Apollo Rules
When the Messiah foretold the time of the Apocalypse, he compared it to the conditions which prevailed during the days of Noah and in Sodom and Gomorrah: “
As it was, so shall it be.”
We have seen that the same spiritual forces which were evident during the time of Noah will again be unleashed upon this Earth when the same fallen angels are released from
Tartarus
during the seven years of Great Tribulation. Thus the violence and destruction and immorality which prevailed before the Flood and in Sodom and Gomorrah, caused by the
Nephilim,
will once again be acted out on a worldwide scale during the Apocalypse.
The ruler over these demonic angels from the Abyss is
Apollyon,
or, in Hebrew,
Abaddon.
This being is named in Revelation as the Beast who is the political leader called the Antichrist. Whether
Apollyon
is an actual person or a spirit which possesses the man who becomes the Antichrist, we cannot say (as Satan entered Judas in
John 13:27
). However, this godlike man will be embraced and worshipped by the world in much the same way as the Apollo of Greek legend, who has always been the epitome of what the world considers the perfect man. For Byron, Apollo was “
the god of life, and poetry, and light, the sun in human limbs array'd
.” For Swinburne, he was “
the word, the light, the life, the breath, the glory
.” Apollo is the Western man's ideal of man. When Shakespeare's Hamlet extols his vision of man, he is extolling Apollo: “
What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form, in moving, how express and admirable! In action, how like an angel! In apprehension
,
how like a god! The beauty of the world.”
Reason, nobility, form, action, apprehension, beauty â these are Apollo's essential attributes.
We are told in Revelation that Apollyon will have an accomplice called the False Prophet. This man will possess magical powers which will enable him to delude the masses into following the Beast who is the Antichrist.
And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing
fire to come down from Heaven to Earth in full view of men.
Because of the signs he was given to do on behalf of the first
Beast (Apollyon), he deceived the inhabitants of the Earth.
Revelation 13:13,14
Here is further evidence of the powers available to these spirit beings, which they would have employed in their construction projects of the pre-Flood era. All this will come to pass during the seven years of the Great Tribulation. Since these are the same spiritual powers which were in evidence in the time of Noah, it is fair to assume that similar evil was perpetrated back then.
The two prophets who bear witness on behalf of Yaweh and cannot be touched by ordinary man are eventually slain by the Beast who comes up out of the Abyss,
Apollyon
. His name in both Hebrew and Greek means “destruction” or “destroyer” and his spirit power enables him to kill Yaweh's two prophets when nobody else could.
In Revelation 17 we are given some curious information regarding the Antichrist:
The Beast which you saw once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction.
And the inhabitants of the Earth, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the creation of the world, will be astonished when they see the Beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come again.
Revelation 17:8,9
This statement has bamboozled most commentators. I have read many interpretations of it, yet none seemed to make any sense. However, if our etymological assumptions are correct, and
Apollyon
of the Apocalypse is indeed
Apollo
of the Ancient World, then this prophecy has a clear meaning. For Apollo
once was
, in the 1,000 years or so from Jared to Noah before the Flood. He now
is not,
because he has been incarcerated in
Tartarus
as a consequence of his involvement in the contagion which afflicted all humankind, bringing about the Flood. And
yet will come again
means that he will rise up out of the Abyss in the near-future Apocalypse and will manifest himself in the person of the Antichrist.
Furthermore, we are told, when he does materialise,
he will go to his destruction.
Most commentators believe that this means
he will be destroyed
. But his name means “destruction.” And we know that the Antichrist will create havoc, culminating in half of the world's population being obliterated. Therefore this
Apollo
, the Destroyer, will proceed to fulfil his mission, which is the destruction of mankind. Obviously, this is precisely what he did in the pre-Flood era, when violence filled the Earth and blood flowed freely.
Thus we have a clear connection between the antediluvian avatars and builder-gods of the early days of Greece, Rome and Egypt, and the gods of the Apocalypse to come, the Beast or Antichrist and the False Prophet, both of whom receive their power from the dragon, who is Satan.
Other players will be on the stage in this time also, but the leading roles in the Apocalypse are reserved for Satan and his accomplices.
FINAL COUNTDOWN
I
n the mid-1930s, Hitler set about building up an arsenal bigger than any ever seen. He built fighter planes and bombers. His panzer tanks were more powerful and faster than anything previously built. In a very short time he had a military force capable of conquering most of the world. Many who watched as he built up his military machine demanded action. They argued that if they did not arm themselves, their security could be endangered. Of course, liberal elements warned against such reaction. They argued that if they began to build up arms, this would only increase the chances of war. So they took no action.
As soon as he was ready, Hitler overran Poland, barely having to fire a shot. He continued to invade and conquer with ease, breaking all his peace treaties in so doing. By the time all the rest of the world got involved and he was finally stopped, up to 70 million people were dead.
The latter half of the seven years of the Great Tribulation will make the first and second world wars look like a minor side show. All the main protagonists are arming themselves to the teeth in preparation for this final conflict. The stage is set. It is only a matter of time.
We are told in Ezekiel 38 and 39 that a
“great power from the north”
will attack Jerusalem. If you study a map, you will see that the “great power” north of Palestine is Russia. Many scholars believe that Russia and an alliance of Moslem nations will combine to make this assault. This will happen sometime during the middle years of the Great Tribulation. It will come as a complete surprise to Israel, which will be dwelling in peace at this point. For we are told that the Antichrist will broker a peace agreement between Israel and her Arab neighbours, guaranteeing Israel protection (
Daniel 7:27
). This will mark the beginning of the seven years of Tribulation.
Because Israel will not be expecting an invasion, there will be a sort of pseudo peace during the initial stages of the seven years. But at some point the “
great power from the north
,” together with the
“king of the south
,” will launch a surprise attack. In so doing, they will catch everyone unawares and their incursion will succeed. However, according to Ezekiel, God will destroy these armies in the hills north of Jerusalem. But not before they have plundered Jerusalem, slaughtering two-thirds of the city's inhabitants. The remaining one-third will escape into the desert. But when these armies retreat to the hills north of Jerusalem, they will be utterly routed (probably by the Antichrist and his Western alliance). The peace treaty which was brokered by the Antichrist will have been broken. At this stage, the Antichrist will have been raised from the dead and totally empowered by Satan. The Russian and Moslem armies having been defeated, the Antichrist, with the military might of the West behind him, will move to fill the power vacuum which exists in the Middle East. He will set up camp in Jerusalem, where the temple will have been rebuilt, as has been prophesied. The Antichrist will then fulfil another prophecy by entering the temple and setting himself up as the true Messiah, demanding worship of himself and uttering blasphemies against the God of Heaven.
He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws.
Daniel 7:25
Â
He shall do according to his will and shall exalt himself above every God, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of Gods.
Daniel 11:36
In the New Testament, we have Paul's corroboration of Daniel's words:
He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God's Temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan, displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders.
II Thessalonians 2:4,9
While this is going on, the “Kings of the East” will decide to make their move. This is the first reference in the Bible to the people of Asia and the Far East, yet we are told that an army numbering 200 million will massacre one-third of the population of the world as it cuts a swathe westward.
Never before has the Bible referred to any great powers either from the north or the Far East until these end-time scenarios. It is only in recent years that China and Russia have become superpowers with nuclear weapons and arsenals capable of mass destruction. Again we marvel at the accuracy of prophecy as we see these players align themselves to fulfil their destiny.
The River Euphrates has always been the dividing line between the Middle East and China and the Far East. We are told that this great river will be dried up to make way for this 200 million-strong army. The Euphrates is 1,700 miles long. This huge army will continue to move south-west, with Palestine as its destination. Conflict with the Antichrist and his Western powers will be inevitable.
The Antichrist is to receive his authority from a confederation of ten nations. Most scholars of “end-times” prophecy believe that this confederacy will be made up of the remnants of the revived Roman Empire. Since the United States is largely made up of European people who are descended from the old Roman Empire, it is feasible and probable that it would be part of a military alliance with Europe and other Western nations.
The EU is fast becoming the strongest financial power block in the world. For the EU, the United States and every other world power, oil is essential to keeping the wheels of industry turning. Anything which might interfere with or threaten this oil supply would have to be dealt with.
It is for this reason that the Americans, along with all the other allied nations, moved so quickly into the 1991 Gulf War. As one pundit put it: “If they were growing carrots in Kuwait, the Iraqis would still be there.”
The world is aligning itself into four main power blocs. On one side you have the Russian people, who are politically close to another main power bloc, the Arabs. Both have one thing in common: they dislike and distrust the West and especially America. Anytime there is an international incident, the Russians almost always side with the Arab nations, and vice versa.
It is also economically and politically expedient for Russia to ally itself with its Moslem neighbours, who are rich in oil dollars, since its own economy is not healthy. In exchange for cash and oil, the Russians supply military hardware and know-how.
Both the Americans and the Russians have large fleets of nuclear submarines, each armed with about 200 nuclear warheads, capable of destroying thousands of cities and millions of lives. And these missiles can reach their targets in a matter of minutes.
China has the capability now of hitting targets in the West. India and Pakistan have recently become nuclear powers and have been rattling their sabres at each other. India now has a population in excess of one billion. China, with a population estimated at 1,200 million people, has been cultivating closer links with its other Asian neighbours. The threat from the “Kings of the East” may be a confederacy of these nations, with the oil of the Middle East becoming their primary focus. This is the third major power bloc, Russia and the Arab nations being the other two.
Then there is the West: the United States and its allies. After the Unites States, Europe ranks second in world terms as an economic and military power.
These then are the four main power blocs.
We are told that God will gather all the armies of the world to battle in this area of the Middle East. The Valley of Megiddo in northern Israel forms a land bridge between three continents. During the final 3½ years of this time of trouble, many will die as a result of other conflicts, of disease and because of the general breakdown which will occur in society. But it is in Armageddon that the final button will be pushed to plunge the world into the throes of destruction.
It is reasonable to assume that a huge military force will gather in the Middle East to confront the threat posed by the 200 million-strong army arriving from the East. There can be only one outcome to this stand-off: all-out war.
In 1410 BC, Zechariah, writing of this day, prophesied:
Behold the day of the Lord comes when I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle . . . then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations.
Zechariah 14:1-3
Earlier, I quoted some of the descriptions used by John to attempt to convey an understanding of the visions he both saw and heard. He spoke of a vision which might have been describing military aircraft. These had “
breastplates of iron and the sound of their wings was like the sound of many horses and chariots rushing into battle ⦠out of their mouths came fire
,
smoke and sulphur, and one-third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulphur
. . .” We also referred to the “Wormwood” which will fall into one-third of the world's drinking water, polluting it and bringing death to all who drink it. Could this be biological warfare? Or could it be the result of nuclear fall-out?
In the above quotation we are told that one-third of the population of the world will be killed by what John calls three plagues of fire, brimstone and sulphur. I am convinced that he is describing three nuclear strikes. The first strike will be when the Russians, along with their Moslem comrades, are destroyed in the mountains north of Israel by the Antichrist and his powerful Western alliance.
The second will result from the nuclear warheads used by the vast army of the East as it slaughters all before it in its drive towards the Middle East. The third and final nuclear strike will be the seventh and last of the Seal, Trumpet and Vial judgments.
At the end of the seven years of Great Tribulation, the vast army from the East will have arrived at the Valley of Megiddo. Here it will be confronted by the powerful military alliance from the West, led by the Antichrist. There will be a standoff.
John describes what will happen:
Then they gathered the kings together in the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake has ever occurred since man has been on Earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed.
Revelation 16:16,18,19
After these vast armies have gathered, there will be a stand-off, then someone will push the button to release the first nuclear missile. With that, an unstoppable chain-reaction will occur. All the submarines on both sides will launch their deadly weapons. Land-based missiles from all parts of the world will be automatically fired. Hundreds and thousands of missiles will pass each other in the air. This is why John describes it as:
Flashes of lightning
. . . just like the images we see on television as we witness missiles and shells being fired into the blackness of the night;
Rumblings
. . . the sound of distant explosions as the bombs strike their targets;
Peals of thunder
. . . caused by the initial firing of the weapons and their impact when they hit;
And a severe earthquake like no other
. . . The words “nuclear strike” or “explosion” were not in John's vocabulary. So when he saw all the missiles hit their targets, he could only describe this as a “tremendous earthquake.”
And the cities of the nations collapsed
. . . just as Hiroshima and Nagasaki collapsed over 50 years ago. There is only one thing which can cause all the cities of the nations to collapse at the same time. John is describing a nuclear strike. The history of the world is the history of war.
It is said in the Bible that all wars and famine and death and sickness are caused by the devil and Satan (
Hebrews 2:14
). It is the agency of evil spirits working through people and through physical catastrophes which brings about death and destruction. Even though it appears that man is the cause and the maker of war, the real power lies with the invisible spiritual influences which are manipulating situations and pulling the strings in the background.
A further description of this holocaust, which I believe is a nuclear strike, is given to us in chapter 16 of Revelation:
From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed Yaweh on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.
Revelation 16:21
There have been instances in history of very large showers of hail, but I do not believe that this is what John saw. Firstly, these “hailstones” were described as each weighing more than 100 pounds. Next, the hailstones fell upon “all” men, the inference being that they fell on all the people around the globe at the same time. Ordinary hailstones would not fall all over the world simultaneously. But missiles could. Especially when one side pushes the button and automatically forces the other side to do likewise. Thirdly, it says that men cursed Yaweh because the plague was so terrible. Well, I cannot envisage mankind cursing God over a shower of hailstones, no matter how severe. But here it describes the effect of this shower as being a “plague.” This accords with another passage already mentioned: