What in the world is going on and where might it all lead?

What in the world is going on and where might it all lead? A hypothetical analysis of current world events and a scenario of what the future might hold.

     Around the world these days we are seeing and experiencing unprecedented exposure of corruption, lawlessness, moral depravity, deception, wars and rumors of wars, abuse of power and wealth, manipulation and control, idolatry and in general great unrighteousness and just plain evil. These are being exposed at the highest levels of politics, commerce and banking, and religion. All of this has been going on for a very long time. But it does seem that there is a level of exposure in our day that we have not seen before. The Bible has a name for this evil in the world. It is called a mystery, Babylon the Great.

     Babylon the Great is described as a harlot arrayed in purple and scarlet, and a “great city that reigns over the kings of the earth”. A name is written on her forehead, a mystery, “Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth”. "And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth."

     In the Bible this evil and corrupt system of government, commerce, and religion comes to a peak in the days just before the Lord Jesus returns to earth. In the end it is destroyed by “fire” as Satan as tries to control all commerce, requires worship of him alone, and declares himself as the King of the earth. It is possible that this Babylon the Great has been a work of the devil since Adam and Eve. It is probably overseen by fallen angles, like the Prince of Persia and the Prince of Greece. It probably has a demonic leader, possibly even a fallen cherub (the scarlet harlot) of the order of Satan himself.  In the end Satan demands control of all commerce. He requires all to worship only him, and declares himself to be the only political leader. This harlot, Babylon the Great then becomes a hindrance and even a threat to Satan’s sole authority and Satan and the kings under his control destroy it. God puts this into their hearts to do this to fulfill His purpose.

     These days we are seeing an exposure of some of the works of this “Babylon the Great”.  Perhaps this is God saying, “Choose for yourselves this day who you will serve”, the choice has been made clear.  And we hear a cry from heaven saying, “come out of her my people”. It is a time of decision, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision”. Perhaps we are seeing the beginning of an in-gathering of souls into God’s Kingdom and family; an in-gathering that will end when “the fullness of the gentiles has come in”.

What hypothetical scenario of the future could follow these current days of trouble?  The hypothesis that the following scenario is based upon is: this future is foretold in the Bible.

     As this great evil rises, it leads to war. Note all the current talk about the possibility of WW III. As this war escalates there is a great loss of life, famine, other pestilences, and all the tragedy that comes with war. There also comes with this war, or wars around the world, a great persecution and even martyrdom of Jews and Christians.  The world, motivated by Satan, blames them for the wars, destruction, and deaths.

     After what could be as much as 3 years after the wars begin, they are at a fevered pitch and in the fall of the year, at the Jewish Festival of the Feast of Trumpets, there is a very great earthquake. At this earthquake God supernaturally removes from the earth all the people who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. God does not leave Himself without any human representatives or witnesses on the earth however. He will raise up a group of Jewish believers in Jesus who will represent Him on earth in Israel for the next 3 ½ years.

     During the early part of these days of war a very charismatic man comes on the scene. This man is respected and has much influence, especially in the Middle East where many these wars are being fought.  At the turmoil of the wars, the earthquake, and the disappearance of many people from the earth, this man is able to negotiate a temporary 7 year cease fire.  This “peace treaty” is finalized and signed 10 days after the earthquake on the Jewish Day of Atonement. He has at his side another man, a very influential religious figure who is instrumental in helping him negotiate this peace treaty. He also puts together a coalition of 10 nations that become the core of his support and his “new kingdom”.

     This charismatic man, we will call him the Antichrist, sets up his headquarters in Jerusalem and allows the religious Jews to begin building a new Temple. Many think of this man as their messiah, their savior. The second man, the religious figure becomes the second in command.  We will call him the False Prophet. After about 295 days the religious Jews restart their sacrificial system as they complete the Altar of Sacrifice of the new Temple.

     For the next 3 ½ years the peace treaty holds, but it is a time of terrible natural disasters around the world including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and devastating meteor strikes.  After about 3 ½ years the new Temple is complete.  Then at the Jewish festival of Purim, this new world leader, the one we call the Antichrist, shows his true colors and stands in the Holy of Holies in the new Temple, causes the sacrificial system to stop, and declares that he is God. As he reveals his true intentions a revolt ensues. Then during the Jewish Passover, someone strikes the Antichrist in the head with a dagger killing him. But after 3 days on the Jewish festival of First Fruits, this man apparently comes back to life but is blind in his right eye and has a withered arm. It is at this time that Satan is thrown out of heaven and down to the earth. He comes in great furry and wrath knowing that his time is now very short. As he comes down to the earth, he inhabits the body of the dead Antichrist in an apparent resurrection. Satan has now become incarnate in the body of a human being.

     As the world wonders at this event, the False Prophet places a statue of the Antichrist in the Holy of Holies and requires all to worship this “beast” who is now Satan incarnate. This False Prophet also requires all to take the “mark” of the beast on their forehead or right hand in order to buy or sell. In other words, Satan is now replacing all religions and forms of worship with a demand to worship him alone. He is also trying to control all commerce by requiring people to take his mark on their body. By declaring himself to be God, the King of kings and Lord of lords, he is also trying to subjugate or replace all the governments of the world with him alone.

     Now Satan has a problem. He created evil systems of government, commerce, and religion to thwart God’s intent to establish His Kingdom on earth, and to lead the people of the earth into all kinds of idol worship, depravity, and abominations. This “Babylon the Great” was to set the stage for him to establish his demonic kingdom on earth. Now however, there are some who are resisting his takeover of their political, economic and religious positions and systems.  Eventually they will militarily attack him. We know the key players in this revolt as the King of the North, the Kings of the East, and the King of the South. During the next 3 ½ years, Satan, the beast in the body of the Antichrist, raises up a very large and powerful army. They are very powerful because the men and women of the army are led by demons and are themselves demon possessed. They are extremely brutal, evil, and have supernatural demonic power. We see forerunners of this army in the ISS and the terrorists in the world today.

     During these days there are also a great number of people who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and who refuse to take the mark of the beast. They are the fruit of the Jewish witnesses of the first 3 ½ years and of two special men who become God’s witnesses during the second 3 ½ years. Satan goes after these new believers in Jesus with great wrath, beheading all he can apprehend. The days are so terrible, especially for the Jews and Christians living in these days that they are called “the time of Jacob’s (Israel’s) trouble”.

     As Satan tries to deal with these problems, the 7 year peace treaty breaks down and the wars of the earlier years resume. These will be terrible days for the people of the world. For the next 3 ½ years there will be pure demon attacks upon people resulting in painful torments.  Then a huge demonic lead army will cause the death of a third of mankind.  Near the end of these 3 ½ years the True God moves to bring an end to all of this. He commands angels to pour out 7 cups of His wrath upon the earth. The 6^th cup prepares the way for the Kings of the East to attack the beast and his army by drying up the river Euphrates. This might occur at the Feast of Trumpets at the beginning of the 7^th year of all this trouble, or even at the Feast of Trumpets that begins the 8^th year, just ten days before the Lord Jesus returns to the earth to stop all of the madness. It is during this time that all the people that have made Jesus their Lord and Savior during the past 7 years and have survived are supernaturally removed from the earth.

     The beast, with part of his army in Northern Africa to quell the rebellion there, hears that the King of the North and the Kings of the East are coming to attack him. He retreats from Egypt to battles going on from the Sinai to Syria and to a final battle in the Jezreel Valley.  Here he meets his end at the hands of the true King of kings and Lord of lord, the returning Lord Jesus. This great day is known as the Final and Great Day of Atonement.

     The Lord defeats the warring armies with the “Sword of His Mouth”, His spoken words. He speaks, and the wars crease. The slain are many.  The spirits of the slain along with the False Prophet, the spirit of the Antichrist (the human man), all demons, and fallen angels are thrown in the “Lake of Fire” which is called the second death. Satan himself is bound and thrown into the Abyss where he is imprisoned for 1000 years.

     For 1000 years, the Lord Jesus reigns as King of kings and Lord of lord upon the earth. His Throne is in Jerusalem and His Bride, the true Church sits beside Him and reigns and rules with Him. There are some people that survive these 7 years of great trouble. These become the nations of the earth during the 1000 year reign of Jesus on earth. With the Lord’s coming He restores the earth to conditions as they were in the Garden of Eden. People live to a very old age. But, there are seeds of rebellion in the people, even without Satan tempting, deceiving, and motivating them.  Near the end of the 1000 years Satan is released from the Abyss and he gathers up a great multitude of these rebellious ones and attempts to attack the Lord Jesus and His people. They surround the camp of the saints and the beloved city, Jerusalem. But the rebellion is short lived. God rains down fire from heaven and destroys them all. Satan is then thrown into the Lake of Fire. All of the dead are raised to stand before the Great White Throne of God to be judged. They are judged by their works and if their name is not written in God’s Book of Life, they are also thrown into the Lake of Fire.

     At this point in the story, God makes all things new. He makes a new heaven and a new earth “for the first heaven and earth passed away and there was no more sea”. Our current earth and its heaven are replaced by a new universe and a new, yet unwritten story begins. How glorious it will be! 

For further details, see The Holy Bible, especially the books of Daniel, Joel, Zechariah, and Revelation!

Quotes are from the NKJV Bible.