End Time Insights

The outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost signaled the start of the Last Days, the era of the Spirit and time of fulfillment . The application of Joel’s prophecy to the events of the Day of Pentecost links the outpouring of the Spirit to the start of the “ Last Days .” The activity of the Spirit beginning that very day is essential for understanding the rapid spread of the Gospel from Jerusalem to the center of the Roman Empire. That same process must continue until the “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ of Jesus at the end of the present age (παρουσια).

The New Testament warns the disciples of Jesus about several things that will characterize the period between his first and second comings, ones that will intensify as the end approaches. They include a great many deceivers that will infiltrate the church along with deception, apostasy, the rise of an especially significant deceiver just prior to the end, and Satan’s final assault on the church.

The False Prophet coaxes and coerces men to take the Beast’s “mark,” its “name” or “number” – Revelation 13:16-18 .  The “false prophet” uses the power of the first Beast against anyone who refuses to give full allegiance to the “beast from the sea,” and its “mark” becomes an economic weapon against nonconformists. Commerce is the lifeblood of the beastly empire and imposing sanctions is its enforcement mechanism, and economic restrictions produce deprivation and suffering.

The Dragon begins his war on the “seed of the woman” by summoning his own “seed,” the beast from the sea – Revelation 13:1-5.  At the end of chapter 12, the “ Dragon ” was poised to attack the “ seed of the woman ” as he stood on the seashore, summoning his own “ seed ,” the beasts from the sea and the earth. Having failed to destroy the “ son ” and the “ woman ,” he set out to annihilate her “ seed ,” the men who have the “ testimony of Jesus. ”

Jesus rejected Satan’s offer of unlimited political power and instead chose the way of the Suffering Servant  - Matthew 4:8-11. Satan tempted Jesus by offering him political power over “ all the kingdoms of the world ,” but he refused the Devil’s offer. Instead, the Nazarene submitted to the way of the ‘ Suffering Servant of Yahweh ’ that led to his inevitable death on the Roman Cross. Satan tempted the Son of God in four ways, but his most seductive offer was that of dominion over the nations  - (Matthew 4:8-11).

The  “Inhabitants of the Earth”  represent the men omitted from the Book of Life because they embraced the Beast from the Sea . They are  remorseless in their hostility to the “ Lamb ” and his followers, even rejoicing and exchanging gifts when the “ Two Witnesses ” are murdered. Unlike the “ nations ” and the “ Kings of the Earth ,” they are irredeemable, and therefore their names are excluded from the “ Book of Life .”