Amazing Facts

Doug Batchelor: Hello friends, welcome back to Prophecy Odyssey. In our last episode, we learned about the mysterious beast of Revelation 13 that arose from the sea and was given power by Satan to dominate the world. Today, we're going to continue our study of this end-time beast that persecutes God's people. Using precise symbolism, the Bible actually helps us to identify this power that exists even today.

Before we get started, remember to check out the Prophecy Odyssey Bible lessons and our free offer so you can deepen your learning experience. I'll tell you more about how to get those resources later in this program. Thank you for watching, and God bless you as you continue your Prophecy Odyssey adventure.

Number seven: How far-reaching is the influence of the beast power? The Bible tells us that all the world marveled and followed the beast. Would you agree that the Catholic Church is an international power? The Pope just came back from another international tour. He's been to all the major countries of the world. Most Popes, if their health permits, travel.

Do you know one reason the people in Brazil speak Portuguese and the people in much of South America speak Spanish? It is because the Pope had the power to divide the world. It was called the Treaty of Tordesillas, and he divided the world along what they thought the longitudinal lines were. He said, "Everybody that is east of this, I'm giving to Portugal, and everybody west, we give to Spain." They misunderstood how big South America was, and Spain ended up getting most of it. But the Pope was dividing the world back then as an international power. No historian doubts that.

Number eight: What comes out of the mouth of the beast? Revelation 13 says he opens his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme His name. Now, what does it mean to blaspheme? If you're going to understand a Bible term, use the Bible to define it. In the Bible, blasphemy is defined as a human claiming to forgive sins.

Jesus once said to a man, "Son, your sins are forgiven." The religious leaders looked at each other and said, "He is speaking blasphemy. Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Claiming to have the prerogatives to forgive sin, since our sins are against God, is called blasphemy. Another biblical definition for blasphemy is when a human claims to be God. They took up stones to stone Jesus for blasphemy because they said, "You, being a man, make yourself God."

Did the church in Rome begin to take on those attributes? They freely admit it. This is from the Roman Catechism, the Catholic Church's doctrinal manual. Question: "Does the priest truly forgive the sins or does he only declare they are remitted?" Answer: "The priest does really and truly forgive the sins in virtue of the power given him by Christ."

If you step on my toe and ask for forgiveness, I can forgive your offenses against me. But if you ask me to forgive sins committed throughout your life against God, I do not have that power. Only God and the blood of Christ can forgive those sins. Nothing but the blood of Jesus washes away sin. No man has that power.

Another definition of blasphemy is for a man to put himself in the place of God. According to the Catholic Church's own teachings and quotes, they claim the Pope has the identity of God on Earth. Pope Leo XIII stated, "We the Popes hold upon this Earth the place of God Almighty." The Bulwark from April 30th says, "You know that I am the Holy Father, the representative of God on the Earth, the Vicar of Christ, which means I am God on the Earth."

The Caesars used to do this by saying they were divine and should be worshipped. The Pharaohs did it as well. Alexander the Great went to Egypt and thought he could unite his empire by having them worship him. Many kings believed in royal worship as a way to get the dedication of the people. In Daniel chapter 6, King Darius's advisors told him that if he wanted to unite the Babylonian Empire, he should tell the people he was a god and that they could not pray to anyone else for thirty days.

This is not the first time that leaders have tried to unite through worship. Another definition of what would happen is found in Daniel 7:25. The beast power would think to change times and laws, meaning the times and the laws of God. According to Catholic teachings, the Pope has the power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts and teachings of Christ.

In their official teachings, the Pope is the one through whom the Bible is interpreted. Since he is a Vicar of Christ on Earth, it is important to note that Jesus said the Holy Spirit is His representative on Earth, not a man. We are not to worship a man. John fell down to worship an angel, and the angel told him he was not even supposed to worship angels. Through the Dark Ages, people were taught to venerate men. My dad met Pope John Paul II and was so excited to kiss his ring, even though he was not a believer. We should not worship a man.

Let no one deceive you by any means, for that day will not come until there is a falling away first. Paul is not talking about a falling away in the world; he is warning the church that there will be a major falling away within the church. This happened during the Dark Ages when the church became a political-religious institution and a government power. It began to force and persecute instead of spreading the love and teachings of Jesus.

The man of sin is revealed, and he is called the son of perdition. He opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, sitting as God in the temple of God and showing himself that he is God. Many have read this thinking the Antichrist will sit in a rebuilt Jewish temple. This is a misinterpretation. The Jewish temple is not being rebuilt. Christ said to destroy the temple made with hands, and in three days He would make one without hands, speaking of His body.

Paul asked if you knew you were the temple of God. Peter says you are living stones and Jesus is the cornerstone. Christ's body is the church. This Antichrist power would claim to sit over the church of God, putting himself in the position of God. Many Christians are waiting for the Jews to rebuild the temple, but there are no plans to do so. The whole sacrificial system has been done away with.

In the temple of God on Earth, the Holy of Holies was a symbol of God's throne. It contained the ark of the covenant with the Ten Commandments. The seat of the ark was called the mercy seat, where God appeared in the Shekinah glory. Isaiah 6 says, "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord high and lifted up, the train of his robe filled the temple." On the sides of His throne were two seraphim.

These angels on the side of the throne are symbols for the throne of God. Revelation mentions a great white throne flanked by angels. In the Vatican, the Pope sits on a white throne with an angel on the right and an angel on the left. This carries a specific message. Revelation 17 mentions another beast with seven heads and ten horns. This describes the Papacy. While America is the second beast, we must understand what is coming.

Revelation 17:3 says, "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, and I saw a woman on a scarlet beast." Scarlet is a symbol of sin. This beast was full of names of blasphemy and had seven heads and ten horns, sitting over the nations in Europe. A woman represents the church. In Revelation 12, the woman is clothed with the sun, moon, and stars, representing God's light. However, the woman in Revelation 17 is clothed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones.

She has a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness. In the Bible, fornication was often connected with idolatry. On her forehead was the name "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots." Most Protestant churches came out of Catholicism. Daughters sometimes resemble their mothers, meaning they retain some of the mother's teachings.

This woman is drunken with the blood of the saints. During the Inquisition in Spain and other parts of Europe, the church used torture implements against those it persecuted. This power is described as being drunken with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. Revelation 17:9 says the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.

The last verse of chapter 17 says the woman is the great city that reigns over the kings of the earth. When John had this vision, Rome was the city reigning over the earth. The woman sits on seven mountains, and the "City of Seven Hills" is a well-known name for Rome. This church in Rome is characterized by scarlet, purple, and a great deal of gold and silver.

The Pope is also technically the pastor of a church. I pastor a church in Granite Bay, but the Pope's church in Rome has a plaque that translates to, "The sacred Lateran, Mother and Head of all churches in the city of the world." They claim the very title found in prophecy. The golden cup refers to the Mass. The Protestant Reformation involved a conflict over the communion service. The priest claims to transfer fermented grape juice into the actual blood of Christ, but the reformers argued that man cannot create God.

The Catholic Encyclopedia states that the chalice is the most important of the sacred vessels. Prophecy says the woman is arrayed in scarlet and purple. Officially, the Cardinals wear red and the Bishops wear purple. Revelation 13 provides a time period for how long this first beast would rule. It was given authority to continue for forty-two months. A Jewish month has thirty days, so forty-two months equals 1,260 days. In prophecy, a day equals a year.

This 1,260-year period is mentioned in Ezekiel 4:6, Numbers 14:34, and Luke 13:32. It is also referred to as a "time, times, and half a time," which equals three and a half years. This was the period of uninterrupted power before the beast received a deadly wound. The starting point is 538 AD when the Roman Emperor Justinian gave the Pope an army and authority to compel worship.

The Roman Church took the place of the Roman World Empire as a transformation of that power. The Pope, who uses the title Pontifex Maximus, is the successor to the Caesars. From 538 AD, 1,260 years lead to 1798. During this time, known as the Dark Ages, Bibles were taken away from the people and printed only in Latin. People were told they would burn in hell if they did not obey the church, but they could pay for indulgences to be remitted.

These teachings are not in the Bible, but the people did not know because the Bibles were chained in monasteries. After the French Revolution, Napoleon's general, Berthier, entered Rome in 1798 and arrested the Pope. The Pope died in captivity, and the church's political power was interrupted. This 1,260-year period ended exactly as prophesied.

America was formed in 1776, but it was not recognized by Europe as an independent country until 1798. Revelation says one of the beast's heads was mortally wounded, but the wound was healed. Near the end of this time, Martin Luther translated the Bible into German, and the printing press allowed Bibles to be spread. Atheism spread during the French Revolution, and many kings were overthrown, yet the Catholic Church began to recover its international influence.

In 1929, the Lateran Treaty established Vatican City as an independent state with the Pope in command. It became an independent country with ambassadors from around the world. The Pope was instrumental in international politics, such as talking to Fidel Castro and seeking reconciliation between various Orthodox and Catholic churches. The Second Vatican Council in the 1960s initiated a goal of restoration of unity.

The Vatican established diplomatic relations with 147 countries by 2022. While all original United States Supreme Court justices were Protestants, the majority are now Catholics. In 2017, the Lutherans and Catholics signed a joint treaty. Revelation foretells a unity of Protestantism and Catholicism. During a time of international crisis or economic collapse, people may run to religious leaders and form a one-world government.

The Pope has addressed the joint session of Congress and the United Nations. He has formed personal relationships with leaders from many countries. A Jesuit author stated that while the Papacy does not reside dominantly through coercion as it once did, it is nonetheless one of the most influential powers in the world today. This beast is a religious power that compels worship. Since the time of Cain and Abel, there has been conflict over how to worship God.

Jesus said the day is coming when those who kill you will think they are serving God. Before his conversion, Paul persecuted the church. During the Dark Ages, between thirty and fifty million people were killed by the church. The Bible says the number of the beast is the number of a man: 666. The leader of the Catholic Church is defined as the Vicar of Jesus Christ.

This title implies that the Pope represents the Son of God and takes the place of the second person of the Trinity. They claim the Pope is the Lord of heaven, Earth, and the underworld. God identifies those who get the victory over the beast as those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. If you do not want to be confused in the last days, you need to be committed to the word of God.

I hope you have been blessed by today's message. Information is not going to save us; it is a relationship with Jesus that matters. He died on the cross for your sins, and you must personally accept Him. If you have not asked Him into your heart, I encourage you to do it right now. His arms are open wide.

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