The Revelation of Yahshua Christ

Chapter 13

XIII 1 And I saw a beast ascending from out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads and upon its horns ten diadems and upon its heads a name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard and its feet as a bear’s and its mouth as a lion’s mouth, and the dragon had given to it his power and his throne and great authority. 3 And one from among its heads as if having been slaughtered unto death, yet the wound of its death had been healed. And the whole earth marveled after the beast 4 and they worshipped the dragon, because he had given authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying: “Who is like the beast, and who is able to make war with it?” 5 And there had been given to it a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and there had been given to it authority to act for forty and two months. 6 And it opened its mouth in blasphemies towards Yahweh to blaspheme His Name and His tabernacle, those dwelling in heaven.

7 And there had been given to it to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority had been given to it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. 8 And all those dwelling upon the earth worshipped it, of whom their names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb who had been slaughtered from the foundation of Society. 9 If one has an ear, he must hear! 10 If one is for captivity, into captivity he goes. If one is to be slain by the sword, he is to be slain by the sword. Thus is the patience and the faith of the saints.

Revelation Chapter 13 contains a vision made manifest to the apostle John of two great beasts. The second beast comes out of a wounding of the head of the first beast. It shall be manifest, that the first beast is the system of world empires ending with Rome, and the second beast is the Papacy and the Roman Catholic Church. This shall all be discussed here at length, and especially where it coincides with parallel prophecies found in Daniel chapters 2 and 7. However before doing so, it may be meet to read Daniel chapter 2, verses 31 through 45, in order to begin to understand this chapter in the Revelation and these prophecies concerning the beast, where Daniel is interpreting a dream which was experienced by Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon.

Daniel 2:31-45: “31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. [Babylon] 39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, [Persia] and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. [Greece] 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. [Rome] 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.“

It is seen that this beast – of which Nebuchadnezzar is only the head – is a series of four great kingdoms which in turn rule over the oikoumenê, or that part of the world civilized by Adamic man. Now let it be noticed what this beast is not. There are no seven heads with crowns, or ten horns, as it is seen in the Revelation chapter 13 description. Neither is this beast described as having a duration of 1.260 years, or three-and-a-half times, which is the 42 months of verse 5 in Revelation chapter 13. That is because, as hopefully shall become evident, Daniel's vision only concerned his present and his future, and this description of Daniel's is only a part of this first beast of Revelation chapter 13, and not it's entirety. Daniel's four kingdoms had a duration of only about a thousand and 80 years, from 606 BC with the ascension of Nebuchadnezzar to the throne in Babylon, to 476 AD and the fall of Rome. It is a parallel prophecy, but does not correspond in its entirety. What it does help one understand, however, is that where the people who destroyed this beast are seen, the true people of God are made manifest. The Romish church tries to make the claim that it had supplanted Daniel's fourth kingdom, and it therefore represents the Kingdom of God. That is an absolutely false claim. In actuality, the Romish church followed this beast – as Revelation chapter 13 verses 11 through 18 describe – but it did not supplant it. Indeed the first beast, the succession of empires ending with Rome, was destroyed by both its own corruption – the iron which did not mix with the clay – and by the Germanic children of dispersed Israel which invaded and for a time supplanted it, but not by the Romish church.

Before returning to and attempting to interpret Revelation chapter 13, the first part of Daniel chapter 7, which is also a parallel prophecy, shall be read and discussed:

Daniel 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. 2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

An examination of these beasts reveals them to be those same world empires described by Daniel in chapter 2 of his prophecy.

4 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 stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

This describes Babylon.

5 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 thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

The bear is the Medea-Persian empire, which conquered three former world empires: Egypt, Assyria and Babylon.

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

The leopard is very fast. This is Alexander's Hellenistic empire, which conquered the Old World very quickly. The four wings are the four pieces which it dissolved into after Alexander's death.

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

As in Daniel 2, Rome is described as the most horrible of all beasts. Rome also conquered much of the territory held by all of the empires which preceded it, with the exclusion of Parthia, which consisted of much of the former Persian empire.

8 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.

A lot of commentators strive to imagine that the ten horns are the Germanic kingdoms which the Western empire had been divided into. This is inaccurate, because in Daniel's description it is evident that the fourth beast had ten horns, not those who destroyed it. It possessed them before it was divided. The horns may be interpreted to have two different descriptions, and therefore there are different interpretations. Here is the first, and the second shall be discussed below at verse 20, where it states that the ten horns are ten kings. Here the ten horns may represent the original ten Senatorial provinces of the Roman empire, which would indeed be the ten toes of the beast described in Daniel Chapter 2. The little horn which arises out of them represents the Byzantine empire, and especially Justinian, as shall be made evident later in this chapter.

Some say that the ten horns can be found in the division of the empire into political units under Augustus Caesar. It can be found in Edward Gibbon’s The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, volume 1, pages 241-249. While Gibbon says eleven, Istria was rather attached to Rome itself. Gibbon says the following on page 241: “We may remark that when Augustus divided Italy into eleven regions the province of Istria was annexed to that seat of Roman sovereignty.” Yet more appropriately, in 14 AD the Roman empire was divided into provinces both Senatorial and Imperial. The Senatorial provinces belonged to the people of Rome and their governors were chosen by the Senate. They were ten in number, Achaea, Africa, Asia, Crete and Cyrene, Cyprus, Gallia Narbonensis (which was the Mediterranean coastal province of what is now France), Hispania Baetica (in southern Spain), Macedonia and Thessaly, Pontus and Bithynia, and Sicily. All of the other Roman provinces, over two dozen at this time (Egypt, Alpes Cottiae, Alpes Maritimae, Alpes Poenninae, Armenia, Assyria, Britain, Cilicia, Dacia, Dalmatia, Galatia, Gallia Aquitania, Gallia Belgica, Gallia Lugdunensis, Germania Inferior, Germania Superior, Hispania Tarraconensis, Lusitania, Moesia, Noricum, Pannonia, Raetia, Corsica and Sardinia, Syria, and Thrace), were Imperial provinces: the fruits of conquest for which the Emperor chose the governors. By the third century AD, there were more Imperial provinces than in the first century, but there were still the same ten Senatorial provinces (cf. Roman Provinces, Livius.org).

The little horn came up out of these ten Senatorial provinces, and as shall be evident below, it had “eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things” The Byzantines under Justinian had reconquered three portions of the old Western empire which had been taken by the Germanic invaders: Italy, Africa and southern Spain, clearly identifying Justinian with this little horn.

9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

Daniel saw his vision all the way unto the Day of Judgment, and the description here is much like those descriptions of the throne of Yahweh as it is depicted by Yahshua in the Revelation.

11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

Since the beast is a system, and not an individual, the body and the flame are allegorical. Even the individual Justinian is only a part of the system, although he is signal here because of the accomplishments which the beast made during his rule. These accomplishments allowed for the rise of the second beast of Revelation 13, discussed at length below. If one wants to interpret what is the Lake of Fire seen in Revelation chapters 19 and 20, one must do it within this very context: for it is a destructive force that incinerates all of the enemies of God, and not, as many false teachers profess, a cleansing force that purifies those thrown into it. The Lake of Fire only purifies in the sense that it eliminates all of those who are, allegorically, thrown into it, as it is seen here, the body of the beast is slain and destroyed and “given to the burning flame” as the beast at Revelation 19 is thrown into the Lake of Fire.

12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

This is where the people of God are today. In word, the Adamic peoples are in a period of self-rule, possessing the kingdom of Yahweh for themselves ever since the Reformation, and especially since the monarchies of Europe were transformed into parliamentary democracies. However in reality they are still under the control and influence of these same beasts which have exercised power in Europe for nearly three millennia.

13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man [which is a son, there is no article in the Hebrew or in the Greek version – one like a son of man] came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Yahshua Christ is one of His Adamic people, a son of Adam, and He is also Yahweh Himself in the flesh, and so Paul calls Him “firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29), which He certainly is. The people of all of the Adamic nations, languages and tongues shall serve Yahshua Christ Himself at His manifestation. Of course, just as all of the promises of the entire Bible are limited to the nations of the race of Adam (i.e. Genesis 3:22, 5:1-2, Deuteronomy 32:8, Acts 17:26), so it is here.

15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. 17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.

Here Daniel's vision is interpreted. It is evident that the first part of the account of these beasts describes four kingdoms that shall rule over the oikoumenê. This, it shall also be evident, is describing those same entities which are seen with the first beast of Revelation chapter 13, verses 1 through 7. Yet the saints, or Holy Ones of Yahweh God are promised that they would inherit the earth, and God shall indeed keep that promise. This discussion shall return to the latter part of Daniel chapter 7 below. For now it shall focus on the first half of Revelation chapter 13, which discusses the first beast in the vision of John:

XIII 1 And I saw a beast ascending from out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads and upon its horns ten diadems and upon its heads a name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard and its feet as a bear’s and its mouth as a lion’s mouth, and the dragon had given to it his power and his throne and great authority.

First, note that this beast gets its power from the dragon, and the dragon is seen in Revelation chapter 12 as being “that serpent of old, who is called the False Accuser and the Adversary”, or the Devil and Satan. At Luke chapter 4 it is recorded that the False Accuser, Satan, says to Yahshua Christ in reference to all of the kingdoms of the oikoumenê: “I will give to You the authority over all this, and their honor, because to me it was delivered and to whomever I wish I could give it. Therefore if You would worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” While Revelation chapter 12 associates this Satanic power with the Edomite jew, it is evident that these same satanic anti-Christ powers, which are seen in today's internationalist bankers and political figures, are very real and have been around for a long time.

The beast described here has seven heads and ten horns. The seven heads are different from Daniel's one-headed beast. They seem to represent seven great world empires. Included in these empires are traits of the beasts representing the empires in Daniel's vision. Therefore it is known that the scope of John's vision is greater than that of Daniel's. The seven world empires must be from the beginning of the history of the children of Israel, all of which Israel was oppressed by – rather than starting in Daniel's time only from the king of Babylon. This is also obviously the same beast as the beast in Revelation 12:3, which is associated with the Dragon, that old serpent, the Devil, Satan.

Revelation chapter 17 also discusses this same beast. There in verse 9 it says that “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.” The five that are fallen are Egypt, Assyria, Medea-Persia, Babylon and Greece. The one that is, in John's day, was Rome. The seventh empire, according to Bertrand Comparet, was the Holy Roman Empire, however Comparet did not understand the second beast of Revelation 13 as the papacy, which it was, and the Holy Roman Empire was actually only a portion of that beast, which will be discussed here in the second half of Revelation chapter 13 and again further on in the Revelation, at Chapter 17.

Revelation 13:3 And one from among its heads as if having been slaughtered unto death, yet the wound of its death had been healed.

Revelation 13:12 and 14 associate the second beast of John's vision to be related to this first beast, to be the healing of the wounded head.

And the whole earth marveled after the beast 4 and they worshipped the dragon, because he had given authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying: “Who is like the beast, and who is able to make war with it?” 5 And there had been given to it a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and there had been given to it authority to act for forty and two months. 6 And it opened its mouth in blasphemies towards Yahweh to blaspheme His Name and His tabernacle, those dwelling in heaven.

Another way to understand what this describes is to look back at history and see who it was that defiled the Temple of Yahweh. The Babylonians – and as Scripture tells us the Edomites who were allied with them – destroyed the first Temple of Yahweh. Babylon was the gold head of the beast of the vision in Daniel chapter 2, and the lion with eagle's wings in Daniel chapter 7. Then around 155 BC the Greek rulers of Syria – a part of the trunk of brass of Daniel's chapter 2 beast, and the leopard with four wings of chapter 7 – had defiled the second temple. Finally, the Romans – the two legs of Daniel's beast, sought to set up their own idols in the Temple of Yahweh, the last one which was actually built in the reign of Herod the Edomite, and therefore all of the blasphemy and defilement of the Temple of God by this ongoing system of world empires which this first beast describes is fully evident.

Here it is seen that this first beast had authority to act for 42 months, or 1260 prophetic years. From the time when the children of Israel were deported by the Assyrians, which began approximately 741 BC, unto the fall of Rome in 476 AD, was 1218 years. Yet Assyria rose as an empire from the time of Adad-nirari III who ruled from 810 BC to 783 BC. This Assyrian king's mother was the Babylonian princess Sammu-ramat, the source of the later Greek Semiramis myths. Adad-nirari III first invaded ancient Israel, reaching Palestine in 804 BC. Not detailed in the Biblical records, Adad-nirari's march into Palestine and collection of tribute from Israel in the days of Jehoash and Jeroboam II are mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions (cf. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, ed. James B. Pritchard, Princeton University Press, 1969, p. 281). From 804 BC to 476 AD and the final fall of Rome is about 1280 years. Note that John dates the first beast, but not the second. It shall become evident below, that Daniel dates the second beast which is described by John. The 1260 years here cannot include Egypt, or the last of John's seven kings, which is “not yet come”. Yet the beast nevertheless had seven heads and those two kingdoms are a part of this beast while their authority is evidently outside of this period.

Revelation 13:7 And there had been given to it to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority had been given to it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. 8 And all those dwelling upon the earth worshipped it, of whom their names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb who had been slaughtered from the foundation of Society. 9 If one has an ear, he must hear! 10 If one is for captivity, into captivity he goes. If one is to be slain by the sword, he is to be slain by the sword. Thus is the patience and the faith of the saints.

As Daniel said in his vision in Daniel chapter 2, the beast system of world empires would rule “wheresoever the children of men dwell”, and so it is here. Those who worship the beast are those whose names are not written in the Book of Life. The children of Yahweh should not have a care for the beast, but rather they should long for the return of Yahshua Christ and their final restoration into His Kingdom, ruing the day when their ancestors sought an earthly king. That the Lamb was “slaughtered from the foundation of Society”, or the world in most Bible translations, is evidence that all history is predetermined by Yahweh Himself, and He knew upon the creation of Adam what He would have to do in order to chastise and to instruct His children. The first promise of restoration is at Genesis 3:22, which says in part “Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever”. Yahshua Christ being that Tree of Life, He knew long before then, that He would have to make His ultimate sacrifice for our benefit. Like Him, Christians should fear Yahweh God, and not they who can kill the body only, but then have no further power – there is indeed life apart from the flesh.

Verse 10 in the KJV states: “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints”, however the Greek is badly misread. The NAS corrects the first half of the verse where it states “If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints”, however that version still fails to read the second hald of the verse properly. The verb, ἀποκτανθῆναι, translated to kill in the NAS, is in the same passive form in both places, and so it must be rendered to be killed in both places! This verse teaches predestination, not judgment. Just as Yahshua knew His own fate from the beginning, he also knows the fate of each of His children. While man indeed has free will, a choice to make his own errors or to seek good, Yahweh being God cannot help knowing ahead of time what route each man shall take.

Now to discuss the second half of Revelation chapter 13, the vision in verses 11 through 18 which describes what John saw of a second beast:

Revelation 13:11 And I saw another beast ascending from out of the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb and spoke as a dragon. 12 And all the authority of the first beast it practices in his presence. And it makes the earth and those dwelling in it that they shall worship the first beast, who had been healed from the wound of its death. 13 And he shall make a great sign, that even fire would be made from heaven to descend to earth before men, 14 and he would deceive those dwelling upon the earth through the signs which have been given to him to make in the presence of the beast, saying to those dwelling upon the earth to make an image for the beast, who has the wound of the sword and has lived. 15 And there had been given to him to give a spirit to the image of the beast, in order that the image of the beast may also speak and may make it that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be slain. 16 And it makes all, those who are small and those who are great and those who are wealthy and those who are poor and those who are free and those who are slaves, that they have given to them an engraved mark upon their right hand or upon their forehead, 17 and in order that one would not be able to buy or to sell if he has not the mark: the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Thus is wisdom: he having a mind must calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred sixty-six.

Now before discussing this second beast of Revelation chapter 13, it may be beneficial to first discuss Daniel chapter 7, verses 19 through 28, since Daniel certainly seems to be describing this very same entity.

19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; 20 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.

The fourth beast here is described very much like the fourth kingdom of Daniel 2:40: “And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.” The ten horns can describe the provinces of Rome, the toes of the vision in Daniel chapter 2, and the other horn which came up, before whom three fell, describes the Byzantine empire – the eastern half of the Roman empire under Justinian, who after the west had fallen sent his armies to conquer Italy, Africa and Spain and regain them for the empire. As it shall be elucidated below, Justinian did things which were indeed worthy of one who had “a mouth that spake very great things”.

21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; 22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

The Roman empire sought to subdue practically the entire known world, to “devour the whole earth”, and would have if it were able. The Germanic tribes, who are indeed the “saints of the Most High” even if they were not yet all Christians (many of them were), were those who judged it – those whom Yahweh employed to destroy it, as it has already been described discussing Daniel chapter 2 that they are the stone cut out from the mountain without hands.

24 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.

Until this time, the ten horns are seen here as being representative of the Roman provinces, like the ten toes of Daniel chapter 2. Here it is explained that they are ten kings, in a manner seemingly different than what has been related previously, at Daniel 7:7, however too much may be read into that passage. Yet here it may also be, and with greater certainty, identifying the little horn of Daniel 7 as Justinian. Of course, 10 horns cannot possibly represent all of the Roman emperors, but after the Roman empire split, there were 10 emperors of the eastern empire: Valens, Theodosius I, Arcadius, Theodosius II, Marcianus, Leo I, Leo II, Zeno, Anastasius, and Justin I. There were a couple of would-be usurpers, recognized pretenders who tried to take the throne for themselves, however these ten were the legitimate rulers. And then there was the eleventh king of the eastern empire, which was Justinian. The three kings which he subdued were of the invading Germanic tribes, the Gothic kings Vitiges and Totila, and the Vandal king Gelimer.

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.

Justinian is not by himself able to live for “a time and times and the dividing of time”, which, as it has been evident elsewhere, represents a prophetic period of 1,260 years. Yet the institutions which he created during his rule certainly did last that long – and many are still extant today. Justinian created a new set of laws in four parts, issued from 529 to 534 AD, of which many were based on the old Roman law, revised into his own, calling them the Novels (or new laws), the Code, the Digest and the Institutes. While earlier emperors were also legislators – notably Theodosius I - these laws of Justinian's became the foundation for the cannon law of the Romish Catholic Church, and also became the civil law for nearly all of Europe until the time of Napoleon, who introduced his own Napoleonic Code – which itself was based upon Justinian's laws. Justinian's laws still affect western law today. So for all of this time, the children of God have been ruled over by the laws of the beast system of old Rome. One exception was the original English common law system, which for many centuries stood in opposition to the statutes of imposed civil law.

Another establishment of Justinian was the papacy. It was Justinian who officially decreed – for instance in his Novels, in section 131 – that the bishops of Rome would be the ultimate religious authority over all of the Christian assemblies of the empire. This act created the Roman Catholic Church as history has seen it. Until this time, from the days of Constantine the emperor was the de facto head of the bishops of all the Christian assemblies, and the other bishops had resisted attempts by the Roman bishops to exert authority over them. As early as the fourth century the ecclesiastical historian Eusebius of Caesareia recorded such attempts by Roman bishops, who even then began insisting upon being called “papa”, or pope. As early as the pope called Gregory the Great, who did much to consolidate Romish church power, these Roman bishops continued to “change times and laws” where one sees the Gregorian calendar, and they eventually came to rule over all of Christendom – even over the kings of Europe – in accordance with the laws of man and not according to the laws of God.

26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

While the power of the Romish pope had already been greatly diminished in northern Europe, which was mostly Protestant, it was Napoleon who, in 1798, finally put a permanent end to the temporal power of the papacy. In 1798 French troops marched into Rome, arrested many of the college of cardinals, and arrested the pope, Pius VI, who died a prisoner in 1799. From the days of Charlemagne, and into the sixteenth century, the popes had been crowning the Holy Roman Emperors – although even earlier Pepin, in 754 AD, was the first king crowned by a pope. Yet as early as Gregory the Great did the Romish church claim authority for its bishops as secular potentates (huius saeculi potentes), and this would not have been possible without the earlier edicts of Justinian. With the Reformation and the subsequent 30 Years' War the Holy Roman Empire disintegrated. France, however, was still a Catholic state, and the new pope – Pius VII – was present and participated in the ceremonies in 1804 when Napoleon was crowned emperor of the French, but Napoleon crowned himself in a ceremony agreed upon in advance with the pope. This was a clear sign that the Romish popes would no longer rule over the monarchs of Europe, and Pius VI had been arrested by Napoleon about 1260 years after Justinian ascended to the Byzantine throne.

27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. 28 Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.

Napoleon put a final end to the temporal power of the papacy, at least outside of Italy, yet even though the Franks and Gauls were indeed descended from the Israelites, France did not maintain world hegemony from that time. Rather, the Saxon peoples – and especially the English – rose to world hegemony. Although little attention is given to them in folklore today, German princes shared in the British battles and the ultimate victory over Napoleon. England, and then America – a nation built primarily from colonists of the Saxon nations of Europe – have had world hegemony ever since, for better or for worse. And even in our direst circumstances, one must see Daniel 7:27 as a promise that they shall never be supplanted.

Now to return to Revelation chapter 13, from verse 11:

11 And I saw another beast ascending from out of the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb and spoke as a dragon.

This is a perfect description of the Romish popes, who under the guise of lambs – in the pretense of Christianity – devoured the sheep, just as the dragon would do. The popes certainly were the “lamb” which “spake as a dragon”, which exercised “all the power of the first beast” (for an example, just examine the Crusades). They ruled over all the kings of Europe, and controlled the hearts and minds of most of the people of Europe. For nearly all of the time from the reign of Justinian to that of Napoleon, the popes were the single dominating force in the fate of the peoples of Europe.

12 And all the authority of the first beast it practices in his presence. And it makes the earth and those dwelling in it that they shall worship the first beast, who had been healed from the wound of its death.

The first beast represented world empire, which is exactly what the Romish church had sought under the pretense of being the “one true church”, an idea that was never Christian in the first place. The apostles left behind a collection of independent and self-governing Christian assemblies. The first beast, the fourth world empire of Daniel's vision, had been healed of its wound under the guise of the imperial papacy. The popes, crowning the kings of Europe, had all the power of the first beast. The Holy Roman Empire was not a separate beast, but rather – its emperors being coronated by the popes – it was a part of this beast. Therefore the Holy Roman Emperors are not the seventh beast of Revelation chapter 17, as many have claimed, however that shall be discussed in its appropriate place.

13 And he shall make a great sign, that even fire would be made from heaven to descend to earth before men, 14 and he would deceive those dwelling upon the earth through the signs which have been given to him to make in the presence of the beast, saying to those dwelling upon the earth to make an image for the beast, who has the wound of the sword and has lived. 15 And there had been given to him to give a spirit to the image of the beast, in order that the image of the beast may also speak and may make it that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be slain.

The popes made fire come down upon the earth by making war against the saints, and forcing the various nations of Christendom into papal idolatry with the threat of war and interdict. The image of the beast was all of the pomp and majesty and regal appearance of the papacy, which the people worshipped just as their forebears had worshipped the pomp of imperial Rome – and many still do unto this very day, turning out in the hundreds of thousands wherever the popes travel, to get a glimpse of an old man waving at idolaters from a bullet-proof van. The priests, bishops and cardinals of the Romish church are celebrities, and rather than being servants of the community they deprive it of its wealth and sustenance. They are worshipped by the people just as the pope is – and all of this is in addition to the idolatry of the Romish religion in the statues, images and relics it has placed upon pedestals over the centuries.

One of Martin Luther's major complaints against the Romish church was the selling of indulgences, tickets out of Purgatory for oneself or one's loved ones that were purchased from the church. Of course, neither Purgatory nor the idea of indulgences are Scriptural, but the Romish church taught them and by them was able to transfer a large amount of wealth from the peoples of Europe and into their own greedy coffers. Martin Luther realized that Yahshua Christ already paid the only price necessary for His people, and so the Romish church had no right collecting anything further. The Romish church was and still is, basically, a racket.

16 And it makes all, those who are small and those who are great and those who are wealthy and those who are poor and those who are free and those who are slaves, that they have given to them an engraved mark upon their right hand or upon their forehead, 17 and in order that one would not be able to buy or to sell if he has not the mark: the name of the beast or the number of his name.

The Romish church practices something called the interdict, which is a censure that prohibits a person, city, district, or even an entire kingdom from communion and other ecclesiastical benefits. Today it is merely ceremonial, and keeps people out of church on Sunday. Back in the Middle Ages, when the bishops had temporal control in the community and when the popes ruled over the kings of Europe, the interdict was much more serious. Once under the interdict, one could not participate in trade nor receive any sustenance from nor have any other type of communion with the community at large. While excommunication was more serious than the interdict, the interdict was a temporary excommunication, until the subject of the interdict returned to the obedience of the Romish church. A stronger form of excommunication was a ritual pronunciation of anathema, which the popes undertook in order to condemn a person to hell – as if they actually had any real heavenly authority to do such a thing. The Council of Trent, which was held in the mid-sixteenth century, during the Reformation, pronounced an anathema upon anyone who disagreed with the Romish church in any way. These decrees have never been canceled, and so the official position of the Romish church to this very day is that anyone who does not worship the pope is condemned to hell.

One may bristle at the idea that obedience to the pope is worship of the pope, but it most certainly is. The Bible defines service to God as obedience to the Word of God (cf. Romans 6, 1 Peter 3). Christ said at Matthew 4:10 “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” One cannot honor God, and serve a pope – a mere man – who rules over the world under the laws of man. The apostles understood likewise, where it is recorded at Acts 4:19: “But Petros and Iohannes replying said to them: “Whether it is just before Yahweh to listen to you, or rather to Yahweh, you decide....”

18 Thus is wisdom: he having a mind must calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred sixty-six.

To this day the Romish popes consider themselves to be the “Vicar of Christ”. A vicar is a substitute. But a living God does not need a substitute! So this title is quite pretentious, and very unchristian. The popes have always claimed the title Vicarius Filii Dei, which means Substitute for the Son of God. Counting the value of the letters of this title, for those letters which have a value in the Latin system, the total of the value is 666. Here is the number of the beast in a title that the popes themselves claimed, a title which is in itself a blasphemy, and in the language and system of numbers which the popes themselves used, in Latin, the official language of the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore it is not a stretch to imagine that this is a final and significant mark in the identification of this beast. There should be no doubt that this paragraph portrays the Roman Catholic papacy.

V	5	F		D	500
I	1	I	1	E
C	100	L	50	I	1
A		I	1
R		I	1
I	1
V	5
S
	112		53		501	666