Abomination of Desolation

Q. Is the abomination of desolation Satan’s perception in the Temple which is in us? Could the second beast in the Book of Revelation be the Spanish inquisition? Why is everyone assuming there is no time between the second beast and Judgement?

The term “abomination of desolation” appears four times in the NASB:

• Dan 11:31 Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.
• Dan 12:11 From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
• Mat 24:15 “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
• Mark 13:14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

As you can see it is something “set up” and people “see,” so it is NOT Satan’s perception in the Temple which is in us.

You are referring to the beast from the earth in Rev 13:11-18

• Rev 13:11ff Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.

The Spanish Inquisition could not be the beast from the earth or the False Prophet, as it does not fit the description in Revelation:

• Rev 13:12-17 He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the freemen and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

The Spanish Inquisition prosecuted about 150,000 and executed 3-5,000 people to identify Catholic heretics, but it was nowhere near “all who dwell on the earth.” Nor could it make fire come down out of heaven, make the image of the beast (the Antichrist) speak, and mark all with the mark of the beast on the right hand or forehead. Roman Catholics would deny they are the first beast vehemently.

Not everyone assumes that there is not enough time between the emergence of the second beast and the Final Judgment. Evangelical Christians believe the first and second beasts will reveal their identity during the apostasy just before the seven-year tribulation:

• 2 Thes 2:3-4 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
• 2 Thes 2:8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 

The man of lawlessness (the lawless one), the son of destruction, is the Antichrist or first beast. The second beast is contemporary with the first beast. The Lord will judge both and throw them into the lake of fire:

• Rev 19:20 And the beast was seized, and with him, the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.
• Rev 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Image of the Beast

Q. Could the image of the beast as spoken about in Revelations be a kind of artificial intelligence because it speaks?

A. It could, but not likely. Some church members saw 3D holograms and speculated that AI technology could be used to make the image of the beast. The passage you were referring to is:

• Rev 13:14-15 And he [the beast from the earth, the False Prophet] deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast [the beast from the sea, the Antichrist], telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. ¹⁵ And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause all who do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

In time past idols are characterized by:

• Ps 115:5-7 They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see;⁶ They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell;⁷ They have hands, but they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat.

The futuristic version is animated and can speak. AI is possible but, in my opinion, unlikely, for the following reasons:

• Practical. The purpose of the image is to deceive those who live on the earth to worship it. There will always be superstitious people, but if people are already knowledgeable about AI now, they will be even more sophisticated in the end times, and less likely to worship the image generated by natural science.
• Biblical. The word translated “breath” in Rev 13:15 is the Greek word “pneuma”, which can mean a current of air, a spirit, or the Spirit. The equivalent in Hebrew is seen in Gen 2:7 when God created man,
  • Gen 2:7 Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living person.

So, breathing life into an image is mimicking God, manifesting supernatural power, in this case, Satanic, to lead people astray.

I, therefore, believe that the image speaking is beyond AI, by Satanic power, to deceive people that the Antichrist is divine and to be worshipped.

7th Trumpet & the Beast from the Earth

The 7 Trumpets

The Beast from the Earth

Q. My questions on Revelation: Are we seeing the prophecies of the seventh trumpet (Rev. 11: 15-19) and the beast from the earth (Rev. 13: 11-18)?

A. My short answer is NO. Here is my rationale.

First, my presuppositions:

• I interpret Revelation literally as far as possible, recognizing symbolic meanings as needed. I do no interpret allegorically unless the context dictates it.
• Among the major schools of interpreting Revelation, I hold the following position:
  • Premillennial, not Amillennial,
  • Post-tribulation or pre-wrath, not pre-tribulation or mid-tribulation.
• The events in Revelation are primarily sequential, not concurrent e.g. the seals, trumpets, and bowls follow a chronological sequence and are not a recapitulation of the same events from different perspectives.
• Having said that, I believe the order of the tribulation is as follows:

The Heptadic Sequence

• That is, the seventh seal consists of the seven trumpets.
• In turn, the seventh trumpet consists of the seven bowls.

Second, the basis of why I do not think we are observing the seventh trumpet now:

• Before the seventh trumpet happens, trumpets 1 to 6 would have to happen first, which means the seventh seal would have been broken.
• Before the seventh seal is broken, seals 1 to 6 would have been broken.
• Looking at world events around us, I believe the first and second seal might have been opened, but not the third:
  • The first seal: Conqueror on a white horse – Some believe this white horseman to be Christ, but the real Christ does not come until Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. The horseman in Rev 6:2 is actually the Antichrist, who went out conquering and to conquer. 2 Thes 2:3b-4, 6-8a For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. …  And you know what restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed. ⁸ Then that lawless one will be revealed. The Antichrist may already be among us, just not yet revealed.

• The second seal: War – The red horseman was granted to take peace from the earth (Rev 6:4). Mt 24:6-7 And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. There had been wars throughout human history, but the frequency, intensity, and scope of war had all intensified in the 20^th and 21^st century, which you can look up for yourself on the internet e.g.
• 20^th century https://www.totallytimelines.com/wars-20th-century/
• 21^st century https://www.totallytimelines.com/wars-21st-century/
  • The third seal: Famine – The black horseman will cause “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; do not damage the oil and the wine.” (Rev 6:6) A quart of wheat weighs two pounds. Assuming 1 pound of wheat gives 1 pound of flour to make 1 loaf of bread, a quart equals 2 loaves of bread, say C$6 in today’s (Nov 2020) terms. A denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer in Jesus’ days. Today’s equivalent might be a minimum wage at C$15/hour X 8 hours/day = C$120. That is $120/$6 = 20 or 2,000% hyper-inflation, roughly the year-over-year inflation rate in Venezuela (1,813% as of Sep. 2020). Although inflation of that order of magnitude has happened in certain parts of the world, it is not worldwide yet. Hence I believe the third seal had not yet been broken, and by extension, the seventh trumpet has not yet been sounded.

Third, by the same token, I do not believe we are seeing the beast from the earth now:

• Rev 13:12b-13, 15-17 And he makes the earth and those who live on it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. ¹³ He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the presence of people. … And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause all who do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ And he causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and he decrees that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.
• Looking at world news, I do not see any false prophet making people worship the Antichrist now, nor do I see someone performing great signs and giving breath to the image of the beast from the sea, or giving a mark on people’s right hands or foreheads. I know people are talking about vaccinations without which you are not allowed to travel, but that is different from buying and selling and worshipping the beast. I see these as signs pointing to what might happen soon, but only as precursors, not the actual thing.

My last comment is if you are concerned that the end-times are already unfolding around us and you are anxious about what might happen to you, do not be alarmed. Wars and rumors of wars must take place, but that is not yet the end. All these things are merely the beginning of birth pains (Mt 24:6, 8). At worst they might be the breaking of the first and second seals. But our Lord had promised:

• Rom 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
• 1 Thes 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is, Jesus who rescues us from the wrath to come.
• 1 Thes 5:9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are not destined for wrath, and our Lord will rescue us from the wrath to come. So, fear not. Do not worry. We are safe and secure in His hands.

The Beast

Q. Can you comment on the Antichrist?

(Continued from yesterday)

What else do we know about the Antichrist from his names? Older authors wrote about titles such as:
• the Bloody and Deceitful Man (Ps 5:6),
• the Wicked One (Ps 10:2, 4),
• the Man of the Earth (Ps 10:18) etc.

But if you look up the references in the Bible, you’ll see:
• Ps 5:6 You destroy those who speak falsehood; the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. (NASB)
• Ps 10:2 In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted; let them be caught in the plots which they have devised. (NASB)
• Ps 10:18 To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror. (NASB)

Notice that there is no capitalization as proper nouns, and the translation is as common nouns for man in general, not a Man in particular. Check using other versions such as ESV or NKJV and you’ll see the same. In fact, there are no capital letters in Hebrew. What the older writers had done is to read their own interpretation into the texts, and presented them as fact. While I understand that there are types in the Bible, this is not exegesis, but eisegesis. Some of these so-called “titles” may not be referring to the Antichrist at all. Having said that, there are several titles that unmistakably apply to the Antichrist. One of them is used by John, who called the Antichrist the beast.

The title “beast” appears 37 times in 29 verses in Revelation, and refers primarily to 2 different beasts:
• Beast from the Sea, commonly known as the Antichrist : Rev 13:1 he dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.
• Beast from the earth, commonly known as the False Prophet: Rev 13:11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.

It is true that Rev 11:7 and 17:3 mention two other beasts:
• Beast from the abyss: Rev 11:7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.
• Scarlet beast: Rev 17:3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

But from their description of:
• being “was, and is not and will come” (Rev 17:8), an imitation of Christ’s life, death and resurrection; and
• having 7 heads and 10 horns with blasphemous names (cf Rev 17:3 to 13:1),
most scholars believe they are one and the same as the beast from the sea, viz. the Antichrist, though some interpret it as a political system rather than a person. Space does not allow me to elaborate on all 37 references. The readers can study Rev 11-20 for themselves to see his final doom.

(To be continued)