Revelation 34

Life holds its fair share of tragedies and these words are a soothing balm to those who have held on and endured. The world will not remain the same and the cruelties of life are not our destiny. The curse that has cast such a deep shadow upon this world, caused by the sin of man, will pass away and the blessing of redemption will shine its goodness upon the righteous in Christ Jesus for all eternity. 

A fair amount of debate goes into this verse. Clearly the present heaven and earth will undergo some form of major transformation. Some suggest that God starts from scratch and creates a completely new heaven and earth, and others suggest that God completely purges and transforms the existing ones.

The world will try to convince us that resistance is futile but we must remember, deep in our hearts, that Jesus can make war against the end-time beast, and defeat him, and cast him into the fiery lake. The light will conquer the darkness. And the whole earth will give a jubilant sigh of collective relief!

This is not for the faint-hearted. Some will attempt to dilute this down to nothing by suggesting that Armageddon is a metaphor of the inner struggle between light and darkness that takes place in the hearts of men.  The Battle of Armageddon is as real as the First and Second World War, as real as the Battle for Ukraine and all the other countless wars that go unreported around the world. The horror of the description of Armageddon matches the horror of the Cross which matches the horror of the sin of fallen man.

In the end-times, the antichrist will bring together ten nations that will assemble to invade Jerusalem.  They will be ultimately defeated by Christ Jesus and his armies in the series of conflicts that comprise the Battle of Armageddon.  The rebellious nations that have given their allegiance to the antichrist and dared to march against Jerusalem will pay the ultimate price. They will be decisively crushed. There will only ever be one king. His name is Jesus!

Fallen man has made his darkened mark upon this world but the light of King Jesus will shatter the darkness of this world and cast the shadows into the sea.

One understanding of the testimony of Jesus is that he will return as the radiant King; and he will bring peace and righteousness to this earth when he establishes his kingdom and reigns from Jerusalem. 

In the same way, we are called to look forward to the day when we meet with Christ Jesus, on the day that he returns in power and glory. He is our blessed hope and our lives lived here on earth should be directed towards this coming moment. 

This side of glory, we pass through victories and defeats, as we march faithfully on. But even the most stoic and conservative amongst us might be forgiven here for ‘hollerin and a hooterin’ around the yard and throwing his hat up wildly in the air!

Babylon has conjured up an intoxifying blend of religious practices that keeps the world fascinated by its mystical allure. The gullible  adherent will chase after a seemingly unending outpouring of experiences that keeps them coming back for more and more. These experiences may satisfy the lust and cravings of a darkened soul but they have a price-tag attached and will lead the adherent inevitably on a down-ward path to destruction.

The New Jerusalem will be a city of sweet, musical  communion. Babylon will become an odious and eternal misery . Make sure your destiny is the correct one. 

She has deceived herself and considers herself immortal and above all things. She lounges in a deluded self-reliance but she is no more than a wanton creature headed for destruction.She has sought a human harvest by coercion and deception but she will reap a bitter harvest of death, mourning and famine. The twisted fruit that she metred out upon others will be her only reward. 

Empires and dictators have emerged throughout world history but all will fall and become dust in their time; only the kingdom of heaven will endure.  Daniel 2:44  ‘In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end but it will endure forever.  Thank goodness!

We have explored over the past few posts how the seven heads of the end-time beast are seven empires that have spanned world history. They have always been opposed to, and sought to destroy, Israel and God’s children. The driving force behind these empires has been our spiritual enemy who has constantly pulled the strings to promote his own evil purposes.

Please click on image and scroll down. There will come a sharp and polarised difference between those who faithfully follow Jesus and those who reject him; between those whose names have been recorded in the book of life and those names have not. There will be no grey areas any more. There will be no place for luke-warm and half-committed Christians. We will be called to take our stand and commit ourselves to be faithful, perhaps even to the point of martyrdom. 

Hence this end-time empire beast will be carrying on the purposes of the seven previous empires, and indeed it is a revived end-time form of the seventh empire. And thus is described as having seven heads. It belongs to Satan who empowered these seven previous empires.

Please click on image and scroll down… This demonic spirit has passed through the ages, through the generations, establishing cities throughout the world, where it may exercise its domain and influence. Babylon had its moment in time but other cities have emerged since then, to carry on its evil work

Please click on photo for full post and scroll down. The one city that seems to fit the description is to be found in Saudi Arabia which is in the desert, promotes ungodly religions and is certainly an opulent port city exporting and importing trade with the world. The city of Neom is often highlighted as being the city to watch as it emerges from the drawing board and becomes a reality.