"The strangest aspect of our perilous times is the ominous quiet. Probably never in his-

tory has the human race looked so much like sheep marching silently to the slaughter."

-- physicist Ralph Lapp, in his book Kill and Overkill

ARMAGEDDON!

HOW SOON?

The Great Tribulation, the Times of the Gentiles, the “Crisis

at the Close,” are all prophesied to occur very soon upon

a rebellious planet. Will you survive? How much longer

until we reach Armageddon? When do the snorting, fiery

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse begin to bolt from the

starting gate -- the chute -- and thunder into the night?

William F. Dankenbring

The United States of America and the entire world are on a collision course with disaster!

Awesome war has already begun in the Middle East. US forces are already in Iraq, along with Jordanian troops, and Turkish military, occupying strategic sections of Iraqi soil. The US and Great Britain are decimating Iraqi early warning and control systems, preparatory to major war, including air and ground action, to strip Iraq of her biological, chemical, and most likely even nuclear weapons, and missiles. Even on the q.t., Israeli forces are operating in Iraq, striving to ferret out and neutralize missile launching sites. Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel, let it be known that Israel will not sit idly by this time if Iraq launches missiles aimed at Israel. Retaliation will be swift and certain and powerful.

War clouds are gathering. By the time you receive this issue of Prophecy Flash, the major war will most likely have already started.

Once more, the United States appears to be ready to seize the initiative to protect the western world from the threat of chemical-biological-nuclear terrorism, fomented by terrorists states such as Iraq, in league with terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda.

Where is it all leading? What does the future hold?

· US Defense Department officials estimate that Saddam Hussein has 600 tons of chemical weapons and missiles capable of carrying a delivering them.

· The US has told Israel that it will attack Iraq by the end of November. The US has already prepositioned troops and military material throughout the Middle East, in Qatar, Kuwait, Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia (despite reluctance and anger by the Saudis), and are ready to move. Tens of thousands of troops are ready, positioned, and waiting. Aircraft carriers are “on point.” Tanks have also been delivered to strategic staging areas.

· Ariel Sharon has dropped several bombshells recently which have shaken up normally phlegmatic Washington. Confirmed intelligence reports from early 2002 reveal that Libya is very close to becoming the first African nation to join the nuclear club. Libya is expected to have the “bomb” by 2004, Iran by 2005, and Saudi Arabia and Egypt and also in the running – secretly supporting the Libyan effort to produce both nuclear weapons and long range missiles to carry them! Experts also fear that Saddam Hussein is supporting the Libyan project to build nuclear weapons for himself outside of Iraq.

· Israeli intelligence was startled to find out that the Libyan nuclear program was a combined effort to provide Egypt as well as Libya with the ‘bomb,” with Iraq and Saudi Arabia also having a finger in the pie. Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has been dealing secretly with the North Koreans since the 1990s to develop an arsenal of nuclear weapons and nuclear-tipped missiles. The two projects began in 1996 with some 1,800 nuclear engineers and technicians working on the construction of the reactor. Only 800 came from Pongyang – the rest came from Belarus, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Poland and Central Asia. The missile factory was completed in the year 2000. Saudi Arabia has agreed to contribute $800 million to the project, after Saudi prince Abdullah was secretly shown around the facilities.

· The threat to the US and the western world has never been greater. If Manhattan were to be struck by a radiological weapon, such as a “dirty bomb” – a conventional explosive surrounded by radioactive material – every building in Manhattan and for miles around might have to be demolished. Such a bomb using just one piece or radioactive cobalt could make New York City uninhabitable for decades and seriously contaminate over 600 square miles (one thousand square kilometers) of the states of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The real threat would come from long term radioactive contamination, causing hundreds of thousands of fatalities from cancer over decades. Just one “pencil” of intensely radioactive cobalt-60 exploded on the southern tip of Manhattan on a calm day, with a slight south-westerly breeze, would accomplish such devastation. Interestingly, some two million sites in the US alone are licensed to use radioactive materials and the government admits that 1,500 sources have reported missing items over the past five years. A nuclear bomb itself would require more sophisticated design, but a simple radiological devise could itself be most destructive.

· The United States delivered a secret ultimatum to Saddam Hussein not to dare use non-conventional weapons in the upcoming conflict. If Iraq uses non-conventional weapons, the secret ultimatum declared, the United States would not hesitate to level its cities with a nuclear bomb! Why the secret warning? Washington acted after it discovered that Iraq had smuggled two or three nuclear devises, at least, into the United States, to be detonated by “sleeper cells” of Iraqi agents planted in the US by Iraqi intelligence.

Intelligence officials believe that Iraq has purchased complete nuclear weapons from sources in the former Soviet Union. When confronted by the American emissary, Iraq obliquely admitted to possessing nuclear bombs – they claimed that they were “only for self defense.”

The fact is, the United States, White House, Pentagon, and CIA, all firmly believe Iraq now has joined the nuclear club. But publicly, they do not want to alarm the people, so they insist they don’t know but suspect Iraq is only a year or so from obtaining such weapons.

In another shocking report, intelligence spotters have noted a 60-truck convey going from Iraq to Iran. Intelligence sources have learned it was part of a highly sophisticated and complex operation to whisk most of Iraq’s nuclear, biological and chemical weapons making equipment to safety prior to an American led assault. Iran has been constructing special nuclear and smart-bomb proof tunnels under the Zagros Mountains.

· Furthermore, revised intelligence reports indicate that Saddam possesses up to 40 nuclear devises, including perhaps as many at 10 nuclear bombs and warheads that can be delivered by fighter-bombers or surface to surface missiles. In addition, Iraq has acquired enough enriched uranium-235 to build another 20-30 nuclear devices. Saddam, in collaboration with al Qaeda and Iraqi intelligence, plans to strike at American targets throughout the Middle East, as well as oil-producing sites in Saudi Arabia, and fly L-29 drone airplanes loaded with biological and chemical weapons to strike the sea ports of Eliat and Aqaba on the Red Sea, disrupting a major US supply route. Plans for triggering terrorist “sleeper cells” in Europe, Asia and the Middle East and elsewhere are also in place.

· When war comes, Arafat – upon a signal from Baghdad – is prepared to order the hidden Palestinian arms stores opened to let loose with missiles, light artillery, mortars, anti-tank and anti-air weapons against Israel. Terrorist forces in Lebanon and Syria will no doubt join in the fray, launching missiles. No doubt there will be a massive strategic change in the status quo in the Middle East.

Approaching the ‘End Game”

The threat to world peace has never been greater. Since the bombing of the Twin Trade Towers in New York, September 11, 2001, the world has entered a new “end game.” Suddenly many Bible prophecies for the “last days” and the “time of the end” seem not so far-fetched after all! In fact, they seem right on target!

Doesn't sound very rosy for the future, does it? Alarming trends are taking place around the world. The world has never in its sanguinary history ever been poised for so great a disaster as it is facing, today!

The apostle Paul predicted, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times [times of stress, margin] will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self control, brutal, despisers of those that are good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (II Tim.3:1-5).

Jesus Christ Himself predicted as to the days at the close of this age, just before His second coming, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of VENGEANCE, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be GREAT DISTRESS in the land and wrath upon this people” (Luke 21:20-23).

The Messiah also warned, “For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be” (Mark 13:19).

What does the future hold? Does Bible prophecy hold any answers for us, to help us probe into the future, and see what is going to occur in our near future?

Hoofbeats of the Four Horsemen

In a detailed prophecy of the events which will occur on the earth, just prior to His Second Coming, Jesus Christ told His disciples, “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the BEGINNING of sorrows” (Matt.24:7-8). These things have already begun to happen, and on a stepped up scale!

Jesus Christ foretold incredible upsets of the weather and the natural order. He declared: “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring: Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:25-27).

These things have already begun to come to pass, with increasing frequency and mounting severity.

Following on the heels of these natural disasters, Jesus foretold widespread religious deception, apostasy, and persecution upon the true followers of Christ (Matt.24:9-11). Many false prophets and religious leaders would rise up, deceiving the many -- charismatic leaders, religious Neanderthals, and autocratic leaders impressed with their own vanity and ego. This has happened. Jesus added, “And because iniquity shall abound” -- wickedness, lawlessness, pornography, obscenity, cursing, gang violence, immorality, humanism – “the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the END, the same shall be saved” (Matt.24:11-13).

The apostle Paul also spoke of this horrible, mind-bending, spine-twisting time of sheer terror coming upon the earth. He wrote, “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” (I Thess.5:2-3).

Coming: GREAT TRIBULATION

Jesus went on to say, in His famous Mount Olivet prophecy, “For then shall be GREAT TRIBULATION [distress, suffering, travail, WAR], such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should NO FLESH BE SAVED [alive]: but for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened” (Matt.24:21-22).

Moffatt, in his translation, calls this period of time “the CRISIS at the CLOSE” (Daniel 12:4, 9). Daniel prophesied, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a TIME OF TROUBLE, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book” (Dan.12:1).

Looking into the future, into our day, the prophet Jeremiah foretold of this same indescribable, unique, incredible time! He wrote: “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of JACOB'S TROUBLE; but he shall be saved out of it” (Jer.30:7).

According to the War Atlas, since 1945 not a single day has passed without conflict, war, strife, revolution, or insurrection, somewhere on the earth. The standing armies of the world, today, total 32,000,000 soldiers. However, with complete war mobilization efforts, the nations of the world could field 570 million troops! The annual arms trade industry hovers around the one trillion dollar mark -- enough money to permanently solve the Third World’s hunger and health problems. The world we live in is an increasingly unstable, dangerous, perilous place -- just like Jesus, Paul, Daniel and Jeremiah prophesied!

The FOUR HORSEMEN of the Apocalypse

Another major prophecy dealing with the days ahead of us, the “time of the end,” is found in Revelation, chapter 6. The book of Revelation holds chilling, spine-tingling descriptions of events which will occur in the last days of this present age, leading up to the second coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The time-sequence of events begins with the “four horsemen” of the apocalypse. Notice! We read here of four horses and their riders. They are, in order, white, red, black, and pale. What are they?

“And I saw, and behold a WHITE HORSE: and he that sat on him

had a bow; and a crown was given unto him; and he went forth conquer-

ing, and to conquer” (Rev.6:2).

A parallel prophecy in Zechariah 6 tell us also of four chariots of horses -- red, black, white, and “bay.” This prophecy identifies the four with the four parts of the earth -- the red is connected with the east, the black with the north, the white with the west, and the “bay” with the south (Zech.6:1-7). They walk through the earth. A “horse” is noted for its military prowess (Job 39:19-25). These, then, are four mighty military powers, in the four quarters of the earth!

White is a symbol of righteousness (Rev.19:8). The white horse is connected with the west (Zech.6:6, Tanakh). It represents a mighty military power in the West which has fought the forces of fascism, Nazism, and Communism. Which nation or group of nations would that be? Why, the United States and Great Britain, and their allies! The United States, in the western hemisphere, was largely responsible for saving the world in World War I, World War II, fending off Communism in Korea and Vietnam, and leading the victory in the Gulf War. And the United States is leading the present coalition against Iraq, and terrorism, in an attempt to stabilize the world and prevent a nuclear holocaust – World War III!

The Red Horse

“And there went out another horse that was red: and power was

given to him that sat thereon to take PEACE FROM THE EARTH,

and that they should KILL one another: and there was given to him

a GREAT SWORD” (v.4)

The red horse is connected with the east (Zech.6:7, Tanakh). It is Communism -- remember Red Square, in Moscow? The red flag of Communism? The red star, the “Reds,” etc.? The Jewish Tanakh in Zechariah 6:7 shows the red horses are connected with the east. Communism rose up in 1917, overthrew the Czars in Russia, and set about seeking to enslave and conquer the world. Millions lost their lives in Stalin’s purges. Millions more lost their lives in the purges of Mao Tse-tung, in Red China. And now, once again, the red horse in the East is threatening to rise up. Will North Korea attack South Korea? Will China attempt to seize Taiwan? Will India-Pakistan go over the brink and hurl nuclear weapons at each other? Will Russia once again seek to expand her empire? Will bloody revolution continue throughout the former lands of the Soviet Union?

The Black Horse

“And I beheld, and lo, a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair

of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice . . . say, A measure of wheat

for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt

not the oil and the wine” (Rev.6:5-6).

The third horseman -- the black horse -- is connected with the north country (Zech.6:6) -- that is, modern Europe and Germany. The black horse -- Germany -- attacked Poland in 1939 and initiated World War II with the aggression of Adolph Hitler and the Third Reich. Germany is today once again a the political and economic powerhouse of Europe. This could also in the future include European Russia, and Ukraine, as they are also north of Israel, or Palestine. When this horse rides, especially in the future, it is connected with famine, scarcity, and hunger. Today Europe is vying with America for leadership of the Western alliance.

The Pale Green Horse

“And I looked, and behold, a PALE horse: and his name that sat on him

was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them

over the fourth part of the earth, TO KILL WITH SWORD, AND WITH

HUNGER, AND WITH DEATH, and with the beasts of the earth” (Rev.6:8).

The fourth horseman -- the pale horse -- represents the “king of the south” -- the Muslim world -- and the threat that it poses to the world (Zech.6:6). The leader of this world grouping would be Egypt, identified in the book of Daniel as the “king of the south” (Dan.11). Led by Egypt, this horseman will “push” at the king of the north, leading to World War. Notice!

“And at the time of the end shall the king of the south PUSH AT HIM:

and the king of the north shall come against him like a WHIRLWIND,

with chariots [tanks], and with horsemen, and with many ships [including the

U.S. and British navies]; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow,

and pass over. He shall enter into the glorious land, and many countries shall

be overthrown” (Dan.11:40-41).

Note that by the time this happens, the Western and Northern kingdoms have merged and have become part of a New World Order! The ships referred to here can only be a reference to the ships of the world’s greatest navies, today, those of the United States, Britain, and Europe!

The “pale horse” of the apocalypse could also represent the growing power of the ecological movement! The Greek word translated “pale” in this verse is chloros which means “greenish, i.e., verdant, dun-colored -- green, pale.” We get our word “chlorophyll” from this word. The “Green movement” is part of the ecological movement. Mikhail Gorbachev is prominent in this area. He is the head of Green Cross, International. At the State of the World Forum, held at the Presidio, in San Francisco, Gorbachev told the assembled world leaders, “The environmental crisis is the cornerstone of the New World Order.” In a speech in Indiana in October, 1996, he openly declared, “World civilization as we know it will soon end. We have very little time and we must act.” By working with Maurice Strong and the United Nations, Gorbachev has been leading the way to prepare for a New International Order. “By the year 2002,” he said, “we will be presenting the final draft of the Earth Charter” -- a global “bill of rights” which will be imposed on the world’s inhabitants by a system of world government. The present war against Iraq could well lead to a NEW “United Nations,” with a NEW “Earth Charter”!

In order for these things to happen, however, the United States in particular, must be brought into complete conformity with this new world thinking. America is an integral part of the New World Order, if not the actual leader of it. Massive changes, therefore, are being orchestrated for the United States, to bring it into alignment with globalism. These changes are rapidly occurring in the name of “Homeland Defense” and international trade. America is rapidly becoming a “police state” because of the horrendous threat of terrorism!

The Fall of Modern Israel

The prophet Hosea records:

“The pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and

Ephraim [the United States] FALL in their iniquity; Judah [the Jews

and modern Israel] also shall FALL with them. . . . They have dealt

treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children

[lawless and rebellious youth!]: now shall A MONTH DEVOUR THEM

with their portions” (Hos.5:5-7).

However it comes about -- via internal strife and violence, terrorism, economic collapse, or simply a quiet, subtle takeover by the forces of the New World Order -- our western nations will end up in dire circumstances, with economic slavery and loss of freedom and sovereignty. Our enslavement will become complete as our nations become merged with the New World Order. Our resources and military will then be used on the behalf of that World Government. This “New World Order” is spoken of in the book of Revelation as “Babylon the Great” – it will be a colossal military juggernaut and mercantile commercial trading Empire spanning the globe (Rev.13:4; 18:1-24).

Coming – a New Temple of God!

When this world empire is established, it will lead to World War as Muslims fight “Christians,” and East is pitted against the West. But before World War III bursts forth in all its fury, a salient, seminal event will occur in Jerusalem. It will occur in two parts. First, a Temple will be rebuilt on the Temple Mount, for worship. And secondly, it must be invaded, cast down, and the sacrifices to be performed in it must cease! Notice!

Daniel was a prophet greatly beloved in God’s sight (Daniel 10:11). He lived about sixth and seventh century, before Christ. He spoke of the “time of the end” in several key prophecies. First, notice in Daniel 8, he prophesied of a time when a great religious and political leader would wax great, “even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and BY HIM THE DAILY SACRIFICE WAS TAKEN AWAY, and the place of his SANCTUARY was CAST DOWN” (Dan.8:10-11). The “sanctuary” and the host were to be “trodden under foot” (v. l3).

Here we have clear mention of the sanctuary, or Temple, of God. It was to be “cast down.” When was this to occur? Although this prophecy was fulfilled in TYPE by Antiochus Epiphanes, who profaned the Temple and stopped the daily sacrifice in l67-164 B.C., it also happened in 70 A.D. when the Roman-Jewish war ended with the destruction of the Temple. Nevertheless, the PRIMARY emphasis of this prophecy is for the TIME OF THE END!

Daniel was told, “Understand, O son of man: for AT THE TIME OF THE END shall be the vision” (verse l7). How plain! Therefore, here is proof positive that a Temple, or “sanctuary,” must exist in the END TIME, before the return of Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Anointed One)!

This same end-time tyrant, or evil prince, this same “king of fierce countenance” (Dan.8:23-25), is also prophesied of in Daniel 9:26-27. Here Daniel records, “. . . but the people of the prince that shall come shall DESTROY the city AND THE SANCTUARY (that is, the Temple!) . . . and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

This is clearly speaking of the same spectacular time frame and prophetic event to occur at the very end of this present age -- the “consummation,” or “time of the end.” Here again we find mention of a Temple or “sanctuary” which must exist, in the end of days, with animal sacrifices being offered.

Daniel, however, was told even more. In Daniel, the 11th chapter, in the longest detailed prophecy in the Bible, Daniel records that this same wicked king, typified by Antiochus Epiphanes in history who defiled the Temple, would “have indignation against the holy covenant,” and “they shall pollute the SANCTUARY OF STRENGTH, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall PLACE THE ABOMINATION that maketh desolate” (Dan.11:30-3l).

“The Abomination of Desolation”

What is this “abomination” that causes desolation and desecration?

In the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, it was a statue of Jupiter Olympus, the chief pagan god, which was placed inside the Holy of Holies. But in these last days, the “abominable desolator” will be a man – a human tyrant – who sees himself as the Messiah – as “very God” upon the earth!

We read the very words of Christ, “When you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoso reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. . . . For then will be great tribulation” (Matt.24:16-2`). Notice that the episode of the abomination is the key factor which leads directly to the “great tribulation” – a world engulfed in flames and the suicidal World War III!

But what is this mysterious event itself? Paul tells us plainly, “Let no man deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away [apostasy from the truth of God!] comes first, and the man of sin [lawlessness] is revealed, the son of perdition [destruction – this megalomaniac will lust to destroy, to brutally ravage the earth, in his quest for total power], who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits AS GOD in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (II Thess.2:3-4).

When this event occurs, then this monstrous individual will halt the daily sacrifices in the Temple, and claim to be God – the Messiah. When this occurs, the Great Tribulation will break out in full fury and force. All will be compelled to worship him. Everyone who refuses will suffer torture and the death penalty.

The Martyrdom of Saints

After the four horsemen of the apocalypse begin to ride, dealing death and destruction, and the Temple is desecrated by the abominable one, then there will be great persecution upon Christians and Jews -- known as the “Great Tribulation.” The book of Revelation continues the story:

“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the

SOULS OF THEM THAT WERE SLAIN for the word of God,

and for the testimony which they held. . . . And white robes were given

unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest

yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren,

that should be KILLED AS THEY WERE, should be fulfilled” (Rev.6:9-11).

This great persecution and martyrdom and oppression will occur at the hands of the Beast power of Revelation -- the New World Order -- modern Babylon the great -- when it has come into existence! It will oppress and rule for three and one half years (Rev.13:1-5). The apostle John writes:

“And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast, and

they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is

able to MAKE WAR with him? . . . and power was given unto him to

continue FORTY AND TWO MONTHS. And he opened his mouth in

blasphemy against God .. . And it was given unto him to MAKE WAR

WITH THE SAINTS, and to overcome them: and power was given

him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations” (Rev.13:4-7).

The Sixth Seal -- Signs in the Heavens

Jesus Christ foretold that after that great tribulation, great heavenly signs will occur. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days,” He declared, “shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken” (Matt.24:29). The prophet Joel, on the other hand, informs us, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, BEFORE the great and terrible day of the LORD come” (Joel 2:31).

These awesome occurrences in the skies and heavens will stagger mankind, causing terrible fright and anxiety (Rev.6:9-17). After this, then, comes the final “Day of the Lord” -- the time when God Himself begins to punish the nations, and bring His divine judgments of wrath and fury.

The Awesome Trumpet Plagues

In Revelation, chapter 8, God says He will then send seven angels with seven trumpet plagues -- terrible ordeals -- which will in succession afflict the earth.

Notice these awesome events. The first four of these will be incredible natural disasters, including hail and fire cast to the earth -- meteorite showers causing widespread devastation and destruction (Rev.8:7). The second plague will be a “great mountain” -- probably a “space mountain” or asteroid -- falling upon the sea, causing a third part of the sea to become greatly polluted, destroying ships and killing one third of sea life (Rev.8:8-9). The third plague will be “a great star” or comet which will fall from “heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; . . . and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter” (v.10-11).

The Final Three "Woes"

The last three of these trumpet plagues -- numbers 5, 6, and 7 -- are also known as the “three woes” (Rev.8:13). These represent the final three rounds of WORLD WAR, culminating in the return of Christ to settle the issue of who will rule the earth once and for all!

Notice! In Revelation 9, the first woe is described as locusts which utilize chemical warfare, “tormenting mankind for five months” (Rev.9:1-11). The head of this World Empire is Satan the devil, working through the Beast (v.11). “Locusts,” in the Bible, are a type of Assyrian and Babylonian soldiers (see Nahum 3:15). God compares the soldiers -- the military -- of this final World Government to locusts, therefore. But these are peculiar locusts -- they use chemical and biological weapons to torment mankind. In appearance, these soldiers are described as women (Nahum 3:13; Rev.9:8).