A Little Light Reading.
Three Unclean Spirit's
Joe Crews.
The book of Revelation is different
from any other part of the Bible. As a
prophetic history of the church of all the
ages, it is quite largely a book of quotes.
Someone has calculated that out of 404
verses, 276 are either directly quoted or
paraphrased from the Old Testament
Scriptures. It seems clearly evident that
no one can properly understand this last
book of the inspired canon unless he also
has a close familiarity with the writings
of Moses and the prophets.
This may account for the vast confu-
sion that exists today over the meaning
of John’s apocalyptic beasts and sym-
bolic horsemen. The so-called “New
By Joe Crews
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Testament” church bodies that view the
Old Testament as only fulfillments of
an antiquated past would certainly find
no relevance in the writings of John
the Revelator.
Paul wrote, “… all scripture is giv-
en by inspiration of God, and is profit-
able for doctrine, for reproof, for cor-
rection, for instruction in righteous-
ness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Since the New
Testament had not yet been written, we
can be certain that he was referring to the
Old Testament Scriptures. “For whatso-
ever things were written aforetime were
written for our learning,” Paul declared
in Romans 15:4.
These texts establish that the com-
posite prophecies of Revelation are espe-
cially applicable to our own day and were
inspired for our “doctrine,” “learning,”
and “instruction in righteousness.”
Just as the book of Genesis delineates
the beginning of the great controversy
between good and evil, the last book
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of the Bible describes the close of the
conflict. This makes it one of the most
important books in the sacred Scriptures.
It describes the kind of people God will
take to heaven and how they become
overcomers by the blood of the Lamb. It
warns, also, against the final assaults that
Satan will throw against the saints as the
battle rages to its climax. What a docu-
ment! And how the devil hates this book
that exposes his origin, devices, and
final destiny!
Can we logically expect Satan to at-
tack these prophecies which lay open his
deceptive plans and purposes? How has
he done it? By introducing futurism, the
adversary has struck a blow at the foun-
dation of prophetic understanding. The
biblical principle of historicism that es-
tablishes a “day for a year” has been re-
jected, and an unwarranted literalism has
been applied to the great lines of proph-
ecy laid out in Daniel and Revelation.
Specifically, this type of confused
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hermeneutics has been utilized in the
study of Armageddon and the king of the
north. The symbolic portrayal of those
events from the pen of the Revelator pro-
vides a key for correcting the error.
“And the sixth angel poured out his
vial upon the great river Euphrates; and
the water thereof was dried up, that the
way of the kings of the east might be
prepared. And I saw three unclean spir-
its like frogs come out of the mouth of
the dragon, and out of the mouth of the
beast, and out of the mouth of the false
prophet. For they are the spirits of dev-
ils, working miracles, which go forth
unto the kings of the earth and of the
whole world, to gather them to the bat-
tle of that great day of God Almighty.
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he
that watcheth, and keepeth his garments,
lest he walk naked, and they see his
shame. And he gathered them together
into a place called in the Hebrew tongue
Armageddon” (Revelation 16:12–16).
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Armageddon—A Spiritual Battle
This is probably the key text in the
Bible relating to the great world-end-
ing struggle between Christ and Satan.
Immediately, we can see that many sym-
bols are brought to light in these verses.
The beast, and dragon, and false prophet
are not literal at all. And what can we say
about the clothes described in verse 15?
Why would this peculiar interruption
take place in the midst of a description of
Armageddon? These clothes are the gar-
ments of salvation and refer directly to
the “fine linen” of that robe of righteous-
ness described in Revelation 19:8.
From these verses also we notice that
the coming of Jesus “as a thief ’ is related
to the drying up of the river Euphrates
and the appearing of the “kings of the
east.” And even the Battle of Armageddon
is tied to these events. Do these phrases
sound familiar? They should, because
the same language is used in Isaiah 44:27
to describe the fall of ancient Babylon.
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Cyrus actually “dried up” the Euphrates
River and thus delivered the literal Jews
from Babylonian captivity. After refer-
ring to Cyrus as “the righteous man from
the east” in Isaiah 41:2, Isaiah speaks of
him as one who would “dry up thy riv-
ers” and “open … the two leaved gates”
(Isaiah 44:27, 28; 45:1).
Historians recognize these as refer-
ences to the clever battle plan of King
Cyrus to enter the city via the water gates
through the wall, after the water had been
diverted from its channel. Since the river
flowed through the midst of Babylon,
this ruse was a perfect means of access
into the city while the drunken king par-
tied with his military leaders.
Why is Revelation predicting a future
drying up of Euphrates and an end-time
deliverance of God’s people? Hasn’t this
all been fulfilled in the days of Daniel
the prophet? It has in its primary literal
fulfillment, but John reveals that there
is a secondary, symbolic application of
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those events. In the historical account,
the literal Jews were freed from the literal
Babylonians, but the book of Revelation
pictures a spiritual Israel being saved
from spiritual Babylon. Both rescues are
made possible through the drying up of
the Euphrates River, and both are accom-
plished by kings of the east.
Here we encounter an important
principle of prophetic interpretation. The
immediate fulfillment is always literal and
local, while the future prophetic fulfill-
ment is always spiritual and worldwide.
Thus, God’s people in one instance are
the nation of Israel, and in the later case
are His faithful people of all nations and
races; in other words, two Israels—one
physical in the book of Daniel, and the
other spiritual in the book of Revelation.
Two drying ups—one literally in the past,
and one symbolically in the future.
This leads us to the conclusion that
the battle of Armageddon, as portrayed
in Revelation, is not a literal battle
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between East and West, but the spiritual
climax of the 6,000-year conflict between
Christ and Satan. Here the great adver-
sary is symbolized as making a final at-
tack against the people of God to destroy
them. Using a combination of earthly
powers he will influence world govern-
ments to unite in a program to wipe out
those who refuse to receive his mark of
authority. Those who stand loyal to God’s
law in the face of overwhelming opposi-
tion will finally be condemned to death.
This is what Armageddon is all about.
John tells us that water represents
people. “The waters which thou sawest
… are peoples, and multitudes, and na-
tions, and tongues” (Revelation 17:15).
The harlot woman who sits on the “many
waters” is identified as the apostate reli-
gious system. Drying up of the water rep-
resents the drying up of support by those
multitudes that had been deluded by the
woman and her spiritual daughters. The
Bible declares that they “shall hate the
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whore, and shall make her desolate …
and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with
fire” (Revelation 17:16). Unfortunately,
that awakening will come too late to re-
verse the fate of those who will have al-
ready been sealed in apostasy and error.
But who are the “kings of the east” in
Revelation whose coming is preceded by
these dramatic events? Whatever is sym-
bolized here must follow on the heels of
the three unclean spirits gathering the
whole world to the Battle of Armageddon.
Cyrus, king of the east, brought deliver-
ance to Israel in the Old Testament, but
who are the kings of the east in the book
of Revelation who will save spiritual Israel
from the wrath of spiritual Babylon?
The Scriptures describe only one
rescue operation from the east after that
final gathering of the nations. “For as
the lightening cometh out of the east,
and shineth even unto the west; so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be”
(Matthew 24:27). It is from that same
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direction that the sealing angel ascends
to mark the saints for their deliverance.
“And I saw another angel ascending from
the east, having the seal of the living
God” (Revelation 7:2).
The prophet Ezekiel identifies the
east as God’s special place of abode and
operation. “And, behold, the glory of the
God of Israel came from the way of the
east” (Ezekiel 43:2). These verses leave
no doubt that the kings of the east sym-
bolize the glorious intervention of Jesus
and the armies of heaven in dealing with
the warring factions of this earth. We
note once more the inspired account of
the opposing forces that will clash in this
last encounter between good and evil.
Revelation 16:12 speaks of the “kings
of the east” and verse 14 describes the
other side as “the kings of the earth.”
What a contest! The great controversy
reaches its final stages in this cosmic
involvement of every soul who lives on
planet earth.
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What circumstances lead up to the
gathering of all nations to this apocalyp-
tic Armageddon? John gives a graphic
account of it: “And I saw three unclean
spirits like frogs come out of the mouth
of the dragon, and out of the mouth of
the beast, and out of the mouth of the
false prophet. For they are the spirits
of devils, working miracles, which go
forth unto the kings of the earth and of
the whole world, to gather them to the
battle of that great day of God Almighty.
… And he gathered them together into
a place called in the Hebrew tongue
Armageddon” (Revelation 16:13–16).
Three Spirits Like Frogs
Now we are prepared to identify the
three major actors who will set the
stage for this end-time holocaust. Time
does not allow us to give the prophetic
and historical background on each of the
miracle-working trio who influence the
earthly rulers to war against God. Suffice
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it to say that all three—the beast, drag-
on, and false prophet—are portrayed as
being used by demonic power in their
gathering of nations to the battle of
Armageddon.
From the days of Martin Luther to
the present, Bible commentators have
recognized the papacy as the fulfillment
of the score of biblical tests relating to the
beast power. It was to rise among the na-
tions of Western Europe, uprooting three
tribes, speaking blasphemy, persecuting
all opponents, ruling for 1,260 years, and
finally receiving a deadly wound.
Only the papal system fulfills all of
those characteristics so clearly delin-
eated in both Daniel and Revelation.
The deadly wound was given in 1798,
at the end of an exact political reign
of 1,260 years, and the pope was taken
prisoner by French Revolutionary forc-
es dispatched by Napoleon Bonaparte.
This makes it clear that the modern pa-
pacy will indeed be one of the powerful
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catalysts that will bring on the ultimate
threat against the remnant of the seed of
the woman (Revelation 12:17).
The second force in the preparation
for Armageddon will be the dragon.
This is the symbol of satanic power in its
most virulent and confrontational form.
Certainly this would include every as-
pect of pagan worship, but specifically, it
would also relate to the more respected
elements of occultism, Spiritualism, and
New Age, which have been adopted by
many Christians today.
None can deny that churches of
various persuasions have embraced the
doctrine of the natural immortality of
the soul, the very root and foundation
of all attempts to communicate with
the dead. Such a belief opens the door
for almost every form of modern New
Age deception, including Spiritualism
and the mind sciences. Thus, a strong
sympathetic chain has been forged be-
tween Christianity and paganism. Such
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a federation will be one of the major
influences in stirring up the kings of
the earth to battle against the remnant
of the woman, and finally, against the
armies of heaven. “And the dragon was
wroth with the woman, and went to
make war with the remnant of her seed,
which keep the commandments of God,
and have the testimony of Jesus Christ”
(Revelation 12:17).
The third symbolic power that will
prepare the world for the battle of that
great day is described as the false prophet.
He, like the others, causes miracles to be
performed in order to effect a gathering
of the nations to that last battle between
Christ and Satan. Who is this false proph-
et? We find a clue in Revelation 19 that
describes the disastrous outcome of the
battle for the enemies of Christ. “And the
beast was taken, and with him the false
prophet that wrought miracles before him,
with which he deceived them that had re-
ceived the mark of the beast” (v. 20).
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This text describes how the false
prophet works miracles in relation to
those who receive the mark of the beast.
Does the Bible identify the one who car-
ries out these counterfeit miracles? In
Revelation 13 we read, “And I beheld an-
other beast coming up out of the earth;
and he had two horns like a lamb, and
he spake as a dragon. … 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 means of those
miracles which he had power to do in
the sight of the beast. … And he causeth
all, both small and great, … to receive a
mark in their right hand, or in their fore-
heads” (vs. 11–16).
By putting these verses together
we discover that the second beast of
Revelation 13 is the false prophet who
also works miracles and causes all to re-
ceive the mark. Even the nature of the
miracles is detailed by John: “he maketh
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fire come down from heaven on the earth
in the sight of men” (v. 13). The descrip-
tion of this second beast establishes be-
yond question that the prophet is talk-
ing about Protestant America in its rise
to world dominance. Note the signifi-
cant reference to “coming up” as the first
beast received its deadly wound. Was the
United States rising to power in the very
year the papacy went down? Indeed, in
1798 America was first recognized as
a world power—the very year of the
papal wound.
Contrary to the first beast rising out
of the water, representing many peo-
ple, the two-horned second beast came
up out of the earth, signifying a place
of no former civilization and peoples
(Revelation 13:11).
The absence of crowns on its two
horns also indicates a peaceful democ-
racy in contrast to the crowns on the
horns of the first beast that symbolized
monarchies or dictatorships. It is also
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interesting to note, in passing, that the
miracles had to do with bringing fire
from heaven. John added that the work
of the false prophet was like frogs, going
forth to deceive.
Frogs capture their prey with their
tongues, and the false prophet bring-
ing fire down from heaven sounds
very much like a counterfeit Pentecost.
These symbols may well indicate how
pseudo-Christian concepts will form
a link between paganism and apostate
Protestantism. The false prophet, instead
of representing the United States as a po-
litical entity only, would extend to the
“image of the beast” and portray fallen,
compromised Protestantism doing the
work of the first beast, or Catholicism.
Church and State Unite
There is no question but that Satan
has woven an age-long network pat-
tern of pagan infiltration in both govern-
ment and religion. It has been done so
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cleverly, over the ages, that few recognize
how much common ground now exists
in these powerful institutions. Sunday,
the ancient day of licentious sun wor-
ship for every heathen culture, has been
so artfully sanitized that it is now the ac-
cepted substitute for the biblical seventh-
day Sabbath in both secular and reli-
gious settings. Incredibly, this has been
accomplished while both church and
state still give recognition to the moral
nature of the Ten Commandments that
declare unequivocally that “the seventh
day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God”
(Exodus 20:10).
Consider the ease with which gov-
ernment can now lend support to a rest
day which they themselves recognize by
closing up all official functions of their
own operation on Sunday. Repeatedly,
laws have been instituted and enforced to
make it a crime to violate the supposed
sanctity of a day dedicated originally to
satanic sun worship. Amazing? Indeed, it
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is the most incredible religious fraud of
the ages and one that only the prince of
evil could have perpetrated.
Then, we must marvel again at the
respectable status accorded to the New
Age movement whose tentacles have ex-
tended equally through both religious
and non-religious communities. Finally,
the devil has been able to effect a revival
of his most primitive approach to the
human race. Through a variety of mod-
ern titles and high-sounding techniques,
Satan is channeling his evil principles
directly into the minds of millions today
who cannot recognize that they are actu-
ally learning to worship Satan. All who
subscribe to the pagan concept of a natu-
rally immortal soul are vulnerable to the
New Age appeal to communicate with
these supposed “Spirit Masters.”
Charismatic worshippers who have
been conditioned by emotional and sen-
sory manifestations stand in the great-
est danger of being deceived by the New
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Age and Spiritualism appeal. Those who
trust feeling as a valid test of true reli-
gion do not easily discern counterfeit
gifts. Prophecy indicates that a counter-
feit “tongues” could be one aspect of the
three-fold preparation for the final de-
ception.
Coming back to the words of the
prophet, we now see the tri-lateral ap-
proach that Satan will make to the kings
of the earth to prepare them for their
part in Armageddon. Every effort will
be made by our great enemy to unite
secular and religious powers to de-
stroy the little remnant people which
“keep the commandments of God and
have the testimony of Jesus Christ”
(Revelation 12:17).
Satan’s wrath is especially aimed
against the law of God. He hates it be-
cause it constitutes the foundation of
God’s government. He despises the saints
who are repeatedly described in the book
of Revelation as those who “keep the
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commandments of God” (Revelation
14:12; 12:17; 22:14).
Thus far we have discovered that the
common ground of Spiritualism (im-
mortal soul), counterfeit tongues, and
New Age errors will cement an end-time
alliance between apostate Protestantism,
Catholicism, and secular governments—
an alliance which will unite them against
the unpopular minority who refuse
the mark of the beast. Under the influ-
ence of this confederation the nations of
the earth, following the example of the
United States, will be led to issue a death
decree against all who will not receive
that mark.
Counterfeit Miracles and
the Kings of the Earth
I
t is interesting, at this point, to ob-
serve how this grand objective of
unified action will be accomplished by
these diverse political and religious en-
tities. Some have held that they will be
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drawn together by economic necessity,
as related world finances experience si-
multaneous collapse. Without discount-
ing this and other possible factors, we
must recognize that the prophecy itself
plainly bears witness to the primary role
of demonic miracles as the basic bond-
ing force pulling the nations together for
the final action against God’s people and
His government. In other words, it seems
less political than it does spiritual from
the biblical viewpoint.
Right now we can only speculate
about the nature of those signs and
wonders that Satan will use to impress
the kings of the earth. With the rising
influence of Spiritualism in many reli-
gious bodies and the growing emphasis
on miracles and emotional feeling as
the criteria of truth, we can expect some
grandiose display of demonic power that
will capture the attention and interest of
every country in the world. We know
that the great deceiver will impersonate
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the coming of Jesus in some spectacular
manner, and no one should doubt that
such miraculous displays could make
intellectual believers and cooperators
out of Moslems, Hindus, Buddhists,
Communists, or any other strain of na-
tional or religious identity.
And don’t discount the providen-
tial influences that will be operating on
the other side—God’s side—to prepare
for the final events of the great contro-
versy. Even though Satan is the tempo-
rary prince of this world, God still has
oversight of the rise and fall of nations.
A divine destiny is even now influenc-
ing the political processes and pressures
in which certain relationships are being
established between countries.
The most atheistic observers have
counted the rapid fall of international
communism as an incredible develop-
ment very close to a miracle. And almost
everyone describes the lightning victory of
the allied forces over Saddam Hussein as
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an unbelievable, impossible accomplish-
ment. How could such a war be fought
with so few casualties on one side? Yet in
each of these recent cataclysmic actions—
the fall of communism and the United
States victory over Iraq—the results have
been to place America in a center-stage
position of influence over all the other na-
tions. This is exactly what is demanded by
the prophecy of Revelation 13. This coun-
try will “deceive them that dwell on the
earth … And he causeth all, both small
and great, rich and poor, free and bond,
to receive a mark in their right hand, or
in their foreheads” (Revelation 13:14–16).
Another shocking activity of the sec-
ond beast of Revelation 13 apparently is
produced after it loses its lamblike qual-
ity and begins to speak as a dragon. John
wrote, “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” (Revelation 13:12).
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As we have already discovered, the
deadly wound was given to the papacy in
1798, and it has been in the process of
healing since 1929 when the Vatican was
established as a political state once again.
According to this prophecy, the United
States will begin to exercise a similar reli-
gious intolerance as the Catholic Church
and will use her influence to cause peo-
ple allover the world to give spiritual al-
legiance to that church.
If this scenario seemed far-fetched
and unlikely at some time in the past, it
certainly is not that way today. The grow-
ing political influence of Pope John Paul II
in world affairs is a phenomenon of the
very recent past. The United States has
appointed an official representative to
the head of that church state, and some
amazing concessions have been made to
accommodate the pope in his pilgrimage
visits to this and other countries.
A very significant statement ap-
peared in the August 13, 1990, issue of
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U.S. News and World Report magazine.
“Pope John Paul II discusses world af-
fairs on the telephone with George Bush
and Mikhail Gorbachev at least once a
week, according to Professor Malachi
Martin, a Roman Catholic theologian
and Vatican insider. … Martin says
the Pope offers the President informed
analyses prepared by the Vatican’s intel-
ligence network about developments in
Eastern Europe and his personal assess-
ments of the new leaders there as well as
in the Soviet Union.”
Such an unseemly alliance between
papal churchmen and the heads of na-
tions is certainly a violation of the tra-
ditional American concept of separa-
tion of church and state. But it fits in
perfectly with the prophetic scenario of
final events. Many students of proph-
ecy found it difficult to believe that
Catholicism could ever regain her pow-
erful political clout after the “deadly
wound” experience of the eighteenth
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century. It was felt that Communist
totalitarianism would always be around
to limit the expansionistic aims of the pa-
pacy. The two giant opposing forces were
perceived as a necessary balance against
each other so that neither could gain
authoritarian superiority.
Now all that has changed. It is gen-
erally recognized that the Pope played a
significant role in the collapse of interna-
tional communism. The recent book The
Keys of This Blood, written just before the
iron curtain began its rapid dissolution,
describes the obsessive determination
of the present Pope to bring the entire
world order under the spiritual domina-
tion of the so-called Holy See of Rome.
The author describes the concentrated
focus of the papal attack on the com-
munistic system, long recognized as the
greatest obstacle to the Church’s goal.
If time allowed, we could study the
prophecy of Daniel 11 where the pre-
cise victory of the king of the North
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(Catholicism) over the king of the South
(Atheistic communism) is clearly pre-
dicted. For three tense, dramatic days in
August 1991, the world held its breath as
the Russian coup appeared to reverse the
prophetic agenda for the little time re-
maining. Now, the road seems to be wide
open for the Catholic power to fulfill its
particular role, along with the dragon
and the false prophet.
Beginning with verse 40, we read
the account of a mighty struggle tak-
ing place at the time of the end between
these two contending forces. The iden-
tity of these symbolic kings can be es-
tablished by comparing a few texts. In
Isaiah 30:6, 7 the land of Egypt is identified
as “of the south.” John the Revelator re-
fers to France’s period of atheism around
1798 as that “which spiritually is called
Sodom and Egypt” (Revelation 11:8).
Thus, we find the land of the Pharaohs
connected to atheism. Indeed, it was the
king of Egypt who made the proud boast,
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“Who is the Lord, that I should obey his
voice?” (Exodus 5:2).
As Daniel describes the continuing
conflict between the king of the north
and king of the south, we are made aware
that his symbol of Egypt has come to rep-
resent not just the arrogant spirit of that
large country south of Israel but last-day
atheism in whatever form it is manifest.
Communism is the virulent form that
atheism has assumed for the past many
years, and much of Daniel 11 is describing
the life and death clash of communism
with its great foe, the king of the north.
But who is this antagonist from the
north who finally gains the ascendancy
over the powers of atheism? Here are some
texts that show beyond question that the
primary application of this symbol was to
Babylon. “Toward the north by the river
Euphrates,” “in the north country by the
river Euphrates,” “all the families of the
north … and Nebuchadnezzar the king
of Babylon” (Jeremiah 46:6; 46:10; 25:9).
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The literal city of Babylon was built
right over the Euphrates River, but there
is another future, spiritual applica-
tion of Babylon revealed in the book of
Revelation. The very last part of Daniel
11 also deals with the symbolic king of
the north, or spiritual Babylon. Many
phrases in this chapter give positive evi-
dence that this power is the papacy. For
instance: it shall “pollute the sanctuary,”
“take away the daily sacrifice,” “magnify
himself above all,” and “corrupt with flat-
teries” (Daniel 11:31, 32).
Now consider the high drama of this
prediction in Daniel 11:40. “And at the
time of the end shall the king of the south
push at him: and the king of the north
shall come against him like a whirlwind,
… and he shall enter into the countries,
and shall overflow and pass over.”
How significant it is that Newsweek
magazine on December 25, 1989, trum-
peted the news of the fall of communism
in these words, “Days of the Whirlwind.”
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Commentary after commentary gave
credit to the Pope for bringing down
Gorbachev and the iron grip of atheism
on Eastern Europe. The prophecy said it
would be “like a whirlwind” and that is
exactly how the media reported it.
Bible students have long debated how
the whole world could be influenced to
wonder after the beast, and also how the
kings of the earth could be drawn into
that final encounter between good and
evil. Now we can see how the greatest
barrier has been removed, and the three
unclean spirits are working through the
beast, dragon, and false prophet to in-
volve every soul in that “battle of the
great day of God.”
What an age to be alive! Excitement
mounts as we ride the crest of towering
events that sweep us toward the grand cli-
max of history—the coming of Jesus. We
need to be constantly aware of the fast-
breaking signs that point to His return,
but our preparation for that moment
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in time involves more than knowledge.
Only the pure in heart will see God and
live in His presence. A total commitment
of heart, mind, and body is the greatest
need of every living soul.
While the angels of Revelation hold
the four winds of strife from blowing on
the earth, and the glory of God gathers
in the eastern skies, a final invitation is
beginning to confront every man, wom-
an, and child on this crumbling planet.
“Come out of her, my people” is the call
of the hour. God is gathering His faith-
ful ones, who love Him supremely, to
Mount Zion, the place of safety and
salvation. The three unclean spirits are
gathering the forces of apostate religion
and compromising governments to the
great day of battle. Today we stand in the valley of decision.
A Little Light Reading.
Three Unclean Spirit's
Joe Crews.
The book of Revelation is different
from any other part of the Bible. As a
prophetic history of the church of all the
ages, it is quite largely a book of quotes.
Someone has calculated that out of 404
verses, 276 are either directly quoted or
paraphrased from the Old Testament
Scriptures. It seems clearly evident that
no one can properly understand this last
book of the inspired canon unless he also
has a close familiarity with the writings
of Moses and the prophets.
This may account for the vast confu-
sion that exists today over the meaning
of John’s apocalyptic beasts and sym-
bolic horsemen. The so-called “New
By Joe Crews
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Testament” church bodies that view the
Old Testament as only fulfillments of
an antiquated past would certainly find
no relevance in the writings of John
the Revelator.
Paul wrote, “… all scripture is giv-
en by inspiration of God, and is profit-
able for doctrine, for reproof, for cor-
rection, for instruction in righteous-
ness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Since the New
Testament had not yet been written, we
can be certain that he was referring to the
Old Testament Scriptures. “For whatso-
ever things were written aforetime were
written for our learning,” Paul declared
in Romans 15:4.
These texts establish that the com-
posite prophecies of Revelation are espe-
cially applicable to our own day and were
inspired for our “doctrine,” “learning,”
and “instruction in righteousness.”
Just as the book of Genesis delineates
the beginning of the great controversy
between good and evil, the last book
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of the Bible describes the close of the
conflict. This makes it one of the most
important books in the sacred Scriptures.
It describes the kind of people God will
take to heaven and how they become
overcomers by the blood of the Lamb. It
warns, also, against the final assaults that
Satan will throw against the saints as the
battle rages to its climax. What a docu-
ment! And how the devil hates this book
that exposes his origin, devices, and
final destiny!
Can we logically expect Satan to at-
tack these prophecies which lay open his
deceptive plans and purposes? How has
he done it? By introducing futurism, the
adversary has struck a blow at the foun-
dation of prophetic understanding. The
biblical principle of historicism that es-
tablishes a “day for a year” has been re-
jected, and an unwarranted literalism has
been applied to the great lines of proph-
ecy laid out in Daniel and Revelation.
Specifically, this type of confused
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hermeneutics has been utilized in the
study of Armageddon and the king of the
north. The symbolic portrayal of those
events from the pen of the Revelator pro-
vides a key for correcting the error.
“And the sixth angel poured out his
vial upon the great river Euphrates; and
the water thereof was dried up, that the
way of the kings of the east might be
prepared. And I saw three unclean spir-
its like frogs come out of the mouth of
the dragon, and out of the mouth of the
beast, and out of the mouth of the false
prophet. For they are the spirits of dev-
ils, working miracles, which go forth
unto the kings of the earth and of the
whole world, to gather them to the bat-
tle of that great day of God Almighty.
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he
that watcheth, and keepeth his garments,
lest he walk naked, and they see his
shame. And he gathered them together
into a place called in the Hebrew tongue
Armageddon” (Revelation 16:12–16).
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Armageddon—A Spiritual Battle
This is probably the key text in the
Bible relating to the great world-end-
ing struggle between Christ and Satan.
Immediately, we can see that many sym-
bols are brought to light in these verses.
The beast, and dragon, and false prophet
are not literal at all. And what can we say
about the clothes described in verse 15?
Why would this peculiar interruption
take place in the midst of a description of
Armageddon? These clothes are the gar-
ments of salvation and refer directly to
the “fine linen” of that robe of righteous-
ness described in Revelation 19:8.
From these verses also we notice that
the coming of Jesus “as a thief ’ is related
to the drying up of the river Euphrates
and the appearing of the “kings of the
east.” And even the Battle of Armageddon
is tied to these events. Do these phrases
sound familiar? They should, because
the same language is used in Isaiah 44:27
to describe the fall of ancient Babylon.
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Cyrus actually “dried up” the Euphrates
River and thus delivered the literal Jews
from Babylonian captivity. After refer-
ring to Cyrus as “the righteous man from
the east” in Isaiah 41:2, Isaiah speaks of
him as one who would “dry up thy riv-
ers” and “open … the two leaved gates”
(Isaiah 44:27, 28; 45:1).
Historians recognize these as refer-
ences to the clever battle plan of King
Cyrus to enter the city via the water gates
through the wall, after the water had been
diverted from its channel. Since the river
flowed through the midst of Babylon,
this ruse was a perfect means of access
into the city while the drunken king par-
tied with his military leaders.
Why is Revelation predicting a future
drying up of Euphrates and an end-time
deliverance of God’s people? Hasn’t this
all been fulfilled in the days of Daniel
the prophet? It has in its primary literal
fulfillment, but John reveals that there
is a secondary, symbolic application of
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those events. In the historical account,
the literal Jews were freed from the literal
Babylonians, but the book of Revelation
pictures a spiritual Israel being saved
from spiritual Babylon. Both rescues are
made possible through the drying up of
the Euphrates River, and both are accom-
plished by kings of the east.
Here we encounter an important
principle of prophetic interpretation. The
immediate fulfillment is always literal and
local, while the future prophetic fulfill-
ment is always spiritual and worldwide.
Thus, God’s people in one instance are
the nation of Israel, and in the later case
are His faithful people of all nations and
races; in other words, two Israels—one
physical in the book of Daniel, and the
other spiritual in the book of Revelation.
Two drying ups—one literally in the past,
and one symbolically in the future.
This leads us to the conclusion that
the battle of Armageddon, as portrayed
in Revelation, is not a literal battle
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between East and West, but the spiritual
climax of the 6,000-year conflict between
Christ and Satan. Here the great adver-
sary is symbolized as making a final at-
tack against the people of God to destroy
them. Using a combination of earthly
powers he will influence world govern-
ments to unite in a program to wipe out
those who refuse to receive his mark of
authority. Those who stand loyal to God’s
law in the face of overwhelming opposi-
tion will finally be condemned to death.
This is what Armageddon is all about.
John tells us that water represents
people. “The waters which thou sawest
… are peoples, and multitudes, and na-
tions, and tongues” (Revelation 17:15).
The harlot woman who sits on the “many
waters” is identified as the apostate reli-
gious system. Drying up of the water rep-
resents the drying up of support by those
multitudes that had been deluded by the
woman and her spiritual daughters. The
Bible declares that they “shall hate the
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whore, and shall make her desolate …
and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with
fire” (Revelation 17:16). Unfortunately,
that awakening will come too late to re-
verse the fate of those who will have al-
ready been sealed in apostasy and error.
But who are the “kings of the east” in
Revelation whose coming is preceded by
these dramatic events? Whatever is sym-
bolized here must follow on the heels of
the three unclean spirits gathering the
whole world to the Battle of Armageddon.
Cyrus, king of the east, brought deliver-
ance to Israel in the Old Testament, but
who are the kings of the east in the book
of Revelation who will save spiritual Israel
from the wrath of spiritual Babylon?
The Scriptures describe only one
rescue operation from the east after that
final gathering of the nations. “For as
the lightening cometh out of the east,
and shineth even unto the west; so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be”
(Matthew 24:27). It is from that same
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direction that the sealing angel ascends
to mark the saints for their deliverance.
“And I saw another angel ascending from
the east, having the seal of the living
God” (Revelation 7:2).
The prophet Ezekiel identifies the
east as God’s special place of abode and
operation. “And, behold, the glory of the
God of Israel came from the way of the
east” (Ezekiel 43:2). These verses leave
no doubt that the kings of the east sym-
bolize the glorious intervention of Jesus
and the armies of heaven in dealing with
the warring factions of this earth. We
note once more the inspired account of
the opposing forces that will clash in this
last encounter between good and evil.
Revelation 16:12 speaks of the “kings
of the east” and verse 14 describes the
other side as “the kings of the earth.”
What a contest! The great controversy
reaches its final stages in this cosmic
involvement of every soul who lives on
planet earth.
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What circumstances lead up to the
gathering of all nations to this apocalyp-
tic Armageddon? John gives a graphic
account of it: “And I saw three unclean
spirits like frogs come out of the mouth
of the dragon, and out of the mouth of
the beast, and out of the mouth of the
false prophet. For they are the spirits
of devils, working miracles, which go
forth unto the kings of the earth and of
the whole world, to gather them to the
battle of that great day of God Almighty.
… And he gathered them together into
a place called in the Hebrew tongue
Armageddon” (Revelation 16:13–16).
Three Spirits Like Frogs
Now we are prepared to identify the
three major actors who will set the
stage for this end-time holocaust. Time
does not allow us to give the prophetic
and historical background on each of the
miracle-working trio who influence the
earthly rulers to war against God. Suffice
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it to say that all three—the beast, drag-
on, and false prophet—are portrayed as
being used by demonic power in their
gathering of nations to the battle of
Armageddon.
From the days of Martin Luther to
the present, Bible commentators have
recognized the papacy as the fulfillment
of the score of biblical tests relating to the
beast power. It was to rise among the na-
tions of Western Europe, uprooting three
tribes, speaking blasphemy, persecuting
all opponents, ruling for 1,260 years, and
finally receiving a deadly wound.
Only the papal system fulfills all of
those characteristics so clearly delin-
eated in both Daniel and Revelation.
The deadly wound was given in 1798,
at the end of an exact political reign
of 1,260 years, and the pope was taken
prisoner by French Revolutionary forc-
es dispatched by Napoleon Bonaparte.
This makes it clear that the modern pa-
pacy will indeed be one of the powerful
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catalysts that will bring on the ultimate
threat against the remnant of the seed of
the woman (Revelation 12:17).
The second force in the preparation
for Armageddon will be the dragon.
This is the symbol of satanic power in its
most virulent and confrontational form.
Certainly this would include every as-
pect of pagan worship, but specifically, it
would also relate to the more respected
elements of occultism, Spiritualism, and
New Age, which have been adopted by
many Christians today.
None can deny that churches of
various persuasions have embraced the
doctrine of the natural immortality of
the soul, the very root and foundation
of all attempts to communicate with
the dead. Such a belief opens the door
for almost every form of modern New
Age deception, including Spiritualism
and the mind sciences. Thus, a strong
sympathetic chain has been forged be-
tween Christianity and paganism. Such
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a federation will be one of the major
influences in stirring up the kings of
the earth to battle against the remnant
of the woman, and finally, against the
armies of heaven. “And the dragon was
wroth with the woman, and went to
make war with the remnant of her seed,
which keep the commandments of God,
and have the testimony of Jesus Christ”
(Revelation 12:17).
The third symbolic power that will
prepare the world for the battle of that
great day is described as the false prophet.
He, like the others, causes miracles to be
performed in order to effect a gathering
of the nations to that last battle between
Christ and Satan. Who is this false proph-
et? We find a clue in Revelation 19 that
describes the disastrous outcome of the
battle for the enemies of Christ. “And the
beast was taken, and with him the false
prophet that wrought miracles before him,
with which he deceived them that had re-
ceived the mark of the beast” (v. 20).
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This text describes how the false
prophet works miracles in relation to
those who receive the mark of the beast.
Does the Bible identify the one who car-
ries out these counterfeit miracles? In
Revelation 13 we read, “And I beheld an-
other beast coming up out of the earth;
and he had two horns like a lamb, and
he spake as a dragon. … 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 means of those
miracles which he had power to do in
the sight of the beast. … And he causeth
all, both small and great, … to receive a
mark in their right hand, or in their fore-
heads” (vs. 11–16).
By putting these verses together
we discover that the second beast of
Revelation 13 is the false prophet who
also works miracles and causes all to re-
ceive the mark. Even the nature of the
miracles is detailed by John: “he maketh
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fire come down from heaven on the earth
in the sight of men” (v. 13). The descrip-
tion of this second beast establishes be-
yond question that the prophet is talk-
ing about Protestant America in its rise
to world dominance. Note the signifi-
cant reference to “coming up” as the first
beast received its deadly wound. Was the
United States rising to power in the very
year the papacy went down? Indeed, in
1798 America was first recognized as
a world power—the very year of the
papal wound.
Contrary to the first beast rising out
of the water, representing many peo-
ple, the two-horned second beast came
up out of the earth, signifying a place
of no former civilization and peoples
(Revelation 13:11).
The absence of crowns on its two
horns also indicates a peaceful democ-
racy in contrast to the crowns on the
horns of the first beast that symbolized
monarchies or dictatorships. It is also
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interesting to note, in passing, that the
miracles had to do with bringing fire
from heaven. John added that the work
of the false prophet was like frogs, going
forth to deceive.
Frogs capture their prey with their
tongues, and the false prophet bring-
ing fire down from heaven sounds
very much like a counterfeit Pentecost.
These symbols may well indicate how
pseudo-Christian concepts will form
a link between paganism and apostate
Protestantism. The false prophet, instead
of representing the United States as a po-
litical entity only, would extend to the
“image of the beast” and portray fallen,
compromised Protestantism doing the
work of the first beast, or Catholicism.
Church and State Unite
There is no question but that Satan
has woven an age-long network pat-
tern of pagan infiltration in both govern-
ment and religion. It has been done so
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cleverly, over the ages, that few recognize
how much common ground now exists
in these powerful institutions. Sunday,
the ancient day of licentious sun wor-
ship for every heathen culture, has been
so artfully sanitized that it is now the ac-
cepted substitute for the biblical seventh-
day Sabbath in both secular and reli-
gious settings. Incredibly, this has been
accomplished while both church and
state still give recognition to the moral
nature of the Ten Commandments that
declare unequivocally that “the seventh
day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God”
(Exodus 20:10).
Consider the ease with which gov-
ernment can now lend support to a rest
day which they themselves recognize by
closing up all official functions of their
own operation on Sunday. Repeatedly,
laws have been instituted and enforced to
make it a crime to violate the supposed
sanctity of a day dedicated originally to
satanic sun worship. Amazing? Indeed, it
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is the most incredible religious fraud of
the ages and one that only the prince of
evil could have perpetrated.
Then, we must marvel again at the
respectable status accorded to the New
Age movement whose tentacles have ex-
tended equally through both religious
and non-religious communities. Finally,
the devil has been able to effect a revival
of his most primitive approach to the
human race. Through a variety of mod-
ern titles and high-sounding techniques,
Satan is channeling his evil principles
directly into the minds of millions today
who cannot recognize that they are actu-
ally learning to worship Satan. All who
subscribe to the pagan concept of a natu-
rally immortal soul are vulnerable to the
New Age appeal to communicate with
these supposed “Spirit Masters.”
Charismatic worshippers who have
been conditioned by emotional and sen-
sory manifestations stand in the great-
est danger of being deceived by the New
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Age and Spiritualism appeal. Those who
trust feeling as a valid test of true reli-
gion do not easily discern counterfeit
gifts. Prophecy indicates that a counter-
feit “tongues” could be one aspect of the
three-fold preparation for the final de-
ception.
Coming back to the words of the
prophet, we now see the tri-lateral ap-
proach that Satan will make to the kings
of the earth to prepare them for their
part in Armageddon. Every effort will
be made by our great enemy to unite
secular and religious powers to de-
stroy the little remnant people which
“keep the commandments of God and
have the testimony of Jesus Christ”
(Revelation 12:17).
Satan’s wrath is especially aimed
against the law of God. He hates it be-
cause it constitutes the foundation of
God’s government. He despises the saints
who are repeatedly described in the book
of Revelation as those who “keep the
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commandments of God” (Revelation
14:12; 12:17; 22:14).
Thus far we have discovered that the
common ground of Spiritualism (im-
mortal soul), counterfeit tongues, and
New Age errors will cement an end-time
alliance between apostate Protestantism,
Catholicism, and secular governments—
an alliance which will unite them against
the unpopular minority who refuse
the mark of the beast. Under the influ-
ence of this confederation the nations of
the earth, following the example of the
United States, will be led to issue a death
decree against all who will not receive
that mark.
Counterfeit Miracles and
the Kings of the Earth
I
t is interesting, at this point, to ob-
serve how this grand objective of
unified action will be accomplished by
these diverse political and religious en-
tities. Some have held that they will be
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drawn together by economic necessity,
as related world finances experience si-
multaneous collapse. Without discount-
ing this and other possible factors, we
must recognize that the prophecy itself
plainly bears witness to the primary role
of demonic miracles as the basic bond-
ing force pulling the nations together for
the final action against God’s people and
His government. In other words, it seems
less political than it does spiritual from
the biblical viewpoint.
Right now we can only speculate
about the nature of those signs and
wonders that Satan will use to impress
the kings of the earth. With the rising
influence of Spiritualism in many reli-
gious bodies and the growing emphasis
on miracles and emotional feeling as
the criteria of truth, we can expect some
grandiose display of demonic power that
will capture the attention and interest of
every country in the world. We know
that the great deceiver will impersonate
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the coming of Jesus in some spectacular
manner, and no one should doubt that
such miraculous displays could make
intellectual believers and cooperators
out of Moslems, Hindus, Buddhists,
Communists, or any other strain of na-
tional or religious identity.
And don’t discount the providen-
tial influences that will be operating on
the other side—God’s side—to prepare
for the final events of the great contro-
versy. Even though Satan is the tempo-
rary prince of this world, God still has
oversight of the rise and fall of nations.
A divine destiny is even now influenc-
ing the political processes and pressures
in which certain relationships are being
established between countries.
The most atheistic observers have
counted the rapid fall of international
communism as an incredible develop-
ment very close to a miracle. And almost
everyone describes the lightning victory of
the allied forces over Saddam Hussein as
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an unbelievable, impossible accomplish-
ment. How could such a war be fought
with so few casualties on one side? Yet in
each of these recent cataclysmic actions—
the fall of communism and the United
States victory over Iraq—the results have
been to place America in a center-stage
position of influence over all the other na-
tions. This is exactly what is demanded by
the prophecy of Revelation 13. This coun-
try will “deceive them that dwell on the
earth … And he causeth all, both small
and great, rich and poor, free and bond,
to receive a mark in their right hand, or
in their foreheads” (Revelation 13:14–16).
Another shocking activity of the sec-
ond beast of Revelation 13 apparently is
produced after it loses its lamblike qual-
ity and begins to speak as a dragon. John
wrote, “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” (Revelation 13:12).
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As we have already discovered, the
deadly wound was given to the papacy in
1798, and it has been in the process of
healing since 1929 when the Vatican was
established as a political state once again.
According to this prophecy, the United
States will begin to exercise a similar reli-
gious intolerance as the Catholic Church
and will use her influence to cause peo-
ple allover the world to give spiritual al-
legiance to that church.
If this scenario seemed far-fetched
and unlikely at some time in the past, it
certainly is not that way today. The grow-
ing political influence of Pope John Paul II
in world affairs is a phenomenon of the
very recent past. The United States has
appointed an official representative to
the head of that church state, and some
amazing concessions have been made to
accommodate the pope in his pilgrimage
visits to this and other countries.
A very significant statement ap-
peared in the August 13, 1990, issue of
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U.S. News and World Report magazine.
“Pope John Paul II discusses world af-
fairs on the telephone with George Bush
and Mikhail Gorbachev at least once a
week, according to Professor Malachi
Martin, a Roman Catholic theologian
and Vatican insider. … Martin says
the Pope offers the President informed
analyses prepared by the Vatican’s intel-
ligence network about developments in
Eastern Europe and his personal assess-
ments of the new leaders there as well as
in the Soviet Union.”
Such an unseemly alliance between
papal churchmen and the heads of na-
tions is certainly a violation of the tra-
ditional American concept of separa-
tion of church and state. But it fits in
perfectly with the prophetic scenario of
final events. Many students of proph-
ecy found it difficult to believe that
Catholicism could ever regain her pow-
erful political clout after the “deadly
wound” experience of the eighteenth
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century. It was felt that Communist
totalitarianism would always be around
to limit the expansionistic aims of the pa-
pacy. The two giant opposing forces were
perceived as a necessary balance against
each other so that neither could gain
authoritarian superiority.
Now all that has changed. It is gen-
erally recognized that the Pope played a
significant role in the collapse of interna-
tional communism. The recent book The
Keys of This Blood, written just before the
iron curtain began its rapid dissolution,
describes the obsessive determination
of the present Pope to bring the entire
world order under the spiritual domina-
tion of the so-called Holy See of Rome.
The author describes the concentrated
focus of the papal attack on the com-
munistic system, long recognized as the
greatest obstacle to the Church’s goal.
If time allowed, we could study the
prophecy of Daniel 11 where the pre-
cise victory of the king of the North
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(Catholicism) over the king of the South
(Atheistic communism) is clearly pre-
dicted. For three tense, dramatic days in
August 1991, the world held its breath as
the Russian coup appeared to reverse the
prophetic agenda for the little time re-
maining. Now, the road seems to be wide
open for the Catholic power to fulfill its
particular role, along with the dragon
and the false prophet.
Beginning with verse 40, we read
the account of a mighty struggle tak-
ing place at the time of the end between
these two contending forces. The iden-
tity of these symbolic kings can be es-
tablished by comparing a few texts. In
Isaiah 30:6, 7 the land of Egypt is identified
as “of the south.” John the Revelator re-
fers to France’s period of atheism around
1798 as that “which spiritually is called
Sodom and Egypt” (Revelation 11:8).
Thus, we find the land of the Pharaohs
connected to atheism. Indeed, it was the
king of Egypt who made the proud boast,
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“Who is the Lord, that I should obey his
voice?” (Exodus 5:2).
As Daniel describes the continuing
conflict between the king of the north
and king of the south, we are made aware
that his symbol of Egypt has come to rep-
resent not just the arrogant spirit of that
large country south of Israel but last-day
atheism in whatever form it is manifest.
Communism is the virulent form that
atheism has assumed for the past many
years, and much of Daniel 11 is describing
the life and death clash of communism
with its great foe, the king of the north.
But who is this antagonist from the
north who finally gains the ascendancy
over the powers of atheism? Here are some
texts that show beyond question that the
primary application of this symbol was to
Babylon. “Toward the north by the river
Euphrates,” “in the north country by the
river Euphrates,” “all the families of the
north … and Nebuchadnezzar the king
of Babylon” (Jeremiah 46:6; 46:10; 25:9).
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The literal city of Babylon was built
right over the Euphrates River, but there
is another future, spiritual applica-
tion of Babylon revealed in the book of
Revelation. The very last part of Daniel
11 also deals with the symbolic king of
the north, or spiritual Babylon. Many
phrases in this chapter give positive evi-
dence that this power is the papacy. For
instance: it shall “pollute the sanctuary,”
“take away the daily sacrifice,” “magnify
himself above all,” and “corrupt with flat-
teries” (Daniel 11:31, 32).
Now consider the high drama of this
prediction in Daniel 11:40. “And at the
time of the end shall the king of the south
push at him: and the king of the north
shall come against him like a whirlwind,
… and he shall enter into the countries,
and shall overflow and pass over.”
How significant it is that Newsweek
magazine on December 25, 1989, trum-
peted the news of the fall of communism
in these words, “Days of the Whirlwind.”
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Commentary after commentary gave
credit to the Pope for bringing down
Gorbachev and the iron grip of atheism
on Eastern Europe. The prophecy said it
would be “like a whirlwind” and that is
exactly how the media reported it.
Bible students have long debated how
the whole world could be influenced to
wonder after the beast, and also how the
kings of the earth could be drawn into
that final encounter between good and
evil. Now we can see how the greatest
barrier has been removed, and the three
unclean spirits are working through the
beast, dragon, and false prophet to in-
volve every soul in that “battle of the
great day of God.”
What an age to be alive! Excitement
mounts as we ride the crest of towering
events that sweep us toward the grand cli-
max of history—the coming of Jesus. We
need to be constantly aware of the fast-
breaking signs that point to His return,
but our preparation for that moment
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in time involves more than knowledge.
Only the pure in heart will see God and
live in His presence. A total commitment
of heart, mind, and body is the greatest
need of every living soul.
While the angels of Revelation hold
the four winds of strife from blowing on
the earth, and the glory of God gathers
in the eastern skies, a final invitation is
beginning to confront every man, wom-
an, and child on this crumbling planet.
“Come out of her, my people” is the call
of the hour. God is gathering His faith-
ful ones, who love Him supremely, to
Mount Zion, the place of safety and
salvation. The three unclean spirits are
gathering the forces of apostate religion
and compromising governments to the
great day of battle. Today we stand in the valley of decision.
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