Parallel Myths (41 page)

W
hen the time comes for the End, the king of the South will try conclusions with him [the Great Persecutor]; but the king of the North will come storming down on him with chariots, cavalry, and a large fleet. He will invade countries, overrun them and drive on. He will invade the Land of Splendor and many will fall, but Edom, Moav and what remains of the sons of Ammon will escape him.

He will reach out to attack countries: the land of Egypt will not escape him. The gold and silver treasuries and all the valuables of Egypt will lie in his power. Libyans and Cushites will be at his feet: but reports coming from the East and the North will worry him, and in great fury he will set out to bring ruin and complete destruction to many. He will pitch the tents of his royal headquarters between the sea and the mountains of the Holy Splendor. Yet he will come to his end—there will be no help for him.

At that time Michael [the archangel] will stand up, the great prince who mounts guard over your people. There is going to be a time of great distress, unparalleled since nations first came into existence. When the time comes, your own people will be
spared, all those whose names are found written in the book. Of those who lie sleeping in the dust of the earth, many will awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting disgrace. The learned shall shine as brightly as the vault of heaven, and those who have instructed many in virtue, as stars for all eternity.

But you, Daniel, must keep these words secret and the book sealed until the time of the End. Many will wander this way and that, and wickedness will go on increasing.

As he [Jesus] was leaving the Temple one of his disciples said to him, “Look at the size of those stones, Master! Look at the size of those buildings.” And Jesus said to him, “You see these great buildings? Not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.”

And while he was sitting facing the Temple, on the Mount of Olives, Peter, James, John and Andrew questioned him privately, “Tell us when is this going to happen and what sign will there be that all this is about to be fulfilled?”

Then Jesus began to tell them, “Take care that no one deceives you. Many will come using my name and saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed, this is something that must happen, but the end will not be yet. For nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes here and
there; there will be famines. This is the beginning of the birth pangs.

“Be on your guard: they will hand you over to sanhedrins;
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you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them, since the Good News must be proclaimed to all the nations.

“And when they lead you away to hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what to say; no, say whatever is given you when the time comes, because it is not you who will be speaking: it will be the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved.

“When you see the disastrous abomination set up where it ought not to be … then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains; if a man is on the housetop, he must not come down to go into the house to collect any of his belongings; if a man is in the fields, he must not turn back to fetch his cloak. Alas for those with child, or with babies at the breast, when those days come! Pray that this may not be in winter. For in those days there will be such distress as, until now, there has not been equalled since the beginning when God created the world, nor will there ever be again. And if the Lord had not shortened that time, no one would have survived; but he did shorten the time, for the sake of the elect whom he chose.

“And if anyone says to you then, ‘Look, here is the Christ,’ or, ‘Look he is there,’ do not believe it, for false Christs and false prophets will arise and produce signs and portents to deceive the elect, if that were possible. You therefore must be on your guard. I have forewarned you of everything.

“But in those days, after that time of distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars will come falling and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, then too he will send the angels to gather the chosen from the four winds, from the ends of the world to the ends of heaven.

“Take the fig tree as a parable; as soon as its twigs grow supple and its leaves come out, you will know that summer is near. So with you when you see these things happening; know that he is near, at the very gates. I tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all these things will have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

“But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father.”

It was allowed to breathe life into this statue so that the statue of the beast was able to speak, and to have anyone who refused to worship the statue of the beast put to death. He compelled everyone—small and great, rich and poor, slave and citizen—to be branded on the right hand or on the forehead, and made it illegal for anyone to buy or sell anything unless he had been branded with the name of the beast or with the number of its name.

There is need for shrewdness here: if anyone is clever enough he may interpret the number of the beast: it is the number of a man, the number 666.

And now I saw heaven open, and a white horse appear; its rider was called Faithful and True; he is a judge with integrity, a warrior for justice. His eyes were the flames of fire, and his head was crowned with many coronets; the name written on him was known only to himself, his cloak was soaked in blood. He is known by the name, The Word of God. Behind him, dressed in linen of dazzling white rode the armies of heaven on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike the pagans with; he is the one who will rule them with an iron scepter, and tread out the wine of Almighty God’s fierce anger. On his cloak
and on his thigh there was a name written: The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he shouted aloud to all the birds that were flying high overhead in the sky, “Come here. Gather together at the great feast that God is giving. There will be the flesh of kings for you, and the flesh of great generals and heroes, the flesh of horses and their riders and of all kinds of men, citizens and slaves, small and great.”

Then I saw a great white throne and the One who was sitting on it. In his presence, earth and sky vanished, leaving no trace. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing in front of his throne, while the book of life was opened, and other books opened, which were the record of what they had done in their lives, by which the dead were judged.

The sea gave up all the dead that were in it; Death and Hades were emptied of all the dead that were in them; and every one was judged according to the way in which he had lived. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the burning lake. This burning lake is the second death; and anybody whose name could not be found written in the book of life was thrown into the burning lake.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, “You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people and He will be their God; his name is God-With-Them. He shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.”

Then the One sitting on the throne spoke: “Now I am making the whole of creation new,” he said. “Write this: that what I am
saying is sure and will come true.” And then he said, “It is already done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water from the well of life free to anybody who is thirsty; it is the rightful inheritance of the one who proves victorious; and I will be his God and he is a son to me. But the legacy for cowards, for those who break their word, or worship obscenities, for murderers and fornicators, and for fortunetellers, idolaters, or any other sort of liars, is the second death in the burning lake of sulphur.”

To turn now brothers to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we shall all be gathered around him: please do not get excited too soon or alarmed by any prediction or rumor or any letter claiming to come from us, implying that the day of the Lord has already arrived. Never let anyone deceive you in that way.

It cannot happen until the Great Revolt has taken place and the Rebel, the Lost One, has appeared. This is the Enemy, the one who claims to be so much greater than all that men call “god,” so much greater than anything that is worshipped, that he enthrones himself in God’s sanctuary and claims that he is God. Surely you remember me telling you about this when I was with you? And you know, too, what is still holding him back from appearing before his appointed time. Rebellion is at work already, but in secret, and the one who is holding it back has first to be removed before the Rebel appears openly. The Lord will kill him with the breath of his mouth and will annihilate him with this glorious appearance at his coming.

But when the Rebel comes, Satan will set to work: there will be all kinds of miracles and a deceptive show of signs and portents, and everything evil that can deceive those who are bound for destruction because they would not grasp the love of the truth which could have saved them. The reason why God is sending a power to delude them and make them believe what is untrue is to condemn all who refuse to believe in the truth and chose wickedness instead.