>>520741912
- “[Satan]… must be released for a short time. He will go out to deceive the nations (τὰ ἔθνη, ta ethnē) in the four corners of the earth — Gog & Magog — to gather them for battle.”
> Revelation 20:3
- “[They] marched up over the broad plain of the earth & surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven & consumed them.”
> Revelation 20:8
> Apocalyptic Weaponization of the Word (Word of god = Sword of God) Against Gentile Might.
- Early Jewish & Christian apocalyptic texts, written by minorities under the domination of powerful Gentile empires, did not merely describe their oppressors.
— They "weaponized their religious narrative" —using the “Word of God” as a symbolic sword "Sword of God"
— to delegitimize & condemn both military and political might of these empires.
- The “nations” (Goyim / Ethnē) represent the dominant Gentile powers, viewed not just as foreign peoples,
— but as spiritually "Deceived & corrupt forces aligned with Satan"
> (Revelation 20:3, 20:8).
- The Empire’s control is portrayed as “Sorcery” (Pharmakeia),
— a metaphor for the seductive power of wealth, propaganda & false religion that keeps the nations under its sway
> (Revelation 18:23).
- The Messiah’s “Sword from his mouth” (Revelation 19:15) symbolizes the Word of God’s authority & power,
— serving as the oppressed’s weapon against the empire’s physical swords - an inversion of power where divine truth is sharper than any iron blade
> (Hebrews 4:12).
— By casting the empire’s military might as rebellion against God, these texts transform the empire from a worldly power
— into an "Agent of cosmic evil destined for destruction"
> (Psalm 2, Revelation 11:18).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAYOAs-E2Yk