Last Daze

I also see this as vital to understand because the man of sin will declare himself to be God and this truth will prove him to be a liar.

Correct. I see the last trumpet, the trumpet of God, as immediately subsequent to the seventh angelic trumpet, not the seventh trumpet itself.

If you had one minute to give advice to a new believer who is unfamiliar with the last days return of Christ, and what you tell him would be all that he would know about it, what prophetic advice would you give him? Jesus led with "See to it that no one misleads you" in Matthew 24. How would you succinctly expound on that?

When you've got nothin', fire the ad hominems. Lol. No one ever does. Secret king must win again! The fact that you feel the need to state that claim over and over tells me that its not so. It's akin to the current administration trying to sell the American public on Biden's greatness. Its observably false regardless of what they claim. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority was given to him over every tribe, people, language, and nation. Rev 13:7 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude [from the great tribulation] which no one could count, from every nation and all the tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands. Rev 7:9 No mention of Mediterranean anywhere.

Nonsense. Let's try again. Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. Genesis 18:18 Are only the Mediterranean nations to be blessed through Abraham? NO. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matt 24:14 The gospel is to be preached to only the Mediterranean nations? NO Since Christians are in all nations in the whole world, and the man of sin persecutes Christians, the man of sin's persecution reaches around the whole world. The following verses bear that out: It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority was given to him over every tribe, people, language, and nation. Rev 13:7 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude [from the great tribulation] which no one could count, from every nation and all the tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands. Rev 7:9 The language makes it clear. This whole nonsense is predicated on a pretrib rapture which makes it even more dubious. One error leading to another.

Well, I'm not sure about millions being prepositioned, could be true. But when the man of sin deceives the masses with his whizbangery, he will have a rabid following.

This is exactly right. The signs and wonders that he performs deceives the world and it is those deceived people who build the image that must be worshipped. He has a global army of deceived people eager to do his bidding and rid the world of Christians.

And the offspring of the woman: Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus. Rev 12:17 Her offspring are all over the world. Consequently his reach extends around the entire world. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. Rev 13:7 Stated in such a way as to leave no doubt as to the scope.

I think its a smaller group from all time and I think it revolves around the following: For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matt 16:25 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Gal 5:24 I don't see people becoming physical martyrs for Christ without first having become spiritual martyrs, losing their lives for His sake. Again, that's a call only God can make.

Well, that could be true. "The ruler of demons - Beelzebul" Mat 12:24 "King over them - Apollyon" Rev 9:11 Sounds like the same job description to me but I will concede that it may be a hierarchical thing where Satan is over all evil spirit beings and has appointed Apollyon over a subset. How do you view the 10-horned beast in Daniel 7, the 7/10 beast of Rev 13, and the 7/10 beast in Rev 17? Specifically, are they the same or different?

There are two types of resurrection, [1] being brought back from the dead to die again (Lazarus) and [2] being raised immortal. Paul is addressing the second.

Could be. I'm looking at 2025 myself.

Of course they're demons. You missed the point completely. There's no mention of Apollyon coming up out of the abyss, only the locusts (demons).

As Paul states: For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. If they are considered to be Christ's then, yes.

Yeah, I guess ultimately God decides whose resurrected at Christ's return but there does seem to be an element of martyrdom to it . . .

He opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke ascended out of the shaft like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened from the smoke of the shaft. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. Rev 9:2-3 Per scripture, locusts come out of the abyss. They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon. Rev 9:11 Apollyon is the angel of the abyss and king over the locusts. It never says he comes up out of the abyss. Another faulty assumption leading to a faulty conclusion. The connection between the beast that comes up out of the abyss per Rev 17:8 and Apollyon does not exist. We know who the ruler of demons is. But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.” And we know who the destroyer is. Satan.

Scripture?

Tons of conjecture. Isn't Apollyon Satan?

Do you follow Christ? Are you in His throne room? You don't have to be physically with someone to follow them.

I don't see the word only in Rev 20:4 or Rev 7:14-15. They certainly are part of the first resurrection but I don't think its exclusive to them. According to Paul there are three resurrections unto immortality: For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: [1] Christ the first fruits, after that [2] those who are Christ’s at His coming, [3] then the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 1 Cor 15:22-24 I guess the question is, who are "those who are Christ's"? Those are the ones who are resurrected at His coming. There's this definition: Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Gal 5:24 So, spiritual as well as physical martyrs?

What are those kingdoms but an extension of the evil princes that spawned them? The princes of Babylon, Persia, Greece, etc. will be / already are active again. This can be seen in the description of the 10 horned beast from the sea in Rev 13. He has the attributes of the other beasts. Yes, the historic kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome are gone but their princes are active once again and ALL will be destroyed at the return of Christ.

The ten horns belong to the beast who comes up out of the abyss. (Dan 7:3,7 and Rev 17:8) They are primarily evil spirit beings who are subservient to the beast. (Rev 17:13) Yes, they have counterparts in the natural realm who they have influenced to do their bidding but they are in no way limited to some historic geographical boundary such as the Roman empire, or Europe for that matter. Their influence is global as they set the stage for the man of sin.

An extremely myopic view. Read Zechariah 4. It confirms the spiritual nature of the two anointed one who stand before the Lord of the whole earth, as is also stated in Rev 11. The corporeal nature of the two witnesses is secondary to their spiritual (true) identity. They are angels with earthly responsibilities. They were responsible for the judgment of Sodom and the mercy shown to Lot and his family. The law is merciful to the obedient but brings judgment to the disobedient. The law and the prophets bear witness of a righteous God. The transfiguration showcased the Lord of the earth and His two witnesses, Moses (the law) and Elijah (the prophets). The spirit of Elijah (two witnesses) also worked through John according to Jesus. These same two witnesses will in the end times bring judgment on those who worship the man of sin and show mercy to those who repent, like they did at Sodom. Angels of judgment and mercy. The two witnesses. Their corporeal form is secondary in nature.

The two witnesses are plague bringers. The plagues are righteous judgment. It's the same two witnesses that stood before the Lord of the earth as He visited Abraham, the ones who rescued Lot and destroyed Sodom. Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, the One who is and who was, O Holy One, because You judged these things; for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.” And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.” Rev 16:4

And I might add that it's under the tutelage of the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places.