MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
The Seven Baptisms
Written by: Max Klein
Baptism means identification or association:
Introduction:
1. This meaning began in Homer's time. Homer wrote of the one-eyed giant, Cyclops who had trapped Ulysses and his men in a cave and was eating them one at a time. The ingenious Ulysses devised a plan. He had his men sharpen a large log and together they rammed this log into the eye of the one-eyed Cyclops rendering him blind. They identified (baptized) the sharpened log with Cyclops’ eye which changed Cyclops from a seeing giant to a blind giant. Having blinded the Cyclops, they were able to maneuver their way out of the cave. Another example by Homer: Homer's Odyssey, book 9, used baptism for hot metal identified (baptized) with water when a smith dipped a piece of hot iron into water. This is how a blacksmith would temper swords in the ancient world. After this identification, the sword was made stronger and so less likely to bend.
2. Xenophon said that the Spartan military recruits after finishing infantry training would identify (baptize) their spears with pig’s blood. They would run by a barrel of pig’s blood and thrust their spears into this blood. This ritual, identified their spears with killing and the soldier’s readiness for combat with the enemy.
3. Euripides used the word for a ship identified with the bottom of the sea when it sank. Before sinking, the ship was valuable; after sinking it had no value at all.
4. So "baptize" in the classical Greek meant to identify one thing with another so that the characteristics of the original thing were altered. Therefore, the interpretation of the word "baptism" is identification with something that brings about a change.
5. There are a number of cognates related to this Greek word such as bapto, baptizo, baptisma, baptismos, baptistes, and embapto. A few examples follow:
6. John 13:26, “Jesus then answered, ‘That is the one for whom, I shall dip [the future of the Greek word bapto] the morsel and give it to him. So, when he had dipped [the aorist participle of bapto; the sop now takes on a new meaning that of honor] the sop [the morsel], He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.”
To give someone a sop [a special bit of food usually a piece of bread or meat with a tasty sauce] was the highest honor of a banquet. At a banquet a special piece of bread or meat was prepared along with a special sauce for the guest of honor who would then honor someone by giving it to that person. Jesus as the guest of honor took this sop and dipped it into a special sauce and gave it to Judas. In this way, the Lord Jesus Christ honored Judas as a member of the family of God, and for his ministry as an apostle to the Lost Sheep of Israel. This honor should have given Judas second thoughts regarding his plan to betray Jesus to the Sanhedrin.
7. Matthew 3:7, “but when he [John the Baptizer] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism [identification: the Greek word baptisma], he said to them, “You brood of vipers [poisonous snakes], who warned you to flee from the wrath to come [Baptism of Fire: identification with the fire of Torments and then the Lake of Fire]?”
8. Hebrews 6:1-2, “Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teaching about Christ, let us advance to maturity, not laying again the foundation [of the basics such as]: a change of thinking about dead works [just as an unbeliever must have a change of mind about Christ to obtain salvation, so the believer must have a change of mind about legalism (dead works) in order to obtain the spiritual life], and of faith toward God [Faith-Rest Drill], (2) doctrine of baptisms [the Greek word baptismos; a reference to the seven types of baptism as found in Scripture] as well as the laying on of hands [ritual rebound in the age of Israel], and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment [the Great White Throne Judgment].
9. Matthew 3:1, “In those days John the Baptizer [the Greek word baptistes; when John baptized someone into the Jordan River, the converts were identified with the plan of God and his kingdom.] came proclaiming [as a herald] in the desert of Judea.”
There are two categories of identification in Scripture namely an actual identification or a real baptism and a representative identification or a ritual baptism which uses water.
The four real or actual identifications with something that has significance.
1. The Baptism of Moses: 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 presents the baptism of Moses, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; (2) and all were baptized [the Greek word baptizo] into Moses in the cloud [the Lord] and in the sea." This was a real identification in which Moses was identified with the Lord and the open path through the Red Sea and the Jews were identified with Moses. By the way, none of the Jews got wet, only Egyptian unbelievers who were immersed in the water as a means of death.
2. The Baptism of the Cross is found in Matthew 20:22, “But Jesus answered [Salome by addressing her sons] and said, “You [plural: a reference to James and John] do not know what you [James and John] ask. Are you [James and John] able to drink of the cup [bear the punishment of all the sins of the world] that I am about to drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism [the sins of the world identified with Christ followed by the Father judging them] that I am baptized with [identified with]?” They [James and John] said to Him, “We are able. [the dumbest statement that James and John ever made]” [I selected the longer text as did Jerome.]
3. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Retroactive Positional Truth and Current Positional Truth) occurs at salvation for Church Age believers only.
Colossians 2:12. Having been buried [aorist participle] with Him [Jesus Christ] by means of the baptism [God the Holy Spirit identified us with the burial of Jesus Christ as part of our salvation] by means of which [Baptism] you have been raised up [main verb] with Him [in union with Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father] through faith [at the point of salvation] in the operational power from the source of God who has raised Him [the humanity of Christ was given a resurrection body] out from the dead [physical death].
Romans 6:3-9:
Romans 6:3: Or do you not know that all of us who [a correlative] have been baptized into [identified with] Christ Jesus [Current Positional Sanctification: we are in union with Christ in his life in heaven], have been baptized into His death [Retroactive Positional Truth and so identified with his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross]?
Positionally, (in union with Christ) we share His righteousness, heirship, priesthood, destiny, election, eternal life, royalty, sonship etc. All these making us a new spiritual species in Christ Jesus. The plural correlative hosoi (ὅσοι) means that if we were identified with Christ in heaven and we were, then also we have been identified with Christ in his substitutionary spiritual death in which he removed the power of sin nature. Thus, the sin nature should not have power over our lives.
A few more points will be noted:
1. Note that the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation enters the believer into union with Christ at the right hand of God the Father which union is called current positional truth.
2. This verse also mentions identification with Christ in His spiritual death on the cross which identification theologians call retroactive positional truth. Retroactive positional truth also includes identification with Christ in His physical death and burial as well.
3. Identification with Christ in His death, then, has a two-fold connotation namely all personal sins were judged at the cross and since that is the case, God the Father is free to provide in grace, the Recovery Procedure. The second connotation is that good and evil were rejected by Jesus on the cross since good and evil are a part of Satan’s policy and plan. On the cross, Jesus relied on the proto-type spiritual life which operated under the two power options namely God’s power system.
4. So, the old sin nature’s ruling power over the Christian has been broken since all sins were judged on the cross and the Recovery Procedure has been provided. So, Retroactive Positional Truth has destroyed the sovereignty of the old sin nature over the life of the Christian.
5. Also, since Jesus rejected the good and evil policy of Satan so should the believer reject Satan’s policy of good and evil as the believer applies Retroactive Positional Truth.
Romans 6:4: Therefore, we have been buried together with Him through the identification [Baptism of the Spirit] into His death [physical], in order that just as Christ has been raised up from the dead [on Resurrection Sunday], through the glory of the Father [through the Father’s power], [So also we, the dead in Christ, will be raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and those alive at the Rapture, by the power of the Holy Spirit.] in this manner we also might walk in newness of life [Experiential sanctification should reflect our future ultimate sanctification.].
Christ had to die physically “and Jesus having shouted clearly with a loud voice said, Father, into your hands I deposit my [human] spirit, and having said this, he exhaled” (Luke 23:46). This last exhale caused His soul and spirit to depart from his mortal body resulting in physical death. Just as Christ had to die physically in order to obtain his resurrection body, so we must depart from our body of corruption, or mortality in order to receive our eternal body called our resurrection body.
The Newness of Life:
1. The newness of life provided through the baptism of the Spirit includes positional freedom from producing good and evil. Not only are we free from the tyranny of good and evil but we are also free from having to produce good and evil.
2. The believer has no obligation to improve the devil’s world through social action, socialism, welfare state, communism, environmentalism, or any social gospel, social action, getting involved, etc.
3. The human race is protected from Satan’s policy of good and evil through the laws of divine establishment which promote freedom instead of improvement at the cost of freedom.
4. In addition to the Laws of Divine Establishment the believer is insulated from good and evil positionally through the baptism of the Spirit.
5. Divorced from the Old Sin Nature positionally and its useless activity of human good and the function of evil, the life of the believer can be devoted to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ through maximum knowledge and application of Bible doctrine.
Romans 6:5: For if we have become united with Him [Christ, the new husband] in the likeness of His death [the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross], and we have, and not only this, but also, we shall be [united in the likeness] of His resurrection [Current Positional Truth: in union with the resurrected Christ].
Romans 6:6: Be knowing this [through Retroactive Positional Truth], that our old man [our former husband, the sin nature dates back to the Garden] has been crucified together [with Him], in order that the [human] body, with reference to its sin nature, [the sin nature located in the body] might be rendered powerless [when we use Recovery Procedure and the two power options], that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature.
“Our old man has been crucified with Him” meaning that the power of the sin nature has been broken on the cross. Since the power of the sin nature was broken by the work of the cross, we as believers have no excuse for not executing the spiritual life. We will not be able to say to Christ at our evaluation that our sin nature was too powerful for us to execute the spiritual life.
A few points for further clarification:
1. Retroactive positional truth is that phase of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation which identifies the believer with Christ in His spiritual death, physical death and his burial.
2. In the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross all the personal sins in human history were imputed to Christ, but at the same time the other two trends of the old sin nature were not imputed for judgment.
3. Good and evil is the policy of Satan as the ruler of this world and the function of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life. In fact, the sin nature functions as the agent of Satan.
4. Good and evil were not imputed for judgment on the cross. Hence, in the spiritual death of Christ on the cross they were rejected to remain an issue in the angelic conflict, rejected to be perpetuated in human history as an issue every believer must face, and either overcome through the intake of doctrine or be entrapped by ignorance of doctrine and therefore lose out in glorifying God in time.
5. We are identified with Christ in His spiritual death, which means that we must understand that our sins have been judged and that good and evil has been rejected.
6. It all adds up to the fact that the sovereignty of the old sin nature over human life has been made powerless through retroactive positional truth.
7. The imputation of all personal sins of the human race to Christ on the cross means that the believer through the rebound technique is instantly forgiven sins, cleansed from all wrong doing which includes Satanic good and evil, restored to fellowship and filled with the Spirit.
Romans 6:7: For we who have died [the Christian is identified with the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ: theologically called Retroactive Positional Truth] have been acquitted [positional deliverance] from [the power of] the sin nature.
A few points for further clarification:
1. A dead person is discharged from the obligations of his former sphere of life. This is why the word “death” is used in this context. It is not a literal, physical death we are discussing but identification with Christ in His death.
2. As unbelievers we were under the authority of Satan as the ruler of this world, and under the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
3. Both the power of Satan and the old sin nature have been abrogated through the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation.
4. This passage, then, emphasizes the annulling of the power and the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
5. Positionally, the power of the sin nature has been broken. Experientially, the old sin nature controls to the extent that we fail to understand and utilize the provision and support of logistical grace.
Romans 6:8: Now if we have died with Christ, and we have [retroactive positional truth], we also believe that we shall live in association with Him [the instrumental of association; a reference to Current Positional Truth].
In this verse, the 1st Class conditional sentence shows the relationship between Retroactive Positional Truth with Current Positional Truth. The protasis, the ‘if’ clause states the reality of Retroactive Positional Truth and the apodosis, the concluding clause states the doctrinal inference and the reality of Current Positional Truth. While Retroactive Positional Truth presents positional rejection and separation from good and evil as the policy of Satan and the function of the old sin nature, Current Positional Truth relates the believer to the function of the royal family of God. In other words, they have separate functions.
Romans 6:9: Knowing that because Christ has been raised from the dead [He received a resurrection body], no longer can He die; [physical] death is no longer a master over Him.
Analysis:
1. Retroactive positional truth destroys the sovereign authority of the old sin nature over human life. Current positional truth, on the other hand, destroys the limited authority of physical death in human life.
2. Instead of being ruled by the old sin nature located in the cells of the human body and influencing our souls toward sin, good and evil, we now have a new sovereign, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are identified with Him in His deaths, in His burial, resurrection, ascension and session.
3. Before salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit our lives were under the absolute rule of Satan who is the ruler of this world and under the rule of the old sin nature which is the ruler of life, and under the limited rule of physical death. All of that, of course, has been changed since salvation.
4. Now both retroactive and current positional truth have abrogated the authority and power of these former rulers. The power of Satan over our lives has been broken through identification with the rejection of good and evil namely Satan’s policy and plan and through our position in union with Christ. The power of the old sin nature is broken through retroactive positional truth and the power of physical death is broken through current positional truth.
5. Therefore, having studied these things by principle and by implication we are now ready for application, verses 12 & 13 specifically.
6. Having been positionally liberated from the sovereignty of the old sin nature as an absolute ruler, and the authority of physical death, we must recognise and apply doctrine for the experiential victory commanded in verses 11-13.
Galatians 3:25-28, “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the authority of [have need of] a school bus. (26) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ [identified with Christ through union with Him] have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek [no racial distinction], there is neither slave nor free man [no social or economic distinction], there is neither male nor female [no gender distinction]; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [All Christians have the same privileges and opportunities to execute the spiritual life.]”
Current Positional Truth, Elaborated:
In the Church Age, Current Positional Truth establishes our relationship with Christ as opposed to religion. It refers to the Church Age believer in union with Christ and is the key to understanding the Church Age and how the royal family came into being. Therefore, it is the basis for distinguishing between Christianity and religion. Christianity is a relationship with God without merit whereas religion is a system of works to gain the approbation of God. Never shall the twain meet!
The mechanics of Current Positional Truth is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereby the Spirit enters us into union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For also by agency of the one Spirit we are all baptized [identification resulting in becoming a new spiritual species] into one body [in union with Christ], whether Jews or Greeks [racial distinctions are removed], whether slave or free [class and economic distinctions are removed], even all were made to drink [the aorist passive, the voice of grace] the one Spirit [The Holy Spirit did not ask us whether we wanted to be put into union with Christ or not.].” Ephesians 4:5, “One Lord [becomes our Lord positionally at Salvation]), one faith [faith alone in Christ alone; Acts 16:31], one baptism [Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at salvation].”
Current Positional truth guarantees that there will be no judgment for believers in eternity, Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Thus, the condemnation which occurred at the first birth was removed at the 2nd birth. As a result of being born with the sin nature and the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin, we were condemned to the Lake of Fire for all eternity, but now that has been removed. Romans 5:12, “For this reason just as through one man [Adam] the sin [nature] entered into the world [procreation], and so spiritual death through the sin [the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin to the sin nature], and so spiritual death spread to all mankind, because all sinned when Adam sinned [since we were all genetically in Adam when he sinned, we will receive Adam’s Original Sin].” However, at our spiritual birth, the 2nd birth, our pre-salvation sins were all forgiven including Adam’s Original Sin. After which, the Spirit entered us into union with Christ where there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Current Positional truth qualifies the believer to live with God forever. To live with God forever, the believer must have eternal life and God’s perfect righteousness, 1 John 5:11-12, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life, and this life is in his son [Since we are in union with Christ, we share this life.]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].” 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And He [the Father] made Him who knew no sin [perfection] to be a sin offering [imputation of sins on the cross] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [current positional truth].” To live with God forever means you must have His life, and you must be as righteous as He is.
Positional truth guarantees the believer’s eternal security, Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death [nothing in death] nor life [nothing in life] nor angels nor principalities [ruling angels] nor powers [human organizations] nor things present nor things to come (39) nor height [nothing in heaven] nor depth [nothing in Hades] nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life in Christ is for all eternity!
Positional truth belongs to all categories of believers whether they be apostate, mature, immature, spiritually adult, or carnal. Since Current Positional Truth occurs at the point of salvation before experience in the Christian life begins, it doesn’t depend on that experience. 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus [at salvation], called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.” So, even though you may be carnal or in reversionism, you still have positional truth. Being in union with Christ has nothing to do with what you do [experiential righteousness], or don’t do [failure to execute God’s plan]. Current Positional sanctification is completely the work of God the Holy Spirit and so is not based upon our volition, but on the sovereign decision of God. We make the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we don’t make the decision to enter into union with Christ “all were made to drink the one Spirit” as per 1 Corinthians 12:13. God the Holy Spirit graciously did that for us and so it cannot be undone.
Current Positional truth creates a new spiritual species in Christ as per 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come to pass.” You become a new spiritual species at salvation by being put into union with Christ. It is what God does for you, and therefore it is grace. It is not what you do after salvation, such as the self-righteous works of legalism. The “old things” have to do with spiritual death and those things related to that death; the “new things” refer to things you receive at salvation such as the 40 assets and the unique spiritual life.
Positional truth should motivate the production of divine good and a pattern of life compatible with royalty as per Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his creation, having been created in Christ Jesus [a new spiritual species with many assets] for the purpose of divine good production [via experiential sanctification] which the God [the Father] has prepared in advance [in eternity past, God the Father provided election and predestination as part of our Portfolio of Invisible Assets], that we in the sphere of them [election and predestination] may pattern our lives.”
Even though a Christian may die the Sin on to Death, he will not lose his position in union with Christ (1 John 5:18-20), and so cannot lose his salvation. In order for a believer to lose his position in Christ, he would have to sin in that status, but since the believer cannot sin in union with Christ, he cannot lose his position in Christ and so cannot lose his salvation. Thus, it is comforting and reassuring to a believer to know that even though a loved one may have died the ‘sin on to death’, he has not lost his salvation.
Because we are in union with Christ, we share His:
1. Eternal life, 1 John 5:11, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life [At salvation, God the Father imputes this life to the human spirit], and this life is in his son [The Christian also shares the life of Christ through union with Him]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth and the life [eternal life]; no person [in human history] comes face to face with the Father [having an eternal relationship with the Father] except through Me.’”
2. Perfect righteousness, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And he (God the Father) made him [Jesus] who knew no sin (perfection) to be a sin offering as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth]. Sharing the righteousness of Christ, we become the objects of God the Father’s love as per Romans 8:39.
3. Election, Ephesians 1:4, “just as He [the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world [in eternity past], that we may be set apart [experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [Father].”
4. Destiny, Ephesians 1:5, “By means of love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption as adult sons to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord according to the grace purpose of His will.”
5. Sonship, Galatians 3:26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
6. Heirship, Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies together [bears witness] with our [human] spirit, that we are the children of God. (17) Now, if we are children and we are, also heirs, on the one hand heirs of God [the Father], and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed [if it is true that], we suffer with Him [pass all three stages of undeserved suffering], that also we might be glorified with Christ.”
7. Sanctification, 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.”
8. Priesthood, Hebrews 7:12-19, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change in the Law also. (13) For the One [the Lord Jesus Christ] concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe [the tribe of Judah] from which no one has officiated at the altar. (14) For it is evident that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests, (15) and this is clearer still, if another priest arises similar to Melchizedek, and there has, (16) who has become a priest not on the basis of physical requirement [a reference to the Levitical Priesthood] but on the basis of indestructible life [the Lord’s priesthood is forever]. (17) For this reason, it is witnessed, ‘You are a priest forever similar to the order of Melchizedek.’” [We are in union with Christ. Therefore, we are royalty and priests forever. We represent ourselves before God as royal priests.] (18) For, on the one hand, there is a rescinding of the former commandment [the Mosaic Law that authorized the Levitical priesthood] because of its weakness and uselessness (19) (for the Law brought nothing to completion), but on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope [the second door of hope for the Church Age believer—a personal sense of destiny—by which we enter the adult spiritual life] through which we draw near to God.”
Hebrews 7:26-28, “For it is fitting that we should have such a high priest, impeccable integrity, the One who cannot do evil, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; (27) Who does not need daily, like those Levitical priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He [Jesus] offered up Himself. (28) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of His [God the Father’s] oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has become perfect forever [Jesus Christ is a perfect high priest].”
9. Royalty, 1 Peter 2:9, “ But you and only you are an elect [elect by God the Father] race [as a new spiritual species], a royal priesthood [since Jesus is a king-priest], a holy nation [God’s entity: a nation of priests: every Christian is a priest], a people for God’s own possession [a protected people], so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Christ] who has called [in eternity past] you out of darkness [spiritual death and the Cosmic Systems] into His amazing light [his plan];”
10. New Spiritual Species, 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power [Old Covenant]; behold, new things have come to pass [This would include the New Covenant to the Church.].”
Current Positional Truth changes our relationship with Angels.
1. Through current positional truth the believer is higher than angels positionally.
2. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and so superior to all angels. By virtue of being in union with Christ, every believer is now positionally superior to angels.
3. Positional truth has fulfilled the believer’s triumph with Christ in the angelic conflict. We are victorious with Him already.
4. Furthermore, positional truth demands compatibility with experiential righteousness. Therefore, the believer’s walk on this earth must be compatible with positional truth since we have perfect security in Christ, we have the freedom to choose for Jesus Christ, to love Jesus Christ, to respond to His love, and to fulfill our purpose on this earth.
What positional truth is not?
1. It is not an experience, emotions or ecstasies.
2. It is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or eternity.
3. It is not related to human merit or ability.
4. It cannot be changed by God, man or angels. It is eternal in nature.
5. It is not obtained gradually as you grow in grace, but in toto at salvation.
6. It is not known apart from the metabolization of doctrine.
7. From understanding the doctrine of positional truth, we progress in our spiritual life, but we cannot improve it since it is perfect at salvation.
8. We are not in Christ because of what we do (execution of the spiritual life) or fail to do (fail to execute the spiritual life), but because of what God has done.
A few points of explanation:
1. The conclusion from positional truth, whether retroactive or current, is that the Christian must apply these doctrines to his spiritual life.
2. In Romans 7:1-4 where we have an illustration of a woman whose first husband has died freeing her to marry another. This is what actually happens to us as believers at salvation. The old sin nature is the husband up to the point of salvation, but at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ positionally the sin nature is dead, as it were, the first husband has died and we have a new husband through union with Christ. Retroactive Positional Truth removes our first husband, the sin nature whereas Current Positional Truth enters us into union with Christ, our new husband.
3. The old sin nature-husband is still around, still seeking to regain his control over his former wife, the believer. But union with the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, has broken the first husband’s authority over the former wife.
4. The Baptism of Fire:
Matthew 3:11, “On the one hand I [John the Baptizer] baptize you [believers] by means of water because of a change of thinking [about Christ], but the one coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to lace [loosen, remove]. He himself will baptize by means of the Holy Spirit [a reference to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age] and by means of fire [a reference to the Baptism of Fire at the 2nd Advent].”
Baptism of Fire: The baptism of fire (identification with fire) is defined as the judgment of unbelievers both Jew and gentile at the Second Advent. They will be removed from the earth and placed in fire for 1000 years until the Last Judgment, Luke 3:16-17; Mathew 25:31, 33. The analogy to the Baptism of Fire is found in Matthew 24:36-41. The one left in the field is the mature believer; the one taken is the unbeliever.
Parables of the Baptism of Fire:
1. The wheat and the tares (the unbelievers), Matthew 13:24-30, 36-40.
2. The good and bad fish (unbelievers), Matthew 13:47-50.
3. The ten virgins: five wise, five foolish (the unbelievers), Matthew 25:1-13.
4. The sheep and the goats (the unbelievers), Mathew 25:31-46.
5. The talent test, Matthew 25:14-30. The one talent man represents the unbeliever.
If Jesus Christ had not been rejected by the Jewish people, then the age of Israel would have continued until its completion (the Tribulation completes the age of Israel). (However, they did reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah and so the client nation was destroyed, and the Church age was intercalated that is inserted before the age of Israel was complete.) After the completion of the age of Israel at the end of the Tribulation, comes the wrath of God namely the Baptism of Fire when the Lord removes both Jewish and gentile unbelievers from the earth and identifies them with fire forever. After which, the Millennial reign begins.
The Three Ritual Baptisms. None are extant at the present time. They are representative identifications in which water is used as a training aid to represent some principle of doctrine.
1. The Baptism of John is found in Matthew 3:2-6, “Saying, ‘Change your thinking [regarding Christ] for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ [The future king was already on the earth] (3) For this is what was communicated through Isaiah, the prophet saying, ‘The voice of one [John the Baptizer] proclaiming loudly in the desert [of Judea]. Prepare [the aorist tense is a one time-decision] the way of the Lord [an idiomatic expression for salvation]. Keep on making upright [the use of the Recovery Procedure followed by the development of experiential righteousness] His paths!’ (Isaiah 40:3) (4) Now, John himself kept on having a garment of camel’s hair [very uncomfortable] and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. (5) Then [after John went where God wanted him to be] Jerusalem kept on going out to him [face to face] and all Judea and all the districts around the Jordan. (6) and they were being baptized [identified with the kingdom] by him [under John’s authority] in the Jordan River [where Israel crossed when they entered the land], and they kept on confessing their sins [post-salvation confession of sins].”
MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
The Book of Revelation: Chapter Seventeen
A verse-by-verse commentary by Max Klein
Let us bow our heads; If we need to use the Recovery Procedure as found in 1 John 1:9, let us do so at this time that we might be in fellowship. (pause) Father, we thank you for the privilege and opportunity to study your word and for the freedom that you have provided for us here in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.A.; furthermore, we express our appreciation to God the Holy Spirit who will enlighten us regarding the message this evening. We as priests pray this through the person of our Lord Christ Jesus, our High Priest, Amen.
Let’s review the Seal Judgments, the Trumpet Judgments and the Bowl (Plague) Judgments as found in the book of Revelation. This will provide a picture of the great historical disaster that will take place during that period of history.
The Seal Judgments: Revelation 6; 8:1-2.
Revelation 6:1. Next, I watched when the Lamb [the title of Jesus Christ in His 1st Advent providing salvation and defeating Satan strategically on the cross] broke open the first of the seven seals [based on His victory in the angelic conflict, our Lord is worthy and qualified to open the seals which portray the historical trends of the Tribulation.]; then I heard the first of the four angelic heralds speaking as with a voice of thunder [of power with great authority], "Come."
Revelation 6:2. Then, I [John] looked, and behold, a white horse [of the first seal representing victory, conquest and dictatorship], and the one mounted on it [the rider is the dictator of the Revived Roman Empire] had a battle bow [most likely used as a weapon of terrorism and gorilla-warfare since the sword, spear and chariot are not mentioned]; and a crown was given to him [because the society was weak]; in fact, as a conqueror, he appeared [on the scene of history] so that he might conquer.
Revelation 6:3. And when He had broken open the second seal, I heard the second angelic herald say, "Come."
Revelation 6:4. Then another, a fiery red horse appeared [on the scene of history], and to the rider [personification of warfare] was given the power to take peace from the earth [this implies a short period of peace just after the Rapture of the Church], so that they [arrogant tyrannical rulers represented by the white horse] might slaughter each other [in warfare]; in fact, a great sword was given to him [the sword symbolizes conventional warfare].
Revelation 6:5. And when He had broken the third seal, I heard the third angelic herald say, "Come". Then I looked, and behold, a black horse [representing economic depression]; and the rider had a pair of scales in his hand [indicates scarcity of food because of inflation which will be caused by governments diluting their currencies and other bad policies such as attacking God’s free market system].
Revelation 6:6. Then, I heard as it were a voice [of Lord Jesus Christ] in the center of the four angelic heralds [of Seraphim rank] saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius [a day's wage would only purchase a quart of wheat], and three quarts of barley [the food of the poor] for a day's wages; furthermore, do not damage the oil and wine [both luxury items].
Revelation 6:7. And when He [the Lord Jesus Christ] broke open the fourth seal, I heard the fourth angelic herald say, "Come."
Revelation 6:8. Then, I looked and behold an ashen horse [the power of death] and the rider his name was "Death"; in fact, Hades [in particular Torments] was marching in step with [literally, was following after] him [death]. Furthermore, authority was given to them [death and Hades] over a fourth of the population of the earth [of unbelievers will die and be sent to Torments during the first half of the Tribulation] to kill with a sword [the Thracian broadsword representing warfare, crime and terrorism] and with famine [economic depression], and with deadly disease [leading to terminal illnesses], and by wild animals of the earth [the increase of wild animals will kill many].
Revelation 6:9. And when He [the Lord Jesus Christ] had broken the fifth seal [the historical trend of great martyrdom in the Tribulation], I saw under the altar [of the burnt offering] the souls [John actually sees their interim bodies which house their souls] of those who had been murdered [slaughtered like sheep; the cognate noun sphagion refers to a sacrificial victim], because of the word of God [they advanced rapidly in their spiritual lives], and because of the testimony [of integrity] which they had maintained [they remained faithful to the Lord to the point of their martyrdom].
Revelation 6:10. Furthermore, they [the one’s martyred] shouted and said, "O sovereign Lord [They chose this word wisely for it means unlimited authority and power. It connotes an absolute ruler with unlimited use to exercise His power; They understand that they are addressing the one who controls history through his integrity and power], holy [the integrity of Christ as God] and true [the integrity of the humanity of Christ], how long will it be before you will judge and avenge our blood on the population of the earth?" [They will not be as specific in their imprecatory prayer as David had been.]
Revelation 6:11. Also a white robe [The Roman Stola was a long flowing robe, a reference to the Interim Body.] was given to each one of them [martyrs of the Tribulation. So, even though their mortal bodies were destroyed, they were given a much better body.]; and they were told that they should refresh themselves [enjoy their happiness in their interim bodies] for a little while longer until they, that is until their fellow-servants, even their brethren, those who were destined to be killed [in the Divine Decree] even as they had been killed, should be completed.
Revelation 6:12. Then, I looked [John sees a new vision] when He [Lord Jesus Christ] opened the sixth seal, and a tremendous earthquake [plus a volcano] occurred, with the result that the sun became black like sackcloth made of hair [goat's black hair; the rays of the sun will be blocked by this ash], and the entire moon became red like blood [as one would view it at night through volcanic ash].
Revelation 6:13. And meteors [this translation fits better than the word ‘star’] from the sky fell onto the earth [causing death and destruction as part of the 6th Seal Judgment], like a fig tree drops its unripe figs [this analogy implies a tremendous number of meteors will fall unto the earth; those unbelievers and believers in the Cosmic System who die before they should] when being shaken by a great wind [historical disaster brought about by bad decisions].
Revelation 6:14. Also, the atmosphere [around the earth] was split apart [the result of a thermonuclear detonation] like a scroll when it is being rolled up [would indicate nuclear fusion] with the result that every mountain and island were moved out of their places [tremendous movements of the tectonic plates].
Revelation 6:15. Both the kings [rulers of nations] of the earth and the nobility [maximum political influence and power], and the highest military ranks [generals, admirals etc.], and the rich, also those who have ability plus every slave [today labor] and free person [the two make-up the working force of the Tribulation] hid [none of these categories of unbelievers had any security and happiness] themselves in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. [all these will be refugees.]
Revelation 6:16. And they [these 6 categories of unbelievers in society] said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us [praying to mountains and rocks] from the presence of Him [urgent demand for oblivion] who sits on the throne [a reference to God the Father] and from the wrath of the Lamb [Jesus Christ]. [They have academic understanding of the gospel and the plan of God the Father; they are acutely aware of God the Father and the Lord in disaster.]
Revelation 6:17. For the great day of their [the Father and the Son] wrath has come, and so who is able to stand? [answered in the entire next chapter: only believers of the Tribulation in the Lord Jesus Christ]
Revelation 8:1. Then, when He had opened the seventh seal [the seven trumpets originate from the seventh seal], there was silence in heaven for about a half an hour.
Revelation 8:2. Then, I saw seven angels [Pursuivant Messengers from the College of Heralds: this and other terms by R.B. Thieme Jr. are used to explain the rank of angels and their protocol-function] who stood before God, and seven trumpets [for the Seven Trumpet Judgments] were given to them.
The Trumpet Judgments: Revelation 8:6-13; 9:1-6; 9:12-19; 11:15-19.
Revelation 8:6. Then the seven angels [pursuivant messengers] who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves that they might sound their trumpets [for judgment].
Revelation 8:7. Then, the first one [a Pursuivant Messenger] sounded his trumpet [a signal for administration of the first judgment: judgment upon the earth's vegetation], and there followed hail and fire [a supernatural thunderstorm from heaven] which had been mixed with blood [of the martyrs of the Tribulation], and it [the storm] was hurled to the earth [producing wind shear or a down-burst]; with the result that one third of the land surface was destroyed by fire, both one third of the trees were burned up, plus one third of all of the green grass [crops cultivated for food, and grazing land].
Revelation 8:8. Then, the second angel [a Pursuivant Messenger] sounded his trumpet and like a great mountain of burning fire, it was hurled into the sea, and a third of the seas [including oceans] became blood [judgment on salt water].
Revelation 8:9. Then, a third of the creatures in the sea, having life, died; also, a third of shipping was destroyed.
Revelation 8:10. Then, the third angel sounded his trumpet, and a giant meteor, incandescent like a lamp, fell from the sky, and it fell on a third of the rivers and lakes [judgment on fresh water].
Revelation 8:11. And the name of the meteor is called Wormwood [Absinthe]; now, one third of the waters became affected because of this wormwood [producing a poison], in fact many people died from the waters that were made bitter [from this poison].
Revelation 8:12. And, the fourth angel sounded his trumpet, then a third of the sun, a third of the moon and a third of the stars [planets] were struck [the loss of 1/3 of the light and radiation at the source], so that a third of them might be darkened so that the day might not give light for a third of it, and the night likewise.
Revelation 8:13. Then, I observed and I heard one eagle [one of the angelic heralds of Revelation 4:7] flying in mid heaven [the 2nd heaven, the realm of angelic activity], and he said in a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe [trumpet judgments 5, 6, and 7: assaults by demon armies] to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpets from the three angels who are about to sound off.
Revelation 9:1. Then, the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star [Satan] fall from heaven to the earth [in the middle of the Tribulation], and a key to the shaft of the Abyss was given to him [to Satan by God].
Revelation 9:2. Then, he [Satan] opened [by unlocking it] the shaft of the abyss with the result that smoke like the smoke of a giant furnace, ascended from that shaft; both the sun and the atmosphere became darkened because of the smoke coming out from the shaft [This cuts off radiation from the sun and immerses planet earth in a blackout].
Revelation 9:3. And out from the smoke [behind the barrage], locusts [analogy to describe the method by which the first demon assault army will attack, suddenly and with great numbers] invaded the earth; and authority [by the Lord to torture] was given to them, like scorpions have power on the earth [a scorpion’s sting is extremely painful as will be the torture of these demons].
Revelation 9:4. And they were instructed that they should not injure the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree [that has already occurred as per Revelation 8:7], but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads [evangelists and other growing believers advancing spiritually will have a seal from the Lord].
Revelation 9:5. Also they were not permitted to kill them [neither the unbeliever nor the believer in the Cosmic System], but to torture them for five months, and their torture is like the torture of a scorpion when it strikes a man [intense pain].
Revelation 9:6. Consequently, mankind [living in the Cosmic System with emphasis on Cosmic Two] in those days [in the last half of the Tribulation] will seek death [to escape torture], but they will definitely not find it [this construction is the Subjunctive of emphatic negation]; they will have an intense desire to die, but death will elude them.
Revelation 9:12. The first woe is past [synonymous with the 5th Trumpet-Judgment], behold two woes [synonymous with the 6th and 7th Judgments] are still coming after these things.
Revelation 9:13. Then the sixth angel [a pursuivant messenger, a wingless angel] sounded his trumpet, and I heard one voice [a Pursuivant Officer of cherub rank] from the four horns of the golden altar [of incense] which is before God.
Revelation 9:14. And he [a Pursuivant Officer] gave the order to the one having the sixth trumpet, ‘Release the four angels [demon army generals and in turn, they will release the rest of the 200 million angelic army] who have been incarcerated at the great River Euphrates [apparently for violations in the prehistoric angelic conflict].
9:15. Then, the four angels [four demon generals], who have been kept in the state of readiness for this hour and day and month and year, were released in order that they might kill one third of mankind.
Revelation 9:16. In fact, the number of the armies of the calvary is two hundred million [twice ten thousand times ten thousand]; I heard their number [John was informed of the number].
Revelation 9:17. And so I saw in a vision the horses and their riders [in review]; each having breastplates the color of fire [red for artillery] and hyacinth [blue for infantry] and sulfurous [yellow for armored forces]; and the heads of the horses are like [setting up an analogy] the heads of lions [representing the shock which occurs when they strike], and fire [something like napalm or flame throwers] and smoke [representing chemical warfare] and sulfur [possibly gunpowder] came out from their mouths [if not literal, it refers to offensive weapon systems].
Revelation 9:18. A third of mankind [living in the Cosmic System] was killed [this is on top of the ¼ that are killed in the first part of the Tribulation; killed means that no prisoners were taken] by these three plagues [a weapon system designed to kill], from fire [something similar to napalm], smoke [representing chemical warfare] and sulfur [possibly gunpowder] came out of their mouths [if not literal, it refers to offensive weapon systems as opposed to the tail].
Revelation 9:19. For the power of the horses is in their mouth [three weapon systems already mentioned in the previous verse] and in their tails; for their tails are like [setting up an analogy] snakes having heads [poisonous ones] and with them they cause harm and pain [a weapon’s system to protect their rear].
Revelation 11:15. When [the temporal ‘kai’ as in Plato’s Symposium] the seventh angel sounded his trumpet [the beginning of the 3rd woe], there were also loud voices [Revelation 5:11: angels] which were saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord [elect angels are addressing the Father] and His [God the Father] Christ [Messiah]; in fact, He will reign forever and ever.
Revelation 11:16. Then, the twenty-four angelic staff officers who were sitting on their thrones in the presence of God fell on their faces [the posture of humility, but not necessary] and worshipped God [with thought expressed in the following two verses].
Revelation 11:17. Saying, "We are thankful to you, O Lord, the omnipotent God [they emphasize the giver, not their blessings; they are thanking him for his power and the way he will use it shortly] who is [the Omega glory of Christ in hypostatic union] and who was [always existed as Alpha glory, God the Son], because you have taken Your great power [the omnipotence of God the Son at the 2nd Advent] and You have begun to rule [anticipating the Millennial reign of Christ]."
Revelation 11:18. And so the nations were angry [Psalm 2:1-3], then Your [God the Father portrayed in Psalm 2:4-6] anger came [the closing events of the Tribulation and 2nd Advent], also the time with reference to the dead [resurrection of Old Testament believers and martyrs of the Tribulation] to be evaluated [the Evaluation-platform of Christ for these believers], that is, to present their rewards to Your servants namely to the prophets [Old Testament types] and to the saints [Old Testament believers] and to those who respect His person [martyrs of the Tribulation], both the lower and upper classes [class distinction doesn’t hinder spiritual advancement], also to destroy [this is the Lord’s tactical victory complementing his strategic victory of the cross] those who destroy the earth [The removal of Satan and his demons who had destroyed the earth from the fall of man to the 2nd Advent].
Revelation 11:19. Then, the temple of God which was in the [third] heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant [a symbol of the Lord’s faithfulness to Israel] was seen in His temple, and there followed flashes of lightning and noises and thunders, both an earthquake and a great hailstorm [judgments against anti-Semitism and warnings that time is running out].
The Bowl Judgments (Plague Judgments): Revelation 16
Revelation 16:1. Then [the sequential use], I [John] heard a loud voice [This is the voice of God the Father from the heavenly temple as per Revelation 15:8] from the temple [God the Father is the only one in the temple at this time], saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out on the earth the Seven Bowls of the wrath of God.
Revelation 16:2. Then, the first angel departed and poured out his bowl on planet earth, and it became an ulcer [The Greek word ἕλκος (helkos), the ancient Greek word for cancer, ulcers, or abscesses.] on the skin both pernicious [having a harmful effect especially in a gradual or subtle way] and painful to those persons who had the mark of the beast-dictator, and who worshipped his image.
Revelation 16:3. The second angel poured out [culminative aorist tense viewing the results of the action] his bowl into the sea [though this word in the Greek can refer to all bodies of water, in this context it refers to salt water], and it became blood as from a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.
Revelation 16:4. Then, the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters [lakes]; and they became blood.
Revelation 16:5 Then, I heard the angel in charge of the waters saying [a teaching angel], You are righteous, O Holy One, who is [the omega glory of Jesus Christ in His hypostatic union], who has always existed [ the alpha glory of Christ as eternal God], because you have judged these things [The constative aorist tense takes the seven last Bowl Judgments of the Tribulation and regardless of how long it takes to administer these judgements, gathers them up into a single whole, the judgment of these unbelievers of the Tribulation].
Revelation 16:6. Because they [the persecutors are primarily dictators, rulers, and religious types] poured out the blood of saints and prophets [those who teach the spiritual life], and You have given them blood to drink [blood for blood, the punishment matches the crime] as they deserve [God as the supreme court judge knows all the facts, and having a perfect knowledge He says, guilty.].
Revelation 16:7. Then, I heard the sacrificial altar saying [the martyred Tribulational believers under this altar produce the action], Yes, Lord God, Almighty, your judgments are true [dependable because they are based upon truth: no one gets away with evil] and righteous [what the righteousness of God demands, the justice of God executes].
Revelation 16:8. The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire [a prophetical warning: if the Lord is able to judge them with scorching heat in time, and he is, then he is also able to judge them in the Lake of Fire forever].
Revelation 16:9. Men were scorched with fierce heat [to remind them prophetically of the fierce heat of the Lake of Fire]; and they blasphemed the person of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not change their thinking [to believe in Him; however, there could have been some exceptions] so as to give Him glory [when an unbeliever believes in Jesus Christ as his savior, it brings glory to God].
Revelation 16:10. Then, the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast-dictator, then his empire was plunged into darkness; and they kept biting their tongues because of the pain.
Revelation 16:11. and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and they did not change their thinking regarding their deeds [related to religion].
Revelation 16:12. The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates and its water was dried up, so that the invasion route would be prepared for the kings from the east.
Revelation 16:13. Then, I saw three unclean [cultic impurity: these war demons are worshipped in the Tribulation through the medium of idolatry] frog-like demons [spirits: frogs are by analogy great public speakers] from the command [literally from the mouth] of the dragon [Satan], and from the command of the beast-dictator [the Gentile dictator of Revived Roman Empire], and from the command of the false prophet [the Jewish dictator of Israel who passes himself off as the Messiah]. [This is a conspiracy]
Revelation 16:14. For these are the spirits of demons performing miracles [this is the emotional appeal to the general public as a part of the public lie], who go out to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to mobilize them for the war of the great day of God [of the 2nd Advent], the Omnipotent One [Jesus Christ].
Revelation 16:15. Be on the alert, I will come like a thief [The thief in the ancient world invaded the home of the domicile not quietly and stealthily but suddenly, unexpectedly, surprising and overcoming the occupants who were his victims.]. Happy is he who stays alert and guards his uniform [via the use of the Faith-rest Drill and other Problem-Solving Devices], so that he may not march naked [if a Roman soldier failed in guard duty, he was arrested, and marched naked to his barracks by analogy, the believer losing his eternal rewards], and they [other soldiers] see his shame [of being a loser].
Revelation 16:16. And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.
Revelation 16:17. Then, the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a magnificent voice [the voice of God the Father, author of the divine plan] came out of the temple from the throne, saying, "It is done [the completion of God’s judgment of the earth at the end of the Tribulation].
Revelation 16:18. And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty [judgment by pain and death].
Revelation 16:19. The great city [Jerusalem in the Tribulation] was split into three parts [formed a natural fortification in the siege of Jerusalem], and the cities of the Gentiles, fell [many prominent evil Gentile cities were destroyed]. Babylon the great [Satan’s ecumenical religion in the Tribulation with its headquarters in Rome] was remembered [a reference to the Divine Decree] before God [all her evil which will be judged], to give her [The feminine gender matches the mother of prostitutes in Revelation 17:5 which is the interpreting verse for this phrase] the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath [the destruction of ecumenical religion in the Tribulation].
Revelation 16:20. And every island vanished [fled away: destroyed through volcanic activity], and the mountains were not found [also blown away by volcanic explosive eruptions].
Revelation 16:21. And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each [divine judgment upon mankind destroying many people, animals and property], came down from the atmosphere upon mankind; then the men [the survivors] blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe [they reacted to Crisis Evangelism].
Revelation 17
Verses 1-6: The Vision of the Great Harlot
Verses 7-18: The interpretation for the vision Babylon becomes a code word for Satan’s system of internationalism, both political and religious. Every time we see Babylon in our passage, it will be referring to that international system, the system of ecumenicalism.
The doom of Babylon, Revelation 17 through 19:3.
Revelation 17:1
Then, one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, [While the teaching angel comes to the geographical location of John, John must come to the presence of the angel from his own positive volition. He must be motivated to want to learn, to desire the information.] I will show you the judgment of the infamous prostitute [the system of ecumenical religion in the Tribulation which religious system attracts a lot of customers as an infamous prostitute] who sits [ just as a horse rider, sitting dominates the horse so, the harlot sitting dominates many areas of the world] on many waters [waters represent the multitude of the peoples throughout the world who are converts to ecumenical religion].
Καὶ ἦλθεν εἷς ἐκ τῶν ἑπτὰ ἀγγέλων τῶν ἐχόντων τὰς ἑπτὰ φιάλας, καὶ ἐλάλησεν µετí ἐµοῦ λέγων, ∆εῦρο, δείξω σοι τὸ κρίµα τῆς πόρνης τῆς µεγάλης τῆς καθηµένης ἐπὶ ὑδάτων πολλῶν,
The killer angel now becomes a teaching angel. There is no inconsistency in being a member of the execution squad on the one hand and being a communicator of eschatology on the other hand. He has been in touch with the human race as a killer, now he is in touch with John as a teacher of doctrine.
John is highly motivated to learn the Word. Out of this comes a principle. Doctrinal teaching is mandated by God, but the believer must be motivated to receive it. Doctrinal teaching runs the gamut from the most sublime information about the essence of God to the most shocking information about the modus operandi of man. Some people are interested in parts of it but not necessarily all of it. It takes a very strong motivation to want to know the whole realm of doctrine. God provides the opportunity for all of us to learn Bible doctrine. First of all, we learn doctrine and it becomes a motivation for momentum in the plan of God. While God provides the doctrine and the protocol system in which to learn it, the believer must use his own volition with regard to learning doctrine. You can bring a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. You can bring people to church but that doesn’t imply that they are going to learn anything or that they want to learn anything. The reasons why people come to church are varied, but to come to church to want to learn doctrine is a rarity in the time in which we live, and, of course, under the principle of freedom, God does not force us to learn doctrine, but instead He challenges our volition to go for it. The plan of God is optional to the believer.
Why use prostitution as the analogy for religion? First, we notice that a prostitute makes her living from the lust of others, and in this sense, it becomes an excellent analogy to religion because religion gains power and wealth from many categories of lust: lust for human security, lust for blessing in life, lust for recognition in life, lust for some assurance about the future after death. There are many categories of lust in addition to lasciviousness. Under the principle of the phallic cult, religion does embrace the lust content of lasciviousness as well. Just as a prostitute receives money for her services so religion, cults, make money off of the superstition and false doctrines that people believe.
Religion destroys freedom, happiness and misdirects worship. It is very important to understand that religion is the greatest source of unhappiness that there is since all religious organizations have devised a system whereby one surrenders the custodianship of his happiness and the control of his life to some form of a human hierarchy. Those human beings will require some type of asceticism, self-sacrifice and pseudo-morality which brings about total unhappiness, total lack of capacity for life, and total disorientation to life. On the other hand, Satan doesn’t intend to trap everyone through self-righteousness, through asceticism, self-sacrifice or pseudo-morality, he intends to trap a lot of people through lasciviousness. Not everyone in Satan’s system is religious, but everyone is Satan’s system has surrendered control of his life to someone outside of himself and, therefore, no person, believer or unbeliever, can live religiously in the Cosmic System and have control of his own life and solve his own problems. One of the greatest areas where people surrender the control of their lives and the custodianship of their happiness is through some form of religion. Religion is Satan’s policy and Satan’s system for siphoning off worship to himself instead of worship of God. Religion is the Satanic counterfeit for worship of God and a major part of the angelic conflict in history.
Distinguishing Religion from Christianity:
Religion emphasizes Satan’s policy of evil. Christianity, therefore, is not a religion. In fact, Christianity and religion are antithetical; they are mutually exclusive. Christianity is truth from God; religion is the lie from Satan. Each has its own system. The Protocol System is for the development of the truth in our lives, and Satan’s Cosmic System is for the religious distractions to our lives. In religion man by man’s efforts seeks to establish a meritorious relationship with God and seeks to impress God, while in Christianity God seeks and finds mankind through the work of Christ on the cross. Christianity is a relationship with God which begins at regeneration, while religion is a relationship with Satan that begins with cosmic involvement.
Religion:
1. Religion is Satan’s counterfeit for salvation and the spiritual life.
2. Religion is a part of Satan’s plan, a part of his strategy, his ace trump.
3. Religion is the worst thing that ever happened to mankind in history; it is a soul-destroyer for it epitomizes Satan’s policy of evil.
4. Religion is not the same as Christianity. All religions operate on a merit system and use human power and have no relationship with God. Christianity from day one is a grace relationship with God which relationship operates on grace and uses God’s power and when executed effectively leads to the most fantastic relationship of reciprocal love.
5. Therefore, religion and Christianity are opposing forces in the angelic conflict; they are antithetical and mutually exclusive.
6. In religion, man by man’s efforts seeks to gain the approbation of God through his works, power, talent, abilities etc. Hence, religion is always a form of reversionism under the influence of evil and always includes some system of legalism.
7. In Christianity, God seeks and finds man through the gracious work of Christ, and from that time on, the spiritual life continues to be a matter of grace.
8. Christianity is a relationship with God through regeneration while religion is a relationship with Satan through reversionism.
Christianity and religion are antithetical. In Christianity, God saves mankind through personal faith in Jesus Christ. In religion, man seeks to impress God with his works. Religion can be classified as the devil's ace trump for religion has been invented by Satan to counterfeit God's plan, purpose, and will for mankind, to blind the unbeliever from the gospel and to divert the believer from the execution of the Protocol Plan of God for the Church Age. Religion is part of the devil's strategy in being "like the Most-High God," as stated in Isaiah 14:14. Christianity is not a religion, but an eternal relationship with God through personal faith in Christ. In religion, Homo sapiens seeks the approbation of God through good deeds, human merit, and various categories of works. Religion reflects the evil genius of Satan, whereas Christianity represents the perfect integrity of God combined with His grace policy.
For deceit and error to be carried out effectively, Satan has devised a system of counterfeits which are the counterfeits of religion such as:
1. Gospel: 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age [Satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers [through religion, philosophy etc.], so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2. Ministers, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, “For such ones are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. (14) Did not even Satan marvelously transform himself into an angel of light? (15) Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.”
3. Communion table, 1 Corinthians 10:19-21, “What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols in anything or that an idol is anything? (20), No, I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God, and I do not desire you to become fellow worshippers with demons. (21) You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.”
4. Doctrine, 1 Timothy 4:1, “But the Spirit [the Holy Spirit is the teacher of Bible doctrine] explicitly teaches that in latter periods of time [the period between the 1st and 2nd Advents] some [believers] will withdraw from doctrine, concentrating on deceitful spirits [false teachers] and doctrines from demons [involvement in Cosmic 1 & 2].”
5. Spirituality, Galatians 3:1-3, “O foolish Galatians who has hypnotized you [has given you the evil eye]? Before whose eyes [refers to perception, they saw it in their mind’s eye] Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified [was designated clearly: You used to have your eyes on Christ, now you have your eyes on the Mosaic Law as the source of the spiritual life]. (2) This only I desire to learn from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law or by hearing of faith? (3) Are you so stupid that having begun in the sphere of the [Filling of the] Spirit, are you now being brought to completion by the flesh [using human power out of fellowship to advance spiritually]?
6. System of righteousness, Matthew 19:16-22, “Now behold a man came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good shall I do to obtain eternal life?” (17) And He replied to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good [What good shall I do]? There is only one [Jesus] who is good [absolute good]. If you desire to enter into [eternal] life [through your righteousness], and you do, then keep the commandments [impossible]. (18) The man inquired, “Which ones?” Jesus replied, “You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness [in court]; (19) you shall honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (20) And the young man answered, “All these, I have guarded. What do I still lack?” (21) And Jesus said to him, “If you desire to be perfect [through works] and you do [though it is impossible], go and sell your possessions and give them to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven then [return] here [after you realize that you are not perfect] and follow Me [in regeneration]. (22) After the young man heard the instruction, he departed grieving for he possessed a lot of property.
7. False gods. All throughout history, people have and will worship demons as gods. In the latter half of the Great Tribulation, the dictator of the Revived Roman Empire will be worshiped as a god. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, “Do not let anyone deceive you in any way since it [the Day of the Lord: the Tribulation and 2nd Advent] will not come unless the departure [Rapture], and the man who is lawless [anti-establishment] shall be revealed, the son of perdition [doomed to destruction], (4) who opposes [the Lord Jesus Christ] and exalts himself above every so called god, or object of worship, so that he is installed in the Temple of God [the Jewish temple of the Tribulation], proclaiming himself to be god.”
8. Power (dynamics), 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9, “And then [after the Rapture] the lawless one [dictator of the revived Roman Empire] will be revealed, whom the Lord shall destroy with the breath of His mouth [the least power of God] in fact he [the Lord Jesus Christ] shall neutralize him by the very appearance of His coming [2nd Advent], (9) [The dictator of the Revived Roman Empire] whose presence [in history] shall be according to the modus operandi of Satan with all power and by means of extra natural signs [extra natural phenomena in the spiritual realm like healing] even lying wonders [propaganda].”
9. Way of life, Matthew 23:13-36: In this passage, the Pharisees emphasized the external condition of a person and ignored the internal condition. They emphasized taboos and outward morality. They ignored internal sins which made external righteousness a sham. Their outside was clean = morality and taboos, but their inside was filthy = mental sins and lusts.
Religion is Satan's strategy for distracting Homo sapiens from the three categories of truth. First, are the Laws of Divine Establishment as taught in the Mosaic Law. Religion seeks to become the state, and once it is in power, it attacks human freedom. Also, the union of religion and state is a major attack on human freedom. Second, is the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Religion distorts salvation by grace through faith into many diverse systems of salvation by works, and third is Bible doctrine for the believer. Religion substitutes false doctrine (or the "doctrine of demons," 2 Timothy 4:1) for truth. Religion sets up a system of works and ritual to replace the Protocol Plan of God.
Religion motivates and produces, through false teachers, every category of evil, violence, terrorism, and murder to force people into their religion which is not only characterized by the doctrine of demons (2 Timothy 4:1), but it has both false teachers and false prophets to communicate this information.
There are at least five characteristics of false teachers in the Church Age.
1. False teachers are masters of hypocrisy. They use a phony facade, first exposed by our Lord in Matthew 7:15, “Beware [constantly be on your guard] of the false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves,” and further developed by Paul in Romans 16:18, “For such believers do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own emotions, and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the right lobes of the unsuspecting [those ignorant of truth].” Behind a public relations facade, false teachers use legalism to convert their victims to religion, Galatians 4:17-18, “They [Judaizers] zealously affect [seek or woo] you [into legalism], not well [not honestly] yes, they wish to exclude you [this means they wish to separate you from me, so that I can’t woo you with grace] in order that you might affect [court or woo] them [eager for more legalism]. (18) But it is good always to be properly courted [by good Bible teachers] in an honorable manner, and not only when I am present with you.”
2. False Teachers flatter their victim, making them feel wanted which flattery appeals to the victim’s pride. 2 Timothy 3:5-7 “Holding to a superficial form [outward appearance] of the spiritual life, but they themselves have disregarded its power; avoid such ones as these. (6) For among them are those [immoral Christian men] who creep into homes [slyly enter the homes] and seduce [captivate] silly women [morally weak women because there is no doctrine in their souls] who are overwhelmed by their sins and are carried away by various lusts. (7) Always learning [these women], but they are never able to come to an epignosis knowledge of the truth.”
3. False teachers promote idolatry as a part of the devil's communion table, Habakkuk 2:18-19, “What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, or an image a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork when he fashions speechless idols. (19) Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’ To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’ And that is your teacher? Behold it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all inside it.”
1 Corinthians 10:19-21, “What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? (20) No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become a sharer in demons. (21). You cannot drink the cup of the Lord [the Communion table requires fellowship] and the cup of demons [demon influence: living in the cosmic system]; therefore, you cannot partake of the table of the Lord [the Eucharist for this worship requires the spiritual life] and the table of demons [demon influence].”
4. False teachers promote self-righteousness, to include legalism, personality arrogance, authority arrogance, crusader arrogance, and works arrogance, 1 Timothy 1:6-7, “From which some men [pastors] have deviated [apostasy through reversionism]. They themselves have turned aside to ineffective teaching desiring to be teachers of the Law. (7) Since they do not understand either what they are teaching or concerning the things about which they speak dogmatically.”
5. False teachers continue to operate throughout the Church Age, as this is the intensified period of the angelic conflict, 1 John 4:1-6, “Beloved, do not believe every personality, but test the person to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have come out into the world. (2) By this, learn to recognize that person who is from God: every person [honorable minister] who acknowledges [communicates] that Jesus Christ has come [the intensive perfect emphasizes the results namely the virgin birth, the incarnation, the cross, resurrection and ascension] in the flesh [the hypostatic union is in view; John states it in this way since he is opposing the Gnostics who stated that Jesus Christ was an optical illusion], is from God [the minister who acknowledges the virgin birth, incarnation, hypostatic union etc. is from God]. (3) in fact, every persuasive speaker that does not acknowledge Jesus [the humanity of Christ], is not from God [false teachers who rejected the doctrine of the incarnation, the hypostatic union, impeccability, the work of Christ on the cross]; this is the person of the antichrist of which you have heard that it [he] is coming and now it is already in the world. (4) You and only you [believers living the spiritual life] are from God, dear children, and you have overcome them [false teachers and others living in the Cosmic System] because greater is He who is in you [indwelling of God the Son] than he [Satan] who is in the world [the inventor of the Cosmic System]. (5) They [false teachers, the Gnostics] are out from the Cosmic System; therefore, they teach from the source of the Cosmic System, and the [believers and unbelievers involved in the] Cosmic System understands them. (6) We and only we [the apostles and others associated with them] are from God; he who knows God, listens to us; he who is not from God, does not listen to us. By this, we know the person of truth and the person of deception.”
Further information on Religion:
1. Religion destroys virtue and the natural instincts of grace.
2. Religion produces arrogance and ignorance which overrides tolerance, and neutralizes a person’s intelligence and substitutes cruelty. (Remember that Christianity is not a religion) Arrogance plus cruelty lowers the intelligence of the people so involved.
3. A religious society cannot think and therefore emotes. Out of a religious society come mobs, and terrorism.
4. Religion does not believe in the right of free choice. Just a few examples such as Islam, the Roman Catholic church and the Greek Orthodox church at certain times, and in India, it is true of the Hindus. In other words, “You can only be free if you accept our religion.”
5. Therefore, under the influence of religion, Medieval history right up through the time of the Renaissance and Reformation not only caused the rise of cities but the inevitable rise of city mobs functioning under terrorism. Mobs had all the arrogance of unchecked power roaming the streets of medieval towns and cities, and all too often selected the Jew as a target. Arrogance becomes a substitute for reason and produces a victim, a target for hatred, vindictiveness, and implacability. Since 70 A.D. that target has all too often been the Jew.
Revelation 17:2
With whom [ecumenical religion] the rulers of the planet earth have fornicated [the only way to fornicate with ecumenical religion is through spiritual immorality], furthermore, the inhabitants of the earth have become intoxicated with the wine of her spiritual fornication.
µεθí ἧς ἐπόρνευσαν οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἐµεθύσθησαν οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν γῆν ἐκ τοῦ οἴνου τῆς πορνείας αὐτῆς.
It does refer to world rulers at that time but that doesn’t mean they will be all kings for it could include dictators and presidents. The Bible must be interpreted in the time in which it was written and in the time of writing the book of Revelation, most of the rulers of the world were classified as kings. The point is that there will be a very strong political influence on the part of this international religious system. There will be a union of religion and state which, of course, is very destructive to human freedom and a great evil.
How are these people converted? In the same way that people become interested in fornicating. First of all, there is the thought, secondly there is a lust, then there is the action. This pretty well describes the pattern of spiritual fornication. The Bible describes spiritual fornication or apostasy not only in the book of Hosea but extensively in Ezekiel chapters 16 and 23. In all these cases, we have spiritual fornication between client nation Israel and the religions of Satan at that time.
The inhabitants of the earth here are said to be intoxicated with the wine of her fornication. This indicates a tremendous amount of emotionalism. Intoxication is often used for sheer emotionalism without thought. When emotionalism takes over the control of the soul, you have the degeneracy of the human soul leading to the degenerate modus operandi of the individual. This is spiritual intoxication going with spiritual fornication. The indicative mood is declarative for the future reality of the success of Satan’s international religious system.
How does religion get its start? First, the entrance into Satan’s Cosmic System namely the conversion takes place in Cosmic One where these people become preoccupied with themselves. When a maximum number of people in the human race have inordinate preoccupation with self that is where religion gets its start, that is where emotionalism gets cranked up, that is where every false system has its beginning. Just as Satan, who is the greatest creature genius who ever lived, actually sinned for the first time through preoccupation with self in inordinate fashion known as arrogance, so the same pattern is found in the human race. It all begins with motivational evil, gate one, Cosmic One. This is how these first two verses of chapter seventeen are fulfilled at the end of the Tribulation.
Arrogant persons inevitably have to be satisfied with themselves. They must find, as it were, a new identity. They get into Cosmic One in the first place because they have lost their identity, as it were, through arrogance, through motivational evil. Jealousy becomes the preoccupation of their life, or bitterness, or vindictiveness or hatred or antagonism, etc. One of the big systems for evangelization into religion is self-pity. This is one of the major steps, by the way, of degeneracy. This is what happens in the Tribulation, and it is an old story which goes way back into history, but in the meantime it is a story that exists for believers as well as unbelievers and no matter how many times in the past people have failed this way and how cognizant one is of the situation, it doesn’t keep him from getting into self-pity, getting into jealousy or bitterness or frustration or hatred, or one of these things which become so destructive. That is why Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride precedes destruction,” because in discovering your new identity, it is a relationship. All identities that you discover in your own life always have a relationship, and to establish your identity, as it were, you are going to discover that the new identity relates to Satan’s system in which you are trapped.
This is how rulers become converted to this Satanic system, and this is how the “many waters,” different people from different areas of life, also become involved. And from this immediately the establishing of the new identity in Cosmic One and in Cosmic Two means that you are now a convert of Satan. You may go the religious route, you may go the rationalism route, you may go the philosophical way, but if your arrogance is academic and if you are preoccupied with your high intelligence, then you will take one road, whereas if you are kind of stupid and emotional you will wind up in some type of emotional movement. There is always something for everyone, even the phallic cult for those who want to turn spiritual fornication into literal fornication.
Isaiah 13:11. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud [Anyone involved in the Cosmic System, believer or unbeliever] and will humble the pride of the tyrant [the rulers of planet earth in our passage].
Revelation 17:3
Then, he [seventh angelic messenger of the execution squad who is now the teaching angel produces the action] brought me by agency of the Spirit [God the Holy Spirit] to a desolate place [religion is a desolate place: joyless, devoid of warmth, comfort or hope, wretched] then, I saw a woman [ecumenical religion] sitting [implies domination: the union of religion and state and religion will initially dominate and be in control] on a scarlet [the color of the Romans when they became conquerors] beast [religion will be united with the dictator of the Revived Roman Empire in order to use their power together to influence and dominate Israel], full [neuter plural to indicate the combining of political power with religion] of blasphemous categories [religion functions from the gates of Cosmic Two], having seven heads [were seven religious empires which influenced and dominated Israel in the past to include Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia-Chaldea, Media-Persia, Graeco-Macedonia, the historical Roman Empire, and the Revived Roman Empire of the Tribulation; more details given in the rest of this chapter] and ten horns [the ten nations of the Revived Roman Empire].
καὶ ἀπήνεγκέν µε εἰς ἔρηµον ἐν πνεύµατι. καὶ εἶδον γυναῖκα καθηµένην ἐπὶ θηρίον [neuter singular] κόκκινον, γέµοντα [participle neuter plural indicating the beast dictator with ecumenical religion] ὀνόµατα βλασφηµίας, ἔχων [ἔχοντα] κεφαλὰς ἑπτὰ καὶ κέρατα δέκα.
Why religion is compared to a woman! A few points to explain the concept:
1. The first woman in the Garden rejected the authority of God as does religion.
2. The woman in the Garden distorted the command of God regarding the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil just as religion twists and distorts the Word for its own convenience.
3. The woman wanted to be as smart as God which desire made an issue out of equality, inferiority and superiority. Religion also makes an issue out of these concepts.
4. The first woman was dissatisfied with her status and so became the first revolutionist. So, religion always spawns dissatisfaction and revolution.
A similar Old Testament Passage:
Isaiah 21:1, 2a, 9, “A prophecy [against Babylon as the international religious system of Satan] concerning a desolate place of the sea [a sea of Arabian people] as windstorms in the south country [Arabian country] sweep on, it comes from a desolate place, from a terrifying land. (2) A harsh vision has been shown to me; the treacherous one [religion] still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys [religion produces a lot of evil]. (9) Now, behold [the continuing of religion as a desolate place], here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in column of twos. Then, one said, ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon; in fact, all the images of her gods, he has shattered to the ground [a prophecy of our passage].’”
In this passage, we have a case of the union of religion and state which destroys the freedom of the people while giving great power to those who rule. At this moment the beast carries the religious internationalism of the Tribulation. Later on, of course, the political will turn against the religious; God will punish in that way. So, to gain absolute and dictatorial power the beast dictator must supplement his political power with the religious power of the woman, the prostitute of the ecumenical, religious system. Generally, the rider controls the horse but eventually in this case the horse will control the rider.
Freedom and authority must coexist under the Laws of Divine Establishment. Freedom without authority is anarchy; authority without freedom is tyranny. So, there must be a balance between freedom and authority and the only way for this to exist is through a total separation of church and state, and the church must not influence the state except spiritually which it accomplishes through the evangelization of the unbeliever and through teaching the believers the spiritual life.
Documentation on the Beast-dictator and the Ten Horns of the Revived Roman Empire:
Revelation 13:1. Then, I [John] saw [a vision] the beast-dictator [the gentile, bestial dictator of the Revived Roman Empire] ascending from [filled the void left from a worldwide lack of truth after the Rapture] the sea [of nations of the old Roman Empire] having ten horns [originally, the beast-dictator was a part of this confederation, the 10 nations of the Revived Roman Empire of the first half of the Tribulation], and seven heads [three leaders of nations had to be conquered; the remaining seven leaders of these nations then submitted]; this means [this is one of the 17 different uses of the Greek conjunction kai] that on its ten horns [representing ten powerful nations] were ten crowns [kings representing the original ten nation-confederation of the Revived Roman Empire], and over its heads [these kings] the name blasphemy [the seven remaining kings of the Revived Roman Empire in the last half of the Tribulation will submit to this beast-dictator who will also gain authority by uniting with ecumenical religion in the middle of the Tribulation.].
Daniel 7:8, 20-25. While I was contemplating the horns [the ten nation-confederation], behold, another horn, a little one [the dictator of the Revived Roman Empire], came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it [This dictator decisively defeated three of the nations.]; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man [great perceptive ability; undoubtedly a genius] and a mouth speaking eloquently. (20) and the interpretation of the ten horns [the Revived Roman Empire in the first part of the Tribulation] that were on its head, and the other horn [the dictator of the revived Roman Empire] which came up, and before which three fell [were defeated], even that horn that had eyes [genius combined with demonism], and a mouth that spoke eloquently [from the Cosmic System] whose appearance was greater than his contemporaries. (21) Then, I kept looking and that horn was making war against the saints [anti-Semitism in Revelation 13:7], and prevailed against them [the temporary success against Jewish believers worldwide in the Tribulation]; (22) until the ancient of days [the eternal one] came [the 2nd Advent of Christ], and pronounced judgment [the Armageddon Campaign] in favor of the saints of the Most-High [Jesus Christ the God of Israel] and the time arrived when the saints [believers] took possession of the kingdom [the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ]. (23) Therefore, he said [the interpretation from the angel], ‘The fourth beast shall be a fourth empire upon earth [the historic Roman Empire], which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms [previously in that it became the first Gentile Client Nation], and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and crush it. [After speaking about the Roman Empire, Daniel skips over the Church Age and proceeds to the Tribulation. (the doctrine of Intercalation)] (24) And as for the ten horns [the Revived Roman Empire], out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise: and another [a little horn, the dictator of the Revived Roman Empire] shall arise after them; and he shall be different from the previous ones [Satan’s servant, the dictator of the Revived Roman Empire] and he shall conquer three kings. (25) And he [the Dictator of the Revived Roman Empire] shall speak words against the Most-High, and oppress the saints [many Jewish believers of the Tribulation, also gentile believers will be killed] of the Most-High; and he shall try to change the times and the law; and they will be given into his hand until a time [one year] and times [two years] and half a time [one half of a year] [all these equals the last three and half years of the Tribulation].
Revelation 17:4
The woman [by analogy a high-class prostitute] was clothed in purple [the color of ecumenical religious leadership] and scarlet [the color of the political hierarchy], and adorned with gold [This is a very wealthy organization] and precious stones and pearls [precious stones and pearls representing the culture and the high-class function of this religion], having in her hand [the hand of ecumenical religion] a golden drinking goblet full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality [literal lasciviousness, sexual immorality on the part of the phallic cult].
καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἦν περιβεβληµένη πορφυροῦν καὶ κόκκινον, καὶ κεχρυσωµένη χρυσίῳ καὶ λίθῳ τιµίῳ καὶ µαργαρίταις, ἔχουσα ποτήριον χρυσοῦν ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτῆς γέµον βδελυγµάτων καὶ τὰ ἀκάθαρτα τῆς πορνείας αὐτῆς,
Satan’s last religious system is the most glamorous of all, the superficial glamour of ecumenical religion of the Tribulation. The woman represents religious internationalism as a part of Satan’s system in the Tribulation with its capital in Rome. It will be the capital for the greatest religious system ever devised by Satan. Purple and scarlet in the dress code of this woman indicates once again that just as she is riding the scarlet beast, so she (religion) is controlling the political hierarchy of the revived Roman Empire. Eventually in the Tribulation, the state will turn against ecumenical religion and destroy it.
A religion has to have a culture as a substitute for doctrine and, of course, culture is a way of thinking. So, it has a culture and it has a system of artifacts. There will be a system of artifacts that will be worshipped under the principle of idolatry. Satan’s premise from artifacts is that idolatry is older than either Judaism or Christianity, so in his international religious system he is going to go back to the principle of chronology. He is going to say that idolatry existed before Moses and before Christianity, therefore it is the only true religion. So, this rejects the eternity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit and substitutes creature worship which is always the objective of Satan.
The pearls represent the glamour of Satan’s eclectic religious system of the Tribulation. Pearls are very apt because pearls represent style in dress; this religion has class. The pearls represent not only class but glamour in the eclectic religious system. Glamour always attracts the superficial person but class attracts all kinds of people. Thus, the glamour and class of this religion will attract many adherents, many converts to it.
Our Lord’s cup was a cup of judgment for it contained all the sins of the world. The drinking of that cup is analogous to the imputation of every sin committed by every person in the entire history to the humanity of Christ on the cross. However, there is a false cup namely “the cup of demons” as per 1 Corinthians 10:20, 21. This passage refers to “the cup of demons” which is the function of religion as the devil’s system of distraction from Bible doctrine. Two cups, then, are in total contrast. This gold cup is said to be a filled cup. The cup of our Lord was filled with our sins; this cup is filled with abominations, something detestable. It refers to the entire function of the phallic cult.
The cup of evil in the phallic cult as the devil’s communion table is mentioned first in Habakkuk where the entire concept of the devil’s communion table, and how it operated in Israel long before it was mentioned in 1 Corinthians chapter ten.
Habakkuk 2:15. Woe to him [the individual in the phallic cult who is looking for happiness by combining religion with illicit sexual pleasure] who causes his lover to drink the cup [of fornication in religion], Woe to the one pouring from sexual desire and passion to make her drunk, so that he can look with sexual pleasure on her nakedness!
This is a reference to the priestess in the temple, and the Jews had become operational in the phallic cult.
Habakkuk 2:16. You have become saturated with shame instead of virtue. Drink also from the cup and expose your foreskin [the religious procedure]. The cup in the Lord’s right hand [judgment] will get around to you, and the vomiting of shame will destroy your integrity.
Psalm 11:6 also has something to say about the devil’s communion table: “He shall cause live coals to rain on the wicked ones; fire and brimstone and burning wind is the portion of their cup.
So, from God’s viewpoint this cup of lasciviousness, this cup of fornication in the name of religion, is a cup of burning coals, burning wind, a cup of fire and brimstone. In other words, it is a cup of judgment. While religion emphasizes the drinking of it, God emphasizes the hangover from it. Religion combines the cup of demons of 1 Corinthians 10:21 with the doctrine of demons in 1 Timothy 4:1, and that is exactly why we have it all put together in these analogies in Revelation 17:4. The content of this cup, then, is religion combined with idolatry in the phallic cult, and it results in drinking the cup of divine judgment.
This international religion of the Tribulation has several aspects. Power is the first which power it uses to control nations. Secondly, it has great wealth and glamour expressing itself in a high-class way. Thirdly, it is a system of lascivious pleasure, literal fornication combined with idolatry forming demonism, human sacrifice, everything involved in the devil’s communion table of 1 Corinthians 10:20-21. All of these things seem to be contradictory, but they are combined in a very clever package which represents the great genius of Satan.
Revelation 17:5
And on her forehead a name was written, a mystery [The mystery cults of the ancient world were all demonic as will be this future ecumenical system which is a system for demonization, demon contact and possession], "Babylon the Great [ecumenical religion of the Tribulation], the mother of Harlots and the Abominations of planet earth [the various evils of the phallic cult: demonism, idolatry, fornication, human sacrifice].”
καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ µέτωπον αὐτῆς ὄνοµα γεγραµµένον, µυστήριον, Βαβυλὼν ἡ µεγάλη, ἡ µήτηρ τῶν πορνῶν καὶ τῶν βδελυγµάτων τῆς γῆς.
Why is the title on her forehead? Prostitutes in the time of the Roman Empire had to have a label pasted on their forehead which label identified the person, their profession as a prostitute and their location (in this case, the entire earth).
The Greek word musterion is a reference to the secrets of the ancient cults. Only those who were initiated into the fraternities and sororities of these cults knew the mystery doctrines or their secrets. The mystery cults of the ancient world were all demonic. Some of the famous mystery cults included: The mystery cult of Eleusis related to the goddess Demeter (Ceres) adopted by Athens, the mystery cult of Isis, the cult of Egypt, the mystery sorority of Dionysus for women whose rites included heavy drinking, drugs, ritual shouting, ecstasies, wild frenzied dancing, lesbian/homosexual perversions, and human sacrifice, also there was the mystery cult of Mithras which was for men only, worshippers of Cybele who often castrated themselves in the madness of the rites, and the Orphic mystery cult centered around the singer Orpheus. Though these cults were said to be famous, infamous would be a better word to use.
Therefore, a vocabulary was developed in the Attic Greek for these cultic functions. The Greek word museo means to be initiated into the mysteries of the fraternity or sorority. This initiation was comprised of learning through inculcation, the secrets and doctrines of the fraternity (sorority) which secret doctrines were never to be revealed to outsiders. The Greek word muste referred to those who were initiated, to those who persevered until they actually learned all the fraternity (sorority) doctrines which doctrines were called mystery (musterion in the Greek).
Satan’s ecumenical religion of the Tribulation is part of mystery doctrine but not Church Age mystery doctrine. In this case it is the mystery of an international religious system, an ecumenical system of religion that has never yet existed, but will exist and penetrate every part of the world. Therefore, a true ecumenical system of international religion as Satan’s system is still a future occurrence to be fulfilled in the Tribulation.
The next phrase in our study is “Babylon the Great.” This is not the city of Babylon, nor the empire, but the religious system of Satan in the Tribulation. This system of international religion will be sponsored by the Revived Roman Empire of the Tribulation, and the description of this religion as the devil’s communion table follows in the next phrase which is the explanation for the label of a prostitute.
The reason why the title is called “Babylon the Great” is because every form of idolatry, every form of religion, has its origin in the pantheon at the ancient city of Babylon. However, in our context, we are not referring to the historical city of Babylon or to any of the empires related to it, rather we are referring to the origin of idolatry, historical Babylon as a system of demon contact. For example, the chief god of the Babylonians was Marduk, sometimes called Bel which are comparable to the following gods which came later such as the Greek Zeus, the Phoenician Baal, the Roman Jupiter, or the Jewish Merodach. Probably, the most famous of all the Babylonians gods was Ishtar, the goddess of love, the goddess of fertility, and so on. This became the Phoenician goddess Astarte, the Greek goddess Aphrodite, the Roman goddess Venus, and all these gods and goddesses were comparable in the function of the phallic cult and the idolatrous worship first appearing in Babylon with Marduk also known as Bel.
The analogy of religion to a prostitute: whenever the Bible presents an analogy, we are to learn something from it. The prostitute is never emotionally involved with her customer and has neither virtue nor interest in them. The same may be said about religion. The mass poisoning of the Jones cult is a good illustration of why religion has as its analogy, prostitution. The prostitute arouses lust in her customer; religion appeals to natural lusts related to both arrogance and sensualism. The prostitute makes money from the use of her body; religion makes money through its system of worship, demanding money for blessing. The prostitute represents an evil system: a pimp, a gangster syndicate; religion represents the greatest evil system of all, Satan and his demon organization. The prostitute lures mankind into sin for fornication. In the same manner religion lures the believer away from Bible doctrine into the evilness and the sinfulness of the Cosmic System. Just as fornication leads to criminality and degeneration so religion also leads to criminality and degeneration.
Revelation 17:6
Then, I saw the woman intoxicated with the blood of the saints, and the blood of the witnesses for Jesus: now when I saw her, I was greatly shocked.
καὶ εἶδον τὴν γυναῖκα µεθύουσαν ἐκ τοῦ αἵµατος τῶν ἁγίων καὶ ἐκ τοῦ αἵµατος τῶν µαρτύρων Ἰησοῦ. Καὶ ἐθαύµασα ἰδὼν αὐτὴν θαῦµα µέγα.
We are now ready to note the policy of ecumenical religion toward the believers of the Tribulation. Religion justifies murdering believers, “the woman drunk with the blood of the saints”. Why is drunkenness or inebriation used as an analogy? What is there in drunkenness that is analogous to religion? Firstly, in drinking if there is too much alcohol in blood stream, the ability to think is gone and emotions can easily take over. This combination removes restraints. Religion also destroys the person’s ability to think and so religious people can easily be worked up emotionally to the point of having no restraints. In an emotional frenzy, religious people will perform acts of criminal violence, inspired by a religious leader to kill those who have the truth.
John is astonished at the cruelty of religion and the depravity of man in this function of religion. John had witnessed a lot of cruelty in the Roman Empire, but this did not prepare him for the tremendous cruelty of religion in the Tribulation. John was shocked that religion can have such a beautiful front and yet be such a tremendous system of concentrated evil and cruelty.
He is also astonished that religion could exist under the greatest system of evangelism the world will have ever known. Principle: The stronger the field of evangelism in any given generation the stronger the religious counterattack. The stronger the presentation of truth, the stronger the reaction to truth. Reaction always causes a strong system not simply of antagonism but of false doctrine as well. The evil of religion fills the vacuum caused by the rejection of truth.
Revelation 17:7
And the angel [the seventh Pursuivant wingless messenger of the execution squad] said to me, "Why are you shocked? I will communicate to you [in the rest of this chapter] the mystery of the woman and of the beast-dictator that carries her, the one who has the seven heads and the ten horns.
καὶ εἶπέν µοι ὁ ἄγγελος, ∆ιὰ τί ἐθαύµασας; ἐγὼ ἐρῶ σοι τὸ µυστήριον τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ τοῦ θηρίου τοῦ βαστάζοντος αὐτήν, τοῦ ἔχοντος τὰς ἑπτὰ κεφαλὰς καὶ τὰ δέκα κέρατα·
In the first six verses of this chapter, we have completed the vision. Now we have an interpretation of that vision in verses 7-18 by the seventh angelic messenger of the execution squad.
You have, man at his best in God’s plan; man at his worst in Satan’s plan. What is so shocking about that? The contrasts of life are always there. A principle must be developed at this point. You cannot ever learn beyond the point at which you are shocked, and when people become shocked at hearing the truth, no matter what form the truth may take, at that point they cease to learn because being shocked means that one has become subjective and so unable to apply God’s Word objectively to the situation.
It is always a shock to see religion, behind its facade of self-righteousness and its facade of holiness, producing so much evil and degeneracy. For this reason, the believer must be able to discern and to penetrate the hypocrisy of religion to avoid being shocked by the evil of religion for evil is the system that Satan has instilled and inculcated into his religious system.
The outline for the rest of the chapter is as follows: The interpretation of the beast, verse 8; the interpretation of the seven heads, verses 9-10; the interpretation of the beast concluded, verse 11; the interpretation of the ten horns, verses 12,13; the interpretation of the waters, verse 15; the interpretation of the ten horns is found in verses 16,17; the interpretation of the woman herself, verse 18.
Revelation 17:8
"The beast-dictator [of the revived Roman Empire] that you saw [John saw through a vision: Revelation 13:1-10] was [the Roman Empire in 96 AD], and is not [476 A.D. when Odoacer dethroned Romulus Augustus the Little and terminated the Roman Empire officially], and is about to come up out of the abyss [a reference to the rise of the power of the dictator of the revived Roman Empire. The abyss is where Abaddon and the third assault demon army are quartered; So, coming out of the abyss means that both the dictator and the Revived Roman Empire will receive their power from Satan in the last half of the Tribulation] and he will go to destruction [a reference to the Lake of Fire where the dictator is thrown: Revelation 19:20] In fact, the inhabitants of the earth [these inhabitants are unbelievers], whose name [the singular since the Lord deals with each person as an individual] is not written [from the viewpoint of each unbeliever when the book is finalized] in the book of life from the foundation of the world [a reference to the Divine Decree], will stand in admiration [these unbelievers will be impressed, amazed and be in admiration with the rise of the beast dictator and the manifestation of Satan’s power through him] when they see the beast-dictator [of the Revived Roman Empire] that was [the Revived Roman Empire came out of the Roman Empire at the time of John] and is not [the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D.] and yet he will exist [Revived Roman Empire with the Beast-dictator].
τὸ θηρίον ὃ εἶδες ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν, καὶ µέλλει ἀναβαίνειν ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου, καὶ εἰς ἀπώλειαν ὑπάγει· καὶ θαυµασθήσονται οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὧν οὐ γέγραπται τὸ ὄνοµα ἐπὶ τὸ βιβλίον τῆς ζωῆς ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσµου, βλεπόντων τὸ θηρίον ὅτι ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν καὶ παρέσται.
The angel is interpreting the vision that we might understand the interpretation of the next chapter. The abyss is mentioned since it was Satan who provided the power for the revival of the Roman Empire. Mankind without truth always admires Satanic power.
Regarding the “Book of Life”, Since it is the will of the Lord that all believe in him (1 Timothy 2:3, 4), all are entered into the Book of Life at birth, and if a person does believe in Christ, he remains in the Book of Life forever. However, if a person does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ before his physical death, the 1st Death, he will be blotted out of the Book of Life (Revelation 3:5, 13:8, 17:8, 20:12) and cast into the Lake of Fire, the 2nd Death. (The exception would be children who die before reaching God awareness, and others who fail to reach God awareness due to some mental disability.)
Printouts and Volitional Freedom within the Divine Decree
Romans 8:29-30. [We know] that whom He foreknew [the believer was in the mind of God in eternity past] He also predestined conformed ones [via Positional, Experiential and Ultimate Sanctification] to the image of His Son [Jesus placed into the Prototype Divine power system at birth; Experiential Sanctification: Jesus lived the Prototype Spiritual Life; Ultimate Sanctification: Jesus glorified via His resurrection, ascension and session at the right hand of God the Father], that He might be the first-born among many brethren [Church age believers]. (30) And whom He predestined [in Christ] , these same ones He also elected [in Christ], and whom He elected, these same ones He also justified [declared perfectly righteous via the imputation of divine righteousness], moreover whom He justified [declared righteous and qualified to live with God forever], these same ones He also glorified [a reference to Ultimate Sanctification namely the receiving of a resurrection body for all believers; however, maximum glorification of God occurs when the Lord is able to distribute Escrow Blessing to the mature believers at the Evaluation Platform of Christ].”
Foreknowledge, predestination, election, justification, and glorification are words which only apply to the Church Age believer, never the unbeliever. These verbs in verses 29 and 30 are all in the aorist tense, which means they occurred simultaneously in the mind of God in eternity past. To use the analogy of a computer, we could say that these were all simultaneous printouts from the computer of the Divine Decree. Whereas, the omniscience of God programed the computer as we will see.
Foreknowledge
In order to understand foreknowledge [what would actually take place regarding a Christian], we must first understand the omniscience of God [Knowing the probable and the actual but typing into the computer of the Divine Decree only the actual], and how it relates to the Divine Decree. The omniscience of God knows all the knowable simultaneously about his creatures. God knows every thought, motivation, decision and action of every person in history. He knows not only the actual outcomes that occur in history, but also all the possible outcomes. So, he knows every motivation, thought, decision and action that you could have made, but didn’t, and every motivation, thought, decision and action you did make. For example, had you chosen to reject Jesus Christ, God knows exactly how you would have lived out the rest of your life, and even the effect that your rejection of Christ would have had on world history. The omniscience of God is infinite and based on omniscience, he decreed from His sovereignty the actual, on the other hand, the foreknowledge of God makes nothing certain, but merely foreknows all your motivations, thoughts, decisions and actions. (Remember that Foreknowledge is a printout from the information fed into the computer of divine decree by the omniscience of God.)
God does not think sequentially since his knowledge is eternal and simultaneous. His knowledge is not limited by time, a concept which was created specifically for the human race (Genesis 1:14). Thus, the omniscience of God has always known every person who would believe in Jesus Christ and every person who would not. So, trillions of years ago, it was as if God typed your name onto a computer file and next to your name he typed “Believed in Jesus Christ.”
Many Christians are ignorant of the election of God, and so their thinking is incorrect regarding God’s plan of salvation for mankind. They assume that God specially chose them to become Christians since they were elected in eternity past not knowing that God elected them after foreknowing that they would believe. (So, foreknowledge comes before election.) They think that God must think chronologically as they do. They think that if God elected them trillions of years ago before they were saved historically, then He must have chosen them as unbelievers while personally condemning their unbelieving neighbors to hell. This is applying our limited knowledge based on chronological thinking to God. God does not wish for a single soul to perish! To believe that God would wish such a thing blasphemes the righteousness and grace of God. However, understanding the foreknowledge of God, we know that God foreknew all who would believe, and on that basis, elected and predestined them.
John 3:16. For God so loved the world that He gave His uniquely born son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
1 Timothy 2:3-4. This is good and acceptable in the sight of our Savior, God [the Son of God in eternity past] who desires all mankind to be saved and to come [after salvation] to the metabolized knowledge of the truth [completing the spiritual life].
God always knew who would believe in Christ and become Christians. In this way, God elected them in Christ [only believers in union with Christ are elected], because in his mind they were in union with Christ trillions of years ago (Ephesians 1:4). The omniscience of God always knew that you would believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, after typing “Believed in Jesus Christ” next to your name and the names of all other people who would believe in Jesus Christ, He then made a separate printout of all these names, with the file name: “Whom He foreknew.”
Since the normal human mind thinks rationally, it may be helpful to see the rational order regarding these matters. Rationally, omniscience occurred first, then the divine decree declaring all those who believed in Christ, and finally the printout of all “Whom he foreknew” to believe in Christ.
The omniscience of God merely typed into the computer of the divine decree the facts about each Christian. There is no coercion involved in any person’s decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. God created all men with freewill; freewill means that each man has freedom to accept or reject salvation. When a person chooses to reject Christ, he is condemning himself to eternal life in the Lake of Fire. When you chose to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, a decision which entitled you to eternal life in heaven, you used your free will to do so.
Predestination – God’s provision in eternity past:
Predestination is a part of God’s decree providing everything the Church age believer needs to execute His plan, purpose and will. He provided logistical grace, solutions to all of the believer’s problems, deserved and undeserved suffering, and great blessing for the believer who advances in the spiritual life. For some believers, he predestined that they would die the ‘sin unto death’ (1 John 5:16) since he knew that they would never fulfill his plan in time. For others he predestined that they would die with the greatest possible blessing and happiness since he knew that they would become mature believers.
Predestination coordinates with omniscience so that the free will of man is never violated. God never turns your ‘yes’ into ‘no’ and your ‘no’ into ‘yes’. God’s omniscience typed into the computer of divine decree the thoughts, motivations, decisions and acts of every Christian. Based on this information, God was able to design a predestined plan for each believer. For some it means great blessings in time and in eternity; for others it means great misery in time and loss of the greater blessings in the eternal state.
God’s sovereignty predestined certain blessings for all Christians even though many believers would fail to carry out their spiritual responsibilities. God’s sovereignty predestined that every Church age believer would receive 40 spiritual assets at salvation and a resurrection body at the Rapture of the Church. God predestined for all Christians to be ‘conformed to the image of His son’ through positional, experiential and ultimate sanctification. Through positional sanctification, we are ‘conformed to His image’ by being clothed with his characteristics (Galatians 3:27). Through experiential sanctification, we are conformed to His image by fulfilling the Operational type spiritual life; through ultimate sanctification, we are conformed to His image by receiving a perfect resurrection body.
Through experiential sanctification, some Christians will choose to make use of God’s provision for advancement in the spiritual life. These are the believers who follow God’s plan and advance to spiritual maturity, in doing so becoming conformed to the characteristics that the humanity of Jesus Christ acquired through the spiritual life given to him. Through ultimate sanctification, all believers will be freed of their sin natures as they are given a resurrection body like that of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God predestined us conformed ones to the image of His son because Jesus Christ as the first born needed a royal family to rule, needed a priesthood to complement His, needed a double portion of blessing namely Israel and the Church.
Among the royal family of God in the Church age, Jesus is the firstborn. Firstborn connotes rulership, priesthood, and the double portion. Jesus Christ is the ruler over the Church and will rule over Israel in the Millennium. Jesus was decreed a high priest after the order of Melchizedek in eternity past. It became a historical reality when he became the God-Man. In the future Jesus Christ will receive his double portion namely two kingdoms. He will rule over the Kingdom of Israel as the Son of David; He will also rule over the Church as the King over Kings.
The Greek words of Calling and Electing:
The Greek verb ‘eklego’ means to select, to choose, to elect. The cognate noun ‘ekloge,’ and the cognate adjective ‘eklectos’ also have the meanings choice, election, elected. For example, the adjective is used for the election of Israel (Isaiah 45:4 in the Septuagint), Christ (Isaiah 42:1) and the Church Age believers (1 Peter 2:4). These cognates are the usual words used for election. However, the Greek verb ‘kaleo’ and its cognate adjective also can be used for election, but with a slightly different emphasis.
The Greek verb ‘kaleo,’ the Greek adjective ‘called’ (kletos), and the Greek noun klesis are cognates and used of unbelievers and believers. When the Greek verb ‘kaleo’ is used of unbelievers, it is translated ‘called’ or ‘invited.’
1 Corinthians 1:9. God is faithful through whom you [as an unbeliever] were called [invited] into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
When this same verb is used of the believer, it can be translated ‘elected.’ It emphasizes that the person had responded to the call of God at gospel hearing and so has now entered into the plan of God.
The adjective ‘kletos’ (cognate of ‘kaleo’) can also have the meaning ‘chosen’ (elected) for the Classical Greek lexicon, ‘Greek English Lexicon by Liddell & Scott gives two meanings to ‘kletos:’ the first meaning is ‘called, invited’ and the second meaning is ‘called out, chosen.’ This very adjective is used in Romans 8:28.
Romans 8:28. We [the elite Christian who understands well the spiritual life] know in fact, that to those [mature believers] who love the God [the Father], He causes all things to work together for good [intrinsic good: rewardable production via the spiritual life and the use of the Problem-solving Devices] to those who are called according to a predetermined plan [God’s Protocol Plan for the believer in the divine decree].
The same is true of the verb ‘kaleo’ as it is in Romans 8:30. God the Father invites the unbeliever into his plan and into fellowship with His Son. If the unbeliever responds to this call, he is elected into God the Father’s plan. The call of God which takes place in time and His election which took place in eternity past are closely related.
Romans 8:30. And whom He predestined, these same ones He also elected [kaleo], and whom He elected, these same ones He also justified [via the imputation of divine righteousness], moreover whom He justified [declared righteous and qualified to live with God forever], these same ones He also glorified [a reference to Ultimate Sanctification namely the receiving of a resurrection body for all believers and maximum glorification of God occurs when the Lord is able to distribute Escrow Blessing to the mature believers in resurrection body].
Election, Predestination, Justification, and Glorification
Election is the believer’s entrance into the plan of God and expression of God’s sovereign will for his life: that every person elected into his plan has the best. (At the first birth, God selected you; at the second birth, God elected you.) To demonstrate this, he deposited in eternity past great blessings for the Christian in time as well as eternity. Many Christians will not receive these greater blessings because of their spiritual failure. Since they refuse to grow spiritually and develop a love for him, these blessings cannot be predestined to them although it is God’s desire for them to have these greater blessings (Ephesians 1:3; 3:19, 20). The equal privilege and opportunity of election means there never has been and never will be a Church age believer who did not have exactly the same privilege and same opportunity to fulfill God’s plan, to reach spiritual maturity, and to receive the fantastic blessings provided for him by God the Father in eternity past.
Even though justification is a printout of the computer of the divine decree, it comes into effect for the individual when he makes a decision to believe in Jesus Christ. When this wonderful decision occurs, he is immediately given the righteousness of God. Once righteousness has been imputed, he is then justified: that is, declared perfectly righteous and qualified to live with God forever.
Every Church age believer is glorified when he receives his resurrection body at the Rapture of the Church. Furthermore, the mature believer is glorified when God provides for him the greater blessings both in time and eternity. When God made Paul the greatest man of doctrine in the Church age, not only was God glorified, but so was Paul. After his evaluation by the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul will be given the Crown of Glory, the Crown of Life and the Crown of Righteousness. When others see Paul wearing his crowns, they will recognize Paul as one of the greatest men of history. Paul will have many blessing and privileges that others will not have. This will be a part of Paul’s glory. Paul used his volition to glorify God; God will in turn clothe Paul with great status, recognition and blessing.
A few points for clarification:
1. Technically, each one of us entered the plan of God at the moment we believed in Jesus Christ.
2. In eternity past, the omniscience of God knew that we would make this decision and so entered it into the computer of the divine decree as a reality.
3. Therefore, our entrance into the plan of God from the divine viewpoint occurred before history began.
4. There can be no greater security than to realize that before human history, your entrance into the plan of God was known and guaranteed.
Conclusion:
Omniscience preceded the decree, whereas Election, Predestination, Foreknowledge, Justification, and Glorification are ‘printouts’ from the decree. Election is the sovereignty of God desiring the highest and the best for the believer. Election connotes entrance into the plan of God whereas Predestination is the sovereign provision of God, namely his plan for the believer. Foreknowledge acknowledges only what is in the decree about the believer but makes nothing certain (does not put anything into the decree and does not decree anything) for it is the omniscience of God that programs the computer and the Sovereignty of God which makes it certain. Regarding justification, God justifies the believer when he receives the imputation of divine righteousness at the point of salvation.
The explanation of the doctrine of Unlimited Atonement is taken from Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary pages 278-279.
Unlimited Atonement.
The substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for the entire human race (2 Cor. 5:19; 1 Tim. 4:10; 1 John 2:2).
Represented in Old Testament offerings. In ancient Jewish rituals, countless sacrificial animals were brought to the brazen altar to symbolically bear the sins of the one making the offering and “make atonement [kaphar] on his behalf” (Lev. 1:4). The Hebrew verb kaphar means “to pass over, to overlay, to cover.” Atonement, accordingly, refers to a covering for sins. The sacrifices in themselves could not truly atone, or pay the penalty, for the people’s sins, but the blood shed by the innocent animal graphically represented the Savior’s future atonement on the cross. Once a year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest performed a special ceremony portraying God’s satisfaction with the sacrificial blood as a symbolic covering for sin (Lev. 16:14–15; Heb. 9:3–7).
Atonement is for all mankind. Unlimited atonement was fulfilled in the spiritual death of Christ on the cross. Here the spotless Lamb of God “gave Himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:6, italics added), receiving the judgment of every sin of every human being—past, present, and future (John 1:29; Heb. 2:9). His substitutionary atonement on behalf of all mankind propitiated, or satisfied, the perfect righteousness and justice of God (1 John 2:2). Salvation, therefore, is offered to all, so that anyone who expresses faith in Christ is eternally saved.
Judgment of the unbeliever. While unlimited atonement brings everyone under God’s plan of grace, some individuals will refuse the offer of salvation. Those who refuse are eternally condemned, but not for their personal sins—these sins were judged on the cross, and once judged, they can never be judged again. The only sin for which Christ did not die is the unpardonable sin, the rejection of Jesus Christ as Savior (John 3:18, 36).”
In verses 9 and 10, we have the interpretation of the seven heads. In verse 9 we have the historical and prophetical continuity of empires and religion.
Revelation 17:9
"Here is the faculty of thinking which has wisdom [The faculty of thinking is designed for wisdom. It takes wisdom to understand the evil of religion and the evil impact it has on nations.] The seven heads are seven mountains [six religious kingdoms of the ancient world which kingdoms impacted Israel and one, the Revived Roman Empire in the future which will impact Israel] on which the woman [a Satanic religious system which becomes the ruler of the political] sits [dominates],
ὧδε ὁ νοῦς ὁ ἔχων σοφίαν. αἱ ἑπτὰ κεφαλαὶ ἑπτὰ ὄρη εἰσίν, ὅπου ἡ γυνὴ κάθηται ἐπí αὐτῶν. καὶ βασιλεῖς ἑπτά εἰσιν·
Wisdom:
Definition: Wisdom is defined as knowledge of what is true or right combined with good judgment which comes from the mentorship of God the Holy Spirit, John 14:26. Wisdom is the fulfillment of the unique spiritual life which includes: metabolized doctrine circulating in the stream of consciousness, the Ten Problem-Solving Devices deployed on the FLOT line of the soul, and the simultaneous, double-columned advance to the high ground of glorifying God to the maximum.
Good judgment is related to the believer’s scale of values, in which Bible doctrine is circulated in the seven compartments of the stream of consciousness. You create a mirror in your soul, so that in the privacy of your priesthood, you can look into the mirror of your soul anytime and see your status quo and your relationship with God or failure to have harmonious rapport with God.
Under the mentorship of God the Holy Spirit, Bible doctrine has number one priority in the life of the Church Age believer as a member of the royal family of God.
John 14:26. But Our mentor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you [by interpretation to the apostles; by application to all Church Age believers] all things, and cause you to remember all that I have said to you [the disciples].
Wisdom is the sum total of the teaching of Bible doctrine under the mentorship of God the Holy Spirit and the positive response to that doctrine, resulting in perception, metabolization, application of Bible doctrine. Wisdom understands both the will and the plan of God for the spiritual life. Wisdom then begins when you understand that God has a plan for your life and you begin to execute this will.
Wisdom is the child of perspicacity.
1. You have to have wisdom, and this wisdom must come from outside of yourself. It must come from the accurate teaching of Bible doctrine.
2. Therefore, you have to have humility to acquire wisdom for no one is teachable apart from humility. Without humility, your mind is not open to teaching. Humility is the basis for teachability, and teachability is the road to wisdom.
3. Wisdom must always have a textbook. The textbook is the infallible word of God, the canon of Scripture, with emphasis on the New Testament epistles for Church Age believers.
4. This wisdom is for life, death, and the eternal life beyond the grave. This is all a part of the plan of God for you. How we look at death is how we look at life. Our perspective about death changes our perspective about life.
Philippians 1:21, “As far as I am concerned living is Christ [Occupation with Christ], dying is profit [under Dying Grace].”
If you are occupied with Christ in your life, you will be occupied with Christ in your dying.
Satanic Attacks to Destroy Wisdom.
1. Because of the importance of wisdom in the soul of the believer as a result of the advance of the spiritual life, wisdom is under a major attack on the part of Satan and explains many historical events. Satan attacks the ultimate in the spiritual life namely the seventh compartment in the stream of consciousness, the wisdom department.
2. Satan must destroy the whole system of thinking related to the spiritual life in the seven compartments of the stream of consciousness. He accomplishes this by attacking and destroying the frame of reference, memory center, vocabulary storage, categorical storage, conscience, momentum department, and finally the wisdom compartment. It has been Satan’s objective to attack the unique spiritual life and destroy wisdom in the stream of consciousness and the Problem-Solving devices, those things which lead to the advance to the high ground of spiritual maturity.
3. Satan attacks the Problem-Solving Devices with emphasis on the Recovery Procedure. Satan knows that if he can knock-out the use of the Recovery Procedure, the other Problem-Solving Devices cannot function for the Christian will spend the rest of his life in the Cosmic System. If he cannot completely knock-out the Recovery Procedure, he will then attack the need for the Filling of the Spirit and metabolized doctrine so that even if the Christian were to use the Recovery Procedure on occasion, the Christian would be powerless.
4. Many of the events in history are designed to fulfill Satan’s objective. Once wisdom is gone from the soul, there is no protection against satanic attacks. When too many believers are without wisdom, we are destroyed as a Client-Nation and as a people.
5. Arrogance is the basic mental attitude of sin which attacks wisdom since arrogance is the father of evil and the sins we commit are the children of evil. Documentation regarding Satan’s attack on wisdom through arrogance.
Proverbs 11:2. When arrogance comes, then comes dishonor.
Proverbs 16:18. Arrogance precedes destruction, and before a fall there is a lifestyle of arrogance.
Proverbs 23:29. A person’s arrogance will bring him low, but a lifestyle of humility will attain honor.
Romans 12:3. For I say through the grace which has been given to me to everyone who is among you, stop thinking of self in terms of arrogance beyond what you ought to think, but think in terms of sanity for the purpose of being rational without illusion as God has assigned to each one of us a standard of thinking from doctrine.
James 3:14-16. But if you have bitter jealousy and inordinate ambition in your right lobe, stop being arrogant, and stop lying against the truth [Bible doctrine]. This pseudo wisdom is not that which comes from above, but is earthly, natural, and demonic. For where jealousy and inordinate ambition exist there is disorder and every evil deed.
Proverbs 13:10. Through arrogance comes strife, but wisdom is with those who receive instruction.
1 Peter 5:5. Likewise you younger men [a reference to the members of a congregation and their need for subordination] be subject to the elder [pastor], and all of you, cloth yourselves with humility toward one another [the application of impersonal love]. `For God makes war against the arrogant, but He gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore, humble yourselves under the powerful hand of God, that He may promote you at the proper time [and if God does not promote you, you are not promoted].
2 Timothy 3:2-7. For persons [believers] will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful [no grace orientation], without divine law [reversionistic (apostate) believers without integrity], (3) lacking natural affection [no capacity for love], irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control [because they are anti-authority], brutal [mentally and overtly], not lovers of intrinsic good, (4) treacherous, thoughtless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (5) having a form of the spiritual life but having denied its power [the two power options], in fact, avoid such persons as these. (6) And among them [immoral arrogant believers] are those who creep into households and captivates silly women [moral Christian women without doctrine and without wisdom] who are loaded down with sins [mostly emotional and mental sins] led on by their multifarious lusts [no control over their sin natures], (7) always learning [without the Filling of the Holy Spirit resulting in their having academic understanding of Biblical information, but not usable in the spiritual life] but never able to come to metabolized knowledge of the truth.
Proverbs 8:11. The respect for the Lord is to hate evil, to hate pride and arrogance and the evil way. And I hate a perverted mouth [all of these are signs of wisdom].
6. All precedence for the sins of arrogance originates from the fall of Satan. Satan’s sin of arrogance attacked wisdom.
Ezekiel 28:14-17. You were the anointed cherub who guards, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God [the great castle of God]; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire [in the interior of that castle]. (15) You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you [his original sin]. (16) By the abundance of your slander [of God] they filled your inner life [motivation and thought pattern] with violence, and you sinned; therefore I [God the Father] have cast you out as defiled [Satan rejected the protocol of heaven and so was cast out] from the mountain of God [from God’s castle]. And I have excluded you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire [from the interior of the castle]. (17a) Your heart [soul] was lifted up [became arrogant] because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your glamour.
(1) Satan was the highest form of angelic creation for he was the highest and greatest of the cherubs.
(2) He had a special job to guard the throne room of God. He was promoted and allowed to enter the palace where God lived (the holy mountain of God) and to function there as a guardian.
(3) Satan was created blameless, perfect, and without sin.
(4) The unrighteousness found in Satan was arrogance, Isaiah 14:14, “I will make myself like the Most-High God.”
(5) The Hebrew word ‘rekullah’ from Ezekiel 28:16 means to go from one place to another for trade. Wherever the Arab traders went in the ancient world, there was gossip and slander. So, this word not only connoted ‘trade’ but also ‘gossip and slander’.
(6) When Satan became arrogant, he was motivated to slander God. Furthermore, this thinking was full of violence.
(7) Satan corrupted his own wisdom with his own arrogance.
James 1:5-6a. If anyone of you [Jewish believers with some metabolized doctrine] lacks wisdom, and you do, let him ask [in prayer] from God who gives to all generously, and reproaches not, and it shall be given to him, but let him keep on asking [in prayer] by means of faith [believing that God would provide the wisdom] without doubting.
Wisdom comes from understanding the spiritual life, and how the doctrines and principles of the spiritual life can be applied to one’s experience. This wisdom generally comes naturally to a Christian who is learning and metabolizing the Word of God. For example, if a Christian masters the doctrine of the sin nature, he should naturally possess a certain amount of wisdom about himself and others. However, some Christians have a hard time understanding and applying the Word of God to their experience even though they possess some doctrine. They have some knowledge of the Word of God, but they are unable to understand the spiritual life and how it applies to life. Their failure relates to one or more of the following reasons:
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They lack cohesive knowledge of God’s plan.
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They lack the knowledge of the mechanics for application.
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They lack spiritual strength.
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They lack humility.
These believers with some metabolized doctrine may pray for wisdom and this prayer will be answered. In some cases, God answers this prayer by providing a qualified communicator to fill in the spiritual gaps. In other cases, the answer may come in some form of great suffering or other type of pressure to remove arrogance if that should be the problem and replace it with humility. With humility and metabolized doctrine in the soul, the believer will be able to develop wisdom. For those Christians who lacked spiritual strength, the Lord would provide opportunity for them to use the Faith-rest Drill etc.
Revelation 4:6. also before that throne, there was as it were [something like] a calm sea of glass [analogy to the Royal Family in heaven enjoying fantastic tranquility and blessing], like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four angelic heralds [literally, four living creatures] full of eyes in front and behind [representing tremendous wisdom which would make them the smartest of the Seraphs].
The four angelic heralds are doctrinally the smartest elect angels, that is, in the eternal state. Satan, by his creation, was the super genius. His genius was manifested by his development of the Cosmic System for the rulership of the world. But these four creatures are the smartest creatures by attainment, even though they were not originally. To be smart naturally certainly brings no credit to yourself; to be smart by attainment certainly does. It is far, far better to be learning all of your life and to increase in wisdom than to have been born with great IQ and decline. So, the four angelic heralds are doctrinally the smartest of all angelic creatures and they demonstrate their wisdom in several worship passages.
Explaining the wisdom of the four heralds mentioned above. “Full of eyes” in this verse refers to the uniform of wisdom which means maximum perception of doctrine in eternity past, in the angelic conflict. They followed the plan of God in the perception of truth; they advanced to maturity, some more than others. Their highest achievement is found in this uniform of wisdom, the highest honor of angelic chivalry. The uniform of wisdom indicates the highest possible spiritual IQ at the time of their evaluation. These four heralds replaced Satan as the guardian of the throne room.
“The seven heads are seven mountains” going back to Revelation 17:9. Mountains are sometimes used for nations or empires in the Scripture. In anticipation of the rest of the passage, the seven mountains are used to designate six empires in the past and one in the future where religion had dominated and will dominate the state and at the same time had and will have a deleterious effect upon the nation of Israel. These nations are Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia-Chaldea, Media-Persia, Graeco-Macedonia, the historical Roman Empire at the time that John writes and number seven is the prophetical Roman Empire of the Tribulation.
Revelation 17:10
And they are seven kings [representing these kingdoms, seven empires ruled by kings]; five have fallen [Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia-Chaldea, Media-Persia, Graeco-Macedonia] one is [the Roman Empire at the time of John], the other has not yet come [the Revived Roman Empire]; and when it comes [the Revived Roman Empire], it must remain [the blending God’s purpose with this historical result] a little while [the brevity of this Empire and its beast-dictator].
οἱ πέντε ἔπεσαν, ὁ εἷς ἔστιν, ὁ ἄλλος οὔπω ἦλθεν, καὶ ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὀλίγον αὐτὸν δεῖ µεῖναι.
Religion had great influence over these seven empires as a cultic prostitute had great influence in the ancient world. It is quite obvious that each mountain is a separate empire, dictatorship type with separate rulers. These are seven individual type of kings or dictators, they are not one empire with one emperor. The woman, who is religion, rides on these empires. It means that the woman has done exceedingly well ever since Egypt was dominated by religion. These empires come into view sequentially and the woman as religion dominates each one of them. This means that she influences them in the same way that the fornicating female has influence in the ancient world. Often the ancient prostitute was related to the religion and the phallic cult in the practice of her profession. The Bible must again be interpreted in the time in which it was written and temple prostitution and the priestess of the phallic cult had tremendous influence in the ancient world.
An intriguing, but false explanation assigns the seven kings as Roman Emperors in the time of John. At which time, John was fulfilling his ministry from Ephesus from which he wrote the gospel of John, 1, 2, and 3 John, and from the Island of Patmos, he wrote Revelation. While John was carrying on his ministry in Ephesus, there were actually seven Roman emperors. The first one was Galba, 69 A.D. When Nero was assassinated Galba, immediately marched from Spain to Rome, backed by the “Spanish” legions, the Roman legions stationed in Spain. He was proclaimed emperor, but Otho in the same year bribed the Praetorian Guard. So, they set aside Galba and Otho became number two in that same year, backed by the Praetorian Guard. In the meantime, Vitellius had marched with his army of the Rhine to Rome which army installed him as the third emperor. Then, in the meantime Vespasian, backed by the Syrian legions, including the three legions that were besieging Jerusalem, became the fourth emperor in A.D. 70 establishing the Flavian Emperors. When Vespasian died in 79, he was replaced by Titus, his son, who ruled from 79-81 when he was murdered, his younger brother, Domitian became the emperor from 81-96. It was Domitian, the son of Vespasian who had sent John to the Isle of Patmos.
When Domitian was assassinated in 96, Nerva, the brilliant old man, became the first of the Antonine Caesars from 96-98. What makes this fascinating is that in verse 10, John says, “five are fallen, one is, and one is to come.” Well, five had fallen in John’s time, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus. Then, “one is,” and that was Domitian. He was soon to go and then there will come another, Nerva. So, it allegedly works out perfectly. However, the exegesis does not support this view. It violates the context which states clearly that we are dealing with seven distinct empires.
Although we are not discussing Roman Emperors in this passage, A.D. 96 is one of the most important dates in Roman history: it brought an end to the Flavian Emperors, and just as the Julio-Claudian Emperors ended with the evil Nero, so the evil Domitian ended what was otherwise a very good line of Flavian Emperors. Domitian, the last of the Flavian line was the one that had sent John to the Island of Patmos and when he was assassinated, Nerva, the first of the Antonine Emperors not only brought in the Golden Age of the Roman Empire, but also allowed John to leave the Isle of Patmos. John after leaving that island went to Ephesus where he established a face-to-face ministry in Ephesus and ministered to the other six churches of Asian Minor as well. John’s continued ministry in Asia Minor became the basis for the greatest one hundred years of history, the golden age of the Roman Empire, the period of the Antonine Caesars.
The interpretation of the beast-dictator which interpretation began in Revelation 13:1 and is concluded in the following verse.
Revelation 17:11
The beast-dictator who was [a reference to the historical Roman Empire] and is not [a reference to the fall of the Roman Empire], is himself also an eighth [the rise of the beast-dictator in eschatology] even is one of the seven [he is a unique dictator from the confederation of the nations], finally [at the right time of God], he goes to destruction [the Lake of Fire after a mini-Great White Throne Judgment].
καὶ τὸ θηρίον ὃ ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν, καὶ αὐτὸς ὄγδοός ἐστιν καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἑπτά ἐστιν, καὶ εἰς ἀπώλειαν ὑπάγει.
The beast-dictator is the one who in the last half of the Tribulation is the final dictator of the Revived Roman Empire. The eighth dictator of the Revived Roman Empire in the second half of the Tribulation is distinct from the seventh namely the Revived Roman Empire in the first half of the Tribulation in that the beast-dictator will conquer and subdue or control the original ten nations in the confederation of the original Revived Roman Empire. In the first half of the Tribulation the beast-dictator is only one of many rulers; in the last half of the Tribulation, he is the eighth dictator of the entire Roman Empire revived.
In other words, he emerges from the seventh head (the Revived Roman Empire which follows six historic empires). Apparently, the inefficiency and the bureaucracy of the Revived Roman Empire acts as a catalytic agency for the emergence of leadership. The leadership takes the form of organized evil and out of this organized evil comes this great dictator.
The beast-dictator is cast into the Lake of Fire.
Revelation 19:20. Then, the beast-dictator [the ruler of the revived Roman empire] was seized, and with him the false prophet [the ruler of the state of Israel in the Tribulation] who performed miraculous signs in his presence [in the presence of the beast-dictator], by which [miracles] he had deceived those who had received the mark of the beast, even those who worshipped his idol [the idol of the beast-dictator]. These two [the Gentile and Jewish dictators], though still alive, were thrown into the Lake of Fire burning with Sulphur [deduction: after a trial that is a mini-Great White Throne Judgment].
In verses 12-13, we have the interpretation of the ten horns.
Revelation 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 [in the last half of the Tribulation, these kings will receive their authority from the beast-dictator and will agree to serve him as the ruler of the Revived Roman Empire as per the next verse].
καὶ τὰ δέκα κέρατα ἃ εἶδες δέκα βασιλεῖς εἰσιν, οἵτινες βασιλείαν οὔπω ἔλαβον, ἀλλὰ ἐξουσίαν ὡς βασιλεῖς µίαν ὥραν λαµβάνουσιν µετὰ τοῦ θηρίου.
Horns symbolize human and national power and authority.
Daniel 8:20. The ram which you saw with the two horns [two power spheres] represents the kings of Media and Persia.
Jeremiah 48:25, “The horn [power] of Moab has been cut off and his arm broken, declares the Lord.
Psalm 132:17-18, “There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth [the Lord promoted David and gave him great power as a ruler]; I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed. (18) His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon himself his crown shall shine.
Revelation 13:1. Then, I [John] saw [a vision] the beast-dictator [the gentile, bestial dictator of the Revived Roman Empire] ascending from [filled the void left from a worldwide lack of truth] the sea [of nations of the old Roman Empire] having ten horns [originally, the beast-dictator was a part of this confederation, the 10 nations of the Revived Roman Empire of the first half of the Tribulation], and seven heads [three leaders of nations had to be conquered; the remaining seven leaders of these nations then submitted]; this means [this is one of the 17 different uses of the Greek word kai] that on its ten horns [representing ten powerful nations] were ten crowns [kings representing the original ten nation-confederation of the Revived Roman Empire], and over its heads [these kings] the name blasphemy [the seven remaining kings of the Revived Roman Empire in the last half of the Tribulation will submit to this beast-dictator who will also gain authority over ecumenical religion by the middle of the Tribulation.].
Zechariah 1:18-19. Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns [three of which will administer the 5th Cycle of Discipline to three Jewish Client Nations; one will administer the 4th Cycle of Discipline]. (19) So, I said to the angel who was speaking with me, "What are these?" And he answered me, "These are the horns [four powerful gentile nations] which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.
1. The first one is the Assyrian Empire which in B.C. 721 administered the 5th cycle of discipline to the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
2. The second horn is the Chaldean Empire which administered the 5th cycle of discipline to the Southern Kingdom in B.C. 586
3. The third horn is the Hellenistic Empire of the Seleucids which administered the 4th Cycle of Discipline to Judah.
4. The fourth horn is the Roman Empire which administered the 5th cycle of discipline to Judea in August of A.D. 70.
Daniel 7:7-8. After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast [the Roman Empire and the first Gentile Client Nation to God], terrible [as a republic, Roman citizens were driven off of their farms and into the gates of Rome during the 2nd Punic War by Hannibal] and dreadful [the conquest of the Mediterranean from the first Punic War in 264 B.C. to the destruction of Carthage in 146 B.C. (in that same year Rome also defeated Corinth and Achaean League); Rome became an empire and the Mediterranean became a Roman Lake] and extremely strong [the transition from the Republic to the Monarchy]; and it had large iron teeth [from 146 B.C. at the fall of Carthage to 49 B.C. when Gaius Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon] It devoured and crushed and trampled down with its feet the remainder [the extension of the Roman Empire], and it was different from [unique among] all the beasts that were before it [in that it was the greatest empire of the ancient world because it became the first Gentile Client Nation to God and the most prosperous empire in history], and [the transition from the Roman Empire to the Revived Roman Empire] it had ten horns [the ten nation confederation in the first part of the Tribulation]. (8) While I was contemplating the horns [the ten nation- confederation], behold, another horn, a little one [the dictator of the Revived Roman Empire], came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it [This dictator decisively defeated three of the nations.]; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man [great perceptive ability; undoubtedly a genius] and a mouth speaking eloquently.
Well, the question is, what nations are the ten horns of Daniel 7:7 since the historic Roman Empire contained more than 10 nations? Therefore, it would be a matter of speculation as to which nations of the old historical Roman Empire will be included in this ten-nation confederation of the Revived Roman Empire in the future Tribulation.
Revelation 17:13
These [the other rulers of the Revived Roman Empire] have same ideology, and they give their power and authority to the beast-dictator.
οὗτοι µίαν γνώµην ἔχουσιν, καὶ τὴν δύναµιν καὶ ἐξουσίαν αὐτῶν τῷ θηρίῳ διδόασιν.
These dictators have a common theory and a common cause, they are united under a system of false doctrine, the ecumenical religious system of Satan. They even reside in the same Cosmic System and they make maximum use of that Cosmic System. Therefore, they are thoroughly inculcated with the Satanic system and the religious development of it in the Tribulation.
Evil is magnified in this beast-dictator. When you have a man such as the beast-dictator with great ability and successfully evil people in charge of nations who give their power to him, this only adds to his power and evil influence. This allows him to become one of the greatest evil leaders of all time. This dictator is a genius, an evil genius and his major interest is evil, where evil is exploited into political expression, into religious expression, into military expression, and the ability to take his ideas, no matter how evil they are, and find a big market for them during the Tribulation. With all of this, Satan gives him some extra-natural power to him as well which extra-natural power is part of the subject of 2 Thessalonians 2.
This beast-dictator markets his ideas to the masses. This demands worship of power, the idolizing of evil. Those who worship power idolize evil. Being such as it is, these who idolize evil will never appreciate freedom nor have any real capacity for happiness. When people do not have truth and doctrine, they’re always impressed with the wrong things.
The time limitation on this beast-dictator is very important. He has greater human power than perhaps anyone in the history of planet earth. This power and influence go beyond the Revived Roman Empire an international power and influence through religion; religion being, of course, Satanic. Unfortunately for him and his comrades, there is a time-limitation on this power as we noted in Revelation 13:5, “there was given to him authority to function forty-two months,” the last half of the Tribulation. At that point he will be terminated by being cast alive into the Lake of Fire, Revelation 17:11. So, the greatest genius for evil and the greatest dynamic for evil, including extra-natural and supernatural modus operandi, is still under time-limitation. No matter how great a power one may acquire, it is limited by time, a finite activity which makes a splurge for the moment only to disappear into the mists of history.
Revelation 17:14
These will wage war against the Lamb [the final conspiracy of history], and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord over lords and King over kings, and those who are with Him are the called [as unbelievers we were invited by God the Father at gospel hearing to which we responded] and elected [elected to privilege] and faithful [the believers who execute God the Father’s plan.].
οὗτοι µετὰ τοῦ ἀρνίου πολεµήσουσιν, καὶ τὸ ἀρνίον νικήσει αὐτούς, ὅτι κύριος κυρίων ἐστὶν καὶ βασιλεὺς βασιλέων, καὶ οἱ µετí αὐτοῦ κλητοὶ καὶ ἐκλεκτοὶ καὶ πιστοί.
Once the political power is firmed-up under the beast-dictator; once all of these things are put together properly, then through the use of international religion and through the use of the power of the Revived Roman Empire, there will be a welding together of a one world system under Satan. This will be Satan’s last bid to control the world which he rules, an attempt to set up a one-world system that will be totally anti-Christ!
It is interesting to note that the greatest battlefield in history was a spiritual battle and it was won by one person, our Lord Jesus Christ. He alone was judged for our sins; He alone is the Lamb of God. That is why when Christ comes back, even though He is followed by the elect angels, all believers of the Church Age, the Old Testament saints and Tribulational martyrs, the Lord is going to do all of the fighting. He is going to fight alone and He is going to destroy all of the armies of Armageddon. He was the victor alone at the cross. That was a strategic victory. He is the only savior. He will be the tactical victor at the Second Advent and He will do it alone.
As at the cross, so at the Second Advent, deliverance is accomplished entirely by the Lord Jesus Christ without help from anyone. This is the principle of grace. Under the concept of grace God does all the work. Since Christ did all of the work on the cross, we can only respond by faith for eternal salvation, and since Christ will do all of the work at the Second Advent, we can only respond by observing His great victory.
In Hypostatic union, Jesus Christ through his victory on the cross gains a royal title namely “King over kings, Lord over lords; the Bright Morning Star.” “King over kings” gives Christ precedence over human rulers; “Lord over lords” gives Christ precedence over angelic rulers, Revelation 17:14; 19:16; 22:16. Our Lord’s hypostatic union-royalty is based upon His strategic victory during the 1st Advent, when He defeated Satan during His thirty-three years of executing the Prototype-Spiritual Life for the Church Age. By living in the prototype divine power system, our Lord was qualified by impeccability to go to the cross and be judged for our sins. That judgment was the strategic victory of our Lord. It was followed by His resurrection, ascension and session being seated in his humanity at the right hand of the Father. The cross was the greatest battlefield in history. This royalty makes Jesus Christ the ruler of elect angels and regenerate mankind, Colossians 2:14 Hebrews 2:14. Hypostatic union-royalty makes Christ the strategic victor of the angelic conflict and replaces Satan as the ruler of the world. At the 2nd Advent, as part of his tactical victory, the Lord imprisons Satan for one thousand years, removes all demons from the world, and then rules the earth for one thousand years.
Colossians 2:14. [God the Father] By having canceled [aorist participle: blotted-out in eternity past] the note of indebtedness [We owe God perfect righteousness and sinlessness which could not be paid since we were born spiritual dead at birth followed by personal sins in life] against us with reference to the dogmas [or laws found in the Mosaic Law which demonstrate that we are unrighteous sinners]. The note of indebtedness which was [began at human birth and manifested by personal sins] hostile [the penalty of sins] to us, he [God the Father] even removed it [the note of indebtedness] permanently [the intensive perfect tense allows us to add the word permanently for those who believe] out of the way [as a barrier], by having nailed [aorist participle] it to the cross [only at the Cross was the debt paid for and canceled].”
Hebrews 2:14. Since, therefore, the children share common blood and flesh [in spite of the demon attack in Genesis 6], He [Jesus Christ] also himself in the same manner [virgin birth] shared their humanity [of the eight people who survived the flood] in order that through death [substitutionary spiritual death], he might destroy [neutralize, render powerless] him [Satan] who has the power of death that is the devil.
Daniel 2:47. The king answered Daniel and said, ‘Emphatically your God is the God of gods, he is the Lord of kings, also a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery to me.
Faithfulness:
Notice that God doesn’t require a high IQ, a great personality, success, prosperity, but requires only faithfulness. Faithfulness in the little things leads to faithfulness in greater things which results in becoming a winner.
Matthew 25:21. Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful in a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.
Luke 16:10. He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much.
1 Corinthians 4:1, 2. Let a man regard us [the ministry] in this manner, a servant of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required in a steward that he be found faithful.
1 Timothy 1:12. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, putting me in his service.
Revelation 2:10. Keep on becoming faithful until death, and I will give you a crown of life.
Revelation 17:15
And he said to me, "The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples [as related to their culture] and multitudes [from the standpoint of their racial classification; There is no race in the world which is not vulnerable to this false system of doctrine.] and nations [no nation is exempt from Satanic evangelism. Religion seeks to control and dominate nations which it has accomplished historically such as the phallic cults of Canaan, Phoenicia, and Carthage. In the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic church dominated most of the European nations.] and languages [language is no barrier to the rapid advance of this religion in the Tribulation].
Καὶ λέγει µοι, Τὰ ὕδατα ἃ εἶδες, οὗ ἡ πόρνη κάθηται, λαοὶ καὶ ὄχλοι εἰσὶν καὶ ἔθνη καὶ γλῶσσαι.
Waters: The ecumenical religious system dominating people and nations throughout the world. We have four categories which are dominated by this religious prostitute. The first category are the cultures of the world. Cultures always appear to be strong; many cultures are strong, and people cling to their cultures. Culture, by the way, has nothing to do with race. When you think of culture, think of thought. Culture is the thought of mankind in a specific geographical area. It can be related to race, to history, to a nation, but culture expresses itself in the singing and the dancing, the thinking, the general philosophical concepts, the paintings, the artistry, and the talent. Culture expresses itself in thought and talent, and the first category to be dominated is culture.
People without truth come to accept a system of religion since they do not have the ability to discern clearly this evil since without truth, one is forced to rely on his emotions. Hence, their culture is no defense against this Satanic religion in the field of cosmic evangelism for religion draws crowds where thinking is neutralized by emotion. Remember that most cultures of the world express the emotion of people and this ecumenical religious system is designed to appeal to the people through emotion.
Revelation 17:16
And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast [the political leadership of the revived Roman Empire], these will hate the harlot and will ruin her [We see the political finally getting tired of religion and rising up to destroy it.] and cause her to be naked [nakedness means stripped of all glamour, wealth, and power], and devour her flesh [the body of the prostitute is destroyed which is analogous to her hard core converts, her terrorist army being destroyed] and will burn her up with fire [total destruction].
καὶ τὰ δέκα κέρατα ἃ εἶδες καὶ τὸ θηρίον, οὗτοι µισήσουσιν τὴν πόρνην, καὶ ἠρηµωµένην ποιήσουσιν αὐτὴν καὶ γυµνήν, καὶ τὰς σάρκας αὐτῆς φάγονται, καὶ αὐτὴν κατακαύσουσιν ἐν πυρί·
These nations don’t start out despising; they come to despise. At first the nations of the world accept this religious system, later on they detest and abhor it. This hostility most likely arises over the matter of power and control. They will begin to understand that religion is antiestablishment and in effect is an attack upon their own authority. God uses agents in the administration of personal and historical judgment. In this case the agent is the political hierarchy of the Revived Roman empire. As evil as the political system is, it turns against another evil, religious evil.
Religion always has its own army and goes in for terrorism. The army always gets very zealous. Zeal becomes a part of arrogance and that leads to terrorism on the one hand, the use of force on the other hand. Almost every religion in the world tries to solve its problems by violence.
Revelation 17:17
For because of their right lobes [the organ of thinking], God has permitted them to execute His purpose [God used the hostility of the political hierarchy of the Revived Roman Empire to judge and destroy the ecumenical religious system], therefore, to give their kingdom to the beast-dictator, until the doctrines from God shall be completed.
ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἔδωκεν εἰς τὰς καρδίας αὐτῶν ποιῆσαι τὴν γνώµην αὐτοῦ, καὶ ποιῆσαι µίαν γνώµην καὶ δοῦναι τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτῶν τῷ θηρίῳ, ἄχρι τελεσθήσονται οἱ λόγοι τοῦ θεοῦ.
God produces the action of the verb under the principle that Jesus Christ controls history. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the divine decree. Nations where religion controls always have a tremendous amount of violence. In the 19th century, colonialism saved the lives of millions of people and was also the basis for great evangelism. It suppressed religions from following their trend of destruction. For example, in India the Muslims and the Hindus were always killing each other. The British came along and put a stop to it. The very day that the British left a million Indians died. Where religion controls there is injustice, violence, and evil.
God used the hostility of the political hierarchy of the Revived Roman Empire to judge and destroy the ecumenical religious system of the Tribulation. In controlling history our Lord Jesus Christ often uses finesse judgment. Our Lord Jesus Christ uses an evil political system to punish an evil religious system. The Omniscience of God programed the Divine Decree to execute His will, and to fulfill His purpose. Hence, there is a principle that comes out of this: Jesus Christ who controls history often does so by using the wrath of man to praise Him, as per Psalm 76:10.
The formation and the consolidation of the ten nations into one great empire fulfills the purpose of God. It would become the whip by which God would take an evil whip, the Revived Roman Empire and punish an evil religious system. The destruction of ecumenical religion, then, is both the purpose of God and the fulfillment of the seventh bowl judgment. Whether the judgment from God is administered directly or indirectly or through finesse, there is one principle that stands out namely Jesus Christ controls history.
Finesse judgment:
1. In finesse judgment, God does not coerce or violate the volition, the free will, of any human being involved.
2. Actually, God uses the motivational evil of man as His agent to punish evil; the motivational evil of one group to punish the evil of another group.
3. Here, then, is finesse. Evil is used to punish evil. One system of evil becomes the agent; the other system of evil becomes the target.
4. Finesse judgment dramatizes that man is the product of his own evil motivation and evil decisions.
5. Bad policy and evil decisions nationally become the basis of national judgment. Evil decisions bring both the individual and the nation in contact with evil so that evil punishes evil. This is the pattern of finesse judgment.
Revelation 17:18
Furthermore, the woman [the religious entity] whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.
καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἣν εἶδες ἔστιν ἡ πόλις ἡ µεγάλη ἡ ἔχουσα βασιλείαν ἐπὶ τῶν βασιλέων τῆς γῆς.
While the woman as ecumenical religion is called Babylon as a title for the perpetuation of religion from the epicenter of religion, the ancient city of Babylon, in this context, it is a reference to the city of Rome where we have the Revived Roman Empire sponsoring this religious organization. Rome of the Revived Roman Empire is the capital of international religion in the Tribulation as well as the capital of the Revived Roman Empire.
Religion with its power and influence in the Tribulation, a power and influence over the kings of the earth. This emphasizes the international system Satan devised to influence the nations of the Tribulation. Many religions have covered great continents and areas of the earth becoming semi-international, but there never has been a totally international religion, never, until the Tribulation. This future international religion will reflect the great genius of Satan in controlling people by giving people what they want. There will be something for everyone.
