The Final Countdown

Shortly before he was crucified, Jesus was asked by his disciples what the signs of the end of the world would be, and when they would occur. The answer that he gave them is recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.

However, when it came to the question as to when these things would happen, Jesus replied: “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” (Matthew 24:36)

Curiously enough, although the disciple John was present when this conversation took place, he makes no mention of this in his own gospel. However, when he was later banished to the island of Patmos, he had a series of visions showing what would happen during the time of the end, and he recorded what he saw in his Book of Revelation.

John said he was visited by an angel who explained to him the sequence of events that would occur during the “end times”. In Chapter 17 he wrote:

“And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

“So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”  (Revelation 17:1-5)

Mainstream Christianity today believes that the mystery woman that John was describing refers to the rise of a future one-world religion that will be founded by, and presided over, by a future Anti-Christ who is predicted to appear on the world stage during the “last days”.

However, as I explained in my post “What is Mystery Babylon in the Book of Revelation?“, most Christian scholars seem oblivious of the fact that a one-world religion that exactly matches that described by St. John has grown up under their very gaze.

This religion that that the angel calls “Babylon” is not just the name of a place. It is a symbol of everything for which the original city of Babylon was once famous. At the height of its glory Babylon was the envy of the world. It was a place of great luxury and wealth. Its hanging gardens were among the wonders of the ancient world.

The religion symbolized by the mystery woman called “Babylon” is the religion of materialism. It is the desire for material wealth ahead of all other values in life. Babylon is a very old religion. It has seduced people since the earliest days of civilization. It is now the dominant religion on the earth. All nations have fallen prey to its seductive lure.

All of humanity is governed today by an economic system that is based on money. All human enterprise is based on a system that is required to generate money in order to survive. Yet as we have discovered in the last few years, our economic system has become corrupted to the point where the lust for money on the part of the few, has placed the livelihood of hundreds of millions of people around the world in jeopardy.

Not only is this desire for material wealth now the major economic motivator around the planet, but it has assumed the character of a religion. This world-wide religion of materialism has captured the minds and hearts of humanity just as much as if it were a traditional faith.

There is little doubt that our modern economic system comprising commerce, finance, investment and trade now fits the one-world religion described by St. John. For in describing the influence of this mystery woman he wrote:

“For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.” (Revelation 18:1-3)

The references above to “the kings of the earth”, “merchants of the earth” and “waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies” should make it obvious that John is not writing about a religious movement led by some future Anti-Christ.

Instead he is referring here to a mercantile system that has grown to world-wide proportions, but has become totally corrupted by materialistic pursuits and is devoid of spiritual qualities.

Not only has our modern economic system been subverted from within by greed and the lust for wealth, but it has also been exploited from without by powerful interests whose main purpose has been to entrench themselves in positions of power, and at the same time insulate themselves from accountability and justice.

This system has now become so convoluted and complex that no single nation or institution has the power to reform it. And as has happened in the past, when the institutions of humanity become corrupted from within, they become ripe for destruction.

According to the angel, our global system of international finance and trade will be destroyed by a giant asteroid that will strike the earth and plunge into the sea. The devastation will be unimaginable and it will leave merchants everywhere stupefied with terror.

“And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all”. (Revelation 18:21)

“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more.”

“The merchants of these things, which were made rich by these things, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!”

“For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, what city is like unto this great city!

“And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! For in one hour is she made desolate” (Revelation 18:9-19)

According to the angel, this mystery woman called Babylon would be utterly destroyed in the great and terrible day of the Lord, because she had become ”the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird“. (Revelation 18:2)

Then, in Chapter 8, St. John describes the devastation that would be caused on earth after “the great mountain burning with fire” was cast into the sea.

“And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared them selves to sound. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

“And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

“And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise”.  (Revelation 8:6-12)

The above verses refer to a global disaster that strikes the earth suddenly,  devastating the land as well as the oceans, leading to an immense loss of life, as well as cargo and shipping. And the reference to “a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp” is a clear reference to a comet.

And the verse indicating that the “third part” of the sun will be smitten, and that the day was darkened for a third part of it and the night likewise, is a reference to what Biblical scholars call “the three days of darkness”, as I have explained in the following Blogposts.

The Day of the Lord  

The Three Days of Darkness 

Furthermore, although St. John does not use words like “comet” or “asteroid”, simply because they were not part of his vocabulary at the time, others have, including Nostradamus and the 12^th century visionary St. Hildegard of Bingen, who wrote:

“The Comet by its tremendous pressure, will force out much of the ocean and flood many countries, causing much want and many plagues. (After the) great Comet, the great nation will be devastated by earthquakes, storms, and great waves of water, causing much want and plagues.

“The ocean will also flood many other countries, so that all coastal cities will live in fear, with many of them destroyed by tidal waves. Most living creatures will be killed and even those who escape will die from a horrible disease.” (View Source)

So the key question that has challenged students of end time prophecy ever since is when this global catastrophe will happen. As mentioned previously, when Jesus was asked when these events would occur, he replied: “Of that day and hour knoweth no man but my Father only.” (Matthew 24:36)

It is clear that Jesus was referring here to the exact moment of his return to earth on the Day of Judgment, for he then went on to say:

“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” (Matthew 24; 32-33)

So, if you happen to be around when the forces of the Anti-Christ are confronted by the armies of the “Prince of the East” in the valley of Jezreel before the long-awaited battle of Armageddon, you can pretty much guarantee that Jesus will return in a matter of hours.

Likewise, when you see the “great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp” in the skies above earth, then you can safely predict that Mystery Babylon will soon be destroyed, the rapture will occur, and that the three days of darkness will begin.

And this is where modern technology is on our side, for we now live in the space age where every heavenly intruder that could threaten the earth can be identified beforehand, so we know both the day and the hour when this collision will occur, as can be seen on the website “spaceweather.com”.

Here is an example of what they show:

“Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) are space rocks larger than approximately 100m that can come closer to Earth than 0.05 AU. None of the known PHAs is on a collision course with our planet, although astronomers are finding new ones all the time.

“On May 27, 2023 there were 2335 potentially hazardous asteroids

Asteroid	Date(UT)	Miss Distance	Velocity (km/s)	Diameter (m)
2021 JK7	2023-May-22	16.7 LD	22.9	48
2023 KQ	2023-May-22	13.5 LD	6.4	38
2023 KC1	2023-May-22	2.2 LD	12.8	17
2023 JK3	2023-May-22	1.6 LD	4.9	31
2023 KS	2023-May-22	0.6 LD	18.2	11
2023 GY2	2023-May-22	18.1 LD	11.3	96
2023 KN	2023-May-22	2.4 LD	22.1	14
2023 JZ1	2023-May-22	10.7 LD	13	38
2023 KQ2	2023-May-22	1.3 LD	14	9
2023 KJ1	2023-May-23	1.5 LD	11.6	11
2023 KV1	2023-May-23	13.4 LD	7.6	26
2019 UJ3	2023-May-23	15.5 LD	9.8	21
2023 KG3	2023-May-23	3.4 LD	3.9	10
2023 KX1	2023-May-23	1.3 LD	5.1	6

And just as potentially hazardous asteroids are tracked as they approach the earth, so are comets that will become visible in the skies above earth. And although it is safe to say that most Bible scholars are as yet unaware of this, a new comet has been discovered that could have prophetic significance.

The object I am referring to is Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-Atlas) 

This comet was first discovered in February of this year (2023) during a survey of the sky at the Sutherland Observatory in South Africa using  ATLAS (the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System). At the time it was considered unimportant, and was given the reference A10SVYR.

But when its orbit was calculated, it was noted that images of this object had already been seen by the Purple Mountain Observatory in China, on January 9, 2023. Further observations revealed that it had a short tail, so following long-stablished practice it was designated a comet and given a name honouring both of its discoverers.

Initial data suggests that the comet is currently located between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn, and that it will only reach perihelion (its closest approach to the Sun) on September 28 of next year (2024). This means it should become visible to the naked eye around 11 or 12 October 2024.

Whether or not this comet will go on to become as prominent as Halley’s Comet or comet Hale-Bopp cannot be predicted at this time. This will depend on a variety of factors outlined in the video below.

From a prophetic point of view, we need to remember that Christians are not the only people with a prophetic tradition relating to the ending of the current age.

The Hopi Indians of Arizona have one of their own, which I discussed in my Blogpost “The Kachina Prophecies of the Hopi”. 

According to the Hopi tradition, “Kachinas” are the messengers of Maasaw, their creator of the earth. They are the spirit teachers of nature. The Hopi predict that the new world that is about to dawn upon the Earth will be heralded by the arrival of two of these Kachinas. One will be coloured blue, and the other red.

They believe that the return of the Blue Kachina will be the forewarning that tells us there will soon be a new day, a new way of life and a new world coming. Not far behind will come the Purifier, the Red Kachina who will bring the day of purification.

Speaking of the new world that is to come, they say that when the Blue Star Kachina makes its appearance in the heavens, the 5th world will emerge. In the final days we will look up in the heavens and witness the return of the two brothers who helped to create this world in the birthing time.

For the Hopi, the key date in the fulfillment of their prophecy is the day when the Blue Star Kachina makes its appearance “in the heavens”. And this is where the prophecies of St. John in his Book of Revelation and the Hopi coalesce, for this will be the sign that our current age is about to end, and be replaced by “a new earth and a new heaven”.

Could it be that the demise of Babylon and the arrival of the Blue Kachina are interlinked – that is to say – could the Blue Kachina be a warning of the Red Kachina that will soon follow, that will strike the earth and bring an end to our system of commerce and trade?

So the key question is this. When this new comet finally appears in the skies above earth in October 2024, will it be coloured blue? If it is, this will be the long-awaited sign that the end of the age is nigh, and that the final countdown has begun.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 12th, 2024 at 8:26 pm and is filed under Signs of the Times, The Return of the Comet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Comments and pings are closed.