The Kingdom of the Beast

As a final warning of coming wrath, God will allow Satan to reign for a brief period of
time.

“For then there will great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of
the world, until this time nor ever shall be.” Matthew 24:21. At the end of this age, for
a brief time, God will allow Satan to reign, on earth. He will reign through a man usually
referred to as the antichrist, although in the Bible he is also given a number of other
names. Revelation chapter 13 calls him the beast and describes his reign.
Jesus went on to say of this time, “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh
would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” Matthew 24:22

This time of distress will be the final warning that God is about to pour out His
wrath on a rebellious world. Three warnings of coming wrath, each brought by an
angel, are found in Revelation chapter 14. In the last two editions of Sword I have
written about the first two warnings. First is a call to worship God the Creator and then
a warning that Babylon the kingdom of this world will soon fall. The final warning before
the outpouring of wrath is the kingdom of the beast. Satan’s kingdom will follow the
rejection of God as Creator and the destruction of the kingdom of this world.

The need of a Saviour

The fall of Babylon will bring considerable hardship and war (Revelation 9: 13 – 21).
The peoples of the nations which have enjoyed affluence and security through their
allegiance to Babylon will be hard hit. With their hopes of peace and prosperity
shattered mankind will cry out for a saviour.

People could turn to the Saviour who gave His life for our redemption. These events
take place after the commission to preach the gospel in all the world has been
completed. Therefore ignorance will be no excuse.

Instead of Jesus Christ the world will accept Satan’s man. God knows the heart of
man (1 Kings 8: 39). He knows that despite all that He has done to save men, He will
be rejected by the world.

The plagues of Egypt were devastating. After each of the plagues, once the Lord
had given relief, Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people of Israel go.
This happened five times. Following the sixth plague the Bible records, “the Lord
hardened the heart of Pharaoh”. Pharaoh had been given repeated opportunities to
submit to the Lord. His refusal led to God intervening. It would appear that the Lord
took away Pharaoh’s freedom to repent. His stubbornness led to his destruction.

In the similar way, because they have rejected Him, the Lord will harden people’s
hearts. God will send a strong delusion on those who did not respond to the truth (2
Thessalonians 2: 11). They condemn themselves by believing a lie.

The final warning

The terrible nature of the reign of the beast will be a warning to the world of the
consequence of rejecting God. It is the final warning to humanity that the time of God’s
favour is coming to an end. His vengeance is soon to be poured out. If people choose
the rule of Satan instead of God there is no longer any mercy.

The mark

For the Christian there is a warning about the danger of receiving the mark of the
beast? The majority of the church has no interest in end time prophecy and has no
knowledge of this danger. Among those who are interested in prophecy, it is widely
taught that believers will not be on earth during this final reign of the beast. Receiving
the mark applies to others and therefore is not a matter of immediate concern. There
are a few writers who have speculated on the nature of the mark. But how many warn
of the extreme consequences of receiving it?

Whatever its nature, by receiving Satan’s mark mankind has sided with the enemy
of God and will be treated as His enemies. Those who worship the beast and his image
will be tormented and have no rest day or night (Revelation 14: 10 – 11).

The Endurance of the Saints

During these times the saints are called on to be patient and to persevere. Those
who keep the commandments of God and faith in Jesus during this time will be blessed
(Revelation 14:12 – 13). The striving of this present age will give way to rest.
How will we endure? “…..let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus”. Hebrews 12: 1. We will complete the race by keeping our eyes
fixed on Jesus. Contrary to our natural inclinations the Bible presents suffering for
Christ as a privilege.

From the beginning we have known that the followers of Jesus will be hated by the
world. Jesus said that “you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.” Luke 21: 17. He
calls on us to be patient and adds that not even a hair of our head will be lost.

God will allow the beast to make war on the saints and overcome them (Revelation
13: 7). In Daniel 7: 25, we read that the saints will be given into the hands of the little
horn for time, times and half a time, usually interpreted as a period of three and a half
years. The little horn in Daniel is another name for the beast or antichrist.

How can they hear without a preacher?

Warnings mean nothing without a prophet to interpret them. End time prophecy and
particularly the book of Revelation remain a mystery to most Christians let alone the
unbeliever. It is not necessary to have a detailed knowledge of prophecy to be a
prophet to the world. All that is necessary at this time, when men’s hearts are failing
them from fear, is always to be ready to give …. a reason for the hope that is within
us, (1 Peter 3: 15). We recognise that troubled times are coming even if we do not
know the detail. As Christians we have a certain hope. It is not wishful thinking but a
certainty. Jesus Christ is coming back to reign. More than that He has promised eternal
life to all who believe in Him.

On the fall of Babylon

In the last edition of Sword, having identified Babylon as the kingdom of the world,
I wrote that it would fall within 10 years. That article was written in January before there
was any hint of the economic mayhem that the Coronavirus would bring.

Is what we are currently experiencing (I am writing at the end of March) the collapse
of that kingdom? I believe that what we are witnessing is the beginning of the fall of
Babylon. This coronavirus pandemic will pass, but it will leave the nations heavily in
debt and their economies weak. The globalist and their institutions, such as the
International Monetary Fund, will bail the nations out, but at a heavy cost. Because
population reduction is one of their primary goals we can expect to see governments
giving in to pressure for easier abortions, euthanasia, homosexual relationships as
these do not produce children and other measures to cull the population. The panic
over climate change will be used to introduce ever more strict controls and limits on
personal freedom.

Four decades ago, I was introduced to the concept of government by crisis.
Governments use crisis to bring in measures which before the crisis were
unimaginable. They use the crisis to present the measures as inevitable. The crisis
may be either natural or created for a purpose. I first witnessed this in the education
crisis of the 80’s. It was predicted that in most western nations there would be a
deliberate collapse in standards which governments would use to bring in centralised
control. That this frame of mind exists and continues was openly testified to by Rahm
Emanuel, [Obama’s Chief of Staff] in 2008: “You never want a serious crisis go to
waste. But what I mean by that, it’s an opportunity to do things that you think you could
not do before.”

The final downfall of weakened Babylon will be brought about by the ten kings who
rise up and give their support to the reign of the antichrist (Revelation 17: 16 – 17).
These ten nations will, like wolves singling out the injured prey, see the weakness of
the west and pounce for the kill. God will allow the downfall because mankind refused
to turn to Him but trusted human solutions.

A response

Revelation 14 contains three warnings to the world of impending wrath. These
warnings also require a response from us as Christians.

First we are to honour God as Creator. We are created beings who must never
allow the pride which corrupted Satan to enter our hearts. Satan fell because in pride
he considered himself equal to his Creator.

Second we are to come out of Babylon. We are to live by the values and principles
of the Kingdom of Heaven not those of the world. That commitment will be tested in
the years to come but we are to hold to it.

Third we must prepare for suffering. Above all we must not accept the mark of the
beast. It will be made to seem that there is no alternative. That is false. There is an
alternative, which is to trust in God.