BABYLON THE GREAT (Part 8)
THE IMAGE OF THE WILD BEAST AND ITS NUMBER 666
“This is where it calls for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is a man’s number, and its number is 666 (Revelation 13:18)
This biblical examination is based on the link between the mention of the number 666, inscribed on the image of the beast mentioned in Revelation 13:14–18 and the fall of Babylon the Great which is the beginning of the process of the international destruction which will conclude with the great tribulation: “Another, a second angel, followed, saying: “She has fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen, she who made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality!”” (Revelation 14: 8). It is a biblical demonstration of this link, between the number 666 and the fall of Babylon the Great and compared to contemporary historical facts. They will explain the role of the United Nations resolution, Number 666, in the series of other Resolutions, at the time of the first Gulf War, and shortly before the destruction of Iraq, the former cradle of Babylon, in the south of Baghdad, the capital.
For this it is necessary to see how the biblical book of Revelation is structured, in a very simple and concise way to facilitate the understanding as well as possible. The Revelation has four main parts:
1 — The introduction (Revelation 1 to 5): The presentation of the symbolic framework of the narrative of the various prophetic enigmas: the Glorified King Jesus Christ, in the Holy of the spiritual temple sanctuary (Revelation 1–3). The description of the Glory of the Presence of Jehovah God in the Most Holy of the spiritual temple sanctuary (Revelation 4 and 5).
2 — The opening of the seven seals (Revelation 6 to 22): These seven seals represent plagues and the execution of the judgments of God and as well as the destruction of the works of Satan and his system of things which caused the suffering of all humanity for thousands of years. Those who survive this destruction will have everlasting blessings of God (Revelation 7 and 20–22). The opening of the seventh seal is a narrative that has two main parts that make up the third and fourth part of the Revelation (Revelation 8–22).
3 — The plagues (against Satan’s system) of the seven trumpets (Revelation 8: 6 in chapter 15). These plagues only reach the “third” part of the whole human system of things.
4 — The plagues (against Satan’s system) of the seven bowls (Revelation 16: 1 in chapter 22). These plagues are in fact three times more powerful than those of the seven trumpets because they reach the whole human system of things.
A careful reading of this biblical text of the seven trumpets and the seven bowls, allows us to understand that they correspond without being identical. Their respective juxtaposition allows a better understanding of the prophetic enigmas. Let us take a few examples:
The first trumpet: “The first one blew his trumpet. And there was hail and fire mingled with blood, and it was hurled to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green vegetation was burned up” (Revelation 8:7).
The first bowl: “The first one went off and poured out his bowl on the earth. And a hurtful and malignant ulcer afflicted the people who had the mark of the wild beast and who were worshiping its image” (Revelation 16:2).
At first sight, the two narratives are completely different. Nevertheless, they have a common point, the two plagues attack the planet “earth”. The first plague of trumpets, attacks what constitutes the source of sustenance as food for humanity, the earth that is burned, the trees and the vegetation. The first plague of bowls, attacks the health of humanity. If we juxtapose the two descriptions of plagues, we have a complete framework. The plagues of the bowls not only multiplies by three, but also increases the severity of the plagues of trumpets. The differences in narrative should be seen as additional information that provides a more complete descriptive framework.
The second plague (trumpet and bowl) attacks the sea, the third plague against the fresh water used to be drunk by the humanity, the fourth plague is against the heavenly source of light for humanity, the sun, the moon and the stars and so on. Clearly, these seven plagues (of trumpets and bowls), although sometimes very different, they correspond by their complementary.
On the basis of this biblical observation, we will take a special attention to the narrative of the seventh trumpet and the seventh bowl. The two plagues inform about the kingship of Christ, the persecution of the holy ones, the fall of Babylon the Great, the marriage of the lamb and the great tribulation. The seventh trumpet plague description has the particularity of repeating a prophetic event twice, in a different way (like the seven trumpets and the seven bowls). Take for example the circumstances of the heavenly enthronement of Christ in Revelation 12:1–6 and 12:7–12: (to be continued)…
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