5th Trumpet
“And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!” – Rev. 8:13
While moving into the 5th Trumpet, according to the reading of the prophecy, the above scripture serves as a needful prelude to what’s ahead. All the former Trumpets, standing alone, would not communicate the intended meaning of the event(s) being trumpeted without the clarifications provided in the 5th & 6th Trumpets. The first four Trumpets do find analogous parallels in the divine tutorial of old, no doubt, but one could mistake the analogously rendered prophecies to be some great war of the lesser sort, as one might say, in comparison to the war that Spiritual Babylon is prophesied to wage upon the earth. The act of literal war is no doubt conveyed by prophetic analogies, but abreast students of prophecy will be looking for more indicators testifying to the fact that this is the dreadful and long-looked-for rise of Spiritual Babylon by conquest and war.
A Shift in Dimension
The forthcoming clarifications are so important that an angel of God is flying through the midst of heaven to make the alarming announcement! The foreboding specifications of a superior woefulness above all other earthly wars that have or will ever take place are henceforth clarified in that the origin of the warfare and destruction are made manifest to the reader, dissolving all doubts. The reader is hereby forced to conclude that this is none other than Spiritual Babylon, the dreadful!
“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.” – Rev. 9:1-12
This specificity, or clarification, is provided by a shift in the dimension of prophetic vision, albeit we are hereby looking upon the same event(s). The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th Trumpets were prophetic analogies conveying the situation in the natural (representing the act of war, literally speaking) while the 5th & 6th Trumpets are prophetic analogies conveying the situation in the supernatural (representing the act of war, nevertheless); in other words, the former conveyed the earthly and the latter the heavenly; the former the terrestrial and the latter the celestial, while all of it conveys the details of the selfsame event(s). Learned students of prophecy can immediately detect the shocking significance of this shift in dimension and the needful clarifications that are made thereby. Why? Because, harmoniously, this shift in dimension was a frequent happening in the divine tutorial of old.
Throughout the Prophets, snapshot revelations of celestial beings are not uncommon: demons are said to be moved with terror at the approach of God’s presence (Isa. 19:1), they are used as divine instruments to blind large portions of humanity who are doomed under God’s impending judgments (Isa. 19:14), and, at last, they will be punished by God in a Burning Lake or, speaking of Lucifer, He will be shut up in Hell as a prisoner until after the Millennial Reign of Christ (Isa. 24:21-23, 27:1, 34:4; Rev. 20:1-3).
The Prophet Isaiah prophesied concerning God’s judgment of historical Babylon through the Medes in Isaiah 13:1-14:27, specifically referencing “the King of Babylon” in Isaiah 14:4. Nevertheless, Isaiah prophetically identified this same person by the name, Lucifer, in Isaiah 14:12. The two-dimensional reality is that the earthly and natural King of Babylon was a conduit for a heavenly and celestial ruler called, Lucifer, and hereby the diabolical face of this ancient world power is unmasked for the all to behold!
The Prophet Ezekiel prophesied concerning God’s judgment of historical Tyrus through historical Babylon and Alexander the Great, according to Ezekiel 26:1-27:36, specifically referencing the “Prince” or “King” of Tyrus in Ezekiel 28:2 & 12. Nevertheless, Ezekiel prophetically identified this same person by the title, “the anointed Cherub” or “covering Cherub”, in Ezekiel 28:14-16. The two-dimensional reality is that the earthly and natural King of Tyrus was a conduit for a heavenly and celestial ruler, the fallen Cherub, and hereby the diabolical face of this ancient world power is unmasked for the all to behold! Like as the divine tutorial of old began with the earthly and transitioned into the heavenly, the natural to the celestial, so also do the trumpets.
The Angel of the Bottomless Pit
The Celestial King of Spiritual Babylon
Who or what is the star that fell from heaven? At the sounding of the 5th Trumpet we see “a star fall from heaven unto the earth” (Rev. 9:1). This is not a physical object but a person, an angel, and “to him was given the key of the bottomless pit” (Rev. 9:1) that he might open it and spawn an Army from Hell for the working of human woefulness (Rev. 12:12). This star, or angel, is none other than Satan, I conclude, because the star did “fall from heaven unto the earth” (Rev. 9:1), as is described of Satan’s defeat (Isa. 14:1, 12, Ezek. 28:17, Lk. 10:18-20, Rev. 12:4, 7-9, 12-13). It is none other than Satan who presides as “a King over them [a host of fallen angels]”, and presiding as such he is known as “the Angel of the Bottomless Pit” (Rev. 9:11; see “his angels” – Rev. 12:9), for it was he who was permitted by God to open the pit and spawn the Army unto his command (Job 1:12, 2:6).
The Bottomless Pit
A Prison for Fallen Angels
What is the Bottomless Pit? The Bottomless Pit is what Legion called, “the Deep”, the dreadful place of torment he feared to go to if Jesus of Nazareth commanded it so to be (Lk. 8:31). It is Hell, a place of “everlasting fire” that was “prepared for the Devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41, Rev. 12:4, Dan. 8:10), and therefore when it will be opened by Satan “there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace” (Rev. 9:2), in that the flames of hellfire found vent. Evidently, this place can serve as a location of temporary confinement to detain fallen angels (demons) in torments and meanwhile hinder the advancement of their diabolical influence upon sinful man (Matt. 16:23, Jn. 13:27, Acts 5:3, Eph. 2:2-3, 6:12, 2 Cor. 4:4, James 3:15, 2 Cor. 11:3), like as it will be used for the Devil during the Millennial Reign of Christ (Rev. 20:1-3). Confirming this, Legion feared it could imprison him / them before the time appointed and thus he would be hindered from walking to and fro throughout the earth to man’s demise (Lk. 8:28, 31, Job 1:7, 2:2).
The Opening of the Bottomless Pit
The Celestial Army of Spiritual Babylon
Why is the Bottomless Pit opened and for what purpose were the fallen angels spawned from Hell? My reader, one must remember that Hell was created “for the Devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41, Rev. 12:9). Hence, if the Devil desires to retrieve “his angels” he must be permitted by God to open the Pit in which they are confined (“to him was given the key of the Bottomless Pit” – Rev. 9:1). The fact that so many fallen angels were previously confined and then at once let loose should be alarming to us all. No small alarm is sounded by the pipes of holy angels, who’ll say, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabiters of the earth” (Rev. 8:13), and, “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea!” (Rev. 12:12)! Why?
Think of it, my reader! Satan is so great an influencer of world affairs that he is called “the god of this world” who effectually blinds the minds of those who believe not the Gospel (2 Cor. 4:4). Satan and his angels are like fowls of the air that devour the seed of the Word of God from the hearts of men, leaving them destitute of the truth (Mark 4:4). Speaking of this, it was written, “Satan cometh immediately and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts” (Mark 4:15). Moreover, Satan aspires to greater achievements: not the mere hindering / devouring of the Word of God to stop the planting of it but, worse, the sowing of tares (“the enemy that sowed them is the Devil” – Matt. 13:39, “the tares are the children of the Wicked One” – Matt. 13:38). Not the sowing of tares only but the prosperity of wickedness insomuch that “all nations” are unitedly engrossed in the status quo of unprecedented wickedness without shame (Rev. 18:3)! How will Satan achieve such a feat?
God must permit him to amass demonic powers for the making of a vehicle through which sin and iniquity will spread worldwide in an unprecedented way. What is this vehicle? BABYLON. It is a one world government that will be established as the vehicle of sin insomuch that, it will be said, “all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of [Babylon’s] fornication, and the Kings of the earth have committed fornication with [Babylon], and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies” (Rev. 18:3). Prophesying of how the Devil’s celestial army would use Babylon, it was said, “She [Babylon] made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication” (Rev. 14:8). In other words, Babylon will be used to “corrupt the earth with her fornication” (Rev. 19:2). The Devil and his recently spawned celestial army from Hell are to blame for the prosperity of this vehicle of corruption, Babylon, even though it is an earthly government of mankind. Let the reader understand: without the amassing of the formerly confined demonic powers of Hell, Babylon would be ineffective to pervasively dominate and corrupt the earth in this manner. In other words (and testifying of this), it must be that Babylon would “become the habitation of Devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird” (Rev. 18:2), and thereby sin prospers! It is through the influence of fallen angels that “[Babylon’s] sins [will] have reached unto heaven” (Rev. 18:5), while mankind is warned that we would “be not partakers in her sins” so “that [we] receive not of her plagues” (Rev. 18:4).
The 2-Dimensional Origin of the Beast (Spiritual Babylon)
The Bottomless Pit (Rev. 9:1-11, 11:7, 17:8): its origin via a celestial government
The Sea (Rev. 13:1, 17:15): its origin via an earthly manmade government
With all things considered, what is Satan’s otherwise unobtainable achievement accomplished by the celestial army of Hell? An earthly One World Government, first of all, here called Babylon (Rev. 14:8, 16:19, 17:5, 18:2, 21) or “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT” (Rev. 17:5), and in other places, called, “the Beast that ascendeth out of the Bottomless Pit” (Rev. 11:7, 17:8). The powers spawned from the Bottomless Pit (Rev. 9:1-11, 11:7, 17:8) made possible that which came out of the sea (Rev. 13:1, 17:5). In summation, who or what ascended out of the Bottomless Pit? The answer is twofold: first, the spawning of a formerly confined celestial army of Hell that is ruled by Satan (Rev. 9:1-11) and, second, the establishment of the One World Government that will be the vehicle whereby all nations will become engrossed in sin more than ever before (Rev. 11:7, 17:8), it just depends on which dimension you are looking at when beholding the selfsame governmental system. In other words, the Beast arose from the Bottomless Pit and the sea (Rev. 11:7, 13:1), the former speaks of the celestial and the latter the terrestrial.
Signifying the air-to-earth rulership of celestial principalities over earthly kings, we read that “on their heads were as it were crowns like gold” (Rev. 9:7). For the same reason, also, we read that fallen angels have been called Princes and Kings of earthly territories and governments, the ancient empires of Persian and Grecia (Dan. 10:13, 20); effectually, in this way, they were, are, and will be Principalities or Rulers of the Darkness of this World (Eph. 6:12). Further testifying of this effectual air-to-earth rulership of Demons in that the celestial controls the terrestrial, lo and behold: Satan is revealed as the “great red Dragon” of Revelation 12:3 which has seven heads and ten horns just like the Beast of Revelation 13:1. Although they are two different entities, the celestial and the terrestrial, they are united into one vehicle insomuch that the two have the same number of heads and horns! Satan is the angelic king over Hell’s Army of Demons who then, in turn, are the commanding force of the terrestrial government of Babylon.
Furthermore, it is important to note that “the Beast” is not the antichrist, it is the government / kingdom through which the antichrist will eventually reign; notably, though, the earthly government of Spiritual Babylon is established before the antichrist assumes power over it as supreme ruler. Therefore, Spiritual Babylon will exist before the antichrist is revealed. Babylon is an accomplishment of the Devil and Hell’s Army in of itself, making way for the next. He, the antichrist, is represented by “the horn” that is upon the head of the Beast which will eventually, not immediately, rise in power amidst the One World Government (Rev. 17:12-18; Dan. 7:7-8, 11-12, 19-25, 8:9-14, 23-26). Not in the beginning of Spiritual Babylon’s worldwide rule but “in the latter time”, prophecy states, “a King of fierce countenance…shall stand up” (Dan. 8:23). Why does the antichrist rise in the latter time of the worldwide kingdom? It was determined by God that he would not rise to power until “the transgressors are come to full” (Dan. 8:23, Gen. 15:16). Once the antichrist is enthroned as the ultimate power of the Beast or, in other words, the King of the One World Government (“who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God” – 2 Thess. 2:4), they will become one entity of ultimate destruction together. This observation is important, because, what God will do through the rise of Spiritual Babylon by war and conquest is different than what He will do through the fully dominate government that is then piloted by the antichrist.
Satan is the presiding King over the Celestial Army of Hell, and to him the host of fallen angels do consciously submit, but in the perspective of fallen man this isn’t so. This is because hereafter, Satan, or the Dragon, has a distinct relationship with the Beast (the Worldwide Government): namely, he will give “power unto the Beast” so that mankind will worship the Beast, and in worshipping the Beast they will be worshipping the Dragon who gave power to the Beast (Rev. 13:2, 4), but in their mind they are not consciously worshipping the Devil. Mankind, being enveloped by the kingdom of Spiritual Babylon, is deluded to think they are submitting to “God”, the same one who gave power to the Beast, but the word of God, speaking the truth, unmasks the hideous face of the person from whom the Beast acquired authority and power, “the Dragon” (Rev. 12:2, 4). Satan, known as “the great Dragon” and “that old Serpent”, goes by either of these names throughout the Book of Revelation (Rev. 12:9).
Heaven Rules Hell!
The Description of the Celestial Army of Babylon
For the sake of simplicity and fluidity, when drawing upon the divine tutorial of old in the following study to interpret the angelic army of the 5th and 6th Trumpets, I will not make mention of the historical identity of the former inferior fulfillments of the multi-sensed prophecies at hand. Rather, our focus is comprehending the applications made by the Book of Revelation as it, under inspiration, compounded together all pastime analogies and typologies of the inferior sort in a complete declaration of the superior sort. In other words, I don’t want to cloud the vision of the future by unnecessarily referencing the past. Suffice it to say, however, if the prophecy being cited was not directly describing the judgment of God through historical Babylon upon the Jews or the heathen, it speaks of the same divine usage of Assyria.
Why is an army of fallen angels from Hell portrayed in the seemingly fantastic & strange appearances recorded in the 5th Trumpet? At the opening of the Bottomless Pit smoke arose as that of a great furnace, a burning abyss so voluminous with flames so vigorous that the smoke thereof darkened the sun and air of earth’s sky. With smoke of this magnitude, this can be nothing but Hell itself! Albeit, neither the smoke nor the flames of the abyss are what is dangerously important about this event. The formerly confined and at once released angels ascending out of the Pit represent the real danger! It was written, “there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth” (Rev. 9:3). Speaking of modern times, I would suppose that only the inhabitants of northern Africa and the Middle East could comprehend such a sight! At sundry times and diverse generations, human civilizations were wasted by locusts with no more forewarning than a dark cloud ascending on the horizon that had an appearance of smoke or perhaps a coming rainstorm, only to find a locust plague so large it darkened the light of the sun as it approached!
When speaking of earthly locusts, however, there is an observable process before the swarm takes flight to visit and suddenly vanquish the cities and peoples of God’s choosing. Newborn earthly locusts rise from holes in the earth in the billions all at once. The eggs lay dormant for upwards to 20 years so that, at first, all the human eye can see is an army of grasshoppers ascending upon the landscape stretching as far as the eye can see! At this stage, though, the freshly ascended insects are relatively normal grasshoppers. They will spend 4 weeks devouring everything green until they become adults. The real danger, however, is at adulthood! The adult locusts, now crowded upon the countryside and running out of food, go through a stage of metamorphosis wherein they change from relatively normal grasshoppers into the larger, socially coherent, and fearfully ravenous swarming insects that irreparably devastate whole kingdoms and peoples. By socially coherent, I mean, the swarms move in the same direction on earth and land, flying and landing in unison, as a socially adept swarm of unstoppable destruction. Doing so, they can fly up to 70 miles a day and stretch up to 40 miles wide, numbering in the multiplied billions! Meanwhile, eating their entire body weight of vegetation every day, one can only imagine the sight that the Egyptians were made to see when the locusts “covered the face of the whole earth so that the land was darkened” (Ex. 10:15)!
“If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?” – John 3:12
If an approaching swarm of earthly locusts can rouse such terror and helpless amazement within mankind, how much more dreadful is the Hell-spawned Swarm of “locusts” revealed in Revelation 9:3! These are not earthly locusts, as those seen among God’s creation, because “unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power” (Rev. 9:3). The powerful sting of a scorpion’s tail being wielded by the raw appetite of a locust’s lifetime of devouring everything green implicates boundless destruction! Therefore straightway, we read, “and it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads” (Rev. 9:4). Additionally, we read that “to them it was given that they should not kill them” (Rev. 9:5). Concerning the details provided, there’s two observations worthy to be noted and emphasized at the beginning of this study.
A Boundless Desire for Destruction: First, let’s recognize that these locusts are not the earthly sort that can number in the billions to the devouring of every green thing in their path. These are locusts of the hellish sort that hunger to hurt and kill human life like earthly locust’s hunger to consume plant life!
A Bridling of the Unbounded Desires: Second, let’s recognize that these hellish locusts have been divinely endowed with a gift (“unto them it was given power” – Rev. 9:3) and the use of that gift is limited by the Giver. Even though these locusts do desire to devour all of mankind and wipe them off the face of the earth, they can’t. They are sovereignly controlled by God! The same One who endowed them with the gift of “power” to “hurt” did also give them a commandment which limits the scope of their destruction (“it was commanded them” – Rev. 9:4).
The ascended hoard of devils would unleash a boundless onslaught of destruction and death upon all mankind like as a locust plague leaves nothing green in the wake of its swarm, they have a boundless desire for destruction! Nevertheless, there is a bridling of the unbounded desires so that even a demonic assemblage can be of use to God! In other words, this horrendous, hideous, and hellish situation is Heaven’s Operation first of all! Apparently, this is because Heaven Rules Hell! At the observation of these two points we can see just how Heaven Rules Hell, a lesson that the proud citizens of Babylon will need to learn! A lesson that the King of Babylon of old was made to learn in that the angel of God reproved him, in the saying, “the Heavens do Rule” (Dan. 4:26). Do you believe it, my reader?
Do you believe that Heaven Rules over all, both the visible and the invisible, both the material and the immaterial, both the terrestrial and the celestial, even over the Celestial King of Spiritual Babylon, the Devil? If this weren’t the case, and God wasn’t the dominant, meticulous, and transcendent organizer of Hell’s Army, this event wouldn’t have been announced by a trumpet-bearing holy angel of Heaven. All things considered, this is not Satan’s ultimate plan of human woefulness. No! Much the rather, this is God’s ultimate plan for human redemption (which uses evil for good) and therein He has chosen to use Satan and a celestial army from Hell for His glorious purposes. If this wasn’t God’s doing after all, Satan wouldn’t have had the key to the Bottomless Pit in the first place (Rev. 9:1).
It was formerly proven and duly observed that the Celestial Government of Spiritual Babylon, the Beast, ascends out of the Bottomless Pit to establish the earthly, material, manmade government of the same. Herein, amidst the earthly government that will rule the world, the antichrist will appear and rise in prominence until he takes absolute power. This twofold plan appears to be absolutely demonic and unintermittingly satanic. In reality, though, according to Revelation 9:1-11, the Celestial Army that Satan summons is under God’s control (“unto them it was given power” – Rev. 9:3; “it was commanded them” – Rev. 9:4). Apparently, the LORD is the giver and confiner of Hell’s Powers that will ascend out of the bottomless pit. Hereby, the LORD exercises a commanding influence over the hellish locust plague.
Like with unconverted man, God restrains the wrath of these devils and permits their diabolical agendas only as far as the LORD deems fit for the authoring of an otherwise unachievable human redemption. On this wise, this pervasively satanic event is not predominantly satanic! Nor is it predominately Babylonian! In other words, my reader, this is not The Day of Satan. Backslidden Christians, there is no such Day as this! Mind you, nor could this day be called the Day of Babylon! Nor should this event be considered a Babylonian Invasion, ultimately, despite the proud boasting of Babylon’s citizenry. In one dimension, it is certainly an invasion of fallen angels (the Celestial Powers of Spiritual Babylon), that’s for sure! However, and I repeat, God doesn’t use Heaven’s Trumpets to announce the Day of the Devils! The indisputable and undeniable testimony of Holy Scripture is that this is none other than the Day of the LORD! This is the Day of God’s visitation! This is God’s Invasion! …and because of this, resistance is futile! Heaven Rules Hell. [For a scriptural overview explaining the Day of the LORD according to Holy Scripture, see: “The Day of the LORD: Having Departed, God Returns for War!”.]
The Strange Work of the LORD
“For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.” – Acts 17:20
“When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?” – John 6:61
Truth that is foreign to one’s own understanding can be offensive. Howbeit, we should humble ourselves and search the scriptures to see whether these things be so (Acts 17:11), shouldn’t we? I admit that the aforementioned convergence of seemingly irreconcilable truths which, in turn, defines what the Day of the LORD will be at the End of the World, is undeniably strange! This doctrine is so strange and troublesome, it moved the Prophet Daniel to say, “my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me” (Dan. 7:28). If, in truth, the aforementioned description can be proven to be the Day of the LORD according to Holy Scripture, all men should “wonder marvelously” at its strangeness (Hab. 1:5)! Ah, this Day! It is God’s “strange work” and “strange act” (Isa. 28:21-22)! Nevertheless, we should be careful that we do not reject it for its strangeness even as we are told about it! For, speaking to the forbidding of such, the LORD said: “I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you” (Hab. 1:5). This is God’s warning. Don’t let it go unheeded, my reader! Settle it in your heart, and realize: you will be tempted to reject The Strange Work of the LORD that He will accomplish through Spiritual Babylon!
“Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.” – Hab. 1:5-6 [Jer. 48:10, Ezek. 29:20]
My reader, have you beheld and regarded the marvelous wonder of God’s work through the Chaldeans? When God said, “shall I not visit them…?” (Jer. 9:9, 10:15), was He talking about the visitation of Devils, the Babylonians, God, or all three, and was this visitation in the past or in the future, or both? The answer is all three and both, my reader! …are you in disbelief? I am fully aware that the spawning of an unprecedented army of Devils from Hell, with Lucifer as their King, is not an event which men will feel they can call the Day of the LORD in good conscience (“Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.” – 2 Kings 21:12). To most, this will sound and feel more like the Day of the Devil more than the Day of the LORD. Nevertheless, speaking very expressly of an all-devouring locust plague which, being interpreted, is an Army of Devils that makeup the Celestial Government of Spiritual Babylon, God said: “My Great Army” (Joel 2:25)! Do you believe Him? God is speaking… (Joel 2:25).
God, not Lucifer, is depicted as the One presiding as the ultimate Commander of the host insomuch that, it was written, “the LORD shall utter His voice before His Army: for His Camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth His word: for the Day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” (Joel. 2:11)! Moreover, speaking of the same Army and in anticipation of the same battles, Isaiah said, “the LORD of Hosts mustereth the Host of the Battle” (Isa. 13:4)! What awful sight is this? What paradoxical complexity is herein represented? Speaking of the same Army, Habakkuk said, “When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the Day of Trouble: when He cometh up unto the people, He will invade with His Troops” (Hab. 3:16)! Pay attention to the Prophets testimony, my reader. Habakkuk said, “When I heard…”.
“HEAR THIS, ye old men, and GIVE EAR, all ye inhabitants of the land. HATH THIS BEEN IN YOUR DAYS, or even in the days of your fathers? TELL YE YOUR CHILDREN OF IT, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.” – Joel 1:2-3
“the Day of the LORD” – Joel 2:11
“My Great Army” & “His Army” – Joel 2:25, 2:11
“the LORD mustereth the Host of the Battle” – Isa. 13:4
“He will invade with His Troops” – Hab. 3:16
“HEAR THIS”, Joel said! “GIVE EAR”, he repeated! Are you listening? “He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number, and did eat up all herbs in their Land, and devoured the fruit of their ground” (Ps. 105:34-35)! When comparing Joel 1:4 with Joel 2:25, in full review of the Army’s description in Joel 2:1-11 in harmony with Revelation 9:1-21, it becomes indisputably clear that the locusts are being identified as God’s Army, in the saying, “My Great Army which I sent among you” (Joel 2:25). The God of Israel has need of an Army for “the BATTLE in the Day of the LORD” (Ezek. 13:5), as Ezekiel called it. “HATH THIS BEEN IN YOUR DAYS…?”, Joel asked! “TELL YE YOUR CHILDREN OF IT…”, he pled! Why? Historically and futuristically, this is an unprecedented Army for an unrepeatable WAR that is ultimately fulfilled in the rise of Spiritual Babylon by conquest and war unto worldwide governmental power (according to the trumpeted event(s) of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, & 6th Trumpets!). Don’t stand aloof in disbelief, my reader! …now that you are being told about it, recall to mind the warning of Habakkuk 1:5-6, and take heed! Though the message is largely derided and its content painful to consider, will you hear it? “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the saying of this Book” (Rev. 22:7).
The Description of the Celestial Army of Babylon
“That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.” – Joel 1:4
“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, My Great Army which I sent among you.” – Joel 2:25
Speaking in the aftermath of the WAR, Joel made an assessment of the destruction wrought (Joel 1:4) and God made a promise of restoration (Joel 2:25). Does it surprise you to know that the historical and future warriors of Chaldea (the Babylonians) are in fact God’s Army whereby He will bring nonarbitrary judgment upon the Church and arbitrary judgment upon the World (1 Pet. 4:17-18)? The Day of the LORD from a prophetic standpoint is the selfsame event(s) that will be known from an earthly standpoint as, the Day of Babylon. Oh, this terrific Day! …the terrors thereof were never so plainly put as in Revelation 9:1-21! There we see the Army Swarm! – In totality, there we see the Army’s swiftness in flight and it’s running stride in appearance, it’s jaw and teeth in likeness, it’s invasion and advancement in sound, it’s power to hurt and kill in analogous doctrine, it’s insubordination to man and subordination to God in metaphor!
The Army Swarms! - The Army, being celestial, will fly like locusts and hunger to hurt mankind like locusts devour green things (Joel. 1:4, 2:25, Rev. 9:3-11). Swarming upon the targeted individuals of mankind “as the running to and fro of locusts”, so will the Celestial Army “run upon” men to inflict the God-appointed scope of destruction (Isa. 33:4)! “O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech Thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? For he is small” (Amos 7:2).
The Army’s Flight is Swift! – The Army, being celestial, with a 10-ft. wingspan like that of a “ravenous bird” on earth (Isa. 46:11), or an Eagle’s Wings, “they shall fly as the Eagle that hasteth to eat” (Hab. 1:8)! A winged Army of this sort, with angelic grandeur, is the most alarming fulfillment of the prophetic description, “the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of Thy Land, O Immanuel” (Isa. 8:8). Fearfully, historical Babylon did “fly as an Eagle” and “spread His wings over Moab” to its destruction (Jer. 48:40)! At such a sight and the like, ultimately fulfilled in the celestial powers of the soon-to-be Spiritual Babylon of the future, the mightiest of men in all places would “be as the heart of a woman in her pangs” (Jer. 49:22)! This much and more in that a flying Army of Devils will invade! I say, not only for the sight of their eyes will they be as women in travail, but for the hearing of their ears because “the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running into battle” (Rev. 9:9)!
The Army’s Running is Fast! – Each individual locust-eagle of Hell’s Army “is as the appearance of horses” (Joel 2:4); this is in addition to all the aforementioned characteristics! Moreover, it is written, “and as horsemen, so shall they RUN” (Joel 2:4)! In other words, “the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto BATTLE” (Rev. 9:7)! Even so, it was written, “They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war” (Joel 2:7)! “They shall run to and fro in the City; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the Houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief” (Joel 2:9)!
The Army’s Jaws are Bone-breaking & Inescapable! – The Army, being celestial, and coming upon the earth for war, instills fear in the people like the devouring mouth of a Lion makes men afraid. In addition to all the aforementioned characteristics, and being “strong” and “without number”, we read that their jaws are arrayed with “the teeth of a Lion”, and that they have “the cheek teeth of a great Lion” (Joel 1:6)! Even so, we read of the fallen angels in the Book of Revelation that “their teeth were as the teeth of Lions” (Rev. 9:8)! SHOCKING.
The Army’s Advancement is Dreadfully Loud! – The Army, being celestial, will be dreadfully loud like no one single earthly event ever could be! If you can imagine it (in addition to all the aforementioned characteristics!), the advancement of this Army will sound “like the noise of chariots on the tops of Mountains”, “like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth stubble, as a strong people set in BATTLE ARRAY” (Joel 2:5)! Moreover, we read of the sound of an angelic wingspan giving flight to these unearthly beings of destruction, in that, “the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses RUNNING INTO BATTLE” (Rev. 9:9)! …how dreadful!
The Army’s Power to Hurt is Venomous! – The Army, being celestial, will have venomous powers to hurt mankind like the serpents and scorpions of the earth (Lk. 10:18-20, Ezek. 28:15, Jn. 8:44, 2 Cor. 11:3), therefore we read that they will have “tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months” (Rev. 9:10), and, with additional details, “their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt” (Rev. 9:19)! (A scorpion’s tail looks very much like a serpent’s head!) This, according to the prophetic analogy, is a nondeadly inflicting of a venomous torment that will be used in a categorically united purpose alongside the deadly power of fire-breathing to slay a third of mankind at the 6th Trumpet. Note: it is clear that Revelation 9:19 is an affirmation that the fire-breathing angels in description at the sounding of the 6th Trumpet are the same as those brought into view at the sounding of the 5th Trumpet. Specifying this, we read that the angels were equipped with two different powers of hurt, the nondeadly and deadly via the tail and the fire-breathing, and we read that the fire-breathing was exclusively deadly in the slaying of a third of mankind (Rev. 9:17-18).
The Army’s Power to Torment Mankind is Brutally Satanic! – The Army, being celestial, and having ascended from Hell, will be determined to accomplish a poisonous agenda of ultimate woefulness. Jesus of Nazareth, knowing the universal commonality of all Devils, affirmed their powers to be like that of serpents and scorpions (Lk. 10:19). Much more, though, we know that the soon-to-be released Army of Devils from Hell will possess celestial powers that will successfully bring about the rise of Spiritual Babylon via the tormenting experience of conquest and war; and, this, in harmony with the doctrine of Christ, will be like a scorpion’s strike that venomizes the people (Lk. 10:19). Attesting to the torment inflicted, it was written, “And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them” (Rev. 9:6). The poisoned men, being in torment in this manner for 5 months (Rev. 9:5, 10), will undergo a strikingly similar experience to the souls of those who were of old conquered by historical Babylon, taken captive, and scattered worldwide. Of them, it was written, “…among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! And at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! For the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see” (Deut. 28:64-67). This much, and more, will be the soon-to-be experience of those who are tormented by the terrestrial government of Spiritual Babylon, the celestial empowering the terrestrial, insomuch that “there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time” (Dan. 12:1)! The aforementioned torments (Rev. 9:5-6), directly administered by the scorpion strike of Devils, analogously so called, are similar to what Satan personally administered to Job in the days of his affliction wherein, likewise, Job longed to die and couldn’t because the power to kill was not given into the hand of the Devil (Job 2:5-6, 3:20-22, 7:15).
The Army’s Dignified Insubordination to Fallen Man! – The Army, like Lucifer, scours the earth as “gods” and “princes” in the sky, ruling over men (2 Cor. 4:4, Eph. 6:12, Dan. 10:13, 20-21); signifying this, it was written, “on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men” (Rev. 9:7).
The Army’s Undignified Subordination to a Holy God! – The Army, made-up of depraved and fallen angels, and therefore being never so ravenous like animals, are nevertheless successfully called by God to execute His Counsel and nothing more (Isa. 46:11). These fallen angels, embodied in a stately grandeur unimaginable to mankind, will come flying like bees and flies to do the LORD’s bidding when, as to a pet, “the LORD shall hiss” (Isa. 7:18). The Almighty does not call them His friends or family, like as to redeemed man, nor does He call the fallen angels by their names, like as to a favored animal, only a “hiss” is fitting for the likes of unholy Devils (enemies of all righteousness!) who do service to God. Ah, what dishonor is due to those who inherit their just desert from God Almighty! “For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods” (Ps. 95:3)!
From this standpoint in human history, let me say this: if ever there was an Army of human woefulness to be feared above all others, this is the one! Understandably, therefore, “Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness” (Joel 2:6)! Meanwhile, “the earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble…” (Joel 2:10)! How can it be? Simply put, this Army isn’t human. The inhuman characteristics of this Celestial Army of Babylon in the End of the World are pictorially surveyed in the aforementioned prophecies, and more! However, all helpful analogies aside…
It’s marching, patrolling, advancing, and assaulting is unbreachable and infallible (Joel 2:7, 8)!
|
à | “they shall not break their ranks” – Joel 2:7 “Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path”’ – Joel 2:8
|
|
|
|
It’s persons are both invincible and undying until their work is done (Joel 2:8)! | à | “when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded” – Joel 2:8
|
It’s strength and energy are both tireless and weariless while every warrior abides sleepless (Isa. 5:26-30)!
â
“And He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it. And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.” – Isa. 5:26-30
If in truth this Army is celestial and, moreover, it’s made up of fallen angels; and, worse, these fallen angels are so wicked and powerful that they were confined in Hell up to this woeful point of human existence; my reader, consider the implications! THEY’RE RELEASED. Imagine the assemblage of this dreadful Army filling the sky just over your head in the City that you call home, consider the implications! If the apostle Judas betrayed Jesus Christ in that, it was written, “Satan entered into him” (Jn. 13:27), what shall become of the depravedly-targeted people of the Devil’s Celestial Army – the humans that will be overshadowed and possessed by Hell’s Angels for the establishment of Spiritual Babylon’s earthly government by war and conquest? What sort of wicked men shall these people, as Judas, be made so to be! Ah, this Babylon!
“Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins…” – Rev. 18:4
Hell’s Army is hurtful to humanity, to say the least. It is a wretched joining together of sinning humans with sinning angels! What shall the end of these things be? Through prophecy, the LORD calls the spiritual citizenry of Babylon “the worst of the heathen” (Ezek. 7:24), a “nation of fierce countenance” (Deut. 28:50), a “bitter and hasty nation” (Hab. 1:6), a people who are both “terrible and dreadful” (Hab. 1:7)! They are ruthless and barbaric in that, “they are cruel, and have no mercy” (Jer. 6:23); and when given the opportunity, they “shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young” (Deut. 28:50).
Speaking of such a people, an Army, the LORD said: “evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction” (Jer. 6:1)! When they through the power of Lucifer do “weaken the nations” (Isa. 14:12), they will take possession of Lands that are not their own “with the joy of their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast [them] out for a prey” (Ezek. 36:5). They, by the cruelty of war and conquest, will punish the resistors of Babylon until they become “a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse” (Jer. 24:9). They, upon victory, will torment the subjects of their physical cruelty even further by verbal assault and harassment (“ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people” – Ezek. 36:3). Before all is said and done, Babylon “shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces” (Dan. 7:23); in so doing Babylon will be like an unstoppable Beast that is “exceedingly dreadful”, for it “devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue [of earthly kingdoms] with his feet” (Dan. 7:19)! Dreadfully so, Babylon is prophetically called a “destroying Mountain [Kingdom]” – in very deed it “destroyeth all the earth” (Jer. 51:25)! All of this and more will force Babylon’s dominion upon the inhabitants of the earth; they, being forced into submission will be made to exclaim, “Who is like unto the Beast? Who is able to make war with him?” (Rev. 13:4)!
After this Kingdom goes on its animalistic rampage of destruction unto world dominance, however, things get even worse! This mischievous people of Babylon will thereafter be ruled by “a King of fierce countenance” (Dan. 8:23), “that Man of Sin”, “the Son of Perdition” (2 Thess. 2:3)! This historical and future earthly King of Babylon is also called Lucifer, from a celestial perspective (Isa. 14:4, 12), because the rule of the Kingdom of Babylon is two-dimensional. My reader, Satan is the Celestial King of Babylon (“they had a King over them” – Rev. 9:11) who directly and personally empowers the governmental infrastructure of the earthly Kingdom of Babylon – the vehicle that will one day be piloted by the antichrist (“the Dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority” – Rev. 13:2).
In very deed the antichrist will rise to power, “but not in his power”, or, “not by his own power” (Dan. 8:22, 24). Fearfully, this man will not accomplish all this by the power of human depravity acting alone. No! Rather, he will be baptized by the unclean spirits of Devils and thereby he shall understand the forbidden “dark sentences” of Hell (Dan. 8:23)! Meaning, his reign of terror shall commence by the influence of satanic “craft” (Dan. 8:25)! Alas, this “Son of Perdition” (2 Thess. 2:3) – this Son of Destruction! He is the chosen “vessel of wrath”, Satan’s child, who’s rise to power marks the dawning of unspeakable suffering (“Destruction upon destruction is cried” - Jer. 4:20; Rom. 9:22)! During his reign the saying shall be fulfilled, “The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again” (Isa. 24:20)!
“For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.” – Mark 13:19
“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.” – Matt. 24:21-22
“But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the Land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” – Lk. 21:23-24
Fearfully, the antichrist will rule the world from a single location, a Capital City of the Worldwide Empire, the same place that the Prophets called, “the City of God” (Ps. 46:4, 87:3), “the Holy Land” (Zech. 2:12)! Can you believe it? According to prophecy, Jerusalem will be “that great City, which reigneth over the Kings of the earth” (Rev. 17:18)! Oh, this disturbing thought! Satan, like before the fall, is lusting after the very location wherefrom God has promised to rule, thinking, “I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:14). Hereby Jerusalem will become “THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS”, the adulterous Woman who is seen riding the Beast in Revelation 17:1-18! “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…” (Matt. 23:37), what bloody Man will be enthroned within you! Hereby Jerusalem will be regarded by the world as “that great City Babylon, that mighty City” (Rev. 18:10, 21), “the Seat of the Beast” (Rev. 16:10)! While the world praises the antichrist for his world-changing human achievements that culminate in his ascent to the throne of the world empire via Jerusalem, God looks upon the ungraceful scene and calls it, “the Abomination of Desolation” (Matt. 24:15)! Because the antichrist will be swaddled and reared by the Devil himself, prophecy declares that he “waxed great” and “magnified himself even to the Prince of the Host” (Dan. 8:10, 11). He, also called “that Wicked” (2 Thess. 2:8), is known as “that Man of Sin” for the expressed reason that through him “the mystery of iniquity” will prosper insomuch that “the transgression thereof shall be heavy” upon the earth “and it shall fall, and not rise again” (2 Thess. 2:3, 7, 8, Isa. 24:20). Oh, this antichrist, “It had been good for that man if he had not been born” (Matt. 26:24)!
Remember, though, the antichrist is just an embodiment of Satan’s personality! He is a pawn, a conduit of a higher power of kingly wickedness: the Angel of the Bottomless Pit named, Apollyon! Therefore, it is not he but they who do such wickedness and prosper therein, as two-dimensional prophecy clarifies. The wrath of the Devil is hereby shockingly relevant in the mustering of the celestial and terrestrial armies of Babylon, the vehicle of destruction! And for this cause, it was written, “WOE to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the Devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Rev. 11:12). Again, it was written, “He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger…” (Isa. 14:6)! The two-dimensional reality is that they (the Devil and the antichrist – Isa. 14:4, 12), through the celestial and terrestrial forces of Babylon, “made the earth to tremble” and “did shake Kingdoms” (Isa. 14:16)! They, together, “made the world a wilderness and destroyed cities thereof” (Isa. 14:17)!
“Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?” – Joel 2:17
Worst of all, these two-dimensional Kings will work unitedly under one title, “the Oppressor” (Isa. 14:4), to wit that through the Kingdom of Babylon (“the staff of the wicked and the scepter of rulers” – Isa. 14:5) they will make war against the Church! Speaking of Satan, it was written, “the Dragon was wroth with the Woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed…” (Rev. 11:17); and speaking of the antichrist (Satan’s servant), it was written, “the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them” (Dan. 7:21)! …war against the Church, the Kingdom of God? Yes. At this, God laments over what is typologically and prophetically called, “My Land” (Joel 1:6), “My Vine”, and “My Fig Tree” (Joel 1:7). The world watches on as these two Kings rise in power and prominence and therein unleash war; meanwhile, at integral times of potential intervention whereby God could suddenly put an end to it all, He turns away His Face (“My Face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute My Secret Place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it” - Ezek. 7:22)!
War against the Church, the Kingdom of God, begs the question: Where is God in all of this? I repeat, God turned away His face! Had not God justly turned away His face and abandoned His people (“Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity…” – Hab. 1:13), the enemies of God couldn’t come in like a flood to the destruction of the Land, People, and House of God, the Church (Ezek. 7:22, 8:6). This is an unwilling abandonment on the part of God. Speaking of this, Isaiah testified, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His Face from you, that He will not hear” (Isa. 59:2). Hence, it is with strong lamentation that the LORD reflected upon the widespread destruction wrought by Babylon, especially how the House of God was both defiled and destroyed (Jer. 4:19-29, 6:17, 10:18-22, 12:7-12, 20:4, 21:1-10, Lam 1:10)! Meanwhile, the backslidden Jews of the day were hiding from Babylon hoping to escape, and to no avail (Jer. 43:10-13, 44:11-14, 26-29)! Herein we observe the doctrine of God’s innocence in the advancement of Babylon; how He was legally compelled to stand by and look as a Man astonied, as a Mighty Man that cannot save (Jer. 14:8-12, Isa. 59:1-2).
My reader, it is clear that Babylon will act independent and unconscious of God (Isa. 47:1-10) under the direct inspiration of Satan via the forbidden crafts of divination and such like things (Ezek. 21:21-23), and upon ultimate success, after all is said and done according to what was foretold in that the antichrist “shall destroy wonderfully” (Dan. 8:24), the bewitched antichrist will ascribe power and glory to a false god for what was accomplished (Hab. 1:11; “they worshipped the Dragon which gave power unto the Beast” – Rev. 13:4). This being the case, however, it is also true that Babylon will act dependently upon God insomuch that they can do nothing without Him! Can you believe it? The celestial and terrestrial King(s) and Kingdom(s) of Babylon do act profoundly independent and unconscious of God (insomuch that they make war against Him!); albeit, meanwhile, God is profoundly and meticulously involved insomuch that He calls the King(s) of Babylon, “My Servant” (Jer. 25:9, 27:6, 43:10). How can it be? Verily, God is profoundly removed from and innocent of all of Babylon’s wretchedness and yet, simultaneously, He is profoundly near and responsible for what is happening! Can you believe it? My reader! Discover the glorious mystery in that Heaven Rules Hell!
Heretofore we have observed what depraved humanity will do under the influence of superior beings, sinful angels, through the vehicle of Babylon, but we have yet to look upon the full spectrum of these selfsame events in how meticulously and majestically Heaven Rules Hell! In other words, we have yet to observe exactly how meticulously, majestically, and mysteriously Hell’s Army (under the command of Satan as King) is God’s Army in actuality; hence the title, the LORD of hosts! We have yet to observe the LORD in the Day of the LORD, a Day that is disturbingly filled with Devils! Or, we have yet to observe the Rulership of HEAVEN in the Day of the LORD, a Day that is noticeably given to the rule of Hell’s Principalities!
At first glance we read that “they had a King over them” (Rev. 9:11), but in full scope we read that in the selfsame events, God is saying, “with a mighty hand…will I rule over you”, “I will cause you to pass under the rod”, “I will bring you into the bond of the Covenant” (Ezek. 20:33-38)! The mean man looks up at the highest tier of terrestrial rule and sees, the antichrist; the witch looks up at the highest tier of celestial rule and sees, Lucifer; the prophet looks up at the highest tier of terrestrial and celestial rule and sees, the LORD of Hosts! Why? Because when the earth is overtly displaced into the diabolical rule of Satan via Babylon because of the divine sentence, “I will forsake you” (Jer. 23:39), the situation is far from divine abandonment in any human estimation! When God calls the King of Babylon, “Lucifer” (Isa. 14:12), and also, “My servant” (Jer. 25:9, 27:6, 43:10), He is underscoring the universal truth that all celestial and terrestrial happenings are first of all and after all a service to God. In other words, the immaterial and material King(s), armies, and governments of Babylon are God’s servants and services.
Is the Devil, Hell’s Army, or Babylon making you afraid?
An Army that God Himself describes as “terrible and dreadful” (Hab. 1:7) will certainly instill terror and dread within mankind if the whole of the matter is not learnt. Heretofore the whole of the matter has not been declared, my reader! After all, should right-standing saints tremble before the King of Babylon, before whom the earth trembles and the kingdoms shake (Isa. 14:16)? My reader, right-standing saints are situated upon the Foundation Rock of a Kingdom “which cannot be moved” (Heb. 12:28), though all the inhabitants of the world do shake and cower before the antichrist! Herein unshaken, the purest sense of “fear” is ascribed to God (Heb. 12:28)! One must look and see “those things which cannot be shaken” distinguished from those things which can and must be shaken (Heb. 12:27-28), and who it is that ultimately, transcendently, and actually causes all things to tremble and shake! Those who are misled to ascribe fearfulness to the antichrist are in a dangerous and vulnerable position! Speaking to such, God says to the Church Backsliders of the Tribulation Period of old, “Be not afraid of the King of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid” (Jer. 42:11).
At the assemblage of so dreadful an army, Hell’s Army, God expounds the whole of the matter whereby the saints might “sanctify the LORD of Hosts Himself; and let HIM be your fear, and let HIM be your dread” (Isa. 8:13)! Meanwhile, amidst the unveiling of how terrible and dreadful Babylon is, God says, “I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear” (Lk. 12:5), and it’s not the King(s) of Babylon! I mean, the LORD redirects the fear of man away from the King(s) of Babylon unto Himself, in the saying, “the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle” (Isa. 13:4)! On behalf of this profoundly relevant truth, the Lord is saying, “Yea, I say unto you, fear Him” (Lk. 12:5)! Indeed, for it is a sin to fear the historical or future King(s) of Babylon or Assyria (Isa. 30:7, 15, 7:4, 8:12-13, 10:24-25). The glorious mystery of God’s Majesty in, through, and over all armies (both celestial and terrestrial) is the point of praise in the title, “the LORD of hosts”, ascribed to God 80 times in the Book of Jeremiah! In this, do you think God is trying to make a point? The man Jeremiah saw all 6 Captivities of Babylon in the carrying away of the Jews from Judah, unceasingly calling God by the title: “the LORD of hosts.”
Is the Devil, Hell’s Army, or Babylon the Destroyer?
Is Satan, or Lucifer, at all to be feared in the trumpeted event(s) at hand? No, and there’s a reasonable explanation for this. When the celestial army of the Bottomless Pit is summoned into Lucifer’s command (“they had a King over them” – Rev. 9:11) to wit powerful devils bring destruction upon the earth and live-out the title of their commander, Apollyon, meaning Destroyer¸ is this credence to fear the destructive influence of Satan? Should we not, rather, turn our gaze upon the One before whom Devils tremble for fear (James 2:19)? At the thought of Hell’s Army being unleashed upon mankind for a rampage of destruction, one might ask: herein and at such a time, do the Devils still tremble? In other words, in the invasion of Hell’s Army upon the earth (Rev. 9:1-11), will God be afar off and practically irrelevant in the conscious minds of Devils? As they lust after man’s hurt like wild and uncontainable locusts, will God be distant and profoundly unimpactful to the mind and memory of the Fallen Angels? No!
This being the case, my reader, consider the backwards situation that will unfold! Think about all the lost inhabitants of the earth trembling at the sight of Babylon’s Celestial Army ascending on the horizon like a locust plague… and, yet, the Celestial Army of Devils is meanwhile trembling before the One who is presiding over the entire host and its angelic King! Who? Remember, “the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle” (Isa. 13:4)! …do you believe it? My reader, it is expedient that you rightly understand the situation and in so doing become a believer in God (Matt. 13:13-15, 23). It would be foolish to abide in unfearful disbelief in respect to God at such a time as this; for, meanwhile, you will abide in fearful belief in respect to Demons who, on the contrary, and meanwhile, abide in fearful belief in respect to God unlike yourself (“the Devils also believe, and tremble” – James 2:19)!
We know that besides Babylon (her Kings and her Armies) there is no greater destroyer of the earth, according to Biblical Prophecy. The angel of the Bottomless Pit himself (the Celestial King of Babylon) is named Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek, which means Destroyer (Rev. 9:11). Furthermore, God, being both innocent of and disturbed by all iniquity, is justly angry with Satan’s destructive rampage wrought through Babylon so that in conclusion, when God’s wrath takes free course, He will “destroy them which destroy the earth” (Rev. 11:18). It is written, “thus with violence shall that great City Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all” (Rev. 18:21). Right? Nevertheless, it is impossible that Babylon’s Kings and Armies act alone! Let us rightly understand, therefore, the Doctrine of the Destroyers.
Firstly, let’s remember that holy angels have charge over territories as watchers (Ezek. 9:1, Dan. 4:17). Secondarily, let’s remember that unholy angels have dominions of power as angelic princes of earthly affairs inasmuch as God permits (Eph. 6:12). God is able to freely use and draw upon these contrasting powers to the unsearchable exercise of His ongoing rulership as KING of Kings and Lord of hosts! Meaning that, when necessary, both are sent forth by God with destroying weapons in their hands or destructive plans to accomplish (Ezek. 9:1-11, 1 Kings 22:19-22). This is a very real delegation of destructive authority, my reader! To stop the onslaught of manslaying justice, the angel’s hands must be stayed from destroying the people (1 Chron. 21:27)! Who smote the people? God-through-angels did (1 Chron. 21:87, 2 Sam. 24:16; Ezek. 7:9, 21:3-5, Jer. 21:5-6).
God exercises direct oversight over the angel that He appoints as “the destroyer”, a relational aspect between God and angels that is clearly depicted in Exodus 12:12 & 23. Even so, it was written, “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer” (1 Cor. 10:10). The backsliders path of destruction is one riddled with destroying angels standing in the way (Num. 22:31, Ps. 90:3, 2 Pet. 2:15-16, Job 33:22). However, amazingly, the destroyer himself need not be a holy angel; God is able to employ unholy angels in the causes of divine justice while they remain unaware of their divine appointment, just like the historical Kings of Assyria and Babylon were so used (Isa. 10:7, 1 Cor. 5:5, Rev. 9:11). Speaking of the divine usage of God on this wise, it was said of the King of Assyria, “Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few” (Isa. 10:7).
Conclusively, if God abandoned the Church and joined Babylon, why would He not abandon the Church of the Gentile Church Age and join Spiritual Babylon? If God said to Nebuchadnezzar that he is, “My servant” (Jer. 25:9, 27:6, 43:10), why would He not speak the same thing to the earthly ruler of Spiritual Babylon, the antichrist? Or, to the celestial ruler of Spiritual Babylon, the Devil? How else should we interpret the saying, “the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle” (Isa. 13:4), when on the other hand, and apparently, the Devil is the one who summoned the army from hell to preside as King over them (Rev. 9:1-11)? Almighty God can, did, does, and will use Satan as His servant in that he, like Nebuchadnezzar, but in another dimension, is the Commander of Hell’s Celestial Army of destroyers that are the real power behind the material infrastructure and manpower of Babylon.
In fact, God has always used the Devil in His service whenever the LORD excommunicated individuals from the Church so as to deliver them unto Satan “for the destruction of [their] flesh” (1 Cor. 5:5). Satan’s scheme, which is to destroy the soul, is unobtainable meanwhile God’s design in Satan’s instrumentality is achieved in that the spirit of the man is saved (“To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” – 1 Cor. 5:5). Even so, God’s twofold employment of the Devil to establish Spiritual Babylon and the antichrist will be, accordingly, the achievement of God’s purposes amidst the futile striving of Satan’s. God will in this manner use Satan’s army of fallen angels spawned from the Bottomless Pit. The LORD will employ this Destroyer, Apollyon, as an enforcer of God’s judgment and nothing more (“And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.” – Rev. 9:4). Shedding light on how God will enforce His command upon an army of Heaven’s enemies such as this, consider the text (just one verse prior to the saying, “the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle” – Isa. 13:4) wherein God said,
“I have commanded My sanctified ones, I have also called My mighty ones for Mine anger, even them that rejoice in My highness.” – Isa. 13:3
Who has God commanded and called, and how does this relate to the mustering of Hell’s Army? When speaking of an Army of Fallen Angels that is essentially an army of Destroyers (Rev. 9:11), and this simultaneously being the Day of the LORD in that it is “a destruction from the Almighty” (Isa. 13:6), one must wonder about the practical details of how this Destroying Host, Hell’s Army, has been endowed with destroying weapons that in actuality are “the weapons of [God’s] indignation, to destroy the whole Land” (Isa. 13:5)! This army, being Hell’s Army, begs the question: WHO are the ones that God is commanding and calling, “My sanctified ones”, “My mighty ones”, “them that rejoice in My highness” (Isa. 13:3), and how does God’s control over Hell’s Army manifest in practice? For, we know that unholy and unsanctified hell-spawned Devils do not rejoice in God’s highness but rather war against it, so WHO could these “mighty ones” be (Isa. 13:3)? My reader, any answer regarding God’s ultimate rulership over angels and men has apparent limitations and for obvious reasons. In other words, we must glean what we can from Holy Scripture and silence any further inquiries, for our own good.
“And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” – Rev. 19:6
Gleaning what we can concerning the practice of God’s ultimate rulership, the aforementioned text is a good starting point. A panorama of God’s enthroned Person in Heaven’s Glory will reveal evidence of God’s rule in practice inasmuch as we can understand it. Hereby we can understand that a “thousand thousands” minister to God wherever He goes and in whatever He does (Dan. 7:10), and especially in the mustering of Hell’s Army! This reference, a “thousand thousands”, represents an innumerable host of holy angels in ministry to God in the Heavenly Scene (Dan. 7:10, Heb. 12:22). Consider the text in full, which says,
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.” – Dan. 7:9-11
This Heavenly Scene, depicted in Daniel 7:9-12, must be compared to the happenings of the 5th Trumpet in Revelation 9:1-11. The former reveals the end of Spiritual Babylon both celestially and terrestrially, the latter reveals the beginning of Spiritual Babylon both celestially and terrestrially. So, if in the end of Spiritual Babylon via the casting down of all celestial and terrestrial thrones the ministry of holy angels will be a vital component (“thousand thousands ministered unto Him” – Dan. 7:10), what should we expect at the beginning of Spiritual Babylon via the establishment of celestial and terrestrial thrones (especially given the fact that the LORD, not the Devil, is the ultimate Commander of Hell’s Army)? I mean, in the assemblage of Hell’s untoward army of Heaven’s enemies, the fallen angels, should we expect the presence of holy angels to be a vital component of how Heaven Rules over Hell? Yes. The answer to the WHO question is, holy angels.
My reader, let’s revisit this question upon due reflection of all the details at hand. Let’s reflect upon all the details provided by Holy Scripture in the event described by John, when he said, “I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth” (Rev. 9:1), and afterward the Devil stood as King before the summoned Celestial Host of Spiritual Babylon (Rev. 9:1-11). Namely, consider Joel 2:11, Isaiah 13:3-4, Habakkuk 3:16, and the like. Apparently, when the Devil stood as King before the Celestial Host of Spiritual Babylon from the very beginning (in the events of Rev. 9:1-11), an alternate perspective of the selfsame event is provided in Holy Scripture conveying that meanwhile and simultaneously the LORD stood among them insomuch that He uttered His voice before “His Army” (Joel 2:11); furthermore, we read that the LORD does more than assume a standing Command at the first assemblage of Hell’s Army, which is God’s Army. Much more, He abides among the assembly of Demons insomuch that He invades with them in the exploits of war from a celestial and terrestrial perspective (Isa. 13:4, Hab. 3:16)! In God’s abiding presence and present-continuous command of Hell’s Army, the sanctified and mighty ones of Isaiah 13:3 find significance. Still wondering who they are, my reader? Consider the angelic war of Revelation 12:7-8. It was written,
“And there was a war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the Dragon; and the Dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not…” – Rev. 12:7-8
Here we read that God is pleased to use holy angels to subdue by warfare what He could do instantly and without any aid, if He so pleased. So, in the event that Jesus musters Hell’s Army (Rev. 9:1, Isa. 13:4) by conducting a defeated enemy into an objective of God’s service, do you think that the LORD did it without the use of holy angels? Isaiah 13:3 bears witness of an army of holy angels summoned to God whereby He rules over an army of unholy angels summoned to the Devil (Rev. 9:1-11). Hereby, through holy angels, the LORD directs, oversees, and enforces the divine commands (“it was commanded them” – Rev. 9:4) that He utters (“the LORD shall utter His voice before His Army” – Joel 2:11) before the Devil and his angels, the Celestial Army of Spiritual Babylon! Because the murderous desires of Demons remain unbounded, the boundless desires of hate need to be bridled; and in practice as bridlers of Demons, holy angels make war on God’s behalf!
As a contextual backdrop of relevant details, we know that Jesus is the conductor of Satan, the defeated enemy, because there is no other way that this fallen star could possess “the key of the Bottomless Pit” (Rev. 9:1) except that he had gotten it from the enthroned Lamb of God. For, from the beginning of the Book of Revelation (“the Revelation of Jesus Christ” – Rev. 1:1) we read how Jesus of Nazareth testified, saying, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of Hell and of Death” (Rev. 1:18)! Blessedly, Lucifer was forced to give back the key to the Lamb after it was loaned for the appointed cause. We know this because the next time the Bottomless Pit will be opened it is to confine the Devil! Herein, once again, we read of the significant ministry of holy angels on behalf of God as an enforcement squad that obliges the Devil at the point of a sword, as it were, to do the service of God and nothing more. Lo and behold a holy angel, having the key of the Bottomless Pit in his possession, is appointed by God to lay hold on the Dragon and bind him with a great chain so as to cast him into the Bottomless Pit (Rev. 20:1-3)! God is pleased to use holy angels in how Heaven Rules Hell. Hereby, apparently, God uses angelic force to make Heaven’s enemies compliant in the service of God.
The description provided in Revelation 9:1-11 (the dreadful spawning of Hell’s Army) may appear strikingly absent of God to the unlearned reader, but Holy Scripture forbids the exaltation of the Devil by the greater details provided and surveyed heretofore, and more. The Heavenly Scene, prior to the star’s descent in Revelation 9:1 (a time period where the Devil was in Heaven, the place from which he fell), was no doubt similar to what Micaiah the prophet beheld, when he said, “I saw the LORD sitting on His Throne, and all the Host of Heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on His left” (1 Kings 22:19). In the aforementioned account, take note that there was an evil spirit present in the assembly of Heaven that was thereafter employed by God to do Heaven a service (“there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD” – 1 Kings 22:21). These various citations of Holy Scripture shine light on the wider scenery of Heaven, a panorama, and most of all how the spawning of Hell’s Army by Satan is a testament to “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:1), the One who musters the Army and stands before it as the ultimate Commander presently and progressively (Isa. 13:3-4)!
Meaning, there are unwritten details to the trumpeted event of Revelation 9:1-11 discoverable elsewhere by the combined witness of Holy Scripture unveiling just how the LORD, and not the Devil, musters Hell’s Army to God’s service! For simplicity’s sake, though, we read of only seven holy angels (plus a few others) in the foreground of the Heavenly Scene during the trumpeted events of Revelation Ch. 8-9. However, the background of the scene was already set in Revelation 5:11, in the saying, “I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the Throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousands times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” (Rev. 5:11)! When the scene shifts to the foreground of the seven trumpet-bearing angels and the events that follow, the myriads of holy angels in the background are acting as enforcers of God’s unwritten commands announced by the trumpets to wit that if the whole of the matter was written, I’d imagine that no book of earth would be able to contain the full volume of what transpired in these events! – how many myriads of holy angels were flashing into action, how many divine commandments were uttered or by some unknown means communicated, and by manifold angelic powers accomplished! Things so unimaginable and Heavenly that if any single person of humanity were caught up to behold the full content of the trumpeted wonder in the sophisticated rulership of Heaven but for a moment, such things would be unlawful for a man to utter and impossible for a man to write (2 Cor. 12:4)!
“And He saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see Heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” – John 1:51
This Jesus, the LORD of hosts, is attended to by far more holy angels than the seven who blow the trumpets in the foreground of the Heavenly Scene! These seven are of a higher authority, archangels of sorts, with legions waiting upon the trumpeted signal with readiness to act. Trumpets, we know, are of special use in the acts of war according to the law of God, and in this alarming case this means the warfare of holy angels limiting the scope of the warfare of unholy angels in God’s effectual governance of the Celestial Army of Spiritual Babylon! This trumpeted event is just the beginning of Babylon; and her beginning is like her end. God maintains ultimate control by the same practical means the entire duration of the “short time” (Rev. 12:12), until it’s over. Hence at the fall of Babylon, for example, we read that Jesus isn’t alone (Rev. 14:10); He’s never alone! Whether He’s on earth (Matt. 4:11) or in Heaven (Rev. 5:11), or whether He’s in Hell or the Lake of Fire (Rev. 14:10), He’s never alone! And, being in Hell, or in this case the Lake of Fire, we read that both sinful man and unholy angels are TORMENTED in fire because Hell’s Tormentor is present, the God-Man Jesus of Nazareth – He and His sanctified and mighty ones that rejoice in His highness! Speaking of this occasion, it was written,
“…[they] shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of Holy Angels, and in the presence of the Lamb” – Rev. 14:10 (Isa. 14:9-11)
Ah, this dreadful scene! One 24-hour day in Hell’s Bottomless Pit is painfully unimaginable… and here we read of the Lake of Fire! This is the dreadful Lamb that the Kings of the earth will learn to fear (Rev. 6:15-17) in that they will see the Lord coming to earth with “ten thousands of His saints” adorned in the celestial glory of angel bodies (Jude 1:14, 1 Cor. 15:40, Matt. 22:30)! Even so, what tormenting sight do you think the eye-balls of Devils will behold in the Lake of torment according to the record of Revelation 14:10, a time and place wherein sinful man is looking with astonishment at the Celestial King of Babylon, saying, “Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us?” (Isa. 14:10)! Teeth-gnashing and pain-stricken sinners are forced to pause and gasp at the sight, even in fiery torments! For, behold, the dreadful assembly of Devil’s that destroyed the earth will then be in misery with down-casted faces before their weakened and defeated King, Lucifer, in the presence of holy angels and the Lamb of God!
Righteously, Jesus is the Tormentor of Devils whether in Hell or the Lake of Fire! If mankind had an omniscient glimpse into the nature of Devils and the acts they dream about, they wouldn’t disagree with God’s righteousness in this matter. Even the Devils know they are destined for torments and that Jesus is the Tormentor! When the demoniacs (in whom dwelt an Army of Devils) imploringly cried out to Jesus, saying, “I beseech Thee, torment me not” (Lk. 8:28), they were afraid of the torments that Jesus inflicts upon Devils in the place of torments, “the Deep” (Lk. 8:31; i.e. “the Bottomless Pit” – Rev. 9:1-11)! It was not the place they feared, merely, but the tormenting Person of the place! Hence at the first sight of Jesus, they cried, “Art THOU come hither to torment us before the time?” (Matt. 8:29)! When Jesus comes, He torments… they know this! They discern that Jesus’ coming implicates torment because they have already known, seen, and experienced the Tormenter for long seasons in Hell! Why else would Jesus be depicted in the Lake of Fire while the Devil and his angels are in torment in Revelation 14:10, my reader? If and when the LORD is provoked, Satan is employed (2 Sam. 24:1) and afterward locked-up in torments (Rev. 14:10, 20:1-3).
“Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify thy Name? for Thou only art HOLY: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest” - Rev. 15:4
This Lamb, as He is depicted in Revelation 14:10, is much different than in the days of Jesus’ humanity on earth. This was a season of humiliation at the hands of the Devil’s Kingdom, can you believe it! Jesus willingly underwent the disrobing of His Kingly dignity to become 100% human (born of a virgin), and this meant a relinquishing of the Kingly power in terms of the exercise of His office as Commander and Chief over Heaven’s Armies. At any moment, however, with the reasserting of this power, Jesus could have turned the tables and loosed Himself from the hands of the celestial and terrestrial servants of Hell, but He didn’t do it! He chose not to assert the Kingly liberties that are vested within the authority of His highness as an Eternal Person of the Godhead, the LORD of hosts, foregoing the exercise of these powers for the time appointed of the Father. It was written that He “made Himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Php. 2:7). Even so, while the servants of the Devil were in the very act of laying hold upon Jesus’s human body to inflict upon him the appointed means of suffering and death, Jesus said, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve Legions of angels?” (Matt. 26:53). What do you think, my reader?
At any time, Jesus could have resumed His command of Angel Armies, but He didn’t! Howbeit at the resurrection and ascension of Jesus His command of Angel Armies was resumed and is now in full exercise as He governs the trumpeted events via the enforcement squad of “an innumerable company of angels” (Heb. 12:22, Isa. 9:7)! Why else do you think the great company of sinless angels and sinless men do praise Jesus, saying, “Thou art worthy to take the Book, and to open the seals thereof” (Rev. 5:9)! My reader, why else do you think the pastime snapshots of these Heavenly Scenes and other such like events as those herein trumpeted reveal categorically different angels (holy and unholy) at war with one another (Dan. 10:13, 20-21), except that there is an army of holy angels attending to the Lord whilst He presides as Commander of Satan’s Army of Devils (Rev. 9:1-11, Isa. 13:3-4)? In the pastime events, just referenced (Dan. 10:13, 20-21), the holy angels prevailed and God’s righteous cause took preeminence (as is the case in all situations of earthly warfare that are securely within the Lord’s oversight and rule). At the sight of Devils being spawned from hell like an innumerable locust plague and herein, Satan taking the forefront of Hell’s Army, God’s servants would cower if the whole matter wasn’t told, in that, “behold, the Mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire” (2 Kings 6:17) insomuch that “there be more with us than with him” (2 Chron. 32:7, 2 Kings 6:16)! These are the mighty sanctified ones of Isaiah 13:3 that rejoice in God’s highness, my reader! HOLY ANGELS.
“Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” – 2 Kings 6:16
“Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him” – 2 Chron. 32:7
What was the army of holy angels doing when “the Mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire” (2 Kings 6:17)? They were defending Elisha and the sealed remnant from the Devil’s terrestrial host, Syria (2 Kings 6:8-17). In other words, they were preserving and protecting the sealed remnant amidst the dangerous judgments that accompany a time of tribulation (Ezek. 9:1-11). They were accomplishing the same objective that the armies of holy angels will be doing to protect the sealed from the hurt that the celestial and terrestrial hosts of Spiritual Babylon will strive to accomplish, but in vain. God, through the aid of holy angels, conducted the King of Assyria and all his host through the Land of Judah victoriously unto the destruction of every defensed City until only one remained, the City of Jerusalem; then we read of King Hezekiah quoting the words of Elisha, saying, “there be more with us than with him” (2 Chron. 32:7)! Isaiah, who was Hezekiah’s counselor, could see the unseen army of holy angels “as birds flying” just like Elisha saw them, and he prophesied: “so shall the LORD of hosts come down to FIGHT for Mount Zion, and for the Hill thereof. As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts DEFEND Jerusalem…” (Isa. 31:4-5)! Point being, my reader, do you think the Lord of hosts will fight for and defend the sealed of God from the angry hosts of Fallen Angels spawned from Hell? If so, how? Surely, the Lord of hosts doesn’t want any of His servants to shout the ungraceful cry, “Alas, my Master! How shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15), when the Celestial Forces of Spiritual Babylon ascend out of the Bottomless Pit and assemble a terrestrial army for war against the Church! Thus, it was written,
“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the Book.” – Dan. 12:1
This time of trouble, “Jacob’s Trouble” (Jer. 30:7), is troublous because of the Celestial Army of Spiritual Babylon spawned from Hell (Rev. 9:1-11)! This Michael, “one of the chief Princes” (Dan. 10:13), is the angel that is credited to have turned the tides of battles in pastime wars between Devils and Holy Angels (Dan. 10:13, 20-21). Victory or loss at these angelic battles meant the protection or hurt of God’s people as it related to the terrestrial governments and armies that these unholy angels influenced as Kings and Princes do rule (“the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia” & “the Kings of Persia” – Dan. 10:13, “the Prince of Grecia” – Dan. 10:20). Hence, at the unleashing of the Celestial Army of Spiritual Babylon and thereby the manifestation of the terrestrial armies and governments of Babylon, armies of holy angels alongside Michael must encamp around the sealed remnant of God (Rev. 7:1-3, 9:4; Ps. 34:7) and make war against the Devils so that their hurtful causes of relentless destruction would be hindered from striking the elect. In other words, the time of trouble is when Michael and “his angels” are standing in victorious warfare for the children of God – standing amidst the throes of Hell’s Army swarming on every side (“Michael and his angels” – Rev. 12:7; “at that time shall Michael stand up” – Dan. 12:1)!
All this being the case, and duly considered, we are forced to revisit the question posed at the beginning of this section: Is the Devil, Hell’s Army, or Babylon the Destroyer? Given the totality of personages present at this profound assembly (the Devil, Hell’s Army of Unholy Angels, Holy Angels, and God Almighty who is the Lord of hosts!) and given the fact that God is the ultimate Commander of the Celestial Army of Babylon through the aforementioned details, justifiably calling it, “My Great Army” (Joel 2:25), it is understandable that all personages besides God Himself are so peripheral they are justifiably unmentionable except when God is pleased to divulge additional details via Biblical Prophecy. In other words, it is true that the Devil and Hell’s Army together, making up the Celestial Army of Spiritual Babylon, and likewise the Terrestrial Army of Spiritual Babylon under their control, are Destroyers (“I will prepare Destroyers” – Jer. 22:7-9), but they are not the Destroyer! Because God Himself is among the ranks as the ultimate Commander, both the celestial and the terrestrial of the aforementioned are peripheral and insignificant and justifiably unmentioned on many occasions of Biblical Prophecy. Hence, it is not so much that the Lucifer is dangerously destructive or Hell’s Army, nor should the focus be on Babylon’s destructive capabilities – there is one ultimate Destroyer and it is the Presence of the LORD.
The threat of destruction through the totality of Babylon’s destructive forces is peripheral, when God says, “Shall I not visit them…?” (Jer. 5:29, 6:15, 8:5-12,9:9, 10:15, 14:10, 23:12, Hos. 9:7). The declaration of imminent destruction is voiced by the saying, “Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel” (Amos 4:12, 5:17), as Assyria or Babylon approaches! Why? Because the totality of Babylon’s celestial and terrestrial destructive capabilities are endowed, limited, and governed by “the Presence of the LORD” (Jer. 4:26, Zeph. 1:7)!
“I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the Presence of the LORD, and by His fierce anger.” – Jer. 4:23-26 (Zeph. 1:7)
This is God’s destroying presence – through Babylon! – a destruction declared by the alarming sound of trumpets (Jer. 4:21, Rev. 8:2, 6) which in real time alarmed Jerusalem of the coming of historical Babylon for WAR (Jer. 4:19-29, Joel 2:1)! Speaking of the totality of destruction wrought by Babylon, it will be said, “Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this Great City?” (Jer. 22:8), because it is the Lord’s doing! Very specifically, speaking of what the Lord did through Babylon to the backsliders of the Church, the LORD said:
“I will…utterly destroy them” – Jer. 25:8-12
“I will destroy My people” – Jer. 15:7
“I will destroy and devour at once” – Isa. 42:14 (context: Isa. 42:22-25)
“I will destroy the fat and the strong” – Ezek. 34:17
“I will bring…a great destruction” – Jer. 4:6
“I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them” – Jer. 13:14
“The Lord was as an enemy: He hath swallowed up Israel…He hath destroyed His strong holds – Lam. 2:5
“I have watched over them…to destroy” – Jer. 31:28
“I will stretch out My hand upon him, and will destroy him” – Ezek. 14:9
“Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.” – Amos 9:8
The totality of the Doctrine of Babylon in Holy Scripture can be summarized in the exclamation, “Alas for the Day! For the Day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come” (Joel 1:15)! In dreadfully synonymous terms but in other words, speaking to the backsliders of the Church, this meant: “I will consume them” (Jer. 14:12), “I will punish” (Jer. 9:25-26), “I will persecute them” (Jer. 29:18), “I, even I, am against thee” (Ezek. 5:8, 13:8), and “My soul shall abhor you” (Lev. 26:30)! Can you see this dreadful Commander standing before the converging hosts of holy and unholy angels reigning supreme, uttering His voice! Moreover, speaking of what the Lord would do through Babylon to Non-Israelite Nations, the Lord said: “I will destroy thee” (Ezek. 25:7, 28:16)!
My reader, have you never read how the presence of the Lord is holy-destructive? Do you remember how the saints of old were warned not to trespass the holy boundaries of Sinai so that they wouldn’t gaze upon the Almighty who dwelt a-top Sinai as “a Consuming Fire” (Ex. 19:20-24, Heb. 12:28-29)? Did you read about how the hills and mountains shook, leapt, melted, and quaked as God, not alone, descended from Heaven-to-earth before the congregation of God’s people, the Church? Speaking of the occasion, it was written, “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the Holy Place” (Ps. 68:17)! This great and terrible King of Saints is the only one who comes to the aid of His people in judgment upon sinners in the terms that David described, saying, “the earth shook and trembled” and “the hills moved and were shaken”, and with “smoke”, “fire”, and “coals”, it was written, “The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave His voice; hail stones and coals of fire” (Ps. 18:7-15; Judges 5:4-5, 20)! However, the same is true regarding God’s judgment of the backslidden Church! In description of what God did through Assyria to Israel, Micah and Amos said,
“Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from His Holy Temple. For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of His place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place. For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?” – Micah 1:2-5
“And the Lord GOD of hosts is He that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn…” – Amos 9:5
Breath-taking catastrophe encircles the Throne as an otherworldly aura of Majesty, and for good cause! Just as God is in control of lightning and whirlwinds, hurricanes and tornadoes, even so He is in control of swarming Devils that are like an innumerable and otherwise uncontrollable locust plague! In other words, and understandably so, “the Presence of the Lord” is the ultimate destructive force (Jer. 4:26)! In description for what God did to Assyria through Babylon, Nahum prophesied,
“God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.” – Nah. 1:2-6
Furthermore, and finally, as a hopeful plea for God’s judgment of Babylon for what she did to the Church (Isa. 64:10-12), the intercessor cries, “Oh…” (Isa. 64:1-3)!
“Oh that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make Thy Name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! When Thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, Thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at Thy presence.” – Isa. 64:1-3
This plea is a cry for repayment, for a reciprocal judgment, that God would do to Babylon what He did through Babylon to the Church. In conclusion, and with all things in full consideration according to the multidimensional reality that Biblical Prophecy unveils, I ask, should the King of Babylon be feared? Or, is the Devil, Hell’s Army, or Babylon the Destroyer? Perhaps now it is abundantly evident why God said to the sealed remnant of old, “Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand” (Jer. 42:11).
Is the Devil, Hell’s Army, the antichrist, or Babylon angry?
At the awful moment when Hell is opened and the smoke thereof is darkening the sky, and an innumerable host of fallen angels is coming out of the rising clouds of smoke whose persons look like a cross between a locust, a horse, a scorpion, and a woman with lionlike teeth, the human onlookers would be liars if they said it was an underwhelming sight to behold! However, Spirit-filled men are projected into Heaven’s Perspective through the content of the Book of Revelation and the testimony of Holy Scripture, God giving them grace! To understand Heaven’s Perspective one must remember the Heavenly Scene: John the Revelator spoke at length concerning the Heavenly Scene he saw of the Majesty of the LORD, describing “voices”, “thunderings”, “lightnings”, “an earthquake”, and such like things (Rev. 8:5, 16:18)! The dignity of the One enthroned was and is deadly to men and angels! God’s purity is unparalleled and His power is unmatched – He is dangerously unapproachable with a brightness unimaginable (1 Tim. 6:15-16)! To display the otherworldly exactitude of His powers in government for the administering of Tribulatory Judgments, His ministers are astoundingly excellent and divinely uniform in fiery brilliance (Heb. 1:7)! HOLY ANGELS.
Speaking such, at the venturing of our study from earth’s pomp unto Hell’s pride, and then beyond, we would do well to remember how it would be impossible to rouse Heaven’s population into enthusiasm at the announcement of an earthly event of any kind. The most sophisticated and uniformed march of the most populous and powerful people on earth, is bland and uneventful. Every earthly sight is incomparable to the the Heavenly Scene! Were the people of earth to display the amassed enormity of their nation’s armed forces in the most patriotic and exuberant parade humanly possible, it would be disturbingly dismal. Were the whole demonstration so choreographically synchronized, musically symphonized, and epically historic insomuch that it amounts to a painstakingly perfect human effort, it would be an underwhelming sight to behold compared to the Heavenly Scene! I say again, Heaven’s population would show no emotion or enthusiasm at the ungraceful experience of earth’s pomp and pride.
Even so, Heaven’s population would show no enthusiasm at the announcement of a hellish event of any stature. The most sophisticated and uniformed march of the most powerful Devils of Hell, is bland and uneventful. Every hellish sight is incomparable to the Heavenly Scene! Were the angels of Hell to display the amassed enormity of the forces of darkness in the loudest and most furious display of angelic vigor, it would be disturbingly dismal. Were the whole demonstration so profoundly celestial that its glories defy human analysis and exceed human comprehension, it would be an underwhelming sight to behold compared to the Heavenly Scene! I say again, Heaven’s population would show no emotion or enthusiasm at the ungraceful experience of Hell’s pomp and pride namely because Heaven Rules Hell!
Even so, Biblical Prophecy repeatedly testifies of the fury and wrath of the King(s) of Babylon (the Devil and the antichrist). It was written that they “smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke” and they “ruled the nations in anger” (Isa. 14:6), and on more than one occasion we read of the woefulness of the Devil (Rev. 8:13, 9:12, 12:12) coming down from Heaven “having great wrath” (Rev. 12:12). Explicitly, it is revealed that in this furious anger “the Dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant” (Rev. 12:17)! This testimony is meant to trouble all well-meaning truth-seekers who are ignorant of the Day of the LORD. It is meant to shake all the souls that can be shaken! It is a cause of quaking, trembling, and shaking, like what happened to Habakkuk, when he said, “When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the Day of Trouble…” (Hab. 3:16). It was needful for Habakkuk to feel this way so that he would make his calling and election sure in reference to the tribulations of the Day of the LORD.
The God-fearing man, Habakkuk, was shaken that he might soundly rest himself upon the unshakable foundation of the Kingdom of God, which cannot be moved (Heb. 12:26-28; Matt. 16:15-19). Do you believe it? Speaking of the real consolation that God gave him, Habakkuk said, “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places” (Hab. 3:18-19)! So, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God” (Heb. 10:31), of a truth! Yet, in that fearfulness there is a “strong confidence” and even a happiness that God communicates to the soul (Prov. 14:26, 28:14) because the saving elements of practical redemption are revealed to the soul of a man who fears God (Ps. 25:14). Accordingly, it is not so much that the Devil, his Celestial Host, or the antichrist is angry! They are enemies of the Church and they are cruel, this is true (Jer. 30:4), albeit the totality of their anger is comparatively insignificant and justifiably unmentionable next to the real threat: an angry God! When the prophets prophesied of Babylon they heralded the “fearful thing” of the whole ordeal by pointing to: an angry God! In no uncertain terms (and speaking of what God would do through Babylon), the LORD said,
“I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes.” – Ezek. 5:15
“I will cause fury to rest upon them” – Ezek. 5:13
“I will send Mine anger upon thee” – Ezek. 7:3, 22:22, 22:31 (Isa. 47:6)
“the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us” – Jer. 4:8, 30:23-24
Can you believe it, my reader? It is not the Day of the Devil or the Day of Hell, nor is it the Day of Babylon (as the earth may reckon it to be!). This Day is none other than “the Day of the Wrath of the LORD” (Ezek. 7:19, 22:24)! The whole duration of what God will do through Babylon and to Babylon was prophetically regarded by an angel of the Lord, calling it, “the Indignation” (Dan. 8:19). In other words, God is angry! My reader, it is expedient that you fully comprehend the Doctrine of God’s Wrath as it relates to the Day of the LORD via Babylon! Speaking of such, might I ask you a question? Has the LORD graciously made you to feel like the Prophet Zephaniah felt when the powers of prophecy gripped his inner-man by the Holy Spirit, compelling him to say,
“The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a Day of Wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the Trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land. Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S Anger.” – Zeph. 1:14-2:3
Speaking of what God would do through Babylon to the Church, the man Zephaniah spoke of the wrath of God repeatedly! Zephaniah spoke of mighty men crying bitterly, trouble, distress, wasteness, desolation, darkness, gloominess, a trumpet, an alarm, blindness, blood, rotting flesh, the vanity of carnal riches, and vain hopes for deliverance all in reference to a day which he called, “the Day of the LORD’S Anger” (Zeph. 2:3)! Contextualizing the horrors of the aforementioned description of human suffering, the wrath, anger, or jealousy of God was mentioned a total of 6 times! Ascribing all this to the Day of the LORD was done a total of 11 times! My reader, this is the clear and pointed message of the trumpeted events of Revelation Ch. 8-9. Howbeit, the actual body of prophecy in Revelation Ch. 8-9 noticeably lacks the vital details provided by pastime prophets throughout the centuries. Why? All the readers and truth-seekers of the 5th and 6th Trumpets are being put on trial and tested, my reader! When reading about the Spiritual and Celestial origins of future Babylon in Revelation 9:1-21, what do you see? Upon fully observing the detailed scene that the prophetic account does paint before the eyes, what do you see? If we let ignorance and unbelief speak, they would shout: “the Devil!” or “Hell’s Army!”. Nevertheless, my reader, what do you see?
“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?” – Matt. 16:13-15
The Prophet Amos said, “I saw the LORD”, when beholding what God would do through Assyria to Israel (Amos 9:1). My reader, is it the dragon-like eyes of Satan or the gaze of Hell’s Army that makes you afraid? Or, is it Lucifer’s wrath that is accomplishing great woefulness to the Church and mankind at large that troubles you? Or, rather, is it God’s wrath through Satan’s fury via the celestial and terrestrial branches of power given to him, though “he meaneth not so” (Isa. 10:7)? And, do you believe that if the vital component of God’s wrath was removed from this whole ordeal, it would come to nothing (Num. 23:7-10, 18-24, 24:3-9)? The Prophet Amos said, “I saw the LORD” (Amos 9:1)! Even so, while beholding what God would do through Babylon to the Church, Jeremiah heard the LORD say,
“I have set My face” – Jer. 21:10
“I have watched over them…to destroy” – Jer. 31:28
“I will set My face against that man” – Ezek. 14:8
“I will set My face against them” – Ezek. 15:7
We already know that the Devil’s Army is in reality God’s Army (Joel 2:11), and that the LORD doesn’t only assume a standing Command at the first assemblage of Hell’s Army but, shockingly, He abides among the assembly of Demons insomuch that He invades with them in the exploits of war from a celestial and terrestrial perspective (Isa. 13:4, Hab. 3:16)! Now with the prophetic insights of Jeremiah and Ezekiel we read of God’s composure amidst the celestial and terrestrial forces of Babylon! SHOCKING. The composure of God’s Face is a testimony to the fact that hereby He is set to do what He said He would do, in the sayings, “I will search” (Amos 9:3; or is it the antichrist army?), “I will slay” (Amos 9:1; or is it Apollyon or the Destroyer?), “I will command” (Amos 9:9; or is it the King of the angels of the Bottomless Pit?)! Whom do you say Jesus is, my reader? Speaking of the profanation of the Temple and the reduction of humanity into animal-like depravity, the LORD said, “I will profane My Sanctuary” (Ezek. 24:21), and, “I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend…” (Jer. 19:9)! My reader, what do you see? The Lord seeks your full attention for the beholding of the matter! “BEHOLD, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle” (Jer. 19:3)! True security will be birthed when you are made to feel like Habakkuk felt, my reader (Hab. 3:16, 2 Pet. 1:10). That’s the truth.
Practical Warfare: the Sword of the LORD and the Sword of Babylon!
Conclusively, as we have observed, Babylon’s celestial and terrestrial forces are “destroyers” raised up by God for “destruction” as “the Hammer of the Whole Earth” (Jer. 50:11, Ezek. 7:25, Jer. 50:23), even as “a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken” (Jer. 51:7). Yea, and because of the LORD’s hand in it all, God said to the targeted peoples of Babylon’s fury, “I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one” (Jer. 30:14). Howbeit, think about the divine profession, “I have wounded thee…” (Jer. 30:14). There’s more to know! The Doctrine of God’s Majesty in how Heaven Rules Hell deepens!
Heretofore, having just observed the facial composure of the LORD to fulfill the aforementioned divine threats and more, and upon reading and reflecting upon this prophetic account of future events in full, one’s heart may intermittently exclaim with wonderment, dread, and holy perplexity, “How does God do it?” This thought can be more or less a modern rendition of the ancient question, “Wherefore lookest Thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest Thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?” (Hab. 1:13). Such questions need answers, my reader. This is a seemingly problematic question, admittedly, albeit only to the unread and unlearned disbelievers of Holy Scripture (Matt. 13:13-15, 23). The time was foretold, and now is, when “they that understand among the people shall instruct many…” (Dan. 11:33) to the dissolving of all doubts in those who have ears to hear (Matt. 11:25, 2 Thess. 2:11-12, Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22).
The testimony of Holy Scripture is strikingly specific concerning the practical warfare of Babylonian soldiers as it relates to how God looks upon them as they, in turn, devour a people who are more righteous than they (Hab. 1:13). Normally, God couldn’t and wouldn’t look upon Babylon at all (Isa. 59:1-2). In other words, if things were normal God would send Israel to war against Babylon to punish the Chaldeans instead of the other way around, just like Israel was used of God to the punishment of the Canaanites. Do you discern the shocking abnormalities? Or, perhaps some of you have never grasped the fullness of what God will do through the future King(s), Armies, and Government(s) of Spiritual Babylon. My reader, do you know that there will be “a falling away” at the time when “that Man of Sin [is] revealed” (2 Thess. 2:3)? Furthermore, have you ever marveled at the word “overcome” in Revelation 13:7, the word “prevailed” in Daniel 7:21, and the word “prosper” in Daniel 11:36? Have you marveled at how the antichrist will “wear out the saints of the Most High” according to Daniel 7:25 and “destroy the mighty and the holy people” according to Daniel 8:24, and, simultaneously, “at that time [the sealed of the Church] shall be delivered” according to Daniel 12:1!
“I have written to him the great things of My Law, but they were counted as a
strange thing.” – Hos. 8:12; Rev. 8:13, 12:12
My reader, a studious examination of the practical warfare of Babylon as it relates to the Sword of the LORD and the sword of the King of Babylon will prove to be profitable. God, being gracious and condescending to the saints (“He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” – Ps. 91:4), has borne witness in Holy Scripture concerning the Sword of the LORD and the sword of the King of Babylon. With the sword of the King of Babylon in direct focus as a seemingly independent mechanism, it was written,
“… I will give all Judah into the hand of the King of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.” – Jer. 20:4
“…he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.” – Jer. 21:7
Howbeit, we, knowing the full spectrum of the visible and invisible personages present in the terrestrial and celestial assembly of Babylon’s Kings and her Armies, let’s take a closer look. We have already observed how God took ownership over the wounding of every Babylonian instrument of war and destruction, in the saying, “I have wounded” (Jer. 30:14). Further testifying of this and with all the insubordinate nations of the earth in view (those who choose to rebel against Babylon), it was written,
“And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the King of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.” – Jer. 27:8
God is intent upon wounding, punishing, and consuming by the hand of Babylon’s King(s), my reader! Do you believe it? Do you really believe that herein the antichrist is God’s servant (the terrestrial King of Babylon)? Do you really believe that God is Majestically Ruling over the antichrist in such a profoundly meticulous way? Suppose that various mighty nations of the known world, addressed in Jeremiah 27:8, steadfastly warred against historical Babylon and had a potential to destroy her. What decisive action of meticulous involvement would God do to make this potential impossible, given the prophecies? Speaking of this, it was written,
“And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put My sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man. But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.” – Ezek. 30:24-25
From the perspective of the opposing rulers that war against Babylon and thereby refuse to submit, Pharaoh’s an example: God broke the arms of Pharaoh and strengthened the arms of the King of Babylon insomuch that, fearfully, it was written of the Egyptians, “they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt” (Ezek. 30:24-25)! Notably, the antichrist’s arm by itself is weak and easily broken; his sword and the weapons of Babylon’s army in practical warfare are easily dissuaded and turned back! Do you believe it? Were it not that God stood among the dreadful assemblage of this great host of converging origins, both Heaven and Hell, things would be different! Don’t forget it, my reader! God is the ultimate Invader that goes with the armies of Babylon at invasion, and (much worse than what befell Pharaoh and Egypt) this means that the worst of all shall befall the Church! This Church is the primary target of Babylon because the saints are the objects of God’s judgment in this lifetime (1 Pet. 4:17-18), remember? Babylon targets what God will target. Hence it was ultimately for the Church that Babylon arose to make war! Sadly, though, the backslidden Church doesn’t understand what God is doing through Babylon and they will try to fight against her like all the rest. Speaking of this, it was written,
“Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city. And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy. And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. For I have set My Face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.” – Jer. 21:4-10
Remember how God broke the arms of Pharaoh and strengthened the arms of the King of Babylon when Egypt warred against God’s purpose of judgment through Babylon? This much and more, according to the aforementioned description of Jeremiah 24:1-10 and beyond, the latter end of the Church will be reckoned in the words, “Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones” (Jer. 50:17). The Church in lamentation, said,
“My flesh and my skin hath He made old; He [God through Babylon] hath broken my bones.” – Lam. 3:4
“He [God through Babylon] hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, He hath covered me with ashes.” – Lam. 3:16
To all the opposing armies of foreign nations that make war against Babylon (arbitrarily) but most especially to the Church (non-arbitrarily), God said, “I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands” (Jer. 21:4-10). Hereby God is upholding and strengthening the arms of Babylon and through her He is breaking the arms, bones, and teeth of the Church (those who are more righteous than Babylon), even though the norms of Covenantal Ideals speak to the contrary, saying, “For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous” (Ps. 37:17). This mystery is observed and commended in Peter’s observation of Church History recorded in 1 Peter 4:17-18, remember? [For more information on this aspect of God’s judgment of the Church in this lifetime and therefore the justifiable overpassing of judgment upon the unconverted, see: “2-Stage, Populous Distinct, Chronology of Judgment”.] Further expounding what God did to the Church through historical Babylon, it was written,
“And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth My sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall My sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth My sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more. Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.” – Ezek. 21:3-7
Resistance is futile. Babylon’s forces will not miss the mark (Ezek. 3, 18, 33, Zeph. 2:2-3)! Babylon’s Army is God’s purifying apparatus and through them the divine saying is fulfilled, “I will search…” (Zeph. 1:12, 2:1-3, 11, 15, 3:11-13, 17-20). Backslidden Christians hide from Babylon hoping to escape, all in vain (Jer. 43:10-13, 44:11-14, 26-29). Babylon is God’s net or snare (Ezek. 12:13-14, 17:20-21) that’s alive like a “ravenous bird” that executes, God said, “My Counsel” (Isa. 46:11), and God is in hot pursuit of Church Purity (Ezek. 20:33-44)! Hence, fortified Cities do strengthen their defenses and hereby they assay to make their walls unbreachable by the armies of Babylon, but meanwhile God is saying, “I will assemble [Babylon] into the midst of this City” (Jer. 21:4-10). The blood-thirsty faces of heathen soldiers, the Babylonians, do ride forth to smite the inhabitants of the City and meanwhile, God says, “I will smite the inhabitants of this City”, and, “I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath” (Jer. 21:4-10)! ASTONISHING. In doing so, God says, “I have set My Face against this City for evil” (Jer. 21:10).
This proves that the antichrist is God’s servant insomuch that the sword in his hand is the Sword of the LORD, that the work of antichrist’s warring is the work of the LORD! God’s Majestic Rule over the totality of Babylon as a cleansing apparatus to an Impure Church is so meticulous and person-specific that each and every Babylonian Soldier is under the charges of a divine commission: the war machine of Babylon is populated by soldiers who are individually responsible for what they are doing in service to God according to Jeremiah 48:10 insomuch that the LORD will curse all Babylonian Soldiers if and when they let any targeted individuals go free (Jer. 48:10). Oh, how the tables have turned! Babylon is serving God like Israel should’ve served God! Therefore, God said to Babylonian Soldiers what was once expected of God’s People (observable in the following comparison):
“Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.” – Jer. 48:10
“And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.” – 1 Kings 20:42
My reader, can you tell who is talking to who about what, and why? The truth be told, because God will not spare (Ezek. 5:11, 7:9, 8:18, 9:5-6, 10) the soldiers of Babylon will not spare (Jer. 21:7, Deut. 28:50, 2 Chron. 36:17; just like, in turn, the Medes would not spare Babylon – Isa. 17-18)! Upon taking a closer look, my reader, I ask: is the cruelty and unsparing pitilessness of the antichrist’s sword really to be feared? What saith the Scripture?
“Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish My sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall. For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee” – Ezek. 32:10-11
“O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? Put up thyself into the scabbard, rest, and be still. How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? There hath He appointed it” – Jer. 47:6-7
The conquests of war and the government of Babylon as a whole was and will be “the work of the LORD” insomuch that when the Babylonian soldiers keep back their swords from shedding blood, the Lord will curse them (Hab. 1:5, 11, Ezek. 29:20)! The bloody warring is the work of the Lord, just as God’s eventual judgment of historical Babylon was “the work of the LORD” (Jer. 50:25, 29, 51:10). “Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones” (Ps. 137:9), reads the holy stanza of inspired song written of old! Remember? It was written in full, “O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones” (Ps. 137:8-9)! Let this verse sober you, my reader. Think about it. Pray about it. Undoubtedly, God was putting into their minds and commissioning their hands unto His work, His eyes were upon all their doings unto every decisive smiting or fatal blow (as we will observe in the following citations of Holy Scripture), albeit they were righteously held responsible for their doings at the same time (Rom. 9:14-23)! The facts are indisputable, my reader! Because the eyes of God, the Invader of the Hosts, were steadfastly merciless and pitiless – so were the Babylonians!
The Mind of God | The Mind of Terrestrial Babylon |
“…I also diminish thee; neither shall Mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.” – Ezek. 5:11 “And Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth.” – Ezek. 7:9 “Therefore will I also deal in fury: Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.” – Ezek. 8:18 | “Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon…and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.” – Jer. 21:7 “A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:” – Deut. 28:50 “Therefore He brought upon them the King of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: He gave them all into his hand.” 2 Chron. 36:17 |
All of this is a fulfillment of the righteous judgment of God upon the backsliders of the Church in the old time, and thus it shall be with the soon-to-be Babylon of the future. Speaking of God’s judgment of the Church in this manner (1 Pet. 4:17-18), the LORD said,
“I will judge thee” – Ezek. 7:8, 27, 11:9, 11, 18:30
“I will execute judgments in thee” – Ezek. 5:10
“I…will execute judgments in the midst of thee” – Ezek. 5:8
“I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes.” – Ezek. 5:13
To validate the above divine affirmations, Biblical Prophecy should reveal that Babylon’s celestial and terrestrial armies are under the control of God insomuch that they accomplish the judgment of God upon the Church and nothing more. In other words, God’s Eyes (God’s Judgments) control the Celestial Eyes (Angel Judgments) which control Babylon’s Eyes (Babylon’s Judgments) in the acts of war, conquest, and government. Observing the totality of this, my reader, consider the following passages of Holy Scripture carefully.
God’s Eyes (God’s Judgments) – Celestial Eyes (Angel Judgments) – Babylon’s Eyes (Babylon’s Judgments)
God’s Judgement – Celestial Eyes – God’s Eyes: “And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the City, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house…And as for Me also, Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.” – Ezek. 9:5-6, 10
God’s Judgments – Babylon’s Judgments – God’s Jealousy – Babylon’s Fury: “The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses. And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments. And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.” – Ezek. 23:23-25
When God said, speaking to the Church, “I will do these things unto thee” (Ezek. 23:30), what did He mean? When God in retrospect, said, “according to their way and according to their doings I judged them” (Ezek. 36:19), what did He mean? Evidently, this meant that God did set His own “judgment before [Babylon]” as eyes to the head so that, according to prophecy, “[Babylon] shall judge [the Church] according to [Babylon’s] judgments” (Ezek. 23:24); and all of this means the fulfillment of the divine threat to the Church, “I will set My jealousy against thee”, which in turn means, “[Babylon] shall deal furiously with thee” (Ezek. 23:25)! This transferable exchange of judgments from God to the terrestrial forces of Babylon is harmonious with the missing link in the exchange – God’s use of the Celestial. Thus, we observe the same harmonious relationship existing in God’s use of the celestial determining how the celestial does control the terrestrial. So, when God spoke of His judgment of the backsliders of the Church in retrospect, saying, “according to their way and according to their doings I judged them” (Ezek. 36:19), this meant that Babylon judged the Church accordingly, as it was written, “…according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall [Babylon] judge thee, saith the Lord GOD” (Ezek. 24:14). Then, shockingly, after it is all said and done, Babylon ascribes honor to a false god and pays tribute to breathless idols (Hab. 1:12)! …can you believe it?
This testifies to the fact that the demonic element of Babylon’s celestial and terrestrial armies maintain an insubordinate subjection to God and by nature are at enmity against the righteousness of God’s judgments the whole time, and yet all of God’s will is still accomplished via the dynamic of an ongoing war in the heavenlies as God uses Heaven’s Army to rule over Hell’s Army! Amazingly, and as a manifest token of the aforementioned heavenly conflict, God guided the sword of Babylon even as the King of Babylon consulted Devils via the use of divination (Ezek. 21:18-27)! Evidently, therefore, the surety of God’s success in the celestial warfare between holy and unholy angels is both calculated and impeccably exact! – God’s Judgment, not the Devil’s or the antichrist’s! Otherwise, how else will the saints of God in the Last Days joyfully sing and rejoice at such a horrendous occasion of trumpeted calamities (the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, & 6th Trumpets) except all of the aforementioned is the honest truth of factual reality! Even so, it was written, “They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the Majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea. Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea” (Isa. 24:14-15)!
In conclusion and by way of expression via another prominent metaphor, thing will take place in this order: the Lion, which is ultimately Babylon (historically and futuristically), came up to devour the Church and succeeded (Isa. 5:29, Jer. 4:7, 5:6, 25:38, 49:19, 50:44, Lam. 3:10) because, the LION, which is transcendently and ultimately the LORD (Hos. 5:14, 11:10, 13:7-8, Amos 3:4, 8, 12), ordained it to be so until, the LION, in turn, descends upon the soon-to-be future Kingdom of Spiritual Babylon causing the Lion to flee away from the Cities and Nations he took into possession (Jer. 49:19, 50:44, Isa. 31:4, Jer. 30:21-22; Rev. 6:15-17, 18:9-11, 19:13-21, Ps. 110:5-6, Isa. 24:21-22, 26:20-27:1; lo and behold, the world famous antichrist will be frightened like a woman in travail! – Jer. 50:43)! In other words, this is the Day of the LORD through Babylon upon the Church and, in turn, the Day of the LORD upon Babylon through the Church! Ah, my reader! Woe to us if, at last, we remain unacquainted with the convergence of great truths that definitively unveils the marvelous working of God in the End of the World! What wretched ignorance confounds the hearts of blaspheming offenders? Don’t let it be said of you, “I have written to him the great things of My Law, but they were counted as a strange thing” (Hos. 8:12; Rev. 8:13)! As we will soon discover at length, God willing, all these biblical details unite in one clarion message that certainly unveils the real power and purpose of Babylon and the antichrist, and in so doing an eye-opening sobriety is granted to the enlightened soul that proves to be vitally necessary in the keeping of one’s heart from wondering after, fearing, and therein worshipping the Beast (and thereby unwittingly taking the mark) to the damnation of the soul!