Revelation 13 Part 1 The Sea Beast and

Revelation 13, Part 1 The Sea Beast and the Land Beast

Beast from the Sea n Rev. 12 ends with the dragon wanting to destroy God’s church n Satan uses the sea beast and the land beast as his allies

Beast From the Sea n Rev. 13: 1 He stood on the sand of the sea n n “He stood” refers to the dragon Beast from the sea n n n 10 horns 7 heads, each with names of blasphemy 10 crowns n n n Same number of heads and horns as the beasts in Dan. 7 Same number of heads and horns as dragon in Rev. 12 Suggests “oneness” with dragon of chapter 12

Beast From the Sea n Beast = Kingdoms, nations, political powers n n Horns = Kingdoms, nations, political powers n n Dan. 7: 17, 23 Rev. 17: 2, Dan. 7: 24 Crowns = These crowns are diadems n Crowns of authority and power

The Sea n Sea = Mediterranean Sea n Rev. 17: 15 waters (sea) = peoples, multitudes, nations, languages

Rev. 13: 2 Composite beast n Leopard, bear, lion, n Dan. 7: 2 -5; 4 beast powers n n Lion = Babylon Bear = Medo-Persia Leopard = Greece Dragon like beast = Imperial Rome

Composite Beast n Sea beast has parts of all the beasts in Dan. 7 n n n Politically it comes in a line of succession The dragon of Rev. 12, (Satan) gives this composite beast its power, throne, authority Who is this beast power? n 7 identifying characteristics

7 Identifying characteristics n n n n 1. Comes after fall of Roman Empire 2. One head wounded to death 3. Deadly wound healed 4. Speaks blasphemy 5. Power for 42 months 6. War with God’s people 7. Number is 666

Same Beast n Dan. 7: 19 -25 The little horn power is the same as the sea beast of Rev. 13 n n Both arise after fall of Roman Empire Both speak blasphemy against God Both make war on God’s people Both are in power for same time period n n Dan. 7: 25 time, times, ½ time = 1260 years Rev. 13: 5; 42 months = 1260 years

Who is the Sea Beast? n Sea beast of Rev. 13 is Roman Catholic church n n Remember, the Bible is written from standpoint of salvation history 538 to 1798 Martin Luther, Melanchthon, John Calvin, Puritans, John and Charles Wesley, Whitfield Let’s do the historical proof

1. Comes after fall of Roman Empire n Rev. 13: 2 composite beast n Dan. 7: 2 -5; 4 beast powers n n n Lion = Babylon Bear = Medo-Persia Leopard = Greece Terrifying beast = Imperial Rome Dan. 7: 19 -25 Little horn power that arises out of the 10 kingdoms of the terrifying beast n Destroys three kingdoms as it comes to power

Historical Reality n n n Capital of Western Empire moved to Constantinople in 330 Vandals sack Rome in 455 Heruli conquer city in 476 n Date for fall of Rome Ostrogoths oust Heruli in 493 Emperor Justinian (482 -565) wants barbaric tribes out of Western Rome

Justinian’s Power Play n n n Justinian then goes to war to annihilate barbaric tribes in Western Rome In 493 Heruli are defeated by Rome In 534 Vandals defeated in North Africa

Roman Bishop Rules Supreme n In 534 the Emperor Justinian writes into the Imperial Code n n n Bishop of Rome is head of all the holy churches Bishop of Rome is head of all the holy priests In 538 Ostrogoths are expelled from city of Rome by the General Belisarius n Annihilated in 555 in northern Italy

Beginning of Papal Power n In 538 Emporer Justinian makes the Bishop of Rome the civil head of state in the western Roman Empire n n Belisarius’ army is at the disposal of the Bishop of Rome The Bishop of Rome becomes the civil leader in Rome, the religious, political leader in the western part of the empire

2. Will Have Power for 42 Months n 42 months = 1260 prophetic days/years n n 30 days in a Jewish month 42 x 30 = 1260 days Year for a day prophecy, Ezek. 4: 6, Numbers 14: 34 1260 prophetic days = 1260 literal years

42 months/1260 years begins in 538 n n In 538, Bishop of Rome has religious, political, civil, military power Over time, Bishop of Rome becomes the papal power of western Europe n n Church and state are united under one head of state The church will use the power of the state for its own means

The Zenith of Papal Power n Slow rise to supreme power in 1198, Pope Innocent III n n Vicar of Christ on earth Supreme authority over all worldly authority Kings and princes derive their authority from the papacy The successor of Peter was to rule the whole world

Power of Interdict n Interdict is equivalent to excommunication from the church n n None of the sacraments To die under interdict meant n n Purgatory Loss of salvation, fires of hell

Interdict n Papal uses of Interdict n n n n 1155, city of Rome 1198, Norway 1208 -1213, England 1376, city of Florence 1412, Bohemia threatened, John Hus 1606, Republic of Venice 1909, city of Adria 1930, 1933, 1961, 1969, Malta labor parties

Demise of Papal Power n Slow loss of influence in Europe n n n Aristotelian philosophy brings Renaissance to Europe Invention of the printing press, ca 1439 1492 Discovery of the new world 1517 reformation begins with Martin Luther Rise of nationalism Corruption in Roman Catholicism

End of Papal Power, 1798 n n 538 +1260 years 1798 What happened in 1798 to end papal power?

3. Deadly wound n n Rev. 13: 3 one of its heads is wounded to death Napoleon's general, Berthier takes pope captive in 1798 n n Dies in captivity European powers declare the end of papal dominance in Europe

Loss of Political Power n n Vatican ceases as a political power/influence 1870 the last of papal states in Italy are taken over by Italian government

4. Deadly Wound is Healed n 1929 Lateran Concordat with Mussolini n ROME, Feb. 11. —The Pope is again an independent sovereign ruler, as he was throughout the Middle Ages, though his temporal realm, established today, is the most microscopic independent State in the world, and probably the smallest in all history. — THE NEW YORK TIMES, Tuesday, February 12,

World Marveled at the Beast n Today n n Vatican is an independent city state Own banking system Newspaper, TV, world-wide communications system State department n n n US has an ambassador to the Vatican Postal system Self governance

The Pope n n n Pope is considered most influential religious figure in the world Major political figure for world peace www. vatican. va n n Every international visit by the pope is listed under ecumenical visits Strengthen ties with Vatican

All Who Dwell…. n Rev. 13: 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb…

5. Rev. 13: 6 Speaks Blasphemy n n Dan. 7: 20, 25 speaks great and boastful words against God One of the pope’s titles is “vicar of God” meaning to “stand in place of God on earth” n n Pope is the “alter Cristos”, or the other Christ Forgive sins through the rites of the confessional

n Dignities and Duties of the Priest p. 26, 27 n n “God Himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of the priests, and either not to pardon or to pardon, according as they give absolution…” Ibid. p. 27 n “God is obligated to come down to the altar at the time of the mass. ”

Substitutes for Salvation by Grace n n n Confessional and the mass Feasts and saint days Penance Indulgences Purgatory 7 sacraments of the church are the stair way between earth and heaven

6. War on the Saints n New Catholic Encyclopedia, Torture n “ Under the influence of Germanic customs and concepts, torture was little used from the 9 th to the 12 th centuries, but with the arrival of Roman law the practice was reestablished in the 12 th century…in 1252 (pope) Innocent IV sanctioned the infliction of torture by civil authorities upon heretics, and torture came to have a recognized place in the procedures of the inquisitorial courts. ”

War On Saints n W. E. H. Lecky, Church History Vol. 2, p. 40, 41 n n Note: This is from a strongly anti-catholic position “Llorente, who had free access to the archives of the Spanish Inquisition, assures us that by the tribunal alone more than 31, 000 persons were burnt, and more than 290, 000 condemned to punishments less severe than death…”

War on Saints Continuing: n “In the reign of Charles V, it has been estimated by a very high authority at least 50, 000, and at least half as many perished under his son. ”

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre n Pro-Catholic Position n n Robert Kingdom, Writes on the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of Aug. 23, 1572 “Fanatical residence killed hundreds, probably thousands, of Protestant residents in the city…There were popular uprisings and massacres of Protestants in about a dozen other cities. There aim was to extirpate the entire Protestant movement, root and branch. ” p. 35

The Sea Beast Represents n A religious system gone wrong n n Non-biblical theology n n Church tradition over the Bible Church and state together n n Persecution Church has authority over the state Defamation of God’s character n Claims authority of God and over God

7. Number of His Name, 666 n The formal title of the Pope is 'Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City, Servant of the Servants of God'

Applying 666 to the Papacy n VICARIUS FILII DEI n n n Vicar (of the) Son (of) God In Latin numeric value is 666 One of the many titles of the papacy n Donation of Constantine in 800 n n Forged document claiming the Papal states had been given to the Pope Subsequent use on various occasions

Vicar of Christ? n From the James White Library. Bafianae (January 11, 1968), Decree elevating the Prefecture of Bafia, Cameroon, to a Diocese: Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. LX (1968), n. 6, pp. 317319. Scans: Title - 317 - 318 - 319. n Adorandi Dei Filii Vicarius et Procurator, quibus numen aeternum summam Ecclesiae sanctae dedit, . . . Honorable Vicar of God's Son and Caretaker, which by divine will has been eternally given the highest rank of the holy Church, . . .

Vicar of Christ n n n Rivi Muniensis (August 9, 1965), Decree creating the Vicariate Apostolic of Río Muni, Equatorial Guinea: Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. LVIII (1966), n. 6, pp. 421 -422. Scans: Title - 421 - 422. Qui summi Dei numine et voluntate principem locum in Christi Ecclesia, obtinemus, adorandi Filii Dei hic in terris Vicarii Petrique successores, . . . We who the supreme God providentially wills, and maintains, in the principle position over Christ's Church, the honorable Vicars of the Son of God upon this earth - Peter's successors, . . .

Vicar of Christ n The November 15, 1914, issue of the Catholic publication, Our Sunday Visitor, stated that n The title of the Pope in Rome is Vicarius Filii Dei [Latin for "Vicar of the Son of God"]. This is inscribed on his mitre; and if you take the letters of his title which represent Latin numerals (printed large) and add them together they come to 666.

Vicar of Christ? n Our Sunday Visitor had a little more to say about the matter in their issue of April 18, 1915: n What are the letters supposed to be in the Pope's crown, and what do they signify, if anything? The letters inscribed in the Pope's mitre are these: Vicarius Filii Dei, which is the Latin for the Vicar of the Son of God. . Enemies of the Papacy denounce this title as a malicious assumption. n These sources are no longer available

Weakest of Characteristics n n Weakest of all of the identifying characteristics No such mitre (crown) on display at the Vatican n n No picture of this mitre exists However, the other 6 identifying characteristics are strong enough to make an historical case for the Sea Beast of Rev. 13 as the papacy. n Compare with Dan. 7 and the Little Horn power