THE ANTICHRIST AND THE MYSTERIOUS 666 Before we look at the circumstances behind the national Sunday law, we must identify the antichrist. The Bible describes the number 666 in Revelation 13:18, and it specifically says that it is the number of a man. “Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.” There is much confusion and speculation today concerning this mysterious number. Many believe this to be the number of the antichrist. Still others believe that this number is somehow associated with the sinister mark of the beast. Who is the man who bears this number? Is he the antichrist? When will he appear? What are the devastating effects his presence is expected to have on the earth? Will this person choose to remain unknown, or will his presence be announced and his work done openly? Or, will he masquerade as some holy person that the whole world looks up to, thinking he is working for God instead of the devil? The world is expecting the antichrist to come in the near future. Will the antichrist announce his arrival when he gets here? An essence of evil surrounds the term antichrist, and evil rarely works openly. Instead, evil usually wears a facade of righteousness to cover its real character in order more easily to deceive. When most people read the Bible, much of what they read they do not understand. In many places it is written in code or symbols, especially many of the prophecies that foretell future events. Codes and symbols were used to preserve the Bible down through the ages. If certain powers that had existed had been aware that the Bible was talking about them, they would have done their best to destroy every trace of it. They would have persecuted Christians with much more vigor than they did, and many millions more would have died at the stake or suffered other agonizing torture and death. That the Bible should be written in symbols is not really so strange. We often use symbols today to convey information. For instance, suppose you picked up an evening newspaper in the United States and saw a political cartoon that portrayed a donkey kicking an elephant. You would immediately understand that the Democrats had defeated the Republicans in the recent election. The Bible itself tells us what the codes and symbols mean, and when we are familiar with these prophetic symbols, we will be able to understand prophecy just as clearly as if it had been written in plain text. As we shall see, the Bible was meant to be understood by those searching for truth. Let us begin by consulting the prophecy found in Daniel 7:1-8,15-21: “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. Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.” In the Bible passage we just read, wind and sea are mentioned. Jeremiah 25:32,33 shows that winds represent war and strife. “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth.” Medo-Persia fought against the ancient city of Babylon and conquered it, Jeremiah 51:1,11 tells us that this war was a destroying wind. “Thus says the Lord; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind. Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it.” Thus we see that “wind” in prophecy represents war and strife. The next symbol we must consider is water. Revelation 17:15 tells us that water is used to represent people, the “sea” of humanity. “And he said to me, The waters which you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” With our understanding of these prophetic symbols, we can readily see that Daniel 7:2 describes war among the inhabitants of earth. “. . . the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.” Verse three tells us what the results of these wars were: “And four great beasts came up from the sea, different one from another.” Many animals or beasts are described in the prophecies. Daniel 7:17 tells us that “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, who shall arise out of the earth.” Verse twenty-three says, “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth.” A beast, therefore, represents a king or a kingdom or a nation — some political entity. Today, we also use beasts symbolically to represent various nations. A bear, for instance, represents Russia; a lion represents England; and an eagle represents the United States. In the prophecy of Daniel 7:1-8,15-21 that we are considering, We see that as a result of the wars on the earth, four separate nations sequentially appeared on the stage of history, each one different from the others. Verses four through eight: “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 to stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like a bear, and it raised itself on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth: and they said to it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, that had four wings of a fowl on its back; the beast also had four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was different from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. 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.” Here we have three more prophetic symbols: wings, horns and heads. The symbol of heads is also used in various places in the Bible to represent kings and kingdoms. This can be shown by Revelation seventeen, verses nine and ten. “And here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space.” Verse ten would be more accurately translated as “They also represent seven kings. . . .” Horns are yet another symbol that represents kings or kingdoms, as Daniel 7:24 indicates. “And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise.” Thus, prophecy can show that one nation follows another in chronological sequence. For instance, a beast that grows several horns signifies a power followed by several other powers. With our new-found knowledge of prophetic symbols, it is easy to see that as a result of military conquest, four powerful nations or empires arose successively on the stage of history. The first was represented by the lion, the king of beasts. The wings symbolized the rapid conquest of this power as it defeated one nation after another to assemble its empire. The second is represented to be a cruel power at whose hands many lost their lives as it devoured many nations. The third beast had four wings, indicating extreme swiftness, and four heads, representing the four leaders or kings who divided the empire among themselves and took power concurrently. The fourth power is represented by a beast such as is not known on earth, signifying an extremely cruel and powerful empire. Ten horns, or nations, succeed this cruel power, and then the power represented by the little horn with eyes and a mouth arrives on the scene among these other ten nations. Continuing with Daniel 7:15: “I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near to 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.” As Daniel was witnessing this procession of future history, he did not understand, and asked one of the angels standing by to explain the vision to him. The angel’s explanation is found in verses seventeen and eighteen: “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.” In order to put Daniel at ease, the angel reassured him that the saints, the true Christians, the true people of God, will finally rule the world with their Lord, Jesus Christ. Continuing with verse nineteen: “Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, that was different from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; that devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other that came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them.” Here we have more information about the little horn that had eyes and a mouth and grew to be more stout than the others. The power that is represented by the stout horn made war against three of the ten nations, represented by the ten horns, and completely defeated and uprooted them so that today there is no trace of these nations. We see also that the power represented by the stout horn made war against the saints, God’s true people, and prevailed against them. This power put to death many millions of Christians, as we shall see. The angel continues in verse twenty-three to explain the vision to Daniel: “Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be different from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.” Now we can identify these four empires. The angel told Daniel that this extremely cruel beast represented the fourth kingdom on earth. Daniel received this vision during the reign of Belshazzar, king of Babylon. Babylon, therefore, is represented by the first beast, the lion with wings. As we remember history, we see that Medo-Persia was the second kingdom, represented by the bear; Greece was the third, represented by the leopard. It is interesting to note that the leopard with four wings (which symbolize speed of conquest) represents the Grecian Empire. Under the reign of Alexander the Great, this Grecian power marched its army over 25,000 miles during a two-year period as it conquered virtually the entire known world. Alexander’s troops ranged as far as India and China. Thus, to indicate very great speed of conquest, the symbol of four wings is used instead of just two wings as on the first beast, the lion. In the political intrigue that followed Alexander’s death, his young son, heir to the throne, was murdered, and four of Alexander’s generals divided the kingdom among themselves. The four heads on the leopard represent these four generals and the sections of the empire that they took. The Roman Empire was the fourth kingdom, represented by the last beast with ten horns in this prophecy. Continuing with Daniel 7:24,25: “And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be different from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 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.” The ten horns of this terrible beast represent the nations or kingdoms into which the Roman Empire disintegrated, seven of which are the ancestors of the modern nations of Europe. These ten nations were the Anglo-Saxons (English), the Franks (French), Suevi (Portuguese), Visigoths (Spanish), Burgundians (Swiss), Alemanni (Germans), Lombards (Italians), Ostrogoths, Heruli, and the Vandals in northern Africa. After these ten nations were established, another power, represented by the stout horn that had eyes and a mouth, arose. This power subdued and completely uprooted three of the ten nations. The verses just read give numerous clues to help us to identify the power represented by the stout horn. It is vitally important that we understand who this power is, and for this reason God has given us many identifying points. Let us now consider the points of identity of this power. (1.) Daniel 7:24 states that the stout horn power would arise after the Roman Empire and after the emergence of the other ten horns, or nations, following the disintegration of the Roman empire. (2.) This power is different from the other ten kingdoms. Daniel 7:24 says, “He shall be different from the first.” We have a clue in verse twenty-five as to just how this power differed from the other kingdoms. This power made an attempt to change the law of God and the times of God. The Catholic Douay translation of the Bible in Daniel 7:25 says that “he shall think himself able to change times and laws.” This power has published the changed law and admits to changing a time of God, and nearly the entire Christian world follows the dictates of this power rather than the times and laws of God as found in the Bible. Since this power thought itself able to change God’s times and God’s laws, it must be a religious power. The other ten powers were political. That is the difference mentioned in verse twenty-four. (3.) This power went to war with three of the ten kingdoms and defeated them. Daniel 7:24 says, “He shall subdue three kings.” The reason for this war was that the three defeated nations would not accept the religious doctrine of the stout horn; the other seven nations, under pressure, accepted its dictates. The three defeated nations were the Ostrogoths, Heruli, and the Vandals. Verse eight says they were plucked up by the roots. There is no trace of these nations today; they have been completely uprooted, as this prophecy foretold. The last of these three nations was defeated in 538 AD. (4.) The power represented by the stout horn speaks blasphemous words against God. Daniel 7:25 says, “He shall speak great words against the most High.” The first beast of Revelation 13 also represents this stout horn power, as we will see shortly. Revelation 13:5 says “And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies.” What is blasphemy? We can find the definition of blasphemy in John 10:30-33: Jesus said, “I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do you stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone you not; but for blasphemy; and because that you, being a man, make yourself God.” For a man to claim he is God is blasphemy. Of course, this was not blasphemy for Jesus to make this claim because He was God. Another definition of blasphemy is found in Mark 2:7: “Why does this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?” For a man to claim to be able to forgive sins is also blasphemy. This power, therefore, must claim either that its human leader is God or that it can forgive sins, or both. Did a religious power arise after the breakup of the Roman Empire that makes either of these claims? (5.) The stout horn power kills God’s people. Daniel 7:25 says, “And shall wear out the saints of the most High.” This power is a cruel, persecuting power that has put to death many hundreds of millions of Christians who wanted to worship God according to the Bible. This power put forth its own doctrine and required that people follow its laws. If a person worshiped God as specified in the Bible, he was in danger of severe persecution, even being burned at the stake. During the Saint Bartholomew’s Massacre in August, 1572, an estimated 70,000 Christians were slaughtered, and this power boasted about it in its various writings. We will look at some of these writings shortly. (6.) This power attempted to change the times of God. Daniel 7:25 says, “he shall think himself able to change times and laws.” (Catholic Douay version). In some of its publications this power admits to having changed the day of worship from Saturday, God’s Sabbath day, the seventh day of the week, to Sunday, the first day of the week, and virtually the entire “Christian” world follows its dictates rather than the Bible. (7.) He would attempt to change the laws of God. (Daniel 7:25). We shall shortly compare the Ten Commandments as found in the Bible with the Ten Commandments as published by the stout horn. The changes will be readily apparent. (8.) Finally, this power reigned supreme for 1260 years. Daniel 7:25 says, “And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Here we must stop and consider these new symbols of Bible prophecy: days and times. In prophecy the word “day” means “year.” Numbers 14:34 tells us, “After the number of the days in which you searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, you shall bear your iniquities, even forty years.” Ezekiel 4:6 also mentions that a day represents one year. “I have appointed you each day for a year.” As an example of this day for a year principle, Daniel 9:25 tells us that there will be sixty-nine weeks between two events. “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troubled times.” A score is twenty. Sixty-nine weeks is 483 days. Historical records show that the actual time interval between the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem until Christ’s first advent was 483 years. Thus we see that when “day” is used in Bible prophecy, a year of actual time is meant. The prophetic year consists of twelve months of thirty days each, or 360 days, and represents 360 years of actual time. That the prophetic year contains 360 days can be shown quite clearly in the book of Revelation, since one particular period of time is mentioned in four different verses. Revelation 12:6 and Revelation 12:14 both speak of the same period of time, as is obvious from the context. Verse six: “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” Clearly, this time period is 1260 days, or 3½ years of 360 days each. Now notice verse fourteen: “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” Since this time period is 3½ years, the word “time” in verse fourteen is therefore one year, “times” is two years, and “half a time” is one-half year. Revelation 11:2,3 shows that the prophetic month contains thirty days. “But the court that is outside the temple leave out, and do not measure it; for it is given to the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” Here again we have this same period of 1260 days that is mentioned in verse two as forty-two months. Forty-two months of thirty days each is exactly 1260 days, or 3½ 360-day years. For those who think it strange for prophecy to use a 360-day year, consider that almost every bank, before the proliferation of computers, used a 360-day year consisting of twelve months, each having thirty days to calculate interest. To refresh your memory, here again is that key verse in Daniel, chapter seven that shows the eighth point of identity of the stout horn. (8.) This power reigned supreme for 1260 years. Daniel 7:25 says, “And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” The word “time” in this verse is a year, “times” is two years, and the “dividing of time” is one half-year. The 360-day prophetic year consists of twelve months of 30 days each. The three and one-half years mentioned in this verse, therefore, are this 1260-day time period. Since one day in Bible prophecy represents one year of actual time, we arrive at the 1260-year period for the stout horn power. Revelation 12:14 shows us that God’s true church had to go into hiding during these 1260 years in an attempt to avoid the severe persecution which this power inflicted on the true Christians. “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” The serpent in the Bible is Satan, the devil, as shown in Revelation 12:9: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world: he was cast out to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” We saw in chapter one that a woman in Bible prophecy represents a church. We saw that a pure, virtuous woman represents Christ’s true church, and a harlot represents a false or counterfeit church. Revelation 17:5 describes a harlot, who represents a false church and is the mother of numerous false churches. “And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” The following chart summarizes the basic keys to understanding Bible prophecy. Additional points of identity of the stout horn are found in Revelation 13:1-10,18. As we consider these verses, it will become apparent that this first beast of Revelation thirteen represents the same power as the stout horn of Daniel seven. Revelation 13:1-10,18: “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshiped the dragon that gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given to him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 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. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leads into captivity shall go into captivity: he that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six [666].” Let us now continue with collecting points of identity of the antichrist. (9.) Notice here that this beast, which is the same power as the stout horn of Daniel, chapter seven, rises out of the sea. Revelation 13:1 says, ”I . . . saw a beast rise up out of the sea.” Water, you will remember, is the symbol for many people, the sea of humanity. The ninth point of identity of this power, represented by the stout horn in Daniel 7 and the first beast of Revelation 13, is that it arises in a populated area of the world. We saw that when the Roman Empire fell, it disintegrated into ten nations, represented by the ten horns on the terrible beast of Daniel 7. It was among these nations, the heavily populated area of Europe, that this power, the stout horn, arose. (10.) This power received a deadly wound. Revelation 13:3 says, ”I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death.” Exactly 1260 years after this power defeated the last of the three nations represented by the three uprooted horns on the head of the terrible beast of Daniel seven, the stout horn power received its deadly wound, and the world believed that this was the end of this power. (11.) But, as Revelation 13:3 says, ”His deadly wound was healed.” This power recovered from its wound and regained much of its former strength. (12.) Virtually the whole ”Christian” world follows the dictates of this power as Revelation 13:3,4 says. ”3All the world wondered after the beast. 4And they worshiped the dragon that gave power to the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” Indeed, who is like the beast? He is completely different from all other nations, as this verse and Daniel 7:24 say. Notice who gives this power its authority and political power in this world; it is the devil. This power is known by practically everyone today, and it is a major factor in world events. The text says that ”All the world wondered after the beast.” The whole world follows after this beast. According to prophecy, this power will very shortly exert much more control over the people of the world than at present. The reference to making war with this beast is interesting. Few nations dared to make war with this religious power during the 1260 years of its reign because they were deceived into believing that this satanic power could consign them to hell for eternity if they tried to rebel. (13.) This power is a worldwide, well-known religion, for Revelation 13:8 says that ”all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are NOT written” in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Since those who worship this power are not written in the book of life, it is obvious that this power is one of Satan’s counterfeit religions. Remember that we read in Revelation 13:2 that the devil gave this power its great authority. People worship this power and obey its dictates rather than God’s requirements as found in the Bible. This power effectively changed God’s requirements in the minds of most, and the people of the world obey (worship) this power rather than God, thinking that they are obeying God. (14.) The last point of identity of this power is the number 666. Revelation 13:18 tells us that this is the number of a man. ”18Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six. [666]” It was customary in Roman times to speak of a person’s number. This number was obtained by adding the values of the Roman numeral letters in a person’s name. Can you identify this power from the preceding fourteen points of identity from the pages of the Bible? What great religious power arrived on the scene of history shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire? Which great religious power defeated the Vandals, Ostrogoths, and the Heruli as described in history? Which great religious organization wielded enormous power over ”all kindreds, and tongues, and nations” during the Dark Ages? Indeed, which great religious power was the only large religious organization that existed during the Dark Ages? Which great religious power persecuted and put to death many millions of Christians, God’s true people, during the Dark Ages? Which great religious power attempted to change God’s times and God’s laws? Which great religious power spoke great, blasphemous words against God? Which great religious power commits blasphemy when it claims to be able to forgive the sins of the people? Which great religious power does practically the entire world ”wonder” after, and follow, and obey?
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 16:39:29 +0000
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