What is the Coming Tribulation All About, Part 22

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

We are winding down our study of the coming Tribulation period. If I had to put a wager on it (though I don’t gamble), it almost seems like we are drawing so close to that final seven years of coming judgment that it can be felt. It seems as though it’s right around the corner.

In our last part, we ended up in Revelation 17:1-5, dealing with the judgment of the Great Harlot. This Harlot is one who has her hooks into all the nations and merchants. This section of Revelation is both pitiful and marvelous. It shows the depths of depravity humanity will stoop to feed their self-centered natures. The graphic photo at right (sorry) shows a baby rhino waiting for its mother to get up. As you can see, it has been slaughtered by people who couldn’t care less about its life, all to gain some hide and the horn.

As it was in the days of Noah. Today, right is right and wrong is wrong. People are so depraved that they cannot understand when they are wrong and when they are right (if ever). They play the blame game, refusing to accept any responsibility for their own misdeeds. Instead, they prefer to blame things on anyone else and it has become fashionable in American society to use white people as the scapegoat as a matter of course.

As Paul states in 2 Timothy 3:1-10, people will become lovers of themselves in the last days. From that one sin flows a myriad of sins. Paul lists them: proud, disobedience, arrogant, boastful, even having a form of godliness but denying its true power. They are imitators of what it means to be true Christian. The people of the last days who will experience the judgments of the Tribulation will be largely categorized by their self-centered natures. It’s all about them; how they can make more money, how they can do things to gain more notoriety. It’s all about them.

When I watch musical artists today – especially those in the hip hop genre – all I see is self-aggrandizement. Young black men strutting around as if they are the toughest men on earth and no one better mess with them. They look like walking mug shots. Many of them have criminal backgrounds but that only adds to their credibility and notoriety. Young female singers exude sexuality whether it’s intentional or not. The lyrics to songs today are so vapid and vain when compared with even the songs of the 1960s, it’s hard to imagine that this is how low society has fallen. Yet, in many ways, this is the beginning of how bad things will become as the human race spirals out of control toward its own death.

There are three main things happening in Revelation 17. First, we see the results of the world following after the Harlot (cf. Revelation 17:1-7). We learn not only how “she” has captivated the captains of nations, but we also learn of her final demise. The Harlot represents the system of Babylon, it’s economy, its political system, and its religion. There comes a point when Satan – via the various world rulers – will no longer have a need for the Harlot (that they used to ensnare people) and the Harlot will be destroyed. Revelation 18 describes Babylon’s complete fall and utter failure.

Second, we learn more about the beast who was not, is, and then goes into destruction. Notice the text tells us that the beast literally comes up out of the abyss (Revelation 17:8). This is monumental. The beast from the Abyss will literally inhabit the Antichrist for a short time (during the Tribulation), then will be destroyed, then judged, then sent to the Lake of Fire. This Antichrist will truly captivate the world and nearly all people will fall in line behind him. This is certainly why we see things happening in the world we cannot control. They are out of our hands. Though we can stand against the evil that is behind them, we cannot change their course. It will come to pass because God will have His day of judgment.

Third, Revelation 17:14-18 tells us that the final victory belongs to the Lamb of God, Jesus, who gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sin – yours and mine. Have you received that salvation? I hope so. It comes through faith.

John the apostle is told in Revelation 17:14, “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”

The Lamb will overcome all His enemies. The reason? Because He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Take that, Satan! There is no one who can BE God except God alone. Regardless of Satan’s promises in Isaiah, he stands no chance of fulfilling them. But, God will give Satan all the opportunities he needs to attempt to bring those promises to fruition. In the end Satan will find no success because he is NOT “Lord of Lords and King of Kings”! Because of that, it is impossible that he succeeds.

All of this is leading us to the final battle – Armageddon, which closes the Tribulation period with Antichrist’s (Satan’s) final and permanent defeat. It is absolutely tragic what is happening on the earth now, with debauchery, depravity, and death. Yet, it must go that way because humanity operates under a flawed nature called the “sin” nature. We have a natural propensity to sin whenever we can. Humanity is now arriving at the point where we are even trying to think of ways to sin. We are repeating what humanity was like during the time of Noah. It’s awful.

Not only does society throughout the world suffer because of the sin nature, but the earth, as well as animals suffer too, as shown by the image of the rhino above. We are corrupted and die because of the sin nature. We die because in our first parents, we also have fallen from grace and from that point forward the Second Law of Thermodynamics became part of our life. It happens with those we love who are family members or friends. It happens with the pets we have as well. Here is a picture of the cat that I received as my Father’s Day gift almost eleven years ago. Even though he didn’t speak English, he “spoke” his love and loyalty to me and the rest of the family while he lived.

We just recently had to make the difficult decision to euthanize him because somehow, he developed cancer, a cancer that was slowly closing his throat. If we chose not put him down, he would have one day simply suffocated to death. He developed cancer ultimately because humanity invited sin into this world in the first place. We did everything we could to make him better and make his remaining time easier for him and us. Ultimately though – for now – physical death gains the temporary victory.

The Tribulation period allows sin to go to its fullest. It allows Satan to do whatever he can to bring his promises of becoming like the Most High to fruition. In the process, sin is seen for what it is and is dealt with by God’s hand through one judgment after another. Yes, there is a brightness, a purity, an eternal endurance that greets us on the other side (for those who know Jesus), but getting there is the problem. I believe what we are seeing is the dramatic warm-up before the final overture begins.

I’m so glad God does not leave things there, that He shows us clearly what becomes of sin, how He judges it, and how He restores His Creation to what He intended it to be. Though judgment is on the horizon, that new days clearly follows it and in the end, presents the greatest of all victories!

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective