The Watchman
Relationship or Religion?
Hollywood celebs proudly proclaim on YouTube that they have "converted to Christianity" when in fact they have simply become members of the Roman Catholic Church.
You seldom hear them proclaim that they have converted to the Lord and King Jesus Christ – "ye must be born again" – and become members of the Family of God.
Catholic Doctrine vs. The Bible
It’s not been easy sorting through the tangled mess of Catholic church doctrine, but I thought it a good idea to have a closer look. This is by no means a detailed compilation but rather an article to fly through in these “quick-and-easy” times. The following Catholic doctrine info is taken from the "Catechism of the Catholic Church", a long and tedious list of creeds and church law. You can read it for yourself by typing the above into Google. Too much to handle at the moment? No problem, I’ve simplified it for you here. Read with an open mind and compare "Catholic vs. Bible":
SALVATION
Catholic: If you play by the rules as a good Catholic, your first stop after death is purgatory, where you will undergo purification by fire, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter Heaven.
Bible: To make it to Heaven, you must be born again of the Spirit of God (John 3:3). The Bible says nothing about a “purgatory”, but warns of the second death in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 21:8) for the unsaved.
FAITH
Catholic: According to the Roman Catholic Council of Trent, Canon 9: “Anyone who claims to be justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ is a heretic and condemned to hell. Faith must include good works within the Catholic Church." Their formula for being saved is: receiving the sacraments and believing in the Holy Roman Catholic Church.
Bible: “For by grace you are saved through faith, and not of yourselves: It is the gift of God and not of works” (Eph.2:8-9). Not faith in any church will save you, but faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
BECOMING A CHRISTIAN
Catholic: You must be baptized as a baby and then continue doing what the Roman Catholic Church dictates, such as going to mass, receiving the "sacraments" (another non-biblical word), etc., otherwise you will lose your salvation.
Bible: You must repent (turn from and ask forgiveness for your sins, which everybody has) (Acts2:38) and believe in the Lord Jesus, turning your life over to Him (Acts 16:31). “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name (other than Jesus Christ) under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:10-12).
BAPTISM
Catholic: “Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through baptism, you are freed from sin and reborn as a son of God; you are incorporated into the Church and made a sharer in her mission. Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration.”
Bible: The Word of God teaches believers to follow the example of Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, in that order. “Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). When you repent, you die to yourself and to the world; then you are “buried with Him in baptism” (Col. 2:12) and raised to new life as in His resurrection. “Baptize” comes from the Greek “baptismo” which means “to immerse”. It’s not enough to merely “sprinkle” water. You are not “freed from sin and reborn” through baptism. Rebirth comes by the Spirit of God (John 3:8). Babies are not aware of sin and cannot first repent, so they have no business being baptized!
COMMUNION
Catholic: Jesus is “mystically” present in the wafer and wine after the “priest” speaks his magical words over them. The Eucharist (Holy Communion) is the most important of the seven sacraments, also called the Mystery of Mysteries. “The Sacrament of Communion is a Holy Sacrament by which the believer eats the Holy Body and drinks the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ”. This Holy Communion is to accompany the other sacraments of baptism, repentance, marriage and death.
Bible: “And Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). Communion is done only in remembrance of the Lord Jesus. There is nothing “mystical” about it.
PRIESTS
Catholic: Priests are special people who stand between God and ordinary believers.
Bible: Jesus is our High Priest and all born-again believers are members of a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9-10).
PRAYER
Catholic: It is good to pray the rosary (53 Hail Marys and 6 Our Fathers).
Bible: “When you pray, don’t use vain repetitions as the pagans do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking” (Matt.6:7).
HOLY WATER
Catholic: Holy Water has been blessed by a priest and is used for spiritual cleansing and protection against evil.
Bible: Holy Water is total nonsense and nowhere in the Bible. The practice is common among other pagan religions as well. When a Catholic priest sprinkles his "holy water" around, it's no holier than water from a squirt gun! The water is not holy, nor can the priest sanctify water. “God alone is holy” (Rev. 15:4) and God sanctifies His people (John 17:17 and Romans 6).
SAINTS
Catholic: Saints are very holy, dead people.
Bible: Every born-again believer is a saint (Ro. 16:2, 2 Cor.1:1, etc).
MEDIATORS
Catholic: Mary is co-mediator, as well as those "dead saints", between us and God.
Bible: Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and us (1Tim. 2:5). Catholics call on various so-called saints, who are dead, instead of calling on God, who is alive. The dead cannot help you, but the living God can.
MARY
Catholic: Mary was conceived without sin and is called the “Queen of Heaven”. She is depicted as the Mother of God, the Virgin eternally protecting the toddler Jesus.
Bible: All have sinned (Rom.3:23). Mary also needed a Savior and forgiveness of sin (Luke 1:47). After Jesus was born, Mary went on to have several children the old-fashioned way and so, she was no longer a virgin. Jesus is not a toddler, He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16).
FATHER
Catholic: The Pope is the “Holy Father” and the priest is called “Father”.
Bible: “Call no man your father on Earth, for one is your Father, who is in Heaven” (Matt. 23:9). “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:5).
POPES, PRIESTS, MONKS, NUNS
Catholic: The Pope is the head of the church, confession of sin is made to a priest; monks and nuns live isolated from the rest of the world in monastaries and convents.
Bible: Jesus Christ is the head of the church and you should confess your sins directly to God in the name of Jesus, not to a“priest”, as he is a mere man. There are no such things as monks and nuns in the Bible. There is only one mediator between God and us, the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5). Jesus is the only door to Heaven. Anyone else claiming otherwise is the same as a thief and a robber (John 10: 1-10).
Catholic: Peter was the first pope and is the rock on which the church is built.
Bible: Jesus Christ is the Rock of our salvation (Acts 4:10-11) and Peter could not have been the first pope, as the Catholic Church was first established in 325 A.D. and has nothing to do with the Early Church. Neither are there any records showing that the Apostle Peter was ever in Rome.
IDOLS
Catholic: Statues of the dead are worshipped and frequently bowed down to, whether it’s Jesus hanging on the cross, Mary with little Jesus in her arms or any number of the dead saints.
Bible: You shall not make any graven image nor bow down to it (Exodus20: 4-5). The Catholic Church simply omitted this second commandment and divided the 10th commandment in two, so as to still have ten commandments! Neither shall you be an idolater but you should flee from any form of idolatry (1 Cor. 10: 7, 14). Neither should you worship gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell (Deut. 4:28).
CELIBACY
Catholic: Priests and nuns are to never marry and they take vows that bind them to remain celibate all their lives.
Bible: Peter, for example, was married (Matt.8:14-15). "A bishop must be blameless, the husband of one wife” (1Tim. 3:2). The Bible warns of false doctrine in the last days, where they forbid marriage (1 Tim. 4:3).
FESTIVALS
Catholic: Christmas, Easter and other Catholic holidays were taken over from pagan practices dating back to long before Christ. Those were festivals to strange gods, whose names were simply replaced by the name of Jesus. Such festivals have been spread throughout the world among believers and unbelievers alike.
Bible: Neither the Bible nor the early church celebrated such festivals, which were introduced much later by the Catholic Church, where the birth of Jesus is linked with Santa Claus and His resurrection with a rabbit and Easter eggs, all of which are pagan in origin. The "bunny and eggs" is a tribute to the goddess of fertility.
CHARACTERISTICS
The headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church is the Vatican in Rome, the city of seven hills, so called because Rome sits on seven hills.
Bible: “This calls for a mind with understanding. The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman (false church) rules” (Rev.17:9).
The main colors of the bishops and cardinals in the Catholic Church are purple and scarlet. The pope holds up a golden cup in his hands during the Holy Communion.
Bible: “The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and glittered with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries” (Rev.17:4).
The Catholic Church has well over one billion members worldwide, of many languages and cultures.
Bible: “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues" (Rev. 17:15).
In the Bible, the church is referred to as one of two women: Either the Bride of Christ, the true church of faithful believers, or the harlot (Hure), the false church.
It is a fact of history that the Roman Catholic Church executed an innumerable number of believers during the Dark Ages. The Inquisition is a group of institutions within the judicial system of the Roman Catholic Church. It was established in the 12th century and was marked by the severity of questioning and punishment of heresy.
Bible: “I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (Rev.17:6).
Pope Francis recently apologized for the “misunderstandings” of the past. A better word would be“atrocities”, considering the millions who were martyred.
TRINITY
The Catholic Church defines the Godhead as being three separate persons in the form of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, calling it the "trinity". Most of what they do (baptizing, praying) is done using this formula. Most of her protestant daughters have taken over the practice.
Bible: The word “trinity” is nowhere in the Bible. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are titles, not names. “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col.3:17), which is exactly what the Apostles did in fulfilling the Great Commission Yeshua had given them.
If the trinity were true, then we would have to conclude that the Holy Spirit, as the so-called third person, is mostly neglected in the Bible. For example, in every greeting at the beginning of the letters to the churches, God and the Lord Jesus are always mentioned but never the Holy Spirit. The truth is, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and not some third person. The Lord Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).
During the Dark Ages, the words I have written in this article would have earned me an honorary place among the many martyrs burned at the stake. I missed the part where the Vatican has recanted any of the creeds of the Roman Catholic Church. That’s because they haven’t. The harlot is after your soul. The claw she offers in unity looks like a friendly hand. Many shake it, some even kiss it, but be careful, it can tear you to shreds.
Fred
"If I say to a wicked (böse) person, ‘You will certainly die’; and you fail to warn him, to speak and warn the wicked person to leave his wicked way and save his life; then that wicked person will die guilty; and I will hold you responsible for his death. On the other hand, if you warn the wicked person, and he doesn’t turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, then he will still die guilty; but you will have saved your own life" (Ezekiel 3:18-19).
"This is the revelation which God gave to Yeshua the Messiah, so that he could show his servants what must happen very soon. He communicated it by sending his angel to his servant Yochanan (John), who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah, as much as he saw. Blessed are the readers and hearers of the words of this prophecy, provided they obey the things written in it! For the time is near!" (Rev. 1).
Revelation – that mysterious last book of the Bible – is avoided and ignored by many as being too symbolic and even scary. But why? Imagine watching a thriller, glued to your seats for an hour and a half, only to stand up and exit the cinema before the ending. No way! I wish to provide you with a running commentary, without going into detail: I don't want to rob you of your promised blessing. When God's Spirit reveals new things from His word, it's a blessing indeed. Revelation is the final message of Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) and we would do well to study it, as it clears up misconceptions about the Lord and the events to come. The world – film industry, media, churches – has burned certain images and impressions into our minds about God, and in particular about Yeshua. I'll show you what I mean with an experiment:
Now, close your eyes and think about JESUS. What or who do you see? Probably an image of a white hippy, a popular depiction of the Lord worldwide. Once and for all, Yeshua was neither white nor black when he walked the Earth. He likely had a darker complexion than the Western world pictures Him, not unlike the olive skin that's common among Middle Easteners today. He is usually portrayed with shoulder-length hair, parted down the middle, and a beard. He is also depicted in various "churches" as a beaten, defeated man hanging on a cross. Well now, that was when Yeshua was crucified around 2000 years ago. The powers of darkness were celebrating that exact picture of Him, until His resurrection three days later, which came as a shock to them. They didn't expect that:
"... which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory" (1 Corinthians 2:8).
Another good one that's popular in movies is the "voice of God", usually deep and threatening, as if His words sound forth in the dark halls of a Gothic cathedral. Could be why people don't listen for that still small, gentle voice, because they dread what they imagine will be a low menacing voice of judgement. Revelation 1 describes the voice of Yeshua as heavenly:
"His head and hair are as white as wool, like snow, and His eyes are like a flame of fire. His feet are like bronze glowing in a furnace ... He says "I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last" with a voice that sounds like rushing waters."
So, what happened to the hippy or the bloody pulp hanging on a Roman cross? The Lord's voice is not a Gregorian chant either. We are taught a whole lot of nonsense from childhood on and presented with a warped picture of God, the Lord Jesus Christ and Heaven. How often can you hear or read about what people say: "Mama is watching over us from above" or "our brother has moved on to be with God", although their so-call "brother", whether a movie or rock star, never once mentioned anything about knowing God during his lifetime. Even some believers talk about seeing their loved ones in Heaven more than seeing or being with God. Sometimes He is not mentioned at all. So what are you going to do with that pretty little necklace of a defeated Christ with bowed head on a cross, either swinging from your car's rearview mirror or around your neck, when the Lord of Glory returns? Check out His description in Revelation 19, when the Lord returns on a white horse:
"I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse. Sitting on it was the one called Faithful and True, and it is in righteousness that He passes judgment and goes to battle. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on His head were many royal crowns. And He had a name written which no one knew but Himself. He was wearing a robe that had been dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is, 'THE WORD OF GOD.' The armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following Him on white horses. And out of His mouth comes a sharp sword [the Word of God is referred to as a 'sharp sword' in Bible scripture] with which to strike down nations — He will rule them with a staff of iron. It is He who treads the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious rage of Adonai, God of heaven’s armies. And on His robe and on His thigh he has a name written: KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS." Revelation, in harmony with other scriptures of prophecy, informs us of end-time events to take place:
"In the last days, says the Lord, I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Acts 2/Joel 2). Wildfires burning out of control, spitting sparks into a sky darkened by ashes; multiple tornadoes leave a path of destruction; earthquakes split, shift and swallow; bombs blow to bits, threat of nuclear annihilation: These are the days of vengeance, for the awesome day of the Lord is upon us. Killing and being killed, lusting, insatiable, unpredictable, uncontrollable, unmerciful, corruption in high places, the self-destruction of mankind is in full swing. Grey-bearded old man with sun-wrinkled skin leans on his signboard that reads "end of the world is near". More accurate would be "end of the world as we know it", at any rate, the end of the age is quickly approaching.
The Man of Sin enters the scene, also known as the Beast and Antichrist. He has a lying mouth that boasts great things (Daniel 7). Though an unpleasant person, he will be quite popular as the nations will bow down to and respect him due to the power he holds. The Crooked Businessman will compel all peoples ["peoples = Völker] of the world to register and receive his identifying mark, without which they will not be able to buy or sell (Rev. 13). This means trouble for the real born-again followers of Yeshua the Messiah, who must refuse the mark as per the Word of God (Rev. 14).
The seven-year Tribulation will soon be upon us, a time of plagues, earthquakes, storms, floods and scorching heat (something like now, but much worse). Rather than to stop sinning and turn to God for help, men curse and blaspheme His name (Rev. 16) and give Him the blame for their self-inflicted problems. Guns stockpiled in the home cannot protect, religious ceremonies and rituals cannot help – only a personal relationship with the Creator can. God protects His own. Amidst escalating persecution and danger, the Bride of Yeshua, the born-again followers of the Lord Jesus, are caught up to Heaven in a "twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet" (1 Cor. 15:52). Nominal Christians believe in an easy "rapture" (that word is not even in the Bible!) before the seven-year Tribulation period begins, but there is no scripture supporting that doctrine. Things will get rough going from bad to worse, especially in the second half of the Tribulation, and the real followers of Yeshua will have to be empowered by God's Holy Spirit in order to survive the ordeal. Halleluja! Left behind will be the unbelievers and those who are Christians in name only, who put their trust in their religious leaders and professionals instead of in the Lord Yeshua.
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ will rise first, and then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
At the end of the seven-year Tribulation period, the Man of Sin, the Beast, gathers his armies, taken from the "strong international community", to the Valley of Megiddo, the battleground of Armageddon, to do battle with the invading aliens – the King of kings and His saints, along with the angels of God, descending on fabulous white horses! The birds of the air are invited to the great feast of the King to eat the flesh of the fallen. The Beast and his False Prophet are captured and thrown alive into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19). Satan is locked away in the pit for an entire millennium, during which time he will not be deceiving the nations as "the prince of the power of the air" (Eph. 2), as he does now.
New Jerusalem will descend from Heaven to hover above the Earth as home to the new government of King Yeshua and His saints – those born-again believers who follow and trust in Him. The King will bring order to a world of chaos. What a City of Gold, a perfect cube, around 2000 kilometres wide and high! The perfect place to be in the aftermath of Armageddon. The Earth will surely suffer a breakdown of infrastructure and resemble a "Mad Max" world of nuclear desolation. Yet the tribes of the Earth will shuffle on into a bleak future, with new generations replacing the old as the population multiplies during the span of a thousand years.
"For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near; It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations." (Ezekiel 30).
At the end of the millennium that old serpent, the devil, will be released from his prison one last, short time. At once he sets out to stir up the nations of the world against the Holy City. Godless people they are, sorcerers, idolaters, murderers, sexually immoral and whoever else loves and lives a lie, whose number is as "the sand of the sea". Their millions surround the city for attack, but fire rains down and destroys them all. Satan is then grabbed hold of and thrown down into the abyss, where the Beast and the False Prophet have been smoldering for the past 1000 years (Revelation 20). And that's that! Let the Great White Throne Judgement begin! The old Earth is blown away by the glory of the Lord sitting on His throne. Revelation 20 agrees with the account in Daniel 7:
"I watched till thrones were put in place and the Ancient of Days was seated. His garment was white like snow and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him, ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated and the books were opened." "Anyone whose name is not found written in the Book of Life is hurled into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20). It's better to be judging with the King than to be judged by the King on the Day of Judgment. Alongside or facing the throne, your choice:
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): That if you confess with your mouth Adonai Yeshua (the Lord Jesus) and believe (trust = CJB) in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one trusts unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:8-10).
In this present time we live in now, expect natural disasters to multiply, violent crime to intensify, the world around you to tumble down with trouble all around. It's already happening. Your days may be few, but as long as breath is in you:
"Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13).
The last chapter of Revelation leaves no doubt about who Jesus is, known as Yeshua in Hebrew, and begs the question: Where did the Catholic "trinity" go? And the Holy Spirit, as the "third person in a triune godhead", must have left town! Where's the pope? The Catholic priests and cardinals with their cute little caps? The monks and the nuns? They're nowhere to be found! What about Virgin Mary, "the Mother of God", the "Queen of Heaven"? Did she go on vacation?
Seriously, after Mary's virgin birth of Jesus, she went on to have lots of kids the old-fashioned way. Know what that means? It means she was no longer a virgin – oops! There goes another Catholic doctrine down the drain. Mary is last mentioned on the Day of Pentecost, where 120 disciples of Yeshua were gathered in an upper room praying and waiting for the infilling of the Ruach Hakodesh, God's Holy Spirit. Incidentally, Mary was no one "extra special" in that company of believers. As the prophecy of Revelation's last chapter takes place, those characters of the Roman Catholic Institution are long gone. The show will be over, along with all the fairytales. They will have long served their purpose of leading the nations down the path of deception. Read about the Great and Mighty One sitting on His throne, ONE God and ONE throne, believe and trust:
"There was a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb [one throne]. In the middle of its street and on either side of the river, the tree of life bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations. There shall be no more curse, but the throne [singular] of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and HIS servants shall serve HIM. They shall see HIS face, and HIS name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there and they need no lamp nor the light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever" (Rev 22).
The Watchman
Storm's upon us as the fallin' away comes our way:
“Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you to not be upset or troubled, as though it has already come and gone. Don’t be deceived, for that Day will not come before the falling away happens and the man of sin is revealed, the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 2).
There's a falling away from genuine faith in God and sound doctrine in progress these days. While creating a world of dreams, the film industry has been preparing the real world for prophetic biblical events soon to come.
Movies galore about totalitarian governments
The devil-incarnate Leader makes his appearance on the world stage to solve the woes and problems of the nations by introducing his very own world order. With the uniting of the religions, including the New Agers and New Age Christians, they'll surely see the Leader as the Messiah himself. The masses will follow the one referred to in the Bible as, among other things, the man of sin, the lawless one, the antichrist or the beast. He will tickle their ears by telling the people what they want to hear.
"For this reason God will send them strong delusion, so that they will believe the lie and be condemned because, rather than believe the truth, they have pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12).
The Beast will have the answers and what he says will make sense (or so it will seem). Just what the masses have been waiting for!
"The whole world will follow the Beast and worship its image. Those refusing will be put to death. He will cause all people, small and great, rich and poor, to receive an identifying mark, without which nobody can buy or sell" (Revelation 13:4, 15-18). Let's say you decide to go along with the crowd, follow the Beast and receive his mark because you fear punishment & persecution, you will then be doomed and suffer eternal separation from God (Revelation 14:9-11, 21:8).
Oh no, another natural disaster movie !
Hollywood has the best "special effects", keeping your eyes glued to the screen in fascination of realistic tsunamis, earthquakes, meteor showers, floods and the like. Oh yes, the Dream Factory is the best for unreality !
The Antichrist's 7-year reign of pseudo peace and financial security will, at the same time, experience natural disasters of devastating proportions. It's not going to be a pretty picture as people will not only refuse to repent [turn from sin], but also blaspheme the name of God. Interesting how trendy it's become nowadays to use the Lord God's name as a cuss word.
"They blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; neither did they repent and give Him glory" (Revelation 16: 9).
News
The New York Times reported that the Euphrates River is drying up. Written down some 2000 years ago by the Apostle John, the Bible tells us that an angel of God will dry up the Euphrates River to make way for the armies of the East, 200 million strong. That's not difficult to imagine with the potential size of China's military forces today. The Euphrates was one of four main rivers flowing out of the Garden of Eden. How fitting for history's final battle between good and evil to take place where it all began! The Beast and his "strong international community" vs the Lord Yeshua and His strong heavenly community. I don't want to ruin it for you by telling you how it ends, but deep down inside you already know.
"Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared" (Revelation 16:12).
Movies about missing persons
Breaking news! There are reports of missing persons around the world. The work of terrorists? The government involved? Kidnapped by aliens?
"The Lord Himself will descend from Heaven and the dead in Christ will rise first. Those alive and remaining will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thess. 4:16-17). Alien invasion ! We have been flooded by alien movies, all for our viewing pleasure of course, a good example was "Independence Day". What patriotism! Such heroism! Pure egoism! Hollywood's aliens normally land in the USA and the US President heads the global community in battle to save the world. Whether the nations can stand each other or not, they are "brothers in arms" when it's all about survival. They're arming themselves like crazy these days! Weapons for peace, so to speak. While the US and Russia keep score on nuclear warheads, Germany favors diplomacy while selling sophisticated tanks and helicopters to the highest bidders, and those sneaky Chinese are ever increasing the size of their military and roaming the globe buying out foreign companies and land. Money talks, you know.
All this in preparation for the Great Battle. WW1 had a death toll of around 17 million and WW2 well over 50 million. The Bible foretells a death toll of 1/3 of the Earth's population – around 3 billion – for WW3 ! The global armies will gather in the valley of Megiddo at Armageddon, led by the Beast, believing in an alien invasion. Only this time the script will be different, without a tear-jerking, patriotic happy ending.
"I saw Heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat thereon was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. And with Him were the armies in Heaven, clothed in fine linen on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword to strike the nations. [ “For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12] And on His robe is written: KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. The Beast and the kings of the Earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the white horse and against His armies. The Beast and his false prophet were captured and thrown alive into the lake of fire. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the white horse" (Rev. 19:11-21).
Millennial Reign
Satan will then be imprisoned in the bottomless pit, sentenced to do time for a thousand years, and the Millennial Reign of King Yeshua shall begin. All Believers born again of the Spirit of God will take up residence in the city of God, the New Jerusalem, a place of utter joy, tranquility and peace that knows no death or pain. They’ve already exchanged their terrestial (earthly) bodies for their new celestial (heavenly) bodies, which happened in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor. 15:40-53).
During the thousand-year reign, the people around the globe who survived WW3 will multiply once again and fill the Earth. At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be set free from his imprisonment and immediately stirs up trouble by moving the nations against the New Jerusalem, the central government of King Yeshua and the home of His saints the Believers. As the city of our Lord is besieged, God intervenes and causes fire to rain down upon the mass multitudes who have surrounded New Jerusalem. Satan is captured and thrown into the lake of fire, where the Beast and his false prophet have been smoldering for the past thousand years (Revelation 20:7-10).
Judgment
Now comes the time for the Great White Throne Judgment of all unbelievers who died in their sins:
"The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. The dead, small and great, stood before God, and the books were opened. And the Book of Life was opened. Those whose names were not found in the Book of Life were thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death" (Revelation 20: 12-15).
We need to be sure that our names are written in the Book of Life. You say your name is already there? Really, without a doubt? Your name will not be in the Book of Life simply because (1) you belong to a church organization, (2) you were baptized at some time in your life, (3) you are a decent person, (4) you are very religious or (5) you've made it to the "highest level" of your New Age philosophy. To make sure that your name appears in the Book of Life, you must first be born again of the Spirit of the Lord (John 3:3) by turning from sin. Now read and do the passage of Romans 10: 8-10. The Complete Jewish Bible version says it best:
"The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word about trust (faith) which we proclaim, that if you acknowledge publicly with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord and trust in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be delivered (saved). For with the heart one goes on trusting and thus continues toward righteousness, while with the mouth one keeps on making public acknowledgement and thus continues toward deliverance."
A new Earth will replace the old Earth. Death, sorrow and pain will pass away along with the old Earth (Revelation 21:4). King Yeshua will have the final say:
"It is done! I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely of the water of life to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be His God and he shall be My son. Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city" (Revelation 21: 6-7, 22: 12-14).
The Watchman