their homeland. Not all Jews who had been taken captive chose to go back to their land, but the remnant of Jacob returned and began to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple thereof (Please read Ezra, Nehemiah). Go ye forth of Babylon, 98

99 flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob (Isaiah 48: 20). Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks [he goats = the chief, leaders of the people] (Jeremiah 50:8). The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple (Jeremiah 50:28). Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD. 7 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon (Zechariah 2:6-7). The One and Only True God, the Lord Jesus Christ, desires and demands His people to be free from any stains of idolatry, but the Roman Catholic Church is full with idols. The Lord of Holiness does not want His people to compromise with the world, the flesh, or Satan, nor does our Jealous God want His People to seek the treasures and pleasures of this world, but the Apostate Protestant Churches are very guilty of all these things. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). For what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). The Lord is openly and clearly saying to any Christian who has been caught by any of the Arms of Babylon: Remove yourself from Great Babylon, so that ye will be safe in the Day of Great Calamity! Ad 7 and 8: The Deliverance of God s people out of Babylon and their return to Zion. The Fall of Babylon was a joyous moment for the Jewish People, for then the time had come for the fulfilment of God s promises that their captivity had come to an end (Jeremiah 25:11) and that the Lord would raise up Cyrus, king of the Medo-Perisans, who would allow them to go homeward (2 Chronicles 36:22), to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. The Fall of Babylon the Great shall likewise be a joyous moment for the true Church: And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven [those who dwell with Christ in heavenly places in accordance with Ephesians 2:6], saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2 For true and righteous are his Judgements: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. 2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. 3 And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, 4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased (Isaiah 14:1-4). The judgement of Great Babylon shall be a merciful deed for the True Church of Christ and the rest of the world, for she is the one that has destroyed, or corrupted the world (Revelation 11:18) and she is the one who has taken God s people captive, refusing to let them go. When Great Babylon is judged by the means of a mighty Crash of man s economic systems, we know for sure that the Lord s return is very near at hand. The Great City being divided into three will be 99

100 another great sign of the times that the Lord is as it were on His way to planet earth. When the economy collapses in such a way that it will rise no more, then we know that the world will be preparing itself for the last battle of that great day of God Almighty (Revelation 16:14) wherein the world and many of her inhabitants therein shall be consumed by an all-out nuclear war. Then the Earth will be ready for the establishment of a new world order, inaugurated and governed by the Lord Jesus Christ and His Saints, for ever. Chapter 2.3: Other Scriptural references to the disintegration of the Economy. We so far have considered the Great City being divided into Three parts and have seen that this is nothing else but the judgement of Great Babylon by means of the collapse of her economic foundations whereupon she is so dependent. Any time after the next Great War in the Middle East, the world wide economic systems will be no more and consequently Babylon the Great shall fall. Besides these prophecies of the Judgements of Babylon, whether Ancient Babylon or Babylon the Great, there are other Scriptural references to this coming Crash of man s Economies. Please read the following Scriptures. James (4) and 5:1-8; Zephaniah 1:11-13; Ezekiel : Weep and Howl ye Rich Men; James 5:1-8 James 5:1-8 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. 6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. 7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. James, the Apostle of God, was he speaking to the wicked? No, James wrote his epistle to his brethren and warned them about the dangers of covetousness and worldly lusts (James chapter 4). He severely rebuked those spiritual adulterers and adulteresses, who apparently knew not, or cared not, that the friendship of the world is enmity with God and that whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4:4). He strongly reproached the brethren who say: To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and 100

101 get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil (James 4:13-17). And yet, this is just exactly what the Christians of our time are making themselves guilty of! This is just what most Christians of today are doing: making friends with the world, pursuing after earthly gains and following their own will and plans. Therefore James cries out prophetically: Go to now, ye rich men, weep and how for your miseries that shall come upon you (James 5: 1). What rich men? Christian rich men (and women)! They will weep and howl in that day when the calamity of the economy crash comes upon them. They are the ones who have left the humble example which Christ has given them, and migrated as it were to the mercantile cities of this world, to set their hearts on earthly gains and treasures, wherein they succeed but with the loss of their souls as a consequence, seeing that they have forgotten the Master and the heavenly abode. The Church in our day is full with such Christians. We have seen clearly that the greatest part of the professing Church has become one Great Mercantile City of Babylon wherein everyone is busying themselves with worldly pursuits and monetary gains. Mammon has crowded God out, and the cares of this world have choked the good seed, which has been sown in their hearts some time ago. Such a worldly, wealthy and prosperity seeking Church shall weep and howl in that day. This of course does not mean that all wealthy Christians belong necessarily to this category. Whether a rich Christian shall weep and howl in that day or not, depends on the attitude and conduct of the believer who has riches. The questions arise: has the wealth has been gained in an honest way, and has the Christian tuned in with the Master in how to use that money, for all we have and are belong to the Lord Jesus if we claim to be His. Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; 18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life (1 Timothy 6:17-19). The question is whether the wealthy Christian has become high-minded and whether he or she trusts more in his wealth than in the Master. Nevertheless, there are many dangers lurking when Christians are or do become rich, for there is this uncanny sinful characteristic in human nature which thinks that the wealthy, rich and educated Christians should have the right to control and dominate, and have more say in the matter than the poorer ones. We have for example seen so often a situation in a Christian congregation where only the rich and educated ones are in positions of authority while in the Word of God, those who were filled with the Holy Spirit were chosen and appointed to places of spiritual authority. Further there is a great danger to pull the heart and mind away from spiritual matters to earthly matters. Set your affections on things above, the Scriptures says, but when Christians are wealthy or seek to be wealthy, their minds and hearts shall automatically follow their earthly pursuits! Be warned therefore; riches are spiritually dangerous and the Word of God warns: He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful (13:22). If a Christian does not even realize the dangers of riches, then he or she is already deceived! It is difficult for a rich man or woman to enter into the Kingdom: Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven, for riches and wealth draw people into the world and away from Christ, and such are very unwilling to forsake their riches for the Name of Jesus Christ, if called upon to do so! There is one particular thing, which the Lord condemns above all other sins with regard to wealth and riches, and that is making merchandise out of the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ! All those who are guilty of such abominable practices shall definitely weep and howl in that day when the storage of 101

102 wealth vanishes as by overnight! Multitudes of Churches and the leaders thereof have made themselves guilty of trading in the spiritual goods of Jesus Christ! The rich of James chapter 5 have accumulated for themselves riches, and costly garments, but are unwilling to distribute to the poor as the Lord leads. They lay up a store of security, provision and comfort for themselves but forgotten the Maker and Provider of all. They put their trust in those corruptible commodities, and consider themselves to be well settled and safe for the rest of their lives. How mistaken they are, for their riches will be corrupted, or putrefied in that day, and the garments useless, seeing they are eaten by moths. The material wealth, which the Christians of today are accumulating, will be totally worthless and corrupted in that day when the economy collapses. Their gold and silver shall be corroded, and nothing can be done with it. They live in pleasure, in all selfishness, forgetting those that are poor, and are as it were fattening themselves, ready for the day of slaughter. Further it is said that much of this wealth has been gained by illegal and oppressive actions (verse 4) and that the cry of the labourers who have worked for them are entering into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth [= armies]. The Lord has heard the cries, and the Lord has seen the state of His people, and shall not allow the situation to continue any longer. He will visit the earth in judgement and shake the Babylonian, wealthy Church in its foundations! When the Economy Crash comes, the corrupt, worldly, rich and prosperity seeking Churches shall weep and howl for the calamities that have come upon them! Matthew 6:19-20: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also : Zephaniah 1:11-13: The Crash of Maktesh Zephaniah 1:11-13: Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off. 12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil. 13 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. Maktesh is supposed to be a symbolic name for the place in Jerusalem where the Phoenician traders had their quarters. Phoenicia was a very central point in the old world and formed therefore a natural hub for the world commerce of those times. It was here where all the trade routes of Asia converged. And say unto Tyrus [which is a place in Phoenicia], O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles (Ezekiel 27:3). Phoenicia enriched itself greatly by reason of its commerce with the foreign nations and was able to live in splendid wealth and luxuries. The Phoenicians are considered to have been the most enterprising merchants of the old world (see also 1 Kings 5,7). The modern equivalent for a place like Phoenicia would undoubtedly be the electronic markets where most of the world s wealth and capital is being traded. Here, in this prophetic word of Zephaniah 1:11, it is said that the inhabitants of Maktesh (or the merchant street) shall howl, for all the merchant people are cut down and they that bear silver are cut off. The inhabitants of 102

103 modern Maktesh would be all those who directly or indirectly are involved in any of the world s electronic trading markets. When this vast Phoenician trading city of Maktesh is no more, their inhabitants will weep and howl, for their accumulation of riches, security and provision have gone to the wind. It is interesting to note that this howling of the inhabitants of Maktesh, the merchant street, is mentioned straight after the cry which came from the fish gate and the second gate of Jerusalem, which we have suggested might refer to the Collapse of the Temple Mount and the Islamic buildings thereon. If this is true, then the order of events is the same as in Revelation 16 and other Scriptures, namely: A Great war in Israel and the Middle East (including the cleansing of the sanctuary), followed (either immediately or some time later) by a devastating economy crash! First the cry from the fish gate and the second gate of Jerusalem, then the cry from the Merchant street of Maktesh. This information nevertheless is not enough to go by on its own, but out of interest we have mentioned this Scripture verse here for the reader. Notwithstanding, we have enough other Scriptural evidence that such an economy crash is assured and imminent. The Seventh Vial shall definitely have an economy crash in its mixture of God s Wrath! 2.3.3: The Lamentation for Tyrus (Tyre) Please read Ezekiel 26-28; Isaiah 23 We do not want to go into great details about the possibility that the Judgements of the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Zidon could well be typologies of the economy crash of the last days. We would just like to present to you as the reader some interesting matters for your due consideration. Tyre was another Phoenician city, which was very famous for its commercial activities. The Easton Bible Dictionary says: The commerce of the whole world was gathered into the warehouses of Tyre. The judgements which were to befall this once wealthy and proud city has been perfectly fulfilled in its history, for there is now indeed nothing more left of that once illustrious and strong city than a bare rock. Prophetically speaking though, these prophecies of Ezekiel chapter and Isaiah 23 could well refer to the collapse of the world trade systems at the end of the age, by reason of the usage of the language. Please read for example verse 17 of chapter 26: And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it! Or verses 15-16: Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee? 16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee. Ezekiel chapter 28 uses a language, which is very similar to the judgement of Babylon in Revelation 18. There also the merchant activities are described as men doing trade on the seas (see also Psalm 107:23), and some verses speak about how the ships of the sea with their mariners were 103

104 in Tyrus to occupy their merchandise (Ezekiel 27:9). The following quote from Ezekiel 27:27-36 is very similar indeed to the words used in Revelation 18: Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin. 28 The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots. 29 And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land [Revelation: afar off]; 30 And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes: 31 And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing [Revelation: weeping, mouring and crying]. 32 And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea [Revelation: What city is like unto this great city]? 33 When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise [Revelation: kings committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth waxed rich. The great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea]. 34 In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall [Revelation: Angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it unto the sea]. 35 All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance [Revelation: kings of the earth shall bewail her and lament for her, standing afar off for the fear of her torment; merchants which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing; and the shipmaster and company in ships and sailors and as many as trade by sea stood afar off, and cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing]. 36 The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee [see above]; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more [Revelation: and shall be found no more at all]. Because of these similarities in language between these chapters of Ezekiel and Revelation 18, and the nature of the city of Tyrus, we would suggest that the wealthy merchant city Tyre or Tyrus is a prophetical, symbolic name for the Great City of Babylon in the latter days, which city will be judged as Tyre was judged. Chapter 2.4: The Divine Purposes of the Collapse of man s Economy Systems of this World. Why would the Lord allow man s trade systems to collapse at this time? There seems to be at least two Scriptural reasons for the ending of the Economy as we know it. First of all, Great Babylon has to be judged! That Great Apostate False Church system cannot just continue undisturbed as it has done for a so long. The Judgements of the vials have to continue and finish the work, which they began in the middle of the 18 th Century. There has been no major catastrophe in the world of Great Babylon since Rome fell into the hands of the Italian government in the year Since that time Babylon has been able to recover herself and even managed to extend its arms through the work of the Second Beast of the United States. At the present time, Great Babylon is sitting firmly in her seat by reason of her great wealth, power and sorceries. Nevertheless, the time of judgement has come and in a moment of time, at any day or season after the next great and terrible war in the Middle East, the Great Babylonian Merchant city of Rome and Apostate Protestantism shall weep and howl for the economic calamity that shall befall her. The Lord shall smash the religious merchants who are trading in spiritual commodities 104

105 in the Name of the Lord Jesus! Once more the Lord shall come to the Temple, which is called by His Name, and take a hold of the whip and sweep the moneymakers out of it. Once more the Lord shall take a hold of man s wicked devices and shake them so violently that they shall rise no more. Secondly, the Lord Jesus is preparing the Earth for His return. When the God of the Universe returns to the earth, and takes His rightful place on His throne in Jerusalem, and establishes His Kingdom which shall be ruled in accordance with Divine standards and principles, then there is no room for a wicked trading system as we know it today! The Seventh Vial prepares the Earth for the Coming of a New Civilization, and whatsoever cannot enter into that new civilization of the Kingdom of God, shall be shaken out of it. Whatsoever can be shaken shall be shaken, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain (see Hebrews 12:27), for His Kingdom is that which shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:14). Man s wicked and corrupt ways of trading simply cannot enter into the Kingdom of God for they do not measure up to the Holy Standards of God s Economy. Therefore shall the Seventh Vial cause the economy of this world to completely collapse and fail, after which it shall rise no more. Never in the history of mankind has there even been such an event! This is the time, for we are living at the end of the age, just prior to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are about to enter into the last Vial, which will make a complete and final end to the systems of men, including the economic ones. This is why the trade system of man shall fall, for the Lord is coming back soon to set up a new system which shall be in accordance with the principles of His Kingdom! Chapter 2.5: Some concluding Remarks on the Dividing of the Great City in Three The Economy of man will come to a complete end at any time soon after the Great Earthquake of War in the Middle East. The Great City of Babylon shall be divided into Three, for the kings [kingdoms] of the earth, and the merchants and all those who trade by the sea shall depart from the once united and prosperous political-religious city when the worldwide Economy collapses. This shall be the judgement of Babylon and this shall prepare the world for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ Who shall make all things new. Let the reader not think, this shall never happen unto us, for does the reader not remember how the Lord sent the Fifth and the Sixth Trumpets of the Islamic scourge unto the apostate Christian world of the Eastern Roman Empire? Did the Lord not pour the First Five vials on an apostate Babylonian world? Were there not many casualties? Did the inhabitants of the Apostate world not have to drink a bitter cup of sufferings, tortures, depravities, pains and cruel deaths? Has this not all happened before, by reason of continual idolatry, rebellion and sin? And yet, it is written, they did not repent of their deeds but blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores (See revelation 15:9-11; 9:20-21) and neither shall men repent when the Seventh vial has emptied its contents, for is it not written that men shall blaspheme God because of the plague of the great hail (Revelation 16:21)? Mankind is exceedingly rebellious, and the wickedness of man is great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart is only evil continually (Genesis 6:5), just like in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37). The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant (Isaiah 24:5). There is no doubt that this Second Stage of the Seventh Vial, which is the total and final collapse of the Economy, shall be fulfilled just as all the other prophetic words have come to pass exactly as they were foretold! 105

106 CHAPTER 3. THE FALL OF THE CITIES The Cities and their Inhabitants are failing to function Revelation 16:19: and the cities of the nations fell: [Young s: and the cities of the nations did fall] The whole of verse 19 says: 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. These events of verse 19 are all closely connected. The fall of the cities of the nations is intimately related to the Dividing of the Great City into three parts. The Dividing of the Great City into three shall be the cause of the fall of the cities of the nations! Both events are part of the cup of the wine of the fierceness of God s wrath which shall be poured upon Great Babylon. So what then does the fall of the cities of the nations refer to? Are they to be destroyed? Is this referring to war wherein the cities of the nations will be laid waste? Or is this rather speaking of the particular situation wherein the cities shall find themselves after the Great City is Divided into three? When the Word of God describes or prophesies about the annihilation and destruction of a city, the words used are far more explicit than the word falling. When cities are to be destroyed, they do not fall, but are to be taken away, or smitten with the edge of the sword and burned with fire, or utterly consumed, or stricken, or to cease, or cut off, or broken or destroyed, laid waste, or desolated, or devoured, or made into a heap and the like. The word fall, is the Greek word Pipto, which according to Strong s dictionary means: the idea of alighting; to fall (literal or figurative): fail, fall (down), light on. When it says that the cities fell, after the Dividing of the Great City in three, it is not difficult to see that this would refer to the total inability of the cities and their inhabitants to function properly and normally! When the World Economic systems collapse, the cities will be the first place of total pandemonium! Panic would travel through its many streets, tumult would break out, rage, anger, fears, tears and all manner of emotions would fly around; people would rush around, not knowing what to do, shops would run out of their goods very quickly, and it would not take long before the normal functions of a city would come to a grinding halt. Gas would be more difficult or impossible to get, electricity might be cut down or even cut off completely and the supply of clean water will become an almost unattainable task. The cities will become an impossible place to live for the basic services will collapse in due course. When the oil supply would stop, the cities will fall and when the economy ceases, the cities will fall. The falling or failing of the cities would be the natural outcome of a great and mighty crash of man s trading systems. When all or most of the trade has come to a grinding halt, the cities simply will cease to function; they will fall! This saying therefore of the fall of the cities of the nations is not referring to the destruction of them, but describes that situation which will arise in the cities of the world when the Great City is divided into three. The total annihilation and burning up of the wicked cities of this world is reserved for the time at the end of the Seventh Vial when the atomic holocaust will break out on the face of the earth, which could yet be another few months or years or so away from the economy collapse. 106

107 Again, this particular verse does not reveal the exact timing of the fall of the cities. Nevertheless, it is not difficult to imagine how these centres of human masses, as cities are, which are so dependent on a daily supply of oil, gas, electricity, water and strict control of law and order, how they can fall into a state of total anarchy and chaos immediately after the great economy system of the world tumbles. Yet, there could be some time given before the cities will really and thoroughly cease to function. Human kind has never been in such a situation before, so it is not easy, and is perhaps somewhat presumptuous, to try to predict how and in what length of time these cities eventually will fail to function. One thing is sure: the cities of the nations and all their inhabitants will fall in this manner some time after the collapse of the world s economy! Now the Christian reader who is finding him- or herself living in such a place may wonder: if this is to be so, how am I going to survive in that day? If there is no such thing as the secret rapture which will lift me physically up before this fearful, terrible and dark time will spread over the globe, how will I be able to cope? These are very real and reasonable questions and every serious-minded Christian should ask the same. How are we Christians going to spiritually and physically survive and overcome when the situation shall be thus? Most of God s people in our time live in cities. What are they to do? How can they prepare for the day when evil, chaos and disorder strikes the cities of the nation? We will speak more about this in a Part III, but would like to point out to the reader 2 things: 1. Become a spiritual man or woman so that you will abide in Him in that day and the Lord will look after you in accordance with His Word, which is trustworthy and faithful in all its promises. Make sure that you are able to hear the Still Small Voice of the Spirit; place yourself in a position where you are in constant communion with the Master, for He will direct your footsteps, if you acknowledge Him in all your ways, now! You need to be able to hear from the Lord, where to go, where to be, what to do, at what time, how long, how, on a daily basis. Nevertheless, do not assume that you can follow your own will and plans now, and expect the Lord to provide, protect and guide you in the days ahead. Now is the time of preparation; now we must ask the Lord: what would You have me to do? Now is the time to lay down every sin that is so easily besetting us; now is the time to become holy, spiritual men and women, so that we may abide in the Secret Place of the most High, and be safe in that day of calamity, when thousands fall on one side, and tens of thousands fall on the other, but evil will not come nigh thee (Psalm 91). Now we must set our hearts and minds on things above; now is the time to seek the Lord as never before, to pray like never before, to read His Word like never before and to surrender our lives unconditionally as we have never done before! We must become obedient, spiritual men and women if we are to survive in that day, unto the honour and glory of the Lord s Name! 2. When the waters were about to submerge the whole earth, Noah was physically put into an Ark. When Sodom and Gomorrah were suddenly destroyed by fire from heaven, Lot was taken out just before. When there was a drought and famine in the land, Jacob and his offspring went into Egypt where there was corn. Before the City and Temple of Jerusalem were burned down by the Babylonians in the 6 th century B.C., the more obedient Jews were taken away to Babylon in safety. When the Jews were threatening to kill the Lord Jesus before His time, He removed Himself to another place. When the Disciples of Christ were persecuted in one city, they left, and went to the next. Before the Roman Legions came and destroyed the City of Jerusalem in the year 70 A.D., the obedient ones who heeded the Lord s warning to flee to the mountains, left her walls and fled to safety. There are situations wherein the Lord requires His People to take certain physical preparations and actions, besides the spiritual ones. The time may come, and most probably will come, wherein the Lord shall require of those who are faithful to Him, to leave the cities, because the time of the Lord s visitation to 107

108 these dens of iniquities is drawing near. Unless the Lord specifically calls a certain Christian to remain in a particular city (to minister, or help, or pray or for whatever reason), the Christian should flee from those hotbeds of sin and degradation at the appointed time. There will be a time not far away, wherein life in the cities will become absolutely impossible. The Christians should consider this very well and seek the Lord earnestly at this time what practical steps to take in preparation for the time wherein the cities of the nations shall fall! There is no overall command given in the Word of God to leave the cities at such and such a time, but we would strongly encourage the reader to find out for yourself what the Lord is requiring of you at this time. If we do not fall in line with the Lord s perfect Will at this time of crisis, we simply will not be able to cope in that day, spiritually, nor physically! This then is the fall of the cities of the nations and this then is how the Lord shall punish Great Babylon for all her wickedness, rebellion and sin. This then is the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath (Revelation 16:19), which the inhabitants of Great Babylon, and the whole world, shall have to drink in that day of vengeance. When we see these things transpiring on the face of the earth, we know that we are approaching the time of the Battle of that great day of God Almighty very fast! It will not be long now before the nations of the world will engage themselves in an all-out nuclear War! The Day of the Lord s Return is drawing very near! May the Lord grant us to be in such a position of safety and peace in Him in that day wherein the cities of the nations fall, that we will be able to look with joy and expectancy to the return of our Beloved Lord! 108

109 CHAPTER 4. ISLANDS DID FLEE, MOUNTAINS NOT FOUND Manmade authorities and institutions will be unable to give solutions and help Revelation 16:20: And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. [Young s: and every island did flee away, and mountains were not found,] When the floodwaters covered the earth in the time of Noah, even the highest mountains were not safe! Mountains and islands are places where man can flee to in times of danger. Mountains are high places, and islands are isolated places, far away from the civilized world where the danger could be. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he [the Angel to Lot] said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed (Genesis 19:17). As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever (Psalms 125:2). Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel (Jeremiah 3:23). Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came (Amos 6:1)! Mountains are the high and strong places. They give shelter and security, and lift you up high above the events in the valley beneath. They are strong, unmoveable and invincible. Such mountains shall not be found when the economy has collapsed and the cities fail to function. Islands are disconnected from the mainland; they give quietness, peace and tranquillity to the troubled souls who need some rest and stillness. Such islands shall vanish and not be available in the time of the calamities of the Seventh Vial. What then are these mountains and islands referring to? We think them to be the manmade forms of security, which in that day will not be available to the inhabitants of the earth. They are people, authorities or institutions where people would run to when serious, worldwide trouble comes to them. They can be hospitals, doctors, governments, local authorities, police, insurance companies, social workers, fire brigades, the army, special armed forces, security guards, mobile brigades, civil services, emergency lines, and so forth. These human agencies of support, comfort and security shall not be there in that time of dire need, for the chaos and turmoil shall be such, that even those human systems shall be shaken and collapse. Mankind will be totally unable to cope with the situation. Men s inventions, plans, schemes, strength and cleverness will totally fail them in that day. Luke 21:25-26 speaks of how man s devices will fail them in that day: And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. They shall be bewildered, unable to deal with the situation, embarrassed with their incompetence, in dilemmas, in straitness of soul and doubtful in their uncertain circumstances. The situation shall be too difficult to handle; there shall be no answers, there shall be no human solution. Men would 109

110 have come to the end of their strength, wisdom and ability. It would altogether be a fearful and terrible state of affairs. There shall be the deadly absence of mountains and islands to flee to for help and strength in that day. Mountains can move, they can be stirred and be removed out of their place; mountains can be set up and thrown down, as it has happened before in the history of mankind, but this time, when the Seventh Vial will be poured out, there shall be no mountains or islands anymore! Compare the earthquake at Constantine s time. There it is said that every mountain and island were moved [stirred] out of their places. And that the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb (Revelation 6:14-16). In that great political earthquake during the time of Constantine, the mountains and the islands and rocks were moved/stirred because of the turmoil of the earthquake, but they nevertheless were still present. This time, after the economy and cities of the nations have failed, there are no mountains or islands to flee to! The reader must remember that the outpouring of the Seventh Vial is an extra-ordinary time, unheard of in the history of mankind! It is a period of time wherein the works and systems of this world shall be rolled up, to make place for the Kingdom of God. It is a time wherein the dominion of men shall have reached the end of the God-given time of probation. It is a time wherein the Lord shall make a full end to the nations of this world, to prepare the way for the arrival of a New Nation, which is the Universal Kingdom of God on Earth. Therefore are the judgements and calamities in the time just ahead of us so much severer and more intense than anything that has gone before. It is an unusual time; it is the transition period wherein the government of the world will be transferred from Satan (and man) into the Hands of the Living God, for the Lord shall come, and rule from Jerusalem over the ends of the earth. Whatsoever cannot enter into that Kingdom, by reason of its wicked and sinful nature and characteristics, must be removed beforehand. This is why the mountains and islands are not to be found anymore, for the Lord Himself shall become a Great Mountain soon after, according to the prophetic word of Daniel chapter 2. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth (Daniel 2:34-35). The strength of the kingdoms of this world shall be smitten into pieces, after which a new civilisation and government shall be placed on the earth, which shall be governed by the Lord Jesus Christ and His Saints forever. He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting (Habakkuk 3:6). Christians at this time need to realize that man s systems will not save them in that day! Christians need to begin to learn to trust the Lord explicitly in all things as they have never done before! The Lord must become their Mountain from which cometh their help. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah (Psalms 46:1-3). Whether it be security, safety, health, daily provisions, guidance, comfort, strength, wisdom, knowledge, or whatever the need will be; Christians must learn to look to the Lord for all their need at this time. Health and life insurances shall not help you in that day; doctors and medical specialists will fail you; man s wisdom shall fall short; human education and training of no avail; bodily strength too weak; bank balances no more; stocks and shares worthless; water, gas and 110

111 electricity companies failing; food storages shrinking; nothing of the commodities and services in which Christians put their trust at this time of relative peace and stability shall help them in that day! We must put our trust solely in the Lord Jesus, our Rock, and when the storm breaks loose, our house shall be able to withstand the gushing winds. This practically means that the Christian should learn to trust the Lord today, for we would have need of such intimate and perfect trust in that time of intense darkness, that we must learn this trust now, while we are yet able. We must ask the Lord to place us in the circumstances of His control, really desiring that He will take hold of the reins of our life, and rule in us! And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee (Psalm 9:10). We need to be able to see His hand working in and with us now, if we desire to be able to trust Him then, when all things around us fall apart! If we do not learn to trust the Lord now, we definitely will fail to trust Him when all lights have gone from the earth! For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. 10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee (Isaiah 54:9-10). The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him (Nahum 1:5-7). This then is the stage wherein the mountains and islands shall be no more. Mankind would at this point have reached an indescribable, appalling set of circumstances wherein men and women who are still alive would do their best to plod on, make ends meet and survive. As we said before, to go into any details would be too much like speculation and we cannot say at this time how exactly that terrible period will look like; a period wherein the economy has collapsed, the cities of the nations fail to function and all of man s systems are being shaken. When we behold the world being rolled to and fro like a drunkard in this manner and when we see man s systems being shaken like this, we can know for sure, without any doubt, that the last stage of the Seventh Vial is about to be poured out: And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven (Revelation 16:21). 111

112 CHAPTER 5 EXCEEDING GREAT PLAGUE OF HAIL The Great World Wide Battle with an Atomic Holocaust. Revelation 16:21: And 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. [Young s: and great hail (as of talent weight) doth come down out of the heaven upon men, and men did speak evil of God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague is very great.] It has come, it is ready; now all the words of the prophets shall be fulfilled. It is here, it has come; now the Lord shall make a full end of all the nations, except His own (Jeremiah 30:11); now all enemies shall be put under His feet (1 Corinthians 15:25); now the time of the restitution of all things has arrived (Acts 3:20). Now the Seventh Trumpet shall blast its last tunes, and the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord (Revelation 11:15). It is done; the time of man s probation is up; the harvest of wickedness is fully ripe; the gathering of the grapes in the great winepress of the wrath God has come (Revelation 14:19-20); now the day of the Lord is here in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up; a day wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat (2 Peter 3:10-12). The Great Supper of the Great God (Revelation 19:17-18) has been made ready and all those that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ shall be recompensed with flaming fire (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9). It has come; the great and dreadful Day of the Lord, which shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up,.. that it shall leave them neither root nor branch (Malachi 4:1). There shall be delay no longer; this is the Day the Lord has spoken about; this is the Day the prophets have warned about: it is a day of utter destruction, of fire and annihilation, wherein all the works of men, and especially the cities of iniquity shall be wiped off the face of the earth in moments of time. A curse shall devour the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left (Isaiah 24:6). This is the Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty; the climax of Armageddon, wherein the Lord shall gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle (Zechariah 14:2) and the LORD [shall] go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle (Zechariah 14:3). And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. 13 And it all come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they 112

113 shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour (Zechariah 14:12-13). For it is the Lord s determination to gather the nations, that He may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them His indignation, even all His fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of His jealousy (See Zephaniah 3:7-8). I will shake the heavens and the earth; And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them: and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother (Haggai 2:21-22). It is the Day wherein the Lord as the Stone Cut without hands shall smite the Great Image of men s kingdoms upon the feet, and break them in pieces (Daniel 2:34). It is the Day wherein the great confederation from the North shall descend on the land of Israel to take a spoil, and to take a prey, but the Lord will call for a sword against him [the confederation] throughout all His mountains: every man s sword shall be against his brother. And the Lord will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and He will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, and overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will the Lord will magnify Himself, and sanctify Himself; and He will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord (Ezekiel 38:21-23). Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and His fury upon all their armies: He hath utterly destroyed them, He hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their hosts shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree (Isaiah 34:1-4). For it is the day of the Lord s vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion (Isaiah 34:8). And it shall be that there are only a few men left in all the earth (Ezekiel 39:14). And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles (Zechariah 14:16). In that Day the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). And in that battle of the Great Day of God Almighty (Revelation 16:14), His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east (Zechariah 14:4), and the Lord shall be King of over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His Name One (Zechariah 14:9). This is the day of promise, this is the day of vision; this is the day which the saints and prophets of old have been looking for; this is the day which the Church is waiting for! The Messiah of the world has finished His labours and is ready to gather His people to Himself that they may be with Him forever. The King of Israel is ready to take the Throne of David, which He has prepared in Jerusalem. The Judge of all the earth has clothed Himself with the robes of vengeance, dipped in blood, and He shall tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God (Revelation 19:13,15). The Bridegroom is coming; the Bride has made herself ready; the enemies are cast down; the Royal Wedding is arranged and now He will come to take her to Himself (Revelation 19). This is the culmination of prophecy; now the prophetic words are coming to their end. This is the Day spoken of. This is the sublime day of wrath and yet, behold new beginnings; this is the day 113

114 of darkness and yet, behold new light; this is the day of throwing off the old and establishing the new; this is the day of Satan, and yet, behold the end of him; this is the day of gloominess and despair, and yet of hope; this is the Day of Judgements; and yet, behold the rewards of eternal life; this is the day of destruction, and yet, behold a new Creation! It is a time wherein the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies and the false prophet shall be brought to their full end (Revelation 19:19-20). This is the day of Satan, wherein he shall make his last stand, and eat of 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, before he shall be bound for a thousand years (Revelation 19:18; 20:2). No more shall he eat the dust of men; no more shall he live off the sins and flesh of sinful men, until he will be loosed for a little season at the end of the 1000-year reign of Jesus Christ (Revelation 20:3), and goes out to deceive the nations once more (verse 8), after which he will be 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 (verse 10). This then is the falling of great hail out of heaven upon men, and they shall blaspheme God because the plague thereof shall be exceedingly great (see Revelation 16:21). (Some say a talent is equal to the weight of 96 pounds). Imagine John, sitting on the Isle of Patmos, in the time when the Roman Empire ruled the earth. There was no knowledge of course about any of the modern technology of today. What did John see? He saw in the heavens something that looked like immense great and heavy stones of hail, and they fell upon men, causing great damage and pain, for it says that the plague thereof was exceedingly great. This plague of hail was to occur right at the end of the Seventh Vial, just prior or at the return of Jesus Christ to the earth. The event seems to coincide with the treading of the winepress of the wrath of God in Revelation 14:19-20, and the supper of the Great God in Revelation 19 wherein the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies are gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army. It is the time of the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Name: Little Boy Type: Uranium gun-type fission Weight: 9,700lb (4400 kg) Length: 10 ft, 6 in (3.2m) Diameter: 29 in (0.737m) Explosive Yield: 15,000 tons of TNT Figure 14: Example of the nuclear bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on august the 6 th Similar Great Hail out of heaven is yet to fall upon men in accordance with Revelation 16:21! Although hail in the Scriptures often refer simply to some of God s general judgments (compare Isaiah 28:3), there can be no doubt that this hail must refer to the Nuclear bombs of our time. Never before in the history of mankind have men possessed such a deadly and all-destructive weapon as since the time when this was weapon was invented some 60 years ago. In what other manner could John have described such a modern, high-tech weapon, which looked like a great ball 114

115 of hail from heaven, falling upon men, causing excruciating suffering and death? The Hail from Heaven, coming from the storehouses of God, shall be the instruments wherewith the Lord shall cleanse the earth by fire, as is written in the Word of God. An all-out nuclear war between the nations of this world shall make a full end of the existing cities and infrastructures of mankind. The fire, heat and force of nuclear bombs shall lick all of man s creation as a matchstick amongst dry hay. It will be quick, and efficient in the purposes it needs to accomplish, that is: the preparation of the earth for the coming of a new Creation. This plague was to be very great. None of the other plagues or vials are said to be exceedingly great. It is an extra-ordinary plague, for an extra-ordinary time. The last time the Lord dealt thus with His creation was at the time of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth by water. Now, in our time, the earth and all the works therein, shall be cleansed by fire, and there shall only be a few left, according to the Word of God. The Lord has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they repent and live. Nevertheless, the time of the end has come, and the present wicked systems of men cannot possibly enter into the righteous and holy kingdom, which is coming to the earth. If the Lord, in His mercy, would not intervene in the affairs of mankind, and put a stop to the increasing violence and wickedness of men, they would soon destroy the whole earth and the inhabitants thereof. If the Lord does not cleanse the earth by fire, how can His Kingdom be governed and ruled on Godly principles? If wicked men with their wicked and evil ways would be allowed to continue during the reign of Jesus Christ, how shall the Kingdom be of God? How shall there be peace, and joy, and righteousness, and holiness, and tranquillity, and restoration of all things good and beautiful? The plague of the Hail must fall upon men, to judge a wicked world, and to prepare the earth for the coming of the King and His Kingdom! Figure 15: A-bomb mushroom cloud over Hiroshima, August 6th, 1945, about one hour after the bombing. Photo taken from a U.S. airplane over the Seto Inland Sea about 80 kilometers from the hypocenter. 115

116 Figure 16: The Destruction of Hiroshima by a nuclear bomb towards the end of WWII in august Casualties: / dead (other authorities say: dead!); wounded. Destroyed area: 4.7 square miles and buildings. Many of the wounded would die in the following hours, days, months and even years by reason of being exposed to the deadly radiation. (Other sources give higher casualty figures) Figure 17: The Destruction of Nagasaki, Japan, on August the 9 th Casualties: / dead; wounded. Area destroyed: 1.8 square miles. Other sources give higher casualty figures. People died either directly by the blast, or by the heat and burns, or by fire, or of the consequences of the radiation, either immediately or later. For this Day of Wrath Christians need to prepare! Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth,wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless (2 Peter 3:11-14). Seeing then that this is true and a faithful saying, what manner of persons ought ye to be? How can we stand in such a day? How do we fulfil the spiritual conditions for being caught up with the Lord when He returns to the Earth with such wrath and vengeance? How shall we be found in peace, without spot and blameless in Him? ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, 116