THE BIBLICAL TIMELINE

REVELATION 9:1 VS. REVELATION 20:1

Since August 23 we've posited that judgment day occurs during the last five months of the earth's existence (according to Revelation 9:5, 10). As we show when mapping out the timeline on February 7 ,and 9, this period runs from May 21, 2011 until October 21, 2011. On May 21, 2011 we have the Rapture of the elect (see August 23), which ends all hope for those left behind. They must die with no possibility of any further exis- tence (see August 25 ). After the Rapture a great earthquake spews out all the graves (see August 27 ). Many people die in the quake (see August 30 ); the rest perish from the aftereffects: plagues, gas explosions, nuclear fallout, exposure, etc. On October 21, 2011 God throws the universe into the lake of fire of Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14, and 15 (see August 25 ). Everything burns up, as in Revelation 20: ¹⁴…death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. God uses the term, second death, to establish its certainty and finality (see Genesis 41:32 and August 23 ).

 

Revelation 9:1-12 concerns the unsaved during this five month period. Since many people confuse Revelation 9:1 with Revelation 20:1-2, we have to resolve, or rather dissolve, the confusion. In Revelation 9: ¹…the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

 

People sometimes assume Revelation 9:1 refers to the cross, when God kicked Satan, the star of Revelation 9:1, out of heaven. They therefore connect Revelation 9:1 with Revelation 20:1-2, which concerns the binding of Satan at the same time (see John 12:31 and June 28).

 

So we look at Revelation 20: ¹…I saw an angel (messenger) come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ²And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, ³And cast him into the bottomless pit...

 

Only Christ could have the key of the bottomless pit: ¹⁸I (Christ) am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death (Revelation 1). Furthermore only Christ in Revelation 20:2 could have bound Satan for a thousand years, i.e., for the duration of the church age (see  June 28 ). Since Christ isn't an angel, the word, angel (angelos) in Revelation 20:1, should have been translated as messenger.

 

God keeps Satan bound for a figurative thousand years that begins on May 21, 33 A.D. and ends on May 21, 1988 (1955 years total). During the church age Satan can't frustrate God's plan to save the elect within the churches.

 

So Revelation 20 begins with the church age, after Satan falls from heaven like lightening in Luke 10: ¹⁸…he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Christ binds Satan at the cross in order to plunder his house, as in Matthew 12: ²⁹…how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

 

In Revelation 20:1 the bottomless pit refers to the binding of Satan during the church age (see  July 12 ). But beginning with the great tribulation, i.e., after ³…the thousand years should be fulfilled…he (Satan) must be loosed a little season (Revelation 20). At that time, ⁸The beast… shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition (Revelation 17). Satan now rules within the churches (see July 23 ).

 

After the church age, i.e., after ⁷…they (the true believers) shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them (by having them silenced in the churches; see Revelation 11; see July 23 and August 4). We read of this event in John 16, where Christ prophe- sizes that: ²They shall put you (the true believers) out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

 

Some people confuse the thousand years of Revelation 20:2 with that of Revelation 20: ⁴And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not wor- shipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

 

Both periods of a thousand years in Revelation 20:2 and Revelation 20:4 are figurative, not literal. But the thousand years of Revelation 20:2 is finite (1955 years), while that of Revelation 20:4 is infinite (the elect in eternity with God). Any number, 10ⁿ, n = 1, 2, 3… signifies completion: the completion of the church age in Revelation 20:2 and the completion of eternity for the elect in Revelation 20:4.

 

We have Revelation 20:1 beginning with the church age and Revelation 17:8 beginning with the great tribulation. So what about Revelation 9:1?

 

Revelation 9, ¹And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

 

This star in Revelation 9:1 can't refer to Christ. No one gives this key to Christ because He already has it: ¹⁸ I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death (Revelation 1). Only Christ could have given the key to this star.

 

In Revelation 9:1 the star fall(s) (piptō) from heaven, in contrast to Reve- lation 20:1 where the ¹…angel (messenger: Christ) come(s) (katabainō) down from heaven. The KJV uses the word piptō to mean fall or fall down 88 times out of 90. Matthew 26:39 and Mark 14:35 tell us Christ fell (piptō) in the Garden of Gethsemane, when under God's wrath. But Christ rose again 3 days later and never falls anywhere afterwards. So unless Revelation 9:1 refers to the cross, the star that fall(s) from heaven isn't Christ, as we've already determined. We know Satan is under God's wrath, therefore Satan can fall (piptō) from heaven. So if the star isn't Christ then we suspect it refers to Satan.

 

So suppose the star is Satan. Then instead of Satan falling into or ascend- ing out of the bottomless pit in Revelation 9:1, this star fall(s) from heav- en, which still might remind us of the cross, when Christ kicked Satan out of there. In Revelation 9:2 this star …opened the bottomless pit.., which still might remind us of the great tribulation, when Satan ascended out. But according to Revelation 9:5, 10, Revelation 9:1-12 concerns five months, therefore a different period then the church age or the great tri- bulation. So we're in judgment day.

 

The bottomless pit signifies death; therefore Revelation 9:2 could refer to Eden when Satan caused Adam and Eve to sin. In that day they died spiritually (see August 23 and Genesis 2:17). In that sense Satan opened the bottomless pit to let sin into the world. On September 3 we continue with Revelation 9.

SATAN FALLS FROM HEAVEN

Since August 23 we've been looking at judgment day. Our Biblical time- line indicates a five month interval (May 21, 2011 – October 21, 2011). For an outline and references to this period see the first paragraph of September 1.

 

Revelation 9:5, 10 mentions five months. So on September 1 we looked at Revelation 9:1 and part of verse 2: ¹And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall (piptō) from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. ²And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

 

So who is this star and what is the key? Christ, as the judge, condemns one for sin; but the one with the key committed the violation; i.e., opened the bottomless pit. God gave Satan and the first two people freedom to rebel. But the key could also refer to the penalty, i.e., the death (or bot- tomless pit) we suffer for any transgression: ²³For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6).

 

After Adam rebelled everyone violated God's law: ¹²Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; …so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (Romans 5). And in Romans 3: ²³…all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Thus all of us could have opened the bottomless pit. But the star as singular in Revelation 9:1 more likely refers to Satan. He opened the bottomless pit by bringing sin into the world in Genesis 3 (see June 18 ).

 

Assuming the star in Revelation 9:1 refers to Satan makes sense in light of other stars in Mark 13:24 falling from heaven at the same time; ²⁴…in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, ²⁵And the stars of heaven shall fall (ekpiptō). The sun…darkened in both Revelation 9:2 and Mark 13:24 after that tribula- tion points to the same period.

 

These stars in Mark 13 represent the unsaved during judgment day, par- ticularly those in the congregations. The churches once represented the kingdom of God, or heaven. Therefore the stars of heaven shall fall; i.e., on May 21, 2011 those in the churches fall into judgment and death. In one sense they fall in that they've witnessed the Rapture and know they've been left behind. Revelation 11:12 assures us they will know: ¹²And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies be- held them. The enemies are the unsaved.

 

Before May 21, 2011 the Gospel (represented by the moon in Mark 13:24) can save us, according to Romans 10: ¹⁷…faith (Christ) cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. That the moon in Mark 13:24 shall not give her light means the light of the Gospel has gone out, taking away all hope.

 

After May 21, 2011 it's too late, as depicted in the parable of Luke 16: the unsaved rich man and Lazarus. Water can refer to the Gospel that saves: In John 7: ³⁷…Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. (John 7). But on judgment day or after one dies it's too late to drink. In Luke 16 the rich man has died. In the grave he ²⁴…cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water (the Gospel), and cool my tongue; for I am tormented (odynaō: should have been translated as, sorrowing.) in this flame. Those left behind on May 21, 2011 will sorrow and want God's mercy, but the light of the Gospel that can save anyone has gone out and puts Mark 13:24 in the five month period.

 

The ek in front of piptō (for fall in Revelation 9:1) makes ekpiptō (for fall in Mark 13:25) and means the stars are cast out of/from heaven. According to the Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary, ekpiptō means

to drop away; specially be driven out of one's course; figurative to lose, become inefficient :- be cast, fail, fall (away, off), take none effect.

If the word, ekpiptō, in Mark 13:25 compares with piptō in Revelation 9:1 then this star in Revelation 9 didn't jump willingly from heaven. If the stars of Mark 13:24-25 have been cast out of heaven (the congregations), then we suspect Satan also. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 has had Satan ruling in the churches: ⁴Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Therefore the churches compare with the heaven of Revelation 9:1 and Satan falls from them.

 

We get some idea of Satan's fall from Isaiah 14: ¹⁵Yet thou (Satan) shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.¹⁶They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; ¹⁷That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? ¹⁸All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. ¹⁹But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

 

Revelation 19:20 tells of Satan's execution, the second death (Revelation 20:14; 21:8), on October 21, 2011: ²⁰ …the beast was taken, and... cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. We suspect Satan's fall from heaven in Revelation 9:1 covers the five month period. 

 

The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar/Belshazzar, represents Satan. Thus Isaiah 14:16 can refer to Satan as the man. In B.C. 539 the Persian army slew Belshazzar and took over Babylon. Therefore B.C. 539 represents the end of the world (see June 16 ), when God slays Satan. We read of this period in Jeremiah 25: ¹²…when seventy years (of the second great tribulation) are accomplished…I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. On judgment day, after the third great tribulation, God makes the earth perpetual desolations, as we've already determined on August 30.

 

We now have Revelation 9:1-2, Mark 13:24-25, Isaiah 14:15-19, and Jeremiah 25:12 all pointing to this five month period. On  September 6  we look more closely at these stars of heaven (that) shall fall (in Mark 13:25).

STARS OF HEAVEN

On September 3 we looked at Isaiah 14:15-19: Satan's destruction in the lake of fire on October 21, 2011. If we back up two verses, Isaiah 14:13-14 reveals what leads to this denouement: ¹³For thou (Satan) hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: ¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Sounds ambitious. On  June 18 we commented on this pride that brought sin into the world.

 

Satan equates ascending into heaven with ruling …like the most High. The most High is Christ; so Satan wants to rule as God. Until the great tribulation the congregations represented God's kingdom. After the church age, Satan could rule in the churches. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:4 on July 16 , 23 , 26 and August 2 , 4 ). Thus Satan seems to have had his wish—somewhat, anyway; except that the congregations no longer rep- resent God's kingdom. The elect abandons the churches in obedience to verses like Matthew 24:15-16 and Revelation 18:4 (see August 4 ). Therefore before his destruction, Satan gets to rule just temporarily and only over unsaved stars.

 

Isaiah 14:13 refers to saved individuals as stars of God. Also Daniel 12 refers to stars God has saved: ³…they that be wise (saved) shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever…

 

But on  August 23 we saw that Jude 1 defines unsaved stars: ¹³Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. 

 

Thus we have to let the context define stars: whether those of the elect (of Isaiah 14:3 and Daniel 12:3) or the unsaved (of Jude 1:13, Mark 13:25 and Revelation 6:13).

 

On  September 3 in Revelation 9:1 we saw that on judgment day Satan falls from heaven: ¹And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

 

We also saw that at the same time the unsaved stars (in the congrega- tions) …fall from heaven: ²⁹Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven… (Matthew 24). ²⁵And the stars of heaven shall fall… (Mark 13). We have confirmation in Revelation 6 of unsaved stars falling from heaven on judgment day: ¹²And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake (see  August 27); and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; ¹³And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth…

 

Questions now arise: why does Scripture refer to unsaved congregants on judgment day as stars? Why does Mark 13:25 define them as stars of heaven and Matthew 24:29 say these stars…fall from heaven? How can they fall from heaven if God never saved them? The terms stars of God (the saved in Isaiah 14:13 and Daniel 12:3) and stars of heaven (the un- saved in Mark 13:25) could confuse the unwary reader. So why would Scripture use similar terms that might confuse us?

 

Suppose Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:25, and Revelation 6:13 refer to the unsaved within the churches as stars because they appear like true be- lievers—i.e., they seem like the stars of God in Isaiah 14:13 and Daniel 12:3. In principle the true stars dwell in heaven, but while alive remain on earth as ambassadors of Christ. The pseudo stars congregate in what ap- pears as God's heaven on earth—the churches. But with the church age over and done with, those in the congregations play make-believe. August 6 outlines the dynamics of their game; and  July 14 reveals Satan and the churches deceiving the congregants into thinking they are saved.

 

We know these pseudo stars who want to appear as true believers must come from the congregations. The churches allegedly represent God's heaven on earth and no one during the great tribulation could appear as a true star outside of them, especially not in the States. Except in Islamic countries, we generally consider street-corner preachers and those praying in public as in need of a shrink. Thus these pseudo stars could appear as the stars of Daniel 12:3 and Isaiah 14:13 only by remaining inside the churches, where ordinarily we don't view worshippers as crazies. Of course the truly saved don't need to appear as anything. But just as Satan comes into the congregations as an angel of light (in 2 Cor- inthians 11:14) i.e., a counterfeit Christ, his ministers of righteousness (in 2 Corinthians 11:15) enter as the stars (of Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:25 and Revelation 6:13) in order to appear as true believers; i.e., to play make-believe.

 

Revelation 11 assures us these false stars will witness the Rapture: ¹¹And after three days and an half (May 21, 1988 to September 6, 1994) the Spirit of life from God entered into them (the true stars of Daniel 12:3), and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them (who be- come saved and fear God) which saw them. ¹²And they heard a great voice (now comes the rapture on May 21, 2011) from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies (the false stars) beheld them.

 

These false stars appear as the true stars of Daniel 12:3 until the Rapture. Then they, to their chagrin and even shock, find themselves left behind with Satan on earth (of Revelation 9:1). In that sense they and Satan fall from heaven (according to Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:25, Revelation 6:13 and Isaiah 14:15-19, which we looked at on September 3).

 

On  September 8 we look at the locusts of Revelation 9.

THE LOCUSTS OF REVELATION 9

On September 1 we began with Revelation 9. In Revelation 9: ¹...the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. ²And he (Satan) opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

 

Mark 13:24 confirms that these events occur after the final tribulation: ²⁴But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened (Christ no longer saves anyone), and the moon shall not give her light.

 

The smoke of Revelation 9:2 that darkens the sun refers to judgment; Christ no longer comes as the savior but as the judge. The Gospel, ac- cording to Romans 10:17, no longer can save anyone.

 

We read of the sun…darkened in Ecclesiastes 12: ¹Remember…thy Creator… while the evil days (beginning May 21, 2011: see February 4 ) come not… ²While the sun (Christ), or the light (of the Gospel), or the moon (God's law), or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds  (judg- ment: Mark 13:26; 14:62; Revelation 1:7) return after the rain. Jeremiah 5:24 defines the rain as the hearing of the Gospel. ²⁴ …our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season…

 

Isaiah 13:9-10 refers to this day of judgment: ⁹ …the day of the LORD cometh…to lay the land desolate… ¹⁰ …the stars of heaven (the true stars of God of Isaiah 14:13: see September 6 ) and the constellations thereof shall not give their light (of the Gospel) : the sun (Christ) shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. Note that while the stars of heaven in Isaiah 13:10 refer to saved people, the stars of heaven in Mark 13:25 refer to the unsaved (see Sep- tember 6 ), which shows we have to let the context define the terms.

 

Isaiah 13:9 refers to God making the land desolate. We get the same des- olation in Jeremiah 25: ¹² …when seventy years are accomplished…I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation… and will make it perpetual desolations (shemāmâ). The seventy years ends the second great tribula- tion. The king of Babylon typifies Satan. At the end of the third great tri- bulation God turns the earth into perpetual desolations (shemāmâ) as He did Babylon.

 

In Jeremiah 12 the same word for desolate (shemāmâ) refers to the churches in 1988: ¹⁰Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard (the churches; see June 25 ). …they have made my pleasant portion (the churches) a desolate (shemāmâ) wilderness. ¹¹They have made it desolate (shemāmâ).

 

To make desolate means to take away the true Gospel of Christ, therefore Christ Himself. On  July 30 we saw that Satan takes the Word of God (the daily of Daniel 8) out of the churches. Jeremiah 51 concerns this desola- tion: ²⁶…they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever… In Ephesians 2: ²⁰…Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.

 

God made desolate the land of Judah during the second great tribulation (Jeremiah 12:10-11); and God made desolate the churches during the third great tribulation (Jeremiah 25:12; see August 16 ). According to Isaiah 13:9, God makes desolate the whole earth on May 21, 2011; or, as in Jeremiah 25:12, God makes the earth perpetual desolations with no more possibility for salvation.

 

We continue in Revelation 9: ³And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power (exousia: should have been translated as authority), as the scorpions of the earth have power (exousia: authority).

 

The scorpions refer to Satan (serpents) as defined in Luke 10: ¹⁹…I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the pow- er of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

 

God gives the locusts in Revelation 9:3 the authority of Satan. During the great tribulation God gave Satan authority in the churches to deceive the non elect: ²⁴For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect (Matthew 24). So the locusts of Revela- tion 9:3 have the authority to deceive those left behind on the earth.

 

Exodus 10:12-14 describes locusts that covered the face of the whole earth and devoured everything in Egypt. Egypt represents the earth of Revelation 9:1. On May 21, 2011 the locusts actually do cover the whole world. These locusts having the authority of Revelation 9:3 are men.

 

Revelation 9:7-8 further defines the locusts: ⁷…the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. ⁸And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

 

The true believers represent the bride of Christ: ² …the holy city, new Jerusalem…from God out of heaven…as a bride (Revelation 21). There- fore women represent true believers. The hair of women in Revelation 9:3 represents the covering of Christ: ¹⁵…it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering (1 Corinthians 11:15). Thus in Revelation 9:3 the locusts with hair as the hair of women appear deceptively as saved indivi- duals. On  September 6 we saw that Mark 13:25 defines them as stars of heaven because they appear as saved people. However they have teeth of lions in Revelation 9:8. In 1 Peter 5: ⁸…your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

 

The locusts of Revelation 9:3 have the faces of men because that's what they are. In Revelation 9:7 they had on their heads...crowns like gold. After the rapture the true believers figuratively speaking do wear crowns of (not like) gold: ⁴…four and twenty elders…had on their heads crowns of gold (Revelation 4). So the locusts of Revelation 9 that appear like true believers wear crowns like gold.

 

Revelation 9:7-8 imply what we decided on  September 6 : that during the great tribulation and afterwards the pseudo stars of heaven (of Mark 13:25) and locusts (of Revelation 9:7-8) appear as true prophets, even after the Rapture leaves them behind. Despite the utter chaos on judg- ment day, church authorities will probably give people false hope. But only before May 21, 2011 does hope exist and one can cry to God for mercy.

 

On September 10 we look at Revelation 9:11 to pick up the theme of Revelation 9:1-10.

 

 

REVELATION’S ABADDON AND APOLLYON

Since September 1 we've been looking at Revelation 9 (actually Revela- tion 9:1-11) that concerns judgment day. Revelation 9:11 gives us the theme of verses 1 through 10—but only if we interpret the verse cor- rectly: ¹¹…they had a king over them…the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

 

Some of us might picture this king or angel as Satan: standing high and mighty on an aerial summit, he guards the wicked below, as they all aflame howl and writhe like stepped-on worms. But during judgment day Satan suffers the same torment (basanizō) as the unsaved. In Matthew 8:29 the devils ask Christ, ²⁹…art thou come…to torment (basanizō) us before the time? What time? The five months of Revelation 9. After Oc- tober 21, 2011 time no longer exists (see February 9 ).

 

In Revelation 20:10 we find that same word for torment (basanizō) that Satan faces before his complete destruction:¹⁰And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented (basanizō) day and night for ever and ever.

 

As we saw on  August 23 , day and night does not last for ever and ever and God does not torment Satan and the unsaved for ever and ever. We can compare the lake of fire in Revelation 20:10 with that of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Genesis 19, Abraham: ²⁸...looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah…and…the smoke…went up as the smoke of a furnace. Note the parallel language in Revelation 9: ²…he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace…

 

The lake of fire and that causing the smoke of Sodom and Gomorrah doesn't burn for ever and ever. What does remain forever is God's wrath that Scripture refers to as fire. In Deuteronomy 4:²⁴…the LORD thy God is a consuming fire… As if to make sure we understand Deuteronomy 4:24, Scripture repeats itself in the N.T: ²⁹For our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12).

 

Jude 1:7 proves that the eternal fire refers to God’s wrath, not some fire: ⁷Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

 

In Ezekiel 22 this fire destroys Satan and the unsaved: ³¹…I have con- sumed them with the fire of my wrath…. We get a tableau of God's complete destruction or consuming fire in Deuteronomy 9:3. Moses tells the Israelites,³…as a consuming fire he (God) shall destroy them: i.e., the Anakims of Hebron circa B.C. 1407. (Numbers 13:33 refers to the Ana- kims as giants living in what we now call the West Bank, the burial place of Abraham and Sarah and spot of contention between today's Palestin- ians and Jews.)

 

God's wrath (or fire) for ever and ever assures us that Satan and the un- saved never come to any conscious existence again. In Revelation 20: ¹⁵…whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. In Revelation 20:14 this lake of fire is the second death. On  September 1  we determined that God uses the term second death to establish its certainty and finality (see Genesis 41:32 and  August 23 ). In Revelation 20: ¹⁰…the devil…was cast into the lake of fire…

 

Going back to Revelation 9: ¹¹…they had a king over them…the angel of the bottomless pit (or lake of fire), whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

 

Before God throws the whole mess into the lake of fire, Satan shall be tormented (basanizō) day and night (Revelation 20:10). That leaves him too preoccupied to make a very good king—an angel, yes, but not the angel of the bottomless pit in Revelation 9:11. Satan is not Abaddon or Apollyon.

 

We find the word, Apollyon, only once, and is an active participle of apollumi; a destroyer.

 

Abaddon comes from the root, ۥābad, meaning to perish. The KJV trans- lates Abaddon six times as destruction and always refers to death and the grave (sheۥôl). In Job 26: ⁶Hell (sheۥôl: the grave) is naked before him, and destruction (ۥabaddôn) hath no covering. Those naked with no cov- ering (of Christ for their sins) face ۥabaddôn, i.e., destruction and the grave, or Hell. In Job 28:22 God personifies the word as He does in Reve- lation 9:11. ²²Destruction (ۥabaddôn) and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. Job 31:12 equates God's wrath with fire and ۥabaddôn: ¹²For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction (ۥabaddôn)… In Psalms 88 destruction (ۥabaddôn) again refers to the dead, and the grave. ¹⁰Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah. ¹¹Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction (ۥabaddôn)? Proverbs 15:11 again equates ۥabaddôn as Hell (sheۥôl: the grave). ¹¹Hell and destruction (ۥabaddôn) are before the LORD…The same for Proverbs 27: ²⁰Hell (sheۥôl: the grave) and destruction (ۥabaddôn) are never full (śāba, satisfiedٴ); so the eyes of man are never satisfied (śāba).

 

Revelation 9:11 personifies Abaddon (destruction) as a king or angel of the bottomless pit. ¹¹…they had a king over them…the angel of the bot- tomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

 

Destruction and death (or Abaddon) rule over Satan and the unsaved as a king demanding his due. This king can't rule over the elect. In Matthew 16:18 Christ personifies Destruction and death as the gates of hell (sheۥôl: the grave): the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (i.e., his eternal church, the elect).

 

This interpretation of Apollyon and Abaddon in Revelation 9:11 agrees with the following theme for Revelation 9:1-11: that of Satan and the unsaved facing torment and ۥabaddôn, i.e., immutable Destruction and death (= the gates of hell = the lake of fire = the bottomless pit).

 

On  September 13 we look at the word, torment, in Revelation 9:5.

THE TORMENT OF REVELATION 9:5

On September 10 we saw that Apollyon and Abaddon in Revelation 9:11 gave us the theme of Revelation 9:1-11: on Judgment Day the unsaved face torment and irreversible death.

 

To get a better idea of Judgment day, we look at the word, torment (basanizō) found in Revelation 9: ⁵…to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented (basanizō) five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. As we saw on September 8 , the scorpion refers to Satan (serpents) as defined in Luke 10: ¹⁹…I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

 

As in Genesis 3 the scorpions …striketh a man with deception and causes him to rebel against God. Today Satan deceives man into rebelling against Christ by remaining in the churches (See July 23 ). With this deception and loyalty to Satan, those in the churches cannot tolerate God's Word—that they should abandon the congregations; that commandment puts them in torment (basanizō).

 

We find the word for torment (basanizō) used twelve times in the N.T. In every case Scripture relates basanizō to the conflict between those under God's grace and those under Satan. According to Luke 16:13 the conflict remains irresoluble: ¹³No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and de- spise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16).

 

Man cannot stay neutral or arrange a truce between the two masters. He will always hold to the one, and hate and despise, and be tormented (basanizō), by the other. Only death can end the conflict: ²²And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood (death) is no remission (of sins; Hebrews 9).

 

To define the word torment (basanizō), we first look at Matthew 8: ⁵…when Jesus…entered into Capernaum, there came…a centurion… ⁶…saying, Lord, my servant lieth…sick…grievously tormented (basanizō). ⁷…Jesus saith…I will…heal him.

 

The centurion plays the part of God. The servant represents one who, as yet unsaved, can't serve the LORD, therefore serves only Satan. From the point of view of the centurion, (i.e., God) the servant is grievously tor- mented (basanizō) because God can't tolerate Satan. Christ came to save that which was lost (in Eden. Matthew 18:11). Physical healing by Christ always allegorizes salvation, according to Matthew 18:11. Christ heals the servant physically; and now the servant can serve God.

 

In Matthew 8: ²⁸…when he (Christ) was come…there met him two pos- sessed with devils…²⁹And…they…saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus…art thou come…to torment (basanizō) us before the time? The same verse with the word, basanizō, appears in Mark 5:7 and Luke 8:28.

 

On Judgment Day (the time) these devils face torment (basanizō) in that God cannot abide with them and conversely. Matthew 8:32 reveals the only resolution to the conflict. When the devils entered into a ³²…herd of swine…the whole herd…ran…down…into the sea (God's wrath), and perished in the waters.

 

In Matthew 14: ²²…Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship…  ²³ And …went up into a mountain…to pray: and when the evening was come… ²⁴…the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed (basanizō) with waves: for the wind was contrary.

 

In Mark 6: ⁴⁸…he (Christ) saw them toiling (basanizō; under the bondage of Satan) in rowing; for the wind (Satan) was contrary… From God's point of view the churches without Christ can only be toiling (basanizō) under Satan in Mark 6:48. Without Christ the churches are tossed (basanizō) with waves (Satan) in Matthew 14:24.

 

In Matthew 14: Christ approaches the boat, walking on the water. Peter attempts the same stunt; i.e., win victory over sin. ³⁰But when he saw the wind (Satan) boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink (under the wrath of God), he cried, saying, Lord, save me (as all the elect do at some point in their lives). Then in Matthew 14: ³¹…Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, i.e., saved him. Peter and Christ now represent God's kingdom that cannot abide with Satan. Satan must perish and ³²…when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Other than eternal death, the conflict remains irresolvable.

 

In 2 Peter 2:6-8 Sodom and Gomorrha portray Judgment day: ⁶…turn- ing…Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them…making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly…⁷And delivered just Lot…⁸(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed (basanizō) his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) Here a saved person, Lot, remains vexed (basanizō) by the ungodly, and again only the eternal death of the latter resolves the conflict.

 

In Revelation 11, after the church age: ⁷…the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them (the saved in the church- es), and shall overcome them, and kill them. To kill them means that the two witnesses or two prophets get kicked out of the congregations. Then ¹⁰…they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented (basanizō) them that dwelt on the earth.

 

In 2 Peter 2:6-8 the unsaved tormented the saved (Lot), but in Revelation 11:10 the saved tormented (basanizō) the unsaved. Neither one can stand the other (Luke 16:13). The two prophets would have tormented them in the congregations by pointing out their apostasy and declaring the end of the church age. Though the saved only get thrown out of the congrega-tions, Revelation 11:7 uses the predicate, to kill them, because again, only the death of one can resolve the conflict.

 

In Revelation 12: ¹…there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: ²And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained (basanizō) to be delivered.

 

Israel gave birth to Christ. As Israel was pained to be delivered out of Egypt, the bondage of sin, the woman (the elect) is pained (basanizō) to be delivered from sin through the birth of the child, Jesus, the savior. In order to be delivered the firstborn in all Egypt, who represented Christ, must die, the only resolution to the conflict.

 

Revelation 14:10 refers to the unsaved on Judgment Day. They ¹⁰…shall be tormented (basanizō) with fire (God's judgment that ends in eternal death as the only resolution).

On  August 23 and September 10 we looked at Revelation 20:10: ¹⁰…the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire…and shall be tormented (basanizō) day and night…

 

Satan has caused tribulation in the churches. But on Judgment Day he realizes that, despite this tribulation in the world…I (Christ) have over- come the world (John 16:33). Therefore, until death resolves the conflict at the end of Judgment Day, Satan is tormented (basanizō) day and night… Unsaved man undergoes the same torment: ²⁸There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you your- selves thrust out (Luke 13:28; see also Matthew 8:12, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30).

 

On Judgment Day man who had served Satan face the torment of God's victory. They must die an irreversible and shameful death—shameful because after God had created them to live eternally as sons of God (John 1:12), Christ rejects them as defective. On September 15 we look further into this theme of death.

MEN SEEK DEATH IN REVELATION

⁶...in those days (Judgment Day) shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them (Revelation 9).

 

At first Revelation 9:6 may seem perplexing. We've already determined that Judgment Day begins with a great earthquake that litters the land- scape with corpses (see August 27, 30 and Revelation 6:12; 11:13; 16:18). If death is everywhere how can men seek death, and…not find it?

 

We have to keep in mind Corollary 3c: Only Scripture can define its own vocabulary (see June 11). A spiritual book (Presupposition 4; see June 14) shouldn't surprise us with more than one meaning for the word, death. On September 13 we determined that only death can resolve the conflict between God and Satan. Thus man on Judgment Day seeks that death that saves him from extinction—that death through Christ before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8)—except it's too late.

 

We find this death in Colossians 3: ¹If ye then be risen with Christ… ²Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. ³For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. In principle the elect all died with Christ before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). Those left behind on earth have witnessed the rapture (Revelation 11:12). If they now know that salvation comes only through Christ dying on their behalf, they seek that death. But Christ never died for their sins; and anyway it's too late.

 

On Judgment Day man seeks death in another sense. In Revelation 9: ³…unto them (the locusts; see September 8) was given power (exousia: au- thority), as the scorpions of the earth have power (exousia: authority). In Revelation 9: ⁵ …their torment was as the torment of a scorpion (Sa- tan), when he striketh a man.

 

These locusts have the authority to inflict the torment of a scorpion (Sa- tan). From God's point of view such torment is the false gospels in the churches (see September 13). At the end of the church age, God gave Satan the authority to proclaim these lies (see July 23). (Actually congre- gations proclaimed untruths before the great tribulation as well; see Au- gust 6 .) In Revelation 9:3 God grants these locusts the authority to tell more lies. Unsaved man can't stand the torment of God's Word (see  September 13 and Revelation 11:10)—especially not that they must perish. With the elect all gone, they seek lies from these former church leaders who supposedly knew something about Scripture. In that sense they seek their own death.

 

A battle to the death in Revelation 9:9 points to 2 Chronicles 20 that concerns Judgment Day. Men in Canaan destroy each other physically in a tableau of the unsaved. In Revelation 9: ⁹…they (the locusts ; see September 8 ) had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

 

Ephesians 6:14 defines the breastplate of the true believer: ¹⁴Stand there- fore, having…truth (Christ), and…the breastplate of righteousness (Christ). Those without Christ have only breastplates of iron, (as in Revelation 9:9) i.e., man-made gospels. When one says, "My church teaches…" he follows a false gospel. Because the locusts lie to everyone, they all self destruct as in a battle.

 

2 Chronicles 20 portrays this battle (of Armageddon) in the physical dimension (see also August 30): ¹…the children of Moab, and the chil- dren of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.

 

Ammon was northeast of Judah and across the Jordan; Moab, southeast, the other side of the Dead Sea. Both nations (and others such as Edom or mount Seir) plan to attack Judah. At the time Jehoshaphat (871 – 846 B.C.), a great, God-fearing king, ruled in Jerusalem. Ammon and Moab represent the churches. The army of Jehoshaphat stands for the elect after the Rapture.

 

In 2 Chronicles 20:6-13 Jehoshaphat prays for God's help. In 2 Chronicles 20:14-17 God's prophet, Jahaziel, prophesizes that God will destroy Je- hoshaphat's enemies.

 

In 2 Chronicles 20:20 Jehoshaphat leads his army into the wilderness of Tekoa. Now Jehoshaphat does something weird. With his army under attack, Jehoshaphat ²¹…appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. Here an overwhelming army has come to destroy them and Jehoshaphat appointed singers to sing.

 

Then ²² …when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambush- ments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. ²³For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.

 

Scripture uses 2 Chronicles 20:1-24 as a tableau of Judgment Day. As proof we look at Revelation 15:2 and Revelation 4:5.

 

In Revelation 15: ²…they stand on the sea of glass… In Revelation 4: ⁵…there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. ⁶And before the throne there was a sea of glass… Revelation 4:5 ties the sea of glass into God's kingdom. Therefore those who stand on the sea of glass in Revelation 15:2 stand in God's kingdom. In Revelation 15: ³…they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb…

 

Revelation 15:3 ties back to 2 Chronicles 20: ²² …when they began to sing and to praise… Thus the army of Jehoshaphat represents the elect in heaven during Judgment Day. The unsaved left behind kill each other, therefore seek death, as they do in 2 Chronicles 20:22-23. In 2 Chronicles 20: ²⁴…when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness (the world), they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

 

Nahum 3 gives us the same picture, when the unsaved rail against God and seek false assurance from the locusts: ¹Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not; ²The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots. ³The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:

 

We get the same scenario in Isaiah 34, along with God's warning: ¹Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. ²For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath (he hath should be, He will; future tense) utterly de- stroyed them, he hath (future tense) delivered them to the slaughter. ³Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains (kingdoms of the world) shall be melted with their blood. ⁴And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved (the elect no longer dwell on the earth), and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll (there is no more Gospel; therefore no more hope for salvation): and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

 

We can only beg God to mercifully spare us from this horror: ³Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger (Zephaniah 2).

 

On September 17 we look at how Revelation 6:1-17 predicts the events from the church age to Judgment Day. That will complete Part 1 of our research.

THE HORSEMEN OF REVELATION 6

To conclude Part I of our research, we look at Revelation 6:1-17 that reviews Biblical history from the cross through Judgment Day.

 

¹And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. ²And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

 

Revelation 19:11 shows that one of the seals referring to the white horse in Revelation 6:2 is Christ: ¹¹And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. Revelation 6:1-2 concerns Christ saving the elect within the congregations; i.e., the hundred and forty-four thousand of Revelation 7:4 (see August 11).

 

To continue in Revelation 6: ³And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. ⁴And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

 

The second seal in verse 3, the red horse, represents Satan riding off to take peace (Christ and salvation; see Isaiah 9:6) from the earth; i.e., from the congregations by seeding them with tares (see July 7). The great sword represents false gospels they use to kill one another spiritually; e.g., make people think God supposedly saved them through some church ritual like water baptism.

 

To continue in Revelation 6: ⁵And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. ⁶And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

 

In Matthew 20 we have the parable of the agreed wages of the vineyard workers. When the householder of the vineyard ²…agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. We saw in Isaiah 5 that the vineyard represents the churches (see June 25). In Revelation 6:6 we have a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny. The penny ties Revelation 6:6 to the church age. The oil and the wine and wheat refer to the hundred and forty-four thousand of Revelation 7:4 (see August 11). The third seal in Revelation 6:5, the black horse and rider with a pair of balances in his hand, represent the growing apostasy of the congregations as the church age draws to an end. In Daniel 5: ²⁷…Thou (Belshazzar: king of Babylon in 539 B.C.) art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.

 

To continue in Revelation 6: ⁷And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. ⁸And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

 

We're now in the Great Tribulation. The fourth seal in verse 7, the pale horse of Death, refers to the spiritual death in the congregations after God abandons them. In Revelation 18:4 God commands the elect, the oil and the wine of Revelation 6:6, to come out of the churches where the beasts of the earth, the church leaders, rule under Satan. Those who remain in the churches suffer only Death, and Hell. The fourth part of the earth designates the furthest extent; i.e., all the churches of the world. To …kill with sword (false gospels) , and with hunger, and with death… reminds us of Amos 8: ¹¹Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 

 

To continue in Revelation 6: ⁹And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: ¹⁰And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? ¹¹And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

 

The little season in verse 11 clues us into the great tribulation, when Satan …must be loosed a little season (Revelation 20:3; see July 12, 16, 23). The white robes refer to Revelation 7:9, 13, 14 and those which came out of great tribulation. At that time Satan takes away the daily of Daniel 8 (see July 28, 30). That …their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, in Revelation 6:11 refers back to John 16: ²They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. In 2 Thessa- lonians 2 God sends those in the congregations a strong delusion: ¹⁰…all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they re- ceived not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹…for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: So in Revelation 13: ¹⁷…no man might buy or sell (false gospels in the churches), save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

 

To continue in Revelation 6: ¹²And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; ¹³And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. ¹⁴And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. ¹⁵And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; ¹⁶And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: ¹⁷For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

 

The sixth seal, verse 12, concerns the 5 month period of Judgment Day (Revelation 9:5, 10; see August 27). That period begins on May 21, 2011 with a great earthquake. The unsaved left behind suffer certain death under the wrath of the lamb (Christ; see  August 30 ). On October 21, 2011 God throws the universe into the lake of fire of Revelation 20:14, 15 (see August 25 ).

 

This completes Part I of our research. Like a jigsaw puzzle all the verses we've looked at since June 16 fit together into one prophetic picture. Yet until the latter part of the last century no one knew about the great trib- ulation or end of the church age. Isaiah and Jeremiah never even heard of churches. If we don't have Divinity then how could they have written with such coherence what they didn't know about?

 

Now that we know what the Bible says, the next question is, "When?" So in Part II we confirm the Biblical dates on the "Pages" by calculating them. With three posts per week, Part 2 ends on February 18, 2009. In the process we attempt to prove that, despite claims of contradictory dates, no such errors exist. The third question is, "How do we show Di- vinity?" In Part III, beginning on February 21, we lay out too many nu- merical "coincidences" between dates to be accidental; i.e., the factori- zation of these intervals give us the same significant numbers more often than chance would allow. Neither could anyone have rigged these dates: until recently no one could even derive them. Therefore, until someone can come up with another explanation, Divinity will stand alone and unchallenged. 

 

We'll begin PART 2 on October 1, 2008.