Issued: 08/19/24

“For [the day of the Lord] will not come unless the apostasy comes first.”

2 Thessalonians 2:2-3

PLEASE NOTE:  Because Bible versions sometimes differ from each other in crucial ways, the version quoted here will be the one that best clarifies the point being made.  For a quick comparison between versions, please go to: http://www.biblehub.com.

   All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.

   The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”  The symbol “↔” is used to connect verses corroborating each other and so establishing doctrinal truths (Matthew 18:16↔2Corinthians 13:1).

   In differentiating between Yahweh Son [Jesus] and Yahweh Father [the Most High God], lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the Only Sovereign Deity.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

   Apostasy is a falling away from faith, a rebellion against Father, Holy Spirit and Son (Psalms 78:17, 106:33 / Isaiah 1:2-4, 63:10, 65:2↔Matthew 23:37, Jeremiah 7:24, Ezekiel 20:8,13, Acts 7:51). In the histories of Israel and Judah—which are shadow to Jews and Christians respectively, Scripture charts its trajectories from Exodus to the Babylonian Captivity, from the rebuilding of Jerusalem to Jesus’ earthly ministry, and from the onset of Christianity to end-times—what Jesus called “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24).

   This label differentiates times allotted to Christians from those “times of ignorance” allotted to Jews (Acts 17:30); during which the advent of Jesus—albeit the preexistent Yahweh Son proxy Angel God of the Old Testament—and his mission were prophesied (Isaiah 33:22, 35:4,8↔Micah 2:12-13 / Isaiah 54:5↔John 1:3, Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 1:2-3, Jeremiah 23:3-8 / Ezekiel 34:11,17,20,31↔Daniel 7:10, Matthew 25:31-3 / Daniel 9:24-27↔Isaiah 53:4-12, Acts 26:22-23, 1Peter 2:24-25) but not fully understood (1Peter 1:10-12). That knowledge, as well as Jesus’ role as “anointer” of the Holy Spirit Who would reveal Father’s “hidden wisdom” to keep worshippers appraised of the truth and of events to come (John 15:26, 16:13 / 1Corinthians 2:7,10-14↔Deuteronomy 29:29, 1John 2:27), was reserved for Christian converts of all nationalities, ethnicities, races and genders (Deuteronomy 29:14-15↔Acts 2:39, 10:34-35, Galatians 3:28, Ephesians 1:10, 4:6 / 1Peter 5:9↔John 15:18-19, 2Timothy 3:12, 1John 4:5-6).

   The objective behind those time allotments was for people to repent and reconcile with Father throughout an overarching period of grace, during which going back to the old ways could never be forgiven and at the conclusion of which reconciliation was no longer possible (Isaiah 49:8↔2Corinthians 6:2 / Jeremiah 13:16; Ezekiel 3:20 / Zephaniah 2:2-3↔Luke 21:34-36, Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:26-27,38). Since we have discussed these things in previous essays, we will not belabor them here; focusing instead on apostasy’s final and fateful resurgence in modern politics and evangelism.

The Three Signs

   Apostasy is one of three signs ushering in end-times, the other two being global evangelization (Matthew 24:14, largely accomplished via the Internet/all types of media) and the fall of present-day Jerusalem (Matthew 24:14,21-22; Luke 21:20,22-23). The fall of the Jewish capital, the final event leading to the Great Tribulation,¹ may be the result of Israel’s ongoing war of attrition against Palestinians: We may see the day when, if the United States is unable to come to Israel’s aid, Arab nations and invested foreign powers will ally to besiege Jerusalem.  Ample Scriptural precedents foreshadow that outcome plus related mindsets/expectations: Hawkish Jews may think that human might/alliances will help them prevail, but Father means to destroy their nation along with every other nation on earth [↔Isaiah 28:15,18, 30:1-3,15-17, 31:1-3, 36:6 / 2Kings 18:21↔Ezekiel 29:7,16].²

   Revelation 19:11-18 makes clear—as well as being implicit in Paul’s Hebrews 11:13-16, 13:14’s arguments—that patriotism and nationalism play no role in Father’s vision of universal brotherhood; ³ for they entrench/perpetuate the mindsets/schisms prevalent in all forms of human governance past/present that Jesus’ warned brought nations down (Mark 3:24-25). Scripture also shows that there is a synergy between state and church in terms of dominating others, an objective Jesus repudiated in Matthew 20:25-26.  Revelation 13:11-17 expands on this type of synergy between Babylon the Great—a ‘Christian’ church [↔Revelation 2:13, 18:2]—and the ten “horns/kings” (Revelation 17:15-18) protruding from a ‘seven-headed beast’ empowered by Satan himself (Revelation 13:1-2). Needless to say, such state-church coalitions channeling Satan have/will always persecute/suppress Jesus’ true followers (John 6:2, 15:20; Acts 5:29; Revelation 12:7, 13:7).

   Having been conceived with a specific purpose in Father’s agenda—i.e., to trap and condemn unbelievers (Isaiah 28:13; Mark 4:11-12; 2Thessalonians 2:11-12), Scripture is not as straightforward as we would like; so which specific nations and kings are symbolized by the heads and horns of the Revelation beast cannot be definitively ascertained. History suggests answers in terms of the synergy between popes and European nations during the so-called Holy Roman Empire; when—as prophesied—the blasphemous “horn/king” [Papacy embodying all complicit popes] persecuted/killed whoever did not submit to his/their authority/agendas  (Daniel 7:8,21,21-25, 8:23-25; Revelation 13:6-7, 17:1-18). For added evidence, we have the longevity of one of the “heads” (Daniel 12:11-12; Revelation 13:5);⁴ the “blasphemous name” ascribed to the Bishop of Rome (Ezekiel 28:2-9; Revelation 13:1,17-18);⁵ the location of Babylon the Great atop seven hills (Revelation 17:9, a feature of Rome) wherein Satan reigns (Ezekiel 28:12-19; Revelation 2:13, 18:2); and despite Catholicism’s bloody history, the continued submission to Vatican Rome by those to be damned (Revelation 13:8,14-16, 18:4).

   Bottom line, as far as Scripture is concerned, spiritual understanding has nothing to do with intellectual attributes like scholarship (Isaiah 29:10-14; 1Corinthians 1:18-21) or IQs (Matthew 11:25), but with faith: the conviction of what can neither be seen nor empirically proven (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is coupled with the sincere and heartfelt desire to know the “hidden wisdom” which Father reveals via His Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 29:29, Jeremiah 33:3↔James 1:5 / Luke 24:44↔John 20:22 / 1Corinthians 2:7-14; 1John 2:27); so that by looking into our hearts, Father decides who merits spiritual enlightenment. ⁶ Even here the reality is one: “Many shall be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked shall continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand” (Daniel 12:10).

   Nothing that we or anyone has done or will do can change that outcome.

Synergy between State and Church

   Judeo-Christianity was conceived as a theocracy; and will end up as such in the Kingdom to come: Father as One and Only God with Jesus as His ‘vetted’ King/High Priest (1Samuel 17:12↔Isaiah 11:1, Revelation 22:16 / Psalms 110:4↔Ezekiel 37:24-28, Hebrews 7:22-28, 8:1-2, Revelation 21:3 / Isaiah 22:22↔Revelation 3:7 / Isaiah 53:5-12, Hebrews 2:10, 1Peter 2:22-25 / Ezekiel 37:24-28↔Revelation 11:16).

   For those readers under the misconception that the Most High Father and Jesus are ‘persons/aspects’ of the same Deity, please read 1Corinthians 15:24-28, where Paul describes the abdication of Jesus’ Interim Godship [↔Matthew 28:18, Revelation 1:18, 2:27] to submit to Father’s exclusive sovereignty; plus Jesus’ own admission that he serves the God (John 14:28; Revelation 3:12) Who proclaims there is no god higher than Him (Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 45:5-7). Paul, following Jesus’ repeated attempts to differentiate himself from Father (Matthew 12:32 / Mark 13:32↔Acts 1:7; John 7:16, 14:28 / Revelation 1:1) made the same point in Hebrews 6:13-14, in the full understanding that Genesis 22:11-18 portrayed a mediating proxy Yahweh Son Angel God (Acts 27:23; 1Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 13:8) telling Abraham (Genesis 22:11,15↔John 5:37) what Father intended to do.

   Until 1Samuel 8, Israel was governed by ‘Judges’ appointed by Yahweh Son, not by Father, Who like Pharaoh had entrusted his people to Joseph as his proxy ruler (Genesis 41:40,44,55↔Matthew 17:15, 28:18, Revelation 2:26-27); who were legitimized by the intervention of the Holy Spirit [Othniel↔Judges 3:9-10; Ehud↔Judges 3:15; Gideon↔Judges 6:11-22; Samson↔Judges 13:9-25; etc.] but excluding those who seized power by all too-familiar political shenanigans (Judges 9:1-5). It was then that Israel rejected divine guidance to be ruled by men; and despite warnings of what to expect from human rulers, Israel made the fateful choice that has bedeviled nations from the onset of human governance in whatever shape or form (1Samuel 8:11-22).

   In terms of kings, Saul turned out to be a disappointment and was rejected (1Samuel 11:6, 15:22-35, 16:14); on the main David was a winner (1Samuel 16:13; 1Kings 5:3-4; 1Chronicles 22:18); Solomon apostatized (1Kings 11:1-8); and from then on Jewish kings were either obedient to Yahweh or not. From the Prophets we know that state and church, pursuing respective agendas rooted in behaviors despised by Father, led their peoples to their downfall (Jeremiah 5:30-31, 6:13-14; Lamentations 2:14, 4:13; Ezekiel 22:26-30; Zephaniah 3:3-4; Zechariah 10:2-3; Malachi 2:7-8).  In point of fact Yahweh Son’s incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth was Father’s last attempt to bring Jews to their senses (Matthew 10:5-6↔Mark 7:27 / Luke 20:9-16↔Isaiah 5:1-7 / John 15:22↔Jeremiah 29:18-19, 46:28, Ezekiel 3:7, Zechariah 7:12, Romans 5:13)—though it was foreknown even before they had set foot in Canaan that Jews would apostatize not only by nailing Jesus to the cross but all the way to end-times by holding fast to the traditions of their elders (Deuteronomy 31:16-20,29; Romans 11:11-23; 2Corinthians 3:13-16; Hebrews 9:6-17).

   Because Father is no respecter of persons and “accepts from every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right” (Acts 10:34-35), provisions were made to include Gentiles in the promise made to Abraham (Deuteronomy 29:14-15 / John 10:16↔Galatians 3:16-18); not because they shared Abraham’s ethnicity or partook of his circumcision, but because they shared his faith (Romans 2:28-29↔Jeremiah 4:4; Romans 4:1-3,9-11,13-16). Since Father knew Mosaic-constrained Jews would consistently resist correction (Ezekiel 3:4-7 / Acts 5:28-29,33↔John 16:2 / Acts 15:1,5,24-28, 17:5, 18:6, 23:12-14), Jesus chose Jews receptive/amenable to Christian conversion and through them set out to evangelize the world at large (Matthew 24:14; Acts 1:8, 9:15-16, 26:16-19)—the bitter reality being that though universal salvation came through the Jews (John 4:22), some were rejected—pending repentance—while Jews converting to Christianity and Gentiles were embraced into Father’s fold (Romans 11:7-24).

   Nonetheless, Jesus’ ordeal at the hands of state and church followed the historical template: Religious leaders mired in cushy lifestyles, vainglory, corruption and hypocrisy conscripted the state to get rid of accusers/opposers.  Because Jesus exposed their duplicity, was able to perform miracles, and operated from a higher moral ground, envious priests conspired to kill him, rationalizing the deed as necessary to ensure national survival (John 11:49-52).  Judas was a Satan-send—figuratively and literally (Luke 22:3; John 13:2); and since Jewish priests, pious observers of the letter of the law if not of the spirit of it (Matthew 23:23) would not execute one of their own, they turned to the state—embodied by Pilate—to get rid of Jesus; for good measure accusing Pilate of disloyalty to Caesar if he did not carry through (John 18:28-31, 19:12-13,15). Fearing for his position, though perfectly aware and forewarned of Jesus’ innocence, Pilate relented and sealed Jesus’ fate (Matthew 27:19; Mark 15:10-15).

   Paul went through a similar experience, though one can argue that in his case he was getting what he dished out (Acts 8:1,3, 9:1-2; Galatians 1:13-14); so whereas Jesus was truly innocent of all charges against him, the proverbial chickens came home to roost for Paul. That being said, Jewish priests rallied against Paul; and having been thwarted in their attempt to murder him (Acts 23:12-21), first made up trumped-up charges against Paul before Governor Felix (Acts 24:4-9) and two years later before Felix’ successor, Porcius Festus (Acts 24:27, 25:2-3,7). Paul had had enough of Jewish interference; and only because he was a Roman citizen, his appeal was granted to go to Rome and be judged by Augustus Caesar (Acts 22:25, 25:10-12,25).⁷ King Agrippa, who happened to be visiting Festus a few days after, upon listening to Paul’s religious arguments was convinced of his innocence and would have freed Paul had not Paul petitioned  to go to Rome (Acts 25:13-27, 26:1-32).

   With these three representatives of the state, Scripture provides another snapshot of what to expect from political powers that be—all of which, at the risk of repeating ourselves for the umpteenth time, channel Satan’s agendas and objectives (Luke 4:5-6; John 8:44; Ephesians 2:2; 1John 5:19). Felix was open to bribery but finding no offers opted to curry favor with Jews by leaving Paul unjustly imprisoned for two years (Acts 24:26-27).  Festus and Agrippa, though convinced of Paul’s innocence, relied on technicalities to pass the buck and not get mired in religious controversies they knew were prompted by envy and ill-will. ⁸  Like Pilate before them, they washed their hands off the whole affair; and by so doing failed to do what Father, regardless of non-compliance to His wishes, expects from heads of government He allows Satan to empower (Romans 13:1-5). By failing to discharge their duties and taking the easy way out, these three embodiments of the state became complicit in undermining justice and liable for the shedding of innocent blood.

End-Times: More of the Same

  Daniel and Revelation provide windows into the synergy between state and church from the onset of “the times of the Gentiles” to end-times. This is perfectly clear from Revelation 17:17, which states that this synergy serves Father’s agenda until His words are fulfilled and prophecy becomes irrelevant [↔1Corinthians 13:8]. What objectives? The destruction of Babylon the Great and the suppression of all worldly governments; the first described in Revelation 18:1-24 and the second in Daniel 2:28-45. It is necessary to wipe out both in order to make room for His Kingdom in a new world order.

   In other words none of the continents and nations we now call home will endure; for nationalism/ethnicities/races have no place in Father’s vision for humanity (Ezekiel 37:23-28; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 1:10, 4:6), nor divisions between Jews and Christians (Ezekiel 37:17-22). And that all of this is already a done deal is evident from Paul’s arguments in Hebrews 4:3, 11:13-16, 13:13-14 and the ‘visual’ evidence of Revelation 21:2-3,9-10:  The Heavenly Jerusalem already exists some place ‘up there’ waiting for the world to be incinerated and a new creation made from scratch (Revelation 6:12-16↔Isaiah 13:10, 43:19-21, 51:6, 60:19-20 [↔Revelation 21:23], 65:17 [↔Revelation 21:1,4-5] / Amos 8:8-9↔Psalms 97:5, Micah 1:4, Nahum 1:5 / Joel 2:31; Matthew 24:29,35; Luke 21:25; Acts 2:20; 2Peter 3:7-13).

   That is the message implicit in Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2:28-45) about a statue charting the succession of historical empires: A golden head [Babylon]; chest and arms made of silver [Medo-Persia]; belly and thighs made of bronze [Greece]; legs of iron [Rome]; ending with toes of clay symbolizing tribes which following the fall of the Roman Empire coalesced into European nations. “Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind [1Kings 11:19-13↔Revelation 7:1, 16:18, 20:9?] swept them away without leaving a trace; but the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). That “rock” is Father’s sacred mount, referred to in Isaiah 11:9, 14:13-14, Joel 3:17 and Revelation 21:1-3,9-10, atop which the Heavenly Jerusalem will descend after all the nations of the world are burned out of existence (Revelation 16:18-19, 19:17-18, 20:7-10).

   We must next incorporate Paul’s ‘potentiality argument,’ the notion that subsequent generations were potentially present in their progenitors and that future offspring partook of/benefitted from the former’s actions. If Adam’s sin made the whole of humanity—‘potentially present in his loins—sinful, Jesus’ self-sacrifice ‘potentially’ redeemed all men (Romans 5:12-21); generations of unborn Jews and Gentiles were blessed collectively with uncircumcised Abraham’s act of faith (Genesis 15:5-6, 17:4-6↔Romans 4:10-16, Galatians 3:6-9); or as Paul argued, unborn Levites paid tithes along with Abraham in whose loins they were ‘potentially’ present (Hebrews 7:4-10).

   Consequently, in keeping with Scripture’s focus on Western nations [↔Acts 16:6-10], North and South America, ‘potentially’ present in European ‘loins,’ are as European as the nations who reshaped them  in terms of culture, heritage, law, Christian influences, and whatever philosophies were exported/imported during the ages of exploration and conquest. In both these continents, native, non-Christian populations were decimated, enslaved or marginalized; their cultures/systems of belief suppressed or outright eradicated; so what remains to this day is essentially the ‘DNA’ of Europeanism.

   Going back to Daniel’s statue, the ten toe/nations united by human alliances (Daniel 2:43) and represented in both Daniel 7:7-8 and Revelation 13:1 by ten-horns/“kings” (Daniel 8:24), reference leaders and tribes who evolved into European nations; in time became part of the so-called Holy Roman Empire; and were instrumental in spreading Christianity throughout the globe. Scripture helps us in this respect by identifying Alexander the Great as the “great horn” on the body of a “male goat” (Daniel 8:21)—i.e., the Greek Empire he founded; the two horns in Daniel 8:20 as two prominent rulers of the Medo-Persian Empire;⁹ and Alexander’s four generals/”horns” who divvied up his empire following his death in 323 BCE (Daniel 8:8,22). Out of these four horns grew a “small one” that extended to the south and east to Judea, the “glorious land” (Daniel 8:9); and which by destroying the Jerusalem Temple on 70 CE ended the animal sacrifices that Father had instructed would only be acceptable there (Deuteronomy 12:13-14 / 2Chronicles 6:5-6,12:13↔Zechariah 2:12).

   Obviously, Daniel’s “small horn” was the Roman Empire, which in Scripture is not associated with any individual animal, but emerging in wake of internecine wars amongst Alexander’s generals and successors [“kingdoms” not as powerful as Alexander’s]; so that in comparison, Rome was a smaller kingdom issuing from them (Daniel 8:5-9). In typical Scriptural ‘hodgepodge’ fashion, Daniel 8:10-12,23-25 conflates Imperial Rome with Vatican Rome as if indistinguishable from each other, aptly true in the sense that following the fall of the Roman Empire, Vatican Rome absorbed the latter’s customs, religious cults/hierarchies, laws, and morals into itself; so that for all practical purposes, Vatican Rome is Imperial Rome redux.

  The Bishop of Rome [not any one particular pope] as the Vatican’s leader is the “insolent king skilled in intrigue and knowledgeable in enigmas” who kills Father’s saints (Revelation 13:3-8); and accomplishes his destructive agenda not with armies of his own but the might of nations subservient to him (Daniel 8:23-25)—again, the Holy Roman Empire’s modus operandi.  In Ezekiel 28:1-5, he is further identified as a “prince” [a high priest↔Acts 23:2-5] ¹⁰ in Satan’s court, who is presented therein as the King of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:12-19) and in Revelation 2:13, 18:2 enthroned in Babylon the Great.

   Now in the sense that Satan is the de facto ruler behind every human ruler of every age (Luke 4:5-6), Ezekiel depicts him as King of Tyre and as Pharaoh king of Egypt (Ezekiel 29:3↔Revelation 20:2); so that the Pharaoh Moses addressed in Exodus was not the unnamed historical ruler but Satan himself acting through him; for which reason Exodus 7:3, which seems contradictory in light of Ecclesiastes 7:13 and Daniel 4:35, must be interpreted as Father allowing Satan to harden the human Pharaoh’s heart; otherwise it would be pointless to ask him to do something Father had prevented him from doing. When dealing with the Israelites, prophecy equates Egypt with the world at large and Satan as the world-ruling Pharaoh.

   However, with respect to Gentiles, as in Isaiah 14:4-20, prophecy equates Babylon with the world at large and Satan as its ruler. Why Babylon?  Because it was there that the common language all nations spoke became a confusion of opinions/agendas destined to fail (Genesis 11:6-9). What was their objective? A project [world system] which defied divine sovereignty; a tower [world religion], so to speak, to rival the one Son had built in his vineyard (Isaiah 5:1-2), and whose walls were daubed with the visions/promises of false priests/prophets (Isaiah 30:13-14; Ezekiel 13:10-14, 22:28). So that if in addition we substitute ‘one language’ for Jesus’ doctrine, the Babel of conflicting opinions/dogmas which Christendom has become is equally doomed to failure—the gist of Matthew 24:11,14,21-27; Acts 20:29-30; and 2Timothy 4:3-4.

   Furthermore, if we accept Peter’s premise that the Holy Spirit is the proverbial Ghostwriter of Scripture (2Peter 1:20-21), it is the Holy Spirit through Peter Who identifies Rome as Babylon’s capital city (1Peter 5:13), in keeping with Old Testament prophecies equating the Babylonian Empire with the modern world. And this is obvious from Jeremiah 51:44: “I will punish Bel in Babylon and make him spew out what he has swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him; and the wall of Babylon will fall”; and its companion prophecy in Revelation 16:13-14: “I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty”—which is Armageddon (Revelation 20:7-10). Who is “Bel” and the “dragon”?  Satan himself.

   Thus we arrive at the conclusion that Babylon the Great and Babylon Rome are not the same entity, but that Babylon the Great is the church within the city of Rome where Satan is enthroned (Revelation 2:13), a “dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal” (Revelation 18:2)—“unclean birds” meaning fallen angels by virtue of their flying capabilities (Marcos 13:27; Luke 17:37; Revelation 14:6) and “unclean/detestable animals” meaning people (Matthew 7:6).  In other words the Vatican, which throughout its long history has traded in human souls (Revelation 18:13).

   Further links are established between Jeremiah 51:6 and Revelation 18:4, dealing with Satan’s comeuppance; Jeremiah 51:7-9,13,41 and Revelation 17:1-4, 18:3,5-11,15-19, dealing with Babylon the Great’s global, corruptive influence and destruction; and between Daniel 8:24-25 and Revelation 17:4-5,14-17, 18:20-24, which summarize the synergy between army-less, Vatican Rome and nations whose armies enabled her absolute control over peoples (Revelation 17:15)—not surprisingly, Satan’s preeminent objective (Isaiah 14:13-14).

   But this is all history behind us; what should concern us are future events that will have adverse consequences for us. Nothing that lies ahead will be good: Jesus made that clear in his end-times predictions (Matthew 24:1-25; Luke 21:7-36); as did Paul in 1Thessalonians 5:2-3; 1Timothy 4:1-4; 2Timothy 3:1-5; as does Revelation with all the plagues and natural upheavals in store for humanity. Modern religious leaders cater to the expectations of their congregants, but this is what their ilk has done since Aaron consented to betray Yahweh Father/Yahweh Son and Moses, their mediator (Exodus 7:1), by giving the Israelites false options (Exodus 32:1-8).  And they continued doing so throughout Israel’s “times of ignorance” (Isaiah 30:10; Jeremiah 6:13-14; Lamentations 2:14, 4:13; Ezekiel 22:27, 34:2-5,8-10; Zephaniah 3:4; Malachi 2:7-8)—precedents that informed Father’s ‘Plan B’ strategy to make religious leaders irrelevant (Luke 16:16↔John 7:16) by replacing them with the Holy Spirit (1Corinthians 2:7,10-14↔Deuteronomy 29:29, John 16:13, 1John 2:27).

  Yet notwithstanding this boon, Father foreknew most Judeo-Christians were a stubborn, recalcitrant lot; not particularly moral (Deuteronomy 7:6-7, 9:5↔1Corinthians 1:27), or obedient (Deuteronomy 9:6; Ezekiel 3:7-9), or spiritually-inclined (Jeremiah 4:4↔Romans 2:25-29), or fully cognizant of His uncompromising stances (Jeremiah 4:22, 8:10,  9:24,26 / Ezekiel 3:20↔Hebrews 10:38, Nahum 1:3, Hebrews 6:4-6), or fully aware that though Father, He is Deity no one should mess around with (Proverbs 1:7↔Isaiah 66:2, Matthew 10:28, John 9:31, Hebrews 12:29 / James 1:13↔Luke 4:12). One only has to read Revelation 14:4-5 to realize that if amongst 8 billion people alive today only 144,000 will be spared the final plagues because of their merits (Revelation 7:1-3), the millions upon millions of Judeo-Christians who will saved (Revelation 7:9,13-14) are neither on a spiritual par with those 144,000 nor will be that lucky; and that having been warned, whatever befalls the pious, self-deluded amongst us (Job 9:20; Titus 1:16), will be the result of our own misguided choices and beliefs (John 9:41, 15:22).

   We will conclude our discussion in Part II.

¹ Interpreted as referencing the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans in 70 CE—at least by those who believe Jesus’ predictive powers (Matthew 24:2 regarding the Temple), but not by scholars who believe the Gospels were written after the fact [Jeremiah 8:8↔1Corinthians 1:20-21] .

   If one accepts the former explanation, then Luke 21:22 makes clear that Jerusalem’s fall marks the fulfillment of all that has been written; including end-times events like unprecedented upheavals (Luke 21:25-26↔Joel 2:10,31, Revelation 6:12-14, 16:8-9 [exacerbated by climate change?]; plagues of hail (Revelation 16:21↔Job 38:22-23); the second coming of Jesus (Luke 21:27↔Revelation 6:15-16); the Last Judgment; the Millennium of rest (Revelation 20:6); the destruction of Satan along with his angelic and human minions; and the destruction of the world as we know it at Armageddon (Psalms 46:6, 68:2, 97:5↔Proverbs 5:11-14, Isaiah 13:8 / Amos 9:5; Micah 1:4; Habakkuk 3:6; Nahum 1:5; Zephaniah 1:2-3; Revelation 20:7-10,14-15).

² See symbolism of Egypt in connection with Satan/Pharaoh and the deliverance of the Redeemed from his global empire to Father’s Kingdom (Isaiah 14:20↔Luke 4:5-6, John 14:30, 2Corinthians 4:3-4 / Hebrews 2:14↔1John 5:19, Revelation 6:8, 20:14 / Matthew 24:31↔1Corinthians 15:54-55, 1Thessalonians 4:17).

³ See Part VI (d) in our series “All About Satan.”

⁴ Appling Ezekiel’s conversion factor, prophetic days = historic years (Ezekiel 4:6↔Numbers 14:34).

⁵ Vicar of the Son of God, rendered in Latin, the official language of the Roman Catholic Church, as Vicarius Filii Dei.  Latin’s numerical system derives from letters of its alphabet; so that V = 5, i = 1, c =100, a = 0, r = 0, i = 1, u =v = 5, s = 0 / F = 0, i = 1, l = 50, i = 1, i =1 / D = 500, e = 0, i = 1.  Adding values up as per Revelation 13:18: 5+1+100+1+5+1+50+1+1+500+1 = 666.

   Do not fixate on the fact that this title first appeared on a medieval document thought to be a forgery; but on the incontrovertible fact that centuries before that event—following Father’s modus operandi of announcing to men what He intended to do in future (Isaiah 42:9 / Amos 3:7, 4:13↔John 16:13), the title and its numerical equivalent in Latin, the official language of Roman Catholicism, appeared in Revelation 13:18.

⁶ Lydia of Thyatira being a case in point (Acts 16:14).

⁷ It is doubtful that Paul expected justice from Augustus, who for political reasons would have sided with his satraps in a tinderbox like Judea. We rather think that Paul saw an opportunity to be taken in safety to Rome, where he could continue evangelizing in Jesus’ name—which in fact he did (Acts 28:16-31) in accordance with Jesus’ agenda (Acts 27:24).

⁸ As Pilate attempted to do by involving Herod, which proved to be a political coup for both (Luke 23:5-12).

⁹ Who they were is the stuff of scholarly controversy. Some posit a Median ruler of Iranian stock [Darius, a Mede by descent, is mentioned in Daniel 9:1] and the Persian Cyrus the Great, who assimilated Media into his two-nation empire.  Again consider the ‘potentiality’ argument: The most powerful ruler of either empire need not have been the founder of either one, but a descendant of his; just as neither Isaac (Genesis 15:4-5↔Hebrews 11:12 / Genesis 21:12, 22:18↔Galatians 3:16) nor Solomon (1Kings 8:19↔1Chronicles 17:11-12) was the Son who would inherit Father’s Kingdom and build His Temple, Jesus’ conceptual body, the Church (1Corinthians 12:12,27 / Colossians 1:18, 2:9↔John 14:10).

   That being said, giving the ambiguity of prophecy, there is no way of definitively linking Scripture to specific historical dates [↔Acts 1:7]; for the purpose of prophecy is to give us an approximation of the time when events take place (Luke 21:28); as for example, Jesus’ predicting his three nights and days burial while he was only dead from Friday sunset to early Sunday morning—hardly 72 literal hours (Matthew 12:40; Luke 23:54-56; John 20:1-2). While prophecy does not operate like atomic clocks, the underlying doctrine that Jesus died and was resurrected by Father was fulfilled.

¹⁰ While some of us would defend Paul’s lashing out at the high priest, Father demands respect to/compliance with whatever/whoever He has empowered. Thus Paul corrected himself by extrapolating from Exodus 22:28 [↔1Peter 2:25, 5:4]; David thought it unthinkable to raise his hand against Saul, Yahweh’s anointed (1Samuel 26:9) and executed the man who claimed to have killed Saul (2Samuel 1:1-16); Paul forbade, as did Peter, attacking/opposing/disobeying the powers that be in any type of government set up by Father (Romans 13:1-6; 1Peter 2:13-16).