The Eighth Beast
Chapter 2 ~ The 5th Trumpet
The Pit is Opened
When
was Satan to be loosed? As it relates to the spiritual Kingdom of
God, the beginning of the loosening is in Rev 9, when the pit opens
releasing smoke that darkens the sun and air. In this article, I am
presenting to you that …the time has come. Satan was loosed
from the bottomless pit. The thousand years have been fulfilled or
expired. I know, you’re thinking how can one say that this has
happened. But please continue reading the article and hear what I am
saying about the following.
That
the pit was opened and that many of the church never recognized when
it happened.
From
the pit came iniquity that has abounded and is seducing many of the
saints to backslide in their dedication to God.
From
the pit came a movement of false religion as a fire from heaven,
which is not from the Lord.
The
Eighth beast that was to come out of the bottomless pit and from the
earth has come forth deceiving the church and world.
The
opening of the pit has caused a gathering of the true and the false
to their perspective camps.
The
church is be compassed about on every side in these last days as
Satan is trying to destroy the church.
The Pit is Open and It Came Like Smoke
Let’s
begin by reading…
Rev 20:7-9 And when the thousand years are expired,
Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive
the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and
Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as
the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth,
and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and
fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 9:1-5 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
I
have always looked at the 5th trumpet as just being only the period
when the locusts come to torment for 5 months. I missed the first
stage of the opening when the pit was opened and released a smoke
that darkened the sun and the air. Later, the second stage would be
that from the smoke came locust that was given power to afflict those
without the seal of God.
I
would like to show you from the scriptures and history, how the 5th
trumpet, called the first woe, has already sounded in our world. In
fact, we have been seeing the beginning of it for the sometime
already. You will recall in Acts after several years of the Apostles
and disciples evangelizing, the power of the gospel had been spread
throughout the world although not everyone knew it personally. In a
similar manner, when this pit was opened, the whole world didn’t
know about it. But, I suspect, that somewhere at that time, there
were ministers who knew something had happened.
Think
of it like a small fire in a house. First, you began to smell
something wrong. Later, you began to see a small cloud of smoke
covering all the ceiling. And before long, the layer of smoke in the
house gets thicker and thicker until it pushes you downward as you
try to find a breath of air to live. This is how the enemy began in
this 5th trumpet.
The Church Had Returned to the Land
In
Ezekiel it says that in the latter days God’s people will be
visited and brought back to their rightful place. This passage
relates to the natural people of Israel and the Church coming out of
the days of desolation and waste. The church experienced this
desolation between the days of the Apostles and the end of the dark
ages. It was after this time that the church emerged slowly and
gradually returning to the power of the Gospel and doctrine preached
in the days of the Apostles in the New Testament. The Church has
returned to the fullness and dwells safely in a renewed apostolic
doctrine and experience with God. As well as the natural Israel has
also come back into their land.
The
church, in a spiritual sense, had been carried away for centuries
into the dark ages. It returned back to its earlier spiritual land
and began to rebuild. She spiritually rebuilt and re-laid the walls,
the gates and foundations of the temple. We have seen the rally in
the Pentecostals and the Oneness groups with joy in seeing this
foundation being rebuilt. The whole world was affected by the
revivals in the first half of the 1900’s. But, just as it was
in Nehemiah’s time, the people were not able to continue. We
saw divisions and organizations coming into the church establishing
their doctrines. The result was a church slowly backsliding and
becoming at rest, and dwelling without walls, gates or bars. This
left the church vulnerable for the smoke that was fixing to come on
the church.
Eze 38:8-12 After many days thou shalt be visited:
in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought
back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the
mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought
forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud
to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with
thee. Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at
the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think
an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of
unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell
safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars
nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand
upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people
that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and
goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
God
gave a shadow during the time of the flood in Genesis of the things
that were to come. In those days preceding the flood, Noah preached
that judgment was coming, as he worked building an ark for him and
those that believed his message. God did not give Noah power to
change the flood, but he did give him the instructions in how to
overcome it. Those that did not believe the warning of the coming
flood nor in the building of an ark of safety in God were destroyed
by the flood. Yes, the smoke has been released, but be warned, the
flood that destroys is still yet to come.
And
so it has been, in the early 1900’s ministers preached to get
right and sincere with God, for the coming of the Lord was soon. The
hour of temptation was upon us. Awake, awake put off your slumber.
Watch, the thief is coming in the night. That is when the pit was
opened sometime in the mid 1900’s. Quietly like smoke, a flood
of filth and iniquity come from the pit towards the world and the
church. As this began to weaken the church, a fire began to fall
from heaven within the Charismatic movement. The Church has resisted
and fought against it within their personal life, as they should
have. The saints are seeing this and are building their ark,
gathering provision, for this destroying flood that is coming upon
the earth. The church can’t stop the smoke or the flood that
is here and is to get worse; we can only preserve our on house.
Gen 7:11-12 … the same day were all the
fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were
opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights
See What Has Happened as the Pit Opened
It
appears that the pit was opened and Satan was loosed around mid
1900’s. The exact time is not important. But it was around
this time that we began to see the affects of it:
Crime,
sin, rebellion, filth, corruption in our society began to increase
exponentially.
Sin
became bolder and more open than ever before, since the time of
Christ.
Prosperity
began to take root on all levels of mankind and in the churches.
Technology
is beginning to take root.
Prayer
was taken out of Schools
Faith
was being diminished.
The
power of God was being hindered and healing and miracles faded.
True
desire for a real revival decreased.
Church
attendance began to decline.
Church’s
began to be focused more on programs and increasing attendance then
about an anointed move of God in the service.
The
operation of the Holy Ghost began to fade.
The
effect of the power of the Word of God to change one’s life
began to weaken.
The
Church’s desire for the things of God weakened.
Backsliding
became more common.
Another
move of a Spirit and Fire was manifested within the church. But, it
was without holiness, sanctification and separation from the
religious confusion known as Babylon.
During
these same years we saw a fulfilling of Israel becoming a nation
again in 1948. By 1967 they had recaptured Jerusalem.
Luk 21:24 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.
Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should
be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the
fullness of the Gentiles be come in.
In
these passages there are two aspects about Gentiles. First, the
Gentiles or ungodly would tread down Jerusalem until the point came
when God would bring the people of Israel back into their own land.
Secondly, the times or dispensation of the Gentiles, referring to
those who are not Jewish, has come to its fullness. In other words,
the purpose that God had in bringing the Gentiles into the family of
God is now fulfilled. That does not mean people cannot be saved, it
means that now he can go to the next phase of bringing judgment upon
Satan and upon this world.
Iniquity Shall Abound in the Last Days
Jesus
said iniquity would abound in the last days. Paul said in the last
days that there would be a breakdown of moral integrity. I ask you.
When, in history since the time of Jesus Christ, have all these
things that Paul mentioned come to pass? Yes iniquity has always
been present, yes there has always been evil, but today it is
compassing the saints in a physical and spiritual manner different
than ever before. No wonder the angel in Revelation said woe to the
inhabiters of the earth for the last three woes to come.
This
first woe has already come, as smoke out of the bottomless pit and
has already had a devastating effect on the church. Its effect is so
devastating, that people have reached a point where they are content
to go to church, but have no desire or need for the power of God to
change their life.
Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the
love of many shall wax cold.
2Ti 3:1-5 This know also, that in the last days
perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own
selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection,
trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of
those that are good. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of
pleasures more than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness, but
denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Look
at some of the milestone events and the flood of iniquity that have
taken place since the mid 1900’s.
United
Nations charter ratified on October 1945, by the 5 victors of WW2.
Women
began unclothing themselves in bikinis publicly in 1946
1
million TV’s in US homes by 1948.
Israel
was declared as a nation 1948.
World
Council of Churches founded in 1948.
Rock
and Roll took hold in 1951.
Pornography
increased. First Playboy Issue in 1953.
Internet
was invented 1958.
Drug
usage exploded in 1960’s.
Prayer
was taken out of Schools in 1962.
Free
love and sex hippie movement around 1965.
Israel
took back Jerusalem 1967.
Abortion
legalized in Canada in 1968.
First
spacecraft to land on the Moon 1969.
Abortion
legalized in US in 1973.
Information
and Technology age began about 1975.
Jesus
told us that this iniquity would abound, and all he told us to do was
…just keep holding on to the end.
Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the
love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the
same shall be saved.
When
you look at all these changes within mankind, I believe you can see
how Satan was released from the pit. It was not a sudden change
within society as when a revolution takes over, but it came quietly
like smoke. It did not come with power, force and dominion like is
given to the locust after the smoke has finished its course. The
Devil’s dominion and power has got increasingly stronger within
mankind, nations and their rulers, with his ultimate goal being the
destruction of the True Church and Bride of Christ.
The Devil Loosed is Also the Eighth Beast
The
question is how did the armies of the kingdom of darkness go forth to
deceive the nations and how did they compass the saints?
Take
a look at the how Jesus linked this power which ascends from the pit
with the beast which comes to make war with the Lamb and his saints.
There is a lot that could be said here about the Eighth Beast. But
what I want you to see. Is that the Eighth Beast comes from the
bottomless pit, not from some geographical nation or people as the
other previous Beasts did.
The
previous seven Beast had physical aspects that could be seen or
touched. This Eighth Beast comes first as a spiritual power, which
cannot be seen by the natural eye. But we do perceive or see its
dominion and power, by the effect it has on the world and its effect
upon the church.
Let
me say it another way. To fully understand what God is doing in the
Church, you have to read and understand what he did with the natural
Israel in the Old Testament. They are types and shadows for us. But
now, to understand what God is doing and going to do in the Days of
Vengeance, we must understand the spiritual Israel in the New
Testament. Today, our understanding is based on seeing the
development of the spiritual, before we see the development of the
natural. There is a more natural fulfilling of these passages being
discussed in this article, but for those that love the Lord, they
need to understand the spiritual fulfillment now, so they will be
preserved latter.
Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not;
and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition:
and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not
written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when
they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Rev 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even
he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Deceiving Signs and Wonders, Giving Life to an Image
There
is one image which we are to become like. That is the image of Jesus
Christ. He told us the Eighth Beast would deceive all the nations as
it came with great wonders and miracles. Jesus spoke of the same
when he said:
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and
false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch
that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
We
do not see the full manifestation of this in the smoke stage of the
5th trumpet, but this increase in iniquity begins weakening the
saints for the army that is coming in the 6th trumpet. It is in the
6th trumpet that we get the rest of the picture of the Eighth Beast
as he brings a spiritual army to deceive the nations and the church.
It describes an evil army that issues from its mouth fire, smoke and
brimstone. We can see these three movements from hell that has swept
across our world and now has 100’s of millions of followers.
This will be explained in a later message, but they are:
Charismatic
movement
Word
of Faith movement
Prosperity
movement
The
Charismatic movement started in the 1960’s in protestant
non-spirit filled churches and in the Catholic Churches around 1967.
A fire from heaven has been falling on the people within these
groups, but there is a difference. This fire doesn’t cause
them to come out of her my people, nor does it bring them to the Word
of God.
The
smoke has moved in with deception and doesn’t look destructive,
but like Jehoshaphat said one day, something doesn’t feel right
about what all these other prophets are saying, …Ahab…
do you have another prophet, and Ahab said yes, but he is not a part
of our group.
The
church is being pounded with the brimstone, corrupting all that it
touches with many signs and wonders being manifested in some of these
Charismatic, loose living, spirit filled believers. An image is
being created by the Devil, which has both spirit and worldliness
combined. They say they want to be like Jesus, but their mouth
reveals the heart of the dragon.
Jesus
and the Apostles never preached or coveted the world like this
people. It may look like a lamb, but the life that is in it, is not
Christ’s life. It is the power of Satan. They have the best
orators and speakers that are out there, enticing you with their fine
words. But there message does not bring sanctification and
separation from the world. Jesus Christ is not the head of this body
…Satan is.
Rev 13:11- 18 And I beheld another beast coming up
out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a
dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before
him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship
the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great
wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in
the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the
means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the
beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make
an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the
image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would
not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Many Are Deceived Thru Peace and Prosperity
In
Daniel we take another look at this deception of a king, who begins
to stand up with great power to destroy the mighty and the holy
people and later take away the daily sacrifices.
Dan 8:23-25 And in the latter time of their kingdom,
when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce
countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And
his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall
destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall
destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also
he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify
himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also
stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken
without hand.
He
is a destroyer and a king of fierce countenance and he has been
coming since the mid 1900’s to bring peace to all the nations,
so that prosperity can increase. This seems like a good thing until
you look at all the evil that has come into the church as it reached
for the prosperity of the world. The poor and rich have both
increased their wealth and prosperity in the last 50 years. Today,
so called Christians, spend more time planning vacations and how to
acquire worldly possessions than the time they spend hearing the
Words of the Lord or desiring the demonstration of the Holy Ghost in
their services.
It
has brought about a church full of people caught up with the cares of
this world and it is choking the Word and the Spirit out of them and
the rest of us also. What use to take weeks of work and saving to
acquire, now seems to come so easy through better economy and
financial services. This doesn’t seem like a work of the
enemy. But when a person is working to survive, their attitude is
different than the person who is driven by lust to succeed and gather
wealth.
Over
100 million people were killed through the world from 1914-1945. The
greatest loss of life, devastation to infrastructure and loss of
economy the world had ever seen up to that time. The 5 victors of
WW2 signed a UN treaty to prevent this from ever happening again.
Since that time, no major world wars have occurred. Yes, there have
been wars and civil wars in various countries, but the loss of life
and the effect they have had on economy of the world has been minimal
compared to the hard times WWI and WW2 brought upon the world. No,
the devil doesn’t want to disrupt the economy again. Not only
because it brings revival in the church, but because the army from
hell needs prosperity for its message to deceive the people. You
cannot have prosperity in any community, nation or country until
peace has been restored and the economy is able to function without
fear of major disruption. Peace and order allows the big money to
invest and feel secure about their return on investment in a business
or community. This in turn will bring more prosperity to all
involved. As several presidents of US have said, it’s all
about the economy.
Gathering the Nations Together in Deception
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations
which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather
them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea
Zep 3:8 Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD,
until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to
gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon
them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth
shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
God’s
plan has always been that in the latter days he would somehow gather
all the nations together. These nations would also somehow come
against God’s people. We may not know what all that means, but
we have seen since WW2 efforts by the major nations to keep peace,
watch over one another and try to work together with a common goal of
unity. Thus, if the UN disagreed with a country’s actions,
they would put pressure on that country until it submitted to the
will of the UN. Not only is the Devil trying to get the natural
nations together, but he is also unifying the spiritual leaders. The
World Council of Churches was formed for the unification or religious
believers of all faiths. Both of these world organizations started
out with little power. Slowly, over the years, each has grown and
gained more political power. We should continue to see that power
increase in the future. We have already seen the scriptures below
being fulfilled spiritually.
Zec 14:2-3 For I will gather all nations against
Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses
rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth
into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off
from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those
nations, as when he fought in the day of battle
It
is obvious today that spiritual powers and dominions have come
against the Church in the last 50 years, capturing and devouring the
house of God. Good churches have fallen into darkness; saints have
been deceived and carried away into spiritual captivity with this
false religious movement. Saints have been carried away in captivity
as iniquity abounds and their love of the world increases. (Remember
Lot’s wife). Preachers and laity have committed spiritual
fornication and spiritual adultery with this false worship from Baal.
Churches have taken out God’s altar and have put in a new
altar from the world. No one yet has been able to rise up against
this Jezebel Spirit sweeping through the Church world. However, God
will rise up. He said that there shall be a residue, even 7,000 that
have not bowed to Baal …they shall not be deceived or cut off.
Praise God.
Anointed Ministers Passed Off the Scene
As
morality was already declining since WW1 and declined even more after
WW2. What was holding back this cloud of smoke of the pit from the
world? It was the anointed men of God that were given to us in the
early 1900’s. Here is just a few of the major ministries that
faded off in the mid 1900’s. There were more, but this is
enough to give you the general ideal.
Smith
Wigglesworth passed away in 1947.
Jack
Coe passed away in 1956.
William
Branham passed away in 1965.
Surrounding the Saints and the Beloved City
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the
earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved
city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Most
bible prophecy teachers will say that Gog and Magog are to come and
compass the natural land of Israel, based on the scripture in Ezekiel
38 & 39. But Jesus said in Revelation, that Gog and Magog will
compass the saints and the beloved city. Jesus never said he loved
the natural physical Jerusalem, nor would he refer to the natural
seed of Abraham as his saints if they were not his followers. But he
did say,
Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man
love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we
will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Let
me ask you. Are you going to take Jesus’ interpretation of the
passage in Ezekiel or the bible prophecy teachers? My choice is
clear. Jesus is saying that Gog and Magog is an army compassing his
beloved church …the New Jerusalem. That does not exclude what
may happen to the natural Israel later. Even as we see the example
of the Days of Vengeance come upon the natural Israel and the end of
the Old Covenant, we will experience a very similar Days of Vengeance
upon the spiritual Israel and the end of the New Covenant.
Luk 21:20-22 And when ye shall see Jerusalem
compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them
which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in
the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance,
that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
The 1st Woe has Sounded ~ The pit is Open
A flood of wickedness has come out. Natural Jerusalem is now controlled by the natural people of Israel since 1948 and more so since 1967. The
times of the Gentiles has been fulfilled. The Full Gospel has been
preached in every nation as a witness and the end has come upon us,
Mt 24:13.
I
hope you see that these are the beginning stages of the release of
Satan. This release is also the beginning of the 3 woes in
Revelation. It also began the sounding of the 5-7th trumpet. It
began in a deceptive manner as a smoke which has covered the entire
world and most of Christianity. No one area seems to be the focus of
the devil’s stronghold. Satan has applied so much pressure,
spiritual devices and temptations, in so many different ways, until
now he has a greater grip on the world and has diminished the light
of God within the Church.
From The Smoke Came Locust
Rev 9:3-6 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 strikes 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.
The
scripture says that locust came out of the smoke to torment men for 5
months who did not have the seal of God in their foreheads. A
torment would cause them to desire death, but death would not come to
stop the torment. This description of locusts is unlike anything in
this world. However, multiple scriptures in the bible help us to see
that this locust torment is a spiritual affliction rather than
physical. We can see a glimpse of this being manifested today as
people are tormented with: pride, rebellion, lust, carnality, cares
of life, trust in their own self rather than God, sickness, finances,
desire to be successful, etc.
The
torment of this affliction is so painful to their life and their
human spirit; they long to be free from the torment, even thru death.
But God does not allow deliverance to come until the tormenter has
run its course. A natural locust has a life of about 5 months, and
this particular trial, test and affliction does have a beginning and
ending.
God’s
purpose in this torment is to bring his people out of bondage, if
they will only hear and submit to him. It may last a few weeks or
years; it depends on how quickly one repents and surrenders their
life back to God. God has chosen and allowed this tormenter to come
upon the backslider so they might repent, turn back to God and quit
their backsliding. Some will turn to God during this time in their
life, and some will not.
We
see this torment in the passage above, not when the smoke came out of
the pit bringing a deception of iniquity, but later when the locust
had been given power. The smoke was to deceive, seduce and entice
one to sin or pervert the Word of God in our life. These locust have
now been given power over those that have not the seal of God, these
people do not have any power or resistance against whatever the
adversary does to their life. It is like a person being overpowered
and raped, yet the whole time one resist what is being done, for it
has and end and healing will come afterward if we turn to the Lord.
We
see another example when the Satan was wroth with the women.
Rev 12:15-17 And the serpent cast out of his mouth
water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be
carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the
earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon
cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman…
He
spewed out a flood of uncleanness and ungodliness toward the women,
she was preserved, but there was some who like the earth, just opened
there mouth and consumed the filth. They may not have wanted to open
their mouth, but they were not sealed by God, they did not please God
or they were defiled by the world and religion.
We
see another example of this excruciating pain being afflicted upon
those in the last days of those who have turned from God in giving
themselves back to the wicked one in some way in this following
passage.
Rev 16:10-11 And the fifth angel poured out his vial
upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and
they gnawed their tongues for pain. And blasphemed the God of heaven
because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their
deeds
They
have allowed Satan to have dominion over their life. If your life is
in torment today, a preacher can’t help you, a prophesy want
help you, neither will paying tithes change the situation. God will
not let deliverance come into your life, until you recognize that you
have sinned and turned from God. Are you being tormented and
afflicted? Then humble yourselves quickly, for the longer you wait,
the greater the pain. When he hands you over to the tormenters, will
you repent or curse God?
As
one can see from the examples in the Old Testament, God sends the
devourer into the lives of his people, only after they have failed to
hear the Word of God for their life. Even then, he will send the
devourer in stages and gradually increase the intensity level up to
the point of total destruction. It is all in the hope and purpose
that he might save some.
We
have seen saints go through these times in their lives as they
struggled to serve God, while they, at the same time were reaching
for the world in some way. We saw how they were afflicted or vexed
until they reached a breaking point. It was at this time they
surrendered to God or completely walked away. Even Jonah had found
himself running from God. But God created a situation in his life
that was to torment, but not to kill Jonah. He found himself in the
belly of hell, being vexed night and day, until he turned his eyes
toward Jerusalem. Deliverance is available, but only after you
repent.
But
what about those who have the seal of God in their foreheads? Let me
say just this much. This mark shows a people have already come to
the place in their life where they please God and have no need to be
afflicted or tormented to press them into returning to God.
Don’t
get this confused with the seal of the Holy Ghost. This is like the
seal on the door post in Egypt; it is a seal which stops the devourer
from entering the home. It doesn’t mean that those with the
seal on their life do not go through problems, sickness, etc. There
is even warning to those under the protection of the seal. Exo
12:22 …none of you shall go out at the door of his house until
morning.
Summary
Let’s
summarize the events that led up to 1st Woe, the 5th trumpet
sounding.
In
the early 1900’s, the whole world saw a revival and an
out-pouring of the Holy Ghost. The scriptures had prophesied this
would come, as the latter rain in the last days. This latter rain is
that rain which brings the grain to full maturity. The Church had
been on a spiritual journey for about 400 years of reformation as the
believers slowly left the depths of Satan within Catholicism.
Finally, the 1900’s brought a return again to the fullness of
doctrine and fullness of Spirit that was preached and demonstrated as
seen in the Book of Acts. This true latter rain of God, brought
moisture into the grain (church), bringing it to a fullness of
maturity.
As
the latter rain came, the times of the Gentiles was fulfilled. The
Gospel was preached in all nations. The time of the end had come.
It was now time to begin the next phase of God’s plan. It is
now time for the grain to dry out, so it can be harvested and the
tares can be separated from the good seed.
In
the mid 1900’s, the 5th trumpet, the 1st woe, sounded and the
bottomless pit was opened allowing Satan, the destroyer to be turn
loosed upon the world. He ascended up as the Eighth Beast having
two horns. This message about the 1st woe, is describing one of the
powers that he would come to deceive the nations and compass the
church, the camp of the saints. Satan came like deceptive smoke, as
a flood of iniquity, which has now covered the whole world and every
nation. The exact time this happened is not important. But, what
has happened is very important for the saints to understand.
It
began as smoke, gently and quietly seeping its filth into the world.
It offered iniquity, sin, prosperity, power, peace etc. With the
advancement of technology, Satan has been able to make sin attractive
like never before in history. Sin has made in-roads in almost every
home and every church. The love of many has waxed cold on God.
Believers began to backslide as sin and cares of life pulled them out
of the presence of the Holy Ghost, even pulling some completely out
of the church. The Spirit and power of God has diminished in the
churches from the effect of all this. Saints have begun shifting
their time and energy into making a better life with more natural
possessions. It has brought about saints who no longer are seeking
God and his righteousness as their first love.
As
the age of peace, prosperity and technology came about; it fed this
thirst for lust and iniquity which was in the world. All nations
have now drunk from this cup of filth and have become intoxicated.
The world and some of the church have been consumed with this lust,
this iniquity, and this seducing of spirits for material possessions
to the point that it seems they can never be satisfied.
This
has affected the church today, to the extent that many people called
Christians are seeking for some new way to excite or fulfill this
lust in their life also. The hour of temptation has arrived. It is
bringing about a separation in the followers of Jesus Christ. The
elect or true saints are trying to hold on to the Word of God and his
Spirit so that they don’t lose their crown of righteousness.
Others have yielded to the temptations and now love the world, which
has caused many to be defiled, some to backslide and many leave the
church.
As
the church began backsliding by playing the harlot with the world,
God has given permission for the destroyer to afflict, torment and
devour those that are corrupted. The purpose is that those who are
called by his name might turn from their wicked ways and repent, so
that God can heal them. Those that do not now obey the Word and
Spirit in their life, will not be sealed from the flood from Satan
that is to come.