REVELATION 14-19

Revelation 14

REVELATION 14:1 — I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.

Lamb: Jesus the Messiah.

Mount Zion: Beginning with the City of David / the Stronghold of Zion (2 Samuel 5:7), this hill, in its meaning, later comes to symbolize the Kingdom of Heaven / God’s spiritual Kingdom. (Hebrews 12:22, 1 Peter 2:6) It has nothing whatsoever to do with the Zionist movement of our time or with the massacres of Israel. Through the fallen Babylon and the Prostitute, the book of Revelation also describes the end of those who appropriate the words of God’s prophets for their own evil purposes.

144 thousand people: Those chosen from the earth who will reign in the heavens together with the Messiah. There is much debate over whether this number is symbolic. The side of it that concerns us is that God has made a selection from among people to take part in the rule in the heavens together with the Messiah. This selection shows God’s faithfulness to his covenant with Abraham and his justice. (Genesis 12:2-3, 18:18, 26:4, 35:11, Galatians 3:7, Luke 10:20, Revelation 7:4-8) Furthermore, the Messiah is the first person God brought into being in the creation in the heavens. He also came to the earth as a human being and, in answer to Adam’s disobedience, also sacrificed himself as a sin offering. (Proverbs 8:22-25, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, 1 Timothy 2:5-6, Quran – Surah Al Imran 3:59, John 1:1-3 and 14*)

This number points to a selection limited to the figure of 144 thousand. Not every good person who dies will go to the heavens, as we are generally taught. (Revelation 7:9, Matthew 5:5, Quran – Surah Al-A'raf 7:25, Ta-Ha 20:55, Ar-Rum 30:25, Qaf 50:44, Psalm 37:9-11, 22, 29 and 34) God’s command to the first human, Adam, ‘make the earth a paradise like the garden of Eden’, will not be frustrated by Satan’s rebellion. (Genesis 1:28, Isaiah 45:18, 1 Corinthians 15:21-28)

*Note: In many translations of John it reads ‘the Word was God’; in fact it should say ‘the Word was a God’, and thus they should have prevented it from being confused with Almighty God. That they did not do this is deliberate, because they want to protect the belief in the Trinity. Still, Allah, God and Ilah are each a title, not a proper name. Please read the incident in the Gospel at John 10:34-36, which is based on the verse Psalm 82:6. For besides the Jews and the Islamic world, the Christian world, in the exact opposite direction to them, also holds a mistaken belief on this matter. They hold different beliefs from one another, but all of them are mistaken beliefs that contradict God’s revelations.

REVELATION 14:2-5 — I heard a sound from heaven, like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of a great thunder. The sound which I heard was like that of harpists playing on their harps. They sing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand, those who had been redeemed out of the earth. These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed by Jesus from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. In their mouth was found no lie, for they are blameless.

These are words describing the heavens and what characteristics these 144 thousand people who will reign there have. We may perhaps compare the song they sing, which no one could learn, with the words that the Prophet David and Asaph wrote in the book of Psalms (Zabur). Those words were like songs, hymns; but sometimes they also carried a prophetic character, which is why not everyone could sing them. Again, these people are pure, spiritually clean; they follow the Messiah and delight in his characteristics. Their devotion to God and Jesus the Messiah is also striking. Not being defiled with women stresses spiritual purity: that they kept away from idolatry / spiritual immorality, and that they never showed to anyone else the obedience, loyalty and devotion they showed to God. That they never lied and are blameless shows not their lives on earth but the characteristics they have in the heavens.

REVELATION 14:6-7 — I saw an angel flying in mid heaven, having an eternal Good News to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He said with a loud voice, “Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!”

The words here are actually very clear and understandable to everyone. Fearing God, glorifying him and worshiping the one who created everything is, on the other hand, something very few people do. What stands out, however, is the statement ‘the hour of God’s judgment has come’. The biggest reason most people say ‘I am an atheist’ or ‘I believe in nothing’ is that they say, ‘If God exists, why does he allow all this evil?’

REVELATION 14:8 — Another, a second angel, followed, saying, “Babylon the great has fallen, which has made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality.”

We first see Babylon in the Bible after Noah’s flood. (Genesis 11, perhaps around 2240 BC) All of them were descended from Noah’s sons, and their parents had surely told them about the flood. The spirit in them was also interesting. Against the command God gave Noah, ‘be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth’ (Genesis 9:1), these say, ‘Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky.’ And they were supposedly going to do this so as not to be scattered over the whole earth, to make a name for themselves! Glorifying God does not even cross their minds. They used tar instead of mortar in case a flood came again; presumably so that water would not seep through. After Noah, humanity becomes corrupt so quickly that I read in amazement, in the Torah, of that break from God and that idolatry. The Babylon we meet later, in the 7th–6th century BC, can also be called the empire of false / idolatrous customs. It is striking that they consulted demons, practiced divination, took pleasure in being under the influence of evil spirits and in doing evil, and moreover did all this believing sincerely. (Ezekiel 21:21, Daniel 3:1-6) When the book of Revelation was written, Babylon had been destroyed in 539 BC, that is, centuries earlier, and erased from history. So who is that Babylon that has these characteristics and has made all the nations drunk? This refers to all the institutional religions on earth and, among them, the most powerful one and the one that has been influential in history, the papacy, that is, the Vatican. What is meant by sexual immorality is trampling oneself, sacred values and loyalty to God underfoot, and selling them. The papacy, or the caliphate model in Islam that fell together with the Ottomans, was most of the time not about binding people to loyalty to God and his truths, but about forcing and imposing on them the truths they themselves had determined, which were in fact falsehoods. Their greatest characteristics are the endless wars, massacres and crusades, in history and today, the burning of people alive for reading the Gospel, the Zionist movements, false, lying, erroneous teachings, and their imposing of idolatrous customs on people as God’s command. The verse, however, speaks of the destruction of this.

REVELATION 14:9-13 — Another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” I heard the voice from heaven saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.”

We know that the beasts, which also appear in Revelation 13, represent powers that rule the world. They will force all people to worship the statue made in honor of the state that exists in the last days and to receive its mark / stamp. Those who do this will be subject to God’s great wrath and will have no rest day and night. The punishment from Jesus the Messiah, who will reign as king in the heavens, and from the angels will also be terrible. The prophecy, for its part, expresses the happiness of those who remained faithful to God and endured every kind of hardship, torture, even death.

REVELATION 14:14-20 — I looked, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud one sitting like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Send your sickle, and reap; for the hour to reap has come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe!” He who sat on the cloud thrust his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. Another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven. He also had a sharp sickle. Another angel came out from the altar, he who has power over fire, and he called with a great voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Send your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for the earth’s grapes are fully ripe!” The angel thrust his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. The wine press was trodden outside of the city, and blood came out of the wine press, even to the bridles of the horses, as far as one thousand six hundred stadia.

Son of Man: Jesus the Messiah; the crown on his head emphasizes his kingship. The time to reap with the sharp sickle in his hand / the ripening of the harvest shows that the time of sinners has been fulfilled and that the wicked will be wiped off the earth; the shedding of so much blood shows a very large / crowded number of people.

Revelation 15

REVELATION 15:1 — I saw another great and marvelous sign in the sky: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them God’s wrath is finished.

The seven plagues of God’s wrath are being spoken of. The details of these plagues, too, will come before us again later.

REVELATION 15:2-8 — I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who overcame the beast, his image, and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God, the Almighty! Righteous and true are your ways, you King of the nations. Who wouldn’t fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you only are holy. For all the nations will come and worship before you. For your righteous acts have been revealed.” After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. The seven angels who had the seven plagues came out, clothed with pure, bright linen, and wearing golden sashes around their breasts. One of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power. No one was able to enter into the temple, until the seven plagues of the seven angels would be finished.

We could not describe the words that appear here, the words used in glorifying God and the joy of those who stayed faithful at the cost of their lives, any better than this. At the end, however, attention is drawn to the seven plagues. We will see these plagues in more detail in chapter 16. That no one enters the temple until the seven plagues are over already shows how serious and terrible the effect of these plagues on humanity will be.

Revelation 16

REVELATION 16:1-2 — I heard a loud voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth!” The first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth, and it became a harmful and evil sore on the people who had the mark of the beast, and who worshiped his image.

If you have read my explanation of Revelation 13, you know: The first plague from the heavens concerns those who worship the statue made in honor of the beast, that is, of that last ruling state, and those who accept its mark / stamp. The painful, foul sores, however, will certainly not be symbolic. These are the pains that come with God’s wrath.

REVELATION 16:3-7 — The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man. Every living thing in the sea died. The third poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. I heard the angel of the waters saying, “You are righteous, who are and who were, you Holy One, because you have judged these things. For they poured out the blood of the saints and the prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. They deserve this.” I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.”

Again, those who interpret all these events symbolically are in the majority. Yet none of the plagues that came upon Egypt in Moses’ time was symbolic, and what we have read here immediately reminded us, as it were, of that time. (Exodus 7:19-21) In our time, however, ‘because they poured out the blood of the saints and the prophets’, they will deserve these punishments.

REVELATION 16:8-9 — The fourth poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given to him to scorch men with fire. People were scorched with great heat, and people blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues. They didn’t repent and give him glory.

Whenever I read these prophecies I was amazed and would say, “How can people be so terribly ungrateful, treacherous and unbridled?” If, instead of submitting to God’s judgment, repenting and humbling themselves before him, they choose rebellion and blasphemy, it should not be hard to guess what humanity has become. We often see such types now too, and we live together with them. In those days the effect of the sun on people will also be terribly scorching.

REVELATION 16:10-11 — The fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was darkened. They gnawed their tongues because of the pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores. They didn’t repent of their works.

This throne onto which the fifth bowl is poured out must be the throne of that reigning king. This king is the person whom Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth, who declares himself God and has those who do not worship the statue they made killed. The period in which he is said to allow those who do not receive his mark on their hand or forehead neither to trade nor to sell anything is also his period. (Revelation 13:5-6, 2 Thessalonians 2:4-12) These people gnaw their tongues in agony and again blaspheme God. So it is not because they do not believe that they blaspheme; who curses what he does not believe exists? It is certain that they know very well from whom the plagues come. Repentance, however, is a word that is not in their dictionary.

REVELATION 16:12-14 — The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates. Its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings that come from the sunrise. I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, something like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs; which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of that great day of God, the Almighty.

Can you imagine? The plagues come one after another; blaspheming God, slaughtering his servants and shedding the blood of the prophets and the saints is not enough for them, they unite with all their power and rise up to make war against God. Should we laugh or cry at this farce? Dragon: Represents Satan. Beast: domination over the world, power. There is also a false prophet. It is certain that, with the help of demons, they also perform supernatural signs. So it is written; just like Pharaoh’s sorcerers in Moses’ time. They too could, with their magic, turn a staff into a snake and water into blood, and even call up frogs. (Torah – Exodus chapter 7) If we add today’s technology to this, it is not at all hard to guess that those who believe them will be practically bewitched. (Gospel – 2 Thessalonians 2:9)

REVELATION 16:15-21 — “Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his clothes, so that he doesn’t walk naked, and they see his shame.” He gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew, Megiddo. The seventh poured out his bowl into the air. A loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” There were lightnings, sounds, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men on the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. Every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. Great hailstones, about the weight of a talent, came down out of the sky on people. People blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for this plague is exceedingly severe.

The one who will come from the heavens like a thief is Jesus the Messiah. While Jesus lived among us too, he constantly advised God’s servants to be ready. (Matthew 24:42-43, 25:13, Mark 13:33-37) Under the influence of those three evil spirits, the kings will gather in the midst of the war called Armageddon, which will give the decisive result. At this time the seventh angel pours his bowl into the air, and terrible lightning, thunder and a great earthquake occur. This earthquake reminds me of the time when they killed God’s two witnesses and did not even allow them to be placed in a tomb. (Revelation 11:3-13) What is meant by islands is nations. After these plagues, nations and flags will disappear. (Genesis 10:5, Zephaniah 2:11) Mountains, in turn, symbolize the centers of power in which man exalts himself, the states. (Luke 3:5, Isaiah 40:4)

And hail weighing 40 kilograms each falls from the sky. Let us not expect these hailstones to fall at random places either, because it is written in the Quran that they are aimed at their target. (Quran – Surah Hud 11:82-83, Adh-Dhariyat 51:34) Since people are still blaspheming God, their end has evidently not yet fully come. For before the end, great tribulation will come upon the whole earth. If those days had not been shortened, no one would be saved. (Daniel 12:1, Matthew 24:21, Luke 21:23) The prophecies point to the heavens burning in the Great Tribulation. It is written that people’s blood will be poured out like dust. (Zephaniah 1:17, Luke 3:16, Matthew 3:11, Zechariah 14:12-15, 2 Peter 3:6-7 and 10-12)

I will bring distress on men, that they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Yahweh, and their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath, but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land. (Zephaniah 1:17-18)

Revelation 17

REVELATION 17:1-6 — One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her sexual immorality.” He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored animal, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of the sexual immorality of the earth. And on her forehead a name was written, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement.

When describing the fall of Babylon in Revelation 14:8, we interpreted it in connection with institutional religions, the Vatican and the papacy. The greatest characteristic of the book of Revelation is that it narrates the same events from different angles. But it does not do so in an incomprehensible way; it does so in such a way that connections can be made between the events. For example, right here, it presents to us the Babylon we saw as ‘THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH’. We explained the identity of the beast with seven heads and ten horns in Revelation 13. We interpreted its 7 heads as the powers that ruled the world on earth in the past and will in the future, and its 10 horns as the states and leaders who will hold power over the world in the last days. Well, to call the woman riding on them only the Vatican / the Papacy is not quite accurate either. For in the powers of the past, that is, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and up to Rome, there was no papacy of Christianity. Institutionalization, the papacy and all that sort of thing come into being at the beginning of the 4th century. Yes, there was no papacy, there were no Christians; but wrong, perverted religions far from God always existed. The Prostitute in the book of Revelation is in fact the symbol of all wrong, evil, abominable, murderous, idolatrous, satanic beliefs. If we go back as far as Abraham (2000 BC), they try to kill the man because he cut off the hands and feet of the idols / statues. This event, which appears in the Quran, is told as “they wanted to burn him in the fire”. (Al-Anbiya 21:51-71) Gideon, too, experiences a similar event in Israel. (Judges chapter 6) In short, humanity was very inclined to go astray and to be led astray, and it always did so under the name of religion, belief, sanctity. Although their labels change, together with the ruling, dominant powers they have been and are terribly influential over all humanity. Still, it is written that this Prostitute is drunk with the blood of the saints and of those who bore witness to Jesus. The papacy of the Catholic world is the religious institution that has survived the longest compared with all the religions that have come and gone, and has the greatest influence in the whole world. It has diplomatic relations with 184 states; it is held sacred by 1.42 billion Catholics and by the Christian world of about 2.4 billion. The Vatican city, located in Rome, Italy, with a population of 800, also has the status of a state. Although today 80 percent of the countries in the world are secular states, this became widespread in the 18th–19th centuries. That does not mean that secularism has eliminated its influence over people during the thousands of years in the past. As for its crimes, they are very great before God. In almost every age, this prostitute in the role of a woman has always tortured or slaughtered those who showed true devotion to God, the creator.

REVELATION 17:7-14 — The angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present. Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits. They are seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a little while. The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes to destruction. The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour. These have one mind, and they give their power and authority to the beast. These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and those who are with him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

We now know the meaning of the beast with 7 heads and 10 horns. However, for one of them an interesting expression is used: ‘It once was, but now is not, and yet will come again.’ John receives this revelation around AD 95, while in exile on the island of Patmos. In AD 70 the Romans besiege and destroy Jerusalem. There is no longer a place called Israel. This Israel, however, reappears in 1948. It grows so strong that the fact that nearly all states oppose what it does does not affect it. And of course it does not do these things by its own power; behind it there are powerful states with many allies, the USA first of all.

In verse 9 it is said that the 7 heads are 7 kings, that 5 have fallen, one is standing, and the other has not yet come. What is meant by this is as follows: The 5 fallen kingdoms: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece. The one that stands: the Roman Empire. The one to come is the England-USA union called Anglo-America. The beast that once existed and now does not, that lived but now is not, is Israel, and the king who will come out of it is the eighth king. He is also one of the seven. His rule will also last a very short time. The angel already explains that the 10 horns are 10 kings. These kings, being of one mind, will give their authority to the so-called eighth king. In my opinion that king will come either from Israel or, again, from the USA, their ally. The Lamb symbolizes Jesus the Messiah and his kingdom. These horns, and especially that eighth king, will fight against the Messiah, but of course they will be defeated.

This idea of gathering under a single government did not arise from my writing it here. They have been making this plan for centuries, and it is written in their own books. According to the prophecy, they will achieve this plan. Below I will place a text that circulates on the internet attributed to Israel Shahak. But let us not understand this to mean that the author himself wants these things. It is said that he put into his book what he took from rabbis’ sermons and from other books and sources. I know neither this book nor its author, but I will include one passage. Judging by what I have lived through, and by looking at history from the past, I say that it matches exactly.

The goyim (non-Jews – in the sense of the Turkish word ‘gavur’, infidel) are spiritually beneath the Jews and cannot govern their nations as they should. For their good and ours, we must abolish their governments and replace them with a single government. It will take a long time and much blood will be shed, but it is for a good purpose. We need to do the following:

- Place our representatives and helpers everywhere.

- Take control of the media and use it as propaganda for our plans.

- Start the war between different races, classes and religions.

- Use bribery, threats and blackmail to advance our cause.

- Use Masonic lodges to attract potential public officials.

- Appeal to the egos of successful people.

- Appoint public leaders who can be controlled through blackmail.

- Replace the monarchy first with socialism, then with communism, then with despotism.

- Abolish all rights and freedoms except the right to use violence on our part.

- When necessary, sacrifice people, sometimes including Jews.

- Abolish religion and put science and materialism in its place.

- Control the education system to spread deception and destroy intelligence.

- Rewrite history in our favor.

- Create entertaining distractions.

- Corrupt minds with filth and perversion.

- Encourage people to spy on one another and inform on one another.

- Keep societies in poverty and constant toil.

- Take possession of all riches, all property and (especially) gold.

- Use gold to manipulate markets, cause a depression, etc.

- Introduce graduated wealth taxes.

- Replace sound investments with speculation (whose outcome is uncertain).

- Give states long-term, interest-bearing loans.

- Give bad advice to governments and to everyone else.

- In the end, the goyim (the infidels) will be very angry with their governments, because we will blame them for the resulting turmoil, and they will be happy to let us take over the government.

- Then we will appoint one of David’s line as king of the world, and the rest of the non-Jews will bow down and praise him. Everyone will live in peace and obedience under his glorious rule.

The plan of Judaism is a plan for a world without countries, with only one border, which separates Jews from non-Jews. The plan of Judaism is a two-tiered world in which “God’s chosen people” live in a paradise where no one has to work, and the non-Jews are mercilessly confined to a lower world, that is, to hell on earth (the Communist template). For the Jews, we humans will go on existing as their slaves, living only like cattle.

The Jews’ plan to create this two-tiered world is set out in detail in the Zohar, one of the “holiest” (of course, pure evil) books in Judaism. This plan is exposed to the world in Israel Shahak’s book “Jewish History, Jewish Religion”.

The list above is a summary of the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”, published in Russia in 1903; in 1921 it was shown that a substantial part of that text was copied from an 1864 satire by Maurice Joly. The list does not appear in Israel Shahak’s book.

The prophecy that the 10 horns, which appear repeatedly in Revelation, that is, 10 world powers, will give their authority to that one king is very realistic when one looks at the plan described in this text. Whichever country in the world you live in, can you say about the things written above, ‘I have not seen or experienced them’? And with this, let no one think that I am deliberately disparaging Israel and the Jewish people. Jesus the Messiah, the great majority of the prophets and the apostles came from Israel. The apostle John, who wrote the book of Revelation, is also a Jew. Israel is the name God gave to Jacob, the son of Isaac. (Genesis 32:28) The promise God gave to Abraham is the covenant he made with Israel. (Genesis 17:2, 7) Because Satan, too, knows these things, he is striving against God, saying, ‘Look what the people / nation you chose are doing!’ In truth, unfortunately, humanity, whatever race, nation, society or family it comes from, inclines very easily to evil. Please read chapter 11 of the book of Romans in the Gospel.

REVELATION 17:15-18 — He said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. The ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute, and will make her desolate, and will make her naked, and will eat her flesh, and will burn her utterly with fire. For God has put in their hearts to do what he has in mind, and to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished. The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

When we then combine the angel’s explanation with the information we have, very little mystery remains. That is that the woman is a city that reigns over the kingdoms of the world. We described the Vatican a little earlier. The population of this city, which is also a state, is 800. However small its population, its arms are like those of an octopus that has wrapped itself around the world. It has one of the widest networks of religious influence in the world. These 10 kings will hate it, bring all its dirty secrets to light as well, and destroy it. And the angel says that it is God himself who put this in their hearts. When the Vatican and the papacy fall, let us not expect the other religions and sects to remain standing either. Whether some fanatical religionists or God’s true servants, they will offer resistance; but we will also see, in the topics to come, that they will be defeated.

Revelation 18

REVELATION 18:1-8 — After these things, I saw another angel coming down out of the sky, having great authority. The earth was illuminated with his glory. He cried with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and she has become a habitation of demons, a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the abundance of her luxury.” I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that you have no participation in her sins, and that you don’t receive of her plagues, for her sins have reached to the sky, and God has remembered her iniquities. Return to her just as she returned, and repay her double as she did, and according to her works. In the cup which she mixed, mix to her double. However much she glorified herself, and grew wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning. For she says in her heart, ‘I sit a queen, and am no widow, and will in no way see mourning.’ Therefore in one day her plagues will come: death, mourning, and famine; and she will be utterly burned with fire; for the Lord God who has judged her is strong.

Together with the papacy, which will be destroyed and wiped out, the rest of Christianity will also collapse. For not everyone who says ‘I am a Christian’ is bound to the papacy, but they believe in the same book, the same Jesus the Messiah, the same God. They are divided into many branches such as Orthodox, Protestants, Lutherans, Reformed, Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals and Jehovah’s Witnesses. In terms of division, the Islamic world is not very different either. Within the 4 great schools of thought they too are divided into hundreds of branches. Even though they too believe in the same Quran, the same prophet, one God, they are divided. Whether they are among the People of the Book, that is, those who say they believe in God’s books, or among those who do not believe in those books and in one God, all have been cut off from God and have strayed from the right path. God’s servants, however, are scattered across every part of the world as individual persons. And the voice that comes from heaven says: ‘Come out of her, my people, that you have no participation in her sins, and that you don’t receive of her plagues.’ Such people have generally been regarded as irreligious, stubborn, self-willed, arrogant persons. In fact, they were researching God’s words and seeing that, under the union they were in, things were not at all going that way, according to God’s wishes and desires. It was not rare that those who came out of it were seized with a bad conscience, with the feeling, ‘Am I perhaps doing wrong?’ These words in Revelation are a great source of consolation for God’s servants.

It is written that the end of the one who sees herself as a queen, who believes she has never been abandoned and will never mourn, will also come in an instant. When those 10 kingdoms burn, wreck and destroy the papacy, they will surely not protect the other religions, sects and orders. They will put them all in the same pot. They will force people to worship the statue they themselves have erected. You can also read this explanation I wrote about Revelation 13.

REVELATION 18:9-19 — The kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived wantonly with her, will weep and wail over her, when they look at the smoke of her burning, standing far away for the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For your judgment has come in one hour.’ The merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise any more; merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, all expensive wood, every vessel of ivory, every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; and cinnamon, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, sheep, horses, chariots, and people’s bodies and souls. The fruits which your soul lusted after have been lost to you, and all things that were dainty and sumptuous have perished from you, and you will find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, will stand far away for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning; saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls! For in an hour such great riches are made desolate.’ Every ship master, and everyone who sails anywhere, and mariners, and as many as gain their living by sea, stood far away, and cried out as they looked at the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like the great city?’ They cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her great wealth!’ For in one hour is she made desolate.

Just imagine, the Christian world of nearly 2.5 billion collapses all at once, their institutional religions are destroyed. They have diplomatic relations with 184 countries, employees actively working in those countries, missionaries, structures and many organizations such as universities, hospitals, aid agencies, churches, cathedrals, monasteries, schools and mission centers; they are one of the largest real estate owners in the world. It should not be hard to understand the astonishment and grief of those who do business with them, from the kings and the merchants down to the ship captains in transport.

The angel describes them as ‘kings who committed sexual immorality with her’. By saying ‘Woe, woe, the great city! For your judgment has come in one hour’, these kings also confess that they are aware of the crimes they committed together with them.

I think there is no need to comment in order to explain all the other details, since they are all written in a way that can be understood literally.

REVELATION 18:20-24 — “Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints, apostles, and prophets; for God has judged your judgment on her.” A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down, and will be found no more at all. The voice of harpists, minstrels, flute players, and trumpeters will be heard no more at all in you. No craftsman, of whatever craft, will be found any more at all in you. The sound of a mill will be heard no more at all in you. The light of a lamp will shine no more at all in you. The voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will be heard no more at all in you; for your merchants were the princes of the earth; for with your sorcery all the nations were deceived. In her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on the earth.”

The Crusades, the death, misery, pain, disease, hunger, tortures and deprivations of millions of people for the sake of nonsensical reasons and petty interests, people being burned alive for reading the Gospel in their own language… For what happens to the one whose account is swollen with all this, with hating the truths and loving every kind of lie, and with evils too many to count, the angel says, ‘Rejoice over her, for God has judged your judgment on her.’ Because I believe that at first most people will see the fall of the Vatican / the Papacy, of Christianity and of all religions as the work of Satan. Even some of those among them who have bowed their heads, kept silent, been patient and endured with the devotion of ‘whatever happens, I will stay faithful to the end’ will perhaps fall into doubt. The angel, however, says, ‘Let them rejoice.’

Revelation 19

REVELATION 19:1-5 — After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God: for true and righteous are his judgments. For he has judged the great prostitute, who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.” A second said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke goes up forever and ever.” The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen! Hallelujah!” A voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, the small and the great!”

Hallelujah is a word of Hebrew origin. God tells his servant Moses that he has a special name that is written ‘YHWH’ (vowels are inserted in between so that it is read as Yahweh or Jehovah, because Hebrew had no vowel letters). (Exodus 3:15) A shortened form of this name appears as ‘Yah’. Hallelujah is formed by the joining of words and means ‘praise Yah, offer praises’.

Perhaps we cannot quite understand this voice of praise rising in the heavens, or the angels rejoicing so much. We can mostly look at thousands of years only through lines in history. Moreover, most of what is written is lies, falsehood, corruption, distortion and terribly incomplete. We experience these things when we live through injustices ourselves, when evil is done to us, when our loved ones are burned before everyone’s eyes, when we are excluded from society and exposed to many more tortures and sanctions. We cry out to God; day and night we ask him to take our right, to avenge us. God, however, is generally patient, he bears with it. Most of us sometimes see this grace and patience of his in a bad light, and become angry to the point of death against him. (Jonah 4:2-4) This includes even the angels in heaven. Perhaps this, too, is one of the reasons why many angels became demons, abandoning God and their posts. Why would God allow evil to such an extent? (Jude 1:6) These rejoicing angels saw and heard, in short lived through, everything from the beginning, from the creation of Adam, until the end. They witnessed all those written injustices and surely became very angry. And now, when they see and experience the time of vengeance accumulated over thousands of years, how natural it is that they rejoice, isn’t it? Perhaps, with the added joy of seeing how unfounded the doubt about God’s justice was that they secretly felt inside, how enthusiastically they praise God.

We see it in films: those who constantly do evil, yet whose affairs go well. Deep down we always feel anger. Then the hero who ends that evil appears. How joyful we feel! Moreover, in the end it is a film, mostly with no basis in reality. Let us compare the joy we feel in such simple things with the joy of those angels in the heavens now; perhaps we will understand. When did we ever exalt God like this, fearing him with love and thanking him?

REVELATION 19:6-10 — I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns! Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let us give the glory to him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.” It was given to her that she would array herself in bright, pure, fine linen: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. He said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” He said to me, “These are true words of God.” I fell down before his feet to worship him. He said to me, “Look! Don’t do it! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy.”

Christians have a model prayer. Jesus the Messiah taught this prayer. Almost every Christian has their children memorize it. Yet very few understand the meaning of this prayer that they recite by heart. It says there:

Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth… it continues. (Matthew 6:9-10) There is a truth overlooked in these words: ‘Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.’ Even this prayer alone emphasizes a truth: that God’s will is not being done on earth. It happens in the heavens but not on earth; otherwise Jesus would not have taught us to pray like this. Although they know this prayer by heart, those people expect God to bring justice, mercy and an end to all evil instantly. Do we now understand why the Hallelujah voice of joy thunders in the heavens? “For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad!” say the angels. We who believe say that it is quite natural, and as it should be, for God to reign on earth, in heaven and everywhere. But with the creation of man on earth, the first problem and rebellion began in the heavens. An angel rebels and revolts against God. This is also the meaning of the word Satan. He raises a case: ‘Give me time until the day the dead are raised (Judgment Day), and I will show you how bad people are,’ he says. God gives him time. (Job 1:9-11, Al-A'raf 7:11-18, Sad 38:71-85, Al-Isra 17:61-64, Al-Hijr 15:28-40)

In the book of Revelation, events pointing to the fulfillment of this period begin. The comparison of a wedding, of bride and bridegroom, is used. The Lamb, that is, the bridegroom, is the kingdom of Jesus the Messiah in the heavens; the bride is the new Jerusalem in the heavens and those who belong to it, the 144 thousand chosen from the earth to reign together with him. (Revelation 21:2, 9) The bright linen garment put on the bride, that is, on the chosen, is purity, the righteous, upright acts of the saints. Those invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb are also called blessed. Unfortunately, not everyone will want to go to that wedding either. (Luke 14:15-24) Hearing these words, John wants to prostrate himself before the angel; the angel prevents it, saying, “Don’t do it! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!” Even though the Gospels write this way, the Christian world either worships Jesus as God or, in the Orthodox religion, arranges special days and exalts Michael and Gabriel. (Colossians 2:18)

For now I will end this section of the book of Revelation here, because a new topic begins. As can be seen, although there are symbols in the book of Revelation, what is narrated is meant in the literal sense. In these events, which will come to pass within a very short time, let us pray that God give us courage, strength, love, devotion, righteousness and the power to endure, so that we remain faithful to God and do not yield, even unto death. We will all be tested; let us not see this as something bad; on the contrary, let us rejoice. (Matthew 5:11-12, Luke 6:22-23, Matthew 10:39, Mark 13:5-27)

Conclusion

To many people the book of Revelation may seem frightening, complicated and difficult to understand. Yet the basic message of the book is not fear but hope. The assurance God gives his servants is this: Evil will not last forever, injustice will not reign forever, and God’s purpose will not fail.

Satan’s rebellion, people’s sins, wars, oppression and all the evil that fills the earth have not been able to remove the purpose God set for humans in the beginning. On the contrary, the book of Revelation shows that God will in the end fulfill everything with his own righteousness and justice.

For this reason, when reading Revelation we must not focus only on the events that will happen in the future. The real question is this:

When that day comes, whose side will we be on?

Throughout the Bible, what God expects from his servants has not changed: Faith, loyalty, righteousness, love and endurance.

However influential the powers, teachings and ideas that rule the world today may appear, God’s word will have the last word. People’s praise is temporary, states are temporary, wealth is temporary, but the Kingdom of God is eternal.

For this reason, everyone who reads the book of Revelation should ask themselves this question:

Am I truly putting God’s wishes at the center of my life?

For salvation is not merely about having knowledge, but about remaining faithful to God.

May our Lord give us the strength to endure to the end. May he teach us to love the truth and stay bound to it, to be courageous in the face of fear, not to depart from righteousness in the face of pressure, and in every situation to put the Kingdom of God first.

As Jesus the Messiah also said:

“But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13)

So instead of fearing the events that are approaching, let us draw closer to God. For at the end of the book of Revelation, the winner is not the beast, Babylon or the kingdoms of the world, but those who remain faithful to God.

The book of Revelation is not the book of fear but of the victory of those who remain faithful. The Kingdom of God will come, and his will shall be done, as in heaven, so on earth.

While reading the book of Revelation, we should turn our eyes not to fear but to God’s promises. For God has never left his servants in despair.

Jesus the Messiah said:

“In the world you have oppression; but cheer up! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Therefore the trials, pressures and tests we face should not surprise us. God announced them beforehand. But at the same time he also revealed who will have the victory.

Paul writes:

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

These words are not only a consolation for believers but also an assurance. For salvation depends not on the power of people but on God’s faithfulness.

Sometimes righteousness may seem to stand alone. Sometimes evil may seem to be winning. But God’s Word says:

“The righteous will live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4)

Therefore we should turn our eyes not to the power of people but to the Kingdom of God.

Jesus the Messiah said:

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

In the Quran there is also a similar invitation:

“Say: O my servants who have gone to excess against themselves! Do not despair of the mercy of God. For God forgives all sins. Surely he is the One who forgives much and shows much mercy.” (Quran – Surah Az-Zumar 39:53)

Therefore let no one think, “It is too late for me now.” As long as we breathe, the way of returning to God is open. Satan instills despair in people; God, however, gives hope.

The purpose of prophecies is less to make us curious about the future than to teach us how we should live today. God does not want us to be flawless, but to be faithful. He wants us to get up when we fall, to repent when we make mistakes, and to trust him in the face of difficulties.

In the Quran it says:

“Whoever puts his trust in God, he is sufficient for him.” (Quran – Surah At-Talaq 65:3)

Therefore, instead of fearing the events that are approaching, let us draw near to God. Let us fear God, not people. Let us trust not in the powers of the world but in his Kingdom.

At the end of the day, those who will be saved are not the most knowledgeable, but those who love God, love righteousness and remain faithful to the end.

For at the end of the book of Revelation the winner is not the Beast. It is not Babylon. It is not the kingdoms of the world.

The winner is the Kingdom of God.

And God’s word will surely be fulfilled:

Our Father in heaven, do not separate us from righteousness. Give courage in times of fear, hope in times of loneliness, loyalty in times of testing. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us the strength to endure to the end, so that your name may be exalted and we may not be separated from your love. Amen.

PSALM 2:1-5 — Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying, “Let’s break their bonds apart, and cast their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his anger, and terrify them in his wrath: