Gates of the City

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To discern America in scripture, it helps to distinguish certain specifics regarding the main players mentioned in Revelation chapter 13-19. While we might not be able to distinguish absolutely the identities of all of them, concerning specifically who they are, we can still establish some very definite conclusions from Biblical references made regarding their particulars. I would like to say up front that this is a topic that has always seemed to be part of the focus of my walk with Christ for almost a quarter of a century. Perhaps it has to do with what the Lord impressed upon me long ago, events I addressed in another article I wrote titled, “I doubt many will believe it, though a man declares it unto you.“

The thoughts I will share here and in the next few articles are the results of years of reflection, which with much prayer was rewarded with measurable clarity as I patiently sought to know and understand these end time events and players. At times it has unsettled me, leaving me obligated to make specific adjustments in my life and commitments. It may very well require adjustments of some of you as well, or even provoke you to anger.  For sadly, sharing these convictions have more than once provoked even some of my own family members and friends to anger over the implications.

To start, I would like to say that my thoughts are very different from those who unquestioningly adopted the perspective of the admittedly fictional “Left Behind” series, which very popular even among non-Christians. It was astonishing, even making news headlines as the public impatiently waited for their next release, eager to ingest each of the “16 best-selling novels” by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Sadly, to me that fact alone seems only to affirm the truth spoken under unction of the Holy Spirit that in the latter times men would not be able to endure sound doctrine. But instead they would swallow the mere fables of men as if it were the truth of God, fables which only serve instead to promote the doctrines of devils. I still chuckle to myself when I remember a comment I once overheard someone make about Moses’ strong appearance . . . because they had seen Charlton Heston in the movie The Ten Commandments.

Before I get too deep into these things in Revelation, I want to submit a couple of thoughts for everyone’s prayerful consideration. First, it is not my conviction that there will ever be a realization of a unified one world government under one leader which many today would call the “antichrist.” I know I probably lost a lot of readers right there. But please note, I am not saying that I fail to see such a Luciferian globalist plan in the works; I just don’t see God permitting it to reach the fruition the globalists intend.

If you bear with me through this post, I will attempt to establish a few points along the way that may offer some support to my position. That does not mean my position is unshakable, it may very well be nothing more than a three-legged table, if that. However, if some of these points do in fact have any credibility, then regardless what you have always believed or been taught by whoever, scripture would obligate you to prove all things that you may hold fast to that which is in fact good and solid. My first point is simply that God did not allow Nimrod to complete his plans concerning the Tower of Babel. It may be argued God stopped it simply because it wasn’t time for the “One World Government.” If that is true, then we would also have to conclude that the One World Government is somehow part of God’s plan and not simply a natural result and witness to the sinful nature, pride and arrogance of men, as was made obvious by their attempting to build the Tower of Babel. We must acknowledge it was because of Nimrods pride and the committed loyalists under him that drove them to compel the masses through enticement, manipulation and/or intimidation to engage in this monumental effort to build what they thought was going to ascend up into God’s Heaven . . . yet vainly only ascending a little into the sky.

Some might argue the Tower of Babel was more than just a mere tower, perhaps even a stargate or portal into another dimension. If so, what matters most is how easily God prevented it from being developed to the fulfillment of their wicked intent. God simply did not allow it to come to pass regardless the plan and commitment to see it completed.

Genesis 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Even though God bore witness to their unity that nothing was impossible to them, I scarcely interpret that as God being concerned of them reaching His heavens. Logic demands an acknowledgement that Nimrod, though acting as a god with his workforce laboring to build Babel, they were still but mere men, flesh and blood, meager little finite creatures who existence in time and space could have never threatened God’s heavenly kingdom or plan. This is evident by the ease of which God spoiled their plans and dispersed them. It is my personal opinion that what God was addressing as “nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do” simply refers to the boundless limits to which men’s pride would take them in their moral descent of sin if left unchecked by the righteousness of God.

Left to rule over themselves, men will always group together around a cause or purpose that glorifies them, robbing their Creator of the glory and honor due Him alone. This was the expressed motive of the hearts of both Nimrod and the people, “let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” Their labor exhausted in trying to ascend up into the heavens was simply a vain attempt to exalt themselves, a witness to their deception that they would be able to live and succeed independent from God. Therefore it must be stressed that they were in fact deceived, and as a result were being manipulated by powers of darkness . . . as have all nations been throughout time. But before we assign too much power or credit to these fallen angels, who may very well be immensely more powerful and clever than mankind, they are still minuscule little finite creatures compared to their Creator.

Therefore, since God did not let them accomplish a unified and independent kingdom apart from Him back then, and because of other biblical principles I am persuaded that God never will, regardless the various theologies saturating the churches out there. This flood of end time theories are but a witness to the dragons attempt to cause the woman (saints) to be carried away from the truth which enables them to stand and overcome. I know that can also be an indictment against myself here, but I am submitting this for prayerful evaluation and/or refutation with the exhortation to all “to prove all things” and “hold fast” to that which is good and sound.

Revelation 12:15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

Please take a moment to consider this very important truth Jesus taught about kingdoms –

Matthew 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

When Jesus was accused of casting out demons by the power of darkness He refuted His accusers with the above statement. Kingdoms, cities, or houses that are divided against themselves simply “shall not stand.” However, we need to be careful how we hear these words of Jesus, though He clearly was refuting their accusation regarding His casting out demons by the power of Satan, it would be foolish to assume these words are an affirmation that the kingdom of darkness is a unified kingdom. Nevertheless, many believers think the Satan in his kingdom of darkness enjoys the same commitment and loyalty from his minions as God does in His heavenly kingdom with the holy angels.

The righteous precepts of God are such that all His spiritual creatures will “reap what is sown.” Consequently, it is reasonable to conclude that since Lucifer had sown discord among the angels in heaven when he drew away the affections and loyalties of part of the angelic host from God, that his “kingdom” will unquestionably suffer discord and rebellion as well. Therefore to believe that there are rogue demonic spirits within the ranks refusing to faithfully serve Satan and his agenda does not require an uncomfortable stretch of my reasoning, especially when we see God re-affirming the “reap and sow” principle to kingdoms.

Revelation 13:10 He that leads into captivity shall go into captivity: he that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

It would seem that God determines to make known to mankind the instability of nations and uncertainty of their continuation if they resist His will, while at the same time constantly affirming the surety of His words and covenant to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob regarding Israel. Therefore, as Paul stated regarding all the nations of the earth, they have their allotted time and boundaries. However, in my opinion no one, man or angel, will ever be allowed to reunify humanity under one banner.

Acts 17:26 And [God] has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation

To start off, I thought it would be good to establish a basic list of the players with brief descriptions of them with minor observations. For the purpose of brevity here, I am only listing the dark players and not the Lamb or the angels or the hundred and forty-four thousand.

First – The entity that appears in Revelation 13 is the beast which rises up out of the sea.

Revelation 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Second – The second beast that comes up from the earth –

Revelation 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Third – This is actually an assemblage, the ten horns –

Revelation 17:12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

And of course, the fourth – The woman riding the beast.

Revelation 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was 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 of her fornication.

There are some points I would like to make at this time for those wishing to review this further on their own –

1. John receives a vision in considerable detail that overwhelms him in chapters 13-16. In chapter 17 an angel tells John he is going to show him the mystery behind it and continues by explaining the destruction of the beast and events up to the marriage of the Lamb.

Revelation 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.

2. This mystery is one that the true believers of Christ are meant to know.

Revelation 17:7  And the angel said unto me, Wherefore did you marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.  8 The beast that you saw was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

Luke 8:10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

This should not surprise us since we see in the Gospel how Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His day for not knowing the time of His “visitation.”

Luke 19:44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Also, we can see Daniel understood things concerning the times and events of his day “by the books,” i.e. Jeremiah.

Daniel 9:2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

Likewise, Paul demonstrates how the church of Thessalonica needed no one to explain things to them.

1 Thessalonians 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

3. The first beast that rises up out of the sea is not a man, since the angel explains to John that the sea represents a plurality of people, not just an individual. This will be addressed further in the next article.

Revelation 17:15  And he said unto me, The waters which you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

This seven headed beast is actually “the eighth” manifestation of an entity that has existed before and therefore I frequently call it “The Eighth Beast” that “goes into perdition.” The seven heads are intended to represent the succession of mountains, prophetic of kingdoms, four of which Daniel’s vision also reveals as “four great beasts come up from the sea.”

Daniel 7:3  And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

Revelation 17:9-11  And here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits.  And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space.  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition.

4. It is the dragon, or Satan, who is ultimately the manipulating entity behind this Beast’s rise to supremacy.

Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Revelation 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

5. The second beast that comes from the earth is a man, for just as Adam came from the dust of the earth, so does this individual. Now some may have noticed, and protest that Daniel in 7:17 states the beasts/nations came from the earth, but a careful examination will reveal that it is the kings that arise out of from the earth.

Daniel 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

Daniel 7:17 These great beasts, which are four [kingdoms/empires], are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.

Notice also in the Hebrew that the numeric connotation of “four” is given twice, indicating four separate kingdoms under four specific kings. Thus when we see the “second beast that comes up from the earth” in Revelation, he has the appearance of a lamb but speaks with the mouth of a dragon. This symbolizing that while he appears to be for peace, he will actually seek to make war against God’s saints and Israel. The fact that he exercises all the authority of the first beast establishes his position as a leader or ruler.

It is interesting that unlike the ten horns which the angel acknowledges as kings, the leader of the Eighth Beast isn’t so identified. That leaves room to speculate that his authority, as Daniel might say, is “diverse from all before it.” Meaning the Eighth Beast Empire most likely will not be a monarchical kingdom, and thus the leader will not be a “king.” For nowhere in direct reference to the Eighth beast is a king mentioned.

Daniel 7:24  And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

 6. When the first beast arises in chapter 13 the woman isn’t mentioned. It isn’t until chapter 17 that the woman is shown to be sitting on it, perhaps signifying a definite change in the religious foundation of the eighth beast as it merges with another religious system prior to its heading to perdition.

7. The ten horns do indeed merge very briefly with the beast, but it is clear that it is not a sincere merger. It is only for “one hour” before God puts it in their hearts to turn against the woman on the eighth beast which has now joined forces behind it.

Revelation 17:12 And the ten horns which thou saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. 14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou saw, where the whore sitss, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which thou saw upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18 And the woman which you saw is that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.

The fact that these ten kings give their power to the beast for only one hour is yet another factor which appears to undermine the fulfillment of the “One World Government” concept. For it is clear these tens horn have their individual sovereignty intact, and the merger is extremely brief, that is for one hour. Therefore, it appears that this will not be an actual surrender of independent power, but only the appearance of a mutual consent, or political agreement being made to align and merge powers, perhaps only as an attempt for global economic stabilization. Nonetheless, this agreement made mutually between the ten kings appears to be only for the purpose of deceiving the beast in order to stall just long enough to make ready for the assault that brings both the whore and the eighth beast which allowed her to usurped its authority to their mutual destruction.

Please bear with me as I continue to address these things.

Questions and comments are most welcome.

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America Series – Part Two – The Eighth Beast