Chapter Thirteen
The Two Beasts
In chapter thirteen we will be told many details about the “beast” which we
have only seen briefly in the past. We
should always keep in mind that Satan is behind this beast and all of its evil
deeds. The purpose of chapter twelve was
to show us the conflict between Satan and God’s people. Chapter thirteen will now tell us who Satan
used in his persecution of God’s people.
13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, 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.
John said he was
standing “upon the sand of the sea.”
We should keep in mind that John is in Heaven, and that all of the visions he is seeing are also in
Heaven. So John is not actually standing
on the shore of a sea upon the earth. But
his vision makes it seem to him like he is.
While standing on the seashore, John sees a horrible and loathsome
creature rise from the sea. The
significance of it rising out of the sea, is that this shows it is to have an
effect over a very large area of the world.
It did not just impact a small land area, but since it comes from the
sea it has access to many lands and nations.
This beast had “seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns.” When we saw this beast in chapter twelve, we
noticed that it had a crown upon each of its seven heads. But there we were simply looking at the beast
as a whole, and were not concentrating on any particular head. Now, however, the time of the first six heads
has come and gone and we are going to concentrate on the seventh and final head. The seventh head will be our topic of
discussion for the next several chapters.
The heads represent world powers that have been used by Satan against God’s
people. The first six have now fallen,
and the seventh is just coming into power.
Its power is upheld by the ten horns, which have now received power. These ten horns are ten earthly kingdoms, and
the fact that they have crowns on them shows that they have now received power.
We will mention here who the seven heads are, but will defer any further
discussion of them until chapter seventeen, where more details are given. The seven heads in chronological order are:
“Upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”
All of these seven powers have shown their disdain for God.
In the eighth century B.C the Assyrians came into the Promised Land, destroyed
everything in their sight, and carried away the northern ten tribes of
13:2 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.
Now John gives us a
little more information about this beast which he saw rise from the sea. It bears similarities to a leopard, a bear,
and a lion. The prophet Daniel described
a very similar thing in his prophesy. “And
four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s
wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from
the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given
to it. And behold another beast, a
second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three
ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, ‘Arise,
devour much flesh.’ After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which
had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads;
and dominion was given to it. After this
I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible,
and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in
pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from
all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there
came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the
first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like
the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things” (Daniel 7:3-8).
These four beasts Daniel describes are the empires of
The second beast Daniel saw had the appearance of a bear; this is the
Medo-Persian Empire. A bear represents
great strength and raw power, and this did characterize their empire well. This empire has a hyphenated name because the
Empire was actually comprised of two separate groups, the Medes and the Persians. The fact that Daniel sees the bear raise “up
itself on one side,” denotes the dominance of one of these groups over the
other. The Medes had more of an
established history of strength, but it was the Persians who came to dominate
the Empire.
The third beast had the appearance of a leopard; this is the
The fourth beast is “dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly.” It is so awful looking that Daniel does not
even try to ascribe the characteristics of any animal to it. This is a picture of the
After seeing these things, Daniel went to the angel who was talking with him,
and asked him to explain these visions.
“I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth
of all this. So he told me, and made me
know the interpretation of the things. These
great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the
earth. But the saints of the most High
shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and
ever” (Daniel 7:17-18).
Here the four beasts are identified as kings, a term which is quite often used
to represent, not just a particular man, but an entire kingdom. But these kingdoms will not stand, they will
eventually be out done by the
Daniel saw four separate beasts, whereas John sees but one
which combines all the attributes of those four individuals. It is interesting to note the various parts
of the beast which are related to the three animals. He was “like unto a leopard.” This means his overall appearance was similar
to that of a leopard. A leopard’s coat
is spotted to camouflage it from its intended prey. This beast is likewise camouflaged so that
the world will not see it for what it really is, the tool of Satan. It can sneak up on its prey unnoticed and
then pounce with great speed and overtake its unwary victims.
His feet were like those of a bear. A
bear’s main weapons are his feet. He has
enormous claws which can literally rip the flesh of animals from their bones. So this beast possesses the destructive power
of a bear. Satan’s main goal in using
these kingdoms is destruction; destruction of God’s people in particular. He also has the mouth of a lion. The mouth of a lion is his most destructive
feature. A lion has tremendously strong
jaws and long sharp teeth. He is able to
easily bite through the bones of very large animals. The lion is also known for his powerful roar. It is this roar which had earned him the
title “king of the jungle.” This beast
is not only out to destroy, but also to proclaim great things for itself. We saw in chapter twelve that Satan’s problem
which led him to sin, was pride. That
same pride is now manifested in the nations which he supports. They roar loudly proclaiming their great
power and dominion. When all of these
characteristics are put together we have an animal that is well camouflaged so
that his true identity is difficult to discern until it is too late for the
innocent victim to flee. And when the
animal is in position and pounces, he is equipped with the claws of a bear, and
the teeth of a lion. He then roars his
triumph and his superiority after making his kill.
The last thing the verse tells us is that the dragon, which is Satan, is the
power behind each of these heads. He is
like the puppet master pulling the strings.
His goal is the annihilation of righteousness upon the earth. Satan gave his power, his seat, and his great
authority to the beast with the hope that it could successfully destroy God’s
plans and His people.
13:3 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.
In John’s time the first five heads had already had their day
and had passed from the scene. It was
the sixth head, the
“And all the world wondered after the beast.” The whole world watched with wonder and
amazement as the power of
“In A.D. 476, barbarian forces led by the Germanic
general Odoacer deposed the last emperor of the
The collapse of the
The papacy gradually replaced the empire as the center of authority in
In the early 700’s, Moslems, who followed the religion of Islam,
conquered
Charlemagne, the greatest king of the Franks, became one of the most important persons
in European as well as church history. During
his reign, he laid a foundation for the organized, civilized society later
built in
Charlemagne involved himself deeply in church affairs and became protector of
the popes. In 800, Pope Leo III crowned
Charlemagne emperor of the Romans, which restored the idea of the empire in the
West. Charlemagne’s empire formed the
basis of what became the
Innocent III became pope in 1198. Under
Innocent, papal influence over public life in Christian Europe reached its
peak. He was feudal lord over much of
Boniface VIII became pope in 1294. He
tried to unify the Christian world more closely under the papacy. Boniface insisted that kings of individual
nations were subject to the Holy Roman emperor and that the emperor’s power, in
turn, came from the pope. In 1302,
Boniface issued a bull (papal document) of immense importance. This bull, called Unam sanctam, stated
that ‘two swords’ served the church. One
sword was the spiritual power of the priests.
The other was the temporal (worldly) power of rulers. The bull declared that, for salvation, every
human being must be subject to the pope.”[1]
Thus
we see the resurrection of the deceased
13:4 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?
The pronoun “they” in this verse goes back to the previous verse and
refers to “all the world.” The
world worshipped the dragon, which is Satan, by worshipping the beast which is
a work of Satan. Despite their
professions of Christianity, the Roman Church was apostate,
and to worship according to their doctrines was to worship Satan. “He that is not with me is against me; and
he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” (Matthew
The beast, the Roman Catholic Church, was the object of admiration and awe. People feared and respected the power and
authority of the great apostate Church. Although
the papacy had no army of her own, she did have the military support of the European
powers. Therefore no one could make war
against the papacy. No one wielded as
much power during the Middle Ages as did the popes. Thus the phrases, “Who is like unto the
beast? Who is able to make war with him?.”
13:5 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.
The “mouth” of the Roman Catholic Church is the pope. It is not hard to show that he has spoken
blasphemous things. There was the decree
of Gregory I (pope from 590 to 604) which forbade the clergy to marry. This is totally without basis in the Bible,
and in fact Paul predicted that
such a thing would occur. “Now the
Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies
in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to
marry...” (I Timothy 4:1-3a).
There is also the doctrine of papal infallibility, which teaches that in all
matters of doctrine the pope cannot be wrong.
“Vatican I was called by Pope Pius IX. It opened
It
is certainly blasphemous to say any man is incapable of making a mistake.
Even the pope’s title is itself blasphemous.
“The pope’s full title is Bishop of Rome, Vicar of
Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme
pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy, Archbishop
and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, and Sovereign of the State of Vatican
City. The pope is addressed as ‘Your
Holiness.’”[3]
Nothing
could hardly be more blasphemous than this title. In the Bible cities did not have bishops,
congregations did. The bishops in the
Bible were also known as elders (Titus 1:5), overseers (Acts
“Vicar” means representative. The pope
claims to hold the place of Christ here on the
earth, and to have the authority to speak for Him. It is on the basis of this supposed authority
that the pope claims the right to change church doctrine. But the Bible says, “If ANY man
preach ANY other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be
accursed” (Galatians 1:9). No man
has the right to change what God has ordained!
“Successor of the Prince of the Apostles.”
The popes claim to be successors of Peter, who they name as the chief of
the apostles and the first pope. There
is not one shred of evidence to support the notion that Peter had a position of
preeminence among the apostles, and there is certainly no evidence that he was
the first pope! The Catholics base their
claim on the following passage: “And I say also unto thee, ‘That thou art
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it’” (Matthew
Much of the confusion comes from the Greek words for “Peter”
and “rock.” The Catholics claim that
Christ said he was
going to build His Church on the rock
Peter. Peter comes from the Greek “petros,”
which Strong’s defines as, “apparently a primary word; a (piece of) rock.”[4] The word “rock”
comes from the Greek “
From the above passage we learn what gives Christ the power and authority
to build a Church, namely that He is “the Christ, the Son of the
living God.” It is this “rock” of
truth that Christ will build His Church upon.
It was not Peter, but what Peter said, that was the foundation for the
Church. Therefore the Catholics claim to
power is invalid. So also is the title “Successor
of the Prince of the Apostles.” Peter
never claimed for himself any superior position among the apostles. He was at the gathering of the chief men of
the Church in Acts chapter fifteen, but he definitely did not preside over the
meeting. Peter also certainly was not
infallible. The Apostle Paul had to confront
Peter over his conduct. “But when
Peter was come to
“Supreme pontiff of the
The rest of the titles denote his position of authority over the western Church, and his temporal power. He is to be “addressed as ‘your Holiness.’”
Not even Christ Himself wore
such a title. No man in the Bible, New
Testament or Old, has
ever worn such a title with God’s approval.
This is indeed blasphemy. The
pope seeks to exalt and almost deify himself.
“The word pope comes from the Latin word ‘papa’ which means father.”[6] But the Bible
says “call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which
is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9). This
verse is of course talking about calling anyone your spiritual father, not your
physical father. God is the spiritual
father of all Christians, and no man should be given this title. Despite the clear wording of Christ’s commandment to spiritually call no man by the title
of father, all of the Catholic clergy wears this
title. Such brazen effrontery and
audacity is hard to believe, yet millions around the world continue to uphold
this work of Satan.
“The hierarchy of Rome which has occupied so large a
portion of history; which has so forced itself upon communities and nations by
priestly ambition and thirst for dominion; which arrogates to itself divine
supremacy, and blasphemously usurps the prerogative, titles, and sovereignty of
God—to absolve from sin, to dispense pardon, and eternal blessedness or eternal
damnation to the souls of men—and which had so bound the conscience and
frightened it into submission to itself...”[7]
The
apostle Paul prophesied of
the pope and the way he would blaspheme God.
“Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or
that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing
himself that he is God” (II Thessalonians 2:4). And this is exactly what the pope does. He has proclaimed himself God on the earth. Can there be any doubt that the pope is the “mouth
speaking great things and blasphemies?”
Edward
Gibbon also makes an observation about the Papacy’s handling of the Holy
Scriptures.
“The catholics, oppressed by royal and
military force, were far superior to their adversaries in numbers and learning. With the same weapons which the Greek and
Latin fathers had already provided for the Arian controversy, they repeatedly
silenced or vanquished the fierce and illiterate successors of Ulphilas. The consciousness of their own superiority might
have raised them above the arts and passions of religious warfare. Yet, instead of assuming such honourable
pride, the orthodox theologians were tempted, by the assurance of impunity, to
compose fictions which must be stigmatised with the epithets of fraud and
forgery. They ascribed their own polemical
works to the most venerable names of Christian antiquity; the characters of
Athanasius and Augustin were awkwardly personated by Vigilius and his
disciples; and the famous creed, which so clearly expounds the mysteries of the
Trinity and the Incarnation, is deduced, with strong probability, from this African
school. Even the Scriptures themselves
were profaned by their rash and sacrilegious hands. The memorable text which asserts the unity of
the THREE who bear witness in heaven is condemned by the universal silence of
the orthodox fathers, ancient versions, and authentic manuscripts. It was first alleged by the catholic bishops whom
Hunneric summoned to the conference of
“Power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” This is the fifth and final occurrence of the
1,260 year period in Revelation. Table V
gives a synopsis of the occurrences, which we will now discuss along with the
endpoints of this period.
|
REPRESENTATIONS OF THE 1,260 YEAR PERIOD |
||
|
Event |
Duration |
Reference |
|
|
42 months |
11:2 |
|
Two witnesses will prophesy |
1,260 days |
11:3 |
|
Woman hiding in the wilderness |
1,260 days |
12:6 |
|
Woman hiding in the wilderness |
T, T’s, ˝ T |
|
|
Beast will continue |
42 months |
13:5 |
Table V
The
“The Emperor’s letter to the Pope, Reddentes
honorem (
The
letter mentioned above is included below.
“With honor to the Apostolic See, and to your
Holiness, which is, and always has been remembered in Our prayers, both now and
formerly, and honoring your happiness, as is proper in the case of one who is
considered as a father, We hasten to bring to the knowledge of Your Holiness
everything relating to the condition of the Church, as We have always had the greatest desire to
preserve the unity of your Apostolic See, and the condition of the Holy
Churches of God, as they exist at the present time, that they may remain
without disturbance or opposition. Therefore, We have exerted Ourselves to unite
all the priests of the East and subject them to the See of Your Holiness, and
hence the questions which have at present arisen, although they are manifest
and free from doubt, and according to the doctrines of your Apostolic See, are
constantly firmly observed and preached by all priests, We have still
considered it necessary that they should be brought to the attention of Your
Holiness. For we do not suffer anything
which has reference to the state of the Church, even though what causes
difficulty may be clear and free from doubt, to be discussed without being
brought to the notice of Your Holiness, because you are the head of all the
Holy Churches, for We shall exert Ourselves in every way (as has already been
stated), to increase the honor and authority of your See.”[10]
Another
source sums up the relationship of Justinian to the Bishop of Rome this way.
“During Justinian’s reign the see of
This
proclamation is very important because for a long time
“In the sixth century men looked to the popes not only
for guidance in spiritual matters but for help in their bodily necessities. The famous Cassiodorus, the Roman minister of
Theodoric the Ostrogoth, thus wrote to John II,... : ‘You are the chief of the Christian people;
with the name of “father” you direct everything. You, to whom its guardianship has been
entrusted, must look to the safety of the people. We have to regulate some things, but you
everything. Your first concern indeed is
to give spiritual food to your flock, but you cannot neglect their temporal
needs. For as man is made up of soul and
body, so it is the business of a good father to nourish them both.’”[12]
Another
interesting fact about John is that he was
the first man who changed his name after he was elected pope.
“When the Roman priest Mercurius was
finally elected, he took the name of John II, thus
becoming the first pope to change his name.”[13]
Although
this really proves nothing, it is interesting to note that something which is
such an integral part of the papacy began with the man who was the first real
pope.
The 1,260 year period ended on
A couple of years later the Gregorian calendar was replaced in France by the
republican calendar, which started counting, not from the birth of Christ, but from the establishment of the French Republic. At that time
Before the Republic was established in
Now we must look back at chapter eleven again.
Verse seven says “And when they shall have finished their testimony,
the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them,
and shall overcome them, and kill them.”
The key here is that they will be “killed” after they have finished
their testimony. The testimony is that
referred to in verse three of chapter eleven.
“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy
a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” The point is that the three and one-half year
period was to follow the 1,260 year period.
Therefore the end of the 1,260 year period had to come on
We can now go back to Daniel’s prophesies once again, and find more details
predicted about the papacy. The four
creatures that Daniel saw were certainly fierce looking, but the fourth one was
by far the most dreadful judging from Daniel’s description. Therefore it is not surprising that he
specifically asked the angel about that one.
“Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse
from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his
nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with
his feet” (Daniel 7:19). The angel
then told Daniel that “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon
earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole
earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces” (Daniel 7:23). This fourth kingdom,
Next, Daniel asked about the horns which he saw on this dreadful beast. “And of the ten horns that were in his
head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that
horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was
more stout than his fellows” (Daniel 7:20). In his reply the angel
explained to Daniel the meaning of these ten horns. “And the ten horns out of this kingdom are
ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be
diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the
most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change
times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times
and the dividing of time” (Daniel 7:24-25).
First we see the ten horns, which are said to represent kingdoms, and then we
see the little horn rise up in the midst of the ten. This horn “had eyes, and a mouth that
spake very great things.” This is
speaking of the papacy which arose amid the political disarray of
The first order of business is to establish the pertinent criteria for our
search. We need to define the
characteristics that a kingdom must have in order to qualify as one of the ten.
1. It must be
an independent or sovereign kingdom. In
other words it is not simply a province or colony of some greater power.
2. It must possess at least a moderate
measure of power or influence in the area throughout which Christianity has
spread. The papacy’s influence, to some
extent, would be felt in all Christendom, therefore any kingdom which affected Christendom
would also affect the papacy. This would
qualify it to be considered as one of the kingdoms among which the papacy
arose.
3. The first two criteria must have been
met simultaneously during the time period in question.
4. All ten kingdoms must have existed at
the same time.
5. All of the nations must have already
been in existence when the papacy began.
As Daniel 7:8 shows us “I considered the horns, and, behold, there
came up among them another little horn.” Obviously these ten kingdoms were firmly
established when the papacy rose up among them.
Next
we need to define the period of time when these kingdoms are to have existed. This can be done by understanding what is
meant by the statement “there came up among them.” It could be interpreted to mean the time when
the earliest roots of the papacy began to appear. But this would take us back to at least the
second century, and the only real kingdom of any consequence at that time was the
We can take, then, 533 as our target date and search for ten kingdoms that held
sway over Christendom in A.D. 533 and
the preceding decades. The wording in
Daniel suggests that these kingdoms were in place as the papacy reached
maturity in A.D. 533. We needn’t really
bother with naming a date to begin this period during which these kingdoms must
have existed. The Bible give us no
indication as to how long this period was to have been, and it would not be
appropriate for us to simply guess. All
that really matters is that they still existed in 533 A.D.
I will first admit that it may not be readily apparent how to begin searching
for these kingdoms. The approach I took
was to study the history of the later
We would hope that out of this group, when their histories are closely
examined, that ten would emerge who precisely fit our criteria. You may notice that not every one of the
candidates is actually a kingdom, but that some are only cities. I feel justified in doing this because they
were not ordinary cities, but were centers of great political power and
influence, which is, after all, exactly what we are searching for.
Now all that remains to be done is to compare the history of each group with
our list of necessary characteristics and see who matches and who does not. We will proceed in the order in which they
are listed, which is, of course, alphabetically.
Avars
“Avars of Europe, sometimes called ‘pseudo-Avars,’ were probably a
Turkish tribe, named Uigurs, who were subjected by the true Avars—a nation akin
to the Huns, perhaps identical with the Yüan-Yüan, when the latter were driven
out of Central Asia about A.D. 461. The
Avar confederation dominated the
The
“
Alamanni
“Early in the 5th century the Alamanni crossed the
Clearly,
since they were subjugated in 495, the Alamanni do not meet our criteria and
must be rejected.
Alani (Alans)
“First met with North of the Caspian (c. 1st
century A.D.) spreading into the steppes of
The
Alans never comprised a kingdom so they too fail to meet our criteria and must
be rejected.
Angles
“Angles made up one of the three Germanic tribes that
invaded
The
Angles established several small kingdoms, but never established anything large
enough for us to consider. Therefore
they do not meet our criteria and must be rejected.
Bavarians
“The earliest known inhabitants of the district
afterwards called
The
Bavarians never comprised an independent kingdom so they also fail to meet our
criteria and must be rejected.
Britons
“Britons, name applied to the inhabitants of
The
Britons were never more than a collection of independent tribes at any time,
and then were subdued by the Angles and Saxons before the beginning of the
papacy. Therefore, they do not meet our
criteria and must be rejected.
Bulgarians
“A people called the Thracians established the first
civilization in what is now
The
Bulgarians did eventually form a powerful kingdom after migrating westward from
Burgundians
“In consequence of wars against the Alamanni, in which
the latter had the advantage, the Burgundians, after having taken part in the
great invasion of Radagaisus in 407, were obliged in 411 to take refuge in
Although
the Burgundian kingdom was interrupted from 534 to 561, it otherwise was a
powerful kingdom for nearly 200 years. This
certainly meets our criteria, so
Franks
“These Ripuarians (Franks) had settled in the 5th
century on the left bank of the
The
Franks established one of the strongest kingdoms to exist in
Frisians
“Frisians, a people who in the first century of our
era were found by the Romans in occupation of the coast lands stretching from
the mouth of the
In connection with the movements of the migration period the Frisians are
hardly ever mentioned, though some of them are said to have surrendered to the
Roman prince Constantius about the year 293.
About the year 520 the Frisians are said to have joined the Frankish
prince Theodberht in destroying a piratical expedition which had sailed up the
The
Frisians never comprised a kingdom, but seem to have been allied with others at
various points in their history. Therefore
they do not meet our criteria and must be rejected.
Heruli
“A Teutonic tribe belonging either to the northern or
the southern portions of the Jutish peninsula.
In the reign of Gallienus (A.D. 260-68), they were with the Goths
ravaging the coasts of the
About the beginning of the 6th century they were completely overthrown in war
by the Langobardi. Part of them migrated
to
“Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, endeavored to form a confederacy with the
Thuringi, Heruli and Warni against
The
Heruli once had a kingdom, but it was destroyed before the beginning of the
papacy, therefore they do not meet our criteria and must be rejected.
Huns
“In 445 Bleda (Attila’s brother and co-ruler) died,
and two years afterward Attila, now sole ruler, undertook one of his most
important expeditions against the Eastern empire; on this occasion he pushed
southwards as far as Thermopylae, Gallipoli and the walls of Constantinople;
peace was cheaply purchased by tripling the yearly tribute (which accordingly
now stood at 2,100 pounds of gold, or Ł84,000 sterling) and by the payment of a
heavy indemnity. In 448 again occurred
various diplomatic negotiations, and especially the embassy of Maximinus, of
which many curious details have been recorded by Priscus his companion. Then followed, in 451, that westward movement
across the
The
Huns were, perhaps at one point, the strongest kingdom in
Jutes
“Early Germanic tribe of
Although
the Jutes were independent, they never established a kingdom of any power or
influence during the time period in question.
Because of their isolation they had no real effect on the rest of
Langobardi (
“Shortly before this time the Langobardi appear to
have taken possession of the territories formerly occupied by the Rugii whom
Odoacer had overthrown in 487, a region which probably included the lower
Clearly
the Langobardi comprised a powerful kingdom as the papacy arose, and are
therefore the fourth kingdom we have identified.
Ostrogoths (
The history of the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths is intertwined so it is given
together here all at once.
“The
When the Hunnish power broke in pieces on the death of Attila, the
The East Gothic dominion was now again as great in extent and far more splendid
that it could have been in the dominion of Hermanaric. But it was of a wholly different character. The dominion of Theodoric was not a barbarian
but a civilized power. His twofold
position ran through everything. He was
at once national king of the Goths and successor, though without any imperial
titles, of the Roman emperors of the West.
Such a system as that Theodoric established needed a Theodoric to carry it on. On his death (526) the East and
This
shows that both the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths were powerful kingdoms when
the papacy arose. Therefore, they are
the fifth and sixth kingdoms we have identified.
Picts
“Picts, the name given to the ancient Celtic race of
the Stone Age inhabiting
The
Picts were independent, but they were not a powerful kingdom at any time. Therefore, they do not meet our criteria and
must be rejected.
“
This
passage shows that
“Theodoric’s siege of
In 535 Justinian sent an army to destroy the Gothic monarchy and restore
From
these two passages I believe we can conclude that
After the capital of the Empire was moved to
Saracens (Arabs)
“Saracens were Muslims who invaded and occupied parts
of the Christian world in
During
the seventh and eighth centuries the Saracens built a massive and extremely
powerful empire stretching from
Sarmatae
“By the 3rd century B.C. the Sarmatae appear to have
supplanted the Scythes proper in the plains of south
The
Sarmatae were subdued by the Goths and Huns well before the beginning of the
papacy, therefore they do not meet our criteria and must be rejected.
Saxons
“We next hear of them in connection with piratical
expeditions in the
The
Saxons did have a powerful kingdom when the papacy arose, therefore they do
meet our criteria. The Saxons are the eighth
kingdom we have identified.
Scots
“The adjacent region to the north, comprising what is
now
During
the time when the papacy arose all of the groups occupying
Slavs
“The first Slavs lived more than 5000 years ago. They occupied a region that now forms part of
the northwestern
During the 800’s, the Slavs established the Great Moravian Empire, which united
the peoples of central
As
pointed out, the people of central
Suevi (Suabi or Suebi)
“A collective term applied to a number of peoples in
central
From the 2nd to the 4th century A.D. the name Suebi is seldom used except with
reference to events in the neighborhood of the Pannonian frontier, and here
probably means the Quadi. From the
middle of the 4th century it appears in the regions south of the
The
Suebi as a whole were never a powerful kingdom, although the Langobardi, whom
we have dealt with separately, were indeed a powerful kingdom which we
identified as our fourth kingdom. The
Suebi, as a whole, therefore, fail to meet our criteria and must be rejected.
Thuringi
“In the 5th century the Thuringians lived between the
“In 531 the Thuringian kingdom was destroyed by the Frankish king Theodoric.”[40]
The
Thuringi were always subservient to others while the papacy arose, and
therefore fail to meet our criteria and must be rejected as being one of our
kingdoms.
Turks
“The name Tukiue (Tou-Kiue) or Turk is first used by
the Chinese in recording the events of A.D. 545, and the following years, when
the Turks, or descendants of the Asena, revolted against the Jwen-Jwen. These latter were crushed and disappeared
from history, at least under that name. The
victorious Turks advanced across their territory, came into collision with the
Hephthalites or Ephthalites, whom they defeated, and are heard of on the
The
Turks would become a major force in European history in later centuries, even
being the ones to finally conquer the seemingly invincible
Vandals
“Owing to defeat at the hand of the Franks the Vandals
could not settle in
The wrongs of Hilderic, a Catholic, with the blood of the emperor Theodosius in his
veins, afforded Justinian a long-coveted pretext for overthrowing the Vandal
dominion. A great expedition under the
command of Belisarius reached
The
Vandals were certainly powerful for a time, and that time ended in 534, just after
the papacy had officially risen. Therefore
they meet our criteria and are the ninth kingdom we have identified.
Visigoths (
The history of the Visigoths was discussed along with that of their kinsmen,
the Ostrogoths. From that discussion it
was decided that the Visigoths were indeed a powerful kingdom as the papacy
arose. As a result they were the fifth
kingdom we identified.
So out of the twenty-eight candidates we began with, we found nine that matched
our criteria. While this might be close
enough if you work for the government, it definitely will not do where the
Bible is concerned. If the Bible says
there were ten kingdoms, then there were unquestionably ten kingdoms. The fault lies, not with the Bible, but with
our search.
Have we perhaps misinterpreted or misunderstood the history of one of the
groups we studied? Or have we perhaps
omitted some small group which the Bible includes as the tenth kingdom? I believe our methodology has been sound and
that our decisions on the twenty-eight we have thus far examined are accurate. Furthermore, I believe that we have examined
every group large enough to have possibly been included in the Bible’s list of
ten kingdoms. Then what can possible
explain the discrepancy?
It is sort of like the old saying, ‘you can’t see the forest for the trees.’
Our phantom kingdom is not one of the small nomadic groups who burst on the
scene for a time and then faded into obscurity after a crushing military defeat. In fact, the kingdom we have failed to
identify, exerted more power and influence in
We need to realize that we are not restricted to looking for kingdoms based
only in
Now that we have identified the ten kingdoms our next task is to determine
which three of the ten are the ones subdued by the papacy. The first, and most obvious, is
“The removal of the seat of empire to
Roman institutions were altered; but their original features were still to be
traced, and no heterogeneous element had been introduced. The dawn of a new epoch can be dated from the
invasion of the
A prefect of
Clearly
the popes came to dominate
The other two kingdoms were subdued in a slightly different manner.
“In the last phase of the (Langobardi) kingdom it
produced two rulers of unusual ability. Liutprand,
who destroyed the independence of the great southern duchies,
“When Leo the Isurian published his decrees against the worship of images in
726, Gregory II. allied himself with Liuprand, the
The
popes acquired
The fact that the ten horns Daniel mentions are seen on the fourth beast
demonstrates the fact that they are not spread about on the seven heads. At most they can be on the sixth and seventh
heads, which are here represented by this beast. Later it will be seen that they are indeed
all on the seventh head.
In the present verse here in Revelation we have discussed the blasphemous
conduct of the popes. Daniel also
pointed out this aspect of the papacy, “and he shall speak great words against
the most High.” Most of the pope’s
proclamations throughout history have been contrary to the Bible.
In the end God’s people will win out over Satan’s. The pope will be despoiled and his deceptions
will be revealed. “The judgment shall
sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto
the end. And the kingdom and dominion,
and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the
people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey him” (Daniel 7:26-27).
13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his
name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Some of the blasphemies of the papacy were discussed in the previous verse. Little more needs to be said here, except to
reemphasize the fact that
The pope is said to “blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that
dwell in heaven.” God’s tabernacle
is His dwelling place, Heaven. So the
papacy, through her conduct and her teachings has blasphemed God, Heaven, and
all the inhabitants of Heaven. This is
why it is quite proper to say that the pope has blasphemed everything righteous
and holy. He has made a mockery of
Christianity. It is no wonder that
Muhammad rejected Christianity as well as Judaism, as corrupt. He saw that neither were practicing what they
professed, and so rejected them. And
certainly this has been true of many others throughout history. Most people would have been exposed to Roman
Catholicism and would have erroneously assumed that it was Christianity.
13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome
them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
“War with the saints” refers to the great persecutions brought against
the Lord’s Church by the Roman
harlot. I think it is appropriate here
to pause and discuss the saints of God.
The term saint(s) occurs 101 times in the Bible, thirty-nine in the Old
Testament and sixty-two in the New Testament, including thirteen times here in the
Revelation. The common usage of the term
today evokes thoughts of those who lived extraordinarily righteous lives, or
perhaps performed some great act of faith and heroism, but nevertheless are now
deceased. The attachment of the word
saint to the names of individuals is most prominent among Catholics, with a
large number of ‘saints’ being honored with their own days.
“For legitimate public veneration of a person as a
saint the sanction of at least the local church has always been necessary: he
or she must be 'canonized', and over the centuries this has been effected in
various ways. The Virgin Mary, the
apostles, and evangelists were recognized as saints by general consent; the
early martyrs were spontaneously recognized as such by the faithful who had
witnessed their sufferings; and so in a similar way were the early
confessors. Later on, individual bishops
canonized, by giving permission for a religious festival, or feast, to be kept
in a dead person's honour. These local
recognitions were frequently extended to other places, sometimes to the church
at large. Many of the greatest saints
were canonized in this or a similar way, by a process of what may be called informal canonization, or by the
prescription of long usage.
From the tenth century canonization in the West came
more and more into the hands of the bishop of
The
papacy in essence claims that the only way someone can become a saint is by
decree of a pope, a doctrine completely foreign to the Bible. From the usage of the word in the Bible, it
is quite clear that saint is synonymous with the term Christian. There are dozens of passages in the Bible
that make clear the true meaning of the word saint, the following are but a few
examples. “And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came
down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda” (Acts
The
honorable names of many true first century saints have been hijacked by
“The simplicity that is in Christ” was corrupted over the centuries and the chaste
virgin that Paul spoke of became
the Great Whore who sold all semblance of truth and righteousness in order to
achieve enormous wealth and power. It is
just sad to think of how many real saints were slaughtered as heretics while
many who proudly wore the mark of the beast were proclaimed to the world to be
saints.
Daniel,
in talking about the papacy said, “I beheld, and the same horn made war with
the saints, and prevailed against them” (Daniel
Likewise, Daniel, in speaking of the Church, said it would last for ever. “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 for ever” (Daniel 2:44). This is very similar to the captivity of the
Children of Israel in
During this time the papacy had the allegiance of the nations and was therefore
able to make use of the secular governments to suppress those who held views
which differed with the official Catholic doctrine.
The persecution of the papacy against those who held “heretical” views on
religious matters, often took very cruel and bloody forms. Certainly many who were the victims of this
persecution held views which were just as unscriptural as did the Catholics
themselves, but we can be just as certain that many people who desired to
follow the Bible were also victims.
“Then, in the 1200s, a storm of heretic-hunting burst
upon
In 1208, Pope Innocent III declared a major crusade to destroy the Albigenses. Some 20,000 knights and peasants answered the
call, forming an army that scourged southern
This was the beginning of numerous ‘internal crusades’ against nonconforming
Christians and rebellious lords.
Another group targeted for extermination were the Waldensians, followers of
Peter Waldo of Lyon, lay preachers who sermonized in the streets. The church decreed that only priests could
preach, and commanded them to cease. They
persisted. The Waldensians had been
excommunicated as heretics at the council of
Also condemned were the Amalricans. French
theologian Amalric of Bena preached that all people are potentially divine, and
that church rites aren’t needed. After
his death in the 1200s, his followers were burned alive as heretics, and his
body was dug up and burned.
A similar fate befell the Apostolic Brethren, who preached and sang in public. Leader Gerhard Segarelli was burned as a
heretic in 1300. His successor, Dolcino,
led survivors into fortified places to withstand attacks and wage
counterattacks. Troops of the bishop of
In 1318 a group of Celestine or ‘Spiritual’ Franciscan monks were burned
because they refused to abandon the primitive simplicity of Franciscan garb and
manners. Others executed as heretics
included Beghards and Beguines, who lived in Christian communes, and the
Brothers of the Free Spirit, a mystical order of monks.
The Knights Templar, religious warriors of an order which originated in the
Crusades, were accused in
Killing heretics was endorsed by popes and saints. They quoted Old Testament mandates such as ‘He
who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death.’ St. Thomas
Aquinas declared: ‘If coiners and other malefactors are justly doomed to death,
much more may heretics justly be slain.’”[47]
As
“Power
was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” This alludes to the great power and influence
that the papacy enjoyed for many centuries.
During the Dark Ages the papacy was
the greatest political and economic power in the world.
“The modern conception of church and state as two
distinct entities did not exist in the Middle Ages. Christendom was a structure
unified religiously, culturally, and politically and rested on pope and emperor. The pope was believed to be superior by the
will of Christ. As all
bishops stood under the pope, so all princes stood theoretically under the
emperor. Both powers were supreme;
neither was absolute, for both stood before the law of God and the voice of
conscience. Relations between the two
powers were constantly in a state of flux; their interests conflicted, and
their spheres of influence overlapped. As
the Middle Ages grew older, tension mounted until it exceeded the strength of
the structure of society.
Church and society
were neither differentiated nor separated from one another in the Middle Ages. The two blended. The philosophy of the medieval church was
concerned with the hereafter, but its actions were directed toward the
temporal; the church did not retreat from the world, nor was the world
withdrawn from the church. The two
coalesced at so many points that the separation became blurred. Abuses that marked church life in the Middle
Ages—overinvolvement in secular concerns and undue preoccupation with the
affairs of princes and nations—were, to a large extent, due to the obscurity of
the demarcation.
In its earliest stages the medieval church was relatively unorganized; the
primacy of the see of
By the opening years of the 13th century the Holy See virtually presided over
the whole Western world. Innocent III
(reigned 1198-1216) demonstrated the international significance of the medieval
papacy when he settled the feudal dispute between Philip Augustus of
This
passage leaves little doubt that the papacy was given power “over all
kindreds, and tongues and nations.” The
pope was, in reality, the monarch of the entire Western world. There were times when certain rulers would
contest the authority of
13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are
not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world.
But we notice in this verse that not all people worshipped the beast. Those who had their names written in the book
of life did not submit to the coercion and persecution. We also notice that the book of life belongs
to the Lamb, who is Christ. The book of
life contains the names of those who are faithful to God, and who, through
their obedience to Him, have received the forgiveness of sins. This forgiveness was made possible through
the offering of the Lamb, Christ, who was the perfect sacrifice. He bore the penalty for sins which every man
really deserves, which is death. “But
we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the
suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God
should taste death for every man” (Hebrews
2:9).
“The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” We know that Christ was not
crucified at the foundation, or beginning, of the world, but much closer to the
end. So what does this verse mean? First we need to make very explicit the
reason Christ had to die. He died to
bear the penalty for man’s sins. “In
whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians
The Hebrew letter sheds a little further light on this subject. “For Christ is not entered
into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but
into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: nor yet that
he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into
the holy place every year with blood of others; for then must he often have
suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the
world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die,
but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of
many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without
sin unto salvation. For the law having a
shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never
with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the
comers thereunto perfect. For then would
they not have ceased to be offered? Because
that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a
remembrance again made of sins every year.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take
away sins” (Hebrews
13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
This is the same phrase which appeared at the end of each of the seven letters
in chapters two and three. It is the
Lord’s way of telling us that something very important has just been said, and
that we should pay very close attention to it.
What He desires for us to see here is the identity of the seven-headed
beast He has just described. This is the
natural place for this phrase to appear, since He has just concluded his
description of the seven-headed beast and is about to introduce another character
to our story. Before He moves on He
wants to make sure we have understood everything thus far. And it is very important that we do
understand the first half of this chapter, because if we do not, we will be
totally lost in the second half of the chapter, and indeed the rest of the
book.
The “he” referred to in this verse is the beast. This beast, the Roman Catholic Church, as the tool of Satan, has captured, or imprisoned,
and murdered many of God’s people. This
persecution is what is under consideration here. In the preceding verses we have discussed
many aspects of the papacy’s war against the saints. For centuries this war was very one-sided. The papacy had the backing of the secular
governments and found it very easy to suppress dissension. But now God is promising to turn the tables
on
God is promising His people that He will now pour out His wrath upon
Now John sees another
beast appear on the scene, in addition to the seven-headed beast he has been
describing in this chapter. This beast
came up from the earth, rather than the sea, where the seven-headed beast
originated. This shows that his effects
would be regional and not global. The
papacy, which is the first beast, exercised power and authority over the whole
of Western civilization, but this second beast will be limited in the range of
its authority and power.
“He had two horns.” In his
prophesy Daniel spoke of a ram with two horns.
“The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media
and
This beast had “horns like a lamb.”
This shows that it will have the appearance of being meek and gentle as
a lamb. And that it will appear to be
similar to THE Lamb, Christ. But the fact
that this beast spake as a dragon shows its true character. Satan is the dragon, so if this beast speaks
like a dragon, then he speaks like Satan.
So this beast, like the seven-headed beast, will be an instrument of
Satan used against God’s people.
This new beast appears to be merely an assistant of the first one. He has the same power, and certainly the same
intentions (the destruction of God’s people), as the first beast. But rather than supplanting the first beast,
the second beast actually makes men worship the first beast. We are not through with the first beast, but
are merely entering a different phase of his power. So we must be talking about something which
took place during the 1,260 years through which the first beast had his power. Or to put it more properly, we are looking
for a kingdom, made up of two nations, which arose during the 1,260 years, and
supported the papacy. History tells us
that there was indeed a kingdom which arose during the time in question which
exhibited the characteristics we are looking for. It was the
“
Much
more will be said about the
Again mention is made of the “deadly wound which was healed.” As we said before this is in reference to the
supposedly fatal wound the
This beast, which we have identified as the
The
fire will primarily come in the form of persecution and harassment by the civil
authorities against those who teach and practice anything that differs with the
dogma of the Roman Harlot. And since it
is all done in the name of keeping the purity of the faith it will appear to be
Heaven sent. It was the ability to coerce secular
governments to vigorously attack all ideological enemies of
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; 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.
This verse continues the thought started in the previous verse. The “miracles” performed by the beast, are
not really miracles at all. God is the
only one who can perform miracles, either directly, or through an appointed
representative. To say this beast was
capable of miracles was to say he was doing so in God’s name. So this beast will appear to man to have
received his power from God. That is,
the
“Make an image to the beast” has reference to the beast which had
received the deadly wound but had survived.
The wound was by a sword, which indicates defeat in battle. The old
“
The
The
popes and the Holy Roman emperors sought to exploit the legend of the old
Empire by trying to revive it. By
claiming to be a revival of the old Empire the
13:15 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.
The
The
“And cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should
be killed.” The
“Whatever scruples the Church had, during the
eleventh and twelfth centuries, as to its duty toward heresy, it had none as to
that of the secular power, though it kept its own hands from blood. A descent usage from early times forbade any
ecclesiastic from being concerned in judgments involving death or mutilation,
and even from being present in the torture-chamber where criminals were placed
on the rack. This sensitiveness
continued, and even was exaggerated in the time of the bloodiest persecution. While thousands were being slaughtered in
The early teachings of Leo and Pelagius were revived as soon as heresy became
alarming. Early in the twelfth century
Honorius of Autun proclaimed that the rebels against God who were obdurate to
the voice of the Church must be coerced
with the material sword. In the
compilations of canon law by Ivo and Gratian the allusions to the treatment of
heretics by the church are singularly few, but there are abundant citations to
show the duty of the sovereign to extirpate heresy and to obey the mandates of
the Church to that end. Frederic
Barbarossa gave the imperial sanction to the theory that the sword had been entrusted
to him for the purpose of smiting the enemies of Christ, when he alleged this in 1159 as a reason for
persecuting Alexander III and supporting his antipope, Victor IV. The second Lateran Council, in 1139, orders
all potentates to coerce heretics into obedience; the third, in 1179,
sanctimoniously says that the Church does not seek blood, but it is helped by
the secular laws, for men will seek the salutary remedy to escape bodily
punishment. We have seen how
inefficacious all this proved; and in despair of voluntary assistance from the
temporal princes the Church took a further step by which it assumed for itself
the responsibility for the material as well as the spiritual punishment of
heretics. The decree of Lucius III at
the so-called Council of Verona, in 1184, commanded that all potentates should
take an oath before their bishops to enforce the ecclesiastical and secular
laws against heresy fully and efficaciously.
Any refusal or neglect was to be punished by excommunication,
deprivation of rank, and incapacity to hold other station, while in the case of
cities they were to be segregated and debarred from all commerce with other
places.
The Church thus undertook
to coerce the sovereign to persecution. It
would not listen to mercy, it would not hear of expediency. The monarch held his crown by the tenure of
extirpating heresy, of seeing that the laws were sharp and that they were
pitilessly enforced. Any hesitation was
visited with excommunication, and if this proved inefficacious, his dominions
were thrown open to the first hardy adventurer whom the Church would supply
with an army for his overthrow.
It was applied from the highest to the lowest, and the Church made every
dignitary feel that his station was an office in a universal theocracy wherein
all interests were subordinate to the great duty of maintaining the purity of
the faith. The hegemony of
It
was during the time of the
13:16 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:
This is the infamous “mark of the beast.”
Much has been made of this throughout history, but there is really nothing
sensational here at all. We went a long
way toward answering it back in chapter seven.
There we saw the phrase “sealed the servants of our God in their
foreheads” (verse 3). It was
explained there that the seal in the forehead represented a conscious decision
to serve God. The head is the seat of
all rational thought and decision making.
So if the seal is located in the forehead the person has made a
voluntary commitment. Here the mark of
the beast in the forehead denotes those who have made a conscious decision to
serve the beast and to follow his evil ways.
In other words, we are talking about sincere devout Roman Catholics, those
who recognize the pope as the head of the universal Church.
But what does it mean to have the mark in the right hand. There were many who did not necessarily
subscribe to the Catholic viewpoint, but
faced with the alternative of persecution, they acknowledged the supremacy of
the pope, and practiced Catholic doctrine.
They did not truly accept Catholicism, but were merely “shaking hands”
with it. It was the most expedient thing
for them to do. The reference cited in
the above verse contained a sentence which exemplified this attitude.
“The second Lateran Council, in 1139, orders all
potentates to coerce heretics into obedience; the third, in 1179,
sanctimoniously says that the Church does not seek
blood, but it is helped by the secular laws, for men will seek the salutary
remedy to escape bodily punishment.”[52]
Most
men did not possess sufficient religious conviction to risk life and limb in
the defense of their views. Many people
questioned the doctrines of the papacy, but they did so privately. If done openly it would have almost certainly
have been harshly addressed by the papacy.
We also notice that everyone “both small and great, rich and poor, free and
bond,” received the mark. Again the
reference cited in the previous verse showed how even kings were subject to
overthrow if they did not go along with the dictates of
The
literal marking of men has been carried out by many cultures of the past. Slaves were often tattooed or branded to
facilitate their capture and return if they attempted escape. It was also more difficult for someone to
steal slaves if they were so marked.
While most slaves do not find themselves enslaved of their own will, there
is nonetheless a strong parallel between slavery and Catholicism. Many slaves were born into the condition and
never knew anything else. Likewise, most
people in medieval
While the true “mark of the beast” is not physical, there are some
tangible signs that indicate a person does submit to the beast. Anything can be a mark of something if it
identifies a person with that thing. So
anything which would reveal a person as a Catholic can truly said
to be a mark of the beast. Catholic
priests and nuns are easily recognized by their dress, this is a mark which
identifies them as servants of the beast.
On Ash Wednesday most Catholics will be seen with a small smudge of soot
on their foreheads, this identifies them as servants of the beast. And of course there is the famous “sign of
the cross” which Catholics often make. While
all of these items are marks of the beast, none of them are actually THE
mark of the beast.
We have already seen that those who refused to accept Catholicism were subject
to persecution. The papacy launched a
severe campaign to stamp out religious dissenters beginning in the twelfth
century. There were many different
punishments administered by the inquisitors, which included such things as
flogging, forced pilgrimages, the wearing of crosses to denote your conviction
as a heretic, seizure of property, imprisonment, and even death. It seems quite odd that the cross would be
the symbol chosen to mark a heretic, but it was done on a wide scale.
“In this respect the wearing of crosses was even worse. The origin of this penance was that during
his missionary labors St. Dominic had ordered penitents to wear two small
crosses, sewn on the breast of their clothing in token of contrition. The Inquisition adopted the practice and it
was very frequently inflicted, being prescribed, like flagellation, for those
who voluntarily made a confession of heresy.
Next to imprisonment this penance figures most often in the sentences of
Bernhard Gui; it was rather less extensively used later. The small marks which St. Dominic had
required became under the Inquisition very large ones—as a rule two-and-a-half
palms in height, two in breadth. They
were saffron in color and had to be worn one on the breast, the other on the
back. Other symbols besides crosses were
sometimes used. Thus false witnesses had
to wear the symbol of red tongues, prisoners liberated on bail hammers,
sorcerers the representation of demons. The
wearing of distinguishing marks was designed to be, and was felt to be, a less
tolerable penalty than flogging. The
shameful garb had to be worn continuously indoors and out, exposing the wearer
at all times to the jeers, if not the fanatical hostility, of the crowd. The penance was enjoined sometimes for an
indefinite period, and so long as he had to wear it, it would be difficult for
the penitent to obtain employment.”[53]
One
aspect of the Inquisition which had a profound effect on everyone was the laws
of seizure of property of heretics. Even
if the accusations weren’t brought against an individual until after his death,
his property would still be seized from his heirs. If a person sold something to another person
and was later found to be a heretic, the merchandise would then be seized even
though its present owner was not a heretic.
This caused people to be very wary of whom they did business with. There was also the possibility of being
accused as a collaborator with heretics which added further uncertainty in
business dealings. This would make it
extremely difficult for those who opposed
“In addition to the misery inflicted by these
wholesale confiscations on the thousands of innocent and helpless women and
children thus stripped of everything, it would be almost impossible to
exaggerate the evil which they entailed upon all classes in the business of
daily life. All safeguards were
withdrawn from every transaction. No
creditor or purchaser could be sure of the orthodoxy of him with whom he was
dealing; and, even more than the principle that ownership was forfeited as soon
as heresy had been committed by the living, the practice of proceeding against
the memory of the dead after an interval virtually unlimited, rendered it
impossible for any man to feel secure in the possession of property, whether it
had descended in his family for generations, or had been acquired within an
ordinary lifetime.[54]
You
can see from this just how difficult it must have been to live as a Christian
during this time. People were very wary
of anyone who acted in the least bit suspicious. Even if someone were trying to lead a
Christian life in secret, it would be very hard to go undetected. Even if you weren’t turned over to the
inquisitors by your neighbors, they probably wouldn’t conduct any business with
you if they had any reason to suspect that you held views contrary to the
official Church doctrine as
issued from
“Save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his
name.” We have already said that the
mark of the beast is nothing more than living as a Catholic, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. Or in other words, accepting and following
the dictates of
“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the beast.” This is the Lord’s way of trying to get our
attention. He is about to reveal
something to us that we should not miss.
This is an important key to identifying the beast. The number of the beast, we are told, is the
number of a man. So we are looking for a
man whose name adds up to six-hundred-threescore and six. A score is twenty, which means the number is six-hundred-sixty-six
(666), expressed in more common terms.
We need to pay special attention to the statement “him that hath
understanding.” Now this does not
mean that you must have a degree from Harvard to figure this out, but it does
mean that we need to think about it before we just start trying to fit this
number to every prominent person we can think of. One does not have to look far to find any
number of wild speculations as to the identity of this man. People will put forward ideas that really
have no basis in reality whatsoever. We
must realize that whoever this man is, he must fit one way or another with the
rest of the book of Revelation.
For nearly two-thousand years now, man has argued and debated about the
infamous “man of 666.” I suppose the
most common view today is that this man is the so-called “antichrist.” But this simply is not possible. The truth is that there is no such person as THE
antichrist. Despite all the hype in the
world today, there is not one single shred of biblical evidence to support the
notion of a man called the antichrist.
The word antichrist(s) is only used four times in the Bible; all by the Apostle John. The word
antichrist simply denotes a person who is against Christ. Notice the
following passages: “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have
heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby
we know that it is the last time” (I John
“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is
antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son” (I John
“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the
flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have
heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (I John 4:3). Again, John applies the terms to all those who
deny Christ. And he once again says it
was already present in his day. There is
no way to make this verse harmonize with the modern idea of AN antichrist.
“For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ