The Antichrist

Today the entire world is focused on the Antichrist mentioned in the Bible. God's Word tells us that he is soon to appear. But, who is he? The vast majority who have done a lot of speculation as to who it might be are in for a big surprise!

The New World Order being promoted by international statesmen, labor unions, and religionists will discover - too late - that this united effort to save planet earth has been masterminded by the Antichrist!

God has revealed the identity beyond any doubt by His description of the 'Woman riding the Beast' as given in the 17th chapter of Revelation.

About the author
Lawrence M. Nelson has traveled the world as an international lecturer opening up the Word of God as the only answer to today's confusing problems.

The Antichrist

You are holding in your hands the most concise, simple to understand information concerning the Antichrist! These pages will alert you with unquestioned proof as to who is the coming Antichrist. You may rest in absolute assurance of this knowledge, because the facts presented are backed with a "Thus saith the Word of God."

But, spiritual truth is only discerned by the help from the Holy Spirit. So may I be so bold as to suggest that you make the following your personal prayer: "God help me to understand this amazing truth concerning the Antichrist as found in thy Holy Word - Amen."

The knowledge of the Antichrist is like a jigsaw puzzle. Every piece of information found throughout the Bible must be placed in its proper position. When this is accomplished, behold the Antichrist will stand before you so clearly and so simple to understand that you will praise God for revealing this truth to you.

Let's begin by discovering who this mystery beast of Revelation 13 represents by reading God's description of the beast.

And I stood on the shore of the sea, and I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads, blasphemous names. The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. One of his heads looked like it had been wounded fatally. His fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled at the beast. - Revelation 13:1-3

The beast of Revelation 13 is made up of parts. Every part or act of this beast must be determined by Bible interpetation so that we can intelligently make our decision. There must be no guessing. We must know beyond a doubt. Since there is only one unquestioned authority, we must turn to the Word of God for clarification.

First of all, before beginning this discovery, I would like to share with you a secret of all Bible students. In the Holy Word the book of Daniel helps us to understand the book of Revelation. Likewise, the book of Revelation helps to explain the book of Daniel. So, naturally, in looking for our answer concerning the beast of Revelation 13, we shall turn to Daniel 7, where God gives us a full explanation. It's amazing that the answers we are looking for in our day were given by God to Daniel 550 years before Christ was born on this earth. This, of course, only goes to prove that God knows the beginning to the end of time. Now let us listen to the prophet speak, as recorded in Daniel 7:2.

"Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of heaven strove upon the great sea."

Will you join me in using your imagination to visualize the events exactly as Daniel saw them? Picture this great sea the prophet was looking at. The four winds of heaven are blowing upon the waters, causing the waves to beat against one another like a sea frenzied by a hurricane.

Now what does this stand for? No guessing, remember, we want only a Bible answer.

First, let's take the waters. Remeber our secret? Revelation should explain. So we turn to chapter 17 and read:

"He said to me, The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages." - Revelation 17:15

God made this simple to understand. Waters represent peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues. How often we have used the expression "a great sea of faces" when describing a crowd of people.

The second fact we need to know concerns the wind. In the Scriptures the designation of wind has always been used as a symbol of war. Please note:

"Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind ... Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets." - Jeremiah 51:1,4

So this is the setting. The sea of waters rerpresents the peoples of the earth. The wind blowing upon the waters reveals the people to be in a state of war (or turmoil or strife). From such a condition we would expect the political climate of the people to change, and this is exactly what happens.

"And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another." - Daniel 7:3

Now we must discover just what these beasts represent. Again let the Bible give the answer. "These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth." - Daniel 7:17

"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 to stand upon its feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it." - Daniel 7:4

"The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble; anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail. Behold he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong." - Jeremiah 50:43,44

Thus the Babylonian Empire arose in the year 606 BC. But what of the wings? In the British Museum you will find a great stone taken from the ancient city of Babylon - which portrays a lion with wings! This was actually the symbol of the old city of Babylon.

The phrase "the man's heart" denotes a coming time and experience of weakness when Babylon would be overcome and destroyed, thus opening the way for a second world kingdom.

"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 unto it, Arise, devour much flesh." - Daniel 7:5

The bear is God's caricature of the next world power. Persia conquered the world in the year 538 BC. You observed the bear, that it was devouring three ribs in its mouth. Old Babylon was composed of exactly three provinces, namely, Babylon, Lydia and Egypt. The conquering power of Persia destroyed all three. But what is so amazing is that God gives such details. He says the bear raised himself [up higher] on one side. When Medo-Persia became strong, the Persians overthrew [or were the dominant party over] the Medes. Let us continue:

"After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl, and also four heads, and dominion was given to it." - Daniel 7:6

Everyone knows that the next universal power in world history was that of Greece, which developed in the year 331 BC. This great beast had four wings to indicate that it would swiftly conquer the world. Alexander the Great conquered the world in only twelve years, without the aid of anything like our modern methods of warfare or travel. This was considered a miracle in that day.

Now look closely. This beast has four heads. God never leaves any reason for doubt. History reveals that Alexander died at the early age of 33. He conquered the world, but could not conquer his own temper. He died of fatigue and disease, without leaving any posterity to carry on the kingdom. So his realm was divided between the four generals - Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucis and Ptolemy - (the 4 Hellenistic Diadochi kingdoms) who continued to rule the world under the fourth beast. Isn't it amazing how God foretells the future? Then God said another world power would soon arise.

"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong, 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." - Daniel 7:7

This fourth beast represents old pagan [imperial] Rome which began its reign in the year 168 BC. It was a dreadful power - as God described it - having great iron teeth. The historian Edward Gibbon, in writing of its history, describes the Roman enemies as broken by the iron monarchy of Rome.

We have now come in history to the time of the Cross. Pagan Rome was ruling the world when Jesus was born, and it was under pagan rule that he was so cruelly crucified in AD 31. At this time, world affairs had reached their lowest ebb, and men were about to be swallowed up in pagan philosophy. They were dying without a hope for the future, but Jesus came to deliver men and women and to show them the Way of life. How wonderful God is. He never fails us.

Now the Scripture describes this beast as having ten horns. They represent the ten kingdoms that pagan Rome was divided into in the year AD 476. [The western Roman Empire]

"And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise. - Daniel 7:24

Now it is time for us to discover what we have been learning concerning the beast of Revelation 13. Perhaps you are unaware that while we have been studying Daniel 7 we have actually been discovering all about the beast of Revelation 13. To refresh our memory, let' read it once more:

Now ge tready for the surprise. God is a great caricaturist. He simply took a part of each of these four beasts that we have been studying in Daniel and put them all together, thus making the beast of Revelation 13. He took the 'mouth' from the lion representing Babylon. He took the 'feet' from the bear - Medo-Persia - He took the 'body' of a leopard from the leopard - Greece. The ten horns He took from the divided kingdoms of old Rome. Putting all these together, we now see clearly a picture of what is represented in this beast of Revelation 13.

See how simple prophecy is? This is no guess work. God has revealed every detail. The beast of Revelation 13 is a definite part of all these pagan nations. We must go on. There is much more to be revealed. Let us continue in our study of this ten-horn caricature of Daniel 7.

"I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things." - Daniel 7:8

"And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise." - Daniel 7:24

We must abide by the word of God. Before we go further, we would like to stress this observation: We are presenting God's final warning message that is so vital to the people of all churches, whether they be Catholics, Protestants, or Jews. What we are discussing is a part of this last warning. It has come to us from the lips of Jesus, who desires that all men might be saved. He wants every one of us to be ready to go to heaven when he comes the second time. We are only revealing what God has already written in the Book. You will soon see that it is necessary for God to point out a certain organisation in our world as a means to give us guidance in how to heed his last warning message.

Now back to the question - What of this 'little horn' ? We will follow these simple methods in our discussions, which we believe you will find acceptable.

1. We will permit God to give the clue
2. Authoritative history will substantiate God's claim.
(3) The Church will declare its position from its authoritative statements. With these objectives in mind, let us closely study the following seven points of identification concerning the 'little horn'.

To begin with, let us make the following statement, then back it up with these proofs. We will discover that the 'little horn' represents the organization in the world called the Papacy.

1. Let us note proof of this fact because of the time of its appearance. it must appear after the division of the Roman Empire.

"And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;" - Daniel 7:24.

The Papacy was established in A.D. 538 when it subdued the Ostrogoths. The ten horns, or the divided kingdom, was established in A.D. 476. Thus you can see at a glance that the Papacy arose after the ten kingdoms, exactly as the prophecy states, "and another shall rise after them. "

"And he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings." - Daniel 7:24. .

The Papacy has always been a religious power. The other ten kingdoms were of a temporal nature, dealing in matters of state only. Thus this point is substantiated - the Papacy is different (ie. is a religio-political power).

"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." - Daniel 7:24.

History reveals that the Papacy destroyed three of the ten kingdoms, which were as follows.

(1) The Heruli in A.D. 493,
(2) the Vandals in A.D. 534,
(3) the Ostrogoths in A.D. 538.

From The Question Box, by Conway, on page 166, we read that the Church admits destroying three powers in securing her temporal sovereign. I quote:

"The distance from Constantinople, the interrupted communications with the Exarch of Ravenna, the constant fighting against the Goths, the Huns and the Lombards, the putting down of rebellions against the Emperor in Rome itself - all tended to turn the Pope willingly or unwillingly, into a temporal sovereign (Hodgkin, Italy, v., 355)."

Please note that seven out of the original ten nations are still in existence today - Germany, England, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Switzerland. This is just as God declared. What a marvelous fulfillment of prophecy!

'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 7:8. This great organization is headed by a man. All the world today recognizes him as the Pope.

"All names which in the Scriptures are applied to Christ, by virtue of which it is established that he is over the church, all the same names are applied to the Pope." - R.F. Bellarmine, On the Authority of Councils, vol. II, book 2, chap. 17, p. 266 (ed. 1619).

"The Pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God, and the Vicar of God." - P.F.L. Ferraris, Ecclesiastical Dictionary, art. 'On the Pope'.

You have discovered five amazing predictions. Now permit me to bring you the last two. These are likewise based upon the Word of God.

"And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High." - Daniel 7:25.

How true these words have proved in history. There are many sources to choose from, but let us read just one.

"That the Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no

Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history. The memorials, indeed, of many of her persecutions are now so scanty, that it is impossible to form a complete conception of the multitude of her victims, and it is quite certain that no powers of imagination can adequately realize their suffering." - William Edward Hartpole Lecky, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, vol. 2 (London: Longmans, Green, and Company, 1904), p. 32.

Perhaps it would be well here to read something from the Church. She admits freely that she has persecuted. Notice this carefully.

"The church has persecuted. Only a tyro in church history will deny that .... One hundred and fifty years after Constantine the Donatists were persecuted and sometimes put to death ... Protestants were persecuted in France and Spain with the full approval of the church authorities. We have always defended the persecution of the Huguenots, and the Spanish Inquisition. Wherever and whenever there is honest Catholicity, there will be a clear distinction drawn between truth and error, and Catholicity and all forms of heresy. When she thinks it good to use physical force, she will use it .... But will the Catholic Church give bond that she will not persecute at all? Will she guarantee absolute freedom and equality of all churches and all faiths? The Catholic Church gives no bonds for her good behavior." - The Western Watchman, December 24, 1908.

"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." - Daniel 7:25.

I think it only needful that we read one more quotation from the Ecclesiastical Dictionary of the Roman Catholic Church, article on the Pope, and see how this answers the prediction of God.

"The Pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify, explain, or interpret even divine laws. The Pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man but of God, and he acts as vicegerent of God upon earth with most ample power of binding and loosing his sheep." - P.F.L. Ferraris, Ecclesiastical Dictionary, art. 'On the Pope'.

We can see clearly how this power has attempted to change the divine law of God today. Every one is acquainted with the Ten Commandments as found in Exodus 20 of the Old Testament. If you will turn to any catechism published by the church of Rome, you will discover that the Ten Commandments have been changed. The second commandment is completely left out. This is the commandment that states, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. " But you will also quickly note that they do have ten commandments. This was accomplished by dividing the last commandment and making two out of it. Again we see that the predictions of God are fulfilled in this little horn.

Here are seven points of identity, proving beyond any doubt that the Papacy indeed is the little horn of Daniel 7. Now we have discovered another link in our chain of understanding concerning the beast of Revelation 13, for it is indeed identical with the 'little horn' of Daniel 7. There is no doubt that the little horn and the beast of Revelation 13 are the same. .

Can you behold the earnestness of Christ this very hour as He looks down upon us to see how we will receive His warning message? After all, the book of Revelation is His personal message to each of us. We read from its very first verse:

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass, and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John. " - Revelation 1:1.

We have been studying a portion of Revelation very vital to you and to me. Jesus declares in Revelation 14:9:

This old world is in confusion. Centuries ago the pagans set aside the worship of the Creator, and in His place they instituted a form of religion that worships the creation rather than the Creator. For instance, the pagans decided that the sun would make them a good god. Next, they decided that their god needed a wife, so they selected the moon. Children are usually expected from a marriage, so they appointed the stars of heaven to be the offspring. Thus the sun, moon, and stars became the objects of worship, which led the world into deceptions. The tragedy of it all is that great religious organizations in our day still follow much of this pagan philosophy.

In chapter one we made some amazing discoveries. We found that the beast of Revelation 13 is God's caricature of the Papacy. You will recall that our only purpose in studying this great prophecy is to clarify God's last warning message as found in Revelation 14. We studied what God had spoken, and we compared this with recorded history. We also searched out what is admitted by the Church. In this way we are in a position to intelligently make our personal decision to this warning of Christ.

There are six undeniable points of identification between the beast of Revelation 18 and the little horn of Daniel 7.

3. Both were a religious power [ or rather, a religio-political world power ? ]. (Rev. 13:8; Dan. 7:24).

Therefore, the 'beast' of Revelation 13 and the 'little horn' are one and the same!

Now comes the question. Where did this beast get such power ? Many historians agree that it destroyed more than 150 million people, that it ruled the world for more than 1,000 years, and that kings bowed in reverence to its commands. But where did it get such power? Let the Bible give the answer.

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that ancient 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 12:7-9

A detailed description of this dragon power is given to us in Revelation 12:3, "and there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. "

In this one verse, God, Who knows the end from the beginning, revealed that there would be just seven time periods given to this world in which Satan (the Dragon/ Serpent) would eventually reign, represented by the seven heads each with a crown. We will discuss the ten horns in chapter six, the last chapter of this book.

Isn't this interesting? Perhaps you have often wondered how wars ever got started. Well, the Bible tells us that war began in heaven. Christ, Who is Michael, and His angels fought against the dragon, and we are told plainly who the dragon is. He is called the old serpent, the Devil, and Satan. So it is clear that the dragon gives the beast its power. But how did the dragon get started here on earth? Turning back to Genesis 3, we find the story of how the dragon, under the guise of a serpent, beguiled Adam and Eve, and thus conquered the world. Note what God says:

'Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. " - Genesis 3:1-4.

How sad it is that Adam and Eve decided that they would accept what the serpent had to say rather than believe God. You know the tragic results. Through this sin, man was separated from God; he was lost, without any hope of the future. But God never lets us down. Jesus came all the way from heaven into the Garden and gave Adam and Eve a plan whereby if they were obedient they could once again be restored into eternal happiness. Just think of it. Jesus was willing to give His life and to die in their place! Oh, how we should love Him. As Christ discussed His wonderful plan with Adam and Eve, He made a prophecy. Now notice this very carefully.

'And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, ... I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. " - Genesis 3:14,15.

Right here we should stop and find out who the woman is that is mentioned in this text. The prophet Jeremiah tells us:

'I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman." - Jeremiah 6:2.

From this we learn that the woman represents Zion. But who is Zion? Well, let's read another verse.

Thus Zion is God's people; and the Lord has chosen the symbol of a pure woman to represent them.

Now back to our text. "I will put enmity between thee (the serpent) and the woman (God's people)." Enmity means war, bloodshed, and a struggle. So it began. In this world there are two sides in the conflict-God's side and Satan's side. One is right and the other is wrong. The important factor that determines the difference is over the issue of how God is to be worshiped. This involves the question, "is absolute obedience necessary?" This was the problem that faced the angels in heaven. You know the answer-there was war and Satan was cast out. Since Satan is on the earth, these conditions have not changed. Let us read the story of Cain and Abel.

"And in Process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering." - Genesis

"But unto Cain and to his offering he had no respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fill." - Genesis 4:3-5.

Now get the picture clearly. Abel has built an altar just as God had prescribed and placed a lamb thereon, representing the Lamb of God which was to take away his sins. Abel knelt down before this altar and asked God to forgive him of his sins and to accept the sacrifice. God answered by fire from heaven, thus acknowledging the offering.

But what about Cain? Cain built an altar just like Abel did. But he did not wish to obey God by sacrificing a lamb. He was a man who planted a garden, so he went out and picked some of the vegetables from his garden. These he placed upon his altar. This was not a sacrifice. No life was taken. It was not what God had asked. It was a substitute. If God had accepted that offering, man could have made any doctrine he wanted. But God never accepts a counterfeit. God would have nothing to do with Cain's offering. You will recall the familiar story in the following verses. Cain arose and slew his brother. True indeed were the words, "I will put enmity between thee (the serpent) and the woman (God's people)."

So now there were two distinct sides in this newly created world. Notice the parallel. There is God's side, called the "sons of God." The line of followers were Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah. The gate of Eden was considered their headquarters.

All those on Satan's side were called the "sons of man." The line of followers were Cain and his descendants. Their headquarters were in the land of Nod.

As time went by, the devil's side became so wicked that God found it necessary to completely destroy every descendant of the dragon power; but as soon as the Flood was past, the two sides reappeared.

God called Abraham to leave his country and his kindred and go to a new land that God would show him, to be made into a great nation. They were to settle in the land of Canaan. They worshipped the S-0-N, the Son of God. This was the original, the true, religion.

On the other hand, there was the dragon's side, whose followers were known as the Chaldeans. Their territory was Ur of the Chaldees. Their pagan capital was Babel, which later became Babylon. They worshipped the S-U-N, the sun in the heavens. This was known as Baal worship. This was the beginning of a pagan counterfeit religion in the world.

What a struggle went on between these two sides! Paganism continually made inroads into the true religion. You will find it recorded in the book of Kings.

"And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven." - 2 Kings 23:5.

As the pagan governments decayed or were overthrown, men continued their form of sun worship. Thus paganism was transferred from one nation to another, from Babylon into Medo-Persia, into Greece, and into Rome, sinking the world into its deepest, darkest hour.

It is right here that we discover the seed of the woman appears. Let's go back now to Genesis 3:15.

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." - Genesis 3:15.

This distinctly reveals that there was to be a time when the woman was to give birth to a seed and the dragon (Satan) would have followers who would continue the struggle against God's Son and His followers until the climax was reached and the serpent crushed. Turning to Revelation 12, we are now ready to catch a picture of what happened when the 'Seed of the woman' appeared.

"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to he delivered .... And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to he delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. " - Revelation 12:1-5.

Can we find the time when the dragon attempted to destroy the child Jesus when He was born? Indeed we can! You will recall that when the Wise Men made inquiry of Herod after seeing the star of Bethlehem, this king became very suspicious. He was ruling under Caesar Augustus of Rome and he demanded of the Wise Men that they return and tell him where the child could be found. He wanted to find the Christ, that he might kill Him. Angels warned the Magi not to return to Herod, and they also warned Joseph to take the Child from Bethlehem into Egypt. As Herod's suspicions were aroused, he sent his soldiers into Bethlehem to kill every baby boy two years old and under in his attempt to kill Christ.

This clearly reveals how the dragon attempted to destroy the Child as soon as He was born, through his agency of pagan Rome.

The dragon, having failed in his attempt to kill the Christ Child, tried again some 31 years later. This time pagan Rome, the dragon power, crucified the Saviour of the world on a pagan cross. Thus, in a vain effort to keep Christ in the tomb forever, pagan Rome placed its seal upon the tomb with soldier guards to make sure that the seal was not broken.

But, praise God, His angel broke the seal and Christ arose from the grave victorious over Satan! This made it possible for the Seed of the woman, God's true church, to seize the initiative and develop rapidly.

Everywhere men were ready to cast off their superstitions. They gladly received a Saviour Who was willing to die for them. Within a few years Christianity had spread throughout the world. It was recognized as a mighty force. Paganism was on the way out. The Seed of the woman was taking control of the world.

But Satan was determined that this must not be. He decided that it was time for the seed of the dragon to appear, that it might counteract the work of Christianity. So, working through pagan Rome, he brought about a transition in which paganism took on a few of the forms of Christianity, and under its guise, once more began to lead the world astray. As this new power grew, it soon developed into what we call the Papacy. Thus we find the text of Revelation 13:2 being fulfilled.

"And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." - Revelation 13:2.

History reveals that the capital of the Roman Empire was moved to Constantinople and that the Bishop of Rome actually sat in the seat of the Caesars.

Gradually this new power was able to change almost every Christian doctrine by adulterating it with paganism.

Everyone knows that December 25 is not Christ's birthday. Christmas was a day that was celebrated by the pagans long before the birth of Jesus Christ. Being sun worshipers, they had noticed that on December 21 the sun was farthest from the earth, and that on the 25th of December it began to make its way back toward the earth, thus assuring that there would be another year. This day, December 25, was known as the birthday of the S-U-N. Now, in order for Rome to secure the approval and acceptance of this new type of Christianity among the pagans as well as the Christians, they made December 25, which was a pagan holiday, the birthday of the Son of God.

Let's take Easter as another example. This was not the morning of Christ's resurrection. This custom likewise was developed because of its pagan background. The heathen noticed that their sun god had returned sufficiently to usher in another spring.

There was an abundance of eggs and bunnies. Easter was then dedicated as a great pagan holiday. Easter is always determined by the first Sunday after a full moon after the sun passes the equinox. Were it truly the day commemorating the resurrection of Christ, it would always be the same time each year. But today the date for Easter may vary from year to year by as much as five weeks, because Easter is a pagan holiday determined by the position of the S-U-N.

Mary and the disciples did not go up on the resurrection morning to watch the sun come up. They went out to discover for themselves the open tomb of a risen Saviour. Here again we see the pagan doctrine of sun worship integrated into the Christianity of our time. Thus it is with many of the religious teachings of Rome.

Tracing through history, you will find that the orders of monks and nuns are an outgrowth of paganism. Masterpieces of art dating back to this period of time always reveal a circle over the head of Christ, which in turn was the pagan way of placing the S-U-N over the head of the S-0-N of God.

When Jesus sat at the Lord's Supper He took bread and broke it. Today we find the round wafer, representing the sun, used in celebrating this ordinance, and the custom is spreading into many Protestant denominations.

We appreciate the candid admission of Cardinal Newman in his book Development of Christian Doctrine in which he notes the origin of the doctrines of the Catholic Church by saying:

"Confiding then in the power of Christianity to resist the infection of evil, and to transmute the very instruments and appendages of demon-worship to an evangelical use .... the rulers of the Church ... were prepared ... to adopt, or imitate, or sanction the existing rites and customs of the populace, as well as the philosophy of the educated class. We are told ... by Eusebius, that Constantine, in order to recommend the new religion to the heathen, transferred into it the outward ornaments to which they had been accustomed in their own.

"... The use of temples, and these dedicated to particular saints, and ornamented on occasions with branches of trees; incense, lamps and candles; votive offerings on recovery from illness; holy water; asylums; holy days and seasons, use of calendars, processions, blessings on the fields; sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure (shaving of the head), the ring in marriage, turning to the East, images at a later date, perhaps the ecclesiastical chant .... are all of pagan origin, and sanctified by their adoption into the Church." - Pages 371-373.

Thus the warfare over obedience to God, which began in heaven, continues on the earth. The true system of worship is represented by the woman. The false system of Satan is represented by the dragon. And this warfare is to continue to the very end of time.

"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." - Revelation 12:1 7.

We must not follow paganistic customs in our worship of the Creator. God will have none of it. This presentation has been a clear picture of the struggle now going on within this world, but there is a brighter side. God declares that His people will be victorious. In Genesis 3:15 we read that the seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head. While the church has been persecuted, and the death of Christ made a necessity for salvation, the resurrected Lord Himself shall return soon as Kings of kings and victoriously put an end to the old dragon and all who follow him throughout the ages. This will forever settle the struggle and assure a great victory when the dragon and the beast are destroyed.

"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." - Revelation 20:10.

We begin this chapter with a text that sounds as if it were taken out of a modern mystery story. It has all the earmarks of suspense. Note carefully.

"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." - Revelation 13:3.

In the previous chapter, we spent our time studying events that have already taken place in history and been prophesied of in the Bible. As we have covered each of these amazing predictions and have seen how each has come to pass as God foretold, our confidence in God's Word has increased.

Now we come to a new phase. We have arrived at a place in the study of this prophecy in which we shall find that the beast is actually affecting the very life of each one of us. In other words, we will be coming down to the events of our own day.

You will recall that we discovered that this beast was made up of a portion from each of the preceding world powers that have continued through the centuries. It has the head from the lion, representing the pagan sun worship of old Babylon. It has the feet from the bear, continuing the pagan philosophies of Medo-Persia. Likewise it has the body of the leopard, with its paganistic teachings of the Greeks. Finally, it has ten horns, representing the doctrines of pagan Rome as it divided into ten kingdoms. Here indeed is a caricature depicting the pagan religions that infiltrated each succeeding world power through the centuries of time.

Most important of all, we found this beast to be dominated by a little horn, for the 'little horn' and the 'beast' of Revelation 13 are one and the same in their purpose and characteristics. This power we discovered to be that of the Roman Catholic (Papal) system, which is now widely acclaimed throughout the world.

May I refresh your memory with the serious indictments that the Word of God gives in pin-pointing this power?

3. It would speak great words against the Most High (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:6). 4. It would wear out the saints of the Most High (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:7).

7. It would exercise its power over all kindred's and tongues and nations (Revelation 13:7).

Now in addition to these seven most important points there are four more that God has clearly pointed out, so there would be no mistake or reason for doubt as to just who this power represents. First, permit me to list them; then we will study each in detail.

8. The dragon would give his power, his seat, and his great authority to this beast (Revelation 13:2).

9. It was to continue in world domination for a period of 1260 years (Revelation 13:5; Daniel 7:25).

11. It would amaze the whole world, for its deadly wound would be healed (Revelation 13:3).

When we are finished there will be no question in your mind that this is indeed the papal power, as prophesied by God.

"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." - Revelation 1 3:2.

In our previous studies we have learned that the dragon (or serpent) is Satan. Notice that he is to give his power and his seat and his great authority to the Papacy. Just how was this to be accomplished? By passing it on from generation to generation. When old Babylon went down to destruction, the dragon transferred all his power to the new kingdom of Medo-Persia, which followed Babylon. Likewise, as nations came and went, he simply passed on his power, his seat, and his authority to the new nation taking its place in the world. Thus we have the sequence - Babylon (612-539 BC), Medo-Persia (539-331 BC), Greece (331-168 BC), Rome (168 BC-476 AD west), and finally, Papal Rome (Papacy/ Holy See/ Vatican).

________________
Note: Holy Roman Empire (800 AD - 1806). See also Daniel ch. 2 and 7; Revelation ch. 13 and 17-18

Please note how carefully every word of this prophecy has been fulfilled. It says the dragon gave him his power. The dragon's power has always consisted of force. He compels. It is so vastly different from that of Christ, who says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." - John 14:15. Throughout all history the dragon power has been the civil arm of government enforcing pagan philosophies. The Church of Rome willingly accepts the fact that she received her temporal power from the Caesars who ruled pagan Rome. We read from her writers the following:

"Long ages ago, when Rome through the neglect of the Western emperors was left to the mercy of the barbarous hordes, the Romans turned to one figure for aid and protection, and asked him to rule them; and thus, in this simple manner, the best title of all to kingly right, commenced the temporal sovereignty of the Popes. And meekly stepping to the throne of Caesar, the Vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through so many ages." - Rev. James P. Conroy, American Catholic Quarterly Review, April, 1911.

Now what about his seat? It is no secret that when the Bishop of Rome took over his power from that of pagan Rome he sat in the very seat of the Caesars; that is, he ruled from the same city.

In the year A.D. 330 the capital of the Roman Empire was moved to Constantinople, which left the Western Church to pick up her leadership from the very seat of the Caesars. Let's read the quotation from an article quoting the Pope himself in 1922.

"What the Pope himself thinks of the relationship of Rome to the Papacy is quite different. In his first Encyclical 'Ubi Arcano' (Dec. 23, 1922) he wrote of 'Italy, our own dear native land, the country where the hand of God, who guides the course of history, has set down the Chair of His Vicar on earth, in this city of Rome which, from being the capital of the wonderful Roman Empire, was made by Him the capital of the whole world, because He made it the seat of a sovereignty which, since it extends beyond the confines of nations and States, embraces within itself all the peoples of the whole world."' - Translated by the Very Rev. James H. Ryan in The Encyclicals of Pius XI (St. Louis: Herder, 1927), p. 44. Quoted by W.W. Rockwell in Current History Magazine, August, 1929, p. 827. .

This brings us again to the last part of the above verse in Revelation 13:2 - "and the dragon [Satan] gave him his ... great authority." What has always been the authority of Rome? It has been her religion. These doctrines and claims have been handed down through centuries and centuries of tradition. Her teaching of penance, of celibacy in the priesthood, of sprinkling, purgatory, the mass, the use of holy water, et cetera, constitute the authority of the Church. Thus we see clearly the fulfillment of the specifications laid down by God.

In the same chapter of Revelation, in verse 5, we come to another amazing prediction.

'And power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. " - Revelation 13:5.

Let's do a little arithmetic. A Bible month is composed of thirty days, and since there are forty-two months mentioned, we find that thirty times forty-two equals 1260 days. Now there is a Bible rule for us always to remember in studying prophecy. This is that a day stands for a year.

[Thus one obtains] 42 months x 3O days to the Bible month [gives] 1260 'days' or years.

So 1260 days equal 1260 years. God is being very explicit now. This power is to continue for 1260 literal years. When did the Papacy come into being? You will recall that it rose in the year A.D.538 when it destroyed the last of the three little horns and thus assumed supremacy over the other seven. Now if you will add 1260 years to the year 538 you will find that it brings us to the year A.D.1798. We would expect something tragic to happen to the Papacy in this year, according to the prophecy. This is most easy to discover. Volumes have been written about it, for on February 10, 1798, the exact year predicted by God, the Papacy received a mighty blow. Berthier, Napoleon's French general, entered Rome and took the Pope prisoner and he died in exile.

But note how carefully God has pointed out these details. The Scripture describes this event as follows:

Let us turn again to Current History magazine of August, 1929, to a letter written by the Pope himself. In it you will note that he declared himself to be the head of the Papal organization.

"That the Holy See is the supreme organ of the Catholic Church throughout the world and that, therefore, the Holy See is the legitimate representative of the organization of the Church in Italy cannot be said, excepting in the sense in which it is said that the head is the supreme organ of the human body." - Page 848.

But what is even more astounding is the fact that the Papacy uses the very same word as is found in the Scripture in referring to this incident as 'the wound'. Again we quote from the Pope's letter.

"We say that our hopes have been disappointed because the long negotiations, although they had not always been easy, had opened our soul to the brightest hopes, and what of all things we least expected were expressions that are heretical, worse than heretical, regarding the very essence of Christianity and of Catholicism. Efforts have been made to heal the wound." - Full text of the Pope's letter in Current History, August, 1929, p. 847.

Isn't this tremendous? God says, "and the deadly wound was healed. " The Pope wrote, "Efforts have been made to heal the wound."

Perhaps it would be well to pause here and ask how it was possible that such a wound could be inflicted on the Papacy with such a deadly effect.

For more than a thousand years the Papacy was recognized as the world leader. Kings bowed down in reverence. Her every demand was obediently answered. Nations went to war at the command of this power. Men willingly died for her. What change came about that made possible the wounding of such a power? Permit me to give you the answer. The Papacy went so far in leading the world deeper and deeper into paganism that thinking men began to stop and ask questions. So many of the divine truths of God were adulterated with paganism that men like Wycliffe, Huss, Jerome, Luther, and other mighty leaders arose and began to ask the Church for a reform. Being denied, a movement known as Protestantism developed among the peoples of Europe. This grew to such an extent and power that (Louis Alexandre) Berthier, the French general, dared to do what no other person had ever dared to do for more than a thousand years. In the year 1798 he personally took his troops into Rome and took the pope prisoner. It was Protestantism that prepared the way and made possible the deadly wound.

"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. " - Revelation 13:3.

Wonder of wonders! The wound was to be healed. As time went on and the world was engulfed in the first world war, Protestantism suffered greatly. Throughout Europe there were signs of its deterioration. A new spirit of liberalism arose, making possible the rise of such men as Mussolini and Hitler. From the very beginning of the dictatorship of Mussolini, both the church and the state determined to settle the Roman question. On February 11, 1929, a concordat (the Lateran Concordat with Mussolini) was signed restoring the place of the Papacy, thus healing the deadly wound.

"The Treaty ends with the Pope's recognition of the legitimacy of the dynasty of Savoy, and his solemn declaration that he is fully satisfied with the independence guaranteed him for the carrying out of his spiritual primacy. The Roman Question is finally settled." - The Question Box, p. 167.

We would be amazed if we could see the great parade of ambassadors that yearly visit the Holy See, streaming in from countries all over the world. One of the greatest of all marvels is that France, who was so bitter against the Roman Catholic power and who actually brought about the deadly wound, has now reversed itself. Even England, who for four hundred years had been staunchly Protestant in nature, now has its ambassador at the Holy See. One by one the nations are bowing to the beast, and this is affecting our lives today.

Take the movie industry, for instance, and consider the number of pictures that are developed for the screen and television that portray a Roman Catholic priest.

We find that the Catholic press is among the greatest in the world, touching every major newspaper and providing enormous amounts of news slanted to its doctrines.

Today the Papacy is recognized around the world as the coming leader of the New World Order. There are nations today that are wholly dominated by the papal power. Truly the words are fulfilled as God wrote:

"And he 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 .... 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. 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: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. " - Revelation 13:12, 15-1 7.

Friends, this is sad news. Force is again to be used in this old world. The worship of the Beast, the worship of his image, under a penalty of death is the new order to come.

No subject is of greater interest to you or to me than that of the United States of America and its relationship to the world as revealed in Bible prophecy.

The story is told of a missionary who sailed from the fair shores of freedom to live in a country that was dominated by a power that did not grant liberty to its people. As time went by, this missionary finally returned to live once more under the Stars and Stripes. His inner feelings were hard to describe. Tears came to his eyes. He was filled with joy and pride to see once again a land where freedoms still prevail.

The United States has grown to be one of the most powerful countries in the world. Today it is the center of Protestantism. Surely the God who named other nations in prophecy would spotlight this great power.

First of all, I think it would be well for us to establish the reason for the existence of America. What is a democracy? When did it appear ? Why did it appear ? Let's go back to its beginnings on that December morning in the year 1620 when the Pilgrim Fathers landed on Plymouth Rock. Why did they brave the unknown seas ? Why were they willing to endure untold hardships in leaving their homes, their country, their farms, their loved ones, and civilization as they then knew it, to begin a life so uncertain ? Why ? It was to escape persecution. Many of us have forgotten that back in the year 1620 Europe was dominated by the Papacy. There was no freedom of worship. Religious persecution was a common practice. State and Church were united. The Pope was the supreme ruler. Of this the Papacy herself writes:

"Catholic Europe before the Reformation regarded the Pope as the Supreme Court of international law." - The Question Box, p. 164.

As a result of this power and her attempt to force everyone to accept the teachings of the state Church, Europe was bathed continually in a wave of persecution. History has recorded these conditions for us as follows:

"That the Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history. The memorials, indeed, of many of her persecutions are now so scanty that it is impossible to form a complete conception of the multitude of her victims, and it is quite certain that no powers of imagination can adequately realize their sufferings." - William Edward Hartpole Lecky, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1904), vol. 11, p.32.

In the developing of the Reformation persecutions increased. Many people decided to flee to another country. Thus we find the Pilgrim Fathers fleeing to America, to a land in which they hoped to find the freedom their hearts longed for. We shall soon see that this was all in the divine plan of God to fulfill prophecy.

You will recall that the Papacy arose in 538 and the Word of God declared that it would rule for 1260 years. Then it would receive a deadly wound. As Bible students, we would expect something to happen in 1798. It did. It was in this year that the blow was struck by Berthier, the French general, who took the pope prisoner by the sword, thus fulfilling this prophecy.

"He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword." - Revelation 13:10.

Note carefully that when the Papacy was to fall by the sword, a new power was to arise immediately.

"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. " - Revelation 13:1 1.

The Pilgrims landed in 1620. Within a century and a half the colonies grew and developed. Then came trouble with England. In 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed. In 1787 the Constitution was drawn up. In 1789 the Bill of Rights came into reality. In 1791 they were adopted. In 1798 - mark this - the very year that the Pope (Pius VI) was taken prisoner by Berthier, the United States of America was recognized by France as a world power. The same power that inflicted the wound upon the Papacy now acknowledged the United States as coming into the scene as a world power.

Again we see the absolute accuracy of divine predictions. The Papacy was to continue for 1260 years, and then receive a wound. Immediately a new power was to arise. The United States arose during this period, and it was ready to assume world leadership at the precise moment as predicted. It is most interesting to note that the famed John Wesley, one of the world's foremost theologians, wrote concerning this new power, in 1754:

"He is not yet come, though he cannot be far off; for he is to appear at the end of the forty-two months of the first beast." - John Wesley, Notes on Revelation.

Prophecy never fails. The amazing thing is that God has been willing to give us so many details in order that our faith might be strengthened. There is positively no reason whatsoever to doubt concerning God's last warning message.

Let us consider for a moment the term "coming up out of the earth" as recorded in Revelation 13:11. You will immediately recognize that all the other beasts came up out of the water, which represents peoples, multitudes, and nations. (Revelation 17:15) But this beast came up out of the earth. Now, the earth is just the opposite from the sea. The interpretation would be that this nation was to arise in a place where there were no nations, peoples, or multitudes. There is only one nation that arose in 1798 that fulfills exactly this prophecy-that nation is the United States of America. It developed in a land where there was no civilization and only tribes of Indians.

'And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb. ' - Revelation 13:11

The United States was represented as having two horns like a lamb. Throughout the Bible, horns stand for powers and kingdoms, but these were lamb like horns. They were uncrowned. When our Pilgrim Fathers landed here and began to build a government, they saw to it that it was different from those of Europe. They founded the Government of the United States of America on the Christian principles of civil and religious freedom. Church and state were to be separated. This is the secret of democracy. What the world had not seen for centuries was a state without a king and a church without a pope. Republicanism and Protestantism were the foundations of this country.

"The lamb-like horns indicate youth, innocence, and gentleness, fitly representing the character of the United States when presented to the prophet as 'coming up' in 1798 .... Republicanism and Protestantism became the fundamental principles of the nation. These principles are the secret of its power and prosperity. The oppressed and down-trodden throughout Christendom have turned to this land with interest and hope. Millions have sought its shores, and the United States has risen to a place among the most powerful nations of the earth." - The Great Controversy, p. 441.

The Constitution of the United States guarantees these great concepts. Let us briefly review the facts.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.." - Declaration of Independence.

"The United States shall guarantee to every state in the Union a Republican form of government." - Article IV, Section 4, Constitution of the United States.

"No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." - Article VI.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." - The Bill of Rights, Article 1.

Here, then, are two great principles standing preeminently before the people - Republicanism and religious freedom. What can be more just, innocent, and lamb-like than these ?

Now comes a part of this message that we do not like to give; but we must be faithful stewards of the Word, and whatever God has spoken we must not be afraid to deliver. It is a sad picture. God foretells that this power will change from a lamb to a dragon.

"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." - Revelation 13:1 1.

"And he 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." - Revelation 13:12.

The answer is found in this text. The change was to take place after the deadly wound was healed. The wound began to heal in 1929, therefore we may expect to see great changes in our day. What a pity that this change was to come in America! A country loved by millions, a country of freedom for which so many have given their lives! What could possibly make such a change come about?

The answer to this question is to be found in the deterioration of Protestantism. You will recall that it was Protestantism that made possible the cause for the wound in 1798. If we are to heal the patient we must first remove the cause of the ailment.

Now just as there was a period of time when the wound was received until the Papacy collapsed, just so there is to be a period of convalescence when the wound is healed and this power will gradually gain in strength until it again dominates the world. We must consider the years following 1929 as the convalescent period in which Rome is silently growing stronger and stronger and at the same time Protestantism is becoming weaker and weaker. You may ask, "How can this be? We see thousands of Protestant churches being built everywhere. Their membership is actually increasing." Friends, the power of Protestantism is not in numbers or churches. The power of Protestantism has always been in following the Holy Scriptures, but in the past few decades Protestant denominations have been turning more and more from the Word of God, to join hands with the Papacy in teaching the traditions of men. Surveys conducted among the clergy of Protestant churches reveal that the leadership is going far beyond the state of unbelief. Large numbers of the Protestant ordained ministry actually deny the deity of the Lord and His gospel. In their place they are substituting the traditions of paganism.

In one such recent survey of Protestant denominational leadership you would be astounded to discover that an average of 40 per cent of the leading Protestant denominational ministry no longer believes that there is such a thing as the devil; 75 per cent no longer believe in a literal hell. More astounding still is the fact that 26 per cent of these preachers deny the existence of a literal heaven, and more than 65 per cent no longer consider it necessary to believe the Bible.

It is evident from the facts presented that Protestant churches are turning from the path of fundamentalism and turning to the teachings of tradition. This is contributing to a complete healing of the deadly wound of the Papacy.

Notice some of the following astounding changes that are taking place in Protestant churches.

"Dr. Gabelein told of a pastor of a large Presbyterian church in Hollywood, California, who not only denied the existence of a literal hell, but taught that 'the remedial and corrective sufferings in purgatory are needed to save the lost.' It makes one tremble to think that we have lived to see the doctrine of purgatory declared from a Protestant pulpit." - Garman, Present Day Trends, P. 15.

"Also, we were greatly shocked some time ago to read the statement made by a Methodist pastor, the son of a prominent Methodist editor wherein he stated that he would be happy to have a Roman Catholic priest celebrate the mass in his church." - Ibid.

"While in Chicago some time ago, we were told of an Episcopal church in which they had confession, burned candles for the dead, and celebrated the mass." - Ibid.

"Dr. Charles M. Sheldon, noted Congregational minister, has this to say: 'The church is looked upon as a place to go to hear someone. But people want something more than preaching. They want comfort and courage and the help that does not come to them when it is handed out wholesale. The Confessional of the Roman Church is a recognition of a human craving so deep and eternal, that it is a bewildering thing to see how it has been ignored by the Protestant Church, which has emphasized preaching about piety, and the pulpit above the person."' - Atlantic Monthly, January, 1922.

The power of Protestantism has always been that its doctrines were built upon a "Thus saith the Word of God." Because Protestantism through its leadership is leaving the divine Word of God, they are discovering that their weight of influence is declining. As this situation becomes more evident, Protestant church leadership is determined to do something about it, not in turning back to the authority of the Word but rather to join hands with one another to form church unions whereby they may find needed strength. Thus we today have a situation in which many churches are combining.

We are engulfed with a feeling of fear - a fear of losing our freedom. We hear this mentioned continually on the radio. We read of it through the press. We see it on television. We hear of men talking about the dangers to our Constitution. These are all signs that the two-horned beast is repudiating its lamb-like character. A change is surely coming into this nation that has for more than a century stood for the principle of Church and State separation.

Consider this-the Congress of the United States adjourning over the death of a pope, and prayers being offered in his behalf. Calls are becoming more numerous for transportation to parochial schools and the cost to be paid from State treasuries. Nuns are teaching in public schools. The Government is assuming more and more power in making restrictions as to what a farmer may or may not plant, which in reality deals with buying and selling.

We are not condemning the United States. If we were among those in its top leadership, faced with world-shaking problems, perhaps we would do likewise. We are simply bringing these points out into the open for clarification, to show that we are in a time when prophecy is fulfilling. Never was there a time when there has been such a call for Protestantism and Catholicism to shake hands. This is indeed in keeping with the prophecy of Revelation 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. " - Revelation 13:14.

WHO IS THE ANTICHRIST?

Chapter 5

The Mark of the Beast

The Antichrist is a religio-political world power
that arose out of the Roman Empire and Roman Christianity, the Papacy

The 'Mark of the Beast' is the most serious problem facing the world at this hour. In Isaiah 58:1, we read:

"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." - Isaiah 58: 1.

In order to understand the "mark of the beast," we must first clearly define the beast. This beast is fully described in Revelation 13:2 and 3.

'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. 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. " - Revelation 13:2,3.

In the previous chapters, we have given careful study to a number of definite characteristics whereby God has clearly pointed out who this beast is. We wish to review briefly six of these points of identity showing that the Papacy is the beast of Revelation 13. We begin by reading from the Holy Word.

"And he shall speak great words against the most High. " - Daniel 7.25.

"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. " - Revelation 13:5.

1. God clearly portrays this power as one that is guilty of blasphemy, assuming the titles and power that belong to God alone.

"I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them. " - Daniel 7.21.

"And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. " - Revelation 13:7.

2. In these two verses God has pointed out that this power would persecute the saints. History reveals that nearly 150 million people have been destroyed as a result of this organization.

"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. " - Daniel 7.8.

3. In ascending to power this organization was to destroy three of the ten ruling kingdoms and to rule over the remaining seven. History reveals that this is exactly what the Papacy did. It destroyed the Heruli in A.D. 493, the Vandals in A.D. 534, and the Ostrogoths in A.D. 538, thus turning the Pope into a temporal sovereign.

"And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. " - Daniel 7:25.

4. God distinctly declares that this power was to rule with complete supremacy for a period of 1260 years. Time represents one year; times, plural, represents two years; and a dividing of times would be half of a year. Add them all together; this is three and one-half years. Allowing thirty days to a Bible month, with twelve months to a year, we have 360 days in a Bible year. The rule of prophecy, according to Ezekiel 4:6, is that a day stands for a year, for God said, "I have appointed thee each day for a year. " Adding these all up, we have 1260 days equaling 1260 years.

The Papacy began its temporal reign in A.D. 538 when it destroyed the third little horn, and it ended its unbroken supremacy 1260 years later, exactly as God had predicted, when Berthier, the French general, took the Pope prisoner. Thus the Word of God was fulfilled.

Now we come to the most amazing description of all.

5. God has given to us a number whereby this power can be identified.

"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast. for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." - Revelation 13:18.

When the Pope is crowned he is given the official title of 'Vicarius Filii Dei', which means 'Vicar of the Son of God'.

LATIN

V = 5 F = 0 D = 500

I = 1 I = 1 E = 0

C = 100 L = 50 I = 1

A = 0 I = 1

R = 0 I = 1

I = 1

U = 5

S = 0

TOTAL: 112 + 53 + 501 = 666

Latin, of course, is the official language of the Papacy, and therefore we would expect to find the Roman numerals adding up his number. It is surprising why so few in this enlightened generation are unaware of the Bible prediction.

One of the most amazing facts is that you can do this in the Latin (VICARIVS FILII DEI), in the Hebrew (ROMITI / ROMITH), or in the Greek (LATEINOS). It will all add up to the same - 666.

Now we come to the last point of identity, the "Mark of the beast"!

"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. " - Daniel 7.25.

6. Take a careful look at what God means when He says that this power would "think to change times and laws." There is only one law of God, and that is found in Exodus 20. There is only one portion of that law in which time is a factor. Let's read the fourth commandment as God wrote it.

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. " - Exodus 20:8-11.

Can we discover where the Papacy has actually attempted to change the divine law of God affecting a time element? Yes, we certainly can. If you will open any Roman Catholic Catechism and turn to that portion dealing with the law of God, you will discover that the law has indeed been greatly changed. They have left out the second commandment entirely and divided the tenth commandment into two parts, thus attempting to still retain ten commandments. But notice the fourth particularly. The time element has been deliberately removed, along with the express command stating which day is the Sabbath. All that remains are the words, "Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.'

Let us read a most challenging statement made by the Church. They have done exactly what God predicted they would do.

"The Pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify, explain, or interpret, even divine laws.... The Pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man but of God, and he acts as Vicegerent of God upon earth with most ample power of binding and loosing the sheep." - From the Prompta Bibliotheca published in 1900 in Rome by the press of the [Papal] propaganda.

"The Pope has power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ." - Decretal de Translat, Episcop. Cap.

The Pope's will stands for reason. He can dispense above the law, and of wrong make right by correcting and changing laws." - Pope Nicholas, Dis. 96.

It is within the inspired words "think to change times and laws" that we discover the "Mark of the beast."

The following are all authentic quotations that will definitely answer our questions as to what the "mark of the beast" is. Notice them carefully.

"The Catholic Church for over one thousand years before the existence of a Protestant, by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday."-Catholic Mirror, Sept. 23, 1893.

You will notice in this information that the Church declares that it was not God Who changed the day from Saturday to Sunday but that they, the papists, were the ones who made this change. The Sabbath was officially changed by the Papacy at the Council of Laodicea on March 7, 364 A.D. That was 43 years after Constantine declared Sunday the day for Christians to honor as a rest day.

"Question. - Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept?"

"Answer. - Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her,-she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority." - Rev. Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism, p. 174.

This quotation emphasizes the fact that since the world accepts Sunday as a day of worship, this acknowledges her supremacy.

"I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to any one who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, 'Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.' The Catholic Church says, 'No; by my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day, and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.' and lo! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church." - Priest Enright, C.S.S.R., Kansas City, Missouri.

There is no question concerning the changing of Sabbath the seventh day to Sunday the first day by the Papacy. You can readily see that there is nothing to be found in the Bible about changing the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. The Papacy is correct in stating that they changed the day.

"In reply to a letter of October 28, 1895, to Cardinal Gibbons, asking if the church claimed the change of the Sabbath as her mark, the following was received: 'Of course the Catholic church claims that the change was her act .... And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters.' - C.F. Thomas, Chancellor."

Sunday is the mark of authority of the Roman Catholic Church. It is the "Mark of the Beast." Of this there is absolutely no question, either in the Word of God or in history.

Are Protestant churches aware of these facts? Do they agree that there is no Scriptural authority for Sunday keeping? Let us now turn to the various Protestant churches and hear from them.

Presbyterian: "The Christian Sabbath (Sunday) is not in the Scripture, and was not by the primitive church called the Sabbath." - Dwight's theology, vol. 4, p. 401.

Congregational: "There is no command in the Bible requiring us to observe the first day of the week as the Christian Sabbath." - Fowler, Mode and Subjects of Baptism.

Lutheran: "The observance of the Lord's day (Sunday) is founded not on any command of God, but on the authority of the church." - "Augsburg Confession of Faith," quoted in Cox's Sabbath Manual, p. 287.

Friends, don't you think that when a church admits they are following a teaching not founded on the Word of God, they ought to change and follow God's Word?

Episcopalian: "The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intentions of the apostles to establish a divine command in this respect, far from them and from the early apostolic church, to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday." - Neander, The History of the Christian Religion and Church, p. 186, translated by Henry John Rose, B.D. (Philadelphia: James M. Campbell & Co., 1843).

Here is another church that admits it was not the apostles' intention that the day of worship should ever be changed.

Methodist: "it is true there is no positive command for infant baptism .... Nor is there any for keeping holy the first day of the week." - Rev. Amos Binney, Theological Compend, pp. 180, 181, 1902 ed.

Even our Methodist friends admit that there is nothing in the Bible directing us to keep Sunday holy. Let us turn to our friends the Baptists:

Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, author of The Baptist Manual, before a group of ministers, made this candid admission:

"There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week, with all its duties, privileges, and sanctions. Earnestly desiring information on this subject, which I have studied for many years, I ask, Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament, absolutely not. There is no Scriptural evidence of the change of the Sabbath institution from the seventh to the first day of the week.

"Of course," he continues, "I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history as a religious day, as we learn from the Christian fathers and other sources. But what a pity that it comes branded with the mark of Paganism, and christened with the name of the Sun god, when adopted and sanctioned by the Papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism!" - From a paper read before a New York Ministers' Conference, held Nov. 13, 1893.

Here is one of the leaders of a great Protestant denomination clearly admitting that Sunday keeping is branded with the Mark of paganism.

While God clearly gives us His warning against the acceptance of the "mark of the beast," He also admonishes us to be sure to receive His seal.

"Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples." - Isaiah 8:1 6.

Notice that the seal is to be used in identifying the law among God's disciples. What are the essentials of a seal? A seal is placed upon legal documents; it stamps them as authentic. Placed upon a proclamation of a ruler, a seal testifies that it is genuine. Such a seal usually gives the name, title, and dominion of the ruler. For instance, in the early days of our country when the first President took office, his seal contained these three points: name, 'George Washington'; title, 'President'; territory, the 'United States of America'. Just so God's seal would contain these three facts - His name, the 'Lord thy God'; His office, 'Creator'; His territory, 'heaven and earth'. Now let us read carefully the fourth commandment and see if we can discover the seal within the law.

Did you catch the three identification marks of a seal? Notice them carefully: the name, 'The Lord thy God'; His authority, 'Creator'. He demands that we honor Him by keeping holy the seventh day, showing our acceptance of this authority; His territory, "heaven and earth." Herein is the seal of God.

Contrast this now with the counterfeit, called the "mark of the beast": the name, Pope; his authority, he claims power to change God's holy day-to keep holy the first day of the week (and in so doing we give him our allegiance); his territory - he claims that of heaven and earth.

What does God plainly have to say of our decision to receive the seal of God or the "mark of the beast"?

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" - Romans 6:16.

My dear friends, there you have it. God is reaching down and touching your heart with His mighty appeal for you to follow the teachings of Jesus. Won't you obey Him? The acceptance of His shed blood in your behalf will bring you eternal salvation. This is why Jesus Christ is personally sending His last appeal to you. It is of such importance that it has been pictured symbolically by an angel flying in the midst of heaven.

"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name". - Revelation 14:9-11.

Friend, no matter where you turn in the Scriptures you will find all the prophets pleading and admonishing us to obey God and not the dragon power. To each is given the choice, but as in the Garden of Eden-will we believe God, obey His command to keep the Sabbath, and live? Or, will we listen to the dragon through the medium of the Papacy and obey its commands in keeping Sunday, and be lost? God will help each one of us not to make the mistake of our first parents.

As you look out upon the world, you will find that the vast majority are following this false system, and this is exactly what God predicted would happen in the last days of this world's history.

"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. " - Revelation 13:8.

I ask you to turn your eyes upon the cross of Calvary. If the law possibly could have been changed, Jesus would not have had to die. Behold Him, His hands and feet driven through, His head crowned with thorns, and a spear thrust in His side. We behold Jesus dying of a broken heart for you and me. Such love calls us, saying,

"If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. " - John 15:1 0.

Dear friend, many of you have discovered that you are unknowingly and unwittingly following a teaching that is contrary to the Word of God. Jesus will forgive all this. But can you continue in so doing? Jesus says:

"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" - Luke 6:46.

Everyone should pray that God will give you the courage to do what you know He wants you to do. There are millions of Sabbath keepers around the world today that reach out a helping hand to you and invite you to join them in keeping God's commandments.

"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. " - Revelation 22:14.

Chapter 6

The Scarlet Beast of Revelation 17

In this chapter we will discover the Antichrist. We begin by reading Revelation 14:8.

"And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. "

You will notice that this system called Babylon causes all the nations on earth to drink from her cup. This is why God's wrath is poured out upon the inhabitants of the earth who drink from this cup.

Further details are revealed in Revelation 18:1-4.

"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory..

"And he cited mightily with a strong voice, saying, 'Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird'.

"For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye he not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. "

Why? The next verse, Revelation 18:5, explains.

"For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities."

The Antichrist - A Religio-political world power
represented as a corrupt woman (corrupt Church) riding the 10-horned beast (a world power)

God in His great mercy has revealed every detail of this Antichrist power by describing an eighth and final beast in prophecy. An evil (or corrupt) woman rides on this beast holding a cup of false doctrines in her hand from which the inhabitants of this world are drinking. Let us read how God describes this woman who sits upon this beast.

"I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

"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.

"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.

"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:

"And upon her forehead was a name written,

MYSTERY,
BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH "

- Revelation 17:1-5.

Please remember, there must be no guessing about this beast, for this is a life and death issue! So please turn to the back cover of this book and open the folded chart showing eight beasts. Keep this before you as you read this chapter. These beasts of Bible prophecy cover six thousand years, from the creation of our world down to the last days when Christ has promised to return and usher in His everlasting kingdom.

Now we are ready for a quick review of the first seven beasts which will help us to clearly understand the eighth beast which is the Antichrist.

The Bible tells us that war broke out in heaven between Christ and His angels and Satan and the angels who chose to follow him. The devil was cast out of heaven and came to this world where Adam and Eve had been given dominion over the earth. Let us read Revelation 12:7-9.

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

"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."

Satan soon deceived Adam and Eve causing them to sin against God by eating the forbidden fruit. This disobedience automatically placed the family of man on the side of Satan in the battle against God. Thus, the war which began in heaven continues on this earth with two opposing forces, the "Sons of God" who obey Him, and the "sons of men" who are loyal to Satan.

In prophecy God pictures this enemy power now on this earth as a great red dragon. Since God knows the end from the beginning, He has given us this picture of Satan's power which will continue to control this world until the end when Jesus will come the second time to fight the last battle called Armageddon, destroying Satan's kingdom.

Notice how God describes in detail how the devil's kingdom got started as we read Revelation 12:3,4.

,And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

"And his tail drew the third Part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth:"

The seven heads symbolized the seven time periods in which the dragon power controls the people under its influence, beginning with the antediluvians who became so evil that God destroyed them with a worldwide flood.

After the flood Satan again took over the world by developing a universal pagan kingdom in the year 606 B.C. called Babylon. God used a lion with wings to portray this powerful kingdom of Satan. But Babylon was conquered by the Medes and Persians in 538 B.C. The prophet portrayed this transfer of the dragon power by picturing a bear representing Persia which was devouring the three provinces of Babylon and eventually overthrew the Medes. A leopard with wings representing Greece conquered Persia in 331 B.C. Pagan Rome arose in 168 B.C. to conquer Greece, thus the dragon power again was transferred. In A.D. 31 the devil through pagan Rome crucified our Saviour in an attempt to destroy Christ forever, but praise God, Jesus arose from the tomb victorious over Satan!

Pagan Rome continued as the universal kingdom of the dragon power until 476 A.D. when it divided into 10 separate kingdoms just as God had prophesied in Daniel 7:7, as a beast having 10 horns. In the year 538 A.D. the little horn power destroyed three of the 10 kingdoms causing the remaining 7 kingdoms to accept the papal rule over them. Thus, the 'dragon' continued to control the world.

At this point God gives us a caricature of the beast of Revelation 13 to reveal that this papal power is nothing more than a continuation of the dragon power which revealed itself in all the past universal kingdoms of this earth. In developing this caricature Inspiration reaches back through past history by taking the horns from the monster beast of pagan Rome, the body from the leopard beast of Greece, the feet from the bear Medo-Persia, and the head from the lion, Babylon. And then inspiration adds "and the dragon gave him his power. " - Revelation 13:2. This brings us back in time to the very beginning when the dragon seized control of this world soon after creation.

However, as you look forward in time using the beast chart attached to the back of this book, you make a discovery. The Satanic power of this first beast, the dragon, was passed on from one world empire to the next succeeding kingdom; such as the Dragon to Babylon, then to Medo-Persia, to Greece, to pagan Rome, and then to Papal Rome. This is clearly indicated in Revelation 13:2, "the dragon gave him his power, [and his throne, and great authority]."

But this Papal power of the dragon suffered a setback in the year 1798 A.D. when Napoleon dethroned the Pope and caused him to die in exile. The Scripture speaks of this as receiving a "deadly wound".

Revelation 13:3.

In the same year that the wound was inflicted in 1798 the seventh beast, the United States of America, was recognized as the coming world power. Prophecy predicted it would be an uncrowned (ie. has no monarchy), two-horned beast. The two horns representing Republicanism and Protestantism; that which the world had not seen for centuries, a nation with complete separation of Church and State. During this time period the "deadly wound" which had been inflicted in the year 1798 began to heal when Mussolini agreed to make the Vatican a [sovereign] papal state in 1929.

We read the following words of Scripture in Revelation 13:14 in which this two-horned beast says to its citizens: "...that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by the sword, and did live. "

The restoration of power to the Vatican makes it possible for the appearance of the last and final beast to control the world. This beast of Revelation 17 which has an evil woman riding upon it depicts the Antichrist.

God has given us clear unmistakable evidence so there can be no possible misunderstanding. Let us read Revelation 17:1-3 again.

'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:

"With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine o her fornication.

"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.

God gives eight points of identity.

1. The woman is seated on the beast. This is very significant. We have learned in previous chapters that a woman represents a church. A pure woman in white indicates a pure church. An impure or scarlet colored woman depicts an impure woman such as a whore, or an apostate church.

Here we have a woman seated upon a scarlet colored beast, the civil authorities, by which she is upheld and which she controls and guides to her own ends, as a rider controls the animal upon which he is seated. Thus the Antichrist Church power is in absolute control of the New World Order.

2. This woman holds a cup in her hand from which she causes the inhabitants of this earth to drink and become drunk with the wine of false doctrines. This wine represents the deceptive false principles and policies from which the inhabitants of the earth have become unstable or drunk leading to a universal breakdown of law and order.

3. This woman riding the beast is called the 'Mother of harlots' revealing that as a result of the Ecumenical Movement the entire religious systems of the world have joined hands with her in religious unity of doctrines held in common.

4. The "deadly wound" inflicted in 1798 has been completely healed. She rules the entire world. Revelation 17:8 makes this clear: "...behold the beast that was, (538 AD-1798); "and is not, (1798-1929); "and yet is." (1929-today).

5. The color of the beast and the woman's dress are very important! Read Revelation 17:3,4:

"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. [ie. A persecuting religio-political world power]

"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 handful of abominations and filthiness of her fornication."

These are the official colors portrayed in Church pageantry.

6. Notice the words-"full of names of blaspheme This is the same beast of Revelation 13 which claims to have changed the Divine Law of God by removing the second commandment and changing the fourth commandment, thus the seventh day, God's Holy Sabbath day, has been changed to a false first day, Sunday worship; enforcing the "mark of the beast" by making it impossible to buy or sell unless this "mark" of her authority is accepted.

7. This Papal power portrayed by God is stated to be drunken with the blood of saints.

"And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of martyrs of Jesus. " Revelation 17.6.

History reveals that Papal Rome destroyed millions of God's saints.

8. And finally, the unthinkable! For Paul calls the Antichrist the "mystery of iniquity", in 2 Thessalonians 2:7, which will attempt to fight the return of Christ in the final battle of Armageddon. God clearly reveals this in Revelation 17:10-14:

"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.

"And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

"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.

"These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

"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." (Emphasis added).

Now look again at the chart of beasts at the back of the book. You will notice that each beast is numbered in their order, one through eight. These beasts cover the entire history of the world from its beginning to the very end. Notice the dates printed above each beast provided by history and Scripture.

In Revelation 17:10 the Scripture states of these beasts that-"... there are seven kings:five are fallen. " These time periods, or world powers controlled by Satan, were described by God as: #1 -the Dragon (the Antediluvians), #2-the Lion (Babylon), #3-the Bear (Medo-Persia), #4-the Leopard (Greece), and #5-the Monster (Pagan Rome). These were all in the past as the Scripture states, "all are fallen."

Now let us read Revelation 17:10 again.

"7'here are seven kings: five are fallen," number 6 refers to the Papacy, the beast of Revelation 13 is composed of a part from each of the previous (beast) powers. Then the Scripture continues, "the other is not yet come" which is referring to the number 7 beast.

These last six words refer to the United States. The prophet continues by stating that this seventh power, the United States, would continue a "short space" after it appeared, meaning an indefinite period of time. If God had given a date when it would end, we would know the exact time when Christ would come and man would procrastinate and not be ready for His coming. It is during this short time period that Scripture states in Revelation 13:11,12 regarding the United States of America:

"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. And he 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. "

Verse eleven of Revelation 17 then states "the beast that was and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven." Here is a perfect synopsis of the Papacy ruling the world from 538 to 1798. Then, because of the deadly wound, "it is not," until 1929 when the wound begins to heal to a full worldwide reign again. Then God adds these significant words, "and is of the seven" revealing that the power of Satan which is found in all seven preceding beasts is now fully developed in the eighth beast. This is God's explanation of the Antichrist. Satan is the true Antichrist, but he rules through his earthly representative, which the Bible calls a "beast" power.

You will recall in chapter 2, we discussed Revelation 12:3 in which God revealed that the dragon power would eventually control by reigning over the seven time periods of earth's history which God represented by the seven heads of the dragon, each with a crown, "behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. "

The ten horns represent the final ten powers which are now being formed on the earth under the New World Order, who give their power to the beast (the Antichrist). As we read in Revelation 17:12, 13:

"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. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. "

As the 'Antichrist' power enlists the entire world through the Ecumenical Movement for a One World Church and Government, God is preparing a special people who will gain the victory over this beast power and robe themselves in the wedding garment of Christ's righteousness to live with Christ throughout all eternity.

May God help you to decide to be a part of God's people who "...keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus, " Revelation 14:12, so that you may join His mighty army which will soon be victorious over the Antichrist power. Your soul is at stake!

NOTES

Creation and pre-history: Paganism and the false doctrine of 'immortality of the soul' often encountered in the old pagan mystery religions
(See Hislop, Budge, etc. for more).

606 BC: Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) Empire under Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar - 'Winged Lion'
538 BC: Medo-Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great - 'Bear with three ribs' between its teeth
331 BC: Alexander the Great and the Greek Empire - Leopard with 4 wings (the 4 divisions of the Greek Empire after Alexander's death)
168 BC-476 AD: The Roman Empire - The 'terrible beast' with iron teeth (Dan. 7).
538 BC: Temporary reunification of the eastern and western Roman Empire by Justinian - Papal Rome or specifically, the Papacy at the height of its former power during the Dark Ages, Crusades and the Inquisition (the Antichrist - a unique religio-political world power).

800 AD-1806: Holy Roman Empire in the west

1776: The founding of America during the age of the Enlightenment and based on the ideals of liberty and democracy
1789: The French Revolution
1798: Napoleonic Wars - General Louis Alexandre Berthier takes Rome and exiles Pope Pius VI.
1929: Lateran Treaty with Mussolini establishes the Vatican State in Rome as a sovereign state. This is the seat of the temporal dominion of the Papacy, and of the Roman Catholic Church.

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