The sixth vial.
Revelation 16:12-16: The kings of the east … … …
And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs [come] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, [which] go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed [is] he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
The sixth vial is the very last preparation for Jesus’ return. He is now on his way to earth to redeem his faithful people, but before he becomes visible in the clouds of heaven, his faithful people will still suffer the threat of death and destruction, but they are sealed with the seal of the living God and are thus out of reach of the devil´s destruction.
Once again we meet the Euphrates, but here too there is a different meaning in the word than the obvious. The river was seen as a symbolic bond of the evil forces. We are facing the final end of the spiritual battle that has been fought since Adam and Eve fell into sin in the Garden of Eden. However, the Euphrates has been explained in many ways.
One explanation is that the Euphrates represents the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and that the drought means that this empire disintegrates over time and then opens the way for the kings from the east. The nations in question are not known, but as usual there are many different opinions about who the kings from the east are, and both Turkey, Russia as well as China are mentioned as candidates for this title. It all seems to be determined from the contemporary of the various people who interpret these verses, and which nations they choose to place in history, and then any kingdom can qualify for the title of the kings from the east.
Another explanation is that the Euphrates represents the peoples over whom the mysterious Babylon has power. When the Euphrates dries up, it is implicit that the people withdraw their support for Babylon.
A third explanation is found in the Medo-Persian king Cyrus’ conquest of Babylon as a type of an end-time event. Cyrus led the waters of the Euphrates away from the city, and the part of the Euphrates that flowed through the city of Babylon dried up more or less literally. When Jesus returns, it is the spiritual Euphrates – the evil forces – that dries up.
But what is right? What does the Bible itself say?
The word translated from the east is anatolēs (an-at-ol-ay’) literally means from the rising (as in the rising of the sun), see also Revelation 7:2 where it says: And I saw another angel ascending from the east … …
Another very important point we should include in this is the symbolism that lies in and around King Cyrus, and about him God says the following: My shepherd (Isaiah 44:28) and the Lord’s anointed (Isaiah 45:1). It was Cyrus who conquered Babylon so that God’s people could finally return home to a new and better future in the land that had been promised to them through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob so that they could begin the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple. We are also waiting to travel home to our promised land, heaven, where a new and better future awaits us.
The way Cyrus conquered Babylon is also very thought-provoking seen through Revelation 16:12 with the fact in mind that the final resolution of the great conflict between Jesus and Satan is precisely that it is Jesus who wins and leads his people home to the promised land. The prophecy in verse 12 tells us that before the kings from the east can come, the Euphrates must dry up! When Cyrus and his soldiers, which are the type of the kings of the east, conquered Babylon, he first dried up large parts of the Euphrates so that his soldiers could enter the impregnable city and then send the Jewish people home to their own land.
We cannot leave Armageddon until we also have drawn a parallel to Daniel chapter 11 and the king of the north and the king of the south. We have explained the Euphrates River as a symbolic bond of evil forces, a bond that holds God’s people in a kind of captivity. The merism of chapter 11 requires that these two kings, who seem to be enemies who first fight a real war that eventually turns into a spiritual war, ally themselves in their fight against God’s faithful remnant in the end times when the king of the north defeats the king of the south. Before the two kings north and south unite, all religions have been united in the king of the north, and the political powers – which is a secular alliance that represents atheism, philosophy, evolution, secularism, humanism, existentialism, etc. are united in the king of the south.
We should also look at when the prophecy says that these kings from the east will come. Verses 12 – 16 in Revelation 16 constitute the sixth vial, and we see then that it is at this time that Christ returns. According to Ezekiel 43:2, Jesus comes from the east when he returns to earth: And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice [was] like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
There should be no doubt as to who the glory of the God of Israel is. The glory of the God of Israel is Christ. The kings of the east then become a picture of Christ and the heavenly angels who follow him.
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs [come] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. Revelation 16:12
Verse 13 speaks of three unclean spirits, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. The dragon and the beast are sizes we are well acquainted with, these two are the devil and the Roman Catholic Church. On the other hand, we have not seen much of the false prophet, but I think we can see from the context that the false prophet represents a religious system. When we know that the beast here in 16:13 calls herself the mother of harlots, we can safely conclude that the false prophet has his roots in the beast. We are therefore talking about the fallen Protestant Church.
Here, then, are three religious figures preaching a message. We know that the devil does not preach in the true sense of the word but is the one who stands behind and gives power and authority to the agents he uses. There is therefore every reason to believe that the dragon here represents itself. This constellation, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, is the unholy trinity, and Satan’s copy of the triune God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. If we look at the development that has taken place in recent decades, we see that a new phenomenon is emerging from the USA that is gaining ground in churches all over the world. It is a modern form of spiritualism that we can find in almost all Christian denominations, and especially the charismatic.
As mentioned earlier, I do not think there is a single superfluous word in the Bible. I therefore believe that there is a very special reason why frogs have been used in connection with the three unclean spirits. When these frogs come out of the mouths of the three unclean spirits, this also has to do with doctrine and preaching, and these have for a long time preached a different and false gospel. If we look at the text in Revelation 16:13, these unclean spirits are compared to frogs. That frogs are used as an illustration is probably no coincidence. To put it in its proper context, let us look at this phenomenon frogs:
All frogs are poisonous, some are more poisonous while others are less poisonous. This seems to be related to the appearance of the frog, the more beautiful it is, the more poisonous it is. The most poisonous frog we know is also described as the most beautiful, and is called Phyllobater bicolor, and it is so poisonous that 0.0001 grams of its poison is enough to kill a human. Another fascinating thing, which we also should keep in mind is that frogs always catch their prey with their mouths! So we have with teachings and doctrines that are poisonous to do. In other words, the teachings behind these three, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet are deadly.
Various supernatural manifestations will constitute the means that Satan, through his agents, will use to seduce the faithful in the end times. The kings of the earth are political powers that will unite with the unholy trinity, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, in an attempt to destroy God’s people. This universal religious-political union has ambitions to rule the whole world and is the result of the dissolution of the war between the king of the north and the king of the south in Daniel 11. This war finally unites all religions, who are united in the king of the north, and all the political powers – which is a secular alliance that represents atheism, philosophy, evolution, secularism, humanism, existentialism, etc. which are united in the king of the south. In that way, there will be only two parties in the end times, God’s faithful remnant and the king of the north. The religious pusher is and will be the beast from the sea, or the papacy, and the political pusher will be the beast coming up out of the earth in Revelation 13:11, which is the United States. What these three unclean spirits are now trying to do is one last attempt to make God’s faithful remnant fall from the faith. This is what is called the greatest tribulation that has been in human history, and now the death decree for those who do not keep Sunday as a day of rest will be implemented. God’s faithful remnant have been sealed with the seal of the living God, yet they will be in constant prayer for deliverance from a world that has gone completely off its hinges in its rage against this little strange group that will not submit to human laws.
Armageddon (verse 16) is the place where the last great battle between Christ and Satan takes place. What matters is where Armageddon is or what Armageddon is. Armageddon has been explained in many ways, and the most common explanation is that it is a physical location in today’s Israel where the last great war is to be fought. But is there a place called Armageddon, and is this place large enough to accommodate two armies, one of which has 200 million soldiers?
He in verse 16 refers directly back to the dragon in verse 13. Another interesting word in this verse is the place. The Greek word for the place is to´pos. This word is translated with; a spot (generally in space but limited by occupancy; whereas chôra (G5561) is a larger but particular locality), i. e. location (as a position, home, tract, etc.); figuratively condition, opportunity; specifically a scabbard: – coast, licence, place, x plain, quarter, + rock, room, where. If we choose to translate with a geographical location, it is most likely that we are referring to the Megiddo Valley or the Jezreel Valley, or the Esdraelon Plain that stretches from the Carmel Heights and Mount Carmel in the west and to the Jordan Valley in the east. This was Israel’s largest battlefield since ancient times, and the place where the British and Turks met in a major battle during World War I. This is the literal translation, but the word can also be understood in a transferred meaning, opportunity, and then in the form of setting up a mindset. We then have a situation where the wicked eventually set up a mindset that is to blame God’s faithful people for all the misery that afflicts them through these afflictions, because they see that the afflictions do not afflict God’s faithful remnant, and therefore they will try to kill them. It is good that the Bible itself gives us comfort: A thousand shall fall at thy side, And ten thousand at thy right hand; [But] it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold And see the reward of the wicked. For thou, O Jehovah, art my refuge! Thou hast made the Most High thy habitation; Psalm 91:7-9
Armageddon has been explained in many ways, but we must all accept that the battle between Christ and Satan is a battle that takes place on the spiritual plane, and that this must always be the backdrop for the understanding of the Bible. The question is: Who will receive your worship?
As far as we know, there is no geographical place that has been called Armageddon. We must therefore find out what the meaning of the word is.
Firstly, it is important to understand that the word Armageddon is composed of two Hebrew words, har meaning mountain, and mo´ed (mageddón), mo´ed is used in the Old Testament to describe an assembly or a congregation. The symbolism here then becomes mountain – mount, which is the place where God has revealed himself throughout history, and assembly or congregation, which describes God’s people. We can then read it so that the three unclean spirits gather the people of the world on the mount of the assembly. In Isaiah 14:13 (NIV 1984), where Har-moʻed has been translated into the mount of the assembly, refers to Solomon’s temple which in Solomon’s time was north of ancient Jerusalem. It has always been Satan’s desire and goal ever since he was cast out of heaven to take God’s place.
Secondly, we must look at the second part of Armageddon – <Mageddon>, which has two different explanations. The first explanation is that <Mageddon> is derived from a place mentioned in 1 Kings 9:15 and Zechariah 12:11, Meggido. The second explanation is that Mageddon, is derived from the Hebrew word mo´ed which is used throughout the Old Testament to describe when the congregation should hold a sacred assembly.
The first option places Armageddon as a geographical location – Mageddon, and the second option suggests a connection with the great conflict between Jesus and Satan. Since it is this conflict that is the backdrop for most of the Bible, and the fact that the symbolism in the use of the word points to mountain – mount, which is the place where God has revealed himself through all time, I think we should consider the second option as the right explanation.
In Isaiah 14:13, where Har-moʻed has been translated into the mount of assembly, refers to Solomon’s temple, which in Solomon’s time was north of ancient Jerusalem. Joel the prophet calls the place the Valley of Jehoshaphat: … I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat*. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land. Joel 3:7 (the peoples here are the Gentiles).
* NIV 1984 adds: <Jehoshaphat> means <the LORD judges>.
We can then read it so that the three unclean spirits gather the people of the world on the mount of assembly, to take God’s place. There may seem to be a contradiction here, but the explanation is that the Bible here describes a typology. The valley of Jehoshaphat was the place where God intervened and fought for his people. Jerusalem is an image of God’s people. So what the Bible tells us here is that God will intervene and fight for his people again.
But what does this have to do with the kings of the east?
We now have a backdrop, and then it is easier to catch the thread. Northwest of the valley of Jehoshaphat (the valley of Jezreel), or the valley of Megiddo as it is also called, is a mountain called Carmel. It was here on Carmel that Elijah put the people to an election. Who will you serve, the Lord God or Baal? The valley of Jehoshaphat, the valley of Megiddo and Armageddon describe the same thing, it is the same place, and we can call it the valley of choice, precisely because we all have to make a choice, we all have to choose who we want to follow, God or Satan.
The battle between Jesus and Satan is, in short, about who will receive your worship. This battle takes place in a place that the Bible calls Armageddon, which is really inside your and my mind. This battle will intensify even after the door of mercy is closed and the remnant of God is sealed, for the afflictions of God’s people are still not over. This battle will continue until we see the Saviour come on the clouds of sky to redeem His bride
The seventh vial.
Revelation 16:17-21: It is done … … …
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, it is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, [and] so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nation’s fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, [every stone] about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
When the seventh vial is poured out into the air, it means that this event is universal. A loud voice refers to the voice of God, (see also Revelation 1:10). Out of the temple … from the throne states that this is an official proclamation from the Ruler of the universe.
It is done! We find the same expression after the earth has been recreated, (Revelation 21:6). This statement ends the time of the trials of the people of God, and Christ redeems the saints.
When God appeared at Sinai, it was always accompanied by lightning and thunder. Earthquakes, thunder and lightning are all signs of the awesome power of God Almighty and his majesty, (see also Revelation 4:5; 8:5). A severe earthquake. Literal earthquake see verse 20, figurative earthquake see verse 19. A literal earthquake will destroy cities and lay them in ruins and will move islands and mountains. What destroys the great Babylon is a figurative earthquake
The great city is the great Babylon and is thus a union consisting of the three unclean spirits that make up the unholy trinity – Satan, the papacy, the fallen Protestant church that has absorbed modern spiritualism. Due to God’s voice, a loud voice, which causes the spiritual earthquake, this constellation of power is now falling apart. The unity disappears and the earthly powers lose the ability to exercise their power, both together and separately.
The city and the cities are apparently the same word but have different meanings. The city refers to the centre of the fallen coalition. The cities refer to political organizations in the form of the kings of the world´s nations. The cities of the nations collapsed means that the political authorities, who have collaborated with the great Babylon, suffer the same fate as their allies, and the cooperation they had with the great Babylon ceases, (see Revelation 17:16).
If we look more closely at the contents of the seventh bowl, we find elements from both the sixth seal; earthquake and every mountain and island moving, and from the seventh trumpet; thunder, lightning, earthquake and great hail. Let us insert the text from Revelation 6:12-17 again. This text is divided into two, a) verses 12 and 13, which give us the beginning of the end times, and b) verses 14, 15, 16 and 17, which give us the conclusion of the end times.
a) And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. These events ended prophetic time and initiated the end times and are therefore behind us on the timeline.
b) And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: These are events that have not yet happened, and when they happen they will end prophetic time and life on earth as we know it. They are ahead of us on the timeline, but we do not know how far into the future this is. Why do the seven different groups of men say that the rocks will fall on them and hide them? It is because … the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
As mentioned, there are seven groups of men, they are the kings, the great men, the rich men, the chief captains, the mighty men, every bondman and every free man. This shows us that now comes the final judgment upon all the peoples of the earth.
The second coming of Christ.
Many claim that Jesus will return in secret, and that there will be a secret rapture. This is respectfully to report a blunder from end to end. The Bible teaches us something completely different. It says:
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so, shall also the coming of the Son of man be, (Matthew 24:27).
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other, (Matthew 24:30-31).
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen, (Revelation 1:7).
The Bible tells us that Jesus’ return will be anything but secret. It will be visible as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, every eye shall see him and it will be heard with a great sound of a trumpet.
That is, all people, absolutely everyone, will both see and hear that Jesus is coming.
What happens next?
When Jesus returns, the dead in Christ will be raised. This is called the first resurrection (see Revelation 20:5). These, along with God’s faithful remnant in the end times, the 144,000 sealed ones, will be caught up in the clouds to meet their Savior, and then they will be taken up into heaven: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord, (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
Many people have problems with Revelation chapter 20, especially verses 4 and 5, because the way the text is worded allows for deliberate misunderstanding. Verse 4 reads as follows:
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. This verse in itself is not open to misinterpretation, but together with verse 5 it becomes something entirely different. It says: But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This [is] the first resurrection. If we isolate this verse, it seems that the first resurrection is that of the wicked. One of the reasons for this confusion is the division of the Bible into chapters and verses. It is a perfectly good and useful thing to help us find our way in the Bible, but sometimes, as here, it is downright destructive and confusing. But together these two verses are clear that the first resurrection is for those who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and that the resurrection of the wicked will take place a thousand years later. Only the willfully ignorant manage to misunderstand this when it is explained to them.
What about all the other people, those who don’t go with Jesus to heaven?
It may sound brutal to say it like I do, but these people have made their own choice out of their free will. They cannot say that they did not know, because God has been patient with us humans, and all the people who were alive when Jesus finished the investigative judgment had in one way or another heard the gospel preached, and all have had an opportunity to turn to God.
These people have heard the three angels’ messages and the loud cry that tells us the following.
The first angel’s message, Revelation 14:6-7: And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. This message calls on all people to worship God the Creator, because the hour of his judgment is come. God will therefore judge all people on earth, and they will be judged according to God’s ten commandments, which are God’s standards.
The second angel’s message, Revelation 14:8: And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Here it is said that Babylon has fallen, and Babylon is a symbol of all the fallen church denominations, all church denominations that do not preach God’s ten commandments. It must be added that there are two sets of ten commandments. These are God’s ten commandments that we find in Exodus chapter 20, and which tell us that we are to keep God’s Sabbath because He is the Creator, (see verse 11). These commandments were repeated just before Israel took possession of Canaan, and in Deuteronomy chapter 5, where the reason why we should keep the Sabbath is also because God saved Israel from slavery in Egypt (see verse 15). Babylon has changed God’s Ten Commandments and removed God’s second commandment that prohibits the worship of images and the like, and Babylon has made God’s fourth commandment unrecognizable, and in addition changed the Sabbath from the last day of the week, our Saturday, to the first day of the week, our Sunday. To get ten commandments, Babylon has divided God’s tenth commandment in two. This is how Babylon has made all nations drink the wine of her fornication’s wrath. Fornication in the biblical context means being unfaithful to God, breaking God’s ten commandments, worshiping other gods such as the pope, Mary, the saints and relics.
The third angel’s message, Revelation,9-11: And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. The third angel says that those who take the mark of the beast, that is, those who are in opposition to God, will perish at the return of Jesus. We can call this a kind of answer to what the beast from the earth in Revelation 13:15 says about those who will not submit to the worship of the image of the first beast: And he (the second beast, the one from the earth Revelation 13:11-18) had power to give life unto the image of the beast, (the first beast, the one from the sea Revelation 13:1-10), that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast (who would not submit to the Sunday law) should be killed.
What does the Bible say will happen to the wicked at Jesus’ return?
No one can say that the way the Bible describes what will happen to the wicked is pleasant reading. In Ezekiel, God calls what will happen “My sacrifice,” while in Revelation it is called “the supper of the great God.” This is something that happens at the return of Jesus, and then all people have had plenty of time to choose whom they will worship, God or Satan. There are only two alternatives, and those who do not consciously choose God therefore choose Satan with their actions, and they must bear responsibility for their own choices.
Ezekiel says it this way: And thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, [even] a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Thus, ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD, (Ezekiel 39:17-20).
In Revelation 19:17-18 it is described as follows: And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and bond, both small and great.
In stark contrast to what happens to the wicked, Jesus says that He has His reward with Him to give to each one according to his works, and God’s faithful remnant will receive this as a reward, and in Revelation 22:14 it says: Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city. God’s remnant will have the right to the tree of life, and with it they will live forever and ever, and they have access to the city, which is the new Jerusalem, and they will live with God and see Him face to face.
What do we know for sure?
We have moved from prophetic times to the end times in an expanded sense.
As mentioned above, several end-time signs have been fulfilled, and these are the signs that initiated the end times. We also see an increase in people claiming to be Christ (see Matthew 24:24), and some of these can perform signs and miracles through the evil spirits behind them. It should be relatively easy to distinguish between real and false miracles. You just have to look at the fruits and/or the preaching they stand for. If this is not according to the Bible, then the miracles they perform are false, and then demonic forces are behind it.
In addition to this, we see that much of what Ellen G. White has said will happen in the last days is being fulfilled before our eyes. These are events related to nature, and on the one hand we see an exponential increase in floods all over the world while droughts cause large forest fires. In 2024 alone, there were hundreds of fires on the West Coast of the United States, in addition to dozens of fires elsewhere. The floods come as a result of longer periods of drought followed by heavy rainfall that the earth is unable to absorb because the earth’s crust has become as hard as concrete, causing streams and rivers to overflow their banks and killing people, sometimes dozens and sometimes thousands. These floods also destroy homes, infrastructure and crops. The same is the result of the increasingly frequent occurrences of what is now called extreme weather, where cities are partially or completely submerged due to storm surges and heavy rainfall at the same time. On the other hand, we find famines caused by droughts and floods and killing many thousands of people.
One may wonder why this is happening, and why it is happening on an ever-increasing scale. The answer to this is found in the writings of Ellen G. White. There she says:
In fires, in floods, in earthquakes, in the fury of the great deep, in calamities by sea and by land, the warning is given that God’s Spirit will not always strive with men. (Last days event, 26.2).
In the last scenes of this earth’s history, war will rage. There will be pestilence, plague, and famine. The waters of the deep will overflow their boundaries. Property and life will be destroyed by fire and flood. We should be preparing for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for them that love Him, (Maranatha, 174.6).
The Lord teaches people that there are limits to His forbearance, and little by little the Lord withdraws His Holy Spirit from the earth and Satan has greater and greater room for action. This will continue until Jesus returns. In other words, we have a time ahead of us that is becoming more and more violent, with more and more natural disasters and ever-worsening famines and starvation.
What end-time signs are waiting to be fulfilled?
There are still some prophecies that have not been fulfilled, but when we look at all the prophecies that have been fulfilled to the letter, sometimes hundreds of years after they were given, we can be confident that the remaining prophecies will also be fulfilled in the same way.
We find such a prophecy in Revelation 6:14, where it says: Then the heavens receded like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Another prophecy is found in Revelation 16:18-21: And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, [and] so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail* out of heaven, [every stone] about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
(* equivalent to 34.2 kg).
We can see these two prophecies together. Not because they are the same prophecy, but because they tell us much of the same thing. Revelation 6:14 tells of the sixth seal, and this seal covers the entire period of time from the transition from prophetic times to the end times and refers to events that will occur just prior to the return of Jesus. Then, as one of the last things that will happen before the return of Jesus, the heaven will recede, so we can ask ourselves what that means. I can only make an ill-qualified guess, and I think it may have something to do with the return of Jesus when the heaven recedes.
Ellen G. White had a view on this: I saw that the powers of heaven will be shaken at the voice of God. Then the sun, moon, and stars will be moved out of their places. They will not fall or pass away but be shaken by the voice of God. Dark, heavy clouds came up and clashed against each other; the atmosphere parted and rolled back, then we could see the open space in Orion from whence came the voice of God. I saw that the Holy City will come down through that open space. I saw that the powers of earth are now being shaken. The Lord showed me that things came in order, war, and rumors of war, sword, famine, and pestilence are first to shake the powers of earth, then the voice of God will shake the heavens and earth, the sun, moon, and stars and this planet also, (1 LTMS, LT 2.2 1848).
The end of the prophetic era and the beginning of the end times was marked by a great physical earthquake (Revelation 6:12). That there will be an earthquake at the very end of the end times is therefore nothing more than to be expected, but this earthquake will have a different character, it will be a spiritual earthquake, (Revelation 16:18-19). That 1) the great city was divided into three parts, and 2) the cities of the nation’s fell are due to the great earthquake. We must interpret this as follows:
1) The great city is a picture of Babylon, and here we see Babylon together with her daughters, or put this way: The great city consists of the Catholic Church, all the fallen church denominations and the modern spiritualism that has penetrated the fallen churches. This constellation will be divided into three parts. These churches have long collaborated, and they have united through the ecumenism of the papacy, where they have agreed on a least common multiple, that is, they gather around the few doctrines they agree on, and disregard all the doctrines that divide them. This collaboration ends at a time when it becomes clear that the mother church, the Catholic Church, has been lying. When the expression the great city is used, it is because the protagonist is the Catholic, which is a picture of Babylon, to which all other denominations have submitted. In other words, it is the religious center that is being talked about.
2) The cities of the nation’s fall is a picture of the nations of the world. When the great city falls, this has consequences for most nations throughout the world. Now, we are not talking about literal nations here, just as little as the big city is just a city. The cities of the nations are a symbol of the political forces that rule the world – at the mercy of the papacy.
The conclusion.
When all signs and prophecies are fulfilled, Jesus will return in all his glory with His holy angels. This will be the most spectacular event in history, without parallel. Even though Satan will try to imitate Jesus’ return, he will not be allowed to do so. What he will do is take advantage of the faith that many people have today and come in a secret way. This will undoubtedly deceive many. However, Jesus is aware that His return is anything but secret.
Jesus says in Matthew 24:27: For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be … // … in Matthew 24:30-31 the Lord says: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other … // … and in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 Paul says this: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first … // … and in Haggai 2:6 it says: For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it [is] a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry [land].
As we see, the return of Jesus will be both visible, audible and tangible for all people living on earth on the day He returns. No one needs to be deceived if they do not listen to human stories but relate to the Bible and the Word of God alone.