The Character of the Beast

8/18/2019 The Character of the Beast

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History and Future of All Mankind

An Exploration of Biblical Prophecies of the Apocalypse

and Coming Kingdom of God

“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm in my holy mountain!let all the inhabitants of the land tremble! for the day of the " #$% cometh &

for it is nigh at hand& ' (oel )!*

+ntroduction

This is Faith

,he boo- of (eremiah chapter .) records that the prophet (eremiah had redemption rightsto a large parcel of land/ +n modern terms it would be said he owned a purchase option/ ,he landwas near (erusalem during the capti0ity of (udah/ 1ith the whole population ta-en to Babylonthe land was 0acant and worthless/

(eremiah remembered the prophecy that (udah would soon be returned from capti0ity to(erusalem and exercised his right to purchase the land/ ,hough no one belie0ed it at the time(udah did return to the land and the land ' which (eremiah was able to purchase for a pittance

because others did not belie0e ' did indeed soon become 0ery 0aluable and desirable for farming housing and commerce/

(eremiah truly belie0ed/ 2any claim to belie0e but in fact lie to themsel0es and to God/+n modern times as the “age of reason& has become more and more ingrained in man3s

culture man-ind has come to ta-e an attitude of dismissal toward all things of God/ +n most people3s eyes whether they reali4e it or not the Bible has become little more than legend prophecy has become fairy tale/ +t is with great irony that we witness the fulfillment of Amos5!**!

“Behold the days come saith the "ord G#% that + will send a famine in the land not afamine of bread nor a thirst for water but of hearing the words of the "#$%!&

1hile the 1ord of God is readily a0ailable to us all there remains a “famine& of thehearing of those words/ But there will come a spiritual re0i0al in the time of the end/ +t is acommon misconception that the society at the time of the end will be characteri4ed by grossimmorality6 instead (ohn *7!) implies it will be characteri4ed by intense religious belief to the

point that people will -ill in the ser0ice of God 8though that belief will not be true Christianity9/“,hey shall put you out of the synagogues! yea the time cometh that whosoe0er -illeth you willthin- that he doeth God ser0ice/& 8(ohn *7!)9


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,he prophecies examined in the following pages are real/ +n fact they contain accuratedescriptions of e0ents that modern man can foresee but that were literally unimaginable at thetime they were written/ :nderstanding the 1ord of God and belie0ing it is important6 for withthat great spiritual re0i0al in the time of the end there will come a choice between the true Godand Babylon3s per0erted 0ersion of ;im/

,he 1ord of God is a seamless whole/

,he following pages are a compilation of all the scriptures we30e found that spea- on thedifferent elements of the end times/ ,hese scriptures are assembled together by sub


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,he Character of the Beast

“And + stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast rise up out of the sea ha0ing se0en headsand ten horns and upon his horns ten crowns and upon his heads the name of blasphemy/&

' $e0elation *.!*

+n any story or narrati0e the -ey to comprehension resides in understanding the identityand moti0ations of the characters in0ol0ed/ Perhaps one of the most pondered stories of all timeis the Apocalypse re0ealed to us in the boo- of $e0elation/ ,he primary character of which andthe -ey to understanding is a 0ision referred to as the Beast/

1ho is this Beast= 2any different identities ha0e been assigned throughout the agesmost ha0ing a lot more to do with the personal animosities of the writers than with thedescription of scripture/ But scripture describes this creature in three uni>ue ways which ta-entogether render a clear picture and dispel common myths about its final incarnation/

,he first description to examine is found in %aniel ?!.@? and is echoed in $e0elation *./%aniel ? reads!

“ . And four great beasts came up from the sea di0erse one from another/

,he first was li-e a lion and had eagle s wings! DAnd behold another beast a second li-e to a bear and it raised up itself on one side and it hadthree ribs in the mouth of it 7 After this + beheld and lo another li-e a leopard which had upon the bac- of it four wings of afowl6 the beast had also four heads6 ///? After this + saw in the night 0isions and behold a fourth beast dreadful and terrible and strongexceedingly6 and it had great iron teeth! it de0oured and bra-e in pieces and stamped the residuewith the feet of it! and it was di0erse from all the beasts that were before it6 and it had ten horns/&

,he most common identification of these four beasts is correct/ ,hey are Babylon 2edo@Persia Greece and $ome/ ,hese identities are found easily enough/ Babylon is the name usedfre>uently throughout $e0elation in con


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,he second beast is the Persian empire which con>uered and incorporated the Babylonianempire/ +t became the next dominant superpower ruling the bul- of the world -nown to God3s

people/ ,his succession was accomplished through the defeat of the three part alliance of Babylon Egypt and "ydia ' the three ribs in the second beast3s mouth/

,he third beast is Greece the “he@goat& of %aniel 5 which again con>uers andamalgamates the prior empire of Persia into a new power dominant o0er the -nown world/ ,hisempire is short li0ed before it brea-s up into four separate nations ' the four heads @ upon thedeath of Alexander/

,he final beast is $ome which did not con>uer Greece so much as absorbed it yet again becoming the ruling power o0er the -nown world of its time/

Confirmation of these identities is found in the second description of the beast written in%aniel )!.*@.D/

“ .* ,hou # -ing sawest and behold a great image/ ,his great image whose brightness wasexcellent stood before thee6 and the form thereof was terrible/

.) ,his image s head was of fine gold his breast and his arms of sil0er his belly and his thighs of brass.. ;is legs of iron his feet part of iron and part of clay/. ,hou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands which smote the image upon his feetthat were of iron and clay and bra-e them to pieces/.D ,hen was the iron the clay the brass the sil0er and the gold bro-en to pieces together and

became li-e the chaff of the summer threshingfloors6 and the wind carried them away that no place was found for them! and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain andfilled the whole earth/.7 ,his is the dream6 and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the -ing/.? ,hou # -ing art a -ing of -ings! for the God of hea0en hath gi0en thee a -ingdom power andstrength and glory/.5 And wheresoe0er the children of men dwell the beasts of the field and the fowls of the hea0enhath he gi0en into thine hand and hath made thee ruler o0er them all/ ,hou art this head of gold/. And after thee shall arise another -ingdom inferior to thee and another third -ingdom of brasswhich shall bear rule o0er all the earth/

F And the fourth -ingdom shall be strong as iron! forasmuch as iron brea-eth in pieces andsubdueth all things! and as iron that brea-eth all these shall it brea- in pieces and bruise/


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* And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes part of potters clay and part of iron the -ingdomshall be di0ided6 but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron forasmuch as thou sawest theiron mixed with miry clay/

) And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay so the -ingdom shall be partlystrong and partly bro-en/

.

And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay they shall mingle themsel0es with theseed of men! but they shall not clea0e one to another e0en as iron is not mixed with clay/And in the days of these -ings shall the God of hea0en set up a -ingdom which shall ne0er be

destroyed! and the -ingdom shall not be left to other people but it shall brea- in pieces andconsume all these -ingdoms and it shall stand for e0er/

D orasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it bra-e in pieces the iron the brass the clay the sil0er and the gold6 the great God hath made-nown to the -ing what shall come to pass hereafter! and the dream is certain and theinterpretation thereof sure/&

1hile Hebuchadne44ar3s 0ision is of a statue the fact that it is destroyed by God3s eternal-ingdom ma-es it clear it is the same beast referred to in $e0elation/ ,he first -ing

Hebuchadne44ar was of Babylon and the 0ision shows a succession of four -ingdoms rising oneafter the other “bearing rule o0er all the earth&/

,he third description of the beast is where confusion begins in common interpretations/$e0elation *.!*@)!

“And + stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast rise up out of the sea ha0ing se0en headsand ten horns and upon his horns ten crowns and upon his heads the name of blasphemy/

) And the beast which + saw was li-e unto a leopard and his feet were as the feet of a bear andhis mouth as the mouth of a lion! and the dragon ga0e him his power and his seat and greatauthority/&

rom the repetition of the description of the li-enesses to a lion bear and leopard it isclear $e0elation *. is tal-ing about the same beast described earlier in %aniel/ But instead of four beasts there are said to be se0en heads/ (ust li-e the four beasts these se0en heads are alsoreferenced as -ingdoms by $e0elation ?! @*F!


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“ And here is the mind which hath wisdom/ ,he se0en heads are se0en mountains on which thewoman sitteth/

*F And there are se0en -ings! fi0e are fallen and one is and the other is not yet come6 and whenhe cometh he must continue a short space/&

,he four -ingdoms and the se0en -ingdoms are both describing the same beast/ At this point many interpretations begin to loo- for alternate fulfillments of the se0en heads but the -eyto the harmony of these two descriptions is found in 0erse *F/ “,here are se0en -ings! fi0e arefallen and one is and the other is not yet come&/ ,he “one that is& at the time of (ohn3s writingwas clearly $ome/ 1ith fi0e gone before $ome was the sixth head6 but it also was the fourth

beast/

;ow could this be= Each of these -ingdoms had distincti0e histories/ Babylon had twodistinct periods of time in which it ruled the world! the Babylonian empire and the Heo@Babylonian empire/ +n between these it fell away as a dominant -ingdom and into subser0ienceto the lessor -ingdom of Assyria before it rose again/

Persia also had two distinct incarnations! one under the rule of the Persians and the

second when the 2edes became the dominant political force/ +t is e0en commonly referred to inhistories as the 2edo@Persian empire for this reason/ +t was the same nation same people sameland same go0ernment the entire time but it went through two distinct phases

/

Greece flared into a world empire but only for a short time/ ,hough Greece as a nationexisted for a long period there was only one Gree- empire which “ruled o0er all the earth&/

And then there was $ome/ +t did 0acillate between republic and emperor but e0en theemperors were appointed by the Ienate of the republic/ ,he period of $oman rule remainedfairly consistent throughout its long reign/


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Io when $e0elation *?!*F tells us that fi0e had already fallen it was referring to )Babylonian -ingdoms ) Persian -ingdoms and * Gree- -ingdom/ ,he “one that is& was the$oman Empire/ ,ogether with the one “that was not yet come& there are se0en -ingdoms or se0en “heads&/ ,his is critical to understand because both the four beasts and the se0en headsdescribe the same beast/ +nterpreting the se0en heads as something apart from the same-ingdoms of the four beasts causes a misinterpretation of the se0enth head the one that was yetto come/ And it is exactly this se0enth head which is the main character of the end times/

,he Bible gi0es us se0eral -eys to recogni4e the identity of this final incarnation of the beast/ irst it tells us where it comes from/ Iecondly it lists se0eral defining traits/ And thirdlyunderstanding the commonality of the se0en heads with the four beasts allows us to identify itsforebear/

1hile the succession of the four beasts continued without a brea- from Babylon whichwas con>uered and absorbed by Persia which in turn was con>uered by Greece which finallywas absorbed by $ome6 the final passing off of the baton of world rulership to the se0enth headis more complicated/ $ome was not con>uered by another empire/ But %aniel ?!? tells us thefourth beast had ten horns!

“? After this + saw in the night 0isions and behold a fourth beast dreadful and terrible and strongexceedingly6 and it had great iron teeth! it de0oured and bra-e in pieces and stamped the residuewith the feet of it! and it was di0erse from all the beasts that were before it6 and it had ten horns/&

,hese horns are li-ewise -ingdoms uered6 instead it disintegrated intoten independent -ingdoms/ ,hese -ingdoms are fairly commonly recogni4ed in interpretationand according to a study by Iir +saac Hewton were!

* Britannia) $oman ran-s under -ing ,heudomir 8counter@intuiti0ely Germainia prima modern day Germany9. Jisigoths 8 rance9


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Burgundians on the northern side of the $hineD Iue0ians under -ing Ermeric7 Jandals 8Ipain9? Gallia 8later further bro-e apart into "uxembourg Belgium and Iwit4erland95 "ombards 8modern day Iweden and other northern European nations9

;unns 8Eastern European9

*F +talia $a0enna itself which finally ceased to be called $ome and became -nown as +taly

,hese ten -ingdoms of which modern Europe is descended are not the se0enth head6instead we are told there will arise from among the ten a little horn 8%an/ ?!59!

“5 + considered the horns and behold there came up among them another little horn beforewhom there were three of the first horns pluc-ed up by the roots! and behold in this horn wereeyes li-e the eyes of man and a mouth spea-ing great things/&

,his “little horn& will spea- great blasphemies ma-e war with the saints and continuefor a time times and the di0iding of times until (esus Christ destroys it 8%an/ ?!)*@)D9!

“)F And of the ten horns that were in his head and of the other which came up and before whomthree fell6 e0en of that horn that had eyes and a mouth that spa-e 0ery great things whose loo- was more stout than his fellows/

)* + beheld and the same horn made war with the saints and pre0ailed against them6)) :ntil the Ancient of days came and


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,his is the same description gi0en to the final head of the Beast in $e0elation *.!.@?!

“ . And + saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death6 and his deadly wound was healed!

and all the world wondered after the beast/

And they worshipped the dragon which ga0e power unto the beast! and they worshipped the beast saying 1ho is li-e unto the beast= who is able to ma-e war with him=D And there was gi0en unto him a mouth spea-ing great things and blasphemies6 and power wasgi0en unto him to continue forty and two months/7 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacleand them that dwell in hea0en/? And it was gi0en unto him to ma-e war with the saints and to o0ercome them! and power wasgi0en him o0er all -indreds and tongues and nations/&

,his little horn of %aniel is the se0enth head of the Beast of $e0elation/ Io the little hornor se0enth head will be a nation that rose out of the ten horns or what became -nown as thenations of Europe/

,he Bible also defines three important traits which help in identifying who the final headis/ Babylon Persia Greece and $ome were four disparate empires6 but each was the successi0edescendent of the prior empire and shared se0eral common traits/ ,he Babylonian empire wasmost li-ely originally founded by Cain or a near descendent under the name Iargon/ Each of thefour nation beasts succeeded its predecessor from this early beginning/ But the succession of each of these empires was not


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*) ,he merchandise of gold and sil0er and precious stones and of pearls and fine linen and purple and sil- and scarlet and all thyine wood and all manner 0essels of i0ory and all manner 0essels of most precious wood and of brass and iron and marble*. And cinnamon and odours and ointments and fran-incense and wine and oil and fine flourand wheat and beasts and sheep and horses and chariots and sla0es and souls of men/*

And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee and all things which were daintyand goodly are departed from thee and thou shalt find them no more at all/*D ,he merchants of these things which were made rich by her shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment weeping and wailing*7 And saying Alas alas that great city that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet anddec-ed with gold and precious stones and pearls*? or in one hour so great riches is come to nought/ And e0ery shipmaster and all the companyin ships and sailors and as many as trade by sea stood afar off*5 And cried when they saw the smo-e of her burning saying 1hat city is li-e unto this greatcity &

+ts merchants are its heart and the pursuit of wealth is its lifeblood/ And most certainlyhistory shows us each of these empires in turn was centered on trade as a primary obuent wealth is the third common trait/$e0elation *.! as-s the rhetorical >uestion “1ho is li-e unto the beast= 1ho is able to ma-e

war with him=& And %aniel )!. reminds us these nations each in turn “bear rule o0er all theearth&/

,he fourth defining trait is referenced in $e0elation *?! @D in which Babylon is said to bethe “mother of harlots& and filled with “fornications&/ :nderstanding this reference re>uiresunderstanding what God considers harlotry and fornication/ God3s holy people +srael isrepeatedly called a harlot because of her ser0ice to gods other than the true God/ Esau is called afornicator not because of promiscuous relationships but because of his marriages to the people

of the land rather than within the people of God/ urther confirmation of this lies in earlyBabylon and the account of the ,ower of Babel/ Genesis **!7@ tells us God was displeasedwhen all the people were brought together and made one/


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Beyond wealth and power there is another conse>uence to a foundation of trade/ +n pursuit of wealth merchants are prone to 0iew the world solely as customers/ ,hey tend to glosso0er difference and highlight commonality/ Each of these trade based empires did exactly that/

rom the 0ery first according to historians when Iargon founded Babylon it was the first multi@ethnic centrally ruled empire in human history/ Babylon Persia Greece and $ome were all both

polytheistic and multi@cultural/ ,hough these traits were 0ery uncommon throughout historyeach of the four nations of the beast allowed the worship of whate0er god people chose andwelcomed the integration of all manner of cultures and peoples into their nations/ ,he worship of other gods was considered “whoring& after other gods 8Exodus . !* @*79!

“* or thou shalt worship no other god! for the " #$% whose name is (ealous is a


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“ . And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay they shall mingle themsel0es with theseed of men! but they shall not clea0e one to another e0en as iron is not mixed with clay/&

,he iron and miry clay is shown mixed in the feet and toes of Hebuchadne44ar3s statuewhich is the latter part of the iron portion/ +t is also the feet which are struc- by the stone anddestroyed by God3s returning -ingdom/ ,his is the final image of the beast/ 1hile all of the beastnations subscribed to multi@culturalism it is only the ad0ent of modern transportation which hasallowed true integration on a mass scale/ ,his “mingling& of the people of God with the “seed of men& is written of as a prominent identifying feature of the se0enth head/

Io the se0enth head of the Beast is a nation which is trade based wealthy the dominantsuperpower in the world polytheistic multicultural embraces the mixing of its 0arious ethnic

populations 8though they do not clea0e together in harmony9 arose out of the nations of Europeand is a second incarnation of the fourth beast namely! $ome/ ,his description fits only onenation! the :nited Itates/

2any interpreters attempt to place the Catholic Church as the se0enth head6 but whilethis might satisfy personal animosities it fails to fit the description of the identifying traits/ ,heCatholic Church is not a trade based empire li-e the Babylon which is described in $e0elation *5clearly is/ +t is not the dominant world superpower/ And it is not the second incarnation of $ome/

,he :nited Itates in ama4ing parallels represents a latter day $ome/ ,he :/I/go0ernment is founded on the pattern of the $oman $epublic which in itself is >uite significant/%aniel ?!? says the fourth beast would be di0erse from all -ingdoms and indeed $ome was thefirst republic in the history of man/ %aniel ?!) says the little horn would be di0erse from the tenhorns6 and again the :nited Itates was founded as a republic while Europe at the time wasgo0erned as monarchies/

,he similarities extend deeply between the two cultures as well/ As mentioned before the$oman $epublic was polytheistic allowing all religious practices


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polytheistic allowing all religious practises/ $ome was multicultural and multi@ethnic/ ,he:nited Itates is multi@cultural and multi@ethnic/

$ome allowed abortion 8except against the ob


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Armageddon is the word that immediately comes to mind when the boo- of $e0elation ismentioned/ Armageddon is such a singularly momentous e0ent that its name has becomesynonymous with the end of the world in the minds of most of humanity/ ,his is for good reason/,his e0ent the prophetic battle between the gathered might of man and the returning army of (esus Christ is the final


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irst and Iecond Ieal! 8$e0elation 7!*@ 9

“7 And + saw when the "amb opened one of the seals and + heard as it were the noise of

thunder one of the four beasts saying Come and see/) And + saw and behold a white horse! and he that sat on him had a bow6 and a crown was gi0enunto him! and he went forth con>uering and to con>uer/. And when he had opened the second seal + heard the second beast say Come and see/

And there went out another horse that was red! and power was gi0en to him that sat thereon tota-e peace from the earth and that they should -ill one another! and there was gi0en unto him agreat sword/&

,he first two seals tend to cause confusion in many people3s minds/ ,he first spea-s of “con>uering& while the second writes of war 8“ta-ing peace from the earth&9/ ,his appears atfirst glance to be spea-ing of the same thing! there will be war and then there will be war6 butthere is a subtle yet important distinction between con>uering and simply war/ Con>ueringmeans a specific -ind of war which results in the 0ictor incorporating the loser into themsel0es/

Con>uering has not ta-en place in modern times/ After the recent war in +ra> was foughtwith the American coalition 0ictorious6 +ra> emerged as a so0ereign nation not a new part of the:nited Itates/ ,his was simply a war not con>uering/ And the same can be said of almost allwars fought since about the times of the Protestant $eformation in Europe/ But prior to thiscurrent period this was not the case/ $ome con>uered/ ,he nations that rose from $ome3s ashescon>uered/ 1hen 1illiam the Con>ueror in0aded Britain he did so to con>uer it/ Almost all warswere fought to con>uer/

,he first seal refers to the period of con>uering in which the people of God thosecontained within the peoples of the ten horns fought and won their way to their 0arious finalincarnations/

But that time ended/ ,he second seal refers to the current period we are in! the time of wars which are fought not for land but for ideas/ ,his period began in the religious wars of thereformation and continues to today/


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,hird Ieal! 8$e0elation 7!D@79

“D And when he had opened the third seal + heard the third beast say Come and see/ And + beheld and lo a blac- horse6 and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand/

7 And + heard a 0oice in the midst of the four beasts say A measure of wheat for a penny andthree measures of barley for a penny6 and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine/&

A measure of wheat is the amount of wheat re>uired to ba-e one loaf of bread/ A pennycomes from the Gree- word denarion which was a $oman sil0er coin which most scholars agreerepresented roughly a day3s wages/ ,his is exactly the use in 2atthew )F!*@) where (esus spea-sof a householder agreeing with laborers for one penny for a day3s labor/

,his is a description of hyperinflation specifically of commodity prices rising/ 1hileweather or crop disease could potentially play a role the most li-ely cause is monetary in nature/+nflation brought about by money printing has in the past been shown to be capable of rapid andextreme 0aluation distortions/ ,he current state of world economic affairs as well as the currentuni0ersally fa0ored money printing response of all of the world3s central ban-s brings this

prophetic seal into focus/ 1hat was unimaginable prior to world trade fiat currency andunsupportable public debt6 is now actually predicted by some respected economists 8though notin this extreme9/

,he world is approaching the fulfillment of the third seal at the present time/

ourth Ieal! 8$e0elation 7!?@59

“? And when he had opened the fourth seal + heard the 0oice of the fourth beast say Come andsee/5 And + loo-ed and behold a pale horse! and his name that sat on him was %eath and ;ellfollowed with him/ And power was gi0en unto them o0er the fourth part of the earth to -ill withsword and with hunger and with death and with the beasts of the earth/&

,he fourth seal will follow closely on the heels of the third/ ;istory has shown financialstress to be the seedbed for war/ ,he strains of the third seal will plunge the world into globalwar/ ,he mention of the beasts of the earth gi0es us further insight into the nature of this war/ ,omodern eyes the word beast denotes wild animals but this seal is not telling us lions and bearswill run rampant/ +n the Bible the term beast is also used at times to refer to peoples outside of God3s people 8e/g/ (onah .!5 refers to beasts clothed in sac-cloth crying unto God and turningfrom their e0il ways/9 ,he wars fought during this time will be between the western Christianworld and the non@Christian third world/ ,he third world will rightfully blame the de0elopedlargely Christian world for the financial calamity of the third seal/ ,he di0iding lines will bereligious financial and racial/ E0en within the de0eloped world in the chaos of the times


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“beasts& without a Christian conscience will result in significant 0iolence/ 1ar chaos andstar0ation will -ill one fourth of the world3s population/

ifth Ieal! 8$e0elation 7! @**9

“ And when he had opened the fifth seal + saw under the altar the souls of them that were slainfor the word of God and for the testimony which they held!

*F And they cried with a loud 0oice saying ;ow long # "ord holy and true dost thou not


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Iixth Ieal and Ie0enth Ieal! 8$e0elation 7!*)@*?9

“*) And + beheld when he had opened the sixth seal and lo there was a great earth>ua-e6 and thesun became blac- as sac-cloth of hair and the moon became as blood6

*. And the stars of hea0en fell unto the earth e0en as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs whenshe is sha-en of a mighty wind/* And the hea0en departed as a scroll when it is rolled together6 and e0ery mountain and islandwere mo0ed out of their places/*DAnd the -ings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the chief captains and themighty men and e0ery bondman and e0ery free man hid themsel0es in the dens and in theroc-s of the mountains6*7 And said to the mountains and roc-s all on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth onthe throne and from the wrath of the "amb!*? or the great day of his wrath is come6 and who shall be able to stand=&

8$e0elation 5!*@)9

“5 And when he had opened the se0enth seal there was silence in hea0en about the space of halfan hour/

) And + saw the se0en angels which stood before God6 and to them were gi0en se0en trumpets/&

,he se0enth seal is bro-en down into se0en trumpets/ ,ogether the sixth seal and the firstfour trumpets of the se0enth seal describe either a singular or series of meteor impacts/

At some point during these two seals the * FFF saints are sealed 8$e0elation ?9/ ,he* FFF are protected from the e0ents of the meteor impacts/

irst ' ourth ,rumpets! 8$e0elation 5!?@*)9


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“? ,he first angel sounded and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood and they werecast upon the earth! and the third part of trees was burnt up and all green grass was burnt up/

5 And the second angel sounded and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast intothe sea! and the third part of the sea became blood6

And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea and had life died6 and the third part of the ships were destroyed/*F And the third angel sounded and there fell a great star from hea0en burning as it were a lampand it fell upon the third part of the ri0ers and upon the fountains of waters6** And the name of the star is called 1ormwood! and the third part of the waters becamewormwood6 and many men died of the waters because they were made bitter/*) And the fourth angel sounded and the third part of the sun was smitten and the third part of the moon and the third part of the stars6 so as the third part of them was dar-ened and the dayshone not for a third part of it and the night li-ewise/&

,he first trumpet is the aftermath of the meteor stri-es of the sixth seal/ ,he secondtrumpet is the large impact/ ,his will probably be in the Atlantic because of its proximity to theChristian world and the propensity for God to


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+t is this restored Beast which is the sub


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“* Iaying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet "oose the four angels which are bound in thegreat ri0er Euphrates/

*DAnd the four angels were loosed which were prepared for an hour and a day and a month anda year for to slay the third part of men/*7 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand! and + heardthe number of them/*? And thus + saw the horses in the 0ision and them that sat on them ha0ing breastplates of fireand of


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elimination of non@Christian religions and a return to rule of God3s people/ ,o the world this willappear to be a call for a return to some sort of medie0al bigoted colonial monarchy6 instead of the democratic tolerant multi@culturalism of modern times/ +n this light it is easy to understandhow the world can be enlisted to fight the approach of the allies of the witnesses/

irst Jial! 8$e0elation *7!)9

“) And the first went and poured out his 0ial upon the earth6 and there fell a noisome andgrie0ous sore upon the men which had the mar- of the beast and upon them which worshippedhis image/&

,he 0ials appear to be the 0ery last plagues immediately before the return of Christ/ Iome possibly brought by the witnesses/ ,his first 0ial tells us all those who recei0e the mar- will bestric-en with an ailment/ +t is unclear what the mar- precisely is though it ob0iously ser0es thefunction of declaring allegiance to the Beast and ac-nowledging its supremacy e0en o0er the

person3s religious beliefs uired the ac-nowledgment of $ome3s laws holding the

highest authority in its citi4en3s li0es/,he sores of the first 0ial do bring up one con


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“*F And the fifth angel poured out his 0ial upon the seat of the beast6 and his -ingdom was full of dar-ness6 and they gnawed their tongues for pain &

,he interpretation of these 0ials is unclear/

Iixth and Ie0enth Jials! 8$e0elation *7!*)@)*9

“*) And the sixth angel poured out his 0ial upon the great ri0er Euphrates6 and the water thereofwas dried up that the way of the -ings of the east might be prepared/

*. And + saw three unclean spirits li-e frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of themouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet/* or they are the spirits of de0ils wor-ing miracles which go forth unto the -ings of the earthand of the whole world to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty/*DBehold + come as a thief/ Blessed is he that watcheth and -eepeth his garments lest he wal-

na-ed and they see his shame/*7 And he gathered them together into a place called in the ;ebrew tongue Armageddon/*? And the se0enth angel poured out his 0ial into the air6 and there came a great 0oice out of thetemple of hea0en from the throne saying +t is done/*5 And there were 0oices and thunders and lightnings6 and there was a great earth>ua-e such aswas not since men were upon the earth so mighty an earth>ua-e and so great/* And the great city was di0ided into three parts and the cities of the nations fell! and greatBabylon came in remembrance before God to gi0e unto her the cup of the wine of the fiercenessof his wrath/)F And e0ery island fled away and the mountains were not found/)* And there fell upon men a great hail out of hea0en e0ery stone about the weight of a talent!

and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail6 for the plague thereof was exceedinggreat/

,he sixth 0ial is Armageddon and the deception spread by the false prophet and hisunclean spirits/ ,he se0enth is the return of Christ and the establishment of ;is Kingdom/

#ne further issue to be noted! 2ost interpretations of apocalyptic prophecy offer safety tothe elect/ ,he rapture doctrine says Christians will be entirely remo0ed from the tribulationwhile most other interpretations say Christians will be ta-en to a place of safety/ $e0elation *.!?tells us the Beast shall “ma-e war with the saints and to o0ercome them&/ ,he only promised

protection is to the * FFF sealed/ ,his is a special group which does not include all Christians/

,he passage in $e0elation *)!7 in which a place is prepared in the wilderness for the womandoes not necessarily refer to the 0ery last times/ $e0elation *) is an o0er0iew of history in whichthe birth of Christ is referenced/ ,his is not specifically tal-ing about the final ) months/ ,heidea that Christianity would be the easy comfortable choice that protection would ma-e it iscontrary to the fundamental purpose of our li0es here/ #ur choice of Christ will be difficult/

Documents

The Character of the Beast