Often times in order to connect the Papacy as the Beast,
theologians connect Revelation 13:13, 14 to Revelation 13:3. After reading
Revelation 13:14 having previously explained Revelation 13:3 that the wounded
head is the Papacy and giving you a trip down History Avenue as conclusive
proof that the wounded head is the Papacy. They hold your attention on the
Papacy the head that was wounded, then read Revelation 13:14. Then they asked with
authority which beast was wounded? They then take you back to Revelation 13:3
pointing to the Papacy as the beast that was wounded and give you another stroll
on history Avenue. By then their hearers are totally convinced the Papacy is
the beast.
Let us take a closer look at what the text is saying
and what it is not saying.
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 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.
1.
What is head in
prophecy?
Head in prophecy is
religious organization. Therefore the first beast of Revelation 13 have seven
heads or seven major religions. Note, not seven denominations but rather seven
major religions. Six of the seven heads/Religions maintained their creed and
dogma. But one of the heads, the Christian head or Christian church, change its
creed and dogma. They departed from the faith, gave attention to seducing
spirits, and doctrines of devils.
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the
latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience
seared with a hot iron; I Timothy 4:1, 2.
The church having
departed from the faith began to persecute the saints who disagreed with the
church. In time, God gave the reformers within the church a voice. By the
voices of truth the church began to breakup as though it was going to die. In
the process thousands of reformers died for the truth of the word. Each of the
martyrs struck a deadly blow of truth wounding the church. John said he saw one
of the heads/one of the churches of the beast as it were wounded to death.
Then a strange thing
happened, the head/the church did not die. John said the deadly blow of truth
the reformers struck to the church was healed. What did John mean by the deadly
wound was healed? Today, with the Bible wide open in the hands of both Catholic
and Protestants they are both adhering to error. It is this adherence to error that
has caused the deadly wound to the head/the church to be healed.
The very Protestant denominations
who protested the gross error practiced by the Christian church, who advanced
light and truth of the word of God to a world held in darkness by seducing
spirits, and doctrines of devils; who speak lies in hypocrisy. The reformers exposed
the hypocrisy and doctrines of devils of the church/the head, wounding the
church/the head to the extent that it was believed the church/the head was
going to die. Today these same Protestant Denominations are themselves embracing
seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy. It is
this action of the Protestants that has caused the deadly wound sustained by
the head/the church to be healed.
The world having
considered the action of the Protestants, how they are embracing seducing
spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy has turned from
God to being patriotic to the Nation/the beast. It is this worldliness that
John is referring to when he says all the world wondered after the beast.
According to a study
conducted by Pew, Europe the first beast of Revelation 13 in 1910 boasted that
the majority of its inhabitance claimed to be Christians. In fact 93 percent of
the population were reported as Christians. Today, one hundred years later that
number is down from 93 percent to 63 percent reporting as Christians (SETRIGE
CRAWFORD 2011) .
All the world wondered after the beast.
2. Which
beast was wound by a sword, and did live?
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire
come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that
dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in
the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they
should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did
live. Revelation 13:13, 14
In Revelation 13:3 John said he was one of the heads
of the beast as it were wounded to death; However in Revelation 13: 14 he said
the beast was wounded by a sword, and did live.
Theologians would want to connect these two events as the same to point to the Roman Catholic Church as the beast.
Theologians would want to connect these two events as the same to point to the Roman Catholic Church as the beast.
Note: In the first event one of the heads of the beast
was wounded and in the second event the beast was wounded by a sword.
A head of a Nation is a religious organization
recognized by the Nation. A beast is a Nation, and in the event the head of
state is a King then a beast is a kingdom.
In Revelation
13:14 the Bible said the beast was wounded by a sword.
How was the Nation wounded by a sword?
Let us examine the text step by step. Let’s take a closer look at the
beast that came from the sea at war. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded
Poland; this was the beginning of a world at war, known as Word War II. By 1945
all of Europe the beast that 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,
which is like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his
mouth as the mouth of a lion. That beast, the whole of Europe was at war.
Europe was wounded by a sword the sward of war and did live. At the end of the
war not one of the Nations of Europe change hands. The Nations of Europe the
beast live in spite of the war.
Take a closer look at the text: And he (the two horn
beast) doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the
earth in the sight of men.
How did the two horn beast make fire come down from
heaven?
Saints of God, understand that these great wonders
done by the two-horned beast, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on
the earth, are not supernatural acts. Rather they are acts done by the United
States of America and supported by the European nations. This act of the United
States of America is not future but historical. America made fire come down
from heaven in the sight of the European nations, with not one condemnation
from any nation to this day.
John did not say the fire was supernatural or
spiritual. He did not say it was the working of Satan or that it was wrought by
the manifestations of satanic power. He simply said the two-horned beast that
came from the earth would do a great phenomenon. He would make fire come down
from heaven and would burn up or destroy the earth in the presence of the
amalgamated beast that came from the sea. Indeed history will attest that
America unleashed their B-29 war planes over Japan in 1945 and made fire come
down from heaven upon the earth.
Before dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
the Americans burned and destroyed sixty-seven cities in Japan by the use of
firebombs from heaven. While America was devastating Japan with firebombs,
Europe stood still and said not a word. This silence of the European nations is
why John said it was done in their presence.
By July 1945 all the countries of Europe had declared
war on each other. They (the beast that came from the sea) were wounded by a
sword—the sword of war—and did live. At the end of World War II, not one nation
among the European countries was conquered by another and changed hands;
although wounded by a sword, they lived. The unconditional surrender of Japan
marked the end of World War II. Japan was forced into this unconditional
surrender by means of the fire the two-horned beast made come down from heaven
in the sight of the beast that came from the sea. At the end of World War II,
US President Harry S. Truman said to the nations of the world that they should
make an image to the beast that came from the sea in the form of the United
Nations, to bring about the maintenance of international peace and security;
the development of friendly relations among member states; and the achievement
of cooperation in solving international economic, social, cultural, and
humanitarian problems.
The fore going is what Revelation 13:13,14 is talking
about when it says; “And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come
down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that
dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in
the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they
should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did
live.”
However theologians would point you to the Papacy and
convince you that the beast is the Papacy. They say the nation of America tells
the people to form an image of the Papal Church of Rome. In other words, they
tell the people to form a church state union in America. These theologians make
a convincing argument that the image of the beast will be the united Protestant
churches in America, under direction from the Roman Catholic Church and organizations
like the "Christian Coalition of America" gaining civil power and
directing the civil authorities to enforce "religious" laws upon the
people.
Remember head in prophecy are religious organizations.
Nothing in the text said anything about the head of the two horn beast the
United States of America. That is to say the Nation of the United States of
America do not recognized one religion over another. There is not nor will
there be a State religion in the United States of America. They say the image
of the beast is a church state union in America. That interpretation is only a distraction
device by Satan to lead the children of God astray.
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