Revelation 13

Introduction
'The Revelation of Jesus Christ...' Don't you just love that beginning to this book which for so long has been called a sealed book by so many people. There's nothing sealed about it, for the very first line refutes that argument, when it states that this book of prophecy is the revelation of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Good news, reader, it's an open book! However, it's not just any open book in the Bible, but the book which unveils the character of Jesus Christ, which is but the glory of the Father.

Why am I going there? I'm going there because God's Word states that His lovingkindness is that which will draw us to Him (Jeremiah 31:13), and the Bible also tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). In other words, the one word which sums up all of the character traits of God, is LOVE. Isn't that beautiful? So when Revelation chapter one says that this book is 'The Revelation of Jesus Christ...', and that when you have seen Jesus you have seen the Father, Whose character is LOVE, what exactly is the book of Revelation, a revelation of? With this understanding being applied to verse one, it would correctly read:

'The Revelation of the Father's love....'

It is because God loves us that He at times uses strong language to wake us up out of our death like stupor to the reality that He is coming soon, but we are not ready! Reader, He wants everyone of us to make it to Heaven; He wants none of us to be deceived by the powers that be, which are consolidating and combining their forces for the great and final conflict that will involve you and I. It is love for you, why He has wrapped up this solemn message in types and symbols, so that you will dig deep to find the Truth, and so will love and appreciate it as gold; for only the service of love is of value in Heaven.

Therefore today, God wants you and I to know that what we are about to study in the thirteenth chapter of the Revelation, was not written to scare us, or to create harsh preachers out of us. It was written, so that we shall not perish, but receive everlasting life at last!

God Bless you as we study this very present truth chapter....

Verse One

The very first thing that we see introduced is a beast. We know it is symbolic, because firstly, at the beginning of this book, we are told that the revelation was 'sent and signified..', which means to put in symbols. When God uses the term 'beast' in Bible prophecy, it is used to represent a king/kingdom:

'These great beasts, which are four, [are] four kings, [which] shall arise out of the earth.' {Daniel 7:17}

'Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom...' {Daniel 7:23}

This stately power is seen rising up out of the sea. In Revelation 17, the sea represents a multitude of people of different languages:

'And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.' {Revelation 17:15}

God is describing a kingdom when it began to rise into power. We're looking at the beginnings of this government, and we are told that it arose out of an area which contained a multitude of people of varied nations. Let's go on little further.

This beast has seven heads. What are the seven heads?

'And here [is] the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, [and] the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.' {Revelation 17:9, 10}

'And there are...' does not exist in the original text, as we read in 'Daniel and the Revelation, by Uriah Smith'. So the seven heads that are on the beast, are the same seven heads found in chapter seventeen. The seven ruling powers in Bible prophecy, are:

Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Pagan Rome, Papal Rome, U.S.A, and the N.W.O (These kingdoms are introduced in a summary fashion, in Daniel chapter two; and elaborated on in greater detail in the rest of the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation 13 and 17.

It also has ten horns, which in the Bible represents kings too. Once again, Revelation 17 has much to say on who they are and how they impact the world just before the second coming of Christ. However, I only want to identify them in this post:

'And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.' {Revelation 17:12}

These ten kings do not have ten kingdoms, but a kingdom (singular), but it will be a co-reign with the beast of Revelation 13. What we see described in Revelation 17:12, is the kings of the earth (which so happens to rule the ten areas of the world, that the United Nations have divided) forming an alliance with this beastly power in a one world kingdom.

It's here where I would like to share with you who this beast is, so that I can explain its relation to the seven heads and ten horns.

Let's re-cap the characteristics of this kingdom. We are looking for a power that:

1. Began by arising out of a populated area that contained different nations.

2. It carries the seven great powers of Bible prophecy, including the one which is yet to come, the United Nations.

I will submit to you that Papal Rome, as better known as the Papacy, is the beast of Revelation 13. It was situated in Italy, on the continent of Europe, which contains a multitude of people of different nations. It began rising into power from 508-538, as it plucked up the three barbaric tribes of Europe: the Vandals, Heruli, and the Ostrogoths.

The spirit of Papal Rome is Paganism, but in a Christian garb (as we read the blood-soaked history of how Paganism 'converted' to Christianity). It's pagan system of the worship of idols and spiritualistic practices, ran as a common thread through the kingdoms of Babylon, Greece, Medo-Persia, Pagan Rome and Papal Rome. We know that even though the U.S.A, is infamously known to be a Protestant nation, founded upon protestant principles, with it's ammendment to the constitution of the separation of church and state, so as to never have a repeat of the Roman reign, we see those Christian principles rapidly crumbling since 1984, when it appointed an ambassador to the Vatican. The line in the sand when the U.S.A joined hand in hand with the Papacy, was in 1989, when President Ronald Reagan surrendered America's military and econimic support to Rome, in order to pluck up the atheistic Russia, the Soviet Union. Since then, we see the U.S.A, and Rome walking side by side, in agreement; no longer protesting Rome (Protestant).

Bible prophecy also teaches us that the spirit of Paganism, which is found in the Papacy, will not just stop with the U.S.A, but also the seventh head, which is elaborated upon, and identified in much clearer tones in Revelation 17, as the ten kings (ten horns). These shall give their power to the Papacy, for the sake of bringing peace back into the world, due to the threat of terrorism, and the manifold, back to back natural disasters that are coming upon the earth (Conversion to Catholicism).

Note, the Bible could have just said that the beast had seven heads, but God repeated the seventh head, by calling it 'ten horns', because this one will take place in our day, and God in His great love wherewith He loves us, wants us to recognise it clearly, as we see its movements on the news.

What about the 'name of blasphemy'? How does the Bible define this word?

'The Jews answered Him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that Thou, being a man, makest thyself God.' {John 10:33}

'Why doth this [man] thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?' {Mark 2:7}

It is when a human being claims to be God, and when they claim that they have the power to forgive sins, as God does. Now we need to ask ourselves, does the Vatican claim the power to forgive sins and does the Pope claim to be God? Let the following articles answer for us:

'As the Vatican's highest court, the tribunal deals with confessions considered so grave only the Pope himself has the authority to absolve them.' [Canada.com, National Post]

The priest does really and truly forgive the sins in virtue of the power given him by Jesus Christ." [Joseph DeHarbe, Catechism of the Catholic Religion, New York; W. H. Sadler, Inc. 1924, p. 279.]

"Thou art another God on earth."[Christopher Marcellus, Oration in the Fifth Lateran Council, Session IV (1512) in Mans, S. C., Vol 32, Col 761 (Latin).]

"The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ, Himself, hidden under the veil of flesh." [Catholic National, July, 1895.]

Need I say more?

Now, let's remember that God is speaking of a system and not of the millions of innocent people who follow this religious system. God is warning us of a power that will ultimately pass a law that will trample on the rights and consciences of Christians, and will seek to destroy those who choose to remain loyal to the Bible and the Bible alone [as will be seen in the verses following]. Yes, the papacy is a power not to be followed at all, for its aims and purposes are deceptive, and will rob you of your right to eternal life.

Verse Two

This beast is a composite beast, in that it contains the characteristics of the kingdoms found in the book of Daniel:

It has the body of a leopard. We find in Daniel 7:6, that the leopard is the third kingdom of Bible prophecy, which was Greece. We know that it only took a short amountof time for the Grecian king to gain control of the world. The same is seen in the history of Papal Rome when it plucked up the three barbaric tribes in earnest, from the year 508 through to 538.

It has the feet of a bear. We find in Daniel 7:5, that the bear is the second kingdom, which was Medo-Persia. This power was known for it's cruelty in persecution, I mean just look at how the Bible describes 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.' {Daniel 7:5}

Why feet? It is because it is to denote Rome's persecuting policies:

'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..' {Daniel 7:7}

It has the mouth of a lion. The lion is the first kingdom, Babylon. This power was known to claim worship as God, as we see in such stories as the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar set up. We have just seen from the Catholic sources, that Rome claims the position of God, and boasts great things about herself, just as Babylon the great did:

'...And a mouth that spake very great things, whose look [was] more stout than his fellows.' {Daniel 7:20}

'And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies...' {Revelation 13:5}

Papal Rome receives its position from the dragon. So, who is the dragon?

In Revelation 12, the dragon is primarily Satan, and secondarily Pagan Rome. Now, Revelation 13, is but a continuation of Revelation 12, because the latter is speaking about the history of Pagan Rome, and chapter 13, continues on the history with the next head in the Bible, which is Papal Rome. Therefore, because it's a continuation of thought, the dragon in this chapter, is either Satan alone, or Pagan Rome. I will submit to you that it is both. This is because Pagan Rome is the power noted down in history, for giving the Papacy its Power, its Seat, and its Authority. Which also means that the devil was using Pagan Rome to do so, because Paganism is the religion of the devil.

Power (Strong's Concordance: might; strength; ability; miraculous power. My note:it’s miraculous because it was given by Satan).

From 496-508, the seven nations of Pagan Rome surrendered their military support to Rome, beginning with Clovis, who was the king of France, and ending with the king of England, King Arthur. It's interesting to note that as they were offering their support to the Papacy, in order to pull down the three Arian powers, that they also surrendered their national legal religion, which was Paganism, and converted to Catholicism.

Seat (Strong's: Stately throne)

In the year 330, Constantine moved the seat of his empire from the City of Rome to Constantinople. In doing this, it brought on the end of Pagan Rome's reign, and opened up the way for the barbaric tribes to enter and tear down the Roman Empire. This chaotic state of affairs, left the kingdom in ruins, to the point that in the year of 533, in order to save his kingdom from further demolition, Emperor Justinian, wrote a decree for the bishop of Rome, to be the head of all the churches and the corrector of heretics. So what I am saying is that Constantine, in moving the capital of his empire to Constantinople, created the environment which ended up seating the Papacy on its throne in the year 538.

Authority (Strong's: Delegated influence, meaning an influence that was handed down to the Papacy, by Pagan Rome)

This history of the giving of the authority, I mentioned in the above paragraph, when in 533 Emperor Justinian, wrote the decree for Papal Rome to wield its power.

It received a deadly wound when in 1798, General Berthier during the French Revolution, took the Pope prisoner, which marked the end of the Papacy's civil soverignty over the earth. However, the Bible states that there'll come a point in time when this 'deadly wound' is healed. For a wound to be healed, it means that it returns to its former condition. So when the Papacy is reinstated, we can expect that she will rule this earth as she did in the past, where she had the power to persecute any and every onw who would not surrender to her power. This has not happened as yet, but the news surely reveal that this wound is healing and about to be cured completely.

Another reason why we know it is not healed, is because the history of Pagan Rome, combined with Papal Rome gives us the events that will transpire in the time of Modern Rome. This Biblical principle, is called the Triple Application of Prophecy. We see this principle often in God' Word in such stories as the Three Elijah's (Elijah, John the Baptist and the SDA Church), the Three Woes, etcetera.

Even Daniel 11:16, tells us that Rome establishes the vision of Daniel 11. So if we want to understand how Modern Rome, in Daniel 11 is going to work in these last days, then all we have to do is study the history of Pagan and Papal Rome.

When Pagan Rome was rising into power, it had three geographical obstacles, and it wasn't until it conquered its third obstacle that it began to rule the world supremely. The same with Papal Rome, and so when Rome rises to the throne of the earth for the final time.

Rome's three obstacles are found in Daniel 11:40-45:

1. The stronghold of atheism

2. The separation of Church and State in the U.S.A

3. The world

The deadly wound will not be healed any time prior to when Rome has the whole world under her sway. When this happens, all the world will wonder after this power. In fact, the Hebrew for the word 'healed' is translated as 'worship', 'adore'. God is trying to tell us that when the Papacy returns to the throne of this earth, she is going to gain the worship and adoration of the whole world. We see it already happening, but it's going to happen on an even greater scale than what we now witness.

Revelation 17:8, repeats this fact that when the beast is resurrected, it will be worshipped. This is the main issue with Rome, friends, it seeks your worship. Now, who does this sound like?

'How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.' {Isaiah 14:12-15}

Verse four

It is clear to see why we read here that the Papal system has not one shred of Christianity in it, because all who worship her, are actually worshipping the dragon: PAGANISM, SATAN. Revelation 17 is in agreement with this when it says that this power ascends out of the bottomless pit.

Verse 5

Out of Rome's mouth, we have read the great blasphemies that it speaks of herself. The claim for worship is clearly documented during the history of the 'forty and two months'.

In Bible prophecy, it is understood that a day equals a year (see Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6). So forty and two months would add up to 1,260 days/years. Sure enough from the year 538-1798: 1260 years, Rome ruled this earth, and it was a bloody reign. The records of Rome is stained with the blood of Christian martyrs who chose to follow the Word of God above the dictates of the Roman Pontiff (see Revelation 13:7; 17:6; Daniel 7:25).

Verse 8

The Roman system is so dangerous that all who worship it will have their names blotted out of the Book of Life, which contains all the names of those who have ever given their lives to Jesus.

Now, you may be wondering, "What has this got to do with me? I don't even worship the Papal religion. I'm a Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist.." etcetera.

Well, let's look briefly at the next set of verses, and we will see that chapter 13 involves everyone of us regardless of our denomination or current religious persuasion.

In verse 10, the power which led many into captivity during the 1,260 years of its reign, ends up ging into captivity in 1798, and its civil power uprooted. Then in verse 11, another power at that time, 1798, is seen arising not out of the sea (multitudes of people speaking different languages), but this time out of the earth (the complete opposite, out of an uncultivated, uninhabited area). This superpower which arose in 1798, and expanded rapidly as it occupied began to occupy what we now to be the fifty states of America, is the U.S.A.

The two lamblike horns, are the two ruling powers in this nation which had the identity of a lamb (Christ): Republianism and Protestantism. These Christian principles, alongside its unprecedented geographical expansion and the Industrial Revolution, during the 19th century, gave promise to thousands who flocked there from all over the world.

This 'land flowing with milk and honey', which promised freedom and equality, will soon speak like a dragon (Rome), and will apply its power to force the whole world to worship the first beast, by restricting buying and selling to those who are willing to receive the MARK OF THE BEAST.

THE MARK OF THE BEAST??

Don't be duped into what the media tells you is the mark of the beast. Let the Word of God be our interpreter, and we will not go wrong.

Another word for 'MARK', is 'SEAL', 'SIGN'.

'Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I [am] the LORD that sanctify them.' {Ezekiel 20:12}

The seventh day Sabbath which was given to man in Genesis, and then written on tables of stone, known as the Ten Commandments, is the mark, sign, seal of God. It was given to us as a reminder that God's power is what can make us and keep us in His image. God knew that we would forget, so that is why He placed at the beginning of the Fourth Commandment to 'REMEMBER'. However, it's more than jut observing the seventh day, Saturday:

'For the LORD hath chosen Zion; He hath desired [it] for His habitation. This [is] My rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.' {Psalms 132:13, 14}

The Sabbath Rest is about God dwelling in Zion. What is Zion?

'Great [is] the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, [in] the mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, [is] mount Zion, [on] the sides of the north, the city of the great King.' {Psalm 48:1, 2}

Zion is the place which is also called, the 'mountain', and the 'sides of the north'.

'..Zion, Thou [art] My people.' {Isaiah 51:16}

Okay, so the Sabbath Rest is the Day that God has given to us to remind us of God's desire to dwell in the hearts and minds of His people, in order to sanctify us. When we keep that Day holy, we are acknowledging that He is our Creator and Redeemer, and our Lord.

Now that we have esatblished what the mark, sign, seal of God is, let's see what the mark of the beast is. Please bear in mind that to everything that God has, Satan has a counterfeit. Also remember that Satan desires the worship of mankind. He hates the Day that God has set apart as a sign of God's right to our worship. The whole issue is one of worship. He wants to st on God's throne:

'How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.' {Isaiah 14:12-15}

The devil seeks to sit in the vey place where our Creator desires to be seated: In our hearts. In other words, Satan desires his sabbath too! What other day is treated as a sabbath by many in Christendom? SUNDAY.

The very one (Satan) who seeks worship, claims a day too! (Isaiah 14:12-15)

The very one (Papacy) who seeks worship, claims a day too! (Revelation 13)

Sunday (the day of the worship of the sun-god) is the day that Rome holds as sacred, and it will be the day that the U.S.A will force everyone on this planet to follow, when it exercises the power of Rome.

Sunday sacredness is the mark of the beast.

We have reached a point in earth's history, where laws are being put in place, since 9/11, in the name of safety, restricting our rights, invading our privacies, all in the name of safety. I would have you to know that the attacks of Islam upon this earth is but a trojan horse to usher in the new world order, in the name of safety. However, friend, there is no safety in transgressing the law of God. In the times of ignorance, God winks, and has mercy upon the millions who are innocently under the Roman system, for many do not know any better. That is why in strains of love, God warns us that those who receive the mark of the beast will end up losing their soul's salvation. And those of us who outwardly observe the seventh day Sabbath, let's not deceive ourselves into thinking that because our names are upon the church books, that automatically means that they will remain in the Lamb's book of Life. Know we not, that to keep the Sabbath as God intended us to, means to keep Commandments one through ten, seven days a week.

Do not be duped by the changes in the governement in the name of safety, for:

'For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as [do] others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.' {1 Thessalonians 5:3-6}

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