REVELATION 9: A
HISTORY OF THE CHURCH & ISLAM
11/29/2018
Revelation
9:1-11 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. (4) They 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. (5) The locusts were not given permission to
kill them, but only to torture them for five months, and their torture was like
that of a scorpion when it stings a person. (6) In those days people will seek
death, but will not be able to find it; they will long to die, but death will
flee from them.
(7) 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.
(11) They have as king over
them the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek,
Apollyon.
Although
using highly symbolic words, images, and language, the 9th chapter
of the Revelation is actually a past prophecy of the Islamic invasion of the Eastern
Roman Empire and the associated church.
The invasion took place around a period of 400 years. There were invasions and counter-invasions; land
area acquired and land area lost. At
various times the invasions occurred in North Africa, Spain, France, Ukraine
area, Southeastern Europe, and some in Southern Italy. The purpose of this article is to elucidate
the visions displayed in Revelation 9 and not necessarily the history of the
Islamic movements.
The
rise of Islam began in 612 A.D., the year that Mohammed began to teach, and it
peaked 150 years later when Islam’s religious and political capital moved from
Damascus to the newly-built city of Baghdad in 762-763.
For
most people aged 60 plus, who had an early interest in the prophetic scriptural
revelations, most information came from the works of Hal Lindsey. Mr. Lindsey (alive at this writing) is/was a
graduate of the Dallas Theological Seminary institute.
With
an actual Bible in their possession, the early Reformers never considered the
Revelation to be anything other than a prophetic history of the Church. When and how it became a blueprint or roadmap
for the so-called tribulation period remains unknown although it is suspected
the Dallas Theological Seminary based on the Scofield Reference Bible is the
primary promoter
The prominent groundbreaker of dispensational
theology is the Scofield Reference Bible first appearing in 1909 and revised in
1917. It is said this Bible with it’s unique (at the time) reference
system was financed and encouraged by Jewish bankers living in England, to
enhance and further their goal of convincing the Christian church of their
self-conceived “chosen people” status in light of their upcoming plan to retake
Palestine which became the state of Israel in 1948.
Prior to its popularization by the Scofield Bible, the
roots of Dispensational Theology are traceable to John Nelson Darby and the
Plymouth Brethren group within England. Darby’s teaching has become
enshrined in the Scofield Reference Bible, the most popular of all reference
bibles. Dispensational Theology has been refined to some extent and
tenaciously defended by Dallas Theological Seminary founded by Lewis Sperry
Chafer.
Mr.
Lindsey claims the Revelation account is to be taken literally as in: there is an abyss within the earth; a fallen
angel opens the abyss; from the abyss comes a swarm of demonic-like locusts;
the locusts tortured people for 5 months similar to the sting of a scorpion; the
locusts appears as horses; on their heads was a type of crown; they had faces
of men but hair as a woman; they wore breastplates; they have tails and
stingers like scorpions.
The Three Woes
Revelation
8:13 NET Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying directly
overhead, proclaiming with a loud voice, "Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth because of the
remaining sounds of the trumpets of the three angels who are about to blow
them!"
Revelation
8:13 is an introduction to the various Islamic invasions and it represents the
final three trumpet judgments: 5, 6, and 7. There is an interlude that
separates the first four trumpets from the final three. The final three
trumpets are also called “woes,” and they depict God’s call for Islam to judge
the church: #5 - The Saracens (612-762);
#6 - The Seljuk and Ottoman Turks (1063-1453); and #7 - The Seventh Trumpet is
subdivided into Seven Bowls (Revelation 16)
The First Woe - Abyss,
Smoke, & Locusts
The
rise of Islam began in 612 A.D., the year that Mohammed began to teach, and it
peaked 150 years later when Islam’s religious and political capital moved from
Damascus to the newly-built city of Baghdad in 762-763.
(1) 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.
The
locusts (i.e. Islamists) exit the ground representing an earthly religion that
is carnal. This religion was to bring
darkness into the world – not the true light of revelation. The locusts were not the cause of this
darkness, but rather that the darkness brought forth the locusts.
(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.
The revelation of Mohammed did not bring forth the
light of Christ, but rather darkness.
The Koran of Mohammed did not bring forth sons of God. It only brought forth a plague of locusts
that left devastation in its path as it is producing now in Europe.
Matthew
6:22-23 NET "The eye is the lamp of the body. If then your
eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. (23) But if your eye is
diseased, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is
darkness, how great is the darkness!
The first two chapters of the book of Joel describes
an invasion of prophetic locusts as the army God raised up in “the day of the
Lord”. Again, consider Europe. If the girls were married and not running
around half naked with their rear hanging out the bottom of their shorts, they
might not be so susceptible. God always has
a message but few heed it.
Joel 2:3-11
NET 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. (6) People writhe in fear
when they see them. All of their faces turn pale with fright. (7) They charge
like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. Each one proceeds on his course;
they do not alter their path. (8) They do not jostle one another; each of them
marches straight ahead. They burst through the city defenses and do not break
ranks. (9) They rush into the city; they scale its walls. They climb up into
the houses; they go in through the windows like a thief. (10) The earth quakes
before them; the sky reverberates. The sun and the moon grow dark; the stars
refuse to shine. (11) The voice of the LORD thunders as he leads his army.
Indeed, his warriors are innumerable; Surely his command is carried out! Yes,
the day of the LORD is awesome and very terrifying -- who can survive it?
The
locusts are told not to hurt the grass or any green thing, thus they are not
literal locusts. Islam’s sacred color is
green, and for this reason many flags from Islamic countries are green or
contain green. Koran Law forbids harming trees and all green things. Hence,
these “locusts” are not leaf-eating insects, and yet they leave devastation in
their wake.
(4) They were told not to damage the grass of the
earth, or any green plant or tree
Muslim
policy was to conquer and convert people to Islam, and if they did not convert,
they had to pay a special tax. In those days only non-compliance brought death. Although not every European was invaded, it
can be said that most suffered the aftereffects to some degree. This time period was said to be “five
months.” A prophetic month is thirty “days” (i.e., years), so five months (30 x
5) is a period of 150 years.
(5) The
locusts were not given permission to kill them, but only to torture them for
five months
H. G. Wells, The Outline of History, Page
584,
“. . .
everywhere they offered a choice of three alternatives; either pay tribute, or
confess the true God and join us, or die.”
More Information on The
First Woe (612-762 A.D.)
Mohammed
began his Islamic Koranic mission in 612, but ten years later (in 622) he had
to flee for his life from the city of Medina. Later, Mohammed successfully
negotiated the conquest of Medina, and the religion spread in the same Old
Covenant manner that Christianity had spread after the fall of pagan Rome (i.e.
by conquest through physical means).
Islam
was a carnal (fleshly) religion but so was Christianity by this time. When God raised up this new religion to bring
judgment upon the church, it was by the principle of an “eye for eye,” where
the judgment fits the crime.
This
time frame of five months in verse 5 represents the first stage of political
Islam, ending when the Abbasid Caliphate moved its capital from Damascus to the
newly-built city of Baghdad in 762. This event was similar to what happened in
the Christian Empire, when Constantine built Constantinople and moved the
capital of the Empire from Rome to his “New Rome.”
Saracens of the First Woe
The
first woe came through the Saracens, who swept through the Middle East, North
Africa, and into Spain. The Saracens
were a specific and distinct tribe from the Arabs. They were among the early
converts to Islam, and later many western writers called all Arab Muslims by
the term “Saracens.” The Saracens themselves were noted for their horsemanship.
(In earlier times the Roman army had included Saracen cavalry.)
The
“locusts” in Revelation 9 were the Muslim armies in general, but more
specifically, in Rev. 9: 7-10 John saw the Saracen horsemen and gave us a
physical description of them as they rode into battle.
(7) 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.
The
above description would be considered fairly accurate for the Saracen horsemen.
The
Saracens wore colored turbans, or “crowns.”
Those in Rev. 9: 7 are said to be yellow to show that they were made of
cloth. (i.e. their “crowns” were turbans).
(7a) On their heads were
something like crowns similar to gold
They
had the faces of men, but hair like that of women. They were men who wore their
hair long. This describes the Saracens who were known for their long hair and
full beards.
(7b) their faces looked like men's faces. (8a) They
had hair like women's hair
Their
“teeth of lions” is a metaphoric description of their fierceness. They wore
iron armor and had iron breastplates which made a great clatter as they charged
their horses into battle.
(8c) 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.
Islamic Expansion
From
the beginning of Mohammed’s mission in 612 until Islam’s height of power and
glory, when the capital of the Islamic Empire moved from Damascus to Baghdad in
762 was 150 years. During that time of five prophetic months, as Islam was
expanding, they swept across the Middle East and across North Africa. After
taking Jerusalem in 638, they subdued Egypt in 641. In 668 they laid siege to
Constantinople, but the city was saved by the use of an incendiary formula
called “Greek fire.” Water could not extinguish it, and anyone sprayed with it
would be burned to death.
The composition of Greek fire remains a matter of
speculation and debate, with various proposals including combinations of pine
resin, naphtha, quicklime, calcium phosphide, Sulphur, or niter.
In
700 they marched west and conquered Algiers.
By 707 they had taken all of North Africa, and from 711-713 they
conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain). By 715 the Moslem Empire
extended from the border of China to the Pyrenees between Spain and France.
From 720-732 the Arabs ravaged southern France until Charles Martel finally
defeated them decisively at the Battle of Tours in 732 and again at Narbonne in
736. This put an end to Islam’s expansion into Europe. But Islam had entrenched
itself in Spain by this time,
The
Islamic armies conquered most of the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire that
had been ruled from Constantinople. In 718 the Arabs sent a large fleet of
ships to attack Constantinople, but they failed and the fleet was destroyed. In
748 another Arab fleet was destroyed during an attack on Cyprus. Although Islam
took portions of the Balkans, they were forced to bypass the city of
Constantinople for centuries, until they finally took the city in 1453.
Apollyon And Abaddon
(11)
They have as king over them the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is
Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.
Abaddon
– a Hebrew word meaning “destruction”.
It is associated with sheol
(i.e. the grave or death usually translated as “hell” in the New
Testament). The word is used to
symbolically describe this particular king (i.e. Muhammed) with the abyss or
bottomless pit as given in 9:1.
Apollyon
is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Abaddon.
Apollyon,
or Abaddon, is the name of the spiritual entity (i.e. principality) that is
said to rule the general Muslim world. It is considered to be an evil entity,
perhaps a demonic entity. His name identifies his character and his “calling,”
as well as the nature of Islam that he inspired. Apollyon means “destroyer,”
but the word is also used to mean “perish or lose”.
The Second Woe (1063-1453)
The
second woe began with the Seljuk Turks, then extended through the Ottoman
Turks, and finally concluded with the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
At
the beginning of this period occurred the “great schism” between the Eastern
and Western divisions of the Church which appears to unleash the Second Woe.
Toward
the end of the 10th century the Islamic Arabs lost much of their
power which was replaced by the Turks beginning in Afghanistan and expanded
into Iran and northern India and was finally replaced by the Seljuk Turks.
Revelation
9:13-16 NET Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a
single voice coming from the horns on the golden altar that is before God, (14)
saying to the sixth angel, the one holding the trumpet, "Set free the four
angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!"
(15) Then the four angels
who had been prepared for this hour, day, month, and year were set free to kill
a third of humanity. (16) The number of soldiers on horseback was two hundred
million; I heard their number.
The
four angels are released to judge the Church through the Seljuk Turks and their
successors (i.e. The Ottoman Turks). The
Seljuk’s conquered the Eastern Roman Empire by invading Georgia and Armenia
from the Byzantines. This represented a
391 year period until Constantinople for overthrown in 1453.
The
rise of this new Turkish Empire was temporarily interrupted by the Mongolian
Empire which began in 1206 originally headed by Genghis Khan. The Mongols conquered Baghdad in 1258,
killing many people and destroying many of the Islamic libraries thus
effectively ending the Islamic Golden Age.
The Mongols convinced the Western people that civilization existed beyond
their known world. This motivated the
development of the “silk road” and attempts to establish sea routes.
The
Mongol invasion also introduced the inventions of gunpowder and the printing
press to the West. When the Mongols lost
power and retreated the Ottoman Turks came to power. The use of gunpowder soon led to the
invention of the cannon which was used in the overthrow of Constantinople.
The
time frame of the second row is given in verse 15 which is 391 years: 1 year = 360 years; one month = 30 years; one
day = 1 year; one hour = 15 days. The
time begins in 1063 with the crowning of Alp Arslan and ends in 1453 with the
capture of Constantinople.
(15) Then the four angels who had been prepared for
this hour, day, month, and year were set free to kill a third of humanity.
The
200,000,000 soldiers are not literal people although they may be demonic
entities or unclean spirits empowered by God to judge the many sins of the
Eastern section of the Roman Empire. The
second woe mostly pertains to the Eastern Roman Empire. These entities killing a third of humanity
does not mean the entire world but residents of the Eastern Roman Empire.
(16) The number of soldiers
on horseback was two hundred million; I heard their number.
Constantinople was captured
in 1453with the use of cannons and gunpowder. In those days the cannons were
forged in the shape of a lion, and those operating them actually rode them. The
cannons had wicks (“tails”) to light the gunpowder.
Pictured
is a cannon used in the siege of the city of Constantinople, taken from the
cover of the book, Marvels of Prophecy, by Howard B. Rand. Of course,
the cannon has been disabled by plugging the opening, but it was meant to
portray an open-mouthed lion. This is what John envisioned in 9:17
Revelation
9:17-19 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. (18) A third of
humanity was killed by these three plagues, that is, by the fire, the smoke,
and the sulfur that came out of their mouths. (19) For the power of the horses
resides in their mouths and in their tails, because their tails are like snakes,
having heads that inflict injuries.
The
printing press was invented in China centuries earlier, and this technology was
brought to the Mideast by the Mongols, who invaded in the 13th
century. They also brought gunpowder, which, in 1453, was used by the Muslims
to conquer Constantinople, the last stronghold of the Eastern Roman Empire.
The Third Woe
The
third woe or the 7th trumpet is found in Revelation 16 and is
presented as 7 bowls or vials of the wrath of God. This historical section will not be discussed
in this article and may be presented in the future.
Revelation
10 introduces the “little book” or the printed Bible courtesy of the printing
press technology brought to the West by the Mongols. http://freedomfromdelusion.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-little-book.html
Revelation
11 presents
the “two witnesses” and the introduction of the 7th trumpet.
Revelation
12
discusses the woman (i.e. the Church), the birth of Christ, Who established the
Church, and the dragon (i.e. Satan or the instigator of the beast systems). In 12:9, the dragon is called “the serpent of old who is called the devil and
Satan, who deceives the whole world.” He is the head of the evil
triumvirate, for in Revelation 13:2 we read that the beast from the sea (i.e.
the Papacy; Holy Roman Empire; the Vatican system) was given power and his
throne and great authority by the dragon himself.
The
woman flees to the wilderness and this could be the Protestant Reformation that
was harassed by the Roman Church. Later,
in Revelation 17 we view the woman sitting (or riding) on the beast. Thus, various denominations of the non-Roman
church have become associated with the Mystery Babylon beast.
Revelation
13
introduces the “beast from the sea”, popularly referred to as the “antichrist”,
but in reality it is the Roman Church after the Roman Empire collapsed and the
Church acquired land and became the Holy Roman Empire. The second “beast from the earth” began as
the usurious banking system which shortly was controlled by the Rothschild
family. It is now the central banking
system and the international banking system consisting of the vast majority
(but not all) of the last beast system called Mystery Babylon.
Revelation
14 presents
the 144,000 and this is most likely not a literal number. This group symbolically represents the elect
/ the firstfruits / the Saints of the Most High God (Daniel) / or the
overcomers. They represent the first
resurrection, both dead and alive.
Revelation 14:4 NET ….. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever
he goes. These were redeemed from humanity as firstfruits to God and to the
Lamb.
The
presentation of the elect is followed by an angel proclaiming the eternal
gospel. Next, is presented the harvest
of the earth which is most likely the 2nd resurrection. It must be noted that the 2nd
resurrection does not occur until the end of the Millennial Kingdom of
God. Thus, chapter 14 represents a
preview of events that are explained with more detail in later chapters.
Revelation
15 is a
preamble to the seven bowls/vials/plagues of the wrath of God that will be
further explained in chapter 16.
Revelation
16 is the
actual execution of the wrath of God (i.e. plagues) explained with 7 bowls or
vials. It also reveals the legal claims
against Babylon in the court of God. The
end of chapter 16 presents a climax of the sequence of decrees against Babylon.
Revelation
17 gives
further information concerning the beast and a woman that sits on the
beast. John is taken, by an angel, into
the wilderness to view this woman sitting on the beast. She is identified as: Mystery, Babylon The
Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.
The pictured beast has the identical likeness of
the beast rising from the sea in Revelation 13:1 … And I saw a beast coming up
out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, on his horns were ten
diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. The woman, then, rides the
religious beast of Revelation 13, who is also the little horn of Dan. 7: 8.
The wilderness
location is confusing: Is this the same
woman of chapter 12 that fled to the wilderness? Has this woman been seen before
but was called by another name? The word
translated as “wilderness” can mean a desert but it can also mean, desolate, deserted, and lonely.
Taking
the descriptive hints as a clue, it would appear this woman is the same as the
“beast from the sea” or the papacy beginning with the Holy Roman Empire and
then extending into the “beast from the earth” or banking system that became
the guardian of the finances of the Roman Church.
This
woman is primarily identified as “Babylon”. She is called a whore and also called the
“mother of whores” which some have identified as Protestant denominations that
have become corrupted through time. She
sits on many waters and is thus a worldwide system. The scarlet beast is the equivalent of the
waters.
As
a summary the woman can be considered the established church, both Catholic and
Protestant, which has become the unholy, “wanna be”, false bride of
Christ. The real bride of Christ is the
redeemed true believers which will be revealed later. Also, the great harlot of Revelation 17 is
primarily an oppressive world system based on fallen man that ultimately traces
back to the sin of Adam. This woman is many things but is
distinctly identified as BABYLON THE
GREAT and the current Mystery Babylon is also many things detestable to the
Lord.
All
the daughters of Mystery Babylon are only specific manifestations of the flesh,
all of whom have usurped control over men, governments, religions, and the
earth itself.
Much
debate has been wasted identifying the seven mountains mentioned in verse
9. Rome is identified with 7 mountains
and the papacy is located inside Rome.
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