Unsealed: A Closer Look At Revelation 6 And “The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse”
By ICA
Revelation 6:1, “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see…”
Recommended: See How The Book Of Revelation Foresaw Islamic Teachings
Were John’s apocalyptic snapshots and descriptions of the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” in the Book of Revelation pointing to events that would only take place nearly 2000 years after the visions were first revealed? All too often, many of today’s Christian teachers and Bible prophecy experts have repeated the belief that the entirety of the Book of Revelation, with the exception of the first three chapters, are to be understood in futuristic terms only. I have done this myself in the past. Whether it be the Seven Seals or the Seven Trumpets or the Seven Bowls of wrath, everything contained therein and described by John from Revelation 4:1 onward must be treated as little more than a description of apocalyptic earth-shattering events that we, as Christians, will never witness taking place upon the world in which we live, events that can only begin to come to fruition after an imminent rapture has suddenly removed all followers of Christ from the face of the earth to deliver them from the impending wrath of God and the last-days Beast of Revelation. If we take the time to engage in a careful examination of the text, however, we may begin to see that some of the events often understood as yet to come, are events that are already taking place today.
An Overview Of History: The Islamic Beast Of Revelation – The Past And The Present
After careful study, I have come to the conclusion that, judging from the description of events and their sequence provided for us in Scripture, the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” described in the first four Seals of Revelation 6 are four separate stages of the last-days Beast empire upon the earth — the empire of Islam. Beginning with its birth and growth, to its effect upon those under its power and the effect it has had and will have upon God’s elect, the Seals provide us with a general overview of the last 1400 years until immediately after the tribulation, an appointed time whereby the world will then witness the complete destruction of the Islamic Beast at the Second Coming of Christ in power and glory.
To understand why, we must first begin by reading through Revelation 6-7 alongside Matthew 24, ascertaining specific parallels that solidify the placement of the Seven Seals in documented history, parallels that I am sure you will agree are quite eye opening when laid out in full. The following are those parallels between the Seals of Revelation chapters 6 and 7, and Matthew 24. Closer attention will be paid to specific details surrounding the sixth parallel itself:
Parallel 1: Conquest Through Deception and the Crowning of Mohammed
* Matthew 24:5 — Many will come in Christ’s name and deceive many.
* Revelation 6:2 — The 1st Seal – White Horse and rider with bow who is given a crown; went out conquering and to conquer.
Qur’an Sura 4:157, 171, “… they said in boast, ‘We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary’ … but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them … of a surety they killed him not … O People of the Book [Christians]! Commit no excesses in your religion … Christ Jesus the son of Mary was no more than a messenger of Allah … Say not ‘Trinity’ : desist … for Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him: far exalted is He above having a son… ”
“We proclaim that we will conquer Rome, like Constantinople was conquered once, as it will be conquered again … We will rule the world, as has been said by the Prophet Muhammad.” – Former Jordanian Minister Ali Al-Faqir
In “The Best Biography of Prophet Mohammed”, Islamic scholars Grand Muhaddith Master Abdullah Ben Sadek, Anne Khadeijah Darwish and Ahmad Darwish write that, “In the Koran, Allah calls His Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, by many blessed names … In his sayings one finds many other names that were frequently used by his Companions and followers. These include names such as the: Chosen, Selected, Father of Kasim, the Beloved, Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds, Accepted, Intercessor, the Fearfully Aware, Amender, Outward, Guardian, Truthful, Confirmer, Guide, Master of the Children of Adam, Master of the Messengers, Leader of the Fearfully Aware, Leader of the Glorious Radiant Ones, Beloved of Allah, Friend of the Merciful, Possessor of the Visited Pool, Intercessor, the Praiseworthy Station, Possessor of Means, Excellence and the High Degree, Possessor of the Crown …” [1]. In the Islamic world, Mohammed is regarded as “the greatest of all the prophets and messengers of God and the crown of all creation” [2].
14th century Book of Kings depicts Mohammed enthroned and surrounded by companions
Some may say that the crown of Revelation 6:2 must be literal and must be referring to an actual king who wears a literal, physical crown. However, if the horse and rider are obviously symbolic, it only stands to reason that the crown can also be symbolic as well. According to Islamic lecturer Ahmed Deedat, “Moses and Muhammad were Prophets as well as kings. A prophet means a man who receives Divine Revelation for the Guidance of Man and this Guidance he conveys to God’s creatures as received without any addition or deletion. A king is a person who has the power of life and death over his people. It is immaterial whether the person wears a [literal] crown or not, or whether he was ever addressed as king or monarch – if the man has the prerogative of inflicting capital punishment – He is a King” [3].
Walid Shoebat, a former Muslim who converted to Christianity, once described Islam as a “Christian Cult,” a characterization of Islam to which I would agree wholeheartedly. Mohammed’s religion borrows bits and pieces from Judeo-Christian texts and teachings, but then twists and corrupts its Truth. As Christians, we know that Christ is God. He is the Prince of Peace. Mohammed, who received the kingly crown of “prophethood” before his conquests, claimed that his religion was the “Religion of Peace.” He acknowledged Mary and the virgin birth of Jesus, called Jesus the Christ, claimed to represent the true faith of the God of Abraham and claimed to believe in many Biblical prophets and figures such as Adam & Eve, Noah, Moses, David and others. But Mohammed’s teachings are blasphemous manipulations of both history and Scripture which promote a deviant and Antichristic theology (1 John 4:3) by denying Christ as God in the flesh and His sacrificial death on the cross. Much like Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses today, Mohammed’s teachings also deny the Triune nature of One God. The “prophet” of Islam claimed to come in the name of the God of Abraham to the Jews and in the name of Christ to the Christians, but Mohammed’s teachings deceived many then and are still deceiving many this very day.
Parallel 2: Islam’s Ceaseless Aggression Against The Non-Muslim World
* Matthew 24:6-7a — Wars and rumors of war, nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom.
* Revelation 6:3-4 — The 2nd Seal – Red Horse rider given a great sword, takes peace from the earth.
Qur’an Sura 9:5, “… when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters [non-Muslims] wherever ye find them, and take them captive, and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship [of Allah] and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free …”
“I have been sent just before the Hour (Judgment Day) with the sword, so that Allah will be worshipped alone …” (Mohammed, Hadith al-Jaami’, 2831)
Behold the Sword of Islam: Jihad. The final marching orders the newly “crowned” prophet of Allah gave to his followers just before his death was for them to continually ambush, capture or kill non-Muslims until all submit to Islam. Osama Bin Laden, in a 2003 sermon, spoke of chapter 9 verse 5 of the Qur’an as the be-all and end-all of Islam, saying that Allah had “revealed the verse of the Sword to [Mohammed] his servant and messenger, in order to establish truth and abolish falsehood.” And this verse has become the greatest source of inspiration for mass-murder in the history of humanity. As Mideast historian and author Raymond Ibrahim writes in a 2012 article titled The Historical Reality of the Muslim Conquests:
“Few events of history are so well documented and attested to as are these conquests, which commenced soon after the death of the Muslim prophet Muhammad (632) and tapered off circa 750. Large swathes of the Old World — from the India in the east, to Spain in the west — were conquered and consolidated by the sword of Islam during this time, with more after (e.g., the Ottoman conquests)… According to the Muslim historical tradition, the majority of non-Muslim peoples of the Old World, not desiring to submit to Islam or its laws (Sharia), fought back, though most were eventually defeated and subsumed… Muslim historians often justify the actions of the early Islamic invaders by juxtaposing the jihad injunctions found in Islamic scriptures. It should also be noted that, to Muslims, the Islamic conquests are seen as acts of altruism: they are referred to as futuh, which literally means “openings” — that is, the countries conquered were “opened” for the light of Islam to enter and guide its infidel inhabitants. Thus to Muslims, there is nothing to regret or apologize for concerning the conquests; they are seen as for the good of those who were conquered (i.e., the ancestors of today’s Muslims).”
Dr. Bill Warner, founder and director of the Center for the Study of Political Islam (CSPI), likewise minces no words in exposing the true history of Islamic hostility.
Jihad destroyed a Christian Middle East and a Christian North Africa. Soon it was the fate of the Persian Zoroastrian and the Hindu to be the victims of jihad. The history of political Islam is the destruction of Christianity in the Middle East, Egypt, Turkey and North Africa. Half of Christianity was lost. Before Islam, North Africa was the southern part of Europe (part of the Roman Empire). Around 60 million Christians were slaughtered during the jihadic conquest… In Africa over 120 million Christians and animists have died over the last 1400 years of jihad. Approximately 270 million nonbelievers died over the last 1400 years for the glory of political Islam. These are the Tears of Jihad which are not taught in any school.
As long as Islam has existed, it has never known peace. The persecution of Jews and Christians, the atmosphere of “holy” wars waged around the globe and nations being forced to declare war in response to Islamic aggression, continues to this very day. Even now, Jihadists vow that non-Muslims “will never know peace” until they convert to Islam and worship none but Allah alone.
Parallel 3: The Fruit Of Islam’s Ceaseless Aggression — Hunger, Destitution, Upheaval , Strife, Inequality, Earthquakes …
* Matthew 24:7b-13 — Famines, pestilences and earthquakes, lawlessness abounds.
* Revelation 6:5-6 — The 3rd Seal – Black Horse with “scales/balances” bringing famine, burdens and “troublesome laws”.
Qur’an Sura 5:33, “The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land [spreading non-Islamic beliefs] is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned …”
Qur’an Sura 24:2, “Let not compassion move you from carrying out [Allah’s] law …”
John describes the rider of the Black Horse in Revelation 6:5 as having “scales” or “balances” in his hands, employing the Greek word “zygos” which is also used metaphorically to refer to any sort of “burden” or “bondage” as well as the imposition of “troublesome laws.” Not only is inequality rampant in the Islamic world where Muslim men are considered superior to women and all non-Muslims in general, Islam is also a works-based system whereby Allah weighs the “good and bad deeds” of Muslims on a scale to determine who earns entry into Heaven and who does not. In every facet of daily life a Muslim’s conduct must be based upon a strict set of Islamic laws, called the Sharia, and anyone failing to follow Allah’s burdensome edicts must suffer draconian punishments, non-Musims included. But take a look at the Islamic world today. Is it exemplified by peace and justice and social harmony because of Allah’s laws? To the contrary, the Islamic world is ravaged by war, by deprivation, by desert and famine and starvation and pestilences, conditions that are true both physically and spiritually, both literally and figuratively.
Because of “Sharia lawlessness” the “Religion of Peace” is typified by widespread destruction and disparity, and any number of recent headlines bear this out all too well. In Sudan, for example, slavery is explicitly permitted and tens of thousands of Christians are held in bondage, taken as slaves and face starvation because of Sharia laws instituted by an Islamist government. In Mali, 4.6 million people are threatened with starvation following Islamist advances in the north. Starvation threatens more than 7 million citizens in Afghanistan as over 90% of the country’s agriculture is destroyed by drought. In Somalia, Islamist militants deprive 1.3 million people of food, clean water and health care after banning humanitarian aid. In Chad, children starve to death as Islamic “doctors” with “healing gifts from Allah” throw common sense to the wind. Islamists are killing aid workers in Pakistan for trying to save lives with “un-Islamic” polio vaccines. Nigeria faces famine because most of the farmers in the north are threatened by Islamist attacks seeking to impose Sharia Law upon all. As Islamists engage in an all-out war to oust Bashar Al-Assad and implement an Islamist state in Syria, a flesh-eating parasite dubbed the “Aleppo Boil” sweeps across the country while famine grips a desperate, war-weary population. And this is all just the tip of the iceberg.
The fruit of Islam and its laws have produced and will continue to produce the type of conditions that precipitate and perpetuate all sort of pestilences, all manner of plagues, any number of conflicts and hardships both inside and outside the Islamic world. It should be noted that the Greek word for “earthquakes” is “seismos” and also means “commotion” or “tempest”, as in Matthew 8:24 when “suddenly a great tempest [seismos] arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.” We have seen and will continue to see “seismic events” both literally (geophysical and hydrological hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes/typhoons, tornadoes, etc.) and figuratively (Islamic wars, acts of terrorism, insurrections, revolutions). Islam is a prime example of missing the mark of God — “hamartia” or “sin” — and the whole of creation groans and labors with birth pangs because of it (Romans 8:22).
Parallel 4: The ‘Man Of Lawlessness’, Destruction, Death
* Matthew 24:15-24 — Antichrist and the Abomination of Desolation.
* Revelation 6:7-8 — The 4th Seal – Pale (Green) Horse with Death and Hell.
Revelation 6:8, “And I looked, and behold a ‘chlōros’ horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the ‘thērion’ [beasts] of the earth.”
Qur’an Sura 9:111, “… They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed …”
Qur’an Sura 3:151, “… cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers …”
Qur’an: Sura 4:89, “… Kill the unbelievers wherever you find them …”
In an April, 2012 op-ed for Arutz Sheva, Italian journalist Giulio Meotti surmised that “the drive for Islamic purity is going to banish all traces of pre-Islamic pasts. When the Islamists will have prevailed, the Middle East will be completely green, the colour of Islam” [4]. In Revelation 6:8, John describes the “fourth horseman” as being “chlōros”, which translates literally as “green.” It is where we get the word “chlorophyll” from, a green pigment found in cyanobacteria and the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Green is the official color of Islam, and this green “fourth horseman” is described as having power over the fourth part of the earth. It is no coincidence that today Islam now has dominion over a fourth part of the earth. The “fourth horseman” has the power to “kill with sword.” Islam is spread through Jihad, the “Sword of Islam.” The “fourth horseman” also kills with hunger/famine. Where Islam rises, deprivation and Sharia lawlessness quickly follows, so much so that they would even prefer to see children starve to death than to see them receive life-saving aid from the “Christian West.” The “fourth horseman” kills with “death”, and the love of death and martyrdom for the cause of Allah permeates Islamic culture to the point where Islamists will even openly declare that they “love death more than you love life.” Lastly, the “fourth horseman” is described as killing with “the beasts of the earth.” The Greek word for beasts is “thērion” and is very likely being used metaphorically to refer to “savage”, “brutal” and “bestial” men — a perfect description of what we are witnessing today in the radical world of Islam’s death seekers. If Antichrist is a man, we can be certain that he is now on the verge of being revealed. If Antichrist is a system, it is already here.
Parallel 5: Continual, Intensifying Persecution of God’s Elect
* Matthew 24:9-13, 16-28 — Many delivered up to be afflicted and killed. Many fall away from the faith. Great Tribulation.
* Revelation 6:9-11 — The 5th Seal – Saints in heaven are told that fellow servants are to be killed.
Many fell away from the faith due to forced conversions and near-genocidal persecution of Jews and Christians at the hands of Muslims all throughout Islamic history. Andrew G. Bostom, author of The Legacy of Jihad and The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism, writes in a 2006 article for FrontPage Magazine that:
Forced conversions in Islamic history are not exceptional—they have been the norm, across three continents—Asia, Africa, and Europe—for over 13 centuries. Orders for conversion were decreed under all the early Islamic dynasties—Umayyads, Abbasids, Fatimids, and Mamluks. Additional extensive examples of forced conversion were recorded under both Seljuk and Ottoman Turkish rule (the latter until its collapse in the 20th century), the Shi’ite Safavid and Qajar dynasties of Persia/Iran, and during the jihad ravages on the Indian subcontinent, beginning with the early 11th century campaigns of Mahmud of Ghazni, and recurring under the Delhi Sultanate, and Moghul dynasty until the collapse of Muslim suzerainty in the 18th century following the British conquest of India.
Moreover, during jihad — even the jihad campaigns of the 20th century [i.e., the jihad genocide of the Armenians during World War I, the Moplah jihad in Southern India [1921], the jihad against the Assyrians of Iraq [early 1930s], the jihads against the Chinese of Indonesia and the Christian Ibo of southern Nigeria in the 1960s, and the jihad against the Christians and Animists of the southern Sudan from 1983 to 2001], the (dubious) concept of “no compulsion” … has always been meaningless. A consistent practice was to enslave populations taken from outside the boundaries of the “Dar al Islam”, where Islamic rule (and Law) prevailed. Inevitably fresh non-Muslim slaves, including children, were Islamized within a generation, their ethnic and linguistic origins erased.
It is my view that we are already within the 5th Seal, which encompasses the Great Tribulation of the elect spoken of by the prophet Daniel and John in Revelation, as well as Christ Himself. After a relative lull, Islamic persecution has literally exploded once again in the aftermath of 9/11 and the rise of the Arab Spring. The Prophet Daniel writes that this final Beast would be “dreadful and terrifying” and would “speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One” and “intend to make alterations in times and in law” (Daniel 7:7, 25). While the Muslim world seeks to rewrite history in a deceptive effort to buttress its own religious and political declarations and continually seeks to impose Sharia Law whenever and wherever it can, Iran prepares for a nuclear Armageddon and threatens to turn Jerusalem into a mass graveyard, calling for the death of all Jews worldwide and the annihilation of the state of Israel. Hamas and Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood seek to join the fray. In Egypt, Christians are experiencing the worst persecution seen from Islamists in hundreds of years, with many now unable to buy or sell. Islamist organizations distribute leaflets calling for the killing of all Coptic Christians who refuse to convert to Islam. In Syria, Islamic rebels behead Christians in front of a cheering crowd and issue an ultimatum to either convert, leave, or die for their Christian faith. In Iraq, Muslim clerics issue a fatwa (religious decree) demanding that Christians either convert to Islam or be killed. Meanwhile, men run for their lives, women plead for God’s mercy, children scream in fear as Islamist attacks continue unabated in Iraq and elsewhere in the Islamic world in an effort to “cleanse” the land of Christians. Intense Christian persecution is “coursing through Muslim-majority nations from one end of the globe to the other.” From the Ivory Coast to Nigeria, from Sudan and Ethiopia, to Tunisia, Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan, Pakistan, Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, Tanzania, the Maldives, Bangladesh and elsewhere, Islamic persecution is showing no sign of slowing down any time soon. And it is only going to get much worse. As one reporter wrote recently in The Telegraph, Christianity is “close to extinction” in the Middle East because of Islam.
The Islamic Beast Of Revelation – The Future
1 Corinthians 3:16, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
Hebrews 13:15, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”
1 Corinthians 3:17, “If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
It is difficult to imagine this massive persecution of Christians, as horrendous as it has become, getting any worse than it already is today. While Christians are being killed and expelled from war-torn areas and locations heavily influenced by Al-Qaeda affiliated terror organizations and other like-minded groups, they are still somewhat tolerated as “dhimmis” (second-class citizens) under many Muslim governments. As long as Christians are “tolerated” they are still able to offer up the sacrifice of praise to YHWH today, providing they keep a low profile. Such relative “freedom”, however, hangs by a delicate thread. If a religious leader of great significance to the Islamic world were to suddenly stand against the Temple of God and demands that all non-Muslims convert to Islam and worship none other than the god of Islam, then any so-called “freedom” a Christian is granted today would come to an immediate and abrupt end. We’ve already seen local Muslim leaders issuing fatwas (religious decrees) in places like Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan demanding that Christians either convert to Islam, or die. But a similar fatwa from someone like the Mahdi or the Caliph declaring that the time had now come for all non-Muslims to worship none other than Allah or die would send immediate shockwaves across every corner of the Muslim world. And if such an abominable fatwa were decreed “then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21). Echoing this foreboding sentiment, the United Muslim Nations International — an Islamist organization seeking Muslim world domination and the re-establishment of the Islamic Caliphate — minces no words in its declaration that “Christianity should be destroyed and wiped from the face of the earth … Islamic Power has returned upon the face of the earth and the Revived Global Caliphate has set eyes on the West to once and for all rid the world of Christianity and there is nothing you can do about it” [5]. But there is One who can, and who will, do something about it …
Revelation 14:15, “And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.’”
The “Four Horsemen” have arisen and are now all riding together as one upon the earth. But what follows next will be a completely new pedigree of horse and class of Rider unlike any of the others before it, one that will see to it that the dominion of this Beast be “taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever” (Daniel 7:26), which now brings me to the 6th Parallel, broken down into individual parts:
Parallel 6a: Post-Tribulational Cosmic Signs Preceding the Second Coming of Christ
* Matthew 24:29, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken”
This corresponds with:
* Revelation 6:12-13, “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth …”
Parallel 6b: Judgement Comes – The Wicked are Gripped with Terror at the Power and Glory of the Coming Christ
* Matthew 24:30, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
This corresponds with:
* Revelation 6:15-17, “And 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: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
Parallel 6c: The Deliverance and Salvation of God’s Elect
* Matthew 24:31, “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
This corresponds with:
* Revelation 7:1-4,9,14 “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God … Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: [and there were] sealed an hundred [and] forty [and] four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel … After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands … these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation.”
He is coming soon …
In writing “And after these things I saw” at the beginning of Revelation 7, John continues describing the post-tribulational signs he had witnessed at the 6th Seal a few verses earlier. Remember, although the text is inspired by the Spirit of God, chapter and verse divisions were added later by men. There is one single narrative flow between Revelation chapter 6 and chapter 7. Whereas the “first horseman” came upon a white horse claiming to come in Christ’s name and was given a “crown of kingship” during his efforts to deceive and oppress the saints, a “Fifth Horseman” will Himself be riding upon a white horse announcing deliverance, bringing justice, issuing judgements in favor of the saints of the Most High and giving the kingdom over to them (Daniel 7:22), for “He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God” (Revelation 19:11-13). It will be none other than the King of Kings Himself, our Savior and Deliverer, Yeshua (Jesus) Ha’Maschiach (the Christ).
Declaring The End From The Beginning And The Revelation Of Our Savior
Isaiah 46:10a, 13b, “Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established … And I will grant salvation in Zion, And My glory for Israel.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown write in their commentary of Revelation that “the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven vials, are not consecutive, but parallel, and ending in the same consummation. They present the unfolding of God’s plans for bringing about the grand end under three different aspects, mutually complementing each other” [6]. This Semitic writing style is something that we also find in the Genesis account regarding creation, which is why some skeptics claim that there are two different creation accounts when in fact there is only one. In Revelation, the Seals reveal to us snapshots and descriptions of the rise of the last-days Beast, the ungodliness of Islam’s sordid history, and its effect upon the earth and upon the Israel of God as it grows and strengthens, followed by the Revelation of Christ’s return in power and great glory to deliver His people and judge the wicked. Due to the Semitic style of writing employed by John, we see a “rewind” as it were after his description of all seven Seals to then shift focus on the judgements that take place during and immediately after the tribulation (called “trumpets”), and then a refocusing of his “camera” once again upon the end-result effect of each one of the seven judgements (called “vials” or “bowls”). The Seventh Seal, Seventh Trumpet and Seventh Vial/Bowl all end together right around the same time in the eschaton — at the Second Coming of Christ.
Revelation 13:4, “And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?’”
Many in the Church today have been taught that most of Revelation is yet to happen in the future, but the fact of the matter is that much of what John saw has already taken place and is in the process of taking place right now, today. Although the Islamic world has been in a relative “cocoon-like” state for much of the 20th century since the Islamic Caliphate received its mortal “head wound” in 1924, a new phase in its metamorphosis is now being revealed as it heals. But what is emerging, however, is far from beautiful. Though there are many who recognize that the Islamist ideology espoused by Al Qaeda and its ilk has metastasized since 9/11 throughout the Muslim world, the call to reality has unfortunately fallen largely on the deaf ears of Western leadership, both secular and Christian. Nations can fight against armies, against a foe that is well defined, but a religious ideology that recognizes no borders, no limits, no definition of peace apart from its own is an ideology that no nation will ever defeat, and an ideology that will continue to become more mainstream in the Islamic world each and every day until its fiery end at the epiphany of Christ Jesus in power and great glory:
2 Thessalonians 2:8, “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”
Habakkuk 3:3, 6, 11-13, “His brightness was like the light; He had rays flashing from His hand, And there His power was hidden… He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations. And the everlasting mountains were scattered, The perpetual hills bowed… The sun and moon stood still in their habitation; At the light of Your arrows they went, At the shining of Your glittering spear. You marched through the land in indignation; You trampled the nations in anger. You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For salvation with Your Anointed. You struck the head from the house of the wicked, By laying bare from foundation to neck.”
Romans 11:26, “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob'”
Daniel 7:27, “Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.”
Revised 4/4/2016
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I have recently discovered midnightwatcher. What a goldmine of Biblical insights! Thank you ICA. Thank you, and God richly bless you.
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Shabbat Shalom Kathy,
If you are really interested in prophetic recourses that will astound you, then go to Yahoo, in your browser enter El Shaddai Ministeries, click on the very first option,( home page.) Now on your left you will see, video archive, click it. Then scroll down and click on Feasts of the Lord. You can watch all 4 for free. When you finish those watch the eclipse videos. You will be awed and blessed by these teachings.
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Thank you Bobby and Kathy for the kind words. Blessing …
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You clueless ignorant schmuck! You have no idea what u talking about. Read your scriptures clearly and the original version, not the one re-written by humans, you will find similarity between the religions. Please look at what so called Christians did to people in the fourteenth century and you will then really see who and what a terrorist is. For someone to poet such rubbish only shows what kind of ignorance lives around and unwittingly showsnthebstpidity
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Ooops! Somebody must’ve let the cat out or sumpthin’! Geesh, ‘Anonym’ you’re comment is as ‘clueless and ignorant’ as your timing! Didn’t I hear somebody calling you to come crawl back unda’ yo’ rock!
P.S. Your hatred will get you nowhere (except eternally lost); Jesus offers you LIFE! So choose LIFE! DUH!
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the only one “clueless” on this Earth is…YOU ‘anonymous’!!!
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Hi Anonymous, thank you for your comment. I have read the Biblical Scriptures clearly (multiple translations), and study the original text as well. Out of curiosity, have you also done the same, or do you believe that the Qur’an — a book that archeology has confirmed has been altered over time, a book that isn’t even written in chronological order yet tells its readers to ignore earlier verses, a book allegedly “written” by one man over a period of just 23 years — is the unadulterated “truth” just because, well, because it says it is, despite any number of scientific and historical errors?
According to TROP, more people are killed by Islamists each year than in all 350 years of the Spanish Inquisition combined. As of today, there have been well over 21,670 documented acts of Islamic terrorism committed in the name of “Allah” since 9/11/2001. Islamic terrorists murder more people every day than the Ku Klux Klan has in the last 50 years. More civilians were killed by Muslim extremists in two hours on September 11th than in the 36 years of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland. 19 Muslim hijackers killed more innocents in two hours on September 11th than the number of American criminals executed in the last 65 years. Approximately 270 million non-Muslims were slaughtered over the last 1400 years for the deity of Islam. Moreover, in 2007 when Islam and Judaism’s holiest holidays overlapped for 10 days, Muslims racked up 397 dead bodies in 94 terror attacks across 10 countries during this time while Jews worked on their 159th Nobel Prize. Yes, I really see who and what a terrorist is, and what I see is that this world needs a little more “I AM” and a lot less “ISLAM”. And that Day will come soon enough.
Islam is rubbish indeed. Unfortunately, far too many today choose to willingly ignore reality.
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Anonymous obviously is unaware that in addition to the many scientific and historical errors in the unholy Quran, it also borrows (plagiarizes) content from Zoroastrian, Nestorian, Jewish and pagan sources.
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Lord Jesus, you know this ‘Anonymous’! He’s destroying himself and everybody else who listens to him (or her). May your Holy Spirit of truth open his mind to THE TRUTH! Give him a mind to seek for You until he finds you, “Whom to know is Life Eternal”. I pray this in the one and only Name that is above all names, Who made us and fashioned us for His Honor and His Glory and has put all of Creation and all principalities, powers and rulers under His Glorious Feet! Thank you, Jesus!!! Amen and amen!!!!
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Hey ICA. Got your note to visit you here.. Just so you know.. I do all the time. Thanks and God bless you ♥
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Thank you Lyn, blessings :)
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6:1-2 The Vision of the Seven Seals
The seven seals repeat the same history as the seven churches, but with a different emphasis. In chapters 8-11 we will see how the seven trumpets cover the same basic timeline but with its own distinctive focus.
The first four seals are widely known as the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” In Revelation the horse is an animal associated with war. See Revelation 19:11, 19. The four horsemen represent the churches as they go forth to battle their enemies. The colors of the horses (white, red, black, and pale) indicate a change from purity to apostasy.
The 1st Seal: A White horse: The Pure Church
White represents purity and righteousness. Revelation 7:14; 19:8; Isaiah 1:18. The pure white church went out “conquering and to conquer.” During this time the Gospel spread like wild fire. Paul said that the Gospel “was preached to every creature which is under heaven” (Colossians 1:23), and his opponents said that they had, “turned the world upside down.” Acts 17:6. The white horse is the apostolic church going forth victoriously under the banner of Prince Jesus.
6:3-4 The 2nd Seal: A Red Horse: The Persecuting Church. Red is the color of sin (Isaiah 1:18), the dragon (Revelation 12:3) and bloodshed (2 Kings 3:22-23). When the faith and devotion of the Church became corrupted it lost the power of God to carry the Gospel forward in victory. It then began using the power of the state, uniting with the dragon (Pagan Rome in the form of the Emperor Constantine) to persecute dissenters. The phrase “kill one another” suggests internal controversy, discord and strife.
6:5-6 The 3rd Seal: A Black Horse: The Corrupt Church. Black is the color of darkness and error. The “balances” used for measuring “wheat” and “barley” are a symbol of the buying and selling of the Gospel, salvation and forgiveness. The “wheat” and “barley” was 8-16 times more expensive than normal indicating scarcity and famine. The Church, during this time, entered a period of great moral and doctrinal error, substituting pagan beliefs and practices for the truths of God’s Word, and merchandising the Gospel. Thus they caused a scarcity of the bread of life. God decreed, “Hurt not the oil and the wine,” which symbolize the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:3, 6) and the blood of Jesus (Matthew 26:26-29). Even though the Church was in great darkness, God preserved a people with the true Gospel of salvation.
6:7-8 The 4th Seal: A Pale Horse: The Dead Church. This pale horse is the color of nausea and death. The Church that should have been pointing the way to eternal life was instead spreading death. “And Hell [the grave] followed with him.” The spiritual “Death” that spread across Christendom was accompanied by a moral and intellectual paralysis. The Holy Scriptures were forbidden to the people; nobles, commoners and clergy alike were largely ignorant of the great truths they contain. For centuries the Christian world made no progress in science, arts or civilization. Millions lived miserable lives of ignorance and squalor.
Ezekiel 14:21 lists war, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts as judgments on apostasy from God. Whenever the Church takes up the sword to coerce the conscience, a famine of God’s Word results. Pure Bible truth is replaced with the pestilence of heresy, opening the way for persecutors (wild beasts) to punish and chastise the Church, and multitudes perish.
6:9-11 The 5th Seal: The Martyred Church. “Under the altar the souls…slain for the word of God.” Apocalyptic language teaches lessons and truths in pictures or symbols. God does not keep literal souls under a literal alter in heaven. During the middle ages, the Papal system had millions of people put to death because they would not renounce Bible truth. Here is pictured, in symbolic language, the many martyrs of all ages whose blood, like the blood of Abel (Genesis 4:8-10), cries out to God for justice and a vindication of the truths for which they died. The Bible teaches that the dead in Christ rise and put on immortality when He returns. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
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Another view, one that does not involve front-loading Adventist teachings into the Scriptural interpretation, is…
All aspects of the four horsemen are demonstrated in the plight of afflicted, persecuted Christians in Muslim majority countries today who are suffering and dying for their testimony of Christ right now, today, this very minute. End times Scriptures are Middle Eastern centric, focusing on locations, nations and people and events that involve Israel and its hostile neighbors which are all Islamic.
The white horse that goes out to conquer may be the present Muslim political expansion via the so-called “Arab Spring”, which is really an Arab fall because it has removed secular dictators and replaced them with even worse, Muslim Brotherhood planted Islamists. This is going on exclusively in the part of the world that was once the Ottoman Empire. In addition to the so-called Arab Spring Muslim expansion, consider the cultural jihad of other, traditionally non-Muslim countries, while the public seemingly turns a blind eye to it, all in the name of political correctness and multiculturalism. That the church in the west has for the most part is seemingly entranced with the prosperity gospel and suffers from spiritual apathy, Christians in the Middle East are getting their heads cut off, which is what Rev 20:4 describes Islam doing.
The 2nd horseman, war, is obviously demonstrated by Islamic military expansion. Wherever Islam spreads to previously non-Muslim countries, it brings with it war and death. Peace is taken from the place where Islam resides. Latest estimates are that since the time of Muhammad, Islam is responsible for the untimely deaths of over 270 million people.
The 3rd horseman describes the plight of Christians living in Muslim majority nations. They cannot buy or sell due to harsh discrimination from Muslims (a reference to the mark of the beast here), have great difficulty establishing businesses and consequently, are very poor and have little food. Muslims are in many instances much better off financially than the Christians in Muslim majority countries and consequently are the ones who can afford to buy food while Christians struggle to survive and suffer hardships that we in the west cannot imagine.
The 4th horseman describes an “ashen” (GK “kloros”- light green) horse, with death riding it and hell following it. Green is the color of death. but green is everywhere in Islam…Green bandanas, green minarets, green mosque domes, green script, green clothing, arm bands…so much green in Islam. Do a Google image search for “color of Islam”. You’ll see. Authority is given to death and hell to influence 1/4 of the earth’s population (which at the present time, is Muslim). Right now Muslims think they own the world and everyone should submit to allah. They believe they are in authority. Verse 6:8 says that they kill by all available means…by the sword, by starvation, sickness and even using animals.
We are seeing more and more ordinary Muslims becoming violent, like home-grown jihadists. This suggests to me that during this future horrific time period, anyone who calls themselves a Muslim, will be a vigilante jihadist. If only one half of one percent of all Muslims are not “peaceful” or “bad apples”, that means there are 7.5 million Muslims in the world who want you dead right now, just for being a Christian, Jew or otherwise un-submitted to Islam. If this Scripture is interpreted accurately, there will be at least 1.5 to 1.7 billion killers worldwide; and even more when others either willingly or through coercion, convert to Islam. This is another reason why Jesus warned that the end times would be as the “days of Noah”. The days just prior to the Flood were a time of unchecked lawlessness, murder and sexual immorality….just like today in Muslim majority countries.
All four horsemen thus describe the totality of death and destruction that Islam has always and does now demonstrate.
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the white horse is Jesus White in the Bible Symbolizes Purerity.
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Jesus does return on a white horse (19:11), and He returns fully armed and with an army following Him. However, the white horse of the apocalypse (6:2) doesn’t have an army at all.
White does signify purity in other contexts, but not necessarily this one. In Leviticus, white appears as the color of leprosy more than a dozen times (see, for instance, Leviticus 13:3). In Genesis 40:16, white baskets presage the death of Pharaoh’s baker, and in Joel 1:7, it is the color of a land stripped bare by an enemy. A brief survey of Middle Eastern Islamic countries shows that them to be spiritually barren of righteousness, completely laid waste to the ravages of a demonic infested and perverted, narcissist mind [of Muhammad]. The first horseman may at first glance appear as a glorious, noble knight, but his intent is to either subjugate or kill and destroy its enemies. Its white façade is deceptive, concealing a deadly, unholy purpose. That is the nature of satan, to mimic God’s purity and goodness, to deceive by mimicry, while his true colors are revealed subsequent order.This horseman is imbued with satanic power of deception. God uses this deception for purposes of judgment, because people did not have a love for the truth.
(2Th 2:8) Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;
(2Th 2:9) that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,
(2Th 2:10) and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.
The rider on the white horse of 6;2 has a bow, but no arrows. Jesus returns with a sword and with fire per Rev 19. A bow is a symbol of war, yet the absence of arrows suggests that the rider cannot or does not conduct war with weapons, but with deception. This fits very well with the strategy of the OIC and Muslim Brotherhood, who wish to take over the world and create an Islamic worldwide government, a Caliphate, deceiving both Muslims and non-Muslims that Islam is a religion of peace.So-called “moderate” Muslims advertise Islam as a religion of peace on one hand, while attempting to destroy cultures with the other. Today, the cultural face of Europe has by and large been altered by Islam…all without a shot being fired.
That the rider goes forth “conquering and to conquer” is merely expressing two different tenses of the same verb (nikao, “conquer,” “subdue,” “overcome,” “prevail,” “get the victory”). The implication is that his entire purpose is to conquer, to dominate, to subjugate the peoples of the earth, and that is exactly what Islamists publicly claim to do and what Islam is actually doing.
(1Th 5:2) For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
(1Th 5:3) While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.
The “woman with child” of 1 Thess 5:3 is also reference in Rev 12, which is a picture of the two Jewish revolts (the Great War revolt leading to the Masada defense and the Bar Kokhba Revolt with its last holdout defense at Betir. The “woman” being Israel, ultimately leads to Christian persecution by the antichrist, which is happening today, right now. Rev 12 is a picture of what the Christian response should be to persecution by the antichrist. It should be an armed response, just like the model of the Jewish revolts.
Most importantly, the Scriptures simply do not identify the rider of the first horseman as being the Lord. Should we read into the text a militarily powerless Lord in vs 6:2, when instead, we find the Lord (the Lamb) still in heaven per 6:1, and armed with a sword (vs 2:12, 16) arriving in fire (2 Thess 1:7) and destroying by the brightness of His coming (2 Thess 2:8) ? Where is Jesus ever associated with a bow without arrows? Nowhere.
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Very good, Mike. Keep on with the solid Biblical teachings.
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Precisely.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”
Additionally, the root word for Islam is “al-Silm” meaning “submission” or “surrender.” The “prophet” Mohammed not only calls upon Muslims to submit to “Allah” but also commands them to subdue people of all other religions until they are in a full state of submission to Islamic rule. This has inspired the aggressive history of Islam and its success in conquering other cultures (TROP).
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Reblogged this on and commented:
A MUST Read!! Jesus Christ came to SAVE people from their SINS!! and ONLY Jesus Christ can Take anyone to Heaven!! PLEASE TRUST IN JESUS CHRIST NOW everyone!!
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Will be sharing, I have to agree with Mike, the beast is Islam, the only nation capable of dealing with Islam is Israel, I would add there are Christians fighting along side the IDF for the preservation of Israel. Israel has always been referred to as the Bride of G-d and she is undergoing birth pangs right now. The world is against her. The West, Europe and Scandinavia are already experiencing the green horse with death and hell behind him, Just read the news. Israel is the Nation of the original Monotheistic religion and for thousands of years has attempted to set an example to the rest. Israel has taken her final punishment in the Holocaust. The fundamental essence of Judaic spirituality is thus:
Do to others as you would do to yourself, the only other religion with this philosophy is Buddhism. Israel will suffer above all she will win.
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Interesting article, found the website earlier on today. Are the four horsemen a prelude to the antichrist and the mark of the beast and the two witnesses.
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Hi shycat, they are all intertwined like the fabric of an ornate canvas. When you have a moment, feel free to read the three articles below:
* The People Of The Prince To Come: A Roman-European Antichrist?
* The Mark Of The Beast – What Your Church May Not Be Telling You
* Can An Islamic Antichrist Present Himself As God And Receive Worship, Yet Remain A Servant Of ‘Allah’?
Hope this helps! God bless …
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It’s all too vague. Words like “crown,” “horsemen,” “seal,” etc., can be interpreted differently by whatever you want to see into it. I wish books like that were useful.
I think its smarter to just look at Islamic violence, and other violence (there is plenty that’s not Islamic!) as criminality, as worldwide acts of crime.
But we’ve never been good at stamping out crime, either.
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Hi ICA:
I’ve tried for years to find my niche among different schools of thought regarding eschatology, and I’ve never been able to stake a claim. It seems we know what we need to know when we need to know. The handwriting has been on the wall for many years, and now, the interpretation is coming into a sharper focus. Not knowing where to place Islam has always bothered me. I’ve always considered Muslims to be spiritual and physical descendants of Ishmael. that’s apparent in the barbaric, wild-man behavior. Now, you have shown me the connection in Revelation, which I can also relate to the real world in another way-locusts. Locusts can and do function individually, but when the cycle is right, they swarm in massive droves, after lying dormant for many years. All of creation is God’s classroom, and I think you hit on a huge lesson here that ties right into the locusts of Revelation 9, and the four cycles of Islam that you identify in the four horsemen. Thank you for your diligent devotion to seeking the truth. You’ve given me much to seek after. I will continue to dig, and wait on the Lord to reveal it all in His time.
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Hi Sharon,
Have you ever worshiped at a Messianic Synagogue? They are the very fulfillment of last days prophecy. Jews and gentiles worshiping together ” as one new man.” When you are there you feel an instant connection with your brothers and sisters, and you know that the Holy Spirit is there. Prophecy study is welcomed and the music is awesome. When you are there you know that GOD is gathering His end times church and separating the wheat from the tares. We are returning to the ancient paths, celebrating the Feasts of the Lord, and returning to the model that the early church had.
As for prophecy the only real difference is the timing of the rapture, usually it is between pre trib, and pre wrath. The good thing is, is that we all agree that it will happen on Rosh Hashannah, and that Yeshua will fulfill the Fall Feasts with His second coming just as He fulfilled all of the Spring Feasts with His first coming.
There are some things that we don’t know yet, and we will just have to wait on the Lord to find out. One example: what are the 7 thunders?
Be blessed in your search!
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Your thoughts are interesting, however, I have a different theory. I believe that the current pope will be murdered in order to make it appear as though the Vision at Fatima has been fulfilled:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2505993/Mafia-planning-kill-Pope-Francis-claimed.html
The Rothchilds, who currently own the Vatican, will likely traipse out David de Rothschild to play the part of Christ, Islam’s version of Christ, Isa, and Horus reincarnated. David de Rothschild can be seen here:
Matthew 24:5 Many will come in Christ’s name and deceive many.
David or the ‘New David’ will deceive many into believing the Vatican’s one world religion of Universalism. Chrislam is a precursor to the One World Religion. If David pretends to be Christ/Isa/Horus reincarnated then he will be able to deceive Christians, Muslims, Jews, and a lot of pagans into believing that he is some kind of divine being. Have you heard about Project Blue Beam? They will use holographic technology to achieve their deception:
Obama is an antichrist and has the ability to become the Antichrist. I suspect that he will go over the UN after his presidency and play the part of the Mahdi. In the meantime, the Rothchilds, among others, own the NWO. I believe that the transatlantic trade union will establish four unions or a beast with four heads: the North American Union, Pacific Union, European Union, and Asian Union, or some variation thereof.
Those four unions will then be consolidated into a One World Government. The Antichrist and the False Prophet will rule this One World Government. Islam has a story that says that Christ will return to walk alongside the Mahdi and it is with this story that the Rothchilds and associates will effectively deceive all who believe in taqiyya.
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Hi Chizled:
Interesting theory. I do not know 100% how Mama Church will fit into this Islamic beast, but I know that she will. I still have no reason to believe that she isn’t the great Babylonian whore, who will ride this beast, and that’s where I lean. She considers herself to be no widow, (a wife), considers herself a queen (Mary, queen of heaven). She has many daughters (protestant churches through the ages), including John Calvin, who set up his own little Vatican in Geneva, and burnt heretics at the stake, for disagreeing with him. For me, this proves the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree (of Roman Catholicism). I’ve said elsewhere in these comments that the Muslims have a great fondness for Mary, because of the visions of Fatima. Fatima was Mohammed’s daughter, and the correlation is not lost on the Muslims. The recent comments of Pope Francis should not be lost on Christians either.
http://www.wnd.com/2013/11/pope-authentic-islam-opposes-violence/?cat_orig=faith
I’ve also made it very clear that I believe God’s people are like Elijah’s seven thousand. They are found everywhere God puts them, whether we see them or not. My beliefs are not a blanket condemnation of all Catholics.
I have read about project blue beam, HAARP, ELF, holograms, etc, etc. I suppose these inconvenient facts cause such a cognitive dissonance in people, that they simply cannot believe any man is capable of deceiving them in such a horrific manner, even though Jesus already warned us that yes, if it were possible, it would even deceive the very elect. As Hitler’s right hand man, Joseph Goebbels, said, “the bigger the lie, the more it will be believed.”
I know many disagree with me, and that’s fine, too. The hand writing has been on the wall for more years than I’ve been alive, but the interpretation is not complete. I pray we all continue to love one another in Christ Jesus. Even though He slay me, I will trust in Him.
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ICA, as always, an extremely relevant, edifying post. Much to chew on. Thank you.
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ICA,
You wrote “It is my view that we are already within the 5th Seal, which will encompass the Great Tribulation of the elect spoken of by the prophet Daniel and John in Revelation, as well as Christ Himself. After a relative lull, Islamic persecution has literally exploded once again in the aftermath of 9/11 and the rise of the Arab Spring.”
I agree with you; I think we are on the cusp of the return of Christ and the breaking of the 6th Seal. But earlier in the article you compared the 4th Seal (Rev 6:7-8) with Mt 24:15-24; you wrote:
Does this mean you believe that “Antichrist” has already appeared and the “Abomination of Desolation” has occurred, or was the 5th Seal opened before the 4th? Perhaps the parallel between the Mt 24:15-24 passage and the Rev 6:7-8 is not absolute, or needs to be reworked? Perhaps the Abomination of Desolation occurred in the 1st Century with the destruction of the temple? ;-)
The section following the above discussion is entitled:
Do you think that “Antichrist” (from 1st and 2nd John) is different than “the Beast” (Rev 13)? Or is “the Beast” just the worst of the Antichrists that began in John’s day? John wrote both Revelation and 1st/2nd John; he could have chosen to use “Beast” terminology in 1st/2nd John or “Antichrist” terminology in Revelation but he didn’t.
I’m just trying to push the discussion, not be critical.
Your thoughts brother, please,
Kurt
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Hi Kurt!
I hope you don’t mind my “chiming in” here as this discussion has been very much on my mind as well as others, I’m sure.
In my opinion (and I’m faaaaaar…from being a “scholar”), Islam seems to be as ICA has described. It “rose” with Mohammad and when he died, it was “…struck a MORTAL wound…” (paraphrased) as written in Scripture. NOW, it has “…miraculously risen from the dead…” again! It is being “recognized” by two “…powerful men…”, the President of the United States (if you choose) AND NOW, the “Pope!” These two being the “Witnesses” for the Anti Christ? Okay, they have yet to make a public statement in which “they” officially claim Islam/Allah to be God! BUT, I “think” it’s coming!!!
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Kurt, “Does this mean you believe that ‘Antichrist’ has already appeared and the ‘Abomination of Desolation’ has occurred, or was the 5th Seal opened before the 4th? Perhaps the parallel between the Mt 24:15-24 passage and the Rev 6:7-8 is not absolute, or needs to be reworked?”
I believe that the end result of the 4th seal is AC and the AoD, not that the end result of the AC and AoD is the 4th seal. The Seals seem to be compound stages of the eschatonic Beast from which Antichrist rises, so the 4th seal can be opened and still be waiting for the revealing of AC / AoD that takes place as a result of the 4th seal while the elect God, according to the 5th seal which is now opened, suffer intense persecution stemming from the preceding seals. In short, the seals are themselves consecutive/sequential, but their successive effects are concurrent/contemporaneous.
From the very beginning, each successive seal has been the end result of the one preceding it. The opening of the 1st seal (to conquer through lies and deceptions), for instance, precipitates or triggers the wars and the removal of peace from the earth that we read about in the 2nd seal, which together advances all the pestilences and plagues and famines and destruction that accompany it in the 3rd seal, all of which create the conditions necessary for the 4th seal to give rise to Antichrist and the Abomination of Desolation. The “four horsemen” ride in unison as one and have been doing so for most of Islam’s abject history. Likewise, the 5th seal was also opened long ago. The persecution of the elect of God (the 5th seal) is the result of the seals that precede it. These 5 opened seals will soon trigger the 6th, which will then bring us to the 7th.
If Antichrist is a “system”, then it is already present today (and has been for some time). I don’t discount this position. If the authority of the spirit of Antichrist we see manifested in the Islamic Beast today is to be given to a literal man, however, such as the 12th Imam / Mahdi, then the conditions are now ripe for this Islamic ruler to be revealed. As it so happens, an article written by Robert Spencer recently of Jihad Watch titled “Now The Twelfth Imam Can Come” which you can read here was posted just a few days ago.
Kurt, “Do you think that ‘Antichrist’ (from 1st and 2nd John) is different than ‘the Beast’ (Rev 13)? Or is ‘the Beast’ just the worst of the Antichrists that began in John’s day?”
Can it be both? I would say that the spirit of Antichrist that was present in John’s day is still the same spirit of Antichrist that has manifested itself in the Islamic Beast we see today, only now it has much sharper teeth and an insatiable thirst for blood.
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Reblogged this on disturbeddeputy and commented:
I think we’re farther down the track than most realize.
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I needed to thank you for this very good read!! I definitely loved every little bit off it.
I have yoou book marked to check out new stuff you post…
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Hi Skip,
If you still think that most of the events spoken of in Revelation have already been fulfilled, then apparently you don’t watch the news. I’m quite sure that those Christians living in the Middle East who are being slain, burned alive, or who have buried loved ones who have been beheaded, simply because they carry the name of Jesus, they might disagree with your interpretation of end time events.
Ask those Christians in Africa who are starving, suffering from drought, disease, and persecution for their faith, if they think that most of Revelation has beeb fulfilled in ancient Rome?
How about all of the natural disasters, weird weather, sink holes swallowing whole lakes in mere seconds. The increase in volcanic activity, and earthquakes, or do you not notice the earth groaning? The huge fish die offs, the unexplained mass die off of the birds of the air. The signs in the heavens, with meteors careening through the night sky. The blood red tetrad moons, and solar eclipses of the sun, which are due to occur in the future, and on the Lords Feast Days. How about the huge numbers of those believers who are going off into apostacy? The increase in wickedness, like homosexuality, and abortions? I could go on!
Often in Scripture there is a partial fulfillment of prophetic events, a “shadow picture,” which will precede a latter day expectation. In order for your interpretation to be true, one must deny our present reality.
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Reblogged this on Give Me Liberty.
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Syria is dropping (green) chlorine gas bombs on its population, another connection to the pale/ashen (chloros, or green) horse of Revelation.
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The Islamic State may be using chlorine gas as well.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/24/islamic-state-chlorine-gas_n_6041096.html
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Reblogged this on oogenhand and commented:
CHLOOROS. Mistranslations cause terrible damage.
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Excellent blog. Very interesting view of Revelation. This blessed me today. I have said for a while now that Islam is the biggest enemy of Jehovah. (Not that any enemy, large or small, would be more than a pesky fly to God)
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Interesting blog. However, I don’t agree. I tell you why:
1. First the Antichrist must be revealed – then the persecution of the 5th seal is coming. It doesn’t make sense the other way round, or why should the Antichrist be “revealed” while his murderers are already in action? ICA, you agreed that the ‘Son of perdition’ is not yet revealed, therefore I think the assumption of the 5th seal already taking place is too far stretched.
2. In your reflection the Great Whore (Catholic Church) is not mentioned (perhaps I didn’t read carefully, which could be), yet the Great whore is the last institution that will be judged before the coming of Jesus (Rev 19). Therefore, it is of eminent importance and you cannot ignore it. In fact, the Great Whore will outlast the Muslim horror, if it is not mixed up with it.
3. Further, Jesus warned us in Mt 24:4 that we shouldn’t get deceived. Well, no serious Christian can be deceived by Muslim killers. This horror is too evident. But there is a deception in the body of Christ which is far more subliminal and by which the whole world will be deceived. This is the time for the False Prophet, who is clearly not yet revealed since he will force everybody to take the Mark of the Beast.
4. Jesus said in Mt 24:11 that there will first rise many false prophets and deceive many people. Given the fact that this has already taken place, Jesus continues and says “…and then the end will come” (Mt 24:14). First Christians in the whole world must be persecuted – then the Antichrist will be revealed. I’m sorry, but this depiction leaves no space for a pre-eminent persecution portrayal like you are displaying it.
If you can, try to convince me otherwise. On my opinion, the bible is quite clear and the most severe hardships for this world are still ahead of us. Jesus said, the Tribulation will be the worst time on earth. Compared to WWII this is not quite obvious. Think of the time of Noah: all people were corrupted except Noah and his family, or think of the inquisition. Therefore: be patient and watch out for the Lord!
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Hi Amino, thank you for chiming in. A couple of points to address your first question, followed by the others.
First, the spirit of “Antichrist” was already in the world in John’s day (1 John 4:3). But with respect to identifying Antichrist we are presented with two main possibilities, namely, either Antichrist is a distinct individual person who will be revealed very soon, or Antichrist is a system (The Islamic faith – the multitude of a man, Mohammed) and not a distinct individual person, though it is sometimes referred to anthropomorphically as a “man” in Scripture much like the Church (The faith of Abraham, the multitude of the Lamb, Messiah) is referred to as “one new man” in Ephesians 2:15. Regardless of who or what Antichrist is, with respect to the 5th Seal not being in effect, I would contend that yes, it is. If Antichrist is a man, his system must be in place in order for him to be given his power. It does not magically happen overnight. If Antichrist is a system, then it obviously exists today. Either way, we feel the effect that it is already having upon the world and upon the Israel of God.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10 the Apostle Paul was telling new Christian believers that in order for the gathering to Christ to happen, one of the things that needed to first occur was the “revealing” of the “man of sin/lawness” who was destined for destruction. To be “revealed” doesn’t only mean to be “disclosed” in the sense of being exposed. It also means to be made manifest. If Antichrist (the eschatonic Beast of Revelation) is a system, it is obviously manifest already before us today, and has been for nearly 1400 years (think back to Zechariah 5 and the woman of “wickeness” in the basket – has “the curse [alah] that is going out over the whole land” been made manifest? Absolutely. (Read more here). The spirit of Antichrist that was present in John’s day is still the same spirit of Antichrist that has manifested itself in the Islamic Beast, only now it has much sharper teeth and an insatiable thirst for blood.
Second, as I’ve mentioned previously, it seems to me that the end result of the 4th seal is Antichrist, not that the end result of the Antichrist is the 4th seal. The Seals appear to be compound stages of the eschatonic Beast from which Antichrist rises, so the 4th seal can be opened and still be waiting for the revealing of the Antichrist that takes place as a result of the 4th seal while the elect God, according to the 5th seal which is now opened, suffer intense persecution stemming from the preceding seals. In short, the seals are themselves consecutive/sequential, but their successive effects are concurrent/contemporaneous.
In other words, from the very beginning each successive seal has been the end result of the one preceding it. The opening of the 1st seal (to conquer through lies and deceptions), for instance, precipitates or triggers the wars and the removal of peace from the earth that we read about in the 2nd seal, which together advances all the pestilences and plagues and famines and destruction that accompany it in the 3rd seal, all of which create the conditions necessary for the 4th seal to give rise to Antichrist. The “four horsemen” ride in unison as one and have been doing so for most of Islam’s abject history. Likewise, the 5th seal was also opened long ago. The persecution of the elect of God in the 5th seal is the result of the seals that precede it. These 5 opened seals will soon trigger the 6th, which will then bring us to the 7th.
So, again, if Antichrist is a “system”, then it is already present today and has been for some time. I don’t discount this position. If the authority of the spirit of Antichrist we see manifested in the Islamic Beast today is to be given to a literal man, however, such as the 12th Imam / Mahdi, then the conditions are now ripe for this Islamic ruler to be revealed and for the intensity of the persecution we are now experiencing of the 5th seal to increase.
The “Great Whore” is not the Catholic Church. This is a misconception that has persisted for centuries, but it fails the test of Scripture, let alone time. Reformed theologians today continue to point to Church history in an effort to support their contention that the Catholic Chruch is what was spoken of in Revelation because of what Catholics had done in the past, but it was not just Catholics killing Protestants. It was also Protestants killing Catholics. If Catholics were associated with the Antichrist/Beast/Whore of Babylon by Protestants because of the way Protestants were mistreated, what does that in turn make the Protestants who sanctioned and called for scores of Catholics to be executed? The old Reformed position is Deformed. It may have sounded plausible during its day, but is now a very tenuous position to take. When all things are considered, one can easily deduce that the “Islamic church” alone — which calls for the killing of all Christians regardless of whether one is Catholic or Protestant and which also sanctions the beheading of such “infidels” — is in fact what both Daniel and John foresaw. Consider what happened to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor mentioned in Paul’s letters. Have they all become Catholic, or have they all been destroyed and/or converted into mosques through Islamic conquest?
Additionally, the Medieval painting of Catholicism implies that Catholic Christians are unable to obtain salvation since they’re part of the “Whore of Babylon” and the Beast she rides. Although I take issue with many doctrines of the Catholic church (as well as some non-Catholic, Protestant doctrines), the inference that no salvific faith can exist in the heart of a Catholic is Scripturally unjustifiable and suggests that all of the Catholics today who refuse to deny Christ and who are being shot, blown up, beheaded etc. by Islamists for the faith of Jesus are all dying for Christ in vain. Simply because they’re “Catholic”. Such an argument is indefensible. They are dying for the faith of Christ, period. Since Catholics believe that Jesus is God in the flesh who died on the cross for the sins of the world, are there therefore any Catholics who are born-again and saved by the blood of Christ? (The answer is of course, yes, there are). Since the “Islamic church” (called the Ummah) denies that Jesus is God in the flesh and denies that Christ died on the cross for the sins of the world, can there therefore be any Muslims who are born again and saved by the blood of Christ? (The answer is a resounding no).
The focus and intent of Revelation 17 is specific to the greatest “harlot” that the world has seen or will ever see, namely, the “woman” that sits upon the Beast. The Beast is an empire that is Middle-Eastern centric, and the “woman” riding this Beast has nothing to do with Rome, but everything to do with the spiritual birthplace and homestead of Islam — Mecca. This is evidenced by the fact that:
* John is taken to a desert to see the vision. Islam originated out of the desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia, not Catholicism.
* John sees what he describes as the greatest of harlots. The “Islamic church” (called the Ummah) fits that bill, not Catholicism.
* In her hand is a golden cup full of abominations. Islam fits that bill by teaching nothing but lies, not Catholicism.
* John sees that this woman is “drunk with the blood of the saints” at the time of the end. Islamists are killing Christians today and thirst for their blood, not Catholics.
* The nations of the earth commit spiritual “fornication” with the harlot. This is spiritual fornication/adultery with a false religion. The nations today placate to Islam and its religious requirements (which denies the Father and the Son and the crucifixion of Jesus) and will dare not offend Muslims. They do not hold Catholicism in the same regard.
* Islam encompasses all political, military, religious, social and economic elements, having the power to give authority to kings and rulers. Catholicism does not.
* Islam makes war and will continue to make war with the Lamb. Catholicism does not.
* The woman is “that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth”. The nations of the earth bend over backwards to accommodate Muslims and the false “Islamic church”, not Catholics and Catholicism.
* In the full counsel of Scripture every nation named that Christ destroys at His Second Coming is today an Islamic nation, not Catholic.
* Islamic nations are responsible for the the bulk of the nations’ oil, not Catholicism. Without this oil the economy would implode, even the worry of a new conflict in the Middle East causes oil prices to spike, threatening economic recoveries.
Please keep in mind that the focus of Daniel and John’s prophetic visions was Middle Eastern/Israel/Jerusalem centric. If the Book of Daniel and Revelation refers to events that not only happen throughout history but also in the eschaton of time — the time in which we are living today — then there is no conceivable reason why Catholicism can be associated with the Antichrist/Beast/Harlot when the Papacy today is not killing non-Catholic Christians and hasn’t been for hundreds of years. Islam, however, has been killing all who hold to the faith of Christ for the past 1400 years and continues to kill both Catholic and non-Catholic Christians at an ever increasing pace as we speak. The Papacy is not calling for the heads of Protestants, or anyone for that matter, and is in fact calling for an end to war and killing and has even recently Canonized 800 Christian “martyrs of Otranto” who were beheaded by 15th century Islamists. When all is said and done it becomes increasingly apparent that the eschatonic Beast of Daniel and Revelation has nothing to do with Catholicism. It has everything to do with Islam, and its days are numbered.
Is Mohammed a true prophet, or a false prophet? Is another “prophet” going to come along that the Muslim world will suddenly and inexplicably elevate higher than Mohammed? Absolutely not. In Revelation 13:18 John tells us that the Mark of the Beast is directly associated with the number of a man. In the article titled “The Mark of the Beast: What Your Church May Not Be Telling You” I explain how the “number” (arithmos) of the beast does not necessitate the use of mathematics or gammatria to “reckon” (understand) what it is, something that many prophecy teachers often fall into. The word “arithmos” is used a total of 18 times in the NT, and aside from Rev 5:11 when John refers to the number of living beings he witnesses around the throne of God, every other time “arithmos” is used it is always referring to a group of people. This is significant because it therefore means that the Greek text is better understood as “the multitude of the beast: for it is the multitude of a man.” But what multitude of people would that be and what man are they all following? There is nothing in the text telling us that the man referred to here must be someone alive just prior to the Second Coming of Christ, so who can it be? Significantly, “chi-xi-stigma” (often translated as “666”) closely resembles the Arabic Bismallah, which translates to “In The Name Of Allah”. In order to convert to “Allah’s” religion, however, one must recite the Islamic statement of faith, called the Shahada, by declaring that “There is no god but Allah, and MOHAMMED is his messenger.” Without Christ, there can be no Christianity. Likewise, without Mohammed, there can be no Islam.
We will not be deceived by any of this, for we have the Spirit of Truth within us. But note that Jesus did not say in Matthew 24 that the whole world would be deceived. He said that “many” would be deceived (Matthew 24:5, 11-12). And we see this today with so many all across the Middle East under the delusion that Mohammed was a true prophet, and thus his religion. And many have brought their delusion to us in the West, and we still reject its lies.
Where do you see Jesus saying in Matthew 24 that Christians all across the whole world must be persecuted? Many will be persecuted, yes, but contextually, Jesus is speaking about believers in Israel in Matthew 24, not the whole world. Moreover, in the whole of Scripture itself, there is nothing in the text telling us that Christians will be persecuted by Antichrist all over the whole earth or that Antichrist will have dominion over every single nation and inch of land all across the world. The final horseman of death in Revelation 6:8 ends up having dominion over just 1/4th of the earth prior to the Second Coming of Christ — and Muslims today make up 25% of the world’s population. Also consider Daniel 11:39-45. Antichrist cannot have dominion over the whole literal planet if wars are being waged against other nations. Antichrist cannot have dominion over the whole literal planet if even one nation is able to “escape his hand.” Antichrist cannot have dominion over the whole planet when other resistor nations are themselves waging war against Antichrist right up until the end. Even the Prophets Zechariah, Joel and Ezekiel when describing Armageddon only identify the nations involved as being all those that surround Israel. Please see the article titled “Antichrist: Leader Of A One World Government?” for Biblical reasons explaining why Antichrist’s scope of power will be limited globally (though its effects felt worldwide).
Although Antichrist will seek to rule the whole literal earth and force the political and religious ideology of the Beast upon every government and upon every man, woman and child on the planet, Antichrist’s efforts will not succeed — an increasingly evident fact to which the whole of the prophetic texts testify. When Christ returns in power and great glory Scripture lists the nations that He fights against by name, and every nation that is identified in Scripture is today an Islamic nation. In light of the whole counsel of Scripture, the Antichrist’s dominion and political-religious control will be relegated primarily to the whole Muslim world — the nations that today surround Israel — but not the world as a whole.
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any comments/questions. God bless!
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ICA, thanks for your response which is an example for how debates should be led. However, since you are quoting many aspects I won’t be able to answer them all. I just hope I can stir you up bit in a positive sense.
I have had already some discussions in Christian blogs about the topic of the Great Whore and the matter of persecution. Therefore I can tell you that most people seem to make the same mistake when it comes to compare scripture and facts – they do not quote ALL aspects mentioned in the bible and think some of them would be enough. This is fatal. From my experience it is crucial to look for evidence in every single aspect mentioned in scripture since the bible is a very accurate book and the descriptions must be fulfilled in every aspect. If this is not the case, the argument cannot be used. If a theory lacks to match every aspect in the bible and if it fails to meet a single one, it cannot be true. I will follow this argumentation in the following.
Consequently, I cannot agree that the Antichrist isn’t a person because he is mentioned and described as a person. As a preliminary I want to state that I switch between the term ‘Antichrist’ and ‘False Prophet’ since the first beast in Rev 13 needn’t be necessarily a person. The second beast, however, the False Prophet, is a person.
When Jesus talks about the abomination of desolation he is referring to a person since he describes a person having taken place in the temple at a particular moment:
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, […]” (Mt 24:15).
This is not the Antichrist spirit having been working thousands of years – and surely not the prophet Mohammed. There is evidence enough that the False Prophet is a living person! Paul as well makes reference to that in combination with the rapture and leaves no doubt that the deception and persecution comes by one particular man:
“Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (2 Thess 2:4, KJV).
Finally, Daniel refers to a man (Dan 11:31) when he is talking about the person Jesus later refers to in Mt 24:15 and he mentions his blasphemous speech so that there is no doubt that the Antichrist is a person:
“And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.” (Dan 11:36)
Only a person can speak blasphemous things.
Concerning the Great Harlot we see once again the importance to have all scriptures in mind. The reason why there are circulating so many weird theories about the Great Whore is that people did not check their arguments profoundly. Therefore, when it comes to put the theories to the test they must meet every aspect of the bible – not a few; and concerning the Great Whore there are many! Therefore the Great Whore is surely not America and it’s not the modern Babylon in Iraq, although some scholars today use arguments in favour of the latter one. They didn’t do their homework. But it can’t be Mecca either and I give you the reasons in the following:
First of all: On my opinion there is no better depiction of the Great Harlot than Dave Hunts “A Woman Rides the Beast” and it is summarized in the article “The Great Whore – Mystery Babylon”. If you want to get an understanding of the complete aspects of the Babylonian whore this read is a must. But now I want to mention some points which you didn’t mention and why it cannot relate to Mecca.
Firstly: You mentioned the fact that it’s a city, so far so good. But is Mecca built on seven hills (Rev 17:9)? Didn’t you say that Mecca lies in the desert – so how can it be built on seven hills?
Secondly: The Whore has power over all the kings on earth (Rev 17:18). This can never be true concerning the actual state of the Islamic world in these days, regardless which Islamic city you have in mind – and it is a city. Although the worldwide Islamic caliphate is still growing, many regions are not yet dominated by this vile system.
Thirdly, you forgot the colours: purple and scarlet colour (Rev 17:4). They aren’t just subsidiary. There is a reason why they are mentioned! The robes of the Catholic cardinals and bishops fit perfect to the colours in Rev 17. Where is the link to the Muslim world?
Another aspect mentioned in Rev 18:13 is the wine. Why is there wine used to characterize the Great Harlot?
“And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.”
Muslims don’t drink wine! The reference to wine stands in stark contrast to the fact of your approach. Muslims strictly refuse to drink alcohol, respectively they aren’t allowed to do so. This can never be a reference to a Muslim church!
And last but not least, besides wine it is also mentioned that this Harlot merchandises with souls (V13). Honestly, ICA, I cannot see what the Islamic, fascist ideology has to do with the merchandising of souls. These Islamic murderers act as if they had no souls. They are dumb, raw, perverse killers, bar of any human notion. Rev 18:13 makes it pretty clear that the Harlot has nothing to do with an Islamic church. Only the Catholic Church trades with souls and has done so ever since. You can even fill books with that. The trading of souls for money, to get them out of the purgatory, was the “core competence” of the medieval church and was the reason for the beginning of the Reformation (!) and thus the crucial point for Martin Luther to enter the scene. It gets quite clear that Islamic “beheaders” cannot be meant here. I’ve never seen or heard anybody of this Muslim devils talking about souls. They only know two words: “Allahu Akbar”. Besides that they’ are completely lost in their sins and totally worldly in their approach. They don’t know God the father nor Jesus (John 16:3). All what they have in mind is physical compulsion, bloodshed, murder and raping women and children. To associate human souls with Islam is like mixing up water with oil.
Additionally, the Great Harlot is the mother of harlots and of all abominations on earth. If you think this could fit to the Islamic caliphate how then could it be the mother of the abominations that occurred before the time of the Islamic ideology when it was not yet raised and settled by Mohammed (allegedly)? You see that this interpretation fails to match the religious system in the pre-Islamic era. Therefore, I want to make a slight correction of my interpretation.
When I said the Catholic Church is the Great Whore, this is true for the moment. But you may also know Alexander Hislop’s book “The Two Babylons” where it becomes quite clear that this system has changed across the millenniums. It began as the Babylonian whore in nowadays Iraq introduced by Semiramis, the queen of Babylon and wife of Nimrod, who lifted up her son Tammuz as the incarnated Nimrod. This pagan religion was later applied in the early church. Semiramis initiated this perverse religious system which was full of every kind of abomination (temple prostitution, human sacrifices) and which was finally copied and depicted all over the world. Read Hislop’s book and you will see the parallels. Therefore we find all over the world the depiction of this mother-son idol which nowadays is manifested in the Pieta, the Catholic muster of idolatry.
So we should make a notion concerning the term Babylon. The name of the Great Whore is: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH (Rev 17:5). This title is very precise and matches the system in a perfect sense. It began with Semiramis and her BABYLONIAN cult and has changed now towards the Catholic Church that whored ever since with worldly emperors, like in WWII, and will end up in the One-World-Religion. This transformation can be traced back when we regard the hat of the pope which is the exact copy of the hat of the former Babylonian and Assyrian priests. Therefore: The Great Whore may be nowadays represented by the Catholic Church but as you may have noticed, Pope Francis is changing the face of Catholicism in a breathtaking speed, this way continuing the religious mix of his pre-predecessor Paul II., to fulfil the mission of the One-World-Agenda. The attempt of Pope Paul II., who began to corrupt the Catholic Church by celebrating a religious meeting of all world religions in Assisi (1986, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL9v2aiPKVg) is now finished by Pope Francis’ approach to embrace the Charismatic movement and the Islam to accelerate the speed for a united religious system. Rick Warren is also playing an important part in that game as one of the leading Christian representatives because he favores Chrislam. Since he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations – an NWO board – the agenda is obvious. Islam will play its part in the last days, yes, that’s obvious and can be found in Rev 20:4 but the great finish will come by the One-World-Church which will also include Millions of Hindu people which we didn’t mention yet.
Finally, I want to turn to the matter of persecution. You painted a really cosy picture of the Catholic Church which doesn’t match the true character of this evil institution. It is evil since it deceives so many seemingly believing Christians with unbiblical doctrine and leads them into hell because they do not worship Jesus in their heart but rather Mary. Further it is evil since it has been the No. 1 reason in history why faithful Christian died and I don’t think they died less gruesome than Christians today who are killed by Muslims.
They are still sacrificing Jesus every Sunday although it is clearly said in Hebrews:
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebr 9:28)
Jesus was sacrificed once and for all. No one can call Jesus Lord while he adores at the same time an idol and takes part in a blasphemy meeting like the Catholic supper. Your argumentation that Catholic believers will be justified through the blood of Jesus is basically correct. Therefore it says in Revelation 18:4 (KJV):
“Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”
This indicates that there are indeed Christians in the Catholic Church and so far I agree with you, but they MUST leave it and the reason is mentioned here: “…that ye receive not of her plagues”. This is a clear hint not to stay in this harlot because you will GET JUDGED if you remain in it. You cannot be a Christian in the last days and remain in that Harlot-Church. This is impossible! I would suggest no such a believer will be ever justified, even less when it has been turned into the One-World-Religion church.
Therefore, if mention the fact that Muslims ever since persecuted non-believers I want to refer that in the same way for the Catholic Church. Popes ever since have been absolutistic and cruel monarchs who were also responsible for the Crusades and the Inquisition. Millions have been slaughtered because of this evil Harlot, although the Muslims have probably murdered more than Catholic or Jesuit people. However, the picture looks different when we consider that also WWII was pushed by the Jesuit Agenda (Hitler adored the Jesuits and was financed by them secretly). Therefore we should see that WWII and many other events (French Revolution/Secularisation, etc.) were further steps towards persecution of Christians and Jews. In particular WWII was another false flag to persecute and kill Jews and Christians.
Fact is that the Jesuits have started the counter-Reformation after the Reformation had taken place and it wasn’t eliminated until the 1960s. Therefore I must challenge you again: You may count the victims of the Muslims murderers and conclude that they killed more people than the Jesuits. But hold on, the persecution of Christian and Jewish believers will go now in its final stage! In truth, the Jesuits have never stopped murdering and they are doing it today and will do it tomorrow on a larger scale than you may ever think. The fact that there have been so many mysterious deaths in combination with 9/11 witnesses and bankers in the last decade shows clearly that these Satanic people are preparing the final crusade: they want to kill and destroy all true Christian and Jewish believers and everybody who is opposing their goals.
This leads me to Rev 13:7 and the question of the extent of the persecution: The counter-Reformation will be finished on a global stage, namely when the False Prophet calls for the Mark of the Beast. This will be the final persecution, worldwide, and it will outclass every persecution which we had in history until now. We are surely not at the end of the development but at the ‘beginning of sorrows’ and most Christians today have a completely wrong time schedule in mind. It is not convincing when they cry that Jesus has to come now urgently because things are going havoc. What the world will experience in the future is far worse than what we have today. I want to emphasize that the coming horrors are beyond imagination and we need to be patient. Although I would be glad if the Lord would rescue us from the coming tribulation we will experience it. The reason I gave you in my last statement is: far more than 100 million people, many Christians, have been slaughtered by (Russian and Chinese) Communist regimes. If God didn’t help them out of that horror why should he do it that for us now? God wants to show himself as the Almighty during (!) the horror. WE NEED PURIFICATION! It has been ever since the same Christian principle across all centuries and it won’t change. Also Jesus had to suffer and we are not better than our master.
Concerning the extend of the persecution you wrote: “Moreover, in the whole of Scripture itself, there is nothing in the text telling us that Christians will be persecuted by Antichrist all over the whole earth or that Antichrist will have dominion over every single nation and inch of land all across the world.”
Please take a look in Rev 13:7 where it says the Beast will be adored by all nations, not only Israel or the Muslim world! The technology has been enhanced and it is now in place to be used. Soon the wheat will be separated from the chaff, by persecuting all true believers. I cannot follow your argumentation that the Greek “ge” does not represent the whole world. I have read your recommended article in pieces and I don’t think that we understand scripture by scientific methods. You have to understand things out of the context and in Revelation we have many references that indicate that “world” is always referring to the whole planet. I have translated the Revelation out of the Greek and there are numerous hints that make it clear that throughout Revelation the reference point is always all people, the whole world, all nations, etc. Numerous scriptures proof that: Rev 1:7 (every eye), 5:9, 6:8 (25% of the whole earth), 6:10 (all those living on earth) etc. Finally, the whole earth and the heavens will be made new.
Concerning your comment that Jesus spoke only to his disciples my final question is: Why should Jesus not have been spoken his words with regard to us as his followers? Don’t you see that the implications from this must apply to us as his believers, too? If the end time sermon (Mt 24/25, Lk 21) was spoken only to his Jewish disciples I have no need to watch the signs of the time – since it was only meant for them! So let’s skip that! Why do you follow the signs? Stop it! It was meant for the disciples of Jesus only! This sounds so strange to me. Since I am a believer I never thought like that. In essence it means that we cannot cast out demons or heal the sick because it was only spoken to Jesus’ twelve disciples. This sounds weird. I don’t want to say that with regard to our discussion but to any attempt to restrict the words of Jesus who encouraged us so many times by his words not to stop believing that we can indeed achieve impossible things through faith. That’s the real gospel.
Back to the Harlot: Behind all the attempts to rule the world we must see the Jesuits’ role in the world: Pope Francis is now the ‘Black Pope’ in unity with the office of the ‘White Pope’. This is unique in the history of the Catholic Church and exemplifies the moment where we are right now. Ever since the Jesuits have been the agents behind the scenes and have influenced secretly the emperors all over the world; but now they are going to reveal their NWO agenda which was hidden over the last centuries. The NWO is now getting increasingly obvious and is almost fully revealed since the No. 1 Jesuit is now head of the religious harlot. That says it all. Soon the persecution will begin! Make no mistake, the tribulation is ahead of us and I would agree with Levi Price concerning the US that the real horror will begin approximately in 2016: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhPQIFaKzl0&list=UUDL60CigDGttBcBM2DW-FEQ
If you think naive of Pope Francis and his sinister agenda you will be soon convicted otherwise. Didn’t you hear lately that he considered Christians who have a personal relationship to Jesus Christ being “on a dangerous path”? This is only one step from persecution! Next time he will say that these type of Christian “is” dangerous and then the hounding starts. Believe me, there will be persecution of Christians on a degree which has been unseen in the world, and it will be not only executed by Muslims. Soon the Jesuits will launch the last stage of their diabolic program and then all Christians and Jews worldwide will be persecuted!
I could say a many things more but I stop here since I know it won’t be read. But let me close with one issue: If we were in the times of the 5th seal then it would be the horror for most Christians. You think Jesus would like to take all those lukewarm Christians with him into the heavens? The answer is “NO!” I tell you what: God isn’t interested in condemning as many Christians as possible – he wants to save people. If Jesus would come now, most Christians wouldn’t be prepared. Do you here Christians in the US or Europe cry “Lord come”? I do not. But I know a lot Christians who ignore the signs and do not burn for Jesus. Therefore it cannot be that we are in the times of the 5th seal – otherwise most of the Christians in the Western hemisphere would be lost at the second coming of Christ because they lack a burning heart and belong to the foolish virgins. We’re at the beginning of sorrows and that makes sense since Jesus said that most virgins will fall asleep because it takes such a long time till the second coming of Jesus that most Christians do not expect Jesus anymore (Mt 25:5!). The body of Christ needs purification otherwise most people would get lost, and the purification will come…
Anyway, God bless you and hopefully my tone wasn’t too dogmatic, else you might forgive me.
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Wow, Amino, you really blew me away with your response. If I may be so bold as to speak in defense of ICA and tell you, he will read your whole response, every word, and respond in kind. He is of the highest character. As I’ve told him, I have been taught well to eat the meat, and spit out the bones, and I have been vocal in telling him that I still am thoroughly convinced that Holy Mother Church is the Great Harlot. Pope Francis wasted no time in gathering a Jewish Rabbi and a Muslim Imam to his great prayer meeting in the Vatican gardens. I have no doubt that mama church and all her daughters (apostate Christianity), along with the Muslims and the Jews, will constitute an unholy trinity of religions that reject the true Messiah, Jesus Christ. The Pope is considered to be Christ on Earth by his faithful, so if I may project a thought, it is not a far stretch in my mind to see him being the “Jesus” (false prophet) the Muslims are looking for to walk the Earth with their Mahdi. I may be wrong, but the thought lurks in the back of my mind. I have read all the books you have mentioned, and they still grace my book shelves. I agree with you, without doubt. We will all go through the fires before we meet Him in the clouds-dead or alive.
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Hi ICA:
Thought you might find this interesting:
http://www.wnd.com/2014/10/popular-muslim-personality-jesus-christ-is-among-us/
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Whoever the people are who believe in such an Islamic ‘Jesus’ are not born again – ergo they aren’t Christians. You can tell them everything; surely they will also believe in Santa Claus.
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Hi Amino, I don’t have a whole lot of time but I’ll try to comment briefly.
Iron sharpens iron my friend. :)
I also lean towards the view that Antichrist is a person. I am not saying that Antichrist is a system, only explaining what it would have to be if it were. We should remember that Scripture often talks in anthropomorphic terms about things that are not. For instance, the true Church (the Ekklesia) is described as “one new man” as well as the Body of Christ. It only stands to reason that the false Church (the Ummah) could be described in similar terms as well (cf. Daniel 7:11, “… the beast was slain and its body destroyed …”).
Scripturally, a “Beast” has always referred to a kingdom/empire that threatened national/spiritual Israel. Since Scripture differentiates between the Beast and the False Prophet, I do not see how they can be synonymous in that sense. For example:
Revelation 19:20, “… the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf …”
Revelation 20:10, “… the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown …”
I agree, however, the “temple” today is no longer a temple of stone. It is a temple of people, the Ekklesia of God.
Where do you see the link between the False Prophet and the one presenting himself as God per 2 Thessalonians 2:4?
Yes, I agree. Unless, of course, it is referring to the Ummah as the body of Antichrist, like the Church is the Body of Christ.
Or a false religion.
In Revelation, the “hills” aren’t referring to literal hills (they’re kingdoms) and the Greek word actually means “mountains”, but if we’re going to interpret them as literal hills/mountains, then here is a fact that shouldn’t be missed:
“Mecca is a city in the South West part of the present Saudi Arabia, not far away from the Red sea. Centuries before the rise of Islam, Mecca was serving as the main religious, cultural and commercial center for all of the Arabic tribes. An amazing detail about the city is that it is surrounded by seven hills.” Read more.
The names of them are Jabal Quba, Jabal Al-Qinaa, Jabal Li Aali, Jabal Jifan, Jabal Jiyad, Jabal Abi Qubais, and Jabal Hindi.
To the contrary, Islam has incredible influence over all the kings of the earth. We even see Western leaders and the media after every Islamic terror attack bending over backwards to defend Islam as “peaceful” and placating to Islam at every turn. Catholicism, however, has nowhere near the type of influence that Islam has over the kings of the earth and has absolutely no power whatsoever over Islamic nations.
Let’s think about purple and scarlet for a moment. Purple represents royalty. Mecca is ruled by the Saudi royal family. The color scarlet represents “sin” (Isaiah 1:18, “… though your sins be as scarlet …”), but scarlet and purple were colors that were associated with the fine materials used in the construction of the Temple, the dwelling place of God (cf. Exodus 26:1). We are taught in the New Testament that the Temple of God is no longer defined in terms of one that was made of stone, but rather as one made of people — the Ekklesia (the Church) (1 Corinthians 3:17, 1 Peter 2:5, Ephesians 2:19-22).
According to the New Testament, the Ekklesia is the “Lord’s House” where He dwells and includes all born-again believers in Christ Jesus. Knowing that Satan seeks to be like God (Isaiah 14), does it not stand to reason that he will also seek to create his own version of the “Lord’s House” whereby he can himself dwell and sit upon the mount of his own congregation? Let’s think about this for a moment. In chapter 5 of the book of Zechariah we read about a vision that Zechariah was given of a flying scroll and a “wicked woman”. An angel tells Zechariah that “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land” at the appointed time (5:3,11). The Prophet Zechariah then writes that “the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, ‘Look up and see what this is that is appearing.’ I asked, ‘What is it?’ He replied, ‘It is a measuring basket.’ And he added, ‘This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.’ Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman” (Zech 5:5-7). Zechariah continues, “He said, ‘This is wickedness,’ and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed the lead cover down over its mouth. Then I looked up–and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth. ‘Where are they taking the basket?’ I asked the angel who was speaking to me. He replied, ‘To the country of Babylonia to build a house for it. When it is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.’” (Zech 5:8-11).
Of particular interest here is the fact that this “curse” is described as a “woman” who would be set up in “Babylon” (Shin’ar). The Babylonian Empire encompassed areas of Saudi Arabia (the birthplace and spiritual homestead of Islam) to the south, to parts of Turkey in the north (“where Satan’s throne is” and “where Satan dwells”, cf Rev. 2:13), and from Egypt in the west to Persia (Iran) in the east. This area is today the regional epicenter of Islam. Additionally, one intriguing aspect to the “curse” that goes out over the whole land is that the word for “curse”, and even how it is pronounced, is the Hebrew word “alah”. The Prophet Isaiah, in describing the condition of the earth at the time leading up to the Second Coming of Messiah, says that “the curse [alah] has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate” (Isa 24:6). To dwell in the earth does not in and of itself make one “desolate”. But the same cannot be said for those who dwell in the “curse.”
There should be little doubt that the “woman” of Zechariah 5 that would have a house built for it in Babylon directly represents the “Whore of Babylon” referred to earlier. Over 600 years after Zechariah’s vision of the end times, John in Revelation 17 is given a vision of the future and of “the great harlot who sits on many waters … And on her forehead a name [was] written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (17:1,5). Given the fact that the “Whore of Babylon” directly represents the curse (alah), for what conceivable reason should we think that this is somehow referring to Roman Catholicism? There is none.
Judging from the text of Revelation 17, the “Whore of Babylon” is a counterfeit and perversion of the Bride of Christ. Whereas the Bride of Christ (described as “a bride adorned for her husband” who is filled with “the glory of God” and is “like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal”, cf. Rev 21:2,11) is also the “Lord’s House” and is a dwelling place of God in the Spirit, the “Whore of Babylon” (described as “full of names of blasphemy” and as being “arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness”, cf. Rev 17:3-4) is the “House of Satan” and is a dwelling place of demons (Rev 18:2). The words that John uses to describe the “Bride” and the “Whore” do not simply describe what they are, but rather what they are like.
The “Whore of Babylon” is an abomination and is Satan’s platform upon which he is attempting to exalt himself and become like the God of Heaven. The name of Satan in Isaiah 14:12 (Lucifer) is “heylel,” which means “light-bearer”. The Arabic equivalent of Satan’s name is “hilal,” which means “crescent moon” — the very symbol of Islam itself. Satan’s own “Ekklesia” (referred to by Muslims as “The Ummah”) is a means to an end. Satan will never be like God or replace God and all Satan can do is create his own corrupted version of God’s elect, to wage war against God’s elect, in an effort to replace God’s elect with one that is created in his own image. Just as the Ekklesia of YHWH is the “Body of Christ” (and also referred to as His Bride), Satan’s counterfeit of the Church — the Ummah — is the “Body of Antichrist” (and is referred to as the “Whore of Babylon”). In summation:
* Yahweh has the Ekklesia (The congregation of God).
* Satan has the Ummah (The congregation of Allah).
* Yahweh’s Ekklesia is “as a bride adorned for her husband” and filled with “the glory of God”.
* Satan’s Ummah is a harlot “decked with gold and precious stones and pearls” filled with abominations.
* Yahweh has given the Ekklesia His Word, the Bible.
* Satan has given the Ummah its corruption, the Qur’an.
* Yahweh’s Ekklesia is the multitude of the Lamb, whom they follow.
* Satan’s Ummah is the multitude of a man, the “prophet” Muhammed, whom they follow.
* Yahweh’s Ekklesia comes out of Great Tribulation.
* Satan’s Ummah is responsible for it.
* Yahweh’s Ekklesia receives the seal of God upon their foreheads and are redeemed.
* Satan’s Ummah receives the Mark of the Beast upon their foreheads and are condemned.
* Yahweh’s Ekklesia will be lead to springs of living waters.
* Satan’s Ummah will drink of the wine of the wrath of God.
From the preponderance of the evidence, the Beast has nothing to do with Catholicism. But it has everything to do with Islam, imho.
This is not literal wine per se. In all likelihood it is referring in part to the intoxications of the false teachings we see in Islam. Remember, the description of the Great Whore is not intended to describe what she is, but rather what she is like.
Revelation 14:8, “… Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
Revelation 17:2, “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 18:3, “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication …”
The Qur’an speaks for itself:
Qur’an Sura 9:111a, “Allah hath purchased of the believers [Muslims] their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain …”
Qur’an Sura 61:10-12, “O ye who believe! Shall I lead you to a bargain that will save you from a grievous Penalty?– That ye believe in Allah and His Messenger, and that ye strive (your utmost) in the Cause of Allah, with your property and your persons: That will be best for you, if ye but knew! He will forgive you your sins, and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow, and to beautiful mansions in Gardens of Eternity.”
According to Islam, the only way for a Muslim to be guaranteed that his soul can be saved is if they die while fighting for the cause of Allah. Consider the context of Qur’an Sura 4:95, for instance. This verses says that, “Not equal are those believers [Muslims] who sit at home and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons.” According to the Qur’an, those who do not fight for “Allah” are inferior to those who do fight. To fight with “goods and persons” — that is, their possessions and their bodies — is violent, physical warfare. Muslims “fight in His [Allah’s] cause, and slay and are slain” (9:111) so that Allah “will forgive you your sins, and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow, and to beautiful mansions in Gardens of Eternity” (Qur’an Sura 61:10-12). According to Islam’s False Prophet, “The sword is the key of heaven and hell; a drop of blood shed in the cause of Allah, a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting or prayer: whosoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven …”.
Revelation 18:13 says that the Harlot merchandises the “bodies and souls of men.” Islam merchandises the bodies and souls of its followers each and every single day for the cause of Allah. (Note: Some translations also render this verse to refer to slavery, which just so happens to be enshrined in Islamic law and is even practiced in many corners of the Muslim world, whether it be female sex slaves or the enslavement of an entire population).
John refers to the “mother [singular] of all harlots” (Rev 17). In Middle Eastern terminology, the usage of such an expression denotes something that is the largest, or greatest, or foremost in significance. It’s like saying that during an anti-drug operation the police seized the “mother load” of drugs, for instance. It is referring to the largest capture. Just prior to the first Gulf war, Saddam Hussein stated that upcoming fight against America would be the “mother of all battles”, meaning the greatest of wars. Likewise, the “mother of all harlots” is referring to the greatest “harlot” body of all false religions on the face of the earth, namely, Islam.
I know many Catholics, but I do not know any of them who worship Mary.
There are Christians living in Islamic lands who are leaving, and many Muslims living there who are sincerely searching for Truth are receiving dreams and visions of the Jesus of the Bible. They are coming out of her.
I’m pressed for time and am unable to comment on the rest of your reply. Suffice to say, however, the Catholic Church does not meet the prerequisites laid out in Revelation as it relates to the Whore of Babylon. The fact that Islam is the Mother of all Harlots is evidence in and of itself that John wasn’t speaking about the Papacy. He was talking about something very, very different and much more dangerous …
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Hi Amino, I have more time to follow up on a couple of other points. :)
How could the Catholic Church be the Mother of Harlots if, by your own admission, Muslims have murdered more than Catholics or Jesuits? As American Thinker writer Mike Konrad recently said, “When one thinks of mass murder, Hitler comes to mind. If not Hitler, then Tojo, Stalin, or Mao. Credit is given to the 20th-century totalitarians as the worst species of tyranny to have ever arisen. However, the alarming truth is that Islam has killed more than any of these, and may surpass all of them combined in numbers and cruelty. The enormity of the slaughters of the ‘religion of peace’ are so far beyond comprehension that even honest historians overlook the scale. When one looks beyond our myopic focus, Islam is the greatest killing machine in the history of mankind, bar none.” (http://wp.me/p1qlPa-6sH).
What evidence have you discovered recently that causes you to come to that conclusion? That assertion is based upon an assumption and not upon any evidence whatsoever. In fact, it stretches credulity to the breaking point when we consider the fact that Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians are both being beheaded and slaughtered all across the Islamic world for the faith of Christ.
I want to be respectful, but my friend, in all sincerity this sounds like the plot of a new conspiracy movie written by the author of The Da Vinci Code. As you are well aware, that film had nothing to do with Scripture.
For your consideration, I recommend the article titled “The Mark Of The Beast: What Your Church May Not Be Telling You” for some insight into the true nature of the Mark.
What if Pope Francis steps down or dies without this “sinister agenda” coming to fruition? Will you begin to rethink your entire premiss?
That isn’t what he said, actually. In all fairness, he said that people who think they can have a personal relationship with Jesus without communion (Luke 22:19) and the fellowship/instruction of other believers in the church (Heb 10:24-25) run the risk of following the wrong Jesus. What he said was actually Scriptural because our Heavenly Father did not intend for anyone to be Lone Rangers in the Christian faith. People need to know through sound teaching that Jehovah’s Witnesses have the wrong Jesus, that Mormons have the wrong Jesus, that Muslims have the wrong Jesus, along with any other number of cults. The only way to have a personal relationship with Jesus is to follow the Jesus of orthodox Christianity — the Son of God and Him crucified. I think you would agree with that.
Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Over every tribe, tongue and “ethnos” (ethnic group) of the “ge” (region under Antichrist’s control), not “nation” in the sense that we understand it in our modern vernacular. There are Muslims within every tribe, tongue and ethnic group today, even though they make up only 25% of the world’s population.
We gain understanding of Scripture when we study it hermeneutically and exegetically, and the Greek word “ge” often refers to “a country, land enclosed within fixed boundaries, a tract of land, territory, region”. Revelation 13:7 should be understood in the sense and context it is intended due to the fact that in the very next verse (13:8) as well as later in Revelation 17:8 John writes that only a certain group worships the Beast, not everyone who dwells on the planet, as you believe per your understanding of 13:7-8. If the Holy Spirit wanted to say the whole literal planet in Revelation 13:3-4, 13:8, 13:12, 13:17 and 17:8 He would have likely inspired John to use a much better word that conveys that meaning, such as “kosmos” (cf Acts 17:24). But He didn’t … because a great multitude “which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues” who come out of Great Tribulation (Revelation 7:9,14) did not worship Antichrist. This is evidenced by the fact that Antichrist is fighting wars, and waging wars, against resistor nations right up until the very end.
What I see here is that you have taken a known figure of speech and are reading it in a wooden literal sense, which is not the intent of the text. Let’s consider the following, for example:
Luke 2:1-3, “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that ALL the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And ALL went to be taxed, every one into his own city.”
Mark 1:5, “And there went out unto him ALL the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were ALL baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.”
Daniel 2:36-38, “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them ALL. You are that head of gold.”
Ezra 1:2, “Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD Elohim of heaven hath given me ALL the kingdoms of the earth”
Romans 10:18, “But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into ALL the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.”
Colossians 1:23, “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”
Did Caesar literally tax the whole world in light of what Scripture says above? Did every last man, woman and child in Judea and Jerusalem get baptized in the Jordan River? Did Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus literally rule over the entire planet? Was the Gospel preached to the whole planet during the lives of the disciples? Did Paul preach to every living creature on earth? Of course not. These verses are obvious examples of a figure of speech known as a synecdoche. It is like saying “the whole world watched the Super Bowl on Sunday.” Such statements are never intended to be understood literally and are synecdochical expressions that use a part for the whole, or the whole for a part. This figure of speech is often found in Scripture, especially when we read about kings and their kingdoms, and Antichrist is no different.
He spoke them for us so that we will watch (see Mark 13:37) to know the signs and endure to the end, but He did not speak them to us in order that we flee Judea to the mountains, for instance, at the AoD (Christians have different views on what the AoD is. My view is that it is yet future). Believers in Israel will be the ones to flee.
I’m not sure how that conclusion can be drawn. All believers can cast out demons and heal the sick through Christ.
Matthew 16:16-17, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues …”
The only ones who experience Heaven (absent from the body and with the Lord) are those who have already died in Christ. Jesus isn’t coming back to earth to take anybody alive back to Heaven. According to what I read in Scripture, He is coming once more to the earth to remove the wicked and restore all things, followed by a New Heaven and New Earth after 1000 years of his earthly Millennial Reign.
As for our fellow brothers and sisters, it is already a time of horror for many Christians all across the Islamic world and areas that have a significant Muslim population who are being shot, blown up, burned alive, beheaded, etc. And it is only going to get worse. I don’t believe the 5th Seal, immediately upon being opened, results in an immediate non-stop blood fest of believers. In my view, when the 5th Seal was opened is when persecution began to increase continually to the point where it today … and before it ends it will encompass the coming Great Tribulation.
Amino, “Anyway, God bless you and hopefully my tone wasn’t too dogmatic, else you might forgive me.”
Most Christians stick to a certain dogma, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Just be mindful to stay away from Krazy Glue when it comes to secondary and tertiary issues. ;)
God bless!
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Thanks for your comments, ICA. You answered very precise and I cannot counter that correspondingly since my time also is limited. I try to comment in a general sense, using a few links, however. Just in a nutshell: there is nothing wrong with taking the bible literally. I never failed by doing so – on the contrary, I was many times buffled how real the bible is, e.g when you take the point that the lake of fire burns with fire and brimstone. Brimstone has been found in the area of the Dead Sea, too. Noah’s arch was found, as well as the wheels of Pharao’s chariots in the Red Sea. There is almost nothing figuratively in the bible. Neither should the giants in Canaan be seen figuratively and the fear of the Isrealis were based on real facts.
This attitude that you must see things figuratively – like you answered concerning the seven hills or the wine which I mentioned with regard to the Great Harlot – is not mine. It is actually the teaching you can hear at every Christian College or University nowadays: It’s modern theology and at the end there is nothing left in the bible which you can take for granted anymore. I have studied that, just to let you know, and I know why I mention that. Almost none of the Christians in Western countries take the bible fo real anymore. That’s the result of the scientific age we are living in. There is nothing wrong with a profound scrutiny of scripture and facts – but nowadays science has the status of religion and therefore people are talking like that: You cannot take the bible literally. Now look around you, how people live and you’ll realize that the great falling away is in full swing.
I am not following conspiracy theories since the facts about the Jesuits are real. I also think that it isn’t essential who has killed more believers, the Catholic Church or the Muslim section, which is in fact a Christian sect, too. The point with the Jesuits is that you need to see things spiritually. The real threat aren’t the people like Jesuits or Muslims, the real threat are the powers and spirits in the heavenly realm against which we fight. They use people and powers on earth to deceive and murder poeple. If you see things like that you will realize that Jesuits are servants of the devil and therefore they do what they do, like the Muslims.
It is actually part of the equation that even Satan cannot do things without people and that, again, things must be seen real. Satan uses people to murder, steal and destroy like Jesus said and therefore the story with the Jesuits is no far stretch but rather reveals the fact that there are people on earth who serve Satan. This is not a conspiracy, this is reality. In almost every alternative blog you can read about the ongoing increase of the Occult. The problems aren’t the Muslim murderers the problem is the deception of the people and that they don’t realize that Ephesians 6:12 must be taken seriously. Muslim people are infiltrated by these demonic powers and we must learn that not the Muslim people are our enemies but the evil spirits in the heavenly realm, as Paul said. But go around and ask your fellow Christians how many are aware of that, I’m sure most of them do not realize that – because everybody has heard you mustn’t take things literally.
For more information concerning the Jesuits you can watch videos from Alan Lamont on YT. Besides that it should be mentioned that I basically agree that the Muslim section is part of the Great Harlot – but that Muslims are rather a product of the Harlot and shoud be seen as part of it, not as the head. I am sure the Vatican knows right well what’s going on and is in control of those things. To think of Muslims as a superior power does not reflect reality. It would be as ridiculous as thinking of 9/11 as a Muslim terror atttack, since the twin towers were visibly blown up by a nuke. The pictures of that have been going viral and therefore I do not link my arguments. In the same way it would be ridiculous to regard the Muslim horror as religious product since it is quite clear that e.g. ISIS is a CIA product. If you think again I am conspiracy nut you can try to explain why John McCain meets with high ranking ISIS terrorists and why the US – the waremonger nation No. 1 on this planet – supports ISIS with weapons: http://bit.ly/1vbH7GO.
The Pope didn’t visit Jerusalem just in vain and Jerusalem has ever since been the indicator for how far we are concerning prophetic events. So let’s better look more on Jerusalem and the liaison with the Vatican: There the music plays. Just to finish my point: The real threat is not coming from the Muslim horror. The real threat is not death as our enemy. The biggest threat for most people on this earth is that they go to hell because they didn’t believe according to the gospel of Jesus. Most people are egoists, deeply entangled in sin and they lack spiritual discernment. Even among Christians the deceived people are multiplying. This is not an arrogant statement. Watch the Noah Movie of Living waters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7bPCYizcFM and you will understand what I’m talking about. Therefore these Christians follow such false prophets like Joel Osteen. Most Christians today do not know what it means to live as a Christian. They aren’t doing what Jesus said, they are not obedient and don’t act according to the will of our heavenly father – because many were deceived by a false gospel. That’s the real threat, not the knifes of the Muslim people. So why being afraid of killers? We better pray for Muslim people. I am not afraid of them. Jesus said we shouldn’t be afraid of them. This is a commandment.
It’s no excuse that I don’t answer correspondingly. I know how things end up in this discussion. It’s just that I have heard too often that you mustn’t take all those things in the bible literally. I have heard too many Christians in my life telling that version – and I have seen how unbiblical many of them lived and that they didn’t encourage me to live more according to the will of Jesus. Therefore I renounce from any position which doesn’t take the bible literally. It’s nothing personal against you. My life didn’t change profoundly as long as I was influenced by people who shared that position. I do not listen to them any longer.
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Amino,
I agree with you on your assessment of the modern church, however I believe that for as much as you claim to be deceived by conspiracy theorists, you have nevertheless, been deceived. There is no Jesuit conspiracy, just like there is no illuminati, no Bilderberger and Rothchild conspiracy, no chem-trails, no pre-tribulation rapture and no micro-chip implant as the mark of the beast. Come out from that subculture of paranoia and fearmongering before it consumes you. You’ve gotten much right. Don’t let what you have right be taken from you.
Many, including possibly yourself, are uncomfortable with the time of the end being near. There is a temptation to gravitate toward conspiracy teachings and other non-biblical, far-fetched stories as a means of keeping Jesus’ return in judgment at arms’ length, always safely distant…never near. People like their churchianity just the way it is and they don’t want it to change unless it means being beamed off the earth at the first sign of trouble. I believe this in part explains the success of the pre-tribulation rapture and heavy burden of false teaching that accompanies it, including fanciful tales of Jesuit conspiracies.
I agree there is nothing wrong with taking the bible literally, when a literal interpretation is called for. It is not called for all of the time. You say here “I have heard too many Christians in my life telling that version – and I have seen how unbiblical many of them lived and that they didn’t encourage me to live more according to the will of Jesus. Therefore I renounce from any position which doesn’t take the bible literally”
This doesn’t have to do with proper hermeneutics as much as it has to do with you not forgiving others. If you are going to judge others for their un-Christlike walk of faith, then you need to hold yourself to that same standard, and forgive them. Remember, Jesus said…
(Mat 6:14) “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
(Mat 6:15) “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
Also, one can hardly have an intelligent discussion with you on end times if we know that your motivation for a literal interpretation is based on such unscriptural criteria. Blaming symbolic interpretation is just a very poor excuse for your lack of forgiveness and you need to repent.
Much of the Revelation is couched in cryptic language, symbolic and even derived from Old Testament imagery. The Revelation was penned at a time when the early church was being persecuted heavily. The church and the antichrist system that was to come was carefully hidden in the text, using symbolic language and Old Testament imagery as a means of protecting it, to prevent it from being falsely associated with the Rome of that day.
Literally, from the first chapter of the Revelation to its last, it is filled with symbolic language and Old Testament imagery. It is painful to see your statement denying symbolic language since it is so readily apparent in the scriptures.
When you said …
“It is actually the teaching you can hear at every Christian College or University nowadays: It’s modern theology and at the end there is nothing left in the bible which you can take for granted anymore….”
That’s actually false. The prevailing view of American Christianity is to take a literal approach, without taking into consideration that the Revelation was penned by a Jew and directed to Jewish believers of Christ (who are the only ones who would have recognized the abundant Old Testament imagery throughout the Revelation). To take a term, verse or some passages of the Revelation figuratively, metaphorically or as symbolic, when it fits the context and is consistent with other passages that support it, is not poor exegesis. It’s utilizing a proper hermeneutic, or method of interpretation.
Though there are seven hills around Mecca, there are other interpretations that make the Meccan/Arabian interpretation even stronger, some of which ICA has already shared with you. Mountains are used figuratively for kingdoms. The text even interprets it as such.
(Rev 17:9) “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,
(Rev 17:10) and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.
(Rev 17:11) “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.
(Rev 17:12) “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.
17:10 interprets 17:9, and clearly identifies the “seven mountains” as being “kings” (verse 9), which can also represent “kingdoms”. Likewise, Rev 17:12 also interprets what the horns are…They are 10 kings, or in modern parlance, leaders. These are two prime examples of scripture interpreting symbolic scripture. The Revelation is literally filled with this.
You also claimed that the ” Muslim sect, which is in fact a Christian sect, too. “. This is false. Muhammad had very little exposure (and even less understanding) of the bible and to authentic Christianity.
The view that Islam has its origin in Roman Catholic church is just part of another deception from those of the Revived Roman Empire perspective who, under the circumstances of the abundant evidence for an Islamic end times paradigm, need to link Islam to their view in order to keep the Revived Roman Empire view relevant to their faithful followers….who buy their books and videos. You should steer clear of these charlatans who are more interested in developing a following and making money from their books and videos than about serious historical scholarship.
Such people would be better off simply divorcing themselves from their antiquated Revived Roman Empire or Papal Antichrist view completely instead of mixing the truth with error, the net result being error. They should go where the scriptures, history and contemporary events best point, instead of following the latest who’s who of pre-tribulation or anti-Semitic or anti-Papal fearmongering.
As a rule, I try to resist the temptation to become dogmatic on any one point but to continually test and re-evaluate my own view to seek truth, not to be right in my own mind or to seek to be right in the minds of others.
I believe you would find good historical information about Islam beneficial to your understanding of end times. I would recommend reading some books on the history of Islam, if you want to know the truth. I would recommend the following:
Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam (Peoples of the Ancient World), by Robert Hoyland.
And
The Truth About Muhammad, by Robert Spencer
You also stated “The problems aren’t the Muslim murderers the problem is the deception of the people and that they don’t realize that Ephesians 6:12 must be taken seriously.”
There are scriptures meant for spiritual warfare and Eph 6:12 is one of them. However, 1400 years of Muslim savages brutally raping, stealing and murdering is not spiritual warfare. If you wish to engage in spiritual warfare, then by all means, put on your spiritual armor and pray before sharing the gospel to a Muslim or engaging them in discussion. But our spiritual warfare does not stop their violence. That’s only going to happen when the Lord Jesus Christ returns.
I would say that the problem is not Muslim murderers, but Islam itself, and to that end, I believe the purpose of ICA’s blog is not to spread fear, but to expose the spiritual deception that is so rampant in Islam and to which many professing “Christians” have submitted themselves to out of fear of man and political correctness. Additionally, for those who are seeking to get out of the deception of Islam and to the loving grace and truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, this blog serves as a ready platform to share the gospel that saves, even Muslims.
Those who are genuine believers on the Lord Jesus Christ are not afraid. Each day we are ready to die for our testimony of Jesus. Though physical warfare may occur, and is just in many cases, yet our victory is in our perseverance in the Lord, in not loving our lives even when threatened with death, and for our tireless declaration of our testimony of Jesus, whose blood cleanses us from all sin.
(Rev 12:11) “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
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Infidelsrising, I don’t think it’s a good idea to think of others as conspiracy nuts while you don’t have enough evidence to convey them being either wrong or misled.
I did my research profoundly and invested probably more time than you to study and get insight in various issues. My insight is not based on “conspiracy videos” only but mainly on studying scripture as well as studying church history and verifying teachings of many Christians. 1Thess 5:21 was my legitimation: “Prove ALL things; hold fast that which is good.”
I do not watch TV any longer since it is a brainwashing machine. If you are influenced by this device your attitude doesn’t take me wonder. As long as I have watched TV I was also a sceptic and didn’t believe that 911 was an inside job. After changing my information channels things changed. If you see the following video and think we are not living in a world of conspiracies I doubt that you have a clear mind.
My knowledge of the bible changed accordingly since I realized that what many people teach and live is wrong. There is no bitterness in saying that but only insight and I do not have to forgive anybody in this aspect as you suggested since it isn’t necessary. I have forgiven where it was necessary. What I was talking about is the false teaching and all the lies by which we are surrounded every day. The very fact that there is an institution like the Catholic Church and millions or even billions of people (or Christians) are unable to identify her false unbiblical dogmas makes me speechless. It’s a scandal. There is only one explanation: The majority of people in this world is spiritually blinded, more or less, there is no other explanation. Therefore I am not troubled by your rebuke.
If you know Derek Prince than you would know also that he stated that he was more than disappointed that after 20 years as a Christian he had met nobody who had told him a clearly and properly how to understand scripture and how to live as a Christian. Did you get that? Nobody! If you realize what this world is about and realize that you were not teached correctly because even people in authority who should know it better forsake you then you understand. This insight is rather a shock. In consequence there is only one message: You have to believe the bible or you get lost. The truth is the bible and everything except the bible is a lie.
Therefore I was disappointed by your comment. In fact it is the other way round and we are confronted only by lies and conspiracies in this fallen world and it cannot be otherwise. The first conspiracy was the deception of Satan in Garden Eden and ever since mankind was deceived until today. This whole world is a butt of lies and the reason for that is written in John 17:17: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” If the word of God is truth then all other things which are not in line with God’s word are not true.
Therefore Evolution is a lie, Big Bang is a lie, science which doesn’t confirm God’s word is a lie, Humanism is lie, Capitalism is a lie, Communism is lie, the American dream is a lie, the moon landing hoax is a lie, the doctrine of not going to hell as an unfruitful Christian is a lie (Rom 11:22, John 15:6), the Catholic doctrine is a lie, Pre-trib rapture is a lie (there exists not a single scripture), our medical system is a lie (by whose stripes you are healed), etc. In consequence most universities, hospitals and churches nowadays should be closed and instead people must be teached accordingly to the bible since in most churches proper teaching doesn’t occur anymore and the medical system is a greedy monster (in particular in the US) by which people are financially ruined and destroyed (vaccinations) since modern medicine doesn’t tell you how to live healthy but rather wants to sells drug and make surgery to get your money. Accordingly, the centrifuge of lies in this world, the media, must be closed down immediately since they are as useful as a hole in your head.
My question is therefore: How come you think of me as a brainwashed Christian since I am just mentioning things that contradict the official version of our lost society – as long as it is in line with the bible? You neither know the reasons for my insight nor do you know how I came to my conclusions. May I say this is an arrogant statement?
To put it in a nutshell: I am well aware of the Muslim crimes and have observed the development over many years. I do not need any further knowledge about this fascist, anti-human ideology and if I have to read more than ten lines in the Quran it’s too much. Jesus said: “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Mt 7:20) Concerning Muslims that’s not difficult and I don’t feel the need to read books about that devilish doctrine.
However, I am still waiting why things in Revelation should be seen all symbolic. The position of ICA that even wine and the seven hills concerning the Harlot are symbolic is absurd. You think I consider everything in Revelation being literally which I didn’t say. I said: Almost everything in the bible must be seen literally but there are things which are obviously symbolic like when Jesus said: “I am the door.” But it is completely insane to think according to modern Hermeneutics that a symbol once used in a book must necessarily be the same in any another context and that wine used in Revelation has to be always figuratively in meaning. To cut it short: If Revelation is a single symbolic book then you must explain to me the symbolic meaning of Rev 18:12 & 13 in a whole:
12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
Please explain to me in each single case (and this goes also to the address of ICA) the symbolic meaning of
– gold
– silver
– precious stones
– pearls
– fine linen
– purple
– silk
– scarlet
– thyine wood (have you ever heard of a symbolic meaning of thyine wood?)
– all manner vessels of ivory
– all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble
– cinnamon
– odours
– ointments
– frankincense
– wine
– oil
– fine flour (I hardly can go on)
– wheat
– beasts
– sheep
– horses
– chariots slaves
– souls of men
Have you ever heard of symbolic vessels of ivory or the figurative sense of thyine wood? What’s the figurative sense of precious wood? Please explain the symbolic meaning of cinnamon, odours and ointments. Further, I have never heard that we have to differentiate souls of men into symbolic and literal ones. At latest at this point things are getting weird and grotesque.
Besides that I didn’t get an answer why the lake of fire burns with fire “and brimstone”. If the lake of fire would exist only symbolic why is there the addition “and brimstone”? Have you ever heard of symbolic brimstone?
I come to the end: Why are there going so many people lost although we have nowadays the best theology in the world? Why is there a great falling away if people can all be convinced by modern Hermeneutics how the bible should be read? Because it’s a wrong doctrine and its words have no power and are deceiving people all over the world. In one word: Modern Hermeneutics is equally based on a lie. I know of its origins and the first one who established its foundation, Wilhelm Dilthey, was a heretic. To interpret scripture you don’t need modern Hermeneutics, you need common sense and the Holy Spirit.
“For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2Pet 1:21, KJV)
So you cannot interpret scripture by modern Hermeneutics. In old time (the time when the scripture was written) people were moved by the Holy Spirit and he is the only counsellor who is able to interpret scripture.
Therefore, I want to ask you a last question: Of those professors and teachers at Christian Faculties and Colleges what do you think how many of them do pray before a lecture or seminar that the Holy Spirit may guide them to find the right answer? I tell you the answer straightaway: 0%. Because they have REPLACED guidance by the Holy Spirit through modern Hermeneutics and that’s the reason why they go astray.
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Hi brother Amino, I agree 100%, there is nothing wrong with taking the Bible literally. I do. But we must not read everything literally when it is not intended to be literal. We must recognized that Scripture is filled with metaphor, symbolism, allegory, figures of speech. If we read things in a wooden literal sense when the intent is not to be literal, then error will beget more error.
David talks about God’s feathers and wings (Psalm 91:4), yet God is not a bird. David talks about God as being a sun and shield (Psalm 84:11), yet God is not a star nor forged metal. John talks about the angels of Heaven fighting the Dragon (Rev 12:7). But was it a literal dragon? John talks about a Beast with multiple heads (Rev 13:1). Is it a multi-headed animal? Is the Whore of Babylon (Rev 17-18) a real woman, or is the Lion of Judah (Rev 5:5) and the Lamb of God (Rev 14:4) a literal lion and a literal lamb at the same time? Scripture also calls Jesus a Rock (1 Cor 10:4) and a Cornerstone (1 Pet 2:6-8). These are only a tiny number of examples, but as you can see, there is quite a bit of figurative language in Scripture.
Only some teachers and some colleges interpret it that way. When I was in seminary my theology professor recognized that Scripture did not intend for much of these things to be understood in a literal sense, however.
Can you show me some links exposing Jesuit terrorists who have blown up churches recently, or rained a hail of bullets down upon Christian schools, or driven Christians out of their homelands, or who have been beheading Christians and anyone else who disagreed with the Jesuit way of life? Or is it your opinion that this is only going to suddenly begin happening overnight and overtake Islam in both scale and frequency?
According to the Bible’s own definition of what an antichrist is, it is one who denies the Father and the Son (1 John 2:22) and does not confess that the promised Christ has come in the flesh (1 John 4:3; 2 John 1:7). The Catholic Church does not deny the Father and the Son and confesses that Christ has come in the flesh. The Catholic Church, therefore, does not fit the Bible’s own definition of antichrist. The term “Antichrist” means both “against” and “in place of” Christ, and the Pope is not someone who is against, nor is he someone who stands in place of, Christ. The Pope is said to intercede for his fellow Christians, but he does this like all Christians are instructed by the Apostle Paul himself, not in the sense that he acts as the Savior of mankind:
1 Timothy 2:1-3, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior …”
All practicing Catholics that I know believe in the Triunity of One God, believe that Jesus the Son was the Christ sent from the Father, believed that He died on the Cross for our sins, believe that Christ is the Way and the Truth and the Life, believe they are saved by grace. The Catholic church is simply another Christian denomination comprised of imperfect people striving to serve a perfect God, like all of us. Even though many Catholic doctrines are far from perfect, God can still save those with an imperfect understanding since it is Christ alone that saves. In my opinion, the Catholic church is in some ways similar to the church in Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-28). Although there are things about the church in Thyatira that Christ was against (which could also be said about you and I as non-Catholics as well I’m sure), there were good words of encouragement that He had to say for many in Thyatira as well.
How can seven figurative “heads” throughout history (Rev 17:9) be seven literal “hills” of Rome? If you prefer to view them literally, then let’s look at it exegetically. The Greek word is “oros” and it doesn’t even mean hills. It means “mountains” (and the KJV and most other translations correctly renders “oros” as “mountains” — also see how Scripture often defines “mountains” in Psalm 30:7, Isaiah 2:2, Dan 2:35, 9:16, for example). Rome, however, does not even sit/dwell on or around seven mountains. But Mecca does. The names again are Jabal Quba, Jabal Al-Qinaa, Jabal Li Aali, Jabal Jifan, Jabal Jiyad, Jabal Abi Qubais, and Jabal Hindi. (Even the Arabic word “Jabal” means “mountain”).
If you want to consider the “wine” as literal, did you know that according to Euromonitor International, Saudi Arabia’s “halal” wine market was valued at SR1.4 billion in 2011 alone?.
When the Hebrews entered into the Promised Land, did they come to a place that was literally flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8; 33:3, Jeremiah 11:5, Ezek 20:6, 15)? A land flowing with milk and honey is not intended to describe what it is, but rather what it is like. In the same sense, the items you’ve listed above are not describing what the Whore of Babylon is, but rather what she is like. She builds herself up in riches and luxuries. Look at Mecca today. It is insane the degree to which Mecca is being transformed into a city of excessive luxuries. See the article titled “Desert City Reborn: Saudi Arabia Overhauls Islam’s Holiest City Of Mecca To One Of ‘Monumental’ Luxury” for more.
Revelation 18:2-3, “… The kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from her excessive luxury …”
In light of the verse above, when has the world ever grown wealthy with something exported from Rome or the Vatican? Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, has been the world’s largest exporter of oil and produces millions of barrels per day, and has been exporting oil since the 1930’s. Oil is what drives the world’s economy. What does the Vatican have in comparison?
That’s quite a blanket statement. If “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” according to 2 Timothy 3:16, then hermeneutics — comparing Scripture with Scripture — is absolutely essential. Otherwise, we’d may as well ignore much of it and interpret the text in which ever way fits any number of preconceived ideas.
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ICA, that’s a good response and I agree that scripture must be compared and interpreted with and by scripture. Actually, that’s what I wanted to hear but that’s not the norm when it comes to Hermeneutics today. You may probably know that there are different Hermeneutics and I didn’t cite Wilhelm Dilthey withou reason: He is the one who they say has founded modern Hermeneutics. You may read on Wikipedia about him (not the best address, I know) for a short overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Dilthey. There you can read that his works are partly based on David Ernst Friedrich Schleiermacher, one of the most influental but also most deceiving Protestant Theologians in the past.
Therefore I want to mention that we must distinguish the approaches. I have rejected modern Hermeneutics because it is unscriptural in many ways and it is part of the doctrine at many Christian Universities today but I agree with the “Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics”: http://www.iamforsure.com/Articles/Church/Bible/Apologetics/Hermeneutics/HermeneuticsChicago.html. This is the way how biblical Hermeneutics works and how it should be practised. I want to quote two statements by which my last comment probably becomes more clear and less controversial:
Article V
We affirm that the Holy Spirit enables believers to appropriate and apply Scripture to their lives.
We deny that the natural man is able to discern spiritually the biblical message apart from the Holy Spirit.
—
My statement was “you need common sense and the Holy Spirit.” I do not support the view that some people understand everything in the bible or that a single believer gets the full knowledge of all issues let’s say of the Revelation of John. However, the statement in Article V confirms the view that we are basically able to understand the scripture because God enabels us. It is possible.
Further In Article XXIII it says:
We affirm the clarity of Scripture and specifically of its message about salvation from sin.
We deny that all passages of Scripture are equally clear or have equal bearing on the message of redemption.
—
As it says not all scripture is equally clear but it continues in Article XXIV:
We affirm that a person is not dependent for understanding of Scripture on the expertise of biblical scholars.
We deny that a person should ignore the fruits of the technical study of Scripture by biblical scholars.
—
Conclusion: All in all we are not dependent as Christians on other scholars or sources except the Holy Spirit, yet we shouldn’t ignore them. The essential point, however, is that Hermeneutics must be biblically oriented. This is not any longer the case in many Christian Colleges and Universities. The majority of these institutions teach godless and unbiblical doctrines.
Concerning the Catholic Church I would suggest to read the following article by which the problematic issues and the true nature of this institution becomes more transparent:
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Roman%20Catholicism/a_woman_rides_the_beast.htm
It also introduces the topic of seven hills.
ICA: “In light of the verse above, when has the world ever grown wealthy with something exported from Rome or the Vatican?”
Concerning this question I quote a passage from that page:
“In addition to such perversions of the gospel which have led hundreds of millions astray, there are the further abominations of corrupt banking practices, laundering of drug money, trading in counterfeit securities, and dealings with the Mafia (fully documented in police and court records), which the Vatican and her representatives around the world have long employed. Nino Lo Bello, former Business Week correspondent in Rome and Rome bureau chief for New York Journal of Commerce, writes that the Vatican is so closely allied with the Mafia in Italy that “many people…believe that Sicily…is nothing more than a Vatican building” (Nino Lo Bello, The Vatican Empire, Trident Press, 1968, p. 167; see also David A. Yallop, In God’s Name, Bantam Books, 1984; Richard Hammers, The Vatican Connection, Penguin Books, 1983).
The Roman Catholic Church is by far the wealthiest institution on earth. Yes, one hears from Rome periodic pleas for money–persuasive appeals claiming that the Vatican cannot maintain itself on its limited budget and needs monetary assistance. Such pleas are unconscionable ploys. The value of innumerable sculptures by such masters as Michelangelo, paintings by the world’s greatest artists, and countless other art treasures and ancient documents which Rome possesses (not only at the Vatican but in cathedrals around the world) is beyond calculation. At the World Synod of Bishops in Rome, England’s Cardinal Heenan proposed that the Church sell some of these superfluous treasures and give the proceeds to the poor. His suggestion was not well-received.
[…]
There is no church, no city which is a spiritual entity, no religious institution past or present which even comes close to possessing the wealth of the Roman Catholic Church. A recent newspaper article described only a fraction of that treasure at one location:” [continue]
I agree that many Catholic believers do not know what’s going on in the Catholic Church and that they cannot be blamed for not knowing the facts since they were not enlightened by anybody. But they have the bible and therefore the call of God is:
“Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” (Rev 18:4)
Therefore it is necessary to bring more light into this alleged Christian church. The problem is that believers in this Harlot are confronted with wrong teachings and think they are Christians. However, it makes a difference whether you are doing good because you think you are supposed to do it or because you are set free by Jesus Christ. Many people stay in the Catholic church although it deceives them. ICA, if you were in Italy where the worship of Mary has reached unknown extends, similar to the passage in Jer 7:16-20 where God speaks to Israel concerning their worship of the “Queen of heavens” you wouldn’t trivialize the Catholic Church as you do. The idolatry of Israel finally led to the Babylonian conquest of Juda in 587 BC. In the same way the judgement for the Catholic Church and its idol worshippers is coming. Praying to Mary is idol worship and Pope Francis has lately made some disturbing comments which indicate that he expects to take part in the cult even more. The rosary as well is religious cult. Masses are religious ceremonies to blind Catholic believers. Those people think they have done their religious duty and if they aren’t teached otherwise they will end up in hell because many do not experience Jesus as their Lord.
I myself had discussions with a Catholic lady and I want to tell you that it is hard to convince Catholic believers from their unbiblical errors and to show them the difference between the Catholic and a true biblical lifestyle.Tell them that they have to change their life and they will argue that they are doing good. Oh, I know, there we are again and I hear the people crying: “Don’t you know that only God can turn people around?” Surely, I know that. But I also know that it is hard to convince people like Jehovah’s Witnesses from their errors. I also had discussions with them. If you ever have tried to convict believers in such organisations from their errors you will know what I’m talking about. If we can avoid these hardships why do we trivialize the issue? It needs a lot of time and proper teaching to turn such persons around – and it’s a lame excuse to expect that God will do it himself and that finally all those misguided people will get saved and miraculously convinced by true believers. In most cases that never happens. Accordingly you quote:
ICA: “Even though many Catholic doctrines are far from perfect, God can still save those with an imperfect understanding since it is Christ alone that saves.”
Truely said, God “can” still save those people – but why leaving them alone in their misery? I have been working in a company with only Catholic believers and I tell you: They don’t have a clue of true Christianity. If nobody explains scripture to them they get lost, period. I know I repeat myself but Catholicism is a cult and will lead many people into hell.
Jesus alone saves, yes, but the Holy Spirit usually confirms the message of the gospel and not of a false doctrin. The problem of nowadays preaching is that preachers at least in the Catholic church know little about true fellowship and teach even false doctrine. In many Catholic Churches the gospel isn’t preached according to the bible. Consequently, the Spirit won’t confirm the preaching. There is no fellowship altogether. This religious system is a hindrance to the experience of Jesus who gives peace in your heart. This churches aren’t just “far from perfect” – they are massgraves. The admission is totally unbiblical and people get a wrong understanding of what it means to follow Jesus respectively of what it means to be a Christian, that’s the problem. The essential question is: “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?!” (Jes 53:1)
Concerning Mecca: It is not amazing that Mekka prospered in that way. Besides the unspeakable wealth because of the oil business the pilgrimage to Mecca is a very profitable business and brings money without ending. I know from a Muslim woman that she had to pay a few thousand Euros for her pilgramage and that they had to invest all their savings in it. It is an expensive religious duty for many Muslims. Since they are expected to pilgrim at least once in their lifetime to Mecca the development will accelerate even more because of the increase of Muslim believers. However, I am still convinced that the wealth of the Catholic Church is by far bigger. We are not talking only about gold and jewels. The Catholic Church has it’s own bank as you know and they are shareholders. It’s not only the real estate or the connection to Mafia. Her wealth is growing every month through donations and offerings. We hear about the waelth of some Mega Churches in the US. Well, they are just an indicator for what the Catholic Church earns all over the world and confirms Rev 18:3.
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Amino, thank you for your reply.
You said here “My insight is not based on “conspiracy videos” only but mainly on studying scripture as well as studying church history and verifying teachings of many Christians.”
However, you have not made a scriptural case for a Jesuit conspiracy but have only required me to disprove it. This is fallacious. If you advance the proposition that there is a Jesuit conspiracy, then the onus is on you to prove it. Until you can do that with scripture, as you say, I will continue to be skeptical of such claims…..and you should too.
You asked “My question is therefore: How come you think of me as a brainwashed Christian “??
Your own statements show that you have closed yourself to critique and refuse to consider the evidence for an opposing view. You’ve been brainwashed.
“There is only one explanation…….”…..” it cannot be otherwise……..”I do not need any further knowledge…..”Concerning Muslims that’s not difficult and I don’t feel the need to read books…”
You said…”I am still waiting why things in Revelation should be seen all symbolic. ”
I already answered that earlier. Not all of the Revelation was penned in symbolic language, but much of it.
“The Revelation was penned at a time when the early church was being persecuted heavily. The church and the antichrist system that was to come was carefully hidden in the text, using symbolic language and Old Testament imagery as a means of protecting it, to prevent it from being falsely associated with the Rome of that day”
You said…” But it is completely insane to think according to modern Hermeneutics that a symbol once used in a book must necessarily be the same in any another context and that wine used in Revelation has to be always figuratively in meaning.”
It’s neither insane nor absurd, but is rather expected considering the Revelation was penned by a Jew and directed to Christians with a Jewish background of the first and early second century. What better way to communicate concepts and ideas warning of spiritual deception, persecution and salvation to one’s audience than to put it in the language and imagery of the Old Testament, that which a hostile, pagan Rome would not have understood. ??
You asked ” I didn’t get an answer why the lake of fire burns with fire “and brimstone”.”
We don’t know the much different physics of the spiritual realm. However, burning with “fire and brimstone” is an excellent description of eternal torment. It may be figurative language describing a real place or state.
You asked ” Why are there going so many people lost although we have nowadays the best theology in the world? ”
They’ll be lost because they are people who are unrepentant (luke 13:3)..
they are unholy (Heb 12:14),
disobedient (Heb 5:9),
not born again (Jn 3:3),
do not strive to enter (Luke 13:24),
do not deny themselves and take up their cross (Luke 9:23),
do not hate their wordly life (John 12:25),
they love the world (1 John 2:15),
they are friends with the world (James 4:4-5),
they do not have a testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev 12:17)
they were not really on the narrow road (Matt 7:14)
they do not keep His commandments (John 15:10)
You asked “Why is there a great falling away if people can all be convinced by modern Hermeneutics how the bible should be read?”
Hermeneutics is not the problem. Most Christians have never even heard of the word. The falling away is due to spiritual deception mixed with many forms of sin…idolatry, fornication, adultery, blasphemy, worldliness, greed, selfishness and other sin is what many professing Christian who don’t fear God will love. In my view, people will fall away in spite of good hermenuetics, including professing Christians.
Jesus said there would not be many, but few to enter the kingdom.
(Mat 7:14) “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
In the time just prior to Jesus’ return, professing Christians will be characterized by….
(2Ti 4:3) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
(2Ti 4:4) and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
Rather than myths of Jesuit conspiracies, the scriptural and historical evidence points to Islam being the end times hostile kingdom just prior to Jesus’ return.
Do Jesuits live in distinctly Muslim majority countries like….
Egypt Isaiah 19:1-2
Jordan Jer 49:19-22
Southern Jordan (Isaiah 34:5)
Judah (southern Israel) Zec 12:7
Jerusalem Zec 14:2-5
Gaza (Zephaniah 2:4-7)
Do Jesuits fulfill Old Testament eschatological prophecies like Dan 2:40-43? Dan 8:24-25? Zech 14?
(Zechariah 14, Isaiah 63:1-6) shows a selection of nations that are hostile to Israel in the time just prior to Jesus’ return. Are any of these nations governed by or controlled by Jesuits?
Persia (Iran), Cush (Ethiopia, also Sudan and Somalia. Today’s Ethiopia is the ancient Abissinia while today’s Sudan and Somalia are the ancient Ethiopia/Nubia). Also, Put (Libya), Gomer and Togarmah (Turkey), Meshech, Tubal, Gog, Magog (Central Asian countries, south of Russia -Turkmenistan, Kazachstan, Azerbaidjan)
What kingdom of evil controls these nations? Islam.
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Hi brother Amino. If that were the case then you should be rejecting the Catholic/Jesuit antichrist theory. After all, the Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics denies that “the Holy Spirit ever teaches to any one anything which is contrary to the teaching of Scripture.” Since the Catholic/Jesuit antichrist theory contradicts the Bible’s own definition of “antichrist” according to 1 John 2:22, 1 John 4:3 and 2 John 1:7, the Catholic/Jesuit antichrist theory must therefore be rejected.
Absolutely, it must be biblically oriented. The Catholic/Jesuit antichrist theory, however, is not. For instance, the Bible says that the Great Harlot originates/is associated with/is found in the desert. The Catholic Church is not, but Islam is. The Bible says that the Great Harlot is drunk with the blood of the saints at the time of the end. The Catholic Church is not, but Islam is. The Bible says that the Great Harlot is the most corrupted and destructive false religion that the world has ever seen. The Catholic Church teaches the essentials of the Christian faith, but Islam denies them and commands that anyone who believes them must die. The Great Harlot will make war against the Lamb of God. The Catholic Church does not wage war against Christ, but Islam does. The full counsel of Scripture is explicitly clear that every single nation that is destroyed at the Second Coming of Christ is today an Islamic nation, not Catholic.
What those articles ignore is the fact that Pope Francis has been excommunicating members of the mafia. A recent article noted how the “Italian crime group known as the ‘Ndrangheta’ were excommunicated by Pope Francis who said that they are the ‘adoration of evil’. He [the Pope] said further on the group and the Mafiosi family, ‘Those who in their lives follow this path of evil, as Mafiosi do, are not in communion with God. They are excommunicated. This evil must be fought against, it must be pushed aside. We must say no to it.’ He further promised that the Vatican would do everything in its power to combat mafia activity.” Read more.
What the article you’ve linked to also fails to mention is the fact that the entire religion of Islam is akin to the mafia in and of itself. In fact, it is much more violent and widespread than any mafia group in the world today. Moreover, Islamists are flooding Western nations with drugs in order to finance Islamic terrorism. See the articles below for more:
* Muslim Drug Mafia Conquering Europe
* UK: Al Qaeda Flooding Britain With Drugs To Finance Terrorism In Europe
* ‘Worrisome’: The Role of Drug Trafficking in Promoting and Financing Today’s Global Terrorism
There are wealthier institutions on earth. The Tirupati temple in India, for example, is richer than both the Vatican or Mecca. But if, for the sake of argument, it were even true that the Vatican was richer than any other temple or institution on earth, it would have no bearing whatsoever on the identity of the Whore of Babylon. John does not describe the Harlot as the wealthiest on earth, but simply that “the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury” (Revelation 18:3). The Greek word for “luxury” also means “excessive strength” which would hardly even describe the Catholic Church. Islam, however, is a whole other matter, and if it were not for Mecca and its oil the economies and riches of the world would not be what it is today.
I know of Catholics who pray to the saints and ask for intercession, including from Mary (which I take issue with of course), but I do not know of any Catholics who worship Mary. When I go to Italy I may ask for any who do to raise their hands. If you really want to learn about one of the most blatant and deceptive idols that is actually being worshipped today, however, look no further than Islam’s holiest site — the Kaaba in Mecca (which even looks like a veiled woman) — to which Muslims all across the world bow down towards five times each and every single day:
Many non-Catholic Christian churches do not teach the gospel according to the Bible, either. Joel Osteen, Ken Copeland, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyers and others come to mind, for instance. We can see their teachings on television. Since I have only been to a few Catholic churches, however, I cannot say if they all preach the gospel according to the Bible. Those that I’ve been were teaching orthodox Christianity, judging from what I was hearing while there.
Out of curiosity, how many Catholic churches have you visited where you can confirm first hand were not teaching the gospel according to the Bible? At any rate, what I can tell you with certainty is this: There are absolutely zero mosques that preach the gospel according to the Bible. According to Islamic teaching (which fails to even correctly understand many basic Christian doctrines) Jesus Christ was not God in the flesh who died on the cross for our sins. Islam considers this foundational tenet of Christianity the worst of sins that anyone can commit, called shirk. In Islam, it is an unpardonable sin that Allah will never forgive. But in Christianity, it is the key to everlasting life.
Amino, my friend, please tell me — which would be the greater “harlot”? Is it the Catholic Church that recognizes Jesus Christ and Him crucified for our sins and doesn’t even meet the Bible’s own definition of what “antichrist” is, or is it the Islamic “church” that denies everything we need to accept about Jesus and fits the Bible’s definition perfectly at every turn?
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Here is a good lesson on Muslim history that ties in well with your article
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TRAITORS AMONG US
The Traitor.
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.”
-Marcus Tillius Cicero, 106 BC – 43 BC
-Roman, Orator, Philosopher, Statesman
Hello there……its me again……..Don Laird.
As I grow older there is less and less in this life that surprises me.
Many of the questions I had as a child have been answered. I have come to understand, albeit not completely, the human condition. Of the many facets of the human condition I now know the many faces of treason, sedition and treachery. I now know the timeless currency of cowards and collaborators.
I am in the fight.
I am in the midst of the manifest lunacy of a 7th century murdering psychopath.
I am with privilege, the privilege of generals and politicians, the privilege of being out of range.
I watch hundreds of videos. I watch as the collection of the blackest lies ever told is raised high and called “the word of Allah”. I watch as dusky hued barbarians and savages scream their bloodlust oath of allegiance to a murdering coward. I watch as they, craftsmen in the art of death, ply their trade in every corner of this earth. I watch the bullets stir the cranial contents of the terrified and the innocent. I watch as fevered lips whisper words of desperate last moment prayers to the God they are soon to meet. I watch as the throats are cut and the arterial spray glistens in the sunlight. I watch the terrified eyes glaze over, the head comes away from the body of the innocent victim. I watch as it detonates and in a blinding flash and shower of razor sharp glass and shrapnel, multitudes borne away on rivers of blood and death. I watch as tears of shame and anguish run rivers down bruised cheeks, as nervous fingers fumble with handkerchiefs whilst those moments of agony, flooding back, torrential, tormenting, are relived once again, once again as the raped and the savaged tell their horrific stories of utter degradation, humiliation and loss. I listen to the cries of orphans and widows as they beg us, beseech us not to turn away, not to abandon them, and I am moved. As my eyes fill with their anguish and my ears with their cries I can smell the blood, I nearly wretch and choke at the stench of the rotting flesh; I am with them. Yet I am impotent in the face of their need, in the face of their loss; my hypocrisy, my betrayal, my cowardice know no bounds. I stand on the edge of an abyss of madness, blackest despair my companion, my soul slips slowly away, all I have left is my pen and my paper.
In the deafening quiet of those moments of reflection, in those moments of almost obscene voyeuristic intrusion, as salt into the wound, there rises above the cries of the dead and dying, above the cries of the battered and the bruised, another voice. Shrill and shrieking it demands to be heard.
In spite of all that truth, all that agony, the voices of the apologists for the crimes of Muslims, the sneering voices of Leftist/Liberal apologists for Muslim crimes against humanity, seek to drown out the agony of the widows and the orphans, seek to excuse, seek to mitigate, seek to smear the excrement of the self-loathing politically correct on the memory of the butchered, seek to turn our gaze away from those mass graves, seek to whitewash 1400 years of Muslim war and terrorism, seek to turn our attention away from those same Muslim hyenas that now walk among us here in North America.
I now know the many faces of the treasonous, the seditious and the treacherous, they are legion, they move among us.
You see, the IS, the Islamic State is nothing new. The IS is in fact simply acting in accordance with the commandments of the Koran and the supporting Islamic jurisprudential text, the Sira and the Hadith.
The IS is simply providing us with a modern day manifestation of the 7th century when the mass murdering, child molesting, warmongering lunatic named Muhammad started claiming he was getting special messages from God, when he started spreading his charming brand of poisonous lunacy, spewing it into any ear that would listen and cutting the heads off of those who knew him for the impotent, cowardly psychopath he was.
In the end, the IS, the Muslim, can no more be blamed for their acts of murder and madness than one can beat a pig for rolling in mud or a dog for howling at the moon; its in their nature to maim, to murder, to rape, to loot, to kill and to conquer, its in their nature, its who they are, its what defines them and its what they are commanded to do by the Koran.
But the crime, the greatest crimes of all are the crimes of endorsement, the crimes of avocation, the crimes of mitigation, the crimes of wilful blindness, the crimes of ignorance, the crimes of the complicit, all of these crimes, the crimes of the Leftist/Liberal, the crimes of the sentimental dog-catchers, these are the crimes that wound the deepest, they are the most grievous of crimes.
From our Leftist/Liberals in the media, in our House of Commons, in our Senates, in our Congress in our courts, in our bureaucracy, in our intelligence infrastructure, in our law enforcement agencies, in the Legal Industry, in our schools, all of these, treasonous and seditious handmaidens each and every one to the Muslim as it seeks, with a murderous Grand Jihad, to destroy “the miserable house of the West from within and by its own hand”.
I wrote a small rambling essay called “Of Muslims, Dog-Catchers, Patriots and Vigilantes”. Below is a quote from that little ramble that deals with the treasonous, sentimental dog-catching litigators, that provide such passionate defence and avocation of murderers and terrorists and seek to loose among the innocent, the human equivalent of rabid dogs; the Muslim and its Islam.
As an example consider the following excerpt from “Of Muslims, Dog-Catchers, Patriots and Vigilantes”;
“In a small town the local dog-catcher has rounded up a half a dozen mutts. Dogs with distemper, rabies and dispositions that have resulted in several attacks on local denizens. Sitting in his chair one evening he ponders the fate of the dogs; warm and fuzzy little creatures with begging eyes and whimpering that tugs at his heart strings. Overwhelmed with sentimentality, he swings open the doors to the cages whereupon the dogs immediately run amok in the town, badly mauling several children and killing several senior citizens.
What do you think would happen to the dog-catcher after the townsfolk had regained their senses?
I can absolutely guarantee you that, if he survived the enthusiastic beatings he would get from the townsfolk, he would suffer a withering course of criminal indictment, incarceration upon conviction and a blizzard of civil actions that would leave him penniless.
So then, consider the actions of dog-catchers like Romeo Dallaire, John Norris, Dennis Edney, Brydie Bethell and Nathan Whitling, as their vigorous defence of an unrepentant terrorist, Omar Khadr, has now returned him to Canada and will, possibly within months, see his 40 year sentence for murder and terrorism eviscerated and him walking the streets of Toronto on paths of rose petals strewn by thousands of his admirers, strewn by thousands of “good Muslims”.
The horror of the hypothetical-
In the days that follow the “liberation celebrations”, little Omar Khadr’s disciples, ever the busy little bees, are working overtime to bring to the attention of the filthy infidels, the error of their ways. Christ and Christmas reviled by Khadr’s Kid’s, they select an appropriate time of the year. The bomb detonates at Toronto’s Royal Winter Fair, the explosion turns the surrounding area into a maelstrom of razor sharp glass and shrapnel, shredding flesh to bone. Those close to the center of the blast evaporate, others turn to jelly. Blood runs rivers and the screams of the dying, piercing the air, shred the sanity of the survivors. The will of Allah and Muhammad is done and Omar Khadr, flanked by his poisonous mother and siblings, turns to Mecca, kneels and gives thanks to his God.
The city is terrified, the country is terrified, and the long black line of cars bears the victims to their final reward. Another page in the book of Western understanding of Islam now written.
Now comes the ability to hold those responsible for the loosing of hyenas’ amongst the sheep to account. Unfortunately, the penalties levied against the dog-catcher are not available as mechanisms of redress and accountability in dealing with those whose litigious contortions set loose madmen.
The Mainstream Media grinds into action its game of “Distract and Dissuade”.
Politicians will rise in legislatures and Parliament and, with hand on heart, gripping the latest poll numbers, whilst dabbing crocodile tears, give fiery speeches and eulogies, merely self serving exercises in hypocrisy.
Terribly alone in the darkness of living rooms, men sit and, fingering the photographs of dead wives and children, look, through the fish-eyed lens of tear stained eyes, at those faces they will never see again. They hear the echoes of the voices of those they will never speak to again. And, awash in grief and comfortless agony, they know who is responsible for their loss and the darkness that surrounds them. They know who opened the cage doors.
In the light of this, I ask you this question; for right or wrong and knowing it is a criminal act, would not the men, now widowed and having buried their loved ones, abandoned by the politicians elected to protect them, abandoned by the duplicitous and deceitful media, abandoned by the courts, abandoned by spineless agencies of law enforcement, abandoned by the avenues of redress held out to them as their only alternative, would not they be justified in hunting down the self righteous dog-catchers and killing them?
Right or wrong, the actions of the men would be condemned as criminal but understood as infinitely and righteously just by millions of Canadians.”
Excerpt from –“Of Muslims, Dog-Catchers, Patriots and Vigilantes”
Moving on………
When the bomb goes off, and it will, in Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto killing hundreds, a bomb set by the Muslim. When a dozen women and children are hacked to death at a coffee shop by the Muslim, oh yes they will. When a shopping mall is littered with the dead, mowed down in the fashion of the Westgate Mall in Nairobi. When hundreds of terrified shoppers in the West Edmonton Mall are herded into the skating rink cum killing field and butchered. When a Canadian or American soldier is beheaded on one of our streets. When our daughters, our wives, our sisters, our mothers are turned into whores for legions of grunting, drooling Muslim males. When all we have built, when all we hold dear has been smeared with the excrement of Islam; let us remember.
Let us remember the faces.
Let us remember the names.
Let us remember the smug faces of John Norris and Brydie Bethell, lawyers known for defending the butcher of a feeble grandmother, known for defending a vicious little convicted murderer and terrorist, Omar Khadr.
Let us remember the face of the arrogant Nathan Whitling, fresh from turning loose Alberta’s Travis Vader on a disclosure technicality, Travis Vader, the alleged butcher of an Alberta grandmother and grandfather, Mr and Mrs McCann. The same Nathan Whitling who fawned (s) over the murdering terrorist, Omar Khadr and his family of Islamic vipers.
Let us remember the face of the immigrant litigator Dennis Edney, a lawyer who licked (s) the boots of Omar Khadr and the entirety of the Khadr family, a family of terrorists. A lawyer who attended and attends meetings with Muslims directly connected to terrorist groups. A lawyer who stands in front of those same Muslims and weeps rivers. The same lawyer who weeps not for one single victim of the horrors of 9-11, but who weeps rivers for a murdering terrorist Omar Khadr and who seeks to set the same free among unsuspecting Canadians.
Let us remember the face of lawyer John Phillips, of the law firm Phillips/Gill. Let us remember this litigating parasite who has launched a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Canadians on behalf of the terrorist Omar Khadr and his family.
Let us remember the canons of law enforcement whose cowardice, corruption, politically correct bureaucracy and legendary mockery of leadership, has left their charges, young police officers, culturally self-loathing, historically illiterate, terrified of reality and with their throats laid bare to razor sharp knives of Muslim orthodoxy.
Let us remember the faces of tenured treachery, of the academic treason that stalks the hallowed halls of higher learning, the faces that instil in our children a seething self-loathing, that instil in our children a seething hatred of their country and culture, that instil in our children a seditious Marxist dogma cloaked as “enlightenment, academic discourse and debate, that bid our children to destroy and devour all we have built, all that has made our democratic and civilized societies the greatest success story in the history of Mankind.
Let us remember the faces of Barack Obama, of Justin Trudeau, of Olivia Chow, of Libby Davies, of Eric Holder, of Joe Biden and of all the others who sing the praises of the Muslim and who, at the direction of treasonous Imams and Mullahs, brick by brick, dismantle our nations, who gleefully emasculate our nations defences, who smear handfuls of the poisonous rhetorical excrement of a 7th century lunatic on everything we hold dear, who lay waste to all our sacred traditions and ideals and all to assuage the bruised egos of mass murdering, pedophile psychopaths and lunatics.
Let us remember the faces of Peter Jennings, of Peter Mansbridge, of Wendy Mesley, of Kevin Newman, of Christiane Amanpour, of Hubert Lacroix, of Dawna Friesen and the blood spattered faces of all the other Leftist/Liberal media talking heads who have for decades, holding the licence of stolen credibility and the privilege of celebrity, from the bully-pulpit of mass media, lied, whitewashed, obfuscated, excused, mitigated, propagandized, ignored and in many cases, whole heartedly endorsed, the murderous actions of the Muslim and the poison of the Koran.
Let us remember them, each and every one and all of their crimes with clarity and particularity.
In the end, we cannot blame the Muslim and their Leftist/Liberal handmaidens for their crimes, crimes of commission and crimes of omission. Its what they are commanded to do, its what defines them, its who they are, to the very core.
The blame for the madness of the Muslim and its Islam as it seeks to destroy all we have built, as it seeks to murder us, as it seeks to make us slaves, rest squarely on our shoulders, it always has. For it is we who have allowed the treasonous and treacherous to open the cage doors and set the killers loose.
So then, let us acquit ourselves of the burden of citizenship in a democracy, of citizenship in a republic. Let us remove from our midst those who seek our destruction.
So then, let us deal with the Muslim and its Islam, but let us never forget the faces of treason, let us never forget the faces of the traitors.
Let us remember the faces.
Let us remember the names.
Food for thought, catalyst for action.
Regards, Don Laird
Alberta, Canada
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It would still seem Christian s in thwest will still be relatively secure if most trouble is in middle east?
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Hi mike d, I don’t think the West will see the type of situation we’re seeing in the Middle East today, but the extent to which the West will be impacted by this Islamic Beast just prior to the coming of Christ remains to be seen.
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