“And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God:
KNOWEST THOU NOT YET THAT EGYPT IS DESTROYED?”
Exodus 10:7.
I thought of the above text as I contemplated what, I believe, will be the final outcome of Vladimir Putin’s wicked and cruel attack upon Ukraine. Pride, obstinacy and greed blind men to the inevitable consequences of their folly. So it was with Pharaoh in the days before his destruction under God’s judgment at the Red Sea. His foolish heart still anticipated a destroying of Israel as he pursued God’s people into the miraculously open Red Sea. But the way of escape for the Hebrews was the way of destruction for the Egyptians!
“And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them,” Exodus 14:27-28.
The latest estimates of Putin’s mental processes go so far as to suggest he is paranoid! It is reported that he has put Russian nuclear deterrent forces on high alert as the furious leader hits out at the West. As one headline puts it: “Fears ‘paranoid’ Putin has lost his mind as leader limits contact to inner circle”. Anyone with a knowledge of the history of the close of WW II, will know that is how Hitler ended his days — in his bunker in Berlin! Things are just not going as the tyrant planned. He has even entered ‘peace talks’ with Ukraine. That is not a sign that he is any longer confident of victory!
HEADLINES
There are headlines aplenty, all have be considered carefully for the ‘propaganda mills’ on both sides of this conflict are working overtime. However, let u heed the words of David.
“Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: that they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them? They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away. And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing,” Psalm 64:1-9.
The Lord can indeed turn the wicked words of men upon their own heads. May we see it taking place in Ukraine. May the Lord work His purpose of grace amongst that troubled people.
WAR
We are very conscious of the many true believers in that land and the links that Ulster has with it. Many in Ulster are praying very particularly for Ukraine and for beloved fellow-believers living under the dark cloud of Russia’s aggression and cruelty. We cannot see the slaughter and destruction, the streams of refugees seeking safety in neighbouring sympathetic countries without thinking of how many are unprepared for death! In all the fleeing may there be a seeking of the Lord from the heart and fleeing unto Calvary for the eternal shelter under the blood of Christ’s atonement found only there.
Oh that there might be a heeding of the grand old truth: “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee,” Deuteronomy 33:27. May the troubled and afflicted people of Ukraine make the words of David their anthem. “But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy,” Psalms 59:16-17.
We may wonder why the Lord allows such things as are happening in Ukraine. Let us remember what Paul said: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose,” Romans 8:28. ‘All things’ includes such a conflict as that taking place in Ukraine. I am sure that God’s true people there are praying with a depth and an earnestness that, in ordinary circumstances, would be absent. Such a stirring is of God and for their good! How they are praying for unsaved loved ones and neighbours! The lads involved in the battle will be borne up in prayer most fervently. Maybe that is what the Lord is ‘working’!
War brings home to us that death is near! Yet, in truth, it is no nearer than in times of peace. It is just the instruments of death change somewhat. Daily, all around us in every land, people are passing out into eternity, struck down by one of the many afflictions that have plagued mankind since Adam. We here in Northern Ireland are, we hope, in the tail-end of a plague of Covid-19 in which thousands have died. During it all cancer, heart attacks, road and industrial accidents, murder and terrorism, have been daily taking away their victims. Death has ever and is ever, at work amongst us!
War brings home to us and arouses us to recognise that men and women daily face death but we have grown complacent about such. In truth, we should be as fervent in prayer for those who daily are going out into eternity in days of peace as we would be in days of war.
THE ANTICHRIST
The Lord has been pleased repeatedly to reveal to us in His Word the character and the personality of the one who will come to dominate the religious and commercial affairs of that part of the world which is chiefly featured in the Bible. I refer to the ‘Man of Sin’, the Antichrist’.
In Daniel 2, there is a vision of the major political powers which would be the focus of Bible revelation. It is a vision in which those political powers are represented by an image which stands astride the territory referred to as “the earth”, verse 39. The image depicts Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Imperial Rome. It tells us that the last kingdom, that of Rome, will still be in existence when the Lord Jesus returns to this earth for that is what is spoken of in verses 34-36.
“Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.”
Daniel explains to Nebuchaddnezzar, who is the one who was given this dream, what these things meant.
“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him,” Daniel 2:44-46.
WHOLE EARTH
The words ‘whole earth’ in verses 39 does not refer to the whole surface of our planet or all the nations on it but it is that same territory referred to by Luke in His gospel. “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed,” Luke 2:1. The ‘world’ there is a reference to the ‘Roman Earth’ or as Bible students often call it, ‘the prophetic earth’.
In verse 35 we have the same words spoken in regard to the Lord Jesus and His reign on earth, His millennial reign, which will embrace the whole of the world but let us bear in mind that when the Saviour comes again it is to the Mount of Olives, to Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:3-4, Acts 1:9-11). His dominion will then progressively spread out from Jerusalem through the whole world as other Scriptures make clear.
“Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him,” Psalm 72:11.
“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever,” Revelation 11:15.
“Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest,” Revelation 15:4.
We must learn from these words of Daniel:
(1) The essence of these kingdoms will be in existence still when the end of this age comes about. The final manifestation and form of the fourth kingdom will be that of ‘ten toes’. They symbolise the ten divisions into which the final kingdom will develop. They will still occupy the same territory and manifest the same avarice and cruelty as all the other kingdoms, the Babylonian, the Medo/Persian and the Grecian kingdoms.
(2) The return of Christ will bring about the destruction of this great political/commercial empire. Paul refers to this in 2 Thessalonians 2:7-9. “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.”
PICTURES
Now, as I said at the beginning, the Lord has given us many pictures and likenesses of the evil one who, at the very close of this age, will stand astride the territories covered by the old Roman Empire. Revelation chapter 13 is one of the clearest of the Bible’s pictures.
“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, (the Mediterranean) and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority,” Revelation 13:1-2.
This ‘beast’, or Antichrist, will arise within and dominate the territories covered by the Roman earth.
In giving us such revelations, the Lord show kindness to His people that they might be forewarned and forearmed as the day approaches!
Starting with Cain and Nimrod (Genesis 4:9, 16; 1 John 3:12; 6:8), we are given pictures of the spirit of lawlessness and rebellion working in the hearts and lives of many men. That is the very spirit that will fill and govern, to an unprecedented degree, the Antichrist.
“Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10.
“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 there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 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. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear,” Revelation 13:4-9.
Outside of Bible revelation we have also been given pictures in history of such men. In more modern times we could point to Napoleon, to Hitler and Stalin and in this very day, to Vladimir Putin!
Please consider how Putin manifests the very spirit of Antichrist as it is revealed in Holy Scripture.
1. PUTIN’S WICKED AND RUTHLESS AMBITION.
Putin was born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) and studied law at Leningrad State University, graduating in 1975. He worked as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel, before resigning in 1991 to begin a political career in Saint Petersburg. He later moved to Moscow in 1996 to join the administration of president Boris Yeltsin.
He briefly served as director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and secretary of the Security Council, before being appointed as prime minister in August 1999.
A recent statement by Putin indicates the threat he is to the WHOLE world.
The ‘Daily Mail’ of 26th February 2022, has an article headlined:
Putin reveals plan to dominate Europe beyond Ukraine: Neighbours Finland and Sweden are warned they will face ‘military and political consequences’ if they join NATO
“‘Finland and Sweden should not base their security on damaging the security of other countries and their accession to NATO can have detrimental consequences and face some military and political consequences,’ foreign affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a news briefing.”
Putin’s grandiose and most alarming ambitions are made clear in this statement. In this he replicates the spirit of the Antichrist. The Antichrist has ambitions to be as God and have all men yield to him. “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. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,” Revelation 13:7-8.
Isaiah the prophet sets forth this image of the heart of the Antichrist. “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High,” Isaiah 14:12-14.
To the end of his life he will pursue this ambition. “He shall enter also into the glorious land . . . . And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him,” Daniel 11:41, 45. “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?” 2Thessalonians 2:3-5.
Antichrist’s wicked ambitions will be his utter undoing as it may also prove to be for Vladimir Putin!!
2. PUTIN’S ACTIVITIES IN CHECHNYA.
Russia waged war, under Boris Yeltsin’s leadership, against the people of that land, when they desired independence in 1994 – 1996 but the Russians were forced to sue for peace, such was the resistance mounted by the Chechens.
Again, under Putin this time, Chechnya was once more attacked in the war of 1999-2000. However it was not until 2009 that all hostilities ended. The exact death toll of the conflict is unknown. Russian casualties are around 7,500 (official Russian casualty figures) or about 14, 000 according to the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers. Unofficial sources estimate a range of 25, 000 to 50, 000 dead or missing, mostly Chechen civilians.
Putin was giving the world a clear picture of his mindset and cruelty.
In the past, the Lord has acted against those of Putin’s character. His Word contains warnings to his like. God notes and will avenge such action.
“Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man,” Genesis 9:6.
“Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it,” Habakkuk 2:8-11.
“Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee. O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble. At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered. And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them,” Isaiah 33:1-4.
3. PUTIN’S PAST ACTIVITIES IN UKRAINE.
During Putin’s third term as president, Russia launched a military intervention in Ukraine and annexed Crimea. Again, he was not threatened by Ukraine.
This account of that unlawful event may be read in Wikipedia.
“In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian conflict.
On 22–23 February 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin convened an all-night meeting with security service chiefs to discuss the extrication of the deposed Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych. At the end of the meeting, Putin remarked that ‘we must start working on returning Crimea to Russia’. On 23 February, pro-Russian demonstrations were held in the Crimean city of Sevastopol. On 27 February, masked Russian troops without insignia took over the Supreme Council (parliament) of Crimea and captured strategic sites across Crimea, which led to the installation of the pro-Russian Sergey Aksyonov government in Crimea, the conducting of the Crimean status referendum and the declaration of Crimea’s independence on 16 March 2014.
Russia formally incorporated Crimea as two Russian federal subjects—the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol on 18 March 2014. Following the annexation, Russia escalated military presence on the peninsula and leveraged nuclear threats to solidify the new status quo on the ground.”
CONDEMNATION
Ukraine and many other countries condemned the annexation and consider it to be a violation of international law and Russian-signed agreements safeguarding the territorial integrity of Ukraine, including the 1991 Belavezha Accords that established the Commonwealth of Independent States, the 1975 Helsinki Accords, the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances and the 1997 Treaty on friendship, cooperation and partnership between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. It led to the other members of the then G8 suspending Russia from the group and then introducing a first round of sanctions against the country. The United Nations General Assembly also rejected the referendum and annexation, adopting a resolution affirming the ‘territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders’. The UN resolution also ‘underscores that the referendum having no validity, cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of [Crimea]’and called upon all states and international organizations not to recognise or to imply the recognition of Russia’s annexation. In 2016, the UN General Assembly reaffirmed non-recognition of the annexation and condemned ‘the temporary occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine—the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol’.
The Russian government opposes the ‘annexation’ label, with Putin defending the referendum as complying with the principle of self-determination of peoples.
4. PUTIN’S COMMERCIAL ACHIEVEMENTS IN RUSSIA.
During Putin’s first tenure as president, the Russian economy grew for eight consecutive years, with GDP measured by purchasing power increasing by 72%; Russian self-assessed life satisfaction rose significantly. The growth was a result of a fivefold increase in the price of oil and gas, which constitute the majority of Russian exports, recovery from the post-communist depression and financial crises, a rise in foreign investment, and prudent economic and fiscal policies.
Such an ability to enrich a people, a nation, is certainly one of the features which will be seen in the Antichrist.
It was seen in Napoleon’s France and in Hitler’s Germany. The leadership of both of these men elevated their respective nations – FOR A TIME. But in the end, ruin came!
Heed these words regarding the capital of Antichrist’s commercial empire.
“And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies,” Revelation 18:2-3. Antichrist’s kingdom will enrich the ‘merchants of the earth’. Again, heed these words.
“And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate,” Revelation 18:11-19.
Whatever prosperity sin brings is short lived! “He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly,” Job 20:15. As it will be with the Antichrist, as John the apostle saw, so it will be with the likes of Putin.
5. PUTIN’S DEFIANCE AND DENIAL OF GOD.
Russia is a ‘Kingdom of Atheists’! It may declare that there is freedom of religion and civil rights within its dominion but it is not so. Under Putin’s leadership, Russia has shifted to authoritarianism. Experts do not consider Russia a democracy, citing the jailing and repression of political opponents, the intimidation and suppression of the free press and the lack of free and fair elections.
New York City-based NGO Human Rights Watch, in a report entitled Laws of Attrition, authored by Hugh Williamson, the British director of HRW’s Europe & Central Asia Division, has claimed that since May 2012, when Putin was re-elected as president, Russia has enacted many restrictive laws, started inspections of non-governmental organizations, harassed, intimidated and imprisoned political activists, and started to restrict critics. The new laws include the ‘foreign agents’ law, which is widely regarded as over-broad by including Russian human rights organizations which receive some international grant funding, the treason law, and the assembly law which penalises many expressions of dissent.
Scott Gehlbach, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has claimed that since 1999, Putin has systematically punished journalists who challenge his official point of view.
It has been reported that back in 2016: ‘Russian president Vladimir Putin approved a package of anti-terrorism laws that usher in tighter restrictions on missionary activity and evangelism. Despite prayers and protests from religious leaders and human rights advocates, the Kremlin announced Putin’s approval.. The amendments, including laws against sharing faith in homes, online, or anywhere but recognised church buildings, go into effect July 20, 2016.’
‘There are potentially very wide-sweeping ramifications to this law,’ Joel Griffith of the Slavic Gospel Association said in a Mission Network News report. ‘It just depends on, again, how it is going to be enforced, and that is a very huge question mark.’
Christians in Russia, under Putin’s restrictions, won’t be allowed to email their friends an invitation to church or to evangelise in their own homes if Russia’s newest set of surveillance and anti-terrorism laws are enacted.
Putin, just like the Antichrist, has used religion as a means of advancing his power. He has gained the sympathy of the Russian Orthodox Church by appearing to offer it freedom. But many see through that pretence. For instance, his apparent opposition to abortion is not because it is morally wrong but rather because it depletes the physical growth of the nation!
This may be read in ‘Christianity Today’ of February 22nd 2022. “Take the issue of abortion. Not only is the abortion rate in Russia high, but even when pro-government forces articulate something akin to a “pro-life” view, it is usually in terms of curbing demographic decline, rather than protecting vulnerable human lives.”
The Bible tells us that Antichrist will make a show of sympathy toward the Jewish religion in his heyday in Jerusalem and make a covenant with them. However, he will break that covenant and then will begin the last three and half years of this age and the ‘great tribulation’ for the Jewish people in particular.
“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: 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,” Daniel 9:27.
The Saviour spoke of this terrible event in Matthew 24.
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: for then shall be great tribulation, 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: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened,” verses 15-22.
THE LORD’S RESPONSE
The Lord will respond to Putin’s wickedness as He has responded to man’s defiance on many occasions in the past.
Take the example of Goliath. “And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together,” 1 Samuel 17:10. “And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 1 Samuel 17:26.
There is a day coming when great David’s Greater Son, the Lord Jesus, will respond to the spirit of defiance seen back in David’s day in Goliath and seen today, amongst many, in Vladimir Putin and finally and fully in the future manifestation of Antichrist, as was pictured by David’s challenging and defeating Goliath. It is a universal divine edict that we reap what we sow! “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap,” Galatians 6:7. So it will be for all of Putin’s ilk!
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh,” Revelation 19:11-21.
As John prayed, so do we! “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
28th February, 2022.