A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Revelation 4-22
Part 2: A Commentary on the Period of Tribulation Before the Millennial Reign (Period 2) (2017AD-2027AD)

Kuruvilla Thomas
Bangalore

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Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

4. A Commentary on the Reconfigured Text, Continued from Part 1

In Part 1 of this paper, we reconfigured Revelation 4-22 and commented on the passages related to Satan's Fall from heaven and Christ's First Coming (Period 1). Part 2, below, is a commentary on Pre-Millennial tribulations 2017AD-2027AD (Period 2), and Part 3 has commentary on the Last Days c. 2967AD (Period 3).

4.2 Period 2. The Events Preceding Christ's Reign on Earth (2017AD-2027AD) (Ch 12 verses 1,2,10-12, Ch 5,6:1-11, Ch 13, Ch 14:6 to 19:9a, Ch 19:11-20:10, Ch 22:10-15, Ch 19:9b-10)

4.2.1 Period 2 The Chiastic Structure of the Reconfigured Text

Chiasmus 1: The Woman in Heaven Portends the Start of the Millennial Reign (2017AD-2027AD) (Ch 12 verse 1-2,10-12)


Chiasmus 2: Christ begins to rule over the earth (2017) (Rev. 5)


Chiasmus 3: The First 4 seals are opened (2024AD-2025AD) (Rev. 6:1-8)


Chiasmus 4: The 5th seal is opened, Satan persecutes the saints (2025-2027AD) (Rev. 6:9-11)


Chiasmus 5: The Reign of the 7-headed Beast (2023AD-2027AD) (Ch 13)


Chiasmus 6: God's Gospel replaces Satan's wicked doctrines at the end of "Babylon's" reign (2027AD) (14:6-8)


Chiasmus 7: The wicked are punished after the reign of the Beast, the faithful will be blessed (2025-2027AD) (14:9-20)


Chiasmus 8: The sign of the 7 vial plagues: The righteous are victorious while the wicked are destroyed (2025AD-2027AD) (15:1-6)


Chiasmus 9: The first 3 plagues are poured out on "Babylon" from the Golden Vials (2027AD) (15:7-16:7)


Chiasmus 10: The last 4 plagues from the Golden Vials: The Beast is destroyed (2027AD) (16:8-21)


Chiasmus 11: The "Whore of Babylon" and the Beast (Ch 17)


Chiasmus 12: Wicked "Babylon" is fallen (2027AD) (18:1-10)


Chiasmus 13: With its fall, "Babylon's" financial power disappears (2027AD) (18:11-24)


Chiasmus 14: Rejoicing in heaven at the end of Satan's reign and the start of Christ's reign (2027AD) (Ch 19:1-9a)


Chiasmus 15: The coming Messiah will reign on earth for Christ (from 2027AD) (Ch 19:11-15a)


Chiasmus 16: God and the Messiah defeat the Antichrist and the Beast (2027AD) (Ch 19:15b-21)


Chiasmus 17: Satan is imprisoned until the End Times, The Saints Reign With Christ for a Millennium (Ch 20:1-10)


Chiasmus 18: Epilogue to Period 2 (Ch 22:10-15, 19:9b-10)

4.2.2 Period 2 Commentary

This Period is primarily regarding the Pre-Millennial tribulations and the end of Satan's earthly reign; the Period extends from the sign of the woman in heaven (2017AD) to the start of Christ's Millennial Reign (2027AD). It is structured as a series of 18 chiasmi.

Chiasmus 1: The Woman in Heaven Portends the Start of the Millennial Reign (2017AD-2027AD) (Ch 12 verses 1-2,10-12)

The sign of this passage, in Ch 12 verses 1-2,10-12, is a celestial event that takes place over a period of 10 months (23 Nov 2016-23 Sep 2017) at the constellation Virgo - the woman in this passage - portending the start of Christ's Millennial Reign.

See Period 3 of our paper on Revelation 12 for a more detailed analysis of this extract.

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Chiasmus 2: Christ begins to rule over the earth (2017) (Rev. 5)

A1 5:1-5 Christ is deemed worthy to reign after his Messiah triumphs
  B1 5:6-7 Christ is given power over the world
    X 5:8 When Christ begins his reign, the prayers of the righteous are answered
  B2 5:9-10 Christ is given power over the world
A2 5:11-14 Christ is deemed worthy to reign after his Messiah triumphs

We propose that the events of the subunits of this chiasmus occur in the sequence: [A1, A2] (Christ is deemed worthy), [B1,B2] (Christ is given power), and [X] (Christ begins his reign). The events of this chiasmus occur at the start of this Period, around the time the Sign of the Woman on Sep 23 2017 (Ch 12:1,2).

Subunit A1: Christ is deemed worthy to reign after his Messiah triumphs (5:1-5)

Chapter 5 1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.

We propose that the scroll of this verse contains the prophetic passages that are designated as "sealed" (for ex., Daniel 8). The scroll is in God's right hand, the hand that represents His power (cf. Ephesians 1:20). It has writing on both sides, presumably so that when it is unrolled and held up, it is visible from all directions, indicating that its prophecies will be made known to all the people of the world after the "seals" are opened (cf. Zech 5:1-4. see also Rev 14:6-13).

Chapter 5 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.

A search is made throughout the universe (with a "loud voice" that could be heard everywhere) for someone who was worthy to open the seals, but no one was found.

Chapter 5 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

John wept because he was told that Christ could not begin his reign unless the seals are opened (see corresponding Subunit A2 below). While the "Lamb" of this book is Jesus, the "Lion of Judah" is the coming Messiah (see also Gen. 49:9,10), also a descendant of David ("Root of David" means "shoot from the dormant root" - see also Rev. 22:16 below, Isa. 11:1,10, Zech. 3:8), a human with frailties, whose victory is not confirmed until that moment (see also Rev. 3:21). Both Jesus and the Messiah had to be victorious in order that the seals may be opened. The Messiah triumphs to open the seals on the same date as the end of the Sign of the Woman on Sep 23 2017 (Ch 12:1,2).

Subunit B1: Christ is given power over the world (5:6-7)

Chapter 5 6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing between the throne and the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

The Lamb, the risen Jesus, ("looking as if it had been slain") (see also Isaiah 53:9-12), has 7 horns and 7 eyes, which are 7 spirits (angels) through whom Jesus controls the divisions of the Church from the spiritual realm ("sent out into all the earth") (see also Rev. 1:20); the horns represent the angels' role as leaders and shepherds of the worldwide church, and the eyes represent their function of monitoring the Church for Christ.

The arrangement of God's "throne room" represents the leadership structure of His government. God, the most powerful of all, is at the centre, and some of His top deputies - the "living creatures" and the "elders" - encircle Him, with a host of angels beyond (vs. 11). The presence of the Lamb between God and everyone else indicates that Jesus is the second most powerful being after God (cf. Eph. 1:20-21, Psalm 110:1).

Chapter 5 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.

Christ takes the scroll from God so that he may begin unsealing it. With this act, Christ accepts leadership over the world forever.

Pivot X: When Christ begins his reign, the prayers of the righteous are answered (5:8)

Chapter 5 8 After he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones.

When Christ begins his reign, the four "living creatures", representing all living creatures on earth, and the twenty-four "elders", representing all God's angels (see Chiasmus 1 of Period 1), carry the harps of praise and the golden bowls with incense that represent the prayers of the righteous, and they fall down before Christ to honour him. For by taking control over the earth, Christ has answered the prayers of the righteous - the prayer that, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matt 6:10).

Note that although Christ is now ruler of the earth (2017AD), he must let Satan control the world for about 10 years more (until 2027AD), so that Satan can execute his plans for the Pre-Millennial tribulation that tests mankind (see Rev. 12:12).

Subunit B2: Christ is given power over the world (5:9-10)

This subunit continues from Subunit B1 above.

Chapter 5 9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

All the heavenly beings ("they") sing the "new song" of the redeemed (see also Rev. 14:2,3), for Jesus, through his death, has purchased the souls of believers from around the world for God. Some of these Christians, those who remain faithful unto death, will join the redeemed Israelites to form a kingdom of priests that serves God and rules the earth (see also Rev, 20:4, Isa. 61:6, 1 Peter 2:9).

Subunit A2: Christ is deemed worthy to reign after his Messiah triumphs (5:11-14)

This subunit continues from Subunit A1 above.

Chapter 5 11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”

All the angels in heaven gather to praise Christ for he, along with his Messiah, has triumphed and is deemed worthy to reign over the world. Christ is worthy because he suffered and died on the cross for mankind.

Chapter 5 13 Then I heard every creature in the sky and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”

John is shown a vision which indicates that all living things on the earth (the sky, land and sea) accept God ("him who sits on the throne") and Christ ("the Lamb") as their kings.

Chapter 5 14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

The four "living creatures", the leaders of the earthbound living, and the "elders", the leaders of the angels in heaven, concur with this praise from those living in the spiritual and physical realms (they say "Amen") and bow down to honour God and Christ.

Chiasmus 3: The First 4 seals are opened (2024-2025AD) (Rev. 6:1-8)

At the opening of the first 4 seals (2024-2025AD), the horsemen on the White, Red, Black and Pale horses set out. Horsemen, in prophecy, represent powerful angels - both good and evil - who have been given a significant, extended assignment on earth (see also Zech. 1:8-11, 6:1-5); the horse represents the angel's mode of operation and the colour of their horses represents their domain of operation: white for political power, red for war/peace, black for economic power, and pale for death. The work of these horsemen may not be visible as soon as they are released, for they will initially be preparing for an assault that begins only after the 5th seal is opened.

For this vision, John is in the heavenly realm and the riders do their work on earth, so the "living creatures", the angels responsible for earthbound life, direct him to "Come!" (as in 6:1) and see the effect of the horsemen's release. The first 5 seals are opened within a year, but the last 2 are opened around 900+ years later.

A1 6:1-2 Angels who do God's work: The Rider on the White Horse (Oct 2024)
    X 6:3-6 Angels who do Satan's work: The Riders on the Red and Black Horses (Mar 2025)
A2 6:7-8 Angels who do God's work: The Rider on the Pale Horse (May 2025)

Subunit A1: Angels who do God's work: The Rider on the White Horse (Oct 2024) (6:1-2)

Chapter 6 1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he had been given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

At the opening of the first seal, in Daniel 8 [5], the rider on the White Horse, the coming Messiah, is released (c. 5 October 2024). He had won the crown of victory ("stephanos") when he triumphed to open the seals (Rev. 5). He carries a bow to defeat the wicked (see also Psalm 45:5) and then rule the world for Christ (he is the victorious rider on the White Horse at the end of this tribulation period in Ch. 19:11-16).

Pivot X: Angels who do Satan's work: The Riders on the Red and Black Horses (Mar 2025) (6:3-6)

The next two horsemen bring war and economic turmoil. Satan apparently plans to create a period of intense worldwide chaos and calamity as part of his plan to control the earth and persecute the righteous.

Chapter 6 3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

At the opening of the second seal, in Daniel 10-12 [14], the rider on the Red Horse is released [c. 6 March 2025]. This rider brings about violence between people and war among and nations (as represented by the "large sword") (see also Matt. 24:6).

Chapter 6 5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

At the opening of the third seal, in Isaiah 7-9 [15], the rider on the Black Horse is released [c. 19 March 2025]. This rider brings scarcity (as indicated by the scales - see Lev. 26:26) resulting in rationing ("do not waste the oil and the wine") and rampant inflation ("Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages...") (see also Matt. 24:7).

Subunit A2: Angels who do God's work: The Rider on the Pale Horse (May 2025) (6:7-8)

Chapter 6 7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Thanatos, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the creatures of the earth.

At the opening of the fourth seal, in Isaiah 28-33 [16], the rider on the Pale Horse is released [c. 15 May 2025]. This rider brings death to the Israelites, who, at the start of the Millennial Reign, constitute a quarter of the population of the earth [10] (like the "sand by the sea" - Isa. 10:22, Hosea 1:10...). They are purged by God at this time of "Jacob's trouble" (see Jer. 30:7) so that the remnant (see Isa. 10:21, 22) are worthy to be called the people of God. We believe that this passage applies to Israelites, partly because the same phrase, "sword, famine and plague, and the creatures", is used to indicate a purge the Judahites at the time of Ezekiel (see Eze. 14:12-23,5:17). The phrase "sword, famine and plague" is frequently used in Jeremiah (for ex., see Jer. 21:9,14:12) and seems to refer to any form of death coming from God (not necessarily the three mentioned); the "creatures of the earth", probably viruses, appears to affect children (see Eze. 14:15, 5:17, Lev. 26:22).

Thanatos and Hades are demonic spirits (fallen angels) that control eponymous regions under the earth in the Realm of the Dead. Thanatos is a pleasant region for the good, and Hades is a place of torment for the wicked dead (see Luke 16:22,23 in NIV, cf. Rev. 20:13-14). So the presence of both spirits indicates that it is not only the wicked who die through the "Pale" horseman's release.

Note: The Realm of the Dead, also called the Third Heaven (2 Cor 12:2-4, 2 Enoch), is a place for souls under the earth after the first death - not the second death, which is in the Lake of Fire. The region of Thanatos is alluded to by other names, such as: Paradise (Luke 23:43, 2 Cor 12:2-4, Rev. 2:7); and Abraham's Bosom (Luke 16:22).

Chiasmus 4: The 5th seal is opened, Satan persecutes the saints (2025-2027AD) (Rev. 6:9-11)

A1 6:9 The persecution of the saints begins (July 2025)
    X 6:10 The persecution of the saints ends (April 2027)
A2 6:11 The persecution of the saints begins (July 2025)

Subunit A1: The persecution of the saints begins (July 2025) (6:9)

Chapter 6 9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw at the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.

At the opening of the fifth seal, the seal in this book of Revelation [c 26 Jul 2025], Satan is given the power to persecute and kill the saints (see Rev 13, Dan. 7:25). John sees these saints who had died for remaining faithful to God (see Rev. 13) in the realm of the dead at the 'altar' - the 'altar' represents a place of communion between God and man.

Pivot X: The persecution of the saints ends (April 2027) (6:10)

Chapter 6 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”

At the end of the reign of the Antichrist and Beast (c. April 2027), the saints who died for God are resurrected, and they see that their tormentors are still are alive and thriving. They cry out for the punishment of those who have persecuted and killed them; their plea will be answered when the Antichrist and Beast army are destroyed a few months later (Ezekiel 39).

Subunit A2: The persecution of the saints begins (July 2025) (6:11)

This subunit continues from Subunit A1 above.

Chapter 6 11 Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.

The saints who died for God must wait for their reward until the end of Satan's persecution during the Pre-Millennial Tribulation. At the start of the Millennial Reign (2027AD) these saints will be raised at the First Resurrection to reign with Christ (Rev. 20:4); the white robes they are given signifies that their righteousness will be revealed to all and they will be honoured at their resurrection (see Rev 19:8).

Chiasmus 5: The Reign of the 7-headed Beast (2023AD-2027AD) (Ch 13)

A1 13:1-4a The tyrannical reign of the 7-headed Beast and the Antichrist
  B1 13:4b-8 The Beast wages a spiritual battle
    X 13:9-10 The persecution of the Saints during the Beast's reign
  B2 13:11-14 The Beast wages a spiritual battle
A2 13:15-18 The tyrannical reign of the 7-headed Beast and the Antichrist

Revelation 13 is a brief description of the reign of the Beast. The 3 primary actors mentioned in this chapter are:

• The dragon or Satan: The leader of this trio.
• The Beast out of the sea: A powerful alliance of nations that rules the world for Satan.
• The beast out of the earth: This 2-horned beast is the false prophet or Antichrist.

Subunit A1: The tyrannical reign of the 7-headed Beast and the Antichrist (13:1-4a)

Chapter 13 1a The dragon stood on the shore of the sea.

In certain Biblical prophecies, bodies of water represent masses of people, and land represents the spiritual world (for ex., Rev. 17:15, Dan. 7:3, Rev. 12:15,16 [2]). The dragon or Satan remains in the spiritual realm ("shore") while his plans for the people of earth ("sea") are executed by the Antichrist and the Beast system.

Chapter 13 1b 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. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.

This 7-headed, 10-horned Beast has both spiritual and physical aspects. In the spiritual realm, it consists of the fallen angels that controlled empires such as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece (cf. Dan 10:20) and Rome; these fallen angels are sent to the Abyss after their reign, and re-emerge to form the spiritual aspect of the Beast (Rev. 17:10-11). The physical aspect (from the "sea") of this Beast consist of an alliance of 7 nations (7 heads), having blasphemous names, that gains power over the whole world. The 10 horns represent the leadership of these nations, who are given power for a short time (as indicated by the crowns) (see also Rev. 17:12).

This Beast is mentioned in other prophetic passages. For instance, it is the fourth, terrifying ten-horned beast of Daniel 7:7 "that will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it."(Daniel 7:23). It has some of the characteristics of the other beasts in Daniel 7 (lion's mouth, bear's feet, leopard's appearance), presumably indicating that the Beast is controlled by the same fallen-angels that ruled those ancient empires of Daniel 7 (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece), and that the Beast will be ruled on earth by the same bloodlines that ruled those empires (see also Rev 17:7-12). Also, the physical Beast resembles the 7-headed dragon of Rev. 12:3, because the structure of the physical Beast reflects the structure of Satan's hierarchy of fallen angels that control it [2].

Chapter 13 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast.

A catastrophe ("fatal wound") will affect one of the nations ("heads") in this 7-nation alliance, but it will recover quickly ("heal") and seemingly miraculously. ( We believe this wounded "head" will be the 6th "king" of Rev 17:10, the Western Empire led by the USA. This self-induced "fatal wound" of the reigning empire is necessary to expeditiously make way for a New World Order under the Beast.)

Chapter 13 4a People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast.

Satan (the "dragon") is given total control over the earth for a short time and he will delegate this power to the Antichrist and Beast to execute his plans against mankind. Many people around the world will begin to worship Satan, the source of power of the mighty Beast. In the short time he has, Satan's main goal is to collect as many worshippers as possible, and he has been preparing the world for this period for a long time.

Subunit B1: The Beast wages a spiritual battle (13:4b-8)

Chapter 13 4b People worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

Many people on earth - those not in the "Lambs book of Life" (vs 8) - are awestruck at the unprecedented power of this Beast, and so they worship it.

Chapter 13 5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.

The Beast, Satan's enforcement arm, is given complete control of the world for a period for 42 months. The "mouth" represents a worldwide broadcasting system that will be used for its propaganda (see also, the "mouth" in Dan. 7:8). In an attempt to win worship away from God, it will blaspheme God, heaven and His heavenly hosts, and it will assign blasphemous names to its 7 nations (vs 1).

What are the start and end dates of these 42 months? We believe that the end of the period will coincide with the beginning of the Messiah's Millennial Reign, which is 8 Apr 2027, the first day of Nisan (from our analysis of Isaiah 61:1-2 [11] ); the start date will be 3 1/2 years (42 months) prior, 16 Sep 2023, the first day of Tishrei. So the Beast will rule the world from circa 16 Sep 2023 to 8 Apr 2027. Note that although, strictly speaking, 42 months is shorter than 3 1/2 years by 2 months, because there are 2 leap months in the Hebrew calendar of this period, we treat the 42 months as a full 3 1/2 years. Also note that although the Beast has control over the world for 42 months, its power over mankind will only made manifest after the 5th seal is opened.

Chapter 13 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain, from the creation of the world.

In the middle of the reign of the Beast, after the first 5 seals of Rev. 6 are opened, the Beast will have power over all the world. Those who are not in the Lambs Book of Life will worship this powerful Beast; the "Lambs Book of Life from the creation of the world" (see Rev. 17:8) is a list of all people (all who have ever lived) who will enter Christ's heavenly kingdom (Rev. 20:15).

Pivot X: The persecution of the Saints during the Beast's reign (13:9-10)

Chapter 13 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
10 “If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.”
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

This pivot is a warning to all ("whoever has ears" as in Rev 2,3) that captivity and death are preordained for certain of God's saints (see also Dan. 11:33, Matt. 24:9). With this knowledge, the saints can patiently and faithfully endure their persecution, and they will receive their just rewards during the Millennial Reign and for all eternity (see Rev. 20:4-6). God is just, and so those who will be accorded His highest honours must prove themselves worthy through the fire of tribulation (see 1 Peter 4:13).

Subunit B2: The Beast wages a spiritual battle (13:11-14)

Chapter 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.

This 2-horned beast is the false prophet or Antichrist (see Ch. 16:13, 19:20, Dan 7:24,25, 8:23-25, 11:36...) who gets his power by channelling spiritual sources, as indicated by the phrase "out of the earth" (the two horns seem to represent spiritual controllers). Although he initially comes in as a world saviour, like the Lamb, (the word "anti-Christ" can mean "in the place of Christ") he speaks proud and terrifying words like a dragon, because he speaks for the dragon, or Satan (see also, the little horn that spoke proud words in Daniel 7:8).

Chapter 13 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.

The Antichrist acts as a spokesman and advocate for the 7-headed 10-horned Beast (see 2 Thess. 2:3-12), whose "fatal wound" was "miraculously" healed. He performs all manner of miracles to gain influence and deceive, and he induces people to set up an image or statue of the Beast, so that they may worship this idol.

Subunit A2: The tyrannical reign of the 7-headed Beast and the Antichrist (13:15-18)

Chapter 13 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.

The Antichrist, through some "miracle", makes the idol of the Beast seem alive and capable of speech. He kills many of those who refuse to bow down and worship this idol (as in Dan. 3:4-6).

Chapter 13 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, or the name of the beast or the number of its name.

The Antichrist creates a worldwide control system that forces people to accept a mark on their body, so that only those who have the mark can buy or sell, or function in society. We speculate that there will be two types of marks:

• A Mark from the Beast: Everyone will be forced to take a mark, a global identification system, which gives the Beast complete knowledge on all humans (a virtual panopticon) and, consequently, totalitarian control over them, for absolute knowledge engenders absolute power. Because of this, everyone will be forced to make a decision on whether to take the Mark Of the Beast, as below.
• The Mark Of the Beast: This mark will have the "name of the Beast, or the number of his name". Only worshippers of the Beast and its image will receive this mark; during the Beast's Reign, this mark will spare them suffering and death (vs 15) and will grant them honour and privileges. Considering the severity of the punishment for worshipping the Beast (see Rev. 14:11,16:2), worship may involve selling one's soul to Satan and doing the abominable things that Satan usually requires from his followers (see Rev. 22:15).

Chapter 13 18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of man. That number is 666.

The Number of the Beast appears to be an identifier or name of the alliance of nations that rules the world (the 7-headed Beast and not the 2-horned Antichrist - see also Rev. 19:20). The number '666' is an extremely popular number in Satan-worshipping occult circles, and their Beast is, in some manner, given this appellation. Only a person with God-given insight can correctly calculate the meaning of this number.

How do we reckon '666', the Number of the Beast? The entire period of man on earth, and especially the short period of reign of the Beast, is a time of battle between God and Satan for the souls of men. In the previous chapter (Ch 12), Archangel Michael had defeated Satan when 2/3rd of Michael's angels did not rebel alongside Satan (see Rev. 12:3-4,7-10). By extension, we theorize that if Satan gains a two-thirds (2/3) majority of human souls (we take "number of man" to mean "number of people"), he wins this battle on earth (in a two-thirds majority - a type of supermajority - the winner is at least twice as successful as his opponent); the fraction 2/3 is equal to the recurring decimal, 0.666... , an infinitely repeating number that is represented, here, by 666. (In occult symbology and numerology, decimal points, zeros and other punctuation may be omitted.)

Therefore, the Number of the Beast, '666', represents the smallest fraction of humans (specifically, 2/3) that Satan must mark as his own to win this battle - the number of the Beast encodes its purpose. This number represents Satan's primary objective on earth, for, to Satan, human souls are only tokens to be used for his own glorification.

Chiasmus 6: God's Gospel replaces Satan's wicked doctrines at the end of "Babylon's" reign (2027AD) (14:6-8)

A1 14:6 Christianity triumphs: God's Gospel is preached to the world
    X 14:7 The time of God's Judgement has come
A2 14:8 Christianity triumphs: Satanic doctrines are shunned after "Babylon's" fall

Subunit A1: Christianity triumphs: God's Gospel is preached to the world (14:6)

Chapter 14 6 Then I saw an angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people.

This angel is responsible for the teaching of God's Gospel ("good message") to the whole world, as indicated by "flying in midair" (directly overhead) (see Matthew 24:14 [3], cf. Rev. 8:13). During the Millennial Reign, Christianity will be the only extant mainstream religion.

Pivot X: The time of God's Judgement has come (14:7)

Chapter 14 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

The people of earth are to fear and worship the One True God, the Creator of all things. For the time of God's judgement has come, a time when the righteous are rewarded and the wicked are punished (this is one of the 3 great "Days of the Lord" of Joel - see Joel 3:14).

Subunit A2: Christianity triumphs: Satanic doctrines are shunned after "Babylon's" fall (14:8)

Chapter 14 8 A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

"Babylon" has corrupted the world, so that many indulge in "adultery", where "adultery" is the worship of Satan and demon gods, but now that "Babylon" is fallen, its many false religions will die with it (see also Rev 18:2). ( For details on Satan's empire "Babylon", see under Rev. 17 below.)

Chiasmus 7: The wicked are punished after the reign of the Beast, the faithful will be blessed (2025-2027AD) (14:9-20)

A1 14:9-11 Those associated with the Beast are punished: the worshippers (2027)
  B1 14:12-13 The faithful will be blessed and honoured (2025-2027)
    X 14:14 The Messiah prepares to gather the faithful (2025)
  B2 14:15-16 The faithful will be blessed and honoured (2025-2027)
A2 14:17-20 Those associated with the Beast are punished: the Beast army (2027)

Note that the events of this chiasmus occur in the sequence: the Pivot [X], Subunits [B1,B2], and Subunits [A1,A2].

Subunit A1: Those associated with the Beast are punished: the worshippers (2027) (14:9-11)

Chapter 14 9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise to ages of ages. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

This third angel makes known the punishment of those who worship the Beast and have received the mark for its worshippers (see Rev. 13:8, 16:2). The "cup of wrath" presumably refers to the vial plagues of Rev. 16 that they will endure in the physical realm, and the "burning sulfur" refers to their extended punishment in the Lake of Fire (see Rev. 21:8). ( Note that this last punishment will take place in the spiritual realm, so phrases like "tormented with burning sulfur" are not to be taken literally.)

Subunit B1: The faithful will be blessed and honoured (2025-2027) (14:12-13)

This Unit B is regarding the time of tribulation during the reign of the Beast (2025-2027AD).

Chapter 14 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

Righteous Christians are exhorted to patiently and faithfully endure the time of tribulation during the reign of the Beast and resist all temptation to worship the Beast (see also Rev 13:10).

Chapter 14 13 I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

The saints who persevere with their faithfulness to God and Jesus, those persecuted unto death during the persecution of the Beast, will be abundantly rewarded during the Millennial Reign and for all eternity ("their deeds will follow them"). After a brief 'rest' in the Realm of the Dead, they will rise again at the First Resurrection (Rev 20:4, 22:14) to rule with Christ during his Millennial Reign (see Rev. 20:6, cf. Dan. 12:13). John is commanded by a "voice from heaven" to "write this" message, to indicate that this is a solemn promise from heaven to the saints (see also Rev. 19:9).

Pivot X: The Messiah prepares to gather the faithful (2025) (14:14)

Chapter 14 14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

At the start of the tribulation during the reign of the Beast, John sees the coming Messiah in the New Israel ("white cloud"), preparing to harvest ("with a sharp sickle") the souls of the righteous. The Messiah is "like a son of man" (that is, like a man - see also Dan. 7:13–14, Rev. 1:13 in [6]) and wears the "golden crown" of victory ("stephanos") that he won when he triumphed to open the seals (Rev. 5).

Subunit B2: The faithful will be blessed and honoured (2025-2027) (14:15-16)

Chapter 14 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

During the tribulation of the Beast, the coming Messiah ("him who was sitting on the cloud") is commissioned to gather ("harvest") the souls of those who are faithful unto death, so that they may reign with him in the New Israel ("white cloud"). The angel with the command to reap comes out of the temple, signifying that this is an order from God (cf. Rev 15:8).

Subunit A2: Those associated with the Beast are punished: the Beast army (2027) (14:17-20)

Chapter 14 17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.

Shortly after the fall of 'Babylon', an angel instigates the leadership of the Beast army to gather for an attack on the New Israel (he "harvests the vine of the earth" and "gathers the grapes into the winepress of God's wrath") (see Ezekiel 39:2). When these warriors launch an assault on the New Israel, they are slaughtered ("the grapes are trampled") in a supernatural defeat (it is an angel who wields the sickle for the grapes and not a man) at the borders of the New Israel ("outside the city", where "city" represents the New Israel), as detailed in Rev. 19:11-21 and in the Gog and Magog war of Ezekiel 39 [13] (see also , Joel 3:13). The "blood" (juice of the grapes) represents the remains of this defeated army; the bodies are stacked as high as a horses bridle (around 4 ft) for 1600 stadia or around 180 miles, the distance occupied by the remains of this massed army along a highway at the borders of the New Israel (we believe this takes place on a highway through a mountain pass - see Ezekiel 39:4 [13]). An enormous number of soldiers die suddenly in this attack, and since a proper burial is not immediately possible, the Israelites pile up the bodies out of the way (see also Ezekiel 39 [13], especially verses 4-5,17-20).

The angels of this vision come from the temple in heaven, indicating divine judgement from God (cf. Rev 15:8), and from tending the fire of the heavenly altar, indicating punishment for the harm that Satan's forces have inflicted on God's people (cf. Rev. 6:9).

Note that there are a total of 7 angels mentioned in this chapter 14 regarding the end of the Beast's reign - 3 for the announcements and 4 for the two harvests.

Chiasmus 8: The sign of the 7 vial plagues: The righteous are victorious while the wicked are destroyed (2025AD-2027AD) (15:1-6)

A1 15:1 God will punish the wicked: The Sign of the Seven Angels (2025AD)
    X 15:2-4 The faithful are victorious in death (2027AD)
A2 15:5-6 God will punish the wicked: The Angels prepare to pour the vials of God's wrath (2027AD)

Subunit A1: God will punish the wicked: The Sign of the Seven Angels (2025AD) (15:1)

Chapter 15 1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.

Fig. 3

This sign in heaven, during the reign of the Beast, portends the last plagues of this Period; these are the "vial" plagues of Ch 16 that destroy Satan's kingdoms on earth - "Babylon" and the Beast.

We take the position that this sign in the heaven occurs around the Pleiades star cluster - also known as the Seven Sisters cluster - which is an asterism in the constellation Taurus (Pleiades is also mentioned in Amos 5:8, Job 9:9...). Although only the Pleiades is mentioned in this passage, we consider the entire constellation of Taurus to be a part of this sign; we have reimagined the art of the constellation so that it looks like a cup/vial instead of a bull (see Fig. 3). The seven brighter stars of the Pleiades represent the seven angels of this sign, and the exits of seven solar system objects from the constellation Taurus represent the plagues that the angels "pour out" of their "vials".

In searching for this celestial event, that occurs during the Beast's reign, we notice that, over a period of around 70 days, from 17 May 2025 to 26 Jul 2025, seven solar system objects exit Taurus, namely: Jupiter, the Moon, Mercury, the Sun, the Moon (2nd time), the Moon (3rd time) and Venus. Note that the Sun is the 4th planet in this list, so aligning with 16:8, which states that the 4th plague is poured on the Sun. We show below that these plagues are divided into 2 sets; the first and last plague of each set is represented by a planet or the sun, while the plagues in between are represented by the moon.

As in the case of the other 2 signs in heaven (in Rev 12 [2]), we take the time span of the sign in months to represent the time to its fulfilment in years - the 70 days or ~2 1/3 months represent around 2 years and 4 months. So this sign in the heavens indicates that the plagues will end in Nov 2027, 2 years and 4 months after the end of this sign in July 2025 (the plagues will begin in April 2027 at the end of the reign of "Babylon" and the Beast). Also, as in the case of the other 2 signs, this sign ends on a significant day, the start of the tribulation of the saints on 26 July 2025 (see our parse of Daniel 7 [12])

Pivot X: The faithful are victorious in death (2027AD) (15:2-4)

Chapter 15 2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:
“Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. 4 Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

This song of victory and praise celebrates the upcoming start of Christ's Millennial Reign. It also marks the end of the reign of the Beast and the consequent end of suffering and death for the faithful. The righteous who were not tempted or frightened into worshipping the Beast, now sing this song of victory and praise with harps (harps of praise - Psalm 33:2); Moses had similarly celebrated with a song after defeating the Egyptians (Exodus 15). The saints, who have been killed for their faith, now praise God from the realm of the dead; they will soon rise at the First Resurrection to rule with Christ during the Millennial Reign (Rev. 20:4). Moses had sung his song after his victory over Pharaoh through the Red Sea, and so also the righteous sing this song of victory after the wicked are "buried" in a "sea of glass and fire" in vs 2 (glass in the spiritual realm is equivalent to water, as in Rev 4:6).

Subunit A2: God will punish the wicked: The Angels prepare to pour the vials of God's wrath (2027AD) (15:5-6)

The sign of the corresponding Subunit A1 above is fulfilled in this subunit and in the next 2 chiasmi below.

Chapter 15 5 Then I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. 6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, dressed in clean, shining linen and wearing golden sashes around their chests.

These 'vials of God's wrath' come out of the tabernacle of the Law in heaven to indicate that they are judgements against the wicked according to God's Law (see also Rev. 14:17). The 7 angels wear the clean linen of righteousness and the golden sashes of royalty, to indicate that they are 'princes' who control the physical world from the spiritual realm (see also Rev. 1:13, Dan 10:21); they are the powerful seven spirits of God that are the horns and eyes of the Lamb and are responsible for Christians on earth (Rev 5:6) (these spirits are not the 7 angels/"lamps" of Rev 4:5 that stand before God - the "lamps" announce the Period 3 trumpet plagues).

The figurative language of the 7 plagues below make them appear similar to those the Egyptians suffered when they refused to let the Israelites go (Exodus 7-12), but the literal plagues are quite different from those of Egypt. Like the Egyptians, the Satan worshippers harden their heart in spite of their suffering.

Chiasmus 9: The first 3 plagues are poured out on "Babylon" from the Golden Vials (2027AD) (15:7-16:7)

A1 15:7-8 Prologue
    X 16:1-4 The first 3 vials are poured out on "Babylon"
A2 16:5-7 Epilogue

Subunit A1: Prologue (15:7-8)

Chapter 15 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden vials filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

One of the "four living creatures", presumably the one responsible for mankind, gives the angels the golden vials containing God's wrath. The wrath of these 'vials' primarily affect those who have earned God's wrath - Satan's people in the spiritual and physical realms - and not the whole world; the figurative language used to describe these plagues may make them seem like end-times catastrophes, but their scope is limited to the wicked. Each location on which God's wrath is poured represents some aspect of Satan's empire (for ex., the "sea" represents Satan-worshipping humans).

No one could enter the temple and plead for mercy until God had completed His punishment according to His Law.

Pivot X: The first 3 vials are poured out on "Babylon" (16:1-4)

Chapter 16 1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven vials of God’s wrath on the earth.”

These 7 angels pour their vials of wrath independently at various locations; so the sequence of plagues below many not be chronological, and some may occur simultaneously.

The descriptions of these plagues, that affect Satan and his worshippers, are ALL figurative (for ex., the seas and rivers don't literally become blood, the Euphrates does not dry up). We propose that the literal meanings of the first three plagues, those that affect "Babylon", are listed in Rev. 18:8: misery, death, dearth.

Chapter 16 2 The first angel went and poured out his vial on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

The first angel pours out his vial on the "land", and since "land" represents the spiritual world (as in Rev. 12:16), this pouring of God's wrath indicates that Satan's spiritual empire loses the absolute power over the earth that it had during the reign of the Beast. Those who worshipped Satan and the Beast (Rev 13:4) for their power are now miserable, and they suffer as they would if they were covered with painful sores (see also Rev. 18:8, cf. Exodus 9:8-12).

Chapter 16 3 The second angel poured out his vial on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.

The second angel pours God's wrath on the "sea", where the "sea" represents the humans of Satan's kingdom (as in Rev 17:15). The "sea" itself becomes as a dead person to indicate great devastation for the people of Satan's empire (see Rev 18:8). The death of the "living things" in the "sea" represents the death of institutions that were dependent on Satan's people (for example, the Beast is an institution that "came out" of the sea in Rev 13:1, see also Rev 18:9-20).

Chapter 16 4 The third angel poured out his vial on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

The "rivers and springs" represents the financial power of Satan's "Babylon", and the blood in the rivers represents the destitution of the kingdom (see Rev. 18:8).

Subunit A2: Epilogue (16:5-7)

Chapter 16 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
“You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were; 6a for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, 6b and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”

The angel responsible for the world's financial system ("the angel in charge of the waters") states that these punishments from the eternal, dependable God ("who are and who were") are just. He specifically mentions the second and third plague, for they are poured out as retribution for the persecution of the righteous:

• The plague of the second vial is punishment for the killing the righteous of God, particularly during the reign of the Beast (the "blood" in 14:6a refers to the death of the righteous).
• The plague of the third vial is in retaliation to the expropriation of the wealth of the righteous. Satan had made his followers extraordinarily wealthy by enabling them to steal assets from others, especially during the reign of the Beast. The sudden loss of wealth through this plague ("you have given them blood to drink") will devastate the wicked, as most of them worshipped Satan primarily for their love of money (see 1 Timothy 6:10, Rev 18:9-20). ( Note that the "blood to drink" of 14:6b refers to financial destruction, while the "blood" of 14:6a refers to death.)

Chapter 16 7 And I heard the altar respond: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.”

The personified "altar", through which the pleas of the persecuted righteous ascend to God, agrees that these punishments are just.

Chiasmus 10: The last 4 plagues from the Golden Vials: The Beast is destroyed (2027AD) (16:8-21)

A1 16:8-12 The last 4 plagues are poured out on the Beast: Plagues 4-6
    X 16:13-16 The battle of Armageddon at the End of the World
A2 16:17-21 The last 4 plagues are poured out on the Beast: Plague 7

Subunit A1: The last 4 plagues are poured out on the Beast: Plagues 4-6 (16:8-12)

Chapter 16 8 The fourth angel poured out his vial on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.

We propose that the "sun" in this passage represents the army of the Beast (see also Rev 19:17 below). Through the misguided actions of the Beast army - its attack on the New Israel - it is thoroughly defeated and destroyed ("scorch people with fire", "seared by the intense heat", where the "fire" represents destruction by God) (see also Rev 14:17-20, Ezekiel 39). But despite this loss, Satan's worshippers refuse to reform and worship God.

Chapter 16 10 The fifth angel poured out his vial on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.

We propose that the "throne" of the Beast refers to the leading nation of the 7-nation Beast, China. The "darkness" of this fifth vial appears to represent deep mental suffering brought about by this pouring of God's wrath on this powerful nation (cf. Exodus 10:21-23). The wicked gnaw at their tongues, trying to distract themselves from their intense mental anguish with physical pain. They find the suffering from the plagues unbearable, but, as in the case of the Egyptians, their hearts remain hardened against God.

Chapter 16 12 The sixth angel poured out his vial on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.

The great River Euphrates represented the might of the ancient powers of the Mesopotamian region that ruled the world (see Isaiah 8:7). Here, the "Euphrates" represents the world domination of the Beast through one of its 7 nations, the Western Empire (the 6th king of Rev 17:10 - see commentary on Ch 17 and appendix in [5]). The "drying up" of the "Euphrates" indicates that the Vatican and the West (primarily the USA and Europe) will no longer enjoy hegemony over the world. For during the Millennial Reign both Christ and demonic powers outside the New Israel (primarily the Gog and Magog power - China) will rule through eastern nations ("the kings from the East").

Pivot X: The battle of Armageddon at the End of the World (16:13-16)

Chapter 16 13 Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
15 “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

As Satan's empires are destroyed, "unclean frog-like spirits" (frogs were one of the Egyptian plagues - Exodus 8:5) are released to prepare for a war. This "battle at Armageddon" appears to refer to the final Gog and Magog war of Rev. 20:7-10, at the end of the Millennial Reign. The parenthetical verse 15, with the phrase "I come as a thief", which is associated with Christ's return for the rapture, supports the idea that this war occurs in Period 3 (see Matt. 24:42-44), during the "great day of God Almighty" ("the day of the Lord", in this case, is the period of the Final Tribulation in Period 3 - Joel 2:11);.

We believe that the frog-like spirits out of the mouth of Satan, the Beast and the Antichrist indicate that there will be a similar end-times (Period 3) evil trinity (since this chapter is mostly figurative, the "frog-like spirits" from the mouth are not literally demon spirits). This trinity will consist of:

• Satan, who will be released from the bottomless pit (Rev. 20:7).
• An 'Antichrist', who will have the support of fallen angels.
• A 'beast', which will comprise another group of fallen angels from the Abyss (this 'beast from the Abyss' attacks the two witnesses in Period 3 - Rev. 11:7). This trinity will collect a large army, 'Gog and Magog', from all parts of the world for one final assault on Jerusalem (Rev 20:2-9).

Chapter 16 16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

The valley of Megiddo in ancient Israel was the site of many decisive battles because of its strategic location. It was especially known for the battle between Josiah and Necho II, in which Israel was thoroughly defeated and its king killed (2 Chron. 35:22-25).

The righteous Josiah's defeat and death represented the beginning of the end of the reign David's line. On the other hand, this battle at the "Mountains of Megiddo" ("Armageddon", or "Har Megiddo", can be rendered, "Mountains of Megiddo") in the New Israel occurs in the last days of the End Times Tribulation (Period 3 - see Rev. 11:7), when the enemies of the New Israel - Satan, Gog and Magog - are miraculously and eternally defeated, and Satan is thrown in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:7-10). So Israel's devastating defeat at the valley of Megiddo is redressed through this overwhelming victory at the "Mountains of Megiddo". This "Mountain of Megiddo" appears to refer to the new Zion/Jerusalem (see Rev. 20:9); the city is figuratively called a "mountain" (as in Isaiah 2:2) and the name, "Megiddo", may be used to indicate that it is a location of decisive spiritual or political battles.

Subunit A2: The last 4 plagues are poured out on the Beast: Plague 7 (16:17-21)

Chapter 16 17 The seventh angel poured out his vial into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!”

The seventh angel pours out the final vial into the "air", and the "air" seems to represent the Beast's power structure in the spiritual realm (see Eph. 2:1-2), which controls the political power structure in the physical realm. The voice from the throne says "It is done" (cf. John 19:30) to indicate Satan's defeat and the end of his kingdoms on earth with the administration of this plague.

Chapter 16 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.

At the pouring of this vial on the Beast empire, there is great political turmoil, both in in the spiritual and physical realms (indicated by "earthquake", "great city split in three", "cities of the nations collapsed", "every island fled away", "mountains could not be found" - see also Rev. 11:19). The "lightning", "rumblings" and "thunder" represent the power and judgement of God (see Rev 4:5, 11:19), and the destructive "hail" represents some form of punishment from Him (see also Eze. 38:22). The "Great City" refers to the Vatican, which will be divided through internal dissent ("split into three parts") and destroyed (see also Rev 17:16-18). At this time, while the Beast is being punished, God "remembers Babylon" and destroys whatever remains of it (see also Rev 18:8-10).

Earlier, the martyrs had asked for the punishment of the wicked, and they were told to wait a little longer until the rest of the faithful had been killed (Rev. 6:9-11). Their plea for justice is answered at this time.

Chiasmus 11: The "Whore of Babylon" and the Beast (Ch 17)

A1 17:1-3 The "Whore", the capital of "Babylon", and its fall
  B1 17:4-6a The "Whore" and its Beast battle Christ and the Saints
    C1 17:6b-8a The Beast and its History
      X 17:8b The wicked of earth worship the Beast
    C2 17:9-11 The Beast and its History
  B2 17:12-14 The "Whore" and its Beast battle Christ and the Saints
A2 17:15-18 The "Whore", the capital of "Babylon", and its fall

This chiasmus describes Satan's empire, which can be considered as having two divisions in the last 3 1/2 years of his reign:

• 'Babylon' - a powerful covert global organization made up of Satan worshippers, with the 'Whore of Babylon' (the Vatican) as its capital. ( We add quotes when referring to modern 'Babylon' to distinguish it from ancient Babylon. We will also call 'Babylon' the Roman Catholic Empire. )
• The Beast - the Beast has two aspects: the physical aspect is an alliance of 7 nations that enforces Satan's reign; the spiritual aspect is a group of powerful fallen angels (see details under Rev. 13 above).

Subunit A1: The "Whore", the capital of "Babylon", and its fall (17:1-3)

Chapter 17 1 One of the seven angels who had the seven vials came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

The "Great Whore" is a city (see 17:18 in the corresponding Subunit A2 below), the Satanic Vatican city, which controls the world (the Bible often uses the "whore/prostitute" metaphor for those who worship other gods for temporal gain - see Hosea 1:2). The Vatican, ostensibly a Christian institution (the Vatican is called "God’s temple" in 2 Thess. 2:4), is the seat of power from which members of top-tier Satanic bloodlines reign (see appendix in [5] for more on bloodlines). Details regarding the punishment of the Whore (the punishment mentioned in 17:1) can be found under the corresponding subunit A2 below in 17:16-18.

The 'Whore', the Vatican, is the headquarters of Satan's global empire - 'Babylon' or the Roman Catholic Empire - which is a covert international cabal of Satan worshippers (the Roman Catholic Church is not the Roman Catholic Empire - not all Roman Catholics are Satan worshippers - but the Church intersects with the Empire in places, at the Vatican for example). The Vatican controls all nations ("sits by many waters") through this global network of Satan-worshippers ("adulterers"), who enjoy wealth and power ("the wine of her adulteries" - cf. Jer. 51:7) disproportionately exceeding their contributions and abilities.

We list below, in approximate pecking order, some of the organizations that make up 'Babylon' and its subsidiaries (note that some of these institutions were founded as purely Satanic organizations, and others have a legitimate purpose but are covertly controlled by Satan-worshippers):

• Other Satanic bloodline families: Rothschilds, Rockefellers,...[20]
• "Christian" organizations: Jesuits, World Council of Churches...
• "Think tanks" & NGOs: Round Table, Council on Foreign Relations...
• International organizations: UN, Bank of International Settlements, World Bank, IMF, NATO...
• Central banks: Federal Reserve, Bank of England...
• The leadership of ALL nations: The Vatican appoints all leaders, no matter what the type of government, whether it be democratic (your vote doesn't really count), communist, dictatorship or kingship. In particular, Satan's reign is enforced by certain nations (such as the Western Empire and the Beast - see vs 9-12) whose leaders are closely controlled by the Vatican.
• Governmental organizations: civil services, secret service, justice department, law enforcement...
• Major Corporations: high finance, media houses...
• Rabbinic Judaism: Pharisees of the "Synagogue of Satan".
• Secret societies: Freemasonry, college fraternities, witch covens...
• etc...

The Vatican controls and corrupts with its evil ideas all fields of human endeavour - religion, politics, business, media, science, medicine, entertainment, law, education, arts, philanthropy, sports etc. - while carefully hiding its influence and machinations. ( See a few quotes that support our characterization of the Vatican in the appendix below.)

Note that the angel who guides John in this chapter is one of the 7 "vial" angels of Rev 15:1. These angels are also the "horns and eyes" of Rev 5:6 that control the worldwide church.

Chapter 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.

For the vision in this chapter, the angel takes John to a certain future time, shortly before the reign of the Beast (2023AD), and place (the wilderness represents the domain of evil in occult symbology). The woman (the Vatican) is dressed in purple and scarlet, because these colours signify royalty, power and wealth in occult symbolism and these colours are widely used at the Vatican. The 7-headed Beast (see Rev. 13) on which she sits is also scarlet, reflecting the colour of the red dragon of Rev. 12:3 (the spiritual aspect of the Beast), and it is covered with blasphemous names (see Rev. 13:1). The woman sits on the Beast to indicate that she controls the Beast with 7 heads and 10 horns (we see this same configuration of heads and horns in the heavens in Rev. 12:3, which implies that the physical Beast is a reflection of the organization of Satan's fallen angels).

Subunit B1: The "Whore" and its Beast battle Christ and the Saints (17:4-6a)

Chapter 17 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.

The gold and jewels represent the Vatican's extraordinary wealth - it is by far the wealthiest organization on earth, richer than the rest of the world put together. The "golden cup of filth" refers to the abominable things that Satan requires as worship in exchange for wealth and power, such as: witchcraft, human torture and sacrifice, sexual perversions (sodomy, ritual sex abuse...), perversion of all kinds (cannibalism, coprophagia...), humiliations, deceits, etc. (see Rev. 22:15, Eph 5:11,12).

Chapter 17 5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery:
Babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.

The woman, Vatican City, is called "Babylon the Great" because of her strong, secret connections to the ancient city of Babylon (the name of the empire she represents and its shameful credentials were on her forehead, presumably because Roman prostitutes wore headbands with their name on it). Satan's capital (his "throne" and "temple"), which had been in the city of Babylon (Gen. 11:1-10) in ancient times, moved to Pergamum (Rev. 2:13) and then to its current location at the Vatican in Rome (Dan. 2:40). Its leaders, those at the highest rungs of world power, belong to ancient Satanic bloodline families that originated in Babylon, likely from its founder, Nimrod. These powerful families maintain that power through the esoteric knowledge or mystery religion that has been passed down through the Satanic "elite" from the time of Nimrod. From its beginnings, Babylon has promoted Satan worship around the world, and modern 'Babylon' continues to do so covertly, making it the "mother of all prostitutes" (Nimrod was called "a mighty hunter", presumably for his efforts to capture souls for Satan - Gen 10:8-10).

Chapter 17 6a I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.

In its effort to promote Satan's evil doctrines and fight Christianity, the Vatican/Rome has tortured and massacred Christian saints with barbarous cruelty through the ages ("drunk with the blood"), most famously through the inquisition but also through other covert means: manufactured wars, communism etc. She will kill a multitude of faithful during the reign of the Beast.

Subunit C1: The Beast and its History (17:6b-8a)

Chapter 17 6b When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 7 Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the Beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8a The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction.

John was amazed at the sight of this wealthy and powerful "woman" and the Beast she rode, for never before in history has the whole world been tyrannically controlled by one institution in this manner. So the angel details the history of the Beast to explain the power that it now wields.

The 7 heads of the Beast represent 7 sequential or historical empires ("once was") from which Satan ruled the earth and they also represent the 7 contemporary nations that constitute the 8th nation, the Beast (see details under the corresponding Subunit C2 below). The fallen angels that ruled the 7 nations for Satan are dispatched to the Abyss (a prison for fallen-angels) after their reigns end, and they re-emerge ("yet will come") to lead the 8th nation; after the reign of the Beast they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire ("go to its destruction") (see Rev 19:20). The 10 horns represent the 10 leaders of this Beast empire.

We take this vision in Ch. 17 as occurring in the gap ("now is not") between the reigns of the 6th and 7th kings (based on 17:8,10,11), some time in 2023. Though no "10-horned Beast" reigns at this time, we see from vs. 12 that, at the time of the vision, the kings have not yet received a kingdom.

Pivot X: The wicked of earth worship the Beast (17:8b)

Chapter 17 8b The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.

After the Beast miraculously re-emerges (it "once was, now is not, and yet will come"), it will have absolute tyrannical control over the earth, and the wicked of the earth, those whose names are not in the Book of Life, will worship and marvel at this powerful, reconstituted Beast (see also Rev. 13:8).

Subunit C2: The Beast and its History (17:9-11)

Chapter 17 9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while.
11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.

This subunit continues from the corresponding Subunit C1 above and expands on the history and structure of the Beast. Divine guidance is required to understand this difficult passage (as indicated by "This calls for a mind with wisdom") (cf. Rev 13:18).

The 7 heads of the Beast, the 7 contemporary nations, are called "mountains" here (cf. "mountain" in Dan 2:35), and the 7 sequential/historical empires are called "kings" (the empires are called "kings", though they are "kingdoms", because they are represented by their controlling demons/fallen-angels).

Of the 7 sequential/historical empires, 5 have fallen. Based on other prophecies, we believe that the first historical empire is the Assyrian Empire (in our reconfiguration of Isaiah 10-12 [7], for example, we show that "Babylon" and its Beast is called "Assyria" in Isaiah 10:24). Historians consider Assyria to be the first world-dominating empire. The next 4 historical empires are those that repeatedly appear in Daniel's visions (Daniel 2,7,8): Neo-Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome.

From the 6th empire onwards, Satan's empire can be considered as having two divisions: The Roman Catholic Empire or 'Babylon' with its capital in Rome; and the enforcing nations (the 6th to 8th empires). After the Fall of Rome, the Satanic bloodlines that had controlled Rome extended their reign through the Roman Catholic Empire ('Babylon'), a secret, ever-growing international power that covertly rules the world. Its reign is enforced by Western European nations and their offshoots - the 6th "king" or empire - with the leadership of the empire passed around the member nations (notably Germany and Britain). By the time of this vision, this 6th empire, which had started off as the Holy Roman Empire, had grown to become the Western Empire, with the USA as its leading nation.

The 7th empire, China ("Magog"), also controlled by the Vatican, has not yet come into power at the time of the vision but will rule the world for an extremely short time, after which it will set up and lead the Beast empire (the 8th empire).

The 8th empire is the Antichrist and Beast empire. The fallen-angels that controlled the 7 "historical" empires are sent to the Abyss after their reign ends, and they all re-emerge from the Abyss to form the 8th empire: the 7-headed, 10-horned Beast ("the Beast...is of the seven" in vs. 11); after the short reign of the Beast, it is defeated and destroyed. (The Beast is the many-horned beast of Dan. 7, but note that although Daniel considers the empires from the time of Romans to the Beast as one empire, here they are treated as 4 separate empires.)

In summary, these are the 8 empires of this passage:

• Fallen empires: Assyria, Neo-Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome.
• Roman Catholic Empires: the Western Empire (6th), the short term empire (China) (7th), the Beast alliance of 7 nations (8th) (these empires are controlled by the Vatican and modern 'Babylon').

Subunit B2: The "Whore" and its Beast battle Christ and the Saints (17:12-14)

Chapter 17 12 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

The 10 leaders of the Beast ("the ten horns") will reign over the world through the Beast during its short 3 1/2 year reign ("one hour"); at the time of the vision, between the reigns of the 6th and 7th kings (based on 17:8,10,11), these leaders have not come to power yet ("have not yet received a kingdom"). These 10 leaders will remain strongly united, so that the Beast empire remains mighty throughout its reign ("they have one purpose..."). During the reign of the Beast, they will fight Jesus in a war for the souls of men (Ch. 13), but Christ and his faithful on earth - those whose names are in the Lamb's Book of Life - will prevail. After defeating Satan and his Beast, Christ will rule the world as King of Kings during his Millennial Reign.

Subunit A2: The "Whore", the capital of "Babylon", and its fall (17:15-18)

Note the chiastic structure of this subunit: the pivot, vs 16-17 details the ruin of the Whore, and the subunits explain some of the imagery associated with the "Whore".

Chapter 17 15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.

The "waters", mentioned in 17:1 in the corresponding Subunit A1 above, represent the people of earth; the "Whore sits on the waters" to indicate that it controls the whole world.

Chapter 17 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled.

The Beast, some time after its reign, will quarrel with the "Whore" that controlled it and it will pillage and destroy the "Whore" ("they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire").

The "Whore" had totalitarian control of the world through the 10 leaders of the Beast for a brief time, and though the "Whore" persecuted the people of earth, particularly the saints, its reign was a part of God’s plan to test mankind ("to accomplish his purpose").

Chapter 17 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

The "woman"/"Whore", first mentioned in the corresponding Subunit A1, is identified here as the great city that covertly controls the world, the capital of "Babylon", the Vatican.

Chiasmus 12: Wicked "Babylon" is fallen (2027AD) (18:1-10)

A1 18:1-3 God punishes "Babylon" for its wicked influence
    X 18:4-7a God's people must come out of "Babylon" and punish it
A2 18:7b-10 God punishes "Babylon" for its wicked influence


Subunit A1: God punishes "Babylon" for its wicked influence (18:1-3)

The angel takes John to a time soon after the fall of 'Babylon' (2027AD) to give him the vision of this Unit A.

Chapter 18 1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2a With a mighty voice he shouted: “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’

We take this mighty and splendid angel who "came down from heaven" to represent the coming Messiah, the Archangel Michael. The Messiah, who is now King of kings (indicated by the phrases "great authority", "the earth was illuminated by his splendor") after "Babylon's" fall, announces its defeat to the world ("shouted with a mighty voice") and explains the reason for its destruction.

Chapter 18 2b She had become 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. 3 All the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the power of her wantonness.”

Through "Babylon's" detestable support of demon worship and sorcery (see Isa. 47:9-12), it has become a refuge for Satan and his demons - the demons are called spirits, unclean "birds" (as in Mark 4:4,15) and detestable "animals" (as in Rev. 16:13). Satan's empire has covertly promoted demon worship ("maddening wine", "adultery", "wantonness" - see Rev 17:1-5) among the people of the world, particularly the leadership ("kings") and business people ("merchants"), and many around the world have become powerful and wealthy by practising this wickedness (see Luke 4:5-7).

Pivot X: God's people must come out of "Babylon" and punish it (18:4-7a)

This pivot is addressed to God's people, the Israelites.

Chapter 18 4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
“‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; 5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.

God urges the members of the evil empire of Satan-worshippers called 'Babylon' to exit the organization (see also Jer. 51:6,45), so that they no longer take part in her evil and suffer the consequences when she is punished for her great sins ("piled up to heaven") (see also Rev. 16). This warning will be sent out before the Mark of the Beast is administered to the world. The warning especially applies to God's people, the Israelites, because Israelite Satan-worshippers will be punished by the Rider on the Pale Horse (Rev. 6:8) in the time of Jacob's trouble (Jeremiah 30:7).

Chapter 18 6 Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup. 7a Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself.

'Babylon' has spread much suffering around the world and has stolen from the rest of the world the wealth that enabled its luxurious lifestyle. After its reign, the Israelites will rise up and make it suffer far more than the trouble it has created for the people of the world ("a double portion") (see also Isaiah 13:2-5).

Subunit A2: God punishes "Babylon" for its wicked influence (18:7b-10)

Chapter 18 7b In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’ 8a Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, misery and dearth.

"Babylon's" wealth and Satanic power make her arrogantly self confident (a powerful "queen" forever and not a humble "widow" - see also Isa. 47:7-9), but she will be tormented and destroyed by her plagues in a short period ("one day", indicating that some of the 'vial plagues' of Rev. 16:1-7 will be poured out almost simultaneously) (see also Isaiah 47). The first 3 'vial plagues' of Rev. 16, those that affect "Babylon", are listed here more plainly: misery, death and dearth.

Chapter 18 8b She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

Satan's organization of "Babylon" will be destroyed by God as punishment for its sins, as represented by the destruction of ancient Babylon by fire (see also Rev 16:19 under the 7th 'vial plague'). We propose that the ancient city of Babylon represents Satan's modern worldwide organization of 'Babylon' in this chapter (note that this passage does not refer to the destruction of a modern city - this is not the city of Vatican of the previous chapter, in Rev. 17:16).

Chapter 18 9 “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’

The wicked leaders of the world ("kings"), the political class that had grown powerful and wealthy through their "fornications" with 'Babylon' (see also Rev. 17:2, 18:3), will weep at the loss of the source of their power, but they must distance themselves ("stand far off") from this now pariah empire (represented by the "mighty city of Babylon").

The three interjections of 'woe' in this chapter come from three categories of people that have benefited from 'Babylon': the 'kings' (the political class / the leaders in vs 9-10); the 'merchants of the world' (businesses that deal in luxury products and services, in vs 11-16); and the 'captains' and 'sailors' (leaders and employees of certain organizations that covertly do "Babylon's" work, in vs 17-19). All of these people are members of the wicked organization of "Babylon", as "Babylon" likes to work with its own as far as possible. The period immediately following the demise of 'Babylon' will be one of great upheaval in the world of politics and business.

Chiasmus 13: With its fall, "Babylon's" financial power disappears (2027AD) (18:11-24)

A1 18:11-14 "Babylon" will no longer revel in its luxuries
  B1 18:15-17a The wicked merchants mourn and the righteous rejoice at "Babylon's" fall
    X 18:17b-19 Corrupt organizations mourn "Babylon's" fall
  B2 18:20-21 The wicked merchants mourn and the righteous rejoice at "Babylon's" fall
A2 18:22-24 "Babylon" will no longer revel in its luxuries

In this chiasmus, the ancient city of Babylon represents Satan's modern worldwide empire of "Babylon" - this chiasmus is not regarding a modern city.

Subunit A1: "Babylon" will no longer revel in its luxuries (18:11-14)

Chapter 18 11 “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore— 12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.
14 “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’

The businessmen that cater to the wealthy "Babylonians" mourn the loss of their best customer, as "Babylon" has lost its wealth and can no longer afford luxury ("The fruit you longed for is gone from you" - vs 14 is addressed to the "Babylonians"). The maritime merchants of the world that traded with ancient Babylon - purveyors of the luxuries of the time from around the world - represent organizations that cater to today's wealthy. The list of expensive merchandise sold to the ancient city of Babylon in vs 12-13 represents the expensive purchases of the modern 'Babylonians'. The last entry in the list, 'human beings sold as slaves' ('slaves, and souls of men' in the KJV), is tragic and repugnant, because it hints at the horrific cruelties that are inflicted on powerless humans, tortured and killed for Satan and demon worship (the murders of Rev. 22:15).

Subunit B1: The wicked merchants mourn and the righteous rejoice at "Babylon's" fall (18:15-17a)

Chapter 18 15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn 16 and cry out:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! 17a In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’

These wicked businessmen that trade in luxury products are another class of people that express their sorrow at the punishment and fall of the organization of "Babylon" (represented by the "great city"). They also must now distance themselves ("will stand far off") from this hated organization.

Pivot X: Corrupt organizations mourn "Babylon's" fall (18:17b-19)

Chapter 18 17b “Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. 18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ 19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’

The 'ships at sea' around ancient Babylon represent certain organizations and businesses (for ex., large corporations, powerful international organizations and NGOs, high finance... - more examples can be found in the commentary for Ch 17:1-3), the 'captains' are the leaders of these organizations and the 'sailors' are certain of its employees. These wicked 'captains' and 'sailors' had become extraordinarily wealthy as a reward for the work they covertly did for Satan's empire through their organizations. They form a third class of people that expresses their sorrow at "Babylon's" destruction ("throw dust on their heads... Woe!,,,").

Subunit B2: The wicked merchants mourn and the righteous rejoice at "Babylon's" fall (18:20-21)

Chapter 18 20 “Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.”

The righteous are to rejoice, because God has decided to punish "Babylon" for, inter alia, its persecution of the saints ("the judgment she imposed on you"). Three classes of righteous are mentioned: the heavenly spirits, the people of God, and God's apostles and prophets (corresponding to the three classes of wicked above that mourn its destruction).

Chapter 18 21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.

This angel promises the righteous that Satan's empire of "Babylon" ("great city of Babylon") will be suddenly and thoroughly destroyed. This mighty angel with a millstone is reminiscent of the rock that hit the iron feet of the statue in Dan 2:34 - they both predict the violent end of Satan's empire (see also Jer. 51:63-64).

Subunit A2: "Babylon" will no longer revel in its luxuries (18:22-24)

Chapter 18 22 The sound of harpists and musicians, and flute players and trumpeters, shall never be heard in you any longer. And any craftsmen of any craft shall never be found in you any longer, and the sound of a millstone shall never be heard in you any longer. 23a The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again.

The luxurious life of the "Babylonians" will come to an end (as also predicted in the corresponding Subunit A1 above), and it is indicated by several examples of the cessation of things that brought life and joy to ancient Babylon - music, industry, light, celebration (see also Isa. 13:19-22, cf Jer. 25:10).

Chapter 18 23b Your merchants were the world’s important people. By your sorcery all the nations were led astray.

This Unit A on the fall of "Babylon" closes (in 23b-24) with the primary reasons for its destruction by God. The 'merchants of Babylon', influential and powerful people from Satan's empire, have led the leaders and people of world astray into sorcery and Satan worship over the millennia, so making her the "mother of prostitutes" (see Rev. 17:5, see also Nahum 3:16). ( Note that the "merchants of wickedness" of this passage have a different function from that of the "merchants of luxury" of 18:11 above.)

Chapter 18 24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”

The primary reason for "Babylon's" punishment and destruction is its persecution of the saints. Babylon has persecuted God's people from ancient times (for ex, see 2 Kings 24:14), and Satan's modern empire of "Babylon" will continue to persecute and kill the faithful until it is destroyed (see Rev. 17:6).

Chiasmus 14: Rejoicing in heaven at the end of Satan's reign and the start of Christ's reign (2027AD) (Ch 19:1-9a)

A1 19:1-4 God is praised as Satan's reign ends and Christ's reign begins
    X 19:5 All God's servants in heaven are exhorted to praise Him
A2 19:6-9a God is praised as Satan's reign ends and Christ's reign begins


Subunit A1: God is praised as Satan's reign ends and Christ's reign begins (19:1-4)

Chapter 19 1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:
“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” 3 And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”

God's salvation of the righteous from Satan's clutches and His victory over the Evil One are celebrated in heaven with great rejoicing and Hallelujahs (Hallelujah means "God be praised"). God has punished and eternally destroyed ("smoke goes up for ever") the capital of Satan's kingdoms, the Vatican (the "Great Whore"), for its two primary sins: corrupting the earth with wickedness and persecuting the righteous (see Rev 18:23-24). These celebrations illustrate the great love and concern that God and the heavenly hosts have for the world (cf. Luke 15:7).

Chapter 19 4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!”

The 24 elders, representing God's angels in heaven, and the four Living Creatures, representing all life on earth, praise God ("Hallelujah!") at this great victory (see Rev. 4:4,6-7).

So the end of Satan's reign on earth is celebrated with a threefold Hallelujah in this subunit.

Pivot X: All God's servants in heaven are exhorted to praise Him (19:5)

5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!”

All God's servants in heaven, both great and small, are to praise God at this time of victory. This pivot can be considered introductory to this chiasmus.

Subunit A2: God is praised as Satan's reign ends and Christ's reign begins (19:6-9a)

Chapter 19 6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

Another louder shout of praise ("Hallelujah!") from a great multitude in heaven heralds the start of Christ's Millennial Reign, the "wedding of the Lamb". During the Millennial Reign, Christ will rule over the world through the New Israel, the "bride" or "wife" (see also 2 Cor 11:2, Eph. 5:23-24, Isa. 62:4,5). The New Israel will be made ready for Christ's reign: the wicked of the New Israel will be purged (Rev. 6:7-8), and those righteous around the world who died for their faithfulness to God and are judged worthy of the First Resurrection, will be raised to reign in the New Israel (see Rev. 20:4-6). The bright and clean linen given to the "bride" indicates that the righteousness of the New Israel will be revealed to the world (see also Rev. 6:11). ( Note that the New Spiritual Jerusalem that comes from heaven in Period 3 is also called a 'bride', as Christ will be its ruler during his eternal Heavenly Reign - see Ch. 21:2,9,10, cf Ephesians 5:22-24.)

Chapter 19 9a Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!”

Christians in the rest of the world will be invited to celebrate the start of Christ's Millennial Reign ("wedding supper"), and God will reward these faithful Christians. John is told to "write this" to indicate that this is a solemn promise from God (cf. Rev. 21:5).

( Note that the short passage in 19:9b-10 is moved down to the epilogue through a cryptotranspose reconfiguration.)

Chiasmus 15: The coming Messiah will reign on earth for Christ (from 2027AD) (Ch 19:11-15a)

A1 19:11-12 The Messiah will reign on earth for Christ
    X 19:13a The Messiah defeats the Beast army at the start of his reign
A2 19:13b-15a The Messiah will reign on earth for Christ


Subunit A1: The Messiah will reign on earth for Christ (19:11-12)

Chapter 19 11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.

The Messiah of the Millennial Age is here introduced in his new role as King of Kings (this Rider on the White Horse is the same as the one in Rev. 6:2 - the white horse represents political power). He is the Faithful and True one (see also Rev. 3:14 in [6]), who rules ("judges") the world with justice (see also Isa. 11:2-4, Psalm 45:2-5). Although heaven is open in a show of support, this Rider will physically be on the earth (as in Luke 3:21,22).

Chapter 19 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.

The Messiah's blazing eyes may signify his penetrating insight and knowledge (see Isa. 11:2, see also Rev. 1:14, Dan 10:6 and Rev. 2:18 in [6]). The many kingly crowns - diadems - on his head indicate that he has been crowned King of Kings on earth (see Dan. 7:13,14, Isa. 9:6,7) (he had worn a crown of victory - stephanos - earlier in Rev. 6:2). The name written on him seems to be a secret title (cf. Rev 2:17).

Pivot X: The Messiah defeats the Beast army at the start of his reign (19:13a)

Chapter 19 13a He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood.

The Messiah punishes the wicked in the "winepress of the fury of God" (see 19:15 below), because of which his robes are "dipped in blood" (see also Isa. 63:1-3, Rev 14:18-20); the "blood" is the juice of the grapes, which represents the Messiah's destruction of the wicked Beast army when it gathers at the borders of the New Israel ("winepress") at the beginning of his reign.

Subunit A2: The Messiah will reign on earth for Christ (19:13b-15a)

Chapter 19 13b His name is the Word of God.

One of the names or titles of the Messiah is the "Word of God", because he is a prophet of God (cf. John 16:13,14:26, Rev. 19:10). Also, as the angel in charge of the Israelites (Dan 12:1), the Messiah, Archangel Michael, had primary responsibility for transmitting the Word of God to the prophets.

Chapter 19 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

The coming Messiah will be a human representative of Christ during his Millennial Reign, and he will rule with the support of the armies of heaven (the coming Messiah, the Archangel Michael incarnate, is the leader of the armies of heaven - Dan. 10:13). The white horses (as in Rev 6:2) of the angels represent their political role of aiding Christ and the Messiah rule the earth, and their white linen clothes indicate their righteousness.

Chapter 19 15a1 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.

The sharp sword coming out of the Messiah's mouth indicates that he will destroy the wicked with the truth from God and Cbrist (see also Isa. 11:4, 49:2, Psalm 110:5-7). Note that the angel who guides John through this prophecy also has a sword coming out of his mouth (Rev. 1:16), further supporting our position that the angel is Michael, the coming Messiah.

Chapter 19 15a2 “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”

The Messiah will be primarily king of the new Israel, but he will also enforce Christ's reign over the rest of the world with strength (with an "iron sceptre") (see Psalm 2:9, Isa. 11:4), because wicked people and nations around the world will continue to be insubordinate to Christ and hostile to the New Israel. ( Note that Satan had similarly ruled the whole world, though he only had direct control over 'Babylon'.)

Chiasmus 16: God and the Messiah defeat the Antichrist and the Beast (2027AD) (Ch 19:15b-21)

A1 19:15b-18 God and the Messiah defeat and destroy Satan's forces
    X 19:19 The Beast army attacks the New Israel
A2 19:20-21 God and the Messiah defeat and destroy Satan's forces


Subunit A1: God and the Messiah defeat and destroy Satan's forces (19:15b-18)

Chapter 19 15b He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

After God incites the Beast army into an attack on the New Israel, the Messiah utterly destroys this army as it gathers for this attack at the borders of the New Israel (the Messiah "treads the winepress" where the "winepress" is this gathering, and the Messiah's robe, in 19:13a, becomes red from the "juice of the grapes") (see also Isa. 63:1-3, Rev 14:17-20, Joel 3:12-14)

Chapter 19 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.

The Messiah has his title, "King of kings and Lord of lords", written on his royal robe and his thigh - the robe and the side of the thigh are conspicuous locations on a horseman - to indicate that his identity as king on earth is revealed to all by the time of this battle (Rev 3:12). The coming Messiah represents his master, Jesus, the "King of kings and Lord of lords" (see Rev. 17:14), and Jesus represents God, the ultimate "King of kings, and Lord of lords" (see 1 Tim. 6:15, John 5:30) (see also Rev. 3:21).

Chapter 19 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.”

After the Beast army is defeated and destroyed, all the scavengers of the region - birds, animals and human - are invited to feast on the remains of this army. This plunder indicates the abject humiliation of the Beast army that had ruled the earth. This period of war and punishment is one of the three great "Days of the Lord" (see Joel 3:14).

The carrion "birds" overhead ("midair") represent all types of scavengers - birds, animals and human - and "horses" represent vehicles and other war equipment; this war is detailed as the Gog and Magog war in Ezekiel 39 [13], and similar language can be found in that passage (see Ezekiel 39:4-5,9-10,17-20). The angel is "standing in the sun", and the "sun" presumably represents the Beast army (it is also called the "sun" in the vial plagues in Rev 16:8).

Pivot X: The Beast army attacks the New Israel (19:19)

Chapter 19 19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army.

God incites the Beast army and its allies to gather outside the New Israel to attack the Messiah ("the rider on the horse") and the New Israel. This pivot on the attack can be considered introductory to this chiasmus that is primarily regarding the defeat of the Beast army (see also Ezekiel 39:1-2, Rev 14:19).

Subunit A2: God and the Messiah defeat and destroy Satan's forces (19:20-21)

Chapter 19 20 The beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

After the physical Beast army and Antichrist are destroyed (see Subunit A1 above), the spiritual aspects of the Beast and the False Prophet are captured and thrown in the Lake of Fire, a place of spiritual torment. The primary reason for this punishment is that they had led many people around the world astray, away from God and into the worship of the Beast (see Rev. 13).

Chapter 19 21 The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

The Satan worshippers who make up the rest of the Beast empire and of "Babylon" are destroyed through the truth from the Messiah - the sword of the his mouth. After this final destruction of the Beast and "Babylon", all Satan's property on earth is pillaged and looted ("the birds gorged themselves on their flesh") (see also Obadiah 1:5-6, Jer. 51:13-14, Ezekiel 39:6).

Chiasmus 17: Satan is imprisoned until the End Times, The Saints Reign With Christ for a Millennium (Ch 20:1-10)

A1 20:1-4a Satan is imprisoned for a millennium and then released for the final Gog and Magog war
    X 20:4b-6 The saints who died for God will be resurrected and reign with Christ
A2 20:7-10 Satan is imprisoned for a millennium and then released for the final Gog and Magog war


Subunit A1: Satan is imprisoned for a millennium and then released for the final Gog and Magog war (20:1-4a)

Chapter 20 1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

After Satan's ("dragon"/"serpent") earthly kingdom is defeated and destroyed, he is thrown in the Abyss or the bottomless pit. The Abyss, a place of imprisonment (with a spiritual "lock and key" and a "great chain") and punishment for fallen angels, is controlled by God's angel, Abaddon (Rev. 9:11). Satan is imprisoned for the duration of the Messiah's reign of around a thousand years (the word translated 'thousand' could also mean 'approximately thousand'), and after that he is set free for a short time in Period 3. Satan cannot deceive the nations during this time, but many of his fallen-angels are still free to control the nations outside the New Israel (see Rev. 6:12-14).

Chapter 20 4a I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.

These heavenly judges on thrones presumably determine that Satan lost the battle for human souls during the reign of the Beast, and they administer Satan's punishment at his defeat (see also Dan 7:9,26).

Pivot X: The saints who died for God will be resurrected and reign with Christ (20:4b-6)

Chapter 20 4b And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Those deemed worthy, notably the saints who had given up their lives for their faithfulness to God during the Beast's reign, are raised from the dead to rule with Christ and to be priests of God during the Millennial Reign (cf. Rev. 5:10, Heb. 4:1-11). So the kingdom of the New Israel, through which Christ rules for approximately thousand years, will consist of a remnant of the Israelites and those of the First Resurrection (Rom. 11:17, Eph. 2:19). The rest of the dead, those who were not raised at the First Resurrection, will be raised at the Final Resurrection and Judgement at the end of the world (Rev 20:11-15). The saints of this First Resurrection will not face this End-Times Final Judgement in Period 3 ("the second death" in the Lake of Fire "has no power over them" - see also Rev 2:11).

Subunit A2: Satan is imprisoned for a millennium and then released for the final Gog and Magog war (20:7-10)

Chapter 20 7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.

Satan is set free for a short time after the Millennial Reign (in Period 3), when he leads a massive army from around the world - Gog and Magog - to attack the New Israel in the last days. In the analysis of the "frogs" of Rev. 16:13-15 above, we have shown that this 'Gog and Magog' army is an End-Times version of the Beast army of this Period; this attack is also called the battle of Armageddon in Rev 16:16.

Who are Gog and Magog? Magog is an international army led by the Chinese, and Gog, which appears to be a title, is its leader. According to Ezekiel (see Eze. 38:2,39:1), Gog is the "prince" who leads the Japhetic tribes of Meshek and Tubal that occupy the land of another Japhetic tribe, Magog (see the tribal names in Gen. 10:2). It appears that Magog originally referred to the Mongols, but the Chinese, the descendants of Meshek and Tubal, acquired this name when they moved into the land allotted to the Mongols (southern China was earlier called Mangi, apparently derived from Magog). The beast army, that comes from ALL corners of the earth, is presumably named Magog because the Chinese dominate and lead it (cf. Eze. 38:7).

Note that the attacks on Israel by Gog and Magog - Satan's physical army at the time of the Millennial Reign - are predicted to occur in 3 distinct periods:

• At the start of the Millennial Reign (Eze. 39, Rev 19:17-21, 14:14-20).
• Some time during the early Millennial Reign (Eze. 38).
• At the end of the Millennial Reign (Rev 20:7-9,16:14-16).

Chapter 20 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

The End-Times (Period 3) beast army gathers from around the world ("across the breadth of the earth") and surrounds the camp of God's people in the New Jerusalem to attack it - the New Israel has shrunk to the size of a "camp" because of the rapture (see Rev. 11:2). But this army is miraculously defeated and Satan is thrown into the Lake of Fire (the first Beast and the Antichrist are thrown in the Lake of Fire in Period 2 - Rev 19:20) - the Lake of Fire is the second death and a place of torment. This final attack on the faithful in the New Jerusalem occurs around the time the End-Times beast attacks the Two Witnesses in the Old Jerusalem (Rev 11:7-8) and just before the Final Resurrection and Judgement (Rev. 11:18, 20:11-15) (see appendix in Part 3 for details on the dates and sequence of End-Times events).

Chiasmus 18: Epilogue to Period 2 (Ch 22:10-15, 19:9b-10)

A1 22:10-11 About this prophecy: It is sealed
  B1 22:12-13 The righteous are rewarded and the wicked punished
    X 22:14 The righteous can access the Spiritual Holy City and its Tree of Life (2967AD)
  B2 22:15 The righteous are rewarded and the wicked punished
A2 19:9b-10 About this prophecy: It is the true word of God


Subunit A1: About this prophecy: It is sealed (22:10-11)

Chapter 22 10 Then he told me, “When the words of the prophecy of this scroll are unsealed, then the time is near.

The Seal

This statement implies that this book of Revelation is one of the 7 sealed prophecies (see Rev. 5:1). We propose that this seal is the 5th of the 7 seals, and, with its opening, the Pre-Millennial tribulation begins (see Rev. 6:9-11 above); the unsealed contents of this book will help the righteous navigate those difficult times (see also Rev. 22:7b in the Epilogue of Period 3 and Rev. 1:3 [6]). The seal of this prophecy is based on the word "soon" (see details under 22:12 below).

Chapter 22 11 Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

One of the reasons that prophecies are sealed is that God does not want behavioural changes based purely on certain knowledge of the future; any change of character should be founded on a belief and faith in God.

However, in this case, detailed prophecies are unsealed just before the period to give hope and guidance during a period of intense tribulation, the time of tribulation under the Beast, because the decisions that are made in this short period will affect people's souls for eternity. ( Note that some details on Period 3 in this prophecy remain sealed at this time, such as: the date of Christ's return - see Matt. 24:36 - the words of the 7 thunders, and the contents of the little scroll in Rev. 10.)

Subunit B1: The righteous are rewarded and the wicked punished (22:12-13)

Chapter 22 12a “Look, I am coming soon!

The Archangel Michael, speaking as himself, says that he will appear soon as the Messiah for his Millennial Reign in this Period.

The Seal

The word "soon" in this passage in Period 2 makes the passage the hub of the seal of this prophecy, as it connects this passage to passages in 5 sections of the prophecy: the Introductory Section (Rev 1:1), the Epistle to Pergamum (2:16), the Epistle to Philadelphia (3:11), Period 1 of Rev. 4-22 (22:20), Period 3 of Rev. 4-22 (22:6-7). Note that each seal has its number encoded in the seal in some manner, and this 5th seal has 5 links.

Chapter 22 12b My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done— 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

From the start of the Millennial Reign, after the Pre-Millennial tribulation, each person will be rewarded according to what they have done. The righteous will be blessed during the Millennial Reign, and those who were faithful even unto death will be greatly honoured and recompensed. All three entities that bring this revelation to John - God, Jesus, and the Archangel Michael - will be involved in the distribution of rewards.

Although the three epithets in this passage appear to have the same meaning, they are the titles of the three entities who deliver this message (cf. Rev. 21:6, Rev 2:8 in [6]) ( Note that angels may speak for the entity sending the message in the first person, as though they themselves were that being. Note also that all of these epithets are used in other parts of the book.) Their meaning lies in their first part and the second part is a sort of rhetorical intensifier:

• God, the Alpha and the Omega - see Rev. 1:8 in [6]. God is from eternity and the originator of all things (Gen. 1:1).
• Jesus, the First and the Last - see Rev. 1:17, 2:8 in [6]. Jesus is the firstborn of all creation (Col. 1:15) and its king (Rev. 17:14).
• The coming Messiah, the Beginning and the End - see Rev. 3:14 in [6]. The word translated "beginning", the Greek word "arche", can also mean "ruler" and is one of the root words of "Arch-angel". Archangel Michael, the Messiah is a "prince" of the world (see Gen 1:2, Dan 12:1, cf. Job 38:4-7).

The titles of these three entities are expressed in this way to obscure the meaning of this prophecy, and not to indicate that God is a Trinity. We are vehemently hostile to the nonsensical notion of a "trinity of co-equal Gods" or "triune God", a repugnant concept that violates the first commandment, a wicked idea from the Satanic realm.

Pivot X: The righteous can access the Spiritual Holy City and its Tree of Life (2967AD) (22:14)

Chapter 22 14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

Those who are righteous ("those who wash their robes") will be rewarded after the Last Days of this world; they will enter the glorious New Jerusalem that comes down from heaven (Rev. 21) and will have access to the Tree of Life (Rev 22:2) that gives eternal life. ( This passage is regarding Period 3; the pivot of the epilogues of all 3 Periods allude to the Spiritual Jerusalem and its Tree of Life, as it is the ultimate reward for the righteous of God.)

Subunit B2: The righteous are rewarded and the wicked punished (22:15)

This subunit continues from the corresponding Subunit B1 above.

Chapter 22 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

The wicked will continue to exist during the Millennial Reign, but they will be treated as pariahs ("outside") - they will no longer have the 'world elite' status accorded to them under Satan's rule. The wicked worshippers of Satan and his demons, "dogs" (see Deut. 23:17,18), are known for habitually committing these vile transgressions: magic arts or sorcery (seeking the aid of demons - Micah 5:12), sexual immorality (committing acts like sodomy, purely as part of demon worship - 1 Cor. 10:7-8), murder (human sacrifice to demons - 2 Kings 23:10), idolatry (worship of demons - Num. 25:1-3, 1 Cor. 10:20) and lovers of lies (for their gods are liars - John 8:44) (see also Rev. 21:8, 1 Cor. 6:9-11). Outside the New Israel, these wicked will continue to do their evil works, but their power will be limited during the Messiah's reign.

Subunit A2: About this prophecy: It is the true word of God (19:9b-10)

Chapter 19 9b He said to me, “These are the true words of God."

The angel concludes the prophecy by averring that this revelation is the truth from the God of all creation (see also Rev 1:1).

Chapter 19 10a At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!

When the Archangel Michael, who was guiding John through this revelation (see Rev 1:10-16), made the concluding remark in 19:9b, John fell at his feet to honour him (cf. Exo. 3:2,5). But this mighty angel, the Holy Spirit, redirected John's worship to God, saying that he was only a messenger and fellow servant of God (see also Rev 22:6,8,9 in the epilogue to Period 3).

Chapter 19 10b For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

The Archangel Michael conveys this testimony from Jesus and God to John. The Spirit of Prophecy is another title for the Archangel, similar in meaning to his title, The Word of God (Rev 19:13).

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Appendix

Quotes on the Roman Catholic Empire

Many may find it hard to imagine that the Roman Catholic Empire is as powerful or evil as we claim in this paper. This is a vast topic requiring a lengthy study, but, for now, we list a few quotes on this Empire, below. Proper research on the Catholic Empire is difficult, because it controls all major media and publishing houses.

After the devil himself, there is no worse folk than the pope and his followers. - Martin Luther (1483 – 1546), reformer.

“By many writings of our church, by the Divinely inspired Word, by prophecies concerning the future and by the special characteristics of the Papacy, it has been profusely and thoroughly proved that the pope with his prelates and clergy is the real true great antichrist, that his kingdom is the real Babylon, a never ceasing fountain and a mother of all abominable idolatry.” - Matthias Flacius, Lutheran reformer (1570)

But there is a new fraternity of late sprung up who call themselves Jesuits, which will deceive many, who are much after the Scribes and Pharisees’ manner. - George Browne, Augustinian monk (1551)

“See, my lord, from this room — from this room I govern not only Paris, but China: not only China, but the whole world, without any one knowing how ‘tis managed.” - Michael Angelo Tamburini, then General of the Jesuits, speaking to the Duke of Brancas (1720)

“Finally, Let all with such artfulness gain the ascendant over princes, noblemen, and the magistrates of every place, that they may be ready at our beck, even to sacrifice their nearest relations and most intimate friends, when we say it is for our interest and advantage” - Ignatius de Loyola (1491 – 1556), founder of the Jesuits and crypto-Jew.

References

[1] A Definition of Cryptochiasmus
[2] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Revelation 12
[3] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The Olivet Discourse" in Matthew 24
[4] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Daniel 10-12. Part 2: Daniel 11-12
[5] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Daniel 8
[6] A Reconfiguration of Revelation 2-3 and Commentary on Revelation 1-3
[7] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 10-12
[8] Chiastically configured passages
[9] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The 70 Weeks Of Daniel"
[10] Who are the Israelites today?
[11] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 59-63
[12] A Commentary on Daniel 7
[13] A Commentary on Ezekiel 39
[14] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Daniel 10-12: Part 1
[15] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 7-9
[16] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 28-33
[20] Bloodlines of the Illuminati by Fritz Springmeier