Disclaimer: This
interpretation is a study based on Revelation 17 that will no doubt shock many readers as
we discover how the numbers of the beast calculate to give us 666. Many
theologians have gone before trying to solve the meaning of these prophecies,
and much of what has been said is correct, but there are passages that have
remained elusive. As the time comes nearer to the end, these elusive truths must
come forward. We believe the
Bible prophecies are merely a list of judgments, world events past and future,
corrections to point out errors; demonic doctrines, traditions of men, etc...
The fact of the matter remains that the "Elect of the Lord", no matter
what church they stand in at this moment in time will always accept correction
from their Heavenly Father and do as Revelation 18:1-4 declares. They will not
turn a deaf ear, a blind eye, or a cold heart to the Truth provided when it is
made known unto them. Time is TOO short to guess at FINAL EVENTS in Bible
prophecy! Scripture declares: "...all
nations were deceived."Rev.18:23.
While you may be
content with your present beliefs, scripture declares: "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord...and Jesus will say to them,
"Depart
from Me you who practice lawlessness" Matt.7:22-23. Please pray for wisdom
and understanding so that you are not among those many people who will be
deceived into accepting the “man of sin” with the number 666. |
Since the beginning days of the Protestant Reformation, Protestantism has taught that the Beast from the “sea” in Revelation 13 and the little horn” of Daniel 7, was the political power of the Papacy, and the whore sitting upon the beast in Revelation 17 is clearly the Mother of all churches... Catholicism. (This Historicism view was the belief that sparked the Heroic Protestant Reformation. Regrettably, MOST Protestants today have completely forgotten or choose to ignore these historic foundational roots). Never has there been a world power such as The Papacy that so precisely fulfills the prophecies that describes it as a church and a government at the same time. Hence, prophecy foretells: "…and I saw a woman (a church) sit upon a scarlet colored beast (a government)” (Rev.17:3)
Prophecy adds: "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great Harlot (a woman) who sits on many waters. And the waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues." Revelations 17:1;15.
Century’s after the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, history testifies
that the Papacy rose to become the HIGHEST Religious/political authority in
all the land. It wasn't until 538AD however, that the Church reached this
pinnacle, ONLY after it eliminated three of the ten divisions of the densely
populated divided Roman Empire. How accurately prophecy was fulfilled: "...It
was different from all the beasts (governments) before it,
(because it was religious in nature)
and that it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and another horn, a
little one came up among them, before whom three of the first horns were
plucked out by the roots." Daniel 7:7-8: These three horns were destroyed because they were unwilling to accept the
Papal authority. These were the 1. Vandals 2. Heruli 3. Ostrogoths. The
last power was destroyed in 538AD making the Pope of Rome ultimate authority
over all of Europe and the final word on interpretation of scripture. Thus
538AD is Gods marker for the beginning 1260 day time prophecy, (1260 prophetic
years), that God allotted for the Papal power to rule. Also Revelation 13:5 states: "And there was given him (the Papal power) a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; (claims the power to forgive sin) and power was given unto him to continue 42 months." (equals 1260 days or 1260 Prophetic years). 1260 years after 538, Napoleon setting out to conquer Europe, sent his general Berthier into Rome to capture Pope Pius VI, who later died while in captivity. For years after 1798, the world thought the Papal power was dead, thus further fulfilling God's prophetic word: "I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded..." Revelation 13:3. Let
us view the Number 666 in light of the Biblical interpretation of Revelation
17. Revelation 17:8 "...And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."
1st
phase (was) This was the Papacy during the (1260
year) dark ages from 538 AD to 1798 AD. This 1st phase “was” the 1260 year
period of Religious/Political Papal supremacy over all Europe. This political
control the church once possessed ended in 1798 when Napoleon sent his General
Berthier into Rome to capture Pope Pius VI, and he then decreed the
Papal government dead and established a secular one. Although the Papal
church existed beyond 1798, it no longer had political influence over the
Kings of the earth. Revelation 17:6 "And I saw the woman
drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of
Jesus." During the 1260 years of political rule, the
Papacy inspired the persecution and murder of everyone not willing to agree
with her dogmas and traditions. Total and complete annihilation of remote
towns and villages were destroyed by the Popes armies during this extremely
dark period of human history. Some estimate that between 50 - 150 million
Christians were put to death as heretics, during this period of Papal Rule. ie:
The Crusades, Inquisitions... In an open attack against the Protestant
Reformation, on August 15, 1534, the Catholic church established the “Society
of Jesus”, better known as the Jesuit Order to be the
champions for Catholic unity. Here is an original oath ALL Jesuits must recite
before they become initiates:
Furthermore: “I do promise and declare that I will, when opportunity presents, make and wage relentless war, secretly or openly against all heretics, Protestants and Liberals, as I am directed to do to extirpate and exterminate them from the face of the whole earth, and that I will spare neither sex, age nor condition, and that I will hang, waste, boil, flay, strangle and bury alive these infamous heretics, rip up the stomachs, and wombs of their women and crush their infants heads against the wall, in order to forever exterminate their execrable race. That when the same can not be done openly, I will secretly use the poisoned cup, the strangulation cord, the steel of the poniard, or leaden bullet, regardless of honor, rank, dignity or authority of the person or persons whatsoever may be their position in life either public or private, as I at any time may be directed so to do by any agent of the Pope or superior of the brotherhood of the holy faith of the Society of Jesus”. Doesn’t that sound like a wonderful “Christian Society”? On March 12, 2000, John Paul II publicly asked the Lord's forgiveness for past and present faults of the children of the Church. Does this mean however that this church has changed her colors to become the faithful "Bride of Christ"? Definitly not!! (Request a copy: Word’s of a Beast or visit online at: http://www.remnantofgod.org/beastword.htm. Prophecy will soon be fulfilled!) 2nd phase (is not and shall ascend) "The
beast thou sawest "was", and
"is not"; and shall ascend out of
the bottomless pit… (Rev.17:8) In 1798 the Papacy lost its political
power over the Kings of the earth. Not until the year 1929 did the church
recover some of its political power by signing Mussolini’s Lateran Treaty.
At that time the church was allotted the state of Vatican and once again
became a political influence in world affairs. (Note: It was Pope Pius VI that
was the head that was wounded in 1798, and it was Pope Pius XI who was the
same head that was healed in 1929, fulfilling the second part of Revelation
13:3 “…and
his deadly wound was healed: ”). Since then, this political/religious
power has ascended to even greater heights and by 1948 the
Church of Rome formed the World Council of Churches, preparing
the way to unify all religions of the world. Further ascension happened in
1962, when Pope John XXIII called the Second Vatican Council, aimed to unify
all the churches through worldwide ecumenicalism. In the 1950’s, Harry
Truman attempted to appoint an ambassador to the Vatican, yet there arose such
an American protest that it was impossible for him to follow through. But
thirty years later, President Reagan tried the same thing, and he succeeded
with little opposition. Today the Papacy’s influence in world politics has
climbed to such heights that the Papacy NOW reserves its seat at the head of
the United Nations. Revelation
17:1 "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven
vials,
(Plagues of Revelation 16) and talked with me, saying unto me,
Come-hither: I will shew unto thee the judgment of the Great Whore
(Mother church) that sitteth upon many waters:
(waters are peoples, tongues, and nations Rev 17:15) vs.
2: "With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,
(government leaders make unholy alliances with the mother church) and
the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her
fornication. (Isaiah 28:7 wine is false doctrine) vs.
3: "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw
a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast
(Isaiah 1:18 scarlet represents sin), full of names of
blasphemy, (claims power to forgive sin and as Gods
representative on earth) having seven heads
(7 leaders) and ten horns. (10 Kings).
Note: This beast is obviously seen differently from the “was” beast that
“rose out of the sea” in Revelation 13).
vs.
4: "And the woman (Mother church) was
arrayed in purple and scarlet color, (official colors of
Catholic church) and decked with gold and precious stones and
pearls, (great wealth of the Catholic Church) having
a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her
fornication: (sins). vs.5:
"And upon her forehead was a name written, "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE
GREAT, THE MOTHER (Catholic Church) OF
HARLOTS (Any church who still holds to the false
doctrines of the Mother church), AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE
EARTH." (all governments and false religions across the
entire earth). vs.6:
"And I saw the woman (Mother church) drunken
with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus:
(persecution and murder of God’s people throughout history) and
when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration."
(John was astonished with what he saw). vs.7:
"And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell
thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath
the seven heads and
ten horns." (These 10 horns are yet future) Note:
These 10 horns are not the same as the ten horns that grew out of the dreadful
and terrible beast in Daniel 7, where 3 of those horns were uprooted. These 10
horns are similarly outgrowths of the scarlet beast, which the woman
(Catholic church) sits upon. If these 10 horns belong to the scarlet beast then
so must the 7 heads who we have yet to identify. Revelation 17 will also explain
who these heads are. vs.
8: "The beast thou sawest "was",
(At placement this vision is past tense meaning between 538 -1798 AD) And
"is not": (Since 1798 the Catholic church has had
NO political power over the kings of the earth) and
shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, (The Papacy will
ascend back to her previous dominion) and go into perdition:
(The Papacy, and all who accept her false doctrines will be destroyed when
Jesus returns) and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder,
whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the
world, when they behold the beast (Catholic system) that
"was", and "is not", and "yet is".
vs.
9: "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads (leaders)
are 7 mountains, on which the woman sitteth".
(Notice:
The woman [church] is pictured sitting on the "heads" rather than
the back of the beast. This indicates that the church controls the seven
“heads” because the woman sits on the heads, also called mountains).
Historically, Protestants believed that these 7 mountains represented the 7
hills of Rome upon which was built the ancient city of Rome. There names are: 1)
Caelian, 2) Aventine, 3) Esquliline, 4) Capitoline, 5) Quirinal, 6)
Viminal, 7) Palatine. It may shock you to discover that since 1798, 7 Papal names (heads) have been used during the "is
not"
phase of the Roman Catholic beast. These names are as follows:
1. Pius 2. Leo 3. Gregory 4. Benedict 5. John 6. Paul 7. John Paul (Visit: http://www.windsofprophecy.org/265popes.html for a complete list of papal names throughout church history). Revelation
17:10 "And there are 7 kings; (7 Monarchy names) five
are fallen… (meaning these names are never to be used
again). Obviously, John sees this vision from the perspective of the 6th king
(who is Pope Paul VI who went down in history as the pope who made the
greatest stride to reunite Protestants back to the Mother church). Previous to
that, the following Papal names had already fallen: 1. Pius 2.
Leo 3. Gregory 4. Benedict 5. John. One is;
(the 6th king = the Papal name Paul) and the other has not yet
come; (7th Papal name John Paul had never been
used before thru history), and when he comes he continues a short
space". The 7th Papal Monarchy ruled for only 26 years
total. The next shortest tenure is that of the name Paul, where the total
number of years is 67 years. The other papal names in comparison ruled as
follows; Pius 161, Leo 99, Gregory 125, Benedict 88, John 122.
(The reign and comparison of all 265 Popes officially from Catholic
Encyclopedia). Revelation
13:18 "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".
As
in the names John Paul I + John Paul II we
would count 1 + 2 = 3. Another
example: There were 12 popes named Pius: 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12=78 Using
this method of counting, the count of all seven Papal Monarchy names since
1798 is: 78 + 91 + 136 + 105 + 231 + 21 + 3 = 665. As
of John Paul II, the count stood at 665. When the name Benedict returned to
the papal office, it appeared as if the name Benedict indeed had not fallen,
however, let us continue to study this prophecy further.
Revelation 17:11 "And the beast that was, (during the dark ages) and is not, (during the 7 heads phase) is himself also the eighth, (the next NEW Papal name) and is of the seven (his papal reign originated from one of the seven names during the “is not” phase of the beast), and is going to perdition." (Will be destroyed at the return of Christ). The original Greek states it as: "… the beast which was and is not, and he the eighth is, and out of the seven he is....". The phrase "out of the seven" here signifies an active coming out of something or away from a point of origin, (Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionary). In other words, the final count of 1 needed to complete the count of 666, comes from an individual who begins his reign as one of the seven, we now know to be Benedict, and will one day change this name to a new name that has never been used before by another pope. This will give him the final count of 1 needed to complete the total count of 666. Are you astonished!!? Clearly we see the MOST AMAZING accuracy of God's prophetic word. Benedict XVI, was elected pope on April 19, 2005, at the elderly age of 78 years old. This tells us that time is short and it will not be long before this present pope Benedict XVI will be exalted as the GLOBAL spiritual leader. When you see this happening, we can expect a name change and Mr. 666 will take the GLOBAL STAGE and demand global conformity.
Revelation 17:12 "And the ten horns thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. The ten horns belonging to this scarlet beast, grow out of the beast. Since the papacy is a religious/political power, this would suggest that these 10 horns (kings) will also be religious/political in nature. The Club of Rome, a political organization of elite world leaders have already drawn the map of how they intend to divide the world into ten unique political divisions. (The North American Union is targeted for completion by the year 2010. The European Union is already complete, and the other division of the world are ready to be implemented at any moment). According to the prophecy, ALL ten kings will conform to the religious dictates of the papacy, and will rule as kings one hour with the papacy. (Note: If 1-day = 1-year in prophecy, and there are 24 hours in a day, and 360 prophetic days per year, then 360 divided by 24 equals 15 days). The Final Events will be rapid... vs:13 "These are of one mind, (they are religious in nature) and they shall give their strength to the beast. The strength of a kingdom in commonly measured by their wealth. This might indicate a "religious tithe" will be paid to the papacy by each political division. Revelation 13:17;18 tells us: “…he causes all… to receive a mark… that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark…” vs:14 "These shall make war with the Lamb, (God's faithful commandment keeping Christians, who refuse to conform, will be persecuted and attacked. Many will be put to death.) and the Lamb shall overcome them. For he is Lord of Lords, and king of kings (Jesus Christ), and they that are with Him (those who have accepted the sacrifice of Christ) are called chosen, and faithful". vs:15 "And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." vs:16 "And the ten horns (ten global divisions) which thou sawest upon the beast, (papal power) these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire". As the people realize the church has deceived them, they will turn on the religious leaders for teaching error. We saw this take place during the French Revolution as thousands of church leaders were slaughtered. France was tired of the deceptive church practices. France was so enraged over church practices they became to hate religion. For 3 1/2 years they outlawed religion. They burned Bibles in the streets, set up the goddess of reason. They allowed open sexual acts. France became like Sodom. Her teaching’s spread throughout the world and today it is known as atheism. vs:17. "For God has put it in their hearts (the people of 10 kingdoms), to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom (political power) unto the beast, (Papacy), until the words of God shall be fulfilled." vs:18 "And the woman (Catholism) which thou sawest is that city, (Vatican City) which reigneth over the kings of the earth". The Papacy will acquire complete and total authority over the entire world in the not-too-distant future. This 3rd “yet is” phase of the beast remains future as of January, 2008. These predictions of great change under the 8th Papal name since 1798 cannot be far off however. The Bible shows Christ returning prior to the death of the 8th Papal name, since Christ destroys this “man of perdition” at His return. Pope BenedictXVI will turn 81 years old in 2008. We can not be too far from the Final Events of Bible Prophecy. Watch Final Events DVD online here...
Are you preparing for the soon return of Jesus Christ?? Every Christian remaining faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ will experience the “time of trouble” followed by the time of “Jacob’s trouble”. The question you must decide, whose authority will you obey if facing the DEATH SENTENCE?? Don’t be like the foolish virgins who fell asleep without enough oil for their lamps, (Matthew 25:1-13). The oil you need comes from the Holy Spirit. Now is the time to fill up your lamp. Jesus said: “You are the light of the world… Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14;16 We are obviously living in the very last days before the appearance of Mr. 666. The last few verses of Revelation 13 is the information about the "Mark of the Beast". While the Bible does not say exactly how this mark will be enforced, it is clear that there will be some sort of tracking system to identify who is loyal to the beast and who is not. Given today's technology, it seems possible that the enforcement of the "mark" may involve implantable microchips under the skin. This however, is NOT the issue my friend. The mark itself is NOT a visible or physical mark, it is a "spiritual mark" that ONLY God and His Angels are able to see. In the final days, everyone will be marked with either the "Seal of God", or the "mark of the beast". The choice is really up to you. Please note that NOBODY has yet received the mark of the beast, but SOON it will be a mark to avoid because of the serious consequences for receiving it. Strong warning against receiving this mark is given in Revelation chapter 14. All those who either reject God, or wrongly believe that they can stay neutral, will automatically be numbered among the servants of evil. There will be NO middle ground!! If you would like to understand “The Mark of the Beast” in greater detail please visit: http://windsofprophecy.org/romes-mark.html.
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