On September 11, 2001, as scenes of the collapsing towers of the World Trade Center were replayed to us nonstop through the news media, it was as if the whole world paused just long enough to let out a collective gasp of horror. For a short time afterwards, as financial markets convulsed, it seemed as if the very future of the United States was in question. While the dust has long since settled and the nation has gone back to business as usual, the security that Americans knew before 9-11 is gone. In its stead: a lingering realization as to just how vulnerable and fragile the leading nation of the world really is.
For those of us interested in the outworking of Bible prophecy, the tragic events of 9-11 should now motivate us to question some of our long-held assumptions about when and how certain prophecies regarding the Anglo-American king are fulfilled. Without a doubt, the Watchtower has provided us with some very valuable insights into prophecy-- but prophecy is not like doctrine. We cannot always speak in such absolute terms regarding prophecy as we can with basic Bible teachings, which do not share the same reliance upon matching an interpretation with events that may not even have occurred yet.
Take, for example, Revelation 13:3, which reads: "And I saw one of its heads as though slaughtered to death, but its death-stroke got healed, and all the earth followed the wild beast with admiration."
The Watchtower's interpretation of that verse identifies the slaughtered head as the Anglo-American dual world power. This seems to be reasonable, especially in view of what the angel told John at Revelation 17:10. It reads: "There are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet arrived, but when he does he must remain a short while."
The five kings that had fallen before the 1st century are those kings mentioned in the Bible that have dominated God's people in the past, namely: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. The one that "is" was the Roman king that was ruling when the Revelation was given to John. This "religious" Roman king held domination by means of the Roman Catholic Church far beyond the time that historians mark as the fall of the formal Roman Empire. Finally, as a former Roman colony, the British Empire continued in the place of the Roman king up to the 20th century. The king that had "not yet arrived" (from John's contemporary perspective) has proven to be the Anglo-American king.
But, the question we might consider is whether the prophecy has yet been fulfilled that calls for one of the heads of the wild beast to receive a mortal wound and then to revive? In the Revelation book (published in 1988), the Watchtower has presented a fairly convincing case that the prophecy was fulfilled back during the First World War. But, is that true? Is it in accord with the facts of history? Moreover, is it in harmony with prophecy?
According to the Watchtower's commentary, the First World War was so devastating to the entire political system--with its appalling loss of life and resources--that it was as if the whole order came to an end… and then later came back to life again. Without a doubt, WWI was a colossal disaster for the nations of Europe. But, was it the actual fulfillment of the prophecy in question? If so, then we must ask why the even more destructive Second World War was not more especially the fulfillment of the prophecy that calls for the leading world power of Satan's political beast to suffer a catastrophic death-like experience.
As far as the United States' involvement in the war, WWI was not nearly as costly as the American Civil War and the Second World War. In terms of casualties, the United States lost about as many men during the First World War as were killed during the Vietnam War. [LINK]
One of the problems we face in regards to our present interpretation is the fact that the Anglo-American dual world alliance was apparently not even forged until some time late in the war. At the beginning of the war, America was neutral. But, when the British ocean liner, Lusitania, was sunk by a German U-boat in 1915-- killing 120 American passengers--public opinion began to turn until the United States finally entered the war on the side of Great Britain and France in 1917. [LINK}
The question is: How likely is it that God's Word would depict the Anglo-American king as being killed with a sword stroke at the very time when the alliance was first being formed? That doesn't seem reasonable. Furthermore, the actual governments of Great Britain and the United States were nowhere near being staggered or toppled during the First World War. There simply was no political instability in either London or Washington during or even after the First World War. As a matter of fact, the only European government that received anything remotely analogous to a death-stroke, was Tsarist Russia, which, of course, was overthrown during the Bolshevik revolution of 1917.
Since the Second World War was many times more destructive than the first one, we cannot point to the mere destructiveness of the Great War of 1914 as being the unique circumstances that would mark the fulfillment of such an extraordinary prophecy. It would appear, in fact, that the Anglo-American victors were in no way weakened by the Great War, but were instead strengthened both politically and militarily. And since we cannot point to any historical occurrence during either World War of the 20th Century whereby the Anglo-American ruling power was brought low, we must conclude that the prophecy has not been fulfilled yet.
The apostle Peter wrote: "For you know this first, that no prophecy of scripture springs from any private interpretation." That means that, when we try to interpret prophecy, what we should bear in mind first and foremost is that prophecy originates in the mind of Jehovah God. That being the case, there is only one correct interpretation that will satisfy the exactness of God's Word.
Because all the prophecies of the Bible are interrelated, the task of any would-be-interpreter is to attempt to discover patterns in the overlay of related prophecy. Putting the pieces of prophecy together to see "the big picture" that Jehovah is offering might be likened to working a complex jigsaw puzzle. As with such picture puzzles, it might initially seem as if all the pieces are in their right place; but as the puzzle progressively develops into its whole, it becomes obvious when some pieces are "ill-fitted" and the picture is askew.
That is the case when it comes to our interpretation of prophecy. Years ago, it may have seemed like the prophecies were properly interpreted. But as the First World War recedes further and further into the past, a closer examination should now cause it to be apparent that some of the pieces just don't fit right. By illustration: It is as futile to dogmatically insist that something is true when it is not as it is to cram an ill-fitting piece of a puzzle into a place where it doesn't belong. To force God's Word to mean something that it doesn't is to do violence to it, and the end result is that we are prevented from seeing the big picture in nothing but a skewed condition.
One example of how we have jammed the wrong piece into our prophetic puzzle is the Watchtower's interpretation of Revelation 11:7, which reads: "And when they have finished their witnessing, the wild beast that ascends out of the abyss will make war with them and conquer them and kill them."
According to the Watchtower's explanation, the beast that ascends out of the abyss is Satan's entire political system that came back to life after it was supposedly put into a death-like state as a result of the devastation wrought by the Great War of 1914. Elsewhere, Revelation 17:8 also speaks about a beast that ascends out of an abyss. It reads: "The wild beast that you saw was, but is not, and yet is about to ascend out of the abyss, and it is to go off into destruction."
However, the prophecy found in the 17th chapter of Revelation is interpreted to be the League of Nations that went into a death-like state during WWII--only to, after the war, come back to life in the form of the United Nations. So, at two separate locations in Revelation, God's word speaks of a "wild beast" that ascends out of an abyss. The problem is that the Watchtower has attached two totally different identities to each beast that comes out of the abyss. Yet how reasonable is it that God intended these beasts to symbolize two-separate entities that are put into a death-like state on two different occasions? Is it not a case where we are offering a private interpretation of prophecy, in violation of the natural harmony that exists in God's prophetic word? Surely that is the case! The question is: How can we resolve this discrepancy and allow God's Word to interpret itself for us? We may do so only by seeking to harmonize the Bible's many prophecies with each other, and also by making sure that our understanding of prophecy is in agreement with history and reality, as we know it.
First, let us be reminded that Revelation is the revealing of events that transpire during a period of time known as "the Lord's day." John wrote at Revelation 1:10: "By inspiration I came to be in the Lord's day..." What exactly is "the Lord's day?"
"The Lord's day" is Judgment Day, when Christ Jesus is given complete power as the King and Judge of the world and commences judging nations and peoples.
Has "the Lord's day" begun? Or, put another way: Has the ultimate day of God's judgment arrived? To answer that question, let us consider what the apostle Paul has to say concerning the Lord's day. At 1st Corinthians 1:7-9, Paul wrote: "While you are eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also make you firm to the end, that you may be open to no accusation in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into a sharing with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord."
The inspired apostle connected the Lord's day with the actual day of God's judgment that immediately precedes the end of the world. If Christ makes his loyal anointed disciples firm to the end--so that they are not open to his accusation during the Lord's day--it is evident that the Lord's day is when the world is accused and judged accordingly. Obviously, that has not taken place yet.
At 1st Corinthians 5:5, Paul again makes reference to the day of the Lord where he said: "...in order that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord." Since no one's salvation is sure at this point, we cannot honestly say that the day of the Lord has arrived.
But, how are nations and peoples to be judged? What criteria will God use to determine who is saved and who is judged worthy of everlasting death? The answer to that question is vitally important and it also has the utmost relevance to the topic at hand regarding "the beast" that "ascends out of the abyss."
In the book of Revelation, it is revealed that the basis for God's judgment is whether the peoples of the earth worship the resurrected wild beast and its image. In regards to the salvation accorded to the anointed sons of God, Revelation 15:2 refers to "those who come off victorious from the wild beast and from its image and from the number of its name..." Also Revelation 20:4b refers to those who are martyred "for speaking about God, and those who had worshipped neither the wild beast nor its image and who had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand."
Conversely, those who are judged adversely are those who "wonder admiringly" at the resurrected beast. Revelation 13:8 says: "And those who dwell on the earth will worship it; the name of not one of them stands written in the scroll of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered, from the founding of the world." Also, Revelation17:8b issues the very same judgment, saying: "And when they see how the wild beast was, but is not, and yet will be present, those who dwell on the earth will wonder admiringly, but their names have not been written upon the scroll of life from the founding of the world."
There is no question, then, that those who receive “the mark” of the beast are disqualified from receiving life under God's kingdom. So, the mark of the beast represents God's irreversible judgment. Those who worship the political beast receive a symbolic permanent tattoo that identifies them in Jehovah's eyes as deserving of death. What should be carefully noted, however, is that the worship of the beast occurs after its miraculous recovery from what seemed to be a death-like experience.
Now we must ask the pertinent question: If God's irrevocable condemnation comes upon those who worship the political beast, how is it that many people during the 20th century up until the present moment--who have been very active politically--are nevertheless able to repent and serve God? According to God's eventual judgment there are only two camps and two possible outcomes--with no middle ground whatsoever. Either a person has the mark of the beast, or they do not. And if a person has the mark, then they can by no means lose the mark. That is evident from the judgment of God that calls for "a hurtful and malignant ulcer" to come to be "upon the men that had the mark of the wild beast and that were worshipping its image." (Revelation 16:2) Subsequent bowls of God's wrath that are poured out on those with the mark reveal that those who have the ulcers do not repent of their idolatry.
Clearly, no one has the mark of the beast--yet. Otherwise, it would be impossible for anyone who has supported the political system in the past to gain God's favor by repentance and a "turning around." But, the fact is that literally millions of Jehovah's people were formerly quite active in supporting the present political system. Many of Jehovah's Witnesses even once served in the nations' militaries before they became Christians; yet, now they support God's kingdom.
Since the everlasting destiny of all humanity is determined by each one's relationship with Satan's resurrected political beast, and since the beast is not resurrected until first it suffers a catastrophic stroke and plunges into an abyss of death, it is apparent that the prophecies have not been fulfilled yet.
Jehovah is the God of Justice. His judgments are not arbitrary or capricious. His judicial decision decrees everlasting death for everyone that worships the wild beast or its image after the point at which the beast and its image come to life. The idea that the United States and Britain--or any significant aspect of the political system for that matter--suffered what might be likened to a death-stroke during the 1914-1918 period is simply not based in reality. The notion that the mere formation of the United Nations after WWII was somehow the beginning of the judgment is similarly not realistic. As it stands presently, we cannot point to any historical occurrence in modern history that would mark such a profound and definitive turning point such as is described in prophecy. It is therefore apparent that the circumstances surrounding the death and revival of the head of Satan's political wild beast is a totally unique circumstance that marks the future commencement of Jehovah's great day of judgment.
In regard to the Lord's day of judgment, Revelation 17:8a reads as follows: "The wild beast that you saw was, but is not, and yet is about to ascend out of the abyss, and it is to go off into destruction. And when they see how the wild beast was, but is not, and yet will be present, those who dwell on the earth will wonder admiringly..."
The above-quoted cryptic expression uses three different tenses of time; past, present and future. The point at which the prophecy speaks to us in the present tense is the brief interlude when the beast "is not," when it is about to ascend out of the abyss. Since we have already established that the Lord's day has not begun, how likely is it that the point at which the prophecy speaks to us in the present tense was during WWII when the League of Nations was dissolved? Furthermore, it is unreasonable that God would judge mankind based upon our present view of the relatively powerless and insignificant UN. It seems more probable that the angel's words will speak to us in real time at a future point when the powers of the heavens are shaken.
What we are facing is the catastrophic collapse of the Anglo-American dominated system. The democratic capitalist system of things is about to suffer a calamity that has no parallel in ancient or modern history. The downfall of America will rock the world to its very foundation and call into question whether the present global civilization will be able to continue in existence at all.
The terror evoked by the death-stroke upon the Anglo-American system will seem as if the world is ending right then-and-there. This unique and terrifying phenomenon is described in Revelation's prophecy by the unsealing of the 6th seal.
And I saw when he opened the sixth seal
And a great earthquake occurred;
And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,
And the entire moon became as blood,
And the stars of heaven fell to earth,
As when a fig tree shaken by a high wind casts its unripe figs.
And the heaven departed as a scroll that is being rolled up,
And every mountain and every island were removed from their places.
And the kings of the earth and the top-ranking ones
And the military commanders and the rich and the strong ones
And every slave and every free person hid themselves in the caves
And in the rock masses of the mountains.
And they kept saying to the mountains and to the rock-masses:
"Fall over us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne
And from the wrath of the Lamb,
Because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"
The Watchtower has acknowledged that it is reasonable that Revelation's seven seals are unsealed in rapid succession. The problem that confronts our cherished 1914-centered interpretations is that it is obvious that the unusual events described by the opening of the 6th seal have not yet taken place. We venture into the realm of absurdity if we suggest that WWI initiated the terrible day of Jehovah's wrath that calls for the symbolic collapse of the mountain-like institutions and for the political firmament to go into eclipse. If, though, the horrific events unleashed by the opening of the 6th seal have not yet occurred, it also becomes apparent that the five preceding seals have not been unsealed either. This, of course, means that Christ's presence did not begin in 1914. It also means that the kingdom of the world has not been given to Christ as we presently imagine. Ultimately, it means that Satan and his demons have not been hurled down to the earth having great anger.
Since Satan himself is depicted in Revelation as a seven-headed dragon, his invisible cosmocracy has been manifest through the corresponding seven heads of his beast-like political apparatus on earth. It stands to reason that the 7th head that is slaughtered to death is merely a reflection of the mortal blow that Satan himself receives as a result of Christ ousting him and his demonic horde from heaven. This is also evident from the chronology that fixes a three-and-a-half year period to both the time immediately following the beast's death stroke, as well as the short interval after Satan is booted from heaven. Surely the periods run concurrently.
The Devil's confinement to the earth as an immediate prelude to his being abyssed and ultimately executed might be likened to what desperate criminals do when facing capture. Oftentimes such fugitives take hostages. In effect, that's what the Devil is destined to do to the entire world. When the chief demon is humiliated by Christ and comes down in a great rage, he will bring the world-- his world-- down with him.
More than likely the dire situation coming upon the earth, as described in prophecy at the opening of the 6th seal, will come about as the result of the use of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. The only question that now remains is how far Jehovah will let men go in bringing ruination to the planet. Without a doubt, the inherently fragile global financial system--a stronghold of today's world--will simply vaporize and cease to exist if such terrible weapons are ever detonated in warfare. As a result of the inevitable terror and panic that would ensue under the pall of the deadly mushroom cloud, the system would seize up. The paper wealth that we are dependent on for our sustenance will doubtlessly become as worthless as confetti. Governments would cease to function. The world would grind to a halt.
Apparently, it is at the stage when all seems lost and civilization is poised to simply unravel and disintegrate, that the mortally wounded beast makes a seemingly miraculous recovery so as to appear as the savior of the world. By these means, then, Jehovah presses the issue of His universal sovereignty to an ultimate conclusion. By the dire circumstances of the terrible day, desperate humanity will be forced to make a decision that will ultimately determine their everlasting destiny. Shall we accept God's then fully-empowered kingdom of Christ, or will we prefer the rulership of the beast that ascends out of the abyss of death? That is the decisive situation reserved for judgment day.
The coming crash of the present system will apparently serve as the pretext for implementing an earthwide totalitarian new order. The 13th chapter of Revelation foretells that after the beast is revived from its sword-stroke, the image of the beast comes alive so as to "cause to be killed all those who would not in any way worship the image of the wild beast." To date, Jehovah's Witnesses, nor anyone else for that matter, have been martyred for refusing to bow before the United Nations. Clearly, neither the Anglo-American power, nor the United Nations, has sought to coerce all of mankind into recognizing their authority---yet.
At some point however, under critical circumstances, the United Nations will impose it's rule to the extent that "it puts under compulsion all persons…that they should give these a mark in their right hand or upon their forehead, and that nobody might be able to buy or sell except a person having the mark."
Revelation 13:18 informs us that the dreaded "666" mark of the beast is "a man's number." To use our intelligence to calculate the significance of the enigmatic number, we must turn to the Hebrew prophets, where we have a small-scale preview of what is to occur on a global scale. The Babylonian world power is described in prophecy as bringing about the crash and downfall of all nations. The 14th chapter of Isaiah refers to Babylon as tyrannizing the whole world. For example, Isaiah 14:6 describes Jehovah's judgment upon Babylon, saying: "The one striking peoples in fury with a stroke incessantly, the one subduing nations in sheer anger with a persecution without restraint. The whole earth has come to rest, has become free of disturbance."
Verses 12-17 describe Babylon as a man, an individual, who seeks to exalt himself above the stars of God. The 16th verse says: "Is this the man that was agitating the earth, that was making kingdoms rock?"
This is a pattern for the state of affairs that will come about when the United Nations exalts itself above all the nations and also brings the holy ones to ruin. Daniel similarly foretells how the king of fierce countenance will cause some of the stars of heaven to fall to earth and trample them underfoot. The stars of heaven represent Christ's associate kings.
This puts us in mind of the drama that played itself out on the plains of Dura, when Nebuchadnezzar set up the golden image and required official representatives of all the peoples, including Jehovah's people within his realm, to bow before the image, or else be thrown into a fiery furnace. The image Nebuchadnezzar erected measured 60 X 6. It would appear, then, that the man, whose number is attached to the image of the beast of Revelation, is none other than Nebuchadnezzar himself. Nebuchadnezzar is also appropriately symbolized as the head of gold on the image that is ultimately destroyed by God's kingdom. King Nebuchadnezzar typifies the absolutist type of tyrannical ruler that the 8th and final king is destined to become during the last hour.
There is no question but that there are very powerful and insidiously subtle forces at work that are intent on bringing the world under a central authority. Interestingly, the Masonic symbols that appear on the one-dollar U.S. Federal Reserve Note, as shown at the top of the page, appear to predict the eventual world government that the Scriptures foretell. Egypt, being the first world power of Bible prophecy, also appears to represent the United States in prophecies such as found in Ezekiel chapters 29-32 and Isaiah the 19th chapter. The fact that the pyramid lacks the capstone indicates that the Novus Ordo Seclorum, or ultimate New World Order, is a work in progress.
At the present moment no one is really required to make a decision and choose between man's rule and Christ's kingdom. Each of us has the luxury of living and worshipping however we choose, especially in Britain and the United States. Most nations have laws and legal systems that provide protection from the sort of tyranny that Nebuchadnezzar imposed upon the world of his time. That's why we may expect such cherished, constitutionally-protected "basic human rights" to be done away with during the last hour.
One of the greatest gifts of insight that the Watchtower has imparted to Jehovah's Witnesses is that we have a clear understanding of the great issues that are set before us involving our integrity to Jehovah and his universal sovereignty. As an organization, we have already faced down tyrants and petty despots who have tried to bully us into submission. So, while we may not have a clear understanding of certain prophecies and the timing of events, we know that we must never compromise our loyalty to God and Christ--no matter what.
Hopefully, when the hour finally arrives, we will be moved to respond positively to the angelic command that will coincide with the last hour of the 8th king, when he says with a loud voice: "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of the judgment by him has arrived."
Copyright © 2002, by Robert King
All Rights Reserved.