KEYWORDS: war, peace, covenant, antichrist, world, atomic war

War or Peace?

David Berg

—Which?—A New Revelation!DFO 151813/5/83

1. THE ANTICHRIST COULD RISE TO POWER JUST ON THE STRENGTH OF THE COVENANT, BY HIS CRAFT & WISDOM IN SETTLING ALL THE WORLD'S PROBLEMS WITHOUT THE ATOMIC WAR!—And then perpetrate the Atomic War himself in the middle of his reign as a result of their rebellion when he breaks the Covenant! And it could be then that he wipes out the Whore—Babylon—and destroys the U.S. & Western Capitalism, etc. Wouldn't that be wonderful if we had that much more time?

2. IT JUST CAME TO ME AS I WAS READING ALL THESE SCRIPTURES, ESPECIALLY THAT CHAPTER ABOUT BABYLON THE WHORE & THE GREAT CONFUSION!—Babylon really means the Great Confusion. The ten kings that put the Antichrist in power, put him in power before they turn on the Whore & destroy her, & she's not destroyed until he is in full power. It's possible either way. So after reading all these Scriptures over & all these interpretations, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe the destruction of Babylon—which certainly sounds like the Atomic War—does not occur until the Antichrist is in power with his ten kings!—Who then turn on Babylon & destroy her! That could give us a new lease on life!

3. IF THAT IS THE CASE, HE COULD RISE TO POWER POLITICALLY, AS WELL AS MILITARILY‚ BUT BEFORE THE WAR BY MEANS OF THE COVENANT & his crafty clever political manouvering in getting them to agree to sign this Covenant of Peace!—In other words, to bring about the False Peace before the real War! And then‚ due to their rebellion against the Covenant in the middle of his reign, when his ten kings turn on the Whore & burn her with fire & destroy her—as pictured in both Revelation 17 & 18—that sounds like the Atomic War if I ever heard of one! And that, of course, could then precipitate all the horrors of the Tribulation!

4. I'VE NEVER BEEN TOO CLEAR ABOUT THAT WAR! In fact‚ I used to even confuse it with Armageddon. Now through more thorough study & revelations from the Lord, it's quite clear that Armageddon occurs at the end of the Wrath of God‚ after the Tribulation when we come down & conquer the Earth in the Great White Horse Invasion! I've got Armageddon pinned down pretty well now from the Scriptures, it's pretty obvious, but the Atomic War has always seemed so imminent & impending—as it is right now, as we feared perhaps this year!

5. WHAT MASTER STROKE OF GENIUS COULD BRING PEACE INSTEAD? What other than the great Covenant that the Antichrist swings to get all the nations & religions to agree to peace & solve the problem of Palestine? (Maria: "When they shall say, Peace peace‚ then shall come sudden destruction."—Nobody's saying "peace‚ peace" now, so there can't come sudden destruction while everybody's talking about it! Right? And does that verse apply to this time before the Atomic War?) (1Thes.5:3)—Yes!—That's a good point!

6. OF COURSE, IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKELY, BUT I SUPPOSE IT'S POSSIBLE THERE MIGHT BE TWO ATOMIC WARS, SINCE THE ANTICHRIST WORSHIPS THE GOD OF FORCES. (Dan.11:38)—One to put him in power, & the other to try to obliterate all of his enemies. But it seems far more likely & logical that he would rise to power politically & by this very climactic clever manouvering of the Covenant, to get the World to agree to a peace first. In other words‚ first he tries peace, & then does not resort to Atomic War until it's necessary to wipe out the rebellion which occurs in the middle of the seven-year reign, which causes him to break the Covenant & annihilate Babylon, with whom he has been jointly ruling up until that point. (Maria: That sounds a lot more logical, because otherwise‚ how could the Antichrist take over the World or rule very well with everything in chaos & communications wiped out? How could he do it?)

7. YOU SEE, AS WE GET CLOSER TO THESE THINGS, AS WE'RE ABLE TO BEAR IT & ABLE TO RECEIVE IT & even willing to let go of some of our preconceived ideas & misinterpretations, as we're willing to be shown, even willing to change & be shown things which change our outlook & the interpretation of these events, the Lord is willing to show us exactly how they're going to happen! And in my mind, there's only one thing right now that could possibly stop the War, & that would be the Covenant!—If in desperation right now & in a master stroke of his Superman genius, he suddenly now appears on the scene as the Superman the World's been waiting for to solve all its problems by effecting this great Covenant between all the World & the religions to have peace! What an ideal time for that to occur, right now on the brink of disaster, when the World knows it's either that or destruction!

8. ONLY IN DESPERATION TO SAVE THEMSELVES WOULD THEY SIGN SUCH A PACT! Only under such desperate last-resort circumstances would, for example, Israel & the Arabs agree to share Jerusalem, & Capitalism & Communism agree to share the World in peace, universal détente. It's strange, I never thought of that before! It just came to me like a flash of revelation when I was reading the Scriptures in Revelation 17 & 18, thank the Lord, like the Lord so often does!

9. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO PLACE THE ATOMIC WAR & THE DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA & EUROPE & THE WEST, & IT ALWAYS SEEMED TO BE SO IMMINENT that it looked as though the War would have to occur first to make the World desperate enough to put the Antichrist in power! But I think it's getting almost desperate enough right now that they might be willing to sign the Covenant that puts him in power now to prevent the War!—Which joyfully could mean that if it happens now, this year or next year, & the Covenant is signed to bring peace instead of war, we've got at least 3-1/2 more years to work before the Tribulation, God willing!—In which he's supposed to give religious liberty & compromise & sharing the World & sharing Jerusalem, etc., & sharing power with the Whore, Babylon‚ the Western Commercial System.

10. IF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WHORE, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY WORLD CAPITALISM—most likely the West & primarily the U.S. & Europe, its foremost advocates & practitioners—if that destruction is the Atomic War, which it certainly sounds like in both Revelation 17 & 18, then it comes after the Antichrist is in power, & it is perpetrated by the Antichrist with the help of his ten kings!—Which many have already suggested could be the European Economic Community!

11. IN WHICH CASE, IF HE COULD GET EUROPE, PARTICULARLY, TO SIDE WITH HIM & AGREE WITH HIM—which is closer to possibility than the U.S. siding with him—he could then persuade them to turn on the U.S. & help him destroy Babylon the Great Whore! And if anybody's Babylon the Great Whore, the U.S. is certainly she, or her head! And after reading these verses this morning, the destruction of Babylon does not occur until after the Antichrist takes power!—And it's done with the help of his ten kings‚ which could mean Europe, the EEC! I think there are now about ten major nations in the European Economic Community.

12. SOME GOSPEL PREACHER EVEN SAID WHEN THE TENTH NATION JOINS THE EEC, THAT WOULD FINISH THE TEN KINGDOMS & KINGS! That would complete their number, those who are to give their power to the Beast, cooperate with the Antichrist & put him in power, then eventually help him to turn on the Whore & destroy her. Evidently he needs their power & their help to destroy the Whore!—Which certainly sounds like America to me‚ Babylon the Great Whore!

13. AND IF THAT IS THE ATOMIC WAR—which it certainly sounds like, the one that it says is going to occur in one hour, in one day, in which she is totally destroyed—then it does not occur until he & his ten kings are already in power, with the power of the Holy Covenant, or by means of the Covenant. In other words, by political manouvering & getting the nations to agree to this great peace called the Holy Covenant.

14. BECAUSE IT'S PRIMARILY A RELIGIOUS COVENANT IN THE EYES OF GOD, a signing of peace between the World's greatest religions. And of course if you include Capitalism & Communism amongst the religions of the World‚ which they are, then that means a peace between Capitalism & Communism, as well as a peace between the Jews & the Arabs & the Muslims, etc.

15. BOY, THAT SURE SOUNDS LIKE IT FITS TO ME, & IT JUST CAME TO ME FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! Although we've constantly been calling the destruction of Babylon the Great Whore the Atomic War, which just occurs in one day, one hour, yet as I read these Scriptures, it came to me just as clear as anything, this destruction of the Great Whore is perpetrated by the Antichrist & his ten kings after he & they are already in power! How else could they get into power than through the signing of this great peace, the Holy Covenant, to agree to share the World & share Jerusalem & share peace instead of war?

16. BUT THEN, LOOK AT THE PICTURE! This would also fit‚ that after he has established World Peace through the Covenant, they get to bickering amongst themselves again & fighting over Jerusalem & rebelling against the Covenant, unwilling to share as they're supposed to—probably led by the Jews again‚ of course, who want it all—he comes down & invades Israel & takes over Jerusalem, establishes it as his World capital & declares himself to be god & tries to abolish all religions! And then of course Tarshish & the young lions & Arabia, etc., ask him, "How come? What's the big idea?" (Eze.38:13) They question his Gog & Magog invasion there in Ezekiel 38 & 39, & apparently they resist it‚ so he just wipes them out in the Atomic War!

17. BY THEIR REBELLING AGAINST THE COVENANT, THEY BRING IT ON THEMSELVES! And he decides the only way to solve the situation & rid himself of their opposition once & for all, & the competition of the Whore—with whom to this point he's worked & cooperated to rule the World together—he decides she has to be eliminated, liquidated & obliterated!—So boom!—He pulls the trigger, pushes the button & destroys America!

18. AND IN WHICH CASE, IF THESE TEN KINGS ARE EUROPE—which are the most likely kings to turn on Babylon, America—this may mean that if they strike together at America with him & burn her with fire, it might even help save Europe! What if he & Europe would secretly agree to turn all their missiles, including the ones which the U.S. has given them & insisted they aim at Russia, what if they should secretly agree together not to aim them at Russia? What a clever piece of strategy that would be!

19. IF HE'S THAT CLEVER TO BRING ABOUT THIS COVENANT OF WORLD PEACE & to prevent the War by establishing peace for those 3-1/2 years‚ surely he could be clever enough to secretly persuade the Europeans, together with him, Russia, to turn all their missiles toward America instead, & America has had it! That would be almost total annihilation if all the missiles of both Russia & Europe were turned on America—& that's sure what it sounds like in those two chapters, Revelation 17 & 18.

20. AND IF SO, PRAISE GOD! WE CAN HOPE THAT WE'LL HAVE A LITTLE MORE PEACE, A LITTLE MORE TIME TO ACCOMPLISH OUR MISSIONS! Because during that 3-1/2 years of peace under the Covenant, it seems to indicate that he's going to allow equality & sharing & religious liberty, as he allows all the religions to share Jerusalem, & he & the Whore agree to share the World. Now if the Whore is none other than America, that means that there is coming some kind of peace under that Covenant between Communism & Capitalism to share the World, as well as a religious Pact to share Jerusalem.

21. NOW ALL THOSE STRANGE & ODD–SHAPED PIECES BEGIN TO FALL INTO PLACE & THE PICTURE BECOMES CLEAR! I think that really kind of helps to settle the place of the Atomic War.—Because if the destruction of Babylon in one day‚ one hour is the Atomic War—as it certainly seems so & sounds so & looks like it from the description there in both Revelation 17 & 18—then if it is the only Atomic War, (& I don't see how the World could stand two of them) then it is not until after the Antichrist comes to power & gets the cooperation of the ten kings of Europe & their help to turn on Babylon & destroy it!

22. BOY, CAN YOU IMAGINE IF EUROPE WOULD TURN ALL ITS MISSILES ON AMERICA INSTEAD, ALONG WITH RUSSIA? The U.S. wouldn't have a chance! I don't see how it could even survive at all, any of it, with that many missiles landing in the U.S.! (Maria: But does the U.S. have control of their own missiles in the European countries?) Well, there's a big controversy about that, & a big argument between the Europeans & the Americans as to who is to control. It's gotten almost to a white-heat in places like England & France where the Europeans are demanding & insisting on the final decision, who decides to finally press the button, & that if nothing else‚ they have to agree before the button is pressed. Therefore they want to control it & keep it under their control.

23. THIS HAS BEEN A REAL HOT CONTROVERSY BETWEEN THE NATIONS OF EUROPE & THE U.S. AS TO WHO IS TO CONTROL THOSE U.S. MISSILES PLANTED ON EUROPEAN SOIL, & A LOT OF PLACES IT STILL ISN'T QUITE DECIDED. Although most of them are placed at American bases under American control, the European countries are insisting that they not be used unless they agree. Now how effective this is going to be‚ we don't know, but if the Antichrist manages to work his way to power through the Covenant, politically, without the War—in fact, to save the World from War—then he'd have 3-1/2 more years to work out who controls the missiles! And from the sound of Revelation 17 & 18, it sounds like the ten kings of Europe are going to finally control the missiles & fire them at America & burn her with fire! It says there clearly as can be that they will agree together & have one mind with the Beast:

24. "AND THE TEN HORNS WHICH THOU SAWEST UPON THE BEAST, THESE SHALL HATE THE WHORE"—Babylon or America, let's say—"And make her desolate & naked & shall eat her flesh, & burn her with fire! For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, & to agree, & give their kingdom unto the Beast, until the Words of God shall be fulfilled." (Re.17:16,17)

25. SO IF THERE'S ANY PART OF THE WORLD MOST LIKELY TO AGREE TO MAKE PEACE UNDER THE ANTICHRIST TO PREVENT THE WAR & TO SAVE THEMSELVES, IT'S EUROPE!—Knowing if they start an Atomic War she'll be the major battlefield & will probably be almost obliterated by both Russia & the U.S. with missiles aimed at her! So Europe & its ten kings of the EEC are the most likely to come to some kind of agreement or détente with the Antichrist. In fact, Europe was the one who came the closest & led in the crusade for détente with Russia during the past few years, so if there's any part of this Earth that wants peace with Russia, it's Europe! They're the only ones, in fact‚ who seem to want peace with Russia.—Not the U.S.! The U.S. doesn't seem to have any desire whatsoever to have peace with Russia!

26. BUT IF THE ANTICHRIST IS SMART ENOUGH, & HE'S AROUND—WHICH HE MUST BE—HE MIGHT STILL BE ABLE TO POLITICALLY SWING THIS COVENANT so it will give him more time—3-1/2 more years of peace to completely woo & win Europe & its ten kings to work with him. Because what does it say again? "God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, & to agree, & give their kingdom unto the Beast."

27. NOW IF THOSE TEN KINGS ARE EUROPE, THEN THEY TOTALLY JOIN THE ANTICHRIST! And then they turn on the Whore—Babylon the Great, America—& destroy her! "These shall hate the Whore & make her desolate & naked & shall eat her flesh & burn her with fire." (Maria: Well‚ if the way Europe has been treating us is any indication of their anti-Christ stance & attitude, it sure is also a good indication. Because the European nations have been worse to us lately, kicking us out, & the media attacking us, it's been a raging battle!)—Which shows it's time to leave Europe!

28. WE'VE DELIVERED OUR SOULS OF AMERICA, WE'VE DELIVERED OUR SOULS OF EUROPE‚ IT'S TIME TO GET OUT OF THE NORTH! (Maria: And it shows how anti-Christ they're becoming!) Yes, Maria is saying Europe is becoming so anti-Christ, so against us, fighting & persecuting us, that certainly they will be the first to agree to cooperate with the Antichrist System. Listen, back to the 12th verse:

29. "AND THE TEN HORNS WHICH THOU SAWEST ARE TEN KINGS, WHICH HAVE RECEIVED NO KINGDOM AS YET; BUT RECEIVE POWER AS KINGS ONE HOUR WITH THE BEAST." Just a very short time, in other words, at the End. "These have one mind, & shall give their power & strength unto the Beast. These shall make war"—it says "with the Lamb," eventually. Apparently after they have destroyed America, they continue their cooperation until the final Battle of Armageddon when they actually go to war with Jesus & us! "And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the Beast, these shall hate the Whore & shall make her desolate & naked, & shall eat her flesh, & burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, & to agree, & give their kingdom unto the Beast, until the Words of God shall be fulfilled."

30. THAT CERTAINLY SOUNDS LIKE EUROPE MAKING PEACE WITH THE ANTICHRIST! And if Europe should decide to make peace with Russia‚ that's about the only thing which could hold off the War & stave off America's desire to precipitate the War, if she lost her European allies & they insisted on making peace with Russia—which could result in the great Peace Pact, Truce Treaty or Holy Covenant which brings the World peace, that Sam nicknamed the "Plastic Peace," false peace, because it's nothing in the World but a little more time to prepare for the next War—the Atomic War!

31. SO THAT IF THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON IS THE COMING ATOMIC WAR—& I don't see how we could have two of'm—then according to the Scripture here, it has to come after Europe has joined Russia under the Antichrist in the Peace Pact, which I don't think could be anything else but the Holy Covenant!—To share the World & share Jerusalem, to put off the War 3-1/2 more years until the Antichrist, with Russia, sees he's got the ten kings of Europe thoroughly on his side, probably even to the point of turning those very same missiles on America instead of Russia, & then they all agree to fire at once!—Boom!—And America's destroyed in one hour & one day! (Rev.18:8‚10,17)

32. NOW THAT'S A REVELATION! That just came to me out of the blue, it never dawned on me before! Although we have called that destruction of Babylon the Atomic War, in reading these Scriptures it came to me more clearly than ever before that this destruction of Babylon, Scripturally, obviously & clearly does not occur until after the ten kings have surrendered their power to the Antichrist.—Then they turn on the Whore & destroy her! And this then could only be at the time of the breaking of the Covenant—probably no doubt due to the Antichrist's invasion of Israel to put down the rebellion against the Covenant.

33. WHO WOULD PROTEST THE MOST & THREATEN PEACE THE MOST IF RUSSIA INVADED ISRAEL?—THE U.S.! So when would he be forced to use his god of forces, his power of the atom to destroy all of his enemies, particularly the U.S.? When other than at such a time as that, when the U.S. & the Jewish merchants of Tarshish & "all the young lions thereof" & Arabia & those other countries on the side of the U.S. protest against his invasion of Israel to put down the rebellion against the Covenant?—Whereupon he himself breaks the Covenant & turns on his enemies & along with the ten kings of Europe, he destroys Babylon!—Particularly the U.S., the Great Whore, with the Atomic War!

34. WELL, THAT REALLY REALLY IS ENCOURAGING! That really helps the picture‚ because it looked like the end was almost on us! I'm sure hoping that that is the true interpretation, because if so, thank God, we've got another 3-1/2 years at least! The Covenant will come first & he'll rise to power through the Covenant—& the War, then, will not occur until the midst of the Seven Years when he turns on the Whore & destroys her!—In which case, God willing, we've got 3-1/2 more years‚ we hope, of World Peace! Boy, that is encouraging, I'll tell you!

35. WE'VE BEEN RUSHING LIKE MAD TO TRY TO DO AS MUCH AS WE CAN BEFORE THE WAR, because it sure looks like it's going to occur this year or next! There's only one thing in this World that could stop it, & that is for God‚ literally God to stop it, by helping the Antichrist into power in order for him to make the Holy Covenant to bring World Peace for another 3-1/2 years! Now that all fits into place just beautifully, & that would solve some of your other questions you had.

36. HOW COULD THE ANTICHRIST'S ENEMIES & THE U.S., ETC., PROTEST THE INVASION OF ISRAEL.—IF THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN DESTROYED IN THE ATOMIC WAR? A very good point! That is sort of puzzling to me also, & has been. My answer to you when you asked it was that‚ well, probably America & Europe wouldn't be totally destroyed‚ there would still be some remains who then might object. It doesn't sound like they do much about it, but they might object to the Antichrist's invasion of Israel.

37. NOW‚ IF THIS INTERPRETATION IS TRUE—& it sounds better than before & fits better than the former—although it looked like the War was to occur almost at any minute, only that Covenant could possibly save the World from War right now! And that would take a masterstroke of Antichrist genius to swing it, when both Superpowers are standing right now with their fingers on the button at the brink of destruction! It would certainly take a revelation of the Antichrist himself & some political genius to bring about World peace right now in the face of imminent War, to bring about a World Peace Pact—which as far as I can see, could be none other than the Holy Covenant, confirmed by the Antichrist himself!—In which case, we may have another 3-1/2 years of peace!

38. —WHICH WOULD LEAD ALSO, RIGHT UP TO THE INTERPRETED END OF MY LIFETIME!—JUST ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF THE TRIBULATION! If I was to live to be 70—according to what was indicated by that experience I had—I would be 70 in 1989!—Which year comes, according to our previous figuring & interpretation, right in the middle of the Seven Years at the beginning of the Tribulation! And I have definitely asked the Lord to spare me from the Tribulation, so the Lord apparently is going to take me at that time, at least before the Tribulation or about the time the Antichrist breaks the Covenant & sets himself up as god & his Image & demands that everybody accept the Mark & worship or be killed! In which case, that means I wouldn't have to suffer the Atomic War either, & neither would the Family now!

39. NOW THAT'S BIG NEWS! THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO GET OUT RIGHT AWAY TO ENCOURAGE THE FAMILY! (Maria: Why do you think the Lord didn't show you before we did the BOF & all of these Prophecy Series?) Why?—Because I wasn't ready for it! Why did He wait till now to tell me there may be 3-1/2 more years of peace?—For the same reason He allowed the Comet & "40 Days" & several others—I presume they could call them "false alarms"—which did us a lot of good in getting us out of the North & helping us to hurry up & get our work done! And I don't think anything except a little push or a swift kick in the pants from God would have done it!—Like the threat of War, the threat of America's destruction & even European destruction!

40. IT WON'T BE THE FIRST TIME WE EVER CHANGED, AFTER THE LORD SHOWS US SOMETHING! That's one thing I think I've proven, I'm willing to change if the Lord shows I'm wrong! I never swore that I knew the Atomic War was going to come first, but I've said time & again it just seemed like it had to be, that it seemed that only the Atomic War could put the Antichrist in power. I couldn't see how anything else could do it! But I can vaguely remember now that way back in Miami & some of my Soul Clinic classes, I used to teach then that I thought that it was the Covenant that was going to put the Antichrist in power, & the War would not occur until later when he broke the Covenant because of their rebellion & opposition, particularly from the Whore—Babylon & America—& that could certainly precipitate the War! I think even Sam & Joel taught this for awhile, because they got most everything they got from me—except Joel's digressions & transgressions!

41. THAT COULD SOLVE A LOT OF THINGS—SUCH AS HOW COME HE SEEMED TO INVADE ISRAEL TWICE! Putting the Atomic War first, he invades Israel before he comes to power‚ which brings on the Atomic War. But this way he doesn't have to invade Israel until the middle of the Seven Years when he breaks the Covenant, because they break it, & then he storms down there & invades Israel. Then America protests, & then he & Europe turn on the U.S. & obliterate her! (Maria: Because if you had Russia invading Israel now & having the Atomic War, the U.S. & Israel would be so wiped out, he wouldn't have to invade it again later.)

42. THAT ACTUALLY BRINGS ME BACK TO MY OLDER ORIGINAL INTERPRETATION OF THOSE EVENTS! It has only been in recent years & the seeming impending imminency of the War that looked like it just couldn't wait—they've got their fingers on the hair triggers ready to pull—that it looked like the War was going to happen first! But you see? God doesn't necessarily go by conditions—He can do the miracle now!—And what a miracle that would be & what a blessing that would be! I mean, to come now & save the World from the Atomic War, the Antichrist would come as a blessing! We'd even thank God for him if it held off the War at least another 3-1/2 years under a Worldwide Government in which they cooperate with him & he gets things organised before the War!

43. AND THIS IS WHAT I USED TO TEACH!—That first he works in peace with the Whore—with America, with the System—through the Pact of Peace, to consolidate his power & to come into power. Then when he has established his power & he's won the ten kings of Europe to his side, he no longer needs the Whore & they turn on her & burn her with fire‚ devour & completely destroy her! Now that really makes sense!

44. IT WOULDN'T BE THE FIRST TIME I'VE BEEN WRONG! It wouldn't be the first time I've confessed that I made a mistake because the Lord hadn't shown me yet! But that just came like a flash of revelation! Why wouldn't the Lord show me that till now?—I guess because I wasn't really asking the Lord! But while I've been reading these last "Garden of Eden" Chapters—particularly the description of the Antichrist & his reign & the Tribulation, the Whore Babylon & all of this—the questions began to rise: "Well‚ how could this be? How could that fit? That just doesn't quite fit somehow!"

45. AND WHEN I FINALLY CAME TO THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON, IT JUST DAWNED ON ME IN A FLASH, CLEAR AS ANYTHING!—If that War in Revelation 17 & 18 is the Atomic War—which it certainly sounds like & which we've been saying all along, that Babylon or America is destroyed in the Atomic War‚ in one day, one hour—then it does not occur until after the ten kings of Europe have yielded their power to the Beast!—In other words‚ until the Antichrist has become supreme!—And until at least Europe makes peace with him & cooperates with him!—Which would almost force the U.S. to make peace! But then, in that 3-1/2 years of peace he really establishes his power & gets complete total control & a real grip on the World, to where he no longer needs the Whore, America! He certainly could easily persuade Europe then to turn on America & fire their missiles that way instead, & that would solve the whole problem!

46. SOME OF THESE OTHER PIECES DIDN'T QUITE FIT, HAVING TO HAVE A COUPLE OF INVASIONS OF ISRAEL & SEVERAL EXTRA WARS! How could he go in & establish peace & a Pact & a Holy Covenant to share Jerusalem & have the Jews think there's enough peace to rebuild the Temple & all that unless there is peace? And how could it happen after the Atomic War if the whole place is already wiped-out?—And it certainly sounds like there's going to come some awful destruction in Israel!

47. THIS COULD ALSO EXPLAIN SOME OF THE PASSAGES ABOUT THE HORRIFIC DESTRUCTION THAT OCCURS IN ISRAEL DURING HIS INVASION! As you say‚ how could you have peace afterward‚ then, & rebuild the Temple & all that after such a mess? Because it sounds like the destruction happens at the time he breaks the Covenant, & they break it, & during his invasion. That would solve that problem, because if the Covenant comes first, it gives the time of peace they need to establish peace in Jerusalem & rebuild the Temple & restore sacrificial worship. And then their destruction by his invasion would not come until afterward‚ in the middle of the Seven Years, at the beginning of the Tribulation, when he comes down & invades Israel & puts a stop to all worship.

48. IT JUST SEEMED THAT WAR WAS SO IMMINENT, THAT IT SURELY HAD TO HAPPEN BEFORE HE COULD COME TO POWER, & THROUGH IT COME TO POWER! But he could much better & more easily, clearly & peacefully come to power through the Covenant, & thereby establish World Peace & cooperation much easier without such a mess!—And get a firmer grip on the World until he feels like he has sufficient power & reigns supreme, with the cooperation of Europe, to all of them turn on America & destroy her at the time of the breaking of the Covenant! At which time would be the logical time, after such a War, to set himself up as total king & god & demand World worship, resulting pretty much in World chaos! (Maria: I was wondering how everybody could see the signing of the Covenant on TV if the Atomic War had wiped out communications.) Well, this solves a whole lot of problems!

49. BUT THAT JUST CAME TO ME JUST AS CLEARLY & SIMPLY AS ANYTHING! I was so puzzled by it & frustrated because I kept finding little mistakes & misinterpretations or differences in things I said in the Letters, even things I said under inspiration which seemed to contradict what I've been teaching! Because in my teaching on this subject here, on Babylon, I just as good as say that the Atomic War occurs at the destruction of Babylon, & that this occurs at the breaking of the Covenant.—Which could only mean that the making of the Covenant of World Peace would have to be 3–1/2 years earlier!

50. WELL, PYL! HALLELUJAH! TYJ! THAT SOLVES A LOT OF PROBLEMS, A LOT OF PIECES WHICH JUST DIDN'T SEEM TO FIT! And Lord, we're willing to confess that some of our previous interpretations have been a little bit confused & we haven't been quite sure about exactly where some of these events fit, but this certainly seems to pinpoint & zero-in the Atomic War at the time of the breaking of the Covenant & the end of World Peace, established 3-1/2 years before by the Covenant, during which time the ten kings of Europe firmly ally themselves with the Antichrist, then to finally turn with him against the Whore & destroy her in the Atomic War! TYL!

51. THANK YOU LORD FOR GIVING US WISDOM TODAY WHICH WE DIDN'T HAVE YESTERDAY, revelations today which we hadn't had yet yesterday, Lord, to reveal these things unto us now when we need to know! So that if these things be so, we still have a little more time, a little more peace to finish our work before the awful destruction of Atomic Warfare‚ followed by the Tribulation! PYL! Hallelujah! TYJ!

52. THIS THEN VIRTUALLY MAKES THE ATOMIC WAR THE BEGINNING OF THE TRIBULATION! It starts with one war & ends with another! In fact, I used to teach that a long time ago in our Soul Clinic Schools. It just comes back to me that I taught the Tribulation begins with the Atomic War & ends with the War of Armageddon! But I kind of got away from that because it looked so much like the War was going to come sooner & it just didn't fit my interpretation! (Maria: That makes it easier for the Antichrist to really take control then & really crack down after the Atomic War. He'll have to come in & help pick up the pieces & he'll be able to take total control.) Yes, he'll institute real police powers, & insist as a peace measure that everybody have one religion & kill everybody who won't, to try to bring about peace—after the War.

53. IN OTHER WORDS‚ HIS PLASTIC PEACE FAILED BECAUSE OF THE REBELLION OF THE JEWS & AMERICA, & THEREFORE HE HAD TO WIPE'M OUT WITH THE HELP OF THE TEN KINGS OF EUROPE! And after that Holocaust, he's got to try to establish some kind of order out of chaos. That's why it's easier for him to start the Tribulation & begin severe police-power persecution with the excuse that he's got to do it in order to establish order out of chaos & peace out of destruction. And a lot of people will fall for that then, that he's got to have one-World–religion as well as one-World–government. He's already had one-World-government, now he insists on one-World-religion to stop all the religious warring. And to do that, he has to have a one-World-economy & the Mark of the Beast, demand execution of all opponents & all the rest!—Which begins the Tribulation!

54. WELL, THAT SURE HELPS SOLVE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS! THAT'S QUITE A REVELATION! But the amazing thing to me is that I begin to remember now that that's what I originally taught years ago!—That the Antichrist would rise to power first through the Covenant of Peace, the Holy Covenant, & that then only in the middle of the Seven Years, when they rebel & he breaks the Covenant, does he finally resort to the last extreme resort of the Atomic War to blot out his worst enemy‚ Babylon the Great Whore‚ with the help of his ten kings of Europe! That really fits a lot of things! That helps explain the ten kings being Europe & cooperating with the Antichrist & all turning on America!

55. IT ALSO MEANS, GOD HELP US & HOPE TO GOD IT'S TRUE, THAT WE MAY YET HAVE 3-1/2 MORE YEARS OF PEACE!—Or even more, depending on how soon he establishes the Covenant. But I don't see how it can be much later, because we're approaching right now either the War or somebody's got to bring peace! And I think only a miracle of God through the Antichrist & the Covenant could bring such a peace at this time to stave it off another 3–1/2 years!

56. SO LET'S LOOK FORWARD RIGHT NOW TO THE REVELATION OF THE ANTICHRIST & HIS PEACE PACT OF WORLD PEACE FOR ANOTHER 3-1/2 YEARS, WE HOPE, solving the problem of Jerusalem & the Jews & the Arabs & the Christians & the Muslims & all the rest over there in Israel & Lebanon & the Mideast, which is the sore hot point & the flashpoint of danger that might ignite the next World War! If he can solve that thing, he's a genius! If he can get the World to agree to peace, a solution to the Israel-Palestine controversy & the Jerusalem controversy, the Jewish-Arab confrontation, the Christian-Muslim confrontation, all of those over there in the same hotspot‚ he can solve almost anything!

57. IF HE COULD SOLVE ALL THAT WITH THIS PEACE PACT, THE HOLY COVENANT, IT CERTAINLY WOULD BE A HOLY ONE! Maybe that's why God calls it a Holy Covenant! Although the Antichrist is the one that makes the Covenant, we could take it as from God even though the Devil did bring it! If it gives us another 3-1/2 years of World Peace, it certainly would be a benign gift of God, even if He used the Devil to bring it! (See "A Loaf of Bread," FC TK 28.) I would certainly call it a Holy Covenant! I always kind of wondered how in the World He could call that a Holy Covenant when the Antichrist makes it! But that would help us understand why the Lord calls it a Holy Covenant! It's really sent by God Himself to give at least 3-1/2 more years of World Peace for us to get the job done!

58. (MARIA: MAYBE THAT'S WHY THE LORD LED US TO DELAY APOLLOS' ENDTIME COMPILATIONS!) Maybe so, he can change quite a bit of it. Because his is a condensation of it all‚ & will be most likely the real handbook of it all! Because through my big mess of Letters & Series, Old Testament & New Testament & "Garden of Eden" Series‚ I've just been gradually developing & sort of evoluting my theories of interpretation. And now here the Lord gives another flash, clarifies another period or era or controversial point that just didn't seem to quite fit! That will solve a lot of problems, including a lot of ours, thank God! That certainly sounds like the answer, that really sounds like it!

59. —THAT IF THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON IS THE DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA, & that is the Atomic War, then according to Revelation 17 & 18, it cannot occur until the Antichrist is already in power & has the cooperation of the ten kings of Europe!—Which is all very logical‚ reasonable & makes more sense than having the War right now! And this would solve the problem of how come the Antichrist seems to have to invade Israel twice—now‚ & then at the breaking of the Covenant. This would eliminate any preliminary invasion of Israel right now, because the Covenant would bring peace & no need for an invasion to establish that peace. It would come by mutual voluntary agreement as a last desperate move to avert the War, the signing of this Covenant!—Which I would certainly count as "Holy" if it stops the War!

60. (MARIA: ISRAEL MAY NOT AGREE TO IT RIGHT NOW, BUT BEGIN MAY NOT HAVE LONG TO LIVE!) Yes, when Begin's dead & there's a change of government there in Israel, there will be more chance of peace! But also if Israel sees she's beginning to totter on the brink of annihilation, that's the only thing the [Israelis] ever understand—force! In fact, if the Antichrist arises now & is smart enough to convince them that they're going to lose everything in self-destruction, as well as World-destruction, that it's better to have a share & divvy-up than it is to be totally destroyed & lose everything, that's about the only thing that could knock any sense into those [Israelis'] heads if anything ever could!

61. ISRAEL IS TERRIFICALLY DIVIDED RIGHT NOW, ALMOST 50-50‚ BETWEEN THE "PEACE NOW" PEOPLE & THE FOLKS WHO WANT WAR! So I think there's a good chance of enough opposition pressure to agree to some kind of a peace that would at least save enough of Israel that they could still have any Israel at all! And I think the Arabs & the Palestinians are coming to the point where they would rather have something than nothing—some of Palestine than nothing at all!

62. I THINK THEY'RE ALL GETTING THERE, THEY'RE ALL COMING TO THE BRINK where they see that it's either agree together & stick together & don't jump over, or it's complete destruction! Face-to–face with War right now, face-to-face with complete total destruction & annihilation of Israel & the Mideast & War & the holocaust of Atomic War, I think people are finally beginning to wake up! The World is beginning to wake up! People are beginning to wake up! All these anti-nuke demonstrations are beginning to wake'm up, & they're beginning to wake up the people that you just cannot have a war—it's self-destruction, it's suicide!

63. I THINK THE PEOPLE ARE GETTING INTO THE MOOD WHERE THEY WOULD SETTLE FOR ALMOST ANYTHING RATHER THAN WAR!—EVEN IN THE RECENT CATHOLIC BISHOPS' CONFERENCE!—Did you know that they finally signed a declaration as being totally against Atomic War?—To completely halt the manufacture & making of atomic missiles & warheads, etc.! This has thrown some of the Catholics into a dither because a lot of them work in nuclear industries & build Trident subs & that sort of thing, & a lot of Catholics are all confused & upset & think they're going to have to quit their jobs if they obey the Catholic Bishops' Conference ultimatum!—That Atomic War is immoral & should be stopped, & that they should halt the manufacture & placement of atomic weapons!—That was quite a courageous step! They thought the Conference was going to be almost evenly split & there was some possibility of defeating it, but instead, the measure was passed by an overwhelming majority of Catholic Bishops in America against the Atomic War!

64. SENTIMENT & FEELING & DEMONSTRATION & ACTION AGAINST ATOMIC WAR IS RISING! This is why the U.S. is so anxious to start it right away before it gets too impossible. (Maria: Maybe Reagan will get knocked out & a more moderate get in.) Yes! From the way the Jews are fighting Reagan now & from all the mistakes he's made & the mess he's in‚ I don't see how he could have a chance of getting re-elected! I figured it didn't make much difference anyhow if the War was going to occur this year or next year, there wouldn't be any election. But if this interpretation is true, if this revelation is so, & the Antichrist is soon to arise & make World Peace, then I doubt if Reagan's going to have a chance of getting re-elected! He's too warmongering, war-hungry & too determined to wipe out Russia & the Communists, like he's trying to do in Central America!

65. BOY, THAT REALLY REALLY CHANGES THE WHOLE PICTURE! I have really been praying the last few days & nights, asking God, "Lord, if the War is almost on us, what should we do? We've got to do more to prepare people for it, tell them what to do & how to survive & how to work immediately after the War! I've got to start telling them how to continue & we've got to work out emergency measures right away to keep going after such a holocaust!" But thank God, if we've got 3-1/2 more years at least, it certainly would be a relief & a blessing!

66. AMEN! TYL! THANK YOU LORD FOR THIS REVELATION, SUCH A FLASH OF CLEAR REVELATION WHICH SHOWS US SUCH A PICTURE, to reveal to us the tremendously relieving news of possible postponement of the Atomic War!—Which we certainly hope is true & which would certainly be a blessing & a help to finish the job of World evangelism before the End—before the Atomic War & the Tribulation almost put a stop to it! TYL! PYJ! Hallelujah! Thank You Jesus for Thy faithfulness to correct us, Lord, when we're going down the wrong path & we're concerned about the wrong things! Thank You Jesus for Thy corrections‚ chastisements, stoppings & changes! TYL! For without changes we don't fear God. (Ps.55:19) We thank You Lord for our not being afraid to change, being more afraid of You, Lord, & afraid not to change if we're wrong!

67. THANK YOU JESUS FOR THIS REVELATION! PYL! TYJ! WE SINCERELY HOPE IT'S TRUE! We'll certainly know soon‚ because the only thing that could stop this War is a miracle from You, Lord, & that miracle would have to be the Antichrist's Peace Covenant! That miracle could only be some kind of a peace treaty or Holy Covenant to bring World Peace, & that could only be swung by the Antichrist‚ according to Thy Word. So Lord, we are now to look for the appearance or the work of the Antichrist somewhere to bring about World Peace very soon, without soon War. TYJ! PYL! Hallelujah! In Jesus' name. Let it be so! So be it! Give us a little more time, Lord Jesus! Thank You for it, in Jesus' name, amen! Praise God!

68. THANK YOU ANYHOW, LORD, FOR SCARING US OUT OF THE NORTH & SCARING ALL OF OUR OBEDIENT CHILDREN OUT INTO THE MISSION FIELD! If it took that to get them to obey & out where they belong, it was worth the scare!—Even if they may have considered it, or our critics may now call it, a false alarm! It did the trick‚ Lord, & if so‚ it was Your false alarm! Thank You for it! If You let us believe that the War was coming right now so that we all got out of the North as fast as we could, it was worth it, even if it was a false alarm! TYJ! It certainly inspired us to finish the job in our mission fields & in our publication of Thy Word!

69. THANK YOU LORD FOR HELPING US RECEIVE THIS CLARIFICATION ON THIS ONE POINT, which is a small point to the overall picture, but nevertheless a very important point to us right now, Lord, if this War is not to occur right now, but is postponed another 3-1/2 years by the Antichrist's Holy Covenant of peace, for which we would certainly be thankful! We would even be thankful for the Antichrist if he establishes such a peace! TYJ! In Jesus' name.

70. BLESS US & KEEP US, LORD, & CONTINUE TO MAKE US A BLESSING AS LONG AS YOU CAN! Thank You for this bit of good news‚ big news, that the War is not coming now, but we have at least 3-1/2 more years! We surely hope so, Lord, to give us much more time to finish our job & to finish Thy Work, Thy Word & the mission fields & get them established, Lord‚ so they can endure throughout the War & the Tribulation until Thy glorious Coming! In Jesus' name, amen! Hallelujah! TYL!

71. BOY, THAT IS BIG NEWS, GOOD NEWS, & A REVELATION! Amen? TYL! Hallelujah! I can hardly wait to tell'm! I gotta get to work now & revise my whole Series! No, I don't think there's any point in revising the whole Series. What I have written I have written, & what's done is done! As long as they get this final revelation, then when they're reading back over the old stuff, they can correct it!—Just like they did about Israel & the Jews! When I had that big revelation‚ they had to throw out a lot of stuff & take a lot with a grain of salt, because I had a complete change. (See No.66.) This isn't as big a change as that! This is just pinpointing the Atomic War! TYL!

72. (MARIA: THERE'S ONE MORE QUESTION—HOW DO YOU THINK THE ATOMIC WASTELAND THAT YOU HAD A VISION OF IN GERMANY WILL COME ABOUT?)—Through the Atomic War! There's hardly any doubt that even though the Antichrist would get all of Europe on his side & turn their missiles toward America, America's got it figured out that no matter how many missiles land over there, she's going to get some off, including her submarine missiles, Polaris & Trident missiles, which could be at sea someplace & totally unscathed. So I believe even in such a case, that Europe & Russia aren't going to escape completely unscathed, they're going to get some retaliation before America goes down. So that would very easily explain that.

73. (MARIA: ONE MORE QUESTION—WHY IS RUSSIA BREEDING & TRAINING HORSES FOR THE MILITARY?) This gives them at least 3-1/2 more years to do it, too! (Maria: Have they read the prophecy in the Bible?) They don't have to read the prophecies, Honey! (Maria: They have atomic missiles, why do they think they need horses?) Just as we've been reading lately about the magnetic pulse surge, they know that one good-sized atom bomb exploded over America‚ for example, could completely blot out all communication, electrical machinery & everything! If this occurs during the Atomic War, for example, in the Mideast—which could easily happen, America could manage to fire off some shots, I'm sure they're preparing that—it would totally immobilise any kind of electric equipment!

74. ALL THESE GUNS & PLANES & TANKS & MISSILES & EVERYTHING ARE OPERATED BY ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS, & if one good high-altitude atomic bomb can put all these circuits out of commission, all of the armed forces are totally immobilised! All their tanks are dead! Their guns are silent! Their missiles are powerless in such a case!—Which means anybody who's got horsemen & swords & shields could dive in & win the War! All of the other guy's modern armaments wouldn't even work! He'd be almost defenceless! Even some of these rifles operate with electrical circuits, etc. Even the soldiers in the field wouldn't be able to fire a gun!—Not even a rifle! Maybe a pistol would be all he'd have left! No tanks, no guns, no planes, no missiles‚ maybe not even any rifles! In which case, any horde of 200 million horsemen could win the War!—Is that in the Tribulation or is that the Wrath of God? I've forgotten, I'll have to look it up! (It's the Trib!)

75. I GET CONFUSED ON SOME OF THESE POINTS! It's hard to remember, because the Tribulation & the Wrath of God are so similar! (Maria: You get confused yourself‚ so you shouldn't feel bad or feel upset when the kids ask questions that you think are being nit-picky, because they get confused more than you do!) I feel bad & I'm upset when they ask questions that I can't answer! PTL! Hallelujah! TYJ! Amen!—Amen? GBAKYAMYAB till Jesus comes!—In Jesus' name, amen!