This morning, I was asked a question regarding the Pope, and his decision to toss out members of the mob. It was a question based on the prophecies in Revelation that speaks to the mortal wounding of one of the heads of the beast. So, I started to draft a response.

This response ventured into territory of another question I received last night, regarding the kingdom that “was, is not, and will be again”.

Before I knew it, I was working on a article that really underscores exactly where we are right now prophetically. When I began to bring in the elements of recently revealed and fulfilled prophecy, I was left with one undeniable conclusion:

We really are at the end. Not figuratively, not soon, no twisting of scripture. Actually at the end, as in the things foretold in Revelation are now coming to pass. Remember, most of what comes to pass in the tribulation – such as the rise of the beast kingdom – actually starts prior to the beginning of the tribulation. They only reach their full and final form in the Book of Revelation.

Before we get into the meat of this article, there is something that we must remember regarding the Book of Revelation, which is critical to watching the times and seasons. First, the Book of Revelation is chronological. That means it is written in the order that it happens. However, there are portions that seem to move backwards and out of order. There is a very good reason for this.

The Book of Revelation covers many events that unfold over time. While there are many events of prophecy that occur at the time they are revealed, there are others that require time to fulfill. The two witnesses are one such example.

The first time that we see the witnesses appear in Revelation is in chapter 11. From 11:1 to 11:14, the Bible tells of the exploits of the two witnesses. At first, it would seem that this is when the two witnesses first appear. However, when we look at the events described, and the three woes, we discover that verses 1 through 14 cover the entire time of the two witnesses. It is only at verse 14 that the narrative of the two witnesses catches up to the chronology of the seventh seal, where the narrative of Revelation left off.

It helps to think of it this way. The primary timeline in Revelation are the judgments of God poured out on the earth. However, as we are reading from 6:1 to 9:21 and seeing the judgments fall, there are other events occurring at the same time. We see this with the two witnesses. When John gets to the telling of the second woe – the earthquake in Jerusalem that kills 7,000 people – he needs to stop and fill in why the earthquake occurs. Chapter 11 is his way of saying “OK, I have brought you to the second woe, but now I need to fill in the back story of why it happens.”

Understand why John does this. In his day, neither John nor any other writer had an understanding of the use of things such as graphs, timelines and illustrations. The best they could do is let the story unfold, stopping occasionally to fill in the gaps. This happens several times in Revelation. We see this with chapters 11, 12, 13, 17 and 18. All of these chapters give us the back story of events that occur simultaneously with the judgments of God. In some instances, these chapters also outline events and prophecies that occur prior to the rapture and the start of the tribulation. If we were writing Revelation today, we would use a primary timeline. We would then use secondary timelines that that would superimpose the additional occurrences over top the main narrative.

For example, we would use a timeline of the two witnesses that would sit underneath the main timeline, and it would start at the sixth seal, and end with the second woe just after the sixth trumpet. We would complete this process for the rise of the Antichrist, False Prophet, order of martyrdoms, rise of the beast kingdom, etc. We would end up with a book that was more graphs than narratives.

This becomes critical to understand. It tells us that some of the prophecies in Revelation run the entire length of the tribulation, and that some of the prophecies take time to come to fruition. Also, it tells us that certain prophecies deal with the wonder of how things unfold.  All of this comes into play when deciphering the Beast kingdom, the False Prophet – and how both will rise.

I will start with the Pope, and progress from there:

This particular Pope will be the False Prophet, or the lamb with two horns. Horns always denote authority, and he comes as a false lamb – that will exercise authority over two religions. Those would be an apostate Christianity and Islam.

This is what Satan has twisted into the prophecy of the coming Mahdi in Islam. He took what the Bible tells us about the False Prophet, and turned it into Jesus coming back with the Mahdi, confessing that he was not crucified, is not the Son of God, and that God has no Son.

Here is the thing – when you see the lamb with two horns. Islam had not been born yet. It was still a good 600 or so years away. Yet, in his effort to counter the Bible, Satan actually creates an entire counterfeit religion – complete with counterfeit prophecy – that actually matches and confirms what John saw!

It’s staggering when you think about it – the lamb with two horns, revealed to John 600 years before Satan tried to counterfeit the Bible, will actually come about from that counterfeit!

Only the one, true living God could have showed John such a thing.

We can look at something else.  Here is one of the most overlooked, yet revealing scriptures in these two chapters:

Revelation 18:7 – How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

So, using the simplest interpretation, let’s see what it says that merits note:

“I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow”

Most assume that this is a reference to Mary.  It is not.  It is an Apostate Bride of Christ.  It is an Apostate Bride of Christ not because it merely turned its back on the Bridegroom, but because an Apostate Pope is going to do exactly what the Bible is telling us, and what Satan subverted into his prophetic abominations:

Declare that God has no Son.

Jesus Christ was a liar when he said “I am the Son of God”.

Sound familiar?  It should – when Mahdi enters Jerusalem, he will do so with “Jesus” – who will admit that he lied, and that God has no Son.

That is how you go from a bride to a queen, with no dead husband, and no sorrow.  You simply eliminate the husband.  Not a widow because the Son never existed.

However, we can see two factors in his rise as the False Prophet. Everything we are seeing now from this Pope – when charted – eventually ends with a denial of Jesus Christ. I know some of our brothers and sisters in the RCC get a little upset when this is said, but it is not about Catholicism. It’s about the choices of one man, and what they will mean. Even the scholars of the Catholic Church have confirmed over the years that there is really only one group that fits the descriptions given in Revelation 17.

It must be understood that Mystery Babylon in Revelation 17 is not the same as the beast kingdom in Revelation 18. The harlot of chapter 17 rides to prominence in the tribulation on the back of the beast in chapter 18. Chapter 17 is the religious Babylon, chapter 18 is the political Babylon. More on this in a moment.

However, all of this could be chalked up to a bad choice for Pope (like anything else, you get good ones – and you get bad ones), if not for what I will say next.

The most shocking thing about the current Pope and what he is doing is the timing. All of this is occurring with all of the other elements of prophecy we are currently witnessing:

Every abomination – especially those detailed in the days of Lot and Noah by Jesus Christ himself – have come to pass, and kicked into overdrive since the first blood moon at Passover 2014.

The King of the North – Russia – has moved to cement the final piece of territory north of Israel – Ukraine, a territory that just happens to facilitate the coming war of Gog /Magog.

The blood moon tetrad has begun, and it is now joined with the additional signs required in Joel chapter 2. This has never happened before in the history of the planet.

The pattern of the tetrad that tells us that prophecy concerning war with Israel MUST line up between the first and second blood moons has come to pass, with the rise of Babylon.

The Shemitah cycle started in September 2014.  It will be the third Shemitah judgment, and there is never a fourth as three is the number of God’s completion. The third is always the final judgment, and the permanent one. Everything the Shemitah requires matches perfectly with the first five seals found in Revelation chapter 6.

The first five seals happen BEFORE the start of the seven year tribulation.

The Shemitah ends at the exact moment when the first of the signs in the heavens appear that match those that declare the seventh seal – the seal that starts the tribulation – in Revelation chapter 6. In the space of 19 days, we will see the sun darkened, the moon not giving its light, the moon turned to blood, and the stars falling from the heavens.

All on the fall feast days of Israel!

Bear in mind, this does not speak to the possibility that the coming signs in the heavens will not be completely supernatural in occurrence.  As we detail in the Coming Signs page, these known signs may well be the signs before the signs, designed to prove that the heavenly signs are indeed possible, and that they are coming.

The Shemitah is a Sabbath, which is also a requirement for the times of the tribulation. The first and eighth years must be Sabbaths to fulfill all of the Laws of Moses. The coming Shemitah gives us this.  However, the rapture itself can likewise occur on a Sabbath day which would also bring a fulfillment of the Sabbath cycle!

In addition to the Passover blood moon, there were signs in the heavens three days before, during and after Pentecost, and seven days after Pentecost.

However, the most amazing of all of these prophecies is the rise of Babylon. Literally ripped from the grave, it is the most dramatic direct fulfillment of Biblical prophecy since the birth of Israel in a day and the capture of Jerusalem. However, there is one thing that must be addressed first:

America is NOT Babylon, mystery Babylon, or an active part of ANY end times Biblical prophecy.  America is not found in prophecy, nor does the Bible make any mistakes. Given that Russia is found in prophecy, and even China looks to be included, it leaves only one possibility:

America is gone as a viable nation when the tribulation starts.

We now know that this is the case. America is the nation that will fall the hardest with the coming Shemitah judgment. Likewise, the sheer magnitude of the coming rapture will make the United States all but extinct on the world stage. This is an understanding that has been further cemented by supernatural revelations to many overcomers, as the Lord has shown them visions, dreams and revelations of the absolute desolation to come with the rapture.

For those that are struggling to understand the concept behind the “Babylon’s” and the “beasts” in Revelation, here is the quick look:

There will be the Antichrist. He will rule the beast kingdom.

There will be the False Prophet. He will rise from a harlot Christianity.

The harlot system rides on the back of the beast kingdom.

The Lord will pronounce judgment on the harlot system, and the beast that brought her to the dance will wipe her off the face of the earth.

Then, the capital and financial infrastructure of the beast kingdom will fall in one day – annihilating what remains of the beast world system. This will leave the nations of the west with no government, and in the throes of anarchy.  This occurs after the last judgment, or the seventh bowl or vial judgment.

The only remaining governments on earth will be the Antichrist in Jerusalem, his Islamic armies across the globe, the remains of Russia, China, India and the Persians.

Now, how do we know that the rising Babylon in Iraq is the Babylon that shall come to a full and fearful power under the Antichrist? How do we know that it is not America, nor any other global empire, power or force? Stated simply, the Bible outlines exactly what the requirements for this rising beast are.

Revelation 13:1-4 KJV – And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

From here, we see the following requirements:

It must be an empire that rises from the ancient Babylonian (lion), Persian (bear) and Greek (leopard) empires. It must be given demonic authority to rise.

It must be an empire that had completely disappeared from the face of the earth, with all of its culture and influence completely erased. It must rise from the ashes, though it was dead and gone. This is not a slow rebirth, rather, it is an absolute resurrection.

When it rises, it must be in such a manner that the world marvels – and fears that none should stand against it.

What must be understood is that these requirements describe how the beast rises, and not when. By the time we see this kingdom in chapter 12, it has already been reborn. We can see this from the past tense of the scriptures. 13:1 through 13:5 detail the entire time that the beast rises in the years before the middle of the tribulation.

Also, while it is possible that the reference to the deadly wound that is healed is a double prophetic reference, its first and primary meaning is not that of a man, but rather, a kingdom. The heads listed here are kingdoms first and foremost. However, if it also references the wound of one of the seven kings, then it raises an interesting possibility.

It will not be the Antichrist that is wounded to death, and then raised. It will be one of his Islamic kings. The Antichrist will “raise” this king from the dead. I have maintained that the Antichrist will likewise try to take credit for resurrecting the two witnessed from the dead, and ascending them to heaven. It will be taken as one of three miracles that leads unbelievers the world over to embrace him as god. The other two miracles will be to kill the two witnesses – which nobody has been able to do, and to enter the Holy of Holies and live to talk about it. Claiming to resurrect the witnesses will be a lie easily believed, given that he actually performs the other two miracles.

Revelation 17:9-13 KJV – And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

Here we see several additional requirements:

The beast kingdom must be an empire that was, is not, and will be again.

It will be the eighth empire, and must be a part of the prior seven. This is important – it must be a part of ALL seven. If any one of the seven are left out, it cannot be the beast kingdom, or Babylon.

Rome was the king “that is” when John received Revelation. The seventh was the Ottoman Empire (which matched the legs of iron in Daniel’s statue of empires), and the eight is the beast kingdom.

Its power will last the space of one hour. In the days of John and the Bible, one hour was actually three of our modern hours – which corresponds to the three years of the tribulation where the beast has its full power in the great tribulation, or the second 42 months.

With this said, we must also address something else. Rome is not the only city in question that sits on seven hills, with relation to prophecy – it never was.

So does Istanbul, Tehran, Amman, Mecca and Jerusalem. Three of these jump out immediately – Istanbul, Mecca and Jerusalem. Istanbul was the capital of the 7th empire – the Ottoman Empire– which was the great Islamic caliphate. Mecca is the holiest city in Islam, gives birth to the beast, and becomes part of the first stage of growth for the coming Babylon.

Jerusalem is where the Antichrist will finally become the Antichrist.   He is the Antichrist at the signing of the seven year accord, but his full, final and most terrifying form has always been connected to the Abomination of Desolation and conquest of Israel.  Jerusalem will be the heart of the beast kingdom after its conquest at mid-trib.

In reality, the harlot of Revelation 17 will be carried by Rome, Istanbul, Mecca and finally Jerusalem, before it is said and done. Rome is obvious. Istanbul was Constantinople, the seat of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and temporary seat of the Roman Catholic Church during several periods when Rome was in danger of siege and sack. Mecca will soon carry the harlot, as idolatrous systems such as Chrislam and the renewed “calls” to be one with Islam echo deeper and deeper from the Vatican.

After the rapture, Mecca will become the defacto center of both Islam and apostate Christianity (perhaps combined as “Chrislam”), as the apostate Pope slips ever deeper into his coming role as the False Prophet.  Finally, with the invasion of Jerusalem at mid-trib, the final truth will be made known. Jerusalem will become the seat of the Beast.  Rome will become the operational capital for the Beast kingdom, as the newly minted False Prophet administers the new global death economy.  He effectively does the “dirty work” for the Antichrist.  There is enough evidence in the Bible to conclude that Mecca will also serve as an operational capital for the Beast kingdom after the conquest of Jerusalem.  In this scenario, the False Prophet would operate between both cities.

However, as we detailed earlier, the scriptures that speak of the Harlot have a primary meaning of Rome.

Here is the key to understanding the relationship between Islam, Israel and the harlot system.  In the tribulation, Islam will be the bastardization and counterfeit to the true covenant between Almighty God and Abraham.

The Roman Catholic Church will become the bastardization and counterfeit of the true covenant between Jesus Christ and the Body.

As the covenant between God and Abraham gave rise Israel and the Jews, and Israel and the Jews gave birth the the covenant of Christ – the coming false covenant of Islam will give rise to the coming false covenant with Rome.

God blessed Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Because of this, Israel became the blessing of the world by bringing forth Messiah. Jerusalem became the blessing to the nation of Israel.

In the tribulation, Jerusalem will become accursed, as the counterfeit covenant of Allah takes its place in the Holy city of the Most High God. The counterfeit covenant will give the world its counterfeit to the covenant of Christ, and bring forth the “new and improved” Roman Catholic Church.

You may not have thought about these things in this light, but when you compare and contrast Islam and Judaism, they are an inverse of each other. If you take the law and the prophets, you will find counterfeits for these throughout Islam.

The same holds true for the Roman Catholic Church and the faith of Christ – or it soon will be.

Just as Judaism lived in Israel, and Christianity lived in the world – so must the counterfeits come.

Let’s recap the requirements for the rise of what will be the beast kingdom, why it is Babylon, and why it is not America:

It must be an empire that rises from the ancient Babylonian (lion), Persian (bear) and Greek (leopard) empires. It must be given demonic authority to rise.

It must be an empire that had completely disappeared from the face of the earth, with all of its culture and influence completely erased. It must rise from the ashes, though it was dead and gone. This is not a slow rebirth, rather, it is an absolute resurrection.

When it rises, it must be in such a manner that the world marvels – and fears that none should stand against it.

The beast kingdom must be an empire that was, is not, and will be again.

It will be the eighth empire, and must be a part of the prior seven. This is important – it must be a part of ALL seven. If any one of the seven are left out, it cannot be the beast kingdom, or Babylon.

Rome was the king “that is” when John received Revelation. The seventh was the Ottoman Empire (which matched the legs of iron in Daniel’s statue of empires), and the eight is the beast kingdom.

Its power will last the space of one hour. In the days of John and the Bible, one hour was actually three of our hours – which corresponds to the three years of the tribulation where the beast has its full power in the great tribulation, or the second 42 months.

Here is what is critical to remember when watching events in Iraq unfold:

The beast that was, and is not refers to an empire that once existed, but was dead and gone by the time John was given the Book of Revelation. At that time, there is only one of the Biblical empires that fit that description – Babylon.  Assyria, Egypt, Persia, and Greece still existed, though Assyria, Egypt and Greece were clients of Rome at that time. Rome was sixth of the eight empires, and it would divide in two. The seventh continues a short space, then comes the eighth – which is of the seven prior.

That leaves only one of the prior empires which was part of all seven – Babylon.

Understand, that when you look at a map of the conquered ISIS territories in Syria, and especially Iraq, the Prophet Daniel would have looked on that same map – absent any names – and declared it the Babylonian Empire. Not just the Babylonian Empire, but the empire that would soon grow to encompass much of the Middle East and the future lands of Islam.

All that remains is for ISIS to extend another 50 miles south, and there will be absolutely no difference in Babylon then and Babylon now.

Mostly because of where it is located, the territory of Babylon was in under the rule of all seven, or ruled part of all seven. The seventh being either the EU (which includes Turkey), or the Ottoman Empire – which also ruled of Babylon, and was born of the Eastern Roman Empire (based in Turkey).

While the EU certainly meets the small space requirement, the Ottomans were relatively short lived compared to Rome (2,300 years), Persia (2,600 years), Egypt (nearly 5,000 years), Greece (2,000 years), Assyria (4,000 years) – though these empires never ruled as complete empires for that long (except for Rome, which lasted the entire 2,300 years as an imperial power), they all still exist, and rule over the same ancient territories they held in the days of the Bible. Even their ancient capitals still exist, though some have different capitals now, or their ancient capitals sit under different names – save one, Babylon.

The Ottomans, as an empire, only have about 500 years as an empire in their own right, with about 700 years as an entity in any form. Before this, their territory was ruled by all the other empires. Also, what made them different from every other empire to exist prior, is that they formed completely from religious beginnings. All of their subjects were united by Islam, and not blood. This had never occurred before in the history of the planet.

Other empires would conquer and assimilate other cultures, but their power was concentrated in the races and people that brought them to life. Not so with the Ottomans. Also, they descend directly from the Roman Empire, born of the eastern empire – which was one of the legs of Daniel’s statue of World Empires.

Here is the really amazing thing. Of the seven empires of prophecy, only Babylon ceased to completely exist. No capital city, no enduring cultural or racial lines. Even Iraq is a modern creation, encompassing parts of the Ottoman, Persian and Roman empires. Also, it should be noted that Babylon is the only name of ancient splendor with which most Islamic cultures would be willing to identify, since it was the only common denominator to all of them.

All of the remaining six empires all have modern territories, modern histories, respect for their ancient greatness – and have all attempted to raise that ancient greatness from the dead.

None have been successful.

As I close, I want to speak to those that still have not trusted Christ as their Lord and Savior. There have been many to say that the end is near. Although, in the grand scheme of things, the last 100 years or so is a very short space of time. However, we tend to view things from our own perspective. To us, 10, 20 and 30 years can seem an eternity. This is a fatal flaw in humans.

It has made any immune to seeing the signs of the end.

That is what is different now.

What we have detailed in this writing are signs that have NEVER occurred before in history. Let alone all at the same time. Likewise, they have never occurred within eyesight of the other signs of the tribulation, including signs in the heavens and earth. All of these things have occurred individually since time began.

They have never before occurred together, and in the exact sequence outlined by the Bible to announce the return of Christ and the tribulation.

We are truly in uncharted territory now.

I never plead, but I am pleading now. Do not scoff at the things we are witnessing unfold. The final prophetic sequence has begun, and cannot be stopped. There are no longer days left. There are now the final moments. One way or another, the times of the tribulation begin to unfold starting in September 2014. The rate and frequency is in the hands of the Lord now. By September 2015, the Shemitah will be complete in time for the signs in the heaven that the Bible tells us come with the start of the tribulation.

It just so happens that the first six seals in Revelation – all of which come before the start of the tribulation, correspond perfectly with the requirements of the Shemitah.

You do the math.

Again, I am pleading – don’t put off Christ another day. There simply are not many left before His return. After that, you will deserve everything that you get.

One final warning:

If you are an unbeliever – or a believer deceived into rejecting the soon return of the Lord –  that thinks you will prep yourself out of the judgments of God, you are sorely deceived. Everything that you lay up will be made waste.

No one can escape the coming judgments of God. Only those provisions destined to the salvation of souls after the rapture will be allowed to survive the wrath of God.

Every arrogant heart that has dared to defy God, mocking his word and return, will fall to ruin and death. If you are a patriot unbeliever, and you have squandered your God given freedom on beer, sex and vice – defying all that the Lord has commanded of America – then you shall soon fall to judgment as well.

There is nothing you can do now to stop this.

All you can do now is repent and seek Jesus Christ.

You have been warned.

In the name of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.