THE MARK OF THE BEAST

CHAPTER 1

TEARING DOWN THE FOUNDATIONS

In a vision of prophetic history, Daniel the Hebrew prophet-statesman of Babylon was shown the rise and fall of four vast empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. This is recorded in Daniel 2 and 7—in two parallel prophecies. About a thousand years before the events occurred, he foresaw the dismemberment of Western Rome, the rise of the Papacy, and the establishment of the "ten kingdoms" which have developed into the great nations of Southern and Western Europe, Regarding the correctness of this fulfillment, nearly all conservative Protestant students of prophecy agree.

The Seventh Chapter of Daniel especially goes into detail on the prediction of the antichrist power that for long ages was to seek to crush God's people and do away with His Moral Law.

Daniel 7 gives a careful description of the rise of this power. Daniel calls it the "Little Horn." After seeing in vision a series of four symbolic animals arise out of the sea, an angel explained: 'The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break in pieces." Daniel 7:23.

This fourth beast is further described as having ten horns arising out of its head, and we are told what they represent: 'The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise." Daniel 7:24.

Then in the dream, Daniel, as he slept, was to watch as a little horn grew in the midst of the ten horns. As it arose, it uprooted three of those horns. The angel explained this to Daniel: "Another [king] shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings." Daniel 7:24. And then, continuing, he gives us the most important verse in Daniel Seven —Daniel 7 :25, the verse that explains the three basic things the man of sin, or little horn power, would do, and how long he would have this power:

"And he shall [1] speak great words against the Most High, and [2] shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and [3] think to change times and laws. And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. " Daniel 7:25.

Elsewhere in this chapter we are told more about this little horn power: 'And behold, in this [little] horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. " DanieI 7:8.

"That [little] horn. . had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows." Daniel 7:20. I beheld, and the same [little] horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them." Daniel 7:21. This vision of Daniel 7 is described in verses 2.14, and mentions the . . little horn power in only one verse (7:8). But the work of this little horn in trying to destroy both God's Law and His people was so terrible that, in the explanation that followed (verses 17-28), most of it is about this fourth beast and its little horn.

Clearly, the little horn was to be a deadly power reigning among the kings of the earth that would assume the right to control the faith and consciences of men.

Just what is this fourth beast—with its ten horns—out of which this little horn power was to arise? Student's of history I recognize that the fourth world kingdom after Daniel's time was the kingdom of Rome.

The Roman Empire controlled civilization in the days of Jesus Christ, and it indeed was a power to "devour the whole earth, and. . tread it down, and break it in pieces." Daniel 7:2,3. (compare verse 7).

But prophecy foretold that this fourth beast, pagan Rome was to be divided. Ten horns were to grow out of its head, representing ten kings, or kingdoms, that would arise out of the Roman Empire. Students of history will again recognize that Rome was indeed divided—and it was divided into ten divisions: the Franks, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Heruli, Burgundians, Suevi, Saxons, Lombards, Alamanni, and Vandals.

The prophecy said that still another horn was to arise after Rome had been divided into its ten parts. Let us now consider this Little Horn:

(1) This little horn is to be a kingdom as the other horns are kingdoms. "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. "Daniel 7:24.

(2) This .little horn power is to come from the same source that the other ten horns, or kingdoms, came from. "I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn." Daniel 7:8. Therefore, it was to come out of Rome.

(3) We can get the approximate date when this little horn was to arise. It would gain its regal powers after the other horns had arisen. "And another shall rise after them." Daniel 7:24. This could not take place until the last of the ten divisions of Rome was formed.

(4) It was to uproot three horns, or three of Rome's divisions. Seven of these divisions have existed down to our time. Anglo-Saxon --modern England. Franks—France. Lombards—Italy. Alamanni—modern Germany. ,Burgundian modern Switzerland. Suevi—modern Portugal. Visigoths—modern Spain. But the Heruli, Vandals, and Ostrogoths have no modern counterpart. They were uprooted by the little horn power at the time it was arising.

(5) "He shall be diverse from the first." Daniel 7:24. Although a kingdom, it would be a radically different kind of kingdom. The others were civil—this one would be religious.

(6) This religion, exercising the power and force of a worldly kingdom, was to have a leader at its head, for it speaks through the "mouth of a man." "And behold in this [little] horn] were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. " Daniel 7:8. A man was to be at the head of this power, a man with human eyes and a human mouth:

(7) This mouth would speak great things. Revelation 13 is a parallel prophecy of this apostate power and its blasphemies. And elsewhere we are told: "He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven." (Revelation 13:6), which agrees with the statement of Daniel 7:25: "He shall speak great words against the most High. " This man is to be guilty of blasphemy. He is to speak great words against the God of Heaven.

(8) This power will try to destroy God's people for not submitting to its teachings. 'I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them" It was predicted that he would "wear out the saints of the most High." Daniel 7:21,25.

(9) We are told the length of time that this power would have supremacy. "And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. " Daniel 7:25. In Revelation 13, speaking of the same power, we are told, "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue 1. [margin: make war] forty and two months. " Revelation 13:5. . (Compare Revelation 11:2). And, again, in Revelation 12:6, the length of time (a time span parallel to 11:3) is spoken of I as 'a thousand two hundred and threescore days." Read each of the above passages carefully. A "day" in prophecy stands for a year (Numbers 14:34, Ezekiel 4:6). A "time" in prophecy is the same as a year (Daniel 11:13, margin, and Revised Version). Three and a half times would be three and a half years. This is the same as 42 months. And both are equal to 1260 days or years. (A prophetic year was composed of 360 days or 12 months of 30 days each).

This is the symbolic time of Bible prophecy. And so as it was predicted "for over a thousand years the Little Horn power ruled men's lives.

The decree of the emperor, Justinian, issued in A.D. 533, recognized the pope. as the "head of all the holy churches." (Code of Justinian, book 1, title 1, section 4.). The overwhelming defeat of the Ostrogoths in the siege of Rome, five years later (A.D. 538), was a death blow to the third pf the three horns that were uprooted. With the year 538, then, begins the 1260 years of this prophecy of Papal control, which would ex. tend to the year 1798. In that year the Reign of Terror occurred in the French Revolution and the Roman Catholic religion was set aside in France, and the French army, under Berthier, entered Rome and took the pope prisoner. He died in exile at Valence, France, the following year. The long prophetic time span of papal rule was ended. The "deadly wound" of Revelation 13:3 was inflicted—a wound which prophecy says is to be healed.

THE 1260 DAY PROPHECY

A.D. 538 .------A.D. 1798

THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL

"Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another . . "And behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and It had great Iron teeth . . 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 a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

"I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. . Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast. . And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; and of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake 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. .

"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.."—Daniel 7:2-3, 7-8, 16, 19-21, 25.

THE PROPHECY OF REVELATION

"And I stood upon. the sand of the sea,. and saw a beast rise. up out of the sea . . 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 there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months."—RevelationI3:1, 3, 5.

The Bible predicted that the terrible little horn power of Daniel 7 and 8 was to rule the world for 1260 years. It has been well-known for centuries that this little horn of Daniel 7 and the first beast of Revelation 13 symbolize the papacy. Also called the "man of sin" (2 Thessalonians 2: 3-4), and the "antichrlst" (1 John 4:3), the papacy was definitely prophesied to have this ruling power for 1260 years. When did this predicted time span begin and when did it end? The next page will give you this information.

THE AMAZING 1260 DAY PROPHECY

Here is the amazing prophecy of the 1260 days; also called the "time, times, and dividing of time," and the "forty-two months."

A day stands for a year in Bible prophecy (Numbers 14:34, Ezekiel 4:6). A "time" in prophecy is the same as a year (Daniel 11:13, margin and Revised Version). This time-span prophecy is first mentioned in Daniel 7:25, where we are told that it is the length of time that the terrible "little horn" power was to bear rule and destroy God's people. During that time it would also try to change God's Law: "And he, [the little horn] 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 for a time and times and a dividing of time." -Daniel 7:25.

This, in Hebrew, equals "a time, 2 times and half a time." Using the ancient reckoning of 360 days to a year: 360 + 720 + 180. = 1260. And since a day is equivalent to a year in Bible prophecy, this little horn power would rule for 1260 years. In Revelation12:6 we are told that the persecution would continue for "a thousand two hundred and threescore days", which is 1260 prophetic days, or years. (Also note Revelation 11:3).

The God of heaven gave this important prophecy in yet a third way: The little horn of Daniel 7 and 8 is the same as the first beast of Revelation 13: "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. "—Revelation 13:5. (Compare Revelation 11:2.) Forty-two months equals 1260 days. And Revelation also calls this time, times, and times, and half a time" (Revelation 12:14 ,—just as Daniel does.

When did the little horn, symbolizing the papacy, have this rule? The decree of the emperor, Justinian, in A.D. 533, recognized the pope as the "head of all the holy churches" (Code of Justinian, Book 1, title 1, section 4). The overwhelming defeat of the Ostragoths in the siege of Rome, just five years later (A.D. 538) was a death blow to the third of the three horns that were uprooted (see Daniel 7:8).

With the year 538, then, begins the 1260 years of this prophecy of papal domination, which would extend to 1798. In that year as the Reign of Terror continued in the French Revolution and the Roman Catholic religion was set aside in France, the French army, under Berthier, entered Rome and took the pope prisoner. The date: February 10,1798. The imprisoned pope died in exile the following year in Valence, France. A great cry was heard, "Catholicism is dead." The papacy had received the "deadIy wound" of Revelation 13:3. But we are told that the wound is to be healed, and that the time is coming when all the world will "wonder after the beast" (Revelation 13:3).

Only Papal Rome answers to the description of Daniel Seven. This chapter unveils before us the Great Babylon of Revelation 12.17, and reveals the work it was to do in tearing out part of God's holy Law and in hunting to the death His people.

"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. " Daniel 7:25.

Consider the following:

(1) The papal power occupies a unique place in the world—for it not only is a religion but a kingdom as well. At the present time representatives and ambassadors from more than forty major nations of the world come to counsel with its head of state, the pope. Among these are representatives from the United States.

(2) The papacy came out of the Roman Empire, just as the little horn came out of the fourth beast (Dan 7:7-8, 19-20, 23-25). It still has its headquarters in the same capital of the ancient Roman Empire—Rome by the banks of the Tiber, in what is today called Italy.

"Long ages ago, when Rome through the neglect of the Western emperors was left to the mercy of the barbarous hordes, the Romans turned to one figure for aid and protection, and asked him to rule them; and thus commenced the temporal sovereignty of the popes. And meekly stepping to the throne of Caesar, the vicar of Christ took up the scepter to ' which the emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through so many ages."—American Catholic Quarterly Review, April,. 1911.

"Out of the ruins of political Rome, arose the great moral Empire in the 'giant form' of the Roman Church"—A.C. Flick, The Rise of the Mediaeval Church, 1909, p. 150.

"Under the Roman Empire the popes had no temporal powers. But when the Roman Empire had disintegrated and its place had been taken by a number of rude, barbarous kingdoms, the Roman Catholic church not only became independent of the states in religious affairs, but dominated secular affairs as well.

At times, under such rulers as Charlemagne (768-814), Otto the Great (936-973), and Henry III (10391056), the civil power controlled the church to some extent; but in general, under the weak political system of feudalism, the well-organized, unified, and centralized church, with the pope at its head, was not only independent in ecclesiastical affairs but also controlled civil affairs." —Carl Conrad Eckhardt, The Papacy and World-Affairs, The University of Chicago Press, 1937, p.1,

(3) It, was given its religious power over the nations at exactly the time predicted. The last of the ten divisions was formed in A.D. 476, and three of them, the Heruli in 493, the Vandals in 534, and the Ostrogoths in 538, were destroyed at the instigation of the papacy because they held divergent religious views. The last of these was wiped out just five years after emperor, Justinian, by decree proclaimed the pope to be the visible head over all churches everywhere.

The recognition of; the Roman See as the highest ecclesiastical authority remained the Cornerstone of his [Justinian's] policy in relation to the west."—G. Kruger, "Justinian I, Emperor of the East, "in The New Shaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. 6, p. 286.

"Down to the sixth century all popes are declared saints in the martyrologies. Vigilius (537-555) is the first of a series of popes who no longer bear this title, which is henceforth sparingly conferred. From this time on the popes, more and more involved in worldly affairs, no longer belong solely to the Church;—they are men of the state, and then rulers of the state."—Charles Bemont and G. Monod, Medieval Europe from 395 to 1270, pp.120-121 [It is widely recognized that Vigilius' reign began in 538, the year that so much power was given to the papacy by Justinian. His predecessor, Pope Silverius, did not die until June, 538].

The Constitution of Justinian (chapters 1 and 2 in his Civil Law) decreed that the pope of Rome was henceforth to be legally recognized as the first pontiff of all world churches.

(4) The 1260 year rule of the papacy continued exactly in accordance with the time prophecy. From A.D. 638, when the sword of Belisarius elevated Pope Vigilius as universal pontiff, to the time when the sword of Berthier thrust Pope Pius VI from office, in 1798, was exactly 1260 years.

"When in 1797 Pope Pius VI fell grievously ill, Napoleon gave orders that in the event of his death no successor should be elected to his office, and the Papacy should be discontinued. But the Pope recovered. The peace was soon broken: Berthier entered Rome on the tenth of February, 1798, and proclaimed [Rome to be] a republic. The aged Pontiff refused to violate his oath by recognizing it, and was hurried from prison to prison in France. Broken with fatigue and sorrows, he died on the seventeenth of August, 1799, in the French fortress of Valence, aged 82 years. No wonder half of Europe thought Napoleon's veto would be obeyed, and that with the Pope, the Papacy was dead."—Joseph Rickaby, The Modem Papacy, p.l. .

(5) The papacy is a religious power, and the man at its head that is both the center and the key to the whole organization—is the pope. Without him there would be no papacy. It is the religion of a "man. "

(6) "And upon his heads the name of blasphemy." Revelation 13:1. He will speak "great things" (DanieI7:8), "very great things" (Daniel 7:20). "great words against the most High" (DanieI7:25},and "great things and words of blasphemes (Revelation 13:5). "And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name." Revelation 13:6. "'Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 2 Thessalonians 2:4.

"All the names which in the Scriptures are applied to Christ, by virtue of which it is established that he is over the church, all the same names are applied to the Pope."— Robert Bellarmine, On the Authority of the Councils, chapter 17, 1628 ed., vol. 1, p. 266

"We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty." —Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter of June 20, 1894.

"For not man, but God separates those whom the Roman Pontiff (who exercises the functions, not of mere man, but of the true God), having weighed the necessity or benefit of the churches, dissolves, not by human but rather by divine authority."—The Decretals of Gregory IX, book I, title 7, chap. 3, in Corpus Juris Canonici, 1555 ed., vol. 2, col. 203.

"The pope is supreme judge of the law of the land. . He is the vicegerent of Christ, and is not only a priest. forever, but also King of kings and Lord of lords." — La Civilta Catholica, March 18, 1871.

"Christ entrusted His office to the chief pontiff . . but all power in heaven and in earth has been given to Christ; . . therefore the chief pontiff, who is His vicar, will have this power."—Corpus Juris Canonici, 1555 ed., vol. 3, Extravagantes Communes, book 1 chap. I, col. 29.

"Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth and of the lower regions [infernorum; the fiery place] ."—Lucius Fermris, Prompta Bibliotheca, 'Papa" (the Pope), art. 2, 1772-1777 edition, vol. 6; p. 29.

"All the faithful must believe that the Holy Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff (the Pope] possesses the primacy over the whole world, and the Roman Pontiff is the successor of Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and is true vicar of Christ, and head of the whole church, and father and teacher of all Christians; and that full power was given to him in blessed Peter to rule, feed. and govern the universal Church by Jesus Christ Our Lord:'—First Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ, "Eternal Pastor," published in the fourth session of the Vatican Council, 1870, chap. 3, in Philip Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, vol. 2, p. 262..

(7) 'He "shall wear out the saints. of the most High" (Daniel 7:25). He shall tread down the host, or the people of God (Daniel 8:13, a parallel prophecy to Daniel 7). "And. . the dragon [Satan, through the apostate church] . .persecuted the woman [the true church] which brought forth the man-child. [Christ]. 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 [1260 years], from the. face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. Revelation 12:13-15. "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them, and power was given Him over all kindreds,. and tongues, and nation. Revelation 13:1

"That the church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history. . It is impossible to form a complete conception of the multitude of her victims, and it is quite certain that no powers of imagination can adequately realize their sufferings."—W.E.H. Lecky, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, vol. 2, p. 32, 1910 edition.

(An excellent though lengthy article describing in detail the right of the Roman Catholic Church to do this, will be found in The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol.12,p. 266)..

"For professing faith contrary to the teachings of the Church of Rome history records the martyrdom of more than one hundred million people. A million Waldenses and Albigenses [Swiss and French Protestants] perished during a crusade proclaimed by Pope Innocent III in 1208. Beginning from the establishment of the Jesuits in 1540 to 1580, nine hundred thousand were destroyed. One hundred and fifty thousand perished by the Inquisition in thirty years. Within the space of thirty-eight years after the edict of Charles V against the Protestants, fifty thousand persons were hanged, beheaded, or burned alive for heresy. Eighteen thousand more perished during the administration of the Duke of Alva in five and a half years."—Brief Bible Readings, p. 16.

[On August 24, 1527, Roman Catholics in France, by prearranged plan, under Jesuit influence, murdered 70,000 Protestants within the space of two months. The pope rejoiced when he heard the news of the successful outcome. Read "Great Controversy," chapter 15, for the details. "Catholics say only 30,000 were slain. Protes1ants put the number at 70,000. We prefer the latter figure. If there were 70,000 Huguenots [French Protestants] in Paris the night of the massacre, so much the more justification for the slaughter. . We have heard ring out many times the very bells that called the Catholics together on that fatal night. They always sounded sweetly in our ears" —Western Watchman, Nov. 21, 1912 [Roman Catholic]

"The Catholic has some reason on his side when he calls for the temporal punishment of heretics, for he claims the true title of Christian for himself exclusively, and professes to be taught by the never-failing presence of the Spirit of God...it is not more 'morally' wrong to put a man to death for heresy than for murder, . . [and] in many cases persecution for religious opinions is not only permissible, but highly advisable and necessary."— "The Lawfulness of Persecution," in The Rambler, 4, June, 1849, pp. 119, 126[Roman Catholic].

"You ask if he [the Roman Catholic] were lord in the land, and you were in a minority, if not in numbers yet in power, what would he do to you? That, we say, Would entirely depend upon circumstances. If it would benefit the cause of Catholicism, he would tolerate you: If expedient, he would imprison you, banish you, fine you; possibly, he might even hang you. But be assured of one thing: He would never tolerate you for the sake of 'the glorious principles of civil and religious liberty' . . Catholicism is the most intolerant of creeds. It is intolerance itself, for it is truth itself."—Civil and Religious Liberty," in The Rambler, 8, Sept., 1851, pp. 174, 178. ["The Rambler" was an English Roman Catholic journal published from 1848 to 1862].

(8) The Bible predicted. that Rome would try to change the law of God, and in its place substitute laws of its own making. "And he shall speak great words against the most High, and think to change times and laws." Daniel 1:25. "And it cast down the truth to the ground, and it practiced and prospered." Daniel 8:12. "And the dragon was wroth with the woman [the true church], and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 12:11.

Seals and Marks have been used for thousands of years to mark and separate people—and God predicts in the book of Revelation that in the time just ahead a massive marking and sealing of men's mind will be done.

OUTLINE OF DANIEL SEVEN

1-6, 17 — Dream of three great beasts, representing three successive world empires (Babylon, 603-538 B.C.; Medo-Persia, 538-331;Grecia, 331-168 B.C.)

7, 19,23 — The fourth beast (Pagan Rome 168 B.C. - A.D.-538).

8; 20, 24 — The ten horns proceeding from it (see p- 8 for listing).

8,11,28-22, 24-26 — The terrible little horn power (Papal Rome, A.D. 538-1798, with a later healing of its wound).

9-10,13-14, 22,26 — The Judgment Session in Heaven.

27 —The Second Advent of Christ, an eternity with Him.

Continue: Revelation 12