The 7-year period and our Rapture / the White Horse before and after the Antichrist

Committed to be equipped with the knowledge of God's Truth by the Spirit of Prophecy. Learn how to abandon erroneous doctrines in our days.

Our ministry is to fulfill the Feast of Trumpets, Be the watchmen sharing the Truth to fellow-believers

TOPIC:

The Order of Times and fulfillment of the Feasts The 7-year period and our Rapture the White Horse before and after the Antichrist Read: Dan 9:26,27, Dan 11:31 - 45, Dan 12:1-13, Rev 6, 13, 14, 17, Isa 18, 30 Hab 2:2,3 Excerpts from my book IRAQ Prophecy “Parable” Revelation

from page 139 PART 3

GOD PROCEEDING TO RESTORATION

THE KING’S COMEBACK

We are following the continuation from PART 2, GOD’S REPRESENTATIVE

RETREATS, on page 102, to connect at the point when the retreat comes to an

end. The decision was made for God’s representative to return and take back

his throne. On this highly important, sensitive and intimate venture of God

He formed an elaborate scenario for His great personal story as becoming

Christ our Savior, but also extended it as presenting another remote event, a

parable and a story filled with relevant metaphors in our days, the story in Iraq.

We will focus on the actions of God’s representative who is coming to

perform restoration and execute judgment. But searching back as far as we can

go to the beginning, we find that Adam was the original representative on earth.

He was the king who had to step aside and left his assigned post to another.

Once upon a time Adam was given the rod of authority (the ruling power)

over the earth. He was the leader, being the first in many aspects, and was the

one who carried in his loins the summation of humankind. Because he fell,

and sin entered into the world, God cursed the earth and from a creation

of “good” He let it be “evil,” meaning that a pure culture of society made an

alliance with its opposite party and became a world of babbling or Babylon.

God permitted things to follow this course because He in His foreknowledge

saw that His end purposes will supersede the works of the adversary (Heb.

saw-tawn’ means accuser, opponent, adversary, attacker). After Adam ate the

fruit of knowledge, God proceeded along with Adam’s choice, which allowed

the knowledge of evil in our lives, and thus He constantly maintains His Plan.

Adam’s disobedience to the commandment of God cost him his ruling

power. Adam, by his choice to obey the lies spoken by the serpent, lost his

rod of authority. As a result, one vast, substantial power over humanity on

John P. Voulgaris

140

earth was taken away by Satan. It does not mean that God lost His ultimate

authority, which He as Most High God, Creator and Eternal Judge always

has, but what technically happened is that Adam, God’s representative, made

a treaty with the enemy. The enemy disguised himself as a friend when he

suggested first to Eve his evil ideas, which she passed on to Adam –and from

Adam the same wrong thinking infiltrated the whole world. Then by his

deception the enemy of humanity found his way to usurp (to seize without

right) the royal title over the world. Consequently, under the control of

Satan, sin became rampant in the earth, and when sin reaches the point of

being uncontrollable the world is similar to Babylon. Thus, Satan carries this

world’s title “the king of Babylon.”

Babylon was named after the city of Babel, which carries the old symbol

of such depravity, although it is not in its infamous acts very different from

Egypt, Sodom, Gomorrah, Assyria and other regimes which came long after

the Tower of Babel incident. The rest of the governments which had reached

the pinnacle of world attention and drew the spotlight above in the chapter

GOD’S WILL AND WORLD GOVERNMENTS, on page 109, were carrying

the same repression, arrogance and malice. In each of these governments

Satan in hidden ways was radically (thoroughly, drastically) involved, too, as

explained on page 107 – the red dragon (Satan) having seven heads (seven

kings) – with his purposes to use these governments and take extensive

control over the earth. That is the reason Rev. 12:3 includes only seven heads

for seven kings in the sign shown in heaven. Their pride was far gone, to the

level of taking the place of God, because of their acquisition, possession,

and control of the whole then-known world. Only seven of them –which

are listed in the visible (historical, earthly) view on page 111 - reached the

plateau of governing the whole earth and taking the supreme position which

belongs to God. That is an abomination in the eyes of God and it kindles His

wrath. We are going to see a world government emerge once again and for

the last time in the near future as the signs and events show we are moving

in that direction.

God withholds judgment over the evil committed and postpones

punishment to allow extra time for His chosen whom He intends to save,

teach, and discipline. The central part of His plan was allotted for the sake of

them in His intimate family who through tests will endure the troublesome

circumstances brought about by the devil, God’s chosen are acutely experiencing

the evil which God had envisioned by planting “the tree of knowledge of

IRAQ Prophecy “Parable” Revelation

141

good and evil,” and that is becoming profitable to know and hate sin forever

in their future.

God’s purpose was to prove that the new leader who seized the earthly

control from Adam will blatantly leave everyone disappointed. In the duration

of his reign this sly leader will make his hidden personality known and expose

his wickedness. By these things God’s special people will acquire the wisdom

that is resultant from a watershed experience. They will come to realize that

evil will not only deteriorate God’s beautiful creation and not only let them

personally down; evil will lead them to eternal death.

With this increasing experience in the lives of God’s people, they will

gain the advantage to discern and to avoid the deception of any sinful thing,

especially the deception sprung from a wicked leader. Of course, it would be

quite a hard lesson for many to absorb, to learn what evil is, by going through

severe harassment which has caused them extensive suffering.

That knowledge of evil at its utmost was extremely portrayed like a

parable in the thirty-five years (1968-2003) of Saddam’s oppression over Iraq.

As the story now continues, the parable also illustrates the just punishment

which was long overdue and finally had to come as a catapult for this evil king.

a. The historical (visible, earthly) view of the war,

In the light of the Scriptures we will understand much more than

the news media can give us about the U.S. army’s invasion in the city

of Baghdad. There are other hidden mysteries to learn besides striking

Saddam’s palaces, ousting the regime, engaging in a skirmish style of

fighting against the opposition of the insurgents, etc. God in the texts of

His prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah tells us of His decision to attack and

take this evil dictator off the throne who is “the king of Babylon,” and

stop his brutal regime which was imposed over the land as a totalitarian

Babylonian system, which is “the daughter of Babylon.” It was in God’s

projected time for this judgment to occur in the country of Iraq.

But was this illustration intended just for this event in Iraq?

No. God has more reasons for defeating this enemy, more prospects

for dissolving this Babylon, and more parabolic connotations to offer

in the depths of His story. These will be opened to us while our story

is expounded as a parable.

John P. Voulgaris

142

b. The invisible (heavenly, spiritual) view of the war.

God gives us a recapitulation of His overall Plan in many facets:

i. this war is the first in a series of events, because other significant

fulfillments of prophecy will follow right after this until the end,

ii. it is a definite sign leading to the Judgment of the world, the Second

Coming of the Lord and His Final Judgment,

iii. the deposition of the evil leader over Iraq, which was prophesied as

“the king of Babylon,” gives us a foretaste for the overall deposition of

“the leader over the earth,”

iv. it points to the victory of Jesus Christ (2,000 years ago) Who acquired the

legal right to reclaim the authority of man which Adam had once lost,

v. it promotes the Great Commission, which is assigned to believers for

world evangelism,

vi. it explains the victory of one by his personal salvation,

vii. it extends to personal spiritual warfare,

viii. it introduces Babylon the Great, and those days become the turning

point leading to

ix. the Great Day of the Lord’s Parousia followed with His Second Coming.

STARTING AT THE INTRODUCTION OF THE PROPHECY

Isaiah.13: (v. 1)

“The oracle of Babylon the oracle in Heb. mas-saw’ a noun - it means revelation

to be lifted up, or burden to lift (chiefly a doomed one), or important

warning of elevated priority; it derives from the verb nas-saw’, to lift, to

receive, to take (carry) away. As verb is found in Psalms 4:7, “lift up on us

the light of Your face, O Lord” and here in Isaiah 13:2, “lift up a banner”

IRAQ Prophecy “Parable” Revelation

143

the oracle comes out to mean: by the Lord’s light an important warning

was lifted up as Sign of God on Babylon, concerning Babylon, it is the

oldest city stated in the Bible found in Gen.10.10, “And was the beginning

of Babel, the kingdom of (Nimrod (the grandson of Noah’s son Ham).”

Probably Nimrod named it Bab-El to mean the Gate of God, but its meaning

given by God in the Scriptures is ‘confusion’ from the verb baw-lal’, to

overflow, mingle, mix, confound, like ‘babble.’ The city of Babel became

known later by its Greek format name, Babylon (Gk. Βαβυλών). God in

His wrath is hammering Babylon in four areas: a) at the king of Babylon

in his arrogant ways of governing people and for posing as God, which

also makes him the personification of evil, b) at the regime of Babylon

whose mentality is in sync with the king (like a daughter of Babylon)

sharing the oppressive measures over the people in order to keep the

privileges of leadership, and c) at the city of Babylon, as a religious and

political system, which is exploring its power and control over the rest

of the world, and d) at the land of the Chaldeans or at the kingdom of

Babylon, as people in the land come under the bondage of evil spirits

and live not only in sin, but in lust, corruption and occult influences.

Upon these four areas and types of evil God repeatedly strikes Babylon

in His Word, using Babylon as symbol of the most acute rebellion and

arrogance against Him.

The source that produced such a Babylonian spirit is the cherub with

its sin of pride. The Scriptures, which explain how and why he has fallen

(and his name now is Satan) are in previous chapter CONSPIRACY IS

UNDERWAY Ezekiel 28:12-15 in page 50. A man under that Babylonian

spirit’s influence becomes insensitive to others, selfish, haughty and acts

in evil ways, making self an idol to be worshipped as God. He can use

every ruthless method in his effort to possess even more power over all the

earth, like taking the position of God. Below in Jeremiah 50:42, “I come

against you, O daughter of Babylon,” God targeted the recent dictatorial

governing system in Iraq, as it was prophesied to reappear as daughter

in the same area of Babylon, in Iraq, and in the evil manner that fits the

aspirations of Satan.

which Isaiah, the son of Amoz saw: Isaiah, the great prophet lived from 740

to 696 B.C and served mightily in spiritualizing the kingdom of Judah.

Then the Jewish nation was divided in two: 1) the Northern kingdom

John P. Voulgaris

144

called Israel, and 2) the Southern kingdom called Judah. Both kingdoms

are referenced below in Jeremiah 51:5, Israel and Judah.

saw; as “Isaiah saw” this prophecy in a vision, it is quoted word by word, but

if not as precisely as it is by the Holy Spirit in the original text in Hebrew,

herein a careful translation in English can tell us more about this story.

Now He proceeds to the invasion He declared to His designated

(holy, sanctified) ones who will follow His orders in the following course

from A. THE CALL OF GOD to F. GOD’S PLEDGE FOR TOTAL

RESTORATION.

A. THE CALL OF GOD

Isaiah 13:2,

Lift ye up a banner It is God’s order to raise a flag that will draw all whom He

calls to gather together. It identifies a call on people and armed forces

for a unifying rally for the execution of a phase of God’s Designed Project

(His predetermination), while it animates His purpose and strengthens

men’s spirits for the action.

This banner, besides representing the call of God, is also an ensign

that stands as a meaningful symbol, a Prophetic Sign that should alert

God’s people about His timetable of events.

on the bare top - they are to lift a banner on the mountaintop, one that is bare,

without any trees as there will be no obstruction of vision. God wants all

to see, all people of the whole earth must see the banner. It is figurative

speech for the wide visibility that should be given for the rallying of this

war. Also, there will be high priority. All in the news media, prime-time

television, front pages etc., will play a role in showing this preordained

event for all to see in the whole earth.

Moreover, trees are symbolic of authorities, especially while being

high on a mountaintop, as a tree in natural life functions like man. This

can give us an additional meaning, in which high authorities (as trees

in the world) will be cut down while God takes over and conducts His

Project as He is above all and everything is under His control.

of the mountain, - almost without exception in scriptural speech mountain

means nation. And, to lift a banner on it means God assigns His call to

this mountain, to the nation in singular, which has a high position among

other nations. In our days the top nation is the United States of America.

IRAQ Prophecy “Parable” Revelation

145

Obviously so, according to this prophecy, it is God, Who placed the

call for the war directly to one nation, the U.S., the nation which had a

dutiful army capable to do the Lord’s job. The United Kingdom and other

nations also followed.

raise the voice - God commands someone to speak for Him, and to state loud

and clear what the will of God is in this case. And President George W.

Bush as Commander in Chief had to declare to the United Nations

and to the world that the war was imminent.

unto them, - them refers to those in next verses of Isaiah 13: v.3) My designated,

My mighty ones, them they rejoice in Me, and Isaiah 13: v.4) a multitude,

the nations gathered.

This is connected and confirmed by Jeremiah’s prophecy in

Jeremiah 50:41,

“Behold, - Behold means look at this, I am showing something, Almost

without exception in prophetic exposition this command precedes

a change in scene. Jeremiah 50 v. 41 as The Call of God starts at this

point to show like Isaiah’s “Lift ye up a banner” the same picture in

our text which comprises a total of 19 verses.

a people shall come - people as a congregated unit, grouped, e.g., in Joshua

4:2, “...Men, out of the people, out of every tribe.”

from the North - North is the direction of God as it will be thoroughly

explained below.

shake the hand - to wave the hand is a signal to proceed with no further delay.

Wave the hand besides the announcing of this call and having stirred the

attention- to wave the hand is a motion of urgency and need for this phase

to take place as it is predetermined that they may enter.

that they may enter – that they may go, that they may enter. “They” refers again

to the same in Isaiah 13: v.3) as unto them. God calls them: My designated,

My mighty ones, them they rejoice in Me, and in v.4) a multitude, the

nations gathered. It means the invasion in Iraq. Everyone in the troops

which were sent there must know that it was the will of God and they

are serving not only their country; they serve God Almighty without

knowing it, invisibly.

into the gates of nobles - gates are exclusive, executive, an upper class of places,

administrative offices, government buildings, king’s palaces, etc. Nobles are

the elite, executives, officials, as here they mean Saddam Hussein and his

administration in Iraq. To them President George W. Bush, as Commander

John P. Voulgaris

146

in Chief, had to give an ultimatum to resign and relinquish the throne, or

be attacked. This phrase points to the specific predetermination of God

Who purposed to take down the dictator and his regime.

Here the text word nobles (of the high society, the elite) connotes

tyrants, persons animated by ambition for highest social standing, a meaning

coming from the original word for noble, Heb. naw-deeb’ as it derives

from naw-dab’, which means “to impel.” Consequently, noble is one who

“is impelled.” urged to go forward and up in his drive as self-promoted, as

one who becomes a self-appointed and self-imposed dictator. That points

to Saddam Hussein, and to his sons, as self-appointed, and to his top

officials whom they appointed and were not elected by the people. These

all are also referred to in Jer. 50:43, as they were attacked in the dwelling

place of the strong (of the ruler). So, according to this prophecy as well

as by what is known of this event, the invasion was not against Iraq as a

country, but against the nobles, the regime of tyrants against those who

were presiding under a self-promoted dictator.: