Hello everyone.
In our last blog post in the “Bible Prophecy Studies” series, we concluded that God cannot allow the merging of light and darkness to continue indefinitely. There will come a point when this merging has gone on too long and to an extent that can no longer be tolerated.
We will explore the details of the end-time climax of the unholy union of truth and error in this blog post.
As we have learned previously, in Isaiah 28:10, we were introduced to the Biblical principle of comparing scripture with scripture. Following this same principle, we will compare Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 to continue our study regarding the time of trouble that ensues after Michael stands up (Daniel 12:1).
If we compare the beasts in Daniel 7:3-8 with the beast mentioned in Revelation 13:1-3, we see that the beast in Revelation 13:1-3 is a beast that is a composite of all of the beasts in Daniel 7:3-8. For a review of who the different beasts in Daniel 7 represent, please visit this blog post.
It is sobering to note that the dragon, whom we have determined to be Satan in this blog post, is the one who gives this beast its “power, and his seat, and great authority.” Revelation 13:2 ( KJV)
Ultimately, Satan is the originator of all sin. Any of us who have been under Satan’s control need only suffer his fate if we continue to cling to sin. If we hold out our hands to God, pleading for His power, love, and grace, and if we cooperate with His loving efforts on our behalf, we can be assured that our journey of fellowship and victory with Him will only continue when Jesus sets up His everlasting kingdom. God is no respecter of persons: He accepts anyone from any walk of life whenever anyone comes to Him.
Continuing on and following the principle that we have learned about in Isaiah 28:10, we will compare scripture with scripture and ascertain the identity of the beast referred to in this chapter.
“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.” Revelation 13:5 (KJV)
In Bible prophecy, each day equals one year. Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6
Knowing this, let us now calculate the timeframe mentioned in Revelation 13:5.
According to the biblical reckoning of time, there are 30 days in each month. Therefore 42 X 30= 1,260. This timeframe matches the timeframe mentioned in Daniel 7:25:
“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: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Daniel 7:25 (KJV)
A time= one year. Therefore, “a time and times and the dividing of time” is 3 1/2 years. There are 42 months in 3 1/2 years, therefore the timeframe mentioned in Daniel 7:25 is identical to the timeframe mentioned in Revelation 13:5. Furthermore, the beast in Revelation 13:5 has “a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies.” In like manner, the little horn in Daniel 7:25 speaks “great words against the most High.” The little horn also wears “out the saints of the most High.”
In Revelation 13:7, we see that the beast in this chapter is also a persecuting power. The parallels between the beast of Revelation 13 and the little horn of Daniel 7 fit together like puzzle pieces.
We can now identify the entity referred to in both chapters. When we look in history to find a religiopolitical power that engaged in persecution for 1,260 years and that has sought to change God’s laws, we are left to acknowledge that the Roman Catholic Papacy fits this criteria. Please take a moment to read the latter half of this blog -post in order to see why the church fits this criteria.
I want to take a moment to make my readers aware that I recognize, acknowledge, and appreciate that the Catholic church has done and continues to do much good throughout the world. I believe that there have been, and still are many sincere believers in the Roman Catholic church who love and follow God according to the knowledge that they have. This being said, a willingness and commitment to see and understand truth compels me to acknowledge the role that the Roman Catholic church has played and, as you will see, will play in Bible prophecy.
Revelation 13:8 brings our attention to a sobering reality:
“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 (KJV)
This is a sobering statement. It shows us that there will come a time when those whose names are not written in “…the book of life of the Lamb…” will be the ones who are worshipping the beast, the identity of which we have just established. (For a review of what the book of life is, please visit this blog post.)
Moving on in our study, in Revelation 13:11, another beast is introduced.
“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 13:11 (KJV)
Applying the Isaiah 28:10 principle of comparing scripture with scripture, we see in Revelation 17:15 that water represents “…peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” Revelation 17:15 (KJV)
Conversely, then, the earth must refer to a place that is sparsely populated. Other identifying characteristics that are mentioned regarding this beast are that “he had two horns like a lamb and he spake as a dragon.” Revelation 13:11 (KJV)
When we look to history to see an entity that fits these characteristics, we find that the United States of America fits these criteria. It arose in a more sparsely populated area.
I want to take a moment here to state that I acknowledge that there were indeed indigenous peoples living in America before European settlers migrated here and eventually founded the United States of America. The Bible uses the symbolism of the earth to represent a sparsely populated area, and America had a lower population density than Europe.
America was founded on principles of freedom of conscience, and of providing the common people a voice in governmental manners. In these ways, America has been lamb-like: a haven for those seeking religious freedom and more opportunities in life in general. Now, I cannot deny that both religious persecution and the favoring of some people while oppressing others can be found in American history. Without negating these very real and sad realities, the point still stands that the principles on which America was founded and upon which it has partially operated, are lamb-like principles that have created safety and a wider field of opportunity for many people from around the world. I am grateful for this.
However, the lamb-like beast is said to speak “like a dragon.” Revelation 13:11 (KJV)
Continuing on with our study, in Revelation 13:12, we see that the lamb-like beast “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 (KJV)
We have established that the first beast refers to Papal Rome. We can see, then, that the second beast, America, is supporting the power of Papal Rome, and encouraging the inhabitants of the earth to worship the papacy.
Revelation 13:12 (KJV) mentions that the papacy’s “deadly wound was healed.” If we look back to history, we can see that, when French general Berthier captured the pope in 1798, the power of the papacy was significantly weakened. However, since that time the papacy has regained much of her power and she continues to regain her power.
Continuing on in our study, we see that the second beast, the lamb-like beast, performs miracles that lead those who are deceived to worship the first beast.
“And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
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 13:13-14 (KJV)
“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 13:15-17 (KJV)
The question to be answered now, then, is what is the mark of the beast?
“Which is the Sabbath day? Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the council of Laodicea (A.D.336) transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.” Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1937), p. 64
“… you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.” The Faith of Our Fathers, by James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, 88th edition, page 89. Originally published in 1876, republished and Copyright 1980 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., pages 72-73.
God sanctified the seventh-day Sabbath as His holy day of rest, as we can read in Genesis 2:2-3. The Sabbath is the only commandment of the ten that specifically reminds us that God is the Creator of the world. Exodus 20:8-11
Revelation 14:7 reminds us to worship God, the Creator, and it uses language that reminds us of what we have read in Genesis 2:2-3 and Exodus 20:8-11.
God’s authority as our Creator is clearly correlated with the Sabbath, which is a part of His law. Furthermore, God is the only one who can sanctify anything. While the truth must be stated with love, it also must be stated: it is bold and blasphemous for a religious institution to deny the sanctity of a day that God says, in the scriptures, that He has sanctified.
God wants to write His law in our minds, and He wants us to live out its precepts in our lives (Jeremiah 31:33-34; Ezekiel 36:36-37; Hebrews 8:10-11; Hebrews 10:16-17). The second beast of Revelation 13 will attempt to implant the first beast’s twisted version of God’s law, specifically the false version of His Sabbath, into the minds of people, and for those who are not deceived, they will both accept and mandate forced observance of this spurious Sabbath. This is what is meant by the mark of the beast being received either on the right hand (for those who honor the false Sabbath out of fear of persecution) or in the forehead (for those who honor the false Sabbath because they have allowed themselves to become deceived). Only the truly noble, courageous, and surrendered to the Lord will be able to stand in God’s truth.
God’s seal is found in His Sabbath:
His name: “The LORD the God”
His title “for in six days the LORD made…” (Creator)
His domain: “heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is”
When we see, on a worldwide level, the combination of the first beast’s denial and defamation of the 4th commandment, the one commandment that contains God’s seal, along with the second beast’s giving power to the first beast, and assisting her in a work of persecution, we can know that the unholy union of truth and error has reached its all-time high.
Our loving Jesus will not be able to allow the world as we now know it to continue much longer beyond this point.
During the meeting of Jesus and Satan in the wilderness, Jesus commanded the devil to leave when he promised to give him the kingdoms of the world, which the devil did not own if Jesus would worship him (Matthew 4:8-11).
In the end, in a strange and painful act of justice met out from a heart that finds no joy in the suffering of another, Jesus will be obliged to make an end to the devil and to all those who have given in to his spirit of denial of Christ’s status as Creator and Lord. Light and darkness can not mix.
May we all find ourselves walking in the light of God’s love and truth each and every day is my prayer.
Learn and Grow 4ever 