Beast of Revelation.pdf - Friends of the Sabbath Australia

The Beast of Revelation
As all this transpires, events will spin out of control. The ten
European rulers who empowered this system will bitterly turn on
the church and religious system that failed them (Rev. 17:16–17).
And in one day, the daughter of Babylon shall be destroyed (18:7–8;
Is. 47:8–15). Meanwhile, horrifying mass destruction—perhaps
through nuclear, biological and chemical weapons (cf. Rev. 9:5–6,
18)—will have been unleashed. And just as the Beast power and the
Eastern alliance gather their forces at Armageddon (“the hill of
Megiddo”) in northern Israel to fight a final, climactic battle (Rev.
16:16)—just when it appears that humanity will literally destroy
itself—then the Living God will at last intervene (cf. Matt. 24:22).
The glorified Christ will return in majesty from heaven. But
the nations will be “angry” (Rev. 11:18). Apparently the Beast
and Eastern kings will all see the returning Lord as a common
enemy, for “all nations” then march down to the Valley of
Jehoshaphat (the modern Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem) to
fight Him (cf. Joel 3:1-2, 9-14; Zech. 14:1-15). The outcome of
the resultant “battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Rev.
16:14) is not hard to imagine. The enemies of God will be utterly
vanquished. Thus, it is not until the most hellish period in the
history of mankind’s violent and bloody existence that the real
solution to humanity’s problems will finally be inaugurated.
Transported in vision into that future Day of the Lord, John
records a marvelous event yet ahead of us: “Babylon the great
is fallen, is fallen” (Rev. 18:2). Following that event, Jesus Christ
will stand on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem with all the resurrected
saints. Remember Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the
divine “stone” that smashed the representation of the four worldruling
kingdoms and grew to fill the whole earth (Dan. 2:34-35)?
Rest assured: Christ IS coming back from heaven to take over this
world’s governments and set up the fifth and final world-ruling
kingdom on earth—the Kingdom of God—which shall never be
removed (v. 44). As Daniel said, “the dream is certain, and its
interpretation is sure” (v. 45). In Christ’s Kingdom, the law will
go forth from Jerusalem and all nations will be brought under the
government of God (Is. 2:2–4). The return of Jesus Christ to
60