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Showing posts with label abyss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label abyss. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

The End Is Near - by S. Jones


THE END IS NEAR
Apr 04, 2018
By Dr. Stephan Jones (edited by LM Cross)

Just as the recent conference was ending, snow began to fall in Peru, Indiana. Snow is quite unusual for April at that location, because it is quite farther south than Minnesota. But it was not too surprising, since we discerned that we were seeing the pattern of Scripture being fulfilled at this Passover season.

We took note that Israel crossed the Jordan on the 10th day of the month, and after keeping Passover, they fought the battle of Jericho. From a prophetic standpoint, this 7-day battle took place during the 7 days of Unleavened Bread. This may not have actually been the timing of the battle, of course, but since Scripture is intentionally vague on the precise timing of the battle, I believe that we were meant to see it on a prophetic level and overlay it with the 7 days of Unleavened Bread, beginning the 15th day of the month (March 31).

So it occurred to me when the snow came that this was the first day of battle, because Job 38:22, 23 says,

22 Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, 23 which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of war and battle?

It appears, then, that we should watch April 6, as this would be the 7th day of the battle of Jericho, when the walls fell and the city was taken. Perhaps we will see a newsworthy event take place at that time. Keep in mind that the city of Jericho was an Old Testament prophetic type, representing Babylon in the book of Revelation.

Meanwhile, there is much battlefront news being reported.

Chinese Space Station Plummets
Tiangong-1 - or 'Heavenly Palace' - was placed in orbit in September 2011 and had been slated for a controlled re-entry, but it ceased functioning in March 2016 and space enthusiasts have been bracing for its fiery return since.

The station played host to two crewed missions and served as a test platform for perfecting docking procedures and other operations. Its last crew departed in 2013 and contact with it was cut in 2016.

The space station crashed in the morning of April 2 (Beijing time), which was the evening of April 1st, here in the USA, about 8:30 pm in New York. It crashed near Tahiti just as the snow began to fall in Peru, Indiana. Perhaps this is a coincidence, but perhaps not. Look at the dates given in the Daily Mail article in the link above. It was launched in September 2011, coinciding with the Jericho march here in Minneapolis (September 11-17, 2011), which in turn was the tenth anniversary of the Twin Towers demolition. That prayer campaign in 2011 turned the clock back ten years (Hezekiah Factor) to 2001, but it also established a 15-year extension of time to 2016.

Recall that Hillary Clinton fell on September 11, 2016, ending her chances to be elected president of the USA.

In most prophetic signs, there is a positive and a negative side. Tiangong, “heavenly palace,” can be viewed negatively as a sign of the Queen of Heaven being cast down, but it can also be seen positively as a sign of the descent of the Kingdom of God to the earth. By combining the two and seeing it in the light of Hillary’s fall in 2016, we might interpret this as replacing the beast system with the Kingdom of Heaven.

The War in Syria has Failed
Recall that the US plan to destabilize the Mideast (as General Wesley Clark put it) and to overthrow seven nations came to a grinding halt when Russia stepped in and prevented the US takeover of Syria. Under presidents Bush and Obama, this war plan was put into operation, and they nearly succeeded in destroying all potential enemies of the Israeli state.

Only Iran is left intact, and now there are forces trying to destroy Iran, too. It seems that Iran was not on the original war plan. Certainly, Wesley Clark said nothing about Iran in his speeches. At any rate, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been the main financial tools being used to fund the war in Syria. In other words, the USA supplies weapons to them, and they ship them to the “rebels” in Syria.

But that is now changing. Saudi crown prince Salman has now reversed course. He visited President Trump in the White House last week, and afterward he admitted in public that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could not be overthrown.

Saudi leader dropped a bombshell on the weekend, saying that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad is not going to be ousted from power; it was a stunning reversal of their 'regime change' plan for Damascus….

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman dropped a bombshell in the course of a weekend interview with Time magazine that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad is not going to be ousted from power. He said, “Bashar is staying. But I believe Bashar’s interest is not to let the Iranians do whatever they want to do.”
This remark by the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia is a stunning reversal of Riyadh’s policies in Syria hinged on “regime change” in Damascus. One can call it an admission of defeat.

This marks a major shift in world politics. It marks the point where the US foreign policy since 2002 that was exposed by General Wesley Clark has failed. The CIA’s lapdog known as ISIS has been routed fully and is no longer a danger, other than perhaps blowing up a few car bombs as they retreat. Realistically, the US-backed rebels cannot overthrow Assad as long as Russia stands in their way. The Babylonians will have to try to figure out another way to start World War 3, and most likely they will try to do it through an attack on Iran. Iran is their last hope.

The Splintering of the Roman Catholic Church
The fourth beast of Daniel 7, was the Roman Empire, and the “little horn” extending Rome’s rule has been the Roman Church beginning with Justinian.

We are now at the end of the allotted time for the rule of the beasts. That time ended in October of 2017 with the transfer of authority to the saints of the Most High (Daniel 7:22 KJV). The end of beast rule was pictured in another way in Daniel 2, where the stone hits the feet of the image, crushing not only the feet and toes, but also the entire image.

If our view is correct, we ought to see the Roman Church begin to disintegrate, along with its support from the financial beast from the earth (Revelation 13:11, 12). I have focused mostly on the financial beast insofar as recent prophetic signs are concerned. But we should also look for signs regarding the Roman Church itself.

Pope Francis appears to be the last pope, according to the prophecies of Saint Malachy in the 12th century. When he came on the scene, I wrote about this, wondering what he might do to bring down the church. Or perhaps the church would fall apart in spite of his best efforts.

Francis has been known to make some startling Trump-like statements. Call them “trump-ets” if you want. The latest was his statement in an interview that debunks the traditional view of hell. He was reported to have said “Hell does not exist.”

The pope’s advisors immediately downplayed his statement and tried to pass it off as a translation error. But no one is buying that. The fact is, he DID say that, and now he cannot unsay it.

Some Vatican officials even tried to impeach Pope Francis for heresy!

I suppose that is a preferable way to deal with it. In the past, they simply assassinated the popes and then honored them in death, pretending that nothing was amiss.

Shortly after this statement, plaster began to rain down from the ceiling at St. Peter’s Basilica, and most people are taking this as a sign that Francis is destroying the Roman Church.

The Vatican has had to seal off part of St. Peter's Basilica after chunks of plaster fell from the ceiling just hours after Pope Francis is alleged to have proclaimed that 'Hell' does not exist.

Bits of the ceiling rained down over worshipers near Michelangelo's famed Pieta statue to the right of the main entrance, although no one was injured.

This interview was published on March 28, just before Passover. Here is an article about it.

However, alarmed Vatican officials quickly denied the quotation, reminding everyone of the church’s long-time teaching on hell.

The Vatican has denied that Pope Francis told a well-known Italian journalist that "there is no hell".

The quote came in an article in Italy's La Repubblica daily. But the Vatican said "no quotations" in the article "should be considered as a faithful transcription" of the Pope's words.

The timing of this controversy tells me that it may actually be the beginning of the end for the Roman Church. Time will tell. Will the traditionalists be able to put the cat back into the bag? It is too early to tell at this point. But it seems to me that Pope Francis knows church history well enough to understand that for the first four centuries, the vast majority of Christians believed in the Restoration of All Things. See my short booklet on this topic here:

The truth is that there is indeed a “hell,” but the Roman Church has misrepresented it as a place of torture, because they have not understood the law of God or divine justice. I myself would not have stated “there is no hell.” I would have said, “Hell must be redefined according to Scripture and not according to church traditions that developed among the Latin fathers in later centuries.”

Nonetheless, the Roman Church probably cannot survive such truth, for it overthrows 1618 years of church traditions since the big controversy arose in 400 A.D. That is a long time in which the original church teachings were forgotten. Could it be, then, that this will be the issue that will crack the Vatican? Will this bring down the plaster in the Basilica?

Saturday, October 8, 2016

The Locust Islamic Invasion


THE LOCUST ISLAMIC INVASION

10-8-2016

Locusts from the Abyss
The fifth angel sounds his trumpet with supposedly unbelievable results.  It will be uncovered in 9:11 that the king of the imprisoned locusts is the angel of the abyss called Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek which translates as “destroyer”. A heavenly angel is given the key to the abyss or bottomless pit which he unlocks and opens.  Bullinger comments this so-called angel is Jesus Christ who has the keys of “death and hell (KJV)” or death and Hades.  However, some are of the opinion that Hades and the Abyss (the bottomless pit) are not the same thing.  Regardless, from the shaft of the pit (or from the earth) rises smoke as from a giant furnace and out of the smoke comes locusts of some ghastly type.

Revelation 9:1-3 NET  Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the abyss.  (2)  He opened the shaft of the abyss and smoke rose out of it like smoke from a giant furnace. The sun and the air were darkened with smoke from the shaft.  (3)  Then out of the smoke came locusts onto the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth.

It should be noted from verse 9:21 there is no repentance.  This comment is repeated in several other places as well.  Most commentators agree that only church people (or those convicted by the Holy Spirit) can repent.  Although certain government issues are indirectly mentioned in the Revelation, it is actually a prophecy concerning the Church as it existed from the time of John to the present.  The so-called plagues and tribulations discussed in the book are those projected mostly on the Church, both organized (Roman Church) and unorganized (secret or hidden).

The Little Horn
The prior four trumpets brought about the fall of Rome and the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD.  The development of the little horn (the Roman Church as an extension of the Roman Empire) began after the fall of the Roman Empire and came into full existence in 606 when Pope Boniface III claimed himself to be the “Universal Bishop”.  However, his predecessor (Pope Gregory), stated that anyone claiming to be the Universal Bishop would utter a “blasphemous antichristian assumption”.  Apparently, Pope Boniface III, and all consequent Popes, could be called a blasphemous antichrist.  Daniel 7:8 says the “little horn” speaks “great boasts”, which is paraphrased in Revelation 13:5 as “arrogant words and blasphemies.”

The futurist view that the “little horn” is the antichrist ruling a revived Roman Empire is partially correct.  The “little horn” actually did rule an extended version of the Roman Empire known as the Holy Roman Empire, and a certain pope was a self-proclaimed “antichrist” as well as his successors.

Commentary Descriptions

MR DeHaan:  Studies on the Major Themes in Revelation, p.144.
When the fifth angel sounds, the prison of the bottomless pit is opened and there issue forth supernatural spirit beings to torment men five months.  They are described as having faces like men, hair like women, teeth like lions and tails like scorpions.  Beyound a doubt these were a class of especially wicked demon-beings who because of their viciousness were not permitted to be at large until now.  There is reason to believe that they were the fallen angels…..

Oliver B. Greene:  The Revelation p. 250. The star John saw fall from Heaven had the key to the bottomless pit, and according to Revelation 1:18  “….. and have the keys of Hell and of Death”.  Therefore, I believe this angel to be none other than the Son of God in angelic form. 
Page 256:  Out of the smoke, millions of locusts will appear…billions of demon locusts will come out of the smoke that proceeds out of hell.

Tim LaHaye:  Revelation Unveiled, p. 171.  Out of this smog will come locust-like scorpion creatures, which have no counterpart in all history.  They have been aptly called infernal cherubim.  …. For in reality these are spirit beings that probably will not be seen by human beings but whose effects will be strongly felt.

It is interesting to note the date of 606 AD.  This was when Pope Boniface III declared himself the Universal Bishop and it is also the date when Mohammed began to receive his revelations and he began to preach his message in 612 AD. 

Legalism and Islam
The change of laws by Justinian was approved by the Church, however, they were not the laws of God but those that seemed good to the emperor and the Church.  These laws would be considered the traditions of men as were the laws of the Jews as identified by Jesus Christ during the early first century.  Legalistic Islam was then raised up by God as a revelation of the foolishness of legalism.  The Church did not repent of their legalism as indicated by Revelation 9:21.  By inflicting the church with legalistic Islamic traditions, the Christians should have repented from their own legalistic system and returned to the laws of God, but that did not happen, except for perhaps a few individuals.  The vast majority of groups calling themselves the church have continued in their legalistic ways and have not repented and returned to the laws of God.  As a result there is a continuation of Islamic judgment.

The dark furnace-like smoke of the revelation that Mohammed brought did not bring the true light of Christ to the earth. The Koran did not produce any sons of God, but only spiritual locusts.  Locusts periodically devastated the land when they swarmed and ate everything in sight.  They were considered to be a plague on account of the devastation left in their wake.  However, these locusts “were told not to damage the grass of the earth, or any green plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their forehead” (9:4).  This is another major clue that the locusts are not literal but symbolic in nature.

The Islamics were told they were not to harm or damage the people with the seal of God on their forehead.  How was this accomplished?  Muslim policy was to conquer and convert people to Islam, and if they did not convert, they had to pay a special tax.  Only by not complying with these two options was death bestowed.

This allusion to locusts is very similar to the army of locusts found in Joel 2.

Joel 2:2-5 NET  It will be a day of dreadful darkness, a day of foreboding storm clouds, like blackness spread over the mountains. It is a huge and powerful army — there has never been anything like it ever before, and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come!  (3)  Like fire they devour everything in their path; a flame blazes behind them. The land looks like the Garden of Eden before them, but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness — for nothing escapes them!  (4)  They look like horses; they charge ahead like war horses.  (5)  They sound like chariots rumbling over mountain tops, like the crackling of blazing fire consuming stubble, like the noise of a mighty army being drawn up for battle.

Arab and black Islamic migrants are currently invading Europe, the United States, and other places.  This could be a secondary fulfillment of the Islamic invasion prophecy during the Middle Ages although with different repercussions.  Rape and molestation appear to be the major crimes committed.  Perhaps God is indicating that women should dress and act in a more modest manner.  Of course, prayer and repentance is always a major deterrence.

The Revelation 9 locusts were generally the Muslim Arab armies.  However, it can be said that the locust’s description of Revelation 9:7-10 would specifically be the Saracen calvary who were noted for their horsemenship.

Revelation 9:7-10 NET  Now the locusts looked like horses equipped for battle. On their heads were something like crowns similar to gold, and their faces looked like men's faces.  (8)  They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth.  (9)  They had breastplates like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots charging into battle.  (10)  They have tails and stingers like scorpions, and their ability to injure people for five months is in their tails.
It has been commented that the description is relatively accurate for the Saracen riders.  They wore yellow turbans (the appearance of gold colored crowns).  They had faces of men but wore their hair long as would a woman with a full beard.  The teeth of lions is not literally, but rather a description of their fierceness.  They wore iron armor with iron breastplates which produces considerable noise when they journeyed into battle (the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots).
Abaddon / Apollyon
The king of the locust army rising from the pit is named Apollyon in Greek, which is the language of the Revelation text but the Hebrew name is also included.  The Hebrew name, Abaddon, is usually translated as “destruction” when employed in the Old Testament.  It is associated with “sheol” (the grave) in Proverbs 15:11 and with “death” in Job 28:22, therefore the name Abaddon is used as an association with the abyss or bottomless pit and is a spiritual name for the “king” of the Arab Muslims. 

Revelation 9:11 NET  They have as king over them the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.

Abaddon (or Apollyon) is the name of the spiritual principality that rules the Muslim world in general.  This entity is the ruling spiritual power behind the religion of Islam and appears in Daniel of the prince of Persia.  The principalities began their governing after the language change at the tower of Babel as indicated in Deut. 32:8.

Daniel 10:20 NET  He said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Now I am about to return to engage in battle with the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece is coming.

Deuteronomy 32:8 NET  When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly (sons of God LXX).

One must always be aware that no principality (or fallen angel, demon, or Satan) can do anything without the express permission of God.  God’s use of Islamic Muslim armies in the past (which continues today) was and is to reprimand the Church for their continued lawlessness and legalism.  The invasion of Muslims into the countries that were once highly churched (but are no longer) could be a further reprimand and punishment for acts of lawlessness, indecency, and rampant sexual acts. 

The Second Woe
The sixth trumpet having the second “woe” starts in verse 9:13.  There are no soldiers bound in the Euphrates and there were not 200 million horsemen, Arab or otherwise.  An explanation by Dr. Stephen Jones is:  “It is an event occurring in the spirit that pictures spiritual beings, unclean spirits, who are empowered by God to judge the Eastern Roman Empire, using physical armies as proxies”.  The army was given authority to kill a third of mankind which encompasses the Roman Christian area and not the entire world.

John may have mistaken the Mongol-inspired gunpowder cannons used by the Arabs as horses since someone was sitting on them as a horse.

Revelation 9:17 NET  Now this is what the horses and their riders looked like in my vision: The riders had breastplates that were fiery red, dark blue, and sulfurous yellow in color. The heads of the horses looked like lions' heads, and fire, smoke, and sulfur came out of their mouths.

A picture of these unusual cannons taken by Howard Rand in London with the following explanation:  Marvels of Prophecy pp. 81-82,

“Anything with four legs used in war, John would designate as a horse. He beheld men astride these iron horses. He watched them ramming in the powder and the shot. He observed the burning of the old-fashioned fuse, serpent-like, with its sputtering flame of fire at the tail, or touchhole, of the cannon. This was followed by the fire, smoke and brimstone issuing out of the mouths of these iron horses with lion’s heads, for the cannon used in the siege of Constantinople were cast in the form of lions.”

This is only a sample of the available information for Revelation chapter 9.  Hopefully, it will give a valid indication of the actual historical view as opposed to the unreasonable supernatural picture as presented by the dispensational, pre-tribulational, 70th week of Daniel, futurists.