The Whore and her Mother: 9/11, Babylon and the Return of the King

by Raymond McCullough

  Isaiah 17:7 In that day people will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.

  This verse occurs in the chapter of Isaiah about the destruction of Damascus and Israel’s enemies being “tumbleweed before a gale” and gone by morning! So that miraculous victory may be enough of a catalyst to open the eyes of many Israelites to their Messiah, though perhaps (as we have said) not yet the full fulfilment of Zechariah’s prophecy (above) of mourning for “the One they have pierced.”

  Paul says:

  Romans 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

  The last ‘seven’ (years) of Daniel’s ‘Seventy Weeks’ prophecy concern the people of Israel – so it is very likely that this change of heart will occur before then – however, that is not something anyone can state categorically.

  These are my thoughts at present. They will hopefully be borne out by the events, but I only offer them for your consideration. Feel free to research further – as will I. Definitely, though, this change of heart WILL come about!

  The ‘heart of stone’ removed!

  1 Already there are around 3-400,000 Jewish people who recognise Yeshua as their Lord and Messiah.

  2 Many of those who regard themselves as Israelite (of the ten tribes) also have this conviction – though many of them are presently Moslem.

  3 In Ezekiel 36 the LORD promised a day would come when he would remove the “heart of stone” and give the people of Israel a heart of flesh, putting His Spirit within them. This would appear to be after the great in-gathering of ALL the people of Israel from the nations – and therefore, probably after the decisive 6-hour war which will change the face of the Middle East forever.

  4 Zechariah 12 also speaks of this great change of heart – “they will look on Me, the one they have pierced” … and mourn and grieve bitterly.”

  5 Perhaps the revelation, at the right time, of blood from the cross falling upon the Mercy Seat in the Ark of the Covenant, could be a significant catalyst?

  6 Israel’s “hardening in part” only lasts “until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and then all Israel will be saved.” So, perhaps this will happen after the fall of Babylon (times of the Gentiles fulfilled), which is the last ‘seven’ of Daniel’s prophecy.

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  17 The 1,000 year reign of Messiah

  The Messiah has come at last to reign on earth and his first action – apart from gathering his followers from the four corners of the earth and resurrecting those “fallen asleep” – is to war against the Anti-Christ and the armies of all the nations of the world.

  Their armies are now gone – completely wiped out, and buried on the mountains of Israel, but those nations themselves still remain. They received the “mark of the beast” and worshipped him – hating the Messiah and his followers – yet many of them (though not all) are still alive and have been spared.

  Resurrected, or caught up to meet him

  Those who love the Messiah will either have been resurrected at his appearance or – those who are still alive – caught up to meet Him in the clouds. As Paul tells us:

  1 Corinthians 15:51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

  All of Messiah’s followers will be changed from having mortal bodies, to immortal ones. We will “be like the angels in heaven,” Yeshua says in Matthew 22:30. This will not be the case for the surviving people of the nations around the world, who have just spent the last 3 1/2 years hating God, his Messiah and those who follow him.

  Messiah’s Wedding and Award Ceremony

  When the Messiah comes, he will “present [the church] to himself, as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” .(Ephesians 5:25) He will celebrate a wedding feast, with the church as his bride:

  Matthew 25:10 The bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

  Revelation 21:9 “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

  He will begin his reign by what is commonly referred to as “the judgement seat of Christ (Messiah)”.

  Romans 14:10 For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.

  2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

  Revelation 11:18 The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small.”

  This is not a judgement seat as in a courtroom (which will come at the end of the millennium), but more like an award ceremony at the end of an athletic contest, where the trophies are awarded for achievement.

  Luke 14:12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

  Mark 10:21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

  Luke 12:33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

  Luke 19:15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ 17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ 18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ 19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’

  Those who follow Yeshua will be judged by the deeds he/she has done while alive, “in the body.” They will receive rewards according to their faithfulness, as Yeshua stated in the parable above. Those rewards will include responsibility for governing the nations of the world – ruling over cities!

  Revelation 19:6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’”

  This award ceremony will include the great “Wedding Feast of the Lamb”:

  Ruling the nations with a rod of iron

  The Messiah has returned
to “rule the nations with a rod of iron.”

  Psalm 2:9 You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery."

  Psalm 110:2 The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion; you will rule in the midst of your enemies.

  Revelation 2:27 He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery' – just as I have received authority from my Father.

  Revelation 12:5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.

  Revelation 19:15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

  Isaiah 45:23 By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.

  Romans 14:11 It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'"

  Phillippians 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

  We shall reign with Him

  Not only will the Messiah reign over the whole earth, but his faithful followers will reign with Him. This was the import of all those parables Yeshua taught, about ruling over 10 cities, etc.

  2 Timothy 2:12 If we endure, we will also reign with him.

  Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

  4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

  Those we will reign over will be reluctant subjects – although probably relieved also to be out from under the oppressive reign of the Anti-Christ. This reign will be administered from Jerusalem, where the Messiah will set up his throne:

  Zechariah 14:16 Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 17 If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain. 18 If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The LORD will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 20 On that day HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the LORD’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD Almighty.

  The River of Life

  There will be great physical changes on the earth, especially around Jerusalem. We have mentioned the great earthquake which will split the Mount of Olives as the Messiah’s foot touches it.

  Zechariah 14:8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter. 9 The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.

  The earthquake will affect the landscape of the whole area:

  10 The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up and remain in its place, from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses. 11 It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.

  Revelation 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

  The river of living water flows into the Dead Sea, bringing it to life – the water will become fresh, teeming with fish!

  Ezekiel 47:1 The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was flowing from the south side.

  6 Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. 8 He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the [Dead] Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh. 9 Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. 10 Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds—like the fish of the Great Sea (Mediterranean). 11 But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”

  The Final Judgement

  During this 1,000 year reign, Satan has been bound and is unable to deceive the nations of the world. There will be 1,000 years of peace, healing and righteous rule by the Messiah and his followers.

  Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

  At the end of the millennium, the nations of the earth are tested by Satan one last time:

  Revelation 20:7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

  Even after 1,000 years of righteousness and peace, the nations of the earth will allow themselves to be deceived once again and will come in battle against the Messiah and God’s people.

  Daniel 7:9 “As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. H
is clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

  Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.