God Sends a Destroyer

[MidnightCry]

In the Old Testament, we can see that when Israel turned away from God, worshiped pagan gods, and when a majority of His people became rebellious He sent a destroyer.

This happened in 605 BC. The Jews had become so totally resistant to God's plan and so degenerate in behavior that something drastic had to be done to get their attention. Therefore, God planned the destruction of Israel. He would not destroy all of it. He would save a remnant. So Jesus sent Babylonian monarch, King Nebuchadnezzar, to destroy Jerusalem. After three sieges, Nebuchadnezzar completely destroyed Jerusalem and carried off a remnant of Israel into captivity. Jesus did not destroy Jerusalem without warning. He sent several prophets to Israel so they might know what He was going to do and why. But Israel not only rejected the warning messages, they killed or destroyed most of the prophets who gave them.

Will God send a destroyer again, during the end times? Does God warn us of this in His Word? If God does send a destroyer, what will this destroyer be permitted to destroy?

YSIC,
MidnightCry

 

[Epoisses]

Are you referring to Abaddon or Apollyon of the 5th trumpet?

 

[Epoisses]

test reply to see my signature.

 

[MidnightCry]

Are you referring to Abaddon or Apollyon of the 5th trumpet?

Greetings Epoisses,

You are correct. Lucifer is called Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek. Both titles mean the same thing: Lucifer is the ultimate destroyer. His title is stated in Hebrew and Greek so that the saints (like the Jews in the inner court) and the wicked (like the Gentiles in the outer court) both can understand who he truly is.

Daniel and Revelation both tell us a destroyer is coming. I wanted to look at Daniel first, specifically Daniel Chapter 8. Daniel 8:1-12 focuses on three symbols: a ram, a goat and a horn power. Because the Bible is its own interpreter, it provides the meaning of these symbols. The ram represents the kingdom of Medo-Persia. (Daniel 5:28;8:20). The two horns of the ram represent the co-regent reign of two kings, the king of the Medes and the king of the Persians. The higher horn (the greater king) represents the Persian side of this kingdom. The higher horn of the ram in Daniel 8:3 also aligns with the "higher shoulder" of the bear in Daniel 7:5.

The second symbol, the goat, represents the kingdom of Grecia. (Daniel 8:21). The great horn represents the first prominent king of the Grecian empire. History reveals this king was Alexander the Great, who died in the prime of his life. The four horns that replaced the great horn represent four generals that eventually gained control of Alexander's empire.

What does the third symbol, the horn power, represent?

In Daniel 8, the two beasts represent empires, but the horns of the ram and of the goat represent kings. This distinction is important, because the horn power in this vision is not attached to a beast (world empire). Also, the Bible says this horn power is a king. (Daniel 8:23). Daniel was told this king will exalt himself to be as great as the Prince of the host, Jesus Christ. The horn power in Daniel 8 is a stern-faced king that will rule over Earth during the Great Tribulation. (Daniel 11:36) This coming king is the Antichrist, Lucifer, who will dazzle the world with his power, authority, and ability to perform incredible miracles. The dreaded Antichrist will not be a mere man. The coming Antichrist will be Lucifer, appearing in the flesh, masquerading as an angel of light, claiming to be Almighty God.

The Bible predicts that God will allow Lucifer and his angels to appear in physical form visible to the human race. Just as Jesus became a man to save the world, Lucifer will be granted authority to masquerade as God so that he can quickly lead the wicked to their destruction.

This horn power in Daniel 8 is not attached to any beast. This horn does not rise out of a world empire. It appears from out of nowhere, "out of the four winds," specifically, out of the north. The north is prophetically important because it is often said in Scripture that divine wrath comes out of the north.The horn that just appears out of the north represents a "stern faced king" that will appear and overtake the world "when rebels have become completely wicked" (verse23).

Also, Gabriel told Daniel that this vision concerns the appointed time of the end which occurs after the 2,300 day/years expire in 1844. Thus, the horn in this vision will appear on Earth after 1844--at the appointed time of the end.

YSIC,
MidnightCry

 

[Epoisses]

Thank you. That was quite exhaustive. Are you a pastor?

 

[Epoisses]

Woops! I just noticed you're a lady. Probably not a pastor. :o

 

[MidnightCry]

Thank you. That was quite exhaustive. Are you a pastor?

No, I'm not a pastor; just a seeker of truth like yourself. I am still seeking and learning new things. I don't believe any one person or any one church has figured out all of God's prophetic truth regarding the end of time. That's what makes it so exciting. I believe God's Word is for all people, in every nation, in all cultures. And I believe God wrote His word for everyone to understand it. Not just prophets, pastors, seminary graduates, or those with a doctorate in theology.

YSIC,
MidnightCry

 

[MidnightCry]

The Antichrist will arrive on a divine mission of destruction. God will send the stern-faced king to rule over the wicked. God will send him because the wicked rejected His truth and rebelled against His generous offer of salvation. Paul talked about this,"....They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that sll will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. (2Thess. 2:10-12)

Consider God's consistent ways. He sent armies to destroy the Caananites, the Israelites, the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Medes and Persians, the Grecians, and the Romans. When a nation goes beyond the point of redemption, God raises up a destroyer king. The Antichrist is a destroyer king that God will send to destroy much of the world.

YSIC,
MidnightCry

 

[MidnightCry]

The Book of Revelation is in harmony with the Book of Daniel. In Revelation we are also warned that Lucifer will appear on Earth and demand everyone to worship him. During this time there will be much martyrdom of God's saints.

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?"
(Revelation 6:9,10)

The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace.The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. (Revelation 9:1-5)

When the fifth seal is broken, the fifth trumpet will sound. Lucifer and his demons will be permitted to ascend from the Abyss and then descend from the sky in an attempt to mimic the Second Coming of Jesus. Many people will be deceived by this delusion. The saints will know that this is Lucifer and will not worship or obey him.

Before the fifth trumpet occurs, the 144,00 will present the gospel of Jesus to the whole world. The gospel will polarize the people of Earth into three distinct groups of people: the saints, the wicked that will worship Satan, and the wicked people that will not worship anyone and have no religious connection at all (atheists, agnostics,)

Many of the wicked will embrace the devil as though he were Almighty God. He will display all kinds of supernatural powers, doing things that only God can do. On the basis of his glorious appearance and marvelous miracles, millions of wicked people will be deceived.

Lucifer is not permitted to torture anyone having the seal of God (the 144,000 and the saints) during the fifth trumpet. And he will not torture those who believe he is God (the wicked that accept him as God). The devil will torture those who are wicked and yet want nothing to do with any God or any religion. He will eliminate his opposition. His goal is global dominion within five months and this requires that he rapidly eliminate his opponents. Jesus will limit Lucifer's assault for five months; he will not be allowed to kill anyone.

Jesus will permit Lucifer's demons to inflict indescribable pain on the wicked and this will force them and their families into making a decision. Some of this group will embrace the gospel, worship Jesus and be saved. Others will accept and worship the devil as Almighty God.

Jesus will permit this torture so everyone will be pushed into a final decision. Pain will push them into a decision for or against the gospel of Jesus Christ. Circumstances will force each human being into a decision. Each person will either choose to submit to the authority of his Creator or he will choose to submit to Lucifer. By the end of the trumpets, everyone will serve one of two masters.

Thus, there will only be two groups of people on Earth when Jesus returns; which is exactly what He wants. God is deliberate and purposeful in everything He does and the seven trumpets are no exception.

YSIC,
MidnightCry

 

[Epoisses]

I agree that Satan and his angels are pictured under the fifth trumpet but what about the sixth trumpet? These angels are somewhat different and are permitted to kill a third of mankind. I have read some commentaries that identify them as the Lord's angels while others say they are more of luficer's angels while yet others place them as armies of the past.

I am more inclined to see them as the Lord's angels. Just one angel of the Lord killed 185,000 assyrian troops in one night so 200 million could do alot of damage. I would like to understand more of meaning behind the euphrates river.

 

[MidnightCry]

I agree that Satan and his angels are pictured under the fifth trumpet but what about the sixth trumpet? These angels are somewhat different and are permitted to kill a third of mankind. I have read some commentaries that identify them as the Lord's angels while others say they are more of luficer's angels while yet others place them as armies of the past.

I am more inclined to see them as the Lord's angels. Just one angel of the Lord killed 185,000 assyrian troops in one night so 200 million could do alot of damage. I would like to understand more of meaning behind the euphrates river.

Greetings Epoisses,

You have brought up some excellent questions. First of all, lets take a look at the sixth trumpet.

"The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, 'Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.' And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops were two hundred million. I heard their number." (Rev. 9:13-16)

When the five months allotted for the fifth trumpet end, the sixth angel will blow his trumpet. The death and destruction on earth will expand. The sixth trumpet describes the establishment of Lucifer's world government; a counterfeit theocracy. The devil will be permitted to eliminate all religions, all governments and his forces will kill a third of mankind (those who oppose him). For a short time, Lucifer will reign over the world as king of kings and lord of lords.

During Bible times, the Euphrates River was the northern boundary of Israel. The river was a natural barrier that protected Israel from the marauding kings of the north. In ancient times, predator kings would pounce on weaker nations each spring and take what possessions and loot they could carry off. However, Spring thaws in the mountains caused the great river Euphrates to flood each spring and this flooding kept the kings of the north from invading Israel. When the sixth trumpet sounds, Jesus will remove the barrier that He imposed on Lucifer and his demons during the fifth trumpet. During the fifth trumpet, the devil and his demons are not permitted to kill anyone; however, this limitation will be removed in the sixth trumpet. The devil and his troops will be allowed to kill one-third of mankind.

In Bible times, people believed that divine destruction came out of the north. Because the Euphrates River was a natural barrier on Israel's northern boundary, the release of the four demons bound at the river indicates the river will no longer be a barrier of protection. When released, Lucifer's four demons will raise up an army of two hundred million troops to kill a third of mankind. This slaughter is associated with the Euphrates River because excessive flooding was totally destructive and in Bible times, divine judgment always came out of the north.

Lucifer is represented as the horn power out of the north in Daniel 8 and also the King of the North in Daniel 11 for an important reason. Lucifer will be released from the Abyss to destroy. The torture of the wicked non-believers during the fifth trumpet, the mark of the beast, and the slaughter of saints and rebels during the sixth trumpet will force all survivors into a firm decision regarding whom they will worship.

John goes on to describe visions of modern weapons that will be used to kill those who oppose Lucifer. Those who do not have the mark of the beast will be killed.

YSIC,
MidnightCry