Bible
Prophecy
Revelation's Most Urgent Health Warning!
STORY
The
local Indian tribe have called the place Ulm Pishkun.
It is near Great Falls, Montana, USA and the name means buffalo jump. This is
where the American Indians used to surprise the buffalo and make them stampede
over the cliff. Then they butchered the carcasses and used or sold the meat
and skins. Why were the buffalo so stupid? The answer is simple and the same
phenomenon occurs in humans -- they followed the crowd. If the Indians
had tried to get two or three buffalo to jump over the cliff they would never
have succeeded. The buffalo are too clever for that. But when you get a crowd,
when you get a herd, things are different. There is a false sense of security.
Satan is soon going to use the crowd effect (some call it "group
think") in a shocking way. He is binding his forces together. He is
forming a great confederacy. He is going to pull off a great deception -- and
the multitudes will congratulate themselves that they are serving God when
really they are doing the will of Satan. The Bible says: "all the world
wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto
the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the
beast?" (Re. 13:4,5). It is sad to think that Satan is going to stampede
a huge mass of humanity over a fatal "cliff" to eternal ruin. But it
will not be God's fault. He has a plan to warn everybody. You are being warned
now. Will you be part of the "Satanic stampede"? Or will you, by
God's grace, avoid the fatal deception by putting your trust in God's Word
rather than the "security" of the crowd and the miracles of Satan?
The Bible gives this timely counsel: "Thou shalt not follow a multitude
to do evil" (Ex. 23:2). This web page outlines Satan's plan to form a
great confederacy to war against Christ in the end time. By studying its
contents you will become better acquainted with Satan's end time plan to use
the crowd effect -- and so be better prepared to avoid it.28
See also 7.
Revelation 14:9-11 -- If any man worship the beast and his image...
Appendix Six:
Identifying Other Characters of Revelation Chapter 17 .
Bible prophecy in Revelation and Daniel often
describes strange beasts and other mysterious characters. Of these different
entities the ones mention in Revelation chapter 17 are amongst the most
challenging to identify and understand. The aim of this appendix is to examine
the various powers depicted in Revelation chapter 17 and notice how they
cooperate with "Babylon". This will enable us to better understand the
role that "Babylon" plays just before Christ's second coming.
Important Note: If this is the first page of
this web site that you have come to, before proceeding please go to the Home
Page: Bible Prophecy - Revelation's Most Urgent Health Warning!. This will
save you time and help avoid misunderstandings. Thankyou.
Also, If you have not already carefully read Revelation
14-8 -- Babylon is fallen please do so before proceeding with this web page.
Note: Please click
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Some parts of this appendix are somewhat complex
and you may need to go over it a few times. There may well be more light yet to
shine on these difficult passages of Revelation. We need to keep an open mind.
Certainly we can expect to have a clearer understanding of the end-time
prophecies of Revelation as the events begin to unfold (cf. Jn. 14: 29). We need
to stay close to Jesus and study our Bibles sincerely and prayerfully lest we be
led astray like the Jewish leaders were at the time of Christ's first coming.
These Jewish leaders had built up a false system of prophecy, based on erroneous
assumptions, which influenced them to reject the Saviour.
Please read through chapter 17 a couple of times
noting especially the different characters that are associated with the whore
named Babylon.
Revelation
17:1-3:
1 And there came one of the seven angels which
had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will
shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the
inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her
fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman
sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven
heads and ten horns.
Re. 17:1 says, "... I will shew unto thee
the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters".
The "many waters" are mentioned
immediately after "the great whore [harlot, prostitute]". We are
plainly told in verse 15 of this chapter that these waters represent
"peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" Comparing this
phrase with Re. 5:9; 10:11 and 14:6 confirms that it is talking about the
general population of the globe. That is, the waters symbolise the people of the
world.
The waters would then be equivalent to "the
inhabitants of the earth" (vs. 2). They are made drunk with the wine of
Babylon's fornication and are also referred to as "all nations" (Re.
14:8;18:3).
We now need to ask a question. What did the angel
actually show John? In Re. 17:3 it says, "So he carried me away in the
spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured
beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."
So John saw a woman (the harlot) sitting on a scarlet beast. But did he also see
the "many waters"? Yes, for we read in Re. 17:15, "The waters which
thou sawest, where the whore sitteth...". So apparently John saw a
woman sitting on a scarlet beast with the beast standing in water. From the
scenarios portrayed in Daniel 7:1-7 and Re. 13:1 we can see that this scarlet
beast may well have arisen out of the waters and then the woman sat on it.
We know from a previous study (see Babylon
is fallen) that the woman, who is called Babylon, represents an evil,
religious confederacy consisting of the dragon, beast and false prophet
(symbolising Satan, the Papacy and Protestant USA). We also know from this
previous study that the religious confederacy controls and cooperates with a
civil confederacy in warring against God and His people. We also learnt that the
civil confederacy is described variously as the kings of the earth (Re. 17:2;
16:14; 19:19), the cities of the nations (Re. 16:19) or the scarlet beast
with 7 heads and 10 horns (Re.17:3). Re. 17:1-3 actually presents the picture of
a religious confederacy joined to a civil confederacy twice, in different ways.
This is illustrated on the following table:
| Bible Reference |
Re. 17:1,2 |
Re. 17:3 |
| Religious confederacy |
Prostitute |
Woman |
| Civil confederacy |
Kings of the earth |
Scarlet beast |
| Symbol of union |
Fornication |
Woman seated on the beast |
So, putting all this together we have a civil confederacy
(kings of the earth or scarlet beast) forming from the peoples and nations of
the world (the many waters) and being controlled by a religious confederacy
called Babylon. It is Babylon that leads out in this formation using
miracle-working demons (Re. 16:13,14), seduction (resulting in fornication,
Re.17:2; 18:3), and intoxicating wine ( Re. 14:8;17:2; 18:3).
This is quite a lot of information about these
evil powers. But the chapter contains more details about both the religious
confederacy and the civil confederacy. In the next three verses
further information is given about the religious confederacy.
Revelation
17: 4-6:
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and
scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a
golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood
of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration
[amazement].
The details given here reveal that the Papacy is the
member of the unholy trinity playing the leading part in the end-time battle.
Unfortunately what is about to follow will offend some -- probably many --
people. It is not a pleasant duty to give the following information, but
somebody has to do it. Remember that it is God who gave us these details in the
Bible -- to warn us. If you are aware of a "better" interpretation of
these verses then please let me know. We must each be true to our conscience and
to what has been revealed to us in the Scriptures. Please remember too, that the
Bible is here pointing out an unhealthy system -- out of love and concern for
those who may be hurt by it. We do not wish to condemn the sincerity of any
individual involved with this system.
The following is a sample of evidence from reliable Roman
Catholic sources that you can easily verify.
1. Concerning "purple
and scarlet colour":
Regarding the Papal office of Auxiliary Bishop The
Catholic Encyclopedia says, "He enjoys the same honorific privileges
(with a few exceptions, viz. throne, cappa magna, mozzetta, and rochet worn
without mantelletta, and crosier), pontifical ornaments, and titles, as does the
diocesan. He can and must use the prelatial dress, as in the Roman Curia, to
wit: rochet over the purple soutane with purple mantelletta, in his
attendance in the cathedral..." (emphasis supplied).1
"The cells of the cardinals are covered with cloth, purple
if they are of the last pope's 'creation', green if not." (emphasis
supplied).2
Purple was also used in the coronation of monarchs by a
Papal church representative.3
Regarding the nomination of Roman Catholic
cardinals: "In the afternoon of the same day the newly-created cardinals
meet in the pope's apartments, in the antechamger of which the scarlet
zucchetta, or skull-cap, is handed to them; thereafter the scarlet biretta
is placed by the pope on the head of each....If the creation of a cardinal takes
place outside of Italy, the scarlet zucchetta is sent him by one of the
pope's Guardie Nobili (Noble Guards), and the scarlet biretta by a
special ablegate." (bold emphasis
supplied). 4
Regarding the rights of cardinals: "They
also wear the red (scarlet) biretta, that was granted to them, probably,
by Paul II (1464-71). They also have the right to wear scarlet, particularly
a scarlet mantle, which according to tradition was probably granted them by
Boniface VIII (1294-1303)." (emphasis supplied). 5
2. Concerning being "decked with
gold and precious stones and pearls":
"As to the various kinds of metalwork used in the
Church, the 'Liber pontificalis' mentions the following in addition to chalice
and paten as in use in the lifetime of Pope Sylvester:
- a silver bowl of ten pounds, which was intended for the
reception of the chrism at baptisms and confirmations,
- a silver baptismal vessel of twenty pounds,
- a golden lamb weighing thirty pounds, which was
set up in the baptistery beside the Lateran.
- seven silver stags that spouted water, each of which
weighed eighty pounds, and especially
- numerous vessels for wine, e.g., in the Vatican
basilica two specimens of the purest gold, each of a weight of fifty
pounds.
- Of importance to us also is the statement that beside
the golden lamb just mentioned there stood silver statues, five feet in
height, of the Redeemer and St. John, weighing 180 and 125 pounds
respectively.
- Furthermore mention must be made of the metal caskets,
crosses, reliquaries, and book-covers, which were likewise made either
entirely or in part of precious metal."
(emphasis supplied) 6
"Our Lady of Lincoln is frequently mentioned among
the sanctuaries which were regarded by the English with special veneration. In
the inventory of the treasures of the cathedral appropriated by Henry VIII,
there is mention of the image of Our Lady, sitting in a chair, silver and gilt,
having a crown on her head, silver and gilt, set with stones and
pearls, and her Child sitting on her knee with one crown upon His head, with
a diadem set with pearls and stones, having a ball with a cross, silver
and gilt, in His left hand" (emphasis
supplied)7
Regarding "St. Thomas a Becket", Archbishop of
Canterbury: "His sacred body, at first buried in the lower part of the
church, was shortly after taken up and laid in a sumptuous shrine in the east
end. Innumerable miracles were wrought at his tomb and pilgrims from all parts
of England and the continent flocked thither to implore his aid. So great were
the offerings made by them that the church abounded with more than princely
riches. The shrine was covered with plates of gold and enriched with
jewels, rubies, sapphires, diamonds, and great oriental pearls" (emphasis
supplied)8
Regarding the "golden rose" The Catholic
Encyclopedia says it is, "A precious and sacred ornament made of
pure gold by skilled artificers, which the popes have been accustomed
for centuries to bless each year, and occasionally confer upon illustrious
churches and sanctuaries as a token of special reverence and devotion, upon
Catholic kings or queens, princes or princesses, renowned generals or other
distinguished personages, upon governments or cities conspicuous for their
Catholic spirit and loyalty to the Holy See, as a mark of esteem and paternal
affection." (emphasis supplied) 9
3. Concerning "a golden cup":
The chalice is the cup used in the Papal mass and contains
alcoholic wine.
"But the tendency to use by preference the precious
metals developed early. St. Augustine speaks of two golden and six silver
chalices dug up at Cirta in Africa, (Contra Crescon., III, c. xxix), and St.
Chrysostom of a golden chalice set with gems (Hom. 1 in Matt.)." (emphasis
supplied)10
"The earliest specimen of a chalice of whose original
purpose we can feel reasonably confident is the chalice of Chelles, preserved
until the French Revolution and believed to have been wrought by, or at least to
date from the time of, the famous artificer St. Eligius of Noyon, who died in
659. The material was gold, richly decorated with enamels and precious stones.
In shape it was without handles and like a celery glass, with a very deep cup
and no stem, but the cup was joined to the base by a knop, which under the name
of nodus or pomellum became a very characteristic feature in the
chalices of the Middle Ages." (bold
emphasis supplied)11
"In a rude and barbarous age the practical
difficulties of Communion under species of wine must have been considerable, and
it is not wonderful that from the Carolingian period onwards the device was
frequently adopted of using a pipe or reed (known by a variety of names, fistula,
tuellus, canna, arundo, pipa, calamus, siphon, etc.) for the Communion of
both clergy and people. To this day at the solemn papal high Mass, the
chalice is brought from the altar to the pope at his throne, and the pontiff
absorbs its contents through a golden pipe." (bold
emphasis supplied)12
In this last quote the Catholic writer notes correctly the
dangers inherent with using alcoholic wine in the services of the church. In the
Bible fermentation is a symbol for sin13
and therefore it is a terrible practice to use fermented grape juice instead of
the correct non-fermented, pure grape juice in the celebration of Church
ordinances. In the Bible the word "wine" can mean either fermented or
non-fermented grape juice and the context makes clear which is being referred
to. When celebrating the sacred Jewish Passover, all yeast (causing
fermentation), the symbol of sin and corruption, was strictly forbidden.14
Thus it is obvious that Jesus used non-fermented grape juice when he was
celebrating the Passover with His disciples and, at the same time, instituting
"the Lord's supper" in which the wine (pure grape juice) was symbolic
of His sinless divine-human blood. Alcoholic wine, symbolic of sin and
corruption, awakening the cravings of the alcoholic and drunkard, is a fit
symbol for the abominable teachings of the Babylonian harlot contained in her
golden cup. It is more than a coincidence that in Daniel chapter 5 it was
alcoholic wine that was served by the Babylonian king in the vessels of the Lord
when they were praising their gods. What did God say to the priests about
alcoholic wine? " And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine
nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle
of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your
generations: And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between
unclean and clean" (Le. 10: 8-10, cf. Le. 10:1-3).
Regarding golden chalices given to "Roman
basilicas" by the emperor Constantine:
"To the Vatican basilica he presented seven large chalices
(scyphi) of the purest gold, each of which weighed ten (Roman)
pounds; furthermore forty smaller chalices of pure gold, each weighing
one pound.
"The church of St. Agnes received a chalice of
solid gold weighing ten pounds, five silver chalices of ten pounds each, and
two silver patens (metal plates for the Eucharistic bread) of thirty pounds
each.
"The patens are often mentioned in connection with
the chalices; thus the Lateran basilica received seven gold and sixteen silver
patens of thirty pounds each." (emphasis
supplied)15
4. Concerning the title "MOTHER OF HARLOTS":
The Catholic Encyclopedia says, "Thus
in the 'Catechetical Discourses' of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 347) he insists
on the one hand (sect. 26): 'And if ever thou art sojourning in any city,
inquire not simply where the Lord's house is--for the sects of the profane also
attempt to call their own dens, houses of the Lord--nor merely where the church
is, but where is the Catholic Church. For this is the peculiar name of the
holy body the mother of us all.' " (emphasis supplied)16
"The Christian Anglo-Saxons knew no other Liturgy
than that of the Mother Church of Rome." (emphasis
supplied) 17
" The constant divisions and ceaseless disintegration
which have been going on within Protestantism since it separated from the
Mother Church..." (emphasis
supplied)18
Who are the daughters of the harlot Mother? They can be
none other than the church bodies that have come out of this "Mother
Church" but have still ended up teaching and promoting the same deadly
errors.
5. Concerning being "drunken with the blood of the
saints": Please see Appendix
Four- Bible Prophecies of Daniel Chapter 7 fulfilled.
Revelation
17: 7-11:
7 ¶ And the angel said unto me, Wherefore
didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast
that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the
bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall
wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation
of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains,
on which the woman sitteth.
10 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.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the
seven, and goeth into perdition.
These verses give us more details about the
end-time civil confederacy. This confederacy is described in Re. 17:3 as a
scarlet beast full of names of blasphemy, having 7 heads and 10 horns.
Who is this beast of Revelation 17?
In the first few verses of Revelation chapter 17
John sees a harlot woman arrayed in purple and scarlet sitting on a scarlet
beast with 7 heads and 10 horns and apparently with the beast itself in water.
He sees the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and is amazed (Re. 17:6).
Then the angel says he will explain what John saw (Re. 17:7) and begins his
explanation in Re. 17:8. The angel focuses initially on the scarlet beast by
saying "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of
the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth
shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and
yet is."
The first thing the angel does to help us
understand the scarlet beast of Revelation 17 is to point us back to the
sea-beast of chapter 13. Note the similarities between Re. 17: 8 and the
description of the sea-beast in chapter 13:
|
Scarlet
Beast, Revelation 17: 8.
|
Sea-Beast,
Revelation 13.
|
|
" …and they that dwell on the
earth shall wonder,...
|
" …and all the world wondered
…"(vs. 3).
"And all that dwell upon the earth
shall worship him, …"(vs. 8).
|
|
"... whose names were not written in
the book of life from the foundation of the world,...
|
"… whose names are not written in
the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world." (vs. 8).
|
|
"... when they behold the beast that
was, and is not, and yet is."
|
"And I saw one of his heads as it
were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed… " (vs.
3).
"the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live."
(vs. 14).
|
Not only do we have the above parallels, but both
these powers persecute God's true people, both have names of blasphemy written
on them, and both have seven heads and 10 horns. Also, while the scarlet beast
of chapter 17 is sitting in water, the sea-beast of chapter 13 comes out of
water. So there is a strong connection between the scarlet beast of Revelation
17 and the sea-beast of Revelation 13.
What this connection is, will be revealed through
a study of the seven heads on the scarlet beast. Re.17: 10 says that the heads
represent seven kings and that five have fallen, one is ruling presently and one
is yet to come. We need to understand that these heads refer to nations or
kingdoms rather than to individuals. How do we know this? For the following
reasons:
1. Re. 17: 9 says that the seven heads are also seven
mountains. A mountain in prophecy is used to refer to the kingdom of Babylon
(Je. 51: 24-26) and the eternal kingdom of Christ (Dan. 2: 35), but not to any
individual.
2. We know that the heads on the sea-beast are representative of the
kingdoms of Daniel chapter 719
3. The heads on the dragon (of Revelation Chapter 12) are best understood
to represent the nations in the Bible which have been or are the chief
oppressors of God's people. We studied in Babylon
is fallen how the dragon is clearly described in Revelation
chapters 12 and 13 as using the powers of Rome and Protestant USA. This suggests
that these civil authorities are likely to be represented by two of its heads.20
4. In Re. 17: 11 the scarlet beast is described as being one of the 7 heads, and
being itself an eighth power. That is, the beast is another manifestation of one
of the 7 heads and is itself the last eighth power. Beasts, with one exception,
always refer in apocalyptic prophecy to nations that oppress the people of God,
rather than individual rulers (Dan. 7:23). The only exception is the dragon of
Revelation 12 which is clearly identified as Satan (Re. 12:9) but which,
nevertheless, is closely associated with major persecuting nations.21
So Re.17: 10 describes seven nations or kingdoms: five
that have fallen, one that is ruling now, and one that is yet to come
("five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come") Which
nations are here being described? The key things to remember in identifying them
are:
1. They will represent powers that oppress God’s people.
They belong to the antichristian scarlet beast which makes war with the Lamb
(Re. 17: 14).
2. A very important principle of Bible interpretation is
that prophets are given explanations in reference to their own time and culture.
If this were not so, then they would find the explanations incomprehensible.22
Thus when the angel says, "five are fallen, and one is, and the other is
not yet come" we know that the power that "is" must be Rome, as
that was the apocalyptic nation ruling at the time of John’s exile on Patmos.
Although John views the end-time confederacy when the eighth power is ruling
(verses 1-6),23 he is not in that time period when
the angel explains the vision to him. The angel describes, in verse 12, their
rule as being in the future. The 10 horns and the eighth beast have not received
their kingdom as yet (Re. 17: 12).
3. The heads are likely to represent nations that have
previously been depicted by the seven heads on the dragon of Revelation 12
and/or the seven heads of the sea-beast of chapter 13.
4. The seventh power only reigns "a short space
[time]" (vs. 10) before that power is replaced by the eighth -- which is
the beast itself (vs. 11).
Taking into account all of the above factors leads us to
the following conclusion:24
The five fallen powers (heads) are:
1. Egypt, represented in Ezekiel 29:3 as a
"dragon".
2. Assyria, represented in 1 Ki. 19:28 and Is. 37: 9 as a
wild beast (c.f. Job 41:1, 2).
3. Babylon (the lion of Dan. 7).
4. Medo-Persia (the bear of Dan. 7).
5. Greece (the leopard of Dan. 7).
The one that "is":
6. Rome, Imperial and Papal as represented by the monster
that had the horn with eyes and a mouth (Dan. 7.)
The one that is to come, and which is to reign for but a
short time is:
7. Protestant USA (the land-beast of Re. 13).
Now we come to this mysterious eighth power. Revelation
17:8 says, "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend
out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the
earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and
yet is." And Re. 17: 11 adds, "the beast that was, and is not, even he
is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition". So we have
this description of the scarlet beast ruling as the eighth power and yet
being one of the seven heads. Which one of the above seven heads does this
last, eighth beast-power represent? In other words, which one of the seven
nations has a second manifestation ("was, and is not, and yet is"25)
as the last eighth beast power? The only power in Daniel and Revelation that has
a resurrection from the dead, that is, a second manifestation, is the
sea-beast of chapter 13 (Re. 13: 3,14). As discussed previously, this sea-beast
represents the Papal phase of Rome. The sixth Roman head was wounded in 1798
when the Papacy received its seemingly deadly blow from the French Republican
army of Napoleon. The USA is the seventh power. Since America’s declaration of
independence in 1791 it has gradually increased in power and influence. The USA
is and will be involved in the promotion of the Papacy and will eventually be
absorbed into the dreadful eighth power that is centred in a revived Papacy.
When the Papal sea-beast rules again manifesting itself as
the eighth scarlet beast-power "they that dwell on the earth shall wonder
" (vs. 8). Thus, as we have mentioned previously, the scarlet beast of
Revelation 17 is closely connected with the sea-beast of chapter 13.
Notice here an interesting thing. The sea-beast (papal
power) is the key figure in the end-time confederacy described in Revelation 17.
Not only is it the most prominent member of the unholy trinity comprising
Babylon, but in its resurrected state, it appears as the scarlet beast upon
which Babylon sits. The sea-beast is a church-state union. Its religious side is
the most prominent part of Babylon and its political side is the scarlet beast.26
What actually is necessary for the revival of the Papacy (the beginning of the
rule of the eighth power)? The most logical answer is the re-establishment of
her status as an oppressive church-state entity. This would mean that various
nations would need to begin to formally support and enforce her instructions.
Some readers may be asking at this time, Why are not the powers of communism and
Islam depicted in these symbols of Revelation? What is the role that atheism and
Islam will play in the end-time scenario and how will the various non-Christian
religions be brought to support the Papacy? We would refer these readers to Appendix
Ten: Notes on Atheism, Islam and Spiritualism.
We have one other symbol to identify -- the ten horns.
They are described in Re. 17: 12-17.
Revelation
17: 12-17
12 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.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the
beast.
14 ¶ These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them:
for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are
called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth,
are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the
whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and
burn her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give
their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
What do these ten horns represent? The above
verses give us the following characteristics:
1. They "have received no kingdom as
yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast." This suggests
that they don't actually start reigning until the scarlet beast does, or that
they start reigning simultaneously with the beast (when the Papacy is fully
revived).
2. "These have one mind". This
indicates that they are united in purpose and opinion.
3. They "shall give their power and
strength unto the beast". They all lend their influence and power in
support of the revived Papacy.
4. They "shall hate the whore, and shall
make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with
fire". They end up hating the harlot and destroying her. The vision
of Re. 17: 3 makes it clear that these horns along with the scarlet beast are
under the control of the harlot at some point. But then something happens to
turn these kings against the religious confederacy.
Caution is necessary in proposing an
identification for these horns and an associated end time scenario because the
exact fulfillment of this prophecy may not become clear until the events are
fulfilled.
However, with the available information, I think
the most reasonable explanation is that these ten horns basically represent the
nations of the globe and are equivalent to the "kings of the earth"
Re. 17: 3.
But there appears to be a deeper meaning to the
symbol. Notice the angel says they "have received no kingdom as yet; but
receive power as kings one hour with the beast." (Re. 17:12). Do these ten
kings represent civil powers that exist today or are they only going to come
into being at the time when the scarlet beast (revived Papacy) reigns as the
eighth power -- which has not happened as yet [this is November 2003]? The
construction of the sentence in Re. 17:12 (which gives a similar sense in the
Greek) seems to favour the latter. This could mean that when the Papacy is fully
revived, that is, when various nations begin to formally support and enforce her
instructions, there is the formation of some new civil entities. These new civil
entities would then govern over the existing nations -- or "former"
nations if our current country definitions were dissolved! What might such
entities be? We cannot say for certain at this stage, but one possibility would
be administrative divisions of a global government (New World Order). If the
number ten is to be taken literally, this would mean ten administrative
divisions of a new global government.
Notice in Re. 17: 16 that the ten horns end up
hating and destroying the harlot. The most obvious interpretation of this is
that, in association with the events of Christ's second coming, these civil
powers realize that they have been deceived by the miracle-working religious
powers of Babylon. Angry at being so terribly deceived they turn on the
religious powers to destroy them.
The following diagram summarises the various
powers depicted in Revelation Chapter 17:
So, shortly before the second coming of
Christ, we have a religious union (Babylon) that leads out in the gathering of
the nations together to support her plans. Then Babylon and the nations of
the world unite together to war27
against God and His people -- and come to a miserable end. I hope that you and I
do not share in the plans, activities and doom of this evil confederacy. How do
we escape being caught in their doom? Please see If
any man worship the beast and his image...
Footnotes
1. The Catholic Encyclopedia,
Volume II, Article Auxiliary Bishop, Copyright © 1907 by Robert
Appleton Company, Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight, Imprimatur.
+John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
2. Ibid., Volume IV, Article
Conclave.
3. Ibid., Catholic
Encyclopedia, Volume IV, Article Coronation.
4.The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume
III, Article Cardinal, Copyright © 1908 by Robert Appleton Company,
Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight, Nihil Obstat, November 1,
1908. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley,
Archbishop of New York.
5. Ibid.
6. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume
X, Article Metalwork in the Service of the Church, Copyright © 1911
by Robert Appleton Company, Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight, Nihil
Obstat, October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, Imprimatur.
+John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
7. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume
XIII, Article Shrines of Our Lady and the Saints in Great Britain and
Ireland, Copyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton Company, Online Edition
Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight, Nihil Obstat, February 1, 1912. Remy
Lafort, D.D., Censor
Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
8. Ibid.
9.The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume
VI, Article Golden Rose, Copyright © 1909 by Robert Appleton
Company, Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight, Nihil Obstat,
September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor, Imprimatur. +John M. Farley,
Archbishop of New York.
10.The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume
III, Article Chalice, Copyright © 1908 by Robert Appleton Company,
Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight, Nihil Obstat, November 1,
1908. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley,
Archbishop of New York.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Please consider carefully the
following passages in their context:
Leviticus 2:11, "No meat offering, which ye shall
bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor
any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire."
Exodus 34:25, "Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven;
neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the
morning."
Luke 12:1, "In the mean time, when there were gathered together an
innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he
began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the
Pharisees, which is hypocrisy."
1 Corinthians 5:6, "Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little
leaven leaveneth the whole lump?"
1 Corinthians 5:7, "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a
new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for
us:"
1 Corinthians 5:8, "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven,
neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread
of sincerity and truth."
Galatians 5:9, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump."
14. Ex. 12:19 says, referring to the
Passover, "Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for
whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from
the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land."
See also Ex. 12:15.
15. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume
X, Article Metalwork in the Service of the Church, Copyright © 1911
by Robert Appleton Company, Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight, Nihil
Obstat, October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, Imprimatur.
+John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
16. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume
III. Article Catholic, Copyright © 1908 by Robert Appleton Company,
Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight, Nihil Obstat, November 1,
1908. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley,
Archbishop of New York.
17. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume
XIII, Article Sarum Rite, Copyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton
Company, Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight, Nihil Obstat,
February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., Censor, Imprimatur. +John
Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
18. John
O'Brien, (a Roman Catholic "Father"), The Faith of Millions, Huntington,
Ind., Our Sunday Visitor, 1938, p.71.
19. The
Seven Heads of the Sea-Beast. For
the sea-beast the
seven heads appear to indicate its pedigree or family tree. What does this mean?
Please read Re.13:1,2. These verses reveal that the sea-beast is made up
of parts of all four of the beasts of Daniel chapter 7 -- a lion, a bear, a
four-headed leopard, and a monster with 10 horns . If we add up the heads of
these beasts we get, 1+1+4+1=7 heads. As noted previously [See
6. Revelation 14:8 -
Babylon is fallen under "B. The Beast" points (b) and (c)],
the sea-beast inherited characteristics of the kingdoms before it and
perpetrated their errors. The four beasts of Daniel 7
represented, in order, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. So the sea-beast
in Revelation inherits characteristics of these four empires.
20. The
Seven Heads of the Dragon. We have previously
looked closely at the identity of the dragon (see Babylon
is fallen) and found that it symbolises Satan. So we would expect the
seven heads on this beast to represent the main nations or kingdoms used by
Satan to oppress God's people as depicted in the Bible. Therefore we suggest
that the seven heads of the dragon represent:
1. Egypt, portrayed in Ezekiel 29:3 as a "dragon".
2. Assyria, represented in 1 Kings 19:28 and Isaiah 37: 9 as
a wild beast (c.f. Job 41:1, 2).
3. Babylon (the lion of Dan. 7).
4. Medo-Persia (the bear of Dan. 7).
5. Greece (the leopard of Dan. 7).
6. Rome, Imperial and Papal as represented by the monster
with the Papal horn of Dan. 7.
7. Protestant USA (the land-beast of Re. 13).
There are three apocalyptic beasts not mentioned above: (1) The sea-beast of
Revelation 13. It represents the Papal phase of the Roman power that has already
been included in the monster of Daniel 7. (2) The scarlet beast of Revelation
17. This is actually a reappearance of a previous power (the Papal phase of
Rome, as will be discussed shortly). (3) The beast from the bottomless pit of
Re. 11: 7. This beast represents France at the time of the French Revolution. It
did not oppress God’s people over a wide area or for a long time and was more
noted for its attack on the Bible than on the actual people of God (for more
detail on this beast as well as the role of Islam please see Appendix
Ten: Notes on Atheism, Islam and Spiritualism). We suggest that
the above seven powers are the seven heads of the dragon. All these powers
are noteworthy for their oppression of God's people. The seventh power has not
yet (Sept. 2003) been so noteworthy as the others in persecuting. But it will
soon manifest this attribute in a marked degree as predicted in Revelation
chapter 13. Some may wonder how the USA can be represented by a crowned head
(Re. 12: 3) when it is a republic. I think the crown could as much represent
kingly dictatorial power rather than a literal kingdom. That the USA will
exercise such kingly dictatorial power is made clear by Re. 13:11 where this
nation’s kinship to the dragon is clearly revealed.
21. It is interesting that the dragon is
never actually called a "beast" so even though beasts in apocalyptic
prophecy are symbolic of oppressive kingdoms or nations, this fierce animal in
Revelation 12 is different. See also the nearby footnote entitled The Seven
Heads of the Dragon.
22. This principle is evident all
through Bible prophecy. How could John understand if the angel talked about the
computer file of life, presidents, prime ministers and machine guns instead of
the book of life, kings, lords and burning with fire? Look at it another way.
Imagine you are shown a vision of seven rulers in which an angel tells you that
five are in the past, one is ruling now and one is yet to come but the
one "ruling now" is actually in some future time to which you have
been transported. How could you understand? Some may argue that John was taken
forward in time to the "wilderness period" (538-1798 AD) because he
was taken in spirit to the wilderness. But the wilderness is a geographic
reference not a chronological one. The chronological reference for the period
538-1798 AD is "time, times and half a time", "forty-two
months" or "one thousand six hundred and three score days". I
believe the wilderness is mentioned in Re. 17:3 because the harlot is contrasted
with the pure woman of Revelation 12 who fled into the wilderness. The harlot is
a counterfeit of this pure woman. See also the footnote below entitled Is the
phrase "was, and is not, and yet is" a chronological reference?
23. When John is shown the woman sitting
on the scarlet beast (Re. 17:1-6), he sees the beast in its final end-time
manifestation. He sees the Papal power in its resurrected state as the eighth
power. How do we know this? Because the religious powers (Babylon) and
the civil powers (scarlet beast) are united (symbolised by the seating
arrangement) in the final end-time religio-political conglomerate.
24. Compare with the seven heads of the
dragon. See above footnote entitled The Seven Heads of the Dragon
25. Is the phrase "was, and
is not, and yet is" a chronological reference? We do not think that
this phrase and the other similar ones should be taken as a reference to time
indicating that John was taken forward to the period of the sea-beast’s
"is not" stage (which would be post 1798 AD). Rather these phrases are
likely to be a concise and cryptic way of saying that this beast ruled then went
into a seemingly dead phase before coming back to life.
26. John sees the beast in its
final end-time manifestation. A point worth noting here is that when
John is shown the woman sitting on the scarlet beast (Re. 17:1-6), he sees the
beast in its final end-time manifestation. He sees the Papal power in its
resurrected state (as the eighth power). How do we know this? Because the
religious powers (Babylon) and the civil powers (scarlet beast) are united
(symbolised by the seating arrangement) in the final end-time religio-political
conglomerate.
27. The nature of this war is outlined
in Revelation
14-9-11 -- If any man worship the beast and his image...
28. Information source: Tucker J&P, Nature
Quest, Washington, Review and Herald, 1994, Reading for Aug.12th.
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