REVELATION 13: PART 3 • THE LAMB-LIKE BEAST THAT SPEAKS AS A DRAGON
Revelation 13:11
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 I beheld another beast”
These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth. … (Daniel 7:17, 23)
This two-horned beast is also a kingdom, though different from the beast from the sea. (See Revelation 13:1.)
“Coming up out of the earth”
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. (Revelation 12:14, 16)
The earth or the wilderness, representing a sparsely populated and isolated area, was where the woman of Revelation 12 was protected. The two-horned beast comes up not in the midst of a sea of peoples or in the midst of the strife of winds but “out of the earth,” in an obscure and relatively peaceful territory. Instead of overthrowing other powers to establish itself, the power represented as coming from the earth must arise in territory undeveloped and sparsely populated and grow up gradually.
As the papal power was coming to the end of its 1260-year reign, prophecy reveals another power coming up out of the earth. This second beast of Revelation 13 came onto the prophetic and world scene in the late 1700s and represents the United States of America. It came up out of obscurity rather than in the Old World where nations had existed for centuries and millennia. America was as a lamb to the oppressed peoples of the Old World fleeing religious intolerance and seeking for a better life.
Two great landmarks, represented as lamb’s horns, have made the country of America great. These landmarks are religious and civil freedom. The sacred Scriptures reveal powers in prophecy as they relate to the furtherance or hindrance of God’s great plan and that of His people, and prophecy reveals America will play a significant role in end time events.
“He spake like a dragon”
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. (Revelation 12:13)
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 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 12:16–17)
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (Revelation 13:7)
America is beginning its third century as a nation, still apparently espousing the principles upon which it was founded. However, prophecy reveals that this nation shall speak as a dragon. In Bible prophecy, the dragon symbolizes Satan. (See Revelation 12:9.) Throughout sacred history, the dragon, Satan, has always opposed God and His people, seeking to set up false forms of worship, and persecuting the true saints of God.
The Bible reveals, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45.) The heart of America, its morality, has been steadily eroding. Professedly a Christian nation, it is, however, becoming increasingly pagan. This is why political correctness rules the day, and even much of the church has adopted relativism mysticism, and psychology, etc. A true biblical world view is understood and practiced by very few.
Even among Christians, only a small minority practices true commitment to God and lives by His Word. At the same time, there is a rise in Christian political activism contrary to the example of Jesus. This too is a process in which American Christianity will change from professedly following the Lamb to acting more like the dragon, though it will be done in the name of Christ. America is experiencing a moral fall and the breakdown of family, law and order, and with this moral erosion is an economic erosion fed by the greed of a government and people living beyond their means as they borrow from the future to live for today.
In the 21st century, America with its military and apparent economic might is seeking to pressure and dictate to friend and foe alike as the world’s only super power. Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, civil liberties and long-established law, at home and abroad, have been undermined. This abrogation reflects the change that is taking place in the character of America—from lamb to dragon. While this change is more readily noticed since 9-11, America has been involved in many wars and military operations in other countries for decades. Further, incidences within America itself over the years such as racial segregation, imprisoning of Japanese Americans, assassinations and a list to numerous to mention, shows the dragon like nature of America that lies beneath the surface.
Accompanying this tendency in America is the general democratization going on in the world, accompanied by economic, social, and communications globalization. This is a significant trend that demonstrates how close we may be to realizing the fulfillment of the prophecies of this chapter, for the world is increasingly becoming interlinked to where a global system of church (the first beast) and the state (America as a dragon with other states) could easily come together. This would come about as the world faces a multitude of seemingly complex and insurmountable national and international problems or catastrophic events. Is it possible that in the years ahead America could more readily take on the role of dragon and be instrumental with other key nations in pushing Rome to the forefront to meet the global challenges? Let us examine America’s current dominance in the world.
“The immediate post-Cold War world is not multipolar. It is unipolar. The center of world power is the unchallenged superpower, the United States, attended by its Western allies. … The most striking feature of the post-Cold War world is its unipolarity. No doubt, multipolarity will come in time. In perhaps another generation or so there will be great powers coequal with the United States, and the world will, in structure, resemble the pre-World War I era. But we are not there yet, nor will we be for decades. Now is the unipolar moment. …There is but one first-rate power and no prospect in the immediate future of any power to rival it.”1
“At the outset of the twenty-first century, America’s power is unprecedented in its global military reach, in the centrality of America’s economic vitality for the well-being of the world economy, in the innovative impact of America’s technological dynamism, and in the worldwide appeal of the multifaceted often crass American mass culture. All of these give America matchless global political clout. For better or worse, America is the global pacesetter, and there is no rival in sight.
“Europe might be competitive economically, but it will be along time before Europe acquires the degree of unity that would enable it to compete politically. Japan, once seen as the next superstate, is out of the race, while China, despite its economic progress, is likely to remain relatively poor for at least two generations and in the meantime may encounter severe political difficulties. Russia is no longer in the running. In brief, America does not have, and will not soon face, a global peer.
“There is thus no realistic alternative to the prevailing American hegemony and the role of U.S. power as the indispensable component of global security. At the same time, American democracy—and the example of American success—disseminates economic, cultural, and technological changes that promote growing global interconnections over and above national frontiers. …”2
“In a broad new policy statement that is in its final drafting phase, the Defense Department asserts that America’s political and military mission in the post-cold-war era will be to ensure that no rival superpower is allowed to emerge in Western Europe, Asia or the territories of the former Soviet Union.
“A 46-page document that has been circulating at the highest levels of the Pentagon for weeks, and which Defense Secretary Dick Cheney expects to release later this month, states that part of the American mission will be “convincing potential competitors that they need not aspire to a greater role or pursue a more aggressive posture to protect their legitimate interests.
“The classified document makes the case for a world dominated by one superpower whose position can be perpetuated by constructive behavior and sufficient military might to deter any nation or group of nations from challenging American primacy.”3
“Regionalization of conflict frees the last superpower, the United States, to impose its will ruthlessly, without fear of global consequence. The U. S. now lives in a more unruly world, but the world clearly faces an unleashed giant.
“The essential political and military fact in the world today is the domination of the seas by the U. S. Navy. All of the world’s oceans belong to one country: America. This is a novel fact in recorded history … This means that, should it choose to do so, the United States can determine the pattern of world trade, dictating what goes where and how.”4
The dragon is represented as Satan. However, we know from our past studies that Satan used the Roman Empire and then papal Rome to persecute God’s people. For the United States to speak as a dragon she must act as Rome did. Is that possible? The prophecy says yes. America’s current dominance is such that with the cooperation of just a few of the supposed nations of Christendom where Rome still has influence things could very rapidly change.
Liberals and secular humanists in America and Europe look with alarm on politicized religion and America’s religious tendencies. While no doubt books and lectures coming from this group have their own agenda, desiring to see the dechristianizing of America and Europe, yet Revelation does reveal a coming together of Church and state in some form of new global order.
“The wall of separation between church and state is a metaphor based on bad history, a metaphor which has proved useless as a guide to judging. It should be frankly and explicitly abandoned.” United States Supreme Court, Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
Justice Anthony Kennedy is also “a persistent advocate of weakening the separation between church and state.” U. S. News and World Report, June 18, 1990. He wrote, “that ‘substantial revision’ of church-state law ‘may be in order.’” Ibid. Kennedy and fellow conservative Antonin Scalia are “both practicing Catholics.” Ibid5
“But the greatest energy and most calculated attempts to take over the Republican party now come from … the religious right. Evangelical conservatives accounted for 40 percent of the delegates to the GOP convention. They also captured the party platform, writing into it flaming denunciations of alternative lifestyles. Party strategists fear that if Bush loses, many of the country club Republicans will lose interest in GOP affairs, and the religious right will take over.”6
“Christian America’s political arm is more complex and more dynamic than it first appears. And it will be hard to stop. … It seems that the religious right cannot fail to win. Either the Democrats continue to get more secular, in which case middle America will continue to vote Republican, or they will embrace religion a little more fully, and then the religious right will get a little more of what it wants.”7
What we have seen in these statements is an ideology that will eventually lead to a church-controlled government with strong ties to the papal system. Impossible? Watch out! The prophecy may be closer to being realized than we think. People in America and the world will do strange things in the name of global economic survival or in the face of catastrophic events. Like Esau, they will sell their birthright for a temporary gratification, only to find in the end that they have sold their souls for the “mark of the beast” and, in reality, to Satan.
The tragic attack on the New York trade center and the loss of several thousand lives in 2001 has already changed the world in significant ways and revealed very prominently the dragon side of America. This is seen in the indefinite detainment of prisoners without charge in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, who are held in violation of basic justice and International law, not unlike the principles of the Inquisition in medieval Europe. Other dragon-like actions include the stripping of U.S. citizens of their citizenship in the name of national security, and the growing power of government to intrude upon civil liberties through such laws as the Patriot Act.
In the name of domestic security the United States has invaded sovereign countries and placed additional military units throughout the globe. Despite claims to the contrary, the American government has condoned the abduction and torture of supposed terrorists suspects with little protest from the American people or its churches. Such actions are the acts of a global super power that is increasingly speaking “as a dragon.” This dragon-like behavior is exhibited while simultaneously promoting democracy abroad when and where it chooses.
At the same time, there is a growing social and religious conservatism at home, though it is largely a “form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3:5.) These trends and many others are steadily moving the nation of America and the world toward the final fulfillment of Revelation 13.
It might be thought that Congress and the American people would never allow the complete usurpation of the rights to freedom of conscience and religion. But let it be understood the prophecy of Revelation 13 will not take place under ordinary circumstances. Further the power of executive order issued by the president could be one means in a crisis to suspend the constitution and then things could change rapidly.
What is an Executive Order?
“An executive order in the United States of America is an edict issued by the President of the United States, the head of the executive branch of the United States Government. In other countries, similar edicts may be known as decrees, or orders-in-council. The concept of an executive order is loosely derived from the grant of ‘executive power’ given to the President by Article Two of the United States Constitution, Section 1, and the statement ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed’ in Article II, Section 3.
“Presidents of the United States have issued executive orders since 1789, usually to help direct the operation of executive officers. Some orders do have the force of law when made in pursuance of certain Acts of Congress of the United States, when those acts give the President discretionary powers.
“Until the early 1900s, executive orders went mostly unannounced and undocumented, seen only by the agencies to which they were directed. However, the United States Department of State instituted a numbering system for executive orders in the early 1900s, starting retroactively with what may be the most famous of executive orders, President Abraham Lincoln’s 1862 Emancipation Proclamation. Today, only National Security Directives are kept from the public.
“Critics have accused presidents of abusing executive orders, of using them to make laws without Congressional approval, and of moving existing laws away from their original mandates. Large policy changes with wide-ranging effects have been effected through executive order, including the integration of the Armed Forces under Harry Truman and the desegregation of public schools under Dwight D. Eisenhower. To date, U.S. courts have overturned only two executive orders: the aforementioned Truman order, and a 1996 order issued by President Bill Clinton that attempted to prevent the U.S. government from contracting with organizations that had strike-breakers on the payroll.”8
Revelation 13:12
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 exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him”
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (Revelation 13:7)
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)
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies … (Revelation 13:5)
In verse twelve America is said to exercise “all the power of the first beast before him.” This first beast is the papal power. Here is revealed that America will join church and state in seeking to compel conscience and setting up some form of church-ruled government, yielding up its two lamb-like horns of civil and religious liberty and speaking as a dragon. Religious intolerance will take the place of religious tolerance. Majoritarianism will take the place of individual liberty and freedom of conscience. America will not stop at its own borders when it speaks as a dragon, but will cause the earth (that means all people) to worship the first beast. Economics and military might, especially the former, will quickly bring even dissenting nations to submission.
Major global upheavals involving several nearly simultaneous natural disasters of regional or global significance such as the 2004 Asian Tsunami, or a global economic crisis, will hasten the process along. This is not to say that all the world will become of one religion—far from it. However, the attitude will be “go along to get along.” By so doing, they will thus receive the mark in the hand.
Verse twelve continues that he shall cause all the earth to worship “the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” How close are we to this event? Only God knows for sure. The Bible says this would happen sometime after the papacy’s deadly wound began to be healed (1929) and she regained her sovereignty.
We must know the real attitudes and teachings of the first beast if we are to know how America will eventually act when she makes an image or likeness.
“Exerciseth all the Power of the First Beast”
Point 1: “We are informed by the texts of the gospels that in this [Roman Catholic] Church and in its power are two swords; namely, the spiritual and the temporal. For when the Apostles say: “Behold, here are two swords” [Lk 22:38] that is to say, in the Church, since the Apostles were speaking, the Lord did not reply that there were too many, but sufficient. Certainly the one who denies that the temporal sword is in the power of Peter has not listened well to the word of the Lord commanding: ‘Put up thy sword into thy scabbard’ [Mt 26:52]. Both, therefore, are in the power of the Church, that is to say, the spiritual and the material sword, but the former is to be administered for the Church but the latter by the Church; the former in the hands of the priest; the latter by the hands of kings and soldiers, but at the will and sufferance of the priest.
“However, one sword ought to be subordinated to the other and temporal authority, subjected to spiritual power. For since the Apostle said: ‘There is no power except from God and the things that are, are ordained of God’ [Rom 13:1-2], but they would not be ordained if one sword were not subordinated to the other and if the inferior one, as it were, were not led upwards by the other.”9
To act as the beast did in its past means the state becomes the instrument of the church. Ancient and recent history both show us the danger to life and liberty when in the name of God religious elements take the reigns of government. Look at the late Ayatollah Khomeini’s Iran, where, to this present time (2007), the citizens still struggle with religious dominance in everyday life. The early American colonies had religious laws when church and state was combined and dissenters for the sake of conscience suffered.
Modern day Saudi Arabia as with the other examples shows what happens to a state that is dominated by religion. There is little or no allowance for freedom of dissenting opinion, freedom of the press, religious freedom, or liberty of conscience. In each of these cases, religion dominates the state and even subverts political and religious liberty in the all-powerful name of religion and god.
Point 2: Heresy—“When Constantine had taken upon himself the office of lay bishop, episcopus externus, and put the secular arm at the service of the Church, the laws against heretics became more and more rigorous. Under the purely ecclesiastical discipline no temporal punishment could be inflicted on the obstinate heretic except the damage, which might arise to his personal dignity through being deprived of all intercourse with his former brethren. But under the Christian emperors rigorous measures were enforced against the goods and persons of heretics. From the time of Constantine to Theodosius and Valentinian III (313–424) various penal laws were enacted by the Christian emperors against heretics as being guilty of crime against the State. …
“Theodosius is said to be the first who pronounced heresy capital crime; this law was passed in 382. …
“This legislation remained in force and with even greater severity in the kingdom formed by the victorious barbarian invaders on the ruins of the Roman Empire in the West. The burning of heretics was first decreed in the eleventh century. The Synod of Verona (1184) imposed on bishops the duty to search out the heretics in their dioceses and to hand them over to the secular power. Other synods and the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) under Pope Innocent III, repeated and enforced this decree, especially the Synod of Toulouse (1229), which established inquisitors in every parish (one priest and two laymen). Everyone was bound to denounce heretics, the names of the witnesses were kept secret. …”10
Point 3: “The Church has persecuted. Only a tyro [an inexperienced person] in church history will deny that … A hundred and fifty years after Constantine the Donatists were persecuted and sometimes put to death. … Protestants 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 the Church 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.”11
Those who disagree for conscience’ sake are eliminated as troublers of the state. Do we doubt it could take place on a worldwide basis instigated by America and the Vatican and other cooperative nations? Look at Communism’s victims in the 20th century in Russia and China and in Cambodia with the Khmer Rouge’s victims in the 1970’s as examples of the state killing and persecuting its own citizens. Also, look at the Balkan wars in the 1990s where nationalism and religion led to the death of hundreds of thousands. The twenty-first century thus far is little better. Let us not fool ourselves: this attitude of government led genocide and mass killings and imprisonment still exits in the world today.
Moreover, when religious elements take the reign of world power many will be compelled to sacrifice life before conscience. Jesus’ words will be fulfilled once again. “ … The time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me” (John 16:2–3).
Worship is the major emphasis in the mark of the beast system described in Revelation 13. So we know religion is very much a part of the system of control at the end of time. The threat of death, of loss of liberty, and economic rewards and penalties will be the tools to bring the dissenting elements of the world into conformity.
Therefore, Revelation 13 verses 15 and 17 reveal the same threats of death and economic isolation and penalties for those who refuse to go along with the new system, just as it was when the Roman church controlled and influenced the state in the past. We should not be surprised, for when religion—the woman—dominates the state—the beast—the image will be made, and the image will act just like the original it was patterned after: the church-state system of the papal church.
Revelation 13:13
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.
“Doeth great wonders”
To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever. (Psalm 136:4)
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. (Acts 6:8)
And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders. (Deuteronomy 26:8)
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Matthew 24:24)
For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. (Mark 13:22)
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. (2 Thessalonians 2:9)
“Fire from heaven”
And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the Lord; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering. (1 Chronicles 21:26)
Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house. (2 Chronicles 7:1)
Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down. And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. (2 Kings 1:9–10)
Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. (Jeremiah 5:14)
Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? (Jeremiah 23:29)
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost … . (Acts 2:3–4)
In verse thirteen we see that “he (the two-horned beast or America under the control of religion) shall do “great wonders,” even causing fire to come down from heaven. This may take place either through apparently supernatural and religious influence or by technology. Regardless of the nature of the fire, this fire is used to deceive the nations into following the image of the beast.
Fire is a representation of the Holy Spirit and also the Word of God. Thus we can look for a possible false manifestation of the Holy Spirit and/or false teachings, supposedly from the Bible, in the churches of America. The greater majority in the Christian church shall accept and teach new age spiritualism and at the same time stretch its hand across the gulf that divides biblical Christianity and the traditions of men to join hands with Catholicism.
This process is already well under way. Under this three-fold union of fallen apostate Christianity, Catholicism and new age spiritualism, supposedly for the conversion of the world and the uplifting of society, persecution will occur, and an image to the beast shall be formed.
“He [John Paul II] does also believe that this geopolitical mission he has chosen to fulfill as Pope will be crowned with a success never registered in the life of any preceding pope. That in effect in the sight of all nations, his authority by the right of those keys will be declared in the skies above every nation so that across the face of the earth all men and women will see clearly where they stand in relation to the one who shed his blood to make those Keys perdurable [durable or imperishable] until the end of all human time.”12
“He [John Paul II] is waiting, rather, for an event that will fission human history, splitting the immediate past from the oncoming future. It will be an event on public view in the skies, in the oceans, and on the continental landmasses of this planet. It will particularly involve our human sun, which every day lights up and shines upon the valleys, the mountains and the plains of this earth for our eyes. But on the day of this event, it will not appear merely as the master star of our so-called solar system. Rather, it will be seen as the circumambient glory of the Woman whom the apostle describes as ‘clothed with the sun’ and giving birth to ‘a child who will rule the nations with a scepter of iron.’13
While the late pope’s hope never materialized, could the sign he was looking for coming from supernatural but demonic forces, have something to do with the deceiving fire coming forth from the church and state power of America that speaks as a dragon? A power that will deceive the nations of the world into accepting the papal system as the leader of what will eventually be a church-led global system involving the religions of the world and the leaders of the world in rebellion against God and His truth? By the fire of deception, the world will be led into accepting the mark of the beast, with all men worshiping or submitting to the beast.
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.
Deceiveth—1) to cause to stray, to lead astray, lead aside from the right way 1a) to go astray, wander, roam about 2a) to lead away from the truth, to lead into error, to deceive 2b) to be led into error 2c) to be led aside from the path of virtue, to go astray, sin 2d) to sever or fall away from the truth.14
Deceive—To mislead the mind; to cause to err; to cause to believe what is false, or disbelieve what is true. To beguile, to cheat. To take from; to rob.15
Image—A likeness, figurative representation, resemblance16
“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth”
See references on Revelation 12:9. The deceptive power of Satan seen in chapter 12 is now manifested through the two-horned beast. This will be in a special sense the time Jesus warned about.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Matthew 24:4–5, 11, 24)
“Miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast”
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. (Revelation 16:13–14)
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worship his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. (Revelation 19:20)
Miracles are generally associated with the supernatural, attributed to either God or demonic forces. This miraculous display shows us again the religious nature of the beast and the image to it that will be formed by America.
“They should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live”
Prophecy here reveals a strong alliance between the Unites States and the papacy as together they bring the world under their control. Is there any evidence that such a thing could happen? I would direct the reader to review again the section on Daniel 11:40–43
[John Paul] insists that men have no reliable hope of creating a viable geopolitical system unless it is on the basis of Roman Catholic Christianity.17
To be geopolitical, a structure would have to be equipped with legislative, executive and judicial powers over all its inhabitants—and, in this case, that means all the nations.18
ROME, Jan. 27, 2005 — The [outgoing U.S.] ambassador [James Nicholson] points out that “for 20 years the U.S. and Holy See has collaborated on the central issues of each epoch: end of communism, the resolution of regional conflicts in Latin America and Africa, and the peace process in the Middle East, and today, the threats of terror, hunger and disease.”19
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Seven cardinals and President Bush presided over the March 22 ceremony and ribbon-cutting that marked the grand opening of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington. …
The president noted that the last leader of the Soviet Union called the pope “the highest moral authority on earth.” He referred to the pope’s visits to Manila in 1995, when more than 5 million people came to see him, and to Israel last year, “on a mission of reconciliation and mutual respect between Christians and Jews.” …
The evening before, Bush hosted about 60 bishops and other church leaders for a reception at the White House.
He said the best way to honor the pope “is to take his teaching seriously, is to listen to his words and put his words and teachings into action here in America.”20
VATICAN CITY, MAY 28, 2002 — The Holy Father welcomed the president in his study, then motioned for Bush to sit down facing him across a desk. “Thank you for receiving me,” Bush said.
In a press statement, Vatican spokesman Joaquín Navarro-Valls said … that during these meetings a “review was made of some of the most urgent international problems, among them that of the Middle East. In addition to the political aspects, the humanitarian dimension of the tragic situation lived by the two peoples, Israeli and Palestinian, was taken into consideration. Reference was also made to the difficult situation of Christians in the Middle East.”21
As we note the level of cooperation between America and the Vatican in the above news reports, combined with the inroads of ecumenicalism and cooperation on social issues between Catholicism and most of the evangelical and protestant churches in America and the world, can we doubt the prophecy’s description for the future?
America, the lamb-like defender of freedom, will increasingly speak as a dragon, becoming a persecuting power. In making an image to the first beast, America will become a church-state system that will provide the political and military might to thrust the first beast into its position of global dominance, thus completing the healing of the wound that was received in 1798.
America and the powers of this world will create an image or likeness to the first beast enforcing some kind of religious observance upon the world that will constitute the mark of the beast. The mark of the beast is a mark of religious authority that is a form of worship that shows spiritual submission or acknowledgment of the beast’s authority.
Revelation 13:15
And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
And he [America] had power to give life unto the image of the beast, [papal principles] that the image of the beast [papal principles] should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
“He had power to give life”
America the two-horned beast, also called the false prophet (see Revelation 19:20), will be the instrument to bring to life the image of the beast, thereby establishing the enforcement of papal principles. America will make papal principles its own in a union of church and state, thus forming an image or likeness to the papacy.
The papacy shall regain her lost dominance and America will be like the nations of Europe in the past, by being a sustainer and supporter of the papacy.
“The image of the beast should both speak”
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. (Revelation 13:5–6)
And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. (Daniel 7:20)
And he [the little horn] shall speak great words against the most High … . (Daniel 7:25)
When the image or likeness speaks and acts like the original beast, then apparently lamb-like Christian America will enforce religious dogma, and religious tolerance will give way to religious-based laws of intolerance.
“And cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed”
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them. (Daniel 7:21)
And he … shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Daniel 7:25)
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (Revelation 13:7)
The speech and actions of the image formed by America will be like the beast itself. In fact, the beast will use America to further its own ends. As the prophet is secondary to the one for whom he prophesies, so the false prophet, Christian America, will be secondary to the beast, i.e., the papacy.
“John Paul’s Vatican longs for the past; the Pope wishes to restore an authoritarian church model based on that of the Middle Ages, when the state and its institutions were uniformly Catholic.”22
“The state has power from God, but it is a moral power, and the church has the right to say how it shall be exercised. The church’s laws must be respected by individuals and nations.”23
“If, therefore, the Catholic Church also claims the right of dogmatic intolerance with regard to her teaching, it is unjust to reproach her for exercising this right. With the imperturbable conviction that she was founded by the God-Man Jesus Christ as the “pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15) and endowed with full power to teach, to rule, and to sanctify, she regards dogmatic intolerance not alone as her incontestable right, but also as a sacred duty. …
As the true God can tolerate no strange gods, the true church of Christ can tolerate no strange Churches beside herself, or, what amounts to the same, she can recognize none as theoretically justified. And it is just in this exclusiveness that lies her unique strength, the stirring power of her propaganda, the unfailing vigor of her progress. …
“According to Romans 8:11, the secular authorities have the right to punish, especially grave crimes, with death; consequently, ‘heretics may be not only excommunicated but also justly put to death.’” (St. Thomas, II-II, Q. xi, a. 3)24
“That history [of the Roman Catholic church] has been good and bad, full of heroic deeds and ignoble crimes. The Pontiff is a prisoner even of those crimes. He knows the church was responsible for persecuting Jews, for the Inquisition, for slaughtering heretics by the thousand, for reintroducing torture into Europe as part of the judicial process. But he has to be careful. Doctrines responsible for those terrible things still underpin his position. Methods may differ, the aim remains the same. The whole world must be brought to acknowledge Christ and his church. Ruled and guided by the pope, the Catholic Church has the fullness of truth to which other religions can at best approximate.
“John Paul, praying as communion is distributed, would not want people to think that compassion is incompatible with inflexibility towards truth. Freedom to teach error, he believes, is mistaken. How can anyone have the right to teach as true what the church says is untrue or immoral? He, like every pontiff, takes it for granted that where the church is strong, her power must be used to outlaw what she condemns.”25
Liberty of conscience and freedom of religion will be repudiated. America will “make an image” to papal intolerance by dictating to the people what they should believe on religious matters. Religion becomes the state and the state the religion, thus as in medieval Europe errors against established faith were considered a crime against the state and the church—so closely were the two entwined.
Revelation 14:9–12, in warning about the mark of the beast, clearly distinguishes the people of God who do not receive the mark by describing them as commandment keepers. Therefore, the mark of the beast must have something to do with the exaltation of the commandments of men above the commandments and Word of God.
Revelation 13:16
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads.
“And he causeth all, both small and great”
Small—small in size, quantity, number or (figuratively) dignity26
Great—persons, eminent for ability, virtue, authority, power27
Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great. … (Deuteronomy 1:17)
And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the Lord. (2 Chronicles 34:30)
“Rich and poor, free and bond”
Free—unrestrained (to go at pleasure), i.e. (as a citizen) not a slave, exempt from obligation or liability28
Bond—a slave (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntary; frequently, therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or subserviency.)29
Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: both low and high, rich and poor, together. (Psalm 49:1–2)
The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all. (Proverbs 22:2)
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
As the rich and poor, free and bond are one before the Lord with no respect of persons, so too, none in society shall escape the mark of the beast. The common people of the world as well as the great in society will receive the mark. It matters not what one’s financial status is, whether rich or poor. Those who are free and those in bondage, be they prisoners or living under oppressive governments, whether a person is a modern day slave or under subservience on the edges of society—all will be compelled to receive the mark.
“To receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads”
And it [the feast of unleavened bread] shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt. (Exodus 13:9)
And thou shalt bind them [the words of God] for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. (Deuteronomy 6:8)
Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. (Deuteronomy 11:18)
And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. (Ezekiel 9:4)
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. (Revelation 14:1)
And they shall see his [the Lamb’s] face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. (Revelation 22:4)
In the Scripture references cited above, surrender (obedience) to the will, Word, and commandments of God are the sign on the hand and forehead. In contrast, the mark of the beast is a sign of surrender (obedience) to the will and word and commandments of the beast. Therefore, we can see from the texts above that the mark being in the hand would indicate our works and how we live, and that we go along with the beast outwardly but not with a full heart surrender. While the mark in the forehead, the area between the eyes, which is the seat of judgment and the will, indicate a desire and willingness to go along with the beast for our heart is in agreement.
God’s children who are sealed, in contrast to receiving the mark of the beast, are those who have “the patience [consistent endurance] of the saints: … that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). The beast will accept either a willing surrender or just outward works to get along. In contrast, God can only seal those who make a total surrender of the heart and mind to Him. The whole issue of the mark of the beast and the seal of God is over worship and authority.
Revelation 13:17
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.
“Had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name”
No one could buy or sell unless he had this mark, that is, the beast’s name or the number that stands for his name. (Revelation 13:17 TEV)
So that no-one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:17 NIV)
In these translations the mark is the beast’s name or number. This contrasts with those who receive God’s seal, which is the Father’s name in the forehead. Using the King James’ reading the mark linked with the name or number may indicate degrees of affiliation with the beast.
Verses sixteen and seventeen are also speaking of economic boycotts. The United States, often in conjunction with others, has already used this as one of its favorite weapons in places like North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Libya, Iraq, Syria, Myanmar, South Africa, and other places.
This practice can lead people to suffer from lack of essential commodities like fuel, medicine, electricity, etc. How much greater will the suffering be when the boycott is global upon all dissenters! If nations are hindered now, how serious will it be when no buying or selling is allowed, except as you go along with the system? No wonder the pressure will be so great that only the deeply committed Christian will stand the satanic onslaught against mind, body, and livelihood.
“The mark”
“He [Pope Leo XIII in his Encyclical Rerum novarum] affirms the need for Sunday rest so that people may turn their thoughts to heavenly things and to the worship which they owe to almighty God. No one can take away this human right, which is based on a commandment; … and consequently, the state must guarantee to the worker the exercise of this freedom.30
Berlin, Oct 27, 2002 — Sunday as a day of rest is a guard against ‘enslavement by the world of work,’a cardinal says.
“Cardinal Karl Lehmann, president of the German bishops’ conference, confirmed the Church’s position on Sunday work. ‘The celebration of Sunday is a necessity of human dignity, a protest against the commercialization of the person, and against enslavement by the world of work,’ he said.
“The archbishop of Mainz was speaking at the opening of the exhibition ‘The Seventh Day: History of Sunday,’ an event he described as an ‘extraordinary occasion to reflect again on Sunday and the dangers that threaten it,’ the SIR agency reported. …
“The cardinal pointed out the danger of Sunday losing its meaning. … ‘Sunday is not at our free disposal. Among the conditions for real freedom is the proper celebration of Sunday.”31
Rome has called for the governments to enforce Sunday sacredness. The call for honoring Sunday is often veiled as a call for workers’ rights or a social norm that should be guarded for the good of all. Further the idea of Sunday being the Christian Sabbath is without biblical support. Sunday is a sign of papal authority, and whether honored by tradition or legislative enactment has no Scriptural authority.
Q. What is the Third Commandment?
A. The Third Commandment is: Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.
Q. Which is the Sabbath Day?
A. Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.
Q. Why did the Catholic Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
A. The church substituted Sunday for Saturday, because Christ rose from the dead on a Sunday, and the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles on a Sunday.
Q. By what authority did the Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
A. The church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her.32
“Therefore, also in the particular circumstances of our own time, Christians will naturally strive to ensure that civil legislation respects their duty to keep Sunday holy.”33
Mandatory Sunday observance will in the future become a symbol of allegiance to or acknowledgment of the beast’s control over individuals in religious matters. Obedience to the laws of men or the law of God will be the simple but profound test at the end of time that determines if we receive the mark of the beast or the seal of God. It is only once this issue of worship and allegiance is determined that technological systems of control and access will be granted to the worshippers of the beast and withheld from all dissenters, therefore locking them out of the world economy so that they cannot buy or sell.
Many other things will be involved in the coming new system, including the possibility of cashless economies and special technologies for controlling people. No doubt there will be seemingly positive things from the new system that will be welcomed. Promises of world peace, economic growth and prosperity equally among the nations, are but some of the seemingly positive aspects of the beast, with the kings of the earth having control. However, behind the façade is a system known as mystical Babylon, a system that ultimately is a tool of Satan to turn the allegiance and worship of the masses of humanity to himself.
Revelation 13:18
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.
“Here is wisdom”
But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. … (Job 28:12, 28)
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. … (Psalm 111:10)
“Wisdom is the exercise of sound judgment either in avoiding evils or attempting good.”34
“Let him that hath understanding”
To depart from evil is understanding. (Job 28:28)
A good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. (Psalm 111:10)
For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:6)
And the knowledge of the holy is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)
Understanding is needed here: let every thinking man calculate the number of the animal [beast]. It is the number of a man, and its number is six hundred and sixty-six. (Revelation 13:18 Phillips)
Here is [room for] discernment [a call for the wisdom of interpretation]. Let anyone who has intelligence (penetration and insight enough) calculate the number of the beast. (Revelation 13:18 AMP)
This calls for wisdom. Whoever is intelligent can figure out the meaning of the number of the beast, because the number stands for a man’s name. It’s number is 666. (Revelation 13:18 TEV)
The wisdom and understanding needed here is not that of the universities, but the wisdom that comes from knowing and loving God and doing His will. The worshippers and followers of the beast are outside of God’s will and, though worshipping, are doing so apart from true knowledge of, and obedience to God’s Word.
Therefore they cannot understand that to receive the mark is a sign of rebellion against God. God’s children, filled with wisdom in knowing Him and His Word, will readily identify who the beast is and understand what his mark of authority is. “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12).
“For it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six”
For it is a human number [the number of a certain man]; his number is 666. (Revelation 13:18 AMP)
It is the code number of the name of the man. (Revelation 13:18 The Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts, George Lamsa)
This number 666 goes all the way back to ancient Babylon. The papal system and its doctrines, in conjunction with fallen, compromised Christianity, and New Age and pagan religion, is modern Mystery Babylon. The man who is at the head of this worldwide religious political system called “the beast” is designated by the Bible as the one whose name equals 666.
The identifying marks in Revelation 13 and Daniel 7 clearly reveal the beast as the papal system. This system has a man at its head, as the recognized leader of the worldwide movement. So while the letter value of the names of many people can add up to 666, only one power has all the characteristics given in the prophecies. The papal system is the continuation of the Babylonian mystery religion whose priests held the secret number 666 to represent the mystery god Stur, or Satan.
The papacy is designated in Revelation 17 as a woman or church bearing the name “Mystery Babylon the great the mother of harlots.” Latin was the language of Rome in the days of John the Revelator and which was the official language of the Roman church for centuries. Now this man at the head of the mystery religion has a title or name in Latin that adds up to 666. The name is Vicar of the Son of God, which is shown below in Latin with the corresponding numerical values.
V = 5
I = 1
C = 100
A = 0
R = 0
I = 1
U = 5
S = 0
112
F = 0
I = 1
L = 50
I = 1
I = 1
53
D = 500
E = 0
I = 1
501
I = 1
C = 100
A = 0
R = 0
I = 1
U = 5
S = 0
112
F = 0
I = 1
L = 50
I = 1
I = 1
53
D = 500
E = 0
I = 1
501
112 + 53 + 501 = 666 *
* One of the official titles of the Pope. It means Vicar of the Son of God. The letter U was written as a V in Latin, and the letters A, R, S, F, and E have no numerical value.
Have no fear when people call me the “Vicar of Christ,” when they say to me “Holy Father” or “Your holiness,” or use titles similar to these, which seem even inimical to the Gospel. Christ Himself declared, “Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called master; you have but one master, the Messiah.” Matthew 23:9–10. These expressions, nevertheless, have evolved out of a long tradition, becoming part of common usage.35
Once again we see the traditions of men replacing the commandments and Word of God! This is the key principle in understanding the end time mark of apostasy.
Endnotes
1. Charles Krauthammer, syndicated columnist. This article is adapted from the author’s Henry M. Jackson Memorial Lecture delivered in Washington, D.C., Sept. 18, 1990.
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19910201faessay6067/charles-krauthammer/the-unipolar-moment.html.
2. Zbigniew Brezezinski, former National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter 1977–1981. The Choice: Global Domination or Global Leadership, (New York: Basic Books, 2004) author’s preface, p. ix, x.
3. Patrick E. Taylor, “U.S. Strategy Plan Calls for Insuring No Rivals Develop; A One-Superpower World Pentagon’s Document Outlines Ways to Thwart Challenges to Primacy of America,” New York Times, March 7, 1992. Cited http://work.colum.edu/~amiller/wolfowitz1992.htm.
4. George Friedman; Meredith LeBard, The Coming War with Japan, (New York: 12 St. Martin’s Press, 1991) page?
5. James Rafferty, Prophetic Insights, (Malo, Wash.: Light Bearers Ministry, 1994) pp. 52–53.
6. U. S. News and World Report, September 2, 1992.
7. The Economist, June 25, 2005.
8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_order, August 12, 2007.
9. Boniface VIII, Papal Bull “Unam Sanctam,” November 18, 1302. Cited by http://www.ewtn.com, provided courtesy of: Eternal Word Television Network, 5817 Old Leeds Road, Irondale, AL 35210. www.ewtn.com.
10. Charles G. Herbermann, Ph.D. LL.D. The Catholic Encyclopedia, (New York: The Encyclopedia Press Inc., 1913) Vol. 7, p. 260. Imprimatur John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York. http://books.google.com.
11. D. S. Phelan, “Afraid We Will Get Them,” Western Watchman, St. Louis, MO, December 24, 1908, p. 8.
12. Malachi Martin, The Keys of This Blood, (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990) pp. 464–465.
13. Ibid., p. 639.
14. Greek Lexicon, in The Online Bible CD-Rom, Macintosh Version 2.5.3 (Niagara Falls, NY: Cross Country Software, www.online-bible.com, 1996).
15. Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language. (San Francisco, California: Foundation for American Christian Education, 1967).
16. James Strong, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1987).
17. Malachi Martin, op cit., p. 492.
18. Ibid., p. 380.
19. Catherine Smibert, “The Ambassador Exits; Grass-Roots Unity; U.S. Envoy Recalls Highlights of His Tenure,” Zenit News, Rome, January 27, 2005, Zenit.org.
20. Patricia Zapor, Catholic News Service, Washington, March 22, 2001.
21. Zenit News, Vatican City, May 28, 2002, Zenit.org.
22. Penny Lernoux, People of God: the Struggle for World Catholicism, New York: Viking, 1989, p. 11.
23. The Western Watchman, St. Louis, MO, April 2, 1914.
24. “Religious Toleration,” Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913, edition, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/index.html.
25. Peter De Rosa, The Vicars of Christ, The Dark Side of the Papacy, New York: Crown Publishers, 1988, pp. 20–21.
26. James Strong, op cit.
27. Greek Lexicon, op cit.
28. James Strong, op cit.
29. Ibid.
30. John Paul II Papal Encyclical, Centesimus Annus, May 1, 1991.
31. “Sundays are Losing Their Meaning, Warns Cardinal,” October 27, 2002, Zenit.org.
32. Rev. Peter Geiermann, C.SS.R., Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, (St. Louis, Missouri B. Herder Book company, 1957), p. 50. Imprimatur Sti. Ludovici, die 23 Februarii, 1945 Johannes J. Glennon, S.T.D., Archiepiscopus.
33. John Paul II Apostolic Letter, Dies Domini, May 31, 1998, p. 23, section 67.
34. Noah Webster, op cit.
35. John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, (New York: Random House, 1994), p. 6.
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