When I was having a chat with one of my cousins, there was a discussion about the revelations chapter 13 in the Bible. He Just sent me a link to a video and after seeing that I was shocked. It was about the beasts mentioned in the chapter 13, 'Identified'. I would like to give a description of what is there in the video and this is not my own description. It was given by members of a website called the World's Last chance. Now coming straight to the topic, the Revelation chapter 13 tells us about two beasts. The First one comes out from the sea and the second from the Land. There are nine points in that chapter which talks about the beast from the sea. I ll give the verses first and then the evidence about the beast.
The Verses
1. Rev. 13:1
The beast rose from the Sea.
Rev 17: 15 explains water as a symbol for people, multitudes, and nations and tongues
so the beast rose from a populated area.
2. Rev. 13:2
The dragon gave the beast his power and his seat and great authority
Rev.12:9 tells us about the dragon as devil. so this means the dragon receives power from the Satan.
3. Rev.13:4
And they Worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast, who is able to make war with him
So the beast received its power from the Satan and its also being worshipped, making it a religious figure, combining both religious and political authority
4. Rev. 13:5
power was given to the beast to continue forty two months
If you consider the mosaic calender, 1 year = 360 days with 30 days a month. So 42 months - 1260 days. In bible prophecy 1 day is equal to a year. so the beast remained as a political and religious power for 1260 years. Numbers 14:34, Ezhekiel 4:6.
5. Rev. 13:6
The Beast Blasphemes against God
In Luke 5:21 and John 10:33 it was clearly said that Christ was accused of Blasphemy , which is claiming to be god and claiming to role of forgiving the sins of man. so the beast blasphemes against god and claiming to be god and forgiver of sins.
6.Rev. 13:7
Beast made war with the saints. This means the power of the beast persecuted and killed the saints.
7. Rev. 13:3
The beast receives a deadly wound that heals, and the whole world will wonder after the beast.
The wound seems to have killed the beast, but it heals and the entire world is intrigued by the beast
8. Rev. 13:5
The beast speaks Great things.
9. Rev. 13:8
The beast has a mysterious 666 that identifies his office and its name.
some of the thoughts about the first beast were Nero, Hitler, Islam. But none of the points apply to the aforesaid.
It is the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH which supports all the points in Revelation 13.
Now the EVIDENCE. Compare it with the verses mentioned above.
1. The Catholic Church rose from Rome, a densely populated area in Europe.
2. According to Revelation 12:3-5, the dragon is the power that sought to destroy Christ at the time of his birth. It was King Herod of the Pagan Roman Empire who was inspired Satan and ordered the slaying of all the male children in Bethlehem. Mat. 2:13, 16. History reveals how Pagan Rome turned over its power and capital city to the Church of Rome.
"The pope who calls himself 'king' and Pontifex Maximus,' is Caesar's Successor." - Adolph Harnass, what is Christianity?
3. The Church in the Vatican city is the only church which exercises both the religious and political powers, having leaders, ambassadors, political influence.
4. Church defeated its last arian opponent, the Ostrogoth in 538 AD and lost its power to the french in 1798 AD. It is a 1260 years starting with Emperor Justinan in 533 AD recognised the Pope's supremacy as the head of all the churches both the west and the East. But till 538 AD it was not completely freed from the Arian opponent. In 1798 General Berthier entered Rome and abolished the Papal Government. (Enclyclopedia Brittanica 1941 edition)
5. Beast as a persecuting power for the Christians. This can be proved by some of the works of will Durant's ' the story of civilisation'
' the church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed in mankind will be questioned by no protestant who has a complete knowledge of history'.
6. Recovery of the beast.
the Lateran treaty signed in 1929 by Italy and the holy see recognised the Vatican City as a sovereign independent papal state.
7. I was amazed by the explanation given to 666. The official title of the pope is "Vicarius Filii Dei" translated as representative of son of god. Equating values to the alphabets in latin gives
v-5, I-1, c-100, A- 0, R- 0, I-1, U-5, S-0 total of it is 112
F -0, I- 1, L-50, I-1, I-1 total 0f it is 53
D -500, E-0, I-1 total of it is 501
112+53+501 = 666
8. Blasphemy of the beast as God and claiming to forgive sins.
" we hold upon this earth the place of Almighty" - pope Leo VIII in an encyclical letter dated June 20, 1894
"Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ Hidden under the Veil of Flesh." - The Catholic National, July 1895
"The Judicial Authroity will even include the power to FORGIVE SIN". - The catholic Encyclopedia Vol.12 , article pope Page 26.
9. The beast speaks great things.
" the priest has the power of the keys, or the power of delivering sinners from hell, converting them from the slaves of Satan to Children of God. And God himslef is Obliged to abide by the Judgement of his priests..The sovereign Master of the Universe only follows the servant by confirming in heaven all that the latter decides upon earth. - Liguori, "Duties and Dignities of the Preist", P. 27,28.
Preists are the saviours of the World - Saint Jerome.
These are the points and evidences that were clearly given in the website. for more information
2 comments:
9 January 2008 at 00:49
If this is what The Word has been saying, then the people who set out to bring it to the world the way they wanted to, have failed. The catholic church is the single most powerful non-political institution in the world. But at the same time it exercises it's powers over every nation.
Listen when the prophet
Speaks to you
Killing in the name of God
Passion
Twisting faith into violence
In the name of God
Straight is the path
Leading to your salvation
Slaying the weak
Ethnic elimination
Any day we'll all be
Swept away
You'll be saved
As long as you obey
Lies
Tools of the devil inside
Written in Holy disguise
Meant to deceive and divide
Us all
Blurring the lines
Between virtue and sin
They can't tell
Where God ends
And mankind begins
9 January 2008 at 07:46
That was related very well. But if one looks at the history of any religion there is bloodshad. That has happened at Madurai itself, a massive holocaust, a genocide. I don't remember the exact timeframe, but Jainism was becoming very popular in Tamilnadu. It did not leave Madurai also. So the Shaivites massacred everyone in a cruel method named 'Kazhuvetram' that was thousands of times more cruel and painful than crucifixion. They mounted all the Jains on sharp iron rods. Imagine people in place of chicken that is perpared for Tandoor. The rods would slowly go through the anus and pierce the whole body into two. The problem is not with the God, but it is with the understanding of God. It is the problem of religion, which was manipulated by and for a few. Personally, I've dispossessed my religion, stopped going to go to temples and practising secularism. I don't have problems going to temples, when they are silent. In fact the artwork of the temples carries the Godliness (creativity) of the sculptors (nothing else), the people who come there wash their dirts in mind and hence such a good place has become the wash basin of sins that I don't like to be in. When I go to some temples, I was asked to remove shirts. I was even forced by my relatives that it is an act of showing respect to god. But I felt that it was an act of finding my caste identity to be discriminated and I did not enter.
Post a Comment