Category Archives: Powers of Our Age

Keys to Prophecy: The Kingdom is Growing Even Now

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The kingdom has been established, that is not a this-earth kingdom, Jn 18:36, and as discussed in the previous post.

Jesus has all the attributes of a king.

He has sat down on His Father’s throne in heaven.

“He who overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
Rev 3:21 WEB

The “sat down with my Father” is a Greek aorist-active-infinitive, and is correctly translated as “sat down,” a past event.

Besides having a throne over Israel, and indeed over the entire earth, Jesus has all of the authority He needs.

“… “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.””
Mtt 28:18 WEB

This power is verified in more than one place. The Father has given Jesus authority over ALL flesh, Jn 17:2. Further, “The Father loves the Son, and has given ALL things into his hand,” Jn 3:35 He can do anything He wants with anyone or anything.

He rules NOW until …

“24 Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.”
1Cor 15:24-26

The phrase “must reign” is a Greek present-active-infinitive, indication actions going on continuously in the present, until all of His enemies have been put down.

And Jesus making men citizens of His
kingdom NOW.

We Gentiles were at one time alienated from this kingdom.

“that you WERE at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, …”
Eph 2:12

The word translated as “ commonwealth” in many translations, is the word politeia, which is talking about citizenship, being part of a certain political unit. We gentiles (the nations) are now a part of the political unit, this kingdom of which Christ is the King, this commwealth if you will.

“13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, 15 having abolished in the flesh the hostility, the law of commandments …”
Eph 2:13-15 WEB

Jews and Gentiles in Christ are now citizens
of the same political unit.

“19 So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, 20 being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone;”
Eph 2:19-20 WEB

Jesus is leading all of his sheep to be part of one flock, Jn 10:16.

You “are” “Fellow citizens” sum-polites a word that is a combination of sum with, and the word for citizen polites.

The kingdom is NOW!

Men are getting in on the ground floor of the only eternal kingdom. The kingdom which will rule over ALL of the New Heavens and New Earth, Isa 65:17, Rev 21:1-2, 2Pe 3:13.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Multiple Types of the beast: the Caesars and others.

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The caesars and Rome are definitely in the book of Revelation, and few would bother to deny that. Still, we must realize that Revelation describes what is going on with the early church, and what is going on at the end of this present age. Many an interpretation of Revelation has made a good case for one end of this spectrum or the other, but not both ends of this story.

The caesars did allow themselves to be
set up as “gods.”

The political argument was that Rome needed an empire wide religion, that would give needed political and philosophical unity. The caesars at first accepted such treatment with reluctance, and at times no little embarrassment. Most knew they were not really gods. This was just politics. Domitian was an obnoxious exception in taking all of this very seriously.

Even so, once in place it had to be either enforced or abandoned entirely. So there was persecution of those who refused to appear before the magistrates and offer a pinch of incense on the altar fires, and say “Caesar is Lord.” So far this seems to fit Revelation’s declaration of “things which must happen soon,” Rev 1:1 WEB. However, Jesus also says, “Yes, I come quickly.” Rev 22:20 WEB, and that also is undoubtably true in an eternal perspective.

The liberals treat all of this as very simple.

They say all of this applies to a few of the early caesars, and they give names and dates … However, even the best of these accounts break down upon close examination. Then you are faced with either: discounting their interpretation … OR discounting Revelation as being the Word of the Lord.

Actually there many things missing.

There is much more about Rome and what was missing, in Revealing the Christian Age.
  1. There NEVER WAS any world-wide acknowledgement of the caesars as god, as is clearly pictured of the beast in Rev 13:8. The Romans clearly knew they did NOT rule the entire earth, and they had debates among themselves as to how far it made sense to expand the empire.
  2. They NEVER WAS a “mark” (Rev 13:16) that EVERYONE had to have in order to buy or sell things. Such was imminently expected with so much else going on, but … it NEVER happened. Yet!
  3. The Roman empire did NOT conquer “the saints” as clearly forecast in Rev 13:7. Instead the saints conquered the Roman Empire as clearly forecast in Dan 2:44 and other passages, and this was NOT complete by the end of the first century AD!
  4. Whoever you think was the ultimate beast/caesar was NOT alive to be destroyed by Jesus second coming, as is clearly forecast in 2Thes 2:8 and Rev 19:20.

This is just a short list. Other issues are discussed in Revealing the Christian Age.

So either Revelation is a false prophecy,
a failure in the first century,
OR
The caesars and Rome are merely
types and shadows of
what is yet to come.

The mystery of lawlessness (2Thes 2:7) and Mystery Babylon are Christian Age long entities. All through our age we have had to guard against new attempts at a world-wide antichrist hegemony.

And it hasn’t even discussed two of the main types of the beast: Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and the original “abomination of desolation,” both of which are discussed in detail in the books.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Multiple Types of the beast: the Man of Lawlessness

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Admittedly the man of lawlessness is not actually a type of the beast. Rather it another description of the beast, and another name for the beast.

There is a variation here between versions
and manuscripts on the name.

Some of our oldest manuscripts show the reading of man of “lawlessness” (anomias). This the preferred reading by most scholars today, and this matches with calling this organization the “mystery of lawlessness” in verse 7. The alternate reading is man of “sin” (hamartia). If we take the reading “man of lawlessness” as being correct, that means this man is characterized by lawlessness, and of course, “Sin is lawlessness,” 1Jn 3:4

A great rebellion must come first.

The Greek word is apostasia, and is actually a very strong word for a rebellion or a “defection” or desertion of one’s obligations to someone or thing. Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford, 1889, a lexicon of Classical Greek, lists the primary reading as “1. a defection, revolt.” It is a word for what we would call a political revolution, or an attempt to overthrow. Implied in both Revelation and 2Thessalonian 2 is that this is a world-wide phenomena that takes in “all” of the lost of this world, 2Thes 2:10-11, Rev 13:8.

In English this word apostasia has been watered down in some of the older Greek dictionaries, translations and commentaries. This word is much stronger than just “falling away,” or a “departure.” It has the idea in context of shaking your fist in the face of God. The newer dictionaries/lexicons are going back to the old Classical definition, and the watering down was never justified.

There is going to be a world-wide rebellion against God and against all law and order before the man of lawlessness comes. This has to happen BEFORE the the second coming of Christ, 2Thes 2:2-3.

This man is against the worship of ANYTHING or
ANYONE except himself.

“he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.”
2Thes 2:4 WEB

He is brought to power by a “mystery of lawlessness”
that has been working since the
first century, 2Thes 2:7.

See the previous posts about the mystery religions. So this is a multi-melenia struggle to seat this servant of Satan (Rev 13:2-3) as the true “god” of this world.

There is someone or thing who is restraining this mystery, to keep it from having success, until just the right time, 2Thes 2:6.

“even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.”
2Thes 2:9 WEB

God also helps this man succeed, so that all
who “didn’t believe the truth but had
pleasure in unrighteousness,”
would be lost.
2The 2:12

“Because of this, God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie;”
2Thes 2:11 WEB

This man is destroyed by the Second
Coming of Christ.
2Thes 2:8, Rev 19:20.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Mystery Babylon, Influence and Money

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Sometimes we have the most naive views of how things work. The media often portrays wars or revolutions or great political movements as spontaneously arising out of nowhere. Movements of the “will of the people,” is a phrase we often hear. The truth is that very little is spontaneous in either war or the political world, in “democracies,” or under kings or dictators.

Almost everything requires funding to work

Revealing the Christian Age, talks in detail of examples of money in public affairs, all in the chapter “Excursus: What this might look like in history.”

Where does food come from for your family? And clothes? And medical care when it is needed. It does cost money, and at times, a great deal of money. Still at times we may think as if a guerrilla movement of several thousand men can just happen. Or several hundred apparently unemployed men can make a “sit-in” for days or weeks, months, and it can just happen.

Start with a squad of say twelve men. Price uniforms for them, and boots and socks and underwear. Then automatic weapons for all twelve. Then figure out how many bullets and hand grenades they will need for six months of combat, and how to buy all of that. Then figure out what it will cost to feed twelve hungry and active young men for six months. That is just a start. Then multiply those figures by an army, and you are beginning to understand the most elementary of costs for even a small war.

The truth is that wars or revolutions cost too much money, and require too much organization and planning for them to ever happen “by accident.” They have to be carefully planned and financed, or they will soon fall apart.

Take Hitler’s Storm Troopers, the “brown shirts.”

At their height Hitler had millions of such unemployed men in uniform. Just take a million such unemployed men. What do you think it would cost to merely put them into uniform (remember, one million men), and pay them at least a token amount so they will make the time to march and train, and then street fight together. Then you have an idea of how much money Hitler had behind him, and you are beginning to think of how much money mass political movements cost anywhere in the world.

Dues are not enough in most organizations

Some organizations, like churches, are able to be very influential long term, especially if their members all tithe (10%) as is often promoted. Even then, most of that money goes for local maintenance and expenses, and paying local workers, with generally lesser amounts be devoted to slow-going mission works in far off places.

Or think of the primaries before the 2016 elections

Jeb Bush, if I remember right, raised over 100 million dollars for a disastrous presidential primary bid. We are talking here about temporary pushes just to win a primary election.

Most fast growing movements require dramatic
infusions of resources.

Such must come from the productive activities of men, or businesses, or the printing of money.

These are basics to understand our world,
and what prophecy tells us about our world.

Mystery Babylon makes others rich, Rev 18:3.

Mystery Babylon the Great and Commerce

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Mystery Babylon the Great is first introduced in Rev 14:8 as “Babylon the Great has fallen.” Before she is discussed, we are told she is fallen.

She is a fount of crazy immorality

She has forced immorality on the nations. She “has made ALL the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality.” Rev 14:8 WEB, emphasis added. As ancient Babylon made all of the would be brides into sexual immorality, so Mystery Babylon forces ALL nations into immorality.

As was discussed earlier, she is evidently a mystery religion, a religion that is either secret or semisecret. See the previous post, “Mystery Religions: An Overview.” Evidently Mystery Babylon is sits on a substrata of seven other religions. It has always been common for mystery religions to superimpose themselves on other public religions. Even on Christianity.

Mystery Babylon is a business entity: religio-commercial

There is more about Mystery Babylon in Revealing the Christian Age, and what she might look like when we see her.

The language of the book of Revelation concerning Mystery Babylon seems to come from two primary sources. Old Testament prophecies concerning ancient Babylon and her wealth and power, and the Old Testament prophecies concerning ancient Tyre and Sidon. These were Phoenician trade cities which dominated east-west trade in the ancient world for many centuries. Also they were worshipers of the ancient Baal and Asherah cults. It was the Phoenicians who established Carthage, Rome’s final contender for domination of the ancient world.

The images that we see from the Old Testament are those of wealth and power and large scale business enterprises which span both many nations and continents.

She is the ruler of the kings of the earth, Rev 17:18

Actually it is common for the business face of society to direct the government face of society. Commerce and agriculture and mining produce the wealth of nations. Kings depend on that wealth.

Babylon makes OTHERS rich

“For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the abundance of her luxury.”
Rev 18:3 WEB

She does not conquer the kings of the earth. She seduces and uses them.

Babylon is the seller of all manner of wickedness

Demons work in her (1Tim 4:1), and “ … she has become a habitation of demons, a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird!” Rev 18:2 WEB.

Wealth and prosperity falls when Babylon falls

Like Tyre of old, she is not all of international commerce, but she seems to be the one who makes it work. So when Mystery Babylon falls, and it does fall WITHIN history, it speaks as if it is end of all prosperity.

“The merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise any more; ”
Rev 18:11

Thus we are looking at things which will reach their conclusion just before the end of this present universe.

First, because of sin, the church falls/is “overcome.” Then Mystery Babylon falls. Lastly the man of lawlessness and the mystery of Lawlessness fall at the Second Coming of Christ.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Strategic Powers of Our Age: Part II, Mystery Babylon the Great

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Not always the most obvious, but of central importance.

Many think that Mystery Babylon the Great is civil government, or the Roman Empire. However, as was pointed out in the post “Rome, A Prophecy Failure or Symbolic,” much of what is written in Revelation emphatically did NOT fit Rome all along. Revealing the Christian Age offers solid evidence that Mystery Babylon is NOT Rome. Rome and the caesars are at best a type, symbolic of what is to come.

Mystery Babylon is treated as if she is a secret entity.

Revealing the Christian Age discusses the many things in Revelation which do not fit ancient Rome.

That fits calling her “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,” Rev 17:5 WEB. That implies she is a mystery religion, as discussed in the post on “The Mystery Religions: An Overview.”

Now you can view Rome in public. You can travel there, stay there, live there. But to see Mystery Babylon John is carried “away in the Spirit into a wilderness.” Rev 17:3 WEB. A remote place. She is a hidden entity. She is “the great prostitute,” Rev 17:1 WEB. But Rome had no need to prostitute herself. Rome could beat to pieces any who resisted her.

Mystery Babylon is spoken of as if she
dominates world trade

In fact, most of the imagery about Babylon and her fall, seems to come from the prophecies of the fall of ancient Tyre and Sidon, like Isaiah 23, and Ezek 26, 27 and 28 (they are symbolic of her). These were principal Phoenician trade cities, which dominated trade in the Mediterranean world for several centuries. They were not all of Mediterranean trade, but they did facilitate it, and dominate it.

“ “… the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the abundance of her luxury.” ” Rev 18:3 WEB

Mystery Babylon is a promoter of sexual immorality,
and perversion of every sort.

In Revelation 17 she is drinking from a golden cup filled with the filth of fornication, Rev 17:4. She is “THE MOTHER … OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Rev 17:5 KJV.

“ “with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her sexual immorality.” ”
Rev 17:2 WEB

Mystery Babylon is the arranger of death and destruction.

She is not government. Rather she reigns/rules OVER the kings of the earth, Rev 17:18. She is the original Deep State. Mystery Babylon is implicitly the fomenter, the arranger, of wars.

“ “In her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of ALL who have been slain on the earth.” ” Rev 18:24 WEB

Mystery Babylon is COMPLETELY destroyed
very near the end of our age.

The man of lawlessness comes very near the end of time, and he with ten kings, destroys Mystery Babylon completely, all the way to the ground, within HISTORY, Revelation chapters 17 and 18.

Christians are commanded to come out of Mystery Babylon, Rev 18:4.

That of course implies that you can understand the prophecy, and come out of her.

KJV is the King James Version, 1611

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Strategic Powers of Our Age: Part I, Jesus the Christ.

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Not always the most obvious, but of central importance..

God Has Always Ruled Over Human Affairs.

When Paul is preaching to the scholars in Athens, he says this of God’s rule, that He,

“… hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; ”
Acts 17:26 KJV

Who determines where men live, and the boundaries of their nations? Paul says that God does. And what is God’s purpose in these things?

“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:”
Acts 17:27 WEB

How inclusive is this power?

“6 Yahweh kills, and makes alive:
He brings down to Sheol, and brings up.
7 Yahweh makes poor, and makes rich:
He brings low, he also lifts up.
8 He raises up the poor out of the dust,
He lifts up the needy from the dunghill,
To make them sit with princes,
Inherit the throne of glory:
For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh’s,
He has set the world on them.” 1Sam 2:6-8 WEB

There is more in that passage in 1 Samuel 2, but that should do.

This Rule Has Been Given to Jesus the Son for Our Age.

“All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.”
Mtt 28:18 WEB

All authority in heaven and on earth? It is a theme that comes up over and over in His words.

“All things have been delivered to me by my Father.” Mtt 11:27 WEB

This is Real but Generally Unseen.

“… you gave him authority over all flesh, …” Jn 17:2 WEB

The word used here is the Greek “exousia” and is a word for the right and authority and power to act. Jesus rules over the churches in Revelation 2 and 3. He makes them stand, or removes them. Of some who commit sexual immorality, He says, “I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. …” Rev 2:23 WEB. And of this same Jesus it says,

“… Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” Rev 1:5 WEB.

A mighty war between the good and evil goes on in our age. And the forces of the beast and his armies? He rules because “Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him.” Rev 13:7 WEB. Jesus is now the most powerful person in the universe, excepting the Father Himself. Of this power (the Greek is dunamis) Jesus has, it says,

“… according to the power by which he is able even to subject all things to himself.” Phil 3:21 nf.

And in the end, He wages war victoriously, 2Thes 1:8-9. The last enemy is death itself, 1Cor 15:26.

KJV is the King James Version, 1611

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

nf is my own translation based on the WEB