4 -- THE LAST WORLD POWER
The birth of the ecumenical movement occurred only forty-three years after the first Sunday Law, as the Catholic Church united with Paganism. Sunday is a pagan day of worship of which the Catholic church conceded upon in order to draw Pagans into her fold. Today we see many concessions made by Christian denominations in order to gain popularity.
Many Protestants have learned about the pagan roots of Halloween and Easter and now they rightfully teach against them. Why do they not teach against this pagan day of worship also? Why? Because of tradition! Because they have been deceived. Why would Christians want to unite with pagans? Aren't we told in the scripture, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers". II Cor. 6:14. Todays peace and safety, false shepherds are saying, "There's room in God's church for every one," while God say's, "There is only room in My church for those who are searching for the truth and are willing to repent of their pagan pasts. There is only room in My church for those that believe in My Word. There is only room in My church for those who are yoked with Me."
The Roman Catholic's, Church Council of Laodicea in A. D. 364 forbade the observance of the Seventh-day Sabbath:
"Sabbath, Change of, Action of Council of Laodicea on [about A. D. 364]. - Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday [Sabbath, original], but shall work on that day; but the Lord's day they shall especially honor, and, as being Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ." -- A History of the Councils of the Church: from the Original Documents, Rt. Rev. Charles Joseph Jefele, D. D., Bishop Rottenburg, book 6, sec. 93, canon 29 (vol. II, p. 316), Edinburgh: T.& T., Clark, 1896.
"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." Dan. 7:25 This law was issued by the Roman Catholic Church with the Civil Power or Rome approximately 331 years after Christ was crucified on the cross. Three Hundred Thirty-one
years to late to make any changes to the New Covenant. It had already been ratified.
"Who are the rulers of the church?
"The rulers of the Church are the Pope and the bishops.
"What position does the Pope hold?
"The Pope is the successor of St. Peter, the vicar of Christ on earth, and the visible head of the Church...
"FOR MY LIFE: I shall love and revere the Pope as the one who holds the place of Christ on earth; I will pray for him, and always be faithful to him...
"AN EXPLANATION: The Church is called Roman Catholic because its chief ruler is the lawful bishop of Rome. The word Pope means Father. The Pope is also called the 'Holy Father,' because it is his holy office to rule the Church with a father's care." A Catholic Catechism, 1957, p. 129.
"It is Christ who speaks to us through the Church. It is his word that she proclaims, his teaching that she imparts, and by his Holy Spirit that she is enlightened.
"The teaching office in the Church belongs to the Pope and to the bishops who are united with him. It is their duty to preserve the doctrine of Christ free from error, and to make it known without letting it be corrupted. When the Pope and the bishops in agreement proclaim something to be a teaching of faith they cannot be wrong, because Christ and his Holy Spirit protect the Church from error. At a general council the bishops decide whether a teaching is, or is not, contained in some truth, that has been revealed by God; and, if not, whether it is true or false.
"The supreme teacher of the Church is the Pope. Without him a council cannot make an infallible, that is to say, an unerring decision, even alone. He is infallible, that is to say he cannot make an error, when he defines a decision for the whole Church about faith or about how Christians should behave, and commands the whole Church to accept." ibid., p. 132.
"FOR MY LIFE: I shall listen to the Pope and the bishops with reverence, especially when they speak to us by an encyclical or a pastoral letter. Their voice is the voice of Christ." ibid., p. 133.
All of the preceding sounds very nice and in line with the modern day thinking of Christians, unless you are familiar with your Bible. Remember, "Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Gal. 1:8.
"But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven." Mat. 23:8, 9.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thes. 5:21. This commands all Christians to prove all things. It does not command us to let a mortal man, that has exalted himself to be equal with Christ (God), interpret the gospel for us without questioning his authority and the truths of his teachings. If we are commanded not to be deceived by angels should we not make sure a mortal man doesn't deceive us. "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Isa. 8:20.
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." II Thes. 2:3, 4. Just who is "that man of sin?" The books of Daniel and Revelation describe him beyond any shadow of a doubt. There are identifying marks that unquestionably describe the one and only one entity that can be this "man of sin," the "antichrist," the "little horn," the beast of which received the deadly wound but was healed, the beast of which will attempt to destroy all who do not receive his "mark."
He is the one that Satan gave his seat, power and authority to. He is the one that persecuted God's saints for 1260 years. He is the "little horn" of Daniel eight and the beast of Revelation thirteen whose "head was wounded to death; and deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after."
In chapter one we learned from Daniel 7:4-7 that a beast, king, kingdom, and horn can be synonymous. In Daniel chapter two God gave King Nebuchadnezzar a dream of a great metallic image which Daniel interpreted for the king. "There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days..." Dan. 7:28. The interpretation is as follows:
"The image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay." Daniel 2:32, 33. (See illustration of Image on p.61).
"Thou (Nebuchadnezzar)art this head of gold." Dan. 2:38.
So far we are shown an image divided into five major parts, and the first part, a head of gold, represents the kingdom of Babylon. The question now arises, what kingdoms do the other divisions represent? We will see from the following verses that this image of kingdoms takes us from the time of King Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, to the Kingdom of God. In other words if we can identify the kingdoms represented in this image we will know where we are in history.
"And after thee (Nebuchadnezzar) shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
"And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: for as much as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"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." Dan. 2:39-44.
2. The breast and arms of silver represent Medo-Persia. Dan. 5:28. Medo-Persia ruled the world from 539 - 331 B. C.
3. The belly and thighs of brass represent Greece. Dan. 8:20, 21.
Greece ruled the world from 331 - 168 B. C.
4. The legs of iron are Pagan Rome. History and the Bible prove that
Rome followed Greece as the world empire. See Luke 2:1 where it
is recorded that Rome taxed the world. Pagan Rome ruled the world from 168 B.C. to 351 A.D.
5. The iron mixed with miry clay is the mingling of church and state.
See Is. 64:8 and Jer. 18:4-6, where a church is represented as clay. During the historical period of the feet and toes of iron and clay, a world dominating church/state power was to receive a deadly wound that would be healed. It is to be the power that causes the whole world to wonder after her. It is the last world power upon the face of the earth before the Lord sets up His kingdom. Dan. 2:44; 7:9-11; Re. 17:14. The last world power is also called the "Little Horn" (Dan. 7:7, 20).
The kingdoms of Daniel two are the same kingdoms as recorded in Daniel seven. In Daniel two they are described in relation to the image,
compared to Daniel seven's cryptic beast symbols representing the same nations.
Daniel 7:3 - "And four great beast came up from the sea, diverse one
from another."
Daniel 7:4 - "The first was like a lion..." [Babylon]
Daniel 7:5 - "...another beast, a second, like to a bear..." [Medo-
Persia].
Daniel 7:6 - "another, like a leopard..." [Greece].
Daniel 7:7 - "...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 beast that were before it; and it had ten horns." [Pagan Rome].
Daniel 7:17 - "These great beasts [Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, &
Pagan Rome], which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth."
Daniel 7:23 - "...The fourth beast [Pagan Rome] shall be the fourth
kingdom upon the earth."
Let's unroll the scroll of history and see just what has occurred so we can know what will occur in the future.
Daniel 7:24 - "And the ten horns out of this kingdom [Pagan Rome]
are ten kings..." The ten horns of Daniel 7:24 are additional
light that was not revealed in the image, other than the breaking up of the iron in the feet. These ten horns are not represented by the toes of the image as we will prove later. However, they are represented by the iron mixed with the miry clay.
The first four kingdoms with world dominion in Daniel's prophecies have come and gone. The fourth kingdom, Pagan Rome is broken into ten divisions, ten horns, of which three were plucked up. A "little horn" power arises in place of the three that were plucked up and it becomes the next world power. The remaining seven horns are represented by the broken iron mingled with the miry clay in the feet of the image of Daniel two. The little horn is represented by the miry clay.
We have already seen that the fourth kingdom with world power was Pagan Rome. We have also seen that a horn can represent a king or kingdom. With this in mind, what do the ten horns of Daniel seven that come out of Pagan Rome represent? History shows that when the world power of Pagan Rome was broken up it was divided into ten kingdoms. The ten kingdoms are: the Huns (Alamanni/Germans), Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi, Burgundians, Heruli, Anglo-Saxons, and Lombards. (See illustration on page 62 of the feet of iron and clay representing the break up of Rome mingled with the church). The three kings that were plucked up were the Heruli, Vandals, and Ostrogoths. See The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. III, chap. 36, pp. 515, 516, Edward Gibbon.
From Daniel chapter seven we see that the "little horn" [miry clay] comes up among the ten horns after three of them are plucked up. We found in history that Pagan Rome ruled the earth from 168 B. C. to 351 A. D., when it divided into ten kingdoms. History also tells us that the ten horns became prominent between 351 A. D. and 476 A. D. See Daniel And The Revelation, Uriah Smith, ch. 7, p. 117. After the break-up of the Pagan Roman Empire into the ten kingdoms and the uprooting of the three kingdoms, what world power followed? To this question, there is only one answer. To answer this question let's first look at a description of it found in Daniel.
"And the ten horns out of this (4th) kingdom (Pagan Rome) 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. 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." Dan. 7:24-25.
What would make this "little horn" (kingdom) different? What kingdom has attempted to "change times and laws?" God's "times and laws!" The one thing that made the "little horn" different or "diverse," was that it was a Religio/Political Kingdom, a church and state power united that persecuted God's saints for 1260 prophetic days (prophetic days representing literal years), all the while claiming to be God's church.
Where do we find in the scripture that this power persecutes God's saints 1260 years? The following verses refer to a time period of persecution by the same power, against God's saints. "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. 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." Dan. 7:24, 25.
"A time" in Jewish reckoning is one year of 360 days. "Times" is two years or 720 days. "The dividing of time" is � year or 180 days. The total of 1260 days is here represented. See Dan. 4:23.
"And the woman [God's Church] fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days [1260 years]." Rev. 12:6.
"And to the woman [God's Church] 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." (1260 years). Rev. 12:14.
"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months." Rev. 13:5. A Jewish month was a month of 30 days. Forty-two months of thirty days is 1260 days representing 1260 years.
In prophecy, time can be literal or figurative. See Nu. 14:34 and Ezk. 4: 4-6 where a day represents a year. In comparing scripture with scripture and scripture with history these dates do not represent anything in a literal sense. But when one applies the figurative or cryptic meaning to the day year principal we find that once again history has proven God's Word to be 100 percent accurate. Also we find another proof as to who the "little horn" represents. You see, there was only one religious power that received political power from Pagan Rome after the three kingdoms were plucked up. The same power persecuted God's church for 1260 years, literally forcing God's saints, or church, into the wilderness. The same power claims to have changed God's time and law. This same power received a deadly wound that will soon be healed. This same power is called by classic writers as "the City of Seven Hills" (Horace Carmen Saeculare 7; Virgil Aeneid vi. 782-784; Georgics ii. 534, 535; Martial Epigrams iv. 64. 11, 12; Cicero Letters to Atticus vi. 5; Propertius Elegies iii. 11; etc). In 1 Pet. 5:13 we find where Rome was referred to as Babylon by early Christians.
The time period of the power that persecuted God's saints began in 538 A. D. and ended in A. D. 1798, exactly 1260 years later, when the beast of Revelation thirteen received it's deadly wound. It was on February 15, 1798, when the pope was taken captive and the political power of the papacy was taken away by the French General Berthier under the command of Napolean. This action dissolved the papal government and proclaimed Rome a Republic, thus taking away the political power from the papacy and inflicting the "deadly wound". While it is a historical fact that the papacy existed prior to 538 A. D., it is also a fact that it did not have civil power before that time. In 538 A. D. the decree of Justinian went forth that the papacy would be the religious power in the West and the state would unite with it [the papacy] to enforce its religious dogmas. The harlot was riding upon the
beast. There is no other entity upon the face of the earth that can fulfill these prophecies.
Some have confused the break up of the ten nations of Rome to represent the ten toes of Daniel's image and the ten kings of Revelation 17:12, but this can not be the case. You see, the ten kings of Revelation 17 have no kingdoms, whereas the ten kings of Daniel Seven are referring specifically to ten kingdoms. The ten toes of Daniel two did not have three of them cut off. They were in tack when the Lord set up his kingdom, just as the ten kings of Revelation seventeen. The mingling of iron and miry clay, represented in the feet, represent the mingling of church and state, not the mingling of the ten nations of the Roman Empire.
"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. 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. 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 forever." Dan. 2:39-44.
What is the cryptic meaning of "part of potters clay, and part of iron?" This is just more proof that the last evil world power will be church and state united. "But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people." Isa. 64: 8-9. "And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. The word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as the potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel." Jer. 18:4-6. If clay represents God's people and church, then miry clay would represent an impure or corrupt church. "...Foreasmuch as thou sawest
the iron mixed with miry clay." Dan. 2:41. Here we see a picture of an impure church united with Rome--church and state mingled together.
It is true that many powers come into play during the period of the feet of iron and clay. These powers are spelled out in Daniel seven and in Revelation thirteen and seventeen. Speaking of the "little horn," Daniel 7:25 says, "...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." Papal Rome has done it all.