to these cryptic references to the air with a desire to learn what their inspired

foreshadowings have to teach us as the last days which assuredly are close upon us.

The air above is now the sphere both of offence and defence, so let us therefore give

the Scriptures a hearing.

When the vials of God's wrath are poured out, we read that the fifth angel poured out

his vial "upon the seat of the beast, and his kingdom was full of darkness" (Rev. 16: 10).

The Greek word thronos occurs 46 times, and where we read in Rev. 2: 13; 13: 2 and

16: 10 of "the seat" of the Beast or of Satan, we should alter that rendering and read

"throne" (Gk. thronos), for Satan is a `Prince' though fallen and wicked. The same word

archon (prince) used of Christ is used of "The Prince of the Kings of the earth" (Rev. 1: 5)

and of Satan (Matt. 9: 34; 12: 24; Mark 3: 22; John 12: 31; 14: 30; 16: 11; Eph. 2: 2)

and we rob ourselves of valuable though terrible teaching by altering either the word

`throne' or `prince' out of a false desire to stretch out our hand to stay the ark of God.

Michael had no two thoughts as to the rank of this fallen foe, as Jude 9 reveals.  We

read not only that one of the vials was poured out upon the throne of the Beast, but also

upon "the AIR" (Rev. 16: 17).

Now without the title "the prince of the authority of the air" to guide us, we might

wonder why the air we breathe should be thus visited, but knowing this fact, and in the

close association with the throne of the Beast in the context (Rev. 16: 10), we realize that

Satan's domain is here seen to come under the judgment of the last days. Perhaps we

shall perceive a deeper significance in I Thessalonians when we read concerning the

Second Coming that some will "meet the Lord in the AIR" (I Thess. 4: 17). It should

also be remembered that ouranos translated `heaven' over 260 times in the N.T. is

nevertheless translated "air" ten times, as in "the fowls and birds of the air".

This is also true of the Hebrew of the O.T. shamayim, translated nearly 400 times

"heaven", is nevertheless translated "air" 21 times, as in Gen. 1: 26, even as in

Matt. 13: 32.  The `fowls' that devoured the seed in the parable of Matt. 13: 4 are

explained in Matt. 13: 19 as the agents or the work of the wicked one.

With these passages in mind, and with the present emphasis upon dominion of the air

for both offence and defence, let us look a little more closely at other prophetic utterances

long neglected and misunderstood. When we read the appalling consequences of the

atomic bomb that fell on Hiroshima and then come across the terrible description of the

plague spoken of in Zech 14: 12 (and the reader would be well advised to turn to that

passage and consult it once more before proceeding) and we read further of "everyone

that is LEFT of the nations, which come up against Jerusalem" in verse 16, one begins to

wonder whether we have here a prophetic forecast of the results of nuclear warfare, and

also in the hurting of the earth, the sea, and the trees in Rev. 7: 3 which results from

the censer filled with fire being cast to the earth (Rev. 8: 5).

Do we now deny that man's nuclear weapons could, and possibly will, burn up a third

part of the trees, and all the green grass? Is it merely an extravagant figure of speech to