The wild beast from the abyss

Scrolls were opened.—Rev. 20:12.

I know I am probably whipping a dead horse with this, as the saying goes. I guess I can’t help it. Who knows, though, perhaps some JW will be moved to think and reconsider some of the things the Watchtower has put on the table as spiritual food. Not that it would make one iota of difference in the outcome.

Anyway, to elaborate on yesterday’s commentary regarding the Watchtower’s interpretation of Revelation, consider, again, the absurdity of the notion that the seventh head of the beast suffered a fatal wound during WWI and that the League of Nations was the image of the beast. Besides the fact, as I have pointed out many times, that the United States was not even a member of the League, and hence the League had zero authority over America, it is blasphemous to assert that God has condemned a large segment of mankind to the second death for their having given their allegiance to the impotent League of Nations —assuming that was even possible.

For those who may not grasp the point, the 13th chapter of Revelation makes it clear that the world is brought into judgment by God after the beast makes a surprise recovery from its seeming fatal head wound. And those who are amazed by its recuperation and who pay homage to the beast and its image do not have their names written down in the book of life. That means they forfeit a resurrection and have no hope of surviving into the new world.

The scriptures reveal after the beast recovers it wages war against the holy ones, conquering them. Verses 7 and 8 state: “It was permitted to wage war with the holy ones and conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. And all those who dwell on the earth will worship it. From the founding of the world, not one of their names has been written in the scroll of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered.”

Before going any further, here is a question to consider: Has the Anglo-American dual world power ever had authority over every nation on earth? The answer is clearly no. Did the League of Nations ever have any authority? Of course not. Most people living now are hardly even aware there was such an organization as the League. Yet, the Watchtower claims that Jehovah sentenced persons to everlasting death who may have supported the League in some way. The foremost question this ought to raise is this: Why is Jehovah so unjust and arbitrary?

What about the United Nations? Does it have authority over all nations?  Again, no. It does not. However, what is noteworthy is, unlike the League the UN does have the potential to become a world government, if it were so empowered. It is sort of a global government in waiting —a placeholder for something to come.

So, while it is simply not true that the United Nations fulfilled the prophecy attributed to it, there is no question that its promoters intend to empower it as a world government, but the main hinderance is nationalism. Individual nations simply are not willing to cede their sovereignty to a supranational organization. However, when we look at the European Union and how member nations have been forced to comply with the dictates of Brussels it is not so unimaginable that an organization like the UN could, under certain circumstances, acquire supreme power over all nations. Of course, that would mean the end of democracy and the Westphalian nation-state system, but  it would fulfill the prophecy that depicts the beast having authority over all tribes and tongues and nations.

Since the collapse of the USSR the Anglo imperialists have devised a strategy for global domination. The ruination of nations like Iraq, Libya and Syria has simply been key preliminary steps toward global hegemony. But Russia’s intervention in Syria has been an effective roadblock, the proverbial line in the sand. Without doubt, the Russo/Sino partnership presents a formidable challenge to the Anglo scheme for global domination. Given the current standoff, war between the nuclear powers seems to be all but inevitable.

Surely a war between nuclear powers is un-winnable. It will only result in ruination beyond anything that has ever befallen the nations. In the aftermath of such a catastrophe the nations would accept global government.

Returning to the Scriptures, the 17th chapter of Revelation reiterates that same judgment, saying: “The wild beast that you saw was, but is not, and yet is about to ascend out of the abyss, and it is to go off into destruction. And the inhabitants of the earth—those whose names have not been written in the scroll of life from the founding of the world—will be amazed when they see how the wild beast was, but is not, and yet will be present.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses may not realize it but the Watchtower actually teaches that there are two seven-headed beasts that ascend out of the abyss on two different occasions. Amazingly, the beast described above is said to be the League of Nations. It went into a state on non-existence when the Second World War broke out. It is said to have emerged from the abyss when the United Nations arose following the war.

But the 11th chapter of Revelation speaks about the beast rising from the abyss and killing God’s two anointed witnesses, which the Watchtower claims took place back during the First World War. That beast is said to have come from the abyss in the sense that it arose from the sea of mankind —and the sea may also be called an abyss. So, in order to fit their interpretation the Watchtower has concocted two different meanings for what an abyss is, even though Revelation uses the term abyss in the exact same context regarding those who do not have their names written in the scroll of life.

The fact is there is only one symbolic beast that ascends from the abyss. The scarlet-colored beast that John saw, that was, but is not, yet is about to ascend out of the abyss, is the same beast that suffered a fatal head wound. After the fatal blow the beast “is not.” In other words, there will be no functioning government for a brief time. The healing of the mortal blow coincides with the beast emerging from the abyss. We know that to be true by reason of the fact that those who follow the beast do not have their names written in the book of life. That is the commonality.

Interestingly, the angel was speaking to John at the point in the vision when the beast “was not” —foretelling it is about to ascend from the abyss in the future. That would seem to indicate that the sons of God who are on hand when the beast goes into the abyss will only be enlightened by Christ after the system crashes. For sure, as I have stated before, the blindness of the leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses is impenetrable. It will require the crash of the entire system to get them into the proper frame of mind.

The reason the Watchtower has gone to such lengths to interpret Revelation in such a way is due to the influence of the Devil, who is intent on creating a fake return of Christ, which he masterfully has in the form of the Watchtower’s 1914 doctrine.

Knowing as we do the death stroke on the beast coincides with the ouster of the demons from heaven, which occurs as a result of the Kingdom coming to power, using “every powerful work and lying signs and wonders and every unrighteous deception,” the Devil has succeeded in convincing Jehovah’s Witnesses that the things that must shortly take place have already taken place.