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Who or What Is the PROPHETIC BEAST?
by Herbert W. Armstrong
Part One: 1960;
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Who or what is "the wild Beast" of the Apocalypse, or book of Revelation, chapters 13 and 17? What does Bible prophecy reveal about world events now leading to Armageddon and the end of this age? This two-part booklet deals with governments and wars that will bring this world to its final end.
PART ONE
Bible prophecy reveals events of our time and world-shaking events soon to change your life.
A major world-shaking event is foretold in the symbolic language of a mysterious world-dominating wild beast.
The Bible is God's book of history, prophecy and revealed knowledge of
God's purpose and master plan for humanity from its beginning on into
eternity. But the Bible is primarily a book about the chosen nation of
Israel, and other nations that have come into direct contact with
Israel.
We know little concerning nations, or whether there
were nations on earth, prior to the great Flood. But soon after the
Flood, Nimrod founded the city-states of Babylon, Nineveh and others.
In due time such nations as Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, the Aramean
states, Israel, Phoenicia and others developed in the Middle East. By
the end of the 7th century B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar had founded the
first world empire or union of nations. The Bible does reveal the
history, and prophecy from now, of the system of gentile world empires
starting with Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon on to the Second Coming of
Christ, as well as the history and yet future prophecy concerning
Israel. This booklet will cover the true significance of these two
systems of nations, and what it means to us today, as well what is
prophesied for the imminent future.
First, then, who is the
mysterious wild "beast" of Revelation 13 and 17? If you have his mark,
you must suffer the seven last PLAQUES! Is he a mysterious superman
world dictator yet to appear? ... Is he the Antichrist? ... or a
government? ... or a church?
THE MOST important question of the hour is: What, or who, is the BEAST, the IMAGE of the beast, and the MARK of the beast spoken of in the Apocalypse or book of Revelation?
Whatever this weird beast -- whatever the baffling image -- whatever
the mysterious mark -- it behooves you and me to find out!
For it is those of this very present generation who shall be worshiping
this beast or his image, or shall have received his mark, that will
suffer the unspeakable torture of the seven last plagues!
Ignorance will not excuse! "My people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge," says the Eternal, in Hosea 4:6. And the illustration of
Ezekiel's watchman shows that those who are unaware, because they are
not warned, will suffer just the same (Ezek. 33:6; and 3:18). God
expects the spiritual leader of His people to be His "watchman" (Ezek.
33:7) and to warn the people.
The time is at hand! The
plagues of God's wrath will soon be poured out, unmixed and undiluted
-- full strength upon a heedless, God-defying world, and a careless,
lukewarm, indifferent Christianity!
Who Shall Suffer the PLAGUES?
Listen!
John in the Apocalypse or book of Revelation describes the last warning
message: "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his
mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine
of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture" (Rev. 14:9,
10). This prophecy is most significant because it is revealing, in
advance, events immediately ahead of us at this present time.
Listen again!
John, carried forward in vision into the terrible "day of the Lord,"
sees these plagues beginning to fall! "And the seven angels came out of
the temple, having the seven last plagues ... and the first went, and
poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and
grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon
them which worshipped his image" (Rev. 15:6 and 16:2).
Every
sign tells us these things will happen, plunging the world into the
most frantic, frenzied state of anguish ever known, almost certainly
within a matter of the next several years!
Those who suffer the wrath of Almighty God are described as those who worship the beast, or his image, or have his mark.
It is futile to try to imagine, as so many are doing, what the mark of
the beast may be. These prophecies are real. They are imminent. Because
these and other prophecies have never been understood until now, even
churches, the theologians, evangelists have been ignoring prophecies in
general and these imminent prophecies in particular. Too many are
trying to speculate in their imaginations. But God says, "My thoughts
are not your thoughts" (Isa. 55:8).
We can't work this out in
our minds. We are face to face with a stern reality, not an imaginary
fairy tale! There is only one way to learn the truth. That is to study
carefully, cautiously, prayerfully, with an open mind yielded to and
guided by the Holy Spirit, all the testimony of all the scriptures that
bear on this question.
We cannot determine what the mark of the beast may be, until we have learned what, or who, the beast is!
For, of course, the mark is the beast's mark. Who, what then, is the beast?
The Bible DESCRIPTION of the BEAST
The beast, the image of the beast and the mark of the beast are all described primarily in the 13th chapter of Revelation.
Notice carefully this Bible description. The apostle John was being
given this message for you and me of this day. In the vision he saw "a
beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and
upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."
"And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were
as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the
dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority" (Rev.
13:1-2).
Now most of those who are teaching and preaching to
others on these subjects overlook entirely this description. For this
description will IDENTIFY the beast.
If the beast is some
mysterious superman, or antichrist, soon to appear as world dictator,
he will be a peculiar-looking individual indeed, for he will have seven
heads, and ten horns! Have you ever seen a man with seven heads, and
ten horns growing out of one of his heads? And did you ever see a man
who was like a leopard, and can you imagine a superman coming who will
have the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion? And will he appear by
coming up out of some ocean?
Now these, of course, are all
symbols. The very word beast is a symbol. And our problem is to
interpret the symbols, for they stand for real, literal things. But man
cannot interpret biblical symbols. And when we know what the heads and
the horns are, what the feet of the bear, the mouth of the lion, and
likeness to a leopard all mean, then we can know what, or who, the
beast really is!
The Bible Interprets Its Own Symbols
The
point we want to stress is that the Bible interprets its own symbols!
If we want the truth, we must be guided solely by the Bible
interpretation, not man's interpretations and imaginations.
And the Bible itself tells us what they represent!
In the 7th chapter of Daniel, we find exactly these same symbols
described. Here again are the beasts, the seven heads, the ten horns,
and here also is the lion, the bear, and the leopard. And here the
Bible tells us what these symbols represent.
God had given
Daniel understanding in dreams and visions (Dan. 1:17). And Daniel had
a dream and a vision (Dan. 7:1) in which he saw four great beasts
(verse 3). And notice, as in Revelation, the beasts came up out of the
sea.
The first was like a "lion" (verse 4), the second was
like a "bear" (verse 5), the third like a "leopard" (verse 6), and the
fourth was so dreadful and terrible it could not be compared to any
wild beast known to inhabit the earth (verse 7)!
Now there
was only one head described on the lion, one for the bear, one for the
fourth beast -- but the third beast, the leopard, had four heads --
thus making seven heads in all! And out of this great and dreadful
fourth beast grew ten horns!
Now notice verse 16, latter
part. Here comes the interpretation of the things! The question is,
will we accept this Bible interpretation of the seven heads, the ten
horns, the lion, the bear and the leopard?
"These great beasts, which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth," is the interpretation of verse 17.
And the word king is synonymous with kingdom, and used only in the
sense that the king represents the kingdom over which he rules, for in
verse 23 we read, "The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon
the earth." Notice also the word kingdom is used to explain the beasts
in verses 18, 22, 24, and 27.
Now what do the "horns"
represent? Notice verse 24: "And the ten horns out of this kingdom are
ten kings that shall arise." Notice the ten horns, or ten succeeding
kingdoms or governments, come OUT OF A KINGDOM, not out of a man, or a
superman. This alone makes plain that the beast is not some mysterious
personal superman yet to come. Also that the beast is not a church as
some claim, for no ten kingdoms ever did, or will, come out of a
church. And since "king" in these prophecies only stands for the
kingdom he represents, and since the words are used interchangeably, it
follows that these ten horns are ten succeeding kingdoms growing out of
the fourth kingdom, which was to rule the earth!
Identification of the Kingdoms
These same four world-ruling gentile kingdoms are described in the
second chapter of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar of the Chaldean Empire,
who had taken the Jews captive, had a dream, the meaning of which God
revealed to Daniel.
The dream is described in verses 31-35.
The king saw a great image. Its head was of gold, its breast and arms
of silver, its belly and thighs of brass, its legs of iron and its feet
and toes were part iron and part clay. Finally, a stone, not in men's
hands, but supernaturally, smote the image upon his feet and toes. It
was broken in pieces and was blown away like chaff. Then the stone that
smashed it became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
"This," Daniel says, beginning verse 36, "is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king."
" ... Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another
kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which
shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be
strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all
things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces
and bruise" (verses 36-40).
The interpretation of the stone smashing the image at its toes is found in the 44th verse:
"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a
kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be
left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all
these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." The Stone is Christ and
His world-ruling kingdom. The interpretation of the stone is given many
places in the Bible. "Jesus Christ of Nazareth ... is the stone which
was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the
corner" (Acts 4:10-11).
And so we see that here are four
universal world-ruling gentile kingdoms. They begin with the Chaldean
Empire, which took the Jews captive to Babylon.
God had
promised ancient Israel that if they would keep His commandments, be
His obedient nation, they would grow into a multitude of nations -- or
an empire that would dominate the entire earth. But for disobedience
they would have to be taken captive by gentile nations (Lev. 26 and
other prophecies). Ancient Israel had been tried through the
generations and centuries. They had disobeyed. Now they had been taken
captive by Nebuchadnezzar, who had raised up the world's first empire.
But as God revealed through Daniel in chapter 2, it was God who had
turned world dominion over to this succession of gentile empires. They
continue through four great universal kingdoms and out of the fourth
grows ten succeeding governments. These carry to the time of the Second
Coming of Christ, and the setting up of the kingdom of God to fill the
whole earth and last forever.
The Fourth Beast
Plainly, here in Daniel 2 are described the same four universal
world-ruling gentile powers that are described by Daniel's four beasts.
And this dream-image identifies who they are. The first was
Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom, the Chaldean Empire, called "Babylon" after
the name of its capital city, 625-539 B.C.
The second
kingdom, which followed, then, we know from history, was the Persian
Empire, 558-330 B.C., often called Medo- Persia, composed of Medes and
Persians.
All ancient-history students know the third world
kingdom was Greece, or Macedonia under Alexander the Great, who
conquered the great Persian Empire 333-330 B.C. But Alexander lived
only a short year after his swift conquest, and his four generals
divided his vast empire into four regions: Macedonia and Greece, Thrace
and Western Asia, Syria and territory east to the Indus river, and
Egypt. So these were the four heads of the third beast of Daniel 7.
And the FOURTH KINGDOM, which, developing from Rome, spread out and
gradually absorbed one after another of these four divisions --
"dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly," was the ROMAN EMPIRE
(31 B.C. to A.D. 476).
It had absorbed all the others,
occupied all their territory, was greater and stronger than all. It
included all the royal splendor of ancient Babylon, thus having the
head -- the strongest part -- of the lion. It had all the massiveness
and numerically powerful army of the Persian Empire -- symbolized by
the legs, the most powerful part of the bear. It was the greatest
war-making machine the world had ever seen, and it also possessed the
swiftness, the cunning, the cruelty of Alexander's army, symbolized by
the leopard.
And thus, this fourth beast was unlike any wild beast of the earth. It was stronger, greater, more terrible, than any.
And so John, in Revelation 13, sees, not four beasts, but one beast.
Not a leopard, but like a leopard -- possessing all its cunning,
cruelty and speed. But it also possessed the dominant characteristics
of the two other most powerful beasts -- the feet of a bear, and the
mouth of a lion. Daniel's fourth beast, the Roman Empire, had absorbed
and therefore it included the three beasts before it. Thus it included
all seven heads. And John's beast also has seven heads. It was Daniel's
fourth beast, only, which had ten horns and John's beast has ten horns.
And so, if we are willing to be guided solely by the Bible
description of this "beast" and to let the Bible interpret the symbols
used to describe it, we come to the inevitable conclusion that the
beast of Revelation 13 is the Roman Empire, of 31 B.C. to A.D. 476! Of
course, many man-imagined theories, widely taught and published,
interpret this beast otherwise -- some as a church, some as a
mysterious, individual, superman yet to come. But these theories will
not stand the test of applying the Bible interpretation to all the
symbols that describe this beast.
Nebuchadnezzar's image, by
the two legs, describes the two divisions of the Roman Empire, after
A.D. 330: West, with capital at Rome, and East, with capital at
Constantinople.
John also pictures this beast, not as a
church or as an individual man, but as a powerful government having a
great army. For they worshiped the beast by saying, "Who is able to
make war with him?" (Rev. 13:4).
The Symbolism of the Horns
Let us now notice the symbolism of the horns of the fourth beast of Daniel 7 and of the beast of Revelation 13.
The ten horns symbolize the same thing -- the ten stages of government
continuing out of the Roman Empire after its fall, A.D. 476). The ten
horns "out of this kingdom" (the fourth -- the Roman empire, 31 B.C. to
A.D. 476) "are ten kings that shall arise ... and the kingdom and the
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven" (not
IN heaven) "shall be given to the people of the saints of the most
High" (Dan. 7:24, 27).
The ten horns, then, are ten kingdoms
to arise out of the fourth kingdom, the Roman Empire. These kings, also
called kingdoms, continue from A.D. 476 until the time when the Stone,
Christ and His Kingdom, smashes the image on its toes, and the kingdom
is given to the saints. Therefore, since in actual history there have
never been ten contemporaneous kingdoms that have continued out of the
Roman Empire, side by side, down to the present -- and since there have
been nine successive kingdoms ruling that territory, which we shall
explain, from 476 to the present, therefore we know that the kingdoms
represented by the horns are successive, not contemporaneous.
The Deadly Wound
Now let us return to our description of the beast in Revelation 13.
"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly
wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
"And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and
they worshipped the beast saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is
able to make war with him?
"And there was given unto him a
mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto
him to continue forty and two months" (Rev. 13:3-5).
The
beast here symbolized is the one which included the royal splendor and
kingly power symbolized by the mouth of the lion (Babylon); the
ponderous strength symbolized by the feet of the bear (Medo-Persia);
and the speed, cunning and cruelty of the leopard (Greece). Since the
interpretation of these symbols is found in Daniel 7, and since the
fourth beast had ten horns, the Bible interpretation of the beast of
Revelation 13 is the fourth beast of Daniel 7 -- the Roman Empire, of
31 B.C. to A.D. 476. The beast described by John in Revelation 13
included 7 heads, but the only head existing at the time John saw this
nondescript beast (which included the most powerful characteristics of
all the beasts symbolizing its predecessors) was that of the fourth
beast of Daniel, containing the seventh head, and also the ten horns.
So the specific "one of its heads" that was wounded to death (Rev.
13:3) was the seventh head of the Roman Empire -- the head out of which
ten horns grew. The ten horns, as Daniel interprets, represent ten
successive governments out of the Roman Empire, which were to continue
until the setting up of the Kingdom of God at the Second Coming of
Christ.
The deadly wound, then, was the one administered to
the Roman Empire, when, in its last decaying stages, the barbarians
overran it, ending its government in A.D. 476.
Notice, the dragon gave his power to the beast. Who is the dragon?
Some have said "pagan Rome." But will we be guided solely by the Bible
interpretation of its own symbols? Then, if we will, the dragon is a
symbol which means Satan, the devil. Notice Revelation 12. "The great
dragon ... that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan ... was cast
out into the earth ... the devil is come down unto you, having great
wrath ... and when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth ... "
(verses 9, 12-13). "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent,
which is the Devil, and Satan ... " (Rev. 20:2).
They
worshiped the beast (Rev. 13:4). Therefore some conclude, from this one
statement alone, that the beast must be the papacy, not knowing that
the people worshiped the Roman Empire and its emperors! Notice how they
worshiped the beast -- saying, "Who is able to make war with him?" The
Roman Empire was the greatest war-making power the world had ever
known. This beast killed by the sword (v. 10).
History is
full of accounts of the worship of the Roman emperors, for paganism was
a state religion. The following is from Robinson's Medieval and Modern
Times, an older college textbook, page 7:
"The worship of the
emperor: In a word, the Roman government was not only wonderfully
organized ... everyone was required to join in the worship of the
emperor because he stood for the majesty and glory of the dominion ...
all were obliged, as good citizens, to join in the official sacrifices
to the head of the state, as a god."
But when the seventh
head of this great beast received its deadly wound in A.D. 476, was
that the end? No, the prophecy says "his deadly wound was healed ...
and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months" (verses
3, 5). The ten horns represent ten successive kingdoms to follow out of
this kingdom. So, through the ten horns growing out of this head (the
Roman Empire of 31 B.C.-A.D. 476), the beast (for the ten horns are
part of the beast) continues until the Second Coming of Christ.
The text says one of his heads was wounded to death. The beast included
the seven heads and the ten horns. John sees the beast living in the
days of its seventh head, the Roman Empire. And when that head of the
beast was suffering from its deadly wound, his -- the beast's -- deadly
wound was healed. The horns now reign, one by one.
The Roman
empire in Northern Africa was overrun by the Vandals, who sacked Rome
in 455. Then in 476 Odoacer set up his government at Rome, called the
Heruli. But it did not heal the deadly wound, for this was a government
in Rome. It was not a Roman government, but one of foreign barbarians.
Then there was the kingdom of the Ostrogoths, 493-554, another outside
foreign people who ruled in the territory. But they were driven out of
Italy and disappeared.
These three kingdoms, sweeping into
the Roman territory, filled the period known in history as the
"transition age" (see Myers' Ancient History, page 571). That is, a
TRANSITION between the wound and the healing.
Now Daniel saw
a "little horn" coming up among these ten, before whom these first
three were "plucked up by the roots" (Dan. 7:8). That leaves 7 horns to
come. And of the little horn, Daniel 7 says "his look was more stout
than his fellows" (verse 20). The papacy dominated completely all the
horns to follow.
The Deadly Wound Healed
It was the fourth kingdom (symbolized by the fourth horn), succeeding
the fall of the Empire in 476, which really HEALED the deadly wound,
and restored the empire. In A.D. 554, Justinian, Emperor of the East,
from Constantinople, set up his government through an Imperial Legate
at Ravenna, Italy, and brought about what is known in history as the
"Imperial Restoration" of the Empire.
Now, notice verse 5 of
Revelation 13. Power was given to this beast, once healed, to "CONTINUE
FORTY AND TWO MONTHS." In the prophecies pertaining to the times of
Israel's punishment, each day represents a year in the actual
fulfillment (Ezek. 4:4-6, Num. 14:34). Thus, the healed beast is to
continue 1260 years.
Following the healing, in 554, came the
Frankish kingdom (French), the Holy Roman Empire (German, then the
Austrian Hapsburgs) and Napoleon's kingdom (French). But when Napoleon
was crushed in 1814, the healed beast continued no longer. "So closed,"
says West's Modern History, page 337, "a government that dated from
Augustus Caesar" (from 31 B.C.). It went into Abyss!
And from 554 to 1814, the duration of the "healed beast," was exactly 1260 years!
At that time, eight of the horns having appeared and gone, the beast
itself went into the non-existent condition symbolized in Revelation
17:8 as the "bottomless pit." But by the year 1870, Garibaldi had
united the many little divisions in the peninsula of Italy into one
nation, and the kingdom thus established began the ninth horn, which
culminated in the Fascist rule of Mussolini.
The "Heads" the Woman Rode
We shall deal later more specifically with the 17th chapter of
Revelation in this connection. But let us note in passing that the
woman mentioned in this chapter never rode on any part of this beast of
Revelation 13 except its last seven horns! She is the "little horn" of
Daniel 7, whose "look was more stout than his fellows," and who caused
the first three to be plucked up by the roots. And since, in the 17th
chapter of Revelation, the woman rode on all seven of the heads of the
beast there pictured, and since she rode none of the heads but only the
last seven of the horns of the 13th chapter beast, it follows that the
seven horns of the "healed beast" of the 13th chapter form the seven
heads of the beast of the 17th chapter!
Notice, at the time
John saw the beast, five are fallen, one is, and one is yet to come
(Rev. 17:10). The five that are fallen are the five during the 1260
years in which power was given, by religious authority, for the healed
beast to continue. The one that "is," is the kingdom that extended from
Garibaldi to the downfall of Mussolini. It was not in any sense the
power-wielding old Roman Empire, so during the stage of this 9th horn
(Rev. 13) or 6th head (Rev. 17) John speaks of it as the beast that
was, and is not, and shall arise once more out of the bottomless pit.
The 7th head with its 10 horns, in the 17th chapter, will be, as the
17th chapter explains, the revival of the beast, the Roman Empire, "out
of the bottomless pit" by a "United States of Europe," or federation of
10 European nations centered within the bounds of the old Roman Empire
(Rev. 17:12-18). This is actually beginning today!
The entire
beast of Revelation 17 -- the revivals of the Roman Empire -- is a part
"of the seven" heads of Revelation 13 and Daniel 7 because it comprises
the last seven horns. Yet this revived Roman Empire is "the eighth"
system, differing from the seven before it (Rev. 17:11).
The Number of the "Beast" -- 666 -- Whose Number Is It?
Where
shall we find that mysterious number 666? Does the pope, as some claim,
wear it on his crown, identifying him as the beast of Revelation 13? Or
must we look for it elsewhere?
Here are all the scriptures speaking directly of this number:
"And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the
name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him
that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the
number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six"
(Rev. 13:17-18).
"And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled
with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and
over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name,
stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God" (Rev. 15:2).
Note These Points
From these scriptures, we have the following definite points:
1. The beast has a number and may be identified, if we have wisdom, by this number.
2. The number is 666.
3. We are told to count this number -- that is, add it up. The same
Greek word is used elsewhere only in Luke 14:28: "count the cost."
4. This number, 666, is the number of the beast. The only Bible
interpretation of this symbol, "beast," is a kingdom or the king who
rules it and, therefore, really is the kingdom (Dan. 7:17-18, 22-24,
27). Therefore 666 must be the number of the KINGDOM, or GOVERNMENT, or
EMPIRE, as well as that of the king who founds or rules it.
5. The expression "the name of the beast, or the number of his name"
makes plain that the number 666 is the number of the name of the
kingdom or empire.
6. The expression "it is the number of a
man" shows we must also count this number in the name of the king, or
ruler, over the kingdom identified as the "beast."
The Beast Is Not the Woman
In
the 17th chapter of Revelation we find a beast, and a woman -- a great,
wealthy but fallen woman who was riding the beast. The Bible describes
the symbol "woman" to mean a church (see II Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:7; Eph.
5:22-27). On the other hand, "beast" is a symbol of a kingdom, or
empire.
Let us be consistent. The beast of Revelation 13 is
not the woman who rode the beast -- the beast is the government, and
the woman is a church.
The beast of Revelation 13 is the Roman Empire!
This beast had a deadly wound (Rev. 13:3). That means the beast ceased
altogether to exist or function as it had since 31 B.C. Yet its deadly
wound was later healed, after which (verse 5) it continued to exist
another 1260 years!
Those who believe a church is the beast
say this deadly wound came in 1798. But the church did not cease to
function in that year. Napoleon's abuse of the Pope in 1798 could in no
sense be called a wound to death. And those who teach this do not
expect that church to continue on another 1260 years.
The Founder of Rome
The founder and first king of Rome was Romulus. The Roman Empire was
named after him. His name, the name of a man, also is the name of the
kingdom. And every citizen in the kingdom bears the same name -- a
Roman.
When John wrote this Revelation, telling us to count
the number of the beast, he wrote in the Greek language. Consequently,
we should look for this name, and the number 666, in this language
recognized in the Bible, not in the Latin.
We are all
familiar with the Roman numerals, where letters are used for numbers.
All understand that I is 1, V is 5, X is 10, etc. But many do not know
that the Greek language, in which the book of Revelation was written,
also uses letters for numbers.
In the Greek, the language in
which Revelation was written, this name was understood in the second
century A.D. to have originally been spelled Lateinos. It signifies
"Latin man" or "the name of Latium," from which region the Romans
derived their origin and their language. This word, too, signifies
"Roman." In the Greek, L is 30, A is 1, T is 300, E is 5, I is 10, N is
50, O is 70, S is 200. Count these figures. They count to exactly 666!
It is indeed no coincidence that the name of the kingdom, its founder
and first king, and of each man in the kingdom, counts to exactly 666!
Certainly the beast stands identified!
And Mussolini, Too
But the same numbers also branded in Latin on the man who dominated the puny sixth head of the symbolic beast.
Mussolini called himself "Il Duce." Italians shouted "Viva Il Duce!"
which means "long live the chief." Everywhere in Italy was the printed
sign, "vv il duce." The "VV" is the abbreviation used for "Viva." A "V"
is used instead of the "U" as is very commonly done. While this is a
greeting, or title, Mussolini actually employed "Il Duce" as a name. It
is in Latin. Count it.
V is 5, V is 5, I is 1, L is 50, D is 500, V is 5, C is 100, E has no number. Now count them, and you have exactly 666!
Thus this number 666 is indelibly branded upon the Roman Empire!
But, some will ask, does not this number apply to the Pope? Some teach
"the words 'Vicarius Filii Dei' are on the Pope's triple crown." The
Pope does, on some occasions, wear a triple crown, but these words are
not on it! We should be careful to prove all things.
Furthermore, these words are in the Latin, not a Bible language. This
is not a name, but a title, and it is the name of the beast, and the
number of the name of the man of the beast we are told to count.
Further, this Latin title does not apply to a kingdom, or empire, but
alone to a man.
And so the number 666 is branded on the Roman
Empire, on the founder and first king of the Latins, on every Roman,
and even on Mussolini.
Could anything be more conclusive?
The "Two-horned Beast"
Satan has his civil government on earth. He gave it "his power, and his seat, and great authority."
He also has organized religion as his instrumentality in deceiving the
world. In II Corinthians 11:14, we find Satan is transformed into an
"angel of light." According to Revelation 12:9 and 20:3, he has
deceived the whole world. How?
Paul tells us in II
Corinthians 11:13-15. Satan has his ministers who pretend to be the
ministers of righteousness, but are actually false apostles, deceitful
workers, calling themselves the ministers of Christ! Therefore they
claim to be Christian ministers. They are the many, not the few,
because all prophecies say it is the many, not the few, who have been
deceived. Satan's main labor for six thousand years has been the
deceiving of the world.
Now turn to the 13th chapter of Revelation, beginning with verse 11:
"And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon."
Who -- what -- is this "beast"?
Some say it will be the United States aligned with the papacy. Some
believe it is a federation of Protestant churches. Most church
organizations ignore this very vital subject completely, or say
frankly, "we do not know!"
Why this ignorance, when the answer is so plain? Yes, why indeed?
The Bible Interpretation
Remember, first, the Bible interprets its own symbols! When men put
their own interpretation on Bible symbols, their conclusions are always
false!
Notice, after John saw one beast, which we have proved
to be the Roman Empire, he now sees ANOTHER -- a different -- beast
rise up. We have learned that "beast" is a symbol for a kingdom, or
civil government (Dan. 7:17, 23), and the term represents either the
kingdom or its leader, as the case may be (Dan. 7:17, 23).
So
this other beast with the two horns is the prophecy of another kingdom
or government. In these prophecies, God pictures to us the earthly
gentile governments as the wild beasts whose characteristics describe
them. This two-horned beast appeared as a lamb. But actually it spoke
as a dragon -- its true characteristic -- for "out of the abundance of
the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matt. 12:34).
What does the
word "lamb" symbolize, in the Bible? The answer is, Christ (John 1:29;
Rev. 17:14). And "dragon" is a symbol of the devil (Rev. 12:9, 20:2).
So here is some kingdom or government appearing as that of Christ, or the Kingdom of God.
Christ did not set up a government (kingdom) at His first appearing on
earth. After His resurrection the disciples asked Him if He would at
that time restore the kingdom (Acts 1:6); but He did not. The Church is
not the Kingdom. Because some thought it was, Jesus spoke the parable
of Luke 19:11-27 to show that He first must ascend to His Father's
throne in heaven to receive the royal power to become King of kings, to
set up the world-ruling Kingdom of God. But Satan is a deceiver, and he
has deceived the world into supposing his (Satan's) system of churches
is the Kingdom of God.
Now notice carefully Revelation 13:12:
"And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him."
The first beast is the Roman Empire. Here is another government
pretending to be Christ's government, the Kingdom of God, taking,
exercising, using, employing, all the power of the first kingdom.
Now when? "He exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,
and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first
beast, whose deadly wound was healed" (verse 12). So, it was after the
deadly wound (of A.D. 476) was healed. It was healed when Justinian
brought about the restoration of the Empire in the West in A.D. 554.
Consequently this religious government exercised power after A.D. 554
when the Roman Empire was restored.
So here we have pictured
a government -- a religious government -- appearing as Christ's
government, masquerading as the Kingdom of God, actually ruling the
civil Roman Empire after A.D. 554.
The teaching in that day
was that the Second Coming of Christ is fulfilled in the person of the
leaders of the church. The millennium had begun.
For the
entire 1260 years, the emperors acknowledged the supreme power of
religion. The church was organized as a governments a dual, two-fold
government (symbolized by its two horns or kingdoms -- for "horns"
symbolize kingdoms also -- see Dan. 7:24). It embodied church
government, and it also was a state or civil government, always
occupying a certain amount of territory over which it, alone, ruled as
an independent sovereign State in addition to actually ruling over the
vast civil kingdom called the Holy Roman Empire. Even today, it is a
separate, independent, sovereign state.
Notice, this second
beast was to wield power over all the earth, because it was to cause
the earth, and them that dwell therein, to worship this first beast
"whose deadly wound was healed" after 554.
In most any
encyclopedia, under "Millennium," you will read the history of this
very event -- of how the "Holy Roman Empire" was called the "Kingdom of
God upon earth." They claimed the Millennium had arrived!
Notice Revelation 13:14: "And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by
the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of
the beast." Verse 13 says "he doeth great wonders."
So notice these three points:
(1) This beast performs miracles.
(2) He performed them "in the sight of" the Holy Roman Empire, or the first beast.
(3) With them he deceived all nations.
All Nations Deceived
Where else, in the Bible prophecies, do we find these same identical facts?
First, note Revelation 17. Here is pictured a woman. In II Corinthians
11:2, Ephesians 5:22-27 and elsewhere, we learn that "woman" is a
symbol for church. This woman is a fallen woman -- an apostate church
-- pictured as ruling over many nations (Rev. 17:1, 15).
In
verse 3, this false church is pictured sitting on a beast "having seven
heads and ten horns." A woman riding a horse guides, controls, the
horse. It does her bidding.
Notice, verse 18, she is "that
great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." Notice, verse
2, the inhabitants of the earth have been deceived by this counterfeit
Christianity. Also, Revelation 18:3, she has deceived all nations.
Next, notice II Thessalonians 2:3-4. The day of Christ -- and the
coming of Christ -- shall not come, until there be a falling away, and
a "man of sin" be revealed. He exalts himself above all that is called
God. As God, he sits in a temple claimed to be the temple of God,
showing himself to deceive people into accepting him as God. God is our
holy Father. This final man, in a religious office, will claim the same
title. This wicked man is to be destroyed at, and by, Christ's coming
(verse 8). Notice verses 9-10: "Even him, whose coming is after the
working of Satan with all power and signs [miracles] and lying wonders,
and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness."
Here is an
important religious figure prophesied to perform miracles and lying
wonders, with which he deceives people everywhere.
At Armageddon
This deceiving religious ruler will still be active clear down to
Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ! In Revelation 16:13-16 are
described three foul spirits. They come from the dragon which is the
devil; from the beast, which is the civil Roman ruler; and from the
mouth of the false prophet associated with him. "For," continues verse
14, "they are the spirits of devils [demons], WORKING MIRACLES, which
go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather
them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." And they are
gathered, finally, at Armageddon! Note it! Yet future, the Roman ruler,
as the Roman Empire, is again restored, along with a great religious
leader -- and all in the power and influence of the devil! Working
miracles! All prophecies concerning them show these powers doing the
same things!
Now notice the last battle of "the great day of
God Almighty." In Revelation 19:19-20 is pictured the beast -- "and
with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which
he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that
worshipped his image."
Note it! Compare with the two-horned beast of Revelation 13:11-17:
(1) Both perform miracles.
(2) Both perform them before, or in the sight of, the beast.
(3) With them, both the false prophet and two-horned beast deceive them
that have the mark of the beast -- cause them to receive that mark
(Rev. 13:16).
Certainly, then, this two-horned beast, the
false prophet, the man of sin and the woman that rode the beast are all
picturing a counterfeit Christianity.
Did the two-horned beast deceive the very ones who have the mark of the beast? He did! Continue in Revelation 13:
"And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth" -- how? " ... saying to
them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the
beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power
to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast
should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the
image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and
great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right
hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell [trade,
earn a living, hold a job], save he that had the mark, or the name of
the beast, or the number of his name" (verses 14-17).
So,
notice: This two-horned beast not only caused people to receive the
mark of the beast (compare Rev. 19:20), but also perpetrated the
forming of an image that caused the martyrdom of saints. As many as
would not worship this image were caused to be killed. This false
church did not kill them -- she caused them to be killed. History shows
that the civil government martyred millions who were declared "anathema
from Christ" or "heretics."
Compare with the woman who rode
the Beast in Revelation 17: "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood
of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (verse 6).
Certainly these are one and the same.
Now this ecclesiastical organization, which is a twofold government,
deceived the people by saying they should make an image of the beast.
Note it (Rev. 13:14) -- that is how it deceived people. What is an
image? Dictionaries define it as a "likeness," or a "copy,
representation, model, semblance, counterpart." So here is a church
saying, "Let us make a model, or counterpart, of the civil Roman
government" -- for that is what the beast is.
Jesus Christ
proclaimed the Kingdom, or government of God -- divine government by
will of God and by God's law -- not paganized human government by will
of man and man-made laws. His Church includes all Spirit-begotten
saints who have and are led by the Holy Spirit. Christ is its only
Head, and His Kingdom is not of this world!
Where, then, did
human church government derive its present form? "The first pope, in
the real sense of the word, was Leo I (440-461 AID.)," says the
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature,
volume 7, page 629. To him the form of government of the Roman Empire
was the most marvelous thing on earth. He applied its principles to the
church, organized the church into a government, forming the papacy.
This church government or organization is the image of the beast.
Says Myers' Ancient History: "During the reign of Leo I, the Church set
up, within the Roman Empire, an ecclesiastical state [government]
which, in its constitution and its administrative system, was shaping
itself upon the imperial model." This church government, then,
according to this historical authority, is in fact a model, a
counterpart, an image of the beast which is the Roman Empire
government.
The Britannica calls it an ecclesiastical world empire!
This image -- man-designed and man-ruled church government -- compelled
people to worship the church! And since the church was organized into a
worldly government, this was worship of the image -- false worship --
idolatry!
But this church became a mother, and daughter
churches came out of her in "protest," calling themselves "Protestant."
And all have worldly, political church government. "Upon her forehead
was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
(Rev. 17:5). Her daughters are called "harlots." Together they are
called "BABYLON." They are pagan, teaching pagan doctrines and customs,
cloaked in the name of Christianity! And all nations are deceived!
Yes, human-organized churchianity, not Bible-designed
spiritual-organism government, is the image of the beast. It is the
pagan political counterfeit of God's government.
"Come out of her," God says (Rev. 18:4). God help us to heed!
PART TWO
The MARK of the BEAST ... It Is Here, NOW!
Better
be sure whether this brand is upon you! Without it, no man will be able
to buy or sell! Without it, you may be tortured even to death! But with
it, you shall suffer the SEVEN LAST PLAGUES OF GOD!
SOME used
to say this mystic "mark" was the fasces on the old United States
dimes. During World War II many said it was Hitler's swastika. During
the Depression New Deal many said it was Roosevelt's NRA!
No
subject has been more intriguing and baffling to our generation.
Thousands of sermons have been preached on it -- by professed ministers
and evangelists who themselves did not know what it is! Millions have
been curious.
The average sermon on this subject considers one text of Scripture, only!
Only Text Usually Read
This is the sole passage ordinarily quoted:
"And he [the second "beast"] causeth all, both small and great, rich
and poor, free and bond, to receive a MARK in their right hand, or in
their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had
the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name" (Rev.
13:16-17).
From this one passage the speaker customarily uses
his imagination. One might reason that since you will not be able to
buy or sell without this mysterious mark, and since we all wish to be
able to buy and sell, therefore we ought to do all in our power to
receive this mark!
But here is an additional passage they neglect to show you:
"And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels
having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of
God .... And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven
plagues ... And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the
seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the WRATH OF GOD
upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the
earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which
had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image"
(Rev. 15:1, 6, and 16:1-2).
If you do have the "mark of the
beast," you will receive the seven last plagues; and they will be
terrible beyond description!
How to Tell What It Is!
There
are many more references to this subject in the Bible. Instead of
looking at one passage only, then turning away from God's own
revelation of this mystery, and using human imagination and fancy to
conjure up the many ridiculous conclusions being foisted upon a
deceived public by persons devoid of understanding, let us see what GOD
says this MARK really is!
Make no mistake, God tells us
plainly what it is! It is unmistakably, clearly revealed and explained
in the Bible! But to find God's answer, we must have before us all of
the scriptures referring to this subject!
First, from the
text universally quoted (Rev. 13:16-17), notice this: The "mark" is
something that will be very popular -- something the majority of people
will be in favor of, will seek -- which custom will approve as right.
Everyone wants to be able to "buy or sell." In this scriptural usage
the expression "buy or sell" more literally indicates being able to buy
-- not that stores or those from whom one might make purchases of the
necessities of life would refuse to accept the money, but that the one
refusing the "mark" would not be able to buy, would not be able to earn
a living, to earn a wage or salary, or to engage himself in business.
The "mark of the beast," then, has direct bearing on ability to engage in business, or to hold a job and earn a living.
But let's look at all the facts God reveals on the subject all the scriptures bearing on it.
What Is the Beast?
First, then, the "beast" itself. The "mark" is the mark of the "BEAST." This is described in the first verses of this chapter:
"And I stood upon the sand of the sea," records John, speaking of his
prophetic vision, "and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven
heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads
the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a
leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the
mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and
great authority" (Rev. 13:1-2).
The identity of this weird "beast" was revealed in Part One of this booklet.
Daniel 7 reveals that these "beasts" or wild animals symbolize civil
Governments or world empires. Daniel's first "beast" was like a lion,
and it represented the Chaldean Empire of Nebuchadnezzar, called
Babylon. His second, like a bear, pictured the Persian Empire; his
third, with four heads, like a leopard, represented Alexander's
Greco-Macedonian Empire and its succeeding four divisions after his
death; and his fourth beast, unlike any existing wild animal, the Roman
Empire which swallowed up and absorbed all the others, and embodied the
strongest physical and military characteristics of all its
predecessors.
This "beast" of Revelation 13 had the mouth,
the strongest part, of the lion; the feet, the strongest part, of the
bear; the body of the leopard. It included, in the ONE Empire it
represents, the strength of ALL of Daniel's "beasts." It is the ROMAN
EMPIRE.
Notice, the "dragon" gave this Empire its seat and
power, and great authority. Revelation 12:9 and 20:2 both tell us in
plain words this "dragon" is Satan the devil. It is, then, the
political instrument of Satan in ruling and deceiving the world.
WHOSE Mark?
Note
this well! The "mark" is the mark of the sustained the "beast" is the
ROMAN EMPIRE. In Revelation 17 a later stage of this same wild beast is
pictured, and there a "woman" -- a great CHURCH -- sits astride it,
guides it, rules over it. But the MARK is the mark of the ROMAN EMPIRE
-- not the Roman Catholic Church.
That is fact number one. Keep that in mind.
Now in verse 11 (Rev. 13) another "beast" is pictured. This beast had two horns like a lamb, but spoke as a dragon.
This second beast of Revelation 13 is also pictured in Revelation 17 as
the harlot woman who rode the beast. This fallen woman or church is
different from all other churches in one respect. She is organized as a
civil government, as well as an ecclesiastical church. Nations of the
world send ambassadors to her, the same as they do the capitals of
other nations.
This church, just as the woman riding an
animal guides and directs the animal -- like, for example, a woman
riding a horse -- took over, exercised, wielded, all the power of the
first beast -- the Roman Empire. After A.D. 554, the church did do this
for 1260 years, as prophesied!
Notice, further, Revelation 13:15-16:
"And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the
image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would
not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all
... to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads" (Rev.
13:15-16).
Now here is a deceived church -- both herself
deceived by, and therefore used by the devil, and also deceiving the
world. Notice, this church did not actually herself kill these martyrs
-- she merely caused them to be killed. And she it was, too, who CAUSES
all under her domination to receive the dread MARK of the beast.
The Brand of Rome
Notice carefully what the above text tells us:
1) "He" -- the leader who originated human civil government, modeled after that of the Roman Empire, in the Church.
2) "Causeth" all to receive this mark. It is the church, not the civil government, which forces this brand on people.
3) It is the same power which caused the martyrdom of saints.
4) It brands on the people the mark of the "beast" -- that is, the mark of the Roman Empire, not the mark of the church.
5) This mark is received in the right hand, and in the forehead.
So the MARK is that of the Roman Empire, which this CHURCH did cause or shall cause the western world to receive.
TWO Martyrdoms
Next notice when these saints were killed. This will show us when the mark of the beast is enforced.
"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls
of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony
which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O
Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them
that dwell on the earth?" (Rev. 6:9-10).
Here we find
pictured the martyrs of the Middle Ages already dead, at the time of
this vision -- which is the approximate present. They know "Vengeance
is MINE, saith the Lord." They know God's judgments against this
persecuting, deceiving, false church, as described in Revelation 18,
are to be the seven last plagues, poured out "in the presence of the
Lamb" at the Second Coming of Christ. Read of it in Revelation 18.
These dead saints are pictured as crying out to ask "HOW LONG" before
the Second Coming of Christ and the seven last plagues which will
avenge their martyrdom. History tells us that in the Middle Ages more
than fifty MILLION were killed, many for their BIBLE faith and
obedience to God instead of obedience to this church government of man
and the devil. Notice, now, what must again happen before the seven
last plagues and the coming of Christ!
"And white robes
[symbolizing righteousness and purity] were given unto every one of
them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet a little
season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that
should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled" (Rev. 6:11).
Christ will not come to take vengeance on this great false church UNTIL another great martyrdom has taken place!
Note it! There was one martyrdom. Those saints are already killed.
Their resurrection will occur WHEN Jesus returns to earth -- WHEN His
judgments are poured out on this false BABYLON and her daughter
churches! But there is yet to be another universal persecution and
martyrdom of saints, just prior to Christ's coming in vengeance against
the forces of evil! Here are TWO universal martyrdoms!
This
coming great martyrdom is THE GREAT TRIBULATION (Matthew 24:9, 21-22).
This tribulation is not the wrath of God -- the last plagues. It is the
wrath of Satan (Rev. 12:12), inflicted at the behest of HIS apostate
church by the coming "United States of EUROPE" and against the true
people of GOD! It is a persecution -- a torturing -- a martyring of the
saints of God -- the very elect who cannot be deceived (Matt. 24:24).
Except those days of Great Tribulation be shortened, no flesh would be
saved. But, for THE SAKE OF GOD'S PERSECUTED SAINTS those days shall be
shortened.
God shall intervene. Christ shall "come quickly."
The MARK Then, and Now
Now compare with these scriptures:
In Revelation 17, picturing this same church as the woman riding the
beast, John writes: "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the
saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (verse 6).
Also: Revelation 20:4 -- "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them,
and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were
beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which
had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received
his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and
reigned with Christ a thousand years."
Now we see WHY these
many millions were, and shall be, martyred! It was because they refused
to receive this mark of the beast -- refused to join in this worship of
church and Empire! They obeyed God rather than man! Their lives were
governed by God. They were called out of this world -- no longer any
part of this world. They were the children, the heirs, the future
citizens of His KINGDOM, not the kingdoms of men. But -- note it well!
-- they were, as God commands, subject to the government of MAN. They
did not resist -- they yielded themselves subject to the penalty. They
were tortured -- they were killed! But they obeyed the government of
God rather than man where there was conflict. And, at Christ's coming
to rule the world as KING of kings, they shall all be lesser priests
and kings under Him and rule the world!
Do you see what this
plainly reveals? Those martyrs, over a thousand years ago, were killed
BECAUSE they would not worship the church, conform to its idolatry and
pagan beliefs and customs, or worship the so-called "Holy Roman Empire"
-- and BECAUSE they refused to receive the MARK Of the beast!
This means the MARK of the beast is something that was forced on
people, on pain of being killed, more than a thousand years ago! The
MARK of the beast was in full existence and enforcement over a thousand
years ago!
BUT, since it is those who have the mark of the
beast who shall suffer the seven last plagues at Christ's coming, the
dread mark is once again to be enforced! And those who refuse it are
those who shall be MARTYRED in the coming GREAT TRIBULATION!
Now we begin to find real light shed on this baffling question!
Warning of Third Angel
Soon, now, the time is coming when gross spiritual darkness will cover
this earth -- when no human will be permitted to preach Christ's true
Gospel. We must work while it is day -- the night is fast drawing on
when no man can work for God.
At that time God shall send
angels with His final warning to these apostate nations under sway of
this great deceiving church as a final witness against them. Three such
angel messages are foretold in Revelation 14. Notice the final warning
of the third angel:
"If any man worship the beast and his
image, and receive his MARK in his forehead, or in his hand, the same
shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God" -- the seven last plagues,
full force, unmixed with mercy (Rev. 14:9-10)!
This shows
that although the MARK was branded on all but the martyrs over a
thousand years ago, it is STILL the brand of traditional Christianity
today, and is ONCE AGAIN to be enforced. Once again those who refuse it
shall be martyred. But those who receive it shall suffer the wrath of
God without mercy!
You must soon choose whom you will obey --
this coming Roman Empire resurrected by a United States of EUROPE,
ruled by traditional Christianity -- or whether you shall assay GOD!
A Mark of Obedience
We begin now to see that the MARK of the beast involves a point of
OBEDIENCE -- whether we shall OBEY GOD, or reject the commandment of
God and obey MAN'S rule.
It has something to do, then, with the COMMANDMENT OF GOD!
Notice, there are, in general, two classes -- one has the MARK, the
other rejects it and is martyred. Notice now the description of those
who refuse this evil MARK:
"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Rev. 14:12).
There it is! In verses 9- 11 of this chapter the third angel warns that
those who have the mark of the beast shall be punished by the plagues
of God. In the next verse, the 12th, the saints who do not have the
mark are those who KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Those who have the
mark, therefore, are those who refuse to keep the commandments of God.
The MARK of the beast, therefore, involves a rejection of the
COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, or of one of them, for if we break one we are
guilty of all (James 2: 10).
So, one class of people accepts the MARK of the beast.
The other class keeps the commandments of God.
A Mark of Disobedience
Hence, whatever the mark of the beast may be, it means disobedience to GOD'S government -- to the Commandments of God.
Here's further proof -- here are they who get victory over this mark:
Revelation 15:2-3: "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with
fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his
image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the
sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses
the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and
marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are THY
WAYS, thou King of saints."
This corresponds to the children
of Israel, delivered from Egyptian bondage under Moses. Moses was a
type of Christ. Pharaoh was the type and forerunner of this beast. The
plagues God poured on Egypt were a type of the last plagues to be
poured out on Babylon. The children of Israel stood on the shore of the
Red Sea, and God miraculously delivered them. Here the saints of God
are pictured on this symbolic sea of glass.
They sing the
song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb (Christ). Moses pictures law
and God's commandments; the Lamb (Christ) pictures faith and salvation
from sin.
Remember, the beast is the human civil organization
of the devil. In Revelation 12, we find Satan stirred to great wrath
"because he knoweth that he heath but a short time" (verse 12). He then
starts a great PERSECUTION, or TRIBULATION against the TRUE Church --
the true saints of God. This is just prior to the Second Coming of
Christ (verse 10). Now notice against whom Satan is so wroth:
"And the dragon [Satan] was wroth with the woman [Church], and went to
make war with the remnant [last generation] of her seed, which keep the
commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ [the
Bible]" (verse 17).
There it is again! Those keeping God's
COMMANDMENTS -- those yielding themselves to God's RULE, and living by
every Word of Goodbye the BIBLE -- which is the written testimony of
Jesus Christ -- they are the ones the devil will persecute and martyr
through his false church and his reborn Empire!
But Satan
knows his own. He will brand his own with a mark, so they shall not
receive this persecution and martyrdom, even as God put a mark on
sinning Cain lest men finding him slay him (see Genesis 4:15). Those in
the world who do not receive Satan's brand -- the MARK of the BEAST --
will suffer Satan's wrath in the Tribulation.
Thank God, those days shall be cut short, for the elect's sake!
Class on Whom Plagues Fall
There are TWO classes of people. That class which receives the MARK of
the Beast is the class upon whom the PLAGUES OF GOD will fall. So if we
can further identify those who shall receive this WRATH OF GOD, and why
God will thus punish them, we shall further identify what the mark is.
In Ephesians 5 Paul is telling Christians to flee fornication,
covetousness, idolatry -- transgressing the TEN COMMANDMENTS. Then he
says: for because of these things [transgressing God's LAW] cometh the
WRATH OF GOD [last plagues] upon the children of disobedience" (Eph.
5:6).
How plain! The wrath of God -- the seven last plagues
-- is coming on those who DISOBEY God, by violating the Commandments.
The plagues fall upon those who have the mark of the beast!
Those who receive the plagues are breakers of God's commandments, and
also at the same time receivers of the MARK! It becomes more and more
plain that the mark of the beast represents COMMANDMENT-BREAKING.
Notice this again in Colossians 3:5-6: "Mortify therefore your members
which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate
affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry
[transgressions of some of the Ten Commandments]: for which things'
sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience."
Notice it also in the prophecies of the Old Testament: "The great day
of the Lord [time of God's wrath -- the last plagues] is near .... That
day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress .... And I [God]
will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men [the
plagues! But why?], because they have sinned against the Lord ... "
(Zeph. 1:14-17).
What is sin?
"Sin is the transgression of the law" (I John 3:4) -- Commandment-breaking.
The TRUTH Becomes Plain
Now, let's recapitulate! The truth is becoming plain!
1) The mark plainly means the rejecting and breaking of God's
commandments. And in James 2:10-11, God says if we break only one of
the commandments, we are GUILTY of breaking the Legality of all!
2) The Roman Empire is the real author of this mark. It is the mark of the BEAST, not the woman who rode the beast.
3) The church caused people to be deceived into receiving this mark.
4) Satan gave this Roman Empire its seat and great authority -- it is
the political instrument through which Satan works, in deceiving the
world.
5) Those who refuse this mark are prohibited from "buying or selling," engaging in commerce, trade, or holding a job.
6) Many of those refusing this mark were, and shall again be, martyred
because of their refusal -- because they keep the Commandments of God!
7) Therefore, the inevitable and plain conclusion is that the mark is
something enforced by the church, originating in the paganism of the
Roman Empire, which a cunning, deceiving devil would seize on as a
means of cleverly DECEIVING people into breaking God's Ten
Commandments. And it involves a direct connection with holding a job --
engaging in business -- earning a living.
Satan is clever --
cunning -- a deceiver. He palms off counterfeits, which look like the
genuine! Naturally he would select the one commandment of God which he
can counterfeit with a substitute -- one in which by human reason alone
no man could see where it would make any difference! He would select
the one which would seem of least importance to the carnal human mind!
He would not try to deceive men on idolatry, profanity, or on stealing,
lying, murder, adultery -- though he has led people into all of these.
But WHAT commandment could it be -- what commandment affecting a man's job or his business?
There is only one possible commandment -- the one regarded by the
largest number as the "LEAST" of the commandments -- and that is the
fourth commandment, which says: "REMEMBER the sabbath day, to keep it
holy ... The seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God."
No carnal mind can see, without the special spiritual revelation of God
through His Word, where it makes any difference WHICH day man observes.
WHERE DID SUNDAY ORIGINATE? Not with the church, but with the
pagan religion of the ROMAN EMPIRE! It is the day on which the ancient
pagans assembled at sunrise, faced the east (as they do Easter Sunday
morning today) and worshipped the rising SUN. It was Constantine,
emperor of the Roman Empire, not a pope, who made SUNDAY the official
so-called "Christian day of rest." But it was enforced -- people were
caused to accept it universally -- by the CHURCH!
Why Saints Were Martyred
It
was for obeying God's FOURTH Commandment -- keeping the Sabbath- -that
millions were put to death. The local Council of Laodicea, about A.D.
363, passed this decree: "Christians must not Judaize by resting on the
Sabbath, but must work on that day, resting rather on Sunday. But, if
any be found to be Judaizing, let them be declared anathema from
Christ."
The church caused them to be killed. When the church
branded one "anathema" (a heretic), the state police of the Empire
began torturing him. Unless he recanted, he was tortured until he died!
Laws became so strict no man could hold a job, or engage in
business, unless he worked on Saturday and rested on Sunday. And the
world will be so geared that it will be almost impossible for one to
"buy or sell" except he receive this MARK OF THE BEAST!
This
is the ONLY COMMANDMENT which was altered by the Roman Empire! In
Daniel 7:25 we read the prophecy of this BEAST and the little horn (the
political government of the church) rising up, which was to think to
CHANGE "times and laws." That is, change God's LAW in respect to TIME
-- the time for the Sabbath!
What Is a Mark, Anyway?
Now
what is a "mark"? In Bible usage it is virtually synonymous with a
"sign," and in one or two places used interchangeably. There is merely
this difference: A "mark" is a brand of identification, forced on one.
Cattle raisers put by force their mark on their cattle -- their brand.
A "sign" is also a badge of IDENTITY, but one voluntarily accepted and
used. A druggist hangs a sign in front of his store. It may say, "JONES
& CO., DRUGS." It identifies. It tells what kind of store, and who
owns it.
Now the beast, in association with the church, used
FORCE to brand the Western world with their MARK. Those who obeyed God
and kept His Sabbath were martyred. They were unable to "buy or sell."
But God does not force anyone. God lets us make our own decision about
obeying Him, accepting Christ and becoming His obedient children.
But is the Sabbath God's SIGN that we are Christians, belonging to HIM?
God's SIGN
Yes, indeed!
It was after God had made, and ratified, the covenant with Israel. That
Old Covenant, of course, was for limited duration and is now replaced
with the New. But any covenant made after it had been made and ratified
by blood was no part of that Old Covenant.
It was forty days
after that ratification that God made a new, separate, different
covenant between Himself and all who should be His people, to last
forever. This was no temporary covenant, but for all generations,
FOREVER.
It is found in Exodus 31:12-17:
"And the
Lord spake unto Moses, saying ... Verily MY SABBATHS ye shall keep: for
it is a SIGN between me and you throughout your generations." These
generations of Israel (see our free booklet "The United States and
Britain in Prophecy,") are still going on!
Now WHY is it a
sign? Does it IDENTIFY God to us? Does it identify us as HIS? " ...
that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you."
Get the powerful meaning of those words!
It is a SIGN, that we may KNOW that the Eternal is the true God. It
identifies who God is. How? Notice verse 17: "It is a SIGN ... for in
six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he
rested, and was refreshed." It is the memorial of God's rest from
CREATION. Always, in all parts of the Bible, God identifies Himself as
CREATOR. How can we distinguish who is the TRUE God, from all the false
gods?
The true God created everything that is, including
everything from which people have made false gods. Some worshipped the
sun. But the Eternal, the true God, created the sun, and rules it. Some
worship idols carved out of stone, or wood, or marble. But the true God
created that from which they were made, and even the human beings who
made them. The Sabbath is GOD'S Sabbath, not the Jewish Sabbath. Never
does the Bible call it the "Jewish Sabbath." It identifies GOD as the
CREATOR.
The Sabbath was made FOR MAN. So said Jesus (Mark
2:27). It was made WHEN man was made (Genesis 2:1-3). It was MADE --
and it was Christ, the Yahweh or Eternal, who made it! Therefore HE is
Lord of the Sabbath! It was made to keep man in the true knowledge of
the IDENTITY of the true God, to keep him from idolatry! And history
proves that every nation that did NOT keep God's Sabbath worshiped
false gods, and did not know who the true God was! When Israel quit
keeping God's Sabbath, they went into idolatry (Ezek. 20:5, 11-13,
17-21).
It was for SABBATH-BREAKING GOD SENT BOTH ISRAEL AND JUDAH INTO SLAVERY!
But back to Exodus 31:17-18. It also is the SIGN by which we are
identified as belonging to GOD. We BELONG to whom we obey -- so we read
in Romans 6:16! It is the sign by which we know He is the ETERNAL ...
"that death sanctify YOU." To sanctify is to set apart for spiritual
use. The SABBATH sets one apart from the world, and always did -- as
OBEYING and belonging to GOD. Can you think of ANY REASON why anyone
would EVER keep the Sabbath, except to OBEY GOD? Would any man defy
human custom and invite persecution, and be set apart as different,
through human reason? Could any atheist be a Sabbath keeper? THE
SABBATH IDENTIFIES GOD'S PEOPLE!
God's people, we have seen
above, are identified as they who KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS. The world
acknowledges all the other nine commandments. The only one the world
rejects is the fourth. The only one that sets one apart from the world
-- that IDENTIFIES one as belonging to GOD -- that is a SIGN of God --
is the SABBATH.
Notice, verse 16, it is a "PERPETUAL
COVENANT." It is a covenant! It is no part of the Old Covenant -- no
part of the law of Moses! It was made with Israel after all these, and
is a separate, and perpetual COVENANT.
Notice verse 17: "It is a SIGN between me and the children of Israel FOREVER." There it is! It is a COVENANT. It Is FOREVER!
When given to physical, flesh-born Israel, this covenant punished by
death any breaking of the SIGN. Today, since the administration of the
death penalty by the Levites and judges is not being done (II Cor.
3:7-8), and since all believers, in all nations, whether Israelite or
gentile, are grafted into spiritual Israel (Romans 11:24), the willful
refusal to keep this sign is punishable by death -- the second death.
"He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three
witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be
thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God ... ?" (Heb.
10:28-29).
On Right Hand and in Forehead
God says the penalty for SIN is DEATH! Sin is the transgression of the
law. If we break only this one commandment, we are guilty. The penalty
is DEATH!
The Roman church caused people to receive the MARK
of pagan ROME -- the Sunday observed by the pagan Roman Empire -- and
the penalty for disobedience was DEATH! Fifty million or more were put
to death -- so says history.
The Sabbath commandment is the
ONLY commandment the world will not accept in its MIND (forehead) and
OBEY (by work, or rest, with the HAND). It is the ONLY commandment that
can distinguish between those who have the MARK of the BEAST, or the
SIGN OF GOD.
Now the book of Revelation is written mostly in
symbols. The right hand symbolizes work or labor -- the forehead, the
intellect or mind. It has to do with what we BELIEVE, in the mind, and
whether we OBEY, with the hand.
How ABOUT GOD'S SIGN? It also was received in the forehead, and the hand!
Regarding one of God's annual Sabbaths, we read: " ... it shall be for
a SIGN unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes
[forehead], that the Lord's LAW may be in thy mouth" (Ex. 13:9).
Deuteronomy 6:1, 6-8: "Now these are the COMMANDMENTS ... and these
words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart ... and
thou shalt bind them for a SIGN upon thine hand, and they shall be as
frontlets between thine eyes."
Deuteronomy 11:18: "Therefore
shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind
them for a SIGN upon your hand, that they may be as front lets between
your eyes."
Also see Proverbs 7:2-3 and Revelation 7:3-4; 14:1.
There is absolute proof! Yes, the truth is very plain!
The Sabbath is God's SIGN, standing, more than any commandment, for
OBEDIENCE. It was symbolically in the HAND and in the FOREHEAD, just as
the MARK of the Beast -- the pagan SUNDAY- -was in the right HAND and
in the FOREHEAD!
SUNDAY observance -- Christmas, New Year's, Easter, etc. this is the MARK of the BEAST!
The church did cause all under the "Holy Roman Empire" to receive this
mark, during the Middle Ages. Not only were active church members
caused to observe Sunday instead of the SABBATH, but it became a
universal custom so that all the Western world -- regardless of
religious connection or belief, accepted Sunday instead of SATURDAY as
the weekly day of rest. It has become universal in the Western world
except for Judaism, Islam, a few sects in Christianity, and the
comparative few whom God has called out of this world and into His true
Church.
Has she stopped?
Just at present she has not
the POWER to enforce this mark on everyone. But there will be a United
States of Europe union of ten nations. It will be a UNION OF CHURCH AND
STATE -- and the church once again will sit astride "The BEAST."
Now notice Daniel 7:21-22: "I beheld, and the same horn [papacy] made
war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of
days came [Second Coming of Christ] and judgment was given to the
saints of the most High."
Yes, the MARK OF THE BEAST once
again will be enforced! No one will be able to hold a job or engage in
business without it. Those refusing will once again be tortured and
martyred -- probably by the secret police of the political state -- but
at the behest of the church!
Today, ALL NATIONS are deceived by this paganism masquerading under the name "Christianity."
Today, America, Canada, Britain -- Israelitish nations. descended from
the ancient so-called lost ten tribes of Israel -- are actually in the
ways of this "BABYLON."
God's last warning is this: "COME OUT
of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye
receive not of HER PLAGUES" (Rev. 18:4)!
IF you are branded
by this MARK rejecting the SIGN of God in your forehead and hand, you
shall be tortured by God's plagues without mercy! Yes, You!
But if you OBEY God -- if you are watching, praying without ceasing --
you shall be accounted worthy to ESCAPE -- and come under GOD'S
PROTECTION (Luke 21:36).
(See "A CHART SHOWING PROPHECIES OF REIGN OF GENTILE KINGDOMS" not included here, but part of this booklet)