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Have you ever heard the
expression, “History repeats itself?” This
saying applies in almost everything including
matters of politics and religion. We live in a
time and age where we are used to these two
entities being separate and distant. However, in
ancient times, politics and religion often
became closely intertwined. This was
demonstrated in Egypt, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and
Pagan Rome, among other nations.
In Egypt, politics and
religion became one when King Akhenaten declared
that there are no other gods except for Aten,
the sun disc. Babylon combined its civil power
with religious authority when King
Nebuchadnezzar ordered everyone to bow to the
image of gold which he had made. King Darius, of
the Medes and Persians, one time made a law
requiring that everyone should pray to
him for 30 days. In the Pagan Roman Empire, the
emperor Caesar was regarded as a god. These are
examples of how world governments, at the time,
intertwined religion with their rule.
History repeats itself,
so we can expect that a world power or
government whose influence extends over the
world, will eventually intertwine religion along
side its civil power. This statement is not made
on a mere assumption, or on the philosophical
idea that history repeats itself. This statement
is declared with the back up of Bible prophecy
which predicts that religion will be forced with
world wide civil authority. Which religion?
Which civil authority? Revelation 13 gives us
the answers.
In Revelation 13, there
are two main beasts that are discussed. Some
people think the beast is Islam, others think it
is the Masonries, etc, but Revelation 13 gives
specific identifying criteria so that there can
be no mistake in identifying each beast.
Identifying the First
Beast
According to Bible
prophecy, a beast represents a nation or kingdom
(Daniel 7:23). The first beast has 9 identifying
criteria. You are encouraged to read chapter 13
in the book of Revelation before going on. The 9
identifying points for establishing who the
first beast/nation of Revelation 13 are:
Point 1 - Rises up out of
the sea (Rev. 13: 1)
Point 2 - Receives its
power, seat, and authority from the dragon (Rev.
13: 2)
Point 3 - Becomes a
worldwide power (Rev. 13: 3, 7)
Point 4 - Is guilty of
blasphemy (Rev. 13: 1, 5, 6)
Point 5 - Possesses both
religious power and civil power (Rev. 13: 4, 8)
Point 6 - Rules for 42
prophetic months (Rev. 13: 5)
Point 7 - Receives a
deadly wound that heals (Rev. 13: 3)
Point 8 - Persecutes
God's saints (Rev. 13: 7)
Point 9 - Is led by one
supreme man who has the mysterious number 666
(Rev. 13: 18)
From the start, it will
be stated that the first beast represents the
Papacy, and we will go through each point
establishing how it identifies the papacy.
Point 1
The
first beast rises up out of the sea (Rev. 13:
1). What does water represent in prophecy?
Revelation 17:15 tells us that water represents
people, and multitudes, and nations, and
tongues. Basically, in prophecy, water
represents great multitudes of people, or a
heavily populated area. Prophecy predicted that
the first beast would arise from amid the
established nations of the then-known world. The
papacy arose in Western Europe at a time when it
was one of the most densely populated areas of
the world, so it fits Point 1.
Point 2
The
first beast receives its power, seat, and
authority from the dragon (Rev. 13: 2). What
does the dragon represent in prophecy? The
answer is found in Revelation 12:9, “And
the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent,
called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the
whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and
his angels were cast out with him.”
Revelation chapter 12 also goes on to describe
that this dragon tried to destroy Jesus at the
time of His birth. It was Satan who inspired
Herod, a king for the pagan Roman Empire, to
slay all the male babies in Bethlehem around the
time when Jesus was born (Matthew 2:13, 16).
Note that pagan Rome gave its power, seat, and
official authority to the Church of Rome.
“The Roman church ...
pushed itself into the place of the Roman
World-Empire, of which it is the actual
continuation. ... The Pope, who calls himself
'King' and 'Pontifex Maximus,' is Caesar's
successor.”1 So Point 2 fits the
papacy, as well.
Point 3
The entire world
“wonders” after the first beast; it is a world
wide power (Rev. 13: 3, 7).
A simple look at history
during the Middle Ages establishes the fact that
the papacy, the Catholic Church, was indeed a
worldwide power. Kings were always crowned by
the pope. The word "catholic" means "universal."
We can see that Point 3 also fits the papacy.
Point 4
The first beast is guilty
of blasphemy (Rev. 13: 1, 5, 6). According to
the Bible, blasphemy is when someone claims to
be able to forgive sins (Luke 5:21) and claims
to be God (John 10:33). The papacy claims that
its priests have the true power of forgiving
sins: “The Priest does really and truly forgive
the sins in virtue of the power given to him by
Christ.”2 Forgiving sins is something
only God can do, and the priests say that they
can do this, and the papacy goes one step
further and claims that the pope is equal with
God. Pope Leo XIII said, "We [the popes] hold
upon this earth the place of God Almighty."3
Another blasphemous statement about the pope is:
"Thou art another God on earth."4
Point 4 specifically applies to the papacy.
Point 5
Pope Piux IX inspecting the Papal Army 1868
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The first beast possesses
both religious and civil authority (Rev. 13:4,
8). This beast has a unique feature in that it
is worshipped and no one is able to make war
with it. Worshipping depicts religious
authority, and the fact that no one was able to
make war with it reflects military power, which
is associated with civil authority. The Catholic
Church is obviously religious, and it has an
army, known as the Papal Army. A simple look at
history will establish this last point. Point 5
directly points to the papacy.
Point 6
The first beast would
have power to persecute the saints of God for 42
prophetic months (Rev. 13:5). In Bible prophecy,
a day represents a year (Ezekiel
4:6; Numbers 14:34). A month according to Jewish
reckoning was 30 days, so 42 months have 1,260
prophetic days, which amount to 1,260 literal
years. This time period is repeatedly given in
Bible prophecy, which is a classical example of
how Bible prophecy repeats and expands.
Therefore, the first beast was to rule, and
persecute God’s saints, for 1,260 years. The
rule of the papacy began in A.D. 538, when the
last of the three opposing Arian kingdoms was
uprooted
(See
Daniel 7 article).
The papacy then received a
“deadly wound,” which is related to Point 7, in
1798 when the pope was captured by Napoleon's
general, Alexander Berthier. You will notice
that the time period between A.D. 538 and 1798
is precisely 1,260 years, so point 6 perfectly
fits the papacy.
Point 7
The first beast
receives a deadly wound which would eventually
heal (Rev. 13:3). As mentioned in point 6, in
1798 the papacy received its deadly wound when
Napoleon took away the civil authority of the
papacy. You see, during the 1,260 years of papal
rule, the church enjoyed both civil and
religious authority. However, in 1798, the civil
authority of the papacy was taken away, while
its religious authority was kept:
“In
1798
General Berthier made his entrance into Rome,
abolished the papal government,
and established a secular one.”5 We
are told that this deadly wound will heal, that
is, the papacy will one day regain its civil
authority. This partly happened in 1929 with the
signing of the Lateran Treaty, stating that the
Vatican is the official state of the Catholic
Church. The Vatican is a nation within a nation.
The persecuting power of the papacy will soon be
accompanied with the full healing of the wound,
as will be elaborated upon in greater detail
later on. Point 7 applies to the papacy as
well.
Point 8
The
first beast would persecute the saints of God
(Rev. 13:7). It is common knowledge that the
papacy did persecute and destroy conscientious
Christians, especially during the Middle Ages,
the peak period of its rule. Many historians say
that more than 50 million people were killed for
their faith during this period of great
tribulation. All those who did not conform to
papal rules of religious observance, who were
found preaching about salvation through faith,
and who had a Bible, were labeled as heretics
and worthy of death. The papacy fits Point 8.
Point 9
The first beast is led by
one man who had the mysterious number 666 (Rev.
13:18). In Revelation 13:18, God says to count
the number of the beast's name and that it is
the number of a man. When we think of the
papacy, the man we naturally think of is the
pope. What is his name? One of the pope's
official titles is "Vicarius Filii Dei” and this
title is repeatedly used. In fact, “The
letters inscribed in the pope’s miter are these:
Vicarius Filii Dei, which is the Latin
for ‘Vicar of the Son of God.”6
The book of Revelation is
telling us that if we count the number of his
name, it will amount to 666.
Latin letters have
numerical value, so if we plug in the numerical values of the letters in
“VICARIUS FILII DEI”, and add them we
get:
»
There should be no doubt
remaining. We have shown that all 9 identifying
points given in Revelation 13:1-8, 15-18 fit the
papacy. And this power has a specific mark that
we dare not receive.
Identifying the Second
Beast
Revelation 13 speaks of
two beasts. Above, we clearly show how all 9
points that identify the first beast apply to
the papacy. Revelation 13:11 tells us, “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.”
There are several points
in this Bible verse that help us identify who
the second beast of Revelation 13 is, and these
points are:
Point 1: Comes into
existence around the time that the first beast
receives its wound.
Point 2: Comes up out of
the earth.
Point 3: Has two
lamb-like horns.
Point 4: Speaks like a
dragon.
Considering these points
it can be concluded that the second beast
represents the United States of America, and the
explanation for this conclusion is found below.
Point 1
The
second beast comes into existence around the
time that the first beast receives its wound.
The papal
captivity mentioned in Rev. 13:10 took place in
1798, and the new power (verse 11) was seen
emerging at that time. The United States
declared its independence in 1776, voted the
Constitution in 1787, adopted the Bill of Rights
in 1791, and was clearly recognized as a world
power by 1798. The timing obviously fits
America. No other power could possibly qualify
for this point.
Point 2
The second beast comes
out of the earth. Knowing that water in Bible
prophecy represents a densely populated area,
earth as opposed to water means a scarcely
populated area. This new nation would arise in
an area of the world that had been virtually
unpopulated before the late 1700s. It could not
arise among the crowded and struggling nations
of the Old World. It had to come up in a
sparsely populated continent. Indeed, the United
States of American arose in a “new land.”
Point 3
The second beast has two
lamb-like horns. Horns represent kings and
kingdoms, or governments (Daniel 7:24; 8:21),
but more specifically, horns represent power
(Habakkuk 3:4).
Therefore, this nation has two separate powers
and the two
governing principles upon which the USA was
founded upon are: civil and religious liberty.
Absence of crowns on the horns signifies a
republican form of government, rather than a
monarchy. The
USA is indeed a Republic (a kingdom without
king) and Protestant (church without pope), with
both powers completely separated. Also, her
lamb-like qualities made the USA a refuge for
the persecuted and oppressed of many nations.Other
nations since ancient times had taxed people to
support a state religion. Most had also
oppressed religious non-conformists. But America
established something entirely new: Freedom to
worship as you wish without government
interference or control--and with government
protection.
The USA
was a refuge for the persecuted and oppressed of
many nations.
Lamb-like horns denote an
innocent, young, non-oppressive, peace-loving,
and spiritual nation. Jesus is referred to as a
lamb 28 times in Revelation, so this new
government was trying to uphold His principles. No other power on earth
besides the USA could possibly fit the
characteristics and time slot of the lamb-horned
beast.
Point 4
The second beast will
speak like a dragon.
The
'lamb-like horns' and 'dragon's voice' point a
striking contrast between the peaceful
professions and the practices of this nation. As
we have already seen, the dragon is Satan, who
works through
various governments of the earth to establish
his evil kingdom and crush God's church by
persecuting and destroying His people. Satan's
aim has always been to usurp God's power and
throne and to force people to worship and obey
him. So "speaking as a dragon" means that the
United States (under the influence of Satan)
will, in the end time, force people to worship
contrary to conscience or be punished. This
point is more of a prophetic identifying point.
It ties in with how the second beast will
promote the characteristics and wishes of the
first beast. It shows that the American
government will start to promote decisions that
contradict the principles upon which it was
originally formed.
The First and Second
Beasts Unite
Revelation 13:12 says, “And
he (the second beast)
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.” After establishing that the
first beast is the papacy, and the second beast
is the USA, this verse is literally telling us
that the USA will force the world to worship or
abide by the worshipping principles of the
papacy! -- perfect manifestation of speaking
like a dragon. Prophecy predicts that the
government of America will go against the
Declaration of Independence and the rights
defended by the Constitution concerning
religious freedom, and be biased towards the
Catholic faith to promote religious intolerance
of other beliefs, and persecute those who refuse
such religious intolerance.
Revelation 13: 14-17
go on to give us specific details about how the
USA will force people to uphold Catholic
doctrine, and emphasizes the mark of the beast.
This is more elaborated upon in the following
links:
Conclusion
As we have seen
throughout history, powerful nations which
achieved almost world wide power like Egypt,
Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Pagan Rome,
have promoted the unification of religion and
government. History has repeated itself, and
Bible prophecy has predicted that history will
continue to repeat itself, especially right
before Jesus comes again. Revelation 13
identifies the papacy and the United States of
America, and warns us that these two will unite
to form a world wide religion. Already the USA
is achieving world wide influence, all that
remains is for the “deadly wound” of the papacy
to be fully healed. You have been warned, now do
something about it by getting spiritually ready
for what will soon take place.
References
1
Adolph
Harnack, What Is Christianity? (New York:
Putnam, second edition, revised, 1901), p. 270.
2
Joseph
Deharbe, S.J., A Complete Catechism of the
Catholic Religion (New York: Schwartz,
Kirwin & Fauss, 1924), p. 279.
3
Christopher
Marcellus, Oration in the Fifth Lateran
Council, Session IV (1512), manuscript SC,
Vol. 32, col. 761 (Latin).
4
Pope Leo
XIII, Encyclical Letter "The Reunion of
Christendom," dated June 20, 1894, trans. in
The Great Encyclical letters of Pope Leo XIII
(New York: Benziger, 1903), p. 304.
5
Encyclopaedia Britannica,
1941 edition.
6
Our Sunday Visitor,
of April 18, 1915.
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