It is a bit ironic that after the passing of the day of the great and marvelous sign of the seven last plagues, we get mail from critics calling us by names too foul to repeat, informing us that “nothing happened.” Such people have utterly no regard for what is pure, but the irony of it is that their base language literally applies not to us, but to those who have received the first plague—which did begin on schedule, despite the blindness of some.
Anyone could have known that the first plague date of August 20, 2018 was the big arrival date for all those attending the great and highly anticipated 2018 World Meeting of Families, which opened the next day. Wouldn’t it be logical to any Protestant mind that such a great Catholic meeting could be the venue of the first plague, which specifically applies to those who have the mark of the beast?
And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. (Revelation 16:1-2)
Was there a disease that spread throughout Catholicism through that meeting? There were news reports of an increase in the number of measles cases, with a new record in Europe, and in the US, 21 states affected, as well as some alarmist reports of a rare tropical disease causing flesh-eating genital ulcers, which had reached the UK. Could such things have anything to do with the “noisome and grievous sore” of the first plague, or does the Bible employ such graphic symbolism to refer to something of much greater eternal consequence, and more directly linked to the mark of the beast?
On August 20, 2018—the exact start of the first plague according to God’s clock—the Vatican released a letter from the man of sin himself, confessing to the sexual abuses of children in the Catholic Church that had inconveniently been thrust into the spotlight through the Pennsylvania Grand Jury’s report less than a week prior. The stench of that offensive “scourge” afflicting the Catholic Church had reached all the way to its head, Pope Francis himself, putting him on the spot and making him stink like “toilet filth”—to borrow his own words—in front of the whole world.
The Bible speaks of this vial being poured out upon the “earth,” which primarily symbolizes the United States, as the nation that was most instrumental in setting up and worshiping the image of the beast.
And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. (Revelation 16:2)
The US is the second beast of Revelation 13—the nation that recently turned its back on the policy of its whole Protestant history by welcoming this pope to its shores to speak to its Congress and even to the whole General Assembly of the United Nations.
And he [the US] exerciseth all the power of the first beast [the papacy] before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. (Revelation 13:12)
The anger of Americans has been especially intensifying against Pope Francis because of the testimony of the Vatican’s former ambassador to the US, which implicates this pope himself in the scandals.
But Catholic affairs aside, the nation also faces its own scourge as the stench of President Donald Trump’s shady campaign dealing is also being exposed at this critical time. Cohen’s guilty plea, coming just one day into the first plague, directly implicated the president and has started the “countdown” to his impeachment. That comes at the same time Paul Manafort was found guilty of financial fraud for helping Trump with the Republican nomination for the White House. Some voices think impeachment is not enough for Trump, and are instead floating the idea of annulling his whole presidency.
Those are big festering wounds, especially for Trump’s Christian supporters who were instrumental in getting him elected, not to mention the fact that being dogged by his ill use of women has been a recurring shame to all the Trump supporters who still have any sense of propriety.
In other words, these scandals really make both the Catholic Church and the United States stink in front of the whole world. That is what “noisome” means—an extremely offensive smell. Furthermore, in addition to moral wickedness, the Strong’s definition of “grievous” includes lewdness—meaning crude and offensive in a sexual way. Those terms are a succinct yet graphic description of exactly what is falling upon the world today.
As you read the rest of this article, you will see more and more how precisely and accurately God has spoken through the Bible as made plain by the White Cloud Farm website. If our previous article declaring that the books are closed was interpreted to mean that this ministry would not be continuing beyond August 20, 2018, it was misunderstood. It was never about the cessation of the work, but about the closing of the books of the investigative judgment: the end of the great Day of Atonement. With the first plague already poured out, those who willfully transgress the law of God now, have no one to intercede for them. They will receive their due recompense.
Therefore, do not turn your back on the saving truth presented here—because you will not have a second chance. This article series will take you up to the pinnacle of the entire book of Revelation, and when you come back down again, there will be no question of how foul and offensive the sins of Babylon are in the sight of God, and that there is only one thing to be done:
Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. (From Revelation 18:4)
The news about the abuses in the Catholic Church may have just now come to light on a large scale, but the root of the problem is very old. One writer for the National Catholic Reporter acknowledged that the requirement for celibacy among the priesthood, together with a “culture of entitlement and secrecy” is a major factor driving some clergy members to seek sexual relationships with minors.[1] Note those words carefully! That sense of entitlement is an outflow of pride and position, and is contrary to the principles of heaven that Jesus wants to see in the hearts of His people. The evil of position-seeking and entitlement in the heart will ultimately lead to a condition like that described in the first plague. Evil unchecked will bear its ugly fruit, and all will see what manner of “tree” it comes from.
For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. (Luke 6:43-44)
The requirement for celibacy among priests became universal in the church nearly 900 years ago, but in the beginning, God had declared that it was not good for man to be alone.[2] Marriage was a gift from God that was not withheld from His priests—a holy union that one need not be ashamed of or conceal in secrecy. This undermining of the Edenic institution of marriage in God’s order has permitted the counterfeit of homosexuality to secretly fester in the Catholic Church, but now the sin is being laid open for all to see.
While it is true that Jesus covers the naked (repentant) transgressor, do not confuse this with the “cover-up” as the news portrays it, that the church has done in order to protect the institution! That kind of “covering up” is indeed a condoning of sin without demanding a reformed life according to God’s law. A shepherd who violates his sheep has proven himself unworthy of his trust, and must be removed from office, whether there is repentance or not. Were this principle followed, much pain and sorrow and sin would have been “hidden” by prevention, but now it is exposed for all to see.
Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. (James 5:20)
God’s law is like a protecting fence. The sheep need the boundaries of the fence to keep from going too far away. But when God’s law is set aside, whether publicly or in private, damage will be felt, sooner or later. God knew this from the very beginning when the first sin of pride was discovered in Lucifer himself, the highest angel of God. He knew that it would one-day lead to self-destruction, as the wise can now see coming quickly, both to the religious and political institutions of the world. His law protects from that sad outcome, but where it is disregarded, there will be grievous plagues. Therefore, God calls on His own at this time to separate from the accursed and join their voice in the loud cry:
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. (Revelation 18:2)
Now is not the time to hope for a change to the better. God is now bringing to light those hidden sins, so everyone within range of the stench can have the warning they need to flee before they, too, are personally caught in and punished with the plagues of the institutions.
The angels of God have been sounding the trumpets in heaven to warn the inhabitants of the earth that the fruit of their proud, power-seeking ways will finally ripen to their ruin—and that of the whole earth. We have now entered that phase of recompense, of God’s vengeance, when the warnings have given way to the plagues of judgment.
Sin in all its forms is beginning to be recompensed in the earth. It is not just about the sins of the church! The Mueller investigation continues to haunt the Trump White House and is getting closer and closer to Trump’s “red line” of his own finances. The awareness of corruption in high places is leading many to investigate and bring to light that which has been hidden for generations.
Now the great controversy that has been raging for millennia, unperceived by the common person, is coming to light. We are seeing before our eyes, the great struggle between the ways of righteousness and of wickedness. The scheming and conspiracy to gain advantage and power is finally beginning to turn against those who practice these things. For now, it is restricted to the Catholic Church and the US President—world-renown in their sphere—but soon, the piercing eyes of Truth will pry open the dark secrets of the smaller, less powerful entities. Recompense is coming! We get the first taste of that from the reeking wounds made more odious with every additional news report. It’s high time to take a stand for Christ in the controversy!
From the beginning of his rebellion until now, Satan has ever sought power and worship through self-exaltation,[3] doing that which served his own interests without regard for God’s law. This article will reveal to you clearly how Satan continues to do that and how God’s clocks have been pointing precisely to that. Under cover of deception, he led a third of the innocent angels of God to doubt their Lord and ultimately turn against Him, joining the rebellion.
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:7-9)
Just as Satan and his angels were exposed in heaven and cast out, now they are being exposed on earth. Satan is being unmasked, so you can recognize him in Pope Francis. For years he has deceived the whole world with his humble appearance, but now some are prying behind his amiable façade to reveal a darker reality, like the black trousers he wears under his white outer clothing.
The war that began in heaven is still being fought on earth, and the devil uses every lawless means at his disposal to lead the masses to serve him. He is using the pride of men to bring ruin upon the world. As long as he can maintain a positive image, many remain deceived, but those who love the truth do not reject the pain of what is being revealed as the hidden sins come to light.
Satan and his rebellion are pictured for our instruction on the vault of heaven. If you count the good and evil “angels” on the ecliptic as shown in the star chart below, you will be surprised to find that eight good angels (marked in green) stand against four evil angels (marked in red). Ophiuchus, the serpent-bearer, representing the man (Bergoglio) who yielded his body for Satan to occupy, leads his fallen third of the angels who were cast out of heaven[4] and are clustered around the crossing of the Milky Way. Orion and Auriga, the two anointed ones,[5] lead the good forces of the universe. Anyone who enters the “lion’s den” of the constellations marked in red would do well to go under the shield of God, which the eagle, Aquila, brings as King of heaven.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (Ephesians 6:13-16)
No one who is lacking the shield of righteousness by faith can escape the clutches of the enemy, since that crossing of the galactic equator lies in the midst of the most formidable enemies of God and His people. In another article, you will understand just how significant this imagery is in relation to the deliverance of God’s people from the world and the sins that plague it, for which Jesus died.
The saga of the ages, represented by these fixed constellations, is literally acted out by the moving planets. The story spanning the whole time of the trumpets and plagues can be seen in the heavens simply by watching Saturn, representing Satan, the accuser, and Jupiter, the king planet representing Jesus. They are leading the epic battle at the galactic center in precisely the timeframe of the trumpets and plagues, from late 2016 to early 2019.
The scene begins with Saturn in the role of Satan amidst his rebel angels and wearing his usurped “saturno” crown,[6] entering the great cloud of the Milky Way in October of 2016. All the while the first trumpet sounded, Saturn moved quickly toward the middle of the cloud on his patrol, as though guarding the way to the galactic center, representing his intent to prevent anyone on earth from being taken up in the cloud.[7] He does all in his power that Jesus’ sacrifice would yet be in vain.
Saturn is gloating as he hovers virtually unchallenged over the Galactic Center, marked by Sagittarius A*—it’s a coup of galactic proportions! This sign has great ramifications for the entire universe, which is full of innumerable myriads of worlds unfallen.
Saturn defends his position with his cohorts—all together represented by the surrounding constellations of Scorpius/Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Capricornus, and Aquarius. As long as he holds his ground—this earth—there is no way Jesus can come back[8] and claim His own. God does not exercise arbitrary power like a tyrant; Satan must be met and defeated by the terms of the great controversy. It is earthlings who must act their part to overcome sin through the power of Christ and thus bring Satan to defeat. He must be driven out of the central cloud of the galaxy, and that is the picture offered by the Creator to those who trust in His power in their lives.
The conflict is severe, and there are gains and losses on both sides. This struggle is accurately illustrated in the heavens as you watch Jupiter make his entrance and beat back Saturn. The scene portrays Jesus as Jupiter pushing Saturn out of the cloud of the galactic center. Indeed, he begins to flee even when Jupiter is still a good distance away with his escort of angels who go before him.
The Creator Himself set the heavenly bodies in motion to speak at this critical juncture in human history, to galvanize His beloved people for the fiercest and most decisive of all battles that must end the great controversy once and for all. This battle between heavenly powers and principalities[9] will become even clearer when you understand how it has been taking shape on the earth.
The WhiteCloudFarm.org website came into existence in 2016 as a result of the sacrifice that ultimately deferred the second coming of Jesus from October of 2016 to May of 2019. It is important to understand that the church body at large had already failed, and all the organized churches came completely under the influence of Pope Francis through his ecumenical mission. The church had already gone into captivity in Egypt, so to speak.
Because of the general failure of the churches, Jesus could not have come back as the Victor. His people, His army, were completely impotent to help Him win the great controversy. The only solution was the sacrifice of Philadelphia, which turned back the clock and opened the period of the trumpets and plagues that we are now in. In effect, this world had also been given over to the bondage of the control of Satan by the choices of mankind, most notably by their choice to forsake God’s law[10] and obey Satan’s law instead.
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (Romans 6:16)
This world’s submission to Satan reflects the dominion he has held over this world ever since Adam’s fall. Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross of Calvary secured man’s freedom of will, empowering him to choose anew who his leader would be—but so far, few have chosen Christ over the pleasures of this life.
The inhabitants of this quarantine planet should ultimately serve as an “electoral college” to decide the question of who should rule, not only this planet, but the whole universe. The great controversy is about the wicked Rebellion’s struggle to gain control over the universe by swaying the election in their favor with the pleasing, but deceptive campaign for “liberty”. Are the dark ways of secret sin better than the ways of light and truth? Would you choose to sin if you could get away with it, or would you walk in God’s ways, even if there were no reward for keeping His law? Would you turn a blind eye to sin in order to preserve the reputation of your beloved church, company, or family? How will you vote? Whose is the better form of government?
So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever. And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts. (Psalms 119:44-45)
The plagues are the result of sin, as much as recompense for it. In the church, instead of holy matrimony among the priesthood, as God ordained, homosexuality and other abominations are prevalent, under the cover of pretended celibacy. They are servants of sin and obey Satan’s law and will take part in his reward. They exercise the diabolical power to gratify their sinful and unlawful desires with a measure of impunity provided by secrecy.
This power is the same thing that many seek, who have no love of the truth. They call it “liberty”, because they seek freedom from God’s law of liberty[11] to do their own desire, whether moral or not, without penalty. Many a businessman has ventured into this realm, settling shady deals and trying to keep them secret, so as to avoid judgment. Some now believe that this is why President Trump appears nervous[12] that his business finances may be scrutinized.
Trump is known to have used many unscrupulous practices[13] as he amassed his great wealth and consequent power, and so shows that he has no regard for God’s law. It is understandable, therefore, that he has said that his finances are a “red line” that must not be crossed in any investigations,[14] lest they reveal secrets he’d rather keep buried.
God has been warning the earth about the coming judgments for these sins. The love of money, with which the powerful men of the world obtain their influence, is quickly bringing the earth to the brink of disaster.
For the love of money [which is power] is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:10)
Whether a faithless person or a Christian who errs from the faith through covetousness, the love of money will serve as a sword that pierces the heart with much pain unto death. It is self-destructive. In this article, you will see how God’s trumpets have been warning about the end that will come as a result of the sinful ways of the angry, power-hungry leaders of the world.
It is at the time of the national apostasy [the US Sodomy law of 2015] when, acting on the policy of Satan, the rulers of the land will rank themselves on the side of the man of sin. It is then the measure of guilt is full. The national apostasy is the signal for national ruin. —Selected Messages 2:373 (1891). {LDE 134.1}
It is not hard to imagine that the trade wars that Trump has started will lead to national ruin, and the nations, having become angry for a destroyed world economy would then most certainly retaliate with physically destructive weapons in a conventional World War. God’s trumpet clock has been pointing precisely to the developments leading up to that end, and in this article, that will be clearly brought out.
An important question we should ask ourselves is whether the plagues can begin before the sixth trumpet has ended![15] Could it be that it has fulfilled in a dramatic way, yet in a different line than we were primed to expect? We anticipated World War, and there was a major war between certain of the Great Powers in the world, but because their weapons were not missiles and bombs, we did not recognize it for what it was!
Now you will see how the sixth trumpet was a loud warning of the greater ruin to come and how precisely it fulfilled, from beginning to end!
Yes, the sixth trumpet has completely fulfilled, and the text has a wealth of meaning. Some aspects of it were presented in The Books Are Closed, but in this article we want to show how it speaks to what happened during the period from June 3 to August 20, which we’ve hinted has something to do with the trade wars that were escalating all throughout that time, as one of the most dominant news topics in regards to world affairs during that period. But what does all the strange biblical symbolism mean, and how did it fulfill? To answer that, we must use the cardinal rule for interpreting the Revelation: look up to the heavens. The heavens unlock the mysteries of the book of Revelation, by giving signs to indicate when and how the corresponding events on the earth take shape.
To start with, there is a “voice” from the four horns of the golden “altar” which is before “God.”
And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, (Revelation 9:13)
When we look up to the heavenly canvas on June 3, when the sixth trumpet begins according to God’s clock, we should expect to see this scene. Where should we look? Somewhere “before God” in the heavens, or in other words, in the vicinity of Orion, since Orion represents Jesus and also where God’s throne is. And indeed, there we see the scene as described:
The constellation of Taurus is activated by the sun, and now represents the golden altar that stands before God. As the altar where the blood of bullocks is sprinkled, of course, it has four horns—and not two horns and two legs. The verse speaks of a “voice” coming from the four horns, which could be either the sun or the planet Mercury, which are both in the four horns of the altar, but we can further narrow the choice by noticing that this voice is not said to be a “great” or “loud” voice. That means the voice must be referring to Mercury, and not either of the two “great lights” of the Creation (the sun in this case).
The voice of Mercury takes us into the next verse:
Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet… (Revelation 9:14)
In this unique case, one of the trumpet angels is specifically addressed. The book of Revelation is full of the mention of “angels,” which are simply “heavenly messengers” in the widest sense of the word, including planets and constellations that bear a message through their biblical symbolism. To identify this reference to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, we need to pay attention to the fact that it is speaking about the sixth position on the trumpet clock, which indicates the time of the sounding of the sixth trumpet.
Normally, we talk of the “angel” (i.e. the entity that has a message) for a particular time around the clock as being a reference to the corresponding star, like Saiph for the first trumpet, Rigel for the second, etc., all the way around the clock. For the sixth trumpet, we have the unique situation where Alnitak, the center of the clock, is the nearest star from which both of its throne line pointers emanate. Alnitak, means “the wounded One,” which of course is a reference to Jesus Himself, as understood by everyone who has the seal of Revelation 3:12 with Jesus’ new name. Therefore, the angel whom Mercury speaks to must be a representation of Jesus in the heavens, and furthermore it must be one that can support having the sixth trumpet. The constellation of Orion fits the bill, as Orion symbolizes Jesus as the High Priest as well as being the clock where the timing of the sixth trumpet is defined.
Even more, this angel—Orion—must be something like the leader of the four angels which hold the four winds, since he is asked to release them. The four winds were identified in the previous article. They are the four fastest-moving classical planets: the moon, Mercury, Venus, and the sun. Three of those “winds” were already on stage at the beginning of the sixth trumpet, as seen in the previous picture. The only one missing is the moon.
The text speaks of four angels which are “bound” in the great river Euphrates:
…Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. (Revelation 9:14)
The “greatest” and most obvious “river” in the heavens is the Milky Way, and the name Euphrates, through its association with Eden and the river of life, refers us back to the area where the throne of God is depicted: the vicinity of Orion again. There are four constellations associated with the ecliptic that are also in the “river” of the Milky Way, directly connected to the galactic equator:
These four constellations—Orion, Gemini, Taurus, and Auriga—could be considered as the “boundary” of the Euphrates in this context.
The presence of the sun within the boundary—activating this scenario—gives a window of time during which this scene takes place with the four angels that are bound in the Euphrates. This takes us back even before the sixth trumpet began, and as you can see in the picture, the sun entered (and thus activated) this scene on May 14, 2018, when it crossed the border into Taurus at the beginning of the workday. This already hints to some kind of “hold” that must have been in effect on that date. Interestingly, it was then that the headlines spoke of a hold on Trump’s trade war:
Trump Shifts From Trade War Threats to Concessions in Rebuff to Hard-Liners
May 14, 2018
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s recent threat to impose tariffs on as much as $150 billion worth of Chinese goods appeared to be the first volley in what looked like a full-scale trade war with the nation’s greatest economic adversary. Now, suddenly, Mr. Trump seems ready to make peace.
The full import of this “coincidence” with the heavenly movements will become apparent later, but for now we just need to see how the heavenly signs dovetail with the Bible to tell us what important developments to keep an eye on. Without the heavenly signs, we would not know which events to pay attention to in the jungle of daily journal reporting. That news snippet is dated May 14, 2018—before the sixth trumpet began—demonstrating the fact that the winds of war were still being held when the sixth trumpet started, as required by Revelation 7:1 and the fact that they are not loosened until sometime within the sixth trumpet itself. The stage was set, and now we must follow the act.
It might be tempting to assume that the four constellations (or the four human figures in them) are the four angels that are bound “in” the Euphrates, but it cannot be so because these constellations are fixed and cannot be bound and unbound as required by the text. The only logical solution is that the angels of this verse—messengers in the broad sense—are the four planets themselves (i.e. the four winds) as already identified.
Indeed, now we can also identify the four angels who hold the four winds, as introduced in chapter 7:
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. (Revelation 7:1)
Now that the moving angels of Revelation 9:14-15 are understood as the moving planets (representing the four winds themselves), it is clear to see that the angels who “stand” (i.e. unmoving) in chapter 7 must be the four “men” in the constellations that hold them: Orion (the leader), the two twins of Gemini, and Auriga.
These angels which hold the four winds are not to be confused with the four wind angels themselves which are bound and later loosed. The snapshot above shows how the four human figures literally form a human shield to “hold” the four winds from crossing the Euphrates.
Coming back to the topic of chapter 9, we need to understand the loosing of the four moving angels, which could be represented in any one of a number of ways in the heavens. This is something that should develop within the sixth trumpet timeframe, which means the earliest developments should coincide with June 3, 2018, as indicated by the trumpet clock.
On the earth, the US indeed ended tariff exemptions for several of its neighbors and allies (especially Canada, Mexico, and the EU) on June 1, 2018—very near the June 3 beginning of the trumpet. Could that have something to do with the developing sixth trumpet?
This US “attack” on its own allies left the ensuing G7 summit in tatters the next weekend, with the news outlets plastered with the infamous “viral” photograph of world leaders scowling down upon a defiant Trump.
After leaving the meeting, Trump gave the news outlets more fodder:
US President Donald Trump issued a volley of tweets on Monday venting anger on some of Washington’s closest Nato allies over the United State’s trade deficit, following a divisive G7 meeting in Canada.
Trump withdrew from their economic statement, and thus closed the allies’ attempt to change the tariff situation. Their only option was to retaliate in kind.
The beginning of the sixth trumpet is marked by throne lines, and thus it appears that the whole affair from June 1, to June 11, 2018 is being highlighted as the keynote for the entire trumpet. We will see how the rest pans out a little later in this article.
We are looking for the loosing of the four winds. We know the maximum time limit for this, because the sun itself must still be activating the Euphrates constellations, and that means the story of the loosing of the four angels must finish before the sun leaves Gemini, the night of July 20/21. We already have a weighty hint from the sign of the four winds that was shown in The Books Are Closed, which indicated July 11 as the big day of their release. Let us take another look at the heavenly scene on July 11:
Here the four winds are in the “hands” (or paws or claws) of their respective constellations as seen before, but in the context of the Euphrates we notice that this is the day when all four heavenly bodies will have passed the line of the galactic equator (the Euphrates itself). In just three hours after the snapshot above, the moon will have followed the others in crossing the river, and thus all four angels will be loose from its bounding influence. And the sun is still activating the region of the Euphrates.
This corresponds to the first half of the next verse:
And the four angels were loosed... (Revelation 9:15)
And from here, we simply follow the four “angels” to the positions they are prepared to assume.
…which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. (Continuing Revelation 9:15)
These four “angels”—the moon, Mercury, Venus and the sun—are prepared for a specific hour, month, day, and year. All of the motions of the planets are ordered by God through Creation, and by setting them into motion He has “prepared” them to show forth His wonders. This verse refers to an exact point in time when all four of these heavenly bodies are perfectly positioned to form a very fascinating and intricate heavenly sign that is described in the cryptic verses that will follow.
So far, what we have seen is a very basic progression of heavenly events, which the Bible uses to lead us from the beginning of the trumpet timeframe to the culminating event. On the big date of July 11, 2018 that we announced in the previous article, the winds (the bound angels) were loosed, at which time they proceeded toward the positions they were prepared for, to kill. Take note, the releasing is not the killing. Everything follows in sequence, and so far the text has only alerted us to the fact that these heavenly bodies are on their way to a special position in time when their killing role will be seen. Before that happens, however, we hear something about them:
And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. (Revelation 9:16)
Here it is speaking about the army that will kill a third part of men, represented as a cavalry. It is simply a strong army, in which numbers are significant. There is no real-life army of that actual size, so we should immediately be in tune to the fact that prophecy is given in symbols, and our ears need to be trained to hear this number in perhaps an unexpected context or even form. Nevertheless, considering the hint that the war we are dealing with may be a financial one—a trade war—the news headlines of July 11 might not catch us quite so much by surprise:
Trump administration announces list of tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods
Published 6:45 PM ET Tue, 10 July 2018
The Trump administration on Tuesday released a list of 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods, making good on the president’s recent threats to escalate a broadening trade war with Beijing.
Note that this evening news from Washington effectively corresponds to the next day for China (and some western journals also first reported it on July 11). And notice the wording again: it is definitely about WAR with China, albeit on the trade front (which is where the physical world wars have always begun). The terrible sign of the loosing of the four winds corresponds to turning a trade war threat into action against China. More and more, we are seeing that the war of the sixth trumpet unfolded in the context of trade.
Sharp readers are probably wondering how the number $200 billion is the same as the “two hundred thousand thousand” of the prophecy. Shouldn’t it be $200 million, and not $200 billion? This is where we need to cut the ancient Greeks a little slack, because they didn’t have words to describe such large numbers. The Greek text literally says “two myriad myriad,” and a myriad is simply an indefinitely large number, or 10,000 as the highest number for which the Greeks had words. So it is not at all outside the meaning of the text to see $200 billion as the fulfillment of that number. The number is just “two, with a lot of zeros after it.”
But that doesn’t solve the whole riddle of this verse. There is still the perplexing question of how the verse could be speaking of money when it says “horsemen.” To solve this one, we need to put ourselves in the apostle John’s shoes living in the time of ancient Greece. Greek coinage was minted in different cities, each with their own peculiar art on the coin.[16] Athens had an owl, Corinth had Pegasus, Aegina had a turtle, Syracuse had a charioteer, and so on. Wikipedia explains how the coins were named:
Ancient Greek coins normally had distinctive names in daily use. The Athenian tetradrachm was called owl, the Aeginetic stater was called chelone, the Corinthian stater was called hippos (horse) and so on. Each city would mint its own and have them stamped with recognizable symbols of the city, known as badge in numismatics, along with suitable inscriptions, and they would often be referred to either by the name of the city or of the image depicted. The exact exchange value of each was determined by the quantity and quality of the metal, which reflected on the reputation of each mint.
So, just as a person might have spoken of a number of British “crowns” or someone today might speak of a number of U.S. “George Washingtons,” it is equally valid for the Revelation to be speaking of a number of “horsemen” as an amount of Greek money—some number of “drachmae.” Many coins of Greek and Roman origins (corresponding to the time the Revelation was written) were minted with a horse and rider. More and more, we see that the symbolism of the sixth trumpet is quite compatible with a financial explanation.
This important numerical marker in verse 15 shows that a war definitely seems to have been escalating in the sixth trumpet, even if no shot was ever fired. It seems to have been a financial war—a trade war—which is exactly what was going on in the world during that time. However, we have yet to understand how a third part of men can be killed by a mere trade war—and to answer that, we need to tackle the most difficult and confusing part of the whole prophecy. We need to make heads or tails of the fire-breathing lion-headed animals with snake tails—which also have heads.
When we saw literal volcanic fire, smoke, and brimstone at the beginning of the sixth trumpet, as explained in The Battle Belongs to the LORD, it was a perfect and expected fulfillment. However, this interpretation led to some challenges when literal volcanoes never killed a third part of men afterward. Though a valid interpretation, it was not a complete fulfillment of the sixth trumpet—but rather of “Elijah’s” Carmel challenge. Now we are looking at the sixth trumpet in the context of the trade war, but we still have to follow the prophecy to completion to see how the entire trumpet fulfilled in this way.
Yes, everything happened at a very specific hour, a very specific day, a very specific month, and a very specific year—even if you are taken aback now and don’t even know what we’re talking about at first.
The four winds that we have been tracking could not blow unhindered until July 11, 2018 because the good forces of the universe had been holding them back until then. That means the next scene in the prophecy must come sometime after that.
We have seen that the prophecy unfolds in stages, and about a month has to pass between each stage in order for the moon to be back on the set making all four winds present. We had the setting of the stage in May, then the beginning of the sixth trumpet in June, then the releasing in July, and that means the next scene involving the four winds will probably be in August when the moon shows up for its role again.
This time, however, the language of the prophecy changes; we are no longer dealing with angels and winds, but with the bizarre horses and riders that constitute the army.
And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. (Revelation 9:17)
The text clearly speaks about lions, and we know from the closing of the books that Leo represents Jesus in His executive role. Furthermore, the sun activated Leo the night of August 10/11, 2018—the same day as the partial solar eclipse. This immediately catches our attention, and we naturally want to check where all the four “winds” are located at that time.
Indeed, they all stood in very specific places around and in Leo on August 11, 2018: the sun and moon in Leo itself at the maximum of the partial solar eclipse at 5:46:24 a.m. PYT, Mercury in Cancer, and Venus in Virgo, directly at the cup of the three “plagues” of the sixth trumpet:
It is especially worthwhile to first take a closer look at the heavenly situation in Leo. We immediately notice that the sun appears to come out of the lion’s mouth like a fire, with the completely black moon smoldering over it like the smoke of a great fire. This reminds us of the latter part of the following verse:
If we can also find the brimstone (sulfur) in Leo’s mouth, then this would be an important indication that this heavenly situation is the great sign of the sixth trumpet. And indeed, Mercury also lies in this area, as shown in the following picture:
According to the latest scientific findings, Mercury is characterized by its extremely sulfurous surface. Universe Today writes:
None of the other terrestrial planets have such high levels of sulfur. We are seeing about ten times the amount of sulfur than on Earth and Mars.
And now it should no longer be difficult to decipher the first part of the verse with this heavenly sign...
And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone… (Revelation 9:17)
The “horses with lion heads” are of course symbolized by the constellation of Leo itself, and also Leo Minor and Lynx above him. Revelation 9:17 also says that someone sits on the lion and wears a fiery, hyacinth (deep blue), sulfurous breastplate. One constellation “sitting” on another is simply an adjacent constellation,[17] and Cancer, the crab, is known to have a shell, or breastplate, and borders all three species of big cats.
In our prophetic toolbox, which has been filled will tools recently, there is also the knowledge that the planets of our solar system impart to a constellation the colors described in the Bible text. As we have just seen, the fiery Mercury, intensely heated by the sun, with its extremely high sulfur content, highlighted the shell of the crab at the time in question. But is Mercury deep blue? Shouldn’t it be completely yellow like sulfur? If you do a Google search for Mercury and its colors, you will get the latest images from NASA, like the one at right. Astonished? We were, too!
We have now deciphered Revelation 9:17 just by looking up to the heavens at the right time.
With the fire, smoke, and brimstone deciphered, the next verse informs us that these three—sun, moon, and Mercury—will be the means of the killing that is to take place:
By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. (Revelation 9:18)
That is an important piece of information that must lead to a much deeper understanding of the sixth trumpet. At this point, we should take a step back and see if the big picture is starting to come together. We have seen many times how President Trump’s offensive in the trade war has appeared to coincide with the heavenly signs, and even the number of the horsemen was found in terms of the trade war. Could this fire, smoke, and brimstone that comes out of the mouth of the lion-like heads of the cavalry have anything to do with the trade war? We would do well to follow the trail that has been getting hotter by inquiring a little bit more deeply into the US trade war itself.
Peterson Institute for International Economics gives a good overview of the developing trade war, with dates of key events already identified. They break down the war into four battles so far, three of which are well underway:
BATTLE #1: SOLAR PANEL AND WASHING MACHINE IMPORTS INJURE US INDUSTRIES
BATTLE #2: STEEL AND ALUMINUM AS NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS
BATTLE #3: UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES FOR TECHNOLOGY, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP)
BATTLE #4: AUTOS AS NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT
It is worth investigating these things further on your own, but for the purposes of this article, we just want to understand what the sixth trumpet says about the trade war. Could any of these battles be what the fire, smoke, and brimstone is talking about?
Solar panels might have something to do with the fire of the sun, but washing machines? Hardly! What about technology and intellectual property? Nothing to do with fire, smoke, and brimstone! What about automobiles? The problem here is that battle #4 is still in the planning stage. That leaves Battle #2: the steel industry.
Do steel mills involve a lot of fire, smoke, and brimstone (sulfur)? Absolutely! Sulfur is one of the impurities that must be removed or reduced for the manufacture of steel, and it is burned in the furnaces and emitted into the atmosphere, eventually producing acid rain. Fire, smoke, and sulfur are definitely an integral and iconic part of the steel manufacturing process that has been burned into our minds by the Industrial Revolution.
The steel and aluminum industries are indeed very important to a nation’s economy and prosperity, and it is quite fitting that the Scriptures point to these particular industries with the fire, smoke, and brimstone symbolism as being a key battlefront on which the trade war is being fought.
If we investigate further, we see that on August 10, 2018—the day before the last great heavenly sign of the sixth trumpet—President Trump authorized a doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs on imports from Turkey. His tweet was timestamped 12:47 UTC, which equates to 3:47 p.m. in Turkey—late in the day for the East. The Turkish lira immediately went into a freefall. The fire, smoke, and brimstone of the steel industry tariffs were clearly used as a weapon of economic war, as Trump himself indicated in his tweet that day:
I have just authorized a doubling of Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum with respect to Turkey as their currency, the Turkish Lira, slides rapidly downward against our very strong Dollar! Aluminum will now be 20% and Steel 50%. Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!
The heavenly sign of August 11, 2018 definitely seems to be pointing to this attack on Turkey’s lira, but why does it seem to be a day late? If we dig a tiny bit deeper, we find that Trump’s new doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs was announced on August 10, but did not go into effect until August 13. So the true date of the attack was actually August 13.
Trump’s tweet was on a Friday, and the tariffs went into effect on the following Monday. The heavenly sign pointed to Saturday, a day when business and trading are closed, as they also are on Sunday. So, by pointing to August 11, God leads us to look at the big news of Trump’s tweet on the 10th, while pointing to the weekend that would be followed by the actual impact. This also highlights a recurring tactic that Trump has been using against the East: slap them with tariffs late on Friday when the eastern trading offices are closed and can’t do anything. If God had pointed directly to August 13, it would have been rather difficult to piece the puzzle together, since the press flurry was on the 10th.
Another important reason why the sign was on August 11 whereas the trade war actions surrounded the weekend is that August 11 was the anniversary of the historical fulfillment of the sixth trumpet as deciphered by Josiah Litch—who interpreted the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1840 to the day from Revelation 9:15. If it’s not fresh in your mind, please take a look at the table, which shows Litch’s calculation method. Not only do the heavenly signs point to August 11 as the anniversary of the classical fulfillment, but they also point to a second important anniversary date from the classical interpretation: July 27, which in 2018 was the date of the sensational blood moon of the century in conjunction with Mars in Capricorn. We will talk more about that sign in a later part of this series, but for now it is simply astounding that God points to those two dates with the phenomenal heavenly signs just as present-day events are fulfilling the prophecy again—even more completely this time.
So now we come again to the elusive killing of what would be a massive part of the human population of planet Earth, if interpreted literally:
By these three was the third part of men killed… (Revelation 9:18)
In the heavenly sign of August 11, we definitely see this represented. Venus, the destroyer,[18] is in one of the three main parts (one third) of Virgo:
This illustrates the killing of a third part of “men” (better translated as humans, including women, as the Greek word anthropos strictly means). How might this heavenly sign have been fulfilled in terms of the trade war?
In the wake of Trump’s tariff announcement against Turkey, reports indicated that their currency lost one third of its value up to that time.
Over the last year, the Turkish currency has lost about 33 percent of its value against the dollar on the back of large fiscal stimulus, growing inflation and current account deficit, as well as intervention from President Erdogan on central bank policy decisions.
As August 11 was the truly terrible date for the Ottoman Empire of Josiah Litch’s time, which included the region that is Turkey today, our August 11, 2018 saw the press full of reports of the fall of the Turkish lira. Some articles even said that this could be the prelude to World War III, since Turkey would now turn away from NATO and seek new “allies”: Syria, Iran, and Russia—the archenemies of the Christian West. But that would be something for later in the plagues, which is not our present subject.
This loss of a third of the lira seems to be exactly what is meant by the killing of “the third part of men”—if we understand men to be liras. Is it possible that the Bible is hinting at the nature of the currency to further identify the victim of the fire, smoke, and brimstone attack of the horsemen? Let’s take a look at the lira and see if it has something to do with “men.”
Like most currencies, the lira has a man on it. What is a little bit different, however, is the fact that one single person is on ALL denominations of the paper currency and coinage over virtually all periods of its printing or minting. That person is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, which succeeded the Ottoman Empire.
We already have a new tool in our prophetic toolbox to understand how the “men” were killed by the fire, smoke, and brimstone of the steel tariffs: the “men” are Atatürks—one third, or 33% of “Atatürks” were destroyed, or killed, at this time.
It is explained in many articles that these tariffs against Turkey are in retaliation for the imprisonment of the American pastor that is on trial for charges linked to the coup that was attempted against Turkey’s government a couple of years ago. This points to a deeper issue, and indicates that the US is applying tariffs not strictly for the protection of its security, but also for the purpose of punishing those who do not conform to certain expectations. But it goes much deeper than just one country’s vendetta against another country. There are also hidden motivations for the tariffs, and the obvious cause of the American pastor is partly a smokescreen.
On another front, Pope Francis has heavily criticized Turkey for its “genocide” of Armenians. His criticism kept going to the point that the UN had to get involved and contradict the pope on this matter, putting the genocide in less severe terms like “atrocity crimes.” Could it be that there is more bad blood against Turkey than just that of Trump, and that is why Turkey is being punished so hard? Could it be that Trump is also pressuring Turkey partly on behalf of the pope?
At this point, however, we really need to take a step back again to understand the big picture. Can it really be that all this biblical symbolism is pointing to the world’s economic woes, and specifically the trade wars the United States is waging against other countries?
We already saw how the horsemen of the army symbolized the currency of the apostle John’s day, which in turn stood for the modern currency battle that was further explained by the symbolism of the fire, smoke, and brimstone, indicating the steel and aluminum tariffs. The next verse, however, offers us an opportunity to examine the second “weapon” that the horses have:
For their power is in their mouth [first weapon], and in their tails [second weapon]: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. (Revelation 9:19)
Looking up to the heavens for understanding again, let us follow Leo’s tail and search for its “head.” The tail is, in fact, “snakelike,” but there is no head on it—or is there? God uses the imagery of the Mazzaroth, of course, and directly at the tail end of Leo is the head of Virgo (see picture)!
But how do these “heads” cause hurt? As illustrated above, Virgo has three main sections: the head and shoulders, the womb, and the feet. Venus—also known as Abaddon or Apollyon, the Destroyer—is located in the head-and-shoulder area of Virgo as part of the same sign when the sun, moon, and Mercury form the fire, smoke, and brimstone coming out of Leo’s mouth. Venus’ presence in the head-section of Virgo indeed promises great destruction by the “heads of the tails,” but what does all this mean?
Isn’t it notable that the prophecy speaks so much about the heads and tails of the horses, but virtually nothing about the rest of their bodies? This is because the symbolism is directed toward money. In English, we talk about coins having two sides: heads and tails, terms used in common coin tossing, while other cultures have similar equivalent variations. The Bible itself defines these monetary terms in the context of the blessing and cursing upon Israel:
The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: (Deuteronomy 28:12-13)
For God, “the head” represents the lender, and “the tail” represents the borrower. Thus, the symbolism of “heads” and “tails” is clearly associated with financial relations in the Bible!
Most coins have the head of an important leader engraved on the “obverse” (front side) and some other design on the “reverse” (back side). The Bible gives us clues as to what power is represented by the horsemen that are on the offensive in the sixth plague by indicating a particular head on the “tail” side, and from the heavenly symbolism, we see that it is the head of a woman. We’ve seen over and over that Trump, at the head of the United States, is the one who is on the offensive, waging war in trade with many nations, and we would expect the US dollar to be the antitype to the symbolic horseman “drachma” of the Bible. Does the symbolism fit? Does the dollar have a woman’s head on it?
Indeed! As a coin (with heads and tails), the US dollar (commonly the “silver dollar”) was minted with the head of a woman for most of its 200-plus-year history. From 1795 to present with only one small exception, US dollar coins all had the head of Lady Liberty—i.e. the goddess Columbia—on the obverse (front side). The Eisenhower dollar briefly broke the pattern, but then the coin continued to have the head of a woman on it again, whether it be women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony, native American woman Sacagawea, or in the case of the official silver bullion coin, Columbia herself with the Phrygian cap.[19]
However, the heavenly symbolism shows the woman’s head on the “tail” side, yet all the silver dollars mentioned above have Columbia on the “heads” side—and indeed it was so until the very latest designs that have a president on the front and the Statue of Liberty on the back! She got demoted, and now her upper body appears on the “tails” side!
This is an interesting and sobering fact when seen in connection with the biblical and heavenly symbolism, where the upper part of Virgo is at the “tail,” whereas the “head” is that of Leo. First of all, nowhere does a lion appear on US coinage or heraldry, and that means God is exposing a two-sided monetary relationship involving two different parties: one party being the United States, and the other being represented by a lion. Remember, the Bible defines the head and tail as the lender and borrower, respectively—and now Columbia is definitely on the borrowing end:
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee… He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. (Deuteronomy 28:15,44)
Everyone knows that the US has tremendous outstanding national debt, and for years people have been worrying about hyperinflation due to the imminent collapse of the dollar. What keeps the nation from ruin is simply the fact that there is another lender—a lion-like lender—that is keeping the nation afloat. Who could that lion be?
The Bible interprets itself:
Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. (Jeremiah 50:17)
In the context of end-time prophecy, the lion represents end-time Babylon, and the head of the lion is the Vatican, which is the first beast of Revelation 13.
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 13:2)
This symbolism has very serious implications, and that will be an important topic in the next part of this series where we will study “Chapter 13” of the Revelation and learn about the bankruptcy plan for the United States. Compared to the first impressions he made in regards to his interest (or lack of interest) in the pope, Trump seems to have changed his tone quite considerably! Before we get there, however, we want to close this study of the financial aspects of the sixth trumpet and apply the lessons learned to other phases of the Trumpet warnings.
The closing words of the sixth trumpet speak volumes.
And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. (Revelation 9:20-21)
In the trade war context, this verse becomes clear as crystal. Did Turkey change its ways in response to the tariffs that killed a third of its currency’s value? Not at all. Though their currency drops from the value of gold, down to that of silver, then brass, and finally stone and wood, the country is not conceding to US pressure no matter how low the lira goes. Do they still worship devils in the name of “Allah”? Is witchcraft and sorcery still ubiquitous among their women? Is fornication still prevalent in their societies? Have they repented of their murders (like the genocide that the pope holds against them)? All of these questions seem especially pointed toward Turkey, and it is clear that they have not turned back in any way.
Although Turkey might be in the limelight at the end of the sixth trumpet, the sad closing words of this prophecy apply to many, many other countries—many of which are also being attacked in the trade war. So many countries are in the same sinking financial boat, yet none are turning to the true God. Instead, they keep on the path of UN human rights—which are indeed “un-human” rights—pursuing so-called “respect” for same-sex marriage and the tolerance of every species of perversion, while sincere conscientious followers of God, who just want what is right and decent, are not tolerated.
The tariff attack on Turkey shows that the trade war is definitely on, but the war is being fought much more widely. If we take a look at the other countries that are under fire in Trump’s trade war, and add up their fraction of the world’s population, we come to the amazing result that very nearly one third of mankind is affected by the trade war!
This calculation excludes those countries (e.g. North Korea) that are affected for reasons not directly related to the trade war, and shows that the killing of a third part of men applies not only to the example of Turkey, but also to the overall impact of the entire global trade war on mankind!
From all the evidence in the heavenly signs of the sixth trumpet, it seems quite clear that the great war that kills a third of men has indeed begun. It is already a full-fledged war against Turkey, and soon all the other targets will feel it that way, if they don’t already. As of this writing, the press now even speaks in terms of “D-Day” for China.
So how did this happen, and why did it escape us until now, even though it has been such a big topic in the news for a long time? Were previous trumpets also warning of this? Let us revisit what happened before the sixth trumpet and see how much we missed till now!
Having seen how Trump’s multifaceted trade war was the subject of the sixth trumpet prophecy, and recognizing that its official beginnings came several months earlier, we would do well to reconsider the fifth trumpet prophecy to see if there may have been anything there that would relate to the trade war in addition to the loud and clear fulfillment regarding Jerusalem. What you will see in this section is one of the most conclusive arguments that the prophecies are indeed pointing to this very time and this specific international conflict!
When President Trump stirred up the smoke of the bottomless pit, it darkened the sun and the air, limiting the visibility significantly.
And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. (Revelation 9:2)
We find in the epistles a useful indication of what these symbols mean:
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: (2 Peter 1:19)
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (Ephesians 2:1-2)
First, Peter makes the relationship between a shining light and the sure Word of prophecy. It is a good symbol for God’s Word. Next, from Paul, we learn that the air is associated with the spirits, which influence people. In this case, he refers to the evil angels who lead people in disobedience, but in our context of the prophecy, where it is paired with the good symbol of the sun, we can understand that it must represent a good spirit, or angel. When we look at the heavens at the beginning of the fifth trumpet timeframe, we see the sun entering into the “smoke of the pit,” represented by the cloudy band of the Milky Way. At the center of the cloud is Mercury, the messenger planet that often represents the fourth angel. This is the angel that is represented in the prophecy by the “air.”
Putting it together, the symbols show us that while the fourth angel’s movement was focused on all the smoke that was blowing from the nostrils of the angry Muslim nations at the time on account of Trump’s intent to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, there was something else going on that was not discerned. The word of the fifth trumpet prophecy was but dimly understood, and the light of the movement of the fourth angel was not shining as bright, just as Mercury began to disappear when its darkened hemisphere faced more earthward.
Nevertheless, with the smokescreen now gone, we can recognize the locusts that came out and began their torment. Could the locusts be another representation of monetary units,[20] like we saw of the horsemen in the sixth trumpet? It is worthy of note that locusts in the Bible were a plague that threatened economic ruin on those who depended on the crops the locusts would eat.[21] Their crops were at the heart of their economy, and without them, they would have no way to trade. Let’s consider the symbols with which their form is described:
And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. (Revelation 9:7-8)
There is a wide array of strange symbols here—what could horses, faces, long hair and lions’ teeth possibly have to do with money? Again, we have to put ourselves in the shoes of the apostle John, and understand better how he would have understood this in first-century Greece. What was the Greek or Roman money like at that time, with which he would have been most familiar? A little research produces some quite revealing findings!
Unlike our standardized money today, there were a wide variety of coin designs in ancient times. As mentioned earlier, the coins that were produced in ancient Greece were marked with a picture, often of an animal, unique to the city in which it was minted. The coins minted in Athens had an owl, so one would refer to them as “owls,” while those of Corinth were known as “horses” according to the picture of a horse, or Pegasus, that was stamped on them. Some featured a lion head on one side and a scorpion on the other, reminiscent of their “tails like scorpions.”
Horses and chariots prepared for battle were a common design, some featuring Nike, the Greek goddess of victory (or her Roman equivalent, Victoria), who would fly over and crown the charioteer with a laurel. Of course, most coins featured a representation of one of their gods or emperors as well, whether Greek or Roman. Thus, we see these various biblical symbols expressed on different types of coinage. John would have seen these symbols frequently on the money in circulation at that time, and would surely have been quick to associate the prophecy with money.
Not all of these symbols necessarily correspond to that which would have been seen on ancient coinage, however. The prophecy is descriptive, not just of ancient money, but also that money related to the trade war today: namely US money. Consider the “hair like women.” Every quarter in the United States today shows a profile relief of George Washington with his long “hair like women” in a ponytail! Not to mention the various old dollar coins that have been minted with “Lady Liberty” and her flowing long hair, some of which have a face that is arguably that of a man!
Finally, the manner in which the prophesied money is used is also depicted in some of these symbolic features of the locusts. For example, the teeth like lions represents the power of these locusts to tear apart that which it attacks! We often speak of “giving teeth to something” as way of describing enforcement power. Money has indeed become a weapon, as Trump’s tariffs indicate, as well as a means of enforcing compliance through consequences. This tariff money is given, as it were, the teeth of lions, by the punishing way in which he is using it.
And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. (Revelation 9:9)
The “breastplates of iron” with which the locusts are clad represent the steel plates typical of the industry that would soon become a prominent target for the tariffs, due to the massive amount of steel that is traded. One interesting characteristic is the description of the sound of the wings of the locusts. First, we recognize that every dollar, whether coin or paper, has the wings of an eagle on it, but for the sound, imagine the apostle John transported to a modern steel or aluminum mill. How would he describe the loud rumbling sounds of industrial machinery he would hear? The rumble of an army of chariots and running horses would probably be the closest thing he could think of to describe it! The sound of the locusts was like that of the heavy industries to which they were sent.
The crowns of gold represent the rich blessing that is, or has been, bestowed,[22] which suggests the accepted reason why Trump is pursuing this course with the tariffs; it is proclaimed to be for the benefit of the American people—to “make America great again.” It is especially worthy of note in this context, that in heaven the crown is represented as having fallen and lies at the foot of Sagittarius, like Trump’s loyal “Faith Advisory Council” of fallen Protestant leaders that are ready to do his wishes.[23] However, the Bible does not paint a blissful end to Trump’s scheme, for the crown remains fallen. While the earthly minded proudly seek the crown of earthly reward, God’s people, already in possession of His crown of life, ought to humbly lay it down at His feet,[24] recognizing their unworthiness. How great is the contrast between God’s own and those who merely seek a reward, whether earthly or heavenly!
If these locusts represent a potentially economy-destroying weapon, such as would be used in a trade war, then we should look for an important event relating to the trade war at the beginning of the time of torment, when these locusts came out of the smoke. When the fifth trumpet began, we knew that the trumpet was six months long, and within that first month, the five months of torment would begin. Thus, we gave this reminder:
And remember always: The first woe will begin within a timeframe of 30 days into the fifth trumpet…
Since that time, we learned that the constellation boundaries are what determine the five months and not any other reckoning. It was December 18, 2017 when the sun entered the first constellation of the five months. Could there have been anything significant in relation to the trade war at that time? There most certainly was!
On that day, the President of the United States stood at the International Trade Center in Washington DC, where he presented his National Security Strategy to the public. In that speech, he identified one of the pillars of his strategy as the promotion of American prosperity, which accepts that “economic security is national security.” We see the foundation for the trade war expressed in these lines about the strategy quoted from the speech:
It calls for trade based on the principles of fairness and reciprocity. It calls for firm action against unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft.
For the public, American prosperity is the motivation for “firm action [e.g., large tariffs] against unfair trade practices” like the disproportionate relationship between Chinese exports to the US and US exports to the Chinese, for example. It is not difficult to see that the time-lag between the drastic cutting down of trade that these tariffs are designed to produce and the building up of domestic industry to supply the lack, is going to wreak havoc on the economy in the interim. Such drastic and counter-productive measures as Trump is applying indicates that there is an ulterior motive besides the public claim. God makes this clear in His word when we understand how Revelation 13 applies—a subject that will be covered in the next part of this series.
For the present discussion, the important thing is to realize that this foundation for the trade war was presented on the very day when the sun transitioned from Scorpius into Sagittarius and kicked off the five months of torment. Therefore, the locusts are described as having tails like that of a scorpion.
And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. (Revelation 9:10)
The talk of trade war had already been underway, but with this speech, the economy had begun to be tormented,[25] since the groundwork had been officially laid in this national strategy.
Yes, the locusts are a representation of the tariffs of this new strategy that would eat up trade profits.
And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. (Revelation 9:3)
At the beginning of the five months, the tariff-locusts came upon the earth, a prophetic representation of the United States, because Trump was the instigator of the war, as we saw earlier. It was not long before power was given and the first sting was felt. On Friday, January 19, 2018, the last day that the sun was in Sagittarius, the decision was made internally in the White House.[26] Like horses, they were prepared for battle!
And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle... (Revelation 9:7)
Trump planned the announcement for that Friday, but it was postponed until the following Monday due to the unusual circumstances of a government shutdown. Thus, God’s word was fulfilled, both in the Bible and in heaven! The heavenly scene over that weekend clearly depicts this with Sagittarius’ drawn bow, ready to strike while the sun was still in Sagittarius on Friday. The horses were only prepared for battle; the actual attack did not come until the sun had crossed the line into Capricornus. In this way, God directs our attention away from the puppet show to see the reality of what is going on.
Capricornus is a beast that acts out its aggression with the two horns of its goat head, but is driven by the powerful tailfin of a sea creature. This is none other than a depiction of the United States (the two-horned beast) being controlled by the one in the midst of many waters, the Vatican.
With the sun bringing fire to the lips of the two-horned sea goat, we recognize the nation speaking as a dragon through Trump. He is their king who governs their actions:
And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. (Revelation 9:11)
Abaddon, or Apollyon, means “destruction” or “ruin”, and in this context, it is clear that this refers to financial ruin. With these tariffs, Trump is leading the world, including his own country, to that end as a precursor to physical destruction. We learned early on, as we shook the heavens in study, that Abaddon is represented by Venus.[27] Now Venus, as Trump, the destroyer, stands on the first line of the constellation of Capricornus as he began his destructive trade war, showing that he is carrying out the will of this sea goat.[28] This was the decision to set up the first tariffs to actually strike the Chinese market with the scorpion’s painful sting.[29]
And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. (Revelation 9:4)
The Bible gives an indication of who would be hurt by the tariff-locusts—only those “men” who have not the seal of God. Remember, this is prophetic language, so when it says “men,” it does not refer to literal people. The prophecy is dealing with nations, so the “men” represent nations. Which nations have the seal of God?
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. (2 Timothy 2:19)
Whoever takes the name of Christ has the seal of God. (Note that this comes with the admonition to depart from iniquity, because the seal, like the crown, can be lost.) Thus, those “men” who have not the seal of God must refer to those nations that are not Christian—like China or South Korea, for example, against whom these tariffs had greatest impact,[30] while the green plants represent the nations whose population is generally Christian.
And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. (Revelation 9:5)
As the five months rolled on, the torment of Trump’s National Security Strategy on trade continued with further developments in the tariff battles. At the commencement of the third month, when the sun entered Aquarius on February 16, the next big step came for the trade war, when the US Department of Commerce issued its findings that steel and aluminum imports are a national security threat![31] This was the beginning of the battle that became the tool of destruction in the sixth trumpet, as we discussed earlier, and has been a major target for the tariffs.
As the sun continued on its journey to Pisces, President Trump closed out the constellation month on Sunday, March 11, 2018, with an Executive Order detailing a plan to establish steel and aluminum tariffs on countries exporting those products to the US. Thus, the fourth month of torment began as country after country had to directly negotiate with Trump to be exempted from those tariffs before they came into effect a week and a half later on March 23.[32]
The fifth month began with the torment of even a close ally of the United States, Japan, being denied exemption from Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs![33] There was nothing that could convince Trump to yield. Other unresolved trade issues were also discussed in their two-day talks that concluded on April 19, 2018, when the sun entered Aries.
This pattern of torment had been continuing relentlessly until Trump made a mind-boggling 180-degree turn when he tweeted on Sunday, May 13, that he wanted to save Chinese jobs![34]
President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!
Suddenly and without warning, he backed off from the incessant torment! Regardless of what wires may have gotten crossed in Trump’s mind to motivate him to take this action, it is incontrovertible that this was the very last day of the five constellation months delineated by the sun’s path through the heavens! Although there were still three more weeks of the fifth trumpet timeframe, the torment came to a surprising and abrupt halt—setting the stage for the sixth trumpet as we already saw, exactly according to the 2000-year-old biblical prophecy as it is deciphered by the heavens and the knowledge of time provided by Orion.
Recall that when we published the article about the 70 weeks of trouble in December of 2017, we had explained how the sun’s transition from Aries to Taurus on May 13/14, 2018 would mark the end of the five months, and we predicted that this date could be when Trump’s December 6 declaration about recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would bear fruit. History is now witness to the fact that it was indeed that day—May 14, 2018, the 70th anniversary of Israel’s independence—that the US Embassy was ceremonially opened in Jerusalem! Now we see that the same prophetic timeframe points to the various major developments in the trade war, which is beginning to be felt especially strongly now in the time of plagues.
Long in advance, we had circulated a Stellarium shot on social media pointing out that date as the end of the five months! No other ministry deciphers prophecy with the heavens like this! Can it be denied that God has spoken through this ministry in the face of such evidence? The position of the stars in the clock of Orion is what indicated that the fifth trumpet would begin while the sun was in Scorpius in 2017. The Bible scarcely uses the word “scorpions,” and the fifth trumpet prophecy is the only passage where it is used three times! That is not by accident! Nor is it by accident that precisely at the end of the designated period of torment, Trump gave relief. From his initial speech on the first day of the five months until the last day, the period was punctuated at each month’s boundary by major tormenting strikes in the trade battles!
Not only that, but consider the timing of when Trump resumed his tariff pressure tactics! The exemption from the steel and aluminum tariffs came to an end for the bordering countries of Canada and Mexico, as well as the European Union on Friday, June 1, 2018. At the same time, the finance leaders of the closest US allies were in a 3-day meeting, ending it the following day “with a stern rebuke of Washington and setting up a heated fight” for those allied nations in an uncharacteristically unanimous expression of dismay about the tariffs.[35] Thus, as the sixth trumpet began at sunset on June 2, 2018, the trade war—with both action and response—had officially been reestablished. The timing is impeccable!
From the beginning when we recognized the end of the five months in heaven, we even suggested that a peace deal could be struck then, which would be broken at the beginning of the sixth trumpet. Adjusting for the mindset of physical combat war that we had at the time, we see now how accurate that idea was in relation to the ongoing trade war and the switch to being “ready to make peace” that came at that precise time at the end of the five months! As we have advanced according to the instruction that God has given us, we see His leading through it all, and are led to praise Him as David did, saying:
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. (Psalms 19:1)
The beginnings of the trade war go back as far as Trump’s presidency, and as far back as the trumpet cycle, which has been warning of the impending consequences of the world’s course of action. For example, now it is clear what the sinking ships of the second trumpet really meant at that time: the declaration of war on trade. On March 6—the first day of the second trumpet—the White House gave a lengthy statement to the press to reaffirm that the administration has every intention to go forward with the trade war (expressed in terms of becoming “free, fair and reciprocal”).[36]
The Bible, complimented by the heavens, paints a very precise picture of what is happening in this momentous time in history. We have seen how God has foretold these things, not just from an outward perspective, but from His own perspective! To the outward observer, it may be difficult to see how Trump is following the orders of the pope, but God gives us in His Word, that which the nations’ leaders intend to keep secret. In the next part of this series, we will understand more about that mysterious relationship as we reexamine Revelation 13. God did that for your benefit, so that you can discern the difference, and choose life.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12)
The institutions of this world are not trustworthy, and it’s time to come out of them. Trump is known for his questionable business dealings, and in his presidency, especially in his dealings with North Korea and the South China Sea, he has demonstrated his propensity for lying, as a means to an end. Some might call it “bluffing” to gain advantage. It is a way that may seem right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death. Hear the wisdom of the proverbs:
The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death. (Proverbs 21:6)
With this, we may understand one last attribute of the men who are tormented by the locusts during the fifth trumpet. They are those nations who “seek death” by their errant ways, pursuing evil instead of walking in the ways of righteousness. Rarely used sections of the Trade Act were invoked in the effort to give an official reason for imposing the desired tariffs. It leads one to question whether these things are really done with national security in mind, or if there is another motivation that is driving them.
As stiff tariffs are applied, purportedly to protect one nation’s wealth, the tormented one angrily slaps their own tariffs on the first in response! Like children, they yank their gains back and forth until both fall in the snare.
And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. (Revelation 9:6)
While the world’s elite may not be directly suicidal, God sees that they desire those ways that lead to death, and thus, they desire to die. Now, in the time of plagues, we are beginning to see the truth of this made plain to all. The ways of evil are being exposed, and it is becoming clear that in reality, they pursue death. Yet the inspired testimony is that “they repented not,” but continue in their evil course, not believing God’s word, though it is true. Their pursuit is for death.
As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death. (Proverbs 11:19)
It is important to note, however, that the prophecy says that they shall not find death, but that it would flee from them. Does this mean that they get away with their lies and evil ways? No, no. Of course not! It simply means that it doesn’t come during the fifth trumpet! More than this, however, it directly relates to the trade war. An equivalent translation of the verse based on the word meanings makes that relation clearer:
And in those days shall men plot death, and shall not achieve it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. (Revelation 9:6)
The tariff war was a plot to kill. The purpose is to kill a nation’s wealth by causing its economy to tumble. As we saw earlier, the first example of this came with the Turkish lira, which shows no signs of recovering its pre-attack value. But this death was not achieved in the fifth trumpet timeframe, though it was plotted. It was desired, but the realization of that desire fled away to a later time. During the fifth trumpet, no nation’s economy felt anything more than the tormenting sting of a scorpion.
The time in which we now live is a time of recompense. It is unlike any other time in history. The evil deeds of men, for generations kept hidden from the public view, are now being exposed. It’s time to make a decision. It’s time to stop supporting institutionalized evil. Some would suggest that the “problems” in the church or in politics can be resolved with diplomacy or strict policy, etc., but the truth is, what we have seen thus far is just the tip of the iceberg! Shortly before publishing this article, the news broke that two more states have initiated sex-abuse investigations of the Catholic Church. The giant of justice has awakened, and will not be lulled back to sleep.
…Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. (Revelation 18:4)
In the next part of this series, you will see how the two beasts of Revelation 13 are presently working together to accomplish Satan’s wartime objectives as God pulls back the covers that conceal the secret deals and deeds of the world’s most powerful leaders. We will direct you to God’s biblical plan for conquering the adversary until the great shout of victory over the beast will be heard far and wide as the hosts of Satan are plagued! Babylon is fallen!
Finally, in the third part, we will take you on a heavenly excursion that depicts the entirety of Revelation 15! As you walk in the light of His guidance into all the truth by His Spirit, you will see how Time has been preparing those who would follow Jesus wherever He goes, that they may stand in the end until at last the Truth will return in victory!
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